By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor TV
Taped February 9, 2019 in Lakeland, Florida at RP Funding Center
Aired in syndication on March 2, 2019, Mondays on the FITE TV app
The show opened with a video package on the ROH TV Title match that included first-run comments from Cobb… The ROH opening video aired… Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana checked in on commentary and hyped the three matches while ring entrances took place for the ROH TV Title match…
1. Jeff Cobb vs. Silas Young for the ROH TV Title. Ring announcer Bobby Cruise delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. Cobb took Young down, and Young rolled to ringside heading into an early match commercial break. [C] Young took Cobb to ringside and worked him over. Back in the ring, Cobb went for a dropkick, but Young held the ropes to avoid it. Young remained on the offensive going into another break. [C]
Young performed a standing double stomp on Cobb, then looked to the crowd before covering Cobb for a two count. Young jawed at Cobb and then they traded forearms with Cobb getting the better of the exchange. Cobb sold rib pain and Young performed a backbreaker into a clothesline for another two count. Cobb got another two count off an anarchist’s suplex. Young barked at Cobb, who drove him into the corner and threw his shoulders into him repeatedly. Cobb blocked a kick and performed a suplex and went for his finisher, but Young grabbed the ropes. Cobb performed four German suplexes on Young and then performed the Tour of the Islands for the win…
Jeff Cobb defeated Silas Young to retain the ROH TV Title.
Riccaboni narrated footage of PCO and Brody King winning Tag Wars, then brawling with the Briscoes afterward. The Briscoes vs. PCO and King was hyped for the ROH 17th Anniversary pay-per-view… Riccaboni hyped the remainder of the show and noted that Taven’s open challenge was open to anyone other than Jay Lethal… [C]
Powell’s POV: A lengthy match that spent a lot of time in second gear. It was hard to buy Young as a threat to win even though he’s a former ROH TV Champion. Cobb is early in his run and Young hasn’t had an actual program in a while. It is good to hear Riccaboni calling the action. He was unable to attend the taping in person because his wife was late in her pregnancy, so I wasn’t sure how they would handle his absence. Apparently, they opted to record the commentary in post production. If I didn’t know better I would not have suspected that they didn’t call the action in person.
Matt Taven cut a backstage promo. He said the company put a poser on a pedestal. Taven said there’s only one ROH Champion and he is it. Taven said he would issue an open challenge to anyone other than Lethal who wants to face him for his “real world championship” belt…
Footage aired of Shane Taylor roughing up Jeff Cobb a month ago. The broadcast team hyped Cobb vs. Taylor for the ROH TV Title for the 17th Anniversary show. Footage aired of Mayu Iwatani defeating Kelly Klein to win the Women of Honor Championship. The broadcast team hyped their rematch for the WOH Title for the pay-per-view…
2. Rush vs. Vinny Marseglia. Rush wore a mask and a Los Ingobernables baseball jersey to the ring. The jersey was so tight that referee Paul Turner struggled while trying to take it off Rush. Marseglia jumped out to a quick start and ran Rush into the ringside barrier going into a commercial break. [C]
Marseglia remained on the offensive coming out of the break. Rush eventually came back and worked over Marseglia at ringside. Rush grabbed a chair and referee Turner ordered him to put it down. Rush complied and kicked Marseglia instead. Once they returned to the ring, Rush teased a running dropkick and instead delivered a boot to the face. Rush struck his pose in the middle of the ring. A short time later, Rush performed a running dropkick in the corner and scored the pin…
Rush defeated Vinny Marseglia.
Powell’s POV: It was strange to see Marseglia get so much offense at a time when Rush is still being established in ROH. MLW did a really nice job of making Rush feel like a major attraction when he appeared there briefly. He won this match, but he wasn’t booked in a way that made him out to be a major star within the promotion.
Footage aired from the Miami event of Kenny King pinning Marty Scurll while holding his trunks for leverage. Riccaboni and Cabana hyped King vs. Scurll in a rematch for the 17th Anniversary show…
The Kingdom made their entrance. Meanwhile, Riccaboni hyped PCO and Brody King vs. TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia, and Mayu Itwatani vs. Holidead, and Dalton Castle vs. Kenny King for next week’s show. Once in the ring, Matt Taven said there was a guy running around and claiming to be the real world champion. Taven said he is the one and only real champion. Taven said Lethal looked foolish.
Taven mocked the fans for being “Melvins” by congratulating Lethal on his title reign. Taven said he would do something that “that Melvin never had the guts to do.” Taven said he is the real champion and would defend his real title against anyone other than Lethal. Taven said Lethal doesn’t deserve a shot at his title. Taven said he makes the rules in ROH. Jonathan Gresham made his entrance… [C]
3. Matt Taven vs. Jonathan Gresham. Before the match, referee Todd Sinclair ejected TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia from ringside. Gresham applied an early octopus hold. O’Ryan and Marseglia ran out and attacked Gresham for the DQ. Cabana said this was clearly a Kingdom plan all along.
Jonathan Gresham defeated Matt Taven by DQ.
Jay Lethal ran out to save Gresham, but he was quickly outnumbered. Taven pulled a table out from under the ring and slid it inside the ring. The Kingdom put Lethal on the table that was lying flat inside the ring. Juice Robinson led the Lifeblood faction to the ring, which resulted in The Kingdom going to ringside and walking up the stage.
Mark Haskins of Lifeblood grabbed Taven’s real world title belt. The Kingdom returned to ringside, but Robinson and Bandido stood in front of them. Bandido had the baseball bat that O’Ryan brings to the ring with him. The belt was handed to Tenille Dashwood, who said the belt was a slap in the face to everyone and it was time to destroy it. Lethal spat on the title belt and then hit it repeatedly with the baseball bat while a horrified Taven watched from the stage. Dashwood picked up the hatchet that Marsaglia brings to the ring and handed it to Lethal, who used it to further damage the title belt.
Powell’s POV: I don’t know how much ROH officials paid for that purple title belt, but I’m happy they signed off on destroying it. Conversely, Impact Wrestling repurposed the red title belt that I affectionately dubbed “the little red toy belt that nobody cares about” several times, as apparently no one wanted to admit that they pissed away good money on a belt that no one cared about.
This show felt slow and dragged. The angle at the end of the show erases something that wasn’t working, but the opening match dragged and the second match felt more competitive than it should. The broadcast team hyped some pay-per-view matches, but the actual show did nothing to generate excitement for the show on March 15. Here’s hoping that next week’s go-home show does a better job of setting up the pay-per-view than this week’s episode did. I will be by with the weekly Dot Net Members’ audio review on Tuesday.
Check below for the new Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and Davey Boy Smith Jr. discussing what led to the Hart Foundation vs. Lucha Brothers match at MLW SuperFight getting physical, training at a young age, and much more.
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