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IMPROMPTU ROH HONOR VS EVIL DVD REVIEW: SCUM BATTLES THE ROH ALL-STARS IN A SIX MAN ELIMINATION MAIN EVENT AS ROH MAKES THEIR RETURN TO CINCINNATI

By Stuart Carapola on 2013-04-21 21:50:49
I had so much fun doing last night's impromptu DVD review of ROH's Defy Or Deny 2 event (which you can find by clicking on the Columns section), that I decided to make it two in a row and cover Honor vs Evil, which took place this past February as ROH returned to Cincinnati, Ohio. The main event is a six man elimination match with Kevin Steen, Jimmy Jacobs, and Steve Corino of SCUM on one side, and Davey Richards, Michael Elgin, and Adam Cole on the other. Steen really seems to be getting every possible obstacle thrown in his way, but he got through Defy Or Deny, so we'll see if he can get through three more top contenders here.

The show opens with a promo of QT Marshall running down the people of Cincinnati as redneck trash and says they're just like Jay Briscoe. Marshall says he's a legitimate athlete, and tonight Jay will find out why they call him God's Gift.

Jay Briscoe vs QT Marshall

QT gets a microphone before the match so he can talk MORE. He busts on Pete Rose and tells the fans to take their welfare checks and bet them on God's Gift to Professional Wrestling. The crowd was happy to see Jay interrupt that with his entrance, but Marshall still takes forever getting his robe off before the bell finally rings and Jay takes Marshall to school by taking him down and dominating him on the mat. Marshall tries to turn it into a brawl, but that doesn't go well for him either and Jay takes him out to the floor and rams his head back and forth between the ringpost and the barricade. They go back inside and Jay continues laying a beating on Marshall, but Marshall finally grabs Jay's ankle as he goes to the second rope and yanks him out onto the mat and covers for 2. Marshall puts the boots to Jay now that he has him in trouble and hits a vertical suplex for 2, dropkick gets another 2, and he casually steps across Jay's face to shoot his mouth off to the fans. That was a bad move because Jay responds to the disrespect by popping up to his feet, waiting for Marshall to turn around, and tearing back into him with more hard hitting offense. Marshall evades a Death Valley Driver and sends Jay shoulder first into the ringpost, then hits a Fameasser for 2. Marshall gets a backbreaker/powerslam combo for 2, but Jay counters a piledriver attempt to a backdrop and hits the Jay Driller for the win.

Winner: Jay Briscoe

Marshall got a good run at Jay, but there was never any doubt who was coming out on top of this one and it was almost all Jay.

Veda Scott catches up backstage with Tadarius Thomas and asks him about facing Jay Lethal tonight, and Thomas says he thinks Lethal has championship qualities, but before he can be the champion, he has to get through him and he is far from a stepping stone. He thinks his martial arts are going to level the playing field.

Jay Lethal vs Tadarius Thomas

They do some basic mat wrestling to start, and we end in a stalemate as neither man is able to keep the other on the mat. Thomas takes Lethal to the corner and breaks clean, then cartwheels backward to the other side of the ring to create space between himself and Lethal. Lethal takes Thomas down with a shoulderblock, and they do a back and forth lucha sequence before coming to another stalemate. Lethal gets the advantage on a test of strength, Thomas escapes and goes for a flying headscissors, but Lethal catches Thomas in midair and counters to an STF in a beautiful sequence. Now Lethal has the psychological advantage and starts hammering Thomas with hard shots and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Lethal drills Thomas with a dropkick from the floor as he's slumped over the middle rope, and he takes the contest out to the floor where he dishes out more punishment to Thomas. Thomas finally scores with a few well placed martial arts kicks, but can't keep Lethal down for 3. Thomas keeps up the pressure with more kicks to the head and chest, and they get to their feet and trade chops in the middle of the ring. Lethal suddenly drills Thomas with a SICK superkick and a backfist and covers for 2. Lethal puts Thomas on the top rope, Thomas knocks Lethal backward and DRILLS him with a top rope double stomp, more kicks, and a Tiger suplex for a very close 2. Lethal gets in another superkick and hits the Lethal Injection, and that's all she wrote.

Winner: Jay Lethal

Lethal definitely squeaked by that one, and let me tell you something, Tadarius Thomas is well on his way to being the breakout indy star of 2013. This guy has had very good, competitive matches with both Kevin Steen and Jay Lethal and

Veda Scott is backstage with Mark Briscoe, who says he respects Nate Webb, but if you take a spyder and a chicken, the chicken wins every time, boy!

Mark Briscoe vs Nate "Spyder" Webb

Webb has been around forever and has a huge following, but I know next to nothing about the guy other than his participation in the ROH-CZW war. Mark doesn't waste any time opening up with Redneck Kung Fu, and drives a bewildered Webb out to the floor. Webb takes a long count before coming back in to get ready for a martial arts confrontation...and then go to a traditional tie up instead. They go back and forth with some pinfall reversals and neither man gets an advantage, so Mark goes back to unleashing Redneck Kung Fu, and Webb is down and out. Mark dumps Webb out to the floor and takes him out with a dropkick through the ropes, then vertical suplexes Webb onto the apron and then slingshots in with a rolling senton for 2. Webb hits the arachnakick to send Mark out to the floor and then nearly kills himself hitting a somersault dive over the top rope. Webb rolls Mark in and gets 2, but Mark drills Webb with a right hand and floors him. Webb spears Mark into the corner, but Mark gets the boot up when he tries it again and hits a badass half and half suplex into the corner. Mark drags an unconscious Webb out to the middle of the ring and hits the froggy bow for the win.

Winner: Mark Briscoe

Entertaining match, though it looked like Webb legitimately got his bell rung toward the end there.

Veda Scott asks Roderick Strong for his thoughts on facing ACH tonight, and Strong says people are talking about ACH, but Strong is the guy who sets the standard in ROH and professional wrestling in general. ACH is good, but he's never faced anyone like him, and he can bring his best, but it won't be good enough because in the end, only Roderick Strong survives.

Roderick Strong vs ACH

Some basic mat wrestling to start us off, but it doesn't take long before Strong starts hammering ACH with the hard forearms and chops. ACH responds with a couple of shots of his own, laying into Strong with some nice chops and kicks of his own. Strong catches ACH with a shot and dumps him out to the floor, then tries to suplex ACH onto the ring apron when he climbs back up. ACH evades that by backflipping off the corner into the ring and booting Strong to the floor, but he tries a flying headscissors off the apron and Strong catches him, hoists him back up, and swings him face first into the barricade. Strong rolls ACH back inside and covers for 2, then goes back to hammering him with forearms and a dropkick that gets 2. They go back outside and Strong just picks ACH and dumps him back first onto the ring apron, then takes a breather while waiting for ACH to roll back in. Strong relentlessly stomps ACH once he's back in, then just destroys him with forearms and more stomps to the head that are so vicious that you'd think he owes Strong money. ACH finally scores with a leaping flatliner that knocks Strong for a loop, then hits a leaping enziguiri from the floor and a slingshot Ace Crusher for 2. ACH goes for his package brainbuster thing, Strong backdrops him out to the apron but takes a scissor kick, a baseball slide, and a flip dive over the ropes that lights the crowd up. ACH hits a flying bodypress for 2, but Strong hits a knee to the guy and a half nelson backbreaker for 2. Strong with another couple of hard kicks and a fireman's carry into a backbreaker, but that only gets 2 so he goes for the Gibson Driver, ACH rolls through into a sunset flip for 2, and Strong goes right to the Stronghold, ACH goes for the ropes but Strong drags him back to the middle of the ring, ACH rolls Strong into a cradle for 2, ACH hits a pair of kicks to the head, Strong responds with some hard forearms and goes for the gutbuster, ACH reverses to an inverted Frankensteiner for 2 and makes a cover, but Strong gets to the ropes at 2. ACH hits a Stunner and goes for a second rope 450, Strong moves and goes right to a vertical suplex into a backbreaker and finally puts ACH away.

Winner: Roderick Strong

Very dramatic match, but I still don't see what ACH brings to the table other than flippy moves. I'm still not impressed, but this was a solid match.

Before our next match, Truth Martini, the Poonani Predator, comes out with a couple of his Hoopla Hotties for the latest edition of Hoopla Uncut. He puts over the Hotties' boobs, then says he has an idea what's going to happen in the main event between SCUM and the ROH All Stars. He says that Adam Cole will be his guest later on tonight, but first he stops to read a letter from a fan who got engaged to his girl after six months, and asks Truth if he thinks he rushed it. Truth says a lot of guys drop down to one knee to please their girl, but he prefers when women drop down to both knees to pleasure men. The Hoopla Hotties then inform us that it's time for the Secret Word Of The Day, and whenever we hear the Secret Word, the fans have to scream real loud. I think I've heard this somewhere before. Anyway, the Secret Word is underwear, but before we get to any more of that, he tells one of his Hoopla Hotties to take her pants off. She complies, then Truth asks Veda Scott (sitting at ringside) to take her pants off. She says no, so he tells her that nobody wants to see her ass anyway. Truth finally introduces Adam Cole, who comes out with a look on his face like he's wondering what he got himself into. Truth asks Cole about his upcoming title defense, and Cole says underwear in his response and everyone screams real loud. Cole can't wait to get his hands on Matt Hardy, but Truth gets him to say underwear again and everyone screams real loud. Truth says he's not talking about Matt Hardy, he's talking about the newest member of the HoT, Matt Taven. Taven is going to whip Cole's ass from pillar to post and bring the TV Title home to the HoT. Truth says the difference between them is that he's his father's pride and joy, while Cole is his daddy's disappointment. Cole goes to superkick Truth and he pulls one of the Hotties in front of him to make Cole stop dead in his tracks. Cole turns to leave and Truth slaps him on the ass and says he's hard as a rock, so Cole superkicks him anyway and walks off as the Hoopla Hotties attend to Truth. Veda splashes her water in Truth's face on his way to the back for good measure to close what I thought was one of the most entertaining non-wrestling segments I've seen in ROH in a long time.

Charlie Haas comes out to the ring with a case of beer and runs the crowd down, eliciting a "you're an asshole" chant from the crowd. Pepper Parks comes out for their match and Haas continues his diatribe, saying he's pissed off because he should be wrestling for the ROH World Title, and instead he's wrestling the worst guy in Cincinnati. Haas drinks his beer while he's talking and Parks slaps the taste out of his mouth, so Haas goes out to the floor to consider what Parks just did, and Parks says he's not the same 20 year old cruiserweight he used to beat up years ago. He's going to show Haas who Pepper Parks is, and he sprints to the ropes and wipes Haas out with a dive. We're off with...

Charlie Haas vs Pepper Parks

Parks absolutely unloads on Haas, ramming him into the barricades and then rolling him inside and covering for 2. Parks continues hammering Haas with forearms and chops and backdrops him across the ring. Parks gets a neckbreaker for 2 and Haas rolls out to the floor, Haas pulls the apron up and Parks slides catches himself in it, and Haas uses the opening to dish out some punishment to Parks. Haas gives Parks a Hacker Slam into the ringpost and then rolls inside to try for the countout. Parks beats the count, but Haas goes back to hammering him with kicks. Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness ask Veda Scott what she thought of Hoopla Uncut, and she says the Hoopla Hotties were not Women of Honor, and refused to deny allegations by Nigel and Kevin that they were just strippers Truth Martini picked up. We get back to the action as Haas hits a release overhead suplex and then goes back to the chinlock, Parks starts to break free but Haas goes back to pummeling him and spits at the fans. Parks dodges a couple of charges and Haas shish kebabs himself on the middle rope to create a little breathing room for Parks. Parks is up and he starts tearing into Haas with some nice shots and a powerslam for 2. Parks gets a twisting fisherman's suplex for 2, but Haas hits a running spinebuster for 2. Parks blocks a superplex attempt and hits a top rope neckbreaker for 2, then they go out to the floor where Haas suplexes Parks onto the barricade before rolling him back inside and stopping to look for his beer. Haas brings the case of beer into the ring and brandishes it at Parks, the referee stops him from nailing Parks with it, but Haas takes a stray beer from the case and sprays it into Parks' face. Haas rolls Parks up with a handful of tights and gets the win.

Winner: Charlie Haas

Solild match, but the fans didn't seem very into it. Parks looked good and I'd like to see him come back, but it also looks like Haas was really struggling to get some heat at this point. Haas lays out that Cheeseburger kid again and repeatedly slams him into the barricade just for the hell of it after the match. Poor Cheeseburger.

Kyle O'Reilly is backstage saying that he respects BJ Whitmer for what he did to help build ROH, O'Reilly is a master of striking in multiple disciplines and he'll have to take him out...nothing personal.

BJ Whitmer vs Kyle O'Reilly

O'Reilly tries to catch Whitmer with some of his martial arts stuff early on, but Whitmer manages to avoid getting in trouble and they wind up at a stalemate. They go to the mat and O'Reilly goes to the arm, but Whitmer reverses and does some damage to O'Reilly's arm as well. They wind up back at a stalemate, but a back and forth ends with Whitmer knocking O'Reilly for a loop and covering for 2. Whitmer gets a side backbreaker for 2 and then puts the boots to O'Reilly and then lights him up with some chops as well, but O'Reilly boots Whitmer out to the floor where he drills him with the running dropkick off the apron. O'Reilly hits a suplex for 2 and goes to a cross armbreaker, but Whitmer quickly gets to the ropes to force the break. O'Reilly keeps up the pressure with more strikes and then gets his figure four variation of the abdominal stretch and grinds his knuckles into Whitmer's ribs just for good measure. O'Reilly connects with a flurry of martial arts offense, then he fishhooks Whitmer's mouth and the referee forces the break since it's an illegal hold. O'Reilly goes to a chinlock, but Whitmer gets out and hits an exploder suplex out of nowhere, then runs over O'Reilly with a series of clotheslines and a spinebuster for 2. Whitmer gets a series of suplexes, but can't quite put O'Reilly away, and O'Reilly comes back with a series of strikes and a backdrop suplex for 2. Whitmer is in trouble, and O'Reilly keeps on him with a series of strikes and a brainbuster for 1. O'Reilly is in shock that Whitmer was out at 1, and Whitmer pops right back to his feet as they trade right hands. Vertical suplex sends both men over the ropes and to the floor, O'Reilly tries the diving dropkick again but Whitmer catches him and hits an exploder suplex into the barricade. They go back inside and Whitmer covers for 2, he hits a Roll of the Dice and a fisherman's suplex for 2, Whitmer sets O'Reilly on the top rope but O'Reilly slips out and hits Whitmer with a top rope back suplex for 2. O'Reilly hits a Regalplex for 2 and then goes to a triangle choke and hammers elbows into Whitmer's head, but Whitmer picks O'Reilly up and powerbombs him, then rams several knees into O'Reilly's head and catches him in the Peruvian necktie and O'Reilly taps out.

Winner: BJ Whitmer

Excellent match, and a hell of a win by Whitmer. Whitmer had been the guy who fights with all his heart before losing for a while now, so it's good to see him finally win one.

Elimination Match: Davey Richards, ROH TV Champion Adam Cole & Michael Elgin vs ROH World Champion Kevin Steen, Steve Corino & Jimmy Jacobs

Davey and Corino start off and go back and forth before wrestling to a stalemate. Jacobs and Cole tag in and they renew their rivalry from Dearborn, and Cole gets the early advantage with a neckbreaker for 2. Steen and Elgin tag in and do some test of strength stuff, but neither man budges. Things heat up and the partners come in, but both Steen and Elgin physically restrain their own partners so the two of them can go at it. They trade right hands until Elgin hits a powerslam that shakes the ring, then Davey tags in to go at it with he man who defeated him for the ROH World Title. Cole comes in and hits a diving dropkick for 2, and they continue tagging in and out to dish out punishment to Steen. Elgin powerslams Steen and then Davey hits a top rope headbutt for 2, Davey dumps Steen to the floor and goes for the punt, but Steen blocks and Jacobs spears Davey off the apron. Now Davey is in trouble and he winds up on the receiving end of a 3-on-1 beating. Davey finally manages to drill Corino and Jacobs with a double DDT and make the tag to Adam Cole, who comes in like a house of fire and tears into Corino. All six men wind up fighting in the ring, Cole goes out to the floor and gets posted, but Davey takes all three member of SCUM out with a dive. Elgin and Corino trade blows on the floor as Steen bashes Cole into the barricade and then gouges at his face in front of some kid in the front row. This is totally out of control as Nigel McGuinness calls more referees down to the ring to try and manage the chaos. Steen powerbombs Cole onto the ring apron and rolls him inside where Corino covers for 2. Cole gets dumped back out to the floor where Steen crotches him on the ringpost, then rolls him back inside where Jacobs covers for 2. Cole reverses a suplexand goes for the tag, but Steen tags in and easily shuts Cole down. Cole finally escapes from SCUM and tags out to Elgin, who destroys Jacobs with an STO, gives Corino and Jacobs a double fallaway slam, and covers Jacobs for 2. Steen is in and goes for an F5 on Elgin, Elgin slips out but Davey comes in to go at it with Steen. Steen DDTs Elgin, Cole superkicks Steen, Corino drags Cole to the floor, and Corino and Jacobs give Cole a spike piledriver on the floor. The referees mull over what to do about Cole and decide if he can continue, and the match stops dead while Cole is picked up and helped out. Now SCUM goes after Davey and Elgin as Cole is carried to the back, and Steen thoughtfully goes out to hold the curtain open for Cole as he's hauled out. Elgin winds up in the wrong part of town as all three members of SCUM tag in and out to work him over, but Elgin deadlifts Corino into a German suplex while he already has Jacobs on his back, and he is finally able to tag out to Davey, who comes in and goes to town on Steen with a missile dropkick and a charging forearm. Davey hits a kick to the skull and a German suplex for 2, then catches Steen in a Trailer Hitch. Jacobs tries to stomp Davey to break the hold, but Davey dodges the kick and catches Jacobs in an anklelock. Corino comes in and knocks Davey out with a roll of quarters and Steen covers for 2, then hits Davey with a package piledriver and eliminates him.

Davey Richards is eliminated

Elgin is down to a 3-on-1 situation, but he fights in spite of the odds and winds up back on the receiving end of another gang beating. Elgin keeps trying to fight back, but keeps getting blindsided by someone every time he gets a bit of momentum. Corino joins Kevin Kelly on commentary and declares that SCUM has it in the bag, but Adam Cole fights his way out of the back, shoving referees aside to get back to his corner as Elgin suplexes Jacobs off the ring apron and onto the corner for a superplex. Elgin makes the tag to Cole, who comes in and hits a brainbuster over the knee for 2. Cole with a series of superkicks and hits the Florida Key on Steen, but Corino pulls the referee out of the ring before he can count 3 to stop Steen from suffering his first pinfall loss in over two years. Jacobs runs in and hits Cole in the groin with the steel spike, allowing Steen to hit a cannonball and the F5. The referee slowly gets inside and counts three, and Cole is out as well.

Adam Cole is eliminated

Elgin is now in a real tough spot, as he'll have to go through all three members of SCUM if he wants to come out on top. He takes Steen out with a flying shoulderblock, then drills him with a Black Hold Slam, drills Corino with a backfist, powerbombs him into the corner, and hits the sitout powerbomb to eliminate him.

Steve Corino is eliminated

Jacobs tries a top rope powerbomb, but Elgin catches him and powerbombs him into the corner and then hits another sitout powerbomb to eliminate Jacobs as well.

Jimmy Jacobs is eliminated

Well, Elgin cleared out those obstacles in a hurry, didn't he? Elgin is spent as he and Steen lock eyes before trading forearms. Elgin hits a spinning backfist, Steen pops Elgin up into a powerbomb for 2, then hits a sleeper suplex for 2. Steen goes up top for a swanton, Elgin gets the knees up and then deadlifts Steen into a German suplex for 2. Steen rolls out, so Elgin deadlifts him into a second German suplex. Elgin signals that he's ready to go for the kill, but Corino gets back up on the ring apron to distract Elgin. Jay Lethal comes out and goes after Corino to get him out of the way, but Steen catches Elgin in a small package and gets 3 to win the match for his team.

Winners: Kevin Steen, Jimmy Jacobs & Steve Corino

Good main event, nothing Earth shettering happened but I thought they told a good story and gave Steen a good bump going into his title defense against Lethal. Speaking of Lethal, he makes the mistake of coming back in and going after SCUM and gets laid out. SCUM beat Lethal and Elgin down until the Briscoes run in to make the save. Some guy comes out of the crowd and tries to get in the ring, but he's removed while SCUM and the All Stars stare each other down to close the show.

The show was o kay, but nothing to write home about. The main event was okay, but nothing on here will matter in the long run and there wasn't a match that moved me enough to say that the DVD is worth buying for that match alone. Recommendation to skip.

Thank you for following PWInsider.com's coverage of ROH Honor vs Evil, for more information on ordering this or any other ROH DVDs, head on over to www.rohwrestling.com.

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