Ring of Honor TV – February 28, 2018: Needs More Peacocks
IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling
Ring of Honor
Date: February 28, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni
We’re off to a new taping cycle this week and we’ve got a big time TV Title match as Kenny King gets his rematch against Silas Young. If that’s not enough, there’s a new enforcer (General Manager, whether he says he is or not) in the form of Bully Ray. I’m not wild on seeing this take place again but you know you’re going to see it in most wrestling companies these days. Let’s get to it.
Here’s last week’s show if you need a recap.
We open with a recap of Bully Ray becoming the new enforcer last week. It’s still not great but I’d rather have him than the actual COO.
Ray is in the ring and very please to have this job. This is the best wrestling company in the world and he’s proud to be the enforcer. Tonight is all thriller and no filler. So is he a matchmaker or an enforcer?
Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs. Young Bucks
So Cal Uncensored wastes no time in jumping the Bucks, who waste even less time in shrugging it off and taking over. A double hiptoss into a double basement dropkick puts Sky on the floor but here’s Cody to applaud and sit in on commentary. Back from a break with Sky in trouble as we look at Cody multiple times. Kazarian misses a charge in the corner so Nick kicks Sky in the head before giving Kazarian a Backstabber.
It’s Sky back up though and a big flip dive to the floor takes Nick down. Back in and Sky throws Kazarian at Matt for a tornado DDT and a near fall. Matt fights out of a double team, including a spear and kick through the ropes to Sky. Kazarian follows him out with a slingshot hurricanrana but Nick kicks him from the apron.
That earns him a cutter onto the apron from Sky and everyone is down. It’s Matt up first for a flip dive off the stage but both Bucks dive into cutters, followed by stereo dragon sleepers. Naturally those are reversed into double Sharpshooters and we take another break. We come back again with Kazarian hitting a Fameasser over the middle rope, only to have Nick come back with the slingshot X Factor and moonsault to the floor. The Meltzer Driver ends Sky at 13:45. The part after the second break was barely a minute long.
Rating: C+. Nice match here, even with a pretty obvious ending. I get that the Bucks and the Bullet Club are the full on faces now, even if they’re not the most traditional in the world. They’re better in this role than as the popular heels, but I’m still not fans of theirs for the most part. At least it makes more sense now.
Post match Christopher Daniels comes in to attack the Bucks, drawing in Hangman Page with a chair for the save.
We recap King vs. Young, or at least the part since Young won the TV Title. King pinned him in a tag match to earn tonight’s shot.
After last week’s show, Brian Milonas and Beer City Bruiser distracted King so Young could jump him from behind. Didn’t they do the same thing to Jay Lethal a few months back?
The surly Briscoe Brothers still want their Tag Team Titles back and don’t care about what it takes to get there.
Kelly Klein knows she’s the best because no one has ever pinned her or made her tap. The title is hers to win.
Bonesaw Jesse Brooks is the baddest woman in the world and ready to beat Klein.
We see some highlights of Klein vs. Brooks which saw Klein win with a knee to the face.
Deonna Purrazzo wants to be the face of the division and starts crying while talking about it.
Holidead is a bad Rosemary knockoff.
Purrazzo beat Holidead with a Fujiwara armbar with only the ending shown. This REALLY isn’t making the tournament look important.
Cody talks about the Kingdom not having a crown. They can’t steal his ring and get away with it.
Matt Taven calls Cody the American Melvin and is ready to prove it at the 16th Anniversary Show.
The Briscoe Brothers are going to take their titles back at the 16th Anniversary Show, but it’s not personal.
The Motor City Machine Guns tell the Briscoes to not worry about their future, because it’s going to be short.
Marty Scurll says the 16th Anniversary Show won’t be a pleasant night for Punishment Martinez.
Martinez says Scurll is the next victim.
Jay Lethal only needs one shot to get the World Title match.
Dalton Castle is excited to retain the title and can feel it in his belly. Just a bunch of short, to the point promos here, which you don’t get enough anymore.
TV Title: Kenny King vs. Silas Young
Young is defending and has Milonas and Bruiser with him. Feeling out process to start with King taking him down off a headlock. That means a headscissor counter and a repeat of the spot, followed by stereo dropkick attempts. Bruiser trips King up but since Bully is a new boss, he’s still competent enough to be watching the match. Cue the boss for a double ejection and we’re down to one on one.
They fight outside with Young sending him into the post and mocking the fans clapping King back up. We take a break and come back with King scoring off a spinning kick to the face for a quick double knockdown. They fight to the apron with King nailing a cartwheel kick before a big flip dive off the stage (I’m sure the Bucks will be thrilled). And let’s stop for a picture with a fan.
Back in and a spinebuster gives King two as the announcers aren’t thrilled with his picture taking strategy earlier. The Royal Flush is broken up twice in a row but Misery is countered into a crucifix for two. Young gets the same off a neckbreaker and he counters the Royal Flush into a small package for the same.
With the big moves not working, King slaps on a Last Chancery to send Young over to the ropes. Young bails to the floor for a breather and catches King with a low blow on the way back in. The springboard moonsault gets two more and now we get the mega angry version of Young. They forearm it out from their knees with King getting the better of it and sunset flipping Young out of the corner for the pin and the title at 14:00.
Rating: C. I wasn’t feeling this one as it was just a back and forth match, albeit not a great one. King didn’t sell very much and that’s not the best way to showcase an athlete like him. Instead they were trading offense, which never really gave me a reason to get into the match as there wasn’t a ton of drama or near falls. Not bad, just laid out poorly.
Overall Rating: C-. Oddly enough, the streak of good shows comes to an end when the World Title scene isn’t receiving a ton of focus. Instead it was the not great TV Title match, the pretty weak main event and the still not exactly thrilling Women’s Title tournament. As usual, Ring of Honor is good at one thing but after you get past the top of the card, things go downhill in a hurry. Not a bad show, but really pretty uninteresting. Oh and two matches being reduced to highlights doesn’t say “all thriller and no filler”. It says we don’t have time for a full match and this isn’t important enough.
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