ROH on HDNet Recap
February 1, 2010
ECW Arena, Philadelphia
Commentators: Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak
Report by: Anthony J. Valvo of WrestleView.com
**ALERT: Due to the recent snowstorm that hit the Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and other regions, Comcast Internet and Cable Services did not work at the time I would post the recap. I do give you my sincere apologies and it was not in my power that this happened. I hope that you all forgive me and that next week’s recap will be up a lot sooner. Thank goodness I still had power. If this was a ?Mr. V? column (every Thursday on WrestleView.com), Duquesne Light would get a ?Gold Star? and Comcast will get a much deserved ?Eternal Detention?. Thank you Comcast for ruining my entire weekend and I am kicking myself for having to pay for your services. Disgusting!**
Last week, Jim Cornette mentioned that the Main Event on ROH’s 8th Anniversary Show on February 13, 2010. It will be Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries for the Ring of Honor Championship! Last time these two men fought for the title it ended in a 60-minute draw. So in case of a draw, Jim Cornette told the combatants to find one person they would like to have as a judge. Aries took Kenny King. Black selected Roderick Strong. At the end of the segment, Cornette decided that the third judge for this match will be?himself!
Cornette is backstage right now and recapped what went on last week. He also announced that tonight’s main event will be Tyler Black vs. Roderick Strong
Enter Kidd Russell’s music and the show is underway!
I hear the ?Addicted to Love? theme, it’s RHETT TITUS!!
Match #1: Rhett Titus vs. Delirious (w/Daizee Haze)
Before the match, Titus gave out a ?hotel key? to a lucky female wrestling fan (she accepted graciously). When he entered the ring he was greeted by streamers and toilet paper. Delirious entered the ring with green streamers and while sitting at the corner he started to eat one of them. After the Code of Honor (Rhett reached inside his trunks and shook Delirious? hand), the match began.
After the bell, Delirious goes bonkers and Titus ran to a corner where he got the referee to back Delirious off of him. We then got a tie-up, and again Titus gets a hold of the rope and the hold is broken. Titus then got in a shoulder tackle, but Delirious got right back up from it and did some rope antics on Titus (Delirious would whip, and then tripped Titus). Delirious then whipped Titus off the rope and hit the hip toss. Titus left the ring and called for a time out. With Titus? back turned Delirious and Haze talk strategy. Haze then approached Titus like a siren and lured Titus toward Delirious). When Titus knew it was bad news he ran into the ring and the match continued.
Delirious got the upper hand and landed the inverted atomic drop on Titus. With Titus on the ground, Delirious landed three back sentons on him. Titus got back up and after Delirious countered a move by Titus, he grabbed a hold of his waist. Titus then ran to the ropes and Delirious? is down (Delirious? neck met the top rope). Titus then attacked the head and neck area of Delirious. Delirious then is whipped to the ropes and Titus picked him up and dropped him on the ropes again. Titus then landed a dropkick and covered Delirious, but failed to win by pinfall. Titus then got in an armlock. Delirious broke the hold with some punches, but Titus regained momentum when he got a hold of the tassels on Delirious? mask and delivered a knee stomp to the neck.
Delirious continued to fight off and did. After an attempted Cobra Clutch by Delirious, he was able to continue the advantage after Titus whiffed on a dropkick. Delirious is on fire at that moment, executing a dropkick and a series of clotheslines on Titus. Delirious attempted a suplex, but Titus rammed him to a corner and delivered some shoulder thrusts on Delirious. Delirious then regained control with a boot from the corner and a beautifully placed missile dropkick to Titus? back. Delirious then executed a German Suplex with a Bridge cover for 2. Delirious then continued to punish Titus with a series of clotheslines, but Titus regained control with a Leaping Leg Lariat. After an attempted cover by Titus, Delirious rolled up Titus but did not secure the victory.
Titus missed a kick to the corner, and Delirious capitalized the error with a running knee to Titus? head. Delirious attempted the Shadows over Hell finisher, but Titus got a hold of Delirious and hit the Super Sex Factor. Titus almost got the pinfall victory, but did not obviously. Titus went for his finisher, but Delirious countered and we got our first?
Finish: Delirious destroyed Titus with the Bizarro Driver and got the pinfall victory.
Winner by Pinfall: Delirious.
Grade: B.
Now we get a look at the commentators for the evening. Hogewood said the show was off to a great start and he started to talk about the 8th Anniversary Show in Manhattan, NY on February 13. Prazak told the ROH fans to come to NYC. Hogewood then reiterated that tonight’s main event is Tyler Black vs. Roderick Strong.
Roderick Strong then had a video package and stated that he believe Black can beat Aries straight-up. Strong also mentioned that he will be Black if given the opportunity for the ROH Title.
We then saw for the millionth time (seemed like it) Kevin Steen’s turn on El Generico at Final Battle over a month ago.
Kyle Durden is now backstage with Steve Corino. Corino took credit for what Steen did and stated that Steen has the ability to be the champion someday. Corino said the reason why it has not happened yet was because of the dead weight that is El Generico. Generico got what he deserved according to Corino. Durden called the actions despicable and wrong. Corino then brought in Alex Payne to tell Durden that what Steen did was right. Payne said it was wrong and that both men should be ashamed. Meanwhile Steen was in the background and heard what Payne said. Steen then threw Payne down and kicked him a few times. Corino then asked the audience if now there is a problem for Steen’s actions. Both men then leave a prone Payne, but Steen got one more kick in. Bobby Dempsey asked if Payne was alright.
Back to the action!
Match #2: Sonjay Dutt vs. Colt Cabana
Cabana got a few streamers from the crowd. After the Code of Honor, the match began.
We started with a stare down and Cabana slapped Dutt around. We then got a tie-up in which Dutt applied the knucklelock in the end. Cabana then played around a bit with Dutt and reversed it. Dutt wanted a time out. We get another tie-up and once again Dutt with a knucklelock. Colt countered with a leg takedown and a pin for 2. Both men tried to apply the waistlock, but that ended when Cabana applied it on the referee. Dutt argued with the ref, but Cabana shoved the ref onto Dutt then covered him very awkwardly for a two count. Dutt then got a knee to the gut of Cabana and started to punch away. Cabana got control with a shoulder tackle, causing Dutt to roll out of harm’s way.
Dutt pulled Cabana to the outside and attacked Cabana with strikes to the upper body. Both men then enter the ring once more and Cabana is cornered. Dutt the hit a series of elbows on Cabana. Cabana reversed it and now he cornered Dutt and punched away. The ref got between both wrestlers, and Dutt capitalized with an enzugiri to Cabana. Dutt then ran around the ring to soak up some of the heat from the crowd. After a nonchalant pin attempt, the match continued.
Dutt controlled the match at the corner with shots to the head area of Cabana. Dutt then applied the chinlock, but as soon as that was broken Dutt executed a drop toe hold/cannonball combination. Dutt then went for the springboard moonsault, but Cabana got his knees up and Dutt lost all momentum. Cabana is up on his feet and started to attack with punches and elbows to the head of Dutt. Cabana then mimicked Dutt and hit him with a chop! Cabana then attempted the Colt .45, but could not get it in. Cabana still continued the attack with a Gutbuster! Dutt is at the corner and Cabana then hit the Butt-Butt. Dutt quickly recovered and did a very impressive head scissors takedown. Dutt then countered a running Cabana by getting between the ropes and hitting the pendulum kick. Dutt went up top and hit a terrific splash onto Cabana, but only got the two count. After a failed Camel Clutch and a series of rollups, we got our?
Finish: Colt Cabana set up and nailed the Colt .45 on Sonjay Dutt, then covered Dutt for the pinfall victory.
Winner by Pinfall: Colt Cabana
Grade: C+.
We then got a video promo from Tyler Black. Black said he wanted to prove his trust to Strong by having this match tonight. He then mentioned that he will beat Strong. Someone give this man some acting lessons.
We then go back to Final Battle once again, this time we saw the reunion of the Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero).
Sara Del Ray then introduced to the audience the Kings of Wrestling (w/Shane Hagadorn). Hero answered why the reunited. After going their separate ways, both men matured. Castagnoli then got a hold of the mic and said that they are back for one reason, the ROH Tag Titles because Kings?reign’supreme.
In the ring, Kyle Durden is with Shane Hagadorn and Prince Nana
**Mr. V ADHD Sarcastic Moment**. Ok, during the Kings promo when Shane was in the background, he had no hair and a chin goatee. Now he is in the ring with hair and a groomed beard. Truly Shane Hagadorn has the fastest growing hair in the wrestling business today. Hagadorn has to share his advice to someone like Serena Deeb from the WWE.
Ok, let’s get back to the promo. Both men are in the ring to explain the Kings reunion. Hagadorn talked about how Hero is great with his elbows and kicks. Prince Nana addressed how Castagnoli is dominant with his European Uppercut and Ricola Bomb. Durden asked why are these two men together, and Nana summed it up by saying ?money, power, and respect?. Eddie Kingston entered the ring and wanted one of the men to say that the Kings jumped him from behind a few weeks ago. Nana said that it was not Hero and Castagnoli that jumped him, it was these guys.
These guys were Erick Stevens and Joey Ryan. Both men sprint to the ring with Ernesto Osiris and are attacking Kingston once again. Necro Butcher then ran to the ring with a cone in his hand and The Embassy and Hagadorn escaped. For a Ring of Honor segment, it was pretty good.
Next Week as voted by the fans: The American Wolves vs. The Young Bucks
The audience then saw their epic ?A? match that they had back in November. American Wolves retained the ROH Tag Titles in what I thought was one of the best tag team matches in 2009.
That is next week’s main event. Now it was time for this Main Event!
Pick Six Contenders? Series Match (I assume winner still gets $2,500)
Match #3: Tyler Black vs. Roderick Strong
We did get The Code of Honor here, both men have that much respect for each other.
We started off the match with a tie-up. Both men then exchanged knucklelocks, but both found a way to break the hold. Both men tried different sets of maneuvers, but then all moves were countered and we were at square one. They once again went for signature moves, but each man found a way to reverse the tactics and the crowd ate this up. I for one did not, since after the first set it was not real original.
Then Austin Aries (finally, some character in this match) walked down the ramp with a chair, a bottle of wine, and a bucket of popcorn. After both Strong and Black were distracted, they both focused on each other. Both men then exchanged chops until Strong finally got some momentum with a dropkick. Strong covered Black, but the ref did not count three. The match continued and now both men were exchanging punches. Strong then chopped Black at the corner and Aries found this match boring (honestly so did I). Unlike me though, Aries showed his displeasure by throwing some popcorn to the corner were the action was taking place. Black reversed Strong’s offense and now Black chopped and stomped Strong at the corner. Strong came back with an elbow, then a knee. Then once again both men reversed the other’s attacks until Strong dropped Black over the top rope and near Aries. Aries then threw a handful of popcorn on Black until he decided to just clock Black’s back with the entire bucket of popcorn (I am not making this up). Black got back up and while Aries took a sip of his wine, Black hit the Superkick on Aries. That caused Aries to fall back out of his chair (hope no glass got near him).
Black then entered the ring and Strong hooked Black into a Butterfly Backbreaker. After Strong failed to cover for the win, Strong then hit another backbreaker and attempted to cover Black again. Strong got Black back on his feet and chopped him a good bit. Black quickly recovered and now both men exchanged punches and chops. Strong then grounded Black and applied the chinlock while his knee was on his back. Black then grabbed the ropes, but Strong took advantage of the five count and kept the hold locked. Strong then stomped on the chest a good bit. Black then recovered and did some shoulder thrusts, but Strong responded with yet another backbreaker. Strong attempted the cover, but did not get the three count. Strong then grounded Black with knee strikes to the back.
Black then recovered enough to deliver a chinbreaker and a series of chops, but as Black went off the ropes Strong grabbed hold and delivered a beautiful powerslam. Black somewhat no-sold the move got back up and again both men exchanged shots (Black with punches and Strong with chops). Black then hit the dropkick and now both men were down. Black then hit the hurricanranna, and then both men once again exchanged shots. Black was then able to dump Strong out of the ring and hit a Moonsault off the barricade.
Both wrestlers then entered the ring; Black failed to hit the lariat but did do a nice springboard into a modified side slam. Black covered but only got two! Black then delivered some more punches, but Strong responded with a side slam. Strong then tried to cover, but only got a two count. Strong was back on his feet first hit destroyed Black with a Fisherman’s hook into a Backbreaker for a two count. Strong then hit the chop and moved Black into a corner. Black then tried to fight off Strong’s attack, but Strong got enough energy to execute a beautiful Superplex from the top turnbuckle! Strong slowly covered Black, but only got a two from the referee.
Strong held Black, but Black countered with an inside cradle. Black back up with a kick and now both wrestlers are down on the mat. Then they went to the corner and both men exchanged shots. After a series of counters, Black hit the F-5 on Strong and covered Strong (only another two count). Black then tried to do a springboard, but botched it and fell headfirst on the mat. Strong then improvised and covered Black. Both wrestlers are now at the top corner and continued to exchanges punches. Black finally got the advantage and stomped on Strong from the top rope. Black then set up and hit the Buckle Bomb on Strong. Aries then entered the ringside once more until he was blocked by three referees. Black then shoved Strong onto Aries and that caused Aries to land face first on the barricade. Then Black scored a victory over his respected opponent?
Finish: Tyler Black hit the superkick on Roderick Strong and scored the pinfall victory.
Winner by Pinfall: Tyler Black
Grade: B-.
After the match, Austin Aries attacked Black and destroyed all the ROH officials. Strong (who was busted open after Black’s Superkick) then delivered a devastating kick to Aries. Kenny King came out to rescue his mentor. Strong then looked at Black, and argued about getting kicked in the face that busted him open.
Quick Results
Delirious defeated Rhett Titus via Bizarro Driver
Colt Cabana defeated Sonjay Dutt via Colt .45
Tyler Black defeated Roderick Strong via Superkick
Mike Hogewood thankfully did NOT slap his porpoise.
Overall Thoughts
After a lackluster showing last week, ROH put on a solid blend of wrestling and continued storylines.
I really enjoyed the opening contest. It was simple, yet it showed how well these two men wrestled. Delirious looked strong in victory, but Rhett Titus continued to show why he should break out in 2010. Titus got a good reaction from the crowd, who I think actually respect him for all the hard work he put in the ring tonight.
The Cabana vs. Dutt match was average, but still fun to watch. It had some great back and forth action. I enjoyed Cabana’s reactions throughout the match, as he just has fun in the ring. That fun fed off to the audience. Dutt’s tactics were simple, yet effective. He is not going up the ladder anytime soon, but put on a great show from start to finish.
Roderick Strong and Tyler Black were all over the place. Strong was still reliable in the ring and was efficient in his offense which gave this match a higher-than-it-should-be grade. It was Black’s set of moves that really confused me. Still, I do not think that Black should be the main even rub. I know many ROH fans want him to be the next champion, but I do not want to see it happen. He is still green in the ring, he botched a couple spots this week, and you can?t have that happen when you are a champion for a company.
Now segments wise, it was probably the best showing since they debuted on television. You elevated a bit with your main feud with Black and Aries. Though it was mainly a highlight package, you know who is fighting who and what the stipulation will be if the time limit expires.
The mini-promo with The Kings of Wrestling was pretty good. The promo was short, sweet, and to the point. A tremendous job to Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli.
The really worked on the mid-card here, and it was something that I truly enjoyed. I am digging this faction with Kevin Steen and Steve Corino. I simply can?t wait until I see more of these two. Corino is personally one of my favorite wrestlers and Steen is one of the best wrestlers on the ROH roster. Add those variables together and I think we may have a strong faction that can tear it up in the future.
I also enjoyed the bit with Prince Nana, Shane Hagadorn, and Eddie Kingston. Kingston came in, wanted to know who attacked him, and we got a bit of closure along with an opening for a good feud with The Embassy and Eddie Kingston. What the creative team did here was take Hero out of this equation and add Erick Stevens and Joey Ryan in the mix. It worked beautifully! Now add the Necro Butcher (who was attacked by Stevens a couple weeks ago) and this was simply ?Addition by Subtraction?. In my opinion, it made for good TV.
Though the wrestling was sub-par in comparison to recent weeks, I was real impressed with the storylines and feuds this week. I know that ROH is wrestling heavy, but this one had a tremendous mix of both.
Overall Grade: B-
-Mr. V’s Pick Three of the Week-
Wrestler of the Week: Delirious
It is surprising to see that wrestler of the week be from the opening contest, but Delirious told a great story in the ring today without speaking a work of English. Thanks to a great blend of wrestling and the ability to sell Titus? offense gave Delirious the top grade out of all the wrestlers involved in action this week.
Disappointment of the Week: Tyler Black
Look, once again I am not ?hating? on the Golden Boy of ROH. But if you want to be in the title hunt, you have to be at your best every show. Black was not the best tonight. When he botched he springboard move near the end of the match, the crowd let him know that. I would have done the same thing. Also, does this man ever sell offense? After Roderick Strong hit a Superplex, Black was back on his feet a few seconds later. It just made no sense.
Surprise of the Week: The Ring of Honor Storylines
I loved what they did here. They brought back the Kings of Wrestling. They got a new feud with Eddie Kingston, Necro Butcher, and The Embassy. They are bringing in a NEW Television Title. Seriously, this truly will be a plus overall for the current product. Seriously, this may be the best show no one has heard of yet.
Well, that does it for me tonight. I wish you all a pleasant week and I thank you for reading this recap. I will provide another one for you sometime over the weekend. Take care everyone!!
E-mail: mistervwv@hotmail.com
Facebook: Anthony J. Valvo (Pittsburgh, PA)
Thanks for reading and I will be back with another ?From the Desk of Mr. V? on Thursday.
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