By Nathan Kyght

ROH Final Battle PPV Evaluation
December 23, 2011

BEST MATCH – DAVEY RICHARDS VS. EDDIE EDWARDS

No surprises here, as the first two encounters were excellent matches, and these guys have great chemistry together. I thought this was technically the weakest of the three, but that is way more of a testament to the first two matches than a detriment to this one. Some great exchanges, long enough to get that ‘Main Event feel,’ and I loved that Richards retained. Thumbs up.

WORST MATCH – MICHAEL ELGIN VS. T.J. PERKINS

It was an oayk effort from both men, but there seemed to be some issues between the wrestlers in terms of getting the flow of the match going; there would be moments of great exchange and then things would sort of grind to a halt. Still, for the opener, it was forgettable alright for what it was

BIGGEST SURPRISE – WOW, THOSE CHAIRSHOTS

I read a lot of fans complaining about how reviews of shows will often criticize the work in a match due to unprotected chair shots. DISAGREE. In this day and age, with everything that is know about concussions and brain damage, with the considerable coverage by sports media on this dangerous issue, and with wrestlers themselves coming out against them, it is just crazy to me the sheer amount of chair shots on this show. ROH has struck me as a progressive company, and to see how reckless some of the spots were was kind of jarring. Matches can legit be safer than this and still great. What is the point of taking these kind of risks?!

BIGGEST LETDOWN – FINAL BATTLE

I was really excited for this PPV, but looking back, I just have to give it a thumbs in the middle. It was great in spots, dragged in spots, and, for whatever reasons, didn’t have the feel of a major ROH show in my opinion. This isn’t a knock on ROH, as I think they have presented some tremendous shows this year. This just didn’t feel like their night.

BEST QUOTE – THE CROWD

At one point, inexplicably, the crowd broke into a ‘Fruity Pebbles’ chant. Really.

BEST MOVE – DAVEY RICHARDS

His full nelson superplex of Edwards in the main event was a phenomenal false finish, and the crowd exploded.

BEST MATCH FINISH – THE MAIN EVENT

At just over 40 minutes, Richards and Edwards had certainly given the crowd their money’s worth. I didn’t expect Richards to retain, and I thought that it was the right move and a nice surprise. Really nice work, here.

OTHER THOUGHTS

Again, this wasn’t a particularly strong effort from ROH, but the main event was very good and the last match is generally the way people look back at the show overall.

Am I the only one that thinks the Briscoe Brothers are just the wrestling version of the UFC’s Diaz brothers?

The use of profanity seems really, really like trying too hard to me. It’s 2012. Dropping an ‘F-bomb’ doesn’t particularly make you seem tougher. Ah well.

I liked the Steen entrance through the crowd a lot. Like him or not, that guy is 100 percent into every facet of his character all the time.

WHAT IT’LL BE REMEMBERED FOR

Edwards vs. Richards III

UPDATED 2011 PPV EVALUATION RANKINGS

1 - WWE MONEY IN THE BANK (2011-07-17)
2 - DGUSA MERCURY RISING (2011-04-02)
3 – DGUSA ‘UNITED: PHILLY’ (2011-01-29)
4 - ROH BEST IN THE WORLD (2011-06-26)
5 - DGUSA UNITED WE STAND (2011-03-11)
6 – DGUSA ‘UNITED: NEW YORK’ (2011-01-28)
7 - TNA BOUND FOR GLORY (2011-10-16)
8 - WWE EXTREME RULES (2011-05-01)
9 - WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER (2011-02-20)
10 - ROH HONOR TAKES CENTER STAGE 1 (2011-04-01)
11 - ROH HONOR TAKES CENTER STAGE 2 (2011-04-02)
12 - WWE ROYAL RUMBLE (2011-01-30)
13 – DGUSA FREEDOM FIGHT (2011-01-07)
14 - WWE WRESTLEMANIA XVII (2011-04-03)
15 – WWE TLC (2011-12-18)
16 – TNA FINAL RESOLUTION (2011-12-11)
17 - WWE SURVIVOR SERIES (2011-11-20)
18 – ROH 9th ANNIVERSARY SHOW (2011-02-26)
19 - WWE SUMMERSLAM (2011-08-14)
20 - ROH FINAL BATTLE (2011-12-23)
21 - TNA DESTINATION X (2011-07-10)
22 – WWE OVER THE LIMIT (2011-05-22)
23 - WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS (2011-09-18)
24 – TNA SLAMMIVERSARY (2011-06-12)
25 – TNA LOCKDOWN (2011-04-17)
26 - WWE VENGEANCE (2011-10-23)
27 - WWE HELL IN A CELL (2011-10-02)
28 – WWE CAPITOL PUNISHMENT (2011-06-19)
29 – TNA TURNING POINT (2011-11-13)
30 - TNA SACRIFICE (2011-05-15)
31 - TNA HARDCORE JUSTICE (2011-08-07)
32 - TNA NO SURRENDER (09-11-2011)
33 – TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS (2011-02-13)
34 – TNA GENESIS (2011-01-09)
35 - TNA VICTORY ROAD (2011-03-13)

Thanks for reading, and follow me at twitter.com/nathankyght

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