ROH on HDNet Recap
July 12, 2010
The Arena in Philadelphia, PA
Commentators: Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak
Report by: Anthony J. Valvo of Wrestleview.com
The following is an exclusive presentation of Ring of Honor Wrestling…on HDNet!
The show began with clips of the Necro Butcher’s war with The Embassy. Recently, Necro told the ECW Arena crowd that he was in a hospital in Dayton (without insurance) and the Butcher’s Rules matches with The Embassy have been more intense. That was the reason he gave in order to back out of a match with Erick Stevens. So two weeks ago, Grizzly Redwood took Necro’s place and defeated Stevens. Once the Embassy attacked Redwood, “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown ran in and took care of the Embassy until Stevens gave him the low-blow. Once the taped Brown’s arms along the corner, Prince Nana introduced the newest Crown Jewel of the Embassy and it happened to be The Necro Butcher! The video ended when Necro clobbered Brown with a piece of plywood a couple weeks back.
The Embassy members Prince Nana and Mr. Ernesto Osiris entered the ring and Prince Nana got a microphone in his hand.
Kidd Russell’s Instrumental theme hits the screen to formally introduce us to ROH on HDNet.
Right before Prince Nana was about to talk, the fans express their displeasure by throwing dozens of toilet paper at Nana and Osiris (definitely a perk in joining The Embassy). Some very smart fan did throw a streamer for the best manager in the business today. Nana screams HEY! HEY! The then held a roll of toilet paper and said that the fans are taking craps all over themselves. He then drew more heat by saying that he knew why the crowd always stinks in the arena. Nana then said that The Embassy is the most dominant group in this company! Nana then points at a random fan and said “Shut up you fat pig”! (best line ever).
Nana said right now, he wanted all of the fans to understand why Nana is a loving and caring man (especially when it came to money). He tells the bums (aka the ROH fans) to rise up and show respect to the man that no one called when he was injured and sick. He is the Newest Crown Jewel of The Embassy…The Necro Butcher. As Necro Butcher entered the ring, Nana continued to speak of how Necro wrestled in Japan and England. Necro then entered the ring and was greeted with toilet paper. While Necro received help taking his robe off, Nana yelled at Necro’s opponent Bobby Beverly. Necro then showed off his watch that I assumed The Embassy paid for. Beverly then stared down Nana and Necro attacked Beverly from behind. The match then officially started with No Code of Honor.
Butcher’s Rules Match
The Necro Butcher (w/Prince Nana and Mr. Ernesto Osiris) vs. Bobby Beverly
Notes on Necro: After the ambush, he attacked Beverly at the corner. He used the headbutts and punches well throughout the contest. In the middle of the match, he would chop and headbutt away the moment Beverly would get back up. I did like Necro’s boot to Beverly’s side in which caused Beverly to drop out of the ring. Necro’s associates helped along the way in distributing punishment. Necro then grabbed hold of a chair at the end of this match and threw the chair at Beverly. He also slammed Beverly on the mat with the chair underneath him. He then got Beverly in a corner and just punched and chopped him multiple times. Necro then delivered a bulldog on the chair and then grabbed another chair. Necro did do a sloppy job chokeslamming Beverly right on a chair! Then the finish was pretty intense.
Notes on Beverly: I hope he got paid well to get beat up this bad. He was only able to distribute a couple slaps.
Finish: Necro Butcher then ended this squash by executing the Tiger Driver on Bobby Beverly to get the pinfall victory.
Winner via near-Fatality: The Necro Butcher
Grade: C- (leaned toward D+)
After the match, Mike Hogewood sadly Slapped his Porpoise. Necro Butcher then set up the chairs once again. Necro picked up Beverly and slammed him on top of the chairs! We won’t be seeing Beverly anytime soon I assume. The Embassy then posed and celebrated after the match.
The show then continued with a video on Jerry Lynn and Delirious. It appeared that both are looking for revenge after the attacks from Rhett Titus, Austin Aries, and Kenny King. Two weeks ago, Titus and King (now known as the All-Night Express) defeated Delrious and Lynn. When Delirious was stranded in the ring, Aries and the All Night Express almost destroyed his throat until Lynn prevented it thanks to a chair.
That led to this: Tonight’s Main Event will be a Six-Man Tag! Jerry Lynn, Delirious, and Tyler Black will battle The All Night Express and Austin Aries! Oh yeah, and Eddie Edwards is going to have a 10-Minute Hunt next.
The viewers then go back to ringside where Eddie Edwards and Shane Hagadorn enter the ring. Edward was rewarded with many streamers (which I think is pretty good for him). Edwards then grabbed a microphone and welcomed the audience to Eddie Edwards 10-Minute Hunt! Edwards then stopped chatting and asked for his next victim. Andy “Right Leg” Ridge entered the ring. Edwards asked if he deserved this opportunity. Edwards then asked Ridge what his name was and Ridge gladly gave Edwards his name. Edwards then called Ridge “Randy” and asked where he was from. Ridge said Staten Island, NY. Edwards then asked Ridge “a serious” question and asked if he was a virgin. Ridge said no and that her name was Michelle. Edwards then said that Ridge probably lasted longer with “Michelle” then he will with Edwards. Edwards then clubbed Ridge with the mic, the ref called for the bell and the match began with No Code of Honor.
Eddie Edwards 10-Minute Hunt (If Ridge lasts 10 minutes, he will get a ROH TV Title shot)
ROH Television Champion Eddie Edwards (w/Shane Hagadorn) vs. Andy “Right Leg” Ridge
Notes on Edwards: Edwards continued to stomp away on Ridge once the bell rang. Edwards then threw his shirt at Ridge and chopped him. Ridge tried some offense, but Edwards grabbed him and applied a leg lock on the ropes, then dumped him out of the ring. Hagadorn then points at Ridge and taunts him (how stupid is that). Edwards then whipped Ridge to the barricade and then booted Ridge well. Once Ridge finally got some kicks in, Edwards no-sold moves and clobbered Ridge with a nice lariat. Edwards then applied a nice powerbomb and then finished Ridge off with a submission.
Notes on Ridge: All Ridge did was generate some offense with his legs. When in control, he was able to hit his kicks in very efficiently. The only time he really dominated Edwards was when he hit the Enzugiri kick clean! That made Edwards wobble, but he did not fall down.
Finish: After the Powerbomb, Eddie Edwards turned it around to an Achillies Lock. Ridge waited for a moment and decided it tap out of this match. Ridge only lasted 3:02, so he does not get the title shot.
Winner via Submission: Eddie Edwards
Grade: C-
Kyle Durden the graced my computer screen and he was with Austin Aries and the All Night Express (Kenny King and Rhett Titus). Aries then reminded Durden that he is a manager now and he has to compete. Aries said as the CEO of A-Double and Associates, he pledged to bring his associates to the top of ROH. Aries admitted that he is not a wealthy Prince (Nana) or a man servant (Hagadorn, maybe), or a crybaby momma’s boy that carried tennis racket (Cornette back in the day), but Aries said he was a two-time ROH World Champion and he led by example. Aries then said that his boys have the floor.
Kenny King then said to look at them, they go on to the break of down (cliché) an A-Double will lead them. King then called out Jerry Lynn. King said that Lynn is the same old story. King then continued by saying that he would have to teach Lynn another lesson.
Rhett Titus then called out Tyler Black. Titus admitted that Black is the Champion and then said that many people said that Titus does not take wrestling seriously. Titus now said that business comes before pleasure. On HDNet, Titus said he would take care of business and when they hit the city, they will have their pleasure. Aries concluded this segment by saying “Put that in your pipe, and smoke it!”.
Let’s go back to ringside
Jim Cornette is now in the ring and said that Roderick Strong demanded time and Cornette granted Strong to speak at this time. He introduced Strong as “The Messiah of the Backbreaker”. Strong then entered the ring and the slowly clapped his hands toward Cornette. Cornette said that Strong asked for this interview time and now Strong had the floor. Strong said to Cornette that he was going to be honest with him. Strong admitted that he was surprised that Cornette gave him permission to speak. Cornette said well Strong asked for the time and he got it. Strong then said that he asked for a title match and he got two opponents for the title rather than one. Strong then said that after that three referees screwed him out of the ROH World Championship. Strong said that Cornette lied and screwed him constantly.
Cornette then asked Strong if that was all he was going to tell him. Strong said that he had time to think and he had one simple thing to say. He wanted someone to tell him the truth. Strong then introduced his new friend to the ROH crowd. We then see three men walking down the ramp. Two of them have appeared on HDNet (Christian Able and Josh Raymond) and then the crowd saw a guy holding up “The Book of Truth”. Strong shaked the Truth’s hand. Cornette said that he never knew that Strong had an affiliation with these guys and asked what he had to do with Strong.
The mystery man identified himself as Truth Martini and he is the leader of the House of Truth (H.o.T). Martini labeled himself as an intervention expert. Martini said that Raymond and Able introduced Strong to him and would be a part of Strong’s services. Cornette then said to wait a second why is Truth an expert? Well, Truth said when someone has been forsaken and abused, he can be brought into Truth. Martini said that he led people to “The Truth”. Strong asked Martini if he was made to feel that it was his fault that he lost these battles to Tyler Black, and Martini told Strong that it was a lie. Martini said the blame should have gone to Black, Austin Aries, and the fans. If not for all these variables, Strong would have been a champion. Martini said that Strong now knows “The Truth”. Cornette said that this speech was garbage. Cornette called Martini a “snakeoil salesman” and then asked Martini what the Book of Truth was.
Martini said that the book has all his teachings. Every one of his people study his stories daily and now Strong is set free from the lies. Martini said that Strong is now content, confident, and determined. Now that Strong knew the truth, he will be the next ROH World Champion. Cornette asked Strong if he wanted to be a part of this faction. Strong said he was never more sure in his life. Strong wanted someone to tell him the truth. Strong now said that no one will stop him and that is “The Truth”. Cornette then said that Strong was the latest member of H.o.T (House of Truth).
Moments ago, Strong joined the House of Truth.
The viewers then saw various clips that involved the story of El Generico, Kevin Steen, Steve Corino, and Colt Cabana (Mike Tedesco’s favorite ROH wrestler). It started with Kevin Steen’s heel turn at Final Battle 2009 when he clobbered El Generico with a chair. Colt wondered why originally, while Generico said nothing. Corino said that Generico got what he deserved. Colt then talked about Corino getting in his head and we saw how Cabana lost a first round TV Title Tournament match to Eddie Edwards. Corino said that Cabana was the one that lost. They showed clips of The Big Bang when Generico finally snapped after months of pent up frustration and kicked Steen’s head in. Cabana was happy to see that happen, while Steen said that everyone will see Generico’s guts. A month or two later Cabana and Corino had a match on HDNet in which Corino won by DQ because Cabana shoved a ref…then shoved a chair right at Corino’s head. Later on Corino said that Generico is a part of the plan and Generico then ran in and attacked Corino pretty well. Then they had some more bitter feud action which will lead to…
…Next week’s possible Main Event. It will be Steve Corino and Kevin Steen vs. Colt Cabana and El Generico. I believe this is a street fight, which I hope will be a heck of a recap.
Speaking of recaps…here is tonight’s MAAAIIIIIIIN EVENT!
Six-Man Tag Match
Austin Aries and the All-Night Express (Rhett Titus and Kenny King) vs. Jerry Lynn, Delirious, and ROH World Champion Tyler Black
In a shocker the wrestler that got the most streamers was Rhett Titus. Good for him and I truly mean that. All six brawled in the ring to start and the bell rung without the Code of honor.
Notes on Aries, King, and Titus: King officially started this match. King had to rake the eyes to gain some control early because he was getting destroyed early by Lynn. When Titus and Aries were in early in the match, they were doing the usual heel work (punches at the corner, the occasional poke in the eye). King illegally ran in when Aries was in trouble and hit a running clothesline. Titus joined in on attacking Lynn with an ax punch illegally. When Titus came in legally, he worked the mat wrestling moves on Lynn. Titus then hit a nice bodyslam and Aries was tagged in and hit a beautiful slingshot elbow drop. King tagged in and punched away on Lynn. The teamwork of Titus and King has been very good throughout when they were in control. At one point in the match when Aries was legal, he dared Delirious to strike him (even though Aries made sure he was out of arm’s length). When Delirious was dumped out of the ring, Titus and King did more work behind the ref’s back. King rammed Delirious’ head on the barricade and Titus slammed Delirious to the mat. When Titus was tagged in, I was real impressed with his spot-on dropkick. When in the ring later on, King stomped Delirious’ head in for a moment and then Aries and Titus once again did amazing tag work. Then it seemed like everything went out of control at the last minute. Titus did hit the Super Sex Factor Facebuster which was good. King hit the Royal TKO I believe on Lynn. The finish (like their opponents finish) was really spotty and too fast.
Notes on Lynn, Delirious, and Black: Lynn started clubbing away on King to start very well. When Black was in the ring, he did a drop toe hold and then when outside of the ring, he executed a very impressive moonsault off the barricade. Right after Black got a few more punches on Titus, Lynn started the match. Lynn worked the match and clubbed King around at the corner. Black then tagged in and did a top rope ax punch. Delirious then came in and used to elbows to wear down King and then behind the ref’s back Delirious choked King with his tassels. Delirious is on fire right now! He did a neckbreaker and followed it up with an elbow off the ropes. Lynn was then tagged into the match and worked the corner, but with the match growing longer in time Lynn was getting a bit tired as well. Lynn’s work was slower. When Lynn was in trouble later on (I gave him a ton of credit for selling), he escaped a double team from Titus and King by hitting a DDT/neckbreaker combination! Delirious got some good shots in once Lynn tagged him in. It appeared that Delirious bit Aries’ hand (not surprised there), but still could not grab hold of Aries. Later on when Black was tagged in, he did a nice springboard clothesline on both King and Aries. Lynn and Black then grabbed hold of Aries and King again and executed the F5/TKO moves. At the end of the match when King was about to finish off Lynn, Black saved Lynn by clobbering King with a Superkick and then executing a dropkick on Titus. Lynn and Delirious then did top rope dives from the top rope and it went into an all-out war when Delirious finally got a hold of Aries. Overall, their side of offense was very spotty and lacked a lot of technical work. At least King and Aries tried to wear down their opponents.
Finish: The referee lost total control when all the wrestlers were brawling outside the ring. The moment Delirious whipped Aries to the ROH Barricade was when the ref threw the match out and it ended in a No Contest.
The Match Ended in a No Contest
Grade: B-
After the match, Tyler Black dumped the referee out of the ring. Kevin Steen ran in and stopped Black on his tracks and kicked him in the stomach. Steen then set up and delivered the Package Piledriver. Steen then said something that I could not hear. Jerry Lynn and Delirious then chased off Steen and checked on Black and the show ended.
Credits and End of Show
Quick Results
* The Necro Butcher def. Bobby Beverly via Pinfall
* Eddie Edwards def. Andy “Right Leg” Ridge via Submission
* Austin Aries, Rhett Titus, and Kenny King vs. Jerry Lynn, Delirious, and Tyler Black ended in a no contest
You may have missed Mike Hogewood’s “Slap the Porpoise” line because he was sad when he said it. Hogewood slapped it when Necro Butcher destroyed Bobby Beverly.
Non-Wrestling Thoughts
Video package of The Necro Butcher and The Embassy – Well, this was pretty nice. However, it was already done last week so it was a bit redundant.
Prince Nana’s mic time – It was absolutely brilliant! Prince Nana was able to generate the heel heat with ease and was interactive with the crowd along the way of him promo. I was very impressed with Nana’s poise and control. If any future people want to be a manager someday, watch Nana’s work. You won’t be disappointed.
Lynn and Delirious video – Again, I liked how this introduced new viewers to the rivalry. But once more they show the same thing. It was good the first time I saw it, then got tired of it as I am now.
Edwards on the mic – I just have one question that still irks me. Why doesn’t Hagadorn speak for Edwards? I mean, Hagadorn is the manager, right? Edwards is doing the best he can on the mic and I give him credit, but I just think a more effective manager is the way to go with Edwards.
Aries and All Night Express backstage segment – This was done very well. Aries showed to the audience that not only is he a good wrestler, but if this goes on for a year he could be an amazing wrestler/manager. Aries’ mic skills exceed everyone in ROH in my opinion, he is so crisp and clear. Aries has nearly delivered in every line he spoke tonight. Aries is the perfect mouthpiece for both Titus and King. As for Titus and King, they improved on speaking. With this faction in place, I see some good things happening for the All Nighters.
Strong’s announcement – Now that Strong is in the House of Truth, this could lead to some pretty good storylines. From a segment standpoint, this was Strong’s best showing yet. Now that he has a manager (4 managers in one night) and some allies he could trust, he will go pretty far. Will it lead to the ROH World Championship? I don’t think it will happen for Strong with the House of Truth, but I could only wish. Also, Truth Martini’s introduction was brilliant. He was clear of his goal and to why Strong is a part of his group. Overall, the segment was really long, but it met its goal. They now made Strong a heel with some help. So it is another thing done right for ROH.
The Generico vs. Steen story – Although I was real bored with the promo (since I felt I saw this many times), HDNet did a good job summing up a seven month feud in a few minutes. It was done very well.
Thoughts on the matches
Necro Butcher vs. Beverly – It was a complete squash. The match did make a statement if there was one plus out of this match. Necro brawled well, but this was just a tune-up to his upcoming feud with “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown. As for Beverly, he did not stand a chance.
Edwards vs. Ridge – Almost every spot was blown, but it did show great athleticism by both guys. There were just too many times in a squash that both guy no-sold moves and it did not tell a good story in the ring. Eddie bullied Ridge around good, but Ridge did have one good moment in that match.
Aries/King/Titus vs. Lynn/Delirious/Black – The moves were good, but again the main event was really spotty and hard to grade because the match went all over the place. I give credit to Lynn for selling well for the most part, and Aries’ team really tried to slow it down. It just seemed that Black was just there to even the match and hit random spots. However, I thought the match for the most part was a good main event but it could have been a bit slower and a bit shorter. I was not a fan of the No Contest finish, but I have to say they continued the feud between five of the six wrestlers. Also, it appears that Black will now have a new opponent to worry about, Kevin Steen. That was a good ending to this wrestling segment. Leave it to Steen to ground Tyler Black.
Overall Thoughts
I did not mean to be harsh on the main event, but the buildup that this program got I was expecting more. If one likes spots and high-flying execution, that match was for you. I thought I was generous in giving this match a B-. As for the other matches, they were squashes so I can’t really give it a higher grade than that.
The storylines are coming into complete fruition and this could lead to better programming in the long haul. From The Embassy to Steen/Generico, I though the production team did a spot on job with their segments. Also, how about four managers in one hour! FOUR! When was the last time a wrestling fan witnessed that?
So, overall I found the non-wrestling bits very good, but the matches at times lacked moments. Two squashes don’t help and I was a big disappointed with the main event. And if a reader has been reading this recap since I began typing the ROH recap for WrestleView, then the reader should in fact know that I am wrestling first/segments second.
Grade: C
-Mr. V’s Pick Three of the Week-
Wrestler of the Week: Jerry Lynn
I was a bit harsh on Lynn, but out of the six men that competed in the main event I thought he was the best worker. His moves were good and the timing was mostly right on. Also, he sold it with King, Titus, and Aries attacked him.
Disappointment of the Week: 66% of card was squashes
I am sorry, but at least maybe have a mid-card feud. I understand a squash to make a statement or have a tune-up, but two of them in 20-25 minutes of programming? It is just not my cup of tea.
Surprise of the Week: The amount of managers in a one hour show
If you don’t believe me, a rundown:
Prince Nana and Ernesto Osiris managed The Necro Butcher
Shane Hagadorn kind of managed Eddie Edwards
Austin Aries managed The All Night Express
Truth Martini managed The House of Truth and Roderick Strong
All of them are heels, but I am cool with it. I missed having managers on TV (or in this case computer screen) so I was pretty happy to watch a lost art. Mr. Fuji would be proud.
The ROH / HDNet Pick 6 Contenders Standings have been updated as of 6/22/10. (Credit: www.rohwrestling.com)
1. Roderick Strong
2. Christopher Daniels
3. Kevin Steen
4. Chris Hero
5. Davey Richards
6. Kenny King
There were no changes in the standings after the matches from the middle of June.
On July 17th in Philadelphia (TV Taping)
(3) Kevin Steen vs. Jerry Lynn
On July 22nd in Louisville:
(4) Chris Hero vs. Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana
On July 23rd in Collinsville, IL:
(1) Roderick Strong (w/Truth Martini) vs. Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana
On July 24th in Chicago Ridge, IL:
(1) Roderick Strong vs. Austin Aries
Thanks for reading my latest ROH Recap. See you the week of June 28, 2010.
E-mail: mistervwv@hotmail.com
Facebook: Anthony J. Valvo (Pittsburgh, PA)
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