ROH TV Report
July 19, 2014
Taped in Nashville, Tenn.
Report by Mike Metzger (@mD0uble), PWTorch VIP member

The ROH TV opening aired.

Still images from Best in the World were shown. Kevin Kelly announced that tonight’s episode would feature action from BITW, as well as matches taped before the live PPV.

1 - WAR MACHINE (Hanson & Rowe) vs. TATE TWINS

Hanson and Rowe came out to a decent ovation for such a new team, even earning a “War Machine” chant before the bell rang. The Code of Honor was adhered to, and then Rowe and one of the Tates started out. Rowe wrestled Tate to the mat, prompting his brother to come in. Rowe shoved that Tate into the corner and then tagged in Hanson. They did a nice double team spot where Hanson and Rowe threw Tate head-first into each others’ knees. Hanson pummeled Tate in the corner, and then in the center of the ring with knees. He followed up with a big slam and then tagged in Rowe.

Tate hit an enziguiri, but it had no effect on Rowe. The other Tate tagged in , but received a belly-to-belly suplex from Rowe. He tagged Hanson back in, and then both men rammed Tate into their corner. Tate tried to hit Hanson, but it had no effect. Tate went for another move, but Hanson cartwheeled out of the way then hit a nasty lariat that turned Tate inside out. Hanson tagged his partner in and then powerbombed Rowe onto Tate! The other Tate tried to hit Rowe from the top, but Rowe caught him and slammed him. Hanson and Rowe then hit their finisher, in which Rowe lifted up Tate in a back suplex position, while Hanson came off the top with a legdrop. Hanson covered his opponent and scored the victory.

WINNERS: War Machine via pinfall in 3:15.

ANALYSIS: Basic squash victory for War Machine. Some of their double-team offense is really impressive, but I still haven’t seen them in a true long-form match. It appears that ROH is high on them, so I’m looking forward to see how far they can advance in the tag division. (*1/2)

[Commercial Break]

2 - ROMANTIC TOUCH vs. ADAM PAGE (w/ B.J. Whitmer)

The Code of Honor was adhered to, which angered Whitmer. B.J. admonished Page for shaking hands with Touch, which caused Page to get distracted. They did a chain wrestling spot, where Touch got to use his comedic sexualized offense. Page tried to battle back, but Touch delivered a monkey flip (after performing a brief humping motion in Page’s face).

Page regained control after a big clothesline, followed by a nearfall. He whipped Touch into the corner and then clotheslined him. Page followed up with a missile dropkick, but could only get a one count. Page applied a headlock for a few moments. Page then lifted Touch onto his shoulders, but Touch was able to reverse it into a sunset flip for a nearfall. Touch then hit a big dropkick.

Both man battled to get back to their feet. Page charged at Touch, but ate an elbow in the corner. Touch hit a back bodydrop and then posed for the crowd. Touch received a brief “He’s Romantic” chant, and then hit a unique-looking spinning back suplex. Corino suggested he call the move the “Mile High Club.” Touch went up top, but Page ran directly into the ropes, causing Touch to get crotched on the top turnbuckle. Page hit his Guillotine Driver and pinned Touch for the victory. A pleased Whitmer celebrated with Page after the victory.

WINNER: Adam Page via pinfall in 4:50

ANALYSIS: Perfectly acceptable match between these two. I was concerned that the Romantic Touch gimmick would define down Rhett Titus as a comedy act, but I don’t think it’s hurting him too badly, especially since he’s under a mask. He’s doing fine for the spot on the card he’s in. Page impressed me here as well, showing he can work a basic match that tells a story. (**)

[Commercial Break]

3 - CEDRIC ALEXANDER vs. RODERICK STRONG (w/ Adam Page & TaDarius Thomas) - Submission match

The Code of Honor certainly was not adhered to, yet they went right into a standard chain wrestling sequence to start. Strong delivered some strikes, but Cedric struck back with blows of his own. They ran the ropes, culminating with a big dropkick from Cedric! Alexander hit some chops on Strong, and then went for a suplex, but Strong reversed it into a roll-up for two. They jockeyed for position until Strong hit Cedric with a knee to the midsection.

Strong was in control, and delivered some chops of his own. He fought Cedric into the corner and stomped him. Cedric fought back with some chops, though, and then clotheslined Strong to the floor and followed up with a big dive to the outside! Cedric pummeled Strong on the outside, as Page and Thomas looked on at ringside. Cedric chopped Strong on the outside and charged at him, but Roderick reversed into a sick back body drop which sent Cedric spine-first onto the ring apron!

“That was awesome” chant, as Strong rolled Cedric back into the ring. Roderick applied a chinlock, and then stomped on the back of Cedric. Alexander attempted to battle back, but Strong held him at bay and posed for the crowd. Strong again chopped Alexander in the corner and then hit a back suplex, as the show went to commercial at the 6:15 mark.

[Commercial Break]

(During the break, Jay Lethal cut a promo for tonight’s sponsor, the Health Alert Hotline. I know Lethal has been on Spike TV, but it just came off a bit odd that this ruthless heel was pitching medical devices, such as knee braces (just like his own). I know ROH wanted to bring back the localized promos, but this kind of thing just comes across as low-rent.)

Back at 8:45, The Decade was consoling Strong on the outside, as Cedric hit a huge flip dive onto all three men on the floor! Cedric chopped Strong on the outside, and then hit a 540 degree spin kick off of a hockey board and into the face of Strong! Back in the ring, Cedric hit a DDT, and then immediately applied a guillotine choke! Strong battled out, however, and both men struggled to get to their feet.

Both men got up and exchanged spin kicks in the center of the ring. Cedric seized the momentum with a running dropkick to Strong in the corner. The fans chanted “one more time,” and Cedric did it again! Cedric delivered a big side slam, and then applied a Dragon Sleeper. Strong delivered three knee strikes to the head of Cedric, forcing him to break the hold.

Both men were exhausted, as they battled in the corner. Strong went for a superplex and nailed it! Both men got back to their feet and then exchanged strikes. Strong hit four running knee strikes in succession and then hoisted up his opponent, but hCedric reversed it into a triangle choke! Strong would not tap, and eventually broke the hold. He got back to his feet and kicked Cedric to the outside.

Back in the ring, Strong delivered a backbreaker to Cedric. He went for the Strong Hold, but Cedric kicked Strong away from his back. Strong went for a big move off the top rope, as the fans chanted “please don’t die.” Cedric reversed, however, into a backbreaker across the top turnbuckle! Cedric hit the Lumbar Check and then applied his own version of the Strong Hold, as Strong tapped out at the 16:00 mark.

WINNER: Cedric Alexander via submission at 16:00 (shown on television).

After the match, it appeared the two men would shake hands out of mutual respect, but Strong instead turned his back on Alexander and left the ring.

ANALYSIS: I was much higher on this match when it aired live on the PPV. It could be because it was edited down, but it just missing that “first live PPV” element that seemed to put it over the top on June 22. I liked certain elements of this match very much, especially Cedric reciprocating Strong’s nasty bump at the end and then stealing Roderick’s Strong Hold, as it played into why both men were feuding in the first place. This match was very good, but their match at Global Wars was much better. (***1/4)

4 - ROH TV champion JAY LETHAL (w/ Truth Martini & Seleziya) vs. MATT TAVEN - ROH TV Title match

Before the match, Martini was hesitant about being handcuffed to the ringpost. Truth eventually obliged after much coaxing by Lethal and Seleziya. Both Lethal and Taven waved off the Code of Honor, as the bell rang. Both men stared each other down and then locked up in the center. Taven delivered a succession of three hard chops to the chest of Lethal. Taven followed up with a dropkick and a cover, but could only get a two count.

Taven charged at Lethal, but ate an elbow in the corner. They brawled to the outside, where Lethal hit Taven with a big chop. Back in the ring, Lethal missed a crossbody off the ropes, which allowed Taven to hit a standing moonsault for a two count. Taven kicked Lethal, but was then distracted by Seleziya at ringside. This opened him up for a dropkick from Lethal. Taven was sent crashing to the mat, as the show went to a break at the 2:15 mark.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 4:15, Taven was face-to-face with Seleziya on the outside, which opened him up to a baseball slide from Lethal. Jay took control and applied a headlock. Taven battled out, and then both men exchanged chops in the center. Taven came out on top with three spin kicks in a row. Taven followed up with a couple of clotheslines, and then flipped backward from the mat to a standing position and hit an enziguri! Taven scored another nearfall, and wondered what to do next. This allowed Lethal to get a quick roll-up attempt. Lethal immediately followed up with a Lethal Combination, and then hit the Hail to the King top rope elbow, but could only get a two count!

Lethal went for the Lethal Injection, but Taven moved out of the way and imitated Lethal’s handspring into the ropes and then hit a jumping enziguri! Taven nailed a brainbuster, but could only get two! Lethal rolled out of the ring, and Taven pursued. Lethal went for a dive, but Taven reversed with a superkick to the diving Lethal! Taven then channeled babyface Jay Lethal with three consecutive running dives to the outside!

Taven went after Martini on the outside, but Martini handed ROH Head of Security J. Diesel some cash. Taven walked over to Martini with a chair, but Diesel blocked the chair shot. He kept Taven at bay for a moment, until Taven superkicked him! While all of this went on, Seleziya was able to break Martini’s handcuffs with her sheer strength. Back in the ring, Taven splashed onto the knees of Lethal, which allowed Jay to hit the Lethal Injection for the victory!

WINNER: Jay Lethal via pinball in 10:05 (shown on television) to retain the ROH TV championship.

ANALYSIS: This was the most disappointing match from BITW, but unlike the previous match, it actually came off a little better on TV. It was going fine until Martini’s shenanigans at ringside caused things to break down. Although the ROH TV viewer was previously introduced to J. Diesel as an up-and-coming Future of Honor star, his brief overpowering of Taven caused several casual viewers to shake their heads. This match didn’t do Taven any favors either, as he has yet to have a stand-out match since turning babyface.

Next week on TV: ROH will air the first episode taped in Dearborn, Mich. on July 19!

FINAL REAX: A welcome change to what ROH has been producing the past couple weeks, but still not newsworthy by any means. I think ROH could have easily spread this out into two episodes if they had just featured some of the video packages from BITW and some post-PPV promos. That would have at least given the hardcore fan a reason to watch the show this week. Wouldn’t it have been nice to hear from Elgin after winning the ROH World Title? Or any of the wrestlers, for that matter?

Hopefully those in charge of ROH TV have gone back to the drawing board after this latest break. With the Dearborn, Mich. TV tapings being turned around in only a week, perhaps some changes are on the horizon. It will be interesting to see if ROH can rebuild the momentum they had in May and June.

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