ROH on HDNet Recap
September 13, 2010
The Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Commentators: Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak
Report by: Anthony J. Valvo of Wrestleview.com
After two weeks….
The following is an exclusive presentation of Ring of Honor Wrestling…on HDNet!
Before Kidd Russell’s theme song, Kyle Durden was backstage with Grizzly Redwood. Durden asked Redwood about his thoughts on The Embassy. Redwood said The Embassy bothers him and then Austin Aries interfered and asked how Redwood was doing. Redwood said he was alright and Aries said he wanted to talk to Redwood for a moment.
Aries said to Redwood that he must compete in a Lumberjack match with Delirious and said that he wanted to help each other out. Aries asked Redwood if he could take some “liberties” on Delirious when he is out of the ring. Redwood looked confused, rejected Aries because it would be in violation of the “Lumberjack Code”. Aries said that he understood and the interview resumed. Durden said what Redwood did was admirable when out of nowhere Aries ran back and clubbed Redwood across the back. Aries then talked on the mic and said that we make choices in life. We make choices that are right or wrong. Aries said that Delirious was making wrong choices…and he will make him and Daizee Haze pay for those wrong choices.
The Kid Russell’s theme played at this time.
Tonight’s Main Event: Austin Aries vs. Delirious in a Lumberjack match
Match #1: Rhett Titus (w/Austin Aries) vs. Christopher Daniels
Before the match, both wrestlers received streamers. Daniels wanted to shake Titus’ hand for the Code of Honor, but Titus reached down his trunks and then offered his hand. Daniels pulled back from the handshake.
Notes on Titus: Once in control, he executed some nice armdrags to start his offense. When Daniels was up top, Titus connected perfectly with a dropkick. Aries did push Daniels back in the ring when the ref was not looking. After a Slingshot Necksnap, Titus connected with an awesome neckbreaker. After working the corner for a bit, Titus connected on a nice lariat. Titus kept Daniels grounded with a chinlock. He countered the Angel’s wings with a powerbomb. Overall, this was a very stellar performance by Titus.
Notes on Daniels: He started the match up by tying Titus to the corner. He then applied a headlock and twisted it on a good bit. He was solid with his punches and his heel kick in the middle of the match was done well. When in trouble, he found a way to connect the STO to manage the time of the match. When he applied the Koji Clutch Submission, Aries distracted Daniels. After a moment of Titus’ offense, Daniels had enough of Aries and shoved Titus right at his manager. Daniels also did a very good job in this match.
Finish: After Christopher Daniels shoved Rhett Titus into Austin Aries, he planted Titus with the Ura-Nage. Once Titus was positioned near a corner, Daniels connected with the Best Moonsault Ever (BME) to end the match in an impressive opener.
Winner via Pinfall: Christopher Daniels
Grade: B
Coming up soon will be Davey Richards’s decision whether or not he will re-sign with Ring of Honor. If you did not watch the iPPV you will have to wait a moment.
Match #2: Ricky Reyes and Aiden Chambers vs. The House of Truth (Christian Able and Josh Raymond w/Truth Martini)
No Code of Honor was applied. As a matter of fact, I won’t do that anymore. It seems like the Code of Honor is a rarity now.
Notes on Reyes and Chambers: Chambers started the match, but was a bit sloppy with the leg lariat. Chambers took a beating until he was able to hot tag Reyes. Reyes was spot on, connecting with a DDT on Able and dishing out kicks and destroyed Raymond with a Bulldog. Reyes continued the attacks with an Enzugiri on one member and powered the other with a Michinoku Driver. Chambers came back into the match and was not much of a factor.
Notes on The House of Truth: Raymond started the match and clubbed the back of Chambers. Both members did a good blend of combination moves. There was one that caught my eye, and that was the Moonsault (Raymond)/backbreaker (Able) combination. Able delivered some punches on Chambers. There was a bit of confusion late in the match involving this team. I was a bit disappointed to see the cheating tactic to end the match, because it was to put this team over, right?
Finish: I am not sure what the move is called, but when Aiden Chambers was picked up wheelbarrow-style by Christian Able, The House of Truth connected with a Senton (Josh Raymond)/Face Plant (Able) combination.
When Raymond pinned Chambers to end this contest, Mike Hogewood SLAPPED HIS PORPOISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Winners via Pinfall: The House of Truth.
Grade: C-
Mike Hogewood mentioned that Glory by Honor IX arrived and Dave Prazak said you could watch it (hopefully free from feeding errors) on gofightlive.tv and he said to check the latest in ROH Wrestling on rohwrestling.com.
Next was the taped segment in which ROH Executive Jim Cornette sat down and asked Davey Richards his future plans in his life. To sum up all that Richards said, it was the following.
Richards was not at Glory by Honor, as he had a prior commitment in Japan. Cornette asked Richards if he was retiring from professional wrestling. Richards said that he looked at wrestling different and that he was very committed to the sport. Richards said that wrestling consumed him and then he met a girl. Richards said that he still had the desire, but he was not the World Champion. He then mentioned that Final Battle 2010 might had been his final battle, and then his mother called him. Richards said that his mom is “mentally not there”, but his mom told him that “you did not choose wrestling, wrestling chose you”. Cornette asked Richards what that all meant.
Richards said that he was not going anywhere. Richards said that he lost everything, except wrestling. Richards then concluded by saying that one day he will be a World Champions. So there you have it! Davey Richards will stay in ROH after 2010.
Match #3: The Super Smash Brothers (Player Uno and Player Dos) vs. The American Wolves (ROH TV Champion Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards)
Remember, Richards “fired” Shane Hagadorn as the team’s manager. The Super Smash Brother did not get a ring introduction (confusing). The Wolves got streamers as they entered the ring.
Notes on the Smash Bros: Player Uno started the match off on his end with a shoulder block on Richards. Uno took out Edwards with a heel kick (which was not bad given his size). The team impressed with a double suicide dive to the Wolves during this match. The Smash Brothers did another combination move moments later, when they did a Side Slam/Elbow combination on Richards. Uno later did a Chinbreaker on Edwards and then they did a pretty good Moonsault/Fist Drop combination. Wow, Uno dumped Richards down on the floor, while Dos delivered a great looking crossbody on Edwards. Dos also avoided an attack by The Wolves and delivered a Double Pele Kick. Dos also did an Overhead Suplex on Richards. Uno then pulled Edwards over and connected with a sloppy moonsault. Near the end of the match, The Smash Brothers hit an amazing modified cutter. The moves were great, but the team was extremely spotty.
Notes on The Wolves: Richards started the match off with a headlock on Uno. Richards then came out swinging at Uno and then connected with a missile dropkick. Edwards came in and connected with a double stomp move on Uno’s back. Edwards then hit a nice suplex on Uno. Richards administered more pain on Uno with a Side Russian Leg Sweep into a submission hold. After an exchange of punches and slaps, Richards connected with a kick. Edwards came in and delivered a chop to Dos, then Edwards went up top and connected with a missile kick. After a series of kicks (A shining wizard by Edwards and The Alarm Clock by Richards), The Wolves finished off the Super Smash Brothers in a very spotty, fast way.
Finish: After a clothesline by Davey Richards, The American Wolves finished off Player Dos with a Powerbomb/Lung Blower combination move. Eddie Edwards got a two count on Player Dos and immediately rolled Dos up into The Achillies Lock. Dos tapped out and the Wolves won by Submission.
Winners via Submission: The American Wolves
Grade: C+
Delirious was backstage breathing heavy in this next video package. This was the same as the package weeks ago. Clips of his feud with Austin Aries were shown this moment. Delirious just stood there and Daizee Haze (Delirious’ manager) said that the only thing on their sights is revenge. There were more highlights of their feud and in the next match, Aries cannot run nor hide because the match will be a Lumberjack match.
The Voice of ROH Bobby Cruise announced the MAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN EVENT!!!! Cruise also goes over the rules of the Lumberjack match. Some ROH wrestlers and enhancement talent surround the ring. The most “notable” Lumberjacks were members of The Embassy (who later helped out Aires) , Rasche Brown, The Dark City Fight Club, and Grizzly Redwood (Brown, DCFC, and Redwood aided Delirious).
Match #4
Lumberjack Match
Austin Aries vs. Delirious
When Aries entered the ring, someone held the ropes for him. Delirious entered the ring wearing red. If you are new to ROH, when Delirious wears red he is more focused and may (at time) spit out some mist. Usually, Delirious dons the green. Daizee Haze is not at ringside for this match. Streamers were thrown for Delirious.
Notes on Aries: He started his offense by drilling Delirious’ head on the turnbuckle. He really addressed the head and neck region. After he delivered a kick, he pounded away on Delirious. When he was dumped outside of the ring, the lumberjacks (which were Embassy members) gave him a breather. After the break, Aries did a back rake. Then he delivered a Shin Breaker and a nice throw to the mat. When he dumped Delirious out of the ring, Aries captured the moment and ran full force and delivered the Heat Seeking Missile. When they were back in the ring, Aries delivered some punches and then connected with the IED kick to the corner. Moments later, Aries was in trouble and Rhett Titus helped out Aries a bit in the end. Aries in this match had great control and his character was very good throughout.
Notes on Delirious: Once Delirious got his hands on Aries early, he was not going to let go. Delirious started the match off with a choke and delivered some painful chops along the corner. He then slapped Aries around and yelled only how Delirious can yell. When Delirious was shoved out of the ring, he was on the side of Rasche Brown, The Dark City Fight Club, and Grizzly Redwood (they gave Delirious a breather). Delirious was crisp with his dropkick and his headbutts. He used those frequently in the match. Delirious was unique also in breaking holds, as he at one point bit Aries’ leg to get some space. After Aries was in control, Delirious connected with a neckbreaker to buy some more time. Delirious gained the advantage after a back drop and then landed three back sentons to Aries’ back. After a Low STO and headbutts, Delirious connected with a Cobra Suplex and it was nicely done. Later, he connected with the big knee to the corner and when Aries went out of the ring where The Embassy protected him, Delirious went up top and connected on a great flip dive to the floor (this was the move of the night in my opinion).
Near the end of the match, the lumberjacks all brawled with each other. The finish happened moments later.
Finish: As the lumberjacks attacked each other, Rhett Titus entered the ring from the top rope and landed his knee to Delirious’ injured throat area. Aries used a modified Cutter (don’t know what the finish is called) that targeted Delirious’ throat. Aries covered Delirious for the pinfall victory.
Winner via Pinfall: Austin Aries
Grade: B- (leaned to a B)
After the match, Aries and Titus celebrate some more while the lumberjacks continued to brawl.
Next Week’s Main Event: Aries won’t be able to run and hide because Delirious will get one more shot at Austin Aries. Next Week, it will be Delirious vs. Austin Aries in a Steel Cage. Personally, it has been a long while since ROH on HDNet had a cage match.
End of Show.
Quick Results
* Christopher Daniels defeated Rhett Titus (w/Austin Aries) via pinfall.
* The House of Truth (w/Truth Martini) defeated Ricky Reyes and Aiden Chambers via pinfall.
* The American Wolves defeated The Super Smash Brothers via submission.
* Austin Aries defeated Delirious via pinfall in a Lumberjack Match.
Mike Hogewood’s SLAP THE PORPOISE moment of the week was then The House of Truth finished off Aiden Chambers.
Thoughts on the non-wrestling segments
Aries attacked Redwood – First off, I am a fan (and borderline “mark”) for Grizzly Redwood and to see him get a little bit of air time was pretty awesome. Redwood’s interaction with Austin Aries was done very well, as Aries tried to bully Redwood into helping him out. Redwood said he could not because of the “Lumberjack Code”. Aries then attacked him from behind and hyped up his match. So in my opinion, it was done well.
Davey’s Decision – I think everyone knew he was going to return to ROH and he may very well be “next-in-line” for the ROH World Championship now owned by Roderick Strong. I liked how Richards sounded in this interview; you saw a different side to Richards that make you believe his decision was tough. I think he spoke very well about this decision and I am glad to see him re-sign with ROH.
Outside of minor hypes and already-done promos, that was it. It was a very wrestling heavy show.
Thoughts on the wrestling matches
Daniels vs. Titus – I was very impressed with the opening match on HDNet. When in control, this was the best I ever seen in Rhett Titus. Titus has improved in every aspect in such a short amount of time and he really made me believe he could top Daniels. As for Daniels, he took a lot of punishment and sold it pretty well. He was still able to finish off Titus to make the fans happy. Still, it was a good performance by both wrestlers and if anything it should give Rhett Titus a HUGE boost on the ROH roster.
Reyes/Chambers vs. House of Truth – I was not a fan of this match. The only thing I found in this match was that The House of Truth needed a quick victory to be in the mix of a loaded tag team division. Reyes was pretty good in this match, while Chambers bumped a lot. Raymond showed some pretty good flying moves while Able showed a bit of power. However, this match was just everywhere and too fast to follow this story. But the H.O.T. got the win, so mission accomplished.
Smash Brothers vs. American Wolves – It was nice, quick action from both teams. I wondered why the Smash Brothers did not get an intro and originally thought it was going to be a squash. But it turned out to be a decent first half but a really spotty second half with the lack of any selling. I was impressed with Player Uno, he showed power and surprising quickness. The Wolves for the most part usually provided good spots and finished it at a high level. Still there was no “legal tags” and that bugged me because I could not tell who was legal on both teams until I watched it again.
Aries vs. Delirious – I really liked the story in this match, as well as the execution. Both wrestlers were strong in the ring and with their psychology. It was fun to watch all of this play out. Delirious was desperate to attack Aries and did a fantastic job tearing him apart throughout the match with strikes and rarely went to the air. When Titus entered the ring and got a cheap shot on Delirious that made me wonder if we will soon see a Delirious/Titus program. If that is the case, I will enjoy it. Aries got the win, and I am fine with that call. Aries’ character makes many want to see him get his butt kicked all around the place. But Aries’ character is very intelligent and found a way to get the victory. Overall, it was a good main event now they are battling next week in a cage, which makes for good TV if you have HDNet (which I don’t and have to watch it on YouTube a day later).
Overall Thoughts and Grade
There were only a couple segments mentioning this week and both were solid hits. Richards’ decision was pretty good and slowed down and Aries’ interaction with Redwood was highly entertaining.
The wrestling was pretty good for the most part. The opening match and the main event were very good, while the tag team matches were just everywhere with no discipline whatsoever. It’s just me, I guess. I don’t mind when a team goes out of the “rule book” once or twice. But it seemed like they should have just had a Tornado Tag the way they were booked.
So, did I enjoy the show? Yes, yes I did.
Overall Grade: B-
-Mr. V’s Pick Three of the Night-
Wrestler of the Night: Delirious
He may not have won this match, but he was very impressive in defeat. His goal was to attack Austin Aries with no remorse, and he did just that.
Disappointment of the Night: The Tag Team Matches
For their in-depth tag team division, I just felt that the matches really were disappointing. Just slow down the formula and let the guys tag each other. That is all I have to type about that.
Surprise of the Night: Rhett Titus
This was a no-brainer. Titus really surprised me with his control against Christopher Daniels. I don’t know if it was because of Daniels’ experience, but Titus looked like a true top talent tonight. I hope this keeps up, because there is a ton of potential in Rhett Titus right now.
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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