By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

RADICAN’S ROH DVD REVIEW SERIES
DRAGON’S REIGN
MAY 11, 2013
BELLE VERNON, PA

Kevin Kelly introduced the show and previewed the main event with Steve Corino.

Q.T. Marshall and R.D. Evans came down to the ring. Marshall got on the mic and yelled at Larry Legend for not saying his last name correctly. Evans then got on the mic and the fans chanted Power Ranger at him. He asked the fans to give him and Marshall their full support. He said the American Wolves were an established team in ROH. Evans was finally interrupted by the American Wolves coming down to the ring.

(1) Q.T. Marshall & R.D. Evans vs. The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards). Corino said he had done some research and found out that Marshall was not popular on the internet. Richards took down Marshall with a dropkick during the early stages of the match. The Wolves began working over Marshall’s arm. Evans ran into the ring and hit Edwards with a kick. He then ran around the ring celebrating. Richards went for a kick on Evans, but he ducked and Richards ended up hitting Marshall. Edwards then wiped out Evans on the outside as the fans fired up. Richards connected with a flying headbutt on Marshall and Edwards covered him, but Marshall kicked out. Evans got in the ring again while Richards was working over Marshall. Richards went after Evans, but Marshall cut him off with a belly to back suplex. Evans then tagged in and put the boots to Richards. Marshall dropped Richards over his knee and Evans came off the ropes with a twisting neck breaker. The fans tried to rally behind Richards, who nailed Evans with a spin kick. Richards tried to tag out, but Evans tagged in Marshall, who knocked Edwards off the apron.

Richards finally made the hot tag and Edwards nailed Evans with several chops. Marshall tried to charge at him in the corner, but Edwards dodged him and nailed him with several chops. Marshall fired back and took down the Wolves with a double clothesline. Evans blind-tagged himself into the match and nearly got pinned, but Marshall made the save. Evans nearly got a pin with a rollup on Richards, who was distracted by Marshall. Marshall ran into the ring and did the deal on Richards. Evans then covered him for a nearfall. The fans fired up and chanted “This is awesome.” Corino said the fans chant that if the Pirates win 60 games in a season. Richards got a running start and kicked Marshall in the junk. Edwards and Richards both came off the top and hit big moves on Marshall. Richards got the heel hook on Marshall and Edwards got the single-leg crab on Evans. Marshall eventually tapped.

Winners: Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards

Star rating: (**) – Evans and Marshall got in way more offense than I expected. The crowd was hot for this match and the action was solid. I just couldn’t get over the ref letting Richards kick Marshall right in the groin and letting it go.

(2) Vinny Marseglia vs. Tomasso Ciampa. Ciampa took Marseglia down and locked in a bridging arm submission during the early stages of the match, but Marseglia managed to escape. Marseglia fired back and took Ciampa down with a dropkick. Ciampa went for a leap frog, but came down on top of Marseglia. Ciampa ended up firing up on Marseglia and he clotheslined Marseglia to the floor. Ciampa picked up Marseglia and got a running start on the outside before driving him into the barricade. Ciampa then dropped Marseglia stomach-first over the barricade before nailing him with a running knee. The crowd exploded after Ciampa hit the running knee. Ciampa lifted up the mats and suplexed Marseglia over the guardrail to the exposed floor. He then rolled Marseglia into the ring for a 2 count. Ciampa tied up Marseglia’s arms and legs on the bottom rope and nailed him with a running dropkick for a 2 count. Ciampa worked another arm submission on the mat while elbowing Marseglia in the face, but he let it go. Marseglia fired up and hit some forearms on Ciampa, but Ciampa fired back and nailed him with a running elbow in the corner. Marseglia managed to kick Ciampa into the guardrail. Ciampa fired back a short time later with a knee strike to the head from the apron. Marseglia fired up with a jumping knee and both men were slow to get up.

Marseglia fired up and hit a series of blows on Ciampa in the corner. Ciampa wouldn’t go down until Marseglia hit a tornado DDT. Marseglia kicked out of a rollup and Ciampa flew to the outside. Marseglia got a running start and wiped out Ciampa with a dive through the ropes and the fans went nuts. Marseglia followed up with a missile dropkick, but Ciampa kicked out at 2. The fans rallied behind Ciampa. Both men began exchanging strikes from their knees. They got to their feet and began exchanging chops. Ciampa ended up punching Marseglia into the corner. Ciampa took his knee brace down, but Marseglia popped up and kicked him into the corner. Marseglia missed a bronco buster attempt and Ciampa nailed him with a pair of running knees in the corner. The crowd wanted a third running knee, so Ciampa gave it to them. Ciampa put Marseglia on his back climbed to the second rope before dropping him down to the mat for the win.

Ciampa said he wanted Elgin after the match.

Winner: Tomasso Ciampa

Star rating: (**3/4) – This was a solid match. Ciampa looked good here and he is starting to carry himself like a dominant force in the ring. Marseglia looked good too and got in some offense, but the crowd just wanted to see Ciampa destroy him.

Truth Martini cut a promo backstage with the Hoopla Hotties and Matt Taven. He said Tadarius Thomas had a Proving Ground match, but he didn’t have a chance. Taven said tonight history would repeat itself and he would beat Thomas.

Martini got on the mic in the ring before the Proving Ground match started. Martini asked the fans what it would take for Taven to get their respect. Martini listed the people Taven had beaten recently. Martini told Thomas he was going to lose tonight. The house mic is rough.

(3) ROH TV Champion Matt Taven (w/The House of Truth) vs. Tadarius Thomas in a Proving Ground match. The fans fired up after Thomas took down Taven with an arm drag and held on with an arm bar during the early stages of the match. Thomas continued to dominate the action and got a 2 count after a dropkick. Thomas smiled as he continued to get the better of Taven. Martini got up on the apron and Taven tried to attack him from behind, but ended up taking a pair of kicks from Thomas. Thomas followed up with a suplex a short time later for a 2 count. Thomas cartwheeled to avoid a leg sweep from Martini on the apron, but Taven ended up knocking him to the floor to get the upper hand. Taven drove Thomas back-first into the apron on the outside. Corino said he was enjoying doing commentary and was thinking of getting a thesaurus, but he pronounced wrong and Kelly yelled at him. The fans heckled Taven while he worked over Thomas in the ring. Taven went for a springboard, but Thomas got out of the way. One of the Hoopla Hotties got up on the apron, which allowed Taven to wipe out Thomas from behind for a 2 count. Taven hit a springboard twisting senton, but only got a 2 count.

The fans tried to rally behind Thomas, who began to fire up. Both men began exchanging strikes. Thomas finally hit a cartwheel kick, but Taven didn’t go down and hit Thomas with an enzuguri a short time later for a 2 count. Martini choked Thomas against the ropes while Taven distracted the ref. One of the Hoopla Hotties tripped Thomas as he came off the ropes a short time later. The ref saw the trip and tossed the House of Truth from ringside. They showed Kelly on camera and he looked like this was the happiest moment of his life. Thomas went to work on Taven with a series of kicks to the chest in the corner. The fans fired up as Thomas continued to dominate the action. Thomas hit a half and half suplex with a bridge, but Taven kicked out at the last second. Corino said Taven should take a count out loss to avoid the beating that Thomas was giving him. Taven fired back and hung Thomas between the ropes before hitting a twisting neck breaker for a 2 count. Taven went up top while the fans heckled him. He went for a frog splash, but Thomas got his knees up. Taven blocked a suplex and hit his modified DDT for the win.

The House of Truth ran down to ringside to celebrate with Taven after he won.

Winner: Matt Taven

Star rating: (**) – The action was solid, but the match was more about the House of Truth than Taven for most of the match. It wasn’t a bad idea to establish here that Taven could win on his own with this match.

(4) ACH vs. Michael Elgin. ACH went for a hurricanrana during the early stages of the match. Elgin caught him, but ACH slipped behind him. Elgin tried to sit down on ACH, but he got out of the way. ACH went on the attack and went for a slam and then a suplex, but Elgin wouldn’t budge. Elgin eventually just punched ACH right in the face. ACH went for another suplex a short time later, but Elgin fought him off. Elgin charged at ACH, but he pulled the ropes on Elgin. ACH went for a springboard moonsault, but Elgin got out of the way. ACH landed on his feet and charged at Elgin, who backdropped him into the ropes. ACH bounced off the ropes and got a head scissors takedown. ACH went for a dive through the ropes, but Elgin caught him and hit a belly-to-belly suplex on the floor. The crowd fired up with Elgin on the attack on the outside. Elgin booted ACH over the barricade and into the crowd. Elgin went into the ring and ACH barely beat the ref’s count. Elgin held up ACH for a long delayed vertical suplex with the crowd counting along and dropped him down for a 2 count. Elgin went for another suplex, but ACH countered and hit a suplex of his own and the fans applauded.

The fans fired up with both men down on the mat. ACH got up and went on the attack. ACH caught Elgin with an axe kick from the apron as he came through the ropes. ACH then hit a step up twisting corkscrew to the floor on Elgin and the fans exploded. Corino said that he taught ACH that dive on commentary. ACH went for a splash off the top, but Elgin caught him. ACH managed to slip away and he hit a rolling neck breaker for a 2 count. Elgin fired back a short time later and caught ACH with a black hole slam for a 2 count. Corino said he had plans for ACH, Elgin, and Kelly when SCUM created a new company. Elgin got a running start and hit a DVD into the turnbuckles, but ACH got his hand on the ropes to break up the pin. They went back and forth exchanging strikes. Elgin nailed ACH with a huge bicycle kick and he went flying into the corner. Elgin charged at ACH, but ACH caught him with a stunner. ACH went up top, but Elgin cut him off. ACH eventually went for a sunset bomb, but Elgin held on and punched him away. ACH went for a springboard, but Elgin nailed him with a dropkick and the fans went nuts again. Elgin climbed to the second rope and grabbed ACH for a dead-lift falcon arrow back into the ring for a nearfall and the fans went nuts.

ACH caught Elgin by surprise with a rollup for a 2 count. ACH charged at Elgin in the corner, but Elgin caught him and slammed him down to the mat. Elgin went for a twisting senton, but ACH got out of the way. ACH then hit a twisting DVD for a nearfall on Elgin. The fans chanted for ACH as he went up top again. ACH missed a 450, but landed on his feet and walked right into a backfist. Elgin then hit a buckle bomb, but ACH countered the Elgin bomb into the inverted hurricanrana. ACH then went up top and hit a 450, but Elgin kicked out at the last second and the fans lost their minds. ACH tried to lift Elgin, but Elgin fired back with several elbows to the head. Elgin ducked a kick and hit a forearm to the back of ACH’ neck. Elgin hit a German and a backfist. Elgin followed up with a buckle bomb and an Elgin bomb for the win.

The fans went nuts and chanted “That was awesome” after the match. Corino said this match would main event a PPV one day in the future. The fans chanted “Next world champ” at Elgin. ACH finally recovered and the fans chanted his name. The fans then chanted “Thank you both.” Elgin and ACH shook hands after the match and Elgin raised ACH’s hand.

Winner: Michael Elgin

Star rating: (****1/4) – Elgin’s streak of having really good matches in 2013 continued. ACH really complimented Elgin’s style well. Elgin dominated a lot of the action, but ACH had some really good nearfalls on Elgin. The crowd was red hot throughout most of the match, especially down the stretch when ACH got a fantastic nearfall on Elgin with a 450. Elgin’s finishing sequence on ACH looked brutal and even caused Corino to say, “Stop hurting him” on commentary.

Both men came out to a Dalton Castle graphic.

(5) Dalton Castle vs. Jimmy Nutts. Castle has the weirdest mannerisms in the ring and makes goofy faces and struts after every move. Corino said he had no thoughts on the match when Kelly asked him about the match. Nutts tried to come off the top, but Castle caught him and hit a suplex. Nutts fired back with some uppercuts. Rhett Titus then ran into the ring and attacked Nutts.

Corino said that this was the surprise he had planned for the show. Titus went after Castle and hit the retribution. Kevin Steen’s music played and he ran down to the ring and the match was on.

Winner: No Contest

(6) Kevin Steen vs. Rhett Titus. Steen threw Titus to the outside and went on the attack. Kelly mentioned Steen was on a mission to destroy every member of SCUM. Steen sent Titus into the guardrail and nailed him with a running cannonball and the fans went nuts. Corino got in Steen’s face and told him he’s nothing without him. Titus ended up attacking Steen from behind and he choked him on the outside. Steen ducked a punch and drove Titus crotch-first into the ringpost. Steen dragged Titus around the ring and crotched him on another ringpost and the fans went nuts again. Steen went for a powerbomb onto the apron, but Titus drove him into the guardrail. Corino complained the ref should be counting Steen out. The action spilled back into the ring and Titus covered Steen for a 1 count. The fans tried to rally behind Steen with Titus still in control inside the ring. Steen fired back a short time later and took Titus down before hitting a senton. Steen went for a cannonball in the corner, but Titus got out of the way. Titus then nailed Steen with a running kick with his head up against the ringpost. Corino talked about how ROH had wronged Titus and he is now a father figure to him. The fans tried to rally behind Steen as Titus worked a stretch on the mat.

Steen tried to fire back with some punches, but Titus sent him to the floor with an elbow. They ended up going at it on the floor and Steen hit the F cinq on the apron and the fans went nuts. Steen went up top and hit a senton for a 2 count. Titus fired back and hit a version of the rocker dropper for a 2 count. Titus went up top, but Steen cut him off. Titus eventually shoved Steen to the mat and hit a frog splash on his back for a 2 count. The fans tried to rally behind Steen once again. Steen caught Titus by surprise with a pop-up powerbomb and went for the package piledriver, but Titus slipped out. Steen went for a punch on Titus, but Titus got out of the way and Steen nearly hit the ref. With the ref distracted Titus hit a low blow. Steen ducked a charge in the corner a short time later and kicked the ropes into Titus’s crotch. The ref yelled at Steen and Titus tried to come up from behind him. Steen ended up hitting a backwards kick into Titus’s crotch that the ref didn’t see. He then hit the package piledriver for the win.

Titus tried to pose in the ring after Steen left the ring. Steen then got back into the ring and nailed him with another kick to the crotch followed by the package piledriver. The fans chanted for Steen as the cameras showed Corino looking upset on the outside.

Several officials then came out to help Titus to the back as Corino complained about Titus taking three package piledrivers.

Winner: Kevin Steen

Star rating: (***1/4) – This was a good brawl with both men engaging in some hard-hitting action inside the ring. Titus looked good here and got some good nearfalls. The commentators did a good job of telling the story going into the match and in the end, Steen beat Titus at his own game when he tried to cheat.

(7) Roderick Strong vs. Adam Cole vs. B.J. Whitmer in a Triple Threat match. They did a triple test of strength to start the match and the fans chanted “Holy s---.” Corino said the fans in Pittsburg get excited about anything. The pace picked up as all of the competitors exchanged pinning combinations. Whitmer ended up on the outside and Cole began working over Strong. Whitmer came back into the ring and hit a powerslam on Strong before hitting a belly to back suplex on Cole. Whitmer continued to dominate the action, as he hit an exploder on Strong that sent him into Cole in the corner. Corino is gold on commentary. “B.J. Whitmer as champion would be the worst thing ever.” The action picked up with Whitmer sending Strong to the outside. He followed up with a dive through the ropes and the fans fired up. Cole ran into the ring and hit a dive through the ropes on Whitmer and the fans fired up again. Cole went up top and went for a splash, but Strong nailed him with a dropkick for a 2 count.

Whitmer countered Strong inside the ring and hit a suplex with a bridge, but Cole broke up the pin. Cole and Whitmer went at it and Cole wiped him out with a shining wizard for a 2 count. Strong came in from behind Cole and caught him with a back breaker out of the torcher rack position, but Whitmer broke up the pin. Whitmer and Strong began exchanging chops in the middle of the ring. Whitmer caught Strong with an exploder, but he kicked out at 2. They went to a big sequence capped by Strong hitting a superkick on Cole, but he kicked out at the last second. Strong fired up and took out Whitmer and then Cole in different corners of the ring. Strong hit a superplex on Whitmer and Cole ran over and covered him, but Strong broke up the pin. The fans fired up as Cole and Strong went face-to-face in the middle of the ring. Both men began exchanging strikes, but Strong caught Cole coming off the ropes with a double knee gut buster. They went to a big exchange with all three men hitting big moves. Whitmer ended up hitting Cole with a leg capture exploder for the win.

Everyone began shaking hands after the match, but Cole refused to shake Strong’s hand.

Winner: B.J. Whitmer

Star rating: (***1/4) – This was a good match while it lasted. They worked in a lot of three-way spots and this match didn’t follow the standard formula of having one guy selling on the outside while two guys go at it in the ring formula that you see in matches like this most of the time. This match could have gone 5-10 minutes longer, which would have been fine by me.

Jay Lethal cut a promo backstage. He said he was facing Jimmy Jacobs in a No DQ match tonight. He said the ROH vs. SCUM feud had gone on long enough. Lethal said there shouldn’t be rules in their match because that’s how SCUM operates. Lethal told Jacobs to be ready for a fight tonight. This was a good promo from Lethal.

Kevin Steen cut a promo while Jacobs made his entrance. Steen said he wasn’t done with SCUM tonight and he wouldn’t be done with SCUM for a long time.

(8) Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Jacobs in a No DQ match. Lethal and Jacobs went to the outside right away and began brawling. Lethal hit ten punches on Jacobs on the outside and celebrated with the fans. Jacobs snuck up behind Lethal and tripped him, which sent Lethal’s knee crashing into the floor. Jacobs and Lethal went back and forth on the outside. Jacobs tried to come off the apron, but Lethal nailed him with a kick to the gut. Corino claimed on commentary that Silkin should have sold the company to his investors. He said Nigel McGuinness and SBG came in from underneath and bought the company. Lethal and Jacobs ended up brawling through the curtain before coming back to ringside. The action spilled into the ring and the fans applauded. Lethal grabbed a chair on the outside and the fans fired up and did the “Yes, yes, yes” chant. Lethal drove the chair into Jacobs’s mid-section. Lethal ended up tripped Jacobs into the chair as he came off the ropes for a 2 count. Lethal went for a handspring off the ropes, but Jacobs nailed him with the chair. Jacobs began targeting Lethal’s back with the chair.

Corino said he should have gone to HR on McGuinness when he hit the tower of London on him at “Border Wars.” Jacobs continued to work over Lethal. He used the chair to choke him. Jacobs dumped Lethal to the floor and hit an elbow off the apron before tossing Lethal back inside the ring. Lethal tried to fire back with some big chops. Jacobs tried to send Lethal into a chair set up in the corner, but Lethal countered him. Jacobs then hit a kick to Lethal’s injured leg. Jacobs got a spike from his boot and charged at Lethal, but he got out of the way and Jacobs drove his spike into the turnbuckle. Jacobs charged at Lethal a short time later, but Lethal got out of the way and Jacobs went barreling into the chair. The crowd fired up with both men down on the mat. Both men got up and began exchanging punches. Lethal ended up hitting a handspring elbow to cap a big exchange and the fans fired up.

Lethal went to the outside and Corino shouted for him to quit. Lethal sold his leg as he looked under the ring for some plunder. Lethal ended up getting a trashcan. Lethal tossed the trashcan into the ring and continued to look under the ring. Jacobs grabbed the trashcan and tried to hit Lethal with it, but Lethal nailed him with a superkick and nailed him with the trashcan for a nearfall. Lethal hung Jacobs upside down in the corner and put Jacobs inside the trashcan. Lethal then nailed Jacobs with a big running dropkick. Lethal went for a cover, but Jacobs kicked out. The ref did a good job of making Lethal take Jacobs out of the trashcan because he couldn’t tell if his shoulders were down or not. Lethal sent Jacobs to the outside with a dropkick and nailed him with a dive through the ropes and the fans went nuts. Jacobs fired back on the outside and hit a springboard ace crusher off the guardrail.

The fans fired up as Jacobs tossed Lethal back into the ring. He went for a cover, but Lethal kicked out. Jacobs put Lethal on top of the trashcan and went up top. He went for a senton, but Lethal got out of the way and he landed on the trashcan. Lethal then covered Jacobs, but he kicked out at the last second and the fans went nuts again. Lethal grabbed the steel chair and Jacobs grabbed the spike. They came to a stalemate in the middle of the ring. Lethal blocked the spike with the chair and then hit the Lethal combination onto the chair for a 2 count. Lethal went back to the outside and the fans fired up as he went under the ring. Lethal ended up getting a table and the fans went nuts. Lethal set the table up in the corner. Corino went to talk to Jacobs. Jacobs fired up and went for a spear, but Lethal got out of the way. Jacobs stopped himself from going through the table, but ate a superkick seconds later. Corino ran into the ring and prevented Lethal from spearing Jacobs through the table. Steen ran down to the ring and went for a package piledriver on Corino, but Jacobs stopped him. Lethal accidentally wiped out Steen and Jacobs immediately speared him through the table in the corner for the win.

Steen left the ring. Lethal eventually got to his feet and the fans chanted for him.

Winner: Jimmy Jacobs

Star rating: (***3/4) – This was a really good brawl. Both men escalated the action throughout the match and the fans got hotter and hotter. The only downside for the viewer at home was some of the drama was taken away because of Steen’s promo saying he wasn’t done with SCUM, which left me waiting for him to come out before the match ended. Lethal and Jacobs continue to have good matches in 2013 in ROH.

The Briscoes came out for the main event to a big ovation. ReDRagon then came out and got some boos.

(9) ROH World Tag Team Champions ReDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe. Whitmer came in on commentary. Kelly said Whitmer was his surprise for Corino, but Corino was nowhere to be found. Kelly asked Whitmer about his ROH World Title shot next weekend against Jay Briscoe. Whitmer said it was the biggest match of his career and he was going to do some scouting tonight. ReDragon got a lot of heat from the crowd before the opening bell. Jay took down Fish during the early stages of the match and the Briscoes began working him over. Mark hit Fish with several karate chops, but Fish bailed to the outside. O’Reilly tried to attack Mark from the apron, but he ducked a punch. Fish then tripped Mark from the outside and tagged in O’Reilly who began working him over. O’Reilly and Fish hit a series of moves on Mark capped by a backbreaker/knee drop off the second rope, but Jay broke up the pin. The fans chanted “F--- ReDRagon.”

Mark managed to slip away from Fish and he tagged in Jay, who ran wild. The action broke down and Mark dropkicked O’Reilly through the ropes and sent him into the barricade. Jay hit a suplex on Fish and Mark came off the top with a twisting splash, but Fish kicked out. Jay went for a rollup on Fish, but O’Reilly broke up the pin. O’Reilly got the tag and began working over Jay’s shoulder. The ref had his hands full with Mark, so Fish came off the top with a diving headbutt on Jay’s shoulder for a 2 count. Whitmer said he would go after Jay’s arm, despite the fact they were friends. ReDRagon continued to tag in and out to work over Jay. They look like a well-oiled machine in the ring. Their work is so smooth. The fans booed as ReDRagon continued to work over Jay. Jay nearly made the hot tag, but O’Reilly dragged Mark to the floor and the fans booed. The fans tried to rally behind the Jay, but O’Reilly and Fish wiped him out with a series of kicks. O’Reilly applied a cross-arm breaker. Jay tried to get on top of O’Reilly, so he switched to a triangle. Jay finally managed to free himself with a kick and the fans fired up.

Jay was about to tag out, but Fish knocked Mark off the apron. Fish turned around into a spinebuster from Jay and both men were down. The fans fired up as Jay crawled to the corner and finally made the hot tag. Mark got into the ring and ran wild on O’Reilly with karate chops. O’Reilly managed to tag in Fish, but he ran right into a rolling DVD. Mark went up top, but O’Reilly grabbed his leg. Mark fought him off, but Fish nailed him with a big kick. Jay ran into the ring as the action broke down. Fish got a flying arm bar on Jay, but Mark came off and hit the froggy bow on Fish. O’Reilly ran in and hit a Saito suplex on Mark and everyone was down on the mat. O’Reilly got up and snapped Jay’s arm over the top rope. He then nailed Jay with a running kick off the apron and the fans fired up. O’Reilly grabbed the tag titles and crawled around ringside with them. Fish nailed Mark with several kicks, but Mark fired back with karate chops. The ref got distracted, as O’Reilly tossed a belt into the ring. O’Reilly then nailed Mark from the outside with the other belt and Fish hit a roundhouse kick to Mark’s head for the win.

The American Wolves came down and stood in the entranceway as Fish and O’Reilly celebrated. Jay got back into the ring and chased them off. The Wolves then tossed Fish and O’Reilly back into the ring. The Briscoes and The Wolves surrounded Fish and O’Reilly. Whitmer got into the ring and went after Jay. Everyone ended up brawling. Elgin came down to ringside and watched the action unfold. Fish and O’Reilly ended up getting sent to the outside. Whitmer grabbed the ROH World Title from Jay, who took it back from him. Richards and Edwards also began jawing with everyone in the ring. Kelly said everyone that had a scheduled title shot was in the ring. Fans chanted “Next world champ.” Kelly wondered who they were chanting at, which was pretty funny. The show then ended.

Winners: Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish to retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles

Star rating: (***3/4) – This was a good match, but the crowd seemed burned at during certain portions of the match. The match settled into a really nice pace with ReDRagon working over Jay’s arm and the fans got into it once he made the hot tag. I wasn’t a fan of the finish given how good the match was. I don’t think it would have hurt ReDRagon to beat the Briscoes clean on this show. This was definitely a very good main event overall. Whitmer on commentary did a nice job of building up to his title shot against Jay on the next ROH DVD release.

Bonus promo: Michael Elgin cut a promo saying the question going into tonight was whether or not ACH could hang with the top guys in ROH. Elgin said ACH had proven he was as good as anyone on the ROH roster. Elgin said ACH had given him the war he needed. Elgin said he had to prove to everyone that he is unbreakable and the next world champ. Good promo from Elgin. Too bad that it was a bonus tacked onto the DVD.

Overall thoughts: (7.5) – The beginning of the show was thin, but overall this was a good show with some strong in-ring wrestling. One of the things that stood out about this show was how hot the crowd was. Despite the odd setup in a hockey rink with just a couple of rows of fans surrounding the ring and everyone else behind the glass in the stands, the fans made a lot of noise and were really into the action on the card most of the night.

It was surprising to see The American Wolves in the opening match on a house show. Edwards and Richards are so talented that they should always be spotlighted on the card that they’re on. Evans & Marshall aren’t a bad tag team by any means, but they are pegged a mid-card act at best. It was surprising to see Marshall & Evans come much closer than I expected to beating Edwards and Richards on this show.

The show peaked with the excellent ACH-Elgin match. These two meshed well in the ring and had a great big man vs. little man encounter. ACH made some nice comebacks throughout the match and Elgin shined using his power moves. There were some great nearfalls during the match and if enough people see this encounter, it could be used as a springboard to elevate ACH as a singles wrestler. Elgin cut a really good promo putting over ACH as a bonus on this release, but it should have been included in the main edit of the show. Elgin is the best independent wrestler in America right now and he’s showing that he can cut a good promo as well.

The rest of the show was also very good, but nothing matched Elgin-ACH. Titus-Steen was a good match that fit into the ongoing SCUM vs. ROH storyline. Corino was fantastic on commentary all night and it was fun to listen to him during this match. Jimmy Jacobs faced Jay Lethal in a No DQ match later on the card, which also played into the SCUM vs. ROH storyline. These two had a really good match that built nicely. They did a good job of incorporating weapons into the match and the fans were hot leading into the finish. The only thing that bothered me was that Steen cut a promo for the DVD that said he wasn’t done with SCUM, so the match lacked some drama in that I knew it wouldn’t end until Steen came out. Lethal has been a part of several good matches this year and is doing some of the best in-ring work of his career. Jacobs shouldn’t be ignored either, as he is having a very good year as well.

The main event between the Briscoes and ReDRagon was very good. The crowd seemed a little flat at times, but the match told a good story and built nicely to the finish. ReDragon did a good job spending the bulk of the match working over Jay Briscoe’s injured shoulder. The match got really good down the stretch once the pace picked up, but the finish fell flat with O’Reilly hitting a belt shot on Mark leading into the finish. The post-match pull-apart between the various contenders to the ROH World Title didn’t come across very well and there wasn’t a real spark to end the show.

There were less promos on this release than some of the other ROH house show DVDs I’ve seen released this year, but overall the production for this release was good. There are a lot of good matches to enjoy on this release and Corino is a blast to listen to doing heel commentary. This is definitely worth picking up for the Elgin-ACH match and watching a ROH show in front of a hot crowd with a lot of other good matches to round out the card.

You can purchase “Dragon’s Reign” by clicking HERE or at the ROHWrestling.com store.

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