ROH comes to HD Net

Written by Todd Hoster   |   Sunday, March 22 2009

Jimmy Jacobs takes on Tyler Black in the main event of the debut Ring of Honor episode on HD Net.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is the first of what will be weekly recaps of ‘Ring of Honor’ Pro Wrestling on HD Net.  We debated how best to cover these episode and finally decided on a weekly ‘review’ type format similar to the one that Mike Wilkerson employed for ‘The Ultimate Fighter’.  Our heavy metal editor Todd Hoster was chosen to do these recaps for reasons that he’ll explain.   Lyman Hoyt will be providing a more in depth introduction to the ROH promotion in the coming week.

INTRO: I’m probably not the best qualified person on the SAVSCI staff to do the weekly Ring of Honor recaps.  Our managing editor, Jim Murphy, has an encyclopedic knowledge of the ‘kayfabe’ era of pro wrestling.  Grady Roy has actually worked in ‘the business’ and enjoys nothing more than watching ‘shoot’ interview DVD’s.  Lyman Hoyt’s love of Japanese pro wrestling got him excommunicated from the Mormon church.  He’s now planning to name his first born child Keiji Mutoh if it’s a boy and Hayabusa if it’s a girl. 

By the lofty standards of THE SAVAGE SCIENCE, I’m just a casual pro wrestling fan.  That means I know more about it than 99% of the general population, but not *too* much about it.  Jim called me a ‘smart mark’ and said that’s why I’m doing these recaps.

I’m going to try to use a fairly straightforward format for these recaps.  I’ll run down the action as it happens and then give some closing thoughts.  I won’t do the pretentious ‘wrestling snob’ affectation of “rating” matches like they were bottles of wine or fine cigars.  Our suggestion is to just enjoy it for what it is.

RING OF HONOR:  HD NET EPISODE #1 AIR DATE 3/21/09

Slick, but not overly slick intro harkens back to the territory era opening sequences with a dose of updated ‘attitude’.  Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak intros the show and explains the ‘code of honor’.  Tyler Black vs. Jimmy Jacobs will be the main event on this episode.   Our first match:

DELIRIOUS VS. JERRY LYNN

The two fighters cut quick promos in a video insert labeled “smack talk”.  As Delirious enters another onscreen graphic explains some biographical background on the wrestler.  Jerry Lynn is a well traveled veteran who achieved arguably his greatest fame in the original ECW (not the current WWE perversion).  There’s some mistaken belief that Mickey Rourke’s character is based on Lynn, though aside from more than a passing resemblance between Lynn and Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson they have little in common.

The unorthodox Delirious works a shoulder block off a headlock.  Delirious goes to the well again and gets a trip takedown into a bow and arrow.  Delirious goes for a head scissors which Lynn reverses into a backbreaker.  Hip toss by Delirious to the mat and the masked man holds a chinlock variant as they set up spots.  Delirious with a couple of running clotheslines off the ropes, Jerry Lynn reverses the third and gets a backslide for a two count.  Lynn with a modified airplane spin to a slam for a near fall.  Delirious with a nice heel trip to set up a bronco buster.  Delirious misses his finisher off the top rope.  Lynn gets a sunset flip for a two count, Delirious reverses the second for a near fall.  Nice hurricarana by Lynn for the near fall.  Lynn goes for the cradle piledriver, Delirious shoves him into the corner.  Finally Lynn gets his cradle piledriver finisher for the three count. 

WINNER:  JERRY LYNN

Kyle Durden does an interview with Tyler Black backstage.  Talks about how difficult it is to get down to Jimmy Jacobs’ level. 

SAMI CALLIHAN VS. KENNY KING

Callihan says its Halloween 365 days a year where he comes from.  He doesn’t credit Ministry’s “Every Day Is Halloween” for the conceit.  He’s billed from ‘The Last House on the Left’, an allusion to the Michael Hayes line that “The Fabulous Freebirds come from the baddest street in town, and we live in the last house on the left”.   Kenny King is a lady’s man, or so the graphic on the screen tells us.  Callihan starts with a wristlock to a hammer lock.  King with a kip up off a Japanese arm drag.  King with a front facelock as they set up spots.  Big clothesline by King for a 1 count.  King mugging to the crowd, Callihan responds with a fist to the midsection.  Sweet springboard legdrop by King for a 2 count.  King with a reverse chinlock.  King with a cool enziguri variation to a spinebuster for a two count.  More mugging to the crowd by King who never learns as Callihan gets another fist to the gut into an inverted atomic kneedrop.  Funky suplex variation by Callihan and both men get up slowly. King catches a couple of fists to the face with Callihan responding with a bulldog variation.  Callihan locks in his finisher the ‘Koji Clutch’.  King makes the ropes and King is forced to release the hold.  Elbow into the corner by Callihan, King ducks away from the second.  King hits the ‘Coronation’ brainbuster variation and gets the three count.

WINNER:  KENNY KING

Kyle Durden backstage with Dave Navarro wanna-be Jimmy Jacobs.  Talks about the formation of the Age of the Fall and Tyler Black’s is a traitor. 

History clip of ROH history featuring some of the past stars like CM Punk, Abyss, Samoa Joe, along with some of the legends from the US and Japan who have appeared in the promotion.  Good promo video for newcomers. 

RHETT TITUS VS. BRENT ALBRIGHT

Titus is better known by his nickname ‘Addicted To Love’.  Think a bizarre hybrid of Val Venus and Shawn Michaels.  Fans throwing streamers into the ring like they do in Japan.  Brent Albright talks about his intensity.  Titus does a hip thrust off of the opening handshake and Albright responds like Heath Herring against “Kiss” Nakao and hits him with a couple of stiff chops.  High, high vertical ‘soo-play’ by Albright.  A couple of big fists by Albright, but Titus catches him with a big boot rushing in.  Albright recovers quickly and slams him off the top rope.  Jackknife power bomb by Albright—like Scott Hall’s “Diamond Cutter” finisher back in WCW.  Albright clotheslines Titus over the top rope and then nice splash over the rope onto the floor.  Albright throws Titus back in but “Addicted to Love” catches him coming in with an eye rake.  Quick cover for a two count by Titus. Titus follows up with punches and stomps, but Albright recovers with some more stiff chops until Titus catches him with another eye rake.  Cool drop kick to the back of the head by Titus for a two count.  Knee drop by Titus for a near fall.  Referee warns Titus for raking the eyes.  Titus with a quick face hump that draws a collection of groans and “ewws” from the crowd.  Titus with a rear chinlock, but Albright responds with a series of clotheslines.    Albright with a dropkick out of the corner for a two count.  “Exploder” suplex by Albright, Titus recovers with a quick dropkick and gets a near fall.  Albright with a chokeslam into a half nelson suplex and locks in his “crowbar” arm bar finisher for the submission.

WINNER: BRENT ALBRIGHT

Some bloody footage from the Austin Aries/Jimmy Jacobs “I Quit” match from Chicago which precipitated Tyler Black’s face turn.

TYLER BLACK VS. JIMMY JACOBS

Jacobs enters first—the on screen graphic informs us that he’s ‘violent and evil’.  Black is now a ‘strong fan favorite’, or so the graphic says.  Streamers in the ring and no handshake.  Collar and elbow tie up, Jacobs pushes Black and Black pushes Jacobs to the canvas.  Jacobs starts his offense with some big strikes to the back, but Black pushes him into the ropes for a drop kick.  A few big punches by Black knock Jacobs to the outside.  Jacobs grabs a couple of folding chairs and throws them in the ring.  Black and the ref kick them out, and Jacobs takes the opportunity to sandbag him from behind.  Jacobs takes over with punches and some good old school ‘heel’ tactics like the choke across the rope.  Black takes over with a bodyslam and a foot to the throat for a two count.  Black catches Jacobs coming off the top rope with an inverted atomic drop.  Black with some stomps to Jacobs in the corner, but Jacobs recovers with a fistdrop and goes back on the offense with stomps and kicks.  Jacobs with a fist drop off the second rope a la Jerry Lawler.  Rear chinlock by Jacobs, then a headbutt and some more Jerry Lawler-esque fists.  Jacobs whips Black into the corner, reverses it and catches him with a backdrop coming off.  Black heads to the top for his finisher but Jacobs pushes him off and Black hits the steel barricade at ringside.  Jacobs with a Cactus Jack-esque elbow drop off the ring apron.  Jacobs grabs a folding chair and he sits Black into the chair.  The ref steps in and the action resumes in the ring.  Another one of Jacobs’ cool drop kicks to the back of the neck for a two count.  Jacobs rushes into the corner but Black gets the knees up.  Jacobs recovers quickly with a choke for a near fall.  Jacobs with some ‘ground and pound’.  Jacobs with a series of stomps to the midsection.  Black gets a burst of energy and lands some punches but Jacobs cuts the rally short with a boot to the stomach.  Press slam by Black, he hits Jacobs with an elbow into the turnbuckle.  Cool enziguri from outside the ring.  Springboard lariat by Black for a two count.  Standing shooting star press by Black for a two count.  Black back to the top rope and misses with his finisher.  Jacobs with a spear for the two count.  Another enziguri by Black but he gets thrown out of the ring by Jacobs immediately after.  Tope by Jacobs, he throws Black into the ring for a quick two count.  Jacobs heads to the top rope for a senton splash, Black catches him with a knee.  Black sets him for his ‘God’s Last Gift’ finisher but Jacobs counters with a guillotine choke.  Black gets out for a moment, but Jacobs responds with another guillotine.  Black counters by flipping back over Jacobs and gets the three count.

WINNER:  TYLER BLACK

Next week—ROH champion Nigel McGuinness against Jay Briscoe. 

One of the hardest things for a promotion like ROH is to bring new fans into existing storylines without beating them over the head with too much information.  In their first show, ROH did a nice job at emphasizing the product difference between the more ‘sports entertainment’ oriented promotions like the WWE and TNA—there were no stupid skits, no ‘divas’ and 90%+ of the airtime was in-ring wrestling with only a couple of short promos by the main event particulars.  The announcing was decent, though Mike Hogewood—who apparently has a background in ‘legit’ sports and not pro wrestling—sometimes got too excited at points in the matches where a little understatement would have worked better.  Personally, I’m not sold on the ‘legit’ announcer concept anyway.  There’s nothing wrong with a pro wrestling announcer not being an over the top clown—think Gordon Solie, or a pre WWE Jim Ross—but he needs to be ‘smart’ to the business.  Hogewood did a decent job, however, and he’ll likely improve as he grows into the gig.
Good effort by ROH to bring new fans up-to-speed on the promotion and feuds without throwing too much at them at once.  For the most part, they let the action speak for itself and that alone creates a compelling alternative to the circus sideshow environment of WWE and TNA.

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