By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor TV
Taped March 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada at Sam’s Town Live
Aired in syndication on March 24 and Mondays on the FITE TV app
After the opening montage, the broadcast team of Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana checked in and hyped the three matches…
The Kingdom headed to the ring for a promo. Matt Taven said there’s a conspiracy in the company and the 16th Anniversary pay-per-view proved it. He pointed to Cody bringing his wife and a bear to ringside with him. Taven said he, TK O’Ryan, and Vinny Marseglia will expose the conspiracy and get the six-man tag titles back.
ROH enforcer Bully Ray made his entrance. Bully stood at ringside and asked if Taven ever gets tired of complaining about a conspiracy when there is not one. “Maybe you guys just suck,” Ray said. The fans chanted “you suck” at The Kingdom member. Ray climbed onto the apron and spoke about how the trio complain and stick their noses where they don’t belong.
Ray said it won’t get them anywhere and they are not needed at the Supercard of Honor event. Taven said they wanted a shot at the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles. “No,” Bully replied. O’Ryan asked who put Bully in charge and gave him permission to make matches. He also questioned what’s stopping them from showing up at Supercard of Honor.
Bully told them to do what they have to do and said if they were that tough they’d come get some. The Kingdom trio huddled. Ray said they have three bodies and one brain. He said they are not needed in ROH and would fire them right now if he could. Ray started to make his exit heading into a break… [C]
Powell’s POV: It was too easy to buy into Ray’s side of the debate. The Kingdom trio just aren’t clicking and I really wish ROH would look at their presentation. Their ring entrance music sets a lousy tone and Taven sadly comes across like a guy who talks a lot without backing up his words. Meanwhile, I guess we learned that Ray can make matches and we knew he could overturn match results, but apparently he can’t fire anyone.
A video package recapped the recent developments in the WOH Title tournament… Ring entrances for the match took place and brief promos from both women were shown…
1. Mandy Leon vs. Kelly Klein in a Women of Honor Title tournament second-round match. The women blew off referee Paul Turner’s request for the Code of Honor handshake. Klein slapped Leon and then they traded repeated slaps to start. Klein grabbed Leon by the head and delivered a couple of knees to the head before performing a snapmare followed by a knee to the back. Riccaboni noted that Klein had not been pinned or submitted in ROH as she controlled the early offense. Leon came back by pushing Klein off the apron and down to the floor. Leon followed up with a senton off the apron heading into a break. [C]
Leon performed a Kryptonite Crunch onto her knee and got a two count. Leon went to the ropes, but Klein cut her off and eventually performed a nice fallaway slam. Both women got to their knees and traded forearms. Leon came back with a pumphandle slam for a near fall. Leon applied her Havana Dreams submission. Klein tapped and Leon released the hold to celebrate, but the referee didn’t see the submission. Klein ended up winning with her End Of The Match submission hold and the referee called for the bell…
Kelly Klein defeated Mandy Leon to advance to the Women of Honor Title Tournament semifinals.
Powell’s POV: The match was a little clunky during the first couple of minutes, but they settled in and had some nice moments. Klein going deep into the tournament is logical given the push she’s been given as the dominant woman in the division. They sure worked hard to protect Leon here. Klein will be one of the four women to work in the semifinals at Supercard of Honor, which will also include the finals of the tournament to crown the first WOH Champion. Riccaboni noted during the match that Mayu Iwatani vs. Deonna Purrazzo will air on next week’s show, which looks good on paper. The winner faces Klein in the semifinals.
Jay Lethal delivered a backstage promo and said the ROH Tag Titles are the only titles he hasn’t held in the company. He said he needs a great partner and “a frickin’ rock star.” A graphic showed Hiroshi Tanahashi will team with Lethal to challenge The Briscoes for the ROH Tag Titles at Supercard of Honor. “Tanahashi, don’t let me down,” Lethal concluded… [C]
Footage aired of SoCal Uncensored beat The Hung Bucks to win the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles at the 16th Anniversary event. A graphic noted that the replay is available via HonorClub. A SoCal Uncensored promo aired. Frankie Kazarian spoke about how there’s nothing they won’t do to keep the titles…
Ring entrances for the tag team match took place. Marty Scurll wore a suit to the ring while Adam Page wore his regular gear. Dalton Castle came out dressed in street clothes with The Boys and joined the broadcast team…
2. Marty Scurll and Adam “Hangman” Page vs. The Boys. The bell rang to star the match and then Scurll removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. Scurll, who still had his eyepatch on, taunted one of The Boys and then tagged out. Page toyed with one of the Boys before delivering a forearm to his face heading into a break. [C]
Scurll tagged into the match and was still wearing his eyepatch and street clothes. He teased getting physical only to tag in Page again. One of the Boys caught Page with an inside cradle for a two count. The Boys also performed a missile dropkick on Page. Scurll walked toward the broadcast table and Castle stood up and removed his headsets. In the ring, Page performed his slingshot lariat and scored the pin…
Marty Scurll and Adam “Hangman” Page defeated The Boys.
After the match, Scurll picked up the ROH Title while Castle was tending to The Boys. Castle walked over and Scurll put the title belt down. Riccaboni noted that they had to cut backstage. Cameras showed Silas Young and Kenny King brawling for a matter of seconds before they cut away again…
The Briscoes delivered a brief promo in front of a brick backdrop about facing Lethal and Tanahashi and being the best tag team in the world…
Powell’s POV: Page toying with The Boys and their hope spots were entertaining, but the segment was a letdown in terms delivering meaningful hype to the Castle vs. Scurll title match for Supercard of Honor. Meanwhile, the Briscoes promo was too brief to count as good hype.
After the break, King and Young fought their way into the arena. Security tried to pull them apart, but the wrestlers roughed them up and continued fighting. Eventually, security and Bully Ray were able to pull them apart. Young entered the ring and demanded another ROH TV Title shot. King stood on the floor and challenged him to a Last Man Standing match. Riccaboni pointed out that Last Man Standing matches are Young’s specialty. Cabana said Bully made the match for Supercard of Honor…
A brief HonorClub streaming service teaser aired without really explaining what it is. Weird… Ring entrances took place for the main event. Sky received a flat reaction, while Gordon received a decent reaction…
3. Flip Gordon vs. Scorpio Sky. Gordon performed a flip dive heading into the final break of the show. [C] Gordon had the offensive advantage when Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian came out. Daniels barked at the ref while Kazarian entered the ring and hit Gordon, who cleared him from the ring quickly. Gordon performed a wheelbarrow roll through and scored the pin…
Flip Gordon defeated Scorpio Sky.
The SoCal Uncensored trio put the boots to Gordon after the match. The Young Bucks ran out and chased SoCal Uncensored from the ring. The fans chanted “All In”. Matt Jackson of the Bucks offered Gordon a handshake. Gordon was about to leave the ring, but he reconsidered and ended up shaking Matt’s hand. He tried to pull it away, but Jackson held on again. This time Matt ended up hugging Gordon.
Bully Ray came out and said, “It’s about damn time.” Bully pointed at SoCal Uncensored on the stage and the Bucks and Gordon in the ring and said it was interesting. He said the Bucks had been ribbing him since day one and he handled it the old school way by taking it like a champ and not complaining. He said Gordon earned his spot in ROH. Bully booked SoCal Uncensored vs. The Young Bucks and Gordon in a ladder match for the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles for the Supercard of Honor Event…
Riccaboni hyped Castle and Lethal vs. The Briscoes and the WOH Title tournament match for next week…
Powell’s POV: Sky just doesn’t belong in an ROH television main event as a singles wrestler. It has nothing to do with his ability because he’s very good, it’s that ROH hasn’t bothered to establish an actual character for him. He was friendly with Gordon and then joined Daniels and Kazarian to form SoCal Uncensored, but we’ve never heard more than a few words from him and thus it’s hard to really invest in him. It’s a shame because he’s a talented guy who is just buried as the third man. Fortunately, the post match angle was well done and set up a fun match for the pay-per-view. However, I’m not sure as of this update whether Kazarian will be good to go given the knee injury he suffered at the NJPW Strong Style Evolved event on Sunday, but I’ll be sure to pass along any updates on his health. Overall, a middle of the road show with uneven hype for the pay-per-view. Hopefully next week’s go-home show will be better.
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