ROH on HDNet Recap
March 1, 2010
The Arena, Philadelphia
Commentators: Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak
Report by: Anthony J. Valvo of WrestleView.com
Readers? your patience are rewarded once again! You are now entering the most ?Googled? ROH recap on the World Wide Web (and many thanks to all of you for reading). Now, let’s get back to ?The only hour of the week dedicated to professional wrestling?. This is Ring of Honor on HDNet!
We start off the show with pictures from the epic battle between Tyler Black and Austin Aries for the ROH World Championship at New York City. In case you don?t know, Black defeated Aries to win the ROH World Title for the first time.
Tonight’s Main Event: Tyler Black and Roderick Strong vs. Austin Aries and Kenny King.
Enter Kidd Russell’s music.
Immediately, we begin the show with two of the better tag teams in Ring of Honor.
Match #1: Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis and Jon Davis) vs. The American Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards w/Shane Hagadorn)
Before the match, Davey Richards entered the ring by stomping on a crew member’s back. The American Wolves were welcomed with a few streamers. The Code of Honor was not followed, as they just stood face to face.
Both teams began the match by exchanging punches. Richards then began kicking each member of the DCFC. Edwards then flew from the top rope and hit a Codebreaker on Chavis. Edwards attempted the pin, but Chavis escaped at two. Edwards then did on Dave after the pin attempt. Richards then applied the cloverleaf on Chavis. Chavis was able to grab hold of the ropes. Edwards was tagged in and stomped and raked Chavis a good bit. Edwards then rubbed Chavis? neck across the top rope. Edwards broke the hold, but Richards behind the referee’s back hit an enzugiri on Chavis. Chavis is up on his feet and tried to punch his way out of the dilemma, but Edwards connected with a headbutt and tagged Richards in the match. Richards placed a dropkick on Chavis, and then took out Davis with a forearm. Richards then pinned Chavis, but only got the two count. Richards tagged in Edwards and he planted a clothesline on Chavis. Edwards attempt the pinfall victory, but did not get the three count. Richards is tagged in the match and again took out Davis. Chavis once again tried to fight this attack off with punches, but the Wolves gained control. However, the Wolves then failed on a combination move and Chavis dumped Edwards out of the ring the hard way. Richards then punched Chavis, but Davis blind tagged in this match.
Richards kicked Chavis, but Davis caught Richards as he attempted a handspring enzugiri. Davis then picked up Richards over his head and hit an airplane spin/powerbomb combination. Davis attempted a cover, but did not get a three. Chavis then did a running clothesline, and Davis followed that up with a side slam and attempted a pinfall cover once again. However, the fate was the same and the match continued. Davis with punches at the corner. Chavis is tagged in and got in a couple of kidney shot to the area of Richards. Richards attempted to chop his way out of trouble, but Chavis poked Richards in the eye and attacked Richards along the ropes. Davis is tagged in now and Richards attempted a dropkick, but missed. Davis slammed Richards down the hard way. Chavis then slingshot Richards to the turnbuckle and then he slammed Richards to the mat. Then a cover was made, but Davey escaped at two.
Richards then countered a suplex attempt from Chavis. Davis ran in and attacked Edwards and Richards. Richards rebounded with a heel kick on Davis and made sure to deliver an enzugiri on Chavis! Richards delivered a nice suplex on Chavis and finally tagged in Edwards. Edwards avoided a charging Davis. Edwards rammed his shoulder to Chavis. Eddie went high-risk and executed a beautiful missile dropkick on Chavis. Davis tried to charge Edwards, but instead ran into Chavis. Edwards then delivered a stiff dropkick on Davis. Edwards then continued with a kick and a running boot. Edwards then delivered a fisherman buster on Chavis. Edwards the covered Chavis, but managed to escape at two. Edwards then did a waistlock. Davis then came in and did a clothesline/leg sweep combination on Edwards illegally of course. Chavis covered Edwards, but only got the two count. Edwards countered a back suplex with some slaps to Chavis? face and hit an enzugiri. Richards then hit an enzugiri on Davis from the apron and the Wolves attack Chavis with a series of kicks. Richards then out of nowhere ran and hit a Tornado DDT to the outside on Davis!! Edwards with knee strikes on Chavis, but when Edwards went off the ropes Chavis dropped him with the back body drop. Edwards then regained the advantage with a bad-look head scissors takedown. Richards helped ground Chavis with a Dragon Leg Screw onto the ropes.
Edwards with a chop block on Chavis. Before Richards went back to his corner, he kicked Chavis in the chest. Edwards quickly executed a springboard moonsault and pinned for a two count. Edwards then applied the Half-Crab submission hold on Chavis. Richards prevented an attack by Davis, however Davis picked up Richards and ran him into Edwards to break the hold (brilliantly done). The Wolves continued to attack Chavis. However, the Wolves could not connect on the Alarm Clock, as Davis speared Richards! Edwards snapped the leg of Chavis, but when Edwards went off the ropes Chavis nailed Edwards with his good knee. Davis then laid Edwards out with a low leg lariat and we got a mini upset in the making!
Finish: Dark City Fight Club set up Edwards and delivered Project Mayhem (a cutter/powerbomb combo) for the pinfall victory.
Winner by pinfall: Dark City Fight Club
Grade: B-.
After the match, Richards began arguing with both Hagadorn and Edwards for losing.
ROH interviewer Kyle Durden is now backstage with ?Skullkrusher? Rasche Brown. Durden mentioned that Prince Nana and Shane Hagadorn were both interested in his services. Durden asked if Brown make a decision. Brown said that we make choices everyday and now someone made a choice to face The Skullkrusher! Brown said that man was going to pay because PAIN?IS COMING! Seriously if a school district’s principal had Brown’s voice, the students would be scared $hitless.
Onto the next match?
Match #2: Bobby Dempsey vs. Steve Corino
See that line above? I had nothing to do with that line and I am on a roll and decided not to take that line off. (If the powers of WrestleView took the line out, then ignore this setenence).
Again, there was no Code of Honor administered as both men exchanged punches from the very start. Corino then took advantage with some punches, but Dempsey responded with a back body drop. Corino then ?begged? for mercy, but when Dempsey was not paying attention Corino gave him a boot to the face. Corino then delivered some elbows and rake the face of Dempsey at the corner. Corino then rubbed Dempsey’s face on the buckle. Corino then whipped Dempsey to another corner and Corino did a running chop. Corino then delivered a book and an STO. Corino then slapped Dempsey around and delivered a clothesline. Dempsey stood right up after that looking frustrated and demanded more punishment. Dempsey then delivered a clothesline and followed it up with an overhead suplex. Once Corino got back on his feet, Dempsey planted him with a body block. Dempsey set up Corino for the Death Valley Driver, but?
Finish: Steve Corino countered Dempsey’s finisher with a rollup and got the three count and victory.
Winner by pinfall: Steve Corino
Grade: C.
After the match, Dempsey delivered a body block on Corino. However as Dempsey attempted another move, Kevin Steen entered the ring and Steen attacked Dempsey from behind. Alex Payne came in to save Dempsey, but Steen hit a low-blow on Payne and started to pick apart Payne. Steen rammed Payne to the ring post while Corino rammed Dempsey’s body to the barricade. Corino and Steen continue to pummel both men and Payne’s head is busted open. Steen then grabbed a hold of Payne’s blood and smeared it all over his own face as some kind of war paint. After smearing blood on his own face, Steen clobbered Payne with TWO Package Piledrivers. Corino and Steen smile after this and leave the ring.
We get to see Hogewood and Prazak in a studio somewhere. Hogewood is ranting and raving about Steen being a bully and how it was uncalled for, blah blah blah. Prazak said Hogewood must maintain his composure (Hey, ROH signed Kevin Kelly so will there no longer be a porpoise to slap) and let hear from Sara Del Ray.
We then got a taped interview of Sara Del Ray, who actually is a top wrestler in SHIMMER (ROH’s sister promotion). Del Ray mentioned that she loved training and how she was not nice in the ring. She called out many women wrestlers, calling them all ?models?. Del Ray said he only focuses on wrestling and not how to apply makeup. She finally said that she is different from the women on the wrestling circuit because she wanted to fight and wants to be a female representative for women wrestlers.
Onto the next match?
Handicap Match
Match #3: The Set (Jay-Syn and Lance Lude) vs. ?Skullkrusher? Rasche Brown
Prince Nana and Shane Hagadorn are scouting this man. I would if I were them too. After the Code of Honor was administered, The Set punched on Brown and thought they dumped him over the ropes. Little did they know that Brown is not only powerful, but agile as well as he skinned the cat. The Set were posing a bit, big mistake. Brown delivered a powerful double clothesline. Jay-Syn poked Brown in the eyes, another big mistake. Brown then caught him off the ropes and destroyed him with a Sidewalk Slam. Lude then attempted a top rope crossbody, but Brown caught him like a pop fly and lifted him of over his head and slammed him to the mat. MILITARY PRESS SLAM!! Brown is not done yet. Brown then clobbered Jay-Syn with a chop and speared half of The Set. Brown then slapped Lude (the other half) and Mike Hogewood after a week off decided it was time to slap the porpoise (now wearing furry shoes)! A Porpoise? With furry shoes? That I got to see! Man I am beginning to hate Mike Hogewood again.
Finish: ?Skullkrusher? Rasche Brown crushed Lance Lude with the Torture Rack, then laid the Burning Hammer and pinned BOTH members to officially pin The Set.
Winner by pinfall: Rasche Brown
Grade: C- (one of the best squashed I have ever seen).
After the match, Hagadorn and Nana offered Brown a contract. Brown just walked away from both suitors.
Later on: Tag Team Main Event and the brackets for the ROH TV Title (for those that did not read the spoilers)!
After a few months, it is about time we have a ?Women of Honor? match!
Match #4: Portia Perez vs. Sara Del Ray (w/Shane Hagadorn)
We know about Del Ray, but I will put my ?Mr. V cap? on and tell you a couple things about Portia Perez.
1) Perez is currently a SHIMMER Tag Team Champion and a Canadian Ninja.
2) Dave Stephens (RAW Recapper) said that she was the Women’s Wrestler of the Half-Year in Mr. V’s 2009 Mid-Year Awards.
After the Code of Honor, the match began.
Del Ray started with attacks at the corner on Perez. Perez then attempted a roll-up, but only got a two count. Del Ray stopped Perez’s momentum with an elbow. Perez rolled up Del Ray again but got the same result. Del Ray then met Perez with a big boot! Del Ray then grabbed hold of Perez on the ropes and started to kick her in the chest. Del Ray then executed a solid suplex and attempted a cover, but Perez kicked out at two.
Del Ray then started to attack Perez with her hip (called the Hip Attack). Perez came back with punches, but Del Ray ended that offense with a headbutt. Del Ray missed the shoot kick and Perez continued to punch Del Ray. Perez then executed a picture perfect Swinging DDT and covered Del Ray, but Del Ray kicked out at two. Perez then continued the offense with some knee strikes, but Del Ray countered right after that with a Fallaway Slam/Bridge Pin combo. Del Ray covered, but only got a two count. Del Ray then hit a shoot kick on Perez and then finished her off.
(I don?t know what is going on with these lines, oh well).
Finish: Sara Del Ray finished Portia Perez off with the Spike Piledriver and pinned Perez for the three count.
Winner by Pinfall: Sara Del Ray
Grade: C (leaned toward a C+).
The Bracket pairing were finally announced near the Main Event. Here are the first round matches that will start next week on HDNet.
(1) Kevin Steen vs. (8) Rhett Titus
(3) Colt Cabana vs. (6) Eddie Edwards
(4) Davey Richards vs. (5) Delirious
(2) Kenny King vs. (7) El Generico
Oh, and if you live close to the area, ROH will be in Philadelphia, Detroit, Toronto, Phoenix, and Charlotte between now and early April. If you all think that ROH is good on HDNet, you have not seen anything yet! Check out their show and hopefully they will come to Pittsburgh soon.
We see the some pictures of Black’s Title win.
Now?Let’s get to the MAIN EVENT!!!
Match #5: Tyler Black and Roderick Strong vs. Austin Aries and Kenny King
There were not ring introductions, which meant that Aries was probably still the ROH World Champion while these tapings were going on, so we only got a close up of the Title that Black won after the ROH taping.
No Code of Honor, as both teams were barking to start. Roderick Strong and Kenny King begin this match. King and Strong began the contest with a tie-up, followed by a test of strength. Strong took King down and followed it up with a dropkick. Tyler Black was tagged in right now and took King down. Black then administered some armdrags. King attempted to tag Austin Aries, but he refused to tag into the match. Black was then tagged into the match and?.well my feed cut out.
?ok, now it is back on and King punched and kneed Strong. King then continued to attack at the corner. Strong recovered from that and hit another dropkick. Black is tagged in once again and chopped King to the mat and then stomped King in the ring. After a snap mare and victim kick by Black, Aries pulled King away from the action and ?talked strategy?.
King was back in the ring and Strong tagged in the match. Both King and Strong tied-up and King gained the advantage with a hammerlock. Aries finally tagged into the match and did an ax punch from the top turnbuckle on Strong’s arm. Aries then twisted Strong’s arm and chopped him. Strong then responded with a chop! Aries ran to King and tagged him. King and Strong then had another test of strength and King cornered Strong with punches to the head. Strong came back with a boot while King was running after him. Strong then punched away on King, but Aries then took a couple of cheap shots on Strong. Black ran over to Aries and started to brawl with him for a little bit. King still has the advantage over Strong, and at this time he drilled his knee to Strong’s chest. Strong left the ring, but then entered the ring. While Strong was going off the ropes Aries slapped his back. King took advantage of Aries? tactic with an enzugiri to Strong’s head. King attempted to pin, but only got a two count. Aries is tagged into the contest and attacked Strong at the corner. King then took a cheap shot at the corner and Aries kneed Strong in the midsection area. Aries then stomped on the chest of Strong. King is tagged in and punched Strong in the stomach. Strong is out of the ring once again. Black was arguing with the ref when Aries did a Macho Man style Top Rope Ax Punch onto the floor.
King then moved Strong back into the ring and tried to cover, but only got a one count. King then continued the attack with a stomp and a back suplex on Strong. King tried to pin cover again, but Strong kicked out at one. Aries is tagged in and King slingshot Strong into Aries elbow. Aries then hit Strong with a springboard splash for and attempted a cover, but Strong kicked out at two. Strong and Aries then went back and forth, exchanging punches and chops. Strong finally out-chopped his opponent and tried to make a tag. However, Aries did a drop toe hold and Strong just missed the tag. King is tagged in and stomped Strong. Then, King applied a chinlock. Strong broke the hold and went off the ropes and to clonk heads with King.
With both men down, Black and Aries argued outside the ring. Strong was ready for a tag, but no sign of Black. King then hit Strong with an elbow and covered for a two count. Aries is tagged in. Aries then elbowed Strong twice and then did a slingshot elbow. Aries covered, but the ref only got to two. Aries then started to stomp on Strong’s eyes. King is tagged into the match once again. Both King and Aries tried a double team move, but Strong countered this with a kick and a tag to the fresh Tyler Black.
Black started to clean house with multiple punches and clotheslines on Aries and King. Black whipped both men to the same corner, but Aries escaped and Black hit King with a corner elbow! Aries then ran at Black, but Black moved out of the way and Aries splashed King at the corner. Black then grabbed hold of both men and at the same time hit the Inverted DDT (on Aries) and an STO (on King). Black attempted to pin King, but the ref only got to two. Black then failed on a tactic, but was still able to do a Standing Moonsault on King. Black covered, but still only got a two count. Black stared down Aries for a moment. King clubbed Black’s back from behind. Black went off the ropes and Strong did a blind tag. While Black did a Suicide Flip Dive on Aries, Strong then did a running knee move on King. Strong then set up and hit the Double Gutbuster! Black is in the ring to give King more punishment, but?
Finish: Tyler Black Superkicked Roderick Strong by accident! Kenny King quickly pinned Strong for the three count while Austin Aries grabbed onto Black’s leg to clinch the victory.
Winner by Pinfall: Kenny King and Austin Aries
Grade: B.
After the match, we saw Aries and King celebrating their big victory. Meanwhile in the ring, Strong and Black exchanged words, then shoves until the referees separated both men.
Quick Results
Dark City Fight Club defeated The American Wolves by pinfall. (DCFC used Project Mayhem)
Steve Corino defeated Bobby Dempsey by pinfall. (Corino won with a roll-up)
?Skullkrusher? Rasche Brown defeated The Set by pinfall. (Brown used the Burning Hammer)
Sara Del Ray defeated Portia Perez by pinfall (Del Ray used the Spike Piledriver)
Kenny King and Austin Aries defeated Roderick Strong and Tyler Black by Pinfall (King took advantage of Black’s mistake and pinned Strong)
Overall Thoughts
Talk about wrestling heavy! In a one-hour show they were able to have five matches, and on paper it may not have been a good show but I for one enjoyed this show from start to finish.
The opening match I thought was a great way to start off the program. However, as it is in most cases, a tag team match does not mesh well if you have a speedy team matching up with a power team. I did enjoy a few of the spots in this opening match, but there was a lot wrong with this contest. A few missteps by both teams around the end of the match lowered the overall performance. That and both teams failed to tag on a regular basis. Had this been a Tornado Tag Match it would have been much better. But since the rules were regular tag team rules, a B- grade was very generous.
I did not expect a whole lot out of Dempsey vs. Corino, so I must say that I was pretty surprised with the overall flow between the two. We all know we won?t get high-flying moves by these guys, but they both brawled it out inside the ring until there was a winner. That I really liked. It was an average, good-paced match. I really enjoyed the ending of this segment, in which Kevin Steen appeared brainwashed and just attacked Dempsey and Alex Payne all over the place. I give a ton of credit to Payne for taking the bumps and selling two package piledrivers in the end. Overall this part of the show I really enjoyed.
ROH actually gave a woman wrestler some interview airtime. Honestly, who better than to promote women’s wrestling in Ring of Honor than Sara Del Ray? I actually liked the taped segment. She talked about training and not wanting to be a model. In my view, I think she is a strong representative for wrestling. Let’s face it (and no shots at WWE and TNA), but it appears that those companies want to promote beauty over execution. Del Ray is a fit in ROH and hopefully fans will start taking notice.
Note to self: Never upset Rasche Brown. Seriously, this guy is a beast and he showed agility when he skinned the cat in his squash match against The Set. This was the best squash match I have seen this year and it does not come close. Brown controlled it all the way to the finish and it is nice to see him walk away from being aligned with Prince Nana and Shane Hagadorn. If I was Brown I would pick The Embassy, only because Prince Nana is awesome. It tells a lot when someone can tell a story in the ring in less than 90 seconds. Pain definitely came tonight!
I may be wrong, but I really liked the Women of Honor match between Portia Perez and Sara Del Ray. After watching a pillow fight and Wrestlicious (please save your time and don?t watch that embarrassment), it is refreshing to see a good, quality one-on-one match between two women that I wished went on for a bit more. I remember Dave Stephens (RAW Recapper) sang praises over Perez, and I have to say that she had a good showing. However, I think HDNet wanted to focus on Del Ray, so Perez did not get much offense in. Still, I was pretty impressed with both women in this match. A Nice Job
The tag team main event was pretty good. The only thing I had a slight problem with as they were looking behind their backs for the next set of moves. If you watched the show, you would see at time Strong turning his back to Aries waiting to be attacked. Same went with Black on one part, as well as Aries. Heck, the only man in this match that really was spot-on in every aspect was Kenny King. Since March of 2009 King has improved every time he wrestled on HDNet and that says a lot. Now, I must say that the match was really dominated inside the ring and the only time anyone attacked outside the ring it was not ?legal?. The match was not like the usual tag matches in Ring of Honor, and that is a good thing. No shenanigans, the wrestlers sold the moves, and it was a very solid main event that was a pleasure to watch.
Though the best match was a ?B? in my gradebook, I found the overall program to be much better than that. I give ROH a lot of credit in having five matches on one card and they were able to tell a story with each one of them. Again, you don?t need a boat load of interviews and backstage promotions to have a good wrestling program. After watching WWE and TNA this past week, I think they should look at what ROH was able to do this week. Was it a bad show? Not even close. Was it excellent? To most ROH fans, it may not have been. But for this recap specialist, I say it was one of the better shows that ROH produced on HDNet.
Overall Grade: B+ (leaned towards A-)
-Mr. V’s Pick Three for the Night-
Wrestler of the Night: Kenny King
It is time that King gets some recognition here. He told a great story in the ring and rarely missed his spots tonight. He mainly controlled the flow of the match because, well, Aries played the role of a man who did not want to face his rival. So I give a ton of credit to Kenny King for tonight and he deserved this honor. Hopefully, this could lead to a ROH TV Title Reign.
Disappointment of the Night: The Opening Match
Don?t get me wrong, for the most part I enjoyed Dark City Fight Club vs. The American Wolves. But the lack of selling offense and the lack of legal tags was frustrating. They started off well, and then it became a big cluster (something that should not be done at Ring of Honor). Also, to those that watched the show did you see the referee make a tag clap and there was not a tag? Very upsetting!
Surprise of the Night: Sara Del Ray
She actually sounded very real in her interview about representing good professional wrestling from the women’s side. In a business where looks overpower actual wrestling ability, it is refreshing to hear Del Ray talk about it without calling out different people or wrestling organizations. Also, she was great in the ring against Portia Perez. Honestly, I would like to see a ?Women of Honor? match once every two weeks. Those women in SHIMMER deserve exposure on television.
Well, that does it for me tonight. I wish you all a pleasant week and I thank you for reading this recap. Take care everyone!!
E-mail: mistervwv@hotmail.com
Facebook: Anthony J. Valvo (Pittsburgh, PA)
Thanks for reading and I will be back with another ?From the Desk of Mr. V? on Thursday.
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