By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor Wrestling TV (Episode 431)
Taped at various locations throughout the year
Aired in syndication on December 22, 2019, Fridays on SBG regional sports networks, Mondays on FITE.TV
The ROH opening kicked off the show… Ian Riccaboni stood in front of the ROH backdrop and spoke about the ROH TV Title and the champions who held it in 2019. Riccaboni set up the first match…
1. Shane Taylor vs. Bandido for the ROH TV Title from the June 28 ROH Best in the World pay-per-view. From my live review of Best in the World: Coleman was back on commentary. Bandido offered a handshake, but Taylor blew it off. Taylor controlled the early offense. [C] Bandido came back and performed a nice Fosbury Flop dive over the top rope and onto Taylor at ringside at 6:00. Taylor caught Bandido charging him in the corner and slammed him to the mat. Taylor went to the middle rope and performed a splash for a two count at 8:30. Taylor showed frustration over not getting the pin.
At 11:45, Taylor leapt from the ropes and Bandido caught him and then bodyslammed him for a near fall. Bandido went up top and nearly fell, then performed a shooting star press for a near fall. A “Bandido” chant broke out. Bandido ran toward Taylor for his finisher, but Taylor caught him and performed his Greetings From 216 finisher and scored the clean pin…
Shane Taylor pinned Bandido in 12:40 to retain the ROH TV Title.
Powell’s POV: Here’s what I wrote about this match in my Best in the World review: “An entertaining match that actually could have used more time. The crowd was just firing up in a major way for Bandido when Taylor hit his finisher and let the air out of the room. They can go back to this, but Bandido and Jeff Cobb feel like the babyfaces who are most likely to catch on as new faces of the company, so seeing Bandido lose clean again is a bit disappointing.” I will add that Taylor really grew into the role as ROH TV Champion and I ended up being disappointed to see him lose the strap at Final Battle.
A montage aired of the Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal 60-minute draw from the ROH 17th Anniversary pay-per-view… [C] Footage aired of Villain Enterprises defeating The Kingdom to win the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles at the ROH 17th Anniversary pay-per-view…
Riccaboni discussed Villain Enterprises’ dominant 2019. He set up a match he billed as one of his personal favorites from 2019 from the Global Wars tour…
2. “Villain Enterprises” Marty Scurll, PCO, Brody King, and Flip Gordon vs. Barbaro Cavernario, Hechicero, Okumura and Rey Bucanero. Cavernario performed the worm after taking a shot from PCO early in the match. [C] PCO performed a top rope senton and had the pin, but the other members of Team CMLL broke it up. Later, the crowd came to life when King performed a flip dive over the top rope and onto a few of his opponents at ringside. The dives continued from both teams.
PCO and Hechicero squared off as the muscle for their respective teams. PCO sent Hechicero to ringside, then went up top and performed a moonsault onto a pile of wrestlers on the floor. In the ring, Scurll did his finger break spot on Okumura, then catapulted him into a forearm from King, who ran the ropes and performed a senton that led to the pin…
Villain Enterprises beat Barbaro Cavernario, Hechicero, Okumura and Rey Bucanero.
Footage aired of Maria Manic’s debut at the Best in the World pay-per-view… [C] Footage aired from G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden of Matt Taven beating Jay Lethal and Marty Scurll in a three-way ladder match to win the ROH World Championship…
Riccaboni said next week’s show will feature highlights from the G1 Supercard event. He noted that the Guerrillas of Destiny left MSG as IWGP Tag Champions and ROH Tag Team Champions. Riccaboni said the match led to GOD facing The Briscoes in a ladder war. He said it was too violent to air on television, but it is available via HonorClub. Riccaboni set up June 29 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 2300 Arena.
3. Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe vs. Rush and Dragon Lee. Here’s my report from when this match originally aired on episode 410: 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 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.
A replay of the finish aired then Rush and Lee celebrated in the ring to close the show…
Powell’s POV: Here’s my take on this match from my original review of the tag match: “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.”
With this being a “best of” edition that didn’t offer any new match or promo content, I will not be recording my usual audio review. However, my Dot Net Members’ exclusive audio reviews will return once ROH starts airing first-run shows again in 2020. Happy holidays, everyone.
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