By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

RADICAN’S ROH DVD REVIEW SERIES
“DEFY or DENY 2”
JANUARY 19, 2013
MILWAUKEE, WISC.

In a new touch, Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuiness previewed the card with the venue in the background. Kelly talked about the main event and plugged O’Reilly-Richards and Hardy-Whitmer as well.

The show is being held in a small venue with an intimate atmosphere. It’s hard to tell because of how dark it is, but the venue appears packed with vocal fans.

(1) ROH TV Champion Adam Cole vs. Silas Young – Proving Ground match. Truth Martini came into the commentary booth during the early stages of the match and told Kelly to smell his fingers. Someone throw some water on this man. Young took control on the outside and sent Cole into the barricade. The crowd is read hot for the action. Young dominated the action for several minutes, but Cole fired up with a flurry of offense and eventually took Young down with a neckbreaker. Cole worked over Young’s neck, but he fired back with a unique suplex that dropped Cole face-first onto his knee for a 2 count. Cole reversed a suplex moments later and hit a neckbreaker over his knee, but Young grabbed the ropes at the last second and the fans fired up after the nearfall.

Cole backed up to the ropes and sold disbelief. Young countered a figure 4 and hit a back breaker/clothesline combination for a nearfall. Young went Fujiwara plunge, but Cole grabbed him and rolled him up for a nearfall. Young did a headstand on the top rope and Cole nailed him with a superkick and hit the Florida Keys for the win.

Winner: Adam Cole

Star rating: (**3/4) – This was a good opening match. The crowd was hot for the action and they delivered a good back and forth contest that didn’t overstay its welcome.

After the match Cole and Young shook hands.

(2) Bobby Fish (w/Kyle O’Reilly) vs. Tadarius Thomas. Fish gave Thomas a cocky handshake prior to the opening bell. The crowd chanted “That was racist” at Fish after his handshake. Fish got the better of Thomas on the mat and paint brushed the back of his head with some slaps. Fish took control of the action and smiled at the fans after hitting a slingshot senton. Thomas tried to fire back, but ran right into a kick to the head from Fish for a 2 count. Fish hit some kicks on Thomas and asked the crowd if they wanted one more, but he ended up flipping the fans off instead of delivering another kick. Thomas finally fired back with one of his unique kicks to Fish’s head. The fans fired up for Thomas, but then Truth Martini stole his thunder by coming down to ringside. The fans chanted for Martini as Thomas continued to dominate the action inside the ring.

Thomas hit a suplex with a bridge, but Fish was already in the ropes. Thomas missed a kick in the corner and Fish took his legs out from under him. Fish dragged Thomas to the apron and smashed his leg over it. Fish continued to target Thomas’s leg with several kicks and then a dragon screw. Thomas caught Fish with a pair of pinning combinations, but he kicked out each time. Fish then countered Thomas and applied the Achilles lock for the win.

Winner: Bobby Fish – This was a letdown. After Thomas’s exciting performance against Kevin Steen on the previous show, Thomas couldn’t do much of anything against Fish in this encounter.

Charlie Haas grabbed a mic and addressed Titus before starting their match. Haas said he was drinking Milwaukee’s Best, but had to wrestle ROH’s worst. Haas said he was going to beat Titus and then get out of this crap hole.

(3) Charlie Haas vs. Rhett Titus. The fans chanted “F—k you, Charlie” before the opening bell. Haas continued to heel on the fans on the mic, but Titus nailed him with a big punch. Titus whipped Haas into the guardrail on the outside several times before tossing him into the ring and choking him with his own shirt. Haas bailed to the outside and started flipping off fans, so Titus chased him and nailed him with a big chop. Haas quickly fired back and whipped Titus into the ringpost. Haas put a guardrail cover over Titus on the outside and nailed him with a chairshot. Titus went for a slingshot, but Haas got his knee up. Titus overshot Haas’s knee, so Haas nailed him with a kick to the back and continued to work him over. The fans taunted Haas with a “Shelton Benjamin” chant while he worked over Titus. Titus tried to make a comeback with Haas distracted by the fans, but he wiped him out with a clothesline.

The match began to drag as Haas continued to jaw with fans while alternating long chin lock spots on Titus. Titus mounted a comeback with some punches and took Haas down with a flying elbow. Titus hit a sit out spinebuster, but Haas kicked out at 2. Titus hit a running rocker dropper on Haas, but he kicked out at 2. Haas ducked a punch and hit the Olympic slam for a nearfall. The fans chanted “You’re not Angle” at Haas, who glared at them. Haas hit an uranagi for another 2 count a short time later. Haas tossed Titus to the outside and suplexed him onto the guardrail. Haas brought his case of beet into the ring, but the ref took it away. Titus then nailed Haas with the beer can and went up top for a frog splash, but Haas got his knees up and pinned Titus.

Winner: Charlie Haas – I’m sure the fans enjoy booing Haas live, but his matches are like watching paint dry. Titus also seems to be lost at this point after he got pinned after landing on Haas’s knees going for a frog splash.

S.C.U.M. of Jimmy Jacobs, Steve Corino, and Rhino came down to the ring. The fans went crazy chanting “Man up.” Corino got on the mic and ran down some fans. It was hard to understand him because of the sound of the mic. Jacobs posing in-between the top and middle rope while smiling during Corino’s promo was the best part of all of this. The fans chanted “ECW, ECW” after Corino said it had been over 12 years since he and Rhino had tagged. Corino said he and Rhino are the only ones from ECW that are still alive. Corino said after they beat the Briscoes & Lethal they’re going to hump all the women in Milwaukee and Rhino will gore all the men.

The Briscoes and Lethal came out next to a big reaction.

(4) S.C.U.M. (Jimmy Jacobs & Steve Corino & Rhino) vs. The Briscoe Bros. (Jay & Mark Briscoe) & Jay Lethal – Six Man Tag Team War. Both teams started brawling right away. Several officials ran down to help control the action on the outside with the Briscoes going at it with Rhino and Jacobs. Lethal wiped out Corino with a dive to the outside and the fans chanted for Lethal. The action settled down and Lethal continued to work over Corino inside the ring. The officials on the outside left once order was restored. Rhino nailed Jay with a punch from the apron, which allowed Corino to hit the Colby shock. Rhino then tagged in and began working over Jay. Corino and Jacobs raked away at Jay’s eyes and mouth in the corner while Rhino distracted the ref. I thought this was a war. WTF?

The action picked up with Lethal and Jacobs tagging into the match. Lethal fired up on Jacobs and hit him with the Lethal combination, but he got his foot on the ropes to break up the pin. Lethal went for the Lethal injection, but Jacobs nailed him with a forearm. Corino then nailed him from behind and Jacobs tagged in Rhino. S.C.U.M. continued to work over Lethal. The crowd fired up and Mark yelled at the ref so S.C.U.M. could hit a triple punch on Lethal. Lethal fired up and hit Rhino with several punches and then hit a handspring elbow that left both men down. The crowd fired up while Lethal struggled to get to his corner. He finally tagged in Mark, who ran wild on S.C.U.M. Corino caught Mark’s kick and flipped him over and Mark got right up and nailed him with a big kick to the face. Lethal and The Briscoes ended up mounting all three members of S.C.U.M. in the corner and did the ten punches spot. They isolated Rhino and Lethal hit hail to the king. Mark then hit the froggy bow, but Jacobs and Corino broke up the pin. The action broke down and the Briscoes set up Jacobs for the doomsday device, but Jacobs countered it. Mark nailed Jacobs with a karate chop and turned right around into the gore from Rhino for the win.

Winners: Steve Corino & Jimmy Jacobs & Rhino

Star rating: (***1/4) – This was a good match with a hot crowd behind Lethal and the Briscoes. It was a bit confusing that the rules were enforced with the match being labeled as a six man war. The action was hot throughout with the crowd amped up for the heat segments on Lethal and the Briscoes before the wild finish.

Matt Hardy came out to face B.J. Whitmer to a mixed reaction at first before his reaction turned to mostly boos.

Adam Cole came into the commentary booth. Hardy got on the mic and told Whitmer he didn’t know why he was wrestling him because he should be facing Cole for the TV title. He said he’s sick of ROH match maker Nigel McGuinness. Hardy told Whitmer he’s stronger than death. He promised to twist of fate Whitmer’s ass through the mat. Whitmer got on the mic and said all the people know he’s one of the toughest people to ever set foot into ROH. They followed the code of honor prior to the opening bell.

(5) B.J. Whitmer vs. Matt Hardy. Whitmer hit Hardy with some hard chops during the early stages of the match. Whitmer teased a dive, but Hardy got out of the way and Whitmer stopped himself inside the ring. Whitmer caught Hardy with a leg lariat off the ropes and he bailed to the outside, but this time Whitmer caught him with a dive through the ropes. Hardy fired back and hit an elbow smash across Whitmer’s head. Whitmer went for the TOF, but ended up adjusting it into a DDT once Whitmer tried to counter for a 2 count. Cole said that Nigel feels like Hardy has to earn a TV title shot and he can’t argue against him even though he wants to face him.

They went to a double clothesline spot and both men were down. Whitmer got up and fired away on Hardy with punches before hitting a spinebuster. Whitmer hit a suplex and rolled through into a northern lights suplex for a 2 count. Hardy caught Whitmer with a side effect for a 2 count and the fans chanted “Same old s—t” at Hardy. Hardy came off the second rope, but Whitmer kicked him in the gut and hit a fisherman suplex for a 2 count. Whitmer argued with the ref and Hardy went behind him and hit a suplex. Hardy then hit the twist of fate, but Whitmer kicked out at one and the fans fired up. Hardy sold shock and went for another twist of fate, but Whitmer rolled him up for a nearfall. They went back and forth and Hardy hit a second twist of fate, but Whitmer kicked out again.

Hardy sold frustration as Whitmer used Hardy’s legs to get to his feet. Both men exchanged blows, but Hardy caught Whitmer with a guillotine submission. Whitmer struggled and Titus ran down with a towel. The fans yelled no, but Titus ended up throwing in the towel and the ref gave the match to Hardy.

Whitmer yelled at Titus after the match. McGuinness came down to ringside. Hardy got on the mic and asked McGuinness if he had seen that he had won another match. Hardy asked McGuinness what he had to do to give a TV title shot. Cole got into the ring and went face to face with Hardy. Hardy told Cole he had beaten him. Cole told Hardy to do everyone a favor and shut his mouth. Cole said he had no problem putting his title on the line. Cole asked Hardy what he did before he pinned. Hardy said he pinned him with a wrestling move. Hardy tried to low blow Hardy by surprise, but Cole caught the kick. They brawled around the ring and several officials ran in. Hardy got the TV title and ended up nailing Cole with the title. Hardy walked to the back with the TV title.

Winner: Matt Hardy

Star rating: (***1/4) – This was a very good match between Hardy and Whitmer with Whitmer showing a lot of heart, especially down the stretch when he kicked out of the twist of fate twice. If they had put more context behind the match and the history between Hardy and Whitmer this would have come across even better, but the post-match segment between Cole and Hardy was well done.

(6) Davey Richards vs. Kyle O’Reilly. O’Reilly nailed Richards with a running kick off the apron as he posed for the fans on the outside while making his entrance. O’Reilly put on Richards’s ring jacket. Fish joined Kelly on commentary. Fish called Richards a phony on commentary. Richards fired back and caught O’Reilly with a running kick from the apron that caught O’Reilly right in the chest. Richards took control inside the ring as the crowd fired up and nailed O’Reilly with a snap suplex. Fish said not everybody can understand why O’Reilly doesn’t like Richards, but he understands. Fish said he and O’Reilly are part of an exclusively fraternity that not many people can be a part of. Richards went for a suplex on the apron, but O’Reilly countered and hit a brainbuster.

Richards beat the ref’s count back into the ring and O’Reilly took control of the match. McGuinness came in on commentary and said he was trying to instill that honor lives, but he needs to do a better job going forward. Fish said Richards doesn’t perform well under pressure and O’Reilly was going to try to make him uncomfortable in the match by constantly putting pressure on him. They went to an exchange of strikes and O’Reilly took Richards down with a big kick to the head. O’Reilly needs to work more on getting the fans to boo him instead of entertaining themselves with “This is wrestling” chants while he works over Richards on the mat. O’Reilly grabbed an arm submission with a fish hook in Richards’s mouth, but he managed to break free.

Richards tried to fight back and eventually hit a double stomp that left both men down. Richards set up for a dive, but O’Reilly surprised him with a kick. Richards pulled the ropes on O’Reilly when he charged at him and hit a dive through the ropes. The fans fired up as Richards went on the attack and chanted “This is awesome.” Both men went head-to-head and began exchanging slaps. Richards hit a handspring kick, but O’Reilly kicked out at the last second. They went to another strike exchange and Richards hit a kick and a German with a bridge, but O’Reilly kicked out. O’Reilly countered Richards and nailed him with a knee to the face. O’Reilly went for a suplex, but Richards nailed him with a knee strike. O’Reilly nailed Richards with a running kick and went to pick him up, but Richards surprised him with an ankle lock. O’Reilly fought his way out. They began another exchange of kicks. O’Reilly eventually caught Richards’s leg and hit a leg capture suplex with a bridge for a 2 count. The crowd fired up with both men down on the mat.

Most fans chanted for Richards, but there was a small pocket chants for O’Reilly. Richards told O’Reilly to bring it and they went to another big strike exchange. Richards kicked O’Reilly into the corner and then nailed him with a series of kicks. O’Reilly put Richards into the corner and nailed him with several kicks to the chest. Richards then put O’Reilly in the corner and nailed him with kicks until he collapsed to the mat. Richards turned around and O’Reilly surprised him with a suplex. Richards fired right back with a suplex of his own. Both men hit slaps and kicks at the same time and collapsed to the mat and the fans applauded again. Fish said if they kept going strike for strike O’Reilly would come out on tough because of his toughness. Both men managed to beat the standing ten count by using the ropes to pick themselves up. O’Reilly and Richards fought near the turnbuckles. Richards glared at O’Reilly and nailed him with a pair of headbutts. O’Reilly fired back with some headbutts of his own. O’Reilly went up top and hit a belly to back superplex and covered Richards for a nearfall. O’Reilly immediately applied a guillotine, but Richards rolled over into a pinning combination for a nearfall.

O’Reilly caught Richards with a running boot in the corner and hit a tornado DDT. O’Reilly then hit a brainbuster for a nearfall before applying the guillotine again. Richards got to his feet and grabbed an ankle lock while O’Reilly held onto the guillotine. O’Reilly finally let go of the guillotine and Richards got an ankle lock, but O’Reilly countered it into a small package for a nearfall. Richards fired back and hit a big clothesline and a tombstone for a nearfall. The crowd counted along and sold shock when O’Reilly kicked out. Richards came off the top with a double stomp, but O’Reilly kicked out. Richards hit a KO kick to O’Reilly’s head, but O’Reilly held the ref’s hand from coming down a third time. The fans chanted for Richards as he stood over O’Reilly. Richards glared at O’Reilly before tripping him to his knee and hitting another roundhouse kick for the win.

Winner: Davey Richards

Star rating: (****) – This was a really good back and forth match with Bobby Fish doing a good job on commentary of highlighting O’Reilly. There were some great exchanges and perhaps a few too many nearfalls, but Richards did a good job of selling anger and frustration with O’Reilly before putting him away. This was a heck of a grudge match.

Everyone coming out for the main event elimination match got a good reaction, but Steen got the biggest pop.

Roderick Strong got on the mic before the match started. Strong said he wanted to make a few things clear. Strong said in this match, he’s undefeated. Strong called Steen fat and told him to listen to him, so Steen dropped down and did some sit ups and the crowd cheered. Strong said tonight, he would go to 2-0, but Elgin interrupted him with a big punch.

(7) ROH World Champion Kevin Steen vs. Michael Elgin vs. Roderick Strong vs. Eddie Edwards – Non-title Defy or Deny Elimination match. Edwards sent everyone to the outside and wiped them out with three different dives through the ropes. The crowd liked that. Steen cut off Edwards and powerbombed him onto the apron. Kelly explained the rules and said the last challenger to win gets the next ROH World Title match that’s available. If Steen gets the last pin, he denies that person a chance at the ROH title for as long as he’s champion. Elgin hit a long delayed vertical suplex as the crowd counted along. Elgin finally dropped Strong to the match once the count reached 60, but he only got a two count. Kelly was really annoying with every pin attempt, as he predicted that person was surely eliminated. Steen indicated he was going to go for the delayed vertical suplex, but ended up hitting a DDT instead before flexing for the fans.

Strong tripped Steen and dragged him to the outside before slamming him into the guardrail. Strong went after Elgin as Kelly mentioned they were about to meet in a 2/3 Falls match at the “11th Anniversary” iPPV. They went to a big strike exchange, but Strong caught Elgin with a knee. Strong nailed Elgin with a big kick and Steen hit a running senton. Strong then covered Elgin, but he kicked out at 2. Elgin fired back and took out Steen and Strong. Elgin then hit a dead-lift German on Steen and the crowd erupted. Steen hit an elbow from the apron on Elgin, but Edwards ran up from behind and slammed him onto the entrance ramp off the apron and the crowd erupted. Elgin countered a double team from Strong and Edwards. He then tried to stack them up on his back, but they both managed to slip away. Strong and Edwards hit a series of kicks on Elgin, but Strong turned on Edwards and hit a big backbreaker for a 2 count. Elgin hit a black hole slam on Strong a short time later, but only got a 2 count. Edwards went up top and Edwards nailed Elgin with a missile dropkick with Steen still down on the outside.

Elgin and Richards began exchanging chops in the middle of the ring. They continued to go back and forth. Steen caught Edwards going for a code breaker and hit the kryptonite crunch for a 2 count. The crowd fired up as everyone regrouped in the ring. Strong knocked Edwards to the outside and went after Elgin. Elgin hit a huge forearm and a bucklebomb on Strong. Steen ran in, but Elgin got both Strong and Steen on his shoulders and dumped them down to the mat. Edwards immediately caught Elgin with the double knees off the top, but Elgin kicked out and the fans applauded. The fans chanted for Elgin after he kicked out. Edwards tried to clothesline Elgin several times, but he wouldn’t go down. He went for another clothesline, but Elgin went for a German and Edwards landed on his feet. Elgin wiped out Edwards with a clothesline, but Steen caught him a short time later with the F cinq. Elgin kicked out again.

The crowd fell flat as Steen went for the package piledriver on Elgin. Elgin blocked it and hit a dead-lift powerbomb. Strong ran in and hit a huge backbreaker on Elgin for the first elimination. The crowd booed Strong eliminating Elgin. Strong and Edwards went at it. Edwards hit a backpack stunner on Strong, but Steen came off with a senton onto both men. He covered Edwards and then Strong, but only got a 2 count. Strong hit a gutbuster on Steen and Edwards came off the top with a double stomp. Strong covered Steen, but he kicked out at the last second. Edwards and Strong squared off in the middle of the ring and began exchanging chops. Strong drove Edwards into the corner and began nailing him with chops. Edwards got a rollup for a 2 count. He tried to apply the single leg crab, but Strong escaped. Edwards caught Strong with another rollup for a nearfall. Edwards then got the Achilles lock. He began stomping on Strong’s head while holding onto the submission. Steen then nailed Strong with a flipping leg drop and Strong was out. The ref called for the elimination of Strong. Steen immediately hit a low blow with the ref’s attention diverted and nailed Edwards with a package piledriver, but he kicked out. Steen went for a swanton, but Edwards got his knees up. Steen rolled to the apron and Edwards crawled up top. Edwards went for a double stomp, but missed. Steen then hit the package piledriver on the arpon for the win.

Steen got on the mic and said it wasn’t cool to throw stuff at him with his back turned. He challenged the fans to come into the ring. Another bottle came flying into the ring. Steen told a fan to get into the ring. Steen told the fan to sit down and shut up. Steen said he’s the ROH Champion. He said people can say he’s not the best in the world because he is definitely the badest in the world. Steen went to ringside and jawed with the fan that threw the bottle at him. Several officials got in his way as the show closed.

Winner: Kevin Steen to deny Eddie Edwards another shot at the ROH World Title as long as he’s ROH World Champion.

Star rating: (***3/4) – This was a really good match, but it seemed like the crowd got burned out at times after the O’Reilly-Richards match that came before it. Elgin looked really good taking on everyone during the first part of the match before finally being eliminated. The crowd fell flat after Elgin’s elimination, but got back into the rapid-fire action. They put together some really good bang, bang, bang spots when it came down to Steen, Edwards, and Strong. Steen winning in the end didn’t make the fans happy even though he was mostly cheered for most of the match. I really like the Defy or Deny match gimmick and I’m glad they brought it back for this show.

Overall thoughts: (7.5) – This was a very good house show from ROH. There were no important angles or storylines that were forwarded on the show, but they did a nice job highlighting the Richards-O’Reilly and Hardy-Cole feuds. It’s also nice to see the production improvements with new graphics and a pre-show introduction with Kelly and McGuinness running down the card before the show began.

The first three matches on the card were solid at best or worse. Once the S.C.U.M. vs. Briscoes & Lethal Six Man Tag hit the ring, the card got appreciably better. The highlight of the show was the Richards-O’Reilly match with Fish doing a great job of adding to the match on commentary. These two had an all-out war that excited the crowd. O’Reilly needs to work on getting his heel character over with live crowds more, but other than that, he’s doing some really good work in the ring lately. Another thing that would have benefited the Richards-O’Reilly match would have been less nearfalls, as the crowd seemed to burn out a little towards the end.

The main event Defy or Deny match was really good as well. Elgin hit some spectacular spots to highlight his strength before being eliminated. Strong, Edwards, and Steen then put together some really nice sequences, although the crowd fell a little flat during certain portions of the match. If you like fast-paced multi-man matches you’re really going to enjoy the main event. It wasn’t a big surprise that Edwards took the final fall with Steen eliminating him, but there was some good action leading up to the finish.

This show gets a solid thumbs up overall. There are some very good matches on this card that are well-worth checking out and the horrible lighting from the previous DVD is nowhere to be found.

You can purchase ROH’s “Defy or Deny II” at ROHWrestling.com

***

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