Ring of Honor TV – January 30, 2019: A Glass Of Juice In The Villainous Shadows
IMG Credit: Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Date: January 30, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana
As long as this show doesn’t include sixteen minutes of Beer City Bruiser vs. Silas Young, I think we’ll be fine. The major story at the moment is a tournament to crown a new #1 contender to the TV Title, which could allow for some fresh stars to get a chance to shine. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
PJ Black vs. Juice Robinson
NWA World Champion Nick Aldis (flanked by Kamilla Kaine) is on commentary in preparation for his future title match with Black. They slap away to start with Black sweeping the leg to take over. Juice’s snap jabs have Black in trouble and there’s a slingshot dive to the floor to take him down again. Black gets in a kick to the ribs back inside and we take a break.
Back with Robinson still in trouble and Black putting on a reverse Boston crab before rocking Robinson head first into the bottom buckle a few times (I believe Konnan used to call that the Rocking Horse). Black suplexes him down and bends the arm back, followed by a clothesline and some posing. A top rope right hand gives Black two more but Robinson grabs a suplex.
Black walks into a spinebuster and a fireman’s carry gutbuster gets two more. Pulp Friction is broken up and Black connects with a moonsault press for two more. Some left hands have Black in more trouble and there’s a Cannonball in the corner. Robinson goes up so Black throws the referee into the corner for the DQ at 12:31.
Rating: C+. You knew they weren’t going to job Black before a title match and Robinson is WAY too hot to take a loss so the DQ was pretty obvious. It took some time to get going but everything after the break picked up in a hurry. Robinson does have the charisma that so many wrestlers miss, so it was cool to see someone giving us a nice performance instead of just going from move to move.
Post match Black knocks Robinson down again and goes to glare at Aldis.
During the break, Robinson says he didn’t come here to lose via DQ. You’re going to see him around here a lot more in 2019 and there will be new life breathed into this place.
The Kingdom yells about beating Villain Enterprises later tonight.
Shane Taylor vs. Mike Law
Right hand, Greetings From 216 in 30 seconds.
Post match Shane says everyone has been asking who paid him to take out Christopher Daniels. That would be no one, because he wanted to beat Daniels up himself.
Colt Cabana brings out Flip Gordon for a chat. Cabana praises him for everything he did back at Final Battle, meaning he defeated Bully Ray once and for all. Gordon says he spent eight months fighting a bully and it’s mission accomplished. Now he wants the World Title, but here’s Kenny King to interrupt. Ian: “I’m just glad it’s not Matt Taven.” Amen brother.
King is tired of mediocre guys coming out here and demanding title shots. King was the last man to pin Jay Lethal and we see some rather doctored clips that ignore King putting his feet on the ropes. Gordon doesn’t have him fooled because King knows he’s the better man. If Gordon was a real warrior, he would have done more than join the reserves. Good promo, but Gordon vs. King doesn’t scream big match on any level.
Six Man Tag Team Titles: Villain Enterprises vs. The Kingdom
Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll/Brody King/PCO) is challenging. Before the match, Taven says they’re not just handing out a title shot to three guys who haven’t proven themselves. Therefore, we’ve got some replacements.
Villain Enterprises vs. Shinobi Shadow Squad
That would be Cheeseburger/Eli Isom/Ryan Nova, because we’re just lucky enough to get a “fun” main event. They’re undefeated on Future of Honor events so Enterprises jump them in the corner to take over. We take an early break and come back with Isom in trouble as PCO chops the heck out of him. Brody drops a backsplash for two as the slow beating continues.
A running cannonball against the ropes crushes Isom again but he gets in a quick suplex for a breather. Cheeseburger comes in and gets to forearm Scurll a few times, followed by a springboard Swanton. It’s off to PCO though and we hit a nerve hold slam to drop Cheeseburger. Somehow PCO gets sent into the corner and it’s Nova coming in to forearm PCO over and over. That goes completely nowhere as PCO takes his head off with a clothesline.
Double teaming doesn’t do much better to PCO and we take another break. Back again with King cleaning house, including the Villains catching triple dives. That means a Tombstone on the floor to Cheeseburger while the other two get chokeslammed onto the apron. PCO powerbombs Nova twice in a row and King hits a Gonzo Bomb (Dominator into a piledriver). PCO’s moonsault finally finishes Nova at 9:37.
Rating: C. It wasn’t much of a squash as it went on far too long, but at least Cheeseburger didn’t get to show all of the heart that he has and waste a bunch of time. At least Enterprises got to show off some offense and prove themselves as actual threats, but there’s only so much you can do against such nothing competition. At least Isom didn’t take the fall though, which is a nice positive.
Bully Ray pours lighter fluid on a fire as we see clips of him losing the I Quit match at Final Battle. Ray says he never said I Quit. Oh good grief is this STILL GOING? If there’s one thing ROH doesn’t know how to do, it’s wrap up a story.
We see the heart rate monitor again and this time it says “A New Beginning From An Old Foundation. Ring of Honor Begins Anew.”
Overall Rating: C. Better show this week as they kept things moving and advanced a few stories. Villain Enterprises got off to a good (albeit long) start and the Robinson vs. Black match was entertaining. This was a show that looked at stuff other than the main event scene and those shows are very important in their own right. If you only have a good main event, the promotion itself isn’t strong and by having everything else work well, you can make it week to week at a far easier pace. Nice show here, which is perfectly fine.
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