ROH HDNet Recap- 4/26/10

ROH on HDNet Recap
April 26, 2010
The Arena in Philadelphia, PA
Commentators: Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak
Report by: Anthony J. Valvo of Wrestleview.com

The following is an exclusive presentation of Ring of Honor Wrestling…on HDNet!

Yes, after a one week hiatus of no ROH, I and BACK IN THE GAME BABY!!!!

The show starts off backstage with Kyle Durden and ROH World Champion Tyler Black. Durden said on May 8th in Manhattan (NY), Roderick Strong will receive his one-on-one ROH Title shot against Tyler Black. Black said that Strong got he promised and what Strong wanted all along. Then Black told Strong to be careful what he wished for, because come May 8th in Manhattan Strong won’t have time to whine, complain, nor cry. He told Strong that in order to win the ROH World Title, he will need to get the job done…no more failing…and no more crying.

Kidd Russell’s music hits! I missed that tune. Love the instrumental in this one.

Jim Cornette hyped up the Ring of Honor Television Title Belt and said after several weeks, we will finally get our first champion. It came down to Eddie Edwards (who beat Colt Cabana and Kevin Steen) and Davey Richards (who beat Delirious and Kenny King). So yes, both American Wolves will battle to determine the first-ever Ring of Honor Television Champion. Cornette said we will see the winner tonight!

We went to ringside now and “Addicted to Love” is played. ROH, all is forgiven as Rhett Titus walked down the ramp to what is the best ROH theme song for a wrestler.

Non-Title Match
Match #1: Rhett Titus vs. ROH World Champion Tyler Black

Before the match, Titus attempted to offer a hotel key to an attractive lady. The lady refused and Titus just spit the key in her direction. Classic! Titus did earn himself a couple streamers from the crowd. Black was showered with streamers once he entered the ring.

No Code of Honor in this one. Titus massaged his upper body, and then when he tried to shake Black’s hand he was rejected.

Titus began the contest with a wristlock, and then Black followed suit. Titus kept his ground kneed Black and followed that with a headlock. Black shoved Titus off the ropes and Titus drilled Black with a shoulder tackle. Black then went off the ropes. Titus attempted, but whiffed on the dropkick. Black then applied the headlock on Titus. Titus then shoved Black off the ropes and Titus also was running off the ropes. Black caught Titus and gave him an Atomic Drop, followed by a Body slam. Black then stomped on Titus’ neck and covered Titus, but Titus kicked out at two.

Black then whipped Titus at the corner twice. Black then went up top for a solid Crossbody Splash and covered Titus for two. Titus then countered a punch by Black, but could not add any offense as Black hit a sequence of moves that featured a backbreaker and back suplex. Black then went to the ropes and tried to do a springboard moonsault, but Titus got his knees up to block the attempt. Titus then clotheslined Black over the top rope and Titus went outside the ring. Outside the ring, Titus rammed Black to the ROH Barricade back first, and then slammed him on the mat outside the ring. Titus then went back into the ring. Black rolled back into the ring moments later.

Titus then gave Black a boot and a jumping knee drop. Black then got up on his knees and punched Titus. Black was back up on his feet and whipped Titus to the corner. Black started to warm up and run to the corner for an attack, but Titus countered this with a dropkick. Titus covered Black after that, but Black kicked out at two while holding his mouth. Black got back up with a chop, but Titus continued to attack and covered once again. Once again, Black kicked out at two.

Titus then hit a back suplex and applied the body scissors hold on Black. Black had to rake the eyes of Titus to break the hold. Black was up on his feet and started to punch Titus a bit. Titus then countered with a kick, then a boot off the ropes, and finalized it with the Thrust Buster. Titus covered Black, but Black kicked out at two. Black kicked Titus, then floored Titus while punching him on the mat. Black then held down Titus, but Titus raked the eyes of Black and applied the abdominal stretch. After a moment, Black got back up on his feet did a head scissors take down to break the hold by Titus.

Both men were at a corner. Titus charged, but missed the corner splash. Black then hit Titus with a series of clotheslines and concluded this spurt with a back body drop. Titus was at the corner when Black tried to charge at him. Titus avoided the corner attack, but Black still was able to do a kick from behind Titus’ back. Black then set up and hit Titus with a springboard lariat. Black covered Titus, but Titus kicked out at two. Black then tried to do the springboard moonsault (called Cabrana when Black does it), but Titus got his knees up. However, Black landed on his feet and kicked Titus down once again. Black then hit the Standing Shooting Star Press. After a failed Buckle Bomb, Kenny King ran to the ringside and argued with the referee. Austin Aries started to punch the back of Black’s head.

Aries then held onto Black. Titus was about to do something when Roderick Strong pulled Aries away from Black. Strong chased King and Aries out of the ring area. Strong then pointed to Black (who looks confused by these events). Titus tried to roll Black up, but missed on the follow through. Black then hit the Superkick on a kneeling Titus and we get our first finish of the evening…

Finish: Tyler Black delivered god’s Last Gift on Rhett Titus and covered Titus for the three count

Winner via Pinfall: Tyler Black
Grade: C+

After the match, Black stared at Strong once again. Strong entered the ring with a mic in his hand. Strong said from this moment on they were best friends. He told Black that he would be his “Guardian Angel” and Black would be safer than President Obama. Strong said that nobody would their hands on him until he did. Strong then turned his back on Black. Black then turned Strong around and grabbed the mic from his hands. Black said to “Roddy” that now they are in the ring he had a question to ask him. Black asked Strong why he has to complain and blame other people when he did not get his way. Black then called Strong a “whiny bitch”. Strong slapped Black hard across the face and both men exchanged punches until ROH referees and staff broke the fight up.

We then go to the ROH Studio at Parts Unknown. Mike Hogewood said that things were getting out of hand between Tyler Black and Roderick Strong. Dave Prazak said that they will get their battle in New York on May 8th, 2010.

The viewers then saw a video package that summed up the feud between Tyler Black and Roderick Strong. In the package, Black said that Strong was “crazy”, while Strong was ready to “took what he deserved”.

And with that, Pain…Is…Coming!!

Match #2: “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown vs. James Stone

James Stone before the match had a cigarette in his mouth, then he tucked it above his ear. The Code of Honor was enforced.

Stone began the contest with a waistlock and some punches to the back. Brown responded with a running clothesline! Brown then threw the cigarette at Stone. Stone then poked Brown in the eyes, but Brown palm thrusted Stone into the corner. Brown then did a kick at the corner. Brown then charged to the corner, but Stone countered it with a knee. Stone then went up top, but missed on the moonsault (Hogewood called it a backflip). When Stone got up, Brown hit him with a Spear! And finally, after weeks of waiting, Mike Hogewood slapped his Porpoise…

Finish: “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown delivered the Burning Hammer on James Stone and pinned him in less than two minutes

Winner: “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown
Grade: D

Still to Come: The ROH Television Tournament Final between Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards, who are both American Wolves tag team partners.

The viewers then saw a video package of The American Wolves. The clips included their ROH Tag Team Championship victory over El Generico and Kevin Steen, their ROH Tag Title loss to the Briscoes, and their recent losing streak (to The Young Bucks and Dark City Fight Club). What will be the future of the American Wolves? I guess we will find out later in this recap.

Shawn Daivari’s theme music hits. Daivari entered the ring in a suit (ROH colors, red and black). The crowd is chanting “USA”, even though Daivari is an American. Daivari said last time he was here, he introduced the world to “Daivari the professional wrestler”. Tonight, he introduced the world to “Daivari, the man”. Daivari said that he was sick of modern day America. The reason was because of modern day Americans.

Daivari called modern day Americans “slime and crooks” for doing sleazy things to earn a buck. They called these people that also because they rip on his appearance. Daivari said that things will be different in modern day America, as he said they turned “the best pound-for-pound professional wrestler” into “a clown”. Daivari said the fans are brainwashed, which led to more “USA” chants. Daivari said that pretty soon he will be arriving to ROH as a wrestler and as a man. Daivari concluded this by saying that soon we will understand why he was here in ROH. Mike Hogewood in the studio said if Daivari has a problem with the USA, then Daivari has a problem with him. Daivari really needs to shut him up.

Prazak said next would be Davey Richards vs. Eddie Edwards for the ROH Television Championship.

Ring of Honor then plugged their upcoming shows in Virginia (May 7th) and New York (May 8th). For more info, go to ROH’s website.

We then watched Rayna (with the ROH TV Title Belt and wearing a lovely red dress), Shane Hagadorn (the do-nothing manager for the American Wolves), and Todd Sinclair (the referee that the fans love to hate) enter the ring.

The Voice of Ring of Honor Bobby Cruise announced that this was the MAIN EVENT for the…

Ring of Honor Television Championship
Match #3: Eddie Edwards (#6 seed) vs. Davey Richards (#4 seed)

Cruise said that Shane Hagadorn would represent both American Wolves. Cruise then did the ring introductions. Davey Richards got a huge reaction from the crowd. Both men shook hands (The Code of Honor) and Todd Sinclair called for the bell.

We began this title match with a tie-up. Richards got Edwards to the corner, and then broke the hold clean. Both men then did a tie-up again, this time with Edwards cornering Richards. Edwards broke then hold clean. Richards then applied the headlock, went off the ropes into a shoulder tackle. Edwards then responded with an armdrag. Then both men countered each other’s kicks.

Both men then did a test of strength (Greco-Roman Knucklelock). Edwards got Richards into a bridge position, and then Richards followed the same sequence. Once Richards got up, he did a snap mare takedown into a headlock. Edwards got up and countered this with an arm twist and hold. Richards countered this into a knucklelock, but after a moment Edwards countered the hold into a wristlock. Richards countered once again, broke the hold, and delivered a dropkick. Richards then hit the clothesline and followed it up with a Snap Suplex. Richards covered, but Edwards kicked out at one.

Richards then applied the figure-four head scissors hold on Edwards. Edwards broke the hold when he got to the ropes. Richards then kicked and punched the body of Edwards. Edwards then started to exchange blows with Richards. Edwards whipped Richards to the ropes, but Richards hit the Handspring Enzugiri! Richards then went off the ropes and Edwards hit him with the dropkick. Edwards then hit a hanging clothesline on Richards. Edwards covered, but Richards kicked out at one. Edwards then executed the backbreaker on Richards. Edwards covered Richards, and again Richards kicked out at one. Edwards then applied the chinlock. When the hold was broken, Edwards elbowed Richards. Richards then reversed this into a dropkick. Richards went off the ropes, but Edwards got his boot up.

Edwards then attempted to suplex Richards over the top rope, but Richards landed on the edge of the ring. Richards with a forearm strike after that, but did not hit his suplex. After a series of counters, Davey got his boot to Edwards’ face, then suplexed Edwards over! However, Edwards held onto Richards and both men crashed onto the floor! Richards slowly got to the ring edge first, then Edwards. Both men exchanged strikes on the edge of the ring. In the end, Richards was able to hit the Alarm Clock kick on Edwards and sent him down to the floor. Richards then ran off the ropes and hit a Suicide Flip Dive over the middle rope! Edwards landed back-first on the ROH barricade, while the momentum caused Richards to go into the crowd! Richards then pushed Edwards back into the ring and he followed suit.

Edwards slowly got up, so Richards kicked Edwards across the chest. Edwards shoved him to the ropes, but Richards hit the Handspring Enzugiri again! Richards covered, but Edwards kicked out at two. The crowd is cheering heavy for Richards right now. Richards then held the waist of Edwards, but Edwards escaped, went off the ropes but was met with a heel kick by Richards. Richards then hit the knee off the ropes, and ended this flurry of offense with a Tiger Suplex into a Bridge cover. Edwards still managed to get out of that at two! Richards quickly applied the Kimura submission hold, but Edwards (who used up a lot of energy escaping the hold) got his body along the ropes and the hold was broken.

Edwards got out of a suplex, but Richards still got Edwards down with a kick. Richards ran off the ropes, but Edwards countered a charge with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Edwards then hit a running knee and delivered a snap suplex on Richards. Edwards then quickly went to the top rope and hit a missile dropkick (landed it perfectly). Richards then rolled out of the ring. Edwards then went off the ropes and hit a Suicide Dive off the middle rope with Richards hitting the ROH barricade back-first! Edwards pushed Richards back into the ring, and then Edwards got back into the ring.

Edwards went back up to the top rope and missed his move. Richards and Edwards fought back and forth until Richards did a heel kick on Edwards. Quickly though, Edwards recovered and did a Swinging Face buster. Edwards followed that up with a running knee. Edwards covered Richards, but Richards got his foot on the rope at two! Edwards then tried to do a back suplex, but Richards escaped. After a few more counters by each man, Richards got in an elbow strike. However, Richards then ran into a boot by Edwards. Edwards then went up top and delivered a Top Rope Codebreaker! Edwards then continued the offense with a Back Suplex into a Face Buster. Edwards covered Richards, but Richard again kicked out at two!

Edwards then set Richards up top. Richards and Edwards then fought back and forth on the top turnbuckle, ending it with exchanged headbutts. Richards then struck Edwards in the head and attempted a Sunset Powerbomb, but Edwards countered it. Again, both men continue to fight on and Edwards got Richards down with a headbutt. Richards quickly got up and ran to the corner and hit a German Superplex on Edwards! Edwards now slowly up at the corner where Richards does a combination of running forearm/running kick. Richards then executed a German Suplex with a Bridge cover. Referee Todd Sinclair counts…but Edwards kicks out at two!

Richards then nailed Edwards with a stiff kick to the head. Richards covered Edwards, but Edwards kicked out at two! Richards then went for the Cross Arm Breaker. Edwards countered the hold by lifting Richards up onto the top turnbuckle. Both men exchanged blows at the corner. However, both men are fighting again on the top turnbuckle. That exchange ended with Edwards hit the Top Rope Hurricanranna on Richards! Edwards then got Richards up and he hit the Powerbomb on Richards. Edwards covered Richards, but Richards still managed to escape at the count of two! Edwards quickly went for the Achilles’ Lock. Richards then reversed it to a Cross Arm Breaker. Edwards then escaped the hold by doing a jackknife cover! Richards still kicked out at two! Eddie then ran off the ropes, and Richards countered an attack by lifting Edwards up into an Alarm Clock kick! Edwards then got right back up and hit a Superkick! Edwards then tried the German Suplex, but Richards flipped out of that move. Edwards then continued to kick away and finally hit the German Suplex. However, Richards no-sold the move and did a charging clothesline! At that time, both men are down while the ROH crowd chanted “ROH” and “This is awesome”.

Both men got up on the edge of the ring. After exchanging shots once again, Richards got in three leg strikes. However, Edwards ducked out of the fourth kick in which Richards kicked the ring post! Edwards then delivered a Shin Breaker on the edge of the ring. Just when Edwards was about to enter the ring, Richards whipped Edwards’ injured arm on the ring ropes. Edwards quickly grabbed hold of Richards’ leg and did the Dragon Leg Screw on the ropes. Edwards then went up top and stomped on the back of Richards. Edwards covered Richards, but STILL Richards kicked out at two.

Edwards quickly applied the Achilles’ Lock after the kickout. Richards managed to barely escape the hold. Edwards tried to run at the corner, but Richards hit a knee then ran out of the way when Edwards attempted to charge again. The second failure led to Edwards drilling his shoulder on the ring post. Richards then went up top and hit a dropkick directly on Edwards’ arm. While Edwards was down, Richards went up top again and hit a Shooting Star Press! Richards covered Edwards, but Richards kicked out at two. Richards immediately went for the Kimura submission hold, but Edwards managed to roll up Richards for a two count once more. Richards then applied the Cross Arm Breaker again and finally, the match comes to an end…

Finish: Eddie Edwards reversed the Cross Arm Breaker into an Achilles’ Lock. Davey Richards finally tapped out and we got our FIRST ever Ring of Honor Television Champion!

Winner via Submission: Eddie Edwards
Grade: B+ (leaned towards a B)

After both guys were checked out by the staff, referee Todd Sinclair presented the TV Title to Edwards. However, Richards swiped it away from Sinclair. Richards, still limping, looked at the Title. Richards then looked at Edwards and said some words. Richards, in a classy move, then turned around and put the ROH Television Championship Belt around the waist of Eddie Edwards. Edwards posed with the title while Richards sat in a corner and smiled.

OUTRO


Quick Results
Tyler Black defeated Rhett Titus in a Non-Title match via god’s Last Gift.
“Skullkrusher Rasche Brown” defeated James Stone via The Burning Hammer.
Eddie Edwards defeated Davey Richards via The Achilles’ Lock to become the Inaugural ROH TV Champ.

When “Skullkrusher” laid The Burning Hammer down, Mike Hogewood slapped his porpoise.

Overall Thoughts

First off, it is great to recap this show once again. Thank you to all those people who were able to get ROH on HDNet and show it to the ones who don’t have HDNet in the area (I am calling Comcast out!!!!)

Let us start off with the segments outside of wrestling.

I want to like Tyler Black as a champion. I really do. I don’t mean to be mean when I say that even in a backstage promo he will need a TON of work. After his match, he tried to cut one on Roderick Strong and it seemed so forced that it was painful to listen to. As for Roderick Strong, he came off very well. His mic work improved and if I booked the show on May 8th, I would have no problem having Strong as my champion.

Shawn Daivari once again was fantastic on the mic. He always blamed the “Americans” for being prejudice before, but in ROH this is a great twist because he actually “is” an American that is tired of greed and all that. Again, I think this is the best spot for him right now and I am looking forward to recapping some of his work in the future. He was underrated in both the WWE and in TNA, and I hope he is used correctly (which I think is a possibility) for ROH.

Now, let’s get to my thoughts on the wrestling matches.

Black vs. Titus – It was a slightly above average showing. Look, the champion is supposed to dominate the “mid-level guys”. As much as I am a fan of Rhett Titus, he is not a main event guy for ROH. I did like how Titus controlled Black, but should he really be controlling a champion? Black was alright in this match, but I think the saving grace was actually story involving the ROH World Title. I liked the final two minutes of this match, but it was not enough for me to be it a higher grade.

Brown vs. Stone – Another squash performance by “Skullkrusher”. I was ok with this, as Brown was supposed to dominate. He did, the jobber got destroyed, and Hogewood got to slap his porpoise.

Edwards vs. Richards – This was a solid main event. I liked the execution, the intensity, and the chemistry between these two tag team partners. However I keep reading that this was a “Match of the Year”. With all due respect to Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards, this was NOT a match of the year candidate and it should not be considered as one.

It seemed at times both men had to look back to position themselves. It appeared sloppy once one watched it closely a second time. Also, WAY too many moves. I understand that their styles are very high-flying and technical, but this match could have easily been five minutes less and they would have had a stellar performance. Finally, the flow was inconsistent. There was a good bit of no-selling moves. I am sorry, but when you do a finisher, that should be it! A Finisher finishes a contest. It closes the theater, the battle, and maybe the war.

I did like the finish. There were a ton of near falls, but the submission finish was perfect. I did like the back and forth with the submission holds. I enjoyed the beginning when they went hold for hold and the moves were original. For a fan in the crowd, I am sure it is a real exciting treat. But for me I try to separate my feeling as a recapper, and I thought “less” would definitely been “more” in this case.

So, overall the highlights were few. The main event was a good one, but ROH has done better. The segment that I enjoyed was Daivari’s, and that was it. Tyler Black and Roderick Strong will be a great match to see, but both need to step it up on the mic (Strong has improved though).

Overall Grade: C

-Mr. V’s Pick Three of the Week-

Wrestler of the Week – Eddie Edwards. At first I questioned the booking of this title. I said that guys like Kenny King, Colt Cabana, Kevin Steen, and even Davey Richards should have been the first TV champ. However with all the feuds surrounding them (and Richards’ quest for the ROH World Title), I believe you put that secondary title on a guy who can be the face of the mid-card. So Edwards is a great fit for that and I say congratulations to Eddie for that.

Disappointment of the Week – Tyler Black. I don’t intend for this to happen, but there was a lot of average. But Black really needs to work on doing submission holds and talk better. He is the champion and he needs to fit that part.

Surprise of the Week – Davey Richards’ classy gesture. He is the most intense wrestler on that roster. So when he held on to the championship, I expected many scenarios. However, what Richards did in my opinion was pretty shocking. Still, a very classy move by Richards and I do expect bigger things in his future.

Thanks for reading my latest ROH Recap. I am sorry for the delay (I had a TON of work to do this week) and I will be back next week with a NEW ROH on HDNet Recap.

E-mail: mistervwv@hotmail.com

Facebook: Anthony J. Valvo (Pittsburgh, PA)
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