Ring Of Honor TV – December 11, 2019: Yeah They Don’t Care
IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling
Ring of Honor
Date: December 11, 2019
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
Host: Ian Riccaboni
It’s the go home show for Final Battle and something tells me that isn’t going to matter all that much here. They’re far too late to make the show feel like the big deal that it’s supposed to be and I don’t think I’m being ridiculous to suggest that they likely don’t care much about this TV show anymore. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
We open with a look at PCO beating Marty Scurll to become #1 contender for Final Battle. This is one of only a handful of stories that has received any attention and we kind of get the concept already.
Video on Vincent vs. Matt Taven. Someone attacked their Kingdom teammate TK O’Ryan, with Marseglia eventually revealing himself as the villain. He turned on Taven and busted him open, setting up Final Battle. I believe this is the first time the Vinny Marseglia heel turn has been mentioned in any kind of detail on this show.
Video on Bully Ray vs. Mark Haskins, which is Ray bullying someone else in the exact same way he has ever since he turned heel in the first place. I would ask who thinks this is a good idea, but Ray as the booker tells you all you need to know.
We go to a live event where Haskins, with a table in the ring, calls out Ray. Cue Ray, but he won’t get in, as instead it’s Flip Gordon jumping Haskins from behind with a kendo stick. Ray pays Gordon off (because that feud is already forgotten) and puts Haskins through the table. Oh and he calls Haskins and his family trash, just to be extra nasty.
Dalton Castle finds Joe Hendry on a couch and they get into a discussion of being a big band. Castle gets confused and thinks they should be superheros. Uh, yeah.
Bateman vs. PJ Black
This is Bateman’s debut and Black isn’t on Final Battle. Black works on an armbar to start but gets reversed in a hurry. A forearm to the face puts Black in the corner but he comes right back out with his own shots to the face. Bateman gets knocked to the floor and hit with a slingshot dive as we take a break.
Back with Bateman faceplanting him and hitting a running kick to the face for two. Bateman sends him face first into the buckle as he certainly seems to have a target. Black hits a spinwheel kick but has to bail out of the Placebo Effect. The second attempt connects for two but Bateman slips out of what looked like a reverse DDT.
A headbutt sets up a Snow Plow for two on Black, who is right back with a kick to the face of his own. Black’s top rope hurricanrana into a moonsault gets two more, followed by a crucifix driver for the same. Black goes up but gets crotched, allowing Bateman to hit a Tombstone (This Is A Kill) for the pin at 10:52.
Rating: C. Bateman looked good here and it means someone to beat Black. The match wasn’t anything special but it was a good way to make Bateman look good in his debut. The company needs some fresh talent so maybe Bateman can mean something before he is signed somewhere else.
Joe Koff comes in to see Silas Young and Josh Woods. Josh has some interesting requests for his new contract, but they are all turned down. Koff leaves and Young talks about how they could be Tag Team Champions.
TV Title: Shane Taylor vs. Danhausen
Taylor is defending and this is Danhausen’s (has a painted face, talks strangely) TV debut as well. The Soldiers of Savagery are here with Shane as well, just in case this was in any doubt. Hold on though as Shane needs to talk about how awesome it is to be from Ohio and to list off the stats of his title reign. Danhausen confuses Taylor to start so Shane throws him down without much trouble. For some reason Danhausen tries a chokeslam before going with a slap to the face.
Taylor gets low bridged to the floor so Danhausen shouts before kicking him in the face. There’s a superkick from the apron but Taylor powerbomb him onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Dak Draper watching from the stage. Taylor hits him hard in the face but Danhausen grabs a tornado DDT for two. A running kick to the head gets the same but Taylor blasts him in the face. The package piledriver sets up Greetings From 205 to retain at 6:36.
Rating: C-. Danhausen is someone entertaining enough but at the same time he just got dropped on his head for the pin. It feels like a gimmick that has been done before and that isn’t the best result for a first match. Still though, he has charisma and the fans reacted to him, which is more than some people can say.
In the back, Shane says he doesn’t know who the thirteenth challenger is going to be but they’re unlucky to face him.
Dragon Lee gets the TV Title shot at Final Battle.
Video on the Briscoes vs. Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham, which has been covered in full on here more than once.
We run down Final Battle.
One more Rush vs. PCO video wraps us up.
Overall Rating: D+. I know it’s better than nothing but the build to this show has been so worthless and last minute that it was almost insulting. The exclusive matches were fine here but they felt like annoying detours that we had to get through before we could get back to the Final Battle hype. Final Battle still looks ok at best, mainly because PCO vs. Rush feels like a big house show main event. Could have been worse, but it’s just WAY too late to make a difference.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Recent Comments