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The show opens with a promo featuring Steve Corino and Kevin Steen hanging out in an alley behin the ECW Arena playing with barbed wire. Corino says that this is where he became a man, and it was because he tested the limits of his body and mind, and tonight, they'll have to show Colt Cabana and El Generico what being a little "E" is all about. Steen says he's been here many times himself, and the one memory burned in his mind from this building was Generico going through a table and costing them the ROH World Tag Team Title. Tonight, if ROH wants to put Steen in an Anything Goes Match, they can't expect it to go well, and tonight he'll get to exorcise the demons of that match tonight. Corino says this is just one part of the plan, and that he needs to execute the plan.
Let's head to the ring for our first match!
The Set vs Up In Smoke
Lance Lude and Cloudy start out, and it looks like Lude has finally found somebody smaller than himself, and they drive this point home by starting with a test of strength. Cloudy escapes and hits a forearm and a bodyslam for 2. Cheech tags in and Cloudy hits a vertical suplex followed by a rolling sention from Cheech for 2. Lude goes to the eyes and tags out to Jay Sinn, who hits a hammerlock STO, but Cheech ducks a clothesline and makes a blind tag to cloudy, who comes off the top with a bodypress for 2. Jay Sinn comes back with a suplex of his own for 2 and tags in Lude, and they hit their version of the battering ram/double team spear/inverted power splash for 2. That was a pretty neat combo. Jay Sinn tags back in and slams Cloudy again, but misses a second rope splash and Cloudy makes the hot tag. Lude goes to the eyes, but Cheech with a big power lift on Lude and then a double team DDT on Jay Sinn. Lude comes in with a double armdrag to send Up In Smoke to the floor and then gets backdropped by his partner onto Cheech & Cloudy. Cheech comes back with a facebuster, then catches Lude off the top and he and Cloudy hit a double team slam to send him out of the ring, and one 619/dropkick combo (which I think I'll call the 420) and an assisted senton later, Up In Smoke come away the victors.
Winners: Up In Smoke
We go to a video package of the history of Rasche Brown as the hottest free agent in ROH and Prince Nana trying to get ahold of him, then eventually sending his troops after Rasche when he didn't want to join the Embassy, and finally introducing Necro Butcher as the new Crown Jewel of the Embassy. Oh, and by the way, Necro Butcher takes on Rasche Brown tonight!
Time for another video package, as we go back to last week when Kevin Steen gave Tyler Black the Package Piledriver following Tyler's six man main event. And wouldn't you know it, Steen's challenging Tyler Black for the ROH World Title this weekend in Chicago! I may be completely wrong on this one, but I would not be at all surprised to seen Steen win the title this weekend. I think he's been on such a roll and has become such a strong character that I think he's in a much better position to get the title now than last time he was a serious challenger when Nigel McGuinness was champion.
Time for the Women of Honor to do battle...
Sara Del Rey vs Jamila Craft
Jamila tries a handshake to start, but Sara kicks her in the gut and hits a nasty German Suplex for 2. Sara chokes Jamila on the ropes as we are informed that Sara will face Amazing Kong this weekend in Chicago. I really wish I didn't live a 13 hour drive from Chicago. Sara ties Jamila in the ropes and hits a series of kicks to the chest and covers for 2, then hits a snap suplex and goes for the mask. She can't get it, so she just kicks Jamila in the back instead. Sara eats elbow on a charge and Jamila gets an inverted DDT for 1. Sara with a stiff boot to the chest and a piledriver for an easy win.
Winner: Sara Del Rey
We go back to two weeks ago when Roderick Strong got into an argument with Christopher Daniels following their loss to the American Wolves, and now we go to Kyle Durden with Roderick and Truth Martini. Roderick has a match with Daniels coming up next week on HDNet, but tells Martini that Roderick is a changed man since joining the House of Truth. Martini says that he is changed because happiness comes from within inside the center of self, and he's happy to say that Roderick is fine because he's the most self centered person. Strong says that Daniels couldn't hold up his end of their tag match, but next week they're going to be opponents and Roderick promises to walk out the winner because that is the truth.
Time for another trip back in time, as two weeks ago the Briscoes stopped the Kings of Wrestling from using the loaded elbow pad on the Dark City Fight Club and a big brawl broke out, culminating in the Briscoes destroying several security guys. We go back to the locker room with Kyle Durden with the Kings Of Wrestling and Sara Del Rey, who seems to have changed back into street clothes awful quickly. Hero says that it's plain to see that the Briscoes are sore losers and cannot be trusted in a professional environment. They put their hands on Sara Del Rey, and granted, their altercation with the Briscoes' father got out of hand, but Papa Briscoe hit him and he retaliated. The Kings of Wrestling are officially declaring ROH not just unsafe, but a hazardous working environment. Claudio says that they are making the decision to not be on the same shows or even in the same buildings as the Briscoes anymore, and as the stars of ROH, we'd better be prepared to see less of the Briscoes and more of the KOW because Kings reign supreme.
Back to the ring!
Erick Stevens vs Rasche Brown
Rasche rasches down to the ring (ha) and he and Stevens go toe to toe right off the bat. Rasche tosses Stevens to the floor and continues beating him up out there. Stevens tries to escape into the ring, but Rasche gets him by the tights and pulls him back out. Stevens blocks a whip into the guardrail, but Rasche tackles him and he goes flying into the guardrail anyway. Rasche follows in with a charge but Stevens moves and Rasche crashes full force into the rail. Now Stevens tosses Rasche back into the relative safety of the ring and chokes him on the ropes, then distracts the ref while Nana and Osiris attack Rasche from the floor. Rasche no-sells some forearms and fires back on Stevens, and they end up going toe to toe until Stevens goes to the eyes. He ends up paying for that transgression by eating a roaring clothesline that looks like it would have decapitated the Lincoln Monument, but it only got 2. Nana grabs Rasche's foot from ringside and allows Stevens to hit a charging clothesline in the corner, but comes off the ropes right into a spear from Rasche. Rasche chokeslams Stevens just as Necro Butcher runs in and attacks Rasche for the DQ.
Winner: Rasche Brown by DQ
The Embassy put the boots to Rasche, but the Dark City Fight Club run in to make the save. Big DCFC chant. Talk about three guys I would not want to screw with.
Now we look back on the history of the Steen/Corino vs Cabana/Generico feud, and that leads us right into our main event of the evening...
Anything Goes: Steve Corino & Kevin Steen vs Colt Cabana & El Generico
Steen and Corino are in the ring with chairs waiting on Cabana and Generico to try and get in. Finally Generico is able to get in and go after Corino as Cabana drags Steen to the floor, but pretty soon Corino and Generico wind up on the floor as well and an all out brawl breaks loose. Generico smashes Corino in the head with the Blinding Water Bottle Of Doom as Steen rams Cabana into the guardrail. Generico and Corino head back in the ring and Steen tries to nail Generico from behind but Generico sees him and punches him in the face, then makes like he's going to go for the top rope armdrag, but changes his mind midmove and dives to the floor onto Steen instead. Generico whips Steen into the guardrail, and now Cabana goes after Corino and rams him into the timekeeper's table. Steen nails Cabana and rams him into the ringpost and then pulls off a section of the guardrail, lays it flat, and slams Cabana on it. Generico reverses a whip and sends Corino flying into the crowd and follows him in just as Cabana and Steen wind up over the guardrail and now all four men are brawling through the crowd. Steen goes low on Cabana and gouges at his face, then uses what looks like a fan's cane to attack Cabana and send him back over the guardrail to ringside. Steen with a really brutal looking fisherman's buster on Generico in the crowd, but by this time Cabana's recovered and he drags Corino back over the guardrail and nails him, but Steen hits him from behind with a chair and then an enziguiri. Everybody's back in the ring now except for Cabana, and Corino works over Generico in the corner before Steen comes in and rams a chair into Generico's gut. Steen with a hard clothesline in the corner, followed by a running chop from Corino and then the cannonball from Steen. Cabana gets back in the ring and starts to clean house on both heels, misses the Cabanasault, and eats stereo kicks from Steen and Corino. Corino goes to ringside and uses a broken piece of a table to nail Generico as Steen puts the boots to Cabana in the ring. Corino pulls a table out from under the ring and slides it into the ring, and Steen slides a second table in after stopping to stomp Generico in the head. Cabana fires back on both heels but Steen hits a lungblower and he goes into the ropes, but Generico pulls down the ropes and Steen sails to the floor. Generico suplexes Corino into one of the tables that was set in the corner and follows that with the half and half suplex for 2, but Steen fires a chair into the head of Generico, then sets up two chairs as platforms and goes to powerbomb Generico onto them, but Cabana nails Steen and Generico gives Steen the half and half suplex onto the chairs and goes for a cover, but Corino breaks at 2, so Generico hits him with the running Yakuza Kick in the corner, then sets up a chair in front of Corino's face so Cabana can give him the Flying Asshole, but then he turns around into a superkick from Steen, followed by a Steen powerbomb and pump handle neckbreaker on a chair to Generico, but that only gets 2. Steen places a table on the top rope like a platform, then they use part of the guardrail and some chairs to build another platform. This doesn't look like it will be comfortable. Corino slings another chair at the head of Generico as Steen goes up top, but Cabana nails Steen and sends him tumbling to the floor as Generico hits a DDT on Corino, then balances him on the guardrail platform. Generico goes up top, but Steen nails him and Corino superplexes him onto the guardrail and covers, but Cabana breaks it up. This is amazing. Cabana gives Steen a spinebuster on a chair, then nails Corino with another chair...and then nails him two more times before he finally goes down. Cabana sets up a table in front of the platform table in the corner and sets Corino up on the corner table. Cabana goes up top but Steen nails him with a chair. Corino and Cabana get to their feet and those are two big guys to balance on that flimsy table, and they go toe to toe until Corino hits an ugly superplex through the table in the ring and covers to finally end this one.
Winners: Steve Corino & Kevin Steen
That match was just brutal, but in every awesome sense of the word. But it's not over yet, because now Generico and Steen are brawling out in the parking lot and Steen powerbombs Generico onto the hood of a car, but it's okay because it has Jersey plates. Steen yells at Generico, but he gets backjumped by our heroic World Champion, Tyler Black, who then rams Steen into the car and puts the boots to him. What a role model.
This was one of the best episodes of ROH On HDNet so far this year. They hit what I thought was finally a perfect balance of in-ring action and video packages without feeling like either was overwhelming the other, and they topped it off with what may have been the best match of the HDNet series so far in 2010. Really, the main event was that good, and in a year or so when ROH is able to put this out on home video, you'll want the DVD. I also though that even though ROH On HDNet usually does a pretty poor job of promoting any non-televised events other than iPPVs and New York shows, they did a fair bit of build to this weekend's event in Chicago, even if it mostly centered on the main event. That said, the fact that they're promoting it more than they do most shows really make me feel like there's at least a reasonable chance that we're going to see a new ROH World Champion this weekend. I think it's 50/50 at this point, but if Steen does win the title, you heard it here first.
Anyway, great episode and that wraps it up for this week, thanks for reading as if you're going to either the Chicago show on Saturday or the Collinsville show on Friday, we're looking for live reports from both events, so if you feel so inclined to see your name on the site, please send one along to me or any of the other guys here at the site and we'll get it posted. Until then, thanks for reading and I'll see you back here next week!
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