ROH on Sinclair – Episode 104 – 14th September 2013
More World Title tournament Road Rage awaits us this evening. I’ve criticised the Road Rage concept into the ground, but as every ROH show is technically now a house show at least I can’t bash them for putting ippv content on their free broadcasts anymore. I’m curious as to how good this show can be though. Last week saw the best tournament matches from All Star Extravaganza in Ciampa/Young and London/Elgin. In comparison this week really won’t seem as strong with Steen/Kendrick, Strong/Taven and the first quarter final with Cole/Lethal. Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness are again in the Mattamy Athletic Center in Toronto, ONT.
Matt Taven vs Roderick Strong
This one isn’t for the TV Title and isn’t in the Proving Ground, it’s just a happy coincidence that the first round of the World Title tournament has thrown together Truth Martini’s former centrepiece of his House Of Truth against the man who would eventually replace him. Roderick Strong is a former Triple Crown Champion in ROH, and the self-proclaimed ‘Mr ROH’ would like nothing better than to emulate his former partner Austin Aries in becoming a 2-time World Champion. Taven already boasts the TV Title and a victory in the 2013 Top Prospect Tournament to his name. He’s made a habit of pulling off major upset victories all year and will have his sights set on another one here.
Nigel McGuinness has developed a taste for dragging young ladies out of the arena it seems. He hops onto the apron again, telling Scarlett Bordeaux that she doesn’t have a license to be at ringside so either needs to sit down (next to him of course) or get the same treatment Maria just got. Apparently Seleziya has a ‘bodyguard license’. F*ck me that is laughable. In the ring (there is a match going on) Strong is dominating Matt Taven by keeping it on the match where his wrestling superiority comes into play. He’s also got his devastating chops and assortment of backbreakers – both of which are used as Taven struggles to get a foothold in the match. Even Truth Martini’s interference is fruitless and only results in Roddy hitting a jumping heel kick for 2. Nonetheless, he grabs Strong’s boot for a second time and this time distracts him for long enough to allow Matt to hit a springboard dropkick. The TV Champion hits a British Bulldog-style vertical suplex, then the springboard corkscrew senton for 2. Taven starts working the legs, damaging Strong’s ability to hit all his signature moves. He heads upstairs, and executes a gorgeous moonsault…except he connects with Strong’s raised knees! Roddy is limping but a damaged leg doesn’t stop him hammering Taven with chops. He clotheslines Matt out of the ring for a DROPKICK THROUGH THE ROPES! Martini waffles Roderick Strong with the Book Of Truth…and Nigel wants to get involved again. He pulls Strong aside, causing Taven to inadvertently boot his own manager! TORTURE RACK BACKBREAKER ON THE APRON! Credit to Taven though, as he absorbs that to counter the Orange Crush Backbreaker with a boot to the neck. Rolling bicycle kick into ANGEL’S WINGS for 2! Roderick nearly breaks the ring delivering a devastating superplex…and rolls it into the Stronghold! Matt gets to the ropes, refusing to let his predecessor in the HOT get the best of him. He hits the slingshot swinging neckbreaker, then the FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH for 2! Climax (Headlock Driver) COUNTERED to a cradle backbreaker! SICK KICK! ORANGE CRUSH BACKBREAKER! Roderick advances at 13:08
Rating - *** - As is standard with the House Of Truth, the antics of the characters at ringside threatened to over-shadow the action…but it’s there that we saw the real growth of Matt Taven. A few months ago I said he was like a rabbit in the headlights, struggling to get screen-time, struggling to show any kind of personality and really looking horribly out of his depth as TV Champion. But he’s turned that around, and tonight demonstrated that even with a whole load of extra-curricular shenanigans he can deliver a crisp, confident and focused in-ring performance. He took the best shots Roderick had, and kept getting up to return fire with his own stuff. The right man advances (for match quality and prestige anyway) but this was another credible effort from the young Television Champion.
Kevin Steen vs Brian Kendrick
This is the final ROH Title tournament first round match and it pits a former World Champion against another man who was in the first tournament to crown a Ring Of Honor Champion. In fact Brian ‘Spanky’ Kendrick made it all the way to the final, and was part of the stunning Iron Man Match in almost inhuman Philadelphia heat which saw Low Ki become the first champion. He’s back in ROH for the first time in a long time but, like his long-time partner Paul London earlier, has a tough assignment if he is to advance.
Steen gets a hero’s welcome and, as always, is the most popular worker on the show by some distance. Spanky is extremely cagey and seems desperate to keep a safe distance between himself and Mr Wrestling. Any time Steen grabs a hold of him he makes an instant grab at the ropes to break it. Kevin taunts him into trying shoulder blocks despite being substantially smaller – and wisely Kendrick declines in favour of trying to quicken the pace and go for flash pins. Sadly for him Steen has no problem going up through the gears and delivers a dropkick with such force that Spanky actually runs away and sits on the floor outside the ring. He strolls around, taking his time and giving as many front row fans a view of his magnificent flowing hair as possible. Steen eventually gives chase…and again Brian shows his veteran instincts by GRABBING THE ROPES as Kevin tries to Apron Bomb him. SLICED BREAD #2 ON THE APRON! Kendrick wants a count-out win but is in position to boot Steen right in the face as he slides back in. He clings to a sleeper hold until Steen Vader dives backwards to splat both their bodies into the mat. Pumphandle cradlebreaker nailed for 2. Kendrick makes the mistake of trying to get Steen on his shoulders for a DVD, only for Steen to make a similar mistake in trying a top rope move. He is punished with a running DVD by Spanky. Sharpshooter blocked, and when Steen tries a catapult Brian once again has the answer – catching himself in the ropes to hit a swinging DDT. Sliced Bread #2 COUNTERED WITH THE F-5…for 2. Package Piledriver blocked…Sliced Bread blocked! SLEEPER SUPLEX FOR 2! Again Kendrick is in those damn ropes! He then hides behind the referee to stop him hitting a cannonball. Illegal low blow, which Kevin no sells for a CHOKESLAM! SHARPSHOOTER! Kendrick taps at 12:48
Rating - *** - This one got some low ratings from fans in attendance, so maybe this is one which came off a lot better on DVD/TV. I loved seeing Kendrick back in ROH. His quirky, off-beat personality has always felt like a refreshing change of pace to the very serious nature of this promotion generally (as far back as the first few shows in 2002 that’s been the case) and it was no different here. The way he continually dodged, ducked, evaded, countered or straight up ran away from everything Steen threw at him was really fun. I’d happily see him back again, possibly even teaming with Paul London as part of the revamped and turbo-boosted tag division.
Adam Cole vs Jay Lethal
This is the first of the World Title tournament quarter finals. Cole is a dark horse to win the tournament (despite a less than impressive win/loss record in 2013) thanks to his new found mean streak we saw during his recent ppv battle with Roderick Strong. Lethal, meanwhile, is a former TV and Pure Champion, and will be looking to win the big one after failing to take the belt from Kevin Steen earlier this year. For the VOD of this show they included the tournament matches from Providence as a bonus – the fact that they’re not present here makes me think there will be a complete World Title Tournament DVD at some point down the line.
Lethal is entirely respectful in the early going, giving Cole clean breaks where appropriate. These two are very similar athletes, and it’s noticeable that they both look to prevent any kind of explosive offensive flurries by working a slow pace and grabbing headlocks whenever possible. There is plenty of countering too, with Lethal’s hiptoss/dropkick combo evaded by Cole alongside an assortment of nearfall predicaments. Adam ups the ante with a jumping neckbreaker which hands him a significant advantage for the first time. Jay absorbs some blows but eventually blocks a superkick and hits Adam with an inverted DDT. He looks up the grounded crucifix stretch…only for Cole to COUNTER to a Figure 4 attempt! Once again neither man really gets ahead and they both roll into the ropes to force a break. Jumping enzi from the floor by Cole…springboard dropkick in response by Lethal! He reacts quickest to sprint into a tope suicida as well. Both men crawl around the ring in a struggle to recover from that spot – eventually rolling into the ring looking equally frustrated at their inability to establish some dominance as we approach the 10-minute mark. They lay into each other with strikes until Adam shuts his opponent down with the Death Valley neckbreaker. Shining Wizard gets 2. Cradlebreaker is countered into the Lethal Combination though! Lethal wants the Macho Elbow, but takes an eternity climbing the turnbuckles and is easily caught. He tries a missile dropkick only for Cole to sweep him aside. Figure 4 COUNTERED to a small package for 2! COLE BLOCKS THE LETHAL INJECTION WITH A SUPERKICK! Cradlebreaker is nailed second time of asking but still we only have a nearfall. Lethal starts throwing desperate superkicks from all angles, finally sending one clattering into Cole’s jaw which knocks him out. MACHO ELBOW gets 2! Cole doesn’t look like he has much left and lies limp on the canvas seemingly unable to defend himself…but it was all a plot as he pops up once Jay lets his guard down to hit a superkick. Florida Key blocked…LETHAL INJECTION! Cole refuses to be counted down! He superkicks Jay’s knees from under him for to hit a German superplex! Superkick, followed by the Florida Key gets Cole the victory and a semi-final spot at 16:42
Rating - *** - This was a decent match, but definitely felt on the long side. These two are so similar. They have similar styles, similar physiques and they have comparable levels of popularity with ROH crowds too. The audience was quiet which didn’t help the wrestlers. On the positive side, the story they told was interesting...with neither athlete ever able to establish any sort of control, both becoming less and less disciplined in their approaches before finally degenerating into tossing around superkicks and finishers for fun. To pull off this kind of match WITHOUT it feeling like a spotfest is extremely difficult and they certainly achieved that. Sadly they’d lost the crowd and just couldn’t seem to make their work engaging enough to get them back. Better on DVD than this was live I imagine…
Tape Rating - N/A - I’ll give this the same non-rating as last week, although if you’re looking for an indication of which show was better – it was last week. The three matches on this week’s episode were all decent, but all disappointing in that you felt they had the potential to be a lot better than they actually were. Still, putting Brian Kendrick’s ROH return on television is a pretty big deal, and Strong/Taven and Cole/Lethal are certainly solid television matches too. If you’re not a DVD/VOD viewer then you should absolutely LOVE Ring Of Honor television right now. It has to be as good as anything the big two are producing in terms of match quality.