Saturday, March 16, 2013

ROH Showdown in the Sun - Day 2 Review

Michael Elgin & Davey Richards put on a World Title Classic for the ages!!


*Like I said in regards to Day 1, I'll be reviewing the DVD version, so sans the stream issues both nights suffered.

ROH Showdown In The Sun – Day 2

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 3/31/12

Jimmy Jacobs comes out to cut a promo about his actions the night before, but El Generico quickly comes out and we have a match!

1.) Jimmy Jacobs vs. El Generico: **3/4

I would actually say that the match these two had at Death Before Dishonor IX. The main reason for that is that this match had the same issue that a few of the undercard matches on Day One...the match ended abruptly when it was starting to get good. Sad that ROH didn't use El Generico in 2012. Interestingly enough, El Generico showed up at Dragon Gate USA's Mercury Rising 2012 iPPV later in the day...

2.) Tommaso Ciampa (with The Embassy Ltd.) vs. Cedric Alexander (with Caprice Coleman): **1/4

So this is the 2nd unscheduled match to take place. While this was essentially a squash, it was still a pretty good match. Cedric got some offense in and did look good in the loss.

3.) ROH vs. CHIKARA – TJ Perkins vs. Fire Ant: ***1/4

This is a preview of the Synergy weekend in April. A fairly solid match. Nothing overly good but entertaining nonetheless.

4.) Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole: **3/4

A quick note about this match. From what I've heard, there was some stalling and part of the match was edited due to the "Brown-Out" suffered by Go Fight Live and their stream (both sides ended up blaming each other I think). It was ok for what it was, given the circumstances. Definitely not their best though.

5.) Dual Duel Match #2 – Street Fight – The All Night Express vs. The Young Bucks: ***1/4

ANX got the win in the Tornado Tag Match on Day 1. This was a fun hardcore brawl, with lots of good spots, but again, this match really didn't get the time it should have, especially for a Street Fight. The Young Bucks take the win.

Mike Bennett comes out with Maria for a live Prodigy Service Announcement. I expected something to happen (like someone coming down) but nothing did, other than the make-out session, which everyone expected. Lame.

6.) ROH World Tag Team Titles – Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team: ***1/2

This one was a pretty good match. While it's not their best match, it was definitely a step-up from their match at Final Battle 2011. The Briscoes are back to being faces, as they should be. I believe WGTT did a post match attack on The Briscoes as well.

7.) Eddie Edwards vs. Kevin Steen: ***1/4

Another solid contest, but once again, and abrupt finish (on a weak roll-up by Steen) takes the wind out of the match. Don't know what the deal was, but they were definitely over doing it.

Before the next match, Tommaso Ciampa comes out with the belt. He says he'll give the belt back to Lethal, and tells Lethal to make his match with Strong for the World TV Title (an opportunity which Strong earned at Glory By Honor X) and if he did, he'd shake Lethal's hand if he won and say he's the better man. Lethal agrees but says if Ciampa doesn't follow through, he'll come after him.

8.) ROH World TV Title – Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong: ***1/2

Thought it was a little odd that Ciampa told Lethal to put the belt on the line and make it a title match because this should have been for the title all along since Strong already earned a World TV Title Shot. Anyway, the match itself was pretty good. They put on an entertaining contest. Ciampa interferes and costs Lethal the match and the World TV Title, as Roderick Strong wins the belt. 

9.) ROH World Title – Davey Richards vs. Michael Elgin: *****

In short, this is one of the greatest matches in ROH history. Words don't do this justice. You need to see it to believe it. 5 Stars. Go see it NOW!!

Richards cuts a promo after the match, by the way. He puts over Elgin and says he doesn't need Truth Martini.

Overall: 8.5/10

While I think the first half of the show wasn't that good, the second half was very good. The Main Event essentially makes this a MUST BUY.

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