Ring Of Honor 12/11/11: Tag Team Action Galore.
Match One: The Bravados vs. The Young Bucks The Young Bucks refuse the handshake. Oh they are so controversial. (Note:Im going to change tactics in how I review matches. Rather than a play by play I will simply give you the result, a brief summary and if the match is worth watching or not. Play by plays are just too tedius for me as both a writer and a reader of recaps.) Essentially this match is part showcase for the Bravados, and part in case you missed it offence and manoeuvres from The Young Bucks. There was a over the top rope dive onto the outside from Harlan (I think that was his name) Bravado at one point, which is always a joy to watch. The crowd was behind both teams throughout, showing their appreciation for the great wrestling on display. Highlights of the match for me was a Enzeguri/German Suplex combo by the Bravados and then the AWESOME finish by The Young Bucks which featured a spinning moonsault from both members. And then they refused the handshake again. Awww, look at them trying to act arrogant. How cute. Winners: The Young Bucks Worth Watching?: Absolutely. High octain action and flat out impressive spots make this a must watch for anybody who appreciates the art of wrestling Next up we have Kevin Kelly interviewing the Tag Team Champions, Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, mainly for Final Battle hype. Did they mention Final Battle is their next pay per view, live from the Hammerstein Ballroom? Haas says the Briscos are cowards for their steel chair attack back in June. Benjamin says they will show the Briscos what real mean are like andand then a really badly edited intro song comes in and in comes the All Night Express. They basically come out and complain why no one seems to be talking about them and they dont think WGTT can beat them, so until they prove it, they rechristen WGTT Donald and Daffy, cause yall a bunch of ducks. Not only is Ring Of Honor starting to look like ECW, all its writing seems to be stuck in the 90s too. This weeks Inside ROH kicks off once again with the Kevin Steen storyline. We get a recap of him turning on El Generico at Final Battle 2009, then the revelation that Steve Corino masterminded the attack, We then get a brief recap of their feud, culminating in Steen leaving ROH at Final Battle 2010 (as part of the storyline). We then see clips of Corino inviting Steen to Best In The World earlier this year so he could apologise, which ended up with him declaring fuck Ring of Honor and attacking whoever was in the ring at the time and being dragged out of the arena, with a furious Jim Cornette declaring that was the last we would ever see of him. That is until Death Before Dishonor, where Steen yet again tried to attack anyone there. We then are brought up to speed with Steen suing the company to try and worm his way back into ROH, Corino feeling ashamed for causing this, and Jim Cornette.well, being Jim Cornette. And we will find out what happens next.next week?!?! Oh come on, guys! We had the catch up last week, how about some advances in the story? Next up we have the continuation of the Mike Bennet/Jay Lethal situation. Apparently Bennet claims he is the real Television champion. Lethal says he will give him a title shot again. I smell a Final Battle booking. Bennett says he will do it so long as Todd Sinclair, who referred the last match, will not referee their next contest. Inside ROH done with, Steve Corino comes out and declares himself an evil person. Humble of him. He says he can fix the issue with Steen, and asks for five minutes with Jim Cornette in order to do so. Before the main event, a quick recap of last weeks Roderick Strong/Kevin ORiley match and the post match brawl. Before the match starts, Im just gonna say this up front: If Eddie Edwards doesnt turn heel during or after this match Ill eat my CM Punk dvd. Main Event: House of Truth (Mike Elgin and Roderick Strong) w/Truth Martini vs. American Wolves (Eddie Edwards and Ring Of Honor World Champion Davey Richards) The match starts out as a straight up brawl and then turns into a cat and mouse, back and forth technical display between the two teams. All four men are easily the best examples of talent the company has and this match is a decent showing of why. The end comes with Truth distracting the ref and Eddie Edwards locking a Dragon Sleeper while Elgin was down. The commentators hype up Edwards training and the show concludes. No heel turn. Hmm. I guess its time to heat up that DDV... Winners: American Wolves Worth Watching?: Yes but its nothing you havent seen in a tag match before. Very solid, nonetheless. While this wasnt a bad show it still doesnt feel as if ROH is truly all there yet. The matches, though good and very lengthy, are still averaging at two a show, in order to make time for Inside ROH, which barely advances any storyline., which really lets their shows down. If ROH want to step things up I dont see anything wrong with turning to WWEs Superstars or even their own incarnation of ECW for guidance in terms of striking a balance between storytelling and in ring. But this is an evolving show, so well see what happens.