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 April 14 and Mondays on the FITE TV app
The opening video aired… The broadcast team of Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana as introductions for the opening match took place. The duo hyped the ten-team gauntlet match as the show’s main event…
1. Frankie Kazarian vs. Hiroumu Takahashi. Ring announcer Bobby Cruise delivered introductions and a loud “Takahashi” chant broke out. It sounded like one guy was chanting for Kazarian in response. Ouch. The wrestlers did not shake hands prior to the match. Kazarian caught Takahashi with a boot and then suplexed him into the guardrail heading into a break. [C] Takahashi battled back and performed a missile dropkick off the apron and onto Kazarian on the floor. In the end, Takahashi hit his Time Bomb finisher and scored the clean pin…
Hiromu Takahashi defeated Frankie Kazarian.
Riccaboni transitioned to footage from backstage of Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas beating up Leon St. Giovanni… [C]
Powell’s POV: I must admit that there was a sense of disappointment when I turned on the show and discovered that it was from the Vegas tapings rather than the new tapings. That’s on me for getting ahead of myself and the appearance of the ultra talented Takahashi helped me get over it quickly. Kazarian was given a good chunk of the offense in the match before Takahashi came back to win the good television match.
2. Tag Team Gauntlet match for a future shot at the ROH Tag Titles. The first teams were Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas and “Coast 2 Coast” Shaheem Ali and Leon St. Giovanni. Ali came out by himself and said he would fly solo after what Bruiser and Milonas did to his partner in the backstage segment. Caprice Coleman sat in on commentary for the match. Riccaboni said he was being told that St. Giovanni was not medically cleared. [C] After the break, Milonas performed a superplex, then Bruiser performed a top rope splash on Ali. Bruiser pinned Ali to eliminate Coast 2 Coast.
Powell’s POV: This was a good way to eliminate Coast 2 Coast without derailing their momentum. It also establishes a program with Bruiser and Milonas.
“The Dawgs” Rhett Titus and Will Ferrara were the next entrants in the match. They carried drinks to the ring and Titus said they weren’t allowed to wrestle at the anniversary show because they were too wasted. He said their opponents drink as much as they do. Titus said they could have a drink together instead of wrestle. Bruiser and Milonas slammed the drinks and then attacked the Dawgs. The big men were in control heading into the next break. [C] Milonas superplexed Ferrara and pinned him to eliminate The Dawgs.
Powell’s POV: The Dawgs continue to be a fun undercard duo. I prefer the way they were slotted here as undercard babyfaces. The company seems to go back and forth on whether they are heels or babyfaces and I suspect it’s by design since they want to have some flexibility with them.
“The Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin were the next entrants. The Guns dominated the offense. The Guns hit their double team finisher on Bruiser. Shelley pinned Bruiser to eliminate Bruiser and Milonas.
Powell’s POV: A forgettable exist for Milonas and Bruiser. It was good to see them get a couple of wins to establish their big man act, but seeing them lose so decisively to the Guns erased that.
“The Young Bucks” Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson were the fifth entrants in the match. Riccaboni hyped Bucks vs. Guns for after the break. [C] The teams met face to face and then threw punches to start. Coleman said the Bucks and Guns would take each other to the limit and the next entrants would benefit. Riccaboni actually said that if the match ran long the remainder of it would air on HonorClub. Nick caught Sabin in a backslide and pinned him to eliminate the Guns. [C]
Powell’s POV: I love that Riccaboni said the remainder of the match would air on HonorClub if it didn’t finish before the show ended. It’s a nice touch to help viewers suspend disbelief and we don’t get enough of that these days. Meanwhile, I can still appreciate the in-ring ability of the Guns, but they desperately need some creative attention because they have no personality in ROH.
TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia of The Kingdom were the next entrants. Footage aired from during the break of the duo attacking the Bucks from behind. Matt sold his ongoing back injury. Nick fought back singlehandedly and put O’Ryan in a Sharpshooter. Marseglia threw punches to break it up, but Nick held the hold anyway. Marseglia went to ringside and grabbed his hatchet (yes, really), but the referee took it. With the ref turned, Marseglia grabbed a bat and jabbed Nick with it. O’Ryan covered him for a two count. Later, Nick had to help Matt get O’Ryan into position as he continued to sell back pain, but then they hit the Meltzer Driver for the win…
The Young Bucks won a tag team gauntlet match to earn a future ROH Tag Title shot.
Powell’s POV: A predictable outcome to a match that ate up a lot of television time. This continues to beat the throwaway matches that previously aired coming out of pay-per-view events and prior to the next set of tapings. I won’t spoil anything, but there was a Briscoes vs. Bucks match on the tapings this weekend, so assume the gauntlet match led to that match. Either way, we’re getting the Briscoes vs. The Bucks on television soon, which should be fun. However, the gauntlet match shows that the tag division is not in a great place once you get beyond the Bucks and Briscoes. There are some talented teams that need some attention from creative. The opening singles match was fun and this wasn’t a bad hour of television, but it’s certainly missable if time is an issue. Haydn Gleed will be by tomorrow or Wednesday with his audio review for members.
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