ROH on Sinclair – Episode 115 – 30th November 2013
I think we have a mere three weeks of television left to promote Final Battle. I say three weeks, because the third of those three shows will air the same night as the actual Final Battle show is taped. Since we have no live iPPV now and the VOD won’t go live until early the following week, that weekend counts as a legitimate opportunity to build towards the show. Tonight is a big one, with the second night of action from Pursuit Night 1, and a main event of Adam Cole defending the World Championship against Jimmy Jacobs in his home state. Corino and Kelly are in Dearborn, MI.
Roderick Strong vs Davey Richards
This turned out to be the final ROH weekend for Davey Richards, so it’s fitting that he gets one more match with old rival Roderick Strong before being unceremoniously dumped out of the back door by the company. When Generation Next decided to disband (at Generation Now), it was Davey Richards who wound up on the team that beat them in their final match. When Roddy needed a lieutenant to help him start his own group, Davey Richards was his first recruit to the No Remorse Corps. And when that group disbanded after Davey turned his back on Strong to join Sweet’n’Sour Inc. it began a near legendary series of matches. They’ve fought in Japan, Canada and the US. They’ve contested epic World Title clashes, been involved in memorable tag team encounters and together have shouldered a major part of the workrate vacuum left when Bryan Danielson went to WWE in 2009. Do they have one more classic in them?
Everyone shakes hands before the bell – including the ‘Dojo Bros’ (Eddie Edwards is at ringside) so it’s clear we’re going to begin respectfully. They work the mat early, and every time it seems like Richards is starting to control proceedings Strong busts out a counter. They go to strikes instead, with Davey ducking the chops then Roddy diving backwards to evade the Wolf’s kicks. Strong goes to the floor, and ducks the soccer kick from the apron…only for Davey to grab the ropes to counter Roddy’s attempted back suplex on the same apron. Richards scoops Strong up and delivers a backbreaker. It’s gimmick infringement of course…and Strong makes him pay for it moments later as he COUNTERS the Alarm Clock into a cradle backbreaker. Slingshot falcon arrow gets 2 for Mr ROH. Half nelson backbreaker countered, but Strong cuts Davey’s momentum off with a knee to the gut then the Olympic Slam. Davey is struggling with his back now and struggles to follow up even after connecting with a heel kick. Death By Roderick countered…Anklelock countered…STRONGHOLD! And Richards counters that to a small package for 2! Gibson Driver…rolled through to a DOUBLE STOMP! Phenomenal sequence! Richards wants to go upstairs but his injured back means it takes too long and he misses the ‘Invader’ double stomp (that’s what Corino is calling it). Hanging leg grapevine in the ropes instead…only for Roderick to escape and paste him with an enzi. He delivers a massive superplex which leaves both of them writhing in pain. They get back to their feet and absolutely BATTER each other with strikes. GERMAN SUPLEX! NO SOLD! SICK KICK! Both men down! They struggle back to a vertical base and tee off again with kicks and chops. Alarm Clock nailed by Richards. He gets 2 with the Invader Double Stomp then clings on to the Anklelock. Strong wildly tries to counter, eventually grabbing a small package for victory at 14:14
Rating - **** - Corino called this one correctly: ‘two of the best in [ROH’s] history going at it’. It wasn’t on the same level of their era-defining matches from a couple of years ago, but this was still a hell of a contest between two men who are extremely good at what they do, and were massively familiar with each other’s work. As Davey is leaving Roddy is the correct choice to win, but by using a surprise pinfall finish it truly plays up the competitive nature of their rivalry and emphasises just how closely matched they’ve been throughout their respective careers.
Mark Briscoe casts doubt upon Silas Young’s claims to be the ‘last real man in pro-wrestling’, and promises to whip him just like Papa Briscoe did to him as a boy at Final Battle.
Mark Briscoe vs Michael Elgin
We opened the show with Jay Briscoe squaring off with Mark’s current rival, and we continue here with Mark doing the same thing for Jay. In the Honor Roll leading up to this show Elgin admitted to being a fan of Mark Briscoe – but his association with Jay means he wants to beat him up here.
We have an early indication of what this match will be about, as Mark scores with a flurry of karate thrusts but is then easily knocked off his feet with a single tackle from Elgin. An ST-Joe knocks Briscoe back again for an early 2-count. Mark hits the Uncle Mule Kick and shows impressive strength to scoop his opponent up for a back suplex. He dropkicks Elgin through the ropes, but misses a flying knee off the apron. Elgin catches him for a BLACK HOLE SLAM ON THE FLOOR! Back in the ring Michael hits a Roaring Elbow, then the dead-lift German suplex for more nearfalls. Diving karate chops from Briscoe…but Elgin refuses to go down! Throat chops next, followed by Mongolian chops, and still Unbreakable stands in the middle of the ring. A tomahawk chop from the top rope finally floors him and softens him up for the urinage. It’s far too early for the Froggy Bow though, and Elgin slaps him straight off the top rope. Dead-lift superplex blocked and countered with the rolling DVD. Silas Young tries to run in and attack Mark…but barely touches him before Jay Briscoe drags him away. Elgin immediately goes after Jay and pummels him…and Mark MOONSAULTS onto everyone! Nigel McGuinness is out here, and the ref decides to throw the match out at 09:47
Rating - ** - This was going along just fine until the garbage finish ruined things. Unfortunately this sort of thing will happen from time to time whilst live events are being used as TV tapings. I liked the power vs crazy Redneck theme they had going through what there was of the match though. You can see why this made the cut for TV though, with Jay, Elgin, Mark and Silas all building their respective feuds towards Final Battle.
Adam Cole vs Jimmy Jacobs – ROH World Title Match
These two had a great match at The Hunt For Gold right at the start of 2013, under Proving Ground rules whilst Cole reigned as Television Champion. Cole walked away victorious on that evening, and of course has gone on to become World Champion at Death Before Dishonor 11. Over the same year Jimmy’s career has followed a wildly different path. As a member of SCUM, he followed his leader Steve Corino into battle with Ring Of Honor as part of Steel Cage Warfare at the post-Best In The World TV tapings. When SCUM lost that match he found himself without a job, despite having proved himself to be such a major part of ROH over a number of years. Nigel McGuinness refused to give him a spot, until BJ Whitmer (a former partner, co-Tag Champion and rival of Jacobs) used his retirement speech to petition Jimmy’s case. Nigel relented, and booked Jimmy into a Trial Series. If he could fight with honour he’d win his job back, and if he won more than he lost in the 5-match series he’d earn this shot. Despite losses to Kevin Steen and Michael Bennett, Jacobs managed to emerge with a 3-2 series win after triumphs over Silas Young, Adam Page and Roderick Strong (in a tense finale at The Golden Dream earlier this month). He has subsequently been rewarded with this title shot in his home state. In front of many members of his family and multiple friends, can he throw a major spanner into the Final Battle booking plans with a win tonight? BJ Whitmer is in Jimmy’s corner, and Nigel McGuinness joins the announce team for the main event.
They scrap on the mat, until Cole rather tastelessly slaps Jimmy across the face. He then tries to pin him using the ropes, only for Whitmer to shove his feet away from them. Curb stomp gets Jacobs an early nearfall. Cole tries a tope suicida, but finds it countered with END TIME IN THE ROPES! Obviously that is broken by the ref though…and Cole goes to the outside for an OCEAN CYCLONE INTO THE APRON! That clearly hurt him but Jimmy fights through the pain to land a tornado snap suplex for 2. Contra Code blocked though, and Cole drops him with a Shining Wizard. Florida Key blocked…so Cole goes to the Figure 4 instead! More resilience shown by the challenger, who makes the ropes, then rolls through them to hit a satellite headscissors in the floor. He sprints for a tope suicida…BUT COLE MOVES! Jacobs lands face-first on the hard floor in ugly fashion. Cole capitalises with a short-range superkick and is visibly shocked when Jimmy gets a shoulder up. DVD over the knee nailed, followed by a BARE KNEE Shining Wizard to knock Jacobs silly once more. END TIME OUT OF NOWHERE! And when Cole stands up he hits a reverse rana! NO SOLD! SPEAR BY JIMMY! Both guys crawl towards the ropes, then out through them. Contra Code blocked…SO JACOBS SPEARS THROUGH THE ROPES – OFF THE APRON AND INTO THE GUARDRAIL! As Cole barely crawls back into the ring Jimmy is waiting to hit the rebound Ace Crusher. END TIME! Cole doesn’t tap…COUNTERED TO A CRADLEBREAKER! And Todd Sinclair was floored in the process. Cole thinks about levelling Jacobs with the title belt, but BJ Whitmer slides in to stop him. Jimmy takes the belt…but doesn’t use it to cheat! REDEMPTION! CONTRA CODE NAILED…FOR 2! Wearily Jimmy thinks about the senton bomb, but misses and get nothing but canvas. REBOUND ACE CRUSHER COUNTERED WITH A SUPERKICK TO THE NECK! CRADLEBREAKER! FLORIDA KEY…GETS 2! Jacobs blocks an attempted top rope Florida Key, only for Cole to block the avalanche Contra Code. PANAMA SUNRISE! Cole finally retains the championship at 17:46
Rating - **** - I’m not sure the ‘hometown hero’ aspect of the booking really played out. I think ROH were hoping for a CM Punk/Chicago atmosphere which really never materialised. However, even without that this was a hell of a main event. Jacobs continued to be the resourceful, scrappy, never say die opponent to a supposed ‘superior’ adversary. Cole through everything he had at him from apron bumps, bare knee strikes, the Florida Key and multiple attempts to break the rules. But with a little help from BJ Whitmer, Jimmy hung in there and came perilously close to causing a major upset. It was a little corny, but the moment of redemption for Jimmy, where he was given the chance to cheat but spurned it in order to hit his finishing move instead was a lovely moment. The hallmark of the great ROH World Champions is the ability to put on great title defences. The reason people didn’t get behind Jay’s title reign is because he didn’t have any. The reason Kevin Steen isn’t remembered as one of the all-time great runs with the belt is because he was forced into so many filler title defences (Mike Bennett, Mike Mondo, Rhett Titus etc). The likes of Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness and Austin Aries produced 4*+ matches with all kinds of opponents – and the fact that Cole was able to produce a really strong 4* level match here bodes well for him.
Tape Rating - N/A - If you’d not seen Pursuit Night 1, this must have blown you away as an episode of ROH on SBG. Richards/Strong and Cole/Jacobs were phenomenal matches to give away for free, so putting them both on TV the same week is quite remarkable. Putting the Cole/Jacobs match on television also makes perfect sense. It was nothing but a filler defence for Cole, but by producing such a great match with a challenger who’d been built up well by the Trial Series, he immediately becomes a far more credible World Champion to casual viewers.