Ring of Honor on Sinclair Results
February 4, 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!
We go to video of the TV Title match at Final Battle in preparation for this week’s main event.
Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuinness welcome us to the show, from the du Burns Arena in Baltimore, MD. Kelly & McGuinness hype up this week’s main event and take us to pre-match comments from Mike Bennett before said main event.
Mike Bennett says that no good deed goes unpunished and it is true because he tried to give Ring of Honor something they could be proud of. A Television champion who looks like him and acts like him. He beat Jay Lethal so bad that the time limit ran out. He faced Lethal and El Generico and he took care of Generico, but then Lethal hit him with something illegal from behind. Now, with no time limit, there is no running away and no crooked referees. Bennett closes by vowing to win the Television Title.
Ring of Honor Television Title: Jay Lethal (c) vs. “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett w/”Brutal” Bob Evans & Maria
Lethal goes after Bennett when the bell rings, but Bennett instead goes to the floor to frustrate Lethal. Bennett returns to the ring and they lock up. Bennett with a side headlock, followed by a shoulder tackle. Lethal tries for a hip toss but Bennett blocks it. Lethal then hits the hiptoss, but Bennett goes to the floor when Lethal goes for the cartwheel/dropkick combination. Lethal then goes after Bennett and brings him back into the ring. Lethal with a right hand to Bennett, followed by a chop and another right hand. Bennett then retreats back out to the outside when Lethal goes for the handspring. Lethal slides out to the outside and nails Bennett with a series of right hands and chops. Lethal then brings Bennett back into the ring. Lethal hits a series of right hands in the corner on Bennett, then charges but runs into an elbow. Lethal then goes for a rana, but Bennett blocks it. Lethal, however, is able to complete the rana that sends himself and Bennett all the way out to the outside. Bennett goes to hide behind Evans and Evans tries to nail Lethal with a right hand, but Lethal nails him with one of his own. Bennett then hides behind Maria and pushes her into him, and that distraction allows Bennett to drill Lethal with a hard right hand as we go to commercial.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, as Bennett nails Lethal with another right hand. Lethal comes back with a leg lariat and Bennett rolls out onto the apron. Lethal then hits a springboard dropkick to Bennett on the apron. We see that during the break, Bennett hit Lethal with Snake Eyes, followed by a flying clothesline. Back to live action, Lethal charges and goes for a tope dive, but Bennett sidesteps him and Lethal goes crashing into the barricades. The referee gets to an 18 count before Lethal is able to return to the ring. Bennett nails Lethal with another right hand and then applies a rear chinlock. Lethal tries to fight back with elbows, but Bennett then locks in a sleeper. Lethal then with an elbow to break free and then both men exchange right hands.
Lethal drills Bennett with an enzuigiri, followed by a running forearm and a series of clotheslines. Bennett with an Irish whip but Lethal springs off the ropes, hitting Bennett with a moonsault. Bennett goes to the corner as Lethal charges, but Bennett sidesteps him, sending him to the apron. Lethal then comes back and springboards, hitting another dropkick for a nearfall. Bennett lifts Lethal on his shoulders, but Lethal escapes and drills Bennett with a superkick. Lethal goes for the Lethal Injection(Handspring into Ace Crusher), but Bennett sees it coming and nails Lethal with a TKO for a nearfall. Lethal then surprises Bennett with a rollup for a close nearfall. Lethal misses a clothesline and both men collide with one another, and Bennett is out on his feet, draping himself on the ropes. Evans gets on the apron and distracts the referee as Maria pushes Bennett onto Lethal, who is down to try and gain Bennett the victory.
However, the plan backfires as Lethal crucifixes Bennett and rolls him up for the victory.
Winner and still Ring of Honor Television Champion: Jay Lethal by pinfall (Crucifix)
Lethal celebrates his win as Maria cannot believe what happened.
We go to the interview area where Veda Scott is with Eddie Edwards. Veda asks Edwards about his recent actions dealing with Kyle O’Reilly. She asks why he applauded Kyle’s efforts last week. Edwards says that maybe this means that O’Reilly will be an American Wolf. Edwards says that O’Reilly talks about loyalty and respect, but he cannot give 2 s***s about Adam Cole and Future Shock as long as he can hang from Richards’ jock. Edwards says that he is a man and he puts things out in the open. Kyle O’Reilly then enters the interview area and tells Edwards if he has s*** to say to him, to say it to his face and then he wonders if Edwards has the balls to do it. Edwards says that this started with O’Reilly. O’Reilly says that he told the truth to Richards. He says that if Edwards wants to act like a smartass, maybe he should wrestle him like a man. O’Reilly tells him to put up or shut up. O’Reilly leaves as Edwards says that it looks like he has a match next week as we go to commercial.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, as Kelly & McGuinness are at ringside. Kelly mentions that it is time for the return of Kevin Steen. Kelly says that he doesn’t want to do the interview because of what Steen has done. We then go to a video of what Steen did at Final Battle. After the video, Kevin Kelly is in the ring and brings out Kevin Steen. Kelly wants Steen’s thoughts about being reinstated and the cost at which it came. Steen says that he has waited for this moment to be in this ring for 1 year. He tells Kelly that when he imagined it, Kevin Kelly was not standing next to him so he tells Kelly to leave the ring. Before he leaves, Steen tells Kelly to hold his gum.
Steen says that for the last year, he was asking himself a question. What kind of wrestling promotion keeps their best guy at home for a year? What kind of promotion goes around saying that they have the best product when their best wrestler isn’t there for 12 months? Other promotions let their talents get away with a lot worse. Steen says that you could almost get away with murder. Why is Steen kept away? Is it because he was hard to control or is it because he is a liability? The reason he was kept away is because he wouldn’t suck up to Jim Cornette, stroke his ego, or kiss his ass like the golden boy champion Davey Richards. Steen says that there is a lot of talk about the end of the world being in 2012 and it does not scare him because he will do it as the Ring of Honor World Champion. When he gets his chance, he will take “Jimmy Boy’s little champion” and he is going to tear him apart. Then as the Ring of Honor Champion, he will hold the company hostage like he was held hostage for a year from doing what he was meant to do and that was to create chaos in Ring of Honor. Steen says that he is Pro Wrestling’s Biggest Nightmare, and then Jim Cornette comes out and says that Steen is Pro Wrestling’s Biggest Mouth.
Security comes to the ring with Cornette. Cornette says that he brought his friends and then Steen says that he doesn’t have any friends other than the one standing next to Cornette, and Steen points out that he almost took him apart, referring to Ring of Honor Founder Cary Silkin. Cornette says that Steen has laid his greasy hands on everyone and he wants to stay impartial. He was looking forward to looking into Steen’s fat face to tell him. Steen comments on Cornette’s ‘fat face’ comment by saying that Cornette was known for waving around a tennis racket even though it looks like he never played a sport in his life. Cornette says that if Steen spent as much time in the gym as he does training his mouth muscles, then he might like Steen better. Cornette says that Steen likes to be crude and obscene but he has an announcement for Steen. After Steen did at Final Battle in injuring 3 people with the Package Piledriver, and remembering what happened with Owen Hart and Steve Austin in 1997 at SummerSlam. The neck injury led to the premature end of the career of the biggest star in the business. Cornette says that he knows that Owen was sorry for what he did to Austin. Cornette also says that he knows that Steen is not sorry for what he did. Cornette tells Steen that people will not be carried out to the hospital with neck injuries and being on the injured list for unknown periods of time. The Piledriver in any form is now banned in Ring of Honor.
Steen comments on 2 fans applauding Cornette’s decision, calling them “sheep”. Steen says that he is not happy about this, but he loves how it is for everyone else’s benefit but calls Cornette a hypocrite. Steen says it isn’t for everyone else’s safety, it is only for Richards’s safety because Cornette knows that if Steen hits the Package Piledriver, Richards isn’t getting up, and then the Ring of Honor World Title will go around his waist. Cornette tells Steen that it won’t fit around his waist. Steen says that it doesn’t matter. Cornette can ban his finishing move, but he cannot ban him anymore. Steen says that he will swear on his son’s life to make sure that Cornette’s plan does not work. This is the year that he will take Richards apart and become the Ring of Honor World Champion and he will make it “the nightmare that Cornette cannot wake up from”.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, we go to this week’s “Inside Ring of Honor”.
The first thing on the docket is the issues between the House of Truth and The Briscoes. Truth Martini says that life is full of disappointments, and the Briscoes are the biggest disappointment of all because they left all of the hard work for Strong and Elgin and they lost the 8 man elimination tag. Now they will get a chance to redeem themselves next week. Roderick Strong talks about the way that the Briscoes had to struggle to get the money for the match, but Strong says that he got the money with no problem. They are going to have a chance to shut the Briscoes up. They will take the payoff and then they will take the belt. In closing, Michael Elgin says that the Briscoes just wrote a check that their bodies cannot cash.
We then go to comments from the Briscoes as Jay Briscoe says that Truth Martini is telling everyone it was their fault they lost the match in Greensboro. Mark calls Martini a “peacock”. Jay says that they took care of Haas and Benjamin and then Strong and Elgin lost the match themselves. Jay says they are willing to put up $5,000 so they want to know if the House of Truth is willing to do the same.
Our next topic is the fact that In 3 weeks on the February 25 episode, for the 1st time ever, the Ring of Honor World Champion will face the Ring of Honor Television Champion.
Davey Richards says that Jay Lethal says the Television Title is a gateway to the World Title, but with himself as the World Champion, that gateway will lead to him kicking Lethal’s head off. Lethal can be the best wrestler on television, but with the World Title, Richards says that he is the “best wrestler in the world”. Richards tells Lethal that he can choose his poison, he can tap out or be knocked out.
Our final topic this week concerns Rhett Titus’ knee injury thanks to the Young Bucks.
Kenny King says that they were on top of the world before Christmas because they were ready for a Ring of Honor Tag Team Title match. But, things came crashing down at Final Battle. Titus mentions that the referee had to stop the match because of his knee injury. Titus says that the doctors told him he would be out for 4 months, but he vows to be back in half the time. They say that they are not going anywhere. They are looking for the Young Bucks. The next time they are in the ring together, the Young Bucks will be going to the hospital.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, as the Young Bucks are in the interview area with Veda Scott. She asks them about their match against the Briscoes at the 10th Anniversary Show. Matt Jackson comments on the tag teams in Ring of Honor. On March 4th, the titles go from the chicken farm to Rancho Cucamongo, California. They finish the interview by trying to hit on Veda, but he brushes them off and sends it back to Kelly & McGuinness in the arena.
Before our next match, Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin have something to say. Haas tells them not to send out the Bravados because they are not going to wrestle anyone this week. Haas says that their interview time has been cut short because of Kevin Steen. Haas says that when it comes to Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team, they make the rules and their interview starts now.
Benjamin says that they were going to say how much they enjoyed being in Baltimore, but after the lukewarm reception, he changed his mind. These people feel the same way the fans in New York felt about what they did to the Briscoes. They only defended themselves because the Briscoes introduced the chairs in the first place. Anyone who would cheer the Briscoes over them are as stupid as the Briscoes. Benjamin says that they are here to wrestle, but not against the Bravados. They are holding the show hostage until the Briscoes get their “slackjawed, yokel asses” out here and give them a rematch. Benjamin says that they can sit here all night long. Jim Cornette comes out with the referees and Haas tells Cornette that they want the Briscoes. Cornette tells them that they don’t have the time as we go to commercial.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, nothing has been settled but then we hear the familiar sound of the Briscoes’ music, and they make their way to the ring and the referees have to separate Haas and Benjamin. Jay Briscoe says that they are not afraid of a fight and if Haas and Benjamin want a rematch, they can have it right now. The Briscoes then attack Haas & Benjamin and we have an impromptu match underway.
Main Event for the Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles: The Briscoes(c) vs. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team
The fight goes to the floor and Haas is sent into the barricade while Mark hits a dive onto Benjamin. Jay and Haas start things off and Haas nails him with a kick. Haas pushes Jay but Jay comes back with an elbow and then nails Benjamin with a right hand. Haas chokes Jay in the ropes and then Benjamin nails Jay with a kick, followed by Haas gaining a nearfall.
Haas nails Jay with a right hand, followed by connecting with an elbow before sending Jay into Benjamin’s boot. Benjamin tags in and nails Jay with a series of right hands and stomps in the corner. Benjamin then scores with a short arm clothesline. Benjamin with a knee to the head, followed by sending Jay shoulder first into the ringpost. Haas tags in and hits a double sledge to the ribs, followed by a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. Haas locks in a front chancery and tags in Benjamin. Benjamin and Jay exchange forearms and Jay gains the advantage. Benjamin Irish whips him, but Jay gets his knees up on the Stinger Splash attempt. Mark then tags in and so does Haas.
Mark with a shoulder tackle, followed by a springboard crossbody. Mark with a series of right hands and then lands on his feet on a back body drop attempt by Haas. Mark with a kick to Haas and then places Haas on the turnbuckles. Mark grabs onto Haas’ arms and drives him down with a sitout slam for a nearfall. All 4 men are in the ring now and Benjamin is sent to the outside, but then gets a steel chair. Mark rollups Haas, who kicks out and sends Mark towards the ropes. In doing so, Benjamin drills Mark in the head with the steel chair for the blatant disqualification.
Winners and still Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions: The Briscoes by disqualification (Steel Chair shot by Benjamin)
Mark is down and out as Jay talks trash to Haas & Benjamin, who are pleased at what they did as we go to credits.
My Thoughts
Pretty solid show this week.
TV Title match was the best thing on the show as Lethal & Bennett put on another good match. Those two have great chemistry, and the interactions with Maria and Evans were very well done.
The promos this week were again pretty decent to very good, as Kevin Steen cut another very good promo, as well as nice setup from the Young Bucks, Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards regarding their upcoming matches on TV and iPPV.
The main event was merely an angle to continue the heelish ways of Haas & Benjamin, although I think this feud with the Briscoes is starting to get long in the tooth.
All in all, a solid show this week with a very good TV Title match between Lethal & Bennett and a good segment involving Kevin Steen & Jim Cornette.
My Grade: B-
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!