ROH on Sinclair – Episode 096 – 20th July 2013
I’ve been pretty down on certain aspects of Ring Of Honor recently but the last two episodes of the television show have been solid building episodes. However, they have all been laying the foundations for this week and next week’s TV – as tonight features the Briscoe/Hardy World Title Match, whilst next week has the ROH vs SCUM Steel Cage Warfare Match. Since we’ve used weeks of TV (and arguably the Best In The World 2013 ppv too) hyping these episodes, the pressure is on to deliver something really decent. Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino will call the action from Baltimore, MD.
SCUM are in Matt Hardy’s limo travelling to the Du Burns Arena (Hardy is on the back seat counting his money like a super-villain) for what is a huge show for them. This is actually pretty funny
Adam Cole is scheduled for action against another debuting enhancement talent (Will Ferrera), but they are interrupted by Roderick Strong before they can get underway. Roderick calls Cole’s actions at Best In The World disrespectful and dishonourable, to which Cole apologises but says he was just doing what it took to get the victory – and challenges him to a match right now
Adam Cole vs Roderick Strong
We have an instant Best In The World rematch here, with Strong looking to avenge his controversial count-out loss and Adam looking to prove he can beat Mr ROH with honour and in clean fashion.
They are cagey from the outset and both show a strong defensive game as they look to avoid making a costly early error. Cole gets the first pinfall attempt following a back suplex but then has his attempt at a vertical suplex variant countered. Strong looks for a roaring elbow only to have Adam duck it and hit him with a DVD over the knee. A neckbreaker follows next and it’s quickly becoming clear what Cole’s strategy will be – and we go to an ad break with him cranking on a sleeper hold. When we return he’s still on the deck working on that neck, this time with a grounded headscissors. Strong picks up the pace and tries to mount a comeback, landing a few chops and clotheslines then driving Adam’s face into the canvas with a bulldog. Urinage backbreaker nailed, followed by an Olympic slam for 2. Cole snaps his neck over the ropes…then hauls him outside for an OCEAN CYCLONE SUPLEX INTO THE APRON! And having worked the neck all match…naturally Cole applies the Figure 4 Leglock. Roderick escapes as his legs are still relatively healthy and takes Adam up to the top rope for a big superplex…which hurts him almost as much as his opponent. Orange Crush Backbreaker countered, so Strong scoops him up for Death By Roderick. Sick Kick blocked with a dropkick to the knee! Figure 4 countered…Stronghold countered! The ref is bumped as these guys counter wildly, and he lies slumped in the corner as Roddy and Adam start battering each other with strikes. Steve Corino leaves commentary and hands a chain to Cole… CHAIN-ENFORCED PUNCH TO THE FACE! But the ref is up and saw everything, so it will be a DQ loss for Cole at 11:44 (shown).
Rating - ** - I was pretty disappointed with this. They had a few decent exchanges and sequences packed in there but I wasn’t feeling a lot of intensity or purpose behind their actions. It felt like they were sleepwalking through spots and looking to get by with the minimum amount of fuss. The finish was annoying too, and quite indicative of how disappointing this trilogy of Cole/Strong matches has been compared to the great matches they had last year.
Cole screams at the referee that it was ‘self-defence’ as Strong had grabbed the chain first. He then storms out, shoving Corino aside along the way.
NEXT WEEK – ROH vs SCUM in Steel Cage Warfare.
The members of Team ROH discuss Steel Cage Warfare. Lethal, Whitmer and Elgin are all fired up, but all take the time to point out they don’t trust Kevin Steen.
EARLIER TONIGHT – We see clips of the SCUM limo arriving at the arena. Fans loudly chant ‘Kill Steen Kill’ at them…and Hardy gets more laughs by trying to buy a ‘Fat Hardy’ sign from one of them.
Jay Briscoe vs Matt Hardy – ROH World Title Match
In many ways this is the culmination of everything Hardy has been brought in for – since he was controversially introduced last summer on ippv. He’s gone over Adam Cole, ROH’s brightest up and coming talent. He’s gone over Steen, ROH’s biggest star. All that’s left is for him to dethrone one of ROH’s longest serving talents in Jay Briscoe, in order to become the World Champion. Can SCUM polish off Ring Of Honor in the next two weeks by taking back the top prize in the company tonight then putting Corino in a position of power by winning Steel Cage Warfare next week?
It has to be said – neither looks particularly healthy as they lock up. Hardy’s big gut spills over his baggy pants to an embarrassing degree, whilst Jay’s upper body is covered by almost as much bandaging as visible skin. The first significant offensive strike comes from Matt: he repeatedly rams Jay’s injured shoulder into the ringpost then drops him with an armbar DDT for 2. Another nearfall comes seconds later as he nails the Side Effect. TWIST OF FATE! That was extremely close, and Hardy nearly won the World Championship inside four minutes there! Briscoe barely kicked out and seems powerless to stop the onslaught of his challenger as we go to the commercial break. To his credit, when we return he is doing his best to return fire – swinging with punches and scoring with a superkick for 2. He doesn’t appear to have the strength in that injured arm to even attempt a Jay Driller though, and as he collapses backwards Corino is on hand to trip him. Twist Of Fate nailed again…but for a second time Jay kicks out of Hardy’s finisher! The veteran doesn’t like that at all and takes Briscoe to the outside, viciously whipping his shoulder and upper torso (he has a back problem too) into the guardrails. Butterfly stretch blocked…JAY DRILLER! But Jay misses a crucial second or two heaving his injured body over Hardy to cover and only gets a 2-count. He is very much in the hunt now though and pounces to capitalise as it appears that Matt has injured his ankle. Ever the wily worker though, even on one leg Hardy pulls off his boot and uses it to belt Jay in the face. Two more Twists Of Fate…and still only good for a nearfall! Butterfly Stretch doesn’t get the job done either, and Matt decides to take a risk to get the job done. In his WWF heyday he used to take to the skies frequently but nowadays it is more of a rare occurrence – and we see why as he lumbers up the ropes so slowly that Jay is able to sprint up after him and hit a back superplex! The weary competitors somehow get back to their feet…and as Hardy goes for another Twist Of Fate Jay COUNTERS with a small package. JAY WINS! He keeps Matt’s shoulders to the canvas and retains the title at 13:14 (shown).
Rating - *** - I had real concerns about this one. Even if Hardy gets great heat in ROH he is still a shadow of the worker he used to be, and Briscoe’s body isn’t in great shape either. To my surprise, however, they produced a hell of a wrestling match – without resorting to too many smoke and mirror tactics in order to entertain people. Corino’s interference was kept to a minimum, and they kept the crowd interested through sheer workrate, for which I absolutely commend them. Did it rely on finishers too heavily? Of course it did – particularly from Hardy (although he only seems to have three moves anyway). I also didn’t like Matt kicking out of the Jay Driller. But the story they were going for was Hardy chucking the kitchen sink at the injured Jay trying to take his championship…and as a result Jay (whilst so heavily injured) getting a clean win over him is a ringing endorsement for him. Not that it matters as this would be Briscoe’s final defence before being stripped of the belt.
Just seconds after Jay has his hand raised in victory Rhino hits the ring for the GORE! Mark Briscoe is here! Concussion or not he is here to help his brother and he does so by hitting a shotgun dropkick on the Man Beast. $10 PUNCH TO THE BACK OF MARK’S HEAD by Corino! Mark is unconscious, and a dangerous situation is getting worse as Compton, Jacobs and Titus have zip-tied Team ROH (Elgin, Lethal and Whitmer) around ringside to prevent them from helping. Rhino continues to assault Jay. CON-CHAIR-TO ON JAY! CON-CHAIR-TO ON MARK! The Briscoes have been destroyed, the rest of Team ROH has taken a beating…and security is flooding the arena as SCUM create utter chaos once again. A distraught Nigel McGuinness watches from the entrance as Corino orders Hardy to end Jay Briscoe’s career. He STOMPS AN OPEN CHAIR OVER JAY’S SHOULDER! Kevin Kelly is ushered from his commentary position for his own safety, and the show ends with Corino promising that ROH will be burnt to the ground next week
Rating - *** - I really didn’t care for Cole/Strong, but the main event and accompanying shenanigans took up more than half the show and they definitely packed a punch. Briscoe/Hardy was really decent, surpassing my expectations by some distance, and I absolutely loved the SCUM angle that ended the show. It was easily the best thing SCUM have done since the Anniversary Show when their numbers grew. The Briscoes, two of ROH’s biggest stars in the Sinclair era, are being written off TV (at least for the time-being) – so the absolute massacre of them by SCUM to end was a strong send-off for them and makes Corino’s men look great going into Steel Cage Warfare. I have had my say on why I hate Jay being stripped of the belt – but at least they got his exit angle right. The final shots of both Briscoes unconscious, side by side, in the ring with the World Title tossed on the ground alongside them was fantastic. It made this episode well worth checking out.