ROH on Sinclair – Episode 084 – 27th April 2013

We’re just a week away from Border Wars and, after praising ROH for getting to the Supercard Of Honor aftermath so quickly in their schedule, it now seems they’ve not given themselves enough time to adequately promote another ppv so soon afterwards. Honestly, outside of having a some matches announced there’s really very little heat going into that show. Last week we got multiple SCUM segments to rectify that situation. We know that they will send a team to battle Michael Elgin and Jay Lethal, with title shots, commentary positions and futures all on the line in one high stakes battle. Presumably tonight we’ll continue to sculpt the card for what is rapidly feeling like an extremely rushed pay-per-view event. Kevin Kelly is in Manhattan, NY.

SCUM are in the ring as the show opens. Steve Corino has Jimmy Jacobs, Rhett Titus and Cliff Compton in the ring, and demands three of ROH’s best for a huge tag to get things started.

Jimmy Jacobs/Rhett Titus/Cliff Compton vs BJ Whitmer/Caprice Coleman/Cedric Alexander
This situation really is old hat for BJ. It’s not like he’s never fought wars with Jimmy Jacobs before, and it’s not like he’s never been involved in stand-up fights to defend ROH’s honour before either. Tonight he and the explosive duo of Caprice and Cedric answer SCUM’s open challenge…

As you’d expect there are battles all over ringside as the match begins. Caprice rolls into a heel kick in the corner on Titus, straight into a moonsault to the floor on Cliff. SCUM try to isolate Alexander, the least experienced member of Team ROH. It’s extremely effective, and some of the heelish teamwork between Titus and Jacobs is actually pretty good, but man does this segment drag on. Eventually Cedric does get the hot tag to Whitmer, who decimates one of his former tag partners with an exploder suplex. C&C follow it up with stereo somersault planchas…but out of sight Corino hands Rhett the roll of quarters, allowing him to hit the $10 Punch on Whitmer. Rhett wins at 06:58

Rating - ** - Not exactly bad, but I’d classify this as pretty dull. Jimmy Jacobs started 2013 producing some of his best matches in years…so I really don’t understand why ROH management have shifted him to the back of the SCUM pack and left him teaming with dead weight like Rhett. Of the seven minutes this match got, at least four and a half of them were SCUM repetitively beating up Cedric – and it wasn’t particularly fun to watch.

Lethal and Elgin run in to save Team ROH as SCUM try to deliver an extended beat-down.

Jay Lethal vs Rhett Titus
This should be an interesting warm-up for Border Wars. Lethal is one of the guys who was destroyed by SCUM at Supercard Of Honor (after his classic with Michael Elgin), and is now stepping up to defend ROH against them. He is looking for revenge on Titus for turning his back on the promotion.

We JIP with Lethal and Titus trading punches in the middle of the ring. A springboard dropkick knocks Rhettski outside and into the path of the ROLLING tope suicidas! He doesn’t like that at all and slings Jay sternum-first into the guardrails, and as the former TV Champion lies there prone he follows up with a running boot to the neck. The dickhead NY fans are out in force at this point, with twinky chants, idiot fans calling for stupid spots and so forth. Lethal rallies with a missile dropkick then lays Titus out with a running DVD for 2. Lethal Injection countered with a dropkick…and now Titus gets a close nearfall after nailing a discus lariat. Jay rattles off the Lethal Combination, and physically hauls Rhett back to his feet for the Lethal Injection too. He wins at 06:30 (shown)

Rating - * - To give credit to Lethal, he was working damn hard out there. Unfortunately it was all for very little as moronic fans and a typically sloppy and lethargic performance from Rhett dragged him down. Why on earth was Titus booked in this? You have Jimmy Jacobs who is an infinitely better worker. You have Cliff Compton who has got zero ringtime, zero promo time and had no attempt made to explain his character – who both could really use the rub from being in there with a top level guy like Lethal. Instead Titus (who can barely work one match a night, let alone two in succession) comes back for more – and to top it all off he lost so instantly loses the heat he gained by beating Whitmer. I’m starting to see why fans stopped caring about the SCUM angle…

INSIDE ROH – Kevin Kelly adds C&C vs TD/ACH and Whitmer vs Titus in an ‘I Quit’ Match to the Border Wars card.

NEXT WEEK – Michael Elgin vs Karl Anderson and Davey Richards vs Kyle O’Reilly. What a show!

Up next it’s a contract signing for the Border Wars main event. It’s pretty much the most boring contract signing imaginable…and is rightly interrupted and derided by Steve Corino. Invariably we have another ROH vs SCUM impromptu match, and our main event will be SCUM representatives Matt Hardy and Rhino taking on the two men who will face each other for the World Title in Toronto next week – Jay Briscoe and Adam Cole.

Jay Briscoe/Adam Cole vs Matt Hardy/Rhino
Over the last two weeks it has become clear that SCUM leader Steve Corino sees Matt Hardy as the right man to position at the centre of his campaign to bring down Ring Of Honor – and as such that’s the man he needs to get the World Championship back. Hardy will be looking to score a big win over here, get another one over his rival Adam Cole, and cement his place firmly at the head of the queue for a forthcoming title shot.

The opening minute of the match is spent in farce, as Hardy tries to toss his shirt into the crowd – but fans don’t want it and keep throwing it back. Eventually (and inevitably) someone keeps it, and gets more heat than some wrestlers get in their whole career. Rhino tries to get his hands on Cole, but finds the youngster evasive and intelligent as he drops him to his knees and connects with a Shining Wizard for an early 2. In a subtle moment of brilliance, Rhino turns the tide by flooring Jay with a shoulder block – right on the same shoulder he injured with a Gore at the 11th Anniversary. Hardy then holds Cole’s feet on the ropes, allowing Rhino to sweep him wildly to the canvas. SCUM show the benefits of their combined decades in the business as they cut the ring in half to isolate the former TV Champion. Briscoe gets the tag and lays into Matt with gusto, taking his attention off the Man Beast and walking blindly into the belly to belly suplex. Gore blocked though! Cole forcibly tags himself in…then inadvertently superkicks Jay! HE DODGES RHINO AND TOSSES HIM INTO THE GORE ON JAY! COLE PINS RHINO! It’s over at 08:08 (shown)

Rating - ** - A by the numbers, time-killing filler main event. I loved the finish, with Cole getting a huge win and cleverly using Rhino to inflict some damage on the already-injured champion going into his title shot. It’s also fun watching Hardy in New York because the fans simply despise him. But, much as with the first match, this match seemed to go an awfully long time without much happening.

Jay Briscoe stares down Adam Cole before leaving the ring…

Tape Rating - * - Incredibly disappointing episode of the TV show in my opinion. It was supposed to be the go home show for the ppv, but ROH have got their scheduling horribly wrong as they just haven’t given themselves enough time to properly promote another ippv so close to Supercard Of Honor. The Cole/Jay contract signing was painful to watch, and with no other real angles to speak of at present – they are literally having to shove SCUM into every segment of the show as they are (or were, the last two shows have totally derailed that angle too) hot. And considering this is Wrestlemania weekend, how are none of these matches any good?
 

Make a free website with Yola