Just a few weeks ago, initial reports came back from the Ring of Honor Flyin’ High show in Dayton, Ohio. In a year where ROH is on the rise again, the reviews were this show passed with flying colors. That is definitely the case, having had the opportunity now to watch the show in full for myself.
One of the more talked about matches was the Michael Elgin versus Cedric Alexander match that happened just before intermission. My Twitter timeline was flooded with messages about how this was a must-see match and Alexander’s breakout performance in Ring of Honor. Again, that is definitely the case, having had the opportunity to watch this match and see it for myself.
Alexander has received a stronger push since the beginning of the year, with Ring of Honor positioning him as a young up-and-comer who is finally receiving his chance to shine in the spotlight as a singles wrestler after a few years of working hard in the tag team division. Now everyone can get a chance to see what Alexander offers in the ring on his own…and in spotlight matches against the likes of Kevin Steen and Roderick Strong, that potential and ability has been proven.
This wasn’t just a breakout performance for Alexander though-this match is also about the effort that Elgin puts into it to put both Alexander and himself over. Elgin’s selling in particular is excellent throughout the match and especially early after Alexander “rocks” him with hard shot after hard shot to the head. Elgin’s staggering and weaving selling the loss of equilibrium and his clutching at his head tell the tale-Alexander has the power to take it to him in fight…and that is something only a few should be able to say.
Later on, Elgin’s exhaustion when trying to pick up Alexander for power moves is well demonstrated (Alexander has a thicker muscle mass than one would expect, but can still run around the ring like a cruiserweight) and is the impact Alexander’s dynamic moves have had on his body. Elgin was on his best here in making the small details in selling count.
The tone was set right away as Alexander starts the match super-aggressive, using strikes and speed to put Elgin in harm’s way. Steve Corino helps add some beautiful depth to this early-match situation on commentary, saying that Kevin Steen took Alexander aside after their match at the Raising the Bar weekend and told him not to sit back in matches anymore and take the fight to his opponents. Alexander’s early aggressiveness comes off not as arrogance or a heel tactic, then, but as a wrestler learning important and valuable lessons from another wrestler, both in the ring and out of it. Of course, that perception flies high in the face of The Decade’s assertion that Cedric Alexander doesn’t respect the veterans of the ROH locker room, and that they are going to teach him a lesson as a result.
Then there was the surprise of Alexander, thriving and surviving throughout the match. He goes toe-to-toe with an upper tier member of the ROH roster and shines brightly-impressing the audience with his offensive arsenal and getting the fans behind his absorption of Elgin’s power offense.
The clear shock moment comes near the end of the match with Elgin in control and finds Alexander rolling out of an attempted Buckle Bomb / Power Bomb combination for a slick pinfall cover that nearly shocked Elgin for the upset win. It certainly shocked the fans, who at that point expected the match to be over within minutes as Elgin had decisively found control in the match. Instead, the fans reacted well-popping for Alexander finding a way to continue, popping for a creative way to make this more than just another match.
This reaction from the fans as a result of the wrestling action in the right is a part of what seems to be the “ROH Gear” that clicks in for big-time ROH matches. It is difficult to predict when it happens, but when it does, it usually means the match is about to get really good or even better than it was.
Indeed, Elgin had to find that “something extra” to put away Alexander, pouring out every bit of his “Super Finisher” combination sequence in order to win. Again, that Elgin had to push, that he had to go to those extra measures helped to advance the cause of both this match in looking back at the show as a whole and in getting Alexander over to the Dayton fans in attendance that night.
It is unclear if Alexander versus Elgin will end up on Ring of Honor television in the near-future, but any ROH fan who hasn’t seen it would be best advised to seek it out, as well as the rest of the Flyin’ High show.