The Contentious Ten 03.29.10: ROH on HDNet Matches

Welcome to the Contentious Ten. While you are reading this on Monday, you should know that I wrote this on Saturday so that I could devote the rest of my time to enjoy Wrestlemania with my family. As such, I have no idea what happened at Wrestlemania, and if something amazing and unpredictable happened, don’t expect my commentary here. Instead, in the midst of all the ‘Mania, I’m going to use this column to spotlight something that is very near and dear to my heart: ROH on HDNet. Those of you who care about such things might now that I review the show, both in the recap version and for the 4 R’s. As such, I have seen every episode and reviewed most of the matches personally for 411. Now, here is a chance for me to give a little credit to a company that isn’t going to be talked about much in this column, because at the end of the day, I’m here to get hits.

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Chris Hero vs. KENTAsize=6>
October 12, 2009size=4>

Lost in all the talk of how Davey Richards has been a breakout performer in 2009 is that Chris Hero was one of the most improved wrestlers of the year. For years on the independent circuit, Hero was lauded for his technical ability and his goofy, hilarious comedy wrestling. In 2008, Hero took a huge risk, stepping out of his comfort zone to become “The Young Knockout Kid”. This new, serious image was originally bashed by many, including myself. It is a credit to Chris Hero that he chose not to give up on it, but rather to improve upon that persona, both in the ring and on the mic. The end results have been well worth the wait.

No better example of how Hero has grown into the “Young Knockout Kid” persona exists than this match with KENTA. While certain members of the ROH fan base have exaggerated the greatness of the young Japanese star, no one can deny that he is one of the premier performers in Japan, and in ROH. Hero challenging KENTA was a great way to attempt to make his name. Thankfully, the match was very good; Hero brought his A-Game and KENTA followed suit. In the end, like so many others, Hero fell to KENTA, but he came out of the loss better for it.

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Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe vs.
Kevin Steen & El Genericosize=6>
December 7, 2009size=4>

If you ask ROH fans what some of the top feuds in the company’s history are, this one might not be the first to come up, but it is likely very high. The odd couple team of Kevin Steen and El Generico made their names in ROH by challenging and battling the Briscoes in 2007. The in-ring dominance and the popularity of The Briscoes around this time was something that I can only compare to the WWE fans love of Matt and Jeff Hardy as a unit. They were, arguably, the top draw in the promotion at this time. And their most famous rivalry was Steen and Generico.

Nowadays, the excellent team of Steen and Generico no longer exists. For the most part, I am happy about this, as both men are tremendous talents and deserve a chance to thrive as singles stars. However, part of me is very sad that we may never see their excellent tag-team work again. It is only fitting that just a few weeks before that team ended, we were treated to one more contest between The Briscoes and ROH’s favorite odd couple. And they didn’t lose a beat in this match.

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Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Blacksize=6>
April, 25, 2009size=4>

This match was very important for ROH’s HDNet run. Up until this point, ROH had been delivering shows with squashes and average main events. The general feel was that the show was “solid, yet unspectacular”. That all changed with this match. It’s not a difficult formula: take your best worker and put him in the ring with your franchise player, and let them go for twenty minutes. Bryan Danielson and Tyler Black were made to feud with each other in much the same way that Bret Hart and Steve Austin were made to feud with each other. What started as brash defiance from Black and disregard from Bryan developed into a rivalry based on competition and respect. Tyler needed a win over Bryan Danielson. He was the standard of excellence in Ring of Honor, and defeating him was almost as important as winning the ROH World Title. This match started the defining rivalry of the TV series in it’s early days, and was also the first in a line of many excellent main events from the series. Almost a year after it’s original showing, the match still holds up as one of the best matches they have done.

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Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards
vs. Kevin Steen & El Genericosize=6>
ROH Tag Team Championship, Tables Are Legal, May 30, 2009size=4>

While this is a very good match, this one makes the list more for its overall importance to the series and to the men involved in the match than merely it’s in-ring content. This was the beginning of the title reign of The American Wolves, Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards. In my opinion, this team was the absolute best team in the business in 2009, and were one of the most consistent acts in the show. When The Wolves show up, you know you are going to see a good match that is exciting and worth watching. Their standard of quality has made them the best.

As for the match itself, it is very different from the other matches on this list. While most of the matches here focus on technical wrestling and fighting spirit, this one was based on hatred. ROH gave us many brawls in the last year, mostly involving Necro Butcher and Eddie Kingston, and for the most part they all run together. However, this match is proof that ROH can deliver a great, exciting match in a hardcore environment. More importantly, it made The American Wolves the top team in the company and set the stage for the break-up of Steen and Generico. The ramifications of this match are still being felt today in ROH.

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Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielsonsize=6>
ROH World Championship Match, October 19, 2009size=4>

If somebody were to tell me that I had to go to an island for the rest of my life, and I could only take matches between two wrestlers, for the rest of my life, I would choose Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson. These two men have put together a brilliant series of matches with each other, and unlike many rivalries, it has never felt repetitious. Through out the years, as they have added moves to their arsenals and changed the heel and face alignments, they have never produced matches that were not important. Almost as if it was a matter of personal pride, they have made sure that every match between them stands on it’s own.

This match is Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries: WWE TV Main Event Style. Danielson is the valiant babyface and hero of the crowd, and Aries is a slimy villain of a champion who will do anything to keep his title. It’s the symbol of honor versus the embodiment of dishonor. Working a pace that kept the match moving at all times without ever overwhelming it, these two put together an excellent main event. It also built to a finish; Aries removed a turnbuckle pad, but rather than simply sending Bryan into it and calling it good, they teased and teased the spot before Aries hit one of his sick dropkicks that sent the back of Danielson’s head into the buckle, and got the cheap victory.

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Roderick Strong, KENTA & Bryan Danielson vs.
Chris Hero, Davey Richards & Eddie Edwardssize=6>
September 21, 2009size=4>

This match pretty much speaks for itself. Filled with great workers that all seem to have an overdose of testosterone, this match had me sold right from it’s announcement. The in-ring action is stellar; all six men worked very hard to make sure the match lived up to it’s potential. With fast paced action and tons of manly, hard-hitting violence all in the spirit of competition, this match is just flat out fun to watch.

What really makes the six-man work is the history between everyone involved. Davey Richards was the protege of KENTA before breaking out as a part of Roderick Strong’s No Remorse Corps. Davey then joined Sweet & Sour Inc. This led to an extended feud between Strong and Davey, and by proxy, Chris Hero and Eddie Edwards. Hero had history with Danielson from various promotions, and was right in the middle of a feud with KENTA. KENTA and Davey Richards had put on a Match of the Year Candidate earlier in the year and we got more of what made that match great. We also got teases of what would be a first time in ROH match between Danielson and Richards. Because of the history, the intensity in this match is made all the better.

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Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strongsize=6>
November 16, 2009size=4>

Due to my age, I never got a chance to see Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko say goodbye to ECW fans when it happened. Instead, I had to experience it years later on DVD. While the emotion carried through the TV thanks to ECW’s passionate audience, it wasn’t the same. However, watching Bryan Danielson’s Final Countdown Tour, I think I know what it must have been like. My feelings of thanks for all of Bryan’s hard work, the fear that I’ll never get to see him perform at a high level again, and the bitter faith that this very special performer will overcome all of the obstacles and be great in WWE. All of this was going through my mind as I watched this match, the last televised match of “Bryan Danielson”.

This match was one part tribute to American Dragon, and one part a gift to Roderick Strong. More than any other match in the series history, the in-ring action here is exemplary of the style of match that made critics stand up and take notice of Bryan Danielson. But more important than that, it’s almost a passing of the torch, as Bryan lets Roderick give one of his best performances. For somebody who first heard about ROH in 2005 when Danielson was champion and Roderick Strong was being hailed as the heir apparent, that’s something very special to me. While you cheer Bryan to win due to sentimentality, there is no better result than him being flat on his back as Strong defeats him. The post-match speech from Roderick and the ovation from the locker room and the fans was something else entirely. I don’t care what wrestling you prefer, if you can’t feel the genuine outpouring of emotion in this match, you must have a heart of stone. I said it then and I’ll say it know; it was my honor to review this match for 411.

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Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs.
Davey Richards & Eddie Edwardssize=6>
ROH Tag Team Championship Match, November 23, 2009size=4>

From a serious, emotional match to one that is just pure, unadulterated fun. While I hold fast in my statement that The American Wolves were the best tag team I saw all year, The Young Bucks were neck and neck with them. Certainly, you had the best heel team and the best babyface team. This title match showcased all four men in a way that blew my mind. Even at just over twelve minutes, the match is exhausting. I spent the last four marking out and I still love watching it. While these two would have a rematch that told a better story, this one is more fun to watch. This is what wrestling is at it’s core: the chance to escape and enjoy athleticism and hard work. A defy someone to watch this match and not find SOMETHING to like about it.

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Austin Aries vs. Tyler Black vs.
Bryan Danielson vs. Jerry Lynnsize=6>
ROH World Championship Match, June 6, 2009size=4>

This was easily the most hyped match in the history of the show. The better part of six episodes were dedicated to setting this match up and hyping it. As the first ROH Title Match on HD Net, and with four of the top performers, they had to deliver a great performance. Suffice to say that these four crafted a main event that lived up to the hype. Not only was it one of the best television matches of the year, it was one of the best of the year period. Combining innovation with character psychology, smart strategy with unbelievably awesome spots, this match had a little bit of everything.

Unquestionably, the star of the match was Austin Aries, whose shameless heel act stood in stark contrast to the honorable performances of the other three. While Danielson attempted to put on a clinic, Black tried to steal the show, and Lynn tried to prove his worth as champion, Aries went out there and raked faces, goofed around, and strutted his stuff. He wasn’t lazy; he simply put more work into making you hate him than he did with providing an exciting match. A terrific main event that many would say have not been topped. However, one match stands out to me more.

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Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielsonsize=6>
July 25, 2009size=4>

Why this match didn’t get nearly the kind of praise and press that other matches on this list did, I can’t figure out. Perhaps it was fan backlash against Tyler Black’s rise to the top, or maybe simply the fact that expectations were so high and it didn’t quite live up to it. However, this match was probably the single most important contest shown in the short history of ROH on HDNet. It is the passing of the torch from arguably the most respected performer in the history of the company to the franchise player. Tyler Black finally gets his win in a one-on-one match with Bryan Danielson. It wasn’t easy. Dragon was clearly fed up with this and wanted to put the rivalry to bed. He showed more traits of being a heel in this match than he had since early 2008. This was not the polite competitive match that their first one was. Danielson stopped toying around with Tyler; this was, as The Briscoes say, “Time to Man Up!” for Black.

And he did. While Bryan had a near flawless game plan, leaving most of his trademark moves in the locker room to focus on depriving Tyler of oxygen and energy to set up for the Triangle Choke, Black persevered. He defeated Danielson, not with a fluke roll-up or an unexpected kick out of nowhere. True, Bryan did run into a superkick near the end of the match, but it was another superkick and God’s Last Gift that put him away. It was a definitive, absolute victory for the man who is now ROH World Champion. This was the night when ROH’s past yielded to the future of ROH. We can argue if Black is worthy of that position, but that story will always resonate with me. These two did an amazing job of telling it.