ROH Honor Takes Center Stage: Chapter One Review

From April 9, 2012.

Match 1: El Generico vs. Michael Elgin
These two men start off the weekend with a rematch from the last iPPV. Elgin was able to impress the last time around and this time was no different. Crowd is red hot for this opener which is great considering how dead the crowd was last year. Elgin once again looked strong in his role and tossed around Generico like a little toy. However, Generico remained in the battle throughout and also landed a nasty DDT on the floor after flying through the bottom ropes. Generico looked to turn things around but a masked man causes a distraction as Elgin then finishes him to get the win. The right match to open up the night but the masked man part was just so damn cheesy. Elgin has one hell of a future in ROH.
Winner: Michael Elgin
Rating: **3/4

Match 2: Colt Cabana vs. Homicide vs. Caleb Konley vs. Tommaso Ciampa
I feel like they just stuffed these guys in a match since they didn't really have anything to do but either way, we get a four way match and the crowd is still pretty hot from the opener. Other than Konley, crowd is definitely happy to see these guys in the ring and the men in the ring gave them a solid match. Cabana played his role nicely, Ciampa looked good, and Homicide randomly shined the brightest. Crowd was really hot for him and for good reason, he looked motivated and ready to go! What you see is what you get in this one with some decent action here and there but nothing too good or out of the ordinary. Homicide kills Konley to get the win. Afterwards, Truth Martini gives Konley the thumbs down as Elgin comes out to beat down Konley. That was pretty cool.
Winner: Homicide
Rating: **1/4

Match 3: Sara Del Rey & Serena Deeb vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Ayumi Kurihara
It is now time for the Women of Honor to take center stage! I know I have been a bit critical of women's wrestling but this won't be the case here. Both teams wrestled their hearts out and you could definitely see the passion in their work. Loved how the crowd was really into the action and loved how they didn't hold back! Bunch of reversals, great submissions, and a huge dive off the top equates to all having a fun match in my book! Hiroyo Matsumoto & Ayumi Kurihara pick up the win in a really fun match.
Winners: Hiroyo Matsumoto & Ayumi Kurihara
Rating: **3/4

Match 4: Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly vs. The Briscoes
The team of Cole & O'Reilly get their moment in the sun in a match against The Briscoes on day 1. Did you expect a stiff war? Because that's exactly what you're going to get in this one! They beat the living crap out of each other! I'm not too sure if there is any other team that is as stiff as either The Briscoes or Cole & O'Reilly other than maybe The Wolves. Still, both teams brought it in this one. Cole & O'Reilly know it's their golden opportunity to make a statement in Ring of Honor and they did just that against the popular tag team in The Briscoes. Lots of kicks, lots of reversals, lots of stiff action, and lots of fun! Crowd was once again red hot throughout all of the action as The Briscoes hit a Doomsday on Cole to get the win! Afterwards, The All Night Express appear from the crowd and it is on! They come down to the ring and we have mayhem ensuing as The All Night Express and The Briscoes beat the living hell out of each other until they have to be retained! Great match, great showcase for Cole & O'Reilly, and great way to advance the ongoing storyline between The All Night Express and The Briscoes.
Winners: The Briscoes
Rating: ***1/2

Match 5: Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong
It is now time to begin our main event matches as Richards vs. Strong is the first big match of the night! This their return bout from their match last December in New York at Final Battle. I thought the last bout was going to win the award for stiffest match but this one blows it away completely. Crowd is still red hot and especially for this huge contest. The only difference from this match and their last one is that this one is not for the ROH World Championship. That title belongs to Eddie Edwards who will be defending it against Christopher Daniels later on. This match was just what you would expect from these day and that's a good thing! You get your normal kicks, punches, submissions, reversals, drama, cuss words, spitting in the face and over the top moves in this one. Everything delivered with the only problem being that they didn't really have any long term selling or any real psychology but I guess in a match like this, that's what you come to expect and understand. It's two tough men going at it with full force and even though the long term selling wasn't there, it still made sense. Truth Martini tried to get involved later on but Davey kicked the crap out of him before locking Strong back up in the Ankle Lock for like the fifth time and got the submission victory. The chemistry between these two is unreal. No, this match wasn't as intense or dramatic as their Final Battle or Chicago bouts but the action was there and in your face. Credit to both men for a great match. Is it the match of the night? We'll see.
Winner: Davey Richards
Rating: ****

Match 6: ROH World Tag Team Championships - The Kings of Wrestling (c) vs. Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team
Both teams have faced each other twice, once in New York and the other time in Los Angeles. However, this is the rubber match and it will be for the belts this time around! Crowd is evenly split between the two huge teams and we are set for another big match of the night! We get some quick ground wrestling to start off the match until the flow of things finally get in place as The Kings seem to have a better advantage of the match. The Kings are resilient as they want to claim the title of holding the belts for an entire year. The match is basically a swing as the momentum shifts from one team to another but Haggadorn and Del Rey do their best to prevent WGTT from getting any sort of advantages but Shelton & Charlie won't let it happen, they are on the top of their game. It's great to see such great tag team wrestling since it's somewhat of a lost art these days. Seeing both teams hit their signature tag team moves is just so much fun to watch.
Such a shame that big name companies don't embrace this form of craft on their shows these days. The action in the match was so crisp, so fast and was on a constant roller coaster. As Haas locked in his Haas of Pain of finisher on Claudio, Hero got on the top rope to knock him out. However, Shelton leaps up and suplexes him off! Claudio taps and The Kings are dethroned! Great match but not as great as the first time. The past two matches felt the same but still entertaining.
Winners: Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team
Rating: ***3/4

Match 7: ROH World Championship - Eddie Edwards (c) vs. Christopher Daniels
The main event of the night is for the ROH World Championship and is another 9th Anniversary Show rematch! It's between Eddie Edwards and Christopher Daniels, a clash of champions. The chemistry here can be compared to the chemistry between all the guys in the last two matches as they have managed to put on great matches. I've always enjoyed watching these two duke it out and I'm happy they're doing it once more as the main event. Crowd is still really hot as the match gets going. What I enjoy about their matches is that they're all completely different from what we've seen earlier. Instead of no selling and a bunch of random moves, we get a slower paced match with more psychology. These two brought it tonight and Eddie took one hell of a beating from the veteran. Daniels slammed Edwards through two chairs and off the apron onto a table. The world champ won't give up but Daniels' onslaught won't stop. Daniels lands the Best Moonsault Ever onto Edwards who kicks out and this is where the match turns things up. So much action and it all made sense. Daniels tried to land another but Edwards kicked him and locked Daniels up in his patented Achilles Lock and managed to boot him in the head but Daniels wouldn't give up! This is awesome! Eddie then finishes up Daniels by hitting his finisher both off the top rope and another in the middle of the ring to get the win. Edwards goes for a second handshake but Daniels refuses and walks out to end the show. That match was awesome and Edwards looks like a million bucks as champ. Great main event and it's intriguing how Edwards will be booked as champ.
Winner: Eddie Edwards
Rating: ****1/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Those last three matches were all terrific and really stood out from the pack. Ring of Honor gets a great start to the weekend as Chapter Two looks to continue the streak!
Rating: 9/10