ROH on HDNet
Taped in Philadelphia, PA

[Q1] A voiceover told us we were watching a special presentation of Ring of Honor wrestling. The opening video aired followed by fans chanting “ROH.” Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak welcomed us to the show. Mike told us there would be a main event on every show...

Twill’s Two Cents: Thanks Mike.

They announced Jimmy Jacobs vs. Tyler Black as tonight’s main event. They sent it to the ring for our first bout of Delirious vs. Jerry Lynn...

The arena and stage looked pretty impressive. The ring mat was red and black. Both men gave short promos before their entrances. Accompanying each ring entrance was a split screen that said “The 1-2-3” that gave three facts about the wrestler. After the entrances, Jerry and Delirious shook hands (they mentioned every match begins that way) and the referee rang the bell...

1. Jerry Lynn defeated Delirious in 5:39. Things started very quickly as both men were looking to impress. Crowd was solidly behind Lynn. Lynn hit a Hurricarana and TKO for a nearfall five minutes into the match. Delirious gained a quick advantage, but Lynn changed his fortunes and hit the Cradle Piledriver for the win. After the match, Prazak said Lynn had his sights on Nigel McGuinness’ ROH Title...

Twill’s Two Cents: Very fun opening match with Lynn looking especially crisp. I am impressed thus far with the production and presentation, however, Hogewood is a screamer who sounds like he is reading from a script.

They sent it backstage to Kyle Durden, the third man of the broadcast team, even though Hogewood didn’t know his name. Tyler Black cut a promo about how it will give him personal satisfaction to beat Jimmy Jacobs due to the fact that Jacobs turned his back on Black. He said he would kick the head off of Jacobs’ shoulders...

[Q2] 2. Kenny King defeated Sami Callahan in 5:40. King’s graphic said he was a ladies’ man. Early on, King reversed an Irish whip with the old Randy Savage over the top rope closeline. Much slower pace to this match as opposed to the first one. King hit a Pele kick and spinebuster for a nearfall.

Callahan hit an inverted atomic drop and a modified T-Bone suplex. Both men tried to beat the double count. Callahan hit a two kick and a neck breaker. He locked in the Coaching Clutch but King reached the ropes. King hit a running double knee to Callahan’s back and followed it with the Coronation (a torture rack into a reverse FU) for the win...

Twill’s Two Cents: Decent match that basically set up all of King’s big spots. Not great, but definitely good.

Durden interviewed Jimmy Jacobs regarding The Age of the Fall. Jacobs blamed Black for their breakup. He called Black a great wrestler, but he was going to break him. He said the war is here, the war is now... [C]

Back from commercial, a Ring of Honor video package aired showcasing the rise of the company from the past seven years. CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Homicide, Mick Foley, and Ric Flair, amongst others, were featured in the piece...

Twill’s Two Cents: This was a good video that will remind some people of the old ECW.

[Q3] 3. Brent Albright defeated Rhett Titus in 6:33. Titus is the tag team partner of Kenny King. I just noticed the pre match promo says “Smack Talk” on the side of it. Cute. Albright hit a Davey Boy Smith like delayed vertical suplex early in the bout. Titus gyrates just like Ravishing Rick Rude did.

Albright scored a nearfall after hitting Splash Mountain (a running Razor’s Edge). He closelined Titus to the floor and followed it up with a plancha. Titus gained the advantage with a drop toehold while Albright was still on the apron. He scored a nearfall after a dropkick to the back of Albright’s head.

Albright briefly gained the advantage but met a dropkick. However, he quickly found himself on the offensive with a rock bottom, half nelson suplex, and finished it with the crowbar. Titus tapped out...

Twill’s Two Cents: Hogewood seemed to get more knowledgeable from the start of the show. His voice has a very old school sound to it.

Footage aired of the “Rising Above” pay-per-view “I Quit” match between Jimmy Jacobs and Austin Aries as well as the history between Aries, Black, and Jacobs. They put up the tale of the tape...

As Jimmy Jacobs made his entrance, the announcer said “with television time remaining.” I liked that. It seemed very old school...

4. Tyler Black defeated Jimmy Jacobs in 13:50. No handshake before the match, but the referee started it anyway. They went to the floor early on and Jacobs threw some chairs into the ring. As Black got rid of them, Jacobs hit him from behind to gain the advantage. During an Irish whip, Black attempted a drop kick but Jacobs held onto the ropes, however, Black did a back flip in midair. Impressive.

[Q4] Jacobs scored a nearfall after hitting a forearm from the middle rope. He methodically beat down Black and mocked the crowd in between each move. Unfortunately, the crowd was dead. Black went to the top, presumably for the Phoenix Splash, but Jacobs pushed him to the floor. The referee warned them about the 20 count (not 10) and both men reentered the ring.

Back in the ring, Jacobs continued to score nearfalls. The crowd started dueling “Let’s go Tyler, let’s go Jacobs” chant. In the corner, Jacobs hit the repeating double stomps and delayed elbow. Adrenaline kicked in for Black as he hit a military press slam. He hit a springboard lariat for a two count. He followed it up with a standing Shooting Star for another two count. Jacobs hit a spear for a very long two count.

Jacobs threw Black to the floor again and came over the top rope onto him. Jacobs tried a top rope senton but hit Black’s knees. Jacobs locked in End Time (front face lock with a leg scissors). Black nearly tapped but flipped out of the move into a bridge and pinned Jacobs...

The voiceover guy plugged Nigel McGuinness vs. Jay Briscoe for next week’s show...

Twill’s Two Cents: Enjoyable match that really told a story. I thought they could have saved this for another show given their personal history, but ROH did a nice job giving the fans the backstory. Many fans won’t be used to slower paced matches with many nearfalls, but I really enjoy matches like this.

What did you think of the first show? I enjoyed the announcing, the presentation, the production, and the show itself. Good stuff. It was not a must see show and the live crowd could have been hotter, but overall, I’m giving it a thumbs up. I’ll have more to say about the show this weekend. Let me know what you thought by sending an email to dotnetrich@gmail.com for possible inclusion in a future Dot Net mailbag.