ROH on HDNet Recap
August 2, 2010
The Arena, 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 a video package of the rivalry between the Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe) and The Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero). The narrator with the disembodied voice said their rivalry turned into a bloody war. Tonight, they will compete in singles’ matches as Jay Briscoe will take on Claudio Castagnoli and Mark Briscoe will take on Chris Hero. Soon, it will be time to find out who will in fact, “man up” after this edition of ROH.
No Kidd Russell theme tonight, he has the night off.
The show began with The Embassy walking to the ring. They will have a tag team match next.
Before I go on, I will explain what this “Tag Wars” is for the uneducated. ROH has three different groups of four different tag teams competing for a spot in the Ultimate Endurance Match against The Kings of Wrestling on August 28th. At the end of this I will provide information on who advanced and so forth.
Tag Wars Tournament (1st Round)
Embassy members Shawn Daivari and Ernesto Osiris (w/Prince Nana) vs. Dark City Fight Club (Jon Davis and Kory Chavis)
The Embassy was welcomed with toilet paper and the Dark City Fight Club was welcomed with streamers. The Embassy offered a handshake, but the DCFC wanted no part of it. No Code of Honor applied.
Notes on Embassy: Daivari started their side of the offense with a few punches and a boot on Chavis. Osiris got out of the way of a charging Davis outside in which Davis got into the ROH barricade. Daivari worked Chavis’ shoulder well with snaps and holds. Osiris actually got in some offense as well; he worked a bit on the shoulder as well. Daivari was tagged in very quickly and worked the arm on Davis, just like he did to Chavis. Osiris actually connected on a missile kick to Davis! Daivari near the end was able to hit a nice frog splash, but it was not enough for The Embassy to score a victory.
Notes on DCFC: Both members really went at Daivari and Osiris to start with punches inside the ring and an all-out brawling style outside the ring. Davis worked on Osiris with a whip to the ROH barricade and then a chop. When finally in control inside the ring, Davis was able to connect on a beautiful spinning powerslam on Osiris, I believe. Chavis worked on Daivari for a bit during the match, and was crisp with modified side slam and a devastating spinebuster! Near the end of the match, I was impressed with Davis doing the Pounce move on Daivari so the DCFC could end this match.
Finish: The Dark City Fight Club got hold of Ernesto Osiris and destroyed him with Project Mayhem (Cutter/Powerbomb combination)! Kory Chavis pinned Osiris and the DCFC advance in the 2010 Tag Wars.
Winners by Pinfall: The Dark City Fight Club
Grade: C
After the match, Davis grabbed hold of Prince Nana, but Daivari pulled Nana away from any harm.
The viewing audience then saw a highlight from last week in with The Briscoes dressed as “ninjas” to defeat The Kings of Wrestling in a non-title match.
Kyle Durden was backstage with The Briscoes after the highlights. Jay told Kyle that they had to do what they had to do, which was dress like ninjas to attack their rivals. Mark cut in and said that now they are out for blood. Jay talked about whooping them now they have singles matches with them. Mark said that he would be Hero like “a red-headed stepchild”. Jay said he will whoop on Castagnoli.
Main events were plugged. One will be Jay Briscoe vs. Claudio Castagnoli. The other will be Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Hero.
After the little promo, Eddie Edwards was in the ring with a microphone in his hand. Edwards welcomed us to the Eddie Edwards 10 Minute Hunt. Edwards sadi that the hunt would continue tonight. He said tonight, someone may actually have a shot at earning the title match. The other option was that a lamb may be led to slaughter. Some enhancement talent entered the ring to some jobber-type music. Edwards asked what his name was and where he was from. Edwards will take on Jay Freddie from Watertown, New York. Eddie called him “Frankie” and asked if he thought he could survive ten minutes in the ring. Edwards then handed Freddie the title to look at it. Once Freddie grabbed the bait, Edwards clubbed him with the microphone and the hunt was on! Ring the Bell with No Code of Honor!
Eddie Edwards Ten-Minute Hunt (If Freddie survived ten minutes, he got a title shot)
ROH Television Champion Eddie Edwards (w/Shane Hagadorn) vs. Jay Freddie
Notes on Edwards: He stomped and chopped Freddie to start. Once Freddie got an advantage, Edwards countered with a front suplex to the ropes. Edwards followed that up with a boot to the head. Edwards ended the match after no selling a bit of offense.
Notes on Freddie: He fought for his life tonight, as he countered Edwards’ early attack with some armdrags and a dropkick. He was able to connect on a low dropkick and actually executed a nice Top Rope Hurricanranna. When Edwards was outside, Freddie connected on a Suicide Dive through the ropes! When Freddie went high-risk, it spelled doom for his chances to fight for the title.
Finish: Eddie Edwards got out of the way of a flying Jay Freddie. Edwards grabbed hold of Freddie’s leg and applied the Achillies’ Lock while stomping Freddie’s head in. The referee in charge (ROH’s resident referee Todd Sinclair) called the match and Edwards won by submission. Freddie tapped with 7:40 left on the clock, so he did not get the title shot.
Winner by Submission: Eddie Edwards at 2:20.
Grade: D
After the match, Edwards posed with the title.
The viewing audience then saw highlights from what seemed months ago when Austin Aries and Kenny King took out Delirious. Aries jumped from the top rope and landed an ax punch towards the neck area of Delirious. It was pretty violent because King held Delirious’ throat along the ROH barricade.
It was advertized that Austin Aries will battle Delirious next.
Stay Tuned next week, ROH fans! Necro Butcher will take on “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown. Also, in the main event it will be Tyler Black vs. Christopher Daniels in a non-title match.
Kyle Durden was backstage once again. His guest this time was “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown. Durden said that his match with Necro Butcher will be “Butcher’s Rules”. Brown said that Necro liked boards, but so does he. Brown mentioned that he is from Gary, Indiana and a match that featured “Butcher’s Rules” is a lot like kids playing tag. He then told Necro and Prince Nana that they wrote a check that they can’t cash. Brown said that Necro pissed off the biggest man on the planet and “Pain is Coming”.
Delirious (w/Daizee Haze) vs. Aus……
…Wait, it appears that Austin Aries is not in ring attire and is holding his throat. He asked for a mic.
Aries has a microphone in one hand and a pipe in the other hand. This led to some “Austin sucks” chants. Aries said to keep it down because he can’t talk. Aries said that he had every intention to take care of Delirious, but he was sick and had a note from the doctor. The note stated that he was (there were some bu!!sh!t chants here) was a case of 3rd Degree Laryngitis and could not compete. However, Aries said that he found someone to take his place in the locker room. The replacement would be Kenny King! King then entered the ring and asked Aries if everything was ok.
Delirious (w/Daizee Haze) vs. Kenny King (w/Austin Aries)
Delirious got streamers before Aries entered the ring. Aries and King got nothing. No Code of Honor in this match.
Notes on Delirious: His offense started with a great snap mare, and then a dropkick that looked a bit dangerous because King may have ran too quick to the kick. Delirious showed good emotions throughout the contest. After running King’s head to the corners, he ran right at Austin Aries. Delirious escaped King on a couple occasions, but King temporarily saved Aries. Delirious had great reactions after that, he ducked down on King and did a sliding kick to Aries. Delirious then went right at Aries with punches. Once that was done, King did generate a good bit of offense. One thing that I was real impressed with was the headbutts to counter King’s offense. He also hit a nice Low-STO and applied the Cobra Clutch on King near the end. However, Aries got the better of him in the end.
Notes on King: When the bell rings, Delirious goes crazy for some reason. King was wise and left the ring while Delirious went nuts. I really enjoyed his character this time; he was so cocky and riled up the fans really well. When Delirious had control, King was wise to leave the ring and call a time out so he can get advice from his manager. Once Delirious got his hands on Aries, King delivered a knee to Delirious. King also did a nice job working the back and head during the match. One move of his I thought was really interesting was his vertical suplex, and then he flips over and does some press punches. He also worked the corners well thanks in part to running clotheslines. When Delirious had the Cobra Clutch locked in on King, Aries saved him by blowing smoke (from the pipe) in Delirious’ eyes. With that distraction, Delirious shouted at Aries and Kenny King was able to finish the match to his favor.
Finish: With Delirious yelling at Austin Aries from the corner, Kenny King hit the Shotgun Knees to the Corner (like the D’Angelo Dinero Express) and scored a pinfall victory.
Winner by Pinfall: Kenny King
Grade: B-
After the match, Aries and King celebrated their victory. Delirious then clotheslined King in frustration, which led to Aries escaping his clutches.
The cameras are in the ROH Studios, where Mike Hogewood mocked Austin Aries’ “injury”. Hogewood said that those men will have their day with Delirious one day. Dave Prazak plugged Glory by Honor IX, which will take place in Manhattan, NY on September 11.
The viewing audience then saw highlights promoting next week’s main event. It will be Tyler Black vs. Christopher Daniels for the first time ever!
Co-Main Event
ROH World Tag Team Champion Claudio Castagnoli (w/Sara Del Ray and Shane Hagadorn) vs. Jay Briscoe
Before the match started, Shane Hagadorn grabbed the mic and spoke! Hagadorn said as a direct result of the Briscoes, this would be the last time they face Chris or Claudio. Hagadorn said that The Kings would be looking for bigger and better competition.
Jay Briscoe ran in and started to pound away. The Voice of ROH Bobby Cruise could not get the ring introduction in and the match began on the spot with no Code of Honor.
Notes on Castagnoli: After he sold a bit, he hit a European Uppercut. He was able to hit the running boot on the ring ropes with the help of Hagadorn. Outside the ring, Castagnoli did a nice job with the whip to the barricade and followed that up with an uppercut. He showed great strength after a Legdrop. Castagnoli hit a Bulldog, and then did an armlock in the middle of the ring. He showed more power during the match with a nice Scoop Powerslam. He then connected with a big boot. One impressive feat was that he executed a perfect Dead Lift Gutwretch Suplex. Moments later, he executed a perfect German Suplex and then hit some Very European Uppercuts. Near the end, Castagnoli and Briscoe exchanged pinfall attempts, but even though he was pretty good in this match it was not his night.
Notes on Jay Briscoe: He went right to town on Castagnoli with punches and then brawled a good bit at the corner. He continued to dominate at the start with a clothesline over the ropes and a chop along the ROH barricade. One thing that he did not do a lot of was selling, but I think that was a part of the character as he wanted this match more. He came back with punches after Castagnoli’s uppercut offense. He was able to fly well; his crossbody splash was pretty good. One thing that looked real painful on Castagnoli’s part was Jay’s Death Valley Driver. I don’t blame Jay because it appeared that Castagnoli was not ready to be dropped. Before the end of the match, I loved how Jay gave Hagadorn a running boot (it’s about time Hagadorn put himself in harm’s way).
Finish: After a series of pinfall attempts by both Claudio Castagnoli and Jay Briscoe, it was Jay that scored the last one and Castagnoli’s shoulders were down for the three count!
Winner by Pinfall: Jay Briscoe
Grade: B-
After the match, Chris Hero immediately ran in and connected with an elbow to Jay. Castagnoli and Hero then set up and connected on the KRS-ONE. Mark Briscoe quickly ran in and punched away on Hero. The match began right away with no Code of Honor.
Co-Main Event
ROH World Tag Team Champion Chris Hero (w/Sara Del Ray, Shane Hagadorn, and Claudio Castagnoli) vs. Mark Briscoe
Notes on Hero: After Mark connected with a ton of offense at his direction, Hero managed to escape and catch a breather. Hero then did what he did best; use his lightning running kicks and his elbow strikes. After a distraction, he was able to connect with a neckbreaker. He then delivered a couple of nice elbow strikes. Moments later, Hero was able to execute a nice Leg Cradle Suplex. After a running elbow to the corner, he applied the Cravat and then did a nice running dropkick. Hero then worked the upper body at the corner with an elbow and chops. Castagnoli helped a good bit, like a good tag team partner in a feud. Hero then slammed Mark down and then set up a great Moonsault (too bad he did not connect on that). I will write this about Hero, his Rolling Elbow could kill someone but Hero does that perfectly. Hero then hit a nice Powerbomb, but Mark kicked out. Hero did get a hold of the Loaded Elbow Pad, but was not able to connect with it.
Notes on Mark Briscoe: After some quick strikes to start, he got Hero off the ropes and connected on a great leg thrust kick. He was very intense with the corner attacks (chops and headbutts). Mark then executed with a nice vertical suplex and followed it up with ground punches. Mark continued the domination at the start by raking Hero’s face along the ropes and using his hands as well. When Shane Hagadorn tried to help Hero out, Mark went up top and hit a crossbody which landed on Hagadorn and Hero perfectly. Hero tried to do a sliding kick, but Mark escaped and did a vertical suplex on the floor. Again like Jay, I wished that Mark sold a bit better when Hero attacked him, but I guess that is all part of the vigilante character that this team is portraying. Mark’s punches were pretty crisp throughout the contest. He did hit a Spinning Heel Kick, but it could have been done a little better. Still, it was a good kick. Mark immediately connected with a Brainbuster after that. Later on, He hit a modified powerbomb that looked painful to watch. He got away from the Death Blow for a nice ending.
Finish: As Chris Hero was about to set up the Death Blow on Mark Briscoe, Mark countered it with a Backslide Pin Attempt. Jay Briscoe made sure there was no interference as he took out Claudio Castagnoli as the referee counted three on the mat. Mark Briscoes wins and The Briscoes get a sweep in Singles competition!
Winner via Pinfall: Mark Briscoe
Grade: B
After the match, Hero is pulled away while Jay Briscoe entered the ring with Mark Briscoe. The Briscoes celebrate in the ring as the show goes off the air.
At the end of the show, ROH shows a video package promoting their Tag Team Division. Featured in this video were the best tag teams that ROH could offer (The Briscoes, The American Wolves, Dark City Fight Club, The All-Night Express, and the ROH World Tag Team Champions The Kings of Wrestling). On September 11, ROH welcomes the team of…Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin!!!! It will be on gofightlive.tv! That is awesome!
Quick Results
The Dark City Fight Club def. Shawn Daivari and Ernesto Osiris by pinfall to advance in the 2010 Tag Wars.
ROH Television Champion Eddie Edwards def. Jay Freddie via Submission in an Eddie Edwards 10-Minute Challenge.
Kenny King def. Delirious via Pinfall.
Jay Briscoe def. ROH World Tag Team Champion Claudio Castagnoli via Pinfall.
Mark Briscoe def. ROH World Tag Team Champion Chris Hero via Pinfall.
The Porpoise was safe this week. Mike Hogewood did not slap the sea creature this week!
Overall Thoughts and Grade
Sorry, but no breakdown this week. I will only provide the overall thoughts and grade as I am planning the 2010 Mid-Year Awards this week.
The non wrestling segments were short and to the point. The Briscoes talked about how they would beat The Kings of Wrestling and they did their promo their way. They were not bad, but it was hard to understand them because they consistently cut each other off. Rasche Brown’s backstage interview was surprisingly good. His goal was to build up some hype for his match with Necro Butcher, and I thought his words were strong and clear.
The wrestling was there this week. My goodness, FIVE matches in one hour? And all of them kind of told a story.
The Embassy and Dark City Fight Club are in a feud and this first round match made a lot of sense. I think the right team went over and I am looking forward to seeing more of Jon Davis and Kory Chavis. In my opinion, DCFC are the most underrated tag team in professional wrestling today.
Eddie Edwards won a quick match, but I was not pleased about it. Usually a “jobber” should be squashed and the champion should showcase what they can do. I think the booking of this was poor because Jay Freddie actually generated more offense than the champion.
Good story with Delirious and Kenny King (with Austin Aries mixed in). They had a pretty solid middle of the card contest that continued their bitter feud. I thought the way Aries kept running away from danger was brilliant and he was the perfect instigator. King was the true winner, as he scored a good win over a proven ROH talent in Delirious. Delirious was entertaining, but should have focused a bit more on his opponent. Still, I thought the finish was good and it is helping Kenny King get over as a higher mid-card heel and I think that is what they are going for.
Claudio vs. Jay was a bit too quick. I thought the overall layout of the match was good, but I was hoping for a little bit more in terms of the rivalry. It worked for Jay, as he showed intensity from start to finish. Castagnoli was too relaxed in there, but his moves were very effective. I just wished that Jay sold a bit.
Same went with Mark Briscoe. Mark showed great intensity, but did not sell a whole lot of Hero’s offense and that bothered me a little bit. Hero was near perfect in his arsenal, his elbow strikes were perfect. I thought Hero wrestled a good match, but too bad he lost in this one. Mark’s moves were pretty good and he told a good story in terms of his character. But I just thinking something was missing with Jay and Mark Briscoe. However after their victories over The Kings of Wrestling, it made me believe that The Briscoes could in fact win back those tag titles in a couple months.
I thought overall, the show had many strong points. But the Briscoes promo and Eddie Edwards’ segment was a little down. It was not a great show ROH produced, but it was better than most of their shows. Next time, don’t have five matches in one hour.
Overall Grade: B
-Mr. V’s Pick Three of the Night-
Wrestler of the Night: Mark Briscoe
Mark was the most intense character on the show. Sure, I may have been hard on him but he won the main event and looked great with his offense.
Disappointment of the Night: Eddie Edwards
For being the Television Champion, Edwards gave Jay Freddie too much offense in the limited time this match got on HDNet. ROH, Edwards is the champ. Let him wrestle like one.
Surprise of the Night: What was announced for Glory by Honor IX
At the end of the show, ROH announced that Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin (aka The World’s Greatest Tag Team) will battle The Kings of Wrestling in a non-title match on September 11, 2010. This was a big surprise because I am sure many wrestling fans thought Haas and Benjamin would go to TNA. Even if this is a one-night only performance, this is a huge win for Ring of Honor. This match along could be worth the fifteen dollars to pay for this Internet PPV.
Pick 6 Standings (as of 7/25/10)
1) Roderick Strong
2) Christopher Daniels
3) Kevin Steen
4) Colt Cabana
5) Chris Hero
6) Davey Richards (who will be challenging Tyler Black for the title very soon)
ROH Tag Wars 2010
Group A:
NECRO BUTCHER/ERICK STEVENS def. “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown/Grizzly Redwood
JAY BRISCOE/MARK BRISCOE def. Christian Able/Josh Raymond
Group B:
COLT CABANA/EL GENERICO def. Davey Richards/Eddie Edwards
KENNY KING/RHETT TITUS def. Delirious/Jerry Lynn
Group C:
JON DAVIS/KORY CHAVIS def. Shawn Daivari/Ernesto Osiris
HARLEM BRAVADO/LANCE BRAVADO def. Player Uno/Player Dos
That does it for ROH on HDNet (the recap edition). I am Anthony J. Valvo and I hope you have a good weekend. See you on Thursday with another “From the Desk of Mr. V” column!
E-mail: mistervwv@hotmail.com
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