ROH 03/15/19 17 Anniversary Review
Sam’s Town Live
Las Vegas, NV
Ian Riccaboni, Nick Aldis and Caprice Coleman were on commentary to start the show, featuring the clash between Matt Taven and ROH World Champion, Jay Lethal.
Kenny King vs. Marty Scurll
King came down to the ring first with some sort of backup dressed as a faux Marty Scurll. Once the contest got underway Scurll quickly took King down and went over the ropes to the apron before superkicking the Faux Villian. The Cambridge native took it to King but fell victim to a quick kick to the head. King followed with a blockbuster and almost came away with a victory after a blue thunder bomb. In the end, the two turned to underhanded tactics and King was out villained by the Villian. King tried to introduce a chair to the match, only to have referee Paul Turner wrest it away from him. Scurll grabbed his umbrella and with Turner’s back turned thwacked King about the head before scoring the pinfall victory.
Winner: Marty Scurll
ROH World TV Championship Match
Jeff Cobb(c) vs. Shane Taylor
This was an excellent hoss battle between the two. From the start, this was an absolute sprint, with both building to their best work later in the match. The two traded forearms and stiff clotheslines to start crescendoing at the perfect time. Both were given time here to draw the crowd in and had a great sequence of false finishes as well as a tremendous show of agility and strength here, Taylor hit his version of a Canadian Destroyer only to be waylaid with a clothesline from Cobb so powerful that his momentum sent him to the arena floor. This built off of their previous clash and went a step further. The two Tour of the Islands were an excellent exclamation point on this one and Taylor being able to fight his way out of the first one did well to make him look strong despite the loss.
Winner: Jeff Cobb
WOH World Championship Match
Kelly Klein(c) w/ Kamp Klein vs. Mayu Iwatani (c)
Iwatani hit a moonsault from the second rope but took her time to pose before a second attempt, giving Klein a chance to get her knees up to block the move. Klein hit K-Power, but that wasn’t quite enough. Klein almost knocked Iwatani’s head clean off with a Kleinline. Instead of following up with offense, Klein chose instead to embarrass Iwatani by slapping her. The champion grabbed Klein and rolled her up with a small package to defend the title successfully via a pinfall victory. This was given a good amount of time but it never felt like this really got to the next level .
Winner: Mayu Iwatani
Raw uncut emotion from @RealKellyKlein after losing again to @MayuIwatani … #ROH17 pic.twitter.com/0fLjML0MF0
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) March 16, 2019
ROH World Championship Match
Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal
Taven came down to the ring in a huff and grabbed a mic. He demanded that the match start immediately, insisting he is the Real World champion. Lethal obliged and as the match started commentary spoke to this being unwise, driving home the shock of this match happening much earlier than expected. The two worked each other over until both were injured, with lethal favoring his shoulder and Taven his knee for the rest of the match. As Lethal finally regained control he called his shot going for an elbow dropped and was quickly stopped by Lethal. Although Lethal sent Taven to the canvas, he was distracted by Marseglia’s rising balloons. The Kingdom swarmed the ring, Marseglia hitting Lethal with a bat as O’Ryan distracted referee Todd Sinclair. Jonathan Gresh came down to the ring to try to help lethal but was quickly outnumbered and taken out.
Before the Kingdom could set up a table Tracy Williams and Mark Haskins of Life Blood ran them off. Taven hit a low blow in the confusion, following with the Climax. Lethal somehow managed to kick out and kept fighting, reversing a second frog splash attempt with his knees. The match got new life, with Taven eventually suplexing Lethal through the table that his cronies set up earlier. Lethal and Taven combined to set up a table and then a ladder from the apron to the table. Lethal went for an elbow and missed, but Taven could not take advantage. As Lethal was hitting Taven with superkicks Todd Sinclair called the match. This was an unbelievable hour of action to a draw. Taven was made in this match and has a legitimate gripe that he should get another shot. This was easily the most fun I have ever had watching a time-limit draw in recent memory. This had a little bit of everything and by the end had me on the edge of my seat. Post-match Marty Scurll came down and draped the title on himself, proclaiming himself the champion and setting up a triple threat at the G1 Supercard event.
Winner: Time Limit Draw
Ian Riccaboni then introduced the two men behind Mat Mania Podcast, the two artists responsible for the G1 Supercard theme song came out to perform live. They put the show over and got started with their ditty until Bully Ray walked out and order them to stop. He mocked them for being nerds, saying they probably picked him when they played the old WWE videos games. Mega Ran answered that by saying he picked Devon. Bully Ray chased them away by being a Bully, got into with some kids in the crowd and challenged an unnamed punk to a match at G1. Presumably, he is still hung up on Flip Gordon, so when the Montanan returns the two will be at it again.
Rush vs. Bandido
Dalton Castle replaced Aldis on commentary for this match, implying that Castle might square off against Rush down the road, possibly at the G1 Supercard event. Rush dominated early on, throw Bandido about on the outside after weathering a flurry of Bandido’s fast-paced offense. Rush slowed it down and worked a methodical pace. Castle was straight out asked why he was ringside and he quickly retorted that he was there to see the best of the company to try and get out of his recent string of losses. Both of these went all out during this one, but it was Rush who walked away undefeated in ROH after hitting the Bull’s Horns basement corner dropkick. This match is definitely worth your time-go out of your way to watch this. Post-match Castle came into the ring with a mic and challenged Rush to the aforementioned match and Rush agreed, reminding Castle that no matter what, nothing happens. That sounds much better in Spanish by the way.
Winner: Rush
Ian Riccaboni then informed the viewing audience that Gresham was not going to be able to compete due to the injuries he suffered at the hands of the Kingdom and later Silas Young in the dressing room. Riccaboni then revealed that O’Ryan and Marseglia left the building in disgust with Taven, so their match against Life Blood was similarily shelved.
The Kingdom has left the building!! pic.twitter.com/AbH6QDjH7p
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) March 16, 2019
“Anytime you want to fight… come find us…” #LIFEBLOOD #ROH17 @ThisIsHaskins @sauce_williams pic.twitter.com/UWpLtBuKaB
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) March 16, 2019
NO DQ Match for the ROH World Tag Team Championships
The Briscoes vs. Villian Enterprises (Brody King & PCO)
Silas Young joined commentary before the match. Riccaboni addressed Young’s attack of Gresham, to which Young brushed off as tough luck for Gresham. This was an absolute knock out, drag out brawl between these two teams. PCO might actually not be human. The affair was riddled with chairs, kendo sticks, tables and a hearty helping of blood. Jay was busted open early and wore a crimson mask through the rest of match, definitely adding to the aesthetic of the match. Both sides completely went for it and did everything they could to get the crowd into this one. Just as it seemed Mark was poised to hit a froggy bow on PCO through a table on the outside King was able to toss him to the arena floor onto a pile of chairs. He and Jay and then tussled on the apron until he finally got the better of the elder Briscoe brother. The two didn’t go through the table cleanly, but King rolled Briscoe into the ring nonetheless and held a chair on him as PCO hit a moonsault to capture the tag titles via pinfall. This was an absolutely crazy match-all of these men are insane and have little regard for their body. A suprise win here in a fun match to end the show.
Winners: Villian Enterprises
Final Reaction: B+/A-
Wow. This show was immensely entertaining and the booking really made the night feel important. There was a palpable sense of surprise as the world title match rolled on and the tension built to a satisfying end. Taven was absolutely made in his match and despite going on right after, Bandido and Rush were able to keep the crowd into their match. Cobb and Taylor put on another memorable hoss battle and King and Scurll started off the night on the right foot, with the right man going over in an important victory. Almost everything on this show clicked tonight.