Ring of Honor: Survival of the Fittest 2011: SOTF Match, Corino-Generico

ROH Survival of the Fittest 2011 Review

Dayton, Ohio

November 18^th, 2011

So here’s my first review of a non-iPPV Ring of Honor show. Pretty much nothing to do here except go into the first match, because there isn’t anything else before it. As per some constructive criticism on my last writing, I have decided to ease up on the play by play and instead add more match analysis. I may mess up a time or two, but I’m so used to doing all play by play that paraphrasing a lot of it may be a challenge. We’ll see.

Also, my Final Battle review has hit a snag. My download shit on me halfway through, so I will get the rest to you once I get the DVD like a good person. And the audio will actually be competent at all times, or at least I presume it will be. So you’ll get a few more reviews from me until then that do not include Final Battle.

SOTF Qualifier: The Briscoe Brothers vs. The Bravados

From what I’ve seen of the Bravados, they are pretty smooth in the ring. Of course, I’ve only seen a couple matches so that’s hardly enough to form a decent opinion. The Briscoes are the Briscoes. They’re funny ass rednecks, let me tell ya.

Harlem Bravado looks like if he stepped foot in Sandy Fork, DE he would be lynched in a second. Safe to say the Briscoes won’t be soft on them tonight. Nice touch here, as the entrance themes are displayed with the artist and their MySpace page, like anyone uses MySpace anymore anyway. Dave Prazak and Hermie are on commentary tonight, as they introduce themselves from the desk before the match starts.

The always fun “Justin Beiber” chant is directed towards Harlem as he starts with Mark. They tie up and Harlem goes to work on the arm. Mark comes back with a clothesline and works Harlem over in the corner. The Briscoes assist each other in boots to the face, toss Harlem out and work him over on the floor. Well, they work over both of the Bravados on the floor, being extra-stiff. How sweet of those Briscoes huh? I always knew Mark was a teddy bear. Back in the ring, Jay tags Mark back in, but the Bravados take the cheap way out. Harlem works over Mark’s leg as he tags in Lancelot. The Bravados make quick tags as they work over his leg. Harlem puts in an Indian deathlock while trying to get a Man Up chant started, but Mark starts punching him. Lancelot breaks it up and Harlem tags him in. More leg work from the Bravados. Jay tries to break things up, but Harlem gives him a cheapshot out to the apron. Mark hits an enziguri and tags to Jay in a histrionic fashion. Here comes Jay cleaning house on both Bravados. He hits a Falcon Arrow for two. He attempts a Jay Driller on Lancelot, but Harlem comes in and they hit a double enziguri on Jay, who eventually comes back. The Briscoes hit the Doomsday Device for three at about 7 minutes.

Post match, Jay cuts a promo saying he and Mark were gonna be the last two in the Survival of the Fittest match. They man each other up with headbutts. Jesus Christ, I never wanna go to Delaware if this shit happens.

Anaylsis: ** This one served it’s purpose well. The Briscoes, as always, were super over and while the Bravados put up a fight, no one in the building thought for a second that they would win. Mark Briscoe did a good job of selling his knee in the miniscule time it was worked on, which is something either of the Briscoes are pros at doing. But then again, then was a seven minute match and not one of their awesome 30 minute go’s. It was a good match, no noticeable botches that were noticeable, but if you remember this match a couple days after, you have a good memory.

SOTF Qualifier: Andy Ridge vs. Kyle O’Reilly

I’m not familiar at all with Andy Ridge. I’ve seen him once on ROH TV and I didn’t see enough to make a formidable opinion. Kyle O’Reilly is a really good prospect, a carbon copy of Davey Richards in wrestling style. Yes, I know Davey trained him. I just hope this one doesn’t overkill the kicks considering who’s wrestling.

The first two moves/strikes are leg kicks in this match. They mat wrestle as O’Reilly gets out. Kyle gets a cross armbreaker, Ridge breaks, and they trade dropkicks. GENERIC INDY STANDOFF!~! Ridge hits a couple forearms, misses a high kick, but he hits Kyle with a chest kick on the run for a two count. Backslide from Ridge gets two as he hits a couple kicks. Those get a two count. Ridge whips Kyle into the corner, but Kyle comes back with a contrived kick flurry for two. Kyle goes to work on Ridge’s arm and hits a back suplex for two. Ridge comes back with forearms into the corner, but O’Reilly hits three butterfly suplexes and a cross armbreaker as Ridge gets to the ropes. Kyle goes to work on the arm, but Ridge counters a back suplex and they trade kicks. Okay, guys, FUCKING WRESTLE. They run out of breath. Kyle eats a couple kicks to the back and a kick to the head. Nice looking slingshot cutter for two. More kicks. And more kicks. Kyle reverse one into a cradle suplex for two. Kyle hits a kick to the chest and locks in a guillotine choke. Ridge taps at 8 minutes.

Analysis: *1/2 I didn’t enjoy this match at all. I do really like Kyle O’Reilly when he wrestles, but ¾ of the stuff they did here was kicking. I don’t like a match like that and it doesn’t qualify as wrestling to me. Between all the kicks they did, there were some good moves, but as I said, this match had no substance and a lot of contrived kicks. If kicking is your taste, then you’ll love this one, but I sure didn’t.

SOTF Qualifier: Mike Bennett vs. Eddie Edwards

Mike Bennett doesn’t get his usual amount of heat coming out unless you count a REALLY fat guy calling him a loser big amounts of heat. Eddie comes out to streamers.

Mike Bennett plays to the crowd after the bell rings. Bennett gets control early with an arm wringer. Eddie reverses and brings him to the ground and works on the arm some more. Bennett comes back, but Eddie ends up with an arm wringer on Bennett anyway. Bennett works Edwards over with some slow offense. Eddie comes back with some chops. Bennett just punches Edwards in the face, and plays to the crowd some more. He works over Eddie in the corner. Edwards ties Bennett up int eh tree of woe and heads to the floor and hits a dropkick to the hung Bennett for two. Bennett comes back with a scoop slam for two, and just punches Eddie in the face again. Bennett hits a trio of clotheslines and an Eye of the Hurricane for two. Bennett locks in a rear chinlock to heckles of the crowd. Bennett hits a dropkick for two. And he locks in a MUTHAFUCKIN’ CHINLOCK!~! WOO! How innovative. I kid, I kid. This match is getting a little tedious I must say. Crowd’s up for it though. Another punch to the face from Bennett, but Edwards boots him off the apron and hits a second rope suicida. Eddie hits some chops on the outside. Back in the ring, Eddie hits a Fisherman’s buster for two. Elbow from Eddie, who hits a diving Codebreaker from the second rope and locks in an STF. Bennett gets to the ropes and gets a nearfall with his feet on the ropes. Bennett hits a spinebuster for two. Edwards blocks a Box Office Smash and hits a kick to the head in the corner. Bennett reverses a backpack, but Eddie looked to elevate over Bennett for something but they botched it horribly. That got a nearfall. Eddie blocks a superplex and sends Bennett down and hits a double stomp. Powerbomb gets two, and hits transitions into the Achilles lock. Bobby Cruise announces three minutes remain in the time limit. Bennett goes up top, but Eddie kicks him. Eddie reverses a Box Office Smash from the top rope and locks in the Dragon Sleeper. Bennett taps at 12 minutes.

Analysis: **3/4 Bennett looked pretty good in this one. Eddie did carry the match, don’t get me wrong, but Bennett showed a lot more physical confidence in the ring and aside from the one botch (which looked to be a joint effort) Bennett showed more than enough potential. He is young, but doesn’t quite cut it for ROH’s physical style yet. He’d do really well in WWE considering he has more charisma in his pinky than a few ROH wrestlers do in their whole body. This match got Eddie’s dragon sleeper over well, as Bennett—who’d been built up rather strongly—tapped immediately. This match was about to get pretty boring, but they torqued it up at the exact right time and turned in a near three star effort. No psychology to speak of here unfortunately, but they didn’t do anything illogical or contrived. Techincally proficient for the most part, and Bennett looks to be improving. And if Bennett’s gonna be shown on TV every week, I want him to be a good wrestler.

A few backstage interviews involving the Embassy, where Tommaso Ciampa shows pretty good chops on the mic. Kyle O’Reilly talks to Davey Richards, and Kenny King talks about the upcoming four corner survival. He’s like Shelton Benjamin with good promo skills. That’s always good.

SOTF Qualifier, Four Corner Survival: Michael Elgin vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Adam Cole vs. Kenny King

Kenny King’s a lot bigger than I thought. 226 pounds, the graphic says. I think he’d do well in WWE with a couple more years of experience under his belt. He has a good look and he is a really fun worker. I’ve never seen Adam Cole wrestler other than his match with O’Reilly against the Young Bucks at PWG Steen Wolf, which kicked ass.

Ciampa and King start. Ciampa overpowers him early. Funny that their about the same weight. King comes back using his speed, and goes into an armbar. Ciampa overpowers him again and hits a dropkick from his knees. Ciampa almost gets caught with a sunset flip, but he rolls out. Ciampa tags in Adam Cole. Cole works on King’s arm early, and they trade holds. King gets out and hits a shoulderblock. Michael Elgin blind tags him. Cole almost cradles Elgin, but Elgin kicks out. Elgin overpowers Cole tremendously to start, but Cole comes back with a hurricanrana. Ciampa gets a blind tag to Elgin, and they end up fighting in the middle of the ring after Cole is taken out. King comes back in and hits a spinebuster on Ciampa. He slips hard on the ropes, but recovers quickly. Elgin puts King on his shoulders and Cole in a fallaway positions! He tosses them back with ease, and he and Ciampa fight in the ring. Ciampa hits a belly-to-belly on Elgin, but Cole hits him with a superkick and hits a suicida. King looks to dive outside too, but Cole hits an enziguri. Back in the ring, Ciampa reverses a kick and looks for Project Ciampa, but King comes in and hits a springboard overcastle while Cole is perched up. King and Ciampa are alone in the ring as King hits a shotgun knee in the corner. Elgin tags in and hits an avalanche in the corner. Elgin hits a SICK spinning side slam for two. Man, I can’t express how awesome Michael Elgin is. Elgin perches King up on the top rope. King backdrops him onto the floor, but Ciampa comes back in and crotches him. King reverses a supposed super backplex and hangs Ciampa in the tree of woe, but CIAMPA HITS A SICK SPIDER GERMAN SUPLEX OFF THE TOP ROPE! Cole starts messing with Elgin, so Elgin hits a Buckle Bomb and the Spiral Bomb for the three count @ 10 minutes.

Analysis: *** Very fun four way here. They kept the action going non stop and had the crowd on it’s feet the whole time. Ciampa impressed me more here, and it’s a shame they don’t use Prince Nana more for Ciampa because Ciampa can’t garner heat on his own to save his life, sadly. He is a good talker and does some impressive stuff, as seen in this match. He needs to be used to his full potential, and with managers like RD Evans and Prince Nana, there’s no excuse. Elgin advances in a really, really fun match. Kenny King continues to impress also.

Eddie Edwards cuts a promo backstage. Forgettable.

Steve Corino (w/ Jimmy Jacobs) vs. El Generico

Pre match, Jimmy Jacobs acknowledges that Kevin Steen thinks Corino’s a pussy for trying to redeem himself. He tells everyone that tonight, Corino will prove that is not the case when he faces El Generico. Jimmy Jacobs cuts a passionate promo.

They goe to a stalemate in a tie up. They feign a test of strength afterwards. Corino gets an arm wringer, but Generico gets out with an armdrag. Headlock by Corino. Corino hits a shoulderblock on the rebound. Legsweep by Generico gets two. Corino gets one of his own. Dueling dropkicks and INDY STANDOFF!~! Pretty intense staredown after though. Corino wants a handshake but Generico ain’t buying it. Generico slaps Corino and taunts him. Corino is trying to hold back per Jacobs’ request. Dropkick by Corino knocks the Generic Luchador down. Corino feigns a handshake into an standing keylock. Corino works on the arm more after as the crowd tries to rally Generico up. Generico comes back with forearms, but Corino isn’t fazed at first. Corino catches Generico in an abdominal stretch. Generico counters THUMB IN THE BUM!~!~! with a Michinoku Driver. Generico just beats on Corino as Corino brings it on. “COME ON MOTHERFUCKER!” That earns Corino a body slam for two. Generico just beats on Corino some more. Corino is just letting Generico beat his ass, but Jimmy Jacobs dislikes that. Corino starts coming back with a dropkick and the crowd’s help. Running STO gets a decent sized pop. He hits a Complete shot for two. Generico hits a swinging DDT on Corino for two. Generico hits a Blue Thunder bomb for two, a slap to the face, and he asks Corino to hit him. Corino can’t do it, but Corino hits a lariat moments later. Roaring lariat. Generico gets a crucifix for two though. Generico hits an Ole Kick on Corino to the outside. Bobby Cruise announces there are 3 minutes left in the time limit. Corino is selling a shoulder injury on the outside after the kick. Corino starts walking away with Jimmy Jacobs. Corino still comes back in to the chagrin of Jacobs. Generico hits a half nelson suplex for two. BRAINBUSTAAA for a good nearfall! One more BRAINBUSTAAA! One, two, thr—NO! Good nearfall there too. Yakuza kick by Generico, but Jimmy Jacobs threatens to throw in the towel. Corino squashes that though. The 15 minute time limit expires.

Corino wants more time, but he’s hurt pretty bad. Jim Cornette, the God of time, comes out. Cornette doesn’t want Steve to continue either. Generico seems to try and attack, but instead kneels down beside Corino. Jimmy Jacobs tells Corino that he proved he was a man. Jim Cornette says the same as Generico offers his hand, and they shake on it. Awww, how sweet. The crowd still doesn’t all like that because I think they half expect Kevin Steen to fuck shit up. Too bad he won’t. Jimmy Jacobs offers his hand and they shake. Steve Corino tells the crowd that when he faces Kevin Steen at Final Battle, he will be evil for one more night.

Analysis: **3/4 You can’t really call this an action packed match. Don’t get me wrong, everything was technically proficient and no one botched, but the action wasn’t the story of the match. The story was Steve Corino trying to get on Generico’s good side, and after kicking out of two brainbusters, he pretty much got there. I love this storyline of redemption for Steve Corino, even if he did call me stupid on MySpace.

Backstage, Jimmy Jacobs tells Corino he is proud of him. Steve vows to be evil one more night. “Kill Steve Kill” he says.

SOTF Qualifier: Roderick Strong (w/ Truth Martini) vs. Rhett Titus

Roderick Strong is an awesome wrestler and he does not bore me in the least bit from what I’ve seen of him. He seems to bother others but not me. Rhett Titus kicks ass and cracks me up. Enough said.

Tie up into the corner, Titus gives a clean break. Strong goes out to deal with a heckler, but Martini directs him back in. Tie up into the corner again, and Strong gives a clean break. Strong heads out to deal with some pesky little bastard kids, but they run away and he heads back in. Arm wringer by Strong. Titus rolls into one of his own and locks in an armbar. Strong gets to the ropes. Headlock takeover by Strong into a side headlock. Titus rolls him over for 1. Keylock by Titus now. Drop toehold by Strong and a modified surfboard. He starts working over the leg. The two trade chops. Scoop slam by Titus for two, and he locks in a bodyscissors. He rolls over for a two count then locks in a Steiner Recliner. He cradles him for two. Strong hits some forearms, but Titus takes him down with a bad looking shoulder block. Strong sweeps Titus off the apron and throws something at him. They brawl on the outside. Back in the ring, Strong gets a one count. They fight it out with strikes in the corner and Strong goes up and hits the 10 punches and feigns making Titus blow him. HA! Titus gets pissed and comes back, but Strong fouls that with a dropkick for 2. Strong puts in a rear naked choke. Titus misses a crossbody block and Roddy stomps him. Titus comes back and they trade shots, but Strong kicks him down for 2. Strong hits a suplex for two. Titus comes back with forearms and elbows, and they trade some more. Strong hits a running knee to the midsection, but Titus knocks him down with a nice dropkick. Titus hits a back chop, a running boot, and a bulldog. Titus hits a Flashback for 2. Titus reverses a rollup for 2, but eats an enziguri. Three minutes remaining in the time limit. Gutbuster and a superkick by Strong gets two. Strong sets Titus up in the corner, but Titus avoids a superplex. Enziguri by Strong however, but Titus reverses with a snake eyes for two. Titus hits a rolling lariat for nice nearfall. He goes up top and hits a Frog Splash, but Truth Martini intervenes and dodges a punch from Titus. Sick kick from Strong gets the three count at 14 and a half minutes.

Analysis: *** This was a fairly slow match to start and it got sloppy in some places, but the action was kept interesting by a couple funny people in the crowd as well as Strong being badgered by those children. They turned it on in the last few minutes and gave a little sense of urgency all while keeping the moves crisp and smooth. Again, not a great match but there was nothing really wrong with it and it was fun in some places. Nothing all that memorable, I guess if you want a thesis for it.

Champion’s Challenge: Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team vs. Jay Lethal & Davey Richards

I’ve soured a bit on WGTT. They’re not bad or anything, but as I’ve noticed them over the months on television, the teams they face frequently outshine them, and Shelton Benjamin has a penchant to botch a lot. Charlie Haas shows the personality for the team, but most of it seems woefully forced. I think they’re overrated a little bit. Davey and Jay are their regular great selves. Weird that both of the WGTT are pushing 40. That’s crazy.

Lethal and Benjamin start. Lethal tags in Davey before anything is started. Davey goes to work on the arm quickly, even though Shelton’s ribs are taped up. They end up standing after a scramble. Arm wringer by Shelton. He foils a roll through by Davey, who does all sorts of contrived flips to get out. That was pretty unnecessary. Headlock by Davey, who foils a Benjamin comeback early. Benjamin overpowers the world champ with shoulderblocks. Rollup by Davey, who then locks in a sitting surfboard. Shelton kicks out of a rollup and locks in the same hold. Trade of armdrags and they catch one another’s kicks. Davey tags Lethal and Shelton tags Charlie Haas. Lethal heads to the floor to “strategize” I guess. Back in, Haas gets a waistlock, which Lethal elbows out of. Haas schools him in an amateur wrestling spot, though. Haas goes to work on Jay’s arm with a keylock. Lethal flips out and hits a running headscissors for two. Tag in to Benjamin, who hits a clothesline for a 2 count. Body slams by Benjamin, who tags in Haas, bodyslams Lethal on his knee and Haas covers for two. Tazmission variation is put in by Haas. Haas counters a comeback by hurling Lethal facefirst into the turnbuckle. Haas nails a spear in the corner, then tags Shelton back in. They look for the Broken Arrow, but Richards stops it. Benjamin throws Richards in, and Haas sets him up too. Double Broken Arrow for a two count on Lethal. Rear naked chinlock now by Benjamin. Benjamin eats Jay’s boot in the corner and falls victim to a dropkick. Lethal tags in Richards, who hits a missile dropkick. Lethal knocks Haas off his corner and hits a running knee to a cornered Benjamin. Superplex by Richards for two into an ankle lock, but Benjamin knocks Richards face first into the second turnbuckle. RUNNING MURDERDEATHKILL KICK ON THE APRON. Benjamin knocks Richard back into the ring, so Lethal hits a somersault con hilo to WGTT. Back in the ring, Richards goes up top, but Benjamin foils. Richards knocks Benjamin into a Jay Lethal dropkick. Double stomp by Richards for two, right into the ankle lock. Haas comes in and Lethal puts on a crossface. Richards locks in a cloverleaf now. Lethal tosses Haas as Benjamin gets to the ropes. Tag in to Lethal, who works on Benjamin in the corner. Lethal nails a gutbuster for two. From what I’ve seen so far, Lethal has the better grip of limb psychology in this match. Lethal works on the injured (by the Briscoes) ribs of Benjamin some more. Benjamin gets up but Lethal puts in an abdominal stretch. Lethal rolls over for 2, and they both run into each other, which looked like a botched spot to me. Tag in to Richards, who trades strikes with Shelton. Shelton wins with a dragon whip. They both tag in their partners, and Haas goes to work on Lethal with clotheslines. Belly-to-belly hits on Lethal. Richards eats a German suplex, and Lethal eats a powerslam for a good nearfall. Tornado DDT by Lethal on Benjamin, and he hits a handspring Ace Crusher for two. Richards eats a superkick, and Haas hits an Angle Slam (fuck the Olympic slam name…even Nigel McGuinness called it an Angle Slam on TV). Davey hits a German Suplex on Haas. This match is action-packed as hell. I’ve written more than I had planned to for this one. Shelton hits Davey with a forearm as they all brawl inside the ring. Double kick to Haas as they goe up top for a Swandive headbutt/Lethal Injection combo. One, two, thr—NO! Benjamin breaks the pin up. Richards works him over on the outside. Haas eats a sloppy missile dropkick from Lethal (mostly due to exhaustion more than anything though) and Haas adverts another one. Haas counters a hurricanrana into a HAAS OF PAIN! Richards tries to stop it, but Benjamin does his always awesome leap up to the top rope/belly to belly suplex. Lethal finally taps at 21 minutes.

Analysis: ***3/4 Match of the night so far. Everything these guys did seemed to click, and even though it started slow, they picked it up the last 6-7 minutes and made one hell of a match out of what they had. WGTT showed they aren’t as overrated as I thought, at least in this one. They seem to dog it on TV though, and that’s not good. Lethal impressed the Jebus out of me here, proving he’s more than welcome in ROH. Davey Richards was Davey Richards. Which means he was awesome, like he usually is. So overall, one hell of an effort, and probably the best WGTT tag match since Honor Takes Center Stage Night 1.

Survival of The Fittest Match: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Michael Elgin vs. Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong vs. Eddie Edwards

Survival of the Fittest is just a fancy gimmick name for a six way elimination match. And, man, Mark Briscoe is one ugly motherfucker. It’s sad but cool at the same time. It fits his character, but their screamo entrance music does not fit the “Sandy Fork, Delware” mentality. Gimme Back My Bullets was the absolute PERFECT music for them.

Eddie Edwards is being hyped up big for this match as he won last year’s match. Funny moment here as Strong looks for handshake from everyone, but no one does. Jay Briscoe and Eddie Edwards start off. Jay gets out of an arm wringer early and they grapple on the ropes. They scramble on the ground some more as Jay tags in to Mark. Edwards gets out of a headscissors and tags Michael Elgin in. Elgin overpowers Jay to start. Mark goes toe-to-toe with Elgin, but Michael puts him down with a bodyslam. Roderick Strong tags in and takes control of Mark in the middle of the ring. Into Kyle O’Reilly’s corner, Kyle tags in. Kyle puts on arm wringer and goes after the leg, but Strong shakes him off. Strong comes back with a side headlock and tags Elgin in. Elgin works over Kyle with some chops. Really, really impressive delayed vertical suplex that holds Kyle up for about 30 seconds gets two. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Elgin fell asleep” says Dave Prazak. Chinlock is countered by O’Reilly, and Elgin tags Eddie in. Kyle and Eddie shake hands and Edwards goes to work on the arm. O’Reilly gets out, but Eddie crawls to the ropes. Eddie locks in a chinlock on the ground, but O’Reilly quickly gets out. Good strike battle into the INDY MUTHAPHUCKIN’ STANDOFF!~! The Briscoes both tag in, but they fight everyone else instead, and a brawl breaks out on the floor. Man, I don’t know what happened, but Dave Prazak has fucking ruled on commentary the whole show. The Briscoes double team Kyle O Reilly for a two count. Mark works him over. Tag into Jay, and they hit a double shoulderblock. Jay hits an elbow drop for two. Another tag to Mark, another double team maneuver. Mark hits a suplex on Kyle for two. Another tag in to Jay, but no double team as Jay works O’Reilly in the corner. Tag in to Mark and they take turns hitting chops on Kyle. Kyle hits a double dragon screw on both brothers and tags in Edwards, who goes to work on Jay. Strong and Elgin come in to clean house. Elgin hits a smooth spinning side slam on Edwards, who Strong covers for 2. Double team neckbreaker from the Briscoes on O’Reilly. House of Truth and The Briscoes fight in the middle of the ring now. That’d be one hell of a match. Double missile dropkicks by Eddie and Kyle on the everyone else. Kyle and Eddie trade strikes in the ring. House of Truth and the Briscoes are brawling on the outside. Kyle nails a running knee, but eats a boot from Edwards. Kyle heads out to the floor, and Edwards hits a slingshot plancha. Mark Briscoe flies, and Kyle O’Reilly does too. Strong slams O’Reilly on the ring frame. More brawling on the floor, as the Briscoes just blister everything in their paths. Michael Elgin goes up top and NAILS A SWEET MOONSAULT ONTO EVERYONE ON THE OUTSIDE! Wow, that was great. Michael Elgin will make a killer world champion once he’s ready. He’s the best big man in wrestling, currently. Back in the ring, Elgin does a sweet counter to a swinging DDT. Mark Briscoe hits Elgin with a dropkick, Strong hits Mark with a dropkick. Kyle and Eddie hits stereo superkicks on Jay Briscoe, and Eddie hits Die Hard on Jay for the three count at 20 minutes. Eddie locks in the dragon sleeper on Mark and Mark taps at 20 minutes. Eddie Edwards pushes Truth Martini into Kyle O’Reilly who is perched up top, and Kyle goes through the table. Eddie outsmarts House of Truth in the ring, and rolls up Strong for the three count at 21 minutes. Elgin dodges some strikes from Edwards, and Elgin NAILS a lariat on Eddie for the three count at 21 minutes. Now only Elgin and O’Reilly are left. Elgin baits Kyle back in the ring. The crowd is mad behind Kyle right now. Elgin pie faces Kyle a little bit, but Kyle fires back and gets knocked on his ass. Kyle bitch slaps Elgin and Elgin’s like NO YOU DIDN’T YOU FUCKHEAD. Elgin rolls through a crucifix and nails a boot to the face and a backfist. Elgin looks for the spiral bomb, BUT KYLE LOCKS IN THE GUILLOTINE! Elgin suplexes out, but Kyle comes back with a running DDT and another GUILLOTINE! Davey Richards is now at ringside. Elgin tries to power out, but Kyle keeps it in. Elgin just keeps ramming O’Reilly into the corner, and finally hits a SICK SIDE SLAM! ONE, TWO, THR—NO! Wow, I was sold on it. The crowd is more into this match than probably any of the other matches combined. Elgin baits O’Reilly up, but just boots him in the face. Elgin hits a Buckle Bomb, looks for the Spiral Bomb, but O’REILLY COUNTERS INTO A REVERSE HURRICANRANA! One, two, thr—no! Elgin tries to power out of a cross armbreaker and alleviates the pressure by lifting O’Reilly up. SUNSET FLIP BY O’REILLY! One, two, thr—NO! Kyle starts kicking away at Elgin’s chest, but Elgin is just taking them like the big ol’ fuck he is. Man, this last segment has ruled so damn much. They’re face to face and trading forearms! They trade bitch slaps! Kyle dodges a boot and Elgin dodges a kick, and NAILS A LARIAT! One, two, thr—NO. Tombstone piledriver by Elgin and KYLE GETS HIS FOOT ON THE ROPE! Jesus Balls, this is exciting. Out on the apron, Kyle slips back in the ring and looks for a sunset bomb to the floor. He can’t hit it, but he dodges a butt splash by Elgin! BACK SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR! Elgin scurries into a chair to catch his bearings, BUT O’REILLY HITS A SICK RUNNING DROPKICK FROM THE APRON!!! WOW. If this was a singles match, it would already be match of the night, guaranteed. O’Reilly looks for a missile dropkick, but ELGIN COUNTERS TO A BUCKLE BOMB! SPIRAL BOMB! One, two, three! Elgin wins Survival of the Fittest at 32 minutes.

Analysis: ****1/2 Man, what a final 12 minutes. They were so good it almost makes you forget the rest of the match. But as it was, the beginning 22 minutes or so of this match were good. The highlight though was The Briscoes using some good character psychology in faking out the people by thinking they were going to fight, and instead breaking hell all loose ‘n shit by starting a brawl on the outside. It’s good to see nice touches like that in a seemingly cluttered match like this one. Michael Elgin was MADE in this one though. Everything he did, from the spinning side slams to the sick moonsault on the outside, made his stock grow even higher in my eyes. If Ring of Honor what’s good for them, they’re gonna give him the strap when the time is right (i.e. after Kevin Steen’s inevitable reign comes to a close, which I kinda don’t want to happen) and he’ll be a star. He has such a knack for playing the bully in the ring, but he also has a good knack at selling for the people smaller than him (which is everyone in ROH it seems). Kyle O’Reilly made up for his shitty match with Andy Ridge earlier by playing the ballsy babyface who didn’t want to back down, even after going through a table. The final 12 minutes or so almost warrant this rating by itself, but we can’t forget the first 20 minutes. The last segment was just non-stop action though, which I didn’t expect at all. I just expected to see O’Reilly hit a couple kicks and Elgin just smash him from there on. But, I’m so damn glad I was wrong. I was sold on a few nearfalls early there, but O’Reilly just kept coming back, making the crowd chant “This is wrestling” for the first time tonight, I believe. O’Reilly is gonna be huge, but Elgin is gonna be a superstar if he plays his cards right. This match was a middle-of-the-road MOTY contender—and the second best ROH match of the year too—containing loads of excitement, mainly coming from Michael Elgin in this one. O’Reilly’s stock rose considerably too, and the fans who saw this match should be looking at these two in a better light. Michael Elgin is gonna be a superstar if he plays his cards right. TRACK THIS BITCH DOWN.

Final Analysis:

Though the star ratings don’t say the show was all that consistent, it really was. And besides, I just do star ratings because that’s what I’ve dealt with for years anyway. The show was paced incredibly well, with the right matches going on at the right times. However, one main gripe I had with this one was the 15 minute times limits are too short. None of the matches went to a draw—even though ROH loves them too much—and there were no bad matches, save for the idiotic kickfest between Ridge and O’Reilly, which is just me being a negative dick more than anything. They saved the best two matches for last, and boy did they deliver. The Champion’s Challenge tag match was really good, and WGTT showed that they do indeed have ability to entertain, which some ROH fans didn’t see in them this fall. I like Shelton, and I think he was severely underused in WWE when he was going hot, but I still am not sold on Charlie Haas’ phony looking TOUGHGUY!~! persona. Davey did really good, but nothing he did really stood out. Lethal impressed the hell out of me, probably for the first time in a while. He’s a really good worker, and it makes me a little less mad that ROH hotshotted the TV belt to him. Steve Corino’s angle was furthered, and it had really great character psychology in his match with Generico. Too bad it wasn’t a bit more action-packed though. The four corner survival was really fun, what with Ciampa proving to me once more that he deserves a chance and Elgin beginning to become a star. But the Survival of the Fittest match blew me away. I won’t harp on it a lot since I said a shit ton of stuff in the analysis, but rest assured, if you see any part of the match, make sure it’s the final twelve minutes or so with O’Reilly and Elgin. Buy the DVD, because this is a well paced show with a killer double main event, and some fun undercard matches. And there were 3 GENERIC INDY STANDOFFS!~! on this show, which is something I plan to feature in my independent show reviews since it’s been overdone ever since Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko introduced it in ECW all those years ago. Pick this show up.

Final Show Rating (the only one that counts…just kidding…maybe)

7.5 out of 10