Ring of Honor – 6/21/10

Last night, Ring of Honor on was back on HDNet, and they showed four matches in their hour broadcast.  Our main event was a tag team match, and we were graced by the presence of the “Queen of Wrestling” in the the ring.  Who came out on top?  Find out right here:

Television Champion, Eddie Edwards, and Shane Hagadorn come to the ring.  Edwards has an idea on how ROH management can determine “who is worthy to face him for the title.”  He comes up with this challenge called the “Eddie Edwards 10 Minute Hunt,” where if someone can last 10 minutes in the ring with him, or even beat him, then they’ll get a title shot at a later date.

• Out walks the first competitor, some jobber named Nick Westgate.  Edwards teases him a bit and then sucker punches him with the belt.

10-Minute Hunt Match (Non-Title)
Eddie Edwards with Shane Hagadorn vs. Nick Westgate
WINNER: Edwards via referee stoppage due to an Achilles Lock and stomps to the head (with 7:18 remaining on clock)

Video Package: Earlier in the day, Austin Aries announces to the world that he’s stepping out of the ring, and going to be managing Rhett Titus & Kenny King, now known as All Night Express.

• Aries brings in two women to entice Titus & King as motivation to win in tonight’s main event.

Sara Del Rey with Kings of Wrestling & Shane Hagadorn vs. Reggie
WINNER: Del Rey via pin fall after hitting a Pile Driver

Video Package: Clips of when Kenny King & Rhett Titus put Jerry Lynn on the shelf after hitting him with a wicked, double team Pile Driver.  Lynn comments about his career and the risks, as well as the idea of someone going out to try to end his career.

Ricky Reyes vs. “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown
WINNER: Brown via pin fall after hitting the Burning Hammer

• Post match, Erick Stevens jumps Brown from behind and they brawl until security pulls them apart.

Video Package: Delirious is pissed off (says nothing).  Video clips of the attack by Austin Aries on him and Daizee Haze are shown.  Daizee walks in and says, “Only one thing on our minds, revenge!”

Austin Aries comes to the ring and takes the mic.  He talks about the attack on Delirious and how he’s man enough to admit when he crossed the line.  He says that he tried to apologize to Delirious, but the masked man tried to attack him.  Now, because Aries is going to be only a manager, Delirious will have to wait to wrestle him.

All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus) with Austin Aries vs. Jerry Lynn & Delirious with Daizee Haze
WINNERS: Express via pin fall after hitting a combo Back Breaker to Top Rope Knee Drop on Lynn

• Mid match, Austin Aries grabbed Daizee Haze by the hair and threatened to hit her again.  This distracted Delirious, and the masked man went after Aries, leaving his partner alone in the ring with his opponents.
• Post match, Express tried to hit Delirious with the same double team Pile Driver that put Lynn out, but Jerry runs in with a chair to clear the ring.

QUICK THOUGHTS:

Tonight’s episode wasn’t the greatest.  There were some high points, but for the most part, when you have two job matches as half of your broadcast, I wouldn’t consider that a great show.

I have to give credit to ROH.  They finally made Rasche Brown look vulnerable.  He did win the match rather easily still, but he was still pushed a little more than we have seen on HDNet.  Ricky Reyes did well to attack the leg and slow the big man down.  The post match attack by Erick Stevens is a direct result of Brown not signing with The Embassy.  I’m sure there’s more attacks to come.

It’s nice to see the Women of Honor in the ring, but ultimately, this was a job match.  “The Queen of Wrestling” Sara Del Rey handed it to Reggie, who I believe was making her ROH debut.  I would like for ROH to continue with the women’s matches, but make sure they’re competitive.

Main event was the most competitive match of the night.  Having Austin Aries as a manager now I think is going to wind up being more volatile than him being an active competitor.  He’s going to be involved in many more matches now, and more especially with Delirious.  I think in grand scheme of things, they’ll end up squaring off sometime.