411's ROH on HDNet Report 11.19.09: Danielson's Farewell (11.16.09)

Posted by Aaron Hubbard on 11.19.2009

"THANK YOU DRAGON!" *clap clap clapclapclap* "THANK YOU DRAGON!"

Show starts with a video package of Bryan Danielson, with Mike Hogewood providing the voice over. For over seven years, Danielson has given his all for ROH fans, and tonight, he says goodbye. He and Dave Prazak welcome us to the show and put over Danielson some more (rightfully so).

Chris Hero w/Shane Hagadorn vs. Delirious
Or maybe not, as Sonjay Dutt attacks the masked man from behind. Because you know, we really wanted that feud to continue. Nope, Hagadorn throws Delirious in and we will get a match. Hero throws him BACK outside, covers Deli in the ring mats, and hits a huge senton. He only gets two back inside. Hero starts a casual beatdown of stomps and elbows, but Delirious fights back with chops. Hero brings him back down with a snap mare and rips off a tassel. He drops him with an elbow from behind and hits another senton for two. He takes control with a front facelock, but Delirious starts to fight back again. Hero catches a kick and throws the legs into the ropes, and hits another elbow.

The move only gets two and Hero is upset about that. Hero drops an elbow and a pair of sliding kicks, and then heads outside. Delirious rests on the ropes, so Hero jumps up to the apron with a flash kick. Delirious finally gets a big move by countering a backdrop suplex with a headscissors. Hero rests in the corner to bait Deli into trying the Panic Attack, and he hits an elbow. Hero lifts up Deli for what looks like an atomic drop but just chucks him into the center of the ring. Hero starts slapping Delirious and eats a jawbreaker for his troubles. Hero runs into a headbutt in the corner and Delirious hits a hurricane rana off the top rope. He hits a drop toehold and floats over into the Cobra Stretch!

Hero gets to his feet and backs Deli into the corner to break it up, but runs into an elbow. Delirious gets some more strikes and a huge missile dropkick that sends Hero crashing into the opposite buckles. PANIC ATTACK! Shadows Over Hell misses, ROLLING ELBOW! Only two for Chris Hero. Hero slams Deli into the top turnbuckle and then sets him up for a running elbow, but the masked man gets a backslide out of nowhere for two. An O'Connor Roll only gets two, DEATH BLOW! The rolling elbow to the back of the head gets Hero the three count.
Winner: Chris Hero (via Death Blow) **3/4

Sonjay Dutt comes out poses over Delirious like he accomplished something. Besides you know, the Black Tie Brawl and Chain match.

The #2 Danielson moment as picked by Bryan is his match with Colt Cabana at Gut Check. Wow, didn't see that coming. I guess it makes sense with him injuring his shoulder and still going to an hour.

Oh dear…

Beard vs. Beard Match: Grizzly Redwood & The Necro Butcher vs. Joey Ryan & Prince Nana w/Ernie Osiris
If the Embassy wins, Redwood shaves his beard. If they lose, Osiris loses his beard. Hogewood and Prazak have a non-sequester about Hogewood being in college when Abraham Lincoln was in office. This moves onto talk of Abe's beard AND his wrestling career. Redwood hits a flying headscissors and a series of armdrags on Ryan. Butcher tags in and Ryan tries to tag out, but Nana is having none of that. Necro abuses Ryan for a bit and hits a back body drop. Redwood hits a springboard axehandle on Ryan and goes after Nana. Osiris goes after him and Grizzly gives chase and runs into a powerslam from Joey.

Nana tags in and hits a chop and tags back out. Redwood telegraphs a back body drop and Joey kicks him and hits a dropkick. Nana tags in, hits a snapmare and a stomp and tags back out. Ryan hits some boots and tags back to Nana, who hits a scoop slam and climbs to the second rope. He misses a splash because Necro was shaking the ropes. Butcher and Joey tags in and Necro hits everything that moves. Ryan tags out of the PUNCH, and then counters the Tiger Driver with a superkick. Grizzly is back in, DOWN COME THE SUSPENDERS! The Embassy beat him down and Ryan dives onto Necro. Grizzly fights off Nana and hits Osiris, OFF COMES THE SHIRT! Ryan gets a schoolboy for two, and then Grizzly goes through the legs, TORNADO DDT! 1…2…3!
Winner: Grizzly Redwood & Necro Butcher (via Tornado DDT) *

Redwood removes Osiris' beard, and Prazak is very sad. He says as long as they keep the scissors away from Necro Butcher he'll be okay.

We go to a brief shot of Bryan's REAL final night in New York, where the crowd is chanting "We will miss you!" and Bryan looks about ready to cry. I might lose it myself reviewing this thing.

The #1 moment is, as expected, his match against KENTA from Glory by Honor VI. We get a new side to the story as he talks about his girlfriend being in the crowd and crying as Kenta assaulted the arm. He says that making it through that match was his proudest moment.

Last week, Austin Aries attacked Tyler Black with a fireball, and in two weeks he will face Colt Cabana. But next week, we will get Brent Albright vs. Kenny King. We get an interview from Kenny putting over his athleticism.

(Sidenote: I sent this video from ROH Brazil to a friend from church to explain what Danielson leaving means to me. She said two things: "Brent Albright is HOT!" and "This black guy needs his butt kicked!" Kayfabe is alive and well! And who knew Albright had cross demographic appeal?)

Skullkrusher Rasche Brown vs. Cameron Matthews
OH MY GOODNESS! Brown is from Gary, Indiana! Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana, Gary In-di-a-na, my home sweet home! Brown shakes poor Cameron's hand and hits a punch and a chop. He connects with a spinning stall suplex for two. Matthews throws a couple of punches and dodges a clothesline, but gets bowled over with a flying shoulder block. SPINNING BURNING HAMMER! And Chris Lansdell just marked out like a mother. SLAP THE PORPOISE!
Winner: Rasche Brown (via spinning Burning Hammer) 1/2*

We get a nice little video package of Bryan's highlights from the HDNet show.


"American Dragon" Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong
The crowd starts out with streamers and a huge "Thank you Dragon!" chants. The Code of Honor is followed and here we go. They do a nice wrestling sequence as the crowd tells Roddy what's going to happen to his head. Strong tries the Boston Crab but Dragon escapes. They go to a Greco-Roman Knucklelock and Strong forces Dragon into a bridge but can't break it, and Danielson bridges back up while Strong is on top of him. Roddy does a cartwheel and hits a dropkick. He grabs a side headlock but Bryan tosses him off, and Strong hits a shoulder block and a sunset flip. Danielson rolls through and goes for a kick but stops when Roddy puts his arms up, and then kicks him for real once he puts his arms down. Bryan grabs a wristlock and Roddy counters to one of his own, but Dragon does some chain wrestling to get an armbar and rolls through a hip toss attempts to keep the hold on. Prazak brings up Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko from 1995 in the same building, which is exactly what I was feeling for this one.

Strong finally escapes the hold by maneuvering into a backdrop backbreaker, but it only gets two. A standard backbreaker gets another nearfall and Strong grabs a waistlock. Bryan escapes by going to the corner, so Strong decides to light his competitive fire with the stinging chops and some stomps. Roderick lifts Bryan and bends him bow-and-arrow style over his back, like a modified Gory Special. He drops him down and covers for two. He hits a kick to the back and Bryan starts firing off elbows, but Roddy catches him with a leaping heel kick. Strong busts out the full nelson with his legs, but Danielson rolls through to switch it to a surfboard! Roddy gets the ropes and goes back to the chops. Bryan finally gets fed up and starts slapping Strong in retaliation. He whips Roddy and hits a kick to the gut and one to the back. He hits a series of kicks in the corner and hits the jumping spinning heel kick that I haven't seen him do for a while. Bryan follows up with a dropkick in the corner.

Strong reverses a corner whip and Dragon backflips out of the corner, hits the ropes but Strong stops him with an elbow, but Danielson hits a flying clothesline. Bryan goes for the Mexican Surfboard, but goes to a fishhook first. He gets Strong up there but loses one of the legs, and STILL holds him up there. He brings him down in a cover for two. Dragon hits a European Uppercut and whips Roddy to the corner, but runs into a kick to the face. Strong follows with an enzugiri and the uranage backbreaker for two. Roderick whips Danielson cross-corner and hits a corner clothesline, a discus clothesline, and a pumphandle backbreaker for another two. He whips Dragon and gets caught with a kick after going for a back body drop. Bryan follows up with an elbow and heads up top, goes for the missile dropkick but Roddy counters to the Boston Crab! Dragon counters to a roll-up for a nearfall and gets a crucifix, Strong holds on and goes for the press gutbuster, but Danielson hits a rana! TRIANGLE CHOKE! Roderick manages to get the ropes.

Strong goes outside to catch a breather and hits a forearm when Bryan tries a dive. Roderick wants the backdrop suplex on the apron but Danielson makes sure he lands in the ring, and hits a running dropkick to the gut. Dragon hits the ropes and hits a baseball slide that sends Roderick into the crowd, SPRINGBOARD DIVE BY DANIELSON! I'm glad he did that because we get a great shot of the crowd cheering him and chanting "Best in the World!" Bryan throws Strong back inside, and hits the missile dropkick. Bryan knips up and hits the flying gamengiri, but it only gets two.

Some idiot throws a streamer in, CATTLE MUTILATION! Bryan has the streamer locked in as well, but Strong rolls through, 1…2…NO! OMOPLATA! Dragon cranks on the omoplata shoulderlock, the move that beat Roderick in Bryan's first title defense against him. Strong counters his way into the Boston Crab, but Dragon rolls to his back, Roddy looks to try a catapult, but Bryan holds onto the arms and KICKS HIS HEAD IN! TRIANGLE CHOKE! Strong tries to counter with multiple Gotch Lifts, but finally breaks it up with the Power Breaker (powerbomb over the knee)! Wow, what a series of reversals there.

The two men stare each other down, and we get chops. Bryan gets smart and switches to kicks, goes for the roaring elbow, but Strong counters to a second uranage backbreaker. He lifts him up into the Torture Rack, PRESS BACKBREAKER! 1…2…NO! Strong sets Dragon up top, but Bryan escapes and hits a kick to the back. BACKDROP SUPERPLEX BY DANIELSON! CATTLE MUTILATION! Roddy powers up, PRESS GUTBUSTER! GIBSON DRIVER! 1…2…NO! Strong puts Danielson up top and hits a chop. He looks to try the press gutbuster from the top rope, MMA ELBOWS BY DRAGON! ENZUGIRI BY STRONG! SUPER PRESS GUTBUSTER! SICK KICK! 1…2….3! It was my honor to review that match.
Winner: Roderick Strong (via Sick Kick) ****1/2

Roderick Strong takes the mic and says: "I'm gonna make this real quick. I just want to tell you Bryan, thank you for everything. I wouldn't be, and half of those guys in that locker room wouldn't be who they are today, if it wasn't for you. And God damn it, when they call you the ‘Best in the World', I've never heard anything truer. Thank you Bryan Danielson. I love you like a brother."

Most of the locker room empties and the crowd starts up the "Thank you Dragon!" chants once more. Bryan takes a mic, but we don't get to see that, sadly. If they weren't going to show us the promo, they could have at least not shown him grabbing the mic.