Ring of Honor on Sinclair Results
February 18, 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 see a video highlighting last week’s match between Eddie Edwards & Kyle O’Reilly before the usual intro.
Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuinness welcome us to the show from the du Burns Arena in Baltimore. MD. Kelly mentions the match on March 4th at the 10th Anniversary Internet PPV as it “Young Wolves Rising” when Davey Richards & Kyle O’Reilly face Adam Cole & Eddie Edwards.
Kelly says that there will be no main event because of Shelton Benjamin’s suspension and that will prevent us from seeing the Young Bucks vs. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team.
Charlie Haas then makes his way to the ring and Haas wants to know whose fault it is that there is no main event. He says that it is Ring of Honor, Jim Cornette, and Mark Briscoe’s fault. He says that Mark is a “dummy” because he ran into a steel chair. Haas says that he is not going to deny the fans the ability to watch the “greatest wrestler in the company”. Haas says that he will fight either Briscoe tonight because he is the “outlaw and he is that damn good”.
We then hear the familiar music as The Briscoes make their way to the ring.
Jay Briscoe says that if Charlie Haas wants a piece of the Briscoes, there is nothing between them but “air and opportunity” so he tells him to leap, b****. Haas says that he doesn’t know which one he wants to fight tonight.
Jim Cornette then makes his way to the ring and Haas tells Cornette that he demands a match tonight.
Haas says that he will face Mark, but only if Jay is handcuffed to the ringpost. Jay is OK with that because he knows that Mark is going to “whoop Haas’s a**”.
Cornette says that he is not going to have a stroke over Haas. Jim says that he knows that Benjamin is not in Maryland so he knows that this is not a setup. He says that if the Briscoes want the match and don’t care about the handcuffs, then we have a main event tonight as we go to commercial.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, Steve Corino joins Kelly & McGuinness at the announce table for the TV in-ring debut of Kevin Steen.
We go to a video highlighting what Steen did on last week’s show before our opening match.
“Wrestling’s Worst Nightmare” Kevin Steen vs. Andy “Right Leg” Ridge
Steen with a clothesline after he adheres to the Code of Honor to start things off. Steen then nails Ridge with a right hand and a series of chops. Steen with a forearm and then sends Ridge to the outside. Ridge comes back and charges at Steen, connecting with a knee. Ridge charges again, but Steen catches Ridge and hits a fallaway slam into the barricades. Steen chops Ridge, followed by a forearm and then sends Ridge back into the ring. Steen nails Ridge with a boot to the head. Ridge tries to come back with a forearm and a chop but Steen slaps him. Steen with another chop, but Ridge fires back with a kick. Steen then with an Irish whip, but runs into a boot from Ridge and Ridge leaps over Steen and connects with a forearm. Steen then blocks a kick and connects with a headbutt and another chop. Ridge then fires back with a back heel kick and a running boot to the head. Ridge with a series of kicks to the back and then hits a running Yakuza kick in the corner. Ridge goes for the Slingshot Ace Crusher, but Steen nails him with an elbow, sending him to the outside. Steen then goes outside and creams Ridge with a powerbomb onto the apron.
Back in the ring, Steen drills Ridge with the F-5 for the victory.
Winner: “Wrestling’s Worst Nightmare” Kevin Steen by pinfall (F-5)
After the match, Steen picks up Ridge and goes for the Package Piledriver, but the referee stops him from doing so. Steve Corino then makes his way to the ring while Steen tries for the Package Piledriver a 2nd time. Corino gets in Steen’s face and Steen tries to goad Corino into hitting him. All of a sudden, Jimmy Jacobs makes his return to Ring of Honor, hitting the ring and spears Steen. Steen & Jacobs exchange right hands until referees & security have to come in and separate both men.
Jacobs tells Steen that the Package Piledriver “will not keep him down”. He has been beaten up, beaten down, and bled more than he can count, but he has “never stopped fighting”. Now that he is back & now that Steen is back, he wants the “2 most evil men in Ring of Honor history to fight”. Jacobs says that he wants a match and a fight as we go to commercial.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial as Veda Scott is in the locker room with Davey Richards & Kyle O’Reilly. Veda asks Richards about the match at the 10th Anniversary Internet PPV. Richards says that Cole & Edwards are “jumping in the deep end” in their first big tag team match. He says that he is “over the friendship crap” and when he gets into the ring in New York, he sees “4 ankles to snap and 4 arms to break”. O’Reilly says that he sees “2 heads to kick off”. They will find out what type of guy Eddie Edwards is. O’Reilly tells Cole not to expect loyalty from Eddie Edwards. Richards tells Cole & Edwards not to expect mercy from Team Ambition. O’Reilly says that Cole will find that out “the hard way”.
“Die Hard” Eddie Edwards & Adam Cole vs. “The Biggest Man In Town” Mike Mondo & Matt Taven
Taven and Cole start things off and lock-up. Cole with a side headlock, followed by a shoulder tackle. Cole then with a hiptoss, but Taven kicks Cole off. Taven with an armdrag, but then Cole rolls him up for a nearfall. Cole scores with a dropkick and then Mondo tags himself in. Lock-up and Mondo rakes the eyes. Mondo with a side headlock and then nails Cole with a right hand. Mondo with a slam and then nails Edwards with a right hand, sending him off the apron. Cole then puts Mondo in the turnbuckles and Edwards with a Yakuza kick from the apron. Then, Cole and Edwards with stereo dropkicks to Mondo while he was in the Tree of Woe.
Edwards tags in, but Mondo kicks Edwards in the arm. Taven then tags in, but Edwards with chops to him in the corner. Taven then floats over on an Irish whip and gets a rollup for a nearfall. Taven with a Sunset flip, but Edwards rolls through and kicks Taven in the chest. Mondo tags himself back in and he stomps away at Edwards in the corner. Mondo scores with a suplex and then rakes Edwards’ eyes. Mondo sends Edwards into the corner and nails Edwards with right hands. Mondo with a leg drop for a near fall. Mondo with a rear chinlock into a reverse chinlock. Mondo with an Irish whip, but Edwards with a chop, followed by an elbow and a Codebreaker from the middle turnbuckle. Taven tags in and tries for a belly-to-back suplex, but Edwards lands on his feet and hits a rana.
Cole tags in and he hits a series of clotheslines on Taven, followed by a dropkick to Mondo. Cole with boots to a charging Taven, followed by a crossbody from the top rope for a nearfall. Cole knocks Mondo off the apron and then hits an enzuigiri, followed by a leaping neckbreaker on Taven for another nearfall.
Taven and Mondo then collide with one another and Cole grabs a hold of Taven, hitting a Strait Jacket German Suplex with a bridge for the victory.
Winners: “Die Hard” Eddie Edwards & Adam Cole by pinfall (Strait Jacket German Suplex)
After the match, Taven and Mondo argue and then Mondo slaps Taven and Taven slaps back. Mondo then kicks Taven in the ribs and drills him with a Future Shock style double underhook DDT as we go to commercial.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, we go to this week’s “Inside Ring of Honor”.
The 1st topic on the docket is what happened during last week’s main event between The House of Truth and The Briscoes with a $10,000 side bet on the line.
We see a video highlighting that match that was won by the House of Truth because of disqualification. Even though they lost, the Briscoes commandeered both $5,000 checks. Truth Martini then says that the Briscoes were upset when he stopped payment on the check. His House of Truth won the match, but the Briscoes stole the checks. Roderick Strong wonders if the Briscoes’ check was good in the 1st place. Strong closes by telling the Briscoes to stop whining and if they want to collect the money so bad, they should call “1-800-B*** Me”.
Speaking of the Briscoes, they have a Tag Title Match at the 10th Anniversary Internet PPV on March 4th and then we go to a video promo from their challengers, The Young Bucks.
The Young Bucks say it is all about them and they are coming for the “pretty belts”. They say that they will buy Mark some new teeth, but then “kick them down his throat”.
The final topic this week is the match on the 10th Anniversary Internet PPV for the Television Title as Jay Lethal will defend against the undefeated Tommaso Ciampa. But before then, Jay Lethal will face Davey Richards for the Ring of Honor World Title on next week’s show.
Jay Lethal says that for the 1st time on television, he will make history with Davey Richards. He says that he wants to be part of the first Ring of Honor World Title change on television next week. Lethal says that he has a different style than Richards has ever faced before. Lethal says that if he wins next week, he will defend the World Title against Tommaso Ciampa in New York. Lethal closes by saying that he will end Ciampa’s undefeated streak and that Ciampa will not beat him in New York.
Finally, we go to comments from the Embassy Limited. Prince Nana says that this is the final step before they win gold in New York. Barrister RD Evans tells Nana that they can melt the belt but it won’t be worth the dividends being paid thanks to Tommaso Ciampa. Tommaso Ciampa says that Lethal needs to understand that he will strip him of his confidence and take his title. He will remain undefeated and the Dominant Male will bring the title back to Embassy Limited where it belongs.
Kevin Kelly closes by saying next week on “Inside Ring of Honor”, we will find out more matches for Ring of Honor’s “Showdown in the Sun” Internet PPVs in Fort Lauderdale as we go to commercial.
-Commercial-
Main Event: Charlie Haas vs. Ring of Honor Tag Team Champion Mark Briscoe w/Jay Briscoe handcuffed to the ringpost
Haas goes right after Mark, but Mark avoids him and nails Haas with right hands. Mark with a headbutt, but Haas Irish whips him and Mark goes out to the apron. Mark comes back with a clothesline and Haas goes out to the outside. Mark then scores with a plancha onto Haas on the outside. Mark sends Haas back into the ring and gains a nearfall. Mark with a kick to the head and then goes up top for a moonsault, but Haas pushes Mark off, sending him crashing to the outside.
Haas with a boot to the head, followed by a German suplex for a nearfall. Haas nails Mark with right hands and then sends him into the corner with a hard Irish whip for another nearfall. Haas drives a series of shoulders in the corner, followed by a butterfly suplex for yet another nearfall. Haas with a waistlock, but Mark fights out with right hands. Haas sends Mark over the top rope, but Mark lands on the apron. Mark tries for a flip back into the ring but Haas gets his knee up and Mark crashes on Haas’ knee. They go out to the outside and Haas drills Mark with a back suplex onto the barricades. Back in the ring, Mark tries to fight back with right hands, but Haas comes back with a back body drop, but Mark lands on his feet and he kicks Haas.
Mark with a series of uppercuts to the throat, followed by right hands. Mark floats over Haas and blocks a kick, followed by a clothesline. Mark then hits a running dropkick that sends Haas into the corner for a nearfall. Mark scores with a suplex and then heads up top, hitting the Froggy Bow for another nearfall. Mark then charges, but Haas avoids him and hits a belly to belly suplex.
Haas sets up Mark for the Olympic Slam, but Mark counters it with a rollup for the victory.
Winner: Mark Briscoe by pinfall (Roll Up)
After the match, Haas attacks Mark and gives him the Olympic Slam. Haas then takes the handcuff key from the referee before knocking him down and out. Haas drills Mark with another Olympic Slam and then Haas goes to the outside and grabs a steel chair. Back in the ring, Haas drills Mark with the steel chair and then goes back out to the outside with the handcuff key, leaving Jay helpless to help his brother.
Haas then gives Kevin Kelly 2 wads of cash, totaling $10,000 to pay for his and Benjamin’s respective $5,000 fines. Haas says that the Briscoes have played into his game because he has been planning this all week. Haas tells the Briscoes that now, “they are dead” as we go to credits.
My Thoughts
Solid show this week, but a slight step off from last week.
Opening promo exchange with Haas & The Briscoes was well done on both ends. Haas has really settled nicely into this heel role and his mic work has vastly improved.
The Kevin Steen debut was a bonafide squash, but it did its job in getting Steen over. Ridge was good on the sell, but botched a couple of things on his hope spots. Like the idea of a Jacobs/Steen match for 10th Anniversary as since Jacobs returned to Ring of Honor, his few and far between matches have been pretty good, so we will see what transpires on March 4th.
Richards & O’Reilly cut a short, but sweet promo, a great improvement on their part because as much as people like these two as workers, they will all say they are not the best talkers, but I thought they did a decent job here.
The Edwards/Cole vs. Mondo/Taven match was again, a showcase to get over the Edwards/Cole team heading into 10th Anniversary. Taven & Mondo looked pretty good here, especially Mondo, and Cole was put over nicely by getting the victory and uncorking a new finisher with the Strait Jacket German. Good stuff by all 4.
Liked the post-match deal with Mondo & Taven as it allows for somewhat of an undercard feud to take place, which can do nothing but wonders for both guys.
Inside Ring of Honor, to me, is one of the best segments each and every week on TV. It does a great job at getting over characters and allowing these guys to cut promos and become better at doing so. It has definitely helped guys like the Young Bucks & Jay Lethal & Tommaso Ciampa go from “eh” to OK talkers, to in the case of Ciampa, a pretty good talker. Young Bucks have settled in nicely into their cocky heel role, but they still need a ton of work inside the ring. Finally, while Lethal is still a long ways from being good on the mic, he has improved and I am actually looking forward to his match next week with Richards.
The main event was to me, the best thing on the show this week. Mark Briscoe is very underrated as a worker, as he is good on the FIP stuff, throws good strikes, and shows nice babyface fire on his comebacks. Haas is a way better worker as a trash talking heel, and it showed in this match. Really well done, and the post-match thing did a great job at cementing Haas & Benjamin as heels with the post-match attack and throwing a wad of cash down to “pay their fines”. WGTT come off as too good for Ring of Honor, where as the Briscoes are the blue-collar team that ROH fans can always get behind, and it makes for a nice jux to position for this feud. Really good stuff all around.
Overall, another good show this week with the Kevin Steen squash and main event that I recommend checking out.
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….
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See ya next week for more Ring-of-Honor!