Rhett Titus & Kenny King vs. Jerry Lynn & Tyler Black
King mocked Black by choking himself. Get it…’cause Black always chokes in ROH World title matches. Titus mocked Lynn by reminding him that he’s a little up in the years. Sexy arm drag to open this one up by Titus on Lynn. Lynn paid Titus back by sexy slamming Titus before unleashing the Pee-Wee Herman dance. Lynn pulled some pop locking moves out when King tagged in. King responded with his best Michael Jackson impersonation after sending Lynn to the mat. When Jerry won the dance off, the fans proclaimed, “You got served!” Black tagged in, going move for move with King. King responded by just pounding on Black’s face. Black reversed an Irish whip, hip tossing Kenny on the rebound. Drop toe hold by Lynn on King left Kenny wide open for Black’s caperana. Lynn, now the legal man, got a hold of the incoming Titus. Black and Lynn unleashed the Too Cool elbow drop after double chopping Rhett. King helped Titus off of Lynn’s shoulders, allowing Titus to dropkick the stunned Lynn. Springboard leg drop by King after he tagged in. Lynn turned the body slam attempt into a reverse DDT. Before Lynn could tag out, Titus pulled Black off the apron. King clotheslined Lynn when he realized Black was gone. Showing the strength of his groin, Titus used his special area to pound Jerry’s face. Yeah, I know that wouldn’t sound right any way I wrote it. The crotch attack didn’t help Titus, but the clothesline did. Lynn stopped another crotch attack, power bombing Rhett of the corner. Titus tagged out just as Lynn did the same.
Black was a house of fire, spine busting King. Black missed the caperana, but not the standing shooting star press. King rushed Black backwards, tagging out. Black caught Titus with an inverted atomic drop, leaving him prone for a big elbow drop. Leg drop into the sidewalk slam double team by Lynn and Black to Titus. TKO on Titus by Lynn. King thought he was doing something with the blue thunder power bomb on Lynn. Instead, King walked into a Pele kick from Tyler. Titus stopped the turnbuckle power bomb, neck breaking Black. Black hit the ropes, but King tripped him up, giving Titus the chance to hit that rocker dropper. Lynn stopped King by dropkicking him off the apron to prevent a Doomsday attack. Black used a hurricarana to save himself as well. King and Titus fell to the floor after being attack. Lynn and Black sailed over the top rope, diving on top King and Titus respectively. Black and Jerry wanted to use a double team maneuver that had Lynn jump off the top rope. King stopped it by crotching Lynn on the top turnbuckle. Tyler rushed King, but ended up getting sent to the floor. King stopped the superplex, but not the enzuguri. With Lynn stuck on the top turnbuckle, Titus replaced King, face busting Lynn to a huge ovation. I think the ovation was more from Titus’ athleticism than him attacking Lynn. Lynn somehow kicked out before the three count. Lynn stopped that double team atomic drop/clothesline combo King and Titus have perfected by kicking Titus into King’s clothesline. Springboard clothesline on King by Black. Lynn hooked Titus, executing the Cradle Piledriver to pick up the win for his team.
Tonight, Brent Albright and Claudio Castagnoli face off in the confines of a steel cage. First to talk about the matter is Brent Albright. Albright stated the fact that you can’t physically prepare for the pain of a cage match. But mentally, he’s ready to sacrifice it all.
Sara Del Rey vs. Nikki Roxx
The former Roxxi still hasn’t grown out her hair to what it once was. Sara’s still rocking the Kevin Sullivan inspired eyebrows. Honorable handshake leads to a slap/shove exchange. It ended with Roxx dropkicking Sara. Del Rey caught the rushing Nikki with a capo kick. Del Rey just started heaving and tossing Nikki. Nikki stopped herself from bouncing off the ropes, charging at Del Rey again. Both women leveled each other with big boots. Nikki stopped the chokeslam, punching Del Rey into the Beauty Special. Del Rey stopped the Barbie Crusher, knocking Nikki into a Royal Butterfly. And that, my friends, is it.
Mike Hogewood is excited about tonight’s main event. And so is Claudio Castagnoli, who knows he’s going to win because he knows how to physically train for a cage match. Claudio promises to beat Albright to a bloody pulp.
Sonjay Dutt vs. Alex Payne
The fans were behind Sonjay, but Payne actually outwrestled Dutt in the opening moments. Dutt had to cheat a little by not breaking clean when they tumbled into the ropes. Spinning back elbow by Dutt got him a two count. Payne fired back with some clotheslines. Big dropkick by “Sugarfoot” had the fans booing. Sonjay got stunned with diamond dust, but it didn’t get Payne the victory. Dutt countered Payne’s next attack, but so did Alex, who turned a failed roll up into the STF. Dutt made it to the ropes in time to save himself. Dutt turned a charging Dutt into a pair of boots that led to a springboard dropkick. Payne had no choice but to tap out in the Camel Clutch.
Kyle Durden decided to get a word with Dutt to ask about his change in personality. Dutt compared ROH to his sideburns, “They’re aggressive, they’re accurate, they’re on point, and most of all, they’ve got swagger.” All this to say he’s coming after Delirious, next week!
We get some highlights of Daizee Haze’s training of Delirious. Delirious getting tossed around like a rag doll wasn’t very appealing. But seeing Delirious resort to choking his training partner was.
“My mom would say I’m a nice, Jewish kid from the suburbs,” is what Colt Cabana opened up his interview time with. I don’t know why, but that made me laugh…hard. Colt attributed his way of seeing life, and pro-wrestling, is what’s helped him get on such a streak lately.
Next week, we’ll see and 8 Team Honor Rumble match. It’s just a tag team Royal Rumble. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be fun.
Two weeks ago, Nigel preached to the crowd. This week, Nigel preached to us about his hurting body. And it’s all because of the fans. No more will Nigel pander to the fans. I didn’t know he was before.
Steel Cage match: Brent Albright vs. Claudio Castagnoli w/The Embassy
Pin fall, submissions, and escapes of the cage will get you a win here. Brent cornered the Swiss athlete, peppering Claudio with right hands. Claudio and Albright stopped themselves from going head first against the steel. Claudio tried to make a couple of quick exits, but Brent was too fresh to let that happen. The two slugged it out on the top rope until Claudio lost his balance, crotching himself on the top rope. Instead of leaving at that point, Albright continued his assault of Claudio. Claudio and Brent did everything in their power to avoid hitting the steel. Gut-wrench suplex by Claudio almost got enough space between the two for Claudio to slip through the door. Brent stopped it, but Claudio was able to use the leverage he had, slinging Brent forward so Nana and Osiris could swing the door against Albright’s face. Brent’s forehead had been ripped open by the steel. Castagnoli just whipped Brent face first against the cage over and over again. Even going as far as to rake Brent’s skull on the cage. Brent tried to get some momentum, but ended up getting whipped into the steel again. Brent powered off the mat, stopping Claudio from climbing to victory. Claudio kicked him away before dropkicking Albright for a near fall. European uppercut by Claudio knocked the blood off of Albright’s lacerated head. Brent turned the Waterslide into a small package, but couldn’t hold Claudio down for the three count. Claudio jumped to his feet, bicycle kicking Albright when Brent turned around. Claudio continued his wearing down of Brent with rear chin locks. Claudio tried to use the sidestep/whip into the cage move he did earlier, but Brent reversed it. Claudio’s head bounced off the cage for the first time of the evening. And now Claudio is bleeding. The added whips against the steel didn’t help Claudio’s cut clot. Claudio turned the air raid crash attempt into a big slam. Just as Claudio got to the top rope in preparation to jump over the cage, Brent grabbed him, German suplexing Castagnoli for a shocking near fall. Claudio blocked the superplex, making it over the top of the cage. Brent caught him, exploder superplexing Claudio from outside to inside. And it still didn’t end the match. Claudio stopped the Half Nelson Suplex, but not to the stiff right hands. Low blow by Claudio when Albright stepped back to get some torque on one of those fists. Claudio yelled for a chair so he could stomp Brent’s bloody head like he did a month ago. Albright somehow moved in time, kicking Claudio in the balls. Brent decided to stomp Claudio’s head underneath the chair as retribution. Brent actuality broke the chair on Claudio’s head! The pin fall was elementary after that.