ROH on Sinclair – Episode 159 – 4th October 2014
This is our final week of Death Before Dishonor 12 Road Rage. Michael Elgin’s memorable World Title defence against Tommaso Ciampa has been heavily advertised, but there’s still plenty of content DBD12 Night 2 which they haven’t aired so this should be a strong episode. We go back to Chicago Ridge, IL with Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino.
The show starts with a MUCH better Elgin promo getting us pumped for the title match.
Hanson vs Adam Cole
At Night 1 Hanson scored the biggest win of his ROH career thus far when he defeated former World Champion Roderick Strong – despite heavy interference from The Decade. Can he go 2-0 over ex-champs with a win over Cole this evening? Adam, meanwhile, has been relegated to the back of the line following his Field Of Honor defeat so knows he needs to start racking up victories if he is to force his way back into the hunt for the top prize.
Cole piefaces Hanson…and of course runs away right afterwards so there are no repercussions. Guillotine choke on the ropes knocks the big man back, but everything Cole tries has little effect and he is soon propelled backwards with countless big punches. Back body drop on the floor next which, given the size of Hanson, means a pretty colossal bump for Adam. He gets repeatedly shot into the ringpost soon afterwards too. Cole superkicks the knee, which given his Figure 4 finisher is a sound strategy, and gets swift revenge for his ringpost shots by bashing the leg into the post. Instantly Hanson is slowed and unable to get back to his feet as the former champ flies at him with the Shining Wizard. Despite the knee problems Hanson still manages to hit the Bronco Buster for 2, although he is noticeably slower to get back to his feet. The inverted powerslam gets another nearfall again with obvious knee problems in the aftermath. Spin Kick Of Doom ducked…Figure 4 blocked! TOPE CON HILO BY HANSON…MISSES! Classic Adam Cole tactics next as he slithers back into the ring and slumps in the corner looking for a count-out win. No dice there so he BRUTALLY kicks Hanson in the face as he slides back in. Sexy Figure 4 (thanks Corino!) applied! HANSON POWERS OUT! I’ve never seen the Figure 4 countered like that. Cole kicks at the knee…then superkicks the face after Hanson tries to cartwheel away from him. Lariat by Hanson! But as he tries to polish Cole off, Adam drops to the mat, grabs the bad leg and pulls him into a small package! Cole wins at 10:33
Rating - *** - He’s had matches which were perhaps more exciting, but in a lot of ways this was Hanson’s best ROH performance thus far. During my Night 1 review I voiced concerns that he looked to be struggling in longer matches, with bigger name opponents, in front of crowds who weren’t necessarily buying into his act. And I stand by that, because I don’t think his match with Roderick Strong was particularly good. However, he proved all my doubts wrong here with a dramatically improved performance. He sold his knee well enough to make Cole’s offence plausible, he took some huge bumps for a guy of his size, and he won a crowd who weren’t necessarily that familiar or into him over through sheer workrate. They told a great story, emphasised both their respective strengths, and built to a finish which serves both workers well. It was too short and too lacking in obvious excitement to go higher on my rating, but I do think any doubts ROH management had about a Hanson singles push will have been put to rest with this.
Bennett and Maria Kanellis appear at ringside, with Bennett hitting the ring to help Cole conduct a 2-on-1 assault. Michael Elgin eventually runs in to make the save. His presence in the ring swiftly brings his challenger for the evening, Tommaso Ciampa, out as well…
Michael Elgin vs Tommaso Ciampa – ROH World Title Match
These two had one of my favourite matches of 2013 when they engaged in a gruelling slug-out at Best In The World. They’ve mostly been kept apart since then so we’ve had to wait a long time for a serious rematch. Can Elgin, growing in confidence as World Champion (in kayfabe at least – from a non-kayfabe perspective he seems to be getting more insecure by the day), put down the challenge of the dangerously unhinged Sicilian Psychopath?
Elgin goes right for a back fist, but finds it ducked and gets battered into the corner by the violent Sicilian. Repeated Bare Knee strikes find the mark – and great commentary from Kevin Kelly as he points out that this was Ciampa’s non-stop approach which led him to the TV Title. Ole Ole knee strikes on the outside next, delivered with such force that Tommaso ends up several rows deep in the crowd. ST-JOE THROUGH A CHAIR BY ELGIN! GUARDRAIL BOMB NEXT! Two huge blows from the champ bring him straight back into the match and have such impact that he’s actually able to hit the corkscrew senton spot he tries in every match but normally misses. Ciampa is still in the fight though and uses a Testicular Claw to escape the stalling vertical suplex. Shades of Low Ki and Bryan Danielson in 2002 now as they take turns displaying their toughness and delivering bone-crunching kicks to the spine. Elgin eventually has enough and scoops Ciampa into ROLLING dead-lift Germans! DEAD-LIFT GERMAN INTO THE TURNBUCKLE! Dead-lift superplex blocked though, allowing Tommaso to slide out of the ring and expose the wooden floor of the building. He takes so long that Elgin is able to haul his ass onto the apron for a DEATH VALLEY BOMB THROUGH THE TIMEKEEPING TABLE! Somehow Tommaso battles back into the ring…only to be knocked out with a knee to the head. ONE COUNT OF DISRESPECT! LARIATOOOOO! BUCKLE BOMB! NO SOLD! LARIAT BY CIAMPA! He then rocks the champ with a kryptonite neckbreaker for 2. Up the ropes they go, knocking heads as they go…with Elgin reversing the avalanche Air Raid Crash into the SPIRAL BOMB for 2! Crossface applied, but way too close to the ropes. Dead-lift superplex COUNTERED TO PROJECT CIAMPA! ELGIN KICKS OUT! MMA ELBOWS! SICILIAN STRETCH! COUNTERED TO THE CROSSFACE! ROARING ELBOW BY ELGIN! BACK FIST! KNEE STRIKES! Sinclair dives in, stopping the match as Elgin sets about murdering Ciampa. The champ retains his title at 15:58
Rating - **** - This was insane. I understand why some people haven’t necessarily rated it as highly as me because non-stop, frequent no-selling violence party matches like this aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, nevertheless I thought this was outstanding. I really liked Kelly pointing out Ciampa’s TV Title success using a total blitzkrieg approach in the first five minutes, and when Elgin survived that it developed into a sh*t k*cking contest – with both looking to notch their guns and see who the tougher man was. The finish was well played out, with a succession of counters, then a referee stoppage which is brilliantly in keeping with Ciampa’s current creative direction. Hopefully it doesn’t take ROH a year to book another rematch – because these two need to lock horns again after this.
Tommaso regains his consciousness and is absolutely distraught to find out he lost. He then goes berserk and starts assaulting the ring crew. THEN KEVIN KELLY! Steve Corino saves Kevin from Project Ciampa and eventually the ring is cleared. Tommaso is alone again…and he rounds on Bobby Cruise! BARE KNEE STRIKES ON BOBBY! Absolutely outstanding segment.
Tape Rating - N/A - I think the match with Adam Cole will actually prove to be quite a significant one in Hanson’s ROH career, so it’s no surprise that it was included on the TV show. This whole episode, with the first match flowing seamlessly into the second, then the big Ciampa angle to finish, felt extremely slick. The Elgin/Ciampa World Title Match is perhaps as flat-out FUN as any of Michael’s World Title defences thus far.