ROH on HDNet – Episode 065 – 12th July 2010
Last week was one of the best episodes of ROH’s TV show in 2010 thus far. The great tag team main event was certainly up their with the likes of Bucks/Wolves, Bucks/Briscoes, Hero/Omega, Black/Strong and Edwards/Richards for best TV match of the year. Hopefully Ring Of Honor follow it up with another strong episode tonight. The scheduled headliner is a big 6-man with Team Aries facing Tyler Black, Jerry Lynn and Delirious which certainly has some potential. The action, as ever, comes from The Arena in Philadelphia, PA. Commentary from Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak.
Necro Butcher vs Bobby Beverly
New jobber cannon fodder for HDNet it seems, as I don’t recall seeing Beverly before. This is Necro’s first match as the new ‘Crown Jewel’ of The Embassy, and he is given a grand introduction by Prince Nana before coming to the ring.
Necro is dressed exactly the same – except now he wears sunglasses and expensive watch which is quite funny. Big headbutts rock Bobby, then he starts choking him in the ropes – and since all his matches are Butcher’s Rules it doesn’t matter. Beverly is booted into the rails next, takes some cheap shots from Osiris, then is tossed back inside for Butcher to hit the Chair Slam. Chokeslam rolled into a Tiger Driver on the same chair…and Necro wins at 03:03
Rating - * - Comprehensive squash, although it has to be said Necro looked more coordinated and motivated in the last 3 minutes that he has done in months. I always felt he was much better when he was the ‘enforcer’ of Age Of The Fall, where he got to work lots of tag matches with better workers like Jacobs and Black to cover his shortcomings. Not that Stevens and Daivari are in that league, but between them hopefully they’ll be able to cobble together a half-decent Embassy incarnation.
Eddie Edwards vs Andy Ridge – Ten Minute Hunt
Will the big ‘Right Leg’ kicks be enough to survive ten minutes with the TV Champion and earn Andy Ridge a future shot at the belt? Eddie doesn’t look too concerned…
Edwards asks who Andy lost his virginity to…then whacks him with the microphone. Where has this personality come from? Ridge hammers him with kicks and actually manages to knock the champion back. Achilles Lock on the left leg in the ropes, then a boot to the floor puts Andy on the back foot again. He rattles Eddie’s skull with an enziguri though, but walks into a HUGE lariat seconds later. ACHILLES LOCK! Ridge taps at 03:02
Rating - * - Ridge was underwhelming again, so the star is for Eddie’s new heel persona. His promo’s have always been of a decent standard, but this new arrogant streak he’s rocking is really working out.
Austin Aries takes a shot at the other ‘managers’ in ROH, and will lead by example tonight when he teams with his clients and guide them to victory in the main event. Rhett Titus shows an uncharacteristic serious streak by telling Tyler Black he should be taken seriously…
Jim Cornette brings Roderick Strong to the ring for some promo time. That can’t be good. I wonder if he’ll make more ‘hidden’ references to ‘The Truth’. He vents his paranoia about being screwed out of title shots and blames Cornette for everything. He brings out Truth Martini as his new ‘life intervention expert’, along with Josh Raymond and Christin Able. Martini is barely any better on the microphone than Roddy is by the way. He bores the tits off the live crowd with a rambling and incredibly dull promo. Jim Cornette tries to hold everything together but the whole thing falls on it's ass very quickly
SIDENOTE – I appreciate turning Strong heel and aligning him with some sidekicks to make him a credible title contender again makes sense. But this segment was an absolute car crash. Strong is horrible on the mic, Truth Martini is pretty crap too, so the whole thing bombed. It also pissed off basically every portion of the ROH fans. Roddy’s ‘someone tell me the truth’ lines in every promo for the last 2 months mean that this turn isn’t a surprise to the hardcore fanbase. The live crowd just hated this because it was incredibly boring…and to the casual viewers who only watch the TV show – they’ve never even SEEN Truth Martini before. They must have watched this confused out of their minds. Poorly booked, poorly constructed, poorly acted…what a horrific segment.
COMMERCIALS – There’s an interview with Ken Shamrock on HDNet this week. In the 10 second clip he freely admits to still taking steroids…and honestly looks a little whacked out of his head on drugs right there. Dude does not look good.
NEXT WEEK – It’s a Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 2 rematch as Cabana and Generico face Steen and Corino in an Anything Goes Match.
Austin Aries/Kenny King/Rhett Titus vs Tyler Black/Jerry Lynn/Delirious
So here’s the deal – Black and Aries have history going back two years, but since Tyler is the man who ended A-Double’s reign as ROH Champion, it’s fair to say those wounds probably aren’t closed yet. Delirious hates Aries for injuring his throat and attacking Daizee Haze on HDNet a few weeks ago. Meanwhile Jerry Lynn hates the ANX for injuring him last year on HDNet, and probably isn’t that keen on Aries either since it was A-Double that ended HIS run with the World Title at Manhattan Mayhem 3. Tyler, as World Champion, has a target on his chest and both ANX members, as hungry, young up and comers, will look to get into title contention with a win over him. Throw in the history with Rhett and Delirious and you’ve got yourself a match absolutely stacked with issues…
It’s an ugly brawl from the start, with bodies tumbling out of the ring and fighting all around ringside. The bell rings as Lynn and King go at it inside the squared circle for the first time. The babyface team look to isolate the Pretty Boy Pitbull…with Delirious venting some frustration by attacking his throat. Finally some illicit help from Aries allows King to tag out. Not that Titus fares much better, taking a beating from both Delirious and Jerry. Aries tries to ‘lead by example’ only to be dropkicked off the apron by the veteran former ROH champion. King takes a cheap shot at Lynn and that’s what finally allows Team Aries to take the advantage for the first time. Rhett and Aries pull off some of the most god-awful double team moves I’ve ever seen. Poor Jerry takes several ugly bumps as Rhett bumbles his way through his part in that pretty farcical 30 seconds. It does allow the heels to start targeting Lynn’s suspect neck though. DDT/neckbreaker combo from Jerry to both ANX members, leading to a hot tag which leaves Delirious alone with A-Double. Kenny drags Delirious out to the floor where Titus is waiting to violently assault him against the rails, so Delirious’ opportunity for revenge doesn’t last long. All Night Express focus on the lizard man’s throat with Austin only willing to enter the ring when he’s well and truly worn down. Aries and King for an ambitious DOUBLE double axehandle but get double crotched…and Delirious gets a hot tag to Lynn (seriously, is Tyler going to wrestle at all tonight?). Fed up of waiting, Tyler flies in with a double Springboard Lariat, then joins up with Jerry for STEREO F-5/TKO’s on Aries and King. Titus doesn’t miss out…TKO/F-5 COMBO ON HIM! They go to opposing turnbuckles and BOTH get caught. ROPE RUN SUPER SEX FACTOR from Titus to Lynn. ROYAL FLUSH BACKBREAKER! ONE NIGHT STAND BLOCKED WITH SUPERKICKS BY TYLER! SHADOWS OVER HELL ON RHETT! Aries breaks the fall! The heels retreat, so Lynn and Delirious climb for TANDEM SUICIDE DIVES TO THE FLOOR! We’re back where we started with everyone brawling around the ring…which is somehow a count-out, or some kind of non-finish at 13:28. Tyler Black tries a dive anyway…KEVIN STEEN RUNS IN WITH A PACKAGE PILEDRIVER! They meet in Chicago in 2 weeks!
Rating - *** - Really enjoyable main event. Once again I found myself really disappointed by a horrible and unimaginative finish, but the action was good beforehand so I can’t be too pissed. And I’m pleased they used the bogus finish to hype Black/Steen. That’s a huge match which people should want to get to Chicago to see – or buy on DVD if they can’t make it.
Tape Rating - ** - Everything before the commercial break was lousy, but the main event saved the episode. To be fair, in terms of storyline content the first half was very relevant. Roderick Strong joined the debuting House Of Truth faction, Necro Butcher made his bow as part of The Embassy and Eddie Edwards continued to show more personality in his Ten Minute Hunt. But these weren’t great, must-see angles being developed. This company is supposed to be a workrate alternative to the big two, and they failed on that score…until the 6-man which was a blast, a show-saver and a great showcase of the Ring Of Honor product on free TV.
ROH on HDNet Episodes 61-65 – Top 5 Matches
5) Kevin Steen vs Bobby Shields (** - Episode 063)
4) Kings Of Wrestling vs Dark City Fight Club (*** - Episode 064)
3) Tyler Black vs El Generico (*** - Episode 063)
2) Austin Aries/Kenny King/Rhett Titus vs Tyler Black/Jerry Lynn/Delirious (*** - Episode 065)
1) American Wolves vs Christopher Daniels/Roderick Strong (**** - Episode 064)