By Jason Powell
Ring of Honor TV
Taped October 1 in Lowell, Massachusetts
Aired in syndication over the weekend, available Wednesdays on Comet TV
The opening video aired and then the broadcast team of Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino checked in and hyped the main event…
1. Colt Cabana and Dalton Castle (w/The Boys) vs. The Tempura Boys. Cabana sold for a minute early on, then the comedy began. There was a fun series of reversals amongst Cabana and Castle before one whipped the other into their opponent in the corner. Corino plugged Cabana and Castle challenging for the tag titles at the Baltimore live event. In the end, Castle hit the Bangarang on one of his opponents and scored the clean pin…
Colt Cabana and Dalton Castle beat The Tempura Boys.
Kelly hyped the main event… [C]
Powell’s POV: A nice show opener with the popular duo getting the win. It’s good to see the hype for the house show continue with the broadcast team hyping the tag title match for Baltimore. It may not enhance the television show, but the television show should be a vehicle to drive business, and that’s an effective way of doing it.
Kevin Kelly interviewed Jay and Mark Briscoe on the stage. Footage was shown of the Briscoes exchanging words with Cabana and Castle during the commercial break. Mark said they beat the Young Bucks as well as Cabana and Castle recently, and the winner of the Bucks vs. Cabana and Castle match will go on to Final Battle. Jay said that they will beat the team that wins at Final Battle and become nine-time tag team champions…
Backstage, Adam Cole and The Young Bucks delivered a promo in front of the ROH banner. There were also comments from Jay Lethal spliced in about the upcoming Cole vs. Lethal match for the ROH Title in London. They cut to a promo from Kyle O’Reilly, who said he needs to prove that he can beat Lethal when it counts, and be rewarded for ripping off the head of Cole. O’Reilly said he can put revenge on hold in favor of the ROH Title. He said that the days are numbered for the winner of the Cole vs. Lethal match…
2. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jonathan Gresham. Kelly plugged the ROH social media accounts and said they are trying to give the fans more access. Gresham had the advantage as O’Reilly sold his taped up shoulder heading into the break. [C] Gresham continued to work the shoulder, but O’Reilly came back with a kick and a knee strike. O’Reilly ripped the tape off his shoulder and eventually hit a brainbuster for the win…
Kyle O’Reilly defeated Jonathan Gresham.
After the match, Hangman Page hit the ring and attacked O’Reilly from behind. Page put the boots to O’Reilly and set up for his finisher, but Bobby Fish ran out for the save. Kelly recalled Adam Cole saying Page winning the ROH TV Title was the final piece of the puzzle for Bullet Club. Cole ran out to help Page, who jabbed a chair into the gut of Fish. Cole held Fish from behind. Fish spat in the face of Page, who hit him with a chair repeatedly. Kelly speculated the at Fish suffered broken ribs. Security ran out to intervene and they went to break… [C]
Powell’s POV: The babyface vs. babyface match was fine, but this was more about the post match angle. I really like the way Adam Page has been elevated as Hangman Page, and the story of him going after the ROH TV Title to complete the Bullet Club domination of the ROH titles.
The broadcast team recapped the previous segment and then set up a video that recapped Damien Martinez roughing up Cheeseburger and Will Ferrara…
Cheeseburger and Will Ferrara stood in the ring and addressed Martinez, BJ Whitmer, and Kevin Sullivan. Ferrara took the mic from Cheeseburger and said the trio doesn’t have the balls to come out and fight them. The lights went out and the heel trio made their entrance. Sullivan joined the broadcast team. Corino called Sullivan “father” and said he told Cheeseburger and Ferrara to call them out.
3. Damien Martinez and BJ Whitmer vs. Cheeseburger and Will Ferrara. Corino continued to talk about how “the kids don’t deserve this, father.” Corino also said he summoned the haze. Sullivan asked if he has that power now. In the end, Martinez threw Cheeseburger into Ferrara, then punched out Cheeseburger off the middle rope. Whitmer pinned Cheeseburger. Martinez continued to rough up his opponents afterward until Corino hit the ring and then they cut to break…
Damien Martinez and BJ Whitmer vs. Cheeseburger and Will Ferrara.
Mark Briscoe and Dalton Castle were featured in a Halloween themed ad for the ROH pro shop… [C]
Footage aired from during the commercial of Corino throwing down the spike that Whitmer handed him to use on Cheeseburger and Ferrara. Sullivan was excited about Corino with the spike and then stormed off when he didn’t use it….
Powell’s POV: Martinez had upside. The fun ends there for most viewers. I’m sure Corino is enjoying the hell out of working with Sullivan, but this just isn’t clicking. I can’t even imagine what younger viewers who are not familiar with Sullivan are thinking about this. The whole thing just feels out of place. As much as I enjoy Corino as a color commentator, I just don’t understand why they continue to give his never ending program with Whitmer and his crew so much attention.
Highlights aired from Ladder War 6 from the All Star Extravaganza pay-per-view… The Motor City Machine Guns made their entrance and delivered an in-ring promo. Chris Sabin said Nigel McGuinness told them he knew they were hurting from Ladder War and gave them the option of sitting out. Sabin said they said hell now because they love the company and the fans too much to ever take a night off. Alex Shelley spoke about how all six men in Ladder War put their bodies on the line for the fans. He said they don’t have off days, bye weeks, or excuses. Their opponents made their entrance heading into the break… [C]
Powell’s POV: So I guess this means the Guns are losing? Rather than talk about how they did it all for the fans, why not talk about how badly they wanted to win the ROH Tag Titles? It would have made the belts feel more important. When I watch a sporting event, I never think the players are trying to win for me as a fan as much as I believe they are simply driven by the possibility of winning a champion. It’s enough for me that if they win, then I win as a fan. A tip of the cap to the fans is cool, but I don’t need more than that.
4. Tetsuya Naito and Evil vs. The Motor City Machine Guns. Shelley had his ribs taped. Naito and Evil worked over Shelley heading into the final break. [C] Sabin tagged in and had a run of offense. Shelley checked in again and eventually took a reverse DDT-type of move before being pinned by Naito…
Tetsuya Naito and Evil beat The Motor City Machine Guns.
Kelly hyped The Addiction vs. The Briscoes, and The Cabinet vs. ACH, Jay White, and Kushida in a six-man tag title tournament match..
Powell’s POV: Kelly went out of his way to stress that the Guns were injured and that Naito and Evil benefitted from that. The main event wasn’t as good as it looked on paper, and perhaps that actually is because the Guns worked Ladder Wars the night before this match was taped. Overall, this was a decent, yet forgettable edition of ROH television.
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