Final Battle 2011 Preview and Predictions

Final Battle is upon us at last. This, Ladies and Gentleman, is the ROH event of the year. This event is on pace to be the biggest iPPV to date for ROH. The card is stacked with great matched. The only question is "Will there be another Match of the Year Candidate?"

World Title Match

Davey Richards with Team Richards defends vs. "Die Hard" Eddie Edwards with UFC Hall of Famer Dan "The Beast" Severn

This is the story of one Tag Team, The American Wolves. The story of two friends. They used to call each other brother. Those times are long gone. Only one thing could have driven these two apart. The desire of both men to be the best. This is Richards/Edwards III. How fitting for this to be the Main Event of Final Battle 2011. Since the last time these two fought, things have changed. Edwards is training with Dan "The Beast" Severn. This is even bigger new because Richards wanted to train with his childhood idol. Richards told Eddie about it naively thinking nothing of it. Eddie liked the idea so much he decided to train with The Beast himself, behind Davey's back. Once the news got out, things changed. This match is not going to be like its predecessor. Eddie now has new techniques such as the Dragon Sleeper. Davey feels betrayed. Something tells me this is going to be personal.

Prediction

Ring of Honor Wrestling Review 12/17/2011

Ladies and Gentleman, this is the "Go Home" show. The last show before Final Battle. This has been quite the build, especially for a former WWE Fan. It is definitely a change for the better.

The main event tonight will be Michael Elgin vs Davey Richards. This will be a Proving Ground Match. If Elgin wins or goes the time limit, he will get a shot at the world title. For Davie, this close to Final Battle, it is a severe test to see if he is ready for Eddie Edwards.

Eddie Edwards cut a promo, he says he is ready for Final Battle. Dan Severn has taught him to reverse Davey's Ankle Lock and taught him the Dragon Sleeper. Now, that is all in the gym. He says we will find out on December 23rd what will happen.

Andy "Right Leg" Ridge vs "Die Hard" Eddie Edwards. Truth Martini come out to join the commentators during this match.He is putting his support behind Eddie at Final Battle. If Eddie were to join House of Truth, he would change his life forever. Right Leg is putting up a little fight, but he isn't in Eddie's class. They keep hinting that Martini has ulterior motives behind Elgin challenging Davey right before Final Battle. Truth denies it, but keeps saying Eddie should join hit team. Winner: Eddie Edwards via Dragon Sleeper. After the match, Martini show his approval but applauding Eddie. Is the the beginning of Eddie's heel turn?

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Now, they are reviewing the Tag Team Title situation with ANX and the Briscoes fueding to be the number 1 contender for WGTT and their Title.  Then they reveal that Last week the Briscoes cracked Benjamin's rib with the chair shot last week. Benjamin will wrestle with Haas to defend there Championship and pay #DemBoys back. Will his cracked rib have an impact on the match?


INSIDE RING OF HONOR

Davey beat Eddie for the World title at Best in the World. After the match his emotional speech seemed to imply that his friendship with Eddie would life on. Fast forward to now, and that doesn't seem to be the case. Davey feels betrayed that Richards took his idea to train with Severn.

Rodderick Strong, Michael Elgin, and the rest of the House of Truth have been in the middle of this also. Don't be surprised if they get involded some how. 

"Unbreakable" Michael Elgin vs "The American Wolf" Davey Richards Proving Ground Match Elgin does not honor the code of shaking hands before the match. He is in no mood for that. Elgin is definitely the stronger of the two. Richards is taking quite the beating. Elgin is a beast. Richards should not be in this match. They don't cut to commercial break as they usually do they said they would but they just fast forward. This is a battle. You have to see this match awesome. Winner: Davey Richards. Elgin and Truth attack Davey after the match. Eddie come out for the save, but but somehow he hits Davey by accident. A huge brawl breaks out and this is now personal.

Ring of Honor Wrestling Review 12/10/11

They start the show off with a review of the Steen announcement. Steen vs Corino with Jimmy Jacobs as referee. Jim Cornette will be ringside and I will be TV side thanks to my Roku.

The main event for tonight will be a proving ground match as ANX take on WGTT.

I really like Coleman and Alexander. They are my favorite young tag team. Before the match Coleman tells us about his background, and how he has taken Alexander under his wing. They earned the respect from the Briscoes last week. This week it the Bravadoes.

Coleman and Alexander vs The Bravado Brothers Harlem Bravado looks like Justin Beiber and he hates to be called Beiber. The brothers are a nice up and coming tag team, but Coleman and Alexander are too much. Coleman and Alexander prove to be better with a nice finisher. Winner: Coleman and Alexander. The Bravado Brothers usually adhere to the Code of Honor but this time Harlem will have none of it a refused to shake after the match.

Jim Cornette and Davey Richards do a good job if telling me why I have to be at the Du Burns Arena on Jan 7. ROH is finally coming to Baltimore.

Chris Silvio cuts his promo and he has quite the look. He is a mix of Billy Graham and Jesse Ventura. His opponent is TJ Perkins who is a clean cut gut. Perkins is known as a high flyer so this match should be good.

TJ Perkins vs Chris Silvio This is my first real chance to see TJ Perkins. I am impressed by his athleticism. Silvio seems to have a future also. He has a big personality and good charisma. But again Perkins is good. He has an all around game. Excellent kicks, nice high flyer, even some submission skills. Detonation Kick Winner: TJ Perkins

INSIDE RING OF HONOR

They do a recap of the Lethal, Generico, and Mike Bennett saga. The TV Championship is what is behind all of this commotion. Now there will be a triple threat match for the title at Final Battle. Bennett is not happy about this. Lethal says there will be no time limit draws. He will be the Champ after Final battle.

Eddie Edwards and Dan Severn have a better team since Severn has big match experience. Severn will not get rattled. 

Next week we will have another Proving Ground Match. Davey Richards vs Michael Elgin. Richards is sure there are alterior motive when Rodderick Strong is concerened. This will be a good match, I am sure of it.

All Night Express vs Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team Shelton and Kenny give a nice wrestling lesson early on. Rhett Titus makes a major mistake in this match and gets his shoulder hurt. The turn buckle pad has come off in this match. This will have an impact on the match. The Briscoes come out and beat Shelton with a chair. The Ref didn't see it. ANX get the win not aware of what the Briscoes did. Shelton is still down and hurt. They cut to a few minutes in advance. Haas is quit upset. He vows to get back at the Briscoes.

Ring of Honor Wrestling Review 12/3/11

Welcome to the next edition of my ROH review.  I like this build that we are getting, instead of shot sighted story telling. Every thing is coming together well as time is progressing. This week we find out what Kevin Steen is offered and if he will accept.

As usual, the episode starts off with a review of last weeks main event. I am thinking that that this is not over yet. Bennett is starting to get under Lethal's skin. How will this effect the champ?

The Main event for today will be Future Shock vs the Young Bucks. While the Young Bucks have the experience edge, don't count out Future Shock. As Kyle O'Reilly showed a few weeks ago he can hang with anybody.

Starting the show off we get an interview with Tommaso Ciampa with Prince NaNa. He cuts his promo and shows a training video. This is why he is the Dominant Male.

Shiloh Jones vs Tommaso Ciampa with Prince NaNa and Princess Mia
Ciampa is dominating Shiloh. The crowd is behind Shiloh though, and he is able to use is athletic ability to give himself chances. Princess Mia is gorgeous ringside and  is a real distraction. Winner: Tommaso Ciampa via Project Ciampa

The Brisscoe come on to say they are upset that WGTT brought chairs to their match a few weeks ago. It's ok though,because come Final Battle they plan to be the next champs.

ANX comes on next and complain about a lack of attention. Something tells me they got something up their sleeve for next weeks Proving Groung Contest  against WGTT.

This is the Kevin Steen segment. Jim Cornette, Jimmy Jacobs, Steve Corino, Kevin Steen, and his lawers are all in the ring. It is clear Jim doesn't like Steen, but he is good for business. So he offers him deal. If he can beat Steve Corino at Final Battle, he will be reinstated. Jimmy Jacobs will be the referee. Corino says he won't be the same loser he has been this year. This won't be about him being nice. He is Steve Corino, come Final Battle he will be an evil person. Also Cornette will be ringside at this event.

INSIDE RING OF HONOR

First issue is the Lethal, Bennett, and El Generico situation. The TV title will now be on the line in a triple threat match at Final Battle.

Eddie Edwards believes in fighting most fueds end in trilogies. He mentions Ali - Fraiser. This will be the third and decisive meeting between the two. Eddie doesn't plan to lose. Dan Severn says he wished he and Ken Shamrock had their third meeting. He will never know how it would have ended. Eddie has to find out.

Davie Richards feels he doesn't know Eddie any more. Eddie is different, but Davie doesn't want to believe it. Is he being naieve.

Meanwhile Camp Strong is still going strong. He still have no suitable competition for final battle. If that doesn't change, the main event may be impacted by Roderick Strong.

In the promo before the match, the Young Bucks explain why they feel disrespected. They also could care less about the Code of Honor.



Young Bucks vs Future Shock
As you would expect, this is a fast action packed match. Lots of tag maneuvers. The Young Bucks play the heel role very well. They are in controll early on, but Future Shock is a dangerous team. The Young Bucks will be a great team, but tonight is not the night for that Winners: Young Bucks via More Bang for your Buck.

Ring of Honor Wrestling 11/26/11 Review

Welcome to my Ring of Honor Wrestling Review. With just a little less than a month to Final Battle, things are starting to take shape.

This weeks episode starts off with a recap of last weeks main event as usual. I like the highlights of the match as it did an even better job of telling the story than the actual episode. Truth Martini on commentary was a big part of my enjoyment of that match for me also.

On this show we will get a rematch of Jay Lethal and El Gererico. Lethal won the TV title form Generico 8 weeks ago. Lethal had to use extra time to get the win, so this match should be good.

The Briscoe Brothers take on Coleman and Alexander next. The Briscoes are focused on Final Battle. They had to fight to get the title shot that management didn't want them to have. They don' think much of Coleman and Alexander. Coleman and Alexander  look to be a team on the rise. I like Coleman on the Mic.

The Briscoe Brothers vs Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander
Coleman and Alexander and taking it to the Briscoes early on. The Briscoes start to turn things around. They are angry and push the ref out of the way and get disqualified. WGTT comes out with chairs and chase the Briscoes off. No Contest

Jim Cornette is on next talking about Final Battle. He interviews Davey Richards and he is ready to end this feud he has with Eddie Edwards.

Sean Casey & Raphael Constantine vs "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin Handicap Match This is a squash match in every way. Elgin does shake their hands before the match and is all business. Truth Martini joins commentary for a few minutes to say they wanted this match. They wanted to show how much of a monster Elgin is. Well they do prove their point.Elgin does a few things that are quite impressive. Including a Double Alabama Slam Winner: Michael Elgin via Double Alabama Slam. This is as must see as a squash match gets.

Jim Cornette has an offer for Kevin Steen. He wants Steen, his lawers, Jimmy Jacobs, and Steve Corino. to all meet him in the ring next week. The offer will be made then.

INSIDE RING OF HONOR

They do a pretty good job of introducing Dan "The Beast" Severn. His many accomplishment are impressive and he is still in good shape. Edwards and Severn explain their side of things. Eddie thinks that Kyle O'Reilly is stirring the pot, make trouble where there is none. Severn feels Davey knows too much about Eddie. Things will be different next time. Roderick Strong on the other hand has his own training camp going. While Davey and Eddie are training harder and harder he is doing his own thing. At final Battle he will face a surprise opponent. He want to steal the thunder from the main event.

El Generico vs Jay Lethal World Television Championship Match Before the match Brutal Bob and Mike Bennett come down to the ring with chairs and snacks. they plan on getting a close look at this match. Before things get started Lethal kicks over Mike's popcorn. These two are putting on a decent match, but Lethal is dragging. He isn't looking to good. Coming back from the break. Letha is in control. He took advantage of a missed high risk maneuver by Generico. One thing I am noticing is Lethal may be able to be pinned when he puts his opponent in a certain submission hold. Mike Bennett, takes the TV Belt and puts it on his waist. The time limit clock is ticking down and they may have to have another draw. Lethal rolls out of the ring and Bennett shows him the belt. Lethal knock him out. Lethal almost finishes Generico off but Bennett interferes. Time runs out. Generico want more time but there is no more. Time Limit Draw

Next week Young Bucks vs Future Shock

Unk's Ring of Honor Blog: Ring of Honor Wrestling 11/19/11 Review

Unk's Ring of Honor Blog: Ring of Honor Wrestling 11/19/11 Review: Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is my first Ring of Honor show review. I am new to Ring of Honor as I never got to see it before it ca...

Ring of Honor Wrestling 11/19/11 Review

Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is my first Ring of Honor show review. I am new to Ring of Honor as I never got to see it before it came to Sinclair. While I had heard about ROH from other people, I now have the chance to take it in for myself.

If you listen to wrestling experts, they tell you that ROH is not worth their time. It's not big time enough. I disagree. I saw WWE is not worth my time. They won't even let the best play by play man in the business do his thing.

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." So I have shifted my focus to ROH Wrestling. I have watched a couple of their last PPV's and been watching all the episodes. I begin my reviews on this episode because the introductions are over and the action is picking up.


This episode starts off with a review of last weeks House of Truth vs American Wolves main event. Eddie Edwards uses a dragon sleeper in the match to help his partner Davey Richards get the win. The thing is, Eddie never used that move before. He has been training with someone new. Eddie and Davey will meet at Final Battle for the World Title. Eddie knows Davey inside and out. Does Davey know what other tricks Eddie has in his bag?


The main event for tonight will be a Team Richards Challenge. Davey Richards will fight his training partner Kyle O'Reilly. 


Mike Mondo cuts his promo about how he is the biggest man in town. Well I say show me in the ring.


Alex Sylva vs Mike Mondo Both guys are 0-1 in the careers so they both need wins. They say Mondo follows the code of honor, but he doesn't seem to. He even shoots a snot rocket at his opponent. Winner: Mike Mondo via double arm DDT.


Jim Cornette announces he will make an official announcement next week about the Kevin Steen Lawsuit. Until then, he is denying pressuring of Steen into the career ending match or any other wrong doing. 


Next Week Jay Lethal will face El Generico for the TV Title. Mike Bennett is taking exception to this he feels his time limit draw with Lethal earns a rematch.


Jamin Olivencia vs Mike Bennett w/ Brutal Bob Evans Before the match Bennett proclaims himself the TV Champion. Olivencia has a lot of energy. I like the way he is bouncing and flying around. Winner: Mike Bennett via modified rock bottom.


INSIDE RING OF HONOR 

It has been reveiled that Eddie Edwards' new trainer is Dan "The Beast" Severn. This is an issue because Davey told Eddie earlier that he was gonna train with "The Beast".  Davey is hurt by Eddie's betrayal of his trust. Next week they will interview Eddie and Dan Severn to see what they have to say.

The All Night Express are upset with their lack of attention. Every forgets about the ANX. The Briscoes then say at Final Battle they will be new tag champs. Coleman and Alexander, who had the first match last week against WGTT will face the Briscoes next week. They get a chance to cut a promo. We'll see what they can do next week vs Dem Boys.


Kyle O'Reilly vs Davey Richards Before the match, Davey said this isn't about hate. This is about American Strong Style. If Kyle can win, it would be huge for his career. If Davey can't win he isn't ready for Final Battle. Truth Martini come out to watch the match. Not sure what business he has ringside, but here he is. Truth is with the ringside commentators. He is saying if either Eddie or Davey joins the House of Truth, he can guarantee they would win at Final Battle. This is a very good match O'Reilly shows a lot in this match, but Davey is too much. One of their trainers throws in the towel when Kyle was trapped in ankle lock. Winner: Davey Richards 

After the match Truth Martini gets in the ring and tells Richards how he could have done better in his match against O'Reilly. Davey and Kyle toss Martini around and thus ends this weeks episode.


This weeks episode was good. I am enjoying the nice build we are getting to Final Battle Friday, December 23. Next week Lethal vs El Generico.