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ROH World Tag Team Title Match - Kings Of Wrestling vs WGTT: 9/11/2010 in New York City, NY
This was Haas & Benjamin's debut match in ROH and it was hyped like crazy for weeks, and with good reason since the internet fanbase who appreciates the ROH style had long thought that both of them were poorly used during their time in WWE, and felt like ROH would be the best setting for them to cut loose and show what they’re capable of without any restrictions. This was also the biggest match for the Kings since, even though they had been in the ring with a lot of great teams during their reign, including some from outside ROH, they had more or less dominated them all and had even made a habit out of walking all over the Briscoes. Haas & Benjamin were the first challengers to come along whom people perceived as someone the Kings might not be able to handle.
This was a highly competitive match that came off a lot better on this viewing than when I watched it live. I still think these teams did much better in later matches, but this was very good and the crowd was going nuts for WGTT even though nobody probably expected them to get the title since this was only advertised as a one time appearance. WGTT rallied from behind and Haas got Claudio in the Haas Of Pain, but Hero came off the second rope with an elbowdrop using the loaded elbowpad and rolled Claudio on top for the win. Haas & Benjamin recovered and laid out the Kings, then dished out an absolutely brutal beating to Shane Hagadorn that ended with Haas hitting a top rope elbowdrop to Hagadorn's nether regions. It seemed like a good bet they'd be back given the way the ending was booked, but for now, they did at least get the chance to reestablish themselves as a team to be reckoned with after nearly a decade of being treated like jokers in WWE.
WGTT vs Bravado Bros: ROH On HDNet Episode 88 in Louisville, Kentucky
Haas & Benjamin were a good fit in ROH, and agreed to come in full time starting at the beginning of 2011. This match was their ROH TV debut in early January and was more or less an introductory squash. Haas & Benjamin manhandled the Bravados and Haas tapped Harlem Bravado out to the Haas of Pain.
In-ring Interview: ROH On HDNet Episode 90 in Louisville, Kentucky
We take a break from the action so Jim Cornette can interview WGTT, who say that they're here to prove to everybody and prove to themselves that they're the best tag team in the world, and the only way to do that is to win the ROH World Tag Team Title, so they're officially putting the Kings of Wrestling on notice. The interview is interrupted by the Briscoes, who say that they've been here for eight years and with all due respect, they don't care who Haas & Benjamin beat elsewhere because this is ROH and they're not just going to leapfrog over everyone on name value. Cornette has a great idea: since the All Night Express is already challenging the Kings for the title at the 9th Anniversary Show, he'll put the Briscoes in the ring with WGTT on that same show, with the winners getting a title shot. Everyone shakes on it, a sportsmanlike beginning to what ended up becoming a pretty heated feud. Most of the rest of this DVD centers around WGTT’s impending showdown with the Briscoes and, further down the line, the Kings of Wrestling.
WGTT vs All Night Express: ROH On HDNet Episode 91 in Louisville, Kentucky
The timing of this match is interesting because it aired right before the ANX challenged the Kings of Wrestling for the title, and even though they had a strong showing against them and then had their breakthrough match with the Briscoes just a few weeks later, nobody considered them serious contenders at this point. So if you regard this match based on where the ANX was at this point instead of where they are now, it was more competitive than you might have expected it to be as the ANX hung in there until the Kings of Wrestling ran out to attack Titus and leave him easy pickings for Haas to put away with a German suplex. WGTT winning came as no surprise, but the ANX having a closer match with them than just about anybody else at that point sure was, and it ended up becoming one of the building blocks that shot them into the main event by the end of the year. Still, in the context of somebody watching this DVD who is unfamiliar with the history of ROH before June of 2011, it looks like the Kings of Wrestling ran out to help the guys they were feuding with win a match, which makes no sense.
WGTT vs Kings Of Wrestling: 1/28/2011 in Los Angeles, California
WGTT finally got their rematch with the Kings of Wrestling when ROH went out to California as part of Wrestlereunion weekend, only this time it would be non-title, with the justification being that the Kings already beat them in a title match and WGTT therefore had no claim to another title shot. This was very different from the first match, because instead of slick double teams and tag team strategy, this one was more power based and largely consisted of all four guys hitting big bombs on one another. They teased the same finish as the first match with Hero using the loaded elbowpad, only this time Shelton blocked Hero by booting him off the ropes and leaving Claudio no alternative but to tap out and tie the series up at one win apiece.
WGTT & The Briscoes vs Kings Of Wrestling & All Night Express: ROH On HDNet Episode 93 in
I wish I could remember exactly when this happened in relation to the 9th Anniversary Show, because as best as I can make out, the Kings of Wrestling and the All Night Express are teaming up two weeks after the Kings attacked the ANX and cost them the match against WGTT, and shortly before they fight each other at the 9th Anniversary Show. Either way, the match was okay but the wrestling was overshadowed by the Kings and the ANX trying to one up each other until they ended up fighting one another and the ANX laid the Kings out. The ANX walked off and left the Kings to twist in the wind, but now the Briscoes and WGTT both wanted to get the pin on Chris Hero but kept stopping each other from doing so until they wound up fighting each other. The referee called for the bell to rule this one a no contest, and I feel like the only reason this was on here was to pad the DVD out for time.
WGTT & Davey Richards vs Kings Of Wrestling & Roderick Strong: 2/25/2011 in Dayton, Ohio
After the last match, I was getting all ready to write the same thing about just putting this on here to fill time on a three hour DVD, but nothing could be further from the truth because HOLY CRAP this was an awesome match! This may have even been the best match on the DVD, and wrapped a lot of storylines into one match as Davey was chasing Roderick for the ROH World Title at the same time Haas & Benjamin were after the Kings of Wrestling. They went over a half hour and both teams fought like their lives depended on it, with several well done dramatic near falls before, in the closing minutes, it came down to just Davey and Roderick in the ring. These two had a war at Final Battle 2010 that only ended when Davey was so beat up that he passed out from the punishment, and they brought that same determination to this as they traded one potential knockout blow after another until Davey finally made Roderick tap out. This was awesome, awesome, awesome all the way and WGTT and the Kings of Wrestling didn’t play at all into the finish, but they got another good chance to test themselves against each other throughout the course of this one and from a wrestling standpoint, you can’t possibly go wrong with this match.
WGTT vs The Briscoes: 2/26/2011 in Chicago, Illinois
This is the match from the 9th Anniversary Show that both teams agreed on earlier in the DVD, and ended up closing the show after the scheduled main event between Roderick Strong and Homicide unexpectedly jump started in the middle of the show. Despite both teams being such solid, technically sound units who excel at tag team synergy, this was far and away the roughest match on the DVD as what started out as a competitive but respectful match for a title shot turned into a full on fight as they threw out the pretty double teams in favor of just pummeling one another into a greasy spot on the mat. I can’t imagine what they felt like after pounding they gave each other, but you definitely got the sense that they went from being highly competitive teams trying to come out on top to a heated refusal to let the other team beat them. WGTT got the win in the end when Benjamin beat Jay with a springboard Blockbuster, but this loss became the catalyst for the Briscoes becoming extremly violent heels who haunted Haas & Benjamin for the rest of the year until they met again at Final Battle.
ROH World Tag Team Title Match - Kings Of Wrestling vs WGTT: 4/1/2011 in Atlanta, Georgia
After six months of pursuit, WGTT finally got another title shot against the Kings of Wrestling when ROH made their debut at Center Stage in Atlanta, the longtime site of NWA/WCW TV tapings and onetime home to many of the biggest names in wrestling. After watching them all back to back on this DVD, this was definitely the best match of the three and the excitement of taking place over Wrestlemania weekend added something to the match, and there was the added element that having lost to WGTT in the second match put a dent in the Kings’ confidence, because now they knew Haas & Benjamin could beat them and could take the title here. They went back to the same finishing sequence yet again with Haas catching Claudio in the Haas of Pain and Hero tried to break it up with the loaded elbow pad, but Shelton again stopped Hero by leaping to the top rope to suplex Hero, and Claudio was again left with no way out and tapped away the ROH World Tag Team Title. I loved the postmatch celebration of Haas & Benjamin, because they were selling it like they just hit the lotto, and that’s the way every babyface should treat any title win. Great blowoff to WGTT’s pursuit of the title, and a great way to end Volume 1.
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I enjoyed this set a lot, there were a bunch of good matches and it did a good job of recapping the story of WGTT in ROH up to the point they won the title. I will say that I do feel like it might have gotten rushed to market a little quickly for the sake of having a WGTT DVD, and they had a limited body of work to pull matches from during the timeframe this covered. That said, this was really just the story of their quest for the title and I think it satisfied that goal well.
One suggestion I do have for future releases like this is to have a narrator introduce the matches and give the storyline context of each one. Some of the stuff on here, like the Kings of Wrestling helping Haas & Benjamin win a match, then teaming with the guys they attacked against Haas & Benjamin makes absolutely no sense if you don't know the storylines already. I think it’s something that’s needed to take this from just being a collection of good or important matches and making it a true career anthology that’s comprehensible to the uninitiated viewer. It would also help to include promos from TV, DVDs, and the Video Wire so the people involved could tell the story in their own words.
But if it’s just a collection of great matches you’re looking for, this is a solid buy and an easy thumbs up for my money.
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