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Ring of Honor - 2023


Matt D

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I've been trying to catch up on New ROH. It reminds me of HHH-era 2-hour NXT. You think you're gonna burn out on too much wrestling, but the matches are all so good, you end up coming back.

Thought Yuta/Thatcher was particularly good. Yuta is a fine fighting spirit babyface, but he's a lot better as a dickish heel who has talent but cheats anyway. Thatcher is a hard sell as a singles face (his team with Ciampa was good), but the pure rules and Wheeler being an asshole made his style work for the face role here.

Billie Starkz seems like a women's wrestling LeBron James. Such obvious talent as a high schooler, hopefully her career is long and successful.

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18 hours ago, DreamBroken said:

Raychell is equally awesome, so I hope she pops up again here too

She's the Inspire A.D. champ, mostly doing inter-gender title matches. I need to get a ticket for their next show.

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Subcribed to Honor Club for at least a month, as I had ten bucks lying around. I mean, I'm already getting the PPV, so I may as well see the build-up, right? I have to see how screen mirroring from my tablet to the tv looks like. This was prompted by the fact that even Dark and Elevation don't seem to show up on my AEW+ service right now, and I never watch them from Youtube. So, I guess I have enough time for the new ROH episodes at the moment.

 

...aaaand there it goes. Unfortunately, the screen mirroring experience was shit, so I unsubscribed immediately, but I'll be here until April 16. This could really use a better App, for a more comfortable viewing experience. As is, it only gave me an instant headache

Edited by Shartnado
Yeah, not great
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1 hour ago, Shartnado said:

Subcribed to Honor Club for at least a month, as I had ten bucks lying around. I mean, I'm already getting the PPV, so I may as well see the build-up, right? I have to see how screen mirroring from my tablet to the tv looks like. This was prompted by the fact that even Dark and Elevation don't seem to show up on my AEW+ service right now, and I never watch them from Youtube. So, I guess I have enough time for the new ROH episodes at the moment.

 

...aaaand there it goes. Unfortunately, the screen mirroring experience was shit, so I unsubscribed immediately, but I'll be here until April 16. This could really use a better App, for a more comfortable viewing experience. As is, it only gave me an instant headache

If you have a Roku or a Xbox, the ROH app is pretty solid on those. Can't address any other options.

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22 minutes ago, porksweats said:

If you have a Roku or a Xbox, the ROH app is pretty solid on those. Can't address any other options.

Thanks, I only have a Samsung smart TV and a Samsung tablet that is probably beginning to become obsolete. With this equipment, it was sadly, pretty unwatchable.

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I missed the first five minutes!  GAH!  Claudio and Willie Mack are going at it!  Willie Mack looks fucking GREAT in this.  Claudio is great taking Willie's offense.  Claudio murdalizes Mack with an Uppercut!  Dante Martin is ROH!  Mike Bennett has been ROH forever.  Mike Bennett is in the Frankie Kazarian/ Christian Cage/ Trent Barretta/ Matt Sydel ilk-  fundamentally sound.  Bennett is fucking great setting up Dante Martin's offense.  PILEDRIVER ON THE CONCRETE!  Dante does the twenty count crawl!  Great Hammerlock DDT by Bennett.  I love how Martin is flying all over the ring but still sells the Piledriver.  NICE Tiger Driver by Martin.  Top Wrist Lock Submission by Bennett!  Dante makes the ropes.  LOTS OF COOL NEARFALLS!  This match is GREAT!  Dante Martin wins with his Bladerunner VARIATION!  That was the best Dante Martin match I've ever seen and it's all because Mike Bennett is so fucking awesome.  ALLRIGHT!  MORE SLIM J!  It's Blake Christian and Metalik tagging together.  Metalik is all nifty in the ring.  FUN!  SLim J has the best punches in WRESTLING.  Metalik is our face in peril.  Christian is WILD after the hot tag!  Slim J BUMPS LIKE A PSYCHO!  Slim J is fucking AAAWWWESOME dragging Blake out of the ring and beating the fudge out of him.  Daivari and Slim J are such a fun heel tag team.  Slim J is so old school Southern heel.  Metalik is great on the apron.  Metalik gets the hot tag but Slim J keeps cutting his off.  GREAT FINISHER by Metalik!  That was great.  Slim J is so fucking awesome.  Jeeves Kay gets beat to death by Eddie Kingston!  Claudio gets coffee on his shirt!  Jeeves Kay hits a crazy looking Tope because of the camera angle.  Kingston with the EXPLOIDER!  And then the Stretch Plum for the win.  Hey!  It's HYAN!  HOUSTON!  ATHENA! ATHENA! ATHENA!  Athena is the best all around wrestler under the AEW/ROH umbrella.  Oh man, this match is GREAT!  Hyan makes a comeback!  ATHENA FUCKING DESTROYS HYAN WITH A POWERBOMB OFF THE APRON!  Crossface for the win!  AND SHE DOESN'T LET GO!  ATHENA FUCKING RULES!  Hyan looked great.  It's Silas Young!  I haven't seen him since I saw an indie match he was in a few months ago.  Marcus Kross gets to wrestle a non-enhancement match!  SHANE MOTHERFUCKING TAYLOR!  I could dig Silas Young vs Shane Taylor.  That will be STIFF!  ATHENA and Yuka Sakazaki is on!  LADY BALLS!  Dalton Castle and the Boys are ready to BREAK SOME HEARTS!  Toa Leona is so out of control.  He is my secret favorite dude in ROH.  That splash on the apron was GNARLY.  Plus he does a NERVE HOLD! Castle makes a HOT TAG and he goes TOTAL STEINER!  Down to the BULLDOG!  Gates Of Agony are AWESOME killing the Boys.  What an ass beating.  That was fun.  TRISH ADORA!  It's MADISON RAYNE!  Trish Adora is laying it in, I'm assuming to set up a match with LADY BALLS ATHENA!  BEAUTIFUL NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX by Adora!  Rayne is looking pretty good in this.  GERMAN SUPLEX HOLD by Adora!  CRUCIFIX BOMB by Rayne!  ADORA CRUSHES RAYNE WITH THE LARIAT TUBMAN FOR THE WIN!  Trish Adora fucking RULES!  I assume this is building to LADY BALLS!  TRUTH MAGNUM!  TURBO FLOYD!  TWIRLING!  Magnum jumps Christopher Daniels!  CHEATING!  The Outrunners are battling it out with the Ass Boys as best bumping chickenshit heels in the AEW/ROH Umbrella.  They make make Daniels and Sydel look ten years younger.  AUSSIE OPEN!  Well, THAT'LL be good.  It's the Wild Rhino, Clark Connors!  He's good.  WHEELER YUTA!  HE'S AN ASSHOLE NOW!  YAY!  Connors is the long lost Von Erich.  I dig his energy.  Connors is using up his ropebreaks!  YUTA FUCKING RULES, PUNCHING CONNORS IN THE FACE BEHIND THE REF'S BACK!  POUNCE by the Wild Rhino!  EVEREST GERMAN SUPLEX countered by a Spear by Connors.  Connors uses his CLOSED FIST!  Yuta uses his LEGAL closed fist!  ANKLE LOCK BY RHINO!  Connors looks fucking GREAT in this.  Yuta wins and CHALLENGES SHIBATA!  AWESOME!  So much wrestling.  It's two half gallons of ice cream.  ROH TOTALLY RULES THE MOTHERFUCKING WORLD!

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Man. This sounds so great. All of the stuff I love about AEW and none of the current stuff that rubs me, personally, the wrong way. I literally do not have sufficient free time to watch all of Dynamite, Rampage, Dark, Elevation, the big important New Japan shows, big important "other Japan" shows, random old matches on YouTube, and the insane stuff that shows up on my YouTube feed every week. Making room for ROH would REQUIRE cancelling time for something else +wrestling, books, video games, exercise?) The main reason I am sticking to Dynamite and Rampage as my appointment viewing is the enjoyable live chat with an international group of wrestling nerds that I enjoy during Dynamite, and the discussion here in the AEW thread. 

 

Maybe if more people get into watching the new ROH and there's more discussion of it here, I will have to consider spending my 1000 yen a month and 4 hours a week on ROH rather than AEW.

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God damn this show rules. 3 episodes, 6 hours of great wrestling. I'm not big on the Pure title stuff but everything else tremendous. Reminds me a lot of modern day hoss-heavy AJPW. If only they could fly in Suwama and Ishikawa to feud with the Gates of Agony...Zeus vs Brian Cage...the Bodyguard vs Willie Mack...TK is definitely in cahoots with the wrong Japanese promotion(s). 

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1 hour ago, Gordlow said:

Man. This sounds so great. All of the stuff I love about AEW and none of the current stuff that rubs me, personally, the wrong way. I literally do not have sufficient free time to watch all of Dynamite, Rampage, Dark, Elevation, the big important New Japan shows, big important "other Japan" shows, random old matches on YouTube, and the insane stuff that shows up on my YouTube feed every week. Making room for ROH would REQUIRE cancelling time for something else +wrestling, books, video games, exercise?) The main reason I am sticking to Dynamite and Rampage as my appointment viewing is the enjoyable live chat with an international group of wrestling nerds that I enjoy during Dynamite, and the discussion here in the AEW thread. 

 

Maybe if more people get into watching the new ROH and there's more discussion of it here, I will have to consider spending my 1000 yen a month and 4 hours a week on ROH rather than AEW.

ROH is the BEST.  I would make room for it.  Do what I did, RETIRE!

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Claudio/Mack was fun. Quick but pretty fast paced and the great running Uppercut finish came out of nowhere. Dante/Bennett was fantastic with some good time to it.

Athena/Hyan delivered as expected and Athena's backstage promo later was epic. Great work and Athena/Yuka is gonna rule at Supercard.

Love seeing Silas Young back in the ROH mix and his excellent theme music. Hell yes to Silas vs Shane Taylor, looking forward to that showdown.

Trios title match was a blast. Adora/Madison was short but very good as well. Loved Madison's crucifix bomb and Adora's finish looked stellar. Felt like a big time win for Adora going forward. 

I dig seeing Daniels & Sydal together as a team and all the going over of history from 2006. I don't imagine they'll be champs but I'd pop for it if they won.

Real solid main event. I like Yuta as a TV Title type kind of guy with these pure title defenses and how he pulls out the victory. Connors looked good. Great 10 minutes in another great episode. Post-match callout rules, Yuta/Shibata will be amazing.

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Another fun show. In-Ring ROH continues to deliver, a bit less so on the mic here. So great to see Willie Mack continuing to showcase his  tremdenous skillset in ROH/AEW rings. Loved the finish with Claudio's rocket launching upper cut. Nice little Mark Briscoe video package. Good to see the Rampage promo on here with the Tag Title ladder match announcement. Dante-Bennett was fantastic. I'm with @Dean on this being the best Dante Martin match yet. Mike Bennett is easily one of the most underrated wrestlers in 2023. Simple but effective set-up for Taven-Darius. NIce tag bout with B. Christian/Metalik v Ari/Slim J. J continues to be a highlight of any show he's on. He's as good as anybody on this roster. Blake Christian and Metalik are a neat duo. Pasty white Christian has something special. Kingston-Jeeves was a solid enhancement outting. The Claudio coffee spill was a bit goofy, but not not fun. Athena-Hyan totally hit the mark after a shaky section early. Athena is just wonderful. Her promo, tho off the cuff fun (lady balls), suggests a mouthpiece might be a good idea. Silas Young-Marcus Cross was exactly what I hoped it would be. Young has a lot to offer inside the squared circle. I wonder if he might find his best place in a hard nosed Anderson style tag team? Marcus Cross continues to impress. Such a great 'hand'. The promo battle between Young and Shane Taylor felt a bit forced. Taylor should wear that looser casual wear look in-ring. It's a better presentation fit for him. I wish Taylor had just cut a promo later with Lexi addressing Young. Dueling mics should be kept to a minimum and only where it makes sense. This did not. Also, strange choice to carry out a poor shot of Young quietly walking to the back rather than cutting away to commentary or the back. Neat trios battle followed. Dalton Castle clap clap clap-clap-clap! 2/3 Lanny Poffo, 1/3 Steiner! Toa gets lost in there sometimes. Kaun would benefit more from working with a veteran/mentor rather than green machine Toa, but they do seem to be slowly finding their way in tandem. I missed most of Rayne-Adora. Goddamn, goddamn - The Outrunners! Not so much into the lame duck Sydal/Daniels team. I'm really hoping Daniels goes heel sooner than later. The mic work that followed this match was pretty awkward. Especially Daniels weirdly calling himself and Sydal 'Silver Foxes'. Neat to hear Mark Davis talk, but he and Fletcher are still developing. These duelling mic spots might be better if the guys went the extra 10 feet to the ring. When you're just planting the seed of a feud, duelling mics feel unnecessary and contrived. A little diss in a taped promo is a little less glamourous but more appropriate in both situations this evening. Clark Connors mic and character work leaves a lot to be desired, but in-ring he's a tight little machine. Yuta tho still green on the mic is nicely progressing. And obviously he's a special performer in-ring already. Dug the Main Event Pure Title bout. And the ROHTVstream goes 3 for 3, but there was some odd flow - like Jeeves suddenly in a taped promo after being beaten by Kingston. His sell of his arm while smiling heelishly didn't quite work. Mark Sterling continues to be a nice addition here - bettering on his often goofy AEW output. In ring ROH continues to be an A, on the mic this was the weakest of the three episodes. That said, this streaming show is a great place to try stuff out and get reps, so no complaints. Shibata-Yuta, Briscoe-Joe, Kingston-Claudio, Yuka-Athena etc. already make this Supercard of Honor an easy sell. 

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  • Really like the Proving Ground stip of "beat the champ or last ten minutes." It adds an element not in those Elevation Eliminator matches. There was plenty to like here in the Mack vs Claudio match itself. Mack was dealing with someone more powerful than he was used to, someone that can create narrative opportunities through his strength alone, but likewise, Claudio was dealing with someone he couldn't just power over. He had to work at everything. That meant going to punches and strikes more than throws to open him up. It meant that every actual move Claudio hit felt impactful and impressive and meaningful. Likewise Mack, even with something like a Samoan Drop. I thin we're starting to see an almost Jumbo-ian hypocrisy from Claudio where he feels like he's honorable but his actions start to say otherwise.
  • There were things I liked in Dante vs Bennett. The pile driver on the ramp, the idea that Bennett took things personally and was trying to hurt Dante. Dante's selling and fighting from underneath. I like all of that. It's so important for a babyface like Dante to find that balance between selling and selling and selling and always trying to swipe up and get a shot in. I have nitpicks. I don't know about that package pile driver into a powerbomb with Dante's hurt shoulder. He could have just fallen down with the pile driver instead? I didn't like the second strike exchange. I wish Dante would have hesitated for just a half second before his finisher even though he did sell after. But overall, this was a solid TV match and Dante has so, so much upside.
  • Speaking of great babyfaces, Slim J is a great babyface. Here though, he's a guy getting legitimate heat in 2023. He and Davari did a great job taking all of Blake and Metalik's stuff. Another thing I really like about Slim J is that while he has all sorts of crazy, innovative stuff, he'll also just do a snap suplex to control ring positioning and move things along during the heat. It's not what you do but how and why you do it.
  • I would have liked the Eddie match to go another couple of minutes so I could write about it on Monday but it was exactly what it should have been and the Claudio moment was a good "bump" by Claudio as he really got the coffee all over himself.
  • Athena vs Hyan was good. Athena has to hit the initial forearm/elbow without any twists and turns at least half of the time so it's good whenever she does. Doing that allows for the inversions to resonate and matter. That's part of the purpose of squashes anyway, right? I liked Hyan's intensity early and Athena's instinctive motions. She has this great, electric way of moving that reminds you of an early Randy Savage or heel Piper where you just don't know if she'll zig or zag and it makes everything feel unpredictable and dangerous relative to everything around her. I'm glad the Yuka match is still on.
  • Silas Young does a bunch of stuff I wouldn't expect Silas Young to do (and some of the stuff I would). I don't know how I feel about this yet. I'll hesitate to say "Let's tag him with Lance Archer." yet. Maybe he's more of a Brian Cage partner instead..... Lee Moriarty? Is that a thing?
  • Liked that it took both boys to chip away at one member of the Embassy. Brandon sure took a beating. Dalton as a hot tag is basically like a Steiner Brother. This did feel a little like a match they were obligated to get through before moving on to the next thing and at least the next thing will be fresh.
  • While it's a bit of a shame Adora wasn't focused more over the last couple of years in AEW, at least she adds something that makes ROH feel different than other AEW TV.
  • Daniels/Sydal vs Outrunners was a blink and miss it sprint. I liked the call that both teams were just trying to score a quick win and putting it all out there but it was pretty insubstantial.
  • Connors is kind of amusing as a guy who just charges at you like a doofus. This is the first of these title defenses where Yuta starts to feel like he's coming into his own with certain holds/manipulation, the use of the ropes and the punches, etc. Being a tweener/heel lets him do that a little more.

It's a lot of wrestling! But it's good.

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Really been enjoying the new era of ROH. I’ll admit I was on the fence about $10 Honor Club, but if the keep up this pace three months in, I think it will be a hard question for a better wrestling use of $30. I do think they should include an off-PPV month “Clash” type card in addition to the weekly. 
 

I think they’ve done a good enough job separating ROH from AEW, which was my big concern. People “complaining” about so much good wrestling reminds my of 2004 ROH

I love the pricing ground concept and it really adds another layer to champions matches

Athena has not 100% fully found herself character wise, which is kind of crazy considering she is a standout highlight among a lot of talented wrestlers  

There’s been a lot to like in 6 hours and very little to seriously complain about.

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On 3/16/2023 at 12:01 PM, Shartnado said:

Thanks, I only have a Samsung smart TV and a Samsung tablet that is probably beginning to become obsolete. With this equipment, it was sadly, pretty unwatchable.

Oh man I had a Samsung tv for a bit.  Worst 2 months of my life.  Their OS and apps are shit.  Even just using it just as a quick trip to AppleTV was rough.  My condolences.

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TONY NESE!  MARK BRISCOE!  Mark Briscoe is so fucking awesome.  Briscoe is INSANE bumping off the apron to the floor.  Nese crushes Mark's lil Briscoes!  Nese does a workout on the abs of Briscoe!  Nese looks great in this, a lot having to do with Mark Briscoe.  REDNECK KUNG FU!  ICONOCLASM!  GREAT EXPLOIDER by Briscoe!  This match is fucking GREAT!  LARIAT!  ROLLING DEATH VALLEY DRIVER!  TOPROPE ELBOW!  That was great.  TRUSTBUSTERS!  AR FOX! METALIK!  BLAKE CHRISTIAN!  Yessss!  More Slim J!  Jeeves Kay looks all peppy in this.  ROH is squashless AEW and it RULES!  Jeeves Kay and Slim J CHEAT in the corner!  Slim J HAS THE BEST PUNCHES IN PRO WRESTLING.  Metalik COMES IN HOT!  Metalik with the Negro Navarro takedown!  Metalik becomes our face in peril!  Trustbusters are great Southern tag heels.  AR Fox is PREPOSTEROUS as the Man Who Would Make The Hot Tag!  DEATHRIDER by Jeeves Kay!  A LOT OF STUFF HAPPENS!  AR FOX WITH A TOPROPE CUTTER!  FOR THE WIN!  GATES OF AGONY HIT THE RING!  That was a lot of stuff!  Lady Frost!  Skye Blue!  Lady Frost is all graceful and stuff.  She kicks Skye dead in the face.  A very gymnastic tumbling Cannonball into the corner!  Cannonball off the apron to the floor.  Lady Frost is all about cannonballs!  Skye Blue makes a comeback!  GREAT Gymnastic Air Raid Crash by Lady Frost!  FOR TWO!  Skye Blue makes another comeback and wins with her kinda crappy looking Flatliner.  Lady Frost looked fucking GREAT.  It's Rhett Titus and Tracy Williams against RUSH and Dralistico!  I wonder if Titus will take a bigger assbeating from RUSH than what he took from Minoru Suzuki for the TV title.  Tracy Williams is all hard-edged and stuff.  OH MAN, RUSH AND WILLIAMS ARE MAGIC TOGETHER!  Oh man, this match is fucking GREAT!  Tracy Williams is my new secret favorite wrestler in ROH.  Behind Shane Taylor.  MAN, Rhett Titus and RUSH is fucking great in the ring together.  This MATCH IS FUCKING AWESOME!  Rhett Titus messes with the bull and gets the horns!  Oh man, that was fucking GREAT.  And we have a PPV Main Event!  It's Matt Taven!  He is very underrated.  ROH is it's own universe because Dante is hurt but they wrestled the Ass Boys last night!  I don't really care.  Can Taven get out match out of Darius like Mike Bennett got out of Dante?  EVERYBODY CHEATS ON THE OUTSIDE!  Man, Taven is so good.  The Kingdom are just rock solid wrestlers.  This is good.  Not as good as Mike Bennett vs Dante, but good.  MARIA KANELLIS- BENNETT grabs Darius leg and Taven hits his finisher and wins!  That was good.  Tony Deppen and Brian Cage have a wrestling match!  Brian Cage is made for ROH.  He likes a long wrestling match that tells a little story.  Cage has a lot of offense to make it interesting as he is beating the heat on Tony Deppen!  Deppen makes a comeback!  GREAT TOPE by Deppen!  Deppen is all fiery and stuff!  DRILL CLAW!  That was good.  POSTMATCH!  Gates of Agony takes LIBERTIES with Deppen!  FoxMetalikChristian make the save!  That'll be fun at the PPV.   SHANE motherfucking TAYLOR!  YES!  FUCK YEAH!  It's Silas Young!  This should be good.  This is good.  Shane Taylor WILL FUCKING LAY IT IN!  Silas Young is good.  Taylor is bumping all over the ring for Young.  Great Elbow Drops by Young.  TAYLOR FUCKING KILLS HIM WITH A LARIAT!  Taylor fucking DESTROYS Young!  Young makes a comeback with a STIFF knee to the face!  Taylor with a total Fat Boy Splash!  FOR TWO!  YOUNG GETS TAYLOR UP FOR THE SAMOAN DROP!  Taylor CRUSHES Young with a Knee To the Face and THEN a FUCKING TOTALLY GNARLEY K-DRILLER BY TAYLOR FOR THE WIN!  SHANE TAYLOR FUCKING RULES THE WORLD!  Miranda Alize returns to ROH!  Billie Starkz!  Space Jesus!  Alize is EVIL!  Starkz with the Tequila Sunrise Suplex and THEN a wacky TOPE!  Alize is a HEAT MACHINE!  Miranda rolls into a CROSSFACE!  Billie rolls through!  Alize hits a NASTY low Rana into a DDT thingy!  Billie misses a Swanton!  Billie hits a Tombstone for the win!  That was great!  I know Alize has a lucrative day job but I'd like to see her wrestle more.  AUSSIE OPEN!  AUSSIE OPEN! AUSSIE OPEN!  It's Matt Sydel and Christopher Daniels!  Kyle Fletcher and Sydel are good in the ring together.  Mark Davis channels his inner Doctor Death Steve Williams.  Christopher Daniels throws good punches.  Aussie Open are OVER in Orlando!  Aussie Open are great at making Daniels and Sydel look like they are killers.  GREAT NEARFALL on the Meteora by Daniels!  Suplex by Fletcher!  Death Valley Driver by Daniels! ANOTHER GREAT NEARFALL as AUSSIE OPEN DESTROYS SYDEL!  Daniels with the BLUE THUNDER BOMB!  This match is FUCKING GREAT!  Aussie Open CRUSH Daniels with the Double pendulum slam thingy!  Fucking awesome.  It's Cheeseburger!  Ready to get demolished by Samoa Joe!  Annnnnd Joe destroys him.  And DESTROYS HIM AGAIN!  ROH SO FUCKING RULES THE MOTHERFUCKING WORLD!

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