Originally posted September 12, 2010 for Wrestlespective
Right off the bat, I want to say that this ROH pay-per-view further reinforced my opinion that the WWE needs to go back to a limited amount of PPVs every year. There was something special about Glory By Honor tonight that came from the fact that it had been a little while since we’d seen their last “big show.” They’ve had time to properly build the feuds involved, every angle came in hot and even the “special attraction” match was given a ton of time on air to promote it without it feeling like overkill (like every time we see a damn trailer for Legendary on WWE programming!)
With that said, I’ve been looking forward for this show for weeks now and I was not left disappointed. I missed the first couple of minutes due to the fact that I was finishing up a movie with my girlfriend (awww!), but I came in just as the second of the two Briscoes/All Night Express singles challenges was finishing up.
Then we went into a tag team match that saw Embassy members Necro Butcher and Erick Stevens taking on the incomparable Grizzly Redwood and his partner, the Chair Swingin’ Freak himself, Balls Mahoney! This was a decent little match with a few memorable spots. The problem with this match (you know, besides the fact that aside from Stevens, there was a ring-full of gimmick wrestlers or brawlers with little to no real wrestling talent) was the fact that it had a little bit of a made-for-WWE-TV feel than I was expecting. I mean, you throw a modern hardcore icon like Necro in there with an alumnus from the most infamous and violent wrestling promotion of all time and you’re expecting some fireworks, right? Wrong. This match basically played out with the entire crowd just holding their breaths waiting for someone to whip a chair or bust another guy open. It never came, and I think the match suffered for it. Not that anyone really had soaring expectations for this match, but it definitely fell a little flat regardless. The Embassy, unsurprisingly goes over.
Now onto something people (myself included) laid down their money for: Kevin Steen and Steve Corino taking on El Generico and Colt Cabana in a chain match! Let me just say that this might have to be my favourite feud in the entire business right now. I mean, how the hell has this thing been going on for the better part of a year and we are all still paying our money to see it? This is how to execute a feud and get people interested in what you are doing. Take notes, would ya TNA (and WWE, for that matter)?
First of all, I would like to point out that you know you’re at a wrestling show in New York City (or Philly of course!) when the ring announcer mentions that view discretion may be advised as this match could turn into a BLOODY WAR~! and the fans simply meet this with a chorus of deafening cheers. Good on ya, New York. Good on ya!
This was a GREAT brawl. There were very few “wrestling” holds, I don’t think I remember seeing one headlock, at least not one that didn’t involve a chain being dug into someone’s flesh. There was nothing pretty about this match, and that’s what made it beautiful. About a half a minute (if this were posted on Twitter, it would be posted with a #imexaggerating) into this match, all three of the non-mask-wearing participants were busted wide open. And wouldn’t you know it? The blood in this match enhances the action, puts the angle over harder and isn’t just so that Dixie Carter and Co. can feel as though they’re putting out a more mature product than WWE. Get your pens out again, TNA ...
Much to my delight, Cabana and Generico get the win here, which SHOULD mean this feud has finally come to a thrilling end. But NO! Steen and Corino get their heat back, which I was really pissed off about at first. I thought for sure that after this match, this feud would finally have fizzled out and all the boys involved would move along into something new. But instead of just putting this feud to rest, they ramped it up further.
They didn’t just have Corino and Steen get their heat back by beating up the good guys and getting away scot free. No, Cabana and Generico rally once again, gaining the upper hand on their attackers. Steen is perched on the top rope with Generico preparing to finally deliver the BRAINBUSTAHHHHH!! when suddenly Generico hopes down and rolls under the bottom rope the floor. It’s a moment before we realize that Steen is holding Generico’s mask in his hands. Anyone who knows anything about Luchadors knows that the biggest event in his entire career is the match where he loses his mask. Generico wasn’t given a match. He didn’t have a chance to defend his mask. He was shown the ultimate sign of disrespect to a luchador: Steen robbed him of his mask.
For me, there is no better way for this feud to continue. I went from extremely disappointed that this feud didn’t end to incredibly excited and optimistic about where it goes from here. I don’t think I am alone in my excitement either.
Intermission up next, complete with pre-recorded interview with Davey Richards where he tells the world that he is NOT retiring at the end of 2010. This is great news, not only for every independent wrestling fan, but ROH as well. They have been getting gutted lately with the departures of Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson, and now Tyler Black leaving them. The fact that DR will be kicking around a while longer is probably sweet, beautiful music to the people in charge of the company.
Now, this was the worst moment of the night for me: my Internet decided to quit and I missed the entire Edwards/Daivari TV title match, and the bulk of the Aries/Daniels match. The fact that I missed Austin Aries and Chris Daniels probably tear the damn roof off the place is particularly frustrating for me. This, along with the dream tag match and the main event was the reason for me buying the show and for me to miss it really sucked.
But I was able to catch the last five minutes or so, and I wasn’t let down in what I saw. Aries and Daniels are two of the best wrestlers in the world right now, both technically and in terms of showmanship. They sold very well for each other, of course, and did a great job in making this match feel as important and any other on the card, even though there was nothing tangible riding on its outcome. The finish is a candidate for my personal “spot of the night,” and it saw Daniels crotching Aries on the top rope and then delivering a super Angel’s Wings for the finish. Very good match, the bits I saw of it.
When I heard that I was going to get to see Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas given fifteen or twenty minutes to really show what they could do against the Kings of Wrestling, one of the best and most exciting tag teams in the history of the business, I already knew I was going to be purchasing this event. I’ve always been a huge fan of Benjamin’s and felt that he was given the shaft time and time again in WWE. He might be the most underutilized performer in the history of the company (though, pretty soon Evan Bourne might take that top spot if they don’t do something with him soon).
This match was really heavily hyped coming in, and for good reason. This match was VERY good. Watching four very technically sound wrestlers compete against one another was very refreshing for me, who basically has his head stuck in the WWE clouds most of the time. Some great chain wrestling, submissions and memorable spots. Even the rest holds were made to feel important. These four guys really tore the place down out there tonight, but I didn’t expect anything less.
As expect, the Kings of Wrestling went over. But they didn’t go over clean, and Claudio even was made to tap out in the Haas of Pain, but the referee didn’t see it. After the match, the KoW were chased from the ring by the World’s Greatest Tag Team and we were all teased with the potential of a rematch for the titles in the future when they held the belts above their heads as the fans chanted at them to, “please come back!”
I’ve got to say that unless we get this mini-feud for the tag titles in the near-ish future, I really don’t understand or agree with how the finish of this match was booked. They had one half of their tag team champions TAP OUT to an outside team who haven’t tagged together regularly in six years (a fact I might not have remembered if not for the commentators reminding me). To what benefit is this if we’re not going to see a rematch? And having your reigning and defending World Tag Team Champions have to resort to a loaded elbow pad to put away a team in a non-title match? Am I just being sensitive, or does this seem a very counter-productive way to put your tag titles over? And in a company that claims itself to have “the most prestigious tag division in wrestling today” no less. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat my words if we do in fact we this rematch between WGTT and the Kings, but until I see that happen, I’m going to stick to being disappointed in the finish of this otherwise phenomenal match.
Last but not least, the main event that saw Tyler Black defending his ROH World Championship against the Messiah of the Backbreaker himself, Roderick Strong. Right off the bat in this match, I think they shot themselves in the foot. I know professional wrestling isn’t all about the finishes, but the story that gets us there, but were we really, for one second supposed to believe that Tyler Black was going to be escaping to WWE with ROH Championship around his waist? Absolutely not. Of course Strong was going over in this match. He was always going over, and having such a written-in-stone and predictable outcome to this match, in my opinion hurt its overall presentation.
With that being said, I know Tyler Black has a lot of haters out there, but I thought this was a great match. It started out pretty slow and old school, witch some chain wrestling and rest holds, but it quickly got going into the fast-paced frenzy we knew we could expect from everyone’s favourite Spot Monkey, Tyler Black. Say what you want, but this guy throws some convincingly devastating strikes, and Roddy sold them like the Champion he now is. These two went out there knowing they were going to be facing a really hot crowd that just saw an incredible tag team contest, and they followed it perfectly.
The finish to this match felt as though it came out of nowhere, but that was a good thing. There are nowhere near enough flash finishes in this sport. Roddy comes back from eating sidekick after sidekick, or nailed Black with a chops-jarring boot of his own and rolls up his adversary for the three count, becoming the new ROH World Champion. And no one in the company right now deserves it more, in my opinion. Sure, the guy doesn’t cut the most convincing promo, but in the ring, (and that’s where it counts to me) he’s second none on most nights. I can’t think of a better person to take the torch from Black, and hopefully he’ll be the one defending the belt against DR in December at Final Battle.
After the match, Roddy extends his hand for Black to shake. The fans, who have been fickle in his direction since his signing with WWE, even got behind him with a “Thank you Tyler” chant. He looked to be choked up for a moment, reaching his hand out to Roddy and ... puts his middle finger right in his face. He then shows his double birds to the crowd before high tailing it out of the arena before someone lynched him in the pancreas. Farewell, Tyler Black!
Overall, I thought this was a very good show from a company that has a track record of being slightly repetitive. Every match was unique in its own way and very exciting in most cases. I felt as though I definitely got my money’s worth.
Oh yeah, and Homicide returned to confront Roderick Strong to close out the PPV. Did I not mention that?
Match of the Night
The Kings of Wrestling VS Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas
While not surprising in itself, it was surprising to me how close the Main Event was to getting the top spot. In the end though, the hype and the technical skill displayed put this one over the top for me, even despite a finish that left much to be desired.
Spot/Moment of the Night
Tyler Black giving the “YOU CAN’T SEE ME” followed by the STF(U)
It was as though he was a born heel. He rubbed salt in the wounds of everyone in attendance that a) hates John Cena with a fiery passion and b) hates that their World Champion left them from Vinnie Mac’s Sports Entertainment empire.
Honorable Mentions
* Erick Stevens military pressing Grizzly Redwood over the top rope to the floor and gets uppercutted in midair by Necro
* Redwood hurricanranas Stevens, sending him flying head first into the second turnbuckle
* Kevin Steen using his chain to pull El Generico off the top rope and through a table on the floor
* Colt Cabana being chained to the ring corners and helpless to stop the brutal dismantling of his tag team partner. It was like something out of a torture movie.
* Generico t-bone suplexing Steen headfirst into the turnbuckle
* Steen recreating the picture on his t-shirt after the match using Generico’s mask, a steel chair and Corino’s blood to write ‘Mr. Wrestling’ on the back of the chair. All the while, the fans chanted “YOU SICK F***!” He sure is, kids ... he sure is.
* Claudio throwing Benjamin into the air and having Hero nail him with a HYUUUGGGEEEE roaring elbow
* Tyler Black nailing Roderick Strong with three consecutive superkicks, only to be finished off moments later
Chant of the Night
“KILL THE KID!” in regards to Corino’s younger brother (or son, I dunno .. commentators said both at some point) who had come to ringside to unchain Steen from Generico, leading to the Cabana being chained to the ropes spot.
With that said, I’ve been looking forward for this show for weeks now and I was not left disappointed. I missed the first couple of minutes due to the fact that I was finishing up a movie with my girlfriend (awww!), but I came in just as the second of the two Briscoes/All Night Express singles challenges was finishing up.
Then we went into a tag team match that saw Embassy members Necro Butcher and Erick Stevens taking on the incomparable Grizzly Redwood and his partner, the Chair Swingin’ Freak himself, Balls Mahoney! This was a decent little match with a few memorable spots. The problem with this match (you know, besides the fact that aside from Stevens, there was a ring-full of gimmick wrestlers or brawlers with little to no real wrestling talent) was the fact that it had a little bit of a made-for-WWE-TV feel than I was expecting. I mean, you throw a modern hardcore icon like Necro in there with an alumnus from the most infamous and violent wrestling promotion of all time and you’re expecting some fireworks, right? Wrong. This match basically played out with the entire crowd just holding their breaths waiting for someone to whip a chair or bust another guy open. It never came, and I think the match suffered for it. Not that anyone really had soaring expectations for this match, but it definitely fell a little flat regardless. The Embassy, unsurprisingly goes over.
Now onto something people (myself included) laid down their money for: Kevin Steen and Steve Corino taking on El Generico and Colt Cabana in a chain match! Let me just say that this might have to be my favourite feud in the entire business right now. I mean, how the hell has this thing been going on for the better part of a year and we are all still paying our money to see it? This is how to execute a feud and get people interested in what you are doing. Take notes, would ya TNA (and WWE, for that matter)?
First of all, I would like to point out that you know you’re at a wrestling show in New York City (or Philly of course!) when the ring announcer mentions that view discretion may be advised as this match could turn into a BLOODY WAR~! and the fans simply meet this with a chorus of deafening cheers. Good on ya, New York. Good on ya!
This was a GREAT brawl. There were very few “wrestling” holds, I don’t think I remember seeing one headlock, at least not one that didn’t involve a chain being dug into someone’s flesh. There was nothing pretty about this match, and that’s what made it beautiful. About a half a minute (if this were posted on Twitter, it would be posted with a #imexaggerating) into this match, all three of the non-mask-wearing participants were busted wide open. And wouldn’t you know it? The blood in this match enhances the action, puts the angle over harder and isn’t just so that Dixie Carter and Co. can feel as though they’re putting out a more mature product than WWE. Get your pens out again, TNA ...
Much to my delight, Cabana and Generico get the win here, which SHOULD mean this feud has finally come to a thrilling end. But NO! Steen and Corino get their heat back, which I was really pissed off about at first. I thought for sure that after this match, this feud would finally have fizzled out and all the boys involved would move along into something new. But instead of just putting this feud to rest, they ramped it up further.
They didn’t just have Corino and Steen get their heat back by beating up the good guys and getting away scot free. No, Cabana and Generico rally once again, gaining the upper hand on their attackers. Steen is perched on the top rope with Generico preparing to finally deliver the BRAINBUSTAHHHHH!! when suddenly Generico hopes down and rolls under the bottom rope the floor. It’s a moment before we realize that Steen is holding Generico’s mask in his hands. Anyone who knows anything about Luchadors knows that the biggest event in his entire career is the match where he loses his mask. Generico wasn’t given a match. He didn’t have a chance to defend his mask. He was shown the ultimate sign of disrespect to a luchador: Steen robbed him of his mask.
For me, there is no better way for this feud to continue. I went from extremely disappointed that this feud didn’t end to incredibly excited and optimistic about where it goes from here. I don’t think I am alone in my excitement either.
Intermission up next, complete with pre-recorded interview with Davey Richards where he tells the world that he is NOT retiring at the end of 2010. This is great news, not only for every independent wrestling fan, but ROH as well. They have been getting gutted lately with the departures of Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson, and now Tyler Black leaving them. The fact that DR will be kicking around a while longer is probably sweet, beautiful music to the people in charge of the company.
Now, this was the worst moment of the night for me: my Internet decided to quit and I missed the entire Edwards/Daivari TV title match, and the bulk of the Aries/Daniels match. The fact that I missed Austin Aries and Chris Daniels probably tear the damn roof off the place is particularly frustrating for me. This, along with the dream tag match and the main event was the reason for me buying the show and for me to miss it really sucked.
But I was able to catch the last five minutes or so, and I wasn’t let down in what I saw. Aries and Daniels are two of the best wrestlers in the world right now, both technically and in terms of showmanship. They sold very well for each other, of course, and did a great job in making this match feel as important and any other on the card, even though there was nothing tangible riding on its outcome. The finish is a candidate for my personal “spot of the night,” and it saw Daniels crotching Aries on the top rope and then delivering a super Angel’s Wings for the finish. Very good match, the bits I saw of it.
When I heard that I was going to get to see Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas given fifteen or twenty minutes to really show what they could do against the Kings of Wrestling, one of the best and most exciting tag teams in the history of the business, I already knew I was going to be purchasing this event. I’ve always been a huge fan of Benjamin’s and felt that he was given the shaft time and time again in WWE. He might be the most underutilized performer in the history of the company (though, pretty soon Evan Bourne might take that top spot if they don’t do something with him soon).
This match was really heavily hyped coming in, and for good reason. This match was VERY good. Watching four very technically sound wrestlers compete against one another was very refreshing for me, who basically has his head stuck in the WWE clouds most of the time. Some great chain wrestling, submissions and memorable spots. Even the rest holds were made to feel important. These four guys really tore the place down out there tonight, but I didn’t expect anything less.
As expect, the Kings of Wrestling went over. But they didn’t go over clean, and Claudio even was made to tap out in the Haas of Pain, but the referee didn’t see it. After the match, the KoW were chased from the ring by the World’s Greatest Tag Team and we were all teased with the potential of a rematch for the titles in the future when they held the belts above their heads as the fans chanted at them to, “please come back!”
I’ve got to say that unless we get this mini-feud for the tag titles in the near-ish future, I really don’t understand or agree with how the finish of this match was booked. They had one half of their tag team champions TAP OUT to an outside team who haven’t tagged together regularly in six years (a fact I might not have remembered if not for the commentators reminding me). To what benefit is this if we’re not going to see a rematch? And having your reigning and defending World Tag Team Champions have to resort to a loaded elbow pad to put away a team in a non-title match? Am I just being sensitive, or does this seem a very counter-productive way to put your tag titles over? And in a company that claims itself to have “the most prestigious tag division in wrestling today” no less. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat my words if we do in fact we this rematch between WGTT and the Kings, but until I see that happen, I’m going to stick to being disappointed in the finish of this otherwise phenomenal match.
Last but not least, the main event that saw Tyler Black defending his ROH World Championship against the Messiah of the Backbreaker himself, Roderick Strong. Right off the bat in this match, I think they shot themselves in the foot. I know professional wrestling isn’t all about the finishes, but the story that gets us there, but were we really, for one second supposed to believe that Tyler Black was going to be escaping to WWE with ROH Championship around his waist? Absolutely not. Of course Strong was going over in this match. He was always going over, and having such a written-in-stone and predictable outcome to this match, in my opinion hurt its overall presentation.
With that being said, I know Tyler Black has a lot of haters out there, but I thought this was a great match. It started out pretty slow and old school, witch some chain wrestling and rest holds, but it quickly got going into the fast-paced frenzy we knew we could expect from everyone’s favourite Spot Monkey, Tyler Black. Say what you want, but this guy throws some convincingly devastating strikes, and Roddy sold them like the Champion he now is. These two went out there knowing they were going to be facing a really hot crowd that just saw an incredible tag team contest, and they followed it perfectly.
The finish to this match felt as though it came out of nowhere, but that was a good thing. There are nowhere near enough flash finishes in this sport. Roddy comes back from eating sidekick after sidekick, or nailed Black with a chops-jarring boot of his own and rolls up his adversary for the three count, becoming the new ROH World Champion. And no one in the company right now deserves it more, in my opinion. Sure, the guy doesn’t cut the most convincing promo, but in the ring, (and that’s where it counts to me) he’s second none on most nights. I can’t think of a better person to take the torch from Black, and hopefully he’ll be the one defending the belt against DR in December at Final Battle.
After the match, Roddy extends his hand for Black to shake. The fans, who have been fickle in his direction since his signing with WWE, even got behind him with a “Thank you Tyler” chant. He looked to be choked up for a moment, reaching his hand out to Roddy and ... puts his middle finger right in his face. He then shows his double birds to the crowd before high tailing it out of the arena before someone lynched him in the pancreas. Farewell, Tyler Black!
Overall, I thought this was a very good show from a company that has a track record of being slightly repetitive. Every match was unique in its own way and very exciting in most cases. I felt as though I definitely got my money’s worth.
Oh yeah, and Homicide returned to confront Roderick Strong to close out the PPV. Did I not mention that?
Match of the Night
The Kings of Wrestling VS Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas
While not surprising in itself, it was surprising to me how close the Main Event was to getting the top spot. In the end though, the hype and the technical skill displayed put this one over the top for me, even despite a finish that left much to be desired.
Spot/Moment of the Night
Tyler Black giving the “YOU CAN’T SEE ME” followed by the STF(U)
It was as though he was a born heel. He rubbed salt in the wounds of everyone in attendance that a) hates John Cena with a fiery passion and b) hates that their World Champion left them from Vinnie Mac’s Sports Entertainment empire.
Honorable Mentions
* Erick Stevens military pressing Grizzly Redwood over the top rope to the floor and gets uppercutted in midair by Necro
* Redwood hurricanranas Stevens, sending him flying head first into the second turnbuckle
* Kevin Steen using his chain to pull El Generico off the top rope and through a table on the floor
* Colt Cabana being chained to the ring corners and helpless to stop the brutal dismantling of his tag team partner. It was like something out of a torture movie.
* Generico t-bone suplexing Steen headfirst into the turnbuckle
* Steen recreating the picture on his t-shirt after the match using Generico’s mask, a steel chair and Corino’s blood to write ‘Mr. Wrestling’ on the back of the chair. All the while, the fans chanted “YOU SICK F***!” He sure is, kids ... he sure is.
* Claudio throwing Benjamin into the air and having Hero nail him with a HYUUUGGGEEEE roaring elbow
* Tyler Black nailing Roderick Strong with three consecutive superkicks, only to be finished off moments later
Chant of the Night
“KILL THE KID!” in regards to Corino’s younger brother (or son, I dunno .. commentators said both at some point) who had come to ringside to unchain Steen from Generico, leading to the Cabana being chained to the ropes spot.
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