Last night saw the end of Tyler Blacks Ring Of Honor title reign and also a tag team match to rival all of Beer Money and Motor City Machine Guns series of matches these past few months, of course I must be talking about Glory By Honor IX ROH's latest super card offering.
The night kicked off with a decent opener when Kerry King beat Jay Briscoe, this was followed by a brawl with the participants in the next match which was Mark Briscoe vs Rhett Titus. In the second match there was some pretty good spots but nothing to really gel the match together plus with both matches being finished around twenty minutes into the show they never really had time to develop which was a bit of a waste.
The next match was Balls Mahoney and Grizzly Redwood... "Grizzly Balls" as they were referred to, facing off against Necro Butcher and Erik Stevens. To be honest I thought this mtach was a waste of time, I know they were in New Yok but did they really need to employ Balls for the night? The time spent on this match could have really helped the main event (more on that late)or the first two matches. At this point in the show I was not that impressed of this ROH PPV (which was my first proper taste of the ROH product).
The next match was El Generico and Colt Cabana vs Kevin Steen and Steve Corino in a chain match, the match was decent and had some good high spots. I was not a fan of getting Corinos son to play a role in the match but with the quality of the match specifically Steen and Generico's part in it I could hardly complain. There is one flaw in logic, the match was billed as a feud ending bout but the removal of Genericos mask and Steen writing "Mr Wrestling" in Corinos blood on a chair with Generico's mask placed on it (yes like the T-shirt) made sure the feud would continue. Hopefully it will end in a one on one match at Final Battle between Steen and Generico. I have to say though if I had seen most of the feud throughout the year maybe I would have been more impressed.
In the next segment a video aired where Davey Richards said he had signed on with ROH and will receive a title match at Final Battle. Good decision I look forward to that main event. Eddie Edwards beat Daivari in a passable match which seemed to be there just to fill time.
The next match was between Daniels and Aries. Aries cut a promo about wanting to steal the show and with a 'builder of this house' The Fallen Angel. This match was very impressive and very physical, a lot of the failings of the night so far were put out of memory during this match. It was back and fourth with some very good wrestling and some breathtaking high spots. One thing I have to say is that Aries 450 is move impact-full than Justin Gabriel's, though I still think Gabriel's is the better one due to the awesome selling of the move. Yet the Angel Wings off of the turnbuckle capped off the first great match of the night. Just a shame the crowd went flat during it.
Kings Of Wrestling vs Haas and Benjamin was the match of the night, it was incredible even though it should have been longer, this match as stated before can rival the Motor City/Beer Money matches and that is really saying something. The four men in that ring proved that ROH is the best place to be for Tag Team wrestling in the US today. Combined with the recent efforts of TNA you could claim that Tag Team wrestling is the most exciting to watch period at this time. Kings Of Wrestling won with Hero's loaded elbow pad, which leaves a re-match possibility, a match which I hope The Worlds Greatest Tag Team come back for. The after match stuff was just silly and not needed.
The main event was a decent effort which surprisingly wasn't that badly harmed by the involvement of Terry Funk as outside enforcer/guest referee. However I want to pick out 3 faults with this match...
1. The outside interference made it seem like an over booked TNA fest.
2. The match could have done with being quite a bit longer and finally
3. Call me old fashioned but the big shots both men were taking at the end and not selling seemed ridiculous.
I understand you need and want a quick paced match to headline your card and play to the strengths of your company but when did a buckle bomb seem as weak as a slap? It did the one crime which hadn't been broken all night for me and that was breaking my suspension of disbelief. The shots which both participants were landing on each other had zero effect so when Strong got the pin I almost felt like "Well all those shots didn't have an effect, why would that move"? But don't get me wrong the positives out weigh the negatives Roderick Strong had a great match and is now the Champion, Tyler Black did an awesome job being a heel, and the match was fast paced and exciting for the most part. Homicides return after the match was a great inclusion to the event and something ROH needed after the exit of Tyler Black.
The coming weeks are going to be of great interest to me as there are now four contenders for the ROH title that will make a great main event to Final Battle whichever way it goes. Chris Daniels, Roderick Strong, Davey Richards and Homicide are all great wrestlers and all have the potential to have a good Title run with the company which will make for some great viewing over the next few weeks.
Event Rating: 7/10
A 7/10 may not seem that great but when comparing to all other PPV's this year I would nominate it for show of the year which doesn't say much for the competition.
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