By Jason Powell
Ring of Honor TV
Taped August 27 in Brooklyn, New York at MCU Park
Aired in syndication over the weekend, available Wednesdays on Comet TV
The show opened with Keith Hardy singing the national anthem. No one protested… The opening montage aired… Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino were on commentary. Kelly said they will be airing shows from the Field of Honor event this week and next week…
1. Bobby Fish vs. Evil for the ROH TV Title. Bobby Cruise handled the in-ring introductions for the title match. The wrestlers fought to ringside early. Evil ran Fish into the ring post and then struck him with a chair. For some reason, the referee let it slide, and the broadcast team even questioned why. Evil wrapped Fish’s head inside a chair and ran him into the post. Still no DQ. [C]
The action was back in the ring and settled into a wrestling match rather than a brawl. Fish performed the falcon arrow for two, then immediately applied the kneebar and got the submission win… [C]
Bobby Fish defeated Evil to retain the ROH TV Title.
Powell’s POV: A good match despite the strange moment with the referee allowing Evil to use the chair right in front of him.
2. Michael Elgin vs. Donovan Dijak (w/Prince Nana) for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Elgin had his head bandaged again. Corino immediately explained that he’s not a hibachi chef, he suffered a big cut over a month ago. Elgin performed a standing suplex. Corino said he had Dijak up for 40 seconds before putting him down. [C]
Dijak threw some big forearms and a big boot, then chokeslammed Elgin onto his knee. Dijak followed up with a moonsault for a two count. Elgin came back and went to the ropes. Nana stopped him long enough for Dijak to recover and throw Elgin to the mat. Dijak went to the ropes, but Elgin followed him and suplexed him off the ropes. Elgin followed up with a buckle bomb and then an Elgin Bomb for thew in…
Michael Elgin defeated Donovan Dijak to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
A graphic touted the six-man tag main event… [C]
Powell’s POV: I can’t get through a Dijak match without pointing out that the Dijak and Nana pairing does more harm than good for Dijak. With that out of the way, this was a good match. Dijak continues to show really good athleticism for a guy his size.
Ring entrances for the main event took place. They cut ahead in the show, as it went from being light out to suddenly being nighttime. ACH ran the bases at the minor league ballpark before sliding into the ring, which was covering home plate.
3. The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and Yojiro Takahashi vs. The Motor City Machine Guns, Lio Rush, and ACH. Rush worked over the Bucks heading into an early break. [C] The Bucks performed a double superkick on ACH. Matt Jackson led the crowd in clapping while Nick Jackson struck the Terminator pose before diving onto three opponents at ringside. [C]
Rush performed a suicide dive on one Jackson, then raced back into the ring and ran to the other side to perform a suicide dive onto the other Jackson brother. Later, the Bucks caught him with a double superkick as he was going for a springboard move. In the end, Page held Chris Sabin while the Bucks performed a double superkick, then he performed the Rite of Passage for the win…
The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and Yojiro Takahashi beat The Motor City Machine Guns, Lio Rush, and ACH.
Powell’s POV: The show was much better visually with the sun down. I loved the atmosphere and the look of last year’s shows from the ballpark, but there seemed to be more empty seats for the first couple of matches. It was back to being a cool atmosphere for the main event and hopefully next week’s show features matches taped after sundown.
The main event was fun and really all the matches on the show were entertaining. There’s nothing newsworthy coming out of these shows, which are essentially filler between the last tapings and the taping that was held the night after the All Star Extravaganza event. That said, there was good in-ring action and this was fine for what it was, especially considering this aired the same weekend as the pay-per-view. Here’s hoping they include some interviews post pay-per-view interviews to make next week’s show feel fresh. Check back on Thursday for Darren Gutteridge’s ROH Hit List, and members will hear Darren and Haydn Gleed’s ROH audio review.
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