Ring of Honor on Sinclair Results
October 8, 2011
Report by: Jason Namako of Wrestleview.com
Hello everyone, welcome to the Ring of Honor on Sinclair recap for this week. Hope you all have enjoyed the 1st 2 done by myself, as I look forward to all of your feedback each and every week. With that out of the way, the intro has hit, and let’s get on with the show!
Video is shown highlighting last week’s main event match for the ROH TV Title that saw Jay Lethal come out on top and become the brand new Ring of Honor Television Champion, defeating El Generico, in what was a really good match.
Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness welcome us to the show, from the Frontier Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge, IL. Kelly & McGuinness hype up tonight’s main event match for the ROH World Title as champion Davey Richards defends against Roderick Strong, with Truth Martini in his corner.
We go to ROH Executive Producer Jim Cornette, who is in the ring as Cornette introduces #DemBoys, the former 6-time Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions The Briscoes. “Man Up” chants for The Briscoes. Cornette says that the last time he saw The Briscoes was when the Briscoes were fined $5,000 for their attack on Haas & Benjamin at Best in the World. Cornette says that he has talked to Haas & Benjamin about the Briscoes since then. Mark says that $5,000 could have bought them a lot of beer & bullets. Jay says that they are here to talk about the ROH Tag Team Titles. Jay says that those are the same title The Briscoes made famous. The titles that they have held 6 times. Jay wants to know when Haas & Benjamin are going to give The Briscoes a title shot. Cornette says Haas & Benjamin want to face the Briscoes, but Ring of Honor management refuses to reward the Briscoes with a title match after what they did at Best in the World. Cornette says that he has a compromise for The Briscoes. Since the All Night Express eliminated The Briscoes at Best In The World in the 4 Way Tag Team Title match, they will meet each other next week and the winner of that match will become the #1 contenders for the Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles. Jay says that they own the All Night Express. They beat them in a Chicago Street Fight, a First Blood Match, and they have beaten them on iPPV. Jay says that the All Night Express are the Briscoes’ bitches. The Briscoes will win next week and get their damn title shot.
“ROH on Tour” video is shown, the same as last week, with ROH Tag Team Champions Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team.
“ROH Focus On” video is shown, this week highlighting Prince Nana’s Embassy, and its “crown jewel”, “The Dominant Male” Tomasso Ciampa.
“The King of Old School” Steve Corino comes out & joins Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuinness on commentary for the opening match.
“The Dominant Male” Tomasso Ciampa w/The Embassy vs. Andy “Right Leg” Ridge
“Tale of the Tape” graphic is shown before the match gets underway. Code of Honor not adhered to as the bell sounds. Ciampa with a double leg pickup and drives Ridge to the buckles. Referee asks for a break and as Ciampa goes for a right hand, Ridge ducks & uses his “Right Leg” moniker to deliver kicks to the chest of Ciampa. Spin kick to the gut by Ridge, but as he goes to come off the ropes, Ciampa turns him inside out with a big clothesline.
Ciampa charges in as Ridge is in the corner. Ridge tries to get the boots up, but Ciampa catches him, spins him around to where Ridge is in a precarious position, with his feet dangling in the middle rope, and delivers a hard chop and kick to the back. Waistlock by Ciampa while Ridge is still in that position & Ciampa connects with a release German suplex. Ridge rolls to the apron, but Ciampa is there to greet him. Ciampa tries to go for a vertical suplex back into the ring, but Ridge blocks. Ridge tries to bring Ciampa over the ropes with a suplex, but Ciampa lands on his feet on the apron and delivers more hard knife edge chops to Ridge, but Ridge fires back with more hard kicks to the chest. Ciampa comes right back with more chops, but as he goes for a big one, Ridge ducks and clotheslines Ciampa back into the ring. Ciampa charges at Ridge, who is still on the apron, and as Ridge leapfrogs Ciampa to evade him, Ciampa slides under Ridge’s legs. Ridge tries to kick Ciampa away, but Ciampa grabs the leg and sweeps it out from under him, sending Ridge crashing back first on the ring apron. Ciampa grabs Ridge in a wheelbarrow position, and drives him hard into the barricades, arm & head first. Ciampa rolls Ridge back into the ring and goes for a cover, but only gets a nearfall. Snapmare takeover by Ciampa, who then delivers a hard kick to the shoulder blades of Ridge. Ridge tries to fight back, but Ciampa locks him in a head scissors, while also delivering elbows to the top of Ridge’s head, then spins around and while the headscissors is still applied, drives Ridge’s head over and over into the mat. Ciampa then spins back around and delivers more elbows to Ridge before finally breaking the hold. Cover but Ciampa only gets a 1 count. Rear chinlock applied by Ciampa as the crowd starts to get behind Ridge. Ridge back up to his feet, breaks the hold with a jawbreaker to Ciampa.
Ridge with a couple of kicks to the leg of Ciampa, then a kick to the gut. Ridge off the ropes and scores with a running knee right to the side of Ciampa’s head. Ciampa still on his feet as Ridge charges in, Ciampa tries to back body drop Ridge over the ropes, but Ridge lands on his feet on the apron. Ridge with a roundhouse nails Ciampa in the side of the head, then Ridge scores with a slingshot Ace Crusher for a nearfall. Ridge, taking a little bit too much time, heads up to the middle rope. However, the hesitation was all Ciampa needed as he sweeps Ridge’s leg out from under him, and Ridge crashes to the mat, not before hitting the back of his head against the top turnbuckle on the way down.
Ciampa unloads with stomps in the corner on Ridge. Ciampa then removes his kneepad and then not once, not twice, but 4 TIMES nails Ridge with running knees to the side of Ridge’s head. Ciampa then sets Ridge up and drills him with Project Ciampa(Powerbomb/Lung Blower combo) for the victory.
Winner: “The Dominant Male” Tomasso CIampa by pinfall (Project Ciampa)
Nigel McGuinness asks a fan who he thinks will win the main event ROH World Title match, but instead of a winner, the fan instead yells “Bring Back Kevin Steen”. Nigel then calls the fan a “Helen Hunt” & “Wanker”.
“Inside ROH” video is shown highlighting the rivalry between Davey Richards and Roderick Strong, with pre-match comments from both before the main event.
Main Event for the ROH World Title: “The American Wolf” Davey Richards(c) vs. Roderick Strong w/Truth Martini
Pre-match introductions before the match gets underway. “Tale of the Tape” graphic is also shown. Code of Honor is not adhered to as both men exchange words as the bell sounds. Lock-up & Strong brings Richards to the ropes. Richards switches and makes a clean break. Richards goes for a kick and Strong evades. Both men feeling each other out as Strong locks on a wristlock. Richards counters and wrings out the arm. Wristlock applied by Richards. Strong counters with a drop toe hold and applies a hammerlock. Strong switches to a front facelock. Richards brings Strong to the ropes and as he goes for a clean break, Strong slaps Richards across the face. Crowd chants for the champion as Richards again with a wristlock. Strong cartwheels out into his own wristlock, but Richards does the same thing. Richards breaks the hands and goes for a dropkick, but Strong catches Richards’ legs and goes to turn him over for the Strong Hold. Richards spins out, but Strong cartwheels back to his feet. Side headlock takedown by Strong, headscissors applied by Richards, Strong kicks out of it. Strong misses a chop, and gets out of the way from a Richards’ kick and we have a stalemate. Crowd applauds for both men. Lock-up and Richards with a side headlock. Irish whip by Strong, Strong leapfrogs as Davey slides under the legs and grabs on to a waistlock. Strong brings him to the ropes and Richards with an O’Connor Roll for a nearfall. Richards holds on to Strong’s legs and locks in a seated surfboard. Richards spins Strong around into a pinning predicament that gets another nearfall. Strong, though, holds on and locks in a seated surfboard of his own. Strong spins Richards over into a roll-up that only gets a 2 count. Both men back up as Richards with an armdrag into an armbar. Strong back up to his feet as Richards again wrings out the arm. Hammerlock by Richards as Strong moves him over to the ropes to cause a break. Back elbow by Strong before the break could occur and then Strong with a hard chop. Another chop by Strong and then a knee to the gut. Forearm by Strong as he then goes off the ropes only to be met by a Richards’ dropkick. Richards goes for the ankle lock, but Strong counters and sends Richards through the ropes to the outside. Strong goes for a slingshot move but Richards gets out of the way, while Strong lands on his feet. Richards, back in the ring, charges and goes for a baseball slide, but this time Strong gets out of the way. Strong misses a chop and Richards kicks him square in the back. Another kick by Richards to the gut. 3rd kick by Richards to the chest. Strong tries to get away as Richards kicks him again in the chest. Strong comes back with a kick to the gut and sends Richards arm and ribs first into the barricade. Strong rolls in to break the referee’s 20 count and then Strong with a kick to Richards’ ribs. Both men exchange hard chops, with Strong getting the better of the exchange and sends Richards crashing to the floor. Irish whip by Strong, reversed by Richards and Strong goes hard into the barricade. Richards charges in and delivers a big boot right to the face of Strong. Richards is fired up as he brings Strong back into the ring. Strong rolls back onto the apron to try and get away from Richards, but Richards is right there with him. Strong comes back and hot shots Richards across the top rope. Strong begins stomping away at Richards in the corner. Strong goes up to the middle ropes and tries to bring Richards up with him, but Richards fights him off with forearms. Strong comes back with a right hand, but Richards nails him with a enziguri kick that sends Strong to the outside. Richards begins to head up top, but is distracted by Truth Martini for a split second and this allows Strong to jump back on the apron and deliver an enziguri kick of his own that sends Richards crashing to the mat and temporarily knocked out. Strong rolls back in and goes for a cover on the knocked out champion, but only gets a nearfall.
Strong connects with a back suplex into a version of a Side Effect for another nearfall. Strong begins to get frustrated as Truth Martini thought that it was a 3 count. We see that during the commercial break, both men exchanged a flurry of forearm shots before Strong drilled Richards with a dropkick. Back to the action as Strong taunts the crowd and begins to show blatant disrespect for the champion, kicking at him and slapping him across the face. Strong begins to go off the ropes, but Richards catches him from behind and connects with a release German suplex. Both men back up to their feet as both men begin to exchange forearms once again. Richards shrugs off the forearm shot by Strong and nails him with 2 kicks to the chest. 3rd kick by Richards and Strong goes down. Strong goes headfirst off the buckles as Richards with an Irish whip, however Strong reverses and sends Richards to the corner. Strong charges, and as Richards tries to back drop over the ropes, Strong lands on his feet on the apron. Strong drops down to the outside and grabs ahold of Richards’ foot, but Richards kicks him away. Richards jumps over onto the apron and with a head of steam, punt kicks Strong right in the chest, sending Strong reeling. Strong tries to catch his breath as Richards with another head of steam, nails Strong with a tope dive out onto the floor, with both men crashing into the barricade. Both men back into the ring as Richards heads up top. Richards connects with a missile dropkick, but only gets a nearfall. Strong now in the corner as Richards goes to charge in. Strong catches him with a boot to the face. Strong tries to come out with a forearm, but Richards catches him and setups for an exploder suplex. Strong counters out with elbows and a forearm. Both men once again exchange forearm shots and then Richards unloads with the open hand palm strikes. Richards off the ropes connects with a big forearm. Richards then hits the exploder suplex that only gets a close 2 count. “This is Awesome” chants by the crowd as Richards sets up for a back suplex. Strong counters out with right hands that send Richards to the corner. Strong charges in, but Richards catches him with a boot to the face. Richards charges in, but Strong catches him with a snap powerslam for another nearfall.
Strong, once again frustrated, goes to charge in on Richards in the corner. Strong connects with a running clothesline and lifts Richards up for the half-nelson backbreaker, but Richards counters with a crucifix for a nearfall. Richards misses a roundhouse kick, and Strong with a rollup attempt. Richards rolls through, but Strong nails him with a superkick, but that only gets a close 2 count. Richards now out onto the apron, as Strong goes out with him. Both men exchange more forearm, then Richards with a kick to Strong’s back. Strong comes back though, and chops Richards right in the face. Richards is dazed, as Strong drills him with a back suplex on the apron, sending Richards crashing to the floor below. Strong fireman carry’s Richards back into the ring, and goes for a cover, but only gets another 2 count. Strong can’t believe it, and knees Richards in the gut. Strong off the ropes, but is met by a boot from Richards. Richards off the ropes, but Strong meets him with a knee to the gut. Strong off the ropes, and as Richards goes to charge in after him, nails him with a boot to the face. Enziguri kick by Strong that rocks Richards, but as Strong charges in, Richards throws him up and nails him with the Alarm Clock kick. Richards charges in, and block’s Strong’s kick. Strong with a rolling forearm, but Richards spins around and creams him with a discus clothesline. Both men are down as the referee begins his 10 count.
“Let’s go Davey” chants from the crowd trying to will the champion on. Both men back up at 9, and even while spaghetti-legged from all the exhaustion, begin to once again exchange forearm shots. Richards begins to get fired up and he drills Strong with a big forearm, sending him crashing to the mat. Both men then begin to exchange chops and kicks, with Richards gaining the advantage and bringing Strong to the corner. Richards then begin to drill Strong with kicks, but Strong spins him around and nails him with chops. Richards spins him back around and nails with 10 kicks, instead of 10 punches. Richards goes to the opposite corner to get a head of steam, but Strong charges in with him and drills Richards with an enziguri kick. Strong then lifts Richards and scores with the Death by Roderick(Fireman’s Carry into Double-Kneed Gutbuster), but only gets a close nearfall. “This is Awesome” chants by the crowd as Strong yells out in sheer frustration and anger. Strong lifts Richards back up and goes to setup for the End of Heartache(Vertical Suplex into Backbreaker), but Richards nails him with a knee to the face on the lift up. Richards reels to the corner as Strong charges in. Richards moves out of the way and goes off the ropes. Richards nails Strong with a running knee to the face in the corner. Richards places Strong on the turnbuckles, then delivers a hard chop. Richards goes up after Strong, as both men are on the top rope. Richards with a superplex, but floats over while still holding to Strong and scores with the Falcon Arrow, but only gets another nearfall. Richards holds on to the leg and locks in the ankle lock. Strong kicks Richards away to break the hold, and then nails Richards with a jumping knee to the face. Strong goes for another Death by Roderick, but Richards lands on his feet, grabs on to Strong’s leg, and locks back in the ankle lock. Strong tries to reach for the ropes, but Richards grapevines the leg. Truth Martini gets up on the apron to the distract the referee as Strong begins to tap. Richards goes to the outside and starts chasing after Martini. As Martini slides into the ring, Strong goes for a clothesline, but Richards ducks and connects with a handspring kick. Martini starts to go after Richards, but Richards is back up and Martini starts to beg off. Richards acts like he will shake Martini’s hand, but instead spin kicks him in the gut, and Irish whips Martini up and over the ropes, with Martini taking the Harley Race up and over bump to the outside.
However, the distraction allows Strong to get back up and charge in at Richards, connecting with the Sick Kick, but Richards barely kicks out. Strong then locks in the Strong Hold, but Richards counters out back into the ankle lock. Strong kicks Richards off again, but Richards off the ropes, creams Strong with the running punt kick, the same move that won him the ROH World Title. Strong, though, gets back up to his feet, and spits in Richards’ face, and slaps him again. Richards, incensed, spin kicks him in the gut, and then in the face. Richards then delivers a buzzsaw-like kick, knocking Strong down. Richards goes for a cover, but Strong barely kicks out. Richards holds on to the leg of Strong, and once again applies the ankle lock. Richards grapevines the leg, and this time, Strong taps out.
Winner and still ROH World Champion: “The American Wolf” Davey Richards by submission (Ankle Lock)
Richards celebrates his victory as we go to credits.
My Thoughts
I thought this was another solid episode this week for ROH. Both matches were solid to good, the main event the latter.
Briscoes cut a good promo, especially Jay, about their match next week with the All Night Express in their quest to become Tag Team Champs once again.
Video feature on Tomasso Ciampa was the best highlight piece on a performer ROH has done yet. Great job getting over the character of the unhinged Ciampa.
Squash match with Ridge was done really well. Ridge sold like a champ for Ciampa, and got his moveset over beautifully, especially the Project Ciampa finish.
Main event was a lot better paced and a less spotty match than you would normally see from Richards & Strong, and it was refreshing. Although the finishing stretch became a little no-selly, in the end, it worked out fine and made for a good TV main event.
My Grade: B+
Well that will do it for this week, if you want to see anything on the show, you want see the main event and the video feature on Tomasso Ciampa, really well done, that guy will be a player in the near future for this company. Hope you all enjoyed the recap, see ya next week!