By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor TV
Taped April 14 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Stage AE
Aired in syndication on May 5 and Mondays on the FITE TV app
The ROH opening video aired… The broadcast team of Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman checked in from their desk and hyped two matches…
1. Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas vs. “Coast 2 Coast” Leon St. Giovanni and Shaheem Ali. The broadcast team recapped Bruiser and Milonas taking out Giovanni backstage prior to the tag team gauntlet match. A brief Coast 2 Coast promo aired with the duo making it clear they were out for revenge. Bruiser went for a cannonball off the apron, but nobody was home so he crashed and burned. In the ring, Milonas ended up slamming both opponents simultaneously heading into a break. [C]
St. Giovanni performed a nice 450 splash on Milonas for a two count. Bruiser came back with a cool DDT. Bruiser and Milonas teamed up for the Last Call finisher (superplex followed by a frogsplash) on St. Giovanni, but Ali broke up the pin. St. Giovanni and Ali teamed up for their Coast 2 Coast finisher on Milonas, which led to St. Giovanni pinning him…
Coast 2 Coast defeated Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas.
Powell’s POV: It’s nice to see an actual feud involving two of the teams who are not regulars in the ROH Title picture. I dig both of these teams and I hope we see Bruiser and Milonas do something to get their heat back to create the need for rematches. We’ve seen too many teams just spin their wheels when they’re not challenging for the tag titles and this feels like a good feud that can keep both teams creatively occupied for now. Meanwhile, Cabana is missed at these tapings, but it’s nice to hear from Coleman in his place. He’s a good talker and I continue to wish that the Coleman’s Pulpit segments were a weekly fixture on the show.
Jay Lethal delivered a backstage promo. He said he’s lost without ROH gold around his waist. He said he was told by ROH officials that if he wants title shots then he has to rack up more wins. Lethal said he will fight as many opponents as he has to in order to reclaim the top spot in the company… [C]
“The Young Bucks” Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson delivered a backstage promo about their title shot against The Briscoes next week. Matt noted that it’s a pay-per-view quality main event match that will be given away for free…
The Dawgs spoke as they made their entrance. Rhett Titus said he’s hungover so he was going to let “Little Willie” (Will Ferrara) fly solo against Jonathan Gresham, who then made his entrance…
2. Jonathan Gresham vs. Will Ferrara (w/Rhett Titus). Titus actually joined the broadcast team for the match. He said he was originally supposed to face Gresham, but he told Little Willie to take care of it. Ferrara performed a nice move where he wrenched the arm of Gresham and drove his shoulder into the mat heading into a break. [C]
Gresham targeted the left arm of Ferrara coming out of the break. He went for his Octopus finisher, but Ferrara drove him into the ropes to create a rope break. In the end, Ferrara stomped the arm and then performed a nice bridging pin for the clean win.
Jonathan Gresham defeated Will Ferrara.
After the match, Titus hit the ring and put the boots to Gresham. Ferrara recovered and joined Titus in working over Gresham until the Motor City Machine Guns ran out to chase them off…
Backstage, Cody and Marty Scurll delivered a promo about the Best in the World pay-per-view. Cody built up Scurll, who said he would beat Dalton Castle to win the ROH Title. Cody cut him off and turned him around to tell him Bullet Club is fine. Cody started to talk again when Scurll cut him off to once again say he would beat Castle. Cody didn’t look pleased and said, “Dammit, Marty” before walking away… [C]
Powell’s POV: I get the feeling that ROH creative likes Gresham’s in-ring ability and yet has no idea what to do with him. I can’t say I blame them. He’s a talented guy, but nothing really jumps out in terms of an obvious program for him. Meanwhile, the Dawgs continue to be a fun undercard tag team that gives the company some versatility as they can work babyface or heel.
“SoCal Uncensored” Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky delivered a backstage promo about how they would be paying close attention to the main event. Sky said there was nothing stopping them from going to the ring and taking the ROH Six-Man Tag Title belts back from The Kingdom…
Shane Taylor stood in the ring where an enhancement wrestler was standing in the corner. Tayler spoke about being paid to knock people out. Taylor said that ROH pays guys like Nova who doesn’t even have a regular roster spot. He said that money could easily go in his pocket. A pre-taped Nova promo aired. He yelled as he spoke about Taylor being “scorched by Ring of Honor’s one true supernova”…
3. Shane Taylor vs. Ryan Nova. Taylor destroyed Nova and referee Todd Sinclair called for the bell before within a minute. The broadcast team played it up as if Coleman was looking for his pen and missed the entire match…
Shane Taylor defeated Ryan Nova via ref stoppage.
Powell’s POV: A brief squash match win for Taylor, which is smart in that it establishes his badass for hire gimmick.
Riccaboni hyped the ROH War of the Worlds tour, which will be available via HonorClub… [C]
The Kingdom made their entrance. A pre-taped promo aired with Taven hyping his ROH Title shot in Lowell, Massachusetts on Wednesday. The Kingdom paid Shane Taylor, who stuck around at ringside. Dalton Castle and The Boys aired. They also had a brief promo air while they were making their entrance… [C]
4. Dalton Castle and The Boys vs. “The Kingdom” Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, and Vinny Marseglia. Castle had his right hand heavily taped and they said he broke his hand and fingers while facing Marty Scurll. Castle worked the opening minutes of the match before tagging in one of the Boys. Both Boys ended up working over Marseglia and got a two count.
Later, Castle and Taven ended up in the ring together. Castle went for his finisher, but Taven grabbed the ropes. Castle caught him with a knee to the head before they cut to another break. [C] Taven grabbed both Boys by the hair and said he would teach the a lesson. They responded with a double dropkick.
The Kingdom trio ended up putting the boots to one of the Boys and isolated him for a stretch. Castle sat at ringside and had his hand examined. Taylor was shown sitting at ringside next to the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles, meaning he was paid by the Kingdom to guard the stolen tag belts.
Christopher Daniels came out and tried to take the belts back, but Taylor didn’t allow it. Meanwhile, the Boys pulled Twin Magic. Castle tagged in and got the better of O’Ryan and Marseglia. Castle took turns throwing the Boys over the top rope and onto the opponents. They simply got up and returned to the ring only to be thrown back over onto the Kingdom members again. The crowd dug it.
A short time later, Taven hit Castle with one of his title belts. Castle went to block it with his bad hand and then sold the injury afterward and tagged out. Taven hit the Climax finisher on one of the Boys and scored the pin…
The Kingdom defeated Dalton Castle and The Boys.
After the match, Riccaboni hyped the Briscoes vs. The Young Bucks for the ROH Tag Titles on next week’s show. The Kingdom worked over Castle to soften him up heading into Taven’s title match. O’Ryan and Marseglia wrapped his arm in a chair and then Taven leapt off the second rope and stomped on it…
Powell’s POV: I’m surprised they worked so hard to promote what feels like a fairly throwaway match between Castle and Taven for the first night of the War of the Worlds tour. There’s nothing wrong with with it, but I’m just surprised that this is the match they chose to focus on heading into the tour. I like that they had Castle actually selling the Scurll finger break spot. We’ve seen Scurll “break fingers” and have it forgotten within the same match, so it’s cool that they are actually making it count for a change. Overall, a solid show if you have an hour to kill, but there was nothing must see about it. Haydn Gleed will by buy with his audio review for members tomorrow or Wednesday.
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