ROH TV Report
April 5, 2014
Taped in Milwaukee, Wis. and Chicago Ridge, Ill.
Report by Mike Metzger, PWTorch VIP Member

The show opened with the ROH signature, followed by the ROH TV opening.

Tonight: It’s a “Road Rage” edition of Ring of Honor, taped in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago Ridge, Illinois. Larry Mercer was in the studio to hype tonight’s main events of Chris Hero vs. Roderick Strong and reDragon defending the ROH Tag Titles against The Young Bucks.

They aired highlights from earlier in the evening, when Jimmy Jacobs offered Adam Page a spot in The Decade. They followed up with some clips of Page accepting the offer and leaving with Jacobs and B.J. Whitmer.

1 - CHRIS HERO vs. RODERICK STRONG

Jimmy Jacobs joined the announcers on commentary. Both men locked up to start. They traded holds on the mat for the first 2:00 of the match. There was a stalemate at about 2:30 where the fans chanted for both men. They started running the ropes and Hero came out on top with a boot, followed by a senton. Hero could only get a one count. Hero followed up with bodyslam and then a stomp. He then hit an interesting move where he rolled off of the mat and splashed Strong.

Jacobs kept talking about the various dues he had to pay when he was coming up, and complained that today’s stars did not have the same respect. Roddy rolled to the outside. Hero went for a dive, but Strong moved out of the way. This didn’t stop Hero, however, as he nailed Strong on the outside, as the show went to commercial at 4:50.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 7:20, Hero still was in control of Strong on the outside. He rolled him back into the ring and and went for a springboard move from the apron, but Strong got his knees up. Back on the outside, Strong threw Hero into the hockey boards a couple times and then followed up with a back suplex right on top the railing!

Strong rolled Hero back and continued his assault with some stomps. Roddy applied a chinlock for a few seconds and then delivered a knee to the back of Hero. Strong then hit a suplex, but could only get a two-count. Perhaps frustrated, Strong started furiously stomping away on Hero. Strong then dragged him by the legs into the ring post. Strong went back after Hero, but Chris reversed with a kick to the face. Roddy was dazed, but immediately struck back with a dropkick of his own.

Strong went for another resthold, but Hero fought out with some chops. He ran after Strong, but Roddy reversed with an enziguri and a pin attempt. Strong, now a little more confident, struck Hero with some more stomps. Hero got up and both men exchanged chops. Hero was able to get Strong in the corner and dropkick him.

Strong fought back and charged at Hero, but Chris got his knees up and then clotheslined Strong. Hero started delivered a combination of strikes and kicks, followed up with a swinging neckbreaker. Hero had the crowd firmly behind him, as he nailed Strong with a flying knee, but could only get two. The match went to another commercial at 13:30 of the contest.

[Commercial Break]

The match returned at 16:00. Hero hoisted Strong onto his shoulders, but Strong wriggled free and suplexed Hero. Strong followed up with a running knee in the corner, but Hero kicked him right back. Strong hit a reversal of his own with a backbreaker, but could only get a two count. Strong went for a backslide, but only got a nearfall. Hero scored a pinning combination of his own, but couldn’t get the victory.

Both men exchanged blows in the center of the ring. They then traded kicks. Hero then reversed a suplex, but could only get two. Hero went for another cover, but got the same result. There was a “this is awesome” chant from the fans, as Hero hoisted Strong up onto his shoulders. Strong got free and nailed a jumping knee strike, followed up with double-knee gutbuster and then a Sick Kick. Strong applied the Stronghold, but Hero was able to reverse into a roll-up. Two count for Hero. Both men again exchanged blows with Hero coming out on top with some elbows.

The third time was a charm as Hero got Strong up on his shoulders and followed up with his Death Blow elbow. Hero followed up with his Stretch Plum submission hold. The referee stopped the match MMA-style at 20:35.

WINNER: Chris Hero via referee stoppage at 20:35. (***1/2)

ANALYSIS: Great match between these two. It started slow and built to a hot finish. I really wish there was more emphasis put on “The Decade has a problem with returning stars” storyline. I know that the “Road Rage” shows are really just a way to entice people to go to live events or buy the DVDs, but I just feel like it wouldn’t have killed them to add some type of context.

Back in the studio, Larry Mercer praised the match and hyped upcoming house shows.

[Commercial Break]

The same ROH/NJPW promo video from last week aired.

2 - ROH tag team champions REDRAGON (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight tag team champions THE YOUNG BUCKS (Nick & Matt Jackson) - ROH World Tag Team Title match

The announcers brought up that the Young Bucks won the IWGP titles on their very first tour of Japan. The Code of Honor was adhered to, where it was shown that Matt Jackson was wrestling with a cast on his wrist.

Nick and Kyle started the match. Jackson went for a superkick, but O’Reilly ducked out of the way. Nick gained control after a crossbody onto O’Reilly. Nick tagged in Matt and the Bucks looked to double-team O’Reilly. They were temporarily stopped by O’Reilly, but the Bucks eventually slammed him over their knees. Jackson went for a cover, but Fish ran in to make the save.

O’Reilly went for a dropkick on Matt, but Jackson held onto the ropes. O’Reilly tagged in Fish. Matt got a wristlock on Fish and then tagged in Nick, who nailed the exposed arm of Fish with a double foot stomp. Nick Jackson did a cute spot where he did a cartwheel and backflip into the corner, only to rake the back of Fish.

Matt Jackson went for a move off of the top rope, but O’Reilly shoved him to the floor! On the outside, O’Reilly threw Matt into the hockey boards, as the show went to commercial at 3:40.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:05 of the contest, Fish was still in control of Matt Jackson. Fish delivered a kick and then struck Jackson in the the chest with his knee. Fish delivered a senton from the apron onto Jackson, but could only get a two-count. Fish tagged in O’Reilly, who continued the assault on Matt. O’Reilly applied a headlock. Jackson fought out, but O’Reilly was able to apply his Arm-ageddon submission hold, working on the injured arm of Jackson.

Fish tagged in and stomped on the injured arm. There was nearfall at 8:02. O’Reilly tagged in and remained in control of Matt. O’Reilly snapped a suplex, but could only get two. Fish was quickly tagged back in, but Matt hit a jawbreaker and went for the hot tag. Fish dragged him back into his corner, however, and tagged in O’Reilly. Kyle charged at Jackson, but missed. O’Reilly remained in control for a brief moment, but was speared by Matt!

Matt was finally able to make the hot tag to his brother, who came in and cleaned house! Nick threw O’Reilly out of the ring and then nailed Fish with an X Factor from the top rope. He got a two count as ROH went to another commercial at 11:10 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 13:10, the Bucks were double-teaming Bobby Fish, but O’Reilly came out of nowhere to break up their offense. He went for a dive, but was superkicked by Nick Jackson! In, the ring, Matt held Fish over his knee and Nick delivered a 450 splash onto Fish! Matt then hit Sliced Bread off of his partner and onto Fish. They went for a cover, but O’Reilly made the save.

The Bucks went for a double-team, but O’Reilly ducked out of the way and Nick kicked his brother in the face. ReDRagon now double-teamed Matt. They did the spot where each man hit a big move in succession of each other, culminating with Matt Jackson nailing a huge superkick on O’Reilly. They battled some more, until O’Reilly hit an amazing baseball slide from the apron into Nick Jackson on the floor!

Back in the ring, Fish hit Matt with a Falcon Arrow from the top rope. They went for Chasing the Dragon, but Matt was able to reverse into a roll-up for a two-count. Nick pulled Fish out of the ring, while O’Reilly and Matt exchanged blows mid-ring. Matt hit a superkick on O’Reilly and then Nick came out of nowhere and hit a superkick of his own. Fish came up on the apron, and was double-superkicked for his troubles! Big nearfall at 18:30, but the Bucks could not get the victory!

The Young Bucks hit a spike tombstone piledriver on O’Reilly, but Bobby Fish was able to break up the pin attempt. Nick Jackson went for a 450 splash, but O’Reilly was able to reverse into a triangle choke! Nick was able to roll over, however, and score the pinfall on O’Reilly at 19:30!

WINNERS: The Young Bucks via pinfall at 19:30 to capture the ROH World Tag Team Titles. (****1/4)

ANALYSIS: Excellent contest between these two teams. It turned into a bit of a spotfest at times, but there was a good story told with Matt’s injured wrist. This match could have entered five star territory if there was any sort of back-story. I know this was footage from a live event, but neither team cut a promo and the match wasn’t even announced on TV last week. Regardless, this was an incredible match and should be seen by anyone who loves pro wrestling.

After the match, the Young Bucks celebrated in the ring with both the ROH tag belts and the IWGP straps around their waists. Back in the studio, Larry Mercer posed the question, “What happens to ROH tag titles now that they are held by a team from New Japan?” He said we would have to tune in to find out.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Solid episode of ROH TV this week. It wasn’t perfect, but this really was a showcase of why someone should be a fan of this product. Unfortunately for ROH, TNA has “stolen the thunder” of partnering with a Japanese promotion already this year. It doesn’t help that TNA has done such a poor job of their inter-promotional relationship with Wrestle-1 so far. We will have to wait and see how ROH’s partnership with NJPW pans out, but it looks promising so far. Back to this show, definitely worth seeking out this WrestleMania weekend if you are jonesing for some great in-ring action in the midst of the Hall of Fame and all the pre-game shows.

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