12/21 Mathieson's ROH on HDnet Live Coverage: Colt Cabana vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Necro Butcher vs. Joey Ryan, and Chris Hero in action

Ring of Honor Wrestling on HDnet
Taped in Philadelphia, PA

The show opened with a recap of last week's match between Delirious and Kenny King and Sonjay Dutt vs. Tyler Black, both for spots in the Pick Six.

Shane Hagadorn was in the ring, and he introduced Chris Hero. Hero said that Cornette should have named him as one of the top twelve. Claudio Castagnoli came out and interrupted him by saying something in German. He said that he deserved to be #1 in the Pick Six because he is smarter than Hero, because he speaks German. Jim Cornette walked out and said that Hero has a match in a couple of weeks against Kenny Omega for a spot in the Pick Six, and that the order of the people in the Pick Six is determined by ROH.

Joe's Judgment: Okay opening segment, clearly designed to explain how the wrestlers in the Pick Six will be ranked, as well as to cover for Cornette forgetting about Hero vs. Omega as a Pick Six qualifier in front of the live crowd.

1. Chris Hero defeated Kyle O'Reilly in 4:30. O'Reilly actually did some stuff in the early going. He got a couple of dropkicks before Hero got a nearfall with a running boot to the head at ringside.

O'Reilly got a nearfall of his own with an O'Connor Roll. He continued to do a whole lot of enzuigiris and got a nearfall with a Shiranui-esque Tornado DDT. Shortly thereafter, Hero hit the Death Blow hangman's elbow and scored the pin.

Joe's Judgment: That was very average. O'Reilly is incredibly indy. I'm not sure I like Hero's knockout gimmick, because it's really not going anywhere. Nice to see him not use the loaded elbow pad to KO somebody though.

Kyle Durden was backstage with the Embassy. He asked them what they wanted for Christmas. Nana said that after everyone gets their mustache ride, he wants something hard that will go all night long. Durden gave him a strange look.

A Colt Cabana interview aired. He said that while he likes to have fun, the most fun would be if he could win the ROH title...

Hogewood mentioned that he saw something disgusting on ROH's Final Countdown: Boston DVD, and that was Sonjay Dutt putting Daizee Haze in the Camel Clutch. He said that Delirious had something to say regarding a submission match between the two. Delirious incoherently said that he wanted a submission match, and that he would make Sonjay tap...

A Necro Butcher interview was next. He said there's two different Necro Butchers, one who is a guy from West Virginia who likes to take care of his daughters, and one who you see in the ring who thinks the other guy is going to hurt his daughters...[C]

2. Necro Butcher vs. Joey Ryan (w/The Embassy). Necro threw Joey all around ringside for the first few minutes of the match. At one point, he grabbed the TV camera and punched Ryan in the face.As he threw Joey in the ring, "Mr. Ernesto" Osiris hit him in the back, allowing Joey to take advantage. He choked Necro in the corner, then grabbed a facelock.

Joey climbed to the top, but Necro hit the ropes and crotched him on the top. He climbed up and hit a huracanrana. Osiris threw powder in the ring, and Ryan threw it in Necro's face. Paul Turner turned around, saw the powder, and rang the bell for the DQ. Immediately, Nana, Osiris, and Ryan jumped Necro, until Erick Stevens ran out to make the save.

Joe's Judgment: I nearly fell asleep during that match. That should tell you all that you need to know about how good it was.

Next week's show is the Best of ROH on HDnet...

3. Colt Cabana defeated Claudio Castagnoli in 10:00. Claudio glove-slapped Colt before the bell rang. Colt grabbed it, threw it behind Claudio, then when Claudio picked it up, rolled him up for a nearfall. The two went hold-for-hold for a few minutes as the announcers discussed how both are skilled in the European style.

They continued to exchange headlocks. Colt hit a satellite headscissors takedown and then went right back to the headlock. Claudio slapped Colt, then ran away when Colt got mad. At 6:40, Claudio uppercutted Cabana, and got a nearfall for it, followed by another with a jacknife. He went to a chinlock, and Hogewood called the hold on his own. Something you wouldn't have seen back in week one.

Claudio tried the bicycle kick, but Colt caught him and elbowed him in the face. He hit his second-rope moonsault, but Claudio shortly thereafter went for the Ricola Bomb. Colt rolled through his legs, then elbowed Claudio in the head, and rolled him up for the pin and the win.

Kidd Russell's video for "Rush" aired. It featured some backstage segments at an ROH show, plus some match footage that focused on Colt Cabana and his match with Joey Ryan.

Joe's Judgment: That was just okay. It never got out of second gear, which meant that despite a pretty good opening, the finish fell flat. Colt winning is okay I guess. An average main event to close an average show. Not the best of weeks by any means. By the way, what does it say about me that I recognized the venue in the music video as the Frontier Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge, IL?

If you'd like to let me know the answer to that question, or just contact me in general, email me at jtmathieson88@gmail.com.