Matt Taven and Silas young kicked the evening off. The
crowd was really into MTV and Young was accepted as a heel, both of which
helped add something to hat could otherwise have been a pedestrian opener.
Taven won with a rolling pump kick and a frog splash after Young knocked
himself silly (in storyline terms) attempting a springboard moonsault.
After the match 'The Last Real Man' accepted the winner's
handshake before assaulting him. He was egged on by Truth Martini. It was left
ambiguous as to whether Truth and Silas are united. I like Silas Young a lot. I
think he's got everything that's needed to be a top antagonist in ROH. Placing
him with the House of Truth wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
Match two saw The Decade take on Cedric Alexander, Mark
Briscoe and Adam Page. The Decade is comprised of BJ Whitmer, Jimmy Jacobs (former
tag champions together, fact fans!) and Roderick Strong. Their gimmick or, more
accurately, unifying factor, is that they've all been with the company for at
least ten years. It's the sort of idea that works well in a company like Ring
of Honor. It fits with the more realistic, sports-based approach. I also think
it's the best use of all three members. Jacobs and Whitmer are guys that work
best in units while Strong adds some credibility as a former ROH world champion
and gets something to do. He'd been left aimless several times under Delirious.
The match was very good and had a surprising amount going
on. Page was intimidated by his more experienced opponents, Alexander wanted to
demonstrate that he’s just as good as anyone else on the roster , and The
Decade were portrayed as veterans wanting respect from the younger men opposing
them, with Strong having a particular problem with the C&C man for using
back breakers in previous matches. The Decade won after Whitmer and Jacobs hit
The All Seeing Eye on Page.
2014 Top Prospect tournament winner Hanson got his TV
championship match against Tommaso Ciampa next. 'The Sicilian Psychopath'
strikes me as the kind of man who ROH fans will turn on. They haven't yet, but
I suspect they will sooner or later. There’s not enough depth to his character
as it is at the moment to sustain fan interest in the long term, and I can’t
imagine any significant changes being made.
There was a handshake to start after the two had had gone
nose-to-nose. The size difference between them made me think that Hanson had been
selected as the tournament winner because he was noticeably larger than Ciampa
and could be presented as a tough, imposing challenge for the him to overcome.
They went all around ringside and traded power moves and shots in the ring.
Hanson even busted out a cartwheel and a moonsault. Ciampa successfully
retained after walking Hanson out of the corner as he stood on the second rope into
a Project Ciampa. They made the most of the time they had to put on an
energetic show.
That match was followed by a Michael Elgin promo. He said
he had wanted to send Matt Hardy out of Philadelphia in a body bag but he was
being denied his wish because Matt’s flight had been cancelled (whether this
was real, part of the storyline, or cover for legal issues stemming from
troubles between Matt and his wife I’m not sure). Elgin then put over ROH
giving unknown wrestlers the chance to impress and called out Raymond Rowe for
a match. With Hardy unavailable this was one of the best matches available to
ROH. Rowe isn't a big name, but he got closer to becoming one by being pitted
against, and talked up by, a man like Elgin.
The match was a hard hitter, obvs. Rowe weathered a long
stalling suplex, the suplex from the apron into the ring, the multiple
clotheslines spot, stiff lariats, a German suplex from the apron, and the
crossface. Rowe had various spurts of offence, including a very nice pop-up
power bomb. It was a match designed to elevate Rowe in defeat by showing that
he could survive Elgin’s signature moves and remain in the fight. 'Unbreakable'
won after power bombing Rowe into a barrier outside the ring and then hitting an
Elgin bomb in the ring. Elgin v Rowe was better than anything Matt Hardy would
have been a part of.
After the match ROH champion Adam Cole tried to attack
Elgin from behind. Rowe made the save. Before Cole could be given his
comeuppance Michael Bennett slid into the ring and low blowed the babyfaces.
The stomp sesh that followed brought out Jay Briscoe, sending Cole scampering
to the back. Briscoe took the mic and said he wanted Bennett in a match then
and there. Even though ROH went out of their way to show Nigel McGuinness at
ringside he wasn't used to make the match official. So what was the point of
showing him at ringside? Only ROH knows.
The match, which was for Jay Briscoe's "real"
world championship, featured a lot of ringside brawling. The atmosphere carried
over to the ring. That's to be expected from Jay by now, surely? While I'm not
the biggest Briscoes fan and really don't like the "real" world title
shtick I did enjoy this match for what it was. Jay retained his belt after a
low blow (something he'd taken and kicked out of moments before after Cole had
returned to ringside to cause a distraction) and a Jay Driller. He then had a
staredown with the real ROH world
champ Adam Cole. That feud's still not over.
reDRagon got cheers and the streamer treatment before
they defend their tag team titles against Adrenaline RUSH. This is even though
they're very clearly intended to be heels. With Bobby Fish being one of the
best guys in ROH for crowd interaction cheers were always going to come his
way. Shouting down a cocky ACH probably helped too: ACH came across as
irritating while talking smack from the apron. Even telling the fans no when
they started a "Yes!" chant earned Fish laughter and applause.
The match took a while to get going and never quite met
my (admittedly lofty) expectations. I'd thought the teams would click better
than they did and produce a modern company classic. It wasn't a bad match it
just didn’t get into gear until the closing moments, by which point it was too
late. reDRagon retained after Kyle O'Reilly countered a top rope splash into a
triangle choke.
A spot towards the finish saw ACH get a three count on
Fish while Fish's foot was on the rope. That prompted premature celebrating from
the challengers, and will possibly become the kayfabe reason they failed to
win. It seemed designed to set up a rematch. If so it was a good way of doing
it, but a strange show to do it on: the 12th Anniversary doesn’t
feel like it should be a setup show.
AJ Styles outdid Bobby Fish on the streamer front. He
outdid him in the ring too, producing a highly enjoyable, competitive match
with Jay Lethal. The early moments saw both men equally matched. Lethal gained
the upper hand several minutes in with a modified inverted figure four, slowing
the pace for a breather but in a far more interesting way than simply using a
headlock (take note Randy Orton). Styles came back with a suplex on the ring
apron and an Indian deathlock-STF combination. An exchange of chops soured the
mood between the competitors before Lethal struck with a Lethal Combination and
a neck breaker for two counts.
Styles regained the upper hand when he yanked Lethal from
the top rope and belted him with a springboard forearm. Lethal escaped a Styles
Clash attempt and buckled Styles with a super kick. Styles nailed a Pele kick.
Lethal came back with a dragon suplex and a Macho Elbow for a close two. Duelling
chants filled the air as Lethal went for the Lethal Injection, turning to pro-Styles
cheers as he countered, pulling his opponent into a power bomb and then a match
winning Styles Clash.
They shook hands after the match, natch. AJ was then left
to pose in the ring as Lethal looked dejected in the aisle. That could lead to
something significant for Lethal, or it could just be ROH having him sell the
loss. You can't tell with this company. Which is good, I suppose.
The ever unpopular Outlawz Inc made an allegedly unscheduled
appearance before the next match. Eddie Kingston cut a rambling promo about
people who work for Sinclair Broadcasting making him sick. He also said he and
Homicide had spent the evening recruiting. There's nobody currently on the
roster I'd be interested in seeing added to the Outlawz. I can't think of
anyone they could bring in that would make me care either. They're a poor act
that don't gel with the current roster and company direction. Severing ties
would be the sensible decision at this point.
Nigel McGuinness announced that he'd sent Jay Briscoe,
Michael Bennett, Maria Kanellis and Michael Elgin back to the hotel before the
main event. That, he assured us, would guarantee a clear, undisputed winner and
loser.
ROH champion Adam Cole and challenger Chris Hero had a
very good match, though they didn’t quite manage to better Styles v Lethal.
There were a lot of elbows and a lot of boots. Because it was a Chris Hero
match. You always get plenty of both in his matches. Something new was the
crowd jeering Cole whenever he screamed and shouted at Hero or shouted his own
name. The champ was smart enough to play to that. That becoming a regular part
of his matches could actually help him. It would set him apart and give his
bouts a different vibe. It’s real heat too, which is rare in wrestling these
days.
Unusually for ROH, especially at a major show, there was
a ref bump in the main event. Hero elbowed Todd Sinclair as he countered the
Florida Key. Moments later Cole was tapping while locked in a submission hold.
There was no new champion of course, because Sinclair was sprawled at ringside
being tenderly tended to by Nigel McG. Hero hauled the champ up and went for a
death blow but Cole got in first with an enziguri. They traded boots before
Cole connected with three Florida Keys for the pin.
McGuinness was shown a replay after he rejoined Kevin
Kelly. Instead of simply overturning the decision based on the submission
McGuinness let the decision stand. As Cole celebrated he was joined in the ring
by Kevin Steen. Cole flipped him off and left to loud jeers. Nobody should have
been surprised by him leaving. He's the bad guy!
Steen told everyone at ringside to leave before his
"unsanctioned" match with Cliff Compton. The former Domino wandered
in through the crowd, dressed like a cross between Trent Acid and Raven circa
1996. The match featured a duelling canes spot; liberal use of a
"trash" can (or a dustbin, if you're British); a chair assisted top
rope dive; bumps from the top rope to ringside through tables; a Michinoku
driver through chairs; power bombs onto a ladder; the Terry Funk spinning
ladder spot; a match winning package piledriver onto a ladder; and, surprisingly,
a single straight chair shot. Basically it was an ECW match, fought thirteen
years after ECW went under in a company that emphasises the athletic aspects of
pro wrestling. But it was fun and it ended the show with a result that fans
wanted. That counts for a lot.
After the match Steen said he wanted to be ROH champion
again and that he’d live up to the legacy of the title during his second reign.
Outlawz Inc watched from the entrance, applauding. Looks like that's the next
programme for Steen, eh? It’s not one I’m interested in. I’d much rather see
Steen in the title picture against the likes of Hardy, Cole and Bennett.
As a complete package the 12th Anniversary
worked. There were some matches better than other but none that I’d consider
bad. Styles v Lethal, Hero’s title challenge, and Briscoe v Bennett were all
very good wrestling matches and the “unsanctioned” main event was great, for
those who like that sort of thing and miss the good ol’ days of ECW. Hopefully
this is the new standard from ROH after some spotty cards last year.
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