Ring of Honor Internet PPV Report
April 1, 2011
Atlanta, Ga.
Report by James Caldwell & Sean Radican, PWTorch Staff

Torch columnist Sean Radican is live-Tweeting on tonight's ROH Internet PPV at Twitter.com/SeanRadican. Torch assistant editor James Caldwell will be covering play-by-play on top matches and offering his analysis of the PPV throughout the card.

The PPV started with ROH announcers Kevin Kelly and Dave Prazak introducing the show from the classic Centre Stage theater. They plugged the ROH World Title and ROH Tag Title matches in the double-main events.

The ring entrances are set up below stage-level, so the wrestlers have to come up a flight of stairs to enter the arena. The arena was set up to look very dark, like an '80s arena show.

1 -- MICHAEL ELGIN vs. EL GENERICO -- House of Truth banned from ringside

"Ole, Ole" chants for Generico and "you suck" chants for Elgin early on. Elgin dominated to set up Generico's comeback. Generico with the first big move of the night executing a swinging DDT through the ringpost onto the floor. A masked man came to ringside and grabbed Generico from behind with the ref distracted. Elgin then dropped Generico with a spinning powerbomb for the pin and the win. As Generico recovered, ROH president Cary Silkin checked with the ref on not seeing the call.

WINNER: Elgin at 9:13. Radican's Evaluation: Really good action, crap finish. (**)

Video: Eddie Edwards capturing the ROH World Title from Roderick Strong two weeks ago in New York City.

Truth Martini is out and fans greeted him with a "Shut the eff up" chant. He had Caleb Conley with him. Truth told him he needs to prove he belongs in House of Truth.

2 -- COLT CABANA vs. HOMICIDE vs. TOMMASO CIAMPA (w/The Embassy) vs. CALEB KONLEY (w/Truth Martini) -- Four Corner Survival match

Homicide was isolated like they were doing a tag match, building to Colt Cabana taking a hot tag. Cabana had elbows for all of the heels (including outside participants) then a kiss for Mia, who earlier got involved dropping Homicide with a spin kick on the floor. High-flying spots ensued leading to Homicide hitting a cannonball dive on the other three on the floor. Back in the ring, Homicide dropped Konley with the Cop Killer for the decisive win.

WINNER: Homicide at 9:23. Radican: Surprising outcome here. (**1/2)

Afterward, Martini teased giving Caleb the thumbs down, but gave him a thumbs up for showing heart & determination. Wait, today is April Fool's. Michael Elgin hit the ring and destroyed Konley.

3 -- SARA DEL REY & SERENA DEEB vs. HIROYO MATSUMOTO & AYUMI KURIHARA

The Joshi athletes dominated the action early on. They built to a spot where Ayumi came off the top rope with a splash onto the heels on the floor. Shimmer tag champions Daizee Haze & Tomoka Nakagawa came to ringside for a closer look at the action since they're defending against Hiroyo & Ayumi on Saturday. A rapid-fire sequence of moves drawing "oohs" from the crowd ensued at 8:30. Hiroyo finished the match off with a back-drop driver on Deeb for the win. Afterward, Nakagawa spit in Ayumi's face to set up Saturday's match.

WINNERS: Hiroyo & Ayumi at 9:01. Radican: That was really good. (***)

Announcers: Kelly and Prazak played up an angle where All Night Express were kicked out of the building earlier because of a brawl with the Briscoes. They showed footage of the Briscoes and ANX brawling backstage before the show.

4 -- BRISCOES vs. ADAM COLE & KYLE O'REILLY

A lot of boos for the freshly-turned heel Briscoes, who dominated the undersized babyfaces. Briscoes pulled off a slick double-team clothesline on O'Reilly during the early stages of the match. Briscoes then took turns chopping Kyle in the corner. Cole got a tag and ran wild. He ended up nailing Jay with a dive through the ropes. Jay cut off Cole and the crowd went silent.

O'Reilly tagged in and the action broke down. Jay flipped off the crowd looking for boos, then O'Reilly scored with a double Dragon Screw leg whip. O'Reilly and Cole then executed eye-popping double-team offense that drew a "This is awesome" chant. The action broke down again into four-way action. O'Reilly was cleared from the ring, then the Briscoes hit a double-team Doomsday Device on Cole for the pin and the win, which the crowd booed.

WINNERS: Briscoes at 13:23. Radican: (***1/2)

Post-match: Titus and King showed up in the stands with perfect timing right after the match. Sporting taped fists, ANX stormed the ring and a fight broke out. Bodies filled the ring trying to break up the fight and the crowd wanted to see them fight. ANX teased a spike piledriver on Mark ringside, but Jay threw a security guard onto ANX to break it up. "Somebody's going to get hurt bad tomorrow," Kelly said, promoting ANX vs. the Briscoes on Saturday.

[Intermission - 20+ minutes]

Up first is a Final Battle re-match between former ROH World champion Roderick Strong and Davey Richards.

5 -- RODERICK STRONG (w/Truth Martini) vs. DAVEY RICHARDS

Richards got the upper hand early and went after Strong's arm. If you had under 6:00 for when Truth would first interject himself into the match, you win the pool. Truth yanked on Richards's foot as he went for a top-rope move, which gave Strong an opening. Richards came up bleeding from the mouth, adding a layer of intensity to the match. Richards eventually built some momentum for a comeback, then hit a running kick on Strong followed by a suicide dive on the floor that woke the crowd up.

At 15:00, they started trading high-impact strikes, nearfalls, and submission attempts. Strong hit a backbreaker on the turnbuckles and locked in the Stronghold, but Davey got the ropes. They picked up the intensity at 18:00 with rapid-fire kick and strike exchanges. Davey then landed ten, eleven kicks in the corner to draw cheers from the crowd. A double knock-down put both men on the mat, drawing a loud ovation.

At 23:00, Richards was nearly counted out, but he re-entered the ring with a sick flurry of strikes that Strong absorbed. Strong then hit a series of moves capped by a backbreaker, but Richards kicked out. Truth tried to get involved again, giving Strong an opening to hit a series of finishers that only resulted in nearfalls. Strong then slapped on the Stronghold again, with the crowd chanting, "Please don't tap." He didn't and the match continued.

At 26:00, Truth got involved a third time, but Richards kicked him in the face. He slapped on the anklelock and Strong made the bottom rope for a break. They went to a finishing sequence where Richards hit a Falcon Arrow into the anklelock and Strong tapped in seconds to give Richards the win. Kelly said that match separates ROH from anything else this weekend. He also noted Richards is back in the ROH Title hunt.

WINNER: Richards via submission at 27:06. Caldwell: Amazing match showing off Richards's trademark intensity, striking, and resiliency. The first-half slowly built to a terrific final ten minutes of intense, back-and-forth action. (****1/4) Radican: Wow, great match. (****)

6 -- ROH tag champions KINGS OF WRESTLING (CHRIS HERO & CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI w/Shane Hagadorn and Sara Del Rey) vs. WRESTLING'S GREATEST TAG TEAM (SHELTON BENJAMIN & CHARLIE HAAS) -- ROH Tag Title match

Prazak handled formal ring introductions before the opening bell. The crowd then exchanged chants for each team while the announcers talked up ROH's strong tag division. Very methodical start to the match before Haas and Benjamin hit stereo German suplexes to clear the heels to the outside. Claudio was selling a left leg/knee injury here. KOW eventually got the upper hand on Benjamin once order was restored. They really slowed things down working over Benjamin and cutting off Haas from taking a tag.

After a long heat segment on Shelton, Haas took a hot tag at 18:00 and cleaned house, getting the crowd back into the match. Hero then cut off Haas with a roarin' elbow and KOW hit a double bicycle kick to the head that only resulted in a two count. Claudio continued to hobble before attempting the Big Swing on one good leg leading to Hero nailing a boot to Haas's head in mid-swing.

The action broke down moments later. Hero tried to interject the loaded elbow pad into the match with the ref occupied, but Shelton sprung up to the top rope and suplexed Hero to the mat. Haas maintained the Haas of Pain on Claudio, who tapped out to give Haas & Benjamin the win. New tag champions.

Post-match: Silkin entered the ring to congratulate WGGT, who celebrated with the belts as the crowd applauded. Jim Cornette was shown on-camera congratulating the tag champs as they made their way out of the ring.

WINNERS: Benjamin & Haas via submission at 23:00. Caldwell: Methodical pace with a strong finishing sequence. The finish made the match memorable, but a professional effort all-around. (***) Radican: This was really boring for a while, but picked up down the stretch. (***1/4)

7 -- ROH World champion EDDIE EDWARDS vs. ROH TV champion CHRISTOPHER DANIELS -- ROH World Title match

After formal ring intros, the crowd had a loud "Eddie Edwards" chant. Prazak noted the ROH Title has eluded Daniels throughout his career and Kelly said this could be his best shot. Nice start to this one with pre-match respect turning into tempers flaring momentarily at 2:00. Everyone calmed down, the crowd exchanged dueling chants, and the competitors slapped hands to show respect again.

After a long feeling-out process, they built to a big spot on the floor where Daniels scored with a uranage through a ringside table. The crowd popped for the move and woke up, starting up a handful of chants. If you had over 13:00 for the first anti-TNA chant of the match related to Daniels returning to TNA, you win the pool. Daniels then set up a couple of chairs and slammed Edward through them.

In the ring, Daniels went to work on Edwards as Kelly noted the match story that Daniels had wrestled "virtually a perfect match so far" even without resorting to his signature moves. Just before 20:00, they had a long exchange that ended with Daniels on the floor. Kelly said it was Daniels's first mistake of the match. Back in the ring, Eddie lit up Daniels with rapid-fire Kobashi-style chops followed by a Tiger Suplex for a two count.

Daniels caught Edwards with the Koji clutch, but Edwards got the ropes. Daniels followed with a side suplex off the second rope for a two count. Edwards fired back and caught Daniels in the Achilles lock, but Daniels countered into a pinning combination for a nearfall. Daniels then hit Angel's Wings out of nowhere at 27:00, but Edwards kicked out before three. Daniels then landed the BME, but Edwards kicked out again for a huge pop.

Daniels sold shock, then went for a second BME, but Edwards got his knees up to block and transitioned into the Achilles lock. Daniels escaped to end an intense exchange with a handful of close calls. The crowd applauded and chanted, "R-O-H," as the two men recovered to their feet. Daniels took Edwards up top, but Edwards blocked and hit a Super 2k1 Bomb. Edwards then hit a second 2k1 Bomb and it was good for a three count to retain the ROH Title.

WINNER: Edwards at 30:12 to retain the ROH Title. Caldwell: Good, almost great main event. Daniels can always be depended on to deliver a solid effort and Edwards is still growing into his World champion shoes. He's on the right track. (***1/2) Radican: This was excellent. (****)

Post-match: Edwards accepted his ROH Title belt as Daniels sold exhaustion trying to recover to his feet. They met center-ring and Edwards extended his hand. Daniels stared at him for a long while as Edwards quietly whispered, "C'mon." The crowd chanted, "Shake his hand," as Daniels sold anger with his face. Daniels then glared at Eddie and left the ring. Almost like a zombie, Daniels walked to the back.

Edwards then took the mic to address the crowd. He thanked the Atlanta crowd and said it is his honor to represent ROH as its World champion. Edwards thanked everyone for coming out and told them to come back Saturday. Kelly put over Edwards and the new ROH tag champions before signing off ahead of Saturday afternoon.

Radican's Final Word: I recommend a replay. This was a very good show. Not a blowaway show, but it had a lot of good wrestling.

Read Sean Radican's real-time Tweets at Twitter.com/SeanRadican.

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