Proving Grounds ~ June 16th, 2012
Jun 26, 2012 16:59:50 GMT -7
Post by Dustin Salyers on Jun 26, 2012 16:59:50 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 reminds everyone that tonight’s show will feature a match between Michael Elgin and Sami Callihan to determine the next challenger for the ROH Television Championship. “Cult of Personality” brings the crowd to their feet as Styles announces that a Three-Way Fray match has been signed for tonight to determine the top contender to the NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Championship.
CM Punk steps onto the entrance way with the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship draped over his shoulder to a thunderous ovation. Styles pointed out that Punk had won the ROH Championship almost seven years ago to the day but hadn’t been in a ROH ring since early 2006. Flair said the ovation would make him question who the crowd will be behind on June 30th when Punk defends his Championship against AJ Styles. Punk poses with the Championship at each corner and asks for a microphone as the crowd begins to chant “C-M-Punk”.
Punk begins by thanking the fans for “that heartfelt ovation” and for remaining loyal to a company “that continued to ride the wave of success that he helped create over half a decade ago”. Punk said that the ROH of 2012 is merely a shell of the company that men like himself, Samoa Joe & Bryan Danielson built. Punk then pointed out that “it isn’t a coincidence that Joe… Bryan… and myself all chose to leave ROH”. The crowd began to slowly turn as Punk added “I outgrew ROH… I outgrew the Manhattan Center… and now I am a 3-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion”. Punk added that “things have come full circle though… you see… I left ROH to sign with the NWA… and now that ROH has become nothing more than a glorified independent promotion… they have come crawling to the NWA… just so they could force me to come back and sell seats”. The crowd is reigning down the boos as Punk points out that “I can’t refuse a booking from a member of the NWA… so here I am… saving ROH… all over again”.
The crowd begins a “Shut-the-fuck-up” chant as Punk continues by asking “How about a history lesson?… you see the ROH Championship was once held by men like Joe… Austin Aries… he isn’t here either… myself… Bryan… Homicide… he left… Takeshi Morishima… also… not here… and then came… Tyler Black… Roderick Strong… Eddie Edwards… and now Davey Richards… did anyone else notice the drastic decline of talent towards the end of that list?”. People have started throwing garbage towards the ring which seems to bring a smile to Punk’s face as he continues with “you see… there is a reason why Black… Strong… Edwards… and Richards… are still in ROH… they can’t find work anywhere else… no one is beating down their doors with contract offers… but that isn’t even the sad part… the sad part is that Low Ki… and now AJ Styles… have had to come crawling back to ROH”.
The crowd begins to cheer and a sadistic smile creeps over the face of Punk as “No More Mr. Nice Guy” blares through the ballroom. ROH Executive Producer Jim Cornette hurries to the ring with a pissed off look etched on his face. Cornette turns the volume up in the ballroom as he starts by addressing Punk as “you ungrateful bastard”. Cornette quickly points out “these fans… these ROH fans… are the only reason anybody outside of Chicago knows your goddamn name”. Cornette claims that “nobody came crawling… not ROH… not Low Ki… and for damn sure… not your opponent in two weeks… AJ Styles!”. Punk snickers as Cornette informs him that tonight he is going to share the ring with Styles and “two of those guys you decided to call ‘less talented’ in a tag team match”. Punk seems unconcerned as Cornette announces that AJ Styles will team with Tyler Black but his demeanor suddenly changes when Cornette mentions his partner will be ROH Champion Davey Richards.
Cornette leaves the ring as the camera cuts back to the announce position where Styles, Flair & Michaels discuss the evening’s main event. Styles points out that Richards can not be happy with Punk’s comments while Flair admits he is just excited to see the NWA World Heavyweight & ROH Champions in the same ring. Michaels points out that with only two weeks until Best in the World 2012 the winners of the main event could carry a huge advantage. Styles switches gears by reminding everyone that there is a Three-Way Fray tonight to determine the top contender to the NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Championship. Flair chimes in to announce the three men will be Kenny Omega, Johnny Gargano & former 4-time NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Champion Low Ki! Michaels points out how big the opportunity is for Omega & Gargano but he is confident that Low Ki will not make it easy for either of them. “Bad Things” tears through the ballroom as Styles reminds everyone that we are about to find out who will face Tommaso Ciampa for the ROH Television Championship in two weeks.
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 "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin |  RD Evans |  |  "The New Horror" Sami Callihan |
The match showcased Callihan’s brutal work ethic and the unique power that Elgin brings to ROH. Callihan would take control several times but RD Evans consistently kept Elgin from falling into too large of a disadvantage. Evans would use a well-times trip and distraction of Bryce Remsburg to allow Elgin to connect with a spinning powerbomb.
Styles quickly announced that Elgin would challenge Ciampa for the ROH Television Championship at a special television taping event on Friday, June 29th here at the Grand Ballroom. Styles claimed the event would air the following week on WPXN due to Saturday’s Best in the World 2012 event broadcasting exclusively on iPPV. The camera then cut to a triple shot of Low Ki, Kenny Omega & Johnny Gargano preparing for their match as Styles announced that the winner would challenge Rockstar Spud for the NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Championship. Styles sent the show to commercial by announcing that the NWA Windy City superstar would be here on ROH Proving Grounds next week.
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Commercial Break
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The show resumes with Styles reminding everyone that the NWA World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk will tag with ROH Champion Davey Richards in the main event against AJ Styles & Tyler Black. Flair admits he is interested to see Richards and Styles share the ring once more while Michaels notes the extensive travels of Punk recently. “Iteration” blares through the ballroom as Styles points out that the winner of this next match will challenge for the NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Championship at Best in the World 2012 on June 30th.
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NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Three-Way Fray Match
 "The Whole Shebang" Johnny Gargano | |  "The Warrior" Low Ki | |  "Canadian X" Kenny Omega |
This proved to be one of the better matches in the history of Proving Grounds as all three men worked an insane pace with countless near falls. Omega took control near the end and looked to finish off Low Ki as he lifted him to the top turnbuckle. Gargano tried to interfere but found himself on the wrong end of a DDT. Omega went back for Low Ki but instead had to duck out of the way as Low Ki jumped from the top rope and delivered the Ghetto Stomp to Gargano. Omega attacked Low Ki before he could go for the cover but Low Ki was able to counter into an inverted facelock. Low Ki dropped to the canvas and cinched in the Dragon Clutch forcing Omega to submit immediately.
Styles announced that Low Ki would attempt to win the NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Championship for the fifth time on June 30th at Best in the World 2012 against Rockstar Spud. Flair pointed out that a fifth reign would put him in the company of Billy Kidman and leave him trailing only Danny Hodge, Rey Misterio Jr. & Shane Helms for most all-time. Michaels claims that reigns are overrated and points out that Low Ki has held the Championship for over 800 combined days, including all of 2007. The camera cuts to AJ Styles & Tyler Black talking in the locker room as Joey reminds everyone that the main event is next as the show goes to commercial.
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Commercial Break
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The show returns with Styles once more hyping the main event and then sending things backstage to Joe Dombrowski. The camera cuts to Dombrowski standing in front of a huge ROH Proving Grounds logo with Tyler Black. Dombrowski points out that tonight will be only the third match that Black has had with ROH since 2010. Dombrowski adds that Black lost the ROH Championship to Roderick Strong on September 11th of that year and then avenged that loss last week and secured a match for the ROH Championship at Best in the World 2012. Dombrowski then asks Black if he is “better equipped to lead ROH than Richards?“, who celebrated his 6th year with the company earlier this month and will have held the ROH Championship for over a year by the time Best in the World comes to fruition. Black seemed to hesitate and then pointed out that “nearly two years ago to the day… I successfully defended the ROH Championship against Richards… and during the whole match I had to listen to the chants of ‘NEXT-WORLD-CHAMP’… it seems a lot of things have changed in two years… you see Joe… as much as I disagree with many of the comments made by CM Punk earlier tonight… I agree that this company has lost some of its luster… and I don’t see how that doesn’t fall on the Champion… you asked if I am better equipped than Davey… think of this… last time he challenged me for the ROH Championship people chanted ‘NEXT-WORLD-CHAMP’… thanks to Davey… they have to save that chant for the match after ours”. Dombrowski looks speechless as “Wherever I May Roam” can be heard in the distance and the camera cuts back to the ring.
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 "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles |  Tyler Black | |  CM Punk |  "The Lone Wolf" Davey Richards |
Things were sketchy from the start as Punk insisted on starting the match against Black but then changed his mind when Styles stepped into the ring. Richards seemed displeased with the head games and things got worse when Punk refused to tag in several minutes later. Styles & Black controlled most of the opening minutes but a blind tag and springboard clothesline from Punk seemed to even the odds and sent the show to its final commercial break.
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Commercial Break
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The show returned with Punk firmly in control of Black and things only got worse for Tyler as Punk & Richards began working together. Eventually the hot tag came and Styles tore the roof off the Manhattan Center but Punk cut the celebration and the match short by sliding under the rope and heading up the entrance way. Styles called for Punk to return as Remsburg started to count but Punk simply smirked at him before heading behind the curtain. Remsburg called for the bell and raised the hands of Styles & Black but the look on AJ’s face showed his discontent with the result.
Flair & Michaels both chimed in with their unfavorable opinions of CM Punk and his actions before Styles hyped next week’s event as the “ultimate prelude” to Best in the World 2012. Styles cut the finish of the show short though as he shrieked “OH MY GAWD!” as Richards blasted Black with a roundhouse kick from behind as the show ended.
