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This show was a major turning point for the company, and would really begin to set the creative vision of ROH booker Hunter Johnston into full swing. This is really when we began to see the fingerprints of his creative regime, and it set up some really interesting stuff that's carried us through the Spring and into Best In The World 2011, which will be taking place back in New York later this month. On to the review...
The show kicks off with the next step in Truth Martini's quest for the newest member of the House of Truth, as Michael Elgin was joined for the evening by Mike Mondo as they took on Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly. Martini had already tried out various other people on recent shows, and was now giving Mondo a chance to earn the spot given a victory tonight. Martini cut a long prematch promo telling Eddie Edwards that he doesn't have a chance against Roderick Strong tonight and then restated Mondo's objective for the evening. Solid opener, Cole & O'Reilly control until Elgin wipes O'Reilly out with a hard clothesline. Mondo's a great worker, he's really well grounded in the basics and knows how to make everything he does in the ring mean something. I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised to see him come in full time when ROH goes back to TV in a few months. O'Reilly hits Elgin with a tornado DDT and makes the hot tag, and Cole cleans house. The HoT briefly regain control and Elgin tries a twisting senton off the top (!), but misses and Cole puts Mondo away with a German suplex. Predictably, Martini gives Mondo a thumbs down and Elgin destroys him.
The second match saw Prince Nana's new main man, Tommaso Ciampa, take on Grizzly Redwood. Redwood had been fighting the Embassy for the better part of two years and had spent a lot of time getting his butt kicked by various Embassy members, and now gets to play punching bag for Ciampa as well. I really like Ciampa and, as I've said, he had a great showing at the Super 8 a few months ago, but this was not his best match. Maybe clash of styles or just a lack of chemistry, but this just didn't work for me. They wound up on the outside and Grizzly got fresh and planted a big kiss on Mia Yim, but regretted it a moment later when she hit a running dropkick that nearly went through Redwood. More than anything I just thought it was ridiculous for someone that looks and wrestles like Ciampa to have to sell for Grizzly. Ciampa countered a Frankensteiner attempt to the Powerbreaker for the win and then the Embassy jumped Grizzly after the match. This should have been a four or five minute squash, but it was what it was.
Steve Corino ran out to make the save, the fans started chanting "we want Steen" and Corino said he did too, then said he was here for Grizzly and asked if Grizz would be there for him too. This brings out Mike Bennett (in his Red Sox jersey) and "Brutal" Bob Evans to say that Bennett's going to knock Corino off his wagon tonight. Corino says he doesn't think there's anywhere he's more hated than New York City, but at least he's not from Boston. Facing Bennett means that Corino falls off his wagon and his recovery fails, so he's not going to wrestle Bennett tonight. Bennett starts shoving Corino and says that he's going to face him and he's going to fall just like the Yankees fall to the Red Sox every year. I guess Bennett doesn't pay much attention to real life baseball statistics or who's going decades on end without winning the World Series, but they talk and talk and talk and Corino out of nowhere says "KEVIN, I'M SORRY!" to get a "Mr Wrestling" chant from the crowd, and then Bennett says to address him as the Prodigy because he's not fat and unemployed.
Corino finally tells the referee to ring the bell and suckerpunches Bennett to start the match. Corino destroys Bennett in the ring, takes him out to the floor and rams him from barricade to barricade, then Bennett sends Corino crashing into the barricade. Bennett tries a dive over the top, but Corino casually walks away and Bennett hits the floor hard. Corino now teases a dive, but Bennett dropkicks him as he comes through the ropes and starts going to work on Corino. Corino fires back and gets an STO and the Colby Shock, but only gets 2. Bennett blocks a lariat, but Corino takes his head off with a second one and hits the Eternal Dream for 2. Corino gets the abdominal stretch and briefly tries to fight the urge, then jams his thumb up Bennett's bum. Brutal Bob comes in and knocks Corino out with a foreign object, but Bennett only gets 2, so he hits a pair of Side Effects and that only gets 2 as well. Corino is loopy, and Bennett stalks Corino until he gets back to his feet and hits a third Side Effect to get the win. Way too much talking at the beginning, but this turned into Bennett's best match to date in ROH. Corino wound up getting his butt kicked again after the match by Bennett and Brutal Bob, and with nobody coming out to help Corino, Bennett lays him out with a piledriver and they stroll off with big smiles on their faces.
I've got to say, the first three matches didn't exactly set my world on fire, but things really pick up here as the Briscoes take on the All Night Express. Both teams came off losses at the 9th Anniversary Show that became turning points for them, because while the ANX challenged the Kings of Wrestling and proved they can hang at the top of the tag team division, the Briscoes lost to Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin after spending a year getting routinely humiliated by the Kings and found themselves way down the ladder for the first time ever in their ROH careers. They had started pushing the Briscoes as having a different attitude leading into this weekend and were out to prove themselves here.
Things got rough right from the start with Jay and Titus piefacing each other, then they did a chain wrestling sequence and Titus caught Jay with a sweet dropkick. Mark and King tagged in and did a sequence with King coming out on top of that as well with the handstand kick. The ANX controlled on Mark for the next couple of minutes until Jay big booted King into a Dragon suplex by Mark. Now the Briscoes trapped King in their half of the ring and started working him over until King made a blind tag and Titus came in and took Mark out with a slingshot shoulderblock and a Yakuza Kick. Mark tried a dive over the ropes from the apron, but Titus caught him in a Northern Lights suplex as King took Jay to the floor. Titus hit a dive over the top that took out Jay, but Mark blindsided him and rammed his head into the barricade over and over while Jay nautralized King on the other side of the ring. Mark rammed Titus into the ringpost, busting him open, and then sent him back into the barricade. Mark rolled Titus into the ring and started just drilling Titus in the head with right hands and then the Briscoes took him out with the double football tackle. Mark dragged Titus back out to the floor and hit a snap suplex, then started biting him right on the cut. Mark rolled Titus back into the ring and the crowd starts turning on the Briscoes as they continue destroying Titus. Finally the Briscoes go for a double superplex on Titus, but Titus blocks and knocks Mark off the top, then dumps Jay face first on the top turnbuckle and makes the hot tag. King comes in with a big leg lariat to Jay and spinning enziguiri to Mark before getting 2 on Jay off a spinebuster. All four men wind up fighting in the ring and Mark kills Titus with the Gargoyle suplex and then Jay kills him worse with a lariat for 2. The Briscoes go for the Doomsday Device, but Titus slips out and Jay hits a Falcon Arrow suplex for 2. King and Mark go to the floor and King drives Mark into the barricade with Shotgun Knees, but he gets in the ring and Jay plants him into the mat with a spinebuster. Briscoes go for the Doomsday Device again, but Titus ducks the clothesline and rolls Jay up for the win.
The Briscoes finally snap after yet another loss and just start stomping the hell out of the ANX. The Security Patrol runs in to try and stop them, but they all get smacked up and disposed of. The Briscoes try to hit a Jay Driller on Titus on the floor, but King wipes them out with a dive from the top rope and then just goes nuts pounding on them. Security finally gets between them, but Jay takes a chair and launches it at King's head, then Mark does the same to Titus. The Briscoes are showered with boos as they leave ringside with their arms raised, and the ANX get a big reaction from the crowd as they head to the back as well. This was really well done and exactly the change both guys needed.
El Generico and TJ Perkins are up next on Page 2!
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