ROH: Only The Strong Survive Review

January 15th, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Current Champions
ROH World Champion: Roderick Strong (since 9/11/10)
ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli) (since 4/3/10)
ROH World Television Champion: Christopher Daniels (since 12/10/10)

Opening Match: Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly vs. Harlem and Lance Bravado
O’Reilly sends the Bravado Brothers to the floor and Cole follows out with a dive. O’Reilly catches Harlem with a missile dropkick off the apron. Back in, O’Reilly and Cole hit a crossbody-suplex combination on Lance and take control. Harlem interferes from the apron, allowing Lance to connect with a clothesline on Cole. The Bravado Brothers isolate him, displaying some unique double team moves. O’Reilly tags into the match and connects with a flurry of strikes on Lance followed by rolling double underhook suplexes. Cole superkicks Lance and O’Reilly adds a discus clothesline. Lance responds with chaos theory on O’Reilly. Cole forearms Lance to the canvas and enzuigiris Harlem off the apron. Harlem dodges a plancha from Cole. In the ring, Lance rolls up O’Reilly while grabbing his tights for the win at 8:11. This was probably the best performance that I’ve seen out of the Bravado Brothers. I just wish that they would have defeated Andy Ridge and Grizzly Redwood on the last show. While Cole and O’Reilly didn’t look terrible in defeat, I hope they start accumulating victories sooner rather than later. **½

Match #2: Rhett Titus vs. Caprice Coleman
Titus’ head is bandaged after his match with Homicide last night. Coleman does some mic work before the match to win the crowd over. He connects with a dropkick and elevates Titus to the floor. Coleman catches Titus with a tiger feint kick around the ringpost and connects with a springboard dropkick in the ring. Titus answers with a dropkick of his own and takes over. Coleman hits a spinning leg drop and lands a springboard crossbody. He follows with impressive rolling northern lights suplexes and hurricanranas Titus off the middle rope. Titus sends Coleman into the turnbuckles and hits a neckbreaker for the victory at 9:09. Coleman seemed genuinely excited to be back in the ring and that excitement could be seen in his offense. If Ring of Honor wanted to take a chance on someone, I think Coleman would be a good candidate. **¼

Match #3: Colt Cabana vs. Grizzly Redwood
There are actually dueling chants before the bell. Cabana gives Grizzly a wristlock but he can’t take advantage. Grizzly applies an octopus stretch and turns it into a rollup for a nearfall. They exchange slaps and Grizzly accidentally trips Todd Sinclair. Cabana hits a hangman’s suplex and a scoop slam. Grizzly responds with an enzuigiri but runs into a back elbow. He hurricanranas Cabana into the middle turnbuckle and hits a tornado DDT. Grizzly follows with a basement bulldog but falls victim to a powerbomb. Cabana locks in the Billy Goat’s Curse for the win at 7:19. Exactly what you would expect. *½

Match #4: Mike Bennett vs. Cedric Alexander
Bennett knees Alexander into the turnbuckles and follows with a hard irish whip. Alexander snaps off a headscissors and connects with a dropkick, sending Bennett to the floor. Alexander follows out with a dive and connects with a springboard knee strike in the ring. Bennett answers with a spinebuster and a corner backbreaker. Alexander finds life with an enzuigiri but falls victim to a bucklebomb. Bennett avoids a corner charge and applies an armbar for the victory at 4:20. Bennett looked fine but only had four minutes to fill. It’s difficult to pick opponents for Bennett. If you have him defeat ROH mainstays, the fans might feel like he’s being shoved down their throats. However, if you have him squash students like Alexander, nothing is really accomplished. *¼

Match #5: ROH World Television Title: Christopher Daniels © vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Mike Bennett is watching from ringside. Claudio asserts his power advantage early on. Daniels tries to combat that with his resourcefulness. Claudio military presses Daniels into the top turnbuckle and wears him down with a test of strength. Daniels starts to target the right arm and gains control. He hurricanranas Claudio over the top rope. Daniels tries another hurricanrana but Claudio catches him and swings him into the barricade. In the ring, Claudio further damages his right arm on a european uppercut and reigns down punches with his left hand. Daniels builds up some momentum but runs into a powerslam. He counters another powerslam attempt into a small package for a nearfall. Claudio tries a popup european uppercut but Daniels reverses into a DDT. Daniels hits an STO and stomps Claudio to the canvas. Claudio powers out of Angel’s Wings and throws Daniels across the ring. Daniels turns the UFO into a rollup for a two count. Claudio pulls off the UFO on a second attempt. They trade strikes and Daniels locks in the koji clutch. Shane Hagadorn distracts the referee and he doesn’t see Claudio tap. Daniels breaks the hold to take care of Hagadorn. Claudio connects with a popup european uppercut for a nearfall. Bennett argues with the referee, thinking that Daniels lost. Daniels escapes the Ricola Bomb and hits a uranagi. He slips on the BME and doesn’t get all of it. Claudio connects with a bicycle kick but Daniels responds with Angel’s Wings for a two count. Daniels lands a clean BME to retain his title at 21:10. They told a great story of Daniels utilizing his experience to find creative ways to work around Claudio’s power advantage. Daniels effectively worked over the right arm and Claudio sold just as well. They had the crowd’s full attention down the stretch and showcased some unique counters to each other’s finishers. Even the interference from Hagadorn and Bennett was tolerable and didn’t hinder the match. Tremendous effort from both men and an excellent first title defense for Daniels. ***½
Andy Ridge and Steve Corino make their way to the ring for their match. Corino basically cuts the same pre-match promo as he did on the last show, blaming Kevin Steen’s exit from Ring of Honor on himself. Corino says that he doesn’t want to wrestle Ridge tonight. Rather, he wants to be Ridge’s partner against Mike Posey and Corey Hollis. The idea is that Corino thinks Ridge is on the right path but he dislikes Posey and Hollis’ attitude. Ridge agrees to be Corino’s partner and the match is on…
Match #6: Steve Corino and Andy Ridge vs. Mike Posey and Corey Hollis
Corino and Ridge gain the early advantage, with Corino being cautious not to cheat in the slightest way. Posey pulls Corino to the floor and they throw each other into the barricade. In the ring, Hollis connects with a facewash kick on Corino and Posey adds a slingshot dropkick. Corino hits a flatliner-DDT combination on Alabama Attitude and makes the tag. Ridge cleans house with a series of strikes. Hollis hits a neckbreaker on Corino, who responds with the Eternal Dream. Ridge gets the tag and lays out Hollis with a superkick for the win at 6:05. For its place on the card, this match was decent enough and did its job of showcasing Corino’s new mindset. *½

Match #7: Chris Hero vs. Davey Richards
They trade control on the mat and wrestle to a stalemate. Hero catches Richards with a shoulder block and he retreats to the floor. Back in, Richards connects with a spin kick and it’s now Hero that retreats to the outside. Sara Del Rey gets involved from ringside, allowing Hero to attack from behind. Richards ducks a mafia kick and connects with a dropkick. He elevates Hero to the floor and punts him from the apron. Shane Hagadorn provides a distraction and Hero lays out Richards with a mafia kick. In the ring, Hero connects with a flash kick and takes control. Richards finds life with an enzuigiri but gets back suplexed to the floor. He lures Hero to the outside and then takes him out with a dive. Back in, Richards connects with his handspring enzuigiri and applies a fujiwara armbar. Hero escapes the hold and answers with a roaring elbow. They trade boots and Hero lands a springboard moonsault. He synchs in a stretch plum but Richards reaches the bottom rope. Hero tags Richards with a roaring elbow. He goes up top but Richards catches him with a german suplex. Richards hits a saito suplex and connects with a knockout kick for a nearfall. Hero comes back with his kick-roaring elbow combination. Richards avoids the Deathblow and applies a cross armbreaker. Hero makes the bottom rope. They exchange kicks and chops. Hero blocks a knockout kick and connects with two roaring elbows. Richards fights back with a discus lariat. Hero blocks a charge and connects with a roaring mafia kick. He hits a brutal piledriver but Richards won’t stay down. Sara Del Rey tosses in the loaded elbow pad. Richards almost pins Hero with a backslide. Hero goes to use the loaded elbow pad but Todd Sinclair catches him and takes it away. Richards missile dropkicks Hero’s bad arm, punts Hagadorn, and lands a shooting star press. He applies a kimura but Hero turns it into a pin attempt for a two count. Richards locks in a cross armbreaker for the victory at 29:01. Tremendous encounter between arguably the two best wrestlers on the ROH roster. Hero looked like a killer when he was in control, doing whatever was necessary to keep the persistent Richards down. I have to believe that the finishing stretch was playing off of Richards’ match at Final Battle. Commentary even pointed out that Richards was looking out of it down the stretch. However, this time Richards was able to fight through and get the win. They also added in a few nice touches, such as Richards acknowledging his hatred of Shane Hagadorn and Hero finally getting caught using the loaded elbow pad. There is no doubt in my mind that Richards should be the one to win the ROH World Title from Roderick Strong. These two were able to match their previous encounter from PWG last year and this has to be considered Ring of Honor’s first “must see” contest of 2011. ****

Match #8: Homicide vs. El Generico vs. Kenny King vs. Mark Briscoe
King and Mark trade control to start, with Mark ultimately gaining the advantage with his karate offense. Generico snaps off a headscissors on Homicide followed by a few armdrags. Homicide almost destroys the barricade out of frustration. Mark hits a belly to belly suplex on King. Homicide sends Generico to the floor and takes out his frustrations with a dive to the outside. They exchange chops in the ring. Generico gets worked over until he sends Mark into the turnbuckles with an exploder. He plants King with a tornado DDT and hits a michinoku driver on Homicide. Generico yakuza kicks Homicide and takes out King with a dive to the floor. Mark hits a bucklebomb on Homicide along with a fisherman buster. Homicide responds with an ace crusher but falls victim to a blockbuster from King. Generico yakuza kicks King but walks into a missile dropkick from Mark. Homicide takes out Mark with a lariat and all four men are down. Homicide finds life and facewash kicks Generico and Mark. King escapes a Cop Killa and connects with a spin kick. Generico hits a half nelson suplex on King but gets caught by a flying elbow drop from Mark. King german suplexes Homicide while Generico sends Mark to the floor with a yakuza kick. Generico hits a brainbuster on King for the win at 14:44. This was an energetic four corner survival that allowed all four competitors to shine. Generico received a chance to show everyone that he has moved on from his feud with Kevin Steen and showcased the entertaining offense that we’ve come to expect from him. Mark didn’t look totally out of place and Homicide even seemed motivated. While this four corner survival might have seemed thrown together, everything clicked and it ended up being a worthwhile match. ***
Homicide attacks Generico after the match and lays him out with a Cop Killa. He motions that he wants the ROH World Title, regardless of who holds the belt.

Match #9: ROH World Title: Roderick Strong © vs. Jay Briscoe
They find themselves at a stalemate after trading control on the mat. Strong tries a cross armbreaker but Jay immediately grabs the bottom rope. Jay snaps off a hurricanrana and connects with a leg lariat. Jay wins a long forearm exchange. The action goes to the floor where they brawl around ringside. Strong connects with a knee strike and throws Jay into the barricade repeatedly, busting him open. To clarify, Jay is bleeding profusely. Strong has a sick grin on his face as he hits a delayed vertical suplex in the ring. He plants Jay with a piledriver and applies a guillotine choke. Strong connects with a vicious enzuigiri and Jay falls to the canvas. Jay shrugs off a few strikes and hits a death valley driver. He hits a flatliner into the middle turnbuckle and connects with a corner yakuza kick. Strong misses a superkick and falls victim to a falcon arrow. He comes back with a knee strike and a stiff forearm. Strong connects with a gamenguiri and hits a gutbuster. Jay counters the Stronghold into a small package for a nearfall. Strong synchs in the LeBell Lock and connects with a superkick. He hits the Gibson Driver and transitions into a boston crab. Kevin Kelly references Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13. Jay eventually reaches the bottom rope. They battle on the apron and Jay hits the Jay Driller through a table at ringside. In the ring, Jay wins a strike exchange and turns the Stronghold into a small package once again for a nearfall. He hits another Jay Driller for a two count. They battle up top and Strong hits a backbreaker across the top rope. Strong connects with the Sick Kick for a nearfall. Jay counters the Gibson Driver into a rollup for a two count. Strong hits an orange crush backbreaker followed by the Gibson Driver to retain his title at 25:00. This reminded me of Jerry Lynn’s title defense against Strong at “A Cut Above” in that nobody thought that the challenger was going to win but the blood and the multiple nearfalls made the crowd think otherwise. These two had a series of great matches back in 2009 and they managed to top themselves here. Jay wanted to prove to Strong that he didn’t need Truth Martini and a new attitude to be successful. To do that, Jay threw everything he had at his former friend and barely came up short. They tried incredibly hard to make what appeared to be a token title defense seem special and I think that they succeeded in spades. ***¾

Overall: After a lackluster start to 2011, Ring of Honor creates some momentum with Only The Strong Survive. Chris Hero and Davey Richards have a tremendous match while Christopher Daniels delivers a great first title defense against Claudio Castagnoli. When the Kings of Wrestling finally lose their titles, ROH should seriously consider letting them have runs as singles wrestlers. Additionally, Roderick Strong and Jay Briscoe put on a spectacle in the main event that exceeded expectations. Throw in a fun four corner survival and this show earns a solid recommendation. If ROH can flesh out its undercard and keep providing high quality shows, the future definitely looks bright.