Dark Matches

1. Ricky Reyes over Grizzly Redwood. Ricky wins a good match in five. Cameras were rolling but I think it was dark.

Veda Scott out doing crowd work asking for people who are here for their first show, shilling merch. The show started late due to audio problems.

TV Taping For March 17 show

1. Adam Cole defeated Chris Silvio. Silvio won’t shake. Cole won in five. Cross armed german. Way too competitive. Kyle O’Reilly was on commentary. He got on the mic and challenged Cole for March 31. Cole says he has PMS and accepts. O’Reilly was a total heel.

Kevin Steen was interview by Kevin Kelly and had a tennis racket with Davey on it. He remixed his music to have wolf howl from Davey’s music added. He talked about Blind Destiny match with Eddie Edwards. Total face reaction. He said he’ll win the title and hold company hostage, and Cornette will kiss his feet, ass, and balls. Jim Cornette out. Steen did three 1/2 pushups to mock Cornette, saying they were more than Cornette has ever done. He announced El Generico vs. Steen on 3/30. He took his sweet time getting to the point, but he reiterated the piledriver ban. Steen messed up a couple times and called Cornette an idiot. He said anyone who gets in his way will be taken out, including Cornette, and poked him with racket.

2. Jay Lethal beat Roderick Strong (w/Truth Martini) in a March Mayhem Qualifier. Lethal came out without his ROH TV Title. “Black Machismo” chant turned to “Let’s Go Lethal.” Choreographed indie sequence of mutual respect and parity (or CISOMRAP). Strong still seemed to be recruiting. Truth’s interference was botched. Michael Elgin’s interference was botched. A rollup win for Lethal. Very very good 15 minute match. Roddy was very mad at Truth and Elgin, and left without them. Jay is getting better and better each month.

- Cornette came out to talk to the crowd between shows.

March 24 TV Taping

- Cornette interviewed Roderick (w/Truth and Elgin), Eddie Edwards (big pop), and Davey Richards (mixed, lots of heckling). Davey says he’s not sure he can trust Eddie. Eddie was pissed that Davey compared him to a prick like Roddy, who said he’s sorry they had a bad breakup and said Elgin will give him his match at 3/31. Elgin didn’t seem to agree, but Jay came out and called Roddy a butt-munch (chant) and a fart-head. He said he deserves Roddy’s spot after winning last week and he’ll start taking what he deserves.

Out came Kevin Steen with wolf intro in his music. He said he’s rooting for Eddie because he wants the title match. He said he’ll find a way to get a title shot no matter what. Steen was far less effective without his swear words. He called people in the ring a circle of jerks. Jawing between emasculated men in ring. Everyone leaves but Davey, who gets heckled with some overrated chants on his way out.

1. Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander (The New Combination) defeated Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas. Streamers! Proper face-heel reactions mostly, but some cheers for WGTT. New Combo win what was a fun match until Haas was hit in he head with an unprotected chair shot by one of the Briscoes.

Veda entered the ring with a mic and short skirt as the refs checked on Haas with Shelton. The mic didn’t work. New mic for Shelton, who decried chair shots and says Florida will be genocide for anyone with the last name Briscoe or anyone who cheers for them. He sold for a good five minutes as the crowd chanted “Man Up.”

2. Adam Cole defeated Michael Elgin (w/Truth Martini) in a March Mayhem Qualifier. Not a strong reaction for Cole which is surprising. O’Reilly on commentary. Botched interference from Roddy leads to a Cole roll up win in 12. There was an attack after the bell, but Eddie out for the save. A good match, but Cole had trouble getting face heat.

- Intermission. So far tonight, I’ve seen two suicide dives straight on and Cedric Alexander was dumped into the lap of the people to my left.

Taping for March 31

Nigel McGuinness and Kevin Kelly were in the ring to start. They announced O’Reilly vs. Ciampa, and Bennett vs. someone for last two spots in March Mayhem Tournament. Four-way with the winner next week (4/7 show which will be taped tonight). Cut to video package.

1. Tommaso Ciampa beat Kyle O’Reilly in a March Mayhem Qualifier. Ciampa did not have a title belt with him either. Boos all around, mostly. Mia looks very nice! O’Reilly wrestling mostly like a face here. Crowd finally gets into him. Ciampa’s offense is outstanding. He’s my favorite. Ciampa won by ref stoppage after a knee knocks out O’Reilly. The Embassy went nuts. A fun 7 minutes. The refs checked on KO like it was a serious, but it’s an obvious work from my angle. The refs dragged him out stumbling.

2. Davey Richards defeated Ryan McBride in a Proving Ground match. Davey had his IWGP Tag Title. More of a positive reaction here. There was a huge “Let’s go Ryan” chant early because he was announced as a local, which is true because he’s also a regular in CZW. McBride tapped in less than 30 seconds to boos. Handshake afterwards.

- Kelly was in the ring for a Kevin Steen interview. Every time Kelly is in the ring alone, it’s Steen. Out with racket, serves a streamer like a tennis ball after a second try. Steen requested interview asking why ROH does everything they can to prevent him from wrestling on the show. Steen is doing straight comedy. Kelly says he’s a risk to his opponents and doesn’t stop beating him up. Now he’s playing to the crowd as a face, calling us fine people he wants to wrestle for. Says someone is either holding Davey back from facing him,

Davey can’t hear him because of his cauliflower ears, or can’t hear because his head is up Cornette’s ass.Davey and Cornette out. Says Steen is a novelty act or in his third trimester. Crowd chants let them fight. Cornette tries to tell Davey not to buy into Steen. Steen says Cornette should ban the ankle lock like he did the piledriver. Davey says he’ll shove the piledriver up Steen’s ass. Steen asks if Davey’s balls had been in Cornette’s pocket. Davey slaps Steen. Steen laughs and leaves as crowd chants “Kill Steen Kill.”

Davey argues in ring with Cornette, asks if crowd wants him and Steen. Cornette and Davey argue on the way out.

3. Mike Bennett (w/Maria & #WhyNotBob) defeated Eddie Edwards in the Final March Mayhem Qualifier. Good face heel dynamic. Boston vs. Boston! Eddie was cut on his back when Bob gave him a backdrop on the railing. Eddie got his revenge on Bob with a big dive. Lots of back and forth. Bennett won a very good 13 minute match after Maria oversold a bump on the apron from Eddie and the ref is distracted. Eddie got a massive post-match reaction for being a legit tough motherf—er. Four very visible bloody lines on his back, and he bumped on them the whole match.

Taping for April 7

1. The Young Bucks defeated TJ Perkins & Shiloh Jonze. No one knows Shiloh, but the Bucks are stars. Also, the technical lighting seems to have improved. The Bucks were screaming like girls both on offense and defense and it’s hilarious, but Shiloh took everything so they’re not getting heel heat. TJ entered and spiced up the match. Bucks are a little too cartoonish when selling. The Bucks won with More Bang for Your Buck. Seven minutes of good action, but the heat was kind of missing. The Bucks shook only each other’s hands before and after match.

2. Mike Mondo beat Matt Taven. A small, polite reaction for Taven. Streamers! They started off like guys who are feuding, which is nice. Mikey landed wrong and had a leg injury. He took off his left boot on the outside, but it’s a fake out! He rammed Taven into the barriers like a dozen times hard, then ran around in the ring with one sock and one boot. What a heel! Back to work and Taven destroyed Mondo by throwing him into the barrier. The girl sitting behind the barrier ran like halfway across the section. Hilarious. These guys continue to kIll each other, getting “this is awesome” chants because it was. Mondo won by reversing a flying move from Taven into a Downward Spiral. Both left to massive “that was awesome” chant. Six crazy fun minutes, and these guys will be remembered next month.

3. Tommaso Ciampa defeated Adam Cole, Jay Lethal, and Mike Bennett (all with all their usual crews). Maria and Mia in the same match. This is the climax of March Mayhem. Cole mouthed $24,000 to the camera, which may be the prize. Lethal tried to go after Ciampa but was stopped. Nice reaction for Cole, Ciampa is popular, boos for Bennett, big reaction for Lethal. $24,000 is indeed the prize. People have to tag in here.

Lethal started going hard after Ciampa. Lots of moving parts to this one, as Bennett’s crew and the Embassy are jawing too. Cole dove onto everyone on the outside, but was taken out of action on the outside by Bennett. Lethal eliminated Bennett with Lethal Injection but was immediately eliminated by Ciampa with a knee to the head. It came down to Ciampa against an injured Cole.

Huge knees to Cole in the corner but he comes back with a superkick. Ciampa hits Cole with Sheamus’ White Noise [Air Raid Crash] on the outside for a good nearfall. Cole eventually gets Ciampa in a really over read naked choke, but Ciampa gets his arm up on the third check. Ciampa won with Project Ciampa clean as Lethal was held back in the entryway. Really fun 14 minutes.

- Veda presented the check, but Prince Nana took it and sang, “We In The Money.” RD Evans says the $24,000 far exceeds the investors’ expectations. It felt like a crowning moment.

Dark Match

1. Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe, and Papa Mike “Big Man” Briscoe (w/a fat guy) beat Roderick Strong, Michael Elgin, and Truth Martini. Truth taunted Papa about saying he had a pretty mouth. Mark vs. Roddy to start. Papa is saying stuff like “yeah chicky.” Elgin entered to work over Mark, then Truth in and Mark plays possum as Truth goes to the top. Mark gets up and Truth bails. Mark tagged in Papa, and Truth tagged in Elgin. Papa tagged in Jay, who called Truth a pussy. Papa eventually got some licks in on Elgin, but mostly Jay vs. Elgin. There was some heel interference on the outside from Roddy, and Truth had Jay in peril.

Mark tagged in and cleaned house. Eventually, Papa got the tag and he speared Elgin, and chokeslammed Roddy. The Briscoes took out Elgin and Roddy on the outside, and Papa pinned Truth after a Stone Cold Stunner. Fun as f—, probably like 10 minutes.

Ring of Honor on Sinclair Spoilers

Episode One:

*They announced Young Bucks vs. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin would headline but Benjamin had “been suspended” (he’s actually working a show in the Philippines). They announced it would be Mark Briscoe vs. Charlie Haas with Jay handcuffed to the ringpost.

*Kevin Steen pinned Andy Ridge and keeps beating him. Steve Corino and Jimmy Jacobs make the save. Jacobs challenges Steen.

*Eddie Edwards & Adam Cole defeat Matt Taven & Mike Mondo. Mondo attacks Taven for losing afterwards.

*Mark Briscoe pinned Charlie Haas

Episode Two:

*Young Bucks defeated Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander.

*ROH champ Davey Richards defeated TV Champ Jay Lethal following a kick to the head when Lethal was knocked off the ropes after The Embassy, The House of Truth and others get involved.

Episode Three:

*Mike Bennett defeated TJ Perkins after Maria Kanellis interferes.

*Tomasso Ciampa defeated Guy Alexander when the referee stopped the bout.

*Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong for title shot. Strong got the pin after putting something (I think tape) on his foot and delivering a Yakuza Kick to Edwards. Paul Turner, who was not the official referee for the match, came down and said he saw that. He and Sinclair (original ref) argued for a little bit, Eddie picked Strong up for the Die Hard knocking Sinclair down in the process, and hit it for a three counted by Turner. Cornette came down after and announced the three-way for 3/30.

Episode Four:

*ROH champ Jay Lethal defeated Kenny King. Roderick Strong was scouting.

*Kevin Steen defeated Adam Cole qualify for an ROH title bout.

*Michael Elgin defeated Kyle O’Reilly. Roderick Strong came out. Strong and Dvaey Richards got into it.

*They announced Davey Richards vs. Kevin Steen vs. Michael Elgin for Showdown in the Sun Night Two.

The following are spoilers from the Ring of Honor TV tapings in Baltimore this evening. I don’t know the names of everyone’s finishing maneuver, and I’m too lazy to check the spelling of names, so please translate if you know what I’m describing.

Ring of Honor taped four episodes of television in Baltimore Saturday evening. The episodes will air through February 11 on Sinclair broadcast stations. A standing room only crowd of about 500 filled Baltimore’s Du Burns arena.

If you don’t want to read the entire report, here are the highlights:

Thomasa Chiampa remains undefeated
Jay Lethal retains his TV Title after Maria intervenes in the match
Coleman and Alexander have a breakout performance
Kyle O’Reilly has two excellent matches
Dissension builds between the American Wolves as Davey Richards and Kyle O’Reilly form a tag team called “Team Ambition”, and Eddie Edwards responds by forming a new tag team with Adam Cole
The World’s Greatest Tag Team continue a heel turn by hitting Mark Briscoe in the head with a chair
Kevin Steen is back as “professional wrestling’s worse nightmare.” He promises to take Davey Richards’s title and hold ROH hostage.
The pile driver is banned in ROH

Before getting into the spoilers, I have to mention that ROH did everything in their power to be good to the Baltimore crowd. They often referred to Baltimore as a new home for ROH (huge applause for that and “Welcome Home” chants), and offered everyone in attendance coupons for $10 off the next show, which will be on Saturday, February 4. By time I went to get those coupons, they were all gone.

After the show, Nigel McGuiness hung around to talk to some fans at ringside and Mark Briscoe, Davey Richards, and Kyle O’Reilly chatted with fans and stuck around for pictures in the main lobby. The interaction at the end was actually really nice and sent us all home happy.

Dark Match
Devon Storm def. a guy whose name I didn’t catch. He’s white, under six feet tall with corn rows. Devon score the pin in about 6 minutes with a camel clutch dragon sleeper variation.

There were usually about two minute intermissions between segments. These were ocassionally punctuated by chants like “Awkward silence!”

First Taping
Eddie Edwards def. Mike Mondo in 10 minutes. Eddie, who got a strong reaction coming out, finished Mondo off with a cradle brain buster. Mondo, a former member of WWE’s Spirit Squad, received numerous chants of “He’s got spirit!”

Jim Cornette invited out the new Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions, The Briscoe Brothers, who received a huge reaction. Jay Briscoe asked Jim Cornette if it was true that the World’s Greatest Tag Team, Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, were fined $5000 for the chair shots to the head they delivered at Final Battle. After Cornette confirmed this fact, Jay asked, “Who gets that money? Do you get that money?” Jim replied that he doesn’t personally. Jay suggesting not only that the Briscoes should get the money, but that everyone in the locker room should come out to the ring to hit them with chairs. They claimed they didn’t care because they weren’t “cosmetically pleasing” anyway, a reference the Briscoes first made during a video leading up to Final Battle where they recounted that a promising tryout with WWE ultimately led nowhere because John Lauranitus did not appreciate their look.

Jim informed the Briscoes that Haas and Benjamin blame them for the hostile reaction they received in New York City at Final Battle. Mark replied that they just keep it real. They said that the Young Bucks, who earned the #1 contender’s shots for the Tag Team Championships at Final Battle, were sitting ducks and that the Briscoes are going to knock them down. The segment concluded with the crowd chanting “Man up!”

Roderick Strong with Michael Elgin and Truth Martini def. Ricky Reyes (4 minutes) with by reversing Reyes’s backroll with one of his own.

Matt Jackson with Nick Jackson def. Kenny King with Rhett Titus in the TV Main Event (10 minutes). Rhett Titus, who is recovering from surgery was at ringside on crutches. This match was a ton of fun. The Young Bucks played the role of utterly obnoxious heels, ridiculing Rhett Titus’s injury by limping around the ring and mock-crying. After an athletic contest, Nick Jackson stole one of Rhett’s crutches and hit Kenny King as he was attempting a springboard. Matt covered him behind the referee’s back and scored the pinfall. After the match there was a melee where both teams needed to be pulled apart.

January 28 Taping
Thomaso Chiampa (with Prince Nana and that dude in the green jacket) def. TJ Perkins (6 minutes) with his signature powerbomb over his knees move.

Michael Elgin def. Grizzly Redwood (5 minutes). This match was supposed to feature Grizzly Redwood against Devon Storm, but before the match commenced, the House of Truth interrupted. Truth Martini, dressed in a long purple waistcoat brushed aside “Willy Wonka” chants to make Devon Storm an offer. He could either A) take $500 and let Michael Elgin take his place or B) piss Michael Elgin off. Storm took the money. Truth then turned to Grizzly and alerted him that Elgin was going to hurt him so badly he was going to wish he had “died as a child.” The match was slightly more than a squash with Grizzly getting in some good, if at times sloppy, offense. Elgin looked the part of a monster. Fun little match.

Davey Richards & Kyle O’Reilly def. Cedric Alexander & Caprice Coleman in the TV Main Event (12 minutes). This match was AWESOME. I feel Alexander and Coleman really turned a corner here. There were fans in attendance who had never seen any of the four wrestlers before and they walked away thinking C&A were the stars. After a lot of great back and forth and near falls, Kyle O’Reilly finally managed to secure a submission with the guillotine choke.

After the match, both teams received a big ovation and Davey took the microphone. He pointed out that at commentary Nigel McGuinness sat as a former ROH Champion, in the ring he stood as the current ROH Champion, and Kyle O’Reilly is the future ROH Champion. Davey said that the American Wolves was the past, but now he and O’Reilly will compete together as Team Ambition. As the newly minted Team Ambition celebrated, Eddie Edwards approached the ring and sarcastically applauded both wrestlers as the show went off the air.

February 4 Taping
Jay Lethal def. Mike Bennett (with Brutal Bob and Maria) in a no time limit match to retain the ROH Television Championship (11 minutes). At the end of the match, Jay clunked the front of his head against the back of Bennett’s as they were both running towards the ropes. Lethal fell to the mat while Bennett, dazed, clung to the top rope. Sensing an opportunity, Maria ran to Bennett and pushed him over so that he fell onto Lethal. The referee went to count Lethal’s shoulders down, but Jay rolled Bennett through to secure a quick pin.

Kevin Kelly entered the ring and invited “professional wrestling’s worse nightmare, Kevin Steen” to the ring. Steen was greeted with the usual avalanche of “Kill Steen Kill” chants. Kelly told Steen that he has earned the right to return to ROH, but he wondered at what cost.

Steen grabbed the microphone and told Kelly that he had waited an entire year to speak his mind. He directed Kelly to get out of the ring and to take his gum with him. Steen asked the crowd what type of promotion sends their top guy home for one year, especially when performers in other wrestling companies get away with far worse. Steen argued that he was kept away not because he was out of control, but because he refused to suck up to Cornette’s “golden boy”, Davey Richards. This led to dueling “Kevin Steen”, “Davey Richards” chants. Steen said that if 2012 was indeed the last year of civilization, then he would face the end of the world as ROH Champion, rip Davey Richards apart and “hold the company hostage.”

Jim Cornette then came to the ring with an entourage of security and Carey Silken and the two laid into each other. Cornette told Steen he had wrestling’s biggest mouth, spent his time exercising his supper muscles and was nothing more than a mixture between a jackass and Fear Factor. He suggested that Steen should leave and go eat his boogers or whatever it is he does. Steen said that Jim should send “friends” to the back (referencing security), but then again, Jim doesn’t have any friends because he’s an “asshole.”

Jim Cornette reminded Steen that he laid out Steve Corino, Jimmy Jacobs, and El Generico at Final Battle with pile drivers. He told the story of Owen Hart’s pile driver on Steve Austin that left him paralyzed for 30 seconds and greatly shortened his career. He was a friend and a manager to Owen Hart and he knew how sorry he was. Steen, on the other hand, has shown absolutely no remorse. Therefore, from here on out, there will be no more performers put on IR because the pile driver is banned.

Steen retorted that his move is being banned not for wrestlers’ safety but for Davey Richards’s safety. You might be able to ban my finisher, he argued, but you can’t ban me. He promised that he will take Davey’s title and become the nightmare from which Cornette would never awake.

Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin come to the ring to a mostly negative reaction. Haas says they will not be wrestling the Bravados tonight because their time had been cut short because Steen went on for too long. Instead, he claimed that WGTT got to make the rules.

Shelton Benjamin told the Baltimore crowd that he wanted to like them, but with such a negative reaction, it obvious that they had turned on him. As far as he was concerned, they were holding the show hostage until the Briscoes gave them their rematch. This started a “rematch” chant. This drew out Cornette, security, and eventually the Briscoes, who were all too eager to throw down.

The Briscoes def. Haas and Benjamin by DQ after Shelton hits Mark in the head with a chair (4 minutes). Cornette asked WGTT, “What happened to you guys,” and they yelled back “They started it.” Cornette then fined them $5000.

February 11 Taping
Eddie Edwards def. Kyle O’Reilly (12 minutes). This was another really good match, perhaps better than Davey vs. O’Reilly from several weeks ago. The match started one-on-one, but soon Davey came out with a towel to lend support. After both competitors spilled to the floor, Eddie missed a kick, driving his ankle into the ring post. Davey immediately alerted Kyle who started working over the ankle. Adam Cole then came to the ring to encourage Eddie Edwards. After a ton of great, stiff, back and forth action Eddie pinned Kyle after a reversal of a couple small packages.

After the match Eddie grabbed the mic and told Davey, “I guess you don’t need me anymore.” Davey could be heard saying, “It’s not like that.” Eddie turned to Adam Cole and asked him if he had a tag team partner. Adam Cole looked at Kyle for a long time and then shook his head no. Eddie then asked Cole if he would like to be tag team partners with him and Cole agreed.

Mike Mondo vs. Matt Tavey fought to a no contest (3 minutes) with Steve Corino at commentary. Three minutes into the match, Kevin Steen walked out and said, “You two have a match right now, but I have to wait until next week.” He told both wrestlers it wasn’t their fault. Mike Mondo, he says, has been all over the world. He continued, “Tavey, I don’t know you, but you’re a cutie pie. Jim must love all of your handshake shit.” He then proceeded to lay both of them out. Corino stands for a confrontation but security pulls them apart. Steen announces that once again Cornette has denied the fans what they want to see.

The House of Truth, Roderick Strong and Michael Elgin (with Truth Martini) def. The Briscoe Brothers by DQ (12 minutes). The stipulation for this match was that both teams had put up a side bet of $5000 of their own money. Near the end of the match, Truth threw powder in Jay’s eyes. Jay washed them out with water, went into the back, and came out with a baseball bat. He hit Roderick with it, leading to the DQ. Afterwards, the Briscoes celebrated as if they’d won the match, and the money, by leading the crowd with chants of “five thousand dollars.”

- T.J. Perkins beat Mike Mondo
Back and forth match. Perkins finally won it with a La Magistral Cradle. Should make for a decent TV match. No code of honor from Mondo.

– Jim Cornette​ came back out, and was joined in the ring by The Briscoe Brothers. Cornette said he thought the All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus) deserved another match against The Briscoes, which will take place on ROH TV “next week”, with the winner of that match being named the number one tag team title contenders, and going on to face Charlie Haas​ and Shelton Benjamin at Final Battle on December 23rd. The Briscoes didn’t like the idea, but started shouting they’d become 7 time tag team champions, and then they said “Man Up, and starting hitting each other to get fired up.

- Jay Lethal​ vs Mike Bennett w/”Brutal” Bob Evans went to a 15 minute draw, so Lethal retains the ROH TV title

This was the TV main event for the first episode. This turned into a battle of attrition, but neither guy could get the win within 15 minutes, and the match ended in a draw. A good match, not great, but good.

– Jim Cornette introduced The Briscoes. Cornette said this was the first time they’ve seen each other since the State Athletic Commission in New York City fined them $5000. The Briscoes said that money could have bought a lot of beer and bullets, but money is money and you can’t take it with you. They said the important thing is that they want the belts that they made famous back and they want to know when Charlie Haas​ and Shelton Benjamin would stop being cowards.

Cornette said that they will not get the title shot because you can’t reward what they did last time. So, Cornette will compromise. The Briscoes will fight the All Night Express and the winners will become the top contenders. Jay Briscoe cut an awesome promo on how they beat the Express in different matches and said they are the Briscoes’ bitch. Cornette told them to watch their language because they are on broadcast TV. The Briscoes warned everyone to man up because they are coming for their belts.

- Andy Ridge vs. Tomasso Ciampa (with Prince Nana): Ciampa controlled Ridge early with a lot of suplexes. Ridge refused to cowtow to him and they battled outside on the apron, exchanging stiff kicks and chops. Ciampa sent Ridge down hard to the floor. Back in the ring, Ciampa worked over Ridge. Ridge came back with a cutter, leaping over the ropes to nail it.

Ciampa came back with a series of stomps and a running boot to the face. Ciampa set up Ridge and nailed the running powerbomb over his knees. The crowd popped for that.

Your winner, Tomasso Ciampa Ciampa!

Good back and forth match. They let Ridge show some fire but still showcased Ciampa!

– Nigel McGuinness​ tried to get a fan prediction on the next match but instead the fan demanded ROH bring back Kevin Steen​. Nigel called him a “Helen Hunt.” I don’t know why but that cracked me up.

- ROH champion Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong: They faced off nose to nose before the bell. Big reaction to Richards from the fans. They locked up and ended up in the ropes. Richards broke clean. They locked up again. Strong began working over Richards’ arm. They ended up in the ropes and Strong slapped Richards when they broke. They went back and forth. Strong ducked a kick.

Richards and Strong went back and forth on the mat with some good wrestling early. Richards caught Strong hard with a dropkick and went for an anklelock but was kicked out of the ring. They had a strong back and forth sequence. Richards went for a dive but Strong cut him off. They brawed on the outside.

Strong was whipped into the railing. Richards stalked him on the outside before they returned to the ring. Strong snapped Richards over the ropes and stomped him hard in the corner. Richards fought Strong off and went to the top but Strong leapt up and kneed him oin the face. Richards fell backwards into the ring, where he was covered for a two count.

Strong began nailing Richards with chops and forearms. They ended up slugging it out with forearms and chops. Strong nailed a dropkick to the face. Strong peppered Richards with a number of strikes but it only pissed off Richards, who nailed a nasty German suplex on Strong.

Richards worked over Strong, including a running boot to the face while on the apron. Richards drilled Strong with an insane dive to the floor. I thought he was going to sail into the crowd. Richards nailed a beautiful missile dropkick for a two count.

Richards continued to pummel Strong with some awesome striking and wrestling. Strong came back with a running clothesline. Richards caught him with a rolling back pinfall attempt and then a leaping kick. They battled back and forth with sick offense on the apron. Strong nailed a back suplex on the apron. The crowd is loving this one.

They battled back and forth with strikes until Richards clobbered Strong with a clothesline. They went back and forth with disgustingly brutal strikes and kicks. Richards and Strong exchanged kicks and chops in the corner. The crowd was totally in love with it. Strong came back with a gut buster for two count. The crowd chanted, “This is awesome.”

Strong went for a suplex but Richards kneed him in the air. Richards hit a charging knee in the corner. He pulled up Strong for a superplex and nailed it, then rolled through for a suplex. Strong kicked up. Richards locked on the anklelock. Strong fought to escape. Truth Martini distracted the referee. Richards drilled him with a stiff kick and whipped him hard into the buckle. Martini took the Flair flop.

They went back and forth with lots of awesome wrestling until finally Strong was forced to tap with the ankle lock.

Your winner and still ROH champion, Davey Richards​!

Here’s the Ring Of Honor TV Tapings results from the Davis Arena in Louisville for October 1st, 2011. ROH taped four episodes here tonight in front of a crowd of between 400-500, which means the Davis arena was packed. Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness were the TV announcers, and they had the announce desk in front of what is normally the babyface entrance for OVW shows. The show took about four hours to complete, so it was a marathon as expected. There were delays between the matches, and some moments of confusion, but don’t think this was near as bad in that department as the first set of tapings in Chicago. No super hot angles tonight, but a solid taping overall. ROH will be taping here in Louisville again on Saturday, November 5th. Female bodybuilder/part time lady pro wrestler Trina Thompson severed as the bikini wearing ring girl for these tapings.

The show began with Jim Cornette addressing the crowd.

1. The Elite(Ted McNaler & Adam Revolver) beat James “Moose” Thomas & Rocco Bellagio w/Prince Bolin to retain the OVW Southern Tag Team titles

Dark match. The crowd was pretty into this match, which it being the opener helped that of course. The finish saw The Elite hit their double team spear spot on Bellagio to win it, and retain the tag titles. The match was fine.

2. T.J. Perkins beat Mike Mondo

Back and forth match. Perkins finally won it with a La Magistral Cradle. Should make for a decent TV match. Interesting that Mondo lost his first match as a ROH signed talent. No code of honor from Mondo.

Jim Cornette came back out, and was joined in the ring by The Briscoe Brothers. Cornette said he thought the All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus) deserved another match against The Briscoe’s, which will take place on ROH TV “next week”, with the winner of that match being named the number one tag team title contenders, and going on to face Charlie Haas​ and Shelton Benjamin​ at Final Battle on December 23rd. The Briscoe’s didn’t like the idea, but started shouting they’d become 7 time tag team champions, and then they said “Man Up, and starting hitting each other to get fired up.

3. Jay Lethal vs Mike Bennett w/”Brutal” Bob Evans went to a 15 minute draw, so Lethal retains the ROH TV title

This was the TV main event for the first episode. This turned into a battle of attrition, but neither guy could get the win within 15 minutes, and the match ended in a draw. A good match, not great, but good.

4. Roderick Strong​ w/Truth Martini beat Kyle O’Reilly

Martini looks super thin nowadays, and he joined the announce booth for some of this match. Strong hit his gutbuster finisher, but O’Reilly kicked out. Strong though persevered and got the win with a running kick. This was a Hell of a good, and very hard hitting match. Easily one of the best matches of the night.

Michael Elgin came out during the post match, and all of The House of Truth beat on O’Reilly. Davey Richards​ ran out trying to make the save, with one boot on, and one barefoot, but was somewhat beaten down himself. Eddie Edwards ran out, and Richards and Edwards were finally able to beat The House of Truth down, at least to a degree. O’Reilly kicked a field goal into the crowd with Martini’s “Book of truth”.

It appeared during this melee that a staff member, a black guy who is a student at OVW, and occasionally referees, was legit injured. At least it looked that way. Appeared to be an ankle or a knee injury.

Jim Cornette came out and cut a promo on The House of Truth, and said they were being fined $2,500 a piece for their actions tonight. Then some “fans” along the front row started chanting for Kevin Steen​. I’m pretty darn sure they were plants. Cornette cut a pormo on the Steen situation saying ROH cannot do business with Kevin Steen, due to all the problems that come with him, and if Steen doesn’t like that, he can sue Cornette.

5. Tommaso Ciampa w/Prince Nana & Ernesto Osiris beat Alex Silva

Steve Cornio came out in a suit and joined the broadcast booth for this one. Silva is a young OVW wrestler that Jim Cornette has been somewhat high on. Ciampa got the win with a wicked version of a lung blower. Good brutal squash, though Silva got some stuff in.

6. The Briscoe Brothers(Mark and Jay) beat The All Night Express(Kenny King & Rhett Titus) to become the number 1 contenders to the ROH tag team titles

This was the second TV main event. For some reason a random football game played on the video screens during some of this match. The match was kinda on the flat side early, but really picked up greatly down the stretch. All kinds of big moves from both teams. The Briscoe’s used a double team ‘Rana spot off the top rope to win it, and become the top contenders to the ROH tag team titles.

Intermission

7. Michael Hayes beat Mohmad Ali Vaez by DQ

Another dark OVW match here. Hayes is a one legged legit Iraq war hero. The ROH crowd seemed to give guys they didn’t know a fair shake on this night, I’ve seen other nights here where they don’t, and are kinda a-holes about it, but not tonight. They were fairly into this match, though it wasn’t the best that Hayes and Vaez have had together. The finish saw Hayes have Vaez locked in a submission hold, but Vaez’ partner Omar Akbar hit the ring and attacked Hayes for the DQ. The post match saw both Vaez and Akbar beat on Hayes, with Akbar pulling the prosthetic leg off Hayes, with both Vaez and Akbar then beating on Hayes with the fake leg. Vaez cut a promo over the fallen Hayes for their upcoming tag match here at the October 8th OVW Saturday Night Special. Hayes’ tag partner for that match will be Cliff “Domino” Compton.

Jim Cornette got back in the ring, and said it has been decided that the challenger for the ROH World title at Final Battle will be Eddie Edwards. Edwards came to the ring. Edwards said he had a new trainer, but wouldn’t reveal who it was. ROH World champion Davey Richards came out. Richards was cool to face Edwards again, but before that he wanted to team with Edwards next week to face The House of Truth. Edwards was cool with that, but did mention to Richards that when the “Next world champ” chants come up during that match, he’ll know who they’re talking about.

8. Michael Elgin w/Truth Martini & Roderick Strong beat Shiloh Jonze

Jonze is an OVW regular, and a decent worker. Good squash here, ending with Elgin hitting his spinning powerbomb.

9. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin beat Cedric Alexander & Caprice Coleman in a proving ground match

This was the third TV main event. Haas and Benjamin got the win in a little over 12 minutes with a double team powerbomb. Coleman and Alexander did some nice stuff, but also had some sloppy moments down the stretch. It appeared Alexander may have tweaked his knee in the latter stages of this match.

The post match saw the Briscoe Brothers come to the floor in street clothes and cut a promo on Haas and Benjamin.

10. The Young Bucks​(Matt & Nick Jackson) beat The Bravado Brothers(Lance & Harlem)

The was the funnest match of the night, and easily the best “spotfest” of the night. Not an especially long match, but this was really clicking, these teams work extremely well together, with The Young Bucks pulling this one out. Should come off very well on TV.

Kevin Kelly got in the ring and brought out Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, who cut a promo on the Briscoe Brothers. The All Night Express came out and complained that nobody was talking about them.

Steve Corino​ cut a promo on the floor. Corino said he has been sorry for a year, but it didn’t change someone’s mind. Corino said he knows how to fix the problem. Corino said Jim Cornette has been avoiding him, but he only wants 5 minutes of Cornette’s time.

11. The American Wolves(Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) beat The House of Truth(Roderick Strong & Michael Elgin) w/Truth Martini

This was the main event of the 4th episode taped tonight, and also the main event of this event, and what a way to close out the show this was. Edwards took the heat for a long time, and was seriously abused by The House of Truth. Elgin got a visual fall on Davey Richards, while referee Todd Sinclair was on the floor arguing with Truth Martini. Edwards then clamped a sleeper on Elgin on the mat, and knocked him out. Richards crawled on top of Elgin, and the ref got back in and counted three. Richards didn’t see Edwards put Elgin’s lights out, so he was confused after the match exactly how he won it. Awesome match, the best of the night. Should be noted that Roderick Strong was in both of the best matches on this show.

– ROH opened with Jim Cornette​ in the ring, bringing out ROH Tag Team champions Charlie Haas​ and Shelton Benjamin​. Cornette said that they have proved their excellence with their win last week over the Kings of Wrestling but one team that wants to face them are the Briscoes. The crowd popped for the Briscoes.

Shelton Benjamin said that they beat all the top teams in ROH in NYC, including the Briscoes but those mad dogs attacked them and laid them out in NYC. Benjamin said that it makes him mad that they haven’t been given a chance to get to the Briscoes. Cornette said they were fined $5,000. Benjamin said, “So what?” Haas said that his own father had never beaten him as bad as the Briscoes did in NYC.

Cornette said they won’t wrestle the champs unless the titles are on the line. The champs said that they would put them on the line. Cornette said he and ROH aren’t going to reward the Briscoes for what they did. The champs said they are going to get their hands on the Briscoes, or else.

- Jimmy Jacobs​ (with Steve Corino​) vs. Mike Bennett (with Bob Evans)

Fans threw toilet paper in the ring at Evans. They were all over Bennett with a “You can’t wrestle” chant. He controlled Jacobs early but Jacobs cut him off and stomped the hell out of him in the corner. Bennett came back to drill him with a big forearm and smashed Jacobs into the buckles.

Jacobs came back with a spinning head scissors, sending Bennett to the floor. Jacobs went for a pescado but Bennett got out of the way. He went for a dive of his own but stopped and stepped out of the ring, then went to the floor. He worked over Jacobs and tossed him back into the ring. Bennett nailed an over the knee backbreaker for a two count. Bennett beat Jacobs down with a series of rights. Jacobs began psyching himself up.

Bennett caught Jacobs with a knee but Jacobs came back with a flurry of offense, including a hangman’s neckbreaker for a two count. Jacobs nailed a tornado DDT for a two count. Bennett cut off Jacobs, who quickly came back with a bodypress off the ropes for another near fall. Jacobs went to the top rope and went for a flying elbow but Bennett pulled his knees up. Bennett nailed a leaping sideslam for the pin.

Your winner, Mike Bennett!

Decent back and forth match.

Bennett shook Jacobs’ hand after, mocking Steve Corino in the process. Corino wanted to fight but Bob Evans backed Bennett off and pulled him out of the ring.

– Nigel McGuiness​ interviewed a ringside fan for his prediction on the winner of El Generico​ vs. Jay Lethal​ for the ROH TV championship. Nigel then introduced a video package.

- ROH TV champion El Generico vs. Jay Lethal

Lots of streamers for both men. They shook hands before the bell. They locked up and did some nice back and forth wrestling to open up. Lethal went for a hiptopss but Generico leapt up and nailed a rana into the corner. Lethal shook his head in surprise. They locked up again and this time Lethal used the ropes and drilll Generico with headscissors. There was a “Let’s go Lethal” chant.

They circled each other. Lethal grabbed a waistlock, took down Generico and drilled him with a leaping dropkick. He drilled Generico with a big uppercut in the corner. Generico was whipped into the ropes and nailed with the Lethal Combination. Fans began singing to rally Generico. Lethal covered him for a two count.

Lethal worked over Generico on the mat, then drilled him with a forearm. Lethal locked on a front facelock. Generico fought his way back to his feet. Generico and Lethal went back and forth with shots. Lethal nailed a nice standing dropkick for a two count. Generico and Lethal went back and forth. Generico leapfrogged Lethal. They exchanged hiptosses. Lethal ended up on the outside, where Generico nailed a big dive over the ropes to the floor. They battled on the floor. There was a spot but I couldn’t see it due to fans standing. It must have been cool since the chanted, “This is wrestling.”

Back in the ring, Lethal evaded Generico several times and nailed several big punches. Lethal went to come off the ropes and began selling his knee. While Lethal was dealing with the knee issue, Generico nailed a kick to the head for a two count. Lethal went to the apron. where he nailed Generico with a shoulderblock and a sunset flip into the ring for a two count.

Generico went to grab Lethal, who fired back with a series of shots to the mid-section. Lethal nailed a springboard elbow for a two count. They fired back and forth. Generico backdropped Lethal onto the apron but was punched. Lethal came off the top with a missile dropkick for a two count. They continued to go back and forth. The ring announcer called that there were two minutes left in the time limit.

Generico caught Lethal with a springboard tornado DDT for a two count. They continued to go back and forth with near falls. The bell rang and the time limit expired as Generico went for a suplex.

Time limit draw.

The fans booed and chanted for five more minutes. Jim Cornette came rushing out and told everyone that they had three minutes left in the show and if they want it, they got it. They agreed and began throwing punches back and forth as the crowd went nuts.

Generico caught Lethal in the corner with a big boot for a two count. The crowd chanted “ROH.” Generico tried to set up for a superplex but Lethal escaped and reversed it. Lethal came off the top but was nailed by Generico. Lethal avoided the superplex and nailed the flying elbow for a two count.

Lethal charged Generico but was caught with a suplex into the corner. Generico set up for the Coast to Coast but Lethal caught him. Lethal nailed the Lethal Combination and scored the pin.

Your winner and new ROH TV champion. Jay Lethal!

Good match. This was by far the best thing on the show in terms of action and crowd response, particularly the re-start.

DARK SEGMENTS
The taping began with Jim Cornette coming to the ring and thanking everyone for reminding him of something that he had forgotten – that Chicago kicks some ass. Cornette said that he wanted to tell them why he picked Chicago for their first TV Taping. He said that Chicago has been a Ring of Honor town for years and has supported the company through thick and thin. He said that he wanted to show everyone what Chicago has known all along – that ROH is the best live wrestling experience in the world.

Cornette said that he wanted to clarify something he said the last time he was here. He said that everyone will be able to watch the TV show online for free on the revamped ROH Wrestling website. The place popped huge for that. That was the first planned surprise.

Cornette asked everyone not to become a mob. He said that they have to help him out – he wanted the entire world to see that not only ROH is about the wrestlers and the matches, but it’s about the people. He said that they’ve mic’d the entire building and cameras will be shooting them and interviewing fans. He said that they love the signs and cheers and boos and asked them to do it like they always did it for ROH. He then pointed out that they are going to be on broadcast TV and asked the fans to keep the chants TV friendly. He got booed for that. He thanked everyone and wished them a good time. Everyone chanted for Cornette.

Kevin Kelly was introduced.

Tony Kozina vs. Grizzy Redwood

This is a dark match so the production crew has test everything. They locked up and Kozina forced Redwood into the corner. He worked over Redwood who leapfrogged him and nailed an enziguiri. Redwood unloaded with chops in the corner. Kozina cut him off and draped Redwood over the ropes, nailing him across the back with a running dropkick.

Kozina continued the beating until being caught with a bulldog for a two count. Redwood nailed him with a clothesline for another two count. Kozina cut him off and worked Redwood over in the ropes until missing a charge, sailing through the ropes to the floor.

Redwood unloaded with punches and backdrops before raining down with punches in the corner. Kozina avoided a charge in the corner but was caught with a rana into the buckles. Redwood nailed a dropkick in the corner for a two count.

Redwood pulled down his straps and went to the top but was caught with a slap to the face as he played to the audience. Kozina nailed a top rope rana but Redwood rolled through and scored the pin.

Your winner, Grizzly Redwood!

EPISODE ONE
Kevin Kelly entered the ring and they counted down for the first TV opening.

Kelly welcomed everyone to the first episode and announced the ROH Tag Team titles would be on the line in the main event, but before that, he wanted to introduce everyone to his broadcast partner. Kelly’s mic died, so the crowd began chanting, “This is awkward.” That’s pretty funny. There was a chant for CM Punk​ and then a much louder chant for Colt Cabana. They resolved the house mic issues. Kelly said that he hoped everyone enjoyed that as much as he did, because they are going to do it again. So, they shot it again and the crowd was even louder this time.

Kelly welcomed everyone to the first episode and announced the ROH Tag Team titles would be on the line in the main event, but before that, he wanted to introduce everyone to his broadcast partner. Out came former ROH champion Nigel McGuinness. The place went ballistic for Nigel’s return. When he hit the ring, a ton of streamers were tossed. The crowd chanted, “Welcome back.” Kelly said it was great to see Nigel back in ROH. McGuinness said that being back was “bloody awesome.” He said there would be no Nigel without Ring of Honor and when he heard ROH was going on broadcast TV, he knew he had to be a part of it. He said he’s not here to be the focus of the show because that should be the wrestlers who kill themselves for the fans every night in Ring of Honor.

Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly vs. The Bravado Brothers

Cole and O’Reilly opened up hot with some nice double team action. The Bravados tried to work them over but was tricked into tying each other up into moves. O’Reilly drilled one of the Bravados with forearms in the corner, then Cole lit him up with hard chops. The Bravado cut him off and ran Cole into the Bravados’ corner.

The Bravados worked him over. The fans began chanting “Justin Bieber.” Cole fired out of a cravate but was nailed and covered for a two count. The Bravados cut off the ring and went back and forth with tags, working over Cole and gaining several near falls. Cole mounted a comeback but O’Reilly was knocked off the apron.

Cole was nearly pinned with a back suplex but O’Reilly broke up the pinfall. Cole finally fired back with forearms and punches, breaking free and dove to make the hot tag. O’Reilly drilled them with kicks and legsweeps. He nailed an enziguiri, then drilled both with a double Dragon Screw Legwhip. He nailed one of the Bravados with a kick for a two count. Cole tagged back in. One of the Bravados kicked off his charge. They nailed a double back suplex on O’Reilly. Cole came back with several superplexes.

O’Reilly nailed several butterfly suplexes and Cole hit a wheelbarrow suplex. The Bravados went to the floor. Cole nailed a great suicide dive on them. O’Reilly followed up with a diving knee off the apron to the floor. The crowd chanted “ROH.”

Back in the ring, the teams traded near falls. Cole and O’Reilly finally scored the win.

Your winners, Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly!

Cole and O’Reilly are now being billed under the team name “Futureshock.” Lots of hot action here.

They are having some technical issues. Nigel McGuinness interviewed a fan asking who would win the main event tonight. They said World’s Greatest Tag Team, so they re-shot the interview again using the “Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team” name.

ROH Tag Team champions Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin vs. The Kings of Wrestling

Haas and Benjamin have new music. Haas and Claudio started and there was some jockeying for position. They went back and forth. Claudio shoulderblocked him down. He went for a hiptoss but Haas reversed it, nailed a hiptoss and locked in an armbar.

Claudio worked over Haas, who made the tag to Benjamin. Benjamin hit a flying clothesline from the top and worked over Claudio on the mat. He was muscled backwards into the KOW corner. Hero tagged in but was caught with a hiptoss and cinched in an armbar. Hero used a leg trip to escape and scored a near fall. Hero and Benjamin faced off. Benjamin popped him and Hero backed off.

Hero chopped away at Benjamin. Benjamin fired back with chops of his own. He locked in a cravate but Hero broke free and drilled him with several big shots. Hero tossed Benjamin to the floor. Hero nailed a dropkick through the ropes to the floor. Hero went to grab Benjamin but was pulled to the floor. Hero battled him on the floor and sent Shelton into the barricade.

Hero tossed Benjamin into the ring and covered him for a two count. Benjamin fired back and nearly made the tag to Haas but Claudio drilled him with an European uppercut. Claudio cinched in a side chinlock. Claudio caught him with a powerslam for a two count. Claudio whipped him into the buckles but was kicked off as he charged. The crowd rallied for a hot tag. Hero tried to cut Benjamin off but he ducked down and Hero went sailing over the top. Claudio grabbed Benjamin but was kicked off.

Benjamin mad the tag but the referee was distracted by Hero. As Haas protested, The Kings worked over Benjamin, scoring several two count. The Kings tagged in and out, beating down Benjamin and scoring several two counts. Benjamin nailed an uppercut but Hero nailed him with a forearm. The Kings went for a double suplex but Benjamin nailed a double DDT. He made the hot tag to Haas. Haas cleaned house with clotheslines and a flying headscissors on Claudio.

Haas nailed several German suplexes on Hero for a two count. Haas came off the top with a rana on Claudio. Claudio nailed a flapjack on him and battled with Benjamin. Hero drilled Haas a with a roaring elbow for a near fall. Claudio nailed the big swing on Haas, setting up a Hero dropkick into Haas. Benjamin broke up the near fall at two. There was a small “Haas” chant.

The Kings went for their finisher but Benjamin tackled Claudio to prevent it. Hero drilled Benjamin with a superkick. Haas nailed Claudio with the Stun Gun to set up a double team on the ropes. Haas held up Benjamin for a leaping clothesline on Hero for the win.

Your winners and still ROH Tag Team champions, Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin!

Solid match but It couldn’t touch their Atlanta iPPV match for atmosphere or drama.

There have been some delays with the taping, partially because they are editing and doing everything live to tape, including commentary. There seems to have been some sounds issues as well.

EPISODE 2
The second episode opened with Jim Cornette in the ring, bringing out ROH Tag Team champions Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin. Cornette said that they have proved their excellence with their win last week over the Kings of Wrestling but one team that wants to face them are the Briscoes. The crowd popped for the Briscoes. Shelton Benjamin said that they beat all the top teams in ROH in NYC, including the Briscoes but those mad dogs attacked them and laid them out in NYC. Benjamin said that it makes him mad that they haven’t been given a chance to get to the Briscoes. Cornette said they were fined $5,000. Benjamin said, “So what?” Haas said that his own father had never beaten him as bad as the Briscoes did in NYC. Cornette said they won’t wrestle the champs unless the titles are on the line. The champs said that they would put them on the line. Cornette said he and ROH aren’t going to reward the Briscoes for what they did. The champs said they are going to get their hands on the Briscoes, or else.

Jimmy Jacobs​ (with Steve Corino​) vs. Mike Bennett (with Bob Evans)

Fans threw toilet paper in the ring at Evans. They were all over Bennett with a “You can’t wrestle” chant. He controlled Jacobs early but Jacobs cut him off and stomped the hell out of him in the corner. Bennett came back to drill him with a big forearm and smashed Jacobs into the buckles.

Jacobs came back with a spinning head scissors, sending Bennett to the floor. Jacobs went for a pescado but Bennett got out of the way. He went for a dive of his own but stopped and stepped out of the ring, then went to the floor. He worked over Jacobs and tossed him back into the ring. Bennett nailed an over the knee backbreaker for a two count. Bennett beat Jacobs down with a series of rights. Jacobs began psyching himself up.

Bennett caught Jacobs with a knee but Jacobs came back with a flurry of offense, including a hangman’s neckbreaker for a two count. Jacobs nailed a tornado DDT for a two count. Bennett cut off Jacobs, who quickly came back with a bodypress off the ropes for another near fall. Jacobs went to the top rope and went for a flying elbow but Bennett pulled his knees up. Bennett nailed a leaping sideslam for the pin.

Your winner, Mike Bennett!

Decent back and forth match.

Bennett shook Jacobs’ hand after, mocking Steve Corino in the process. Corino wanted to fight but Bob Evans backed Bennett off and pulled him out of the ring.

Nigel McGuiness​ interviewed a ringside fan for his prediction on the winner of El Generico​ vs. Jay Lethal​ for the ROH TV championship. Nigel then introduced a video package.

ROH TV champion El Generico vs. Jay Lethal

Lots of streamers for both men. They shook hands before the bell. They locked up and did some nice back and forth wrestling to open up. Lethal went for a hiptopss but Generico leapt up and nailed a rana into the corner. Lethal shook his head in surprise. They locked up again and this time Lethal used the ropes and drilll Generico with headscissors. There was a “Let’s go Lethal” chant.

They circled each other. Lethal grabbed a waistlock, took down Generico and drilled him with a leaping dropkick. He drilled Generico with a big uppercut in the corner. Generico was whipped into the ropes and nailed with the Lethal Combination. Fans began singing to rally Generico. Lethal covered him for a two count.

Lethal worked over Generico on the mat, then drilled him with a forearm. Lethal locked on a front facelock. Generico fought his way back to his feet. Generico and Lethal went back and forth with shots. Lethal nailed a nice standing dropkick for a two count. Generico and Lethal went back and forth. Generico leapfrogged Lethal. They exchanged hiptosses. Lethal ended up on the outside, where Generico nailed a big dive over the ropes to the floor. They battled on the floor. There was a spot but I couldn’t see it due to fans standing. It must have been cool since the chanted, “This is wrestling.”

Back in the ring, Lethal evaded Generico several times and nailed several big punches. Lethal went to come off the ropes and began selling his knee. While Lethal was dealing with the knee issue, Generico nailed a kick to the head for a two count. Lethal went to the apron. where he nailed Generico with a shoulderblock and a sunset flip into the ring for a two count.

Generico went to grab Lethal, who fired back with a series of shots to the mid-section. Lethal nailed a springboard elbow for a two count. They fired back and forth. Generico backdropped Lethal onto the apron but was punched. Lethal came off the top with a missile dropkick for a two count. They continued to go back and forth. The ring announcer called that there were two minutes left in the time limit.

Generico caught Lethal with a springboard tornado DDT for a two count. They continued to go back and forth with near falls. The bell rang and the time limit expired as Generico went for a suplex.

Time limit draw.

The fans booed and chanted for five more minutes. Jim Cornette came rushing out and told everyone that they had three minutes left in the show and if they want it, they got it. They agreed and began throwing punches back and forth as the crowd went nuts.

Generico caught Lethal in the corner with a big boot for a two count. The crowd chanted “ROH.” Generico tried to set up for a superplex but Lethal escaped and reversed it. Lethal came off the top but was nailed by Generico. Lethal avoided the superplex and nailed the flying elbow for a two count.

Lethal charged Generico but was caught with a suplex into the corner. Generico set up for the Coast to Coast but Lethal caught him. Lethal nailed the Lethal Combination and scored the pin.

Your winner and new ROH TV champion. Jay Lethal!

DARK MATCH:
Ernie Osyris (with Prince Nana​ & RA Bannister) vs. Mike Sydal

Osyris nailed Sydal at the bell and worked him over with punches and forearms in the corner. Sydal tossed him into the corner and worked him over with a series of chops. He leapt up and over Osyris when he was whipped into the buckles and nailed several hiptpsses. Osyris pulled Sydal back to the corner by his hair.

Sydal reversed a whip and nailed a clothesline in the corner. He worked over Osyris in the corner with punches but was rammed into the buckles for a near fall. Osyris choked Sydal with his foot for a two count. Osyris nailed a springboard moonsault but Sydal moved. He nailed several dropkicks and kicks to the head but Osyris kicked out at two.

Osyris came back with a leaping knee across the back of Sydal’s neck. Nana began arguing with the referee. Barrister went to nail Sydal with a boot but instead nailed Osyris. Sydal dropkicked Barrister and then hit a splash for the pin.

Your winner, Mike Sydal!

EPISODE THREE
Jim Cornette introduced The Briscoes. Cornette said this was the first time they’ve seen each other since the State Athletic Commission in New York City fined them $5000. The Briscoes said that money could have bought a lot of beer and bullets, but money is money and you can’t take it with you. They said the important thing is that they want the belts that they made famous back and they want to know when Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin would stop being cowards. Cornette said that they will not get the title shot because you can’t reward what they did last time. So, Cornette will compromise. The Briscoes will fight the All Night Express and the winners will become the top contenders. Jay Briscoe cut an awesome promo on how they beat the Express in different matches and said they are the Briscoes’ bitch. Cornette told them to watch their language because they are on broadcast TV. The Briscoes warned everyone to man up because they are coming for their belts.

Andy Ridge vs. Tomasso Ciampa (with Prince Nana)

Ciampa controlled Ridge early with a lot of suplexes. Ridge refused to cowtow to him and they battled outside on the apron, exchanging stiff kicks and chops. Ciampa sent Ridge down hard to the floor. Back in the ring, Ciampa worked over Ridge. Ridge came back with a cutter, leaping over the ropes to nail it.

Ciampa came back with a series of stomps and a running boot to the face. Ciampa set up Ridge and nailed the running powerbomb over his knees. The crowd popped for that.

Your winner, Tomasso Ciampa Ciampa!

ROH champion Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong

They faced off nose to nose before the bell. Big reaction to Richards from the fans. They locked up and ended up in the ropes. Richards broke clean. They locked up again. Strong began working over Richards’ arm. They ended up in the ropes and Strong slapped Richards when they broke. They went back and forth. Strong ducked a kick.

Richards and Strong went back and forth on the mat with some good wrestling early. Richards caught Strong hard with a dropkick and went for an anklelock but was kicked out of the ring. They had a strong back and forth sequence. Richards went for a dive but Strong cut him off. They brawled on the outside.

Strong was whipped into the railing. Richards stalked him on the outside before they returned to the ring. Strong snapped Richards over the ropes and stomped him hard in the corner. Richards fought Strong off and went to the top but Strong leapt up and kneed him in the face. Richards fell backwards into the ring, where he was covered for a two count.

Strong began nailing Richards with chops and forearms. They ended up slugging it out with forearms and chops. Strong nailed a dropkick to the face. Strong peppered Richards with a number of strikes but it only pissed off Richards, who nailed a nasty German suplex on Strong.

Richards worked over Strong, including a running boot to the face while on the apron. Richards drilled Strong with an insane dive to the floor. I thought he was going to sail into the crowd. Richards nailed a beautiful missile dropkick for a two count.

Richards continued to pummel Strong with some awesome striking and wrestling. Strong came back with a running clothesline. Richards caught him with a rolling back pinfall attempt and then a leaping kick. They battled back and forth with sick offense on the apron. Strong nailed a back suplex on the apron. The crowd is loving this one.

They battled back and forth with strikes until Richards clobbered Strong with a clothesline. They went back and forth with disgustingly brutal strikes and kicks. Richards and Strong exchanged kicks and chops in the corner. The crowd was totally in love with it. Strong came back with a gut buster for two count. The crowd chanted, “This is awesome.”

Strong went for a suplex but Richards kneed him in the air. Richards hit a charging knee in the corner. He pulled up Strong for a superplex and nailed it, then rolled through for a suplex. Strong kicked up. Richards locked on the anklelock. Strong fought to escape. Truth Martini distracted the referee. Richards drilled him with a stiff kick and whipped him hard into the buckle. Martini took the Flair flop.

They went back and forth with lots of awesome wrestling until finally Strong was forced to tap with the ankle lock.

Your winner and still ROH champion, Davey Richards!

AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME. Easily the best thing on the show. Just incredible athleticism and work from both men.

Bobby Cruise introduced COO Joe Koff. Koff said that he knew he made a good first decision to have the first TV Taping here and he thanked the fans for their energy and patience tonight. He said the fans were part of ROH’s history and was thankful for their help tonight.

EPISODE FOUR

Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness opened the show, previewing the matches on this show before sending it to a video feature on The Briscoes.

The Briscoes vs. The All Night Express

Jay Briscoe and Kenny King opened the bout. Mark quickly tagged in and they worked over King. Titus tried to get involved but was held back by the referee. The Briscoes were soon mauling King on the floor outside. Titus dove over the ropes onto the Briscoes to save his partner.

The Express worked over Mark. Jay kneed Titus in the back as he rebounded off the ropes, setting up several double team maneuvers. They knocked King off the apron and he took a sick sounding bump into the guard rail.

The Briscoes worked over Titus in the corner with shouldblocks and chops. Titus fired back but was nailed. Mark held him for Jay to work over. Mark drilled him with a bulldog. Titus was nailed and placed on the ropes. Briscoe followed to set up a rana but Titus slipped underneath and slammed him facefirst into the buckles.

Kenny King tagged in and cleaned house, including nailing a great suplex on Mark. King backdropped Titus over the ropes atop of the Briscoes on the floor. They went back and forth with some really good athletic spots. Mark hit the sickest frog splash ever.

Titus and Mark battled on the apron as the referee tried to break it up. King and Jay were going back and forth. King did a flip and went to charge Jay when he was kicked low. The referee missed it and Jay used it to package him for the win.

Your winners and top contenders to the ROH Tag Team titles, The Briscoes!

The Express attacked them and all four brawled. The locker room emptied to separate the two.

Jim Cornette cut a promo announcing that while the referee’s decision, no matter how bad it is, is final, there are no number one contenders for the ROH Tag Team titles.

Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin

They locked up and when Elgin was forced against the ropes, he shoved Edwards. Edwards shoved back. They went back and forth with slaps and strikes. Edwards drilled Elgin with a kick to the face.

Elgin punched Edwards and beat him down with stomps in the corner. Edwards went for a hiptoss but was caught in mid move and lifted up for a powerslam. Edwards slipped out and landed on his feet, shoving Elgin into the buckles.

Edwards unloaded with chops in the corner. Elgin missed a charge. Elgin caught Edwards coming off the ropes and ran him back-first into the corner. Elgin inched in a rear chinlock. Edwards escaped and went for a kick to the head. The match began to be built around Elgin’s power vs. Edwards’ speed and finesse.c

Elgin took control and dropped a number of elbows. He locked in a surfboard. Edwards came back with several superkicks and a big suplex. Edwards hit a crazy dive to the floor on Elgin, sending them both into the railing. They are almost counted out.

Edwards comes off the top for a double stomp but Elgin avoids it. Edwards cuts him off and drills him with forearms. Elgin mauls Edwards and pulls him out on the apron. He tries to suplex him onto the ringpost but Edwards slips out, lands on his feet, superkicks him and then nails a double stomp.

Edwards nails a double stomp off the top into the ring for a two count. Elgin goes for a powerslam but Edwards rolls through for a near fall. Edwards finally scores the pin.

Your winner, Eddie Edwards!

Another good match.

The House of Truth attempted to attack Edwards after but Nigel McGuinnness hit the ring to a big pop to hold them off. He offered to throw down with them and support Eddie but nothing physical happened. He raised Edwards’ arm to close the show.

POST SHOW NOTES
ROH sent out a number of stars to sign autographs after the show as a thank you to the fans for their support.

The next TV taping will be 10/1 at the Davis Arena in Louisville, Kentucky. I believe there is a November taping there as well.

ROH will return to Chicago Ridge, IL on 11/19.