By Christopher Evans (@Cool_Calm_Chris)
You remember those rivalries. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock, Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle,
CM Punk vs John Cena, JTG vs Air time on RAW, the classics. In this special series, Eyes on the Ring will relive the rivalries that kept pro wrestling feel interesting in the new millennium. In this episode we’ll look at one of the best indie rivalries of this generation, Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens. We’ll look at the early beginnings from Sami and Kevin’s journey into the business as well as their partnership in numerous promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerilla and Ring of Honor. We’ll talk about their Final Battle wars in Ring of Honor as well as their feud in NXT. So pop in your headphones for 20 minutes and take a tour of the greatest rivalries of the 2000s.
Showing posts with label ROH. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ROH. Show all posts
Monday, April 25, 2016
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Profound Assholes, Wrestling Edition: Giving Up on Wrestling
Now, if you're familiar with EOTR member Speed on the Beat's site, you're familiar with a little thing Speed and his SOTB cohort Drizzle Sez like to call Profound Assholes (a/k/a "PA"). Today, we're introducing a bit of PA to EOTR as True and Speed talk about some of the latest news surrounding the wrestling world.
True: This shit is garbage. Period.
Speed: Bryan's retirement. Shit is fucking insane.
True: I'm about to give up on this shit.
Speed: Bruh, can I be completely honest? I'm thinking about cancelling my Network subscription. Sure, that'd potentially mean less WIRTB. But, I'm pretty just...I don't even think "livid" is the right word. I'm...some weird combination of sad and angry. I'm "sangry."
True: I don't blame you. No lie.
Speed: The Bryan shit, for me, it's like the icing on the cake, to be honest. The way that they handled it, while graceful and while I prefer him to leave on his own terms before his brain is cheese-like, still stinks.
True: Yeah, I'm getting there myself.
Speed: I don't know. WWE's been pissing me off. And yes, they got Styles, Nakamura, and Aries. That's great. I love the fact that these legends are getting a WWE run of some sort. Signing them is dope. But...fuck it. The bad, for me, pretty much outweighs the good. And that's not even me getting on some snarky, smarky bullshit. Like, let's really look at WWE for a second. "Oooh, Bayley is over. Crazy over." Watch. They'll end up turning her into some catchphrase-spewing Chick Cena that's making corny jokes versus just being the kid-friendly wrestling machine she is. Look at Sasha Banks! Hell, even Daughter Flair.
Hideo Itami. Remember him? Remember how psyched up people were when "KENTA" turned into Itami? He's great. He's the future. He...has, like, six matches then gets the Daniel Bryan treatment. I mean, at least Bryan got to make some more appearances on the shows, even in a non-wrestling role.
Ooooh, the main roster. It's bloated. There's so much filler and it spills out into the actual show. Now, I love The New Day. But did we really need a segment with them and Rock that lasted for damn near the entire final hour or so? No. We didn't. On top of that, there are jobbers out of the ass on the roster. Jobbers who could probably make something of themselves if they were given the chance--hi Social Outcasts.
Hell, look at Heath Slater period. He's like a poor man's poor man's poor man's Daniel Bryan in his popularity. But, he gets trotted out to get a Knockout Punch from Big Show and all's back to normal.
"But what about the part-timers?" Ugh. Undertaker and Rock are legends. But, why keep bringing up the past to keep you relevant when you can use the past to elevate the present and future. And don't say "Bray Wyatt." He had a great moment that was squandered by Creative.
True: I think Takeover: Dallas is it for me, essentially. It's the last event I really give a damn about.
Speed: So, you've given up on the product, overall?
True: Yeah. It feels like more of a business for me.
Speed: True. You know what happened with me the last time I felt like that? We got Unhinged--shameless plug--and me retiring from music. Wrestling, in general, is on some weird-ass decline that can't even begin to be simply described. Is there anything that can get you back into wrestling, WWE or otherwise?
True: Full-time? Nah. Never. WWE? Never. But, I would give a bit more of a damn about it if Reigns was depushed to the mid-card. If Ambrose, Seth, Cesaro, Nakamura, etc., got their fair share of a main event-esque spotlight? That's it. I just have stopped caring, though, for the most part (laughs). It's crazy.
Speed: I feel you, though. Shit is wild. WWE is losing and TNA still never found it. No, no, no. I'm serious.
True: Go on.
Speed: I dare the EOTR family to watch TNA. Legitimately watch it, from entrance music to closing credits. The wrestling is alright, at times. But everything else? It's fucking putrid. And I say that as someone who was a fan of the promotion before it became WWE-lite.
ROH is, aside from the other indie promotions and NJPW, some of the closest stuff we're getting to a wrestling show en masse that isn't full of filler or Dwayne Johnson talking about "llama penises" for five minutes. But, as much as I love ROH, LU, and so on? I've got to be honest. The production is still meh. It still leaves a lot to be desired. If you give ROH some more cash to up the production values, more folks may get invested. Maybe. They may say "oh, this looks like NXT or IMPACT" and watch it whenever it's on. For ROH, getting back on a channel that isn't Sinclair-owned is another step entirely.
Now, notice I didn't say "oooh, this looks like RAW." No one really wants to look like RAW with all their NeNe Leakes cameos, Hornswoggle with Ariel Winter craziness, and Three Stooges bullshit.
And if you do, you've got to go get your fucking head examined.
True: See that's the thing for me about WWE these days, man. I've been a fan for 23 years at this point. I had to detach myself from this shit. I've become cynical. I made a living off of being a heel in radio and social media and calling people "sheep."
But damn Speed, I was right. I don't believe for one minute this retirement was legit. It felt forced. Like, this man was just healthy. Just healthy. Now he isn't? I mean, the guys in the business that I loved were Punk and Bryan.
Speed: At least Punk's finally gonna make his UFC debut.
True: Yeah. But now they're both done in WWE. Seth is gone. Reigns vs Triple H is going to be the main event at Mania. This shit doesn't even feel real.
Speed: I feel that this should make an appearance. Although, like you said, this shit seems forced and, ya know, not real to me, dammit.
True: (laughs) And that's why I'm done man. I'll still write for EOTR and be on the show to help, but I give up. I love the indies, but my heart isn't in wrestling anymore. I see why people walk away from this business. It drained me as someone who got into the business and worked with an actual wrestling promotion and it drained me as a fan. I don't have fun watching it on TV anymore. It's more exciting watching football, basketball and to be honest, basketball was my first love. Wrestling came right after that.
Like, take Lucha for instance. I like the work. It's over the top. It's fun. But it doesn't really engage me like season one did.
I lost my smile in the business I guess. True God Immortal has lost his smile for wrestling (laughs). That's essentially what this is. You know the old fans who had that point where they stopped watching and they always tell you what it was.
Speed: I gave up in the mid-2000s, only to come back when Punk, Bryan, and Rock were getting crazy over in 2011, 2012.
True: Folks will say "I stopped watching when The Rock left and Austin left, I couldn't do it" or "man, when they kept forcing Cena down our throats, I just walked away from my TV and that was the end for me."
I understand that now. I get it. I do. I mean, for the current product, maybe I'll come back to it when Seth Rollins returns. I mean, I'll always keep up with it for the purposes of what we do. But to be completely fair? I have to see where it all goes. The ride is no longer fun. Remember you could just sit back and enjoy the whole storyline and be amazed at how it played out. Remember? Now look. The Dudleys turned heel. Welp. If this was 2000, I would care, but, yeah.
Speed: We're damn near at 2020.
True: The Usos suck. These losers come out jigging and dabbing and shit and I mean damn man! What coonery.
Speed: Rikishi would be...honestly, I don't know if he'd be all that proud of how they're going about shit.
True: Then you've got Reigns out there stinking the joint out every night.
It is absolutely bullshit. ROMAN REIGNS IS PURE TRASH. He hasn't improved much. He sucks at promos. His matches are lackluster. He isn't a fucking star. I saw that from day one. You know who is a star?
Speed: The Be A Star folks? John Cena?
True: Dean Ambrose. You know who could be popular enough to main event a WrestleMania? Dean Ambrose. You know who is great? Kevin Owens. You know who deserves a push when he returns from injury?
Speed: John Cena?
True: (laughs) Cesaro. You know who needs more TV time? AJ Styles.
Speed: We get him on The Highlight Reel and kicking Miz's teeth out.
Fucking hell, that's a face I can't unsee.
True: Indeed. But, instead of Styles and company, we got Reigns out here being garbage and a retirement from a man who was just cleared by several world-class doctors. Imagine that. The WWE took world-class doctors and said "hey guys. Your work was irrelevant," just to retire Daniel Bryan.
Speed: I agree. I, like I said, don't want him to end up another CTE casualty and stuff. But, something still seems...off about the Bryan situatiuon.
True: On top of that? We got Sheamus out here with The League of Nations. No one wants to see these assholes. But here we are.
Speed: Rusev is a lost cause and Barrett should've left years ago.
True: It is depressing. It is saddening. WWE is absolutely putrid. TNA has good matches but I'm not invested or give an inkling of a fuck about any of these damn wrestlers on the show.
Speed: Cue Matt Hardy calling us smarky jerkoffs.
True: Dixie Carter? Vince McMahon? All them are idiots.
Speed: Careful, now. We're about to get the folks who think we're stupid for voicing an opinion (laughs).
True: And? I'll watch NXT Takeover Dallas and that will likely be it for me after that. I mean, I won't ever get to see Nakamura and Bryan fight. Bryan vs Styles in WWE. Balor vs Bryan in WWE. I'm depressed. There's no saving WrestleMania 32. ROH is losing their guys to WWE and I just don't know what to do there.
I love ROH. But outside of the lack of push for my boys ACH and Cedric, I'm not passionate about anything there. It is frustrating. Very. This is a crossroads for me as a wrestling fan. I am not sure if I can truly manage anymore with this. I'm giving up on wrestling. Fuck it. This shit don't love you back (laughs).
Speed: True shit. Well, to close out, I'd like to thank Daniel Bryan for sacrificing his time and body to make a legend of himself.
Last night, he said "wrestlers do this because they love to do this." It's oddly ironic that, in some ways, the business doesn't love those who gave their souls for this shit--or the people who are putting those dollars in the pockets of the Vinces and such--at times. If you're still a fan, that's cool. But, like True, I think I'm stepping back from it all. I'll still support the biz, but it's lost me, full-time. I'm leaving with this statement.
I'd rather watch Cardi B and Stevie J and Joseline than watch wrestling these days.
True: You're on your own on that, but I get what you're getting at.
True: This shit is garbage. Period.
Speed: Bryan's retirement. Shit is fucking insane.
True: I'm about to give up on this shit.
Speed: Bruh, can I be completely honest? I'm thinking about cancelling my Network subscription. Sure, that'd potentially mean less WIRTB. But, I'm pretty just...I don't even think "livid" is the right word. I'm...some weird combination of sad and angry. I'm "sangry."
True: I don't blame you. No lie.
Speed: The Bryan shit, for me, it's like the icing on the cake, to be honest. The way that they handled it, while graceful and while I prefer him to leave on his own terms before his brain is cheese-like, still stinks.
True: Yeah, I'm getting there myself.
Speed: I don't know. WWE's been pissing me off. And yes, they got Styles, Nakamura, and Aries. That's great. I love the fact that these legends are getting a WWE run of some sort. Signing them is dope. But...fuck it. The bad, for me, pretty much outweighs the good. And that's not even me getting on some snarky, smarky bullshit. Like, let's really look at WWE for a second. "Oooh, Bayley is over. Crazy over." Watch. They'll end up turning her into some catchphrase-spewing Chick Cena that's making corny jokes versus just being the kid-friendly wrestling machine she is. Look at Sasha Banks! Hell, even Daughter Flair.
Hideo Itami. Remember him? Remember how psyched up people were when "KENTA" turned into Itami? He's great. He's the future. He...has, like, six matches then gets the Daniel Bryan treatment. I mean, at least Bryan got to make some more appearances on the shows, even in a non-wrestling role.
Ooooh, the main roster. It's bloated. There's so much filler and it spills out into the actual show. Now, I love The New Day. But did we really need a segment with them and Rock that lasted for damn near the entire final hour or so? No. We didn't. On top of that, there are jobbers out of the ass on the roster. Jobbers who could probably make something of themselves if they were given the chance--hi Social Outcasts.
Hell, look at Heath Slater period. He's like a poor man's poor man's poor man's Daniel Bryan in his popularity. But, he gets trotted out to get a Knockout Punch from Big Show and all's back to normal.
"But what about the part-timers?" Ugh. Undertaker and Rock are legends. But, why keep bringing up the past to keep you relevant when you can use the past to elevate the present and future. And don't say "Bray Wyatt." He had a great moment that was squandered by Creative.
True: I think Takeover: Dallas is it for me, essentially. It's the last event I really give a damn about.
Speed: So, you've given up on the product, overall?
True: Yeah. It feels like more of a business for me.
Speed: True. You know what happened with me the last time I felt like that? We got Unhinged--shameless plug--and me retiring from music. Wrestling, in general, is on some weird-ass decline that can't even begin to be simply described. Is there anything that can get you back into wrestling, WWE or otherwise?
True: Full-time? Nah. Never. WWE? Never. But, I would give a bit more of a damn about it if Reigns was depushed to the mid-card. If Ambrose, Seth, Cesaro, Nakamura, etc., got their fair share of a main event-esque spotlight? That's it. I just have stopped caring, though, for the most part (laughs). It's crazy.
Speed: I feel you, though. Shit is wild. WWE is losing and TNA still never found it. No, no, no. I'm serious.
True: Go on.
Speed: I dare the EOTR family to watch TNA. Legitimately watch it, from entrance music to closing credits. The wrestling is alright, at times. But everything else? It's fucking putrid. And I say that as someone who was a fan of the promotion before it became WWE-lite.
ROH is, aside from the other indie promotions and NJPW, some of the closest stuff we're getting to a wrestling show en masse that isn't full of filler or Dwayne Johnson talking about "llama penises" for five minutes. But, as much as I love ROH, LU, and so on? I've got to be honest. The production is still meh. It still leaves a lot to be desired. If you give ROH some more cash to up the production values, more folks may get invested. Maybe. They may say "oh, this looks like NXT or IMPACT" and watch it whenever it's on. For ROH, getting back on a channel that isn't Sinclair-owned is another step entirely.
Now, notice I didn't say "oooh, this looks like RAW." No one really wants to look like RAW with all their NeNe Leakes cameos, Hornswoggle with Ariel Winter craziness, and Three Stooges bullshit.
And if you do, you've got to go get your fucking head examined.
True: See that's the thing for me about WWE these days, man. I've been a fan for 23 years at this point. I had to detach myself from this shit. I've become cynical. I made a living off of being a heel in radio and social media and calling people "sheep."
But damn Speed, I was right. I don't believe for one minute this retirement was legit. It felt forced. Like, this man was just healthy. Just healthy. Now he isn't? I mean, the guys in the business that I loved were Punk and Bryan.
Speed: At least Punk's finally gonna make his UFC debut.
True: Yeah. But now they're both done in WWE. Seth is gone. Reigns vs Triple H is going to be the main event at Mania. This shit doesn't even feel real.
Speed: I feel that this should make an appearance. Although, like you said, this shit seems forced and, ya know, not real to me, dammit.
True: (laughs) And that's why I'm done man. I'll still write for EOTR and be on the show to help, but I give up. I love the indies, but my heart isn't in wrestling anymore. I see why people walk away from this business. It drained me as someone who got into the business and worked with an actual wrestling promotion and it drained me as a fan. I don't have fun watching it on TV anymore. It's more exciting watching football, basketball and to be honest, basketball was my first love. Wrestling came right after that.
Like, take Lucha for instance. I like the work. It's over the top. It's fun. But it doesn't really engage me like season one did.
I lost my smile in the business I guess. True God Immortal has lost his smile for wrestling (laughs). That's essentially what this is. You know the old fans who had that point where they stopped watching and they always tell you what it was.
Speed: I gave up in the mid-2000s, only to come back when Punk, Bryan, and Rock were getting crazy over in 2011, 2012.
True: Folks will say "I stopped watching when The Rock left and Austin left, I couldn't do it" or "man, when they kept forcing Cena down our throats, I just walked away from my TV and that was the end for me."
I understand that now. I get it. I do. I mean, for the current product, maybe I'll come back to it when Seth Rollins returns. I mean, I'll always keep up with it for the purposes of what we do. But to be completely fair? I have to see where it all goes. The ride is no longer fun. Remember you could just sit back and enjoy the whole storyline and be amazed at how it played out. Remember? Now look. The Dudleys turned heel. Welp. If this was 2000, I would care, but, yeah.
Speed: We're damn near at 2020.
True: The Usos suck. These losers come out jigging and dabbing and shit and I mean damn man! What coonery.
Speed: Rikishi would be...honestly, I don't know if he'd be all that proud of how they're going about shit.
True: Then you've got Reigns out there stinking the joint out every night.
It is absolutely bullshit. ROMAN REIGNS IS PURE TRASH. He hasn't improved much. He sucks at promos. His matches are lackluster. He isn't a fucking star. I saw that from day one. You know who is a star?
Speed: The Be A Star folks? John Cena?
True: Dean Ambrose. You know who could be popular enough to main event a WrestleMania? Dean Ambrose. You know who is great? Kevin Owens. You know who deserves a push when he returns from injury?
Speed: John Cena?
True: (laughs) Cesaro. You know who needs more TV time? AJ Styles.
Speed: We get him on The Highlight Reel and kicking Miz's teeth out.
Fucking hell, that's a face I can't unsee.
True: Indeed. But, instead of Styles and company, we got Reigns out here being garbage and a retirement from a man who was just cleared by several world-class doctors. Imagine that. The WWE took world-class doctors and said "hey guys. Your work was irrelevant," just to retire Daniel Bryan.
Speed: I agree. I, like I said, don't want him to end up another CTE casualty and stuff. But, something still seems...off about the Bryan situatiuon.
True: On top of that? We got Sheamus out here with The League of Nations. No one wants to see these assholes. But here we are.
Speed: Rusev is a lost cause and Barrett should've left years ago.
True: It is depressing. It is saddening. WWE is absolutely putrid. TNA has good matches but I'm not invested or give an inkling of a fuck about any of these damn wrestlers on the show.
Speed: Cue Matt Hardy calling us smarky jerkoffs.
True: Dixie Carter? Vince McMahon? All them are idiots.
Speed: Careful, now. We're about to get the folks who think we're stupid for voicing an opinion (laughs).
True: And? I'll watch NXT Takeover Dallas and that will likely be it for me after that. I mean, I won't ever get to see Nakamura and Bryan fight. Bryan vs Styles in WWE. Balor vs Bryan in WWE. I'm depressed. There's no saving WrestleMania 32. ROH is losing their guys to WWE and I just don't know what to do there.
I love ROH. But outside of the lack of push for my boys ACH and Cedric, I'm not passionate about anything there. It is frustrating. Very. This is a crossroads for me as a wrestling fan. I am not sure if I can truly manage anymore with this. I'm giving up on wrestling. Fuck it. This shit don't love you back (laughs).
Speed: True shit. Well, to close out, I'd like to thank Daniel Bryan for sacrificing his time and body to make a legend of himself.
Last night, he said "wrestlers do this because they love to do this." It's oddly ironic that, in some ways, the business doesn't love those who gave their souls for this shit--or the people who are putting those dollars in the pockets of the Vinces and such--at times. If you're still a fan, that's cool. But, like True, I think I'm stepping back from it all. I'll still support the biz, but it's lost me, full-time. I'm leaving with this statement.
I'd rather watch Cardi B and Stevie J and Joseline than watch wrestling these days.
True: You're on your own on that, but I get what you're getting at.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Destination America Picks Up ROH
In a move that's both perplexing and applause-worthy, Ring of Honor has been picked up by Destination America in what one can only assume, for now, is a syndication deal similar to ROH's deal with NESN (or possibly something similar to NJPW's deal with AXS).
Yep, that's right. The same network who was cancelling TNA picked up another wrestling program. But, what does that mean?
Well, two of the top alternatives to WWE are on the same network, for starters. Whether that proves to be a good thing in the long run remains to be seen. We could see TNA pick up the slack, we could see ROH pick up its production values. Or, we could see people still flock to NXT because, while the WWE Network isn't free, it's still more readily available than Destination, thus rendering this move somewhat moot.
Destination America is, in theory, available in half of America's households. But most still don't know how to get to it--or care enough to watch. Now, if the rumors are true and this is a syndication deal, and even if only a couple hundred thousand people tune in, it's progress for ROH and Destination. This could push Destination to open the floodgates and push its brand for mass consumption. Granted, I don't want to watch "Hillbilly Blood" or whatever other shows they have. But, if TNN (Spike's predecesor) could do it, for a while, with ECW and WWF/WWE on their airwaves...why not?
More wrestling's always a good thing. Except when it sucks. I'm looking at you, Three Hour RAW. But...what will it mean for TNA? I guess we'll have to wait and just...keep our eyes on the ring.
Yep, that's right. The same network who was cancelling TNA picked up another wrestling program. But, what does that mean?
Well, two of the top alternatives to WWE are on the same network, for starters. Whether that proves to be a good thing in the long run remains to be seen. We could see TNA pick up the slack, we could see ROH pick up its production values. Or, we could see people still flock to NXT because, while the WWE Network isn't free, it's still more readily available than Destination, thus rendering this move somewhat moot.
Destination America is, in theory, available in half of America's households. But most still don't know how to get to it--or care enough to watch. Now, if the rumors are true and this is a syndication deal, and even if only a couple hundred thousand people tune in, it's progress for ROH and Destination. This could push Destination to open the floodgates and push its brand for mass consumption. Granted, I don't want to watch "Hillbilly Blood" or whatever other shows they have. But, if TNN (Spike's predecesor) could do it, for a while, with ECW and WWF/WWE on their airwaves...why not?
More wrestling's always a good thing. Except when it sucks. I'm looking at you, Three Hour RAW. But...what will it mean for TNA? I guess we'll have to wait and just...keep our eyes on the ring.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
What If TNA DOES Close Up Shop?
In wrestling, rumors are like assholes. Everyone has one and they all stink a good portion of the time. In recent times, the biggest victim of the rumor machine has been TNA. With the initial shock of being cancelled by Spike fresh in their and fans' minds, Dixie Carter and company probably had to deal with being linked to everyone from Disney to a WWE buyout. When Destination America announced they'd inked a deal with TNA, fans (myself included) rejoiced. Yes, it was a market smaller than Spike's. However, competition and alternatives in wrestling are always a great thing--even if they don't promote Monday Night Wars.
On the heels of TNA's purported cancellation by Destination America, one has to wonder: what would happen if TNA really did close up shop? TNA is in the same boat as ECW at the end of their initial run--except worse, in some ways. For starters, ECW's cancellation by TNN was still during an age where tip hotlines existed, where every "IWC" member wasn't considered a smark by every other "IWC" member. Essentially, while both situations sting, Paul Heyman could just say "screw it, let me call in some favors at WWF and try to help out myself and as many of my guys as I can."
But, if TNA does close up shop, there are endless possibilities. None of them, however, seem to lead TNA back to being the number two promotion in America. Most of these possibilities seem to end up having TNA talent go to ROH, PWG, CZW, and other indie promotions with a few maybe getting a whiff/another whiff at the WWE. Some of these possibilities would lead ROH to become the new number two, which would be...interesting to say the least.
At any rate, should TNA close up shop or even actually be cancelled, it's going to be a disaster in one way or another.
On the heels of TNA's purported cancellation by Destination America, one has to wonder: what would happen if TNA really did close up shop? TNA is in the same boat as ECW at the end of their initial run--except worse, in some ways. For starters, ECW's cancellation by TNN was still during an age where tip hotlines existed, where every "IWC" member wasn't considered a smark by every other "IWC" member. Essentially, while both situations sting, Paul Heyman could just say "screw it, let me call in some favors at WWF and try to help out myself and as many of my guys as I can."
But, if TNA does close up shop, there are endless possibilities. None of them, however, seem to lead TNA back to being the number two promotion in America. Most of these possibilities seem to end up having TNA talent go to ROH, PWG, CZW, and other indie promotions with a few maybe getting a whiff/another whiff at the WWE. Some of these possibilities would lead ROH to become the new number two, which would be...interesting to say the least.
At any rate, should TNA close up shop or even actually be cancelled, it's going to be a disaster in one way or another.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Ring Of Honor Wrestling Review 5/9/15
By Nathan Neumann, Twitter @Headliner5
Hello Eyes On The Ring readers, Nathan is back at it once again with another one of my reviews for Ring Of Honor Television. This show only featured two matches and it was a pretty solid hour of wrestling. So, before I get to carried away and begin rambling on and on about nothing let's get into the action! The show starts and as we head inside the arena, Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino both welcome us to the show. Not long after, Adam Cole makes his way down to the ring and grabs a headset and joins the commentary team for the night. From here, we go to the first match of the night.
Match 1
Chris Sabin vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Thoughts: Chris Sabin makes his way through the curtain and begins to make his way down to the ring, only he stops halfway and goes off to the side of the entrance where we can’t see him. Kyle O’Reilly comes out with a huge bandage on his head from an apparent laceration that he suffered in a previous match and gets attacked by Sabin who was lying in wait for O’Reilly. Sabin had complete control over the match in the early going and repeatedly began whipping O’Reilly into the steel guardrails on the outside. Approximately two minutes later, both men make it into the ring to signal the start of the match.
Immediately after the bell rings, Sabin again slides out of the ring and is followed by O’Reilly. This time O’Reilly manages to get the upper hand and whips Sabin onto the floor, O’Reilly then locks on an Armbar but Sabin escapes. Later on in the match, Sabin again gets the advantage and hangs O’Reilly’s head on the bottom rope. Sabin who is on the outside of the ring runs and kicks O’Reilly in the head as we go to a commercial break. Upon returning from break we get a warning that reads “unsuitable content featured in the next segment." From here we go back to the match where Sabin unwraps the bandage from O’Reilly’s head to work on the head wound that O’Reilly has. O’Reilly gets busted open immediately and due to this show being on basic cable I am then forced to watch the rest of the match in beautiful black and white like I’m back in the 50’s or something.
O’Reilly manages to come back with a trio of butterfly suplexes followed by locking on an armbar but Sabin makes it to the ropes before he is in any real danger. Later in the match the two men make it to the corner of the ring and Sabin hits O’Reilly with a tornado DDT to pick up a near fall. O’Reilly then comes back and takes Sabin’s head off with a rebound clothesline and follows it up with a brainbuster to score a near fall of his own. The finish to the match came when Chris Sabin defeats Kyle O’Reilly with the Cradle Shock after interference from the other two Knights Of The Rising Dawn members (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian).
Match Result: Chris Sabin defeats Kyle O’Reilly via Cradle Shock due to interference from Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian better known as The Addiction.
Match Rating: **1/2
And now, we return to color!
From here, we are treated to a video package hyping the ROH vs. NJPW War Of The Worlds and Global Wars events. Afterward, Mark Briscoe comes on the screen and threatens to slap my mom if I dare change the channel.
...Happy Mother’s day to you, too, Mark.
We then find out that, next week, ACH will take on Adam Page in a one on one match.
From here we head back into the arena and into the next match of the evening. Alberto El Patron makes his way out to the ring for the next match, which is a six-man tag team match.
Main Event – Match 2
Alberto El Patron, ACH and Matt Sydal vs. Roderick Strong and The Briscoe Brothers (Mark and Jay)
Thoughts: The match starts and Mark Briscoe starts things off with ACH, they don’t do much of anything until El Patron enters the ring along with Jay Briscoe and Alberto hits Jay with a hip toss for a very quick early cover that barely gets a two count. ay tags Mark back into the match and Mark quickly takes control of the match by stomping away at El Patron, ACH tags in (as does Roderick Strong) but ACH finds himself backed into a corner getting chopped in the chest by Mr. ROH, Roderick Strong. Matt Sydal comes off of the top rope and Strong catches him in mid air to deliver a devastating back breaker. Sydal makes his way onto the apron and jumps off but gets caught by Roderick once again and this time he gets slammed into the barricade on the outside of the ring.
Back in the ring, Roderick kicks ACH in the face and picks up a near fall. Strong tags in Jay Briscoe, but ACH presses the advantage and gets Jay in a venerable position in order to deliver a double foot stomp off of the top rope to the back of Jay’s head. Sydal tags back into the ring and is in there with both Briscoes, he grabs both of them and hits one with a chin breaker and the other with a leg drop as the other was on the mat. ACH comes back into the ring and hits a springboard flatliner for a near fall on Mark Briscoe. ACH tags in Alberto El Patron and Patron hits Mark Briscoe with a double footstomp while Mark Briscoe is tied up in the tree of woe. El Patron tags in ACH and Matt Sydal comes off of the top rope with a 450 splash while ACH hits a shooting star press to pick up the pinfall victory over a fallen Mark Briscoe.
Match Result: Alberto El Patron, ACH and Matt Sydal defeat Roderick Strong, Jay and Mark Briscoe after a shooting Star Press from ACH to Mark Briscoe.
Match Rating: ***
After the match, Alberto El Patron, ACH and Matt Sydal celebrate their victory as the show comes to a close for the week.
That will do it for another Ring Of Honor TV reviews for EyesOnTheRing.com. This show was highly enjoyable especially for me when you have Alberto El Patron featured in a match because he is my favorite wrestler in all of wrestling right now. We had two matches this week and both more than delivered, my only complaint is that the first match had to be shown in black and white for the last half. But, that’s not a knock on ROH but the network that they are on.
Be sure to follow me at @Headliner5 and make sure to follow Eyes On The Ring at @EyesOnTheRing. Also make sure to check out EyesOnTheRing.com as I continue to bring you my thoughts and analysis on Ring Of Honor each and every week. Plus the entire Eyes On The Ring team brings you all we can as it pertains to pro wrestling.
Last but certainly not least make sure to check out Eyes On The Ring radio as we come to you live via the Elite Podcast Network over at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork each and every Sunday night at 11:00pm EST. We will bring you the entire week in wrestling as well as all of the other stuff that we decide to ramble on about. Finally be sure to head on over to Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing and like us.
As a final, final parting note, I just want to mention that there will most likely not be a review of Ring Of Honor from me for next week as they will be showing matches from the Conquest Tour show in Hopkins, Minnesota. I already reviewed this leg of the tour right here.
But, for now this has been Nathan saying so long, and until my next review make sure to keep your Eyes On The Ring.
Hello Eyes On The Ring readers, Nathan is back at it once again with another one of my reviews for Ring Of Honor Television. This show only featured two matches and it was a pretty solid hour of wrestling. So, before I get to carried away and begin rambling on and on about nothing let's get into the action! The show starts and as we head inside the arena, Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino both welcome us to the show. Not long after, Adam Cole makes his way down to the ring and grabs a headset and joins the commentary team for the night. From here, we go to the first match of the night.
Match 1
Chris Sabin vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Thoughts: Chris Sabin makes his way through the curtain and begins to make his way down to the ring, only he stops halfway and goes off to the side of the entrance where we can’t see him. Kyle O’Reilly comes out with a huge bandage on his head from an apparent laceration that he suffered in a previous match and gets attacked by Sabin who was lying in wait for O’Reilly. Sabin had complete control over the match in the early going and repeatedly began whipping O’Reilly into the steel guardrails on the outside. Approximately two minutes later, both men make it into the ring to signal the start of the match.
Immediately after the bell rings, Sabin again slides out of the ring and is followed by O’Reilly. This time O’Reilly manages to get the upper hand and whips Sabin onto the floor, O’Reilly then locks on an Armbar but Sabin escapes. Later on in the match, Sabin again gets the advantage and hangs O’Reilly’s head on the bottom rope. Sabin who is on the outside of the ring runs and kicks O’Reilly in the head as we go to a commercial break. Upon returning from break we get a warning that reads “unsuitable content featured in the next segment." From here we go back to the match where Sabin unwraps the bandage from O’Reilly’s head to work on the head wound that O’Reilly has. O’Reilly gets busted open immediately and due to this show being on basic cable I am then forced to watch the rest of the match in beautiful black and white like I’m back in the 50’s or something.
O’Reilly manages to come back with a trio of butterfly suplexes followed by locking on an armbar but Sabin makes it to the ropes before he is in any real danger. Later in the match the two men make it to the corner of the ring and Sabin hits O’Reilly with a tornado DDT to pick up a near fall. O’Reilly then comes back and takes Sabin’s head off with a rebound clothesline and follows it up with a brainbuster to score a near fall of his own. The finish to the match came when Chris Sabin defeats Kyle O’Reilly with the Cradle Shock after interference from the other two Knights Of The Rising Dawn members (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian).
Match Result: Chris Sabin defeats Kyle O’Reilly via Cradle Shock due to interference from Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian better known as The Addiction.
Match Rating: **1/2
And now, we return to color!
From here, we are treated to a video package hyping the ROH vs. NJPW War Of The Worlds and Global Wars events. Afterward, Mark Briscoe comes on the screen and threatens to slap my mom if I dare change the channel.
...Happy Mother’s day to you, too, Mark.
We then find out that, next week, ACH will take on Adam Page in a one on one match.
From here we head back into the arena and into the next match of the evening. Alberto El Patron makes his way out to the ring for the next match, which is a six-man tag team match.
Main Event – Match 2
Alberto El Patron, ACH and Matt Sydal vs. Roderick Strong and The Briscoe Brothers (Mark and Jay)
Thoughts: The match starts and Mark Briscoe starts things off with ACH, they don’t do much of anything until El Patron enters the ring along with Jay Briscoe and Alberto hits Jay with a hip toss for a very quick early cover that barely gets a two count. ay tags Mark back into the match and Mark quickly takes control of the match by stomping away at El Patron, ACH tags in (as does Roderick Strong) but ACH finds himself backed into a corner getting chopped in the chest by Mr. ROH, Roderick Strong. Matt Sydal comes off of the top rope and Strong catches him in mid air to deliver a devastating back breaker. Sydal makes his way onto the apron and jumps off but gets caught by Roderick once again and this time he gets slammed into the barricade on the outside of the ring.
Back in the ring, Roderick kicks ACH in the face and picks up a near fall. Strong tags in Jay Briscoe, but ACH presses the advantage and gets Jay in a venerable position in order to deliver a double foot stomp off of the top rope to the back of Jay’s head. Sydal tags back into the ring and is in there with both Briscoes, he grabs both of them and hits one with a chin breaker and the other with a leg drop as the other was on the mat. ACH comes back into the ring and hits a springboard flatliner for a near fall on Mark Briscoe. ACH tags in Alberto El Patron and Patron hits Mark Briscoe with a double footstomp while Mark Briscoe is tied up in the tree of woe. El Patron tags in ACH and Matt Sydal comes off of the top rope with a 450 splash while ACH hits a shooting star press to pick up the pinfall victory over a fallen Mark Briscoe.
Match Result: Alberto El Patron, ACH and Matt Sydal defeat Roderick Strong, Jay and Mark Briscoe after a shooting Star Press from ACH to Mark Briscoe.
Match Rating: ***
After the match, Alberto El Patron, ACH and Matt Sydal celebrate their victory as the show comes to a close for the week.
That will do it for another Ring Of Honor TV reviews for EyesOnTheRing.com. This show was highly enjoyable especially for me when you have Alberto El Patron featured in a match because he is my favorite wrestler in all of wrestling right now. We had two matches this week and both more than delivered, my only complaint is that the first match had to be shown in black and white for the last half. But, that’s not a knock on ROH but the network that they are on.
Be sure to follow me at @Headliner5 and make sure to follow Eyes On The Ring at @EyesOnTheRing. Also make sure to check out EyesOnTheRing.com as I continue to bring you my thoughts and analysis on Ring Of Honor each and every week. Plus the entire Eyes On The Ring team brings you all we can as it pertains to pro wrestling.
Last but certainly not least make sure to check out Eyes On The Ring radio as we come to you live via the Elite Podcast Network over at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork each and every Sunday night at 11:00pm EST. We will bring you the entire week in wrestling as well as all of the other stuff that we decide to ramble on about. Finally be sure to head on over to Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing and like us.
As a final, final parting note, I just want to mention that there will most likely not be a review of Ring Of Honor from me for next week as they will be showing matches from the Conquest Tour show in Hopkins, Minnesota. I already reviewed this leg of the tour right here.
But, for now this has been Nathan saying so long, and until my next review make sure to keep your Eyes On The Ring.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Ring Of Honor: Conquest Tour 4/25/15
By Nathan Neumann (Twitter: @Headliner5)
Hello Ringers, Nathan is here with another one of my ROH reviews, this one in particular is not a review of a TV show but instead a review of a show I went to this past Saturday night. This will not be one of my traditional reviews meaning that I wont be able to break down the matches move by move but it will provide my general thoughts and reactions to each match as they happened. This will also not be a 5,000 word marathon essay like my ROH 13th Anniversary show review was but it will at least give you some flavor to how the show was.
I went to this show with a friend; we were in the second row in section D. The hard camera was to the left of us in section C. Some of these matches will likely be used for upcoming episodes of ROH TV. Not sure if it was an entire taping because it didn’t seem like it but if it was then I’m fine with it.
Lets get to the action shall we?
Dark Match
Danny Adams and Paco Gonzalez vs. Brandon Espinosa and Curt Stallion
I went to this show with a friend; we were in the second row in section D. The hard camera was to the left of us in section C. Some of these matches will likely be used for upcoming episodes of ROH TV. Not sure if it was an entire taping because it didn’t seem like it but if it was then I’m fine with it.
Lets get to the action shall we?
Dark Match
Danny Adams and Paco Gonzalez vs. Brandon Espinosa and Curt Stallion
Thoughts: This was your basic Indy match and it was nothing special, the problem with these matches is that they don’t tell you who anyone is which is why I have no clue who any of these guys are, I had to go to another site to get their names because ROH didn’t mention these guys by name. The match was decent but in the end it was pretty much a spot fest where these guys were trying to get all of their cool moves in. I get it because they are trying to impress the ROH management but this type of match has never appealed to me and probably never will.
Result: Danny Adams and Paco Gonzalez defeated Brandon Espinosa and Curt Stallion
Match 1
Ariya Daivari vs. Bobby Fish
Ariya Daivari vs. Bobby Fish
Thoughts: This was a solid opener, Fish always goes out of his way to impress me and the guy that he wrestled is someone I am very familiar with, as I have worked shows with him in the past, as he’s a local guy from the Minneapolis Area. If you know Shawn Diavari who was formally of WWE and currently in Lucha Underground you will know Ariya as his brother. The match ended when Bobby Fish hit a sit out brainbuster to score the pinfall victory.
Result: Bobby Fish defeats Ariya Daivari after a pinfall via Sit out Brainbuster
Match 2
The Romantic Touch vs. Will Ferrara vs. Beer City Bruiser vs. Cheeseburger
Thoughts: This match was weird to me due to the fact that this was just a match between four random guys. It wouldn’t surprise me if that when this show was being booked that these four guys were left on the table so the match makers just decided to throw them in a random four way match. ROH seems to like to throw a four way on every show that they do to get use out of everyone, which is fine. But compared to the one that I saw at the 13th Anniversary (The main event) this one served no purpose other than to get guys a payday. The match ended when Will Ferrara hit a code red to score the win via pinfall.
Result: Will Ferrara wins the match via pinfall after a Code Red
The Romantic Touch vs. Will Ferrara vs. Beer City Bruiser vs. Cheeseburger
Thoughts: This match was weird to me due to the fact that this was just a match between four random guys. It wouldn’t surprise me if that when this show was being booked that these four guys were left on the table so the match makers just decided to throw them in a random four way match. ROH seems to like to throw a four way on every show that they do to get use out of everyone, which is fine. But compared to the one that I saw at the 13th Anniversary (The main event) this one served no purpose other than to get guys a payday. The match ended when Will Ferrara hit a code red to score the win via pinfall.
Result: Will Ferrara wins the match via pinfall after a Code Red
Match 3
Michael Elgin vs. Caprice Coleman
Michael Elgin vs. Caprice Coleman
Thoughts: Hopkins Minnesota is officially the “We Hate Elgin Club” which I’ll be a proud member of any day of the week. He’s a good wrestler but his attitude and the way he thinks of himself is something I have issue with (that’s not why I’m here so I’ll leave it at that). This match was a lot better than I thought it was going to be, Elgin has been on the rebound ever since losing the World Title in September of last year to current champion Jay Briscoe at All Star Extravaganza 6 in Toronto Ontario Canada. Caprice Coleman is another guy that ever since he broke away from C and C wrestle factory and Cedric Alexander hasn’t been able to gain any sort of real momentum. The match concluded when Michael Elgin hit his patented spinning sit out Powerbomb to score the pinfall victory.
Result: Michael Elgin defeats Caprice Coleman via pinfall after an Elgin Bomb
Match 4
Adam Page vs. ACH
Adam Page vs. ACH
Thoughts: this match looked great on paper and I’m glad it was able to translate well in the ring, ACH is a guy that you should be watching and Adam Page although I wasn’t a fan of his at first has really come into his own ever since becoming the “Young Boy” in the decade and ultimately joining the Decade. The finish of the match came when Adam Page hit ACH with a low blow, which I didn’t particularly like, but it’s a good way to get some heel heat on Page which is what you want to do because you aren’t supposed to like him. That’s a problem that I have with some heels in Indy wrestling because they aren’t focused so much at being a heel as much as looking cool. Adam Page completely understands the concept that he’s a heel and he’s supposed to be hated and he’s pretty good at getting you to not like him, which is what a heel is supposed to do.
Result: Adam Page defeats ACH via pinfall after a low blow
Dark Match #2
Arik Cannon vs. Hot Shot Danny Duggan
Arik Cannon vs. Hot Shot Danny Duggan
Thoughts: I didn’t see much of this match as it was during intermission and I had to go use the rest room. I came back and the two were in the ring, Danny Duggan had a green singlet akin to Wrestlemania 5 and Mr. Perfect vs. The Blue Blazer. Arik Cannon is another guy I’m familiar with as he’s a local guy in Minnesota, I’ve reffed a few matches of his and I’ve been around him a lot so I know what to expect out of him. From my vantage point I could tell that Cannon was pretty much controlling the match and feeding Duggan his spots but it was a decent match from what I saw of it and Cannon got the win with a modified Suplex variation.
Result: Arik Cannon defeated Danny Duggan via Suplex variant.
Match 5
Truth Martini vs. ODB
Truth Martini vs. ODB
Thoughts: This was dubbed as a “Women of Honor” match although only one participant in said match was an actual woman. My guess is they had someone lined up and they had to cancel last minute or this was the plan all a long. Either way the concept of the match was weird given the announcement and the match we got. This was pretty much a Truth Martini ass whipping courtesy of ODB but it was very entertaining. I had my doubts about this one but it exceeded my expectations but lets be honest my expectations can’t be very high when they change things on the fly. Either way still a good match and I once again have to give props to Martini for getting in the ring and being willing to do work. The match ended when Truth Martini got a momentary upper hand, The referee got distracted and Jay Lethal ran in and kicked ODB in the face to allow Truth to pick up the victory. That’s literally the only thing that Truth did in this match otherwise it was all ODB up until the end.
Result: Truth Martini defeated ODB via pinfall after Jay Lethal runs in and hits ODB with the Lethal Injection.
Match 6
Silas Young vs. Roderick Strong
Thoughts: This match was awesome, Silas Young did everything he could in order to hang with “Mr. ROH” and he did a great job at doing it. A lot of people tend to sleep on Silas Young’s in ring ability but he’s very capable and every time he’s in Hopkins or anywhere I’ve seen him for that matter he puts on a hell of a show both in the ring and with his body language and mannerisms. There was a kid a few seats down from where I was seated who was yelling at Todd Sinclair the entire time and appeared to be a huge Roderick Strong fan. I love seeing stuff like that because it reminds me that wrestling is still real to some people and that contrary to popular belief (and something Triple H once said) Kayfabe is NOT dead to all people. Anyways Roderick Strong won the match after running off of the rope and hitting Silas Young with the Sick kick to pick up the win via pinfall.
Result: Roderick Strong defeated Silas Young via Pinfall after the Sick Kick.
Silas Young vs. Roderick Strong
Thoughts: This match was awesome, Silas Young did everything he could in order to hang with “Mr. ROH” and he did a great job at doing it. A lot of people tend to sleep on Silas Young’s in ring ability but he’s very capable and every time he’s in Hopkins or anywhere I’ve seen him for that matter he puts on a hell of a show both in the ring and with his body language and mannerisms. There was a kid a few seats down from where I was seated who was yelling at Todd Sinclair the entire time and appeared to be a huge Roderick Strong fan. I love seeing stuff like that because it reminds me that wrestling is still real to some people and that contrary to popular belief (and something Triple H once said) Kayfabe is NOT dead to all people. Anyways Roderick Strong won the match after running off of the rope and hitting Silas Young with the Sick kick to pick up the win via pinfall.
Result: Roderick Strong defeated Silas Young via Pinfall after the Sick Kick.
Match 7
War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) vs. The Briscoe Brothers
Thoughts: This was another hell of a match, I really was excited to see this one in person because it had two guys in it from the high stakes fatal four way match that I saw in Vegas for the World Title in Hanson and current ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe. It was also nice to see Raymond Rowe back in the ring because as of March 1st and the 13th Anniversary he still wasn’t back to the grind of wrestling. These guys went all over the place in the match and Hanson even managed to kick out of a Jay Driller during the entire thing. If it was a perfect world and I had my way nobody would kick out of that move ever but I digress. Mark Briscoe did all of this crazy stuff too the Redneck Kung Fu and even the diving elbow off of the apron onto the floor. The finish came when Jay Briscoe hit Hanson with 2nd Jay Driller to pick up the win via pinfall.
War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) vs. The Briscoe Brothers
Thoughts: This was another hell of a match, I really was excited to see this one in person because it had two guys in it from the high stakes fatal four way match that I saw in Vegas for the World Title in Hanson and current ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe. It was also nice to see Raymond Rowe back in the ring because as of March 1st and the 13th Anniversary he still wasn’t back to the grind of wrestling. These guys went all over the place in the match and Hanson even managed to kick out of a Jay Driller during the entire thing. If it was a perfect world and I had my way nobody would kick out of that move ever but I digress. Mark Briscoe did all of this crazy stuff too the Redneck Kung Fu and even the diving elbow off of the apron onto the floor. The finish came when Jay Briscoe hit Hanson with 2nd Jay Driller to pick up the win via pinfall.
Result: The Briscoe Brothers defeated War Machine via pinfall after a Jay Driller from Jay to Hanson.
From here we go to the main event of the evening.
Main Event – Match 8
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jay Lethal {C}
ROH World Television Championship Match
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jay Lethal {C}
ROH World Television Championship Match
Thoughts: This gets my vote for match of the night, there were some really good matches on this show but this one was by far the best in my humble opinion. These two went all out from the first bell to the last bell. It was great to not only see Kyle O’Reilly get a World TV Title shot but it was also great to see the Television Championship defended in the main event by the “greatest first generation wrestler alive” in Jay Lethal. This match was very back and forth and it looked like Kyle O’Reilly was going to win the match and perhaps the title (although I should have known better). At one point in the match Kyle caught Lethal with an armbar and had it in pretty deep before Lethal made it to the ropes to save himself the match. The two would wrestle some more until O’Reilly locked on the same maneuver but instead of making it to the ropes Todd Sinclair called for the bell to signify a 30 minute broadway (time limit draw)
Result: Time limit draw (30 Minutes) as a result Jay Lethal keeps the Television Championship.
Result: Time limit draw (30 Minutes) as a result Jay Lethal keeps the Television Championship.
I hope this match makes air on TV and if that’s the case I hope we see more matches from O’Reilly and Lethal. This match was very good but I feel it could be leading to Kyle O’Reilly perhaps winning the TV title at some point. It may not happen because he’s in a tag team with Bobby Fish but I would like to think of it as a possibility in the future. Either way I would like to see Jay Lethal lose the ROH World TV title not because I don’t like him (that’s far from the case I think the guy is awesome) but because I believe Jay Lethal will be the guy to dethrone Jay Briscoe and win the ROH World Title. In order to do so he’ll probably have to drop the TV title and if that happens I hope they book a triple threat match so Lethal doesn’t have to be pinned to lose the title. That way Lethal doesn’t get pinned and it still makes him look good going into the World Title picture.
After the match was over, both guys wanted five more minutes however it didn’t happen. This brought out Jay Briscoe who told Kyle O’Reilly that if he wanted five more minutes that Jay Briscoe would put his World Title on the line right here right now. The bell rang to start the match (O’Reilly vs. Briscoe for the world title) but as soon as it did Jay Lethal ran into the ring and hit Jay Briscoe with the Lethal Injection to cause a disqualification. This is leading to something, now it’s up to us as fans to sit back and see where it’s going.
This brought out ODB who earlier in the night lost to Truth Martini, she wasted no time in going after him. She attacked him and positioned him on a table in the ring and dove off of the top rope to put him through it but the table didn’t break. Instead one of the legs of the table broke so they propped it up in the corner and Jay Briscoe drove Truth Martini through the table as the show drew to a close.
And that will do it for me and this bonus review of sorts, I figured If I couldn’t review last night’s ROH show (which as of now I still have yet to see) I’d do ya one better and review the show that I went to. This kind of presents a future problem though because if any of these matches air as part of ROH TV I am not going to review them again so it will create a bit of a hole in my review history for a few weeks.
Make sure to follow me on twitter @Headliner5 and also make sure to follow the official Eyes On The Ring account @EyesOnTheRing. Don’t forget to check out EyesOnTheRing.com for more of these reviews from myself as well as everything else from the entire EOTR Team.
In closing make sure to check out Eyes On The Ring radio each and every Sunday night as we bring you all of the latest news and views from the week in wrestling. Last but not least be sure to head on over to Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing and like us. For now I am Nathan saying so long Ringers and make sure to keep your Eyes On The Ring.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Ring Of Honor Wrestling Review 4/18/15
By Nathan Neumann (Twitter: @Headliner5)
What’s up Riingers? Nathan here after taking last week off (due to ROH having a highlights show). This week’s show featured three matches (well, technically two...but we will get to that later) as well as a live in-ring edition of reDRagon’s show “The Fish Tank.” So, without any more delaying from yours truly lets down to business.
The show opens with the traditional ROH video intro from here we get a panoramic view of the arena in which they are emanating tonight before we join the commentary team at the desk. We go over to Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino who welcome us to the show and send it right down to the ring for the first match of the night.
Thoughts: The first match of the night featured a former Eyes On The Ring radio guest as Donovan Dijak 2015’s top prospect winner took on a man who had a great showing in the tournament as well in the form of Dalton Castle. The match starts out slow with both men trying to get a feel for each other while trading individual flurries of offense. About five minutes into the match, Dijak clotheslines Castle off of the ring apron and Dijak would continue the assault on the outside of the ring. Dijak picks Castle up and Castle comes back with a hurricanranna.
From there Castle rushes back into the ring while Dijak is dazed and runs off of the ropes and at Dijak jumping through the middle rope with a suicide dive that wipes Dijak out.Both men get back into the ring and Dijak finds himself with the advantage once again as he comes off of the top rope with a twisting splash. Castle recovers and starts to get desperate and begins running full steam at Dijak in an attempt to take the big man off of his feet but Castle’s efforts are unsuccessful.
Castle maintains the advantage and while Dijak is on the ground manages to pick Dijak up off of the mat to perform a dead lift German suplex (something another guy in ROH may have some sort of issue with). Dijak recovers but Castle presses his advantage more by hitting a spinning slam only to have Dijak kick out at two. Castle makes his way over to the rope near Truth Martini, which allows Truth to grab the leg of Dalton Castle. This distraction from Truth allows Dijak to grab Castle up and hit Feast Your Eyes to pick up the win via pinfall.
Match Result: Donovan Dijak defeats Dalton Castle via pinfall via Feast Your Eyes
Match Rating: **3/4
After the match, Dalton Castle confronts Truth Martini about what just happened. Castle grabs Martini by the balls. Tere’s a giant blur mark on my TV screen because this show is on basic cable so they apparently can't show ball grabbing. But...from here, we go to the second match of the night
Thoughts: So I guess this is going to be an ongoing thing with War Machine as they try to rebuild the team after Raymond Rowe returned from his motorcycle accident. This match was a complete squash as Hanson and Rowe were able to win the match quick fashion with their back suplex top rope leg drop combination. But hey at least I got the jobbers names this week so that’s a plus huh?
Match Result: War Machine defeats Andy Dalton and Ken Phoenix
Match Rating: N/A. A one-minute match doesn’t deserve a rating. Plus, this match wasn’t about producing a rating it was more about re-establishing War Machine as a dominate tag team which they are doing quite well it’s very old school but it works.
From there we head to the ring for a live edition of reDRagon’s talk show which is titled the “Fish Tank."
Jay Lethal was the guest and Lethal wanted Fish and O’Reilly to promote his brand new Best Of Jay Lethal DVD and he said something about his hot ex-girlfriend which if you know his history it was painfully obvious to me that he was referring to the former AJ Lee. ReDRagon started looking bored and Fish got on the microphone and dropped the gem of a line “Can’t sleep? Pop in the new Jay Lethal DVD.”
From there Jay Lethal got mad but not mad enough, it basically led to him unveiling a brand new ROH World Television Championship that actually reads ROH World Champion because according to him he’s the World Champion and Jay Briscoe isn’t. Jay Lethal then goes on to say that Jay Briscoe was born on a highway because that’s where accidents happen. This brings out Briscoe who takes exception to what Lethal just said and the two men brawl to the back. The Knights Of The Rising Dawn rush the ring and attack reDRagon as the segment comes to an end.
Thoughts: I’m assuming this is to set up a Champion vs. Champion match at ROH’s next Pay Per View, Best In The World 2015 as Jay Lethal will challenge Jay Briscoe for the title. We could in fact see Jay Lethal win the World Title and be the first man in the company’s history to hold both the World and TV title’s simultaneously that’s if they don’t have Lethal lose the TV title before possibly winning the world title. If they did this it would add even more credibility to Jay Lethal going forward and bring some new possible feuds to the forefront as well.
From here, we cut to the backstage area for a pre-taped promo where BJ Whitmer says he wants a match with ACH. Then, commercial. We come back from commercial for the main event of the hour.
Thoughts: This match features another former Eyes On The Ring radio guest in Cedric Alexander as he took on Michael Elgin. The bell rings and the two men circle around the ring and feel each other out. Elgin finds himself on the outside of the ring early on as Cedric flies over the top rope and on to Elgin wiping Elgin out on the outside of the ring. Cedric then picks Elgin up off of the ground and rolls him into the ring and makes his way to the top rope once again. From there Cedric goes for over time but it misses as Elgin moves out of the way, Elgin recovers and hangs Cedric up in on the second rope and hits his signature flipping leg drop to get a near fall on Cedric. Elgin gets another near fall just moments later after a rope assisted spinning neck breaker.
Cedric recovers and comes off of the top rope with a clotheseline and covers Elgin but only manages to pick up a 2 count. Cedric still pressing the advantage he has found himself with hits a Michinoku driver and Elgin once again kicks out at 2. Elgin gets the advantage and runs off the ropes taking out Cedric with a stiff lariat Elgin goes for the cover afterwards but this time Cedric kicks out at 2. The two men make their way to one of the corners of the ring where they fight for the upper hand, Alexander shoves a tired Elgin into the corner and then runs at him with three back to back to back dropkicks. Cedric hits overtime once again and Elgin again kicks out at 2.
Elgin comes back and hits Cedric with a Falcon Arrow but Cedric kicks out of it at 2. Cedric again finds himself with the advantage as he hits Elgin with the lumbar check and pins Elgin but instead of kicking out of the move Elgin gets his foot on the bottom rope just before Todd Sinclair’s hand comes down for the three count thus it only counts for 2. Elgin gets the advantage once again and finally hits Cedric with the spinning sit out Elgin bomb for the 1-2-3.
Match Result: Michael Elgin defeats Cedric Alexander via pinfall after a spinning sit out Elgin Bomb
Match Rating: ***
After the conclusion of the match Elgin grabs a microphone and announces that he wants everyone to pay for their sins. He continues by saying that he’s a killer and that he’s going to start digging graves on his way back to the ROH World Title.
That closes out the show which also closes out another one of my ROH reviews for the site. This show was a lot better structured than the one two weeks ago. Less matches equals more time for said matches. This means that the wrestlers can take their time and not rush their craft.
With the relaxed format as compared to two weeks ago we still got some storyline progression towards Best In The World and it will be interesting to see how things progress going forward as the event gets closer.
But, that will do it for me and another Ring Of Honor television review for EyesOnTheRing.com. I hope you enjoyed reading this one and I hope you enjoy reading these reviews in general as I do my best to bring you something different and outside of the WWE norm.
Before I wrap this thing up I should tell you to follow me on Twitter at @Headliner5 and also make sure to follow the official Eyes On The Ring account which is located @EyesOnTheRing. Also make sure to check out EyesOnTheRing.com for more of these reviews from myself as well as everything else that the entire Eyes On The Ring team chooses to write and provide you for your reading pleasure.
In closing, make sure to check out Eyes On The Ring radio this week as we come to you at 11:00PM EST this Sunday night. We bring you the entire week in wrestling as it happened as well as all of our reactions of the happenings that took place during the week. Finally make sure to head on over to Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing and like us. For now I am Nathan saying so long for now, next week I’ll be back here same review time same review website but in the meantime ringers keep your Eyes On The Ring.
What’s up Riingers? Nathan here after taking last week off (due to ROH having a highlights show). This week’s show featured three matches (well, technically two...but we will get to that later) as well as a live in-ring edition of reDRagon’s show “The Fish Tank.” So, without any more delaying from yours truly lets down to business.
The show opens with the traditional ROH video intro from here we get a panoramic view of the arena in which they are emanating tonight before we join the commentary team at the desk. We go over to Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino who welcome us to the show and send it right down to the ring for the first match of the night.
Match 1
Donovan Dijak vs. Dalton Castle
Thoughts: The first match of the night featured a former Eyes On The Ring radio guest as Donovan Dijak 2015’s top prospect winner took on a man who had a great showing in the tournament as well in the form of Dalton Castle. The match starts out slow with both men trying to get a feel for each other while trading individual flurries of offense. About five minutes into the match, Dijak clotheslines Castle off of the ring apron and Dijak would continue the assault on the outside of the ring. Dijak picks Castle up and Castle comes back with a hurricanranna.
From there Castle rushes back into the ring while Dijak is dazed and runs off of the ropes and at Dijak jumping through the middle rope with a suicide dive that wipes Dijak out.Both men get back into the ring and Dijak finds himself with the advantage once again as he comes off of the top rope with a twisting splash. Castle recovers and starts to get desperate and begins running full steam at Dijak in an attempt to take the big man off of his feet but Castle’s efforts are unsuccessful.
Castle maintains the advantage and while Dijak is on the ground manages to pick Dijak up off of the mat to perform a dead lift German suplex (something another guy in ROH may have some sort of issue with). Dijak recovers but Castle presses his advantage more by hitting a spinning slam only to have Dijak kick out at two. Castle makes his way over to the rope near Truth Martini, which allows Truth to grab the leg of Dalton Castle. This distraction from Truth allows Dijak to grab Castle up and hit Feast Your Eyes to pick up the win via pinfall.
Match Result: Donovan Dijak defeats Dalton Castle via pinfall via Feast Your Eyes
Match Rating: **3/4
After the match, Dalton Castle confronts Truth Martini about what just happened. Castle grabs Martini by the balls. Tere’s a giant blur mark on my TV screen because this show is on basic cable so they apparently can't show ball grabbing. But...from here, we go to the second match of the night
Match 2
War Machine (Raymond Rowe and Hanson) vs. Andy Dalton and Ken Phoenix
Thoughts: So I guess this is going to be an ongoing thing with War Machine as they try to rebuild the team after Raymond Rowe returned from his motorcycle accident. This match was a complete squash as Hanson and Rowe were able to win the match quick fashion with their back suplex top rope leg drop combination. But hey at least I got the jobbers names this week so that’s a plus huh?
Match Result: War Machine defeats Andy Dalton and Ken Phoenix
Match Rating: N/A. A one-minute match doesn’t deserve a rating. Plus, this match wasn’t about producing a rating it was more about re-establishing War Machine as a dominate tag team which they are doing quite well it’s very old school but it works.
From there we head to the ring for a live edition of reDRagon’s talk show which is titled the “Fish Tank."
Fish Tank Segment
From there Jay Lethal got mad but not mad enough, it basically led to him unveiling a brand new ROH World Television Championship that actually reads ROH World Champion because according to him he’s the World Champion and Jay Briscoe isn’t. Jay Lethal then goes on to say that Jay Briscoe was born on a highway because that’s where accidents happen. This brings out Briscoe who takes exception to what Lethal just said and the two men brawl to the back. The Knights Of The Rising Dawn rush the ring and attack reDRagon as the segment comes to an end.
Thoughts: I’m assuming this is to set up a Champion vs. Champion match at ROH’s next Pay Per View, Best In The World 2015 as Jay Lethal will challenge Jay Briscoe for the title. We could in fact see Jay Lethal win the World Title and be the first man in the company’s history to hold both the World and TV title’s simultaneously that’s if they don’t have Lethal lose the TV title before possibly winning the world title. If they did this it would add even more credibility to Jay Lethal going forward and bring some new possible feuds to the forefront as well.
From here, we cut to the backstage area for a pre-taped promo where BJ Whitmer says he wants a match with ACH. Then, commercial. We come back from commercial for the main event of the hour.
Main Event – Match 3
Michael Elgin vs. Cedric Alexander
Cedric recovers and comes off of the top rope with a clotheseline and covers Elgin but only manages to pick up a 2 count. Cedric still pressing the advantage he has found himself with hits a Michinoku driver and Elgin once again kicks out at 2. Elgin gets the advantage and runs off the ropes taking out Cedric with a stiff lariat Elgin goes for the cover afterwards but this time Cedric kicks out at 2. The two men make their way to one of the corners of the ring where they fight for the upper hand, Alexander shoves a tired Elgin into the corner and then runs at him with three back to back to back dropkicks. Cedric hits overtime once again and Elgin again kicks out at 2.
Elgin comes back and hits Cedric with a Falcon Arrow but Cedric kicks out of it at 2. Cedric again finds himself with the advantage as he hits Elgin with the lumbar check and pins Elgin but instead of kicking out of the move Elgin gets his foot on the bottom rope just before Todd Sinclair’s hand comes down for the three count thus it only counts for 2. Elgin gets the advantage once again and finally hits Cedric with the spinning sit out Elgin bomb for the 1-2-3.
Match Result: Michael Elgin defeats Cedric Alexander via pinfall after a spinning sit out Elgin Bomb
Match Rating: ***
After the conclusion of the match Elgin grabs a microphone and announces that he wants everyone to pay for their sins. He continues by saying that he’s a killer and that he’s going to start digging graves on his way back to the ROH World Title.
That closes out the show which also closes out another one of my ROH reviews for the site. This show was a lot better structured than the one two weeks ago. Less matches equals more time for said matches. This means that the wrestlers can take their time and not rush their craft.
With the relaxed format as compared to two weeks ago we still got some storyline progression towards Best In The World and it will be interesting to see how things progress going forward as the event gets closer.
But, that will do it for me and another Ring Of Honor television review for EyesOnTheRing.com. I hope you enjoyed reading this one and I hope you enjoy reading these reviews in general as I do my best to bring you something different and outside of the WWE norm.
Before I wrap this thing up I should tell you to follow me on Twitter at @Headliner5 and also make sure to follow the official Eyes On The Ring account which is located @EyesOnTheRing. Also make sure to check out EyesOnTheRing.com for more of these reviews from myself as well as everything else that the entire Eyes On The Ring team chooses to write and provide you for your reading pleasure.
In closing, make sure to check out Eyes On The Ring radio this week as we come to you at 11:00PM EST this Sunday night. We bring you the entire week in wrestling as it happened as well as all of our reactions of the happenings that took place during the week. Finally make sure to head on over to Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing and like us. For now I am Nathan saying so long for now, next week I’ll be back here same review time same review website but in the meantime ringers keep your Eyes On The Ring.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Nathan's ROH Review: 3/21/15
Hello Eyes On The Ring faithful, Nathan here with another dose of Honor with your weekly ROH TV review. We’re getting closer to Supercard of Honor IX and this show featured three matches, along with some good progression towards building to SCOH. The video intro plays and we head into the arena and pan around the building to get a good look at all of the fans in attendance. We go to ringside and Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino who welcome us to the show and they send it immediately to ringside for the first match of the night.
Match 1
Bobby Fish vs. Roderick Strong
Thoughts: The match starts with the two feeling each other out in the early going Roderick gets the upper hand on fish around the three minute mark while Fish is on the ground when he puts him in a surfboard stretch for the submission attempt. Roderick rolls Fish into a pinning predicament for a near fall. Fish recovers and both men stand up, Fish grabs Strong and delivers a suplex for a near fall. Strong kicks out and recovers and hits a backbreaker for a near fall of his own as we go to a commercial break.
Back from commercial and Strong hits Fish with a knee in the corner and then follows it up with a backbreaker for a near fall. Fish recovers and gets the upper hand momentarily in order to hit a falcon arrow on Strong for a near fall. Fish hits a tilt a whirl backbreaker and follows it up with a moonsault for a near fall.
Strong recovers and the two men make their way over to one of the corners of the ring, Strong sets Fish up on the top turnbuckle and comes off of the top rope with a superplex. Roderick follows it up with a double knee gut buster for a near fall. The finish of the match came when Roderick Strong comes off of the ropes with a sick kick and follows it up with End Of Heartache to get the win and defeat one half of the current ROH World Tag Team Champions.
Result: Roderick Strong defeats Bobby Fish via pinfall with a Sick Kick followed by The End Of Heartache.
Match Rating: **3/4
We then go into the next match of the night which features the 2015 Top Prospect Tournament winner. It was supposed to be a match between Donovan Dijak (Ed. Note: check out our interview with Donovan tonight on Eyes on the Ring) as he challenged Jay Lethal for the ROH World TV Title. However, that’s not what we got.
Truth Martini got on the microphone and put over Jay Lethal as the greatest first-generation wrestler alive today. Truth then went on to say that he doesn’t want Donovan Dijak to wrestle Jay Lethal in this match...and instead wants him to join the House Of Truth. Dijak thinks it over, and ultimately shakes the hand of Truth Martini making the deal of a lifetime. We now have a new member of the House Of Truth: 2015 Top Prospect winner Donovan Dijak.
From here, Dalton Castle makes his way down to the ring, human chair in tow. Castle gets on the microphone and says that he wants Dijak’s title opportunity and proceeds to challenge Lethal to a match, which Lethal declines at first. However, Castle goads Lethal into it by saying that Lethal wouldn’t fight him that he knows another Jay who will, referring to Jay Briscoe..
Match 2
Dalton Castle vs. Jay Lethal (C)
ROH World Television Championship Match
Thoughts: The match starts and Castle goes on the offense immediately when he hits Lethal with a few punches and delivers a backdrop to the champion as we go to a commercial break. Back from commercial and we are outside of the ring where Castle whips Lethal into the apron and then catches Lethal coming off of the apron with Huricanranna. Lethal recovers and downs Castle with punches. He then runs into the ring under the bottom rope and runs off of the farthest rope to deliver a suicide dive to Castle not once not twice but three times in a row.
Castle then rolls into the ring and starts getting up as Lethal who at this point has made his way to the top rope comes off and gets caught by Castle. From here, Castle grabs Lethal in a front face lock and delivers a suplex. Castle then takes to Lethal’s back and delivers a German suplex, which gets a near fall for the challenger. After the near fall, Dijak pulls Castle to the outside of the ring and hits him with Feast Your Eyes (a Burning Hammer into a knee). Dijak rolls Castle back into the ring where Castle recovers just long enough to get caught by Jay Lethal who comes off of the ropes with a Lethal Injection to score the victory by pinfall to retain his ROH World Television Championship.
Result: Winner and Still ROH World Television Champion Jay Lethal after defeating Dalton Castle via pinfall after a Lethal Injection.
Match Rating: ***
From here, we go into the main event of the evening for the ROH World Title.
Main Event – Match 3
Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jay Briscoe (C)
ROH World Championship Match
Thoughts: The match starts and Jacobs comes through the ropes to the outside of the ring and hits Briscoe who hasn’t made it into the ring yet. He then capitalizes on the fallen Briscoe by bashing his head into the barricade at ringside. Jacobs climbs the top of the barricade and hits the Contra Code on Briscoe. Jacobs rolls Briscoe back into the ring. Later, Briscoe, who’s recovered, picks Jacobs up in a press slam position, drops Jacobs on his shoulders and then follows through with a Death Valley Driver. Briscoe gets up and waits for Jacobs to recover in order to deliver a neckbreaker and a near fall.
Jacobs kicks out and recovers long enough to hit a desperation spear on Briscoe to get a near fall. Jacobs hits a flurry of offensive maneuvers with a Contra Code, a Sliced Bread, and a Spear and then finishes off the sequence by locking on a submission hold. The referee checks Briscoe’s hand but it comes up before dropping for the third time signaling for the match to continue. Jay Briscoe recovers and hits Jacobs with a Jay Driller to score the pinfall victory and retain his championship.
Result: Winner and still ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe via pinfall after a Jay Driller.
Match Rating: ***
After the match, both men recover and stand face to face in the ring and shake each other’s hands as the show goes off of the air for the week.
That’ll do it for me and another one of my Ring Of Honor Wrestling TV Reviews for EyesOnTheRing.com. In closing make sure to follow myself @Headliner5 as well as the official Eyes On The Ring account @EyesOnTheRing on twitter. Also be sure to check out the site for more ROH reviews as well as other great content from the rest of the EOTR team.
In closing, be sure to check out the radio show each and every Sunday night over at blogtalkradio.com/ElitePodcastNetwork as we come to you at 11:00pm Eastern Time. This week we are having the 2015 Top Prospect Winner Donovan Dijak on the show as we present Part Two of our ROH Showcase. Finally don’t forget to like us on facebook at Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing. For now, I am Nathan saying so long for now and I will see you right back here next week.
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