The Ring of Honor ROHport 01.04.10

Posted by J.D. Dunn on 01.07.2010

The 'other' show on Monday night delivers a solid main event and something of a mystery.

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by J.D. Dunn
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With a lull in my schedule and the biggest wrestling night in quite some time, I decided to take a look at the three shows in the new Monday Night Wars. Granted, ROH is the Lichtenstein of the wars, but it's Monday Night. It counts.

It's kind of like a wrestling turducken, only which show is the chicken, which is the duck, and which is the turkey?

Just a one-off. Erm… three-off. Your usual recappers are still around.

January 4, 2010

From Philadelphia, Pa.

Your hosts are Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak.

In the back, Eddie Kingston is found on the floor, the victim of an attack from an unnamed assailant. On the ground next to him is a playing card – the King of Diamonds. Isn't that… his card?

Claudio Castagnoli (w/Prince Nana & Mr. Ernesto Osiris) vs. Eddie Kingston.
Kingston limps to the ring. Hogewood immediately blames Claudio, prompting Prazak to call him "Matlock." Prazak also tells us Eddie was known as "the King of Diamonds." Hmm. Maybe it was nWo. Claudio goes after the injured knee, of course. Eddie fights back the best he can, but Claudio puts him in a modified Haas of Pain. Eddie fights out of the corner with a lariat. The Airplane Spin leads to the Horse Collar, but Eddie is near the ropes. Claudio runs right into an Exploder, but Eddie can't get him up for the Backdrop Driver. Claudio spins him around in the Giant Swing… by his bad leg! Great psychology there. That leads to the Horse Collar again, and Eddie has to tap out at 4:55. Nice little compact match that put over Eddie's tough, "almost-never-say-die" attitude. Good psychology surrounding the leg injury too. **1/4

Recap of Final Battle 2009. In answer to your next question – when I get around to it. We see Kevin Steen turning on El Generico and then the Briscoes reclaiming the tag team titles only to have the reformed Kings of Wrestling attack them.

Steve Corino vs. Andy Ridge.
Great. Another one-legged opponent. Corino goes for the Expulsion early, but Ridge rolls through. Ridge fires off a few kicks but gets caught with a backdrop suplex. Corino plays with him a few more minutes before hitting the Old School Expulsion. That sets up a running lariat for the win at 2:52. I get the feeling Corino and Steen would make a good pair. 1/2*

Davey Richards declares himself the best in the world and tells Roderick he'll have 'no remorse.'

Recap of "The Match That Wouldn't Die" between Austin Aries and Tyler Black.

El Generico vs. Rhett Titus.
Is Rhett supposed to be on cocaine? I swear that's what he acts like. He masturbates with Generico's arm and then slides his junk all over him. Generico gets pissed and roars back. Titus crotches him on the top rope, though. Rhett's offense is all heat, which would probably get him over in the WWE, but the ROH crowd gets listless. Hogewood asks Prazak what "the Thrust is a Must" means. Really? Really?!! Prazak tells him to stop by Rhett's hotel room and ask him to watch. "Are you into that, Mike?" Just the image of a naked Mike Hogewood sitting in a chair next to the bed, touching himself and screaming, "Slap the porpoise" is enough to make my genitals recede into my body cavity. Generico blocks the sexy suplex, but Titus hits the Super Sex Factor for two. He goes up for the Superfly Splash, but Generico shakes the ropes to crotch him. That sets up the Brainbuster at 9:16. Generico wouldn't make a bad temporary contender. He's always a good challenger for the title. **1/2

Jim Cornette is happy with the Pick Six so far. Chris Hero interrupts him and says he's being overlooked. Cornette asks him about the King of Diamonds and warns Hero that, if he had anything to do with that attack, he'll be "future endeavored." Hero tells him that any inquiries can be directed to Hagadorn.

Davey Richards (w/Shane Hagadorn & Sara Del Rey) vs. Roderick Strong.
Roderick dominates on the mat early, but Davey unloads with kicks and knocks him into the crowd. Back in, Roderick chops him to the apron, but Davey pulls him down and DDTs him on the floor. Davey is content to take a countout victory, but Roderick makes it back in. Davey goes up but turns to yell at the camera, so Roderick kicks him in the head and superplexes him. A Falcon Arrow gets two for Roderick. He cuts Davey off with a dropkick for two. Davey ducks an enzuigiri and hits a missile dropkick for two. I keep waiting for this to explode with action, but it's not happening. Davey reverses the Half-Nelson Backbreaker to a crucifix for two. Roderick blocks La Majestral for two, but Davey completes it for two. They exchange strikes and clothesline each other down. They trade chops and kicks. Davey busts out the Kawada kicks and dares Roderick to come at him. Roderick hits a flurry of chops and forearms. A roundhouse kick ends that in a hurry. German Suplex by Davey! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Davey locks him in the Cloverleaf. Roderick makes the ropes, though. He comes back with the uranage backbreaker into the gutbuster. They boot each other, but Roderick comes out of it with the flying Yakuza! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! A complex rollup gets two for Davey, and he hits the Alarm Clock. Roderick avoids a charge and hits a kick to the face. Gutbuster leads to the Tiger Driver at 16:10. The usual good match between these two, but not their best by far. The crowd was dead throughout, and the work on the back didn't really come together for Roderick. It was just there because… well, that's what Roderick does. Still, a hard-hitting match worthy of HDNet main event status, and Roderick going over here is the right decision. ***1/2

The 411: The show has become much better since I last recapped. The "King of Diamonds" angle looks like an attempt to inject a sorely needed longterm angle into the show for the first time since ROH got TV (it does feel very TNAish, though). The main event, while comparatively disappointing, was still one of the best matches of the week. Not a bad start to the year, but I hope they don't rely too much on their established formula.