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EVENT:
RING OF HONOR: UNITY
042812-HOUSE SHOW |
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Event Review by:
"Our Man" Andy Schumann |
Event Date:
Saturday April 28th, 2012 |
Location:
Chicago Ridge Frontier Field house
Chicago Ridge, Illinois |
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"Overall the show was solid from top to bottom." |
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MATCH 1: |
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House of Truth vs. All Night Express |
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The House of Truth were represented by Michael Elgin and Roderick Strong. The
All Night Express are Kenny King and Rhett Titus. Titus and Elgin started off
the match with a few simple wrestling moves. Elgin got control off the match by
catching Titus in mid air and turning it into a slam. While Elgin held the
referee’s attention Strong hit Titus with a knee breaker on the apron. King
picked up a near fall on Strong after nailing Strong with a pair of running
knees in the corner. Elgin showed off his strength by suplexing both members of
the All Night Express. King got the victory after Express nailed Elgin with
their springboard blockbuster. After the match both members of the House of
Truth got into an argument teasing a rift. |
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MATCH 2: |
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Mike Bennett w/ Maria Kanellis vs. Mike Sydal |
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Bennett and Kanellis came out to cut a promo. Sydal came out from the back and
challenged Bennett to a match right then and there. Sydal was able to get the
early advantage by using his speed and agility. Bennett eventually got the
victory with his TKO maneuver. After the match they cut another heel promo about
Chicago being nothing but a town of losers. |
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MATCH 3: |
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The Young Bucks vs. The Bravado Brothers |
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This match was the Bravados first match back with Ring of Honor. They had spent
the majority of this year over in Japan training with Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Lancelot got an early near fall with a fisherman’s suplex. Matt Jackson got his
team a near fall by reversing a DDT into a suplex. The Young Bucks kept the
momentum going by landing several of their trademark double team maneuvers.
Harlem got a near fall by landing a series of lariats. The Bravados got the
victory when Harlem reversed a fisherman’s carry into a crucifix pin fall. At
the beginning of the match the crowd was supporting the Young Bucks. At the end
the crowd had rallied behind The Bravado Brothers. |
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MATCH 4: |
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Kevin Steen& Jimmy Jacobs vs. El Generico & BJ Whitmer |
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This match marks Whitmer’s first match for the company in a few years. Before
the match could officially begin all four participants of the bout engaged in
fisticuffs. Various referees, officials and wrestlers tried to keep the
competitor apart. With approval from Jim Cornette the match was made a no
disqualification. The competitors just brawled all over the ring side area for
several minutes. Whitmer got a near fall on Jacobs with a series of rolling
fisherman suplexes. Steen and Jacobs gained control of the match with several
chair shots on both Generico and Whitmer. Eventually both teams got on even
ground while trying to gain control of the table. Whitmer and Jacobs eventually
made their way up to the top turnbuckle. They exchanged several blows for a
couple of minutes at the very top. Whitmer was able to get control and picked up
the victory. Whitmer was able to hit an Exploder Suplex on Jacobs through a
table. |
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MATCH 5: |
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The Colony vs. Team Ring of Honor |
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This match was the last of the inter promotional bouts on the cards for the
evening. Team Ring of Honor consisted of Jay Lethal, TJ Perkins and Adam Cole.
This match was held under Lucha Libre rules. If you’re wondering what they are
its simple. Every time a men hits the floor a new men is legal. The Colony got
the early advantage by focusing on Jay Lethal. They triple teamed Lethal with
dropkicks in the corner. Team Ring of Honor regained the advantage by landing a
series of super kicks. Soldier Ant was able to dispose of Lethal to the outside
with a head scissors. Fire ant was able to get a near fall on Adam Cole by
hitting a tornado DDT. The colony was able to get the victory by reversing the
small package that Perkins had locked on. So far Chikara Pro has picked up
victories in both inter promotional bouts in the evening. |
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MATCH 6: |
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World’s Greatest Tag Team vs. Davey Richards and Kyle O’Reilly |
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Davey Richards and Shelton Benjamin started off the match with several wrist
locks. O’Reilly makes the tag in and Haas also tags into the match. Haas got the
advantage with several take downs. Richards tagged back in. Haas and Richards
traded several strength moves. Richards locked Haas into a surfboard variation.
Haas and Benjamin eventually focused on O’Reilly and kept him cut off from
Richards. Richards go the hot tag and cleaned out the ring. Richards took out
Haas on the outside while O’Reilly took out Benjamin at the same time. Richards
was able to get a couple of near falls with various submission attempts.
O’Reilly suddenly tagged himself back into the match. Benjamin was able to get
the victory after nailing O’Reilly with his inverted DDT. |
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MATCH 7: |
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The Briscoes Brothers vs. Hallowicked and Jigsaw for ROH Tag Titles |
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In the last six months Ring of Honor has instituted a new type of match called
Proving ground. In this match the champion or champions have a non title match
that is 20 minutes in length. If the challengers can last the time or gain a
victory the get a future title shot. Hallowicked and Jigsaw earned their title
match at the 10th Anniversary show. Jay Briscoe and Jigsaw started off the
match. Briscoes got the early advantage by jumping both Hallowicked and Jigsaw.
Jigsaw finally gained some traction with nailing a few strikes. About half way
through Mark picked up Jigsaw for a slam and Jigsaw’s feet hit the referee and
knocked him out. A Chikara referee came down and counted a near fall.
Hallowicked and Jigsaw kept countering the doomsday device. Jigsaw got a near
fall on the Briscoes. Jay accidentally knocked out the Chikara pro referee with
a big boot. At this point both the Colony and Team Ring of Honor came down to
the ring side area. They were cheering on their perspective teams. Eventually
the Briscoes retained their titles after Jay nailed Jigsaw with a reverse DVD.
Mark than nailed a elbow drop from the top turnbuckle. After the match all
members of Chikara and Ring of Honor got into the ring and exchanged handshakes. |
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SHOW RATING: |
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3 ½ stars out of 4. The crowd was electric from the
opening bell all the way to the closing bell of the main event. The whole card
of tag team matches just delivered. All Night Express have gotten a huge swell
of support here in Chicago in the last year. Hopefully they will get the next
title shot. Mike Bennett is a wrestler that fits the WWE mold right now. He’s
got great size, delivers good promos and has some great matches. The Bravado
Brothers in my estimation had their breakout match for Ring of Honor. Bravados
sacrificed 4 months of their career to train in Japan. That major step is
already paying huge dividends for them. The no disqualification match was a nice
change up in the order of the matches. The six man tag team match was very fast
paced and extremely put together. I would love to see the Colony wrestle for
Ring of Honor a few more times. They could be an excellent addition to an
already deep tag team division. I really like Davey Richards but right know he
needs to take a page from Brian Danielson. The main thing that he needs to learn
is how to work different matches that have different endings. The ending of the
match is the same to the last few of his I’ve seen. Haas and Benjamin I think
are playing the right characters for them right know. They’ve been heels this
whole year. The Briscoes and Hallowicked and Jigsaw delivered a solid match. I
loved the section that a referee from both promotions get knocked out for the
match. That seemed to put the crowd on a nervous edge. The crowd tension rose
even more when the colony and team ROH came to ring side area. Overall the show was solid from top to bottom.
I already can’t wait until Chikara comes back to town along with Ring of Honor. |
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Photo © 2013 Ring of Honor
Article © 2013 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
