The following is a detailed Ring Of Honor television report from the Saturday, May 12, 2012 broadcast. The report comes from Dave Musgrave and F4WOnline.com …
The show opens with footage of last week’s match Kevin Steen and Kyle O’Reilly.
This week opens with Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness introducing the show from the Du Burns Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. They preview that this week Davey Richards will face Rhino.
The debuting team of D-Line (Body-Snatcher and Black Ice) are introduced and described by Kevin Kelly as a physical team inspired by the Briscoes among others. Kelly says that they represent the Reclaim Foundation giving under-privileged youth an opportunity to get out of the neighbourhoods, show them another way of life and teach them to never give up on their dreams. McGuinness notes that a number of audience members wearing red shirts came specifically with the Reclaim Foundation to see D-Line. Their opponents of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin come to the ring. Black Ice starts out against Shelton with a tie-up and they go to the corner and break. They tie up again and Benjamin gets whipped into the ropes and gets knocked down with two shoulder tackles in a row. Haas distracts Black Ice and Benjamin hits him from behind but Ice still faces of with him and they trade punches. Haas gets Benjamin out of the ring and takes Black Ice’s leg out from under him. Benjamin works him over with knees and runs him into Haas’s boot. Haas tags in and works over Ice with punches and kicks. Haas uses a butterfly suplex on Ice and tags in Shelton who works over Ice in a neutral corner but Ice fights back with punches before getting his leg taken out. Shelton works a headlock and puts Ice into the corner. Shelton charges but eats an uppercut followed by a shoulder block from the second rope. Benjamin tags in Haas and Ice gets the hot tag to Body Snatcher who was noted to be 6’6 or 6’7. Body Snatcher punches Haas and then clotheslines him twice before hitting a powerslam. Benjamin runs in and gets kicked in the face. Body Snatcher hits an avalanche on Haas in the corner and then lands a splash for a pin attempt broken up by Benjamin. Ice comes in and gets knocked to the outside. Body Snatcher takes on Haas but Benjamin kicks his knee from behind. Charlie puts Body Snatcher in the Haas Of Pain and submits him for the victory.
After a commercial break the Chikara trio of Los Ice Creams (El Hijo Del Ice Cream and Ice Cream Jr) and Ophidian come to the ring for their ROH television debut while Ultramantis Black joins McGuinness and Kelly on commentary. Their opponents are also from Chikara and are The Colony of Green Ant, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant. Ultramantis explains that the match will go by Lucha Libre rules allowing Lucha tags. The match starts with Soldier Ant vs Hijo Del Ice Cream. Soldier gets slapped out of the ring and Green Ant comes in and gets put in a double-team leglock submission by both Ice Creams Fire Ant and Soldier Ant then give the assist and reverse the hold into a triple-team leglock submission. Ophidian then jumps on top of the Colony for a pin attempt. Ophidian puts a claw on Green Ant’s stomach and then gets put in a cravate. Green scoops up Ophidian for a clam and Ice Cream Jr tags in and criss-crosses before getting kicked down by Green Ant and Fire Ant who do a leg-drop/senton combo. Fire Ant flips in the corner and does a flying headscissors followed by a monkey flip and then a double flying headscissors and headlock takeover on both Ice Creams. Soldier Ant fights out of a tilt-a-whirl with a headscissors. The Colony attempts The Ant-A-Pult dive but get cut off by Ophidian. Fire Ant hits a big kick to the face on a seated Ophidian after having been triple-teamed. Fire Ant jumps off the ropes for a hurracanrana followed by a tornado DDT. Soldier Ant does a diving headbutt followed by a top rope splash from Green Ant on both Ice Creams who go the outside and get hit by the Ant-A-Pult in which Fire Ant is launched into a dive on the outside. Ophidian puts Green Ant in an Ophidian Death Grip but Soldier Ant makes the save. Fire Ant climbs up his partners and does a big splash to use the Ant Hill finisher for the pinfall and the win.
After a commercial break Ricky Reyes comes to the ring followed by his opponent Jay Lethal. They are about the shake hands and Reyes Lethal in the stomach. Reyes controls the early match with kicks, punches and headbutts. Reyes elbows Lethal and eye-rakes him. Reyes and Lethal exchange chops. Reyes controls Lethal with a headlock but Lethal fights back and they trade punches until Reyes hits a forearm. Reyes charge4s but takes a leg lariat and then a spinning heel kick from Lethal followed by a handspring elbow for a pin attempt. Reyes hits an inverted atomic drop followed by a jumping kick and then a rolling neckbreaker. Lethal gets taken up in a fireman carry but fights out with a Lethal Combination (knee to the back followed by reverse Russian legsweep) and then hits the Lethal Injection (handspring ace-crusher) for the victory.
Veda Scott interviews Davey Richards regarding his match with Rhino. Richards notes that Truth Martini paid $70,000 to Rhino take him out when he has “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin in his camp already. Richards says that everyone saw his match with Elgin in Fort Lauderdale and that is what a champion is all about. Richards says that Rhino has it wrong and he is the one being hunted. Richards says it will be hard for Rhino to hit a gore after Richards breaks his ankle and that if Rhino runs at him in the ring he will knock him back into the jungle.
On “Inside Ring Of Honor” Kevin Kelly previews next week’s tv show. Footage is shown of a match six weeks ago between Eddie Edwards and Mike Bennett with Edwards being distracted by Maria Kannellis. Kelly says that next week Bennett and Edwards will have a rematch. Edwards says that he thought he had injured a lady but he was victimized by Maria who should be called. Edwards says that next week he will come out on top. Bennett is interviewed with Maria and says that Edwards is just jealous of he and Maria. Bennett says that he is going to finish Edwards off quick so he can’t hurt Maria or Brutal Bob.
Kelly previews next week’s match between The Young Bucks and The All-Night Express of Rhett Titus and Kenny King. Matt and Nick Jackson says that next week is the rubber match as they split wins in Florida. They say “We’ll see you next week, dweebs.” Titus and King are interviewed. Titus says next week he will get his retribution and King says that someone told the bucks that ANX are soft but next week they will put an end to the Young Bucks.
Kelly notes that Border Wars takes place this weekend in Toronto and it can be seen at www.rohwrestling.com Kelly says that next week the first details of the June 24 Best In The World ippv from New York City will be available.
Veda Scott interviews Truth Martini and Rhino. Martini says money talks, Rhino gores and Davey Richards dies. Rhino says that Richards is respected as a great champion and a great technical wrestler but that he eats technical wrestlers. Rhino says Richards is entering a war with him that he can’t win and that he will rip Richards in half with a gore.
Rhino is shown coming to the ring with Martini and ROH TV Champion Roderick Strong. Richards then comes to the ring. Bobby Cruise announces the match as a Proving Ground match. They circle each other and lock up. Rhino takes a wristlock and Richards flips out of it and kicks Rhino who then charges at Rhino with a kick. Rhino takes Richards down with a shoulder block. They are both on their feet and go for a test of strength but Davey turns it into a wristlock and then take Rhino down and puts on a Texas Cloverleaf. Rhino grabs the rope the break the hold. They are on their feet and trade punches. Davey leapfrogs over a charging Rhino and dropkicks him to the floor. Davey runs for a dive but stops when Rhino moves. Davey goes to the apron to run at Rhino but Rhino catches his leg and throws him on the floor. Rhino takes over and lays in punches and forearms before whipping Davey into the barricade. Rhino charges him but gets kicked in the face and then thrown into the barricade. Davey throws Rhino in to the ring and hits a diving headbutt for a pin attempt followed by an armbar. Rhino powers out and Davey hits him with kicks. Davey kicks a charging Rhino but then gets taken out with a spinebuster. The match goes to commercial break and once back, Rhino is shown dropping knees on Richards. Rhino works over Davey’s back with forearms. Davey fights back with punches and Rhino goes to the floor. Davey jumps to the apron and hits a running kick to Rhino. Davey goes back inside and hits a tope suicida on Rhino. Davey rolls him in and then hits a missile dropkick for a near-fall. Rhino is hitting him with elbows and blocks an attempt at an exploder suplex. They trade punches and forearms and Davey hits the exploder for a near-fall. Richards goes for a kick to the head but Rhino ducks and hits a belly-to-belly suplex which Kelly notes is the prelude to the gore but Rhino goes for a pin. Davey throws some punches before Rhino attempts a powerbomb. Davey fights out and hits an enzuiguri. Rhino clotheslines him and attempts a pin. Rhino puts Davey in a Boston Crab but Davey rolls out of it and puts on an ankle lock. Rhino kicks his way out but Davey puts on the ankle lock again. Davey pulls him back from the ropes Rhino rolls out and charges Davey with a knee to the head. Rhino charges with a gore but Davey jumps over him and rolls him up with a sunset flip for the pinfall and victory. Roderick Strong jumps Davey and is joined by Rhino and Martini to lay in a series of kicks before Jay Lethal makes the save and faces off with Rhino. They trade punches and Rhino whips Lethal into the ropes. Lethal hits a handspring elbow to get Rhino out of the ring.
The show was good this week and I thought that Rhino looked really good against Richards. The Chikara match was hard to recap based on the pace but was fun to watch with Ultramantis doing a good job of explaining the product and Nigel putting it over. The debut of D-Line was also good for something different as well.
