Ring of Honor on Sinclair Results
January 21, 2012
Report by: Jason Namako of Wrestleview.com
Hello everyone, and welcome to this week’s Ring of Honor on Sinclair recap. If you all are ready, then let’s get on with the show!
Video package is shown, highlighting the main event Ring of Honor World Title match from Final Battle.
Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuinness welcome us to the show, from the du Burns Arena in Baltimore, MD. Kelly & McGuinness hype up the main event between Kenny King & Matt Jackson and then take us to pre-match comments from Eddie Edwards & Mike Mondo before our opening match.
Mondo says he is best when someone is vulnerable, and coming out of Edwards’ loss at Final Battle, he looks to take advantage and embarrass Edwards by beating him. Mondo then says he will make Edwards cry, and that “We wouldn’t want “Die Hard” to “Cry Hard”. Mondo finally says he is going to make an example out of Edwards, because he is Mike Mondo, “The Biggest Man in Town”.
Edwards says he isn’t going to cry and make excuses about what happened at Final Battle. He says he is going to pick himself up and get back in the World Title picture, and when he gets another shot, the outcome will be different. Edwards says it’s not about how hard you can hit, but how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward, and that Mike Mondo is in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
Mondo comes to the ring with a sign that says “Godzilla fears Mondo”. Edwards then gets a big reaction from the crowd on his entrance. “Tale of the Tape” graphic is shown as both men adhere to the Code of Honor.
“Die Hard” Eddie Edwards vs. Mike Mondo
“Eddie Edwards” chants from the crowd as the bell sounds. Lock-up and Mondo with a waistlock, but Edwards quickly counters into a wristlock. Mondo then counters with a wristlock of his own. Edwards spins around and then counters back into his own wristlock. Mondo sweeps out the leg of Edwards, while applying a knucklelock, and then locks in a side headlock. Edwards Irish whips out of the hold, but Mondo nails him with a shoulder tackle. Mondo comes off the ropes, and goes under Edwards’ leapfrog. Edwards then goes off the ropes and slides under Mondo, then as Mondo comes off the ropes, Edwards catches him with a succession of armdrags, before applying an armbar. Mondo comes back with a forearm to break the hold as Edwards goes to the corner. Mondo Irish whips Edwards to the far corner and charges, but Edwards gets the boot up. Mondo charges in again, but Edwards catches him and places him on the top turnbuckle facing the crowd. Edwards then hooks Mondo in the Tree of Woe and hits a hesitation dropkick. Edwards then goes to the outside and looks for a sliding kick, but a cameraman is in Edwards’ way, but he is still able to hit Mondo with the sliding kick anyway for a nearfall. Edwards hits a big chop on Mondo, but as he tries to go after him, the referee gets in between Edwards & Mondo, and that allows Mondo to get a cheap shot in on Edwards.
Mondo then measures Edwards and hits a shoulder Code Breaker, going after the arm that Edwards suffered a broken elbow to many years back. Mondo then stretches out the arm, and stops right onto the elbow joint as Edwards screams in pain. Mondo hits a club to the back, followed by another stomp to the arm. Mondo takes down Edwards with an arm whip, followed by slamming Edwards’ arm into the mat for a 1 count. Mondo applies an armbar as the crowd tries to get behind Edwards. Edwards gets back to his feet, but is taken down again with another arm whip. Edwards breaks Mondo’s grip, and hits him with another hard chop. Edwards hits another chop, but as he goes for a 3rd, Mondo hits him with a leaping knee to Edwards’ injured arm. Mondo goes for an Irish whip, but Edwards reverses it. Edwards charges, but Mondo gets the boot up. Edwards then comes right back with another chop, and Irish whips Mondo to the far corner. Edwards charges, and connects with a running chop that knocks Mondo down. Edwards goes off the ropes, but Mondo nails him with a headbutt to the ribs. Mondo then goes off the ropes, but Edwards catches him with a knee lariat for a nearfall.
Crowd chants again for Edwards as he delivers another hard chop to Mondo. Edwards then unloads with a flurry of chops to Mondo as Mondo calls for a timeout. Edwards Irish whips Mondo, but as Edwards charges in, Mondo goes up and over and nails Edwards with a boot to the injured arm, followed by a jumping armbreaker for a nearfall. Mondo places Edwards on the top turnbuckle as the crowd chants “You’ve got Spirit”. Mondo goes up with Edwards and hits a succession of forearms, before going for a superplex. However, Edwards blocks it and hits a series of headbutts that knock Mondo off the ropes. Edwards then comes off the ropes, and hits a top rope double stomp as Mondo was trying to get back up to his feet.
Edwards then hits the Die Hard on Mondo for the victory.
Winner: “Die Hard” Eddie Edwards by pinfall (Die Hard)
Edwards celebrates his win as we go to commercial.
-Commercial-
During the commercial, we see a promotional spot for the WrestleMania Weekend Internet PPVs entitled “Showdown in the Sun” as Kevin Kelly interviews Ring of Honor World Champion Davey Richards, who says it’s funny that the shows are called “Showdown in the Sun”, because what he does is knock people’s lights out. Richards says whoever it is he faces that weekend, get ready, “because you will know my name and you’re gonna remember it.”
Back from commercial, Kelly & McGuinness take us to a video highlighting the Ring of Honor Tag Team Title match at Final Battle, then to comments from Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team and Ring of Honor Executive Producer Jim Cornette.
Charlie Haas says that they made a rookie mistake at Final Battle. He says that they have wrestled all over the world, in front of hostile crowds before, but the fans in New York got to them. Haas says that the Briscoes did what they said they were going to do, and that was take WGTT off their game of wrestling, and it cost them the Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles.
Shelton Benjamin says that those rednecks or Dem Boys, or whatever stupid name they wanna come up with, did whatever they could to paint themselves as underdogs with their stupid Youtube videos and their ridiculous tweets. Benjamin says that the New York fans aren’t very smart though, because they fell for it.
Haas says at that Final Battle, The Briscoes got what they deserved. He says that everyone is so upset about what they did using steel chairs, but where was that outrage when the Briscoes were doing the same thing for 6 months. Benjamin says that he takes it as an insult the fans were booing them when one year prior, those same fans were cheering them on when they faced the Kings of Wrestling, and now those same fans turned on them like a pack of rabid dogs. Haas says that they are Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team, and if the Briscoes or anyone else doesn’t recognize that, then they can go “straight to hell”.
Jim Cornette says that he can’t explain why the fans were cheering for the Briscoes, “Some people like Charles Manson”, but the fans are entitled to boo and cheer whoever they want to. Cornette says that with the studies on concussions nowadays, Ring of Honor is not going to tolerate any chairshots to the head. He fined the Briscoes when they did it, and now he fined Haas & Benjamin for doing it also. Cornette says from now on, it’s an automatic $5000 fine for any chairshots to the head, and if Haas & Benjamin want to do something for Ring of Honor, they will be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
We go back to inside the arena as Jim Cornette is in the ring and he introduces the new Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions, The Briscoes, who come out to a massive reaction from the crowd. Cornette begins to talk but Jay Briscoe cuts off and wants to know if Haas & Benjamin were indeed fined $5000. Cornette says yes and tries to talk again, but Jay again cuts him off and says that if that is the case, “where does the fine money go to?” Cornette tries to speak again, but Jay once again cuts him off and asks if Cornette gets it, and Cornette replies no. Jay then says that since Haas & Benjamin hit them with the steel chairs, then he thinks the Briscoes should get the money. Jay says if every time they get hit with chairs, its a $5000 fine, then the whole locker room should come out because they know the Briscoes aren’t “cosmetically pleasing”, they all can hit us with them chairs, and then we could collect a nice, big retirement fund. “Man Up” chants from the fans as Cornette says that Haas & Benjamin blame them for the hostile crowd at Final Battle. Jay says that they can’t tell the people who to cheer and boo and its not their fault that the crowd loves DemBoys. Jay says that they keep it real with the fans, do things their own way, and been in Ring of Honor since Day One, and are now the 7-Time Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions. Cornette then says that there are a whole slew of challengers waiting on the Briscoes now that they are the Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions. Mark says that the challengers are like “ducks a pond, line them up, the Briscoes will keep knocking them down”. Jay says that to the challengers who wanna mess with DemBoys, you better be ready to “Man Up”.
The Briscoes lead a “Man Up” chant as we go to commercial.
-Commercial-
Roderick Strong w/”Unbreakable” Michael Elgin & Truth Martini vs. Ricky Reyes
Both men adhere to the Code of Honor as the bell sounds. Lock-up and Strong with a knee to the gut, then locks in a side headlock. Irish whip by Reyes, but Strong connects with a shoulder tackle. Reyes leapfrogs Strong as Strong comes off the ropes, then catches him with a hiptoss. Reyes takes Strong down with an armdrag into an armbar as Truth Martini joins the announcers at the commentary desk. Martini says he wants a proper introduction since he is the “TV, Super Duper, King Kong, Mega Mega, Managerial Sensation & Life Intervention Expert”. Strong brings Reyes to the corner to break the hold and hits a hard chop. Strong goes for a slam, but Reyes counters, however Strong hits him with a back elbow. Strong goes off the ropes, but is caught by a spinning kick from Reyes, followed by a wrist clutch suplex for a nearfall. Reyes hits a stomp and a chop in the corner, but Strong comes back with a chop of his own. Reyes then regains advantage with another stomp, followed by a headbutt and a forearm. Strong comes right back with a series of chops, but then Reyes nails him with a forearm.
Reyes charges and connects with a flying forearm, then Irish whips Strong to the far corner. Reyes charges, but Strong sidesteps him and crotches him in the turnbuckles, followed by hitting a Backstabber from that precarious position for a nearfall. Strong stomps away at Reyes, then locks in a reverse bearhug. Reyes gets back to his feet and breaks Strong’s grip with back elbows, then goes off the ropes, but Strong runs in and drills him with a knee to the gut. Strong connects with a gutwrench suplex for another nearfall. Strong then hits a back suplex for a 1 count, before locking back in the reverse bearhug. Reyes breaks the grip again with back elbows and goes off the ropes, but as Strong tries to nail him with another knee to the gut, Reyes counters it with a rollup for a nearfall.
Strong charges, but Reyes moves out of the way and comes off the ropes, hitting a flying back elbow, followed by a clothesline. Strong goes for his own clothesline, but Reyes counters it with a neckbreaker for another nearfall. Strong fights back with another knee to the gut and a hard chop. Strong Irish whips Reyes, who reverses and drills Strong with a big forearm. Reyes goes off the ropes and slides under Strong’s legs, then catches Strong coming in with an enziguri style kick that brings Strong to a knee. Reyes then hits a basement DDT on Strong for a close nearfall. Reyes measures Strong and charges, but Strong hits him with a knee coming in, followed by an enziguri style kick of his own.
Strong charges, but Reyes catches him in a waistlock and goes for an O’Connor Roll, gaining a nearfall, but Strong reverses it and grabs ahold of Reyes’s tights to steal the victory.
Winner: Roderick Strong by pinfall (Rollup w/Leverage)
The House of Truth celebrate Strong’s win as we go to commercial.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, we go to this week’s “Inside Ring of Honor” looking at the destruction caused by Kevin Steen at Final Battle, where he injured Steve Corino, Jimmy Jacobs, and El Generico all with the Package Piledriver.
Kevin Steen says he hates to give Jim Cornette any credit, but his prediction for Final Battle was dead on. Steen says a lot of people got hurt, and El Generico quite seriously, which is why Steen said he is wearing their old tag team T-Shirt to show support for Generico because it all could have been avoided, if Jim Cornette had been a man from the start. Now, 3 people are out, but Steen says the worst part is, this all happened on just 1 night, and now its about to get about worse, because its just the beginning for himself. Steen says in 2 weeks, he will be live and in person on Ring of Honor TV to show the world what to expect from himself. Steen says he will tell the world why he is “Wrestling’s Worst Nightmare”, and most importantly, why he belongs in Ring of Honor. Steen says he may not be Cornette’s ideal wrestler, unlike that “f’n asskisser of a champion” Davey Richards, but because of what Ring of Honor did to him last year, he will “take the company hostage until he gets exactly what he wants.”
Kevin Kelly then says there has been a change in ownership within The Embassy, as we go to video with comments from what is now “The Embassy Limited”.
Prince Nana says that the Embassy is one of the greatest groups in the history of Ring of Honor, and its all because of him. Barrister RD Evans cuts him off and says he wants to take the time to introduce himself. Evans says Nana has done some great things in Ring of Honor’s history, but in the future, the focus shifts to the “Dominant Male” Tommaso Ciampa. Evans says he practices corporate law in the US and a friend of his saw the Embassy and wanted to invest in it. Evans says there is now a “multi-national corporation” investing in the Embassy Limited, and Tommaso Ciampa is its moneymaker.
Kevin Kelly closes out this week’s “Inside Ring of Honor” by hyping up the next 2 Internet PPVs, March 4th in New York for Ring of Honor’s 10th Anniversary, priced at $9.99, and the WrestleMania Weekend “Showdown in the Sun” events, that people can purchase both for $19.99.
-Commercial-
During the commercial, we see a promotional spot for the 10th Anniversary Internet PPV as Kevin Kelly interviews Kevin Steen, who says that while he was gone, he would have been able to afford the $9.99 price tag for this iPPV. Steen says but now he is back, and “for the company he helped build for 4 years, he gets to start destroying it”. Steen then kisses Kelly on the cheek to end the promo spot.
We go to the locker room where new backstage interviewer Veda Scott interviews Team Ambition about their match next week against Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander. Davey Richards says he is looking for a fight, and while he doesn’t do tag team matches anymore with himself being the World Champion, tag team wrestling is where he got his start. Richards says that while his former partner has issues, he is ready to move forward, and tells Coleman & Alexander to be ready for a fight. Veda Scott asks Kyle O’Reilly if Adam Cole, his Future Shock partner, is OK with this, to which O’Reilly says he is. O’Reilly then asks Richards if after next week, Ring of Honor might have the “new American Wolves”. Richards says to take it one step at a time, and to not worry about the Wolves, “worry about Ambition”.
Main Event: “The Pretty Boy Pitbull” Kenny King w/Rhett Titus vs. Matt Jackson w/Nick Jackson
Matt does not adhere to the Code of Honor to start things off and instead mocks it with his brother. Matt mocks Titus’s injury and then he and King finally lock up. King brings Matt to the ropes and breaks clean. Matt continues to mock Titus before he and King once again lock up. King brings Matt to the corner, then goes up on the ropes and rakes his forearm against Matt’s face before breaking. Another lock-up and Matt locks in a side headlock. King Irish whips out of the hold, but Matt nails him with a shoulder tackle. Matt taunts the crowd, the goes off the ropes. King leapfrogs Matt and then takes him down with a drop toe hold, then rolls over into a side headlock of his own. King switches to a front chancery, then drives a series of knees to the head of Matt. Matt gets back to his feet, but King scores with a snap suplex and then floats over to the mount, raining in right hands. Matt goes to the corner as King charges, but Nick pulls his brother out of the ring before King can do anything to him. Back in the ring, another lock-up as King locks in a waistlock. Matt counters into a hammerlock, but King spins out of it and takes Matt down with a Japanese armdrag, followed by a regular armdrag into an armbar. King then rains in more right hands before being pulled off by the referee. King hits a scoop slam, followed by going out to the apron. King goes to do a springboard move onto Matt, but sees Nick coming over to him on the outside and slingshots back in, then back out, hitting a twisting plancha onto Nick on the outside. However, that distraction allows Matt to charge in and connect with a hesitation baseball slide dropkick on King. Matt taunts the fans as Titus thinks about getting involved, but decides not to because of his injury as we go to commercial.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, as Matt connects with a facebuster, driving King’s head into his own knee. Matt disrespectively kicks away at King as we see that during the commercial break, King scored with a series of nearfalls on Matt with a Sunset flip and a backslide, but Matt came right back and regained the advantage with a dropkick. Back to live action, Matt snapmares King down and begins to stomp away at him. Matt drives a series of knees to the back of King, then locks in a chinlock with his knee placed right between King’s shoulder blades. Crowd tries to get behind King as he makes it back to his feet. King tries to go for his cartwheel kick, but Matt catches in mid-move with a superkick. Matt goes for a running boot, but King catches him and hits a capture suplex.
Both men are down as the referee begins his 10 count. Both men get back up to their feet on opposite corners as Matt charges, but King moves out of the way. King hits a series of clotheslines, then goes for an Irish whip. Matt reverses it, but King catches his clothesline attempt and takes him down with an STO, followed by an elbow drop and a standing moonsault for a nearfall. King goes for a swinging backbreaker, but Matt gets away, only to be met by the cartwheel kick. King then hits a spinebuster for another nearfall. King lifts up Matt, but Matt counters with elbows. King charges, but Matt avoids him and rolls away. King charges again, but Matt drills him with another superkick. Matt then jumps to the top rope, and connects with a corkscrew into an Ace Crusher. King rolls out onto the apron as Nick tries to will on his brother. Matt then jumps onto the middle rope and as King was picking himself up, Matt connects with a slingshot DDT, sending both men crashing to the outside. Matt rolls King back in the ring, but only gains a close nearfall. Matt setups King, looking to do the same move he injured Titus with at Final Battle. Matt heads up top and goes for the 450 Splash across the knees, but King gets his knees up. King then hits the swinging backbreaker for a nearfall as see on the outside, Nick takes one of Titus’s crutches from him. King hotshots Matt across the top rope Randy Savage style as the referee has words with Titus while Nick is baiting him. King goes onto the apron, looking to do a springboard. However, as the referee is still with the Titus and King prepares to springboard, Nick drills him in mid-air with Titus’s crutch, sending King crashing into the ring.
Matt then covers King and steals a victory.
Winner: Matt Jackson by pinfall (Interference by Nick Jackson)
After the match, the Bucks try to go after Titus, but officials and security come in before they can do so. King then goes out after the Bucks, and we have a big brawl as we go to credits.
My Thoughts
I thought this was a solid episode of Ring of Honor this week. While the matches weren’t spectacular or for that matter good, they were solid and I enjoyed all 3 of them.
The main event was the best of the 3, as King and Matt Jackson actually had a good, toned down match, where the spots they used were used at the right time and not used for the sake of doing them. The cheap win by the Bucks puts more heat on this feud and keeps it simmering for when Titus is cleared to get back in the ring.
I thought all the promos cut on this show were the best parts of the show overall. From Richards to Steen to the Briscoes to even Haas & Benjamin, all of them delivered very well on the mic tonight and did a good job at continuing to build the rivalries we will see going forward.
While Strong/Reyes and Edwards/Mondo were showcases for the former mentioned in each pairing, I thought Mondo and Reyes put on really strong efforts, especially Mondo, who really impressed with his limb work on Edwards’ arm in his control segment. While Mondo’s gimmick is still corny, he impressed me in the ring this week and I hope to see more of him as a mainstay on the roster.
While Reyes gets a bad rap by some people, he had a good showing against Strong, and both men complimented one another and had a decent little match. Nothing special to it, but both had their working shoes on and I enjoyed it.
Overall, a decent show overall with some solid matches, but very good promos makes this for a show I would recommend checking out this week.
My Grade: C+
Well, that will do it for me this week. I want to thank you all for reading and I will be back next week, but remember….
If you are a non-VIP, every Thursday, myself and Nicholas “OneManX” Gray bring you The Wrestleview Independent Roundtable, looking at the world of Indy wrestling, whether it be from Ring of Honor, FCW, SHIMMER, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, CHIKARA, CZW, Dragon Gate USA, EVOLVE, and many more independents from around the world with weekly recaps of the ROH & FCW TV shows and DVD reviews. For more visit vip.wrestleview.com.
See ya next week for more Ring-of-Honor!