RoH Survival of the Fittest 2011

-11/18/11

-Hosts are Kevin Kelly & Dave Prazak. Didn't know Prazak was still involved with RoH.

-For those not familiar with the Survival of the Fittest concept, there are a series of qualifying matches in the undercard, with the main event being an every-man-for-himself elimination match consisting of the winners of the prior matches (draws eliminate both wrestlers from competition). RoH has generally used this to elevate or cement someone as a World title contender, usually with a win, but sometimes (as in the case of Austin Aries) a strong showing. Tonight's winner will receive a World title match at some point in the future.

-Match 1: The Bravado Brothers VS The Briscoes Brothers

-Both members of the winning team advance. Both teams are heels at this point, but since the Briscoes are the dominant multi-time champions and Bravados are essentially jobbers, the Briscoes get a face reaction. Mark chops the shit out of Lance, then tags Jay. Briscoes have fun throwing both Bravados into the barricade repeatedly. Bravados break up the double shoulder block, and Lance chop blocks Mark. Bravados work on Mark's leg, until Mark hits Lance with an enziguiri, and tags Jay.

Jay hits Lance with a spinebuster, then Harlem with a Falcon Arrow for two. Bravados come back with a double team, and Harlem hits a German suplex for two. Mark wins a "boo-yay" strike exchange with Harlem, and Briscoes finish with the Doomsday Device. Pretty much an extended workout for the Briscoes.

-Jay cuts a post-match promo, saying he won't hesitate to whoop Mark's ass if he needs to. This leads to a headbut exchange and some celebration.

-Match 2: Andy Ridge VS Kyle O'Reilly

-Ridge won a match at the last Death Before Dishonor to get this slot. He also has no chance. O'Reilly gets a rolling cross-arm breaker right off the bat. Ridge gets out, and they both dodge kicks before both go for a dropkick at the same time. O'Reilly runs into a kick to the chest for one. Ridge lands more kicks for two. O'Reilly comes back with a leg sweep for two. O'Reilly wrenches Ridge's arm, then hits a belly-to-back suplex for two. O'Reilly gets a couple butterfly suplexes and locks in another cross-arm breaker, but Ridge makes it to the ropes.

They trade spinning back kicks to the gut, stopping when neither can breathe. Ridge ties O'Reilly in the ropes, and hits a running boot to the face. Ridge hits a slingshot diamond cutter for two. They trade kicks again, and O'Reilly hits a capture suplex for two. O'Reilly hits a running knee to the chest, then chokes Ridge out for the win. Another OK match. O'Reilly really should have squashed him, especially since he's been getting a big push since this show.

-Match 3: Mike Bennett VS Eddie Edwards

-Edwards won SOTF 2010 en route to become the RoH World Champion. Battle of Boston here. Edwards works on Bennett's arm, but then walks into a right hand.

Bennett: "Who sucks now?"
Crowd: "YOU!"

Edwards hits a hard chop, but then walks into a modified slam for two. Bennett hits a couple clotheslines while holding onto Eddie's arm, then follows up with a Final Cut for two. Edwards fights out of a headlock, but then runs into a dropkick for two. Edwards crosses Bennet up, then kicks him off the apron before hitting a suicide dive. Edwards misses a double stomp off the top, but he does hit a fisherman's buster for two. Edwards leaps off the second rope into a code breaker for two, then locks in an STF, but Bennett makes it to the ropes. Bennett almost gets a pin by using the ropes for leverage.

Edwards runs into a spinebuster for two. Edwards avoids the Box Office Smash. Bennett avoids the backpack chin breaker before catching a flying Edwards and slamming him for two. They fight on the second turnbuckle. Edwards slugs Bennett down, and hits the double stomp onto Bennett's back. Edwards hits a powerbomb for two, then gets the Achillies' Lock, but Bennett escapes. Edwards flips out of a top rope Box Office Smash, and a reversal series leads to Edwards getting the Dragon sleeper for the submission.

-Davey Richards congratulates Kyle O'Reilly on his win, then tells him to watch out for Eddie Edwards in the main event. Davey Richards dubs his union with O'Reilly Team Ambition.

-Tomasso Ciampa is in the back with the Embassy. Ciampa is pissed that the man who answered Ciampa's open challenge last month was Andy Ridge. Ciampa calls out Richards, Edwards, and Jay Lethal.

-The All Night Express talk about their matches. King is in a Fatal 4 Way while Titus faces Roderick Strong.

-Match 4: Michael Elgin (w/Truth Martini) VS Tomasso Ciampa (w/The Embassy) VS Adam Cole VS Kenny King [4 Corner Survival]

-First pin or submission wins it. Ciampa & King start. King hits a series of arm drags to start things off. Ciampa pie-faces Cole, and the ref counts that as a tag. Coles & King trade headlocks, and Elgin blind tags King. Cole hits Elgin with a hurricarana, and Elgin stumbles into Ciampa, who tags himself in. Elgin goes after Ciampa, and they are surprised by King. King tries a sprinboard, but slips on the ropes and crashes onto the mat. Impressive power spot as Elgin carries Cole while King is on his back, turning that into a fallaway slam/Samoan drop combo.

Ciampa and Elgin exchange strikes. Ciampa hits a release German. Ciampa hits running exposed knees on King and Elgin, before taking a superkick from Cole. Ciampa rolls outside, and Cole follows with a suicide dive. Cole stops King from diving, then hits a missile dropkick on Elgin. Ciampa gets Cole in position for Project Ciampa, but King hits a springboard blockbuster on Cole to stop that. King hits shotgun knees on Ciampa, but Elgin gets in, blocks a tornado DDT, and hits a spinning Rock Bottom for two.

King fights out of a super powerbomb from Elgin, but gets crotched by Ciampa. King knocks Ciampa into the Tree of Woe, but Ciampa bridges up to throw King off the top. Elgin powerbombs Cole into Ciampa, then finishes Cole with the spinning sit out powerbomb to advance. Good action. The factions on the outside going nuts for their men added to it too.

-Eddie Edwards wants to be the first time back-to-back SOTF winner.

-Match 5: Steve Corino (w/Jimmy Jacobs) VS El Generico [Non-Tournament Match]

-Jacobs psyches Corino up with a pre-match speech. Generico has grown on me. When I first saw Generico, I thought he was the worst thing in wrestling I had seen in a long time. Because of their previous feud, Generico refuses to shake Corino's hand. Neither gets a clear advantage for the first couple minutes. They miss dropkicks at the same time and stare at each other. Generico turns his back to give Corino a free shot, but Corino won't take it. Corino forces Generico down with an overhead wristlock, but won't stomp on the arm.

Generico hits a couple forearms. Corino locks in an abdominal stretch, but resists the urge to give Generico the "thumb in the bum". Generico hits a Michinoku Driver. Generico hits a belly-to-back suplex for two. Corino urges Generico to strike him. They trade forearms. Corino hits a dropkick. Corino hits a big boot and STO. Corino misses a lariat, but hits the Colby Shock (modified downward spiral) for two. Generico comes back with a swinging DDT for two. Generico takes two tries to hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for two.

Corino refuses another free shot, but does hit a follow clothesline that knocks Generico for a flip. Generico sends Corino to the apron, then follows with a running Yakuza kick to send Corino to the apron. Corino looks to have injured his shoulder. Jacobs wants Corino to stop. Generico hits a running Yakuza and a half-nelson suplex for two. Generico brain buster gets two. Second brain buster also gets two. Generico hits a running Yakuza in the corner, and sets up for a third brainbuster. Jimmy Jacobs threatens to throw in the towel. That gives Corino time to recover, and catch Generico with a Northern Lights Bomb as the time limit expires.

-Corino asks for five more minutes. Jimmy Jacobs & Jim Cornette talk Generico into shaking Corino's hand. Match was different from most RoH matches as it was very storyline and psychology-driven. Got bogged down at times by the angle surrounding it. Corino says that he will be evil for one more night, when he faces Kevin Steen at Final Battle.

-Backstage, Corino is still worried that people are not buying into his redemption. Generico believing in him means the world to Corino.

-Match 6: Roderick Strong (w/Truth Martini) VS Rhett Titus

-Really slow start. Titus hits a leaping knee for one. Strong takes Titus outside and beats him down. Strong hits some punches in the corner, then takes a page from Titus' book by humping Titus' face. Strong hits a dropkick for two. Titus wins a forearm exchange. Titus catches a charging Strong with a dropkick. Titus hits a ropes-assisted Edge-o-Matic for two. Strong hits an enziguiri and a slam for two. Strong hits a gutbuster and a superkick for two. Titus fights out of a superplex and tries to alley-oop Strog into the buckles, but Strong hits the canvas instead. Titus hits a frog splash for a visual pin, but Martini has the ref distracted. Strong hits the sick kick to advance. Worst match so far by a long shot, as it was mostly punch-kick stuff. I was pretty bored for most of it.

-Match 7: "Champions Challenge": RoH Tag Team Champions Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team VS RoH Television Champion Jay Lethal & RoH World Champion Davey Richards

-This is not part of the tournament. Shelton and Davey start. They exchange holds and counters. Cute spot as they catch the other's foot when they go for kicks at the same time, and cautiously set each other's foot down. Haas completely out-wrestles Lethal. Lethal manages to hit his hip toss/low drop kick combo for two. Lethal can't get anything going against either Haas or Benjamin. They are working really slow, going for the RoH "dream tag team match" formula. Davey prevents a Leap of Faith, so WGTT add him into the move and make it a double.

Davey gets in and takes control for his team. Haas avoids the apron kick, but Shelton takes it. Shelton prevents a dive from Davey, so Lethal does one instead. Davey shoves Shelton off the top into a Lethal dropkick, then follows up with a double stomp to the back for two. Richards gets Shelton in a Texas Cloverleaf, while Lethal gets Haas into a Crippler Crossface. Lethal works on Shelton's injured ribs with submission holds.

Haas gets the hot tag. Haas throws Lethal across the ring, then counters a Davey handspring elbow with a German suplex. All four men get laid out, prompting the usually-annoying (as is the case here) "this is awesome!" chant. Lethal tosses Haas into an Alarm Clock from Davey, and they follow up with a buzzsaw kick/low dropkick combo for two. They fight on the outside for a moment. Back in, Haas blocks a Lethal hurricarana, and applies the Haas of Pain. Shelton cuts Davey off, and Lethal taps. I wasn't feeling this at all. I generally don't care for the RoH "epic" formula, and this was no exception.

-Match 8: Kyle O'Reilly VS Jay Briscoe VS Mark Briscoe VS Michael Elgin VS Roderick Strong VS Eddie Edwards [Survival of the Fittest Finals]

-FIRST FALL: Jay & Edwards start. They mat wrestle, then Jay tags Mark. Elgin gets in, and works Mark over before tagging in Strong. O'Reilly gets in with Strong, and almost gets a leg lock on him right away. Strong tags Elgin, who hold O'Reilly in a delayed vertical suplex for a 20 count before dropping him. Edwards gets in, and shakes O'Reilly's hand. They block and avoid each other's strikes, before that "both men miss a dropkick at the same time" spot comes into play for the THIRD time on this show. Briscoes get tagged in to fight each other, but go after everyone else instead.

Briscoes double team O'Reilly in the ring, while the House of Truth work over Edwards outside the ring. Mark suplexes O'Reilly for two. Briscoes go back to double teaming, as O'Reilly spitting in the face of Jay proves to be a bad move. O'Reilly manages to hit a double dragon screw leg whip on the Briscoes. Edwards gets in, and the House of Truth immediately double team him. Elgin runs Edwards into an enziguiri from Strong, then hits a modified side effect, and Strong gets two off that. Briscoes interrupt this with a double team neck breaker on O'Reilly.

This leads to Briscoes VS House of Truth. Edwards and O'Reilly interject themselves by hitting missile dropkicks, which each take out one member of both teams. Edwards & O'Reilly go at it in the ring while Briscoes and HoT fight on the floor. A series of dives leaves everyone out on the floor. Jay kicks Strong in the balls, who sells it by yelling "ow, my nuts!" and grabbing his sac as he falls to the floor. Hilarious.

Elgin surprises everyone by diving off the top. Back in the ring, everyone takes turns dropping someone else with a kick, ending with Edwards & O'Reilly hitting a double buzzsaw kick on Jay, and Edwards finishing Jay with the Die Hard.

-SECOND FALL: Edwards immediately gets Mark in the dragon sleeper, and Mark taps.

-THIRD FALL: HoT double team Edwards. Edwards manages to fight them off, backdropping Elgin outside, then hitting a fisherman buster on Strong. Truth tries to get involved. Edwards wipes him out, but that causes O'Reilly to go flying through the timekeeper's table. Edwards manages to get Strong to collide with Elgin, and Edwards school boys Strong for the pin and his third elimination.

-FOURTH FALL: Elgin hits Edwards with a couple back fists and a huge lariat for the pin.

-FIFTH FALL: O'Reilly pulls himself out of the wreckage of the table as Elgin waits on him. O'Reilly gets a crucifix pin, but Elgin rolls through and hoists O'Reilly on his shoulders. O'Reilly hits a series of elbows to escape, but Elgin hits a big boot and a back fist. O'Reilly counters a powerbomb with a guillotine choke, but Elgin throws him off. O'Reilly hits a swinging DDT and locks in the choke again as Davey Richards comes out to cheer him on. Elgin counters the choke into a suplex which he turns into a Rock Bottom for two.

Elgin hits the buckle bomb, but O'Reilly counters the spinning sit-out powerbomb with a reverse rana, and follows up with a capture suplex for two. Elgin almost turns a triangle choke into a powerbomb, but O'Reilly counters that into a sunset flip for two. Elgin no-sells some kicks and a forearm. O'Reilly wins a slap exchange, but runs into a huge lariat for two. Elgin hits a Rikishi Driver, but O'Reilly gets his foot on the ropes. Elgin blocks a sunset bomb onto the floor, but misses on the sit down splash. O'Reilly pulls Elgin off the apron into a belly-to-back suplex on the floor.

O'Reilly hits a running dropkick off the apron. O'Reilly goes for something off the top, but Elgin catches him with a powerbomb, hits a buckle bomb, and finishes with the spinning sit-out powerbomb.

Match was perfectly booked. Edwards was put over in advance of his world title match at Final Battle by eliminating the Briscoes, who don't need wins to stay over.  The final fall was tremendously dramatic, with Truth and Richards really adding to the match with their ringside cheer leading.

-FINAL THOUGHTS: This was a pretty good show, save Strong/Titus and the Champions Challenge. It must suck to be Adam Cole, to see your partner picked and given a huge push over you. They are really going to need to do something with Cole to keep him from entering Jannettyland.