ROH Rising Above 2012 Review

Adam Cole gets a huge World Title opportunity!!

ROH Rising Above 2012

Dayton, Ohio 4/29/12

1.) The All Night Express vs. Chris Silvio & Mohammad Ali Vaez: **1/4

Silvio & Ali Vaez are OVW guys. I wouldn't be against seeing Silvio on a semi-regular basis. A decent opener, but essentially a squash for ANX.

After the match, they cut a promo on Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team and The Briscoes, and say they want their World Tag Team Title Shot.

2.) Michael Elgin vs. Samson Walker: **3/4

Samson Walker has made a few ROH appearances. This was a good idea in theory, Elgin beating a bigger guy to make him look good. The problem was Walker got WAY too much offense in on Elgin. I thought, regardless, that it was still a decent match.

3.) Kevin Steen vs. BJ Whitmer: ***

This match is a follow-up from the No DQ Match the night before. A solid contest. Not overly good, but nonetheless decent.

4.) El Generico vs. Kyle O’Reilly: ***1/2

Interesting that this match hasn't happened before in ROH. Despite the fact that the match ended in a No Contest after Kevin Steen and Jimmy Jacobs interfered, it was still fairly good, though the finish did hurt it.

Steen & Jacobs go after O'Reilly as well, encouraging Davey Richards to come out, but he gets laid out by Steen & Jacobs. Eventually BJ Whitmer & ANX come out to chase them off.

5.) Mike Mondo vs. TJ Perkins: **3/4

This would be the beginning of Mike Mondo's stint as a regular in ROH. This was a solid contest. I'd say on par with their match on TV from a few months prior. Nothing overly good, but decent.

6.) Two Out of Three Falls – Roderick Strong vs. Jay Lethal: ***1/2

Before the match starts, Strong mentions that it's Lethal's birthday. He mockingly sings Happy Birthday to him before Lethal had heard enough. The match was pretty good, though I'm sure why this wasn't Jay Lethal's singles rematch for the TV Title. They did a good job making the time fly by though. The match didn't seem as long as it was.

7.) ROH World Tag Team Titles – Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team: **1/2

Essentially a step down from their match in Florida, which saw ANX costing WGTT the match. I think I mentioned this in a previous review, but why did these two have a regular tag match, for the titles, when they had a Fight Without Honor in two weeks? Doesn't make sense.

8.) ROH World Title – Davey Richards vs. Adam Cole: ***3/4

Cole pinned Richards in the Tag Team Main Event of the 10th Anniversary Show in New York City, essentially earning himself a title shot. This was a very good match, though I'm disappointed that they essentially treated this as an afterthought with the Richards vs. Steen match already set for Toronto in two weeks (and heavily promoted by the way). Still, a fine defense from Richards and a good showing from Cole. The infamous Davey Richards no selling was a detriment, as he only sold the injury from the earlier attack from Kevin Steen for about a minute before doing his usual shtik.

Overall: 7.25/10

The World Title Match was the only thing that really stood out on this show. Although there was some good stuff on here, there was an equal amount of stuff that was hindered by the booking. Also, the decision to move the Hara Arena was a BAD MOVE!!! ROH looked sooooo small in this venue (which has hosted WCW, ECW, I believe TNA and maybe WWE) and just came off as a real minor league event. The Montgomery County Fairgrounds are much better suited for ROH. Overall, the show was good, not great.