November 6th, 2011 in Collinsville, Illinois
Opening Match: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Andy Ridge
Ciampa attacks before the opening bell with a german suplex. He connects with a facewash knee strike and throws Ridge into the barricade. Ridge returns the favor after a few kicks. In the ring, they trade strikes and Ciampa takes control. Ridge fights back with a series of kicks. Mia Yim distracts the referee while Prince Nana attacks Ridge from behind. Delirious comes out and chases away Nana. He also kisses Yim while he’s at it. Ridge hits a slingshot ace crusher for a nearfall. Ciampa blocks a hurricanrana and hits Project Ciampa for the win at 6:27. I’m happy that Ridge wasn’t totally squashed here, as there was a point in time where Ring of Honor actually saw something in him. The appearance by Delirious excited the crowd in what was an inconsequential opener. **
Match #2: Jay Briscoe vs. TJ Perkins
Perkins connects with a dropkick after a fast-paced exchange. Jay responds with a mafia kick and tries to ground Perkins. That doesn’t last very long, as Perkins is able to connect with a springboard dropkick. He follows with a knee strike and hits rolling northern lights suplexes. They exchange strikes and Perkins hits a neckbreaker. Jay answers with a flatliner into the middle turnbuckle. Perkins blocks a charge and connects with a superkick. He runs into a boot but recovers with a powerbomb. Jay hits a spinebuster but Perkins answers with a german suplex. They trade strikes and Jay hits the Jay Driller for the victory at 8:45. These two had solid chemistry together and delivered an entertaining exhibition for the time given. Perkins was on point with his offense and came out of this match looking strong despite the loss. It’s amazing how much crowd support the Briscoes currently have and this was a nice win for Jay. **¾
Match #3: Steve Corino and Jimmy Jacobs vs. Harlem and Lance Bravado
Kevin Kelly informs us that this is the first time Corino and Jacobs have teamed in Ring of Honor, despite being aligned for quite some time. Corino and Harlem have an exchange where not much happens. Jacobs pretends to pass out from a sleeper hold by Lance and snaps off a satellite headscissors. The Bravados start to argue with Todd Sinclair. Corino and Jacobs force Sinclair to take down the Bravados with a double clothesline. The Bravados find an opening to isolate Jacobs. He clotheslines Harlem and makes the tag. Corino hits a DDT-flatliner combination on the Bravados. They then fall victim to stereo thumbs in the bumb. I don’t know what else to call it. The Bravados hit the Gentleman’s Approach on Corino. Jacobs spears Lance and hits the Contra Code on Harlem. Corino connects with the Eternal Dream on Harlem for the win at 8:48. This match didn’t exactly do wonders for the Bravados, as Corino and Jacobs pretty much ran through them once they became serious. The comedy in the beginning portion of the contest worked well, but I think everyone would have benefited more from a competitive match. **¼
Match #4: Michael Elgin vs. Grizzly Redwood
Grizzly lures Elgin to the floor but gets caught on a dive attempt. Elgin swings him into the barricade and military presses him back into the ring. Elgin maintains control despite Grizzly’s best efforts to fight back. Grizzly connects with an enzuigiri followed by corner punches. He hurricanranas Elgin into the middle turnbuckle and hits a bulldog. Elgin catches Grizzly with a black hole slam and applies a boston crab for the victory at 7:36. Elgin received a chance to showcase his impressive offense. You could argue that he should have looked more dominant here or that Grizzly shouldn’t have lasted eight minutes, but I thought that this was fine for what it was. *½
Match #5: ROH World Tag Team Titles: Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin © vs. Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly
Shelton has injured ribs due to an attack by the Briscoes. Haas controls on the mat against Cole before being taken down by a shoulder tackle. O’Reilly elbows Shelton in the ribs and he immediately retreats to his corner. They trade control on the mat until O’Reilly once again targets Shelton’s ribs. Shelton hits an exploder on Cole, who responds by kicking him in the ribs. Future Shock work over Shelton until he catches O’Reilly with a clothesline. The champions now isolate O’Reilly until Shelton loses grip of him and Cole tags into the match. Cole hits a neckbreaker on Shelton and snaps off a hurricanrana on Haas. He lands a dive to the outside onto Haas and connects with a missile dropkick on Shelton. Future Shock lay out Shelton with a double team suplex and connect with stereo superkicks on Haas. Cole lands a plancha onto Haas. O’Reilly locks in a guillotine on Shelton while Cole does the same to Haas. The champions are able to break free of the holds. They hit stereo rolling german suplexes on Future Shock but find themselves in guillotines once again. Shelton escapes the hold and hits a samoan drop on Cole. WGTT botch a double team powerbomb on O’Reilly. That completely killed the crowd. Haas applies the Haas of Pain on O’Reilly and WGTT retain their titles at 19:33. I know that hating WGTT is the thing to do these days, but they really dragged this match down. They never attempted to mix up their offense and telegraphed the finish with their sloppy powerbomb. Luckily, Cole and O’Reilly were able to get the crowd to care about the action and despite the slow start, this match had its moments down the stretch. I’m anxiously awaiting the day that WGTT drop the titles. ***
Match #6: Mia Yim vs. MsChif
MsChif stretches Yim and hits a gutbuster. Yim connects with a series of kicks but almost gets caught by a rollup. Yim regains control after a corner yakuza kick. She hits a gutwrench suplex but MsChif answers with a standing moonsault. MsChif ducks a knockout kick and hits a sit-out slam. Yim responds with a german suplex and punts MsChif in the chest for a nearfall. MsChif avoids a corkscrew press and hits the Desecrator for the win at 4:44. I have a difficult time getting behind these matches when Ring of Honor doesn’t seem to be too concerned about making women’s wrestling a permanent fixture on their shows. With that said, these two didn’t mesh well and the action never came together. *¼
Match #7: Jay Lethal vs. Mark Briscoe
If Mark can defeat Lethal or last the time limit, he will receive a shot at the World Television Title. Lethal snaps off a hurricanrana and connects with a springboard dropkick. He lands a dive to the floor and connects with a leg lariat back in the ring. Lethal synchs in an indian deathlock. Mark crotches him on the top rope and knocks him to the outside. He throws Lethal into the barricade and takes over in the ring. Lethal comes back with a handspring elbow. They trade strikes and Lethal hits a handspring ace crusher. Mark responds with a death valley driver and an exploder. They battle up top and Lethal knocks Mark down to the canvas. They tease finishers and Lethal connects with a superkick. Lethal hits the Lethal Combination and lands a flying elbow drop for the victory at 11:17. These two wrestled an engaging back and forth contest but I think the finish came before the match could reach a higher gear. Mark never really looked like he was in a position to win this match, which is a shame because I could see these two having a quality title match if given more time. **¾
Match #8: Mike Bennett vs. El Generico
Generico lays in a chop but runs into a scoop slam. He recovers with a couple of armdrags and Bennett takes some time to regroup. Generico teases a dive and chases Bennett around ringside. In the ring, Generico connects with corner punches followed by a leg lariat. Bennett distracts the referee while Brutal Bob trips Generico on the apron. Bennett throws Generico into the barricade and takes control in the ring. Generico lures him to the floor and follows out with a dive. Back in, Generico lands a flying crossbody and hits a blue thunder bomb. Bennett answers with a TKO and a spinebuster. They trade strikes and Bennett blocks a brainbuster. Generico catches him with a corner yakuza kick and hits a brainbuster for a nearfall. Brutal Bob interjects himself and distracts Generico. Bennett can’t hit the Box Office Smash and Generico plants him with another brainbuster for the win at 12:21. This was your standard Mike Bennett match. I don’t even think it matters who you put him into the ring with, the match is going to progress the same exact way. Generico was great as usual but there’s just something a bit mind-numbing about Bennett’s matches. **¼
Brutal Bob gets in Generico’s face and eats a yakuza kick for his troubles. Bennett hits the Box Office Smash on Generico and stands tall.
Match #9: Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards vs. Kenny King and Rhett Titus
Edwards and King begin with some chain wrestling and find themselves at a stalemate. Richards almost traps Titus in an ankle lock as he quickly reaches the bottom rope. Things start getting heated after a slap exchange. Titus catches Richards with a flying knee strike and the All Night Express work him over. The American Wolves turn the tide with stereo dives to the floor. In the ring, Edwards wins a chop exchange against Titus and the American Wolves isolate him. He drops Edwards with snake eyes and makes the tag. King hits an STO on Edwards and lands a standing moonsault. He follows with a backbreaker and a springboard leg drop. After being trapped in the wrong corner for awhile, Edwards is able to tag out. Richards connects with a double missile dropkick. He punts Titus from the apron and catches King with a flying double stomp. Richards applies an ankle lock on King, who is able to power out of the hold. King misses a plancha to the outside but lands a corkscrew senton off the apron onto the American Wolves. Titus follows with a dive of his own. Back in, Richards and King exchange forearms. King blocks the Alarm Clock and hits an exploder. Titus comes off the top with double knees onto Richards. King connects with a spin kick on Richards but gets caught by a missile dropkick from Edwards. Richards hits a saito suplex on Titus…but he’s back up! Titus connects with a dropkick on Richards and all four men are down. Everyone trades strikes with each other. Richards locks in a cross armbreaker on King while Edwards traps Titus in an achilles lock. The All Night Express turn the holds into pin attempts for nearfalls. King unleashes a flurry of strikes but falls victim to a superkick-german suplex combination. The American Wolves hit a powerbomb-backcracker combination on King for a two count. Edwards applies the achilles lock on King but Titus breaks up the hold. Richards goes up top. The All Night Express send Edwards into the corner, knocking Richards off the top rope and through a table at ringside. The All Night Express hit a powerbomb-blockbuster combination on Edwards for a nearfall. Titus lands a frog splash onto Edwards and King follows with a shooting star press for the victory at 26:14. Once the action picked up, I thought this match turned into a great main event. As I’ll talk about in my overall thoughts, this show was pretty much your definition of a “B show.” However, these two teams didn’t try for an epic forty-minute main event to save the show and I’m extremely thankful for that. I think the All Night Express have proved that they deserve to win the ROH World Tag Team Titles at some point in 2012 and this match should provide further evidence. I also liked the finish as it highlighted the miscommunication between Richards and Edwards. While this match didn’t save the show, I think it undoubtedly accomplished its goal of making the All Night Express look like stars while furthering the tension between the American Wolves. ***¾
Overall: Ring of Honor claims that they don’t put on “B shows.” In my opinion, this was a “B show.” If you ask me six months from now, I probably won’t be able to tell you anything about Gateway to Honor’s undercard. The only thing that I’ll remember from this show is the main event, which featured terrific action and gave the All Night Express a huge victory. Not only was the match quality not up to par; nothing significant storyline-wise happened on this show. Honestly, there’s really not much more to say. I can’t justify a recommendation here unless you are a diehard All Night Express fan.