ROH on Sinclair – Episode 208 – 16th September 2015
This is the second episode to be taped as part of the Aftershock Tour in Philadelphia, which was released on DVD therefore already has it’s own separate review. As such I’m already well aware that this episode will not be a patch on last week’s Championship Edition. It’s the go home episode before the next national pay-per-view however, so I’m hoping a fair amount of pre-production trimmings will be added around the in-ring stuff which we’ve already seen to really give All Star Extravaganza 7 a hard sell. Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino welcome us to the 2300 Arena – in Philadelphia, PA.
Donovan Dijak/J. Diesel vs reDRagon
Jay Lethal has individual matches against both members of reDRagon at All Star Extravaganza – first defending his TV Title against Bobby Fish then his World Title against Kyle O’Reilly. He is in the House Of Truth corner tonight and will be sending his two henchmen into battle with the instruction to do as much damage to both of his challengers as possible.
Fish asked for his team’s corner to be immediately above the commentary table where Jay Lethal is situated. Diesel and O’Reilly trade some pretty intense striking, which looks decent. Diesel then completely f*cks up a basic sunset flip spot which has the crowd in fits of laughter. This guy is appalling. Bobby salvages the situation, but only by LOUDLY calling every spot to the point that it’s very obvious he’s walking the big meathead through the whole thing. Thankfully Dijak finally comes in…but unfortunately for him he is quickly wiped out with a flying knee of the apron by Kyle (although even the f*cking camera man is messing sh*t up now and nearly screwed that spot by getting in the way. DIJAK THROWS O’REILLY OVER THE TOP ROPE! This guy is such a beast! He leads his team to a semi-successful isolation of O’Reilly but is finally bewildered by the fast hands and feet of his opponent. Tags all round, so we go back to a frustrated Bobby Fish having to drag the completely hopeless Diesel through more stuff. reDRagon pummel Donovan’s legs with kicks, driving him out of the ring in the process. Another spot f*cked up by Diesel as he doesn’t take Fish’s running elbow properly and appears to end up with a bloody nose. Anklelock on him…which Bobby won’t relinquish even when Dijak starts hitting him. ARMBAR ON DIJAK! FISH HOOK DELUXE ON DIESEL! reDRagon win at 10:02
Rating - ** - There was a good match in here somewhere, but J. Diesel appeared to be on a one-man mission to totally wreck it. The dude is embarrassingly awful, and it was no fun watching genuinely world class talents like Fish and O’Reilly have to carry his talentless ass. Dijak is a real prospect and has future WWE star written all over him due to his size, athleticism and sports background…but for now it’s getting increasingly annoying watching him saddled with Diesel as a partner rather than striking out on his own. This had some very interesting bits of work between Dijak and reDRagon but it never threatened to escape the total ineptitude of the fourth participant. A few weeks ago I wrote that the tag match between War Machine and the Dijak/Diesel team was watchable because Diesel was largely kept out of the match…but that it was to the detriment of Donovan’s momentum since he had to carry the work, take the bumps and sell for the opponents. This one was pretty much the exact opposite in that Dijak got to look far stronger…but the match quality suffered because his schmuck of a partner was in there botching sunset flips and suplexes like it was his first day in the stupid ROH Dojo. As an FYI to Sinclair: if this guy trains in your school, his appearance on your TV show is pretty much an advertisement for why you should go learn to wrestle ANYWHERE else.
On the positive side, the post-match segment with Lethal and reDRagon having to be held apart, is retained for the TV edit. It’s not ideal (particularly as O’Reilly has had almost no hype as a World Title challenger recently) but at least it’s something..
The Briscoes are in the locker room, contemplating who the ‘mystery team’ coming in to face them at All Star Extravaganza.
Cedric Alexander vs Dalton Castle
I was ready to write Cedric in ROH off. He’s a great athlete and a good wrestler, but for whatever reason it just wasn’t working. His heel turn has rejuvenated his character to a certain extent, and for the first time in a while I’m honestly interested to see what he does next. He has new music (although nobody told the production team since the pop-up graphic still lists his old theme), Veda Scott by his side and a bad attitude in tow as he looks to take down one of the most popular stars on the roster. Castle is embroiled in an escalating row with Silas Young which now sees him at risk of losing his beloved Boys. Young is on commentary for this.
Cedric spends much of the first minute standing in the corner and watching as Dalton bounces around the ring in all manner of poses. Silas’ commentary is almost as entertaining as the match itself, particularly as all of his plans for making The Boys ‘men’ involves turning them into lumberjacks (chopping wood and living in the woods); said without a hint of homoerotic irony. Veda trips Castle, allowing Alexander to hit a running kick on the apron and give him a clear advantage for the first time. He pops out from behind Veda again to punch him in the face…but maintaining the fight on the outside proves to be an error as Dalton is able to tiger feint into the headscissors to the floor! Alexander tries his springboard lariat…only to be CAUGHT in mid-air then converted to an overhead suplex for 2. Everest German blocked into the 540 Kick for 2. Castle ducks another enzi attempt and this time does convert to the Everest German…prompting Silas to leave commentary and grab The Boys. Obviously that distracts Dalton, and Alexander grabs the tights and steals a win at 09:29
Rating - ** - I expected better from these two; they are certainly capable of it. This one never got out of the low gears and in truth was carried almost entirely by Silas Young’s hysterical commentary rather than anything they were doing. I like Alexander wrestling with a heel-ish edge, but I have little interest in his act degenerating almost entirely into only hitting moves when Veda Scott helps him. He isn’t Matt Taven as TV Champion and doesn’t need that level of help to get heat
Stokely Hathaway appears at ringside taunting Cedric with a wrench…as Moose invades the ring from behind to wipe him out with the Hitstick. They meet in a No DQ Match at All Star Extravaganza
INSIDE ROH – Mandy Leon reviews the entire All Star Extravaganza 7 card, with the assistance of Adam Cole who reveals that he is part of a #1 contendership fourway with Michael Elgin, Roderick Strong and AJ Styles.
Michael Bennett/Matt Taven vs War Machine
The Kingdom are preparing for their championship opportunity at the next pay-per-view, but have made pretty sizeable enemies in War Machine along the way. Hanson and Rowe don’t like these two one bit and would love to dish out a beating just when their opponents need to build momentum the most. Of course, a win would also make them top contenders should Bennett and Taven leave San Antonio with the Tag Title belts…
Bennett and Taven were clearly impressed with the Young Bucks earlier, so try the same double superkick spot to start. War Machine totally no sell it though then set about mauling them. Rowe cuts the ring in half and hits the Cement Mixer early on Taven, with Bennett still regrouping on the outside with Maria. Matt is nursing a hamstring injury and wisely tags out to avoid further injury…sending his partner into a similarly violent assault from their opponents. Maria Kanellis gets involved, and very nearly gets sledgehammered in the corner by Hanson as a consequence. REBOUND ENZI OFF THE RAILINGS by Taven! Kingdom try to keep Hanson grounded, but can’t do enough damage and Bennett finds the Twist Of Fate countered into the inverted powerslam. Superman Punch from Rowe to Bennett! Cement Mixer on Taven for a second time! The Kingdom escape Fallout, only to amusingly fail one-after-another in attempted dive spots and get splattered down on top of each other on the apron as a result. Taven ducks the Cartwheel Lariat from Hanson…into a CARTWHEEL ENZI! Apron Spear from Bennett to Rowe! Maria tries to interfere again, but is pulled down from the apron by the Young Bucks, leaving Bennett to eat a double chokeslam whilst distracted! FALLOUT on Taven! War Machine get a big win at 10:44
Rating - *** - I really like War Machine, but the way they are booked is maddeningly inconsistent. They just lost to the Young Bucks at the New York TV tapings (and looked a little silly in the process), but now get to look strong and win against The Kingdom, when Bennett and Taven are the ones needing to look strong ahead of a title shot? I don’t quite understand Delirious’ logic, but at least it sets Hanson and Rowe up as top challengers if/when Kingdom get the belts. These four men are always fun to watch together as well, since the rugged rough-housing of Rowe and Hanson is that much more entertaining when it’s at the expense of cocky, sleazy goofballs like Bennett and Taven.
The Kingdom’s night gets even worse as they get attacked by the Young Bucks…only for The Addiction to swoop and lay out Matt and Nick with the Tag Title belts. It means Daniels and Kazarian are the ones standing tall on the go-home episode ahead of All Star Extravaganza 7.
Tape Rating - ** - I didn’t think much of this episode, either as a standalone piece of wrestling programming or as a go-home episode for a big pay-per-view. I won’t deny that every segment did something to promote All Star Extravaganza, which is something…but nothing made much sense at all. Lethal, Fish and O’Reilly got very little time to promote their matches, so presumably ROH is expecting fans to buy based on the sheer novelty of their top champion having to defend both singles titles individually. The Tag Title situation did close out the show strongly, but made The Kingdom look like buffoons in every sense of the word…which makes zero sense with the benefit of hindsight and knowing how the ppv match turned out. There was far too much left unexplained too. No reason was given as to why the Briscoes are wrestling a mystery team, Mandy Leon casually dropped ‘Match 3 in the Best Of 5 Series between Matt Sydal and ACH’ into her Inside ROH segment without mentioning ANYTHING about the series, why it’s happening or the like. Has their series been mentioned at all on TV to provide that with context? Oh, and what could be one of the biggest matches on the show – three former World Champions and AJ freaking Styles – is left to three days before the PPV to randomly announce with zero fanfare? This was nothing like good enough to sell pay-per-view buys to a casual viewer who doesn’t read the website, watch the house show VOD’s or follow social media outlets. The card for All Star Extravaganza is actually tight, with almost all the matches (with the exception of the #1 contenders fourway) having a back story and something at stake. It isn’t the long-term booking that is the issue here – it’s the piss poor execution of the taping structure, which is hard to excuse.