Zen Arcade Reviews: ROH Boiling Point 2012

We are LIVE in Providence, RI. The venue is pretty nice, and if you used to watch ROH back in 2005-2006, this venue looks a bit like the one they used in Long Island, NY for shows like Sign of Dishonor and Glory by Honor IV. Not many major stories will be furthered here, but for $15 you cannot beat this card, even if it is a little bit weak by usual iPPV standards. Eddie Kingston wrestles in ROH for the first time in nearly three years, Sara Del Rey has her ROH Swan Song, and Mike Mondo continues to rule. 

As usual, your hosts are Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness. 

Roderick Strong vs. Mike Mondo
I still find it insane that Mondo turned face successfully, but he’s been doing awesome on ROH TV so I’m just fine with it. Roddy is without his TV Title (a pointless, pointless reign) as he lost it to Adam Cole on TV. 

Chain wrestling doesn’t do much early, so Mondo throws Strong to the outside. Mondo eats a few chops, so he turns it into a brawl to prevent them. Mondo goes to work on Roddy’s leg with a weird figure four type hold, but Roddy gets out and they soon brawl on the outside. Mondo stops a chop barrage by HEADBUTTING THE SHIT OUT RODDY! Holy hell. That pisses Strong off as he hits a stiff kick and takes control of Mondo inside. Mondo makes his comeback with several knees in a cravat position and stomping Roddy on the ring apron for a close 2 count. Roddy heads to the outside again, where Mondo hits a long running charge FROM THE ENTRANCE into the barricade! The crowd loved that. Mondo hurts his shoulder and prevents Todd Sinclair from stopping the match. BACKBREAKER FROM RODDY! MONDO KICKS OUT! Hell of a nearfall. Mondo breaks a LaBell Lock but FALLS TO A LUNGBLOWER! NEARFALL! SICK KICK! Roddy gets the win in 14 minutes. ***1/2 One hell of an opener. Mondo continues to prove how good he is by winning over another crowd and putting on another awesome performance, while Strong gets on the winning track once more.

Four Corner Survival for ROH Contract: Antonio Thomas vs. Vinny Marseglia vs. QT Marshall vs. Matt Taven
PWF Northeast’s announcer Caleb Seltzer is a guest to explain who the next four wrestlers are and call the match, which is great as we’ve only seen two of these wrestlers sparingly (Marseglia only once and Marshall once) and one rather regularly in Taven. Taven  is going to WWE, so I doubt he’ll pick this one up but hey, ya never know.

I just googled Antonio Thomas…and he was a fucking HEART THROB in WWE. That’s just hilarious. First you have a former cheerleader wrestle on your show and now a former Heart Throb? Genius. 

We have a perhaps record-setting GENERIC INDY STANDOFF!~! at the 4 second mark between Thomas and Taven. Vinny tags in and the crowd pops at a showdown with Taven. Marshall and Thomas attack Vinny and Taven, but the faces dispose of them. Taven hits an AWESOME plancha after Thomas drops Marseglia on true outside. Marshall tags in and eats a botched spinning Russian legsweep. Holy crap, this PWF announcer sucks. He’s eccentric and all, but he’s a worse clichè machine than Mauro Ranallo. Marshall and Thomas take turns working over Marseglia, but they turn on each other. Thomas hits a Suplex on Marseglia while putting in and Indian Deathlock and Marshall but TAVEN BREAKS IT UP WITH A SPLASH! Taven hits a springboard kick on Marshall and a Moonsault press for 2! HUGE SPINNING DDT! Nearfall. Marseglia hits a huge pescado, and hits a sunset powerbomb on Taven. Taven misses with a springboard kick on Marshall, who hits a variation of the Coronation to win in 11 minutes. *** I’m probably overdoing the rating, but a lot of it is based on my surprise factor. I came in expecting nothing and got a really fun spotfest that won the crowd over by the end. Taven shone here, but since he’s going to WWE, Marshall was the best choice under the circumstances. Plus, his entrance music is great. I enjoyed this a lot, but some won’t.

Proving Ground for TV Title: Adam Cole (c) vs. Bob Evans
This kind of match–in my opinion–is perfect for a card like this. Cole isn’t in a feud right now and it ties into the tag match from TV that he had with Eddie Edwards against Evans and Bennett. A lot of people don’t like the idea of this match but I like it simply because there’s logical continuity and a backstory here. 

Evans cuts a weird promo on Cole after his entrance, saying Cole has a “sweet, delicate mouth” to punch. Cole goes for Bob’s leg early. Evans goes outside and takes control after resting a bit. This crowd loves Brutal Bob. Whoa. And if you don’t listen to the Art of Wrestling, you might be delighted to know that Adam Cole once passed up making out with a cute girl because he wanted to finish watching a wrestling match. Can’t write comedy like that folks. Evans hits the Hurricane’s old finisher for a two count. Cole hits a shining wizard for 2. Evans retaliates with his version of the Box Office Smash but only gets two. Stiff superkick from Cole! Two count! Cole gets a superkick to the knee and puts in a figure four! Evans taps in 10 minutes. After the match, Eddie Edwards and Sara Del Rey save Cole from a beating by Mike Bennett, Maria, and Evans. **1/2 This was a bit boring for most of the match, but good psychology and a decent finishing stretch make up for it.

Michael Elgin vs. Charlie Haas
I love both of these guys, but if Death Before Dishonor IX indicates anything, they have no chemistry. Truth Martini cuts a promo, spoiling who faces Kevin Steen at Death Before Dishonor X. Truth Martini says there’s a lot of “hooplah” about cohesion in HOT. That starts a “Hooplah” chant. Before he says anything else, Michael Elgin says he signed a contract that says he’ll get a World Title shot at Glory By Honor XI, which stems from Survival of the Fittest last year. That was an AWESOME match. Roderick Strong is pissed about that, so he goes on strike from the House of Truth and leaves. I like the possibility of Steen/Elgin. 

The fans want Shelton Benjamin instead of Haas. Well, can’t blame em. He’s in Japan or “suspended” from ROH. Whichever works for you. Elgin takes control early with a delayed vertical suplex. Charlie comes back and takes control as Roderick Strong comes out to watch. Haas’ control doesn’t last long, but he comes back again and works the knee. At around the 7 minute mark, nothing good has really happened. Elgin finally starts coming back, but Haas trips him and hits a few punches. Well, I never said Charlie was exciting. Right now, he’s making me think I won’t ever say that. I love the guy, but damn, if you can’t have a fun match with Elgin then something’s up. Elgin comes back again and hits a running knee for a two count. Elgin hits a German suplex and enzuigiris Haas to the floor. Roddy tries to give Charlie a beer, but that pisses Elgin off enough to distract him and let Charlie take control. Haas sprays beer all over Martini and drinks some, getting his first face pop in a while. Elgin pours beer all over Roddy now, but Roddy does the same to Elgin and Haas gets a rollup for the win in 13 minutes. ** This was not a good match. It was a scapegoat to help further the HOT feud though, so it wasn’t totally pointless.

We go over some footage from Milwaukee of the Briscoes vs. Kevin Steen and Jimmy Jacobs, including a HUGE ASS DIVE from Mark Briscoe off the balcony through a table on Kevin Steen. It’s as awesome as it sounds. And the second best part was Jay JUMPING off of the mat and taking a bump to sell the craziness. I LOVE THE BRISCOE BROTHERS.

The Briscoe Brothers vs. S.C.U.M. (Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Corino)
Whoa, Steve Corino looks creepy clean shaven. 

Steve Corino looks like he dropped a lot of weight since Final Battle as well. The Briscoes start hot early, controlling Corino. Action spills to the floor, where Mark Briscoe HITS A MOONSAULT OFF THE TOP ROPE! Back in the ring, Corino and Jacobs take control on Jay. Mark makes a tag and does some redneck kung fu. Jacobs recovers and hits a Tornado suplex and tags Corino, who hits a reverse STO. Jay tags in and hits a Neckbreaker on Corino for a two count but eats a spear from Jimmy Jacobs. Mark drags Corino out of the ring and hits the Froggy ‘bow on Jacobs! Corino breaks the pinfall. Doomsday Device on Jacobs gets the win for Dem Boys in 13 minutes. *** Good formula tag match to keep this little mini-feud churning on until Caged Hostility in Charlotte.

Intermission: This is a recap of the really good Kingston/Steen feud. Kingston cuts an AMAZING promo about what it means to win the ROH World Title. He’s so, so underrated that it’s scary. He isn’t gonna win, but it’s still a tremendous promo. It’s basically a lot of the stuff you’ve seen on TV. They recap the AWESOME segment from Young Wolves Rising as well, plus the CHIKARA Hot Off The Griddle match. ROH recaps the Del Rey/Edwards vs. Bennett/Maria feud as well. 

Two Out of Three Falls: Jay Lethal vs. Tommaso Ciampa (w/ RD Evans)
These two had a great match at Border Wars and have enough time to put on another great bout. I have high hopes. Ciampa does a good job at playing his new gimmick, but he won’t get any momentum because it’s obvious that ROH is putting Lethal over. Why? Because Jim Cornette is stupid sometimes. 

Lethal bitch slaps RD Evans and is attacked by Ciampa to begin. Lethal hits Lethal Injection early but Ciampa kicks out! Lethal hits a Lethal Combination to win the first fall in 2 minutes.

Lethal takes control to start the second fall. Ciampa threatens to suplex Lethal on the floor, but Lethal reverses and suplexes both Ciampa and RD Evans on the exposed floor. Ciampa counters an Alley Oop Bomb, and hits a big jumping knee. Project Ciampa gives Ciampa the second fall in 8 minutes. Good psychology there by Ciampa hitting the move on his good knee. 

Lethal starts the third fall hot, but eats a knee to the gut from Ciampa. Lethal Combination into the corner! Nearfall. Lethal comes down with an axe handle and hits a pop up Neckbreaker for two. TOPE ONTO RD EVANS! HAIL TO THE KING ON CIAMPA! CIAMPA KICKS OUT!! Wow, what a nearfall. CIAMPA HITS AN AIR RAID CRASH ON LETHAL ON THE APRON! Both guys get in at 19. Lethal and Ciampa slug it out in the ring, plus they trade kicks and knees! SUPERKICK FROM LETHAL! NEARFALL! Wow, what a match. RD Evans tries to stall the match and helps Ciampa low blow Lethal, BUT PRINCE NANA IS HERE! He attacks Evans, but Ciampa takes him out. Ciampa eats a low blow back in the ring and Lethal hits a Lethal Injection to win in 17 minutes. ***3/4 This was an AWESOME match, marred by a bit of overbooking. These two have insane chemistry together and it shows every time they wrestle. For once, I like the unclean finish because it doesn’t make Ciampa seem very weak since he took a low blow after a distraction. I loved  this, but some may not due to the overbooking at the end.

Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis vs. Eddie Edwards and Sara Del Rey
Man, this Providence crowd loves Mike Bennett. Maria is smoking hot tonight and Nigel McGuinness makes sure everyone knows. He’s hilarious when Maria is out there. 

Edwards and the Prodigy start. Del Rey tags in and her and Edwards double team Bennett. Del Rey begins to control but Maria prevents that. Man, Nigel is hilarious here. Del Rey tags in Edwards, who hits a missile dropkick and hits Kobashi machine gun chops. Edwards ties Bennett in the tree of woe and hits a basement dropkick. Bennett recovers and spears Edwards coming off the apron. That allows Maria and Bennett to isolate Die Hard. Edwards hits a superkick, but eats a lariat for a 10 count spot. Maria tags in and so does Death Rey and Nigel screams “OH NO MARIA!~!” HAHA. Edwards tags in and hits a sweet topé suicida on Bennett! Bennett kicks out of a Chinchecker. Bennett goes for a Super Box Office Smash but EDWARDS COUNTERS OUT! ACHILLES LOCK! ANKLE LOCK ON MARIA BY DEL REY! Maria gets out and goes under the ring, but Sara goes in with her and comes out with her clothes. Bennett taps to the Achilles Lock in 14 minutes. ***1/2 You need a little sports entertainment once in a while, and these four gave it to us in spades. This was a really fun match that was lighthearted enough to ease us into what’s gonna be a killer, more serious main event.

After the match, Bennett scrambles to cover Maria up under the ring. Nigel McGuinness is DYING to go under there, but Kevin Kelly cockblocks him because he’s an asshole. Nigel: “Kevin, I am a broadcast journalist and I need to go under there and get the story!” Afterwards, Sara Del Rey gets what is more than likely her farewell from Ring of Honor. Good luck in WWE, Death Rey! 

Anything Goes for the ROH World Title: Kevin Steen (c) vs. Eddie Kingston
With such small build, this feels like a really big match even though it isn’t. That’s why Eddie Kingston and Kevin Steen are awesome, I guess. Steve Corino is on commentary. YES! He’s pretty fucking awesome too. 

Eddie Kingston starts by slugging Steve Corino outside. Ha. That’s great. Kingston starts hot on the outside and hits a plancha on S.C.U.M., and Corino and Jacobs leave. Damn. Steen comes back with a Codebreaker on a steel chair. Steen gets a spare turnbuckle and chokes Eddie with it. Steen sets up a table on the guardrail and Kingston suplexes him through it! Kingston looks to get another table but Steen BASEBALL SLIDES IT into Kingston’s face. Steen sets up a table wrong side up and POWERBOMBS KINGSTON THROUGH IT! That’s disgusting. Kingston looks pretty hurt as Steen jaws with some fans. FORESHADOWING!~! They try to get Kingston out on a stretcher as Steen roasts on a fan. Steen cuts a promo and lures Kingston back by saying Larry Sweeney thinks he’s a fucking pussy right now! IT’S ON!!! Kingston comes in hot! HALF NELSON SUPLEX! Nearfall. I’m actually okay with Steen mentioning Sweeney because he never insulted him and it made the match even more heated. ELEVATED DDT ON A CHAIR BY STEEN! CANNONBALL WITH A CHAIR! That only gets 2. Kingston misses a Backfist to the Future but HITS A BACKDROP DRIVER THROUGH A TABLE! BACKDROP DRIVER THROUGH A FUCKING CHAIR! STEVE CORINO PULLS THE REF OUT! HERE’S RHETT TITUS! He fights Corino to the back. Here’s Jimmy Jacobs, who helps Steen hit a low blow! NEARFALL! F-CINQ! EDDIE KICKS OUT! What a match. Eddie is still defiant so Steen HITS AN F-CINQ ON TWO CHAIRS! That’s it in 19 minutes. **** I again may be overdoing the snowflake rating, but this match was amazing. Kingston’s never-say-die attitude contributed to some great moments and business really picked up after Steen mentioned Larry Sweeney. It was a given result, but they made up for the predictability by utilizing both’s storytelling skills and awesome spots. The interference was okay because it didn’t lead to the finish, which was brutal in its own right. These two had a great hardcore match and exceeded my high expectations.

After the match, Steen cold-clocks two plants in the front row. This is one of the best examples of ROH working the smart fans, as everyone (and I) thought Steen legitimately hit these guys. It won’t do anything to get him heel heat since its been proven impossible to turn Steen heel anymore, but Delirious and Cornette are determined to try. And hey, they can say they worked the fans when Gabe Sapolsky or Adam Pearce were never able to say that. 

The 411: The first hour drags a bit after a very good start, but everything after intermission is rocking. A lot of people came into this one with very low expectations, but like usual ROH dishes out a consistent iPPV that provides several matches at or above the three star line, plus one at the four star line. We got Kingston and Steen in an amazing match that's worth the fifteen dollars alone as well as a splendid 2/3 falls match that showed how good Tommaso Ciampa and Jay Lethal are together. Add on other great matches and you have an another great ROH iPPV in a long line of them. High recommendation.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]