What’s All The Hubbub: ROH Supercard of Honor V

When Tyler Black appointed Roderick Strong as his judge for his shot at ROH World Champion Austin Aries at the Eighth Anniversary Show, he promised Strong a title shot should he win the match. Black won the match, which saw him kick Roderick in the jaw when he interfered on the challenger’s behalf. Strong would get a title shot, but it would be in a triple-threat match also involving Aries. Strong was extremely impressive in that match, but lost when Black and Aries hit him with everything they had. Strong was granted a title shot at this show, and Black is still champion after successful defenses against Kenny King and Chris Hero.

Meanwhile, we are still coming off two major events at The Big Bang: the shocking return of Christopher Daniels and the crowning of new ROH World Tag Team Champions Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli. Tonight, the Kings of Wrestling put their titles on the line for the first time against two guest stars, TNA Wrestling’s Motor City Machine Guns, who made several well-received appearances for ROH in 2007 and 2008. Meanwhile, “The Fallen Angel” faces ROH TV Champion Eddie Edwards, partner of Davey Richards, who Daniels first challenged on his return.

Supercard of Honor V
May 8, 2010
Manhattan, New York

Rhett Titus & Kenny King vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe
Jay and King start out with basic headlock and leapfrog stuff. King comes back with a Japanese Armdrag and a regular one. He takes time to play to the crowd so Jay hits a big boot and a heel kick. Titus tags in and gets back body dropped, Mark tags in and hits a flying elbow, Jay hits a Cactus Clothesline and Mark hits a moonsault onto King and Titus on the floor. Mark hits a suplex and the Briscoes hit the football tackles. Back suplex by Jay sets up a tumbleweed by Mark, who decks Titus for good measure. Mark hits the “leaping piledriver position” move that never does anything. WHY do people still use that move? Moreover, why did they EVER use that move? The Briscoes try the double biel but King awesomely lands on his feet, ducks a clothesline and hits one Briscoe with the capoiera kick while Titus hits the other with his perfect dropkick. They go to work on Jay, King gets 2 off a scoop slam and an elbow drop but Jay comes back with a crossbody. Mark tags in, decks Titus again, and uses Redneck Fu and a Capo Kick to take control. Northern Lights Suplex gets 2 for Mark, who heads up top but Titus crotches him. King adds an enzugiri and Mark comes tumbling down. King struts into a dropkick into Mark’s ribs. Titus tags in King and rakes Mark against the ropes to set up the inverted atomic drop/clothesline combo. King gets 2. Titus hits a modified slam to set up King’s springboard legdrop for 2. King gets a blind tag before Mark can hit an atomic drop and Titus hits the Thrust Buster, but Jay makes the save. Titus hits a butterfly suplex to set up a slingshot stomp from King for 2. Mark fights out and drops King with an ace crusher. Jay tags in and hits a trio of clotheslines and a dropkick on Titus. And now King gets knocked off the apron. Jay hits several chops on Titus in the corner, King tries to make the save but takes the flatliner right into Rhett’s crotch. A sick falcon arrow gets 2 for Jay, he tags to Mark and they hit a sideslam/elbow drop combination. Titus avoids the exploder and hits the wrap around knee, catapults Mark into a forearm from King, who follows up with a Blockbuster over Rhett’s knees! SICK! Jay makes the save and fights off both men, and King ends up clocking Titus with an enzugiri. SIMULTANEOUS FISHERMAN BUSTERS! Doomsday Device and King ends up flipping onto Rhett’s knees! Mark pins King to finish. Energetic opener. King and Titus are coming along nicely and the Briscoes are almost always good opponents.
Match Result: Mark & Jay Briscoe via pinfall
Match Rating: ***1/4

Titus and King start arguing after the match AND THE BOWTIE IS OFF! But they end up hugging it out after Titus raises King’s hand.

Grizzly Redwood talks about Necro Butcher being out of commission and vows to chop down Erick Stevens.

Grizzly Redwood vs. Erick Stevens w/Prince Nana & Ernesto Osiris
Grizzly tries to get the jump but gets shoved. He hits a satellite headscissors but gets shoved again. Redwood hits a log roll and then tilt-a-whirls into a sleeper hold. He gets dropped but Grizzly rolls through a choke-bomb for 2. A springboard rana sends Stevens to the floor but Nana distracts Grizzly until Stevens can come back. Nana and Stevens put the boots to Grizzly and then Stevens chucks Grizzly into the post. Stevens hits several shoulders in the corner, lifts Grizzly and drives him into the mat for 2. Grizzly tries to run but Stevens pulls him back by the jeans and hits a backdrop suplex for 2. Stevens works an abdominal stretch in the ropes and then Nana hits him from the floor. Stevens hits several knees and looks to toss Grizzly to the floor, but Grizz escapes, stompst the foot, hits a jawbreaker and a dropkick to the leg. Running bulldog gets 2 and then a springboard tornado DDT gets 2.Grizz pulls the suspenders down, drops nine punches and bites Stevens. Stevens goes to the apron and Grizz dropkicks the knee, decks Osiris and then hits a pescado on Nana! Grizz goes for a crossbody off the top but gets clotheslined in the ribs. The Doctor Bomb finishes. Nana thanks God for shrimp cocktail and orders Erick to kill Grizz, which brings out BALLS MAHONEY! Stevens takes the punches (BALLS! BALLS! BALLS! BALLS! OOOOOOH BALLS!) and Ernesto takes the Nutcracker Suite. Quite possibly the most randomly awesome cameo in ROH history. Match wasn’t half bad either.
Match Result: Erick Stevens via pinfall
Match Rating: **1/2

Sara Del Ray w/The Kings of Wrestling & Shane Hagadorn vs. Amazing Kong
Can I just preface this by saying how much the KOW’s (Chris Hero in particular) out of ring respect for Del Ray as an equal does so much for her credibility? Awesome Kong comes out and a LOUD and much deserved chorus of “FUCK YOU BUBBA!” rings through the Manhattan Center. AMEN, NYC! Both women play brick wall but Kong wins with an avalanche and almost wins with a big splash. Kong really starts to take over and hits a corner avalanche. Del Ray avoids a second one and hits an armbreaker and several kicks to the arm. An armbar transitions to a hammerlock and then she snaps the arm back. Del Ray stays 100% focused on the arm, even hitting it with a Capo Kick that sends Kong to the floor. She dropkicks the arm from the apron and then whips Kong to the barrier. Kong chops her with her good arm and LAUNCHES her into the barrier. Back inside, Del Ray tries an armbreaker but Kong counters into a sleeper hold and just spins her around. Del Ray avoids the Amazing Press, tries a German Suplex but gets backed into the corner. Kong tries the Amazing Bomb but Del Ray goes after the arm and applies the cross armbreaker! Kong gets a foot on the ropes though. BACKFIST! Kong follows up with a clothesline but only gets 2. Del Ray avoids the Amazing Bomb and GERMAN SUPLEXES KONG! The effort takes too much out of her and she is late to pin, so she only gets 2. Hero tosses her the elbow pad and she knocks Kong out for the cheap win. Kind of a lame finish considering Del Ray is one of the few women with enough skill, power and toughness to convincingly be able to beat Kong cleanly. Heck of a match though, with Del Ray’s arm work actually paying dividends as she was able to avoid most of Kong’s offense by going after it. That’s the difference between “real” psychology and “I’ll work a body part to kill time” psychology. Kong gets “Please come back” chants.
Match Result: Sara Del Ray via pinfall
Match Rating: ***

Daniels cuts a great promo before his match, putting over his history with ROH, being on the first main event, not being pinned in the first title match. He points out that even with everything that Eddie has done in ROH, he enters the match as the decided underdog, because he’s in there with an ROH Icon. Daniels also wants to use this match to send a message to Davey Richards.

”The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels vs. Eddie Edwards w/Shane Hagadorn
I love how Daniels stops the “Fuck TNA!” chants and starts an “ROH!” chant. I really think that shows what a class act he is. The industry could use more folks like him. Long feeling out process to start. Eddie hits a shoulder tackle that stuns Daniels, but they next time he tries it Daniels hits an armdrag. They trade armdrags and then do a cool spot where they both try armdrags at the same time and end up on the floor locked together. Daniels finally gets the better of an exchange by sending Eddie to the floor. Eddie takes offense to that and hits a pair of chops and an elbow for 2. Headbutts follow but Daniels leapfrogs over and comes back with an STO for 2. He drives a knee into Eddie’s back. He hits a shoulder tackle, hits the ropes and when Eddie sprawls he puts his boot on Eddie’s neck. Jabs set up the flying heel kick and gets 2. Daniels is really delaying on his covers. He is in firm control and hits the seated quebrada after a scoop slam for 2. Eddie comes back in a big way with a hip toss to the floor and a suicide dive. Eddie whips Daniels to the barrier and kicks him into the crowd. Chris tries to make a comeback but Eddie dumps him over the top rope and pulls on the leg, essentially a Boston Crab over the ropes. Edwards gets 2 with a missile dropkick. Daniels knees his way out of a seated abdominal stretch and counters the Achilles Lock into a cradle for 2. Enzugiri by Daniels and both men are down. Back up and Chris hits several running moves and rams Eddie into the second turnbuckle for 2. A shotei sets up the Fall From Grace for 2. Hagadorn knocks Daniels off the top rope but accidentally gets booted by Edwards. Eddie counters the Angel’s Wings into a Knee DT. He puts Daniels up top, hits an enzugiri and the backpack stunner for 2. Eddie hits a backdrop suplex into a facebuster (LOVE that move) and a running knee for 2. Daniels avoids both a double stomp and a second rope codebreaker and hits a Death Valley Driver! ONLY 2! They trade forearms, Daniels goes all sumo on him, tries to leap off the ropes like he did earlier but Eddie turns it into a modified backdrop and goes for the Achilles Lock! Second Knee DT! ACHILLES LOCK but Daniels gets the ropes. Daniels counters the 2K1 Bomb THREE times, hits the uranage and finishes with the Best Moonsault Ever. Great match, but the finish came too quickly and ignored the leg work; the Angels Wings would have been better. Daniels initially looked to be selling Eddie short but his counters of signature offense late in the match showed otherwise. Can’t wait to see the rematches though.
Match Result: Christopher Daniels via pinfall.
Match Rating: ***3/4

Daniels puts Eddie over as one of the best in the world. The fact that he holds gold in ROH, that he is one of the elite IN the elite, means if Daniels wants to be the best, he has to match up with guys just like him. Tonight, Daniels was a little bit better. If Davey Richards wants to be the best in the world, he has to beat the Fallen Angel, and that’s the Gospel.

We go to a promo with Daizee Haze telling Delirious that one thing needs to be on his mind: revenge. So, a guy in a black mask who can’t talk with a girl pointing a finger at him and leading him around by the tassels? Kinky. I think I’d like to be Delirious.

Oh, and uh, Aries pulled a Randy Savage on Deli’s throat by the way. Sorry. Got distracted.

Aries is dressed up because we are paying out last respects to Austin Aries. “Boring!” – One fan. “Kind of like your sex life’s boring, right? I mean really, how fun can it be with yourself? It can’t be very exciting. Now shut your mouth!” – Aries. Fans love it. “Everyone who’s clapping right now and pumping their fists is because they pump their fists, (pantomimes masturbation) so shut your mouth!” Greatest Man That Ever Lived, Ladies and Gentlemen. He’s got his manager’s license and is going to be the Greatest Manager That Ever Lived. He says a wrestler you do things in the heat of the moment that you regret, and he wants to make amends. He doesn’t want what he did as a wrestler to affect what he’s going to do as a manager. He wants Delirious and Haze to come out so he can apologize.

They do come out. He gives Haze a flower, tries to offer his Pick Six spot to Deli but it’s now a Pick Seven spot so it won’t do too much good. He offers Twinkies. Excuse me, “Golden Snack Cakes”, which is supposedly a little harder to chant. And they do indeed chant “Golden Snack Cakes”. “Oh to be the puppeteer, oh to be the puppets.” – Aries. Aries offers to be his manager, but Deli takes the mic, drops the snack cakes and drops Aries with the mic.

Delirious w/Daizee Haze vs. Austin Aries
Punches and a corner whip by Delirious. Back body drop. He smothers Aries with the snack cake and then chokes him with his shirt. COBRA CLUTCH SUPLEX! Deli goes for the Cobra Stretch but Haze has him choke Aries with his tassels Not a match so much as a glorified beatdown.
Match Result: Austin Aries wins via DQ
Match Rating: N/R

King and Titus predictably make the save. Haze saves Deli from the axe-handle on the rail and Deli has to save her from a spike piledriver. This whole segment was like the cave scene from Empire. It’s “okay” but it stops the show dead in its tracks.

Colt Cabana cuts a promo where he tries to look like he’s excited about facing Steen, but looks like he’s doing the potty dance. Yes, I just said that. Screw you.

34th Street Death Match
Kevin Steen vs. Colt Cabana
Steen is wearing a Cabanaramma shirt. Steen jumps Cabana but Cabana Sabus a chair at him. He throws him into the barrier and Steen is already bloody. More barriers become a target for Steen’s body and Cabana gets a table. Steen avoids a powerbomb through it and they trade shots on the apron, Steen gets backdropped into the ring and hits a superkick. Cabana falls onto the rails and Steen hits a cannonball. Cabana takes a chair shot to the back but avoids one to the head. Cabana avoids the pumphandle neckbreaker on a standing chair and drops Steen onto it with a spinebuster! Cabana hits punches, bionic elbows, and a chair shot. Steen counters the flying asshole and drops him onto the table, which does not break but crumbles. He dropkicks Colt through the ropes and has a ladder. Colt blocks a ladder shot and hits Steen with the ladder, tries to suplex Steen on the ladder but Steen bites him and hits a spinebuster on the ladder! Cabana gets up at nine, with Steen poking him with the ladder, and Cabana slams him on the EDGE of the ladder! Steen is up and Colt gets a bag of tacks! Steen avoids a slam but Cabana counters a powerbomb by setting Steen up top. Steen fights him up but gets Flair Dropped onto the tacks! Cabana drills Steen with a chair and sets two on top of him, MOONSAULT OFF THE TOP TO THE CHAIRS! Ref gets to seven before El Generico’s music comes on. A skinny guy in a mask distracts Cabana long enough for Steve Corino to hit him with a low blow, and the mask comes off to reveal Colby Corino. Colby gives his father a barbed wire bat and Steve passes it to Steen. Cabana ducks and hits the Flying Asshole on Corino then hits Steen with the bat! Steen gets up at nine, blocks a powerbomb by low blowing Cabana with the bat. Package Piledriver on the tacks! Cabana up at nine! Crossface! And Corino gives him a bat, so Crossface with the barbed wire bat! Cabana cannot get up and the match is over. Heck of a brawl with a finish that played off the war at Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 2. Helped by being the only hardcore match on the card.
Match Result: Kevin Steen via 10-Count
Match Rating: ***1/4

ROH World Tag Team Championship Match
The Kings of Wrestling © w/Shane Hagadorn & Sara Del Ray vs. The Motor City Machine Guns
The Kings come out to “We Are The Champions”. Crowd LOVES both teams to death, and rightly so. Best two teams on the planet right here. MCMG get under the Kings’ skin by being douchebags. Nice touch as Hero flips to the apron and Shelley does the same thing. Claudio shoves Sabin away and poses. Sabin tries a headlock but Claudio just sets him on the top turnbuckle. Claudio works a headlock and Sabin manages to escape, but a dropkick can’t knock down the big man and Claudio hits his own dropkick. Sabin comes back with a mind-blowing headscissors. Hero tags in so Sabin tags in Shelley. They do an AWESOME chain wrestling sequence, Hero hits some chops but Shelley hits a wheelbarrow armdrag, flips Hero off, hits a victory roll armdrag and slaps Hero. Hero tries to slap him back BUT gets armdragged. Hero comes back with an elbow, tags out and Claudio decks Sabin, avoids a superkick from Shelley by going to the floor but Sabin kicks him from the apron. Shelley catches a boot from Hero, ducks a rolling elbow, can’t bring him down with a drop toehold so Sabin adds a bulldog and that sets up the neckbridge/dropkick combo. Amazing sequence there. The MCMG make a wish and kick Claudio. Sabin drops an axe-handle on Claudio’s arm, but can’t a snapmare. Multiple elbows allow Sabin to hit and he rakes the eyes. He gets Claudio in the corner and leans up for a choke, which Shelly adds to. Claudio tries to fight to Hero but Sabin pulls him back. Shelley’s chop gets no sold so he pokes Claudio’s eyes. Shelley slams Claudio into Sabin’s boots and Sabin hits a hilo. Claudio gets the tag and Hero slingshot stomps Sabin before elbowing Shelly, and then shoves him off the apron with his boot. Hero tries an O’Connor Roll but Shelley get the blind tag and sends Hero to the floor. Claudio takes a series of kicks, Shelley fakes an Asai Moonsault on Hero and Sabin hits a suicide dive! Shelley hits a missile dropkick and just assaults the hair of Hero! Shelley whips Hero, who flips to the ropes, boots Shelly, bicycle kick from Claudio on Shelley, and Hero boots Sabin to the floor! Claudio hits a hair mare on Shelley and the Kings drive him into the corner. Hero slams Shelley into his boot and then into Claudio’s. Hero snapmares Shelley and the Kings hit a flash kick/diving European Uppercut to the back of the neck combo for 2 as Sabin makes the save. Claudio chases Sabin but Sabin is so athletic he hangs off the apron to avoid his shots. Huge gorilla press gets 2 for Claudio. He lifts Shelley for a suplex, Hero tags in and shoves him down by his ankle, and Shelley stumbles into an elbow to the back! Only 2 as Sabin saves! The Kings use that sequence all the time but nobody’s gotten the idea of how to sell it better than Shelley. Hero dares Sabin to hit him and shoves him outside when he tries. Claudio swings on the second rope so Hero can slam Shelley into his boots, which the Guns did earlier, and then grounds Shelley with a cravat. Shelley hits an enzugiri and kicks Hero to the floor, Claudio ducks a second enzugiri but takes a mule kick, Shelley tries to make the tag but Hero pulls Sabin to the floor! Claudio gets 2 off a running European, sets up Shelley for a catapult rolling elbow but Shelley quickly hits Hero with an elbow, stomps on Claudio and then hits a slingshot DDT on the apron! Hero charges into a shoulder and Shelley hits the same move inside the ring. Sabin FINALLY gets the tag! Flying forearms for Hero and he dropkicks Claudio’s knees on the apron, Hero runs into his boots and Sabin SNAPS OFF the hurricane rana! He’s got to be the poster boy for that overused call by Tenay and West, cuz he does SNAP them off. Then he hits a springboard crossbody over the ropes to Claudio on the outside! SPRINGBOARD DDT! 1…2…NO! Hero is too big to Cradle Shock, and then he rolls through it into a sunset flip but Shelley CROSSBODIES HIM FROM THE TOP! Sabin uses Shelley to spring into a dropkick on Claudio! Shelley hits a crossbody to Claudio, Sabin hits an elbow in the corner, Shelley adds an enzugiri, SKULL & BONES! 1…2…NO! Claudio makes the save and dumbs Sabin to the floor, hits an inverted atomic drop but Shelley blocks a European into an attempted backslide, hits a superkick but Claudio counters Sliced Bread by setting him up top, but Shelley sneaks out of the UFO, Claudio tries the Ricola Bomb but Sabin hits an enzugiri! ROLLING ELBOW TO SABIN! TURNBUCKLE FLATLINER BY SHELLEY! LARIAT BY CLAUDIO! Claudio and Sabin trade moves, SICK POP-UP EUROPEAN UPPERCUT! 1…2…NO! CRAZY UFO but Shelley saves and spits in Claudio’s face! Hero drops Shelley to the floor and rams him into the barrier. Hart Attack Elbow sets up the Big Swing/Flash Kick! 1…2…NO! Sabin avoids a Liger Bomb and gets a small package for 2, enzugiris Hero, Shelley tags in but misses a double stomp and gets elbowed! 1…2…NO! Hero hits the flying elbow in the corner, Shelley counters an elbow with one of his own but ROLLING ELBOW! 1…2…NO! Shelley beats him to the elbow and the MCMG hit a series of elbows, springing off each other’s back, Claudio tries to grab Shelley but Sabin hits an enzugiri, ASSISTED SLICED BREAD #2! ASCS RUSH ON HERO! 1…2…NO! They set Hero up for the Sliced Bread Powerbomb, but Claudio boots Shelley off the top, Hagadorn tosses Hero the loaded elbow pad and the Briscoes are out to assault Hero, ending the match in disqualification. Crowd HATES that finish. The Kings save Sara Del Ray from the Doomsday Device but not the Jay Driller.

Okay, so the finish is a MAJOR black mark. However, the match was AWESOME, brilliant tag team wrestling that would have gotten ***** with a finish, even the loaded elbow pad. Not only did these four pull out all the stops, they hit them crisply and were CREATIVE in the way they wrestled each other. Some of the stuff they did defies recap, and I had to use my pause button several times to do so, but it never devolved to Dragon Gate levels where it’s just spot after spot with no time to catch your breath. In addition, all four had a heelish edge that really just worked to make the match even better. One of the best matches of the year, even with that awful finish.
Match Result: The Kings of Wrestling win via DQ
Match Rating: ****3/4

Random, bizarre, and utterly unintelligible segment featuring Aries asking for managerial advice form Julius Smokes. Smokes is quite possibly my least favorite manager of all time.

ROH World Championship Match
Tyler Black © vs. Roderick Strong
Fans are not fond of Black, which is odd when you see their reaction from the Eighth Anniversary Show and his title win. Granted, Strong is twice the wrestler Black is, but still. They wrestle energetically to start, but it goes to a stalemate. Black lands on his feet after missing a dropkick but hits a second one. Black works the arm and then hits several shoulder blocks, but Strong kicks him and hits a heel kick. He pulls the hair and kicks Black’s back, then wins a chop fight. A suplex gets 2 and Roddy goes to a waistlock. Black wrestles out, hits a pair of elbows and a short-arm clothesline for 2. Black hits the leaping stomp without stalling. Black gets 2 off a scoop slam and knee drop. Strong sends Tyler to the floor but gets pulled out and punched. He sends Black to the barrier but Strong avoids the moonsault off the barrier, hits a kick and drops Black on the apron in sick fashion. Great little moment as Roddy chucks the ball of streamers out of his way. Backdrop over the shoulder backbreaker gets 2. Black fights out of a waistlock but gets hit with a dropkick for 2. Strong kicks away at Black and then drags him to the apron to suplex him on the floor. Strong shoves Black into the barricade. He wins a slugfest by kicking Black int the gut. Back inside he gets a cradle for 2, turns a body scissors into a pin for 2 and then gets a camel clutch! Strong rakes the eyes, drops an elbow and kicks the ribs. Black finally wins a strike exchange but Roddy awkwardly chucks him to the apron to stop that. Black avoids the backdrop suplex on the apron once, but not twice. Black crawls to the ropes, kicks Strong in the head but gets powerslammed for 2. Strong is DOMINATING this match. Black avoids the Press Gutbuster twice and hits a backdrop suplex that sends Strong rotating. Black hits a modified neckbreaker and a quebrada, Strong lifts his knees up but Black catches him, rolls him up and kicks him, SSSP! Only 2. Stong charges when Black stomps but runs into an elbow, catches Black going gor a springboard clothesline but Black rolls through the uranage backbreaker that Strong hit at the Big Bang. He slams Strong to the floor and hits a hilo. Strong counters a paroxysm into an inverted suplex! Black hits a corner forearm, discus clothesline and the falcon arrow for 2. Black kicks out of the Boston Crab but Strong just punts him. Awkward moment where Black shoots in but misses Roddy’s knee but Roddy still gets 2. Schoolboy to Pele and Strong counters Avada Kedavra by tossing Black to the floor! Strong goes for a clothesline off the apron but Black counters to an F-5 on the floor! Strogn comes in at 19, Black fires up and hits the corner forearm, sets Strong up top, Strong avoids the Double Stomp once but not twice, Paroxysm gets 2. Strong avoids the Phoenix Splash, hits a flying knee and a sick uranage backbreaker for 2. Strong sets Black up top, Black fights him off but Strong does hit that sideslam on the buckles. Boston Crab, Black tries to counter to a roll-up but Strong sits down for 2, back to the Crab! Black gets the ropes. Black gets the ropes. Black avoids the Gibson Driver but Strong hits a rolling elbow but Black counters the Press Gutbuster into God’s Last Gift, but only gets 2. Buckle Bomb, but Strong shrugs it off to hit the Sick Kick! Only 2. Black counters the gutbuster into a rana, Strong avoids the F5 and Black superkicks Sinclair. Torture Rack Backbreaker sets up the Sick Kick. Turner rushes out as fast as he can but Black kicks out. Strong goes after the ref but gets superkicked, Buckle Bomb into the Ref! Black hits a superkick but the third ref slips on the way to the ring, so it only gets 2. Strong shoves Black into that ref and hits a leg cradle backbreaker for 2. They trade strikes and Black kicks out of ANOTHER backbreaker. This is getting ridiculous at this point. Strong runs into a superkick but hits two enzugiris, Press Gutbuster, GIBSON DRIVER! 1…2…NO! That should have been it. Not because the Gibson Driver is so sick, but because Tyler should be dead after everything Roddy’s done to him. Strong wants a Super Gibson Driver but Black hits a Pele Kick and superplex, then cradles him for 3. The idea was a Super God’s Last Gift, but the execution was way off. Strong slaps him instead of following the Code of Honor. That leads to a huge pull-apart brawl. Strong complains about being screwed, and says his chase isn’t over.

I…liked this better the first time. Really, people who complain about Davey Richards kicking out of everything need to watch this match. Black DID kick out of everything and hardly bothered to sell, which is ridiculous considering EVERY major blow was a backbreaker. THIS was a spotfest. Hit a spot, get up so you can hit the next spot. I enjoyed it at first but it started to drag and really didn’t build in drama the whole way through. Could have followed a “less is more” approach. Disappointing main event to a great card.
Match Result: Tyler Black via pinfall.
Match Rating: ***

The 411: This show reminded me of a TNA PPV, and not just because Daniels, Kong, and the MCMG were on the card. The in-ring product was stellar, but in the second half we had a non-match, a near-classic ruined by a run-in finish (admittedly, TNA's politics) and a main event filled with run-ins that wasn't nearly as good as the undercard. I can recommend the show based on the the per-match quality, but some X-Factors keep this from being an all-time great show.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]