INDEPENDENT WRESTLING DVD REVIEW SERIES
ROH's “Survival of the Fittest 2010”
November 12, 2010
Dearborn, Mich.
By Brian Leahy, PWTorch specialist

I’ve been watching Ring of Honor for almost nine years now, and in those nine years, I can hardly remember an ROH show as poorly booked, executed, or presented as Survival of the Fittest 2010. From the moment the DVD menu loads on-screen, to the final match on the show, ROH showed a staggering lack of thought in everything they did. I’m not exaggerating; the main menu shows Eddie Edwards standing next to the tournament trophy, and as the show wears on, viewers quickly realize that no good can come of Edwards going over in the one-night tournament.

I’m not a huge fan of Colt Cabana, but there’s something to be said for using him in the right manner and ROH has failed to put “Boom Boom” to any good use since his return from WWE. Similarly, Rhett Titus could benefit from being booked as a more serious threat. Therefore, Titus vs. Cabana opener benefited neither man and the only thing worse than Cabana’s lack of seriousness in almost every situation is the fact that Titus had to resort to a bell-shot to win the match.

The Castagnoli vs. Redwood match in the second slot did nothing to lift the mood either. With the size differential, you would expect and hope to see Claudio dominate with some high impact, high altitude offense, which never really materialized. Two matches into the night, there was a sneaking suspicion that this show was going to be a major disappointment.

As is all too commonplace in ROH in 2010, Kevin Steen was one of the few (or possibly only) bright points on the card. His match with Kyle O’Reilly and subsequent post-match antics are easily the most fun 15 minutes on the whole card. O’Reilly got in some nice offense before Steen put him away with an El Generico impersonation (masked Brainbuster). Steen's post-match capers trying to get his hands on fans with Generico masks was fantastic, and there was some nice mic work with Corino telling Steen not to attack O’Reilly. The story is clear that Corino was beginning to lose control of the monster he helped create, and it’s certainly foreshadowing everything that’s been happening with the Corino character since "Final Battle."

It’s a shame that Adam Cole couldn’t have been treated with a little more respect in the subsequent match with Corino. Despite picking up the win, Cole was made to look like he was totally out of his depth. However, the real entertainment in this one again came from Mr. Wrestling at ringside. Steen's live commentary and the post-match brawl with El Generico quickly erased all thoughts of the match from memory. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think the one-way trip Generico took through the ringside table in the fracas was part of an ultimate underdog story and would lead to his victory in SOTF. But, you know better; remember the DVD menu

In the choice of the first round matches, Eddie Edwards took on Chris Hero which was beginning to live up to expectations. All was going well until an Edwards topé resulted in what appeared to be a separated shoulder and they went to a hurried, but believable finish. Edwards suffered a broken arm the night before Glory by Honor VIII executing that same maneuver. Note to Eddie: Big Nité, No Topé.

El Generico vs. Kenny King rounded out the six SOTF qualification matches, and, with Generico being the premier babyface in the tournament, the crowd should have been suitably vocal in support for their injured hero. Understandably miffed at the action thus far, the Dearborn crowd planted their hands underneath their butts and left them there for most of the rest of the night. Not that this match was particularly deserving of their support. After the dullest El Generico match of 2010, King went over with a roll-up.

It’s indicative of the quality of the show when Andy Ridge’s third trial series match with Homicide is within touching distance of being the best match on the card. Prazak and Kelly on commentary did a great job putting over Homicide as someone who’s trained a number of well-known wrestling talents over the years, giving a good reason for putting Homicide in this match. It doesn't excuse leaving Homicide out of the SOTF tournament, which was sorely lacking in top-line talent.

The other reason the tournament lacked big names can be accredited to match #8 on the card, which tied up the Briscoes, Christopher Daniels, and Roderick Strong in a six-Man tag. The House of Truth recruits of Zach Gowen and Michael Elgin rounded out Roderick’s team, in what turned out to be the best match of the night based solely on length of action without hiccup or injury. By comparison to everything else, the mediocre action was positively thrilling.

The final match of Survival of the Fittest 2010 was also, rather fittingly, the worst final of the six times ROH has held the tournament. With the result a foregone conclusion and Kevin Steen eliminated in the opening seconds, this was going to struggle to deliver entertainment value. Watching Eddie Edwards standing on the apron unable to raise his arm from his side, you couldn’t help but wonder why ROH didn’t book Castagnoli, Cole, or King to win this, or just remove Edwards from the match entirely.

SOTF 2010 was one of the worst ROH shows in my own recollection. As a DVD release, "Survival of the Fittest" fairs much better. In order to make this show at all sellable, ROH bundled in a "Best of Nigel McGuinness" disc featuring some three hours of Nigel’s best matches from ’07 & ’08. There's still the issue of the bonus disc having a disjointed selection of matches with no background, but to anyone wanting to fill out his or her collection of historic ROH matches without breaking the bank will probably pick up this release regardless of how poor the main show is. (SOTF 3/10, Release 8/10)

Notable Match Star Ratings

Kevin Steen vs. Kyle O’Reilly **1/4
Eddie Edwards vs. Chris Hero **1/2
Christopher Daniels & The Briscoes vs. Roderick Strong, Michael Elgin & Zach Gowan ***
SOTF Final **1/2

We suggest these recent related articles...

RADICAN'S Beyond Wrestling "Greatest Rivals Round Robin" review 9/26 - incredible show of the year contender, Busick-Edwards top-flight MOTYC, more!

RADICAN'S "The Pull List" (Vol. 5) "Young Bucks Too Sweet Journey" doc review, The Flash season 1 Blu-Ray, Top Ten MOTYC for 2015

RADICAN'S "THE PULL LIST" (Vol. 4) - step by step guide to social media and conduct, "Madden NFL 16" review, "Furious 7" Blu-ray w/The Rock & Ronda Rousey, more!