New Column: I’ll Die Before I Dishonor Brooklyn By Going Back To Takeover Summerslam
Three previews in one, meaning my fingers are rather tired.
Ring of Honor TV – August 10, 2016: They Nailed It
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of Honor
Date: August 10, 2016
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 850
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly
Opening sequence.
Will Ferrara vs. Jay White
White is, say it with me, from New Japan. Well at least from their Dojo. For some reason this is treated like his debut even though he was on ROH a few weeks back. White grabs a wristlock to start but Will gets up for a stalemate. A middle rope hurricanrana gets two for Ferrara but White starts twisting his wrist around to take over. Ferrara sends him outside though and a suicide dive takes us to a break. Back with Ferrara hitting a bouncing DDT but getting caught with a missile dropkick for another near fall. A loud dropkick and spinning Rock Bottom get two for White, followed by the Kiwi Crusher for the pin at 9:26.
We look back at Mark Briscoe beating ACH to become #1 contender for the TV Title.
The Addiction is ready to take care of the Motor City Machine Guns.
ROH World Title: Colt Cabana vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal is defending in a rematch after Adam Cole and the Young Bucks interfered last time. Feeling out process to start as they have a lot of time to work with here, save for an angle at the end that is. Lethal is sent outside in frustration and Cabana is nice enough to hold the ropes open for the champ.
Back in and Lethal dropkicks him outside to earn a nice face chant. Lethal holds the ropes open for Cabana and the fans are getting into the idea here. Back in again and we get some very obvious spot calling with Cabana hitting another dropkick to put Jay on the floor. They quickly switch places so Jay can hit back to back to back suicide dives and the fans are WAY into Lethal here. I think we can call that a successful face turn.
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Ring of Honor TV – July 13, 2016: They’re Back!
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of Honor
Date: July 13, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness
We open with stills from Lethal vs. Briscoe II where Lethal retained the title clean.
Jason Kincaid vs. Donovan Dijak
Back with Kincaid minus his shirt and getting thrown out of a suplex for a big crash. Another faceplant lets Kincaid come back again, setting up a seated Blockbuster to put Donovan on the floor. That means a suicide dive into a sunset bomb, followed by a springboard tornado DDT for two on Dijak back inside. That was a very flashy looking sequence and Kincaid gets even better by standing on the post for a super Diamond Dust (flipping Stunner). An armbar on the chokeslam arm has Dijak in trouble but he catches Kincaid coming off the top in Feast Your Eyes for the pin at 9:41.
ACH is ready to become #1 contender to the TV Title tonight.
Tag Team Titles: Addiction vs. Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young
Mark Briscoe vs. ACH
ACH runs way too far around the ring and jumps to the apron for a headscissors around the post. Back in and ACH tries a springboard in but Mark dropkicks him backwards as we take a break. We come back to ACH hitting a discus lariat in the corner before they fight over a suplex for a long time. Mark finally gets him over but bangs his own head in the process to put both guys down again.
Briscoe and Fish stare each other down to end the show.
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Ring of Honor TV – June 15, 2016: More Japan
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of Honor
Date: June 15, 2016
Location: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly, Mark Briscoe
Opening sequence.
Moose vs. Tetsuya Naito
Naito slides back in and teases a dive but stops to pose instead. I can go for a cocky heel who knows how to deal with a monster like this. The second dive actually works as Mark talks about wanting to fight Roderick Strong at Best in the World. Moose misses the spear as we take a break.
The All Night Express want to make wrestling great again and get rid of all the superkicks. Now this I can get behind.
Jushin Thunder Liger/Cheeseburger vs. All Night Express
Next week: ROH vs. Bullet Club.
The Bullet Club thinks Adam Cole should be in the main event at Best in the World and takes over the production stuff to let Cole talk about how awesome he is.
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Ring of Honor TV – February 17, 2016: An Actual Prospect
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of Honor
Date: February 17, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness
Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Jason Kincaid vs. Lio Rush
Will Ferrara/Caprice Coleman vs. Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young
Everything breaks down and Bruiser tries a superplex on Coleman, only to have Ferrara run in for a powerbomb. The Sky Splitter is broken up but here come the Boys (so much for selling a big beatdown) for a distraction, allowing Ferrara to DDT Bruiser on the floor. Now the Sky Splitter is enough to put Young away at 6:10.
We run down the PPV card, including a video of All Night Express beating War Machine via DQ to set up their No DQ match. The triple threat main event gets a quick video as well.
Mark Briscoe vs. Tim Hughes
ACH/Matt Sydal vs. Young Bucks
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Ring of Honor TV – January 27, 2016: Prospects Jumping Into Japanese Lawsuits About Burgers
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of Honor
Date: January 27, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling 3
Show pay per view. However, we’ve got something interesting for tonight as well with the start of the Top Prospect Tournament. This is an annual competition for newcomers (not necessarily rookies) and has led to the rises of names like Mike Bennett, Matt Taven and Donovan Dijak. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Brian Fury vs. Shaheem Ali
A wristlock doesn’t get Ali anywhere so he knees Fury in the head and gets two off a basement dropkick. Back up and Fury rolls him into the corner (because in today’s wrestling, it’s all about doing something to send someone into the corner), followed by a belly to back for two.
It might be cool if someone stands out over the rest but this was two guys doing moves to each other for a few minutes before one of them got a pin. I need more than that to care about a match and especially a tournament.
Here are Veda Scott and Cedric Alexander to brag about their victory in their lawsuit against Ring of Honor. Jonathan Gresham got lucky to beat Alexander, who deserves shots at the best talent in the world. That means an open challenge.
Cedric Alexander vs. Cheeseburger
Post match Cedric keeps beating on Cheeseburger until Jonathan Gresham comes out for the save. Veda sets up an impromptu match, which she can just do.
Cedric Alexander vs. Jonathan Gresham
Gresham follows the Cheeseburger plan by trying an early rollup, sending Cedric out to the floor. Back in and Cedric quickly bails again as this is barely a match. Cedric comes in again but walks into an Octopus Hold, drawing in Veda for the DQ at 1:45.
Alexander beats up Gresham after the match until referees make the save.
Nigel McGuinness is in the ring and talks about how many big wins Lethal has had in recent months, including AJ Styles and Michael Elgin. That brings him to the next challenger, which makes Nigel thinking of Kyle O’Reilly. That’s fine with Lethal because he’s beaten Kyle already but Nigel wasn’t finished. Kyle is indeed great, but he was defeated by Adam Cole at Final Battle, which makes Cole the new #1 contender.
He knows his battles with Kyle are over and that means O’Reilly will never be challenging for the World Title again. Lethal may have some great victories as champion but Cole isn’t on that list. Cole promises to win the title in Las Vegas but Nigel isn’t done. It’s true that Cole is the #1 contender, but Kyle isn’t done with Cole yet. Unless Adam is scared, there’s no reason to not make this a triple threat match.
Cue Kyle who is thankful for the title shot at the end of February, but what about the time between now and then? He wants a piece of both guys in Charlotte (the show is in Concord but close enough) so Nigel makes it ReDRagon vs. Jay Lethal/Adam Cole for some point in the near future.
We recap Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle and the saga over the Boys.
Jay Briscoe vs. Michael Elgin
They do at least mention that Nigel signed off on the change.
Jay Briscoe vs. Michael Elgin vs. Moose
Elgin slips off Moose’s shoulders and lifts him up into a powerbomb for two as Jay makes the save. Briscoe gets two on Elgin off a Death Valley Driver, only to have Moose spear Briscoe down. That leaves Elgin and Moose to clothesline each other until Elgin clotheslines Jay instead. Elgin goes after Moose though, allowing Jay to backslide Michael for the pin at 9:37.
It’s still an entertaining show though and goes by quickly, which is all you can ask for.
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Ring of Honor TV – January 20, 2016: Thy Kingdom Goes Away
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of Honor
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 – December 23, 2015: Time To Open Presents
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of Honor
Date: December 23, 2015
Location: Tennessee State Fair Grounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Prince Nana
Will Ferrara vs. Caprice Coleman
Ferrara grabs a chair but gets sent into the barricade instead. A hard running dropkick drives Ferrara head first into the barricade again as this is far more violent than you would expect. Back in and Caprice rolls some northern lights suplexes to send Ferrara into the corner. Will breaks up a few Sky Splitter attempts by slamming Coleman off the top, only to have both guys grab chairs. The quick duel draws a no contest at 3:23.
Jay Lethal and the House of Truth are opening boxes to determine who are on their team in the ten man tag. They think Moose is in a big box but they get Cheeseburger instead. I like the idea here.
Donovan Dijak/Ken Phoenix vs. All Night Express
Titus and Phoenix get things going with Rhett taking him down into a headscissors. Phoenix sends Titus outside where Dijak gets in a few cheap shots, allowing Ken to baseball slide him down. Dijak comes in for the power game but throws in a superkick to keep his modern wrestler card.
Post match Martini gives Phoenix the thumbs down, earning him a Feast Your Eyes from Dijak. The House of Truth leaves and Nana gives Dijak another envelope.
Jay Lethal/Cheeseburger/Adam Page/Cliff Compton/Jay Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong/Cedric Alexander/Mark Briscoe/Moose/Matt Jackson
We take a break and come back with Lethal tagging in Cheeseburger to face Alexander, who immediately tags out to Moose. Cheeseburger tries with everything he can until Moose casually launches him into the corner. Matt comes in for some slams before Strong slams everyone onto Cheeseburger in a cool sequence. Nana: “Cheeseburger looks like a broken poodle dog!” Cheeseburger stops some charges in the corner and flips out of two suplexes in a row, allowing the tag to Jay Briscoe.
Rating: B-. This was exactly what it was supposed to be with everyone working hard and giving the fans something fun to end the meaningless show. Those showdowns with Briscoe vs. Briscoe and Briscoe vs. Moose were interesting and made things feel more special than they should have otherwise. Fun match here and it did everything it was supposed to do.
The winners praise Cheeseburger to end the show.
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Ring of Honor – July 15, 2015: Rednecks And Real Men
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of Honor
Date: July 15, 2015
Location: Terminal 5, New York City, New York
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly
Opening sequence.
Adam Page vs. Matt Sydal
Post match Whitmer comes in for the beatdown but ACH tries to make a save. This goes very badly as Colby throws in a bunch of chairs to help with the beatdown, capped off by the reverse piledriver on Sydal onto the chairs. King Corino freaks out and tells his kid to stop.
We run down the Death Before Dishonor card.
Silas Young vs. Will Ferrara
TV Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal
We come back with Roderick Strong on commentary to bore everyone to death. Mark suplexes the champ down and kicks him in the chest, only to have the House of Truth come in for a distraction so Lethal can take over. We hit the chinlock followed by a front facelock until Mark nails a running clothesline. Jay superkicks him in the jaw to stop the comeback but the Lethal Injection is countered with a German suplex to send him outside. A Cactus Jack elbow takes us to our second break of the match.
Back again with ODB and Martini getting into it again and Jay Briscoe taking out Jay (PICK A NEW FIRST NAME) Diesel, allowing the Froggy Bow (frog splash elbow) to get two on the champ. ODB gets wiped out and Diesel hits Mark low, setting up the Lethal Injection (that stupid handspring RKO) to retain the title at 16:45.
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ROH Supercard of Honor VIII: Man Up And Go Away
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of Honor VIII
Date: April 4, 2014
Location: Alario Center, Westwego, Louisiana
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, Steve Corino
We start with a YES chant as the announcers run down the card.
Cedric Alexander vs. Roderick Strong
Rating: C+. The match was going well but the camera showing the misses at the end really brought it down for me. You could see that the dropkick missed live but the cameras made the finish look a lot worse. Still though, I liked the idea they were going for here and it was a fast paced opener which got the crowd going.
Post match Jimmy Jacobs agrees that that was wrestling (another stretch) and says you can learn exactly what NOT to do by watching Cedric Alexander. You can learn how to get started in this company by watching Adam Page however. Alexander almost comes back into the ring but Jacobs orders him out of their building. Jacobs advises Adrenaline Rush and Andrew Everett to take a lesson from Alexander in what NOT to do.
Decade vs. Adrenaline Rush/Andrew Everett
ACH wants to start with Jacobs but Jimmy tags in Page after swearing a bit. They start fast with ACH nailing some fast armdrags into a nipup for a standoff. Off to the powerful BJ Whitmer who knocks ACH into the corner. Some dropkicks have little effect on BJ so ACH actually points into the air to distract him before dropkicking the knee out. Whitmer bails to the floor, allowing Jacobs to come in and knocks ACH to the floor.
Jacobs gets his spike post match and goes after Thomas until an injured ACH makes the save.
We recap Truth Martini vs. Matt Taven. Martini is a heel manager who led Taven to the TV Title, but after losing the belt they parted ways with Taven firing Truth. Tonight Martini is back with a mystery wrestler to take care of Taven.
Matt Taven vs. ???
Silas Young vs. RD Evans
Mike Bennett and Maria promise to make Mark Briscoe feel pain tonight. He promises a new submission to put Chicken Briscoe down.
Mike Bennett vs. Mark Briscoe
Intermission, during which Nigel McGuinness was working the merchandise stand. This ran about twenty minutes but they cut it out here for obvious reasons.
Speaking of Nigel, he replaced Corino on commentary for the second half of the show.
Forever Hooligans vs. ReDragon vs. Hanson/Raymond Rowe
Rating: B-. This was an insane tag match but it went on a bit too long. It was entertaining enough but I would have gone with the title match here instead of the #1 contenders match. Still though, this was another fun spot fest with some power added in to balance things out in a nice addition.
Replays show that Fish had a handful of trunks.
TV Title: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jay Lethal
Ciampa is defending and this is 2/3 falls. This is where the fans were getting restless as you could see a lot of them looking at their phones and the chants started to die a bit. Ciampa takes off his knee brace for the first time since his injury in a symbolic move. Feeling out process to start as they trade headlocks and rollups for two each. A hiptoss puts the champion down and Lethal cartwheels over to a standoff.
Michael Elgin vs. Kevin Steen
Winner gets an IWGP Title shot at Global Wars in May. Elgin is one of the few ROH guys I really like but Steen is pretty much the top star in ROH. Steen immediately tries the Package Piledriver but Elgin fights out, only to get caught by a Cannonball in the corner for two. You can tell this is going to be a power brawl. They head to the floor with Elgin being thrown into the barricade which is knocked into the crowd.
Steen is STUNNED and takes too long going up top, allowing Elgin to block a Cannonball with knees. A sitout powerbomb gets Elgin another near fall so he loads up a superplex. Steen fights back AGAIN and hits a top rope brainbuster. The kickout shocks everyone again but Elgin is able to counter a Package Piledriver into a triple bomb. Another powerbomb and a lariat set up a buckle bomb on Steen, followed by a Package Piledriver to FINALLY pin Steen.
Steen takes awhile to get up and receives a THANK YOU BOTH chant.
The main event took awhile to set up so a bit was cut out here.
ROH World Title: Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Cole
The heels pose to end the show.
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