100 Percent Fordified: Ring of Honor Reclamation Night 1

Milwaukee, WI – 7.12.2013

Championship Rundown
ROH World Champion: Vacant
ROH Television Champion: Matt Taven
ROH World Tag Team Champions: reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)

Commentary is provided by Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuinness.

Adrenaline Rush (ACH & Tadarius Thomas) vs. Mike Sydal & Zizou Middoux

Thomas puts Sydal in a wristlock. ACH snapmares Sydal into a chinlock. Sydal forearms him and tags in Middoux who eats a dropkick upon entering. ACH clotheslines him in the corner. Thomas kicks him in the back. Thomas gives him a swift kick to the head for two. Sydal kicks Thomas from the apron. Thomas forearms him but gets his neck draped across the top rope. Middoux dropkicks him to the floor where Sydal puts the boots to him. Middoux knocks ACH off the apron so he and Sydal can isolate Thomas in their corner. Thomas flips out of Sydal’s suplex attempt and tags out. ACH lights both Sydal and Middoux up with strikes. Sydal accidentally enzuigiri’s his own partner. ACH rolls Sydal into a punt to the head. He gives him a pump-handle suplex for two. ACH heads up top. Middoux shoves him down. Sydal clotheslines him and Middoux hits him with a tornado kick. Double knees from Sydal get him two thanks to Thomas breaking the cover. Sydal and Middoux try a double superplex. Thomas brings Middoux down. ACH shoves Sydal off and hits a 450 splash for the win at 9:08. Sydal and Middoux are still very green. They had many awkward moments and missteps but hopefully that goes away with more work together. ACH and Thomas delivered the goods as per usual. *½

Athena vs. MsChif

After a wristlock exchange, MsChif leg sweeps Athena. She throws Athena to the mat by her hair and then onto her face. She gets two with a standing moonsault. MsChif scares Athena with her scream. Athena tries it herself but MsChif rolls her up. Athena gives her a boot to the chest and double knees to the mid-section for two. MsChif takes a break on the floor. Athena tries bringing her back in but ends up taking a neckbreaker in the ropes. MsChif stretches Athena across her back and rolls her up for two. Athena gets her shoulder worked over. She comes off the second rope with a crossbody. She delivers ten punches to MsChif in the corner. MsChif drives Athena into the mat with an elbow drop. She drives her feet into the back of Athena’s head repeatedly. MsChif brings her to the ropes. Athena slips out and German suplexes her off the second rope. MsChif comes back with a Rydeen Bomb for two. MsChif sets up for the Desecrator. Athena picks her up on her shoulders and drops her out of an Electric Chair for two. She hits the O-Face for the pin at 10:17. If ROH really wants to establish a Women of Honor division, these are the types of matches they should be having; competitive, back and forth bouts that are given a decent amount of time. Clearly these two should be leading the charge amongst the division. **¾

After the match, MsChif spits green mist into Athena’s face instead of shaking her hand!

BJ Whitmer vs. Michael Bennett

In a pre-match promo, Bennett says he’s no longer the Prodigy. Maria Kanellis is in Bennett’s corner. This is a rematch from “Best in the World 2013.” Bennett charges before the bell. Whitmer side steps his attack and delivers some chops. Bennett bails to the floor. Whitmer suicide dives after him. In the ring he gets one with a belly-to-back suplex. Bennett catches Whitmer in the ropes with a neckbreaker. Bennett punches Whitmer in the side of the head and into the ring post. Somehow Whitmer grabs the bottom rope to break the pin. Bennett puts on a chinlock. Whitmer fights out but takes a dropkick shortly after. Bennett gets two with a spinebuster. Bennett throws some punches. Whitmer gets fired up. He knocks down Bennett with some clotheslines and gives him a powerslam. He boots Bennett down for two. Bennett escapes an exploder suplex. He gives Whitmer the Final Cut for two. Whitmer backdrops out of a powerbomb attempt. Bennett superkicks him. Whitmer throws him into the corner with an exploder suplex. He tries the wrist-clutch variation. Bennett escapes and spears Whitmer. He gets the Box Office Smash for two. Whitmer has Bennett in a small package when Maria distracts referee Todd Sinclair. Bennett escapes and gives Whitmer a piledriver for the pin at 9:49. This was a definitive step up from their Best in the World encounter. It seems like these days though Whitmer is incapable of winning a match, or losing a match without some sort of nonsense happening. That’s got to stop. **¾

Eddie Edwards vs. Kyle O’Reilly

The initial feeling out process sees nobody get the advantage. They maintain a double knuckle lock even after some monkey flips and body bridges. They stand off after each of them go for a submission. They wrestle to another stalemate. O’Reilly looks like he wants a handshake but slaps Edwards in the face. He snapmares him into a back kick. Edwards respond in kind. O’Reilly does it again. Edwards this time snapmares him into a back chop. They exchange forearms. O’Reilly knees him in the face and rolls him into another slap to the face. Edwards responds with chops. He trips O’Reilly into a rolling surfboard stretch. He gets a two count from it. Edwards tries a superplex. Instead O’Reilly brings him down in a divorce court DDT. On the floor O’Reilly uses the ring post and barricade to further damage Edwards’ arm and shoulder. The arm attack continues back in the ring. O’Reilly kicks him in the head but Edwards sneaks in a German suplex. He clotheslines O’Reilly inside out leaving both men laying. They trade blows when they get back to their feet. Edwards boots O’Reilly to the floor. He (possibly foolishly) suicide dives after him. Edwards misses a double stomp back in the ring. He manages to get on a crossface. O’Reilly makes it to the ropes. Edwards charges at him in the corner. O’Reilly moves and Edwards smashes shoulder first into the ring post. He finds himself in a seat ringside. O’Reilly comes off the apron and dropkicks him into the barricades. In the ring Edwards is able to catch O’Reilly on the top and give him the Chin Checker. Upon landing, O’Reilly puts on a cross armbreaker. Edwards turns it into the Achilles Lock. O’Reilly rolls Edwards up for two. O’Reilly Regalplexes him for another two count. He goes back to the cross armbreaker. Edwards makes it to the ropes. O’Reilly positions Edwards on the top rope. Edwards however brings O’Reilly down with a facebuster. He powerbombs O’Reilly into the Achilles Lock while stomping on O’Reilly’s head. Referee Paul Turner stops the matches, declaring Edwards the winner at 21:34. That was terrific. After some solid wrestling to open the match they went to the story of O’Reilly working over Edwards’ arm to carry us through. Knowing he didn’t have his full arm strength, Edwards had to resort to stomping O’Reilly’s head in to get a referee stoppage. That also leaves the door open a crack for O’Reilly to claim Edwards never truly beat him and to keep the Wolves/reDRagon issue strong. They did so many things right in this match and it’s this kind of storytelling that makes me love wrestling. ****

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Rhino

Ciampa attacks Rhino with forearms before the bell. He stomps Rhino down in the corner. He sets up for a running knee strike but gets cut off with a clothesline. Ciampa leapfrogs over Rhino and delivers his own clothesline. On the floor Ciampa sends Rhino into the barricades. He tries a suplex on the floor but Rhino ends up coming out on top. Ciampa comes back in with a knee strike to Rhino’s face. He bites Rhino in the forehead. Rhino drops him face first onto the top rope. Rhino does some damage to Ciampa’s ribs. Ciampa gets Rhino down in a Cobra Clutch. Rhino escapes and throws some shoulder blocks. He comes off the second rope with a shoulder tackle for two. Ciampa slides off Rhino’s shoulders and German suplexes him. Ciampa finally connects with his running knee strike. He delivers it two more times. They fight on the ropes. Rhino shoves Ciampa off. Ciampa knees him in the face and pulls off a superplex for two. He lets Rhino recuperate. Rhino gives him a belly-to-belly suplex. He goes for the Gore. Ciampa NAILS him in the face with a knee strike as he comes in and gets the pin at 9:31. I approve of Ciampa picking up more and more victories, especially over a name like Rhino. This also really got over the power of his knee strikes which is good since they take up most of his arsenal. Good stuff. **¾

Kevin Steen vs. Silas Young

Young runs down Steen for not being a real man. Steen responds with some punches and chops. Young tries fighting back. Steen gives him a dropkick and an elbow to the back. He lands a senton that sends Young to the floor for recovery. Steen throws him into a fan’s boot. Young tries going up the apron. Steen catches him and throws a forearm. He goes for a powerbomb on the apron but Young backdrops him instead. Young gets some strikes in back in the ring. Steen catches him with a knee to the stomach and a DDT. Steen sets up for a cannonball senton. Young gets to his feet. Steen blocks a boot, takes him back down and hits that cannonball senton for two. Steen tries pulling Young to his feet. Young flips up to his feet. He drives his knee into Steen’s face and boots him in the face for two. He wand Steen fight for their finishers. Young strings a backbreaker and lariat together for another two count. Steen rolls to the floor. When Young comes out, Steen sends him back first into the barricades and powerbombs him onto the ring apron. In the ring he hits a Swanton Bomb for two. Young muscles him up into the Pee Gee Waja Plunge. Steen moves and Young lands on his feet. Steen pops him up into a powerbomb. The Package Piledriver gets Steen the win at 7:57. As expected, these two worked quite well together. It set up Steen for the upcoming ROH World title tournament and made Young look strong against a former champion even in a loss. Young leaves without shaking hands. ***

Michael Elgin vs. Adam Cole vs. Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven

Truth Martini, Scarlett Bordeaux, and Seleziya Sparx are in Taven’s corner. Elgin and Cole exchange wristlocks. Elgin blocks an armdrag and a tornado DDT attempt. Cole goes for a figure four. When that doesn’t work he delivers a dropkick. Elgin powerslams him for a one count. Cole knees out of a suplex. Taven blind tags in. Lethal also tags in. He chops up Taven in and outside the ring. Sparx gets in his way, so Elgin comes in and chops Taven from the other side. Tired of the chops Taven tags in Cole. He gives Lethal a neckbreaker for two. After an exchanging of punches, Lethal hip tosses Cole into a cartwheel dropkick. Elgin comes in. He puts Cole in a 60 second delayed vertical suplex. Elgin is sent out to the apron. Cole enzuigiri’s him to the floor. Taven and Truth stop Lethal and Cole’s dive attempts. Taven then dives onto Elgin himself. That gets him a two count back in the ring. Taven keeps on Elgin until Elgin German suplexes him into the corner. Lethal tags in. He back elbows Taven and gives him a backbreaker. Cole tags himself in. He slams Taven into an elbow drop. He then gives him a neckbreaker across his knee. Elgin breaks the pin. Lethal tosses Cole to the floor but it does not count as a tag. Cole comes back in. Lethal tags in when Taven shoves Cole to the corner. From the floor Lethal nails an enzuigiri for two. Elgin tags in and runs roughshod on everybody. He Boss Man Slams Taven for two. Cole stops Elgin’s powerbomb attempt on Taven. Elgin manages to Samoan Drop and fallaway slam Lethal and Cole simultaneously. He German suplexes Taven for two. Superkicks and a pump kick leave all four men laying. Lethal springboard dropkicks Elgin. He and Taven fight for positioning. Taven gives him an enzuigiri and the Angel’s Wings. Elgin lifts him out of a pin and throws some elbow strikes. He lifts Taven into a uranage slam. Cole tries to sunset flip Elgin. Elgin rolls through. Cole superkicks him twice and gives him a brainbuster onto his knee. Cole blocks Lethal’s superkick. Lethal kicks him to the apron and enzuigiri’s him to the floor. He suicide dives after him, then dives onto Elgin. Truth stops him from diving onto Taven. Lethal brings Truth into the ring. Referee Paul Turner deals with Truth. Meanwhile, Sparx comes in and gives Lethal an Air Raid Crash! Taven comes in with a frogsplash but Lethal somehow kicks out. Elgin takes out Taven. Lethal gives Elgin the Lethal Combination. Cole crotches Lethal on the top rope. Cole gives Elgin a Frankensteiner. Elgin Cyclone Kicks Cole and Elgin pump kicks Cole. Elgin backfists Taven. He powerbombs Cole into Lethal, then gives Cole the Revolution Bomb for the pin in 22:21. This match came out of nowhere. Essentially it turned into a showcase for four guys who will be in the World title tournament. Everyone looked phenomenal, especially Lethal and Elgin. The ending sequence was a thing of beauty and really made Elgin look like the king of the castle. Tremendous work from all involved. Cole does not shake hands after the match. ****

Davey Richards vs. Bobby Fish

The moment the bell rings both men kick each other in the face. More kicks and forearms are thrown. They back off when they duck each others strikes. After a short exchange Richards catapults Fish into the corner. He puts on the Trailer Hitch and then transitions into a Muta Lock. Fish escapes. He blows off some steam on the floor. Fish takes Richards off his feet with some kicks to the chest. Richards throws his own chest kicks. Fish pokes him in the eyes. Richards backdrops him and kicks him in the chest again. Fish hits the ropes and gets sent out with a dropkick. Richards goes for a kick from the apron but Fish kicks his legs out. He gets in some more kicks to the chest outside before bringing Richards back in. Fish hits a slingshot senton. Richards gets his foot on the bottom rope. Fish begins focusing his attack on Richards’ left knee. Richards seems to fight back but Fish gives him a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Fish misses a pescado. Richards gets in a chest kick from the apron. In the ring he hits a missile dropkick. He throws some kicks with his right leg as Fish is against the ropes. He connects with a kick to the face for two. Fish elbows out of a waistlock. Richards blocks his clothesline and captures Fish in an armbar. He turns that into a cross armbreaker. Fish rolls to the ropes. Richards and Fish make their way to the top of the ropes. After fighting for control, Fish does the deal with a super Falcon Arrow. Both men end up on the apron to continue their strike exchange. Fish gives Richards a fisherman’s brainbuster on the ring frame! Eddie Edwards and Kyle O’Reilly come out to cheer on their partners. Richards finds the strength to make it back into the ring before the twenty count. As soon as he’s in though, Fish nails him with a moonsault. Richards kicks out which Fish cannot believe. Richards blocks a German suplex and rolls Fish into an ankle lock. Fish rolls forward to reverse it into an Achilles lock while grapevining Richards’ leg. Richards turns that over into a sharpshooter. Fish small packages Richards for a two count. Richards sends Fish to the floor. He follows with a tope suicida that sends himself into the crowd. He misses a double stomp back in the ring. He kicks Fish and German suplexes him. Fish fires up but Richards gives him a lariat. Fish kicks out at one! He throws some knees before eating the Alarm Clock. Richards kicks him and connects with the top rope double stomp for two. He puts on the ankle lock again. Fish kicks Richards away. O’Reilly distracts Richards long enough for Fish to kick Richards right in the side of the head. That kick gets FIsh the pinfall victory at 22:42. This was a really hot match. Fish and Richards left all they had in the ring and it made for a very entertaining and competitive bout. The two complaints I have is Richards’ abandoning any semblance of pain in his left leg near the ending portion of the match and the finishing kick not looking totally believable. That’s not to take much away from the work because it was really good and the crowd was really hot. A very strong way to end the show. ***¾

Bonus Content

Pre-Show Match
Cheeseburger & Benjamin Boone vs. The Beer City Bruisers (Matt Winchester & Nick Colluci)

Winchester backs Boone to the corner and overhand chops him. Boone responds with chops of his own. He gets two with a hip toss and clothesline. Cheeseburger delivers a punch upon tagging in. Winchester places him on the top rope and slaps him in the face. Cheeseburger slaps him back. He throws some chops which Winchester returns. Cheeseburger dropkicks his leg out and dropkicks him in the side of the head. He avoids Colluci’s attack. Boone gets in a few shots before missing a corner splash. Winchester clotheslines him from the apron and the Bruisers take control. Boone manages to suplex Colluci on his head and tag in Cheeseburger. The Brusiers catch his crossbody attempt. Boone assists with a dropkick. He clotheslines Winchester to the floor and gives Colluci a spinebuster. He rocket launches Cheeseburger onto Colluci for the pin at 4:28. That was fun. The crowd was really into Cheeseburger and wanted to see him win and that’s exactly what happened. *¼

Bobby Fish on Davey Richards
Nigel McGuinness Q&A (DVD Only) – It’s worth noting that Jimmy Jacobs makes an appearance during this to ask Nigel about getting his job back.

The 411: I’ve said a lot of good things about ROH’s house shows this year, and even with that, this is one of the strongest shows they have had period. The Wolves/reDRagon singles bout and the four way semi-main event make this a must see show. The undercard has some real gems to it as well, making for an overall enjoyable wrestling experience.You can pick up this DVD from Ring of Honor's store. You can check out all of my ROH reviews over at the 100% Fordified blog. Be sure to follow me on Twitter as well!

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]