Dayton, OH – 10.15.2010

Championship Rundown
ROH World Champion: Roderick Strong
ROH Television Champion: Eddie Edwards
ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli)

Commentary is provided by Dave Prazak and Kevin Kelly.

Mark Briscoe vs. Mike Mondo

Mondo calls himself “The Giant Killer” and has a “Godzilla Fears Mondo” sign that he carries with him to the ring. Briscoe and Mondo exchange holds to start. Mondo knocks Briscoe down with a shoulder block. Briscoe takes him down with a pair of armdrags. Mondo tries one of his own, but Briscoe rolls him up with La Magistral for two. Mondo rolls to the floor to regroup. Mondo comes back in and hits Briscoe with a series of strikes. Briscoe avoids an attack in the corner. Briscoe hits a chinbreaker and neckbreaker for two. Briscoe hits a vertical suplex for two. Briscoe peppers Mondo with strikes in the corner. Mondo traps Briscoe in the ropes and dropkicks him in the chest. Mondo follows up with a running knee strike for two. Mondo chokes Briscoe with his wrist tape behind the referee’s back. Mondo knocks Briscoe down with a back elbow for two. Briscoe and Mondo trade forearms. Mondo side steps an attack and sends Briscoe to the floor. Briscoe brings Mondo to the floor. Mondo blocks Briscoe from hitting a quebrada to the floor, and throws Briscoe into the guardrail. Mondo hits Briscoe with a somersault senton from the apron. In the ring, Mondo gets a two count. Mondo misses a top rope headbutt. Briscoe hits Mondo with some redneck kung fu. He hits a spinwheel kick and sends Mondo to the floor with a flying knee strike. Briscoe follows up with a tope con hilo. In the ring, Briscoe catches Mondo with a moonsault for two. Mondo blocks a monkey flip. He crotches Briscoe on the top rope, and takes him down with a hurricanrana for two. Briscoe takes Mondo over with a super snapmare for the pin at 9:02. This was a really fun opening contest. Mondo has certainly impressed me in his two matches so far in Ring of Honor, and Mark Briscoe’s skills as a single wrestler are often overlooked. A great way to kick off the show. **3/4

Daizee Haze vs. Lady JoJo

Haze and JoJo exchange waistlocks and headlocks. JoJo knocks Haze down with a shoulder block. Haze hits a pair of armdrags and trips JoJo into a side headlock. Haze snapmares JoJo and follows up with a dropkick to her back. Haze locks her legs around JoJo’s mid-section, rolling her around in the hopes to score a pin. JoJo rolls out to the floor. Haze chases her around the ringside area. JoJo gets back in the ring, awaiting Haze to enter. Haze forearms JoJo from the apron. JoJo headbutts Haze in the mid-section, causing Haze to fall to the floor. JoJo backs Haze into ring apron multiple times. JoJo throws her back in the ring. She crotches Haze on the middle rope and dropkicks her in the back. JoJo follows up with a basement dropkick. Haze knocks down JoJo with a series of modified neckbreakers. JoJo side steps a clothesline and chops Haze in the corner. Haze kicks JoJo down and hits a top rope dropkick for two. JoJo blocks a German suplex. Haze slides out of a fireman’s carry position and hits the Heart Punch. JoJo drops Haze with a spinebuster for two. Haze schoolgirls JoJo for two. Haze hits JoJo with a bridging German suplex for the pin at 7:58. Better than your average ROH women’s match. Both women did fine here, but most of it was fairly innocuous. The pace picked up in the end and I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing them again. **1/2

Trial Series – Match #1
Andy Ridge vs. Colt Cabana

Andy Ridge has a five match trial series and this is the first in that series. Cabana throws Ridge down by his arm. Cabana does it again by feigning interest in a test of strength. Ridge tries to throw Cabana down, but Cabana comically mocks him. He locks Ridge in the Alligator Clutch for two. Cabana reverses two waistlock attempts. Ridge escapes and Cabana slaps him in the face. Cabana twists Ridge’s arm around, and Ridge slaps Cabana in the face. Cabana takes a seat in the corner, pretending to cry. Cabana asks the referee to disqualify Ridge, but it does no good. Cabana trips Ridge through the referee’s legs. Ridge goes off the ropes with Cabana unable to catch him. Cabana literally tells Ridge to stop and slaps on a headlock. Ridge pushes Cabana off and eats a big boot. Ridge comes back with a hard kick to the side of Cabana’s head. Cabana nails Ridge with a hip attack. Cabana chops Ridge multiple times. Cabana angrily tosses Ridge to the floor. Ridge slingshots in with an ace crusher and follows up with a big boot. Ridge hits a low big boot for two. Cabana blocks a sunset flip. He throws Ridge chest and back first into the corners. He misses the Flying Asshole. Ridge kicks Cabana in the back as Cabana is stuck in the ropes. Ridge follows up with a backbreaker for two. Cabana kicks Ridge in the face as he comes off the top rope. Cabana hits the Flying Asshole and a bionic elbow. Cabana gives Ridge a few overhand chops. He follows up with a spin-out Niagra driver. Cabana transitions into the Billy Goat’s Curse which causes Ridge to tap out at 8:31. I liked how the match unraveled. Cabana didn’t take Ridge seriously at all to begin, which annoyed me considering this is Ridge’s opportunity to break out. However, Ridge was able to change Cabana’s attitude which in turn made the match a lot better. I see a lot in Ridge and hope this Trial Series ends up well in the end. **1/2

Kyle O’Reilly & Adam Cole vs. Kevin Steen & Steve Corino

Steen wears the El Generico mask that he stole from Generico personally back at Glory By Honor IX. On top of that, he has an “Elect Kevin Steen” sign that he apparently found backstage; that’s awesome. Corino backs Cole to the corner and taps him in the groin. Corino takes Cole down with a hard armdrag. Cole’s shoulder block fails to move Corino, causing Steen to laugh at him. Corino knocks Cole down with a shoulder block. Cole takes Corino down with an armdrag, and then avoids one from Corino. O’Reilly and Steen tag in. Steen knocks O’Reilly down and blows a snot rocket on him. Steen does it again, and O’Reilly responds in kind. He takes Steen down in an armbar, but Steen quickly gets the ropes to escape. Corino tags in, saying he’s looking past this match to his match tomorrow in Chicago. O’Reilly kicks Corino in the leg multiple times. Corino blocks a hip toss, but O’Reilly rolls into a kneebar. Corino escapes, but O’Reilly kicks him multiple times. Cole comes in and hits a double elbow with O’Reilly for two. O’Reilly tags back in and trades strikes with Corino. Steen kicks O’Reilly in the back as he hits the ropes, and Corino drops him with the Colby Shock. Corino and Steen team up to isolate O’Reilly in their corner. O’Reilly escapes with a blind tag to Cole. Cole comes in with a crossbody to Steen for two. He kicks Steen in the face and hits him with a second rope leg lariat. He sends Steen to the floor with a hurricanrana. He tries a crossbody, but Steen catches him and throws him into the guardrail with a fallaway slam. Corino gets in a few shots on Cole himself. Steen pummels Cole back in the ring. Cole sunset flips Corino for two. Corino keeps on Cole’s leg, even going as far as to bite it. Steen and Corino beat down Cole, not allowing him to tag out. Davey Richards is shown watching the match from the crowd. O’Reilly delivers a double top rope dropkick, knocking both Corino and Steen down. This allows Cole to tag in O’Reilly legally. He knocks Corino off the apron and delivers a series of kicks to Steen’s mid-section. O’Reilly sweeps Steen’s legs and throws Corino to the floor. He throws Steen out as well. Steen trips O’Reilly, and Cole suicide dives onto Corino. In the ring, O’Reilly drops Steen with a tilt-a-whirl DDT for two. Corino forearms O’Reilly into an F5 from Steen for two. Steen pump handles O’Reilly onto Corino’s bare knee for two. Cole throws Corino into the guardrail and cuts off Steen on the top rope. Steen misses a moonsault. Cole and O’Reilly batter him with kicks to the head. Cole superkicks Steen into a hard lariat from O’Reilly for two. Corino hits Cole with a lariat. O’Reilly dropkicks Steen into Corino. Steen nails O’Reilly with a superkick. He throws Cole head first in a powerbomb position into the corner for the pin at 19:27. I have been a fan of both O’Reilly and Cole before they entered ROH and I continue to be thoroughly impressed. In their first house show match as a team, they went almost twenty minutes with one of the top teams the company has to offer and held their own. Steen and Corino deserve a ton of credit too for being such fantastic heels and getting the Dayton crowd behind the newcomers. Really, really good tag team match. ***1/2

The Metal Master vs. Ricky Reyes

Master and Reyes aggressively look for control. Reyes applies a side headlock. Master and Reyes trade chops. Master takes Reyes over in a headlock for two. Master hip tosses Reyes into a dropkick. Master takes him down with a headscissors and puts on another headlock for two. Reyes kicks away at Master’s back. He slams Master for two. Reyes applies pressure to Master’s arm. Master counters a knee strike with a roll-up for two. He tries another roll-up and again gets two. Reyes hits a flying elbow strike. Reyes throws Master to the floor. Reyes keeps control as they reenter the ring. Reyes hits a double underhook suplex. A fan hops the guardrail and security takes him down immediately. Reyes looks PISSED. He grabs another headlock. Master and Reyes collide heads in the corner. Master hits a DDT and a leg lariat. Master hits a German suplex for two. Master hits a powerslam for two. Reyes hits a sole butt. Master backslides Reyes for two. Master tries a modified prawn hold, but Reyes gounters into a Dragon suplex. Master escapes. Masters shoulder blocks Reyes in the mid-section and hits a top rope dropkick. Master hits a jackhammer for two. Reyes pokes Master in the eyes and hits a swinging neckbreaker for the pin at 12:03. Fuck this boring, stupid, dull match. Skip it and be a better person than I am. DUD

Jay Briscoe vs. Rhett Titus

Briscoe takes Titus down in a side headlock. Titus escapes. Titus wrenches on Briscoe’s arm. Briscoe trips Titus into a front chancery. Briscoe knocks Titus down with a shoulder tackle. He blocks Titus’ leapfrogs and takes him over with a hurricanrana. Titus hits a back elbow. Briscoe throws a flurry of fists and puts on a headscissors. Briscoe hits a clothesline in the corner and snapmares Titus down. Titus avoids a boot, but Briscoe hits one on the second try. Briscoe and Titus exchange forearms. Titus avoids a double stomp. Briscoe hits a big boot. Titus avoids another double stomp and drives Briscoe head first into the mat. Titus hits a facewash kick for two. Briscoe lays in a couple chops. Titus lands a suplex for two. Titus hits Briscoe with a running boot to the side of the head. Briscoe sends Titus to the floor and follows up with a slingshot somersault senton. Briscoe throws Titus shoulder first into the guardrail. Titus throws Briscoe back first into the guardrail and then shoulder first into the ring post. Titus gains control of the match for awhile. Briscoe comes back by dropping Titus face first on the top turnbuckle. Briscoe and Titus exchange big boots. Briscoe hits a forearm and superkick for two. Titus knees Briscoe in the mid-section, and Briscoe responds with a spinebuster for two. Titus hops over Briscoe’s shoulder into a facebuster for two. Briscoe thrusts Titus on the top rope, causing Titus to drop Briscoe face first on the top rope. Titus drops Briscoe with a Curtain Call for two. Briscoe O’Conner rolls Titus for two. Titus backslides Briscoe for two. Briscoe rolls Titus up to his feet. He hits a boot to the face. Titus dropkicks Briscoe off the second rope and through the ringside table. Titus throws Briscoe back into the ring for a two count. Titus applies the Rings of Saturn. Titus rolls up Briscoe for two. Titus hits Briscoe with a series of boots, which causes Briscoe to fire up. He and Titus throw forearms at each other. Briscoe comes back with a big boot and a superkick. He drops Titus with the Jay Driller to score the pin at 18:11. This match probably should have shaved off a few of the opening minutes and been a bit better, but this was still excellent. Titus has got to be the most improved guy in ROH this year, and really has picked up the intensity in his offense. Jay of course was also able to hold up his end of the bargain, and it’s easy to see that the fans gained a lot more respect for Titus after this showing. ***1/4

Homicide vs. Kenny King

King goes to the floor to avoid Homicide. Homicide and King aggressively lock up and go to the corner. King hits Homicide with a forearm to the face. Homicide throws King to the floor and hits a double axe handle. He rips one of the metal signs off the barricade and throws it into the ring. Homicide whips King back first into the guardrails. Homicide looks to set up the metal sign in the ring. He goes back to King on the floor, pulling at his face. Homicide once again whips King into the guardrails. Homicide suplexes King on the floor onto the metal sign. Things settle down in the ring. Homicide looks for a handshake, but instead pokes King in the eyes. He gives King a release overhead suplex. Homicide facewash kicks King for two. Homicide hits a chin breaker and turns King into a sharpshooter. King grabs the bottom rope to escape. King drops Homicide with a spinebuster for two. King stomps away at Homicide in the corner. Homicide headbutts King in the mid-section. King comes back with a spinwheel kick for two. King throws Homicide to the floor. Homicide throws punches back in the ring, but gets cut off with a powerslam. Homicide avoids a springboard legdrop. Homicide hits a shoulder tackle from the second rope. He monkey flips King, but King lands on his feet. Homicide responds with two suplexes and a gourd buster for two. King lands a chin breaker. Homicide hot shots King. He hits a Rude Awakening for two. King blocks a swinging DDT and hits a double knee strike for two. Homicide catches a boot from King and transitions into an STF. Rhett Titus comes out, which distracts Homicide. Homicide ducks a polish hammer and rolls up King for two. King hits a spinwheel kick to the face for two. King blocks the Cop Killer and applies a sleeper hold. Homicide hits an ace crusher for the pin at 16:37. A strange finish to an otherwise decent match. Why didn’t Homicide just hit the Cop Killer if he was going to win anyways? This should have been shorter as there was a lot of filler. Still, good stuff from both guys. **1/2

Titus and King attack Homicide after the match, which brings out Jay Briscoe to make the save. Homicide gets mad at Jay once King and Titus are gone. Homicide says he didn’t need any help. The two get in a verbal altercation, causing officials and other wrestlers to come out and stop them from getting physical. Homicide says Jay is a pussy, just like his Dad. Jay says this isn’t TNA, which riles Homicide up a bit. I don’t know why…I mean, it literally isn’t TNA. Homicide is backed into the locker room by two officials while Jay is held back in the ring.

ROH World Tag Team Championship
The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli; Champions) vs. Christopher Daniels & Davey Richards

Shane Hagadorn accompanies the Kings to the ring. The Kings have been Champions since 4.3.2010 and this is their sixth defense. Daniels and Hero look to gain the early advantage. Hero shoulder blocks Daniels to the mat. Daniels leapfrogs into a hip toss. Daniels hits a shoulder block of his own. Daniels avoids three leapfrog’s from Hero, which frustrates him. Daniels hits a few hip tosses, and Hero rolls to the floor. Claudio comes in and gets a hip toss as well. Hero and Claudio strategize with Hagadorn on the floor. Richards and Claudio come in as the legal men. Richards takes Claudio down with a tilt-a-whirl into an armbar. Claudio powers up Richards into a suplex. Hero tags in and basement dropkicks Richards in the head. Richards and Hero trade strikes and kicks. Richards hits the ropes and knocks Hero down with a spinwheel kick for two. Daniels tags in and throws Hero head first into two corners. Daniels hits a leg lariat for two. Daniels and Richards hit a tandem suplex for two. Daniels and Richards function really well as a unit, hit a surprising amount of crisp tandem offense. Hero catches Richards with a snap powerslam for two. This one move allows Hero to switch the momentum, as the Kings of Wrestling attack Richards and trap him in their corner. Richards evades an attack from Claudio and kicks Hero in the chest on the floor from the apron. Claudio brings Richards in from the apron in a vertical suplex position. Richards escapes his clutches and hits a dropkick. Daniels finally tags in and hits both Kings with forearms. He knocks down Hero with a clothesline. He uses Claudio to walk the top rope and take Hero down with a hurricanrana. Daniels locks on a Koji Clutch. Daniels leapfrogs Claudio into Hero’s arms. Claudio hits a springboard uppercut variant of the Hart Attack with Hero for two. Daniels blocks an elbow with a shotei. Claudio hits Daniels with an uppercut, and Hero follows up with a rolling elbow for two. Daniels blocks a rolling neckbreaker. Richards kicks Hero in the side of the head while Daniels drops Claudio with an STO. Richards tags in and drops both Kings with a top rope dropkick. Richards hits Claudio with a baseball slide. Hero comes to the floor, and Richards flies out onto both of them with a suicide somersault senton. In the ring, Richards knocks Claudio down for two. Richards avoids a clotheslines and rolls Claudio into an ankle lock. Claudio sends Richards to the floor. Claudio nails Richards with a pop-up European uppercut for two. Richards turns the Ricola Bomb into the Yoshi Tonic for two. Claudio accidentally knocks Hero off the apron with the Swiss Chin Music. Richards prawn holds Claudio for two. Richards springboards onto Claudio’s shoulders. Claudio drops Richards with the U.F.O. for two. Daniels and Richards hit the Alarm Clock. They follow up with a superkick/German suplex combo for two. Hero blasts Daniels with a big boot. Richards drops Hero with a Saito suplex. Richards hits a big lariat on Richards. Daniels drops Claudio with a Code Breaker, leaving all four men lying on the mat. Hero cracks Daniels with an elbow. Hero drops him with a Running Liger Bomb for two. Richards kicks Claudio into a uranage from Daniels. Richards hits a diving headbutt, but then gets nailed by a rolling elbow from Hero. Hero hits Daniels with one for a two count. Daniels blocks the Death Blow and hits the Angel’s Wings. Claudio breaks the pin. Richards rolls Claudio into the ankle lock again. Daniels looks for the BME, but Claudio kicks Richards into Daniels. They get into a small tiff, allowing Hero to send Richards to the floor with an elbow to the neck. The Kings drop Daniels with the KRS-1 for the pin at 25:45. This was a fantastic tag team title match that had action from start to finish. The Kings of course are a well-oiled unit, but Daniels and Richards meshed extremely well. Of course this was all to build to Richards and Daniels singles match tomorrow night, but they put on a fantastic tag team match in the mean team. While the finish was a foregone conclusion, at times you felt Daniels and Richards could pull off. An excellent match to cap off a sleeper show. ****

Bonus: ROH Video Wire: 10.20.2010

Bonus Disc: Joe vs. Punk; The Trilogy

It’s pretty pointless in me reviewing all three matches. First off, the first two are an hour long and the third one isn’t too far off. It’s also more than likely that you have at least heard of these matches. Some people have called this trilogy “the Flair/Steamboat trilogy of this generation”. Needless to say, that isn’t too far off. While I won’t be doing play by play, I will offer up my personal star ratings for all three ROH World Championship matches between Samoa Joe and CM Punk:

“World Title Classic” – Dayton, OH – 6.12.2004: ****1/2
“Joe vs. Punk II” – Chicago Ridge, IL – 10.16.2004: *****
“All Star Extravaganza 2” – Elizabeth, NJ – 12.4.2004: ****1/2

As you can see, the bonus disc has three incredible matches that are must watches for any fan of professional wrestling.