By Pat McNeill, PWTorch columnist

Wake the pets and call the neighbors. It's time for our semi-monthly ROH pay-per-view preview column!

DISCLAIMER: Projections are made by myself and for myself with absolutely no assistance from Joe Koff, Nigel McGuinness or The Man With The Lizard Face. Projections are not predictions, because this is the column where everything's made up and the points don't matter. This preview has been sealed in a mayonnaise jar on Funk & Wagnall's porch since noon today. A member of our studio audience will receive a Firebird fireplace heating system. Draws in cold air, forces out hot air. The Firebird makes more fireplaces more effective, so you can turn your thermostat down. And remember, if you come within $100 of the actual retail price of your showcase, you win both showcases. Remember, this is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, please, no wagering. This lineup is based on the best available information as of this writing. These predictions are based on what the columnist would do if he had creative control over ROH, unless a better one-liner comes along.

Ring of Honor returns to live internet pay-per-view tonight, and the timing couldn't be better. The promotion turned a profit on its "Best of the World" experiment, they are able to use UStream technology to get this show out there, and they have an absolutely loaded card with a first time ever main event. It isn't $9.99, but this should be a really good show at a reasonable price.

How loaded is this lineup? The IWGP champion will be live to face ROH's top heel at the Extravaganza. But since it isn't a title match, the match is listed FOURTH from the top. That's insane. More of the particulars later. Let's see some video.

Ring of Honor, in an effort to appease us poor wrestling columnists, put up an unused match from last month's television taping in Philadelphia. Here is former ROH television champion Matt Taven taking on rising star Jay Diesel. Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino were there at ringside.



And without further ado, let's roll right into this month's Wrestling History Lesson. Twenty years ago, World Championship Wrestling was running wild with a big feud between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. ROH put out quarterly specials on Superstation WTBS called "Clash of the Champions." Clash of the Champions XXVIII took place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on August 28, 1994, and the deal kicked off with Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff & Paul Roma) against The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags.) Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan had the call. Good times.


WCW Clash XXVIII by f100000707858265

And, as your free gift for viewing this column, let's take you back to March 19, 2005 the big TWC indy show in Coventry, England. A former ROH champ squared off with a future ROH champ as Samoa Joe took on CM Punk. Dean Ayass & Eamon Darcy had the call.



On with the projections!

I have no idea what the dark match will be for this show, but I hope Adam Pearce is involved.

BJ Whitmer & Adam Page vs. Josh Alexander & Ethan G. Owens vs. Caprice Coleman & Takaaki Watanabe vs. R.D. Evans & Moose Ojinnaka (Four Corner Survival Tag Match): Alexander and Owens should be the breakout team of 2015, but I suspect this match is all about The New Streak. Projection? A wild melee ends with Mr. Moose crushing Caprice to deliver the victory for Veda's vanguard.

Mark Briscoe vs. Hanson: It's a shame that Ray Rowe's injuries will hurt the rise of the War Machine tag team, but at least we'll get a wild brawl out of this. Projection? Mark's kung fu is the best, and the former tag champ eventually gets the win with the Froggy Bow.

Cedric Alexander vs. Michael Bennett: Bennett is a last minute substitution for the banged-up Silas Young. The former Prodigy and Maria Kannelis have an announcement set for tonight. If you'd like a hint, one of the upcoming ROH events is listed as "Michael Bennett's Bachelor Party." I'll pass on that, unless Seleziya Sparx is jumping out of a red velvet cake. Where was I? Projection? Alexander stuns Bennett with a Kick To Kill and ruins the engagement party.

The Addiction (Christopher Daniels & Frank Kazarian) vs. The Decade (Roderick Strong & Jimmy Jacobs): This is the sleeper match of the show, with four gentlemen who know their way around a set of tag ropes. This may be the first and last meeting between these two squads, so enjoy it while you can. Projection? Strong accidentally catches Jacobs with a sick kick, Kazarian pins Jimmy, and this sets up Strong's split from the stable.

A.J. Styles vs. Adam Cole (Non-Title Match): This is the most intriguing match on the show, and one of the most intriguing matches of the year. Cole was a fine Ring of Honor champion, but the faithful followers need to see him go toe-to-toe with the (ahem) best in the world. Projection? Styles eventually pulls down the victory with the Styles Clash.

Jay Lethal vs. A.C.H. (ROH Television Title - No Time Limit): As good as the Lethal-Martini combo have been as heels, you get the sense that this is building to something. Tonight's TV title match could be what we've been building toward. Projection? The challenger is stymied by outside interference from the House of Truth until Matt Taven makes a surprise return and saves ACH, who goes on to hit the Big Bang Attack for the win and the title. Ring of Honor has something special, if they can hang on to Mr. Hardie for another year.

ReDragon (Yum!) vs. The Young Bucks (ROH Tag Team Titles - 2/3 Falls): Believe it or not, in their three reigns, Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly have held these titles longer than the American Wolves or the Kings of Wrestling. The Bucks' have a larger destiny, which involves holding the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Titles Again. Projection O'Reilly pins Matt Jackson after Chasing the Dragon, to win the third and deciding fall.

Michael Elgin vs. Jay Briscoe (ROH World Title): In case you missed it, Michael Elgin joined me and Sean Radican on the PWTorch Livecast this past Wednesday. As the Unbreakable one pointed on, it's about the time where Ring of Honor fans turn on the current title holder. Expect Elgin (and Briscoe) to help this along. Projection? After exchanging a lot of stiff shots, Elgin backfists the crap out of Jay and finishes the challenger off with the spinning powerbomb.

Aftermath: "Final Battle 2014" arrives on pay-per-view in early December. I'm guessing this will be the deciding match in the feud between Michael Elgin and AJ Styles, and we'll see the Briscoes against the Young Bucks too.

***
Pat McNeill of Greenville, South Carolina has been a Torch columnist since February 2001. He'd take Oregon to beat Michigan State tonight in college football. You know, if gambling were legal.

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