ROH TV Report
August 16, 2014
Dearborn, Mich.
Report by Mike Metzger (@mD0uble), PWTorch VIP Member

There was a hard open, where Kevin Steen cut a backstage promo. He talked about how it was always his dream to become a professional wrestler. He mentioned that Steve Corino, in good times and bad, had been instrumental throughout his Ring of Honor career, and that’s why he chose him as his final ROH opponent. Steen said he would go out with a win.

The ROH TV opening aired.

Tonight: It’s a “Thanks, Steen, Thanks” edition of Ring of Honor, as Steen wrestles his final match for the company!

1 - TADARIUS THOMAS (w/The Decade) vs. A.C.H.

Both men were about to shake hands, but Jimmy Jacobs walked right up to A.C.H. and spit water in his face! The bell rang, and both competitors wrestled on the mat. They separated, and then locked up again. A.C.H. took Thomas down with a shoulder block and did some flips. Thomas tried to reverse with his capoeira offense, but A.C.H. was able to hold him off.

Thomas wrestled A.C.H. to middle of the ring, but A.C.H. arm-dragged him to the mat. Thomas and A.C.H. struggled to seize control, each man using his unique offensive arsenal of flips and spins mixed in with basic wrestling holds. Eventually, Thomas went for a dive to the outside, but was able to stop himself when A.C.H. moved. Thomas, perhaps showing off, did a cartwheel from the apron to the floor. A.C.H. was too fast for him, however, as he jumped up to the apron and then kicked Thomas right in the face!

A.C.H. chopped Thomas several times on the outside, and then rolled him back into the ring. A.C.H. then chopped Thomas some more inside the ring. He went for a springboard maneuver, but Thomas caught him with a capoeira kick. Thomas went for a dive, but A.C.H. chased him into position for a dive of his own. A.C.H. went for it, but again Thomas caught him with a kick to the face!

Thomas chopped A.C.H. on the outside, and then kicked him in the chest, which sent A.C.H. over the barricade and into the crowd. The show went to a break at the 4:10 mark of the match.

[Commercial Break]

(During the break, they aired clips of Northern Navigation 2008 where Kevin Steen battled Nigel McGuinness in Toronto, Canada. They also showed Steen winning the ROH World Title from Davey Richards at Border Wars 2012, also held in Toronto.)

Back at 7:55, both men were back in the ring and Thomas was still in control. Thomas kicked A.C.H. into the corner and followed up with some elbows. Thomas whipped A.C.H. into the opposite corner and then charged at him, but A.C.H. countered with an elbow of his own. A.C.H. followed up with some chops, and then both men exchanged blows in the center. A.C.H. went for a spin kick, but Thomas ducked. A.C.H. was able to capitalize when he amazingly bounced off of the bottom rope and hit a tornado DDT! Both men attempted to hit big kicks, but missed. Thomas hit A.C.H. with a nasty chop, and then followed up with a German suplex for a two count.

A.C.H. hit another German suplex, where he dropped Thomas right on his head. Thomas still couldn’t put away his former partner, however. Thomas slowed down the pace and just started kicking A.C.H. in the chest while he was tied up in the ropes. Thomas went for a power move, but A.C.H. blocked and then spit in the face of Thomas! A.C.H. demanded Thomas “bring it on,” and he did with several kicks to the body. A.C.H. fought back and missed two successive spin kicks, but scored with the third one!

Thomas went for a sunset flip, but A.C.H. rolled out of it. Thomas showed off by doing a Bray Wyatt-esque bridge. A.C.H. responded with a double foot stomp to Thomas while he was on the mat! A.C.H. went up top to capitalize, but was distracted by Adam Page at ringside. Thomas went up top and delivered a super swinging neckbreaker, but still couldn’t put his opponent away!

Thomas, who looked frustrated, positioned A.C.H. so that his head was resting against the ring post. He went for a running boot, but A.C.H. miraculously moved out of the way! Thomas rolled to floor, which allowed A.C.H. to hit a beautiful running flip dive to the outside! A.C.H. went to follow up with a 450 splash, but Thomas moved out of the way. Thomas kicked A.C.H. and then charged at him in the corner, but A.C.H. hit him with a jumping front kick out of nowhere. A.C.H. went up top again and hit the 450 splash for the victory!

WINNER: A.C.H. via pinfall in 16:10.

After the match, Jimmy Jacobs and B.J. Whitmer slapped around both the exhausted Thomas and fellow “young boy” Adam Page. Thomas and Page actually stood up to Jacobs and Whitmer, which drew a pop from the crowd! After a brief staredown, Jacob and Whitmer ordered their “young boys” to back down and they did. The fans chanted “Man-Up!,” but to no avail, as Page and Thomas held the ropes open for Jacobs and Whitmer.

ANALYSIS: Excellent match between these two. I would have liked to see more build-up prior to the bout, though, as these men teamed together for the better part of a year, but were just thrown out there tonight. I can understand if the match wasn’t meant to be anything special, but these guys tore down the house for over 15 minutes and deserved the extra hype. Both men were very complementary in their offense, especially in the sequences where they attempted to hit their signature kicks on each other. The Decade storyline continues to fill TV time and, based on the post-match angle, it might help younger stars like Thomas and Page develop their personalities. (***1/2)

A video packaged aired, which chronicled the history between Roderick Strong and Cedric Alexander. The package also included backstage comments from Cedric, where he promised to never give up. Clips from two weeks ago then aired, where Cedric won the “Golden Gauntlet” match to earn a shot at Michael Elgin’s title. That match will air in two weeks on ROH TV!

[Commercial Break]

(During this break, clips from Final Battle 2012 aired when Kevin Steen defeated former tag team partner El Generico (Sami Zayn) in a Ladder War to retain the ROH World Title. Right before the break ended, clips aired of Steen/Generico winning the ROH World Tag Team Titles from the Age of the Fall at Driven 2008.)

Kevin Steen walked out to the ring. The crowd was hot for the star’s final ROH match. They littered the ring with streamers. Steen dropped to mat and made “snow angels” in the streamers until they completely covered his body. He stood up and resembled Cousin It from the Addams Family, as he walked around the ring covered in the streamers. The fans chanted “Mr. Wrestling,” as ring announcer Bobby Cruise was set to make the announcements. Corino handed Cruise a handwritten note. Apparently this was a nod to an old gimmick where Cruise would read off a laundry list of Corino’s nicknames and accomplishments. Cruise then announced his opponent, Kevin Steen, and the match was set to begin!

[Commercial Break]

2 - KEVIN STEEN vs. STEVE CORINO

The Code of Honor was adhered to before the bell rang. However, Corino immediately punched Steen right in the face. Steen fought back with forearms, and then both men furiously exchanged blows in the center. Steen took Corino down with an elbow and then knocked him to the outside. Steen went for a dive, but Corino casually walked out of the way. As Steen came out to follow him, Corino cut out Steen’s legs from under him on the apron. Corino threw Steen into the hockey boards on the outside.

Steen fought back, however, with blows of his own. He threw Corino into the boards and then grabbed an El Generico mask from a fan at ringside! “Ole, Ole!” rang out from the crowd, as Steen channeled his former partner by donning the mask and hitting two consecutive Yakuza Kicks to Corino on the outside! Back in the ring, Corino regained control after hitting some bionic elbows. Steen tried to fight back, but Corino locked him in an abdominal stretch. Steen was able to break the hold with a codebreaker. Steen then hit Corino with a Colt Cabana-like splash in the corner, followed up with his running cannonball onto Corino!

Steen chopped Corino, but Steve reversed with a short-arm clothesline. Corino hit Steen while he was tied up in the ropes. He charged at Steen, but Steen got his boot up. They rolled to the outside and exchanged blows until a double-clothesline sent both men to the floor. Sinclair counted to 19, but both men were able to roll back into the ring, as the show went to commercial at 6:15.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 8:45, both men were again exchanging blows in the ring. Corino got the better of the exchange with two big forearms, followed by a brainbuster. He got a two count. Corino then went up top, but Steen dragged him back down. Steen kicked Corino in the head and then DDT’d him while he was still tied up in the ropes. Steen could only get two, however.

Steen followed up with a swanton from the top rope, but still couldn’t put Corino away. Steen applied a waist lock, but Corino elbowed his away out and hit his Colby Shock finisher, but could only get two. Steen fought back with an enziguri and then hit F-Cinq for a nearfall. The fans chanted “Kill Steen Kill,” as Steen went for the Package Piledriver. Corino backdropped his way out of hit, however, and hit a superkick followed by a lariat. Corino then hit another lariat, but could only get a two count.

The fans chanted “you still got it” at Corino, as “The King of Old School” set Steen up on the top turnbuckle. Corino teased a top rope hurracanrana, but Steen reversed it into a brainbuster from the top rope! Steen could only get a two count. Both men charged at each other with clotheslines. Corino hit another superkick. He ran toward Shis opponent, but Steen hit brainbuster and then a Package Piledriver for the win!

WINNER: Kevin Steen via pinfall in 14:15.

ANALYSIS: Good stuff from these two. It wasn’t a five-star send-off by any means, but given Corino’s age and Steen needing to protect himself before going to WWE developmental, it was a solid match. I liked the “paying homage” to past ROH stars sequence early in the contest. There is something really special about the Steen-Generico bond over the years, and it will be interesting to see them cross paths in WWE NXT. (***1/4)

[Commercial Break]

After the match, Steen and Corino shook hands and then embraced. Jimmy Jacobs ran to the ring, and stared down his former S.C.U.M. partners. This didn’t last long, however, as Jacobs jumped into Steen’s arms and hugged him! All three men raised each other’s arms, as the crowd applauded. Roderick Strong and B.J. Whitmer came down to the ring and attacked Steen and Corino, while Jacobs watched on. Strong and Whitmer set up Steen for a double clothesline, but Steen ducked and clotheslined both Decade members! Steen went after Jacobs, who quickly rolled out of the ring. The ROH babyface locker room ran out to the ring to break up any further shenanigans. Jacobs yelled at Steen, “you know I love you, but you’re walking out like everybody else,” as the show faded to black.

FINAL REAX: Solid hour of action. This episode did highlight the limitation of a one-hour show, as the Steen retrospective packages seemed rushed and tightly packed into the commercial breaks. As much as I appreciated the choice of Steen-Corino for Kevin’s final ROH match, I can’t help but think that Silas Young was robbed of an opportunity here. Silas actually defeated Steen in their BITW rematch in Cincinnati, Ohio, but this was never addressed on TV. I think that would have been a better match to feature on TV, while they could have saved Steen’s final match for DVD/VOD. The next few months should be interesting, but right now ROH is treading water without a big show until September.

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