Ring Of Honor TV – December 22, 2021: They’re Still Making Me Care

Ring of Honor
Date: December 22, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We continue the final shows of the original era of the promotion and that means we are in for a bunch of one off matches. Thankfully that is what Ring of Honor has a tendency to do time after time so it isn’t like this is going to be much different. I’m not sure what to expect here as usual and again, that’s kind of a nice feeling. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay gives us the welcome and opening rundown. This week even has a theme, in the form of the Top Prospect Special.

Eric Martin vs. Adrian Soriano vs. Rayo vs. Joe Keys

One fall to a finish, Martin has Will Ferrara with him and Soriano has the rest of Primal Fear with him. Keys gets kicked outside to start and it’s Soriano getting to clean house early on. Martin is sent outside as well but Keys is back in for some rolling German suplexes on Soriano. That’s broken up by Martin, who chops it out with Keys and then plants him with a powerbomb.

A sitout powerbomb gets two on Rayo but Soriano is back in with a neckbreaker for two on Keys. We take a break and come back with Rayo hitting a sitout bulldog on Soriano. Primal Fear offers a distraction though and Soriano takes Rayo off the top in the crash. Keys is back in with a spinning faceplant on Soriano as momentum changes again.

Rayo and Martin fight over a backslide but Keys breaks that up as well. Soriano comes back in but misses a frog splash. Everyone but Rayo is sent outside so he can dive onto them from the apron. Martin runs Rayo over and sends him back inside, where Rayo gets a knee up in the corner. The springboard tornado DDT plants Martin and a top rope elbow gives Rayo the pin at 7:57.

Rating: C+. This was one of those matches that had everyone flying around doing all kinds of big spots and getting in as many spots as possible. It was nice to get these guys some focus, but there was nothing that makes them stand out in any way. In other words, it felt like an independent match with everyone cramming in everything that they can as fast as they can with no one getting to stand out.

We look at various stars winning the Top Prospect Tournament over the years.

Dante Caballero vs. Matt Makowski

Makowski has a rather New York manager named Rocco, who has never been seen before but has an entrance video suggesting he has been around for a bit. Either way, Makowski is treated as a big deal due to his mixed martial arts days, with commentary freaking out over his mere presence. Makowski takes him down to start with Caballero not being able to get very far. A front facelock suplex drops Caballero and he has to block a cross armbreaker attempt.

We take a break and come back with Caballero hitting some shoulders for two. You don’t do that to Makowski, who kicks him down and busts out the Pentagon arm snap. Another cross armbreaker attempt is blocked so Makowski grabs an Omoplata. The rope is grabbed in a hurry and it’s a Falcon Arrow for two on Makowski. A spinebuster gets the same and Makowski is sent to the apron so Caballero can elbow away.

Back in and Makowski hammers away, setting up a springboard kick to the face for two. Rocco: “YOU CAN’T WIN TONIGHT! MAYBE TOMORROW OR MAYBE NEXT WEEK BUT NOT TONIGHT!” Caballero comes back with a running boot to the face but Rocco offers a distraction. Makowski is back up with a kick to the head and something like a Wasteland into a cross armbreaker to make Caballero tap at 12:06.

Rating: C+. This was a bit of a strange one as Makowski felt like a monster but took his time beating a dojo student. Makowski looked like a killer at times but there were parts where he looked like a prospect as well. The good thing is that the parts that worked worked very well and I could go for more Makowski down the line…whenever that is.

More people have won the Top Prospect Tournament.

Dak Draper vs. Josh Woods

Non-title and these are the two most recent Top Prospect Tournament winners. Hold on though as here is Dalton Castle with the Baby Chickens, but for some reason he is carrying hot dogs. Castle wants some risk involved here so Woods should put the Pure Title on the line. That isn’t happening so Castle calls it boring and Draper leaves. That’s enough to get the title match made.

Pure Title: Dak Draper vs. Josh Woods

Woods is defending and lists Draper up to start, sending him into the ropes for an early first break. They go with the grappling on the mat with Draper working on the ankle until Woods makes him spin out for a standoff. More grappling doesn’t go anywhere as they get up to strike it out. Draper hits a right hand to the face for the first illegal shot, setting up an apron superplex.

We take a break and come back with Woods in trouble in the corner and Draper down to one rope break. Draper hits a gutwrench suplex but Woods scores with a springboard kick to the face for a double knockdown. Woods hits the running strikes in the corner but Draper powerslams him for two.

Back up and Draper tries coming off the top, only to get kneed out of the air. Woods’ running knee connects, meaning Draper has to use his last rope break. A cross armbreaker goes on, with Draper powerbombing his way to freedom and a near fall. Draper gets up and gets caught in the Gorilla Slam out of nowhere to retain Woods’ title at 13:45.

Rating: B. These are guys who are tailor made for a match like this and they made it work as a result. The Castle stuff at the beginning was a big unnecessary but at least they turned the stakes up a bit. One of the best things about the show coming to an end is you don’t know what you’re going to see, and that was the case again here. Good match between two talented people.

Overall Rating: B. Another solid show, but they have to be running out of first run material. Odds are the Christmas show will be the big finale and that should be enough to carry us into the new year. That’s a shame as they have stayed on a roll for a long time now, but there is only so much that you can do with no fans and almost no income. Anyway, good stuff, as you should expect around here.

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