By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor Wrestling TV (Episode 413)
Taped July 20-21, 2019 in New York, New York at Hammerstein Ballroom
Aired in syndication on August 17, 2019, Mondays on the FITE TV app
The show opened with footage of last week’s main event… Ian Riccaboni and Quinn McKay checked in from a backstage interview set and hyped the double main event…
A Kelly Klein promo aired. She recalled telling six women that they just had to step up for a title shot. Klein said one of those women was Karissa Rivera, who took it a step further by saying she wanted to prove herself and earn the title shot. Klein said that impressed her. Klein said she’s not sure if Rivera is ready for the WOH Championship, but she was giving her a shot…
Footage aired of Rush defeating TK O’Ryan at the Manhattan Mayhem event. Rush hit his Bullhorn finisher and scored the clean pin. A graphic noted that the full match is available via HonorClub…
Riccaboni hyped the Honor For All event in Nashville, and the ROH Saturday Night at Center Stage events for August 23-24. He also hyped the Champions vs. All Stars match for the Atlanta show with Matt Taven, Shane Taylor, and The Briscoes vs. Jay Lethal, Jeff Cobb, Rush, and Kenny King… [C]
Footage aired of “The Shinobi Shadow Squad” Eli Isom, Cheeseburger, and Ryan Nova warming up in a hallway for their title match…
Riccaboni and McKay spoke about the Top Prospect Tournament. The brackets displayed the following first round matches: Dante Caballero vs. Joe Keys, Brian Johnson vs. Austin Gunn, Hatian Sensation vs. Ken Dixon, and Makita vs. Dak Draper…
Footage aired of the story involving Silas Young and Josh Woods… Footage aired of the Young vs. PJ Black match from the Mass Hysteria event that was held in Lowell, Massachusetts on July 21. Young hit Misery and pinned Black clean…
A “later that night” graphic appeared on the screen while Young was shown on the phone in the backstage area. Josh Woods interrupted him and handed him a pack of cigarettes. “Some teachers just like apples,” Woods said before taking a cigarette and walking away. Young shrugged his shoulders…
Powell’s POV: So Young and Woods will be aligned rather than feud with one another. Or at least at first. The idea is that Young has been telling Woods he has a lot to learn and thus he will be the teacher and Woods will be the student. I’ve felt that Woods could use a heel run since his early run with the company, so hopefully that’s where this is going.
1. Kelly Klein vs. Karissa Rivera for the WOH Championship. Riccaboni and Colt Cabana were on commentary for the match, which was taped at the Hammerstein. Brian Hebner was the referee and called the women together for the Code of Honor. Klein put her mouthguard in and then shook Rivera’s hand and pulled her in close before releasing her hand.
The women locked up and had a stalemate while Riccaboni noted Klein is one of the strongest women in the division and was unable to back Rivera into the corner. Riccaboni said Rivera’s father wrestled for the WWWF and left the road to raise her. They cut to break early in the match. [C]
Powell’s POV: Rivera’s father is the late Jose Rivera, who wrestled as “Steve King” and “Chief Cherokee” and sadly died of leukemia at age 46.
Klein controlled the majority of the offense coming out of the break. Rivera came back with a couple of chops and a dropkick, then whipped Klein into the corner a couple of times. Rivera performed a spinebuster for a two count. Klein came right back with her K Power finisher and scored the pin.
Kelly Klein defeated Karissa Rivera to retain the WOH Championship.
After the match, Sumie Sakai entered the ring to check on Rivera. Riccaboni noted that Sakai took Rivera under her wing after Rivera defeated her. Klein took the mic and said that if Rivera keeps doing what she’s doing then she’ll give her another opportunity when she comes back. Klein said Rivera isn’t ready for the WOH Championship, but she proved that she’s ready for Women of Honor. Klein hugged Rivera.
The Allure entrance music played. Angelina Love and Velvet Sky walked to the ring while Cabana noted that Mandy Leon was missing. Sky took the mic and mocked the trio and their moment. Love took the mic and recalled Matt Taven’s talk of a conspiracy in ROH. She said he was right, but the conspiracy was against The Allure. Klein said there’s no conspiracy, but WOH doesn’t want (censored) like you… [C]
Powell’s POV: The match was forgettable. Rivera’s offense was fairly weak in that it never felt like she had Klein on the ropes. The post match angle was fine as they continue the build toward Klein vs. Love and presumably set up a six-woman tag match.
Backstage, Klein cut a promo while Rivera and Sakai stood by. Klein said The Allure don’t deserve to be there and “women like us” will show what WOH is all about…
Riccaboni and McKay spoke about the fight that Rivera put up and then hyped the Nashville and Atlanta shows…
Footage aired from ROH State of the Art of Matt Taven beating Flip Gordon, PCO, and Mark Haskins in a Defy or Deny match on June 2 in Portland, Oregon…
Powell’s POV: The choppiness of the new format is frustrating. It’s one thing to show footage from the two most recent events, but then jumping back to show a match taped in early June felt awkward.
2. “Villain Enterprises” Marty Scurll, PCO, and Brody King (w/Flip Gordon) vs. “Shinobi Shadow Squad” Eli Isom, Cheeseburger, and Ryan Nova for the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles. The match was taped at the Hammerstein. Villain Enterprises received the big star reaction. They cut to break early in the match. [C]
Late in the match, King blasted Nova with a big boot to the head. Scurll catapulted Nova into a forearm from King, then held him up with his knees while King performed a running senton. Scurll pinned Nova to win the match…
Villain Enterprises defeated Shinobi Shadow Squad to retain the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles.
Powell’s POV: A lopsided win for Villain Enterprises. I continue to feel strongly that they need to get Isom out of the undercard Shinobi faction. It was nice to get two full length first-run matches rather than one on this show, but neither felt must see and had predictable outcomes. For that matter, the matches ended up being fairly brief and missable. The best things about the new television format thus far is that it’s led to ROH giving their talent more mic time, and Quinn McKay is doing a good job with Ian Riccaboni.
But that’s not an endorsement of the new format. The clip show format makes ROH television feel more missable than ever. The old three match format was very basic, but when the matches or angles delivered it was fine. The formula didn’t need to change so dramatically, the creative team just needed to do a better job with it. I will have more to say about this in my Dot Net Members’ exclusive audio review later today. Jake Barnett and I will also be discussing the new format during Thursday’s Dot Net Weekly audio show.
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