This
time last year, ROH held two sell-out shows in the lovely Center
Stage Theatre in Atlanta, and featured the kind of wrestling you'd
expect from such a diverse and entertaining company. Both shows had
that big night feeling that you would come to expect from ROH iPPVs,
and on both nights they delivered with flying colours. So, with that
said, how about we get the same thing this year, ROH?
You'd
have to be pretty stubborn not to admit that ROH's iPPV's since Best
in the World last year have transpired into mediocrity. Although the
10th Anniversary show was fairly entertaining for the most
part, it still didn't hit a home run with me. The same goes for Death
Before Dishonor late last year where the show World Title match-less
and seemed to drag on for eternity. In December of last year, Final
Battle had a flying start, only to crash and burn in the second half
of the show. If those shows have thought us anything, it's that even
ROH can get it wrong when it comes to producing big shows.
Looking
at the card for both 'SITS' shows however, you'd wonder how they
could possibly fall short. Without a doubt, this is the best line-up
from ROH I've seen in a long time. Only time will tell whether these
two shows will be the highlight of WrestleMania weekend, or once
again leave the fans wandering what kind of wayward direction this
company is going in.
Night 1
Tag
Team Rematch
Wrestling's
Greatest Tag Team vs. Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander
Last
week on ROH TV, we saw Coleman and Alexander pick up a shock victory
over Haas and Benjamin. It's this match however, where they will
really need to show what they're capable of. I don't mind Coleman and
Alexander. They are fairly enjoyable to watch, with their hippity
hoppity style of wrestling and their 'we're trying to come off
charismatic here' approach, so I expect them to have a good outing.
As for the result though, I think it's clear that WGTT will get the
victory here.
Proving
Ground
The
Briscoes vs. TMDK
To
be honest, I don't know TMDK. The only clip I've seen from them was
on the ROH YouTube Channel, so I don't really know what to expect
from them. At first glance, they don't look like two young guys
looking to make a name for themselves, they look fairly grounded and
moderately experienced. I'm too lazy to watch a match of them on
YouTube, so I'll just let it wait until SITS. Through all that
though, I see Briscoes picking up the victory, and maybe gaining
their respect in the process. Who knows.
Dual
Duel #1
The
Young Bucks vs. The All Night Express
I
like tag team wrestling and everything, but this is one thing about
ROH that actually bugs me, they REALLY pride themselves on showcasing
tag team wrestling. Don't get me wrong, I'm really looking forward to
this match-up, but you got to feel (or at least me anyway) that
they're over doing it in terms of how many tag matches they book on
shows.
This
probably isn't the best part of the preview to discuss this, because
Young Bucks/ANX is actually the tag match I'm most looking forward
to. I just hope that all these tag matches don't come across as an
overkill.
Back to the topic at hand though, I expect this to be a good match. The Street Fight and Tornado Tag stipulations are very similar (as the Street Fight will feature all 4 men in the ring at some point), but I think this is a good way to blow off their feud. It's tough to predict who will win this, as they are facing each other twice, so it really could go either way. Young Bucks might get the first victory and then lose the other one, or ANX might just do a clean sweep. Whatever the outcome, it should be thoroughly entertaining.
Last
Man Standing Match
Kevin
Steen vs. El Generico
Have
I ever told you guys how much I like Kevin Steen? I have? Well, I
tell you again! This man is the best thing going in ROH at the
moment, and has been for a very long time. He's one of the best
talkers in ROH, actually scratch that, THE BEST talker in ROH, and
one of the best wrestlers in the company as well, whether people like
Jim Cornette like to admit it or not.
Steen
and Generico both work tremendously well, and tonight I expect them
to steal the show. With Steen on a mission to capture the ROH World
Title off Davey Richards, I expect him to get the victory over
Generico. I don't know who it'll happen, it could be something as
simple as him winning fairly. But whatever the case, I see Steen
staying undefeated over the weekend.
ROH
TV Championship Match
Jay
Lethal vs. Kyle O'Reilly
I
don't think many people have been fans of Lethal's title reign, but I
for one have found it quite enjoyable. His hasn't been the most
consistent in terms of match quality, but I think that's more got to
do with who he was facing on that certain night. Luckily for him,
he's facing the very talented Kyle O'Reilly.
I
expect Lethal and O'Reilly will work well together. They're both
young, agile and exciting competitors, so really, it shouldn't be
anything less than a solid bout. With the way Kyle's persona has been
going as of late, I expect Lethal to retain his TV Title. And thus,
angering Kyle O'Reilly even further.
The
Icon vs. The Prodigy
Lance
Storm vs. Mike Bennett
I
think Mike Bennett is someone that needs other wrestlers to get a
decent match out of him. Lay Lethal has done it before, and Eddie
Edwards did it a while ago on ROH TV. With Lance Storm, I just don't
know if he'll get a good match out of Bennett.
I
expect it to be a fairly safe match, with slow pacing and a lot of
ground work. I expect Lance Storm to be in good condition (especially
after reading it in a column in Fighting Spirit Magazine), so that
will always help, but it's just more so the fact that Bennett needs
someone more... energetic to deliver a good match. The crowd should
be up for the match, lets hope Bennett and Storm are too.
ROH
World Title Match
Davey
Richards vs. Roderick Strong vs. Eddie Edwards
I
actually don't think I've ever seen a Triple Threat match for the ROH
World Title before. I missed the ones between Aries, Black and Strong
and only have so many old DVDs so... yeah, it's something for me. I
agree that all 3 men have faced each other too many times, but under
Triple Threat rules, I see being a different type of match. Of course
we'll see the usual hard-hitting action, but with an extra man
involved we could well see many close break-ups and face paced action
towards the end. In my opinion, 25-30 minutes would be ideal, as
matches between these 3 have often become a bit of an overkill. I
doubt that will be the case tonight, but for me, it would fresh to
see a World Title match with less slugfests and near-falls. Oh, and
as for the winner, Davey to retain.
Night
2
Blind
Destiny
Roderick
Strong vs. Lay Lethal
With
Jay Lethal so eager to get a title shot, it only makes sense that he
would defeat Roderick Strong tomorrow afternoon. Although in saying
that, it would also make sense for him to lose the TV title so he can
really challenge the title, so many I'm contradicting myself here...
Nonetheless,
I see Lethal getting the victory here, thus giving Cornette another
reason to give him a future title shot.
Blind
Destiny
Eddie
Edwards vs Kevin Steen
Given
enough time, this could be the dark horse to be the match of the
night (or... day, since you know, it starts at 1pm). As I said above
for the Last Man Standing Match, it makes sense for Steen to win both
of his matches over the weekend. So, with that, I'll go with Steen to
get the victory.
ROH
World Tag Team Championship Match
The
Briscoes vs. Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team
I
haven't been a fan of this feud. The interferences, constant shouting
and chair shots that we've seen on both ROH TV and iPPVs just hasn't
done anything for me. So, it will come as no surprise that I am not
exactly ecstatic to see this match. Also add to the fact that they've
faced each other A LOT. The only way this will be in any fresh
depends on the crowds response to the match. With it being Mania
Weekend, there will be a lot of new fans in attendance, and so, might
find a match like this new and exciting. Let's hope that's the case.
Duel
Dual Night #2
The
Young Bucks vs. The All Night Express
I
think I said everything I needed to say in the preview for the first
match. Really all that's left to say is, will the Tornado Tag be
better than the Street Fight? With two such fast tag teams, I think
it very well be. As for the result, I see ANX getting the second
victory no matter what happens in their first match.
Former
Partners Collide
Adam
Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly
There's
no denying how good these two young men are (especially O'Reilly).
They were a very good tag team in Future Shock and have shown that
they are solid in the singles division as well. Now, all that's left
to find out is whether or not they can work well against each other.
I
don't see why not, they're both similar size, speed and striking
ability. Really, the only difference is that Kyle is more technically
sound and Cole is a better high flyer. Remember when I said
Steen/Edwards could be the best match on the show? Yeah well, so
could this one.
Special
Attraction Match
TJ
Perkins vs. Fire Ant
Another
person who I haven't seen a lot of is Chikara's Fire Ant. I know
enough about TJ Perkins however, to know that he can wok well against
anybody. So with that said, I have no doubt that this will be a fun
bout.
As
for the victor, Fire Ant is the obvious choice considering he's the
first Chikara wrestler to compete in this storyline. It's not good
that it'll be at the expense of TJ, as I don't think he's won a match
since signing with ROH (could be wrong), but nevertheless, it should
be a solid match.
ROH
World Title Match
Davey
Richards vs. Michael Elgin
The
reason I said that Steen/Edwards and Cole/O'Reilly are dark horses to
be the best match of show is because this match between World
Champion Davey Richards and Michael Elgin is my pick to be the
highlight of the show.
With
Elgin's freakish strength and Davey's stiff combat style, I see this
being a thrilling match that could well be the best match of the
weekend, let alone that best match on Night 2. I don't know if we'll
see an appearance from Kevin Steen, but at the end of it all, I see
Davey Richards retaining the gold and getting one step closer to
reaching a whole year as World Champion.
Going
through that whole list of matches, there's no denying that these two
shows could be two of the best shows of the year.
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