By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

RADICAN’S ROH “SHOWDOWN IN THE SUN: NIGHT 2” iPPV REPORT”
MARCH 31, 2011
FT. LAUDERDALE, FLA.
AIRED LIVE ON GFL.TV

McGuinness and Kelly introduced the show from mid-ring and ran down the card. Jimmy Jacobs’s music played and he came down to the ring to some boos. Jacobs said for the past year he and Corino had been on a road to redemption. The crowd booed Jacobs. Jacobs said the man trying to stop them the whole time was Kevin Steen. Jacobs said he didn’t freeze at “Final Battle” when going to use the spike against Steen because he thought he was doing something wrong, but he froze because he had been celibate for a year and had an orgasm. Jacobs said Steen was right and that sometimes evil wins. Generico’s music played and he came down with a ref.

1 - - EL GENERICO vs. JIMMY JACOBS

Generico ran wild early until Jacobs bailed to the outside. Generico nailed him right away with a flip dive over the top rope. Bobby Cruise announced that ROH officials had approved the match. The announcers said Generico was out for revenge today. Generico went for his signature rope walk DDT, but Jacobs crotched him. Jacobs hit an elbow drop off the apron, which drew a few scattered boos. The crowd tried to rally behind Generico as Jacobs continued his assaults. Generico tried to mount a comeback, but Jacobs raked his eyes. The crowd chanted “you suck” at Jacobs as he walked over Generico’s chest and covered him for a 2 count. McGuinness and Kelly talked about the ramifications of Jacobs being in Steen’s corner.

Generico mounted a comeback and hit a cross body splash off the top for a nearfall. Isn’t that Cole’s finish? Jacobs tried to break free from Generico, but ended up taking a blue thunder powerbomb for another 2 count. Kelly apologized for the technical issues on the last iPPV and thanked fans for their patience. Jacobs fired back with a suplex out of the corner for a 2 count. Jacobs caught Generico with a springboard ace crusher out of the corner for a nearfall. The crowd tried to rally behind Generico again as Jacobs went up top. Generico cut Jacobs up and went for the super brainbuster, but Jacobs fired back with some punches. Jacobs shoved Generico off the turnbuckles and charged at him, but Generico caught him and suplexed him into the corner. Generico set up for the running Yokuza kick, but Jacobs caught him by surprise with the end time. Generico struggled, but got the ropes.

Jacobs grabbed a spike out of his boots and charged at Generico, but he got out of the way. Generico then hit a half nelson suplex for a nearfall. Generico set up for a brainbuster on Jacobs, but stopped when he saw the spike in the corner. Jacobs rolled him up, but Generico kicked out. Jacobs grabbed the spike, but Generico took it away from him. Generico charged at Jacobs with the spike, but Jacobs caught him with a rollup for the win.

Winner: Jimmy Jacobs

Star rating: (**1/2) – The action was fine, but something was missing here. The crowd was into Generico, but they weren’t totally invested in Jacobs as a heel. Generico taking a loss here makes you wonder if he’s ever going to establish credibility under the new regime in ROH.

A replay aired with the announcers talking like monsters.

McGuinness and Kelly did a reset and said Ciampa was supposed to return the ROH TV title to Jay Lethal tonight. Cedric Alexander came down to the ring first for singles action accompanied by Cedrick Alexander. Tomasso Ciampa was out next with Embassy Limited. They did not have the ROH TV title with them. Ciampa drew some boos when he was introduced. Kelly ran down the Tale of the Tape prior to the match.

2 - - CEDRIC ALEXANDER (w/Caprice Coleman) vs. TOMASSO CIMAPA (w/Embassy Limited)

Ciampa jumped Alexander before the bell rang. R.D. Evans came in on commentary and said they had 24 hours to return the TV title. He said they had done nothing illegal so far because the 24 hours weren’t up. Ciampa went to town on Alexander on the outside and they missed a shot of him nailing a running knee against the guardrail. Kelly questioned Evans and reminded him that injunctions have legal ramifications. Evans promised that Osiris had brought the TV title to Florida. Ciampa set up for a running knee in the corner, but Alexander got out of the ring. Alexander hit a series of kicks on Ciampa as he came through the ropes and caught him with a modified flatliner off the second rope. Alexander countered a suplex attempt from Ciampa and hit a face buster for a 2 count. Alexander hit a running dropkick in the corner and Ciampa spilled to the outside.

Ciampa fired back on the outside and nailed Alexander with several forearms. Ciampa charged at Alexander, but he caught him and suplexed Ciampa into the barricade. The crowd applauded as Alexander tried to toss Ciampa back into the ring. Alexander eventually rolled Ciampa back into the ring and got a 2 count. The crowd started to rally behind Alexander. He charged at Ciampa, who held down the top rope. Alexander ended up on the apron and Ciampa tossed him into the turnbuckles. Ciampa pulled down his kneepad on the apron and nailed Alexander with a running knee in the opposite corner. Alexander hit another knee as Evans sold shock from the outside. Ciampa rolled Alexander back into the ring and Ciampa covered him for the win.

Winner: Tomasso Ciampa

Star rating: (**) – This was a good showing by both men. Alexander got in a fair amount of offense, but Ciampa ended up getting the convincing victory in the end. It’s a shame they didn’t pull the trigger on giving the TV title to Ciampa on the “10th Ann. Show,” as he had generated a lot of momentum at that time. There’s still time to do something with Ciampa on the undercard, but Ciampa’s momentum is starting to drag a bit.

After the match, Nana kicked at Coleman as he checked on Alexander. Coleman went after Nana, but Ciampa cut him off and hit project Ciampa.

Kelly previewed the T.J. Perkins-Fire Ant match, which was scheduled to come on next. The fans chanted for Colt Cabana in the background. Kelly talked about CHIKARA being different than anything that’s been seen before. Fire Ant came out to a big ovation. Kelly mentioned Fire Ant is part of a trio of ants. Perkins was out next and he got a good reaction, but it was smaller than the pop for Fire Ant.

3 - - FIRE ANT vs. T.J. PERKINS

Kelly talked about the upcoming CHIKARA/ROH joint shows in April. They exchanged some quick pinfall attempts and came to a stalemate. The pace picked up again as they went back and forth across the ring. Both men exchanged counters on the mat and came to another stalemate. Perkins took Fire Ant down and applied a headlock. He transitioned to a hammerlock as the crowd chanted for Perkins. Fire Ant fought out and hit a springboard arm drag. Fire Ant leapt to the second rope and then jumped to the top rope and hit an arm drag on Perkins. Perkins tied up Fire Ant in the corner, but He caught him with a headscissors takedown. Fire Ant sent Perkins to the outside with a dropkick and went for a dive, but Perkins ran into the ring and slammed him to the mat.

Perkins hit a suplex and covered Fire Ant for a 1 one count. Fire Ant fired back and eventually hit a running senton on Perkins for a 2 count. The feed cut out at this point.

Winner: Unknown

The feed came back with Bennett in the ring. He said beating Lance Storm was better than being the world champion. Bennett told Maria they were going to get out of this hell hole and go to south beach. He told Maria they were going to go celebrate the fact that he’s the best in the world and that he’s better than the best. Maria and Bennett then sucked face while Bennett groped her rear end. The crowd booed as they continued to suck face. The crowd started the “yes” chant. They finally stopped once Bennett’s music played.

Kelly talked about the upcoming Briscoes title defense against WGTT. Kelly asked McGuinness at one point does it come to be more about just the titles in a rivalry. McGuinness said the Briscoes feel like they have to prove their legacy with WGTT in the company. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin came out first to boos. The Briscoes came out next to a big pop from the crowd. Bobby Cruise did the formal ring introductions as the crowd went crazy for the Briscoes. Kelly ran down the Tale of the Tape prior to the opening bell.

Note: The O’Reilly vs. Cole and Young Bucks vs. ANX matches haven’t been restored yet to the VOD version of this event.

5 - - ROH World Tag Team Champions THE BRISCOES (Jay & Mark Briscoe) vs. WGTT (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin) – ROH World Tag Team Title match

Hass tried to stall several times and the action broke down on the outside with both teams brawling. The Briscoes got the upper hand and tossed Haas and Shelton into the barricade multiple times. The action spilled back into the ring and Jay had the upper hand on Haas until Benjamin tripped Jay from the apron. Benjamin went to work on Jay’s leg with a submission. Jay tried to fire back, but Haas took him down and went to work on his leg again. Shelton tagged in and continued to work over Jay. Mark finally got the hot tag and ran wild with redneck Kung-Fu on Haas & Benjamin. There was a bit of an awkward exchange with Mark trying to fend off Haas and Benjamin on the apron. Benjamin eventually drove Mark shoulder-first into the ringpost and he fell to the floor.

Benjamin rammed Mark’s head into the guardrail several times while the ref held Jay back inside the ring. Mark came up bleeding and Benjamin lifted him up and hit a suplex before posing for the crowd. Benjamin went for a superplex, but Mark shifted his weight and landed on top of Shelton. Both men tagged out and Jay quickly got the upper hand on Haas. Jay knocked Benjamin off the apron and hit a superkick on Haas that that wasn’t shown. Jay wiped out Shelton with a plancha to the outside and followed up with a dive off the top on Haas inside the ring. Benjamin ran in and hit a superkick on Jay and the action broke down. Haas and Jay began exchanging kicks to the face. Both men went down after hitting simultaneous kicks and the crowd popped. All four men began exchanging blows in the middle of the ring. Benjamin eventually took out Mark with a springboard DDT on the apron after Haas hit a German on Jay.

Haas hit the Olympic slam on Jay and the crowd booed. Haas set up for the Haas of pain. He applied the hold. Benjamin tossed Mark into the ring barrier on the outside, but Jay still managed to get the ropes. The crowd chanted “you suck” at WGTT. WGTT set up for leap of faith, but Mark broke it up with a missile dropkick on Benjamin. Jay then rolled up Haas for the pin.

After the match, WGTT jumped the Briscoes. Benjamin took out Jay with the paydirt. The crowd booed as Haas and Benjamin dragged Jay to the corner and crotched him on the ringpost. Haas and Benjamin then held up the tag titles and the crowd chanted “you got fired” at them. Haas and Benjamin went after Mark on the outside as well before exiting to the back. Jay had to be helped out by a couple of people from the back after the match.

Winners: The Briscoes to retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles

Star rating: (**3/4) – A solid match. I was expecting more out of this encounter, but the match dragged in spots with the Briscoes doing a lot of selling. Haas and Benjamin did a lot of work on Jay’s leg that wasn’t sold very well. The finish was a bit of a letdown as well with Jay winning with a rollup out of nowhere. I’m hoping this feud doesn’t continue as this has dragged on far too long.

Kelly and McGuinness previewed the first of three blind destiny challenge matches, as Steen vs. Edwards is up next. Edwards came out first to a good pop. Steen came out next and got a big ovation. Bobby Cruise did the formal ring introductions. Edwards and Steen both got good pops. Steen’s pop was a bit bigger. Kelly ran down the Tale of the Tape with Steen holding a 53 pound weight advantage.

6 - - EDDIE EDWARDS vs. KEVIN STEEN – Blind Destiny Challenge match #1

They did a spot where the exchanged shoulder tackles while bouncing off the ropes. Edwards surprised Steen with a kick, but Steen took Edwards down and hit a flipping legdrop. Edwards hit Edwards with a chop, but Steen raked his eyes to maintain the upper hand. Steen yelled at the ref and told him he had until five to break the crowd, which drew a “yes, yes, yes” chant from the crowd. Edwards fired back with a code breaker off the second rope and applied a crossface, but Steen got the ropes. They battled near the apron a short time later and Steen caught him with a DDT through the ropes. Steen followed up with a cannonball in the corner and the crowd popped. The action spilled to the outside and Steen drove Edwards hip-first into the stage area. Edwards tried to fire back and go for a springboard, but Steen cut him off. Steen went for a powerbomb on the outside, but Edwards countered it into a hurricanrana. Edwards charged at Steen, but Steen caught him and powerbombed him onto the apron.

The fans asked Steen to toss Edwards up onto the stage area and Steen obliged. Edward and Steen exchanged blows up on the stage. Steen grabbed Edwards and bit his face. Steen set up a chair before biting Edwards’s face again. Steen set up Edwards on the chair and nailed him with a cannonball on the stage and the crowd popped. Steen ran back to the ring and posed on the turnbuckles. Edwards fought back with some kicks to Steen’s face and hit him with a doublestomp from the stage to the floor. The crowd chanted for Edwards after the spot. Edwards tossed Steen back into the ring. Edwards hit a backpack chinbreaker on Steen out of the corner for a 2 count. Steen fired back a short time later with an elevated powerbomb. Steen went for a sharpshooter, but Edwards countered and applied the Achilles lock. Steen then countered the hold into a small package for the win.

Winner: Kevin Steen

Star rating: (***) – This was quite good, but I wonder if Steen ended up getting hurt at some point during the match. He appeared to be discussing something with Edwards while trying to apply the sharpshooter. Steen appeared to be walking gingerly while going to the back after the match. This was good while it lasted, as both men had some really good exchanges here with the crowd into most of the action.

McGuinness and Kelly said perhaps Edwards had to regroup after the loss. Kelly and McGuinness previewed the upcoming TV title match with Jay Lethal defending against Roderick Strong. Strong came out first to some boos. Lethal came out to a small pop without the TV title. Bobby Cruise started to do the formal introductions when Ciampa came down to ringside with the TV title in a bag. Ciampa took the title out of the bag and asked for the mic. Ciampa couldn’t get the mic to work, so Cruise tossed him his mic. Ciampa told Lethal the belt looks a lot better with him. Ciampa said he’s a man of his word and that he would hand the title to Lethal. Ciampa said before he handed him the title, he should be a man and give Strong a title match. Ciampa said if he made this a title match and beat Strong, he would get in the ring and give Lethal the title and shake his hand. Ciampa promised Lethal to tell him he is the better man if Lethal beats Strong. Lethal got on the mic and told Ciampa he would agree to his challenge. He told Ciampa if he didn’t hold up his end of the title he would beat him up and take what’s rightfully his. Lethal told Ciampa to take a seat and watch the match. He told Ciampa he would have to call him the new dominant male if he beat Strong.

Bobby Cruise announced the match was now for the ROH TV title. Strong got very little reaction when he was introduced. Lethal got a small pop when he was introduced. Kelly said this would count for Strong’s Proving Ground victory over Lethal in a previous match.

7 - - ROH TV Champion JAY LETHAL vs. RODERICK STRONG (w/Truth Martini) – Blind Destiny Challenge match #2

After a brief exchange, Lethal rolled through on Strong and locked in a nasty looking submission. Strong rolled out and Lethal covered him for a 1 count. Lethal hit a slingshot senton, but Strong rolled out from under a cover. Both men exchanged chops. Lethal hit several hard chops on Strong in the corner. Both men exchanged forearms. Strong hit a kick to Lethal’s leg to ground him. Lethal fired back on Strong and hit a nice delayed vertical suplex. Lethal sent Strong into the ringpost and then kicked him to the outside with a springboard kick. Lethal followed up with a tope through the ropes to wipe out Strong. Lethal glared at Ciampa on the outside. Lethal continued to glare at Ciampa, who stood and held up the title. Lethal set up for a springboard, but Martini distracted him. Strong snapped Lethal’s neck over the rope and then dropped him back-first onto the apron.

The announcers mentioned this match had a 15 minute time limit as Strong hit a backbreaker for a 2 count. McGuinness mentioned the difficulty of trying to beat someone in a short time limit, as you can take too many risks and end up losing. Kelly mentioned Strong had earned a title shot by going to a time limit draw with Lethal, but he couldn’t use that tactic in this match and win the title. Both men exchanged some hard chops, but Strong grounded Lethal with a kick. Strong was slow to cover and only got a 2 count. The crowd chanted for Lethal, who went for a cartwheel kick, but Strong caught it and turned it into the stronghold. Lethal struggled, but got the ropes. Strong continued to work over Lethal inside the ring.

The crowd tried to rally behind Lethal, who nailed Strong with a series of big chops. Lethal eventually connected with the cartwheel kick and both men were down. The ref began counting for both men, but they beat the count. Lethal got a boot up on Strong in the corner and nailed him with several punches and strikes. Lethal continued to put a beating on Strong and the crowd applauded. Lethal fired up with several kicks and a leg lariat. Lethal avoided a dropkick and hit a handspring elbow, but Strong kicked out. The crowd clapped as Lethal regrouped. Strong surprised Lethal with a small package for a good nearfall. Strong hit a running knee strike and a gut buster, but Lethal kicked out. The announcers wondered how much time was left in the match. Lethal countered a Gibson driver and hit a superkick for a nearfall.

The announcers said there were three minutes left remaining in the time limit. Lethal hit the lethal combination and went up top. Lethal connected with a top rope elbow, but Strong kicked out. Lethal set up for the lethal injection, but Strong nailed him with a dropkick. Ciampa sent Lethal into the post with the ref distracted in the ring. Strong then hit a big backbreaker for the win.

The crowd stood and applauded after the match ended. Ciampa tossed the belt to Strong, who becomes the second Triple Crown Champion in ROH. Strong held up the title as the crowd applauded.

Winner: Roderick Strong

Star rating: (***1/4) – This was a much better encounter than their match at “Glory by Honor X” last year. They built drama around the time limit and used Ciampa’s presence on the outside to add another element to the match. It was time to get the belt off of Lethal, but I’m not sure what good it’s going to do to put the strap on Strong. It will be interesting how they sort out the storylines for Ciampa, Lethal, and Strong.

Kelly turned his attention to the main event with Davey Richards defending the ROH World Title against Michael Elgin. Kelly mentioned Elgin’s post-match attack on Richards on the previous night to end the show. McGuinness said Elgin was going into the match with an advantage. Kelly said he had talked to Richards earlier today and his neck was bothering him.

Elgin came out first with Truth Martini. Richards then came out to a good reaction. Elgin drew some boos when Cruise did the formal ring introductions. Richards got a mixed reaction when he was introduced. Kelly ran down the Tale of the Tape prior to the opening bell.

8 - - ROH World Hvt. Champion DAVEY RICHARDS vs. MICHAEL ELGIN (w/Truth Martini) – Blind Destiny Challenge match #3

Richards jumped Elgin at the bell and landed several knees. After a fast exchange, Richards took down Elgin with a dropkick. Richards held down the top rope and sent Elgin flying over the top to the apron. Richards hit a running kick that set Elgin to the floor and followed up with a dive through the ropes. Richards took Elgin around ringside and landed some big kicks to the chest. Elgin dragged Elgin up to the apron. He then climbed the turnbuckles, but Elgin cut him off. Elgin ended clotheslining Richards off the top back into the ring before covering him for a 2 count. Elgin nailed Richards with a big forearm. Richards tried to fire back, but Elgin sent him to the corner with a clubbing blow. Elgin held up Richards and for a long time in the suplex position as the crowd applauded. Damn, it was nearly 30 second before Elgin dropped him to the mat. Elgin covered Richards, but only got a 2 count.

Elgin pounded on Richards near the apron before nailing him with a legdrop off the second turnbuckle. Elgin covered Richards back inside the ring, but only got a 2 count. Elgin set up for a powerbomb, but Richards drove him into the corner. They battled for position, but Elgin nailed Richards with a big knee. Richards went for a handspring, but Elgin caught him with a torture rack backbreaker for a 2 count. The crowd chanted for Richards as Elgin continued to overpower him inside the ring. Elgin shrugged off a Richards chop and sent him down to the mat with a chop of his own. Richards hit a chinbreaker, but Elgin got right up and nailed him with a suplex.

Elgin stretched Richards’s arms out behind his back on the mat. The crowd tried to rally behind Richards, who began to try to power out. Richards nearly powered out, but Elgin maintained the hold. Richards tried to power out again and Elgin went for a suplex, but Richards slipped out. They battled near the apron, but Richards nailed him with an enzuguri and followed up with a dropkick off the top for a 2 count. Richards went for a suplex, but Elgin powered out and nailed Richards with a forearm. Both men began exchanging forearms in the middle of the ring. Richards hit several forearms on Elgin and followed with a big suplex for a 2 count. Both men were slow to get up and the crowd began to clap in anticipation of what would happen next.

Richards went for another wrist clutch suplex, but Elgin wouldn’t go up. Richards hit a running knee in the corner and shouted to the crowd. Richards put Elgin on the top turnbuckle. Elgin nailed Richards with several punches. Richards fired back with headbutts. Richards eventually lifted Elgin and hit a superplex, but Elgin fired up and got to his feet. Elgin pointed at Richards, who nailed him with a pair of kicks to the face. Elgin took several palm strikes, but ended up taking down Richards with an enzuguri. Elgin no-sold another suplex, but Richards took him down with a big clothesline for a 2 count. Richards applied the ankle lock, but Elgin got the ropes and went to the outside. Elgin ducked a kick off the apron from Richards and hit a fisherman’s suplex to the floor from the apron. Elgin set up Richards for a powerbomb and drove him into the guardrail and the crowd gasped before clapping. Elgin quickly tossed Richards into the ring, but only got a 2 count. Wow!

The fans chanted for Richards as Elgin went up top and hit a corkscrew senton for a nearfall. Double wow! The fans began clapping as both men were slow to get up. Elgin got up and the crowd began chanting his name. Elgin put Richards on the top turnbuckle. He set up Richards for a powerbomb out of the corner, but Richards held onto the ropes and grabbed a kimura. Richards then began nailing Elgin with elbows to the head. Richards went for a sunset bomb, but Elgin held on. Richards slipped out and crotched Elgin. They continued to battle for position up top. Richards nailed Elgin with a big kick and then went back up top and hit a full nelson superplex. Elgin kicked out at the last second and McGuinness and the crowd went mental. Richards grabbed an ankle lock, but Elgin eventually got the ropes and the crowd went crazy again and chanted for Elgin. The fans then chanted for Richards, who began kicking Elgin in the chest. Elgin just glared at Richards as he absorbed kicks. Elgin staggered towards Richards and pie faced him. Richards went for the rapid-fire kicks to the head, but Elgin fired back with a series of knees to Richards’s head. They traded the spot several times until Richards backed Elgin up against the ropes and nailed him with kick after kick. Elgin caught Richards by surprise and hit the chaos theory for a nearfall. Elgin hit a superkick to Richards’s head and a side slam for a nearfall.

Elgin locked in the crossface as the crowd went nuts. Richards began to fade, but fired up when the crowd chanted for him not to tap. Richards got the bottom rope finally and McGuinness went crazy. Both men were slow to get up and the crowd went crazy. The entire building stood and chanted “this is awesome.” Elgin was on his feet first and he went up top. Elgin dragged Richards up top with him, but Richards slipped down and hit a dragon screw around the ropes. Elgin fell to the apron and Richards went up top and the crowd roared. Richards came down with a doublestomp. Richards went up top again and hit another doublestomp back inside the ring, but Elgin kicked out and the crowd went crazy. McGuinness went crazy as well. Richards hit another big superplex, but Elgin kicked out and the crowd went crazy again and an “ROH, ROH” chant broke out. McGuinness talked about the lineage of the ROH World Title and how matches like this built up the tradition of the title. Richards set up Elgin for a KO kick, but Elgin caught it. Richards hit an enzuguri and went for another kick, but Elgin fired back and hit a variation of the Ki crusher for a nearfall. McGuinness asked if Elgin had it in him to hit the spinning powerbomb. The crowd went crazy again and chanted “this is wrestling.”

Elgin got to his feet first. The fans chanted for Elgin as he dragged Richards to his feet. Elgin hit a buckle bomb, but Richards fired right back at him with a kick. Elgin ducked a kick and nailed Richards with a clothesline. Richards slid out of a spinning powerbomb attempt and applied an ankle lock. Elgin countered and applied the crossface. Richards spun around and nearly pinned Elgin with a pinning combination. Richards charged at Elgin, who greeted him with a knee to the face. Richards got right up with McGuinness shouting he’s got to be out, but nailed him with a punch and hit the spinning powerbomb only for Richards to kick out. The crowd went crazy as Elgin applied the crossface. Kelly and McGuinness both went crazy on commentary. Richards tried to roll through, but Elgin held on. Richards began to fade again, but he grabbed Elgin’s leg and applied the ankle lock. McGuinness noted Richards could barely stand to apply the hold. Elgin crawled towards the ropes, but Richards grabbed him back to the middle. Elgin tried to kick Richards off, but Richards held on. Elgin teased tapping, but he fired up and drove away into the corner. Elgin’s ankle gave away when he charged at Richards. Richards nailed him with a shining wizard and Elgin kicked out at one. Richards nailed Elgin several kicks to the head capped by a kick to the back of the head, but Elgin kicked out. Richards finally hit a spinning kick to Elgin’s head to win the match.

The fans went crazy after the match chanting “ROH, ROH.” McGuinness and Kelly tried to recap and McGuinness simply said this was what ROH is all about. Kelly said this match would go down in the history books. Kelly said what mattered was that Richards was still ROH world champion. The entire building stood and chanted that was awesome.

Richards grabbed a mic. The fans chanted for Elgin, who still hadn’t gotten to his feet. Richards said he gets a lot of flak about his MMA training. He said his heart and soul is in ROH. Richards said everyone in the building is family. Richards said they were all part of something very special and thanked the fans for letting him being a part of it. The fans chanted thank you at Richards. Richards said on Sunday there was entertainment, but the real wrestling had happened tonight and last night. The fans went crazy again and chanted “ROH, ROH.” Richards said Orlando and New York could keep their millions, because they wouldn’t want to step in the ring with an ROH wrestler. Richards says he’s very lucky to walk out with the title. Richards said the real champion is Elgin. Richards said the belt will someday belong to Elgin, but not right now. Richards said they had just put on a MOTY, but he said he learned something a long time ago sharing the ring with Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson. Richards paused while the crowd chanted “Yes, yes, yes.” Richards said fight for the people and they’ll never stare you wrong in reference to Truth Martini.

Winner: Davey Richards to retain the ROH World Title.

Star rating: (*****) – Just an amazing and incredible match that reminded me of the old days of ROH when someone new would step into a main event slot and put on an incredible performance that would get people talking. I knew Elgin had talent, but I didn’t know he could do what he did during this match. They fought at an incredible pace and the nearfalls were amazing, especially when Richards caught him with a shining wizard towards the end and he fired up and kicked out at one. Everyone should go this match as soon as possible.

Kelly thanked the fans and signed off to close the show.

Overall thoughts: (n/a) – It’s a shame the show is up with matches missing on Go Fight Live right now, as two full matches are missing and one match is cut off halfway through. The matches I saw leading up to Elgin-Richards on the undercard were all solid with some being very good, especially the Lethal-Strong TV title match.

The Richards-Elgin match blew me away and reminded me of the old ROH where news stars came out of nowhere and put on spectacular performances that were totally unexpected. Michael Elgin did that tonight. He’s had a number of good matches in ROH, but I had no idea he could be this good as he came across like a man possessed when it came to beating Richards. The dynamic between Richards and Elgin was totally different from all of Davey’s previous challengers, as Elgin wouldn’t succumb to his big moves, submissions, or kicks. Elgin’s fire in this match really set the tone and the crowd, which had been pretty good all night, suddenly went crazy. McGuinness and Kelly were fantastic on commentary as well and this is truly one of the best ROH matches I’ve seen in years.

It’s really frustrating that this show had so many technical difficulties, but Elgin-Richards is worth going out of your way to see right now if you don’t mind catching up on the rest of the show at some other point. It was an amazing performance from both men.

You can purchase this VOD at GFL.tv

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