By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor Wrestling TV (Episode 408)
Taped June 29, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 2300 Arena
Aired in syndication on July 13, 2019, Mondays on the FITE TV app
The show opened with a highlight video from the Best in the World pay-per-view… The ROH opening aired… The broadcast team was Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana, and the ring announcer was Bobby Cruise…
1. ROH TV Champion Shane Taylor vs. Rhett Titus in a non-title match. Kenny King sat in on commentary and said former tag partner Titus is his brother. King also spoke highly of Shane Taylor. Riccaboni noted that Titus had a lot of friends and family in the crowd. Footage aired of Taylor pinning Bandido clean at BITW. Taylor was dominant heading into the first commercial break. [C]
Titus kicked Taylor through the ropes coming out of the break. Titus held onto the ropes and performed leg presses. King scolded his former tag team partner on commentary. He said he knows how focused Titus can be and this isn’t the same guy he teamed with. Back in the ring, Taylor caught Titus with a knee to the jaw for a near fall. Titus fired up and threw some punches, but Taylor dropped him with a headbutt and pinned him.
Shane Taylor beat Rhett Titus in a non-title match.
Afterward, King left the broadcast table and applauded Taylor as they crossed paths. King went to ringside and took the mic. King told Titus that he was disgusted by what he saw. He asked Titus what happened to him. King said “they suck us together” and the two of them fight, scratched, and claws. He noted some of the big names they beat in ROH. King said Titus has the body of a god and the heart of a bitch. King noted that Titus’s pregnant wife was in the crowd (she was shown on camera).
King asked if Titus thought she was proud to be carrying his baby when she has more balls than him. King wondered if Titus’s son won’t look him in the face because he’s a coward. Titus got upset and got in King’s face. King encouraged it and told him to hit him, but Titus left the ring. “What’s wrong with you?” King asked. King said the Titus he knew was a man, but now he’s a punk ass bitch…
Powell’s POV: It felt a little flat to open the first of the tapings that followed BITW with a throwaway match involving Titus. Fortunately, there was a reason for it and they had a post match angle, so it wasn’t just as simple as Taylor scoring a squash win. At the same time, it seemed strange that King is coming off his big best of three series win over Jay Lethal at BITW and they followed up by having him attempt to motivate Titus. I guess we’ll see where it goes.
WOH Champion Kelly Klein spoke backstage about defending her championship against the best division has to offer. She mentioned several names and said she would take on all comers. A graphic touted the women’s four corner survival match… [C]
Footage aired of a Matt Taven and Jay Lethal verbal confrontation from these tapings. Taven hyped their match for July 20 in New York City. Alex Shelley interrupted. Shelley said he was very careful not to use the word retirement the last time he was in ROH. Shelley said his fingerprints are all over wrestling in every corner of the globe. He said he expects Taven and Lethal to respect what he’s done for pro wrestling. Shelley said he doesn’t care whether Taven or Lethal win at Manhattan Mayhem, he wants to face the winner. Shelley said he wants to prove that he still has talent on loan from God…
Powell’s POV: It’s odd that we saw an abbreviated version of this angle rather than the full angle. I don’t know if it didn’t go well or if they planned to take this approach, but I guess we got the gist of it.
2. Angelina Love (w/Mandy Leon, Velvet Sky) vs. Jenny Rose vs. Stella Grey vs. Tasha Steelz in a four corner survival match to become No. 1 contender to the WOH Championship. Leon brought a dog to the ring. Riccaboni said the dog’s name is Foxy. Kelly Klein sat in on commentary for the match. Riccaboni noted that the winner will challenge Klein at the ROH Summer Supercard event on August 9. Sky cut a promo saying that Love was the only woman in the match who belonged in the match.
Grey was getting the better of Love when she ran the ropes and was tripped by Sky from the floor. Referee Brian Hebner ejected the Allure members from ringside, including poor Foxy. A short time later, Love performed a dive onto all three opponents at ringside. Love stood on the middle rope and jawed at Klein, who took her headset off and walked toward the ring. Grey and Rose teamed up to double powerbomb Love.
Klein returned to commentary. Cabana said he doesn’t think anyone’s ever left the booth during a match and returned during the same match. Later, Steelz dumped Love to ringside, then performed a Cutter on Grey and pinned her to win the match.
Tasha Steelz defeated Angelina Love, Stella Grey. and Jenny Rose in a four corner survival match to earn a WOH Championship match at ROH Summer Supercard.
After the match, the video wall for “Maneater” Maria Manic played. When they cut back to the ring, Manic was in the ring standing behind Love and Steelz. Love fled the ring. ROH security intervened and then Steelz left the ring. Manic beat up the male security guards and cleared them all from the ring…
Riccaboni hyped the main event… [C]
Powell’s POV: Foxy got a raw deal. That poor dog never interfered in the match and yet Hebner ejected him/her from ringside. Anyway, I was surprised to see Steelz go over, as it seemed like they were setting up a Klein vs. Love match. And perhaps they will still get there somehow before Summer Supercard. The post match angle was basically a replay of what we saw from the impressive Manic at Best in the World.
Rush delivered a backstage promo and said he’s sick and tired of Dalton Castle. He switched to speaking in Spanish briefly, then said he didn’t come to play, he came to become champion of ROH. “Remember, nothing happens unless I say so,” Rush said…
Ring entrances for the main event took place with The Bouncers making their entrance from the bar area of the venue. Jay Lethal was out next and motioned for “licensed timekeeper” Ami Rose to leave ringside. Rose complied. The Kingdom made their entrance as footage aired of TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia defeating The Bouncers on last week’s television show… [C]
Powell’s POV: How many hours of schooling does it take to become a licensed pro wrestling timekeeper? I’d like to think I could qualify, but I usually just round to the nearest five or zero when I do match times, so that might disqualify me. If not, I could handle the bell ringing duties. I know from personal experience that I’m great with a hammer in my hand. Wait, what were we talking about again?
3. “The Kingdom” Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, and Vinny Marseglia vs. Jay Lethal, Beer City Bruiser, and Brian Milonas. Early in the match, Taven ducked Lethal, then called for him to be tagged in so they could face off. Bruiser complied. Taven went for a cheap shot at Lethal, who blocked it, leading to a series of punches. Lethal was sent to ringside where he fought off O’Ryan and Marseglia only to be hit with a Taven dropkick through the ropes. Lethal was isolated heading into a break. [C]
Late in the match, caught Taven on his back in Samoan Drop position, then caught O’Ryan in front of him and performed an impressive fallaway slam and Samoan drop combo move. Lethal got his three suicide dives in with one for each Kingdom member. The Bouncers hit their Closing Time finisher on O’Ryan and then Milonas pinned him…
Jay Lethal, Beer City Bruiser, and Brian Milonas defeated Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, and Vinny Marseglia.
After the match, Taven hit his Climax move on Lethal at ringside. The Bouncers ran off Taven while the broadcast team hyped Lethal vs. Taven for the Manhattan Mayhem event for July 20…
Powell’s POV: A solid six-man tag match that gave The Bouncers their win back over O’Ryan and Marseglia while also setting up Taven vs. Lethal for the Manhattan event. Overall, the show was decent and set the stage for some upcoming matches, but none of it packed much of a punch in terms of making me feel more excited about the ROH product. Haydn Gleed will be filling in for me on this week’s members’ exclusive audio review of this episode later today.
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