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ROH ON HDNET SPOILERS FROM PHILADELPHIA, PA, FORMER WWE TAG STAR DEBUTS AND MORE

Rayna Von Tosh sang the National Anthem to open up the show.

Ricky Reyes d. Pelle Primeau when Reyes sat down during a victory roll attempt for the win. Reyes got a lot of heat from the crowd.

Brutal Bob Evans & Antonio “The Promise” Thomas (w/ Marshall McNeil and his croquet mallet) d. Mike Bennett & another guy (I think Matt Taven, but not entirely sure). This may have been part of the ROH tryouts they’re having tomorrow.

Daivari came out and cut an anti-American promo.

Necro Butcher d. Rob Wolf with a side slam on the tops of two folding chairs. Match was a hardcore squash.

Rhett Titus & Kenny King d. House of Truth with their powerbomb/blockbuster combo. Decent action with House of Truth getting in some good stuff.

Announced as a main event: Before Strong vs. Steen could get underway, Austin Aries came out and attacked Strong with his shoe. Steen cut a promo telling Strong to forfeit, but Strong refused. Roderick Strong d. Kevin Steen with a jacknife reversal from the package piledriver setup. Steen took the mic twice during the match telling Roddy to just quit. Roddy refused and even chanted "Ole" the second time. After the match, Steen attacked Strong and put him in the crossface until Tyler Black made the save. Strong and Black had words. This win makes Roderick Strong #1 in the Pick 6.

In a nontitle match, the Briscoe Brothers def. The Dark City Fight Club when Mark caught Jon Davis in a small package out of one of their double team moves to get the win.

Brent Albright d. James Stone with the Crowbar. No reaction here at all.

Prince Nana introduced Shawn Daivari as a new associate of The Embassy. Daivari cut a promo saying that he paid for Erick Stevens to take a vacation, and that he will take care of Necro Butcher, since Butcher represents all that’s wrong with America. As awful as it is, the Iranian guy cutting an anti-American promo still works. He even pointed out how he’s been forced to do it in other companies which have “brainwashed” the audiences.
 
Austin Aries won a 6 man Battle Royal to win the vacant slot in the Pick 6. Eddie Kingston, Joey Ryan, Rasche Brown, Jerry Lynn, and Rhett Titus were also in the Battle Royal. Eddie Kingston and Joey Ryan eliminated each other. Then Rasche Brown was eliminated by Titus and Aries while he was trying to eliminate Jerry Lynn, Rhett Titus was eliminated by Jerry Lynn who was then eliminated by Aries. Aries did the normal heel shtick of hiding and leaving the ring. He was afraid of Skullcrusher and avoided him whenever they were face to face.

Eddie Kingston d. Joey Ryan by DQ when Daivari interferes. Necro makes the save. Cornette comes out and declares a tag match between the teams, under "Butcher Rules". Shawn Daivari & Joey Ryan def. Eddie Kingston & The Necro Butcher after a low blow. Postmatch beat down on Necro until Rasche Brown comes down to the ring. He did the tease that he would help the Embassy, but eventually attacked Joey Ryan until the Embassy scattered. Rasche, Kingston, and Necro all shook hands.

Announced as a main event: Eddie Edwards d. Colt Cabana to retain the ROH Television Title with the single leg crab. Corino distracted Cabana which allowed Eddie to hit Cabana in the knee with the belt to setup the win.

El Generico def. Ricky Reyes with a sad-looking brainbuster. Reyes really got great heat and should be invited back.

Steve Corino vs. Jerry Lynn goes to a No Contest when Colt Cabana came out and attacked Corino, Steen attacked Colt, Jerry Lynn went after Corino, and then Kenny king attacked Jerry Lynn. King and Lynn brawled to the back with Steen and Corino beating up Cabana in the ring. Generico came down for the save, Steen and Generico stared each other down, but had no contact. While Generico and Corino brawled, Steen gave Cabana a package piledriver. This got a smattering of ECW chants at the beginning. Weird spot where Corino had Lynn in an abdominal stretch and when the ref wasn’t looking, Corino would jam his thumb into Lynn’s butt/taint region. Evenutally Lynn shoved that thumb into Corino’s mouth.

Announced as a main event: Tyler Black d. Austin Aries in a Non-Title Match with a small package out of a figure four attempt. Aries attacked Black after the match. Kenny King came out and they set Black up for a spike piledriver. Jerry Lynn came out for the save, and he and King brawled to the back. Roderick Strong came out, and he, Black, and Aries brawled until Black hit a dive on Aries and Strong. Black celebrated in the ring to end the show. At some point in the brawl, Delirious made an appearance at one of the guardrails, selling the throat injury from last night's tapings.

Thoughts:
Joey Ryan is gold as a midlevel heel. On Friday night, he gave candy to a bunch of the kids that were at the rails.

Austin Aries has great facials and expressions. During the battle royal, he was biting the ring rope as someone was trying to throw him out.

Rayna von Tosh would carry around various ROH t-shirts as Bobby Cruise shilled for the merchandise table.

Antonio “The Promise” Thomas is the former WWE tag team member of the Heart Throbs.

These shows should build up to the Big Bang and the May show in NYC really well. But they don’t have enough shows in the can now to last until their next tapings which happen in May, so I wonder if they’re filming stuff at the Wrestlemania weekend shows, the Big Bang, or May NYC shows.

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