Ring of Honor Showdown in the Sun Night One LIVE Results

ROH presents the first of their Wrestlemania weekend shows headlined by a triple threat world championship match between Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong. Meanwhile Kevin Steen and El Generico meet in a Last Man Standing match, 'The Prodigy' Mike Bennett does battle with a returning Lance Storm and much much more.

Proving Ground Match

The Briscoes vs. Shane Haste & Mikey Nichols

– Haste started off well against Mark but was quickly thrown to the outside where the Briscoes dominated both members of TMDK, dominance that continued back inside the ring, with Jay unloading on Haste and Nichols.

– TMDK got back into it after tripping Mark as he ran the ropes and then hitting a slingshot double stomp from the ring onto the apron. The Aussies doubled Mark for a while but he kept hitting back, surviving a huge leaping hurricanrana and eventually landed on his feet out of a back body drop and tagged Jay.

– Jay cleans house and hits a Falcon Arrow (he's done the deal!) but can't get the pin. TMDK hit the Kangaroo Express, an insane double team that sees Haste hit a running powerslam, followed by Nichols hitting a poetry in motion shooting star senton in the corner! They follow with their elevated DDT finisher but can't get the win.

– The Briscoes double team their way back into it, with Mark hitting the Frog Elbow. Doomsday Device finishes it.

Result: The Briscoes pin TMDK (Doomsday Device)

Review: Pretty hard to follow this match as the audio and the video didn't match up at all. Seemed fun and had some crazy moves from TMDK, but I'll have to review this properly on demand (if they can retroactively fix the technical glitch)

Adam Pearce In-Ring Segment

– Jim Cornette invites NWA Champion Adam Pearce (in street clothes) to the ring and discusses his allegedly questionable victory over Adam Cole last night. Pearce shrugs it off and says it's good to be home, and calls Cole good but not great.

– Adam Cole heads to the ring in his wrestling gear and says Pearce was in fact the better man last night but guarantees he'd win a rematch.

– Pearce gets hot and says they can go at it right now, claiming he could beat him in two minutes. The crowd are surprisingly hot for it. Cornette claims he can't authorise a title match but reluctantly agrees to sanction the match right now. Pearce removes his jacket and is in fact going to work in a shirt and jeans.

Adam Cole vs. Adam Pearce

– Pearce attacks Cole the moment the bell rings but Cole fights back with a dropkick and then a suicide dive, taking the fight to Pearce on the floor.

– A ridiculously huge Chokeslam gets Pearce back into it and he removes his shirt. Make of that what you will. Pearce pummels the youngster for a couple of minutes and then hits an insane Ki-Krusher-esque move for a near fall.

– Cole eventually hits a leaping kick from the outside but misses the diving crossbody and Pearce goes back on the attack. Cole avoids a corner attack and nails a Superkick and a Shining Wizard for two. He tries the Florida Key but Pearce shoves him into the corner.

– Pearce tries a Piledriver but Cole tosses him overhead. Scrap-Iron tries a sunset flip pin but Cole sits down on it for the surprise victory.

Result: Adam Cole pins Adam Pearce (Sunset Flip Reversal)

Review: Again, audio-lag made this difficult to watch but it seemed fine. The live crowd were surprisingly into Pearce and he looked much better than the last time I saw him, which was admittedly a while ago. Cole continues to build momentum in ROH, and the NWA gets some exposure on an iPPV, win win.

– Pearce raises Cole's hand after the match and leaves without any kind of sneak attack. You've changed man!

– Apparently the Young Bucks won the coin flip earlier today so the next match will be a Tornado Tag.

Dual Duel Part 1: Tornado Tag Rules

The Young Bucks vs. The All-Night Express

– Some kicks and dives early, but this feed is so messed up I can't really comprehend what I'm seeing.

– Okay, the feed refreshes in-sync with the Bucks hitting a rope-hung double stomp followed by a suicide dive to the outside. They attempt the Figure Four/450 combo they used at Final Battle but King breaks it up. Oh good, the lag is back. The Bucks hit some more of their double teams and play to the crowd.

– The Bucks beat down King inside the ring and leave Titus subdued on the outside.  Rhettski makes it back inside and double clotheslines the Bucks before going to town on them with a nice little spinning clothesline and a dropkick.

– Shotgun Knees followed by a lifting Samoan Drop gets the ANX a near-fall. They try the Original One Night Stand but the Bucks block and hit a double superkick on King. Stereo 450 Splashes only get two!

– They go for More Bang For Your Buck but King breaks it up with a leaping kick. He tries the cartwheel kick but gets superkicked in the back of the head. Titus uses an O'Connor roll and gets the pin.

Recap: The All-Night Express pin The Young Bucks (O'Connor Roll)

Review: I don't know. No, I really don't. They need to stop this show and fix the feed right now or just shut off the audio until it's fixed because it's so hard to take in when you're hearing things that aren't happening yet. From what I could tell this wasn't that functionally different than a regular tag with one man isolated inside the ring and one on the outside, and one long hot-tag. Lots of athletic spots so I guess it was good.

– The Bucks attack Titus' knee with a chair after the match and King chases them away. Titus struggles to walk, but leaves under his own power.

The Embassy LTD. In-Ring Segment

– Prince Nana insults the crowd and then defers to R.D. Evans about the TV Title situation. Evans claims he could beat an injunction in court if he wanted to but the Embassy are going to give the belt back anyway. Apparently it's in Ciampa's trophy case at home, so Ernesto Osiris is going to fetch it so they can give it back to Lethal tomorrow. Nana sings 'We're In The Money' and the Embassy leave.

ROH TV Title Match

Jay Lethal (C) vs. Kyle O'Reilly

– O'Reilly was booed by the fans and smirks a little as Kevin Kelly says how he lost a little respect for him after his disrespect at the end of the 10th Anniversary Show. Tommaso Ciampa heads to ringside and sits in a chair to watch. Better than watching this horrible feed.

– Okay I've muted the audio. They chain wrestle their little hearts out and O'Reilly slaps Lethal in the face. Heel. Lethal eventually gets the upper-hand with his hip toss and cartwheel dropkick combo, before tying O'Reilly up in knots.

– O'Reilly catches Lethal coming off the ropes with a a pair of knees and then hits a backbreaker for a near fall. He then demonstrates his own knot-tying skills and fires off a few strikes for good measure.

– Lethal ducks an O'Reilly clothesline from the apron and hits a springboard dropkick. They block each other's dive attempts and leap up onto the stage where O'Reilly hits a spinning leg sweep to floor Lethal.

– O'Reilly continues to take it to the champ back in the ring with several strikes and submission attempts, most notably the guilliotine choke, but Lethal escapes by driving him into the corner and hitting a flatliner, a modified Lethal Combination.

– Lethal hits a Springboard Back Elbow for two. His advantage doesn't last long though and O'Reilly kills him in the corner with a running high kick and follows with an insane back superplex for two.

– O'Reilly gets cocky, paintbrushing Lethal with his foot and then starts his killer strike combination but Lethal jumps over the sweep and hits a huge superkick. Lethal Injection! Over.

Result: Jay Lethal retains over Kyle O'Reilly (Lethal Injection)

Review: O'Reilly looked like a million bucks here, putting in easily one of his best performances in ROH. He was working as a heel, but not in a cheating or cowardly way, and was still very exciting. Seriously, Lethal never really held an advantage for more than two moves in a row and really just punished O'Reilly's (well earned) overconfidence and put him away quickly when he saw an opening. Fun match.

– Ciampa and Lethal have an extended stand-off but don't come to blows.

Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin vs. Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander

– WGTT blindside C&C during the handshaking process and pay for it after some unorthodox double team combinations. Haas distracts Coleman on the outside and he eats a Benjamin kick. The former champions isolate Caprice inside the ring. Haas tries to paralyse him with a back suplex onto the guard rail!

– Haas and Benjamin take turns putting on rest holds until Coleman tries a crazy springboard but Haas just catches him and dumps him down like Kurt Angle used to do against smaller men. Benjamin beats on Coleman like he owes him money and hurls him overhead with a belly to belly suplex for two.

– Oh hey, this isn't a handicap match after all! Coleman hits a double dropkick and tags in Alexander who goes cray-cray with kicks on Haas and Benjamin. Caprice hits his spinning wheel kick/moonsault corner combo!

– C&C set up for their double team finisher but Haas hits Caprice with an Olympic Slam and then Benjamin kills Alexander dead with a vaulting super exploder. Match over. Damn.

Result: Haas & Benjamin pin Coleman & Alexander (Super Exploder)

Review: The isolation of Caprice Coleman lasted a painfully long time. I wasn't bored by it, but it started to reach a point of discomfort as if they'd forgotten it was a tag team match. Alexander really brought the pain when he did get in the ring, but that wasn't for very long at all, as after cleaning house for 30-45 seconds they went straight into the closing stretch which saw WGTT snatching victory away thanks to greater experience and… well, being better.

– The entire feed, video and audio died for about 5 minutes.

Lance Storm vs. Mike Bennett (w/Maria)

– When I got the feed back Storm was using some wonderful counters to outsmarting Bennett as both men work each other's arms. A nice dropkick gets Storm two. A mini-brawl on the floor goes Storm's way, but Bennett misdirects the referee and finally gets the advantage as Storm tries to get back in the ring. More brawling around the ring and Bennett his a dropkick for two.

– Bennett stomps a mud-hole in the corner and then does a little posing. Rest hold! Storm escapes with a jawbreaker but gets caught with a stiff looking right hand. They're really slugging it out now and Storm prevails, hitting several strikes, culminating in a leg lariat for two.

– Storm hits a springboard forearm smash for another near fall and then sets up a superkick, which Bennett of course blocks and then hits a big spinebuster for two. They stumble and hesitate a little and Bennett hits the Box Office Smash but Storm kicks out. He ducks a lariat and nails a huge Superkick but Bennett kicks out too.

– Storm tries the Maple Leaf but Bennett just hops on over the takedown and hits a spear for another near fall. Storm starts to dismantle Bennett's knee but the Prodigy kicks his way free. He goes for a TKO but Storm uses another wonderful counter and locks in the Half Crab! Bennett crawls for the ropes but Storm drags him back! Bennett finally gets the ropes.

– Storm tries a superplex but Maria grabs his foot… Super Box Office Smash!!! Storm kicks out!! Bennett punches Storm repeatedly, talks some trash and hits a big TKO for the win. Wow.

Result: Mike Bennett pins Lance Storm (TKO)

Review: Well I'll be damned. Guys… Mike Bennett just had an awesome match. Lance Storm didn't have a great match in spite of Bennett's shortcomings, Mike Bennett had an awesome match. Both guys brought it and there was plenty of tension and drama (couldn't really gauge the crowd reaction as I muted a while ago). There was one awkward moment in the middle but seriously, you need to witness this. THIS Prodigy I could handle on a regular basis no problem.

– Storm gets a standing O after the match and Bennett heads back inside to shake his hand. Face turn? No, stupid! Box Office Smash! Mike Bennett, you heat machine. He and Maria leave in their matching pink outfits as Kevin Kelly admonishes them. Come to think of it I don't think Brutal Bob was in attendance. Hard to tell when I'm looking at Maria.

Last Man Standing Match

Kevin Steen vs. El Generico

– Yakuza kick! Exploder into the turnbuckle! Flip dive to the outside! Yes, that is how the match started. Generico throws every chair in the known universe into the ring and then attacks Steen with… a spare ring rope?!? Okay. They make it back inside and Generico goes bananas with like a 30-punch in the corner. Put all of the belts on this man.

– Steen finally hits an offensive move, reversing a Generico dive into the ring with an ace crusher and following up with a big chair shot to the back. Both men block chair shots and Steen hits a chair-assisted codebreaker and then follows up with the flipping leg drop with a chair on Generico's head. Generico beats the ten count at some random number (no audio).

– Generico tries to fire back with his rope walk tornado DDT but Steen backbreakers him to death. Corner cannonball! And again with a chair in the way! Steen sprawls out on a set up chair as the crowd appear to go wild. Generico again beats the count.

-Generico low bridges Steen and tries another dive but Steen trips him and then hits a powerbomb onto the ring frame. That move never gets any less brutal. Steen accidentally murders a ringside attendant with a yakuza kick and then eats two from Generico.

– They end up on the stage and both go for life-ending moves but can't hit them. Oh wait, there's a Michinoku Driver from Generico! The count is on. It reaches 9 before Steen cleverly rolls off the stage and thus onto his feet to break it. Nice. Generico sprints the length of the stage and hits a monster flip dive to wipe Steen out. Steen again beats the count so Generico walks off the stage, across the guard rail a little and then hits a tornado DDT! GENERICO IS A BEAST.

– Steen beats the count again so Generico hits a falling yakuza kick off the apron. He sets up a table and puts Steen on it, setting up some kind of dive, but Steen, looking like a villain from a slasher film springs into life and trips him. Steen places Generico on the table on the outside, runs the ropes and hits a vaulting swanton!!!

– Generico beats the count so Steen props up two chairs next to each other in the middle of the ring and tries to put Generico through them but he reverses and hits a half and half!!! He tries a Brainbuster through a chair but Steen reverses and hits his pumphandle neckbreaker through a motherloving chair. Generico is up! Generico is down. Steen puts a chair on top of him and heads to the top rope. Generico springs onto his feet and hits the mother of all Yakuza kicks to knock Steen to the outside.

– They flip each other off and spit a little… Yakuza! Half and Half! He tries for a Brainbuster but Steen reverses. They each go for their finishers but keep countering. Brainbuster! Both men get to their feet holding chairs and swing wildly. Steen low blows Generico to disarm him and then sets up a kill-shot but here's Jimmy Jacobs!

– Half and Half from Generico and Jacobs picks up the chair and hands it to Generico. Kill-Shot coming but Jacobs spikes Generico!!!! Jimmy laughs with the Spike between his teeth. Generico is defenceless on his knees and Steen has a chair… he hands it to Jacobs who hits a big chair shot. Hilariously, Steen pretends to pass out as Generico actually passes out in perfect unity. The ref counts Generico out as Steen and Jacobs celebrate.

Result: Kevin Steen defeats El Generico (Jacobs Chair Shot)

Review: How does one find the words for these Steenerico death matches? Seriously, how? This was as good as any of the others, just swap out some of the old dangerous spots for some new dangerous spots. Car crash wrestling? Absolutely. Awesome in the truest sense of the word? You betcha. The Jacobs turn could be seen coming a mile away, and they're three months too late with it, but at least they got there in the end. Generico was phenomenal here and left mostly under his own power so I can't see him being written out of ROH just yet.

ROH World Championship Match

Davey Richards (C) vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong (w/Truth Martini)

– They share a three-way handshake to get started, followed by Roddy going to work on both Wolves and looking good doing it. Davey kicks Strong out of the ring and the former Wolves have a stare down and then trade elbows. Ya know, like always.

– Davey and Eddie kick each other in the face a lot with Eddie triumphing. Davey ducks and dodges before hitting a dropkick and then locks in the cycling crab on Edwards. Strong takes advantage and lays out both men again. Strong continues to dominate, getting near falls on both men and doing a good job of not focusing on either man for too long.

– Davey uses that roll-up/northern lights suplex into a double pin sequence for a near fall. High Knee from Roddy! Spinning lariat from Davey! Everybody is down. Davey and Eddie go all Davey and Eddie on each other, with Richards unloading with Kawada kicks. The Almighty Roderick has seen enough and intervenes with chops and elbows.

– A triangle of doom is formed with all three men taking turns to kick, chop and elbow each other until the Wolves get the band back together and put Strong down before going for stereo running kicks but Roddy avoids and they clash shins. Ouchies. Strong crotches Eddie on the top rope and makes Davey dropkick him. Roddy hits a big suplex on the champ for a near fall and then an enzuigiri that allows Eddie to follow with a Tiger Suplex for two. Backpack Stunner on Strong gets another two.

– Eddie gets knocked to the outside and Roddy tries a gutbuster but Davey counters like a demon and locks in the trailer hitch. Edwards walks around the ring a little showing no urgency to break up the hold and nonchalantly starts kicking Davey but he won't release the hold. Davey catches another kick attempt and locks in an Ankle Lock! He has both submissions on at once! That was cool. Both men reach the ropes though.

– They all battle for position on the apron, culminating in a back suplex on the apron by Roddy to Eddie and then a suicide dive from Richards into Strong. Crowd appear feverish. Richards goes up top but Eddie kicks him to the floor. Asai Moonsault from Edwards wipes out both men!

– Eddie and Roddy turn up the heat inside the ring, countering like crazy before Edwards hits the Die Hard for two. He goes up top but here's Richards with a vault to the top rope and a superplex into a falcon arrow and a cross armbreaker! Strong puts Richards into the Strong Hold to break it up and places his knee right into the champion's back. Eddie breaks it up.

– Double team Alarm Clock from the Wolves! Superkick ducked and it hits Richards! Sick Kick to Edwards but Roddy only gets two. The Wolves end up crotched on adjacent turnbuckles and Strong tries a superplex but gets shoved down. Double stomp from Davey! Dragon Suplex… Edwards breaks it up with a double stomp! Folding facebuster gets two. Powerbomb/Lungblower combo from the Wolves! Edwards knocks Truth off the apron… roll up from Strong… 3 count! Oh, it's elimination.

Eddie Edwards is eliminated (Roderick Strong roll-up)

– Davey hits a a Dragon Suplex for two. High kick! Two. Ankle Lock! Roddy escapes and hits a high knee and then the Sick Kick for two. Gutbuster! Gibson Driver! Two. He tries a superplex but Davey uses the headbutts of doom to knock him down, punts Truth Martini on the outside, hits a double stomp, rolls to the other side of the ring and then hits another for two. Gibosn Driver from Richards? Two. Superkick! Spin kick to the face! It's over.

Result: Davey Richards eliminates Roderick Strong to retain (Kick to the Face)

Review: Holy Smokes Batman! Roddy deserves another real push after what he did here tonight. I don't know if it was the whole being in Florida thing, but he was so motivated and it was great watching him dominate both Wolves over and over. They came up with some really fun little three-man spots and it was non-stop action. If you're not into that then as usual, you won't like this. However if you have a pulse then I hope you enjoyed the match, because they went cray-cray. Watching on mute I thought Roddy had won the title by pinning Edwards so marked out big, but was then brought back to earth with the dreaded Davey face kick finish, but hey, it is what it is. The match was still really good.

– Michael Elgin obliterates Davey after the match with a Spiral Powerbomb. Truth Martini says some things I can't hear as Elgin holds the belt high. Roddy looks… amused… or bemused. One of those two. He leaves quietly as Martini and Elgin pose together and laugh. Richards looks annoyed. Show over.

Show Review

– How about that superior live-streaming experience that only GoFightLive can deliver? It doesn't take a genius to predict the technical failings from this event will be discussed relentlessly and the ROH detractors will have themselves a lolocaust about it, ignoring the fact that every DGUSA iPPV to date has had technical hitches. But I can't defend what occurred this evening. They knew these events were taking place a long time ago and had plenty of chances to test the internet capabilities. They'd be smart to give away night two for free or offer some kind of compensation because with the sound up this event was borderline unwatchable. Seriously, try doing a live recap when the audio and the picture don't match.

– What I CAN defend is the actual show. If you, like me, muted the audio when you realised this wasn't geting fixed then sure, you missed out on all the promos, but you at least got to see the action without any confusion. And what you would have seen was a damn fine wrestling show. The best one ROH have had in a long time in fact. Every single match was good-to-great, with the top three all falling into great category.

– I can't stress enough how good the Mike Bennett/Lance Storm match was. The Steenerico match was as usual, mindless violence at its absolute best, and while I would have preferred the Jacobs turn to have occurred much earlier, at least we got there in the end. The main event was much better than the two Davey/Eddie matches despite sharing a common finish.

– Every single wrestler on this card brought it tonight in a big way, from the Briscoes and TMDK in the opener right up to Davey, Eddie and in particular Roderick Strong in the main event. He and El Generico get co-MVP honours from me.

– Essentially with fixed audio this would go down as the best ROH iPPV since Death Before Dishonor VIII without question. I just hope a significant portion of the audience watches the fixed replay so they can enjoy the event as it should have been.