By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor TV
Taped November 4 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Stage AE
Aired in syndication on December 1, Mondays on the FITE TV app
The show opened with footage of last week’s main event and the announcement of Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky vs. Young Bucks vs. the Briscoes in a Ladder War for the ROH Tag Titles at Final Battle… ROH’s opening montage aired and the broadcast team of Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, and guest Marty Scurll checked in during Kenny King vs. Christopher Dnaiels ring entrances, which were handled by Bobby Cruise…
King took the mic and called Daniels a timeless talent. He said no one in the building could tell him how old Daniels’ old ass is. He said it’s no secret that Daniels doesn’t have much time left in the company and he wanted to give him one of his last losses before he’s booted out the door…
1. Kenny King vs. Christopher Daniels. Marty Scurll wants to face Daniels at Final Battle (the match has already been announced). Daniels had the back of his neck heavily taped to sell the recent Briscoes attack. King and Daniels fought to ringside. King returned to the ring and then swept the leg of Daniels to knock him off the apron heading into the first commercial break. [C]
Scrull said the first pro wrestling compilation tape he ever watched was a “best of Christopher Daniels” tape. In the ring, King performed a spinebuster and held the ropes for leverage, but Daniels kicked out. Scurll called King’s behavior despicable.
King was on his back when he kicked Daniels, who hit the referee. REF BUMP!!! Well, almost. It resulted in referee Paul Turner selling with his back to the action, and King kicked Daniels below the belt. King followed up with a Royal Flush and got the pin. Scurll said that if Daniels wants to stay in the company then he’ll need to do a better job than he did in this match…
Kenny King defeated Christopher Daniels.
Riccaboni hyped Jeff Cobb vs. Josh Woods… [C]
Powell’s POV: Another cheap win to put heat on new heel King, plus another loss for down on his luck Daniels as he tries to keep his job in ROH. In other words, the result served multiple purposes, so well done.
Dalton Castle delivered a promo while the Boys stood behind him on the interview set. He said he didn’t work so hard to return to the ring to be distracted by Matt Taven. Castle said the belt that Taven wears is a fake, but the rage he’s ignited inside is very real…
2. ROH TV Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Josh Woods. Cabana noted that Woods was a free agent, but ROH officials signed him. Cobb and Woods shook hands prior to the match. Adam Page, who is challenging Cobb at Final Battle, sat on the stage and watched the match. Woods went for a cross armbreaker, but Cobb prevented him from full extending it and was able to break the hold. Cobb hit his Tour of the Islands finisher and scored the pin…
Jeff Cobb defeated Josh Woods in a non-title match.
After the match, Page headed to the ring with a mic and addressed Cobb. Page played to the crowd while saying Cobb was pretty impressive. He told Cobb to get out of his ring while he shows him how a real ass whopping is delivered. Page’s opponent Facade made his entrance… [C]
Powell’s POV: I was surprised to see Cobb shake hands prior to the match. He was so destructive and even disrespectful to the supposed entrants in the top prospect tournament that it felt like this went against what we’d seen from his character. I would have saved Cobb shaking hands for when someone pushed him to the limit in a match as a way to really put over an opponent, but I guess this is their way of positioning him as the babyface heading into the match with Page.
3. Adam Page vs. Facade (w/Danni). Cobb watched from the same spot on the stage where Page watched his match. Page vs. Facade was joined in progress. Page performed his shooting star press from the apron for a big pop. Facade came back with a nice sequence that resulted in him doing a handstand into a kick.
Page came back with a fallaway slam from the middle rope. Page and Facade exchanged strikes in the middle of the ring. Page no-sold and performed a discus lariat. Facade came back with a springboard kick that sent Page to ringside. Facade performed a cool springboard flip into a double axe handle for a pop. Facade rolled Page back inside the ring and went for another springboard move, but Page avoided it and performed his springboard lariat and the Rite of Passage for the win.
Adam Page defeated Facade.
After the match, Cobb entered the ring and went nose to nose with Page, but they quickly cut to commercial… [C]
Powell’s POV: More competitive than the ass kicking that Page claimed it would be, but it was an entertaining match. I remain surprised that ROH only uses Facade in Pittsburgh because he’s had several good showings. I was disappointed that they didn’t have something else in mind for the post match exchange between Cobb and Page, but this all served as solid hype for their Final Battle title match.
Footage aired of Scurll beating Daniels to win the Survival of the Fittest tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Scurll was shown talking backstage and telling Daniels he put up a great fight. Daniels said it wasn’t Scurll beating him, it was Bullet Club beating him (because they had the numbers advantage prior to the clip that was shown). Scurll said that he beat him when the match came down to a one-on-one situation. Daniels challenged him to put the title shot he earned on the line. Scurll backed down initially, but Daniels goaded him into putting up the title shot in a match at Final Battle…
Powell’s POV: I’m not big on wrestlers agreeing to put something they earned on the line against an opponent who offers nothing in return. In this case, the exchange between Scurll and Daniels was done well enough that it came off like Scurll simply got caught up in the moment and agreed to the stipulation. It’s not ideal because it makes Scurll look gullible, but their verbal exchange was well done.
Jay Lethal was featured in a video package discussing his feud with Cody. Lethal said he couldn’t take anything away from Cody. He said he likes Cody and he’s a great wrestler, but he’s learned what he’s all about and all the shortcuts he’s willing to take. Lethal said Cody will have to pull out every stop he has because Lethal isn’t leaving without the ROH Championship…
Riccaboni hyped Final Battle matches including Lethal vs. Cody, the Ladder War, Jonathan Gresham vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Cobb vs. Page, Bully Ray vs. Flip Gordon in an I Quit match, and Castle vs. Taven…
Matt Taven delivered a promo while TK O’Ryan stood by. Taven said Castle was this generation’s one hit wonder like Crazy Town, whereas he is building a legacy and Castle is chapter one… ROH’s pulse video aired… [C]
Powell’s POV: The pulse video actually debuted last week, but it was so brief that I couldn’t tell if it was just a cutesy production thing or if it was more than that. I assume this is leading up to PCO’s debut, but that’s just a guess.
4. Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky vs. Stuka Jr. and Guerrero Maya Jr. for the ROH Tag Titles. Sky wore Apollo Creed style gear. Nice. Sky had offensive control heading into the break. [C] In the end, Kazarian and Sky performed the Burning Heart finisher (uranage into a lung blower) on Stuka, which led to Sky scoring the pin.
Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky defeated Stuka Jr. and Guerrero Maya Jr. to retain the ROH Tag Titles.
After the match, Christopher Daniels entered the ring and took the mic. He praised Kazarian and Sky for winning the tag titles. He said the first thing they did was negotiate new contracts for Kazarian and Sky. Daniels said he is still behind the eight ball with only his Final Battle match against Marty Scurll left on his deal.
Scurll was shown at the broadcast table. Daniels said he’s in a position to get a new lease on life if he can win. Scurll left the broadcast position and entered the ring. Scurll said Daniels helped build the company, but he asked if he wants to be known as a legend who main evented the first ROH event and a grand slam champion or a man who is known for a stupid three letter catchphrase.
Scurll said it would be his pleasure to give him the match of his career and added that it will be Daniels’ final battle. Scurll offered his hand, Daniels accepted, and then they went face to face and jawed at one another until Sky and Kazarian pulled Daniels back…
Riccaboni hyped Lethal, Cody, and Castle vs. The Kingdom for next week’s final show before Final Battle…
Powell’s POV: It would have been hard enough to buy into the possibility of the challengers upsetting the champions under normal circumstances, but there was no way to think it was happening when the ladder war has already been announced for Final Battle. So it came off like a tuneup match for Sky and Kazarian more than anything, which is fine.
Meanwhile, this show had plenty of hype for Daniels vs. Kazarian. I’m surprised they didn’t just make it Scurll putting his title shot on the line against the ROH career of Daniels. It’s implied to some extent, but it’s not official. In fact, the Survivor of the Fittest title shot wasn’t even mentioned during the closing in-ring exchange. So it was a bit disjointed, but I like the overall hype for the match. In fact, the company has done a better job than usual of building up to most of their pay-per-view matches with next week’s go-home show still to come. Haydn Gleed will be by later today with his audio review of this episode.
Check below for the new Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and Jonny Fairplay discussing WWE Raw’s struggles, All Elite Wrestling, Johnny Impact on Survivor, and Drake Maverick’s gimmick infringement.
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