By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor TV
Taped December 16 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 2300 Arena
Aired in syndication over the weekend, Mondays on the FITE TV app
ROH TV opened with a video that recapped the Final Battle event and Dalton Castle winning the ROH Championship… The opening montage aired… The broadcast team of Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana checked in on commentary from ringside and hyped Flip Gordon vs. Marty Scurll as the main event and Silas Young defending the ROH TV Title for the first time…
ROH Champion Dalton Castle made his entrance along with The Boys. Castle said people told him when he started in ROH that he would never be a champion. He said he learned a lot can happen “between now and never.” Castle said he’s not just a big fish in a small pond, “I’m a damn megalodon swimming through the ocean.” Nice line.
Jay Lethal made his entrance. Castle said Lethal had never interrupted him or even sent him a friend request on Facebook. “What could possibly be on your mind?” Castle asked. Lethal laughed and said, “Everyone knows exactly why I’m out here, champ.” Castle said he’s puzzled because there could be so many things that Lethal wants. Funny.
Lethal said Castle is a strange dude, but being ROH Champion also makes him the best wrestler in the world. “And I want my shot,” Lethal said. Castle said he had to sit down and think about it. One of the Boys became a human chair for him. Castle sent the other Boy over to do the same for Lethal. Fans chanted “Take a seat” and Lethal eventually obliged after wiping off the back of the Boy. Lethal stood up quickly though. “It’s a real shame to waste a perfectly good Boy,” Castle said.
Lethal said he was going to leave before things got weirder. He said he wanted to congratulate Castle, but also to let him know that wrestlers would be coming at him from every turn and he wanted to make sure his name was at the top of the list. Castle stood up and said, “Deal.” Lethal thanked him and left the ring. Castle held up the title and said, “This one is for the Boys!.”
Punishment Martinez stormed the ring and chokeslammed Castle. Martinez picked up the title belt and held it up before dropping it next to Castle… [C]
Powell’s POV: A really fun segment with the quirky charm of Castle on full display. He was terrific here and it was fun to see him in the same ring with the serious Lethal character. This is also good use of Lethal in that beating him would be a nice feather in Castle’s cap and would give him more credibility. Martinez attacking Castle sets up their upcoming title match, which Martinez earned by winning Survival of the Fittest 2017.
The Kingdom delivered a promo backstage. Matt Taven boasted over beating Jay Lethal, Flip Gordon, Jay White, and Will Ospreay. Vinny Marseglia said they want all of the ROH Titles. TK O’Ryan said ROH can’t hold them back forever. Taven said they are killing the conspiracy “because I’m Matt Taven and this is my Kingdom”…
1. Silas Young (w/Beer City Bruiser) vs. Simon Grimm for the ROH TV Title. Ring announcer Bobby Cruise delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. After some back and forth action, Young clotheslined Grimm off the apron heading into a commercial break. [C] In the end, Young performed Misery and scored the clean pinfall…
Silas Young defeated Simon Grimm to retain the ROH TV Title.
After the match, Kenny King walked onto the stage carrying a bottle and referred to Silas Young as “Pile Of Dung.” King said the good people of Philadelphia could see right through Young. He said that while Young pinned Punishment Martinez to win the title, it happened only after Young smashed a beer bottle over his head. Young said it’s a business of results and his means of operation resulted in him becoming the new ROH TV Champion.
King said he had eight beers and was ready to fight. Young told Bruiser that he didn’t need his help with King, who spat beer into the face of Young. Several referees and security quickly got between the wrestlers…
Powell’s POV: Grimm has had two television matches in ROH and lost them both. They probably would have been better off saving his first appearance for this match since it would have meant a little bit more if Young had been the first guy to beat the former WWE wrestler (Simon Gotch) in ROH. Meanwhile, the angle was decent, but it was hard to buy King’s attempts to appeal to the crowd by talking about how much he had to drink that day. He strikes me as a athlete, not a beer swilling brawler…
Still shots aired from Final Battle of Bully Ray leaving his boots in the ring… The Honor Club streaming service teaser aired… [C]
Footage aired from Final Battle of Ian Riccaboni announcing that the first Women of Honor Champion will be crowned in 2018…
2. Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe vs. Ryan Nova and Eli Isom. Nova and Isom did not received televised entrances. Isom landed a few punches, but the Briscoes dominated the match. Mark hit Froggy Bow on Isom and pinned him…
The Briscoes defeated Ryan Nova and Eli Isom.
After the match, Jay Briscoe took the mic and told the fans they were looking at the baddest team on the planet. He boasted that the Briscoes ended the career of their hero Bully Ray. Jay said the ROH Tag Titles were next on the docket. Jay said the Motor City Machine Guns are one of the best teams in the world, but there’s not a tag team in the world that is on his and Mark’s level. Jay said the Guns should enjoy the titles while they can…
The broadcast team hyped the Scurll vs. Gordon main event… Backstage, Bruiser told Young to calm down while they walked onto the interview set. Young was upset over King spitting beer in his face. Bruiser pointed out that Young beat three men to win the ROH TV Title. Bruiser said that while Young is handling King, he wanted to go for the tag titles. Bruiser said he had a partner in mind. Young said that he’s not a selfish man and encouraged him to go after the tag titles… [C]
Powell’s POV: The Briscoes challenging the Guns is a bit dangerous in terms of the Briscoes maintaining their heel heat. The Philly crowd mostly cheered them despite the fact that they were bragging about ending the career of Bully Ray. The dark Briscoes have a real edge to them and are far more compelling than the Guns, who have no personalities in ROH, and I’d be surprised if the fans sided with the Guns in that feud. Meanwhile, I’m curious to see who Bruiser teams with and whether it’s a one-off or they are serious about moving him to the tag division.
The Young Bucks and Adam Page were hanging out backstage. Nick said people are always trying to ruin the fun of the Bullet Club. They vented about Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky (now known as So Cal Uncensored). Page said that if they want a shot at the ROH Six-Man belts then they would give them the belts right over the head…
Ring entrances for the main event took place. Flip Gordon came out first. Marty Scurll made his entrance while a pop-box promo aired with Scurll talking about his Final Battle match against Jay Lethal. He said the match even gave Lethal the confidence to ask for a title shot. Scurll said he has yet to have an ROH Title shot. He said the company deserves a true champion in the form of The Villain…
3. Flip Gordon vs. Marty Scurll. The fans chanted “Marty” as the match got underway. Gordon showed off his athleticism early on and drew a “Flip” chant from the crowd. Gordon teased a flip dive, but instead flipped back into the ring and mocked Scurll with his own pose. [C] Scurll bounced back coming out of the break, but Gordon performed a standing shooting star press for a two count going into the final break. [C]
Coming out of the break, Scurll caught Gordon with a superkick from the apron. Scurll went to ringside and rolled Gordon back inside the ring for a two count. Scurll picked up another two count off a Ghostbuster and showed frustration over not getting the pin. Gordon came back with a flip dive onto Scurll on the floor. Back in the ring, Gordon performed a 450 Splash for a near fall of his own. Gordon picked up another near fall, but Scurll caught him with a second Ghostbuster and scored the three count…
Marty Scurll pinned Flip Gordon.
Riccaboni hyped Will Ospreay vs. Jay Lethal, and Dalton Castle and The Boys vs. The Kingdom for next week’s television show…
Powell’s POV: A good match. Gordon picked up a win over Adam Page at the last taping, then turned around and lost to another Bullet Club member here. It was a good match and Gordon continues to be impressive in the ring. The key with Gordon is establishing his personality, which hasn’t been effective yet. Overall, a good post Final Battle edition. It’s just a shame there’s so much turn around time between the pay-per-view and the first show taped the next day. Even so, the Castle and Lethal segment was strong and it will be interesting to see where they go with Cody, who didn’t appear on this show. Next week’s matches feel a little random in that we saw Lethal, The Kingdom, Castle, and The Boys on this show, yet they failed to address their matches next week. Haydn Gleed will be by later in the week with his audio review of ROH TV.
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