ROH - Respect Is Earned II PPV Results
Philadelphia, PA
Taped 6/7/08
Lenny Leonard and Dave Prazak are backstage in Philadelphia and introduces us to ROH’s second edition of their signature event, Respect Is Earned. To celebrate, they show a video of the happenings in the past year.
They show the video from Injustice, where the Briscoes won the Tag Titles from the Remorse Corps. But then 1 week later, in Chicago at Return Engagment, the Age Of the Fall injured Mark Briscoe and they had to vacate the belts. The night before this PPV was taped at Up For Grabs, the Age Of The Fall won a tag team tournament for the vacated belts and are the new ROH World Tag Team Champions. Tonight will be their first defense vs. Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries.
Jigsaw and Ruckus vs. EL Generico and Kevin Steen. This is a big match for both teams. They are both in title hunt and need a big win to get one step closer. Jigsaw and El Generico start the match off. Fast paced action. Then Generico tags in Kevin Steen. Jigsaw runs the ropes and tries to Shoulder Block Steen but he barely budges. Jigsaw tags in Ruckus. Ruckus with a Head Kick to Steen who falls right to his corner and tags Generico back in. Ruckus with a series of kicks on Generico and covers him for a 2 count. Jigsaw tags back in. Jigsaw has Generico in a Gory Special and is stretching him. Jigsaw tags Ruckus back in. Ruckus runs the ropes, Steen grabs his legs from behind and drag him to the outside and throws him into the guardrail and then throws him back in the ring. Steen then tags himself back in and makes the cover for a 2 count. He makes a quick tag back to Generico, Generico jumps on Steen’s back and a double Senton onto Ruckus, Generico makes a cover for another nearfall. Ruckus tries to make the tag but Generico knocks Jigsaw off of the apron. Generico takes Ruckus to the top rope and attempts a Brainbuster on Ruckus but he knocks Generico off, does a bunch of flips into his corner and tags in Jigsaw. Generico went for a Yakuza kick but Jigsaw caught him, put him on his shoulders and slammed him down, covered him, Generico kicks out at 2. Steen comes out of nowhere, takes out Jigsaw, then Powerbombs Ruckus onto Jigsaw. Swinging DDT by Generico on Jigsaw, Steen catches him and gives him a neckbreaker. Jigsaw is in the corner, Generico hits him with a Yakuza kick, Steen comes off the top rope with a Swanton Bomb, then Generico with a Splash from the other corner, pins Jigsaw, 1, 2, 3. Winners: Kevin Steen and El Generico via Splash by Generico onto Jigsaw. Tons of action in this one. A short Briscoes video is played after the match.
Davey Richards vs. Claudio Castagnoli. Claudio tries to obey the Code Of Honor and shake hands but Richards refuses. Nigel McGuinness joins the announcers in the booth and is on commentary. Claudio has control of the match at the beginning until he goes for a Springboard and Richards knocks him to the outside and connects with a very quick dive to the floor onto Claudio, landing into the crowd. He sends Claudio back in the ring and goes to the rop rope. Missile Dropkick onto Claudio. Richards with a Northernlights Suplex on Claudio then goes for the Kimura but Claudio gets to the ropes. Richards has an Armbar locked in. Claudio gets loose. European uppercuts by Claudio. Richards fights back with some kicks. Claudio slams Richards face first into the mat and covers him for a nearfall. Claudio went for the Ricola Bomb but Richards pushed him into the corner and hit him with a top rope Rana. Richards goes at Claudio but he ducks and hits a Springboard European Uppercut, goes for the pin but Richards reverses it into another Kimura. Richards hits a Divorce Court on Claudio from the top rope then gets him in the Kimura. Claudio gets to his feet, but Richards goes for Sunset Flip, Claudio kicks out and gets Richards in the Giant Swing. Both men are very dizzy, Richards charges at Claudio, he picks up Richards and hits him with one more European Uppercut and covers him for a 3 count. Winner: Claudio Castagnoli via European Uppercut. Pretty good match.
Sweet N Sour Inc is backstage and Sweeney says Brent Albright made the biggest mistake of his life when he turned on SNS Inc. Adam Pearce says he tried to help Albright by bringing him to Sweet N Sour Inc, but he didn’t listen. Then they cut to Brent Albright in the back talking about how Adam Pearce was like a brother to him. Albright says Pearce took the Hangmen 3 and sold them to SNS Inc. Albright says he does things he way. He calls the shots. They cut to the video from a New Level where Albright turned on SNS Inc. They cut back to Albright and he introduces his team. Pelle Primeau is the first man. He says Pelle has more heart than anyone. Albright says you need insanity in a team. He then introduces Delirious as his other partner. Brent says nobody is more insane than delirious. He says he has a remedy for Sara Del Ray and introduces Daizee Haze.
Chris Hero/Adam Pearce/Eddie Edwards vs. Pelle Primeau/Delirious/Brent Albright. SNS Inc are outside the ring in a huddle trying to talk strategy. Eddie Edwards and Pelle star the match off. Pelle hits a head scissors on Eddie and tags in Delirious. Pelle hits a drop kick and Delirious makes a cover for a 1 count. He has Edwards in the corner and they exchange chops. Delirious has Eddie in a fireman’s carry, and slams him face first on the mat, then hits a Back Senton. Eddie headbutts Pelle then tags in Hero. Pearce runs in the ring and Clotheslines Pelle, Hero makes the cover but Pelle got his foot on the rope. Hero has Pelle in the corner and is giving him chops, then tags in Edwards. Quick tag to Pearce. Pelle had Pearce rolled up but the ref was distracted and missed it. Pelle tags in Delirious. Delirious with headbutts to Pearce and Edwards. Delirious went for a Panic Attack in the corner but Sara Del Ray tripped up Delirious and Pearce hit him with a slam and tagged in Hero. Hero tags in Edwards. Tag to Pearce now, elbow drop to Delirious’ back. Delirious tries to go for a tag but Pearce takes him back to his corner and tags in Hero. Daizee looks concerned on the outside. Albright grabs Hero from outside the ring and pounds his face. Hero gets loose and tags in Edwards. Edwards holds Delirious and tags in Pearce and he hits a Double Axehandle from the top. Tag back to Edwards. Now SNS Inc is triple teaming Delirious. Pearce and Hero slam Delirious then Edwards hits a stiff kick. Edwards tags Hero back in. Delirious has been isolated on SNS Inc half of the ring for the last few minutes. Delirious keeps trying to make a tag but he can’t get close enough. Hero tags Pearce back in. Edwards tags back in. Announcers mention the high amount of tags. Delirious dives to make a tag but Edwards grabs him, Delirious goes for a Sunset flip, Edwards slips out goes for a kick Delirious ducks and rolls to his corner and tags in Albright finally. Albright cleans house of the entire SNS Inc, Sweeney gets on the apron to distract Albright, Sara Del Ray comes from behind, but the Haze takes her out. Albright gets his hands on Sweeney but Hero and Pearce come from behind and get Albright. Pelle hits a Lou Thesz Press on Hero then a Double Stomp. Edwards hits Albright with a Superkick, then goes for a Springboard but Albright catches him with a Powerslam, then hits a Air Raid slam on Edwards. Albright gets Edwards and hits him with a series of Knee Strikes and the ref calls ends the match. Winners: Delirious, Pelle Primeau, and Brent Albright via Ref stoppage, knees to the head of Edwards by Albright. Adam Pearce hits Albright with a briefcase after the match and knocks him out. Larry Sweeney takes the mic and says everyone wants to know what is in the briefcase. He says there is one belt that is the most pretigious belt in the world and it isn’t the ROH belt, it is the NWA Championship and they pull it out. Pearce, the NWA World Champion raises the belt.
A video of the Roderick Strong/Erick Stevens feud, which ends tonight in a Fight Without Honor match, is shown.
Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens - Fight Without Honor. The match starts before the camera even cuts back to action. They are brawling around ringside and Strong low blows Stevens. They exchange loud chops. Strong is gouging in Stevens’ eyes. Stevens drives Strong into the edge of the ring. They continue to exchange chops. Now forearms, more chops. Strong suplexes Stevens on the floor. Strong goes for a ladder. He sets it on the ring and the barricade. Stevens whips Roderick into the table that is set up. Stevens is now grabbing chairs from the fans and is throwing them into the ring. Stevens hits Roderick with a chair then slams him head first into a chair. Strong kicked Stevens directly in the face. And is now shoving a chair against Stevens face and then stomped on it. He grabs a chair and jabs him with it. Stevens is on the mat and Strong is repeatedly hitting his legs with a chair. Strong grabs the ladder and brings it in the ring. Strong sets the ladder up against the corner and whips Stevens into the ladder but he reverses and sends Strong into it instead. Strong’s forehead is cut open and Stevens is biting at the wound. Stevens has Strong’s blood all over his mouth. The blood is now pouring out of Strong’s head in large amounts. Stevens throws Strong to the outside. Strong rolls back in the ring trying to avoid Stevens. Stevens is setting up a chair. Puts Strong on his shoulders but Strong gets out of it and hits him with a forearm then drives him onto the chair and destroys it and Stevens! Cover, 1, 2! Kick out! Strong has blood all over his face. They are back on the outside and Strong gets throw to the barricade, Stevens charges at him but Strong moves and sends Stevens into the guardrail. They both make it back to the ring. Strong covers Stevens for a 2 count. Stevens is on the mat while Strong starts to slide chairs into the ring and one of the chairs slide right into Stevens teeth. Strong has a pile of chairs in the ring. Strong was trying to set up a move but Stevens reversed it and gave Strong a German Suplex onto the chairs then a pumphandle slam, covered him for a nearfall. Stevens takes the ladder and sets it up on the ring and barricade once again. Stevens goes at Strong, Strong gets him and hits a Backbreaker. Roderick takes Stevens to the outside and is trying to put him through the ladder, but Stevens reverses and hits a TKO off the apron on Strong onto the ladder. Strong looks like he is out. Stevens gets a table. Chops back and forth. Lariat by Stevens. Both men are down. Strong is up first and grabs a chair, hits Stevens in the head. Strong goes for the pin but only gets a 2 count. Strong is setting up the table. Now he grabs the ladder is setting it up next to the table. The ladder is REALLY tall. Stevens with a ton of elbows to Strong in the corner. Strong is going to the top of the ladder. Stevens is on the opposite side and is climbing up. “Please don’t die” is coming from the crowd. They are punching eachother at the top of the ladder. Strong has Stevens, he goes for a Superplex and hits it through 2 tables! Ref is counting to 10. Strong goes for the cover, 1, 2, 3. Winner: Roderick Strong via Superplex off of a ladder through 2 tables. Insane, match. Crowd is chanting “Thank You Both”. That was an amazing match.
Go Shiozaki vs. Nigel McGuinness for the ROH World Title. Match starts off with them running the ropes and countering eachother. Go kicks Nigel out of the ring. Nigel is circling the ring, Go comes from behind hits him, then chops him. Go lifts up Nigel and drops him on the guardrail throat first. They get back in the ring and Go makes the pin but they are in the ropes. Go stands Nigel up and chops him again. Cover for a 1 count. Nigel’s chest is bright red and is bleeding from the chops. Go with some forearms in the corner on Nigel. Go goes for another one but Nigel gets the boot up. Go whips Nigel in the corner, headstand and kick by Nigel. Exchanging forearms. Nigel knocks Go down. Go gets back up when Nigel was showboating and hit a Suplex. Nigel rolls to the outside. Go runs and tries a dive but Nigel hits him, grabs him and hits the Tower Of London to the floor. Go landed shoulder first. He is selling the shoulder, Nigel starts to focus on it. He slams it inside the steel ring post. Nigel rolls Go back in the ring. Nigel with a thrust to the throat of Go, then drives his knee into the shoulder of Go. Throughout the match, Nigel has been mocking his arch nemesis Bryan Danielson. Nigel is in the corner and Go goes for a shoulder block but misses and hits the ring post. Nigel is working over the left shoulder. Fans are trying to get behind Go. Go is back up, trying to fight back. But Nigel does a single leg take down and hooks in another arm submission, but Go gets to the ropes. Hammerlock STO by Nigel. Go is not giving up. Once again exchanging strikes in the middle of the ring, until Nigel sticks his thumb in Go’s eye then hits a Lariat, cover for a nearfall. Running European into the corner on Go, another Lariat. Cover but Go kicks out at 2. Nigel picks up Go and sets him up on the top rope and goes for the Tower Of London but Go counters, Nigel goes up top and tries to hit a Superplex but Go knocks Nigel down, he gets back up top, and hits a Superlex on Go, but Go gets up, and hits a German Suplex on Nigel into the corner. Go is showing his Fighting Spirit. Nigel is going to the outside and climbing to the top but Go stops him and hits a Superplex of his own. Now Go is climbing to the top and goes for the Moonsault but he misses it, Nigel goes for a Jawbreaker Lariat, but Go blocks it, hits a German, Nigel rolls out of it, Jawbreaker Lariat attempt again but Go hits his own Lariat and covers Nigel fo a 2 count. Go chops Nigel, covers him for another 2 count. Go goes for another Moonsault, hits it, cover, 2 count! Go goes for a suplex but Nigel blocks it and goes for the London Dungeon but Go reverses and rolls him up for a nearfall, hits the Go Flasher on Nigel, he kicks out at 2. This is a great match. Standing strikes by both men in the middle of the ring. Nigel is getting the better of them. Go hits Nigel, Nigel rebounds with a Jawbreaker Lariat then locks in the London Dungeon. Go taps almost immediately. Winner: And still ROH World Champion, Nigel McGuinness via submission with the London Dungeon. After the match, Danielson is on the mic and says that Nigel has been ducking him for too long and he wants his shot at the World Title and he wants it on PPV. He said consider this an official challenge and he hopes that Nigel is man enough to accept it.
A video of the Aries/Age Of The Fall feud is shown.
Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries vs. Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs. Prazak on commentary mentions that in ROH the Tag titles are just as important as the World title, not like in other companies where they are on the undercard. Aries goes after Jacobs before the bell rings. They are brawling on the floor while Black and Danielson fight in the ring. Danielson gets sent to the outside and Black hits a dive onto him. Aries is in the ring and Jacobs goes after him, they both have chairs and are beating eachother with them. Paul Turner calls for a DQ. Crowd is chanting “Bullshit”. Danielson tells Aries to calm down. Black tells Jacobs to calm down. Ref Paul Turner says is Jacobs cools down they will re-start the match. He tells Aries the same thing. The ring announcer gets on the mic and says that because the match is so important that the ref is going to restart it. They say this is PPV and they have to deliver. Black and Danielson start off the match. They are in the corner and Black is kicking Danielson. Danielson gets to his feet and catches Black with multiple kicks. Danielson has Black in a surfboard while pulling at Black’s face. Jacobs helps Black out, but gets kicked to the floor. Aries gets tagged in. He works on the arm, quick tag to Dragon. Dragon stomps on the back of Black’s arm. He gets him in a wristlock. European Uppercut by Danielson then a tag to Aries. Aries charges at Jacobs whos not the legal man but Jacobs drops off the apron. Double team work by Aries and Dragon on Black. Aries covers Black for a nearfall. Aries tags Black back in. Another European Uppercut by Danielson. Chop by Black, Uppercut by Danielson. Danielson goes for a German but Black lands on his feet. He tags in Jacobs, Jacobs goes after Aries but Danielson gets him from behind with a German Suplex, Danielson goes to the top for a headbutt, Jacobs moves and goes after Aries. Double drop kicks by AOTF on Danielson. Back senton from the top by Jacobs on Danielson, cover for a nearfall. Jacobs tags in Black. Jacobs goes towards Aries and elbows him off the top. Black has Danielson in a Powerbomb position Jacobs has the Contra Code locked in but Aries makes the save and breaks up the move. Now Aries and Danielson are double teaming Black. Danielson goes for a pin but Black kicks out at 2. Now Danielson is repeatedly kicking Black in the face. Jacobs sends Aries to the floor. Jacobs hits a Spear on Danielson. Black gets a 2 count on Danielson. Black has Danielson in a Surfboard. Aries comes in and raked his boots across the eyes of Black. Jacobs tags in. He sets up Danielson’s head against the ring post and hits him with a running boot. He rolls in the ring and covers him but Danielson gets his foot on the rope. Jacobs is kneeing Danielson in the head. Black is holding Danielson in the corner while Jacobs hits him and Black gets the tag in. AOTF whips Danielson into the ropes and both catch him and choke him. Black puts Danielson over the second rope and stands on Danielson’s back. Danielson is getting fired up and hits a ton of elbows but Black hits him with a boot and stops his momentum. Jacobs tags back in. Double stomp and elbow drop by Jacobs. Covers him for a 2 count. Black set up a chair on the floor. Black gets tagged in, Jacobs throws Danielson to the floor, Black sets him on the chair and Jacobs splashes him. Black is Springboards into the ring but Danielson hits him with a dropkick. Danielson makes the tag to Aries, Jacobs gets in the ring and they go right after eachother. Aries is pounding on Jacobs. Jacobs sticks his fingers in Aries’s eyes. Aries recovers and goes to the top and hits a Dropkick onto Jacobs. A running Dropkick in the corner on Jacobs. He is hitting him, Black comes from behind Aries rolls him up and hits him with knees, Jacobs went for the Spear but hit Black with it. Aries grabs Jacobs and hits him with the Brainbuster and locks in the Last Chancery. Black breaks it up before Jacobs taps. Black is pounding on Aries. He goes to the ropes, Aries hits an elbow, but Black hits a kick. Black gets Aries on his shoulders and Jacobs hits a Back Senton on Aries while on Black’s shoulders. Jacobs locks in the End Time, Aries isn’t tapping. Aries might be out. Ref is checking, Danielson comes in and breaks it up. AOTF have Danielson in the corner. Danielson takes them both out and runs back to his corner and Aries tags him in. Danielson hits Jacobs with a Tiger Suplex, the a series of elbows. Jacobs blocks one, grabs Danielson, hits the Contra Code, covers him. Danielson kicks out at 2. Jacobs can’t believe it he makes a tag to Black. Black is trying to hit the Small Package Driver on Danielson but Danielson reverses it into a Triangle Choke. Aries and Jacobs come in, Aries has Jacobs in the Last Chancery. They roll to the floor. Jacobs is on the top rope and hits a Back Senton on Danielson and breaks up the submission. Aries sends Jacobs to the outside and hits the Heat Seeking Missile to the outside on Jacobs. Aries went at Jacobs but Jacobs hits him with a Spear on the floor. He is asking fans for chairs, Aries comes from behind and brawl to the back. Aries runs back and grabbed a chair and went back to the back. Black hit Danielson with a Neckbraker inside the ring and climbs to the top. Danielson knocks him down. Takes him to the top and hits a Belly to Back Superlex. He covers Black, kick out at 2. Danielson is using the elbows on Black, turns him over and locks in Cattle Mutilation. Black gets to the ropes and the hold is broken. Danielson goes for a Small Package, Black kicks out at 2. Danielson has an arm submission on Black. Black gets out, hits Danielson with a Small Package Driver, cover, 1, 2, Danielson kicks out. Black hits Danielson with a Superkick, then hits another Small Package Driver, goes to the rop, hits a Phoenix Splash. Cover. 1, 2, 3. Winners: And still ROH World Tag Team Champions, Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs via Phoenix Splash on Danielson by Black. That was an great, great match. After the match Nigel comes out with a mic. Nigel says he just lost to Tyler Black, someone he beat at the last PPV. He says Danielson doesn’t deserve a title shot until he beats everyone Nigel has on PPV. PPV ends with the entire crowd chanting, “Tyler Black”.
Order the replay if you can. It is definitely worth $15. In 2 hours of a taped PPV you got more wrestling than you do for a months worth of RAW.
Tomorrow I will have more in depth thoughts on what I thought about the show as a whole.
