ROH TV 10/15/11 Recap & Review

It's double main event time this week for ROH, with former world champion Eddie Edwards taking on the man they call Unbreakable, Michael Elgin, and The Briscoes tackling the All-Night Express one more time to determine the number one contenders to the tag team titles. All this and more this week on ROH TV.

The Briscoes vs. The All-Night Express

Recap: In a match to determine the number one contenders to Haas & Benjamin's tag team titles, it was the Briscoes coming out on top, but as has been the case with most of their victories over the All-Night Express this year, it wasn't exactly a clean victory. The two teams remained even in the early going until the Briscoes' teaming experience gave them the advantage and they isolated Rhett Titus. King finally tagged into the match and cleaned house and it looked as though the ANX would finally triumph, but with Mark and Titus tied up in the ropes and commanding the referee's attention, Jay punted King between his legs and rolled him up for the three count. After the match Titus attacked the Briscoes but was laid out. Jim Cornette later declared that due to the controversial finish the Briscoes were not number one contenders.

Review: Despite the fact the matches between these two teams are well into the double digits at this point, this still seemed fresh and exciting, much like the Future Shock/Bravados matches. We saw some innovative new sequences from both teams to compliment their signature stuff and they did a lot with only ten minutes of ring time. The finish was a little annoying given the Briscoes have cheated to win every time out, but this is their first encounter on television, so I suppose the point needs hammering home and I can excuse it for now. Unfortunately the curse of continuity has struck again though, as the ANX's earned number one contender status from DBD9 doesn't apply thanks to the TV tapings taking place before said encounter. Sigh.

Focus On: Haas & Benjamin

Wrestling's 12th Greatest Tag Team list their amateur wrestling accolades, kiss up to the fans, blow their own trumpets, yada yada yada. They're good wrestlers and are holding the tag titles so I don't begrudge them being pushed and getting camera time, but I'm getting sick of them. But if you read my reviews regularly you know that already so let's just move on.

Inside ROH: The House of Truth and the Wolves

First we look at Truth Martini, with Cornette giving him the same treatment as Brutal Bob and Prince Nana in weeks previous. Davey Richards agrees Truth is scum and manages to reference his grandfather again. They do highlight how Martini took Roderick Strong to the world title though, and then big-up Michael Elgin, showing some of his awesome feats of strength. One problem is Elgin doesn't seem so threatening when he's doing a sof

t-spoken sit-down interview. Just like Tommaso Ciampa last week, I think he's better suited to those over the top shouting promos to make him seem intimidating. Then the Wolves talk about how they're tied at one victory each and discuss the possibility of a rematch.

Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin

Recap: Eddie Edwards' dominance over the House of Truth continued in the second main event of the evening as he triumphed over 'Unbreakable' Michael Elgin with the Die Hard. Edwards employed a hit and move strategy to wear the behemoth down, but eventually Elgin caught him and employed that seemingly limitless power to control the match. Edwards found a way back into the match however and seemed to be closing in on victory until Elgin attacked his formerly injured arm. Undeterred, Edwards put his best foot forward quite literally, using a series of superkicks and double stomps to weaken Elgin and allow him to hit his finishing move for the win. After the match Roderick Strong hit the ring and the House tried to intimidate Edwards until Nigel McGuinness came to Edwards' aid. Nothing came of the stand-off however.

Review: Eddie Edwards is better than Davey Richards. There, I said it. As for this match, I really enjoyed it, with Edwards keeping the pace moving with his exciting offense, and Elgin trying over and over again to employ his power, continually blocking Edwards' attacks or hoisting him up on his shoulders. Edwards escaped the first few times but eventually Elgin got him. That being said, Elgin didn't get quite enough offense in this one to make it anything special, but they were only given a little over ten minutes to work with. Let's not forget how good the match these two had the night before Edwards won the title was. The crowd were a little dead, but this was the last match of the five hour tapings, so it's understandable. There were times it seems their level of noise didn't match their bodies, so I suspect a little careful editing may have taken place, but who can be sure. Oh, and Edwards hit a suicide dive without injuring himself! As for Nigel's foray into the ring I don't think it was handled right. Kevin Kelly should have gone nuts on commentary instead of remaining silent, and the cameras should have been locked on Nigel's face and upper body instead of going with shots of his back from a distance. This was meant to be a huge moment and it came off as meaningless.

Overall Thoughts

– In terms of wrestling content this was probably the best episode of ROH on Sinclair to date, but it was billed as a double main event to be fair. The opening tag match was pretty good, but it has stiff competition from the plethora of other ANX/Briscoes matches that have taken place this year alone. For a TV match it was great. Elgin/Edwards was enjoyable if a little too brief.

– Jim Cornette was all over the episode and I'll again voice my displeasure with the job he's currently doing. The way he runs down the managers of ROH makes theoretical sense but there's something about the execution I don't like. He also said he wouldn't be naming a number one contender until he got to the bottom of the situation, after already stating he saw the low blow finish, meaning he already is at the bottom of it.

– Bring back Dave Prazak.

– Given how abysmal Raw was this week, this is an extremely easy recommendation.