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EVENT:
RING OF HONOR TV TAPING-081311 |
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Event Review by:
"Our Man" Andy Schumann |
Event Date:
Saturday August 13th, 2011 |
Location:
Chicago Ridge Frontier Field house
Chicago Ridge, Illinois |
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"The title matches just delivered with the time allotted for them." |
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Last May Ring of Honor was sold to Sinclair Broadcast Group and this was the
first television taping under the new ownership. Nigel McGuiness made his
shocking return as a commentator on the television show. Nigel is a former ROH
world champion and was recently released from TNA. |
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MATCH 1: |
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Kyle O’Reilly & Adam Cole vs. The Bravado Brothers |
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This a match that developed out of the last Chicago show. O’Reilly and Cole were
able to get an early advantage with multiple double team moves. They locked on
an arm bar on both brothers with them tied up. The Bravado brothers regained
control and cut off O’Reilly from his corner. Cole and O’Reilly sent the action
out to the floor. They connected with a couple of planchas. Kyle O’Reilly hit
his series of butterfly suplexes and the connected with Cole into a German
suplex for a near fall. O’Reilly picked up the victory after a double team
enziguri and clothesline combo. |
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Match Rating: 3 Stars out of 4. These 4 men went out and delivered a very
energetic match. A company that has many great tag teams have a couple more that
with some time could join that group. |
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MATCH 2: |
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Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin vs. Kings of Wrestling for the ROH Tag Team
Titles |
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This was the main event for the first television episode. Haas and Chris Hero
started off the match with a series of strikes. Eventually the Kings of
Wrestling gained control of the match. They focused their attacks on Benjamin
and kept him cornered for several minutes. Haas got the tag and just cleaned
house of the Kings of Wrestling. Haas focused on Hero for a couple of minutes.
Haas connected with several suplexes on both Hero and Claudio. Claudio gained
control of the match with the big swing and dropkick combination on Haas. Haas
and Benjamin connected with the leapfrog stun gun on Claudio. Haas and Benjamin
got the pin fall after the hart attack. |
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Match Rating: 3 stars out of 4. The match just never seemed to get fully in
gear. These guys put on a great matches earlier this year. The time limit for
the TV episode limited what they did in the ring. It was interesting the Kings
of Wrestling were over more than Haas and Benjamin. |
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MATCH 3: |
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Michael Bennet vs. Jimmy Jacobs |
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This was Jacobs first match in ROH in over 2 years. He made his return to the
company at the last Chicago show. Bennett and Jacobs exchanged several early
moves in the opening minutes. Bennet Irish whipped Jacobs into the corner.
Jacobs leapt onto the turnbuckles and jumped back and caught Bennet with an ace
crusher for a near pin fall. Jacobs then climbed up to the top turnbuckle and
went for a swanton. Bennet was able to get the knees up and then caught him with
a Rock bottom for the victory. |
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Match Rating: 2 ˝ stars out of 4. Overall the match was only about 5 to 10
minutes. ROH is trying to push Bennet really hard right now. Unfortunately
something is missing with him. Jacobs looked great and can get great matches out
of the person he’s facing. |
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MATCH 4: |
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Jay Lethal vs. El Generico for the ROH TV Title |
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This was the main event for the second television episode. The opening minutes
of the match was just great chain wrestling. The action really picked up after
they went onto the floor. Generico gained the advantage after hitting a splash
onto Lethal. Lethal Irish whipped Generico towards the barriers. Generico leapt
onto the barriers and connected with a moonsault. Both competitors traded
several near falls throughout the match. Eventually the time limit expired and
Cornette gave them the remaining time of the show. Lethal and Generico just were
trading shots on each other. Generico got a near fall after nailing Lethal with
a yakuza kick in the corner. Lethal picked up a near fall after nailing Generico
with an elbow drop off the top rope. Generico spent serious time trying to
connect with his top rope brain buster. Lethal finally got the victory with his
back breaker into face buster finisher. |
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Match Rating: 4 stars out of 4. This match was about 20 minutes in length. The
one thing that Generico excels with is just building up the pin falls. Each one
in the match just drew the crowd more into the match. This was the first time
seeing Lethal live and he can just go. These guys left everything in the ring. |
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MATCH 5: |
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Tommaso Ciapa vs. Andy Ridge |
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Andy Ridge is a graduate of their wrestling academy. Tommaso gained the early
advantage by jumping Ridge before the bell. Tommaso kept the pressure on Ridge
throughout the early parts of the match. Ridge was knocked down in a corner and
Tommaso connected with several running knees. Ridge was able to make a brief
comeback. Tommaso got the victory with his power bomb lung blower finisher. |
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Match Rating: 2 ˝ stars out of 4. This match was booked to make Tomasso Ciapa
the next big thing. Ridge is still learning his craft and had a good showing. |
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MATCH 6: |
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Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong for the ROH World Title |
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This was the main event for the third television episode. Richards was just
making his second defense of the title. This match was just hard hitting right
from the bell. The men traded several slaps in the first minute. The bought
quickly went out to the floor. Richards connected with a hard kick onto Strong
that lead to a near fall. Strong made a comeback and connected with a running
kick for a near fall. Strong than connected with several back breakers. The
fight went towards the top turnbuckle. Richards was able to hit a super plex
Davey held on and then connected with a falcon arrow. The result lead to a near
fall and then Davey locked on the ankle lock. Davey over the next several
minutes continued to put on the lock. Strong at one point was tapping out but
his manager had the referee distracted. Strong was able to regain control of the
match and picked up a couple of near falls. Richards finally got the victory
after Strong tapped out to the ankle lock. |
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Match Rating: 4 stars out of 4. This match from the start to the end was the
best of the show. Both Richards and Strong have a style that seems to be able to
blend with anybody. Strong over the last couple of years has been the unsung
hero of ROH. Strong just seems to have great matches with everyone he wrestles.
Davey Richards is similar to Bryan Danielson in that he can face a variety of
wrestlers. Richards doesn’t seem to have the same match twice in a row. |
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MATCH 7: |
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The Brisco Brothers vs. All Night Express |
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This has been a feud that has been going since the spring. All four competitors
jumped the bell and started exchanging blows. The Briscoes got the early
advantage by cutting Titus off from his partner. Titus was able to make the tag
to King. King was able to clear both Briscoe's by himself. King got a near fall
after hitting a t bone suplex. Titus and Mark Briscoe were duking it out on the
floor. The referee was trying to break them up and Jay hit King with a low blow.
Jay was able to pin King with a small package. |
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Match Rating: 3 stars out of 4. The match was relatively short but displayed the
hatred between these two teams. This year so far the break out team has been the
All Night Express. They went from a mid card tag team to a headliner within 6
months. The Briscoe's are still one of the best tag teams in the business today. |
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MATCH 8: |
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Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin |
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This was the last main event for the episode tapings. This was a rematch from
the Deny or Defy event from a couple months ago. Elgin used his superior
strength to gain the upper hand in the opening minutes. Edwards was able to use
his speed and agility to regain control of the match. Every time that Eddie went
for a move it seemed like that Elgin knew what was coming or beat him to the
punch. Edwards was able to look in his Achilles Lock for a submission attempt.
Elgin was able to get a couple of near falls with various slams. Edwards got the
victory with a variant of the fisherman suplex. |
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Match Rating: 3 stars out of 4. A solid match between the two. In the last year
Edwards game has really grown by ten fold. Edwards has gone from a wrestler on
the opening match to a true main eventer. Elgin brings a unique style to ROH
that will carry him far I do believe. |
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SHOW RATING: |
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3 stars out of 4. It seemed like after every match
there was about a 5 minute delay. It caused a lot extra time to be wasted that
could have gotten us out earlier. The title matches just delivered with the time
allotted for them. There also seemed to be a breath of fresh air from the
wrestlers. The crowd like usual just had a good time. Even though there isn’t a
Sinclair station here in Chicago. The TV episodes will also be shown on their
website. |
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Photo ©
2011 Ring of Honor
Article © 2011 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
