Posted in: ROH Ring of Honor Results 10/8/11 By Romeo Oct 10, 2011 - 12:32:20 AM

Ring of Honor Wrestling 10/8/11
Frontier Fieldhouse
Chicago, Illinois

- The show opens to a recap of last week’s main event, wherein Jay Lethal defeated El Generico to win the ROH World Television Championship.

- To officially begin this show’s proceedings, ROH executive producer Jim Cornette brings out the Briscoe Brothers, in a parallel of last week’s opening where we saw the Tag Team Champions Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team give a promo against the Briscoes.

Cornette begins the segment by saying that the last time he saw the Briscoes, it was in New York where they were fined $5000 for the assault at Best in the World. He hasn’t seen them since, but he says he’s had conversations with Haas and Benjamin. Mark comments that $5000 could buy a lot of beer and bullets. Cornette tries to go on about the fine, but Jay redirects the interview and changes the topic to Haas and Benjamin.

Jay says that they made the tag titles famous, and ask when Haas and Benjamin are going to quit playing scared and give them a title shot. Cornette replies that WGTT actually wants to face the Briscoes as bad as the Briscoes want to face them, but returns to the line he used last week that the company does not want to reward an assault with a title shot. Cornette proposes a compromise – a #1 contender’s match for the tag titles against Kenny King and Rhett Titus, the All-Night Express, being that they were the ones who eliminated the Briscoes in the four-team match.

Jay says that they own the All-Night Express after having just beat them many times, calling them the Briscoes’ personal bitches. Cornette takes offense to the language, but Jay ends up essentially accepting the #1 contender’s match, and vowing to beat the All-Night Express again.

Thoughts: Strong promo that just went straight to the point; last week’s interview with WGTT dabbled in Cornette’s ethical issues with giving title shots to violators, and while we saw that here as well, the Briscoes’ aggressive characters took control and just accepted the chance to dish out another ass-whooping. The storyline has been advanced, but I’d like to know what WGTT would be doing until after a new #1 contender is decided.

- Spotlight on “The Dominant Male” Tommaso Ciampa after the break, and we get the ad spot with WGTT. Kevin Kelly is such a dork.

- Focus on Tommaso Ciampa, billed as the only undefeated wrestler on the roster right now. Cornette puts him over as a “unique” individual, with an obsessive drive to win. Ciampa says that winning is the only thing on his mind when he steps foot in the ring. Ciampa says he’s the dominant male, and he doesn’t ever, ever plan to lose. Cornette says Ciampa’s life consists of training, wrestling, and winning, and that all his needs are met by being in Prince Nana’s Embassy. Prince Nana comes in and says he took on Ciampa because of his pedigree, and that he sees gold in his future. Ciampa reaffirms this, and then goes on to say that other guys have things to worry about, while he doesn’t, because of Nana’s wealth. Cornette doubts Nana’s claims of being royalty himself. Nana continues to talk about his rich father and their wealth. Cornette then returns to talking about Ciampa, saying that he’s not sure if he’s mentally stable, but he does know that he’s mentally and physically tough. Ciampa talks about his training, and ends the clip by saying long live the Embassy.

Thoughts: If that was confusing for you to read, then know that it was pretty damn confusing for me to write, as well. The segment went every which way in the middle – I get that Nana has to talk about Ciampa too, but there was no point in talking about Nana’s background, even if this was a “getting to know you” segment. If you want to talk about Prince Nana, do it in a segment wherein the Embassy is talked about as a whole. Meanwhile, Ciampa is a good talker, even better than Mike Bennett, and knows how to play his cold-blooded killer gimmick well. I just predict that he’ll undergo a name change in the future, as “Tommaso Ciampa,” while unique, doesn’t really sound like a big-time Italian name. Speaking of Italian, what’s his deal? Is he Sicilian-American? That wasn’t explained either, and his name would suggest that he’s straight out of Sicily. That needs to be fixed up.

- And of course, we’re going to see Ciampa in action up next.

Match #1: Andy “Right Leg” Ridge vs. “The Dominant Male” Tommaso Ciampa (with Prince Nana)

- Nigel McGuiness isn’t doing color commentary tonight, it seems, as we have Steve Corino sitting beside Kevin Kelly. Ciampa comes down to the ring to what I assume is Prince Nana’s music, because this hip-hop song REALLY clashes with Ciampa’s ice man character. Protip: if you don’t want him to lose any heat, get him some fitting entrance music. It shouldn’t be that hard to find a dark, brooding instrumental, people.

Ciampa refuses to shake Ridge’s hand, and Nana takes the time to tell Steve Corino at ringside that he has no idea what it takes to manage a man like Ciampa. Ciampa powers Ridge to the corner, but misses a clothesline and Ridge takes control with a few kicks to the body. Ciampa catches Ridge with a big clothesline, though, to stop his momentum. Ridge retreats to the corner, and Ciampa charges him. Ridge attempts to rebuff the charge attempt with a double leg kick but Ciampa grabs his legs and swings him around the ropes, giving him a shot to the back for his troubles. Ciampa kicks Ridge in the back again and pulls off a release german suplex as Ridge is hanging from the ropes.

Ridge rolls into the apron but Ciampa catches him again. Ciampa goes for a suplex to the inside but Ridge manages to block it, and after a battle for momentum, Ridge manages to bring Ciampa to the apron. The commentators put over Andy Ridge, saying that he’s called “Right Leg” because of the power of his right kicks. Ridge and Ciampa do battle on the ring apron, trading slaps and kicks. Ciampa eventually misses a chop and Ridge lariats him back into the ring.

Ciampa goes for a baseball slide but Ridge avoids it. Ridge goes for a kick, but Ciampa catches it and slams Ridge to the apron. Ciampa swings Ridge like a baseball bat to the outside barrier in an impressive display of strength. Ciampa takes the time to put over the Embassy in front of the camera. Ciampa rolls Ridge back into the ring for a cover for two. As this was going on, Corino was explaining how Ciampa might eventually end up like himself, shooting straight to the top but losing all his friends in the process.

Ciampa went for a snapmare to a kick to the back combo, but for some reason, the camera cut away to Prince Nana watching from ringside in the middle of the move. Poor editing right there that makes the production look even more amateurish than it already is. Ciampa then goes for a triangle choke with the elbow smashes, applying pressure. Ciampa then goes for another pin, but this time only for one. The announcers put over Ridge’s toughness.

Ciampa takes control again with a headlock, but Ridge gets on his feet quickly and hits a kneeldown jawbreaker to get out of the headlock. Ridge takes control with his kicks, and manages to hit a jumping knee to Ciampa’s face. Ciampa doesn’t get swept off his feet, though, and Ridge charges, only to get flipped over the ropes to the apron again. Ridge kicks Ciampa from the outside, and yet again the camera cuts to Prince Nana right in the middle of the move, completely missing the impact. Ridge hits an impressive over the rope rolling cutter for two.

Ridge attempts to follow through on his momentum by going to the top rope, but Ciampa recovers and cuts him down. Meanwhile, we get a Tweet of the Week, and while it wasn’t silly, it was way too fanboyish. Ridge is laid out on the bottom turnbuckle, and Ciampa rolls down his right kneepad, preparing for a running knee to the face. The camera again cuts away to Ridge’s face while Ciampa is charging. Thankfully, Ciampa goes for a second knee, and a third, and a fourth. Ciampa puts Ridge in the powerbomb position, signalling for the end, and hits the powerbomb to backstabber finisher he calls Project Ciampa for the pin and the win.

Winner by pinfall: “The Dominant Male” Tommaso Ciampa at 4:44

Thoughts: For one thing, these two definitely have some chemistry. One can actually make a case for Ciampa being somehow WWE-ready; he’s got the looks, size, and already works the all-around WWE style their medium- to big-sized workers already use. This was a decent match, and I get that they were also trying to put Andy Ridge over, but the amount of offense Ciampa had to endure from Ridge before beating him didn’t exactly sync with the cold-blooded killer gimmick he’s running with – I was expecting him to dominate Ridge and beat him quickly and decisively. On top of that, poor camera editing in some spots drag the match down a little. 2.25 stars out of 5.

- Up next, we still have an ROH World Championship match against Davey Richards and Roderick Strong.

- Back from the break and Nigel McGuinness is already here, doing the ask the fans portion again. He asks a fan who he thinks is going to win the main event, and the smartass answers with “Bring back Kevin Steen!” Judging from Nigel’s reaction, he seems to have been a plant. (Where was Nigel for the first match?)

- Video package to hype up the World Title match. I just cannot take Roderick Strong seriously because of his less-than-believable delivery and his poor voice. Davey Richards talks about how his family would watch wrestling, and especially about his grandfather. Richards thanks his grandparents for everything they did for him.

Main Event: Roderick Strong (with Truth Martini) vs. Davey Richards (c) for the ROH World Championship

- The match starts after the break and no handshaking goes down. Both men circle each other, and Strong first attempts a takedown, but misses. Both lock up and Strong takes control, forcing Richards to the ropes. It’s broken up and the next few moments are filled with more circling. More grappling and Strong takes control with a wristlock now, and Richards reverses it into his own. Strong takes Richards down to the ground, forcing a hammerlock, then transitioning into a front facelock. Richards forces Strong into the ropes, and the referee forces a clean break, and Strong hits Richards with a cheap chest slap.

More grappling, and rolling and flipping as both men jockey for control. Richards tries to go for what looks like a rana, but Strong counters. Strong with a side headlock takedown, Richards with the headscissors, and then a quick sequence of dodged moves. Looks like the Cruiserweight Moves from the old SmackDown games. This sequence gets applause from the crowd.

Another running sequence that features a lot of dodges ends with Richards going for a pin attempt for two. Richards transitions into a surfboard and into another pin for two. Strong reverses it into his own surfboard and then his own pin attempt for two. Another terrible camera cut to Truth Martini during the pin attempt. Meanwhile, Nigel McGuinness makes a reference to what Gordon Solie said about wrestling being a human game of chess.

Richards with an arm drag to an armbar, then to a hammerlock. Kevin Kelly reiterates that Davey is the best in the world until he’s beaten. (Care to react, Jeff?) Strong forces Richards into the corner and hits an elbow to the head. Strong takes control with chest chops, and we go into another brief running sequence that sees Davey hit a dropkick. Richards goes for the ankle lock but Strong quickly reverses it to send Davey flying through the ropes. Strong tries to go for a dive on the outside but Richards avoids it and gets back in the ring, trying to hit a baseball slide, but Strong dodges it as well.

Richards manages to hit a huge kick on the outside, sending Strong reeling. Richards dominates by hitting well-placed kicks to Strong’s chest. Strong hits a back kick and slams Richards into the barricade to regain some momentum. Both men now trade shots on the outside, and a chop sends Richards to the floor. Strong tries to whip Richards to the barricade again but Richards counters and sends Strong instead, following up with a big-time yakuza kick. Nigel observes that the two men are killing each other, and Kelly turns up the hyperbole again by saying that both men are fighting for the biggest prize in wrestling.

Richards rolls Strong back into the ring. Strong retreats to the apron again and hotshots Richards. Strong takes control and stomps a mudhole on Richards in the corner. Strong gets on the top rope, bringing Richards with him, planning to do something off the turnbuckle. Richards counters, and Strong tries to regain control, but Richards stops that by hitting an enzuigiri from the inside, sending Strong down to the floor again.

Richards heads to the top rope, but is momentarily distracted by Truth Martini, allowing Strong to hit a huge enzuigiri of his own. Richards sells being knocked out as he isn’t moving on the mat. Kevin Kelly tries to go to commercial break, but before that, Strong goes for a cover for two.

We return from commercial as Strong hits a back suplex to uranage for a near fall. During the break we see Richards back up on his feet and both men trading shots, with Strong coming out on top. In the present, Richards hits a huge german suplex on Strong, but Richards couldn’t follow through. Both men now winded but trading forearm shots, and Richards eventually takes control with another series of kicks to the chest.

Richards sends Strong to the corner, but Strong reverses it into his own Irish Whip. Strong goes to the outside and tries to trip Richards, but fails. Richards hits the adjacent corner and goes into the apron, and does a running big boot to Strong on the floor which was poorly captured by the camera. Strong wanders at ringside, and Richards follows up with a dive through the ropes, laying waste to Strong outside the ring.

And now, for some strange reason, the broadcast seems to have skipped right through what happened on the outside, as we go to both men in the ring and Richards getting up on the top rope. Richards hits a missile dropkick for two. Richards tries to charge Strong in the corner, but Strong stops that with a quick kick to the gut. Richards tries to go for what looks like a T-bone suplex, but Strong counters him with elbows. Strong tries to regain control but Richards comes back with a flurry of elbows and forearms, finishing with a running forearm and that T-bone suplex for two.

A “This is awesome” chant begins to pick up as Roderick Strong looks absolutely dazed. Davey Richards tries to take advantage by looking to hit what looked like a saito suplex, but Strong elbows out of it. Strong tries to charge Richards at the corner but ends up getting kicked in the face for his troubles. Richards tries to charge from out of the corner but walks into a powerslam for only two.

Strong hits a clothesline to Richards in the corner, and tries to go for an uranage, which Richards counters into a crucifix pin for another near fall. Richards goes for a huge kick, which Strong ducks, and Richards gets taken down and hit in the face by a kick from Strong for yet another near fall.

Both men now trading shots on the ring apron, and Strong dazes Richards with a huge backhand to the head. Strong hits a very huge falling back suplex to the ring apron, which could have legitimately killed a normal person, and rolls Richards back into the ring for a very, very near fall. Strong couldn’t believe it, and the crowd wasn’t as hot for the kick-out as they should’ve been.

We get a replay of that spot, and after that we see both men back on their feet. Richards hits a boot to Strong’s face, but Strong gets him back with a knee to the gut. Strong with two enzuigiris, but Richards hits the Alarm Clock knee to the face. That doesn’t faze Strong as he hits a boot to the face and a rolling elbow as well, but Richards gets him back with a spinning lariat, and both men are down.

The ref starts with the KO count, and Strong manages to get to his feet first at 9. The crowd is chanting for Davey now, and both men begin trading forearms to the face again while already being wobbly on their feet. Richards kicks Strong into the corner, and rains down a flurry of kicks on his chest. Strong puts Richards in the corner and rains down chops as well, but Richards manages to regain control, switching again and resuming with the kicks, managing to hit ten in a row. Richards goes to the opposite corner to try and charge him, but Strong miraculously recovers, follows him, hits an enzuigiri, and manages to hit a falling double knee gutbuster for another near fall.

The crowd starts chanting “This is awesome” yet again, and Strong tries to go for a suplex, only to be kneed in the head by Richards. Richards is in the corner and Strong attempts to run to the corner, hilariously causing referee Todd Sinclair to run out of the way. Richards runs out of the corner and runs back to hit the high knee. Richards places Strong on the top turnbuckle and manages to hit the superplex and Falcon Arrow combo for another near fall.

Richards quickly transitions from the pin to an ankle lock, but Strong manages to power out of it soon after and hits a high knee to the face. Strong tries to go for a second gutbuster, but Richards blocks the impact and transitions into the ankle lock again in the center of the ring. Richards grapevines the leg, and Truth Martini quickly distracts the referee so that Strong can tap out. Richards releases the hold and chases after Martini, leading him into the ring. Richards ducks a clothesline from Strong and comes back with another enzuigiri. Martini distracts Richards inside the ring, but gets kicked in the gut and thrown out of the ring. The distraction allows Strong to hit the running Sick Kick for yet another false finish… and the crowd goes mild.

Strong locks in a seated Boston crab, and stays there for a few moments until Richards rolls out and reverses with the ankle lock. Strong powers out of it again but eats a running kick to the face. Strong quickly gets back to his feet and spits on Richards, and this angers Richards into a flurry of kicks for yet another two count. Richards still has a hold on Strong’s foot, and he quickly transitions into the ankle lock one more time, and Strong finally taps out.

Winner by submission, and STILL ROH World Champion: “The American Wolf” Davey Richards, at 20:56

Thoughts: Wow, talk about slightly underwhelming. Again, I’m not sure at what stage of the TV tapings this match was shot in, but for a World title match featuring who should be the most over guy in the company, the crowd was pretty lukewarm, and there were a lot of false finishes to go crazy for. As for the match itself, the match started out fine and well-paced, and I thought it was not going to be a spotfest, but in the final minutes all psychology started going out the window. These guys will tell you that it’s the adrenaline coursing through their body, but that really doesn’t make it any more believable that both men can take that much punishment and still dish out bursts of offense. (And you thought John Cena’s psychology sucked.) The finish was poor, which was especially highlighted by the relatively bigger false finishes that went before it. Serviceable TV main event I suppose, but Lethal vs. Generico last week proved that ROH could do a lot better on TV, and especially with a championship lower on the ladder. 2.75 out of 5 stars.

- A double main event is advertised for next week’s show, but did not say what the other match is. (We already know that one of them is the Briscoes vs. the All-Night Express.)

Overall Thoughts: I just can’t tell you that this was a better show than last week’s. For one thing, despite getting a lower rating, I managed to enjoy Ciampa/Ridge more than the main event, and even the Briscoes’ promo too, and that’s not a good thing for the World Champion. I think it just so happens that the stories revolving the other two championships are way more interesting than the one involving the World title, and if the company wants to really distinguish it as a main event championship, then something needs to change, posthaste. Now that we’ve seen all the titles being defended in three TV main events in a row, I’m hoping that the familiarizing stage is at least somewhat over, and we can start focusing on more people on the roster, instead of just around four people per show. B-