RADICAN’S ROH DVD REVIEW SERIES
GLORY BY HONOR X
NOVEMBER 11, 2011
CHICAGO RIDGE, ILL.

RESULTS & STAR RATINGS

(1) Michael Elgin (w/Truth Martini) beat Grizzly Redwood and Adam Cole and Mike Bennett in a Four Corner Survival match. (**3/4)

(2) Tomasso Ciampa (w/The Embassy) vs. Jimmy Jacobs (w/Steve Corino) went to a no contest. (n/a)

(3) Tomasso Ciampa (w/The Embassy) beat Harlem Bravado

(4) Eddie Edwards beat Kyle O’Reilly (***3/4)

(5) The Briscoes beat The Young Bucks (***3/4)

(6) ROH TV Champion Jay Lethal beat Roderick Strong in a Proving Ground match (**)

(7) ROH Tag Team Champions Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas beat ANX (Rhett Titus & Kenny King) (***)

(8) ROH World Hvt. Champion Davey Richards beat El Generico (****1/2)

Overall thoughts: (8.5) – This was the most well-rounded and entertaining ROH show I saw all year. They managed to frame the storylines so they made as much sense as possible to people that watch ROH on Sinclair television stations. It’s still frustrating that ANX beating the Briscoes in a Ladder War for a shot at the ROH tag titles on this show was totally ignored on television. It’s also odd that El Generico got a shot at Davey Richards given the virtual non-factor he had been on television when this show was filmed, but the in-ring action and Kevin Steen vs. ROH storyline carried the show and made things entertaining throughout the night.

It was hilarious right off the bat to see Kevin Steen watching the show from the front row. He got off some great one-liners during the action he watched. His involvement in the Jacobs-Ciampa match was a lot of fun. Of course, Steen ended up brawling out of the building with Jacobs and Corino. Cornette wasn’t far behind Steen hurling out insults and they went to a picture-in-picture shot to show R.D. Evans asking for another opponent for Ciampa while chaos ensued outside of the venue. At times it was hard to watch what was going on in both shots, but ROH did a good enough job of going back and forth with full-screen shots of the action during this segment to make it easy to follow.

Edwards and O’Reilly put on a really good wrestling exhibition full of hard-hitting action and submissions that saw the announcers (Prazak and Kelly) weave in the tale of the ongoing Edwards vs. Richards feud and how this match fit into it. The crowd was hot for this match, especially down the stretch and Edwards putting O’Reilly away with the dragon sleeper taught to him by his trainer Dan Severn was the right finish.

The Briscoes-Young Bucks match was done just right. They didn’t go out there to have the best match they could. Instead, both teams told the story that needed to be told and what a great story it was. The Briscoes, coming off the loss of thousands of chickens on their farm were in a foul mood and they beat the crap out of the Young Bucks for most of the match. Matt and Nick Jackson played their heel role well and mounted some good comebacks. The finish was well-done with the Briscoes countering the more bang for your buck into the doomsday device.

The only letdown on the card was ROH TV Champion Jay Lethal taking on Roderick Strong in a Proving Ground match. The crowd just wasn’t into the match and it dragged along until Jim Cornette came out and goaded Roderick Strong into going five more minutes with Lethal after the time limit expired. Cornette also assured Strong that win or lose in the overtime period; he had secured a shot at the ROH TV Title by going to a draw with Lethal. The crowd woke up and the action was very good, albeit short before Lethal won the match.

The main event is the real treasure on this DVD with Davey Richards defending the ROH World Title against El Generico. The crowd was red hot for this match and the action stood above what was featured on the rest of the card. Richards worked over Generico’s leg at times during the match and beat him down, but Generico made some spirited comebacks that sent the crowd, which was split between both men, on fire. The counter wrestling during this match was really well-executed and added a new level of excitement to the match, as both men countered each other’s signature maneuvers throughout the match.

The post-match, which saw Kevin Steen run back in and go at it with Davey Richards was a blast to watch. Once again, Steen was taken to the outside and he got off some great one-liners at Richards’s expense. Cornette was also hilarious chasing Steen outside with the rest of the ROH officials. Steen tried to get back into the building, but the doors were locked, which was pretty funny.

ROH DVDs usually don’t feature a lot of angles and promos, so this show was a nice departure with the ongoing Kevin Steen shenanigans and a post-match promo from Benjamin & Haas. Don’t forget to check out the bonus features, which set the stage for the Steen angle, as he’s shown sitting ringside with his ticket cheering on Sydal and Ridge with his front row ticket. There’s also a funny confrontation with Cornette and Steen over Steen’s ticket and whether or not he should be allowed to stay in the building. This release gets a strong recommendation.

You can purchase this release at ROHWrestling.com

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