ROH On HDNet Recap 5/24/10

ROH On HDNet Recap 5/24/10

Eddie Edwards makes his first TV Title defence against Colt Cabana, Eddie Kingston & The Necro Butcher battle The Embassy, and we get a sneak-peak at Supercard of Honor V footage.
– Apologies this recap took longer than usual, I've only just managed to find the show online. I also take back what I've said about ROH jamming large numbers of vignettes and pre-taped promos into recent episodes to kill time, I realise now that the snowstorm that cancelled one of the tapings has forced them to stretch three episodes into six. Scheduling more tapings sooner than they did might have been a better solution, but I don't run a company, so I can't really comment.
– Admin aside,  on with the show!
Pre-Show:
– Highlights of all things Necro Butcher over the last two months, from his suspension to reinstatement and everything in-between. If you've read spoilers for upcoming shows this feud is going to just irritate you for the next few weeks… well, more than it probably did already.
Opening titles!
– We start off with a Joey Ryan promo… check your Nostrodamas, this may be a harbinger of the apocalypse. Joey is going to take out Eddie Kingston tonight on behalf of the Embassy.
– Kingston fires back with a promo of his own stating he wants revenge for being put through a table in New York (8^th Anniversary Show, not Supercard V)
– Match 1: Joey Ryan vs. Eddie Kingston
Pre-Match Thoughts: I love me some Joey Ryan as you can probably tell from my past comments on him. I also like Kingston, so I look forward to this match as two underrated guys get to do battle. Simple maths tells me one of them has to end up looking good, so let's have at it.
The Match: Kingston won't wait for his introduction to finish and immediately begins fisticuffs with Joey, knocking him down a few times and then taking him to the corner for a chop-fest. Big clotheslines by Kingston and then a bridging northern lights suplex. Joey fights back a little with punches but gets caught and Eddie hits a double arm belly to belly suplex. He looks to end it early with the Backfist to the Future but Joey ducks and hits a high-speed spinning neckbreaker. Joey goes into cruise control and hits Kingston with knees, stomps and punches as Dave Prazak puts over Shawn Daivari joining ROH and the Embassy. And now we're talking about Rasche Brown as Joey stands on Eddie's face. Mild interference from Nana, that scoundrel. Kingston swings at the ref in what I hope was blind confusion and then gets pummelled back down to the mat by Ryan. Decent dropkick from Joey and then some taunting the fans who respond with a chant I shouldn't repeat. Face manipulation! Embassy taunt. More punches. Kingston finally regains control by reversing an irish whip into an arm capture belly to belly suplex (Taz style). He looks to put Ryan away with the Backdrop Driver but eats a jawbreaker instead. Joey goes for the Superkick but instead has his head knocked off with a lariat. That'll be it though as Shawn Daivari hits the ring to cause a disqualification. A 4-on-1 beatdown ensues but Necro saves the day and chases the Embassy away with a trash can.
Winner: Eddie Kingston via Disqualification (Daivari Interference)
Post-Match Thoughts: Neither of them really got going, so my sarcastic simple maths joke was wrong. Why doesn't Joey Ryan do any moves in ROH? If I didn't know him for his work in PWG I would think he is a terrible wrestler, and that makes me worry that the more casual ROH fans think precisely that. Kingston busted out three nice suplexes, but looked pretty gassed, or was overselling.
– Jim Cornette suggests we have a Butcher's Rules tag match… and so we will!
– Match 2 – Eddie Kingston & Necro Butcher vs. Joey Ryan & Shawn Daivari
Pre-Match Thoughts: I'm curious to see how Daivari does in his in-ring debut, but I also hope it doesn't go too long due to Necro's notoriously bad quality-to-quantity ratio.
The Match: Things get started with the Embassy getting tossed into the barricades. Necro makes a wish and then splits Daivari's legs between the ring post, which is always fun I imagine. Trash can to the head of Joey Ryan followed by the unnecessary plastic bag over the head… aaaand then a body slam into the front row. Meanwhile back in the ring Daivari gets planted with a uranage from Kingston who looks dog-tired at this point. Airplane spin on the floor by Necro! Ernesto Osiris involves himself in the match and Eddie thanks him with a headbutt, but this is all the distraction Daivari needed to punt Kingston south of the border for the sudden victory.
Winners: Shawn Daivari & Joey Ryan via Pinfall (Low Blow)
Post-Match Thoughts: This seemed a bit pointless to me as the Embassy got completely dominated until the low blow which seemed an anticlimactic finish. Daivari didn't get a chance to showcase himself even a tiny bit and once again it was an example of shoving Necro down our throats until we get behind him. Sorry ROH, but that's never happening with me.
– The Embassy continue to beat the pair down after the match is over until Rasche Brown slowly enters the arena to a nice little pop. Given how much Prazak is putting over him joining the Embassy I think we can safely say… no, he has not joined. Skull-Crusher cleans house, dishing out the nastiest hip toss I've ever seen on Osiris. Joey and Daivari get off lightly with some punches as the Embassy bail and the faces stand tall.
– Kyle Durden has no idea why he's interviewing Steve Corino, but he is anyway. Corino = Ratings (according to Corino). He calls Colt Cabana a loser and underlines the idea that he shouldn't have stood up for El Generico and promises to make his life miserable.
– Hog and Prazak offer their thoughts on the TV Title Match in the main event before taking us to extended highlights and exclusive interviews from Supercard of Honor V, and then show us what happened between Roderick Strong and Austin Aries last week.
– Next Episode: Austin Aries vs Tyler Black (non-title)
– A-Double Promo Alert! Aries repeats that he isn't bothered about being the champion for the time-being due to what he's already accomplished in his career. Aries runs down Tyler and Roddy and has a good laugh about how much he enjoys messing with the pair and watching them fight.
– Main Event – ROH TV Title Match – Colt Cabana vs Eddie Edwards (C)
Pre-Match Thoughts: Why are we having this match? Hog already said Colt will win! Seriously though, after weeks of seeing footage of Edwards capturing the TV Title to become the first champion we finally get to see him defend it on television. Edwards won the belt as a face but will likely defend it as a heel as nobody gets more cheers than Colt, who will likely give Eddie a great match. I look for Edwards to look strong in his first defence.
The Match: Super Special Ring Introductions! Colt goes to the arm early and takes Edwards down. They battle for position as Cabana goes for a pair of quick pins. Edwards goes to the arm himself now but Colt's unorthodox chain wrestling returns the advantage to the Chicago native. A vicious back elbow puts him down however and Edwards asserts himself with a few stomps. Colt will have none of it however and begins his trademark punching sequence as well as a leaping clothesline. He looks for the Flying Apple but Edwards sidesteps and guides him as he crashes into the turnbuckles in an ugly fashion. Typical kick 'em while they're down sequence. AMERICAN WOLVES! Edwards tosses Colt outside, follows him and hits a vertical suplex on the floor. Basic chinlock back in the ring and then a body slam. Eddie heads up top. This'll end well. Hey, what do you know? Huge superplex brings him down the hard way. Edwards sidesteps Cabana and he spills to the outside again. Elbow Suicina! Edwards back to the top rope as Colt lays motionless in the middle of the ring. Luckily for Colt, Eddie was going for the stupidest heel move in history, leaping onto Colt's outstretched foot and taking a shot to the mouth. Cabana nails Eddie repeatedly on the apron and then rams his arm into the ring post before hitting a springboard shoulder tackle to knock him down and out. Big falling splash from the apron from Colt. Cabana misses a dive from the top rope but rolls through and evades Edwards' charge and rolls him up for a close pin attempt. Jab! Jab! Jab! Jab! Bionic Elbow! Flying Apple! Surprisingly big clothesline! Edwards comes back with his running knee strike and both men are down. Colt heads to the turnbuckles but the American Wolves are masters of the rope-assisted jumping enzuigiri and Cabana finds out the hard way before getting drilled with the Back-Pack Stunner. Achilles Lock attempt! Colt kicks his way free but Edwards kills him with a running kick to the chest. Back up top we go and Edwards misses a flying dropkick. Billy Goat's Curse! Steve Corino is on the apron! Colt is distracted and gets rolled up but manages to kick out. He knocks Corino off the apron and Shane Hagadorn slides the TV Title into the ring. Edwards hits a shinbreaker onto the belt and then locks in the Achilles Lock and this one is over!
Winner: Eddie Edwards via Submission (Achilles Lock)
Post-Match Thoughts: A fine match, nothing special. Firstly, Edwards has come down with Davey Richards syndrome and can't decide if he's heel or face. I know that Davey doesn't believe in heel/face dynamics, but that doesn't work out so well if you're overtly heel one minute and overtly face the next. It works if you're neutral, not if you flip-flop. Edwards didn't cut any corners until the end and he hit the big suicide dive, which made him seem like a face, but then he cheated to get the win thanks to outside help and a foreign object, which made him seem like a heel. Also, I hate that Edwards basically coasted through the tournament thanks to outside interference and then in his first defence he requires more help!
– Cabana and Corino brawl after the match but Kevin Steen saves his mentor from the utter destruction that is the Flying Apple and drags him to the back as we fade to black.
– Overall: I'm torn. Objectively, this wasn't a great show. But I know why it wasn't a great show, and it's mostly beyond ROH's control, so I feel harsh criticising them for it. Still, the first two matches were quite dull, and the main event had a lacklustre ending. This Necro/Embassy feud is threatening to swallow the show whole at this rate, and the Embassy seems to be filling its ranks with dull wrestlers in the process. Austin Aries' story right now is confusing at best as he's killing time playing around with Roddy & Tyler until Delirious returns. I'm just a bit concerned that we've done this feud already. Finally, Eddie Edwards just does not look strong right now. He can only ride the momentum of a clean win over Davey for so long. They need to give him some legit wins over people pronto or he's just going to look like a chump, and worse still, the TV Title won't justify the weeks of television it took to set-up.
– All of this being said, good things are on the horizon, and I'm eagerly anticipating next show's main event, as well as the continued march towards Death Before Dishonor VIII, so hopefully we can put this sub-par run of shows behind us and move brightly into the future.
– That future is a little further away than usual unfortunately, as the show is being pre-empted next week, but never fear, it will return in force the week after, so I will see you for the June 7^th Recap!