Column of Honor: 06.19.10: Death Before Column of Dishonor 2010 Part One: Death Before Dishonor VIII Preview

Welcome to the Column.

R.I.P. Trent Acid, real name Michael Verdi, who passed away this weekend at the age of 29. Acid worked Ring of Honor from 2002-2004 with Johnny Kashmere as the tag team The Backseat Boyz.

= ROH Results from June 18th, 2010 in Hamburg, NY=

Davey Richards did not make it tot the show in Buffalo due to missing his flight. ROH says that he will appear as scheduled tonight in Toronto for the main event.

Credit: the ROH Message Board

–Jim Cornette out to run down the card. Davey Richards missed his flight
–Delirious v Ernesto Osiris: “Nana was gold on the mic.” Delirious wins with Shadows over Hell and a Cobra Stretch. “surprisingly good match, nothing mind blowing, but not bad at all.”
–Tyson Dux v Eddie Edwards in a “10 Minute Hunt” match: Edwards wins 9:32 with a roll up with his feet on the ropes.
–Shawn Davari v Colt Cabana: Colt wins with the Billy Goats Curse after stopping the interference attempts of Prince Nana and Osiris
–Roderick Strong v Pee Wee: Roderick wins after a Yakuza Kick. “nothing to write home about”
–The Kings of Wrestling v Up In Smoke: KOW win with the KRS-1 in a fun match.

Intermission: Wrestling legend The Destroyer came out with his son and put over ROH and thanked people for coming.

–The Final Countdown played and the place erupted… Aries came out to huge jeers. Omega came out and the brawl around ringside. Austin Aries v Kenny Omega:Omega pins Aries with an Electric Chair German Suplex. “Omega and Aries never really got any steam going” After the match, King and Titus out to beat down Omega, but the Briscoes make the save. Aries and Omega fight to the back which leads too…
–The All Night Express v The Briscoes: Halfway through the match, Aries comes out and in a suit coat and a pipe and goes into manager mode. Briscoes set up for a Doomsday, but Aries blows smoke in a Briscoes face and Titus gets the roll up for the win.
–Steve Corino v Tyler Black: Cruise announces Corino at 327lbs and he flips out. He cuts an awesome promo running down everyone, picking on a group of fans, and telling a skinny kid he looks like he has “the aids”. Corino offers Tyler a deal, he can hand the belt over to Steen and then they can all go party. Tyler thinks about and blasts Corino with punches. The match is on.Tyler wins with a bucklebomb and a superkick while Corino was on his knees. “Black and Corino was surprisingly great” Pearce comes out post match and he and Sinclair help Corino up. Corino may have legit lost a tooth. Out of nowhere, Sinclair gives both Corino and Pearce Stunners.

411 Alumnus and PWInsider correspondent Stuart Carapola has an alternate report of the show, including an interesting tidbit about The Briscoes being angry with each other after their match. Could be something, could be nothing, we’ll see.

Doesn’t look like the greatest of shows from an in-ring perspective, but rather one of those shows that are more about the fun asides and tangents. Not must-buy material, which is a shame considering ROH was on a legit roll of having BOTH their Friday and Saturday shows as must-buys once released to DVD. That Sinclair stuff sure is something. The match that would have been the best in the “ROH Style” was Richards vs. Strong, but the substitution of Pee Wee did no favors to the overall strength of this card (no slight on him, but the match advertised obviously was the better choice of the two). While the fake-out of Danielson’s appearance may be humorous to some (and admittedly a fantastic heel move) I also find it to be mean-spirited to the fans in attendance and the wrong decision unless ROH does somehow come to terms for a future Danielson appearance. Of course, the usual advisement applies that on paper results are different from fan reviews and actually seeing it for oneself may leave a better or worse impression than just reading them off the internet. Still, I’d say the best bet would be to package this show with Death Before Dishonor VIII when they are released on DVD, similar to what they did for Final Battle 2009 DVD.

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= Death Before Dishonor VIII iPPV- June 19th, 2010-Toronto, Ontario, CN=

7:30 PM belltime (iPPV – 8:00pm)
Ted Reeve Arena
175 Main Steet
Toronto, Ontario M4E 2W2

Ring of Honor is presenting its third internet Pay Per View effort through GoFIghtLive.tv on this evening and it has a line-up that has caught the attention and excitement of many ROH fans. While iPPV continues to be an experiment for ROH in using the internet for on-demand services, traditionally the Death Before Dishonor shows have been one of the major events of the calendar year. This year is no different, featuring two high profile and meaningful title defenses and a grudge feud that has been very well-built up for six months coming to a head in its first ever singles match. The show emanates from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which has grown to become the second strongest ROH touring city on their circuit next to New York City. There have been strong attendance figures and a lot of enthusiasm from those who attend the shows. All of that should add up to what will likely be a strong show.

ROH World Title Match-Tyler Black defends vs. Davey Richards

Ring of Honor has used a “Pure Sports Build” for this match—that is, no personal grudges, no outlandish or cartoony motivations for fighting each other. It’s all about who is the best wrestler in the company between the two. They will do battle and then at the end of the night one of them will walk away with the ROH World Title belt, the “signifier” (as Richards put in) of who truly is the best wrestler in the world, but also, the champion of the company.

A comparison of the two wrestlers actually reveals a lot in common between the two. Both men hail from small towns in rural America. Both men grew up on wrestling. Richards was an amateur wrestler at a very young age, while Black went into pro training in 2004 at the age of 18. Both have worked very hard to improve and better themselves in the world of professional wrestling and both have made their lasting mark in ROH with their career progression in the past twelve months. Tyler Black has finally broken through as the ROH World Champion; Davey Richards had one of the best years from an in-ring performance standpoint as both a ROH World Tag Team champion and a main event single. The real facts and figures in the lives of these wrestlers contribute to the compelling nature of this main event.

Richards use of the verbiage and phrasing of a wolf over the past two years is very apt—he is incredibly intense and unrelenting in his career goals and that’s not just in professional wrestling, although its where his fans has seen him succeed and accomplish the most. The mantra of the American Wolves is “The Hunt is On”… and Richards has been on the hunt to become known as the best wrestler in the world for quite a while now. The travel began in earnest nine months ago when he defeated “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson at The Final Countdown: Boston. Ostensibly that win passed the torch from Danielson to Richards. Since then Richards has been unrelenting in his pursuit of becoming known as the best wrestler in the industry—and his matches against the likes of Kenny Omega, El Generico, The Briscoes and Dark City Fight Club have gone a long way towards achieving that goal.

Meanwhile Tyler Black has pushed onwards in his ROH World Title run. His main competitors at this point have been Austin Aries and Roderick Strong, but he has also rebuffed title challenges from Kenny King and Chris Hero, thus building up a very solid title defense history in just a short amount of time. Black continues to have the threat of Roderick Strong wanting another crack at the title, not to mention beginning interactions with Steve Corino and Kevin Steen in what could become the more dangerous threat to his championship glory if he’s not too careful. However, the most immediate threat to his days as the wunderkind World champion coming to an end is indeed Davey Richards and this title match.

This is an interesting title match—you could call it a “trap game” for Black, who has been so consumed with feuds against Aries and Strong that he may come in and under-estimate Richards’ efforts. That would be a costly error.

Black and Richards have faced off several times in Ring of Honor, not to mention a feud for the FIP Title and several fights in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. They have complimentary styles—high rev, intense, take a shot to give a shot and then come back firing for more. Black has the ever-so slight edge as far as the air game, but Richards really has Black outgunned in terms of technical ability and submission skills. While both men have the stamina and ability to take the big shots down the stretch, this title bout is ultimately a game of inches and seconds—whoever has the best move and is the fastest to pull the trigger will likely come out the victor.

ROH World Tag Team Title Match – No Disqualification-The Kings of Wrestling with Shane Hagadorn defend vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe

The Briscoes lost the tag titles to The Kings, who have been at an all-time peak in terms of their in-ring performance and chemistry working together in the ring. They weren’t just handed a rematch, but rather had to earn it by defeating Dark City Fight Club on a recent episode of ROH on HDNet (see below). The feud between these two teams has also taken a rather personal turn, with The Briscoes targeting the “Queen of Wrestling” Sara Del Rey. Jay Briscoe blasted her with a Jay-Driller at Supercard of Honor V. The Kings struck back by goading The Briscoes’ father into the ring, wherein Chris Hero proceeded to knock him out. Needless to say, the struggle between the two teams isn’t just about the tag titles or being the best tag team in ROH anymore. For The Briscoe, there is newfound motivation to “Man Up” get some payback against Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli.

Jim Cornette added the “No Disqualification” stipulation after the attack on Papa Briscoe. What that means is that this should be more of a brawl-based match compared to the back-and-forth, double-team oriented first title bout. I’d expect some crowd brawling and likely some use of weapons as well.

As far as whom wins-it seems too early to have another title change, especially since The Kings are looking like THE dominant team in the tag division. The Briscoes have a record setting six-title wins already, so a seventh wouldn’t necessarily mean much more to their CV, although that was certainly an argument against them winning their fifth and sixth tag titles and it happened anyway. The Briscoes have been the face of the ROH tag team division ever since 2003 and they are never too far away from the belts at any one moment. There is also the argument that there aren’t any other real “serious” challengers for the titles at the moment—an argument could be made for The American Wolves, but the split-attention between tag and singles doesn’t work in their favor. So, win or lose, The Briscoes and The Kings may be sparring partners for quite awhile to come after this match.

Grudge Match Months in the Making-Kevin Steen vs. El Generico

The tagline for this match is truth in advertising-both of these men have been involved in tag team grudge matches, but this will be their first singles bout in ROH connected to this feud. The progression of El Generico has been from a man unwilling to fight to someone pushed and provoked until finally he became angry enough to fight back. Kevin Steen had been Generico’s former partner for so long and someone Generico believed was as close to him as a brother. However, all the hesitation should now be gone since the cord has been severed and with Colt Cabana’s encouragement to stand up and fight.

Still, there will likely be some more mind games from Kevin Steen and his mentor in malevolence Steve Corino. Whether or not Generico falls for it anymore will tell the tale of the early part of the match, but if the portrayal for Generico is a man who doesn’t care anymore, then a great deal of this will be about physical violence and how much damage each will be able to inflict on the other. One thing to consider is the possibility of a disqualification or count-out finish, considering it is indeed their first singles bout. However, I’d say there are good odds there will be a decisive finish in either direction (maybe not clean, but at least ending in a pinfall or submission), given this match is taking place in Canada, where both men have a huge fan base and considering the tag match they fought at the Big Bang, the last internet Pay Per View, ended in a DQ finish.

Pick 6 Contenders Series Match-(2) Christopher Daniels vs. Kenny Omega

Kenny Omega always steps it up in his home country of Canada—he already has a great track record with an excellent performance against Austin Aries at The Omega Effect in late 2009 and most recently in a Match of the Year Contender for 2010 against Davey Richards at The Epic Encounter III this past March.

Christopher Daniels also demonstrated he remains in top form after a very well done outing against Television Champion Eddie Edwards at Supercard of Honor V. Daniels’ presence in ROH is still very fresh and exciting and provides an extra selling point to any show he appears on and for however long he stays in the company. Though he made a surprise return at The Big Bang, this is the first iPPV where he will wrestle-and in a unique, first-time in ROH match at that. These two should have no problem in the ring as they have similar styles that combine technical work with speed and agility. Omega will play more of the babyface, but both should receive good response. I’d say Daniels is the more likely to win if the plan is for him to stick around and eventually wrestle Davey Richards, for the title or for a Pick 6 spot.

Grudge Match – King & Titus are BARRED from ringside-Austin Aries vs. Delirious

The above promo seems to hint heavily (READ: UNEQUIVOCALLY) towards Delirious bringing out his “Red Poison” alter-ego, which is an even more unfettered and blood-thirsty version of the character, if you can believe that. In the past, Delirious has experienced a great deal of success when wrestling with this extreme form of his personality, specifically in feuds against The Hangmen Three and Jimmy Jacobs. Meanwhile, Aries has mastered his heel act and has simultaneously apologized for his actions in the most phony of manners and threatened to put Delirious out of the way so that he can continue his newfound goal of becoming “The Greatest Manager That Ever Lived.”

This match will go one of two ways for Aries-either he plays the “hit-and run-and-hide” strategy or the “outsmart the dangerous but dim-witted monster” card. Delirious has been hot or cold with the live crowd as of late. That’s not me slighting his in-ring ability, because he is still very capable in the ring. However, some fans may have had enough with his character—and that could be a problem for crowd reaction in this one. King and Titus being barred from ringside sounds good on paper, but that could just be announced as a feint and they will interfere anyway behind the ref’s back or become involved afterwards.

The 2nd Annual Toronto Gauntlet-Colt Cabana vs. Steve Corino vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong vs. Shawn Daivari vs. Tyson Dux

The winner of this gauntlet series of singles matches will receive a ROH World Title match at a future date, with or without the wrestler being ranked on the Pick 6 list. That decision is an effective twist on the contender situation in the company, as it safely expands who gets a title shot by one wrestler and acts as a “wild card” for the next few months. Roderick Strong (already ranked in the Pick Six) is an immediate favorite to win as far as the wrestlers officially announced—and having an extra title shot in his back pocket could help cushion the blow of losing a possible second title match against Black or Richards (in another recent new rule P6 contenders only receive two title shots before being dropped from the list completely).

Other possibilities include Colt Cabana winning the series and receiving his first title match since losing to Austin Aries at Reverse the Curse in late December ’09. Cabana can no longer challenge for the ROH World Title in his hometown of Chicago as a result of losing that match. However, maybe he can win here and use the title shot as a loophole towards getting another title match there. The presence of Steve Corino could likely end Cabana’s chances here. Eddie Edwards is the TV champion but if Richards wins the World Title and Edwards wins this Gauntlet that could lead to the second Wolf vs. Wolf match, this time in a “champion vs. champion” scenario. I don’t think for a second that Daivari has a chance of winning. The last remaining contestant is likely to be Tyson Dux (note: this was confirmed on the 6/16 newswire), as he is a Canadian who is well-liked in the Canada tour stops and it would be a natural fit for him on the card.

The Gauntlet format usually means shorter matches, so this likely won’t be the highlight of the show or even a sleeper hit, but it is a decent enough round-off to an already packed show at the top of the card. The best possible combination as far as work rate goes would be Edwards vs. Strong, although the pairing I’d most like to see would be Cabana vs. Strong to see how Cabana mocks him and Truth Martini (should he be in attendance).

The All Night Express of Kenny King & Rhett Titus with Austin Aries vs. “Up In Smoke” of Cheech & Cloudy

Look for this weekend to be the beginning of a “winning” push for King & Titus, who will receive the benefit of the on-hand tutelage of their manager and mentor Aries. Cheech & Cloudy will provide some good double team moments and a nice underdog comeback, but ultimately they should go under to push the ANX to the iPPV audience. This work as a fun opening match or it could be a nice, light-hearted break in-between the more serious top programs.

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Counting down my personal favorite wrestlers and moments of the past week in wrestling:

1. The Briscoes: All you BLEEEEEEEEP have to do is BLEEEEEEEEP watch the latest BLEEEEEEEEP BLEEEEEEEEP Video Wire to BLEEEEEEEEP understand why BLEEEEEEEEP BLEEEEEEEEP BLEEEEEEEEP BLEEEEEEEEP.

2. Wade Barrett: Spokesman for NXT. Great vision and command of his men, yet listens to their opinions (see not apologizing for last week’s attack). Plus, what a voice! Deep and very European accent for the win.

3. Kaval vs. Alex Riley: This was an awesome match of NXT that demonstrated exactly why Kaval is so far-and-above the rest of the season two “rookies”. He is the most ready for a spot on one of the two WWE brands and of course, his first match in he is made to job. Don’t get me wrong, I like Alex Riley and not only does his character have a world of potential for success, he is also very good in the ring. Together they made the most of their opportunity to show off what they are capable of in the squared circle.

4. Cody Rhodes: Got very good heat by attacking Matt Striker at the end of the show to prove the point of what he could do next week to NXT rookie Lucky Cannon. Plus, I’m sure he’s ecstatic with the announcement of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

5. Vicki Guerrero: The cougar act and “seduction” of Dolph Ziggler continues and it is very entertaining. It gives her character something else besides the nuclear heat of “Excuse Me” and it successfully shifts her away from another stint as the GM of a WWE brand.

BONUS! ANTI-FAVE 1–Quick Healers: Man, it’s like John Cena wasn’t ever savagely attacked by a gang of eight uncontrollable rebel wrestlers. Cena went from barely cognizant thumb-up lifter to clean bill of health and ready to fight in a twenty minute main event. It’s like he inherited Wolverine’s healing factor and managed to share it with Randy Orton. Mr. “Stupid, Stupid, Stupid” injured his shoulder a month back, but he barely took any time off. In fact, after two injury angles it seems like the MORE you hurt Orton, the FASTER he heals up. Does anyone else remember the days when Diamond Dallas Page wore a shoulder and stomach wrap for months to sell the horrible beat downs he took from the nWo?

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As of 06/18/10

ROH World Champion: Tyler Black (champion since 02/13/10, 5 successful defenses)

–defeated Austin Aries on February 13th, 2010 in New York, NY to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. Davey Richards (Toronto, ONT, CN on 06/19/10)

–Tyler Black defeated Austin Aries & Roderick Strong in a Triple Threat Match in Phoenix, AZ on 3/27/10
–Tyler Black defeated Austin Aries & Roderick Strong in a Triple Threat Match in Charlotte, NC on 4/3/10
–Tyler Black defeated Kenny King in Dayton, OH on 4/23/10
–Tyler Black defeated Chris Hero in Chicago Ridge, IL on 4/24/10
-Tyler Black defeated Roderick Strong in New York, NY on 5/8/10

ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) (champions since 04/03/10, 1 successful defense)

defeated The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) on April 3rd, 2010 in Charlotte, NC to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe (Toronto, ONT, CN on 06/19/10)

-Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin by DQ after The Briscoes interfered in New York, NY on 5/8/10

ROH World Television Champion: Eddie Edwards (champion since 03/05/10, 2 successful defenses)

–defeated Davey Richards in the finals of the HDNet Tournament on March 5th, 2010 in New York, NY to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. TBD

–Eddie Edwards defeated Colt Cabana in Philadelphia, PA on 3/6/10
–Eddie Edwards defeated Petey Williams in Mississauga, Ontario on 3/20/10

Pick 6 Series

Rankings as of: 06/18/10

1. Roderick Strong
2. Christopher Daniels
3. Kevin Steen
4. Chris Hero
5. Davey Richards
6. Kenny King

The Pick 6 Series matches scheduled for June 18-19, 2010 are as follows:
June 18 – Buffalo, NY
(1) Roderick Strong vs. (5) Davey Richards

June 19 – Toronto, ON
(2) Christopher Daniels vs. Kenny Omega

My favorite moment comes at the very end, about 10:40 into the video. The Briscoes are NOT happy about what happened to their father. Everything may be bleeped out, but one can tell just about every word Jay said regardless.

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-As I didn’t take notes while watching here are just a few off the cuff quick hits about From the Ashes, which took places March 26th in Phoenix, Arizona, before I go into detail about Phoenix Rising. I was actually not enjoying this show about four matches through this DVD, although the second half of the show made a great turn around and obviously concluding with the best match on the show (Briscoes vs. Wolves for the ROH World Tag Team Titles) helped my overall impression of it once I had finished.

There were various reasons I wasn’t into the first half of the show, specific to each of the matches. The opener six-man mayhem was very sloppy—abnormally so. I didn’t think the wrestlers involved had good chemistry or timing for some of the spots and that led to some very shaky moments throughout. Also, I hate to say it since Johnny Goodtime is one of my favorite under-card wrestlers in PWG right now, but his appearance for ROH here was a definite disappointment. I don’t know what happened, but his act just didn’t translate well in front of this audience. The Kings of Wrestling vs. Scorpio Sky & Scott Lost match was very physical and stiff, but it felt like a one-sided domination from The Kings. Hero & Claudio shut down completely any offense from Lost & Sky and that made it difficult for them to get over with the audience since they were made to look weak. Koslov vs. Romero was good match that actually did provide some salvation from the horrible botch finish of their Final Battle 2009 effort (which was not their fault). However, it was way too short and was really just getting going and then it was over. Butcher vs. Bison Smith was the expected brawl, but a non-finish pissed me off—at this point in the Necro vs. Embassy feud, It’s okay for one man to go over the other. I also don’t believe that Bison Smith needs to be protected since he makes such irregular appearances for the company. Let him job to Necro or Rasche for god sakes, maybe that will actually help their aura and reputation with the crowd and elevate them.

Fortunately, from Kenny Omega vs. Kenny Steen onwards the show makes a complete turnaround in quality and compelling events. Omega and Steen had great in-ring chemistry and it was great to see Steen continue to be portrayed as a psycho bad-ass with anger management problems. Corino and Generico was very physical while also staying psychological with Corino’s mind games on Generico. Tyler Black has proven that he is going to deliver in matches against Strong and Aries, and while both were shorter efforts than previous iterations of these grudge encounters, both matches underscored just how talented all three of these men are in the ring. Aries bringing in Tammy “Sunny” Sytch was a nice touch, especially given past ROH history (she had tried to recruit him during angle with The Age of the Fall in 2008). Jerry Lynn vs. Kenny King was the surprise revelation of the night, with Lynn not only having a great reception from the crowd but the match itself very much sold the idea of both men bearing a grudge against each other. The weapons and tables spots were very well done and in the end, Lynn gaining vengeance for King and Titus injuring him last year was paid off in a very satisfactory manner. Then the main event features The Wolves and The Briscoes pulling out all of the stops in a match far better than any previous matches they’ve had against each other, including the Final Battle 2009 Briscoes title win.

–Phoenix Rising: March 27th, 2010: Phoenix, Arizona Thoughts

-Lighting for entrances is terrible, lo and behold much better when the house lights go back up afterwards.

-Omega vs. Romero: Good flash, good substance, fast start, fun middle, Omega with a harder edge, playing meaner face, really taking the advantage and putting Rocky in the comeback role. Beautiful flying spinning DDT from Romero—got some major hang time on this one. I really like Omega using the Uranage—definitely fit in as a higher impact move amid his move speed-oriented offense. Romero with a beautiful counter of the Croyt’s Wrath into a spinning roll-up into flapjack move, into a tight leg lock. Romero working the leg late was pretty well done. Omega hits Croyt’s Wrath (after holding him up in that position for a really long time) for three—extra points for picking up one of the legs on the bridge to sell the late leg work. The audience really liked the fun back-and-forth in the beginning, but they may have lost them a little when it got more harsh and physical, as they may not have known what to make of Omega being more physical than wacky. Still, this is a match right down my alley and I enjoyed it as a good opener.

-Human Tornado vs. Shawn Daivari: Really fun heel promo from The Embassy (Nana, Ryan, Bison and Daivari) before this match—one of the more memorable ones in recent months, with them talking a really good game. Daivari gets the mic for some of…well, his “I’m an American, don’t judge me, blah blah blah” promo work. I know Xenophic angles and characters have been ingrained in professional wrestling for years, but I still really hate it and would like to avoid it in my wrestling at all costs. At least Tornado is here one more time to insert some liveliness into the equation. Even more than Xenophobic angles, I really, really, really hate that Dombrowski goes into “there’s not going to be a writer” telling Daivari what to do in ROH as opposed to when he worked for other promotions… thanks for throwing that bit of business exposing banter into the mix Joe, now excuse while I turn commentary off for awhile. So this is a standard match—nothing too exciting other than one or two Tornado dives and the ever-awesome “Kid’n’Play” corner juke and bootstomps, but nothing awful either. In other words, a decent low-card match. Daviari gets the win with his foot on the ropes.

-Steen vs. Lost: Commentary is back on again. Steen talking in his entrance is still hugely entertaining, and now that he’s a heel, he really lets the spite fly, complaining about just about anything, in this case, that the ring introductions and music were too loud and hurting his ears. Then he asks a fan to give him one of his hot dogs, the fan does so and he throws it into the crowd. Then he challenges the fan to *ahem, eat his hot dog. No really, those are the words he used. Steen nearly kills himself on a running…walking punch on the outside. Way to get your heart rate up dude. I like the psychology of Steen being distracted by the fans chanting “Ole!”, allowing Lost to get a hope roll up. Then Steen kills him with a closeline and screams at the fans “Stop distracting me!” The fans in Phoenix love Steen’s heel act so much they start chanting “Steen is awesome!”…maybe not the reaction they need to give the man with homicidal tendencies…Steen spits at them anyway. Lost gets a fancy looking spin-out of the Package Piledriver and tries to go for some fancy moves, but Steen blocks the Big Fat Kill kick and gets the Package for three. Another non-descript match aside from Steen’s heel antics and some of Lost’s athleticism.

-8 Man Tag: Briscoes, Brown & Necro vs. Embassy & Claudio Castagnoli: Nana is physically involved in this one. Claudio’s gold tights are something else. Some nice physical action between The Briscoes and Claudio starts the match. Then the faces reprise the crowd-interaction on the abdominal stretch hold from last year’s eight man elimination tag from the Death Before Dishonor shows in Canada. That’s probably one of the more innovative fan-friendly moves in recent years—and I think the wrestlers actually get a good kick out it as well. Bison vs. Rasche—look out world, ooops no, Prince Nana gets involved. His trunks are absolutely ridiculous. Brown recovers quickly with big ups on a dropkick on Ryan. A superkick by Ryan causes a huge spit take from Jay Briscoe. A little later on we get the huge Rasche vs. Bison showdown—and Rasche wins that with a massive running shoulderblock! Nice. Ryan blows the moment where he is supposed to save Nana from getting killed by Rasche and Nana just kind of stops until Ryan pushes him away. Crowd laughs at it, but doesn’t boo it, so it could have been worse. Everyone picks it up after that though and the fans go crazy for a tease of the Doomsday Device on Nana as well as Claudio’s UFO spin on Jay Briscoes. The Briscoes hit the Spike Jay-Driller on Claudio for three.

-Pick 6 Match: Kenny King (5) vs. Scorpio Sky: Should I go for the obvious “it’s like looking into a mirror” joke or not? Kenny King hi-stepping after a move is quite entertaining. Some good athleticism in this match, as expected since both men are indeed very athletic. Sky has no real chance here if you think about it, but he definitely gets enough offense not only to make it an entertaining match but to keep it competitive for the live crowd. Super Royal Flush by King for three.

-Hardcore Match: Steve Corino vs. Jerry Lynn: ECW! ECW! ECW! Sorry…couldn’t resist. Corino is looking like he smells onions again. These “legend” promos from Corino are quite funny. Corino wants there to be no match. Lynn gets a good response as well and for the first time he lends a bit of personality to his promo by calling what he did last night to King his idea of fun and then saying Corino has a “man-gina”. Lynn gets Cary Silkin to make this a hardcore rules bout. Crowd approves, but Corino wants to walk out until Lynn forces the issue. UNPROTECTED CHAIRSHOT THROW TO THE HEAD AHOY. Chair-throwing into the ring-check. Chair shot to the shoulder-check. Crutch rammed into Corino’s body-you get the picture. Headscissors by Lynn into a chair propped in the turnbuckle! You know what, Lynn was right, this is fun!

Dombrowski uses the word “surcease” and I am once again considering turning the audio off. I honestly don’t know what’s up with him on this disc—especially since I’ve rather enjoyed his commentary work on other ROH DVDs.

Lynn gets his superman dive over the barrier to a very nice pop and they go brawling around in the crowd and scaffolding. In the ring, vertical suplex on the ladder. HARDCORE. Irish whip into the ladder. HARDCORE. Chair onto the ladder onto Corino. You guessed it—HARDCORE. Chair duel! Vandaminator chair shot onto Corino! A table a barricade and more chairs set up Corino, it’s like he wants to open an IKEA or something. Barricade on the chairs, Corino on the barricade, Corino up, Corino and Lynn superplex and land on the barricade! EYYYYYYIKES. Close two-count for Corino. Spear into the table angled on the turnbuckle and it doesn’t break! Lands on Corino! Cradle Piledriver, Steen is out for the distraction. Roll up, kicked out and sends Lynn’s head out to where Steen hits Lynn over the head with a chair! TWO! Corino on the top, UNPROTECTED CHAIR TO THE FACE! High angle DDT onto the chair! Close two! Corino using Lynn’s blood as warpaint again! Corino cuts him off; OLE MUSIC is piped into the crowd! Generico is out…OLE BOOT! Generico runs to the back. Lynn with the Cradle Piledriver for three!

Crowd kinda sucks for this show—not much life except for the hardcore match and popping for the bigger spots in the highlight matches. No emotional response to some of the bigger grudges between the wrestlers though.

-American Wolves vs. Generi-COLT: Good match, but with these guys, it’s expected. I like that Generico has his cartoon image on his trunks—haven’t noticed that before. Cabana and Generico really shine in the early going, getting the better of each of Richards and Edwards relatively easily. Finally Edwards sucks out Generico and the heat is on. Wolves dominate, but a rare miscue of a superkick from Edwards to Richards allows for the hot tag. Dombrowski has a sort of rhyme / rap in his commentary arounf this point and it really makes me want to turn him off again. Lots of good stuff in the homestretch, with Cabana flowing in and through the path of Edwards and Richards. Meanwhile, The Wolves are picking on Generico but Generico isn’t going down easily. Cool double team from Generi-COLT sees Generico hit the Ole on Edwards in the corner, and then feeds him to Colt for the Hart Attack holding position, where Generico gets another Ole and Colt gets the Colt-45 for a close fall. Wolves respond with a coordinated attack of their own. Finish is Colt with Billy Goat’s Curse on Edwards while Generico lands the Turnbuckle Brainbuster on Richards. Edwards taps (nice touch as Generico points the ref to Edwards, since he was the legal man) for the win to Generi-COLT! OLE!

OH-NO! Steen attacks from behind, laying out Colt with a chair! It’s down to Steen and Generico, and Steen runs down Generico on the mic, begging him to attack! Generico is shaking mad! Steen says Generico is never going to have the balls to hit him. Steen calls Generico a bitch! Generico is wavering in the face of Steen’s vitriol! Steen says he’s going to slap him, but Generico stops it and SPITS IN STEEN’S FACE! Corino from behind attacks Generico, until Cabana comes in for the rescue! Cabana spits gum at Steen outside while he’s running him down, but Steen catches it and puts it in his mouth—EWWWWWWWW! Another awesome interplay between these four. Cabana claims Generico will give Steen the BRAINBUSTAH.

-Personal Gauntlet: Roderick Strong vs. Austin Aries: Aries acts as streamer police—arrest that man! Aries continues to be a master manipulator on the mic, trying to drive that wedge between Black and Strong. Strong takes the mic, but instead of using it to speak, instead he blasted Aries with it and they are off and running. Chop lands and Strong takes a victory lap…then lands another chop on Aries. Cute. Aries dominates and traps Strong-then licks his hand and slaps Strong’s chest. Definitely NOT cute. Big moment of the match is Strong hitting a Gibson Driver throw off the top rope, but while Aries goes to the mat from the top, Strong crashes through the table on the outside. Officials tend to Strong while Aries wants to continue and finish the match. Looks like its over though. Aries is back on the mat, saying Strong should change his name to “Roderick Fragile”. Heh. Aries is just killer on the mic. Aries says Tyler Black should come on down and prove he is a fighting champion, put the belt on the line against Aries. So it is.

-ROH World Title: Tyler Black (c) vs. Austin Aries, Take 456: So we go back to the match that took place the night before, but this time with the belt on the line. Black outwrestles Aries early. Backrakery follows, then forearmery. It’s okay action until Roderick Strong returns to the ring, his shoulder all taped up and forces himself into the match. Aries doesn’t want him in, but Cornette makes it official.

-ROH World Title: Tyler Black (c) vs. Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong: An early preview of the excellent match that occurred a week later at The Big Bang. Crowd finally gets really into the action as Aries does his dive to Black on the floor, followed by Strong onto both Aries and Black. Strong takes the aggressive stance and attacks both men, getting some great looking running knees in the corner, but selling the pain of the shoulder in trying to pull Aries up for the superplex. The shoulder tape also makes for a great target and sell-point if they choose to go that way. Black with the Bucklebomb to Strong, Aries with a missile dropkick on Black and the IED in the corner to both of them. Last Chancery on Black, huge knees and back to the Chancery, but as Aries bridges up, Strong picks him and bends him into the Stronghold / extended Walls of Jericho (COOOOOOOL). Black cuts it off with the Paroxysm on Strong and all three are down. NOW we’re cooking!

A three-way battle results in Aries teeing off on both until Black and Strong combine efforts and give him a double backdrop. Then Strong and Black throw down against each other. Aries with a close call on the kick to head on Strong. Aries grabs the belt, the ref takes it and Aries uses the distraction to pull the turnbuckle cover off. Aries takes the Flair Flip into that exposed corner and Strong uses the space to do a back breaker for a close two. Aries recovers and gives Strong a DVD on the apron! I love it when he does that one. Aries throws Strong over the barricade, but Black hops out and tosses Aries over onto Strong and then Black with the springboard dive that (sorta) nails both of them. Black attempts the Phoenix on Aries in the ring, but no one home, so Japanese armdrag into the corner instead. Strong back in, shoulder first into the exposed turnbuckle… GOD’S LAST GIFT. Strong kicks out barely, so Black goes to a fujiwara armbar and gets the tap out. The main event truly became a main event once Strong came back in…and it was a nice three-way duel to set up the main course at the iPPV.

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Column of Honor’s special-edition “Death Before Column of Dishonor” continues in PART TWO with my opinion and breakdown of Bryan Danielson’s release and thoughts on SIX (SIX!) episodes of ROH on HDNet. See you then!