ROH live event
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Report by Dot Net reader Blake Reilly (Twitter.com/reilly21106 and Twitter.com/EReport1)

Estimated Attendance: 500-plus (I saw very few empty seats and the balcony was packed. Bigger crowd than the last show in July).

Pre Show Autograph Session: Charlie Haas is hysterical and could be a major heel if given a real chance. I asked him what he was phased about last night and he told me, obviously off the top of his head, "I'm pissed off because they won't let me have another beer." (Other fans around my seat told me that he was coming up with those during the entire hour session.)

Kevin Steen, unadvertised for the session, was displaying the new ROH World Title which is really nice in person. Steen reminds me of Edge, a great guy till he turns on the switch for his character. Roderick Strong was the one with the smallest line, which surprised me. He was really good to the fans.

Matt Hardy, who appeared to be with Reba Sky, was double charging the fans. The price when you get in line is $10 per wrestler, $30 for all four. Matt was asking fans to pay him an additional $10 for a picture and he also had a pile of Hardy Boy merchandise, that by the end of the show looked like no one even touched. What a douche. 

Nigel McGuinness was also behind the merchandise table selling and autographing his new documentary DVD. It was really great to see him again. 

Right before the show I noticed they were doing a camera test with four cameras, double of the last show. I also saw Kevin Kelly and Nigel were in the eagle's nest doing commentary for the DVD. 

1. ROH TV Champion Adam Cole pinned Silas Young in a Proving Ground match. This was a highly entertaining match. To Young's credit, he got the crowd to turn on him just with facial expressions. It was a back and forth contest and the crowd was red hot for it. In the finish, for some reason Young went for a handstand on the top turnbuckle, in turn Cole super kicked him in the face and he fell into a bridge for the pin.

2. Bobby Fish (w/Kyle O'Reilly) defeated Tadarius Thomas by submission. Bobby Fish came out and sucked the energy out of the building. He got zero reaction from the crowd. During the code of honor handshake, Fish went for a "cool snap fist bump handshake" (as one of the guys next to me called it), the crowd didn't like that at all. Fish turned to the crowd and ask "What do you want me to do? He's black." which led to a "He's a racist" chant. Halfway through the match, Truth Martini walked out onto the stage and woke the crowd up which lead to a massive "Truth" chant. After he came out most people stopped watching the match to see what Truth was going to do. He did nothing but watch. Fish won the match a very sloppy ankle lock.

After the match it looked like Fish and O'Reilly were going to attack Thomas but he went to fight back and they left the ring. Thomas needed a lot of help getting to the back, he may have hurt his knee. 

3. Charlie Haas pinned Rhett Titus. Haas came out with a 12 pack of Milwaukee's Best, downing them going around the ring. Haas really worked the crowd into a frenzy. He told the crowd "I'm going to be like Prince Fielder and get the hell out of this shithole!" which led to a "F--- You Charlie" chant. The crowd was all over Haas with a massive "Shelton Benjamin" chant and then a "Angle's Better" after hitting an Olympic Slam. Titus went for the Sky High but Haas put his knees up but rolled him up for the pin. After the match Titus tossed a few beers to the crowd that Hass left behind. 

4. Steve Corino, Jimmy Jacobs, and Rhino defeated The Briscoes and Jay Lethal. Before the match, Corino cut a hot promo that kept the crowd riled up. Despite being put over as "Corino's big monster", Rhino got a massive pop. They received an ECW chant after Corino said that it's been 12 1/2 years since they tagged together. That really made him angry and yelled at the crowd to stop. When Lethal and The Briscoes came out they sprinted to the ring and a brawl broke out outside the ring. It took all four refs to break it up. Lethal ended up playing the face in peril till things completely broke down. Rhino ended up winning the match after a gore on Mark.

Intermission

Bizarre sight of the night went to a kid no older than 12 wearing a "100% Haashole" shirt.

5. Matt Hardy defeated BJ Whitmer after Rhett Titus threw in the towel. This crowd hated Hardy but didn't torture him like they did to Haas and Corino. Hardy told the crowd that he won his match against Cole at Final Battle with a "legit wrestling move, a small package." It's kinda sad that the match between him and Whitmer wasn't as good as their promo exchange was. The match ended when Hardy had Whitmer in some sort of a clutch submission hold which led to Rhett Titus to come down through the curtain and throw the towel in.

Post match, Nigel McGuinness came down to see what happened. Whitmer was really pissed at Titus. Hardy grabbed the mic again and told McGuinness that he deserved a TV Title shot against Adam Cole. Cole came out and accepted the match. Hardy attacked him, which led to a brawl that concluded when Hardy kicked Cole in the nuts again. He then took Cole's TV Title belt with him when he left.

6. Davey Richards pinned Kyle O'Reilly. This was by far the match of the night. They had just about the entire crowd standing, cheering and reacting to every move. If there's any reason to pick up this DVD, it would be this match. Richards won after a pile driver, foot stomp, and two kicks to the side of O'Reilly'a head. 

After the match both men got a massive standing ovation from the crowd. They deserved it. 

7. Kevin Steen defeated Michael Elgin, Roderick Strong and Eddie Edwards in a Defy or Deny match. Before the match, Strong cut a promo saying he's the only man to ever win this match and tore into each man. He called Steen a "big fat ass" which Steen responded by dropping to the mat doing five sit-ups and kipping up to his feet to a massive crowd pop.

To his credit, Steen took a beating. Elgin threw him around the ring like he was a cruiserweight and Edwards picked him up from the apron and slammed him onto the entrance ramp. Everyone was convinced the ramp was going to fall. The other highlight early came when Elgin picked up Strong for his delayed vertical suplex and held him up upside down to a 60 count from the crowd.

Elimination Order:
Strong pinned Elgin with a roll up.
Steen knocked Strong out with a leg drop the back of his neck while Edwards had him in the Boston Crab.
Steen pinned Edwards after a package pile driver on the apron.

The crowd was pissed and started throwing beers at Steen as he celebrated. Steen got really angry and got right in the face of a fan who had thrown a beer in his face. 

They announced they will be returning to Milwaukee, Friday 7/12/13.

Biggest Pops
Davey Richards (by far!)
Kevin Steen
Adam Cole
Kyle O'Reilly (after the match)
The Briscoes
Truth Martini

Most Heat
Charlie Haas
Matt Hardy
Roderick Strong
Kevin Steen (after the match)
Kyle O'Reilly (during the match)
Steve Corino (turned the crowd against him)

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: