Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show

A/K/A: "One of Probably Two Times 'Boxer vs. Wrestler' Worked"

In mentioning the Mero vs. AA match from Uncensored 1995, I started thinking of other Boxer vs. Wrestler matches. Simply put, most sucked. Hell, even Inoki vs. Ali was trash in the sense of it not really being a good fight. The result of the bout (Inoki and Ali becoming friends, the potential first "MMA" fight shown to masses, Ali and Inoki spreading positivity and whatnot throughout the world, and Inoki converting to Islam and becoming a hero to many in the Muslim world and otherwise) was great. The match itself was garbage. Don't believe me? Look for yourself.

However, one match has stuck out in my mind that took the rules of Boxer vs. Wrestler and made it (halfway) work from a story-telling standpoint and an actual action standpoint. I'm talking about 2008's Mayweather vs. Big Show bout. It worked for a couple reasons. 

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Eyes on the Ring 10:00 AM  2 comments

Ring of Honor Review: 1/10/15

By Nathan Neumann (@Headliner5 on Twitter)

Hello, wrestling fans and welcome to the first Ring Of Honor Wrestling review of the year 2015. Nathan here as always to bring you your weekly dose of honor, so lets get right down to it.

The show started off as we are brought into the arena, as Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino welcome us to the first episode of ROH TV in 2015 and we head to the ring for the first match of the evening.

Match 1
Mark Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong

Result: Roderick Strong defeats Mark Briscoe via pinfall with the End Of Heartache.

Thoughts: The match started out with some groundwork from two guys who have two completely different styles.  They seemed to make it work though as the match progressed, which was good to see.  Early on Mark hit Strong with a Belly to Belly suplex as Strong rolls to the outside, but Briscoe meets him with a dropkick through the ropes which knocks Mr. ROH down and to the barricade.  Later on Strong recovers and the two men find their way up to the top turnbuckle where Roderick Strong delivers a top rope super plex to the master of redneck kung fu.  Later in the match as Strong is on the outside of the ring, Mark goes onto the apron, runs off and nails Roderick with a flipping neckbreaker.  Mark gets back into the ring and tries to do another dropkick through the ropes, but this time Strong catches Mark by the feet and flips him up onto the apron.  Strong then rolls Briscoe back into the ring where he delivers the End Of Heartache to get the 1-2-3.

Rating: **1/2

Fun opener with two guys that I figured wouldn’t work well together due to contrasting styles, but I was pleasantly surprised by how the match turned out.

From there we go to a commercial.

When we get back from commercial, we see a backstage promo with Jay Briscoe where he says he wants a title vs. title match with the ROH Television Champion Jay Lethal

After this, the ROH matchmaker Nigel McGuinness makes his way out to the ring to announce that the main event for tonight will be for the number one contendership to the ROH World Title, as Michael Elgin takes on Hanson.  This brings out Tommaso Ciampa who isn’t too happy with the news. Nigel proceeds to tell Ciampa that while he accidentally hit a referee a few weeks ago, he will not be fired due to his actions because it was an accident. Nigel then goes on to say that although Ciampa isn’t fired, the zero tolerance policy for abuse against ROH officials is still in effect. He then says that Ciampa owes him one.

Ciampa grabs the microphone and says that Michael Elgin didn’t beat Tommaso Ciampa at Final Battle, but Tommaso Ciampa beat Tommaso Ciampa. Out comes Michael Elgin, Ciampa tells Elgin that nobody wants him (Elgin) in ROH.  Elgin then says that he wants a piece of Ciampa tonight and insists that Nigel add Ciampa to Elgin’s match later on with Hanson to make it a triple threat (I hate it when they do this because it makes the guy doing it look like an idiot). However Elgin gets his wish and Ciampa is added to the match to make the main event for tonight’s episode a triple threat match, where the winner will get a future shot at the ROH World Title.

From there we go to another commercial break.

When we get back, we see another backstage promo this time with Maria Kanellis, who says some words regarding Jay Briscoe. She says that if he wants his redneck world title back, which is now the “Title Of Love”, he will have to take it from her. I’m not sure where they are going with this one.

From there we go back into the arena for the second match of the night, which is a first round match in the 2015 Ring Of Honor Top Prospect Tournament. The way it works is that there are eight guys in the tournament. The winner of the tournament will receive a future ROH World Television Championship Opportunity.

Match 2
J Diesel vs. Will Ferrara

Result: Will Ferrera defeats J Diesel with a roll up to advance to the next round of the tournament.

Thoughts: This match was not good at all. It’s not often where I will say that an ROH match was bad, but this one was bad. The two started off in the ring and quickly made their way to the outside. J Diesel gets back into the ring and attempts a flying maneuver, but misses, causing Steve Corino to yell “Crash and Burn” on commentary. It was the first crash and burn moment of 2015, and trust me kids there will be more.  As the two are still on the outside of the ring, J Diesel would pick Ferrera up and deliver a fall away slam against the guardrail. Back in the ring and Diesel has the advantage as he applies a Tequila Sunrise on Ferrera. Will Ferrara would roll up Diesel to pick up the win and advance to the next round of the tournament. This match wasn’t good at all and the crowd didn’t care. I like the concept of the top prospect tournament and all, but it’s a tough task to introduce a new crop of guys into a promotion where the fans are used to seeing certain types of wrestlers.  Normally top prospect tournaments in the past haven’t started out this bad, so I hope this isn’t the case through the entire duration of the tournament. Hopefully as it progresses people will become more familiar with these wrestlers and they will show more emotion as the matches continue. This match could have been better if it was shorter, but having two guys that people aren’t familiar with go at it for an extended period of time is a recipe for disaster and that’s exactly what this was.

Rating: DUD

From here we go to the main event, which is a triple threat match (as outlined earlier) for the number one contendership for the ROH World Title.

Main Event – Match 3
Hanson vs. Michael Elgin vs. Tommaso Ciampa 

Result: No winner due to the match being stopped.

Thoughts: First off Michael Elgin has new theme music and it’s AWFUL.  I’ve never seen someone take a turn for the worse character wise in ROH faster than Michael Elgin.  Ever since he stated that he wanted a fee to do podcasts, his public opinion has seemed to plummet and with this heel turn, it seems like he is more true to life than he ever has been.  It’s really awkward to watch and I’m not a fan of it, but it is what it is I guess.

The bell rings to start the match and Hanson and Ciampa quickly jump Elgin and dump him out of the ring.  The story throughout this match was that while it was a triple threat match, it was pretty much different combinations of the three guys fighting each other one on one until three fourths of the way through it.  Hanson stacks both Ciampa and Elgin in one of the corners of the ring and hits Ciampa repeatedly in the chest as Elgin is trapped underneath him.  Hanson picks up Ciampa and dumps him onto a fallen Elgin with a Death Valley driver in a very well done spot.  That was followed by a German Suplex fall away slam spot where Elgin gave Hanson the slam, but was german suplexed by Ciampa.  Hanson would then powerbomb Elgin shortly after recovering to pick up a near fall.  Elgin then goes to the top rope and hits a flipping leg drop on Ciampa for a near fall.  The best spot in the match came when Elgin did a hurricanranna to Hanson and landed on a downed Ciampa to pick up a near fall.  Ciampa makes it to his feet as both him and Elgin would reset, and Ciampa hits Elgin with a short-armed lariat for another near fall. Ciampa gets the upperhand on Hanson and has him pinned before Elgin pulls the referee out of the ring to prevent the pinfall from happening.  Hanson and Ciampa then go to the outside of the ring and Elgin flies over the top rope to take Hanson, Ciampa, and the referee out with a flying move. From there, another referee comes down to the ring and stops the match so we do not have an official number one contender as of yet.

That will do it for me and this review of Ring Of Honor Television. I hope everyone had a safe new year. I also hope you enjoyed reading this review and that you are looking forward to all of the great wrestling that 2015 promises to bring us.  This first week was absolutely amazing from not just ROH, but from all fronts (well not WWE really) and I enjoyed the week, as there were more ups than downs.

Before I leave you for the week I wanted to plug another fellow blog writer by the name of Kianna who writes her blog over at http://kiannafurywrestling.blogspot.com. Be sure to check out her blog, as well as ours as she also reviews some Ring Of Honor stuff, as well as anything she can get her hands on.

Lastly be sure and visit EyesOnTheRing.blogspot.com as much as you can and catch up on all the latest things that the team brings you.  Also be sure to give us a follow on twitter @EyesOnTheRing and Like us over on facebook at Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing.  Finally be sure to tune into the relaunch of Eyes On The Ring radio, as we are starting back up in 2015 after a brief hiatus.  We are now located at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork so be sure and tune in to help us ring in the new year as well as the brand new #EPNERA. Well, so long and I will see you next week.

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Eyes on the Ring 9:41 PM  No comment

Speed on the Beat Reviews: Judgment Day 2007

Hello Ringers. Sadness and excrement are here to ring in the new year with another (not-so) exciting episode of "Was It Really That Bad?" Review with me, the Chris Jericho of EOTR, Speed on the Beat. In case you've missed it, the purpose of "WIRTB" is to take PPVs that have, deservedly or otherwise, been crapped on over the years and answer the question, in hindsight, of "was it really that bad?" with a somewhat "smarky" tone. I've had to say "yes" for the past four reviews, so maybe this one will be the camel which breaks The Great Khali's back.

...Guess I just gave away the decision. Or did I? Let's get this (shit) show on the road. A word of caution, though. As seen in my Uncensored 1995 review, my "WIRTB" reviews tend to get a bit more...colorful than other EOTR posts. Figure'd I'd get that disclaimer out the way before we lose our sponsors on account for me showing a bit of attitude with my RUTHLESS...AGGRESSION!

Judgement Day (2007) featured John Cena versus Khali, Edge versus Batista, Chris Benoit versus Montel Vontavious Porter, CM Punk versus Elijah Burke among other matches. It also features Kane on the poster, despite Kane only having a dark match against William Regal. That's a harbinger of things to come.

If Kane's my guide through the River Styx, just throw me in and let me burn.

This was, admittedly, around the time when I stopped giving much of a crap about wrestling. We always talk about the "PG Era" being horrible, but around this time, WWE was pretty ghastly (McMahon's bastard son, McMahon's limo blowing up, etc.). TNA was good, match-wise, but sucked storyline-wise (sounds familiar). And you couldn't really find ROH, PWG, CZW or what have you anywhere aside from DVDs and YouTube clips (at least not in Baltimore), so I wasn't really that big on indies. All in all, 2007 was a weird year for wrestling (aside from the obvious Benoit incident).

Before I get into the event itself, I've got to say that it's pretty damned weird to see Chris Benoit wrestling. This is the first time I've watched Judgement Day since Benoit did what he did. This won't be a post on that, though. So, without further ado, let's get into it--for real, this time.

Our first match is Ric Flair versus Carlito.

Spoiler Alert: #FlairWinsLOL

Now, here are two guys that are great talents. Ric Flair is a damned legend, and Carlito, when he wasn't having "attitude issues," was one of my favorites from this era. However, this match falls flat. First, this is around the time where I started praying Flair would just leave well enough alone and become someone's manager. Like, I didn't mind Flair still blading like a boss in the early 2000s, or even him in Evolution. However, by this point, watching Flair was like watching that drunk uncle at your family's reunion who tries is damnedest to be cool and relive his golden days, but ends up puking on himself after having one too many brews when everyone's looking.

Now that I told you how my Christmas was, I've gotta say that the "Umaga Ate My Homework" sign that popped up early on was better than this match. The submission-fests in this match don't give any additional "psychology" or story to this match. They just showcase that Flair, as much of a legend as he is, should have just chilled the hell out by this point. JR and Lawler try to put over both talents, but neither the crowd nor I am having any of it. A drunk fat black guy, possibly the dad of the "Just Say Yes!" guy, tries to get a "NA-TURE BOY!" chant going to mostly deaf ears. After more submissions, Flair slaps on the Figure Four and gets the win.

Our next match is Black Lesnar versus Blackface Lashley, Shane McMahon, and Umaga in a handicap match for the ECW Championship.

What's up...my nigga?

First, can someone remind Vince that taking the belt off a black guy and/or working with a black guy doesn't turn you black? If it did, I'm pretty sure that CM Punk would've been all "yo dawg" when he teamed up with Kofi. Seriously, this whole "Vince is one of the blacks" thing was probably as distasteful as DX appearing in blackface in 1998. Except, as fucked up as that whole thing was, it halfway had a point (DX were the "edgy" asshole tweeners who wanted to piss everyone off, Trips hated Rock, the segment, while uncomfortable to watch as a black guy, still had some halfway funny moments, etc.). This crap was just saddening. Then again, Vince has a habit of trying to be down with da peepz, homie.

Taz has to catch himself from saying "holy shit" when Shane gets speared by Black Lesnar (a decent spot, by the way). Here's a rundown of this match: After Black Lesnar gets the win, Blackface Lashley has his durag fall off and retains on a technicality, and Umaga thumb spikes Black Lesnar after the bell. That's pretty much all that happened in this.

We get a backstage segment with Dr. Chris Annan the WWE backstage doctor advising Shawn Michaels that he can't compete (after Orton damn near killed him by tossing him into the stage equipment backstage).We then get "THIS FIRE BURNS!!!" and CM Punk comes out for his match against Elijah Burke. FINALLY, I have a use for this:

It's a bit ironic to hear the WWE announcers putting over Punk's BJJ and Muay Thai skills when almost eight years later, he's in the UFC. On the other hand, I can't take Elijah Burke seriously. Yes, he's legitimate and has can throw legitimate bombs, but the man has hair beads. What grown-ass man do you know has hair beads?

He looks like JTG's illegitimate brother. Considering WWE at the time,
I'm amazed they didn't do an "all blacks look alike" storyline.

The match's main focus is Punk's ribs and whether or not the injury will cost him against Burke. I actually enjoyed this match because both Punk and Burke told a decent story. Should it have gone on for almost fifteen minutes, though? Hell no. A lot of back-and-forth and Punk gets the victory on the GTS which didn't have a lot of the theatrics of some of his later GTSes. It connected, Burke dropped, Punk got the pin. 

Next up? HBK vs. Orton.

I'm an Orton fan...but he definitely looked juiced here.

HBK gets KTFO at the beginning. HBK receives a middle-rope DDT. HBK looks dead. HBK collapses before Orton gives him the RKO. Orton gets all "I hear voices," puts HBK on the top rope, which results in HBK clawing at Orton's face. HBK gives Orton an elbow drop and then drops like a Fight Night create-a-boxer before he gives Orton the Sweet Chin Music, giving Orton the win. That same fat black guy, it sounds like, gets an RKO chant going. Orton obliges. The end.

Oh look, a wild Khali appears with "John Cena's belt" (technically, they're right. It's the spinner belt and it's the spinner belt that Cena had won) and his translator. As expected, his promo is greeted to "WHAT?!" chants. Yay AMURRRICA!

Random fact: Khali, before he ended up in WWE, was kind of an agile big man.
Pituitary gland problems and taking massive bumps at his size can kill that for
anyone. 

The World Tag Team Championship match between Generic Alt Rock Song Ten The Hardys and Cade and Murdoch.

Word...my nigga.

This match starts out pretty decently. Lots of switchy spots that give both teams a fair shot. JBL gives us a word-of-the-day ("capriciousness") as Jeff Hardy tags in. The match slows down when Matt goes in after Jeff's first tag, while speeds up a great deal when Jeff's in. Save your "it's synonymous with the drugs they used" foolishness for someone who cares about all that. Cade and Murdoch were one of the Ruthless Aggression Era's underrated tag teams to me. They meshed so well, even though their characters were kind of "eh."

The tide changes "just as [JBL] was about to put [Cade and Murdoch] over" (yes, that was an actual line from JBL's commentary, that little smark) and the Hardys start picking it up. Some more back and forth ensues (at this point, it's kind of yawn-inducing, so I'll spare you the details). Then Jeff hits a swanton bomb after Matt's Twist of Fate and scores the retention.

We get a promo for the Edge/Batista match (I skipped over it; didn't need to know it again), then they actually start going at it. The fact that this match goes on before the U.S. Championship match rubs me the wrong way. I'm glad that it's something different and a victory for the "non-Cenas," but you're putting a match between two of the era's biggest stars on before MVP and Benoit.

Oh, wait. This match kind of sucks and the Benoit/MVP feud was actually pretty damned intense (I guess MVP's adoration of Benoit as a wrestler and all created even more magic in this feud). Never mind, I get why they did it.

Seven years later, Batista'd pick up where he left off in this match.
He'd go back to the Jersey Shore and pick up his European cuts.

Edge scored the victory on a school boy after Batista does his Ultimate Warrior homage (RIP Warrior) and hits a second spinebuster. Yes, Edge's the ultimate opportunist, but...come on! Edge getting the win on a Diva's move is, in the immortal words of Riley Freeman, a bitch move (excuse my sexism, but I mean that somewhat literally). Now, if you're watching this on the WWE Network, you'll know you can't actually search for Benoit's match in the PPV timeline. However, the Benoit/MVP match is up next.

It's eerie hearing "but the dead don't have no memory" in MVP's theme before Benoit comes out, just because. But, again, I'm not going to focus on Benoit's last day's (as hard as it is to put it out of your head when you see him).

This match, for the U.S. Championship, is a two-out-of-three-falls match. I forgot how "cool" MVP was (supposed to be), with the stunna shades, the "ballin'" shot taunt, the tracksuit get-up, the bling, etc. The story that Benoit and MVP were able to tell in this match was great. MVP was shown as the plucky heel with tweener tendencies (he wasn't as chicken of a heel as he could've been here). Benoit was shown as the aggressive face who wanted to retain his belt after being injured by Finlay. The match was heavy on technical wrestling, brawl spots, and well pretty much everything you could want from a co-main event. Benoit hits the Three Amigos after some corner action then locks in the Crossface. MVP gets out, which leads to an exchange ending in a sharpshooter by Benoit. MVP gets both pins after performing the Playmaker and a cradle pin. This match was my favorite match of the event. There wasn't a cheap finish, no crazy flippy shit for no real reason, no Elijah Burke.

And just like WWE in 2014, 2015, you go from a hot match to Cena closing out the show.

Seriously wonder if Cena realizes that the intro to "My Time is Now"
contains a shoutout to Amadou? Or does it's just there to make
Cena seem more "urban?" 

The reactions are still pretty mixed here, but more cheers than boos (it is 2007, after all). Khali comes out with Cena's belt (as mentioned) and Lawler wants Cena to prove that size doesn't matter. Ugh.

Khali does his Godzilla yell and Cena clocks him in the stomach, which pisses the giant off. Khali delivers a clothesline which looked primed to cave Cena's effin' head in without a kick. They brawl outside, highlighted by Cena being tossed into the steps. Cena selling Khali's offense (something you don't see much of these days, on either front), until he hulks up, hits a bulldog and puts on the weakest submission hold in WWE these days (the STF[U]) for the win.

Final Verdict:
So, was it really that bad? Aside from the Benoit/MVP match? Daniel, care to tell the audience?

No one really had chemistry. The Cena match was ass (even more than you'd expect from Khali versus Cena). CM Punk's match, while decent, went on for way too long. The Tag Team match dragged as well. Your poster boy has a dark match. And HBK getting his shit rocked more times than I cared to watch was unneeded (Legend Killer or not). All in all, skip mostly everything in this PPV. If you can stomach watching Benoit, I'd recommend the MVP/Benoit match and maybe the CM Punk/Burke match. Other than that? Stay far the hell away from this bastard.

That about does it for me. Be sure to (shameless plug) be on the lookout for new music from myself and the rest of Team DAR. Also, be sure to keep your eyes on the ring...my nigga. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go cry about the absurdity of Vince McMahon magically re-receiving his black card from beating Bobby Lashley in the first place. 

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Eyes on the Ring 12:00 PM  2 comments

SOTB Reviews: Uncensored 1995

Okay, I had a giant set of notes, full of insight on these matches. They actually had star rankings and everything, utilizing Nathan's star system. Then I thought about it. If WCW didn't give a crap about the event, why should I? Sorry Nathan, I'll be sure to use your system in a PPV that deserves it.

Welcome Ringers to another "Was It Really That Bad?" Review with the guy who invented the internet, shower sex, and sliced bread, Speed on the Beat. Today, we're going back into the an(n)als of WCW and going over one of the worst WCW PPVs of all-time (outside of Halloween Havoc 95 or 2001 WCW, because too easy), Uncensored 1995, live from Tupelo, Mississippi. True did a review on this PPV in 2013 (H/T WrestlingHeels), but I figured I'd add my own polish to this potential turd.

Shit. Just. Got. Real(ly Stupid).

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Eyes on the Ring 12:03 PM  No comment

Ummm...what the hell, WWE?

Ok, so I've had a couple days to digest it and keep from completely crapping the bed over it. But, what in the high holy hell was WWE thinking with the ending to RAW on Monday? That crap made absolutely no sense and just made everyone involved look completely stupid. Never mind the fact that it was "Cena Appreciation Night," just look at the thing.

Between Stephanie's flub at the beginning to the segment, the hamminess of Triple H's delivery, Cena looking like a kid in the principal's office (when he, for better or worse, is marketed as the Face of all that's "right" within WWE), the "Why did I come to school today" look on Dolph's face at the ending, and the general disinterest from the crowd, it was one of the worst segments I've seen in a while (and that's counting Ambrose accosting a mannequin, Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella doing their best "teenage white couple in a horror movie" impersonation, many of the interview segments in TNA last year, Cheeseburger in ROH, and so on).

I get that we're trying to book The Authority as super heels by firing babyfaces and putting Cena in this predicament, but the segment just came off as a cluster-you-know-what. At the end, I wasn't asking "oh noes, what'll happen to Dolph Ziggler?" I was saying "Oh noes, we got another 'fired' storyline involving John Cena that makes little-to-no-sense, kayfabe-wise or 'legitimately.'" If this is what WINC, WZ, etc. were talking about when they said we'd see a "big angle" kick off on RAW...I'm already packing up and going home.

In short, if you want your audience to care about what's going on, do better. Don't piss on our heads--or collective intelligence--and tell us that it's raining.

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Eyes on the Ring 10:47 AM  No comment

Ring Of Honor Wrestling Review 12/27/14

By Nathan Neumann (@Headliner5 on Twitter)

Hello wrestling fans, Ring Of Honor fans and Eyes On The Ring Faithful! Nathan here once again to give you this review of the latest episode of ROH TV, the last ROH episode of 2014, which featured two matches.  Let’s get right down to the business at hand, shall we?

The show starts off with a few backstage pre-taped promos in the first The Briscoes wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We then cut to Jay Lethal who says he hates Christmas. Lastly, Adam Cole cuts a promo and says “All the chicks want a little Cole in their stocking.” I can’t believe he said that. It was awesome and super funny.

From there, we head inside of the arena where we are greeted by commentators Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino, who welcome us to the show and send us straight into the first match.

Match 1
Brian Kendrick vs. Adam Cole

Result: Adam Cole defeats Brian Kendrick via pinfall with the Florida Key.

Thoughts: Let me start off by saying that, as a guy who doesn’t like Brian Kendrick, he didn’t do to badly in this match. As the bell rang, the two would shake hands per the Code of Honor and Kendrick immediately kicked Cole in the face. Following that, Cole got heated and took over on offense until later in the match when Kendrick went for Sliced Bread #2 but Cole pushed him off of the top rope to the outside of the ring which brings us to a commercial break.  

Back from commercial and Cole hits a Death Valley driver on his knee to Kendrick to score a two count. Cole then follows that up with a shining wizard for another near fall.  Cole then hits a sunset flip powerbomb followed by another shining wizard for yet another near fall. Kendrick finally mounts some sort of offense as he picks Cole up in a reverse Death Valley Driver position and drops him square on the top of his head with a burning hammer for a two count.  

Later on in the match, both men were on the top rope and Adam Cole does a spider German suplex (he hooked his legs under the second rope so he could go back up to the top to follow it up). However, Kendrick would land on his feet. While Cole was hanging upside down in the tree of woe, Kendrick delivered a baseball slide drop kick to score a near fall. The finish of the match occurred when Adam Cole got the upper hand and took to Kendrick’s back in order to hit the Florida Key to score the pinfall victory.

Rating: **

From the first match we go immediately into the main event, which were the finals of Tag Wars 2014 so here we go.

Main Event – Match 2
ACH and Matt Sydal vs. The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) vs. The Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe) vs. reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly) ©
Tag Wars Elimination match for the Ring Of Honor World Tag Team Championship

Result: reDRagon win the match last eliminating ACH and Matt Sydal after Chasing The Dragon pinning ACH to retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles.

Thoughts: This match was nuts and there was a lot to keep track of within. So, if I don’t do it justice I apologize in advance because watching eight guys in one match isn’t an ideal wrestling situation for me...but I’ll try to make it work.

The match started out with ACH and Kazarian before Kazarian would tag in Daniels. Sydal would work over Daniels and keep him down long enough to execute a standing moonsault and get a near fall out of it. Daniels and Sydal are both up now and get sick of reDRagon’s trash talking so they decide to bring both Fish and O’Reilly into the match the hard way (by throwing them into the ring over the top rope) reDRagon aren’t in the ring for long as they immediately get knocked back out.  

Meanwhile on the outside Kazarian hits Jay Briscoe with a sunset flip bomb from there ACH runs across the ring and dives over the top rope (effortlessly, I might add) to take out everyone on the outside. Sydal flies out of the ring and then Daniels executes the Best Moonsault Ever to the outside of the ring as well. The first elimination would come when the Briscoes would fall victim to a backdrop into a lung blower double team maneuver by the Addiction, which allowed for the elimination.

The Briscoes have been eliminated

Back from commercials and reDRagon are now in the ring and have control over The Addiction. ACH tags himself in and jumps off of the top rope with a diving cross body on Fish to get a near fall. ACH and Daniels run at each other from opposite sides of the ring and collide in mid air after both trying a cross body block on the other. While Daniels is down, Matt Sydal uses the opportunity to hit a shooting star press and ACH (who has recovered by now) makes it to the top rope and hits a 450 splash to get the pinfall victory on Daniels allowing for the second team to be eliminated.

The Addiction have been eliminated

It’s now down to two teams as ACH and Matt Sydal face off against the tag team champions reDRagon to determine who will have possession of the titles. While Sydal, Fish and O’Reilly are all on the outside of the ring ACH uses the opportunity to fly out of the ring taking everyone that remains in the match to the floor including his own partner.  Back in the ring Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish regain the upper hand long enough to hit Chasing The Dragon on ACH to win the match and retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles.  Damn good match if you are a fan of tag team wrestling go watch it.

Rating: **3/4

After the match we cut to another backstage pre-taped promo as this time it’s BJ Whitmer who lets everyone know that he hates Christmas. He also lets all the kids in the world know that Santa Clause isn’t real (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!) as the show goes off of the air for the week.

That just about does it for me for this review of Ring Of Honor Television I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I also hope you enjoyed reading this review and just to note next week’s edition of ROH Wrestling is a best of 2014 recap show which means that you will not be getting a review from me for next week.  

I just wanted to say that we have had a hell of a 2014 here at Eyes Of The Ring and myself as well as everyone else on the Eyes On The Ring team can’t wait to bring you all the action that the year 2015 promises to provide for the wrestling fan. We will try to keep up and all do our best to cover everything that we can so that you can feel well informed on what’s going on around you so you can decide what you may want to see and what you may want to avoid.

So until next year I am Nathan saying so long and be sure and check us out at EyesOnTheRing.blogspot.com and all of the articles that we have provided for you.  Also please be sure and give us a follow on Twitter @EyesOnTheRing and Like us over at Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing and we will all see you in 2015!

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Eyes on the Ring 9:39 AM  No comment