The ROH World Television Title is on the line as El Generico defends against Jay Lethal this week on ROH TV. But that's not all; 'The Prodigy' Mike Bennett takes on the recovering Jimmy Jacobs, and we hear from Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, Eddie Edwards, Roderick Strong and ROH World Champion Davey Richards.
1) WGTT In-Ring Promo
A pretty generic, angry promo by Haas & Benjamin demanding a shot at the Briscoes after Dem Boys' attack with steel chairs at Best in the World. Jim Cornette refuses to reward the Briscoes' actions with a title shot, but the Briscoes refuse to face them unless the belts are on the line, creating a difficult situation. Haas and Benjamin are no better on the mic than anyone remembers, surprisingly.
2) Focus on: Mike Bennett
The Prodigy wants to go to Hollywood. Jim Cornette tells us all about how good Bennett is and does the pretend “I don't like him, but I respect him” spiel pleading with us to get behind his pet project once again. I get what you're selling Mr. Cornette, but none of us are buying good sir.
3) Jimmy Jacobs w/Steve Corino vs. 'The Prodigy' Mike Bennett
Recap: In a match that was mostly a brawl with a few wrestling moves thrown in for good measure, 'The Prodigy' Mike Bennett triumphed over the rehabilitated Jimmy Jacobs, capitalising on the ROH veteran's mistake of taking too long to go for his signature diving back senton. Bennett managed to get both knees up, bringing Jacobs crashing down onto them and leaving him prey to the Box Office Smash – Bennett's uranage finisher – for the three count. After the match Bennett patronised Jacobs by shaking his hand and then mocked Steve Corino, almost starting a fight, but Jacobs restrained Corino.
Review: This wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either, and was wisely kept just short enough to avoid becoming boring. Bennett getting TP'd at the start of the match was a wonderful sight to behold as the fans continue to vehemently reject Bennett as a character and a wrestler. I just rewatched The Town so I'd rather they threw a heavily accented Jeremy Renner in the ring than South Bawwwston's Mike Bennett. Imagine that, Jimmy Jacobs against Jeremy Renner. I'm sold. But instead we get the very popular, very talented, returning Jimmy Jacobs losing his first match back against a man that just is not getting over. A damn shame, Jacobs should have won his first few back before they thought about feeding him to the Bennett machine if you ask me.
4) Inside ROH
First we hear from Eddie Edwards regarding his 'Die-Hard' nickname, as he talks about breaking his elbow in a match against “his opponent” and then wrestling in Ladder War 2 the next night, and how he came back from a 6 month injury in 9 weeks. A good way to get Edwards over with new fans, but if they're trying to tell us that the elbow incident was the origin of the 'Die-Hard' moniker then they're flat out liars, as he was sporting that name when he debuted with the company – as well as some wicked braids if you recall. After that we got some words from Davey Richards and Roderick Strong before their world title match next week. Richards continually stressed how much he and Roddy don't like each other, while Roderick sat there looking like a complete goof, bragging about how awesome his life is. In contrast to the Eddie piece, this was poorly done and doesn't help hype the title match.
5) ROH Television Title Match: El Generico vs. Jay Lethal
Recap: Generico and Lethal fought evenly for fifteen minutes, resulting in a time-limit draw after both men blocked each other's finishers in the dying seconds of the match. Jim Cornette offered them three more minutes (all that was left on the episode) and the pair battled furiously to try and determine a winner, with Jay Lethal coming out on top to win the TV Title after blocking an incoming yakuza kick with a superkick and then hitting the Lethal Injection for the victory.
Review: Let's ignore the result for a moment. This was a pretty good match, with some nice little holds from Lethal, and the standard set of dives and arm drags from Generico, which despite happening in every single one of his matches, never get boring. It didn't feel like fifteen minutes of work, but was only fast and furious in a few spots. Why they decided to inset a commercial break during the point in the match that Generico hit a moonsault off the guard rail, and then brought us back to watch the pair slowly get in and out of the ring I don't know. The fans were a little sedate during the main match but went bananas during overtime as the two turned up the heat. But now the bit we can't ignore: El Generico should have won this match. The fans erupted when Nigel McGuinness said his name and somewhat booed when he said Lethal's. They booed when Lethal headed up top and went absolutely insane when Generico almost won the match. What do these things tell you Ring of Honor? There was even a perfect moment for him to win without making Lethal look a chump: when he hit the huge yakuza kick and the half and half suplex. Switch the suplex for a Brainbuster and it would have been perfect as the fans were at a fever pitch. But alas, no, a kick out and an eventual title switch on Generico's first defense. Sigh.
Overall Thoughts
– This was better paced than last week's episode, with the WGTT promo at the start adding more content, and avoiding the three consecutive video packages problem. I wasn't left impatiently waiting for the next match to start, which is an improvement. The match quality was roughly the same. I really enjoyed the opening tag match from last week but found the main event a tad boring. This time around the main event was solid, and the Jacobs/Bennett match flirted with being dull but wasn't. The opening promo was fine but Haas and Benjamin still aren't good on the mic, no matter how much Cornette wants them to be.
– Speaking of criticisms of “Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team”, controversy be damned: I want them gone from Ring of Honor, and I want them gone immediately. They're the only wrestlers featured in the opening title sequence, Jim Cornette and Kevin Kelly struggle to conceal their physical excitement for them, they're not even close to wrestling's greatest tag team but use the name anyway, their matches have been mediocre and they're getting pushed so very, very hard. Yes, they're former WWE superstars and are thus “names”, yes they have pedigree, yes I'm sure they're bringing in a few extra fans. But to hell with all of that, they made their appearances, they boosted some DVD sales, but I don't want a tag team divison where they rule supreme and a television show where they get 60% of the camera time.
– Friend of the site and former contributor Samantha Allen said on twitter that she would prefer to see Nigel McGuinness and Dave Prazak as the commentary team, and after only two episodes I have to agree. Kelly provides the same kind of excitement and broadcasting professionalism that Mike Hogwood used to, but just like Hog he frequently trips over his words and his unfamiliarity with the product is exposed for all to see. From not knowing what moves are called, to claiming that resilience is something one puts in their playbook, his commentary isn't quite up to snuff. They should absolutely keep him on the pay roll, but I'd rather see him in Kyle Durden's old role, interviewing wrestlers in the ring and backstage, as well as narrating those Inside ROH vignettes he's been doing so far, while Nigel and Prazak handle the commentary.
Plugs
– That'll do it for this week. Make sure to check out the most recent Podcast of Honor. I couldn't make it due to a lack of Internet, but Jerome Cusson stepped up to the plate and moderated discussion with Chris and Ari about Death Before Dishonor IX.
– But don't stop there, why not read new writer Matt (good name) Gibson's report based on his attendance of DBD9, as well as his article about ROH's return to television.
– Stay tuned for my analysis of the most recent set of TV tapings later this week.
Not sure if I fully agree with your assessment of WGTT, but I can definitely see why you’re making the argument.
I think the fundamental problem with Ring of Honor is they’re really not listening to the fans anymore. Eddie Edwards seemed to have momentum has champion, but he had to lose the belt because Davey is the face of the company. Guys like Generico, Steen, and Jacobs are cheered like crazy but get shunted to the background in favor of “stars.”
I have not yet watched either episode (Keep in mind I’ve seen all the matches live), but I will likely marathon the first three or four episodes soon.
Oh and Kyle Durden is the person you’re looking for. Tyler Durden was in Fight Club.
Fixed.
Mike Bennett simply does NOT fit in this company. He’s as out of place as Harley Race in the late 80’s WWF.
i thought wgtt did a good job shelton did very good i thought