By Chris Shore

ROH on HDNet
Taped in Louisville, Kentucky.

A shot of Louisville was shown as Mike Hogewood welcomed us to the first ROH of 2011…The opening video aired and Mark Briscoe made his ring entrance. Eddie Edwards was out next…

1. Eddie Edwards defeated Mark Briscoe to retain the ROH Television Title at 12:19. They started with some mat wrestling and squared off again. They ran another chain and the crowd chanted both names. They ran the ropes and Briscoe took a knee to the back and slid to the floor. Edwards rolled Briscoe back in the ring, but Mark hit a plancha to light the crowd up.

Briscoe rolled Edwards in the ring and followed with a missile drop kick for two. They traded chops in the middle of the ring and Briscoe hit a running lariat for two. He set Edwards on the top and climbed up. Edwards knocked him onto the ropes and hit a hurricanranna to retake control.

Edwards setup for the chinbuster, but Mark escaped and flipped out of a back drop attempt to hit a sick superkick for two. Edwards reversed a toss over the rope into a great insaguri type kick for two. Edwards locked in the Achilles lock but Mark made the ropes at 10:41. Briscoe tried to come back, but Edwards slapped on the Achilles lock again for the submission victory.

Backstage the KOW chased off the interview guy (don't know his name yet). He cut a promo on Homicide having a stupid name unlike he and Hero. He said he would show Homicide what a real wrestler looks like. He wished him good luck…[C]

Shore's Slant: Great open to the first show of the year. It's odd seeing Edwards with the title considering I have seen Daniels with it already, but it is what it is.

A video hyped the Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong feud…Backstage, "The Giant Killer" Mike Mondo cut an Ultimate Warrior promo. He made his ring entrance with a sign that said Godzilla fears Mondo. Grizzly Red Wood was out next…

2. Mike Mondo defeated Grizzly Redwood at 5:49. For those who are unable to watch and new to ROH, Redwood makes Evan Bourne look like Khali. Mondo tossed Redwood around most of the match. Mondo hit a top rope superplex for the win…A video hyped Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas…[C]

Shore's Slant: Pretty basic match that didn't impress or disappoint. We'll just have to see how it goes for Mondo. I'll have more on him in the hitlist tomorrow after some research.

3. Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin defeated The Bravado Brothers at 2:55. The fans chanted "Welcome Back," and "World's Greatest Tag Team." Benjamin and Harlem(?) started. Benjamin scored a quick take down and tagged in Haas. Haas lifted Harlen(?) for an Atomic Drop and he tagged in Lance. That was about all the Bravado Brothers could do. Benjamin hit a double Samoan drop on both men and Haas locked in the Haas of Pain for the submission victory…[C]

Shore's Slant: Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let them get in the ring with the Briscoes and then we will see some tag wrestling that would kill the average fan. Great win for ROH having these guys on roster for 2011.

The Prodigy Mike Bennet and his trainer Bob Evans were interviewed backstage. He said next week he would show everybody that he's actually better than the hype…

4. Homicide defeated Claudio Castagnoli (w/Chris Hero and Sara Del Rey) at 12:01. No hand shake to start. They bounced around a little and then Claudio slapped Homicide. Homicide slapped him back and Claudio hit 103847492 European uppercuts and then a fall-away slam. Hero got a cheap shot in on the apron and Claudio scored a slingshot on the bottom rope. He took the cover off the turnbuckle, but the ref saw it and chased him away. He did not put the cover back on.

Homicide reversed a whip and tried for a clothesline. Claudio no sold and they traded clotheslines and then blows in the center of the ring. Homicide hit two suplexes in a row and went to the top. Claudio caught him and they battled on top. Claudio took a scary spill to the floor and Homicide followed with a plancha.

Homicide hit a splash from the top for two and setup for the Cop Killa. Claudio escaped and he hit the pop-up uppercut for two. Claudio tried for a chokeslam, but Homicide reversed into a swinging neckbreaker. He hit a tornado DDT for two, but Claudio came right back with a clothesline.

He grabbed Homicide by the throat and finally hit the chokeslam, but for two. The battled in the corner with the exposed buckle. Claudio hit his face on it and Homicide followed with an RKO for the win…Roderick Strong vs. Colt Cabana and Mike Bennet's debut were hyped for next week…

Shore's Slant: An OK match to end. I have never thought much of Homicide. He appears to wrestle lazy and it's just always rubbed me the wrong way. He may have had some amazing matches in the past, but what I've seen of him has not been impressive. Of course he could still be gassed from climbing that cage…

I'll have more to say tomorrow in the ROH hitlist. Thanks for reading and I'll see you then.

Questions? Comments? Anyone, anyone? Let me hear from you. Email me at css3238@gmail.com with whatever is on your mind.

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