ROH: Kevin Steen: Descent into Madness Review

Match #1: ROH World Tag Team Titles: Tables Match: Kevin Steen and El Generico © vs. Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards (ROH on HDNet #11)
The American Wolves attack Steen and Generico during their entrance. Generico drop toe holds Richards into a flipping leg drop from Steen. Edwards gets caught by a few sentons from Steen and Generico. The Wolves are thrown into a table. Generico overhead suplexes Edwards into the turnbuckles. Richards kicks out Steen’s bad knee and connects with the Alarm Clock on Generico. Edwards superkicks Generico and Richards follows by german suplexing him through a table. Steen gets slammed knee-first through a table. The Wolves take control until Generico hits a tornado DDT on Richards and lands a dive to the floor onto Edwards. Steen powerbombs Richards into a propped table. Ouch. Steen lands a swantan onto Richards and Generico follows with a top-rope splash for a nearfall. Steen and Generico stack two tables at ringside. The Wolves fight back with stereo offense on Steen. Richards misses a shooting star press. Generico hits a tornado DDT through the ropes on Edwards. Steen hits a corner cannonball on Richards and Generico splashes Edwards through a table at ringside. Steen applies a sharpshooter on Richards but Shane Hagadorn comes out to break the hold. Hagadorn falls victim to a package piledriver. Steen goes up top but Richards pushes him through the double stack of tables. Edwards low blows Generico and the Wolves hit a doomsday ace crusher through a table to become the new ROH World Tag Team Champions at 15:11. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a “tables are legal” match, but these two teams used the stipulation in creative ways and I’m not sure what more you could ask for from the stipulation. These type of contests can be tough because the crowd is only interested in seeing the weapon of choice, but they delivered on the table spots and everything made sense. I wish they would have expanded upon the work on Steen’s injured knee, but this was a satisfying way for the titles to change hands. ***¾

Match #2: Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. Matt and Nick Jackson (Contention – 6/12/09)
Generico connects with a leg lariat on Matt. Nick catches Steen with a mule kick and snaps off a hurricanrana. Steen responds by just curb stomping him. Nick runs up the ropes and armdrags Generico. The crowd is quickly starting to warm up to the Young Bucks. They hit their neckbreaker-backbreaker combination on Generico. Steen hits a corner cannonball on Matt and he gets isolated. Matt hits a wheelbarrow facebuster on Generico and makes the tag. Nick dropkicks Steen off the apron and hits a slingshot facebuster on Generico. The Young Bucks land a standing moonsault-springboard splash combination on Generico. Steen superkicks Nick and powerbombs Matt. He lands a swantan onto Nick for a nearfall and follows with his pumphandle neckbreaker. The Young Bucks connect with a barrage of superkicks on Steen. Nick lands a dive to the floor on Generico while Matt hits a springboard ace crusher on Steen. Generico fires back with a corner yakuza kick and Steen hits a double samoan drop. Generico connects with a coast-to-coast dropkick on Matt. The package piledriver-brainbuster combination give Steen and Generico the win at 13:45. The Young Bucks were completely new to Ring of Honor at this point and it was fun to see the crowd react to their offense for the first time. They packed a lot of action into fourteen minutes and while the Young Bucks were impressive, I never gave them a shot at winning. Still, Steen and Generico are great opponents to help make a good first impression and that’s exactly what the Young Bucks did here. ***¼

Match #3: Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. Matt and Nick Jackson (Final Battle 2009 – 12/19/09)
Nick runs up the ropes and snaps off an armdrag on Generico. Matt catches Steen with a dropkick and Steen clutches his injured knee. Steen refuses a handshake, so Matt spits at him. They trade forearms and Steen hits a flipping leg drop. Matt finds an opening after hitting a standing sliced bread on Generico. Nick plants Generico with a springboard tornado DDT and the Young Bucks isolate him. Steen eventually tags in and cleans house with a double clothesline. He hits a corner cannonball on Matt and a rope-assisted DDT on Nick. Generico lands a dive to the floor onto Matt. Steen hits his pumphandle neckbreaker on Nick, who answers with an enzuigiri. Steen hits a lungblower on Matt and tags out. Generico lands a flying crossbody onto Matt while Steen powerbombs Nick onto the apron. Generico overhead suplexes Matt into the turnbuckles. Matt responds with a facebuster for a nearfall. Nick lands a dive onto Steen. Matt hits a springboard ace crusher on Generico for a two count. Steen elevates Matt to the floor. Generico connects with a corner yakuza kick on Nick and hits a half nelson suplex. Steen adds a frog splash for a nearfall. Steen powerbombs Nick and locks in a sharpshooter. Matt tries to break up the hold to no avail. Steen lets go of the hold due to his bad knee. Matt saves his brother from a package piledriver and superkicks Steen. The Young Bucks hit More Bang for Your Buck on Steen for a nearfall. The Young Bucks connect with a barrage of superkicks on Steen for the victory at 17:36. Not only was this a step above Contention in regards to the believability of nearfalls, but the story revolving around Steen’s injured knee was perfect. His lack of strength to hold onto the sharpshooter was brilliant, especially because it led to the Young Bucks winning the match shortly afterwards. This was an excellent match, but I think everyone will remember this night more for the post-match angle. ****

Steen’s chilling heel turn on Generico is shown. Without a doubt, this has to be one of the most memorable moments in Ring of Honor history.

Match #4: Kevin Steen vs. Colt Cabana (8th Anniversary Show – 2/13/10)
Before the match, Cabana addresses Steen’s open letter to him. Cabana apologizes but Steen just sucker punches him. Cabana responds with bionic elbows and a plancha to the floor. In the ring, Steen takes over with a powerbomb. He literally yanks the gum out of Cabana’s mouth and starts chewing it. Cabana misses the flying asshole and Steen hits his corner cannonball. Steen finds knees on a swantan attempt. Cabana comes back with punches. He hits the flying asshole and clotheslines Steen to the floor. Steen is staggering on the floor and showing signs of pain in his knee. Cabana gets on the microphone and yells at Steen for trying to fake a leg injury. Steve Corino comes down and tells Steen to enter the ring. He rolls Steen into the ring. Cabana punches Corino and tells Steen to break away from Corino. El Generico runs out and stares down Steen. Corino knocks Cabana to the floor. Generico goes to hit Corino with a chair, but Steen stands in the way. Steen takes the chair away and hits Generico with it. Cabana chases him away and checks on Generico. Steen and Corino walk away smiling. The match is ruled a disqualification victory for Cabana at 9:09. This match was strictly used for storyline purposes. The good news is that these four men really made me interested in their feud. It’s great to see Cabana’s serious side for a change. I stand behind my previous statement in that while Corino may not be tremendous in the ring, his storytelling abilities are what make him useful. Purely storyline advancement, but storyline advancement done right. *¾

Match #5: Kevin Steen vs. Kenny Omega (From the Ashes – 3/26/10)
The crowd bothers Steen with ole chants before the bell. They begin with some chain wrestling. Omega connects with a dropkick and follows with a baseball slide. Steen blocks a moonsault attempt and throws him into the barricade. Steen utilizes the ringpost and barricade to work over the left shoulder. Omega comes back with his stop enzuigiri but gets caught with a backbreaker. He recovers with the Kotaro Krusher and snaps off a hurricanrana. Steen responds with a powerbomb and a DDT. Omega dodges a corner cannonball and connects with a springboard dropkick. They tease finishers and Omega hits an air raid crash. Steen answers with a superkick and his pumphandle neckbreaker. He finds knees on a swantan attempt and gets planted with a reverse hurricanrana. Omega hits two dragon suplexes for a nearfall. Steen sneaks in a low blow and hits a package piledriver for a two count. Steen locks in a crossface for the victory at 17:53. After a slow start, this match became intense and exciting. Steen’s personality continued to shine here and it made the early portion of this contest much more enjoyable. Omega sold his shoulder effectively and his inability to hit Croyt’s Wrath played an integral part in the finish. Although it didn’t need eighteen minutes, this match was an extremely solid exhibition and a good sampling of what these two could do together. ***¼

Match #6: Kevin Steen and Steve Corino vs. Colt Cabana and El Generico (The Big Bang – 4/3/10)
Some promos from videowires are shown leading up to this match. Cabana snaps off a headscissors on Steen and clotheslines him to the floor. Generico takes Corino over with armdrags and lands a dive to the floor. Cabana comes off the middle rope with a flying hip attack on Steen. Generico still refuses to attack Steen. He does land a flying crossbody onto Corino. Steen superkicks Generico and hits a flipping leg drop onto Cabana. Steen and Corino work over Cabana until he fights off Corino and makes the tag. Generico hits a tornado DDT on Corino and stares down Steen. Corino attacks Generico before anything can happen. Steen powerbombs Generico onto the apron. Cabana lands an asai moonsault onto both of his opponents. In the ring, Cabana applies the Billy Goat’s Curse on Corino. Steen breaks the hold with a chair shot, causing a disqualification at 10:04. This was an effective continuation of the Steen/Generico feud that showed how Cabana and Corino will play into the rivalry. More promotions need to realize how useful Cabana can be when he deviates from the comedy and takes a more serious role. The disqualification hurt things quality-wise, but this feud was just getting started at this point. **¾

After the match, Generico finally stands up for himself and attacks Steen.

Match #7: Street Fight: Kevin Steen and Steve Corino vs. Colt Cabana and El Generico (Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 2 – 4/24/10)
Steen and Corino’s combined weight is “none of your damn business”. Tremendous. They waste no time to start brawling. The action goes into the crowd where Corino attacks Generico with multiple chairs. Cabana does the same to Steen in another part of the crowd. The pairs eventually come together and continue to brawl. Many chair shots to the head as well, which commentary addresses. Generico lands a dive over the barricade onto Steen while Cabana suplexes Corino onto a chair. Steen low blows Generico and even tries to bite him down low. Cabana whips Steen into a staff member. Steen climbs on top of a scaffold. Generico goes through the scaffold and plants Corino with a tornado DDT. Generico climbs up the scaffold to fight Steen. Steen hits a michinoku driver onto the top of the scaffold. Cabana sets up a table at ringside. Steen tries to throw a piece of the barricade at him but misses. Staff comes out to check on Generico, who’s still on top of the scaffold. Corino busts Cabana open with a broken beer bottle. He continues to open the wound with a fork. Steen suplexes Cabana onto a pile of chairs and goes for a swantan. Generico returns to the ring and pushes Steen off the top rope and through two tables. Corino takes three chair shots to the head and Generico pushes a ladder into the ring. Generico hits Corino with the ladder and he’s badly busted open. The ladder is thrown at Steen in the corner and Cabana hits the flying asshole. Generico follows with a yakuza kick and half nelson suplexes Corino onto the ladder. Generico connects with a coast to coast dropkick, kicking the ladder into Corino. Steen powerbombs Generico onto the apron. In the ring, Steen breaks a chair over Generico’s head and sends Cabana back-first across the ladder. Corino superplexes Generico onto a pile of chairs. Steen grabs a barbed wire baseball bat from under the ring. Cabana low blows Corino and then Steen low blows him. Generico hits Steen with the baseball bat and follows with two half nelson suplexes. He yakuza kicks Corino and lands a dive onto Steen. Cabana locks in the Billy Goat’s Curse on Corino while Generico hits him with a chair-baseball bat conchairto. Corino is knocked out, giving Generico and Cabana the victory at 20:00. This was a tremendous weapons brawl. The intensity was clearly present and the big spots were planned out perfectly. The finish was especially brutal and a fine way to cap off this match. If chair shots to the head bother you, this contest probably isn’t for you. However, this feud has been going on five months (at this point) and definitely necessitated weapons to be involved. After watching some of the other brawls that were happening in the undercard at the time, this was a breath of fresh air. The Steen/Generico feud delivered once again. ****

Match #8: Last Man Standing: Kevin Steen vs. Colt Cabana (Supercard of Honor V – 5/8/10)
Cabana immediately throws a chair at Steen and sends him into the barricade. Steen is already busted open and gets sent into the barricade three more times. Cabana sets up a table at ringside. They battle on the apron and Steen superkicks Cabana to the floor. He cannonballs Cabana into the barricade. Steen brings two chairs into the ring. Cabana spinebusters him onto a propped up chair and hits him over the head with it. Steen catches Cabana off the flying asshole and dumps him through the table at ringside. The action goes back into the ring where a ladder is introduced. Steen slams Cabana across the ladder. Cabana answers by slamming Steen across the edge of the ladder. Cabana dumps thumbtacks in the ring. He takes off Steen’s shirt and military presses him into the thumbtacks. Cabana places two chairs on Steen’s chest and lands a moonsault from the top rope. El Generico’s music hits and some masked wrestler comes down to the ring. Steve Corino appears behind Cabana and low blows him. The masked wrestler reveals himself to be Colby, Steve’s son. Colby gives his father a barbed wire bat. Cabana ducks a bat shot and hits the flying asshole on Corino. He hits Steen with the bat and a nine count results. Steen low blows Cabana with the barbed wire bat and hits a package piledriver onto the thumbtacks for a nine count. Steen applies a crossface using the barbed wire bat. Cabana can’t answer the ten count, giving Steen the win at 14:23. Once again, this feud continues to deliver quality matches. There wasn’t a moment in this contest where I didn’t believe that these two hated each other. It was appropriately violent and they spaced out the big spots well. The match became a little wacky towards the end, but the storytelling worked effectively. It’s kind of disturbing that Steve Corino’s son is so young and yet he’s still involved in a situation such as this one. This feud single-handedly brought fun hardcore matches back to ROH. ***¼

Match #9: Kevin Steen vs. El Generico (Death Before Dishonor VIII – 6/19/10)
This match actually opened the show, as Generico couldn’t wait in the back long enough. They exchange punches. Generico lands a dive to the floor and sends Steen into the barricade. In the ring, Generico lands a flying crossbody and connects with a leg lariat. Steen reverses a tornado DDT into a backbreaker and hits a senton. He connects with a superkick and takes control. Generico fires back with a series of clotheslines and a michinoku driver. Steen crotches him on the top rope but gets back dropped onto the apron. Generico leaps through the middle and bottom rope and hits a tornado DDT onto the floor. Back in, Generico lands a top-rope splash. Steen hits his pumphandle neckbreaker. Generico fights off a sharpshooter but gets elevated into a sit-out powerbomb. They exchange strikes. Generico connects with a corner yakuza kick and hits a half nelson suplex. Steen pops up and lays in a lariat. Both men are down. Steen misses a moonsault and Generico locks in a sharpshooter. Steen is able to reach the bottom rope. They trade reversals. Steen reverses a brainbuster attempt into a package piledriver for a nearfall. He finds knees on a swantan attempt. Generico connects with a corner yakuza kick. Steen blocks a top-rope brainbuster and hits a top-rope pumphandle neckbreaker for the victory at 16:28. One aspect of the feud that this match highlights is Steen and Generico’s ability to not go all-out but still do enough to continually raise the bar. I hate to feel like a broken record, but this was a great preview of what these two could do together and it was perfect for this point in their feud. Additionally, there’s not much more that you can ask for from an opener. ***¾

Match #10: Kevin Steen vs. El Generico (Hate: Chapter II – 7/23/10)
Generico saves Tyler Black from a post-match attack by Steen to start this match. They brawl around ringside and Steen gets sent into the barricade. In the ring, Generico lands a split-legged moonsault. Steen turns the tide with a series of strikes and takes over, hitting a powerbomb onto the apron. Generico comes back with a yakuza kick and lands an arabian moonsault to the outside. He uses the barricade to hit a tornado DDT onto the entrance ramp. Back in, Generico hits a michinoku driver but runs into a superkick. Steen hits a gutbuster and lands a top-rope moonsault. He follows with a pumphandle suplex and a fisherman buster from the middle rope for a nearfall. Generico finds life with a brainbuster for a two count. Steen catches him with a powerbomb but finds knees on a swantan. Generico connects with a corner yakuza kick and hits a half nelson suplex. Steen gets yakuza kicked to the outside and grabs a chair. Generico tries his DDT through the ropes but Steen throws a chair at him, drawing a disqualification at 17:12. Much like the Death Before Dishonor VIII match, this was a nice continuation of their feud without showing too much. I liked the idea of Generico taking out Steen before his title match the next night, but the finish undoubtedly hurt things. Still, there was enough solid action beforehand to make this contest worthwhile. ***¼

Match #11: Street Fight: Kevin Steen and Steve Corino vs. El Generico and Colt Cabana (ROH on HDNet #66)
Generico dives onto Steen while Cabana clotheslines Corino to the floor. Steen gets sent hard into the barricade. He rips off a piece of the barricade and slams Cabana onto it. Generico throws Corino into the second row and everyone begins brawling through the crowd. Steen and Corino take control with a series of chair shots. Generico falls victim to a corner cannonball in the ring. Cabana misses a springboard moonsault. Corino props a table in the ring. Generico half nelson suplexes Steen onto two propped chairs. Cabana hits a chair-assisted flying asshole on Corino. Steen hits his pumphandle neckbreaker, sending Generico through a propped chair. Steen and Corino place a barricade across four chairs. Generico hits a DDT on Corino and goes up top. Steen crotches him on the top rope and Corino superplexes him onto the barricade for a nearfall. Cabana spinebusters Steen onto a propped chair and takes out Corino. Cabana and Corino battle on the top rope. Corino superplexes Cabana through a table for the win at 16:42. I prefer the brutality of their street fight from Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 2, but this match had most of the elements of a great weapons-based brawl. All of the big spots went according to plan and the crowd made the match feel like a big deal. If nothing else, I’m glad that this feud was given a chance to be showcased on television. ***½

Match #12: ROH World Title: Tyler Black © vs. Kevin Steen (Salvation – 7/24/10)
Coming into this match, Steen promised to “save” Black. Steen slaps him before the opening bell. They exchange punches and brawl to the outside. Steen rams Black into the ringpost but gets sent into the apron. In the ring, Black connects with a springboard clothesline. He back drops out of a package piledriver. Steen drags him to the floor and powerbombs him onto the apron. Steen takes control in the ring until Black blocks a swantan with his knees. Black hits a back suplex and a neckbreaker. He goes up top but Steen pushes him to the outside. Black is busted open and Steen regains control. They battle on the apron and Black hits Paroxysm. Steen elevates him into a powerbomb and locks in a sharpshooter. Black is able to reach the bottom rope. He fights off a pumphandle neckbreaker, connects with a pele kick, and hits an F5. Black lands a standing shooting star press. Steen anticipates a springboard clothesline and hits a pumphandle neckbreaker. Black answers with a bucklebomb and connects with a superkick for a nearfall. Steen rolls through a superplex and hits a gutbuster. He lands a top-rope moonsault. They trade superkicks, with Black coming out on the better end. He double stomps Steen through the ringside table. Now Steen is bleeding. In the ring, Black hits God’s Last Gift for a nearfall. Steen responds with a bucklebomb and a package piledriver for a two count. They battle on the top rope and Black snaps off a hurricanrana. Black applies a sharpshooter to retain his title at 23:21. These two had excellent chemistry together. This match was interesting for a variety of reasons. A lot of people thought that this would be the catalyst for Black’s heel turn. Instead, they did the unthinkable and actually got the crowd to cheer for Black. The crowd stuck with them for the entire duration and bit on many of the nearfalls down the stretch. Everything with Black was a nice subplot to the Steen/Generico feud and this match came out of nowhere as a match of the year contender for Ring of Honor. If Black didn’t leave ROH shortly after this defense, I would’ve loved to see if anything more came from this match. ****¼

Match #13: Chain Match: Kevin Steen and Steve Corino vs. Colt Cabana and El Generico (Glory By Honor IX – 9/11/10)
Corino is chained to Cabana while Steen is chained to Generico. Cabana and Generico connect with stereo baseball slides. Generico repeatedly slams Steen’s head into their chain. Steen is bleeding from his forehead. Cabana connects with chain-assisted corner punches on Corino. Now Corino is bleeding. Generico wraps the chain around Steen’s legs, allowing Cabana to hit the flying asshole. Corino takes them both out with chain-assisted punches. Steen and Corino take control until Generico overhead suplexes Steen into the turnbuckles. Cabana comes off the middle rope with a flying hip attack on Corino. Generico lands a dive onto Steen while Cabana dropkicks a chair into Corino’s face. A table is setup at ringside. Generico goes up top. Steen yanks on their chain and sends Generico through the table. However, Generico fell far enough to stop Steen from saving Corino from a beatdown. Colby Corino comes out to free Steen from his chain. Steen hits a pumphandle neckbreaker on Cabana. Steen and Corino tie Cabana to the ring ropes. Steen superkicks Cabana. Generico yakuza kicks Steen and kicks a chair into Corino’s face. He tries to untie Cabana but Steen stops him with a powerbomb onto the apron. Generico fires back with half nelson suplexes. Steen hits him with a chair shot. Once again, Generico fights back. He half nelson suplexes Corino onto a propped chair and throws a chair at Steen’s head. Cabana escapes his chains and powerbombs Corino onto a chair. Cabana locks in the Billy Goat’s Curse for the victory at 19:52. I’ve only ever seen a handful of chain matches where the stipulation benefited the competitors. This was not one of them. While this was a solid entry into the feud, I prefer their other weapons-based brawls on this compilation. I found the portion of the match with Cabana tied to the ropes to be silly and the segment dragged. The post-match angle is a different story. ***

After the match, Steen finds an opening to rip Generico’s mask off. Cabana immediately covers Generico’s face with a towel. Steen puts the mask on a chair and recreates the image on his t-shirt using Corino’s blood. That was chilling.

Match #14: ROH World Tag Team Titles: Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli © vs. Kevin Steen and Steve Corino (Fate of an Angel II – 11/13/10)
Steen brings some Ring of Honor students to the ring to make sure El Generico doesn’t interfere. Both teams start brawling before the opening bell. Steen and Corino find an opening to work over Hero. Claudio interjects himself and Hero catches Corino with an elbow strike. The Kings of Wrestling now take control. Corino hits a russian leg sweep on Claudio and makes the tag. Steen hits a corner cannonball on Claudio and synchs in a sharpshooter. Claudio answers with a springboard european uppercut. Hero connects with a roaring elbow on Steen followed by a roaring mafia kick. Steen blocks a second roaring elbow with a lungblower. Corino connects with a leg lariat on Hero. He hits a DDT-flatliner combination on the Kings. Corino blocks a charge from Hero and hits an STO. Hero responds with a cravate suplex. Claudio bicycle kicks Corino and impressively adds the UFO. Everyone connects with strikes and all four men are down. Claudio giant swings Corino into a basement dropkick from Hero. Corino escapes the Deathblow and hits the Colby Shock. Steen adds a swantan for a nearfall. Corino catches Hero with the Eternal Dream for a two count. He traps Hero in a sharpshooter while Steen also puts Hero in a crossface. Claudio breaks up both holds. Steen comes off the middle rope with a tornado DDT on Claudio. He hits his pumphandle neckbreaker on Hero. Corino plants Hero with a 2k1 bomb for a nearfall. El Generico comes through the crowd. The students stop him from jumping over the barricade. Steen is distracted, so Hero connects with the Deathblow on Corino. The Kings retain their titles at 18:58. The crowd had a difficult time getting invested because both teams were heel. By the end of the match, they were cheering the Kings in unison – a testament to both teams’ ability. Not only did they have that hill to climb, everyone pretty much saw the finish coming from a mile away. Nevertheless, these two teams found a way to deliver despite the booking working against them. ***¼

Match #15: Kevin Steen vs. Grizzly Redwood (ROH on HDNet #82)
Steen blocks a bulldog and dumps Grizzly to the floor. In the ring, Grizzly avoids a flipping leg drop but falls victim to an F5. Steen hits a samoan drop but misses a swantan. Grizzly hits a tornado DDT. Steen prevents a dive and powerbombs him onto the apron. Steen puts Generico’s mask onto Grizzly and hits the package piledriver for the win at 3:41. Steen got his point across here and made quick work of Grizzly. What else did you expect? *½

Match #16: Unsanctioned Fight Without Honor: Kevin Steen vs. El Generico (Final Battle 2010 – 12/18/10)
It all comes down to this. If Steen loses, he will leave Ring of Honor. If Generico loses, he will permanently unmask. Generico spits at Steen, connects with a yakuza kick, and lands a dive to the floor. They brawl around ringside. Generico utilizes a chain, calling back to their Glory By Honor IX match in the same building. In the ring, Generico connects with a chain-assisted yakuza kick. Steen is busted open already. A table and a ladder come into play. Steen hits a powerbomb onto the apron. He lands a frog splash off the apron. In the ring, Steen back drops Generico onto a ladder. He takes control until Generico hits a michinoku driver onto the side of a ladder. Generico hits an exploder onto the ladder followed by a half nelson suplex. Steen blocks a dive through the ringpost and powerbombs Generico into the barricade. He sets a ladder in between the apron and barricade and puts a table on top of it. Generico dives in between and hits a tornado DDT. Awesome. In the ring, Generico hits a brainbuster. He sends Steen through the table at ringside. They battle on the apron and Generico hits a sick brainbuster. Steve Corino breaks up the pin attempt. He lariats Generico and punches Todd Sinclair. Cabana chases away Corino and hits Steen with a chair. It looked like Cabana may turn heel there for a second. Generico accidentally yakuza kicks a recovering Sinclair off the apron. Steen hits the package piledriver for a nearfall. Steen package piledrives Bryce Remsburg out of frustration. Steen sends Generico through a chair with a package piledriver for a nearfall. Generico connects with a corner yakuza kick and hits a top-rope brainbuster for a two count. No one kicks out of that. In a callback to Final Battle from last year, Generico waffles Steen with a chair shot for the victory at 30:43. This match paid off their year-long feud in so many spectacular ways. They referenced previous matches, teased a believable (at least to me) heel turn from Cabana, and brought everything full-circle with the finish. If you’ve taken the time to invest yourself into this feud (which you have by watching this compilation), it would be almost impossible to be disappointed with this match. Over-explaining why this match worked so well would diminish it. If you haven’t seen this encounter yet, I’d highly recommend it. Isn’t it odd that nearly two years later, Steen is ROH World Champion and Generico is practically gone from the company? ****½

Overall: I was looking forward to watching this DVD because I love compilations that tell stories. While the DVD’s title focuses on Kevin Steen, this compilation essentially highlights the Steen/Generico feud. It does a tremendous job. All of the pertinent matches are included. Additionally, any relevant post-match angle or interview segment is shown. If you missed out on Ring of Honor in 2010 or want to own the Steen/Generico feud, this compilation is a must-buy. I don’t even want to break down the match quality too much because such a good job is done highlighting every aspect of the feud. This was a great trip down memory lane and an almost necessary watch to understand the current ROH World Title situation. High recommendation.

You can purchase this DVD at Ring of Honor’s store right here.