Posted in: ROH Ring of Honor TV Results 11/19/11 By Romeo Nov 19, 2011 - 5:24:54 AM

Ring of Honor Wrestling 11/19/11
Davis Arena
Louisville, Kentucky

- Because I was not able to post a review last week, for the benefit of those who haven’t read the results of the 11/12 show, I’m going to post quick results and thoughts before I begin last Saturday’s.

- The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) defeat the Bravado Brothers in their ROH TV return and debut. The match was only around five minutes long, so a whole lot of offense and a lot less psychology was crammed in that amount of time. It was like watching a Michael Bay movie: mindless fun. 2.75 stars out of 5.

- Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team cut another in-ring promo against the Briscoe Brothers when the All-Night Express come to interrupt. ANX just reminds them that they’re still there, and they state that they’re the best who just need an opportunity against the champs. Strange segment that, while proving that both members of ANX are good talkers, was just a little hard to buy given ANX’s relatively clean loss to the Briscoes previously.

- Steve Corino asks Jim Cornette for some time to suggest a way to deal with the Kevin Steen problem. No response from Cornette, though.

- Main event: The American Wolves defeat the House of Truth (Roderick Strong and Michael Elgin) in a typical Wolves match, but with a surprisingly better, non-spotty finish which involves Truth Martini inadvertently costing his team the win because of a referee distraction. It’s the same stuff you’ve come to expect from everyone except Michael Elgin, who seems to be the only sane person in that bunch. Again, ending was good and the slow evolution of Eddie Edwards’s character via new moves from his new trainer, Dan Severn, is interesting, at the very least. 3 stars out of 5.

***

- The broadcast begins with a recap video of last week’s main event.

- Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuiness officially open the show. Tonight’s main event is a “Team Richards Challenge” between Kyle O’Reilly and Davey Richards. However, the first match involves Mike Mondo, so we go to our first video package of the evening.

- Mike Mondo begins by telling people not to crowd him because he takes up a lot of space when he walks by. He warns his opponent tonight, Alex Silva (who we last saw a couple of shows ago), that he can’t make any promises for his safety because even he doesn’t know his own strength. Mondo finishes by saying he’ll do whatever it takes to show everybody that he’s the biggest man in town.

Thoughts: Not as over-the-top as his first promo, but I’m still not buying this Napoleon complex gimmick.

Match #1: Alex Silva vs. “The Giant Killer” Mike Mondo

- A quick thought: ROH’s started to note down the artist and title of their guys’ entrance music. A nice touch, but if they want any real recognition for the themes, they need to start piping it in during post-production instead of just relying on the arena’s sound system. Right now the only themes that have real recall power are the Wolves’ howling theme and the Briscoes’ “reach for the sky” song.

An arrogant handshake from Mondo to begin the match. A lock-up as both men attempt to jockey for control results in a quick running sequence and a swift exchange of moves that both keep evading, ending in another lock-up that sees Mondo sweeping Silva off his feet. Hands still connected as the chain grappling continues on the mat. Silva with a quick monkey flip on Mondo, and both men trying to get their shoulders up on the mat. Mondo manages to flip backwards and mount Silva, and the two exchange chest chops. Silva rolls to the side and hooks their legs together; they both get up on their heads and fall, and referee Todd Sinclair has to break it up and unhook them. Beautiful first couple of minutes.

An unintentional distraction by the ref allows Mondo to blindside Silva, sending him through the ropes and out of the ring. Mondo with a corkscrew press to the outside, and Mondo quickly sends Silva back into the ring. Mondo with a dropkick to a seated Silva for a two count. Mondo continuing to dominate on offense with elbow drops to the back, and a leg drop to the neck for another two count.

Mondo now applying a cravate on Silva, and Silva eventually manages to get on his feet and power out of the submission. Both men begin to trade forearm shots, and Mondo seems to have the upper hand. Mondo runs to the ropes but Silva follows him and stops his fastbreak. Silva runs and Mondo follows but Silva turns around and catches Mondo in a huge spinebuster for two.

Silva tries to send Mondo to the corner and runs after him, but Mondo gets the upper hand in that. Mondo gets up on the second rope and jumps, and Silva tries to hit a dropkick, but Mondo counters into a quick spinebuster. Mondo tries to go for a pin or something but Silva rolls out, and Silva drops him with a clothesline, and picks him up to hit a gutwrench powerbomb for two.

Mondo rolls from the pin position into a modified Fujiwara armbar, but Silva manages to get to the bottom rope. Would have loved to see the match end there. Silva slides out onto the apron and hits a hotshot on Mondo. Silva runs to the ropes and tries to hit a dropkick, but Mondo catches it and tries to reverse into a stepover toehold, but Silva kicks him. Another running sequence and Silva tries to hit another spinebuster, but Mondo counters into a facebuster, a kick to the face, and a double-arm DDT for the pin and win.

Winner, by pinfall: Mike Mondo in 4:56

Thoughts: That was a really good almost-five minute match. The WWE has proven that you can still have psychology in under five minutes, but not having it here is forgivable since, well, they only had a little under five minutes. The first minute and a half or so was absolutely divine. I’d like to see a little more of Alex Silva, and definitely more of Mike Mondo, hopefully with better writing of his character. 3 stars out of 5.

- We now go to Jim Cornette’s response to Kevin Steen’s filing of charges against him. He says that this isn’t the official response to the lawsuit, which will come next week, but a personal response. Cornette denies that he coerced Steen to take the match where his career was put on the line. He denies that he misrepresented any of the facts in the situation and changing the contract when it was already signed. He also denies that he bribed the referee. Cornette agrees that Steen has the right to sue him, but he’ll have to wait for next week to find out if Cornette will go for a settlement.

- Before we get to the next match involving Mike Bennett, we have a quick video promo from Jay Lethal.

- Lethal says that he knows what Bennett is up to as he tries to discredit Lethal as the TV champion. Lethal references what happened in his match with El Generico, where they fought to a draw and asked for more time. He contrasts this with what happened in his match with Bennett, where Bennett left after Lethal was ready to go further. Lethal says that he thinks El Generico deserves the shot more than Bennett does. Lethal says Bennett can talk about being the “real” champion all he wants, but he’s not champion until he has the actual title.

Match #2: Jamin Olivencia vs. “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett (with “Brutal” Bob Evans)

- Kevin Kelly hilariously rips into Bob Evans by calling him a “vile man with a putrid, odorous breath.” Bennett cuts a promo before the match begins, saying that he had the TV title match won and that he is the real TV champion. Crowd is chanting “boring.” Bennett says that because he’s a nice guy and that he’s the real TV champion, he’s going to give Olivencia a “TV title shot.”

The match begins with Bennett easily taking control of Olivencia, and Bob Evans goes over to the announce table to remind the announcers that this is a “TV title match.” Bennett and Olivencia slap each other, and Olivencia with a dropkick and an arm drag. Olivencia continues to be in control, and starts to run the ropes only to get hit with a spinebuster by Bennett.

Bennett has Olivencia in the corner now, raining down blows on him. Bennett with a scoop slam, and Olivencia gets up, fights back and tries to send Bennett to the corner but Bennett counters with his own whip. Bennett splashes Olivencia in the corner, and follows up with a quick neckbreaker for two.

Bennett with a chinlock now but Olivencia manages to get on his feet and power out of the hold. Olivencia with a barrage of forearms to Bennett’s face, and follows up with a running high knee. Bennett gets to the corner and Olivencia hits him with a running inverted crossbody on the corner. Olivencia reverses a Bennett lariat attempt into a slam for only two.

Olivencia goes to the second rope and jumps, only to eat a boot from Bennett. Olivencia reverses a powerbomb or piledriver attempt into a jackknife pin for another two count. Bennett gets up and easily nails the Box Office Smash for the pin and win.

Winner, by pinfall: “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett in 3:36

Thoughts: That match was quite shorter than I expected. Jamin Olivencia was quite impressive, getting a lot of offense for somebody who was barely hyped up before the match. A new face getting in credible offense like that usually means he’s going to be part of the main roster, so perhaps that’s something to watch out for. About Mike Bennett, I would’ve preferred to see him cheat to win, because he is a heel. The main storyline with him and Lethal is starting to already wear thin the moment he declared himself to be the “real” TV champion, because the finish that started the controversy wasn’t believable enough to really be a controversy of this magnitude. 2.25 out of 5 stars.

- We go to the weekly Inside ROH. First up is an update on the Richards/Edwards feud. Apparently, Richards first broke the news of who it is on Twitter (Really? On Twitter? Really?) Richards says that his reaction is not anger, but confusion and a little distrust. He says he’s a bit hurt and that he feels it’s something that breaks their bond a little. Richards says that it was originally his idea to train with Dan Severn, but he had to go to Japan. He says that he told Eddie that he thought he was above this. He says that come Final Battle, nothing else will matter except Richards vs. Edwards.

Kevin Kelly says they have footage of Eddie Edwards training with Dan Severn, and they’ll show it next week.

Thoughts: Breaking an important plot point on Twitter? And you thought the WWE was horrible with the social networking service?

- We then get a recap of last week’s WGTT/ANX confrontation. We also get the news that the Briscoe Brothers are challenging Cedric Alexander and Caprice Colman in order to embarrass Haas and Benjamin, because it took them thirteen minutes to beat the young team. Alexander and Coleman accept the challenge and put themselves over, and we have a match for next week.

Thoughts: Caprice Coleman seems to be a great talker. I’d like to hear more of him. Coleman and Alexander don’t look like much at first, but they continue to impress me.

Main Event, Team Richards Challenge: Kyle O’Reilly (with Tony Kozina) vs. Davey Richards

- Before the match begins, Davey cuts a promo, going for a cheap pop by saying that the fans in Louisville want to see a fight. He puts over teammate Kyle O’Reilly, and just goes for the face routine. After the ring introductions, Truth Martini comes out to watch and we go to commercial.

The match begins and Truth goes over to the announce table. Both men are testing the waters, and Martini explains that he is out there to make a statement. He says that if Davey Richards was in the House of Truth, he is guaranteed a victory at Final Battle, and if Eddie Edwards also joined him, the same would happen to him. O’Reilly is down on the ropes, and Richards knocks him down with a stiff kick to the chest. Martini says that in the House of Truth, they would be celebrated, not tolerated.

Both men circle each other, and O’Reilly takes Richards down with a cross armbreaker, but Richards counters into an ankle lock, which O’Reilly rolls out of. Both men catch each other with a dropkick, and once again the match is reset. Kevin Kelly wonders what would happen if Davey Richards or Eddie Edwards joined the House of Truth, and Martini says Roderick Strong would love it, and it would challenge him to be the best.

Both men lock up again as Truth Martini now talks about the Roderick Strong Invitational Challenge at Final Battle, and he says those who have applied so far are unworthy. Richards rolls into a heel hold, but O’Reilly reverses into his own and a leg DDT. O’Reilly has the heel hook locked in well, but Richards manages to escape the hold. The match is reset once more.

More chain grappling now from both men, and Richards takes control with a hammerlock. Both men going around the mat, exchanging locks again. Davey takes control for a short while, but Kyle fights back with kicks to the chest, and manages to knock Davey off his feet. Davey manages to shake it off (as usual) and hit a snapmare to a kick. O’Reilly gets up and they go to trading shots with each other. Meanwhile, the announcers are advancing the Richards/Edwards plot, saying that Richards only told Kyle and Tony Kozina about his plans to train with Dan Severn, and all of a sudden it’s Edwards who is training with him.

Davey takes control now and locks in a modified Texas cloverleaf, and gets Kyle’s shoulders down, but Kyle kicks out at two. Kyle fights back, but it isn’t much and Davey continues to dominate. Davey gets in a kick and tries to remain in control, but Kyle manages to begin his rolling butterfly suplexes and gets the cross armbreaker at the end of the last one, but Richards manages to reach the bottom rope.

Davey retreats to the corner and Kyle charges, and Davey ducks, causing Kyle to get caught on the top rope, allowing Davey to hit a running high knee to his chest. Davey remains in control, and Nigel makes a great observation: Davey is walking casually around the ring. Not even showing signs of pain or fatigue. O’Reilly gets up and both men begin trading forearm shots, but Davey knocks him down and the ref begins the knockout count.

O’Reilly gets to his knees at the nine count, and before the ref can count to ten, Davey comes in with a shining wizard for two. Davey hits a back suplex for two, and we go to the last commercial.

We return from commercial to see Richards applying a surfboard on O’Reilly. O’Reilly gets out of the hold and both men proceed to trade shots and kicks, and a roundhouse from O’Reilly only makes Richards stagger. Richards gets in a lariat to take O’Reilly down. O’Reilly retreats to the corner and Richards gets up to charge him, but Kyle evades and Davey eats turnbuckle. Kyle charges this time but is repelled by Davey with a boot.

Both men furiously trade slaps now and get into a running sequence, which Kyle wins with a boot for only two. Martini keeps stressing that if either Richards or O’Reilly was with him in the House of Truth, the match would have long been over. Both men trade kicks and Davey Richards goes for the Alarm Clock, which Kyle blocks and reverses into a legtrap suplex for another near fall, and the crowd goes wild.

O’Reilly goes to the top rope, and Richards gets to his feet quick enough for them to brawl up there. Richards pulls Kyle down and catches him with a kick. O’Reilly slides out of the ring and Richards follows him, hitting a running kick from the apron. Richards tries to go for a kick, but O’Reilly gets out of the way and Richards hits the ringpost. Richards staggers and it is O’Reilly’s move this time with a flying dropkick, sending Richards crashing into the barricade.

Both men eventually get back into the ring, and Kyle O’Reilly gets to the top rope and successfully hits a big-time missile dropkick for a near fall. O’Reilly locks in a guillotine choke, but Davey Richards manages to get to his feet and counter the choke into a suplex. O’Reilly rolls out of the suplex but Richards still has hold of the leg and has the ankle lock in, which Kyle rolls out of.

Kyle goes to the corner and hits a tornado DDT on Davey, keeping the guillotine choke locked in. Davey flips through to pin Kyle’s shoulders to the mat for a two count. Kyle charges Davey and locks in the standing guillotine choke again, but this time Davey locks in an ankle lock while Kyle is still on top of him. Kyle eventually lets go of the guillotine choke, and is trapped in the lock for a while until he manages to break free and reverse into an ankle lock of his own. Davey Richards manages to get out of the hold and put back his own ankle lock in place, and Tony Kozina suddenly throws in the towel for the win.

Winner, by submission: Davey Richards in 13:24

Thoughts: Your typical Team Richards match, and I’m going to recycle my earlier Michael Bay comment: it’s just straight-up mindless fun. I did actually enjoy the way both Davey and Kyle traded submission holds left and right; it’s a lot more believable than trading kicks and Alarm Clocks from out of nowhere. I’m not sure I like the throw in the towel finish, but it is a way to protect Kyle O’Reilly… even though his credibility wouldn’t have been hurt by a voluntary tapout. Because I’m feeling a bit generous, 3.25 stars out of 5.

- After the match, Truth Martini gets in the ring to confront Davey Richards. Both Davey and Kyle lay him out. Next week, El Generico gets his rematch against Jay Lethal for the TV title, and the Briscoes go up against Cedric Alexander and Caprice Coleman.

Overall Thoughts: Very good, enjoyable show, and yes, I’m even giving credit to the Richards/O’Reilly match. They went back to three matches, which is the best way to maximize their one-hour TV slot in order to showcase as much of their talent and storylines as possible. The Mike Bennett match was the weakest match in the card, but that’s not saying it was all right in itself. I’m really just worried about the company’s taping methods, as Steen’s on-screen lawyer Christian Mascagni told me that the Louisville tapings produced five shows’ worth of footage. Nevertheless, the crowd didn’t seem to be tired for this show, or at least the matches on this show, and that was good. I hope the next show is a lot more like this and a lot less than most of the previous episodes. A-.