By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor TV
Taped April 13, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Stage AE
Aired in syndication on May 18, 2019, Mondays on the FITE TV app
The ROH opening aired… The broadcast team was Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman checked in and hyped the two title matches… Ring entrances for the ROH Six-Man Tag Title match took place. Tweets were shown from Ian Riccaboni and Cary Silkin regarding the 400th episode milestone… [C]
1. Marty Scurll, PCO, and Brody King vs. Jeff Cobb, Rush, and Jay Lethal for the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles. Lethal worked over PCO, who kept getting up while the broadcast team marveled over his invincibility. PCO ended up at ringside. Lethal set up for a suicide dive, but stopped when PCO was ready for it. PCO barked at him to perform the move on him anyway.
Lethal was ready to oblige when Scurll hit Lethal from behind. Kenny King could be seen doing his blind man schtick on the stage while the timekeeper guided him. King eventually joined the broadcast team on commentary. A short time later, Lethal went for a suicide dive on King, who caught him and held him up. Scurll kicked Lethal from the apron, and King completed the suplex at ringside. [C]
Rush worked over King and could have performed his finisher, but he stopped short instead and then did his pose in the ring. The broadcast team correctly questioned the logic of Rush not following through with the move. A short time later, Cobb performed a nice German suplex on PCO. Scurll leapt from the ropes at Cobb, who caught him and performed an overhead release suplex. Cobb performed a Samoan drop on Scurll and stumbled a bit before performing a standing moonsault. Cobb followed up by picking up Scurll and King at the same time before slamming them down. “Jay Lethal did what?” King hilariously asked.
PCO grabbed Cobb by the throat and shoved him to ringside. King performed a flip dive onto Lethal and Cobb. PCO got a running start and was backdropped by Scurll over the top rope and onto all three opponents. Back inside the ring, Scurll and King worked over Cobb. King took out Lethal and Rush with a dive from the apron while Scurll got a two count. A “this is awesome” chant broke out. The challengers bounced back. Lethal hit his Hail to the King finisher on PCO, who sat right up. Rush suplexed PCO into the corner, then Lethal hit the top rope elbow drop again and went for the cover, but Scurll broke it up.
Lethal performed a Lethal Injection on Scurll. Lethal went for the same move on King, who caught him and put him in a torture rack before performing a sit-out powerbomb. PCO followed up with a top rope moonsault on Lethal and pinned him clean…
Marty Scurll, PCO, and Brody King defeated Jeff Cobb, Rush, and Jay Lethal to retain the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles.
Powell’s POV: A very entertaining six-man tag match. I still couldn’t care less about the six-man tag titles, but this was really fun. I like PCO pinning the former champion, but it’s too bad that didn’t air before he challenged Matt Taven for the ROH Championship in Toronto.
The Flip Gordon video package aired where he spoke about suffering an MCL injury during a match with Tracy Williams while footage of their match was shown… 400th episode fan tweets were shown… [C]
Footage aired from during the break of Lethal being attacked by Kenny King on the stage. Lethal was playing to the crowd when King attacked him from behind and choked him with his cane…
Powell’s POV: Riccaboni said this was proof that King can see. Lies! Clearly, Ian needs to watch Daredevil on Netflix and The Book of Eli film for just two of the many examples of blind ass kickers.
Ring entrances for the main event took place and then ring announcer Bobby Cruise delivered in-ring introductions for the title match… More fan tweets aired for the 400th episode… [C]
Powell’s POV: Only TK O’Ryan came out with Matt Taven, so I guess that means we’ll be getting the red balloons at some point during the match followed by Vinny Marseglia appearing from underneath the ring.
2. Matt Taven (w/TK O’Ryan) vs. Flip Gordon for the ROH Championship. Taven and Gordon actually shook hands prior to the match. Gordon got off to a fast start and performed a suicide dive. Gordon clutched his injured knee before and after performing the move. Taven came back off a distraction by O’Ryan. Taven ran Gordon face first into the ring post and then jawed into the camera. “I can’t stand him,” Riccaboni said. Gordon started to rally, but Taven kicked his bad knee and knocked him off the apron. Gordon bounced back again, but Taven hip-tossed him into the barricade. [C]
Taven was on the offensive for a few minutes. Gordon eventually came back with a springboard spear from the middle rope. Gordon performed a couple of innovative moves that Coleman described as new offense. Gordon picked up a near fall heading into the final break. [C] Taven spat in the face of Gordon, then his face was digitized for a moment. Gordon charged at Taven, who caught him with a popup powerbomb and a running knee for a near fall. Gordon came back with a TKO, then went up top for his 450 splash. The dumb balloons floated into the air and distracted Gordon, allowing Taven to cut off Gordon on the ropes and then hit him with Climax for the win…
Matt Taven defeated Flip Gordon to retain the ROH Championship.
Powell’s POV: The ol’ distracted by balloons finish? Ugh. This made Gordon look like a dope for not just ignoring the balloons, especially since everyone assumes they’ll be coming at some point if Marseglia doesn’t accompany Taven to ringside. Tired and predictable finish aside, I enjoyed the bulk of the main event. Overall, a strong hour of television and an episode worth going out of your way to watch. More shows like this one, please. I don’t expect ROH to give away title matches every week, but I would like to see more meaningful shows. Whether it’s good matches or angles, give viewers a reason to tune in weekly. We’ve way too much filler on recent episodes, so this was a nice change of pace.
Check below for the latest Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and guest Conrad Thompson discussing Starrcast II, Undertaker pulling out of the event, hosting AEW rallies and his friendship with Tony Khan, thoughts on how WWE podcasts could work, and more.
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