ROH on Sinclair - Episode 386 - 8th February 2019

The hook for this show is clear. For the first time ever the NWA Heavyweight Championship will be defended on Ring Of Honor television. It will be 'National Treasure' Nick Aldis, who has appeared on ROH programming frequently over the last year without actually wrestling all that often, against the 'Darewolf' PJ Black. A clash of personality, a clash of styles and an intriguing headline bout. We're also scheduled to see Villain Enterprises once again in six-man tag action as they pursue a shot at the Trios Championships held by The Kingdom. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana are in Atlanta, GA.

Marty Scurll/Brody King/PCO vs John Skyler/Corey Hollis/Josey Quinn
Of all the talents we saw in the 2017 Top Prospect Tournament (won by Josh Woods), Skyler was by far my favourite - even over the popular Curt Stallion. He went to the finals, his match with Stallion was clearly the best in the tournament...and yet after that he vanished (even whilst a spot was found for fellow 2017 TPT participant Brian Milonas). He returns tonight, flanked by Quinn and the returning Hollis and proclaims them to be the newest and meanest trio in ROH. Villain Enterprises may just have something to say about that. They are in pursuit of The Kingdom and the Six-Man Titles...

The Villains instigate a mass brawl around ringside, with Scurll and King almost murdering Hollis in mere seconds with a Superkick/gourdbuster combo on the floor. He's still flat-out on the floor as Quinn and PCO start as legal men. Machine Gun Chops by the Monster, followed by a northern lights bomb. Skyler and the returning Hollis try to help out...but PCO lays them out as well. CANNONBALL SENTON TO THE APRON MISSES! PCO NO SELLS IT! Hollis tries to deck him with a tope suicida, only for PCO to grab him by the throat and dump him into the railing. Slingshot Spear from Skyler to Scurll; the first instance of substantive offence for his team. Marty retaliates with a tornado DDT on Quinn then unleashes Brody King. He almost breaks Skyler in half with a senton in the ropes. Cactus Clothesline takes Skyler to the floor as inside the ring Scurll and PCO give Corey a Lion Tamer/flying leg drop combo. TOPE CON HILO by PCO! GONZO BOMB/CHICKENWING COMBO! Hollis taps at 06:30

Rating - *** - Good fun; the second time Villain Enterprises have really shone in a squash match setting like this. Once again we got a demonstration of what makes Brody and PCO so successful - with PCO in particular an absolute smash hit with the live crowd. Ian R informed us on commentary that Brody is working with a fractured jaw that is wired shut which is absolutely remarkable. In a clear sign of progression since Philadelphia, I liked that the Villains had a few combo moves figured out this time - including that awesome Gonzo Bomb/Chickenwing finisher. 

As soon as the bell rings red balloons pop up from under the apron. It heralds the arrival of The Kingdom onto the stage. Taven says they are happy to defend the Six-Man Titles against 'Melvin Enterprises'...but not tonight. They leave having disappointed the audience, and head to what appears to be the basement to trash-talk the Villains still more...

Jay Lethal is still furious at Matt Taven for spitting on the World Title in Philadelphia and admits he is having a hard time on the top contenders for his belt whilst Taven continues to parade around with his imposter championship...

Nick Aldis vs PJ Black - NWA Heavyweight Title Match
I am reviewing the version of this match on NWA's YouTube channel (before they pulled all the content) in the hope that they are showing it in full rather than edited down for TV. It was announced a couple of weeks ago that Aldis would be making this 'historic' first defence of the NWA Title on ROH television. Having lost it briefly to Cody last year the National Treasure is always keen on doing something unprecedented as he tries to notch his name alongside the great NWA Champions of the past. He has questioned PJ's integrity and honour. Certainly from what we've seen of the Darewolf thus far in ROH he has plenty of talent...but also plenty of attitude and a willingness to take shortcuts. Black is, however, someone with all the experience he could wish for and poses a major threat to Aldis' current championship reign. Caprice Coleman joins Cabana and Riccaboni for commentary.

Aldis is a big, powerful man and tries to maintain his composure even as Black attempts to rile him up. PJ probes for weaknesses and struggles to find any and resorts to asking for time-outs whilst sat on his ass in the middle of the ring. To his credit, the Darewolf gets up and actually puts Nick on his ass too - then taking a cheap-shot at the champ when he tries to get back up. Powerful strikes from Aldis put him in control so PJ changes the game by knocking the champ outside. Poke to the eyes by the challenger, which leave Nick vulnerable on the floor. Black wants to dive, but finds his path blocked by the imposing Kamille...until Aldis capitalises to clothesline him to the arena floor. Back in the ring the National Treasure delivers a running lariat and is now so confident that he breaks out the stalling vertical suplex. He starts wearing down the Darewolf; putting all of his bodyweight on top of him with a front facelock. PJ escapes and hits a spinning heel kick. A diving strike from the top follows, then an inverted DDT. Diving double stomp gets 2 for the challenger, but when he tries to come off the top again Aldis catches him and DUMPS HIM with a German suplex. King's Lynn Cloverleaf blocked but when Black tries to springboard off the ropes he finds Nick in position to crotch him. GERMAN SUPERPLEX flips Black through the air and gets a nearfall. Aldis is so confident he thinks he can beat PJ at his own game and tries to come off the top rope. ROPE RUN FRANKENSTEINER by Black, then he pops straight back up and delivers a moonsault press as well. TOMBSTONE by Aldis, setting PJ up for a top rope elbow drop. Kamille tries to pass the belt to Nick whilst creating a distraction - but PJ spots it and goes down trying to pull an Eddie Guerrero! That doesn't feel like it makes sense (does the NWA Title change hands on a DQ?), and creates such a scuffle that Black almost manages to pin the champ. Aldis bails to the outside...TOPE SUICIDA by the Darewolf! He hits the ropes again looking for a dropkick to the floor, and accidentally KO'S KAMILLE when she shoves Aldis out of the way to save him! Black tosses Aldis into the ringpost and hits a springboard crossbody for 2. The National Treasure is now getting desperate and tries to use the ropes to pin his opponent. That doesn't work but does set him up for the King's Lynn Cloverleaf. Black taps at 17:50

Rating - *** - I'm glad I watched the YouTube version as I suspect it flowed a lot better than it would have done cut-up for Ring Of Honor television. To give both men credit, this felt like a big-time championship match. Both have plenty of experience on television and both projected themselves like stars. At time the action was tediously slow but for the most part the way they fought certainly conveyed the importance of the NWA Heavyweight Championship. Someone of Aldis' stature and style actually worked as a better opponent for PJ than either of his other ROH matches. It meant PJ could comfortably slip into the role of being 'quicker' and more athletic than his opponent - giving us one of his better ROH performances thus far. That was the central premise of the match - could the more classical Aldis get the job done before the unpredictable and unorthodox style of the Darewolf pulled something out of the bag? I never really felt like PJ had a chance of winning, the finish was almost foolishly overbooked considering how straight-faced the rest of the match was and, as mentioned, it was really slow-going at points. It was still a gruelling battle though and a real change of pace for Ring Of Honor television...

LAST WEEK - Highlights of the excellent Bandido/Haskins and Williams/Finlay matches are shown. 

Juice Robinson gets some in-ring promo time to end the show. He reiterates his promise that ROH will see a lot more of him in 2019 - enticed by the heritage, prestige and legacy of guys like Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, Tyler Black, AJ Styles...all of whom became the 'lifeblood' of the promotion. He is confused about what has happened in recent years (whilst fans chant for AEW) and announces that he will 'hit the reset button' on ROH tonight. The orange and black logo that we've seen on TV for weeks plays as the lights go out...and when they come back on Juice is joined in the ring by Tracy Williams, David Finlay, Mark Haskins, Bandido and the returning Tenille Dashwood. Robinson calls the new group 'Lifeblood' and says they will 'restore Honor'...

Tape Rating - *** - Nothing was as exciting as Bandido/Haskins last week but I still feel this was another solid week of television. The Villain Enterprises six-man was fun - and it's really nice to see some actual build to a Six-Man Title Match rather than a random bunch of guys getting an immediate title shot. When it happens, the VE vs Kingdom Trios Title Match will be MUCH better because Delirious has taken some time to hype it up first. Aldis/Black was a good watch which got a decent time allowance. I suspect some will hate how slow it was, but others will get a kick out of the rugged psychology and big-match feel. Clearly the Lifeblood angle at the end of the show is a talking point - but watching in January 2021 it is difficult to really discuss it. Dissecting the promo itself, I thought Juice was a little rambling and long-winded. He lost the crowd (who have actually been rowdy, somewhat self-promoting and annoying through both episodes so far) in the middle and I don't think anything he said had much impact. With the benefit of hindsight, it all comes off as a bit silly. Juice's big talk about being in ROH long-term and wanting to 'restore Honor' were proven to be as empty as it gets as within weeks he'd decide he wanted to move to Japan. Finlay would get injured in February writing him out, whilst Tenille would vanish before she'd done much of anything as well. With all that in mind it is hard to have an impartial review of the angle they closed the show with. On the positive side anything that gets Tracy, Haskins and Bandido a high profile spot can only be a good thing. And the 'restore Honor' message was clearly something which did resonate with fans...hence when they tried it again in 2020 with The Foundation (also including Tracy ironically) it got a lot more traction. Nonetheless, this was a good show with build to VE/Kingdom, a historic NWA Title Match and the formation of a new stable meaning you're missing really relevant storyline content if you skip it.

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