Live Report From The ROH Supercard Of Honor Event
Credit: Gregory Davis and Pwinsider.com
As always, I'm bad with numbers. It was close to a sell out. While it was almost filled to capacity, they now only use half the bleachers when compared to previous years, so that's a couple hundred less seats than in the past.
We had no dark matches.
Jim Cornette came out to start the show. He explained everything that was announced earlier in the day. He also added a couple new details. The internet broadcast of the TV show will have a lot of extras with it, although he didn't say anything about whether or not that part would be paid or free. And he announced that the first TV taping would be right here at the Frontier Fieldhouse on August 13. He said all the stars would be here, and I think he said all the titles would be on the line. Tickets were I believe the usual prices, between $60 and $20. Finally, the whole roster came out as Cornette thanked them for all their hard work and for making this possible.
Throughout the night, I could see Jim Cornette at the production table talking with what I presume were the Sinclair representatives. I could only imagine what some of those conversations were like as the night went on. Speaking of representatives, Delirious came out a few times to watch the show, mask and all. I understand why he still has it on, but it's still weird to see him just casually watching the show among everyone in a mask.
1. Homicide defeated Michael Elgin with the Ace Crusher. Not that good. They worked hard, and hit some good moves, but it was way too slow, and they just couldn't gel together.
2. Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly defeated the Bravado Brothers. The Bravados tried cutting a promo, but were booed quite a bit. A quick, hard hitting match. Very fun. Cole and O'Reilly hit a combo of either lungblowers or codebreakers for the win.
Steve Corino, now freshly bald, came out to introduce his sponsor. He noted it was so easy to break rules, and so hard to be clean, especially for him, as he only has five moves. Before the sponsor came out, Mike Bennett interrupted him. Standard heel stuff from Mike, and eventually, Jimmy Jacobs came out to a nice pop. He was sharply dressed, with nicely groomed hair. He talked about how a few years ago, everyone, from the wrestlers to management to the fans, couldn't wait for him to leave. Most importantly, he said that he wasn't back yet, and that it's up to ROH to let him come back. Eventually, all the officials came out to make him leave, since his allowed time had ended.
3. Mike Bennett defeated Steve Corino with a piledriver. A good match, but a bit odd at times. Corino brought out the ring bell and gauged the crowd on whether he should hit Bennett in the face or crotch with it. Crotch beat face...... twice, as he did it two times. He would also tease the "thumb up the ass" bit, eventually doing it as well. But it was a piledriver at the end that won it for Bennett.
4. El Generico defeated Chris Hero. A little on the short side, but good while it lasted. To start, Generico brought out a toy hammer, and acted like Hero was Thor. The match originally ended with Hero getting the pin with his foot on the ropes. The ref eventually realized that, and restarted the match, which Generico then won quickly.
5. Davey Richards defeated Charlie Hass. Very intense. We also had a german suplex battle, as one would hit two in a row, the other would counter, and hit two of his own.
Intermission
Before the show resumed, the roster came out again and held a ten bell salute and moment of silence to both Randy Savage and Larry Sweeney, and then left to Sweeney's "More More More" theme.
6. Shelton Benjamin defeated Claudio Castagnoli with a top rope suplex. The "hey"s were out in full force. Good stuff as usual. I know I've been saying that alot, but that speaks of the quality of the action. Chris Hero and Charlie Hass came out to encourage their tag partners. After the match, I believe the two teams brawled, but Benjamin and Hass ended up standing tall.
7. Colt Cabana defeated Christopher Daniels. This featured one of my favorite chants: "Fallen Chippendale!" Before the match, Colt said Truth Martini shouldn't really be out here. The ref agreed, and Truth went to the bank. Another good match. Colt won with a unique top rope move. He was standing on the top rope, with Daniels on his shoulders, and he dropped straight down, driving Daniels into the turnbuckle.
8. The Briscoes defeated the All Night Express in a Chicago Street Fight. Despite their recent turn, the Briscoes were getting a lot of cheers. A hardcore, bloody brawl. There was a surprise table bump in less than a minute. There was also chairs, a fire extinguisher, and a ladder, which led to some insane bumps.
9. Eddie Edwards defeated Roderick Strong to retain the ROH World Championship. Another great, solid match. They definitely turned up the stiffness and intensity. I believe the match ended with a leg lock, rapid kick to the head combo. The House of Truth came out for a beat down, and Davey Richards made the save. To end the show, Eddie wanted Davey to fight him in a championship match, and he'd quit if it didn't happen. But Davey did accept, and I'd bet it'll happen at Best in the World.
As always, a great night of wrestling. I apologize for not being too specific with the moves, as they give you so much, that I can't remember them all. Maybe a bit long, as the show lasted four hours, but I can't complain when the action is this good.