Match 1: The All Night Express vs. Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly
The two hot tag teams open up the show and look to end 2010 with a win as they both head into the shining 2011. Great action from all four men that got the crowd responding for everything! A lot of nasty moves as well such as King getting a DDT on the ring side apron or O’Reilly’s dropkick to the outside. Ending came when Titus held up Adam Cole as King landed a neck breaker on him as they picked up the win. A great opening contest with a very responsive crowd. Both teams are looking good as they head into the new year. Credit them for the improvements that they displayed throughout the entire year as well.
Winners: The All Night Express
Rating: ***3/4
Match 2: TJ Perkins vs. Colt Cabana
This match was labeled as a scientific showdown as the returning TJ Perkins takes on the comedic Colt Cabana. I’ve always been a Perkins fan considering I love watching his athletic and fast move set along with his technical skills and he displayed those abilities here in his match with Cabana. Perkins came off more as an underdog while the bigger Cabana seemed more in control as he seemingly joked around the entire time with Perkins being more serious and trying to defeat him with his technical mat skills. Perkins tried and tried but Cabana scored the win with an unexpected pin to get the win. Good match and I would definitely like to see more of Perkins in ROH.
Winner: Colt Cabana
Rating: ***
Match 3: Amazing Kong & Daizee Haze vs. Sara Del Rey & Serena Deeb
The women take the stage here as Kong returns to team up with Daizee Haze to take on the team of Sara Del Rey & the returning Serena Deeb. Unlike your typical Divas match, the women here actually know what they were doing and they showed that with their move sets and counters. The early part of the match showed Del Rey & Deeb in control as they wouldn’t allow Kong to get tagged in but once Kong got in, hell broke loose. Back and forth action from then on until Serena hit’s a Spear on Kong and Del Rey takes out Haze to get the win. Good match with some fun action that may have suffered from some time issues.
Winners: Sara Del Rey & Serena Deeb
Rating: **1/2
Match 4: Eddie Edwards vs. Sonjay Dutt
This match was originally supposed to be Edwards and Omega but due to Omega’s injury, Dutt came in and took over. A big chip on Dutt’s shoulder here as most fans don’t quite he was the suitable replacement for Omega but he managed to get in a great mid card match here with the rising Eddie Edwards. Edwards’ star is shining brighter and brighter as the days go by and he shows off how much he has improved over the course of the year here with his amazing and hard hitting arsenal ranging from his kicks to his chops which he lands with precision. Dutt also looked pretty good here in his ROH return and managed to get some decent heat from the crowd but this match was all Edwards who had the New York crowd in the palm of his hands. Eddie lands a 2K1 Bomb on Dutt to end the match and get the victory. Good match and no one on the ROH roster has a better 2011 outlook than this man.
Winner: Eddie Edwards
Rating: ***1/2
Match 5: Christopher Daniels vs. Homicide
It’s a clash between two ROH legends in the fifth match of the night. Homicide’s return to ROH thus far has been decent at best but looks to change that in his match here against the hot Christopher Daniels. Match was slow at times but that’s just the way Homicide works these days but he did manage to successfully land a dive to the outside which is definitely something we are not used to seeing from him these days. Some good back and forth action from the two in where I feel like it was Daniels who was carrying the load at times who knew what kind of pace he wanted to set from the start and carried on from there. End result came when Homicide landed his finisher and got the win over Daniels. Decent match but nothing to write home about. Disappointing but again, it’s Homicide in 2010, can’t really expect much.
Winner: Homicide
Rating: ***
Match 6: The Kings of Wrestling & Shane Hagadorn vs. Jay, Mark, & Papa Briscoe
This is a match that is basically a year in the making and stems from Hero knocking out Jay & Mark’s father which led to him and Hagadorn to be involved in the match. Surprisingly, Jay & Mark come out to a chorus of boos from the New York crowd with The Kings coming out to a much nicer applause. Not a fan with this match being the blow off to the feud but it does make sense. Lots of action between The Kings and Briscoes for the majority of the match which was expected but it’s like watching their older matches over again since they’ve wrestled against each other countless times throughout the course of 2010. However, all of those matches have been good to excellent and I don’t mind seeing them go at it one last time. Good stiff action throughout from both teams with Hagadorn trying his best to stay out of the match and stay away from Papa Briscoe. Papa Briscoe got involved in a good amount of the match as he did his best to destroy Hagadorn but later on failed as he got elbowed in the jaw by Hero after Hagadorn chased Papa Briscoe into the ring. Finally, Jay & Mark go at it with The Kings until they finally get their hands on Hagadorn. Jay lifts him in the air for the Doomsday as Papa Briscoe soars from the top rope and takes him out to get the win. A fun match to cap off the feud but nothing we haven’t seen before or anything that was out of the ordinary.
Winners: Jay, Mark, & Papa Briscoe
Rating: ***
Match 7: ROH World Championship – Roderick Strong © vs. Davey Richards
The first main event of the night is for the ROH World Championship as Davey Richards finally gets another shot at being the top dog by challenging Roderick Strong. The two have had epic battles in the past but none can equal to the level that this match has achieved. The story of Davey deciding not to retire to capture his dream of being the ROH World Champion writes itself. Both men enter the ring and Davey offers his hand to follow the code of honor with another hand clinched in a fist position but Strong declines which leads to the bell sounding. This match was exactly what you would expect it to be, an all out stiff battle with lots of counters, kick outs, chops, punches, kicks, and crazy moves. Davey tries to get Strong early by diving onto him to the outside but it’s not enough to keep Strong down. Davey also managed to lock on an Ankle Lock which led to Strong tapping off but the referee had his back turned due to Truth Martini at ringside distracting him. Davey then lands a nasty kick to the chest of Martini. Strong then dictates the pace of the match soon after by starting his onslaught of ridiculous back breaking moves starting from a huge slam on the top rope which leads to Strong dropping Davey back first onto the ringside table! Right after, Strong slams Davey on the ringside floor and tosses him into the crowd and tries to get the count out victory! This plan doesn’t go well as the fans at ringside encourage Davey to get up and this helps him make it to the ring before being counted out. The onslaught, however, has just begun. Strong lands kick after kick and backbreaker after backbreaker and does his best to destroy the relentless Davey Richards but to no avail! There had to have been at least five kick outs from Davey in the last few minutes which somewhat got repetitive and made the match lost a bit of steam in my opinion. The kicks and backbreakers weren’t enough so Strong locked on the Stronghold and the referee finally called for the bell as Strong defeats Richards to retain the belt. Amazing title match but I can’t help but feel like this was somewhat of a spot fest with all the big time moves they incorporated into the match. The near falls were great but they definitely abused it near the end of the match when Strong repeatedly attacked Davey with his outburst of adrenaline. If you can look past that, you have one classic match put on by two amazing athletes.
Winner: Roderick Strong
Rating: ****1/4
Match 8: Non Sanctioned Fight Without Honor – Kevin Steen vs. El Generico
It is finally time for the main event, a match that’s been a year in the making with added stipulations. It’s Kevin Steen vs. El Generico and if Steen wins, Generico must unmask. However, if Generico wins, Steen must leave ROH. That match is supposedly unsanctioned by ROH due to the violence that is going to ensue. Both men come out to their dark entrances as Steen offers his hand to Generico who spits right in his face. Steen spits right back and Generico retaliates by kicking Steen out of the ring and we are on! The months and months of brutal warfare culminates here tonight as both men tried their best to absolutely kill one another. I don’t even know where to begin with this match so I’ll start with the psychology and storytelling they were able to demonstrate here. A match of this magnitude screams spot fest but both men were able to incorporate a better told story and better psychology with an early on slower paced match so one can soak in what one man had just done. For example, Generico kicks Steen at the beginning of the match but rather than Steen getting up immediately or Generico going right after him, Generico soaks in the atmosphere of the crowd and gets them going. It’s a risky approach but I feel like it worked to perfection. The match was a blood filled war fueled by hated and emotion. They used weapons from matches past such as ladders, tables, chains, and chairs which in my opinion, adds to the emotion and storytelling of the match. Steen covering himself in blood also helped matters, even if it was ridiculously disgusting. He managed to show his psychotic hate for this man through that and get the crowd more invested into things. I’m sure a lot of people reading this will be thinking Steen covering himself in blood didn’t do much to the match but I personally feel like it added more drama and rage. Later in the match, Steve Corino gets himself involved in the match even though he stated he wouldn’t and attacked El Generico. He evens goes as far as decking the referee in the face! Corino grabs the chair that was used at Glory by Honor and attempts to kill Generico with it with Cabana runs in and makes the save! Cabana grabs the chair and launches it to Steen’s face and chases Corino out of the match. Generico goes for a boot to Steen’s face but misses and Steen lands a Package Piledriver on Generico but doesn’t get the win! Steen then hits one on the referee! Angry, Steen sets up a chair and hits another Package to Generico on it! Steen sets up Generico on the top turnbuckle and tries to take out Generico with his own move but Generico drops him and lands a top turnbuckle Brainbuster of his own but Steen kicks out! Shocked, Generico picks up a chair and looks at Steen who is positioned on his knees just like how Generico was one year ago. Generico winds up the chair but Steen holds up his mask and begs for mercy! Generico grabs the mask but cloaks Steen in the face and gets the win! Amazing finish! Beautiful ending to the storied feud with masterful storytelling and psychology. It wasn’t a spot fest, it was wrestling with style. Generico puts on his old mask and celebrates with Cabana to end the show!
Winner: El Generico
Rating: *****
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This was basically a show with a great undercard that was overshadowed with the two final main events. The blow off to the Generico vs. Steen feud was incredible and well worth the price of admission. Do yourself a favor and buy this show.
Rating: 9.25/10