Proving Ground, night 1

As a viewer, sometimes you cannot help but build certain ideas and expectations of a show based on title alone. Case in point - ROH Proving Ground 2009. Clearly we are going to see wrestlers PROVE that they belong in their spots on the ROH roster, and see some new faces step up to PROVE that they have the flair to be on the card as well. Clearly, right?

With that said, here is a match by match breakdown of what I thought was proven during the two-night event.

Night 1 (2/6/09):

-Starting the show off with new faces is a nice touch, and both Brad Attitude and Shawn Osborne do a lot to get over in the ring. The match doesn’t ever really go beyond the basics, but both men make the basics look basically good. I especially want to see more of Brad Attitude, who has a great look. What was PROVEN? That both Attitude and Osborne can wrestle, basically.

-SQUASH! That’s about all you can say about Bison Smith vs. Sal Rinuaro. I miss Rinuaro’s “Saved By The Sal” tights. Just saying. What was PROVEN? Big men beat up little men in wrestling sometimes. In case you didn’t know that already.

-Nothing too memorable about the six-man pitting Roderick Strong, Erick Stevens, and Bobby Dempsey against Kenny King, Rhett Titus, and Chasyn Rance. Everybody does just enough to look good, though King especially shines with his personality. PROVEN? Kenny King will one day rule the universe.

-I had a total blast watching Necro Butcher and Austin Aries square off. They spend more time on the tomfoolery than the technical, but that is what makes this match work. Play up your strengths, and the characters of both men are definitely the strength here. A lot of fun. PROVEN: As far as personality goes, Necro and Aries have tons, and that’s why they are two of the top talents on the independent wrestling scene today.

-Bryan Danielson and Jerry Lynn vs. Jimmy Jacobs and Delirious is perfectly fine if entirely forgettable. Frankly I cannot recall exactly what I thought about the match, which says something I suppose. PROVEN: I should probably jot some thoughts down when watching these things in case it takes me awhile to actually sit and summarize everything later.

-I was actually kind of surprised by how enjoyable Nigel McGuinness vs. Brent Albright turned out. Albright may not be liked by everybody, but the man can work a great match, especially when he is in there with a solid opponent. And you don’t get much more solid than Nigel. Good showing by both men. Nothing to prove here.

-A clever name can easily sell me on a talent, so I was looking forward to seeing the Dark City Fight Club before even knowing who they were. Throwing them into the pool against arguably ROH’s top tag team, Kevin Steen and El Generico, was a gutsy move and one that completely pays off. I am definitely sold on DCFC now and cannot wait to see more of them. Lots of great team work on both ends, and just an overall excellent flow to the match. PROVEN: The Dark City Fight Club. Period.

-Love the Davey Richards and Tyler Black main event bout. Lots of fast paced thrills in this one, with both guys really pulling out all the stops to put on the far and away best match of the night. You really can’t say enough about both guys, they’re just fantastic, and this is the kind of contest that highlights exactly why. One thing is proven here...Black and Richards are ready to be the main event in Ring Of Honor.