Review Without Honor: Death Before Dishonor X: Steen vs. Rhino

A more appropriate title might have been Dead Before It Hit The Ground, because that essentially describes Ring of Honor's internet Pay-Per-View feed.

I had planned on doing a full show review but since I missed THE ENTIRE FIRST HALF, you're getting a half-assed one instead. (Half-assed as far as content is concerned, not quality. Trust me, it'll be good.)

As usual, with my ROH reviews, we'll start with the main event because unlike Ring of Honor, I'm not here to waste your time and maybe that's all you're really interested in. So here goes...

KEVIN STEEN def. RHINO (ROH World Title)

This match-up was the real draw for me and reason I even ordered the pay-per-view. So I guess in that sense, I got my money's worth because this was a very good match.

Before the bell, Jim Cornette made an appearance and announced that he was making it a No-Disqualification match, which allowed for an extra level of violence and helped the overall match quality because as a result, we got a nice table spot with Rhino flying over the top rope and through Steen who was positioned on a table outside the ring (Sick!), as well as plenty of chair shots and outside interference.

Needless to say, it was a pretty wild match but the wrestlers both did a good job of selling which added just the right amount of drama (something which, if you frequent this blog page regularly, you'd know I've been critical of Ring of Honor contests for lacking).

The best part was the finish because it was believable. Too often in ROH, a wrestler will kick out of pin attempts following some of the most outrageous moves, then get beat with a pedestrian finisher, like Steen's F-Sync (still going strong as Wrestling's Most Poorly Named Finisher), which is basically Brock Lesnar's F5. I'm not even a fan of this move when Brock does it, but if you want to make it a devastating move because it looks unique, fine.

In a match like this though, a simple "F-Sync" should NOT have gotten the job done. Steen hit it at one point but thankfully, Rhino kicked out of the pin attempt. It was the F-Sync that ultimately won the match for Steen, but it came after Rhino missed a Gore, causing him to smash through another table. Perfectly acceptable finish in this author's all-knowing opininon.

The match was certainly worth any wrestling's fans time, but not necessarily worth fifteen dollars (the cost to stream the iPPV). I mean, Rhino put on an equally good match for free on ROH's TV show just a couple of weeks ago against Eddie Edwards.

There was some stuff in the aftermath in which Michael Elgin came out and attempted to power bomb Steen as a set-up for their title match at the next iPPV, but he was accidentally thwarted by his stablemate Roderick Strong. This lead to Elgin power bombing Strong and essentially ending their "partnership." This is fine because it's what the fans who regularly watch ROH and are privy to the build-up have been waiting for, but it felt like it was wasted by just being thrown in to the end of this World title match that didn't involve either guy.

I've said before that the build-up for the Elgin-Strong rivalry has been one of the best things that ROH has been doing lately and I've been waiting for the kettle to boil over so to speak because you knew it had to happen sooner or later and both guys had been playing their roles well. It would've been nice had it happened during a match that these guys were actually involved where the attention of the crowd was completely focused on them. Besides, Strong's slight seemed minor compared to more blatant things he's done to Elgin in the past for Elgin to suddenly snap now.

My last word on this segment is, solid match with lots of fun spots, and decent lead-in to the next show's main event. Question is, how many potential purchasers will think twice about ordering for fear of encountering the same issues with the streaming?

STEVE CORINO & JIMMY JACOBS def RHETT TITUS & CHARLIE HAAS (Finals of the ROH Tag Team Title tournament)

I would've liked to have seen the two semi-final matches that I assume took place earlier in the card. But it hardly matters because this match was the shits. It literally felt like the crowd was asleep, they were so devoid of any noise whatsoever.

It's understandable. These aren't necessarily high spot teams and that seems to be what ROH's fanbase is used to. I appreciated the unique dynamice of seeing Haas go up against Corino and Jacobs because they're all heels. As interesting as that was however, it couldn't make up for a boring, predictable match.

Jacbos pins Titus after Haas' usual tag team partner, Shelton Benjamin, lays him out with his finisher, Pay Dirt. I'm sure there's some storyline reason that Titus was teaming with Haas in the first place but, what the fuck did he expect??

My last word on this segment is, boring match with a bittersweet payoff. Jacobs & Corino winning the tag belts, along with Steen as World Champion, strengthens their stable's "influence" within the company which could lead to something promising, but all we get out of Titus and Haas teaming together is their already boring feud being perpetuated.

ADAM COLE def. MIKE MONDO (ROH Television Title)

At the start of the match, Mondo gets Cole to agree to a "No Fear" match, which apparently means no time limit and no rules. Fine.

That being the case, Mondo, as the challenger, should've been completely ruthless and relentless. He wasn't. The match ended with Mondo twice pausing instead of stomping Cole in the head, so he could attempt a top rope stomp. Stomp him twice, then go to the top rope, ya asshole! You want to win the fucking title, don't you?!

Long story short, Mondo misses the top rope stomp, which aggravates his wounded knee (see what I did there?), leaving him vulnerable to the champion's Figure Four Leglock. Mondo taps, Cole retains his title.

Apparently another provision of a "No Fear" match is also no game plan because Mondo seemed completely clueless as to how to go about winning a title. For instance, if you're opponent has been working your leg over, do you really want to be attempting a top rope stomp?

Matt Hardy made his ROH debut on commentary and sucked a bag of dicks. Not the best way to bring him in. He was terrible. He confronted Cole after the match, which again, is a nice lead-in but you just got the feeling they could've done so much more with it.

My last word on this segment is, despite the solid action, Mondo's stupidity caused the overall match quality to suffer. Why? Because it made Cole's win almost seem elementary. That being said, much love for the TV Champ finishing people with the oldest of old-school submission holds. Too many great wrestling maneuvers have lost their luster over the years. Nice to see one of them making a comeback.

MICHAEL ELGIN & RODERICK STRONG def. JAKE & DAVE CRIST


The point behind this match was to sell the dissension existing between Elgin and Strong as well as give Elgin some nice power spots.

My problem with it? They just did this for free on their TV show a couple of weeks ago. Why ask fans to pay to see it now? At least have the blow-up that we've been waiting for between these two take place at the end of this match. That would've been a nice way to cap it off.

My last word regarding this segment is, total waste of time. Who gives a shit if the Crists are good workers? They're nobody to me, and I want to pay to watch them wrestle?? Give me somebody I care about instead.

And sadly, that's where the review ends because I was forced to join it "in progress" after waiting NINETY MINUTES for Ring of Honor's pay-per-view stream to work. I would like to have heard what Davey Richards had to say in his return address to the crowd. I also would like to have seen the ROH debut of ACH against one of my favorites, Kyle O'Reilly. Instead, I had to spend my time drafting an email asking ROH for a full refund (which I fully intend to receive because I'll be ding-danged if they're going to be counting MY money!)

I had actually given up on the show until one of my good pals with The Shining Wizards Wrestling Podcast (my favorite wrestling show by the way), Shining Wizard Matt, practically begged me to give it another chance. He found a creative way to spend his time waiting for the stream to work as well. He wrote his own blog about wrestling promotions and all the ups and downs they encounter with iPPV technology, which you can read by clicking here.

Have to give a shout out to another of my favorites, Tommaso Ciampa, who is currently sidelined with an injury, for providing some comic relief during the lack of a broadcast with some of the things he was posting on his Twitter account as he too, was also in the dark like the rest of us.

My last word about this show is, it's a badly dropped ball and a damn shame. Like I've said before, I want companies like Ring of Honor to succeed, but if they can't provide better than this(better matches, better storylines, better technology), why should I waste my time and money? I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking that way. I may give it another try, but they may have lost some potential fans for good.

And that's the last word, ya freaks. Until next time.....discuss!


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Rant of Honor

Watched the most recent Ring of Honor tv show made available by the company on Facebook and I had some thoughts...

First of all, not a damn guy on this show could talk to save their lives with the exception of Lance Storm who cut a very good promo on Mike Bennett, hyping their rematch at the upcoming Ring of Honor ppv "Border Wars." Storm is a vet and has always been a pretty good talker so this doesn't surprise me.

What did surprise me was that he was the only one who pulled off a compelling interview. This is Ring of Honor after all, the company that's run by one of the greatest talkers of all time, Jim Cornette. It's not like these guys have to memorize scripts or anything like that. It's not like they're talking in front of capacity crowds of twenty or thirty thousand people. The actual promos on the show were all backstage, pre-recorded segments where I'm sure if they needed it, the wrestlers were probably offered the luxury of multiple takes.

Even Kevin Steen, who I've heard a lot of good things about and was really looking forward to hearing, failed to wow me. On the one hand, it was the first ROH tv show that I've had both the time and means to sit down and actually watch all the way through. But on the other hand, Kevin Steen was trying to build interest in a landmark event where he will be challenging for the ROH World title. I'm sure die-hard Ring of Honor groupees are going to mark out for the match no matter what. But for someone like myself, who is watching this for the first time, I saw nothing that would make me consider "Border Wars" a ppv that I must see.

I promise this isn't going to be a total burial job so please just stick with me. On to the action...

-THE BRISCOE BROTHERS (ROH Tag Team Champions) vs THE WORLD'S GREATEST TAG TEAM (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin)
I was expecting a lot from this match because I've heard a lot of good things about the Briscoes and I knew Haas & Benjamin were both great athletes. The match DID NOT live up to my expectations.

It was kind of sloppy, there were a lot of moments when it looked like the guys weren't really sure what they wanted to do, and there was no real flow to the match. What I mean by "flow" is, it was like four guys in wrestling gear executing moves. They weren't telling a story through the action. It's a very subtle skill that if you're not used to seeing, may be hard to pick up on, but it's the kind of thing that can make a "boring" portion of a match part of a greater whole resulting in a good match. This was NOT a good match. To put a positive spin on it, anyone can have an off night, and maybe this was theirs.

TJ PERKINS vs FIRE ANT
This was a cross-promotional exhibition between an ROH guy (Perkins) and a CHIKARA guy (Ant). I know the appeal of CHIKARA is the storyline and gimmicks but sooner or later you have to get in the ring. And while some may be fans of the CHIKARA style, if this match was any indication of what they're all about, I am definitely NOT a fan.

SELL A FREAKING MOVE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!! Some impressive high spots were totally negated by the fact that they popped right back up after every one of them until they decided it was time to end the match and the loser graciously stayed down so that the winner could hit him with his finish.

Here's the problem, I'm a wrestling fan. I'd love it if other people became wrestling fans too. I wouldn't encourage someone to watch the WWE right now because it's garbage. If you tout your promotion to be what wrestling SHOULD be, and you offer up crap like this, you're not trying to bring in new fans. You're catering to good ol' rasslin fans who will pardon stuff like this as long as they can get drunk and have a good time at your show.

Sorry if I'm being harsh but this match insulted my intelligence more than the notion of "good guys versus bad guys" ever did.

JAY LETHAL (ROH TV Champion) vs RODERICK STRONG
Jay Lethal was the saving grace of this show. If his wrestling style is any indication, you can tell this guy is a fan of old-school wrestling. What I loved most about this match was Lethal's striking. Good striking is a lost art form. His punches, forearms and chops looked stiff and realistic which goes such a long way in legitimizing the product. Stop a person on the street and ask them to demonstrate a professional wrestling punch and they'll probably stomp their foot while they do it. Even some of the greats have done it that way but Lethal is clearly from the school of Ric Flair and Terry Funk where wrestling is a FIGHT and in a FIGHT, the damage you do is more important than how good it looks. (That's PERCEPTION by the way; looking like you're doing damage without actually doing damage. It's an art form and if you don't understand that, I encourage you to stick around for future installments of this blog and get eductated)

By contrast, Jay's opponent, Mr. Strong, looked like he couldn't bust his way out of a brown paper sack with the shots he was throwing. His selling sucked too, kind of like everyone else's on the show so at least there's uniformity within the company, Jay Lethal excluded. Although Strong made up for it all with a sick finisher that popped me as well as the crowd.

Just to sing his praises once again, the pace that Jay Lethal kept was another bright spot. By that I don't mean that he chained a bunch of big moves together in rapid-fire succession. I mean his movements were brisk and clean. He wasn't staggering around or fumbling with his opponent wondering what to do next. It reminded me of Shawn Michaels, who's pacing I always felt was the best in the business. Doing simple things like the drop down, leapfrog, armdrag quickly and decisively is an underrated skill.

As a side note, I enjoyed the peripheral story between Jay Lethal and Tommaso Ciampa. It got me wanting to see that how that storyline progresses.

OK, to wrap this all up, Ring of Honor has got some pluses and minuses just like any other fed. But it's a fed that hypes its wrestling as the selling point. I've seen other Ring of Honor shows that I was more impressed by so I'm not going to write them off completely. I wouldn't tell you as a wrestling fan not to give them a try. You should definitely check them out. Would I say they're going to be the next big thing in wrestling? Not a chance.

I will be watching though, and reporting so if this review didn't sell you on Ring of Honor, stay tuned to this magnifical blog and maybe the next one will.

That's all I got. Discuss!