ROH Review 5/2/15

By Nathan Neumann (Twitter @Headliner5)

Hello everyone and fellow ringers, Nathan back again this week this time with my traditional ROH TV review. Last week, I reviewed the ROH House Show/TV taping (not sure what it actually was) that I attended this week and didn’t provide an ROH TV review. This week we are back to the regular schedule of ROH TV reviews. This show only featured two matches which is something I like and have stated before in previous reviews. One of those matches was Tommaso Ciampa’s final match (for now, at least in Ring Of Honor). But, without any further ado lets get down to talking about what took place during the hour.

The show opened up with the ROH intro video. From there, we head inside of the arena (located in San Antonio, Texas) and join Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino at ringside as they will bring us all of the action of the night. They intro the show and then send it down to ringside for the first match.

Match One: Davey Boy Smith, Junior and Lance Archer (with Michael Elgin) vs.Hanson and Raymond Rowe

Thoughts: Smith and Archer jump Hanson and Rowe before the bell rings and Smith hits knees to Rowe and follows it up with a European uppercut while Archer hits Hanson with a flurry of forearms.  Rowe gets thrown out to the floor and Smith and Archer hit Hanson with some punches but Hanson gets back into the ring and joins Rowe as they hit the KES with closelines and Rowe hits some knees to Smith.  Archer whips Hanson into the corner to hit his own partner (Rowe) but Rowe moves out of the way and Hanson splashes Smith Jr. Archer tries a splash of his own and misses but hits Smith in the corner.  Rowe hits a running drop kick that sends Archer into Smith in the corner and Hanson follows both men and hits a seated splash on Smith. 

Archer rolls out to the floor to make the match one on one for the first time, Rowe sends Smith to Hanson so Hanson can hit a knee.  Rowe hits a knee and Hanson hits a closeline to the back of the head.  Archer goes to attack Hanson but Hanson counters it with an elbow.  Smith kicks Hanson into the corner.  Smith and Archer then concentrate on Hanson connecting with a double shoulder tackle and Smith follows it up with a leg drop while Archer hits a splash which allows Smith to get a near fall.

Smith throws Hanson into Archers boot in the corner and we get a tag. Archer hits Hanson with a forearm and a chop.  Hanson punches Archer but Archer hits a knee to the midsection and follows it up with a slam.  Archer waits for Hanson to get up and hits a running shoulder tackle that sends Hanson to the mat.  Smith gets the tag into the match and snatches Hanson by the beard and follows it up with a series of knees.  Smith hits a gut wrench suplex for a near fall and then goes for a cross arm breaker.

Hanson manages to put his foot on the rope, which causes Smith to have to release the hold. Smith acts like he’s going to hit Hanson in the grain but instead hits the abdomen.  Smith locks in a rear chin lock but Hanson punches him in the face.  Smith lands knee and follows it up with some kicks to Hanson.  Archer comes into the match after a tag and hits a few forearms in the corner.  Smith capitalizes on his advantage by choking Hanson and Archer hits a splash as we go to a commercial.

Aack from a commercial and Hanson hits a punch and a back first but Archer runs Hanson into the corner and hits him with forearms.  Smith receives a tag into the match and Archer with an Irish whip and then both men hit splashes in the corner.  Archer takes out Rowe and Smith hits a powerslam and Archer comes off of the second rope with a splash.  Smith picks up a near fall, Smith hits a surfboard and Hanson reverses it but Archer tags in and connects with a few forearms to the back of the head.

Archer locks in an Armbar on Hanson and Rowe shows frustration that he hasn’t been able to get into the match since the bell rang. Archer sends Hanson to the mat and then whips Hanson, Archer follows it in for a splash but misses.  Hanson punches Smith when Smith tries to interfere. Archer knocks Rowe off of the apron and tags Smith back in.  Smith lands multiple kicks to the chest of Hanson.

Smith goes for a piledriver but Hanson blocks the attempt, Smith hits some knees and kicks but Hanson puts the match in his favor by hitting a side slam causing both men to be down on the mat.  Rowe gets the tag and closeslines Archer, Archer with an Irish whip but he misses the follow up splash.  Rowe grabs Archer by the waist but Archer escapes and lands some kicks.  Rowe lands a forearm but Archer comes back with one of his own.  Rowe hits another forearm, Archer goes for a closeline but misses, which allows Rowe to hit a German Suplex.  Smith tries to interfere, Smith and Rowe both try for German suplexes, Hanson hits a closeline and Rowe hits a closeline on Smith as they roll out to the floor.

Archer sets both Hanson and Rowe up for a double chokeslam but they stop him and hit a double chokeslam of their own on Archer.  They hit Fallout and Elgin pulls the referee out of the ring.  Hanson hits a suicide dive and takes out Elgin and the referee doesn’t know what to do.  Smith comes in and kicks Rowe and connects with knees.  Smith hits some kicks to the chest and then kicks Hanson off of the apron.  Smith and Archer hit a heart attack for a near fall.

Archer with a full nelson and Smith sets up for a double team move but Hanson is able to stop it from happening.  Hanson slams smith but Archer hits a slam of his own on Hanson.  Rowe hits a suplex on Archer and Smith lands a kick and an exploder to Rowe.  Smith hits a beautiful Tiger Suplex for a near fall on Hanson.  Rowe hits a Superman Punch on Smith, he then goes to do it to Archer, Archer lands a punch of his own.  They trade blows and Archer hits a chokeslam on Rowe.
From here, the referee loses complete control of the match and calls for the bell.

Match Result: No Contest via Referee stoppage
Match Rating: **1/4

Hanson hits a cartwheel closeline to Archer following the ringing of the bell. Elgin attacks Hanson while streamers come flying into the ring, Hanson and Elgin get into it while Smith and Rowe are off doing battle themselves.  Security comes out and can’t contain the anarchy as Archer, Elgin, Hanson, and Rowe all brawl.

From there we go to a commercial, ending the segment.

Not a bad match at all, Hanson and Rowe have really gelled together even more since Rowe came back from injury.  It was great to see the Killer Elite Squad (Archer and Smith) in Ring Of Honor and I hope this is a recurring thing for them and not a one-time deal.  We will see but I have a feeling that this was done to hype up the upcoming ROH/NJPW joint shows in Canada and New York City, which if it was they did a great job of hyping the events and generating more interest in them.

We come back from commercial and see the crowning of the new Tag Team Champions from last week’s episode.  The reveal is then shown once again as we found out last week that Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and the debuting Chris Sabin were the KRD (Knights Of The Rising Dawn). We head back into the arena and match number two which also happened to be the main event of the evening

Match Two: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jay Lethal (with Truth Martini and Donovan Dijak) {C}
ROH World Television Championship Match

Thoughts: This was Ciampa’s last match in Ring Of Honor (for now) and the crowd is split right down the middle as far as supporting both the challenger Ciampa and the champion Lethal. These two have had a storied history so this one should be a good one.Lethal hits a kick and follows it up with a suplex but Ciampa pops up unbeknownst to Lethal.

Ciampa plays possum as Lethal gloats over the suplex and it’s impact while Martini warns Lethal, however it’s too late and Lethal walks in and Ciampa rolls him up with an inside cradle for a near fall.  Ciampa hits a chop and some forearms and follows it up with a hard Irish whip.  Ciampa punches Lethal but Lethal kicks Ciampa into the corner.  Lethal pulls down his kneepad to mock Ciampa and the running knee but Ciampa reverses it with a knee of his own.  Ciampa pulls down his kneepad and chops Lethal but Lethal goes to the floor in order to avoid the running knee.

Lethal takes his time out on the floor as he recuperates, he gets back into the ring and locks up with Ciampa, Ciampa backs Lethal into the corner where he connects with a thumb to the eyes and sends Lethal into the turnbuckle.  Ciampa goes over to where Lethal is and climbs the turnbuckle and punches and bites Lethal in the forehead.
Truth pulls the rope down and Ciampa goes over the top rope but he lands on his feet.  Ciampa takes off Martini’s bandana and uses it as a handkerchief.  Meanwhile Lethal who’s still in the ring hits a suicide dive on Ciampa.  From there Lethal hits a second one followed by a third one where Ciampa flies over the guardrail and into the front row at ringside.

Lethal slams Ciampa’s head into the apron, they make their way back into the ring where Lethal gets a near fall.  Lethal starts punching Ciampa as we go to commercial.We come back from commercial where Lethal gets a near fall.  Lethal sends Ciampa into the turnbuckle where he chops him.  Ciampa pushes Lethal away but Lethal lands some kicks to Ciampa and chokes him in the corner.  Lethal uses the ropes to choke Ciampa while the referee warns him.

Lethal hits a snapmare and locks on a reverse chin lock. Lethal then lands a boot to the head before talking about how great he is before blowing snot onto Ciampa and dropping an elbow for a near fall. From here, Lethal locks in a sleeper on Ciampa, who recovers and hits some elbows on Lethal followed by a chop and a forearm.  Lethal whips Ciampa and Ciampa misses a clothesline, Lethal manages to hit an Elbow drop as we go to another commercial break.

Back from commercial and Lethal locks in a chin lock, Ciampa recovers and punches Lethal.  Lethal hits a knee and follows it up with an Irish whip but Ciampa lands a boot and a closeline.  Ciampa grabs Lethal by the waist and hits Lethal with elbows.  Ciampa hits a German suplex and then hits a running knee, which sends Lethal out to the floor.
Ciampa looks to hit a suicide dive but Martini stops it by getting on the apron, Ciampa slides through Martini’s legs and connects with a forearm that sends Lethal into the ringside barricade.

Ciampa sends Lethal into the corner of the barricade, Ciampa hits a running knee to Lethal’s head, Ciampa whips Lethal to the other corner of the guardrail and sets up for another running knee, which he connects with and lands in the crowd.  He then takes a photo with a fan at ringside while Lethal is busy trying to find his nose and everything else that’s supposed to be on his face.Ciampa throws Lethal back into the ring and goes to the top rope but Lethal counters with a punch to the head.

Lethal sets up for a suplex but before he can hit it, Ciampa rolls him up for an inside cradle for a near fall.  Ciampa hits a closeline, Lethal goes for a super kick but it’s blocked, Ciampa goes for a kick on Lethal but doesn’t connect.  Lethal lands an elbow to the back of Ciampa’s head, Ciampa shakes it off and hits a jumping knee, he tries for a discus clothseline but Lethal manages to block it.  Ciampa blocks a superkick attempt and connects with a jumping knee.  Before Lethal goes down he connects with an Enzuiguri, which sends both men down to the mat.

Both men get up to their knees and exchange punches, Martini slides the book of truth into the ring, Lethal goes to grab it but Ciampa stomps on it.  Ciampa hits a flatliner and gets a near fall.  Ciampa picks Lethal up and sets up for Project Ciampa but Lethal reverses it by running Ciampa into the turnbuckles and hits a chop.

Ciampa hits a running forearm in the corner, Ciampa catches Lethal and goes for an Air Raid Crash but Lethal makes it to his feet.  Lethal hits a belly to back into a neck breaker for a near fall.  Lethal makes his way out to the apron and goes to the top but Ciampa gets to his feet when Lethal took too long.  Lethal leaps over Ciampa and Ciampa goes for a discus closeline.  Lethal ducks the attempt and hits the Lethal Combination.Ciampa counters a Koji Clutch and locks in a cross face, he then turns it into the Sicilian Stretch.  Lethal manages to get his foot on the ropes and Martini calls the ref’s attention to it.  Lethal rolls out onto the apron to try and recover as we go to a commercial break.

Back from commercial and Ciampa fish hooks Lethal on the apron and goes for a suplex into the ring.  He gets Lethal up and Martini grabs Ciampa’s leg and holds on but Ciampa is still able to kick out. Ciampa rolls out to the floor causing Martini to fall to the ground due to being scared.  Dijak stands in front of Marini to protect his boss, however Ciampa pushes his way past Dijak as Marini attempts to escape.  Ciampa smacks Dijak and Lethal sets up for a suicide dive.  However Ciampa manages to stay on his feet and hit an Air Raid Crash on the floor.

Ciampa rolls Lethal back into the ring and picks up a near fall, Ciampa puts Lethal on the turnbuckle and sets up for a second rope Air Raid Crash which he is successful at hitting. The referee gets pulled out of the ring and Dijak hits a discus boot on Ciampa however the referee didn’t see it as he was too busy dealing with Truth Martini.  Lethal puts his arm on Ciampa for a desperation cover but Ciampa kicks out.
Lethal punches Ciampa but Ciampa comes back with an Irish whip.  Ciampa is sent out to the apron, Ciampa hits a cannonball onto Dijak who is on the floor.  Ciampa makes his way back into the ring but is met with a super kick from Lethal. 

Lethal sets up for the Lethal Injection but Ciampa recovers, Ciampa goes for a maneuver of his own but gets caught up in the ropes.  This allows Lethal to hit a drop kick to Ciampa’s head, Ciampa comes back with a discus closeline for a near fall.Ciampa makes his way to the top rope and hits his own version of Jay Lethal’s “Hail To The King” because of course he does. 

Ciampa sets up for Project Ciampa but Dijak makes his way into the ring to stop it from happening.  Dijak gets dumped to the floor which prompts referee Todd Sinclair to send both Dijak and Martini to the back.  Lethal hits a low blow on Ciampa with the referee distracted.  The referee turns around just in time to count the deciding three count after Jay Lethal hits the Lethal Injection.

Match Result: Winner and Still ROH World Television Champion Jay Lethal via pinfall after the Lethal Injection

Match Rating: ***

After the match, the referee checks on Ciampa as Lethal celebrates his victory over Ciampa. Ciampa stands up and the crowd applauds Ciampa’s efforts as streamers are thrown. Ciampa extends his hand to the referee but kicks him low and hits Todd Sinclair with multiple running knees to the head as the other officials storm the ring to make sure that Todd Sinclair is still breathing. Ciampa throws the streamers on the mat and then makes streamer angels, from there Ciampa leaves the ring as the show draws to a close for the week.

And that’ll do it for me and another one of my ROH reviews for the site.  This show was really good in my opinion, we only had two matches and both matches were given adequate time to be good and tell a proper story.  This is the format that I like and I hope it continues.

However that’ll do it for me and another Ring Of Honor television review for EyesOnTheRing.com.  I hope you enjoyed reading this review as well as my other reviews that I write not only for Ring Of Honor but for NXT or whatever it is that I decide to review.Make sure to follow me on twitter @Headliner5 and also make sure to follow Eyes On The Ring @EyesOnTheRing.  Check out EyesOnTheRing.com for more of these reviews from myself as well as everything else from the entire Eyes On The Ring team.

Finally make sure to check out Eyes On The Ring radio this week and every other week as we come to you Sunday’s at 11:00pm EST.  We will bring you the entire week in wrestling as it happened as well as other news and reactions from all of us.  Last but certainly not least head on over to Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing and like us.  For now I am Nathan saying so long and for now and until next week ringers, keep your Eyes On The Ring.

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 9:21 AM  No comment

WIRTB Review: The XFL

Okay, so after shitting on TNA for a bit, it's time to go back to my bread and butter: pointing out Vince McMahon's horrible ideas and questioning were they really that bad. I'm Speed on the Beat, the man who'd also beat my kid's ass on national TV if it meant keeping him from getting fucked up by police thinking he's 'bout that life if/when he really isn't, and this is another edition of WIRTB Review. So, let's review the crap, so you don't have to.

The XFL is something that you'll find less information about in a WWE history book than Chris Benoit. Bad-tasting joke aside, the XFL was almost doomed from the start because of its WWF/WWE connection. But, based on what I remember, and a slew of oral histories, I can say this much on it: In 2001, Vince McMahon thought it'd be smart to fuck around and go up against the NFL, head-to-head.

He would do so with a mix of sports, sports-entertainment, and sports "entertainment" tropes, add in actual football, add in some "xtra fun" to counteract the "no fun," and run with it. Also, lots of NFL slandering (on a network which hoped to, at some point, get the NFL back on its airwaves). Vince, however, had about as much experience running a (legit) sports league as I have running a wrestling promotion. It was akin to me, after playing a bunch of WWE Universe Mode, saying "hey, holy shit, I can manage WWE. Let me go get a couple million billion dollars and let's do it...right after WrestleMania." Also, let me call a team in Birmingham the "Bombers," but that's another rant for another blog.

The set-up was easy. This is due to the fact that Vince, NBC, UPN, and TNN smartly chose to launch right after the NFL season and before the Arena Football season. The execution, however, was shit. It was unmitigated, debauchery-filled, silly shit. For instance, let's look at the second game.

Since this was the X-fucking-FL we're talking about, we don't believe in pussy-ass coin tosses. "That was that fuckboy NFL shit," announcers et al uttered in so many words. The XFL had players scrounge and fight for the opening possessions and whatnot, kind of like rugby scrums. But, to make it "eXtra fun," the players were in full pads and helmets and usually didn't/never would do rugby scrums.

With that said, the first injury of the XFL happened during the opening scramble of the second ever game of the damn league.

Orlando Rage CB Hassan Shamsid-Deen suffered what pretty much amounted to a career-ending injury by separating his shoulder. What's worse is this: the XFL, much like its parent WWF/WWE, didn't provide health insurance for its participants. And they say the NFL is lower than dirt when it comes to protecting its players. 

The games themselves were a mix of sports-entertainment fuckheadedness (including having Jerry Lawler call games, Vince sending in a cameraman to perv on the cheerleaders--which led to said cameraman knocking himself out and having a PG-14 sex fantasy about said cheerleaders, the cheerleaders looking like Trish Stratus circa No Way Out 2001, and mic'd up players, coaches, etc.) and sheer stupidity. The players were mostly NFL, CFL, and Arena League rejects who wanted one last taste of glory (and were paid about as much as a semi-pro-leaguer would be). The camera didn't really allow for viewers to comprehend what was going on. And the rules changed--or seemed to change--as they went along. 

It was like Any Given Sunday meets The Replacements meets Sunday Night Heat, but no Jamie Foxx or Keanu Reeves to (somewhat) save the day.

After the first game, ratings and appeal dropped--and hard. People within NBC were distancing themselves from it. By the time we got to the final game, everyone was pissed at the end result in some way or another, and the league died a quick death.

So, was it really that bad? Yes and no. 

The XFL itself was a horrible experiment by VKM to expand his empire. It was potentially, aside from his steroids debacles, the biggest blunder he and his team have undertaken. The league cost WWE and NBC at least $35 million--each.

However, we got some long-standing standards that have been integrated into the NFL, potentially because of it. The use of sky cams and "wired" teams have become norms and added to the authenticity of the NFL. Players such as Rod Smart (a/k/a "He Hate Me") were able to make a mainstream splash due to their unique, sports-entertainment-esque personas. Smart himself went on to play in a Super Bowl. We got the resurgence of Tommy Maddox, who helped lead Pittsburgh to a Super Bowl victory (somewhat) and to playoff wins. And, we got Ricky Ortiz out of the deal. That's something, right?

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 11:51 AM  No comment

WIRTB Review: Victory Road 2011

Alright, you know gotdamn well that if we're going to look at crappy reviews, we've got to look at this one. It's me, the guy who tconvinced Paul Heyman that Sabu versus Sandman at November to Remember would be a good idea (after the acid), SOTB!!! back with another edition of WIRTB Review, the review-centric gobbledygook where I review the crap so you don't have to. So, this one was recommended to me by Nathan a while back, but I hadn't been able to get to it until now. But, without dwelling too much, let's get into it.

So, backstory, right? Hulk Hogan came in and took over shit, as Hulk tends to do. And a bunch of other pre-Destination America TNA fuckery. Sting returned to win Jeff Hardy's belt, and take back control of TNA. In other words, it's late 90s WCW, only fifteen years late. Our show opens with fizzy little pyro and our first match.

Bully Ray versus Tommy Dreamer
One thing I can say is this: TNA tried their damnedest and succeeded in making Bully into a legit badass. He came off as Steiner-like at times, but he was one of the reasons I could halfway tolerate TNA between 2011 and 2014. He starts off delivering your typical "heel ass-kissing the Powers that Be" promo. Dreamer interrupts with some pretty generic music and they just talk. They talk. A match that's supposed to be a fucking slaughter (a no DQ, falls-count-anywhere match) begins with promo on top of promo on top of promo.

After they finally get going, the match fails to excite. Sure, we get some decent SPOTS (such as Tommy driving Bully's face into a plant's chair at ringside), but the early going is kind of meh. Tommy then grabs a bottle of water to go all Triple H on Bully. Taz, not even hiding his sarcasm/disdain for this, remarks "not the dreaded bottle of water" as Dreamer sprays. Water bottles: causing more damage to wrestlers than Abdullah the Butcher since 1998. But, you know what's worse than a water bottle?

A minion.

Yep. Tommy Dreamer, in a No DQ, FCA match, decides to beat the stuffing out of Bully Ray with...a stuffed animal. Now, you know that I try to keep the final decision to myself until the end of the first match, at least. But, fuck this company. Taz(z) asks if that's Spongebob, and I can't help but shake my head at the idiocy on display right now.

And of course they start brawling outside the ring confines and into the stands. We get "TNA" chants right before Tommy almost gets his nuts cracked by a guard rail. Bully goes all Bubba Ray, and Tommy responds by going all Sandman and grabbing the Kendo stick. We get some shit selling by Bully, and a blow-up doll, which Bully lands on in a 69 position. Of course, TNA fans being the awesome bunch they are, start chanting for a 69. Dreamer gets a near-fall and gets a trashcan lid for his troubles.

Bully, for whatever reason, turns his attention back to the gotdamned blow-up doll as Dreamer gets another near-fall. A "we want tables" chant breaks out, because Dudleys. Tommy obliges but doesn't get to use it. Honestly, you can fast forward through most of this match at this point, until the end. Devon comes out with his kids, sets up Bully for a 3D and Dreamer gets the win. I hate when the 3D is performed by someone who isn't Bubba/Bully and Devon.

Next up? LESBIAN POLLEN!

Knockout Tag Team Championship Match: Rosita and Sarita versus Angelina Love and Winter
Our announcing team starts out gushing over how hot (rather "caliente," because diversity) Rosita and Sarita are. Interesting sidenote: Rosita apparently appeared on Love and Hip-Hop New York at some point this past season. Winter comes out looking like she just walked off the Fifty Shades set. The Americans get "USA" chants as RoSa (yay WWE team names) are "foreign" or something. I know that TNA gets the shoutout for being better than WWE at women's wrestling, but not this time. Match was sloppy and just straight boring. RoSa get the win and the lesbian pollen wears off...kinda (mainly because Velvet Sky let the pigeons loose at the wrong time).

Jeff and Karen Segment(s)
Aren't these just a slap in the face to one of TNA's top talents, Kurt Angle? Eh.

First Blood Match: Hernandez versus Matt Morgan
The match starts off hot with a lot of action. Morgan and Hernandez are beating the holy shit out of each other. It's wild that this match is almost more "extreme" than the Bully/Dreamer match. The crowd is insanely into this one, chanting "we want blood." Say what you want about TNA storylines: the wrestling and sequencing of matches in the cards are one of the company's strong suits in my opinion. If this were WWE, we'd probably follow the Divas match with some Santino squash.

And then we get Hernandez trying to blade on the hard camera. Thrice. Or is it?!

Kind of. Because, yes, that happens, but...the match ends when Hernandez sprays food coloring or something onto MM, the replacement ref sees the "blood" on MM and calls Hernandez to be the winner. It was a decent match until the end. The end just negated all that awesomeness.

Ultimate X Match: Karzarian versus Robbie E versus Generation Me (a/k/a The Young Bucks)
TNA was the first time I'd seen The Young Bucks in action, in this very match. I always liked the Ultimate X match: it has all the craziness of a MITB match, the fast-paced nature of a championship scramble or a multi-man tag match, and the originality of TNA (when they're trying to/given the chance to be original). This match, however, is a beautiful train wreck. I can't even describe what I've seen. So, I'd say just YouTube it.

TNA World Tag Team Championship Match: Beer Inc. versus Ink Inc.
This match was alright. That's kind of all I can say about it. Wasn't good, wasn't bad. It just was.

A.J. Styles versus Matt Hardy
It's prime era A.J. versus later era Matt. The end.

Number One Contender's Match for TNA World Heavyweight Championship: RVD versus Mr. Anderson
So, what was a somewhat blood feud ended with a double countout? Ooookay, TNA. I'll go with it.

Main Event
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match: Jeff Hardy versus Sting
You already know the backstory to this match. If not, just look it up. Jeff stumbles out higher than the nose of an elite piece-of-shit looking down at Baltimore. He damn near rips a fan's arm off. But, the crowd seems none the wiser as we're finishing introductions. It kind of just looks like "oh, shit, Jeff Hardy is being an aloof badass." Kind of. But, then Sting comes out full of energy, kinda looking like "the fuck is this shit," you see that something's up.

Hardy starts walking outside of the ring as Jeremy Borasch announces the contestants. At this point, we should've had a Jake Roberts-esque audible. However, you do that, and because Jeff is on one, you'd run the risk of setting him off further.

After a bit, Bischoff comes out and actually puts over that everything is going according to plan. He says "The Network" has something up their sleeve, goes over to Jeff, mutters something (possibly "you fucked up. You are in no condition to wrestling"), and makes this match a No DQ (the forth of the night).

Jeff spends most of his time doing his best John Cena at ECW ONS 2006 impersonation before getting scolded by Sting. A few punches and a Scorpion Death Drop later, Sting retains.

"This is bullshit," a fan chants.

"I agree," Sting...agrees.

"As do I," I type.

So, the PPV started off promising. Until we saw one of Gru's minions.

Fuck this bullshit.

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 1:24 PM  No comment

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

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

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

Match 3
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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 10:53 AM  No comment

WIRTB Review: Andre the Giant versus Hulk Hogan at WM 3

Today, we're going to take a different approach. Instead of questioning whether or not a PPV or a PPV moment was really that bad, I'm asking if one, one which shall probably live on longer than I, was really that good. I'm talking Andre versus Hulk at WM III a/k/a "The Slam Heard Around the World" match. I'm Speed on the Beat, and try not to crucify me until you've read through this whole piece.

So, a bit of backstory, for those who don't remember/don't care enough to know why this match happened. A bit before WM III happened, both Hulk and Andre were given trophies by the WWF. Hulk received one for being champion for three years. Andre got justified penis envy over getting a smaller trophy for being undefeated for fifteen years (because three > 15, per WWF logic). Hulk came out to congratulate Andre on his trophy and ended up being unintentionally a giant tool.

This pissed off Andre, who later ripped off Hulk's crucifix and shirt. Andre thus became heel in the process. This also gave Andre the managerial awesomeness of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, a guy who, even now with his cancer complications, could probably talk circles around most managers in wrestling today. Seriously. The guy is, was, and forever will be that damn good.

Now, let's be for real. The match itself is poorly worked. Andre, at this point, had seen better days. Heck, he was recovering from surgery at the time of their WM III match. Hulk was never the most agile of talents. The irresistable force versus immovable object cliche was true on many levels. Go back and watch the match. It's kind of crap--especially considering it came after the Savage/Steamboat match.

But...watching Hulk scoop slam Andre (for the first time on a grand stage)? It's a moment that deserves its spot among the other Hall of Fame moments. It was one of those moments It's kind of a "no, not really" to the "WIRTB" question, as the match sucks, but the moment surrounding the match is amazing. So, I'll cautiously say no.

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 9:14 AM  No comment

CJ's Top Five: Cage Matches

5. AMW vs. XXX
Turning Point 2004

I'm not usually one to show TNA any love, but I couldn't ignore this match. Aside from that ridiculous spot where Elix Skipper walked across the top of the cage and connected with a hurricanrana on Chris Harris, this match kept an excellent pace and showed what the X Division had to offer. These two teams had such a good chemistry, they always put on quality matches with each other. This match was also under the stipulation that whoever lost, that team had to disband forever. The conclusion of the match occurred when AMW handcuffed Daniels to the ropes and performed their tag finisher, the powerplex, on skipper for the pinfall victory. If you ever want to go back and look at the old days of the X Division, this is definitely one match to check out.

4. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit
Raw 2001

Two men capable of putting on a wrestling clinic any night of the week, facing each other in a cage on the main event of Raw, do you need any more incentive to watch this match? Kurt and Chris always had an excellent rivalry that produced great content in the ring. This match is the definition of a show-stealer. High spot after high spot, suplex after suplex, all done at a break-neck pace. The spots everyone remembers from this match are Benoit's headbutt from the top of the cage, and Kurt missing a moonsault from the top of the cage. Even if those spots weren't there, this match would still be a must-watch. If you're a fan of pure wrestling technique as well as top-notch physicality, this is a match for you.

3. Ric Flair vs. Harley Race
Starrcade 1983

The Nature Boy squaring off against one of the toughest guys in the history of the business is going to be an entertaining bout under any circumstances. You enclose these two in a steel cage? You know you'll always get your money's worth. Flair and Race have always had a storied rivalry, and it proved that during their cage match for the NWA Heavyweight Championship at Starrcade '83. Ric and Harley traded blows for over 20 minutes, trading finishers and blood alike. The finish came when Flair, in classic heel fashion, shoved Race into special referee Gene Kiniski, followed by Flair hitting a crisis block for the pinfall victory and the NWA title.

2. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart
Summerslam 1994

Just the mention of the names Bret and Owen Hart immediately bring images of high pace and technical expertise to mind, and their cage match for the Intercontinental Championship at Summerslam '94 was one for the ages. Owen, being the heel, gained the upper advantage at the beginning by attacking Bret and catching him off guard. Both traded blows and showed off that excellent Hart family in-ring chemistry. Owen hitting Bret with a piledriver, Bret suplexing Owen from the top of the cage to keep him from escaping, both men trading sharpshooters, these two absolutely stole the show. The conclusion of the bout came when Owen's leg became caught in the bars of the cage, allowing Bret top climb out and achieve victory. This is wrestling at its finest, from two of its greatest competitors.

1. Tully Blanchard vs. Magnum 

TA Starrcade 1985

This match showcases what the steel cage match was invented for: to be a knock-down, drag-out fight to settle the score. Magnum TA and Tully Blanchard had legit bad blood, and it certainly showed in the brutality of this match. This was an "I Quit" match for the NWA United States Championship, and neither of these man were prepared to give up without a fight. Blanchard and Magnum went at each other with everything they had. Stiff shots, heads rammed into the cage, Tully hitting Magnum in the head with a microphone, these men held absolutely nothing back. In a shot that is still iconic to this day, the end of this match came when Magnum took a sharp, broken piece of a wooden chair, and began jabbing it into the forehead of Tully Blanchard, forcing Banchard to quit and awarding the victory to Magnum TA. Not for the faint of heart, especially for its time. If you want to see a fight in a wrestling ring, this is a FIGHT.

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 9:09 AM  2 comments