Ring of Honor Wrestling on HDNet
Taped in Philadelphia, Pa.

[Q1] The show opened with Erick Stevens and Necro Butcher cutting separate sitdown interviews to hype their match... The opening video aired...

Powell's POV: I was annoyed before the show even started because I went to the ROH website an couldn't find anything about this show other than a link to HDNet, which included a plug for a whopping one match. Does ROH even care about this show? Obviously they do, but they don't make it seem like a major happening on their own website.

Inside the studio, Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak discussed the "breaking news" that Tyler Black defeated Austin Aries to become the new ROH Champion. They also hyped the main event of Kevin Steen vs. Delirious in a pick six match...

1. Necro Butcher and Eddie Kingston beat Erick Stevens and Joey Ryan (w/Prince Nana) by countout in 10:20. Both teams brawled at ringside. Necro put plastic a bag over the head of Ryan and then tossed him into the crowd. Kingston and Stevens finally made their way to the ring. Nana reached up and grabbed Kingston's leg, which enabled Stevens to knock him off the apron and back to the floor.

The brawl finally settled into a match. A crawler on the screen featured what must have been a bunch of email or Twitter messages from fans about how great various past matches were. ROH didn't even bother to clean up the poor grammar in some cases. In the ring, the heels took turns working over Kingston while Necro waited for a tag.

[Q2] Necro took the tag and went to work on the heels. Necro scared off the heels with a chair. Prazak heeled it up by saying the referee should have cleared the chair from the ring before counting the heels. Stevens and Ryan remained at ringside and were counted out to end the match...

Powell's POV: A throwaway countout? Weak. I forgot to mention that Joe Matheison is having some computer issues. I believe he'll be back in action next week.

Backstage, Kyle Durden interviewed Kevin Steen while Steve Corino stood by. Steen said Corino opened his eyes, which led to his attack on El Generico at Final Battle. He told Durden to watch what happens to masked wrestlers when he faces Delirious later in the show.

2. Rasche Brown squashed Christian Moreno in 0:32. Shane Hagadorn watched from ringside and clapped as Brown squashed his opponent...

Extended footage aired of last week's main event, which featured The Young Bucks beating The American Wolves... Hogewood hyped that the Bucks would challenge for the tag titles...

A backstage promo aired with Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli. Hero said they've both matured and are better than ever. Castagnoli said they are going after the ROH Tag Titles...

Hogewood hyped that Jim Cornette was coming up with a big announcement... A commercial hyped upcoming ROH events... [C]

Backstage, Cornette hyped upcoming events. He said he received an email asking why the old guys don't just get out of the way (in WWE and TNA). He said the other companies don't have the roster with young talent like ROH does...

3. Cheech and Cloudy defeated Sonjay Dutt and Andy Ridge in 5:20. Before the match, Sonjay cut an in-ring promo saying no one in ROH has as much swagger as he does. He said he's "swagtastic," which led to a loud "shut the f--- up" chant from the live crowd. Dutt said he wants to prove how much swagger he has by taking someone to the top. He said he picked Ridge tonight.

[Q3] Additional twitter posts that featured the fans' favorite ROH memories were shown on the crawler. Dutt heeled it up throughout the match and repeatedly played to the crowd. At 4:00, Ridge ran into Sonjay accidentally as the babyface duo took control of the offense. It didn't last, as Dutt hit a missile dropkick and then tagged in Ridge, who hit a series of kicks on Cloudy.

Cloudy broke free and made the tag to his partner. They teamed up for a couple of quality double team moves that led to Cheech pinning Ridge. Hogewood noted that it was the first win for Cheech and Cloudy on HDNet. Afterward, Dutt took the mic and Ridge showed the world that he had no swagger. Dutt attacked Ridge and locked him in the Camel Clutch until four referees entered the ring and ran him off...

Powell's POV: Dutt made the match watchable with his heel antics. Everyone else looked minor league.

Hogewood hyped that the Briscoes vs. Young Bucks for next week... A promo aired with The Briscoes. They spoke about the Bucks beating them once before. They said it will be a different story when the tag titles are on the line...

4. Kevin Steen defeated Delirious (w/Daizee Haze) in a Pick 6 contenders series match in 14:15. The usual Delirious flip out routine at the start didn't get much of a reaction from the live crowd like it used to. However, the crowd woke up as the wrestlers traded chops. You guessed it, "wooooo's" for the chops.

Powell's POV: Dot Net reader Chris pointed out in an email that ROH had a preview on their website for tonight's show. He didn't spot it at first either and actually wrote the company via twitter. They sent him a link to the page. So apparently there is a preview on the site, but you have to go Easter Egg hunting ad find a certain button on the website. If it were my call, I'd make this one of the top stories every Monday and include a photo so that no one can miss it. Neither Chris or I spotted this button, so either we're two dimwits or there are others who don't know where to look for the preview either. Make it simple, ROH.

Steen heeled it up and worked over Delirious's left arm and shoulder throughout the bulk of the match. Delirious did a nice job of selling the injury even as he made his comeback.

Steen went for his finisher, but Delirious fought out of it. Steen hit a shoulder breaker and then went up top for a moonsault. Delirious lifted his knees and then came back with a near fall. Steve Corino walked out to ringside wearing a suit. Delirious went after Corino. Steen kicked Delirious from behind and scored a near fall of his own. Delirious went for a top rope move, but Steen caught him and applied a Crossface. Delirious tapped out. Hogewood said Steen just earned $2,500 for the win as part of the Pick 6 format...

Powell's POV: Steen vs. Delirious was the highlight of the show. Good work by both men. The announcers need to do a better job of explaining the Pick 6 concept on a weekly basis so that fans know it's not just something Peyton Manning throws in the Super Bowl.

Overall, the show is dull. It didn't make me want to order a DVD, go to a house show, or watch an online pay-per-view. The live crowd perked up at times, but there were definitely moments where the fans looked just as bored as I felt while watching the show.

There's nothing cutting edge or hip about the ROH television product. It's a boring throwback to Saturday morning wrestling in the '70s or '80s. It might work for some viewers who don't like any sizzle with their steak, but this version of the product won't catch on with the masses. Wait, I forgot that as a member of the wrestling media I'm apparently obligated to praise the quality of the matches and tap dance around all of ROH's flaws. My apologies. In all seriousness, thanks for watching along with me. I'm off to cover the WWE Raw show, so stick around.

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