The Ring of Honor ROHport 06.20.09

Posted by J.D. Dunn on 06.21.2009

KENTA debuts on ROH TV against the Messiah of the Backbreaker.

ROH on HDNet
by J.D. Dunn
Twitter.com/jddunn411
Brightkite.com/jddunn411
Facebook

Tonight's show is dedicated to former ROH weekend warrior Mitsuharu Misawa.

June 20, 2009

From Philadelphia, Pa.

Your hosts are Mike Hogewood and Bobcat Goldthwait Dave Prazak. They announce that Austin Aries has won the ROH Title.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. The Necro Butcher.
This was set up when Necro made the save for Grizzley Redwood, thus earning the ire of the Embassy (and me for having to sit through this match). These two didn't gel at all. Not only was it clunky, but it just *looked* fake. The crowd didn't seem at all impressed either. Jimmy Rave (THE CROWN JOO-ELL!) runs down and spits at Necro, distracting him (and the ref) long enough for Claudio to punt Necro in the cutlets for the pin. After the match, Jimmy puts the boots to Necro until Brent Albright makes the save. I don't look forward to the eventual tag match. 1/2*

Non-Title: MsChif (w/Jimmy Jacobs) vs. Nevaeh.
Nevaeh delivers quite possibly the blandest promo in history, basically saying she has a match with MsChif tonight. Okay, maybe that was hyperbole. She plays the part of Daizee Haze well, and I guess somebody has to because right now the "Women of Honor" is made up of about three women. I get the feeling Neveah isn't used to TV as her "Did I leave the iron on?" expression as she 'sells' a standing bow-and-arrow demonstrates. MsChif misses a quebrada. Don't see many women going for quebradas. Or is the plural of 'quebrada' just 'quebrada?' For the second match in a row, a guy named 'Jimmy' gets up on the apron and spits at someone. This time it's Jacobs spitting at Nevaeh. The ref tells him to get down, so MsChif sprays her with the mist and hits the Desecrator for the pin. Harmless squash but with no real women's division, it's just filler. *

Colt Cabana and Brent Albright shill ROH DVDs. I'm all for this, but it would be nice to know what's on the DVDs and why I should want to buy them (you know, if I didn't have them already).

Ric Flair says goodbye to ROH. Oddly enough, he *did* stick around long enough to deliver the promo.

And then, oddly enough, the clouds part, the sun shines, and the show suddenly gets a thousand times better. The crowd loosens up, the matches get better, and I get more interested in watching. Funny how that happens.

Kenny King (w/Rhett Titus) vs. Kenny Omega.
Omega scored a fluke win over King in a three-way, so King is out for revenge. Middling quality of skanks for King Titus tonight. This match is pretty good with lots of flippy flippy stuff without all the awkward, stilted pacing that usually goes along with the style. Rhett acts like he snorted the ashes of Hunter S. Thompson. It's like Ernest T. Bass and Jimmy Garvin had a kid. They take turns countering each other's wild kicks. I'm not sure the HDNet audience has seen enough of them to be ready for that, but it's still cool. King's back-handspring after being shoved off the top is Awesome with the extra emphasis denoted by adding a capital "A" to the word. C'mon, WWE. Sign him and name him "Kenny Benjamin," Shelton's long-lost brother. You can say Shelton burned down their funeral home if you want. Love his shotgun knees too. They beat Elijah Burke's all to hell. Rhett tries to help out, but it backfires, and he tumbles into the railing. They replay the finish from the first match, but it only gets two for Omega this time. King gets cocky, and Omega catches him on his shoulders for a spiffy Omegaplex (Electric Chair into a Bridging German Suplex). Omega scores the upset win. **3/4

Eddie Kingston vs. Andy Ridge.
This is Kingston's first appearance since getting suspended for knocking out the referee. Andy "Right Leg" Ridge lives up to his name as virtually every single offensive maneuver involves his right leg. Gotta love dedication to character. Nice moment as Kingston backs Ridge into the corner and gives a big phony smile when the ref tells him to back off. Kingston finishes with the backfist. 1/4*

Jimmy Jacobs says he feels free now that he has nothing to lose. He wants Necro.

KENTA vs. Roderick Strong
Wheeee! Hopefully, if NOAH does go under, KENTA will spend more time here. This match is not as good as it could be on a regular show, but it's a damn fine TV main event. They keep it pretty well grounded and don't bust out anything major – like the coast-to-coast. Tentative start, with both guys avoiding each other's strikes. KENTA unleashes a lot of kicks, Roderick a lot of chops. That's all I ask, really. KENTA is hugely over, and even Hogewood's gettin' a chubby watching him. If you think that's disturbing, he was the one who was talking about a threesome with Kenny King's skanks. KENTA blocks a sunset flip and kicks Roddy in the chest. Things get contentious when Roderick comes back with chops and KENTA slaps him in the face. Roderick goes to work on the back, as per usual. KENTA catches him with a powerslam, though. Roderick gets two off the slingshot Falcon Arrow. KENTA slips out of the gutbuster, though, and takes him down with a missile dropkick. KENTA UNLEASHES THE FURY! BUSAIKU KNEE! Roderick blocks the Go2Sleep and hits a superplex. Stronghold, but KENTA makes the ropes. KENTA knocks him out of the ring but makes the mistake of charging him. Roderick catches him and drops his back on the edge of the ring apron. OUCH! Back in, the Yakuza Kick gets two for Strong. Strong sets up for the Stronghold, but KENTA powers up and hits GO2SLEEP! Pretty measured match for these two. It was fun, but nothing particularly memorable. Good TV match, though. ***

The 411: Horrible first half, good back half. Not a bad placeholder show, but the angles (the few that are advanced on the show) are rather repetitive and bland. "You interfered last week, now I'm going to attack you this week" just doesn't cut it in 2009. Hell, it didn't even really cut it in 1979. With no PPV until the end of the year, it's time to focus on quality serial storytelling on the TV show.