Ring of Honor Review (8/4/12): Eddie Kingston Speaks and Bennett/Storm III

Ring of Honor Wrestling returned with its go-home show a week before Ring of Honor’s Boiling Point pay-per-view in Providence, RI.

A good go-home show finishes the development of storylines and builds the tension between rivals, causing viewers to excitedly order the pay-per-view.

Ring of Honor has had mixed success with recent go-home shows and this episode was a microcosm of that fact.

Did anyone want to see a rematch between the Guardians of Truth and the Briscoes after their mess at Best in the World?

Their first meeting was beset by missed spots and spoiled by loose ring ropes. I wanted the Guardians of Truth to just fade away, never to be mentioned again like R-Truth’s past as K-Kwik.

Instead, we got round two.

For all my complaining, we got a pretty good match.

The bigger Guardians dominated most of the match before the Briscoes stormed back, winning after reversing a double-team suplex into a small package.

I wouldn’t mind if the Guardians of Truth stuck around, especially considering how depleted the ROH tag team division has recently become.

They are physically imposing, work well together and know that Twin Magic makes for better storytelling in the middle of the match than at the end of it.

It’s incredible what professional wrestlers can do when you tighten the ropes. Go figure…

After the match, the Guardians of Truth attacked the Briscoes. Roderick Strong and Rhino poured out of the back to assist before some unused good guys chased off Truth Martini’s minions.

Michael Elgin walked down the ramp, shook his head and left, refusing to help his stablemates.

The tension in the House of Truth has been simmering for so long that I’m becoming impatient with the prospect of it dragging on for any longer.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is called suspense.

I expect things to come to a head at Death Before Dishonor in September, although it will probably take more than one match for Elgin to break away from the House of Truth.

My favorite part of the show was when the camera panned to the House of Truth as they were leaving and one of the Guardians of Truth was making the “Put Up Your Dukes” fisticuffs motion.

I will die of happiness if the Guardians grow curly mustaches and cut a promo talking like old-timey bare-knuckle boxers from the 1800s.

“Mark Briscoe, the only wrestler in Ring of Honor with a blood-alcohol level content higher than his GPA. And he graduated with a 3.4.” – Nigel McGuinness

It’s a decent line that’s best when taken literally.

To be fair, I would watch someone in an alcohol-induced coma wrestle before a Great Khali or Kelly Kelly match most days.

Kevin Steen asked Eddie Kingston an excellent question: Why, after being run out of town by Ring of Honor, is he helping them take back the ROH Championship?

As it turns out, it has nothing to do with Ring of Honor.

Continuing to reference the wife and family he left behind for professional wrestling, Kingston cut an incredible promo stating that he has given up everything in order to become world champion.

Here before you is Eddie Kingston, a broken man who needs to win this match to justify all that he has lost.

That’s powerful stuff and I get the feeling that his personal problems are not storyline. I am looking forward to what should be a lengthy, physical match at Boiling Point.

Storm/Bennett III lacked a big-time, pay-per-view feel and was probably the weakest of their three encounters. However, it was still one of the better televised matches of 2012.

Lance Storm is a master technician and Mike Bennett is getting better all the time. There are few pairs in Ring of Honor who seem to mesh as well as these two.

Best yet, the match was relatively clean.

Certainly, the finish was a bit murky with Bennett hitting Storm with a TKO onto a chair. However, no one has kicked out of Bennett’s TKO and there is no reason to believe Storm, after a long, grueling match, would be the first.

How awesome is a heel who cheats to win, not because he has to, but simply because he can?

I’ll answer that one for you.

Very.

In all, this program has been great for Mike Bennett. He got two wins against a wrestling legend and improved his craft in the process. If Storm wants to hang around, he is welcome to do so until someone can name a bad Lance Storm match.

If one has happened, I haven’t seen it.

I wish I would have been a more intelligent wrestling fan when I was younger.

I watched William Regal, Lance Storm and Jamie Noble for several years without understanding how magnificent they were at their craft.

I want to see a match contested under Duchess of Queensbury Rules, just for old time’s sake.

After the main event, Mike Bennett, Brutal Bob and Maria continued to humiliate Lance Storm. Maria even hit him with her boot, which I suspect is supposed to be worse than kicking someone.

Then, Sara Del Rey and Eddie Edwards made the save, chasing off the trio to close the show.

I hope Storm thanked them in the most sarcastic way possible.

“Gee, you two. Thanks for rescuing me after the match ended, reminding everyone of your mixed tag match at Boiling Point. It sure would have been a shame if you would have come out earlier to prevent Brutal Bob and Maria from getting involved, just like they do EVERY TIME THEY HAVE A MATCH.”

Overall, this week’s Ring of Honor Wrestling was a solid show, even if it failed to promote anything other than Boiling Point’s main event.

Although the card for Boiling Point seems far from ROH’s best of the year, I doubt it will be a disappointing show.

Some of the matches don’t make a lot of sense, but I can forgive that given ROH’s issues with the Tag Team Championship at the moment.

I will be dropping $15 on Boiling Point. Wish me luck! With ROH’s constant technical issues, I’m going to need it.

Duck photo courtesy of threadless.com
All other photos courtesy of rohwrestling.com