October 9th, 2009 in Collinsville
Kevin Steen cuts a promo backstage about losing the Ladder War against the American Wolves. It’s a quality promo that foreshadows Steen’s new direction nicely.
Jim Cornette makes his way to the ring. He thanks the crowd and puts over ROH. He cuts a morale-boosting promo stating that ROH will deliver the wrestlers that fans want to see.
Opening Match: Kevin Steen vs. Roderick Strong
Strong uses his agility to catch Steen with a leg lariat. He follows with a running forearm from the apron. Steen blocks a charge and connects with a middle rope dropkick along with a cannonball in the corner. Strong lands a crossbody but his momentum is stopped with a neckbreaker. Strong hits a falcon arrow followed by a dropkick. Steen answers with a rope-assisted DDT but finds knees on a swantan attempt. Steen catches Strong with a powerbomb and locks in a sharpshooter. Strong makes the ropes and hits a gutbuster. Steen finds himself in the Stronghold but he is able to power out. Strong connects with a running yakuza kick but Steen responds with the package piledriver. Steen reverses the pin attempt into a crucifix for the win at 10:21. This was the ideal opener in that the crowd had recognizable faces to get behind and the match was nicely paced. If you watch Steen closely during the contest, you can really start to appreciate his characterization. He’s clearly not being his usual self but he’s not overdoing it. Good way to start the show. ***
Match #2: MsChif vs. Nicole Matthews
MsChif takes it to Matthews early on and adds some screams here and there. Matthews roars back with a clothesline and hits a backbreaker. She follows with a dropkick and a neckbreaker. MsChif snaps off a northern lights suplex and adds a standing moonsault. Matthews hits a fisherman suplex followed by a nice german suplex. MsChif finds an opening to hit the Desecrator for the victory at 6:43. In a nutshell, this was an inoffensive SHIMMER showcase on a ROH show. That’s really all you can ask for. **
Austin Aries comes out for the Austin Aries Lucky Lottery. He pulls out the first name…Daizee Haze. Her and Delirious make their way to the ring. Delirious says that he wants a title shot but Austin Aries just doesn’t think that’s possible. Jim Cornette interrupts and makes the Aries/Delirious title match official for tonight.
Match #3: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Colt Cabana vs. Petey Williams vs. Ace Steel
Claudio slaps everyone with his glove, so they team up on him. Petey pretends that he’s a Second City Saint, causing Cabana and Steel to turn on him. Claudio comes back with a double clothesline but gets met with some bionic elbows. Everyone trades rollups. Claudio connects with a bicycle kick on Petey and takes control of the match. Cabana hits the flying asshole on Claudio and adds a running forearm. He follows with a springboard moonsault onto Petey and Steel. Claudio catches Cabana with the UFO but falls victim to a DDT from Petey. Steel returns the favor by laying out Petey with a DDT of his own. Petey hits Claudio with a slingshot lungblower and follows with the Canadian Destroyer on Cabana. Claudio stops Todd Sinclair from counting to three. Steel lands a missile dropkick on Petey. Claudio takes the opportunity to hit Steel with the Ricola Bomb for the win at 7:42. Sometimes these four corner survivals just feel like Pearce has nothing better to do with the participants. This match meets the previous description perfectly. While fun at times, this ended up being pretty ordinary. **
Match #4: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Josh Raymond and Christian Able
Raymond eye pokes Jay and pays for it by being on the receiving end of a punch. The Briscoes chop Able in the corner and biel him across the ring. They rock Raymond with a shoulder tackle. Truth Martini stops Mark from springboarding and Raymond catches him with a leg lariat. The House of Truth work over Mark. There’s a great hope spot where it looks like Mark is going to make the tag, but Martini pulls Jay off the apron. Mark overhead suplexes Raymond and finally makes the hot tag. Jay connects with a dropkick on Able along with a yakuza kick on Raymond. He flatlines Able into the turnbuckles and spinebusters Raymond. Able hits an alabama slam on Jay while Raymond lands a moonsault to the floor on Mark. Able lays out Jay with almost a cutthroat suplex for a nearfall. Jay comes back with a german suplex and Mark adds a middle rope ace crusher. Raymond lands his shooting star press on Mark. Martini stops another double team move from the Briscoes. The House of Truth hit an assisted DDT on Mark. Jay connects with a clothesline on Able and a superkick on Raymond. He sends Martini to the floor. The Briscoes hit a spike Jay Driller on Raymond for the win at 14:41. This match went a long way to legitimize the House of Truth and establish them as a permanent fixture in ROH. They got in a wealth of offense and hung with the Briscoes for fifteen minutes. I wasn’t blown away by the match as I just don’t think the two teams meshed well. However, if you’re a fan of the House of Truth, look to this contest as the point where they started to break out in ROH. **¾
Match #5: Davey Richards vs. Kenny Omega
They go right after each other with yakuza kicks and forearms. They continue with some chain wrestling until Richards starts utilizing his kicks. Omega spin kicks him to the floor and follows out with a moonsault. Back in, Richards catches Omega with a dropkick off a flying crossbody attempt. Richards yakuza kicks Omega into the crowd and takes control back in the ring. Omega makes his comeback with a hurricanrana followed by his stop enzuigiri. He adds a springboard moonsault but Richards answers with an Alarm Clock variation. Richards lands a diving headbutt but can’t lock in a texas cloverleaf. Omega hits his leaping bulldog. They trade forearms and kicks. Omega wins the exchange and hits a 2k1 bomb. Richards blocks a charge and suplexes Omega to the floor. In the ring, Richards connects with his handspring kick. They battle up top and Richards narrowly avoids a super Croyt’s Wrath. Omega falls victim to a top rope german suplex. Richards hits a german suplex for a two count and synchs in a texas cloverleaf. Omega makes the ropes. Richards finds knees on a shooting star press attempt and Omega hits a reverse hurricanrana followed by a dragon suplex for a nearfall. Omega hits the Hadouken but Richards counters a pin attempt into a texas cloverleaf. Omega turns it into a small package for a two count. Richards comes back with the Alarm Clock. He tries for the DR Driver but Omega catches him with a small package for the victory at 20:29. These two worked together really well, as you could imagine. They had some nice exchanges early on and the finishing stretch featured some genuine nearfalls and a lot of excitement. The one aspect that stopped this match from becoming great was the crowd’s disconnect with Omega. It’s safe to assume that at least part of the crowd will support Richards regardless of his opponent. However, Omega’s Hadouken down the stretch was met with utter silence and even some boos. That wouldn’t have been the case in PWG. Heck, that might not have been the case at a ROH event in New York. For some reason, the Collinsville crowd wasn’t into Omega and it stopped this match from reaching a higher level. Still, don’t look past this encounter as it is definitely something worth checking out. ***¾
Match #6: Kenny King and Rhett Titus vs. Matt and Nick Jackson
Matt and Titus trade control of a wristlock. The Young Bucks do their usual arm work on Titus and showcase their double teaming. King catches Matt and whips him into the barricade. The heels work him over until King’s shotgun knees backfire and he makes the tag. Nick dropkicks Titus off the apron and the Young Bucks hit their neckbreaker-backbreaker combination on King. King catches Nick with the Royal Flush but Matt breaks up the pin attempt. Rhett hits the Sex Factor from the top on Nick while Matt superkicks King. Everyone is down. The Young Bucks hit More Bang for Your Buck on King. Immediately after, Titus is able to sneak in a rollup on Matt for the win at 10:05. Standard tag team match that didn’t have much heat behind it. I liked their match back at Manhattan Mayhem III significantly better as it was an energetic opener that had the crowd invested. While the rematch featured some decent action, it didn’t stack up to the original encounter. **
Match #7: Tyler Black vs. Chris Hero
Hero catches Black with a roaring elbow early on. Hero continues to work over the neck but Black answers with aggression in the form of stomps. Black misses a moonsault off the apron so Hero elbows him into the barricade. Hero distracts the referee and Shane Hagadorn gets some shots in. I mention this because Hagadorn wisely focuses on Black’s neck with his interference. Hero takes control back in the ring. Black ducks an elbow and connects with a pele kick. He dropkicks Hagadorn and lands a standing shooting star press on Hero. Black falls victim to more elbows but comes back with a flying elbow drop. Hero misses his flash kick but connects with a roaring elbow. Black hits a springboard lariat followed by the bucklebomb. They trade chops. Black counters the Deathblow with God’s Last Gift for the win at 16:45. I liked the idea of Hero working over opponent’s necks. With all of the elbows he does already, it allows him to showcase his cravate-based moves as well. They did some cool sequences and changed things up to make the match more enjoyable. I don’t know why the crowd became so dead, but it didn’t hurt this match as much due to both men’s creativity. ***½
Match #8: ROH World Title: Austin Aries © vs. Delirious
Aries attacks from behind with a lariat but Delirious answers with kicks in the corner. Delirious clotheslines Aries to the floor but Aries uses Daizee Haze to stop a dive. Aries gets tossed into the barricade multiple times and Delirious connects with a flying clothesline back in the ring. The action goes into the crowd and Delirious hits a suplex on the floor. Aries responds with a neckbreaker across the middle rope and takes over. Delirious catches him coming off the tope with a headbutt and hits a senton. He follows with repetitive lariats in the corner. Aries back drops him to the floor but the heat seeking missile is blocked. Aries pushes Delirious off the top and connects with a flying double axe handle. Delirious works in the judo throw and locks in a cobra stretch. Aries powers out but gets sent to the floor with a knee strike. Delirious follows out with a flying crossbody. In the ring, Aries synchs in the Last Chancery and tries to transition into a brainbuster but Delirious counters with a here it is driver. Aries connects with his corner dropkick but Delirious responds with a swinging neckbreaker. Out of nowhere, Aries levels Haze on the outside with a heat seeking missile. Delirious goes out to check on her, allowing Aries to hit a brainbuster on the floor. Delirious makes it back into the ring at nineteen. He hits the Panic Attack and goes back to the cobra stretch. Aries reverses into the Last Chancery but Delirious counters back into a cobra stretch. Delirious hits a cobra clutch suplex. He goes for Shadows Over Hell but Aries catches him with a kick. Aries hits a brainbuster to retain his title at 21:04. Matches like this need to happen more in ROH. Delirious is someone who normally wouldn’t be considered a contender for the title, at least not in 2009. They did a few segments on the video wires hyping him up and he looked like he belonged during the match itself. The fact that he lost has no significance. It’s the fact that Delirious came off as more legitimate that matters. Similar things could be done with guys like Kenny King or Eddie Kingston. They didn’t necessarily blow me away here, but this was a fun main event and a fresh match at the very least. ***¼
Overall: Clash of the Contenders is a show that ROH needed to have following the departures of Danielson and McGuinness. The roster just went out there and showed that they can still deliver on quality matches. Strong and Steen work a smart opener while Richards/Omega and Hero/Black come through. The show also helped build talent that we normally don’t see heavily showcased such as the House of Truth and Delirious. There might not be anything essential on this show. However, it gave me some renewed hope in ROH and some quality matches to boot.
