ROH on HDNet Recap
July 5, 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!
There was a video package from Death Before Dishonor VIII once again. This time, The Briscoes vs. The Kings of Wrestling were featured. It was a bloody and intense contest that was won by The Kings.
Featured bouts tonight were The Kings of Wrestling vs. Dark City Fight Club and Christopher Daniels and Roderick Strong vs. The American Wolves
Once again, because play-by-play is really dull for me as a recapper I took notes on what moves and holds each wrestler did and if they were good with their offense or if they botched. I watched each match attentively and wrote down the appropriate notes. My notes are what you will see in this recap.
Dark City Fight Club’s theme hits. The first match began!
Non Title Match
The Dark City Fight Club (Jon Davis and Kory Chavis) vs. ROH Tag Team Champions The Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero w/Sara Del Ray and Shane Hagadorn)
The fans greeted The Kings of Wrestling with multiple streamers. Both teams refused to shake hands so there was no Code of Honor.
Notes on DCFC: Chavis started the match for the team and hit a shoulder block and slammed Hero to the mat well. Chavis followed it up with a very effective pound and ground technique, something I really enjoyed seeing. When Davis was in, he started the match countering Castagnoli’s top rope crossbody. Davis turned it into a power slam and it was gone pretty good. The team’s first combination move was pretty good in execution. It was a Leg Drop/Backbreaker combination. Davis continued to reverse and counter well later on in the match. The evidence was when Hero tried to go for a kick and Davis caught it and then gave him a headbutt. This team had great chemistry and tagged when they needed to tag. Davis countered again when in danger, he got out of the way of a double team by the Kings and Castagnoli drove his boot right at Hero. Chavis brawled well near the end of the match, as he delivered elbows to both of his opponents. Chavis hit an impressive side slam on Castagnoli and then followed it up with an awesome Spinebuster on Hero. Davis at the end of this contest hit a solid Leg Lariat while Chavis was holding onto Castagnoli.
Notes on The Kings: Hero started the match for The Kings and showed Chavis. After Chavis took Hero out for a bit, Hero did the smart thing and tagged Castagnoli. Castagnoli caught his opponent in mid-air and demonstrated great strength with a backbreaker. Castagnoli’s punches throughout the match were very good. It was nice to see the managers for The Kings to get in on the action, especially when Del Ray was yelling at the referee while Hagadorn held onto Davis’ leg. Hero administered a nice sliding dropkick while Davis was distracted at the outside. When the opposition was at the corner, Castagnoli delivered a Very European running uppercut at the corner. When in complete control, The Kings did well. Hero delivered a back senton that was perfect. Hero’s awareness was well-done, he blind tagged himself in when Castagnoli was in a bit of trouble. Hero delivered a great dropkick, then clobbered Chavis (I believe) with a rolling elbow and then the Death Blow.
Finish: After the kickout from the Death Blow by Chris Hero, The Briscoe Brothers ran in and attacked The Kings of Wrestling. The referee threw this match out, but I had to look at the results at www.rohwrestling.com to get the official decision. I was very surprised to know that despite all this The Dark City Fight Club won by disqualification. So I will go with that result.
Winners via Disqualification: The Dark City Fight Club
Grade: B-
After the match, the locker room and security tried to break this brawl up. In the end, Mark Briscoe grabbed a security guard and threw him from the ring to the floor via the Awesome Bomb! Jay got a hold of another security member and delivered the Jay Driller. The Briscoes posed to the crowd and the viewers saw the massive carnage outside the ring.
After the segment, the viewers saw clips of last week’s main event that featured ROH World Champion Tyler Black vs. El Generico in a non-title match. El Generico won via DQ because Steen interfered. Black saved Generico by hitting a Superkick square in Steen’s face.
Kyle Durden was backstage hoping to get a word from Tyler Black, but enter The Leader of The Embassy Prince Nana. Nana told the camera crew to roll the video. I am sure Nana called the fools, but I am not so sure right now.
The video contained the rivalry between The Necro Butcher and the Embassy. After the Butchers’ Rules attacks that made Necro enter a hospital for a few days, Necro said he could not wrestle last week. Grizzly Redwood took Necro’s place and scored the upset victory over Erick Stevens. After last week’s match, The Embassy attacked Redwood until “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown ran to the ring and cleared house. However the numbers were too much for Brown and when he was being tied up to the corner Nana introduced his new Crown Jewel of The Embassy…The Necro Butcher. Necro then clobbered Brown with a piece of plywood.
Durden asked Nana (who was dancing in glorious celebration) how he pulled off acquiring Necro. Nana said that now The Embassy is a strong group and Brown was a fool and an idiot to turn him down. Since Necro is now the Crown Jewel, Nana said that he has a lot to celebrate about.
Later tonight: Roderick Strong and Christopher Daniels vs. The American Wolves
But first, we have REAL Women’s Wrestling on HDNet this week!
Women of Honor Match
Daizee Haze vs. Jamilia Craft
The Code of Honor was applied. This is Craft’s first match on HDNet and has been training at ROH Academy to my knowledge.
Notes on Haze: She started the match off with a waistlock, and then diligently worked on the arm of Craft. She applied the armbar a good bit during the contest. She even did some corner attacks pretty well. Her dropkick was pretty good, but after that kick she went right at the arm again. Haze was really impressive when she drilled her shoulder to Craft’s arm and then hit the Divorce Court Arm DDT. Her finishing move was equally impressive to finish this contest.
Notes on Craft: She had a pretty interesting look. She did have a mask on, but it was fine because for a debut on HDNet she was very good. She had to think of ways to reverse Haze’s holds, and she did on a few occasions. She showed good strength, but she also did a nice job selling her arm injury. She also countered well into an Inverted DDT. She did a nice job punching Haze without using the arm that Haze worked on. She hit the Leaping Clothesline very well. I was really impressed with her Spinning Side Slam.
Finish: Daizee Haze ended Jamilia Craft’s momentum when she hit the Tiger Suplex to get the pinfall victory.
Winner via Pinfall: Daizee Haze
Grade: C+
After that match, the viewers then saw clips from the main event a couple weeks ago. The main event then was Jerry Lynn and Delirious vs. Kenny King and Rhett Titus. It was sort of a grudge match because Austin Aries, now the manager for King and Titus, took Delirious out of action for a long time. Lynn was taken out via the Spike Piledriver by King and Titus months ago. King and Titus won the match after Aries interfered with Delirious’ manager, Daizee Haze. After the win, Titus and King tried to take out Delirious, but Lynn grabbed a chair and King and Titus (now known as the All-Night Express) escaped.
Because of that, next week will be a Six-Man Grudge Match. It will be Delirious, Jerry Lynn, and ROH World Champion Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries, Kenny King, and Rhett Titus.
Kyle Durden was now backstage with “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels. Daniels said that he is perplexed about Davey Richards. Daniels said that Richards seemed to be putting obstacles between them. First, Richards put Eddie Edwards between them and now he wanted a tag match? Daniels then said who better to pick to be his partner than Roderick Strong. Daniels said that his team would enter the ring and win. Then Daniels told Richards that very soon they will go one-on-one and determine who the best wrestler is. Daniels told Richards he knew the answer and it was Daniels and that was the gospel according to The Fallen Angel.
The Embassy then sent a message to the audience that ROH and HDNet did not approve of (I think that is what it meant). It was an introduction to Shawn Daivari. Daivari said he saw the tactics and politics in the ROH front office and he chose the best for him. That was why Daivari joined forces with Prince Nana and The Embassy. Daivari then said that no one will be able to stop him.
Finally, The ROH on HDNet MAIN EVENT because Bobby Cruise said so!
Tag team Match
The American Wolves (ROH Television Champion Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards) vs. “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels and Roderick Strong
Both tag team got streamers thrown at them by the crowd. No Code of Honor in the main event either.
Notes on The American Wolves: Edwards started the contest off and applied a good headlock to start this main event. Edwards hit the clothesline and chopped Daniels hard at the corner. Edwards then hit a kick to the chest of Strong before tagging in Richards. I liked how Richards started off here. He countered a move and did a Fireman’s Carry takedown and then worked on the arm. Then Richards kicked away on Daniels. The Wolves hit the Double Elbow takedown well. Richards was pretty good with his submission moves. He applied the Indian Death Lock right after snapping Daniels’ leg. They were pretty stiff on Strong as well with their kicks. The chemistry was pretty good on their part. When Richards dumped Strong out of the ring, Edwards knew what to do when he delivered a slam on Strong to the mat on the floor. When Strong went back into the ring, Richards delivered leg strikes (still the strongest in wrestling today). Then both Wolves attacked at the corner and hit their double kick as well on Strong. The problem here was Richards was never tagged into the match. Then the Wolves did an Overhead Throw/Missile Kick combination (again Richards was not tagged in). Edwards then applied the Achillies’ Lock on Daniels. Richards then entered himself in the ring again and hit a Flying headbutt to the back while the hold was still applied. Later on during the match, Richards hit is Handspring Enzugiri and it was solid. Richards was very impressive when applying submission hold near the end of the match, but they could still be effective if they tagged each other in at the end.
Notes on Daniels and Strong: Daniels was the one to start on this team. Daniels started off with a nice headlock on Edwards. Daniels showed no rust with his dropkicks, as his kick was perfect. Strong, when tagged in, attacked Edwards with numerous stomps at the corner. Strong then moved around and rolled up Edwards nicely. After the rollup, Strong delivered a few arm drags. After a few tags, Daniels held onto Richards arm while his knee was pressed on his head. That was a very good hold on Daniels’ part. Daniels’ awareness is still pretty strong as he got a boot in very quickly to a charging Edwards. Strong was great when tagged back in thanks in part with his punches and chops. Strong is known to work on the back and he did with various backbreakers and suplexes to both Wolves. Each backbreaker was done well. Daniels hit a pretty good suplex on Richards later on in the contest as well. When in trouble, Daniels knew to tag in Strong. Strong in one hot tag sequence got in a flurry of punches and finished off with a Front Slam (Prazak called the move, but Hogewood’s annoying voice ruined the call). Daniels hit the STO very nicely, and after a pinfall attempt he kept on with a Death Valley Driver. Strong continued his impressive offense during the end of the match when he hit a Gutbuster on Richards. When Richards had Daniels down with kicks, Daniels countered with an lift slam. While Daniels was about to hit the Best Moonsault Ever, Edwards tried to hold him back. Strong responded by throwing Edwards off the ring and then hit a splash on Edwards.
Finish: After Strong’s splash, Daniels was about to hit the Best Moonsault Ever (B.M.E.). However, Richards sprung up on his feet and ran to the corner where Daniels was at. Richards then hit a German Superplex and in a moment pinned Daniels to give The American Wolves a victory.
Winner via Pinfall: The American Wolves
Grade: B
After the match, Daniels was frustrated and everyone looked tired around the ring area. After The Wolves left the area, Daniels and Strong were arguing and exchanging words at each other. They continued to do so until the show ended.
Quick Results
(According to rohwrestling.com) The Dark City Fight Club defeated The Kings of Wrestling via Disqualification
Daizee Haze defeated Jamilia Craft via Pinfall.
The American Wolves defeated Christopher Daniels and Roderick Strong
The Porpoise was safe this week. Mike Hogewood did NOT slap the porpoise!
Thoughts on the non-wrestling segments
Video Packages – I thought each video package told a story and it featured some key points to the storylines it represented. That was a pretty good showing on HDNet.
Backstage Interviews – The interview with Prince Nana was great. Nana is a happy man and he showed it. He got a NEW Crown Jewel it was someone that not many thought would happen. Nana was dancing and I was dancing right with him.
The backstage segment with Daniels was pretty good. Daniels was extremely underrated in TNA and now he showed his talents on the mic and they are pretty good. It seemed like Daniels is pretty comfortable with ROH right now and the mic work proved it.
The Embassy Message – It only explained why Shawn Daivari became a member of The Embassy. Hey, I believe the message was quick and to the point.
Thoughts on the Wrestling Matches
DCFC vs. The Kings – For what it was worth, I thought this tag match was very good and I wish there was a clean finish regardless who won. I don’t even think there was a few ground holds, but both teams showed off their striking ability and their immense power. I think if anything this helped the Dark City Fight Club because they needed a match that featured a team that was better than them. I think Kory Chavis and Jon Davis did a great job and this fan hopes that this could mean title shots for them. Is it just me or whenever Chris Hero does the Death Blow one must scream? I wished the Briscoes did not interfere before the match ended. It was going pretty good and sadly had to be booked this way.
Haze vs. Craft – To WWE and TNA: This is how you have good, solid women’s wrestling. It is refreshing to see women that earned a five minute segment in the ring and I am so happy for this. I enjoy recapping women’s wrestling, especially one that was pretty crisp from start to finish. Haze was great in the ring and really showed me a new dimension in her arsenal and that is a good ground game. Craft was very impressive in her debut on HDNet. Sure, she is miles away from being any kind of force. But if this was to showcase her work in order to get more time in SHIMMER or in some indy feds outside ROH then by all means she passed with flying colors.
Wolves vs. Daniels/Strong – This match was fast-paced and very well done. All four wrestlers should be applauded for giving 100% in this main event. Their endurance was very good and you can tell they were exhausted when it all ended. The double team moves worked well and were crisp. It featured all the elements that would usually make this an “A” Grade in my book. But there were a few reasons why this scored a lower grade.
One was the lack of tagging the partner in the match. I don’t mind if one breaks a pin or a hold. But what Richards did during the match while not allowed in the ring was poor booking. Another was the fact that some of the moves administer should lay out someone. Wrestlers should not just spring back on their feet as if nothing happened. Also, Daniels’ leg was being attacked a lot and he limped at the beginning of all that. So why was he running full force at the end of this?
Other than that, the match was fantastic. However in order for this to be near perfect the match should have had better rules to it and the match could have been slower-paced at times.
Overall Thoughts and Grade
This was a very entertaining ROH show this week. It had three very good matches and the backstage segments were excellent. I believed that each match told a story and each segment met it purpose. I can’t detect anything missing here, but it was not a perfect show. Still, I would say this was one of their better shows and easily one of their best in recent weeks.
Overall Grade: B (Leaned toward B+)
-Mr. V’s Pick Three of the Night-
Wrestler of the Night: “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels
Daniels came in with a quest and he did everything in his power to win this contest. However, a distraction from Eddie Edwards was too much. Still, Daniels had the best all-around performance among the other wrestlers this week.
Disappointment of the Night: A lack in The Art of a Tag
Again as I typed, the main event was a very good contest. However, it just mean less when wrestlers feel like they can do damage without tagging their partner. I usually don’t mind when one goes in, breaks a pin, and stomps for a couple seconds. But Richards just went all out on Daniels and Strong for what reason.
Surprise of the Night: The Women of Honor Match
I don’t expect much in women’s wrestling matches on HDNet. However, this one was very fundamentally sound and was an amazing change of pace to what I see in WWE and TNA right now. Is it safe to say that SHIMMER and ROH has the best women’s wrestling in the world? I believe it. Kudos to Haze and Craft for a job well done.
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 the middle of June.
On July 22nd in Louisville:
(4) Chris Hero vs. Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana
On July 23rd in Collinsville, IL:
(1) Roderick Strong (w/Truth Martini) vs. Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana
On July 24th in Chicago Ridge, IL:
(1) Roderick Strong vs. Austin Aries
Thanks for reading my latest ROH Recap. See you the week of June 28, 2010.
E-mail: mistervwv@hotmail.com
Facebook: Anthony J. Valvo (Pittsburgh, PA)
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