ROH on Sinclair – Episode 166 – 22nd November 2014

The October Florida tapings continue at pace with this episode, main evented by one of the most eagerly anticipated bouts of the entire event. Hanson has been a rising star in Ring Of Honor this year and now he gets to test his blossoming skills against arguably the best wrestler on the planet in 2014 – ‘The Phenomenal’ AJ Styles. People weren’t sure what to make of their scheduled clash but live reports created a real buzz and I’m looking forward to checking it out. Once again we’re in Lakeland, FL with Steve Corino and Kevin Kelly.

The newlyweds Michael Bennett and Maria Kanellis open the show. Cue the ‘wrestling fans are fat virgins’ jokes. They are pissed off that Nigel McGuinness refuses to sanction any ‘Title Of Love’ matches. Bennett issues an open challenge for right now…and it’s answered by Romantic Touch

Michael Bennett vs Romantic Touch
Given that Bennett issued the challenge to ‘anyone with love in their hearts’ it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Romantic Touch is the man that answered the call. Of course this will quickly descend into pseudo-comedic shenanigans…but there is a serious edge to this. RT has been stuck at the bottom of the card doing very little for a long time now. At the same time Bennett helped form The Kingdom and his career is now as upwardly mobile as it has ever been. Touch knows a victory over a star on the rise could well be what he needs to refresh his own existence in Ring Of Honor.

Romantic Touch’s entrance lasts longer than I’d ideally like the match to go. Rhett’s accent is probably the funniest thing this character has done in months…but sadly his antics don’t get him anything more than a kick in the stomach. He hits back with the Snuggle-monkey flip for 2 and actually gets to dominate for a few minutes with his clumsy, ugly and basic offence. Thankfully a commercial break cuts a lot of it out and brings us back with him preparing for a dive over the ropes as Bennett hides behind his wife. Maria actively distracts Touch so Mike can give him a BOX OFFICE SMASH ON THE APRON! That spot was way too brutal to waste on a match with Rhett Titus. Annoyingly RT doesn’t do much to sell it and is soon back to boring people as he counters a Pepsi Twist into a belly to belly suplex. He sets up the Romantic Edge but once again gets distracted by Maria. Twist Of Fate wins it for Bennett at 06:55 (shown).

Rating - * - I’ve made my feelings on Romantic Touch/Rhett Titus’ continued presence in Ring Of Honor perfectly clear. I can’t stand his work, I can’t stand the gimmick and view it as a total waste of time and money. Having said that, the Bennett/Maria act continues to snowball and in the extremely stagnant current ROH climate they amongst the biggest characters and most entertaining acts. Unfortunately (as we’ve seen whenever they’ve wrestled) Rhett Titus isn’t the guy to get a good match out of Mike. That Box Office Smash spot saved this from being a total wash-out at least.

Up next we’re supposed to have Michael Elgin’s first match since losing the World Title in September. Elgin hasn’t even bothered to get into his gear though and doesn’t look remotely interested in wrestling Caprice Coleman. He lies down in the middle of the ring trying to forfeit as Nigel McGuinness and a bunch of security guards come to eject him.

SIDENOTE – I feel like this may have been edited from the live version. Reports coming out of the tapings were extremely negative towards this segment. In truth it was a little silly but nothing like the atrocity some have made it out to be. I’m not a huge fan of the angle, but I’m enjoying it a hell of a lot more than having Elgin shoved down my throat as World Champion.

Instead of the match we get an extremely effective Briscoe/Cole video package to hype the Fight Without Honor at Final Battle.

Hanson vs AJ Styles
2014 has been a great year for Hanson. He won the Top Prospect Tournament, formed a dynamic and hard-hitting tag team in War Machine, went to the finals of Survival Of The Fittest and has been impressing everyone with a number of high quality singles matches. However, elsewhere in the world there is a guy who’s 2014 makes his year look like a highlight reel of Romantic Touch matches…and tonight he stands across the ring from him. AJ Styles has been on a tear since returning to the independent scene. In ROH he has produced countless killer matches. In New Japan he has won the IWGP Heavyweight Title, been at the epicentre of the most popular stable in wrestling right now (Bullet Club) and was the outstanding wrestler in the 2014 G-1 Climax Tournament. Using one of AJ’s precious Ring Of Honor bookings against Hanson is a real vote of confidence in ‘War Beard’. Not only does he need to win here, he needs to prove that he belongs in the upper echelons of the ROH roster

Hanson is PUMPED and flies out of the traps throwing strikes and looking to use his size on Styles. AJ has no choice but to leave the ring, making it clear that Hanson is a real threat. He’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer though…and he walks right into the standard Styles dropkick sequence. Styles tries going after a leg and striking at the neck but nothing he does succeeds in putting Hanson on the ground for more than a few seconds. HANSON MISSES A TOPE SUICIDA! Another error from Hanson, but again he recovers quickly to COUNTER an attempted Phenom DDT off the apron by spiking his opponent into the ringpost. The Phenomenal One is crushed again with a sidewalk slam but is still taking an utter pasting as Hanson rains down strikes on him from all angles. His body is peppered with clubbing forearms, knees and elbows leaving the former IWGP Champ in as much trouble as he has looked at any point all year. He lines up his nip-up rana…only to get knee’d right in the stomach with such force that Hanson actually comes up limping. A Warrior Splash caves in that midsection again making it harder and harder for AJ to catch his breath. There are a bunch of kids in the crowd sounding extremely concerned about how much of a beating Styles is taking at this point. Hanson ups the stakes looking for a superplex – making another error for the big man. Styles slides out of his clutches to fly at him with a jumping enzi which leaves them both on the canvas. Springboard elbow smash scores but again Styles is seriously slow to follow up as he feels the effects of Hanson’s assault. Styles Clash blocked into a PANCAKE! Tiger Driver drops him on that core again for a nearfall. AJ keeps trying to go after Hanson’s leg but continually gets swatted away. Anti-clockwise slam gets another close 2! Bronco Buster BLOCKED with a straight football tackle to Hanson’s leg. Is that finally the devastating blow to his legs that AJ has been searching for all match? CALF KILLER! He’s beaten several high profile opponents with that hold so Hanson earns immense credit for battling to the ropes on that. Bloody Sunday blocked with an intense flurry to the ribs…only for Styles to explode out of the corner anyway to hit it anyway! SPRINGBOARD 450 SPLASH TO THE LEG! CALF KILLER AGAIN! Hanson goes to the clubbing body blows again and escapes basically by stiffing the sh*t out of him. DEAD-LIFT LEG SELLING SCREWDRIVER! STYLES KICKS OUT! Hanson-sault blocked with another shot at the leg…PELE IN THE CORNER! STYLES CLASH! AJ wins at 18:06 (shown).

Rating - ****1/2 - Aside from a couple of selling issues, this was absolutely spectacular. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that AJ delivered another MOTYC for 2014, but the level to which Hanson stepped up to meet him was a real shock. Despite Styles being a significantly bigger name than him, the match was laid out to get Hanson over as much as possible meaning he was expected to carry extended portions of the contest and he more than held up his end of the deal. His striking was violent, he never once felt dull or resorted to repeating spots…and his attack on AJ’s midsection was nothing short of brutal. But for me the real joy was in the subtle detail. From Hanson looking to make an instant impact by starting to explosively, to AJ spending 10+ minutes TRYING to work the leg before he actually managed to successfully do so, to Hanson making basic errors to indicate his lack of ‘big time’ experience compared to his opponent. This great match combined subtle, nuanced, artier little moments with the more obvious satisfaction of watching two guys work a body part and beat the snot out of each other. An unexpected delight and a genuine highlight of ROH’s two year run on Sinclair television.

NEXT WEEK – Adam Cole vs Matt Sydal

Tape Rating - *** - The opening match sucked, and whilst I don’t really mind what they are doing with Michael Elgin at the moment I can understand why many fans are finding it off-putting. However, any issues you may have had with the first half of this episode will be quickly extinguished once you get to the second half. Styles/Hanson is right up there with some of the best matches ROH has produced on the SBG TV show as well as one of the promotions best matches of 2014. This is one well worth going out of your way to see.

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