By Chris Shore

ROH on HDNet
Taped in Lexington, Kentucky.

I missed the opening four minutes due to a technical difficulty. When I finally got the show, the opening match was just beginning…

1. "The Prodigy" Mike Bennett (w/Bob Evans) defeated Nick Dinsmore at 6:02. Dinsmore sported a shaved head and it made him look vastly different. Bennett worked an armbar and Dinsmore forced a break. Bennett shoved Dinsmore in the face. It happened again and Dinsmore hit an elbow.

Bennett went to the corner and got some advice from Evans. Evans attacked and took control with a back rest hold. Dinsmore came right back but got his foot tangled in the ropes. Bennett hit a spine buster for the win…A video recapped the Kevin Steen vs. El Generico match from Final Battle…[C]

Shore's Slant: Weak first match for Bennett. Poor ring psychology and no big spots from Bennett. Dinsmore actually looked better in the loss as it looks like he got caught in a mistake. Odd way to introduce a guy. And yes, that was Eugene from WWE fame.

A video recapped the Kings of Wrestling vs. The Briscoes from Final Battle. In the ring, Jim Cornette introduced the KOW who made their entrance with Sara Del Ray and Shane Hagadorn. Cornette asked Hagadorn about the dirth of tag team title defenses. Hagadorn said the only teams he saw were teams they have already defeated.

Cornette said that was true, so he had a team that they had never defeated because they had never faced them. He said the new number one contenders for the ROH tag titles were the All Night Express. The ANX made their ring entrance. Hero said they were always going to defend the belts against the best, and he questioned whether they should them so early in their careers.

Rhett Titus said they weren't rookies any more. He said there was no bow tie and no strut. This was real. Hero said they were good, but they weren't ready and they should go back to practicing until they could face men. Kenny King said they were going to take the titles because either you were running with them, or from them. The two teams stared off…[C]

Shore's Slant: Good segment for everybody. Hero sounds like the pro he is, and Titus and King did well. That's at least as good as anything we've seen on any show in the past few months.

A video hyped Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly. They made their ring entrance as their jobber opponents were already in the ring.

2. Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly defeated Mike Posey and Corey Hollis at 3:55. O'Reilly and Hollis started. Both men tagged out quickly and Posey got the best of O'Reilly after he tried to go to the top. Hollis and Cole had their way for a little while, but O'Reilly came back and suplexed one guy onto the other.

Cole ran in and cleared both men. O'Reilly hit a sick knee from the apron and then Cole hit a suicide dive. They rolled the legal man in the ring and hit their awesome finisher for the win…The announce team hyped Colt Cabana for next…[C]

Shore's Slant: Fun match. Cole and O'Reilly have some serious skills, they just need a little more ring psychology help in putting it all together. Their finisher is a code breaker/backstabber combo. Very cool looking.

A video recapped Homicide vs. Claudio Castagnoli from last week…The announce team hyped Chris Hero vs. Christopher Daniels with the winner getting a TV title shot. Daniels was interviewed backstage. He put over Hero and facing him next week. He said he would win and go on to defeat Eddie Edwards for the title…

Shore's Slant: Gah! We saw the title on you three weeks ago! God I hate this lack of continuity on TV. I'll be so happy when the TV shows catches up with real life.

Cabana and Strong made their ring entrances. Truth Martini made the announcer re-announce him in a more favorable light. Cabana snatched the mic away and introduced him as "Disco" Truth Martini…

3. Roderick Strong (w/Truth Martini) defeated Colt Cabana at 11:33. This match started with a ton of chain wrestling. Colt hip tossed Strong to the floor. He went to follow and Strong hit a kick to the head. Strong covered for a quick one and then choked Colt on the ropes.

Strong hooked a body scissor and Cabana stood up. Strong dropped down and hit a dropkick. He hit a snap suplex for two and worked a rest hold. Cabana escaped and kicked Strong in the mouth. He worked chops and hit the flip, flop, fly elbow for two. He setup for the billy goat's curse, but Strong fought out, so he hit a tornado suplex.

Cabana tried for the Colt 45, but Strong escaped. Cabana hooked a backslide for two. Strong escaped several more finishers before kicking Colt in the face and retake control. He hooked in a Boston crab, but Colt made the ropes.

They battled in the corner and Cabana lifted Strong in a fireman's carry on the second rope. He dropped down with Strong landing on the top in a cool spot. Strong hit a kick to the face, followed by a super kick, followed by the sick kick for the win…A video hyped the Hero vs. Daniels match and Daizee Haze vs. some girl in green whose name I missed (Mystique I think)…[C]

Shore's Slant: Good match to end the show. I think ROH is working under the confusion that we think we need to see more of Strong's wrestling to get to like him. We love his in-ring work, it's the rest that is lacking. I'll watch him wrestle all the time, but his personality will bore the pants off of you. I'll have nire to say tomorrow on my 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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