ROH TV tapings 5-21 Philadelphia
By Brian Streleckis, PWChronicle.com
I noticed at this show that they have a new shirt for Kevin Steen. It depicts the severed, zombified head of El Generico set on a folding chair. Happy Nightmares, Kids!
Pre-Show:
1. Adam Cole defeated “Brutal” Bob Evans.
2. Bobby Dempsey & Lance Bravado & ??? defeated Mr. Ernesto Osiris & Bruno Marciano & ???
3. Shima Xion defeated Andy Ridge. Highlight of this portion of the night.
Main Show:
- All of the wrestlers and crew surrounded the ring for a 10-Bell Salute and a moment of silence for Brad Mackie, the show’s lighting director who recently passed away.
1. Christopher Daniels defeated Mike Sydal with the Best Moonsault Ever. Mike is indeed the brother of former ROH star/current WWE star Matt Sydal/Evan Bourne, coincidentally a former partner of Daniels. For entrance music, Daniels is using the “Disposable Teens” cover he used in TNA during his high points in the company (2005-2006). Mike is still a little wet behind the ears, but the match was serviceable. Kyle Durden came in to interview Daniels, but Daniels took the mic from him to cut his own promo, saying how he came back to Ring of Honor to claim the title of “Best in the World,” and he wanted to put Davey Richards and the rest of the roster on notice. He was bleeding from the nose a little from the match, and he tied that into his promo by saying this is why he came back.
- Austin Aries came out for the next segment, dressed for success and sporting a Sherlock Holmes-style pipe. He mentioned he tried to apologize to Delirious for injuring his throat, but he got attacked for it. He said that Austin Aries the wrestler is gone (though he did wrestle later), but Austin Aries, Manager Supreme, has arrived. He said now that Jim Cornette has granted him his manager’s license, he’s going to beat Cornette at his own game and become The Greatest Man…ager That Ever Lived. He then introduced his proteges Kenny King & Rhett Titus, now officially using the team name “The All-Night Express” and even sporting matching trunks.
2. The All-Night Express (w/ Austin Aries) defeated Jerry Lynn & Delirious (w/ Daizee Haze) when King & Titus gave Lynn a Demolition Decapitation kneedrop. This will be a TV main event. Delirious was a lot more serious tonight and wasn’t doing his usual antics, and when he first tagged into the match, he went straight for Aries at ringside. Good match that included the heels getting heat by working over Delirious’ throat. Delirious took himself out of the match at the end when Aries grabbed Daizee and Delirious did a splash onto him to the floor to save her.
- Next came the official contract signing for the World Title Match between Tyler Black and Davey Richards at Death Before Dishonor VIII in Toronto next month (the next internet PPV). This segment will be airing the week of that show, as Jim Cornette himself said the match would take place “this Saturday night.” They set up a table with a black cloth and three chairs for Black, Richards, and Cornette in between them. Cornette came out and introduced the wrestlers, and Richards came out with Eddie Edwards and Shane Hagadorn. Richards signed it and made a statement, acknowledging the fans getting behind him as being the “Best in the World” and proving so by winning the title. Black signed and said to hold the title means he is the best guy going. Definitely seemed to be more of a Davey-friendly crowd. Richards went so far as to tell Edwards and Hagadorn to stay in the back that night so he can wrestle (and potentially beat) Black one-on-one. Then Daniels came back out and said he would issue a challenge to both the winner and the loser of this title match, as they both have something he desires: the admiration of the wrestling public and the ROH World Title. So this was indeed a lot more civil than your usual contract signing, with no table spots or scuffles. Daniels, Black, and Richards all left to their individual music.
3. Rasche Brown defeated Ricky Reyes with his burning hammer. Definitely not a squash, as Reyes worked over Brown’s leg heavily before losing. Afterward, Erick Stevens came out and brawled with Brown.
4. Eddie Edwards defeated Nick Westgate in a 10-Minute Hunt by ref stoppage via stomps to the head while applying the half crab. Edwards explained the rules of the Hunt: if someone can last 10 minutes with him or beat him in 10 minutes or less, he’ll get a shot at his ROH World TV Title at a later date. It really is that simple. Edwards chatted with his smaller no-name opponent before largely decimating him.
5. Sara Del Rey (w/ Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, and Shane Hagadorn) defeated a woman hailing from Denver with a piledriver. I’m sorry I couldn’t quite catch the other woman’s name, as she was pretty decent and the match was pretty competitive. Silly finish as Claudio and Hero distracted the ref while Hagadorn grabbed the other woman’s ankle to prevent a move. Del Rey, one of the top females in wrestling, honestly needed the help of three guys to win?
6. Steve Corino defeated Colt Cabana by DQ. Most of this was outside the ring than inside, including teases of a table being used. At the end of the match, Cabana set up two tables on the floor longways, with Corino at the opposite end with a chair next to his head, and he slid another chair across right into him. Colt was disqualified during this spot when ref Paul Turner prevented him from doing this and got tossed to the floor for his troubles. Corino came up bleeding from the spot.
- Back in the ring post-match, Cabana then attempted to powerbomb Corino into a table set up in the corner, but a pre-teen kid who I believe was Corino’s son Colby ran out to ringside to distract him. This led to Kevin Steen running in for the attack as security dragged Colby away. Steen then attempted a corner splash on Cabana through the table, but the table didn’t have a lot of give and only cracked after a second try. Then El Generico ran out to his awesome new music for the save, and this portion of the segment was very hot. Generico attempted the turnbuckle brainbuster on Steen, but both he and Corino bailed as Generico and Cabana stared them down from the ring.
- Intermission.
7. Josh Raymond & Christian Able (without Truth Martini and the House of Truth moniker) defeated Up in Smoke (Cheech & Cloudy) with a wheelbarrow bulldog-like doubleteam move. Pretty solid match with a good amount of time to it. Just like at the last set of tapings, the House of Truth sans Truth and just the House is a perfectly fine act.
8. Kevin Steen (w/ Steve Corino) defeated Bobby Shields with the crossface. Of all of the sillier aspects tonight, this was my favorite. Steen came to ring with his own mic, interrupting Bobby Cruise and saying he’s tired of the regular commentary team badmouthing him and Corino for their actions. So he gave their absent selves the match off and appointed himself and Corino to do commentary during the match over the live mics; Corino at ringside and Steen during the match. I loved it when Jerry Lawler did it in a couple squash matches in the mid-90s, and I loved it here. Extended squash, with Steen explaining he invented the crossface in 1984 as he put it on.
- In what looked to be Erick Stevens vs. Necro Butcher at first, Necro came out in street clothes (including sneakers) carrying a gym bag. He said he spent a lot of time in a Dayton hospital for injuries he suffered, plus he didn’t have insurance. He regretfully said he wasn’t medically cleared to wrestle as Stevens mocked being sad about it, and then Necro went to the back as his replacement came out.
9. Grizzly Redwood defeated Erick Stevens (w/ Prince Nana & Ernesto Osiris) with an O’Connor Roll. You read that right. Stevens pulled Grizzly’s shoulders off the mat on two pin attempts, then Grizzly surprised him while he was consulting with Nana. The rest of the match was Grizzly getting beaten down with a few hope spots in between. Big pop for the win, but then the heels immediately beat the piss out of him.
- Rasche Brown ran in for the save, taking down Stevens with a chokeslam and about to put a hurtin’ on Nana, but he was subdued with a kick to the groin by Stevens and had his hands tied (weakly) with tape in the corner. Then the stupidest moment of the night happened: Necro Butcher, who has been feuding with the Embassy for the past year, was introduced as the new Crown Jewel of the Embassy. He came out to Jimmy Rave’s old music while wearing Jimmy Rave’s old robe over a suit (but barefoot). He broke a pine board over Brown’s head, then he gave (or attempted to give… fuzzy memory) Grizzly the sidewalk slam onto two chairs. I just thought this turn was so dumb. Even if they explain it as Nana willing to pay for Necro’s medical expenses, it’s still a shitty twist in a shitty feud.
10. Non-Title Match: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli w/ Shane Hagadorn & Sara Del Rey) defeated the Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis & Jon Davis) by DQ. Pretty good match, but I was expecting something better. The DCFC survived Hero’s strikes, but just as Hero was preparing to use his loaded elbow pad, the Briscoes ran in and jumped him for the DQ. They then brawled with the Kings and a little with the DCFC, and they pretty much laid out all of the ringside attendants that attempted to stop them.
11. Daizee Haze defeated Jamilia Craft with a heart punch followed by a tiger suplex. Nice little match. The crowd was pretty quiet for this but pretty respectful. Craft is an ROH student who’s looked good for how little she’s worked, plus she’s billed from Philadelphia.
- The next two matches will main event two episodes.
12. Austin Aries & The All-Night Express vs. Tyler Black & Jerry Lynn & Delirious ended in a No Contest. The match was quite good, but the end of it sucked. Lynn and Delirious did these top rope dives to King and Aries respectably on the floor, and ref Paul Turner called for the bell, presumably because of all of the general chaos and the wrestlers wiping themselves out. Black attempted a dive of his own, even tossing Turner to the floor when he tried to stop him. Then Kevin Steen ran in, stopped him himself, and laid him out with a package piledriver. He then left through the crowd. Not an outright spoiler of Black retaining the title against Richards, but either way, it looks like Black will be feuding with Steen next.
13. The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards w/ Shane Hagadorn) defeated Christopher Daniels & Roderick Strong after Richards gave Daniels a release German suplex off the top rope. Best match of the night. Lots of good stuff with no bullshit finish. A good series of exchanges between Strong and Richards as expected, as well as one towards the end between Daniels and Richards. This definitely closed the night on a high note.
ROH TV tapings 5-22 Philadelphia
By Brian Streleckis, PWChronicle.com
Pre-Show:
1. Shiima Xion defeated John Kermon (w/ Agent Sly Stetson).
2. Rayna Von Tash & Taeler defeated Roxie Cotton & Latasha (w/ Paul Dimension). For some reason, Austin Aries sat at ringside by the timekeeper’s table during this whole
match. Then he went to the back again when it was over.
3. The All-Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus w/ Austin Aries) defeated Lance & Harlem Bravado with their finisher. I expect this to make television given who’s involved. A little competitive, but there was no question who was winning this. Surprisingly, this was the last we’d see of Aries tonight, so a much lighter night for him than usual.
Main Show:
1. Christopher Daniels defeated Bobby Shields with the Best Moonsault Ever. Total squash, and then Daniels cut virtually the same promo he did the previous night afterward.
2. Non-Title Match: El Generico defeated Tyler Black by DQ (though the decision wasn’t announced). This will be a television main event and it was really good. Back-and-forth with a good build and a hot crowd behind it.. Towards the end, Black gave Generico a top rope double stomp while Generico was in the Tree of Woe (a la Low Ki). Shortly after this, Generico answered this with a coast to coast dropkick. Everyone seemed ready for a finish soon, and Generico was readying his Yakuza kick, but Kevin Steen ran out, tripped him from the outside, and pulled him crotch first into the ring post. As he got in the ring, Black gave him a superkick. Then, out of the crowd and right past me, Davey Richards snuck into the ring and clocked Black with the title belt. He gloated over Black a bit as Steen and Generico fought to the back. As usual, I would have preferred a clean finish, but this post-match stuff was good.
3. Sara Del Rey (w/ Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, and Shane Hagadorn) defeated Jamilia Craft with a piledriver. Brief squash. Kyle Durden came in afterward to ask Del Rey
about the match, and Del Rey stated she wants better competition than what she’s been getting.
4. Necro Butcher (w/ Prince Nana & Mr. Ernesto Osiris) won a squash with a chokeslam/shitty Tiger Driver combo onto a chair. Nana cut a brief promo about how he’s a caring man and is willing to forgive and forget (probably an extension of a backstage promo). Necro wrestled in usual attire, but he came to the ring sporting the Jimmy Rave robe, sunglasses, and a nice watch.
5. Eddie Edwards defeated Andy Ridge in a 10-Minute Hunt with the half crab. A little bit of offense from Right Leg, but it was all for naught.
- Kyle Durden at ringside did an interview with the father of the Briscoes, seated in the front row. I think I remember seeing him on old ROH DVDs from the early days, so I’m not sure if it was really Poppa Briscoe, but he certainly talked like them. He’s of course proud of his boys and said they’ll become 7-time World Tag Team Champions in Toronto.
6. Jay & Mark Briscoe won a squash with the Jay Driller.
- The Kings of Wrestling and Shane Hagadorn came out after the Briscoes had left, and Hero cut a promo on Poppa Briscoe. He insulted him strong enough to make him hop the rail and slap him, but then Hero knocked him out with an elbow. Jay & Mark chased the Kings away and tended to their father.
- Jim Cornette came out for the next segment. Not sure if this was for TV or if he was just staying consistent for the story’s sake, be he acted concerned about what just happened and said the Kings of Wrestling would be fined for what they did. Then he introduced Roderick Strong, saying he requested some interview time. Strong complained about the outcomes of his two recent matches for the World Title, and he said he was tired of being lied to and screwed over. He then told Cornette that he only wanted one thing now, and that’s the truth. Cue the television introduction of Truth Martini, who came to the ring carrying his “Book of Truth” and accompanied by the House of Truth (Josh Raymond & Christian Able). Long story short, Strong has joined the House of Truth, hiring the services of Martini as his “life intervention coach” because Truth has agreed with all of Strong’s grievances and issues. He cut a lengthy promo full of new age jargon (as Cornette may have put it) that might play better on TV than it did live. Steve and I have given Truth Martini a lot of shit for his over-the-top antics on DVD shows, but here he was a lot more subdued and dialed down. I’m initially down on this, but seeing it played it out here, I’ll give this new alliance some time.
7. Up In Smoke (Cheech & Cloudy) defeated the Set (J-Sinn & Lance Lude) with the Tidal Wave (a version of the Quebecers’ old finisher). Decent match with a good amount of time to it.
8. Rasche Brown defeated Erick Stevens (w/ Prince Nana & Mr. Ernesto Osiris) by DQ. Decent match with a lot of big man exchanges, but then Necro Butcher ran in to end it. Necro and Stevens had the upper hand until the Dark City Fight Club ran in for the save. So those two have turned babyface and have aligned themselves with Skullkrusher. Maybe the best new alliance made all weekend.
- Intermission.
9. The House of Truth (Josh Raymond & Christian Able w/ Truth Martini) defeated Ricky Reyes & Jason Chambers with their wheelbarrow bulldog finisher. Semi-squash with Reyes getting some kicks in, but just kind of a showcase for the established team. No over-the-top bullshit from Truth Martini as I’m used to from him.
10. Jay & Mark Briscoe defeated the Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli w/ Shane Hagadorn) in a non-title Gauntlet Match when they gave Castagnoli the Doomsday Device. Hagadorn introduced this Gauntlet Match by saying he’s chosen three strong and powerful teams to test the skills of Hero & Claudio. Of course, they were all jobber teams. The first team was two guys I didn’t recognize who got a little bit of offense, but they fell to a series of doubleteam moves ending with one of Hero’s elbows. The second team had guys I recognized from last night, Adam Cole & Nick Westgate. Again, a little bit of offense, but they were beaten quicker than the first team was when the Kings gave Westgate the KRS-1. The third team was a pair of ninjas, but as Hero & Claudio turned their backs to them while laughing, the ninjas unmasked and revealed themselves as the Briscoes. They caught the Kings by surprise and made pretty quick work of them because of it. Fun segment, and then Jay said they don’t care about the tag titles anymore because “this shit just got personal.”
11. The Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis & Jon Davis) defeated the American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards w/ Shane Hagadorn) by DQ. Good match, with the Wolves hitting stereo suicide dives at one point and just looking awesome in general. It was a shame to see it end with Necro & Stevens running in to attack the DCFC. Rasche Brown ran in for the save, returning the favor, and they brawled around the ring as other guys tried to break it up and failed. The babyfaces tried cutting a promo on them from the ring, but then the Embassy came in and brawled with them some more.
- The last two matches will main event two episodes.
12. Kevin Steen & Steve Corino defeated El Generico & Colt Cabana in an Anything Goes Match when Corino gave Cabana what looked like a Northern Lights Bomb off the top onto a table. It started with lots of brawling at ringside and into the crowd, then they took it into the ring with tables and chairs in tow. Some big moves, some of which were blocked from my view by a table set up in the corner. Plenty of weaponry used, albeit fairly safely (Corino put his hand up as Cabana hit him with a chair), and there wasn’t any blood either. Again, the tables wouldn’t give all that much, but at least the one used at the end gave in at the legs. Another big move saw Corino superplex Generico onto a spare guard rail from under the ring set up on four chairs, but Cabana broke that up. Steen and Generico fought to the back toward the end as Cabana and Corino were fighting on the top. This was a hell of a match honestly, and the crowd loved it. Tough act for the last match to follow.
13. Roderick Strong (w/ Truth Martini) defeated Christopher Daniels with the flying Yakuza kick. I think this match stemmed from the tag match Daniels & Strong had against the Wolves last night, as Strong had some words for Daniels after he took the loss in that match and had some words for him before this match as well. It took a while for the fans to get into it, but it was really quite good as expected. All Truth Martini did was distract Daniels a little outside by reading from his Book of Truth to him, then a little later he hit him with the book behind the ref’s back after Strong Tully’d Daniels into the ropes. This led into the finish. Good stuff all around.
ROH returns to Philadelphia to tape more episodes on July 16th & 17th.
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