ROH War
ROH WAR (3/30/2013)- Asheville, NC
MICHAEL ELGIN vs. ADAM PAGE- 6/10
The story of this match was that Michael Elgin was big and strong. Much more so than Adam Page… but Page was quicker. Very simple premise. Very good match.
Q.T. MARSHALL vs. DARREN DEAN- 0.25/10
Q.T. cuts a pre-match promo teasing that his tag team partner at Supercard of Honor VII will be some major star from New Japan. This lasted for about three minutes and the crowd didn't give a damn. Then they started to have a match, which also lasted about three minutes and the crowd didn't give a damn. I don't have it in my conscience to give them a dud here because it's not like they botched anything and they really weren't given any time, but it was still a boring few minutes. I was actually happy when SCUM showed up and attacked these two.
Steve Corino tried his best to cut a promo despite having no voice. Props to him for his dedication.
GRIZZLY REDWOOD & "NO FEAR" MIKE MONDO vs. SCUM (Jimmy Jacobs & Jimmy Rave)- 4.25/10
Did SCUM really need to cheat to beat Mike Mondo & Grizzly Redwood?
After the match, Rhett Titus showed up and he, Corino, and the Jimmys beat up Grizz and Mondo some more. Despite SCUM's stated intention of killing ROH (which Corino reiterated just a few minutes ago), the only babyface who comes out to make the save is BJ Whitmer, and he single-handedly takes out both Jacobs and Rave before starting his match with Titus. Am I really watching ROH right now? Because this seems a lot more like the Aces & Eights.
BJ WHITMER vs. RHETT TITUS- 4.5/10
They have an okay match until SCUM uses the numbers game to beat BJ. Jacobs took a sick bump out of the ring and through a table. SCUM goes to beat BJ up after the match, but the American Wolves come out to make the save. I guess they were in the bathroom while Grizz and Mondo were getting beaten down.
THE AMERICAN WOLVES vs. CAPRICE COLEMAN & CEDRIC ALEXANDER- 7.75/10
Great match with lots of action. Hopefully this is the start of some big things for Coleman and Alexander. They came out of this looking tough. If they keep going like this, I would be very surprised if they aren't in the tag team title picture by this time next year.
BOBBY FISH PRE-MATCH PROMO- this would have gone over much better if they were actually in Alabama, as the North Carolina crowd mostly laughed along with Bobby as he made fun of Alabama and they really didn't pop when Alabama Attitude stood up for Alabama (because, you know, they're not from Alabama!).
ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: reDRagon(c) vs. Alabama Attitude- 4.75/10
Alabama Attitude were just as unimpressive as their past matches in ROH. Factor in a dead crowd and the fact that the outcome was never close to being in doubt, and this is what you get.
PROVING GROUND FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL MATCH: ROH TV Champion Matt Taven (w/Truth Martini & Scarlett Bordeaux) vs. ACH vs. Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong- 7.25/10
Kevin Kelly tells us that this isn't a regular Proving Ground match, because you will only get a title shot tonight if you beat the champ. Shouldn't beating the champ ALWAYS lead to a title shot? So what is the gimmick here?
The purpose of this match mostly seemed to be shining ACH, which makes it unfortunate that he botched his big dive spot pretty badly (to be honest, though, that thing looks so ridiculously difficult that the fact that he hits it as consistently as he does is pretty amazing). They also botched a tower of doom spot, and, to my admittedly untrained eye, ACH and Taven seemed to be the two most at fault. Without these two big botches, I probably would have given this a 7.5.
Kevin Kelly seemed to get very angry at Truth for hugging two ugly chicks in the crowd. I'm not sure why.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kevin Steen(c) vs. Mark Briscoe- 6.75/10
Apparently both Papa Briscoe and Cousin Jethro were in the crowd tonight… and they got some of the worst seats in the building (right by the entrance ramp. That might sound good, but then you realize that in order to see the what's going on in the ring, you have to see over about ten rows of people. It's not fun. I know from experience). Despite having no voice, Steve Corino can't help but take a shot at Xavier on commentary. The Prophecy vs. Group feud ended ten years ago, but Steve Corino never gives up a grudge!
Jimmy Jacobs, Jimmy Rave, & Rhett Titus came out to surround the ring for SCUM so Jay Briscoe (with his shoulder in a sling) came out to counter them, and in support of him, Papa Briscoe and Cousin Jethro JUMP THE GUARDRAIL… and no one even tries to stop them! Then they start brawling with SCUM (at least two of whom are ROH-contracted wrestlers)… and no one tries to stop them!
To make matters worse, two untrained wrestlers (the Briscoe relatives) and a ONE-ARMED Jay Briscoe take out all three SCUM guys on their own (though Cousin Jethro did at least get taken out with a chair).
The match itself was very good, but not ROH main event quality. After the match, Rave, Titus, Corino, and Steen all faced off against Papa Briscoe, Cousin Jethro, Mark Briscoe (who was still on his knees, recovering from the Package Piledriver that ended the match), and a one-armed Jay Briscoe… and it's SCUM who retreat? WTF?! Not only do they seem to have a major advantage here, but if one of the Briscoe relatives hurts one of the SCUM guys, couldn't they sue ROH for an unsafe working environment? Wouldn't that cost ROH a lot of money, which would help put it out of business (which is SCUM's stated goal)? Then the Briscoe family pick up the injured Jimmy Jacobs, and our babyface heroes the Briscoes hit Jimmy with a Doomsday Device just to be mean. Jay then cut a promo plugging Supercard of Honor VII.
Not a very good show from ROH. The SCUM matches felt like total filler, the crowd was bad most of the night, and the main event was disappointing. If you want to see ACH look great, there are a lot of other ROH DVDs where he doesn't botch things, and I'm sure that the Wolves and C&C Wrestle Factory will put on matches that are just as good as or better than this in the future. A completely skippable show.
MICHAEL ELGIN vs. ADAM PAGE- 6/10
The story of this match was that Michael Elgin was big and strong. Much more so than Adam Page… but Page was quicker. Very simple premise. Very good match.
Q.T. MARSHALL vs. DARREN DEAN- 0.25/10
Q.T. cuts a pre-match promo teasing that his tag team partner at Supercard of Honor VII will be some major star from New Japan. This lasted for about three minutes and the crowd didn't give a damn. Then they started to have a match, which also lasted about three minutes and the crowd didn't give a damn. I don't have it in my conscience to give them a dud here because it's not like they botched anything and they really weren't given any time, but it was still a boring few minutes. I was actually happy when SCUM showed up and attacked these two.
Steve Corino tried his best to cut a promo despite having no voice. Props to him for his dedication.
GRIZZLY REDWOOD & "NO FEAR" MIKE MONDO vs. SCUM (Jimmy Jacobs & Jimmy Rave)- 4.25/10
Did SCUM really need to cheat to beat Mike Mondo & Grizzly Redwood?
After the match, Rhett Titus showed up and he, Corino, and the Jimmys beat up Grizz and Mondo some more. Despite SCUM's stated intention of killing ROH (which Corino reiterated just a few minutes ago), the only babyface who comes out to make the save is BJ Whitmer, and he single-handedly takes out both Jacobs and Rave before starting his match with Titus. Am I really watching ROH right now? Because this seems a lot more like the Aces & Eights.
BJ WHITMER vs. RHETT TITUS- 4.5/10
They have an okay match until SCUM uses the numbers game to beat BJ. Jacobs took a sick bump out of the ring and through a table. SCUM goes to beat BJ up after the match, but the American Wolves come out to make the save. I guess they were in the bathroom while Grizz and Mondo were getting beaten down.
THE AMERICAN WOLVES vs. CAPRICE COLEMAN & CEDRIC ALEXANDER- 7.75/10
Great match with lots of action. Hopefully this is the start of some big things for Coleman and Alexander. They came out of this looking tough. If they keep going like this, I would be very surprised if they aren't in the tag team title picture by this time next year.
BOBBY FISH PRE-MATCH PROMO- this would have gone over much better if they were actually in Alabama, as the North Carolina crowd mostly laughed along with Bobby as he made fun of Alabama and they really didn't pop when Alabama Attitude stood up for Alabama (because, you know, they're not from Alabama!).
ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: reDRagon(c) vs. Alabama Attitude- 4.75/10
Alabama Attitude were just as unimpressive as their past matches in ROH. Factor in a dead crowd and the fact that the outcome was never close to being in doubt, and this is what you get.
PROVING GROUND FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL MATCH: ROH TV Champion Matt Taven (w/Truth Martini & Scarlett Bordeaux) vs. ACH vs. Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong- 7.25/10
Kevin Kelly tells us that this isn't a regular Proving Ground match, because you will only get a title shot tonight if you beat the champ. Shouldn't beating the champ ALWAYS lead to a title shot? So what is the gimmick here?
The purpose of this match mostly seemed to be shining ACH, which makes it unfortunate that he botched his big dive spot pretty badly (to be honest, though, that thing looks so ridiculously difficult that the fact that he hits it as consistently as he does is pretty amazing). They also botched a tower of doom spot, and, to my admittedly untrained eye, ACH and Taven seemed to be the two most at fault. Without these two big botches, I probably would have given this a 7.5.
Kevin Kelly seemed to get very angry at Truth for hugging two ugly chicks in the crowd. I'm not sure why.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kevin Steen(c) vs. Mark Briscoe- 6.75/10
Apparently both Papa Briscoe and Cousin Jethro were in the crowd tonight… and they got some of the worst seats in the building (right by the entrance ramp. That might sound good, but then you realize that in order to see the what's going on in the ring, you have to see over about ten rows of people. It's not fun. I know from experience). Despite having no voice, Steve Corino can't help but take a shot at Xavier on commentary. The Prophecy vs. Group feud ended ten years ago, but Steve Corino never gives up a grudge!
Jimmy Jacobs, Jimmy Rave, & Rhett Titus came out to surround the ring for SCUM so Jay Briscoe (with his shoulder in a sling) came out to counter them, and in support of him, Papa Briscoe and Cousin Jethro JUMP THE GUARDRAIL… and no one even tries to stop them! Then they start brawling with SCUM (at least two of whom are ROH-contracted wrestlers)… and no one tries to stop them!
To make matters worse, two untrained wrestlers (the Briscoe relatives) and a ONE-ARMED Jay Briscoe take out all three SCUM guys on their own (though Cousin Jethro did at least get taken out with a chair).
The match itself was very good, but not ROH main event quality. After the match, Rave, Titus, Corino, and Steen all faced off against Papa Briscoe, Cousin Jethro, Mark Briscoe (who was still on his knees, recovering from the Package Piledriver that ended the match), and a one-armed Jay Briscoe… and it's SCUM who retreat? WTF?! Not only do they seem to have a major advantage here, but if one of the Briscoe relatives hurts one of the SCUM guys, couldn't they sue ROH for an unsafe working environment? Wouldn't that cost ROH a lot of money, which would help put it out of business (which is SCUM's stated goal)? Then the Briscoe family pick up the injured Jimmy Jacobs, and our babyface heroes the Briscoes hit Jimmy with a Doomsday Device just to be mean. Jay then cut a promo plugging Supercard of Honor VII.
Not a very good show from ROH. The SCUM matches felt like total filler, the crowd was bad most of the night, and the main event was disappointing. If you want to see ACH look great, there are a lot of other ROH DVDs where he doesn't botch things, and I'm sure that the Wolves and C&C Wrestle Factory will put on matches that are just as good as or better than this in the future. A completely skippable show.