The challengers for the ROH Tag Team Titles at Final Battle are determined in the main event of this week’s episode as The Briscoes and The All-Night Express collide one more time. Meanwhile Roderick Strong takes on Kyle O’Reilly and Tommaso Ciampa looks to remain undefeated against Alex Silva.
– The episode begins with a recap of last week’s abysmal main event and I have to say my hat is off to the editing team because they actually made it seem an exciting bout, particularly the finish which was masked by heavy special effects to make Mike Bennett’s terrible mounted punches seem less awful. Props to editor.
Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Recap: Frustrated by his elimination from world title contention for the remainder of 2011, Roderick Strong exacted some revenge on the champion by defeating his training partner and protege Kyle O’Reilly in a shockingly even affair. O’Reilly would not be intimidated and got in several extended bursts of offense, but Strong’s veteran instincts allowed him to suppress the young upstart. Strong peppered O’Reilly with multiple stiff elbows at various points in the match and this would play into the finish of the match, which saw Strong escape from a guillotine choke, nail a rolling elbow and follow it with the Sick Kick for the win.
Review: I love how they used this match to further the eternal Richards/Strong rivalry and both guys did a good job highlighting that in their pre-match interviews, as did Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness on commentary. What could have been an extended squash turned out to be an exciting battle that was better than the entire previous episode. O’Reilly looked a million bucks by countering a lot of Strong’s favorite moves and surviving the Strong Hold did him wonders. When O’Reilly managed to lock on the guillotine the crowd went crazy and it made for a dramatic closing stretch, with Strong sticking to his guns and knocking the kid out. For those that say ROH finishes don’t make sense, I point you to this match. O’Reilly has so much potential it is unreal; I honestly think he could surpass Davey in terms of ability given enough time. Oh, and Truth Martini was pretty decent on commentary.
Post-Match Attack
Recap: Truth Martini mocked Team Richards after the match and Strong and Michael Elgin left both O’Reilly and Tony Kozina laying, bringing out Davey Richards. Unfortunately the numbers game was too much even for him until Eddie Edwards arrived on the scene, allowing the Wolves to clear the ring. Jim Cornette fined the House of Truth for their actions.
Review: I don’t normally review these kind of segments but this came off really well. The House of Truth looked very strong, and the Alabama Slam/Backstabber combo they used was awesome. Davey Richards then got a turn to look like a star by beating up Strong and Elgin, no-selling Truth Martini’s attack and just with his general demeanor, carrying himself like a champion. Finally, the fact Eddie Edwards had to save Davey told a nice story, and he came across as very intense too, cementing this well-executed angle.
Jim Cornette Speaks on Kevin Steen
Some fans in ‘Steen Is Right’ T-shirts heckled Jim Cornette, demanding Steen. Cornette finally acknowledged Steen on television, admitting he was a great wrestler and that a portion of the audience want to see him, but he stood his ground, citing P.R. issues and Steen’s nightmarish behavior and mental state as reasons Mr. Wrestling will continue to be banned from ROH. Cornette even invited Steen to sue him. Quick, hire R.D. Evans!!
Inside ROH: Lethal or Edwards/The C&C Wrestle Factory
– ROH have narrowed down the World Title challenger at Final Battle to Jay Lethal and Eddie Edwards. Lethal spoke about being undefeated and listed both of the men he’s beaten (either say you’re undefeated or mention who you’ve beaten, don’t do both as it’s a little counter-intuitive) and points out even a wolf can go down to a Lethal Injection. Edwards meanwhile states that if he gets a rubber match against Davey he’ll prove to everyone that he’s the better man.
– Next we’re informed Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander will face Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin next week in a Proving Ground match. If C&C win or draw they get a title shot. Haas & Benjamin cut a terrible promo while Caprice does his sermon thing. Cedric remains silent.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Alex Silva
Recap: ‘The Dominant Male’ Tommaso Ciampa remained undefeated, beating local talent Alex Silva with Project Ciampa. Silva tried his best but couldn’t chain any moves together and ultimately succumbed to Ciampa’s multiple running knee strikes and one of ROH’s most devastating finishers. Steve Corino provided commentary throughout.
Review: Silva barely did anything but he had a decent vibe about him and I wouldn’t mind seeing him again. I thought they might finish it early but Silva clung on and delayed the inevitable. Ciampa looks good in these squashes but I want to see what he has in an even contest. Corino has now commentated two Ciampa matches which makes it seem like he’s going to feud with The Embassy but they’ve yet to actually interact and if my prediction holds true Corino won’t be here in 2012 so they’re running out of time… or I’m wrong of course, which is always a possibility. Corino mentioned Steen a lot and yelled at Kevin Kelly at one point which was funny. I can’t decide if ‘The Dominant Male’ is a good nickname or not. I know that I like ‘The Sicilian Psychopath’ though.
The Briscoes vs. The All-Night Express
Recap: With a tag team championship match at Final Battle on the line, The Briscoes triumphed over the All-Night Express one more time thanks to some veteran intelligence. Both teams brawled before their ring introductions were even completed with the ANX gaining control until a blind-tag allowed the Briscoes to isolate Kenny King. When Titus finally got into the contest it looked like he and King would get the win as they looked poised to hit their two finishing sequences, but both times the Briscoes thwarted their attempts. As Titus held Mark up in a powerbomb position waiting for King to hit a springboard blockbuster, Jay shoved King to the outside and pushed Mark over, giving him the momentum to execute a hurricanrana and trap Titus in a pin for the victory.
Review: Far from the best match these two teams have had, but still pretty good. The only problem was it didn’t come across as heated enough. These four have been fighting all-year long and have spilled blood and broken furniture in the process, yet if you ignore the fact they started brawling before the bell this just seemed like a random number one contenders match. It was kept short and while I found the finish quite clever, it just didn’t get the kind of reaction it should have from the crowd. The Briscoes got the W, Jay celebrated and we went straight into a preview of next week’s main event which made this seem so unimportant, when in many ways it was the Briscoes ultimately triumphing over their rivals cleanly. The ANX appear to have been swept to the side a little, and I should be complaining but to be honest the crowd have really cooled on them, Titus particularly. Rhett had to earn every single clap and cheer as the crowd didn’t respond to him unless he was doing a move, which is a shame. This may just be a Louisville-specific problem though. It wasn’t even that the Briscoes out-worked them as they finally realised they’re heels and toned down their offense a little. All of these gripes are somewhat separate to the match itself, which was as I said pretty good, still feeling fresh despite the number of times the teams have met this year alone.
Overall Thoughts
– This was the best episode of the new series to date. The first half alone accomplished so much more than almost every episode that preceded it, and that’s not to take anything away from the second half, but the Strong/O’Reilly match and the two angles that followed it were just great wrestling television. The match could have main-evented, the beat-down segment made everybody involved look fantastic, and the HoT/Team Richards and Kevin Steen vs ROH stories were progressed nicely too.
– The Inside ROH segments continue to be really well produced and Lethal and Edwards both appeared fairly credible. Haas & Benjamin continue to disappoint me personally but as I’ve said numerous times this is a personal opinion and I understand about 80% of the audience are enamored with the champs.
– The main event as a match was good, but it was disappointing the crowd didn’t react strongly to the ANX or how important the finish was, perhaps due to burn-out, regional predilections or just that live crowds aren’t always aware what stories end up being portrayed in post-production. Still, we have our first Final Battle match booked and will learn of a second next week.
– They finally fixed a nagging issue in regards to instant replays. After going through a couple of poor iterations of the on-screen graphics during replays, the production team seem to have settled on one that actually works. The first version displayed live action and the replay as the same size and didn’t label them, making it difficult to tell what was happening. The second version was better but still a little too small, but this one works. Minor issue I know, but these things are a must for broadcast television.
Plugs
– Ari, Chris and I recorded another Podcast of Honor earlier this week discussing this weekend’s TV Tapings, the Collinsville Event and the first 5 episodes of the new TV show.
– The latest issue of The Wrestling Press is out and I wrote a Bobby Roode career retrospect. It was written before Bound For Glory and whilst I prepared two versions to cover all bases I overlooked TNA’s complete inability to make good decisions, but 95% of it still works so please give it a read!
The ANX/Briscoes finish was pretty flat. I just couldn’t believe it as the finish; they’d hit far stronger stuff earlier in the match. Most of the crowd appeared to agree.
I liked the finish but it probably wasn’t right for this match where it was all on the line so to speak. If it were one of the first matches of their feud I think it would have gone down better.
i don’t under stand why people on down wgtt
I don’t think we are down on WGTT.
I am personally, very much so and I’ve been vocal about it for a long time now. But I’ve always pointed out that opinion is mine and mine alone. The tastes of our staff vary quite considerably and PWP as a collective entity play no favorites.
Oh I meant as a whole. I know of your issues with them and for the most part agree with your points. I’m sure we’ll talk about it on the next Podcast of Honor.