ROH on Sinclair – Episode 112 – 9th November 2013
Our trip through Glory By Honor 12 on Sinclair TV continues this week, and, for those fans that haven’t already seen the VOD – this episode is going to be a cracker. We have three really intriguing matches on tap this evening, all of which were well worth checking out. Tommaso Ciampa faces the debuting Jesse Sorensen, Adrenaline RUSH have the unenviable task of taking on the intimidating Outlaw Inc., whilst our main event sees Paul London return to television to face another ROH veteran in Roderick Strong. Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino (who ‘officially’ returns tonight) are in Chicago Ridge, IL to call the action.
Tommaso Ciampa vs Jesse Sorensen
I think this is a debut nobody saw coming. Jesse was making a decent career for himself in TNA, until a catastrophic neck injury nearly left him in a wheelchair, let alone able to continue a wrestling career. He was rather unceremoniously dumped by TNA (there’s plenty you can read online if you feel the need to) with many speculating whether he’d ever wrestle again. It was a real surprise therefore, when ROH booked him for this show. On the face of it you can see why Sinclair would be interested. He’s a well-built, good-looking young kid. He was showing glimpses of decent wrestling ability before his injury, has experience of a televised wrestling product thanks to his time with TNA and is still so young he really should only get better. It did leave many fans wondering whether he was healthy enough to complete in a high-octane, extremely physical wrestling promotion such as ROH. That scepticism wasn’t exactly nullified when they booked him with Ciampa who is making his first appearance since losing in the World Title tournament semi-finals and being ‘injured’ at the hands of Adam Cole’s Figure 4 Leglock.
Early shoulder tackle from Ciampa…but Sorensen barely flinches before bouncing off the canvas and getting right back into Tommaso’s face. Ciampa goes for an early Air Raid Crash, but is again fought off by Jesse who has clearly done his homework on the Sicilian Psychopath. Kevin Kelly openly addresses Sorensen’s situation and says ROH did ask for full medical details on his condition before booking him. He shows impressive athleticism as he leaps into a dropkick. Ciampa puts a knee in his face though, causing him to crumple to the floor. Not done with that, Tommaso drags him outside and tries to drop him on the exposed hard-wood floor. Sorensen escapes though, wiping him out with a pescado. Ciampa clubs away at Jesse’s neck then drops him with a neckbreaker. Neckbreaker over the knee comes next and Sorensen is really struggling now. But he shows incredible guts, continually getting back to his feet and finally springing into a flurry of neckbreakers right back at Ciampa. Doi 555 gets 2 for Tommaso. He then exposes the knee for those violent Bare Knee strikes. They go to the top, but somehow Jesse counters the avalanche Air Raid Crash into a sunset bomb that leaves both men down. Project Ciampa blocked, only for Tommaso to roll through on the canvas and start elbowing the neck again. SICILIAN STRETCH! The referee stops it and awards the match to Tommaso at 09:59
Rating - *** - I’m not sure I’d like to see Jesse Sorensen in ROH full-time, particularly having read some uncomfortable articles speculating about the true extent of the injury he suffered in TNA. But, it made for undeniably compelling viewing in this match. You had a kid showing incredible heart and courage to overcome what would apparently be life-altering injuries…and you had Ciampa who is so hell-bent on victory he had no problem testing that surgically repaired neck to it’s absolute limits. It was a fine story, it certainly had me caught up in the drama (although the live crowd didn’t seem as into it), and I loved Tommaso’s new finisher.
NEXT WEEK – Adam Cole, reDRagon and Matt Taven have their say on Champions vs All Stars
Adrenaline RUSH vs Outlaw Inc.
Their presence in next week’s main event suggests that Nigel McGuinness considers C&C WrestleFactory to be the top contenders to reDRagon’s ROH Tag Championship. With that in mind, these two teams also vying for a title shot must be aware that the winner here presumably moves to the front of the queue as and when Caprice and Cedric take their chance. This should be an interesting clash of styles as it pits the chaotic, brawling style of Homicide and Kingston against the athleticism, high-flying and completely unique offence their opponents bring to the table.
The referee has to remove a foreign object from Eddie Kingston’s hands as he looks to lock up with ACH for the first time…which turns out to be a lighter. ACH bests Eddie with his speed, and scales the ropes for a HUGE flying reverse elbow! Much more up Eddie’s street is a test of strength, which he uses an excuse to poke ACH in the eyes. Homicide tags and starts working over the arm, prompting ACH to make a desperate tag to Thomas. The Outlaws use tandem offence and their marauding, brawling style to complete negate the capoeira skills of Tadarius. ACH comes to his partner’s aid, and shows how quickly he’s adapted to his rule-breaking opponents – by scraping his eyes along the top rope. Homicide dropkicks the knees out from under him…then tags King who applies an inverted cloverleaf. SLAP TO THE HAMSTRING! Homicide is back, applying the STF and throwing up John Cena hand signals. ACH gets the hot tag to Tadarius, who this time does manage to put together a succession of capoeira strikes to both Outlaws. He hits a gorgeous tope suicida to wipe out Eddie, then chases Homicide up the ropes for a superplex. Hanging neckbreaker from Homicide, setting TD up for a BRUTAL running elbow to the back of the head from Kingston. FROG SPLASH to break the fall by ACH! Homicide lines Thomas up for the Cop Killa, only for Thomas to COUNTER with a spear into the corner. DOOMSDAY BULLDOG! The Outlaws win at 11:23
Rating - *** - I’d heard bad things about this one, so was really surprised by it. This won’t win any MOTY awards, but it was a solid tag team match, which positively showcased the clash of styles between the four guys and turned it into an enjoyable match. Clearly the aim here was to get the Outlaws over, and it undoubtedly succeeded at that. They did a hell of a job working over ACH, they did a decent job neutralising Thomas (who didn’t actually do much of anything during the match) and continued to showcase their unsettling, anarchic gimmick even during a standard tag match. Some critics haven’t given the warmest reception to the Outlaw Inc. gimmick or their matches. Personally I hope ROH stick with it. It’s completely different to anything else they have at the moment and in Homicide and Eddie they have two veterans who absolutely NAIL a character.
Eddie Kingston gets on the stick to complain about reDRagon continuing to duck them and deny them the ROH Tag Title shot they feel they deserve.
Paul London vs Roderick Strong
The success of London’s return to Ring Of Honor can’t be understated. He’s had two outstanding matches this year – against Davey Richards and Michael Elgin. Those matches erased any doubts about whether he could still deliver the goods in an ROH ring even after his near-decade away. However, he lost both of them, and he’ll be desperate to score his first win in ROH in well over ten years. In his way is the man calling himself ‘Mr ROH’ – Roderick Strong. In the ten years Paul has been away, Roddy has established himself as a mainstay on the roster, won every championship and become a truly legendary competitor in this promotion.
They work the canvas, with London having no problems hanging with Roderick there. Strong wants a test of strength…only for Paul to boot him in the face! He mows Roddy down with a dropkick too, prompting him to flee the ring. On the outside Strong absolutely dominates London though, hammering him with chops and forearms strikes. MOONSAULT OFF THE RAILS BY LONDON! He tries to slingshot through the middle ropes…only to be caught into a DOUBLE UNDERHOOK HANGING BACKBREAKER! And the brutality doesn’t end there, Strong legitimately grabs Paul and throws him UNDER the ropes, ribs-first into the ringpost. Bearhug applied next, and when London escapes that the two men meet in a mid-air, crossbody collision which inevitably impacts Paul more than Roderick. German suplex by London! He then lands on his feet as Strong attempts a back body drop and puts a jumping heel kick into his face! MID-AIR DROPKICK from Roddy to counter another attempted slingshot manoeuvre. DROPSAULT knocks Strong off the apron! SOMERSAULT PLANCHA NAILED! Back in the ring London hits a springboard dropkick, but it hurts his back and means he can’t cover immediately. STRONG PULLS LONDON OFF THE ROPES INTO A CRADLE BACKBREAKER! Superplex follows that and gets Mr ROH a nearfall. STRONGHOLD! London counters into a pinning combination for 2! Cradle backbreaker countered…DEATH BY RODERICK COUNTERED IN MID-AIR TO A FREAKING DOUBLE STOMP! These two are killing each other here! SUPERKICK by London! CHICKENWING FACEBUSTER for 2! But Paul is exhausted, and takes too long to climb the ropes for the London Star Press. Strong rolls to the apron…AND PAUL TRIES THE FLYING DOUBLE STOMP TO THE APRON! RODDY EVADES IT AND HITS A F*CKING HALF NELSON BACKBREAKER ON THE APRON! DEATH BY RODERICK! SICK KICK NAILED! LONDON KICKS OUT! GIBSON DRIVER! TWO AGAIN! STRONGHOLD! LONDON MAKES THE ROPES! The crowd are going crazy! London headscissors Strong…OVER THE ROPES INTO A TOMBSTONE ON THE FLOOR! DOUBLE STOMP TO THE BACK! LONDON STAR PRESS! LONDON WINS! LONDON WINS! It’s over at 16:52
Rating - ****1/2 - Paul London is an incredible athlete. A few years ago the guy was so mentally exhausted of pro-wrestling that he basically walked away. He’d lost his WWE job, and he’d even left PWG where his whacky personality had always found a home. To go from that to once again performing at this level is nothing short of incredible. Ten years ago, when he left ROH, the guy had all the talent needed to genuinely become one of the best professional wrestlers ever. His career hasn’t worked out as perhaps it should have, but his return to ROH this year has once again showcased that incredible natural ability. This was absolutely spectacular, and deserves to be called an MOTYC. Roderick rolled back the years, delivering an absolutely vintage Roddy Strong performance – working the back, hitting like a motherf*cker and dishing out backbreakers from seemingly impossible situations. And Paul hung with him, producing a classic sympathetic babyface performance, and producing some jaw-dropping moments of magic. The double stomp counter to the Death By Roderick was one of the coolest counter spots I’ve ever seen. One of ROH’s finest matches of 2013.
Tape Rating - N/A - If you’d not seen London/Strong in the main event on the Glory By Honor show, this episode of the TV show is must-see. I can’t stress that strongly enough. Those two produced a match so good I’m actively glad ROH is putting this stuff on free television, as it’s a wonderful example of the quality this promotion is still able to produce. I guarantee you this was the best wrestling on television from the three major promotions by a mile.