More great matches from Ring of Honor’s first year on HDNet!
-ROH World Heavyweight Championship: Jerry Lynn (champion) vs. Chris Hero (w/Shane Hagadorn and Sara Del Rey)(Episode 13)
Interesting to note Jerry Lynn’s two best title defenses came on HDNet. This was just before Hero went to the short tights. Feeling out process. Lynn with a quick roll-up for two. Crossbody into another two count. Armdrag into an armbar. Hero goes for a bodyslam but Lynn out of it. Off the ropes and a headscissors. Right back to the armdrag into an armbar. Into the corner. Hero goes for an elbow. Lynn ducks. Hero misses a charge. Lynn monkey flips Hero. Hero lands on his feet. Off the ropes and Lynn gets a headscissors. Shoulder tackle by Hero on the apron. Lynn sends Hero into the buckle head first. Dropkick off the apron. Back in the ring. Irish whip. Hero pulls the champion by the hair and drives him down. Running boot to the side of the head. Lynn’s head into the boot. Chop in the corner. Choking. Del Rey chokes Lynn as Todd Sinclair admonishes Chris Hero. Elbow shot. Lynn up and over into a roll-up for two. Off the ropes. Big boot by Hero. Elbow shot. Chop. Lynn reverses a whip and sends Hero into the top turnbuckle. Roll-up. Hero kick to the head. Stomps. Chinlock. Shots to the midsection by Lynn. Hero with an elbow. Fist to the face. Off the ropes. Lynn drives Hero down again. Shoulder tackles. Hero sends Lynn off. Big clothesline. Lynn runs into a boot. Hero on the top rope. Lynn hits a bulldog. Two count. Cradle piledriver attempt. Del Rey distracts the referee. Hagadorn pulls the champion’s leg. Hero misses a sliding dropkick. Cannonball dive off the apron. Knee to the midsection by Hero. Hero uses an elbow leaping off the barricade. Hero pulls up the floor mats and wraps Lynn in them. Running senton misses. Back in the ring. Cradle piledriver. Jockey for the advantage. Lynn goes for a TKO. Hero out and hits an elbow to the back of the champion’s head. Roaring elbow ducked. Lynn hits an inverted DDT for a long two count. Springboard flatliner. 1-2-NO! Whip in the corner reversed. Elbow strike to the side of the head. Hero to the top. Lynn hits a headbutt. Lynn falls to the floor. Hero sort of falls back in the ring. Hagadorn sends Lynn in the ring. Hero covers and nearly gets three. Hero goes for a cradle piledriver. Roaring elbow by Lynn. Cradle piledriver attempt. Roaring elbow by Hero. Hangmen’s elbow. 1-2-NOOO! Hero puts on his lucky elbow pad (not loaded at all). Lynn hooks a small package and gets the three count before Hero can use the pad.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL ROH World Champion- Jerry Lynn/14:34/***1/2
-Jerry Lynn’s title reign was not very good, but this was a very good title defense. I think the problem was a lot of Ring of Honor fans accepted Lynn as a solid veteran but didn’t like the idea of Lynn holding the world title. It showed a lot here as it felt like a majority of the crowd was rooting for Hero to actually win.
-Austin Aries comes from behind to hit Lynn in the back of the head with the championship to set up future events.
-Kenny King (w/Rhett Titus and random bimbos) vs. Kenny Omega (Episode 14)
The girls who accompany King and Titus are dressed rather provocatively. They show what happened four weeks previous as Omega rolled up King for a victory. Basic to start. Omega hits a spin kick that sends King to the floor. Omega bounces off the ropes but misses a dropkick. King with kicks. Springboard off the apron. Miscommunication as King dives onto Titus. Omega with a dive of his own to both King and Titus. Whip in the corner. Running elbow. Snapmare into a dropkick to the head. King pokes Omega in the eyes. Kick to the midsection. Titus pulls Omega’s leg. King takes advantage. He rips at the face of Omega. Titus helps his partner out with some punches. Choking in the corner. Omega fires back. King with forearms. Whip reversed. Omega taken over. King slams him on the corner. Spinning kick to the head. Omega placed on the top rope. He pushes King down. Crossbody and both men are down. Polish hammers. Irish whip. Omega with a dropkick to the legs. Leaping rocker dropper for two. Leaping side kick. Neckbreaker for two. Forearm by King. Omega tells him to stop. King with a kick to the back of the head. Clothesline. Shotgun knees sends Omega into the corner. 1-2-NO! Omega catches King with a boot. Leaps over him. King sends Omega over. Omega to the top rope. Titus grabs his leg. King with another kick. Coronation. 1-2-NO! Omega counters into a sunset flip. King gets one of his own for two. Slap across the face. Irish whip. Spin kick misses. Stopping enziguri. Dragon suplex but King rolls him over. Titus grabs Omega. King forearms his partner down. Reverse hurancanrana by Omega. Croyt’s wrath finally gets a three count.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Kenny Omega/8:17/**3/4
-Decent enough battle of the Kennys here. While it’s been great for Omega to get the opportunities he has in Japan, it’s unfortunate he hasn’t been able to do more in Ring of Honor because he’s someone the crowd responded to, and Omega could have easily been elevated to a main event spot very easily with all of the recent departures. King is a guy… just can’t seem to get over the hump. He’s looked decent for much of his tenure and even great in certain spots. He just can’t seem to put it all together on a consistent basis. And that’s awfully frustrating because of how athletic he is.
-Titus attacks Omega after the match, but Erick Stevens makes the save.
-KENTA vs. Roderick Strong (Episode 15)
This is a rematch from Showdown in Motown, a show that took place nearly three years before this contest. Lock-up goes to the ropes. Strong teases breaking clean but misses a chop. Another lock-up. KENTA teases breaking clean, but he misses a kick. Kick and chop exchange. Ridiculous. Off the ropes. KENTA with a boot. Off the ropes. Strong with a leg lariat. Good Lord. Kick to the gut and an elbow to the back. European uppercuts in the corner. Strong goes for a sunset flip after the Irish whip. KENTA comes off and delivers a stiff kick. Chinlock by KENTA. Kicks in the corner. Strong fires back with strikes. Doesn’t do much. Strong tosses KENTA out of the corner. Chops. KENTA with a slap to the face. More chops from Strong. Stomps to the head. Backbreaker. Fallaway slam for two. Strong with a waistlock. KENTA with elbows. Strong hits a dropkick to the face. Two count. More chops in the corner. KENTA sent into the buckle head first. Whip in the corner. Stomps. Forearm. KENTA reverses a whip. Strong gets his boot up. Another boot. KENTA powerslam. Irish whip. Flying forearm by KENTA. Series of clotheslines. Vertical suplex. Clothesline over the top rope. STF. Strong to the ropes. Strong sends KENTA to the apron. Slingshot falcon arrow gets two. Clotheslines in the corner. Backbreaker for two. Fireman’s carry worked out of. KENTA with a kick combo. Springboard dropkick.Yakuza kick. Running dropkick into the corner. Liger bomb gets two. Saiku knee for two. Go 2 Sleep attempts. Strong sends KENTA into the corner chest first. Leaping enziguri. KENTA placed on the top rope. Strong hits a superplex. 1-2-NO! KENTA to the ropes as Strong goes for a stronghold. KENTA with a kick that sends Strong on the apron. Running kick sends Strong to the floor. KENTA with a running start but Strong sends his opponent into the backbreaker on the edge of the steel ring frame. Gutbuster. Sick kick. 1-2-NO! Gibson driver attempt. KENTA hits Go 2 Sleep.1-2-3. KENTA picks up his first win on ROH television.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: KENTA/12:17/***1/2
-Not as good as their first match, but they had some awfully high expectations. I liked the physicality in the time that was given and appreciated the simple ending of KENTA hitting his finisher and winning. A nice change of pace from other indy matches where everyone kicks out of everything.
-Fight Without Honor: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Delirious (Episode 15)
Lol at MsChif and Brodie Lee accompanying Jacobs to ringside. Forgot MsChif was even in Age of the Fall. Delirious starts out quickly with a number of clotheslines. Jacobs heads outside. Delirious, wearing his red poison outfit, hits a huge dive. Delirious was once in Age of the Fall, and this match would finally settle the rivalry and serve as the last HDNet appearance of Jacobs. The Age of the Fall leader takes control by sending Delirious into multiple barricades. Delirious regains the advantage and hits a panic attack along those same guard rails. Delirious sets up a table. Cobra clutch suplex attempt. Jacobs sends Delirious into the post. Chairs tossed in the ring next. Clothesline off the guard rail. Back in the ring. Head first into the chair. Shot to the back. He sits Delirious down. Off the rope with a side crossbody for two. Chair shot to the midsection. Delirious sent out once again. Delirious sat in the chair outside. Dive to the outside fails as Delirious departs the chair. Jacobs holds his knee. Delirious with a chair shot off the top rope to the floor. He rakes at a bloody Jacobs’ face. Toss of the chair. Jacobs hits a spear. End time. Jacobs grabs the spike from his boot. Misses. Spike ends up in the top turnbuckle. Cobra clutch suplex. Delirious to the top. Jacobs tosses the chair. Right hands on the apron. Delirious comes back with a suplex attempt. Jacobs rakes the eyes. He goes for a spear but ends up crashing in the table. Shadows over hell THROUGH THE TABLE! Back in the ring, and it’s academic. 1-2-3!
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Delirious/8:53/**1/2
-Probably one of the weaker fights without honor, but I think it got the point across. Jacobs was on the way out, and he himself has talked about the numerous problems he was going through personally. Good for the time given and Delirious achieved ultimate revenge.
-ROH World Tag Team Championship: The American Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards w/Shane Hagadorn and Sara Del Rey)(champions) vs. Bryan Danielson and Tyler Black (Episode 15)
These two teams had an incredible 45 minute draw at Tag Team Classic. Danielson and Black also went to two no-contests on HDNet. Lock-up between Edwards and Black. Into the corner. Edwards with a little shove. Each tries to work the arm briefly. Richards and Danielson tag in. Danielson grabs the arm, but Richards kicks him away. Arm work of his own. Danielson flips out of it and gets a dropkick. Richards exhibits frustration outside the ring. He even threatens to bring a chair in the ring. Back in comes Black. Richards with a side headlock. Shoulder tackle by Richards. Hip tosses Black. Into the headlock on the mat. Into the corner where Edwards nails a boot. Black sent into top turnbuckle. Chop. Black reverses a whip in the corner. Back drop. Danielson kicks Edwards in the midsection. European uppercut. Irish whip and a shoulder tackle by Danielson. Kick to the leg. Danielson goes for another kick, but Edwards gets out of the way. Headlock by Edwards. Irish whip. Shoulder tackle by Edwards. Danielson hits a knee. Running kick. Tag to Black. Stomps in the corner. Edwards back into his corner. Head first in the buckle. Whip by Richards. Back and forth. Snapmare by Black. Stomp misses. Kick doesn’t. Black gets his stomp to the face. Headlock again. Danielson with a kick. Snapmare and kick to the back. Chinlock. Knee drop to the face. Danielson goes for a surfboard. He has to settle for ripping at Richards’ eyes. He does have until five. Wolves regain the advantage on Black. Elbows by Edwards. Chop exchange. Black comes out the winner. Babyfaces take turns using strikes. Uh oh. Surfboard on Edwards. Black comes off the ropes with a dropkick. Shots by Edwards. Richards in with some of his own. Irish whip. Danielson with a back elbow. Kick to the back. Leg submission. Headbutt exchange. Danielson bridges out on a figure four leglock. Edwards breaks it up. Headlock by Danielson. Leapfrog. Dropkick by Danielson. Edwards breaks the dive up. Black breaks Edwards’ dive attempt. Danielson dives on the champions. Back in the ring. Danielson to the top rope. Edwards catches him with a dropkick. Heat segment on Danielson. Hot tag to Black. Clothesline of Richards to the floor. Back of Edwards. Big dive on the Wolves once again. Richards sent back in the ring. Springboard clothesline for two. Lionsault misses. Standing shooting star press hits. God’s last gift attempt. Richards takes him in the corner. Boot by Black. Richards hits a kick and gets a whip in the corner. Black takes Richards over. Edwards hits a running forearm and side burning hammer. Dropkick off the top by Richards for two. Miscommunication by the Wolves. Dropkick off the top by Danielson. Running forearms on Richards. Double team dropkick. Black covers and gets two. European uppercuts by Danielson on Edwards. Edwards whips Danielson into the barricade. Black rolls through on a phoenix splash but gets rolled up. Double team alarm clock. Double team lungblower. 1-2-Danielson breaks the count. Danielson fights off the Wolves quite well. Black hits a pele. All four men down. Strike exchange by all four men. Superkick by Black on Edwards. Danielson locks in a triangle choke. Black hits a bucklebomb/superkick combo. 1-2-Richards gets his foot on the ropes. Danielson with boots to the face. Black to the top. Danielson accidentally knocks his partner off the top rope. Richards gets a roll-up on Black for three as Edwards brings Danielson out of the ring.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL ROH World Tag Team Champions- The American Wolves/17:27/***1/2
-Danielson slaps Black in the face to officially dissolve the partnership. That was mean.
-The match was a bit better than I remembered. Lots of good back and forth while not necessarily falling into the trap of being a formulaic tag team match. Ultimately, it’s a typical Adam Pearce booked match because the heels get a sneaky win and don’t necessarily come off looking great. Least the Danielson/Black tension was addressed, and what happened post-match pretty much insured one final confrontation between Black and Danielson.
-Austin Aries (ROH World Champion), Kenny King, and Rhett Titus vs. Jerry Lynn, Kenny Omega, and Erick Stevens (Episode 16)
Aries had just become the ROH world champion at this point. A number of different rivalries come together in this match. Lynn and Aries. King and Lynn. King and Omega.Titus and Stevens. Omega asks Lynn to leave the ring so he can start with the champion. Feeling out process. Early control by Aries. Stomp to the back. Titus in quickly. Lock-up. Basic wrestling. Clothesline by Titus. He gets too cocky, so Omega can get up. Kick by Omega. Off the ropes with a leg lariat. In comes the other Kenny. Titus’ room key from the hotel is on the mat. King with a series of right hands as he manages to take Omega down. Double team behind the referee’s back. Stevens gets a hot tag. He and King standoff. Forearms by King. Whip in the corner. Elbow by Stevens. Battles Aries off. Leap frog. Shoulder tackle. Chop. Tag to Lynn. Double Irish whip. Drop toehold into an elbow drop by Stevens. Knee to the gut by King. Irish whip. Back elbow by Lynn. Aries pulls the leg of Lynn. Choke by King. Aries wants in. Shot to the back. Series of stomps. Lynn fires back with chops. Aries puts on the breaks. Tag to King. Back drop by Lynn. Stevens sends a charging Titus down face first. Lynn with a dive off the apron. Omega goes for a dive. Aries guillotines him. Titus hits a forearm. Whip in the corner. Splash. Running knee for two. Champion in as the heat segment on Omega continues. Meek right hands by Omega. Big spinebuster by King gets two. Titus thrusts like an idiot, and Omega is nearly able to get a tag. Aries slaps away. Atomic drop by Omega. Lynn tags. Aries flees quickly.
Right hands by Lynn. Irish whip as Lynn hits a clothesline. Forearm on King. DDT on Titus. 1-2-Aries breaks the count. Punches and forearms by King. Charge in the corner. Shotgun knees. Into Titus’ knee. 1-2-NO! Double Irish whip. Lynn sends the partners into each other. Stevens hits a double shoulder tackle. Whip in the corner. Choo choo broken up by an Aries clothesline. Running dropkick in the corner. Aries wants a dive. Lynn with a boot in the gut. Titus and King break up the cradle piledriver. Omega bulldogs them both. Back flip to the floor takes out King and Titus. Titus sent back in the ring. Aries takes the title belt and waffles him. Stevens hits the choo choo on Titus. Tosses him up and clotheslines him. Three count.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Jerry Lynn, Kenny Omega, and Erick Stevens 12:04/**3/4
-An solid six man tag that showcased Aries being a cowardly world champion. He ducked Lynn the whole way and added to the heat by nailing Lynn with the belt. This was fine.
-Roderick Strong vs. Jay Briscoe (w/Mark Briscoe) (Episode 16)
These two had one of the best openers in ROH history as Strong defeated Briscoe at Stylin and Profilin. Briscoe got a measure of revenge by winning at Tag Title Classic. This is the rubber match. Mark Briscoe was injured during this period, so Jay struck out on his own and had some pretty good matches by himself during the first part of 2009. This was promoted as not only an athletic rivalry but an everything rivalry. It came off as hokey. Thankfully, the matches were generally borderline awesome. Feeling out process. Headscissors ends that. Armdrag into an armbar. Strong tries working the arm. Off the ropes. Back and forth. Elbow by Briscoe. Strong comes back with a leg lariat. Forearm exchange. Chops in the corner by Strong. Briscoe sent into the turnbuckle head first. Shoulder tackles. Briscoe reverses a whip. Strong heads to the top. Dropkick misses. Chops by Briscoe now. Dropkick off an Irish whip. Forearm. Chop. Whip in the corner. Running clothesline. Snapmare and off the ropes with a boot to the face. Chop exchange. Knee to the gut by Briscoe. Irish whip. Strong reverses. Briscoe takes him over. Shoulder tackle by Strong. Briscoe’s face into the buckle. Springboard crossbody. Series of chops. Dropkick. Running forearm in the corner. Whip. Running clothesline. Briscoe counters another attempt into a flatliner in the corner. Chops. Whip in the corner. Briscoe eats boot. Slingshot falcon arrow gets two for Roddy. Gibson driver attempt. Strong with a crucifix pin for two. Briscoe gets a hard spinebuster for two. Chop by Briscoe. Whip in the corner. Strong takes him over. Forearm by Jay. Enziguri by Strong. Dive off the apron misses. Boot by Jay hits. Back in the ring. Jay heads to the top. Crossbody hits. 1-2-NO! Dragon sleeper. Knees by Strong. Stungun. Backbreaker. 1-2-NO! Stronghold turned into a roll-up. Gutbuster hits. Off the ropes. Boot by Jay. Chop exchange. Strong comes out on top. Strong comes off the ropes only to get hit with a death valley driver. Jay driller attempt. Strong takes him in the corner and gets a back drop. Clothesline by Jay for a long two count. Back to the dragon sleeper. Strong gets a cover for two. Another gutbuster. Gibson driver for 1-2-NO! Stronghold. Briscoe has no choice but to tap.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: 12:02/***1/2
-One of the positive things Ring of Honor did in the first half of 2009 was to give Jay Briscoe stuff to do while his brother was injured. Strong didn’t have all that much do at this point either, so their rivalry made a lot of sense. They had three matches of similar quality, with the first one probably being the best. The rubber match did serve as a nice compliment gas Strong ultimately came away the winner. Probably the right move since Jay would go back to tag team wrestling once his brother came back.
-Kevin Steen, El Generico, and KENTA vs. The American Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards)(ROH World Tag Team Champions) and Chris Hero (w/Shane Hagadorn and Sara Del Rey)(Episode 17)
Action starts before the bell even rings as a big old brawl starts the match off. Referee Paul Turner has a hell of a time keeping the two teams separated. Wolves and Hero settle things down outside the ring. Steen takes Richards down immediately. Shoving. Strike exchange. Steen wins a forearm battle. Right hands. Goes after Edwards. Shot by Richards. Into the corner. Tag to Hero. Stomps. Double team behind the referee’s back. Chop. Irish whip and leg lariat by Steen. KENTA comes in. Hero powders to his corner. Some mat wrestling between two men who know Pro Wrestling NOAH pretty well. Shoulder tackle by KENTA. Hero doesn’t move. Another doesn’t work. Kick does however. Richards breaks the count and gets into a staring contest with KENTA. Richards in. They had a match at Supercard of Honor IV that was one of the best matches of 2009. Wolves take advantage of KENTA and hold a brief advantage. Snapmare by Richards. Kick to the back. KENTA returns to the favor. Huge kick to the chest. Generico in with stomps. Generico goes crazy on Richards. Steen in with kicks in the corner. Steen and KENTA take turns punching Richards in the face. Some snot blown on Edwards. Richards takes Steen into the corner. Elbow by Hero. Edwards with kicks. Snot rocket for Hagadorn. Steen reverses a whip. Back drop. One more snot rocket. Twisting leg drop. Snot rockets for everyone! Forearm. Irish whip. Hero tags and gets an immediate elbow to the back of the head. Running senton. Chop and back in the corner. Heat segment on Steen continues. Steen does a great job as a babyface fighting off all three heels a number of times and finally getting the hot tag to KENTA. Off the ropes and it’s basically clotheslines for everyone. Kicks on Edwards. Springboard on both Wolves. Yakuza kick on Edwards. Running dropkick. Sit down powerbomb for two. Octopus submission. Hero with a boot. Generico sends him outside. He holds the top rope down so Richards ends up on the floor as well. Generico with a dive. Running knee back in the ring by KENTA on Edwards. Go 2 Sleep countered. Running knee by Edwards. In comes Hero. Running elbow. Powerbomb attempt. More kicks by KENTA. Flash kick by Hero. Ligerbomb. 1-2-NO! Elbow pad comes off. KENTA goes for Go 2 Sleep. Elbow by Hero. Powerslam by KENTA. Generico in with a crossbody. 1-2-NO! Generico with strikes. Off the ropes. Roaring elbow by Hero. Generico sent to the outside. Lungblower by Steen as he tagged Generico in the bacj. Package piledriver attempt. Enziguri by Richards. Running forearm. Elbow Steen. Richards off the ropes. Steen with a superkick. Boot by Hero on Steen. Rana by Generico. Pele kick by Edwards. Big stupid dive by Richards. Kick exchange between KENTA and Edwards. Clothesline takes Edwards down. Everyone down. KENTA and Richards nail each other with kicks. Forearm exchange. Slap exchange. Kick by Richards. KENTA with a tiger suplex. 1-2-NO! Go 2 Sleep attempt. DR driver attempt. Kicks blocked. Duel kicks hit. Generico with a running yakuza on Richards. Roll-up. 1-2-NO! Generico can’t get the brainbuster. Kick to the leg by Richards. Kick to the chest. Michinoku driver. Edwards breaks the count. KENTA sends him out. Generico and Steen head to the top. Swanton by Steen. Double stomp by KENTA. Generico covers. 1-2-NOOOO! Hero and Edwards save the day. Edwards sends Steen crashing into the barricade while KENTA double stomps Hero. Richards fights off the top rope brainbuster. Edwards gets him in an electric chair position. Generico backs up. Yakuza on Edwards. Richards dropkicks the leg of Generico as his partner is about to get hit with a brainbuster.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The American Wolves and Chris Hero/19:30/****1/4
-I completely forgot this match even happened, which likely enhanced my enjoyment of it. An incredible six man tag. These guys busted their asses for nearly 20 minutes. They set a breakneck pace at the end, and it was easy to see why Steenerico and the Wolves had one of the best feuds of 2009. Then throw two world class athletes like Hero and KENTA, and you’ve got one of the best matches in HDNet history and one of the underrated matches that should have been mentioned as one of the best matches of the year.
-Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black (Episode 18)
After two no-contests in their previous HDNet matches, it all comes down to this. Some mat wrestling between both men as Danielson goes slightly heel with a slap to the face. After escaping an armbar, Black gets a dropkick to the face. Strikes into the corner turns into stomps. Danielson with more slaps. Black takes him down. Danielson locks in a crossface. Black puts his foot on the ropes. Danielson says he’s the best. Hard to argue. Back to the mat as Black works the arm. Snapmare. He goes for the stomp. Danielson locks in a cross armbreaker. They stand off. Danielson talks some garbage. They stare each other down. Shove by Black. Danielson responds in kind. Forearm by Danielson. Bodyslam by Black. Lionsault for two. Kick to the head. Danielson sent into the top turnbuckle head first. Black with elbow. Danielson with slaps. Hard kicks in the corner. European uppercut. Kicks along the bottom rope. Cravat. Elbow to the back. More cranking on the neck. Headbutt. Kicks to the back. Another headbutt. Black with forearms. Off the ropes. Danielson uses a sleeper. Black slowly starts to fade as Danielson transitions into more stretching of the neck. Dragon sleeper. Knee drops. Headlock. Black battles out of it. Danielson hooks the sleeper once again. Black reverses. Irish whip. Danielson sleeper. Black with a back suplex. Danielson maintains the sleeper. Jawbreaker by Black. Danielson continues to be tenacious. Black lifts Danielson over the top rope to the floor. Black goes for a dive. Danielson hits a forearm. To the top rope. He comes off for a dropkick but Black meets him with one of his own. Clotheslines. Whip reversed. Black hits a springboard clothesline. Danielson takes Black over. Enziguri. Another springboard clothesline. Slaps to the face by Black. Whip to the corner. Black gets all fired up. Running forearm. F-5. Slap to the head. Superkick turned into an anklelock. Black rolls through. Black hits a dive. Danielson catches Black and goes for a German suplex. Out of it. Off the ropes. Clothesline by Danielson. German suplex into a roll-up. 1-2-NOOOOO!!! That’s one of the closest two counts I’ve ever seen. Danielson places Black on the top rope. Black elbows him off. Danielson with a running knee. Hurancanrana but Black rolls through into another nearfall. Danielson into a chokehold submission. Black lifts him into a bucklebomb. Superkick! Danielson holds the ropes. Black pulls Danielson to the center and covers. 1-2-NO! Danielson shoves Black into the crowd. Just as what happened in the second match, Danielson hits the dive into the crowd. Danielson makes it into the ring at 16. Black makes it in… barely. Kick to the chests by Danielson. Another. Black no sells. Forearms. Roaring elbow attempt. Black roll-up into a pele. Danielson goes for the sleeper again. Over into the crossface. Black to the ropes. MMA elbows. Black hits a pele kick. Danielson comes out with a kick of his own. Black hits a German suplex. Danielson back up. SUPERKICK! A SECOND SUPERKICK!
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Tyler Black/21:25/****1/4
-A little better than their previous two affairs due to the hot ending. What a fantastic match this was. Danielson played slight heel and spent the entire match attempting to slow Tyler Black down. His constant use of mat wrestling and the sleeper hold was fantastic. I loved Black’s quickening the pace and embracing his babyface roll the entire match. Just a great dynamic and another match of the year candidate on HDNet. Sure did produce a number of great matches in the first year.
Bonus Matches
-Delirious vs. Jerry Lynn (Episode 1)
The first of two bonus matches takes us back to the very first match that ever aired on HDNet. The first set of shows served as an introduction to all of the characters. No real feuds were set until the second set of tapings. Lynn was on the road to a world title victory (unfortunately), and this was an opportunity for him to get a victory. A basic babyface match that goes about ten minutes. Delirious sort of wrestles as a heel because Ring of Honor really wanted Lynn to be a top babyface. This failed… miserably. Panic attack hits. Shadows over hell misses. Series of nearfalls, but Lynn won’t die. Lynn hits a hurancanrana off the top. TKO gets a two count. Lynn misses a charge. Cradle piledriver. Done.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Jerry Lynn/5:40/**
-Not a whole lot can be said about this match. It served its purpose and was generally inoffensive. If only this wasn’t leading to Lynn getting the world title. FAIL!
-Nigel McGuinness (ROH World Champion) vs. Jay Briscoe (w/Mark Briscoe)
One of the oddest things (and quite frankly one of my biggest complaints in the early HDNet era) was that the ROH champion didn’t wrestle until the main event of the second show. He didn’t even appear until episode two. While the first bonus match showcased one of the top challengers for the title, this was designed to showcase the champion. McGuinness nearly gets a submission mere minutes into the match, but Briscoe then works a headlock. McGuinness goes back to the arm. Not a great match buy any means, but it was more designed to have a basic match that the champion could win clean without doing much damage to a top challenger. Briscoe nearly gets three on a death valley driver. He heads to the top rope. McGuinness knocks him down. Briscoe blocks a Tower of London. Briscoe knocks the champion down. Leg drop for a nearfall. Jaydriller attempt. McGuinness counters out of it. Jawbreaker lariat gets three.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Nigel McGuinness/12:05/***
-A fine little match between two of the better performers in Ring of Honor history. Obviously, Jay Briscoe is more well known for his tag team classics, but he’s shown many times he can also have great singles matches. This wasn’t great, but it got the message across.
Final Thoughts: Although volume two isn’t as good as volume one top to bottom, the last two matches are better than anything you’d see on HDNet. Tons of great wrestling with no gaga or crappy promos. I’d say out of a three hour DVD, you get two-and-a-half hours of wrestling at least. Another easy recommendation despite the crowd not being the best and the announcing having a little something to be desired.
For more information on ROH and their upcoming shows , check out ROH’s Website. To buy this and many other ROH DVDs, check out their store. To watch all of the videowires that are included as bonus features and check out the tremendous video packages which hype various matches and iPPVs, check out ROH's Youtube page.. Below is a list of contact information for both the website and me.
Contact Pro Wrestling Ponderings!
E-mail: mailbag@prowrestlingponderings.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pwponderings
Twitter: www.twitter.com/pwponderings
Youtube: www.youtube.com/pwponderings
Read my blogs!
Pro Wrestling Guerilla: www.guerillaeffect.wordpress.com
AAW: www.aawdefined.wordpress.com
Contact ME!
E-mail: jcusson07@gmail.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeromesellsout