RADICAN'S ROH DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR VIII PPV BLOG 6/19: Coverage of ROH Internet PPV

Cheech and Cloudy came out first, but Generico ran into the ring and demanded Steen come to the ring. Steve Corino came out and told him he doesn't call the shots. Generico said "Steen Now!" Corino said no, but Steen ran into the ring. Both men went head to head and Steen said the match starts now.

(1) Kevin Steen vs. El Generico. The fans were going nuts right away after Generico sent Steen outside and nailed him with a flip dive. Interesting choice to have this match open the show. Steen snapped Generico's head over the top rope, but Generico caught him with a dropkick. Steen caught Generico with a backbreaker and then a senton moments later to gain the upper hand.

Both men traded blows, but Steen nailed Generico with a superkick. Generico fired up and took Steen down. He caught Steen moments later with the Generico driver for a nearfall and the crowd went nuts again. Steen crotched Generico on the ropes and went for the package piledriver, but Generico backdropped him on the apron. Generico hit a swinging DDT on the outside and the crowd went nuts. Generico followed up with a big splash for another nearfall and the crowd went nuts again. Steen countered Generico out of nowhere and nailed him with a pump-handle neckbreaker. The fans chanted for Generico to rally as Steen glared at them. Generico caught Steen with the running boot in the corner, but Steen fired back with a running clothesline and both men went down as the crowd went nuts again.

Steen was up first and he missed a moonsault. Generico then applied the sharpshooter on Steen, but he got the ropes. Both men countered each other, but Steen managed to hit the package piledriver. Generico kicked out at the last second and the fans went nuts again. Steen went up top and went for the swanton, but Generico got his knees up. Generico hit two running boots in the corner. Generico went up top, but Steen nailed him with a wrench shot that the ref missed. Steen then nailed Generico with a neckbreaker off the top for the pin. This was an excellent opening match. (****)

-- They went to a highlight package with wrestlers picking a winner between Black and Richards.

(2) Rhett Titus & Kenny King vs. Cheech & Cloudy. Cheech backdropped Cloudy to the outside onto King and Titus during the early going. King cut off Cloudy and the All Night Express worked him over for several minutes. Cloudy finally tagged in Cheech, who ran wild. Cheech and Cloudy nailed King with a series of kicks in the corner for a nearfall. Titus provided a distraction on the outside, which left Cheech alone the ring to fend off Titus and King, who overwhelmed him. Cheech kicked out of a neckbreaker/powerbomb combination. Ridiculous. All four men went at it in the ring. Cheech and Cloudy took down Titus with the 619/dropkick combination. King and Titus then finished off Cloudy for the pin. This was solid, but a bit ridiculous. (**1/2)

-- King cut a promo. He said he and Titus were reborn. King said they were focused. Titus then brought out their manager Austin Aries. Aries got on the mic and said the fans had officially gotten their money's worth. Aries said he had tried to apologize to Delirious.

(3) Austin Aries vs. Delirious. Delirious came out wearing red and the ref ejected Titus and King from ringside. Delirious blew mist into Aries's face and went on the attack. Aries had trouble seeing and almost gave the ref a brainbuster, but Delirious made the save. Aries fired back on the outside and tossed Delirious into the guardrail. Aries then washed out his eyes with water. Aries went for a double axehandle to the outside, but Delirious got out of the way. Aries crotched Delirious on the ropes to regain the upper hand.

Aries continued to hold the upper hand while going after Delirious's neck. Delirious fired back and hit the cobra clutch suplex. He went for a panic attack, but Aries caught him with a lariat. Delirious went for the cobra clutch, but Aries pitched him to the outside. Aries went for a big dive, but Delirous got out of the way and Aries went right into the guardrail. Titus and King then ran down and the ref called for a DQ. Afterward, Delirious took out all three men. This was lousy payoff for a PPV match. (*1/2)

(4) Toronto Gauntlet match for an ROH World title shot. (A) Eddie Edward vs. Tyson Dux. Prazak and Dombrowski acting like they weren't at the show last night is kind of ridiculous since they will both likely be DOING THE COMMENTARY on it. Oh great, Prazak just called this Gauntlet a tradition. The Briscoes still aren't in the building either. I lost the feed for a minute, but I'm back and Edwards is still in control. Dux no sold a couple of kicks and went to town on Edwards. Dux hit a DDT for a nearfall. Edwards then hit a big lariat for a nearfall. Dux hit a sunset bomb and.a big lariat, but Edwards kicked out. Edwards fired back and got the achilles lock on Dux, but Dux caught him with a cradle for the win.

(B) Tyson Dux vs. Shawn Daivari. Anyone remember Daivari's magic carpet ride? Nana drove Dux's knee into the ringpost while the ref had his back turned and Daivari continued to attack his leg. Dux fired back and hit Daivari with a superplex, but he favored his knee. Dux hit the DVD on Daivari, but he kicked out. Dux went for a suplex off the apron, but Nana held his foot and Daivari got the pin.

(C) Shawn Daivari vs. Colt Cabana. Cabana caught Daivari right away with the Billy Goat's curse for the submission. ... (D) Steve Corino vs. Colt Cabana. Good booking here with both men feuding. Cabana caught Corino with the Billy Goat's curse right away, but Corino got the ropes. Prazak is a lousy heel. He is however MUCH better than Dombrowski. Corino hit a low blow after the ref took a fork away to gain the upper hand. Cabana tried to fire back, but Corino raked his eyes. Corino went for a sliding clothesline, but Cabana rolled him up for the pin. Corino attacked Cabana after the match and Strong came down and caught him with a flying kick for a nearfall.

(E) Roderick Strong vs. Colt Cabana. Strong dominated Cabana and got a couple of nearfalls. Martini gave Strong advice from ringside. Cabana fired back with a series of chops. The crowd came to life after Cabana hit a springboard moonsault for a nearfall. Strong went to the outside and limped around. Martini nailed Cabana with his book while the ref checked on Strong. Strong then covered Cabana for the win. This was good at times, but a little disjointed as well. (**)

-- The cameras showed Prazak and Dombrowski at ringside. They referenced the fantastic opening match as we went to intermission with no sign of the Briscoes.

-- During intermission, Steen and Generico went at it. The video froze. Generico hit a brainbuster on Corino. He then choked Steen with Cruise's neck tie after shoving away several refs. Several wrestlers ran out from the back to break it up and Cabana and Generico stood tall. The announcers really oversold the impact of the angle.

-- Cornette came out after intermission and put over the ROH fans and live experience.

(5) Christopher Daniels vs. Kenny Omega in a Pick 6 match. Both men went back and forth during the early stages of the match and came to a stalemate. Omega got the upper hand, but Daniels cut him off with a neckbreaker on the apron. Daniels continued to wear down Omega and went after his neck. Daniels went for a super angels wings, but Omega back dropped him. Omega got up and ran wild while showing no ill-effects from Daniels's work on his neck. Daniels caught Omega in the Koji clutch, but Omega got the ropes. Daniels followed up with a neck breaker for a nearfall.

Omega countered the Angel's Wings again and hit a reverse piledriver for a nearfall. Daniels hit a uranage and went for the BME Omega got out of the way, but Daniels landed on his feet. Omega hit a K-1 bomb for a nearfall and the crowd came alive. Daniels hit Angel's Wings moments later, but Omega kicked out at the last second. Omega fired back and hit his finish for a nearfall. The crowd went nuts again. Both men hit simultaneous clotheslines. Daniels hit an STO and then the BME for the pin. This was very good. (***1/4)

-- The announcers said they didn't know if the Briscoes were there yet as Hero and Castagnoli came out. Bobby Cruise said the Briscoes hadn't gotten to the building yet. I hope this is an angle. Castagnoli got on the mic. He thanked Canada for not letting the Briscoes into the country. Hero said he understood the fans were upset. Adam Pearce and Cary Silkin were shown talking at ringside. The Briscoes then ran in through the crowd and attacked Hero and Castagnoli.

(6) ROH World Tag Team Champions Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli vs. The Briscoes in a No DQ match. Did I mention how annoying the announcers have been tonight?
The Briscoes ran wild early and isolated Hero inside the ring once things settled down. Claudio came up bleeding on the outside. Hero finally managed to drag Mark to the floor where he tossed him into the guardrail. Castagnoli then tossed Jay into the guardrail. Mark came up with a bad cut and was bleeding heavily as Claudio worked him over in the ring with Hero. Mark kicked out of a double team takedown at 1 and went at Hero, but he got cut off right away.

Mark was wearing a crimson mask and the ref checked on him, but allowed the match to continue. Mark countered a double team nicely and took out both men with a splash off the top before tagging in Jay, who ran wild. Jay drove Hero's head into the turnbuckle about 100 times and Hero came up bleeding. Hero kicked out of a pinfall and sent Jay right into a chairshot from Hagadorn. This match is insane! Hero tied Jay by the neck to the ringpost and choked him. Jay is bleeding now as well. Only Castagnoli isn't wearing a crimson mask. Hero and Castagnoli hit the doomesday device on Mark for a 2 count. They then sent the ref out of the ring. I wish the announcers would shut up and let me enjoy the match. The ref apparently went outside to free Jay. Hero locked Mark in a stretch plumb, but Jay shot the fire extinguisher into Hero and Castagnoli's eyes. The Briscoes went and got a table and the crowd went nuts. This is crazy!

The Briscoes speared Castagnoli through the table with a double shoulder tackle. Hagadorn interfered and the Briscoes nailed him with the DD . Hero nailed Jay with his loaded pad, but he kicked out. Mark sent Jay to the outside. Castagnoli went for the UFO on Jay, but je rolled him up for a nearfall. Castagnoli gave Jay the airplane spin and Hero put the loaded pad on his foot and nailed him with a dropkick for the pin. This was an insane match! (****1/4)

(7) ROH World Hvt. Champion Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards. Thank goodness Cornette is out on commentary. Richards got a good reaction. Black got a mixed reaction.
Black offered a handshake, but Richards spit in his hand. Richards caught Black with a surfboard during the early going, but Black reversed it. The crowd is split with one group chanting for Black and another with "F-- you Tyler." Black finally caught Richards with a dropkick after missing a pair of them. Cornette talked about the Pick 6 and said a lot of wrestlers have a case for a dropkick. Black ate a dropkick after coming off the top. The announcers said Richards may have lost a tooth. Richards hit a kick and smiled. Black got up and slapped him in the face.

Richards drove Black into the corner and nailed him with a series of kicks, but Black caught him with an enzuguri moments later. Both men battled for position, but Black ended up tossing him over the top to the outside. Black then hit a big flip dive to the outside and a many of the fans booed. It now sounds like all of the fans are rallying for Richards to come back. Richards hit a belly to back off the top, but Black landed on his feet. Black then hit the rubix cube for a great nearfall and the crowd popped huge. Richards kicked Black off the apron and nailed him with a sick flip dive through the ropes.

Both men traded blows in the middle of the ring, but Richards caught Black with a handspring kick. Cornette has been great on commentary. Richards hit a missile dropkick and the crowd chanted "new world champ." Richards got the cloverleaf in the middle of the ring and Black
screamed in pain. Black got the ropes and Richards went for a SSP, but Black cut him off. Black hit a superplex and a variation of the F5 for a nearfall. Black went up top, but Richards cut him off. Black fought him off, but missed the Phoenix splash.

Both men exchanged nearfalls as they went back and forth for pinfalls. Richards caught Black's leg after a pele kick attempt and got the ankle lock, but Black got the ropes. Richards then hit a German for another nearfall. Richards then suplexed Black to the floor and both men were down on the outside. Richards booted Black into the stands. Richards held his neck while the ref checked on him.

Hagadorn came down to ringside with a chair. Richards took the chair away from Hagadorn, but Black booted it in his face. Both men battled on the apron after Hagadorn's interference backfired. Black hit the paroxysm off the apron to the floor. Black got back into the ring first. Richards dove back into the ring right before the 20 count and the fans went nuts. Prazak said this was Richards's night. Black nailed Richards with God's last gift, but he kicked out. Black mocked Richards's mannerisms and hit the buckle bomb.

Richards fired right back with a dragon screw and applied the clover leaf. Black crawled towards the ropes twice, but Richards dragged him back to the center of the ring. Black got a small package out of nowhere for a nearfall. Both men exchaned blows in the middle of the ring. Richards finally hit a big clothesline for another good nearfall. Richards nailed Black with the buckle bomb, a superkick, and the DR driver, but Black kicked out. This is insane.

Richards set up Black for an SSP, but Black cut him off. Richards got hung up in the turnbuckles and Black nailed him with a doublestomp. Black rolled him back into the ring and covered him for a nearfall. Black hit the buckle bomb and a superkick for another nearfall. Wow! The crowd chanted, "you can't beat him" at Black. Black hit a superkick on Richards and another God's last gift for the pin! (*****)

Post-match: The fans gave both men a standing ovation after the match. Pearce came out to check on Richards. Davey got on the mic after Edwards came out to help him up. He told Black that now he's the champ. Black got on the mic and thanked Richards. The fans then chanted "ROH, ROH" to close the show.

OVERALL THOUGHTS (8.0): The first half of the show really dragged after the opening match. The second half of the show featured about everything you could ask for. The last two matches were fantastic. Richards-Black should finish high in MOTY voting. They more than
delivered on the hype. I initially had Black-Richards at ****3/4, but it was five stars. Just one of the best matches I've seen in a long time.

Follow Torch columnist Sean Radican on Twitter.

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