The Oct. 15 edition of ROH television on Sinclair answered a lot of questions about whether or not the company is capable to present a product that is different from what is currently offered from TNA and WWE. The question remains as to whether or not the talent being featured can grab the attention of people and translate that into new ROH fans.

This episode was a big step in the right direction. The show featured solid booking plain and simple. The company featured the Briscoes vs. ANX with a shot at the ROH World Tag Team Titles on the line. Both teams told viewers what was at stake prior to the match in separate sit down interview segments. The Briscoes won the match when Jay hit a low blow on Titus. Later in the episode, Cornette said he was reviewing the situation and had seen the replay of the finish and at this point he wasn’t giving the Briscoes or ANX a shot at the tag team titles.

It’s not often you get logic like this from a mainstream company where everything fits together and you know what’s at stake for the combatants involved. The only danger I see in this is if a similar situation occurs in the future and ROH officials choose not to review the footage. There have been so many times in TNA and WWE where a decision could be overturned based on the footage, but neither company is consistent with how that’s handle. This segment is going to stick in the minds of ROH viewers for a long time, so here’s hoping they are consistent with that going forward.

The other focus was on the ROH World Title situation. Eddie Edwards was portrayed as being on the path to a rematch against Davey Richards, but he has to win matches to earn that right. On this night, Michael Elgin was standing in his way. The company nicely tied this all together with an “Inside ROH” segment that featured Elgin, Martini, Edwards, and Richards talking about what was on the line in the match and setting the stage for the title picture going forward. The only thing lacking was the segment could have tied where Roderick Strong fit into the equation better, but they cleared that up with the post-match standoff.

Eddie Edwards beat Michael Elgin in a hotly contested match that saw both men shine. The crowd was solidly behind Edwards and Elgin held things down on his end playing the powerful heel enforcer role. I was impressed with the segment, but there are some overlying concerns going forward in the Tag and World title picture.

The Briscoes have been portrayed as heels, but they aren’t over as heels. As ROH continues to hold television tapings, the talent needs to do a better job of getting over the roles they’re being asked to fill. The Briscoes interview segment was good, but it didn’t do enough to make them come across as unlikable. Neither did their actions in their match against Titus & King, as the crowd wasn’t outraged and many stood and applauded at Jay’s low blow on Titus leading to the finish.

Another problem is that Haas & Benjamin, who are the centerpieces of the division, aren’t very good at cutting promos in their interview segments. They were solid here, but they didn’t come across as well as Richards has in his interview segments. Haas & Benjamin aren’t going to get over if they can’t cut convincing promos, but it certainly doesn’t help when the fans are behind the Briscoes, who are being portrayed as their main heel rivals on television thus far.

The World title picture is also somewhat clouded going forward. The post-match saw Roderick Strong face off with Eddie Edwards, so it looks like those two will have a match at some point down the line to determine the #1 contender to Richards’s ROH World Title. Out of Elgin, Strong, and Edwards, Elgin captured my attention the most in his powerhouse role, but it looks like Strong and Edwards will battle it out for the right to face Richards.

Neither man grabs your attention when they cut promos or wrestle. Richards has done a lot to come across like a star during his interview segments, but Strong and Edwards don’t appear to have a powerful connection with the audience at this point, although Edwards did a better job than Strong of getting the fans behind him.

ROH’s creative team has their work cut out for them. The company has had a hard time developing personalities for several years. The UFC-style sit down interview segments are well done, but many of the wrestlers aren’t coming off like stars.

Edwards and Strong have shown potential on the mic, but it’s going to be interesting to see what they can do leading into their eventual match to determine who faces Richards next. The benefit of these sit down interviews is that ROH is going to get the chance to allow their performers to grow when it comes to cutting promos, but it’s important that the talent gets the intended reaction going forward. So far, it’s been a mixed bad, but the company is making a good effort to put on a logical and compelling program. It just needs more personality to capture some buzz in the coming months.

Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@gmail.com

We suggest these recent related articles...

RADICAN'S Beyond Wrestling "Greatest Rivals Round Robin" review 9/26 - incredible show of the year contender, Busick-Edwards top-flight MOTYC, more!

RADICAN'S "The Pull List" (Vol. 5) "Young Bucks Too Sweet Journey" doc review, The Flash season 1 Blu-Ray, Top Ten MOTYC for 2015

RADICAN'S ROH "All-Star Extravaganza VII" PPV BLOG 9/18: Booking issues dampen excellent in-ring action