Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. The Young Bucks (Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson) from ROH’s Final Battle 2009

 

Recap from Lee:

Spoiler alert: This is the one where Steen turned on Generico.
Generico and…ok I’ll admit, I’ve been following the Bucks for over three years and I still have no idea which one is which. Generico locks up with the lighter haired Buck. The Buck does fancy stuff like a jumpy spingboard armdrag, and Prazak kindly points out that this one is Nick Jackson. Matt Jackson and Steen get tagged in, a Jackson dropkick leads to slapping and spitting at each other. They trade forearms, then the Buck falls victim to a Steenerico drop toe hold/front flip leg drop. Generico and Matt the legal men now. A dropkick gets the luchador a two count. Steen back in, gets a two count from a back body drop, then bites Jackson. Generico back in, starts chopping. Matt nails a standing Sliced Bread! He tags Nick in who nails Generico with a swinging springboard ddt for two, then gets him in an abdominal stretch (or at least a submission that looks a bit like that). A Bucks double team sees Generico getting his arm double stomped. The Bucks beat him up for a while, which includes that nifty double backflip – double dropkicks spot they do. Generico eventually manages to escape and tags out! Steen no sells their offence and lariats them both. Dai bo sou (no idea how to spell that) to a Buck in the corner! Generico nails Matt Jackson with dive to the outside. Steen nails Nick with a pumphandle neckbreaker, gets a two count. Steen goes for the package piledriver, but Nick rolls out of it and gives him an enzuguiri. Steen gets double teamed. Oh, Steen apparently has a knee injury that they’re playing up by the way. Inverted lawnblower to Matt! Generico with a crossbody to a Buck for two. Springboard X factor from Nick to Generico, but then he gets powerbombed on the apron by Steen! In the ring, Nick superkicks Steen, but gets exploder suplexed into the turnbuckle by Generico. He evades a Yakuza Kick and does a spinny leggy facebuster thing. Nick runs back in the ring because he apparently doesn’t like selling! Fancy double team stuff almost puts away Generico. Steen dumps Matt to the outside, Nick gets Yakuza kicked then frog splashed. Two count! More fast stuff happens, Steen powerbombs Nick then locks in a sharpshooter. Matt tries to break it up, gets spat on. Generico takes Matt to the outside, but Steen’s knee gives out and he releases the sharpshooter. Matt saves Nick from a package piledriver. Finlay roll + 450 + splash + moonsault = More Bang For Your Buck! Steen kicks out at two! Eats a bunch of superkicks. That does the trick and Nick covers him for one, two, three! The Bucks win. Implosion will now occur between the losers. Oh, erm, spoiler alert.

 

Generico gets back in the ring. Steen looks unconscious at first but struggles to his feet. They hug. For the last time?! Steen gets the mic. He talks about being live on the internet then insults someone in the crowd. Steen doesn’t want them kicked out though. I’m struggling to make this out, which you may have guessed. He says babyface things about wrestling and people cheer. He then says he’s not the man he used to be when he and Generico started tearing the roof off of Ring Of Honor three years ago. He thanks a bunch of people for stuff. This takes some time. His attention turns to Generico, who he hugs again. I guess this is the last time, not the other one. Steen moves slightly away, then informs Generico that he hates his effing guts. Low blow and people lose their minds! Steen gets a chair and cracks his now former partner with it. An angry Colt Cabana comes in the ring to express his disapproval. Steen looks pleased with himself as he wanders off. Generico doesn’t look like he’ll be wandering anywhere for a while.

 

Lee’s thoughts: The match was good, but the real story was what took place after: an angle that started the feud that has been the hottest in America for three years now. If you haven’t followed these two in ROH or PWG since this event, you’ve been missing out. I actually don’t have a whole lot to say about the match, and the aftermath spoke for itself.

Match rating: ***1/4
Aftermath rating: ****