-From NYC
-Hosts are Kevin & Nigel
-Nigel immediately screws up by talking about how it's going to be difficult for Davey Richards to regain the RoH World Title because it can't change hands on a DQ, and Kevin has to point out that it's "anything goes" tonight.
-Match 1: The Briscoes VS The Guardians of Truth (w/Truth Martini)
-Nigel, continuing his bad night, tries to be cute and says that "everyone has been banging their heads" trying to figure out the identity of the GoT. The GoT are dressed like quickly-made CAWs from your wrestling video game of choice. Cute bit as Martini unmasks both GoT, only to reveal more masks underneath. GoT work Mark over right off the bat. Mark comes back with Redneck Kung Fu, and whips one of the GoT into a spinebuster from Jay.
The ropes are so loose Kevin has no choice but to point it out, and right after he does, the crowd chants "fix the ropes". Briscoes hit a double shoulderblock, but Martini provides a distraction, allowing the GoT to switch. GoT hit Jay with a sidewalk slam/legdrop combo for two. Jay plays face-in-peril as a couple crowd members chant "Beaver Cleavage", obviously tipped off as to who the GoT are. Mark gets in and cleans house, then hits a frog splash into an elbowdrop.
Briscoes set up for the Doomsday Device, but one of the GoT tries to roll through the electric chair, and Jay counters by sitting down for the pin at 6:00. Short and sweet. Wouldn't be surprised if they were told to go home early before someone got hurt.
-Briscoes go after Martini, but are cut off by the GoT, who escape before they can be unmasked.
-Match 2: Eddie Edwards VS Homicide
-Edwards has been trying to get back in World Title contention by beating former champions. Kevin & Nigel discuss Eddie having an arm injury coming into this match.
Edwards immediately hits a high angle suplex and follows with a suicide dive. They exchange chops outside, then Eddie hits a missile dropkick for two. Eddie follows with another suplex and a Shining Wizard for two. Another strike and boot exchange leads to Edwards running into an overhead throw. Eddie hits the bad arm on the ringpost, and Homicide adds another shot into the post. Homicide works the arm, including a crossface with a fishhook and bite to the forehead.
Homicide goes for the Three Amigos, but pauses before the thirds, leading to Eddie getting two suplexes of his own before Homicide gets an arm takedown. Eddie comes back with a superplex. Eddie hits a faceplant and a fisherman buster for two. Eddie springs off the second turnbuckle with a modified code breaker (called "The Boston Knee Party" by Kevin, damn that's terrible) and gets a schoolboy for two, transitioning that into a crossface. Homicide comes back with a tornado DDT for two.
Homicide blocks the backpack chinbreaker and hits an Ace Crusher for two. Homicide hits a clothesline to the back of the neck, then walks into a superkick, but a regular lariat knocks Eddie for a flip and gets two. Eddie blocks the Gringo Killer and gets a rollup for two. Homicide kicks the bad arm to escape the achillies' lock, then gets a small package for two. Homicide hits another shot to the bad arm, and finishes with the Gringo Killer at 12:45. A couple of dumb spots (and dumb move names) aside, this was a pretty good match. Good to see Homicide back, if he is indeed back full-time.
-Video runs down all the rules for the next match, which is under "Hybrid Fighting" rules. Most important rules: match can be won by KO, TKO, submission, or DQ. If a wrestler commits a "critical" foul (i.e., anything that would normally get a DQ if detected), he is DQ'd. If he gets three minor fouls (pretty much anything that would draw a warning, plus leaving the ring and/or throwing your opponent out of the ring), he is also DQ'd.
-Match 3: Kyle O'Reilly VS Adam Cole (Hybrid Fighting Rules)
-O'Reilly gets a couple quick takedowns. They do a series of dodged moves to establish that they know each other well. O'Reilly has a tweaked knee, and Cole goes after it. O'Reilly gets a nice rollup into a cross-armbreaker, but Cole gets to the ropes. O'Reilly goes after the arm to gain control of the match for a while. O'Reilly goes for the knockout, but doesn't get it. Cole comes back with a Shining Wizard and a couple dropkicks. Double-KO spot almost ends it, but both make it to their feet before ten.
They exchange rapid-fire forearms. O'Reilly hits some Kawada kicks and knocks Cole's two front teeth out. Cole comes back with a superkick for another double-KO spot. O'Reilly blocks a superkick and hits a big discus clothesline, but Cole Hulks up. O'Reilly responds with more strikes, a nasty kick to the head, and a backdrop driver. Cole stares down the ringside doctor, then turns a standing guillotine into a headdrop.
Cole knocks O'Reilly out of the ring, then incurs a minor foul by going to get him. Cole takes too much time to make his next move, and that allows O'Reilly to get the cross-armbreaker again. They exchange arm and leg holds, and Cole finally gets the submition with a Figure 4 at 12:38. This was lots of fun, and probably my favorite match for both of these guys. Should be a star-making performance for both, particularly Cole. Kevin & Nigel did their best to ruin it with their Matt Striker-esque over-selling though.
-Cole goes for the handshake, and gets bitch-slapped instead.
-Pre-match video sees Michael Elgin get tired of Roderick Strong's shit, and demand that neither he or Truth Martini be at ringside for his match.
-Match 4: Fit Finlay VS Michael Elgin
-Slow start, with Finlay dominating the early going. Finlay works some holds as the crowd grows restless. Finlay keeps working on the knee. These guys seem like they're working in slow motion, especially after the frenetic pace of the last match. Elgin finally hits his first big move over nine minutes in: a blind clothesline. Finlay takes a powder, and lures Elgin into a big clothesline of his own.
Finlay works Elgin over on the outside, then has some fun keeping Elgin out of the ring. Finlay works a side headlock. Elgin counters with a belly-to-back suplex. Elgin gets a headscissors as a sizeable "boring" chant breaks out. Elgin counters a knee bar with an enziguiri. Finlay crashes into the ringpost, and Elgin gets his first real sustained offense, with several corner clotheslines followed by a superkick.
They blow a suplex-countered-with-a-DDT spot, and Elgin just covers him for two. Elgin goes up, but Finlay shoves him down to the floor. Back in, Finlay roll gets two. Finlay hits an Air Raid Crash for two. Finlay struggles with, but manages to hit, a tombstone for two. I thought all piledriver-type moves were banned except for special occaisions? Elgin comes right back with a spinning back fist, buckle bomb, and spinning sit-out powerbomb for the pin at 19:15. I got what they were going for and appreciated it, with the veteran Finlay controlling the match before being overtaken by the younger, stronger, and simply too-tough up-and-comer. However, they were fucked by really bad match placement. Should have had something short in between O'Reilly/Cole and this, and/or made this the post-intermition match.
-Martini comes out to celebrate the win, then prevent Elgin from shaking Finlay's hand, but Elgin shoves Martini aside and shakes his hand anyway.
-INTERMISSION
-THIS IS A LIVE PRODIGY SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Bennett says RoH came to him and offered him the opportunity to wrestle whomever he wants, but Bennett declined because it wouldn't be a title match. Bennett & Maria makeout until Mike Mondo runs in to defend NYC. Mondo says he's always wanted to wrestle in NYC, but RoH wouldn't take his calls. Mondo challenges Bennett to a fight, and says after he fights Bennett, he's going to fuck Maria. This kicks off a fight, which leads into...
-Match 5: Mike Bennett (w/Maria & Bob Evans) VS Mike Mondo
-Mondo dominates until taking a spinebuster into the ring apron. There's some confusion on the part of Kevin Kelly as to whether this is a match or not. Mondo blocks a running powerslam, and after a double clothesline, uses a series of strikes to take Bennett down. Mondo misses a diving headbutt, prompting a couple jackasses to chant "Benoit". Bennett talks shit, but gets small-packaged and pinned at approximately 4:12. Well, it was a face turn and effective elevation for Mondo if nothing else.
-Match 6 for the RoH Television Championship: Roderick Strong [c] (w/Truth Martini) VS Tomasso Ciampa (w/The Embassy) VS Jay Lethal
-This is under elimination rules. Lethal's haircut makes him look like a homeless man hanging out in front of a detox center. Ciampa goes right after Lethal. All three go outside right away, and Lethal takes control. Back in, Ciampa drops Lethal, Strong drops Ciampa, then Lethal drops Strong. Lethal avoids a clothesline from Ciampa, then hits a suicide dive on Strong. Princess Mia gets a cheapshot on Lethal in, setting up the running exposed knees to the face from Ciampa. Strong interrupts with an enziguiri to Ciampa, then fucks up dropping Ciampa across the top rope.
Strong pounds on Lethal (who now looks like a black Krusty the Klown), and hits a backbreaker for two. Kevin Kelly actually takes time to note that the ref from Elgin/Finlay was fined $250 and yelled at by Jim Cornette for allowing the tombstone piledriver. Nice to see them take the time to provide some kind of explanation for that. WWE might let it slide, unless they're in one of their "continuity matters" moods. Ciampa takes control of the match, mainly working on Lethal before Strong pitches Ciampa out of the ring. Strong hits Lethal with a suplex for two, then works a rear chinlock.
Strong dropkick almost KO's Lethal, and gets two. Lethal makes a Sting comeback, no-selling some chops from Strong before hitting some of his own. Lethal works both opponents over, hitting the Lethal Combination on Strong for two. Lethal gets a Figure 4 on Strong, then a crossface on Ciampa at the same time. Ciampa drops Lethal with a knee to the face, and hits a Savage elbow for two. Strong catches Ciampa with a superplex, then Lethal hits Ciampa with Hail to the King for two.
Lethal avoids a cheapshot from Martini, and lays him out. Ciampa gets Strong in Project Ciampa, but Prince Nana rolls into the ring (ostensibly running from Lethal, who is not chasing him), and "accidentally" clips Ciampa, allowing Strong to fall on top and eliminate Ciampa at 12:49.
Lethal immediately goes for the Lethal Injection on Strong, but Martini saves by clocking Lethal with the Book of Truth, and Strong finishes with what was supposed to be his toss into a backbreaker at 13:08, but he tossed Lethal so high that Lethal ended up hitting Strong's knees with his ass instead. Match was decent aside from a couple botches from Strong. I'm interested in seeing where the whole "Embassy keeps Ciampa from the TV title to appease business partner Truth Martini" angle goes.
-Match 7 for the RoH World Tag Team Championship: Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team [c] VS The All-Night Express
-ANX is finally getting the title shot they earned six months ago. Titles can change hands on a DQ. Stalling to start. King gets a nice takedown, and Shelton takes a powder. WGTT take control of the match, and take turns working King over. King fights off a powerbomb, and holds Shelton for a running punt to the ribs. ANX hit a double-team series of kicks, and King gets two on Shelton. Haas gets in, and takes a springboard legdrop/big splash combo for two.
King follows up with a leg lariat for two. King gets caught in the WGTT corner, and takes a nasty roundhouse kick from Shelton, and Haas gets two. Shelton gets in, and starts tossing King around. King is officially the face-in-peril, as Haas gets back in. King gets a really fancy rollup for two, but then gets killed with a big clothesline to keep momentum on WGTT's side. Shelton gets back in, and King gets a couple quick near-falls, before Shelton regains control, and hits a version of the Glam Slam, with King hitting Shelton's knees instead of the mat.
King counters a double-team suplex into a double DDT, and makes the hot tag to Titus. Titus cleans house, and hits Shelton with a big boot followed by a big clothesline for two. Shelton goes for the pop-up throw off the top, but Titus counters with an alley-oop into the buckles, then King adds shotgun knees for two. WGTT manage to hit some signature spots on Titus, with a Blinger Splash followed by an Angle Slam for two. King throws a chair to Shelton, who drops it in the ring after arguing with the ref, and that allows Titus to hit a DDT on the chair for two.
King hits a dive on Haas, but Titus, who clearly sees Shelton beforehand, gets cut off by Shelton before he can do one. Shelton whacks Titus with one of the belts while Haas has the ref, and that busts Titus open. Haas goes right after the open wound. Shelton gets in and does the same, and Titus has to ask the ref not to stop the match. Haas gets back in, and gets on the house mic, saying if the ref doesn't call it, then WGTT is going to kill Titus. King cuts off the Leap of Faith, and Titus surprises Haas with a schoolboy to win the titles at 22:51. Probably the best match WGTT has had in a while, but it's still good to see new blood as tag champs after WGTT and The Briscoes traded the belts a couple times.
-Post-match celebration gives me the feel of this being an "underdog surprises the champ(s), but loses the rematch" angle that WWF & WCW used to do every so often in the early-mid 90's. WGTT wipe out the new champs before leaving.
-Steve Corino (having stolen Mike Mondo's half-blond, half-dark hairstyle), wants to stay at ringside and do color commentary, and has some words for Jim Cornette. Cornette says he can stay, but Cornette is going to stay to keep an eye on Corino.
-Match 8 for the RoH World Championship: Kevin Steen [c] (w/Jimmy Jacobs) VS Davey Richards [Anything Goes]
-Steen has his own takeoff of the Cena "Rise Above Hate" t-shirt, with "Kill Steen Kill" written in the same style. Kyle O'Reilly comes out to call out Richards and dissolve Team Ambition. Richards starts it off by kicking Steen off the apron through a table. Davey goes to work on the outside, stopping to go after Jacobs, but then runs right into the ring apron powerbomb. Steen buries Richards underneath the RoH logo piece that are on the guardrails, and hits a frog splash off the apron. Corino tries to get shooty on commentary, in the most obnoxious way possible.
Steen goes for a swanton, but that hits knees. Steen superkicks Bobby Cruise, just because. Davey hits an exploder on the apron, then gets a table from underneath the ring. Richards puts Steen on the table, then comes off the top with a double stomp. Back in the ring, another double stomp gets two. Davey grabs a bunch of chairs and tries to hit Steen with one, but Steen counters with double knees, and follows with a somersault splash in the corner.
Steen buries Richards underneath the chairs, but Richards pops up and hits a superplex onto the chairs for two. Richards sets up another table and goes for a superplex, but Steen counters with a fisherman buster off the top, through the table for two. Steen puts Richards' mouthpiece in his own mouth. Steen sets up two chairs, but takes a German suplex into them for two. Richards gets a chain, first choking Steen, then wrapping it around his boot and hitting Kawada kicks followed by a buzzsaw kick for two.
Davey then kicks Todd Sinclair for the hell of it. Richards gets a ladder, then his mouthpiece back. Steen hits an F-5 for two, so Steen hits Paul Turner with a package piledriver. Richards hits the DR Driver on the ladder, but there's no ref. Jacobs interferes and goes for the spike, but Cornette disarms Jacobs, only to get kicked in the nuts by Corino.
Corino attacks Cornette as Richards fights off Jacobs and gets the spike, but Steen gets another spike, stabs Richards in the groin, and finishes with the package piledriver at 21:23. This wasn't a match as much as it was an attempt at an ECW tribute. Steve Corino was the worst thing about it with his smark-Michael Cole act.
-Steen gives a long speech about hypocrites, focusing on the fans in NYC who cheered when he lost his career at Final Battle 2010, but love him now no matter what. Steen vows to kill the company and be the last Ring of Honor World Champion. He, of course, gets cheered for that. I really think it's a side-effect of the homogination of wrestling and wrestlers, as for years anyone who stands out gets cheers, reguardless of their face/heel alignment, and these days, the heels get more opportunities to stand out as characters.
-FINAL THOUGHTS: This was a decent show. O'Reilly/Cole was something else and well worth tracking down. All the other matches were decent ---> good, so no complaints on that front.
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