Ring Of Honor TV – November 17, 2021: Righteous Brother

Ring of Honor
Date: November 17, 2021
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Silas Young

The long march to Final Battle continues as we are still in the post-Death Before Dishonor TV tapings. In other words, these are still matches from before all of the company’s future went away, so there might still be a little something here. Then again, I’m not sure how much hope that really is. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and gives us the rundown.

Caprice Coleman vs. Beer City Bruiser

This is Coleman’s first singles match in a long time and Bruiser has Brian Milonas and Ken Dixon with him. Before the match, Bruiser says Coleman wasn’t an official entrant in the Honor Rumble so he was never eliminated and should be #1 contender. Coleman comes to the ring and Bruiser laughs at the idea of Coleman getting back in the ring….so he can face Dixon instead.

Caprice Coleman vs. Ken Dixon

Dixon is in jeans and the Bouncers are at ringside. Feeling out process to start as they go to the mat with Dixon not being able to get very far. We take a break and come back with Coleman hitting a basement shoulder, setting up a legdrop for two. Milonas offers a distraction so Bruiser can add a clothesline to give Dixon control for a change.

A fall away slam gives Dixon two and we hit the chinlock. Backup and the clothesline comeback is on but Father Time (cobra clutch Russian legsweep) is broken up. Dixon sends him outside but Coleman flips backwards into a headscissors to drop Dixon on the floor. Back in and Father Time sets up the cobra clutch but the Bruiser comes in for the DQ at 8:01.

Rating: C. Coleman getting back in the ring is somewhat interesting, but it’s not like he was the biggest star in Ring of Honor history. The good thing is that he can still get in the ring and look just fine, which was the case here. Odds are he can get in a big match with Bruiser down the line, which should work well for a TV main event.

We recap Flip Gordon losing his memory and taking potions to get his memory back. If ANY of this has been mentioned on TV since it happened, I haven’t been paying close enough attention.

PJ Black is taking care of Gordon’s memory troubles.

PJ Black/Flip Gordon vs. OGK

Taven and Gordon start things off as Gordon doesn’t seem impressed. Gordon grabs a headlock but Taven talks his way out of it, allowing the tag to Black. OGK gets together for a double dropkick but Black grabs a wristlock. A tag (with the foot) brings in Gordon, who has to be told to come in off the top to work on the arm. Back from a break with Gordon and Bennett trading chops but Black breaks up a spike piledriver attempt. Black comes back in for a springboard moonsault into a double reverse layout DDT.

Bennett’s spear gives Taven two and a running kick to the face gives Bennett two of his own. A backbreaker/top rope elbow combination gives Taven two more and Bennett’s brainbuster gets the same. Black is fine enough to roll over for the hot tag off to Gordon, who springboards in to take OGK down. House is cleaned but Gordon has to bail out of the 450. Instead, he puts Taven on his shoulders for a Doomsday Canadian Destroyer but Bennett makes the save. Black gets sent outside though and it’s a spike piledriver to finish Gordon at 9:43.

Rating: C+. The match was good, though this Gordon thing is straight out of nowhere, at least on this show. It’s also not exactly like Ring of Honor, which rarely does the wacky stipulations like this one. OGK continues their roll though and it’s great to see a good team like them getting their chance to shine.

Honor For All rundown.

Righteous vs. Foundation

Vincent/Bateman/Dutch vs. Jonathan Gresham/Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus. Vincent and Titus start but Gresham comes in before anything happens. Hold on though as Vincent grabs the mic and tells Jay Lethal, on the floor, to come stand in the right corner. That’s a no, so Vincent shows a clip of Lethal saying he doesn’t even like the Foundation.

Tracy walks Lethal to the back as Lethal protests, allowing the Righteous to jump the other two. The beating takes us to a break and we come back with Gresham being sent into the corner for a stomping, followed by some choking to make it worse. Gresham rolls over and brings in Williams to clean house, including a discus lariat to Vincent, who isn’t legal. Dutch comes in and cleans house, allowing Vincent to hit some running forearms in the corner. Redrum gets two, with Gresham needing a double save.

We take a break and come back with Vincent hitting a basement Downward Spiral for two on Gresham, including another save. The hot tag brings in Titus for a half crab on Bateman but Dutch drives Gresham into them for the save. Dutch Jackhammers Titus and Bateman adds Orange Sunshine. A ripcord Boss Man Slam finishes Titus at 12:25.

Rating: B-. Pretty good stuff here, with the Righteous being the latest group to get a bunch of TV time. That’s not a bad thing either as the team is just off enough that it makes you want to see more of them. I liked the match a good bit, as the Foundation continues to be the kind of team that does not have a bad match no matter what happens.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty nice hour of TV here, but the lack of a future is really dragging it down. It’s hard to get excited about much of this, even if this is still the television taping from before the big news broke. I’m not sure how long the next cycle is going to go on for, but it could make for a pretty lifeless time if everything is just a bunch of cold matches.

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Ring Of Honor TV – August 25, 2021: So Much For The Story

Ring of Honor
Date: August 25, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s another step closer to Death Before Dishonor and that means the card needs to be set. Ring of Honor has a tendency to take their sweet time with some of these things and that can be frustrating, but odds are this week’s show will continue focusing on the Women’s Title tournament. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with a recap of last week’s pretty good Champions vs. All Stars match.

Ian Riccaboni runs down the card, featuring two Women’s Title tournament quarterfinal matches.

Quinn McKay and Rok-C get into it over a matter of respect.

Women’s Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Quinn McKay vs. Rok-C

They shake hands to start and lock up to go technical early on. Rok-C grabs a bridging hammerlock but gets reversed with a hammerlock into a headlock. That’s reversed into a headlock from Rok-C, which is broken up as well and it’s another standoff. A knee to the ribs gives Rok-C two but McKay scores with some running shoulders to put Rok-C down. McKay powers her to the mat with a test of strength for some near falls but Rok-C runs the corner for an armdrag.

We take a break and come back with McKay holding her knee and the referee checking on her. Rok-C elbows her in the corner and an elbow drop gets two. McKay’s quick Tangerine Dream attempt doesn’t work and Rok-C is back with a Thesz press and some right hands to the face. A neckbreaker gives McKay two and she pulls Rok-C out of the air for a spinebuster. They fight over a backslide until McKay’s knee gives out, allowing Rok-C to grab a Code Red for the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C. And that’s Ring of Honor’s women’s division summed up in a single match: They have ONE STORY that is interesting in the whole tournament and now McKay is out in the first round. Rok-C is the more polished wrestler and it makes sense from a skill standpoint, but the entire women’s division has been built around McKay and the Allure. If they think Angelina Love is the big star of a women’s division in 2021, I have no idea why they’re going for. This was taking away the thing they have focused on more than anything else since the division came back.

Women’s Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Miranda Alize vs. Nicole Savoy

Alize says she’ll win and Savoy says they’re friends and ex-roommates but she’s giving it all she can. They go to the mat to start with Savoy’s kneebar attempt sending Alize to the ropes. A top wristlock takes Alize down again so she bites the finger to escape. They trade rollups for two each as they’re somehow in a fast paced first gear. Alize sends her out to the apron and hits a dropkick to the floor, where Savoy grabs a suplex.

We take a break and come back with Alize getting two off a basement dropkick but Savoy grabs a fall away slam. That means we can look at commentary for a bit before coming back to Alize hammering away to win the slugout. Savoy doesn’t seem to mind and rolls some butterfly suplexes for two. Alize snaps on a Crossface, which is quickly escaped, setting up a Michinoku Driver to give Savoy two. They take their time getting up until Savoy dives into a superkick. Alize gets her own two off a DDT and the Drive By finishes Savoy at 13:04.

Rating: C+. Pretty good back and forth match here with Alize’s striking against Savoy’s suplexing. Alize has some good charisma and has been one of the brighter spots in the tournament so far. Savoy is a bigger name and has a reputation from her independent career, but Alize came off as the star here and should have moved on.

The Bouncers and Ken Dixon are ready to take over like never before. Dixon seems to be a bit of a third wheel but all they care about is winning.

Demonic Flamita vs. Rey Horus

No DQ. Flamita promises to bury him and Horus promises to show he is better. They go right to the chop off to start and Horus grabs a sunset flip for two. Flamita takes him down though and grabs a chair, which is kicked into his face. Horus’ dive is knocked out of the air with a chair shot though and Flamita sends him hard into the barricade. There’s a face first drop onto the chair on the apron and a table is set up at ringside.

Back in and Flamita grabs a suplex for two before striking down a comeback attempt. Horus is sent face first into a chair in the corner but he’s fine enough to pelt the chair at Flamita’s head. A big dive takes out Flamita as we go to a break. Back with Horus posting him hard and blasting him with a few chair shots. There’s a high crossbody for two back inside but Flamita nails a superkick into a butterfly backbreaker.

Horus is right back with a running tornado DDT, which has commentary questioning gravity. They head to the apron for the chop off and then to the top….where Flamita hits a super Spanish Fly through the table for the crazy spot of the match. Somehow that only gets two so it’s a Phoenix splash to finish Horus at 12:08. Not much of a need for the splash after the big spot just a few seconds earlier.

Rating: B-. They beat each other up rather well and, if you ignore the rather unnecessary kickout at the end, it was a heck of a fight. It’s a good way to build up Flamita for a possible match with Bandido and that should help both of them out quite a bit. Good main event here, which felt like a pretty definitive Flamita victory.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a pretty well balanced show with two tournament matches and the grudge match main event. I’m still not feeling the tournament and the McKay loss took away a lot of the interest, but the main event made up for enough. The worst of the three matches was certainly fine enough, but it would be nice to get some of the big stuff set up for Death Before Dishonor.

 

 

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Ring Of Honor TV – July 28, 2021: Not The New Normal

Ring of Honor
Date: July 28, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

These shows run together pretty badly most weeks, but I’m kind of looking forward to watching it most weeks. It feels like a show where you know you’re going to get something at least pretty good, putting it ahead of most these days. Coming in with low expectations and leaving happy is not a bad thing so maybe the can continue their streak here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We recap Mandy Leon cheating to beat Quinn McKay last week, with an assist from Angelina Love.

The Allure laughs off the idea that McKay was a challenge and that’s it for her.

Quinn McKay keeps the welcome short this week because she got hit in the head with brass knuckles. The only thing more painful than that is knowing her chances to be Women’s Champion are gone. We get the show rundown as usual.

Flip Gordon vs. World Famous CB

Before the match, Gordon says he has nothing to say until he gets his World Title shot. CB promises to make Gordon a victim. Gordon drives him into the corner to start before going to the test of strength. Some flipping around gives CB two and we take a break. Back with CB grabbing a few armdrags into an armbar, setting up some arm cranking.

Gordon isn’t having that and kicks CB into the corner for the boot choking. They head outside with Gordon hitting an ax handle off the barricade but missing a charge into the post back inside. CB is smart enough to go right back to the arm, including a hard stomp. Gordon has had it though and hits a quick Kinder Surprise, setting up Submit To Flip for the tap at 11:13.

Rating: C. This was a fine enough match with Gordon getting a win after shaking off some trouble. The problem here was Gordon was in trouble with the arm and then suddenly went to his finishers. You shouldn’t have a ton of issues with CB, but the transition to the ending could have been better. They’re doing a good job at getting the STF over though, which should work well in the World Title match.

The Bouncers and Ken Dixon invade the commentary booth and demand they be talked about a lot more. They’re coming for the Six Man and Tag Team Titles.

Flip Gordon still has nothing to say.

Sledge vs. PCO

Danhausen is on commentary (oh dear). Sledge isn’t impressed by PCO, who shouts a lot and seems to promise violence. Oh and IT’S ALIVE IT’S ALIVE! PCO takes him down to start, with Danhausen taking credit for the mat skills. Sledge is back up with some shots to the face, which Danhausen would not recommend.

A hard collision sends us to a break and we come back with PCO hitting a powerslam into a running basement dropkick for two. They chop it out as Danhausen talks about how PCO can help him get more bags of money. A running corner clothesline sets up a t-bone suplex but PCO pops back up. PCO wins a slugout and hits some Vader running body attacks but the chokeslam is blocked.

Instead PCO shoves him outside as Danhausen has to get around swearing. The flip dive onto the apron actually connects to crush Sledge again, who is driven into the apron a few times. A poke to the eyes gets Sledge out of trouble and he drops PCO onto the concrete. PCO is back up (as he tends to do) and they shove the referee for the double DQ at 12:16.

Rating: C. This is the kind of thing I can go for as they beat each other up rather hard for a long time. They went with the hoss fight here and that’s about as good as you’re going to get out of PCO at the moment. PCO has a weird charisma to him but he can only do so much. It was a fun brawl though, and that’s what PCO should be doing.

Post match, the brawl is on again and has to be broken up by security.

Post break, Sledge says that isn’t over.

Dak Draper vs. Dalton Castle vs. Eli Isom

The Six Man Tag Team Title challengers from Best In The World explodes. Draper wants titles and blames the other two for not having them. Isom knew something was up with the other two. Castle promises to make people take notice. The dancing Boys rip off Castle’s shirt and we’re ready to go. It’s a brawl to start with Draper knocking Castle outside and Isom doing the same to Draper.

Isom follows with a dive but Castle is back in with a suplex to send Isom into the corner. Draper adds a flapjack to Isom and kicks Castle off the apron, meaning it’s time for some Boys attention. Castle comes back in to start throwing suplexes but Isom catches him on top with a dropkick.

A belly to back suplex brings Castle back down, only to have Draper kick Isom in the face. Back in and Isom hits a spinning belly to back suplex to drop Draper. Another dropkick puts Draper on the floor and there’s a middle rope moonsault to take him down again. Castle is back with a chair to Isom but Draper isn’t having that. The Boys get on the apron and it’s the Magnum Drop to plant Isom for the pin at 6:50, which seems to please the Boys (and maybe Castle).

Rating: C. Nothing much to see here, but the ending seems to suggest something is up with Draper and Castle. Or maybe not as Castle can be a little weird. Draper winning is nice to see, but hopefully it does not mean the end for Isom. He has been a lot of fun to watch as he rises up the ranks, but I could see a longer Draper vs. Isom feud too.

We run down the Women’s Championship tournament lineup to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. It’s not often that everything gets the same rating and it’s all in the middle in this case. That’s a good way to put this show: completely average with nothing you need to see, though at least some things were moved forward. It was definitely weaker than their recent efforts, but it was by no means a bad show. It’s nice to not have to worry about things sliding down again, as I have every confidence things will be back to normal (as in the new normal) next week.

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Ring Of Honor TV – May 5, 2021: That’s Pretty Deep

Ring of Honor
Date: May 5, 2021
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We continue on the road to whatever the next pay per view is down the line because Ring of Honor doesn’t do very many of them. At the same time, the faction wars continue and another battle takes place this week as Tony Deppen of Violence Unlimited gets a TV Title shot against Tracy Williams of the Foundation. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and runs down the card. Actually she has a personal note though, as she will not be here next week because she will be facing Angelina Love instead. So she’ll be here but not….here. Dang that’s kind of deep.

Bandido vs. Flamita

Yeah this should work, as this is fallout from Flamita walking out on Bandido in a recent tag match. Flamita says it’s time for Bandido to feel his heat while Bandido, rather politely, says things can’t be repaired. They go straight to the forearm off to start but neither can hit a kick to the face. Instead it’s a staredown and some yelling in Spanish. Flamita manages a dropkick to the floor and there’s the big dive to take Bandido out again.

We take a break and come back with Flamita hitting a running kick to the face in the corner for two but Bandido is back with the really spinning headscissors. Flamita falls outside so Bandido hits the big dive, allowing him to wrap Flamita’s leg around the post. There’s a broom (yes a broom) shot to the knee but Flamita’s knee is fine enough to crotch him on the barricade. Just to show off, Bandido stands up on the barricade and snaps off a hurricanrana to Flamita, also standing on said barricade.

They both dive in to beat the count and it’s time to forearm it out. Flamita gets the better of things and knocks him down, setting up a quick 450. A MuscleBuster is countered into a kneebar, which is broken up in a hurry as well. They kick it out until they go down for a double breather. Back up and the referee gets bumped, allowing Flamita to hit a rather hard low blow. Flamita puts a boot on Bandido’s face for the pin at 14:24.

Rating: B-. The main point here was to make Flamita out to be a full on heel after Bandido suggested that they could be ok. Now the fact that they had a pretty awesome match with all of the flips and dives you would expect just makes it that much better. I’m still not entirely sure that they needed to split up Mexisquad but I can go for these two doing their crazy spots over and over again for a long time to come.

Beer City Bruiser/Ken Dixon vs. OGK

Before the match, Mike Bennett tries to calm Matt Taven down because he can’t get sidetracked from the Tag Team Title shot they are probably going to get. Dixon jumps Taven to start and stomps away in the corner until Taven snaps off a dropkick. A TKO across the top rope rocks Dixon again and something like a Blue Thunder Bomb gets two. Bennett comes in for a clothesline but it’s off to Bruiser for a big right hand and an “I’M THE BEER CITY BRUISER!” as we take a break.

Back with Dixon pounding Bennett until a quick Death Valley Driver gets him out of trouble. The hot tag brings in Taven to start cleaning house, including a swinging neckbreaker to Bruiser. Just The Tip gets two on Bruiser and everything breaks down. Taven misses Aurora Borealis on Bruiser and it’s back to Dixon to knock Bennett off the apron. Dixon plants Taven with a powerslam for no cover and OGK is right back up with a backpack Stunner/enziguri combination finishes Dixon at 11:40.

Rating: C. Dixon and Bruiser are fine as midcard villains but I’m not sure how far they are going to go. Granted it doesn’t help to have them in this kind of a spot as they are going to lose to a bigger team like OGK. Taven and Bennett work well together and I could see them getting into the Tag Team Title picture in a hurry.

Post match Taven hits Bruiser in the head with the beer bottle to even the score. Cue Brawler Milonas to glare at OGK and help Bruiser up, telling him that he was right all along. Milonas takes Dixon out and the Bouncers seem to be back, as they probably should be.

TV Title: Tony Deppen vs. Tracy Williams

Deppen is challenging and Williams takes him straight to the mat to start. An armbar goes on but gets broken up in a hurry as Deppen kicks his way off the rope. Back up and the rope break gets Deppen out of trouble but he talks a lot of trash. That earns him a series of strikes into the corner, setting up a Gory Stretch to put Deppen in more trouble.

We take a break and come back with Deppen snapping the neck over the top. They strike it out on the apron until Deppen enziguris him to the floor. The running cannonball staggers Williams and there’s a high crossbody to make it worse. Deppen chops away and puts Williams on top, where he DDTs him onto the buckle for a cool counter.

The Crossface goes on but Deppen crawls over for the rope. They slug it out again until Williams grabs a Death Valley Driver for two. Deppen punches him down and sets up a one armed Cattle Mutilation, with Williams having to slip out. The piledriver connects but Deppen goes to the rope as well. Williams is livid and slugs away but Deppen grabs a cradle for the pin and the title at 14:26.

Rating: C+. Good back and forth match here with the story seeing Deppen wrestling a regular match and Williams being so used to Pure Rules that he was thrown off. You have to give the new stable something and Williams is going to be fine based on his in-ring skills alone. Ring of Honor doesn’t change its titles very often so this felt like the important moment that it should have.

Violence Unlimited comes out to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Ring of Honor continues to be one of the better shows around, even if it doesn’t exactly feel like a big deal. They use their talent in the right way though and the stories are easy enough to get into while also having some history to them. Good show here and it felt like a lot of things moved forward, which is not what you would expect from a weekly show most of the time.

 

 

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Ring of Honor TV – December 30, 2020: Merry Holidays

Ring of Honor
Date: December 30, 2020
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time for a Christmas special with the annual Christmas Surprise tag team match. In other words, there will be two captains (the Briscoes in this case) and they will draw four names to make a random ten man tag. That’s better than having some random singles matches to fill in time until we get to the Final Battle fallout. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

It’s time to pick some names, so Jay Briscoe picks….well we’ll find out later.

Eric Martin and Ken Dixon are rookies from the ROH Dojo and while they don’t have a ton of experience. Martin likes to take it to people but seems a bit low key. Dixon on the other hand is a bit of a good old boy who likes the idea of getting paid for something that would usually get you arrested.

Dante Caballero and Joe Keys are from the MCW Training Center and they know Dixon from training. They started wrestling together but found out that they were in over their head. Jonathan Gresham helped them take away everything else and get back to basics. Tonight they’re here to prove that they belong.

Dante Caballero/Joe Keys vs. Eric Martin/Ken Dixon

They’re all in the basic black trunks because Ring of Honor REALLY wants to be New Japan. Caballero and Dixon go to the mat to start with Caballero getting two off a hammerlock into a crucifix. Martin comes in and it’s some double teaming to put Caballero in trouble in the corner. A quick escape allows the tag to Keys, who is dropkicked down in a hurry. Dixon shoulders Keys down for two and a hard whip into the corner sends us to a break. Back with Dixon coming in again and letting Keys make the tag.

Keys slams Martin down and dives over for the tag to Caballero to start the comeback. The Crossface is broken up by Dixon, who snaps off a powerslam for two on Caballero. The hot tag brings Keys back in and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker hits Dixon. There’s a Swan Dive to Dixon as well but it bangs Keys up at the same time. He’s fine enough to grab a half crab, which is broken up in a hurry too. Caballero comes back in with a spear though and a half crab makes Dixon tap at 12:14.

Rating: C. The match was your standard run of the mill low level tag match, but can we please drop the “we’ve stripped them of their identities deal?” I know it’s what New Japan does and ROH loves itself some New Japan, but these people have a history and Caballero was already in the Top Prospect Tournament with his full deal. It’s ok to do something of your own instead of copying someone else. Stop overthinking it.

Mark Briscoe doesn’t like that his older brother got first pick of the presents but he seems happy with his choices too.

Brian Johnson joins commentary and has Team Bozo shirts for Ian and Caprice.

Team Mark vs. Team Jay

Team Mark: Mark Briscoe, Beer City Bruiser, Dak Draper, Tracy Williams, Dalton Castle

Team Jay: Jay Briscoe, Flip Gordon, Brawler Milonas, John Walters, PCO

In a nice bonus, each wrestler’s stats are replaced with their Christmas wish list. I can always appreciate little touches like that as they show some thinking and effort. Walters and Williams go technical (stunning indeed) to start with Williams snapping off an armdrag for a standoff. Draper comes in and gets dropkicked by Gordon, who grabs a choke for a bonus. Milonas comes in and gets to face…..the Bruiser, as the Colossal Jostle is on. Bruiser gets knocked down but misses the legdrop, setting up the stereo crossbodies.

Castle, in a turtleneck, comes in to face PCO and I want these two in a buddy cop comedy. PCO doesn’t like being sent into the buckle as commentary brags about Jim Cornette’s endorsement. We take a break and come back with a fired up PCO saying bring it on. Castle thinks about it but hands it off to Mark instead. Jay comes in as well and it’s time to run the ropes. That doesn’t suit them though and the slugout is on, drawing in everyone else for more of the same.

Flip hits a big springboard flip dive onto Bruiser, followed by PCO diving onto just about everyone. Back in and Jay uppercuts Mark, followed by Walters getting two off an elbow to the face. PCO comes in to whip Mark into the corner but Mark elbows Walters down and hands it off to Bruiser as we take another break. Back again with Mark chopping at Walters as commentary wonders about a Briscoe Family Christmas. Ian: “Family matters to the Briscoes.” Johnson: “Family matters? Urkel wouldn’t even hang out with those two!” Ian: “Well Laura would.” And that’s why I smile at Ian Riccaboni’s commentary.

The nerve hold has Walters in trouble and a chokeslam into a cutter (cool) puts Walters down again. That makes everything break down and we hit the parade of secondary finishers. Walters triangle chokes Williams but Bruiser breaks it up with a frog splash. PCO runs Draper over and finishes with the PCOsault at 17:31.

Rating: B-. This was the usual fun, completely irrelevant and entertaining match that we always get out of the Christmas special. You don’t need to do anything more than have a laid back match here but there are enough people to set up some interesting matchups. It’s a fun tradition and they did well with it here so nice job.

Overall Rating: C+. It’s a Christmas special so it isn’t the kind of show you can complain about all that much. The main event was fun and the opener was fine (annoying visuals aside) and….well what else are you wanting on a show like this? They always take a break around Christmas and this was perfectly acceptable all around.

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:

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