ThunderStruck: ROH Wrestling Recap And Thoughts 03/10/12

This is Ring of Honor! Watching this one on DVR for my Saturday night entertainment; here we go!

 


 

Kevin and Nigel are in the ring to open the show. They talk about the triple threat match at Showdown in the Sun with Richards, Strong, and Edwards. Cornette announces the odd circumstance surrounding the world title being defended on BOTH days of Showdown in the Sun. Each of the three individuals competing in the triple threat match that Friday for the World Title will be assigned a singles match for Saturday. It’s called blind destiny because the title will be defended against whoever the champion is booked against in advance for Saturday. Tonight we will have three matches to determine the three number one contenders for the Saturday show.

Blind destiny qualifier: Kenny King is taking on Jay Lethal in our first qualifying match for Showdown in the Sun! The winner of this match will face Roderick Strong on day two of the ppv event. Nigel refers to Lethal as showing shades of Randy Savage as he starts out fast in the match. King gets multiple arm drag takedowns on Lethal. King goes for a legdrop and gets a one count and then locks on an armbar on Lethal. Lethal fights out of it with fists to King’s chest. Lethal gets the upper hand and gets a two count after a hip toss on King. Lethal with a suplex for a two count. Lethal continues to dominate the match. Kenny King gets back into the match as he kicks Lethal in the side of the head off the top rope. King with a spinebuster and then a two count. Roderick Strong has come out and is watching the match. King snaps Lethal’s neck off the rope but gets kicked off the apron by Lethal and into the barricade. Back in the ring, Lethal calls for the Lethal Injection and hits the combination for a two count only. Kenny King goes for a bridge and gets a two count as Lethal pulls him back into a german suplex pin for the three count.

^Definitely an impressive opening match for the show. Lethal and Strong will have a great match on 3/31 regardless of whether or not the World Title is involved. Kenny King is impressive as well. I had forgotten that he was one of the final four on season 2 of Tough Enough back in the day(Jackie and Linda were the 2 winners that year). He and Titus will without question have a strong showing at the pay per view against the Young Bucks(wrestling both days in the duel duel).

Blind destiny qualifier: Kevin Steen is up against Adam Cole next with the winner taking on Eddie Edwards at day two of Showdown. Steen extends his hands before the match. Cole refuses it. They bounce back and forth and Cole hits a big dropkick on Steen to the outside. He dives outside onto Steen and continues the assault around ringside. Steen catches Cole and tosses him into the steel ring post. Steen tosses Cole back into the ring. Steen dominates Cole and hits a moonsault from the MIDDLE ROPE for a two count. Cole with fists to Steen but Steen knocks him down. Cole comes back with two kicks to the face and a jumping DDT on Steen after coming off the middle rope. Cole with a kick to the head and a flying knee on Steen for a two count. Steen with a DDT on Cole off the middle rope. Steen hits a flying flip into Cole who is laying in the corner and gets only a two count on Cole. Steen picks up Cole on his shoulders but Cole fights out. Cole with two kicks to the head and a backstabber on Steen for another two count. The crowd boos. Cole with a superkick on Steen and another. Cole bounces off the ropes and jumps at Steen who catches him and hits a powerbomb and then a massive clothesline. He hits the F5(whatever Steen calls it) on Cole for the three count. He goes for the illegal package piledriver on Cole after the match but Eddie Edwards comes down and makes the save.

^Kevin Steen is the most charismatic and talented heel for a guy of his structure that I have ever seen. Adam Cole is loaded with talent and wrestled a great match. Edwards and Steen will be something to watch at Showdown. Cole and Steen kept the pace fast and hit their spots just right in this match. The crowd was alive for the entire contest(like most ROH matches I’ve noticed). Great show so far!

Davey Richards is on commentary for the final Blind Destiny Qualifier: Kyle O’Reilly is taking on Michael Elgin in our last match of the night. Unbreakable against American Strong Style. Both cut promos before the match like all the other competitors. Elgin doesn’t say much in his promo due to bigmouth Strong and Martini. Richards puts over O’Reilly as he is his mentor and all that while he comes to the ring. Richards refers to Steen as a joke during the match. O’Reilly and Elgin go back and forth the entire match. Not much high flying stuff here to start with Elgin being a brawler. Finally, O’Reilly goes for a back suplex on Elgin from the top rope and hits it. He only gets a two count. O’Reilly with kicks on Elgin and Elgin ends up on the ring apron. O’Reilly suplexes Elgin to the floor and gets on the ring apron. O’Reilly hits a huge running dropkick on Elgin and then tosses him into the ring. He goes up top and hits a front dropkick on Elgin. He gets another two count. He goes for a rollup and gets another two count. O’Reilly with a tilt-o-whirl ddt into a choke hold. Elgin picks him up while in the hold(not fully locked in) and Elgin slams O’Reilly down for a two count pin attempt. O’Reilly with more offense into a regal plex with another two count. He locks in a crossface on Elgin. Elgin stands up but O’Reilly locks in another choke hold as Roderick Strong distracts the ref. Elgin with a buckle bomb and then a sitdown powerbomb on O’Reilly for the three count. Richards and Strong brawl while this is going on. The show goes off the air with Strong and Elgin celebrating on the outside and Richards looking on.

^This one started out slow but really picked up the pace towards the middle and delivered with a great finish. Solid moves all over the place from both competitors. Elgin is a monster in the ring. O’Reilly is well on his way to being a star with a little more time developing his skills. Elgin and Richards will be an interesting mix of styles to see at Showdown.

Great show! I can’t give ROH enough praise for the matches that we get every week. Showdown in the Sun is getting some great buildup and makes me look forward to WrestleMania weekend that much more. I’ll be back with more columns this week as usual. Until next time, you’ve been ThunderStruck!

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