Column of Honor: 02.05.11: Fate of an Angel?

Welcome to the Column.

=Fate of Christopher Daniels—Is it in TNA, ROH or Both?=

In somewhat of a surprise revelation, current Ring of Honor Television Champion “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels has reached a deal with TNA to return to that promotion. He will reprise his role as the masked character Suicide. Daniels will continue to wrestle with Ring of Honor under “The Fallen Angel” moniker and character and he is still under contract with them (though for how long is a different question altogether). Both TNA and ROH sources reportedly agreed to the deal which keeps Daniels’ commitments and priority to ROH, at least for now.

Before Ring of Honor went to Pay Per View in 2007, wrestlers appeared for both TNA and ROH at the same time without much issue. Most of the time those talents (including Daniels, AJ Styles and then later Samoa Joe and Homicide) were under TNA contracts. This is essentially the reverse of that situation since Daniels has an ROH contract at this time. Daniels asked for and received permission from ROH officials to make this deal. It makes sense for him to do so, because he needs to provide for his family and children as best as possible. If that means working for as many promotions as feasibly possible, then so be it.

Given the loss of television (at least for now) and the relatively lax enforcement of ROH contracts (in that owner Cary Silkin has allowed ROH talents to try out for both WWE and TNA while under contract) it wouldn’t be surprising if this happens for some other ROH contracted talents as well in the near future. El Generico and TJ Perkins recently had TNA try outs in Orlando. Although nothing has come of those dark-match appearances as of yet, the news that TNA wants to re-build their X-Division may lead to those or other independent talents being brought in for that branch of their product.

The ROH World Television Title remains alive for now even in the wake of the expected loss of the ROH on HDNet television program in early April. However, the title has quickly been bombarded with questions about its future in the wake of these recent developments. Daniels and Edwards were expected to wrestle for the ROH World Television title at the 9th Anniversary Show internet Pay Per View on 2/26, but the official announcement of that match has not happened yet (possibly because ROH is waiting for the episode with Cornette’s decision on the match to air). What happens to Daniels and the Television title on that show and then once HDNet goes off the air remains to be seen.

Daniels made a shocking return to Ring of Honor last April at The Big Bang internet Pay Per View. It was a true surprise in a day and age when news and rumors leak fast on the internet. Daniels had been released from his TNA contract that week and after several days on talks headed into ROH. His confrontation of words with Davey Richards created an immediate buzz among the ROH fan base about his return. Since then Daniels has made some very positive in-ring contributions, including high quality matches against the likes of Richards, Kenny Omega, Tyler Black and Roderick Strong. He won the Television Title during a set of tapings in Louisville, Kentucky this past December. The episode which contained the title match aired just this week.

So what happens with Daniels’ future in Ring of Honor in the coming months given these latest developments? Yes, he may be sticking around with the promotion for the near future, but being a part of the TNA roster, even if just under the mask, could have consequences when it comes to how strong he is booked or emphasized in Ring of Honor. His current run as ROH Television Champion, as noted, is somewhat up in the air given the loss of television. It was clear though, that at some point Mike Bennett is being built up for the TV Title—his recent win of the 2011 Top Prospect Tournament is going to lead to higher profile matches and eventually a title shot against Daniels or whoever is the TV champion at the time. No doubt Bennett is being bred for success and he is seemingly next in line for the championship. Daniels (or Edwards, if ROH wants to change the title again) may end up just serving as the transition to a heel championship run for “The Prodigy”.

It is somewhat ironic that Ring of Honor named several shows in honor of Daniels. “Fate of An Angel” is an appropriate phrase, because the future of Christopher Daniels in Ring of Honor has been thrown a curve due to this agreement to wrestle for TNA.

Results from SoCal Showdown II from WrestleReunion weekend were as follows (courtesy the ROH Message Board):

KOW out for a promo to start. Putting over the main event, saying they will win and that WGTT is overrated. Claudio states, “You people in Los Angeles know a lot about overrated, you have the Lakers. Everybody knows the best basketball is played in Europe.” Hero says no one will end their reign.

7. Ring of Honor World Title Match
ROH World Champion Roderick Strong over “The Generic Luchador” El Generico following a Sick Kick, following a distraction to Todd Sinclair.

News, notes and fun oddities coming out of WrestleReunion weekend in Los Angeles:

-Ring of Honor packed the Hilton ballroom where their event took place with 950 fans. The Pro Wrestling Guerrilla show exceeded that with well over one thousand in attendance, including many taking up standing room only positions. That’s reminiscent of attending my very first Ring of Honor show, At Our Best back at the Rex Plex in New Jersey during Wrestlemania weekend of 2004. ROH packed the place so much that even standing room was about four or five deep.

-WWE Superstar Edge was spotted watching the show, also at one point heading backstage, likely to hang out with former WWE wrestlers Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin before their big match against The Kings of Wrestling. At one point during that match Benjamin threw down a spear in honor of Edge’s presence, which reportedly got a chuckle and a smile out of the Rated R Superstar. Shane Helms (the former Hurricane) was also at the event.

-Former ROH booker Adam Pearce was in attendance for the show. He made conversation with ROH Owner Cary Silkin and ROH on HDNet Producer Dave Lagana during the night.

-Colt Cabana posted on his Twitter and Facebook feed a picture of the “Hart Foundation” poster he had personally signed by Bret Hart, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart and Jimmy “The Mouth of the South” Hart.

-El Generico put up the mask he wore during his Final Battle 2010 main event encounter against Kevin Steen or auction at the event.

As of 02/05/11

=ROH World Champion=
Roderick Strong

Champion since 09/11/2010 | 4 successful defenses
Glory By Honor IX defeated Tyler Black in New York, NY to win the championship.
Next Defense vs. Homicide in Chicago Ridge, IL on 02/26/11.

-Roderick Strong defeated Christopher Daniels in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on 11/13/10.
-Roderick Strong defeated Davey Richards in New York, NY on 12/18/10.
– Roderick Strong defeated Jay Briscoe in Charlotte, NC on 01/15/11.
– Roderick Strong defeated El Generico in Los Angeles, CA on 01/28/11.

=ROH World Tag Team Champions=
The Kings of Wrestling: Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
Champions since 04/03/2010 | 8 successful defenses
The Big Bang defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe in Charlotte, NC to win the championship.
Next Defense vs. The All-Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus) in Chicago, IL on 02/26/11.

–Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin by DQ after The Briscoes interfered in New York, NY on 5/8/10
–Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe in a No DQ Match in Toronto, Ontario on 6/19/10
–Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe in Philadelphia, PA on 8/21/10
–Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe, The All-Night Express and Dark City Fight Club in Ultimate Endurance in Charlotte, NC on 08/28/10
–Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli defeated El Generico & Colt Cabana in Plymouth, MA on 09/10/10
–Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Christopher Daniels & Davey Richards in Dayton, OH on 10/15/10
–Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Kevin Steen & Steven Corino in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on 11/13/10
–Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli defeated The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) in Plymouth, MA on 12/17/10

=ROH Television Champion=
Christopher Daniels

Champion since 12/10/2010 | 3 successful defenses
ROH on HDNet defeated Eddie Edwards in Louisville, KY to win the championship.
Next Defense vs. TBA in Chicago Ridge, IL on 02/26/11.

–Christopher Daniels defeated Claudio Castagnoli in Charlotte, NC on 01/15/11.
–Christopher Daniels defeated Devon Storm in Philadelphia, PA on 01/21/11.
–Christopher Daniels defeated Claudio Castagnoli in Los Angeles, CA on 01/28/11.

There is some intriguing plot developments going on in this promo…first and foremost this new “Barrister R.D. Evans” have the opportunity to do all of the talking for The Embassy, laying out the past problems and the solutions as well as new goals. Meanwhile, Prince Nana seems almost completely smitten with his new “Princess” Mia Yim, to the point of distraction. The new program for the group is only just beginning, but could this somehow forecast a coup by Evans or other unknowns? Ernesto Osiris seems concerned about these developments and his frustration about not being able to have a serious conversation with Nana is obvious. Nana orders Osiris to “get the money”. Is Evans manipulating Nana so that he can purloin some of those royal cash reserves? Interestingly, this promo does not introduce the actual main in-ring competitor for The New Embassy, “The Project” Tommaso Ciampa. As much as this promo made for some entertaining diversion, it is Ciampa’s in-ring presence that will be the real story as to the success or failure of the group.

The main ROH tag teams talking smack about each other…simple concept, great execution. Love Hero calling the ANX “The Five-Minute Express”.

Mostly solid stuff from both Daniels (though it was a repeat from an earlier video package) and Edwards in the build up to the TV Title match that aired this past Monday. Some of Daniels’ comments are rendered moot by the news of this week. On the other hand, Mike Bennett’s insults are LAME.

Of course, why not end with the video that has gone viral…The Osirian Portal and The Runaways from CZW Night of Infamy 9 (11/13/10) in a DANCE-BATTLE to end all-times. Seriously, this video grabbed the attention of Damon Lindelof, who created Lost, Bill Simmons, the sports guy and has subsequently traveled around the net and onto television on such programs as G4’s Attack of the Show and ESPN’s Around the Horn. It’s at almost a million hits. CRAZY. Hopefully The OP, The Runaways, CZW and CHIKARA (whom most fans associate The Portal with said promotion) are able to make something of this impromptu fifteen minutes of fame.

-The main event of the Dayton, Ohio 2/25/2011 show (the night before 9th Anniversary Show) has been announced as ROH World Champion Roderick Strong teaming up with ROH World Tag Team Champions The Kings of Wrestling of Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli against Davey Richards and Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team of Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin. The show has been titled already, fittingly enough as Wrestling’s Greatest. No show-naming threads for this one, folks.

-The 9th Anniversary Show internet Pay Per View sub-site has been launched at http://www.rohwrestling.com/9thanniversary/ and it’s looking pretty good.

-Truth Martini, who had been absent from the past several shows, will be back on the 2/25 and 2/26 weekend to corner ROH World Champion Roderick Strong. Also on the show will be Kyle O’Reilly, but not Adam Cole, who is going on a 20 date tour of England and Germany through March 14th.

-The American Wolves are officially in the Pro Wrestling Guerilla DDT4 Tag Team Tournament that takes place on March 4th, 2011 in Reseda, CA. Also in the tournament are The Kings of Wrestling and The Briscoe Brothers. So that means PWG is making a run for using the ROH tag team roster better than ROH. Also in the tournament are PWG regulars Generation Me (a.k.a. The Young Bucks), The Cutler Brothers, The RockNES Monsters of Johnny Goodtime & Johnny Yuma, Brandon Gatson & Willie Mack and, get this, the tandem of KEVIN STEEN and AKIRA TOZAWA. Yeah, that could be tag team bad-assery right there.

-ROH has readied the release of the fifth volume of its “Best of HDNet” series, this time covering the beginnings of the now dearly-departed Pick Six contender’s series and headlined by awesome tag team action in the final HDNet appearances of Generation Me.

Here is a listing of what’s on the latest set, including where these matches ended up on my Top 100 ROH Matches list for 2010:

Number of Matches on Top 100: 4 out of 11; Highest: 30th, Lowest: 90th

1. Pick 6 Series Match: Delirious vs. Kenny King- Episode 38
2. Pick 6 Series Match: Tyler Black vs. Sonjay Dutt- Episode 38
3. Pick 6 Series Match: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Colt Cabana- Episode 39
4. Pick 6 Series Match: Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong- Episode 41
5. Pick 6 Series Match: Kenny Omega vs. Chris Hero- Episode 42 (placed 90th)
6. Pick 6 Series Match: Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe- Episode 43 (placed 84th)
7. Pick 6 Series Match: Kenny King vs. El Generico- Episode 44
8. Pick 6 Series Match: Tyler Black vs. Roderick Strong- Episode 45
9. The American Wolves vs. The Young Bucks- Episode 46 (placed 30th)
10. Austin Aries and Kenny King vs. Tyler Black and Roderick Strong- Episode 49
11. World Tag Team Title Match: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. The Young Bucks- Episode 48 (placed 33rd)

-WWE has to realize what they have with John Morrison by this point, don’t they? Morrison has been heating up these past few months but especially this past week with his two super-impressive showings, first at the Royal Rumble Pay Per View and then at the Raw Rumble (to determine who fights The Miz at the Elimination Chamber PPV, the others fight in the Chamber match for a title shot at Wrestlemania XVII). Morrison was just spectacular in his elimination-defying dive this past Sunday, being thrown out by William Regal but sticking to the barricade wall so that his feet clung to the wall and DID NOT touch the ground. That was just an insane, X-Games level worthy stunt. That would be a million-to-one shot for anyone else not named John Morrison. Add to his agility and athleticism a now proven track record of delivering clutch performances (several high quality bouts against Sheamus including at the TLC PPV and the title match against The Miz that opening the first Raw of the New Year) and Morrison is clearly building up some cred with the fan base. They reacted better than they ever had for him this weekend and he continued to work hard and demonstrate he is ready to make it to that next top level.

I know the story that came out by the former WWE Creative writer that Vince McMahon had thought he couldn’t push Morrison because it seemed like “he couldn’t kick anyone’s ass”, but these performances have to have turned him around. Morrison may not seem like an ass-kicker, but he is more like today’s modern athlete—in terrific shape, fast, flexible and able to impress with performance. Jeff Hardy is a great comparable, minus the drug issues of course. Hardy proved himself with fantastic stunts and athleticism. The fans were won over and kept pushing and pushing until WWE got behind him. Now, whether or not that ultimately paid dividends for WWE, they are walking into a tremendous opportunity to push someone who can reach out to the fans on that same level. Morrison ‘s promos aren’t the greatest, but neither was Hardy’s, who still said and did enough to have the fans on his side.

If there is a Money in the Bank match at this year’s Wrestlemania, it would be tremendous to see Morrison win and then go on to challenge the champion. I know I’m fantasy booking, but if The Miz were to somehow retain the title and then Morrison cashed in on that night to unseat him, man would that be terrific full-circle storytelling, especially considering these two were teamed together and then their recent history wrestling against each other. The Miz vs. John Morrison also pushes the success of Tough Enough as a program that creates a path to success in WWE (even if that isn’t exactly the whole truth about how these two survived in WWE and emerged as two of this generation’s better talents)—it can help to cross promote the upcoming reprise of the show. Even if Morrison doesn’t win a WWE or World Heavyweight Title in such a scenario, WWE needs to go as far as they can with him in 2011, because the fans are with him right now and they can take advantage of that if they have the foresight and the desire to do so.

-It was interesting to read the extremes of reaction for the Royal Rumble Pay Per View—both the show and the Rumble match itself. Some really loved it and others really hated it. All I know is that I had a ton of fun watching the show and The Rumble match. The 40-man concept worked in helping to tell the different stages of the match—from the work-rate centered first quarter, the CM Punk & Nexus dominated second quarter, the run of fun and entertaining moments in the third and the final section where the major possibilities unfolded and the winner was revealed. Watching Daniel Bryan and CM Punk go at it was terrific (and though while both are ROH alumnus, they actually didn’t wrestle much against each other there, but they did have an extended feud in Full Impact Pro). Adding William Regal to the equation was even better. The Morrison leaps were incredible and probably the highlight of the entire match. I loved The Nexus slowly filling in to help Punk, and then the elimination of Harris leading to the “trade-up” to the bigger, badder (in storyline anyway) Mason Ryan, the surprise return of Booker T and then John Cena being the superhero who finally eliminated the threat. Great stuff.

Seeing Booker T and Nash as Diesel was even really fun for nostalgia sakes. I could have seen Booker for far longer than he lasted in the match, though I thought Big Daddy Cool got just as much time as he needed before he would have done something to make himself look as old and stiff as he actually is at his age. As much as I dislike everything Nash did while in TNA (from killing the X-Division, turning it from an over series of athletic matches to basically a joke, to getting paid for doing little to next to nothing), let’s face it, he’s super-smart about doing business and playing the game. Fans in general obviously don’t care about his political maneuvering but rather have come to enjoy his character and remember him as a bad ass who was Diesel in WWE and a founder of nWo back in the WCW days. And really, that’s fine.

The ending with Del Rio was pretty smart, including the false finish of Santino’s “miracle” win. Del Rio is building steam pretty fast and I think WWE is going to give him every chance to prove himself as capable of delivering on that level. I actually would have liked for him to enter a little earlier (too many recent winners are coming in towards the end, which does make sense give the psychology of the match but is getting close to being overplayed the same way someone from the #1 or #2 spot making it to the end was done a few years ago) and I would have wanted him to eliminate a few more people on his way to the win, but as it was it worked. The fantastic heel celebration at the end cemented the moment.

=Fate of an Angel II= DVD Thoughts

This show took place on 11/13/10 in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

First match on the show is The House of Truth (Michael Elgin & Zack Gowen) vs. Bobby Dempsey & Grizzly Redwood. Really…do I have to watch this? Really? Oh, alright…at least it isn’t Metal Master or Ricky Reyes. You know the match is completely inconsequential when Dave Prazak and Kevin Kelly are plugging away about upcoming dates and talking about (and I quote) “Spring will be sprung” when Ring of Honor tours in Atlanta, Georgia. Elgin has a fine power game, but that and the “Battle of the Bulls” face-off against Dempsey are about the only things I’d remember from this one. Gowen takes the loss after a flying splash from Grizzly and as a result, Elgin turns on him and boots him out of The House of Truth (ROH version). He blasts him with a closeline and a butt splash to the corner. Grizz and Dempsey run back out to halt the beat down and check on Zack. How sporting. I feel I’ve written way too much about this match.

Do you think Zack Gowen gets a discount on his wrestling boots?

The fourth trial match for Andy Ridge is against Mark Briscoe. Prazak goes off on a great rant about Andy not learning wrestling from Mark, but rather how to drink beer before the match and shoot guns. “Mark Briscoe, he ain’t Lou Thesz.” Great line. So Mark beats the crap out of Andy throughout this one, including absolutely LACING him with ferocious chops. I’m giving them at least a 1.0 Roderick Strong. By the end of the bout, Ridge’s chest is pockmarked all purple and red. Ridge gets a few hope spots including roll ups and hard strikes. He even survives the frog elbow drop (quickly becoming a favorite move of mine). He gets crushed to death with the cutthroat driver for three, though Mark gives him some respect afterwards. Crowd seemed to take to Andy and surviving the beating, which is ultimately what is more important at this point over wins and losses in pushing Ridge through this series.

Sara Del Rey’s win over Jamilia Craft via piledriver was fine. It was short and decent in that one gets to see Del Rey kill foolish girls in the ring, but nothing spectacular or standout otherwise. Craft, like Ridge, makes the most of her short spurts of offense and hope spots, but ultimately I’ve been there, seen that, on both ROH on HDNet and SHIMMER DVDs.

Of note is that Prazak and Kelly have been fairly entertaining during the last two matches, like Prazak repeatedly mocking Mark Briscoe for flying off of high objects with shooting star presses and fighting in bars.

Colt Cabana and Venom Suit El Generico against Kenny King and Rhett Titus with a title shot on the line. Their Tag Wars 2010 tournament bout was well worth watching and so was this rematch. Cabana wrestles a large portion of the match opening on his own while Generico sort of just leans over the ropes in somewhat disinterested fashion. Cabana is up to the task though, pulling out the catch-as-catch-can skill set before the comedic spots. He uses the slide under into the sunset flip again—I like it a lot. Cabana’s tag into Generico is remarkable in that there is a whole load of aggressiveness and physicality from Generico, indicating the transformation of character (before the Steen feud, it is doubtful he would have reacted this way). He also doesn’t want to indulge in Cabana’s wackiness like high fives or synchronized double teams.

ANX get the heat off an uncomfortable fall off the turnbuckles by Cabana and begin to work him over. Their heat control segments are becoming very solid and on-point—they keep things moving but know how to cheat and keep the face down when it counts. Cabana rolls into the hot tag for Generico, who has an AWESOME floating tornado DDT during this comeback. King stops the Ole Kick, but Cabana comes into even things up until they dump him out again. Springboard blockbuster and then the bridging knee hold into northern lights for close calls. Now Generico rolls to the second hot tag, this time to Cabana, and he gets the butt-butt to Titus for two. Titus looks for the Super Sex Factor but Cabana catches him. Generico Ole kicks King off the apron and Cabana drops Titus on the turnbuckle for two. Cabana and Generico look for the double team, but Steen runs out to antagonize Generico. The ROH Goof Troup is out to pull Steen away but he gets a HUGE DIVE over the top ropes onto Steen. It’s enough of a distraction for Titus to roll up Cabana from behind for the three.

Generico is furious after the match, throwing chairs to the ring and everything, a rare temper tantrum, again underscoring the changes Generico has been through since being unmasked. Cabana gives him another pep talk before leaving. Generico teases taking off the mask but the crowd eggs him not to do so (which is interesting in that most fans would want someone to unmask and show their faces). He decides to leave it on and walks to the back.

The Bravados vs. Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole (still with the generic stock music): O’Reilly wears the Canadian flag on his back (apparently he’s from Vancouver, which explains some things…kidding, Canadians, kidding) and assures his team will be the babyfaces for this match. “Kyle O’Reilly” chants follow, naturally. Of note, Cole and O’Reilly debut their matching tights here. Every time The Bravados go on offense they are met with boos. Fierce boos as well—that’s a good thing though and was a part of what fed into their transition into heels for 2011. O’Reilly is just a beast on offense and the unique double teams that he and Cole are using and developing into their own trademark sequences are visually pleasing and dynamic. Double kicks to the head, assisted superkick and then the “O RLY? Yes RLY” Double Lungblower sequence gets the win. I don’t know if its RLY called that, but that’s what I’LL be calling it (thanks Kevin Ford). Both teams worked hard for this one, and they reaped the rewards with a crowd into the action and one of the better matches of this show.

Jay Briscoe vs. Homicide (getting the full-blown streamer treatment in Toronto): Be Aggressive, B-E-Aggressive lock ups start the match, but the brawl soon gets underway, and it is always fun to see these two slug it out, which makes this doubly fun because they’re brawling against each other. Jay Briscoe throws Homicide into a chair held by a fan—but that’s hard to disqualify, because it wasn’t Jay who hit him with the chair, it was that fan! Crowd applause wave to determine which turnbuckle he does the Eddie Guerrero Tribute Splash was very clever, though unfortunately the dive gets knees. Jay tries his own but also gets the knees. Prazak humorously suggests referee Todd Sinclair should do one as well, as Kelly adds “all the cool kids are doing it Todd, you should do it too.” Heh. Boo-yay slugfest is always fun, leading to the Homicide Ace Crusher for a close two count. A running lariat is blocked into Jay Driller position, but ‘Cide twirls it around into another Ace Crusher attempt, reversed into a spinebuster for two. ‘Cide goes to the nose and eyes to stop a top rope move but Jay throws him off on the Tornado DDT attempt, gives him the falling slam to the turnbuckle and then a bum rush into the turnbuckle, falcon arrow for two!

Homicide is trying to unlace his boot, maybe trying to get a weapon, and that slows the match down quite a bit. He tries the Cop Killer but Jay rolls over and out of the position and into the superkick! Jay catches the boot off the kick, and pulls it off ala Guerrero-Angle Wrestlemania XX! That gives ‘Cide the opening for another Ace Crusher and that’s for three! This was a solid and good (but not great) fight, though deliberately paced and nothing overall too crazy was done other than the crowd-assisted chair shot.

The Kings of Wrestling defend the ROH World Tag Team Titles against challengers Kevin Steen (still with the Generico mask) and Steve Corino: Steen heels himself up by calling himself a Quebecer, not a Canadian “which makes each and every one of you my b**tches”. Well then. Furthermore, he brings out the “local hopefuls” to act as bodyguards, protecting the ringside area from any possible attack from El Generico. The Kings have enough of the talking and sucker attack Corino and Steen and the match is on. Holy moly-Steen pulls a Shawn Michaels Survivor Series 1997-and I don’t mean the screwjob, I mean blowing his nose on the Canadian flag! Then wiping his ass with it! That’s an act of outright treason! Well, Steen doesn’t have to try too hard anymore-these fans are not going to cheer for him, which places The Kings in the odd position of being the lesser of two evils.

The match is mostly just the two-teams trying to one-up each other in the cheating department, but nothing really stand out in the first half of the match. Things really start picking up the pace once Steen and Combine efforts for a Crossface / Sharpshooter combo submission. It’s stopped with a bicycle kick from Claudio. Then a HUUUUUGE Tornado DDT BY STEEN–holy BLEEP was that a huge go-round.

Generico comes out from the other side of the building through the crowd, as the rest of the goofs run down. Some separate Steen, some Generico. That leaves Corino in the ring two-on-one and they go KO ELBOW, EUROPEAN UPPERCUT, KO DEATHBLOW for the pinfall. Some nice tit-for-tat booking here, with Steen costing Generico on a distraction earlier in the show and Generico coming back and doing the same during the title match.

Steen pushes Cary Silkin in protest of the events, and then both men rush at each other in the back of the building for some more brawling! It’s just crazy madness with about thirty people getting involved in and around their brawl. Cary lays down the law via an announcement from Bobby Cruise: the Final Battle 2010 match will be a Fight Without Honor and both man cannot touch each other until then and must remain at least fifty feet from each other. I didn’t know Cary could enact Temporary Restraining Orders. Generico breaks free one more time but then gets pushed to the back of the building. Fantastic pull-apart brawl that gave me pangs of nostalgia for the kinds of crazy stuff the likes of The Rottweilers used to get involved in from 2004-2005.

ROH World Champion Roderick Strong and Truth Martini cut a pre-match promo. Strong claims he is standard-bearer and says Christopher Daniels is spending too much time worrying about Davey Richards and not enough about him.

That leads to the ROH World Title match between Strong and Daniels, who like Homicide, gets the big streamer treatment from the fans.

I have to be honest—I thought the first half of this match was boring. I mean I couldn’t get into it at all. I get that they were going for that “epic title match” feel, especially since it was Strong’s first defense of the title, but for me, the slow beginning took me out of the match rather than drew me into it. The crowd was also quiet and out of it for much of the match—actually quietest during the later stretches of the match when they should have been getting louder and more raucous. A rare example where I didn’t feel the vibe that Daniels or Strong were going for—usually really enjoy what these two bring to the table…though I do have to admit the match was better upon second viewing.

Strong goes off on the annoying screeching woman, essentially telling her not to think about the two of them in bed (in more vulgar language). I have to call a foul on Kevin Kelly calling the annoying Toronto fan a “horrible looking troll of a woman”. That was a horrible comment to make, said in poor taste. This was a poor decision on Kelly’s part. What a way to discourage her repeated business. Look, I know that many people including myself found this particular woman’s annoying histrionics during Death Before Dishonor VIII unbearable, but that’s still no way to treat a ticket-buying customer. Her money is just as good as mine or anyone who had attended the show in Mississauga on that night. A face announcer should not be insulting the fans. When Strong said it, that was a heel move—heels insult the fans, not face announcers. Even then, I don’t know that Strong should be spending so much time hawking on one particular fan. Especially since everyone gave him a babyface “Oh, Snap!” response as a result of his comments.

Some waistlock exchanges early that amount to not much followed by a test of strength and a small package for a quick two-count. Crowd begins to chant “F**k TNA”, but Daniels says “NO NO NO, stop that…I have to earn some extra paycheck with that company really soon” and they instead go for an ROH chant. No, he didn’t really say that. More mat wrestling follows using positioning and headlocks to set the pace. Again, usually I get into this stuff, but I’m not really feeling it this time. It’s all sound wrestling, but labored.

Strong slaps Daniels after another go round and then ducks out, establishing his heel position, beginning to actively incorporate cheap tactics into his wrestling, then bringing him back down to the mat. Daniels returns the favor with a palm strike on the next Irish whip exchange and then takes him down into a reverse headlock. Daniels mounts his offense with a combo sequence and back suplex, knee to the back and running elbow smash. Suplex for two. Daniels put his foot down on Strong and smashes his head into the mat. Okay, that was pretty cool-shades of Naomichi Marufuji.

Strong regains advantage and works over the legs and the chest. Roderick Strong’s chops are about 0.5 Roderick Strong—he can really do better. Stomps and punches to the chest follow. He props Daniels up to the ropes and digs his knee to the back (setting up the backbreakers and Stronghold sequence). Belly to back Suplex and cover for two.

The second half of the match picks up the pace. There is cool usage of the ropes for submissions by each man. I liked that Daniels went back to the choke on the ropes repeatedly, breaking at four and reapplying the hold. That is smart strategy using the ropes that really isn’t done in any promotion, but makes complete sense to where it has to be asked why no else used it in the ring before now. He then springboards in with a legdrop, but sells the back.

Daniels whips Strong all over the place, but it backfires as Strong back body drops him out to the floor, continuing to affect the back. A chop from Strong this time is about 0.8—he’s picking it up a bit now. Strong whips Daniels into the barricade, then sets up a chair and place Daniels on it, kicking him in the chest and then Strong uses one chair to distract his usage of the other, body slamming Daniels onto the one he was sitting on. Daniels is pretty good on the constant sell, but a body slam was a pretty lame move to use behind the refs back, should have at least gone for a backbreaker on the chair ala Necro Butcher.

Half Nelson Backbreaker gets two and Daniels’ body language is screaming pain. He’s also moving slowly and having trouble getting up—which is a logical consequence of working the back. A Suplex medley (with Strong again yelling at the annoying woman and that produces the largest pop of the match…sigh…). Strong with the camel clutch to the Gedo Clutch roll up for two. A chop and NOW THAT is 1.0 Roderick Strong. Daniels fires back with some crisp rights to the jaw, but Strong blocks a charge and gets the Stronghold. Daniels moves to the topes, but Strong varies with an arm grab applied to block grabbing the ropes. Daniels gets the other hand on the rope to break the hold.

Both go up to the top with Strong teasing the Gibson Driver from the top. Instead both men fight it out and Daniels lands a top rope hip toss to create some separation. Somewhat apathetic boo-yay forearms leads to a better comeback from Daniels with faster strikes and pass-throughs. Iconoclasm lands for a two-count. Knee strike to the corner but Roderick slips out for one of his own and a loose falcon arrow for two.

Strong gets some crisp shots in and then the double knee gutbuster for two and a forearm flurry for two. This is where Strong excels—pushing the pace, hitting an overload of powerful shots that woozy an opponent and set up for his finishing sequences. Daniels rolls out of the Gibson, then the snapmare spike into the turnbuckle. Double knees is countered into Daniels’ Boston Crab. Daniels has to let it go though, because his back took too much damage earlier.

To the outside they go and the Arabian Press wakes the crowd up. They continue to exchange strikes out there and then Strong gets a Canadian backbreaker onto the apron (doesn’t look as impressive as it sounds). A nifty apron battle follows and he gets a back Suplex onto the apron (this time around, that looks killer). Count out tease doesn’t get much heat, so Strong is out and attempts a Gibson Driver on the apron, countered into a face drop by Daniels to knock Strong out a bit. COOL Oklahoma roll from outside in gets two, a palm strike flurry by Strong drives him back but Strong rolls him up into a superkick for a close two.

More chops, but Daniels ducks and rolls right into the Koji Clutch (very cool), adding the second arm trap, but Strong gets the leg on the ropes. Blue Thunder Bomb by Daniels for two. Strong cuts off Daniels from the top rope with the jumping enziguiri, then a superplex that hurts both men. Strong finally covers after a minute but Daniels kicks out. Another strike exchange of punches, forearms and chops results in Strong earning the advantage, then wasting time mocking the crowd so that Daniels can evade a charge and land a few jumping forearms. Truth grabs Daniels legs (Strong doesn’t see it). He picks up Truth, and Strong charges into both of them, but he only hits Truth and ANGELS WINGS gets a verrrry close two-count.

Fans chant for “BME”, but Daniels can’t pick Strong up, Strong goes for the submission, but Daniels counters and then a series of fluid counters ending in a Gibson Driver for two—see, that’s what I was looking for out of this match and at least they’re getting it in down the stretch. Daniels gets an SOS style roll-up counter for the Gibson that should have gotten over better than it did because it looked sloppy. He gets the Uranage, goes for BME, but Strong’s boots are directly to Daniel’s face. SICK KICK, ORANGE CRUSH BACKBREAKER, pinfall. Crowd gives Daniels a “Fallen Angel” chant to close the show.

On the plus side this match had great psychology and selling with the work on the back playing a huge role in how the match wore on and then directly into the finish. However, I think the obviousness of Strong not losing on his first defense played into a somewhat muted crowd reaction. Overall, a good, but not great title match.

The bonus feature is a special backstage interview—”Ten Questions with Steve Corino”. Kevin Steen (replete with El Generico mask) is right next to him for some funny reaction shots to Corino’s answers. The interview responses are mostly kayfabe and in character but they could believably be a shoot as well. Very amusing though and at five minutes, worth a go-through at least once upon viewing the show.

Head on over to TwitterNation and follow me at: http://twitter.com/AriBerenstein. I provide up-to-date links to my columns, major and breaking ROH news, random comments about WWE Raw and Smackdown and whatever else strikes my fancy.

411 Alumnus, former Cool Kids Table creator and perpetual Jewish badass Brad Garoon has begun a new project entitled The Grapefruit Chronicles. It’s a series of animated YouTube videos with grapefruit protagonist-sounds sweet and sour and awesome. Go check it out and leave some comments while you’re at it.

Stay tuned to The Wrestling Press online e-magazine TODAY for the debut of their twelfth issue. What’s inside? An article from yours truly describing the rise in popularity of none other than EL GENERICO! OLE! The Wrestling Press is a FREE DOWNLOAD, so click on over there and get your copy!

In other writing from me, this week’s 411 Buy or Sell features myself and Greg DeMarco discussing plenty of Dragon Gate USA and Ring of Honor.

Michael Ornelas provides your weekly reviews of ROH on HDNet, this one covering the Daniels vs. Edwards ROH TV Title Match.

Jeffrey Harris gives you his live take from this past weekend’s ROH WrestleReunion show in Los Angeles here.

Next week the build to the 9th Anniversary Show and more! Thanks for reading.

BROOKLYN!
–Ari—