Tonight, the Austin Aries/Delirious war comes to a violent end inside the confines of a steel cage. Meanwhile, The Embassy battle the Dark City Fight Club, plus Colt Cabana and Sara Del Rey are in action. All this and more this week on ROH On HDNet!
Quick Results
– The Embassy defeated The Dark City Fight Club after Stevens hit Ghanarhea after a Nana distraction to Kory Chavis.
– Colt Cabana made Jay Freddie tap out to the Billy Goat’s Curse. After the match Steve Corino attempted to attack with a fork but was run off.
– Sara Del Rey made Taeler Hendrix tap out with a Cross Armbreaker, demanding more competition.
– Delirious made Austin Aries tap out to the Cobra Stretch in a cage match. After the match the All-Night Express hit a pair of spike piledrivers to severely injure Delirious.
Full Results
– We get the same hype video for the cage match as last week. Remember people, two men will enter… but here’s the kicker, only ONE will leave! Holy Zombie-Jesus, I’m hooked! Cue titles damn it!
Match 1 – Tag Team Match
The Embassy vs. The Dark City Fight Club
Preview: It upsets me that Stevens and Necro won’t be able to hit the GFD (Grizzly Face Destroyer) on either of these men – unless Erick’s been hitting the gym HARD lately – but hey, I’m not opposed to seeing these four wail on each other for a few minutes. Just try and keep it around five minutes please guys.
Recap: DCFC interupted Nana as he tried to cut a promo to start the match, so he decides to carry on after they get to the ring to try and distract them so that Stevens and Necro can jump them from behind, but Chavis & Davis see it coming and we head straight into brawl around ringside mode. The Fight Club whip Stevens into the corner, avalanche him, and then hit their backbreaker/jumping leg drop combo. Davis hits a powerslam on Stevens but Necro gets into it with him and causes a distraction. Erick recovers and throws Davis between the ropes and right into a right hook! I appreciate the effort, but it’s not the same if it’s not a midget being launched over the top. T-Bone suplex from Stevens reminds us he’s strong, and face manipulation from Necro reminds us he’s not a traditional wrestler. Having said that, he hits a nice swinging neckbreaker right afterwards. Ernesto Osiris botches throwing Necro some sort of small weapon but he recovers it and nails Davis with it for a two count. Stevens goes to work on the back with elbows and knees and tries to follow up with a vertical suplex, but Davis reverses and hits one of his own. Necro prevents a tag and then the Embassy hit the weakest Hart Attack ever for two. They work the gut as well for a bit and then Stevens hits a back suplex and locks in a bearhug. Leg lariat out of nowhere from Davis allows a hot tag to Chavis who gets his clothesline on. Sky high on Stevens for a close fall. Davis launches himself over the top rope onto Necro to wipe him out as Chavis hits a side blue thunder bomb. They hit a spinning sweep and spinning clothesline in stereo and Davis goes back to the outside with Necro. Chavis knocks Nana off the apron and that’s all Stevens needs to hit Ghanarhea. Bye bye.
Winners: The Embassy via Pin-Fall (Ghanarhea)
Review: Well, they got too close to that ten minute mark for my liking. Stevens is in much better shape after losing wait and getting a regular person haircut and fancier gear… but without that extra bulk he seems far more pedestrian. Maybe it’s because he’s been stuck working against Grizzly or three guys that are bigger than him, but I remember when this guy used to be able to go, and now it’s just the same stuff from the Embassy as before. The match never got hot, and it was the same ending as Glory by Honor. Ghanarhea looked brutal though, and I have to believe it’s laying the groundwork for a Jimmy Rave return, as his recent interview seems to support.
– Highlights of last week’s lumberjack match transition to an interview with Austin Aries and Kyle Durden. A-Double talks about how Delirious has refused to just let it go, so tonight in the steel cage, a match he knows very well, the blood will be on Delirious’ hands.
Match 2 – Singles Match
Colt Cabana vs. Jay Freddie
Preview: Jay Freddie, the jobber that won’t die. Cabana’s not in a bloodbath with Steerino this week, so it must be time for him to do his schtick with a jobber and make him tap after 2 minutes of odd takedowns and pin attempts.
Recap: Colt… sits down. He trips Freddie as he approaches but stays where he is. He catches the foot of Freddie, taps his other leg along a little until he’s almost in the splits, stands up, and pie-faces Freddie over. Colt brushes off a chop and then destroys Freddie with a double-handed one of his own. Bionic elbow. Billy Goat’s Curse.
Winner: Colt Cabana via Submission (Billy Goat’s Curse)
Review: Told ya. Colt’s funny, and he’s always good for a unique sequence or two in every match, but come on… this lasted all of 60 seconds and was almost a carbon copy of his match against Alex Anthony.
– After the match Steve Corino attacks from behind with a fork, but Colt cuts him off and ends up in possession of it and chases him off into the crowd.
– Highlights now of Glory by Honor and Kevin Kelly interviewing fans as they waited to go inside. The match footage looks better here than it did at the event… which makes me wonder if they had the HD cameras in the building but didn’t use them, which would be depressing. I liked this visual at the end of the video though:
Sara Del Rey to wrestle next, but not before we get another replay of Davey saying he’s here to stay. Maybe my memory isn’t what it used to be, but I’m pretty sure they shot this twice and have used the second version to recap, because he said things a little differently than I remember.
Match 3 – Women of Honor Match
Sara Del Rey vs. Taeler Hendrix
Preview: That girl spells her name weird… Well, Death Rey’s going to kill her as ROH continues the storyline they started a few months ago of trying to slowly build up the ladies in the company to give Del Rey & Haze some competition. Seems like we’re heading towards an ROH womens title.
Recap: Is it depressing that the WWE United States Champion and Sara Del Rey share the same entrance music? I know, I know, he helped train her and they’re tight before anyone jumps down my throat. Sara kills Hendrix right away with the rolling Liger kick and then hits a vicious backbreaker. She heads to the apron and kicks Tae… I refuse to type her first name again… she kicks Hendrix repeatedly. Hendrix eventually hits a stunner and a pair of kicks. She heads to the second rope and tries a flying axe handle but… wow. Death Rey kicks her out of the air. Cross Armbreaker. Tap out.
Winner: Sara Del Rey via Submission (Cross Armbreaker)
Review: I walk away from this match with one question on my mind: who would win in a match between Sara Del Rey and Alberto Del Rio?
Next week: Roderick Strong & The House of Truth vs. Christopher Daniels & The Briscoes
Main Event – Steel Cage Match
Austin Aries vs. Delirious
Preview: This feud started out pretty strong, but I wasn’t a fan of the second half of it, especially the lumberjack match, but I have very high hopes for the cage match. ROH doesn’t often bring out the cage, and for the most part when they do they make it special, though Brent Albright and Claudio tried their best to wreck that last year.
Recap: A-Double takes his time during his entrance and we soon find out why as he suddenly runs at Daizee and grabs her by the hair. Delirious rescues her by opening the door into Aries and then orders her to leave. He slams Aries’ head into the cage a few times and then tosses him into the ring and locks the door from the inside. They stand toe to toe and Delirious wins a punch exchange, knocking Aries down with clotheslines. Delirious no-sells Aries’ offence and then whips him into the corner. A-Double attempts the Flair apron sequence but gets a little caught in the cage, so Delirious obliterates him with a running headbutt to the gut. Panic Attack! Another! A third! He sets up Shadows Over Hell but decides to go to the top of the cage instead! Aries cuts him off though and tosses him down, hanging his neck on the top rope on the way down. Double axe handle from the top rope from Aries. He hurls Delirious face first into the cage twice and then stops to pose. Delirious tries to recover on the apron but Aries creams him with the running dropkick to the back, smashing him into the cage. Delirious is bleeding beneath the mask so Aries goes to work on his head. Body slam! Aries follows with the running elbow drop for two and then goes back to working Delirious’ face against the cage. Delirious comes back with a back body drop into the cage to buy time and then for some reason throws headbutts despite his bleeding forehead. Kneeling flatliner gets two. He tosses Aries into the cage a few times and then goes for the Cobra Stretch, but Aries throws him into the cage and hits his shinbreaker/suplex combo. Knee strikes! Last Chancery! Delirious bites his way free though. Brainbuster is countered and Delirious hits a huge Cobra Suplex! Panic Attack! Cobra Stretch! The All-Night Express run down to the ring and Delirious knocks them down as they attempt to climb inside. Aries and Delirious end up fighting on the top rope… Cobra Stretch on the top of the cage! Tap out!
Winner: Delirious via Submission (Cobra Stretch)
Review: A cage match wherein the participants actually use the cage is a win in my book. This was a fitting end to their rivalry as Delirious finally got his redemption for being injured all those months ago. They didn’t set the world alight, but there was enough action here to more than satisfy a free-TV audience.
The door opens after the match and immediately King & Titus storm in and beat Delirious down. Spike piledriver! Aries demands they do it again and they do so. Brutal, brutal, brutal. Aries to camera “And now… it’s over.” The terrible trio pose together and then leave as referees arrive to check on an unconscious Delirious. That’ll do it for this week folks!
Final Thoughts: A top heavy show this week, as the Embassy tag match was exactly what you’d expect, namely forgettable, and Colt Cabana won his match in about a minute before running Corino off. This is to help build for their upcoming match in Chicago that Cabana promises to be the end of their mini-feud. Fair enough.
Then the second half saw Del Rey murdering a girl with a silly name, and a pretty good cage match in the main event. Do these two matches cancel out the first two? Nearly. Does the post-match injury angle make you forget about the first two matches? Yes, yes it does. One spike piledriver put Jerry Lynn out for about 8 months, so the use of two on Delirious really puts over that he won’t be around for the indefinite future. I personally hope he only stays off shows while he settles into the role of booker, because I enjoy his work and would be sad if this was the end of Delirious in ROH. Watching him in Chikara is fine, but ROH is his true home and he’s one of the longest tenured guys at this point, so he’s all the more important to the company in my opinion.
A decent enough show, and I look forward to the 6-man tag next week, so that’ll do it from me this week everybody.
Hoping that the column I wrote this week about ROH and TNA was the last time I was going to compare the two companies this week in my head is sadly not going to happen. I can’t fathom how the fans are supposed to take Colt Cabana seriously enough to want to pay to see him beat up Corino when they see this goofy guy on TV. Granted the main ROH fans are into him, but are the new fans that hopefully grow from the show taking Cabana as a contender or just that schmuck who got kicked outta WWE after being jobbed to Khali and Vladimir? These squash matches don’t do anything for me and I doubt they do anything for the casual fan in terms of relaying that he’s one of the most savvy wrestlers in ROH in terms of the his use of several different styles. I have to liken this to the the TNA low of one minute showcasing Abyss laughing and smiling at a fan meet n greet and the next basically committing several felonies and looking like he was going to rape two men. It’s stupid and though I agree that comedy is needed, is it really getting over the fact that the issue between Corino and Cabana is something worth spending my hard earned dollar on?Other then that the gf and I really enjoyed the show as the cage match did what it was supposed to do and the rest of the show was just there. That tag team match opener though kinda didn’t work out the way I think they wanted it to, but I could just be too critical of it and just too jaded on the Embassy meaning nothing right now.
If they really want to build the ROH womens division they need to let them go for longer than 5 minutes. Also, display more woman than just Del Ray. That or just try to get SHIMMER a TV deal……
Did Prazak pay you to say that? On a side note I do feel that ROH should have a tad more Shimmer match ups in their show if they are going to “develop” a women’s division.
I think they’re trying to brand it as an ROH womens division though, carefully select who they bring in, rather than just use half of the Shimmer roster on rotation. I don’t know much about Shimmer, but Daizee isn’t that high up on the totem pole, right? Her man being the booker of ROH or not, she’s going to be focal in ROH.