By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

RADICAN’S ROH DVD REVIEW SERIES
“HONOR vs. EVIL”
FEB. 16, 2013
CINCINNATI, OH

Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness opened the show previewing the ROH vs. S.C.U.M. six man tag main event. Kelly also said there would be a live Hoopla segment.

Q.T. Marshall cut a promo backstage. He said the ROH fans were dumb and ugly like Jay Briscoe. Marshall said he fights with class and dignity unlike Jay Briscoe.

Kevin Kelly is handling the ring announcing for the show. Double duty! Marshall got on the mic as the fans booed him. Marshall got some cheap heat running down Pete Rose. He said Rose should be thrown in jail instead of being out in the hall of fame. He told the fans to take their welfare checks and bet the house on him to win. Jay Briscoe then came down to the ring to a big ovation.

(1) ROH Tag Team Champion Jay Briscoe beat Q.T. Marshall. The crowd is hot, but it’s hard to see them because the arena is so dark. Jay sent Marshall to the outside with a running kick after he skinned the cat and the fans went nuts. Jay dominated the action on the outside before tossing Marshall back into the ring. Jay climbed up to the second turnbuckle a short time later, but Marshall tossed him to the mat and began working him over as the fans booed. Marshall worked over Jay as McGuinness made fun of the ref’s ability to count. Marshall played to the fans and turned around into a big punch from Jay. Jay hit a big clothesline and followed up with a neck breaker for a 2 count. Marshall ducked a charge into the corner and Jay went shoulder-first into the ringpost. Marshall caught Jay coming off the ropes a short time later with a back breaker and a power slam for a 2 count. Jay countered Marshall and hit a backdrop followed by the Jay-driller for the win.

Star rating: (*1/2) – This was a basic match to get the crowd into the show.

Veda Scott interviewed Tadarius Thomas about his match against Jay Lethal. He said before Lethal won the ROH World Championship, he had to get past him. Thomas talked about his martial arts background giving him an advantage going into the match.

Jay Lethal got a big pop coming out to face Thomas.

(2) Jay Lethal beat Tadarius Thomas. Both men went back and forth during the early going before coming to a stalemate and the fans applauded. The action picked up and both men traded arm drags and then both men went for a dropkick before coming to a stalemate and the fans stood and applauded. They went to a great exchange where Lethal was forcing Thomas’s shoulders to the mat and Thomas popped up and went for a hurricanrana, but Lethal countered it into a STF. Thomas escaped, but Lethal maintained the upper hand. Thomas fired back and hit a series of his signature kicks on Lethal for a two count. Thomas hit a big kick to Lethal’s ribs for a 2 count. Lethal began selling his mid-section and Thomas went on the attack again. Lethal fired up and began mounting a comeback. Thomas cut him off after they went to a strike exchange. Lethal caught Thomas by surprise with a running elbow in the corner. Thomas tried to surprise Lethal, but he caught him with a slam, a superkick, and a backfist for a 2 count.

The crowd chanted for both men as Lethal placed Thomas up top. Thomas fired back on Lethal up top and Lethal ended up upside down in the corner. Thomas hit a double stomp to Lethal’s ribs for a two count. He followed up a short time later with a kick to head and a dragon suplex with a bridge for a good nearfall and the fans applauded. Lethal fired back and hit a superkick and the Lethal injection for the win.

The fans chanted “Next world champ” at Lethal after the match ended. Both men shook hands after the match.

Star rating: (***) – This was a really good showing for Thomas against Lethal. They had some nice exchanges early on before the pace picked up. Thomas did a good job of working over Lethal’s ribs and getting a good nearfall down the stretch before Lethal put him away.

Scott interviewed Mark Briscoe backstage. She asked him about his match with Nate Webb. Mark said a spider doesn’t stand a chance against a chicken. Only Mark could do a promo like this one making goofy faces and talking about chickens fighting spiders and get away with it.

Nate Webb came out to a good pop. Mark came out to a huge reaction.

(3) Mark Briscoe beat Nate Webb. McGuinness talked about Webb having a long history of success in the Midwest. Instead of shaking hands, both men bowed to each other before the match. Mark charged at Webb like a madman and eventually connected with a chop that sent Webb to the floor. Both men squared off and did karate poses. Mark was hilarious here making goofy faces and Webb motioned for him to bring it. Webb used the ref to escape an arm bar and took down Mark with a big clothesline off the ropes for a 2 count. Webb went for a backdrop and didn’t realize Mark had landed on his feet, so he turned around into a karate chop. Mark sent Webb into the corner with a series of karate strikes. Webb tried to fire back, but Mark caught him with a rolling DVD. He then tossed Webb to the floor and nailed him with a dropkick through the ropes. Mark continued to control the action once they got back inside the game. Webb tried to flip over after Mark caught his kick, but landed right on his face. Webb finally connected with a spinning kick a short time later and Mark went to the floor. Webb then hit a flip over the top to the outside and was lucky that Mark was able to break his fall because he got caught up trying to springboard over the top rope.

Webb covered Mark back inside the ring, but only got a 2 count. The fans chanted for Mark, who fired back on Webb with a headbutt. Webb fired back with a beard punch and followed up with a diving shoulder tackle in the corner. Webb charged at Mark again, but Mark caught him and suplexed him into the turnbuckles. Mark then went up top and hit the froggy bow win.

Star rating: (**3/4) – This was a fun match, especially during the early going where both men had a karate showdown in the middle of the ring. It was nice to see Webb get an ROH booking, as I hadn’t seen him on a show in a long time.

Scott interviewed Roderick Strong backstage about his match against ACH. I wonder why she stood to his right when in the previous interview she was standing to the left of Mark Briscoe. Strong smelled Scott’s hair before addressing ACH. He said everyone was talking about ACH, but he is “Mr. Ring of Honor.” Strong said ACH had never stepped into the ring with someone like him. Strong said ACH could give everything he has, but that wouldn’t be enough. Good promo from Strong.

ACH came out for his match against Roderick Strong to a good reaction. Strong got a good reaction coming out as well.

(4) Roderick Strong beat ACH. ACH got the better of Strong early and Strong gave him a shove before they went at it again. ACH nicely countered a head scissors on the mat and set up for a leg lock, but Strong slipped out. They continued to exchange holds on the mat until Strong elbowed ACH off of him and began working him over with kicks. ACH fired back leap frogging Strong in the corner before slapping him in the face. Both men exchanged some hard strikes before ACH nailed Strong with a huge chop. ACH hung Strong upside down in the corner and nailed him with a running dropkick and the fans fired up. Strong fired back with some wicked chops on ACH. ACH tried to fire back, but Strong kicked him down to the mat. ACH fired back and hit a springboard kick that sent Strong to the floor. He went for an Arabian press to the outside, but Strong got out of the way. ACH landed on his feet only for Strong to toss him into the barricade and the fans fired up. Strong tossed ACH back into the ring and began working him over.

Strong grabbed an arm trap chin lock on ACH. ACH Tried to fight out of it as Strong punched away at his chest. ACH eventually fought free, but Strong caught him with a beautiful dropkick off the ropes. Strong followed up with a big back breaker and continued to work over ACH. Strong dumped ACH to the floor. ACH fired back at Strong and hit a series of strikes, but Strong cut him off and tossed him back-first onto the ring apron. The crowd chanted for ACH as the ref counted him out. ACH beat the count and Strong immediately nailed him with a series of boots inside the ring. ACH tried to fire back, but Strong overwhelmed him with strikes in the corner and the fans booed. ACH fired back and hit a rolling flatliner after a big exchange that left both men down. ACH got the upper hand once both men got to their feet. ACH hit a slingshot ace cutter off the apron for a nearfall. ACH countered a charge by Strong through the ropes and eventually nailed him with a step up twisting senton to the outside and the fans went nuts. Nigel said we won’t see that anywhere else. I’ve seen a masked wrestler in another fed use that move plenty of times.

The crowd woke up with ACH on the attack. He went for a pump-handle, but Strong countered him. Strong eventually caught ACH with a back breaker, but he only got a 2 count. Strong hit a pair of running forearms in the corner and a back breaker out of the torture rack position, but ACH kicked out at the last second. ACH countered the Gibson driver into a pinning combination, but Strong kicked out and applied the Strong hold immediately. ACH fought for the ropes, but Strong dragged him to the middle of the ring. ACH rolled up Strong again multiple times, but he couldn’t put him away. They went to a big strike exchange and Strong went for the double knee gutbuster, but ACH countered it into an inverted hurricanrana. Strong got his foot on the bottom rope at the last second and the fans went nuts. Strong countered a charge in the corner, but ACH caught him with a stunner. ACH went for a 450 off the second rope, but Strong got out of the way and hit a pop-up back stabber onto his knees for the win.

Star rating: (***3/4) – This was a breakout match for ACH. They did a fantastic job of building up the match with good pacing. The final stretch of the match was fantastic with some brutal looking strike exchanges. Strong looked like he was murdering ACH at times. ACH got some good nearfalls and he showed he has real potential to be a big deal in ROH in the future.

Truth Martini came out with two Hoopla Hotties. One of them could barely walk in her high heel boots. Martini introduced a “Hoopla Uncut” segment. Martini said his show was about love. He asked the fans if SCUM or the ROH All-Star team that would win in the main event. The crowd was split on who they thought would win. Martini said Adam Cole would be his guest later in the show.

Martini read some fan mail. One of the Hoopla Hotties played with Martini’s steel balls while he read the letter. It was hard to hear what he said because of the mic. Martini said it was time for the secret word of the day. Martini said the secret word of the day was underwear. This is so stupid. One of the girls began stripping. Martini called Veda Scott into the ring. She didn’t want to get into the ring, so Martini called her a 12 year old boy that nobody wants to see.

ROH TV Champion Adam Cole came out after Martini introduced him. Cole told Martini he wasn’t going to fall for his mind games. Cole mentioned the girls standing in their underwear and everyone screamed because Cole said the secret word. Martini got Cole to say underwear and everyone screamed again. Cole talked about facing Matt Hardy for the ROH TV Title. Martini then mentioned that Matt Taven would also be in the match for the TV Title. Martini said Taven would beat Cole. He called Cole’s daddy disappointment. Cole went to superkick Martini, but one of the hotties got in the way. Martini slapped Cole’s butt, so Cole turned around and super kicked him.

Kelly said he didn’t know what the meaning off all of this was. Those were my thoughts as well. Scott tossed some water on Martini as he left ringside.

Charlie Haas came out to a good reaction for his match against Pepper Parks. Haas got on the mic, but Park’s music interrupted him. Haas said to cut the music. Haas ran down Cincinnati on the mc. The house mic isn’t working very well tonight, but Haas continued with his promo running down the fans. The camera panned to a skinny fan flipping Haas the bird. In front of a boy who couldn’t have been older than 10, Haas told a fan he was a load his mother should have swallowed. Parks then came out to a good reaction. Haas continued with his promo with Parks in the ring. He said he’s mad that he isn’t wrestling for the ROH title. He pointed to Parks and called him Cincinnati’s worst. Parks ended up slapping Haas while he was drinking a beer. Haas slammed his beer and went to the outside.

Parks got on the mic and said he’s not the same pushover he was a long time ago. He said he was going to show Haas what he is and Parks nailed Haas with a flip dive over the ropes and the fans popped huge.

(5) Charlie Haas beat Pepper Parks. Parks tore off Haas’s shirt and nailed him with a big chop before whipping him into the barricade. The announcers filled in the background of Haas and Park’s history from their HWA days when Parks was a cruiserweight and said Parks was a much different wrestler now. Parks dominated Haas back inside the ring and hit a neck breaker for a 1 count. Parks went for a baseball slide to the outside, but Haas caught him in the apron and landed a series of blows. Haas hit an Olympic slam on the ringpost as Kelly said he hopes Haas gets so drunk before one of his matches that someone beats the crap out of him. Haas dominated the action inside the ring for several minutes picking away at Parks at a methodical pace. Scott came in on commentary and called the Hoopla segment disgusting. Parks tried to fire back, but Haas cut him off and hit a belly-to-belly suplex for a 2 count.

For some reason, Haas spit on the mat and the fans groaned. That was gross. Kelly said a day of retribution was coming for Haas. For some reason, Haas ran himself into the turnbuckles. He then missed a running kick on Parks against the ropes and both men were down. Parks fired up and began working over Haas. He capped a big sequence with a nice powerslam for a 2 count. Parks tried to get the fans back into the match. Parks hit a twisting neck breaker on Haas, but only got a 2 count. Haas caught Parks charging at him and hit a big spinebuster. The fans fell silent as Haas went back on the attack. Haas went for a superplex, but Parks shoved him to the ground and hit a jumping neck breaker off the top for a 2 count. Haas cut of Parks on the outside and suplexed him onto the top of the guardrail. Haas went looking for his beer. Haas tried to hit Parks with his case of beer. Haas pushed the ref down. The ref checked on the beer and Haas rolled up Parks for the win.

Cheeseburger tossed a beer at Haas after the match, so Haas tossed him into the guardrail. Haas then swung Cheeseburger back and forth into the guardrail. Good lord that was brutal.

Star rating: (dud) – Haas dominated most of the match, although Parks had a nice flurry of offense at the beginning. The match was slow and methodical, but the finish was the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen in ROH in quite some time and think of the territory that covers. McGuinness said he was going to have a discussion with the ref. How was that not a DQ?

Kyle O’Reilly cut a promo backstage. He cut a cocky promo saying in order to solidify himself as an elite wrestler in ROH, he would have to take out B.J. Whitmer permanently. O’Reilly then adjusted his scarf around his neck to close the promo.

O’Reilly didn’t get much of a reaction coming out. Whitmer got a big reaction coming out since he’s from the area.

(6) B.J. Whitmer beat Kyle O’Reilly. O’Reilly reluctantly followed the Code of Honor. McGuinness said he had gone to the back and had strong words for Haas and the ref. He said he also had spoken to Joe Koff and in the future that would be a DQ. Kelly said nobody like Haas had been in the company before. Shouldn’t it be easy to call for a DQ? Whitmer nicely slipped out of a jumping arm bar attempt from O’Reilly and they went back and forth on the mat before coming to a stalemate. They had another nice exchange on the mat, but Whitmer got the ropes and O’Reilly offered a clean break. Whitmer chopped O’Reilly and O’Reilly fired back with a kick. They continued the exchange until Whitmer sent O’Reilly down with a big chop. Whitmer hit some big chops o O’Reilly in the corner. They ended up going at it in the corner, but O’Reilly snapped Whitmer’s arm over the apron before kicking him to the floor. O’Reilly then followed up with a missile dropkick off the apron to the floor and the fans fired up.

O’Reilly connected with a big missile dropkick and covered Whitmer for a two count. He immediately applied a cross-arm breaker, but Whitmer got his foot on the bottom rope quickly. They began exchanging strikes, but O’Reilly nailed Whitmer with a big combination of strikes capped by a sweep of the leg to take Whitmer down. O’Reilly tried several different pinning combinations, but could not get the pin. O’Reilly then applied a fishhook crossface submission that the ref didn’t see at first, but he made O’Reilly release the hold once he saw what O’Reilly was doing. Whitmer eventually ended up catching O’Reilly with an exploder suplex as he came off the ropes and both men were down on the mat. Whitmer fired up, but the crowd was just dead for this match. Whitmer caught O’Reilly coming off the ropes with a spinebuster for a 2 count. O’Reilly fired back with a series of strikes and a Saito suplex for a 2 count. O’Reilly hit a tornado DDT and a brainbuster, but Whitmer kicked out at one. The fans still weren’t into the match as both men began exchanging strikes.

Whitmer ended up suplexing himself and O’Reilly over the top to the floor and the fans finally woke up and went nuts. O’Reilly went for another missile dropkick off the apron, but Whitmer nailed him with a kick and suplexed him into the barricade. Whitmer then tossed O’Reilly into the ring and went for the pin, but O’Reilly kicked out at the last second. Whitmer hit a spinning neckbreaker and a fisherman’s suplex, but O’Reilly kicked out at the last second. The fans chanted “That was three” at the ref. O’Reilly countered Whitmer up top a short time later and crotched him on the top turnbuckle. O’Reilly followed up with a belly to back superplex off the top for a nearfall. Whitmer tried to break free of a Regalplex, but O’Reilly hit the move and applied a triangle. Whitmer fought free and hit dead-lifted O’Reilly before tossing him into the turnbuckles. Whitmer hit a series of knee strikes to O’Reilly’s head on the mat. Whitmer then applied a nasty looking submission with his legs around O’Reilly’s head with O’Reilly’s arm trapped and O’Reilly was forced to tap.

Both men shook hands after the match.

Star rating: (**1/2) – The match was fought at a slow pace and the crowd was disengaged for a long period of time, but the crowd was really into the last five minutes of the match. O’Reilly and Whitmer had some really good exchanges down the stretch before Whitmer finally submitted O’Reilly with a nasty looking submission.

There is no time limit for the Six Man Elimination main event between S.C.U.M. and the ROH All Stars. McGuinness said he put this match together to put the three best wrestlers in ROH against S.C.U.M.

(7) S.C.U.M. ( ROH World Champion Kevin Steen & Steve Corino & Jimmy Jacobs) vs. ROH All-Stars (ROH TV Champion Adam Cole & Michael Elgin & Davey Richards) in a Six Man Elimination No Time Limit match. Corino and Richards had a fast paced exchange and came to a stalemate after Richards avoided a diving clothesline. Kelly said Steen has been different since surviving the Ladder War against El Generico. Steen and Elgin went at it during the early stages of the match. Both men went for shoulder tackles, but neither man would go down. Things nearly broke down, but Steen and Elgin sent their partners back to the apron. Both men traded forearms. They went to an exchange off the ropes that saw Elgin take down Steen with a big powerslam. The ROH team began tagging in and out to work over Steen. Richards sent Steen to the outside, but Jacobs nailed him with a spear on the apron. Steen then dragged Richards to his corner before tagging in Corino. Corino began working over Richards inside the ring. S.C.U.M. then began tagging in and out to work over Richards. They worked over Richards for a long period of time. Elgin and Cole tried to get the crowd to fire up in support of Richards. Richards fired back on Jacobs and Corino. He sent Jacobs into Corino and hit a dropkick on Corino, which forced him to DDT Jacobs. I hate moves like that.

Cole got the hot tag from Richards and ran wild on Corino and went for the cover, but it got broken up. The action broke down with all six men in the ring. Team ROH stood tall putting a beating on S.C.U.M. in three different corners of the ring. They then isolated Corino and hit a combination of moves on him, but Jacobs broke up the pin. The action continued at a rapid pace and Elgin ended up tossing Jacobs onto Corino and Steen on the outside. Richards then wiped out Jacobs and Steen with a big dive through the ropes. The fans fired up with everyone exchanging blows on the outside. The referee called for help from the back to restore order. Corino and Cole ended up back inside the ring, but Steen dragged Cole to the outside and powerbombed him on the apron. Steen shoved a ref and tossed Cole back inside the ring. Corino covered Cole, but he kicked out at the last second. With order restored, S.C.U.M. began working over Cole. Kelly said there will be a winner and a loser in this match. Steen ended up with Cole on the outside and he tossed him crotch-first into the ringpost. The fans booed as Steen posed on the outside. Cole hit a suplex on Jacobs, but Steen cut him off and taunted Richards and Elgin in the corner by holding Cole’s hand in their direction. Cole finally fought out of S.C.U.M.’s corner and tagged in Elgin, who ran wild on Jacobs. Elgin ended up lifting up Corino and Jacobs at the same time and he tossed both men over his head, but he only got a 2 count on Jacobs.

Steen ran into the ring and Corino ended up tossing Elgin into the ringpost. The action broke down once again. Corino ended up dragging Cole to the floor and he hit a spiked piledriver with Jacobs coming down off the apron to assist him. The ref called for help for Adam Cole and several refs came out to check on him. The officials helped Cole to the back and S.C.U.M. immediately attacked Richards and Elgin. Steen held the curtain open and laughed as the officials took Cole to the back. McGuinness said the ref had told him Cole was favoring his neck and he made the decision to take him to the back. McGuinness went to the back and Kelly said there was no word yet as to whether or not Cole was officially eliminated. Elgin was attacked by all three members of S.C.U.M. in the corner with the ref trying to keep Richards away. Elgin continued to take a beating for a long period of time and the crowd was silent. Elgin continued to take a beating as they crossed the 24 minute mark. Kelly mentioned there was no time limit in the match. Elgin ended up with Jacobs on his back and he walked over to Corino and hit a dead-lift suplex and all three men were down. The crowd fired up as Elgin crawled towards Richards to make the tag. Richards got the tag and ran wild on Steen. Richards got a leg submission on Steen. Jacobs tried to break it up, but Richards wouldn’t let go. Richards caught Jacobs in an ankle lock while still holding the submission on Steen. Corino ran in and hit Richards with a roll of quarters and Steen covered him, but he kicked out. Steen then hit a package piledriver on Richards to eliminate him.

S.C.U.M. ended up alone in the ring with Elgin. Elgin tried to go after all three men, but Jacobs tripped him and Corino and Steen put the boots to him. S.C.U.M. tagged in and out to work over Elgin. Corino came into the commentary booth. Corino said Cincinnati was full of losers. He called a fan yelling at him fat and told him to sit down as Jacobs worked over Elgin in the ring. Corino said Jacobs was going to hit the senton to win and S.C.U.M. would go back to the crappy hotel that ROH put them in. Adam Cole ran down and attacked Corino. The fans didn’t react to Cole coming out. Elgin recovered and hit a dead-lift superplex on Jacobs off the apron back into the ring. Elgin and Jacobs were down on the mat as the ref counted. The fans finally fired up and Elgin made the tag to Cole, who ran wild on Steen. Cole hit a neck breaker over his knee on Steen for a nearfall. Cole favored his neck as he continued to sell his neck. Cole had Steen pinned with the Florida Keys German, but Corino pulled the ref out of the ring. Cole went up top, but Jacobs spiked him in the crotch. Steen then hit the F cinq on Cole. The ref slowly crawled into the ring and made the three count to officially eliminate Cole.

It’s now down to Elgin vs. Steen & Corino & Jacobs. McGuinness was very angry on commentary about this development. Corino made a blind tag on Steen, but Elgin cut him off with a backfist, a bucklebomb, and the Elgin bomb to eliminate Corino. The fans cheered after Corino’s elimination. Jacobs tried to come off the top on Elgin, but Elgin caught him and hit a buckle bomb and a spinning powerbomb to eliminate Jacobs and the crowd fired up as it came down to Steen vs. Elgin. Elgin and Steen went face-to-face and began exchanging blows. Elgin hit a backfist and bounced off the ropes, but Steen caught him with a pop up powerbomb for a 2 count. Steen hit a sleeper suplex, but Elgin kicked out at the last second. Steen went up top and went for a swanton, but Elgin got his knees up. Elgin walked over to Steen and hit a dead-lift German, but Steen kicked out. Elgin hit another dead-lift German, but Steen kicked out again. The crowd cheered as Elgin fired up and stood in front of Steen. Elgin went for a powerbomb, but Corino got up on the apron. Lethal ran down and dragged Corino to the floor. Steen tried to roll Elgin up, but he kicked out. Steen then pinned Elgin with an inside cradle to win the match.

The fans booed as Steen stood tall in the ring. Lethal then got into the ring and went face-to-face with Steen. Jacobs ran into the ring and attacked Lethal. Elgin came to Lethal’s aid, but S.C.U.M. overwhelmed them. The Briscoes then ran out and S.C.U.M. finally bailed. The fans chanted for the Briscoes. A fan tried to run in, but the refs stopped him. Steen held up his title and said he is the all-star.

Jay got on the mic and said something that pleased the crowd. He said it’s only a matter of time before he gets Steen’s title. Jay then thanked the fans, who stood and applauded. Kelly said the spirit of ROH still has a beating heart. McGuinness said ROH was standing tall at the end of the day. Kelly said sooner or later honor would live.

Star rating: (***1/4) – The action was good, but it never got to the level I expect. The fans didn’t get behind the ROH team during the match and it dragged at times with S.C.U.M. in control after Cole’s injury and Richards’s elimination. The finish with Steen rolling up Elgin fell flat as well. The fans got the most excited when the Briscoes ran out to make the save after the match ended.

Overall score: (6.0) – There was some good action on this card, but there wasn’t much worth going out of your way to see. The undercard featured some decent action with the highlight being the Lethal-Thomas match, which was a good outing for Thomas, who showed he could go with a veteran like Lethal. The highlight of the show with Strong-ACH match, which had some slow spots, but they told a good story and built to a fantastic finish.

On the other side of things, a lot of the action was average. Briscoe-Marshall, Haas-Parks, and O’Reilly-Whitmer were largely forgettable matches. The show hit a rough patch during the “Hoopla Uncut” segment followed by Haas-Parks. These were two of the worst back-to-back segments on an ROH house show DVD in quite some time. Martini’s Pee Wee Playhouse homage was difficult to sit through as hit Hoopla Hotties pranced around in their skivvies and played with Martini’s brass balls in the background. It was also difficult to hear the house mic on this show and that didn’t help the segment either. Haas-Parks was a long and boring match with a terrible finish. I just don’t understand why they allowed Haas to shove the ref to the mat and not have it be a disqualification.

The ACH-Strong match was a great showing for ACH and they told a good story with Strong having the upper hand on ACH before he began mounting a comeback and things picked up. ACH got a couple of great nearfalls on Strong as they put together some great exchanges down the stretch. ACH has a lot of potential to be a player in ROH in the future and this match showcased his talent.

The main event Six Man Elimination match was good and they tried to stack the deck against the ROH team, but the story didn’t connect with the fans. Even Elgin hitting some big power moves failed to wake the crowd up and Cole running down from the back towards the end of the match after being hit with a roll of quarters and taken to the back didn’t get much of a reaction either.

There are some improvements on production and ROH should be commended for that, but it was hard to see the fans because the lighting was so dark for the show. The house mic was difficult to hear throughout the show as well and ROH would be wise to invest on a lighting and sound system they can take on the road for house shows to ensure good lighting and mic sound.

I really enjoyed the little touches ROH has added to house shows recently. Kelly and McGuinness previewing the card before the show started in front of the ring was a nice touch. They also went to several backstage interviews throughout the night, which made the events on the show feel more important than they would have otherwise without them. The show featured slick graphics that fans that have watched ROH TV would be familiar with as well. There’s also some nice bonus features with The Briscoes vs. S.C.U.M. match from National Pro Wrestling day included as well as some bonus promos from Lethal and Whitmer.

If you’re looking to watch an ROH house show this year, I would recommend “The Hunt for Gold” or “Defy or Deny 2” over this show.

You can purchase “Honor vs. Evil” at ROHWrestling.com.

***

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