ROHbot Report
The ROHbot Report: Death Before Dishonor VIII Preview, Hamburg Results, ROH Star Leaving At The End Of The Year, And More
By James Bullock
Jun 19, 2010 - 9:55 AM

What’s going on, everyone? This is none other than your favorite ROHbot here with all the Ring of Honor news you need to know in the form of The ROHbot Report. Last night, ROH made its debut in Hamburg, New York for the first of two nights of action that concludes tonight in Toronto. Lets find out what happened in New York…right now!

* Before the main show began, the wrestlers came out and surrounded the ring for a 10-bell salute to Trent Acid.
* Jim Cornette welcomed us to the show and announced that Davey Richards would not be here due to travel issues, but he will definitely be in Toronto tomorrow night, then he ran down the card for tonight's event.
* Delirious defeated Ernesto Osiris with a cobra clutch/camel clutch combo.
* TV Champion Eddie Edwards defeated Tyson Dux is a 10 Minute Hunt with less than a minute to go. Dux sucker punched Edwards after the match.
* Colt Cabana defeated Shawn Daivari with the Billy Goat's Curse.
* Roderick Strong defeated Pee Wee with a running boot.
* Bobby Cruise introduced a University of Buffalo wrestler who suffered a broken neck and then walked up to get his diploma two months later. The guy got a nice round of applause and a "you are awesome" chant.
* ROH World Tag Team Champions Kings of Wrestling defeated Up In Smoke.
* Bryan Danielson's music hit, popping the crowd huge but instead, Austin Aries came out impersonating him. He started heckling the crowd but was cut off when Kenny Omega's music hit. Aries jumped him on his way to the ring, leading to...
* Kenny Omega defeated Austin Aries. The All Night Express ran in and attacked Omega after the match, but the Briscoes ran out to make the save, leading right into the next match...
* The All Night Express (Rhett Titus and Kenny King) defeated Jay and Mark Briscoe after miscommunication between the Briscoes led to Titus rolling up Jay with the tights for the win. Jay and Mark argued after the match and Jay left without Mark.
* This leads us to our main event, non-title match between Tyler Black and Steve Corino. Corino cut a long pre-match promo insulting the crowd and telling Tyler that Kevin Steen's going to take the title from him. Tyler defeated Corino after three super kicks, a Buckle Bomb, and a fourth super kick got the win.

Not to get on a soapbox or anything, but ROH should be commended for doing the ten-bell salute to recognize one of its former wrestlers. While it shouldn’t be something out of the ordinary, in this post-Benoit world, it seems you have to die a specific way to be mentioned when you pass. Also, that’s pretty cool what they did by honoring the amateur wrestler. ROH, two for two in humanity. To the action-the one match that could’ve made this show truly memorable didn’t occur due to Davey Richards missing the show. It’s unfortunate that Hamburg didn’t experience the greatness of Davey vs. Roderick live. With no return date announced, and other news involving Davey, you have to wonder if they ever will.
But for the sounds of it, they probably got enough good stuff to, somewhat, forget about the most anticipated match on the card. Aries and Omega can’t help but have good matches. And what about The Briscoes? Please don’t tell me they’re trying to split them up. Even though they’ve done everything as a tag team that can be done, we’ve seen the singles thing with them not be incredibly successful. They are tag team wrestlers through and through. A few months ago, rumors were swirling that The Briscoes were getting ready to leave, and a break up leading to a feud could be their way to go out. Or they could just be about to feud; which is Randy Orton screaming, “Stupid!” As for the main event, Tyler Black is a man beyond men for turnbuckle bombing Steve Corino. Who knew someone could pick Corino up and carry him across the ring like that now? I’m just joking! Steve’s not fat. If you’re reading this Corino, I kid, I kid. Overall, a typical Friday night show. But the big one is coming up tonight. Lets see what’s going to happen in Toronto.

Here is the card for the ROH Death Before Dishonor I-PPV, which takes place Saturday night in Toronto:
* ROH champion Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards.
* ROH Tag Team champions Kings of Wrestling vs. The Briscoes.
* Kevin Steen vs. El Generico
* Christopher Daniels vs. Kenny Omega in a Pick 6 Contender's match.
* Austin Aries vs. Delirious.
* Toronto Gauntlet: Colt Cabana vs. Steve Corino vs. ROH TV champion Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong vs. Shawn Daivari vs. Tyson Dux
* Kenny King & Rhett Titus vs. Cheech & Cloudy

On paper, this is easily one of the best line-ups in Ring of Honor pay-per-view history. Actually, the main event alone makes it greater than a majority of the shows ROH has put together in the past year; and that’s saying something. As great as Black vs. Richards should and will be-bar anything unexpected-the question is, not who will win, but who should win. On one hand, you have the champ. Tyler Black took almost two years of pushing, clawing, and going through hurdle after hurdle to finally become the ROH World champion in February. He’s knocked back the challenges of Roderick Strong and Austin Aries numerous times before adding Kenny King and Chris Hero to the list of names of successful defenses that could be just the beginning of a nice, long, well-deserved reign. But during Black’s struggle to the top, a lot of fans who were cheering, “Next World champ,” at him decided their interests would be better served for someone else. When Bryan Danielson closed out his ROH tenure, he pretty much handed the torch of best wrestler in the world to the man those aforementioned fans had turned to, Davey Richards.
Davey Richards gained a ton of adulation from the fans due to his thrilling contests in singles and tag team competition around the same time Tyler Black was attempting to prove the fans right in their support of him in becoming the ROH World champion. As Tyler Black struggled and failed to deliver on the fans’ hopes, Davey Richards was going out there every night, giving the fans something to remember, and talk about for weeks until Davey’s next show-stealing performance. It’s easy to see now why ROHbots have jumped off the Tyler Black bandwagon to root for Davey. Instead of being remembered for his wins and losses, Davey walked out each show as the most talked about guy because of his match, not the match’s outcome. Black, on the other hand, looked like a failure no matter how good of a match he had when he was unsuccessfully vying for the World title.
This match really comes down to ROH management’s golden boy versus the ROHbots’ current favorite. So, who should win? For Black to win here could horribly derail Davey’s momentum, no matter how good the match is. So far, Davey has had only one ROH World title shot. Even though he lost to Aries a few months ago, everyone knew it wasn’t his time. That match was really a litmus test to see if the fans would react to Davey in a World title situation as they’d hope. Since that first try was a success, why not go all the way here? Why not give the fans the champion they want by crowning Davey Richards the fourteenth ROH World champion? Why wait and have Davey become just like the man he’s facing? Why go against the grain for too long, and allow the fans to give up Richards like they did with Tyler before he finally won the World title? Because Black needs this win just as much, if not more so, than Davey.
As noted, Tyler Black wrestled for the ROH World title unsuccessfully for far too long to have a reign that only lasts for a little over four months. To have invested so much time and emotion into a person, only to have him experience a serviceable reign would damage the already tarnished image of Tyler Black. Like Richards, Black’s in-ring ability isn’t questionable. It’s the handling of Black’s tenure, especially during his run for the belt that everyone looks at when it comes to the current ROH World champion. If he can’t push back the challenge of Davey Richards, what will Tyler Black look like in the long run? He’ll look like a placeholder. If Tyler Black can’t defeat Davey clean in Toronto, everyone will think of him as the guy carrying the belt for the man ROHbots have been grooming as their guy for the past year.
Add Christopher Daniels to the mix, as he’s made his mission clear that whoever wins in Toronto will face him in the near future, and the fact that he made his return at the expense of Davey, you have to wonder how much of a chance does Black have in walking out Toronto still the champ. Davey is the next big thing, he’s got a feud in place with Daniels, and Black’s popularity is waning with diehard ROH fans. The outcome of this match should be simple, but we thought the same thing about the Final Battle main event. This match is officially so predictable that it’s unpredictable.
Speaking of Daniels, he’ll be involved in a match with a guy who could help him put on the match of the night. That’s right; Daniels and Omega could easily steal the show, or at least give the main event some stiff competition for the honor. Even though Omega is in his home country, Daniels needs the win here to keep everything building for Daniels vs. Richards or Black. Plus, Omega’s not around much anyway, so why give him a win on such an important event.
Originally, my pick for the opener was Daniels vs. Omega, but with the announcement of King & Titus vs. Up In Smoke, there’s no reason the tag match shouldn’t open the show. All four men can do the fast and furious thing; and do it under five minutes with a good match. It’d be a great way to kick off the show without taking up too much time or taking something away from the rest of the card. And with the Toronto Gauntlet-which easily has a chance to be stronger than last year’s-on the card, matches like the tag match, and maybe Aries and Delirious need to take up as less time as possible. Maybe flip that around and have the Gauntlet cut back on time so Aries and Delirious can have a nice little brawl. If they wrestle, it’ll make no sense. Delirious is crazed, why would he want to wrestle?
Like Daniels and Omega, if Aries and Delirious have a brawl, they’ll probably hold a little back for the match similar to theirs in terms. For Daniels and Omega, you have the main event. For Aries and Delirious, you have none other than Steen/Generico 1 in ROH. Steen and Generico’s feud end in Toronto? Who knows. It would be nice to see it end here for the simple fact that it’s been built so wonderfully over the course of the past six months, and if they go all out here, with a solid winner, there’s no reason to continue the rivalry after having their confrontation. Another match after a great, concluded one would be like making an unnecessary sequel to an epic, and finalized blockbuster movie. Maybe Steen can take some time to rehab after this match, and Generico can move on to a run at the TV title. No matter the outcome and the aftermath, Kevin Steen vs. El Generico is easily one of the most anticipated matches of the year in any company.
The Big Bang rematch for the Tag Team championship will have a hard time topping their efforts from the April PPV. But if there are four men who can outdo themselves on any given night, it’s The Briscoes and the Kings of Wrestling. Plus, this match definitely has more heat than The Big Bang contest due to what happened on HDNet this past week. Old man Cena has nothing on Papa Briscoe. Overall, this is a not-to-miss-show, so make sure you throw those fifteen bucks down to, hopefully, witness ROH history at its best. And if you happen to miss it Saturday night, replays are frequent, so no worries.

Alex Marvez recently interviewed ROH star Davey Richards, who announced that he will be finishing up with wrestling in December of this year. Here is part of the interview, "I didn't plan to do this for my career. I've gotten done with paramedic school and have other things I want to concentrate on. I want to get my black belt in jiujitsu and finish the fire academy. I'm married now, too. Ring of Honor has so many talented guys that they don't need me anymore."

This is definitely a tough pill to swallow for us ROHbots, who, as I mentioned above, have invested a lot of time and emotion into Davey Richards. But the fact of the matter is if Davey I planning on hanging up his boots at the end of the year, then more power to him, especially if he’s moving on to do something far greater than anything done in a wrestling ring. All predictions for World title reigns aside, if this is true, here’s wishing a great 2010 for Richards, and a great life helping those who can’t help themselves.
But there’s also news regarding the other best wrestler in the world.

The reason that Bryan Danielson has not announced a date to return to ROH is because the two sides have not come to an agreement as of this time. Danielson has been in contact with ROH management.

We all know he’s not showing up at the pay-per-view (or do we), but here’s hoping that he does make a couple of appearances during the summer. Please let them come to an agreement for the 27th of August when ROH debuts in Richmond. From everyone’s favorite ROHbot, you have to give me something I didn’t think I’d see again in ROH.

Generation Me (formerly the Young Bucks) will return to Ring of Honor on July 23rd in Collinsville, IL and July 24th in Chicago!

Poor Young Bucks. Actually, poor TNA for not utilizing the actually talent they have in the tag team division to the fullest. The Bucks can do so much for a company if given the opportunity-proven by their time in ROH, PWG, and Dragon Gate. No opponents have been named yet, but no matter what, expect two high quality matches that you won’t see on Mondays. Or Thursdays, or whatever night TNA is “waging war” against the evil McMahon empire. Speaking of TV, lets see what happened on this week’s episode of ROH on HDNet.

ROH on HDNet 6/14/10 Quick Results: Christopher Daniels defeated Bobby Shields
The Briscoes defeated Sid Reeves & Bob Evans
Colt Cabana vs. Steve Corino went to a no-contest

Right:
Daniels Makes His HDNet Debut: The evening’s opening match featured Christopher Daniels in his first match on HDNet ever. Instead of having a long, competitive match, ROH did the smart thing by having Daniels fight a guy who appeared could give him a fight-and somewhat did-only for that opponent to be steamrolled over by Daniels. Daniels showed the major points of his repertoire, including the STO and the BME, but kept back a couple of moves we only see in big matches. Not only did Daniels impress in the ring, but he also cut a promo that could set the tone for the rest of the summer, if not the year, as Daniels gets ready to go through the roster while winning the ROH World title. Perfect way to introduce/reintroduce Daniels to the viewing audience.
The Briscoes Gain Some Momentum, And A Soar Jaw: Like Daniels, The Briscoes had an easy night to get ready for Death Before Dishonor VIII. They looked good, and gained a dominant win to give Hero and Claudio a preview of what will happen in Toronto. But the champs weren’t just sitting back, watching the festivities involving their DBD opposition. Hero and Castagnoli decided to come to ringside to confront the special guest of the evening, Mike Briscoe-father of, “Dem Briscoe Boys.” After running down Mike’s boys, Hero’s verbal onslaught became directed toward Mike, and his unprotected genitalia during the conception of Mark and Jay. Mike didn’t take too kindly to Hero’s words, and confronted the much larger Tag Team champion. Poor Papa Briscoe got laid out by a sick elbow after slapping Hero. This feud truly turned a corner here, adding a serious level of personal hatred that The Briscoes attacking Sara Del Rey didn’t have. Here’s hoping that they can keep that level of hatred and intensity in Toronto.
Who Ya Got: To hype the main event more and more, ROH decided to make Kyle Durden do some field work by asking fans and wrestlers who they believe will win the ROH World title at Death Before Dishonor. Even though the fans were a little rough around the edges, they added something to the match that hasn’t been seen in years when it comes to TNA and WWE: letting the fans be truly heard. Yes, it’s simplistic, but it makes the crowd feel like a true part of the show, and gives them the hope that maybe they’ll be seen on TV to hype an upcoming main event. As for the wrestlers giving their thoughts, it worked so well because it added a feeling of reality to the match. Like Frank Mir commenting on Lesnar vs. Carwin, Erick Stevens, Jay Briscoe, and others spoke on, what could be, the most important match in ROH this year. Great work, ROH.
Cabana vs. Corino: Before the match, we got an interview with Steve Corino that gave us a hilarious moment involving his enemies list. But that wasn’t the only thing to come out of Corino’s interview. In the back sat Kevin Steen, who gave a very descriptive strategy of what he’ll do to Generico at Death Before Dishonor. As for the match, they fought like two men who hate each other. Would something otherwise make any sense due to the way they’ve been brawling across the country? The match had a crappy ending, but the aftermath made up for it as El Generico stood up to Steen during an epic confrontation like we’ve never seen on HDNet between them. With Generico getting one up on Steen, he finally looks like he’s ready to bring war with him to Toronto for the HDNet viewing audience. Once again, Death Before Dishonor match hype is successful.
The Contract Signing: You know how contract signings in wrestling work-either someone gets attacked, we have a brawl between the signers, or we see stern confrontation between the opponents that is so rare that no one even mentions it when contract signings are placed on the show. Thankfully, we got the latter of the three options. Both men signed the contract, voiced their opinions, and gave us an intense face to face that we haven’t seen between these two for weeks. While an argument can be made that the addition of Christopher Daniels in the matter to remind us that he’ll be facing the winner sooner than later wasn’t needed, it didn’t hurt the anticipation for the Death Before Dishonor main event. Actually, Daniels involvement might’ve helped the unpredictability of the contest instead of hurt it.

Wrong: None

Overall: This week’s episode was a perfect mix of in-ring action and pay-per-view hype. No, there weren’t any blow away matches, but all served a purpose, and weren’t boring or horrible squashes. Daniels and The Briscoes gained some momentum, and Cabana and Corino played extras for the epic saga of Generico vs. Steen. We got multiple, quality promo videos during the show, including the one at the end that needs to be all over the DBD previews on the Internet. While it isn’t a must see show from wrestling or ROH standards, it is easily the best go-home show before a big show in Ring of Honor HDNet history. So if you want to get hyped for Death Before Dishonor before the show, check out this episode.

That’s it for this week. For those who are getting DBD VIII tonight, hope you truly enjoy the show. And remember, there’s nothing worse than wasted talent. Go out there and do what you want to do before it’s too late.

Till Then.