Ring of Honor TV – March 25, 2020: And They’re Out
IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor Wrestling
Ring of Honor
Date: March 25, 2020
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni
Host: Quinn McKay
From what I can tell, this seems to be the final weekly show that will feature new material. This is the start of a new event but for some reason it looks like the last episode they were able to produce. Fair enough as you never know how screwy things could have gotten thanks to everything going nuts. Things have been a bit better under the Scurll regime so hopefully they can go into hiatus on a high note. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
We open with a quick video on 2 Guys 1 Tag.
Quinn runs down the show.
Dan Maff/Jeff Cobb vs. Briscoes
Mark and Jeff lock up to start with Mark’s headlock trying to cut off the power. A dropkick sends Mark into the corner so it’s off to Maff. That earns him a forearm to the face and Jay comes in for the big staredown. Maff gets the better of it and forearms away in the corner….as we cut to a shot of commentary for some reason. A running clothesline in the corner rocks Jay but he’s right back to Mark in a hurry. The Briscoes get smart and it’s a distraction to set up the running clothesline to put Cobb down.
Back from a break with Mark getting suplexed and clotheslined, followed by a backsplash to Jay. The big shots to the back have Jay in trouble in the corner and a slam gets two. Jay finally slams Cobb down and the tag brings in Mark for another slugout. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Mark uses a chair for a launchpad to the floor. Jay’s running flip dive (no chair) takes Cobb out and it’s time to head back inside.
Jay walks into a spinning belly to back suplex and Maff jumps off Cobb’s back for a flipping splash onto Jay for two. There’s a Cheeky Nandos kick to Jay but Mark breaks up the Burning Hammer. A running kick into a dragon suplex (cool) drops Maff but Cobb clotheslines Jay to put everyone down. Back up and a pop up cutter (basically a 3D with a toss instead of a flapjack) drops Jay for two with Mark having to make a last second save. Tour of the Islands is broken up and it’s a Jay Driller into the Froggy Bow for the pin at 16:06.
Rating: B. These guys beat the heck out of each other and that’s what you want out of these matches. I was skeptical about having Maff around here but he’s been a pretty awesome big man, especially when you pair him with Cobb. The Briscoes have been doing their best work in years too, which is hard to do when they have been so good for so long.
Rey Horus vs. Alex Shelley
They fight over arm control to start before running the ropes with Shelley grabbing a spinning rollup for two. After a quick standoff, Horus grabs an armdrag into an armbar to slow things down. A dropkick puts Shelley on the floor but he ducks a baseball slide and chops away. That’s followed by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on the floor can keep Horus down They chop it out again with Shelley getting the better of things before heading back inside. There’s a discus forearm to Horus and we take a break.
Back with a rather confident Shelley chopping away and grabbing the Billy Goat’s Curse. With that going nowhere, it’s off to a leglock to keep Horus down. A running clothesline drops Horus a second time but he dropkicks Shelley out of the air. Another dropkick puts Shelley on the apron, meaning the big running flip dive can take him down again. Back in and Horus grabs a Spanish Fly for two, plus an overhead belly to belly into the corner for the same. The 450 misses though and it’s a standing Sliced Bread #2 for two on Horus. Shell Shock gets two more so it’s the Motor City Stretch to make Horus tap at 15:01.
Rating: C+. Horus is an awesome high flier and Shelley is someone who can work with almost everyone but, as usual, most of his matches feel very scripted. I’m not sure what it is about them but there’s something about Shelley’s matches that keep me from getting into them. It’s still good, but it’s not great and that’s almost always the case for Shelley.
McKay talks about the awesomeness of the 18th Anniversary Show and Past vs. Present. Supercard of Honor is going to be even better though and we run down the card. They couldn’t edit that out??? And dang it’s not a bad card either.
Tag Team Titles: 2 Guys 1 Tag vs. Jonathan Gresham/Jay Lethal
Gresham and Lethal are defending and jump Young and Woods before the bell. It’s a brawl on the floor to start with Lethal hitting four straight suicide dives. He doesn’t keep Woods down well enough though and it’s an overhead belly to belly to finally cut off the dives. Now we get the bell so Lethal can stomp away at Young in the corner. Back from a break with Gresham working on Young’s knee and Lethal coming in to do the same.
A strut looks to set up the Figure Four but, you know, the strut, lets Young kick Lethal away. Woods comes in for some suplexes and a TKO onto the knee gets two on Lethal. Gresham gets kneed out of the air but the Lethal Combination drops Woods for two more. A Backstabber sets up a powerbomb onto the knees with Lethal having to make a save. We take another break and come back with Lethal powerbombing Young down to set up a Figure Four (as we go back to the knee, as we should).
Woods finally gets back up and powerbombs Gresham onto Lethal for the save. Gresham gets clotheslined down and Young dive onto Lethal. The Doctor Bomb sets up the ankle lock on Gresham but a rope is grabbed. Young is back in but Misery is broken up in a hurry. Gresham moonsaults onto Young and dives onto Woods, leaving Lethal to hit the Lethal Injection. A shooting star press hits Young….for two? Dang I would have bet on that one. Woods grabs a small package but Lethal turns it over so Gresham can get the pin to retain at 12:08.
Rating: B. Another good tag match here as Woods and Young are somehow a rather solid face team. Lethal and Gresham are on fire though and they could hold those titles for a long time going forward. The tag matches have been ROH’s strong suit for a long time now and this was another worthwhile one.
Overall Rating: B+. And alas that’s how they go away for the time being. The tag matches were very good and the singles match was perfectly watchable. Throw in the sad/chuckle inducing announcement about the non-existent shows and I had a good time with this one. Hopefully they can keep this stuff going when they get back, but you never can tell with something like this. Really good show to go out on though.
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