ROHbot Report
The ROHbot Report: HDNet Taping Results, Booking Missteps, Corino Coming For The Champ, And More
By James Bullock
May 29, 2010 - 4:02 PM

Hello each and everyone to another edition of The ROHbot Report. Ring of Honor rolled through Philadelphia last weekend to tape another set of shows for HDNet. And all the results are right here for you to see. No point in making you wait; go on and read.

5/21/10
The main show started with the wrestlers surrounding the ring for the 10 bell salute to the late lighting director Brad Mackie.
*Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels def. Mike Sydal with the BME. When Kyle Durden attempted an interview, Daniels simply said that he's the best in the world, and he'll go through the roster to prove it.
*Austin Aries comes out and cuts a promo saying that he will beat Jim Cornette at his own game and become the greatest manager ever and that his All Night Express will be future champs. The All Night Express then defeated Delirious and Jerry Lynn. Aries smoked a pipe the entire time, but without the smoke.
*Contract signing that will air the Monday prior to Death Before Dishonor. No shenanigans. Davey Richards and Tyler Black both sign, and Richards says it will be 1 on 1, that Hagadorn and Edwards will not be ringside. The Fallen Angel comes out and challenges both men after DBD to prove he's best.
*Skullcrusher Rasche Brown defeated Ricky Reyes with a burning hammer. Reyes controlled most of the match, working on Brown's knee. Erick Stevens attacked Brown after the match.
*Eddie Edwards' 10-Minute Hunt against Nick Westgate. Edwards wins in about 2 minutes with his Achilles Lock while stomping on Westgate's head.
*Sara Del Rey won a match with a piledriver. I heard Reggie as the name of the opponent. That could be wrong.
*Steve Corino defeated Colt Cabana by DQ when Cabana threw the ref down. Cabana set up two tables and then shuffle boarded a chair into the chair that was horse-collared on Corino. Colby Corino came down to distract Colt long enough to let Steen attack. Generico made the save.
*Josh Raymond and Christian Able (not called the House of Truth) defeated Up in Smoke (Cheech and Cloudy). Fun double teamwork.
*Kevin Steen def Bobby Shields with the crossface. Steen and Corino did commentary for the match. Corino says, "Slap the porcupine," which made me laugh. As he left, Steen sang along with his theme music.
*Necro Butcher vs. Erick Stevens never happened when Necro said that his time in the hospital in Dayton has basically bankrupted him and that he couldn't afford to get hurt again. Necro said he had a replacement lined up. Grizzly Redwood defeated Erick Stevens with a schoolboy. After the match, Stevens destroys Grizzly until Rasche Brown makes the save. Brown gets ties to the ring post and Nana said he had a new Crown Jewel and out came Necro in a suit and Jimmy Rave's old robe. Necro hits Skullcrusher with a board that knocks him out.
*ROH Tag Team champions Kings of Wrestling defeated Dark City Fight Club by DQ when the Briscoes attack KoW.
*Daizee Haze defeated Jamilia Craft.
*Austin Aries and the All Night Express versus Tyler Black, Jerry Lynn, and Delirious was thrown out when Paul Turner lost control. In the midst of the brawling, Kevin Steen attacked Tyler Black with a package piledriver.
*The Americans Wolves defeated the Fallen Angel and Roderick Strong. Very good 20-minute match. Roddy had words with Daniels after the match. Not too much out of the ordinary, just getting ready for Death Before Dishonor VIII. Glad that the contract signing didn’t turn into a brawl or involved some kind of shenanigans. Davey versus Tyler is one of those matches that not only needs to happen, but needs to occur in an environment where two of the best in ROH showcase their talent that’s second to none without the sense of being forced to choose a side. It’s going to happen, but ROH not sprinkling the seeds of who to cheer for and who to boo will allow the fans to voice their opinions in a positive manner no matter whom they choose. Also, having Daniels step up and proclaim his standing as next in line was needed. Even though Davey and Daniels seem lined up for a future clash over the belt, Daniels and Black is also one of those ROH dream matches that has a great chance of happening in 2010 for the ROH World title. There’s a nice level of unpredictability coming off of this taping when it regards to the ROH World title picture.
How awesome is Austin Aries? When it seems he has nothing left to do, he switches everything around, and now he’s planning to be a manager of champions. For the first time in quite a while, there’s a great possibility that we could have some manager battles over talent between people like Aries and Nana. Speaking of Nana, the prince from Ghana has bought Necro Butcher. On one hand, this is a wild turn of events to see Necro align with a group of men he has no respect for (or so we thought) and has been fighting for months. On the other hand, poor Erick Stevens just dropped down several pegs to give room to Butcher. Where it seemed his joining The Embassy would get his career back on track hasn’t proven true for Erick. The Videowire is leading us to believe that Necro and Stevens will be an unstoppable team of two dangerous, violent men. How far past midcard tag team this tandem will go is anyone’s guess. But since it’s my column, I’ll say not very far until we get some babyface tag teams near the top.
Lets see what happened on the next night of tapings.

5/22/10
*Fallen Angel def Bobby Shields with BME. Daniels then cut basically the same promo he did last night.
*El Generico def Tyler Black by DQ when Steen attacked. Tyler went after Steen but Davey Richards attacked Tyler from behind.
*Sara Del Rey squashed Jamilia Craft. Post match, Del Rey said there's never been competition for her.
*Nana cut a promo saying he can forgive and forget when it comes to making money and introduced the new Crown Jewel, Necro Butcher. Necro squashed Bobby Beverly in a Butcher's Rules match.
*Eddie Edwards def Andy Ridge in a 10 Minute Hunt. The guy behind me timed it at 3:02.
*Kyle Durden interviewed Papa Briscoe, who said his sons winning the titles will be part of his Father's Day gift. The Briscoes def Bob Evans and Sid Green.
*Kings of Wrestling came out to address Papa Briscoe with Chris Hero telling him he has made two mistakes, one being Mark and the other being Jay. Mr. Briscoe jumped the barricade and hit Hero. Hero then knocked out Mr. Briscoe with an elbow.
*Roderick Strong got an interview where he introduced Truth Martini as his new Life Intervention Expert. Roddy said that Truth told him that all the wrongs in Roddy's life were because of everybody else.
*Up in Smoke def The Set.
*Rasche Brown def Erick Stevens by DQ when Necro attacked. Dark City Fight Club made the save and ran off the Embassy.
*House of Truth (Josh Raymond and Christian Able) def Ricky Reyes and Aiden Chambers.
*Shane Hagadorn said he arranged for "three of the best teams in the world" to challenge the Kings of Wrestling. The first team--two unidentified black guys--were defeated with the giant swing/dropkick combo. The second team--Adam Cole and Nick Westgate--were defeated after KRSOne. The third team--a duo of ninjas--unmasked to be the Briscoes. The Ninja Briscoes won with their Doomsday Device.
*American Wolves versus Dark City Fight Club ended when the Embassy hit the ring with chairs. The Wolves hightailed, and Rasche made the save. Huge brawl with the Jobber Security Company failing to get order.
*Steve Corino and Kevin Steen def Colt Cabana and El Generico in an absolutely insane no rules match. The Arena was louder than I've heard in a while. Brawl thru the crowd, tons of plunder. Lots of hardcore fun.
*Roderick Strong def Fallen Angel after Truth Martini hit him with the Book of Truth. No matter how much crap he gets, Corino is made for excellent, hardcore matches. The Steenerico explosion, and the fallout from it has been nothing short of incredible. And to see the feud coming with its bloody greatness on HDNet is truly a treat. Another treat is The American Wolves in action on two occasions over the weekend. But after this taping, it seems we’re in line for a Dark City tweener turn. Similar to Randy Orton, Davis and Chavis can be no nonsense butt kickers that have a serious edge. If The Briscoes are leaving soon, and The Wolves are doing the own thing separately, Hero and Claudio will need some teams to feud with; and the DCFC would be the most believable. But before Davis and Chavis can get to Tag title shots, they’ll have to deal with The Embassy while hanging with Rasche Brown. Speaking of Brown, he’s finally being put in matches that go two minutes with guys not a hundred pounds lighter than him. The next few months should really prove if Brown can hang in ROH, or not.
Roderick’s metamorphosis has taken a different turn than expected. Instead of being the bitter crybaby, now he’s turning into a man needing guidance. This could prove pivotal in Roderick’s quest to become the World champion finally. He’s always had a hard time keeping his focus on the prize when the time and pressure mounts, and Martini could be the perfect person to get him in order. Plus, Strong is decent at best on the mic, and someone to speak for him is really the only way he’ll ever get over when it comes to talking. Having Strong defeat Daniels-even through nefarious means-gives Strong every right to say that he’ll be jumping ahead of Daniels when it comes to #1 contenders after Death Before Dishonor.
Like Kenny Omega last year, another Indy standout-Aiden Chambers-could be well on his way to making a name for himself in Ring of Honor. Another interesting debut happens to involve someone that’s never been in an ROH ring. And that man is Poppa Briscoe. Nothing adds fuel to a fire than a beat down of someone’s daddy.

With everything at stake in Toronto on June 19th, Steve Corino has signed to face Tyler Black the night before in Buffalo.

This match is coming off the TV tapings due to Kevin Steen. This will be an interesting clash of styles to say the least. No offence to Corino, but he hasn’t had many good, competitive matches that don’t involve weapons since his return. As good as Tyler Black is, he might have a hard time getting a match over with a guy like Corino at this point in his career. But who knows, we’ve seen crazier things; and with this being a market debut, and the PPV the next night, you know everyone will be turning it up hard. With Richards vs. Strong, and Aries vs. Omega happening on the same card, don’t expect to see this one anywhere near the main event just incase my previous thoughts of this being a stinker turns out to be true.

Singles action is coming when ROH returns to Buffalo, NY on June 18th as Colt "Boom Boom" Cabana has signed to face the Embassy's Shawn Daivari!

Yeah, Daivari’s back. No, that’s not sarcasm! Daivari’s good, but like Omega, he’s not around enough to get any momentum going. Don’t expect much of a conclusion to this one. Cabana is still tied to Generico, so some interference from Corino could happen. More than likely is some interference from The Embassy members trying to save one of their own from defeat. Even though the talent showing up is thin outside of the matches already booked, expect more names to be added before the 18th, which should make some hijinx possible. Is it productive? We won’t know until the 18th.

ROH World Television Champion Eddie Edwards has thrown his name into the hat! He is the third man to enter the second annual Toronto Gauntlet on June 19th at ‘Death Before Dishonor VIII'!!!

I hate to be that guy, but I’ve never been a fan of gauntlet matches. The one from last year’s Death Before Dishonor (a review you should be seeing on this wonderful site in the next couple of weeks) was the perfect example why I feel this way. Out of five matches, none went over ten minutes, and each match felt like great matches getting its legs cut from underneath due to time constraints. Time constrains here will be worse due to this being a pay-per-view. ROH doesn’t want another Final Battle 2009 time fiasco; so don’t expect any match outside of the final going pass the five-minute mark-which is a shame with guys like Cabana and Edwards in the match.

Grizzly Redwood suffered a minor tear in the cartilage surrounding his ribcage as a result of the attack by the Embassy and his former friend, the Necro Butcher last weekend in South Philly.

Sorry to hear the Littlest Lumberjack is hurt from a beat down. Here’s hoping he doesn’t go to the woods to early and hurts himself worse. I hate to use an injury to lead to Right and Wrong, but the injury did happen during TV tapings. Wow, what a sicko I am.

ROH on HDNet 5/24/10 Quick Results: Eddie Kingston defeated Joey Ryan
Shawn Daivari & Joey Ryan defeated Eddie Kingston & Necro Butcher
Eddie Edwards defeated Colt Cabana to retain the TV title

Right:
Kingston vs. Ryan: Before the match, Ryan decided to cut a promo on Kingston, bringing out the “King of Diamonds” for a battle. The fistfight ended quickly, turning into an exchange of big moves and high impact attacks. Both men were getting into a nice grove when things started to pick up and Ryan missed the super kick. Kingston caught Ryan with the lariat on the rebound, but couldn’t follow up due to interference by Daivari. Kingston was awarded the match via disqualification, but his night wasn’t over. A solid opener from both Ryan and Kingston to get this show flowing in a good direction. If they were given a few more minutes, the grove they were starting to carve would’ve meant a lot more. But for what we were given, it was as solid as you can get.
Promo Greatness: Austin Aries and Steve Corino both got promo time during the course of show, and delivered big time. In short and sweet manner, Corino reminded us that his face equals ratings, and his beating of Colt Cabana while intervening in Steen’s feud with Generico won’t be good for the funny man’s health. As for Aries, he proved once again how despicable he is by not feeling a slight bit of remorse for what he did to Delirious a few weeks ago. Instead, Aries’ focus is messing with Strong and Black’s minds, especially with his non-title match against Black happening next week. Quick, never redundant, and to the point is what Corino and Aries delivered, and that’s exactly what this show needs when it comes to promos.
The Televised Title: In his first defense since winning the TV championship, Eddie Edwards stepped into the ring with the man he defeated in the opening round of the tournament-Colt Cabana. They had the usual feeling out process throughout the opening minutes before turning it up a notch with punch and kick exchanges not seen in many Cabana matches. Eddie did have a couple of problems figuring out if he’s a heel or a face, or even a tweener, but that didn’t take away from the fight he gave his challenger. Cabana locked in the Billy Goat’s Curse after avoiding a missile dropkick. Instead of making Eddie tap, Colt had to release the hold to stop the interference from Steve Corino. This distraction allowed Eddie to get some assistance from Shane Hagadorn and the TV title belt. After a shin breaker on the belt, Eddie forced Colt to tap in the Achilles Lock. Afterwards, Cabana got into it with Corino, almost crushing him between the turnbuckles and his butt. Thankfully for Corino, Kevin Steen was there to make the save. Questionable ending aside, this match was a good way to start Eddie’s reign, while adding fuel to the fire for Cabana & Generico vs. Steen & Corino.

Wrong:
What Do You Know About The Embassy, Huh: Well, from what I’ve seen over the past few months, I know that this version of The Embassy sucks. And it pains me to type that. I don’t mean they suck from a talent perspective. Daivari, Ryan, Stevens, even Nana are great when they are given the chance to look like forces instead of a bunch of bumbling fools unable to get their strategies in order long enough to hold people like Kingston and Necro at bay. So far, they haven’t appeared to be a force, or even a challenge to anyone they’ve faced since The Embassy reformed. It was a time when The Embassy would headline shows, and no one would blink an eye because any member could win a main event, or even a title. Now, the thought of The Embassy in any match beyond the first match after intermission is unbelievable. Seeing Daivari and Ryan have such a hard time here, with a win only coming after a single low blow shows that no one has faith, or believes The Embassy can win a match clean. Yes, they’re heels. Yes, they’re no good. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t attain victory on talent alone. Jimmy Rave could do it. Alex Shelley could do it. Abyss could do it. When Nana proclaimed this version of his group was the most powerful of all time, the wait to see if he was right began. And from the signs of this match and matches before it, this incarnation of The Embassy isn’t a force like the ones of the past; it’s a farce.
Questionable Booking: As stated above, the handling of the new Embassy has been laughable. Necro might be a madman, and Kingston a street tough thug, but in a four on two situation, explain how Butcher and Eddie could handle Daivari and Ryan so easily without the thought of being ganged. They took their time and annihilated Daivari and Ryan until that low blow was struck. Another problem is Eddie Edwards. I didn’t put his title defense in the Wrong because the match was solid, and doesn’t deserve that treatment. But the booking of him throughout the TV title tournament is similar to what we saw here: he can’t win on his own. Outside of the tournament finals, Eddie didn’t win one TV title tournament match without outside interference. Come to this show, and Eddie still can’t beat Cabana without interference. What kind of champion does that make Edwards look like? If they want him to appear strong, don’t put him in there with people like Cabana who are involved in their own feuds where individuals could ruin his chances of winning clean. And what about Austin Aries? Aries is great on the mic, but his direction he isn’t doing him any favors. He talks about not wanting to win the title, but puts himself in positions where he could actually get title shots. He’s willing taking up a spot in the Pick 6 when he doesn’t want a title shot? How does that make sense?

Overall: Once again, the weather didn’t do any favors for this show. After several weeks of promo heavy shows, this one continued the trend, sandwiched between two solid matches that both had not so favorable endings. ROH needs to be careful how they use Eddie Edwards before he comes across as a failure of a first champion. I don’t want to condemn the show for situations beyond Ring of Honor’s control, but I can’t give it a thumbs up either. The main event was solid, and the opener was okay, but it’s hard to look pass the booking problems and promos that have been shown several times over the course of the past few weeks to truly enjoy this week’s show.

Well, that’s another week. Here’s hoping you all have a wonderful holiday and take some time out to rest and enjoy whatever you’re eating. I know I will.

Till Then.