By Jared Silberkleit  - Though it unfortunately may be remembered for the technical issues with the iPPV, Border Wars was a great show from ROH and thus far one of their best events of 2012. The show flowed nicely with a consistent undercard filled with good to very good matches, capped off by a great blockbuster main event that had been built for several months. The Strong/Finlay and Briscoes/WGTT matches were pretty underwhelming, which prevented the show from being a PPV of the year contender, but everything else was extremely enjoyable and easy to sit through.

 

• Rhino vs. Eddie Edwards

 

After a short introduction by Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness, we had our first match. Rhino exploited his size early on and dominated the first few minutes. Rhino press slammed Eddie over the ropes to the floor in a nice spot. Eventually Eddie made a comeback, scoring a near fall with a shining wizard. Truth Martini grabbed Eddie’s foot from the apron, but Eddie kicked him off and hit an asai moonsault to Rhino off the apron before hitting a missile dropkick back in the ring. Rhino went for a Gore but Eddie blocked it with a dropkick. The ending saw Truth go to nail Eddie with the book, but Eddie moved and Truth almost hit Rhino. Rhino got distracted and Eddie rolled him up for the win. Rhino teased attacking Truth post-match but Truth pulled out a wad of cash and Rhino backed off. Finish was a little weak but this was an otherwise solid opener with good crowd heat and a couple nice near falls. Match Time: 11:01     Star Rating: **3/4

 

• Mike Mondo and The Young Bucks vs. TJ Perkins and The All Night Express

 

This probably would have been the best choice to open the show. Faces got off to a hot start with some fast-paced offense but things slowed down with the heels working over Rhett Titus for a little while. Mondo botched his part in a double team dropkick and the crowd let him hear it. Titus eventually was able to fend off Mondo and the Bucks and got a hot tag to Kenny King. King came in as a house of fire and the match started to break down. They did a crazy kick exchange with King, Perkins, and the Bucks. Bucks scored with a double superkick on King, then tried for it on Perkins. Perkins did his signature move where he catches himself in between the ropes, but the Bucks superkicked him to the floor before Titus scored with a dive into the ring and everyone was down. Mondo hit a reverserana to Titus off the top followed by a frog splash from Nick Jackson for 2. Another wild sequence ensued with several dives to the floor. In the ring, ANX hit a powerbomb-blockbuster combo off the top to one of the Bucks, and Perkins followed with a 450 splash for the win. This started off a little clunky but the last few minutes were awesome. One of the Bucks’ best performances in ROH since their return to the company last year. This was just a really fun, athletic match with high spots galore. Match Time: 12:58     Star Rating: ***1/4

• Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jay Lethal

 

Ciampa is now sporting a thick, white, Santa Claus style beard. Both guys brawl outside the ring for several minutes before the match officially begins, with Lethal catapulting Ciampa into one of the section signs used to help fans find their seats. Ciampa scores with a huge knee to the face in the ring as the bell finally rings. Ciampa controls for the first several minutes and actually hits the Lethal Combination for a near fall.  Lethal goes for the Lethal Injection but Ciampa sidesteps him and hits a massive lariat. Ciampa hits 3 consecutive running knee strikes in the corner, but Lethal counters Project Ciampa with a crazy Alabama Slam into the corner. Lethal hits the Lethal Injection but RD Evans pulls the ref out to break the count. Ciampa gets in Lethal’s face and Lethal responds with a ton of strikes. Lethal scores with a modified Lethal Combination, hitting 10 consecutive knees to the back before hitting the downward spiral, for the win to end Ciampa’s undefeated streak. This was easily Ciampa’s best match in ROH so far. Both men showed great intensity and kept things moving at a nice pace throughout. The usual interference from The Embassy was a little excessive but this was a very good match with some great big moves and near falls. Match Time: 10:52     Star Rating: ***1/2

 

• Mike Bennett vs. Lance Storm

 

This was a rematch from Showdown in the Sun Day 1. Match started off slow with Bennett in control after tossing Storm into the barricade on the outside. Storm came back with a flying back elbow out of the corner and a Codebreaker for 2. They went back and forth with near falls, with Bennett getting a 2 count with the Box Office Smash before using Storm’s own single leg crab against him, only for Storm to counter into the hold himself. Brutal Bob got on the apron to distract the referee and Bennett tried to use a chair, but Storm ended up hitting Bennett with the chair and following up with a superkick for the win. After the match, Storm gave a nice speech thanking ROH and the fans. This didn’t have as much drama as their first match, but was still a very enjoyable back and forth, old school style match with Storm playing the role of the hometown babyface hero. For a 42-year-old man, Storm is still in excellent ring shape and can probably outwork the bulk of the WWE roster. Match Time: 12:35     Star Rating: ***1/4

 

• Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin

The crowd was very quiet coming back from intermission but this was really good. Cole starts off hot and goes for a suicide dive, but Elgin catches him in mid air and hits a running powerslam on the entrance ramp. Elgin takes control in the ring and hits an Alabama slam. Cole comes back with a DDT and a second one on the ring apron before hitting a diving splash off the top for 2. Elgin hits a Chaos Theory for 2 before they trade shots. In an awesome spot, Elgin, while standing on the second rope, actually lifts Cole from the apron up into a super Falcon Arrow off the second turnbuckle. Cole hits a suplex-backbreaker for 2 but Elgin hits a buckle bomb followed by the spinning sitout powerbomb for the win. After the match they hinted at Elgin splitting from the House of Truth with Truth Martini coming in the ring to hog the spotlight after Elgin’s win. The crowd wasn’t vocal at all but these guys worked their tails off. Very nice, action-packed match that benefited both men. Match Time: 13:55     Star Rating: ***1/2

 

• ROH World Television Championship Match: Roderick Strong(c) vs. Fit Finlay

 

Considering Finlay’s impressive recent performances in Evolve, this was highly disappointing. Most of the match was extremely dull and methodical with Strong slowly wearing down Finlay on the mat, and the crowd was dead. Finlay eventually came back with the Finlay roll and the Celtic Cross. Strong hit the double knee gutbuster for 2 before getting the win with the Sick Kick. Both guys just didn’t have their best stuff and the match never got out of second gear. It dragged considerably and ended being okay at best. Finlay’s presence made things feel a little meaningful but the match just wasn’t structured well. Match Time: 17:16     Star Rating: **1/2

• Fight Without Honor for the ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Briscoe Brothers(c) vs. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team

 

This was by far the weakest Fight Without Honor in a very long time. Jay Briscoe came out alone and they teased that Mark wasn’t going to show up, but he entered through the crowd dressed up as a hockey player and sneak attacked Haas from behind with a hockey stick and the match began. Lots of brawling and usage of weapons such as chairs, a bicycle wheel, and chairs. Shelton powerslammed Mark off the top turnbuckle through a table at ringside and later gave Jay an electric chair drop into another table on the floor that didn’t break. The finish saw Haas spray ether into a cloth and smother Mark with it, rendering him unconscious, and pinning him for the win. With the indecisive finish this seemingly endless feud will CONTINUE. Not to mention they sacrificed one of the company’s signature gimmicks in a filler match that didn’t resolve anything. Generally we only get to see a Fight Without Honor once every year or two and they are usually very memorable, brutal, feud-ending matches but this really damaged the gimmick’s credibility. Just a typical street fight-style match with a terrible finish. Another disappointing WGTT/Briscoes match. Match Time: 14:31     Star Rating: **1/2

 

• ROH World Championship Match: Davey Richards(c) vs. Kevin Steen

 

After roughly 6 months of buildup stemming back all the way to Steen’s “official” return to the company at Final Battle 2011, we finally got the big Davey/Steen title match. The crowd was 100% for Steen and against Davey. Steen attempted the package piledriver right at the start but Davey countered and they traded shots. Davey targeted Steen’s knee throughout the match and Steen sold it very well, making for some good psychology. At one point Davey tied Steen’s ankle up in the ropes and hit a top rope double stomp to it. Davey actually used the DR Driver for a near fall, taking advantage of the stipulation that the piledriver was legal for this match. Davey hits the Kawada kicks but Steen gets to his feet, hits a series of slaps to the face, and scores with the F-Cinq for 2. Steen hits a big moonsault off the top, but can’t immediately go for the cover due to his knee and again gets a 2 count. Steen blocks a kick from Davey and puts him in the Ankle Lock, but Davey counters into the hold himself. Steen counters that into the Sharpshooter but his leg gives out and he breaks, allowing Davey to re-apply the Ankle Lock. Steen pulls the cover off the middle turnbuckle as he tries to escape and eventually sends Davey headfirst into the exposed turnbuckle. Steen hits a sleeper suplex followed by the package piledriver for the win. After the match, Steve Corino gets in the ring and hugs Steen and Jacobs, with the idea being that Corino and Jacobs’ road to recovery was a giant setup all along and that all 3 men always will be evil. This was a tremendous main event with excellent storytelling and drama. It didn’t go overboard with too many near falls or no selling like many other Davey Richards main event matches, and the crowd heat greatly added to it. Steen winning the ROH title was a great moment, as for once ROH gave someone the world title at the right time rather than waiting until after the fans’ interest had died down. While not quite the match of the year candidate it potentially could have been, this was still a stellar match well worth the price of the iPPV. Match Time: 24:25     Star Rating: ****

 

Overall PPV Rating: 8/10

Tagged with: Apron, Best Choice, Border Wars, Briscoes, Contender, Eddie Edwards, Finlay, Kevin Kelly, Main Event, Martini, Moonsault, Night Express, Rhino, Rhino Press, Roh, Ropes, Star Rating, Wad, Wgtt, Young Bucks

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