ROH TV Episode 134

ROH pimps Supercard of Honor VIII hard out gate. Lethal hypes his showdown with Tommaso Ciampa for the ROH TV title in a best two out of three falls match. Lethal had Ciampa beat twice but for some unfortunate circumstances. Can he do it again? Let's find out.

This week's episode is a highlight reel form Supercard of Honor VIII, in fact. Looks like ROH got a quick turn around on this after some problems getting the Video on Demand up.

Silas Young vs. RD Evans (w/ Veda Scott & Ramon)

The crowd loves RD Evans. Silas tries to take care of business early on, going straight for the Nagasaki roll. Evans escapes that and boots Silas in the face. Not that it does much to slow Silas. Silas vertical suplexes Evans when Veda pulls his foot out from under him, letting Evans collapse onto him. Now he's pissed. Silas gives chase around the ring. Ramon tries to stop Silas. Silas backs him into a corner when Evans comes flying off the ring apron, wiping out the both of them. 

Evans rolls Silas back into the ring. He goes to the top only for Silas to cut him off. Silas throws him to the middle of the ring then lays in the boots. He screams at Evans as he chokes him, "I'm the last real man!" Silas is big on that. 

Evans and Silas do battle on the ring apron, trading blows. Silas ducks under a wild right that spins Evans around then scoops him up on his shoulders in an electric chair position. Silas drops back, slamming Evans into the ring apron and then down to the mats outside. Evans scrapes himself off the ground as the ref counts him out. It gets all the way to nineteen before Evans gets in. 

Frustration mounts for Silas. He kicks the bottom turnbuckle in rage. He approaches Evans but the wry lawyer pulls him into a small package. Two count, a shade away from three. Silas punts Evans in the face for that one. Silas puts Evans up on his shoulders again and Veda Scott is there like before. She gets up on the apron, distracting the referee. Ramon tosses Evans his belt. Evans swings for the fences but Silas ducks under it and boots him in the gut. 

Silas grabs the belt up from the ground. The ref is still dealing with Veda, so he's oblivious to the wrestlers behind him. Thinking fast, Evans claps his hands together and flops around in pain, acting like Silas just whipped him.  The ref turns around to see Evans writhing in pain while Silas has a belt in his hands. Silas pleads his case, saying he didn't do it. Evans sneaks up behind him and rolls him into a schoolboy pin. Two count again.  Silas, strap still in the hand, swings for Evans. Evans ducks and referee Paul Turner gets a strap to the face. 

Evans drops Silas with a hangman's neckbreaker. He makes the cover and the crowd chants the pin. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. The ref never makes the count. Silas gets Evans up on his shoulders again. He hits the Nagasaki roll, pops up to his feet, and nails the Pee Gee Waja plunge. A second ref storms in and makes the count. One, two, three! The streak is over! Only Paul Turner is back up. He says no. Turner reverses the decision, disqualifying Silas. The streak goes on, 83-0!

Match Rating: **1/2 Tons of fun. Evans bumps around for Silas. Silas looks like a pure ass kicker up to snuff with his moniker. Evans' near falls get the crowd every time. The finish is a bit messy/anti-climactic with the referee's reversal, but it's for the best. Evans keeps his streak, Silas is the better man.

Truth Martini cuts an ominous promo on Taven. He says he doesn't walk alone for long, so Taven better be ready for a surprise. The House of Truth is getting a new member. 

Matt Taven vs. ???? (w/ Truth Martini)

Truth comes out before his charge does. He's all alone, leaving us in suspense as we wait for the next House of Truth member. Truth calls Kevin Kelly into the ring. Corino figures Kelly must be the mystery opponent. Kelly is as confused as Taven. Truth opens up his book, giving some parting words. Taven cuts him off, slamming the book shut, saying no one wants to hear this. He sets the Book of Truth on fire. That puts Truth into a rage. He blindsides Taven with a swift low blow kick. 

Taven searches the back of the building, desperately looking for Truth. He goes into the men's restroom, where you hear Taven screaming in pain. Truth comes out, cool as a cucumber. "I'm not fired, you're fired." ROH personnel yell for a paramedic. 

ROH shows highlights of Tommaso Ciampa's European excursion, defending the TV title in WXW and Preston City Wrestling. The Ciampa-Lethal match is next.

Best Two Out Of Three Falls - ROH TV Title- Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Jay Lethal

Ciampa takes his knee brace off and puts it in Lethal's outstretched hand instead of adhering to the Code of Honor. The two lock up. Lethal pushes Ciampa back until they break in the corner. Lethal shoots Ciampa off the ropes; Ciampa shoulders him down. They aren't exactly feeling each other out early on. Lethal tries a La Magistral cradle only for Ciampa to catch him and pin his shoulders to the mat. Two count, but Lethal rolls through and takes it into a pin of his own for two.  

Ciampa ducks under Lethal's leg when the latter tries a springboard kick. The two keep countering and evading each other, showing how much they learned in previous encounters. Lethal hits his signature dive to the outside. He hits it again when Ciampa rises. The crowd chants for one more time. He goes back in, lines up a third try and hits it. Ciampa bowls over the railings and into the crowd. 

Lethal chops Ciampa across the chest outside of the ring when a commercial break ends. Ciampa shoves him into the ring post to cut that out, then sits Lethal down in the corner. Ciampa goes to the far end of the ring, makes a mad dash at Lethal, and hits him with a hard rising knee with so much momentum that Ciampa rolls over the railings and into the crowd again. Ciampa brings Lethal back into the ring for a pin attempt that gets two. Lethal reverses an irish whip, hip tosses Ciampa, cartwheels, then drop kicks him in the face. He chops Ciampa hard across the chest. Lethal continues to target Ciampa's chest with drop kicks, chops, and an elbow drop. Lethal hits an enzuigiri out of nowhere that buckles Ciampa's knees. Lethal tries a surprise Lethal Injection , only for CIampa to pull him down into a lungblower. It doesn't land cleanly at all. Ciampa holds his knee in pain.

Both men try to suplex each other with little success. Lethal finally gets Ciampa up, suplexing him to the outside, but Ciampa held on and takes Lethal with. The ref counts both men out while they trade blows, ignoring it entirely. They both jump in at nineteen. Lethal goes for another Lethal Injection. It's short. Ciampa gets a waistlock, pushes to the ropes, and rolls back for an O'Connor roll. Lethal pops throw it, bridges into a pin, and gets three! Lethal takes the first fall. 

Lethal puts up three fingers, taunting Ciampa. Ciampa boots him right in the face. Lethal counters a powerbomb into a hurricanrana. Ciampa kicks out of the pin and rolls into one of his own that gets two. Both men rise up. Ciampa gets there first and crushes Lethal with a rising knee. Lethal barely kicks out in time. 

Lethal pops Ciampa with a Lethal Combination that goes into a Koji Clutch. Ciampa slips out of the submission and goes right into a Sicilian Stretch. Lethal spins his body around to get a foot on the rope, barely. Both men try to hit the ropes, only for the other to cut them off. Ciampa hits a surprise ace crusher for two. No one bought it as a nearfall. Ciampa takes Lethal up top, trying to get him on his shoulders. Lethal slips off of him and pulls Ciampa out of the corner. He drops Ciampa with Project Ciampa! Ciampa kicks out at two. Lethal goes to the corner as the crowd chants "Randy Savage." He wastes too much time, letting Ciampa get up. Lethal springs off the ropes with a back elbow. Ciampa ducks it, meaning referee Todd Sinclair eats that Tajiri special. 

Ciampa hits three rolling German suplexes while Sinclair is down. Four actually, releasing on the fourth. Lethal gets right up after that, because why wouldn't he? Ciampa flattens him with a lariat to make sure he stays down. Truth Martini comes down to the ring. He slides the knee brace to Lethal. Ciampa stumbles up to his feet. Lethal smashes the hard brace against Ciampa's head and makes the cover as Sinclair gets up. Two count! That shocks Lethal but he hasn't given up. He climbs to the top turnbuckle and drops an elbow on Ciampa. Lethal makes the cover. Ciampa kicks out at one. He fires up, full of fighting spirit. Lethal superkicks him but Ciampa won't go down. Another superkick, Ciampa still won't go down. Lethal kicks Ciampa in the knee. That drops him down. Lethal Injection. Cover. Three count. Lethal wins the ROH TV title two falls to zero. Truth Martini celebrates, raising Lethal's hand in the air. 

Match Rating: *1/2 Many will rate this much, much higher than I did. There was good action in there and some nice spots. That said, they killed it for me after the second fall. Both men, especially Lethal, stopped selling. Lethal got up after four German suplexes like it was just a clothesline early in the match. Ciampa kicked out at one. Some people love that. I'm on the "I hate this" side of the coin. 

Final Thoughts

Loved the opener. RD Evans and Silas Young play off each other perfectly. Silas is 100% serious and here to kick ass. Evans being the goofball that he is has to luck his way into a victory, but it works. The main event was disappointing. All this talk about Ciampa's knee an the only time Lethal goes at it is the very end. At least he got that right. The selling was egregiously bad at times. I can't stand the kick out at one that late in the match either. I don't like fighting spirit, hulking up babyfaces as a rule, but the one count makes it that much worse. This was not a bad episode of ROH TV, just disappointing. 

ROH TV Episode 133

No Kevin Kelly or Steve Corino at the top of the show. It's ROH correspondent Larry Mercer, whose name sounds like a guy the WWE would give to someone with a boxer gimmick. Mercer is all decked out in a tux too. Why? Because it's ROAD RAGE this week. Raising the Bar Nights 1 and 2 in Milwaukee and Chicago provide our matches, so we get Roderick Strong vs. Chris Hero and reDRagon vs. The Young Bucks. I'm pumped, you should be too, let's watch.

Roderick Strong vs. Chris Hero
Footage from earlier in the night precedes the match. BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs, the other members of Decade, offer Adam Page a spot. He accepts, though doesn't exactly look thrilled about it. Decade stays in back for now with only Roderick Strong out for the match. The crowd is roaring before the bell even rings. Milwaukee might have great acoustics, but no doubt this crowd is hot.

Jimmy Jacobs interrupts Corino and Kelly as Strong and Hero work the mat. Hero looks like he picked up a lot from William Regal based on how he works Strong's joints. Strong tries to leapfrog Hero. Hero anticipates it and boots him in the chest. Jacobs on commentary distracts me. He sounds out of breath and the announcers aren't calling the match either. Hero tosses Strong to the ropes and lines up a big boot. Strong catches himself and slides outside to avoid that. Hero runs at Strong, who moves out of the way when Hero dives. Hero braced for that too, diving over the top rope, springing his hands off the apron, and completing a front flip unscathed. Now he boots Strong in the face.

Hero tries to senton Strong from the apron into the ring. Strong gets his knees up. Strong smells blood. He takes Hero outside and whips him into the barricades. Hero collides back first. There's almost no room to maneuver out there. It looks like the set up has half the space between the ring and barricades that it usually does. Strong beats on Hero outside the ring then takes him back in for a two count. He keeps working Hero's back with a chinlock stretch. He puts the boots on hard and uses the ring post to stretch Hero more. Hero boots Strong in the face as he gets back in the ring, stopping Strong for now.

Hero doesn't get to do anything else before Strong dropkicks his face. Strong continues to work the back. Hero powers out of a hold and chops Strong across the chest. Strong nails Hero with an enzuigiri to cut him of once again. Here come the stiff chops. Hero fires back with chops of his own. A hard right backs Strong into the corner. Hero comes at him, Strong whips his leg up for an enzuigiri again, this time Hero ducks under it and boots Strong in the jaw.

Hero alternates between big boots and hard elbows. He's got Strong reeling now. Hero tries to lift Strong into the electric chair position. Strong fights out. Hero gets it on a second attempt though Strong slips out again. Strong lands an Olympic slam, a running knee into the corner, and then eats yet another boot from Hero as he tries a second running knee. Hero goes for another boot. This time Strong slips under it, catches Hero's leg in a cradle, and drops the lanky striker over his knee.

Strong cinches in a backslide that gets a two. Hero comes back with a la magistral that gets two. Both throw desperation blows. Hero brutalizes Strong with a stiff elbow. It gets a two count; I bought it as the finish. Hero gets Strong in the electric chair again. Strong slips out again but fails at an O'Connor roll. He gets a big jumping knee instead and an even stiffer Sick Kick. Hero kicks out at two and Strong immediately takes him into a Stronghold. Hero twists to escape and pulls Strong into a cradling pin for a two. Hero crushes Strong with three discus elbows. He gets Strong up in the electric chair again, drops him to his feet, and throws a great discus elbow. Strong drops, dead to the world. Hero puts him in the Stretch Plum. The referee calls for the bell right away. There was no tap out, the ref had to stop it for the unconscious Strong.

Match Rating: **** Wow, I loved this. Hero is killing it since he went back to the indys. Strong looked great. He worked the back smartly and kept cutting Hero off at the right time. I could gripe about not enough selling if I wanted to but instead, I'm going to point out that they weren't exactly no-selling either, plus this was more of an elongated sprint. Hero's striking is one of my favorite things going right now.


ROH Tag Team Championship - reDRagon (Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) (c) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) 
I was lucky enough to be in attendance for this one. The Young Bucks came out to a huge face reaction, despite being heels everywhere else. Nick Jackson superkicks a streamer out of the air, getting a pop from the crowd. Scarlett Bordeaux introduces them as IWGP Junior tag champs, but only the ROH titles are on the line tonight.

Nick Jackson and Kyle O'Reilly start. O'Reilly tries a cross armbreaker very early. Nick counters it into a pin. O'Reilly kicks out but almost eats a superkick as he rises to his feet. Nick wrings O'Reilly's arm and tags his brother in. Bobby Fish makes an early save, probably unnecessary, which Nigel McGuinness notes on commentary. Fish tags in next. Matt takes it to the mat and then focuses on Fish's elbow. His brother helps out after tagging back in. They add one of their trade mark, over-the-top back rake spots.

Fish works over Matt when we return from a break. He tags in O'Reilly, who boots Matt but gets a boot to the gut of his own. O'Reilly overpowers Matt and takes him down, squeezing his head. Matt fights out of that, hits the ropes, and tries a sunset flip. O'Reilly never drops. Instead he takes the arm and goes for another cross armbreaker. Matt squirms out, so O'Reilly tries the other arm. Matt desperately fights out of it.

Fish isolates Matt in the corner. He steps on Matt's casted hand while O'Reilly hits two running knees to the ribs. reDRagon don't really work over the hand, despite the obvious injury. The commentary harps on that but the champs clearly have another plan. They keep Matt from getting near his brother, try though he may. Matt lands a spear out of nowhere, knocking over O'Reilly. He crawls to his brother and finally gets a tag, just as O'Reilly brings his partner in. Nick is full of fire. He dropkicks O'Reilly off the apron and takes it to Fish until we head into another break.

Nick tags out to Matt when the match returns. O'Reilly throws Nick into the corner of the barricade. He lines up on the apron, takes off, and falls prey to the first superkick of the night. Matt drapes Fish over the middle rope while Nick hits a springboard 450 splash on him. Two count follows. The Young Bucks isolate Fish now. He wipes Fish out with a superkick but the cover takes too long. O'Reilly makes the save.

Now the Young Bucks double team O'Reilly. They Irish whip him into the corner. O'Reilly dumps Nick over the ropes and onto the apron. Matt charges O'Reilly, who moves out of the way as his brother attempts an enzuigiri, so he bites it instead. reDRagon return the double team favors. Matt rolls out of a double backdrop. He throws O'Reilly into Fish, buying himself some time. Matt sidekicks O'Reilly. Fish backdrop driver's Matt. Nick comes in and spinning high kicks Fish, but O'Reilly avenges his partner with an ax kick and a hard, hard elbow. Matt finishes the circle with a superkick, leaving all four men on the mat.

The Chicago crowd chants for the Young Bucks, willing them to their feet. Fish charges Nick, who drops and pulls the top rope down, spilling Fish outside. O'Reilly takes another boot to the face. Nick goes out to the apron, where Fish yanks him down and then drives him into the corner of the barricades. O'Reilly gets his second chance at a jumping knee from the apron, landing this time. Fish rushes at Matt in the corner. Matt gets his boots up. O'Reilly grabs Matt by the ankle before he can take off from the top, giving Fish time to get back up. Fish hits a top rope falcon arrow. Matt kicks out at two. Fish and O'Reilly start to set Matt up for Chasing the Dragon when Nick grabs Fish by the ankle. Matt slips out of the suplex and rolls behind O'Reilly, pulling him into a school boy pin. O'Reilly kicks out in the nick of time.

Matt elbows and knees O'Reilly until O'Reilly cuts him off with a blow to the injured hand. O'Reilly tries to sweep the leg. Matt hops over it and superkicks O'Reilly. Nick adds a second. O'Reilly stumbles around. he whips his mouth guard at Matt, who teases a superkick but instead cracks O'Reilly with his cast while the ref isn't looking. Fish gets on the apron, so the Bucks double superkick him back off.

Matt covers the still-down O'Reilly, but he kicks out at two. Nick dives over the top onto Fish, taking him out again. Matt sets O'Reilly up for a tombstone. Nick gets on the apron, springboards in, and finishes the spike tombstone piledriver. Nick makes the cover. One, two, no three! Bobby Fish dives into the ring and shoves Nick off just in time. All four men look exhausted. The crowd chants "this is awesome." Nick dumps Fish outside. They set O'Reilly up for More Bang for Your Buck. The Finlay roll lands. Nick tries a 450. O'Reilly turns and catches him, taking Nick straight into a triangle choke. Nick squirms around and reaches for the ropes with his legs but he's too far. Fish grabs Matt, keeping him from saving his brother. Nick keeps fighting the hold. He pushes his legs off the mat, rolling over O'Reilly, flipping him into a pin as O'Reilly keeps the hold locked in. The ref spots the pin, drops down, and counts the three! O'Reilly's shoulders were beneath his own weight and Nick's, he couldn't kick out. New tag champs! The crowd can't believe it. Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly believe it even less. But the Young Bucks get to walk out with the titles.

Match Rating: **** If you're looking for a fast-paced, all action ROH tag, look here. These four start at a slower pace but build into a frantic scrum at the end with the four wiping each other out repeatedly. O'Reilly catching Nick into a triangle choke looked like it was the end, especially when Fish grabbed Matt. I know I thought it was over when I was there. This one held up from how I saw it live, though ROH did not do the best job capturing the noise of a very raucous crowd.


Final Thoughts
Whew. ROH TV really turned it up this week. Two blistering matches that are very different from each other. Strong and Hero tried to beat the hell out of each other with stiffness while the tag match was built around high spots and high flying. Both excel at what they did. ROH can add another strong episode to its run of solid TV this year.

ROH TV Episode 132

Apologies for the delay, but a hectic schedule sometimes will do that. No worries, ROH TV Episode 132 is still up for another couple of days. Catch it while you can. Or read this and get the gist of it. Either way, let's get to the show.

Brutal Burgers (Cheeseburger and "Brutal" Bob Evans) vs. reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly)
reDRagon have been picking on Cheeseburger recently, trying to humiliate him in arm wrestling and in the debut episode of The Fish Tank. He gets a chance at revenge here. Not at the ROH Tag Titles though, which reDRagon come to the ring with.

O'Reilly starts with Cheeseburger. O'Reilly can throw the little guy around, no problem. Cheeseburger tries a German suplex on O'Reilly but isn't strong enough to pull that off. O'Reilly keeps toying with him, slapping Cheeseburger in the face, until Cheeseburger gets some comeuppance and returns the favor. O'Reilly lunges at Cheeseburger. Cheeseburger slips past him and gets a tag to Evans.

I never noticed how big Bob Evans is. He dwarfs Bobby Fish, who tags in for O'Reilly. That size doesn't prevent Fish from wrestling him down to the mat. The two trade armlocks. Evans outwrestles Fish, showing his experience, and Fish resorts to strikes to get his momentum going.

Cheeseburger tags back in and tries his luck at a vertical suplex. He's a bit small for that too, but Evans igives him a boost. Fish and O'Reilly both try to come at Cheeseburger, who rolls away once again to tag Evans back in.

Fish gets the better of Evans until a hard lariat. Evans falls back and tags Cheeseburger in. The underdog tries to stand up to Fish and O'Reilly, but they double team him. reDRagon catch Cheeseburger on a crossbody attempt until Evans charges in and shoulders the lot of them down. Cheeseburger lands a stunner on Kyle O'Reilly. That gets him a two count. Evans and Cheeseburger take O'Reilly up for a chokeslam, getting a second two count. reDRagon dump Evans outside and go back to doubling up on Cheeseburger. Evans has to make a save before they can get a three.

reDRagon pick apart Evans and dump him outside yet again. O'Reilly lifts Cheeseburger up and the tag champs finish him off with by chasing the dragon.

Match review: ** Really enjoyable match to start. reDRagon get to play prick heels who beat up on Cheeseburger. Cheeseburger, the undersized hero, tries to stand up to them but that's just not going to work. Evans is trying to help him out. Individually, Evans might have been able to handle one of reDRagon. As a team, him and Cheeseburger fall short.


"Unbreakable" Michael Elgin vs. AJ Styles
ROH World Heavyweight Champion Adam Cole joins Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino in the commentary booth. The tale of the tape hilariously lists Elgin as an inch taller than Styles, who is at least an inch taller than him when they face off. Both men adhere to the code of honor and we are off.

Elgin drives Styles back into the corner twice. Maybe locking up isn't the way to go. Styles has to use speed instead, which he does when he gets around Elgin, grabs a waistlock, and then transitions into a headlock. Elgin uses his strength advantage to keep ahead of Styles. Styles smartly refuses a test of strength and instead takes it back to the mat. Down there he gets the best of Elgin.

Styles and Elgin trade forearms. That's in Elgin's wheelhouse too, so Styles takes Elgin to the mat again. Styles works over Elgin's back. The announcing team talks up how strong Elgin is, saying he's physically ROH's strongest competitor ever. Styles works over Elgin, cutting him off with a dropkick after Elgin tried an Irish whip.

Elgin gets his delayed vertical suplex in. Styles pops a shoulder up at one. Elgin hurls Styles into the corner with a hard Irish whip, leading us to a commercial break. Don't fret! The ROH action continues even in the break. J.G. Wentworth must be a new corporate sponsor, because Jay Lethal is here to tell us about their wonderful business.

Elgin has Styles sitting in the corner by the barricades outside when the wrestling resumes. He plants a big boot square in Styles' jaw. A shoulder off the top levels Styles. Styles ducks under a discus forearm. He Pele kicks Elgin, though it didn't land too hard. Elgin cuts Styles off before Styles can get on a roll. Styles moonsaults onto Elgin, who's outside, and drops him with an inverted DDT. It wasn't one smooth motion, but an impressive sight nonetheless.

It takes until the count of seventeen before Elgin can drag himself in. Styles is full of fire. He drops the big guy with a springboard forearm. Elgin has to drive Styles back into the corner to kill this run. Styles catches Elgin facing away on the turnbuckle. He throws on a torture rack submission, though he can only hold it for a few seconds before he drops Elgin. Styles knees Elgin in the face twice when Elgin goes for another delayed vertical suplex. Styles bounces off the corner, trying another moonsault into an inverted DDT. Elgin catches Styles on his shoulder this time then spikes Styles with a tombstone piledriver! Two count and the match goes on.

The commentary puts over how Elgin landed weirdly on his knee there. Styles goes after it. He rolls Elgin onto the mat to cinch in a knee hold. Elgin grabs Styles by the hair and slams his head down repeatedly until Styles has to let go. Elgin finds himself up in the corner again. Styles tries a hurricanrana. Elgin stops him. He lifts Styles up for a superbomb. Now Styles counters, tossing Elgin with a hurricanrana. Elgin is down. Styles goes out to the apron. He launches himself back into the ring, springing off the ropes, hitting Elgin with a frontflip leg drop. Styles goes for a pin, Elgin kicks out at two. He wants to keep going but we're at 30 minutes. The time keeper rings the bell. We have a draw!

The crowd chants for five more minutes. Elgin, still on the mat, gets a mic. He says Styles couldn't beat him in 30 minutes and he can't beat him in 5 more minutes. Elgin will go all night long. Styles wants it, Elgin wants it, and the crowd wants it. Only Adam Cole wants nothing to do with this. He's a man of action too. Cole snatches the bell away from the time keeper and throws it aside. He slides into the ring with his title belt, which he uses to drop Styles and Elgin. Jay Briscoe comes running out. Cole escapes the ring before Jay can catch him. Cole tries heading up the ramp, but that's where Kevin Steen is there to stop him. Cole has to make a break for it, hurdling the barricade, escaping through the crowd.

Match Review: *** I liked this match a lot more than I like most Elgin matches, especially one going this long. Styles was great in there and he made Elgin look like a monster. Any time they went toe-to-toe, Elgin got the best of it. Elgin didn't fall into his routine spots, save for one delayed suplex that was only twenty seconds or so. Big thumbs up for ending on a draw too. Sometimes it's got to happen.


Final Thoughts
Another good hour of ROH TV. I normally prefer episodes with three matches instead of two, particularly when one of those takes the bulk of the hour, but Elgin and Styles did well. Next week's episode comes from CHICAGO, from the Raising the Bar Night 2 event. I was at that one live, so I'm looking forward to watching it again on TV. Until then watch wrestling.

ROH TV Episode 130

And we're back! Episode 130 of ROH TV, pre-taped from ROH's ancestral home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tonight's main event is Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jay Lethal for the TV title, but that's some ways off. Let's go to the start.

Team Benchmark (Bill Daly & Will Ferrara) vs. Hanson & Raymond Rowe
Team Benchmark make their ROH debut. They must be looking for some Observer love, since they're bringing a banner full of sponsor ads down ringside. Hanson and Rowe look like badasses compared to these guys. Hell, they look like badasses next to anyone on the ROH roster. Hanson takes it to Ferrara from the get go. Rowe keeps that going after a tag. Daly has to make a save after a Hanson German suplex.

Daly tags in and throws a pretty mean right cross at Hanson's jaw. He follows it with a chop, but Hanson isn't exactly reeling. Daly ducks a clothesline by Hanson and tags Ferrara back in. Ferrara gets to take it instead. Rowe comes in and tosses Ferrara with a hard fallaway slam. He got real snap to that one. Ferrara keeps serving as their punching bag and does his job well enough, save for whacky selling on one spot. Daly gets in again and goes right at Rowe. Kevin Kelly equates him to Johnny Manziel with his antics. Steve Corino doesn't get the reference, he's a baseball guy. Ferrara tags back in. Daly is too busy screaming in excitement to notice Hanson. Hanson's boot greets him upside the head. Rowe grabs Ferrara and ends it with Death Row.

Michael Elgin comes out after the match while Rowe and Hanson are still in the ring. Neither 'prospect' is afraid of him, but Elgin isn't playing the intimidation card. He talks up both guys, saying they represent the best wrestling in the world. Rowe and Hanson got his respect, now he has their back.

Match Rating: * Okay squash match to open things up. It could have been a bit shorter if they wanted a pure squash. Rowe's finisher still looks vicious and like it's going to cripple someone in the shoot way. Elgin hinted at them having tag team gold. Hopefully that means ROH is pushing these two as a team. I'm all for that.


Kevin Steen is in the ring after the break, mic in hand. Outlaw, Inc. come out before he can get a word in. They say that they took care of his Cliff Compton problem, now they want him to become an outlaw. Steen says it didn't work out too well last time he did something like that, and with all due respect, those guys were better men. Outlaw, Inc. try an ambush, but Steen fends them off while Nigel McGuinness and a crew of refs come running. Impromptu match time!


Kevin Steen vs. Homicide
Homicide answers the fight, so Kingston gets on commentary. Steen's has the best of Homicide at the start 'til Homicide gets a dropkick in. The two go outside, where Steen throws Homicie into the boards. They take it back to the ring so Steen can casually slip a clothesline and continue the beating. Homicide hits a swinging DDT and goes straight for the cover, but it's just a two.

Homicide puts Steen up in the corner until Steen bites his way free. Steen sentons Homicide from up top. He has Homicide in position for a cannonball in the corner, but Kingston leaves the announcer's table and saves his wounded partner. Why not kill two birds with one stone? A Steen cannonball from the apron to the outside does that.

Steen tries for a package piledriver. Homicide slips out and tries to counter with an ace crusher. Steen shoves him into the ropes, pops him into the air, and powerbombs him back down. He gets ready for a package piledriver when Kingston enters the ring. He hits a spinning backfast on the unexpecting Steen, ending the match via DQ.

Homicide takes the ringbell afterwards and goes after Steen. Him and Kingston are about to get the duct tape out when Cliff Compton comes flying out of nowhere, chair in hand. Outlaw, Inc. head for the hills while Steen and Compton stare each other down. Compton still has a chair in hand, but he never attacks.

Match Rating: * DQ ends an unremarkable match. Homicide and Steen really weren't clicking in there. Their timing seemed a bit off, neither guy looked particularly smooth either. Watchable but skipable if you're in a hurry.


Nigel addresses the crowd when the show returns from another break. He's goin to say something about the New Orleans show when Jay Briscoe interrupts. Jay appreciates being a 'credible contender', but he beat Adam Cole cleanly in San Antonio. As far as he's concerned, no one ever beat him, so he's still the champion. Two men claim they're champions and that's one too many. Nigel wants to do away with the controversy. There's only one way how. LADDER WAR FIVE.

Cole comes out to respond. "Absolutely unbelievable" are the first words from his mouth. He's disgusted with Nigel's matchmaking, but if this is how it has to be, this is how it has to be. Cole keeps talking while Michael Bennett sneaks int othe ring, gets behind Jay and low blows him. Mark comes running ut for the save, but Cole and Bennett walk away with their hands in teh air.


ROH Television Championship - Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal got a visual pinfall last time these two met, but Ciampa walked out with the championship. Matt Taven, the distant third in this television title trio, joins the commentary team. Bobby Cruise is about to get in the ring when Ciampa lunges at Lethal. The two start to trade blows, no introductions, they're going right to the fight. Inside and out of the ring, they're trading forearms and fists. Neither guy is willing to back down. Lethal starts to wobble but he throws an enzuigiri that brings Tommaso down first.

Lethal hits a missile dropkick and Ciampa rolls out onto the arpon. He follows with a springboard kick that finds nothing but air after Ciampa moves. Ciampa drags Lethal to the ring apron, takes him by the leg, and throws him HARD into the boards outside. Lethal hit shoulder first, so Ciampa picks Lethal up and throws him shoulder first into the boards again. Lethal sits there, sucking air, while Ciampa comes charging with a rising knee. He throws Lethal into the boards again. Ciampa gets some space and comes running back for another knee until Lethal surprises him with an armdrag. Lethal cartwheels after that, placing himself in front of Ciampa so he can hit a dropkick.

Lethal drags Ciampa into the ring and covers. One count. Lethal suplexes him then goes for another cover. Up to two now. Lethal throws stiff chops at Ciampa. He bodyslams Ciampa then hits a diving dropkick to Ciampa's head. Cover gets another two. Ciampa bounces off the ropes and kicks Lethal in teh chest when he bends over for a back body drop. A hard chop of his own flips the match around.

They're up in the corner next with Ciampa hammering away at Lethal with elbows. Lethal almost falls off the top to the outside. Ciampa hits the rarely seen superplex as we go to commercial break. He's putting boots to Lethal when the match continues, but not for long. Lethal shoots up to his feet and hits a flurry of strikes. He tries a Lethal Injection; Ciampa pulls him down into a lungblower. Two count after that.

Ciampa gets flipped onto the ring apron. As he rises, Lethal springboards off the middle rope and hits a dropkick. Lethal's got a burst of energy, enough for three straight suicide dives. The third sends Ciampa crashing into the audience. Lethal rolls Ciampa back into the ring while he goes up top. Lethal lands an elbow drop but it's not enough to end it.

Lethal wants the lethal injection while both men are on the apron. Ciampa cracks him with a rising knee then slams him hard. Both men tumble outside. The ref starts the count but the cameras turn to the ring entrance, where Truth Martini has come out. Taven is on commentary still, but they refuse to acknowledge each other. Ciampa and Lethal barely get back in the ring as the ref counts nineteen.

Both guys are working hard to one up each other. Lethal stops Ciampa with a lethal combination which he rolls into a koji clutch. Ciampa works his way out of that and goes straight into a Sicilian stretch. Lethal gets a foot to the ropes while Truth Martini starts to berate Taven. Taven's had enough of that nonsense, so he takes Truth by the lapels and throws him onto the ring apron. The ref tries to sort that out while Lethal and Ciampa continue. Ciampa goes for a sunset flip that Lethal reverses it into a pin of his own. He clutches Ciampa's legs and gets another visual pinfall, nearly a six count, but Ciampa gets out by the time the ref turns. Ciampa deadlifts Lethal up from the mat and shatters his back with the project Ciampa. Ciampa makes the cover and gets the three count.

Match Rating: **1/4 Both guys go for the classic, all action, fast-paced style. Ciampa had some good moments in there where he shows his anger with Lethal, after all, it was Lethal who hurt his knee. The match could have used more of that, more visceral actions between the two.


Final Thoughts
Next week is a six man, Decade vs. Adrenaline Rush and Andrew Everett. This week wasn't as strong as last week, but that doesn't mean it was weak. This was a pretty exposition heavy episode, which you need from time to time. The two prospects have some direction now, Steen is going in a new one, and the main event kept both guys looking good.

ROH TV Episode 129

ROH goes straight into a match so I don't have much to open with. We've got Silas Young vs. Matt Taven to start and the world championship match between Chris Hero and Adam Cole for the main event. Let's begin.

Silas Young vs. Matt Taven
Silas came out with a strap, whipping it into the boards and against the ring. He doesn't bring it into the ring though, so Taven can breath easy. The two lock up. Silas drives Taven into the corner. Taven fires at Silas with hard punches. Silas blocks an O'Connor roll attempt but can't dodge the follow-up arm drag. Taven lands a standing moonsault that gets him an early two. Silas rolls out of the ring to take a breather.

Taven is looking away, distracted by something. Silas hurries back into the ring and ambushes him. Turns out that Truth Martini came out from the back, which caught Taven's attention. Silas and Taven trade momentum back and forth until Silas grabs the ref and pulls him between them. The show goes to a break, returning with Silas holding Taven in a chinlock. Silas drops Taven on the top rope between his legs. A springboard clothesline knocks Taven out of the ring. He crawls back and Silas immediately gets on him. Taven rolls past Silas, who puts on the breaks to avoid crashing against the corner, but Taven enzuigiris Silas to change the flow of the match.

Taven is on fire, knocking Silas down again and again. He lands a springboard moonsault that gets a two. Silas tries a killer combo, but Taven ducks under the lariat. Taven lifts Silas for the angel's wings, but Silas gets out of it and immediately counters with a hard lariat. Silas hits the Finlay roll, goes into the corner headstand and then the springing moonsault. Taven rolls out of the way, Silas lands on his feet. That looks familiar. Big spin kick from Taven, flooring Silas. Taven goes up top and hits a frog splash. Three count follows. Silas shakes Taven's hand before a sucker punch. Truth wants Silas to join him once Silas stops putting the boots to Taven. Instead, Silas walks right past Truth, disinterested.

Match Rating: ** Fast paced action. Taven could benefit from slowing it down a little, at least in my book, but he put on a fine show. Very clean match too, I saw no noticeable missteps in there.


ROH Television Championship - Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Hanson
Hanson won the top prospect tournament, giving him this title opportunity. Philly loves Ciampa. The two charge right at teach other and trade blows. Hanson bullies Ciampa into the corner with hard forearms and fists. Ciampa fights back, first booting Hanson then following up with blows of his own. Ciamapa dumps Hanson outside with a back drop then dives onto the big man. It looks like he hit the top rope on the way out, so it wasn't a smooth dive.

Ciampa sits Hanson down and hits running knees. Ciampa catches Hanson on a jump and slams him down in an impressive show of strength. The two of them go back and forth with hard forearms. They bounce off the ropes and come back with a forearm about a dozen times. Hanson throws a cartwheel in for good measure then clotheslines Ciampa with all his might. The struggles continues until Ciampa catches Hanson with a rising knee as Hanson stands up.

Ciampa looks for the Project Ciampa. Hanson knows it, so he drives Ciampa into the corner. He elbows Ciampa again and again. Then a big splash. Hanson goes up top and moonsaults onto Ciampa. Ciampa kicks out at two. Ciampa immedately brings Hanson into the Sicilian Stretch. Hanson rolls over and to his feet. He re-positions Ciampa on his shoulders, breaking the hold. Hanson tries to dump him but Ciampa lands on his feet. Spin kick of doom! Ciampa wisely rolls to the ropes and holds on for dear life.

Ciampa climbs onto the top rope again before Hanson cuts him off. Ciampa fights out of a precarious position and drops behind Hanson. Ciampa pulls Hanson off the top rope. Project Ciampa! Two knees right into Hanson's back. Ciampa gets the pinfall and retains his TV title.

Match rating: **3/4 Fun sprint of a match. Hanson's agility is really impressive for such a big guy. His moonsault isn't quite a Vadersault, but kudos for even trying it. Ciampa wisely doesn't try to toss Hanson around too much. When he stands toe-to-toe, Hanson gets the best of him, so he has to rely on big impact shots and counter blows.


ROH World Heavyweight Championship - Adam Cole (c) vs. Chris Hero
Hero got the pin on Cole in an elimination tag, giving him the right to challenge for Cole's title. Cole is anything but eager to lock up with Hero tonight. Hero turns Cole around within seconds and gets a neck crank. Cole grabs the ropes to escape.

Nigel is on commentary for the main event. He actually makes a rare statement in pro wrestling: giving a wrestler's real height. He mentions Hero as 6'2-6'3 and Cole as 5'10. This is critical for Hero being able to get leverage, he notes. Hero makes it look easy on the mat as he out wrestles the champion. Cole keeps backing away, scared. He manages to shoulder Hero down one time and immediately shouts his own name with the height of hubris.

Cole finds himself in another cravate until he shoulders Hero into the corner. Cole steps out of the ring, calling a time out. Referee Todd Sinclair starts the count, so Cole rolls into the ring for a brief second to stop that. He won't go near Hero, so Hero chases him around the ring. Hero changes directions when Cole isn't looking and surprises the champion with a big boot. Cole has a reason to run now as Hero boots him in the face two more times.

Cole cuts Hero off and takes control for the first time in the match. He taunts the crowd, teasing a PK on Hero but instead he drops down and throws on a chinlock. Hero fights back until Cole hits a shining wizard. He made a weird, guttural sound as he did it and the crowd imitates it en masse as the show goes to break.

Cole kicks Hero's knee when the match continues. The crowd mocks him again. Hero clothelines Cole and follows with a neckbreaker as Cole gets back up. Hero catches Cole's foot as Cole tries to boot him. Instead it's Hero who lands a kick, once again right into Cole's face. Cole dodges a springboard curb stomp but not the rolling elbow that came after. Hero keeps going after Cole's neck, landing a cravate suplex. Hero sits Cole up top and puts on a cravate. He boots Cole in the face once more when Cole resists. Cole finally lands a boot of his own on Hero and changes the tide.

The crowd will not stop mocking Cole for the sound he made. Cole has this amazing look on his face, a mixture of being disgusted and pissed off. He tries to yell at Hero but the crowd cuts him off. Cole taunts Hero, who isn't going to stand for that nonsense. Hero decks Cole with a beautiful right. He gets Cole up in the electric chair position and drops him to his feet. Rolling elbow, right into the back of Cole's head. Cole drops forward and out through the ropes. Hero KO'd him and he has to deadlift Cole back up to get him in the ring. Cole immediately rolls back out, buying precious time. Cole takes another boot. When Hero tries to toss him back into the ring, Cole reverses it and gets Hero with a waistlock. Cole Germans suplexes Hero on the mats outside. Now the champion seizes the moment. He brings Hero back in the ring for his suplex into a neckbreaker. Hero kicks out at two.

Cole cannot believe that didn't finish the job. Cole struggles with Hero, trying to get a straight jacket German. Hero fights out of it with hard elbows, but an errant blow smacks the referee, knocking him out. Hero lands a downward spiral and then a big neck crank on Cole. Cole has to tap. He quits right there, clean in the middle of the ring. He's slapping his hand on the mat. But Nigel McGuinnes is busy tending to the unconscious Todd Sinclair, so no official sees it. Hero brings Cole up for another neck breaker. Cole steps away and lands an enzuigiri. Cole hits the ropes; Hero boots him. Hero hits the ropes; Cole boots him. Cole lands a super kick and goes right into a straight jacket German. Hero kicks out at two. Cole doesn't let go. A second Florida Key, as he calls it. Cole rolls over, still straight jacketing Hero, and lands a third one. One-two-three, and the champ will leave with his title.

Match rating: **** I liked this match a lot. A whole lot. Hero's offense looks great and I'm a big fan of his big boots, straight rights, and rolling elbows. He's crisp on the mat and knows how to work the neck. Cole is a top notch chickenshit heel. He knows the Philly crowd will love Hero, so he refuses to engage him and does everything he can to play up their animosity. His facials and mannerisms are elite for someone his age. I heard complaints about the ending, but I have no problem with it. Yes, it's a tainted win, but that fits perfectly for the situation. Hero made Cole tap so he's the better wrestler. The entire match was about him being a better wrestler. Cole is the winner though, and that's all he cares about.

Final Thoughts
Probably the best ROH TV episode that I've reviewed yet. Great main event and two strong undercard matches. Make sure you watch it. Next week is Jay Lethal vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the TV title. Lethal calls out Ciampa for what hapened in their last match: Lethal had Ciampa out cold and in a pin but the ref wasn't there to make the three count. We'll see if he can get the job done this time.

ROH TV Episode 128

Another week, another ROH TV episode. That sounds way worse than it should, ROH has been on a roll since I started watching. Tonight is the 12th Anniversary show from Philadelphia, at least in part. Michael Elgin comes out but his opponent, Matt Hardy, was unable to make it due to weather. Let's get to the show.

Elgin gets on the mic. Scarlett Bordeaux is in the ring too, dressed much more modestly than she once was. She's the new ring announcer, I'm guessing (and hoping) on an interim basis. Not that she's bad, but she doesn't have Bobby Cruise's pipes. Elgin has two goals: become the ring of honor world champion and send Matt Hardy out of Philadelphia on a stretcher or a body bag. No Hardy tonight, so that's not going to work. The rest of what he has to say is Ring of Honor glad-handing. He does call out Raymond Rowe, who answers.


Michael Elgin vs. Raymond Rowe
Rowe dropkicks Elgin as the bell rings. Elgin gets his delayed suplex spot in early. Rowe isn't having it, so he fights his way out once, then again, but a third attempt goes through. Elgin drops Rowe just in time for a commercial break.

Rowe tries to out wrestle Elgin as the two swap waist locks. Rowe fights out of a German suplex with a hard elbow then hits the ropes. Elgin follows. Rowe stops and hits the ropes behind Elgin. The two engage in an awkward little dance of trying to run behind each other. Elgin ends that by no selling an exploder suplex. Both men lariat each other, neither having the strength to floor their opponent. Elgin overpowers Rowe, who kicks out at one after a lariat put him down. Elgin eats an over the head belly-to-belly and rolls out of the ring. Rowe dives through the ropes and right onto the mats. Elgin dodged that one. He gets Rowe up for a powerbomb and tosses Rowe right into the guard rails. Elgin drags Rowe back to the ring, gives him a spinning powerbomb, and ends this one.

Match rating: 1/2* "Yawn" is about right. The crowd agrees, judging by their absolute silence. I like Rowe but Elgin is wearing on me fast. This match was basically his signature spots and zero selling. Rowe didn't get much of a chance to shine.

Adam Cole runs out after the match, looking to blindside Elgin. Rowe makes the save, grabbing the belt from Cole before he could do the deed. Elgin is about to make Cole pay when Mike Bennett comes out of nowhere and low blows Elgin. Bennett and Cole put the boots to Rowe and Elgin until Jay Briscoe sprints to the ring. Cole gets out of there ASAP while Bennett eats a series of Funkian jabs.


Jay Briscoe vs. Michael Bennett
Jay's version of the ROH championship is on the line. The crowd is immediately into this match in a way that Elgin-Rowe could only dream of. Bennett and Jay brawl outside the ring. Jay throws Bennett into the barricades and suplexes him from the ground onto the ring apron. Jay is beating the hell out of Bennett until Maria comes out and distracts him with her screaming. Jay only lets the surprise take him for a moment or two until he gets back to whoopin' Bennett. He suplexes Bennett on the entrance ramp before bringing the action back to the ring.

Jay dropkicks Elgin for a two count. Bennett avoids Jay's splash attempt in the corner to change the tide. He goes for a pin after an elbow drop and gets a two for his efforts. Bennett gets to work the advantage until a bit of deja vu occurs. This time it's Jay who moves out of the corner when Bennett tries to splash Jay.

Bennett and Jay trade hard rights. Jay reels back, bounces off the ropes and loads up for a big right. Bennett isn't having it. He scoops Jay up and spinebusters him as the show goes to a break. Bennett is eating jabs when the show returns. A superkick stops that. Jay immediately cuts Bennett off with a rolling elbow. Two count.

Jay goes up top. Bennett socks him with a right before Jay can do anything. The two fight while standing up on the ropes. That is, until Jay drops Bennett. Jay's frog splash lands, but only gets a two count. Bennett and Jay continue to trade places for control of the match. They trade moves and they trade blows, neither getting much momentum. Jay hooks Bennetts arms for a Jay Driller when Cole jumps onto the apron for the distraction. Jay lets go, wanting to chase after Cole. Bennett low blows Jay then rolls him up with a cradle. Jay kicks out at two. In fairness, it was an awful low blow. Cole and Maria are screaming at the ref. Jay low blows Bennett while the ref isn't looking. Jay spikes Bennett with a Jay driller just as the ref turns. Three seconds later this one is done.

Match rating: **1/4 Much better than the opener and pretty good in its own rights. My major knock is that the middle of the match was a long stretch where they traded the lead so often that the crowd never got invested into it, especially after the hot opening. Nor did I. Still a pretty good match.


Jay Lethal vs. AJ Styles
Main event time! The crowd loves Styles. I'm skeptical, mostly because the soccer goalie gloves he's wearing. Styles and Lethal test their strength to start. A major segment of the crowd chants for Lethal over Styles when the dueling chants begin. The two start with grappling, particularly an extended wristlock by Lethal. Lethal gets pushed into the ropes but grabs on to avoid a Styles' dropkick. Styles charges and ends up going onto the apron after Lethal pulled down the top rope. Lethal lands a springboard dropkick to knock Styles out of the ring. He lines up for a dive, but Styles hustles back into the ring and clotheslines Lethal as he gets to the ropes. Lethal is outside now. Styles starts a plancha but pulls himself onto the apron when Lethal moves. Styles kicks Lethal in the chin then moonsaults onto nothing. Jay moved, but Styles landed on his feet. Lethal must have run like hell because he got back into the ring and an instant later he dives back through the ropes, crashing into Styles.

Lethal has Styles in a leg hold after a commercial break. He's working over Styles until he gets to the ropes. Lethal chops Styles so hard that Styles tumbles over. Styles blocks two suplex attempts while he's on the apron. He manages to get Lethal up first, bringing him out to the apron, then suplex him on to the apron with the second effort. Styles Irish whips Lethal into the barricades. They got back into the ring where Styles still has control. Lethal makes sure to not break the Steamboat rule. He gets a few uppercuts in. Not enough to stop Styles though, who shoots him to the ropes and then floors him with a dropkick.

Styles takes the chance to show his submission prowess with a bridging leg lock. Lethal sells his knee in a noticeable way the moment he gets out. Styles works a chin lock until the crowd fires Lethal up. Lethal fights his way out of it and gets into a trade of chops. Each guy tries to out chop the other. They end that before long and move on to rights. Then forearms. Plus a few more chops. Lots of strikes, to say the least. Lethal combination ends it. The backbreaker, faceslam dyad, not a combination that is fatal.

Lethal sits Styles up on the top, looking for a superplex. Styles drops between Lethal's legs then yanks him off the top rope. Styles is on the apron again. He springboards into the ring with a big superman forearm. Two count. Styles teases a styles clash, but Lethal is fresh enough to avoid it. Lethal still sells the knee, staggering around, not going so fast when he runs. He can't get enough momentum to knock Styles over with a clothesline. Styles tries to set Lethal up for a styles clash a second time, but Lethal fights his way out of it again, this time getting to the ropes.

Styles gets out of a dragon suplex set up by hitting his Pele kick. Both men are exhausted, breathing heavy. Lethal lands that dragon suplex on the second try, flipping Styles all the way over. Lethal goes up top for an elbow drop. It lands! It looked good too, but not good enough for a three count. Lethal calls his next move out: lethal injection. Styles grabs him by the wrist, stopping that before it happens. Lethal chops Styles hard across the chest. He goes back to his original plan. Lethal injection. Styles catches him midjump and drops him with a reverse fireman's carry. Styles follows up with a powerbomb. He doesn't let go of Lethal's legs, so he lifts him back up and finally gets what he always wanted: a styles clash. Three count and we're all done.

Match rating: ***1/4 Fine work in there. Loved that Lethal sold the knee so well, but wish Styles bothered to go after it again. This wasn't as good as the Styles-Strong encounter but is definitely worth a watch.


Final Thoughts
This week flew by. The main event was almost 20 minutes long but certainly did not feel it. There were no interviews or backstage segments more than a few moments long. So, basically, we've got a reverse TNA situation here. In other words, ROH is doing it right.

ROH TV Episode 127 show review

This week's episode begins with a recap of last week's main event. If you missed it, that was a three way elimination tag match, with the added bonus that if anyone pins Adam Cole, they get an ROH World title shot. Chris Hero got the pin on Cole that night, putting him as the next contender for Adam Cole's championship.

Andrew Everett vs. Cedric Alexander 
Roderick Strong joins Corino and Kelly at the commentary table, though this isn't a Decade match. Both men adhere to the code of honor. Alexander and Everett exchange headlocks to start. Alexander gets a wristlock, but some fancy footwork turns the tables. Neither man is able to get the jump on the other; both show agility in spades.

Alexander eats a big boot when he charges Everett in the corner. Everett gets an arm drag take down on Alexander, who rolls out of the ring. Everett claps his hand, warming up the crowd, and hits the ropes, looking to tope onto Alexander. Alexander slides back into the ring to avoid that, but Everett doesn't finish his dive. He grabs the top rope and rolls over it, landing on the ring apron. Alexander drop kicks him off.

The match returns from a commercial break with Alexander working a headlock on Everett. Everett gets out with a jawbreaker. Biiiig back body drop from Alexander. Everett got way up for that. Both men exchange hard rights. Alexander tries a roundhouse kick, Everett ducks under. Alexander doesn't miss with an enzugiri. Everett dropkicks Alexander out of the ring. Everett sizes Alexander up, grabs the top rope, and lands a springboard shooting star press onto Alexander. Mostly. Alexander didn't do a great job catching him. Everett springboards his way back in after rolling Alexander back between the ropes. This time it's a springboard missile dropkick.

Everett spikes Alexander with a hurricanrana. Two count. Everett goes up top. Alexander charges, Everett jumps over him and rolls. Everett tries a hurricanrana, but Alexander catches him this time and counters it into a fireman's carry that he spun into a facebuster. It was fancy, but not fancy enough for a three count. Alexander friggin' kills Everett with a hard dropkick to the side of Alexander's head. Alexander sits Everett up on the top turnbuckle. Alexander headbutts Everett as the fans count out the ten blows. Superplex? Nope. Everett tosses Alexander off the top. He rises up to the top. 630. Alexander got his knees up! Alexander takes a page out of Roderick Strong's book and breaks Everett's back with a double knee backbreaker. Three count and we're done.

Match rating: **1/4 Entertaining affair, enough to get the crowd to chant "That was awesome." If you love pure work rate and some high flying, then you'll rate this higher than I did. Everett had to be hurting the next day after the offense he ate. Three or four different moves looked like hell on him.


ROH is going right to the main event again, so only two matches this week. But first, there's a recap of "the night the hoopla died" two weeks ago, where Truth Martini declared hoopla dead and Taven dismissed his former manager.


Kyle O'Reilly vs. Kevin Steen
Steen comes across as a huge star during his entrance, or as big of a star as ROH has. The flashing lights, the music, and a whole lot of crowd noise, all of them make Steen look like a big deal. Steen and O'Reilly tie up. O'Reilly immediately turns that into a waist lock. Steen isn't going to out-grapple O'Reilly, so he simply grabs the nearest rope. "Wrestling!" he yells. The crowd loves it, but O'Reilly is not so amused. They tie up again. This time O'Reilly gets a standing arm lock. Steen grabs the rope right away. Third lock up. O'Reilly cranks on the arm as he holds a wristlock. He won't let Steen get to the ropes, yanking him away time and time again. Steen rolls is way out of it, slaps O'Reilly's arms off him, and dropkicks O'Reilly. Then he grabs the rope, just 'cause.

Steen takes O'Reilly down with deep, Steamboat-esque arm drags. O'Reilly takes control of the match with a series of hard kicks. He sits Steen down and looks like he is about to blast Steen in the chest with another kick, but instead gives him a little slap across the face. Steen looks disgusted. He gets up and slaps the hell out of O'Reilly, sending O'Reilly backwards through the ropes.

O'Reilly tries to hide from Steen on the outside. Steen chases O'Reilly down and chops his chest again and again. O'Reilly is about to take a powerbomb on the apron, but he manages to grab the ropes and pull himself to safety.

Steen chops O'Reilly two more times when the show returns from a break. O'Reilly uses a flurry of kicks, knees, and then a leg sweep to take down Steen. O'Reilly starts to work over Steen's arm. O'Reilly works a wristlock to crank on the arm. O'Reilly shoves Steen into the turnbuckles. Steen bounces off then flattens O'Reilly with a desperation lariat. He's down to one good arm. Steen sells the wounded one like it's useless.

O'Reilly takes the action back out of the ring. He shoves Steen shoulder first into the ring post. Steen stumbles away and takes a seat. O'Reilly hops back up on the apron and tries to dive onto Steen. Steen cuts him off with a boot to the gut. Steen finally gets that apron powerbomb in. He shoves O'Reilly into the ring then climbs up top. Senton. Two count.

Missile dropkick attempt from O'Reilly. Steen evades. Steen goes for a sharpshooter. O'Reilly pushes Steen away. O'Reilly goes for a guillotine. Steen rams him into the corner to get out of that. Steen sees his chance for a cannonball senton. O'Reilly gets out of a package piledriver and then an F-5 attempt. O'Reilly pulls Steen down into an arm bar. Steen manages to get the ropes, but his arm took more damage.

Steen is sitting up on the top turnbuckle. O'Reilly wants to bring him down with a superplex. Steen is not about to let that happen. He fights his way out with hard body blows and a bite. Steen lifts O'Reilly onto his shoulder. Avalanche death valley driver! O'Reilly is done for the moment, but Steen is clutching his arm. Hee landed on that first. By the time he gets the cover, O'Reilly has come to. Two count only.

O'Reilly pulls Steen down into another arm bar. Steen is trying with all his might to get a foot on the ropes. He grimaces in pain as O'Reilly cranks back on his arm. Finally he gets a foot on the ropes. O'Reilly punishes Steen's chest with hard kicks. O'Reilly bounces off the ropes. Steen throws him up into the air and then brings him down with authority via powerbomb. Steen pulls O'Reilly back up. Package piledriver. One, two, but no three. O'Reilly got his foot on the rope.

Steen can't believe that didn't end it. But something else catches his attention: Cliff Compton in the crowd. Compton is jawing at Steen. Steen being who he is has to go out there and yell back. O'Reilly gets enough time to recover. Steen turns around just in time for O'Reilly to land the missile dropkick that he wanted before. O'Reilly is all hustle. He shoves Steen back into the ring and hits his ax and smash kicks. Two count, Steen gets a shoulder up. O'Reilly nabs Steen's arm and throws on a cross armbreaker. Steen is dead center in the ring. He's refusing to tap. Steen rolls onto his feet. O'Reilly won't let go of his hold, so Steen drops him in a short powerbomb. A sharpshooter follows. Steen pulls O'Reilly to the center of the ring. He cinches the hold in deep and O'Reilly has to tap.

Compton continues taunting Steen, so Steen gets in the mic. He challenges Compton to a fight right here right now. Compton wants it but the ROH security crew keeps him at bay. The ref holds Steen back, which infuriates Steen so much that he drops the ref with an F-5. Compton and Steen start to brawl. Security swarms and the two wrestlers fend them off. Steen boots Compton and pulls him off for another F-5. He throws Compton over the top rope and onto the mats outside. Steen starts beating the hell out of Compton. Compton is bumping like crazy. He throws himself full force into the mats and the railings outside. Steen gets the ring announcer's table and walks it over. Steen pulls Compton onto the ring apron. He's about to powerbomb Compton through the table when a security guard grabs his leg. Steen shoves the guard away, but that bought Compton enough time to low blow Steen. Compton clubs Steen and rolls him onto the table. Compton swats away another security guard as he goes up top. Frog splash through the table! ROH TV ends with both men laid out on the floor over the wreckage of a table.

Match rating: *** The post match brawl gets ****. Steen's selling was excellent here. He limited his offense to reflect the damage he took and made it clear that he was hurting badly. O'Reilly looked good too. I'm not his biggest fan and I think his selling got a little goofy at times, but he did a fine job bumping for Steen and getting heat. The ending was something of a non-sequitur. Steen never really did anything to make a sharpshooter a good finish, O'Reilly had no choice but to tap since had it in so deep and it was in the middle of the ring. Compton gets a big, big thumbs up for how hard he was slamming into the guard rails. He must hate his back.

Next week's main event: Hanson vs. Tommaso Ciampa! Plus AJ Styles vs. Jay Lethal. Should be a couple of good matches.

ROH TV recap - Episode 126

Tonight's show is the Valentine's Day episode, albeit ROH is a bit late on the draw. I can't imagine this is a consistent theme, but it does give us a place to start. Let's get to it. 

The Romantic Touch vs. Mike Bennett (/w Maria Kanellis) 

Of course the Valentine's Day episode starts with RT. Who else could it be? Veda Scott joins Corino and Kelly on commentary. ROH does some fine camera work, spotting the many, many ladies in attendance for RT, no doubt. Bennett looks big here, like he added a lot of bulk in a short time. I'm not implying anything, honestly, maybe it's his fuller beard. 

RT plays up his love machine ways early on in the match. Bennett cuts him off with a Lou Thesz press and punches to follow up. Bennett does that a thousand times better than Steve Austin, for what it's worth. Not many times I can say that. RT gets distracted by Maria, letting Bennett clothesline him and take control once again. Right in time for a commercial break to boot. 

Bennett is in control when the show returns. RT turns the tides by avoiding a Bennett big splash in the corner. RT lands a diving back elbow as he springs out of the corner. He pushes Bennett out of the ring and lines him up for a dive. Bennett pulls Maria in the way, immediately halting RT. Bennett shoves Maria into RT's arms. He's more than happy to catch her. Bennett superkicks the distracted RT.  

RT rolls out of a side effect. He lands a picture perfect dropkick that gets him a two count. It could have been three for all we know, but Maria was up on the apron, gyrating and swiveling her hips, distracting RT. RT reaches for a box that he had on the announcers table and brings it over to Maria. She opens it, revealing sweet chocolate treats on the inside. But Maria must not like chocolate, because she smacks them up into RT's face. Bennett short-arm clotheslines RT and locks on his new anaconda vise finisher. RT taps moments later.

Match rating: **. The real stellar work was on commentary. I enjoy Kelly and Corino a lot, plus them playing along with the RT gimmick while Veda Scott insists that he's really Rhett Titus gets a laugh from me. As did a forlorn RT slowly eating chocolate by himself after the match. I've been there, buddy. Bennett and RT had a short match that I can already remember little about, moments after I saw it. It's a standard 10-minute TV match. Nothing to get worked up about in either direction. 

Mark and Jay Briscoe get a minute-long video to hype up the main event tonight. Briscoes vs. Cole/Hardy vs. Elgin/Hero. You've already sold me on it, guys, but I'm not complaining if these two get mic time.

Three Team Elimination Tag Team Match - Micheal Elgin & Chris Hero vs. Adam Cole & Matt Hardy vs. the Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe)

ROH gives this one the balance of TV time. The Briscoes have such a great look and they've come so far from their 2002 super generic indy look. Bobby Cruise hops on the mic to inform us that if someone beats Adam Cole by pinfall or submission, then they will receive an ROH World title shot. "Since when," a despondent Cole cries, "since when!?" 

Elgin and Jay start the match. Jay gets pushed to the ropes and tries to shoulder Elgin, who doesn't budge. Elgin hits the ropes, Jay drops down, Elgin comes back, Jay leaps up, Elgin pauses. Instead of going under, he catches Jay on his shoulders. Jay slips off his back. Both men go for big right hands and both miss. They both want to get a piece of Cole and Hardy, but those two drop off the apron and refuse to tag in. 

Jay tags his brother in. Elgin punches him in the forehead and Mark gets fired up from it. Hero tags in. Hero actually towers over Mark, which I didn't expect. These two grapple with each other instead of trying shows of strength like their partners. They do a good job of it too. Hero hits the ropes and Mark leaps up to let Hero go under. Hero makes a Briscoe pay for that move for the second time tonight when he lands a big boot square in Mark's chest. Cover and two fall. 

Hero tags Elgin in but the show goes to break. It comes back with Jay and Hero in there. Cole and Hardy refuse to tag in again, forcing the other teams to fight it out. Those four get sick of Cole and Hardy's cowardice, so they chase them down. Cole escapes, but Hardy is trapped in the ring and now the de facto legal man. 

Hero and Elgin start the beatdown. Elgin gets his delayed vertical suplex in but Adam Cole breaks it up with a boot to the gut. Or does he??? Elgin never lets go and hoists Hardy right back up. Cole boots him a second time. Elgin is undeterred. He lifts Hardy up a third time and manages to finish off the suplex. Elgin tags out to Mark Briscoe. He lands a few punches then makes his brother the legal man. Jay does a bit of work then tags Mark back in. Hardy manages to drive Mark into his corner, where Cole slaps Hardy's back and becomes legal for the first time. 

Elgin tags in and stomps on Cole again and again. Cole slows Elgin down with a jawbreaker, but Elgin falls back towards the Briscoes, so Jay tags in. Hardy knees Jay's back when he hits the ropes, leaving the door open for Cole to take control. Cole and Hardy swap in and out, taking turns to beat on Jay. They have an extended heat section where they isolate Jay in their corner. Jay gets some room to breath with a combo of punches and back elbows. He dives across the ring and tags in his brother. Redneck kung fu time. Cole irish whips Mark towards the corner and Hero tags himself in. Mark wants to keep going, but he's no longer the legal man. Where there's a will, there's a way. Matt Hardy is laying on the mats outside the ring, so Mark decides it's best to elbow drop him from the ring apron, Cactus Jack style.

Elgin and Mark are the legal men when we come back from another break. Elgin gets his second signature spot in where he has Jay draped across his shoulders and Mark in his arms, slamming them both back simultaneously. The crowd loves it and chants "Michael Elgin!" for the effort. Elgin poses, relishing the moment. Cole takes the chance to tag himself in. 

Mark and Jay land a neckbreaker/razor's edge combo on Cole. Mark gets the cover, but Elgin and Hero break it. I guess they care more about title shots than winning the match? Matt Hardy makes a legal tag somewhere in the ensuing chaos. Jay lands a neckbreaker on him. Mark goes up top and hits a froggybow. That's a frog splash, elbow drop combo for the uninitiated. Look it up, it's a beaut. More chaos as everyone keeps getting involved. Matt hits a twist of fate on Mark. Cover for the pin, and the Briscoes are gone. 

Jay isn't keen on leaving. Not without first battering Cole with some fists. ROH security has to drag him away. Hero and Hardy are the legal men now. Hero lands a great discuss elbow then a  neckbreaker from the middle turnbuckle. Hardy counters a suplex attempt into a side effect but Elgin breaks the ensuing pin. Cole tags in. Hero hits a rolling elbow, this time on Cole. Hero tags out to Elgin, giving us an Elgin-Cole showdown. Elgin tries to suplex Cole, who knees him in the head while in the suplex. Both men counter the other. Cole tries his Canadian destroyer variation but Elgin doesn't flip back. Cole thinks fast and turns it into a sunset flip. Elgin rolls through and attempts a deadlift German. Cole's too quick for that, pushing himself out and trying a superkick. Elgin blocks it and finally lands a spinning backfist. Hardy cuts off Elgin and tackles him through the ropes. 

Hero got a tag in while Elgin fell past him. Hero covers up when Cole is about to superkick him. Cole kicks Hero in the knee instead. Cole goes to the top rope, looking for the Panama City Destroyer one more. Hero is too smart for that, stepping back before Cole lands. Hero lands a big straight right hand on Cole's jaw. Cole staggers, Hero ends up creaming him with a rolling elbow. Hero gets the pin and the title shot! 

Match rating: ***1/2 I enjoyed the match, but it has its flaws. Namely, it has a very weird dynamic because of it being a three-way tag with two face teams and a heel team. The heels refuse to get in the ring, which makes sense, but it forces the faces to work on each other and that never really built to much. Hero and Elgin breaking up the pinfall was also pretty sour for me, since it meant they put the title shot over winning this match. I guess that makes sense, but it never sat well with me once they did it. Hero looked like the biggest star of the match. His offense was crisp and on a whole level above the other guys. Everyone else did well, but Hero stood out. The finish sequence also excelled. Fast action with nice counters and a smooth flow. 

Final Thoughts

Another strong week of ROH TV. This is way better than it was last year and ROH finally feels like it has some momentum behind it. I also have to mention how much I love the Corino and Kelly pairing on commentary. Corino is a heel, but doesn't completely stooge it up in an obnoxious way. Plus, he's genuinely funny and doesn't automatically disagree with every last thing Kelly says. Good call getting him a headset. Looking forward to next week. 

ROH TV show recap - Episode 125

ROH left the comfortable confines of Nashville and moved on to Pittsburgh. Our main event for the evening will be a triple threat match for the ROH Television championship, but we start off with some tag action. Let's get to it.

Adrenaline Rush (ACH & Tadarius Thomas) vs. Decade (Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer) (/w Roderick Strong)
Decade refuses to shake hands since Adrenaline Rush are beneath them. Jacobs and Thomas start off. Thomas forces Jacobs to his knees early when they lock hands, but Jacobs gets out by first going into cross-legged head scissors, then his airplane spin. Thomas avoids any punishment by cartwheeling through that. An arm drag takes Jacobs down and a single-leg drop kick keeps him there.  Thomas tags in ACH while Jacobs escapes back to his corner.

ACH and Whitmer circle each other. Whitmer knees ACH in the gut instead of locking up, then starts to rough up the youngster. ACH tries to bulldog Whitmer with no success as Whitmer pushes him away. Whitmer tags Jacobs back in, who chokes ACH almost immediately. Jacobs gets the rope pulled down on him, sending him outside. ACH planchas onto Jacobs then throws him back into the ring. ACH goes up top and misses what was supposed to be a dropkick. Maybe? He jumped but didn't go for anything. Good thing too, since that let ACH land on his feet when Jacobs ducked. ACH slaps Jacobs silly and Jacobs stumbles around, dazed. Whitmer is in the ring and he grabs Jacobs by the tights and the neck then hurls Jacobs at ACH. Jacobs spears ACH so hard that we have to go to a commercial break.

Whitmer and Jacobs are in control after the break. Jacobs pins ACH after a neckbreaker but he only gets two. Jacobs rushes at ACH when ACH is in the corner. ACH shellshocks Jacobs into the middle turnbuckle, buying himself enough time to tag in Thomas.

Thomas uses his capoeira kicks to bring down Jacobs and Whitmer. Thomas has to throw Whitmer over the top rope to get some alone time with Jacobs. Jacobs joins Whitmer a moment later, which lets Thomas know its time for a suicide dive. ACH is back in the ring and wants to join the jumping party. Too bad for him that Whitmer cuts him off with a hard chop. Thomas gets back in there, as does Jacobs, and Jacobs ends up leg dropping Thomas before long. Jacobs avoids a high kick but gets caught with a half-nelson suplex. Both men tag out. ACH has Whitmer reeling but Jacobs interferes with a pin attempt. Thomas is on the apron. Jacobs charges at Thomas, dives through the ropes, and spears him onto the floor below. Jacobs sent Thomas flying all the way to the barricade with that one.

Back in the ring, ACH hurricanranas Whitmer. He hooks the legs, but Whitmer kicks out. Big boot from Whitmer. Jacobs and Whitmer land their new tag finisher, "the all-seeing eye", and this one's all done.

Match Rating: **1/4 Good enough for an opener. Whitmer and Jacobs work well together, which should be no shock given their experience. The biggest problem here was the hot tag: Thomas showed almost no fire. His capoeira kicks were sometimes effective in the match but after the hot tag they looked slow and choreographed. The ending was also a bit sudden.


ROH gives us a promo for the top prospect tournament finals, recounting the roads that Raymond Rowe and Hanson took to get there. It's a showdown of two big, hard-hitting men. That's the kind of wrestling I like.


Top Prospect Finals - Hanson vs. Raymond Rowe
Both men follow the code of honor to start, but Hanson immediately knees Rowe after the formality. Rowe knees Hanson right back and clotheslines him over the top rope, taking himself out too. Rowe gets back in the ring and looks like he's going to dive back out at Hanson, but Hanson boots Rowe in the head before the dive.

Rowe and Hanson are fighting a physical match when they brawl. Lots of kneeing and clubbing with Hanson getting the best of it. Hanson hits the ropes and  Rowe responds with a stiff forearm. Rowe follows up with diving double knees into Hanson's chest. Hanson goes flying into the turnbuckles from the force of that. Rowe hits a big German suplex on Hanson but the ensuing pin gets a two count. Hanson catches Rowe and powerslams him. Two count.

Rowe ducks under a swinging ax handle, lifts Hanson up by the waist, and slams him down hard. Hanson backs Rowe into the corner, facing the center of the ring himself, and delivers a couple of hard back elbows to Rowe. Hanson gets some distance so he can charge the now sitting Rowe, but Rowe gets out of the way in the nick of time. Hanson crotches himself on the bottom turnbuckle. Rowe comes up from behind and hits a backdrop driver. Hanson is up immediately and hits a backdrop driver of his own. Rowe pops up too and hits another backdrop driver.  He wants a full-nelson slam after that but is not about to get it. Hanson elbows his way out, cartwheels past Rowe, and lariats Rowe off his feet.

Hanson tries for his spin kick of doom. Rowe catches the leg, hoists Hanson into the air, and slams him down with all his might. Rowe goes for the Death Sentence again, which starts with a full-nelson. Hanson gets out of it, plants a foot, and swings the other around with all his might. Spin kick of doom. It smashes Rowe's head. Hason makes the cover. One, two, three, this one is over. We have a top prospect.

Match Rating: **1/2. I love a big man battle, and this was a nice example. There were a couple instances where someone went for a strike and swung in a way that never would have hit. That's a huge pet peeve of mine. None of them were egregious, but it was definitely noticeable on the first spin kick of doom. A few more minutes to draw out the selling and add in some more straight brawling but keeping their other spots would have helped. Otherwise, this was good. I want to see more of Rowe and Hanson.


Mark and Jay Briscoe have a pre-recorded promo. They're back together as a tag team next week. I'm hyped for it. Next week's main event is a three way elimination tag match: The Briscoes vs. Cole & Hardy vs. Elgin & Hero.


ROH Television Championship - Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven
Some people are really down on triple threats, like they hate all of them. I can't say I'm that down on the concept, but I'm not a fan either. The pacing is difficult on triple threat matches but they're not all stinkers. Hopefully this one can deliver.

Truth Martini and the Hoopla Hotties come out to confront Taven before the match. Truth says he knew exactly what Taven wanted from the moment they met. Truth sends the hotties away because hoopla is DEAD. The crowd is a lot more upset than Taven about this. Taven fires Truth. He speaks for himself now.

Tommaso has a determined, intense look in his eye as he comes out. So intense that there's no time for introduction. We're straight into the action. Action so hot that I can't handle it, if by handle it I mean effectively type out what's going on, so highlights will suffice.

Lethal takes turns going back and forth onto Taven and Ciampa with suicide dives to the outside. He dives out of the ring six times. SIX TIMES. And just after that Ciampa throws Taven into the guardrails outside.

Ciampa pulls up the pads outside, exposing the cold, hard floor. Ciampa gets ready to suplex Taven but Lethal interferes. Ciampa hits a running powerslam on Lethal into the guardrail. Taven eats a suplex outside, but he lands on the padding instead of the exposed ground. Ciampa is in charge once him and Lethal are back in the ring. Taven has to enzugiri Ciampa to wrest away control.

Lethal attempts a lethal injection on both opponents, but they catch him. Lethal rolls out of a messy predicament before anything goes too sour. Lethal has Ciampa in a koji clutch until Ciampa gets his foot on the bottom rope. The lethal injection lands on Ciampa but Taven frog splashes Lethal almost instantly. Martini distracts Taven for a moment after he tried to give Taven The Book of Truth. Lethal superkicks Taven, who leaps outside with a purpose. Lethal rolls up Ciampa and the announcers count the pin: one, two, three, four. Ciampa kicks out before five, but the ref never made an official count. Lethal goes out of the ring. Truth Martini trips Taven as he gets back in the ring. One Project Ciampa later and there's a three count.

Match rating: **1/4. The crowd chants that was awesome, I'd say "that was okay." It protects Lethal and Taven but Ciampa keeps his belt. Everyone wins! So no one wins, really. It was not the rare triple threat that rises above its stature, nor was it a dud. Taven's selling on the Lethal superkick was almost comical, so check that out.

Final Thoughts
This week did not have the big marquee main event like last week. No match really stands out in any superlative way. But there were three solid matches that are worth a watch and enjoyable in their own rights. The top prospect tournament final was my favorite, though I think it could have used a couple more minutes and some more intense brawling. The big takeaway: ROH TV doesn't feel like malaise forever anymore.

ROH TV show recap - Episode 124

AJ Styles returns to ROH. What else do you want me to say? Let's get to it.

ROH Top Prospect Tournament Semifinal - Hanson vs. Andrew Everett

Prince Nana joins the commentary table for this semifinal match. Hanson has a mighty viking beard and some gear to match. Everett grapples at Hanson, who's having none of it. A middle rope dropkick barely moves Hanson, the much bigger man. Everett wants to fly and high-impact moves might be his only chance. Another dropkick puts Hanson to the outside. Everett high jumps the top rope, but Hanson catches him on his shoulder. He torpedoes Everett into the ring post in an impressive show of strength. 

Hanson lariats Everett in the back of the head when Everett goes to hit the ropes. Some distant "huss" chants in the crowd. Hanson tries to throw Everett like he did before, this time into the top turnbuckle, but Everett is quick to reverse with headscissors. Everett is on top now. He gets Hanson back down two more times, first with a hurricanrana and then a springboard dropkick. Hanson's a little hurt, though he can still grab Everett by the scruff of the neck and toss him around. 

Hanson clotheslines Everett outside then sizes him up for a dive. A big man is considering this, so the crowd pops at the idea. Actually, they're really into the entire match. Hanson suicide dives through the ropes and gets nothing but air. He rolls through it pretty gracefully, if I say so myself. Everett gets back in the ring just so he can use the top rope. A springboard shooting star press leaves both men down outside. 

The crowd is chanting for Everett. Everett leaps over the top rope from the apron, kicking his legs out almost into the splits, and springboards off the inside of the middle rope. Too bad for him that Hanson flattens him with a big spinning leg lariat. The 1-2-3 puts Hanson in the tournament finals against Raymond Rowe. 

Match rating: **1/2. Simple concept: big man hurts smaller man, smaller man has to soar to do anything about it. Everett's a fine high flyer and Hanson's got a look that stands out in ROH. This opened the show up nicely and the spinning leg lariat to a springboarding Everett made for a nice finish. 

Michael Bennett (/w Maria Kanellis) vs. Cedric Alexander

Maria takes the mic before Alexander can come out. She's ripping on Kevin Steen: he touched her in a vile way, he's everything that's wrong with wrestling, and he didn't deserve a victory over Bennett. If the crowd was in to the opener, then they sure tuned out quickly for this. No heat.

Bennett tries a sucker punch as the bell rings. Alexander gets under it and pops Bennett with a right of his own. Alexander has control for only a few moments before Bennett is back in charge. Alexander picks up the pace of a slow starting match when he topes onto Bennett. Alexander's really fast and he executes the leap well, but these spots start to lose meaning when they happen every match. 

We come back from commercial with the two outside the ring. Bennett shoves Alexander into a barricade then rolls him back inside. But that lasts for all of a two seconds, the time it takes to get a two count, before Bennett throws Alexander back out of the ring. Fair enough, I guess Bennett is arrogant enough to think shoving someone into a barricade is good for a pinfall. Back into the ring again. Cedric's in the corner. Bennett charges. He leaps. Alexander moves out of the way, letting Bennett crotch himself on the middle turnbuckle. 

Alexander starts to fire up. Bennett slips outside and they tease another dive. Alexander hits a springboard clothesline. A moment later, he goes for another. Bennett spears him, or so the announcers say, it looked more like a spinebuster, I guess. Nearfall for two a moment later. Bennett hoists Alexander up on his shoulders. Alexander slips off and kicks Bennett into the corner. Alexander tries to finish Bennett off, but Bennett rolls outside again. Alexander lays out Bennett once again, goes up top, and gets two knees to the body for trying a frog splash. Bennett clotheslines Alexander, throws on an anaconda vice, and Alexander taps immediately. Bennett calls it a "Go Back To Japan" after the match. 

Match rating: *. The only thing keeping this from being a DUD was the crowd being pretty in to it. Otherwise, I hated this. It wasn't a botchfest or even sloppy. It was just a sequence of moves, one guy taking advantage of the other for a brief with little rhyme or reason.  The constant going outside and the dives/springboards irked me more than a little. Plus, you know I hate guys tapping out with no build. Or you do now. Maybe I'm being ornery, but I'm sticking to my guns.

Roderick Strong v. AJ Styles

Match maker Nigel McGuinness pops on a headset for the main event. Strong and Styles start off with grappling. Strong has a waistlock. Styles gets out and brings him to the mat with a wristlock. Strong ends up getting Styles in headscissors. He slaps his thigh and tries some heeling, sarcastically yelling "yes" whenever Styles says "no, I do not give up this early" to the ref. "You're in my ring now, AJ." Styles takes Strong down for a moment. The two try to out wrestle each other for all of a minute before the crowd starts a "this is wrestling!" chant. 

We move on from the mat work section of the match to the running the ropes section so the pace can pick up. A Styles dropkick forces Strong to roll outside. Styles goes for a baseball slide instead of a suicide dive. I respect that. Commercial break.

Styles hits a gut buster when we come back. Styles is in the corner. Strong eats boot when he rushes in. Styles goes over the top rope and onto the apron. He tries a springboard of his own, but Strong dropkicks Styles just before he can. Smooth execution. Strong takes Styles outside and throws him into a barricade. He drags Styles towards another, then whips him into that one too. 

Styles rolls across the ring after Strong puts him back in it. Styles rolls out of a back suplex attempt on the apron and into the ring. He forearms Strong off the apron. Styles tries another baseball slide. This time Strong counters it. Strong lifts Styles up and slams his back against the edge of the ring. Let the back breaking commence! Strong gets a two count for that. Strong and Styles both hit the ropes and try a crossbody, meaning both are laid out. Styles gets up first. He clotheslines Strong, elbows him, and spinning kicks him when Strong keeps springing up. Styles goes out to the apron. He springboards in, forearming Strong. Another two count leads us to a commercial break. 

Styles taunts like he's about to finish off Strong. Strong back body drops Styles, nope, Styles rolls through. He tries a Styles Clash. Strong escapes with a heel to the head. Olympic slam by Strong. Big running knee into the corner, hitting Styles clean in the jaw. Strong hits a running forearm and one of his many back breakers to finish the combo. Two count. Strong and Styles are hurting now. They're countering each other left and right until Styles back flips off the middle rope in the corner and catches Strong for an inverted DDT. 

Styles drags himself up top. Strong forearms, slaps, and chops him, in that very order. Strong gets up on the top rope too. Strong hits the big superplex then rolls over for the cover: only two! Both guys look absolutely exhausted at this point. The match moves at a blistering pace, so I can't blame 'em. Strong double underhooks Styles. Styles kicks Strong to the head before Strong can flip him over. Strong misses Styles in the corner and a Pele kick to the shoulder hurts Strong badly. Short brainbuster by Styles. Two count. Styles thought that would be enough. 

Styles goes back onto the apron and springboards in. He misses the rope and hyperextends one knee. The other smacks Strong in the head as he's on the mat. Styles is selling the knee big time. Styles is on the top rope again, sitting on the turnbuckle. Strong jerks him off and nails Styles with a backbreaker. Strong follows with a double knee gutbuster, but it's only good for two.  

Strong elbows Styles, who shells up until he recovers enough to fire back. Strong blasts the hell out of Styles with a high jumping knee. He tries a clothesline too, but Styles gets a leg pick and rolls them both down to the mat. Styles has Strong in a calf-cutter. Strong only gets out by rolling Styles over into a pin. They trade a few chops and forearms. Both men stagger after each shot. Styles hits a flurry of strikes. Strong ducks a clothesline, hits the ropes, ducks a Styles clothesline, hits the other rope, and CRUSHES Styles with another big knee. One, two, nope, only two. Jumping knee from Strong. Styles is all fired up and clotheslines Strong immediately after it. Styles yanks Strong in, lifts up his waist, steps over the arms, and hits a Styles clash. Styles hooks the leg. 1-2-3. We have a winner. AJ Styles wins in his return. BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs ambush him before the celebration can sink in, but a gaggle of faces run them off. 

Match rating: ****1/4. Very, very good match. It's good work rate in spades, but actually adds some psychology, build, and sense of timing to make that mean something. This is the most difficult match recap I have written yet because of how fast these two were going at times. Way more pausing and rewinding than a Stan Hansen match. The only thing that really brings this down are a few slip ups (nothing really bad except the springboard) that both guys covered for nicely and an ending that felt a little rushed. And it looked like it broke Strong neck. Luckily, the outcome wasn't that bad, but he's been hurt ever sense. Otherwise, top stuff. 

ROH TV show recap - Episode 123

And we're back in Nashville again. Heads up for these reviews: I know ROH TV is way behind their live shows. I'm doing my best to avoid spoilers and enjoy this as a week-to-week show as it airs.

ROH Top Prospect Tournament Semi Final - Raymond Rowe vs. Corey Hollis
Hollis is about the most generic looking guy you'll see in wrestling. Only a beard helps separate him. It's not even a full beard, not that I can talk about that. Rowe's considerably bigger and more bearded. Rowe's got some fine looking punches and chops. The camera work during this match is awful. The hard cam must be busted or something because it's all the handhelds recording footage right now. Very shaky and amateur looking.

Hollis tries a hurricanrana that Rowe stops with brute strength. Both guys are working hard in there and it's a fast-paced match. Rowe scoops up Hollis for a full-nelson slam, but knees Hollis in the back of the head on his way down. Cool looking move, Hollis is out cold, and Ray Rowe is on to the finals.

Match rating: *1/2. Very short match. The rating isn't a knock, the match is simply too short to give any real credit too. I like Rower's finisher, but he'll probably kill someone with that before too long. It screams "concussion machine."

RD Evans (/w Veda Scott) vs. "Matt Cells"? 
The undefeated RD Evans is out, 13-0. His opponent is a Shetland Jack Swagger that gets no introduction. "Matt Cells" is his name, I think.  Veda gets a bit of camera time to remind us that the real top prospect is already in the ring. Matt is roughing up Evans in there. Evans takes a really awkward looking bump off the apron when Matt knees him. Looks like he landed right on his ass. Evans gets back in the ring, clotheslines Matt, and finishes him off with a diving headbutt.

Match rating: *. Another very short match.

Veda's got a mic and is in the ring afterwards. "You can all updates you blogs and your fansites." Will do, Veda, will do. Veda volunteers RD to go for 15-0 tonight. She issues an open challenge to ANYONE on the roster. Bad news, Evans, Michael Elgin answers first.

Michael Elgin vs. RD Evans (/w Veda Scott)
Elgin extends a hand as the crowd chants "Don't die, RD, don't die!" Elgin jerks Evans in with the handshake and then slams Evans. They're outside in a few seconds, where Elgin is throwing Evans into barricades. Goddamn, Evans is bumping like crazy into the boards.

Evans is dead in the water when Elgin rolls him back in the ring. Elgin puts Evans up on the top rope. Veda's there to distract Elgin just long enough for Evans to recover. He tries a sunset flip powerbomb but Elgin is way too strong. Elgin ends up back on the middle rope as Evans is standing on the apron outside. Elgin lifts Evans up for a superplex from there, delaying it so the crowd can count it out. I do like Elgin, I really do, but I can do without that spot ever single match. Buckle bomb. Spinning sit out power bomb. Evans is done. Elgin is not.

Elgin gets some chairs from outside to set up. Elgin powerbombs Evans through the chairs. RD Evans is victorious! 15-0! 15-0!

Security, a/k/a ROH's ring crew, swarms Elgin to stop any more carnage.

Match rating: **. Big credit to Evans for his bumping. Elgin played up that he's blinded by rage and wants to beat the hell out of someone, anyone, until he gets his hands on Adam Cole. Elgin gets to look like a monster, Evans gets to add to his win streak. Everyone's a winner.

AJ Styles returning to ROH video package. He'll be here next week.

Matt Taven vs.  Tadarius Thomas
A collar-and-elbow tie up to start the match off. TD and Taven exchange wristlocks and work through a bunch of slick transitions to get up to trading headlocks. Thomas forearms Taven to end the chain wrestling segment of this match.

Taven pops TD with a missile dropkick. He hurricanranas TD, who dodges any impact by cartwheeling through it. The ref actually admonishes Taven for clutching TD's tights before and during a suplex. Very judicious enforcement of the rules, I approve.

Corino's talking about Matt Hardy on commentary, making an awkward mention of Hardy spending time with his beautiful wife. TD eats back-to-back enzugiris as he sits on the top turnbuckle. TD pushes Taven away when he tries a huracanrana. TD tries to ax handle Taven from the top. Taven counters with a superkick. Now Taven's up top and he lands a frog splash with plenty of air. It's enough to finish TD.

Match rating: *1/2. To be succinct: it was a bunch of moves. Neither guys are stiffs, but there's nothing to this match.

Another video package follows, giving a bit of back story to Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Cole. Cole's answering Briscoe's charges today. Jay's out there first, letting Cole know that he's there to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And he's all out of bubble gum. His line, not mine.

It's not Cole who greets Jay tonight, it's tag team champion Bobby Fish. Bobby Fish proclaims that he's a real champion, like Adam Cole. Jay Briscoe is a fake. Fish wants Jay to know that Cole won't dignify a fake title by coming out here, but Fish is more than happy to represent ROH in a match.

Bobby Fish vs. Jay Briscoe
Fish yells that he wants a shot at Briscoe's fake title as we go to a commercial break. Kevin Kelly lets us know the rest of the hour is going to Jay Briscoe vs. Bobby Fish, so I'm expecting a nice long match. Fish kicks the inside of Jay's thigh when they consider locking up.  He's using leg kicks early on and Jay's selling the knee already, limping around moments in.

Jay headbutts Fish and whips him into the boards outside. He tosses the chairs from outside into the ring, but the ref cleared them out by the time Jay and Fish are in there again. Jay's laying the boots to Fish, who's trying to run away when the beating doesn't stop. The two take it outside again, where Jay is throwing Fish into the boards once more.

Fish is trying to run like hell until he gets an opening to take control. Fish follows up almost every move with a pin attempt. Slam then pin. Suplex then pin. Rinse and repeat. If Briscoe bumps, Fish pins. Fish starts to get more frustrated with each kick out.

Jay fights back with headbutts and boots. Both guys have good looking strikes that they trade back and forth. Jay makes Fish buckle over long enough to scoop him up for a falcon arrow. Two count. Jay wants the Jay Driller, Fish drives him into the corner to avoid it.

Fish puts Jay up on the top turnbuckle, looking for a superplex. Jay hammers away at Fish's sides and dumps him off the top. Fish takes a hell of a bump there, like he was trying to push himself as far away as he could. Jay lands a splash but it hurts him too. The ref's giving both men a ten count. Adam Cole finally shows up now. Cole claps and taunts Jay. Both men in the ring are back on their feet. They're exchanging stiffer and stiffer forearms until Fish starts to break. He starts to wobble. Fish's forearm attempt is barely a slap a slap now.

Jay doesn't let up. A few more hard forearms drive Fish back. He irish whips Fish, looking for the killing blow, but Fish ducks under it. Cole grabbed Jay's belt outside, distracting him away from Fish. Fish crouches in wait. The ref is yelling at Cole on the outside, giving Fish the chance to land a crushing low blow. Jay's hurt badly now. Fish hits a Saito suplex on Jay, covers, but only gets two! Great near fall, I thought this one was over.

Fish sizes up Jay. He wants to kick his head clean off, but a kneeling Jay gets under the kick. He grabs Fish by the waist and shoves him into Adam Cole, who was up on the ring apron. Jay doubles Fish over, hooks the arms, and a Jay Driller ends the main event.

Adam Cole gets in the ring while Jay celebrates his win. He's going to use the world title to blindside Jay, but Jay avoids it. Cole drops the belt and rolls out of the ring before Jay can get his hands on him. Jay's got both world title belts now, much to Cole's disgust.

Match Rating: ***. Good main event that was missing a little something to take it to the next level. Fish spammed pins early on then didn't get any in for a long while, which made his nearfall at the end entirely believable.

Final Thoughts
This week was much more entertaining than the last. We got a good-length main event, plenty of RD Evans, and more set up to matches down the road without feeling so much like a pure transition episode. Next week is AJ Style's return. I'm looking forward to it.