411’s Instant Access 09.17.11: ROH Death Before Dishonor IX

Hey kids, I’m Scott, and this is 411’s Instant Access: ROH Death Before Dishonor IX. Instant Access is the companion piece to 411 Live Pay-Per-View Coverage and features immediate reaction to wrestling pay-per-views. The focus in Instant Access is on first thoughts and initial reactions instead of play-by-play with the goal of providing you with instant access to one two three FOUR writers’ thoughts on the show. Here’s the team for Death Before Dishonor IX:

• Scott Slimmer, author of Don’t Think Twice.
• Jack Bramma, author of Ring Crew Reviews.
• TJ Hawke, 411’s newest rising star and author of 411 Wrestling Interviews.
• Ari Berenstein, author of Column of Honor and, in all honesty, the IWC’s most respected expert on ROH. Ari is LIVE at the show and will be texting in his comments throughout the evening.

For even more coverage, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @ScottSlimmer.

Okay kids, enough with the explanations. Let’s get to the wrestling.

Dark Match
Andy Ridge vs. Grizzly Redwood
Match Result: Andy Ridge defeats Grizzly Redwood.
Match Analysis:
Hawke: A complete nothing match. I can’t believe Ridge is going to be in the Survival of the Fittest (not that Grizz is any better of an option). There is no need to go out of your way to see this.
Berenstein: Not very good. Both seemed off their game. Ridge used the right leg a lot.
Match Rating:
Hawke: *½
Berenstein: ½*
Average Match Rating: *

Grudge Tag Team Match
Jay Lethal & Homicide vs. Tommaso Ciampa & Rhino w/ The Embassy
Match Result: Tommaso Ciampa defeats Homicide with Project Ciampa II.
Match Length: 10:12
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This was a decent opener, but it seemed like a bit of a clash of styles between all four men. I’ve ragged on Homicide’s ring work over the last few years, but I give him a ton of credit for eating the pin and putting over a rising star.
Hawke: A basic opener meant to be crowd-pleasing while simultaneously re-establishing The Embassy as a legitimate stable. The match was a fun opener but this seemed to be a waste of Lethal, considering he probably demands a much higher payday than the typical curtain jerkers. Ciampa is getting better and better in ring, and his finisher (powerbomb backbreaker) is awesome and way over with the crowd. The Embassy is being booked strong at the moment, and they are made up of a lot of strong parts, but they have not quite come together as a whole yet.
Berenstein: Hot crowd means hot match. Hope it stays like this all night.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: **½
Hawke: **½
Berenstein: ***
Average Match Rating: **¾

Special Challenge Match #1
Shelton Benjamin vs. “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett w/ Brutal Bob
Match Result: Shelton Benjamin defeats Mike Bennett with Paydirt.
Match Length: 10:29
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This was about as good as you could reasonably expect from Mike Bennett and, well, anybody. I would have been far happier with Benjamin and Haas in a tag team match, even if the tag titles weren’t on the line, but I do understand the logic of having them work with a few of the new guys in order to build them up.
Hawke: This was every Mike Bennett match you ever saw. The babyface starts off winning, Brutal Bob cheats, Bennett does some basic FCW moves during the heat, then the match ends after some shenanigans. Bennett has a lot of potential but he does not belong on the biggest ROH cards at the moment. This was a waste of Shelton. If I keep talking about this, I am going to get as mad as Ari so I will just stop.
Berenstein: I went to the bathroom and got some water at the bar.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: **
Hawke: **
Berenstein: N/A
Average Match Rating: **

Three Way Elimination Match
The Young Bucks vs. Future Shock vs. The Bravados
Match Result: The Young Bucks defeat Future Shock with More Bang for Your Buck.
Match Length: 10:35
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: I will forever hold a grudge against this match for the sole reason that it was MURDER on the poor schmuck who was trying to do the live coverage. Seriously, this thing was fasterer and furiouser than most DGUSA matches, and that promotion is usually the gold standard for recapping hell. There’s no way to fault the work rate in this match, but I do tend to believe it all felt… just a little pointless. I’m not going to get on the “you need to tell a story” soapbox, but sometimes frenetic spotfests can go so far in one direction that they actually end up being tiring as opposed to exhilarating.
Bramma: Chaotic but in the best way possible. Insane ten minute spotfests are an art form when performed the right way and this was wonderful. Probably the most fun I had all night. I loved the story of the Bravados STILL trying to rob the NYC fans of the full potential glory of a Bucks/Cole and O’Reilly faceoff and get their due in the process and them eating the first pinfall was the right call and then the Bucks winning clean is something I’m fine with as well. This could have easily gone several more minutes and is BEGGING for an extended feud with all three teams getting over in the process, but based on the post-match refused handshake, it looks like we’re headed for a Bucks heel turn and more matches just between them and Cole/O’Reilly.
Hawke: After an uninspiring start to the show, this match was just a delight to watch. Sure there were a lot of spots but the spots were all about the 6 guys being young, and trying their hardest to win; plus, since there were 6 men, the guys were allowed to do a little more selling while keeping up the action. I am looking forward to many more matches between these teams in the coming months. After the match, the Bucks refused to shake Future Shock’s hands, which sets them up to be heels for the time being (besides being a joke at Booker T’s expense). The Bucks never really developed characters beyond Buck #1 and Buck #2 in their last ROH run, so hopefully this will be the start of a good heel run by them.
Berenstein: 🙂 That shit put a smile on my face big time.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***
Bramma: ***¾
Hawke: ***¾
Berenstein: ****
Average Match Rating: ***¾

One-On-One Match
El Generico vs. Jimmy Jacobs
Match Result: No contest.
Match Length: 12:00ish before the Steenference, 16:00ish total
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: Jimmy Jacobs always makes me happy, so I was glad to see him back in action in ROH. As many people has said, this was a fine little match that was hampered by the looming shadow of Kevin Steen. However, given that constraint, at least the eventual payoff was freaking amazing. Steen is a horrible human being, a remorseless psychopath, and one of the best anti-heroes that the industry has seen in a long time.
Bramma: Solid but average match between the two. The story was pretty good with Generico not buying the new Jacobs and his quest for playing by the rules. The match was clean, traditional wrestling but the whole affair had the air of a formality as the crowd just wasn’t into it until Steen’s interference for the no contest. But Steen’s run in and f-bomb rant did not disappoint. He called out Corino and Generico before his mic was cut and then the locker-room came to get rid of him only for Steen to escape a splash and try to take out Cary. Kevin Kelly called him a “son of a bitch” while micked up for trying a package piledriver on Cary which was also great and then Cornette tried a fistfight with him. With Steen’s fliers from earlier in the year on cars, his hijacking of the ROH forum and now this, ROH is out-“punking” CM Punk and WWE.
Hawke: I don’t really know how to rate this match; the action was good but the crowd pretty much sat on their hands because they knew Kevin Steen was going to interfere before it was over. I would have preferred a finish here, but there will be time for another match between these two down the line. Also, the Steen angle was pretty damn great, so no one would have remembered the result of the match anyway. Somehow, Steen has been one of the best professional wrestlers this year while only wrestling a dozen matches in PWG.
Berenstein: Wow, that was some crazy shit. Loved it. Match was fun but didn’t get a lot of heat due to everyone expecting Steen – and they got him in spades.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***¼
Bramma: ***
Hawke: ***
Berenstein: **¾
Average Match Rating: ***

Special Challenge Match #2
Charlie Haas vs. Michael Elgin w/ Truth Martini
Match Result: Charlie Haas defeats Michael Elgin with a running clothesline.
Match Length: 10:00ish
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: Much like the Shelton Benjamin / Mike Bennett match, this match was what it was and not much more. However, as I mentioned earlier, while I’m sure many of us would have like to see the Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team in, you know, a tag team match, there will always be value in letting rising stars gain experience wrestling seasoned veterans on a big stage. I understand the way the ROH booked Benjamin and Haas tonight, and in the long run it was probably a smart move.
Bramma: Truth had perhaps the most effeminate manager’s attire since anything Brother Love has ever wore. This match was quite the oddity for me. Elgin seemed to have some momentum from earlier in this year as a power move specialist and he’s clearly bigger than Haas, but then they lay out the match where Haas first outwrestles Elgin and then overpowers him through the second half and beats him with a clothesline. I get wanting to keep your tag champs strong even in singles competition but this was just a basically a glorified squash with nothing interesting going on other than a back suplex on the guardrail from Haas.
Hawke: This match was a real cold way to come back after the intermission. This match felt like a WWE Superstars match, which is not a terrible thing but much like a Mike Bennett match, it is not really what I want from a ROH iPPV. On top of that, the crowd was completely dead for this match (except for about 2 spots), and the finish came out of nowhere. Haas and Benjamin need to establish finishers because the fans are never ready to react to the end of their matches, which prevents that “exclamation point” finish that most great matches have.
Berenstein: Crowd having a hard time coming back from intermission until the end, but nothing wrong with the match itself. Elgin worked hard.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: **
Bramma: **
Hawke: **½
Berenstein: **½
Average Match Rating: **¼

The “Ringmaster Challenge” 2 out of 3 Falls Match
First Fall: Pinfall only
Second Fall: Submissions only
Third Fall: 15 minute Iron Man Match
Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong w/ Truth Martini
Match Result: Eddie Edwards defeats Roderick Strong in sudden death overtime with the Die Hard.
Match Length: 43:00ish
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: Gimmick matches are tricky, because you have to ride the fine line between allowing the gimmick to add to the match without letting the gimmick overwhelm the match. This match had almost 45 minutes of amazing wrestling, but I tend to believe that a 45 minute one-on-one contest would have been far more compelling than a 45-minute contest that ultimately featured four distinct sections. I give a ton of credit to Edwards and Strong for putting forth amazing effort, but this match veered just a bit too far into overbooked territory for my taste. That being said, I was incredibly happy to see Edwards pick up the win, because now we seem poised for a rematch between Edwards and Richards. Their first title match was absolutely brilliant, and I’m salivating at the prospect of a rematch.
Bramma: This match had the misfortune of a technical difficulty with the commentary not working for a large chunk of the middle but it didn’t hurt my enjoyment. To paraphrase Prazak, Roderick Strong fans were in attendance tonight surprisingly. A split crowd for the majority of the match though clearly leaning toward Eddie. However, this was a thoroughly well worked but unspectacular 45 minute match. It just never drifted into MOTYC territory due to a lack of anything special we hadn’t seen before. The first ten minutes was workmanlike until Roddy got a clean pin after an F5 backbreaker. The match only seemed to perk up with Roddy’s back work in the second fall only to squander that with Eddie’s flash submission win with no build. Even the time limit draw where then Cornette comes out and guarantees a winner with sudden death ending felt contrived and forced. In that respect, it reminds me of Danielson/Aries vs. MCMG from ROH Fueling the Fire in Manassas with trying to manufacture a classic by going through multiple time limits without a fall. Even the usually rabid crowd was self-conscious enough to drag the “twinkies” chant out of mothballs for Sinclair to amuse themselves. Personally, I would have had Eddie win the first fall clean with a pinfall and during the 30 second time break then have Roddy sneak him from behind with the F5 backbreaker and use that illegal move to springboard into his back psychology during the second fall and win it by submission and then you could have the rest of the match play out the same going home. Still, I liked this match a lot even if I’m not going any higher than ****.
Hawke: Of their 3 ROH matches this year, I would say this was my least favorite, but it is not every day that I get to see a near 45 minute wrestling match. If you are used to only seeing WWE, I would say that you should go out of your way to see this as it was pretty good. The problem with this match was that there was no storyline reason for the goofy stipulation. Edwards has still yet to lose to Strong in 1v1 match in ROH, so the fans were not exactly dying to see him win (the NYC fans have now see Eddie beat Roddy 1v1 three times). On top of that, much like the Haas/Elgin match, the finish felt anti-climactic; an “exclamation point” finish probably would have made the match come off better.
Berenstein: Split crowd leaning Eddie. More great wrestling form these two. Finish to the first fall was great. Strong was a monster for the entire match and Eddie showed heart, then this match got all kinds of sick and awesome. What can you say about the kind of effort these guys give except it’s what defines ROH and it’s appreciated.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****¼
Bramma: ****
Hawke: ***¾
Berenstein: ****¾
Average Match Rating: ****¼

Ladder War III
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The All Night Express
Match Result: Kenny King climbs the ladder and retrieves the contract to win the match.
Match Length: 27:13
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: The Briscoes promised violence, and violence is exactly what they delivered. I’ll always be an ECW mark, and this match evoked the kind of ECW hardcore atmosphere that is becoming increasingly rare in today’s professional wrestling industry. However, it would be unfair to lose sight of the fact that the All Night Express took all of the Briscoe’s violence and dished out just as much. Tonight was all about proving that ANX deserve a spot in the top tier of tag teams in the world, and defeating the Briscoes in a Ladder War was the perfect way to launch them into title contention. The Briscoes will always be over in ROH, but tonight they did the right thing for the promotion and for the industry by taking ANX to the next level.
Bramma: A bloody spotfest that I’m liking the more I think about it. This followed the pretty standard formula of dumping one guy and then double teaming his partner while setting up a spot only to get cut off by the previously dismissed guy so the other team can get their work in. It was slow in places and it took them a while to set up some spots, but you’ve got manly blade jobs from all involved outside of Kenny King who didn’t blade much to the NYC crowd’s chagrin (MAKE HIM BLEED!) but he still managed to eat a couple of stiff table spots and hit an SSP for the first time I can remember. Of course, how can I leave off Jay hitting the biggest splash since Jeff Hardy took a dive off a ladder of the same height during the TLC matches. When combining his promos with his character work and in-ring talent, Jay Briscoe is undoubtedly one of my favorite performers walking the Earth right now and seems to be getting better as he ages.
Hawke: With the first two Ladder Wars being a tough standard to live up to, I was a little worried that these two teams would try to do too much to give us something memorable. Luckily, the match told a great story while keeping any death defying spots to a minimum, which is nice to see in 2011. The match was basically a street fight where they used tables, ladders, and chairs as weapons, instead of as excuses for meaningless spots to pop the crowd. The only spot that was really dangerous was towards the end when Mark Briscoe did a splash off a Jeff Hardy ladder onto Rhett Titus. The result of all the hard work was a great match and a decisive end to the most violent ROH feud of 2011. ANX has stepped up to main event level performers this year, and they should clearly be the next ROH tag champions in my humble opinion.
Berenstein: This is perhaps the most bloodthirsty and sadistic a reaction from an ROH crowd I’ve ever seen or heard. God love these guys for all the hard work and violence. I just wish the crowd was more supportive of ANX. The NYC mass collective continues to perplex me. After 3 shows where they hated the Briscoes, now they cheer for them? Not like the Briscoes did anything to discourage that. But still, for blood, weapons, and craziness (ladder dive what?), this was hard to beat.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****¼
Bramma: ***¾
Hawke: ****½
Berenstein: ****½
Average Match Rating: ****¼

Final Thoughts

Match of the Night:
Slimmer: Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The All Night Express (****¼)
This one lived up to the hype and did an amazing job of melding the traditional hardcore style match with the newer TLC style match. Great job by all four guys
Bramma: Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong (****)
This is really close for me as I have three matches neck and neck for this. In terms of best bang for your buck, minute for minute entertainment, the three way would easily be my choice, but Eddie/Roddy laid it all out there for 40 minutes with crisp moves all the way through.
Hawke: Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The All Night Express (****½)
Next to Eddie/Davey, I have this as my second best match of 2011 for Ring of Honor. On a disappointing PPV card (by ROH standards) these 4 men went out and gave the fans a main event worth celebrating, and a match that fans should go to GoFightLive.TV right now to see.
Berenstein: Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong (****¾)
Great wrestling that lived up to previous matches.

Trash of the Night:
Slimmer: None.
As on most ROH iPPV cards, nothing here truly sucked. There were certainly matches that weren’t ***** classics, but each match had its own particular charms. Some just had charms and buckets of blood.
Bramma: Charlie Haas vs. Michael Elgin (**)
This match just was a curiosity from the word go with Elgin refusing a lock up like a cheap heel all the way through the lackluster finish with Elgin jobbing to a clothesline.
Hawke: Shelton Benjamin vs. Mike Bennett (**)
Mike Bennett is not a terrible wrestler by any means but he is a developmental wrestler at the moment. I think he has got some potential, but I have no interest in spending money to watch him. The kid needs to start stepping up to the level of his co-workers.
Berenstein: None
Unless you count paying four dollars for a bottle of water, but c’est la vie.

Final Analysis:
Slimmer: I’ll be honest, this show looked a bit like a one match card to me. Fortunately, several of the matches that were flying below my own personal radar definitely proved to be a ton of fun. This may not have been the kind of all-time classic show that Death Before Dishonor VIII was, but it was still well worth $15.00.
Bramma: Hard not to like what you see here with at least three matches all hovering around the **** range and I’m sure some will rate them even higher. My only reservation is that ROH has set the bar so high for themselves in my eyes that whenever a show DOESN’T have a match of the year contender on it, it almost feels like a letdown. But that’s more about my high expectations for them than for the quality of this show. If WWE had put on the exact same show and we’d changed the wrestler’s names to the fed’s “superstars,” this would easily vault to PPV of the year discussion.
Hawke: Going into this PPV, I was only excited to see (and pay for) the triple threat tag, the Kevin Steen angle, and the Ladder War. At the end of this PPV, the only stuff I thought was really fun were those three segments (plus Roddy and Eddie wrestled for 40+ minutes, which is not exactly a bad thing). So, I can’t really complain about what I got for my money. Having said that, the rest of the card was nothing to special, which is not good for an iPPV. ROH has set the standard high for the iPPVs and this one did not meet those standards.
Berenstein: The two main event matches delivered, and the triple threat tag team match ruled, and KILLSTEENKILLED! Worth my money.

Verdict:
Slimmer: ***½
Bramma: ***¾
Hawke: ***½
Berenstein: ****¼
Average Verdict: ***¾