Mike Reviews ROH The Big Bang (3rd April 2010)

Happy Friday Everyone

We’ve got some ROH for you today in the The Big Bang, a pay per view event that originally aired on Go Fight Live back in 2010. I ordered a few of ROH’s pay per view events when they were on GFL, but Big Bang eluded me at the time so I thought I’d step back in time to see what I originally missed back in the day.

We’ve got guest appearances by luchadores, the Tag Titles are on the line and the ROH World Title is getting defended in an elimination Three Way bout, featuring the future Seth Rollins in action.

You can view the full card for Big Bang by clicking below;

ROH The Big Bang Card

The Big Bang is emanating from the Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Carolina on the 3rd of April 2010

Calling the action are Kevin Kelly and Dave Prazak, who open the show in the ring, like Joey Styles used to do on ECW pay per views. The live crowd seems fired up for the show whilst Kelly and Prazak run down the card. We also have an English and Spanish ring announcer for tonight, which makes sense as we’ve got some luchadores coming along later on in the show.

Opening Match
Phil Shatter Vs Zack Salvation

Shatter is a local wrestler from North Carolina who would go on to wrestle as Gunner in TNA. Salvation is another local lad who never really broke out beyond the regional independent scene if Cage Match is to be believed. He looks a bit like a cross between Robbie Brookside and Chuck Palumbo. Shatter has a belt with him here, which Kelly later recognises as the NWA National Title, and he seems to be the more popular of the two wrestlers amongst the live crowd. These two mostly keep it to the mat to start, with neither really playing the Heel role. Salvation gets an interesting version of a Thesz Press at one stage, where he lands in a seated position across the chest of Shatter before throwing the standard punches.

Things pick up a bit as they head into the closing stages, with some bigger high impact moves, such as a dropkick from Salvation and a Sling Shot Suplex from Shatter. The wrestling on display is decent and the live crowd is polite throughout the contest. They aren’t going crazy or anything, but they’re not turning on the match either and react whenever they see something exciting. There’s one brief moment where Salvation tries a move and it goes awry, drawing the dreaded “You messed up” chant, but Shatter delivers a quickfire duo of suplex and Powerbomb moves in order to get the crowd back on side. Sadly there’s some more awkwardness following that as well, where Shatter tries a Gorilla Press but seems to lose Salvation, leading to them trading some weak punches in the middle of the ring until Salvation sloppily works his way into a Triangle Choke. Shatter survives that though and fights his way out before getting a Spine Buster for the three count.

7 Minutes

WINNER: PHIL SHATTER
RATING: *1/2

Thoughts: This was going along okay for a bit but I think the occasion got to them in the end and the match was starting to fall apart a bit in the closing stages. Shatter looked the more assured of the two, so it’s understandable that he eventually went on to have a TNA run

Second Match
Davey Richards Vs Kenny King w/ Rhett Titus

Richards would eventually go on to win the ROH World Title and have runs in TNA/IMPACT. Kenny King appeared on the second season of Tough Enough and would end up winning gold both in ROH and TNA/IMPACT. King and Titus were currently tagging up as the All Night Express. King was apparently rated in the “Pick Six” in ROH at the time according to Prazak on commentary, which the commentary team explain as some kind of ranking system that ROH had at the time that would put you into contention for an ROH World Title shot. Richards was still a member of the American Wolves at this time based on his entrance music, which was a successful tag team he formed with Eddie Edwards. Richards is the more popular of the two wrestlers here, as he enjoys cheers for his entrance. King refuses to shake hands to start, reinforcing that he will be the bad guy in this particular contest.

King is all cocky to start, but Richards replies with some of his signature kicks in order to pop the crowd and send King reeling. Richards’ offence looks good and he does a good job of playing to the crowd as a babyface and getting them into the early stages of the contest, whilst King bumps around well like an overwhelmed Heel who perhaps didn’t take his Face opponent seriously enough. Eventually Titus distracts Richards and that allows King to catch Richards with a Hot Shot for the cut off, drawing some decent boos in the process. Richards makes sporadic attempts to fight back during the heat segment, meaning it never gets dull, and King performs well in the Heel role whilst working Richards over.

Richards is eventually able to fight off a King Superplex and follows up with a diving head butt for the double down, as the crowd continues to be quite into this contest. Richards makes the comeback following that, getting a handspring flying kick at one stage for a tight near fall. Richards even manages to fly nearly 3/4 of the way across the ring with a Missile Dropkick at one stage, as this bout has been a good showcase for his strikes and general athleticism. King doesn’t just sit there and absorb punishment though, as he gets a near fall of his own with a nicely executed Spine Buster. They’ve done a good job in this match of making each wrestler look like capable competitors. They maybe go a tad overboard with the near falls at one stage to my personal liking for a match that’s second on the show. However, this is an ROH match at the end of the day and the fans of the product wanted this sort of stuff, so you can’t blame the wrestlers for serving the crowd the dish they’ve paid for.

There’s a moment where Richards delivers a perfect German Suplex to King at one stage for instance, which King takes beautifully, but they decide to keep going, even though that would have been a perfectly good finish. As it is they keep going at it, and the crowd does remain into the action in all fairness. It’s not an example of them doing too much and then losing crowd interest as a result. Each wrestler continues to look like a match for the other, making the bout feel like a hard-fought contest between two talented wrestlers who should be taken seriously. The finish is done nicely, as King survives an ankle lock and tries to kick his way out of it, but Richards catches the leg and slickly transitions into a Texas Cloverleaf for the clean submission win.

17 Minutes

WINNER: DAVEY RICHARDS
RATING: ***3/4

Thoughts: I think this could have possibly seen a reduction of some of the near falls and hijinks in the home stretch, and it likely would have been a tighter bout overall. It was still a very enjoyable contest though, and I get why they gave them so much time and agented the bout in the way they did. Richards was going after the ROH World Title in 2010, so ROH probably felt like they needed to show that he was capable of having the exciting type of matches that ROH fans expected from their Main Event talent. In that regard this match fulfilled its brief, as Richards looked great in the match and got an impressive clean win, showing that he was capable of climbing up the card. King looked good in defeat as well, as he was competitive with someone who was being set up as the next big World Title contender

King still refuses to shake hands with Richards after the bout. Dave Prazak heads into the ring to interview Richards following his win. Richards gives the standard “I’m a tough fighting babyface” promo and the crowd responds well to it. Richards states that he wants to be the ROH World Champion, which leads to Christopher Daniels interrupting the promo, looking like Agent 47 after stealing Gareth Southgate’s suit. The crowd is of course jazzed to see Daniels make an appearance, although they quickly start chanting “F### TNA”, as Daniels had left TNA at the end of March 2010. I must admit that I was confused to see Daniels at first as I didn’t remember that he left TNA around this time and TNA normally didn’t let their talent appear on pay per view for other companies, even internet pay per view. Daniels doesn’t like that Richards is trying to go after the ROH World Title, as Daniels wants it for himself, so the two face-off and a future match is agreed between them. This was a good segment that established Daniels’ return to ROH and set up something interesting for the future.

Third Match
Butcher’s Rules
Erick Stevens w/ Prince Nana and Dirty Ernie Osiris Vs The Necro Butcher

Stevens had been a hard-hitting babyface until joining up with Nana’s Embassy group. Butcher had been feuding with The Embassy for much of early 2010 up to this point, with this being another chapter in that rivalry. Stevens had actually slimmed down when he turned Heel, after being more burly as a Face, and he did look good but his previous ring style didn’t really work any more without that extra timber backing up his strikes. Stevens tries to jump Necro as he gets into the ring, but that doesn’t last for long, as Necro sends Stevens to the floor and follows with a cannonball off the apron before trying to suffocate Stevens with a plastic bag. Thankfully for Stevens, it’s one of those flimsy bags you get at a corner shop rather than a sturdier “bag for life” that you’d get at a supermarket, so Stevens is able to quite literally tear the bag off his face and then send Necro into the front row.

Necro fights back following that of course, because he absorbs punishment like a sponge absorbs moisture, and the fight continues, with the fans passing Necro the “Section B” metal sign to use as a weapon. Osiris keeps getting involved, seeing as this bout has no rules and all, and that allows Stevens to fling Necro off the apron down to the floor at one stage when Necro is distracted fighting the lackey. Stevens follows that up by flinging Necro into the metal hoardings surrounding ringside, with Necro selling the impact of that well, and we get a heat segment back inside the ring. Nana tries getting into the ring to help Stevens at one stage, but that leads to him accidentally getting flattened in the corner by his own client, and Necro then rolls up Stevens for the three count.

9 Minutes

WINNER: NECRO BUTCHER
RATING: ***

Thoughts: Fans passing Necro weapons at one stage gave this one an ECW feel, and it was a good palate cleanser following the more technical and strike based wrestling focused bouts that came before it. Stevens and Necro had an energetic brawl and I liked how the finish saw the Heels hoist by their own petard. Villains screwing up and costing themselves the match because they wouldn’t fight fairly is good morality play stuff that Pro Wrestling always does well

The Heels try and attack Necro after the bout but he grabs a chair and chases them away, as this feud will continue. I believe Necro eventually turned Heel and joined up with The Embassy down the line.

Fourth Match
Rhett Titus Vs Cassandro

Titus’ gimmick was that of a sleazy womaniser who actually wasn’t as much of a hit with the ladies as he would like to think. Cassandro is a luchador who is known as an exótico, a celebrated style of lucha libre character known for flamboyant attire, elaborate makeup and charismatic performances. The Spanish ring announcer is handling the duties for this one, seeing as we have a luchador in action. Cassandro gets to enter to “I Will Survive” here, as opposed to the in-house theme that Titus has to use. That’s the benefit that comes with being an outside guest I guess. Cassandro gets a great response from the live crowd, who seem to know who he is and are into his act.

Cassandro does a lot of spots at the start that fans of 1996 era Goldust would recognise, such as seductively touching Titus’ chest, in order to try and throw Titus off his game. Cassandro then busts out some exciting Lucha spots as well, making this match considerably more entertaining than your average 1996 Goldust match. Titus actually hangs in a lucha battle reasonably well with Cassandro, busting out his own flying head scissors at one stage to put the exótico on the backfoot. For some reason the commentary is mixed really badly in this one, meaning it sounds very faint and you can barely hear it. It doesn’t outright ruin the match, but is a bit distracting. Titus starts flinging Cassandro around by his hair at one stage, which is just plain rude if you ask me.

Titus eventually clamps on a chin lock to Cassandro, with Cassandro selling it well and getting the crowd behind him. Cassandro uses the momentum gained from the crowd support to fight out of the hold and make a comeback, getting the old Curt Hennig rolling neck snap at one stage. Titus manages to fight back with a dropkick, but the sight of Cassandro’s posterior is enough to throw him off his game once again, leading to Cassandro getting some near falls. The crowd continues to be into this one, as Cassandro sends Titus to the floor and follows with an impressive TOPE CON HILO. Cassandro comes up limping from that, which is either a legitimate injury or a very good sell job on his part. They quickly take it home back inside the ring, making me think it was a legitimate injury, as Cassandro rolls up Titus for the three count.

9 Minutes

WINNER: Cassandro
RATING: **1/2

Thoughts: This was entertaining, although it felt like they might have had some more planned that they weren’t able to deliver due to Cassandro hurting himself on the dive. Titus gelled well with Cassandro in the ring and the two characters meshed together well also. I wouldn’t mind seeing them go at it again without the injury ruining things

Fifth Match
“Mr Wrestling” Kevin Steen and “Mr Wrestling III” Steve Corino Vs “The Generic Luchador” El Generico and Colt “Boom-Boom” Cabana

Steen had turned on Generico back at Final Battle 2009 and blasted him with a chair, leading to Steen aligning with Corino and Generico finding support in the form of Cabana. Steen would go on to become Kevin Owens in WWE, whilst Generico would eventually become Sami Zayn. Generico is still heartbroken by Steen’s betrayal, with Cabana trying to get Generico’s head right so that he can finally get revenge. They make a point in this one of keeping Steen and Generico apart from one another, with Corino clocking Generico right from the opening bell, meaning that Steen instead fights with Cabana in the ring. Whenever Generico gets a chance to hit Steen, he always delays and can’t go through with it, continuing the story that he can’t bring himself to fight his former friend due to the pain caused by the betrayal.

They barely bother with any tags for the opening sections of the bout, with it resembling more of a Tornado Match for the first half of the bout. Eventually things settle into more of a traditional tag team match, with Steen and Corino working heat on Cabana, who sells it all well. Corino actually gets some cheers from the crowd at points, due to Charlotte being an old school wrestling territory, but he yells at the crowd like a good Heel in an effort to put a stop to that. Steen does a good job riling up the crowd during the heat segment, being an excellent insufferable jerk, with it all building up to the eventual hot tag for Generico.

It’s a very well executed heat segment and it does the job of getting the crowd to will Cabana to his corner so that Generico can finally get the tag. Eventually Cabana fends off the Heels long enough that Generico can get the tag, and the Generic Luchador runs wild on Corino. However, Corino prevents Generico from finally getting to go at it with Steen, leading to Steen giving Generico a Powerbomb onto the apron. Cabana delivers an impressive Asai Moonsault onto both of the Heels and locks Corino in the Billy Goats Curse, but Steen hits Cabana with a chair before Corino can submit, causing the bout to end in a disqualification.

10 Minutes

WINNERS BY DISQUALIFICATION: CABANA & GENERICO
RATING: ***1/4

Thoughts: Lame non-finish aside, this was a good tag team match that did a solid job of escalating the feud whilst also delivering strong character and in-ring work. Unsatisfying as the finish was, it continued the narrative of Steen and Corino being despicable Heels. I agree that it was likely too early in the feud for the Heels to be defeated, but I personally would have preferred for Steen and Corino to get a dirty pin of some kind rather than them do the DQ, as at least that way we would have got a proper finish

Steen and Corino continue to attack Cabana after the bout, causing Cabana to bleed in the process. Generico drags himself into the ring following the apron Powerbomb, and actually makes a comeback, sending Corino to the floor. Steen is cocky though and smears some of Cabana’s blood on Generico’s face, which finally causes Generico to fire up and start attacking Steen, laying him out with a Helluva Kick and some punches. The locker room now inexplicably decides to try and break the fight up, even though we haven’t seen them try that all night until Generico started fighting Steen. Generico shrugs them off though and continues attacking Steen until Corino finally manages to drag Steen to safety. Generico shows his frustration by beating up the people who came down to the ring to break it up before standing tall with Cabana in the ring. This was an effective post-match segment that moved the storyline forward by showing that Generico was now capable of taking the fight to his former friend turned hated enemy. Cabana then grabs the mic and challenges Steen and Corino to Chicago Street Fight on the 24th of April 2010, which I bet was one heck of a battle!

Sixth Match
ROH World Tag Team Titles
Challengers: The Kings Of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) w/ Shane Hagadorn
Vs
Champions: The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe)

Hero and Claudio had originally aligned in ROH back in 2006, but they ultimately split, with Hero staying Heel and Claudio being a singles Face for a bit. However, Claudio would eventually re-join the side of evil in 2008 for a feud with Bryan Danielson. With feuds in the singles arena curtailed for the time being, Claudio decided to re-form his team with Hero, setting up a title match with ROH’s long-running top team, The Briscoes. The challengers quickly establish themselves as villains for any fans who might not be clear on the Face/Heel alignment in this one, by stalling and trying to use sneak attacks in order to get one over on the champions, with The Briscoes being able to foil their schemes with reasonable ease. The Kings take some nice bumps for The Briscoes during the babyface shine, with Claudio leaping from one corner of the ring to the other when taking a double hip toss from The Briscoes.

It’s a decent shine overall, as there’s plenty of back and forth in it so that it’s not just the challengers getting walloped, which could get dull after a while. The Heels get some offence in as well, but it ultimately always leads to The Briscoes retaining control and working their challengers over. Eventually Hero makes a blind tag and sneaks in to clatter Jay from behind, which is enough for the challengers to finally cut a Briscoe off for the heat segment. Hero and Claudio look good on offence, whilst Jay sells everything well, so it works well as a heat segment until it’s time for Mark to get a hot tag and run wild. Mark shows some good fire, but we’re putting in some time in this one so that means we’re going to need a second heat segment. This comes when Mark tries to do a dive to the floor but Claudio gets involved to stop it, allowing Hero to clock the distracted Mark with an elbow strike from the apron to give us our second cut off of the contest.

Kings of Wrestling do appear to have some fans in the crowd, although The Kings don’t really play up to it and just focus on working over Mark in their half of the ring. In a nice touch, Mark doesn’t just passively lie around taking moves from the challengers. Mark instead keeps making attempts to fight back, even foiling double team sequences from the challengers, only to find himself cut off again before he can make the tag to his brother. There are some really good hot tag teases, with the challengers managing to prevent Mark tagging out at the very last moment on a number of occasions. This has the desired effect of keeping the fans invested in the contest, even with the bout having quite a long run-time. Mark does eventually manage to slip out of a Hero attack and makes the tag to Jay, who heads into the ring like a piston pumping at full pelt to take it to the challengers.

The challengers respond with a duo of big boots to Jay, but he survives the follow-up pin attempt from Claudio, as the crowd lets the wrestlers know that they think the bout is awesome. This takes us into the closing stretch which, as this is a Briscoes bout, goes on for 10+ Minutes. You may roll your eyes at that, but just having 10 Minutes for the near falls and finishing sequence is actually quite a restrained effort on The Briscoe’s part based on their usual output from the late 2000’s. Each team has chances to win the bout, with both tandems busting out a slew of big moves. One good thing is that there seems to be a concerted effort for the pin-falls to be made by the legal competitors at any given time, with the teams actually tagging out at points. It’s nice to see two teams actually thinking about that stuff rather than just shrugging and treating everyone as if they’re automatically legal once the finishing stretch begins just because it makes things easier.

This is punctuated by Mark trying to pin Hero at one stage following what is supposed to be an Ace Crusher off the top but looks more like an X-Factor. Regardless, despite Hero seeing stars, it’s actually Claudio who is the legal man, so the referee refuses to count the pin. Honestly I don’t think the fans would have even noticed who the legal man was, but it’s nice to see the wrestlers and referee paying attention to that stuff and working it into the match. The fans at one stage start chanting that this is Match of the Year, which I wouldn’t quite agree with, but it’s good that they’re enjoying themselves at least. The near falls continue to get better, with Jay delivering the Jay-Driller to Claudio at one stage, but Hero breaks up the pin to save the bout. I like how they did that, as it protects the move because it needed Hero to save his partner, but it still gives the crowd a close near fall. Eventually Hagadorn gets involved in the match, which allows Hero to put a loaded pad onto his arm and clock Jay with an elbow strike, before draping Claudio on top of Jay for the three count.

30 Minutes

WINNERS AND NEW CHAMPIONS: KINGS OF WRESTLING
RATING: ****

Thoughts: I liked a lot of things about this match and thought it was excellent overall. Thirty Minutes was a long run-time, but I never really felt like it needed to be any shorter than that. The finishing sequence was chock full of near falls and big moves, as Briscoe bouts tended to be, but it didn’t feel like the bout ever passed the peak and kept going. In fact, you could argue that there was an even higher gear they could have kicked into and they actually showed some restraint to keep it at the level they did. The cheap finish opened the door for rematches whilst also giving the fans a pin-fall finish, so I approve of that. In some ways this felt like a classic southern tag match but with a modern twist. You had the elongated shine, the double heat segment, and the dastardly villains cheating to win in a way that sets up further business down the line, but you had big head drop moves and double team offence to go along with it

Jay sells the loaded elbow really well following the bout, acting like the attack concussed him.

Seventh Match
Three Way Elimination Bout for the ROH World Title
Challenger: Austin Aries
Vs
Challenger: Roderick Strong
Vs
Champion: Tyler Black

Black would be better known as Seth Rollins today. He had chased the ROH World Title dating all the way back to 2008 when he’d battled Nigel McGuinness in unsuccessful attempts. Black had finally managed to dethrone Aries for the belt earlier in 2010, so this match was set up so that Aries could get his rematch. Strong is the fly in the ointment though, as he also wanted a shot so a classic ECW styled elimination three way match was booked. Old school JCP referee Tommy Young joins regular ROH referee Tod Sinclair for this one, to try and reduce the amount of shenanigans. Jim Cornette also hops on the commentary desk, as we continue loading up this match with former Crockett employees. Aries is the lone Heel in this one, with Black and Strong both representing the babyface side of the roster, although there are some audible boos and jeers for Black when he’s announced.

Aries reasserts his villainy before the bout by grabbing the mic and insulting everyone, including poor Tommy Young. The gist of the promo is that Aries tries to sow seeds of dissension amongst the two babyfaces so that they fight each other whilst he can take a breather. Surprisingly the two Faces actually do just that, as they trade some holds in the ring whilst Aries lingers at ringside waiting for a chance to sneak in and attack one of them. Honestly I would have preferred the two babyfaces to tease like they would fight each other but then have them both head outside and clobber Aries. Having the two babyfaces play into Aries’ hands like this just kind of makes them look dumb. Aries eventually tries to cheap shot Roddy from the apron, which of course earns him a stiff chop to the chest. However, Black and Strong then go back to wrestling one another rather than following up on Aries.

Aries is very entertaining as the scheming Heel picking and choosing his spots at least, but it’s done at the expense of the Faces and they just look silly for letting him keep getting away with it. Eventually Aries can’t keep sticking and moving, leading to all three wrestlers going at it, at which point things start picking up. Black punctuates that by diving out onto both of his challengers before giving Aries a Moonsault off the metal hoardings at ringside. There is a little bit of the standard Triple Threat/Three Way Dance trope of having two wrestlers go at it in the ring whilst another sells on the floor until it’s their time to get back in, which makes things feel a bit formulaic. However, there are some good bits where all three wrestlers are in the ring at the same time and going at it.

There’s a good bit where Strong starts clobbering both of his opponents around ringside which, thanks both to Strong’s snug offence and the tight bumping of Aries and Black, works really well. There is a bit where Strong has Aries trapped in the Strong Hold in the middle of the ring but Black comes in to break it up. I’m not a massive fan of spots like that in an elimination bout, but you could at least argue that Aries had been stirring the pot between the two babyfaces and that would cause Black to let his dislike for Strong overcome his common sense. The commentary team could have possibly pushed that point, but they neglected to do so, which was a shame. There is a fun spot where Aries finally decides to be brave by trying to dive out onto both of his opponents with a TOPE SUICIDA, but they see it coming and he ends up flying into the metal hoardings that surround ringside.

This allows Strong and Black to go at it in the ring, and they do a really good bit together, with Strong getting a nicely executed near fall from a back breaker. Aries eventually gets back in there and that leads to some enjoyable three way sequences between all of the competitors, with the action being to a high standard and the crowd being into it. Strong once again believably runs wild on both opponents, as he’s looked fantastic in this match for the most part and has come across as a real champion in waiting. It helps that Aries and Black have both thrown themselves around for him, but Strong has been on fire for large swathes of this and really had a great performance. Aries in particular takes a tremendous Marty Jannetty bump from a running kick at one stage, with it looking like the move knocked him into another galaxy. Unfortunately for Strong though, his incredible performance doesn’t net him the Title, as he takes a series of Super Kicks from Black and Aries adds in some Brain Busters to end Roddy’s night.

27 Minutes – Austin Aries Eliminates Roderick Strong – Multiple Brain Busters

So with Strong eliminated, we get Aries and Black slugging it out in order to settle things. Black gets the better of that battle, cleaning Aries’ clock with some snug Super Kicks, which leads to Kenny King heading down to try and help Aries. Black manages to fend off King though and clatters Aries with some more kicks before finishing things off with the Small Package Driver to pick up the three count.

32 Minutes – Tyler Black Eliminates Austin Aries – Small Package Driver

WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: TYLER BLACK
RATING: ****

Thoughts: This was a cracking match, with Roderick Strong being the main highlight in my opinion. I didn’t like the bit at the start with the two Faces allowing Aries to hang out at ringside whilst they battled each other. However, once all three wrestlers were going at it the bout became really entertaining, especially when Strong was running wild and clobbering everyone. They did a good job of getting Strong over whilst having him be the first man eliminated, as he steamrolled both opponents at points and it took a glut of big moves to finally put him away. Black was arguably the least interesting of the three in all honesty, but he was worth taking a punt on at the time and he worked the style that ROH fans liked. Unfortunately for Black the fans would start to turn on him the longer his reign went on for, which isn’t the first time that has happened to him actually.

King and Aries attack Black after the bout, so this feud will seemingly continue. Roderick Strong actually runs down to help Black though. However, when Black tries to shake hands with Strong, Strong decides to instead tell Black to stick it, setting the table for more matches between the two of them

Main Event
Misterioso and Super Parka Vs Blue Demon Jr. and Magno

This was a battle between guest luchadores. ROH supposedly brought the luchadores in to attract local Hispanic fans and also to broaden the type of styles used on the show. Demon had only recently been the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, after dropping it in March 2010. Magno made some NXT appearances in 2015 and 2016, but it doesn’t look like he was ever officially signed. Misterioso wrestled for AAA in the 1990’s but then became a Freelance star from that point onwards. Parka wrestled as the original Volador at one stage and was also a AAA star in the 1990’s before joining IWRG in the 2000’s. Parka is the uncle of L.A. Park and lifts his “playing a chair like a guitar” act to cheers from the crowd during his entrance.

They work this traditional lucha style, with lots of arm drags and the like. I’m hardly a lucha libre expert, so some of the intricacies of the style will be lost on me, but from my limited experience I’d say that this bout provides an authentic lucha experience. The crowd responds to the bout positively and it sounds like there are some regular lucha fans in the audience who know the style and the combatants. After Demon Jr. and Magno shine on the rudos with traditional lucha fare, Misterioso and Parka decide to just clobber the tecnicos with chairs, which isn’t a DQ for some reason. Demon Jr. then rips off the mask of Misterioso, which should be a DQ as well, but the commentary team covers for it saying that Misterioso has previously lost his mask in a match, so the usual “don’t remove the mask” rule doesn’t apply to him. I have no idea if that’s actually true or if the commentary team were just thinking on their feet, but kudos to them if it’s the latter.

The rudos work over Blue Demon Jr. for a bit following that, but he fights back, as some pockets of the crowd think the match is awesome. Magno gets a chance to do some high flying moves, with the commentary team putting him over strong as someone who would adapt well to the ROH style. Things start breaking down after Magno gets in, with wrestlers outright stopping the referee from counting at points, which isn’t a DQ either even though they’re actively manhandling him to stop a count. Why not just break the count itself up in order to avoid that confusing logic lapse? Parka and Demon Jr. have the gruff lucha overhand chop-fest as the bout enters the closing stages, and that builds up to the tecnicos doing stereo dives out onto the rudos, which the crowd appreciates. Magno gets a springboard twisting splash onto Misterioso back inside the ring and that’s the three count.

16 Minutes

WINNERS: BLUE DEMON JR & MAGNO
RATING: **

Thoughts: The lack of rules took away from this one for me. There were multiple occasions where there should have been a DQ and it just wasn’t called, even though the match seemingly had no special stipulations that prevented DQ’s from being called. If this was ECW or FMW then it wouldn’t matter as much, but ROH had rules in 2010, so seeing stuff like chair shots and grabbing the referee multiple times not drawing a DQ stretched the credibility of the bout and took me out of my suspension of disbelief. I appreciate that lucha libre traditionally allows officials more discretion than American wrestling, but on an ROH show—which had generally enforced its rules quite strictly—it created an inconsistency that took me out of the match. The actual wrestling on display was mostly decent, with Misterioso and Magno being the two most exciting members of their respective tandems. The fans were kind to the match and entered into it with a positive mindset, so from that perspective it was a success. It just wasn’t for me

In Conclusion

I found Big Bang to be a fun watch overall. King/Richards, the Tag Title bout and the Aries Vs Strong Vs Black contest were all great matches and definitely worth a watch. I liked how there was a variety of wrestling styles and match stipulations as well. Stevens Vs Butcher was totally different in style from the Tag Title match for instance, which helped keep things feeling fresh. Sometimes ROH shows can fall into a trap of just delivering the signature Indy style, and after a while it can start getting samey. I thought that Big Bang built well as a show, with the undercard not overdoing it and the big Title matches delivering the expected fireworks and good wrestling. There was some good storyline advancement as well, especially in the Steen/Generico feud, so Big Bang had the story and in-ring wrestling aspect covered, making for a good show overall.

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