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Ring of Honor's Final Battle 2012 is now available for replay VOD buys at www.rohwrestling.com. I thought it was a really good show with some excellent matches, especially Kevin Steen vs. El Generico and Roderick Strong vs. Michael Elgin. There was nothing bad on the show at all.
The show drew in the 1400-1600 range live.
As we broke in the Elite section Monday AM, Shelton Benjamin has requested and received his ROH contract release. I don't believe he is done but with Jim Cornette out of the picture for now, regular New Japan tours, potential WWE interest, etc. it's not really surprising he asked for a release.
There were no major injuries coming out of Final Battle, although several injuries will be storyline explanations for talents "being out of the ring" on upcoming shows.
Matt Hardy will be coming back and is booked for the next TV Taping on 1/5 as well as Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 1/19. The company was very happy with his work.
The official word on Jim Cornette during a pre-show meeting was that he was on an "extended sabbatical" and the company did not know "if or when" he would be returning.
During commentary, it was noted that a planned guest announcer did not appear due to a "personal issue." As we noted in Elite, the plan was for Adam Pearce to return in a commentary role but ROH changed their plans. There is talk of using someone in-house for the announcing position left open by Nigel McGuiness' new role as head of authority.
By the way, for those who missed my review, you really need to see Nigel's documentary "The Last of McGuiness." REALLY need to see it. You can order at www.NigelWrestling.com.
Visiting at Final Battle were former ROH champion Xavier, Slugga, Larry Legend and Mega.
The 1/5 TV Taping in Baltimore will feature The Briscoes defend the ROH Tag Team titles against Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander.
If you haven't seen the Mark Briscoe "Redneck Kung Fu" shirt, you are missing out. Briscoe has really grown into one of the most charismatic talents in the company. He's come a long way from when I first saw him work in 2001.
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