What’s All The Hubbub: ROH Survival of the Fittest 2009

I skipped this show in my initial reviews for reasons I can’t quite remember. This is right after Clash of the Contenders and is one of ROH’s biggest shows of the year. Six men qualify for a six-man elimination match at the end, the winner is Survivor of the Fittest and earns a title shot.

Survival of the Fittest
October 10, 2009
Indianapolis, Indiana

Dave Prazak welcomes Jim Cornette to the ring to shill ROH and Indianapolis. The important thing is he gives Delirious a free pass into Survivor of the Fittest due to his great performance in that title match. Not really sure what the point was other than not having everybody available for the tournament.

Claudio Castagnoli says he is the fittest man in ROH and that winning the tourney will be as easy as squishing popcorn.

The Young Bucks vs. The House of Truth w/Truth Martini
Raymond complains about hair pulling and then goes between the ropes and Matt tries a punch, screaming loudly. Side headlock! YAY! Shoulder tackle! YAY! Matt backflips into a headscissors and Raymond takes out when Nick tags in. Able is in and we get “You’re a hooker!” chants! Nick gets tossed in the air but hits a rana. Corkscrew armdrag leads to dropkicks for both Able and Raymond. The HOT avoids stereo planchas but not a dropkick by Matt that leads to a tope from Nick. Matt hits a scoop slam and a legdrop, which is oddly not spoteriffic. Raymond hits a knee from the apron which distracts Matt long enough for Able to hit a belly-to-belly. YAY! Raymond drops several knees. YAY! They lift Matt up and drop him. YAY! You’ve got to love their commitment to celebrate after every successful move. The Bucks comeback with an assisted spin kick and the double hip toss to double dropkicks. Nick hits Raymond with a springboard dropkick and a knee to Able. Truth saves Able from More Bang For Your Buck and Able gets 2 off of an Alabama Slam. Nick hiptosses out of a seated cobra stretch but gets suplexed by Able. The leg choke sets up double dropkicks from HOT. Double flatliner sets up the Partner Bomb but Matt distracts the ref. FISHNETS DOWN! THIS IS SERIOUS! Shades of Faarooq sets up an elevated quebrada, but Matt makes the save. Nick hits the X-Factor and flips out of TWO backdrop suplexes to tag in Matt. Asai DDT! Full-rotation German! Nick hits a springboard splash and dives onto Able outside. Truth comes in but ends up booting his man and tumbling to the floor. Superkick and MBFYB finish. Something seemed to be off in this match, but these teams are always entertaining.
Match Result: Matt & Nick Jackson via pinfall
Match Rating: **1/4

Colt Cabana calls Sugarfoot Alex Payne Johnny Fairplay and says he will survive.

Survival of the Fittest Qualifier
Colt Cabana vs. Kevin Steen
Don’t worry, they don’t hate each other yet. Steen somehow offends Cabana leading to a “Say you’re sorry!” chant. They hug it out and reach around. SPANK! Headlock leads to bum tickling from Cabana, and referee Paul Turner gets spanked as well. Roll-up by Steen gets 2. Cabana counters a headlock with an elevated headscissors. A pin gets 2 and Cabana grabs a headlock. Steen counters to a hammerlock, hits a pair of armdrags and they trade backslides. More shenanigans. Cabana slams Steen, misses a Big Daddy Splash but Steen misses his flip legdrop and Cabana hits the splash. Steen hits a missle dropkick but tweeks his injured knee and stumbles into a Cannonball. A DDT sets up a delayed Swanton that eats knees and Cabana gets the pin? Yes, yes he does. I get that they were trying to keep Steen’s funk going, but I would have preferred Steen progress. By about 1,000 times. Meh match with some decent comedy.
Match Result: Colt Cabana via pinfall
Match Rating: *1/4

Roderick Strong ends up cutting a career defining promo, saying he’s better than ever and he promises that he will be the ROH World Champion in 2010. Actually pretty relevant to my last review, where Strong has snapped in his quest to become ROH Champ at The Big Bang.

Surivival of the Fittest Qualifier
Roderick Strong vs. Rhett Titus
Hepa-Titus chants are out in full force tonight. Titus actually starts out strong with a knee drop. Roddy hits a heel kick and a pair of backbreakers for 2. Titus goes to the floor to avoid a chop so Strong just dropkicks through the ropes. STIFF CHOP! Titus throws the ring keeper into Roddy and hits a lariat. He hits a rather pathetic chop and goes to the eyes when Roddy returns the chops. That weird move where you set up for a piledriver and jump rears it’s head. WHAT DOES THAT ACCOMPLISH? Rhett chokes Roddy in the ropes and steals “I have ’til five!” Titus rolls through a springboard crossbody for 2. Strong counters the Sexy Suplex with a small package and Titus hits some more punches. Strong gets a schoolboy but Rhett comes back with the Rude Awakening for 2. Gut punch counters a double axe-handle and Strong hits an enzugiri. Chops start a comeback that ends with a dropkick for 2. Titus avoids the Press Gutbuster but misses the Thrust Buster and gets planted with a Falcon Arrow. Strong runs into a boot and Titus hits the Thrust Buster for 2. Strong counters a reverse suplex into an O’Connor Roll for 2. Titus hits the wrap-around knee and hits a running blockbuster for 2. Super Sex Factor! Only 2. Titus goes up and Roddy hits an enzugiri and a great superplex. Corner clothesline, enzugiri, Press Gutbuster! HUGE Gibson Driver gets the win for Strong. You get the feeling Roddy didn’t take Titus seriously, which allowed Rhett to hold his own until Strong was able to get rolling. Really good showing for Titus.
Match Result: Roderick Strong via pinfall
Match Rating: **3/4

Survival of the Fittest Qualifier
Kenny King vs. Tyler Black
Tyler starts the match with a boot in the corner and beats King down. Kenny goes outside so Tyler takes him out with a pescado. Then he chucks him into the barricade! King responds in kind and slams Tyler’s head specifically into the rails. Black misses a dropkick, but lands on his feet and clotheslines Kenny. Knee drop and elbow drop get 2 counts. Scoop slam and stalling stomp. King shoves the ref in front of Black and takes over on offense. Tyler flips out of a back suplex and hits a trio of clotheslines. He gets sent to the floor but trips up King and hits a slingshot wheel kick. Time wasting stomps and Kenny makes my day with a roundhouse kick. I hate those stomps. King repeatedly slams Black into the buckle and hits a slingshot legdrop. Black goes outside and King slams him onto a chair. Suplex leads to elbows and a 2 count for Kenny. Black hits a boot and goes up top, King tries to stop him but backflips off the second rope only to get hit with a flying clothesline. Black gets 2 off an F5 and off of a quebrada. Kicks by Black leads to a corkscrew enzugiri by King. Black lands on his feet when King tries the Coronation but King plants with with a spinebuster for 2. Savage throat snap by Black but King counters the springboard clothesline into the Royal Flush! Just 2! They start trading punches and King hits the capoeira kick. PELE KICK by Black! Black backdrops out of a Cradle Piledriver, King avoids a Buckle Bomb, but Black avoids the double knees! King’s knees are hurt and that sets him up for The Killing Curse superkick (as per FCW commentary). Heck of a match hurt only by the fact that Black was obviously going to win.
Match Result: Tyler Black via pinfall
Match Rating: ***1/4

Petey Williams is very Canadian. In case you didn’t know.

Survival of the Fittest Qualifier
Petey Williams vs. Claudio Castagnoli w/Mr. Ernesto Osiris
Claudio easily turns a Greco-Roman Knucklelock into a surfboard, lifts Petey onto his shoulders and Petey hits a reverse armdrag. They trade push-ups. Lots of wrestling leads to Petey countering the GR Knucklelock and gets into a sunset flip. Drop toehold into the ropes leads to a dropkick from Petey. CC epically counters a bulldog into a German Suplex. You have to see it. Petey hits a jawbreaker but gets caught with a fallaway slam. Claudio hits a big tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Tilt-a-whirl headscissors by Petey leads to a 619 armdrag. He low bridges and Castagnoli falls to the floor and Petey hits a rana on the floor. Crossbody sets up a slingshot reverse lungblower. Petey counters to the UFO to a roll-up, but a bicycle kick sets the UFO up again. Claudio is too big for the Canadian Legsweep, so Petey forces him to kneel and then gets the move. Nice. It only gets 2. Gamengiri gets 2. Claudio counters the Canadian Destroyer to a European. Petey counters the Ricola Bomb to a DDT, hits a gamengiri, Claudio counters the Destroyer by grabbing Sinclair’s leg. Kick to the groin! European gets 3! Fun big man vs. little man match, which Claudio always provides.
Match Result: Claudio Castagnoli via pinfall
Match Rating: ***

Survival of the Fittest Qualifier
Chris Hero w/Shane Hagadorn vs. Kenny Omega
Omega is coming off the biggest win of his ROH career against Davey Richards. He takes a kick at Hagadorn but Hero tells him to stay focused on him. Hero goes after his legs. You know, with his whole “Knockout Gimmick”, I sometimes forget what an awesome chain wrestler Hero is. Omega counters a surfboard into one of his own and kicks Hero in the head. Omega gets a kneebar but Hero stomps on his head. Hero goes after the arm but Omega leaps over Hero’s arm and grabs a side headlock. Hero hits a shoulder tackle but Omega lands on his feet off a hip toss and starts throwing armdrags. Hero bails and pulls Omega to the floor but Omega gets the better of it. Back in the ring and Omega goes back to the armdrags but Hero blocks one and stomps on Omega’s face again. Awesome. He starts throwing strikes until Omega hits a wheel kick. Running baseball slide barely gets 2 for Kenny. Hagadorn grabs Omega’s foot which allows Hero to counter the corner elbow into a kneeless atomic drop. He pitches Omega to the floor and hits a dropkick through the ropes. “Chris is awesome!” chants bleed into “Chris is awful!” chants, which is pretty clever. Snapmare gets 2. Flash kicks and the apron flash kick connect. Omega starts throwing strikes but eats a stiff elbow. Hero counters a kick out of the corner into a rolling elbow. STOP! TO HIT A ROLLING ELBOW! Sheesh! Hero tries to set up for another elbow but Omega says “I said stop!” and hits the enzugiri. Polish Hammers. Rocket Punch. Corner elbow. Frog Crossbody gets 2. Omega finagles his way into a Northern Lights for 2. Omega flips over Hero but gets blasted with a Rolling Elbow for the pin. Looks like Omega kicked out, but whatever. Another quality qualifier
Match Result: Chris Hero via pinfall
Match Rating: ***

ROH World Champion Austin Aries gives us the history for this odd match. It was supposed to be The Briscoes vs. The American Wolves, but Eddie Edwards injured his elbow. Davey Richards was going to cash in his shot for the belt (won at Death Before Dishonor VII) but Aries offered to be his partner for the night. Richards asserts that he is coming after the title but Aries says to stay focused on these chicken farmers.

Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Davey Richards w/Shane Hagadorn & Austin Aries
Chain wrestling by Davey and Mark leads to a kick to the arm, a sequence which Aries would counter in his title match with Davey. Mark goes after the arm and stomps the elbow so Davey goes and gets a chair. Aries puts the chair back in its proper place in one of the most bizarrely funny things I’ve ever seen in wrestling. “Ring Crew Aries!” says one fan, and Aries look totally makes it. Davey and Mark go all ninja with strike evasions. Jay tags in and so does Aries, reluctantly. They run through some standard wrestling stuff while Prazak and Eric Santamaria discuss Aries defending the title against Ruckus in Poland. Jay hits a dropkick and Aries tags back out to Davey. Jay hits a dropkick on Davey as well. Aries gets back in and Jay hits a running dropkick for 2. Jay effortlessly counters a Davey takedown into a cross armbreaker. Mark hits a back body drop and the Briscoes hit the double football tackles. Aries takes them as well but saves Davey from a dive by Mark. Davey hits a back suplex on Jay and tosses him to the floor so Aries can send him him to the rail. Aries hits a hilo for 2 and tags back out. Aries and Richards use an Aries tag match staple with the twisting elbow to the opponent over Austin’s partner’s knees. Aries kind of pathetically tries to one-up Davey’s kicks, which leads to some GREAT kicks from Richards and give Eric a chance to reference the Foot Clan. HEY! TMNT REFERENCES IS MY JOB, SANTAMARIA! SCREW YOU WITH A TURTLE SHELL! CHEST RAKE! KAWADA KICKS! ARGUMENT! Yeah, I’m way too excited about this match. Davey ends up hitting Aries with an enzugiri and takes the corner flatliner. Tag to Mark who comes out like Dre Parker. See? I can make movie references too, Eric. Richards fights off a superplex…about four times…before Mark hits an Ace Crusher. Aries saves Davey from the Redneck Boogie but eats a boot trying the IED. Jay hits a boot and a Cactus Clothesline. Spinebuster to Davey leads to the Redneck Boogie. Aries prevents the Doomsday Device by pulling Mark to the floor, Davey sends Jay to the floor, DOUBLE HEAT SEEKING MISSILE! Missile dropkick by Davey. Alarm Clock, lariat, German Suplex gets 2! Aries tags in but Jay counters the IED, Davey kicks Jay and BRAINBUSTER! Mark makes the save and Davey wants the DR Driver, but Mark prevents it. Two superkicks by Mark gets met with the handspring enzugiri! And Aries adds a handspring back elbow! HA! Aries wants the IED but Davey’s had enough of him screwing up. He misses the forearm but hits the enzugiri and HOLDS Jay for Aries, but Aries IED hits Richards! Briscoes set Aries up for the Doomsday Device but Aries rakes the eyes and decides it’s time to bail. Mark takes him out a dive though. Falcon Arrow gets 2, and the Doomsday Device finishes it. This got pretty awesome towards the end, but it was still just a vehicle to set up Aries vs. Richards.
Match Result: The Briscoes via pinfall
Match Rating: ***1/4

Survival of the Fittest Final
Claudio Castagnoli w/Ernesto Osiris vs. Chris Hero w/Shane Hagadorn vs. Delirious w/Daizee Haze vs. Colt Cabana vs. Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Black
The faces have some fun shaking Delirious hand. “We were in a stable together, it’s cool.” – Tyler Black being witty. Everyone goes outside while Deli goes crazy. He and Tyler wrestle for a bit until Cabana tags in. Cabana goes all Hank McCoy on Deli before rolling around into several nearfalls. Deli tags in Roddy claiming that Cabana “has tricks,” but Claudio tags Roddy out. Colt tags in Hero leading to an uneasy staredown. They grapple and fight over a full-nelson which Deli calls “Masterlock”. Claudio gets a bit testy when Hero applies a leglock that sets up dueling handstands. They shake hands and tag Colt and Deli back in. Cool. They trade shoulderblocks, but Cabana’s is more effective. Deli decides it’s best to have Roddy fight Colt. Cabana hits a few chops but Roddy hits one of his own and Colt thinks better of it. Strong hits a series of chops, Colt misses the Flying Asshole and gets DRILLED with an enzugiri for 2. Hero gets tagged in and stomps Rodericks’s hand. Claudio also goes to work on it as the Kings of Wrestling team up. Hero goes back to the full-nelson for Strong. Roddy stomps the foot but hurts himself on a chop. Hero tags in Deli who, genius that he is, goes after the legs. He tags in Black and Tyler goes after the legs while Prazak tries to figure out how Deli trains the ROH students. Strong tags out to Claudio who puts the boots to both men for good measure. Punches lead to a European Uppercut. More mat wrestling leads to a back elbow for 2 by Claudio. He tags in Hero who targets Black’s neck and hits a flash kick. Claudio back in for double boots by the KOW. The fans get on Claudio’s case so he takes out Cabana and then Strong with a springboard bicycle kick. Big Swing into a dropkick by the KOW gets 2 for Hero. Hero and Black trade small packages and Hero (fresh off a loss to Black) counters God’s Last Gift to a suplex. Colt starts coaching from ringside as Claudio spins Black around by his hair. Schoolboy and a kick to Claudio and Black tags in Delirious. Clotheslines prove ineffective but Deli counters a backdrop to a headscissors and Hero saves Claudio from the Neverending Story, but takes it himself while Colt lays into Claudio with elbows. They send the Kings to the floor and hit baseball slides. Black and Roddy add dives to the Kings. In a nice touch, Roddy takes out Cabana as well. Deli and Claudio are back in and Deli hits a top rope lariat for 2. Claudio evades the Cobra Stretch and Hero saves him from the Panic Attack. Awkward Bicycle Kick for 2. Big Gutwrench Suplex gets 2. Heros hits an elbow and a flash kick then sends Deli into Claudio’s boot. Super hip toss gets several 2 counts. Clothesline by Claudio. “Alright, that’s it my little friend,” says CC but Deli avoids the UFO and tags in Colt. Flip Flop and Fly to the Kings. Some three stooges antics follow until Hero hits a Rolling elbow on Claudio that allow Colt to pin him and eliminate Claudio Castagnoli. Deli gets a roll-up and eliminates Colt Cabana.

Strong comes in and immediately gets caught in the Cobra Stretch. COBRA CLUTCH SUPLEX! Hero cuts off the Panic Attack with a Flash Kick. A pair of elbows gets 2 for Hero. Deli comes back with a rana and Black tags in, gets sent to the apron and hits an enzugiri, but Deli counters the springboard clothesline with a headbutt. Deli ducks an elbow and sends Hero into Black for a Panic Attack to both men, but Roddy comes in with the Sick Kick and eliminates Delirious.

Hero hits a Rolling Elbow on Strong for 2. Liger Bomb also gets 2. CHOP exchange leads to an elbow to the forehead. Hero looks to set for another elbow but Roddy goes outside and Black drills Hero with an enzugiri for 2. I guess tags are out the window. Hero starts drilling Black with elbows but Roddy saves him from the Death Blow with chops! Corner clothesline, discus clothesline, cradle backbreaker gets 2! Hero counters the Press Gutbuster to a Ripcord Elbow for 2. Hero hits a few elbows but a superkick sets up the Buckle Bomb! God’s Last Gift eliminates Chris Hero.

Strong and Black trade chops which obviously favors Strong, but Black comes out of nowhere with the Paroxysm for 2! Scoop slam sets up a Randy Savage elbow drop. They trade counters until Black hits the F5 for 2. Strong avoids the quebrada AND the standing shooting star! Kick to the head, enzugiri, uranage backbreaker gets 2! Cradle backbreaker gets 2, BOSTON CRAB! Black gets the ropes and avoids the backdrop suplex on the apron, PELE KICK! Baseball slide and a crossbody into the crowd! Back inside Black hits the enzugiri and the springboard clothesline, fires himself up and SICK KICK! 1…2…NO! PRESS GUTBUSTER! Gibson Driver countered, BUCKLE BOMB! Roddy avoids Avada Kedavra and gets a roll-up for 2, BOSTON CRAB! Tyler tries to counter to a pin but Strong counters THAT for 2. Kick to the head, superkick, GOD’S LAST GIFT! 1…2…NO! Crowd LOVES Roderick Strong at this point. Strong blocks the Phoenix Splash and takes Tyler’s head off with the enzugiri! BUCKLE BACKBREAKER! Black rolls outside but Strong refuses a count-out win and covers for 2. Roddy runs into a weak boot, enzugiri, press gutbuster, PRESS BACKBREAKER! SICK KICK! 1…2…NO! Black counters the Gibson Driver into a jackknife, BUCKLE BOMB! AVADA KEDAVRA! “COME ON MOTHERFUCKER!” – Roderick strong. AVADA KEDEVRA! SPIT TO THE FACE! AVADA KEDAVRA! RODERICK KICKS OUT! A fourth Avada Kedavra connects! The ref counts 3 but Strong clearly kicked out at 2. Not even a controversy. Tremendous elimination match. The Kings of Wrestling held the first part together, and once wrestlers started getting eliminated it really picked up. The Black vs. Strong segment was about ****3/4. Still hate the finish.
Match Result: Tyler Black via (false) pinfall
Match Rating: ****1/4

Black cuts a very pandering post-match promo that I could have done without. He says he owes Roderick Strong a rematch, which we would get at The Omega Effect.

The 411: Survival of the Fittest lives or dies by the quality of the main-event, but this year it definitely delivered. The final stretch between Strong and Black did a lot to restore confidence in the company post Bryan-Nigel, and set in motion a rivalry that wouldn't conclude until a year later at Glory by Honor IX. You've also got several very good qualifying matches and an entertaining tag team match in the semi-main event. I wouldn't rank this as high as Aries vs. Richards or even The Omega Effect, but you should definitely pick this up.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]