By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor Wrestling TV (Episode 490)
Taped in Baltimore, Maryland at UMBC Arena
Aired February 6, 2021 in syndication and on SBG regional sports networks, available Mondays on FITE.TV
After the ROH opening video, Quinn McKay checked in from the studio and hyped the two matches. She set up footage of last week’s show closing angle with Vincent delivering a promo that led to Beer City Bruiser attacking Matt Taven and Mike Bennett.
Footage aired of McKay catching up with Bruiser and recalling some of the things that Vincent did to him in the past. Bruiser spoke about letting wounds heal. Brian Milonas showed up and asked Bruiser what happened. Bruiser said they do what they do to win. Bruiser said he’s sick of being in the back seat. He told Milonas there are no friends in wrestling and he either has his back or he doesn’t. After Bruiser stormed away, Milonas said, “That’s not how we do things”…
McKay noted that ROH officials won’t let Vincent and Taven be in the same ring together, but Vincent found a loophole. She hyped the Pure Rules match for after a break… [C]
Powell’s POV: A good follow-up angle. I like that ROH didn’t put this off for a future show. It’s good episodic television to deliver the angle and then come right back the next week with more rather than letting it get lost in the shuffle for a few weeks.
A Tracy Williams sit-down feature aired. He said he wanted to give Cheeseburger an opportunity. He said he wouldn’t give him an easy ride. Williams ran through Cheeseburger’s accomplishments and noted that he wrestled in the Tokyo Dome and teamed with Jushin Liger. Williams said people have underestimated him and he’s used it against them in his own matches, so he wouldn’t make the same mistake with Cheeseburger. Williams said this is Cheeseburger’s chance to prove that he’s a fighter and not just a novelty, but he won’t take it easy on him…
The World Famous CB’s sit-down feature aired. He spoke of it being a new year and having a new look. He recalled watching pro wrestling with his father when he was a kid and opting to become a pro wrestler at age 17. He said he unofficially made his ROH debut in 2013. He recalled Charlie Haas calling him into the ring when he was helping out at ringside. He said Haas referred to him as Cheeseburger, and 600 fans in the building picked up on it and chanted that name, so he became Cheeseburger.
CB thanked fans for embracing Cheeseburger, but he said it’s a novelty act. He understands why, but he said he’s a ten-year veteran and a trainer of future generations. CB said Williams is one of the best in ROH. CB described his own style as rhythm. He said he would use holds in the match with Williams that fans have never seen before. He said there’s not a hold he can’t counter, a limb he can’t bend, and a joint that he can’t manipulate. CB spoke of his size and speed. He said ten years of Cheeseburger was a fun ride, but now he writes the music and he has the rhythm… [C]
Powell’s POV: A nice set of promos. Cheeseburger explained his name change nicely and put over his own skillset, while Williams did a praised CB’s abilities while making it clear that he was out to win the match. Both promos created a story and drew me in for what previously felt like a random match on paper. Well done.
The broadcast team of Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman checked in from their broadcast table…
1. The World Famous CB vs. Tracy Williams in a Pure Rules match. CB still has a cheeseburger on his trunks. He also has “The Rhythm” written on the waistband. The wrestlers adhered to the Code of Honor. They cut to break at 2:45. [C]
CB climbed onto the back of Williams and initially applied an armbar, then pulled back both of Williams’ arms. Williams bit a rope to use one of his three rope breaks. Williams came back with a clothesline and a suplex for a two count. A short time later, Williams forced CB to use his first rope break.
CB rallied with a short-arm scissors that forced Williams to use his second rope break. Williams used his final rope break a short time later after CB applied a double wrist lock. Williams came back with a clothesline moments later, then followed up with a piledriver and scored the clean pin. The wrestlers adhered to the Code of Honor…
Tracy Williams defeated The World Famous CB in 13:05 in a Pure Rules match.
Riccaboni hyped the eight-man tag main event… [C]
Powell’s POV: A nice match. The broadcast team effectively told the story that CB lost, yet opened a lot of eyes with his performance. I didn’t come away from the match feeling like Cheeseburger is a new man as CB, but we’ll see where his story takes us.
A video package aired to set up the main event. Brody King recalled Rush’s father hitting him over the head with a chair to cost him the ROH Championship at the last pay-per-view. He said that if Rush and his crew want to get violent, he knows some violent men too. The camera pulled back to show the remainder of his team standing around him…
Amy Rose sat in on commentary. Ring entrances for the main event took place… [C]
2. Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe, Brody King, and PCO vs. Flip Gordon, Rush, Dragon Lee, and La Bestia del Ring. The Ingobernable trio let Gordon do the work early. Jay tossed Gordon to ringside, and Rush, Lee, and Bestia immediately tossed him back inside the ring. Gordon continued to take a beating.
The Briscoes performed a neckbreaker/powerbomb combo move on him and would have had the pin, but his teammates finally ran in to break it up. Riccaboni explained that the La Faccion Ingobernable trio didn’t want to lose their share of the winner’s purse. The fight spilled to ringside where Rush slammed a chair over the knee of King. Lee kicked the same knee several times. Rush grabbed an electrical cord and whipped King with it. [C]
PCO performed a cannonball through the ropes onto Gordon while his teammates scurried. Riccaboni said they were using Gordon as a sacrificial lamb. “It happens,” Rose said. Back inside the ring, PCO slammed Gordon. Bestia used his boot to send Gordon ringside. “That’s his tag team partner,” Riccaboni explained. Bestia knocked PCO out of the ring with a dropkick.
Jay checked in and traded shots with Bestia and knocked him down with a discus clothesline. King took out Gordon, then worked over Lee and slammed him down with a uranage. King went up top, but Lee cut him off. King shoved him off, but Rush and Bestia pulled King from the ropes and back inside the ring. PCO and Jay sent Rush and Bestia to the floor, then performed stereo suicide dives onto them.
Mark performed a big dive onto a pile of teammates and opponents at ringside. King grabbed the timekeepers table, then PCO placed Rush on top of it. King called for PCO to go up top. PCO obliged and performed a senton from the top, but Rush moved and PCO crashed through the table. The teams fought at ringside until the referee called for the bell.
Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe, Brody King, and PCO fought Flip Gordon, Rush, Dragon Lee, and La Bestia del Ring to a no-contest.
The teams continued to brawl afterward. Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal, Tracy Williams, and Rhett Titus were shown looking disgusted as they watched a backstage monitor. The teams brawled while Riccaboni called for producers to get the show off the air while they try to get things under control. They cut backstage to The Foundation members. “This is not Ring of Honor,” Gresham said while watching the monitor as Rush and Lee struck their poses in the middle of the ring…
Powell’s POV: A wild brawl of a main event. I enjoyed the story of the La Faccion Ingobernable trio allowing Gordon to take a beating until it was going to cost them the match. The story with The Foundation being turned off by the show closing brawl was easy to follow, as they believe in Pure Wrestling and reject the antics of La Faccion Ingobernable. It remains to be seen whether they also reject the brawling style used by King, PCO, and The Briscoes.
La Faccion Ingobernable desperately needs a good mouthpiece. Rose just isn’t polished enough on the mic to play that role for them at this point in her career. I have no idea if the Mexican wrestling politics would allow it or if he’s even available, but imagine how much good Konnan could do if he spoke for the group. Overall, another enjoyable episode. This wasn’t a hot show, but both matches were entertaining and the show flew by. My weekly audio review of ROH Wrestling will be available for Dot Net Members later today.
Be the first to comment