The Official Ring of Honor Thread - 2010 Edition

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-Bobby Cruise opened the show by mentioning anyone who hadn't heard the results of the Louisville tapings that Christopher Daniels defeated Eddie Edwards for the ROH TV Title last weekend.
-Kenny King defeated Adam Cole in a really good opener. Cole is obviously a rookie in ROH but was given a really strong run at King and came really close on several occasions to putting him away. Cole seemed to come down hard on his knee at one point when King dumped him to the outside and it looked tender for a moment or two, but he shook it off and it didn't seem to slow him down too much. King caught Cole coming off the top rope and turned it into the Royal Flush to get the win. Cole got a loud ovation after the match.

-Mike Bennett defeated Colt Cabana in another solid match. Bennett carries himself really well, he's got the look and is a solid worker as well. He's definitely got that star package and had a really competitive match with Cabana. Some comedy stuff found its way in but this was otherwise a straightforward match that ended when Cabana had Bennett in the Billy Goat's Curse but Bob Evans distracted Cabana and allowed Bennett to roll Cabana up and get the win.

-ROH TV Champion Christopher Daniels defeated Andy "Right Leg" Ridge in the final match of Ridge's Trial Series. This was the best match I've ever seen Ridge have, Ridge was very competitive and at one point hit a superkick that knocked Daniels out but the momentum sent Daniels to the floor, and by the time Ridge got him back in the ring, he was only able to get 2. Ridge went for another superkick but Daniels ducked and hit the Angel's Wings to pick up the win. Good match, and definitely not a slam dunk for Daniels. Daniels cut a postmatch promo telling Ridge that he knows he's worked hard to improve and not to be disappointed about losing because he may not have the experience, but he does have the heart and he's got a great future ahead of him.

-Bobby Cruise announced a return date to Plymouth for Friday, March 18th.

-Kevin Steen & Steve Corino defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe in a really good match. They started fighting on the floor to jump start the match and brawled around ringside. Hard hitting match, Steen & Corino got the win when Mark went for the Cutthroat Driver on Corino, but Steen nailed him and hit a Package Piledriver and Corino covered Mark for the win. Steen grabbed a microphone and told Generico that he's going to die tomorrow night. Jay Briscoe grabbed the microphone after Steen & Corino left and said that it didn't matter about tonight, because Papa Briscoe's going to be in the house tomorrow and they're coming for the Kings Of Wrestling, and then reminded us that if we can't be there, that we can order the iPPV on gofightlive.tv. I was a bit surprised to see the Briscoes lose, but it makes sense to make Steen look strong since he's main eventing tomorrow night. Also, it really was a good match and I feel like the Briscoes have gotten back into their groove and have been having some really strong matches in the last few months.

INTERMISSION

-El Generico won a Four Corner Survival over Grizzly Redwood, Rhett Titus, and Ricky Reyes. This match was all about the other three guys building to Generico tagging in and destroying everyone else in the match. Generico won with a brainbuster on Grizzly, then started to pick him up for a second brainbuster, then changed his mind and set him up for a Package Piledriver but Steve Corino came out and stopped him. Corino went on to say that Steen and Generico have been going at it for a year now and it needs to end, and that can happen if Generico just takes the mask off because now it's unsanctioned and Corino can't control Steen anymore. Generico statrts to take the mask off but then kills Corino with a running Yakuza Kick and attacks him until the Jobber Patrol comes out to pull him off.

-TJ Perkins defeated Kyle O'Reilly. I saw these two wrestle one another at EVOLVE earlier this year, and that match was really good but I think they topped it here. They did a lot of mat work early on with chain wrestling and submission, which didn't get over with the crowd at all. They got a better reaction once they moved on and started opening up with the high impact kicks. They did a series of pinfall reversal sequences until O'Reilly went for the Magistral Cradle but Perkins countered to a cradle of his own for the win.

-ROH World Champion Roderick Strong defeated Sonjay Dutt in an excellent non-title match. Sonjay was a last minute replacement for the injured Kenny Omega, and he took advantage of the opportunity and had a good showing for himself, busting his ass out there and being the Sonjay Dutt he should have been during his ROH run last year. Roderick put Dutt away with a vertical suplex into a backbreaker.

-The Kings Of Wrestling defeated the American Wolves in a hard fought, back and forth match that went over a half hour. I'd have to sit and watch all three matches again, but I think this may have been better than either of the KOW-Briscoes matches from Big Bang and Death Before Dishonor VIII. Eddie Edwards in particular looked like a million bucks and it took three rolling elbows from Hero to finally put him down. The KOW attacked the Wolves after the match and left them laying, and then after they were gone and the Wolves were back up, they got a standing ovation and Davey cut a promo saying that this was supposed to be their last match as a team, but he thinks the Kings OF Wrestling are on the run and they were never a team that was put together to be commercially successful, and it doesn't matter what title you put on the DVDs, they're a brotherhood and they're what ROH is all about, and the fans are all a part of that brotherhood.

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This show was excellent, it's far and away the best ROH house show (ie not HDNet, iPPV, or in New York) that I've been to in a very long time. For the first time in a long time I felt like a real effort was made to put on a show that was terrific from top to bottom, and the difference was noticeable. The main event blew me away and everything underneath was solid to very good, and as a fan I really hope that ROH continues presenting house shows like this because it was everything I first fell in love with about the company.

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-The All Night Express defeated Kyle O'Reilly & Adam Cole in a killer opener. Nobody held back a bit in this one and they left it all in the ring. Cole & O'Reilly looked great here and gave a really good accounting of themselves, coming really close to beating the ANX several times. ANX with the Blockbuster/Powerbomb combo for the win.

-Colt Cabana defeated TJ Perkins in a comedy match. After trying unsuccessfully to get Perkins in the Billy Goat's Curse several times, Cabana reversed a pin attempt to a sunset flip for the win.

-Sara Del Rey & Serena Deeb defeated Daizee Haze & Amazing Kong. This one never really got out of first gear and the crowd kind of died during this one. It picked up a bit toward the end when Kong came in and started killing people, but didn't hit the level it could have. Sara needed to give Daizee the Butterfly Powerslam and two piledrivers to put her away.

-Eddie Edwards defeated Sonjay Dutt in another solid bout that saw them get back on track after the last match. Sonjay Dutt really took advantage of the opportunity he got this weekend and busted his ass in both matches to put on great performances, and I hope ROH noticed and think about bringing him back in as a regular part of the roster. Eddie destroyed Sonjay with a hard clothesline, a powerbomb, and a 2K1 Bomb to pick up the win.

INTERMISSION

-Homicide defeated ROH TV Champion Christopher Daniels in a solid if unspectacular match. The ref got bumped and Homicide took off his t-shirt, threw it in Daniels' face, then hit an Ace Crusher for the win. Finish was a bit out of nowhere, but whatever. Mike Bennett, who had been sitting ringside observing the bout with "Brutal" Bob Evans, took a microphone and mocked Daniels by congratulating him on his win.

-Jay, Mark & Papa Briscoe defeated the Kings Of Wrestling & Shane Hagadorn. This was a good match if not as blowaway as their last two iPPV matches, but it was all about building to Papa Briscoe finally getting his hands on Hagadorn. Sara Del Rey got ejected from ringside early on, and then Papa was the star of the show, hitting a flying headscissors on Claudio and then eventually getting ahold of Hagadorn and beating him into oblivion. The finish came when Jay got Hagadorn up for the Doomsday Device and Papa Briscoe went up to the top rope and hit the flying clothesline to put Hagadorn away for the win. Very entertaining match.

-Roderick Strong defeated Davey Richards in an unbelievably match to retain the ROH World Title. Awesome, awesome match that went at least 35 minutes, tons of close calls and at one point Davey had Roderick tapping out to the ankle lock but Truth Martini was distracting the referee and he didn't see Roderick tapping. The match continued and Davey had the ankle lock again, but just released the hold and collapsed, and Roderick took advantage of the opportunity by hitting several big moves and then getting the Stronghold, and Davey was out so the referee called for the bell. Crowd was really shocked Davey didn't win, and Davey laid motionless in the ring and was attended to by referees, Kyle O'Reilly and Eddie Edwards while Jim Cornette had Bobby Cruise tell the fans to please be patient because we might have a concussion situation. Davey finally came to and realized that he had lost and spent several minutes just sitting in the ring staring into space while coming to grips with his loss, then headed to the back. Davey got a HUGE ovation on his way out. Terrific match.

-El Generico defeated Kevin Steen in an unveblievably brutal Fight Without Honor, and as a result Kevin Steen is out of ROH. This was ridiculously violent, and included several sick ladder spots, chairshots, table spots, and even Todd Sinclair did a table spot. Steve Corino tried to interfere but Colt Cabana stopped him, nailed Steen with a chair, and chased Corino to the back, but Generico only got 2. Generico gave Steen a top rope brainbuster, but only got 2. Finally Steen was on his knees and Generico had a steel chair in his hands but Steen tried to stop him by holding up the old red and black Generico mask. Generico took it and hesitated before cracking the chair over Steen's head and pinning him for the win. Colt Cabana came out to celebrate with Generico, who waved goodbye to Steen. After they left, Steen acted like he was going to give a speech, but just flipped off the crowd and left.

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Ring of Honor returned to the Manhattan Center in New York City for the 2010 edition of their last live event of the year, Final Battle 2010, broadcast live via GoFightLive.tv for Internet PPV. Like the last several events here, ROH sold out and turned fans away at the door. If it’s financially feasible, they really might want to consider moving back to the Hammerstein Ballroom downstairs.

Since Stu is doing live updates on the results, I’ll be writing my thoughts on the show as it happens. If my netbook battery runs out, I’ll post the remainder of the thoughts when I return, but we should be good.

The show opened with Internet announcers Kevin Kelly and Dave Prazak introduced. There was a Kevin Kelly chant. Really? Better than than Hermy I guess. Bobby Cruise did the countdown and we were on the air.

The All Night Express vs. Kyle O'Reilly and Adam Cole was a hell of a good opener. It was designed to not just have a good back and forth athletic tag match with some cool dives and great double team moves, but to show that Cole and O'Reilly could be players to watch in the future. The crowd loved this one and it’s crazy to think how far the Express has come since their days as Austin Aries’ lackies. Great stuff here.

Colt Cabana vs. TJ Perkins was a hell of a lot of fun, especially if you like European wrestling. There was some fun silliness here but also a lot of Johnny Saint-inspired matwrestling. Perkins looked good here and Cabana was his usual self. A really good, solid, fun match and I don't think they took one bump. They didn't need to. It was that good.

Sara del Rey and Serena Deeb vs. Awesome Kong and Daizee Haze was just awesome. Well worked back and forth hard hitting bout that the crowd loved. Haze plays a hell of an underdog babyface. Kong was once again the queen of the monsters, Del Rey was on fire and Deeb looked hot and worked real hard. The show is really hitting a nice pace.

Eddie Edwards vs. Sonay Dutt was a solid match. Dutt worked really hard and you could see he was hungry. Edwards did some nice hard hitting chops and worked really well with Dutt. Dutt brought in a little sizzle with some dancing and a good comedy bit where he went under the ring to try and sneak up on Edwards, only to eat a hard chop for all his sneakiness. Solid stuff with Edwards going over in a competitive bout.

Homicide vs. Christopher Daniels was another good match that served to set up for rematches for the TV title down the line. They did a nice job of building a good match. I wasn’t thrilled about the ref bump but after a bunch of clean finishes, it made sense to do it here with two personalities who could use it as a storyline point. Great to see Julius Smokes back with Homicide as they always played well against each other in the past. Mike Bennett mocking Daniels’ loss is a nice storyline tease for the future as well since he’s a long term project. Would love to see Daniels and Homicide go at it again with a lot more time, but this was a nice chapter one.

The Briscoe Family vs. Hagadorn and the Kings of Wrestling was one hell of an entertaining bout. Poppa Briscoe was in great shape and pulled out a hurancanrana, teased a dive and hit a flying clothesline off the top rope. Hagadorn was awesome as the scrawny heel manager finally getting his comeuppance. The Kings of Wrestling are in another world as champions. Chris Hero is money. This was a great example of the stars aligning just right. Everything pretty much worked out as perfect as you could hope for here and of everything on the show thus far, this had the entire crowd into it. Some were into the Kings, some were into the Briscoes but everyone was popping for the near falls, especially the ending sequences.

Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong was one of the most hellacious, hard hitting matches I’ve seen all year as they really took it way beyond stiff with the kicks and chops. Strong really took his game to another level and his win was at least a moderate surprise as most seemed to think Richards was going over tonight. Just amazing, brutal stuff here. I loved the hell out of this. This was one hell of a wrestling match, from the long build with the matwork to the back and forth stiff shots, submissions and near falls. A great 30 plus minutes. Richards spent a lot of time afterward as they claimed he might have had a concussion but I believe it was Richards selling the effects of the bout. This may have been the best Strong match I've ever seen.

The main event was, well, a sight to behold. After a year of building one hell of a blood feud, ROH blew it off with some stiff back and forth beatings, some weapons shots and one hell of a spot where Generico put Steen through a table placed atop a ladder that was bridged across the railing and the apron. Steen had one hell of a farewell performance. This was just off the charts brutal and bloody. You can’t have asked for a better blowoff to this feud. This was what the crowd came to see and they weren't let down.

Just one hell of a show from top to bottom with nothing terrible and lots and lots of hard work and good booking.

Notes: They return to the Manhattan Center on Saturday 3/19….The Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz and Deranged were backstage visiting….Jim Cornette was backstage working the show….They ran a taped promo during intermission on the PPV with Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin announcing they were coming for the ROH Tag Team championships and wanted to be regulars in 2011.

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For those of you who had issues with the ROH Internet PPV broadcast of Final Battle 2010, what happened is that GoFightLive.tv's servers were overrun with orders for the PPV and they needed to set up additional servers to carry the show. While that interest is a positive for the company, it's getting to the point that every Internet PPV has some sort of technical issue on GoFightLive's side. You can't keep expecting fans to shell out money as if they are paying to watch the show live, they want to watch it without issue. In a lot of ways, WWE has spoiled everyone with their production values, which makes these technical issues worse in comparison, but the bottom line is that there have been a number of Internet PPV broadcasts and we always hear the same story on them - which is a negative for fans, the companies promoting them and GoFightLive themselves. There needs to be an improvement made.

For those wondering, everyone was physically OK after the show and this was indeed Kevin Steen's last scheduled bout with the company.

After the PPV went off the air, ROH President Cary Silkin thanked everyone for the last year in a locker room meeting. Silkin was extremely pleased with the effort of the company.

Homicide worked his match against Christopher Daniels with a groin issue that has been hurting him for some time. It's a recurring issue that he's trying to work through as it heals.

Visiting at the show were former WWE star Zach Gowen, Lucha Libre USA's Reby Sky (photos do not do this lady justice), former ROH talents Slyck Wagner Brown and Deranged, North Carolina indy talent Jake Manning, NYC talents the Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz and Colby Corino.

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Quindi Steen lascia la ROH.

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Io quando dissi che Steen avrebbe perso questo match e lasciato la ROH, tutti mi diedero contro...ora quello che mi domandavo tempo fa, me lo domando oggi...chissà che fine farà..rimarrà in quel giro di Indies, ma il palco che aveva qui, difficilmente lo riavrà.

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Quindi Kevin saluta? Scelta strana anche se c'erano news che andavano in quella direzione a questo riguardo. Non mi trovo molto daccordo con le scelte effettuate negli ultimi mesi/anni dalla ROH ma lo spettacolo è tale che sarebbe un peccato non seguirla.

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Probabilmente Steen starà un annetto fermo per recuperare dagli infortuni e poi in qualche modo lo faranno tornare.

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Dispiace, nella mia classifica dei prossimi vincitori di quel titolo veniva subito dietro a Davey (e vabbè) e Daniels ( e rivabbè).