Ring of Honor Wrestling on HDnet
Taped in Philadelphia, PA

The intro video airs and we go straight to our opening match.

Jay and Mark Briscoe defeated Kenny King and Rhett Titus in 12:30. King and Titus came out with two random girls. Nice. No handshake as the Briscoes jumped King and Titus. The Briscoes controlled the offense early, getting a nearfall with an STO from Mark and top rope senton from Jay. King made a hot tag to Titus while Mark was trying a sunset flip and Titus got a nearfall with a double-team lungblower.

A chant of "Man Up" broke out. Titus and King continued on the offense while somebody in the audience laughed like a douchebag and drew a "Shut the f--- up" chant. Mark tried to tag out, but Titus pulled Jay off the apron and King hit an Elijah Express.

Mark finally tagged out to Jay, who hit about four clotheslines and then a dropkick, and followed that up with a sick spinebuster. King tagged out to Titus, who hit a top rope X-Factor for a nearfall, then tagged in King and set up Jay for the powerbomb/blockbuster combo, but Jay reversed it into a huracanrana.

The Briscoes tried some double team work on King, but he ducked everything up until twin superkicks, followed by a Doomsday Device for the pin. Post match, the American Wolves came out and Davey Richards told them that they should cherish these moments, because they'll just cripple them again. Eddie Edwards took the mic and started to say that the hunt was on, but Kevin Steen and El Generico came out and the two babyface teams beat up the Wolves, then had a three-way standoff.

Joe's Judgment: Not a great match. It was nice seeing the Briscoes back, but Hogewood and Prazak, as well as the crowd, seemed disinterested and it really took me out of the match. King was pretty good though, and I am looking forward to seeing the ROH tag division heat up.

Kyle Durden interviewed Nigel McGuinness about tonight's main event. He said that neither Black or Lynn were clutch wrestlers and that both of them had unfulfilled potential. In other words, he didn't really say anything other than what he always says.

Footage was shown of Eddie Kingston and Chris Hero's brawl from the July 25th episode. They led into Kingston demanding a match. Kingston made his entrance, and Hero's music played and Shane Hagadorn came out. He said that Kingston didn't deserve a match with Hero yet, so he brought out Sal Rinauro instead to get revenge for being punched out twice during that brawl.

2. Eddie Kingston defeated Sal Rinauro in 0:20. Rinauro kneeled down and prayed before the match started, then stood up, got punched in the face, and ate a Backfist to the Future for the pin.

Joe's Judgment: I love watching Kingston beat people up. Nice storyline progression, and I love Rinauro taking Hero's place playing off of him getting punched out twice in five minutes. Kingston vs. Hero is signed for Glory By Honor VIII, and I can't wait.

3. Nigel McGuinness defeated Aaron Scott in 6:20. Scott didn't get an entrance, but he did get some nearfalls. Nigel worked exclusively on the mat for most of the match, which was as close to a squash as a mat wrestling match can be. In the finish, Scott ducked a Jawbreaker Lariat, but Nigel connected with a DDT for the pin.

After the match, he applied the London Dungeon and Scott tapped out, even though the match was over.

Joe's Judgment: I'm glad Nigel signed with the WWE so he can heal his arms. It's kind of sad to see him unable to do much beyond the mat wrestling and the occasional DDT or Tower of London.

Highlights aired from Danielson-Black III a few weeks ago...

4. Jerry Lynn defeated Tyler Black in 16:45. Holds and counter holds from both wrestlers for the first five or so minutes. Lynn worked on Black's arm with various armbars. Black fought out and hit a dropkick for a nearfall. Black got another nearfall after a back body drop.

At 8:00, Lynn tried an O'Connor Roll, but Black held the ropes. They both tried crossbodies and ran into each other. Nigel McGuinness came down the ramp as Lynn got a nearfall with a sunset flip. Black tried a quebrada, but Lynn moved, so Black hit a standing shooting star press. Black kicked Lynn in the head and tried a Paroxysm, but Lynn floated over into an inverted DDT for a nearfall.

They exchanged nearfalls, and then Black hit a Pele kick and tried the running forearm in the corner. Lynn backdropped him to ringside and then hit a springboard moonsault as Nigel applauded. Lynn brought the action back inside and legdropped the back of Black's neck.

Black went for the buckle bomb, but Lynn countered into a huracanrana sending Black into the turnbuckles. He hit a top rope sunset flip and then a TKO for a nearfall, then went for the cradle piledriver, but Black countered into a TKO of his own for another nearfall. He got Lynn up and hit a Paroxysm for yet another nearfall, then hit the buckle bomb and superkick and covered, but Nigel put Lynn's foot on the ropes. Black pointed to Nigel who denied doing anything. Black went for God's Last Gift, but Lynn countered into a small package for the pin.

Joe's Judgment: Not the best of main events. The match was slow paced and there were too many nearfalls that couldn't be taken seriously. Overall, it just felt disjointed and wasn't a great way to close the show. Nigel's interaction was fairly well done, but I'm not sure what his motivation was, because it was a face vs. face match and he had never given any indication that he would rather see Lynn win than Black.

Overall, not the best of shows this week. I liked the Kingston squash, but everything else was pretty boring, and the crowd and commentators seemed to agree.

What did you think of the show? Feel free to contact me at jtmathieson88@gmail.com.

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