ROH 3/10/18 TV Review: ROH TV Title Number One Contender Match
02/10/18
Center Stage Theater
Atlanta, Georgia
This week was the third episode from the set of tapings from Atlanta,GA. The show had a cold open to the crowd at Center Stage. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana were on commentary and welcomed everyone to show.
First Match: Battle Royal-Last Two Qualify for TV Title #1 Contender Match
QT Marshall vs. Chuckie T vs. Trent Beretta vs. Flip Gordon vs. Shane Taylor vs. Caprice Coleman
This match featured ROH stars that have yet to hold championship gold, giving them the opportunity to earn a shot at the ROH World television title. The Best Friends quickly hugged and got themselves eliminated, which makes sense, as they are a tag team in the company anyway. The match was taped before Trent suffered his injury, so depending on how long he will be out, Chuckie T might have to either find a new partner or take part in singles action, possibly in the TV title hunt like h was here. Coleman made the Rebellion gesture, trying to rekindle the flame with his former Rebellion stablemate, but Taylor threw him over the top rope, setting up Shane Taylor vs. Flip Gordon for the main event. Battle Royals are always fun and this was an interesting way to set up the two TV title participants (**3/4)
Winners: Shane Taylor and Flip Gordon
The Kingdom tells us about the Kingdom Conspiracy but are interrupted by The Addiction who said that there is also a conspiracy against them. Daniels starts to try to broker a deal, saying that Bullet Club is weak and now is the time to combine and take the Bullet Club out. Taven breathed deeply in contemplation as the segment ended.
After commercial, the Kingdom were debating if they should trust SoCal Uncensored and Taven reminded O’Ryan that every war has alliances and implied that they could use SoCal as their front lines.
Second Match: Tenille Dashwood vs. Stacy Shadows
Deonna Purrazzo joined commentary before the video packages played, letting us get to know Shadows and Dashwood before the matchup. Fairly back and forth action, with Shadows using her size to try to dominate Dashwood, while Dashwood used speed to avoid being squashed. In the end,Dashwood slipped out of a Fireman’s carry and sent Shadows into the ring post, bounced off the ropes and hit the Spotlight kick for the win. Nothing to write home about here-Dashwood was always going to win this and as it technically aired the same night as the PPV in some markets, but not until after in other markets, her advancement in the tournament was never in doubt and neither was this finish to this match. (**1/2)
Winner: Tenille Dashwood
Bullet Club segment backstage during which Cody informs the rest of the gang about the Kingdom/SoCal possible partnership. The Bucks clearly seemed annoyed with Cody, but he argued that they are making money hand over fist and that they need to stay together.
Third Match: Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas vs. Ryan Nova & Eli Isom
Total squash match here. First Nova got flattened, then Isom tagged in, briefly almost took Bruiser down, but fell victim to the Last Call, a superplex bullfrog splash combo from Milonas and BCB who won the match via pinfall. Good for what it was. (NR)
Winners: Bruiser & Milonas
Main Event: Flip Gordon vs. Shane Taylor
Bully Ray joined commentary and started by saying that he was looking forward to this match since the end of the battle royal, which was a whole 37 minutes prior. Gordon off to an early start, hitting a 619 to stagger Taylor, but when he went to springboard into the ring he was absolutely driven through the canvas with a spinebuster. Gordon fought back, but had his Star-Spangled Stunner reversed into a Bully bomb by Taylor. The big man took the time to trash talk Gordon. He could not put Gordon away, so he went for a second rope splash, but missed and then received a Star -Spangled Stunner for his efforts. Gordon then scaled the turnbuckles and hit a 450 splash to win the match via pinfall and earn a shot at the ROH World Television title. After the match, Scorpio Sky came down to attack Gordon, but was saved by the Young Bucks. Matt offered a handshake as a sign of peace, but Gordon thought better of it, still remembering the “harmless ribs” Matt pulled on him when he first arrived in ROH. Good match between these two who had a clash of styles. Gordon’s star is on the rise, but Taylor’s inclusion here was a good sign that the company has some faith in him and will continue to use him in bigger spots. (***1/2)
Winner: Flip Gordon
Cody cut a promo at the end, alone, speaking for the Bullet Club. He imitated everyone else and said that Bullet Club is fine and will be next week for the ten-man tag main event.
Final Reaction: B-
This was a nice little episode of ROH television. This entire episode felt as it was building newer stars, from the tag team of Milonas and Bruiser to Shane Taylor and Gordon being the main event of the show. That said, it did not feel like the needle really moved much here.
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