Toronto, Ontario, Canada – 5.7.2011

Championship Rundown
ROH World Champion: Eddie Edwards
ROH Television Champion: Christopher Daniels
ROH World Tag Team Champions: Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin

Commentary is provided by Kevin Kelly & Eric Santamaria.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Sara Del Rey and Shane Hagadorn accompany Claudio to the ring. Claudio shrugs off O’Reilly at first, but takes him over with a gut-wrench suplex once O’Reilly throws some kicks. Claudio shoulder blocks him down. O’Reilly rolls Claudio into a kneebar, but Claudio grabs the ropes quickly to break. Claudio rubs his armpits with a fans Canadian flag. Claudio comes back and O’Reilly batters him with kicks to the leg. Claudio nails a clothesline to cut him off. Claudio stomps on O’Reilly and chokes him on the middle rope. Sara slaps O’Reilly and O’Reilly spits on her. Claudio deadlifts him into a powerbomb. Claudio hot shots him for two. Claudio snapmares him for two. Claudio powerslams him for two. After being worn down on the mat, O’Reilly manages to hit a top rope dropkick to Claudio’s leg. O’Reilly sweeps his legs for two. O’Reilly lands an enzuigiri and a tilt-a-whirl DDT for two. Claudio brings O’Reilly down with a super vertical suplex. As they land, O’Reilly hooks Claudio in a small package for two. Claudio nails him with a lariat for two. O’Reilly blocks an uppercut with a backslide for two. Claudio hits a big uppercut for two. O’Reilly rolls through a pop-up attempt with a sunset flip for two. O’Reilly puts him in the sharpshooter. Claudio gets the rope to escape. Claudio chokeslams O’Reilly for two. Claudio then hits the Ricola Bomb for the pin at 11:53. Once again O’Reilly opens the show with a hot, fun match that showcased his ability. Unfortunately he lost again, but Claudio made him look great in front of O’Reilly’s fellow Canadian peers. **3/4

Truth Martini Is backstage with Christopher Daniels and Michael Elgin. Elgin says tonight five other men will find out that they can’t handle “the truth.” Daniels says he will destroy Generico in his hometown while proving that gospel and truth run side by side.

Steve Corino vs. Mike Bennett

Brutal Bob Evans, of course, is in Bennett’s corner. Before this match, Corino cuts a re-hash of the same promo of he gave last night. Bennett promises to push Corino “off the wagon” as Corino asks for a handshake. Bennett punches Corino and begs to be hit back. Bennett applies a headlock and knocks Corino down with a shoulderblock. Corino puts on an adominal stretch and threatens to put his thumb in Bennett’s bum. Bennett breaks free and lands another punch. Corino delivers an armdrag and a dropkick. Bennett evades a dropkick and misses an elbow drop. Corino clotheslines him to the floor. Corino grabs the ring bell. The fans cheer for him to put it on Bennett’s crotch. Corino slams the bell hammer on it after turning referee Todd Sinclair away. He does it a second time when Evans has Sinclair tied up. Corino whips Bennett into the barricade. Bennett reverses a second attempt, throwing Corino into the barricade. Bennett throws Corino back in the ring, and then back out so Evans can get in a few strikes. Corino side steps Bennett’s pescado. Corino goes for a dive but eats a dropkick from Bennett instead. Back in the ring, Corino accidentally knocks into Sinclair. Evans clotheslines Corino into a DDT from Bennett behind his back. Bennett only gets two. Bennett delivers a superplex for two. Bennett misses a top rope legdrop. Bennett and Corino trade punches mid-ring. Corino blocks Bennett’s Side Effect. Corino powerslams Bennett and chops him in the corner. Corino drops him with an STO for two. Corino catches him coming off the ropes with a Michinoku Driver for two. Bennett responds with a spinebuster for two. Corino backdrops Bennett as he goes for a piledriver. Evans grabs Corino’s legs as he hit the ropes. Corino rolls Bennett up for two. He then hits a low lariat for two. Evans runs in as Corino puts Bennett in a abdominal stretch. Corino then puts Evans in it and puts his thumb in Evans’ bum. Bennett catches Corino with a sit-out uranage for two. He then hits a second and a piledriver for the pin at 16:02. This was fairly entertaining, but sixteen minutes was an awfully long time for them to drag out. Corino’s bad behavior was brushed off by both the fans and announcers; you’d think it would be a bigger deal. This was a slight step below their Manhattan Mayhem 4 bout. **1/2

Bennett hits another piledriver and mockingly calls out Corino’s sponsor. No one comes out for Steve.

Double Danger Scramble Match
Rhett Titus vs. Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Grizzly Redwood vs. Andy Ridge

This is basically a scramble match where you have to score two pinfalls or submissions to win. The Embassy is in Ciampa’s corner and Truth Martini is in Elgin’s corner. Redwood and Ridge reach a stalemate after a fast exchange. Ciampa dropkicks them both to the floor. He and Titus trade overhand chops. Titus delivers a series of maneuvers to Ciampa’s face. Elgin gets kicked from the apron. He powerslams Titus as Titus slingshots in. Cole kicks out Elgin’s leg and takes him over with a huracanrana and a leaping leg lariat. As Cole goes for a pescado, Ciampa rolls him up for one pin. Redwood rolls him up for two. Redwood log rolls his legs out. Ciampa lariats Redwood down. Titus and Ciampa exchange forearms. Elgin blind tags in. Elgin catches Titus off the second rope with a German suplex. Ciampa and Elgin form a makeshift team to beat down Titus. Ridge helps Titus out by giving Elgin a slingshot ace crusher. He kicks Titus a few times before Titus drops him back first on the top turnbuckle. He slams Ridge neck first across his knee for a pinfall. Titus sends Elgin and Ciampa to the floor. Elgin comes in and eats a boot and clothesline from Titus. Titus gives Elgin a super Sex Factor and rolls into a headscissors takedown on Ciampa. Titus hits a tope con hilo on Elgin and Ciampa. In the ring, Redwood gives Cole a sole butt and an enzugiri. Cole hits an enzugiri of his own. Redwood sends Cole over, and Cole DDT’s Titus on the ring apron. Cole enzuigiri’s Ridge as Redwood pitches him out. Redwood dives onto everyone but Elgin (who came back in the ring). Elgin hits an awesome twisting tope onto everyone. Elgin brings Cole back into the ring. Cole superkicks him to the floor. Ciampa blocks Cole’s superkick. He delivers Project Ciampa 2. Titus flies off the top to break the pin. Titus pins Ciampa and Elgin breaks the pin. Redwood drops Titus with a tornado DDT for two. Ridge superkicks Redwood as he comes off the ropes. Elgin lariats Ridge and eats a superkick from Cole. Cole brings Elgin to the second rope for the Panama Sunrise. Titus and Ciampa break the pin. Elgin powerbombs Ridge onto Ciampa and Titus on the floor. Elgin Alabama Slams Cole and Redwood simultaneously. He pins Cole and Redwood right after each other, getting the win at 14:40. That was a cool finish and a really fun match. Most everyone got a chance to show their stuff, though this was clearly the Michael Elgin show. And why not? He’s Canadian and the fans loved him. This was the usual fun spotfest you’d expect in a match like this. ***1/2

Davey Richards vs. Kenny King

A stalemate is reached with both men being cunning enough to evade their opponents moves. Richards goes for a Stretch Muffler causing King to quickly grab the bottom rope. King takes Richards over with a few armdrag variants. Richards lands a forearm and King angrily throws one back. They each lay in more forearms. Richards kicks King in the side. King comes out of the corner with a clothesline for one. Richards sends King to the floor. He punts King from the apron and then suicide dives onto him. In the ring, King grabs to ropes to break a modified Indian Death Lock from Richards. King sunset flips Richards in the corner for two. Richards goes out to chat with a fan. Back in the ring King backslides him for two. Richards hits a back elbow for two. King escapes and nails a spinwheel kick for two. Richards boots King as King flips out of the corner. King hits a spinebuster for two. King gets two with a Nothern Lights suplex. Richards gives King a flurry of kicks in the corner and a suplex for two. Richards kicks King’s leg out on the apron so he falls on it face first. Richards then doublestomps King chest first into the ring apron. Richards hits a Saito suplex for two. King quickly grabs the bottom rope as Richards goes for the ankle lock. King catches the alarm clock and suplexes Richards. King suplexes Richards to the floor. Richards side steps a pescado. King hits a tumbleweed senton off the apron. King shotgun knees Richards into the barricade. Once back in the ring, King is only able to score a two count. Richards victory rolls King for two. Richards transitions into the ankle lock. King escapes and pops up. He and Richards trade blows mid-ring, tiring themselves out. Richards catches King’s tornado kick and sits down into the ankle lock. King flips out of a Dragon Suplex attempt and hits a cartwheel kick. He German suplexes Richards. Richards escapes the Coronation and kicks King in the head. Both men recover slowly. King hits the Royal Flush for two. King misses a shooting star press. Richards places him up top. King fights Richards off. Richards runs up, but slips and carefully suplexes King with him. Richards goes back to the ankle lock. He grapevines the leg to trap King, and King has no choice but to tap out at 21:23. The botched super German suplex deflated the crowd’s reaction, and it was really annoying that Richards barely worked on King’s ankle before getting the win with the ankle lock. The hard work from King was there, but Richards certainly didn’t have his A game going into this bout. The storytelling was also off which caused this match to fall flat when compared to their match from “The Big Bang”. Overall a good match, but you’d expect better out of these two. ***1/4

The Bravado Brothers come out and claim they’re the best tag team of all time. The crowd is so vocally against them that I can barely understand what the Bravados are saying. What I do understand is that they point out Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole’s losing streak. O’Reilly and Cole come out to confront The Bravados. The Bravados suggest they take time off to recoup and make room for them. Cole says they’ve been on a losing streak because they have been stepping up to the best teams ROH has to offer, unlike the Bravados. Cole challenges them to a match right then and there. The Bravados refuse, but a brawl ensues when Cole insults the Bravados grandmother. The Bravados get taken down on the floor with a dive from Cole and a diving dropkick from Cole. Cole and O’Reilly stand tall to end the segment.

In Memory of “Sweet & Sour” Larry Sweeney
Colt Cabana vs. Delirious

Cabana covers Delirious in a Sweet & Sour shirt, so when the bell rings he runs around with the shirt on his head. Delirious goes to throw the shirt into the crowd, but Cabana grabs it and does it himself. Delirious is very upset at Cabana because he wanted to throw the shirt. Cabana grabs the mic. He says he doesn’t want to see people throwing shirts, Cabana says Sweeney liked to see people move. Delirious then challenges Cabana to a strut off. Both guys did a dance to “Don’t Bring Me Down” by ELO. Delirious’ Sweeney impression was far superior. As they argue over who won the strut off, they realize that referee Todd Sinclair also needs to participate. Sinclair is reluctant but when the music hits he does some strutting of his own. Cabana and Delirious strut with Sinclair to “More, More, More” by the Andrea True Connection. They dip Sinclair and drop him on the mat. Delirious and Cabana exchange waistlocks. Delirious pulls another shirt out of his kneepad. Delirious hold it over his head. Cabana goes for it, breaking the hold. Delirious gets an armdrag and slides under Cabana. Delirious finally throws it in the crowd after Sinclair slaps Cabana on the ass (Cabana did it to him earlier). Delirious fires up after being slapped a couple times. Cabana ducks his clothesline attempts which fires up Delirious even more. Cabana knocks him down with a clothesline easily. Cabana then hits a 12 Large Elbow for the pin at 8:05. This was a perfectly fitting tribute for Sweeney; fun from bell to bell. That’s exactly what Sweeney strived for in every match he was a part of. Both Cabana and Delirious pay their respects on the microphone. No rating for this match; that was not the point of this bout.

Backstage, Davey Richards extends the invitation for a rematch to Kenny King at anytime.

El Generico vs. Christopher Daniels

Truth Martini is in Daniels’ corner. Before the match, Truth warns Corino to stop disparaging Daniels’ good name. Generico runs out and immediately lays in punches and chops to Daniels. Daniels delivers an atomic drop only for Generico to hit a leg lariat. Generico hip tosses Daniels to the floor. Martini grabs his leg as he hits the ropes. Generico chases him ringside. He gets to Daniels and whips him into the barriacde. In the ring, Generico gets two with a crossbody. Generico slams his head against each of the corners. Daniels snaps Generico’s neck on the top rope. He follows up with a clothesline to the back of Generico’s neck. Daniels legsweeps Generico into a crossface. Generico escapes and throws chops. Daniels dumps him with a back suplex. Daniels tosses Generico to the floor. Daniels follows and lays in some boots. Martini gets in a few shots while Daniels distracts the referee. As Daniels pounds on Generico in the ring, he begins to fire up. Generico sends Daniels to the floor and flies out with an Asai moonsault. In the ring Generico hits the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Generico delivers a tornado DDT and gets two again. Daniels whips Generico chest first into the corner and drops him with a Death Valley Driver for two. Daniels transitions into the Koji Clutch. Generico blocks the Angel’s Wings with a backdrop. Daniels hits a palm stirke and enzuigiri. Generico blasts him with a yakuza kick in the corner. Daniels blocks a brainbuster attempt with the Angel’s Wings for two. Generico avoids the BME and suplexes Daniels into the corner. Martini tries to interfere but gets caught with a clothesline and a yakuza kick. Daniels evades another yakuza kick and puts Generico on the top rope. Generico pushes Daniels off. Daniels distracts the referee so Michael Elgin can attack Generico. Steve Corino runs out to take Elgin out. Generico avoids a super huracanrana. He yakuza kicks Daniels and hits the brainbuster for the pin at 15:10. Daniels’ new character seems to have breathed new life into him and he got a better chance to showcase that in this match moreso than last night. He’s easily a much more interesting character now that he has a clear motive. The interference cheapened Generico’s win slightly, but it still effectively set him up as a contender for the Television Championship down the line. ***1/4

Generico sees Corino and walks away, still distrusting of him. Who could blame him? Corino damn near killed him in 2010. With Corino all alone, the House of Truth pounces and leaves him laying in the ring.

ROH World Tag Team Championship
Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin vs. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)

An aggressive lock-up between Benjamin and Mark is broken cleanly by Benjamin in the corner. Benjamin gets the better of Mark, so he tags in Jay. Jay takes Benjamin down in a wristlock and stomps on his elbow. Jay fails two sunset flip attempts. Benjamin locks Jay in an armbar when Jay tries to reverse his sunset flip. Haas and Mark tag in once Jay escapes. A wristlock exchange ends with Haas forearm smashing Mark in the face. Jay tags in and hits a leg lariat for two. Haas German suplexes him. Benjamin tags in. Haas slingshots him onto Benjamin’s arms for a Samoan Drop. Benjamin suplexes Jay and Haas Vader Bombs him for two. Haas overhead suplexes Jay. Jay forearms Benjamin off the apron. Mark low blows Haas as the referee is tied up with Benjamin. This opens up the door for the Briscoes to isolate Haas in their corner. In the process, the Briscoes take Haas to the floor and Mark re-opens the would near his eye that he suffered from last night. This shortcoming allows Haas to finally tag in Benjamin after dropping Mark with an Angle Slam. Benjamin knocks down Jay with a backdrop. Mark evades one but eats a spinwheel kick. Benjamin lands a suplex for two. Benjamin German suplexes Mark. Jay drops Benjamin face first into the second turnbuckle. Haas drapes Mark on the ropes. He and Benjamin give Mark the Broken Arrow. Jay breaks up the pin attempt. The Briscoes nail Haas and Benjamin with stereo superkicks back-to-back and get a two count on Benjamin. Jay drops Benjamin with a Falcon Arrow. Mark hits a frog elbow for two. Mark grabs a tag belt while Jay distracts the referee. The All Night Express run out and grab the title from Mark. Haas spears Jay. Benjamin drops Mark with the Pay Dirt for the pin at 16:28. This fell short of their ninth anniversary contest but was still a worthwhile match. While the match in and of itself wasn’t spectacular, it served its purpose in building up the Briscoes and ANX Chicago Street Fight. ***

ROH World Championship
Eddie Edwards vs. Chris Hero

Hero enters to his old theme with the Larry Sweeney intro with pink and purple trunks to honor Sweeney. Shane Hagadorn and Sara Del Rey are in Hero’s corner. Chain wrestling on the mat leads to a stalemate. Hero cheap shots Edwards with a flurry of boots in the corner. Edwards and Hero trade chops mid-ring. Edwards blocks an elbow and lights up Hero with more chops. Hero escapes to the floor as Edwards tries putting on the Achilles Lock. Upon reentering, Hero chops Edwards in the corner and boots him in the face. Edwards chops Hero to the mat for two. Edwards dropkicks Hero to the apron. Hero rakes Edwards’ eyes. Hagadorn pulls Edwards down to the floor, allowing Hero to hit a sliding kick. Referee Todd Sinclair catches Hagadorn and Sara cheating and demands they go to the back. Edwards whips Hero into the barricades and yakuza kicks him into the crowd. Edwards suplexes Hero back to the ringside area. In the ring, Edwards suplexes Hero for two. Edwards boots him down in the corner. Hero stomps on Edwards’ arm as Edwards holds the top rope. Seizing the opening, Hero targets his attack on Edwards’ arm. Hero kicks Edwards multiple times in the head. Edwards fires back with chops. Hero elbows Edwards’ arm and kicks it away from him. Hero applies a Fujiwara armbar. Hero keeps on Edwards’ arm after the hold is broken. Hero applies a crossface chickenwing. Edwards throws Hero out of it and suplexes him into the corner. Edwards sends Hero to the floor with a top rope dropkick. Edwards Asai moonsaults to the floor. In the ring, Edwards doublestomps Hero for two. Edwards lays in a flurry of chops as Hero lay against the ropes. Hero responds with a yakuza kick and Edwards hits a running leg lariat. Edwards heads up top. Hero elbow smashes him down through a ringside table. When Edwards finally crawls back in the ring, Hero blasts him with the Cyclone Kick for two. Hero angrily delivers a piledriver and gets two again. Hero stretches out Edwards arm while cranking his neck. Edwards gets the ropes to break. Fighting on the apron leads to Edwards dropping Hero with a fisherman’s buster. Once both men recover in the ring, strikes are traded as they try to shake off their fatigue. Hero tags Edwards with rolling elbows while Edwards hits superkicks. Hero drops to his knee and Edwards hits another for two. Hero nails him with an elbow. He suplexes Edwards three times. Hero nails him with a rolling elbow for two. Edwards catches Hero with a kick as he heads up top. Edwards hits a super huracanrana and a lariat. He powerbombs Hero and turns him into the Achilles Lock. Shane Hagadorn and Sara Del Rey come out to distract the referee, allowing Claudio Castagnoli to run in and give Edwards the Ricola Bomb. Hero gets two. He goes for the Death Blow but Edwards rolls him up for two. Edwards rolls Hero into the Achilles Lock. Davey Richards runs out and fights Claudio to the backstage area. Edwards gets distracted and Hero rolls him up for two. Hero hits the KTFO for two. Edwards drops Hero with a reverse huracanrana. He follows up with the 2k1 Bomb for two. Edwards reapplies the Achilles Lock. He stomps on Hero’s head to knock him out. Sinclair calls for the bell at 37:12. Look no further than this match to see that these two are at the top of their games. While this is a nearly forty minute investment, it never dragged and felt like a worthwhile use of time. Hero effectively worked over Edwards’ arm, leading to Edwards using maneuvers that rarely used it. When Hero looked his most desperate, his partners in crime loaned a helping hand only for it to not work in the end. Richards nearly costing Edwards the match was a nice touch. Ultimately, if you’re a fan of these guys, you certainly need to check this match out. ****

Overall: Revolution: Canada is a step-up from the USA version of the show. The majority of the matches hit the three star mark or higher and the ones that didn’t served a purpose at the very least. Maybe some of the rematches didn’t live up to their predecessor, but they were in relatively good company. Between the title match, the six man mayhem, the tribute to Larry Sweeney and a strong undercard, Revolution: Canada gets a solid recommendation.