100 Percent Fordified: Ring of Honor “Tag Wars 2010”

Charlotte, NC – 8.28.2010

Commentary is provided by Kevin Kelly and Dave Prazak.

Championship Rundown
ROH World Champion: Tyler Black
ROH Television Champion: Eddie Edwards
ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli)

Pick Six Standings
1. Roderick Strong
2. Christopher Daniels
3. Kevin Steen
4. Colt Cabana
5. Chris Hero
6. Davey Richards

El Generico vs. Erick Stevens

Prince Nana accompanies Stevens to the ring. Stevens stomps on Generico before the bell and chokes him with his cape. Stevens throws Generico to the floor and backs him into the guardrail. Generico gets thrown back into the ring, and then leaps onto Stevens with a tope con hilo. Generico chops Stevens and gives him ocho punches in the corner. Generico hits a leg lariat for one. Stevens tries a sunset flip. Generico rolls through and dropkicks Stevens in the neck. Stevens turns a helluva kick into a leg-capture suplex. Stevens puts the boots to Generico, with Nana getting in some shots from the apron. Generico makes a comeback with a backdrop. Generico avoids a shoulder block and hits a crossbody for two. Generico hits a Michinoku Driver for two. Stevens turns a DDT into a spin-out slam for two. Generico avoids a lariat by hitting a standing helluva kick. Stevens blocks a brainbuster by pushing Generico to the corner. Stevens sets up for the Choo Choo, but Generico runs in with the helluva kick. He follows up with the brainbuster for the pin at 9:22. Fun opening match to get the crowd going. The ending sequence was cool and Generico was really over with the fans. Stevens showed off a lot of his usual stuff, but being trapped in the Embassy has zapped the life out of him. **1/2

Steve Corino vs. Bobby Dempsey

Corino runs down the crowd, and comes out with a chain which he places in the corner. Dempsey pushes Corino to the corner in a lock-up. Corino and Dempsey shove each other. Dempsey doesn’t budge at Corino’s shoulder block attempts. Dempsey knocks Corino down with one of his own. Dempsey stomps on Corino’s hands. Dempsey punches Corino and Corino rolls to the floor. Dempsey chops Corino in multiple corners. Corino pokes Dempsey in the eyes. Corino gives Dempsey some shots and goes back to the eyes. Corino applies an abdominal stretch and shoves his thumb in Dempsey’s buttocks. Dempsey shoves the thumb back in Corino’s mouth. Dempsey applies an Anaconda Vice which Corino breaks. Corino hits the Colby Shock for two. Dempsey blocks a couple clotheslines, but Corino finally hits one to knock Dempsey down. Dempsey hits a body block as Corino comes off the ropes. Corino pushes Dempsey into the referee and grabs his chain. Corino punches Dempsey in the face and kicks him in the balls. He hits the Eternal Dream for the pin at 9:33. Why on Earth was this longer than the opener? This was just a short, pointless, boring match that no one ever needed to see. DUD

Grizzly Redwood is backstage. He shows the staples he received from being thrown into the guardrail by The Embassy at Salvation. He says he’s not a novelty act and that he is coming for Necro tonight.

The Necro Butcher vs. Grizzly Redwood

Butcher headbutts Redwood and tosses him to the floor. Butcher gives Redwood a chair-assisted slam after tossing him around ringside. Redwood slips off Butcher’s back off the ring and hits an enzuigiri. Redwood bites Butcher’s forehead in the corner. Butcher whips Redwood into the corner. Butcher gives Redwood and Airplane Spin. Redwood tries an inside cradle and Butcher kicks out. Butcher hits a chokeslam and a falling clothesline for two. Butcher applies a Camel Clutch. Butcher punches and chops Redwood in the corner. Redwood kicks Butcher’s legs out and gives him a bulldog for two. Butcher gives Redwood a right hand. Redwood sunset flips Butcher off the apron to the floor. Redwood throws a plastic trashcan at Butcher. Back in the ring, Butcher catches Redwood with a fist as Redwood comes off the top rope. Butcher hits a Tiger Driver to score the pin at 7:25. At least there was story behind this match, or else there wouldn’t have been much to it outside of the powerbomb to the floor. There was just nothing to this match, and it’s impossible to get Grizzly over in ROH, which really sucks. *

Colt Cabana vs. Eddie Edwards

Cabana starts things off with some silliness. Things get serious as Edwards and Cabana do some chain wrestling. Cabana cartwheels into a kneeling press pin for two. The fans go nuts for Edwards and Cabana grabbing headlocks. It’s like Manassas and the snapmares all over again! Cabana wrenches back on Edwards’ arms and pops him up in a surfboard variant. Cabana rolls into a prawn hold for two, then back into a bodyscissors. Edwards reverses into a stretch and pins Cabana for two. Cabana captures Edwards’ legs around his own and stretches Edwards’ back to the mat (bear with me; some of this is hard to explain). Edwards dropkicks Cabana’s legs out and rolls him up for two. Cabana and Edwards roll around in a cradle, looking for the pin. Cabana hits a flying hip attack for two. Cabana lands a series of punches and a bionic elbow for two. Edwards looks for a backpack ace crusher, but Cabana rolls him up for two. Edwards hits a flying knee strike. Edwards sends Cabana to the floor with a hurricanrana and dives on him with an elbow strike. In the ring, Edwards hits a missile dropkick and a running knee strike for two. Cabana blocks a kick and drops Edwards with a version of the Stroke for two. Edwards escapes the Colt .45 and hits an enzuigiri from the apron. Edwards blocks the Flying Asshole and rolls Cabana into a bridge for the pin at 11:42. Finally, a match worth watching! This match blended comedy and mat wreslting into a nice, tight package. Edwards and Cabana are a match you wouldn’t suspect on paper to put on a good match together, but they did. It was great counter wrestling that isn’t seen too often in the ROH undercard these days. ***

The Bravado Bros. (Harlem & Lance Bravado) & Cedric Alexander vs. Jake Manning, Caleb Konley, & Marker Dillenger

Manning claims Harlem pulled his hair even though he’s bald…and has a muffin top. Not that that has anything to do with anything, just felt like pointing it out. The Bravados and Alexander all punch Manning. Harlem punches Konley and Dillenger as they run in. Lance tags in and hits a double hip toss and double kicks with Harlem on Manning for two. Alexander tags in and misses a crossbody. Manning takes Alexander to his corner where his partners help beat Alexander down. Alexander hits a weird dropkick on Konley and gives Dillenger some armdrags. Alexander kicks Dillenger in the face, but Manning moves Dillenge so that Alexander misses an Arabian Press. Manning, Konley, and Dillenger take turns getting their shots in on Alexander Alexander escapes their grasp and tags in Lance. Lance knocks Manning and Dillenger to the floor, and Harlem dives onto them with a twisting tope con hilo. Lance hits Konley with a spin-out slam. Harlem hits a frog splash, but Manning breaks the pin. The Bravado’s hit a suplex/neck breaker combo. Alexander runs in with a flying knee strike to Manning. The Bravado’s double team Konley with kicks for the pin at 8:06. This was a good showcase for all six guys, and a few them showed off some moves and combinations that I haven’t seen before. I’d like to see more of Cedric Alexander for sure. **

Pick Six Contender Series Match
Roderick Strong (1) vs. Kevin Steen (3)

Steen is accompanied by Steve Corino, and also has a chain in his corner. Strong and Steen trade holds, looking for an advantage. Steen gets a headlock after kicking Strong. Steen shoulder blocks Strong down and gives him a snot rocket. A leg lariat from Strong sends Steen to the floor. Strong and Steen trade forearms in the ring. Steen bails to the floor where each guy continues to lay in strikes. They each whip each other into the guardrail. Steen rips up a fans sign and rubs it on his balls; uncalled for! Strong sends Steen into the guardrail. Steen targets Strong’s leg and turns things back into his favor. Strong hits a few desperate chops, but Steen hits a kneeDT to cut him off. Steen does some of Flair’s moves and mocks the crowd. Strong drops Steen face first on the mat. Strong dropkicks Corino for no apparent reason. He sunset flips Steen. Steen looks for a sharpshooter but fails to lock it in. Strong hits a front face kick and a slam for two. Steen misses a top rope senton. Steen turns a gut buster into the sharpshooter. Strong grabs the ropes to escape. Corino distracts the referee and Steen grabs the chain. Colt Cabana runs out to stop any funny business and to neutralize Corino. Generico then runs out to hit a tope con hilo on Cabana and Corino. Strong hits Steen with the gut buster and a superkick for the pin at 14:05. Not as good as you’d expect from these two, but still a solid match overall. It helped lead Strong to his title match with Tyler Black and advanced the Steen/Corino against Generico/Cabana feud as well, killing two birds with one stone. ***

ROH Tag Team Championship; Ultimate Endurance Rules
The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli; Champions) vs. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) vs. The All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus) vs. The Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis & Jon Davis)

Fall One: Four Corner Tag Rules (ability to tag anyone, not just your own partner)

Davis overpowers and out-wrestles King in the early going. King hits a chinbreaker and tags in Titus. Chavis tags in and helps Davis to maul Titus. The Dark City Fight Club take turns pounding on Titus. King gets fed up and attacks Davis from behind. Davis tags in Chavis. King rakes his eyes and tags in Hero. Hero gets in a flurry of offense and tags in Claudio. Claudio hits a big uppercut in the corner for two. Chavis knocks him down with a clothesline and brings in Davis. Claudio knees and uppercuts Davis and tags in Hero. Davis and Hero go back and forth, but Davis catches him with a backdrop and a clothesline. Chavis helps Davis to take down Hero, but they fail to score a pin. Hero rakes Chavis’ eyes. Chavis tags in Jay who comes in with a fast flurry of offense to Hero. Jay knocks Claudio off the apron while giving Hero the boots in his corner. Mark tags in and gets his shots in as well. Hero tags in Jay, meaning both Briscoes are in the ring with each other. The official says that the Briscoes must make physical contact before tagging out. They lock-up, do a criss-cross, and tag in both Hero and Claudio to pay them back. The Kings try to tag out the other teams, but they all hop off the apron to prevent that from happening. Claudio tags out to Chavis, but then quickly gets double teamed by Claudio and Hero. The Kings continue to beat down Chavis, and then Claudio tags out to King. King and Titus take over the Kings’ position and team up on Chavis. Chavis is able to duck a kick from King and give him a Rydeen bomb. Davis gets tagged in and drops Titus with a spinebuster. King flies in and Davis gives him a big slam. Titus and King try a double clothesline, but Davis attacks them both. Chavis gets summoned in and holds onto Titus. Davis pounces Titus out of Chavis’ grasp. King give Davis an enzugiri and Titus dropkicks him. The All Night Express hit a blockbuster/backcracker combo to eliminate the Dark City Fight Club at 18:28.

Fall Two: Texas Tornado Rules (every participant is allowed in the ring at the same time)

With that, every wrestler enters the ring and a brawl ensues. Jay sends the Kings to the floor and dives on them both with a tope con hilo. Mark battles the All Night Express back in the ring and does a great job of keeping them at bay. Jay has been busted open on the floor by the Kings. King hits shotgun knees into Titus’ knees. Titus hits a sit-out facebuster for two. King and Titus continue to keep on top of Mark, while the Kings take a breather and Jay lie in a pool of blood. Mark catches King with an Iconoclasm. The Kings come in and pound Mark on the mat. Claudio and Hero drop Mark in a delayed vertical suplex while King and Titus kick Jay while he’s down (literally!) Hero hits a rolling elbow while Claudio hits a European uppercut, but Mark somehow kicks out. Claudio Giant Swings Mark into a dropkick from Hero and Mark again kicks out at two. King and Titus come in and attempt a double roll-up on the Kings. The Kings and the Express slug it out. The Express try double sunset flips, then eat stereo clotheslines. The Briscoes hop back into the fight. They backdrop Claudio and hit a double shoulder tackle to Hero. They double hip toss Claudio out, then do the same to King. King lands on his feet but then eats stereo superkicks. Titus is nailed with a Niagra Driver/reverse ace crusher combo. Hero puts on his “loaded” elbow pad. The Briscoes hit Titus with the Doomsday Device to eliminate the All Night Express at 28:06.

Fall Three: Scramble Rules (No tags needed)

Hero blasts Jay with the Loaded Elbow pad to score the pin, at to retain the tag titles at 28:19.

So I really liked the story in this match, but the finish was pretty cheap for such a long match. I understand that they’re heels and this sort of behavior is what they should be doing, but on a lackluster show such as this one, a match like this should have a fulfilling finish. Before that, the story was excellent, with the Kings biding their time while the other teams wore each other and eliminated each other. The Briscoes being beaten down and bloodied forever also made the finish believable at the very least. ROH says the fans voted for the stipulations of the falls in this match, but I can’t believe they would pick such LAME stipulations for each fall. It smells like it was rigged. I mean, honestly, why wouldn’t the fans choose a street fight, a Ladder War, or something else over what was essentially three slight variations of a regular tag team match? I can’t help but think that the stipulations were tampered with, but I have no proof of that. A good match overall, but the opening sequence lasted way too long and the ending was a very unfulfilling way to end this tournament. ***1/4

Davey Richards (who is accompanied by Eddie Edwards) makes his entrance, then Tyler Black does as well. Jim Cornette comes in and tries to convince Tyler to make tonight’s match for the ROH World Championship. Like he did the night before in Richmond, Tyler says no after teasing the crowd otherwise. Tyler says he beat Davey in Toronto, and has nothing to prove to him or the fans.

Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards

After a lock-up, Black bails to the floor after ducking a kick from Richards. In the ring, Richards and Black look for the advantage on the mat. Black hits a shoulder block. Richards rolls through a leg sweep into a body stretch. Richards grabs a front facelock. Richards headbutts Black. Richards sends Black to the floor and kicks Black in the chest from the apron. Richards hits a yakuza kick on the floor. Richards stretches Black out in a modified cloverleaf back in the ring. Richards turns into an inverted figure four leg lock. Black hits a chinbreaker to escape. Richards ducks a couple clotheslines, and slingshots Black to the floor. Richards looks for a baseball slide, but Black comes back in and nails Richards with a dropkick that sends Richards to the floor. Black gets in some shots and brings Richards back into the ring where he chokes Richards in the corner. Richards puts Black in a modified surfboard, and rolls over into a pin attempt for two. Richards nails Black with kicks in the corner. Richards hits a snap suplex and goes up top. Black avoids a diving headbutt and hits the F5 for two. Richards rolls to the floor. Black takes control, until Richards kicks Black off the apron. In the ring, both men trade shots. Richards hits a springboard kick to Black’s face for two. Black backs Richards to the corner to block the DR Driver. Black hurricanrana’s Richards. Richards blocks the Buckle Bottom and rolls into the cloverleaf. Black escapes and kicks Richards in the head. Richards goes to the floor and Black follows with a tope con hilo. In the ring, Richards eats a big boot from Black. Black hits an enzuigiri from the apron and hits a springboard clothesline for two. Richards and Black trade pinning combinations, failing to score the pin. Black hits the Paroxysm for two. Black and Richards trade strikes. Black and Richards each hit kicks to the face. Black his a pele kick and a reverse hurricanrana. Richards retaliates by hitting Black with God’s Last Gift. Both men make it to their feet and fire up as they throw punches. Richards hits a sole butt and an enzuigiri. Black hits a release German suplex. Black superkicks Richards and drops him with the Rubix Cube for two. Black and Richards fight on the top rope. Black gets Richards in the tree of woe and double stomps him. Black follows up with a coast-to-coast dropkick for two. Richards kicks out Black’s legs as he goes to the top rope. Richards looks like he’s going to superplex Black into the crowd. Black reverses and hits a superplex in the ring. Richards rolls into an ankle lock. Black kicks Richards away and hits a big boot. Richards nails the alarm clock. Richards blocks a kick from Black and applies an ankle lock on the mat. Black rolls through, sending Richards to the floor. Black hits a superkick and a Buckle Bomb. Richards fires out of the corner and hits the DR Driver for two. Richards hits a Buckle Bomb and gives Black a series of kicks to the head. Richards hits God’s Last Gift for two. Richards turns Black into the cloverleaf, causing Black to tap out at 24:36. This match saved this show from being a complete disappointment, but I don’t think this reached the level of their bout from Death Before Dishonor VIII. They did a lot of great stuff, but this didn’t have the big match feel their first encounter did. Some of the no selling was a bit irksome, but the finishing stretch was really cool. I always think it’s neat when wrestlers use each other big moves, and then finish it off with their own specialty move which is exactly what Davey did. Very good main event to cap off and show that was otherwise a waste of time. ****

Bonus Content

Delirious vs. Sonjay Dutt
ROH on HDNet – Episode 23

Daizee Haze accompanies Delirious to the ring. Delirious goes nuts at the bell. Delirious and Dutt go back and forth, each scoring an armdrag. Dutt reverses a wristlock. Delirious takes Dutt to the mat in a side headlock. Dutt sends Delirious to the floor with a step-up hurricanrana. Delirious crawls under the ring and comes in behind Dutt. Dutt takes Delirious back to the floor by capturing his legs under Delirious’ arms. Dutt hits an apron assisted 619. Back in the ring, Delirious hits Dutt with a headbutt as Dutt comes off the top rope. Dutt rolls through a sunset flip and dropkicks Delirious for two. Dutt hits a flying elbow strike in the corner. Dutt chokes Delirious with his boot and stomps on his chest for one. Dutt slams Delirious and hits a somersault senton for two. Delirious gives Dutt a Manhattan Drop. Delirious hits a pump-handle driver for two. Delirious hits a bridging German suplex for two. Dutt escapes a second and sends Delirious face first in the corner. Dutt slingshots himself into a legdrop across Delirious’s neck on the middle rope. Dutt follows up with a springboard splash for two. Dutt looks for a standing Shiranui. Delirious instead applies the Cobra Stretch on the mat. Delirious slams Dutt to the matt when Dutt begins to break free. Dutt hits a spinwheel kick as Delirious goes to the second rope. Dutt hits the Muscle Buster for two. Dutt applies the Camel Clutch. Delirious snapmares out, but Dutt hits a superkick. Delirious trips Dutt and reapplies the Cobra Stretch. Dutt escapes and hits a sole butt. Delirious gives Dutt a neckbreaker in the ropes. Delirious hits the Panic Attack. Delirious misses Shadows Over Hell. Each man tries some pin attempts but fails to get the win. Delirious traps Dutt as he goes for a sunset flip, scoring the pin at 11:43. Dutt’s TNA schtick, like the Jarrett strut and Joe’s finisher is really tiresome. He put on a perfectly fine match, and could have without it. I was so annoyed that Delirious kicked out of the Muscle Buster and barely sold afterwards. Other than that, this was a solid match. **1/2

Nigel McGuinness vs. Aaron Scott
ROH on HDNet – Episode 24

McGuinness throws Scott out of a knuckle lock to the mat. McGuinness controls Scott on the mat by stretching out his shoulder. McGuinness throws Scott to the mat multiple times. Scott rolls into a hammerlock, which McGuinness turns into a modified armbar on the mat. Scott gives McGuinness some chops on his feet. Scott dropkicks McGuinness as McGuinness comes out of the corner. Scott tries a sunset flip but McGuinness kneels for a pin attempt. Scott hits a flying knee. Scott then ducks the jawbreaker lariat, but McGuinness then drops him with a DDT for the pin at 4:01. Umm, why couldn’t McGuinness just have hit the lariat to win? McGuinness should have destroyed this dude more than he did. Solid squash overall. ½*

The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. Up In Smoke (Cheech & Cloudy)
ROH on HDNet – Episode 23

The Wolves attack before the bell. Up In Smoke come back with stereo headscissors. They dropkick the Wolves to the floor. The Wolves avoid stereo pescado’s. The Wolves beat up Up In Smoke on the floor. They continue to beat down Cheech inside the ring. Cheech escapes their grasp and tags in Cloudy. Cloudy flies in with a top rope dropkick to Edwards. Richards nails him with a sole butt, and Cloudy hits him with an enzuigiri. Cloudy eats the Alarm Clock. The Wolves hit a powerbomb/back cracker combo. Edwards turns Cloudy in the Achilles Lock for the pin at 2:00. A picture perfect squash. ¾*

The 411: I feel really conflicted about this show. Roughly half the matches were good, going three stars or higher. The stuff in the undercard really was a waste of time and didn't do anyone any favors in the long run. The Tag Wars concept was well conceived, but I truly feel it would have been better if the finish weren't three teams entering an Ultimate Endurance match. That match itself also needed to give some time to the Kings and Briscoes in the final fall. Davey and Tyler put on another great match, and Cabana vs. Edwards was a very nice surprise. If you're a fan of Tyler or Davey, this is certainly a show you should check out.

Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]