ROH 316 – Final Battle 2012: Doomsday – 16th December 2012
After weeks of anticipation and no live shows in months, we’ve finally arrived at Final Battle 2012. Since Sinclair have taken over they’ve hallmarked this event as the ‘big one’, or in other words – ROH’s Wrestlemania. It’s usually an event which produces something pretty spectacular. Last year we saw Richards/Edwards 3 and, of course, Kevin Steen regain his ROH career by defeating Steve Corino. This year the card is absolutely stacked. A year after returning to ROH, two years after losing his career to Generico, and three years after he changed the ROH landscape by turning on him Kevin Steen returns to Final Battle as World Champion. But once again he is haunted by a familiar demon, with the Generic Luchador making a return to Ring Of Honor this evening looking to take the title from him in Ladder War 4. Last year ROH went into Final Battle so completely focused on the main event that they didn’t really do enough to hype the rest of the card, but that’s not a mistake they’ve made this year. Steen’s colleagues in SCUM have to defend the Tag Titles in a three-way dance. Former World Champion Jerry Lynn returns and makes his final ROH appearance as part of his retirement tour. Michael Elgin and Roderick Strong lock horns in the long-awaited showdown of former House Of Truth allies. And that’s just a selection of what we have in store this evening. There’s loads more, with Matt Hardy’s in-ring return, a tag team Street Fight, a potential American Wolves reunion and Jay Lethal threatening to cast a shadow over everything with his promise to fight the World Champion tonight come what may. Kevin Kelly and Caleb Seltzer are in Manhattan, NY.
Michael Elgin vs Roderick Strong
This is certainly a hot way to start the show. These two have hated each others guts for months. Strong has been the top dog in the House Of Truth for years, so openly resented Elgin’s success – from winning Survival Of The Fittest in 2011 to delivering what many people calling 2012’s MOTY against Davey Richards at Showdown In The Sun. It was Truth Martini’s decision to allow Elgin to cash in his SOTF winners World Title shot at Glory By Honor which finally prompted Roddy to leave the HOT. On his part, Unbreakable was bitterly frustrated with Martini and believed his open favouritism towards Strong was ill-founded and unfair considering he was enjoying such a dominant year. Both have now seemingly split from the House, so this is all about personal pride and proving who the better man truly is in their first singles match.
No time wasted and both men charge towards each other with fists flying. Strong looks for a pescado, but is CAUGHT! Crazy strength by Elgin, who tries to slam Roddy into the apron…only for the former Triple Crown champion to escape. He aims a chop at the Canadian but gets nothing but ringpost as Elgin ducks the shot! Truth Martini sheepishly makes his way to ringside as these two continue to tear into each other. Michael tosses Strong over the ropes with a suplex, then launches himself off the apron with a football tackle which propels Roderick into the guardrails. RUNNING POWERSLAM ON THE FLOOR! They fight on the apron, with Strong hoisting Elgin up for the APRON BACKBREAKER! And they just keep dropping bombs on each other, both getting up and charging into battle again with more vicious chops and elbow strikes. Back in the ring Elgin floors his former team-mate with a Black Hole Slam for 2. RUNNING DVD INTO THE TURNBUCKLES! Still just 2 though! Unbreakable is crotched on the turnbuckles, allowing Strong to hit a turnbuckle backbreaker and get a nearfall of his own. Death By Roderick countered into a lariat flurry…so Strong lays Elgin out with a jumping knee. Stronghold blocked and they brawl up the ropes again. Elgin drags Roddy up for the DEAD-LIFT SUPERPLEX! Buckle Bomb…NO SOLD! DEATH BY RODERICK! NO SOLD! LARIATOOOO! Both men are down! Truth Martini is on the apron for no reason, and slides the Book Of Truth into the ring. Spiral Bomb COUNTERED with a Book Of Truth head-shot by Strong. ORANGE CRUSH BACKBREAKER NAILED! Strong takes a huge victory at 11:31
Rating - **** - Even with a sh*tty finish, this still felt like a great way to start the show. The New York crowd knows a good opening match when they see one, and they were going wild for this. I give the NYC fans their fair share of stick, but they are always a good barometer for what is successful as a curtain jerker. This was exactly the match I wanted to see two. Both of these men are big, physical and hard-hitting guys. I didn’t want to see them trade wristlocks, work the mat or waste time. From minute 1 they were out there dropping massive strikes and impressive power moves. It’s hard not to like high-octane and high-impact wrestling, and that’s exactly what Strong and Elgin provided.
Truth Martini hits the ring to join the celebrations with Roderick Strong…who reminds him that he’s quit the House Of Truth and walks out. He then proclaims his love for Michael Elgin instead. When Elgin shuns his hug Martini rants about how ungrateful both he and Roderick are. After getting slapped in the face, Elgin emphatically knocks Truth out of the ring with a spinning back fist.
Jay Lethal vs Rhino
The score in this one is that Lethal doesn’t really want to wrestle Rhino at all. He made the point on TV that, since he’s banned from challenging Kevin Steen for the World Title, he has nothing to gain from putting himself in the ring with the Man Beast. He has agreed to fulfil his contractual obligations by working this match…but has also promised that he’ll be back later to ‘fight the World Champion’ no matter what happens. On Rhino’s side, people are interested to see what he does next since we’ve not heard from him after quitting the House Of Truth in October.
Steve Corino, who has a well-documented history with Rhino, arrives on commentary. Lethal knocks him out of the ring with a springboard dropkick then dives after him with a tope suicida. Lethal Injection misses though, with Rhino scooping him up and drilling him into the mat with a spinebuster. The Man Beast chokes Jay in the ropes right in front of Corino on commentary. Steve is hysterical on commentary, ripping on Caleb Seltzer for not saying anything and being a lousy commentator. In the ring a bear hug is applied. ‘I know for a fact that Rhino takes 45-minute showers’ – Corino. Lethal escapes from Rhino’s clutches and hits the ropes to floor him with a handspring elbow. Belly to belly by Rhino…and he then crouches down into the corner. Gore COUNTERED with a superkick. Koji Clutch locked in! But Rhino STANDS UP and hits a crazy back drop driver with Lethal still trying to apply the Clutch! LETHAL INJECTION! Lethal picks up a big win at 09:32
Rating - ** - Filler match, with Rhino’s credibility definitely damaged by having Lethal get in so much offence. If the plan was to get rid of Rhino then that would be fine as it gives Jay the rub, but as of this writing Rhino is still very much on the roster. An emphatic loss in a small-time match like this hurts him more than it benefits Lethal in my opinion. Corino on commentary was gold though, and forged some interesting links between Rhino and SCUM.
Corino gets on the mic to berate Lethal for wanting to interfere in Steen’s business later, distracting him so Jimmy Jacobs can assault him from behind. The Tag Champions declare that it’s ‘SCUM’s night’ and hold him up so Rhino can give him the Gore…Gore…Gore.
RD Evans vs Prince Nana
I’d like to point out that ‘Embassy’ is spelt wrong on the otherwise excellent DVD packaging for this show. Anyway, this has been brewing ever since Evans used legal loopholes to take all Nana’s investment money and forcibly remove him from the Embassy Ltd. Despite taking out a restraining order against the Ghanaian royalty, Nana has repeatedly snuck into buildings to get his hands on the Barrister…but thus far hasn’t extracted sufficient revenge for his misdeeds. QT Marshall will be in RD’s corner though, stacking the decks against Nana.
Evans is wrestling in some of his Archibald Peck gear from Chikara, which Kevin Kelly is repulsed by. It gets underway with a slap from Evans, before Nana muscles him down for a running hip attack. Pescado missed by RD…and as Marshall tries to help him up Nana hits the ropes and takes them both out with a tope! The Barrister starts delivering repeated shots to the kidneys as the crowd mock his outfit for making him look like a Power Ranger. He tries to come off the second with a Bret Hart-style diving elbow only to eat the Prince’s boot. Nana gets 2 with a dancing senton bomb…and when Evans tries to springboard off the ropes he catches him with a mid-air cutter. That would be the end if QT hadn’t dragged Todd Sinclair out of the ring to save the Barrister. Ernesto Osiris makes his return to ROH to help Nana by attacking Marshall…but the distraction allows RD to drop Nana again. He gets crotched on the top rope, with Nana dragging him down with a big superplex, but it’s just 2 again. Evans gets up to hit what Wikipedia tells me is the ‘Wonder-Fall’ for the win at 06:39
Rating - * - A little too long and boring. It wasn’t funny enough to be a comedy match, nor was it good enough to be taken seriously. ROH just doesn’t do comedy matches that well or that often, and it’s inferiority compared to the likes of PWG and Chikara in that department was shown here. Bringing Ernie Osiris back was a nice touch, and this was a great way of stopping QT Marshall from stinking up the place but in the grand scheme of things didn’t really achieve much.
As we watch replays, the crowd goes mental and it turns out Tommaso Ciampa is in the crowd. He has to be restrained as he tries to hop the guardrail on his still injured knee, desperate to get at Evans and Marshall. He’ll be back soon apparently…
Charlie Haas/Shelton Benjamin vs Rhett Titus/BJ Whitmer – Street Fight
The feud between this group stretches all the way back to the summer. WGTT resented losing to the All Night Express in a ‘fluke’ at Best In The World, and were angry when they weren’t given the belts back after Kenny King left for TNA. Rhett and Charlie’s uneasy alliance to win the tournament for the vacant titles ended messily in the finals at Death Before Dishonor 10 – and in the fallout of SCUM becoming new Tag Champions the heat between these four men has intensified. We’ve seen attacks, assaults and insults traded on TV. Now it will be decided in the ring as four tough guys look to take out all their frustration on each other without the confines of rules.
WGTT have new music. Is there a reason why ROH are changing everyone’s entrance themes? It kills your show when the fans don’t know who is coming through the curtain. Rhett and BJ jump them during their entrance, much as WGTT did to them at Glory By Honor which I like. Everyone is in their street clothes for this and the fight goes all around ringside as the four men slug it out. Since it’s Christmas-time, Titus pulls out a stocking from under the ring and joins Whitmer in laying waste to WGTT with candy canes. It doesn’t sound like much, but the welts they leave on Charlie’s back are pretty horrific! Benjamin brings some festive revenge as he levels Titus with a Christmas tree. In the aisle Haas has ripped up a guardrail segment, with Shelton joining him to superkick Whitmer through it. Charlie then uses his belt to flog Rhett…literally whipping him across the face with it. BJ crawls back into the ring wielding a Singapore cane, and he saves Titus from Wrestling’s Greatest Finisher using it. Haas gives him the Olympic Slam to put him down. Shelton brings a guardrail section into the ring, joining his partner to hit an ASSISTED GUARDRAIL BACK DROP on Whitmer. Kelly and Seltzer point out that these guys have been wrestling in the broken glass of Christmas baubles since the first few minutes. THRUST BUSTER THROUGH A CHAIR from Rhett to Shelton! He then hiptosses Haas through the guardrail for 2! Benjamin has recovered sufficiently to mow Titus down with a superkick, before he starts fishing under the ring for a table. PAYDIRT OFF THE APRON AND THROUGH THE TABLE! Rhett Titus is done! To be fair, Benjamin took a hell of a bump there too, so it could be down to BJ and Charlie to settle this. Whitmer hits an exploder for 2! He retrieves another table, setting it up in the middle of the ring then draping Haas over it. Charlie recovers sufficiently to chase Whitmer up the turnbuckles. BELLY TO BELLY SUPERPLEX THROUGH THE TABLE. WHITMER LANDS ON HIS F*CKING HEAD!!!!! WGTT win at 15:25!
Rating - *** - Considering this was a feud very few people cared about or wanted to see, this was really entertaining. The Christmas spots in the early going were a cheap and easy way to get the crowd on their side, and once they’d done that the fans were totally on board with hating WGTT and well behind Titus and BJ. That finish was absolutely terrifying. Kevin Kelly reacts like BJ could be dead and, to be frank, he’s lucky he isn’t.
Referees and officials pour into the ring to check on Whitmer. They show multiple replays of *that* spot, and the scariest thing is Paul Turner’s reaction. He jumps feet into the air and clutches his neck in horror. How BJ survived that I really don’t know.
Mike Bennett vs Jerry Lynn
This is the last time former World Champion Jerry Lynn will compete in ROH. We’ve not seen him for a couple of years anyway, and he makes his return tonight as part of his retirement tour. He had a patchy relationship with the Ring Of Honor fans, but they definitely appreciated his hard work and desire to entertain. He produced some cracking matches during his Ring Of Honor run. We see clips of his title win over Nigel, but there was also the storming four-way title defence he had on HDNet, the epic technical clinic he worked with Bryan Danielson at All Star Extravaganza 4, or the bloody clash with Roderick Strong in Dayton. He bids farewell to ROH this evening and is lined up against Mike Bennett – a man who spent much of 2012 fighting off another well-respected, technically gifted former ECW star in Lance Storm.
Jerry gets tons of streamers and a huge pop, which is well-deserved. He is nearly 50 years old and is still doing this, although he now wrestles in a shirt it seems. He easily out-wrestles Bennett, making a fool of The Prodigy considering how he was supposed to have ‘learned’ from his series against Storm. Bennett dives into the ropes as Lynn goes for an early Cradle Piledriver. Satellite headscissors does score though, and he hurdles the ropes to drop Mike again with a pescado moments later. Prodigy takes to hiding behind Maria, then running away until Bob Evans comes to his aid to flatten Jerry with an illegal clothesline. Bennett hits a hanging backbreaker out of the ropes for 2 – which is significant as Lynn has had real issues with his back over recent years. He immediately seems in real pain, but refuses to stay down as the crowd rallies behind him. SOMERSAULT EYE GOUGE by Lynn! He can be dastardly too, and he follows it by dropping a blinded Prodigy into a DDT for 2. TOWER OF LONDON TO THE FLOOR! Lynn takes a page out of the man that he defeated for the World Title, but it’s still just a 2-count. Having endured that, Bennett gets back to his feet and drops Lynn on his back again with a spinebuster. Maria distracts the ref whilst Brutal Bob throws a chair in the ring…but the plan backfires as Jerry hoists Bennett up for a TKO ON THE CHAIR! Maria distracts Lynn again, allowing Bennett to hit the Box Office Smash for the win at 10:06
Rating - *** - I was sucked into the emotion of this, but then again I always liked Jerry Lynn a lot more than some people. In reality I think a lot of fans turned on Jerry back in 2009 because a combination of bad luck, bad timing and bad booking meant that he was the man to dethrone Nigel McGuinness, rather than Tyler Black. Now time has healed those wounds, the NY crowd in a former ECW stronghold were enthusiastically behind him. Neither he nor Bennett had to break far from their signature spots and transitions, but it worked well. If I’m honest I thought some of this made Bennett look like an idiot, and a guy who managed to learn absolutely nothing from his trilogy against Lance Storm earlier in the year. But, with the benefit of hindsight, that doesn’t matter as this wound up being Bennett’s last appearance (to date) as well as Jerry’s. For it’s spot on the card I thought this was really solid though, and a good way to keep the crowd’s energy up after the Street Fight that preceded it.
Bennett tries to embarrass Lynn, who fights him off then DDT’S MARIA INTO BRUTAL BOB’S CROTCH! CRADLE PILEDRIVER ON BENNETT! That clears the ring for Jerry to get the standing ovation he deserves. In typically classy fashion, Lynn uses his farewell speech to put over Cary Silkin instead of talking about himself. Nigel McGuinness interrupts him, bringing a load of guys from the locker room to surround the ring too. He tells some stories about wrestling Jerry in ROH, and presents him with an award for his accomplishments in wrestling.
I think that’s supposed to be intermission…but Jay Lethal stomps to the ring (with his ribs taped) and tells Nigel McGuinness to overturn his ban on challenging Steen. He won Survival Of The Fittest and demands to put into the main event tonight as his title shot. Nigel refuses…so Lethal spits in his face. They have to be restrained…and Jay Lethal is continuing to unravel in front of us it seems. Nigel orders him to be ejected from the building as we go to intermission.
Back from intermission and Kevin Kelly is in the ring, bringing Mike Mondo out for an interview – to the sound of nobody caring. He’ll be back in five weeks, and tosses his crutches away before ranting like an idiot. Why book this? He was just getting over! Making him look like a giant moron in New York is the quickest way to kill it! Thankfully reDRagon of Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish come out to interrupt him. They announce that there will be no American Wolves reunion tonight, and beat up Mondo until Davey Richards makes a save. Eddie Edwards is soon out too…and just when O’Reilly and Fish think Die Hard is joining them he boots Fish in the mouth! The Wolves shake hands to formalise their return as a team…and the match is underway.
American Wolves vs Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish
There is a lot of history between these two teams. It’s the first time the American Wolves have teamed since 2011, when they let the World Title and petty differences come between them. Eddie actually blames Kyle O’Reilly for the break-up of the team and for leading Davey down a bad path. But, Eddie is friends with Bobby Fish, and they team together in Japan. It was actually Edwards who had a part in bringing Bobby back to ROH in October. Richards, for his part, is still furious at the lack of loyalty and respect O’Reilly showed when he quit Team Ambition at Best In The World and was hurt both physically and emotionally when Kyle formed an alliance with Fish specifically to beat him up and take him out of Ring Of Honor.
STEREO TOPE SUICIDAS BY THE WOLVES! They isolate Fish, hitting a facebuster/missile dropkick combo then turning their attention to O’Reilly, hammering him with chops and kicks. Arm Capture Cloverleaf on Fish…with Eddie pulling back on Davey to add extra torque to the hold. Finally Kyle manages to get Eddie out of the ring with a mafia kick…then does the same to Richards after Fish catches his boot on the apron. MISSILE DROPKICK TO THE FLOOR by O’Reilly! For the first time in the match reDRagon have the advantage and work on trying to isolate Edwards from his partner. They showcase their surprising fluidity for such an inexperienced team as they easily hit a tilta-whirl backbreaker/flying knee drop combo for 2. A brutal kick flurry follows, with Davey having to dive in to break the ensuing pinfall. SUPERKICK BY EDDIE…ALARM CLOCK BY DAVEY! SNAP GERMAN on O’Reilly! Fish lays out Davey with a falcon arrow, but as he puts his head up he EATS another superkick from Edwards. Eddie JUMPS a legsweep attempt from O’Reilly to put his boot through his face again. DUELLING SUPLEXES…ALL FOUR FALL TO THE FLOOR! Richards and O’Reilly are the first men back inside, and it’s finally time for Team Ambition to take it to each other. E HONDA SLAPS BY DAVEY! ELBOWS BY KYLE! GUILLOTINE CHOKE! COUNTERED TO THE ANKLELOCK! Edwards hits the Boston Knee Party, and the Wolves get 2 with a SUPERKICK TOMBSTONE! The Wolves look for the Powerbomb Lungblower only for Fish to save. BUZZSAW KICK BRAINBUSTER combo on Eddie! MOONSAULT BY FISH! O’Reilly nearly takes Edwards’ head off with a kick but it’s still just 2. POWERBOMB LUNGBLOWER by the Wolves! DOUBLE STOMP ACHILLES LOCK! WITH HEAD STOMPS! Wolves win at 12:25
Rating - **** - I read some criticism of how short this was, but for me this was booked absolutely perfectly. On TV they’d been running an angle about whether Eddie would even agree to team with Davey here tonight, and they paid that off before the match. It’s obvious this will now become the first skirmish in a longer war, therefore there’s no need to have them work a 25+ minute tag team epic yet. The crowd were psyched to see the Wolves back together, and Fish as part of the regular roster for the first time. What was required of these guys was to deliver a balls to the walls, sh*t kicking, neck dropping sprint and that’s absolutely what they produced. Even at less than 13 minutes I thought this was an exceptional bout, and possible one of the best tag matches in ROH this year.
Adam Cole vs Matt Hardy
Yes, this is genuinely happening. ROH is spending what I can only presume to be a LOT of money to bring Matt Hardy in, and put him in the ring with what many people consider to be their top rising star. The premise for the match is absolutely ridiculous – with Matt claiming people have called Cole a ‘young Matt Hardy’ (which nobody had), then proceeding to subtly undermine him, showering him with underhanded compliments and thinly-veiled criticisms. This could go one of two ways. Hardy is guaranteed to get heat in this building. Whether it’s up to the levels of Jeff Hardy at Death Before Dishonor in 2003 I don’t know, but he won’t be popular. Cole will get massive babyface heat here. This could be a huge way to put Cole over…or it could be ROH putting a guy who is YEARS passed his best going over their top prospect. The TV Title isn’t on the line tonight
To give him credit, Hardy is in infinitely better shape than he was a few years ago. Predictably the crowd sh*ts on him, although it’s definitely not the vehement hatred Jeff got in New Jersey years ago. He does show some speed as he turns on a sixpence and dives out of the ring to evade a superkick. TOPE SUICIDA by Cole, hit with such force that they take out a cameraman with them. Adam isn’t done, taking to the air again to land a pescado into a volley of punches to the face of the veteran. Hardy takes his best shots and retaliates quickly and brutally with a Side Effect on the apron. He locks in that weird butterfly submission hold he tried to get over…but Cole isn’t quitting to he releases it. The TV Champion counters him to a Figure 4…only for Matt to show his veteran instincts by easily rolling it over. None of the ROH roster have escaped that hold as easily, and he gets 2 moments later with a second Side Effect. He delivers a third, fourth and fifth…serving only to piss the crowd off still more. Twist Of Fate blocked, with Cole popping up to get a nearfall with a vicious superkick. Twist Of Fate ON Hardy…gets 2! Shining Wizard scores too, but still Matt won’t be pinned. Razor’s Edge gets 2 for Hardy as these guys trade bombs. FLORIDA KEY ON THE FLOOR! That would be the victory, but Matt is too heavy to get back into the ring quickly enough to pin him. He has enough time to recover and lands the Twist Of Fate for 2. Pissed off now, Hardy pulls the referee’s shirt over his head, punts Cole in the balls and wins with a small package at 11:41
Rating - ** - I’ll focus on the positives first, and say that this match really wasn’t that bad. Hardy was working as hard as his now-limited skills allowed him to and was clearly bumping around to make Cole look good. My issue here is with the booking in general. Actually, my issue is with Matt Hardy being in ROH generally. There’s no need for him. The crowd hated him, much as they do WGTT. I wish Sinclair would get over their boner for ex-WWE names and casual fans. Can they not hear the reaction of the live crowds? That’s not good heat. That’s not getting Cole over. Bringing Hardy in and putting him over guys ROH crowds do want to see like Adam Cole is just dumb. I’m really trying not to be naïve, and I get it that Cole will get some payback down the road. But with so much great young talent who could really contribute to the ROH product, why ROH are running their biggest show of the year with Rhino, Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, Matt Hardy and Jerry Lynn who are all well north of 35 years old just baffles me. Is this honestly drawing money in 2012?
Jimmy Jacobs/Steve Corino vs Caprice Coleman/Cedric Alexander vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe – ROH Tag Title Match
This will be fought under ‘sudden death’ rules. In essence, since he doesn’t like SCUM, it’s Match Maker Nigel McGuinness’ way of stacking the decks against Corino and Jacobs. There are no eliminations, and the only way to win the belts is to beat the champions. It does mean they can’t lose the belts without being pinned, but it also incentivises C&C and the Briscoes to work together to beat up a mutual enemy for a common purpose. We know the Briscoes hate SCUM and are now the centrepieces of ROH’s ‘Honor Lives’ era, but can they end the year by delivering a huge blow to SCUM by taking their tag belts from them and becoming 8-time champions.
Predictably, the champions are under attack immediately. Caprice and Jay join forces to chase Jimmy up the aisle whilst Mark and Cedric beat Corino against the guardrails. But their alliance is short lived as Alexander and Jay start squabbling over who gets to pin Steve. Mark lands a crab-walk Froggy Bow, only for Coleman to stop the ref from counting the fall. C&C and the Briscoes fight amongst themselves, and SCUM try to sneak away and walk out on the match. The Briscoes retrieve them right before they make it back to the curtain. C&C hit Corino with Total Elimination. SOMERSAULT PLANCHA BY CEDRIC! SPRINGBOARD BACKWARDS SPLASH BY CAPRICE! Mark barely makes the save there, before taking it to Coleman with the Redneck Kung Fu. Jacobs capitalises with the rebound Ace Crusher for 2, but is immediately taken out again with a full nelson facebuster from Alexander. MIND TRIP from Coleman to Jay! Corino then wipes Caprice out with the Saito suplex. Assisted Contra Code…into the Eternal Dream for 2! Corino has another roll of coins, but is booted by Cedric before he can use it. Mark SAVES Jacobs from C&C’s Overtime finisher…only for Cedric to decimate him with a missile dropkick. Roll of quarters shot on Cedric…for 2! Jacobs tries to use a title belt instead, but is thwarted by the Briscoes. DOOMSDAY DEVICE ON JACOBS! IT’S OVER! The Briscoes win at 07:04 and become 8-time Tag Champions.
Rating - *** - People seemed to criticise this for two reasons: firstly that it was too short and secondly that C&C didn’t win. Personally I thought ROH got the booking right on both counts. The slight twist on the traditional triple threat concept (only the champions can be beaten) made for a unique spectacle, and made it completely logical that the match wouldn’t last long. The challenging teams were effectively forced to beat up the champions – and with two teams beating them up it halves the capability of Corino and Jacobs to withstand the pressure. They tried to walk out, they tried to use foreign objects, but ultimately they could not fight off the combined talents of their challengers. And I’m confused as to why people thought C&C should win here. Don’t get me wrong, I think they are terrific talents and I really want them to be given more chances to shine. But what have they done to become credible threats to the tag titles? I’ll admit their matches with the Bravados were great, but when have they ever looked like a genuine threat to the likes of WGTT or the Briscoes? I can understand people not wanting an 8th Briscoes title reign. But the reality is Jacobs and Corino as champions wasn’t working (their matches weren’t good enough) and there aren’t that many teams waiting to step up. The Briscoes have been made the mouthpieces of the new ‘Honor Lives’ stuff. They have the credibility, ability and respect to rebuild ROH’s ailing tag division…so putting the straps on them at another Final Battle seems like the right move to me. Their task as champions is to restore prestige to these belts (which have had a rough run in 2012 what with WGTT, the ANX fiasco and the horrible tournament at Death Before Dishonor) and build up teams like C&C or reDRagon to the point where they can take the lead and believably run with the belts.
Jay proudly declares SCUM’s time as Tag Champions over, and challenges El Generico to do the same with Kevin Steen and the World Title next. He also offers C&C the first shot at them out of respect.
Kevin Steen vs El Generico – ROH World Title Ladder Match
It’s time for Ladder War 4, ironically pitting the two men who teamed together in losing the first two Ladder Wars against each other. It’s the ROH conclusion to a career-defining feud for both men. It’s the end to a journey that has spanned the last four Final Battles and it represents ROH’s sheer desperation to get the belt away from the man that has now dominated the promotion for over six months. In 2009 we saw Kevin Steen hint at retirement before brutally turning on his former partner and friend El Generico. That led to a year-long war and culminated in the Mask vs Career Fight Without Honor in 2010, when Generico beat Steen to put him out of ROH. But that wouldn’t be permanent and, by 2011 Kevin Steen had a chance to win his ROH career back. He defeated Steve Corino, won his career back and then injured Generico with a Package Piledriver through a table. Generico returned to ROH at Showdown In The Sun, but lost ‘La Revancha’ to Kevin Steen after Jimmy Jacobs joined Steen to lay the foundations for what became SCUM. After fulfilling his contractual obligations El Generico hasn’t been seen since and was presumed to have left ROH. That was until Glory By Honor, when Nigel McGuinness hand-delivered a package containing his mask to Kevin Steen after he survived the challenge of Michael Elgin. So desperate are Sinclair to get the belt off Steen that they have forked over the cash, succumbed to the demands of the fans and brought back Generico for one last battle with his great rival. Will Steen survive his ‘own personal worst nightmare’, or will El Generico win the World Title and his ROH career back in one afternoon? The new ROH World Title belt hangs above the ring as the prize.
Generico starts hot, landing a rope-run tornado DDT and the Yakuza kick in the first few seconds – soon followed by a tope atomico for good measure. He gets a ladder, but it’s not to go after the belt. He uses it to repeatedly jab Steen; rocking his head back with every shot. He tries to slam him on the ladder, but it doesn’t work and Steen BACK DROPS HIM THROUGH IT! That ladder SNAPPED! How hard must Generico have hit that? Steen laughs in triumph and drops the wreckage of it on top of his fallen former partner. He sets him up in the corner under the ladder, flattening him under it with the cannonball senton right in front of the horrified commentators. Interestingly, Kevin Kelly openly says Jim Cornette wouldn’t have booked this match or given Generico a title shot. He keeps it kayfabe of course but he openly says it. Steen drags in more ladders to continue the assault, and it becomes uncomfortable viewing as he remorselessly beats on the Generic Luchador. Even when they leave the ring it’s a massacre, with Steen throwing him into the guardrails so hard that they break. Generico has taken such a beating that, rather than continue to fight, he tries to sneak a ladder into the ring and go after the belt whilst Steen is preoccupied yelling at a ringside fan with a replica mask. He fails, and is punished with a violent Irish whip into yet another ladder. LADDER TO THE FACE! That knocks Generico so goofy that he falls out of the ring and collapses. Steen smirks and casually climbs up a massive ladder after the belt. Somehow El Generico gets back in, and drags Steen to the mat for an EXPLODER SUPLEX THROUGH A LADDER! NECK DROP HALF NELSON SUPLEX ONTO IT TOO! Is Steen dead?
Apparently not, as he somehow gets to his feet and shoves Generico from the top of a ladder all the way down into the turnbuckles. In the melee a ladder is slingshotted out of the ring, almost hitting Cary Silkin and Bobby Cruise in the face. Steen drops Generico with a backbreaker…but as he falls outside fans start helping him back to his feet so he can stop Steen getting to the title. The champion decides he needs to do more damage if he wants to retain. He props a ladder between the ring and guardrail, then sets a table up ON TOP! Even the crowd are frightened now, but are soon cheering in delight as Generico blocks the Awesome Bomb and hits a BACK DROP THROUGH THE TABLE AND LADDER! Generico orders a team of security guards to the back of the building, and they return with the monster ladder used to set up all the lighting rigs. With that in place the two men fight on the apron…STEEN HITS AN F-5 THROUGH ANOTHER TABLE! Somehow Generico is back in the ring before Steen can make it up to the belt. He batters Mr Wrestling off the ladder, then opens another one up right alongside. Only for Steen to beat him down with another ladder, then slide that between the existing open ones to form a sickening elevated ladder platform. Package Piledriver blocked. PACKAGE PILEDRIVER BY GENERICO! Is that enough for the win? The luchador climbs towards the gold but is dragged back and takes another sickening neck bump off the ladder platform. Steen brings a fourth ladder in to make a DOUBLE STACK ladder platform. They climb up duelling ladders onto the platform. This can’t end well. Steen screams ‘I HATE YOU’ at Generico! PACKAGE PILEDRIVER THROUGH THE LADDERS AT OVER SIX FEET IN THE AIR! That is psychotic, and Steen climbs up what is left all the shattered ladders to retain at 28:05
Rating - ****1/2 - Weirdly I thought some people didn’t like this match. I will concede that it wasn’t quite on the level of their PWG Ladder Match or their 2010 Fight Without Honor, but as the ROH finale to this epic feud it was pretty much perfect. It wasn’t perhaps as dramatic as Wolves/Steen-erico, as spectacular as Briscoes/Steen-erico, or packed with elaborate spots like Briscoes/ANX…but this was an ugly, unpleasant and totally violent bout to end the year. To me, the biggest compliment I can pay these two is that this genuinely wasn’t about big ladder spots, although of course they were there. This was about two bitter friends turned enemies completely unravelling in front of us. Steen, so deeply scarred by what happened in 2010 and upset by ROH bringing Generico back to fight him became a cold, ruthless killer. Most of the first 10 minutes weren’t about the title at all. He was being evil, and looking to end Generico’s career. The beating was so uncomfortable to watch a lot of fans fell silent. It was so violent that Generico stopped thinking about the feud or his hatred of Steen, but simply wanted to survive – and crawled desperately into the ring to go for the belt as a way out. That was the beauty of this match. Caleb Seltzer even said it at one point. In my opinion this feud genuinely transcends the ROH World Championship, and Steen vs Generico is up there with the greatest independent wrestling rivalries of the modern era. These two delivered a match which lived up to that. A fitting end to the year, a brutal way to end this feud in ROH…and another brilliant performance from El Generico, which wound up being his Ring Of Honor swansong as he signed a WWE developmental deal soon after.
Tape Rating - *** - This was a really good show. I do have some criticisms which I think are valid, but it’s important to acknowledge that there was lots of really enjoyable stuff here. The opener was electric, the reunion of the Wolves was spectacular, Jerry Lynn’s farewell provided some nostalgic joy, and the main event was another must-see classic from Steen and Generico. But, after taking some really positives steps on TV and with the last two live events (Killer Instinct and Glory By Honor), I do think ROH lapsed back into old habits with this ppv. Matt Hardy over Adam Cole, whatever the reason, is a horrible move. Hardy doesn’t belong in 2012 ROH, and there really isn’t anything anybody can say to change my mind on that. With the talent that is out there, spending money to bring Hardy, Rhino and WGTT onto the roster deeply upsets me. And what was with the amount of screwy finishes on this show? Four matches had some kind of BS influencing the finish. Fans turn a blind eye to it on occasion. But using screwy finishes multiple times in the same evening does nothing but de-sensitise them and piss them off - particularly when you remember this is supposed to be ROH's biggest show of the year. Ultimately, I do feel positive going into 2013, and it finally feels like ROH are moving in the right direction. Steen is still champion, which can only be a good thing. The Briscoes are promising to rebuild the tag division, which has in the past been a staple of ROH. Jay Lethal’s character is edgier than ever. SCUM will be looking to rebound after losing the Tag Titles, the American Wolves are back and the likes of Tommaso Ciampa will be off the injured list soon. There were more hits than there were misses on this show, which is also good. But for the big, year-ending ppv, which ROH and Sinclair have put so much hype into…I can’t help but feel they didn’t quite get to the level they were striving for – for the second year in succession.
Top 3 Matches
3) Roderick Strong vs Michael Elgin (****)
2) American Wolves vs Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish (****)
1) Kevin Steen vs El Generico (****1/2)