411's ROH on HDNet Report 01.09.09: Richards vs. Strong (01.04.10)

Posted by Aaron Hubbard on 01.09.2010

A main event with no remorse highlights the forgotten show in the Monday Night Skirmish.

The show starts with Eddie Kingston with an injured knee in the back. He tries to get up. This would be a lot more dramatic if it didn't remind of Peter Griffin.

Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak are your commentators as always. Claudio Castagnoli comes to the ring with Prince Nana for his scheduled match with Kingston. So what happens now? Well, first answer is that Eddie's music plays, which means it will still be in my head. Oh, here he comes. Slowly.

Claudio Castagnoli w/Prince Nana & Ernie Osirisvs. Eddie Kingston
Don't expect this to live up their classics in CHIKARA. Nana grabs Eddie's knee and Claudio goes after it. He gives a stunner to the leg. I'm not kidding. Maybe it was supposed to be a European Uppercut? He rams it into the posts. He starts brushing his boot in Eddie's face and Eddie fights back, but Claudio goes back to the knee. HAAS OF PAIN! They start trading slaps and then forearms. He throws a big clothesline and covers for two. Claudio throws in the no-hands airplane spin right into the stretch muffler. Eddie avoids a bicycle kick and hits a uranage for two. His knee prevents him from hitting the Backdrop Driver. One legged big swing back into the stretch muffler and Kingston has to tap out. More angle than match, and the match dragged.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli (via stretch muffler) 1/2*

We get a recap of Final Battle. They show Kevin Steen turning on El Generico, The Briscoes winning the ROH World Tag Team Championships from The American Wolves and being attacked by The Kings of Wrestling afterwards. Mark Briscoe trying to cut a promo without swearing is pretty freaking hilarious.

Steve Corino vs. Andy "Right Leg" Ridge
Handshake by Corino and a kick to the gut, goes for the Jig ‘N' Tonic but takes too long and Ridge rolls him up for two. He ducks a pair of punches and hits several kicks with the right leg but runs into a knee. Corino hits a leg-hook flatliner that Ridge kicks out of at two. He whips Ridge to the corner and hits a big chop. Corino hits a backdrop suplex for another two. He starts slapping Ridge, catches a kick and punches the right leg. Ridge gets nearfalls off of a schoolboy and a backslide, and a small package. He stops a lariat with a spin kick to the gut and a knee to the side of the head. Corino blocks a superkick and hits the Jig ‘N' Tonic…and follows up with a sliding lariat for the win. Teddy Hart doesn't give jobbers that many finishers.
Winner: Steve Corino (via Sliding Clothesline) DUD

Kyle Durdan interviews Davey Richards, who likes fighting Roderick Strong because his fists do the talking. He's not one for promoting himself, he just likes to fight and wrestle. But he gives us a brief history over the No Remorse Corps and credits Strong for giving him a platform to perform, but he says he's created a monster that has overtaken him. He calls himself the best in the world, and says the hunt is…well, "No remorse." Nice little promo here.

And now we look at Austin Aries vs. Tyler Black at Final Battle, which is without a doubt the most polarizing match in quite some time. Many, many fans absolutely hated this, including the NYC crowd. I thought that the athletes did a good job for most of the match (about 50 minutes of it) and my final rating is ***1/2. However, the one thing I agree with is that having a 60-Minute Draw at Final Battle is just about the dumbest decision that ROH has made since Xavier, World Champion.

Rhett Titus vs. El Generico
Rhett Titus hails from "The Temple of Lust". How honorable is El Generico? He slaps Rhett's hand after the crotch rub so he can follow the Code of Honor. Rhett grabs an arm and steps over it and masturbates with it. Waistlock takedown and Rhett does the stripper crawl over Generico. Generico slaps the taste out of his mouth and Titus hits a knee and grabs a headlock. Shoulders like boulders block from Titus and Generico hits a trio of armdrags. He uses the pumphandle and smashes Titus on the top turnbuckle for a Perfect Bump. Generico hits mounted punches (in the corner you pervert) and Titus does his inverted atomic drop that doesn't really hit. Heel kick by Generico gets two. He hits a chop but Rhett hits a knee and a punch. Titus gets a sunset flip and covers his face to prevent a kick to the head, so Generico leaps over and hits a dropkick to the back of the neck for two.

Titus prevents the climbing tornado DDT by crotching Generico on the top rope. He follows with a kneedrop for two and then a slam and a legdrop for two. His next big move is a clothesline that sets up a shimmying elbow drop for two. He keeps Generico down with punches, but Generico keeps fighting until Titus gets a knee. Generico blocks the Sexy Suplex (Rhett's name, not mine) with a small package for two. Titus hits a spinning knee to the gut and a boot to the face, and then hits a leapfrog rocker dropper for two. Generico finally wins the battle of fisticuffs. Titus goes to the eyes and tries a double axe handle from the top but lands in a punch.

Generico hits a couple clotheslines, eats the telegraph kick but connects with the tornado DDT he didn't hit earlier. It only gets two but he wants the yakuza kick, and he eats the dropkick. Titus hits a sit-out inverted DDT for two. Titus runs into a boot and Generico goes up top and Rhett comes back with the Super Sex Factor. It only gets two and Titus goes up top, Generico trips him back down to the mat and connects with the yakuza kick. The Brainbuster puts Titus away. Mike Hogewood says "SLAP THE PORPOISE!" which is the LAST thing I want to hear when Titus is in the ring.
Winner: El Generico (via Brainbuster) **1/2

We get an interview with Jim Cornette who is really excited about the match between Richards and Strong. Chris Hero comes out and says that he should be talking about his match next week with Kenny Omega. Cornette shows him a King of Diamonds that was at the scene of Eddie's attack and says the backstage attacks need to stop. Hero says he's done with Kingston and tells him to ask Hagadorn any questions.

The Necro Butcher takes on Joey Ryan in a No DQ Match next week.


Pick 6 Contenders Match: Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards
Roddy offers a handshake but Davey doesn't return it. They grapple around for a bit and Richards gets a fireman's carry and grabs a headlock. Strong gets a headscissors but Davey gets the ropes. Greco-Roman Knucklelock leads to chain wrestling, Davey tries a kick to the arm but Strong avoids it because they know each other. Davey dives at the legs and gets a grapevine, Strong spins around into a pin but that allows Richards to get a surfboard. Davey turns it into a pin and Roderick gets the surfboard know. He breaks it and gets a wristlock before Richards can get the leg again. They fight for control of the arm wringer and Davey starts taking Strong to school so he backs away. Davey gets a kick to the gut and grabs a headlock, gets shoved off and hits a shoulder tackle but Roddy hits the leaping heel kick ala Dean Malenko. To the floor, chops by both men, forearms and slaps, Davey reverses a whip to the barricade and hits a yakuza kick that sends Strong into the fans.

Back into the ring and Richards stomps on Strong, Roddy hits a chop but Davey whips him and hits a kick to the chest. Roderick hits a jawbreaker and a chop before sending Richards outside. Davey prevents a pescado by grabbing his feet but Roderick kicks him back, and Davey spins him around and DDT ON THE FLOOR! Jeez, that just came out of nowhere and looked awesome. Davey is content to let Roderick be counted out. Hagadorn is desperately pleading for Roddy to stay down but he makes it in at nineteen. Davey hits another stiff kick, slams Strong and goes up top but Roderick clocks him with an enzugiri and hits a huge superplex. Both men in opposite corner, double big boots! Boot by Davey, Chop by Strong, forearms by both, spinning kick by Richards. Davey misses an elbow in the corner and Strong hits a clothesline and a Misawa-style kick to the face. The Falcon Arrow gets two for Roderick. Davey avoids the half-nelson backbreaker, Roddy avoid a German, Davey hits a big boot and Roderick hits a dropkick for two.

Richards avoids the press gutbuster with elbows and they trade more elbows. Davey unloads with kicks and then hits the handspring enzugiri for two. Prazak takes a cheap shot at Hogan on commentary. Roddy and Davey fight over a German Suplex and Strong goes to the corner. Davey rolls away and charges into a boot, ducks an enzugiri and hits one of his own, and delivers a yakuza kick. Richards heads up top and hits a missile dropkick for two. Roderick fights another German Suplex with elbows and rolls Davey up for two. Davey somewhat sloppily counters the half-nelson backbreaker into a crucifix for a nearfall. He tries the majistrol cradle but Roddy blocks it for two, and Davey finishes the pin for his own nearfall. Dueling clotheslines, forearm by Strong, spinning kick by Davey, and another double clothesline puts both men down.

They get up and start trading strikes for quite a while before Davey takes over with Kawada Kicks, Strong retaliates with chops and rolling elbow, STIFF ROUNDHOUSE KICK BY RICHARDS! Lariat by Davey sends Roderick 360 degrees, German Suplex gets two. TEXAS CLOVERLEAF! Roddy gets the ropes and goes to the apron, Davey follows and wants the D.R. Driver but you know that's not happening. Davey gets a boot to the face and Strong throws an enzugiri, BACKDROP SUPLEX ON THE APRON! Back inside, uranage backbreaker for two! PRESS GUTBUSTER! Roderick tries the sick kick but Davey catches him and hits a modified capture suplex! Double boots, chop by Strong, SPINNING SUPERKICK BY DAVEY! Sick Kick doesn't exactly connect and it only gets two. Roddy wants the Gibson Driver and Davey invents a counter into a roll-up that is AWESOME. It still only gets two though. Davey misses a lariat but hits the Alarm Clock, Davey misses a forearm and Strong hits another corner enzugiri, press gutbuster again, and the Gibson Driver finishes it. Terrific contest. A little too much lying around to be truly great, and the enzugiri continues to be killed, but it was a very worthy main event.
Winner: Roderick Strong (via Gibson Driver) ***3/4