*Essentially, this DVD contains four full episodes of Ring of Honor television (#55-58) covering the Survival of the Fittest 2012 tournament. The main DVD menu separates the matches by episode number.
Match #1: Survival of the Fittest 2012 Qualifier: Adam Cole vs. Tadarius Thomas
They block each other’s kicks. Thomas flips out of a hurricanrana. Cole catches him with an atomic drop and hits a northern lights suplex. He follows with a neckbreaker. Thomas fires back with a knee to the head and sweeps Cole into a lariat. They exchange forearms and kicks. Both men are down. Cole hits a brainbuster across his knee. Thomas headbutts a punch away and connects with a kick out of nowhere. Cole retreats to the floor. Thomas dives off the apron but eats a superkick. In the ring, Cole connects with a superkick and hits the Florida Key for the win at 6:42. As long as Thomas is able to make consistent appearances for ROH, he’ll have no problem winning crowds over. He’s incredibly innovative and his offense doesn’t come off as hokey or forced. Cole worked well with him and they made the most out of their seven minutes. **¾
Fusion DS and Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team come out for their scheduled match. Rhett Titus interrupts, tells Fusion DS to hit the bricks, and challenges WGTT. Haas calls Titus stupid for not having a partner. Enter BJ Whitmer…
Match #2: Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin vs. Rhett Titus and BJ Whitmer
Whitmer connects with a leg lariat on Shelton while Titus throws Haas into the barricade. Haas blocks a springboard maneuver from Titus and Shelton connects with a running knee strike. WGTT isolate Titus until he avoids a charge from Haas and makes the tag. Whitmer hits an exploder on Haas and a spinebuster on Shelton. Whitmer rolls up Shelton for the victory at 4:47. While not the ideal way to introduce Whitmer and Titus as a team, I’m glad that Whitmer has some kind of established role in the company. *¾
WGTT conduct a post-match attack. Shelton hits Pay Dirt on Whitmer and WGTT crotch him on the ringpost. Kevin Kelly is offended.
SCUM make their way to the ring. Kevin Steen calls out Michael Elgin. Truth Martini accompanies him to the ring. Steen asks Elgin about the dissention in the House of Truth. At Showdown in the Sun, Elgin stole Steen’s spotlight with his match against Davey Richards. In Elgin’s hometown, Steen vows to walk out still champion. Elgin attacks Steen but he falls victim to the numbers game. Roderick Strong refuses to help, but the rest of the House of Truth make the save.
Match #3: ROH World Tag Team Titles: Steve Corino and Jimmy Jacobs © vs. Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander
Coleman connects with a series of punches on Jacobs along with a dropkick. Alexander adds a slingshot senton. Coleman catches Corino with an assisted leg lariat. Corino simply walks away from a springboard crossbody by Alexander. SCUM isolate him until he blocks a senton from Jacobs and makes the tag. Coleman hits an STO on Corino followed by rolling northern lights suplexes on Jacobs. He plants Corino with a tornado DDT and takes him out with a springboard dive. Alexander lands a dive onto the champions. In the ring, Coleman hits a top-rope leg drop on Jacobs for a nearfall. Alexander connects with a series of corner dropkicks. He lands a frog splash onto Jacobs. Corino hits Coleman with a roll of quarters, drawing a disqualification at 7:12 (shown). The match was moving along nicely until the DQ finish. The crowd was starting to buy Coleman and Alexander winning the titles and they could’ve worked in some great nearfalls had the match not ended the way it did. Unfortunately, the finish really holds this one back, as it didn’t end up feeling like a television main event. **½
SCUM attack Coleman and Alexander after the match until Elgin makes the save. Coleman and Alexander shake his hand to Martini’s disgust.
Match #4: Survival of the Fittest 2012 Qualifier: Davey Richards vs. Mike Bennett
Bennett charges at the opening bell but Richards connects with a knockout kick. He lays in more kicks and tries an early ankle lock. Bennett lures Richards into an attack from Brutal Bob at ringside. Richards fights back with a yakuza kick and applies an indian deathlock in the ring. Bennett hits a spinebuster onto the apron and takes control. Richards sends him to the floor and follows out with a dive. In the ring, Richards connects with a missile dropkick along with an enzuigiri. They battle on the apron, where Bennett hits a spear. Richards answers with an exploder. He punts Bob from the apron and connects with another missile dropkick on Bennett. Richards transitions into an ankle lock. Bennett rolls through the hold. Mike Mondo distracts Bennett by kissing Maria. Richards connects with the Alarm Clock and a sliding kick to the head for the win at 10:01 (shown). Bennett has made notable improvements to his in-ring game as of late. They told a good story and the match was pretty effective until the sports entertainment-esque finish. **¾
Match #5: Survival of the Fittest 2012 Qualifier: QT Marshall vs. Jay Lethal
RD Evans effectively turns on Tommaso Ciampa before this match and names Marshall as his new client. Lethal immediately connects with a superkick and a springboard dropkick. He lands a dive to the floor. Back in, Marshall hits a tilt-a-whirl slam and gains the advantage. Lethal comes back with a springboard crossbody and a handspring back elbow. Marshall quickly answers with a lariat. Lethal connects with a superkick and hits the Lethal Combination. RD Evans prevents Hail to the King, so Prince Nana runs out and attacks him. Lethal hits the Lethal Injection for the victory at 6:24. Odd booking, as you’d think they would want to put Marshall over as formidable seeing as though he’s the face of the Embassy now. **
Match #6: ROH World Title: Kevin Steen © vs. Rhett Titus
Titus attacks Steen during his entrance. Steve Corino is on commentary, which is excellent. Titus connects with a dropkick. Steen retreats to the floor but Titus dives onto him and Jimmy Jacobs. In the ring, Titus hits a leaping bulldog but falls victim to a rope-assisted DDT. The champion takes control until Titus connects with a discus lariat. Titus fights off a powerbomb at ringside but Steen is able to hit the move on his second attempt. Steen misses a top-rope moonsault. Titus steals Jacobs’ spike but Todd Sinclair stops him from using it. Steen hits the F-Cinq to retain his title at 7:20. A theme on this DVD so far has been various interference leading indirectly to the finish of matches. It’s become a little tiring at this point, especially in a world title match. They clearly have better in them and I hope they receive a chance to show it. **¼
Match #7: Survival of the Fittest 2012 Qualifier: Roderick Strong vs. Homicide
They begin with some chain wrestling. Homicide snaps off a headscissors and chokes Strong with a cable at ringside. Strong blocks a charge and connects with corner punches. He hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and takes over. Homicide ducks a lariat and hits an overhead suplex. He comes off the middle rope with a flying knee strike. Homicide hits a nice neckbreaker. Strong shrugs off a tornado DDT and hits another backbreaker. Homicide back drops out of a Gibson Driver. They battle on the middle rope and Homicide snaps off a hurricanrana. He hits an exploder. Strong escapes the Cop Killa and hits a gutbuster. He follows with the Sick Kick for a nearfall. Strong adds the Gibson Driver for the win at 10:20 (shown). These two have always had underrated chemistry together. Homicide looked motivated and they managed to pay off the back work with the finish. More importantly, interference from the House of Truth was nonexistent. ***
Match #8: Survival of the Fittest 2012 Qualifier: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Mike Mondo
Davey Richards takes a seat at ringside to watch. They both try quick rollups to no avail and find themselves at a stalemate. They battle over a knucklelock and O’Reilly lays in an opportune knee drop. He connects with a missile dropkick from the apron. O’Reilly takes control until Mondo comes back with a superplex. Mondo hits a nice snapmare driver. He dodges a leg sweep and stomps O’Reilly in the back of the head. They exchange strikes. O’Reilly lays in a roaring elbow and hits a reverse hurricanrana. He follows with a shoulder-capture suplex for a nearfall. Mondo catches a kick but winds up in a cross armbreaker. Mondo counters into an indian deathlock variant for the victory at 10:38 (shown). There’s some controversy as to whether or not O’Reilly tapped out. This was on its way to being the best match of the tournament thus far until the abrupt finish. The “Mondo never has the same match twice” line might be overused but it’s true. He’s been having quality matches with a wide variety of opponents. **¾
Match #9: Survival of the Fittest 2012 Qualifier: Michael Elgin vs. Rhino
The House of Truth explodes! Truth Martini tries to talk them out of the match to no avail. They trade punches and Elgin connects with a slingshot back elbow. They brawl around ringside as Roderick Strong comes out to watch. Back in, Elgin comes off the top with a shoulder tackle. Rhino misses an early Gore attempt but recovers with a spinebuster. He takes control until Elgin fights back with a swinging side slam. Elgin hits a german suplex but falls victim to a death valley driver. Martini runs into the ring and stops Rhino from hitting the Gore. Elgin hits a spear and follows with his spinning powerbomb for the win at 7:52. This was a fun little power matchup, as expected. I came to terms with the House of Truth interference before the match started, so I wasn’t too put off by the run-ins when they happened. **½
Match #10: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Lance and Harlem Bravado
The Briscoes hit a leg drop-side slam combination on Harlem. They follow with some more double team maneuvers. A distraction by Lance allows Harlem to connect with a bicycle kick on Mark. The Bravados isolate him until he unleashes his karate offense on Harlem and makes the tag. Jay hits a falcon arrow on Lance but Harlem interrupts the doomsday device. Harlem hits a slingshot stunner on Jay and lands a dive off the apron onto Mark. He hits a blockbuster on Jay for a nearfall. Mark connects with a springboard dropkick on Lance. The Briscoes follow with the doomsday device for the victory at 5:24. Very good match for the time given. Some day, ROH is going to see the value in the Bravados. Some day. **½
The Guardians of Truth confront the Briscoes and reveal themselves as the Headbangers. The crowd pops huge for the reveal. Good for them. They setup a match for somewhere down the line.
Match #11: Survival of the Fittest 2012 Finals: Adam Cole vs. Davey Richards vs. Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong vs. Mike Mondo vs. Michael Elgin
They show a great video package detailing the previous winners of Survival of the Fittest. Strong does his best to avoid Elgin early on. Elgin hits a powerslam on Mondo. Richards punts Elgin from the apron, falls victim to a back suplex onto the apron from Strong. Cole lands a plancha onto Strong. Lethal dives onto Cole. Mondo lands a moonsault onto everyone. All six men are down at ringside. In the ring, Strong connects with the Sick Kick on Mondo to eliminate him. He catches Cole with an enzuigiri and hits a gutbuster. Elgin backfists Strong and Cole follows with a superkick to eliminate Strong. Cole hits a fireman’s carry neckbreaker on Richards. Elgin bucklebombs Cole and hits his spinning powerbomb to eliminate him. Elgin hits a samoan drop-fallaway slam combination on his two remaining opponents. Strong comes back out to push Elgin off the top rope. Richards overhead suplexes Elgin onto a table at ringside. Elgin wills himself back into the ring. Richards connects with a flying double stomp on Elgin. Lethal adds Hail to the King for a nearfall. Elgin won’t stay down. Richards and Lethal connect with stereo knockout kicks to eliminate Elgin. Lethal connects with Hail to the King on Richards for a two count. The locker room has surrounded the ring for the last two combatants. Lethal hits the Lethal Combination and transitions into a koji clutch. Richards reverses into an ankle lock but Lethal counters into an indian deathlock. Richards reaches the bottom rope. They battle on the apron and Richards hits an exploder to the floor. He reenters the ring with a flying double stomp. Richards lays in a barrage of kicks but Lethal responds with multiple superkicks. Richards hits a superplex and transitions into a brainbuster for a two count. Lethal rolls through an ankle lock and hits a dragon suplex. Lethal follows with the Lethal Injection to win Survival of the Fittest 2012 at 20:49 (shown). I wasn’t feeling great about this match to start, as the first three eliminations came off as rushed and didn’t stand out. However, Elgin’s elimination was handled perfectly, as he still looked like a monster in defeat. Finally, Richards and Lethal had an incredible final portion that should spell great things for their upcoming singles match. After a slow start, this main event delivered some must-see action that did wonders for Elgin, Richards, and Lethal. ***¾
Overall: I very much agree with the concept of this DVD and Ring of Honor should consider putting a group of television episodes that tell a story onto a DVD more often. However, the quality of most of the contests here falls into the two-star range. This was mainly due to time constraints or an over-reliance of interference in matches to build storylines. The one match that stands out on this compilation is the finals of the tournament. Historically, the finals of Survival of the Fittest deliver a great match and this year was no different. I cannot give Survival of the Fittest 2012 a recommendation solely based on the main event, but this could be an enjoyable DVD to purchase for completion purposes during a sale or something along those lines.
You can purchase this DVD at Ring of Honor’s store right here.
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