ROH Tag Title Classic II- Plymouth, MA 12/17/10

1. Kenny King vs. Adam Cole
***
What a fine opener we have here from two of ROHs best young talents! This is balls to the wall action for 10 minutes with both Cole and King showing us some pretty nifty manoeuvres. They go at a pace too and the crowd's into it too which is always a plus. Good opening match.


2. Colt Cabana vs. “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett
**3/4
First of all I'd just like to say that if Mike Bennetts shtick is intentional then he's probably got one of the best gimmicks ROH has seen in a long time. Imagine this, a guy who's not bothered about flashy moves to please the fans so much so that the fans hate him for it. It's great it really is, and to see him in the ring with a guy such as Colt Cabana, who is such a good performer that he can get anybody over, makes for something entertaining to watch. The match was perhaps a little too short but they accomplished what needed to be done and the finish made total sense. Expect big things from Bennett in the future.


Earlier, Andy "Right Leg" Ridge cuts a promo on the Trial Series and his upcoming match against Christopher Daniels. He's going to prove to everyone that he belongs in ROH. Kid, you might just do that yet!



3. Ring of Honor Trial Series Match #5: Andy “Right Leg” Ridge vs. World TV Champion Christopher Daniels
***
Finally, a Trial Series match which wasn't just basically a squash! This is the kind of match I was expecting all of the Trial Series matches to be - the vet outwits the newcomer but the newcomer has plenty of tricks in his bag to even it up (the crowd actually are shocked when Daniels goes for the BME and Ridge grabs his foot out of nowhere to stop him!). Daniels didn't treat Ridge as anything but his equal and that came across in their exchanges. Despite the Trial Series being a failure (in my eyes anyway), this match on its own merits proved that Ridge could indeed fit into the ROH roster.

Post match Daniels gets on the stick and puts over Andy Ridge. He's a class act that Daniels feller.


4. Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen and Steve Corino
***1/2
A very different match from the one they had back at Pick Your Poison but good nonetheless. It's great to see The Briscoes and Steen/Corino put on a dramatic tag match without doing too many signature moves or finishers. Everybody played their role well and realistically it didn't matter who won so long as Steen was protected. Job well done all round.


Earlier, Grizzly Redwood cut a promo backstage stating how worried he is about getting in the ring with Rhett Titus, Ricky Reyes and the man he's most worried about...Dark Generico!


5. Four Corner Survival Match: El Generico vs. Rhett Titus vs. Grizzly Redwood vs. Ricky Reyes
**
For the most part, this was a kind of breather for the crowd. The match built around everybody avoiding Generico and was pedestrian at best up until the point Generico was involved. It kicked into higher gear once he got involved.

Post match Steve Corino stops Generico from package piledriving Grizzly Redwood. He gets on the mic and offers Generico another chance to get out of Final Battle as long as he unmasks. Corino says the people want to see Generico get murdered and it's their fault Steen did what he did. Generico teases unmasking before yakuza kicking Corino and then battering the crap out of him. ROH students are out to break it up and then Corino walks away repeating "I tried to help you" over and over again. REALLY good segment and yet even more awesome build to THE definitive ROH feud in 2010.


6. Kyle O'Reilly vs. TJ Perkins
***1/2
A completely different match to pretty much anything I've seen in ROH in 2010. This was a mix of MMA, amateur wrestling and pro wrestling and was just impossible to not be glued to. TJP has come a long way since his days as PUMA and his earlier visits to ROH and here he's against a youngster with a very complimentary style. This match is worth going out of your way to see just because of how different it is.


7. Non-Title Challenge Match: ROH World Champion Roderick Strong vs. Sonjay Dutt
***1/2
This show has been ridiculously solid so far and this match adds to that fact. I was not a fan on Sonjay Dutts previous ROH run but here as a face he seemed refreshed and revitalised and at times was a joy to watch. Strong looked really good in this match and they had an even contest without losing any of Strong’s credibility for the night afters IPPV. Fun match.


8. World Tag Team Title Match: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) vs. The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)
****3/4
Sometimes matches can suffer from too much hype. Now given this shows title is Tag Title Classic II, you will have a certain expectation level for this match before it even begins. I kept it out of mind throughout and was delighted by what a great match this was. There's literally so many good moments in this match that I can't really recap and do the rest of the match justice, it's just a great tag match filled with drama and loads of edge of your seat near falls. They pull out pretty much every trick in both their arsenals and the crowd eat up every second of it. An absolute must see match and big reminder of two things... 1) When it comes to the top three US promotions - ROH does tag team wrestling in ways the other two could only dream of and 2) The Kings of Wrestling may have been the most consistently good tag team in all of wrestling in the year 2010.


*SUPER DUPER BONUS CONTENT*

Steven Corino and Kevin Steen talk Final Battle - A 3 and a half minute conversation between these two which adds yet EVEN MORE intrigue to the Final Battle Fight Without Honor between Kevin Steen and El Generico. Nice little bonus feature.

Tag Title Classic II is an easy show to rate. There's not one bad match on this show and the majority of it ranges between good - excellent plus there's a tonne of build towards the following nights IPPV which is all really good. It's a must buy for the main event but the whole card is worth checking out and it's a total breeze to sit through. One of ROHs most consistent cards of 2010 that has not broken the tier of top shows just because there was only 1 real big standout match on the show but that's by no means a bad thing. Buy the DVD!

8.5