wrestling / TV Reports
411’s ROH on HDNet Report 02.18.10: Steen vs. Delirious (02.15.10)
So yeah, big week for the ROH faithful, as Tyler Black is the new ROH World Champion after defeating Austin Aries at the Eighth Anniversary Show in New York. Meanwhile, “Daniel Bryan”, former ROH Champion Bryan Danielson, was introduced to the WWE Universe as the NXT student under the tutelage of The Miz. It seems only yesterday that I was reviewing the match where Tyler got his first big win over Danielson, and it’s amazing to see how far they have come.
You might have guessed that I’m postponing the recap due to this episode having a REALLY crappy line-up, but hey, this is about the only place I can give props to the present.
The show starts with an interview from Erick Stevens, who now doesn’t care about the fans, will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, and is a winner. He’s also a part of the Embassy. Prince Nana is his boss, and when he said that Necro Butcher is a thorn in his side, Stevens took care of it. Necro chimes in his thoughts with a very sage observation; “I don’t know what he thinks he’s gonna gain by making an enemy out of me.” Worked pretty well for Mickey Rourke. Erick says it’s just business to him. They start talking about Butcher’s kids and Stevens doesn’t care about them, because beating Necro means more money for him. Stevens says when he gets a mission, he completes it. Butcher tells Nana and Stevens to be careful what they wish for. This was actually pretty compelling.
Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak are your hosts, and they give us the breaking news that Black is world champion. Our main event is a Pick 6 Contender’s series between Delirious and Kevin Steen.
Erick Stevens & Joey Ryan w/Prince Nana & Ernesto Osiris vs. Necro Butcher & Eddie Kingston
Big brawl to start and Eddie whips Ryan into the barricades. Erick puts Necro in a chinlock on the floor. Necro escapes and he and Eddie trade opponents. Butcher puts Joey’s head in a plastic bag and slams him into the crowd. Kingston whips Stevens into the rail now. Butcher covers Joey in the ring mats and just falls on him violently. Erick is in the ring now, Nana keeps Kingston from going in and Erick charges him and sends him into the guard rail. Joey throws him in and Stevens drives his knee into Eddie before applying a surfboard clutch. Eddie fights out but gets knocked down again, and Stevens straddles him against the second rope. Erick tags in Joey and they choke Eddie a lot. Ryan mocks Kingston’s attempt to crawl to his partner, and puts the boots to him. Joey applies a seated abdominal stretch, Kingston gets out with a hip toss but Stevens knocks him down again. Joey kicks him and tags out to Stevens, who knocks Necro off of the apron.
Butcher ties to fight them off and Embassy beat down Eddie some more. Stevens hits an Oklahoma Stampede for two. Eddie comes back with chops but Stevens knees him in the chest. Joey is in and gets two off a knee drop. Ryan and Kingston trade blows but Joey runs into a belly-to-belly suplex. Eddie tags out and Necro punches Stevens before getting the big foot on Ryan. Violence Party on Erick and Joey gets a few punches in the face as well. Butcher whips Stevens into Joey, who goes to the floor. He clotheslines Erick to the floor and he and Kingston send them headfirst into each other. Kingston holds the Embassy and Butcher goes up top, but Ernesto brings a chair. Necro gets it and the Embassy bails out and takes the count out loss.
Winners: Eddie Kingston & Necro Butcher (via count out) 3/4*
Kyle Durdan is backstage with Kevin Steen and Steve Corino. Steen cuts him off from talking about El Generico and asks if he knows what’s its like to look at yourself and wonder if the thing you’ve worked your entire life for isn’t for you anymore. Steen knows what that feels like. At Final Battle, he had a moment of clarity. With “one of the best wrestlers in history” by his side, things look a lot clearer. If Durdan wants to feel sympathy for masked wrestlers, he needs to pay attention to Delirious, because Kevin is just getting started. He kisses Kyle’s forehead before leaving. I’m loving Kevin’s promos these days.
Skullkrusher Rasche Brown vs. Christian Moreno
I’d use Joey Styles’ Christian fed to the lions joke, but that’s too easy. Shane Hagadorn is scouting Rasche again. Christian opts not to go for the handshake and starts hitting punches to no effect. HUGE right hand hand decks Christian, he whips him and discus lariat. Rasche picks up Moreno and puts him the torture rack, BURNING HAMMER! I know that’s his finisher but that one was sick. Academic win. I could watch this guy kill jobbers every week. SLAP THE PORPOISE!
Rasche Brown (via Burning Hammer) 3/4*
Great recap of last week’s main event between The American Wolves and The Young Bucks. Young Bucks won and got a title shot against ROH World Tag Team Champions Jay & Mark Briscoe. That happens next week.
We get the promo from The Kings of Wrestling after Final Battle, this time with video highlights including several usages of the KRS-1.
ROH hypes the upcoming dates of their live events. About time they started doing that.
Jim Cornette has a very special message. He hypes the shows in Phoenix, “The Big Bang” in Charlotte, and the TV Title Tournament starting in three weeks.
Sonjay Dutt & Andy Ridge vs. Cheech & Cloudy
Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Sonjay gets on the mic and says nobody has as much swagger as him. Huge “Shut the fuck up!” chant, which I agree with. He’s going to prove this by taking Andy Ridge to the top. Just go ahead and kill me. Headlock takeover by Andy. B-but but…he didn’t use the right leg! Cloudy gets out and does a headlock on him, Ridge puts him in a headscissors. Cloudy avoids a kick and hits a dropkick, Ridge hits a spin kick and awkwardly tags in Sonjay. Armdrag by Cloudy, Dutt hits a knee to the gut, telegraphs a back body drop but hits a back elbow. Dutt hits some jabs but runs into a boot, Cheech comes in, Cloudy hits a forearm, Cheech hits a dropkick and goes to the apron, suplex by Cloudy and a hilo by Cheech. Cheech mocks the swagger. Um…TAGS? Dutt pulls Cheech into the turnbuckle and stomps away at him. Corner whip and a flying hip attack. More swagger.
Ridge tags in and hits a kick to the spine for two and tags back out. Sonjay hits a dropkick for two, tags back out. Andy sets Cheech up top but gets knocked off, Cheech cartwheels off the ropes and hits a sidekick to the gut but Dutt hits a clothesline from the apron. Dutt tags in and we get a contrived sequence where Ridge winds up running into Dutt. Cloudy tags in and shoves Ridge into Dutt, gets the ace crusher on Sonjay for two but runs into the seesaw kick. Sonjay hits a springboard missile dropkick for two. Ridge tags in and hits some kicks, but ends up kicking Dutt in the ribs when Sonjay tries to hold Cloudy. Schoolboy by Cloudy gets two, drop toehold into the the second rope and Cheech is in legally for the first time in the match, and they hit Cloudy with a Chance of Cheech. Cheech hits an iconoclasm on Cloudy that makes him senton ridge for the pin. AWESOME finish.
Winners: Cheech & Cloudy (via iconoclasm senton) **1/4
Dutt says Andy has no swagger and clotheslines him, and humbles him with the Camel Clutch.
We get an interview from the Briscoes. They admit that the Bucks beat them in New York, they are young and hungry, but they are six time world tag team champions and that makes them the best team in ROH history.
Pick 6 Contender’s Match: Kevin Steen vs. Delirious w/Daizee Haze
Delirious loses his mind but Steen no sells it and shoves him. Deli shoves back and Kevin kicks him in the gut and goes for the Package Piledriver but Deli goes under him twice. They trade forearms until Steen hits a knee and a chop, so Deli retaliates with a knee and chops. Steen hits a telegraph kick and a club to the back, Deli avoids the Package Piledriver again and hits elbows, but Kevin catches a kick and goes for the Sharpshooter, and Delirious avoids that too. The masked man runs into an elbow but hits a big hip toss, and Steen ducks a clothesline and rolls to the floor to heckle the fans. Kevin fakes going into the ring and then goads Delirious outside, and then rolls back inside once Deli is out. He fakes it twice more and Deli kicks the guardrail in frustration. Delirious gets the upper hand by faking the dive and Steen comes outside, and Deli goes after him with strikes. Steen avoids a whip and hits an elbow, Delirious avoids a powerbomb in the corner and then walks Kevin into the barricade. Very subtle touch there as Delirious got more force behind sending Steen into the rail since Kevin reversed the whip the first time.
Delirious takes a hat from a fan and puts it on Steen before throwing him back inside. He goes up top and Kevin pulls his arm down and snaps it off of the top rope. Steen pulls Deli to the corner and smacks his arm into the posts before mocking a fan. Kevin pulls Delirious outside, hammerlocks the arm and sends him into the post. He throws Deli into the post and soaks in the boos. Back inside Delirious throws some weak punches and Steen hits an elbow to the arm before mockingly clapping for the lizard man. Delirious avoids a whip by holding onto the rope so Kevin just kicks the arm. Deli hits several headbutts to the gut and now a forearm. He tries to whip Steen but Kevin holds onto the rope and attempt just hurts Deli’s arm more, so Steen dropkicks the arm. Kevin hits a headbutt to the arm and then hits a hammerlock Russian Legsweep before making out with his bicep.
Deli tries to fight back but Steen counters an Irish Whip to an arm wringer, doesn’t bother doing further damage and Delirious escapes, but runs into a shoulderbreaker that gets two for Kevin. Deli kicks away but starts cowering as Steen keeps on the assault. Kevin yells at a fan and nearly gets rolled up for three, and then just decks Deli. Delirious counters a suplex to one of his own, Steen hits an armbreaker and they hit different strikes until Delirious pulls the rope down so Kevin falls to the floor. Deli hits the hilo off the top rope to the floor. He jumps over Steen, hits a kick to the gut and a DDT for two. Delirious applies the Cobra Clutch but Steen is able to break free because of the damage to the arm. Kevin runs into an elbow but hits one of his own, and Delirious comes back with clotheslines and gets two off of a leaping clothesline.
Steen punches Delirious and Deli runs into the press powerbomb but kicks out, and Steen applies the Sharpshooter. The lack of work to set it up allows Deli to get the ropes. Kevin goes for the Package Piledriver but Delirious escapes, and Steen hits the divorce court. Kevin tries the Swanton Bomb but eats knees! COBRA SUPLEX! Only two for Deli and Corino is out. Delirious goes after Steve and Steen kicks the middle rope into Deli’s groin and hits the pumphandle neckbreaker for two. Steen goes for the cannonball but misses and collides with the buckles, PANIC ATTACK! Delirious goes for Shadows Over Hell but Steen gets him in the Crippler Crossface for the submission.
Winner: Kevin Steen (via Crippler Crossface) ***
