By Joe Mathieson

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

A video hyped tonight's main event as a first-time ever match. We were immediately taken down to the ring where Jim Cornette was interviewing Tyler Black. Black said that he had beaten Chris Hero, Roderick Strong, and Davey Richards, and tonight, he'd beat "the Fallen Angel, Christopher Dangels." He said that he appreciated the fans who cheered for him, and he would give 110% for them. He said that there were some other fans who were fans of other guys, and that was okay because it's America and people can cheer for whoever they want.

Cornette said that he appreciated the show of sportsmanship, but Tyler grabbed the mic back and said that there were some fans who didn't cheer for anyone, they just came to ROH shows to boo him. He said that all they do is write on their blogs and make YouTube videos about how they can't wait for him to lose the belt. Tyler said those fans could kiss his ass, because all they were doing was making him stronger and he wouldn't lose the belt for a very long time.

Joe's Judgment: Aside from the "Dangels" slip up, Tyler spoke okay here. He still sounds like he's shouting everything he says and he still looks a bit nervous, but he's improving and sounding more natural on the mic. It's been a while since the show opened with a talk segment and while this was short, it was pretty effective.

The opening video played and the first match was joined in progress.

1. Rasche Brown defeated Necro Butcher in a Butcher's Rules match by DQ in 3:55. Necro is now sporting a shaved head, but still has the hobo beard. Brown dominated briefly and ripped Necro's shirt off. Necro rolled to the floor and Brown tried a dive, but ran head-first into a steel chair. The camera cut late so I couldn't tell if Brown got his hands up, but it sounded like he did.

Necro controlled the action for a bit before Brown suplexed him to the floor. Brown grabbed a chair and Necro got one of his own. They faced off with the chairs in the ring but Erick Stevens ran in and attacked Brown to cause the DQ. The rest of the Embassy attacked Brown but the locker room, led by the Dark City Fight Club, came down and ran off the Embassy.

Joe's Judgment: I wonder if this feud will ever progress. It seems like it's at the same place it was a year ago, only the names have changed and some have switched sides.

Kyle Durden was backstage with Christopher Daniels. Kyle mentioned that Tyler Black had some strong words earlier. Daniels said the only thing they were fighting for tonight was pride and respect, but respect was very important to him. He said that Tyler talked about how he had beaten Davey Richards and Roderick Strong after months and months, but the fact that Tyler said he would prove he was better than Daniels after one night reeked of disrespect. Daniels said that he would win tonight, and win again when the belt was on the line, and that is the gospel according to the Fallen Angel.

A pre-taped Davey Richards video played, with him talking about how people called his Death Before Dishonor match with Tyler Black the match of the year, but it wouldn't be MOTY for him until he won the belt. He said that he knew Roderick Strong well and was surprised when he didn't get five more minutes after their 20-minute draw in Chicago, and wondered if Truth Martini had anything to do with it.

2. Colt Cabana defeated Alex Anthony in 2:20. Anthony's gear looks like "a cross between Little Richard and Sabu" according to Dave Prazak. Some comedy early on with Cabana backing Anthony into the ropes with a collar and elbow tie-up, then somehow getting Todd Sinclair to switch places, then counting five for Sinclair. As Colt admonished Sinclair, Anthony tried a rollup, but couldn't get Colt down.

Colt dominated with his European style stuff, then won with a Flying Asshole, bionic elbow, and Billy Goat's Curse for the submission. As Colt's music played, Kevin Steen walked out with a chair and hit the guardrails a couple times, distracting Cabana while Steve Corino ran out with a chain and hit Cabana in the head. Corino then started to choke out Cabana and a student ran down to stop him, but was thrown out of the ring by Steen. El Generico ran down with a chair to make the save and Steen grabbed Anthony and the student as a human shield. [C]

Joe's Judgment: From the use of the chain I'm guessing we might get a dog collar match of some sort at Glory By Honor. The squash was entertaining and while it was a bit strange to see Colt clowning around, he flipped the switch to serious quickly enough.

After the break, a video recapped the angle from before the break, and the same video from last week announced that in case you missed it, Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin are coming to ROH to face the Kings of Wrestling at Glory By Honor IX. Next week's show will have comments from the Kings about this match.

Kyle Durden was backstage with Roderick Strong and Truth Martini. Durden mentioned that next week we would have a rematch between Davey Richards and Roderick Strong, only this time the winner would get a title shot. Truth asked Roderick why Durden was talking to him, and Roderick didn't know. Durden said it was his job. Truth said that the Book of Truth says that for one man to succeed, another must fail, and other related things. Roderick said that unlike Davey, he hadn't had any hardships, because he'd always been a success, and he would win next week, and that was the truth.

Joe's Judgment: Truth isn't a great talker, but Roderick is a natural in his new role. The way he stepped in front of Durden when he spoke, and his facial expressions throughout the promo were much better than I've ever seen him on the mic.

3. Tyler Black vs. Christopher Daniels went to a time limit draw in 20:00. Daniels didn't shake hands with Black, which they could have made a big deal out of given Daniels' history, especially considering they were talking about how he helped found ROH at the time.

Daniels worked the arm for the first minute and a half before they traded athletic reversals and Tyler scored with a kick to the back for a nearfall. There was a pretty sick series of reversals of basic moves about two minutes in and Daniels ended up going back to Black's arm. At 6:00, Daniels held a hammerlock and drove Black shoulder-first into the turnbuckles.

Black backdropped Daniels onto the apron shortly thereafter, and when Daniels tried a suplex Black hit a Pele kick, then a tope con hilo. Black set Daniels up on the apron and hit a running knee strike that got two after he pulled Daniels back in the ring.

Black stomped on Daniels' face and went to work on the neck. Daniels connected with a couple right hands but Black hit a backdrop and another running knee. Black got two with a side slam and then got in the face of Todd Sinclair.

At 12:45, Black whipped Daniels into the ropes where he caught himself as Black backflipped in the middle of the ring. Daniels caught him with a kick and a Blue Thunder powerbomb for a nearfall. Daniels got two again with a DVD and went for the Angel's Wings, but Black fought out and kicked Daniels in the head.

Black went for the bucklebomb, but Daniels reversed and drove him headfirst into the second turnbuckle and hit the Fall From Grace for two. Daniels pointed at the corner for the BME but as he stepped over Tyler, Tyler rolled him up for a nearfall. Tyler got two again with a leaping lariat and went for the Phoenix Splash, but Daniels prevented it.

Black hit a superkick and then Paroxysm for two. Black clubbed Daniels' back and then went for the Pele kick which Daniels dropped down to avoid and then immediately locked in the Koji Clutch. Oh wow. Black picked Daniels up and ran him into the turnbuckles. Both men exchanged pinning combinations until the bell rang for the time limit draw.

Roderick Strong came out and said that now that Daniels has shown he couldn't get the job done, he wanted the shot he earned in Toronto. Davey Richards followed (with new tights) and said Strong had to go through him to earn his shot. Daniels said that they were too narcissistic to realize that the only one of them who Black hadn't pinned was him, and the camera closed with the four of them arguing in the ring and a video hyped next week's Strong/Richards main event to close the show.

Joe's Judgment: Awesome action. Some of the reversals, particularly the Pele kick into the Koji Clutch, were beautiful, and even the more pedestrian ones were nice. The arm work was kind of forgotten by the end of the match, but the action more than made up for it. Fantastic match.

Tonight's show was mostly good, with the notable exception being the Embassy stuff, but everything that followed was good enough that I came away enjoying the show. The main event was really good and made me want to see a longer Black/Daniels match, which I have to assume was the goal.

Anything you want to say about this review? Feel free to email me at jtmathieson88@gmail.com.

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