Final Battle

[EpicDave]

Anybody catch the show last night?

ELGIN over PERKINS
CIAMPA over RAVE
LETHAL retains over GENERICO and BENNETT
STEEN over CORINO
YOUNG BUCKS win Tag Team Gauntlet
STRONG over Mystery Opponent - CHRIS HERO
BRISCOES over HAAS & BENJAMIN to win the tag belts
RICHARDS over EDWARDS to retain the World title


All the matches were built up well over the past several weeks, so the show had a special feel.

Lots of technical issues - the camera missed more than a few big spots- disappointing.

First big surprise - Mike Bennett came out with his new RL girlfriend, MARIA KANELLIS! Maria looks great, but she was not convincing as a heel and didn't look really happy to be there.

Steen and Corino was an old school bloodbath, as expected. Jimmy Jacobs was the guest ref and Cornette was at ringside jawing with Steen throughout. After the match, Steen laid out Corino and Jacobs, then went after Cornette, but GENERICO came out to make the save. Generico got a package piledriver through a table for his efforts and was stretchered out.

Gauntlet match looked like it was set up for the All Night Express to go over, but they sold a leg injury to Rhett Titus. The Young Bucks add another element to the tag division, and they now have a guaranteed title shot in 2012.

Interestingly, midway through the Tag Title match the fans turned against Haas and Benjamin and started cheering for the Briscoes. RoH fans love the guys who have been loyal to the company, even if they are booked as the heels.

Edwards and Richards was a marathon with a ton of near falls. Very competitive as expected. At one point, Roderick Strong came out, but he was chased away by Team Richards while Dan Severn carried Martini out of the ring over his shoulder. Richards took control late in the match and finally finished off Edwards with a flurry of stiff kicks.

After the match, Richards went into his typical tear-jerking promo, but was (thankfully!) interrupted by Steen. Steen launched into a vulgar, profanity-laced, over-the-top tirade on Richards as the show closed.

[marktaggart]

Yeah, I saw it. This was the first ROH ippv I've purchased, and it won't be the last. The camera did miss some stuff, which was annoying; and the sound was spotty at best as usual with ippv. However, the matches were all in the good to very good range, and well worth the fifteen bucks. Richards and Edwards went way long in my book, but it was the kind of main event ROH has become known for. Steen was built up huge last night and instantly doubled my interest in the company going forward. It was a nice surprise to see Chris Hero versus Strong, even if Hero may just be in the "guest" position and not part of the regular roster going forward.

[amazingbadger]

I saw Final Battle too and while I wasn't happy with the ending to the Strong/Hero match, due to what I belive was an error by either the referee or Truth Martini, I enjoyed the show quite a bit.

One of my favourite parts was when one of the Briscoes got hit over the head with a board, which inspired the crowd to break out their best Hacksaw Jim Duggan impressions. They went right back to booing WGTT of course but hearing the crowd "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" in unison brought a smile to my face.

Eager to see Steen chasing Richards for the title. I'm hoping though, that we haven't seen the last of Corino, Jacobs and Generico being involved in Steen's affairs.

[Vegas]

This was the 9th straight ROH IPPV that I ordered.

Since I am currently in Seattle away from my computer in Las Vegas, I did not get to watch this one live. But I just got done watching it on my IPad.

No match quite compared to El Generico vs Kevin Steen from last year's Final Battle IMO, but as usual for ROH IPPVs, a great show well worth the $15. I was really glad to see the Briscoes defeat Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team to start their 7th reign as the ROH tag champs. I was also really glad to see Davey Richards retain and to see the Young Bucks win the tag team gauntlet too.

[amazingbadger]

I was hoping the Bravados or Future Shock might've pulled out the victory in the tag team gauntlet. I kinda figured it'd be the Bucks though, since they're being pushed hard and clearly have a feud set up with ANX.