#rohphilly

ROH followed up their annual Best in the World PPV in Baltimore with a TV taping at the 2300 Arena. For fans in my neck of the woods, it was either this or All Elite Wrestling’s second show, Fyter Fest, available for free on B/R Live. There was also UFC airing on regular ESPN, so plenty of choices tonight. A number of people chose not to attend tonight’s taping; it definitely did not look like the sell-out ROH was reporting, certainly down from the last two times ROH ran here last October and December. Myself? I can catch these other shows later in the weekend. I went in to this after just reading about what went down in Baltimore, unfortunately not all that compelled to order it, but still looking forward to fun stuff tonight. 

Future of Honor: Azrieal beat Matita (?) with a splash off the top rope. That’s right, Azrieal, the former Special K member who cleaned up his act, has made his way back into ROH after being absent for several years. He and his opponent (billed from Africa) both looked pretty good. I probably butchered his opponent’s name, but towards the end he was up on the top rope when Azrieal shoved the ref into the ropes, pretending it was an accident as his opponent was crotched on the top. Azrieal then hit him with a draping DDT to lead to the finish.

Future of Honor: The Tate Twins (formerly The Boys) beat Geddy Cahoon and “Classy” Max Stenway after a double chokeslam on the larger Cahoon. The Boys have matured a little, with a Batman-esque video screen that still calls them The Boys as they come out in capes. I’ve seen Cahoon once before in Chikara’s Young Lions Cup tournament last year I think. He has an old-school look, black trunks with white boots, while his partner wore gray pants and a top that looked like a buttoned vest. I thought this was okay, one noticeable hiccup being one of the twins and Cahoon doing some sloppy pin exchanges. 

The injured Colt Cabana was able to make it out tonight, with the help of a cane, to call the action with Ian Riccaboni. Kenny King joined them on commentary for the first televised match.

1. Shane Taylor beat Rhett Titus in a Proving Ground Match after hitting him with a headbutt. Titus did some flexing early to get out of Taylor’s grip for comedic effect, and he was able to hit a nice dropkick early. Taylor was all business and gave him a legdrop on the edge of the ring. Nearfall by Titus following at least three running boots in the corner and a Samoan Drop.

- Following Titus’ loss, King came down ringside and said he was disgusted. He brought up his history with Titus as the All Night Express, when they picked up wins over the Briscoes, the Young Bucks, Roderick Strong, and Tyler Black. Now King thinks Titus is a joke, and he brought up his pregnant wife in the crowd. He asked Titus how she could be proud of him, and why Titus’ son (Jimmy Controversy? I’ve seen him wrestle late last year) can’t look him in the eye. Titus got hot, but he just left the ring as King called him a punkass bitch.

2. Tasha Steelz won a 4-Way #1 Contender’s Match over Angelina Love (w/ Velvet Sky and Mandy Leon), Jenny Rose, and Stella Grey when she pinned Grey after hitting an ace crusher. Kelly Klein joined commentary for this, and this was the first time I’ve noticed Brian Hebner reffing for ROH. Sky said this match was bull and that Love is already the true #1 Contender to Klein’s WOH World Title. Leon, meanwhile, had a dog with her, and the dog was wearing a leather jacket. There were no incidents between the Allure and fans in the crowd, but there wasn’t much enthusiasm from fans during this match either, even though Rose and Grey got hometown wrestler pops, and everyone liked the dog, though it didn’t get involved. Leon got involved trying to trip one of the women, and Hebner ejected her, Sky, and the dog from ringside because of it. Love hit a dive to the floor from the top rope, then got up in another corner to call out to Klein afterward. Klein came down to ringside briefly, and this distraction led to the other three wrestlers taking down Love.

- After the match, the lights went out while Love and Steelz were still in the ring, the Maneater video played, and when the lights came back on, newcomer Maria Manic was standing behind Love and Steelz. Manic got a good reception. Love bailed out of the ring while the next title challenger Steelz stepped up to her. Four crew members separated the two of them. Manic took out all four guys herself, including putting one of them in a torture rack before dumping him out of the ring, and taking out another with a tree slam. This made Manic even more popular, so a job well done on her arrival into ROH and Women of Honor.

3. Jay Lethal & The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas) beat The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, and Vinny Marseglia) after the Bouncers hit O’Ryan with Closing Time. Good action with three popular babyfaces. Before the match, Lethal demanded timekeeper Amy Rose (not Sonic the Hedgehog’s friend) to leave the ringside area because of her interference in Lethal’s match against Kenny King at Best in the World (she returned maybe two matches later). The Kingdom preferred to be in the ring with Lethal as opposed to the Bouncers, and Lethal was worked over before making hot tags to each of them. Lethal hit his suicide dives towards the end. The Bouncers’ stock continues to rise (they recently earned a Tag Team Title shot in the Northwest), but before they could celebrate with post-match beers, Taven yanked Lethal down from the apron and gave him a Climax on the floor. The Bouncers and other crew attended to Lethal as he was helped to the back.

4. Eli Drake beat Grizzly Redwood with an air raid crash. Pretty short squash by new NWA signee Drake on another returning face in Redwood, though he’s local, so I’m not sure how much of a return it really is. Nick Aldis, flanked by Kamille, was on commentary during this. Drake cut a promo afterward about his arrival into the NWA and his pursuit of the World Title, and I thought he came off well.

5. Coast 2 Coast (LSG & Shaheem Ali) beat Marcus Kross & Griff Garrison when Ali pinned Kross after a Boss Man Slam spun out from a powerslam position. This ended up being a competitive match and not a squash, with Kross (with gear and hair inspired by Goku) and Garrison (who just looks like an in-shape wrestler) getting a good amount of offense against the more established Coast 2 Coast. I also thought it was quite good, and a portion of the crowd chanted “Please Come Back!” to Kross and Garrison.

6. Jonathan Gresham won a Four Corner Survival over Jeff Cobb, Kenny King, and Dalton Castle. Caprice Coleman joined the commentary team from this point on. Castle, who is now heel and has ditched the flowing, winged robe for just a glittery jacket, was still beloved by the crowd. He and King hesitated getting in the ring, while Gresham and G1 Jeff kept it more serious. The Four Corner Survival rules of only two men in the ring at a time via tags (which confused the rowdy group of guys behind me, down from Ottawa, ONT Canada [!] for a bachelor party) naturally broke down, leading to Cobb going nuts with his suplexes. The end came when King took a shoe from Amy Rose to use as a weapon, but Gresham got a hold of it, hit King with it, and pinned King with a handful of his trunks. I thought it was fun, and it might come off better to me if I were to watch it on TV. Gresham returned the shoe to Rose. 

- Jay Lethal came out to speak to the crowd. He said he hasn’t spoken about his losing the ROH World Title at G1 Supercard because he’s a bad loser, and it was a heavy pill to swallow. Then he remembered that he’s a two-time World Champion, meaning he lost it once, but worked hard and was able to win it again. He will have a title match next month in New York, and he plans to win the title back from Matt Taven. This cued Taven to come out and dress down Lethal. He said Lethal was embarrassing his parents, who were in the crowd, and that Lethal was proving that his parents raised a liar. Taven said Lethal choked in Madison Square Garden, and now Taven is the face of ROH, and they’re living in the Time of Taven. As Taven finished what he had to say, out came Alex Shelley in a suit. He’s making his return, as he said he was careful not to say he was retiring when he last appeared in ROH. He said he’s been wrestling for seventeen years, has constantly been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he’s left his mark around the world. He said he’s pulling out his proverbial veteran’s card yet again, and that he wants a shot at whoever is the champion after the match in New York. This segment was followed by intermission.

7. The Soldiers of Savagery (Moses & Kaun) beat two wrestlers after hitting double chokeslams on both of them. After just doing run-ins up until now, the Soldiers of Savagery had an official entrance, and it was a pretty cool one. Quick post-intermission squash, as they attacked their opponents (who were in matching gear) before they could be introduced.

- Caprice Coleman came out to the ring to host an interview segment with Nick Aldis. Kamille held the NWA World Heavyweight Title for Aldis. Coleman brought up the Summer Supercard happening in Toronto on August 9, with ROH hosting talent from New Japan and CMLL. Coleman had heard the NWA World Heavyweight Title would be defended at Summer Supercard and asked Aldis who his challenger would be. Aldis started by bringing up his fight with the Briscoes at Best in the World, and he offered Jay Briscoe a title shot whenever he pleases. As for Summer Supercard, he suggested he might want to have another match with Marty Scurll. This prompted Scurll to come out, and he said that he would also like to have a rematch. Aldis said he wasn’t finished, as he’s actually offering the title shot at Summer Supercard to any member of Villian Enterprises, and he will let Scurll choose who it will be. Aldis and Kamille left, as Coleman asked Scurll who he chooses for the title match, or if he’s taking the match himself. Scurll stalled for a little bit and said he had a lot to think about. Coleman closed by reiterating the name of the event and it’s August 9 date.

- Another segment followed, with Riccaboni and Cabana coming down to ringside. Riccaboni talked a little about Cabana’s injury and asked him for an update. Cabana stated how he has a cane now, barely got the the okay from his doctor to fly out to the events this weekend, but then James Storm interrupted. He was dressed to wrestle, brought up his match against Cabana in Chicago for the NWA National Title, and that he’s here for those five more minutes Cabana offered after the match went to a time limit draw. Cabana brought up how Cabana would have given him those five more minutes, but the Briscoes attacked him and Storm did nothing. Cabana began to leave when Storm shoved him from behind to the ground and berated him. Cabana agreed to the title match after this, despite his bad leg and not being dressed to compete.

8. James Storm beat Colt Cabana to win the NWA National Title. This couldn’t have lasted more than five minutes. Cabana tried for his Superman pin right off the bat but couldn’t get it properly with his bad leg. Storm worked over Cabana’s leg as Riccaboni remained at ringside and tried to convince Storm to stop, very concerned for Cabana. Storm put Cabana in a half crab on the injured leg, but Cabana got to the ropes. Cabana fought back, and he tried and failed to get Storm in the Billy Goat’s Curse. Storm hit a superkick and locked in the half crab in the middle of the ring, finally forcing Cabana to submit. Storm then made Riccaboni announce him as the winner and new NWA National Champion. Good drama throughout that the crowd followed. This was likely the end of Cabana’s commentary for the night.

9. Silas Young beat Josh Woods with a small package. After the opening bell but before any action took place, Young got a hold of the mic. He said Woods has been in ROH for two years, but he hasn’t accomplished anything. He said the fans don’t respect Woods like they respect him, and that Woods could benefit from learning from him. He then gave the mic back to the ref, and as the ref did so Young kicked Woods in the groin and rolled him up for the quick win. Young has already corrupted Gresham, and he might be doing the same to Woods.

10. Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger, Eli Isom, and Ryan Nova) beat Brian Johnson, Joe Keys, and Dante Caballero after they hit Caballero with a draping DDT/top rope double stomp combo. The three Future of Honor regulars, especially Johnson and Caballero, got a chance to show more of their personalities during this match. They suffered from some miscommunication though, ending with Keys accidentally hitting Caballero to lead to the finish. Afterward, Keys and Caballero came to blows with each other and had to be separated while Johnson just walked off.

11. Karissa Rivera beat Sumie Sakai after sitting down on a sunset flip attempt for the pin. This was Sakai’s first match back from injury, and this seemed to get a good amount of time with a lot of nearfalls. The action was pretty decent, though there was a moment where Sakai bowed to Rivera, Rivera went to bow back, and Sakai rolled her up in a small package that looked pretty bad. Rivera getting the upset win here came off well to me based on the crowd reaction, and Sakai sold the shock of it. Quinn McKay came into the ring to interview Rivera about it, but Sakai intervened and offered Rivera a handshake and congratulated her. If this is just a torch passing from Sakai, that’s A-okay.

12. Rush & Dragon Lee beat Jay & Mark Briscoe when Rush pinned Jay after hitting the Bull’s Horns. This match came off fantastic, as it was basically a fast-paced brawl. They began brawling on the floor early, starting when Dragon Lee went to hit a suicide dive onto the Briscoes, but they caught Lee and gave him a double suplex onto the floor. A little later, Mark came up bleeding heavily from the forehead, and I don’t know how it happened if it was hardway. It likely was as someone retrieved a towel to attend to Mark. This wasn’t at the level of how Jay has bled in the past, but Mark was bleeding so much Rush began focusing on it, wiping some of it on his chest and biting at the wound. ROH TV likely wouldn’t allow spots like this, so I imagine this match will be heavily edited when it airs, with the full uncut match featuring these spots put on HonorClub. Nevertheless, the blood added some intensity to the match, and the wrestlers capitalized on it. Mark used a chair to assist his running dive over the top to the floor. Rush was given a neckbreaker by Jay and the Froggy Bow by Mark, but Rush still kicked out that a lot of fans saw as three. Lee took out Mark with a running hurricanrana over the top rope to the floor to leave Rush to finish off Jay. A wild match that had the crowd shitting apes. Dragon Lee continues to be on a roll after some stellar matches these last two months in New Japan.

- There was a quick change of the ring canvas and wiping down of the ropes as Bobby Cruise announced that Villain Enterprises would be out next. When the ring was ready, the LifeBlood trio of Bandido, Tracy Williams, and Mark Haskins came out (they’re all that’s left of this faction!). Haskins brought up how Villain Enterprises played a fast one on them at the PPV with their recruiting of Flip Gordon when they thought he would join LifeBlood, and they demanded they came out. Marty Scurll came out again, accompanied by Gordon, Brody King, and PCO. Scurll properly introduced Gordon to the crowd as the newest employee of Villain Enterprises, the understudy, the intern, and the mercenary. He then gave Gordon the night off (following a potential injury at the PPV) to watch this six-man tag team match from the back, and he told LifeBlood that this would not be for their recently remade Six-Man Tag Team Titles, as they just defended them at the PPV (against Haskins, Williams, and PJ Black). Williams was fine with that, as they just wanted a fight, and given where they were, he demanded a Philadelphia Street Fight. The crowd was all for this, Villain Enterprises agreed, and the match was on.

13. LifeBlood beat Villain Enterprises in a non-title Philadelphia Street Fight when Bandido pinned Scurll. Chaos from the start. The timekeeper’s table was cleared off early and set up where the entrance way reaches ringside. The first big moment was King attempting to superplex Haskins onto two rows of chairs, but King went through them himself after Williams and Bandido made the save. LifeBlood began using canes. Bandido gave PCO a hurricanrana off the top rope through the table on the floor, and it all seemed perfectly executed. This left Scurll alone, and he was put into a sharpshooter by Haskins and a cane-assisted crossface by Williams, but King made the save. Dives to the floor from King and PCO was followed by a twisting dive from the top by Bandido. The landing looked rough but Bandido still got up. Back in the ring, Bandido gave PCO his version of the GTS, followed by the 21-plex onto an open chair. During all of this, a woman in the crowd shouted, “Leave him alone! He’s old!” This was only a nearfall as Scurll and King made the save, and then they brought a second table into the ring. Williams and Haskins peppered King with more cane shots. Scurll responded with shots from his umbrella. Scurll took down Bandido with his umbrella, placed him on the table, and went up top, but Bandido recovered and stopped Scurll, finally giving him his moonsault slam off the top through the table for the big win. Another wild, crowd-pleasing match. Bandido, Haskins, and Williams shook hands with all of the ringside fans, and then Williams took the mic and thanked the crowd for coming out on behalf of LifeBlood and everyone at ROH. 

The night following Final Battle in New York City, featuring a lot of good matches but no real clues as to what will happen next year, ROH taped TV at the 2300 Arena to begin airing early next month. There was a large crowd on hand, though not an entire sellout. My biggest highlight of the night was an impromptu reunion with friend and founder John Philapavage, who I haven’t seen in years. Hanging out with him throughout most of it made the night go by smoother.

Future of Honor Match: The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas) beat The Sons of Savagery following a leg drop by Milonas off the second rope while Bruiser held the opponent in place. Before the match happened, Rhett Titus came out in a speedo and with a trophy, flexing his muscles like he’s at a body building competition, while sultry music played; he joined in on commentary for this match, of which the Bouncers took 90%.

- Introductions for the commentary team throughout most of the night, Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana. Riccaboni has an entrance video where his photo appears as a bobble head doll.

1. Jeff Cobb beat Luchasaurus in a non-title Proving Ground Match with Tour of the Islands. Luchasaurus, last seen on TV getting decapitated on Lucha Underground (and before that, allegedly taking part in a season of Big Brother and helping take down Bill DeMott in NXT) could potentially fill the role vacated by Punishment Martinez. He threw a lot of kicks to take down Cobb, including a spinning kick at the start of the match for a very early nearfall. Cobb fought back, and both guys pulled off standing moonsaults. Cobb hit a belly-to-belly superplex that looked scary, followed by a piledriver, prior to the finish. Cobb continues to look dominant despite his opponents having him on the ropes, and these two scary men still shook hands before and after the match.

- Cody, The Young Bucks, and Adam Page came out for a segment likely just for the live crowd. They tossed out free shirts to the crowd. Otherwise, all Bullet Club shirts were announced as being $10 each at the show. Cody said this was the final night in ROH for all four of them. Matt Jackson proposed that they all have a match together on their final night, but Page and Cody said they did not bring their gear. Matt said that if that’s the case, they can wear the Bucks’ “Marty Jannetty cosplay” gear from Final Battle. Cody quickly backtracked and said that he did bring his gear, as well as Brandi. Page also had his gear on hand. Matt then said that he would like two of their opponents to be Best Friends, Page suggested Jay Lethal despite his bad luck against champions, and Cody chose Flip Gordon. So that match was promised for later in the night.

2. Sumie Sakai & Jenny Rose beat Team Sea Stars (Ashley Vox & Delmi Exo). I believe Rose got the pin, based on what happened shortly afterward. I had just met up with John during this, so I wasn’t entirely focused on the match.

- In a segment taped for TV to definitely air after January 1st, Riccaboni came to the ring and introduced Chris Sabin, Flip Gordon, Marty Scurll, and Dalton Castle (who came out with the Boys). He said all four men had earned shots at the ROH World Title in 2018. Sabin via going to a draw in a Proving Ground Match with Lethal, Gordon via winning the Sea of Honor Tournament, Scurll via winning Survival of the Fittest, and Castle via a contractually obligated rematch. Riccaboni said these four guys would wrestle in a 4-way to determine who would get their shot first, which would be at the HonorClub event Honor Reigns Supreme on January 13th, in Concord, NC. As Riccaboni was about to introduce the World Champion, out came Matt Taven, proclaiming himself to be the real World Champion and cutting biting promos on the four contenders, including saying Scurll was left behind by his friends on their trip to Jacksonville. Lethal came out and got in Taven’s face, and they fought in the entrance way before getting separated. The four contenders did not get physically involved.

3. Kelly Klein beat Nikki Adams to retain the Women of Honor World Title with a knee to the face. Before this match, Klein cut a promo about how she’s the new WOH World Champion and beat three other women to win it. Therefore, she’s now looking to be a fighting champion by putting her title on the line in every match, starting with this one against this newcomer from Long Island. Fairly competitive. Following Klein’s victory, Jenny Rose came back out and kind of struggled through a promo where she said she and Klein have unfinished business, as she has pinned Klein in the past. She challenged her for the title on January 13th, and she wanted it to be a Street Fight. Klein, in maybe the line of the night, promised to see her on the “streets” of Concord.

- Christopher Daniels came out in a suit. He said Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky were at home recuperating following the Ladder War at Final Battle, and that since he lost at Final Battle, he now has to say farewell. He cut a very nice speech about how he’ll remember everything, going back to the first main event against Low Ki and Bryan Danielson, and the first match for the ROH World Title in sweltering heat. He said every opponent he’s had in ROH has gone on to be his brother. He will also remember the ROH fans, and said this company will continue to grow. Once he finished, Joe Koff, who may have appeared on the entrance stage before he wrapped up, spoke about how he has rethought things about Daniels since his edict about him being done following Final Battle 2018. He said his protecting Cary Silkin at Final Battle (from Bully Ray and his kendo stick) said a lot about what he’s become and what he thinks about ROH. Therefore, he wanted to reissue a new contract to Daniels. This very nice moment was quickly ruined by a returning Shane Taylor, showing up out of nowhere to attack Daniels. Koff ran away as Taylor gave Daniels the 216 onto a chair in the ring. Taylor then tore up Daniels’ new contract, and Daniels was helped out afterward, this presumably being his sendoff.

4. Dalton Castle (w/ The Boys) won a 4-way over Chris Sabin, Flip Gordon, and Marty Scurll after hitting Sabin with the Bangarang. A number of the moments in the match saw Marty bailing to the floor and encouraging the other three to fight each other. With Castle winning the January 13th title shot here, Lethal came out and congratulated him.

5. Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tracy Williams via verbal submission to his double wrist clutch octopus stretch. A great change of pace from a lot of other things in ROH. Lots of strong back-and-forth technical wrestling throughout this one, with Williams throwing in some chops as well.

6. Madison Rayne & Dr. Britt Baker DMD beat The Twisted Sisterz (Thunder Rosa & Holidead) after Baker hit Rosa with a pumphandle facebuster.

7. Jay & Mark Briscoe beat SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) to retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles after they hit Kazarian with a splash mountain bomb into a neck breaker. This was announced as a TV main event and felt like a serious grudge match from the start as they threw chairs at one another. Ref Todd Sinclair was taken out at ringside when Kazarian gave one of the Briscoes a huricanrana on the floor, sending him crashing into Sinclair. With him out, the Briscoes took the opportunity to use the chairs. Ref Paul Turner took over as Kazarian countered an attempted Doomsday Device into a rollup. Sky was taken out by a Jay Driller, and there was an even bigger nearfall when Kazarian survived a superplex and the Froggy Bow. After the match, Kazarian and Sky saluted the crowd and took time to greet ringside fans as their music played, perhaps implying that they too were leaving.

- Marty Scurll came out, rhetorically asking the crowd what’s next for him. He said he made his intentions clear “last night” when he confronted Jay Lethal, and he’s coming after the World Title. The Kingdom came out, with Taven saying Scurll is kidding himself about that, and also brought up how he’s lost his friends and is all alone, as he, TK O’Ryan, and Vinny Marseglia surrounded him in the ring. Scurll said they were right about his friends leaving, but that doesn’t mean he can’t make new friends. Right then, the lights went out, with Brody King appearing in the ring once they came back on. The lights then went out again, another figure ran out to the ring, and there were flashes of electricity on the screen to signal that it was PCO (Pierre Carl Ouellet). The three of them fought off the Kingdom, with King giving Marseglia a Gonzo Bomb, and PCO following up with a moonsault off the top to the floor onto all of the Kingdom. Scurll then introduced this new trio of himself and the two new signees as Villain Enterprises.

- Intermission. At the end of it, Bobby Cruise announced that Villain Enterprises would be in action later. He then threw it to Bill Apter and another writer for Pro Wrestling Illustrated, who awarded two plaques for Best Commentary Team of 2018 to Riccaboni and Cabana. The two of them thanked everyone for this honor.

8. Eli Isom (w/ Ryan Nova) beat Facade with a brainbuster. This was announced as part of a mini-tournament to determine the #1 Contender to the ROH World Television Title (held by Jeff Cobb). Decent action, which included Isom hitting a suicide dive that nearly overshot Facade (they held it together), and Facade hitting a springboard somersault dive to the floor.

9. Rush beat TK O’Ryan with a running corner dropkick to a seated O’Ryan. My first time seeing Rush, a star from CMLL and co-founder of the original Los Ingobernables, and I was really taken by his charisma. He took part of the match to the floor, fighting O’Ryan in the crowd, hitting him with chairs, and seemingly whipping him with a camera cable. After his victory, Marseglia confronted Rush, allowing Taven to attack him from behind. As has been stated by ROH themselves, this stems from Taven’s history with Rush in CMLL, which included Taven losing his hair. The Kingdom beat him down and all gave him a conchairto. Not sure if this issue will continue in ROH (maybe the Madison Square Garden card?) or CMLL.

10. Juice Robinson beat PJ Black via disqualification. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis came out before this match, alongside his valet Camilla, to join commentary for this match. Solid action, and Robinson was beloved, but the finish came when Black shoved ref Paul Turner into the ropes, causing Robinson to get crotched on the top. Black kicked Turner after the bell to further get heat, which makes me think he’ll be back around. Robinson got some promo time afterward, saying he didn’t come here just to win like this. He put over Philadelphia, as well as ROH for being good old fashioned pro wrestling. He said he will be back in ROH on a regular basis in 2019, and he’s looking to bring honor back to Ring of Honor.

11. Shane Taylor beat Mike Law after a knockout punch (No Hitter Quitter) and the 216. That was all there was to it. Afterward, he said people were wondering who paid for his services to take out Christopher Daniels. He revealed that nobody paid him, that he decided to do it himself, and that he’s just getting started.

- Cabana came to the ring and introduced Flip Gordon for an interview segment. He commended Gordon for defeating Bully Ray in the I Quit Match at Final Battle, and he asked him about his plans for 2019. Gordon said he dealt with a bully for eight months, and that he finally made that bully quit, so mission accomplished. He said his next mission was winning the ROH World Title. He was interrupted by Kenny King, who said that he deserved a shot at the World Title next, as he was the last person to pin Jay Lethal. In maybe a first for ROH TV, he threw to video footage of him pinning Lethal at Global Wars: Toronto last month, showing it from three different angles, but having the picture zoomed in on all of them so that they didn’t show King’s feet were on the ropes for leverage. Funny stuff. King then ridiculed Gordon for how he was caned the last time he was in this building, and he closed by calling him  a weekend warrior who got paid to join the reserves. Another new story the new year.

12. Silas Young beat Beer City Bruiser in a No DQ Match with Misery after Bruiser crashed through a table. This was another match in the TV Title #1 Contender tournament, and ref Todd Sinclair returned to reffing for the first time since the Tag Team Title Match five matches ago, getting a big ovation from the crowd. Rhett Titus also returned to commentary after doing more posing. Bruiser cut a promo to make this match No DQ, saying after Young told him he wasn’t a friend and left him, he finally realized that Silas sucks (cue a crowd chant), and that they should have a fight as opposed to a match. Bruiser quickly introduced chairs and tables into the match, and he put Young through a table in the corner with a running cannonball for a nearfall. Bruiser was rammed into a chair wedged into the opposite corner. Bruiser gave Young a flying hip toss off the top, but then was slammed off the top onto chairs he had set up himself. Young zip-tied Bruiser to one of the ropes and looked to punish him with chair shots, but Brian Milonas made the save. He was taken out when Young avoided a banzai drop from him and hit him with a chair to send him crashing through a table on the floor. These guys really went all out for this, potentially putting a bow on their standing issue.

- The next match announced was the new trio Villain Enterprises challenging the Kingdom for the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Titles. When the Kingdom entered, Taven told them that they don’t deserve a shot at the titles yet. They said they would consider giving them the opportunity if they get past another team that is both proven, and undefeated.

13. Villain Enterprises beat Cheeseburger, Eli Isom, and Ryan Nova after Nova took a Gonzo Bomb from Brody King and a moonsault off the top from PCO. Despite the setup, this match was longer and more competitive than expected. King and PCO got to have monster moments against their smaller opponents, with King throwing big chops. Cheeseburger, Isom, and Nova still had time to shine, and they got a way-too-close nearfall on PCO. A cool moment towards the end saw Scurll give one of them a tombstone on the floor while the other two received chokeslams onto the edge of the ring.

14. Jay Lethal, Flip Gordon, and Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuckie T.) beat The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Cody, and Adam Page (w/ Brandi Rhodes) when Gordon pinned Cody after a 450 splash. This was announced as an HonorClub exclusive. and it felt like a post-show dark match as it went along, with lots of silly but crowd-pleasing moments. The Best Friends invited Lethal into their hug, but did not allow Gordon to join. Ref Paul Turner went down, allowing Lethal’s team to go crazy on the Elite and put Cody through the timekeeper’s table. Brandi hit Beretta with her bionic spear, but Beretta came back with Shattered Dreams to Cody. Leading up the finish, they were all doing each other’s signature moves. The Young Bucks hugged, so the Best Friends gave them superkicks. Cody then hit Lethal Injection on both Best Friends, so Lethal hit Cody with CrossRhodes to set up the finish. All eight wrestlers still hugged each other afterward.

- The Elite had the ring to themselves afterward to say goodbye. Matt said how he Nick first showed up on ROH on HDNet ten years ago, and that at least for him these last two years have been the best of his career. Just then, out came Bully Ray and Silas Young, with Bully yelling at the four of them, allowing the Briscoes to jump them from behind. The four of them were then joined by Shane Taylor in the beatdown. Lethal and his team ran out to avenge them, but they were fought off, with Lethal getting laid out in the ring with a Jay Driller. Bully Ray yelled at fans in the crowd, asking if this was the farewell they wanted. He said to a laid out Lethal that twenty years ago, fans would be jumping the rails to save him, but not today, because these fans are pansies. Bully and the Briscoes kept trying to incite the fans into rioting (thankfully everyone knew better), Lethal tried to fight back only to be knocked down again by Taylor, and Cabana tried and failed to make the save. The Elite had long left the ring by the way, so the only fallen body being celebrated over by the heels was the ROH World Champion. Jay Briscoe more or less closed this segment by saying we can all lick his balls.

I attended my first ROH event in ten months, their second-to-last TV taping before Final Battle in December. It was not a sold out show, as I noticed a lot of empty seats beyond Row 4 or 5. Fortunately, the crowd was still lively and should come off well on TV in the segments when they’re not cursing. Also, as you could see, I was very happy to finally both meet Jeff Cobb and see him wrestle in person. Heck, the last time I attended ROH, I got to hold the previous iteration of the ROH World TV Title with the champion at the time...

Future of Honor Match: Cheeseburger, Eli Isom, and Ryan Nova beat “#1″ Brian Johnson, Ken Dixon, and Joey Keys following a tandem elevated double stomp move on Dixon. Cheeseburger, Isom, and Nova formed an alliance on TV recently, and are now calling their unit “3-S.” I know Keys better under the moniker Jasper Tippins, from the Chikara tag team Dez Peloton. I thought this was okay, with enough good hands involved.

- Introductions for the announce team: Ian Riccaboni (with music out of a game show that never existed) and Caprice Coleman, as well as Mandy Leon, brought in to call the first match. As seen on TV, the announce position in most arenas, including the 2300 Arena now, is way off to the side of the entrance, with the announce team facing away from the action as they look at monitors to call the action.

1. Sumie Sakai, Jenny Rose, and Madison Rayne beat Kelly Klein, Karen Q, and Dr. Britt Baker when Rose rolled up Klein. Rose and Klein had the most beef going into this match. Sakai got worked over a lot. Baker didn’t seem to jive so well with the more heelish Klein and Q, and her refusal to accept Klein’s tag while she had Rose tied up pretty much led to the finish. This was okay.

2. Cody (w/ Brandi Rhodes) beat Kenny King presumably by disqualification. I noticed Jay Lethal come in to do commentary for this match, announced as a television main event. I thought they had a pretty good match, and the crowd was definitely into it. King played off the crowd a lot. He got involved with Brandi at ringside, including pretending to get smacked by her when ref Paul Turner was focused on Cody. Towards the end, King threw his elbow pad at Brandi, making her get into the ring and held back by Turner. With the ref distracted, King retrieved Cody’s IWGP US Title (one of three titles Cody had with him), tossed it into Cody’s hands, and fell to the ground as if Cody hit him with it. Before Turner could be played into his Eddie Guerrero trick, Todd Sinclair ran down to tell him what actually happened. King shoved Sinclair, causing Turner to call the bell, so King may have been disqualified for shoving a ref, but not the actual ref for the match. King kicked Cody in the groin right after this anyway. Brandi tended to Cody and King got a hold of her, causing Lethal to run out to the ring to stop anything from happening. Lethal told King that he’s better than this, then unwisely turned his back to King, who clocked him with the US Title. After King left, Lethal and Cody both got up, holding each other’s titles, but they exchanged them back to each other and shook hands.

3. Jeff Cobb beat Shane Taylor with the Tour of the Islands. This match exceeded my expectations. I'm a big fan of Cobb, and he was able to get Taylor off his feet a few times in very impressive fashion, but Taylor was able to hold his own and make this a competitive match. Taylor was able to hit some knees to Cobb, and followed it up with a flipping piledriver of all things and a lariat for a believable nearfall. Taylor’s attempt at the 216 was turned into a deadlift German suplex by Cobb, followed by a lariat from Cobb and the finish. I think this match is definitely worth checking out when it airs.

Afterward, Adam Page walked out and had a staredown with Cobb, perhaps telegraphing that these two will meet at Final Battle. About a half dozen ring crew guys ran out to stop anything from happening between the two, but Cobb and Page just beat up all of them. One of the smaller crew members remained, looking like a deer in headlights in front of Cobb and Page as he was nearly out of the ring. Page gave Cobb the honors to take care of this poor guy and left the ring, so Cobb superkicked the crew guy and gave him a more impactful Tour of the Islands to end this segment.

4. The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas) beat Cheeseburger & Eli Isom (w/ Ryan Nova) after Isom was given a superplex by Milonas and a frog splash by Bruiser. The Bouncers entered the ring from presumably the concession area through the crowd. Cheeseburger and Isom had some nice hope spots, but they were to no avail. Afterward, the Bouncers gave some beers to their opponents for a toast, but Isom said he doesn’t drink and passed his beer to Nova. I guess the Bouncers are turning face? They’re separate enough from Silas Young now.

- SoCal Uncensored came out to the ring. Following crowd work from Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian (who called the 2300 Arena sacred ground in the wrestling business), Christopher Daniels got serious. He spoke of Joe Koff’s promise to him and Kazarian at the beginning of this year that they’d be gone from ROH following Final Battle 2018. Daniels said he and Kazarian had since realized that Koff was right and they were wrong, so they wanted to give Koff a reason to keep them on board, which brought them to their attempt to end the Briscoes’ “reign of terror.” He talked about how they failed to do so at Death Before Dishonor, with Mark busting Kazarian open and Jay trying to break Daniels’ neck. Daniels then said that “next week,” they’ll have a 3-way with the Briscoes and the Young Bucks. He said it’s two of the best tag teams in the world standing in between them and the ROH World Tag Team Titles, but Daniels promised that they would win the titles and remain in ROH in 2019. As SCU were heading backstage after this, the Briscoes emerged from the crowd and attacked them from behind with a chair. This fracas ended with Daniels taking a Jay Driller on the entrance stage.

5. Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, and Dalton Castle (w/ The Boys) beat The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia, and TK O’Ryan) after Castle hit Marseglia with the Bangarang. Announced as a main event, this was Castle’s big return as a mystery partner for Lethal and Gresham. Castle seemed to move well, though he was wearing a small back brace (partially hidden by his trunks) and a wrap around his left thigh. Taven had his “real world championship” from Death Before Dishonor with him, and stared down Lethal holding the actual championship before the match. I thought this was quite fun overall, with everyone looking good. Marseglia pulled ref Sinclair under the ring like he was Pennywise, so that Taven could hit Lethal with a chair. Towards the end, Gresham attempted to hit a shooting star press on Marseglia, but Marseglia got the knees up. O’Ryan was hit with a Lethal Injection. Taven at ringside tried to and Marseglia the chair, but Dalton caught Marseglia for the finish while he still had the chair in hand. Good ending. Afterward, there was a little bit of tension with Lethal and Castle both holding the ROH World Title, but it subsided and they shook hands.

- Intermission. Cody came out for a meet & greet with Burnard the Business Bear, who did not appear during the actual show. I spotted Facade by the backstage area, but he did not take part in the action.

6. Brandi Rhodes beat Ashley Vox with a spear. I see Vox as Oceanea on a Saturday, then I see her as herself on a Sunday. The crowd was way behind Brandi, and Vox worked a little heelish during this, fish hooking her mouth at times. Okay action.

- Next Bobby Cruise announced a Pick Your Poison Match, scheduled for one fall to a finish. Bully Ray interrupted him and explained the rules himself. He and Flip Gordon were picking wrestlers to represent them. If Bully’s guy won, he’d get to do whatever he wanted to Flip afterward. Likewise, if Gordon’s guy won, he’d get to do anything he wanted to Bully. Bully then introduced his representative, Silas Young. Flip Gordon made his entrance, and I noticed that both he and Bully were holding large envelopes containing their desired punishments for each other. As Gordon walked down to the ring, Colt Cabana popped up from the commentary position presumably and joined him inside the ring. Bully was incredulous that Gordon would pick Cabana to represent him. Cabana took the mic and said he was only out here for two reasons, to support Gordon, and to see the look on Bully’s face when he sees who Gordon actually selected. Gordon’s pick wasn’t Cabana, but The Sandman, who I believe was making his ROH debut. He did a full Sandman entrance from the crowd, as the actual Metallica song played, pouring beer into fans’ mouths and even spitting some beer into Bully’s face.

7. Silas Young (w/ Bully Ray) beat The Sandman (w/ Flip Gordon & Colt Cabana) in a Hardcore Match with Misery. “One fall to a finish” being announced at the beginning of this seemed key, as Sandman (wearing one of Gordon’s shirts) hit Young with his cane right off the bat for an early nearfall. Following more cane shots, Sandman introduced a ladder that he suplexed onto Young at ringside. Yeah, there were “You Still Got It” chants. The ladder was then set up in the corner, and Young threw Sandman into it. Young then brought out a table and set it up in another corner, but Sandman got to him first, placed a ladder on top of his prone body, and came crashing down onto Young and the ladder with a swanton off the top. The finish followed shortly afterward, and the table wasn’t even touched. A wild crowd-pleasing match before the finish brought them down, and Gordon looked dejected at ringside.

- Bobby Cruise was about to reveal what Bully Ray’s punishment for Gordon was, but Bully took the envelope and tore it up, saying it was too easy for Gordon. Bully came up with a new punishment for Gordon: ten strikes with a Singapore cane, and he insisted on using Sandman’s cane. Sandman attempted to take the strikes for Gordon, but Gordon wouldn’t let him do it, and Bully talked down to Sandman, as well as to Cabana. Gordon removed his shirt per Bully’s orders, and the strikes to Gordon’s back began. This was very reminiscent of Sandman and Tommy Dreamer in the early 90s, and the strikes were leaving marks on Gordon’s back. Silas remained at ringside for this, as did Cabana and Sandman. Gresham and Cheeseburger joined them at ringside three strikes in to lend support to Gordon. Bully said he would stop if Gordon said, “I Quit,” and Gordon refused. SCU then came out to ringside, followed by Cody, Brandi, and the Young Bucks. Cody even got in ring before thinking otherwise. Nine strikes in, Bully again asked Gordon if he quit, I’m guessing nine strikes in, and Gordon let out an emphatic “FUCK YOU” on the mic to a big reaction. He then turned his back to Bully for I assume the final strike, but Bully gave him a low blow and bailed to the floor as the faces quickly entered the ring. Kazarian got a hold of the ladder and briefly squared off with Bully before Bully and Silas left. Everyone tended to Gordon, but he got up on his own power. Despite taking its inspiration from a more famous segment from ECW, I thought this was really well done.

8. Adam Page beat Rhett Titus with the Buckshot Lariat. Page is on another level of popularity now, on par with his Bullet Club Elite friends. This was announced as an HonorClub exclusive. Good athleticism from both guys, along with a little comedy of Page deciding to wrestle while still wearing his vest.

- Dalton Castle came out in a suit and with his own mic, accompanied by the Boys. He talked about his road to recovery, and he’s now looking to reclaim the ROH World Title. He yelled out to Jay Lethal that he’s back, and he that he wants the champ. Cue Matt Taven, who once again claimed to be the real World Champion, thinking Castle must have had a concussion in addition to his other injuries if he thinks Lethal is the real champion. Castle took a seat on a makeshift Boys chair and said, “Go home Matt, you’re drunk! Like, Myrtle Beach drunk.” Taven told Castle that when he had the title, he couldn’t handle the pressure and had to go home with injuries. This led to Vinny Marseglia coming out from under the ring (cued by his balloons) and TK O’Ryan coming out through the crowd to beat up Castle and the Boys. It ended with the Kingdom giving three simultaneous chair shots to Castle, and then they posed over him.

9. Marty Scurll beat Shane “Hurricane” Helms in a No DQ Match. This was Hero vs. Villain IV and announced as the first half of a double main event. Scurll made his entrance holding the Hurricane mask. Helms’ entrance was a swerve, with Delirious appearing in Hurricane attire on the entrance stage while Helms showed up behind him in the ring, hitting Scurll with a chokeslam for the earliest possible nearfall. Scurll recovered and introduced a bunch of umbrellas from under the ring, hitting Helms with them. Helms retrieved the Hurricane mask, put it back on, and fought back. Scurll (I believe) set up four chairs together, but he went up top and Helms grabbed him by the nether regions and slammed him onto the chairs. A table was set up at ringside on the opposite side of the Arena from me, and Scurll put Helms through it with a death valley driver variant. Scurll introduced thumbtacks into the match, but he was the first one to fall victim to them with a chokeslam onto them from Helms. This only led to a nearfall, and Scurll fought back, put some tacks in Helms’ mouth and superkicked them out, and finished off Helms with Graduation onto the tacks. Another wild crowd-pleaser, also exceeding my expectations. Scurll shook Helms’ hand and put him over to the crowd afterward.

10. SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) beat Jay & Mark Briscoe and The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) in a 3-way to WIN the ROH World Tag Team Titles. A fun, fast-paced match, announced as a TV main event, to close the night. Ref Paul Turner was wiped out by an errant kick in the corner by Nick, allowing the Briscoes to introduce chairs into the match. Turner was able to count some nearfalls after this but was still largely out of it, leading to some relaxed rules. It eventually came down to just the Briscoes and SCU in this. Kazarian nearly took a Doomsday Device, but Sky tossed one of the titles to Kazarian to hit Jay (holding Kazarian up on his shoulders) in the head, then Mark came off the top and took a Flux Capacitor from Kazarian off of Jay’s shoulders for a big nearfall. Towards the end, Mark had a hold of Kazarian so that Jay could hit him with a chair while standing on the apron, but Kazarian escaped, Mark took an unprotected chair shot to the head, Sky dispatched of Jay, and SCU hit Mark with a double team move involving a lungblower from Kazarian to get the pin and the big win. NEW CHAMPIONS as the crowd went wild and Daniels came out in a neck brace (selling the attack on the stage earlier in the night, but not wearing it during the Gordon caning segment) to congratulate his teammates.

- In a post-show segment, the Young Bucks hung around with SCU in the ring, and Kazarian asked them if they could take a shot closing the show. He said between all of them were five guys from southern California who loved wrestling, and he put over the Young Bucks as two guys who have changed wrestling for the better. Sky said he’s known the Young Bucks his entire career, and he thanked them for demanding that ROH give him a job year ago. He said the past year has been the best year of not only his career, but of his life. Matt took over, putting over the members of SCU, including calling Daniels their road father, and he had the crowd shout out “SCU!” one last time to end the night.

Pre-show at ROH with my dear, close, personal friend Larry Legend! You're not going to want to miss this show, folks!