January 28th, 2011 in Los Angeles, California
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)
The Kings of Wrestling make their way to the ring to start the show. Chris Hero talks about their record-breaking title reign, mentioning the various countries and opponents that they’ve conquered. Hero calls Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas overrated. Claudio Castagnoli mentions that the Lakers are also overrated and claims the best basketball is played in Europe. He even takes a shot at Disney Land. No one will be able to end their title reign because kings…reign…supreme.
Opening Match: Harlem and Lance Bravado vs. Cedric Alexander and Caleb Konley
Harlem and Konley trade armdrags. Alexander connects with a flying knee strike on Harlem and sends him to the floor. Konley tries to clothesline Lance to the outside but has some trouble. Alexander takes out the Bravado Brothers with a dive and Konley follows out with a moonsault. In the ring, Lance hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Alexander and the Bravado Brothers isolate him. He catches Harlem with an enzuigiri and makes the tag. Konley hits a tornado DDT on Harlem but falls victim to a german suplex from Lance. Alexander connects with a double springboard dropkick. Lance hurricanranas out of a powerbomb attempt from Alexander and transitions into a pin attempt for the win at 7:50. Aside from some sloppiness, this was a serviceable opener. I’m fine with ROH wanting us to take the Bravado Brothers seriously. However, they should be getting more decisive victories over the likes of Cedric Alexander and Caleb Konley. **
Match #2: Colt Cabana vs. Jay Briscoe
The crowd is pretty split toward Cabana, as there is a noticeable section booing him. He gains the advantage early on with his usual antics. Jay snaps off a hurricanrana and connects with a leg lariat. He flatlines Cabana into the middle turnbuckle but runs into a clothesline. Cabana hits a flying hip attack. Jay avoids the flying asshole and connects with a superkick. He follows with a death valley driver for a two count. Cabana is able to hit the flying asshole but Jay immediately responds with the Jay Driller for the victory at 7:08. Considering that there was really no reason for this contest to be booked, they smartly kept the action moving and didn’t allow the match to overstay its welcome. Jay is actually starting to gain some momentum as a singles wrestler. **¼
Match #3: Kenny King and Rhett Titus vs. Brandon and Dustin Cutler
The Cutlers are making their debut in ROH with this match. The All Night Express attack before the bell. They start to work over Dustin but Brandon eventually tags in. The ANX take time to regroup on the floor. Dustin elevates Brandon onto them. Back in, the Cutlers take down King with stereo shoulder tackles. Titus yanks Brandon off the middle rope and the ANX isolate him. He escapes a back suplex from King and is able to make the tag. Dustin hits an ace crusher on King along with a back suplex. The ANX lay out Dustin with a series of kicks and hit a blockbuster. Brandon catches Titus with a plancha while Dustin hits a TKO on King. Dustin plants Titus with a flatliner and Brandon adds a flying elbow drop. King interrupts a tandem tombstone attempt. Titus nearly kills Dustin by sloppily lawn darting him into the corner. King follows with shotgun knees. King hits a backbreaker on Brandon and Titus adds a flying knee drop for the win at 11:01. These two teams just didn’t mesh at all. They had a difficult time stringing together any memorable sequences and the Cutlers didn’t receive much of a chance to showcase their unique offense. The crowd should have been going crazy for the Cutlers. Instead, the crowd remained calm for most of the match. The action wasn’t terrible by any means. However, this has to be seen as a disappointing debut for the Cutlers. **
Match #4: Davey Richards vs. TJ Perkins
They cautiously exchange kicks and trade control on the mat. After constantly dodging each other’s strikes, they humorously agree to take a step back. Richards almost finds success with a crucifix. Perkins escapes a powerbomb attempt and drives his knees into Richards’ chest. Perkins begins to target the left leg until Richards almost traps him in a cross armbreaker. Richards sets his sights on the left arm and connects with a diving headbutt. Perkins finds life after suplexing Richards to the floor, taking himself out as well. Back in, they trade strikes and Richards dropkicks Perkins to the outside. Perkins blocks a dive with a quick hurricanrana. Richards answers with a series of kicks in the corner. Perkins connects with shotgun knees and returns the favor. He blocks the Alarm Clock and hits a powerbomb. Both men are down. Richards sends Perkins to the apron with a stiff kick. Perkins leaps off the top rope but Richards catches him in a fujiwara armbar. Richards hits a superplex and applies a cross armbreaker. Perkins reverses into a sharpshooter but Richards turns it into a small package for a nearfall. They exchange kicks and Perkins delivers a vicious knee strike. Richards avoids a 450 splash and hits a german suplex. Perkins tries a small package to no avail. Richards connects with a discus lariat and a knockout kick. Richards hits a falcon arrow and transitions into a cross armbreaker for the victory at 18:55. A lot can be said about this match. However, the aspect that I appreciated the most was that Richards and Perkins were established as equals from the onset. While the strike exchanges were excellent and the mat work was awesome, those elements worked so well because I legitimately believed that Perkins could win this match. I truly felt like I was watching two of the best at this style lock horns. The match certainly didn’t feel like nineteen minutes and they nicely incorporated the body part work into the closing stretch. This is definitely a match worth seeking out and ROH could gain a lot from using Perkins on a consistent basis. ****
Richards grabs a microphone after the match. He says that he didn’t get his start in Ring of Honor. He references his time in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and says that a lot of guys wouldn’t be where they are today without Perkins. Richards suggests that Perkins should come around ROH more often and offers him a rematch.
Match #5: ROH World Television Title: Christopher Daniels © vs. Mark Briscoe
Allison Danger makes a rare appearance to accompany Daniels to the ring. They trade control of a wristlock and snap off armdrags. Mark grabs hold of a side headlock and connects with a spin kick. He hits a neckbreaker but Daniels responds with a saito suplex. Daniels takes control, hitting a death valley driver. Mark comes back with a clothesline and lands a dive to the floor. Back in, Mark unleashes his karate offense and connects with an enzuigiri. He lays out Daniels with a powerbomb. Daniels avoids a flying elbow drop and locks in the koji clutch. Mark is able to get his foot on the bottom rope. Daniels hits an iconoclasm but gets caught by a corner yakuza kick. Mark connects with a flying elbow drop for a nearfall. Daniels escapes the Cutthroat Driver and hits a uranagi. He can’t land the BME and eats a superkick. Daniels recovers with Angel’s Wings and lands the BME to retain his title at 12:19. While I’m glad that they followed up their booking from the first show of the year where Mark pinned Daniels in the main event, I’m not sure what this accomplished. I never bought Mark winning the title and this match was exactly what you would expect from these two. This was a decent exhibition but I was expecting something more considering the time and effort put toward setting up this encounter. **¾
Match #6: Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin
Much like their first match at Glory By Honor IX, this is a non-title affair. Shelton shows off his strength by hitting a spinebuster and suplex on Claudio. The Kings of Wrestling wear down Haas with strikes until he snaps off a few armdrags on Claudio. Shelton adds a northern lights suplex. Claudio connects with a dropkick on Haas, who quickly returns the favor. The Kings find an opening and begin to isolate Haas. He hits an olympic slam on Claudio and makes the tag. Shelton lands a corner splash on Hero and hits a backbreaker. He follows with an exploder on Claudio. Hero interjects from the apron, allowing Claudio to catch Shelton with a flying european uppercut. The Kings now work over Shelton until he hits a blockbuster on Claudio and makes the tag. Haas german suplexes Hero and snaps off a headscissors on Claudio. He overhead suplexes Claudio and sets up Hero for a double team maneuver. Claudio boots Shelton to the floor to save Hero. The Kings attempt KRS-1 on Haas but Shelton spears Hero. Haas small packages Claudio for a nearfall. Claudio connects with a popup european uppercut on Haas for a close two count. Claudio giant swings Haas into a flash dropkick from Hero. Shelton superkicks Claudio while Hero flash kicks Haas. Hero takes out Shelton with a roaring elbow but Shelton quickly responds with a vicious superkick. Haas escapes the Ricola Bomb and hits an overhead suplex. He synchs in the Haas of Pain on Claudio. Hero tries to break the hold using his loaded elbow pad but Shelton kicks him to the floor. Claudio taps out, giving Haas and Shelton the win at 17:02. These two teams work incredibly well together. Both of their matches have had great structure and they’ve been able to put together some genuinely exciting sequences. This was an effective follow-up to their first match, as Haas and Benjamin learned from their previous encounter and were able to neutralize the loaded elbow pad this time. A rubber match should be forthcoming and the Kings’ titles look to be in serious jeopardy. While this match might not have been as special as their outing at Glory By Honor IX, it was an effective rematch that set up an almost guaranteed excellent finale down the line. ***¾
After the match, Haas promises to win the ROH World Tag Team Titles in 2011.
Match #7: ROH World Title: Roderick Strong © vs. El Generico
Strong wins a quick chop exchange, so Generico takes him to the mat. Strong is able to maintain control on the mat. Generico snaps off a few armdrags and connects with corner punches. He attempts a tornado DDT but Strong crotches him on the top rope. Strong takes control, working over Generico’s midsection. The action goes to the floor where Generico sends Strong into the barricade twice. In the ring, Strong hits a backbreaker and regains control. Generico finds an opening after yakuza kicking Strong off the apron. He follows out with a dive to the floor. Back in, Generico lands a flying crossbody and hits a blue thunder bomb. Strong avoids a corner yakuza kick and connects with a high knee strike. He hits a half nelson backbreaker and locks in a boston crab. Generico is able to reach the bottom rope. Strong spits at Generico and they have a heated strike exchange. Generico hits a michinoku driver and both men are down. Generico dodges a gutbuster and applies a boston crab of his own. Strong reverses into the LeBell Lock but Generico turns it into a pin attempt for a two count. Strong connects with a gamenguiri and a series of forearms. He hits a gutbuster and follows with a superkick for a nearfall. Strong connects with a vicious yakuza kick and hits his orange crush backbreaker for another nearfall. Generico escapes a Gibson Driver attempt and hits a half nelson suplex. He connects with a corner yakuza kick and hits a brainbuster. Strong is able to get his foot on the bottom rope during the pin attempt. He throws a chair into the ring out of desperation. While Todd Sinclair removes the chair, he blasts Generico with the ROH World Title. Strong connects with the Sick Kick and hits the Gibson Driver to retain his title at 21:59. The booking of Strong’s title reign has been questionable at best. However, these two were able to display effective storytelling and made a disappointing finish much more tolerable. During the early portion of the match, Strong was able to successfully contain Generico, who usually relies on energetic spurts of offense. Strong was proving that he didn’t need Truth Martini until he ran into some trouble down the stretch. He then resorted to desperation and the finish came soon after. These two definitely delivered the excellent action that you would expect and Generico had the crowd’s support throughout. While the finish might leave a little to be desired, they did enough to compensate and this was by far the best match that they’ve had together. ****
Strong grabs a microphone and runs down the list of opponents that he has defeated. Christopher Daniels, Davey Richards, and Jay Briscoe run to the ring as Strong escapes through the crowd. Daniels lets Strong know that he is a wanted man. Daniels pays homage to some legends at WrestleReunion and puts over Ring of Honor to end the show.
Overall: What you see is what you get with SoCal Showdown II. The three matches that you would expect to be worth watching deliver in spades. TJ Perkins makes a lasting impression in ROH on this show by having a tremendous match with Davey Richards. The Kings of Wrestling continue to have great matches with Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin and their encounter on this show nicely sets up the rubber match. Finally, Roderick Strong and El Generico end the show on a high note with an excellent ROH World Title match. Those three matches are well worth your time. The rest of the card is nothing special, but the contests are rather short and aren’t a chore to watch. SoCal Showdown II receives a solid recommendation and ROH has created some momentum to start 2011.
