ROH Allied Forces Review

From October 15, 2011.

Match 1: Mark Briscoe vs. Mike Mondo
Mike Mondo returns to Ring of Honor in a match up against one half of The Briscoes, Mark Briscoe. Mondo is looking to make a name for himself but Mark seemingly got the better of him throughout the large part of the match. Some good action here and there but nothing that stands out. Mondo just isn't very interesting enough to open up a show but still managed to have a pretty fun match here. I just don't see him in Ring of Honor as a regular.
Winner: Mark Briscoe
Rating: **

Match 2: Daizee Haze vs. Lady JoJo
The Women of Honor take center stage for the second match of the night. I have said this many times before and I'll say it again, women's wrestling isn't very appealing to me but that doesn't mean I have the utmost respect for them. This match just really didn't do anything for me, the crowd was quiet and all I heard was basically them screaming for 5 minutes and it gets difficult to pay attention to the match at hand. Daizee gets the win by hitting a German Suplex into a pin.
Winner: Daizee Haze
Rating: *

Match 3: Trial Series - Andy Ridge vs. Colt Cabana
This is the first match in Andy Ridge's Trial Series in which he will be taking on ROH veterans. This kid is about 160 pounds or so, imagine him going against Davey. Anyway, Cabana is Andy's first opponent and Cabana makes light of the situation by joking around a lot with legitimately funny jokes about the kid. After, the two put on some great chain wrestling moves as Cabana made Ridge look really good out there. Cabana eventually made Ridge tap out with the Billy Goat's Curse to pick up the win. Afterwards, he put over Ridge and shook his hand. Surprisingly really good match from the two, just a fun and worthwhile match to watch.
Winner: Colt Cabana
Rating: **3/4

Match 4: Kevin Steen & Steve Corino vs. Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly
Before the match, Steen cuts a hilarious promo about dressing as El Generico for Halloween and how he found a political sign with his name on it. Steen & Corino, like Cabana, really took this match lightly and it showed as they were constantly making jokes throughout the match but I guess that's expected from a match with these two. Much like Ridge, Cole & O'Reilly benefited from working with the two veterans and were able to get in a great deal of offense and especially when O'Reilly was able to display his abilities with his educated feet. Davey Richards came out during the match to watch his boys which led to Steen & Corino cracking more jokes and continuously taking the match lightly even though Cole & O'Reilly were relentless throughout. Steen eventually was able to launch Adam Cole into a turnbuckle and scored the victory for his team. Great mid card match with everyone looking good. Steen & Corino joking around didn't take anything away from the match since everyone got a great amount of offense in and they kept the crowd invested with it.
Winners: Kevin Steen & Steve Corino
Rating: ***1/2

Match 5: Ricky Reyes vs. The Metal Master
Following the tag match, two undercard guys step in. It's Ricky Reyes taking on The Metal Master who is a great technical wrestler. Lots of really good technical wrestling from the beginning with a lot of slow pacing to follow. Crowd was just completely not into the action at all but the two managed to wrestle a good match through that. A planted fan started talking trash to Reyes and decided to run in during the match where he was taken down by security. That was actually the highlight of the match even though the match itself was pretty good. The ending came when Reyes poked Metal Master in the eyes and swung his neck to get the win. Definitely a filler match and definitely a type of match you would expect to see in this market.
Winner: Ricky Reyes
Rating: **

Match 6: Jay Briscoe vs. Rhett Titus
Both of these men are in singles roles tonight and are facing each other in a mid card match up. This is Rhett's time to shine since his limelight is somewhat taken over by Kenny Kings and he has a chance to show the ROH world that even as a singles competitor, he's legit. His opponent is Jay Briscoe and the two start off the match with some good ground work to get the ball rolling. The two managed to keep the ball rolling throughout the entire course of the match and nothing seem forced as the action kept moving without them dragging it out. Titus was even able to dropkick Jay Briscoe off the top rope in which he landed onto the ringside table. However, Jay got back into things and landed a Jay Driller to get the win. A good mid card match displaying the singles abilities of both men where they got a great amount of time to put on this type of match. Afterwards, Briscoe offers a handshake to which Titus declines and flips him off.
Winner: Jay Briscoe
Rating: ***1/4

Match 7: Homicide vs. Kenny King
After Rhett Titus had his singles match against Jay Briscoe and lost, Kenny King looks to avenge his partner's loss against the returning Homicide. Homicide definitely showed off some ring rust here as he definitely isn't in the shape he was once in and wasn't able to execute his moves better than or up to the point of what he once did. King looked pretty good here but like Homicide, a lot of his moves looked pretty sloppy and they weren't able to get the crowd going unless they had something funny or clever to say. Titus came out later to assist King but it was no use as Homicide ended up getting the pin and the win which meant that The All Night Express didn't pick up any wins for the night. Afterwards, the two attack Homicide which leads to Jay Briscoe coming out and making the save. Homicide gets in Briscoe's face and tells him he doesn't need his help. They're then split apart as they get in each other's faces. A pretty decent match followed up with a good post match follow up. Homicide definitely has his work cut out for him.
Winner: Homicide
Rating: *3/4

Match 8: ROH World Tag Team Championships - The Kings of Wrestling (c) vs. Davey Richards & Christopher Daniels
Before the two tear each other apart in Chicago, Davey Richards & Christopher Daniels team up to take on The Kings of Wrestling for the ROH World Tag Team Championships. The crowd that has been mostly quiet for the better part of the night finally gets going for these four men even before the bell tolls as the trash talk starts early on. Richards wants to go against Hero early on but Hero won't let it happen and continues to bury Richards with an onslaught of trash talk. Match gets going on a fast pace early on and that's the type of match we need here considering the whole night has been pretty bland. For the first time as a tag team, Richards & Daniels took The Kings to the limit and even worked great together as a team. However, miscommunication got in the way of things and The Kings took advantage of it quickly. Deep in the match, Richards accidentally bumps into Daniels which leads to The Kings capitalizing on the dilatation by taking out Richards out of the ring and planting Daniels on the mat to pick up the win which means they retain their titles. Afterwards, Richards & Daniels exchange words in a heated argument to which Hero picks up the microphone and declares that The Kings are unstoppable. Davey tells Hero that come December, he's gonna get Eddie Edwards into the fray to become ROH World Tag Team Champions. He then shifts his focus to Christopher Daniels and tells him that he stands in his way to becoming ROH World Champion. What a main event. The action was fast, the near falls were great, the drama was there, the storyline progression was there, and the moves that all four men landed looked devastating and beautiful. This was just a great way to lead into the main event the following night. It's Christopher Daniels vs. Davey Richards for the very first time.
Winners: The Kings of Wrestling
Rating: ****1/2

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
A very bland show that managed to feature good storyline progression and an awesome main event. Nothing too special here but it's a nice way to lead in to the next night's show.
Rating: 6/10