ROH on HDNet Report for December 20th, 2010

[Travicity]

Tonight is the Holiday Gauntlet Tournament. The rules are as follows. The 16 top wrestlers in the company names were put in a hat and 8 names were drawn. The first 2 wrestlers drawn will start the tournament. Whomever wins stays in the ring and faces the next wrestler out. Whomever is standing at the end is the winner and receives $10,000. Sounds like a nice Holiday bonus

In Ring Action….

First two wrestlers out are…..

Jay Briscoe v. Steve Corino

Being one of the first two wrestlers drawn is a big disadvantage. To will the $10,000 you will have to go through 7 men. I guess it could be worse, you could have been one of the 8 that were not selected. Pretty quick match with Briscoe getting an inside cradle for the win.

Winner-Jay Briscoe

After the match Steve attacks Jay. We then hear the music of the next competitor…..Christopher Daniels!!

Jay Briscoe v. The Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels

Much faster moving match. Daniels is fresh and ready to take the cash. Daniels is really just a better wrestler than Jay and in the end it shows. Daniels with a double chicken wing face breaker for the win.

Winner-Christopher Daniels

The next competitor is none other than Rhett Titus

Christopher Daniels v. Rhett Titus

Rhett has really come along as a wrestler in the last year. He is going to see big things coming. But tonight he does not have enought to beat The Fallen Angel. Christopher Daniels hits the BME for the win.

Winner-Christopher Daniels

After the match we hear the howl of the Wolf. Out comes Davey Richards. This will be the match of the night.

Davey Richards v. Christoper Daniels

Davey lost his Wolrd Title Match on Saturday against Roderick Strong. But I think in the end it will be to hard to keep the ROH World Title off of Davey. Davey has the advantage here being fresh. Davey starts out early beating Daniels down with his array of kicks and strikes. I really feel for anyone who steps in the ring with this beast. Daniels fights back with some submission wrestling. Davey gives Daniels a taste of the submission with ankle lock. Daniels feels the bend, but kicks out of the move. We then work our way through some nearfall action. But then Davey finishes off Daniels with a kick to the head. A severe kick to the head.

Winner-Davey Richards

We wait for the next man in and it is Claudio Castanolli

Claudio Castanolli v. Davey Richards

Claudio is ready for a move up north, but for now he is here is ROH. These two have met many a times with their tag team partners at their side. Tonight there is nobody to reach out to. Davey gets out of the UFO and rolls Claudio up for the win.

Winner-Davey Richards

We hear the Kings of Wrestling music again, which can only mean one thing. Chris Hero

Davey Richards v. Chris Hero

Davey is running on fumes right now. But Davey on fumes is better than most with a full tank. Hero is beating Davey down with a slow progression. Davey can really not do much against him. But his pure will is pushing him through. Hero hits a powerbomb and the loaded elbow, but Davey rolls him up for the win.

Winner-Davey Richards

After the match The Kings and Shane Hagedorn beat Davey unconcious. Once he is out we here the final competitors music, ROH World Champion Roderick Strong

Davey Richards v. Roderick Strong

Roderick comes out for the quick cover to steal a win. Davey kicks out on pure instinct. Davey puts up a fight, but Roderick hits his big kick to the head for the win.

Winner of the $10,000-Roderick Strong

Credits.

GNET

[Travicity]

Jim Cornette introduces the show and informs us that tonight's main event will be the Holiday Gauntlet Match featuring 8 of the top wrestlers in ROH competing for a $10,000 prize.

Cue the opening, and then we head to Mike and Dave as they welcome us to the show and talk about Final Battle, then we go to a highlight video that showed us some of what happened in the top three matches. Once again, this was an excellent show that Mike Johnson and I praised very highly in our postgame show in the Elite section, and if you didn't see it on Saturday, then I highly, highly highly highly recommend that you head to www.gofightlive.tv and check out the replay, it will be well worth the money, I assure you.

We head back to the ring, and it's already time for our feature match of the evening! Bobby Cruise tells us the rules, and then some girl brings out a giant check for $10,000 that will be awarded to the winner. Sounds good, so let's kick it off...

$10,000 HDNet Holiday Gauntlet

Jay Briscoe and Steve Corino draw #1 and #2. They tie up and go to the corner and break clean. Another tie up and another clean break. Corino with a side headlock but Jay fires him into the ropes, Corino comes off with a shoulderblock but nobody moves. Jay piefaces Corino and comes off the ropes with a shoulderblock and still nothing. Corino and Jay keep going back and forth and get nowhere until Jay ducks a clothesline and hits a leaping shoulderblock to finally take Corino off his feet. Jay with a running clothesline for 2, then puts Corino in the corner for shoulderblocks in the ribs, Corino reverses a whip into the corner and follows Jay in with a running chop, but Jay no sells and fires back with chops of his own. Corino counters a whip into an STO for 2, then gets a cheap thumb to the eye, but Jay comes back with a thumb to the eye of his own. They start exchanging forearms but Corino catches Jay in an abdominal stretch and gets everyone's favorite, the thumb up the ass when the referee's not looking. Then he does it again and smells his thumb. Jay reverses to an abdominal stretch of his own and goes for the thumb but the referee stops him and Corino rolls him up for 2. Jay with a big boot, running forearm, and a dropkick for 2. Corino whips Jay to the corner but hits Jay's elbow on a charge and Jay with a Blockbuster out of the corner for 2. Jay gets a fireman's carry but Corino escapes and gets the hammerlock Flatliner for 2. Corino pulls off the elbow pad and goes for the running lariat but Jay blocks and rolls him up for 3.

Steve Corino is eliminated.

Corino shakes Jay's hand after the loss, then as you might expect, he knees Jay in the gut and suckerpunches him and then walks off. Regardless, it's time for #3 to make his entrance and it's Christopher Daniels. Daniels allows Jay to regain himself and shakes his hand for real before the bell rings to start our second segment in a nice show of sportsmanship. Jay gets a headlock but Daniels fires him into the ropes and this time Jay easily takes Daniels down with a shoulderblock, then follows it up with a flying headscissors, running forearm in the corner, snapmare, and running boot to the chest for 2. Jay whips Daniels to the ropes and hits a flying leg lariat for 2, then whips him to the corner and charges right into Daniels' boot and Daniels comes out and hits a Codebreaker. Daniels with more knees to the ribs and whips Jay hard into the corner for 2, then gets a gourdbuster onto the knee for 2. That looked nasty. Daniels with an elbowdrop for 2 and then goes for another hard whip into the corner, but Jay gets a leapfrog and an O'Connor Roll for 2, a schoolboy rollup for 2, then Daniels tackles him into the corner and rams shoulderblocks into Jay's now injured ribs. Daniels picks Jay up for a salto, but instead drops him forward onto the knee and gets a series of 2 counts. Daniels with more knees to the ribs and a snapmare into a seated abdominal stretch. Jay sends Daniels into the ropes and gets a shoulderblock to stagger Daniels and capitalizes with a superkick. Daniels misses a charge into the corner and now Jay begins to rally with a clothesline, dropkick, and a Death Valley Driver. Jay with a Bad Landing for 2, then gets a boot to the face and goes for the Jay Driller, but Daniels rolls out of it and gets a knee to the gut and immediately hits the Angel's Wings and pins Jay.

Jay Briscoe is eliminated.

Daniels and Jay shake hands, this time without incident, and then Rhett Titus comes running in at #4. He goes right after Daniels but is unable to get the advantage and gets a leg lariat and then a slingshot legdrop for 2. Daniels rams Titus to the top turnbuckle in all four corners, then gets a snapmare and covers for 1. Daniels rams Titus into the corner again and whips him across the ring, but charges and gets backdropped to the apron so he snaps Titus' neck across the top rope and tries to get back in the ring, but Titus with a dropkick as he enters and then chokes him blatantly in front of the referee. Titus with a clothesline and an elbowdrop for 2 and then he goes to the chinlock. Daniels tries to fight out but Titus shuts him down and whips him into the corner for a running elbow, then tries a clothesline and Daniels ducks, but walks right into a powerslam and Titus gets 2. Titus puts the boots to Daniels in the corner and then chokes him and rubs his eyes across the top rope. There's some Jesse Ventura tactics for you. Titus whips Daniels across the ring but Daniels dodges the charge and gets a series of running clotheslines on Titus and bulldogs him into the second turnbuckle. Daniels with a leaping enziguiri and goes for a dive to the floor, Titus dodges but Daniels lands on his feet so Titus hits a running boot and tosses Daniels back in and covers for 2. Titus with the Rings Of Saturn but Daniels makes the ropes so he goes to the second rope and leaps off right into a uranage and Daniels follows it right up with the BME and Titus is done, but he really impressed the hell out of me with his performance here.

Rhett Titus is eliminated.

We're ready for #5 and looky who it is...Davey Richards! Davey and Daniels go nose-to-nose and tie up, Davey gets a side headlock but Daniels sends him into the ropes and Davey with a shoulderblock and a dropkick. Davey comes off the ropes but Daniels picks the ankle and gets a headlock, Davey tries a suplex but Daniels slips out the back and a fast paced sequence ends with Davey getting a pair of armdrags and a spinkick to the gut, but Daniels with a drop toehold and back to the side headlock. Davey slips out and reverses to a hammerlock, and Davey quickly releases the hold and kicks Daniels hard in the back. Daniels fires back with a hard forearm and Davey responds in kind and they go toe-to-toe until Davey gets a spinkick and goes for a hard running clothesline, but Daniels catches the arm and rolls through right into the Koji Clutch. Beautiful counter there. Davey makes the ropes and they get back to their feet and exchange strikes again, Daniels whips Davey into the ropes and Davey comes back with the handspring enziguiri and seemed to barely graze him, but Daniels sold it anyway because he's a nice guy. Davey with a victory roll into the ankle lock but Daniels rolls through and sends Davey through the ropes to the floor. Davey comes back in and gets a running forearm in the corner, but comes off the ropes right into a clothesline from Daniels that gets 2. Daniels with a uranage and goes for the BME and Davey moves, but he lands on his feet and comes off the ropes, Davey tries the Alarm Clock but Daniels blocks and gets a bridging O'Connor Roll for 2, then comes off the ropes and this time Davey gets the Alarm Clock and a bridging German Suplex for 2 and then a second, release version and a big kick to the head to knock Daniels out, and it's academic from there: Davey gets the pin and Daniels is gone.

Christopher Daniels is eliminated.

Claudio Castagnoli comes out at #6 and Davey hits a baseball slide before Claudio even gets in the ring and then wipes him out with a dive through the ropes. He rolls Claudio back in and gets a missile dropkick for 2, then takes a run at Claudio but Claudio kills him with a big clothesline and then gets a series of 2 counts. Claudio with a fireman's carry into a press slam and just dumps Davey and goes for another series of 2 counts before going to a double chickenwing. Davey gets to a vertical base and escapes, but walks right into a powerslam for 2, and then Claudio with a deadlift into a salto for 2, then tries another cover for 2. I like Claudio's strategy to make Davey expend energy by continually having to kick out. Claudio with a big bodyslam and then he goes up top but Davey makes his feet and nails him and then climbs up and fights it out with Claudio on the top rope, and Claudio repeatedly knocks Davey back into the ring, but Davey keeps getting up and finally hits a leaping enziguiri and a superplex. Davey covers for 2 and then goes right into the ankle lock, but Claudio kicks Davey off and wallops him with a European uppercut and then whips Davey to the ropes and Davey tries to come back with the handspring enziguiri, but Claudio ducks and gets the UFO for 2, then goes for the Ricola Bomb but Davey rolls over the top and gets a sunset flip for 3.

Claudio Castagnoli is eliminated.

Chris Hero is #7 and Claudio grabs Davey's ankle and starts pulling on it from the outside to allow Hero to run into the ring and hit a hard elbow to the back of the head and then a backdrop suplex, but he only gets 2. Hero off the rope with a Yakuza Kick, Davey no-sells so Hero hits another one and Davey goes down, but still kicks out at 2. Hero with a series of elbows and goes for a powerbomb, but Davey backdrops and Hero tries to roll through into a sunset flip, but Davey rolls through that and gets a Texas Cloverleaf, but Hero makes the ropes and then gets back up and gets a hard elbow to drop Davey like a brick, but Hero still only gets 2. Hero with a three quarter nelson and rams his knee repeatedly into Davey's skull and then covers for another 2 count. Hero drags Davey out to the middle of the ring and goes for a Texas Cloverleaf of his own, but Davey counters to the ankle lock and Hero immediately kicks Davey off. Hero with a stiff chop in the corner and then takes him out to the middle of the ring for a second one and Davey goes down again, but Hero still only gets 2. Davey tries to fire back but he is exhausted and Hero takes him to the corner and chops him so hard he leaves his feet and goes down in the corner. Hero whips Davey hard into the opposite corner and goes for a leaping elbow and gets it, then hits a running Yakuza Kick but Davey gets his foot on the bottom rope. Hero slams Davey in the middle of the ring and leaps up to the top rope for a moonsault, but Davey moves and Hero lands on his feet, but Davey goes right into the ankle lock and has him right in the middle of the ring, but Hero fights his way to the ropes. Shane Hagadorn gets up on the apron to distract Davey and Hero nails him, then hits a rolling elbow and a running Liger Bomb, and STILL only gets 2. Hagadorn distracts the referee and Sara tosses Hero the lucky golden elbow pad, Hero puts it on and stomps Davey in the head and tries for a rolling elbow with the pad, but Davey ducks and gets an inside cradle for 3.

Chris Hero is eliminated.

Geez, talk about putting Davey over hard. Davey goes after Hagadorn and drags him into the ring, but he has his back to Hero and Hero nails Davey from behind with a hard elbow and Davey is out. The referees flood the ring and kick Hero, Claudio, Hagadorn, and Sara out of the ring, and as soon as the ring is cleared, Roderick Strong comes running out with the #8 draw. He quickly tears his shirt off and covers Davey, but only gets 2 so Roderick gets on top of him and rains down punches. Davey is barely with it as Roderick continues the furious assault, stomping him into oblivion in the corner and then pulling him to his feet to unload on Davey with chops. Roderick stands on Davey's throat and then gets more chops, but Davey gets his 15th wind and starts going toe-to-toe with Roderick and goes for the Alarm Clock, Roderick catches the boot but Davey immediately gets an enziguiri and goes for the running elbow in the corner but Roderick moves, gets a leaping enziguiri, and a gutbuster but still only gets 2. Davey reverses a suplex attempt into a victory roll and gets the ankle lock again, but Roderick rolls through and sends Davey crashing into the corner, then gets a leaping enziguiri and the Sick Kick and that is enough to FINALLY put Davey down for 3.

Winner: Roderick Strong

The young lady at ringside hands Roderick the giant check, and he barely gets to hoist it in the air before Truth Martini comes running over and grabs the check and runs around holding it up himself. Roderick stares at him like he's wondering what he thinks he's doing, then comes over and takes his check back and goes back to holding it up in triumph. What a hell of a match. After Roderick clears out of the ring, the crowd gives Davey a huge babyface reaction as he gets back to his feet.

This match was absolutely terrific, it was a lot of fun watching it play out and it was a great way to make Davey Richards look like John Wayne, if John Wayne was a thousand times more badass than he already was. I can't think of how they possible could have put Davey over any stronger than they did in this match, he came out and beat the TV Champion, both of the World Tag Team Champions, and even after getting knocked out cold with a foreign object that's put down nearly everyone, it still took the World Champion giving Davey all his best shots before he finally went down. The whole match was phenomenal, and I would say this was at least as good as the episode a few months back with the Tyler Black-Davey Richards match and is easily, along with that episode, one of the two best of the entire year.

When you take this episode and add it to the already off the charts shows this past weekend in Plymouth and New York, I honestly can't think of any other time a company has put on three straight shows over the course of four days that were this good. I am in awe of what I've seen from ROH over the last few days, to the point where words fail me. Highest possible recommendation to this episode of ROH On HDNet, and a hell of a way to really put the final cap on 2010.

Next week we've got something a little different as it's a Best of 2010 episode, and while it's obviously a rehash on a week when they're not expecting a huge viewership, these episodes are usually interesting to watch and see what the company considered the most important and memorable. Until then, have a happy holiday and thanks for reading!

PWI

[Smartmark]

Hmm... Why let Roderick win the Gauntlet. He doesn't need that as he is the ROH Champion :eek: