ROH on Sinclair - Episode 385 - 1st February 2019

As I noted during my Honor Reigns Supreme 2019 review, it is extremely odd that this TV taping took place before the first 'Honor Club' live event of the year. When Honor Reigns Supreme was broadcast, we'd barely got two weeks through the four episodes of content taped at Final Battle Fallout, yet it was referencing content that took place at these tapings but wouldn't make air for weeks. This show isn't broadcast until after the entire 'Road To G1 Supercard' Texas triple-shot weekend either. If you can get past that, this should be a good episode. Silas Young vs Eli Isom for a TV Title shot as a main event isn't necessarily a major draw, but the undercard has Tracy Williams vs David Finlay and Mark Haskins against Bandido; the latter of which received rave live reviews. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana - plus special guest Juice Robinson - are in Atlanta, GA.

Tracy Williams vs David Finlay
At the time of taping, Finlay was appearing for ROH in the US for the first time (although he has worked the NJPW 'Honor Rising' cross-over shows), and will be keen to make a good impression. Juice Robinson says he's on commentary to cheer Finlay, his NJPW partner, on. Tracy came into 2019 looking to cement the roster spot after a couple of great in-ring performances at the end of 2018 without getting the wins he needed

As expected they waste no time in locking up and trading holds. Tracy tackles Finlay so hard that his shoulder brace actually pops off his arm! He has to toss it aside as he is thrown out of the ring, and Finlay capitalises on that momentary distraction with a pescado. He hits back firmly with a cradle back suplex for 2, followed by an underhook suplex as well. Williams starts picking apart Finlay's arm and absolutely pelts him with big chops as well. Uppercuts from Finlay, flying at Hot Sauce from all angles and evening the match up as we take a commercial break. DOUBLE ARM TURNBUCKLE DDT by Tracy! DISCUS LARIAT gets 2! Piledriver blocked...so the two men start elbowing lumps out of each other. Urinage backbreaker by Finlay for 2...then a RUNNING LARIAT! Trash Panda countered to the Crossface...only for David to counter to a pin for 2. Jumping DVD by Hot Sauce, then the PILEDRIVER! Williams gets his first ROH victory at 08:38 (shown)

Rating - *** - This was quite a welcome to the post-Elite Ring Of Honor. Neither of these guys are huge names and the crowd wasn't as loud as it sometimes is in this intimate building...but they were quickly won over because they were watching two men beating the sh*t out of each other. The time allocation was so short neither felt like they were really selling a damn thing, but the match was breathless, violent and completely exciting in a totally different way than we've been seeing in ROH over the last couple of years. Tracy is a great piece of recruitment for Ring Of Honor.

The Kingdom say that they weren't impressed by Villain Enterprises in their match versus Shinobi Shadow Squad last week. Therefore they plan to continue their reign as Six-Man Champions for the foreseeable future...

Mark Haskins vs Bandido
Signing Bandido was quite the coup for Ring Of Honor. After his appearance in the main event of All In most had him locked in for a spot in AEW and were surprised when ROH picked him up first. His arrival is hotly anticipated and he goes straight into a high profile contest for what was technically his in-ring debut for the company. Haskins has now signed full-time too and fully deserves this spot after the quality of his performances over multiple ROH UK shows. At Honor Re-United last year his back-to-back MOTYC's with Adam Page and Jay Lethal over consecutive nights surely made the offer a full-time contract inevitable. 

Haskins tries to lock up with the luchador, who is too quick and too skilled to be held down. The Englishman visibly busts his ass trying to keep Bandido on the ground; clinging desperately to a headlock. Eventually Bandido escapes into a spectacular back flip, almost powerbombs Haskins then does a HEADSTAND in the middle of the ring just to f*ck with him. Mark delivers a running dropkick right into the ribs to shut that sh*t down! TOPE SUICIDA by Haskins, rolling in the ropes and sprinting to the other side of the ring when Bandido tried to evade it. When we return from commercials we see Haskins working over the leg to ground the masked man. TORNILLO by Bandido to escape his clutches. RUNNING MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! He collapses to the ground alongside Haskins so apparently still struggling with the leg. Mark dropkicks it to knock him off the apron. POP-UP ACE CRUSHER gets 2 for Bandido. Haskins hits back by rolling through into a fireman's carry driver. Elbows and a Superkick by Bandido...no sold. STEREO MAFIA KICKS leave both men on the canvas. They come within a second of a double knock-out then fly up from the canvas trying to take each other's heads off. X-KNEE gets 2 for Bandido! Moonsault misses, Haskins grabs the leg and rolls him into the Sharpshooter! Bandido grabs the ropes...so Haskins kicks him in the f*cking face! FLYING DOUBLE STOMP gets 2. STAR ARMBAR! Bandido escapes and hits a Superkick. 21-PLEX! Bandido wins at 09:40 (shown)

Rating - **** - An exciting, ten-minute sprint demonstrating exactly why both of these men are so good and why ROH are so excited about having them as a featured part of the product in 2019. Bandido is so fun to watch and has a thrilling moveset but in my view is under-rated in the way he emotes and sells for his opponents despite having a mask which covers almost his entire face. As an English fan I'm clearly delighted that Haskins is now full-time, and that he knocked it out of the park on his TV debut too. He isn't a big guy but he is adaptable and has a knack of getting crowds to engage in his match no matter what the circumstance. This is a match well worth taking ten minutes of your life to seek out on Honor Club.

NEXT WEEK - Nick Aldis is looking forward to defending the NWA Heavyweight Championship on ROH television for the first time against PJ Black...

Silas Young vs Eli Isom
The winner of this receives a shot at the TV Title. Eli booked his spot in this match with a win over Facade in Philadelphia. Silas' route was tougher as he had to survive a gruelling No DQ Match with his former partner the Beer City Bruiser. The Last Real Man is clearly the hot favourite, but should not underestimate the plucky ROH Dojo graduate who scored wins over Christopher Daniels and Shane Taylor in 2018. Isom is accompanied by Cheeseburger and Ryan Nova, but sends them back to the locker-room as he looks to break out on his own.

Young is dismissive of Isom from the outset and dominates the early exchanges. Crucially Eli creates some space to tag him with a jumping knee, but makes an error soon after and misses a springboard dropkick. Young gives him a body slam on the arena floor then returns to the ring with a slingshot double stomp to the ribs. A gourdbuster follows; the former TV Champion now viciously attacking the midsection making it hard for the youngster to even catch his breath. The situation gets even worse when Young puts on a sleeper hold with added bodyscissors...but still Isom refuses to quit. He unleashes a flurry of strikes and takes Silas off his feet with a belly to belly suplex. Young's response is to almost punch his lights out. Air Raid Crash by Eli! Silas sensibly leaves the ring for a breather - and gets his skates on to dodge an attempted pescado causing Isom to crash ribs-first onto the floor. Killer Combo gets 2. The ribs are crushed with The Plunge...but yet again Eli kicks out. An enraged Young tries to finish it off with a superplex...except now Isom kicks out at ONE! The rookie trades strikes with Silas until Young puts a knee into his ribs. Misery wins it at 10:52 (shown)

Rating - *** - One sided and a little long for what at times felt decidedly like a squash. But the fact that this was getting some of the loudest reactions of the entire show tells you that what they were doing connected with the live audience. Although Young dominated pretty much from start to finish, there were enough opportunities for Isom to showcase his skill and resilience which really got fans on his side. Silas worked the same body part all match to set up his finishing moves which was a welcome touch of detail as well. I don't think this was as good as Tracy/Finlay or the outstanding Bandido/Haskins clash but it did have real 'watchability'. 

Silas tries to cut a promo on Jeff Cobb, against a back drop of some really vitriolic, verbal abuse from the Atlanta crowd. Cobb comes out and taunts him with the TV Title belt, and Jeff stands his ground even when Shane Taylor comes out to back Silas up! In the end Young clips Cobb's knees and sets up Taylor for Greetings From 216. They stand tall over the TV Champion as the show ends.

Tape Rating - *** - What a solid episode this was, and a fine start to the 'post-Elite' era as this was the first content actually taped in 2019 after their departure. Bandido/Haskins rightly takes the headlines and steals the show. It was a flashy, spectacular showcase of all that is good about their work and a celebration of what we can expect to see from them this year. The matches either side of it were good as well. Finlay/Williams was stiff and hard-fought; handicapped more by the lack of time they were given than anything else. Young/Isom probably isn't a main event which will draw many in but it was a solid match, a welcome reminder of how much heat Silas generates with his character and mannerisms - and ends with the positioning of both Young and Taylor as top TV Title contenders. Cobb/Silas and Cobb/Taylor are both title defences I absolutely would like to see. Fingers crossed for many more shows like this in 2019.

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