RADICAN’S ROH TV REPORT
AIRED OCT. 22, 2011
TAPED AT THE DAVIS ARENA
LOUSIVILLE, KY

Kelly welcomed fans to the show. They went to a shot of Kelly and McGuinness at ringside. McGuinness and Kelly announced ROH World TV Champion Jay Lethal would defend against Mike Bennett in the main event. Kelly then previewed the first match featuring T.J. Perkins vs. Mike Mondo.

They went to an interview with T.J. Perkins, who talked about wrestling all over the world. He said the best step for him was to come to ROH. He said Mondo was a giant killer, but he is small and Mondo will have to catch lightening with his bare hands to beat him tonight.

Mondo was shown backstage. He delivered an over-the-top promo saying he’s big enough to step on toes and keep on walking. He said he hope he doesn’t hurt Perkins. Mondo concluded that he’s the biggest man in ROH.

Radican’s thoughts: Neither man particularly stood out with their delivery. I’m having flashbacks to ’85 watching Mondo deliver his lines. He was a real turnoff with the way he presented himself. Mondo is being presented as a small in size, but large from a muscular standpoint guy that thinks he’s bigger than he really is.

Mondo made his entrance. Kelly said in Mondo’s mind he’s 7 feet tall. They had a small television screen above the entranceway scrolling the ROH logo. It’s hard to get a feel for the arena with all of the tight shots so far. Mondo held up a sign for the crowd when he got into the ring. Perkins then came out to a mild reaction. The crowd sounds much better than they did from the Chicago tapings. McGuinness said Perkins had wrestled all over the world.

Bobby Cruise did the ring introductions before they went to the “Tale of the Tape” graphic. Mondo was listed as having a 16 pound weight advantage over Perkins. Both men shook hands before the bell rung.

1 - - T.J. PERKINS vs. MIKE MONDO

Perkins took down Mondo with a dropkick early. After a series of quick exchanges, Perkins locked Mondo in a Boston crab that he turned into a reverse walking chair. Perkins let go and locked in an STF, but Mondo got the ropes. Perkins tied up Mondo in the corner and nailed him with a running dropkick. Perkins went for a dive, but Mondo got out of the way. Perkins walked over near the ropes, but Mondo dragged him to the outside and shoved him into the guardrail. Mondo then nailed Perkins with a senton off the apron that popped the crowd.

Kelly mentioned Mondo had held the OVW Championship many times. McGuinness continued to repeat that Perkins had wrestled all over the world. Kelly thanked Poison’s Bret Michaels for promoting them on twitter. Kelly then plugged ROH’s twitter while Mondo got the heat on Perkins. Kelly said Cornette would speak to the Briscoes in the next segment and make a ruling on the #1 contender for the ROH World Tag Team Titles while Mondo grabbed a headlock.

Perkins fought back and both men exchanged forearms. Perkins won the exchange and locked himself in the ropes. Mondo charged at him, but Perkins got out of the way and he went flying through the ropes to the outside. Perkins then followed up with a dive through the ropes. Perkins followed up with a springboard dropkick to the back of the head for a 2 count. Mondo stumbled around as Perkins stalked him. Mondo countered the detonation, but Perkins caught him in the figure 4 death lock. Mondo quickly reached the ropes and Perkins went on the attack in the corner. The lights are way too bright from the floor camera looking up. Mondo fired back and caught Perkins with a code breaker. Mondo followed up with a dropkick to the face, but Perkins kicked out. McGuinness said Perkins was going to be mad. Mondo yelled at the ref and Perkins went for a superkick. Mondo blocked it, but Perkins nailed him with another superkick. They did a bunch of stuff and Perkins caught Mondo in a pinning combination for the pin.

Mondo refused to shake hands after the match.

Winner: T.J. Perkins

Radican’s thoughts: The Davis arena looks a little better on camera than the Frontier Fieldhouse in Chicago, but they did nothing to dress up the arena to make it stand out other than using a small entranceway with a flat screen TV on top of it.

The match didn’t do anything for me. Perkins went for submission, but didn’t do anything to set them up. Mondo was fine, but it was like neither man had a gimmick while they wrestled in the ring, which isn’t a bad thing for Mondo, I suppose given the material he had in his pre-match promo. McGuinness was grating on commentary here and kept repeating that Perkins had international wrestling experience. What does that do for the viewers watching at home?

Kevin Kelly plugged the Lethal-Bennett main event again on commentary.

They went to a commercial with Kevin Kelly plugging “Final Battle 2011.” He brought in Jay Lethal. Kelly said this was the biggest night of the year. Lethal said no matches had been signed yet, but he promised to be at “Final Battle.” Lethal said the TV Title was the gateway to the ROH World Title.

Back from commercial, Kelly plugged the main event again. Kelly said Cornette would render his decision to the Briscoes shortly. Kelly and McGuinness pitched to a recap of the ANX-Briscoes match from last week. Dramatic music played with footage of big moves from both teams featured. They focused on Jay hitting a low blow on King to win the match. Then Cornette was shown saying neither team were the #1 contenders.

Back to the arena, the Briscoes made their entrance. They got a nice reception from the fans. Cornette was already standing in the ring. Cornette said he had made the decision that ANX deserved another chance. Cornette said next week the Briscoes would face Titus & King next week with the winning team being named the challengers to the tag team champions at “Final Battle.” Jay said they had whooped their ass all over the country and they would do it again next week. Cornette asked Jay to watch his language. Jay said ROH officials would have no choice, but to let them wrestle for the titles after they beat Titus & King. Cornette said they had to earn their title shot by beating top competition. He referenced the Briscoes attacking Haas & Benjamin at “Best in the World” with chairshots. Cornette said that wasn’t the way you earned a title shot in ROH. Jay said they didn’t need to prove anything because they were already 6 time tag champions. Jay said at “Final Battle” they would get their belts back. Jay and Mark then got excited and headbutted each other. They then exchanged punches after saying they would become the 7 time tag team champions.

They showed Haas & Benjamin sitting down. Haas said they respected ANX, but they wanted the Briscoes at “Final Battle.” Benjamin said they haven’t forgotten the Briscoes attack at “Best in the World.” Benjamin said they were rooting for the Briscoes. Benjamin said there was good news and bad news: the Briscoes would have to fight them.

Radican’s thoughts: I really liked this segment, but the Briscoes are still getting a lot of cheers despite being portrayed as heels. The Briscoes showed really good intensity after Cornette told them they would have to beat ANX to get to Haas & Benjamin. The Briscoes exchanging blows and head butting each other painted them as crazy, but ROH needs to position them better as heels.

Haas & Benjamin don’t shine when given the chance to speak, but they did a fine job of letting viewers know why they wanted the Briscoes at “Final Battle.” They showed more intensity than they have in previous interviews, but both Haas & Benjamin need to get in front of the fans and cut an intense promo that shifts fan support towards them or I’m afraid we’ll have another match at “Final Battle” with the fans chanting for both teams instead of emotionally investing in the match.

A commercial aired for ROHWrestling.com. Next, another commercial aired for ROHWrestling.com.

Back from commercial, it was time for “Inside ROH” with Roderick Strong and Davey Richards. Kelly focused on “Final Battle.” He said people could watch anywhere in the world for only $14.95. He plugged ROHWrestling.com instead of GoFightLive.tv. I don’t see why Kelly didn’t drive fans to GoFightLive.tv, as that’s where they can order the iPPV.

Strong was interviewed. He said Richards got frustrated during their last television match and attacked Truth Martini. Martini said Richards was using illegal tactics and he was telling the referee about it. He said Richards attacked him out of nowhere. Strong said the distraction allowed Richards to beat him. Martini said Richards wanted to be DQ’d and he should have been DQ’d. Martini said Strong should be on the top of the list of challengers to Richards at “Final Battle,” but things hadn’t gone their way against Richards and Elgin didn’t get the job done against Edwards. Martini said he had told Strong he needs to fight through the adversity. Strong said he was issuing the “Roderick Strong Invitational Challenge.” Strong said anyone in the world that has a claim to being the best wrestler in the world can come to “Final Battle” and prove it. Martini said Strong’s challenge would prove that Strong is the greatest professional wrestler in the world today. Strong said he would not only win, but he would steal the show and outshine Richards.

Kelly said Strong was asked if wrestling Richards’s friend Kyle O’Reilly next week on TV was a coincidence. Strong said it was nothing but a little warm up. Strong said he would send a message that Team Richards was a joke. Strong said he would have fun beating up O’Reilly because it would make Richards miserable.

They went to Richards being interviewed. Richards said last year at “Final Battle” he was convinced he would beat Strong for the ROH World Title, but he ended up in the hospital after. Richards said he was focused going into “Final Battle.” Richards said O’Reilly had moved near him and he was going to a dark place. He said he was putting himself through hell with agonizing training. Richards said whoever faced him at “Final Battle” needed to be ready for hell. Richards said without Team Richards none of this would be possible. Richards said he had made five trips to Japan. Clips of Richards wrestling in Japan were shown while he discussed how the brutal style would prepare him for “Final Battle.” Richards said whoever wrestled him at “Final Battle” would remember his name.

Radican’s thoughts: This was a really good video package. Top notch stuff almost all-around. The only thing I didn’t like was Strong saying he was going to put on a better performance than Richards in the ring. It would be better if he said he was going to prove himself better by beating top completion at “Final Battle.” Strong and Richards shouldn’t be in the business of proving who puts on better in-ring matches.

That aside, Strong was really good playing the unlikable heel, but he needs to bring that into the ring. The segment did a nice job of putting Strong in the background for a later date with Richards. Richards was also very good here and came across well. The highlights of him wrestling in Japan to reinforce his training going into “Final Battle” were compelling. This segment made me want to see both men compete at “Final Battle” and I don’t even know who they’re wrestling yet.

A commercial for ROHWrestling.com aired. Next, a commercial for the “Best in the World” DVD aired.

Back from commercial, Kelly said the main event would take place in a moment. Kelly pitched to a video package of Lethal beating El Generico to capture the ROH TV Title. Did they need to show this again?

Mike Bennett made his entrance for the main event with Brutal Bob. They didn’t do much to establish why Bennett is getting this shot at the TV Title. Bennett drew a lot of boos when he got into the ring. Lethal then came out to a nice ovation for the main event. Kelly said Lethal had made his return to ROH after becoming disenchanted with entertainment wrestling. Bobby Cruise did the formal introductions for the main event. The crowd chanted “you can’t wrestle” at Bennett when Cruise introduced him. Lethal got a nice pop from the crowd. A 15 minute time limit was announced.

They went to commercial with Jim Cornette plugging “Final Battle.” Cornette brought in Eddie Edwards. He said he would leave his mark on everyone in New York City. Cornette said more would be announced for “Final Battle” in the coming weeks.

Back from commercial, Kelly ran down the Tale of the Tape. Bennett refused to follow the Code of Honor prior to the match.

2 - - ROH TV Champion JAY LETHAL vs. MIKE BENNETT (w/Brutal Bob)

McGuinness and Kelly touched on Bennett’s ego. Both men locked up and came to a stalemate. Lethal hit an arm drag into a dropkick for a 2 count. McGuiness said Lethal has a fantastic move set, which you need to succeed in ROH. The fans chanted for Lethal as both men went back and forth. Bennett ended up catching Lethal with a dropkick for a 2 count. Lethal fired right back and dropkicked Bennett off the ring to the outside. Bennett got out of the way before Lethal could complete a dive to the outside. Lethal slid to the outside and both men battled on the outside. Several fans chanted for Kevin Steen. Kelly said they were chanting for a controversial figure. Bennett got the upper hand and slammed Lethal into the ring apron.

Lethal fired back quickly and locked in a unique leg submission on Bennett in the middle of the ring. Lethal then bridged up using his legs to push Bennett’s arms up. Bennett screamed, but Lethal let go of the hold when he could no longer support Bennett’s weight. Kelly mentioned that Lethal and Bennett wrestled in a competitive match at “Best in the World” that Lethal won.

Lethal continued the attack as fans chanting “this is wrestling.” Lethal went up top. McGuinness said it was too early. Bob grabbed Lethal’s leg and he shook him off. Bennett caught Lethal going for a springboard and dropped him neck-first over the top rope. Bennett followed up with a nice clothesline for a 2 count as Bob taunted Lethal from the outside. The crowd chanted for Lethal as Bennett taunted them heading into a commercial.

Back from commercial, Lethal fired back at Bennett with a chop, but Bennett caught him with a clothesline in the corner. Bennett followed up with a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Kelly pitched to a split-screen shot of some action that took place during the commercial break. They actually made the replay screen bigger with the live action in the background, which is something I have been in favor of doing for several weeks.

Bennett taunted Lethal and told him to get up. Bennett stomped away at Lethal in the corner as the crowd tried to rally behind Lethal. Kelly ran down a list of past TV Champions as Bennett caught a charging Lethal with a nice powerslam for a nearfall. Bennett grabbed a body-scissors submission on the mat as the fans chanted for Lethal. Bennett began driving some elbows into the side of Lethal’s head. Lethal tried to unlock himself from Bennett’s grasp. He finally broke free with an elbow to Bennett’s head. McGuinness put over “Final Battle” as the Super Bowl of pro wrestling. Bennett grabbed a front face lock and dragged Lethal back down to the mat. The fans tried to rally behind Lethal again as Bennett squeezed on the hold.

Lethal tried to rally to his feet as the crowd roared. Lethal fired back with a punch and a chop. He followed up with an inverted atomic drop as McGuinness told Bennett to suck it up. Lethal ran wild on Bennett as Cruise announced there were under three minutes left in the match. A clock with the time remaining in the match was posted in the corner of the screen as Lethal hit a neckbreaker for a 2 count.

Lethal teased going up top, but he saw Bennett moving and went back on the attack. Bennett fought back and both men exchanged blows. Lethal went for a springboard, but Bennett countered it into a spinebuster for a 2 count with under 2 minutes remaining. Bennett sold frustration, but went back on the attack. Lethal fought free of Bennett and landed on his feet out of a German attempt. Lethal hit a DDT as the time remaining neared 1 minute, but Bennett kicked out. Bennett caught Lethal with a cradle for a 2 count, but Lethal came right out of the pin attempt and nailed Bennett with a superkick. Lethal went up top for the elbow drop, but Bennett rolled out of the way. Bennett mounted Lethal and nailed him with a series of punches with less than 30 seconds left. The announcers teased that the ref might stop the match. Lethal countered and rolled on top of Bennett, but the time limit expired.

Winner: Time limit draw

Star rating: (***1/2) – I liked this match more than the match Davey Richards had with Roderick Strong two weeks ago. Both men told a good story and built drama throughout the match. They also did all of the little things right when it came to telling a pro wrestling story in the ring. Both men worked submissions extremely well, as the camera caught their facial expressions whether it was Bennett cranking on a hold or Lethal selling for him. The crowd was behind Lethal and against Bennett. I highly recommend checking out this match. The only thing I don’t like is the repetition of working around the time limit draw within such a short period of time, as we just saw Generico and Lethal get more time a few weeks back when Lethal won the ROH TV Title in the extra time period.

The fans asked for 5 more minutes. Bennett said he didn’t want more time and walked to the back with Bob. Kelly mentioned the Briscoes would face ANX next week. Lethal said to the camera that Bennett should come back out for 5 more minutes.

Overall score: (7.0) – ROH is doing a lot of things right, but they also do a lot to turn off viewers. This week the good outweighed the bad by a far margin and the problems present on the show can be corrected. The company is starting to promote “Final Battle,” which will air on iPPV in September and there were several things on this show that set the stage for some compelling television going forward leading into the “Final Battle” iPPV in December.

I didn’t like the start of the show with the interview segment and match featuring T.J. Perkins and Mike Mondo. Perkins didn’t do anything to stand out and ROH has an entire library of footage of him they could have used to showcase him as a dynamic in-ring performer. Mondo’s cheesy delivery of his lines was a throwback to the ridiculous charters of the ‘80s. ROH creative should seriously consider asking themselves if gimmicks like Mondo’s are worth wasting television time on. It’s also time for them to find a way to introduce wrestlers like Perkins differently instead of having him cut a stale promo that didn’t do anything to get him over with new viewers.

I enjoyed the segment setting up the Briscoes for a rematch against ANX next week on television, but I have concerns for the program going forward as the Briscoes aren’t doing enough to get themselves over as heels on television. Haas & Benjamin did a good job of telling viewers why they want to face the Briscoes, but at some point if they are going to be presented as babyfaces they’re going to have to get in front of a live crowd and talk fans into buying the “Final Battle” iPPV to see them get revenge on the Briscoes. Otherwise, the match will be a contest of fans chanting for both teams instead of investing in what should be a heated rematch provided the Briscoes get by ANX next week.

The “Inside ROH” segment with Roderick Strong and Davey Richards was really well done outside of Strong’s reference to putting on a better in-ring performance than Richards. Strong was painted as the bitter heel with his manager making excuses as to why he won’t be facing Richards at “Final Battle.” Richards was really good once the package shifted to him. They did a good job of setting up the Strong-O’Reilly match next week and allowed Richards to narrate how he’s been training with O’Reilly now that they have moved to the same area together to train. I was pleasantly surprised to see Richards discuss the benefits of wrestling in Japan and how that will help him prep for “Final Battle.” In fact, I want to see Richards wrestle at “Final Battle” right now and I don’t even know who he’s facing.

Although it wasn’t made clear why Mike Bennett was getting a shot at the TV Title against Jay Lethal, both men capped the show with a darn good pro wrestling match in front of a hot crowd. Bennett and Lethal both played their roles extremely well here. I took notice to the little things that both men did. Lethal played the babyface roll so well here, as the crowd chanted for him and he did little things to signal he was about to make a comeback against Bennett. Bennett did a really good job of getting the heat on Lethal and Bob added to the match taunting Lethal from ringside.

Another nice touch was that when both men worked submissions, they cranked on the different holds they used and sold for one another really well. Bennett hit some nice high-impact moves throughout the match and this was his best performance by far in an ROH ring. The only drawback here was they went to a time limit draw only a few weeks after Lethal and Generico got more time when the time limit expired in their match. It built a lot of drama to see Bennett and Lethal trying to win the match before the time limit expired, but I’m not sure how long that can be effective when they’ve already given fans a match granted extra time and then another match where the time limit wasn’t extended so close together. I’d love to see Bennett and Lethal go at it again. They’ve got really good chemistry in the ring and know how to sell for the cameras.

The Davis Arena looked better on camera than the Frontier Fieldhouse in Chicago, which was used for the last set of tapings. The crowd was mic’d much better and it was nice to have the announcers on camera at ringside with their area near the ring. There were some monitors visible throughout the arena, but ROH management needs to sit down and figure out a way to reasonably spend some money to make this show look a step above your run-of-the-mill independent show.

Overall the show gets a solid thumbs-up this week. I’m hoping the company continues to closely monitor how they use their limited time on television. Some segments seem like a waste and each segment should be looked at with the idea being whether or not the wrestlers being presented will draw new fans based on what they see.

Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@gmail.com

We suggest these recent related articles...

METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 9/27 & 9/30: NJPW vs. ROH Series continues - Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Adam Cole, Sydal vs. KUSHIDA, more

METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 9/20 & 9/23: New Japan's top champions Okada & Goto in tag main event, ROH/NJPW announcement, more; Reax to post-PPV episode

METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 9/13 & 9/16: The Kingdom vs. War Machine main event, ReDragon vs. House of Truth, final build-up to "All-Star Extravaganza" PPV, more; Reax