-Bobby Cruise opened the show by mentioning anyone who hadn't heard the results of the Louisville tapings that Christopher Daniels defeated Eddie Edwards for the ROH TV Title last weekend.
-Kenny King defeated Adam Cole in a really good opener. Cole is obviously a rookie in ROH but was given a really strong run at King and came really close on several occasions to putting him away. Cole seemed to come down hard on his knee at one point when King dumped him to the outside and it looked tender for a moment or two, but he shook it off and it didn't seem to slow him down too much. King caught Cole coming off the top rope and turned it into the Royal Flush to get the win. Cole got a loud ovation after the match.
-Mike Bennett defeated Colt Cabana in another solid match. Bennett carries himself really well, he's got the look and is a solid worker as well. He's definitely got that star package and had a really competitive match with Cabana. Some comedy stuff found its way in but this was otherwise a straightforward match that ended when Cabana had Bennett in the Billy Goat's Curse but Bob Evans distracted Cabana and allowed Bennett to roll Cabana up and get the win.
-ROH TV Champion Christopher Daniels defeated Andy "Right Leg" Ridge in the final match of Ridge's Trial Series. This was the best match I've ever seen Ridge have, Ridge was very competitive and at one point hit a superkick that knocked Daniels out but the momentum sent Daniels to the floor, and by the time Ridge got him back in the ring, he was only able to get 2. Ridge went for another superkick but Daniels ducked and hit the Angel's Wings to pick up the win. Good match, and definitely not a slam dunk for Daniels. Daniels cut a postmatch promo telling Ridge that he knows he's worked hard to improve and not to be disappointed about losing because he may not have the experience, but he does have the heart and he's got a great future ahead of him.
-Bobby Cruise announced a return date to Plymouth for Friday, March 18th.
-Kevin Steen & Steve Corino defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe in a really good match. They started fighting on the floor to jump start the match and brawled around ringside. Hard hitting match, Steen & Corino got the win when Mark went for the Cutthroat Driver on Corino, but Steen nailed him and hit a Package Piledriver and Corino covered Mark for the win. Steen grabbed a microphone and told Generico that he's going to die tomorrow night. Jay Briscoe grabbed the microphone after Steen & Corino left and said that it didn't matter about tonight, because Papa Briscoe's going to be in the house tomorrow and they're coming for the Kings Of Wrestling, and then reminded us that if we can't be there, that we can order the iPPV on gofightlive.tv. I was a bit surprised to see the Briscoes lose, but it makes sense to make Steen look strong since he's main eventing tomorrow night. Also, it really was a good match and I feel like the Briscoes have gotten back into their groove and have been having some really strong matches in the last few months.
INTERMISSION
-El Generico won a Four Corner Survival over Grizzly Redwood, Rhett Titus, and Ricky Reyes. This match was all about the other three guys building to Generico tagging in and destroying everyone else in the match. Generico won with a brainbuster on Grizzly, then started to pick him up for a second brainbuster, then changed his mind and set him up for a Package Piledriver but Steve Corino came out and stopped him. Corino went on to say that Steen and Generico have been going at it for a year now and it needs to end, and that can happen if Generico just takes the mask off because now it's unsanctioned and Corino can't control Steen anymore. Generico starts to take the mask off but then kills Corino with a running Yakuza Kick and attacks him until the Jobber Patrol comes out to pull him off.
-TJ Perkins defeated Kyle O'Reilly. I saw these two wrestle one another at EVOLVE earlier this year, and that match was really good but I think they topped it here. They did a lot of mat work early on with chain wrestling and submission, which didn't get over with the crowd at all. They got a better reaction once they moved on and started opening up with the high impact kicks. They did a series of pinfall reversal sequences until O'Reilly went for the Magistral Cradle but Perkins countered to a cradle of his own for the win.
-ROH World Champion Roderick Strong defeated Sonjay Dutt in an excellent non-title match. Sonjay was a last minute replacement for the injured Kenny Omega, and he took advantage of the opportunity and had a good showing for himself, busting his ass out there and being the Sonjay Dutt he should have been during his ROH run last year. Roderick put Dutt away with a vertical suplex into a backbreaker.
-The Kings Of Wrestling defeated the American Wolves in a hard fought, back and forth match that went over a half hour. I'd have to sit and watch all three matches again, but I think this may have been better than either of the KOW-Briscoes matches from Big Bang and Death Before Dishonor VIII. Eddie Edwards in particular looked like a million bucks and it took three rolling elbows from Hero to finally put him down. The KOW attacked the Wolves after the match and left them laying, and then after they were gone and the Wolves were back up, they got a standing ovation and Davey cut a promo saying that this was supposed to be their last match as a team, but he thinks the Kings OF Wrestling are on the run and they were never a team that was put together to be commercially successful, and it doesn't matter what title you put on the DVDs, they're a brotherhood and they're what ROH is all about, and the fans are all a part of that brotherhood.
This show was excellent, it's far and away the best ROH house show (ie not HDNet, iPPV, or in New York) that I've been to in a very long time. For the first time in a long time I felt like a real effort was made to put on a show that was terrific from top to bottom, and the difference was noticeable. The main event blew me away and everything underneath was solid to very good, and as a fan I really hope that ROH continues presenting house shows like this because it was everything I first fell in love with about the company.
