ROH on Sinclair – Episode 188 – 25th April 2015
Last week saw the best episode of ROH on SBG we’ve seen in a while. There wasn’t a dead moment of television; every minute packed a punch and had a clear purpose. Fingers crossed for more of the same tonight. The main event is strong – reDRagon defend the ROH Tag Team Championship against The Addiction. There doesn’t seem to be much storyline behind it but all four have a strong in-ring pedigree and should be up to the task of producing a decent encounter. We rejoin a great crowd in the superb Shrine Auditorium in San Antonio, TX.
The show opens with a frustrated Addiction admitting that their return to Ring Of Honor has been a disappointment. There are plenty of cryptic messages hidden in their words – and they promise to leave tonight as Tag Champions.
BJ Whitmer vs Will Ferrara vs Caprice Coleman vs Moose
Here we have four guys all at different points in their career. Whitmer is the villain of the piece, with The Decade’s beliefs making him a natural enemy to all three opponents. Ferrara is the rookie looking to carve his niche on the roster. Caprice is the well-meaning veteran who enjoys working with young performers and disagrees with the methodology of The Decade. Moose is the rising star, with an incredible win/loss record and a size advantage over all who stand before him. Who boosts their stock with a big win to kick-off the show tonight?
Whitmer teases Moose but has no actual interest in wrestlig him…meaning it’s poor Ferrara who is left to trade blows with the ex-NFL star. BJ, of course, blind-tags in as soon as Moose has done the donkey work and beaten Will into the ground. I bet Ferrara could do with a pain-relieving knee or back brace right about now. He settles for a tag to Moose who takes Whitmer out with a charging headbutt. Ferrara hits a tope suicida, clearing a path for Caprice’s inside-out moonsault to the floor! SOMERSAULT PLANCHA BY MOOSE! Whitmer counters the Rolling Spear with the Exploder ’98! Eyes Wide Shut by Ferrara! One Inch Punch by Coleman! Sky Splitter gets 2 for the veteran…before Moose kills him with a pop-up lariat. Rolling Spear on Caprice, but Whitmer has blind-tagged himself in! He steals an underserved victory at 06:47 (shown)
Rating - ** - It didn’t go too long and was pretty action packed so I can’t complain too much. These multi-man matches are perfect for disguising Moose’s weaknesses, particularly when he gets to toss around little chaps like Ferrara or total professionals like Coleman.
The Decade refuse to clear the ring after the match. Whitmer calls Moose a ‘big goofy bastard’ then Page drags an ACH shirt into the ring to complain about ACH getting to face Samoa Joe, AJ Styles and Alberto El Patron whilst he’s been stuck at the bottom of the card. He wants to set fire to the shirt but is interrupted by ACH himself. Great promos from both men…and we have ourselves a match!
Adam Page vs ACH
Adam Page resents the fact that, despite debuting at a similar time to ACH, he’s never received the opportunities and high profile matches that ACH has. He paid his dues The Decade way, likewise he always delivers a solid in-ring performance – but he never gets a marquee match or main event slot. Is tonight a long-awaited high profile win for ACH, or the time Adam Page finally climbs the card at the expense of his rival?
Whitmer instantly starts distracting ACH to allow Page to hit his slingshot somersault lariat for an early nearfall. ACH rallies with a back flip kick off the ropes…but again BJ starts grabbing his attention before he can land the 450. INVERTED TOMBSTONE by Page! He wins at 01:53
Rating - N/A - I really like Adam Page, but I think I’m being rather generous by giving this an N/A rating. I had my hopes set on an explosive, punchy grudge match. It didn’t necessarily have to go long, but I wanted to see more of these guys than this. Hopefully they get the chance to do something better together somewhere down the road. ACH is treading water anyway, so it is nice to see Delirious look to use the enduring popularity he has to actually do something with Page.
Matt Sydal appears to stop The Decade assaulting his tag partner, making it two weeks in a row he’s performed a rescue act.
Michael Elgin gets some promo time to continue his minor feud with War Machine. After the idiotic schmoz that was their handicap match a few weeks ago Hanson and Rowe wanted Elgin to get a partner to fight them. He doesn’t want to be a team so is declining the offer – but does announce that he is bringing in the Killer Elite Squad to face them on TV next week.
reDRagon vs The Addiction – ROH Tag Title Match
Have Daniels and Kaz done anything to earn this? If they have it was so forgettable I don’t remember it at all. The Addiction returned to ROH at Best In The World 2014 and were granted an immediate Tag Title shot against reDRagon – which they lost. The rematch at Field Of Honor didn’t go their way either. In fact, as they themselves admitted at the top of the hour, their ROH run has thus far been a disappointment. Tonight, with an opportunity they perhaps don’t deserve, they have promised to go to extreme lengths to ensure the reign of Fish and O’Reilly finally ends…
The crowd effectively like everyone in the match except Kazarian. O’Reilly locks in Arm-ageddon on Daniels early to give the champs the advantage. He needs to carry the load for his team as it seems Fish is nursing an injury sustained at the hands of the KRD last week. In fact, Bobby really struggles when he tags in and it takes Kyle trapping Kaz in a hanging armbar in the ropes to rescue him from The Addiction’s clutches. reDRagon start focusing on Frankie’s shoulder which works well for several minutes until Daniels gets a tag and takes advantage of Bobby’s reduced mobility to level him with a Blue Thunder Driver. Fall From Grace into the Koji Clutch…but way too close to O’Reilly. The Addiction have turned the tables though and now have Fish completely isolated. Kazarian tries to work a submission on him…so O’Reilly saves with Arm-ageddon. ARABIAN PRESS BY DANIELS to break that! ARM-AGEDDON ON DANIELS! Frankie tries to break it…HEEL HOOK ON HIM AT THE SAME TIME! O’Reilly is freaking awesome! Two Man Smash Machine nailed, but further injures Fish’s knee. LAUNCHPAD OCEAN CYCLONE on Daniels for 2! Chasing The Dragon blocked, and Addiction hit the powerbomb/neckbreaker combo for their own nearfall. Axe & Smash by Kyle! All four men down! Fish blocks the Tomikaze with a TURNBUCKLE EXPLODER! A KRD red mask has appeared in the crowd…as Daniels MISSES the Best Moonsault Ever! The KRD member invades the ring…and apparently accidentally kicks O’Reilly! CELEBRITY REHAB! ADDICTION WIN! New Champions at 14:58 (shown).
Rating - **** - I wanted to knock a whole star off for that annoying finish. reDRagon have ruled the tag division for a long time and really deserved something a little more inspiring for the end of this reign. However, in the end I relented, sat back and realised that this was a really entertaining free TV main event. The Addiction attacked the match with a renewed vigour – having really started to look slow and out of touch in recent months. I really liked the fact that Fish’s knee was a talking point rather than a focal point – a reason reDRagon were vulnerable rather than the whole storyline behind the match. It made it entirely believable that the seemingly unbeatable Tag Champions would suddenly find themselves struggling against a team they’d comfortably beaten previously.
Bobby Fish captures the KRD member…and pulls his mask off to reveal Chris Sabin! DANIELS AND KAZ ATTACK REDRAGON! O’Reilly is busted open and bleeds on the mat as the three former TNA stars don the red masks. Finally we know who was behind the KRD. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense – but gets decent head from this awesome crowd and Daniels is good enough on the mic to pull it off at least…
Tape Rating - *** - I can’t pretend the KRD-ruined end to a big title match wasn’t frustrating, and the first half of the show wasn’t particularly memorable either. But more than half of this episode is taken up with the very decent main event so it’s hard not to call it a solid instalment in the series. I’ve always said we should wait to judge the KRD angle until we see the pay-off – and we got that tonight. On the one hand it was a shallow way to end reDRagon’s reign. But having Sabin back in ROH is intriguing and Daniels is such a great promo guy (particularly as a heel) that he can make anything work...so I'll sit on the fence on the whole KRD saga for a little while longer it seems.