ROH Kevin Steen: Hell Rising
This interview was pretty much Steen’s side of the story in his feud with Jim Cornette, and the issues Cornette had with Steen, El Generico, Steve Corino, Colt Cabana, Jimmy Jacobs, and others. Obv iously it was very critical of Cornette, and Cornette’s accusation that Shane Hagadorn was asking questions purely designed to get Steen to rant on Cornette seems true, but Steen was very (for lack of a better term) â€"polite†about everything. He could have been much more (like the way Cornette rants on people). There was lots of backstage stuff, but most of it was about the ROH office, rather than backstage stories about the wrestlers. Kevin really gave you a look into his mind during the past four years, and every last thing he said was absolutely 100% from the heart.
I also loved the way the DVD was structured. They would talk for a while and build up to Steen or Hagadorn mentioning some huge moment, then they would show you the moment so you could experience it, before talking more about that moment and building up to the next one.
A well-produced, in-depth interview and whole bunch of awesome matches combine to make this a must-own for Kevin Steen fans, and a great pick-up for anyone else. Even if you already have all of the ROH DVDs the matches are on, you will still enjoy both the interview and the PWX match against Cedric Alexander, which Kevin himself selected for this DVD.
NO DISQUALIFICATIONS MATCH WITH JIMMY JACOBS AS SPECIAL GUEST REFEREE- IF STEEN WINS, HE IS BACK IN ROH: Kevin Steen vs. Steve Corino (w/Jim Cornette & Cary Silkin)- 9.25/10 (from Final Battle 2011)- 9.25/10
Awesome, crazy violence, with some awesome aftermath, too.
NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH: Kevin Steen vs. Jimmy Jacobs (w/Steve Corino) (from 10th Anniversary Show: Young Wolves Rising)- 8/10
AMAZING storytelling here by Jimmy Jacobs, and I love the finish.
LAST MAN STANDING MATCH: Kevin Steen vs. El Generico (from Showdown in the Sun: Day 1)- 9/10
Yeah, the turn was telegraphed, but this match was still AMAZING. Jimmy played his part perfectly and looked like an absolute psychopath. Steen and Generico really brought the hate and the violence. Steen mocking Generico as he took that last chairshot from Jimmy was AMAZING heel work. I can’t remember being that furious at a heel in a long time.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Davey Richards(c) vs. Kevin Steen (from Border Wars)- 8.25/10
An awesome match, but considering the build going into it, it needed to be better. Like Rock vs. Cena, this was an awesome match with an awesome crowd, but it was in a place where awesome wasn’t good enough. This needed to be epic, but it wasn’t. They were also surprisingly light on the false-finishes, which surprised me for a Davey match.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kevin Steen(c) (w/Jimmy Jacobs) vs. Eddie Edwards (from The Nightmare Begins)- 7.5/10
Corino and Cornette’s bickering on commentary really gave you a great sense of how Cornette’s legit complaints/concerns about Steen translated to the on-screen product.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kevin Steen(c) vs. Roderick Strong (w/Truth Martini) (from LivE Strong)- 7/10
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kevin Steen(c) vs. Cedric Alexander (from PWX There Goes the Neighborhood)- 8/10
The finish would have been better if the guy who interfered looked like he was actually part of the show instead of looking like some dorky fan. Cedric was a great babyface, but too much of the crowd was behind Steen for no real reason.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kevin Steen(c) vs. Eddie Kingston (from Boiling Point 2012)- 7/10
I absolutely hated the whole stretcher thing. I can't see the Eddie Kingston character ever allowing himself to be stretchered out unless he couldn't move. For him to be able to get up while being stretchered out is either stretches my suspension of disbelief too far, or is character assassination.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kevin Steen(c) vs. Jay Lethal (from Killer Instinct)- 7.75/10
So the match just kind of abruptly ends after Jay Lethal's father throws a drink on Steen, causing Steen to spit at Lethal's mother. Of course the announcers say that it is so horrible that Steen spit on Lethal's mother, but in no way to they criticize Lethal's father for throwing his drink at Steen without provocation
I think they were trying for a worked-shoot or something here, and it was a HUGE mistake. The fans were very unhappy with the finish, and I think a large part of that is that the finish was unclear. They officially announced it as a no contest. I think a timely announcement (of Lethal being DQed for attacking the ref) would have made the fans less unhappy.
Trying to do this as a worked shoot was a big mistake. If you just had Lethal go nuts and brawl all over the place with Steen and assault him with weapons the fans would have been a lot more accepting of it. Instead the fans felt like they didn't get any real conclusion to their advertised and hyped main event, so they crapped all over it. It is no wonder that they took the book away from Cornette after this fiasco.
LADDER WAR FOR THE ROH WORLD TITLE: Kevin Steen(c) vs. El Generico (from Final Battle 2012)- 8.5/10
One of the most brutal matches I have ever seen. Just two men trying to kill each other with ladders. They did some innovative stuff, especially with the finish, which was SICK!
I also loved the way the DVD was structured. They would talk for a while and build up to Steen or Hagadorn mentioning some huge moment, then they would show you the moment so you could experience it, before talking more about that moment and building up to the next one.
A well-produced, in-depth interview and whole bunch of awesome matches combine to make this a must-own for Kevin Steen fans, and a great pick-up for anyone else. Even if you already have all of the ROH DVDs the matches are on, you will still enjoy both the interview and the PWX match against Cedric Alexander, which Kevin himself selected for this DVD.
NO DISQUALIFICATIONS MATCH WITH JIMMY JACOBS AS SPECIAL GUEST REFEREE- IF STEEN WINS, HE IS BACK IN ROH: Kevin Steen vs. Steve Corino (w/Jim Cornette & Cary Silkin)- 9.25/10 (from Final Battle 2011)- 9.25/10
Awesome, crazy violence, with some awesome aftermath, too.
NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH: Kevin Steen vs. Jimmy Jacobs (w/Steve Corino) (from 10th Anniversary Show: Young Wolves Rising)- 8/10
AMAZING storytelling here by Jimmy Jacobs, and I love the finish.
LAST MAN STANDING MATCH: Kevin Steen vs. El Generico (from Showdown in the Sun: Day 1)- 9/10
Yeah, the turn was telegraphed, but this match was still AMAZING. Jimmy played his part perfectly and looked like an absolute psychopath. Steen and Generico really brought the hate and the violence. Steen mocking Generico as he took that last chairshot from Jimmy was AMAZING heel work. I can’t remember being that furious at a heel in a long time.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Davey Richards(c) vs. Kevin Steen (from Border Wars)- 8.25/10
An awesome match, but considering the build going into it, it needed to be better. Like Rock vs. Cena, this was an awesome match with an awesome crowd, but it was in a place where awesome wasn’t good enough. This needed to be epic, but it wasn’t. They were also surprisingly light on the false-finishes, which surprised me for a Davey match.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kevin Steen(c) (w/Jimmy Jacobs) vs. Eddie Edwards (from The Nightmare Begins)- 7.5/10
Corino and Cornette’s bickering on commentary really gave you a great sense of how Cornette’s legit complaints/concerns about Steen translated to the on-screen product.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kevin Steen(c) vs. Roderick Strong (w/Truth Martini) (from LivE Strong)- 7/10
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kevin Steen(c) vs. Cedric Alexander (from PWX There Goes the Neighborhood)- 8/10
The finish would have been better if the guy who interfered looked like he was actually part of the show instead of looking like some dorky fan. Cedric was a great babyface, but too much of the crowd was behind Steen for no real reason.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kevin Steen(c) vs. Eddie Kingston (from Boiling Point 2012)- 7/10
I absolutely hated the whole stretcher thing. I can't see the Eddie Kingston character ever allowing himself to be stretchered out unless he couldn't move. For him to be able to get up while being stretchered out is either stretches my suspension of disbelief too far, or is character assassination.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kevin Steen(c) vs. Jay Lethal (from Killer Instinct)- 7.75/10
So the match just kind of abruptly ends after Jay Lethal's father throws a drink on Steen, causing Steen to spit at Lethal's mother. Of course the announcers say that it is so horrible that Steen spit on Lethal's mother, but in no way to they criticize Lethal's father for throwing his drink at Steen without provocation
I think they were trying for a worked-shoot or something here, and it was a HUGE mistake. The fans were very unhappy with the finish, and I think a large part of that is that the finish was unclear. They officially announced it as a no contest. I think a timely announcement (of Lethal being DQed for attacking the ref) would have made the fans less unhappy.
Trying to do this as a worked shoot was a big mistake. If you just had Lethal go nuts and brawl all over the place with Steen and assault him with weapons the fans would have been a lot more accepting of it. Instead the fans felt like they didn't get any real conclusion to their advertised and hyped main event, so they crapped all over it. It is no wonder that they took the book away from Cornette after this fiasco.
LADDER WAR FOR THE ROH WORLD TITLE: Kevin Steen(c) vs. El Generico (from Final Battle 2012)- 8.5/10
One of the most brutal matches I have ever seen. Just two men trying to kill each other with ladders. They did some innovative stuff, especially with the finish, which was SICK!