411’s Instant Access 06.20.10: ROH Death Before Dishonor VIII

• Scott Slimmer, author of Don’t Think Twice.
• Aaron Hubbard, author of The Contentious Ten.

Okay kids, enough with the explanations. Let’s get to the wrestling.

Grudge Match Months in the Making
El Generico vs. Kevin Steen
Match Result: Kevin Steen defeats El Generico with a top rope Northern Lights Bomb.
Match Length: 16:51
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: I certainly didn’t expect this match to open the show, but at the same time I have to admit that having Generico demand to settle the score as soon as the show began was a great way to sell the seething animosity between these two men. This was an immensely entertaining match that featured several amazing sequences, but at times if felt as though the technical proficiency of the match detracted from the vengeful brutality that we expected from this feud. However, that being said, I can certainly see the case being made that a brawl would have been a waste to have two such talented wrestlers who are so familiar with each other and who have such great chemistry with each other. As for the finish, I have to question whether the fact that Steen won the match might imply that this feud isn’t over. It seems as though the only truly satisfying resolution to this feud would be for Generico to finally get his vengeance on Steen, but that clearly didn’t happen tonight. And if this really is the end of the feud, where does that leave Generico? Steen could easily move on to another feud, but I have to believe that Generico would be significantly less credible for having never been able to vanquish his sworn foe. POST-INTERMISSION ADDENDUM: After Generico’s beat-down of Steen during intermission, it’s clear that this feud MUST CONTINUE. Colt Cabana and Steve Corino had their own issues during the 2nd Annual Toronto Gauntlet, so this four-man feud definitely still has some life in it. And I would be remiss not to mention the epic awesomeness of El Generico choking Kevin Steen with a neck tie. Nothing says unmitigated brutality like choking a man with a neck tie. At this point, that may be my pick for Mark-Out Moment of the Year.
Hubbard: I’m very glad they started this out. I love the idea that Generico hates Steen so much that he literally refuses to wait to get his hands on him. The opener was very good, but couldn’t live up to the promos since the rules were in place. I liked the story with the tornado DDT as Steen kept blocking it only for Generico to hit it on the floor. Steen got the win in the first match, which is the right decision. This will at least go to Glory By Honor, and possibly beyond that. The finish was sick. Quality opener, well booked. Also, the brawl during intermission and the tie-choking spot were many kinds of awesome.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****
Hubbard: ***¾
Average Match Rating: ****

The All-Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus) vs. Up In Smoke (Cheech & Cloudy)
Match Result: Kenny King defeats Cloudy with the One Night Stand.
Match Length: 8:47
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This was a fine little tag team match, but it just never developed into anything remarkable or memorable. Both teams worked hard and had some fun spots, but ultimately there was no real story or psychology to the match. The All-Night Express were definitely the right choice to win the match, because their association with Austin Aries can only go so far to build their credibility without them actually picking up high-profile wins on the big stage. I may not be entirely fond of their involvement in the following match, but they looked good here.
Hubbard: I hated this match because I couldn’t keep up with it in the live recap! All joking aside, this was very exciting. Up in Smoke are great jobbers with lots of fun offense, and the All Night Express looked awesome. Aside from a brief SNAFU by King, this was all good and a welcome edition to the card.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: **¾
Hubbard: ***
Average Match Rating: ***

Grudge Match – Kenny King & Rhett Titus are Barred from Ringside
Austin Aries vs. Delirious
Match Result: Delirious defeats Austin Aries via disqualification when Kenny King and Rhett Titus interfere in the match.
Match Length: 13:05
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: Okay, bullshit ending. Complete and total bullshit ending. Just had to get that out of the way. Now then, everything that happened before the complete and total bullshit ending was actually quite good. I love the fact that the storyline of the feud actually played into the psychology of the match as Aries hit numerous moves that specifically targeted the previously injured neck of Delirious. Not only does that kind of thoughtful psychology help to coherently guide the action of the match, but it also makes the match seem like a natural extension of the feud that led to it. The in-ring action was solid, and solid ring work coupled with strong psychology usually lead to a great match. Unless, of course, they only lead to a complete and total bullshit ending. I mean, if Kenny King and Rhett Titus are barred from ringside, then shouldn’t someone, I don’t know, actually try to bar them from ringside or something? I suppose this means that this feud must continue, but there are much better ways to continue a feud than with a complete and total bullshit finish (like, say, with a top rope Northern Lights Bomb followed by an absolutely atrocious neck tie choking).
Hubbard: Meh, this match didn’t really do anything for me. The brawling was uninspired and the DQ finish, while understandable, is not satisfying. The played the feud well, but I couldn’t get into it that much. I liked the mist and Aries took a heck of a bump off of the missed Heat Seeking Missile, but that was about it. Hopefully the rematch is a lot better.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***¼
Hubbard: **¾
Average Match Rating: ***

The 2nd Annual Toronto Gauntlet
Colt Cabana vs. Steve Corino vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong vs. Shawn Daivari vs. Tyson Dux
Match Result(s): Tyson Dux defeats Eddie Edwards with a cradle pin.
Shawn Daivari defeats Tyson Dux by countering a suplex into a lateral cover @ 16:31.
Colt Cabana defeats Shawn Daivari with the Billy Goat’s Curse @ 17:25.
Colt Cabana defeats Steve Corino with a crucifix pin @ 22:29.
Roderick Strong defeats Colt Cabana after interference from Truth Martini @ 28:05.
Match Length: 28:05
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: It’s always difficult to rate a match that is really five relatively disparate matches sewn together end-to-end (kind of like the human centipede of the wrestling world). The quality of those individual matches generally scaled with the length allotted to them, but taken together these six guys did a fine job of providing us with almost half an hour of wrestling. The only booking decision I question is having Daivari lose to Cabana in less than a minute, but I suppose letting one of your cornerstone stars get the slip on Shawn Daivari is far from the greatest sin a wrestling promotion can commit. I’ve always liked Roderick Strong, so I’m more that happy to see him win this match and get another title shot. I’m not completely sold on Roderick Strong as ROH Champion, but I always enjoy seeing him try to climb the mountain.
Hubbard: We missed a good section of Edwards vs. Dux, which looked to be the best wrestling of the match. Dux was very impressive from what I saw and the pin of Eddie Edwards means he’s probably going to become a more regular part of the roster. After that they had some smart booking and fast action, but it went by too fast for me to care. The quick elimination of Daivari was a highlight, as was the injury/book finish that gave Roderick Strong the win. I’m not too big on these kind of matches, and Cabana vs. Roddy should have been a better segment than it was. Hard to rate fairly due to the best part getting cut out, but that’s how it goes.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***
Hubbard: ***
Average Match Rating: ***

Pick Six Contenders Series Match
(2) Christopher Daniels vs. Kenny Omega
Match Result: (2) Christopher Daniels defeats Kenny Omega with the Best Moonsault Ever.
Match Length: 16:47
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: You know what this was? Fan-freaking-tastic professional wrestling. This was just a straight-ahead, no-frills, one-on-one singles match, and Daniels and Omega did their jobs brilliantly. Having Daniels back in ROH is a big boost for the promotion, and tonight he once again proved his value by making Omega look like a million bucks. I’m not saying in any way that Daniels carried Omega, but rather that giving Omega the opportunity to show that he can go toe-to-toe with an established star such as Daniels makes Omega look that much more credible. Daniels was definitely the right choice to win the match, because there’s no reason to let him slip down the Pick Six rankings before he’s at least had a chance to challenge for the championship.
Hubbard: By all rights, this should have been the Match of the Night. This was a fantastic straight-up competitive wrestling match. Daniels has not missed a beat and Omega gave a great performance as well. My only complaint was that Omega didn’t bother to sell the neck. The first match in what would turn out to be a stellar second half of the show.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****¼
Hubbard: ****¼
Average Match Rating: ****¼

ROH World Tag Team Title Match – No Disqualification
The Kings of Wrestling (Champions) w/ Shane Hagadorn vs. The Briscoe Brothers
Match Result: Chris Hero defeats Jay Briscoe with a big swing / drop kick combination using the loaded elbow pad.
Match Length: 17:25
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This was fun. It was brutal, bloody, and a freaking ton of fun. Now I suppose it’s only fair to admit that I was a total mark for ECW-style brawls years ago, so I’m naturally predisposed to love this sort of bombastic violence. However, that being said, I also thought that this match was a significant improvement over that the match these two teams had back at ROH Big Bang in April. That match was just a balls-to-the-wall spotfest, and the action was so chaotic that nothing about the match was actually memorable. Tonight’s match actually told a much more coherent story as the Kings of Wrestling sequentially isolated the Briscoe Brothers only to see Jay and Mark fight back time after time. In the end, this match had blood, a table, a hub cap, a referee asking the fans for knife, and some damn fine wrestling mixed in along the way. And it was a hell of a lot of fun.
Hubbard: There was a bit of a scare as to whether this match would happen, and they stalled for time, but once the Briscoes got here, it was worth the wait. This was just a bloody war. It got a little too chaotic at times, but this was a very good fight. Nothing else on the card was like this. I was bugged by the tagging in a No Disqualification match, but the action was top notch. Also, why on earth were the cameras focusing on Jay being tied up when the Kings of Wrestling were doing their double-teams? That’s just ridiculous. Not as great as the other big matches on this card, but a darn fine match in its own right.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****½
Hubbard: ****
Average Match Rating: ****¼

ROH World Title Match
Tyler Black (Champion) vs. Davey Richards
Match Result: Tyler Black defeated Davey Richards with the
Match Length: 34:44
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: There is very small list of matches that I use to show non-fans why I love this business so damn much. Guerrero / Malenko from ECW, Michaels / Angle from WM 21, and Styles / Daniels / Joe from TNA are a few of the usual suspects. This match has definitely just been added to that list. This is why we love professional wrestling, period, end of story. Technical brilliance, insane high spots, startling brutality, and two men literally giving everything they have to entertain the fans. This wasn’t just about the ROH Championship. This was about Tyler Black and Davey Richards making their case for being the best in the world. And that might be exactly what they just did.
Hubbard: I felt sorry for this match heading into it. I felt that with all the hype, and after the stellar Daniels vs. Omega match, this match would disappoint. I was wrong. This not only lived up to the hype, it exceeded it in my opinion. This had a big match feel, and they treated it like a big match. They just beat the crap out of each other, the crowd was with them the whole way. Outstanding athletic ability, great false finishes. These guys had me thinking the match was over….for TWENTY MINUTES! Some of the stuff they did to each other was a bit over the top, but it all made sense. This was the most marquee match that ROH could produce, they had to knock it out of the park. They all but killed each other here. Also, wrist-clutch God’s Last Gift? Another big match finisher for Black is a win. I marked out so much. I may lower the rating on my second viewing, but for now, I have to agree with the fans in Toronto and give it the full five. I don’t know whether this or Taker-Michaels will win out in the end, but this is damn worthy competition.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: *****
Hubbard: *****
Average Match Rating: *****

Final Thoughts

Match of the Night:
Slimmer: Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards (*****)
More than half of the matches on this card were **** or higher, but the main event definitely stood out from the pack. I mean, Match of the Night? Hell, this one damn near might end up being Match of the Year.
Hubbard: Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards (*****)
Yeah, I seriously thought it was going to be Omega-Daniels, and even said that the show had been stolen after the match. Instead, the main event blew that match out of the water and produced a classic for ROH.

Trash of the Night:
Slimmer: None
I absolutely refuse to call anything on this card “trash.” The lowest rated match of the show (The All-Night Express vs. Up In Smoke, **¾) was a fine little match and featured some fine wrestling, and the only match with a bullshit finish (Austin Aries vs. Delirious) was actually quite good upon until that point.
Hubbard: None
There was nothing I can call trash on this show.

Final Analysis:
Slimmer: Let’s just look at the number here. There were seven matches on the card. The lowest rated match was ** ¾ , and every other match was *** or higher. Four of the seven matches were **** or higher. And the main event was a legitimate ***** classic. That’s just flat out insane. This was a great show top to bottom, and the ROH roster busted their asses all night long. This is definitely my choice for Pay-Per-View of the Year to this point, and it’s going to take something incredibly special to beat it.
Hubbard: This was the best wrestling show I’ve seen, not just this year, but IN YEARS. I’m not some raving ROH mark, I always consider WWE to be my home promotion, but this was absolutely awesome. For fifteen bucks, you can watch this show as many times as you want. Do so. You will not regret it. THIS is a show I would have paid $75 for. Ring of Honor may have actually outdone themselves tonight.