By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor Wrestling TV (Episode 410)
Taped June 29, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 2300 Arena
Aired in syndication on July 27, 2019, Mondays on the FITE TV app
A warning listed that viewer discretion was advised due to the nature of this episode… The show opened with a video package focused on The Briscoes, Rush, and Dragon Lee to set up the tag team main event… The ROH opening video aired… The broadcast team was Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman, and Bobby Cruise was the ring announcer…
1. Silas Young vs. Josh Woods. Young ducked to ringside shortly after the bell rang. Young took the house mic and questioned what Woods had done in ROH since he started two years ago. Young said it doesn’t have to be that way and it shouldn’t be that way. Young pointed out that Woods is a national collegiate wrestling champion and someone with his pedigree should be winning titles and the respect of his peers.
Young said the fans don’t respect Woods. Young asked if Woods wanted to earn respect, then told him to put up or shut up. Young handed the microphone to the referee, who was passing it off to ringside when Young kicked Woods in the balls. Young caught Woods inside cradle and got the three count…
Silas Young defeated Josh Woods.
Powell’s POV: A decent angle, assuming it’s actually going somewhere. I’ll be disappointed if this is just a one-off designed to eat up a segment, but I think they are actually moving forward with a Young vs. Woods feud.
Footage aired of Lifeblood beating Villain Enterprises in a non-title match in last week’s television main event… [C]
Jay Lethal spoke about the G1 Supercard. He said he took the train to Madison Square Garden even though he could have gotten a ride. He said it was the best train ride ever knowing that he has the ROH Championship in his bag. Lethal said it was the worst feeling on the ride home to know that he wasn’t pinned or submitted and still lost the championship in the three-way ladder match. Lethal said he needs the ROH Championship and his mindset going back to New York is to not leave without the ROH Championship. A graphic listed Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal for the ROH Championship at Manhattan Mayhem…
2. “Shinobi Shadow Squad” Eli Isom Cheeseburger, and Ryan Nova vs. Joey Keys, Brian Johnson, and Dante Caballero. Riccaboni noted that the Taven vs. Lethal match for the ROH Championship will air on next week’s television show. Coleman said that Keys, Johnson, and Caballero may not get a lot of television time, but they are not new to wrestling. Riccaboni hyped the Future of Honor television series with Joe Dombrowski on the call. In the end, Isom and Nova held out Caballero while Cheeseburger double stomped him from the top rope, which led to the pin.
Eli Isom Cheeseburger, and Ryan Nova beat Joey Keys, Brian Johnson, and Dante Caberello.
After the match, Keys and Caballero pushed and shoved one another. Caballero slapped Keys and left the ring while security rushed to get between them… [C]
Powell’s POV: It was nice to see the Future of Honor series get a plug during the weekly television show. I’m not sure why ROH doesn’t plug their online content on a weekly basis, but at least they did it this week. It’s hard to be excited about the Top Prospect Tournament when the lowest guys on the ROH totem pole defeated them decisively.
Footage aired of Sumie Sakai defeating Kelly Klein to become the first Women of Honor Championship. Additional footage aired while Riccaboni did a voiceover praising her. Footage also aired of Sakai suffering a broken orbital bone during the six-woman tag team match at MSG. Riccaboni noted that Sakai was returning after a two month break and would be facing a hungry upstart looking to make a name for herself…
3. Sumie Sakai vs. Karissa Rivera. Kelly Klein joined Riccaboni and Coleman on commentary. Sakai stopped and hugged former ROH owner Cary Silkin, who was seated at the timekeepers table. Sakai and Rivera shook hands prior to the match. They cut to a break early in the match. [C]
Sakai performed a missile dropkick on Rivera and covered her for a two count. Sakai and Riccaboni both acted surprised that Rivera kicked out at two. They got to their feet and traded forearms. Rivera performed a spinebuster on Rivera for a near fall. Sakai rallied for a suplex that led to a two count. Sakai set up for her finisher, but Rivera avoided it and put Sakai on her shoulders. Sakai slipped away and tried to roll up Rivera, who sat down on her and scored the pin.
Karissa Rivera beat Sumie Sakai.
After the match, Quinn McKay tried to interview Rivera, but Sakai pushed McKay aside and then raised the arm of Rivera… [C]
Powell’s POV: I love the upset. Sakai should be booked well as the first WOH Champion, but she should also do key jobs like this one when the company wants to build a new star.
The warning graphic was shown… Backstage, Woods was held back by a few security guards while Young told him that he needs someone like him to learn from and to teach him how to be great…
An ad aired for HonorClub, then the broadcast team spoke about the service and hyped the availability of Guerrillas of Destiny vs. The Briscoes in a street fight for the ROH Tag Titles. They also recapped Coast 2 Coast showing a harder edge while winning another HonorClub exclusive match…
Powell’s POV: Good, so the Young and Woods finish was about more than just one match. It’s probably leading to a Young vs. Woods feud, but I’ve been an advocate of Woods being a heel going back to shortly after his Top Prospect Tournament win. In other words, I wouldn’t mind seeing an alliance. Meanwhile, I like the added attention they are giving HonorClub. It’s crazy how generic the promotion for the streaming service has been. Hopefully this type of discussion about the service continues for ROH’s own good.
4. Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe vs. Rush and Dragon Lee. Rush and Lee wrestled in matching white, sleeveless jersey style shirts. The Briscoes caught Lee going for an early dive and then double suplexed him on the floor. The Briscoes followed up by running Rush into the barricade going into the break. [C]
The viewer discretion warning aired again. Once the match footage resumed, a graphic also noted that a aspects of the segment had been edited and censored for broadcast television, but the unedited version was available on HonorClub.
Lee ran Mark into the barricade and Mark came up holding an eye or his head. The Briscoes’ heads were banged together. Rush and Lee brought Jay back to the ring and worked him over. When Mark returned, he was bleeding heavily from the forehead. A short time later, Rush and Lee teased dives, then laid down and struck their poses. [C]
The warning graphic was shown again. The Briscoes worked over Rush coming out of the break while Lee was down at ringside. Lee rushed back to break up a pin attempt. A short time later, Mark leapt off a chair in the ring and performed a flip dive onto both opponents on the floor.
Back inside the ring, Jay performed a neckbreaker on Rush, then Mark performed Froggy Bow while his bloody forehead was blurred (even though it was shown clearly at times afterward). Lee was late to break up the pin, so referee Todd Sinclair hesitated and was booed loudly. Rush and Lee rallied, including Rush performing a nice German suplex on Jay.
The fans applauded loudly while all four men were down. A “fight forever” chant broke out. A short time later, Lee leapt over the top and performed a huracanrana on Mark that resulted in both men ending up at ringside. The crowd went nuts. Rush performed his dropkick on Jay, who was seated in the corner, and pinned him…
Rush and Dragon Lee defeated The Briscoes.
An excited Riccaboni hyped Taven vs. Lethal for the ROH Championship match for next week…
Powell’s POV: One hell of a main event. This one is definitely worth going out of your way to see, and I intend to find time to watch the match uninterrupted by commercial breaks on HonorClub. Lee is a star and yet this is the first time it felt like he was unleashed on ROH television. I like the approach of using the warning graphic while also noting that the unedited version is available via HonorClub. It likely kept viewers watching to see what caused it, and it also gave them an easy way to plug the streaming service.
Overall, this was a good episode with storytelling via the opening match, an upset win for Rivera, and a hot tag team main event. Next week’s show will feature the first footage from the Manhattan Mayhem tapings and I’m curious to see if anything changes since they streamed the television main event type matches live on HonorClub rather than making them exclusive to the television show. I will have more to say about this episode in my weekly audio review for Dot Net Members coming up later today.
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