Ring of Honor TV Results – August 26, 2015: I Think I Get It
Ring of Honor
Date: August 26, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly
This is a good time for ROH as their shows have been getting better over time with the focus shifting to the Tag Team Titles, which is a nice change of pace after Jay Lethal receiving so much of the focus due to having both titles. I’m hoping things stay on the mini roll they’ve had for the last few weeks so let’s get to it.
Steve Corino is back and says his issues with BJ Whitmer are over.
Bloodbound Warriors vs. Briscoes
The Warriors, Gray Wolf and Red Scorpion, look like the Legion of Doom crossed with the Ascension. Jay and Wolf get things going and this is one of the most bizarre looking matches you’ll ever see. A shoulder doesn’t do much to Gray and Jay likes this challenge a little bit more. Wolf gets smart by grabbing the beard but eats a boot to the face. It only knocks him into the corner though so it’s off to Mark vs. Red.
Scorpion slams Mark over the top, sending him head first into the top rope and onto the apron to make things even worse. Wolf throws Mark hard into the barricade as this has been one sided so far. Back in and a double flapjack gets two on Mark but he flips over to Jay to pick things up. Everything quickly breaks down and Jay dives on Wolf, leaving Mark to strut around, only to get flipped over the top and outside as well. Back inside and a Death Valley Driver gets two on Scorpion, followed by the Froggy Bow from Mark and a wicked lariat from Jay for the pin at 4:24
Rating: C+. I liked this a lot more than I was expecting to as the Warriors got to show off for a bit against the best team in the history of the promotion. That’s something I like to see out of matches at this level: letting the team who is way out of their league look good for a bit instead of just beating them in a few minutes. Not bad.
Post match here’s the Decade to call out Jay Briscoe in person. Jay says he doesn’t know who Page is but they can do this right now. Whitmer says not so fast because they can do it next week. Jay says it’s on.
Jay Lethal and Truth Martini are ready for Hanson next week. Martini: “Next week you’ll be gone in an mmmbop.”
Donovan Dijak vs. Roderick Strong
This is a way for the House of Truth to soften Strong up before his impending World Title shot. Dijak shoves Strong down to start and chops the skin off his chest, which actually doesn’t get a WOO. That’s such a nice change of pace. Strong comes back with a dropkick but a fireman’s carry doesn’t work on the huge Dijak. A kick to the head staggers Donovan but Strong has to avoid a shot from the Book of Truth, allowing Dijak to knock him to the floor as we take a break.
Back with Dijak throwing Strong down for two before catching him in mid air and tossing him to the mat ala Titus O’Neil. Strong finally scores with a loud dropkick for two but he still can’t lift Dijak. Why bother trying if you couldn’t earlier on? I mean, you’re not exactly Hulk Hogan dude. Strong fights out of a torture rack and manages an Angle Slam to get a breather. Dijak is sat on the top and eventually superplexed for two. A huge boot to the face gets the same on Strong but he comes back with the fireman’s carry into the gutbuster, followed by a Sick Kick for the pin at 10:48.
Rating: B-. I liked this well enough but they never could quite break through to the next level. Dijak has the potential to be something good but needs some more experience, which is the case for so many people in this company. Good enough match, but I’m not wild on Strong’s offense a lot of the time. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t seem like something that would ever blow me away.
The House of Truth comes in for the beatdown until War Machine makes the save. I smell a six man.
Tag Team Titles: Future Shock vs. Addiction
Addiction is defending and Corino freaks out over the Future Shock reunion. Chris Sabin is on commentary and Daniels is in a military uniform. Cole and Daniels get things going as Sabin talks about having mutant healing powers. Adam headlocks Daniels on the mat but gets stomped down on the mat and then in the corner for a change of pace. Kyle gets the tag and some slick double teaming gets two on Daniels as we take a break.
Back with O’Reilly kicking Kazarian in the face for two before tagging Cole back in. A big superkick puts Daniels on the floor and Cole loads up his signature shout, but Kyle stops him to turn it into a FUTURE SHOCK instead. Kazarian kicks Cole off the top so Daniels can send him into the barricade a few times to really take over. A slingshot legdrop gets two for Kazarian but Cole finally scores with an enziguri to break the momentum. Corino: “YOU CAN DO IT! I BELIEVE IN YOU!”
Ever the veteran though, Daniels runs around and pulls Kyle to the floor to break up the tag attempt. Cole slaps on the figure four (after a few failed attempts) until Kazarian turns it over. Kyle comes in and puts Kazarian in an armbar but Daniels comes in as well to throw O’Reilly in a Koji Clutch. Why any of these people would think the submissions would count is beyond me but wrestlers are dumb sometimes.
We take another break and come back with Kyle dropkicking the Addiction down and firing off a series of strikes to Daniels. There’s a cross armbreaker to Kazarian and a knee bar to Daniels as he tries to make a save. Future Shock mostly misses a clothesline/legsweep combo to Daniels, who kicks Cole low behind the referee’s back. Kyle gets two off a tornado DDT into a brainbuster.
Kyle puts Kazarian in a cross armbreaker for the tap out but the Kingdom comes out for a distraction. Matt Taven superkicks Kyle to give Kazarian two but Cole sees Maria interfere, finally realizing what’s going on. Cole goes after the Kingdom, leaving Kyle alone to take Celebrity Rehab for the pin at 14:33.
Rating: B-. More good tag wrestling around here and any match where I get to look at Maria is a good thing. The tag division is the best thing going in ROH right now and it’s nice to see one of those teams actually getting a shot instead of just having the contenders fighting each other all the time.
Bobby Fish and the Young Bucks run in for the save but the Kingdom comes back in to make it a huge brawl. The Bucks hit stereo dives and soak in the cheers to end the show.
Overall Rating: B. This was pretty easily the best show since they debuted on Destination America with an hour of solid wrestling, but they also advanced the stories as well as they have yet. The one thing I’d like them to work on though is doing a better job of explaining when these matches are taking place. I know there’s Death Before Dishonor, All-Star Extravaganza and some TV matches coming up, but I’ve completely lost track of when each is taking place. Settle those things down a bit and the show gets better. Good stuff this week though.
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