HDNet Tapings
8/20/10
*The cage was set up so we're starting with a TV main event of Austin Aries vs. Delirious. Austin attacked Daizee before he tried to get into the cage. Delirious began bleeding thru his mask. Delirious won with a cobra stretch on the top corner of the cage. All Night Express came out right before the end to try to interfere but couldn't get into the cage. After the match, The All Night Express and Aries attacked Delirious and hit him with a couple spike piledrivers. Sinclair was taken out as well. No one made the save.
*Mike Bennett defeated Adam Cole rolling thru a cross body.
*The Embassy of Necro Butcher and Erich Stevens defeated Dark City Fight Club when Stevens pinned Chavis with gonorrhea.
*Jim Cornette came out for a promo with Tyler Black. Cornette asked Tyler about his future with his ROH contract about to expire, and Tyler said "you can't outbid a billionaire in CT" and heeled out with "What if I show up with this belt on another network?"
*Colt Cabana vs. Jay Freddie. Colt started playing around with Freddie and quickly locked in Billy Goat's Curse. Right after Freddie tapped, Corino tried to attack with the fork. Colt grabbed control of the fork and Corino quickly hightailed.
*The Kings of Wrestling defeats the Super Smash Bros. with a combo of Claudio's superplex and Hero's moonsault on Dos.
*Steve Corino vs. Aiden Chambers with running commentary from Steen at ringside. Steen was hysterical on commentary. Corino won with the sliding clothesline. Corino threatened to use the fork on Chambers. Cabana and Generico hit the ring and Corino and Steen hightailed.
*Daizee Haze defeated Rachel Summerlyn with a heart punch and German suplex.
*In a TV main event, Roderick Strong and the House of Truth defeated Daniels and the Briscoes.
*In the mid-show match that gave the cameramen a break, the Bravado Brothers and Bobby Dempsey defeated Julian Starr, Mike Taven, and a third guy.
*In a Pick your Poison match, Colt and Generico announced that Kevin Steen's opponent would be Steve Corino. Steen punched out the ref immediately with Colt and Generico ringside. Steen and Corino refused to wrestle claiming they've been disrespected long enough and that they quit, then they walked out the front door.
*Tyler Black beat Mike Sydal with God's Last Gift and got trash thrown at him. Tyler got some You Sold Out chants.
*Before the Ten Minute Hunt, Cornette said that Hagadorn is turning Edwards into a joke so why not let him pick the next challenger? Cornette's pick is Kenny King. Eddie finally won with the Achilles hook. Both hit most of the big stuff.
*In the second Pick Your Poison match and main event for the evening, Davey Richards made El Generico tap to the ankle lock. Davey and Generico shook hands after.

Outside of a couple of bumps (Bennett vs. Cole, another Cabana squash, Haze’s match that reportedly got no response from the crowd), everything looks really good; and more importantly, incredibly interesting that should keep the viewer hopeful for the next episode. First off, Tyler Black continued to accept his view in the eyes of a lot of ROHbots. Add to the fact that he’s going to WWE; Black is a ticking time bomb for heat. It’s what WWE could’ve done four or five years ago with John Cena when he was getting booed out of the building almost every night; just on a smaller scale of course. The only thing I hate about the Black situation is the rehashing of Punk’s run as the champ where Punk threatened to leave with the title. It’s a line that works well, but makes Black seem like a poor-man’s CM Punk; a comparison Black moved away from years ago. Wait, maybe that was Sterling James Keenan (I kid, I kid).
The cage match is something that worked (from a results standpoint) because it kept the interference out, and the wrestlers in. Even though there was a day when this would be a feud ender instead of just a transition match for the next phase in the feud, at least this one truly gave a reason for the feud to continue. Delirious wins, gaining a measure of revenge; only to be attack and laid out by Aries and The All-Night Express. Will it all end at Glory By Honor IX between Aries and Delirious, or will HDNet have the privilege of seeing this one conclude on TV? I guess we’ll wait and see.
With Steve Corino and Kevin Steen booked to face El Generico and Colt Cabana in a cage match tonight, the bold walkout by Steen and Corino won’t last long…at all. I don’t know what’s the point of it, unless they jip everyone out of the aforementioned cage match. For them to walk out and say, “We have the match we want at Glory By Honor. You won’t see us in a ring until then,” would really enforce the fact that they want to hurt El Colt in their own way, and not in just a random cage match. But that would be a good old bait & switch, and to ROH’s credit, they attempt to avoid that fan-displeasing action.
The TV title really feels like a non-entity at this point. I don’t think it’s been defended since April or May, and outside of being a nice looking thing around Eddie’s waist, hasn’t done much to improve the midcard situation in ROH when it comes to the title picture. With King being picked to face Eddie, the hope that Eddie’s run could prove incredibly profitable for his career might finally become reality. Kenny King was my original pick to win the TV title tournament last March, and an extended feud between himself and Edwards would expel that notion that that TV is simply a joke.
So that marks the first night of ROH under the new regime. Oh, you don’t know?

ROH owner Cary Silkin has decided to replace ROH booker Adam Pearce. Pearce had been the promotion's head booker since October 2008. Delirious, with input from Jim Cornette, will apparently be handling the booking going forward.

Almost two years ago, Gabe Gate hit Ring of Honor.  It saw longtime head booker Gabe Sapolsky get the book yanked from him before the book was given to a somewhat untested Adam Pearce. Pearce’s influence became evident immediately with the addition of a twenty count on the floor replaced the no count-out rule at Pearce’s ROH debut show as head booker. Over the next year, characters like Grizzly Redwood received more spotlight, while guys from the Midwest started to arrive with much support (Rasche Brown, for example). But the biggest change was the long term booking style that ROH adopted once Pearce gained a solid footing in his position. In year’s past, ROH would string major feuds along for a huge blowoff. It wasn’t until Pearce came to power did we see feuds where the first match wouldn’t happen for two to six months. Also, a person so close to the World title getting screwed in every title match for over a year through indecisive decisions that left the fans wondering if this is Ring of Honor, or some imitator using the same name became a noticeable trademark under the booking hand of Adam Pearce.
When Adam was given Gabe’s former position, many ROHbots immediately sided with their former favorite match handler, and deemed Pearce inadequate. He definitely had a rough time starting, but Pearce grew into his own as ROH’s head booker. The greatest thing Pearce did for the company was take everything down a notch in terms of pacing. Adam slowed down the pace of the storylines in hopes of growing more heat for huge battles. Even more importantly, Pearce slowed down the pace of the matches, making big spots seem bigger, and intense moments look more intense. On the negative end, ref bumps, interference, and contests without a winner became more prevalent during the Pearce term; causing an even bigger negative backlash from the fans who never saw those things becoming a common sight in Ring of Honor. But you have to take the good with the bad most of the time.
After the news broke, both Cary Silkin and Adam Pearce gave their comments on the situation; and everything seems pretty amicable. The most interesting thing to come out of Pearce and Silkin was Pearce declaring ROH’s new business direction not working with its current in-ring product. I honestly don’t know how to take that since Pearce has been a big part of ROH while it transitioned from what it was to what it is. During 2009, Ring of Honor had a difficult time coinciding its live events with its pre-taped television show. The addition of iPPVs didn’t help matters in getting the live and pre-taped products on the same page. But 2010 has proved to be an upswing of a year for ROH, with everything falling into place perfectly. On TV, everything is geared toward big shows and pay-per-views instead of being a show with random matches showcasing that same talent featured on their live events. For the first time, ROH isn’t losing money on its pay-per-view ventures.
Pearce’s booking (with a splash of Jim Cornette handling) helped get people interested in the product again after a disappointing 2009. ROH fans became invested in the big matches ROH has produced in 2010-and not just because someone is leaving, like Danielson and McGuinness last year. From my vantage point, Pearce helped create a product that is business-friendlier than Gabe ever did. If Pearce is referring to the financial woes ROH has been associated with for years, then that’s a whole different story. Pearce couldn’t stop market expansions and TV deals that could, or could not help the business end of what he was trying to accomplish.
I hope nothing but the best for Adam Pearce, and thank him for everything he did because I know he did it for the betterment of the company. Not once did Pearce put himself in a position where his name and/or face was in the spotlight. Pearce did right by ROH, its fans, and the wrestlers-unlike many other wrestler/bookers in the past. I can only hope Delirious follows Pearce’s path of honorable booking.

ROH is set to return to the Davis Arena in Louisville, Kentucky on December 9th and 10th.

One of the nicest growths in recent ROH development is the expansion to new markets that want to experience ROH live for the first time. Charlotte and Louisville proved to be great choices by ROH management as fans turned out beyond average, and gave ROH a reason to return. Richmond fans, be like those in Louisville and Charlotte so we can give Ring of Honor a reason to keep coming.

TNA has released former X-Division and Tag Team champion Homicide.

And people wonder why I’m so down on TNA when it comes to talent development. Homicide is nothing short of amazing when given the opportunity. Actually, he’s awesome just coming to the ring without even trying. There are very few wrestlers as versatile in the ring, and out of it than the Notorious 187. The countdown for his return is, hopefully, imminent; and I for one can’t wait to see him back. Maybe we’ll see Homicide vs. Davey Richards in ROH before Davey retires(?). A man can dream.

According to Pwinsider.com, current ROH Champion Tyler Black reported to Tampa, Florida earlier this week to begin his WWE developmental run. Black attended training sessions and was also in attendance at all of this week's Florida Championship Wrestling events. Black finishes up with Ring of Honor next month.

Well, if there’s anymore need for confirmation that Black is moving on to WWE, here it is. Tyler Black is incredibly young for the level of talent and experience he has, but he’s still lacking in one of the key areas anyone in WWE needs to get over-microphone skills. Hopefully his stint in FCW will help him develop that slowly growing mic control. I hate to look ahead when it’s likely that Black’s debut will come during the rumored NXT season three, but I can’t help but think that WWE has a man who could play a character representing a market that they haven’t tapped into yet. Before he was a bleeding heart babyface, Tyler Black sat under the angry, emo tree of Jimmy Jacobs. Everything about Black screams angry emo when he’s in heel mode. WWE has an opportunity to do something different with Black that will actually work if taken the chance. Paul Heyman was right about the vampires. I think I’m right about the angry, emo wrestler.

One show that’s not rumored to stop airing is ROH on HDNet. Lets see what’s Right and Wrong about this week’s episode.

ROH on HDNet 8/16/10 Quick Results:
Jerry Lynn defeated Rhett Titus
El Generico defeated Erick Stevens via disqualification
The House of Truth defeated Mike Sydal & Aiden Chambers
Roderick Strong defeated Davey Richards to retain his ROH World title #1 Contender status

Right:
Promo Awesomeness: One thing ROH has lacked in the past few years is a group of great promo men. Steve Corino and Kevin Steen continue to prove that they are two of the best promo men in the business today. Here, the twisted duo showcased Steen’s new best friend-a steel chain that will be attached to his and Generico’s necks come Glory By Honor IX. As Steen described what the chain could do, he began to wrap the chain around Kyle Durden’s neck. Steen laughed off his actions, but Durden showed a fear that Steen and Corino professed Generico and Cabana would experience in NYC. I guarantee, if they lost their voices, Corino and Steen could still cut a classic promo like this one.
El Generico vs. Erick Stevens: Disappointing ending aside, this was as solid of a match as you can get for under five minutes. If there’s any proof needed that Stevens has all the tools to actually be a force in ROH, he proved it here. Stevens showed his usual power moves, and drops of charisma that many have claimed he doesn’t have. That’s not to say he outshined Generico. The masked man did a great job too, before everything turned to a hype machine for the Dog Collar match between himself, Cabana, Steen, and Corino. The only thing that was a little bit of a head scratcher was the lack of anyone involved in The Embassy’s latest feud not using the opportunity to get the jump on Nana or Stevens. But I guess they wanted our attention to stay on the upcoming Dog Collar match instead of the main event planned for next week when The Embassy takes on Rasche Brown, Grizzly Redwood, and The Dark City Fight Club.
Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards: Really, is there any way this couldn’t be a Right? Before the match, Davey had a confrontation with Truth Martini. Their interaction felt real, and unique; especially when Davey expressed his concern that Shane Hagadorn at ringside would take away from the pride of actually winning against Strong tonight like it would if Martini helped Strong. Davey not wanting Hagadorn at ringside would come back to haunt Davey during the battle of two of ROH’s most athletic wrestlers. Hagadorn tried to help Davey win by grabbing Roderick, but Richards wasn’t having any kind of interference in his quest to become the #1 contender again. Strong finished Davey off with a running boot to the face when Davey turned around after arguing with his interfering manager. Davey has every reason to drop Hagadorn as his manager as his tactics have proven that Shane is a detriment instead an assistance to Davey and his matches. As for the match, another great piece of work from two of ROH’s top stars. The only problem with this contest was Strong’s lack of selling the arm work Richards tried to use throughout the match. I understand that a lot of Roderick’s repertoire involves his arms, but you have to sell the damage to make things work, right?

Wrong:
Jerry Lynn vs. Rhett Titus: I’m actually shocked that these two are in this section of Right and Wrong. But these two credible wrestlers produced an incredibly poor match by their standards. There were several times when spots were noticeably disjointed. The biggest problem with this match had to be the absolutely dead crowd. No reaction, heat, or even a slight cough to say they were paying. Sadly, Lynn and Titus didn’t do much to warrant a warm reception. Everyone has an off-night, and this is what happened here. But an off-night equals a Wrong.
SLAP THE PORPOISE (The HOT vs. Sydal & Chambers): Evan Bourne’s little brother made his HDNet debut in a quick squash that didn’t even feel right being on the show. I have no problems with squashes, especially if they’re entertaining. But outside of a couple of double teams from The HOT, there was nothing entertaining about this match. Short, and to the point, but just didn’t feel memorable, or make me want to see more of Raymond and Able (which I think was the point).

Overall: Solid show with a good main event. Davey and Strong tried their best, but couldn’t follow the incredible contest between Tyler Black and Christopher Daniels from last week. Honestly, Davey and Strong was the only thing worth seeing this week from an in-ring perspective. Stevens and Generico’s outing was good, but criminally short, and lacking a finish. Lynn vs. Titus fell flat, and the squash didn’t improve The HOT’s standing in the ROH Tag Team division, or in the fans’ perception. Check out Strong vs. Davey for a good, nearly twenty-minute battle (with selling issues), Generico vs. Stevens for a match that’s horribly short with a disappointing ending, and the Corino/Steen promo that continues to prove they are the best promo men in ROH, alongside Austin Aries.

Okay, that ends this one. Make sure you check out ClubWWI.com for the last Honor Nation, hosted by me, of course. Also, James Guttman has another incredible shoot with Philly legend, Shane Douglas. Douglas really tears into Dixie, and I just can’t help but love it. I think most of you know about the Honor Nation thread on the WWI message board, but here it is if you don’t (http://s14.zetaboards.com/Wrestling_Insanity/topic/6631422/).
I hope you all have a great weekend; and for those coming to the Richmond show, and you see me, give your favorite ROHbot a shout-out. I always love hearing from you guys.

Till Then.