ROH in Toronto, Ont.
Report by Dot Net reader Justin

There were two dark matches that I didn't see because I was in line for the Ric Flair autograph signing.

The Flair signing was okay but took forever. I showed up at six and did not get to see him until 7:30. It also cost more to get Flair's autograph than for the actual show ($30 vs. $20). Ric was pleasant enough. He didn't say anything to me other than hi and he shook my hand. Not only were there no pictures with Flair allowed, but no pictures of Flair either. I thought that was a bit much.

1. Super Smash Brothers beat Kevin Steen and El Generico. Lots of great spots. A fun comedy match that got the crowd into it. It dragged on a little bit in the middle. Might have been three or four minutes too long but overall it was enjoyable.

2. Frankie the Monter beat Bison Smith by DQ. Bison got disqualified for chopping the ref while Frankie was holding him in corner. Bison teased attacking the ref more after bell but stopped to boos.

3. Davey Richards beat Jerry Lynn, D-Lo Brown, Jimmy Rave (w/Prince Nana), Necro Butcher, and Sonjay Dutt in a gauntlet match for a future ROH World Title match. Started with D-Lo and Jerry. Lynn beat D-Lo with a crucifix. Sonjay Dutt was in next. Lynn won with cradle piledriver. Jimmy Rave was in next and he beat Lynn. Necro Butcher was in next, but he was counted out when Rave's manager Prince Nana held him to stop him from entering the ring. Necro went nuts and started tearing apart the arena. Davey Richards was in last and beat Rave by submission.

Ric Flair delivered a promo. He spoke about his history in Toronto and how he loves Canadian women. He thanked everyone for coming and put over ROH.

4. Claudio Castagnoli beat Brent Albright in a European Rules match. This was a weird and boring match. Three minute rounds with a 30 second stoppage after each round. The stoppages were boring. Albright got a yellow card for hitting Claudio with a closed fist after Claudio hit him twice with a closed fist while the ref was not watching. Claudio attacked Albright during a break to get a yellow card. Jimmy Rave hit the ring while Prince Nana was distracting the referee and distracted Albright. Claudio rolled him up and held the tights for the win. The Embassy beat down Brent until Necro and others ran in for the save

Intermission. Lance storm signed autographs for ten bucks. I passed.

5. Tyler Black beat Tyson Dux. Nigel McGuiness was supposed to face Black, but they announced that Nigel was hurt on Friday. Tyson looks like the love child of John Cena and Billy Gunn. Black won with a sick finisher.

6. Colt cabana beat Joey Ryan in a no rules match. Another comedy match that was a lot of fun. Joey kept taking the announcer's chair/table and Cabana kept setting them back up. Colt went backstage and grabbed garbage bags (there is a garbage strike in Toronto and the arena actually has a temporary dump in the back of it) to cheers. Colt eventually won.

Austin Aries came out for a promo. He called out Kenny Omega and said he will give him a title match tonight if Omega could give him one good reason. Before he could answer, Kenny King and Rhett Titus attacked him from behind. The Briscoe Bros saved him to set up a six-man match.

7. Kenny Omega and The Briscoe Brothers defeated Austin Aries, Kenny King, and Rhett Titus. Omega isolated for a long time to start the match. Hot tag to a brisco finally and he cleaned house. Huge double team moves at some points. Aries hit his finisher on Omega but pulled his head up at two and started slapping him. Omega rolled him up in a small package for the win. Aries looked like a star for his promo and during the match. I knew him from TNA, but he was incredible.

8. Chris Hero beat Lance Storm. A boring match that the crowd was not really that into. There were some "You've still got it" chants for Lance. No real exciting spots except for Storm's rolling half boston crab. Hero beat Storm after he put on an elbow pad with a weapon in it and elbowed Lance a couple times.

Lance Storm had a promo afterward. He put over ROH and thanked the fans, saying it might be his last match.

Notes: I had never seen an ROH match ever before this show. I went to check them out and to meet Flair. Overall I was impressed and could see myself ordering a PPV or seeing another show. The matches were spot filled and exciting even though I did not really know the characters.

I do have three complaints. My ticket was seventh row ringside but I was behind a pole and beside the entrance curtain so I could basically see nothing. With about 600 chairs set up there was no reason for any seats to be that bad. I lucked out that there was an open chair two rows in front of me that was on the guardrail to the entrance. I'm going to be on the DVD probably. I'm wearing a red Team Canada hat from the World Baseball Classic and a black polo shirt.

Lance Storm is not a big deal to me. Although I like his website, he was a mid-card at best wrestler in WWE and I think it puts down the rest of the ROH roster for him to be in the main event. In my opinion, Aries is a star and he is the champ. His six-man match should have been in the main event spot.

ROH's camera policy blows. They pat you down as you enter for digital cameras. If they find one they take it and you can get it back after the event. I saw at least 10 people who had their cameras confiscated. A couple people near me managed to sneak their cameras in. I knew ahead of time and bought a disposable. I get that ROH relies on DVD sales and doesn't want footage leaked, but this is 2009. I shouldn't have to buy a disposable camera and cross my fingers that the pictures turn out.

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