RADICAN’S ROH “11th ANNIVERSARY” iPPV REPORT
MARCH 2, 2012
CHICAGO RIDGE, ILL.
AIRED LIVE ON ROHWRESTLING.COM

Kevin Kelly and Caleb Seltzer introduced the show and mentioned all the titles were on the tonight.

1 - - Q.T. Marshall (w/R.D. Evans) vs. Adam Page vs. Silas Young vs. Tadarius Thomas vs. Mike Sydal vs. ACH –Six Man Mayhem match

ACH got a big chant before the opening bell. R.D. Evans came into the commentary booth and said he was back in ROH after doing business overseas. Thomas blind tagged himself into the match and dumped Page onto ACH’s knees during the early going. The action picked up with men coming in and out of the ring. Evans left the booth because Seltzer and Kelly weren’t talking about him. Page fired up the crowd with a SSP off the apron to the floor on Marshall. ACH set up for a dive, but Evans tripped him from the outside. Thomas ended up hitting a handspring dive over the top to wipe out a pile of men. Sydal then hit a moonsault to the outside. ACH hit a crazy dive to the outside. Evans climbed up to the top turnbuckle, but Young cut him off and suplexed him onto a pile of men and the crowd went nuts.

ACH ducked a lariat from Marshall and took him out. ACH then went for a springboard, but Marshall cut him off on the apron with a kick. Marshall caught Page and hit a huge Alabama slam. The continued at a rapid pace. Young went for the fujiwara plunge off the top on Sydal, but he rolled out of the way. ACH immediately caught him with a modified DDT for the win.

WINNER: ACH

Star rating: (***) – This was a really good opener. The match provided the fans with a nice dose of excitement to open the show and get the crowd hot without overstaying its welcome.

A Video package aired for the Coleman & Alexander vs. Corino & Jacobs match.

2 - - S.C.U.M. (Steve Corino & Jimmy Jacobs) vs. Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander

Coleman and Alexander dominated the action during the early stages of the match. Alexander hit a nice dive to the outside to wipe out Jacobs and Corino. Jacobs managed to tag in Corino, but got cut off right away with a tandem clothesline. Corino cut off Coleman and tagged in Jacobs, but he got cut off right away. Coleman put Jacobs on his knees and Alexander hit a springboard clothesline. Jacobs cut off Coleman a short time later and tagged in Corino, who began working him over. Corino and Jacobs took down Coleman with a tandem neckbreaker, but Alexander broke up the pin. Coleman finally cut off Corino and hit an ace crusher. The crowd woke up as Coleman got the hot tag and ran wild on Jacobs and Corino.

Alexander hit a nice back breaker on Jacobs, but Corino broke up the pin. Corino ran into the ring and the action broke down. Coleman countered a double team and suplexed Corino. Alexander ran in to cut off Jacobs and hit a double suplex with Coleman on both of his opponents. Jacobs fired back a short time later with a spear on Coleman on the apron. Jacobs and Corino hit a series of moves on Alexander capped by a big clothesline on Corino, but he kicked out. Coleman countered another double team move. He took Jacobs down and Coleman hit a leg drop off the top, but Corino broke up the pin. Coleman and Alexander went for overtime, but Corino broke it up. Corino hit Coleman with a foreign object wrapped around his fist. Corino and Jacobs then finished off Alexander with a spiked piledriver.

WINNERS: Steve Corino & Jimmy Jacobs

Star rating: (*3/4) – The crowd was flat, although there were some nice double team maneuvers from Coleman & Alexander. Corino bringing in a foreign object at the end didn’t make a lot of sense since he and Jacobs were in control.

Kelly introduced a highlight package for the Whitmer-Haas match.

3 - - Charlie Haas vs. B.J. Whitmer – No Holds Barred match

Haas tried to jump Whitmer as he made his entrance, but Whitmer nailed him with a beer can. Whitmer dominated the action on the outside and the crowd fired up after he tossed Haas into the guardrail. Whitmer went under the ring to get some plunder after tossing Haas into the ring. Whitmer tossed several objects into the ring. Whitmer nailed Haas with a trashcan as he continued to dominate the action. Whitmer went under the ring and got a ladder. He took it into the ring with him and nailed Haas with it in the midsection. Whitmer then took the ladder and drove it into Haas’s groin before nailing the ladder with a chair shot, which reverberated into Haas’s groin.

Whitmer set up a table between the ring and the barricade, but Haas shoved him into the barricade. He then dropped Whitmer back first over the guardrail. Haas went to work on Whitmer in the ring and nailed him over the back several times with the ladder. Haas set up the ladder in the corner and whipped Whitmer face first right into the ladder. Cheeseburger tripped Haas on the apron. Whitmer and Haas then began trading shots to the head with baking sheets. Haas cut off Whitmer and hit a belly to belly suplex over the top through the table on the outside. I’m surprised they went back to a variation of that spot from “Final Battle,” but it’s probably safer doing it the way they did it. The crowd went nuts and Haas tossed Whitmer into the ring, but he kicked off.

Haas set a ladder on top of Whitmer and nailed him with a series of chair shots. Haas covered Whitmer, but he kicked out again. Haas set up a chair between the turnbuckles and tossed Whitmer into it. Haas got another table under the ring and tossed it into the ring. Haas set up the table in the middle of the ring. Haas set up Whitmer up top and went for a belly to belly suplex off the top. Haas connected, but Whitmer kicked out. I can’t believe Whitmer actually took the same spot from “Final Battle” and kicked out. Haas set up the ladder between two chairs inside the ring. Haas taunted Whitmer and slapped him. Haas went for the Olympic slam, but Whitmer countered and hit an exploder through the ladder. Haas kicked out and Whitmer hit a series of knee strikes. The ref called for the bell and dragged Whitmer off Haas, but Whitmer hit several more knee strikes before stopping.

WINNER: B.J. Whitmer

Star rating: (**3/4) – This was a very good brawl with some big spots. I was surprised they went back to Whitmer taking a belly to belly suplex two times after Whitmer nearly got killed doing the same spot at “Final Battle.” The finish took things down a notch as the fans didn’t know how to react to the ref stoppage.

Kelly discussed the history between Richards and Romero as tag partners in ROH and Japan. Kelly discussed how once Richards left Japan last year, Romero chose Koslov as his partner. They then went to comments from the Wolves.

Koslov got on the mic after both teams had entered the ring. Koslov said he wanted to say hello to chi-town. Koslov said he was going to sing the national Russian anthem. Nobody stood and the crowd started a USA chant. The crowd booed as Koslov sang terribly. Romero sang along next to Koslov, which was pretty funny.

4 - - The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov)

The crowd was hot and chanted for Richards before he locked up with Romero. The crowd chanted deportation while Romero tried to work over Richards’s. Richards escaped with a kick and mocked Romero’s dance. Romero tried to beg off and Richards looked surprised. Romero offered Richards a handshake. He went and gave the ref a hug. Romero then shook Richards’s hand and raised it. He tried to kick Richards, but Richards caught it and he nailed him with a punch. The action broke down with Koslov running into the ring, but he got wiped out as well. The Hooligans ended up on the outside and the Wolves nailed them with stereo dives through the ropes.

The Wolves continued to dominate the action as Kelly said the Wolves were on a collision course with O’Reilly & Fish. Romero distracted Edwards from the outside and Koslov took him down.

Koslov began working over Edwards and Romero took out Richards on the outside. The crowd tried to rally behind Edwards, but Koslov was able to keep him grounded in the ring. Romero hit a series of running clothesline in the corner, but Edwards managed to duck one and wiped out Romero with a clothesline of his own. Romero managed to tag in Koslov, who knocked Richards off the apron. Edwards managed to fight off both Hooligans and he powerbombed Koslov onto Romero. Richards got the tag and hit a missile dropkick on Koslov. Richards and Koslov began exchanging blows. Richards finally took down Koslov with a handspring kick. He had Romero tied up and Koslov charged at him, so he suplexed Koslov into a double pin for a nearfall.

They went to a big exchange with Richards and Koslov that ended with Richards hitting a German with a bridge for a nearfall on Koslov. Koslov avoided a double stomp off the top moments later and wiped out Richards with an enzuguri. He then posed for the crowd, who booed. Koslov did his signature dancing kicks and hitting a running double stomp for a nearfall. The Hooligans isolated Richards and worked him over with a nice series of double team moves, but Edwards made save. Edwards managed to fight off both Hooligans and the crowd fired up. Richards shoved Koslov into a code breaker from Edwards. The Wolves hit a superkick/tombstone combination, but Koslov kicked out. Edwards came off the top with a double stomp. Richards then hit a double stomp off the top on Koslov, but Romero made the save. Richards tossed Romero to the outside and went up top, but Romero cut him off. Koslov then wiped out Edwards.

Romero set up Richards on Koslov’s back and hit a huge hurricanrana. Koslov then hit a frog splash, but Richards kicked out and the fans fired up. The action picked up with Edwards dragging Romero off the apron. Richards then rolled up Koslov for a two count. The Wolves hit a powerbomb/back stabber combination off the top on Koslov to put him away.

Both teams followed the Code of Honor after the match. Richards and Romero hugged and all four men raised their hands and the fans applauded.

WINNERS: Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards

Star Rating: (***1/2) – This was a very good match. I thought it would be better as the action dragged in certain spots. Kelly also mentioned the Wolves were on a collision course with Fish & O’Reilly, which seemed to give away the match result. I really enjoyed the work of both teams in this match and Koslov & Romero are a lot of fun to watch as a heel unit in the ring.

Kelly sent the show to intermission.

Kelly and Seltzer came back from intermission and previewed the Elgin-Strong 2 Out of 3 Falls match.

5 - - Roderick Strong vs. Michael Elgin – 2 Out of 3 Falls match

Truth Martini is banned from ringside for this match. Strong worked over Elgin’s arm during the early stages of the match. Elgin nicely cartwheeled out of an arm bar and applied one of his own sending Strong scrambling to the ropes to break the hold. The pace picked up and Elgin hit a back fist, a buckle bomb and a spinning powerbomb to take the first fall. Elgin won the first fall in under 2 minutes. A replayed aired of Elgin’s powerbomb sequence. Strong went to the outside and Elgin went right after him when the minute rest period was over. They brawled on the outside with Elgin dominating the action. Strong cut off Elgin with a dropkick as he tried to get back in the ring. Strong went for a sunset bomb to the floor. Elgin tried to sit down on him, but Strong got out of the way. Strong then a belly to back suplex from the apron to the floor.

Strong hit some big chops on Elgin on the outside before tossing him back into the ring. Strong worked a chin lock and the crowd died down. Elgin hit a big punch, but Strong sent him into the corner with a kick to the head. Elgin caught Strong in the corner and slammed him to the mat. Elgin went up top, but Strong cut him off. Elgin managed to shove him to the mat and he hit a shoulder tackle off the top on Strong. Strong tried to fire back and bounce off the ropes, but Elgin hit a black hole slam for a two count. Elgin applied a crossface, but Strong escaped. Elgin lifted up Strong and hit shock treatment moments later for a 2 count. The fans chanted for Elgin as he went back on the attack. Strong fired back on Elgin and landed a series of blows and hit a suplex with a bridge for a nearfall. The fans chanted for both men as they went back and forth. Strong hit a big superkick on a seated Elgin for a nearfall. Strong charged at Elgin in the corner, but ended up eating a kick to the face. Elgin went up top, but Strong countered him and hit a back breaker over the top turnbuckle. Strong then hit a huge back breaker on his knees out of the suplex position to tie the match at 1-1.

They went to the rest period as both men tried to regroup. Strong jumped Elgin before the rest period was over and hit a double knee gutbuster for a nearfall. Elgin countered Strong and hit a DVD into the corner. The fans began chanting for Elgin. Elgin went up top as the fans fired up. Strong tried to cut him off, but Elgin shoved him off and hit a corkscrew senton for a 2 count. Elgin followed up with a dead-lift German with a bridge for a nearfall. Elgin rolled through and hit another dead lift German, but Strong kicked out again. Elgin went for a dead lift superplex, but Strong slit out and powerbombed him off the top rope for a 2 count. Elgin hit a dead-lift Elgin bomb moments later for a 2 count. Elgin then applied the crossface for the win.

WINNER: Michael Elgin.

Star rating: (***1/4) – This match just felt like it was lacking something whether it is ROH not building Elgin up properly for their audience or Strong not being over to the audience as a true heel. The crowd was into the match, but Elgin winning with the crossface felt flat. This was a good match, but I was expecting a lot more from the matches in this feud overall. There just wasn’t a lot of drama.

Kelly threw to a video package for ROH TV Champion Adam Cole defending his title against Top Prospect tournament winner Matt Taven. They showed Martini talking about his relationship with Taven. Martini made some really lame sexual jokes in reference for it time for him to get off during the upcoming match.

Matt Hardy came down the entrance ramp and got a mic. The crowd chanted shut the f—k up at Hardy. Hardy said McGuinness had done all he could to stop him from getting a shot at the TV title. He said he had defied the odds. The fans chanted boring as Hardy said Cole’s next title defense would be against him. Hardy promised to become the new TV Champion after this afterthought of a match.

Martini came out with Taven wearing Tuxedo boxer briefs. Adam Cole got a good reaction when he made his entrance.

6 - - ROH TV Champion Adam Cole vs. Matt Taven (w/Truth Martini)

Hardy complained about Taven getting the title shot based on how he won the Top Prospect tournament. Cole got the better of Taven during the early stages of the match and Taven bailed to the outside. Seltzer tried to put over Taven as a breakout star on commentary. He said Taven could easily walk out of this show with the title. Cole ducked a clothesline and hit a neck breaker on Taven. Martini distracted Cole while he was on the apron and Taven dropkicked him to the floor. Taven went for a dive, but Cole nailed him with a kick through the ropes. Cole went for a springboard, but Martini pulled him down and Taven clotheslined him to the floor. They battled on the outside and Cole reversed a whip and sent Taven into the guardrail. Cole then went after Martini, but Taven nailed him with a dropkick.

Taven began working over Cole inside the ring. They noted on commentary that Taven had changed his gear to match his change in attitude. It look pretty much the same to me, but I digress. Martini choked Cole on the ropes while Taven distracted Cole. Cole tried to fire back, but Taven caught him with an enzuguri for a two count. Cole mounted a comeback and ran wild on Taven. Cole hit a neck breaker over his knee on Taven a short time later for a 2 count. Hardy said he came to ROH to help the company and McGuinness was stopping that. Taven tried to hit a dive off the top, but Cole caught him with a dropkick for a two count. Taven finally spun out of a suplex from Cole and hit a neck breaker for a two count.

Hardy said Taven was doing better than expected. Taven went for a superplex, but Cole blocked it. Cole then went for a sunset bomb and Taven looked to go head-first into the canvas. Cole hit a shining wizard a short time later, but Taven kicked out at the last second. The fans chanted for Cole as he went for a running knee, but Taven ducked it and rolled him up for a two count. Taven caught Cole by surprise moments later with an enzuguri. The action picked up and Cole caught Taven with a jumping DDT from inside the ring to the apron. The fans fired up as Cole tossed Taven back into the ring and went up top. Cole went for a splash, but Taven got out of the ring. Taven favored his knee and went for a suplex, but Cole countered it into a neck breaker for a. Cole applied a figure 4, but Taven got the ropes.

They went back and forth. Cole went to bounce off the ropes, but Martini nailed him with the book of truth. Taven then hit a modified DDT for the win. Wow!

WINNER: Matt Taven to become the new ROH TV Champion

Kelly called it one of the greatest upsets in ROH history. Martini ran into the ring and celebrated with Taven. Hardy sold shock about Taven winning and wondered about his match with Cole. Taven taunted Hardy with the title. Hardy asked how this could happen and continued to sell shock. Kelly said on commentary that perhaps the story of this match was the upset.

Star rating: (**3/4) –Taven winning is a shocking result and it brings about a lot of questions regarding Cole’s future in ROH. Is he WWE bound or is this a swerve to keep people guessing and elevate Cole into the World title picture in the near future are just some of the questions that pop to mind. The action in the match was above average, but the crowd wasn’t into it. Hardy’s reaction to Taven winning and what that means to his shot at the TV title in the future was well done, but this results brings about a lot of questions.

Kelly kicked to a video package for the Briscoes-RedDRagon match.

7 - - ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) vs. RedDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)

The crowd was firmly behind the Briscoes. Mark’s beard it getting to be epic in length. McGuinness came in on commentary. McGuinness said the winner of the Hardy-Cole match would get a shot at Taven’s TV title at Supercard of Honor. Jay appears to be growing a beard of great length as well. The Briscoes isolated Fish during the early stages of the match and worked him over in their own corner. Fish took Mark down with a kick and tagged in O’Reilly RedDRagon went to work on Mark inside the ring with a series of running strikes in the corner. The action broke down and Fish swept Jay’s leg out from under him on the apron and took out Mark on the outside. Fish began working over Jay’s knee inside the ring. O’Reilly and Fish began to tag in and out of the ring to work over Jay.

The crowd tried to rally behind Jay, as he continued to take a sustained beating. The announcers remarked on the slick work of O’Reilly & Fish saying they work awfully well together for a new team. Cole went for a running knee strike off the apron, but Jay cut him off with a clothesline. Mark got the hot tag and ran wild on Fish back inside the ring. O’Reilly came into the ring and ate some redneck kung fu. Mark suplexed O’Reilly and he rolled to the outside. Mark then hit a dragon suplex on Fish, but he kicked out at the last second. Jay hit a frog splash on Fish, but O’Reilly broke it up. O’Reilly sent Mark to the floor with a kick. Fish and O’Reilly hit total elimination on Jay, but he kicked out at the last second.

The action broke down with the Briscoes hitting the doomsday device from the apron to the outside on O’Reilly. The Briscoes isolated Fish inside the ring and set him up for the doomsday device, but O’Reilly broke it up. Mark and O’Reilly exchanged headbutts on the apron. O’Reilly shoved Mark into Fish, who suplexed him off the apron to the floor. The crowd fired up as Jay tried to suplex O’Reilly off the top. Fish ran into and cut Jay off. Fish and O’Reilly hit the doomsday device on Jay, but he kicked out. Fish and O’Reilly then hit chasing the dragon for the win.

The fans booed the finish of the match. It’s another surprising result, although not totally unexpected since they seemed to set up a feud between Fish & O’Reilly and the Wolves. Cary Silkin entered the ring and put the belts on Fish and O’Reilly with the referee.

WINNERS: Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish to become the new ROH World Tag Team Champions

Star rating: (***1/4) – This was another good match on the card. It doesn’t seem like Fish & O’Reilly’s heel act has clicked with the crowd. They booed the finish, but Fish & O’Reilly didn’t get a lot of heat during the match except for the crowd popped for their big moves.

Kelly previewed the Steen-Lethal main event with Seltzer. They pitched to a video package for the main event before showing Joe Koff and Cary Silkin at ringside.

Jay Lethal came out for the main event to a good reaction. Steen got the biggest reaction of the night making his entrance prior to the main event. Steen teased following the code of honor, but pulled away.

8 - - ROH World Hvt. Champion Kevin Steen vs. Jay Lethal

The match started hot and heavy with both men exchanging punches in the ring. The action quickly spilled to the floor and both men brawled on the outside. Lethal took control after hitting a dropkick on Steen, who was draped over the ropes, from the outside. Lethal sent Steen to the floor with a springboard dropkick to the apron before wiping him out with a pair of dives. Lethal went for a third dive, but Steen cut him off and powerbombed him onto the apron. The crowd fired up after that explosive sequence. Steen jawed with a heckler before going to work on Lethal inside the ring.

Steen continued to work over Lethal for a long period of time. The fans fired up as Steen choked Lethal against the ropes. Lethal bit Steen’s fingers and they began exchanging punches in the middle of the ring, but Steen cut him off with a DDT. Steen went for a senton off the top, but Lethal got his knees up. Lethal followed up a short time later with a back cracker, but only got a 2 count. Steen cut off Lethal and hit a pump handle neck breaker for a 2 count as the crowd fell flat. Steen went for a cannonball in the corner, but Lethal got out of the way and hit an elevated neck breaker for a 2 count. Steen picked up Lethal and swung him into the ref. Lethal slipped away and hit the Lethal injection, but the ref was down. Jacobs and Corino ran down and began beating up Lethal. They hit a spiked piledriver on Lethal and put Steen on top of him. The ref recovered, but Lethal recovered at the last second.

Jacobs ran behind the ref and hit an elbow drop on the ref. McGuinness ran down to the ring and took a chair away from Corino. The crowd went nuts as McGuinness took off his jacket and forced Corino to go to the back. Lethal sent Jacobs to the outside with kick. Steen and Lethal began brawling in the middle of the ring. Lethal hit a dragon suplex and Steen popped right up. Lethal hit a second dragon suplex, but Steen kicked out at the last second and the crowd roared. The crowd chanted for both men after the nearfall. Lethal hit a rolling kick, but Steen stayed on his feet. Lethal charged at Steen, but ate a pop up powerbomb for a nearfall. Lethal hit a series of superkicks on Steen in the corner. He then hit the Lethal combination and went up top for hail to the king, but Steen kicked out at the last second. The crowd roared as Lethal applied the Koji clutch. Steen managed to finally roll over and he grabbed the ropes to break the hold. The crowd went nuts chanting this is awesome after Steen got the ropes.

The action spilled to the apron. Steen got Lethal up on his shoulders and hit the F cinq through a table at ringside and the fans went nuts again. Jimmy held Lethal’s foot as he tried to break the count of the ref. Lethal kicked Jacobs away and hit the package piledriver, but Lethal kicked out at the last second! The fans fired up after the great nearfall. Steen saw Jacobs on the apron and told him to go away. Lethal shoved Steen into Jacobs and rolled him up for a nearfall. Steen then hit a big clothesline that left both men down on the mat. The crowd fired up again and chanted ROH, ROH as the ref counted both men down. Lethal caught Steen with a boot as he charged at him and slowly went up top. Steen got up and cut him off. They battled up top and Lethal pushed Steen down to the mat. Steen suddenly popped up and crotched Lethal before hitting the super brainbuster for the win.

After the match, Rhino ran down and hit the gore on Lethal. Steen appeared to be unhappy about this. The Briscoes ran down, but Rhino and Jacobs cut them off. Coleman and Alexander ran down to the ring. Jimmy Rave ran into the ring and helped SCUM get rid of Coleman and Alexander. Rhett Titus followed Whitmer into the ring, but he hit a dropkick on Whitmer and took off his shirt to reveal a SCUM shirt. Michael Elgin ran down to the ring, but Cliff Compton came down to the ting and threw powder into Elgin’s face. Steen picked up his title and looked confused. SCUM began handcuffing the babyfaces to the ropes. The Wolves ran down to the ring, but were overpowered. Steen bailed to the outside. Adam Cole ran into the ring. Hardy ran down and attacked Cole. Hardy nailed Cole with the twist of fate and revealed a SCUM shirt. The crowd booed as SCUM posed in the ring with several babyfaces tied to the ropes. Several officials ran down, but were sent packing. Corino got on the mic and said he had told everyone evil was coming. Corino was wearing a tie and jacket. He said the fans were witnessing the destruction of ROH. Corino said nobody in ROH could do anything about it. Steen looked on from the apron. Corino said Lethal was the last of the challengers and Steen had proven that he’s the best champion in the history of ROH. Corino said the mission has always remained the same since day one. SCUM held up a ROH banner. Corino said the fans were as much as fault for their destruction as the company. Corino said the nail had been put in the coffin of ROH.

The crowd booed as Corino introduced the new members of the group. Hardy got a lot of boos. Corino said they were the ones put down by ROH. Corino promised they would murder ROH. Jacobs tried to spike the ROH banner, but they ended up having to tear it apart. Corino said tonight war was declared, but it won’t last very long because honor had died.

WINNER: Kevin Steen to retain the ROH World Hvt. Title

Star rating: (****1/4) – This was a heck of a main event. Things started slow, but they really woke up the crowd by telling a very good story with Corino and Jacobs getting involved and Lethal continually overcoming the odds during the match. The post-match debuts of several new members of SCUM and Corino’s promo is sure to get a lot of people talking.

Overall thoughts: (7.5) – This was a good show. There were some odd finishes on the undercard, but there was also a lot of very good matches as well. The problem with the card is that it felt bloated and the show was overly long, so it was hard for me to maintain my interest throughout the card. ROH really needs to cut down on the length of their shows.

This show is sure to get a lot of people talking with several new members of SCUM debuting after the main event including Hardy, Titus, Rave, and Compton. It was a heck of segment and Corino nailed his promo declaring war on ROH. It was interesting to watch Steen’s reaction to SCUM beating down all the babyfaces, as he didn’t seem pleased at all.

Taven beating Cole for the ROH TV title was a shocking turn of events. Taven won the Top Prospects tournament on television to earn a shot at the title, but he’s only been a job guy in ROH, so it’s shocking to see him pin Cole. Martini interfered throughout the match to help him win and if this is a sign of things to come, it’s a real comedown from Cole giving credibility to the title in recent months. Martini’s act on TV has been insufferable lately and his lewd promos and interviews just aren’t entertaining.

Cole & O’Reilly beating the Briscoes for the ROH World Title is a good move, but they didn’t get much of a reaction as heels until after the match when they made a ref and Cary Silkin put the belts on them. If anything, at least Taven and Fish & O’Reilly winning the titles makes the television seem important, as Taven and O’Reilly & Fish won their shots at the titles leading into the iPPV.

The crowd wasn’t flat on this night, but they weren’t red hot either for much of the action until the very good main event. Steen and Lethal put on a great match with some fantastic spots that got the crowd hot, especially after Corino and Jacobs interfered with the ref down and McGuinness came out to run Corino off. Lethal and Steen put together some great nearfalls leading into the finish and the fans were on their feet and cheering the entire second half of the match.

The debut of several new members of SCUM was well done, but it brings about questions as to whether or beefed up heel faction can draw interest for ROH. Steen, Corino, and Jacobs have been largely cheered since forming the faction last year and ROH has tried to paint Steen as a heel, but it just hasn’t worked leading to the booking not coming across well.

With Steen looking to have doubts about his role in the group after the main event, maybe the SCUM-ROH feud can be salvaged. The faces in ROH haven’t been booked well enough to get the crowd behind them when taking on Steen, but the dynamic between SCUM-ROH has a better chance of being compelling if Steen leaves the group. This is definitely a show worth checking out, but they could have cut down on the amount of matches and highlight packages for a more compact viewing experience.

To watch this show as a VOD, visit ROHWrestling.com

***

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