ROH on Sinclair – Episode 164 – 8th November 2014
Annoyingly I was on vacation in Florida within driving distance of these tapings until just three days before they took place. I did attend a very decent NXT house show instead at least. These are the final batch of episodes before Final Battle 2014, and with live events now geared towards promoting ROH’s biggest show of the year as well the pressure is very much on to set the foundation for only the second national live pay-per-view Ring Of Honor have ever produced. I know there were some particularly well-received matches coming out of these tapings so I have high hopes. We’re debuting tonight in Lakeland, FL. Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness are in position at the announce table.
We open with lengthy Kingdom video montage. Bennett calls the group ‘more than a family’ and vows to come back stronger than ever after his World Title loss to Jay Briscoe. This is spliced with clips of Matt Taven joining the group and Adam Cole vowing that he will be the next ROH Champion…
Cedric Alexander vs Tommaso Ciampa
This goes back to the Honor Rumble where Ciampa, then suspended from competition, decided to attack Cedric and try to steal his spot in the match. Obviously since Alexander didn’t win and didn’t end up getting a World Title shot, he could argue that Tommaso cost him dearly. Now that the Psychopath has been reinstated Alexander is looking to extract some revenge. With Nigel at ringside, Tommaso’s focus will be on producing the most impressive performance possible so the Match Maker will give him more opportunities and treat him as a franchise player in Ring Of Honor.
Alexander gets things started with a bang and kicks Ciampa straight off the apron so he can score with a somersault plancha. OVERTIME NAILED! FOR 2! Tommaso looks to get some distance but really struggles to cope with the extreme aggression of his opponent. Eventually he connects with a running knee strike…but even then Ced is able to shake it off and hit back with the springboard lariat and the IED. He goes for another dropkick soon afterwards but this time Ciampa sees it coming and manages to duck and topple him all the way over the top rope. When we come back from commercials it appears that Tommaso has slowed the pace and is looking to ruggedly beat Cedric into the dirt. He doesn’t use anything fancy – opting simply for an assortment of brutal close-range strikes to ensure Alexander can’t build up any speed or momentum. Bare Knee strikes nailed…but somehow Cedric no sells and drops Ciampa with a springboard enziguri! Three Amigos blocked…Michinoku Driver instead for 2! Discus Lariat ducked…Kick 2 Kill blocked…KNOCK OUT KNEE STRIKE! GETS 2! Project Ciampa COUNTERED TO KICK 2 KILL! STILL 2! 540 Kick NO SOLD! DISCUS LARIAT! Cedric gets a shoulder up on that, frustrating Ciampa so much that he nearly snaps and assaults referee Todd Sinclair. McGuinness gets to his feet to admonish Tommaso…and as he argues with Nigel Alexander sprints across the ring and accidentally clobbers Sinclair with another IED! With the ref down Ciampa uses wrist tape to choke Cedric out – winning the match by stoppage at 10:43 (shown)
Rating - *** - The crowd were awesome and they helped make this a really punchy and explosive start to these tapings. They didn’t get much time but each man busted their ass to make the most of what they got. I like a match which tries to be more than a succession of spots so the way these two incorporated their previous encounter at the Honor Rumble as well as their ongoing character arcs and storylines into the match whilst still able to produce some pretty spectacular exchanges was enjoyable. It has been a frustrating 2014 for both of them, as they’ve continually gone above and beyond to produce stellar in-ring performances but are almost constantly degraded, ignored and downplayed by ROH’s terrible creative. There may well have been a lot of frustration behind all the intensity here…
Nigel McGuinness leaves commentary and reverses the decision, ordering Todd Sinclair to disqualify Ciampa and award the victory to Alexander. Tommaso greets that decision by whacking Cedric with a chair then BRAINBUSTERING HIM THROUGH IT!
NEXT WEEK – The TV Title rematch between Jay Lethal and ACH
Truth Martini makes fun of ACH for missing his flight to Toronto for the originally scheduled rematch at All Star Extravaganza. Lethal is clearly fired up to prove he can beat ACH after their draw last time.
Jay Briscoe isn’t pleased about being assaulted by The Kingdom last week. He and his brother plan to topple Bennett and Taven in tonights main event.
RD Evans/Moose vs Worst Case Scenario
The New Streak is on the line here, just a week before it gets put to the ultimate test when RD Evans challenges Jay Lethal for the TV Title. His warm-up act is the garishly dressed jobber act of Elijah Evans and Ethan Case. Will they be any match for the charismatic barrister and the dominant Moose?
Prince Nana is on commentary and has some interesting perspectives considering he is a vocal fan of Moose, he recruited the jobber team and he hates RD. Elijah isn’t a short guy but is absolutely dwarfed by Moose who quickly mows him down. Case succeeds in dropping RD with a jumping neckbreaker, and leads his team in a minute of uninterrupted offence before Evans drops both members of Worst Case Scenario with a double inverted DDT. Nana is having discrete conversations with Ramon at ringside. ROPE RUN FLYING CROSSBODY BY MOOSE! That was pretty impressive. He looks set to claim a victory but is made to tag out to RD instead. Evans tries the same spot but gets crotched by Ethan! Pop-up elbow smash gets 2 for the debutants. Moose saves with a flipping spear on Case, then scoops Evans up for a ROCKET LAUNCHER HEADBUTT! Evans gets the win at 05:13
Rating - * - There is no way in hell this should have lasted five minutes (even half that is pretty generous). Nobody was interested in what Worst Case Scenario had to offer, and they actually got plenty of offence and opportunity to express themselves. Having said that, it wasn’t a total bust thanks to a couple of neat spots from Moose. This may well be my favourite Moose match so far in fact…
Kevin Kelly introduces Michael Elgin to the audience, making his first live appearance since losing the World Title at All Star Extravaganza 6 then very publicly sulking through social media outlets as visa issues meant he remained trapped in Canada. He chews tobacco, complains about ROH’s ‘corporate image’ and is furious that they expect him to apologise for his Twitter tantrums.
Michael Bennett/Matt Taven vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe
This is the match that necessitated an extremely violent rematch during Survival Of The Fittest weekend. Taven has only recently joined The Kingdom and has quickly got involved in their lengthy war with the Briscoe brothers. Since Bennett failed to take the World Title from Jay a couple of weeks ago, the focus now is on moving Adam Cole into a prime position to take his shot. The same weekend that this episode was broadcast Cole himself was doing battle to earn a title shot via Survival Of The Fittest, and his troops here will have been tasked with doing as much damage to both Briscoes as possible. At the same time, they’ll be aware that if they can be the first man to pin Jay in more than two years of ROH competition they will instantly become a top contender too. As well as wanting to beat up their rivals here, Jay and Mark are still trying to get Jay’s ‘Real World Title’ belt (now known as the ‘Title Of Love’) out of Maria Kanellis and Michael Bennett’s clutches.
The Kingdom try to attack the Briscoes during their entrance…which is just fine for Jay and Mark since they are up for a brawl as well. Adam Cole is on commentary cheerleading from his friends and quickly falls silent as Jay mauls Taven against the guardrails. Mark tries to suplex Bennett through the timekeeping table, but instead contents himself with a BLOCKBUSTER TO THE FLOOR on Taven! Bennett leads the Kingdom fightback with a Box Office Smash on Jay then a spear on Mark as he lines up the Cactus Elbow. Tag team order is restored during the subsequent advertisement break and it is Bennett and Taven in firm control. Matt Hardy second rope leg drop gets 2 on Mark…and Taven is on hand to hit a rolling neckbreaker before Briscoe is even able to get back to his feet from that. Mark does eventually counter the Twist Of Fate with an urinage though – opening the door for a hot tag to the World Champion. Rude Awakening blocked…Twist Of Fate blocked…falcon arrow by Jay! Mark climbs the ropes but is shoved into Taven’s knees as he thinks about a Froggy Bow. Bennett has been busted open over his eyes but still battles with Jay whilst Taven sets up for a tope suicida! The Kingdom attempt a Doomsday Device on Mark…only for Jay to save with a JAY DRILLER ON TAVEN! The Briscoes pick up the victory at 09:58 (shown).
Rating - *** - I really enjoy the work of the Bennett/Taven duo. I believe they are friends outside the ring too and it shows in their fluidity as a unit. They look like they are having fun out there, they look happy in The Kingdom with a gimmick that really plays to their strengths as performers and I think it could well lead to the most productive spells of their respective ROH careers. They are good looking, traditional pro-wrestlers making them the ideal foil for a team like the Briscoes. Their diametrically opposed styles really seem to click and they produced a really solid TV main event. The No DQ rematch at Survival Of The Fittest Night 1 was miles better, but that’s how it should be – save the good sh*t for when people are paying.
Adam Cole runs into the ring trying to assault the Briscoes…as Maria SHOVES MARK THROUGH A TABLE! With his little brother incapacitated Jay is subjected to a lengthy beatdown by the entire Kingdom as the show goes off the air.
Tape Rating - *** - On the whole this was a decent episode. I’m not a major fan of the direction they are taking Michael Elgin, but at least it’s an attempt at an actual storyline by Delirious – and also moving Elgin to more of a heel orientation should make for much better matches from him (in my opinion). I also didn’t like the RD/Moose tag…but even that featured perhaps Moose’s best in-ring performance to date. The hour began and ended with a couple of decent free-TV matches making this a highly effective episode. Alexander/Ciampa was definitely among the better opening matches in the history of the SBG show.