ROH 390 – Reloaded Tour: Atlanta – 29th August 2015

I believe this was BOLA 2015 weekend over in PWG. It means that the Young Bucks aren’t here tonight, and it means that a few guys – such as Strong and Sydal – are working insane schedules which involve working PWG in California on the Friday and Sunday the heading to Atlanta for this ROH event too. Makes you wonder why ROH chose to run the same weekend doesn’t it? The main event pits reDRagon and Adam Cole (all of whom are PWG regulars and presumably are missing a couple of paydays this weekend) against a championship dream team of The Addiction and Jay Lethal. With so much talent in the main event it means the undercard is understandably weakened – but does feature a couple of stand-out matches. Jay Briscoe and Moose are scheduled (note scheduled) to do battle in a first time singles match, Adam Page’s quest to climb the ROH rankings puts him in the ring with former World Champion Michael Elgin (another guy presumably not getting PWG money this weekend), whilst War Machine prepare to head to NOAH for another rematch with the Killer Elite Squad by facing Matt Sydal and ACH. This one was taped in Atlanta, GA with Steve Corino and Kevin Kelly providing commentary.

SIDENOTE – Considering it’s just a house show/live event tour, the graphics package for the Reloaded Tour DVD menus and packging is really amazing. Unfortunately the actual set-up for the event itself looks awful. We have a poorly lit arena, blurry ringside mobile camera and an off-centre hard cam making everything look extremely messy. It’s a house show so I understand there isn’t the same pressure to deliver to the high standards of TV or PPV, but it isn’t difficult to make sure your cameras are in focus…

Corey Hollis vs Cedric Alexander
I’m definitely ok with Hollis getting more bookings. He remains rather vanilla, but whenever he does swing through ROH on enhancement talent duty he always looks crisp and wholly capable. Will he get an expanded role with the company some time in the future? He’ll earn that coveted permanent roster spot much more quickly if he is able to defeat Cedric this evening. Alexander has been on a hot streak since aligning himself with Veda Scott, and is now preparing for another grudge rematch with Moose at All Star Extravaganza 7. Veda herself isn’t here this evening.

Alexander tries to make fun of Hollis for being small – which is ironic because he’s barely any bigger than him – and gets made a fool of himself because Corey can GO. He can out-wrestle Cedric on the mat and move faster than him through the air it seems. TOPE CON HILO NAILED! Hollis isn’t done either, and he somersaults back in to hit a flying headscissors for 2! Alexander finally mounts some offence for the first time…and he DESTROYS Hollis with a running football kick on the apron. Cedric is brutal with his opponent, making even a basic back elbow spot SNAP with such force that he splits Hollis’ eye open. POKE TO THE BLEEDING EYE! Then he rakes it against the middle rope! I’m still not comfortable with how Alexander uses Eddie Guerrero’s Three Amigos spot as a tease to get heel heat, but it is enjoyable watching him really beat up Corey now. He hasn’t done enough damage to successfully hit Overtime though, as Hollis pops up to hit a bridging judo suplex for 2. 540 Kick into a Michinoku Driver gets 2 for Alexander right back! Hollis FLIPS out of the Lumbar Check into a STANDING SHIRANUI LUNGBLOWER! Alexander makes the ropes! He kicks at the bloody eye some more then ploughs into it with the Concussion on Delivery dropkick. LUMBAR CHECK! Alexander scores a hard-fought win at 11:24

Rating - **** - This was one of my favourite ROH opening matches all year. Physical, intense, well-wrestled, a clearly defined heel/face dynamic, no overbooked shenanigans and featuring two talented young workers – this is exactly the kind of match Ring Of Honor was set-up to showcase all the way back in 2002. From a continuity booking perspective it was atrocious, but as a match I loved it. I say the booking was atrocious – because having Hollis have this kind of competitive match with Alexander makes zero sense. He’s been nothing but a jobber for his entire ROH career, and was on enhancement duty on TV just a few weeks ago. Unless Delirious now plans to sign him up and start using him regularly, all this match did was crush the momentum Alexander has been working hard to build with the heel turn and Moose feud.

Michael Bennett/Matt Taven vs Takaaki Watanabe/Will Ferrara
There are plenty of big matches on the horizon for three of these four individuals. The Kingdom are in the final stages of preparation for their big Tag Title shot at All Star Extravaganza, and pressure is high since Maria has stated she wants to lead Bennett and Taven to those belts before her contract expires at the end of the year. Watanabe too has gold on his mind, as he gets a TV Title shot at the post-All Star Extravaganza tapings in San Antonio. The fact that all of his colleagues in this match could have titles around their waists very soon also increases the stakes for Ferrara. If he gets a win he may just sneak into unlikely title contention somewhere down the road.

Maria joins commentary to complaining about Adam Cole being in the main event whilst the rest of The Kingdom are way down the card. Her men bully Ferrara in an impressive start to the match, but she talks over the whole thing taking thinly veiled shots at the Bellas, Total Divas and WWE women’s wrestling instead. They totally box Watanabe out of the match for several minutes, including taking Will to the outside and pasting him into the guardrails. The concrete floor is exposed for a Hail Mary of complete death…but Ferrara counters with a flying European uppercut and lunges into the ring to finally bring Evil into the match legally. Stereo Germans from the babyface team for 2! Tope suicida from Taven to Watanabe…then a tope suicida from Ferrara to him! The Kingdom block Ferrara’s tornado DDT and hit the Hail Mary on him to win at 08:20

Rating - ** - The finish looked silly as you could clearly see Watanabe stood on the floor watching rather than breaking the count, but everything else was decent. It was a neat little twist on the usual tag formula to have the heel team effectively ‘nab’ the little guy from the opposition and isolate him so hard from the opening bell that you wondered if his enforcer of a tag partner would get an opportunity to legally enter the match at all. It also protected Watanabe, who for some reason has a TV Title shot coming up so has to look at least a little like a threat to Jay Lethal…

Before the next match BJ Whitmer brings out a gang of training seminar guys to act as his ‘security guards’ because Steve Corino makes it an ‘unsafe working environment’, then Page complains that he has to face Elgin rather than Jay Briscoe tonight.

Adam Page vs Michael Elgin
The Decade believe that Page should now be considered a top player in Ring Of Honor. He has beaten ACH multiple times, proving that he can win big matches where ACH can’t, and has now started antagonising ROH veteran and former World Champion Jay Briscoe on television. He prepares for his showdown with Jay Briscoe by locking horns with another ex-ROH Champion in Michael Elgin.

Elgin has gone back to using his old entrance theme. He easily bludgeons Page all over the ring, but doesn’t put the youngster away and gradually The Decade man works his way back into proceedings. Whitmer distracts Michael as he tries to set up a powerbomb…and Adam immediately counters with the SSP OFF THE APRON! Back in the ring he climbs onto Elgin’s back trying to sap his strength with a sleeper hold…then hits the jumping DDT for 2 when Unbreakable swats him off. Rite Of Passage blocked…Elgin Bomb blocked too! LARIATOOOOO decks Page! Rolling Germans come next, followed by a CHAOS THEORY when Page looks to set up for the Adam’s Apple. Big Mike Fly Flow blocked…AVALANCHE ELGIN BOMB COUNTERED TO A FRANKENSTEINER! RED STAR PRESS gets Adam a hot nearfall! Still he can’t hit the Rite Of Passage, and instead gets stuck trying to trade strikes with the bigger man. WESTERN LARIATOOOO! DEAD-LIFT SUPER FALCON ARROW gets 2! Page looks done, so BJ Whitmer and his security team pull him out of the ring. The Decade walk out, meaning Page is counted out to lose at somewhere around 14:00…

Rating - *** - The match itself was very good, so tacking on such a farcically bad finish was a major disappointment. As a wrestling contest it was everything I was hoping for; in that it felt fresh and allowed the strengths of both men to come to the fore. Page was an engaging old-school heel presence (staying right in his wheelhouse) and Elgin is always at his best when he avoids needless displays of power for no reason and instead concentrates on beating the tar out of his rivals. I understand that Delirious probably had a tough call to make on the finish, as I imagine New Japan weren’t too keen on their new big gaijin powerhouse jobbing on ROH houseshows – but Delirious is in the middle of trying to elevate Page. I’d argue that this was exactly the kind of situation time limit draws were invented for. Having Page walk-out gets The Decade the ‘wrong kind’ of heat for me.

Elgin has to settle for dishing out powerbombs to all of Whitmer’s ‘security team’.

Matt Sydal/ACH vs War Machine
Hanson and Rowe defeated the Killer Elite Squad in Brooklyn last week, so are now in intense training before heading to NOAH to face them again for the GHC Tag Titles. To that end their tag team skills are tested by an entirely different kind of duo tonight. Sydal and ACH are quick, resourceful and extremely athletic; combining the raw skills of ACH with Matt’s class and experience. Sydal and ACH themselves are preparing to enter a Best Of 5 Series AGAINST one another, with Sydal looking to put his own body on the line to train his ‘protégé’ how to finally win big matches in Ring Of Honor…

ACH is so blissfully self-absorbed he tries to grapple and trade holds with big Hanson, with much hilarity ensuing as Hanson easily swats him away. It’s only when he starts flipping and cranking up the pace that the big man can’t keep up and he gains an upper hand. No such mistake from Sydal, who works at a fast pace from the second he gets into the ring – and captains his side into driving War Machine all the way to the floor. Trying to take the fight to the outside proves to be a poor choice for them however, and it leads to them eating Sledgehammer strikes and the Bronco Buster. PK KICK from the apron by ACH…followed by a Meteora to the floor by Sydal! Rowe then counters Fatality into the Cement Mixer for 2. ACH’s big mouth keeps getting him into trouble and now leads to him being isolated from his partner. HEAD DROP GERMAN by Hanson! Rowe tries the same spot though – and this time ACH lands on his feet before making the hot tag to Matt. He hits a sweet Crucifix Driver on Rowe for a nearfall, straight into a Code Red on Hanson! It takes the massive cartwheel lariat from Hanson to quash his momentum…as Rowe mows down his partner with the Shotgun Knees. Superman Punch to Sydal! NO SOLD! REVERSE RANA! Hanson catches him lining up a Sydal Press; dragging him back into the Path Of Resistance. RUNNING MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR BY ACH! SYDAL PRESS! ROWE BREAKS THE PIN! That was a HOT nearfall! Hanson dodges the Midnight Star, tossing ACH into DEATH ROWE! SPIN KICK OF DOOM! FALLOUT ON SYDAL! Big win for War Machine at 15:42

Rating - **** - This was really good. Not just because the big spots at the end were exciting (which they were), but I really dug the level of detail they put into the early stages. They could have coasted along, but there was some genuinely deep stuff being thrown around. ACH is a cocky idiot, so kept trying to wrestle and show-off against his massive opponents…so was forced to spend most of the match acting like a punching bag for them. Sydal, on the other hand, has spent a big part of his career wrestling giants in the WWE so had a much smarter game plan – sticking and moving, working fast and doing all he could to stay out of Hanson and Rowe’s clutches. They carried that approach through the entire match to the extent that the only time ACH found any success was when he emulated the approach of his tag partner. War Machine back up their win over KES with another high profile victory here, we got plenty of foundation work laid out for the forthcoming ACH/Sydal Best Of 5, and the match itself was quick, exciting and relentless as well. People will sleep on this one I’m sure, but my interpretation was that it packed in some high quality content.

INTERMISSION – Mike ‘P-Dog’ Posey gets some ill-advised promo time – bringing with him a whole gaggle of followers whom are apparently dubbed the ‘Get Along Gang’. Think something of a crossover between Adam Rose’s posse and Special. He rambles on for eternity rapping and introducing each member of the ‘Gang’…until ‘great babyface’ Michael Elgin comes out and murders them all.

SIDENOTE - To add to the weird nature of the above segment, I perused the DVD bonus features after finishing the main show and found out that they send Posey and his posse out to do this exact same promo and gimmick during the pre-show as well. What the f did the Atlanta fans do to suffer through the same crap twice!? Or did he do it during the pre-show and Sinclair officials loved him so much that they wanted more!?

Mark Briscoe vs Romantic Touch
This was originally scheduled to be Mark facing a returning Cliff Compton, but he was hospitalised earlier in the day following a reported seizure. Of course, the ever-reliable Rhett Titus is still hanging around like an unflushable nugget of poop so slides right in to cover. It could be worse, they could have given the spot to P-Dog and the Get Along Goofs…

All the usual elements of RT’s repertoire are here – so plenty of blowing kisses, pelvic thrusting and other stale bits and pieces. Meanwhile Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino are, hopefully ironically, comparing themselves to Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. Then they talk about their routines before they make love to their wives. Genuinely that’s what they are talking about. I’d say they were ruining the match, but poor Rhett’s gimmick did that before the opening bell. It doesn’t help that Mark isn’t doing anything other than his own stale comedy spots right back at him to be fair. At least he has the ability to get serious when needed though – grabbing the mask, rattling off a few headbutts then putting this one out of it’s misery with the fisherman buster/Froggy Bow combo at 07:41

Rating - DUD - I’ve never been a fan of Cliff Compton’s work so I can’t say I’d have enjoyed the scheduled Mark/Cliffy match anymore in all honesty. This was really just a perfect storm of super-stale comedy gimmicks which have been dying a death for more than a year but Corporate ROH just won’t let go of. Romantic Touch gets zero reaction now, because he can’t work and ROH have Dalton Castle to do his sexually ambiguous posturing whilst also being a much better wrestler to boot. Meanwhile Mark’s lazy Redneck Kung Fu/Chicken spots are so played out it’s unreal. Add that to some diabolical commentary too and you have a match with absolutely no redeeming features.

Caprice Coleman vs Roderick Strong
Did Roddy seriously trek over from Reseda to work a house show match against Caprice? Hang on, is Coleman getting pushed now? He just got that letter from Prince Nana on TV remember, and he openly stated that whatever he read in it has had quite an impact on him. Strong wants back into the title picture after dropping his rematch to Jay Lethal in Philadelphia, so knows nothing less than a win will do here.

Strong’s approach is to try to take Coleman to the ground and out-wrestle him, only to find that Caprice is a wily old pro and more than has the chops to hang with him. That’s the theme of the first five minutes – Strong probes Coleman for weaknesses but finds him more than capable of matching him no matter what the approach. Caprice blocks the attempted apron backbreaker and feints around the ringpost right into a boot into Roddy’s face. He just keeps countering Strong and at the ten minute mark rolls back through the ropes into a headscissors on the floor. Trinity countered to a gourdbuster, only for Caprice to counter straight back with a second rope hurricanrana for 2. More countering follows with Strong escaping the Mind Trip to flatten him with the Muso. Strong tries to run at him for the Sick Kick…only for to be countered again; this time into the Trinity. Sky Splitter ducked, into Death By Roderick! Strong wins with the Sick Kick at 14:16

Rating - *** - The crowd were totally dead for this one, and it’s hard to blame them. Just like the opening match, it makes no sense when talent who have been used extensively as job guys in enhancement spots (like Corey Hollis or Caprice Coleman) suddenly have ultra-competitive matches with top guys. There was no explanation given here as to why Coleman goes from losing EVERY WEEK on TV to suddenly pushing ‘Mr ROH’ – the best worker all year – to the limit. Delirious and Sinclair just expect us to buy it…it’s extremely lazy booking and exposes these hard working guys to sh*tty crowds because the people running the show are horrible at their job (and no, Prince Nana and his ‘letter’ doesn’t give them an ‘out’, because that’s a dumb ass angle too!). The wrestling itself was good. The dynamic of Caprice being an experienced guy capable of counteracting whatever Roddy threw at him was really fun. As usual, the outstanding talent busting their ass produced a good match which somewhat spared the blushes of the people booking this sh*t.

Kevin Kelly heads into the ring next, and brings out Stevie Richards for an interview. He wants Stevie to wrestle in ROH – an idea that Richards seems very open to. Jay Lethal interrupts him; furious that he wasn’t top of the list of ROH talent Stevie wants to work. They come to blows and have to be separated. The obvious insinuation is that we’ll be getting Lethal/Richards imminently.

SIDENOTE – This segment was well done, with some strong mic work from both Lethal and Stevie once Kevin Kelly had got his goofy ass out of the ring. Bringing Richards in is a strange move and will do nothing to silence those critics that point out that ROH is increasingly becoming the company that brings in aging WWE/TNA rejects rather than unearths fresh young talent. But he can at least use his promo skills to sell a match, and he looks in phenomenal shape. The line about him not just being ‘another veteran out here to smile and wave for the house’ was a great one…

Up next we should get the first-time-ever contest between Jay Briscoe and Moose. It’s hardly a dream match, but it does feel like a big match and definitely gave an otherwise routine B-show something special. Delirious has other plans though, because he has Cedric Alexander and Adam Page – enemies of the two participants – interfere and force an early no-contest. Stokely Hathaway calls them ‘pussies’,  before Jay Briscoe demands a tag match…

Jay Briscoe/Moose vs Cedric Alexander/Adam Page
Individually I’ve quite enjoyed both of these feuds. The Alexander/Moose interactions have made Cedric interesting for the first time in more than a year and also given Moose some of his best in-ring performances to date. And whilst Page/Jay is still getting going, I love the idea of using Jay’s name and status in this promotion to elevate a deserving talent like Page. I won’t say that any of that justifies cutting off the Briscoe/Moose singles match though, which is one of the few ‘draws’ this card had going for it.

Kevin Kelly is apologising for the language – proving that the ‘smell of pussy’ coming from ringside was more than likely him. Corporate ROH is so conservative and safe it’s unreal. Briscoe and Moose isolate Alexander, so Page takes a cheap shot at his rival Jay from the apron to turn the tables in his favour. I like that Jay has Cedric’s Three Amigos fake-out spot scouted and pops the crowd by hitting the third suplex on Cedric. Hot tag to Moose…who flattens Adam with the Game Breaker. SHOOTING STAR OFF THE APRON BY PAGE! TOPE CON CRAZY BY JAY! SOMERSAULT PLANCHA BY CEDRIC! KICK 2 KILL! JUMPING DDT BY PAGE! Moose breaks the pin! Adam’s Apple on him! Roaring Elbow from Briscoe to Page! Jay Driller blocked…Rite Of Passage blocked! DOOMSDAY MAFIA KICK by Briscoe and Moose! HITSTICK! JAY DRILLER! Cedric is pinned at a frenetic 09:47

Rating - *** - These four men totally saved Delirious’ sh*tty booking by going completely nuts in a wild ten minute sprint. They didn’t stop, pause or hesitate at any point meaning this one was constant action. Obviously there wasn’t too much depth and I’m still not sure I’m convinced this was a better choice than the Briscoe/Moose singles match but it was undeniably entertaining from first bell to last.

After the match BJ Whitmer antagonises Steve Corino again, whilst hiding behind his second 'security team' of the evening. Corino wants to fight, but Whitmer declines. Kevin Kelly briefly abandons commentary then issues a plea to Nigel McGuinness (who isn’t here tonight) to resolve this matter.

Adam Cole/Bobby Fish/Kyle O’Reilly vs Jay Lethal/Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian
There are lots of interlocking issues between these six individuals, and plenty at stake as we build towards All Star Extravaganza. reDRagon don’t like The Addiction because they cheated them out of the Tag Titles, and also have separate shots at Lethal’s championships at the next ppv. Cole obviously wants to be World Champion again so has Jay in his sights – but still has an issue with how Daniels and Kaz pretended to be The Kingdom when they were doing their KRD gimmick. The final SBG TV broadcast before this event (Episode 205) also featured The Addiction getting a rather fortuitous victory over Future Shock (Cole and O’Reilly). Who leaves Atlanta with bragging rights? Taeler Hendrix is  in Lethal’s corner tonight, in the absence of Truth Martini. There has been nothing done to introduce her at all, so it comes off as entirely random and confusing.

The heels charge their opponents to get the match started, and it’s brilliantly sold by Scarlett Bordeaux (ring announcer for the evening) who dives through the ropes as if her life is in jeopardy. Lethal soon starts bickering with his own partners though – just as he did with Nakamura last week – causing enough of a distraction that reDRagon are able to pick of the Ring General with a series of double teams. The Addiction retaliate by going to work on Cole’s arm…leading to a hilarious comedy spot where Kaz and Lethal go nuts thinking they are cranking his arm – only to find out Cole has swapped places with Daniels and they’ve been trying to break their own partner’s appendage. They do succeed in isolating him again after a fun triple moonsault sequence however. Lethal Injection COUNTERED with a superkick! Ride The Lightning by reDRagon and Cole on Daniels gets 2, before the Almighty hits back with his Arabian Press to the floor. BEST MOONSAULT EVER! HAIL TO THE KING! O’Reilly kicks out! Fish traps Daniels in the Fish Hook Deluxe! Figure 4 on Kaz! Hanging guillotine on Lethal! Lethal Combination on Cole…after which all six men hit the deck in a mess. reDRagon are the first two up; converging on the Undisputed Champion in an attempt to soften him up before All Star Extravaganza. Addiction save their partner with Celebrity Rehab! JAWBREAKER LARIAT on Daniels! Lethal inadvertently gives his own partner the Lethal Injection! THREE MAN CHASING THE DRAGON! Cole, O’Reilly and Fish get the win at 18:13

Rating - *** - ROH throw out a lot of these six man main events these days, and whilst this was decent it was far from my favourite. It got a lot better at the end, but it really felt like they were going through the motions and killing time in the opening period. When you compare something like this to a match like War Machine vs Sydal/ACH where quite literally every move had a purpose and meaning behind it, some of the action we got here felt rather lazy. There were some decent comedic moments, and I loved the little touches of Lethal not being able to get on with The Addiction any better than he did Nakamura last week…but too much of this was paint by numbers. Not bad match at all – all six of them are good enough to work a solid trios main event in their sleep – but it didn’t hit the heights you’d expect it to and definitely didn’t feel like a main event match

Bennett, Taven and Maria emerge in the aisle to pour cold water on Adam Cole and reDRagon’s victory celebrations. They also make a few gestures towards The Addiction.

Tape Rating - ** - The Winter Warriors show in Atlanta is one of the most beloved house shows of the year. I don’t think anyone expected a show of that calibre tonight, but to me a lot of this felt like normal service being resumed after a strong summer for ROH’s creative team. Without New Japan stars to draw a house, and without half of their own big names because they thought running during PWG’s biggest weekend of the year was smart business you really rely on your booker to lay-out something smart to salvage what was obviously quite a weak show on paper…and my personal opinion is that Delirious got himself into a real mess here. If he didn’t want to put either Moose or Briscoe over one another, why book and advertise that as one of your marquee matches for the show? Why on earth were serial enhancement talents Caprice Coleman and Corey Hollis pushing established stars like Roderick Strong and Cedric Alexander to the limit in thrown-together undercard matches? Did he really think that bogus finish to Elgin/Page was a good idea? On any given night you could look past one or two of these shortcomings – but not ALL of them on the same show. As usual his hard working roster busted their ass to redeem things for the most part, as from an in-ring perspective this is decent. In Hollis vs Cedric and War Machine vs Sydal/ACH we possibly have two of the most underrated matches of the entire year. The main event was very watchable if not particularly memorable in the long-term and outside of the usual Romantic Touch suck-fest there isn’t any ‘bad’ wrestling per se. Hell, even the Stevie Richards segment – which on paper was an AWFUL idea – came off well thanks to some strong promo work from both he and Jay Lethal. Ring Of Honor has been good recently and this show is by no means a catastrophic dip in form…but it was a reminder that a lot of the core, underlying problems with creative are still there. They still have much work to do in that regard, and this show only gets the mildest of recommendations…

Top 3 Matches
3) Adam Cole/reDRagon vs Jay Lethal/The Addiction (***)
2) Cedric Alexander vs Corey Hollis (****)
1) War Machine vs Matt Sydal/ACH (****)

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