ROH Glory by Honor IX Review

From December 21, 2010.

On September 11, 2010, Ring of Honor Wrestling returned to New York for their annual Glory by Honor event which was headlined by three blockbuster matches in Tyler Black vs. Roderick Strong, Kevin Steen & Steve Corino vs. El Generico & Colt Cabana, and The Kings of Wrestling vs. Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas

Match 1: Jay Briscoe vs. Kenny King
After King & Titus lost to the Briscoes at Supercard in tag action, they challenged the Briscoes in singles action as Jay takes on Kenny in the opening bout. I've always thought that Jay was the better part of the tag team and I feel the same for Kenny so I was really interested to see how this match would play out and not much to my surprise, they put on a great opening match that really got the crowd going. Both men landed their moves both crisply and hard which really made me believe that these two men were out to put on the best match that they could with the short amount of time that they were given. Near the end of the match, Rhett Titus came out to distract Jay but Jay ended up taking Rhett out by jumping over the top rope. Eventually, King landed the Royal Flush on Jay to pick up the win in what was a really fun match.
Winner: Kenny King
Rating: ***

Match 2: Mark Briscoe vs. Rhett Titus
After the opener, both King & Titus attack Jay which leads to Mark coming out to make the save and the beginning of this match between Mark and Rhett. The difference between Jay & Mark are so little yet so big as while they both have similar move sets, Mark is obviously more careless and a little more hard hitting in most of his moves. This match consisted more of spots rather than what the last match had which had more psychology added to the mix. Mark just isn't on the level of Jay and this is exhibit A. Mark picks up the win by using his very dangerous finisher on Titus. I have no idea what it's called but he basically just dropped him on his skull.
Winner: Mark Briscoe
Rating: **1/2

Match 3: Ballz Mahoney & Grizzly Redwood vs. Erick Stevens & The Necro Butcher
Mahoney debuted for ROH during the Supercard of Honor V event in which he came to Grizzly Redwood's side against The Embassy. Now, he is teaming with Redwood to take on both Stevens & Necro. This surprisingly turned out to be a pretty fun tag match but nothing really important to note other than The Embassy picking up the win here. Maybe there was something interesting to take note of but in all honesty, this was just a waste of time on the card and I doubt anyone really cares what went on in this match.
Winners: Erick Stevens & The Necro Butcher
Rating: *3/4

Match 4: Double Chain - Kevin Steen & Steve Corino vs. El Generico & Colt Cabana
By winning the coin toss before the match, Generico chose to be tied with Steen which meant Corino would be tied with Cabana. All four men have been absolutely tearing it up in ROH and this match is a prime example. The violence displayed throughout the match was both believable and well, entertaining to the max. The use of the chains, tables, and chairs were all used logically and added much intensity to the match. One memorable spot in the match was when Steen had Generico on the top rope and basically threw him with the chain outside of the ring onto a table. Another spot is when Corino & Steen tore off the chains and tied Cabana from one side of the ring to the other. Generico came to the rescue and helped untie Cabana which lead to Corino being slammed through a chair which gave the team of Generico & Cabana the win. After the match, the melee would continue as all four men continued to wage war. However, it all ended once Generico went for the Turnbuckle Brainbuster but Steen tore the mask off of Generico's head. Cabana then grabbed a towel and placed it over the head of Generico and escorted him out of the building. Steen then took the mask and placed it on a steel chair as he spelled out "Mr. Wrestling" on the chair with Steve Corino's blood. That was 20 minutes of fun and intense action. There were times, however, where things seemed way too scripted and overbooked. For instance, the table spot, while a really cool spot, looked like Generico was begging Steen to just throw him through it. Also, the part in which Cabana was tied up was an awesome idea but the execution was just terrible. Steen & Corino hitting the legs of Cabana just seemed stupid. I guess it was the little things like that that brought down the match for me. You might not feel the same but hey, we all got opinions and I guess that's what this sport is about. Fun and intense match that you should definitely check out. You will not be disappointed.
Winners: El Generico & Colt Cabana
Rating: ****

Match 5: ROH World Television Championship - Eddie Edwards (c) vs. Shawn Daivari
Coming off of intermission was New York City's favorite Eddie Edwards defending his belt against Daivari. Not much to say about this one here since it mostly felt like a filler match and a way to get both men on the card. Just a decent and regular affair from both men as Eddie continues to shine up the ROH ladder. Guys like Erick Stevens & Shawn Daivari are guys Eddie should be getting wins against since the Television Championship should be one to put over mid card talent. Edwards does the normal stuff and picks up the win via submission.
Winner: Eddie Edwards
Rating: **1/2

Match 6: Christopher Daniels vs. Austin Aries
Little did we know that this match would become Austin's last match on an ROH show (excluding his match against Strong on HDNet) and I felt like he put on a great match against an ROH icon such as Christopher Daniels. We also learned after the match that Aries hurt his back badly during the match and had trouble navigating around the ring. This proved evident when he was outside of the ring and was constantly grabbing his back as if something was wrong. Even still, Aries went on with the match and put on a damn good effort in the process. A great match that I only wish the New York crowd was more invested in because they repeatedly kept on chanting ridiculous things that had nothing to do with the match. Daniels got the win with an awesome Super Angels Wings off the top rope. Great match and one I feel will be one of the most underrated matches of the year. If 2010 indeed is Aries' last year in ROH, it's a shame that he floundered around because he was and is an incredible asset to the company. I hope to see him back but if not, I wish him well in the future and this was a great match to go out on.
Winner: Christopher Daniels
Rating: ***3/4

Match 7: The Kings of Wrestling vs. Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team
In one of the most anticipated matches of 2010 in all of wrestling, it's Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli taking on Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas. A lot of pressure was placed upon these four men but mainly on Shelton & Charlie because this was make or break for them. They spent years in the WWE doing absolutely nothing but in 2010, there chance at retribution came as they have a chance to steal the show against the best tag team in the world, The Kings of Wrestling. Let me just say, this match rocked. From bell to bell, there was so much high speed action, so much hard hitting moves, and so many jaw dropping near falls that it made the New York crowd rise in awe. Nostalgia kicked in a lot of the times when I saw Shelton leap from to the top rope, Shelton destroy Hero while Haas held Hero up on the top rope, or when they just came out to a chorus of applauds and a load of streamers to AC/DC. Haas locked in the Haas of Pain upon Claudio but Hero got out his loaded elbow pad and knocked Haas out cold which lead to The Kings picking up the pin fall victory. After, Shelton & Charlie laid out The Kings which lead to Shane Haggadorn taking the beating of the lifetime from Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team who then picked up the tag belts and raised them in the air signifying that they were officially in the hunt. Shelton & Charlie had a lot of critics coming into this match but they managed to silence them with an incredible performance against The Kings of Wrestling that will definitely be one of the many highlights of 2010. That was just plain and simple beautiful, tag team professional wrestling without the "chains attached."
Winners: The Kings of Wrestling
Rating: ****1/2

Match 8: ROH World Championship - No Disqualification - Tyler Black (c) vs. Roderick Strong
With Terry Funk as the special ring side enforcer, it's Tyler Black defending his ROH World Championship against Roderick Strong in a Supercard of Honor V rematch. The heat that this match received was just outstanding. The crowd was absolutely all over Black and he even toyed with the fans with his "WWE style" antics. Match started off slow but it only makes sense since Black continuously toyed with the fans but later on, things got much more hectic, maybe even a little more hectic than their Supercard match. First things first, Todd Sinclair gets knocked out. Because of this, Terry Funk steps in and is now the referee of the match. He then knocks out Truth Martini as well as The House of Truth who stepped in as well. However, the match was far from over as both men executed a series of incredible near falls that got the crowd more giddy than ever before. Finally, Strong landed another Sick Kick and finally got the win and finally captured the ROH World Championship. Say what you want, but this match rocked. Words can't do justice on the awesome ending sequence with several believable near falls as well as Tyler's heelish antics throughout the match. This was such a fun match and you shouldn't let all the haters get to you on this one because all I've been hearing from them is how "too much was going on" but I felt like it worked brilliantly. Also, say what you want about Tyler Black but his reign as ROH World Champion was a phenomenal one. I'm definitely going to miss Tyler but I'm really excited to see what Roderick has in store for us. After the match, Roderick offers a handshake to Tyler who declines as he points both his middle fingers to the New York crowd before running off. After, the lights go off and Homicide makes his epic return as he confronts the new champion! The crowd absolutely erupted as the show comes to a close.
Winner: Roderick Strong
Rating: ****1/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
People may think that I'm overrating this show and most of the matches but I had a blast watching this show. It was a nice mix of "hectic" wrestling, scientific wrestling, tag team wrestling, and hardcore wrestling. The problem with wrestling now a days is people take things way too seriously and I think that this is a show that people should just kick back and enjoy. Fun from top to bottom with no real complaints.
9.25/10