Ring of Honor TV Report
February 1, 2010
Taped Jan. 8 in Philadelphia, Pa.
Episode #45 - Second episode of Series 8
Report by Mike DeRosenroll, Torch ROH specialist

STRENGTHS

- The show continued to do a good job building up the 8th Anniversary Show coming up in New York City. The hype is guaranteeing a winner in the Aries-Black title match, which ROH needed to do to make up for the finish of the Final Battle title match.

- ROH continues to make the Final Battle pay-per-view seem important by referring back to things that happened during the show. Making things that happen at major shows have consequences, and then talking about them, is good solid booking that will make future big shows seem important not to miss.

- The show also moved along some undercard angles by revealing who attacked Eddie Kingston backstage a few weeks ago, launching Kingston into a feud with the Embassy, and further explaining Steve Corino’s new alliance with Kevin Steen.

WEAKNESSES

- The two undercard matches this week were average at best and lacked crowd heat. ROH usually delivers better action throughout the show.

- The hype for the TV main event was confusing and contradictory. Jim Cornette said early in the show that the match between Tyler Black and Roderick Strong was only for personal satisfaction, but then the ring announcer said during the entrances that the match was for a spot in the Pick 6. Also, Strong said in his promo that he needed to beat Black to guarantee himself a future title shot if Black beats Aries for the title at the 8th Anniversary Show, but Black said in his promo that he was going to give Strong a title shot if he takes the title from Aries no matter what.

DETAILED RECAP

- The show opened with clips from last week’s show summarizing the angle where Jim Cornette ordered Austin Aries to defend the ROH World Title at the upcoming 8th Anniversary Show in New York City, with a panel of judges to decide the winner of the title if the match ends any way but a pin or submission.

- Backstage, Cornette announced that Tyler Black would face Roderick Strong in the TV main event. He said “no titles on the line, only personal satisfaction.”

[Opening Theme]

1 – DELIRIOUS (w/Daizee Haze) vs. RHETT TITUS

They opened the match with a few comedy spots where Delirious outsmarted Titus and made him look foolish. Titus gained the advantage at 2:30 after a collision against the ropes knocked the wind out of Delirious. Titus then spent the next few minutes working Delirious over heel style, deploying a series of chokes and pulling on Delirious’s mask tassles, interspersed with some clean strikes and holds.

Delirious mounted a comeback at 6:30 by countering a suplex attempt into a roll-up for a near fall. Delirious hit the Panic Attack running knee, then went to the top to try for the Shadows Over Hell back splash, but Titus cut him off on the top rope and landed a Super Sex Factor for a near fall of his own. Titus then made the mistake of playing to some ladies in the crow, allowing Delirious to hit a boot to the gut-Bizarro Driver combination for the pin.

WINNER: Delirious in 7:30. Just an average match without much crowd heat behind it. Titus is now portrayed as more than a mere jobber, so the clean win for Delirious over a reasonably credible opponent keeps Delirious’ momentum going after winning his feud with Sonjay Dutt a couple of weeks ago. It will be interesting to see what kind of angle Delirious transitions into from here.

- In the studio, Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak hyped the ROH World Title match coming up at the 8th Anniversary Show in New York City on February 18th, then threw to a pre-taped Roderick Strong promo talking about his upcoming match against Black in the TV main event. Strong said he really wanted to win in order to earn a future World Title shot. A decent basic wrestling promo.

- Footage aired of Kevin Steen’s heel turn on El Generico at Final Battle 2009. ROH is doing a good job of making Final Battle seem important by repeatedly referencing things that happened at the show. This is a good way to make TV viewers want to watch the next pay-per-view so they do not miss important developments.

- Backstage, Kyle Durden interviewed Steve Corino about Steen’s attack on Generico. Corino praised Steen for shedding himself of Generico, whom Corino called deadweight on Steen’s back. Durden referenced the opinion in the locker room that Steen was in the wrong for turning on Generico. Corino called “Sugarfoot” Alex Payne from off camera and asked his opinion. Sugarfoot said that Steen should be ashamed of himself for turning on his best friend. Steen came up behind Sugarfoot and attacked him. Hogewood called Steen’s bullying despicable.

2 – COLT CABANA vs. SONJAY DUTT

Cabana wrestled circles around Dutt in the early going, using many of his trademark chain wrestling holds and mat holds. Cabana busted out some comedy spots at 2:00, including some fun spots using the referee as a prop. Dutt turned the tables when Cabana again got distracted by the referee at 3:30, allowing Dutt to hit an inziguiri to the head and take control of the match. The crowd was pretty dead at this point, but the wrestlers worked together well to bring them into the match with Dutt playing the heel while Cabana worked the crowd to get them behind his comeback attempts. By the time they came to the finishing sequence and began exchanging their bigger signature moves, the crowd was more into the match than before but still closer to lukewarm than hot. Cabana finally won with the Colt 45.

WINNER: Cabana in 7:00. Another average match. Dutt seemingly unprofessionally failed to sell Cabana’s finisher after the match.

- A pre-taped Tyler Black promo aired in which Black confidently asserted that he would beat Strong. Another solid basic promo building up the main event.

[Commercial Break]

- More clips from Final Battle 2009 aired showing the Briscoes winning the ROH World Tag Team Titles and then being attacked by the reunited Kings of Wrestling.

- A pre-taped Kings of Wrestling promo aired. Chris Hero explained that he and Claudio Castagnoli decided to reform their tag team because they have both matured since they went their separate ways. He said they are now stronger and better than ever. Castagnoli said their purpose is to win back the ROH World Tag Team titles. Another solid basic promo to give the Kings of Wrestling a purpose, although I would have liked it better if Hero had not just glossed over the feud they had in 2007 after the first time they broke up.

- In the ring, Durden interviewed Shane Hagadorn and Prince Nana. He asked how they managed to bring the Kings of Wrestling back together. Hagadorn and Nana ignored the question and talked about how dominant they will be as a team. Durden asked about the nature of the connection between Hagadorn and Nana. Nana grabbed the mic and said “The money, the power and the respect. That’s all you need to know my friend.”

Eddie Kingston interrupted and hit the ring. He grabbed both managers by their collars and demanded that they admit it was the Kings of Wrestling who attacked him from behind a few weeks ago. Nana finally said, “It wasn’t the Kings of Wrestling, it was these guys.” At that moment, Embassy members Erick Stevens, Joey Ryan, and Ernesto Osiris hit the ring and started beating down Kingston. Necro Butcher then hit the ring wielding a pylon to make the save.

- Hogewood hyped that next week the American Wolves will face the Young Bucks in the main event. A highlight package aired from the excellent match these two teams had back in November. Good plug for next week’s show.

3 – Pick 6 Contenders Match: TYLER BLACK vs. RODERICK STRONG

Shortly after the opening bell, Austin Aries came to ringside with a tub of popcorn and a bottle of wine. He sat down in the aisle to watch the match. Aries distracted Black a couple of times in the early going, including by throwing popcorn at him. Black retaliated at 4:30, after Strong had back dropped Black over the top rope to the floor, by blindsiding Aries with a superkick. Aries had to be helped to the back.

Strong capitalized on Black’s attention to Aries by catching Black with a knee as Black re-entered the ring, followed by a double arm underhook backbreaker. Strong dominated the next several minutes and focused his offence on Black back with numerous strikes and pressure holds. The action spilled outside the ring at 9:30 and Black made a brief comeback, including an impressive moonsault off the ringside barricade. However, Strong regained the advantage back in the ring and hit a series of backbreakers leading to a superplex for a near fall at 12:30. Strong then tried for his Stronghold submission, but Black countered it into a roll-up for a near fall. Black then made a comeback. At 13:30, Black tried for a springboard moonsault but slipped on the ropes, earning a “You f*d up!” chant. Prazak and Hogewood covered for him well on commentary.

At 15:00, Aries predictably came running from the back and jumped on the apron. Strong had Black in a fireman’s carry, but Black slipped out of it and shoved Strong into Aries. They knocked heads, sending Aries crashing to the floor and drawing blood from Strong’s forehead. Black quickly finished Strong with a superkick for the pin.

WINNER: Black in 16:00. A good main event with good action, but the drama of the finishing sequence was hurt by how obvious it was that Aries would be involved in the finish. This took away from the nearfalls that preceded Aries’s run-in.

- After the match, Aries attacked Black with the title belt and began beating him down. A gaggle of referees tried ineffectively to stop the beat down. Strong eventually recovered and ran off Aries. Strong seemed angry at Black for causing him to knock heads with Aries earlier.

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