ROH TV Report
September 6, 2014
Taped 8/9 in Philadelphia, Penn.
Report by Mike Metzger (@mD0uble), PWTorch VIP member

The ROH TV opening aired.

Tonight: The Young Bucks return to ROH to battle Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian, the team now known as the Addiction!

The Decade made their entrance, but the show cut away to backstage comments from TaDarius Thomas. Part of the clip was a repeat from a few weeks ago, when B.J. Whitmer interrupted the promo to admonish Thomas for putting over his recent TV match against A.C.H. The new footage began after they reset the promo, and this time TaDarius had nothing nice to say about A.C.H. Nervously, Thomas called him a “piece of s---” and hoped that A.C.H. would die. The camera zoomed out, and B.J. Whitmer was shown laughing.

1 - THE DECADE (Jimmy Jacobs & B.J. Whitmer w/TaDarius Thomas) vs. CAPRICE COLEMAN & WATANABE

The Code of Honor was not adhered to. Whitmer and Watanabe started the match. Whitmer slapped Watanabe in the face, but the Japanese star came right back with a big clothesline. Coleman tagged in, and the babyfaces hit a nice double-team maneuver on Whitmer, which earned them the first nearfall of the match. Before long, Coleman got stuck in the Decade’s corner, but he was able to hold them off.

Watanabe tagged back and hit a side slam for another two count. Kevin Kelly was already hyping upcoming ROH shows in October. No mention of All Star Extravaganza, which was airing on iPPV the same weekend. Whitmer was able to tag Jacobs in. Jacobs couldn’t sustain any offense, however, and was suplexed by Watanabe. Coleman tagged back in and delivered several strikes and then a claw hold to Jacobs. Whitmer tried to come in off the top, but received a top rope huracanrana for his troubles. Coleman then hit a very impressive sequence where he hit two consecutive Northern Lights suplexes on Jacobs, and then delivered a third one that sent Jacobs over the top rope and onto Whitmer on the outside! Coleman immediately followed up with an Asai moonsault onto both men!

Coleman climbed to the top and delivered a big splash to Jacobs, but could only get two. Whitmer ran in, but Coleman dropkicked both men and tagged in Watanabe. Watanabe delivered a back suplex to Jacobs and then went to the top rope. Caprice climbed the opposite corner as well, but Whitmer yanked him down from the outside. Jacobs hit a spear on the distracted Watanabe. The Decade hit their All Seeing Eye finisher (Whtimer holding Watanabe and then Jacobs hitting a running inverted suplex on him) for the pin.

WINNERS: The Decade via pinfall at 6:15.

After the match, Whitmer and Jacobs offered Watanabe a Decade t-shirt. Watanabe seemed to consider for a moment, but Coleman re-entered the ring and talked him out of it. Coleman made Watanabe throw the shirt away, as Kevin Kelly positioned Coleman as the guy who was trying to keep younger stars away from the Decade’s influence.

ANALYSIS: Really fun match. Jacobs is always very smooth in the ring, and has good chemistry with Whitmer. Note to ROH: Push Caprice Coleman now! Despite being extremely under-utilized in his current role, this guy consistently shines during every opportunity he is given. He certainly has the potential to be a credible TV champion or one-half of the tag team that will eventually defeat reDRagon for the ROH tag titles. (**3/4)

[Commercial Break]

Another public service announcement aired, brought to the viewer by Silas Young. He talked about how he had recently walked into his house, and found his nephew on the computer. His nephew told Silas that he was being “cyber-bullied.” Apparently, Silas picked up the keyboard and struck his young nephew in the back of the head. “Now you’re really being bullied,” Silas told his nephew!

2 — SILAS YOUNG vs. BRIAN KENDRICK

Kendrick looked more mature compared to his WWE days. He still wore a colorful robe to the ring, but his hair was tied into a neat ponytail and he wore standard short trunks. The referee called for the Code of Honor, but Silas refused. In response, Kendrick superkicked Silas directly in the face, and the bell rang! Silas rolled to the outside, but this only set him up for a suicide dive from Kendrick!

Back in the ring, Kendrick jumped off the top rope and hit a driving knee strike to Silas’s back. Silas tried to fight back, but was no match for Kendrick’s speed. Eventually, Silas was able to take control when he slammed Kendrick to the match two consecutive times. Kendrick fought back with some chops. Silas tried to overpower Brian, but was rolled-up for a two count. Kendrick’s speed caught up with him when he charged at Silas in the corner, which allowed Young to harness the momentum to backdrop Kendrick onto the floor. The show went to a commercial at the 2:30 mark.

[Commercial Break]

(During the break, the Briscoes hyped next week’s main event, when they will face “the two hottest babes in pro wrestling.” Next week, it’s the Briscoes versus the Young Bucks! Hey, isn’t one of those guys the world champion now?)

Back from break, Young was in firm control with a headlock on the mat. Kendrick fought out and reversed into another nearfall. Both men exchanged chops in the center. Then they switched to forearms. Then kicks. Kendrick ultimately got the upper hand with a spin kick. He went for a standing moonsault, but Silas got his knees up. Silas went for his patented Pee Gee Waja Plunge, which is when he delivers a rolling fireman’s carry slam, followed by a corner springboard moonsault. He hit the slam, but missed the moonsault. This opened him up for Sliced Bread #2, but Kendrick couldn’t put Silas away.

They battled on the apron, and Silas was able to suplex Kendrick over the top rope and onto the floor! Kendrick got to his feet first, however, and nailed Silas with a beautiful DDT on the floor. Kendrick threw Silas in the ring and hit a frogsplash from the top, but still couldn’t finish the match. Kendrick went for Sliced Bread again, but Silas got free and kicked Kendrick in the face. He hit his backbreaker/clothesline combination, but could only get a two count on Kendrick. Silas applied a submission hold on the mat, but Kendrick quickly fought out of it. Silas went for another Pee Gee Waja Plunge, and hit it this time. Unfortunately for Young, he only got a two count.

Both men battled on the top rope. Silas went for a superplex, but Kendrick fought him off. Silas came right back after his opponent, but Kendrick somehow reversed it into Sliced Bread #2 from the top rope! Somehow, Silas kicked out of the pin attempt. Both men ran the ropes. Silas picked up his opponent for yet another Pee Gee Waja Plunge, but Kendrick reversed. Silas employed a reversal of his own, however, and got a leverage pin on Kendrick to win the match!

WINNER: Silas Young via pinfall at 12:45.

ANALYSIS: Great match between these two. Kendrick created a lot of movement and Silas is just very smooth in general, which made this a fun, fast-paced match. It looked as if ROH was finally ready to push “Pro Wrestling’s Last Real Man” after some false starts this year. His pro-bullying PSA’s are hilarious and he can have great matches. Unfortunately, Silas recently broke his leg and will be out of action for up to four months, according to ROHwrestling.com. At 34-years-old, Silas needs to be pushed to the moon once he is healthy, if ROH wants to make some money with him. (***1/4)

[Commercial Break]

(All Star Extravaganza iPPV hype update: Despite airing the same weekend on iPPV, All-Star Extravaganza was hyped for the first time on tonight’s show as an upcoming live event. No matches or iPPV ordering info were mentioned.)

3 - THE YOUNG BUCKS (Nick & Matt Jackson) vs. THE ADDICTION (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian)

Both teams shook hands before the bell. Matt and Daniels started the match. They win into a dueling “quick pin attempt” sequence. Matt hit a headscissors takeover, which sent Daniels to the outside. Matt went for a dive, but Kazarian ran in and broke it up. Kaz ate a double-dropkick for his troubles. The Bucks then went for a double-dive onto to Addiction on the outside, but were caught and sent into the hockey boards by the former TNA stars! The show went to a commercial at the 1:45 point in the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 4:15, the Daniels was in control of Matt Jackosn. He tagged in Kaz, and they double-teamed Matt. Jackson fought to his corner, however, and tagged in Nick. The Bucks double-teamed both members of the Addiction, including a nice spot where one of the Bucks held Daniels in a headscissors, while the other followed up with a beautiful enziguri.

Nick did his handspring into a back-rake spot on Kazaraian, and then tagged Matt back in. The Bucks tried to double-team some more, but Kaz was able to roll out of the way and tag Daniels. “The Fallen Angel” was a house of fire, and hit a double-bulldog on both members of the Bucks. Daniels hit an STO and then immediately applied a Koji Clutch on Matt, but Nick ran in and broke it up.

Kaz tagged in, and each Addiction member then delivered a springboard elbow to Matt. Kazarian hit a delayed vertical suplex on Matt, but could only get a two count. The Addiction continued to double-team Matt, but a string of power moves only earned them another nearfall. Daniels went for a hold, but Matt quickly fought out of it. He tried to get to his corner, but ate a dropkick from Daniels. Kaz tagged back in and just punched Matt in the gut. Kaz delivered a Gutwrench suplex, but could only get two, as the show went to another commercial at 10:20.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 12:20, Daniels was still in control of Matt Jackson. Kaz tagged in, and they double-teamed Matt in the corner. Kaz charged at Matt, but received an elbow and then a jawbreaker from the ropes. Nick Jackson finally got the hot tag! He came in and just exploded into a flurry of offense on both Addiction members. Nick hit a top rope splash on Daniels, but could only get a two count. Nick tried to remain in control, but the Addiction came back with their neckbreaker/powerbomb combination for another nearfall.

Daniels grabbed Nick’s hands and foot-stomped him into the mat, and then immediately dove onto Matt on the outside. Back in the ring, Kaz hit an RKO, but couldn’t put away Nick Jackson. Kaz went for his finisher, but ate a superkick from Matt! Daniels came back in and hit Matt with an enziguri. He called for Angel’s Wings, but Matt countered into a hurracanrana. The Bucks exploded into a flurry of offense, including a move that looked very similar to the Decade’s All Seeing Eye, but they could’t put away Daniels. Kaz came back in and hit Nick with a springboard DDT. Kaz couldn’t follow up, as he was speared by Matt. Daniels came back with an STO, but was superkicked by Nick! Kaz tried to follow up, but was superkicked by Matt!

Both teams were down, but Daniels and Matt quickly got to their feet. They exchanged blows, until Matt knocked Daniels out of the ring. Somehow, Kaz was able to suplex Matt and cover both of the Bucks at the same time, but they kicked out at the same time! Kaz went to follow up, but was double-superkicked by the Bucks! Matt and Nick went for More Bang for Your Buck, but Daniels broke it up. Daniels followed up with a nice springboard moonsault onto Matt on the outside. He immediately went for a deadlift suplex on Nick, but Matt superkicked him to the floor! Daniels and Nick were both on top, and Kaz hit the Flux Capacitor from the top rope to score the pin!

After the match, both teams shook hands in the center of the ring, as the fans chanted “ROH!”

WINNERS: The Addiction via pinfall at 20:00.

ANALYSIS: Excellent match. This was different than the Bucks-reDRagon match at the iPPV because they followed the basic tag formula. Still, other than Matt Jackson playing the face-in-peril for a little while, there wasn’t much selling or resting during this one. If you have not seen the Young Bucks wrestle, you are truly missing out one of the most talented tag teams of all time. Also, the Addiction finally had a great match since returning to ROH. This was right up there with Bucks-reDRagon from this past weekend’s iPPV. (****)

FINAL REAX: Well, I guess ROH was done hyping the ASE iPPV because there was zero mention of it on this show (other than the live events calendar). It must be nice to be in a position to be able to leave money on the table like that. Then again, why would someone pay $20 to see an iPPV, when tonight’s free TV show featured three great-to-excellent matches? There were quite a few last-minute changes to the iPPV line-up (and outcomes), but ROH has now put itself in a position where their #1 title has changed hands with, perhaps, the least amount of hype for a World Title PPV main event in modern pro wrestling history.

ROH has a lot of great talent. Tonight’s outstanding ring action from start to finish really shows it. Caprice Coleman and Silas Young are two talents that need to be pushed ASAP. The tag team division seems to be hitting on all cylinders right now, but I do feel that ROH is dropping the ball as far as developing some of these teams’ personalities. Don’t get me wrong, there have been several stellar tag matches throughout the last year or two, but I feel like this time period will ultimately be remembered for a bunch of amazing highspots and not an era-defining face-heel feud. Bigger picture aside, if you turn your brain off and just watch each match for what it is, you will definitely enjoy this week’s show!

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