ROH TV Review - October 1st, 2016

The next few weeks of ROH TV will be showcasing inter promotional action from the Field of Honor events. The whole Field of Honor concept with the show being held in a baseball field is still weird to me, but somehow it works. So, here we go.

1) Bobby Fish (c) vs. EVIL - ROH Television Championship Match

Fish defeated Ishii for the TV title a few months back at Global Wars and is still going strong as champion. EVIL is still looking for his first taste of gold so I was pretty excited for this however it ended up just being a super basic match. EVIL controls the entire first half. He slams Fish into the ring post with a chair around his neck and somehow doesn't get disqualified. The dominance continues until Fish reverses out of a power bomb, I believe it was, and hits a move or two before locking EVIL into the fish hook thus forcing him to tap. This was pretty lack luster, to be honest.

Match rating - **

2) Michael Elgin (c) vs. Donovan Dijak - IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match

The second title match of the evening is much better than the first. It's also special because it's the first time the IWGP IC Title has been defended in America, according to Kevin Kelly, so that's cool. I was super pumped for this because Dijak has been one of my favorites since his match with Busick last year for Beyond. This wasn't everything these guys could do, but it definitely gave me some of what I expected and teased what could be if they got the opportunity to do something on a higher level. It was mainly just a power struggle between the two hosses early on then things turned up a notch in the final few minutes and it ruled. Elgin retains after a fun battle.

Match rating - **3/4

3) The Young Bucks, Adam Page, & Yujiro Takashi vs. Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Lio Rush, & ACH

You already know this was off the charts. The Bullet Club is still running strong after three plus years, the hype hasn't died one bit and that's crazy to me. It's just a testament to how talented those guys are. Anyways, this was exactly what you'd expect. Slow start with exciting moments here or there. Then it broke loose for the final five minutes. ACH looked amazing here as well as Lio Rush. They were definitely the MVP's of the match although The Young Bucks looked just as killer as always. They're so consistent. Adam Page got the pin here after a superkick from The Bucks into a Rite of Passage on Lio Rush.

Match rating - ***1/2

ROH TV Review - September 24th, 2016

 

TONIGHT: Michael Elgin & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Adam Cole & Adam Page

1) Silas Young vs. Toru Yano
This was the odd match you'd expect considering these two are polar opposites. Yano brought the comedy and Silas was the grump. Yano took the pad off one of the turnbuckles and kept trying to use it against Silas. They actually put together a nice string of close falls in the final few seconds. In the end, Silas makes Yano eat all of his own tactics by kicking him in the crotch and shoving him into the exposed turnbuckle which allows him to pick up the win.

Match rating - **1/4

AMAZING Christopher Daniels pre-taped promo video to hype up Ladder War 6 airs. It's seriously some of his best work ever, it's unreal to see a guy who's been around as long as he has still adding to his legacy. Although I've already seen Ladder War 6, this definitely adds to it the match and gives it a lot more meaning so I probably go watch and end up changing my rating because knowing the story behind it, they pulled off that match PERFECTLY. So, watch this promo then watch that match and thank me later. Good stuff.

2) Damien Martinez (w/ Kevin Sullivan & BJ Whitmer) vs. Cheeseburger
So, in my time away from ROH, BJ Whitmer has dawned a whole new persona as a member of a cult-like stable led by Kevin Sullivan with Damien Martinez from the Top Prospect Tournament being put at the forefront of it. They've also apparently tracked back history between Sullivan and Steve Corino which led to them driving spike into his head back in the Summer which was discussed thoroughly on commentary as they argued back & forth while Martinez destroyed Cheeseburger. Interesting, to say the least.

Match rating - **

3) Michael Elgin & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Adam Cole & Adam Page
This is a prelude to All Star Extravaganza where Cole defends the ROH Title against former champ Michael Elgin. Kyle O'Reilly is on commentary because of his ongoing issues with Adam Cole. Those two are forever intertwined, I swear. But anyways, BC isolates Tanahashi for a bit which leads to an Elgin hot tag before things break down. We get a fun, vintage Cole/Elgin 2012 ROH style exchange if ya feel me. Superkicks and no selling. Elgin comes out on top following a vicious lariat, BUT PAGE POPS IN WITH A LARIAT OF HIS OWN. I mark for that spot every time. It's a short lived hype moment though because Elgin destroys Page with a bunch of combos moments after to get the three count for himself & Tanahashi. Staredown between Cole & Elgin to close the show.

Match rating - **3/4