Ring of Honor Wrestling on HDnet
Taped April 9 in Philadelphia, PA

The show opened with a new opening video. Ric Flair came out and put over ROH's ownership. He said that there may be another Ric Flair in the back, there may be another Shawn Michaels, there may be another Triple H (which drew a couple boos), but that wasn't important. What was important was that they were all working hard for the sport of professional wrestling. He said that ROH was a great company, and they had a great champion. Jerry Lynn came out. He talked about the first time he wrestled Flair in 1995, and said that Flair taught him that to be the man, you had to beat the man. Lynn said that he beat the man, and it was hard to stay the man. He thanked Flair.

Austin Aries came out and he said that there was a lot of talk about being the man, beating the man, and beating men. He said that there was a lot of talk about who might be in the back, but nobody was talking about who was in the back: him. He said that long before Flair and Lynn were in ROH, he was the man, he was the ROH champion, and he, A-Double, was still on top, so while people were talking about champions, he thought he'd come out. He said he was coming for Lynn's world title. Flair said he liked Aries' attitude, and wanted to see if he could back it up. Aries said that Flair didn't need to worry about it. He went backstage, and then Flair's theme hit to end the segment.

Joe's Judgment: Awesome mic work by everybody involved. Even Lynn was decent with what little he said. ROH looks big league with Flair being out now, and Aries really shined.

Chris Hero and then Kenny Omega made their entrances. Hero's new theme is awesome. Looks like they got rid of the Smack Talk and 1-2-3 graphics.

1. Chris Hero defeated Kenny Omega in 4:45 Hero controlled the early going, but Omega took over with a dropkick, sending Hero to the floor, and then a dive that the crowd came absolutely unglued for. Looks like the days of HDnet not micing the crowd are over. Omega got a couple of nearfalls, first with a crucifix, and then about a minute later with a dragon suplex. Sara Del Rey tossed Hero the loaded elbow pad, and then he knocked Omega out with a rolling elbow. Hogewood said it was just wrong.

Joe's Judgment: Who says you can't get wrestlers over in short matches? Omega was great here, and Hero won the match. Both of them were pretty good, and although it was sloppy at times, this was a decent first match.

Kyle Durden was backstage with The Messiah of the Backbreaker, Roderick Strong. Strong said that he used to look up to Aries, but then he realized that Aries doesn't respect anybody but himself...

Joe's Judgment: For those not familiar with ROH history, Strong and Aries were stablemates in Generation Next in 2004, with current TNA wrestler Alex Shelley and Jack Evans, who is currently wrestling in Mexico.

Okay, the Smack Talk is back. Brodie Lee said that there wouldn't be a single wrestling hold, he was just going to beat up Necro. Necro basically cut a Necro promo...

Before the match even started, Necro hit a senton on Brodie to the outside, and Brodie responded with a chairshot. Brodie brought the action to the entranceway, and hit a tilt-a-whirl slam on the steel ramp. Brodie carried Necro to the ring, where the match finally started.

2. Necro Butcher defeated Brodie Lee in 2:00. Brodie went for a cover immediately, and got a nearfall. He went for the running big boot in the corner, but Necro ducked and Brodie crotched himself. Brodie hit the boot for a nearfall. Jimmy Jacobs got up on the apron, which really annoyed Hogewood. Necro ran Brodie into Jacobs, and then got the pin with an O'Connor Roll.

Joe's Judgment: They fought for a few minutes before the match actually started, so the match time is a bit misleading, but that was still way too short. I'm not a fan of either Necro or Brodie, but they are best when given lots of time.

The same Buzz Words segment with Erick Stevens aired from two weeks ago...

[C]

Hogewood recapped the Flair-Lynn part of the opening segment...

Erick Stevens entered. Sal Rinauro was already in the ring, which sucks, because the best part of his act is his entrance...

3. Erick Stevens defeated Sal Rinauro in 0:45. Slam, Choo Choo, clothesline, Doctor Bomb, pin. That was literally the match.

Joe's Judgment: Stevens looks awesome in squash matches. If ROH can come up with something for him to do, he could be a big part of the future of ROH. Rinauro is an awesome jobber. Which isn't really saying much.

A plug for next week's show was shown, which will include a Nigel McGuinness appearance...

4. Austin Aries defeated Roderick Strong in 15:15 Aries got a headlock on Strong early. Aries went for a handshake, and instead chopped Strong, then ducked a return chop. He ducked out of the ring and celebrated, but Strong hit a running forearm off the apron. Aries continuted to duck the chops from Strong, but Strong threw him into the barricade. Aries knocked him down, though, and then hit a top rope axe handle to the floor. Aries knocked Strong out of the ring and tossed him into the barricades. He rolled Strong back into the ring and covered him with a boot. Strong kicked out at one, and then Aries hit the spinning elbow drop. Strong kicked out of the cover.

Strong took over with his trademark stiff offense, hit a crossbody, and took Aries off his feet with every one of his four chops. Strong hit a backbreaker on Aries for another two count. Aries ducked Strong, sending him to ringside and then hit a heat seeking missile, then a slingshot corkscrew body press back in the ring. Strong kicked out at two and then hit a half nelson backbreaker. Aries was right in the ropes, though, and grabbed them at two. Strong got another two with an enziguiri, then yet another two with a gutbuster and dropkick. Strong got the Stronghold, but Aries got to the ropes. Aries locked in the Last Chancery, but Strong got to the ropes. Strong tried to get the Stronghold, but Aries escaped. Aries tried for the brainbuster, but Strong blocked and got a Boston Crab. Aries got to the ropes, and then tried a Boston Crab of his own. Strong got out, but Aries tried the brainbuster. He was unsuccessful the first time, but hit it the second time, and got the pin.

Joe's Judgment: Great match. Aries and Strong have both been absolutely on fire lately. Strong looked really, well, strong here, despite losing clean, and Aries looks just as strong for taking everything Roderick threw at him and not being beaten.

A plug aired for next week's show, featuring Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black for the #1 contendership to the ROH title. In a new twist, both of them cut promos. They said they were honored to face each other, and that they were going to win and go on to face Jerry Lynn...

Highlights of recent ROH events aired (I caught a glimpse of Colt Cabana), while the narrator hyped the upcoming events in Boston and Edison...

Final Thoughts: Best ROH show to date. Aries was a major star on this show, and the main event rivaled, if not surpassed, every main event so far. The Necro-Brodie match was a dud, Stevens-Rinauro was a squash, and Hero-Omega could have been better, but everything Aries touched on this show turned to gold, to the point where it was a great show. Plus it flowed so much better than any previous show, and the crowd seemed to be a bit more excited, so overall this show was great, especially compared to the first six weeks.

Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Complaints? Anything at all? Joe Mathieson can be reached at aik27joema@yahoo.com.

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: