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ROH Final Battle 2012 Report

John Pollock / December 16, 2012 - 2:01pm

The show starts off with a video package on the history of Kevin Steen and El Genercio dating back to 2008 when they won the Tag Titles together and then the turn at Final Battle 2009, the Mask Vs Career match at Final Battle 2010 and Steen’s return and attack at Final Battle 2011 and the turn by Jacobs at Showdown in the Sun where Steen beat Generico in the Last Man Standing Match. 

The announcers are Kevin Kelly and Caleb Seltzer with Kelly explaining his permanent replacement had a personal issue and Seltzer is here to fill-in.

Michael Elgin Vs Roderick Strong

Truth Martini does not come out with Strong.

Strong spits at Elgin at the start, sends Elgin to the floor and goes for a plancha but is caught by Elgin.

Martini shows up at ringside taunting Elgin and Strong.

Elgin dropped on the outside apron and to the floor as Strong hits a forearm from the apron.

Back in the first Elgin hits a spinning black hole slam for a two-count. Elgin goes to the top and gets crotched and hits a back breaker to the apron onto Elgin. Strong gets a near fall with a jumping knee. Elgin blocks the Strong hold.

Elgin hits his dead lift vertical suplex from the second turnbuckle and gets a great reaction but Strong kicks out at two.

Martini distracts the referee and kicks the Book of Truth into the ring, Elgin stops him from using it and goes for the powerbomb but Strong hits him with the book and gets the win at 11:32.

Martini proclaims Strong the winner but Strong turns him down and says he has quit the House of Truth. Martini then apologizes to Elgin and tells Elgin he loves him and hugs him and Elgin goes for the powerbomb but Martini begs him off. Truth says no one heard of Elgin before he brought him to ROH and slaps Elgin in the face and Elgin powerbombs him in the corner and knocks him to the floor.

A video airs on Jay Lethal attacking Jim Cornette and recapping the angle where Steen spit on Lethal’s parents.

Jay Lethal Vs Rhino

The crowd chants “ECW” as Steve Corino comes out for commentary.

Seltzer just disappeared here and Corino even called him on it for never speaking.

Rhino uses a bear hug and the crowd chants for Lethal but he gets out and hits a hand spring back elbow off the ropes.

Rhino goes for a spear right into a super kick and gives him the mic check and then applies the Koji clutch.

The highlight of this match was Corino berating “Gino” the referee.

Lethal hits another hand spring off the ropes into the Lethal Injection and pins Rhino at 9:33.

Corino confronts Lethal about getting involved in the main event and says he used to date Lethal’s mother and says Lethal shouldn’t care about the spitting angle. Lethal challenges him to fight and Jimmy Jacobs attacks Lethal from behind and they double team him. They hold Lethal up and allow Rhino to gore him. Corino says Lethal will never be in the main event, never face Kevin Steen and never become ROH Champion and will always be a “second match turd” and then he celebrated with the other guy in the “second match”.

RD Evans comes out with QT Marshall wearing a black and pink spandex outfit that looked like it was out of Mighty Molly’s closet.

RD Evans Vs Prince Nana

Seltzer brings up that Nana was on the very first ROH show in February 2002 and has always been a heel but the fans are rallying around him for this match.

Evans slaps Nana to start the match and Nana takes him down.

Evans goes for a plancha and Nana moves as Evans lands on the floor. Nana then hits a tope to Evans and Marshall on the floor.

Evans starts attacking the back of Nana as the crowd chants “Power Ranger” at Evans. He comes off the turnbuckle and Nana gets his boot up. Nana hits a senton. Evans takes the Flair bump into the corner and goes for a spring board into a mid-air Ace Crusher but Marshall pulls the official out.

Ernesto Osiris shows up to attack Marshall but gets tossed into the barricade.

Evans gets crotched on the top rope and hits a superplex but Evans recovers and hits the Inverted Clash (tombstone but dropping Nana on his back) and pins Nana at 6:39. This went much longer than it needed to be.

Tommaso Ciampa comes out of the crowd to go after Evans but is held back by security.
A video airs on the New York City Street Fight coming up next and a promo from WGTT from television.

Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin Vs Rhett Titus & BJ Whitmer in a NYC Street Fight

Titus and Whitmer attack them from behind during the entrance and the match begins.

Titus pull out a giant stocking with weapons in them from under the ring including candy canes and leads to a chant of “Merry Christmas”. Then Titus pulls out a Christmas tree. Benjamin uses the tree to attack Titus in the ring and drop him and Kevin Kelly makes a “tree of woe” pun.

Whitmer takes a superkick in the aisle from Benjamin and then Haas comes into the ring and whips Titus with his belt. They double team Titus and use a kendo stick and then grab the tree and toss it away as the fans boo.

Whitmer returns and attacks them with a kendo stick until Haas hits him with an Olympic slam but only gets a two-count.

Benjamin brings the barricade into the ring and then drop Whitmer back first onto it but Titus makes the save during the cover. Titus drives Benjamin face first into a seated chair and gets a two-count.

Benjamin sets up an ancient looking table on the floor. Benjamin and Titus fight on the outside of the apron and leads to Benjamin hitting the Pay Dirt to Titus going through the table where Benjamin took all of the table upon landing.

Whitmer and Haas fight in the ring and set up a table and fight on the top, they were way out from the table and Haas suplexed Whitmer and he landed head first going through the table and Haas immediately pinned Whitmer at 15:27.

It’s a very scary situation as Whitmer has yet to move as they go to a video package on Jerry Lynn.

Whitmer is taken out and hopefully we get an update later in the show. He was walking but with help to the back.

Mike Bennett (w/ Maria Kanellis & Brutal Bob) Vs Jerry Lynn

Lynn gets a big reaction when he comes out. Lynn is working with a shirt on and has had a ton of back problems the past 2-years.

They bring up Bennett and Maria’s legit engagement.

Lynn goes to the floor and Bennett hides behind Maria and then runs around the ring and Brutal Bob clotheslines Lynn and then Bennett tosses him into the barricade. Bennett beats him down in the ring.

Lynn starts comeback with punches in the corner and hits a DDT.

Maria distracts Todd Sinclair and Bennett brings a chair into the ring but Lynn hits a TKO onto the chair and hits Brutal Bob with the chair but only gets a two-count.

Brutal Bob distracts Sinclair and Lynn goes after Maria but turns around in and gets hit with the Box Office Smash and Bennett wins at 10:08.

After the match Lynn knocks down Bennett and Bob and then a DDT to Maria and the Cradle piledriver to Bennett as the crowd chants “Jerry”. It was a great post match as the crowd loved this man.

Lynn gets on the mic and says “it’s all smoke and mirrors” and thanks the fans. He said ROH gave his career a shot in the arm and Cary Silkin is the most honorable promoter he has ever worked for.

Nigel McGuinness and members of the locker room come out.

McGuinness tells a story of starting in New Jersey where he came out to crickets and Lynn was his opponent and they went nuts and a few years later McGuinness got a good pop and Lynn’s still blew it away and said Lynn will always be over to the locker room. McGuinness then presented him with an award and was a really great moment.

After the ceremony Jay Lethal comes out and says he has been trying to talk to McGuinness all day and thinks he has been ducking him. He complains about the attack by S.C.U.M. earlier and wants his match with Steen. McGuinness says there will be repercussions and suggests Lethal goes in the back and cheer for Generico because if he wins the title than he gets the next shot. Lethal says that is not enough and says Steen spit on his mother, ROH spit on Lethal and now he’s spitting on McGuinness and proceeded to do so and they had a big pull apart with McGuinness wanting Lethal ejected from the building.

They take an intermission.

Kevin Kelly brings out Mike Mondo and he comes out in a cast with crutches. He says he will be back in four-weeks and throws his crutches away calling them “bitch sticks”.

Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish come out to interrupt Mondo and says Edwards will not be here tonight and there will be no American Wolves reunion and call Mondo “handicapped”. Fish tries to goad Mondo into taking Edwards’ spot but then O’Reilly attacks Mondo and his injured left leg. Davey Richards runs in for the save but they beat him down and then Eddie Edwards runs in and they tease Edwards aligning with the heels but helps out Richards and they hug.

Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards Vs Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish

The Wolves hit a stereo tope suicida to the floor on both O’Reilly and Fish. They double team O’Reilly in the corner with kicks and chops.

The heels beat down on Edwards until he finally tags in Richards and match really picks up.

Edwards super kicks O’Reilly and then Richards and Edwards execute stereo vertical suplexes with all four going to the floor.

Richards and O’Reilly get into the ring and they exchange slaps, kicks and then O’Reilly goes for a guillotine at the same time Richards applies an ankle lock and Richards gets sent into the corner turnbuckle.

Edwards hit the chin checker and then an Inverted Clash by Richards but O’Reilly kicks out.

O’Reilly with a tornado DDT as he kicks off of Richards and then applies a choke hold and Edwards tries a bridging pin but is broken by Fish hitting a moonsault to break it.

Richards with a diving knee to O’Reilly and Edwards applies the Achilles lock and Sinclair stops it at 12:28. This was a great match, best one of the night thus far.

They air a preview for Adam Cole Vs Matt Hardy.

Adam Cole Vs Matt Hardy in a non-title match

The crowd is chanting “Fuck you Hardy” at the start of the match. Hardy has the word “Icon” written on his wrist tape.

Cole hits a tope suicida in the opening minutes. Cole applies a figure-four that Hardy escapes from.

Hardy hits Cole with four side effects but Cole kicks out. Hardy hits him with a fifth one and Cole kicks out (to zero response). Hardy with an elbow to the back of the head and goes for another side effect but Cole with a super kick and gets a two-count.

Cole hits the twist of fate on Hardy and gets a two-count.

Hardy with a Razor’s edge into a pin and Cole kicks out. Hardy goes for the twist of fate but Cole blocks it and tries for the Florida Key and they grapple to the floor and he hits it on the floor and rolls him in but only get a two-count. Hardy back to his feet and hits the twist of fate and Cole kicks out.

Cole yanks Hardy off the ropes and applies the figure-four again, he gets out and as Paul Turner is distracted when Hardy pulls his shirt above his head and Hardy low blows Cole and uses a small package to pin Cole at 11:41.

Jimmy Jacobs & Steve Corino Vs The Briscoe Brothers Vs Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander for the ROH Tag Titles

They all brawl at the start of the match.

Big spot early was Cedric Alexander hitting a somersault dive to multiple members on the floor while Caprice Coleman splashes Corino in the ring for a two-count.

Corino grabs a roll of quarters but Coleman stops him for using them but Corino comes back and hits Alexander with the roll of quarters but only gets a two-count.

The Briscoes come in and hit attack everyone and hits the Doomsday Device to Jacobs and Jay pins him to win the titles at 7:06.

Jay Briscoe says they did their job and now Genercio needs to win the title get S.C.U.M. out of ROH and then they send an open invitation to any tag team in the world. He says there is one team that doesn’t need to ask because they respect them and give first title shot to Coleman and Alexander.

Kevin Steen Vs El Generico in a Ladder War for the ROH Title

Generico hit a tornado DDT, running boot in the corner and tope con hilo to the floor onto Steen in the first minute.

Steen comes back and suplexes Generico onto a ladder that bends and breaks. Steen places the broken ladder onto Generico, who is seated in the corner and hits the cannonball dive into the ladder and Generico.

Generico is thrown into the barricade on the floor and it falls over as Steen gets into the face of a fan wearing a Generico mask.

Steen is destroying Generco and starts climbing the ladder but Generico pulls him down and sends Steen through a ladder with a half nelson suplex.

Steen stopped a Greco-Roman knuckle lock and hit a back breaker to Generico and sends him to the floor as Steen climbs and again Generico in and pulls him down.

Steen bridges the ladder between the ring and barricade and then pulls out a table and stacks it onto the ladder already set up and goes for the package piledriver but Generico avoids it and back body drops Steen over through the table and ladder that were bridged.

Security helps bring out a giant ladder for Generico and he sets it up in the ring. Steen is back and hits the F-Cinq to Generico through a table on the floor from the outside of the apron.

Two ladders are set up and Steen places a ladder horizontally between both and powerbombs Generico onto it. Generico gets up and gets Steen off the ladder and hits Steen with the package piledriver.

Steen is up and places another ladder horizontally so there are two set up. The two get on top of the horizontal ladder as Steen low blows him and hits the package piledriver on top of the two ladders and Steen grabs the title for the win at 28:04.