ROH on HDNet
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (ECW Arena)
April 04, 2009
Commentators: Mike Hogewood & Dave Prazak
Report by: Josh Boutwell of WrestleView.com
The show opens with a quick recap of last week and a preview of the Main Event for tonight (Danielson vs. Aries). Hogewood and Praza open up inside the studio and they break the news about Jerry Lynn winning the ROH World Heavyweight Championship last night in Houston at ?Supercard of Honor IV.? Prazak puts over Lynn winning the belt and then they hype up the Main Event for tonight.
Sterling James Keenan vs. Erick Stevens
SJK says he’s an international badass and is apparently ?generally disliked by the fans? according to the bullet point. Stevens claims he is going to make a great first impression tonight, well, Erick you already made a bad one with that horrible promo. This is my first time seeing SJK I believe. Erick and SJK lockup with Stevens getting the advantage with a side headlock, but SJK counters it into one of his one. Stevens reverses back into a side headlock of his own and SJK pushes him off only to eat a shoulder block from Stevens. Stevens comes off the ropes and SJK goes for a leapfrog but Stevens catches him midair and hits a Samoan Drop for a one count. Stevens throws SJK in the corner and lights his chest up with chops and does it again. Keenan asks for a timeout and hides in the ropes so Stevens would have to back off. When Stevens backed off SJK catches him with a jab (which Hogewood way oversold) and then hits a fireman’s carry into a backbreaker for the first nearfall of the match. SJK with a forearm to Stevens back and then stomps his head. Stevens tries to fight back but SJK rakes his eyes. SJK with a big forearm to the back of Stevens again and then hits jabs to the throat as Stevens tries to make a comeback. SJK drops Stevens with a back suplex for another nearfall. SJK with a headbutt and then chops Erick and Erick comes back with a chop of his own but then eats a boot from SJK. SJK comes off the ropes and Stevens goes for a clothesline but SJK ducks and hits an STO for another nearfall. SJK puts Stevens in the Straightjacket Choke. SJK wares Stevens down Stevens with the hold as Stevens tries to get the fans behind him. Stevens fights to his feet and forces SJK into the corner repeatedly but SJK doesn?t break the hold. Finally Stevens is able to reverses the hold into a modified snapmare takeover. Stevens then hits a running double back elbow and then a belly-to-belly overhead suplex. Stevens then hits the Choo Choo in the corner followed by a shoulder block off the top for a nearfall. Stevens attempts to whip SJK into the ropes but SJK reveres it into a knee to the gut and then hits an Implant DDT! 1?2?NO Stevens kicks out! SJK covers Stevens again and again only gets a two count. SJK attempts to whip Stevens into the ropes but Stevens reverses it and goes for a scoop slam, but SJK counters into a waistlock. Stevens holds onto the ropes and pushes SJK off. SJK goes for a clothesline but Stevens ducks and hits a modified powerslam! 1?2?NO SJK kicks out! Stevens prepares for the Doctor Bomb but SJK pokes him in the eyes. SJK goes for a corner splash but Stevens moves and hits a big German Suplex out of the corner! Stevens follows up with a huge lariat and then the Doctor Bomb for the pin!
Winner: Erick Stevens via pinfall (Doctor Bomb)
Kyle Durden is in the back with Bryan Danielson to hype up the Main Event for tonight. Dragon says he’s no stranger to main event’s and that he’s main evented all over the world and was even in the main event of Ring of Honor’s first show 7 years ago (the classic Low-Ki vs. Daniels vs. Danielson triple threat). Danielson says he’s not nervous about main eventing but Aries should be. He says tonight he will show everyone why people call him in the best technical wrestler in professional wrestler. Danielson says he respects Aries but tonight it’s not about respect, it’s about proving who the best is.
Cheech & Cloudy vs. Dark City Fight Club (Jon Davis & Kory Chavis)
The CHIKARA regulars, Cheech & Cloudy, cut some promo about riding waves and stuff?okay. Well, this is my first time seeing the Dark City Fight Club as well but I?ve seen Cheech & Cloudy a few times in CHIKARA. Cheech & Cloudy go for the handshake but DCFC aren?t going for that and they attack them before the bell. DCFC toss Cheech to the floor and then double team Cloudy in the ring. They whip Cloudy into the ropes and then hit a backbreaker/leg drop combination. Cloudy attempts a comeback but his strikes have no affect on Chavis. Cloudy goes for a cross body block but Chavis catches him in midair and kills Cloudy with a sitout sidewalk slam. Davis tags in and then they both press slam Cloudy up into the air before dropping him with a double press slam. Davis covers Cloudy and gets a two before Cheech breaks it up and then Davis knocks Cheech back down to the floor. Chavis tags back in and he whips Cloudy into the corner. Chavis charges but Cloudy gets his boot up and then hits a springboard hurricanrana and tags Cheech in! Chech with a Flying Cross Body off the top on Chavis and then he knocks Davis off the apron. Davis gets back up on the apron and then Chavis charges at Cheech, but he moves and Chavis slams right into his own partner! Cloudy and Cheech then double team Chavis with the Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Cheech (619 and running dropkick combination)! Cloudy goes for a springboard move but Davis pulls him off the apron and then slams him into the guardrail on the outside. In the ring Cheech attempts to whip Chavis into the ropes but he reveres it as Davis comes into the ring. DCFC then hit Cheech with a sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combination and that’s it! 1?2?3 Cheech is done.
Winners: Dark City Fight Club via pinfall (sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combo)
In the back Kyle Durden is with the other half of the Main Event: Austin Aries. Durden asks Aries about him shunning the fans lately but Aries says he doesn?t care about the fans. Aries says he’s main evented in ROH more times than he can remember. Aries says he has a ton of respect for Danielson but at the end of the night Danielson will find out that Aries is the greatest man of all time.
?King of the Death Match? Necro Butcher vs. ?The Knockout Kid? Chris Hero w/Larry Sweeney & Sara Del Ray
Hero says he concusses with his kicks and K.O.’s with his elbow. Necro says he’s going to pile the bodies to the sky. Fans get behind Necro early on as it pisses off Hero. Hero kicks Necro in the gut and then puts Necro in a side headlock. Necro pushes Hero off and then Hero goes for a shoulder block but Necro doesn?t budge. Hero comes off the ropes again and hits a running front kick but Necro still doesn?t go down. Hero hits another running front kick but Necro still doesn?t go down and even mocks Hero before nailing him with a right hand. Necro hits another vicious right hand and then hits rights and lefts to the ribs before whipping Hero into the ropes. Necro hits a right hand to the gut and then hits a running knee to the side of the head. Necro picks Hero up and goes for the Tiger Driver but Larry Sweeney distracts Necro allowing Hero to hit the Rolling Elbow from behind! 1?2?NO Necro kicks out! Hero picks Necro up and tosses him to the floor where Sara and Sweeney put the boots to him while Hero distracts the referee in the ring. Hero climbs to the outside and peels away the padding and lays it over Necro trapping him underneath it. Hero then hits a running backsplash senton on Necro on the floor. Hero picks Hero up and rolls him back into the ring and gets a one count. Hero puts the boots to Necro in the ring but Necro fights back with shots to the rib before Hero catches him with a big European Uppercut and then a huge forearm! Hero covers Necro nonchalantly and only gets a 2 count. Hero puts Necro in a rear chinlock but Necro fights to his feet and hits repeated elbows and punches to the ribs of Hero. Necro comes off the ropes but Hero his him with another sick elbow and then comes off the ropes himself, but Necro hits Hero with a backdrop! Necro lights up Hero in the corner with stiff jabs and chops before putting the boots to him. Necro then hits a running Bulldog for a nearfall. Necro throws Hero facefirst into the top turnbuckle and then attempts to whip him into the ropes but Hero blocks it and hits the Roaring Elbow again! Hero then hits a running flying elbow in the corner and then the Blockbuster off the middle rope! 1?2?NO Necro kicks out! Hero with more stiff elbows but Necro comes back with a big right of his own. Necro comes off the ropes but Hero hits him with a running frontkick sending Necro through the ropes to the floor! A fan hands Necro a chair and then he throws it at Hero as he comes to the outside. Necro tosses Hero into the guard rail and then scoop slams Hero while holding a chair to his back! Necro tosses Hero back into the ring but Sweeney grabs his foot as Hero distracts the referee. Necro chases Sweeney around ringside and the referee tries to stop them as Sara Del Ray tosses Hero the loaded elbow pad! Hero puts the loaded elbow pad over his other elbow bad. Necro gets back in the ring and picks Hero but then eats the Rolling Elbow for the pin!
Winner: Chris Hero via pinfall (Rolling Elbow)
Main Event
?American Dragon? Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries
Just doesn?t seem normal for Danielson to come out without the ?Final Countdown? song does it? I guess Prazak forget that they just announced that Lynn beat Nigel for the title last night because he says Danielson can?t call himself the greatest wrestler in the world until he takes the belt from Nigel (I know it was taped a month ago, no e-mails please, just poking fun at Prazak). Danielson gets the fans to chant ?final countdown? before the lockup and then the usual ?you?re gonna get your f***ing head kicked in!? chant. They finally shake hands and then lockup in the middle of the ring. They force each other into the ropes and then break clean. They lockup again and Danielson puts Aries in a waistlock, but Aries reverses it and hits a waistlock takedown and holds on. Danielson tries to reverse it but Aries blocks it and then releases the hold. Time for the test of strength but Aries kicks Danielson’s hand away and then puts him in a side headlock. Danielson pushes Aries off but then eats a big shoulder block from Aries. Aries comes off the ropes and Danielson leapfrogs over a sliding Aries and then Aries hits an arm drag followed by another one and then he locks an armbar on Danielson. Aries transitions into a wristlock but Danielson rolls through it and then hits a dropkick. They lockup again and Danielson gets the advantage with a wristlock and Aries is able to roll through into a firemans carry takeover into a side headlock, but Danielson counters with a headscissors. Aries does the headstand to escape the hold right into a pin for a one count but Danielson bridges up into a backslide! Aries kicks out before even a one count and then goes for a big head kick but Danielson ducks! They standoff once again and Prazak puts over how they know each other very well. Danielson goes for the test of strength once again but quickly dropkicks Aries? legs and then puts him in a knee lock. Danielson then transitions into surfboard but before he can sit back on it Aries is able to crawl to the ropes. They lockup once again and Aries nails Danielson with an elbow and then attempts to whip him into the ropes but Danielson reverses it. Aries holds onto the ropes and Danielson charges at him but Aries moves and Danielson goes flying through the ropes but he is able to catch himself on the apron. Danielson then hits Aries with a shoulderblock as he turned around and then hits a slingshot sunset flip but Aries holds onto the ropes! The referee kicks Aries hand away saying he can?t hold onto the ropes (I?ll never understand that, a wrestler can hold onto the ropes any other time except during a sunset flip). Aries rolls through the sunset flip and hits a big dropkick to the face of Danielson. Aries then steps on Danielson’s face and then puts him in a side headlock. Danielson pushes Aries into the ropes but Aries catches Danielson with a shoulder block. Aries comes off the ropes again but Danielson leapfrogs him and hits a hiptoss transitioned into the cross armbreaker, but Aries is able to roll to the ropes and break the hold. Danielson argues with the referee allowing Aries to hit him with a nasty elbow to the back of the head. Aries whips Danielson int the ropes and hits a back elbow followed by a elbow drop for a nearfall. Aries drives his knee into the back of a seated Danielson and then puts a nerve hold on Danielson. Danielson fights to his feet and then hits some nice kicks before Aries catches his leg and drops his knee of his own knee and then suplexes Danielson over the top rope to the floor! Aries then hits the Heat Sinking Missile (Suicide Dive Forearm) through the ropes onto Danielson on the floor! Aries slides Danielson back into the ring and gets a nearfall again. Aries locks Danielson in the Fish Hook of Doom (illegal hold) on Danielson but the referee forces him to break the hold. Aries with body shots to the ribs on Danielson repeatedly in the corner. Aries then goes for a corner splash but Danielson moves but Danielson can?t capitalize. Aries puts Danielson up on the top rope and rakes his back. Aries then goes for the running dropkick but Danielson again moves. Danielson with repeated nasty elbows followed by European Uppercuts. Danielson with a running knee followed by a big kick to the back of a seated Aries for a nearfall! Danielson with an armbreaker and then he attempts to whip Aries into the corner, but Aries reveres it and Danielson springboards off the middle rope into a backflip over a charging Aries. Aries goes for a clothesline but Danielson ducks and hits a flying clothesline of his own. Danielson then hits the Butterfly Suplex transitioned right into the cross armbreaker! Aries is once again able to roll to the ropes to break the hold. Danielson places Aries up on the top rope but Aries elbows Danielson and then shoves him off. Danielson then knocks Aries off the apron to the floor and goes for a baseball slide dropkick but Aries is able to move out of the way. Danielson then hits a Flying Knee Strike off the ring apron on Aries on the floor! Danielson rolls Aries back into the ring and climbs to the top! Danielson with the Missile Dropkick and then the Shining Wizard! Danielson goes for Cattle Mutilation but Aries blocks it into a pin attempt! 1?2?NO Danielson kicks out! Danielson and Aries trade forearms and roundhouse kicks in the middle of the ring. Danielson then hits the flying knee followed by a German Suplex, but Aries lands on his feet and then hits a sickening headkick on Danielson! Both men are down now! Aries and Danielson get to their feet about the same time but Aries is able to hit the charging dropkick on Danielson in the corner for a nearfall. Aries goes for the Brainbuster but Danielson counters with a knee to the head. Aries comes back with several knee strikes of his own and goes for the Brainbuster again, but again Danielson counters with a knee. This time Aries just hits a front suplex and puts Danielson in the Front Chancery! Danielson is able to counter the hold into the Triangle Choke! Aries tries to fight out but Danielson rolls him to the center of the ring and Aries taps out!
Winner: Bryan Danielson via submission (Triangle Choke)
Final Thoughts
Tonight was another solid show for ROH but wasn?t as good as last week. The undercard for tonight was seriously weak, though, and the announcing was really atrocious! That catch phrase that Hogewood is attempt to catch on (‘slap the porpoise, it’s over!?) is one of the worst things I?ve ever heard and you can tell that they are feeding him finishing move holds. Then, Prazak went heel announcer during the Hero/Necro match out of nowhere. He wasn?t playing a heel before that match or after it. I have no idea what that was about.
The opener between SJK and Stevens was okay but nothing special. Steven is extremely boring in my opinion and his promo before the batch was god awful. They should never stick a microphone in front of that man, ever! SJK was a solid heel but was nothing special.
The tag match was okay I guess for a short squash match as Cheech & Cloudy got in a few good moves. Cheech & Cloudy have horrible gimmicks but are solid workers. Dark City Fight Club’s strength and power is impressive but that would be the only thing impressive about that team. Nothing special about them whatsoever, ROH is better off pushing Cheech & Cloudy.
Hero vs. Necro was decent and this was my first time seeing Hero in his new ring gear, kind of going the Chris Jericho route with that I guess. I?ve never been a fan of Necro’s work outside of hardcore matches and for some reason he was able to use a steel chair in this match and not get DQ?ed. Regardless it was a pretty solid match.
The Main Event was once again stellar. Really great back and forth action and great technical wrestling between the longtime rivals. Not their best match but still very, very good and probably the best Main Event this week so far on any of the weekly wrestling shows. One big thing I have against ROH right now is the way they have the crowd mic?d up. It literally sounds like there is 20 fans in the crowd. They really have to put better microphones out there and better lighting too. Anyway, another great week from ROH. Hopefully next week they?ll show some footage of Lynn winning the strap. Thankfully Adam will be recapping next week and he?ll have to be forced to sit through a Brodie Lee match (hahaha).
Scheduled for Next Week:
– Austin Aries vs. Kenny Omega
– Delirious vs. Ernie Osiris
– Daizee Haze & Neveah vs. Sara Del Ray & Sassy Steffie
– Jerry Lynn vs. Brodie Lee