ROH Battle in the Carolinas Review

Ring of Honor heads to the Carolinas for a big double shot!

ROH Battle in the Carolinas

Southern Defiance

Spartanburg, South Carolina 12/3/11

1.) “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett vs. Adam Cole: ***

This is another match that I'd say was one of Bennett's best singles matches of 2011. He & Cole put on a solid opener.

2.) The Bravado Brothers (Lancelot & Harlem) vs. Los Ben Dejos: *3/4

The Bravados are in desperate need of a win in this one. They get it here in a quick competitive match.

3.) Proving Ground Match – ROH World TV Champion Jay Lethal vs. TJ Perkins: ***1/4

You know the drill....if TJP lasts the time limit or defeats Jay Lethal, he gets a title shot in the future. A very entertaining match. Athletic action throughout.

4.) Tag Team Challenge Match #1 – The All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson): ***

A relatively solid tag team match here. This was the true start of this tag team feud that would go into 2012. The Bucks prove why they're great as heels. They also work over the leg of Rhett Titus, which proves to be important later.

5.) Tag Team Challenge Match #2 – The Briscoes vs. Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander: ***

Another tag team challenge match as Coleman & Alexander are starting their run as ROH regulars. A fairly solid tag team match. Good for where it was on the card.

6.) Proving Ground Match – ROH World Tag Team Champions Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin vs. Roderick Strong & Michael Elgin: ***1/4

So if Strong & Elgin get the win or draw against WGTT, then they will earn a future World Tag Team Title Shot. It was a very good encounter. WGTT wins & denies the HOT a shot.

7.) First Time Ever Singles Match – “Die Hard” Eddie Edwards vs. El Generico: ***3/4

This is the first ever singles match-up between Edwards & Generico. A great match which is pretty much what you would expect in a match from these two. Best match on this show.

8) 20 Man Honor Rumble – Winner receives a future ROH World Title Match: ***1/4

Now that I've seen one of these matches, I like that ROH does it. I won't go into details on entrances & eliminations, but essentially it came down to Roderick Strong & Jay Lethal, and Lethal eventually eliminates Strong for the win. A relatively fun match. I wish ROH would make this a yearly tradition, because it's PERFECT for a house show or TV Tapings (actually, having this on TV would be perfect).

Overall: 7.25

This half of the double-shot was relatively solid. Edwards/Generico match is the one to see and the rest of the card proves to be entertaining.

Northern Aggression

Greensboro, North Carolina 12/4/11

1.) First time Ever Singles Match – “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett vs. TJ Perkins: **3/4

A fairly decent match. Not necessarily as good as the opener from the night before, but still solid.

2.) The All Night Express (Rhett Titus & Kenny King) vs. The Bravado Brothers (Lancelot & Harlem): **

As ANX is making their way down, The Young Bucks come down and attack Rhett Titus. They go after his knee. They go after the leg that they worked over the night before, and Cornette says Titus can't compete. So essentially this turns into Kenny King vs. The Bravados in a handicap match. Eventually Titus comes back and ANX gets the win. eh...the fact that this was more of a handicap match makes this on the low end for me. I actually think the Bravados should have won, taking advantage of Titus' knee and stopping the comeback quick & cold.

3.) Proving Ground Match – ROH World TV Champion Jay Lethal vs. Adam Cole: ***1/4

Now it's Adam Cole's turn to try and get a TV Title Shot. A pretty solid match. Much like the night before, the challenger (Cole in this case), looks very good in the loss.

4.) Tag Team Challenge Match – The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jakcson) vs. Cedric Alexander & Caprice Coleman: ***1/4

This was another good tag team match. These two teams seemed to mesh pretty well together and it showed in the ring.

5.) Andy “Right Leg” Ridge vs. Sampson: **1/4

Sampson is a huge guy, but bland. Thankfully Ridge got the win here. I think someone bled in this (maybe Ridge I can't remember).

6.) All-Star Elimination Tag Match – Special 2 Hour Time Limit – ROH World Tag Team Champions, Eddie Edwards & El Generico vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe, Michael Elgin & Roderick Strong (with Truth Martini): ****1/4

This match has a Special 2 Hour Time Limit, and the winning team gets $10,000. (By the way the whole "Couple Thousand Dollar Check for the winner" seems SOOOO 80's/Territory Style, and it wreaks of Jim Cornette). I won't got over the whole, but basically, the match goes about an Hour and Twenty Minutes and Eddie Edwards last eliminates Roderick Strong to win. This was a very good match. They were able to fill up the time with a lot of in-ring stuff and outside brawling. Plus, it flew by. The crowd never got bored, and it turned out to be really enjoyable.

Overall: 7.5/10

This second half of the Carolina shows was a little but better than the first night, mainly because of the main event. The rest of the card is solid too.

Overall: 8.5/10

Combined these two shows make for a very good deal of fun wrestling. You have a lot of good singles matches and an entertaining Honor Rumble. If your a fan of tag team wrestling, this is a definite pick up as there is a lot of solid tag team wrestling here. Edwards vs. Generico from the first show and the 8-Man Elimination Tag on the second show are definitely worth seeing.