By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor Wrestling TV (Episode 418)
Taped August 24, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia at Centre Stage
Aired in syndication on September 21, 2019, Mondays on the FITE TV app
After the opening video, highlights were shown of PCO and Brody King beating Mark Haskins and Tracy Williams when Flip Gordon interfered in Atlanta…
Powell’s POV: It appeared Gordon was actually late with a chair shot from ringside, so Williams had to run the ropes a second time so that Gordon could hit him from behind with the chair. More importantly, PCO took a header while performing a dive to ringside during this match and came up a bloody mess. If memory serves, the main event of this show was scheduled to be for the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles, but they had to change it because PCO wasn’t medically cleared.
The hosts Ian Riccaboni and Quinn McKay checked in from in front of an ROH backdrop. They recapped Vinny Marseglia putting out a lit cigar on the chest of Beer City Bruiser…
1. Vinny Marseglia vs. Beer City Bruiser. Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman were on commentary. Bruiser entered through the crowd and played to the fans while standing on the apron. Marseglia dropkicked Bruiser from behind and then brawled with him at ringside. Bruiser rallied and threw Marseglia into a loose piece of the barricade.
Bruiser went for a cannonball from the apron, but Marseglia moved. Bruiser came right back by chokeslamming Marseglia onto the apron. Bruiser went to the perch behind the broadcast team and leapt over them and onto security (Marseglia moved out of the way). [C]
Marseglia hit his Redrum finisher and went for a pin, but Bruiser kicked out. Bruiser bit the fingers of Marseglia and did the bit where he says he can’t bite. He let the crowd fill in the part about how he doesn’t have teeth, but only a few fans did. Bruiser put Marseglia down with a DDT for a near fall. Bruiser and Marseglia fought in front of an exposed turnbuckle. Marseglia ended up slamming Bruiser’s head into the exposed turnbuckle and then performed a cutter for the win…
Vinny Marseglia defeated Beer City Bruiser.
Powell’s POV: A solid brawl that fit the tone of the feud that intensified with the cigar angle. I like the idea of putting over Marseglia rather than having Bruiser gain his revenge quickly.
Riccaboni announced the wrestlers who will meet in the tournament to determine the No. 1 contender for the ROH Championship at Final Battle. The left side of the bracket features -PCO vs. Kenny King, and Dalton Castle vs. Mark Haskins. The right side of the bracket features Colt Cabana vs. Marty Scurll, and Bandido vs. Jay Lethal… The upcoming ROH live events were listed… [C]
Backstage, TK O’Ryan stood over Brian Milonas while holding a baseball bat. A number of undercard wrestlers and Lanny Poffo stood by. A man in dress clothes told O’Ryan to leave and then called for a doctor…
The hosts set up footage of Allure members Angelina Love and Mandy Leon delivering an in-ring promo. Jenny Rose and Damaris Dawkins were standing in the ring while Sumie Sakai was seated in the corner acting like she was dozing off. Love and Leon acted above the match and tried to leave, but the other wrestlers brought Love back for the four-way match. Kelly Klein sat in on commentary. Love ended up winning after hitting Dawkins with a Botox Injection…
Powell’s POV: They cut off the footage right after Love scored the pin and did not air the extra footage of Maria Manic coming out and chasing Love and Leon to the back.
McKay interviewed Love and Leon backstage. McKay brought up that The Allure has used hairspray to cheat to win their matches. They took off her glasses and said she needs to get them checked…
Joe Hendry hosted “The Prestigious Shopping Network.” He had a sale on his “World Champ” t-shirts that were marked down from $199.99 to just $24.99. Funny. He also showed said he’d throw in a “2nd Best – Dalton Castle” t-shirt that showed a bird pooping. Hendry said his own t-shirt was a statement of intent and is meant for people who believe in themselves… [C]
Powell’s POV: The ROH television show needs more segments like this one. It’s not that the segment was all that funny, it’s that it provided something fresh on a show filled with a lot of highlights. I’d also like to see more character profiles, sit-down interviews, and anything else that makes the show feel more relevant.
An ad aired for next week’s main event featuring Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal vs. Jeff Cobb vs. Kenny King in a Defy or Deny match…
Matt Taven stood in the ring and boasted that “you just saw another name get added to the long list of people who were forced to bow down to the king.” We did? Anyway, he boasted about the wrestlers he’s beaten since becoming ROH Champion and said he’s on pace to become the greatest ROH Champion of all time. He tried to deliver his closing catchphrase, but he was interrupted by Rush’s entrance music. Rush made his entrance wearing street clothes and entered the ring where he went face to face with Taven…
The hosts spoke about Taven vs. Rush for the ROH Championship at Friday’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view. Riccaboni said they had breaking news. He said PCO was out of the main event due to injury (they showed PCO taking a header) and thus the new main event would be Haskins and Bandido vs. Scurll and King with the winning team getting an ROH Tag Title match at Death Before Dishonor… Ring entrances for the main event took place… [C]
Powell’s POV: This came off as really sloppy in that they told us last week that this week’s television main event would be Haskins and Bandido vs. Scurll and King. They could have had Riccaboni explain that there was originally going to be an ROH Six-Man Tag Title match, but instead they presented it as if this were a new development.
2. Mark Haskins and Bandido vs. Marty Scurll and Brody King. King blasted Haskins with a punch that sent him to ringside. Scurll raced over and knocked Bandido off the apron, then rushed over and kicked Haskins on the other side of the ring. [C]
King knocked Haskins down with a chop. Bandido performed a crucifix driver on King. Scurll caught Bandido with a forearm and then gave him a snap dragon suplex. Haskins got up and punched Scurll with a left and then fell to the mat while selling hand pain. All four men were down going into the final break. [C]
Late in the match, Bandido hit the 21 Plex on Scurll. Bandido took out King on the floor with a flip dive while Haskins forced Scurll to submit to the Sharpshooter.
Mark Haskins and Bandido defeated Marty Scurll and Brody King to earn an ROH Tag Title shot at Death Before Dishonor.
A series of graphics listed the various matches for Friday’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view while music played. Rush checked in and said it’s his time. Rush said he will be the next champion and told Taven that he’s coming for him. “Nothing happens unless I say…so,” Rush closed…
Powell’s POV: There’s a couple ways of viewing this episode. The tag team main event was entertaining. And, really, the show was fine from an entertainment standpoint with the second match once again helping make the show feel a little more worthwhile than the single full length show matches did. But this was also a very disappointing show at the same time. The new format should have afforded the company plenty of time to push Friday’s pay-per-view and yet it felt like they did a half-ass job with the go-home hype. We barely heard from any of the players in the top matches and they failed to make it feel like a must see show even though it has a strong lineup. I will have more to say in my weekly members’ exclusive audio review of ROH Wrestling coming up later today.
Join me on Friday night for live coverage of ROH Death Before Dishonor. Dot Net Members will hear my exclusive same night audio review.
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