Eh..I'll just copy/paste it..
What up homeslice and welcome to another McReview. This time I checked out Ring of Honor, as they presented their first show of what is a double header weekend for the promotion. Since I got to get ready for USA Pro, let's get right into it.
PRESHOW: I know everyone loves the preshow lol. Got a 12 pack of Miller Lite and kicked its ass in the parking lot.
ROH 11/28, from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.
Attendance: 350-400
There were a shit load of refs tonight, among the best are: Ref Hanson, Ref Garry and Ref Turner.
Your ring announcer is Steve D'Angelis.
ROH SHOWCASE CARD
The showcase are just a bunch of "dark" matches that give indy wrestlers a chance to break into the best indy fed today, ROH.
Allison Danger d. Sara Stock
This was the second time I saw Sara Stock, the first time being at the WXW Womens Super 8 tourney. Sara comes from Mexico but her style is similiar to today's American women wrestling. After some arm drags and some quick chain wrestling, Allison Danger picked up the W with a version of the flatliner, that Kanyon used to do in WCW. Decent womens match.
Johnny "The Bison" Bravado/Slugga w/Grim Reefer and Benny Blanco d. The Solution (Papadon and Havok)
This was Bravado's and Solutions ROH debut, and I would say it was successful. There was no word if Bravado was officially a Rottweiler now, considering that he teamed with Slugga and came out with Reefer and Blanco. I think Bravado would fit in well with the Rottweilers and he does have the similiar style to everyone in the Rottweilers besides Reefer. The match was back and forth, with Bravado taking a beating from The Solution. Havok hit a picture perfect Samoan drop on Bravado and tagged in Papadon. Bravado was able to muster some strength and threw one of the best german suplexes I have seen this year. Bravado then tagged in Slugga, and Slugga went animalistic, and hit Papadon with the bodybag (A falldown bodyslam putting pressure on the neck and head) for the victory. Decent match for the 4 or so minutes it was given.
Slyk Wagner Brown w/April Hunter d. Jimmy Jack Cash
The crowd reaction Slyk recieved was through the roof. The guy got a bigger reaction than most of the regular ROH roster. Time to get him off the showcase cards. As far as the match, something was lacking and it wasn't Slyk or April. Slyk was able to get the victory with the Holy Slyk, to another huge ovation. Just the fact Slyk can get one of the biggest reactions on the show, despite being wasted away in a showcase match, shows that the fans want to see him get the ball.
Jay Lethal/Azriael (ROH Names: Hydro/Angeldust) with Special K members: Cloudy/Lit/Fred The Elephant Boy Chris Idol/Becky Bayless and Dana Dameson d. Dunn/Marcos
Excellent match. These guys had alot of time and made the best out of it. I think Jay Lethal should break away from Special K and move onto bigger things in ROH. Dunn hit the best widows peak I ever saw on Azriael. Why Fred The Elephant Boy was in special K is beyond me. Lethal/Azraiel looked really solid as a tag team and had alot of unique offense. Ditto Dunn/Marcos. Finish saw the ref get distracted by Special K, only for Jay Lethal to kick Dunn in the penis, and as the ref turned around Jay Lethal inside cradled Dunn for the victory.
END SHOWCASE
After the first of three intermissions, it was time for the main show.
Steve D'Angelis comes out, as Ref Garry gets into the ring for the first match. Steve introduces Gary Michael Capetta, who we are reminded used to announce for WCW. I swear, everytime GMC is on any show, you're bound to hear he used to announce for WCW at least 5 times. He should just get a WCW announcer tattoo on his forehead. Anyway, GMC has envelopes with match stipulations for the upcoming main event blow off match between Raven and CM Punk. He asks Ref Garry to shuffle them up, and GMC picks one of the envelopes. It turns out that GMC picked the STEEL CAGE envelope, so our main event tonight is Raven vs CM Punk in a cage. CM Punk comes out to the ring and clears everyone out of it. CM Punk has a picture of Lucy (or as GMC might say WCW's Daffney lol). Apparently, someone kidnapped Lucy on 8/9 in Dayton, Ohio, while Punk was in Japan. This would've made more sense if this was acknowleged maybe on 8/16, instead of waiting 3 months to realize she was missing. Then again, this feud was played off on the tapes, something else that bothers me about ROH - too many angles are shown on the tapes, instead of in front of the live crowd. I think it's only a matter of time ROH gets a ROHtron, because it will greatly advance storylines and show live fans who don't buy the tapes what the ROH wrestlers can do, promo wise. Anyway, Punk says Lucy is his best friend in wrestling, talks about making sacrifices in wrestling and how he would only let Lucy into his life where wrestling was his primary focus. Punk says that Steve Corino told him that Chris Daniels knows what happened to Lucy. Punk threatens to ruin the show and interfere in every match until he finds out what happened to Lucy. CM Punk is easily ROH's best performer all around as no one in ROH can cut a promo like him.
Backseat Boyz d. Outcast Killahs
Really great match here, primarily due to The Backseat Boyz quick and crisp double team offense. The Backseats made quick work of the Killahs with the T-Gimmick bomb.
POSTMATCH: CM Punk returns and asks the Backseats if they know where Lucy is. They say they don't know. Punk says he will still interfere. Maybe Punk should ask Teddy Hart, as it seems he has all the answers these days lol.
Homicide w/Julius Smokes d. John Walters
Excellent match. Probably the best match on the show, but then again there was nothing that wouldn't qualify for match of the night. This match featured lots of chain wrestling and submissions which was expected from these two great athletes. Walters hit a great suicide dive during the match, and then hit a perfect superplex from the top rope. Towards the end of the match, Homicide went for the copkilla, only to have it reversed into the lungblower. (Walters held Homicides neck and brought his back down very hard on Walters knees. After some more submissions, Homicide was able to get John Walters to tap out to the STF. PAW match.
POSTMATCH: Homicide calls out Corino and tells him to kiss his son because it will be the last time he will ever be able to.
Tag Team Scramble Match
The SAT d. Hot Stuff Hernandez/Fast Eddie, The Carnage Crew, and Special K members Dixie/Cloudy.
Special K was also accompanied by Dana Dameson, Becky Bayless, Jay Lethal, Azraiel, Lit, Chris Idol and Fred The Elephant Boy.
This match was definitely the best scramble match ROH ever did. This match wasn't a cluster like most of these scrambles are. Maybe because there wasn't as many teams in it, and that most of the guys were ROH regulars, but one way or the other, this match was easily the scramble match of the year. At one point in the match SAT injured Cloudy, with a spinning swinging bomb, that put Cloudy on his neck and head. He was later legit taken to the hospital, and is currently ok. When Cloudy went out, Jay Lethal took his spot as Dixie's partner. Hot Stuff Hernandez dominated this match and easily was the star of it, as he threw Cloudy at least 12 feet backwards in the ring, hit a humongous tope and hit a good mafia kick. Finish saw Hernandez tope everyone but the SAT and Jay Lethal. SAT then hit the Spanish Fly on Lethal for the 1-2-3, and became the number 1 contenders to the ROH Tag belts.
The Fallen Angel Chris Daniels w/Allison Danger d. Jimmy Rave
Maybe it's just me, because I think Rave steals people's moves, but this match wasn't all that. Daniels hit all his signature moves, including the best moonsault ever, and was able to finish off Rave with the Last Rites. Good match, but not one that would make a Chris Daniels Best-of Tape.
POSTMATCH: CM Punk came out saying he know Daniels did something to Lucy, because Steve Corino told him. Daniels basically says he had nothing to do with it, lays down some Prophecies on Punk and leaves the ring.
Josh Daniels d. Steve Corino w/Guillotine LeGrande, his ring announcer, and japanese fan boys.
PREMATCH: Corino's announcer did this bit talking about famous midgets in wrestling, due to Josh Daniels height. Among the mentioned were Mini Vader, Sky Low Low and of course, Taz. Funny bit, that worked alot better here, then compared to the 11/1 show. It will also work better if the show wasn't 4 hours and 45 minutes long.
This match was pretty good, as the King of Old School had me crackin up at points, by heckling this fat chick in the front row. Corino was hilarious. At one point, Daniels went up for a flying cross body, and Steve Corino side stepped him, and gave the camera a "n-word please look." Finish saw Legrande hit Daniels, and the ref wouldn't count the three. The ref argued with LeGrande and the rest of Corino's posse. As that was going down, Homicide made his way into the ring, and hit a top rope diamond cutter on corino. Daniels hit his Benoit-esque diving headbutt, and the ref turned around and got the three count. Great way to keep every guy strong in the match, and to build up the Homicide/Corino blow off match, that will take place later on today in Framingham, MA.
Intermission. Got some more Miller Lites, as they were cheap, and I was broke.
In a Field of Honor BLOCK A winner match:
Matt Stryker d. Xavier
Ok match here, which saw Xavier lose some steam towards the end, which Stryker was able to capitalize on. There was lots of back and forth wrestling in this one, with about 9 2 counts in 20 seconds. Stryker gets the win with an overhead fireman carry driver.
In a Field of Honor BLOCK B winner match:
BJ Whitmer d. Mafia w/Allison Danger and Classic Colt Cabana
Colt Cabana is finally showing off what a great character he is, and is reeking of charisma. This match was pretty decent with a few one on two ddt moves. Whitmer got the pin out of nowhere to advance to the finals.
It was announced that Matt Stryker will take on BJ Whitmer to determine who will be the Field of Honor victor.
After the match, CM Punk comes out and accuses Mafia about Lucy. Mafia swears on his father's grave (who recently passed away) that it wasn't him who did anything to Lucy. Big real life element to further this storyline.
For the ROH Tag Titles
© The Briscoe Brothers d. ROH World Champion Samoa Joe and AJ Styles to retain their titles
Excellent tag team match here. The Briscoe Brothers are one of the best tag teams today, and it's a shame that they don't work anywhere else besides ROH and the occassional DCW matches. Finish saw AJ Styles accidentally clothesline Samoa Joe, which led to Jay Briscoe throwing AJ out of the ring, and superkicking Joe down. Mark Briscoe then hit a Shooting Star Press, to get the pinfall. It was weird seeing these 19 and 20 year old kicks kicking Joe's ass, but it worked here tonight.
POSTMATCH: AJ and Samoa Joe slap each other, with AJ leaving the ring, promising to win the title from Joe.
In what was billed as the Blowoff match of the feud
CM Punk d. Raven in a Steel Cage Match
Punk has the greatest entrance in wrestling today.
This match went back and forth with CM Punk getting bloody extremely early. Lots of whips into the cage. Fortunately, no one got a concussion, so we didn't see moonsaults. CM Punk hit a flying elbow from the top of the cage into Ravens chest. Finish saw CM Punk climb to the top of the cage, as Raven made his way towards the door. Raven crotched CM Punk on the door, and the visual was pretty electic. CM Punk, bloody, is on top of the door, which is fraying, as Raven tries to get out of the ring through the door. Punk with his right leg kicked the door, and the door collided with Ravens face, and CM Punk jumped to the floor for victory.
POSTMATCH: Raven says sometimes the student is the teacher, quote the Raven nevermore.
Final McWord
Probably the best Ring of Honor show of the year. Not one bad match, and it seems that ROH is finally starting to inject some storylines and reasons into why matches are actually happening.
I also got to mention that ROH Security are either way too much into their jobs or just haters, make no bones about it. I saw 2 different ROH Security guards, in 2 seperate incidents kick 8 fans out of their seats. The building wasn't full, and there were lots of empty seats. What is usually a no-brainer, sit as close as possible, so it looks better on camera, wasn't a concern to the security guards. They asked for ticket stubs, then when it was shown they had GA tickets, they told the fans to get up, and made them stand for the rest of the show. So when it comes on tape, you'll see lots of front row seats empty, due to the extreme intelligence of these security guards. Best part about this, is that these security guards were doing this halfway into the show, so it wasn't like people were going to take those seats. I saw this happen on two occassions, and I'm not sure if it would turn off those fans, but I know it would turn off me, if those guys were doing that. Besides security overdoing their jobs, I thought this was the sleeper show of the year, as it wasn't hyped up to be one of the best, but I think it was.
ROH is talking about how Raven/Becky had an incident after the show. What other fed can talk about a storyline, without actually showing it, to get the fans to believe it? Like the NFL, feel the power.
I'm still waiting for the day ROH gets a ROHtron...
See you at Usa Pro...
Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey
[email protected]
