1. Eric Ryan vs. Bobby Beverly is a No Contest when Kevin Steen comes in and takes them both out. These two guys (both out of the Ohio area, Ryan did YLC last year, Beverly did ROH TV squashes last year) had a decent match prior to getting killed. Steen even package piledrove one guy onto the other. The commentary team – Lenny Leonard and Rob Naylor – were freaking out.

- Steen (wearing a PWG shirt) took the mic. Building sound was pretty low at first, but I could still hear him somewhat. He told Leonard and Naylor he would mouth-rape them if they talked during his mic time. He ragged on a few of the fans too (lots of “comedians” in the building). He sat in the middle of the ring Indian style before opting to stand back up. He mentioned how the last time he was in New York, he came to “Ring of Horseshit” and told them to go fuck themselves. Then he gave kudos to “that other guy” for following his lead the next night. He ran down Jim Cornette, mentioned how he helped sign away talent from EVOLVE, and how he wanted to shove that tennis racket up his ass… if not for Davey Richards already being shoved up there. He slammed Davey some more for leaving EVOLVE. Then he brought up his split with El Generico and how the real problem started when he was teamed up with him by the same guy now running EVOLVE, so he was looking to destroy EVOLVE now. He then went on his brief Anti-Christ of Wrestling tirade before Bobby Fish came out and calmly stood up for EVOLVE. He brought up how they defined their own rules, and that Steen should stay within them if he expects to stay. Fish left, and then Steen calmly left as well.

2. The Super Smash Bros. def. Facade & Jason Gory after a Gory Special/Blockbuster combo on Facade. A little spotty at first, but it came together nicely. SSB are in new green gear. In the post-match interview, Uno said they were going to get a million wins.

3. Silas Young def. Sugar Dunkerton with his headstand moonsault finisher with a name I can’t spell. Silas treated him like a joke throughout, including some playing with a basketball to start, but Sugar wanted to stay serious.

- Silas said afterward that this win puts him one step closer to Gargano, who then came out himself. He mentioned how after the first show, Gargano gave Silas a drink that sent him downhill, but Gargano didn’t know Silas’ history at the time and didn’t know one drink could do that. He played face here and apologized for it, offering a handshake, but Silas walked away didn’t accept it.

4. Pinkie Sanchez def. Lince Dorado with a Figure Four Leglock. Fun match to which Dorado brought his working shoes. Steen joined commentary at this match, from which point he talked about everything from Naylor being a midget to Leonard splitting up with Dave Prazak.

- Larry Dallas came out for his paid interview time, and now has that big black dude Ahtu as his own version of Diesel or Big Bubba Rogers. He again insisted that Gargano vs. Taylor wouldn’t happen, and then he introduced his new team The Scene, which consisted of Scott Reed & Caleb Konley.

5. The Scene def. Up in Smoke with a DDT into a wheelbarrow German on Cloudy, ending Up in Smoke’s undefeated streak. Larry and Ahtu watched from the entrance stage, not at ringside where they weren’t allowed. This match got more time and was more competitive than I thought it would be, and pretty good overall.

- Dallas uncharacteristically turned down interview time, so Leonard asked for a statement from Cheech on their first loss. Cheech responded by kicking Cloudy in the gut and giving him Go To Cheech, so their team is now done.

6. Bobby Fish vs. Jon Davis is thrown out after just a couple minutes when Steen ran in and gives a forearm to Fish while he had Davis in a headlock (considerably weaker than his beatdown of the opening match guys). Fish was pissed and asked that Steen face him in an unsanctioned street fight. Davis wanted to kick some ass as well and asked to make it a three way, so the ref (Brett Lauderdale) rang the bell… and was promptly laid out by a Davis lariat. Mike Kehner came out to ref a little later. The three guys fought in and around the ring, and it was a solid brawl overall. Fish had Steen in the Fish Hook at the end, but Davis broke it up, gave Steen the Pounce, then pinned Fish with 3 Seconds Around the World. Steen grabbed a chair after this and started getting into it with Davis some more before security grabbed Steen and dragged him out of the building.

Intermission: They showed an FIP match from April 2010, Roderick Strong vs. Jon Moxley for the FIP World Title that Davey Richards vacated. This was from a weird time where FIP no longer had company ties to ROH, but still booked a few ROH wrestlers like Strong and Erick Stevens. A good match with Moxley working over Strong on the body and Strong fighting back with his usual offense. Erick Stevens (who turned heel on Strong at this time) came out to distract Strong, leading to Moxley hitting him with the Hook & Ladder and making him tap to the chicken wing. So Moxley won the title here, which he would go on to vacate a year later when he signed with WWE.

7. John Silver def. Tony Nese with an arm-capture lungblower. Silver is smaller than Nese and a bit more off-kilter; shades of Chris Dickinson or Mike Mondo. These two were allowed to go all out (they know each other from NYWC), and went from having a little support from local fans that knew them to winning almost the whole crowd over. Good match with a surprising result.

8. Finlay def. Sami Callihan with a tombstone piledriver after Sami kicked out of the Celtic Cross (Air Raid Crash) twice. This was the match I was most excited to see, and I thought it was amazing. Finlay was great, either kicking ass or performing the illusion of kicking ass when actually working light (based on stories I heard). Sami sold for for him like a mofo and got some comeback moments, including a Saito Suplex out of nowhere. Crowd was at its hottest for this match, as was I. Finlay put over Sami afterward as one of his toughest opponents, and had a little trouble speaking due to chops to his throat. Finlay hugged the ravaged Sami at ringside. Definitely something must-see among all of the indie stuff out there.

9. Chuck Taylor def. Johnny Gargano with the Awful Waffle, so now both guys are 6-3 in EVOLVE. Dallas came out again and wanted the match to be cancelled, but Gargano called for the bell to ring and the match to stop. A few minutes in, Gargano had Taylor in a headlock and Dallas threw in the towel again in an attempt to end it, but Gargano wiped his ass with it, threw it back in Dallas’ face, and fired him. Total babyface now. They went on to have a very fun match that the crowd was still into after the last match, but unfortunately the feed died (not just for myself, but for other viewers). So I missed a good few minutes from the middle, but it came back on as they were closing in on the finish. They used each others’ finishers on each other (Taylor doing the Hurts Donut during the downtime, Gargano giving Taylor the Awful Waffle by the time they came back on). After the finish, they hugged and raised each others’ hand.

Very fun show overall, and the replay will be available imminently.

I feel like I’m in a time warp by this point, seeing more Benoit than I’ve seen since the man went crazy in June ’07. Nice to see a varied opponent from Booker. Fit Finlay should make for an excellent match up as we’ve hit a hot streak of Nitro matches in ’98.

This match has the benefit of a very vocal Long Island, NY crowd that gets on Finlay heavy right away. Finlay plays an excellent heel here, complete with selling the crowd chants, begging off, and eye pokes. Crowd is more against Finlay than for Benoit, but they do love their chops. Finlay cheats and Benoit comes back with stiff offense. Simple formula. They had a commercial break in the middle of this. Bummer.

Into the last third of the match Benoit comes back with two German suplexes, but they both sell as he doesn’t get a third. He misses the diving head butt and the crowd chants “USA” to amuse themselves. Cute. Both guys really go all out, with Benoit refusing to lose. He reverses a pile driver into the cross face for the tap out win in about 11:30. In a lot of ways I liked this more than the Booker T-Benoit matches on this disk. A good heel-face dynamic with an engaged crowd and a natural flow. 3 ½ and 7.2/10.

Not too much to say about this one. I would have much rather seen these guys wrestle under World of Sport rules, or even given 12 minutes in the middle of Nitro, but a brawl is fine too. And this is an amazingly well done parking lot brawl. I say this as someone who roles their eyes watching hardcore much of the time. This definitely did something for me where Memphis’ Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl did not.

I dug the stiff punches and forearms. You’d be hard pressed to see two guys do the stuff they did without any padding. The spot where they rip off the bumper and use it as a weapon was great. There are some tentative moments here and there, but it’s definitely made up for with the fake glass shattering of car doors at certain times. Bischoff is annoying as hell on commentary here, talking way to much and claiming THIS has gotten out of control (why was it booked then, dork?). Otherwise this is impressive grudge match and hardcore brawler booking that let these two great wrestlers show their range. 3 stars and 6.3/10.

Savage deserves a lot of credit for his early Nitro run. Not only did he rule in main event matches with people like Flair, but he had forgotten great matches like this one. He had done the same thing with Benoit in a match that had great moments, but didn’t completely click (Match # 18). Here we got a hot crowd, and it’s all about what Savage can do with the little known Belfast Bruiser.

Right off the lock up is intense. Savage, as usual, elects to sell a lot earlier than many babyfaces, especially again lesser known guys. Maybe it was a lack of TV time for the slot, but it feels like a good thing to do for lower card guys working up. Savage does a great knee sending Finlay to the outside. He takes several post shots really well, which allows Finlay to look good working over the shoulder/arm and stalking Savage. Savage also had an unrated bump into the guard rails/over the guard rails.

The crowd is really hot and into this match, looking for Savage to come back. They milk that fact well, and Finlay is not afraid to get snug with Savage. Nice solid work.

Savage moves, Finlay hits his shoulder charging the corner, and the big elbow finishes clean for a Savage win in 5 minutes. That’s a CRIME! No, why did it end so suddenly and criminally short? My crying aside, it was great while it lasted. 2 ¾ and 5/10.

Fit Finlay & Pegasus Kid vs. Negro Casas & Eddy Guerrero (New Japan 4/30/92)

These matches don’t have a ton in common other than being taped in Japan and both being around twelve minutes. I thought I’d throw in my two cents on these two together since I watched them back to back.

This was my first time getting to see Billy Robinson, the famed shoot style Brit worker who was well known in the AWA. I knew he was a submission guy who worked a catch euro style (which I love), but I had no idea what a great bumper the guy was. Robinson really leads this match, taking the young Jumbo and making him look good while still maintaining his credibility. These guys had two more matches on the tour after this, so I should probably see the progression. Jumbo went over here and looked great in the process. Younger Jumbo looks cut, muscular, and about half a foot smaller. Did Jumbo wear lifts later in his career? Anyway, to summarize, Young Jumbo was fun, but not as fun as older Jumbo. Robinson can bump. This match would find a home in recent days as it had a totally timeless feel. Good pro wrestling.

Negro Casas, huh? He was the wild card in this odd ball tag I just had to watch. He was both the highlight and the lowlight of this match, but he was also probably the most over guy in the ring. He has a goofy charisma and moves well in the ring, even if I felt like he had that “standing around” Lucha feel in a puro match. It wasn’t always that way though, and he had a few good head scissors or drop kicks. Benoit and Fit were what you’d expect, with Fit relying a lot on the Euro uppercuts and brawling style. He always was solid, if unspectacular apparently.

Eddie Guerrero was still very young and inexperienced, but you could see the talent and the it factor when he got in during this match. Not very charismatic, but it was fun seeing him wear the trunks instead of the tights (how gay am I?). Don’t go out of your way to see this unless you like fun pairings in hindsight, since none of these men were a big deal world wide or in New Japan at the time, it’s a simple finish with Benoit rolling through for a pin fall on Eddie. Makes sense since he was the star in the match, at least juniors wise. They’d use the same finish on Nitro three plus years later.

In honor of the great Johnny Saint finally making his way to the U.S. this week…

Finlay is from Ireland, so of course he’s the big heel here. He comes out with this ridiculous female manager who is wearing a Native American head dress for some reason. Her over coat, or whatever it is, doesn’t quite match so it really gets your attention. Fun stuff.

This is a catch weight match. This is an eight round contest. I’m really liking the way that British wrestling would have rounds, first to two falls or submissions, and focused on the weight classes. Saint is an underdog as he’s a “lightweight”, and according to Finlay he eats lightweights. He’s also the British “Heavy middle weight champion”. I have no clue, but he’s got a belt.

Finlay acts like a bully before we even get underway. Crowd is all about Saint. First round is made up of every Finlay hold imaginable with his typical magic tricks. It never gets old for me. Hold-counterhold or hold-escape stuff. Finaly gets real frustrated. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but Finaly LOOKS and acts like a heel Eddie Guerrero here.

Finlay uses his manager and his facial expressions to maximize the heat he gets from the crowd. He tries a chicken wing and a headlock, failing at both. Saint is so damn smooth, but Finlay really helps the flow and movement of this thing. Seconds round builds just like the first.

Finlay places a fist in Saints stomach for the advantage. Really solid work on the mid section. Saint makes a comeback and Finlay ends it with a big Samoan drop. That’s the finish to the third fall as Finlay gets the pin. Really fun round and Finlay’s manager gives Saint the bad mouth after.
Not sure who he is, but I’m loving British announcer.

Round four is short and sweet. Fit beats on Saint heavy, but Saint comes back with a flurry for the roll up pin. We’re tied 1-1.
Round 5 was just a sprint of motion and bumps, all near perfect timing. Throw in a few near falls and this was a round that reminded me of (GASP!) Steamboat and Flair when they’d turn it up and bring it down for a hold. I’m not saying it’s as good, just that this is hidden treasure and you should be tracking this down by now.

Odd finish that I have seen pulled off better – with Johnny Saint playing the same role. Not terrible, but an odd choice by Finlay. He received a second “public warning” between the fifth and sixth rounds for throwing Saint over the top rope after the bell. I guess a third warning is a DQ. Anyway, they ring the bell as Saint rolls back in, but unlike in his match with Jim Breaks where the exact same thing happens, Saint doesn’t sell the leg. Not only that, Finlay grabs him and puts him in an early for of Nigel McGuiness’ London Dungeon. The ref calls the match almost right away. Not terrible, as I said, but a weird ending to an awesome match. Go find this. 3 ¾ stars.