Duckman's ROH TV Review - No.6

[Duckman]

It’s that time of week again as it’s Ring of Honour on HD Net for their weekly TV show!  I’ve been quite impressed with the HD Net shows so far.  There have been some good matches and guys like Austin Aries, Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs have all been showcased well.

I’m still getting used to the use of squash matches and jobbers because since the Monday Night Wars there hasn’t really been a place for regular squash matches and jobbers on TV.  ROH are using these techniques well to get over their bigger and more important talent, or to establish some younger characters and gimmicks.  Last week Rhett Titus and Kenny King looked fantastic against Cheech and Cloudy (resident job tag team in ROH!)

In any event the show for week 6 looks like being a cracker.  We get the usual highlights from last week and then we cut to Prazak and Hogwood in the studio where they hype the main event of Tyler Black vs Bryan Danielson!!  I can’t wait for this match.  Black and Danielson have had some terrific matches in ROH and hopefully they can add to that list tonight!

They talk up the World Title scene and how if Black wins tonight against a former ROH World Champion he could find himself next in line for a ROH World Title shot!  Here’s hoping!

We cut to a promo by two jobbers Grizzly Red Wood (the worlds smallest lumberjack) and some douche called Andy ‘Right Leg’ Ridge!  Redwood does all the talking and Ridge nods his head like a tit.

We then get a promo by The Dark City Fight Club (John Davis and Cory Chavis.)  These two really do look like total bad asses.  They promise to show they are the baddest tag team in ROH and dare anyone out there to prove them wrong! 

1st match of the night and I get the feeling this could be another squash job.  Ridge and John Davis start the match off and Ridge gets his ass kicked and slammed around the ring.  Cory Chavis hits a sick looking running splash in the corner and some BRUTAL forearm shots to the back.  The Dark City FC tag in and out and hit a really nice double team ace crusher on Ridge!

Davis throws Ridge into his own corner and makes him tag out to Redwood.  He comes in and gets his ass handed to him.  Davis hits a really nice looking modified t-bone suplex almost from a choke slam position.  It’s weird but it looks really good.  The Dark City FC are looking very impressive with their power and intensity.  The crowd tires to rally behind Redwood who is bumping his ass off for The Dark City! 

Redwood gets a slight comeback and looks to charge Davis in the corner but Chavis comes in and hits the little dude with a massive running shoulder block in the style of Monty Brown’s pounce move!  Redwood is nearly knocked out of his boots with that one!  Ridge tries a kick but it’s no sold and Dark City FC hit two massive double team slams on Ridge for the 3 count and the win.  Hogwood brings back his bizarre ‘slap the porpoise’ phrase to signify a win!  I don’t know who the fuck told him to say that, but it’s pretty damn funny!

Winners via pinfall:  The Dark City Fight Club

The Dark City Fight Club are extremely impressive.  They’ve got the size, intensity and skills to go very far.  I wouldn’t be shocked if these guys turned up in WWE in a year or two once they’ve got some more experience under their belts.  A total squash but very impressive and entertaining.  I’m looking forward to seeing The Dark City FC go up against a real team in ROH soon.

We cut to Kyle Durden who is backstage with Bryan Danielson.  They talk about who the fans will be behind and Danielson says he isn’t concerned if the fans support Black.  He says he’s “knocked out the biggest and baddest and tapped out the quickest and slickest.”  He puts over Black as being a great athlete but he says athletes come and go and we’re going to find out tonight if Black is here to stay and if the fans are right to throw all their support behind Black.

2nd Match of the night and we cut quickly to the ring where Nigel McGuiness is already in the ring with a mic in hand!  Excellent, we need more promos from the ring on the show and Nigel is one of the best live promo guys in ROH.  Alex ‘Sugarfoot’ Payne is also in the ring with Nigel.  He’s skinny, pale and a jobber, that’s all you need to know.

Nigel cuts his usual great heel promo and talks about all the years of being hurt in ROH and that he still doesn’t have the respect of “you wankers,” meaning the fans of ROH.  He says he prefers it that way because he doesn’t want the respect of a bunch of “ignorant, socially maladjusted, disease ridden muppets!”  WOW!  Nice line from Nigel that gets some huge heat from the crowd!  He finishes by telling the fans they can kiss his beautiful British arse!  Great heel promo from Nigel to get the crowd against him and generate some heat.  The man is a star on the mic.  Nigel’s arm is heavily taped up from the injury he’s now away recovering from.  I believe he’s had surgery to reattach his bicep tendon in his right arm.  He’s had problems with his biceps for a long time and I worry that a lot of that is due to the vicious lariats he throws on a regular basis.

The match opens with Payne hitting a distracted Nigel with a couple of drop kicks, an elbow in the corner to stop the charging Nigel and a bulldog off the second rope.  Nigel quickly takes control of the match with his kick to the back, forearm strike to the chest in the corner.  Prazak heels it up by having a go at the crowd for supporting Payne. 

The rest of the match is all about Nigel working over the arm and the shoulder of Payne with a variety of submission moves and slams on his arm.  Payne is able to survive a couple of submission attempts. 

Payne gets his comeback with a roll up but Nigel fucking kills him with a sick lariat and then the Tower of London (3rd rope hung cutter) for the 3 count and the quick squash win!

Winner, via pinfall:  Nigel McGuiness

We cut backstage to Kyle Durden who is with Tyler Black.  Black is in a contemplative mood and he puts over Danielson as being the ‘best wrestler in the world.’  Black says that in the main event tonight he’s going to prove he can hang with the best in the world.  Nice solid promo from Black here who is getting better on the mic the more practice he gets.

3rd match of the night after the break and this should be good as Kevin Steen teams with Jay Briscoe to take on Chris Hero and Eddie Edwards.  Hero and Edwards are part of Sweet and Sour Inc (although with Larry Sweeny having a nervous breakdown and quitting ROH I’m not sure how much longer the stable will be in existence!) 

In the commercials we get a promo from Ric Flair who will be appearing next week on ROH on HD Net!!

Hero and Edwards cut a solid promo putting over their characters and Sweeny has a few choice words for Steen and Briscoe.  Hero and Edwards come to the ring and Hero is back in his horrific short shorts from the 1982 Football World Cup!

We get a cool promo by The Briscoes and Steen and they explain why even though they don’t like each other, they both have reason to put their differences aside and take it to Sweet and Sour In.  The angle being that the American Wolves took out Mark Briscoe and then took out El Generico both by knee injury.

Hero and Edwards jump Briscoe and Steen as they are playing to the crowd and Hogwood goes nuts on commentary!  The crowd are hot for the match and Steen takes control early over Edwards.  Prazak explains that Edwards’ usual tag team partner in The American Wolves, Davey Richards, is on tour in Japan and that is why Edwards is teaming with Hero.  I’ve always like how ROH fill in the gaps to explain why someone isn’t on the show or teaming with their usual partner, it’s good attention to detail. 

Steen and Jay take the fight to Hero and Edwards for the opening until Larry Sweeny grabs Jay Briscoe’s leg and Hero is able to nail him with a sick running boot to the face in the corner!  Jay is getting beaten down at ringside by Sweeney, Edwards and Del Ray so Mark Briscoe runs over to make the save while hobbling on his surgically repaired knee.

Edwards and Hero work Jay over for the majority of the match, they hit some decent looking moves with Edwards looking a lot sharper than the last time I saw him wrestle.  Hero keeps going for the knock out with spinning elbow strikes and big kicks to the head.  Jay is able to make the hot tag when he gets Hero in the corner and then drives Edwards into the groin of Hero head first!

Steen hits the ring like a house on fire and scores with his big cannonball move in the corner on Hero.  The crowd chant for the moonsault and the big man delivers with a picture perfect moonsault off the top!  Hero is able to avoid the package piledriver and hits another rolling elbow for a close 2 count on Steen! 

Edwards and Hero hit a great combination boot to the head, code breaker from the middle rope and then spinning forearm to the back of Steen’s head but they only get a 2 count!  Edwards reaction and facial expression is great here when Steen kicks out.

Edwards and Steen hit alternate chops and elbows to Steen, they hit the opposite ropes but Jay pulls one side down and Hero tumbles to the floor.  Steen then hits a sky high powerbomb on Edwards for a close 2 count!  He then turns Edwards into the sharpshooter and the crowd are going wild for the tap out!  Sweeny is back on the apron and this distracts Steen and when he turns around he eats a running boot to the jaw from Edwards and both men are down!

On the outside Mark Briscoe and Hero are fighting over a chair and Jay leaps off the ring apron with a clothesline to Hero!  Back in the ring Steen ducks a lariat, boots Edwards in the mid section and then hits the package piledriver on Edwards for the 3 count and a big crowd pop!

Winners, via pinfall:  Jay Briscoe and Kevin Steen

Great match.  All four guys looked sharp, the match had a nice pace to it and Steen and Hero both shone in the match.  This is the first really good competitive tag team match on ROH on HD Net and it’s worth checking out as they showcased exactly how good tag team wrestling can be in ROH.

It’s Main Event time!!  Black hits the ring first to a great crowd pop!  I really hope they get the ROH World Title belt onto him before the end of the year as ROH needs a hot, young, exciting wrestler to be in a top position.  No offence to Jerry Lynn but Black is a much better fit as ROH World Champion.

Bryan Danielson hits the ring next and it’s SUCH a shame they couldn’t get the rights to ‘Final Countdown’ as that tune makes Danielson’s entrance so much better!  As with all Danielson matches the crowd chant, “you’re gonna get your fucking head kicked in” as Danielson smirks and nods his head in agreement.

The crowd are really hot and split for both guys as they do some mat work early on with a double knuckle lock and Dragon bridging beautifully and carrying Black’s full weight.  The match starts off slow and it looks like they’re going to go at least 15-20 minutes for this one!  Which is awesome!  Danielson works the legs of Black with various submission moves but Black is always able to counter out of the holds.

The commentators really put over Black and how he’s got the talent to beat Danielson even though he’s never beaten him in a singles match.  They talk about how Black bought tickets to early ROH shows to watch Danielson wrestle.  It’s amazing to think that Black is so young because he carries himself like a much older and more experienced wrestler.  Prazak talks about Black maybe having some nerves about going into a match with someone he respects and admires so much.  Very good piece of commentary here to put over the story leading into the match and the thoughts and feelings of Tyler Black.

Danielson is the first one to land a big shot with a European uppercut in the corner.  Black comes back with a flying head scissors for a 2 count.  Black gets his big stamp to the jaw of Danielson for another 2 count.  Black continues to stay in control of the match beating Danielson down with aggressive shots but Danielson fires back with more stiff European uppercuts and then a hard kick to the back!  Danielson hooks Black for a surfboard and pulls him back into it!  He hooks Black in a dragon sleeper at the same time with the surfboard hooked but Black is able to fight out of the hold as Danielson looks intense and the crowd chant for Black!

Black is hurting as Danielson works him over with big kicks to the chest for a 2 count.  He hooks Black in a weird looking ankle lock but Black reaches the ropes.  Danielson snaps down on Black’s leg at the count of 4 which has Hogwood upset on commentary!  They trade shots, chops from Black and uppercuts from Danielson!  Black gets an O’Connor roll but Danielson kicks out at 2 and then flattens him again with a stiff uppercut!

Danielson bad mouths Black and then slaps him HARD across the face and then another and finally a third!  Danielson comes off the ropes and Black gets a backdrop and then a couple of clotheslines and back elbows but Danielson is able to regain control with a flying elbow to the top of Black’s head as he comes off the ropes.  Black rolls to the outside and Danielson dives through the ropes and takes out Black!!  The crowd are popping big as Danielson rolls Black inside and then climbs to the top turnbuckle!  He leaps off but Black nails him with a drop kick in mid air and both men are down as the crowd cheer them on!

Black fires up and hits an enzeguri to the back of the head, follows up with a flying forearm shot in the corner and then sits Danielson on the top and then sends him over with a hurricanranna from the top!  Black gets a close 2 count from this offense!  They exchange moves in the middle of the ring and it’s Black who takes control with a drop kick sending Danielson to the floor.  He then hits a front flip dive over the top rope and takes Danielson down!!

Black is control as he rolls Danielson back into the ring and then hits a springboard lariat from the apron back inside!  He gets another close 2 count from this great looking move. 

Danielson is whipped into the corner, but he runs up the turnbuckles and flips over Black.  Danielson goes for a German suplex, Black fights out of it, goes for a Pele kick but Danielson catches his leg into an ankle lock!!  That was a great exchange!!  The crowd are going nuts as Black writhes in pain and Danielson grapevines his legs with the ankle lock still on.  The crowd are chanting ‘please don’t tap’ as Black just reaches the ropes.  The crowd chant ‘this is awesome’ as Black goes for a headscissors again, but Danielson rolls through and pins him for the closest 2 count of the match and night!

Black tries for a superkick but Danielson catches his leg and locks the ankle lock back on again!!  Black tries to get up but Danielson keeps his leg trapped against his body and plants Black with a German suplex for another amazingly close 2 count!!  The crowd are chanting ‘ROH’ as both men are down.  Danielson is first up and he goes for a back suplex off the top but Black reverses it in mid air and crashes down onto Danielson as Hogwood freaks out on commentary!!

Once again both men are down as the crowd count along with the referee and then chant for Black.  They exchange hard forearm shots with ever increasing intensity but it’s Danielson who takes control with a spinning forearm, he comes off the ropes with a roll up attempt, but Black rolls with him and then hits a Pele kick while lying on the mat!!!  That looked awesome and Danielson really sells it well!  Black hits his big implant reverse DDT for another 2 count!! 

They announce there’s only 1 minute left in the time limit as Black climbs to the top turnbuckle.  He misses the Phoenix Splash off the top, but rolls up onto his feet and then eats a vicious running kick to the face from Danielson!!  Danielson quickly rolls over and hooks on the triangle choke as only 30 seconds remain and the crowd are freaking out!!! 

Somehow Black stands up out of the triangle choke and heaves Danielson up and then hits a modified powerbomb into the corner turnbuckle to a huge crowd reaction!!  Both men are down as the 20 minute time limit runs out.  The crowd boo and then chant for ‘five more minutes’ but as Hogwood points out both men are extremely beaten down.  Danielson wants 5 more minutes but they’re not going to get it and both men shake hands to huge applause from the crowd!!

20 Minute Time Limit Draw

Wow, what a fucking match!  I love that ROH give their TV main events more than the usual 8-10 minutes.  This one went to a 20 minute time limit draw and Black really did push Danielson to the limit.  I think both guys can only be more over as a result of this match and the crowd loved every minute of it.

The show ends with a video preview of next week as Ric Flair arrives on ROH TV!!  Plus Austin Aries will take on Roderick Strong in the main event!  That sounds like a must see show to me!  It’ll be interesting to see what Flair’s role is on TV with ROH.

This was a top quality show with a couple of squash matches to get over Nigel and The Dark City Fight Club.  The tag match with Steen and Briscoe was solid but the main event was fantastic.  They had some great drama and both guys worked really hard.  I will admit I’ve seen better matches from both guys, but for a TV match you won’t see anything better anywhere in American than Danielson vs Black this week.

A nice return to form for ROH this week after a bit of a slow show last week.  Next week looks promising and ROH on HD Net is starting to find it’s groove as a show.

I hope you guys enjoyed the review this week and if you’d like to leave comments on the show/review feel free!

See you next week.

Peace

Duckman