Posted in: ROH Ring of Honor TV Results 10/15/11
By Romeo
Oct 16, 2011 - 5:37:13 AM
Ring of Honor Wrestling 10/15/11
Frontier Fieldhouse
Chicago, Illinois
- The broadcast opens with a three-minute long recap video of last week’s ROH World Championship main event between Davey Richards and Roderick Strong.
- The show officially begins with Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuiness running down the card, hyping tonight’s double main event. First is a match between Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards, and the previously-booked tag match between the All-Night Express and the Briscoe Brothers for a shot at champions Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team. Doesn’t take long before the announcers take us to a video promo from the Briscoes, because it seems we’re starting with the tag match.
Jay and Mark talk about how the Express were new to ROH, offering to carry their bags around and wanting autographs, and promise that they would still be carrying their bags after they’re finished with them. They also put over their childhood life in the farm, showing how that makes them tougher than the All-Night Express. They also get in a few shots at WGTT. They talk about respect and how they’ve been there for nine years. They end the promo by saying that people think they’re just “dumb rednecks,” but they know how to whoop some ass.
The Briscoes make their in-ring entrance, and we then go to a video promo from Rhett Titus and Kenny King, the All-Night Express.
Rhett says the rivalry with the Briscoes had brought out a different side of them than people are used to, and he doesn’t regret spilling that much blood over the feud. Kenny says that they are both prideful young men that will step their game up if they are messed with, and that everybody has found out that you don’t step up to the All-Night Express if you’re not looking for a fight. Rhett says he thinks of the Briscoes a lot. (#Pause.) But he says that he thinks of the Briscoes because every time he looks in the mirror he sees the scar they gave him, and he ends the promo by saying that now he’s out to give them scars of their own.
The All-Night Express make their entrance to the ring.
Thoughts: Some quick thoughts before we get to the match. ROH has relatively no problem when it comes to their wrestling, but damn do they need help with the production side. I’m not talking about how everything looks again, but that unusual video setup just baffled me. It seemed as though they were trying to go for a picture-in-picture promo feel when they were shooting the videos, but it was just too long for a PIP promo that would’ve played during the entrance. What would have been a better idea is that just take the two promos and edit them together to create one hype video for the match. In the grand scheme of things, that wasn’t really that offensive, but it was definitely baffling. As for the promos, the Briscoes are their usual aloof, tough guy selves, but the Express need some help with their writing.
I’d also like to talk about the “double main event” billing. It’s more a matter of ROH’s naivete and ambition than TNA-level boneheadedness, but it’s really pointless and ridiculous to bill a card as having two “main events” when there are still only two matches on the show. I understand that they’re trying to dream big in order to seem big, but at some point you have to figure out which of that works and which is absurd.
”Main Event” #1: The All-Night Express (Rhett Titus & Kenny King) vs. the Briscoe Brothers (Jay & Mark Briscoe) for the #1 Contendership to the ROH World Tag Team Championship
- A commercial break before the match begins. Kenny and Jay start the match, beginning with a lockup that takes them around the ring. The Briscoes eventually take control as Jay forces Kenny to their corner and tags in Mark, double stomping Kenny down. Usual spot early on with the referee’s back turned as the Briscoes double-team Kenny outside the ring, ramming him into the barricade. Kenny manages to counter and Rhett manages to make his way to his partner, prompting a brawl on the floor.
The Express roll Mark back into the ring and hit a drop toehold and dropkick combo for two. Kenny takes control and tags in Rhett, and both hit an atomic drop and clothesline combo for another two count. Mark counters an irish whip attempt into one of his own, and Jay tries to interfere and fails, but that leaves Rhett open. Mark sends Rhett to the corner, and Jay comes in to hit a chop block and high knee double team move. Mark sends Rhett to the corner, works him over, and tags in Jay.
Jay continues the assault on the corner, and switches it up to the adjacent corner. Rhett starts to fight back, but Jay retains control and Mark runs in for a lariat for only two. Mark is tagged back in, sends Rhett to the corner and hits a clothesline to bulldog. Mark with another cover for two. Another Tweet of the Week at this point, and this time it’s a smartass who takes a shot at sports entertainment, but Nigel manages to make that bearable by quoting Jim Cornette saying that ROH is not sports entertainment, but an entertaining sport. Clever.
Mark continues to put the pressure on Rhett, sending him to the corner again. Rhett with a big boot this time, and moves up to the top rope, but Mark quickly regains himself and tries to pull him down with an iconoclasm, but to no avail. Mark went up and seemed to try to go for a frankensteiner, but Rhett managed to counter it with an alley-oop, sending Mark face-first into the turnbuckle. Both men crawl quickly to make the hot tag.
It is Kenny who becomes the house of fire in this one, taking out both Briscoes with a flurry of offense, ending with a legtrap suplex for two. The Briscoes roll out of the ring, but the Express quickly get at them with an assisted over the top rope rolling senton to the outside. Rhett rolls Jay back into the ring and the Express take control as Kenny hits a spinebuster and Rhett hits a diving double knee drop for another two count.
Kenny continues the offense, trying to go for a backbreaker, but Jay manages to power out of the hold. Both men go to the corner, and Mark attacks Rhett at ringside. The Briscoes quickly retake control as Mark sends Kenny running into a big boot from Jay, and Mark with a rolling senton of his own to Rhett on the outside, doing his best to deal with both men.
Jay hits a front suplex and Mark hits a top-rope elbow drop for two. Rhett tries to break up the pin but Mark deals with him. Rhett and Mark get tangled up in the ropes brawling, getting close to falling on the announcers’ table. Both referee Todd Sinclair and the announcers are distracted by the chaos Rhett and Mark had gotten themselves into near the table, allowing Jay to hit a huge kick to Kenny’s groin for the pin and the win.
Winners via pinfall, and new #1 contenders to the ROH World Tag Championships: The Briscoe Brothers, in 8:08
Thoughts: Wow, that was a really clever finish – it was a nice twist to the cheating win in that this time, even the announcers weren’t able to see the low blow thanks to the distraction, and for once the whole playing dumb routine actually makes sense, for now. As for the match itself, it was the right length for a one-hour TV show, enough time to showcase both teams even though the Briscoes dominated slightly more. The All-Night Express need to work on their psychology a little more, but both men are fine athletes the crowd can get behind. 3 stars out of 5.
- After the match, Rhett tries to attack both Briscoes, but is quickly overpowered and beaten down. A lot of security men and officials get in the ring to break up the fight, and the show goes to commercial.
- After the break, we go to the announcers. Kevin Kelly says they think they have video evidence of the low blow. (Really, Kevin? You don’t say?) We go to a replay and this is the first time the announcers see the low blow… and it’s pretty blatant. Nigel defends Jay by saying that he knows Jay is smart enough to do anything to win. Kevin moves on with the show, hyping up main event #2, but first we take a look at Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team.
- Charlie Haas says being WGTT means they’re the best at what they do. Shelton says you can put any two men in front of them, and they’ll beat them. Haas says they were bred to wrestle, and to wrestle on the platform ROH provides does a lot for them. He compares wrestling in ROH to amateur wrestling in college, training for the NCAA. Shelton says every night they step into the ring, it’s a test of their manhood, caliber, talent, athleticism, and they’ve been putting in the time and energy to win. Haas says they don’t think about it – they just do it; they wrestle, and they’re good at it.
Their amateur careers are put over, with both men listing off their school achievements one after the other, ending the list by saying they are ROH World Tag Team champions. They then put over ROH, and Shelton even goes on to mention his time with the WWE, and says the styles of the two promotions are two different things, like comparing apples to oranges. He says that he’s always prided himself on his athleticism and ability, but ROH is the first place he saw where all of those really matter. Haas puts over the ROH tag titles as the greatest tag titles they’ve ever held.
They end the clip by taking a shot at the Briscoes, saying that they’re the best 10 years ago and they’re still the best now, and that the Briscoes lit a fire under their asses, and that no one’s going to put it out.
Thoughts: Charlie Haas has really come a long way here with his promo ability, being the most clear and intense one out of the two. What he says is enough to carry the team verbally. Shelton is better off shutting up – while he can talk intense as well, his accent just makes him slur certain words, and that breaks the mood. I also liked what they had to say, especially what Charlie said about wrestling in ROH being like training for the NCAA and the bit about the ROH tag titles being the best tag titles they’ve ever held in their career – it sounded really sincere, it’s putting over the company in a way that doesn’t sound blatantly like a company line. As for the production of the segment, though, it should’ve ended at the part where they say they’re the tag champs after listing down their previous achievements. I know there is still establishment going on, but the tag champs have already been showcased previously, so they don’t need the same extensive introduction others do. The ROH writers really need to learn that less is more.
- We come back from the break to Kevin Kelly with ROH Executive Producer Jim Cornette. Cornette says he talked to all the people involved in the match, and says Jay Briscoe was “surprised” and “astonished” to find that he kicked Kenny King in the groin. (That’s actually pretty hilarious.) He says that the referee made a bad call, but it is final, and the Briscoes remain the winners. However, until he can find out what is really happening, neither team is the #1 contender.
Thoughts: …What? Cornette just ruined an okay angle by allowing an absurd plot hole. He says he had to talk to everyone involved to find out what was really going on, but we already saw earlier via a legitimate instant replay that Jay straight-up kicked Kenny in the balls. Are you telling us that Cornettewasn’t watching the match, didn’t watch the replay, and/or doesn’t know the video footage already exists? Why does he have to ask around? What the hell is going on?
- We go to an Inside ROH segment, where Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards is discussed. Before anything, though, Truth Martini must be discussed.
Cornette says Truth Martini is a con man, but Martini calls himself a “life intervention expert.” Cornette says that Martini is a visionary, a prophet to the few people who follow him. Martini says that when he changes what you know, he changes who you are. Cornette says that the people who follow Martini are usually great athletes with no confidence. Davey Richards says Truth is a smart guy, but full of shit – a leech that takes what he wants before leaving. Cornette brings up Roderick Strong, who was in ROH for 8 years without winning the title, but after 6 months with Truth Martini, was ROH World Champion. Martini says he told Strong the truth, that it was not his fault, but everybody else’s fault, and that Martini didn’t make Strong champion; Strong made Strong champion.
Cornette says Martini is focused on getting Strong the World title back, and that is where Michael Elgin comes in. Martini puts him over as truly unbreakable. Cornette puts him over as ridiculously strong, benching 500 and squatting 700 lbs. (citation needed) at a body weight of 230 lbs. (okay, citation really needed). Cornette says he’s really unbreakable, and that his sole purpose in life is to keep Eddie Edwards away from Davey Richards, so that Roddy is free to challenge for the championship without competition. Elgin says there’s not a man on the planet who can break him in any way. He says he steps into the ring with mean intent. He puts over Truth Martini, saying that everyone has potential, everyone has that something burning inside them waiting to get out, being just a matter of time and place, and that Martini stepped in and helped him achieve his potential. He says Martini helped show the world that Elgin’s grip, body, and will is unbreakable. He says Martini helped him open his eyes to the truth, which is all he needed to know. Martini ends the segment by saying that you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad.
Kelly then goes to Eddie Edwards. Edwards brings up that he beat Richards for both the TV and World titles. He says that Richards knows him best. He says that he’s lost many times before, but that’s not gonna stop him and he’s just going to keep coming. He says Davey is now the hunted, and he’s the hunter. He says that when it happens, he will be the best in the world. Davey says they’re both hunters, hunting for the next achievement, and he says that the ROH World Title is the ultimate achievement. He says that when the time comes for he and Eddie to fight, they will fight, because it’s the thrill and essence of the company, the American Wolves, and the World title.
Thoughts: I thought that ran way too long. These video segments are really starting to wear out their welcome; if you thought the lack of in-ring action on a typical episode of, say, Monday Night RAW was bad, then for a company that prides itself for its wrestling this is really bad. I know we’re still only five episodes in and the entire roster hasn’t been showcased yet, but you know what’s a better way to showcase a wrestler? By having a wrestling match. If the All-Night Express/Briscoes match can be under eight minutes just fine, then there is no reason we could’ve had an extra under-10 match to showcase two more relatively unknown guys. As for the guys, a quick rundown: I didn’t expect Truth Martini to have a really gravelly voice, Elgin proves why he needs Martini as a manager (and justifies it, too), Eddie is an even horrible talker than Davey, and why does Davey end a segment that was meant for Eddie?
”Main Event” #2: “The Unbreakable” Michael Elgin (w/ Truth Martini) vs. “Die Hard” Eddie Edwards for the #1 Contendership to the ROH World Championship
- Ring introductions and a huge Eddie Edwards chant right before a commercial break. (New ad spot featuring Jay Lethal and the TV belt.)
Back after the break, Edwards extends his hand to Elgin in adherence to the Code of Honor, but Elgin does not shake it. The bell rings and the match begins with a lock-up, and both force each other to the rope. Both trade a knife-edge chop to the chest, and Edwards gets Elgin in a side headlock. Elgin tries to turn it into the suplex, but to no avail. Elgin turns it into an irish whip, but Edwards comes back with a big boot.
Both men now trading forearm smashes to the face, prompting yay-boo chants from the crowd in favor of Edwards. They turn it into slaps, and Edwards with a flurry of slaps and a knee lift to the gut. Elgin with another forearm shot, and Edwards with a running big boot that doesn’t knock Elgin down. They repeat the spot, and the big boot sends Elgin backwards, but he bounces off the ropes and comes back with a shoulder block that knocks Edwards down.
Elgin now takes control, starting with shoulder blocks in the corner. Elgin then goes to hit a delayed vertical suplex, which he holds for at least five seconds. Elgin with the cover for one. Elgin with a stiff chop to the chest, and Edwards comes back with his own. They begin trading chops again now, and Elgin retains control as he stomps a mudhole in Edwards at the corner. Elgin sends Edwards to the opposite corner and charges, but Edwards evades and tries to go for an arm drag, but Elgin resists and reverses it into a powerslam hold. Elgin tries to go for snake eyes on the corner but Edwards slips out, sending Elgin to the corner. Edwards tries to hit a running high knee, but Elgin dodges it.
Edwards hits a back elbow and a second-rope huracanrana. He finally hits the arm drag and then rolls through for the Achilles Lock, but Elgin powers out of it. Edwards hits a kick to a seated Elgin and a lionsault for two. The crowd starts up into an Eddie chant.
Edwards with a chop to Elgin on the corner, and he tries for a whip to the opposite corner, but Elgin counters. Elgin charges and Edwards moves out of the way, hitting a chop to Elgin’s back. Edwards tries to go for the second-rope jumping codebreaker, but Elgin counters by throwing him back to the corner. Elgin tries to charge but Edwards hits another boot to the face. Edwards tries to charge but Elgin catches him, runs both corners, and hits a backdrop in an impressive show of strength for two. The show goes to commercial as Elgin resumes offense on the ground.
The broadcast returns with Edwards back on his feet and back in control. Edwards runs the ropes, but walks into two backbreakers and a sidewalk slam for two. They take this time to show what happened during the break, and we see Elgin hit a pretty sweet tossing Samoan drop. Elgin is back in control in the present, now, and he tries to go for a suplex, but Edwards has resisted, trying to turn it into a guillotine choke. Elgin manages to toss Edwards up, but Edwards lands on his feet and tries to go for a backdrop driver, but couldn’t lift Elgin.
Elgin runs the ropes, and Edwards chops him, but Elgin runs right through them. That’s actually an impressive visual. However, Edwards hits two kicks to the face and a big-time belly-to-back suplex. Both men are on the floor and the referee starts the KO count.
Edwards gets to his feet at eight. He hits another boot to Elgin, which doesn’t knock him down, and runs to the ropes, but Elgin follows him and hits an elbow to the face. Elgin runs to the ropes and Edwards follows him, jumps over the rope, and hits an enzuigiri. It doesn’t knock Elgin down, and Edwards runs to the rope and hits a missile dropkick for a near fall.
Edwards tries to whip Elgin, but couldn’t, and Elgin ends up whipping Edwards instead. Edwards doesn’t bounce back, and Elgin charges, only to get sent over the top rope. Elgin is seated on the apron, and Edwards hits a running kick to his back, bounces off the ropes to hit a baseball slide, and bounces off the ropes to come back with a dive through the ropes to Elgin, ramming him through the barricade and laying both men out on the floor.
Edwards rolls Elgin into the ring before the referee could count to 10. Edwards goes to the top rope to try to hit the double stomp, but Elgin gets out of the way. Elgin tries to hit a running knee to the face, but Edwards evades it. Edwards with a back kick that knocks Elgin off his feet, and Edwards hits a shining wizard for a near fall, and the crowd chants for Eddie again.
Edwards drags Elgin back to his feet, and they start trading forearms again. Elgin takes control with repeated shots to the face. Edwards hits a double knee facebuster, but it doesn’t knock Elgin down. Edwards tries to hit a lariat, but Elgin chops the arm. Elgin tries to hit a lariat of his own, but Edwards evades and hits a jumping enzuigiri. Edwards charges again but Elgin finnally hits a lariat to take him down for a near fall of his own.
Edwards rolls under the bottom rope, and Elgin continues his control by taking advantage of that. Elgin tries to go for a suplex on the apron, which is also what Roderick Strong did to Davey Richards last week. Edwards fights out of it, however, but Elgin still has control. Elgin tries to suplex Edwards into the steel ring post, but Edwards lands on his feet on the other side of the ring. Edwards hits a superkick, and goes to the top rope to successfully hit a double stomp on Elgin on the apron.
Edwards goes back to the top rope and hits another double stomp (they showed Elgin completely telegraphing the move, though). Elgin gets back up and the commentators put over his tenacity. Edwards tries to hook him up for the Die Hard cradle suplex, but Elgin counters that into a powerbomb to the turnbuckle. Elgin tries to go for a spinning powerbomb, but Edwards counters that into a roll-up for two. Edwards hits a superkick, and finally manages to hit Die Hard for the pin and the win.
Winner via pinfall, and new #1 Contender to the ROH World Championship: “Die Hard” Eddie Edwards, at 12:16
After the match, Roderick Strong came in and got in Edwards’s face. Nigel McGuinness, seeing the potential ambush happening, got into the ring to get on Edwards’s side, and they teased a brawl to end the show.
Thoughts: That was definitely a much more fun main event than last week’s thanks to a livelier crowd (new day, I suppose), but I cannot give Edwards a lot of credit for it. The show had just devoted a nice chunk of time to building Michael Elgin up as a powerhouse (even if he does have the stature of Taz), and the match does prove that, but we see Edwards moving around, brushing off all of Elgin’s big-time moves like they were Kelly Kelly’s strikes. Are the American Wolves allergic to in-ring psychology? I don’t care if his gimmick is “Die Hard,” everything Edwards did made Elgin look weak despite all his big moves. Still, however, it was more fun to watch than Strong/Richards because of the contrast of styles. Not sure what to feel about Nigel physically involving himself in the feud, since I thought it was established that he was solely going to be a commentator. Anyway, I’m going to give this the same score I gave Strong/Richards, but only because Edwards’s severe lack of psychology brought it down; trust me, this is really a better match than last week’s. However, the match only reinforces the fact that neither Wolf should be anywhere near the ROH main event. 2.75 stars out of 5.
Overall Thoughts: Two relatively superior matches save a show that is clearly in need of better planning. We’re going into our sixth episode now, and the show really needs to start doing away with all the filler videos and start throwing in a short third match in the undercard. The setup of this show really dragged in the middle because of the videos, and the lack of an in-ring promo to start the show really exposed that, because they weren’t forced to fill the middle portion with much action. Other than that and Jim Cornette’s glaring plot hole, there are no other complaints from me. B
