by Ethan Lewis
1) Hanson & Rowe vs. Team Benchmark
Here we have the debut of two new teams to start the show. Hanson and Rowe were the finalists of the Top Prospect tournament earlier this year and Team Benchmark consists of Will Ferrera and Bill Daily. This was a pretty quick match, but was fun while it lasted. Hanson and Rowe continued to impress me individually and on top of that they worked very well as a team.
Match rating - 6/10
After the match, Michael Elgin comes to the ring to confront Hanson and Rowe. Elgin endorses both men and says they've earned his respect. Elgin then proceeds to form an alliance with the two and they agree to have Elgin's back during his future match with Adam Cole.
2) Kevin Steen vs. Homicide
This match came about when Kevin Steen was in the ring and called out Cliff Compton, but got Homicide and Eddie Kingston instead. The two began jawing back and forth then it escalated into a brawl which led to Nigel McGuinness making this match.
It was a very entertaining match that was quite fast paced. Both men got to hit some big moves including Steen cutting a flip off the apron onto Homicide AND Kingston. This led to Kingston jumping on Steen as he went for a package piledriver on Homicide. This led to a disqualification.
Match rating - 7.5/10
After the match, Kingston and Homicide began beating down Steen, but Cliff Compton hit the ring with a chair to make the save. Compton and Steen then have a staredown as we go to commercial. This storyline has become very interesting.
As we return from commercial, Nigel McGuinness is in the ring and he announces that at SuperCard of Honor, it will be Ladder War 5 between Jay Briscoe and Adam Cole for the ROH World Championship! HUGE announcement! Briscoe and Cole both got some good promo time here as well. Great segment.
3) Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jay Lethal - ROH Television Championship Match
A few weeks ago, Lethal and Ciampa took part in an awesome three way match with Matt Taven for the TV Title, but this week it's just a one on one match. Needless to say, this match was just as great if not better than the three way from the other week. Ciampa and Lethal tore the house down which led to the crowd chanting "This is awesome!" and "This is wrestling!" many times throughout the match. Ciampa took it to Lethal early on by sending him to the outside and repeated slamming him into the railings. Ciampa went to the well too many times however as Lethal reversed a kick attempt into a hip toss onto the floor. Lethal then hit an outstanding combo of kicks on the outside. The action headed back in the ring where it was back and forth for the most part. Lethal got the advantage by sending Ciampa to the outside where he then delivered three consecutive dives onto Ciampa which ended up sending him over the railing into the crowd! Ciampa made his way back up and ends up delivering a brutal slam to Lethal on the ring apron! Both men lay on the outside until the ref gets to 19 and they both jump in the ring to break the count. Such a competitive match. The bout ends with a questionable finish as Matt Taven assaults Truth Martini which distracts the ref from counting Lethal's pin on Ciampa and gives Ciampa time to reverse it and get the quick victory. The TV Title picture is HOT right now. Can't wait for more between these two. Awesome match!
Match rating - 9/10
Overall thoughts: Another great show from ROH. Last week's show was great, but this week's may have been even better. I liked the fact that many people got mic time including Kevin Steen, Adam Cole, and Jay Briscoe. It's something that we don't always get and I'm glad we did tonight. ROH continues to do an awesome job of building storylines. From the World Title scene to the Tag Title scene to Kevin Steen/Compton/Outlawz to the TV Title - it's all quality programming. Ciampa vs. Lethal is one of the best matches of the year so far and is a must watch. I'd recommend checking out this show if you missed it. It was a great hour of wrestling and entertainment.
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