ROH on Sinclair – Episode 179 – 21st February 2015
Two weeks out from the 13th Anniversary Show, and this week we are interrupting the content taped in Philadelphia to take in some Road Rage from earlier in the Winter Warriors Tour. Ordinarily I find that quite problematic, but it has to be said that this particular event (Winter Warriors Dearborn) was rather focused on the 13th Anniversary anyway – and positioning this broadcast at this point in the schedule does also allow ROH to get another Alberto El Patron match onto free TV – and since he wasn’t at the Philly tapings that could prove vital in promoting his TV Title shot against Jay Lethal. Alberto’s clash with ACH, Mark Briscoe’s battle with Michael Elgin and the stellar Lethal/Strong TV Title Match are all lined up for those of you that haven’t seen the full live event. Kevin Kelly and Truth Martini are situated at ringside for commentary from Dearborn, MI.
ACH vs Alberto El Patron
There was a point last year when it seemed like ACH was blowing his big chance. He’d produced a stellar match on television with Jay Lethal…but then failed to show up for the big rematch on iPPV and seemed to have been relegated back to his perpetual midcard slot. However, apparently he has worked his way back into ROH/SBG’s good books as he was one of the first guys booked to face Alberto during his stint on the Winter Warriors tour in ROH. The former Alberto Del Rio delivered an impressive debut win on TV against Christopher Daniels…but seemed to struggle whenever the Fallen Angel quickened the pace against him. How, then, will he cope with someone who possesses the kind of speed and agility that ACH does? Since Alberto is now on the hunt for Jay Lethal and the TV Title, he knows that beating a guy who pushed Lethal to the limit in a 30-minute draw would be a hell of a way to earn a title shot.
First blood goes to a pumped up ACH, who grapples the lucha legend into the ropes. El Patron isn’t disturbed at all though and quickly knocks the smaller man straight out of the ring with a tackle. He also shows his proficiency as a striker as he knocks ACH all over the ring. Just as in the Daniels match though, as soon as ACH speeds things up The Boss starts to struggle – soon eating a back suplex after failing to lay a hand on him as he flips around the ring. ACH misses a pescado to the floor though, and Alberto levels him with a STEPPING ENZIGURI OFF THE APRON! He then whips ACH into the guardrails with such force that he almost snaps in half! With his opponent now sufficiently slowed, AEP is able to start work on the arm – and does so by breaking out the hanging armbar in the corner. An error comes soon afterwards though. He tries to enter ACH’s territory by coming off the top rope and sails straight into a dropkick from his plucky adversary. ACH hits a headscissors with such force that he sends El Patron outside…and when Alberto tries to dodge the pescado for a second time he is prepared and sprints across the apron into a soccer punt. Patron has to act fast to suppress this resistance, lifting him into a tilta-whirl backbreaker then stomping the life out of him. But ACH simply refuses to stay down and pops up again with a satellite DDT for 2. HEADBUTTS TO THE NECK! INVERTED SUPERPLEX BY EL PATRON! And just when he looks set to finish things with the Armbar ACH dodges him again and flies off the top into a double stomp. ARMBREAKER! SUPERKICK! ACH fights back to knock Alberto out of the ring. RUNNING MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! Best 450 Splash ever misses…ARMBAR…COUNTERED TO THE HERO’S GRIP! FOR 2! 450 SPLASH BLOCKED WITH KNEES TO THE ARM! ARMBAR! ACH TAPS! AEP wins at 15:05
Rating - **** - This was great because it took two guys who are stylistically very different, yet they meshed together brilliantly. ACH deserves a lot of credit. He wouldn’t necessarily have been used to working with guys the size of Alberto, let alone guys who work the rather strange lucha/WWE hybrid style that he does. The story was pretty much perfect, with ACH showing heart, determination, courage…but only really getting any kind of advantage when he was able to use his speed against the bigger, slower and older opponent. Alberto looked to use his power and striking to dominate and did so for long periods – but didn’t reckon on the amazing resilience of ACH who very nearly pulled off an unlikely win before leaving his arm vulnerable to Alberto’s signature hold. It was actually a lack of time which meant I held off going higher on my rating here. They were hampered by only getting fifteen minutes, and the match LOOKED as if it was being smushed down to fit into a Road Rage TV slot (which it was). They didn’t have enough time to let big moments breathe, or to sell the real key points of their story properly. We didn’t get enough time to really empathise with ACH as he was bullied by the bigger man. Everything was too hurried, ACH’s comebacks were too rushed etc. It is a real shame that even at a house show/live event ROH couldn’t find them another five minutes to do this thing properly.
Michael Elgin vs Mark Briscoe
Sour grapes Elgin is currently a man on a mission. He’s alienated himself from the entire roster and fanbase, but has only one concern – winning back his ROH Championship. He lost it to Mark’s big brother last year but is now within touching distance of winning it back after being booked in the 13th Anniversary Show main event. He would dearly love to prepare for Vegas with a dominant win over the World Champion’s brother.
Am I alone in really liking Elgin’s new entrance music? He comes straight out of the blocks with some stiff strikes in Briscoe’s direction. SOMERSAULT PLANCHA OVER THE TURNBUCKLES BY MARK! Elgin was probably caught off guard by that since it wasn’t part of Mark’s usual routine. Normal service is soon resumed as he thinks about the Cactus Elbow, before settling for an assortment of Redneck Kung Fu strikes. Elgin, on the other hand, keeps things delightfully simple – standing in the middle of the ring and battering his opponent with elbows and knees. From nowhere Elgin thinks about a SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT…and when he misses that he still recovers quickly enough to catch Briscoe and drop him with a slingshot neckbreaker. More goofy kung fu stuff from Mark, SO ELGIN ELBOWS HIM IN THE F*CKING JAW! He goes for one last elbow strike only for it to be countered into Mark’s urinage for 2. Unbreakable refuses to stay down for the Froggy Bow, stomping on Briscoe’s chest before crushing him with the Tiger Body Press! Mark is pissed now, and abandons the annoying Redneck Kung Fu crap in favour of straight up punches to the face! Uncle Mule Kick scores…only for Elgin to scoop him up for a Buckle Bomb. JAY DRILLER ON MARK! Elgin leaves with an impressive victory at 09:06
Rating - *** - One thing Mark is very good at is making his opponents look good. He knew his job here was to rebuild Elgin going into Vegas, and you were certainly left with the impression that this was a significant victory for him.
Elgin reaches under the ring and pulls out some turnbuckle bolts – and fishhooks them into Mark’s mouth to taunt his World Champion older brother. When Jay comes to his rescue, Elgin is ready and lays him out with his own title belt. What Elgin wasn’t expecting was Tommaso Ciampa – who himself runs in to make a point. Hanson piles in too…leading to a brawl between all four Vegas participants. It’s Elgin who is left standing and clutching the title belt as Jay Briscoe is bloodied on the floor.
Jay Lethal vs Roderick Strong – ROH TV Title Match
Lethal has held the belt since Supercard Of Honor 8 and is hot after surviving the challenge of Matt Sydal at Final Battle. He has another former WWE superstar (Alberto) in his sights for the next pay-per-view too…and in doing so may be overlooking the sternest test of his reign so far. Strong is the man that ended his first run with the TV Championship and is still one of only two triple crown champions in company history. He is also another one of Truth Martini’s former clients, and was at the centre of the House Of Truth when he rose to the very top of the promotion by becoming World Champion in 2010. With all eyes on Las Vegas, will Mr ROH swoop in under the radar and regain gold in a year that he has promised he will dominate?
The first thing Roderick does is cartwheel into a pinning combination…which of course annoys Lethal so much he instantly breaks out his hiptoss/dropkick combo. An early Death By Roderick attempt is blocked, but Jay is unable to prevent the challenger from hitting a cradle backbreaker. Truth Martini springs into action and distracts Strong before he is able to inflict more damage on the spine. Instead it’s Lethal injuring the back by repeatedly smashing Roddy into the guardrails with his rolling tope sequence. He controls proceedings for several minutes, slowing the pace and grinding on the neck. That is before the signature ‘gear switching’ and striking of his opponent comes to the fore. From nowhere Strong explodes into a vicious dropkick, and even finds time to dish out a running boot to the HOT bodyguard J. Diesel too. Still he can’t hit Death By Roderick though – as Jay counters in mid-air to a hurricanrana. Knee strike dodged…into the LETHAL COMBINATION! Koji Clutch grinds on the neck again! Jumping knee blocks the Lethal Injection…only for Martini to hop onto the apron just as Strong seems set to execute End Of Heartache. BJ Whitmer runs in to drop his former team-mate with an EXPLODER ’98 ON THE FLOOR! Todd Sinclair orders the bell to be rung at 09:55, apparently to signify a disqualification. Strong is irate and bates Lethal back into the ring for a restart. LETHAL INJECTION COUNTERED WITH A CRADLE BACKBREAKER! He’s too injured to hit the Gibson Driver though, enabling the champ to score with a standing Lethal Injection for 2. Hail To The King thwarted with a big superplex, although it does almost as much damage to Roddy as it does to Lethal. Jay tries to counter the Death By Roderick with a rana again…but this time Strong COUNTERS TO THE STRONGHOLD! Great spot, but too close to the ropes to force a victory. HAIL TO THE KING for 2! LETHAL INJECTION…COUNTERED TO THE SICK KICK! TWO COUNT! SUPERKICK FLURRY BY JAY! LETHAL INJECTION! He retains at 15:38 (total time).
Rating - **** - This was an absolute blast as a main event. It may have been overbooked, but it made for a seriously hot headliner. Lethal is such a natural fit for the House Of Truth and has grown so much since regaining the TV Title last year. His subtle but constant attack on Strong’s neck to set up for the Lethal Injection was great. He has developed a natural arrogance to his ring work, which made him the perfect foil for the hard working, ‘Mr ROH’ challenger he faced tonight. This won’t win any MOTY awards, but it sure was a lot of fun to watch.
Roderick Strong marches straight through the curtain, into the locker room, and into a brawl with BJ Whitmer. Meanwhile in the arena Lethal’s celebrations are interrupted by Alberto El Patron, who chases him away to send a message before the 13th Anniversary Show.
Tape Rating - N/A - On the one had it’s a shame that all the good stuff from the Winter Warriors Dearborn live event was given away for free here, but on the other, despite being taped way back in January this was actually a really solid show to build to the pay-per-view. The two big singles titles matches got plenty of attention, and Alberto El Patron made it onto ROH’s show again instantly adding to the credibility of their product. As far as go-home shows go this was extremely solid. I think most of the die hard fans who buy every event would accept being ripped off from time to time (as they have been here) if it meant a consistently well booked promotion to enjoy.