Proving Grounds ~ May 26th, 2012
May 31, 2012 20:31:26 GMT -7
Post by Dustin Salyers on May 31, 2012 20:31:26 GMT -7
The camera pans the capacity crowd in the Grand Ballroom of the Manhattan Center as Joey Styles welcomes everyone to Ring of Honor’s Proving Grounds. The camera cuts to the announcers position up on one of the balconies as Styles introduces his broadcast partners, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair & “the Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. Styles begins by describing what transpired last week between AJ Styles and Davey Richards following Richards’ success defense of the ROH Championship against Kevin Steen. Styles then adds that ROH Executive Producer Jim Cornette has asked him to announce the following in regards to the situation surrounding Styles & Richards.
Styles begins by announcing that next week on ROH Proving Grounds AJ Styles and Davey Richards will battle to determine the top ROH contender to the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship. Styles adds that a match between the top contender and the NWA World Heavyweight Champion will be scheduled for a date in June. Styles then announces that “tonight’s main event will be match between Styles and Richards… a tag team match… and both are now on notice to find a tag partner”. Flair admits that this is all huge news and he is still trying to recuperate from last week’s events. “Beautiful Disaster” blares through the ballroom as Michaels remarks about the announcement that the NWA World Heavyweight Champion will be traveling to New York City next month. Styles talks about the debut of the Motor City Machine Guns and their upcoming match with the All Night Express. Flair adds that the All Night Express would be in the driver’s seat as the top contender to the ROH Tag Team Championships if they were to defeat the Guns after beating the Young Bucks last week.
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 Kenny King |  Rhett Titus |  |  Alex Shelley |  Chris Sabin |
The first match of the night would feature the All Night Express for the second week in a row but they found themselves in a much tougher battle with Shelley & Sabin. Both teams struggled to gain control and the advantage was never very large throughout. The Guns eventually connected with the Skull & Bones but King made the save. Shelley returned the favor by breaking up a pin after Sabin was leveled with the One Night Stand. The Made in Detroit finally spelled the end for ANX as the Guns pulled out a victory in a tough contest.
The Guns made sure to shake the hands of ANX before they left the ring and then Shelley motioned for a microphone. Shelley quickly pointed out that the All Night Express had bested the Young Bucks last week and now they had beaten King & Titus so “we want Dem Boys!”. Shelley tried to continue but he was drowned out by “Gimme Back My Bullets” and subsequently the crowd. Jay and Mark walked to the ring sporting their ROH Tag Team Championships and sized up the Guns before Jay was handed a microphone of his own. Jay said he respected the Guns and their position but added “We ain’t no AJ Styles… but we got bigger fish to fry… namely the Revolution… and the NWA World Tag Team Championships!”.
“Faithless” screams through the ballroom as the entire Revolution make their way onto the entranceway. Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly lift the NWA World Tag Team Championships into the air as Johnny Gargano & Chuck Taylor clap behind them. Johnny Gargano raises a microphone to his lips and admits that he needs to clear something up. Gargano says that the four men standing here are collectively known as the Revolution “because we sorta revolutionize stuff” but the tag team of Adam and Kyle have been aptly named FutureShock “because their sort of the future… and well… they can be shocking?”. Gargano looks to Taylor for approval after that last statement and Taylor can be heard saying “that completely made sense”. Gargano shrugs and then Cole can be heard saying “okay… now give it to me”. Gargano hands the microphone to Cole but Cole shoves it back and adds “you have to announce us!”. Gargano looks as though he forgot while Taylor adds “we have to have more meetings”. Gargano then adds “without further ado…” but Cornette storms onto the entranceway and rips the microphone from his hands.
Shelley throws out a “Thank you Jim” before Cornette has time to even start his tirade. Cornette immediately says he is not going to have another “AJ… Davey thing this week” so he is going to handle this now. Cornette quickly points out that the Guns have held Championships in almost every region they have worked in and they did just beat the All Night Express so “you deserve a shot at the Briscoe Brothers in my opinion”. The Guns look satisfied but Cornette adds that the Briscoes are 7-time and reigning ROH Tag Team Champions and “arguably the best tag team in this company’s history”. Cornette admits that the Briscoes deserve a shot at the Revolution causing the Briscoes high five in the ring. Gargano taps Cornette on the shoulder and can be heard saying “we are calling them FutureShock now” which sends Cornette into another tirade about the “four idiots standing here with me”.
The last statement obviously pisses off Cole, who rips the microphone from the hands of Cornette. Cole quickly points to the belt and interjects “this belt doesn’t say a damn thing about being an idiot Jim… but it clearly states that I am one half of the NWA World Tag Team Champions… and if Dem Boys wants some… Dem Boys can have some!”. Cole drops the microphone as he and O’Reilly head to the ring. Cornette picks up the microphone and begins screaming “No… no… no” as he tries to stop FutureShock from entering the ring. Cornette gets between Cole and the apron and adds “we will do this… but damn it… not tonight!”. Cornette announces that in two weeks the Motor City Machine Guns will challenge the Briscoe Brothers for the ROH Tag Team Championships! Cornette than adds that the winner of that match will challenge for the NWA World Tag Team Championships next month! Everyone seems pleased with that announcement until Cornette adds “but next week… it will be the entire Revolution… taking on the Briscoe Brothers… & the Motor City Machine Guns… in an Eight-Man Scramble Match!”. Everyone looks shocked as Cornette heads to the back and Styles sends us to the first commercial break.
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Commercial Break
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The show returns from commercial to show Styles, Flair & Michaels at the announce position as Styles runs down the recent announcements regarding the tag team division. Flair admits that Cornette made the right decision in signing both the ROH and NWA World Tag Team Championship matches and Michaels adds that the Eight-Man Scramble match will make next week a can’t miss show. Styles then reminds everyone that next week’s main event will be AJ Styles against ROH Champion Davey Richards to determine the top ROH contender to the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship. Flair adds that Styles & Richards will be facing off in a tag match in tonight’s main event and they still haven’t heard who their partners will be. Styles then announces that the next match will be the ROH Television Championship match between Tommaso Ciampa and Roderick Strong and that Joe Dombrowski is backstage with the Champion.
The camera cuts to Dombrowski standing in front of a huge ROH Proving Grounds logo with Strong. Dombrowski asks Strong how he expects the situation between Ciampa and RD Evans to play out in tonight’s match but Strong shrugs off the question and claims he is not worried about Evans or Ciampa. Strong adds he is worried that people will “forget exactly who Roderick Strong is”. Strong adds that he is a former ROH Champion and while he respects the Championship on his shoulder, it is “not the prize that I covet… no… that prize is the ROH Championship”. Strong admits that the ROH TV Championship is nothing more than “the vehicle that will carry me to my destination… this Championship keeps me out in front of the pack and squarely in the sights of Jim Cornette and those who will soon determine the next challenger for Davey Richards”. Dombrowski asks if Strong is possibly overlooking Ciampa tonight but Strong disagrees. Strong adds “Ciampa is part of the plan… you see… when I defeat Ciampa tonight and derail his little undefeated streak… there should be no question as to who will be the next challenger to Davey Richards and the ROH Championship!”. Strong walks off as Dombrowski adds that he sees no reason to question the confidence of the Champion.
The camera cuts to the entranceway as “Dark Beat Mix” fills the ballroom and Styles begins to discuss the match-up between Strong and Ciampa. Flair then points out that Evans is coming out with Ciampa and that he proved to be “worth the price” last week when he helped Ciampa secure this Championship match. Michaels hopes that Paul Turner has eyes in the back of his head because he fully expects Evans to prove to Ciampa that he is a valuable asset and there is a considerable raise in commission fees when you are managing a Champion.
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Ring of Honor Television Championship Match
 Roderick Strong | |  "The Dominant Male" Tommaso Ciampa |  RD Evans |
This was a strong back and forth match with Evans sneaking in every opportunity to help Ciampa gain an advantage. Strong took control near the end of the match and it looked like it would eventually be a successful defense after a Sick Kick. However, Evans climbed onto the apron to distract Turner as Strong lifted Ciampa onto his shoulder for the Death by Roderick. Strong dropped Ciampa and tried to get at Evans while a beautiful female jumped over the guardrail to slide something into the ring. Turner separated Strong and Evans as Ciampa picked up the foreign object. Turner was reprimanding Evans as Ciampa leveled Strong and then tucked the object into his tights. Ciampa hooked Strong’s leg and pounded the mat to get the attention of Turner, who slid into position and counted the three.
Evans slid under the bottom rope to celebrate with Ciampa but Tommaso shoved him back to the canvas. A shocked Evans looked on as Velvet Sky climbed into the ring and hugged Ciampa. Sky then placed the ROH Television Championship around the waist of Ciampa and then grabbed a microphone. Sky introduced herself as “the woman who will make sure that Tommaso will always be on top” and then informed Evans that “he was being relieved of his duties… effective immediately!”. Evans sat on the mat with the same shocked expression he had been displaying since Ciampa shoved him, while the new Champion and his new manager walked back up the entrance way to send the show to commercial.
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Commercial Break
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The show resumes with the camera cutting back to the announcers position where Styles, Flair & Michaels all discuss the new ROH Television Champion and the emergence of Velvet Sky. Flair seemed shocked at the change but admits that he always had more success with a woman by his side. Michaels seemed to find it hilarious that Evans was sent packing but hated to see a Championship change hands under such circumstances. “Clutch” poured through the ballroom as Styles pondered the future of Strong. Michaels quickly pointed out that “Die Hard” Eddie Edwards was coming out with Richards and Flair noted that the American Wolves would be back together for at least one night.
Styles admitted that he was not completely shocked by Richard’s choice of partners but wondered how well the two would coexist after the wars they have raged against one another over the past year as they battled for the ROH Championship. “Wherever I May Roam” pierces the ballroom as Styles makes his entrance and Flair notes that no one is coming out behind him. Michaels adds that Styles has walked to ringside and stopped, not entering the ring although Richards was nice enough to hold the ropes open for him. Flair wonders if anyone is willing to team with Styles given that he hasn’t been a part of ROH in over 5 years and many of the faces in the locker room have changed. Michaels admits that many of the old guard have moved on when “The Realist Killaz” cuts through the silence of the ballroom. The announcers can barely be heard as the crowd becomes deafening as Brooklyn’s own Low Ki stalks towards the ring.
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 "The Lone Wolf" Davey Richards |  "Die Hard" Eddie Edwards | |  "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles |  "The Warrior" Low Ki |
The crowd never sat down as these four men poured everything they had into this match. Everyone watched their tempers through the first several minutes of the match but eventually the tension grew. Things turned into a brawl after Styles hit Edwards with the Pele Kick, tossed Eddie through the ropes and then began to antagonize Richards. Davey attacked Styles and the two brawled on the mat before rolling under the bottom rope and to the floor. Low Ki saw his opportunity and climbed the turnbuckle before hitting all three men with a Phoenix splash at ringside. Joey screamed “OH MY GAWD!” as the show went to commercial.
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Commercial Break
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When the show returns Low Ki and Richards are trading stiff kicks and order is maintain for several more minutes. Eventually tempers flare once more though as Richards drops Low Ki with a Tiger suplex hold for a two count and then nails an unsuspecting Styles with a roundhouse. Styles falls to the floor and Richards quickly exits the ring to follow up. Edwards jumps off the apron and races around the ring to help add insult to injury. Bryce Remsburg begins to count out Richards but is surprised to see Low Ki slide out of the ring at the count of eight to assist Styles. Remsburg counts both Richards and Low Ki out but the brawl continues at ringside. Eventually Richards is dumped into the first row and Styles wastes no time climbing into the crowd after him. The bell can be heard ringing constantly as Joey Styles reminds us all to tune in next week and then unleashes another “OH MY GAWD!” as Richards destroys AJ with a folding powerbomb on the general admission bleachers.
