ROH PPV: Main Event

The Ring of Honor‘s Tenth Anniversary online Pay-Per-View on March 4th gave the fans all the drama, violence, and passion that we’ve come to expect from ROH.

Here are some screens I managed to capture during the dramatic Tag Team grudge match between Davey & Kyle vs. Eddie & Adam. I hope my images can do justice to the excellent skills and excitement of the live action!

Adam Cole in a bright yellow speedo…  And Davey in his shiny silver shorts!  That alone is worth the $10 price for this show!  I normally prefer my Tag Teams in matching gear, but in this case I’ll make an exception.  Each man wore exactly what he wanted to wear to excite the crowd and draw attention to himself.

The fact that the partners’ gear didn’t match highlights the fact that these alliances are very new, and perhaps not as firm or lasting as their previous pairings.

Every Tag Team match needs a victim who gets trapped in the wrong corner and beaten down by the bully team.  Adam Cole delivered a command performance in his little yellow speedo, with his long hair askew, and a shocked look of agony on his face, as if he were asking the gods: “Why are they hurting me so much!?!”

In honor of Ring of Honor’s ten year anniversary, the wrestlers re-enacted some classic moves and famous scenes from the federation’s past.  They dusted off some holds that earlier ROH stars had patented and used frequently.  Each reference to a former champion’s moves was an homage to the hard workers who launched the federation and kept it alive to this point.

They also played with some interesting mirror image scenes, where one veteran would punish the other veteran’s partner, and he would do the same thing to the first man’s partner.  If you slap my little buddy across the chest, then I’ll slap your little buddy across the chest, but even harder.  OK, back at ya’.

Much of the action centered on the men trying to sort out their complicated Quadrangle of relationships.  As mentioned last week, Kyle and Adam were partners until Kyle started sucking up to Davey, who fell in love with his rookie and soon began neglecting Eddie.

Adam quickly rushed to support Eddie and the two teams swapped partners faster than two pairs of swingers at a 1970’s era sex club.

So if you enjoy lots of hot, sweaty, violent, back-and-forth action with good story and great wrestling, and featuring two highly talented and innovative Tag Teams, go to ROHWrestling.com and see if there is any way to order or download the show.   If you hate to watch really good wrestling, then just save your $10 and buy a Hulkamania t-shirt or something on eBay.

This may sound bad, but I usually don’t really care who wins a pro wrestling match.  I just want to enjoy the gear and the holds and the poses.  But in this particular match, I really did care about the outcome.  All the near falls and missed opportunities truly had me on the edge of my seat — like I was twelve again — routing for Adam Cole.  So thanks, ROH, for giving me a scenario and a story arc that got even cynical old me to mark out!