Ring Of Honor Delivers The Best Wrestling Show Of 2010 With Final Battle

While most wrestling fans were focused on the WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view this past weekend, Ring of Honor was focused on making Final Battle 2010, their fifth Internet pay-per-view offering, an unforgettable experience.

The show took place on Saturday night from a jam packed Grand Ballroom inside the Manhattan Center and has received rave reviews from just about anyone who watched it on gofightlive.tv. Critics and fans alike have praised Final Battle as one of the very best shows of the year.

2010 was a turbulent year for ROH, and they needed Final Battle to deliver—especially given all of the hype that went into building up the event. This one had the potential to be the biggest show in the history of the promotion.

Turns out, it was. Between live attendance and PPV buys, the 2010 edition of Final Battle became the most watched event in the history of the promotion. It also happened to be one of the very best ROH shows in their near 9-year existence.

The action began with a tag team match pitting ROH newcomers Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly against the ultra-hot team of Kenny King and Rhett Titus, known collectively as the All-Night Express.

This match is a fine example of how to kick off a PPV and really get the fans into the show. The teams turned in a fast-paced performance featuring incredible move after incredible move. The match exceeded expectations and ranks as one of the best matches of the entire night.

Cole and O’Reilly have really clicked as a team during their short time together, and it is easy to see why many have pegged the ANX as the next ROH World Tag Team Champions.

Colt Cabana and TJ Perkins put on an entertaining bout. Cabana’s comedic style in the ring works well with the technical ability he brings to the table. TJP is considered by many to be one of the finest technicians in wrestling today. This one could’ve delivered a bit more, but it was still a quality match.

The Women of Honor took center stage and showcased their skills. Unlike the divas of the WWE or the knockouts of TNA, these women were given ample time to shine in the squared circle.

The team of Sara Del Rey and Serena Deeb (remember her from the Straight Edge Society?) took on Daizee Haze and Amazing (or Awesome to most) Kong in a high quality women’s tag team match.

Eddie Edwards may have lost the ROH World Television Title recently, but he has not lost his drive and determination to consistently prove he is one of the best that ROH has to offer. He took on Sonjay Dutt in a competitive match that once again exceeded the expectations of many.

Dutt was a last minute replacement for Kenny Omega, who was injured while training and was forced to pull out of his weekend return to ROH.

While Dutt did an admirable job and deserves credit for stepping up at the last minute to fill in, he simply is no Omega. If the original match had gone on as planned, chances are it would’ve been a highlight of the night.

Two ROH legends collided when Homicide took on the new World Television Champion, “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, in a non-title match.

It was a good back-and-forth match, but neither man ever really seemed to get going. It wasn’t a bad match by any means, though it was marred by a rather goofy finish. The surprise return of Homicide’s hype-man Julius Smokes was an added bonus.

This likely won’t be the last time these two former TNA stars meet, and next time the TV title may be on the line.

The first of three main event matches saw the Briscoes, joined by their father Mike “Papa” Briscoe,” continue their rivalry with the Kings of Wrestling, who were joined by their manager Shane Hagadorn.

This six-man tag was all about revenge for the Briscoes, who have been chasing after the current World Tag Team Champions for much of 2010. They’ve given us some of the best and bloodiest brawls of the year in tag team wrestling, but this match upped the fun factor with the inclusion of Papa Briscoe and Shane Hagadorn.

In the end, despite being the next chapter of a rather intense feud, this was simply a fun six-man match with plenty of entertaining moments including Hagadorn repeatedly being “accidentally” hit by his own team and a tilt-a-whirl head scissors takedown by Papa Briscoe.

Yes, the old man did a flying head scissors. He also busted out a Stone Cold Stunner at one point during his official in-ring debut.

The comedy ended with that match. It was followed by two very late match of the year candidates, one for the top prize in ROH and another to settle a year-long personal rivalry between former best friends and tag team partners.

Davey Richards and Roderick Strong tore the house down in what was, simply put, the hardest-hitting match of 2010.

Roderick Strong won the ROH World Heavyweight Championship for the very first time at the last iPPV, Glory By Honor IX. The very same night, Richards was announced as the number one contender for Final Battle.

In many ways, Richards has been viewed as the uncrowned champion of ROH for much of 2010. His title opportunity against then-champion Tyler Black at Death Before Dishonor VIII ranks at the top of many match of the year lists.

Strong looked to vanquish Richards and prove that he deserved to be the man who wore the ROH World Heavyweight Championship. He needed to silence his critics and show the fans that he wasn’t just a transitional champ.

Both men wrestled like they had something to prove and produced a near perfect match. The crowd was strongly behind Richards and popped wildly when it appeared as though he won the match.

The end result was a wonderfully booked championship fight that accomplished exactly what it should have: it had the fans on the edge of their seats, and it made the ROH World Heavyweight Championship feel like the most important thing in the world to both competitors.

And it wasn’t even the main event of the night.

Technically, it was the official main event, but the non-sanctioned “Fight without Honor” between Kevin Steen and El Generico would bring Final Battle to a triumphant and incredibly bloody close.

The story told between these two former friends has lasted exactly one year and has been the very best feud in professional wrestling throughout 2010.

It all came down to Final Battle, where Steen placed his ROH career on the line against the mask of El Generico. Regardless of the outcome, the careers of these men would never be the same again.

While it was far from a technical masterpiece, this all-over brawl has already been called a match of the year by some fans and critics. It easily lived up to the hype surrounding it, as both men gave career defining performances and took incredible risks.

It was the end of a feud that should go down in the history books as one of the very best. It all came full circle for Steen and Generico, and both men did an outstanding job of telling the story.

Strong and Richards set a very high bar for Steen and Generico to follow and in the end, they gave it their all for the standing room only crowd in New York City.

Final Battle 2010 brought the end of a tumultuous year for ROH. Despite losing several top name wrestlers and adjusting to a major behind the scenes shake up in August, the promotion continues to gain popularity and receive increased exposure.

A show like this one proves exactly why ROH stands for high quality professional wrestling. Comparing them to the WWE or TNA is like comparing apples and oranges because the products are quite different.

Tables, Ladders and Chairs may have been a pretty entertaining WWE event, but Final Battle 2010 was clearly the must-see wrestling show of the weekend and perhaps the very best show of the entire year.