Ring of Honor Wrestling on HDnet
Taped in Philadelphia, PA

Opening video, and Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak hyped the main event of Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness. Prazak talked about rumors on the "interweb" about Nigel's future. Hogewood said he hadn't heard any of the rumors, and he hadn't heard of the interweb either. They brought us down to the ring for the first match.

1. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs. The Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe) went to a no-contest in 9:45. Headscissors takedowns, armdrags, and flips started off the action. The Bucks worked over Mark's left arm a couple minutes in.

The Briscoes worked over Nick Jackson, who made a hot tag to Matt and hit a neckbreaker over Matt's knee. Jay tagged in from Mark and took control for his team. The Briscoes used frequent tags and got a nearfall after a double team shoulder block. The Bucks got a quick flurry of offense of their own with lots of moonsaults and top rope drops.

The Briscoes knocked Matt to ringside and tried a Doomsday Device, but Matt knocked Mark off the top rope. Jay ate a uperkick from Nick, and Matt got Jay up for More Bang For Your Buck, but the Dark City Fight Club ran in and attacked both teams, causing a no-contest.

Joe's Judgment: Wow. They established that the Bucks could have won the match without the interference. I'm a Bucks mark, personally, so that's a big deal for me. The match as a whole was pretty good, though it never got out of second gear. Crisp as you'd expect from these two teams.

Bryan Danielson's #4 Moment in ROH is his match with Nigel from Domination, when he went to the hospital afterward...

Kyle Durden was backstage with The American Wolves. Davey Richards said that all the people walking around with Final Countdown Tour shirts pissed him off, because ROH wasn't about Danielson any more, it's about the Wolves...

2. Rhett Titus defeated Alex Payne in 4:40. Titus dominated for a couple minutes and went for a sort of Razor's Edge, which Payne reversed into a huracanrana. He got a couple more nearfalls with rollups, before Titus rolled him up himself, grabbed the tights, and got a pin.

Joe's Judgment: Eh. Titus won. I wish he could've won clean, but whatever.

Highlights from Glory By Honor VIII aired, showcasing Ladder War II (which Eddie Edwards wrestled with a broken elbow), Jim Cornette's return, and Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson's entrances. God I can't wait for this show on DVD...

Rasche Brown was outside near a number 13 painted on a pillar. He said he put it there a few years ago, after a bar fight with seven other men where he ripped out 13 eyeballs. He said he left the last one in because he's a considerate man... [C]

Joe's Judgment: Well that was strange. Funny though.

Tyler Black talked about Jerry Lynn's injury when Nigel McGuinness interrupted. Nigel told Tyler that the belt was cursed, that everybody who won it got injured. Tyler didn't believe him, and said that he would be ROH World Champion...

3. Claudio Castagnoli (w/ Prince Nana, Ernie Osiris) defeated Grizzly Redwood in 3:20. Claudio slapped Grizzly with a glove before the bell. Redwood knocked Osiris off the apron, allowing Claudio to kick him in the face. Claudio military pressed Grizzly four times, and dropped him the fifth time.

Claudio lifted up Grizzly for an airplane spin, then let go and spun him around with no hands. Grizzly ducked a running forearm, but was caught with a crazy pop-up European uppercut and then the Ricola Bomb for the pin. Osiris tried to cut off Redwood's beard post-match, but Necro Butcher came out to make the save.

Joe's Judgment: Fun squash. The airplane spin spot was great. Not as great as the hundred rotation giant swing that these two pulled off earlier this year, but still great to watch.

Kenny King talked about the Jerry Lynn incident again. He said that he felt no remorse for putting Lynn out of the business...

4. Colt Cabana defeated Nigel McGuinness in 12:20. The announcers discussed the rumors circulating on the interweb that Nigel was going to leave ROH. Plenty of hammerlocks and wristlocks for the first five minutes. Nigel threw Colt to the floor, and then into the guardrails.

Back in the ring, Nigel worked on Colt's left arm. Colt made a comeback with elbow strikes, then missed a "Flying Apple" in the corner. Nigel tried the Tower of London, but Colt blocked, then proceeded to miss a sunset flip. Nigel dropped the knee, but Colt rolled him up for two.

Nigel tried the Tower of London again, first hitting a double hand thrust. He moved and tried the Tower of London to the apron or the floor, but Colt jumped down, hit a "flying apple", and moonsaulted onto Nigel. Cabana went up top and came down with a splash for two.

Nigel tried the Tower of London again, this time connecting, but only for two. Nigel ran the ropes twice and tried a lariat, but Cabana ducked and hit a reverse Colt 45 for the win. Loud "Thank you Nigel" chants as they shook hands and the show closed.

Hogewood hyped an interview with new Executive Producer Jim Cornette, and The American Wolves vs. Bryan Danielson and Roderick Strong for next week.

Joe's Judgment: Solid match. Nothing ground-breaking at all, but both guys worked well and wrestled the British style well as well. Overall tonight's show wasn't the best, but it wasn't bad either. Every match (except maybe Titus-Payne) had something worth seeing, and the non-match segments are improving greatly.

Any questions, comments, thoughts, or just want to let me know you read my reports? Email me at jtmathieson88@gmail.com.

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