By Jason Powell
Ring of Honor TV
Taped May 11 in Toronto, Ontario at Ted Reeve Arena
Aired in syndication over the weekend, available Wednesdays on Comet TV
After the opening video, Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness checked in on commentary from ringside and immediately hyped the Best in the World pay-per-view and then hyped the TV main event… Ring entrances for the opening match took place and Kelly continued to push pay-per-view matches…
1. Gedo vs. Dalton Castle (w/The Boys). Gedo hilariously watched Castle’s entrance routine with a bemused look on his face that should have been more of a focus by the production team. Castle offered Gedo his hand, and Gedo accepted. Castle went for an early gut wrench suplex, but Gedo blocked it. Castle flamboyantly slowly leaned backward as Gedo slowly tilted his neck sideways along with him. Castle ended up on his back. Gedo made his move, but Castle tripped him up. Funny. Gedo ended up at ringside. The Boys fanned him. He expressed gratitude initially, then poked them in the eyes and roughed them up until Castle chased him back inside the ring. [C]
Castle hit a couple running knees in the corner and then performed a nice suplex. Dalton went for his finisher, but Gedo avoided it and then caught a kneeling Castle with a superkick for a two count. Gedo went to the corner where the Boys got their revenge with a poke to his eye. Castle took advantage of it and hit Bang-A-Rang for the win…
Dalton Castle beat Gedo.
A narrated video package aired on the Steve Corino and BJ Whitmer feud… [C]
Powell’s POV: This was a perfect TV show opening match. The dynamic between Castle and the straight faced Gedo was a blast. Yes, they did just recap the ridiculously long Corino vs. Whitmer feud in about a minute.
Adam Cole delivered a promo and stated that he won’t be getting involved in the Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe pay-per-view main event. He said he would pick up the scraps and then promised that he would become the next ROH Champion… [C]
Footage aired of Jay Lethal defeating Jay Briscoe to win the ROH Championship just over a year ago. Up next was footage of Briscoe getting a visual pinfall on Lethal in Texas. They cut to Lethal bragging that he beat everyone, and Briscoe telling him afterward that he never had his rematch. “Goodbye,” Lethal said before leaving the ring… Kelly hyped the TV main event…
Powell’s POV: The video packages have been very good so far in terms of recapping the feuds and setting up the pay-per-view. Let’s hope this becomes the norm and not just on the go-home shows.
2. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Will Ferrara. Kelly noted that Ishii declined the Code of Honor handshake. Late in the match, Ferrara slapped Ishii and then caught him with an inside cradle for a two count. Ishii came right back. The broadcast team said he was done messing around. Ishii hit a brainbuster for the win…
Tomohiro Ishii beat Will Ferrara.
Powell’s POV: Ferrara had a good showing in that he acted like he was game to fight Ishii, and the broadcast team did a nice job of putting that over afterward with Nigel saying that he showed him something. It would have been nice to hear something from Ferrara going into the match, but this was fine for what it was.
A Jay and Mark Briscoe promo aired. They hyped their eight-man tag main event. Jay brought up the Guerrillas of Destiny. He said he and Mark are some badass monkeys who will eat their faces off… [C]
Steve Corino headed to the ring wearing a suit for a promo. Nigel spoke about how BJ Whitmer wouldn’t let things go with Corino, so he had to book their match to settle it once and for all. “I am Steve Corino and I am an evil man,” Corino said. He spoke about how he manipulated a man to turn on his best friend to realize his potential, but at the end of the day it was all about him. Corino said he never apologized. He said he once accused Dusty Rhodes of cutting Magnum TA’s brakeline. He said he never apologized.
Corino said he didn’t want to be that anymore. He said he fell in love and he was the beast to her beauty. He said ultimately he is who he is. Corino said Whitmer is a piece of trash. He said he bringing family into things is off limits in pro wrestling, and Whitmer will need to pay for that. Corino said he promised his wife and son that he would never go back to what he was, but he was wrong.
Corino spoke about how he wears suits and glasses just to fit in. He said he is taking Whitmer to a special place in hell. “I’m going to do things that I will never apologize for,” Corino said. He took off his glasses and told Corino to look into his eyes, then said that Whitmer won’t be in ROH after Best in the World because he’s taking the trash out…
Powell’s POV: Corino has always been a terrific talker and this was no exception.
Backstage, Jay Lethal cut a promo about the main event while Taeler Hendrix stood by him… Roderick Strong delivered a promo about the Bullet Club attacking ROH, which attacks Mr. ROH. He said it doesn’t matter if he likes or dislikes his main event partners, the only thing that matters is they get their hands raised… [C] Ring entrances for the main event took place… [C]
3. Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and The Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Jay Lethal, Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe and Roderick Strong in an eight-man tag. Omega and Lethal ended up in the ring together early on, which drew a nice pop and then some “Omega” chants. Omega tagged out before locking up with Lethal in a nice heel move. Later, Lethal set for a suicide dive, but Omega reached in and pulled him to the floor and then whipped him into the barricade. Omega set up for a dive of his own, but Strong dropkicked him. [C]
It was superkick time with members of both teams throwing them at one another. Lethal went for a Lethal Combination on Omega, who countered into a one winged angel suplex. They went with rapid fire spots. Jay Briscoe was held in place while Jackson and Omega went for a superkick. Lethal ended up stepping in front of it and ate the double superkick. Jay Briscoe performed the Jay-Driller on Tanga Roa and got the win.
Jay Lethal, Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe and Roderick Strong beat Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and The Guerrillas of Destiny.
After the match, The Briscoes and Strong celebrated their win while Lethal was still recovering. However, Strong declined to shake hands with Mark Briscoe and ended up leaving the ring while Kelly questioned why he continues to disrespect him. Lethal and Jay Briscoe ended up bickering with one another as Kelly delivered final hype for their pay-per-view main event…
A montage aired with Dalton Castle and Bobby Fish going back and forth about their TV Title match at the pay-per-view. They took the same approach with Strong and Mark Briscoe, the Addiction and Motor City Machine Guns, and finally Jay Lethal and Jay Briscoe…
Powell’s POV: A good match with a bit of a surprising finish in that you’d think they would be building up Bullet Club in a big way and there were plenty of outs to give the ROH team given that Lethal and Jay, and Mark and Strong aren’t getting along. I guess they felt it was more important to give Jay Briscoe a win going into his title match. Overall, a quality go-home show with more focus than usual on the pay-per-view event. The closing montage was strong in that it gave the top matches strong final hype. Join me for live coverage of ROH Best in the World as the show airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. CT/9:00 ET.
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