It’s another Road Rage edition of ROH TV, with the second set of the highlights from last month’s Charleston event. Headlined by an ROH World Title defense by Kevin Steen against Eddie Edwards, as well as a first time ever meeting between ‘Unbreakable’ Michael Elgin and Jay Lethal. Lots of drama, story advancement and one of the best TV main events in recent memory, this is Ring of Honor (TV).
Jay Lethal def. Michael Elgin (Lethal Injection)
Despite Elgin demanding Roderick Strong stay away from ringside, Roddy attempted to interfere anyway and it of course backfired, allowing Lethal to come back and hit the Lethal Injection for the win. This was a rare first time ever match for ROH, and that freshness bought it some leeway as it was really just your typical TV match with a few nice moments. Lethal took a nasty lariat to the back of the neck and Elgin hit a dead-lift bridging german suplex, but this was more angle than match, with Elgin shaking hands before the bout and wanting no help during.
– After the match Elgin and Strong nearly came to blows, but Truth Martini calmed them down a little, though Elgin refused to shake Roddy’s hand, warning him that if he got involved in one of his matches again he’d regret it.
Inside ROH
Some of the sights and sounds of ROH’s debut in Charleston, focusing mostly on the Briscoes’ many media appearances, including a rather hilarious TV interview with Mark mugging for the camera.
S.C.U.M. and Jim Cornette Promo
More of the same here, with Steen and Cornette throwing verbal barbs at each other, and Cornette declaring that all of Steen’s singles matches would be for the World Title in the hopes the belt could be taken off him before the TV affiliates dinner in September. Though this is essentially the same thing every week, they manage enough funny lines to keep it interesting.
ROH World Title Match
Kevin Steen def. Eddie Edwards (F-5)
Just a really darn good television main event, with equal blends of showmanship and high spots. Steen controlled about 2/3 of the contest, parading around ringside and getting all of the fans involved, while Edwards injected some excitement with occasional athletic outbursts when required. For me this was much better than their Showdown in the Sun effort, and Jim Cornette and Steve Corino bickering on commentary throughout was genuinely entertaining, which kept the match moving during its one or two down points. Best of all, no BS or dog and pony shows, Steen just beat Edwards clean to establish yet again that despite his character’s out of the ring problems, he’s also an indestructible force in the company.
Episode Review
For the first time in what feels like a long time, I can proudly get behind an episode of ROH TV and earnestly recommend it to people, whether they’re fans of the company or not. The Lethal/Elgin match was fine, with some nice advancement of the Elgin/Strong feud, some more shenanigans from Steen and company, and the best ROH TV main event in a very long time. I knock Jim Cornette a lot, but he was brilliant on commentary this week and really does a great job of getting the key points of an angle across. No production errors to speak of this week, but SBG need to inject some cash into the company early next year and see if we can get a more professional looking set, better lighting and perhaps even HD picture quality. I’m not holding my breath, but hey, the lighting bothers me.
