RADICAN'S "DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR IX" iPPV REPORT
MANHATTAN, N.Y.
SEPT. 17, 2011
AIRED ON GFL.TV

(a) Grizzly Redwood vs. Andy Ridge in a Survival of the Fittest 2011 Qualifying match. Ridge took down Redwood with a kick during the early stages of the match. Redwood fired back, but it looked like there was a miscommunication on a clothesline spot. Ridge caught Redwood with a big kick, but Redwood managed to kick out. Ridge ducked a dropkick and hit a kick to the back of Redwood’s head, but he kicked out. Ridge caught Redwood with a flying knee, but Grizzly kicked out again. Redwood fired back and hit a kick to the back of Ridge’s head. Redwood hit a low bulldog, but Ridge kicked out. Ridge took several punches in the corner, but managed to hit a backbreaker on Redwood.

Redwood fired back with a hurricanrana that was nearly botched. Ridge fired back with a springboard ace crusher for a 2 count. Ridge hit a superkick for another 2 count. Redwood hit a DDT out of the corner, but Ridge kicked out. Ridge finally caught Redwood with a pinning combination for the win. (*)

Kevin Kelly and Dave Prazak introduced the main show hyping Ladder War 3.

The Embassy came out to kick things off. Rhino & Ciampa got a good response coming out to the ring. Homicide & Lethal then made their entrance. Homicide’s music got a nice pop. Homicide came out before Lethal. He got on the mic and cut a promo on Rhino. He told the Embassy he got someone to have his back. Homicide introduced Jay “F-----“ Lethal. I like Lethal’s new moniker. Lethal got streamers thrown at him by the fans.

(1) Jay Lethal & Homicide vs. Tomasso Ciampa & Rhino (w/The Embassy). Lethal and Homicide immediately cleared the ring. Lethal took down Ciampa on the mat and schooled him before offering a clean break. Lethal and Ciampa had a nice exchange that ended with Lethal landing a cartwheel arm drag followed by a dropkick. Rhino tagged in and immediately took down Lethal. Lethal fired back quickly with an elbow. Homicide tagged in and squared off with Rhino. Homicide landed several punches, but Rhino lifted him up and dropped him chest-first into the mat. Ciampa tagged in and nailed Homicide with several punches. Nana also hit a couple of punches from the outside with the ref distracted.

Homicide fired back and hit a lariat on Ciampa before tagging in Lethal. The crowd chanted for Lethal as he put a beating on Ciampa. Rhino distracted Lethal, who took a dropkick from Ciampa. Lethal ended up on the floor and Rhino went to work on him with the ref distracted. Ciampa hit a chop, but Lethal shrugged it off and fired back with some chops of his own. The crowd applauded Lethal’s chops, but Ciampa nailed him with a dropkick from the seated position. The crowd immediately chanted for Lethal as Rhino tagged in and continued the heat. Rhino hit a series of short clothesline, but only got a two count. Lethal tried to fire back, but Rhino caught him with a belly to belly suplex. Rhino set up for the gore and the crowd went nuts, but Lethal got out of the way and hit a superkick. Both men tagged out and Homicide landed several punches on Ciampa. Homicide went for the three amigos and landed it, but Rhino ran into the ring to break up the pin. Homicide and Rhino went at it and Homicide took down Rhino with a headscissors. Ciampa attacked Rhino, but he ducked a clothesline and nailed Rhino with a tope con hilo. Ciampa hit a northern lights suplex with a bridge for a nearfall on Homicide. The crowd directed an unpleasant chant at Yim as Ciampa hit a series of running knees on Homicide in the corner. Homicide hit an ace crusher out of nowhere, but Rhino broke up the pin. Ciampa escaped the cop killa and hit project Ciampa to win the match. (**3/4)

After the match, the Embassy put the boots to Homicide. Lethal ran in with the TV title to clear the ring.

(2) Mike Bennett (w/Brutal Bob) vs. Shelton Benjamin. Benjamin has terrible theme music. Did Kevin Kelly really just say Shelton sees himself as the second coming of The Rock? Bennett’s font looks like the Netflix logo. Bennett ducked to the outside after Benjamin dominated the early stages of the match. Nice homophobic chant from the NYC crowd. Bob interfered as Shelton chased Bennett to give Bennett control of the match. Bennett’s offense makes me want to gouge my eyeballs out. It’s been five minutes of heat on Shelton and it feels like my life has flashed before my eyes during the time that has passed.

Shelton hit a neckbreaker and both men were down. Both men did the “Yay…boo” punches. Shelton won that contest with a back body drop. Benjamin ran wild, but Bennett hit another backbreaker. Roderick Strong is going to chew him out when he gets backstage. Bennett hit a missile dropkick for a 2 count. Crowd is hot for Shelton, who got a nearfall with a rollup. Benjamin then hit a huge German, but Evans put Bennett’s foot on the ropes. Benjamin went after Bob, who tossed a kick from Benjamin right into Bennett. Benjamin took out Bob and hit the paydirt on Bennett for the win. (*)

(3) Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Matt & Nick Jackson vs. The Bravados in a Triple Threat Elimination match. Bravados jumped Cole & O’Reilly at the bell. Young Bucks ran in and took care of the Bravados. They did a sequence of dives on the outside. Harlem took an insane dropkick from O’Reilly against the guardrail. Bucks squared off with Future Shock and the ref ordered two men to get out of the ring. Lancelot ran into the ring, but ate a kick from O’Reilly. The action continued at a chaotic pace with the Bravados being the focus of Future Shock and the Young Bucks. The idea here is the fans want to see Future Shock and the Young Bucks square off, but the Bravados keep getting in the way. Bravados isolated Cole and hit a nice combination of moves on him. The action broke down with Matt hitting sliced bread on Lance using Harlem as a catapult.

The action broke down with more dives and big moves. Matt hit a suplex on Lance from the apron to the floor. Cole pinned Harlem after he hit total elimination with O’Reilly. The Young Bucks and Future Shock exchanged blows in the middle of the ring. Matt hit a combination of powerbombs on Cole. The Young Bucks then hit a spiked tombstone on Cole, but O’Reilly made the save. O’Reilly went after the Young Bucks and hit a double dragon screw. O’Reilly caught Nick in a triangle. Cole moments after being beaten to death caught Matt in a dragon sleeper. Matt rolled into Nick to break up the submissions. All four men exchanged superkicks and O’Reilly took out Matt with a big clothesline and everyone was down as the crowd went nuts. Bucks hit more bang for your buck on Cole to take the win a short time later. (***)

Kelly buried TNA after the Young Bucks won. The crowd demanded the Young Bucks shake hands after the match. They teased shaking hands with Cole & O’Reilly, but then ended up leaving the ring. Cole & O’Reilly got a nice hand after the match.

(4) El Generico vs. Jimmy Jacobs. The crowd is chanting for Steen. Jacobs is wearing his Dragon Gate art on his pants. I bet ROH doesn’t know that! Or do they? Jacobs getting “little Jimmy” chants. It’s bad when you get mocked for your size in a promotion full of small wrestlers by the fans. I wonder if Triple H sent in an edict to the ROH fans. Generico got the better of some early exchanges, but didn’t follow up on his attacks once Jacobs was down. Jacobs got the better of a couple of exchanges and went on the attack. Generico quickly cut him off with a backbreaker. Generico nailed Jacobs with several chops. Jacobs fired up and hit a series of lariats and a neckbreaker. Generico missed a charge and spilled to the outside. Jacobs then nailed him with a dive through the ropes.

Generico fired back and hit a blue thunder powerbomb. Generico hit a half-nelson suplex. Generico went for the Yokuza kick, but Jacobs caught him in the end time. Generico countered, but Jacobs caught him in a pinning combo for a nearfall. Jacobs followed up with a springboard ace crusher for a 2 count. Generico caught Jacobs with the Yokuza kick. Generico went for the super brainbuster, but Jacobs fought out. Jacobs then nailed Generico with a spear on the apron, but Generico kicked out at the last second. Jacobs went up top, but Generico fired up and nailed him with a Yokuza kick. Generico went for the brainbuster, but Jacobs countered with a top rope DDT that left both men down. (**3/4)

Kevin Steen ran in with a Generico mask and grabbed a mic. Steen started an “ROH” chant. Steen told Jacobs to tell Corino that he’s a p----. Steen’s mic got cut and security came out. Steen acted like he was going to leave peacefully. Jacobs jumped off the apron and attacked Steen. Steen powerbombed Jacobs on the apron. Generico recovered and hit a flip dive on security while missing Steen. Steen pout the boots to the last few members left in security.

Cary Silkin came out and jawed with Steen. Silkin offered to shake Steen’s hand, but Steen pulled him in for a package piledriver. Security ran in and made the save. Cornette came into the ring and Steen spit on him. Cornette ran up to Steen and threw a punch before they were separated. The crowd chanted “let them fight.” Steen and Generico were held apart. Generico broke free and went after Steen, but he had been ushered out of the building. Cornette talked to Jacobs at ringside and tried to calm him down.

Back from intermission, Kelly said the Generico-Jacobs match was officially ruled a no contest. Kelly said a statement would be on ROH’s site on Monday.

(5) Michael Elgin (w/Truth Martini) vs. Charlie Haas. Haas controlled the match and worked Elgin’s arm until Martini tripped him on the apron. Didn’t we already see that spot before in another match? Haas went after Martini, but Elgin cut him off. Elgin followed up with a top rope shoulder tackle for a 2 count. Elgin took Haas down and stretched his arms behind his back. Haas countered Elgin, but Elgin fired back with some elbows. Both men hit clotheslines at the same time. They then both hitting running clotheslines that left both men down on the mat. Not much heat for this match so far.

Both men got up and did the standard “yay and boo” spot for the crowd. Haas won the exchange and nailed Haas with a splash in the corner. Haas followed up with a series of big German suplexes. Elgin broke free from Haas, but ran right into another German. Haas hit a fourth German, but Elgin kicked out. Elgin fired back and set up for a clothesline, but Haas caught him with a dropkick. Haas followed Elgin outside, but Elgin fired back and sent him into the barricade. Haas countered Elgin a short-time later and suplexed him into the guardrail. Haas went up top, but Elgin cut him off. Elgin hit a big superplex and both men were down. Elgin finally rolled over and covered him for a nearfall.

Haas fired up, but Elgin nailed him with an elbow. Haas fired back with a kick. Elgin then caught Haas with an enzuguri and covered him for a 2 count. Elgin went up top, but Haas fired up and hit a German superplex. Haas followed up with a big lariat and covered Elgin for the win. (**3/4)

(6) Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong (w/Truth Martini) in a Ringmaster’s Challenge match (2 out of 3 falls). First fall is pinfall. Second fall is submission. Third fall is a 15 minute Iron Man match. The winner of this match will get a shot at the ROH World title. They had some good exchanges on the mat early and picked up the pace before coming to a stalemate. The announcers must have cut out. Strong has taken control of the match and is putting the boots to Edwards in the corner. Strong followed Edwards outside and they exchanged blows before Strong overwhelmed Edwards with a series of strikes against the guardrail. The crowd chanted for both men as Strong nailed Edwards with a big backbreaker. Strong should be fully entrenched as a heel by now, but he’s still getting cheered by a number of people. They did the “Yay and boo” punches. Both men then exchanged strikes. Edwards ended up hitting a release German suplex that left both men down.

Edwards went up top and hit a big missile dropkick for a two count. The announcers are back. Strong caught Edwards with a boot in the corner, but Edwards fired back with an enzuguri. Strong countered Edwards again and hit a backbreaker for a 2 count. Edwards fired back out of the corner with a chop. He caught Strong with a code breaker off the second rope, but Strong fired right back with a back stabber out of a suplex.

They went to a rest period and Strong jumped Edwards as soon as it ended. Edwards favored his back as Strong put the boots to him. Strong locked in the crossface in the middle of the ring. He then transitioned into a nasty looking arm submission, but Edwards got the ropes. Edwards fired back and connected with a face buster. Edwards locked in an STF in the middle of the ring. Strong struggled, but eventually got the ropes. Edwards went for a springboard to the outside, but Strong got out of the way. Edwards landed on his feet only to eat a running knee strike from Strong. Strong picked up Edwards and slammed Edwards right into the guardrail. Strong stood tall in the ring and drew some boos before going back after Edwards. Strong lifted Edwards and suplexed him on a chair. Strong tossed Edwards into the ring and applied the Stronghold, but Edwards got the ropes. Strong grabbed Edwards and applied a Boston crab. The crowd chanted for Edwards not to tap. Edwards struggled, but got the ropes.

The crowd clapped as Edwards struggled to get to his feet. Strong and Edwards began to exchange strikes once again. They then exchanged boots to the face. Edwards came off the ropes into a gut buster. Edwards slipped out of a backbreaker and applied the Achilles lock on Strong. Strong struggled, but ended up tapping out.

The rest period ended with Strong on the outside. Edwards got a running start and nailed him with a dive through the ropes. Edwards nailed Strong with some big chops on the outside. Strong used a female photographer to block Edwards. She managed to escape and Edwards nailed Strong with another chop. Edwards hit a big kick to the back of Strong’s head, but he kicked out. Edwards hit a nice falcon arrow and hooked Strong’s leg with his boot, but Strong kicked out at the last second. Martini got on the apron, which allowed Strong to nail Edwards with a kick as he set himself up on the top rope. Strong then dropped Edwards back-first on the top turnbuckle, but only got a 2 count.

Strong hit a series of forearms in the corner and a double knee backbreaker, but Edward got his shoulder up at the last second. The crowd started a “this is awesome” chant. Strong applied the Stronghold, but Edwards was in the ropes. They announced 10 minutes remaining in the Iron Man period. Strong hit another backbreaker, but Edwards kicked out. The announcers suggested Strong tapped out to avoid serious injury while advancing to the next fall. Edwards tossed Strong into the barricade. He then nailed Edwards with a Gibson driver on the entrance ramp and the crowd popped huge. Strong walked back into the ring as the ref counted for Edwards. Edwards crawled towards the ring and beat the count. Strong covered Edwards a couple of times, but could only get a 2 count.

Edwards fought free from a submission attempt. Strong went for the Gibson driver, but Edwards drove Strong into the corner. Edwards nailed Strong with a series kicks in the corner. He followed up with a backpack stunner for a 2 count. Edwards hit a Saito suplex, but Strong got his foot on the rope. They announced 5 minutes left in the Iron Man period. Both men exchanged slaps. Edwards hit another kick and Strong spilled to the floor. They battled on the top turnbuckle moments later and Edwards eventually hit a superplex with three minutes left in the Iron Man period. Edwards covered Strong, but only got a 2 count. They exchanged pinning combinations for nearfalls and Edwards nearly got a pinfall, but Strong kicked out. Strong got a backslide and Martini held Edwards’s foot, which allowed Strong to get the pin.

Edwards went after Martini. Truth tried to hit him with the Book of Truth, but he hit Strong instead. Edwards hit the 2k1 bomb with under a minute left to tie it at 1-1 in the Iron Man period. They went to a rest period with a little more than 30 seconds left in the match. The rest period was over with 15 seconds remaining. The bell rang with both men unable to get to their feet. The official decision for the match was announced as a draw. Cornette came down to ringside and said the match was too good to end like this. Cornette asked both men if they wanted to keep going. Both men said they wanted to continue, but now there is no time limit.

The crowd chanted “ROH, ROH” as the overtime period began. Both men went face to face in the middle of the ring. They began exchanging forearms. They then began exchanging chops. Both men told the other to bring it and they began exchanging chops again. Strong hit a knee strike, but Edwards fired right back with a knee strike. Edwards hit a tiger suplex, but Strong kicked out at the last second. Strong fired back with a knee strike and followed up with the sick kick, but Edwards kicked out. Strong hit the Gibson driver, but Edwards kicked out at the last second.

Strong put Edwards on the top rope and climbed the turnbuckles. He set up for a backbreaker, but Edwards turned it into a hurricanrana. Strong no-sold a gut buster and nailed Edwards with a sick kick. Strong was slow to cover Edwards and only got a 2 count. The crowd chanted “this is awesome” as Strong tried to get Edwards on the turnbuckles again. Edwards countered Strong and hit two kicks to his head. He went up top with Strong on the apron and nailed him with a doublestomp and the crowd popped big. Strong hit another doublestomp inside the ring, but Strong kicked out. Edwards hit a powerbomb and then a sit out powerbomb for another nearfall. Edwards hit a lariat and appeared too exhausted to get much on it. He then hit the 2k1 bomb the pin. The stipulations got in the way at times, but these two had a war that’s worth checking out. (***3/4)

The crowd chanted “that was awesome” after the match. Cornette checked on Edwards as he struggled to get to his feet. Edwards finally got to his feet and the crowd applauded.

The Briscoes came out to new music. Both Briscoe brothers were wearing gas masks to the ring. The Briscoes got a mixed response coming out for the main event. ANX also came out to new music. ANX certainly didn’t appear to be going into a Ladder War as King danced during their entrance.

(7) The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) vs. ANX (Rhett Titus & Kenny King) in a Number 1 Contender Ladder War. The Briscoes jumped ANX as they posed for the crowd. The Briscoes isolated King and tried to toss him into a ladder, but Titus pulled Jay to the outside. All four men ended up on the outside. The Briscoes took control on the outside. Jay tossed Titus into the barricade. Mark suplexed King to the floor on the opposite side of the ring. Titus attacked Jay as he set up a table. Jay countered and nailed Titus with a chairshot to the back. Mark blocked a superkick from King. King ran across the aisle and nailed Jay with shotgun knees. He then charged at Mark and took a backdrop into a table.

Jay set up a ladder across the barricade. Titus took an unprotected chair toss from Jay. He got his hand up for the second one. Titus fired up and went after Mark, but Jay nailed him with a chairshot to the back. Jay then drove Titus head-first into a chair set up in the corner. Titus avoided a backdrop onto the ladder on the outside. Titus, who was busted open, suplexed Jay onto the ladder. Titus fired up and hit a flip dive onto King and Jay on the outside. ANX brought another ladder into the ring. They set up the ladder with the end pointing into Jay’s crotch before nailing the ladder with a double dropkick.

The crowd started a light “ANX” chant as they dominated the action. ANX wrapped the ladder around Jay’s next and ran him into the ringpost. King tried to take out Mark with a dive, but he blocked it with a chunk of table. Mark tossed another chair at Titus’s head. Titus fired right back, but Mark nailed him with several punches. Mark threw a chair at King’s head, but he caught it with his shoulder. Jay nailed King with a kick and he sold it by flying into the guardrail. Jay then tossed him hard into the guardrail. Inside the ring, Titus drove the top of the ladder into Mark’s head repeatedly. Jay and Mark are both bleeding heavily now as well. Titus hit a moonsault off the guardrail onto Mark. Jay, who was covered in blood, suplexed Titus on the ramp. Mark then took out King with a rolling senton off the apron. Jay set up Titus on a ladder draped over two chairs and nailed him with a legdrop off the apron.

Jay nailed King with a chairshot to the back as he bounced off the ropes and Mark followed up with a suplex. The crowd chanted “make him bleed” as the Briscoes worked over King, who hadn’t bled yet. The Briscoes launched King into the ladder with a big double biel. The crowd chanted “you killed Kenny.” Titus is absolutely covered in blood at this point. The crowd chanted “bleed” as the Briscoes worked over King. Mark launched a chair into his head while Jay held him. Mark held a chair over King’s head and Jay nailed him with a dropkick.

Mark hit several headbutts on King. He then held him up and Jay tossed a chair into his head. The Briscoes set up for a spiked Jay-driller, but Titus broke it up and sent Mark through a table on the outside. ANX brought a table into the ring and put Jay through the table with a powerbomb/blockbuster combination. The crowd came unglued at this point with all four men down. Titus went outside and got a ladder. Rhett climbed the ladder, but Mark hit a missile dropkick and Titus spilled to the floor. Mark wrapped the ladder around his neck and spun around to take out Titus and King.

The Briscoes got the traditional huge ladder and set it up on the floor. The crowd chanted “please don’t die” as Mark climbed the ladder on the outside. Mark went all the way to the top and dove onto Titus, who was stationed on a table. That was nuts. Jay and King went at it inside the ring. King finally hit a spinebuster. King went up top and hit a huge SSP and the crowd popped big. King dragged the big ladder to the middle of the ring and set it up. King began to climb the ladder. Jay entered the ring and began climbing up the other side. Both men traded punches at the top of the ladder. King hit a punch and Jay spilled to the floor. King then grabbed the contract. This was a brutal match for all four men involved. (***3/4)

After the match, King signed the contract on the envelope using Jay’s blood. Jay was shown lying in a pool of his own blood. Titus crawled into the ring and hugged King. Kelly hyped ROH’s debut on Sinclair next weekend as ANX celebrated in the ring.

Overall thoughts: (6.5) – There was some very good action mixed with some solid, but unspectacular action on the undercard. The Steen angle was one of the best parts of the show. That was insane and the pull-apart with Generico and Jacobs had the crowd going nuts. Edwards-Strong had a really good outing in the ring, but the stipulations got in the way at times, especially when the Iron Man period went to an overtime. A straight up 2/3 Falls match would have fit the bill. I thought one of the falls being contested under Iron Man rules seemed a bit much going into the match. It wasn’t awful, but it was overbooked.

The main event Ladder War featured some dangerous spots with chairs being tossed right into the heads of multiple partners. That took away from my enjoyment of the match. There weren’t any flush chairshots that were swung, but it’s dangerous to take a tossed chair to the top of the head. These guys have got to get their hands up at all times if they’re going to do those spots. The match was spectacular at times with some incredible spots, but I think ROH would be better off not booking a match like this again. It’s not worth it for the long-term health of the talent.

Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@Gmail.com

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