ROH on HDNet
Philadelphia, PA
April 25, 2009

Your hosts are Dave Prazak and Mike Hogewood.

Tonight in the main event, Bryan Danielson takes on Tyler Black!

• Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis & Jon Davis) vs. Grizzly Redwood & Andy “Right Leg” Ridge
  

Outside of an interview on an ROH Video Wire, this is the first time I’ve seen Grizzly Redwood. He’s a short lumberjack with a big heart! Andy Ridge is an ROH Academy grad the size of Alex Payne. Evidently he’s nicknamed “Right Leg” for his superkick. I’m not too sure. Davis overpowers Ridge to start and then Chavis for a double-team corner clothesline. This is like an NWA ’80s tag team squash where they beat up one guy and throw him over to his partner to beat him up too. At one point, Redwood avoids a corner charge and DOWN COME THE STRAPS! He charges at Davis, but gets destroyed by Chavis as he explodes on Redwood with the POUUNNNCCCEE, period. DARK CITY STREET CUTTER to Ridge gets the 1-2-3. (4:31) Just when you thought the producers of this show were telling Hogewood to stop saying it, we get a “SLAP THE PORPOISE” from Hogewood. I’m enjoying the DCFC. I just wonder what they can do against real competition. Entertaining squash. *½

Over to Kyle Durden, he’s standing by with a word from Bryan Danielson. Tonight, he wants to see if Tyler Black is for realz or if he’s for play-play.

• Nigel McGuinness vs. Alex Payne
  

No entrance for Nigel tonight because he probably would have had the ROH belt with him. He grabs the mic and gets onto the crowd for still not showing him respect after all these years, but then decides that it’s okay because they’re all just a bunch of wankers anyway. Payne starts off strong with a flying bulldog, but can’t even get a nearfall. Nigel stops him with a kick to the back in the corner followed by a quick lariat to take Payne down. McGuinness works the arm a bit and drops Payne with the Divorce Court. Another lariat from Nigel sets up the TOWER OF LONDON for the win. (3:16) Much shorter than the last Alex Payne match – that’s for sure. *

Kyle Durden talks with Tyler Black. Black admits Danielson is the best wrestler alive and he’s going to show the world that he can hang with the best.

• Chris Hero & Eddie Edwards (w/Larry Sweeney & Sara Del Ray) vs. Jay Briscoe & Kevin Steen (w/Mark Briscoe)
  

Steen and Jay are your wacky tag partners who don’t get along, but have the common goal of beating the crap out of Sweet N Sour for injuring their tag partners. Hero and Edwards try and Pearl Harbor Steen and Briscoe. Edwards dumps Jay so he and Hero can double-team Steen. Jay runs back in and takes Hero with him out to the floor, leaving Steen and Edwards in the ring. Steen beats Edwards down in the corner and tags Briscoe. Jay clotheslines Edwards and snapmares him over for a dropkick for two. Steen and Hero tag in. Briscoe gets a blind tag and surprises Hero with a running back elbow. Sweeney grabs Jay’s leg, allowing Hero to dropkick Jay to the floor for a stomp job from SnS. Mark Briscoe tries to hold them off. Back in, Edwards stops Jay from leaping for a tag by catching him in mid-air Steve Austin-style. Hero tags again and grabs a cravate. Briscoe escapes, but gets nailed with a ROLLING ELBOW for 1-2-NO! Briscoe manages to fight off a double-team by giving Edwards a reverse STO into Hero in the corner. HOT TAG TO STEEN! CANNONBALLLLLL splash down in the corner on Hero! Steen hits the Moonsault for 1-2-NO! Hero blocks the PACKAGE PILEDRIVER and connects with the ROLLING ELBOW! Cover, 1-2-NO! Edwards gets a blind tag and catches Steen with a Flying Codebreaker to stun him and another ROLLING ELBOW from behind to KO him. Cover, 1-2-NO! Hero and Edwards chop and elbow Steen. They come off the ropes for some kind of finisher when Jay pulls the top rope down to send Hero flying out to the floor. In the ring, Steen ducks an Edwards clothesline and hits a powerbomb into a SHARPSHOOTER! Steen lets go of the hold to get at Sweeney on the apron. Down on the floor, Hero and Mark fight over a chair as Jay comes by and clotheslines Hero from the apron! Meanwhile, Steen gets the PACKAGE PILEDRIVER on Edwards for the 1-2-3. (9:57) One of the more enjoyable tag matches I’ve seen in quite some time. Even though tag formula is 25 years old, there’s nothing wrong with it when it’s done right. ***

• Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black
  

Lots of hype behind this match because of their prior matches. Black snaps off a quick armdrag on Danielson out of a tie-up to start. They fight over a knucklelock where Black avoids a monkey flip by landing on his feet. That was pretty. Black escapes an Indian deathlock and goes for his handclap stomp on the face, which Danielson avoids and shakes his finger at Tyler. Danielson looks to go for a bow and arrow, but seems content on just pulling back on Tyler’s chin instead. Tyler makes the ropes, allowing Danielson to do his “I have until the count of five” gag. Danielson starts messing around with Black and corners him for a European uppercut. Danielson backs off, but takes a shoulder butt to the mid-section up against the ropes. Black whips Danielson into the ropes. Danielson puts on the brakes for Black to do his back flip, but then charges into a hurracanrana for two. Danielson telegraphs a backdrop and takes a snapmare for Black’s big stomp to the jaw. Black beats Danielson down into the corner, but Danielson comes out fighting with a series of European uppercuts. Danielson applies the Surfboard and transitions into a dragon sleeper! As the crowd starts to chant for Black, Danielson unloads with kicks to change the crowd’s minds to cheer for him instead. Black gets an O’Connor roll for two, but then Danielson pops up with another European uppercut. Danielson starts slapping Black around, which only serves to fire him up. Danielson shuts him down again with a running clothesline. Black rolls out and gets nailed with a suicide dive. Back in, Black catches Danielson coming off the top with a dropkick. VINTAGE BRIAN PILLMAN~! Black hits a Pele kick and delivers a running forearm in the corner. He follows up with a hurracanrana out of the corner for two. After both men miss big boots, Black dropkicks Dragon to the floor for a somersault plancha! Back inside, Black hits a Springboard Clothesline for 1-2-NO! Danielson begins to psyche himself up. He avoids GOD’S LAST GIFT (small package driver) and catches Black’s Pele kick into an anklelock. Oh, but Black makes the ropes. Black lands on his feet off a German suplex and hits a hurracanrana, but Danielson rolls through for 1-2-NO! Danielson charges into an F-5, but blocks a superkick with the anklelock! Right before Black reaches the ropes, Danielson changes over into a bridging German suplex for 1-2-NO! Danielson starts slapping Black across the face again, which didn’t prove to be a good idea earlier. Black counters Danielson’s Back Superplex as he falls on top of Danielson. As they get to their feet, they trade elbow smashes. Danielson looks like he’s won that battle, but then Black kicks Danielson in the face off a school boy attempt! Black hits the PAROXYSM! Cover, 1-2-NO! Only one minute left in the match. Black rolls through his PHOENIX SPLASH attempt and gets nailed with a running knee strike. TRIANGLE CHOKE has been applied! Black manages to hoist Danielson up and breaks the hold with a Turnbuckle Powerbomb! Both men down. There’s nothing more they can do as the time limit runs out. (20:00) This reminds me of the Danielson/Aries match a few weeks ago. To a fan that’s never seen these two go before, I’m sure it’s awesome. Since I’ve seen them wrestle before in better matches, you can’t help feeling like this was stuck in second gear and never reached the next level that it should have. Regardless of the way it was booked, this was a GREAT TV match. I wish they did time limit draws more often for TV matches. ***½

Next week, Ric Flair makes his ROH on HDNet debut! In the main event, Austin Aries battles Roderick Strong! YES! I can’t wait.

Final Thoughts: Another week, another hour of the best *wrestling* on TV these days as we get set to enter the THIRD series of tapings next week with week #7.