By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor Wrestling TV (Episode 428)
Taped November 2, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Stage AE
Aired in syndication on November 30, 2019, Fridays on SBG regional sports networks, Mondays on FITE.TV
The ROH opening aired… Footage aired of Jay Lethal turning heel by hitting Jay Briscoe with a chair shot. A graphic showed The Briscoes vs. Lethal and Jonathan Gresham for the ROH Tag Titles at the Final Battle pay-per-view…
Show hosts Ian Riccaboni and Quinn McKay checked in from in front of an ROH backdrop and hyped a pair of four corner survival matches… Footage aired of Silas Young scolding Josh Woods backstage…
1. “The Bouncers” Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas vs. Silas Young and Josh Woods vs. “Coast 2 Coast” LSG and Shaheem Ali vs. “SOS” Moses and Kaun in a four corner survival tag team match. Riccaaboni and Caprice Coleman were on commentary. SOS tagged into the match for the first time and worked over the Bouncers going into a commercial break. [C]
Bruiser performed a double DDT on the SOS members coming out of the break and then tagged in Milonas. Later, SOS had a nice flurry of offense and then walked on the floor oddly toward Milonas, who dove onto them from the apron. LSG performed a trust fall dive onto a pile of wrestlers at ringside. A short time later, Woods superplexed Bruiser from the ring onto a pile of wrestlers on the floor.
Back inside the ring, the wrestlers took turns hitting big moves. SOS cleared Young from the ring and then performed a double chokeslam on Bruiser. Woods and Milonas worked over SOS. Coast 2 Coast went after Milonas with some double team moves. Young ended up slingshotting LSG into a flying knee from Woods, who then scored the pin…
Silas Young and Josh Woods beat Coast 2 Coast, The Bouncers, and SOS.
Clips of the wrestlers wishing fans a happy Thanksgiving. Dalton Castle and Mandy Leon started, then Jay Lethal showed off his cast and said he wants a new arm and the ROH Tag Titles for the holidays… [C]
Powell’s POV: SOS went from being a dominant, badass tag team to being just another team in this match. I guess it had to happen at some point, but it felt like they skipped a few chapters. Meanwhile, Young and Woods were talked up by the broadcast team as the unbeaten team on the rise. Strange.
A Shane Taylor Promotions video aired. Taylor was shown outdoors talking about defending the ROH TV Title against Dragon Lee at Final Battle. Taylor said he doesn’t care how much ROH believes in Lee or how much he’s accomplished, he’s stepping into the ring with the baddest champion he’s ever seen. Taylor said he’ll walk in with the ROH TV Title and walk out with it and will do so by any means necessary…
Powell’s POV: A good promo from Taylor, who is arguably the only wrestler who has truly benefitted from thew new show format giving him more promo time. It’s been a tough year for ROH, but I have enjoyed watching the improvement of Taylor.
Joe Hendry pushed his t-shirt in an ROH merch ad…
The show hosts set up a video package on Dalton Castle and Joe Hendry having issues and then coming together as a team. Hendry said he knew he could be ROH Champion, but he and Castle together could be so much more prestigious. They were shown laughing on a couch together with Castle changing on a dime and flashing a very serious look at Hendry… [C]
The show hosts discussed the main event and PCO challenging Rush for the ROH World Championship at Final Battle. Riccaboni also hyped the Final Battle Fallout show for December 15…
There was a rough cut to Colt Cabana setting up the women’s tag match that was held at the ROH Unauthorized event in Columbus, Ohio…
2. Angelina Love and Mandy Leon vs. Sumie Sakai and Jenny Rose in a No DQ match. After getting full entrances, only clips from the match aired. Sakai used a cat stuffed animal as a weapon. Riccaboni and Coleman gave a shout-out to Hiromu Takahashi. In the end, Love hit the Botox Injection kick on Sakai and pinned her.
Angelina Love and Mandy Leon defeated Sumie Sakai and Jenny Rose in a No DQ match.
After the match, Love delivered a promo until she was interrupted by Maria Manic, who came out and backed Love into a corner. “At Final Battle, you’re dead, bitch,” Manic said. The last word was censored for television… [C]
Bobby Cruise delivered ring entrances for the main event…
3. Kenny King (w/Amy Rose) vs. Eli Isom vs. PJ Black vs. Ultimo Guerrero in a four corner survival match. This match was taped at The Experience event in Pittsburgh. They cut to break just seconds into the match. [C] With everyone at ringside, Isom performed a springboard moonsault onto Black and Guerrera heading into the final break. [C]
There was a crazy spot coming out of the break with King running on the stage and then leaping off it and over fans and the barricade onto some opponents at ringside. Back inside the ring, Black got the better of Isom and put him down with a DDT. Black went up top and performed a moonsault into a double stomp and then scored the pin.
PJ Black beat Ultimo Guerrero, Kenny King, and Eli Isom in a four corner survival match.
Highlights of the match finish were shown. Isom got to his feet and shook hands with Black…
A brief Final Battle video package listed Mark Haskins vs. Bully Ray, Matt Taven vs. Vincent, Shane Taylor vs. Dragon Lee for the ROH TV Title, The Briscoes vs. Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham for the ROH Tag Titles, and Rush vs. PCO for the ROH Title for the Final Battle pay-per-view…
Powell’s POV: The match was fine, but I have no idea what either one of the four corner survival matches did to set up Final Battle, which should be the focus with only the go-home show remaining before ROH’s final pay-per-view of 2019. They did set up the Maria Manic vs. Angelina Love match, and Taylor cut the good promo about his TV Title match with Dragon Lee, and they recapped Jay Lethal’s turn. It just feels like the full show should be building toward the pay-per-view rather than consist of random matches that feel like they could air during a filler week. Of all the wrestlers that appeared in the two four-way matches, none are currently advertised for a Final Battle match. Have they even aired the Vincent turn on Matt Taven on television? What a mess. I will have more to say in my weekly members’ exclusive audio review coming up later today.
I despise the new ROH format and will not be watching it ever again until it changes back.
What’s the new ROH format?