ROH on HDNet Recap
June 28, 2010
The Arena in Philadelphia, PA
Commentators: Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak (Kevin Steen and Steve Corino in 1st Match)
Report by: Anthony J. Valvo of Wrestleview.com
The following is an exclusive presentation of Ring of Honor Wrestling…on HDNet!
They show started off by promoting the replay of Death Before Dishonor VIII on gofightlive.tv. They warned the viewers that this pay-per-view is “not PG”. The card was amazing! However, the whole “not PG” is too tacky.
Hit Kidd Russell’s music, the show began!
Tonight’s main event will be Tyler Black vs. El Generico in a non-title match.
Let’s begin with the first match. Remember, I will be drawing notes on how well they did in each match. I will not be giving a play-by-play.
Match #1: Kevin Steen (w/Steve Corino) vs. Bobby Shields
Before the match and before “The Voice of ROH” Bobby Cruise can introduce Kevin Steen, Steen cut him off and told Cruise that his intro was not necessary because we all knew who he was. Steen then told Cruise that he could leave. Steen said that he aligned himself with Corino, ROH announcers Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak appeared to be hellbent on talking trash on them and that was not fair (Prazak denied these claims). Steen said that Hogewood and Prazak had the match off as well, as Corino and himself did the announcing for this match. Corino thanked Steen and called this job “an honor”. Corino went to Shields and called him a nice guy, but a few weeks ago he gave him the biggest beating of his life. Steen then clubbed Shields behind his back and was “surprised” that move actually worked. The bell rang with No Code of Honor.
Notes on Steen: I thought it was hilarious that he was doing commentary while he was beating up Shields. His somersault leg drop continued to amaze me, as it is done very well for a guy his size. He joked to the ladies when he took his shirt off and this seriously was great. After he lost a bit of momentum, he quickly executed a perfect Powerbomb which made Steve Corino say “SLAP THE PORCUPINE” (Hogewood in the ROH Studio said “Slap the Porpoise”)!
Notes on Shields: Well, the only thing he did was roll up Steen when Steen was drawing heat from the crowd. He threw only a few punches, but sold almost everything Steen administered.
Finish: After Kevin Steen hit the Powerbomb, Steen applied the Crossface submission hold while talking on the microphone. Shields never officially tapped, but the referee called for the bell.
Winner via Submission: Kevin Steen
Grade: C- (I gave it a higher grade for the humorous commentary)
After the match, Corino announced that Steen won by pinfall. Corino said that the viewers saw the highest rated segment in ROH on HDNet history just now. Steen took us to commercial.
The viewers are now in the ROH Studios that I think is somewhere outside The Arena. Mike Hogewood asked Dave Prazak his thoughts on Steen and Corino. Prazak complimented Corino for his commentary. Hogewood said that they have a lot of work to do. Hogewood, you have room to talk.
Kyle Durden was backstage with an update on The Necro Butcher. If you did not know, The Embassy attacked The Necro Butcher in Dayton, OH a few weeks ago. In a statement, Necro said that The Embassy will see a side of him that we will never see before.
The Embassy’s Theme is playing. I must be quiet and do the Embassy pose.
Erick Stevens (w/Prince Nana and Mr. Ernesto Osiris) vs. The Necro Butcher
Before the match, The Necro Butcher was wearing shoes and carried a bag. Necro got a hold of the mic and said that it was not easy to say, but in Dayton he was in a hospital. Necro admitted that these Butchers’ Rules matches against The Embassy have been brutal and since he has no health insurance, he had to get advice from various people. Everyone that he talked to and he said that he should not wrestle tonight. However, Necro has a friend who will fight for him. Necro then said good bye and he will see everyone again.
The music that played was the theme to none other than…Grizzly Redwood!
Erick Stevens (w/Prince Nana and Mr. Ernesto Osiris) vs. Grizzly Redwood
Before the match, Prince Nana went on the mic and said that Stevens will cripple Redwood. Stevens attacked Redwood before the bell rang. No Code of Honor was enforced.
Notes on Stevens: He countered Redwood’s early attack when he caught him from doing a dive and launched him into the ring post! That was sick (in a good way). He was very creative in holds as well. Stevens even choked Redwood with his own suspenders! He brawled pretty well with his knees to abs and chops at the corner. He hit the back suplex well, and then followed it up with a chinlock. The Embassy outside the ring even got their shots in on Redwood. That is great management, as Nana and Osiris are willing to do anything for their associates. He did hit the Runaway Train after the second try and was very good at it. His lariats in the end of the match were crisp and looked hard. Had he not kept lifting Redwood up after two, he would have won this match.
Notes on Redwood: At the start, he was pretty good with his quickness. He punched well at the start and moved Stevens around a bit. Redwood even applied the sleeper for a moment. He took a big time beating, reminded me of Spike Dudley (Dudley, like Redwood, is small, is over with the crowd, and got destroyed in the ring). His offense was very interesting during the middle of the match by actually chopping the legs down. His even does his high-flying work well, especially when he hit the springboard hurricanranna. Before the finish of this match, he did a great Swinging DDT! I was real impressed with his toughness and his speed.
Finish: Just when Erick Stevens was about to administer more punishment, Grizzly Redwood rolled up Erick Stevens and scored the upset victory.
Winner by Pinfall: Grizzly Redwood
Grade: C+
After the match, The Embassy quickly attacked Redwood. Stevens then took out Redwood with The Doctor Bomb. The referee tried to stop The Embassy, but Stevens dumped the ref over the ring. “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown then ran in to save Redwood and punched away on Osiris and Stevens. Brown then chokeslammed Stevens, and then Prince Nana punched Brown behind his back. Brown no sold the attack and got a hold of Nana. Stevens saved Nana by giving Brown a low-blow punch to the groin. All the members of The Embassy then cornered Brown and taped him to the corner.
Prince Nana then grabbed the mic and called Brown an idiot and announced that he has a NEW member in The Embassy. As a matter of fact, the new member is the NEW Crown Jewel of The Embassy. The trumpets blared and The Crown Jewel is…The Necro Butcher (in a suit and a glorious robe). Necro then grabbed a piece of plywood with the name “Rasche” on it. Necro then wound up and clobbered Brown with the plywood and now Brown is laid out cold. Necro then pointed at a chair and then The Embassy pushed Redwood back in the ring. As Necro tried to destroy Redwood, the referees luckily grabbed him out of the way. The Embassy then celebrated their carnage with the pose.
Moments ago, we found out that The Necro Butcher is The Crown Jewel of The Embassy. Mike Hogewood was confused about this whole ordeal. Prazak said he needed to join in order to support his family.
The viewers then saw the Death Before Dishonor VIII highlight package from June 19th in Toronto, Ontario. Featured highlights were the Grudge Match with Steen and Generico (Steen was the winner), The Briscoes vs. The Kings of Wrestling (The Kings retained their ROH Tag titles), and Davey Richards vs. Tyler Black (Black retained his ROH World Title). After the Richards/Black match, Richards grabbed a mic and said that Black is now a champion.
Remember, the main event is going to be Tyler Black vs. El Generico in a non-title match.
Christian Able and Josh Raymond vs. Up In Smoke (Cheech and Cloudy)
The Code of Honor was enforced before the match (in case you are new, the Code of Honor is the handshake before the match).
Notes on Able and Raymond: Able shoved to start, but was a little sloppy in his attacks from the corner. Raymond did well by grounding Cloudy in the middle of the ring with a waistlock and followed it up with a nice headlock. Raymond was pretty stiff with the punch after the headlock. Able did hit a good chop, then the team hit a Slingshot/Splash combination. While Raymond had him in a hold, Able drilled Cloudy to the corner. Their finishing move was pretty good, but man were they sloppy some of the time!
Notes on Up In Smoke: Cloudy was pretty quick to start with a nice head scissors takedown. Cloudy was able to hit the running knee strike to the corner. The team executed a great Rolling Mare/Dropkick combination. They did a pretty original submission move when they had both opponents in some kind of clutch move. Cheech executed some good armdrags and sold pretty good despite the lack of selling from others around him. When Cheech attacked from the outside, I was real impressed with his top rope splash to the floor. I like their signature move that they executed “Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Cheech” Simultaneous tiger feint kick (Cloudy) / running dropkick (Cheech). Near the end of the match, Cloudy did a nice flip senton on Raymond. However, they were all spots and they did really slow down or even apply a simple chinlock. That is tough for me to officially put a grade on this because honestly, they made my head spin throughout their offense.
Finish: Christian Able and Josh Raymond did a Wheelbarrow carry/Knee Stomp Combination) on Cheech. Able pinned Cheech and I believe that it was Able and Raymond’s first victory on HDNet.
Winners by Pinfall: Josh Raymond and Christian Able.
Grade: C (leaned towards a C+)
After the match, the viewers saw a video package promoting The Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis and Jon Davis). Chavis said that they bring the violence to ROH and they know what they want to do. They complement each other with their toughness and intelligence. They mention that when they wrestle there is no talking and that they lay out their competition. Davis then complimented The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli). Davis said Hero is a smart wrestler, while Castagnoli is a very strong guy. The Kings of Wrestling are smart and Davis said that they can’t let mind games interfere with their match.
Next week, it is announced that The Dark City Fight Club will face The Kings of Wrestling. No word on if it will be for the titles or not.
We then got another highlight package of Christopher Daniels interfering with the Black/Richards contract signing. Daniels said that he desired Richards’ talents and he desired Black’s ROH World Championship. Daniels then said that he would teach all of the world that he is the best wrestler.
Next week’s main event will be The American Wolves (Davey Richards and ROH Television Champion Eddie Edwards) vs. “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels and Roderick Strong. I for one will be looking forward to this match.
And now…It is time for the MAIN EVENT!!
Non-Title Contest
ROH World Champion Tyler Black vs. El Generico
Both wrestlers got streamers before the entered the ring. The Code of Honor was done as well. It looked like both wrestlers had respect.
Notes on Generico: He reversed well from Black’s holds early in the match. His armdrags were crisp and he followed it up with a heel kick to wear down the ROH Champ. I think I saw a little rope-a-dope in his offense, as he moved Black towards the ropes and the pulled him over the ropes. I always worry that he will land that Suicide Flip Dive wrong, but he always proves me wrong. He did that dive good, but it can be done better. I was impressed with his offense overall. He executed well in his Crossbody, Michinoku Driver, and stomped on Black’s head like Black did earlier in the match. Near the end of the match, he hit the Exploder Suplex to perfection and followed it up with a very impressive Coast to Coast Somersault Dropkick (I can’t think of any other wrestler right now that can do it). It was a shame that Kevin Steen was booked to interfere in this match because Generico had a good program going.
Notes on Black: He worked on Generico’s arm to start the match and had control early. He was not spotty and showed some good transitions. He did some mat wrestling as well with a waistlock and a headlock. His chops at the corner were crisp and painful, it really looked like Generico was getting worn down when the chops were administered. He relied on the Enzugiri to end Generico’s momentum in the middle of the match. He no-sold a couple of big boots from Generico, but after Black hit the Paroxysm he looked exhausted. Near the end of the match, Black was able to hit his double foot stomp to keep Generico grounded. I overall thought Black did a pretty good job in this match. He did not look weak one bit and a match like this was something to build on, despite the fact that he lost.
Finish: As Generico was ready to hit the Ole Kick, Kevin Steen pulled Generico by the legs and rammed them between the ring post. The referee called for the bell and El Generico defeated Tyler Black by Disqualification.
Winner via Disqualification: El Generico
Grade: B (leaned toward a B-)
After the match, Steen continued to stomp on Generico at the corner. Black saved Generico by planting Steen with a Superkick. Steen left the ring a moment later starting at Tyler Black.
End.
Quick Results
Kevin Steen defeated Bobby Shields via Submission
Grizzly Redwood defeated Erick Stevens via Pinfall
Christian Able and Josh Raymond defeated Cheech and Cloudy via Pinfall
El Generico defeated Tyler Black via Disqualification
When Kevin Steen destroyed Bobby Shields with a Powerbomb, Steve Corino slapped his Porcupine! Mike Hogewood quietly slapped his Porpoise. Expect a letter on the dangers of the Porpoise population very soon, Hoge.
Thoughts on the non-wrestling segments
Steen and Corino’s in-ring commentary – I have to admit that I am a sucker for comedy at times. I know that these wrestlers were booked as bullies in this segment, but they way they did this was done very well. Steen doing commentary while beating up Shields reminded me of when Booker T attacked Consequences Creed in TNA last year and I laughed when I saw that as well. This segment was done very well.
The Necro Butcher heel turn – I will not lie, I read the spoilers. Prince Nana on Facebook announced this as well and I liked the idea. After watching this play out tonight, I really thought The Embassy got stronger in a physical standpoint. I look at all of Nana’s associates and they can beat you by any means necessary right now. On HDNet, he is the manager to Joey Ryan, Shawn Daivari, Erick Stevens, and now Necro Butcher. I am sorry and I may be wrong on this, but replacing Jimmy Rave with Necro Butcher as the Crown Jewel is a great move here. I expect The Embassy to be feuding with “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown for a bit and once Brown gets some legitimate reinforcements, this will be a very good story.
So, is it a good idea to book Necro in The Embassy? I think it will be very good for all parties here.
Dark City Fight Club Promo – The video was done very well. The viewers got a personal look at Kory Chavis and Jon Davis and they showed that they are more than an all-out brawling tag team. It showed that there is some good in-ring chemistry when them, and that is important in tag team wrestling.
Thoughts on the wrestling matches
Steen vs. Shields – I admitted earlier that I am getting tired of seeing a squash match every week, but this one needed to be done. Steen and Corino made this squash fresh, with commentary during the action. Steen dominated this contest and made a statement. His feud with Generico is not over yet, ROH fans. This is what one can call another statement.
Redwood vs. Stevens – I am very, very surprised that they booked Redwood as the winner here, even though this match was a prelude to the Necro heel turn. I feel bad a little bit for Stevens. It seemed like a bit of a bury for him because now he is not the main guy in this faction anymore. Still, I thought Stevens demonstrated great power. Redwood took a big beating in this match (I cringed for a moment when he was thrown to the ring post). However, it was Redwood’s awareness and quickness that propelled him to the victory. Overall, I thought both had their best performances in months.
Able and Raymond vs. Cheech and Cloudy – Though the spots were good, there was just way too many of them. I liked it earlier when Raymond and Able were applying holds to wear down Cloudy, but after that it just seemed like they were going to spot to spot. I did not know if guys were tagged legally and the flow was too choppy. If there was any bright spot, it would be Cloudy. They guy is a fast guy who sold most of the offense. The rest of them would get hit with a signature move only to get right back up and do something else. It was very frustrating.
Generico vs. Black – Other than no-selling one time on Black’s part, I enjoyed most of this match from start to finish. They told a good story in the ring by using good transitions. The match was very even paced, but both controlled their offense well. They knew their surroundings well around the ring and everything in this match was placed good. I hoped for a clean finish, but the viewers know that the feud between Steen and Generico will go on. However, if Black helps out Generico in the future, this could lead to a Steen vs. Black match for the World Title in another date.
Overall Thoughts and Grade
The show was above average at best. It was wrestling heavy and only had one squash. The viewers saw a solid mid-card match, a shocking win for Grizzly Redwood, and a much better main event than weeks past. The promos and video packages this week were minimum, but what was shown was impressive. I am boosting this grade up because of the upset win for Redwood, Steen’s commentary in a squash match, and the Black vs. Generico match. I was very pleased with tonight’s program
Grade: B-
-Mr. V’s Pick Three of the Night-
Wrestler of the Night: El Generico
When he was in control of the main event, everything flowed very smooth. Even though it was a DQ win, a win against the ROH Champ is a win. I expect some good things to happen for Generico in the near future.
Disappointment of the Night: Tag Team Match
I expected it to be more exciting, but I just was not feeling the match in the last few minutes. Is it because they feature some wrestlers that don’t have a story? I don’t know, but it was not a good-flowing contest.
Surprise of the Night: (tie) The Necro Butcher and Grizzly Redwood
For month, The Necro Butcher had an all-out war with The Embassy and the payoff is Necro joining the Embassy. It was a good twist and it looks like Brown is next on The Embassy’s path of distruction. I think ROH’s Creative team got this one right.
Redwood’s reason is simple. He was the underdog in his match with Stevens and won! Who really though he would come out on top of this one?
The ROH / HDNet Pick 6 Contenders Standings have been updated as of 6/22/10. (Credit: www.rohwrestling.com)
1. Roderick Strong
2. Christopher Daniels
3. Kevin Steen
4. Chris Hero
5. Davey Richards
6. Kenny King
There were no changes in the standings after the matches from last weekend. Strong won a Gauntlet to maintain his spot in Toronto to earn a title match in the future. Daniels defeated Omega to maintain his spot in Toronto. Richards failed to win the ROH World Title off of Tyler Black in Toronto last weekend. All matches took place at Death Before Dishonor VIII.
Thanks for reading my latest ROH Recap. See you the week of June 28, 2010.
E-mail: mistervwv@hotmail.com
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