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Zen Arcade Reviews: ROH Final Battle 2010

July 28, 2012 | Posted by Jake St-Pierre
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Zen Arcade Reviews: ROH Final Battle 2010  

We are LIVE at the Grand Ballroom (which I like more than the Hammerstein) in Manhattan NY. Kevin Kelly and the horrible Dave Prazak are our hosts. Thankfully, the last half of the show trails off and you can hardly hear commentary. And this is the DVD, mind you.

And this was when Delirious was the main booker of ROH, so you see some traditional ROH stuff mixed in with current stuff. Cornette hadn’t wriggled his way into the main booker spot yet. 

The All Night Express vs. Future Shock
This is the early times of Future Shock teaming up in ROH. Not the first, but the first in New York at least. This was also when ANX was still coming out with the slutty girls and not jumping promotions. 

Wow, Rhett looks a lot skinnier here. We start with him and Kyle, which gives us your basic O’Reilly strikes. ANX catches Kyle on a plancha but Cole takes them out with a Suicide Dive! Double splash on O’Reilly gets 2 as ANX isolate him. Kyle comes back and nails a sweet if a bit contrived double dragon screw. He then tags Cole in, who then HITS A FUCKING HUGE SLINGSHOT DDT ON THE APRON! O’REILLY NAILS A MISSILE DROPKICK TO KING ON THE OUTSIDE! Cole gets a nearfall on a crossbody. Capture Suplex gets Kenny King two, and after a HUGE kick exchange all four men are down. Huge rolling lariat from Kyle gets two. Rhett however comes back and ANX nails the Blockbuster Powerbomb for the win in 10 minutes.  

Analysis: ***1/2 Wow, if there was ever a way to make a crowd love you, Future Shock sure did it here. They wrestled an immensely exciting match and did some sweet double teams. Individually, Cole showed why he was one of the best young talents then and he’s only grown since then as well, breaking out in 2012. O’Reilly really wowed the crowd with his stuff too. ANX was game as well, but Future Shock really stole the show. Awesome opener. 

TJ Perkins vs. Colt Cabana
I think this was TJP’s second night back in ROH after a lengthy hiatus. Colt was coming off of the splendid feud with Generico against Steen and Corino, so this was supposed to provide some relief. 

You have to imagine that this was meant to be a come down match for the crowd. Colt starts by mouthing off and bringing the funny. TJ returns the favor with a Dropkick. We get a GENERIC INDY STANDOFF!~! early. Colt catches TJ in a body scissors and we get another GENERIC INDY STANDOFF!~! Cabana uses his size to his advantage a bit and also fucks with Bryce Remsburg a bit too. Colt puts in Billy Goat’s Curse and hits his Boom elbow. Sunset flip gets Colt the win in 7 minutes. 

Analysis: ** All this was was a comedown match from the insane opener. Colt brought a bit of comedy and we saw some nice chain wrestling, but it wasn’t anything special. As a comedown match though, it did its job perfectly. 

Awesome Kong & Daizee Haze vs. Serena Deeb & Sara Del Rey
You know Awesome Kong of course. Daizee Haze looks fucking bad here. EAT SOMETHING DAIZEE. Serena was the girl in the Straight Edge Society and looks SMOKING here even with a short haircut. She’s also famous for boating while wasted.  Death Rey is Death Rey. 

Man, Kong just gives off that badass aura. Sucks that it looks like the ‘E will be releasing her. Del Rey and Haze start off and they do their thing. Del Rey tags Serena in, who gets a CM Punk chant! Ha. Serena takes control as Del Rey takes out Kong.  Man, these stupid little Indy terms like the Tree of Joey Lawrence sound so fucking dumb. Kong finally tags in and goes to town. Implant Buster! Sara kicks out. Kong drops her leg on the enormous tits of Serena. Royal Butterfly from Sara gets a good nearfall on Haze. Piledriver from Death Rey gets the win in 9 minutes. 

Analysis: **3/4 The heat segment over Haze was really boring, so that’s why I didn’t give this one three stars. But despite that, this was still a pretty exciting match with decent crowd heat for a women’s match. Kong got the biggest reaction and she was the obvious attraction here. Daizee looked pretty bad though, not hitting her signature spots well and whatnot. Oh well…it was a good match nonetheless. 

Eddie Edwards vs. Sonjay Dutt
Eddie was the 2010 Survival of the Fittest winner and was really rolling into this show. He also has a lot of injuries here and he got some notoriety for working through them, thus creating his Die Hard nickname. Sonjay is replacing the awesome Kenny Omega here. 

Sonjay has one strip of tape going down his back, which looks ricockulous. Eddie’s right shoulder is all taped too as we start with a feeling out process. Sonjay crawls under the ring to try and sneak up on Eddie, but it’s unsuccessful. Sonjay takes control and nails a Psychosis legdrop on the guardrail and gets a 2 count. Eddie straddles Sonjay on the rope and nails a SWEET HURRICANRANA! Eddie dodges a Camel Clutch but gets the Achilles Lock countered. Sonjay hits a sweet springboard splash for 2 and a shooting star press for another two count. They trade superkicks and Eddie nearly wins with a huge lariat. Eddie gets the win with the 2K1 Bomb in 12 minutes. 

Analysis: ***1/4 This was a very good match to send the crowd to intermission. Sonjay was really good here, playing a good heel and pulling out some unique moves. They didn’t really incorporate a story though, but it was a very athletic match that the crowd loves. That’s really all that matters when you look at it. 

We talk to my boy Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin for intermission. They say that they are wrestling for ROH full time from that point on. We all know how that went about. 

Christopher Daniels vs. Homicide
This is a non title match between the then-TV champion Daniels and recently returned Homicide. This run for Homicide wasn’t very good as he didn’t seem motivated at all, but such is wrestling. He seems fine now. Daniels is exposing AJ Styles for knocking up a crackhead on Impact at the time of this writing. Funny how time flies, huh?

Mike Bennett is watching this match ringside with Bob Evans. Crowd has no idea who he is at this point, so they ask who he is. We get a feeling out process here too. The commentary fades out a lot from this point on and it never really returns. This is the DVD too. Crap editing from ROH. Daniels hits a springboard Moonsault to the outside. The most entertaining part of this match is Julius Smokes. This match is really dull at the moment. Homicide gets the crowd into it with a huge suicide dive. Daniels makes an apathetic comeback though. After some more bland wrestling, we have our first ref bump of the night. Homicide picks up the win with an Ace Crusher in 12 minutes. 

Analysis: **1/4 Not a very good match I’m afraid. They wrestled at half speed the whole match and neither of them seemed motivated one bit. That’s unfortunate because this match had a lot of potential. However, the crowd didn’t really care and neither did the wrestlers. It’s a recipe for disappointment. 

The Kings of Wrestling & Shane Hagadorn vs. Jay, Mark, & Papa Briscoe
This rivalry had been going on for a pretty long time, seeing bloody brawls and women being piledriven. This is a special attraction as Papa Briscoe makes his first ever appearance in ROH. Hewas offended that his boy got “kicked in the balls by that…peckerhead”, thus making this match. Hagadorn has retired from wrestling since this and last made an ROH appearance at the Homecoming 2012. Hero and Castagnoli are Kassius Ohno and Antonio Cesaro respectively in WWE. 

The Briscoes get booed coming out. Well fuck you, Manhattan. Jay and Hero start off and we don’t get any feeling out here. Hero tags in Hagadorn, who accidentally chops Hero. Hagadorn gets it back though, as Claudio accidentally chops him. Hagadorn then tags in, but he meets Papa Briscoe. Claudio tags back and in and we get a pose down. PAPA HITS A SPINNING HEADSCISSORS ON CASTAGNOLI! HE KISSES SARA DEL REY! Ha, this is great. Del Rey gets ejected for some reason. Now this crowd likes Papa Briscoe. From what I can hear, Dave Prazak is trying to be a heel commentator and he is doing it with all the excitement of Kristen Stewart. I mean, he really sucks. Jay gets the hot tag and cleans house. Hero stops him with a big boot. Mark tags in and gets two on a Froggy ‘bow. Things break down and Papa Briscoe starts brawling with Hagadorn. Papa Briscoe almost flies, but eats a Roaring Elbow. Papa hits a Stunner on Claudio (who sells it like death). Papa hits the Doomsday Device on Hagadorn and Jay covers for the win in 16 minutes. 

Analysis: ***1/2 As pure entertainment, this was awesome. It wasn’t their best match by any means, but the KOW and the Briscoes held this together with some solid wrestling between the good Papa Briscoe spots. Shane Hagadorn held his own too, being pretty funny with his corny facial expressions. Despite what some idiot purists might tell you, ROH is a lot more fun with stuff like this every once in a while. They proved it here. 

ROH World Title Match: Roderick Strong (c) vs. Davey Richards
Roderick Strong won the title from Tyler Black a few months earlier and had already been taken under the wing of Truth Martini. Davey was supposed to retire here but I think his divorce changed his mind. Correct me if I’m wrong. A lot of people were itching for Davey to win the title here too. I think we all know what happened. This is the only title being defended tonight. 

Strong gives Davey a clean break early. We get a long feeling out process after. We go to the outside where Roddy takes control and he resumes it when he gets in the ring. Roddy even fish hooks Davey. Davey comes back and nails a SWEET plancha that lands him in the third row. Back in the ring, Davey gets a big flurry of offense. He gets two on a Swandive Headbutt and then puts in a cross armbreaker. Roddy comes back with a Falcon Arrow for two and soon after puts in the Stronghold. Davey gets to the ropes quickly. Davey bursts out again and we play the chop/kick game. Davey hits a huge back superplex! HUGE LARIAT! Roddy kicks out! Kick to head gets two. ANKLE LOCK! SHOOTING STAR PRESSSSS!!! RODDY KICKS OUT!! Wow, that’s a nearfall if I ever saw one. Roddy comes back and nails a sloppy backbreaker off the top rope for 2. RODDY SLAMS DAVEY THROUGH THE TIMEKEEPER’S TABLE! GIBSON DRIVER ON THE FLOOR! HE’S THROWN IN THE CROWD! HE GETS BACK IN THE RING AT 19! Roddy puts in the Stronghold, and they trade Ankle Locks. CLOVERLEAF BY DAVEY! Roddy puts in the LaBell Lock but Davey hits a Lariat! ANKLE LOCK! Strong nails the Sick Kick but DAVEY KICKS OUT! Strong puts in the Liontamer and Davey is out at 31 minutes. 

Analysis: **** This was an awesome match but they really killed the nearfalls down the stretch. If they stripped this down to about 25 minutes and didn’t overkill everything, this would have been a legit MOTYC. Even with all that though, this match was really, really good. Strong is one of the most underrated talents in ROH history and all that, but this was the Davey Richards Show. This crowd lived and died by what Davey did and their reactions proved it. It started off almost painfully slow but they REALLY picked up. The 10 minutes they went at it before the overkill, this was some of the best Davey Richards work I’ve seen. 

Career vs. Mask Fight Without Honor: El Generico vs. Kevin Steen
So yeah, this match. This was the culmination of the best feud of 2010…probably one of the best feuds of the decade. There is a fan hype video up on ROH’s YouTube channel for this match that is FUCKING GREAT. I wish they would have used that instead of this lame video on the DVD, but what can ya do? Even a year and a half later I still get goose bumps before this match. 

Dark Generico is in full swing in this one, the dapper jacket and everything. The two rivals start off spitting at each other, but Generico kicks Steen out of the ring and follows with a topè! Generico wraps Steen’s face and hits a Yakuza Kick on it! Steen hits a Powerbomb on the ring apron, which Generico sells like death. Steen buries Generico in guardrail covers and frogsplashes him on them! Steen brings in the ladder and BACKDROPS GENERICO ON IT! CANNONBALL ON A CHAIR! Steen blocks a chairshot from Generico and nails a Codebreaker with the chair. Generico is busted open, so what does Steen do? Oh yeah, he fucking LICKS THE BLOOD. Generico has enough and hits A FUCKING MICHINOKU DRIVER ON THE LADDER! He hits an Exploder on said ladder. HALF NELSON SUPLEX ON THE LADDER! Steen kicks out. Wow. Steen sets the ladder up on the ring and guardrail and puts a table on top of it. GENERICO DIVES UNDER THE TABLE AND HITS A TORNADO DDT! Generico Half Nelson Suplexes Steen through a chair and gets a nearfall on a Brainbuster. Generico THROWS STEEN THROUGH THE TABLE SET UP ON THE LADDER!! BRAINBUSTER ON THE APRON!! Steve Corino saves! Todd Sinclair stands up to Corino but gets slugged for it. Colt Cabana comes in, teases a heel turn, and whacks Steen with a chair. Steen kicks out! Steen hits a Package Piledriver on Generico! Sinclair is out, so another comes out! GENERICO KICKS OUT! PACKAGE PILEDRIVER ON THE CHAIR! GENERICO KICKS OUT AGAIN! GENERICO NAILS THE TURNBUCKLE BRAINBUSTER!!! STEEN KICKS OUT! This match is insane. Generico gets the exact same chair Steen hit him with to start all this! Steen takes out Generico’s mask that he stole at Glory by Honor IX. Generico drops it and WHACKS STEEN WITH THE CHAIR! Generico wins in 30 minutes. 

Analysis ****3/4 Wow. This was absolutely FANTASTIC. Almost everything about this match was so good. They killed each other and took a lot of dangerous bumps, but that is exactly what this match needed to be. This was necessary in the rivalry and it was nearly flawless. The one flaw? Steen’s long control segment in the middle. It was tedious and a bit boring, which is why I just couldn’t give this the full monty. But when you don’t think of that, this is one of the most fitting ends to a rivalry of all time. It had psychology, huge spots, and the best finish you could have wanted. It came full circle with Generico teasing he was going to take back the mask Steen took away from him, but then hitting Steen with the same chair Steen hit him with a year earlier. Just an amazing, symbolic, sick match that is one of the best feud-enders ever. 

The 411: This show was awesome. It isn't the best show ever or the best ROH show ever, but this one still had something for everybody. The main event is so great that you should really buy this based on the strength of it. But luckily this is also a great card with great wrestling and fun all around, so get it. It's that good.
411 Elite Award
Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]  legend

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