Ring of Honor TV – January 6, 2021: So That’s How They Did It
Ring of Honor
Date: January 6, 2021
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
It’s a new year around here too and really, I have no idea what that is going to mean. Ring of Honor has changed so much in recent weeks but at least this time there is the Final Battle fallout to carry things forward a bit. Hopefully that is what we get here, even though I haven’t actually seen the pay per view yet. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
We get stills from the major Final Battle events.
Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and today is going to be about what happened with the pandemic over the summer. That could be interesting.
Matt Taven talks about being ready for the Anniversary Show but the Coronavirus felt like something that was far away and on the other side of the world. Then they went to Las Vegas and you could tell that things were different. Nothing made him more nervous than Ian Riccaboni ordering hundreds of dollars of supplies to his house. It was clear something was going to be different but then it got a little more serious.
Flip Gordon talks about how he wrestled in front of Las Vegas in front of no fans, which was a really weird situation. Ring of Honor has handled the pandemic well but he isn’t sure when the fans will be back. All that matters is him getting his World Title shot though.
Flip Gordon vs. Bandido
Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get anywhere, setting up a standoff. Gordon does his nip ups to avoid Bandido before sending him outside. Back in and a froggy crossbody gives Bandido two but Gordon ties him in the ring skirt and hammers away. We take a break and come back with Bandido getting sent hard into the barricade and then taking him back inside for a double arm crank.
Bandido fights up and nails a corkscrew high crossbody. A superkick gives Bandido two but Gordon hits his own kicks for the same. Another spinning kick to the face gives Gordon two as commentary talks about how everything was going the day of this show and how crazy everything was. Bandido gets in the X Knee, only to get taken down by the springboard spear. The Flip Fly finishes Bandido at 9:25.
Rating: C+. Is it any surprise that these two are going to have a good match? Bandido is one of the nearly guaranteed solid matches around here and Gordon can go with anyone, making this about as easy of a match as you’re going to get around here. It certainly must be weird in a situation like this but somehow, this has become the norm, which is so strange to fathom.
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Some wrestlers talk about how everything went nuts on the way to Las Vegas for the Anniversary Show. The borders were closed, which made things confusing for some of the international fans. Then the shows were canceled but no one knew how bad things were going to be. Even with no fans, some wrestlers had an eight man tag which was more about having fun than anything else. With nothing else possible, they went out and had some fun together. Now they’re back and Ring of Honor is doing a lot of great things to keep them safe but they all want to go back to normal as soon as possible.
Mark Haskins vs. Jay Lethal
Vicky Haskins is here with Mark. They go to the mat to start until Lethal takes him up against the ropes for a breather. Lethal’s top wristlock takes him down but Haskins is back up to work on the leg. Haskins sends him outside for a running kick from the apron before cranking on the arm again back inside. Lethal is sent outside again where he blocks a suplex over the barricade and hits a handspring cutter off the apron.
It’s way too early for the Lethal Injection back inside but the Lethal Combination gets two. Lethal kicks him in the face but Hail to the King is countered into a Crossface. Then it’s the Rings of Saturn with Haskins grabbing the leg, leaving Lethal to use the free leg to reach the rope. Haskins hits a running knee to the face for two but Lethal chops away. The Lethal Injection is easily countered though and it’s the Sharpshooter, with Haskins pulling on the arm at the same time, for the tap at 8:44.
Rating: B-. Another match where the people involved made it a guaranteed pretty good match at worse, which is not a bad thing. I like Haskins more and more every time I see him and Lethal is Mr. Ring of Honor at this point. Seeing Haskins finally beat Lethal for a change was a nice moment, and it’s a shame that he has been stuck behind the travel restrictions since then.
Mark Briscoe talks about going to Vegas early but then having everything canceled in a big surprise.
Various wrestlers make it VERY clear that the company has kept them especially safe.
We see how the ROH bubble in Baltimore worked with Quinn going through all of their protocols and how well everything went. Even Dave Meltzer praised them!
Maria Kanellis Bennett is bringing back the Experience in January and you can pick what happens on the show!
Overall Rating: B-. This was rather different and it was in a good way. It was cool to see the behind the scenes look like this, as we’ve really just heard about the protocols in most companies. Yeah it was a good bit self serving, but I’ll take something unique over Christmas break than the usual Best Of shows. Very different stuff here, and that was good for a change.
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