The first portion of this compilation is a seventy-five minute interview with Cole. Among the topics discussed include:
-Watching his first professional wrestling tapes and the Attitude Era.
-Finding out about wrestling schools and discovering independent professional wrestling.
-DJ Hyde giving him an opportunity to train at the CZW wrestling school.
-Being at the 100th Show live and the ROH crowds.
-The confidence that training at the CZW school gave him and training with Tyler Veritas (Ty Hagen).
-CZW’s reputation and DJ Hyde’s leadership.
-Wrestling in local promotions while breaking into CZW.
-Opening the Chris Cash Memorial Show with Tyler Veritas and teaming with him.
-Starting his singles career with a feud against Sabian and winning the CZW Junior Heavyweight Title.
-Working as a face versus working as a heel and having Mia Yim as a manager.
-Wrestling in pre-show matches for ROH and DGUSA.
-Becoming a more refined wrestler at the ROH wrestling school under Delirious.
-Sending Adam Pearce heel promo tapes and earning an ROH contract.
-Teaming with Kyle O’Reilly as Future Shock.
-How working with television made him a more well-rounded wrestler.
-Wrestling in Germany for wXw.
-The experience of Sinclair Broadcasting Group buying ROH.
-Splitting Future Shock and being in the main event of the 10th Anniversary Show.
-Wrestling Roderick Strong and performing in arenas that he used to attend wrestling shows at.
-The Hybrid Rules match and getting his mouth busted open.
-Winning the World Television Title and working with Matt Hardy.
-Shooting up the ranks of PWG and becoming champion.
Match #1: Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly vs. Rhett Titus and Kenny King (Final Battle 2010 – 12/18/10)
O’Reilly immediately tries a cross armbreaker on Titus. He catches Titus with a few kicks and forearms. Cole comes off the middle rope with a leg lariat on Titus. King pulls his partner out of the ring but they get caught by a dive from Cole. In the ring, Titus hits a brutal back suplex on O’Reilly and ANX isolate him. He hits a double dragon screw leg whip and makes the tag. Cole connects with an enzuigiri on Titus and hits a slingshot DDT on King onto the apron. O’Reilly hits rolling butterfly suplexes on Titus and missile dropkicks King from the apron. Cole lands a flying crossbody onto Titus for a nearfall. King connects with shotgun knees on Cole and Titus sneaks in a rollup for a two count. O’Reilly hits a tornado DDT on King. Titus catches him with double knees from the top. Cole superkicks Titus and all four men are down. Cole connects with a missile dropkick on King and Future Shock lay in stereo dropkicks on Titus. ANX fight back with a blockbuster-powerbomb combination on Cole for the win at 9:25. This is one of those times where you just admit that you can’t ask for much more out of an opener, especially on the biggest show of the year. Commentary treated the victory as an upset for Future Shock, but this match did a good job of establishing them as a staple of the tag team division. ***¼
Match #2: Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe (Honor Takes Center Stage Chapter 1 – 4/1/11)
Kenny King and Rhett Titus were ejected from the building earlier for getting into an altercation with the Briscoes. Mark and Cole have a fast exchange and wrestle to a stalemate. O’Reilly tries an early cross armbreaker but Jay escapes and connects with a boot. Cole catches Jay with a basement dropkick. Mark lights up Cole with chops but falls victim to a double team flapjack. Jay levels O’Reilly with a clothesline and the Briscoes isolate him. He fights them off with a series of kicks and makes the tag. Cole enzuigiris Jay off the apron and takes him out with dive to the floor. Back in, Jay hits a spinebuster on Cole and the Briscoes work him over. Cole comes off the middle rope with leg lariat on Mark and makes the tag. O’Reilly connects with a series of strikes on Mark and hits a double dragon screw leg whip. He follows with a double missile dropkick and hits rolling butterfly suplexes on Mark. Cole hits a wheelbarrow german suplex on Mark for a nearfall. O’Reilly comes off the apron with a missile dropkick on Jay at ringside. Cole lands a flying crossbody onto Mark followed by a neckbreaker. Cole and O’Reilly add stereo kicks for a two count. Mark connects with an enzuigiri on Cole and Jay follows with a falcon arrow. Jay superkicks O’Reilly and Mark adds a nasty exploder. The Briscoes hit the doomsday device on Cole for the victory at 13:24. There is no doubt in my mind that the Briscoes are better suited as heels. It’s safe to say that a majority of the people in the crowd didn’t see the Briscoes’ heel turn at Manhattan Mayhem IV at this point, yet the Briscoes were being solidly booed by the end of this contest. Some of that credit goes to Cole and O’Reilly, as they were quickly becoming fan favorites in ROH at this point. Everything clicked here and this ended up being a great showcase for both teams. ***¼
Match #3: Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly vs. Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli (Honor Takes Center Stage Chapter 2 – 4/2/11)
The Kings of Wrestling attack before the opening bell. Cole plants Claudio with a bulldog. O’Reilly adds a dropkick but walks into an uppercut. Hero hits a senton on O’Reilly and the Kings isolate him. He is able to roll through a double clothesline attempt and make the tag. Cole connects with a double missile dropkick and snaps off a headscissors on Claudio. He blocks a charge from Hero and comes off the middle rope with a leg lariat. Cole slingshots to the floor and hurricanranas Claudio. O’Reilly follows with a missile dropkick from the apron. In the ring, Cole lands a flying crossbody onto Hero and connects with a superkick. Hero comes back with a series of roaring elbows. O’Reilly hits a tornado DDT on Claudio and applies a guillotine choke. Hero tries to break the hold but Cole superkicks him. Cole takes out Hero with a dive to the outside. Claudio powers O’Reilly into a popup european uppercut. The Kings connect with their roaring mafia kick-bicycle kick combination on O’Reilly for the win at 9:18. The Kings were upset about losing the ROH World Tag Team Titles and took out their frustrations on Cole and O’Reilly, who delivered another great performance. This match provided everything that you could ask for out of an opener and accomplished what it needed to in only nine minutes. ***¼
Match #4: Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly vs. Max and Jeremy Buck (Best in the World 2011 – 6/26/11)
O’Reilly catches Jeremy with a flurry of strikes and Cole adds a basement dropkick. Cole lands a dive to the floor onto Max while O’Reilly connects with a dropkick from the apron on Jeremy. In the ring, Cole lands a flying crossbody on Max. Jeremy gets involved from the apron and Generation Me isolate Cole. Max yells “Yoshino” before connecting with a double stomp at one point. That was random. Cole rolls through a clothesline attempt from him and makes the tag. O’Reilly connects with a series of kicks and hits a double dragon screw leg whip. He follows with a double missile dropkick. O’Reilly hits rolling butterfly suplexes on Max and Cole adds a wheelbarrow german suplex. Jeremy finds success with a springboard ace crusher on O’Reilly. He superkicks Cole off the apron and hits a slingshot facebuster on O’Reilly. Max lands a 450 splash onto O’Reilly for a nearfall. Jeremy accidentally knees his brother and Cole dropkicks him out of the ring. Cole and O’Reilly hit a superkick-brainbuster combination on Max. O’Reilly applies a dragon sleeper while Cole catches Jeremy with a guillotine choke. The Bravado Brothers suddenly run into the ring and attack Cole and O’Reilly, causing Generation Me to somehow win by disqualification at 7:11. These two teams made excellent use of their seven minutes and had the crowd in the palms of their hands by delivering incredible action. It’s truly a shame that the finish had to ruin the festivities. **¾
Match #5: Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly vs. Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards (No Escape – 7/9/11)
Richards acknowledges his friendship with O’Reilly but says that he’s not going to hold anything back. Edwards and Cole exchange armdrags and wrestle to a stalemate. Richards and O’Reilly avoid each other’s submissions and strikes. They trade kicks and O’Reilly takes Richards off of his feet. Cole and O’Reilly follow with some double teaming. O’Reilly connects with a knockout kick on Richards but gets caught by a gamengiri from Edwards. The American Wolves connect with stereo basement dropkicks and isolate O’Reilly. He fights back with a double dragon screw leg whip and makes the tag. Cole connects with a missile dropkick on Richards and an enzuigiri on Edwards. He comes off the middle rope with a leg lariat on Edwards and hits a fireman’s carry neckbreaker. Edwards answers with a backpack chinbreaker. O’Reilly hits a tornado DDT on Edwards and Cole adds a flying crossbody. Edwards applies an achilles lock on Cole. O’Reilly locks in a guillotine choke on Richards but it gets reversed into an ankle lock. Cole connects with a superkick on Richards and hits a reverse hurricanrana. Richards pops up and answers with a lariat. All four men are down. Richards wins a strike exchange against O’Reilly and synchs in an ankle lock. Cole plants Edwards with a tornado DDT on the apron. O’Reilly hits rolling butterfly suplexes on Richards. Cole and O’Reilly hit a DDT-german suplex combination on Richards and connect with stereo knockout kicks for a nearfall. Edwards avoids a plancha from Cole. He catches O’Reilly with a dragon screw leg whip in the ropes and connects with a flying double stomp for a two count. The Wolves hit their superkick-german suplex combination on O’Reilly for a nearfall. They follow with a double team backcracker. Edwards applies an achilles lock on O’Reilly but Cole breaks the hold. Cole lands a dive to the floor onto Richards. Edwards reapplies the achilles lock on O’Reilly for the win at 21:23. This was an excellent tag team encounter that did wonders for Cole and O’Reilly as this was unquestionably their best performance in ROH so far. This contest featured focused action that had the crowd in a frenzy. At twenty-one minutes, the match didn’t feel overly long and while some might feel differently, I don’t think all of the nearfalls down the stretch were overkill. Cole and O’Reilly could have believably won on multiple occasions and everything came together to make this match special. ****
Match #6: Elimination: Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly vs. Matt and Nick Jackson vs. Harlem and Lance Bravado (Death Before Dishonor IX – 9/17/11)
There will always be three legal men – one from each team. The Bravados attack Future Shock before the opening bell and throw the Young Bucks to the floor. Cole takes out Lance with a plancha. Nick lands a dive to the outside onto Lance and Cole. Harlem follows out with a moonsault. O’Reilly comes off the apron with a missile dropkick on Harlem. Todd Sinclair plays hard ball and finally regains order. Nick lands a springboard frog splash onto Lance. The Young Bucks follow with some double teaming. Harlem comes to the aid of his brother and the Bravados take control. Matt hits a standing sliced bread on Harlem but runs into a bicycle kick. Nick hits a slingshot facebuster on Harlem but Future Shock take him out with a doomsday device on the outside. Matt suplexes Lance off of the apron and to the floor. Cole lands a flying crossbody onto Harlem. Future Shock hit Total Elimination on Harlem to eliminate (oh boy) the Bravados. Matt powerbombs Cole and adds a bucklebomb. The Young Bucks follow with a tandem tombstone for a nearfall. O’Reilly unleashes a flurry of strikes and hits a double dragon screw leg whip. He traps Nick in a triangle choke while Cole applies a guillotine choke to Matt. Both holds are broken after a collision. Everyone connects with superkicks and all four men are down. Nick low bridges O’Reilly to the floor. The Young Bucks hit More Bang for Your Buck on Cole for the victory at 10:50. I liked the idea of the Bravados getting eliminated first so the Young Bucks and Future Shock could resume their match from June. This match featured frenetic, fast-paced action from bell to bell. There were some pretty intricate sequences and everything managed to come off clean. I think all three teams came out for the better. ***¼
Match #7: ROH World Tag Team Titles: Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin © vs. Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly (Gateway to Honor – 11/6/11)
Shelton has injured ribs due to an attack by the Briscoes. Haas controls on the mat against Cole before being taken down by a shoulder tackle. O’Reilly elbows Shelton in the ribs and he immediately retreats to his corner. They trade control on the mat until O’Reilly once again targets Shelton’s ribs. Shelton hits an exploder on Cole, who responds by kicking him in the ribs. Future Shock work over Shelton until he catches O’Reilly with a clothesline. The champions now isolate O’Reilly until Shelton loses grip of him and Cole tags into the match. Cole hits a neckbreaker on Shelton and snaps off a hurricanrana on Haas. He lands a dive to the outside onto Haas and connects with a missile dropkick on Shelton. Future Shock lay out Shelton with a double team suplex and connect with stereo superkicks on Haas. Cole lands a plancha onto Haas. O’Reilly locks in a guillotine on Shelton while Cole does the same to Haas. The champions are able to break free of the holds. They hit stereo rolling german suplexes on Future Shock but find themselves in guillotines once again. Shelton escapes the hold and hits a samoan drop on Cole. WGTT botch a double team powerbomb on O’Reilly. That completely killed the crowd. Haas applies the Haas of Pain on O’Reilly and WGTT retain their titles at 19:33. I know that hating WGTT is the thing to do these days, but they really dragged this match down. They never attempted to mix up their offense and telegraphed the finish with their sloppy powerbomb. Luckily, Cole and O’Reilly were able to get the crowd to care about the action and despite the slow start, this match had its moments down the stretch. ***
Match #8: No Holds Barred: Adam Cole vs. Roderick Strong (The Homecoming 2012 – 1/20/12)
Cole also wrestled in the opener of this show with Kyle O’Reilly against Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team. He’s filling in for Eddie Edwards here. Cole enzuigiris Strong off the apron and lands a dive to the floor. Strong tries to create some space at ringside. He connects with a gamengiri and hurls Cole into the ringpost. Strong takes control until Cole hits a fireman’s carry neckbreaker. Strong regains control by attacking Cole’s left leg with a chair. He even utilizes the Book of Truth at one point. Getting hit by a hardcover book looks a lot more painful than it seems. Strong props a chair in every corner of the ring. Cole connects with a shining wizard and gets some revenge with chair shots. He suplexes Strong through a propped chair. They battle on the apron and Strong drops Cole back-first across it. He follows with a gutbuster for a nearfall. Cole gets sent through a chair with a half nelson slam. Strong applies the Stronghold but Cole refuses to give up. Cole finds life by hitting a wheelbarrow german suplex into the apron. Michael Elgin comes out to attack Cole. Eddie Edwards chases off the interference. Cole hits a falcon arrow through two chairs. Truth Martini pulls the referee out of the ring. Strong connects with a nasty kick and hits his orange crush backbreaker for the win at 16:24. If anything, Cole being chosen as Edwards’ replacement was a nice sign of faith by ROH. The stipulation was a bit awkward as Cole and Strong didn’t have a reason to be using weapons against each other, but I think they clearly made the most out of the situation. ***½
Match #9: Adam Cole and Eddie Edwards vs. Davey Richards and Kyle O’Reilly (10th Anniversary Show – 3/4/12)
Reluctant handshakes all around. There’s some discrepancy over who should ultimately start the match for their respective teams. Everyone decides on Cole and Richards. Nigel McGuinness is on commentary and I couldn’t be happier about that. Cole catches Richards with a dropkick and they trade quick pin attempts to no avail. They continue to trade control. Edwards tags in and Richards tags out. O’Reilly and Edwards battle over a knucklelock and tease their signature submissions. The crowd starts getting into the action after a nice exchange. Richards and Cole reenter the match and Team Ambition start working over Cole. Edwards eventually gets the tag and he trades strikes with Richards. Cole and Edwards isolate him. Richards creates an opening by hitting a saito suplex on Edwards. O’Reilly boots Cole off the apron and unloads a series of kicks on Edwards. O’Reilly hits a back superplex on Edwards. Edwards fires back with a lariat and both men are down. Cole hits a fireman’s carry neckbreaker on O’Reilly. Richards punts Cole in the chest and Team Ambition isolate him. O’Reilly works in his rolling butterfly suplexes at one point. Cole is able to reverse the cross armbreaker attempt into a rollup for a nearfall. Edwards gets the hot tag and hits a fisherman buster on Richards. Edwards elevates Cole into a dive to the floor. He follows with a dive of his own. In the ring, Edwards hits a backpack chinbreaker on Richards. Cole follows with a flying splash. Richards escapes a double team attempt and synchs in an ankle lock on Cole. O’Reilly stops Edwards from breaking the hold. Richards and Edwards both apply half crabs and slap each other. They finally come to blows. Cole and O’Reilly break it up with german suplexes and come to blows themselves. Richards hits a brainbuster on Edwards and everyone is down. Everyone gets suplexed to the floor. Back in, Richards and Edwards try to out-do each other with striking. Cole and O’Reilly try to do the same. Cole hits a backcracker on O’Reilly. Edwards TKO’s O’Reilly off the middle rope. Richards connects with a flying double stomp on Cole and punts his chest. He adds a german suplex for a nearfall. Edwards sends O’Reilly into the barricade and kicks Richards in the face. He hurricanranas Richards off the top rope. O’Reilly gets booted to the floor. Cole DDTs O’Reilly through the ringside table. Richards small packages Edwards for a nearfall. He locks in an ankle lock. Cole lands a flying crossbody onto Richards for the victory at 39:33. Almost every criticism that’s been made about Richards’ long title matches can be applied here. Unnecessarily long but good action throughout the forty minutes. The rivalries between former partners was fun but the long duration wore those threads thin after awhile. I don’t think this match “made” Cole by any means (he was always going to make it in ROH due to his abilities), but the outcome was certainly a pleasant surprise. ***¾
Match #10: ROH World Title: Davey Richards © vs. Adam Cole (Rising Above 2012 – 4/29/12)
They begin with some chain wrestling. Richards tries to bridge out of a wristlock but starts clutching his midsection in pain. Cole gets caught by a kick but responds with a dragon screw leg whip. Richards punts him from the apron with his good leg. Cole lands a dive to the floor. Richards hits a saito suplex onto the entrance ramp and elects to take the countout victory. Cole is able to beat the count but takes more punishment in the ring as the champion gains the advantage. Cole comes back with an enzuigiri and a shining wizard. Richards tries for his handspring enzuigiri but Cole blocks with a superkick and hits a fireman’s carry neckbreaker. Richards blocks a flying crossbody with a dropkick. He connects with a knockout kick and hits a german suplex. They exchange strikes and Richards applies an ankle lock. Cole rolls through and hits a slingshot DDT onto the apron. Cole hits a wheelbarrow backcracker for a nearfall. They battle up top and Cole gets knocked down to the ringside table. Richards puts him through the table with a flying double stomp. He lays in another flying double stomp in the ring for a two count. Richards connects with a knockout kick but Cole won’t stay down. He transitions into an ankle lock but Cole is able to reach the bottom rope. They battle up top again and Cole hits the Florida Key from the top rope. He follows with another Florida Key but can only hold the bridge with one leg. Cole lands a flying crossbody for a nearfall. Richards suffers three consecutive superkicks and a brainbuster over the knee. They trade reversals over submissions and Richards connects with a lariat. He hits a dragon suplex for a two count. Richards punts Cole in the chest and connects with a knockout kick for another nearfall. Richards applies a reverse figure four to retain his title at 20:42. This felt like the usual Richards’ title match but with a few nice touches thrown in here and there. Cole’s nearfall off the flying crossbody had the crowd rocking, as that’s the move he used to pin Richards at the anniversary show. Though Cole would move on to the Television Title, I’m glad he received a chance to look competitive in his first ROH World Title match. ***½
Match #11: Hybrid Rules: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly (Best in the World 2012 – 6/24/12)
You can only win by ten-count knockout, submission, TKO, or disqualification. There are many ways to get disqualified, which you don’t want me to list. They trade punches and avoid each other’s kicks. Cole starts going to work on O’Reilly’s previously-injured left leg. O’Reilly creates some space with a cross armbreaker and begins targeting the left shoulder. Cole connects with an enzuigiri and a shining wizard. They both lay in bicycle kicks and fall to the canvas. They punch each other and Cole starts bleeding from the mouth. Cole has lost teeth! They trade strikes and Cole is bleeding everywhere. He connects with a basement superkick and the crowd comes alive. O’Reilly blocks another superkick and connects with a lariat. Cole pops up with blood squirting from his teeth. Dear God. O’Reilly lays in multiple strikes and hits a saito suplex. The athletic commission comes to ringside but Cole waves them off. O’Reilly applies a guillotine choke but Cole reverses into a brainbuster across his knee. Both men are down. Cole connects with a superkick, sending O’Reilly to the floor. In the ring, O’Reilly locks in a cross armbreaker out of nowhere. Cole counters into a sharpshooter. O’Reilly tries to go back to the cross armbreaker, but Cole synchs in a figure four for the win at 12:39. Nigel’s first words after the match ended were “a star is born in Ring of Honor” and he couldn’t have been more correct. The last five minutes of this match were unlike anything I’ve ever seen in professional wrestling. The crowd completely forgot about the rules and brought such a great atmosphere to the contest. After all of the blood loss and strike exchanges, they still made the limb work pay off with the figure four finish. This was light years ahead of their Showdown in the Sun encounter. The 10th Anniversary Show win was nice, but this match has taken Cole to the next level in ROH. ***¾
Match #12: ROH World Television Title: Roderick Strong © vs. Adam Cole (ROH TV – 7/28/12)
Strong attacks before the opening bell after a distraction by Truth Martini. He throws Cole into the barricade and takes control in the ring with a half nelson backbreaker. Cole attempts a comeback but gets hurled into the ringpost. Strong hits a suplex onto the floor and maintains control in the ring. Cole reverses a gutbuster into a crucifix for a nearfall. He tries a couple more quick pin attempts to no avail. Strong synchs in the Stronghold but Cole escapes and connects with an enzuigiri to create some space. They trade strikes and Strong gets clotheslined to the floor. Cole follows out with a dive and lands a flying crossbody back in the ring. Strong connects with a running knee strike but Cole responds with a shining wizard. Strong elbows out of the Florida Key and drops Cole back-first across the top rope. He hits a gutbuster for a nearfall. Cole hurricanranas out of the Gibson Driver and hits a slingshot DDT onto the apron. Martini jumps onto the apron but Cole sends him to the floor. Cole avoids the orange crush backbreaker but almost gets rolled up. Cole connects with a superkick and hit a brainbuster over his knee for a two count. Cole locks in a figure four. Michael Elgin comes out but refuses to help. Strong reaches the bottom rope. Cole connects with a superkick and hits the Florida Key to become the new ROH World Television Champion at 12:20. This was a strong exhibition between these two and a very good television match for the time given. The crowd popped for the title change despite some House of Truth shenanigans getting in the way. I don’t think Cole needs the title, but it will give him more of an opportunity to be showcased, which is undoubtedly a good thing. ***¼
Match #13: Adam Cole and Eddie Edwards vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe (Killer Instinct – 10/6/12)
Edwards tries to back suplex out of a side headlock but Mark hangs on. Cole connects with a basement dropkick on Jay and follows with a running knee strike. Edwards enzuigiris Mark but runs into a boot. Cole and Edwards catch Jay with stereo dropkicks in the corner and they isolate him. Mark blind tags into the match with a springboard dropkick on Cole. The Briscoes work him over until he connects with an enzuigiri on Jay and makes the tag. Edwards missile dropkicks Mark and hits a sit-out gourdbuster. He catches Jay with a spin kick and hits a backpack chinbreaker on Mark. Cole follows with a frog splash on Mark for a nearfall. Mark hits an insane flipping death valley driver on Edwards and tags out. Jay connects with a discus elbow on Cole and hits a neckbreaker. He adds a falcon arrow. Mark lands a split-legged moonsault on Cole for a two count. Mark connects with his frog splash flying elbow drop but Edwards breaks up the pin attempt. Cole DDTs Mark on the apron and connects with a gamengiri on Jay. Edwards adds a flying double stomp. Cole hits a brainbuster over his knee on Jay for a nearfall. The Briscoes find themselves in stereo submissions but are able to escape. Mark hits an exploder on Edwards and an iconoclasm on Cole. The Briscoes hit the doomsday device on Cole for the victory at 16:39. As with most Briscoes’ matches, I appreciated how they deviated from the usual formula and kept the action interesting. This match would have benefited greatly from a hotter crowd, as the fans never really came alive. Even Cole’s sick apron DDT on Mark received little reaction. They had all of the parts in place for an excellent match but needed a few intangibles to work out better for them. Still, this is an outing worth watching. ***¼
Match #14: ROH World Television Title: Adam Cole © vs. Eddie Edwards (Glory By Honor XI – 10/13/12)
They exchange control on the mat but neither man can gain the advantage. They trade control of a wristlock. Cole sneaks in a rollup for a two count and they find themselves at a stalemate. They have a nice exchange out of a knucklelock and trade pin attempts to no avail. Cole reverses an early achilles lock into a small package for a two count. Edwards attempts a dive but gets caught by a gamengiri. He boots Cole off the apron and is able to land the dive on his second try. In the ring, Cole connects with a basement dropkick to the left leg. He follows with a nasty enzuigiri and hits a DDT on the apron. Cole lands a top-rope splash and hits a fireman’s carry neckbreaker. Edwards responds with a backpack chinbreaker and a dragon screw leg whip in the ropes. He connects with a flying double stomp and transitions into an achilles lock. Cole escapes the hold and applies a figure four. Edwards reaches the bottom rope. They battle on the top rope and crash to the floor. I don’t know if that was supposed to happen, but the crowd came alive for it. In the ring, Cole connects with a bicycle kick but runs into a superkick. He recovers with a brainbuster and a superkick to the back of the head for a nearfall. Cole hits the Florida Key to retain his title at 19:08. This was a terrific match and just what the card needed. There weren’t any extended heat segments or long periods of someone in control. These two battled for nineteen minutes with predominantly back and forth action, making this contest feel different from the rest of the card. Cole is quietly having a phenomenal run as World Television Champion. ***¾
Match #15: ROH World Television Title: Adam Cole © vs. Kyle O’Reilly (ROH TV – 11/17/12)
Nigel McGuinness introduces a new television title before the match. They lockup and back each other into the corner. Cole avoids a cheap shot form O’Reilly. He catches O’Reilly with an atomic drop and enzuigiris him off the apron. Cole attempts a dive but O’Reilly blocks it with a forearm. Cole blocks a dive from O’Reilly with an enzuigiri and finally lands a dive of his own. In the ring, O’Reilly counters a flying crossbody attempt with a dropkick and takes control. A distraction by Davey Richards allows Cole to come back with a slingshot DDT onto the apron. Cole lands a flying crossbody for a nearfall. O’Reilly fires back with kicks. They trade quick pin attempts to no avail. O’Reilly anticipates a superkick, connects with a knockout kick, and hits a saito suplex. He applies a guillotine choke but Cole reverses into a rollup for a two count. Both men are down. They trade slaps and O’Reilly hits a brainbuster. He transitions into the guillotine choke. Cole counters into a brainbuster over his knee. Cole hits the Florida Key to retain his title at 8:46 (shown). Much like the match against Roderick Strong, this was a solid showcase for television that packed a lot of action into the time given. These television title matches seem to provide a constant stream of worthwhile matches on the episodes, giving some sense of purpose to the title. ***
Overall: I look forward to reviewing the ROH compilations that include a sit-down interview. The interview obviously provides perspective, but when you’re watching fifteen consecutive matches with the same wrestler, it helps to have some background of their mindset in general. Adam Cole gave an excellent interview that touched upon promotions other than just ROH. The match portion covers a short period of time but does a nice job balancing Future Shock and his singles run. I don’t know many people who aren’t a fan of Cole, so if you don’t already own these matches I think this would be a worthwhile compilation to purchase.
You can purchase this DVD at Ring of Honor’s store right here.
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