Ring of Honor TV – October 24, 2018: This Is Them Being Good

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: October 24, 2018
Location: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

The road to Final Battle is on but it’s almost impossible to keep track of everything we have going on at the moment. You know, because there’s so much going on at the moment. In other words, there’s Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal which has yet to be announced as of yet. Also, Jeff Cobb gets a TV Title match tonight against Punishment Martinez. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video looks at the TV Title match, as well as Coast to Coast challenging the Briscoe Brothers for the Tag Team Titles.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoe Brothers vs. Coast to Coast

The Briscoes are defending and the announcers seem unsure why this match is taking place now. Coast to Coast comes out to say they’re not waiting on the main event. Mark takes LSG down to start and rubs his face into the mat just to be a jerk. Or a heel. Close enough. LSG isn’t having that and chops him into the corner, only to have Mark deck Ali so Jay can come in for some cheap shots. It’s Ali in trouble in the corner as we take a break. Back with Ali still in trouble as Jay comes in for a headbutt.

Another kick to the face ticks Ali off so Mark pokes him in the eye. We hit the neck crank for a bit until Ali fights up and rolls over for the hot tag to LSG so the comeback can be on. A spinning gutbuster sets up a flip neckbreaker to stagger Mark and Jay misses a hard clothesline. LSG gets sent outside to draw Ali over, allowing Mark to dropkick the heck out of him as the champs are rolling. An elbow off the apron crushes Ali and Jay sends him into the barricade for a bonus.

Back in and LSG is mostly done as well, though even the announcers are wondering why the champs aren’t going after the completely destroyed Ali. Some right hands give Mark an arrogant cover and it’s back to Jay for a kick to the head. We take a second break and come back again with LSG still in trouble and Jay talking a lot of trash, as he is known to do. LSG gets the traditional enziguri and there’s the diving tag to Ali so the pace can pick up…for all of three seconds before Jay kicks him in the face.

The champs take over again and hit a neckbreaker on Ali before kicking away. A fisherman’s buster gets two and Redneck Boogie (Razor’s Edge into a neckbreaker) is good for the same with the kickout shocking Mark. LSG comes in for the save and a Stroke/Downward Spiral combination gets two on the illegal Mark, though the referee doesn’t seem to mind.

Coast to Coast hits Coast to Coast but LSG hits a 450 so Ali can get two. Coleman accurately points out that the sequence took WAY too long and they should have covered while Jay was down a few seconds earlier. Jay saves his brother from a double superplex and it’s the Doomsday Device to pin Ali at 17:23.

Rating: B. You know, Coast to Coast has gone from a one more team to some awesome underdogs. I wouldn’t have guessed the two of them could have become an entertaining team but they’ve worked their way to that point. I could see them finally winning the titles at some point, which would be a very nice come from behind moment. This was much better than I thought it would be as the Briscoes continue to be one of the best teams in the world.

Jay Lethal isn’t cool with Matt Taven holding his own worthless title.

Matt Taven holds up his belt and says he’s the real champion.

The Briscoes say they’re the best in the world and invite anyone to come for the titles.

Video on Jeff Cobb wrecking the Top Prospect Tournament and then laying out Punishment Martinez.

TV Title: Jeff Cobb vs. Punishment Martinez

Martinez is defending. They slug it out at the bell and Cobb shoves him around. The stomp out of the corner is easily blocked and Cobb hits the spinning belly to back suplex instead. A knee to the face has no effect and Martinez isn’t sure what to do. Martinez kicks him in the face to put Cobb down on one knee. The Silencer is shrugged off and Cobb clotheslines him down with ease. The Tour of the Islands gives Cobb the pin and the title at 1:28 as Martinez is off to WWE. This was EXACTLY how this should have gone as Martinez has been a monster but now the bigger monster has devoured him. Very smart booking.

Here’s an injured Tenille Dashwood (jumped at Death Before Dishonor by a mystery attacker) for a chat. She talks about how she’s not as good as she’s been saying because she has an autoimmune disease that is fighting her entire body and now she has a bad shoulder on top of it. She’s kept fighting because she’s stubborn but now she’s ticked off because she’s been attacked.

Now there’s nothing she can do about it because she has to have shoulder surgery. Whoever attacked her is probably happy but now she has all the time to think about what happened. She fought at Death Before Dishonor at less than 50%, so imagine what she can do at 100%.

Adam Page is ready for Scorpio Sky next week.

Chris Sabin vs. Marty Scurll

On his way to the ring, Sabin talks about spirit animals and how much more awesome his is than Scurll’s. Right. They fight over wrist control to start with Sabin being a bit more technically sound. Marty’s shoulder doesn’t move Sabin so it’s off to a posedown. They keep trying the same thing, including both of them trying kicks to the ribs. Neither is willing to let it go so the referee has to put both feet down.

Marty is all fired up but it’s right back to the wrist battle. I guess he’s a wrist enthusiast. Sabin takes him down and hits a running kick to the face for the first two. Some running elbows put Sabin on the floor though and that means the apron superkick. Back from a break with Sabin caught in a crossarm choke until he fights up for a kick to Scurll’s chest. The forearm exchange goes to Sabin and a missile dropkick puts Scurll on the floor.

Back in and a hanging swinging neckbreaker gives Sabin two, followed by the pinfall reversal sequence. A running kick to the chest keeps Scurll in trouble but he’s fast enough to catch Sabin with a superplex for two. Sabin pops up for a superkick and that means a double knockdown. Even more kicks put them both down but Marty tries the chickenwing. Sabin flips backwards into a rollup so Scurll lets go and powerbombs him again. Graduation (a spinning butterfly slam) finishes Sabin at 10:39.

Rating: B-. Scurll has figured out his role very well and is having some entertaining matches as of late. Sabin is still the same guy he’s been for years now and that’s not the worst place to be. There’s a pretty strong midcard around here and amazingly enough, Scurll is that much better when you don’t have him trading wins with the Hurricane.

Overall Rating: A-. Easily their best show in a very long time, though the TV Title match should have closed the show. You had two very good matches and one very intelligent match, which makes this one of their best put together shows in years. Ring of Honor has a bad tendency to just put stuff out there to fill in time with no apparent purpose but that wasn’t the case this time around. It’s amazing how much better things are when they’re focused, which they were here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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