This Is ROH - 5/5/2012

Courtesy of Adam Iorio, @adamshaska

Ring of Honor Wrestling - May 5th, 2012

It's one week from Border Wars. The show opens with highlights from last week's match with The Briscoes vs. Cedric Alexander & Caprice Coleman

Match 1 - "The Dominant Male." Tommaso Ciampa vs Matt Taven.

Winner: Tommaso Ciampa via pinfall, length: 7 minutes, 37 seconds.

The match starts without the code of honor. Much to everyone's surprise, Taven gave Ciampa a run for his and The Embassy's money in this match. Ciampa tried to end the match early by giving Taven a full nelson suplex as soon as he entered the ring, and following it up with a knee to the skull in the corner before Taven slides out to the apron. They take the action to the floor as Jay Lethal comes down for a ringside seat. Ciampa hits Taven with an Air Raid Crash on the mat and has a staredown with Lethal.

 

After Taven reverses a suplex on the exposed concrete, both men climb back into the ring and exhange some blows. Taven gets a few 2 counts but Ciampa eventually hits the knee to the face followed by Project Ciampa for the three count.

Short interview with TJ Perkins about his match with Mike Mondo; The Young Bucks interrupt him with a few jokes.

Match 2 - "Technical Lightning." TJ Perkins vs "No Fear" Mike Mondo

Winner: Mike Mondo via pinfall, length: 7 minutes, 29 seconds

Both men adhere to the code of honor to start the match. After a nice exchange of grapples, Perkins hits Mondo with a neckbreaker and follows it with a weak looking hurricanrana through the ropes.

Perkins follows Mondo outside the ring, gives a small chase, and returns to the ring in the hopes of outsmarting his opponent. Mondo comes from behind and dominates Perkins for the majority of the match. Perkins starts building a little momentum after Mondo tries to bite the exposed eyeball. The Young Bucks come down to the ring after Perkins hits a missile dropkick from the top rope. Perkins leaves the ring to confront The Young Bucks, but they throw him back into the ring. Perkins tosses Mondo out to the floor, and as he regroups with the Young Bucks, Perkins jumps over the ropes, landing on all three men. Mondo hits a double arm ddt off the ropes because of the distraction caused by The Young Bucks to pick up the victory.

After the match, The Young Bucks and Mondo start to beat up on Perkins, and The All Night Express come to his aid and to get a peice of The Young Bucks.

Match 3 - Kyle O'Reilly vs "Wrestling's Worst Nightmare" Kevin Steen

Winner: Kevin Steen via pinfall

O'Reilly starts the match with some stiff kicks to Steen. Steen rolls out of the ring early, catches one of O'Reilly's kicks, and slams his knee into the ring post. After Steen powerbombs O'Reilly onto the ring apron, we cut to commercial. We come back to Steen mocking a limping O'Reilly. Steen goes for a spear into the corner but O'Reilly moves out of the way, and Steen goes shoulder first into the ring post. O'Reilly uses this time to his advantage by giving a dropkick off the apron to the floor, and then another from the top rope after Steen gets back in the ring. Steen DDTs O'Reilly through the ropes and follows it up with a cannonball, goes for a pin, and gets a 2 count. Steen goes for the F-Cinq, but O'Reilly locks his arm and brings him down into an armbar and Steen gets to the ropes. After some more kicks from O'Reilly, Steen spits in his face. After some kicks, O'Reilly runs the ropes, but Steen catches him with a powerbomb and then applies an anklelock which O'Reilly quickly gets out of. Steen hits the F-Cinq and pins O'Reilly for the one-two-three. 

 

After the match, Steen hits O'Reilly with his tennis racket and applies another ankle lock before World Champion Davey Richards comes down to the ring and attacks Steen and Jimmy Jacobs. Richards puts Steen in an ankle lock right before Jacobs hits Richards with a low blow and security comes out to stop Steen and Richards.

Richards grabs a mic and tells Steen that at Border Wars there will be no more "American Strong Style"; he's bringing back the Wolf.

All in all, a solid show, matches were well paced, not too much mic time for the wrestlers, and the commentary was great, even if Nigel McGuiness did mistake Richards for O'Reilly. Maybe thats why he's not wrestling anymore!