In ROH’s television debut in Louisville, Kentucky Homicide collides with Claudio Castagnoli in the main event while Eddie Edwards defends his TV Title against Mark Briscoe. We hear from Mike Bennett, get a special look at the world title situation, witness Mike Mondo in action against Grizzly Redwood and there’s the debut of a a team of no-namers: Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin, maybe you’ve heard of them? All this and more on this week’s episode of ROH On HDNet.
Before we get started I want to talk about a trio of incredibly minor changes to my format. Firstly I’m dropping the numbering of segments and just titling them. There really was no benefit to counting how many segments they ran, because it’s the quality not the quantity that matters. Secondly, I’m going to start adding a bit more detail to the recaps. Don’t worry, I’ll never go back to play-by-play, but I felt a little bit more information on how the match ended was required so you’ll start seeing that from now on. Finally when it comes to backstage promos and vignettes, unless something really significant goes down I’m not going to dedicate a recap and a review to it. Instead I’ll be combing the two to create what I’ll be calling an R&R (recap and review).
Opening Segment
Recap: Mike Hogwood narrated some footage shot of Louisville, Kentucky informing us about the city and how it would be playing host to ROH on HDNet over the next few weeks.
Review: Some may call this kind of thing cheesy but I really liked it. It made the locale change to Kentucky feel more significant, and as a non-US citizen I always enjoy seeing footage from outside the arena during sports games. It’s something the WWE almost always do and I’d like to see more of it done in ROH, but of course it would require the HDNet cameras to avoid it looking like garbage. If nothing else it was a good exhibition of the quality of ROH’s camera equipment.
ROH World Television Championship Match
Mark Briscoe vs Eddie Edwards
Recap: In an incredible back and forth contest Eddie Edwards retained his TV Title against ‘Crazy’ Mark Briscoe with the Achilles Lock. Briscoe made it a contest, hitting all his signature high impact moves, including a huge frog elbow drop, but Edwards’ nearly unparalleled resilience proved the difference maker as he used the top rope to flip out of a Cut-Throat Driver attempt and rolled all the way through to lock in his devastating finishing hold, adding a knee to the back for good measure.
Review: This was precisely the right way to kick off a new set of tapings, especially one in a new city. The fans really responded to both wrestlers and they just went at it for nearly fifteen minutes. No shenanigans or gimmicks, just two athletic wrestlers exchanging exciting moves. I firmly believe this is the best Mark Briscoe performance in a very long time, certainly since he returned from injury, and if he could put forth this kind of effort in every Briscoe match then I might not be tired of their act. If you aren’t already on the Eddie Edwards band-wagon after this match then I’m not going to try and convince you. He looked like a star as always and they continue to put him over as a guy that will withstand everything you throw at him and make you pay for your mistakes. I also liked the way they’re laying the groundwork for Edwards’ eventual title loss by pointing out that his recent shoulder injury and high number of defences of the belt are beginning to wear on him. Just a really good fifteen minutes of programming.
Kings of Wrestling Backstage Promo
R&R: Castagnoli mocking Homicide’s ring-name was hilarious and it really is astounding how often Claudio can incorporate coffee into his promos. Standard “I’ll beat you, so good luck” affair.
Final Battle World Title Vignette
R&R: Very nice video package with footage from the build-up and the match itself, really playing on the idea of Davey failing at his destiny and Roderick being such a success, which were of course two of the big parts of the build to their title match. This was a really effective route to go, with footage of Davey looking downtrodden and frustrated with himself, and Roderick coming across as an elite performer. While on this subject, I believe Davey was legitimately hurt in their match and may have actually collapsed near the conclusion, but the ending was a planned part of the match with him passing out in the Strong Hold. I’m interest to see where they go from here with Davey, and his impending match with Chris Hero may result in a loss as That Young Knockout Kid is the last person you want to face when you’re recovering from a concussion.
Mike Mondo Backstage Promo
R&R: Mondo cuts one of the most old-school (in the bad way) promos of all time and sounds like a young Emilio Estevez after too many energy drinks.
Mike Mondo vs Grizzly Redwood
Recap: Mike Mondo picked up the win in his first televised ROH match, putting away the Littlest Lumberjack with a huge superplex. Mondo initially teased hitting the move from the bottom and then the middle rope before finally taking to the top rope for maximum impact. Mondo brought with him a sign that read “Godzilla Fears Mondo” and held it up before and after the match.
Review: Mike Mondo wins the Tiny Buff Dudes Grand Prix 2011. Congratulations Mikey. It was bizarre seeing Grizzly wrestle a match that doesn’t focus on him being the little underdog, and you know what? It was kind of nice. He didn’t go to the comedy dodging sequences or try to chop down the bigger opponent, he just wrestled, and he was quite good in my opinion. I’m not sure if Mondo will continue to appear for ROH after these Louisville episodes conclude or if he was just utilized due to the local fans’ familiarity with him. He’s not in any way bad, but I’m not convinced he can contribute significantly to the company. Then again, I think the roster is a little too small at the moment, so an undercard wrestler who fluctuates between jobbing to the stars and getting occasional wins may be useful.
Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team Vignette
R&R: A cut down version of the sit-down interview they did with Jim Cornette during Final Battle, with music laid under it and some highlights of their big match with the Kings of Wrestling peppered in. They’re pushing these guys to the moon, and rightfully so if they’re going to appear more than a couple of times a year. It was smart to run this just before their big TV debut.
Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team vs. The Bravado Brothers
Recap: Despite the Bravados’ best efforts Haas & Benjamin dominated the young team, tossing them around the ring with the greatest of ease. At one point Shelton Benjamin executed a Samoan drop on both Bravados. Ultimately it would be Charlie Haas who put the Bravados out of their misery, making Harlem tap out to the Haas of Pain.
Review: Wow. I laughed out loud when Shelton tossed Harlem Bravado overhead in the first second of the match because of how damn easy it was. The presence of former WWE superstars really puts into perspective how small indie wrestlers truly are. When you see one ‘vanilla midget’ facing another they don’t seem so small, but when you stand one next to a ‘sports entertainer’ you really notice it. Charlie Haas was one of the WWE’s smaller guys but he looks positively ripped in ROH, launching guys overhead with belly to belly suplexes with minimal effort. This may sound like a strange comment, but I liked that WGTT gave proper effort here. The Bravados are obviously many leagues below Haas & Benjamin, and they could have easily phoned it in, but they made this match seem believable. I mean, the Bravados were never in danger of winning or anything, but they were allowed to control the match for a few seconds at a time, and given they’re trying to build these guys up as a legitimate team, it would be the wrong thing to do to have Haas & Benjamin beat them in 30 seconds, despite us all being aware they probably could. It was nice to see Charlie and Shelton smiling and enjoying themselves in the ring, and while this may just be the initial rush of appearing on television again and in a city that meant so much to their careers, I hope their love of wrestling is rekindled in Ring of Honor.
Useless comment of the night: Lance Bravado looks really different but I have no idea why.
Mike Bennett Backstage Promo
R&R: Bennett claimed he would definitely prove himself worthy of his hype next week with his “television match debut”. We’ll ignore the fact he was in a six man tag on HDNet last summer, shall we? Brutal Bob continues to be the most outdated thing in ROH.
Claudio Castagnoli vs Homicide
Recap: Homicide used his cunning to overcome Claudio’s tremendous power advantage and managed to defeat the Swiss Stalwart with a jumping Ace Crusher. Claudio didn’t make it easy however, withstanding a big Frog Splash and blasting Homicide with a number of brutal European uppercuts and even a big Chokeslam, but in the end it was the use of an exposed turnbuckle – which Claudio himself had exposed – that sparked Castagnoli’s downfall.
Review: This was a nice if unspectacular main event. It was the best Homicide has looked to me in his latest run, and Claudio continues to perform at Ace level. I liked the story they told with Castagnoli using his size and power advantage to lord it over Homicide, who fired back with his tenacity and resourcefulness. In particular I liked that Homicide showed he backs down from no man, getting in Claudio’s face and making fun of him at times. This is one of Homicide’s most notable characteristics and newer fans will definitely get that after this match. I don’t like the use of the Ace Crusher as a finisher, because it seems like a blatant RKO knock-off these days. Yes, I’m aware that Homicide has been using the move longer than Randy Orton, but the way in which he’s utilizing the move nowadays seems far more reminiscent of Orton. It’s much safer for everyone else for him to not use the Cop Killa, but there’s just something about it that grates on me. But then again, I’m British and strange.
Chris Hero was dynamic at ringside, wearing a KENTA shirt and yelling “Ho!” a few times when the fans chanted “Hey!” I also marked for the Chokeslam and hope it becomes a staple of Claudio’s offence in 2011. The spot with the turnbuckle achieved the goals of having Homicide remain strong and crafty, toppling a giant, whilst keeping Castagnoli from looking weak. All in all, a solid main event.
Overall Thoughts
– Let’s get to the most obvious observation for this episode: Louisville is awesome. The building is smaller than The Arena with less space at ringside and for the entrance area, but it was also really well lit and vibrant. The lighting allowed us to see the crowd better, which in turn made the building seem more full, and when the fans in question are so damn enthusiastic it really made this episode feel like ROH had taken a step up in the world. I’m sure the fans would eventually become complacent if ROH taped their episodes here every single time, but for the time being they were infinitely livelier, popping for every move, chanting the wrestlers’ names, and altogether helping to give every match an extra layer of enjoyability.
– The new building aside, this episode really hummed along at a nice pace, cramming so much into 50 minutes. We got an awesome TV Title match, the debut of a pair of major players in Haas & Benjamin, continuation of the world title story, and a nice little main event. Heck, Grizzly vs Mondo wasn’t too bad either. This is the best new piece of wrestling programming you can watch this week. Disagree? Feel free to comment.
– That’ll do it for this week everybody. Please check out all the latest podcasts from the whole team here at Pro Wrestling Ponderings, including reviews of the year that was in all the major companies and previews of this forthcoming year. I’m particularly proud of the podcast I took part in with fellow ROH journalist Ari Berenstein of 411mania fame, so check that out. Finally, my review of disc 3 of Wrestling’s Highest Flyers IS on the way. In future I’m going to not both with play by play and construct the reviews to be more like these HDNet recaps and hopefully this will make them quicker and easier for me to produce.
That shot of Louisville was beautiful, particularly in HD. I just wish we could get the announcers in the building to give it an even greater sports feel.
The squash match involving Haas and Benjamin was my second favorite match of the week. It accomplished everything it needed to. Benjamin and Haas were so great in that match. I’ve always been suspect of bringing in outsiders and pushing them to the moon, but if WGTT don’t win the belts by the summer, something is wrong.
I was at those tapings, and I swear it looks like Charlie’s been using roids since he left the ‘E, because he wasn’t that big the last time I saw him. Anyway, good matches on this episode. Grizz is actually pretty good when he’s allowed to work a straight match.