ROH TV Report
September 13, 2014
Taped 8/22 in Milwaukee, Wis.
Report by Mike Metzger (@mD0uble), PWTorch contributor

Backstage, the Briscoes cut a promo about tonight’s match with the Young Bucks. They said it had been a couple of years, but now the Bucks were “grown-up badasses.” Mark spat out a beat, and Jay busted a profanity-laced rhyme: “Ain’t no b*tch like Matt Hardy, Dem Boys here vs. the Superkick Party!” Jay promised to kick the Bucks’s heads off tonight.

The ROH TV opening aired.

Tonight: It’s a “Road Rage” edition of ROH TV, including matches from the first night of Death Before Dishonor XII weekend!

1 - IWGP Hvt. champion A.J. STYLES vs. ROH tag champion KYLE O’REILLY - non-title match

The crowd offered much respect (and many streamers) to Styles. Both men shook hands and the bell rang. Kevin Kelly wondered what role Bobby Fish would play on the outside. Styles and O’Reilly felt each other out for a moment, and then went into a chain wrestling sequence. Kelly referenced Styles impressive showing at NJPW’s G1 Climax tournament. O’Reilly had Styles in a wristlock, but A.J. reversed and slammed O’Reilly to the outside.

Back in the ring, they wrestled on the mat some more. Things picked up at the 3:00 mark, after O’Reilly kicked Styles in the face. A.J. followed up with his signature standing dropkick, which sent Kyle to the outside. Styles went for a dive, but was distracted by Fish. This allowed O’Reilly attack the left arm of Styles. Kyle worked the arm for a moment, but ate a boot from Styles in the corner. Styles went for an early Styles Clash, but O’Reilly kicked his way out of it.

Styles was in firm control at 5:00. He slammed O’Reilly and then delivered a jumping knee strike to the face of O’Reilly. Kyle tried to battle back, but was unsuccessful. Styles went for a springboard maneuver on the apron, but Fish held onto his leg on the outside. This allowed O’Reilly to slam Styles’ arm across the ring apron, as the show went to commercial at 6:30.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 8:50, O’Reilly continued to work Styles’s arm on the outside. He threw him arm-first into the hockey boards, and then back into the ring. O’Reilly delivered several running knees to Styles’s arm. Styles came back with some chops, but Kyle knocked him back down with a spinning leg sweep. O’Reilly worked the arm some more, and then delivered a front leg sweep, with Styles’s arm taking all of the impact.

Styles tried to fight back with some forearms. Unfortunately for him, O’Reilly went right back to the arm. Out of nowhere, A.J. was able to suplex O’Reilly into the corner! Styles began to mount a comeback. He hit some of his signature spots and then went for another Styles Clash, but O’Reilly reversed into his Armageddon submission hold! Styles was able to briefly roll-up O’Reilly for a nearfall, and then picked him up for the Styles Clash! Kyle again kicked his way out of it, though, and threw Styles to the outside. O’Reilly then delivered his signature charging dropkick from the apron to Styles on the outside! The show went to another commercial at 14:55.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 17:30, O’Reilly rolled back into the ring, as the referee’s count on Styles hit 18. Styles was able to roll back into the ring with a moment to spare, but was immediately greeted by kicks from O’Reilly. Kyle locked on Armageddon again! Styles tried to fight out, so O’Reilly adjusted it into a Triangle Choke! Somehow, A.J. battled out and reversed into a Styles Clash! “This is awesome” rang out from the crowd!

Both men got to their feet and exchanged blows. An intense sequence ensued, with both men trading their signature kicks. O’Reilly hit his Ax & Smash kick combination, but Styles immediately responded with a Pele kick out of nowhere! Styles followed up with a discus clothesline, but could only get two. He hit a brain buster and went for another Styles Clash, but O’Reilly reversed into a guillotine choke! Styles battled out of it and delivered a modified Styles Clash piledriver! Styles then followed up with a traditional Styles Clash for the victory!

WINNER: A.J. Styles via pinfall in 22:30.

ANALYSIS: Outstanding match. Styles’s amazing 2014 continues. You could really see Styles’s creativity on display here, and working against ROH stand-out Kyle O’Reilly certainly brought this match up a notch or two. I mentioned it in my All-Star Extravaganza iPPV report and on RWC Audio with Sean Radican this week, and I will bring it up again here: I think it’s time for ROH to begin planning for O’Reilly’s eventual main even singles run. It doesn’t have to happen right away, but planning it now will ensure ROH gets their mileage out of O’Reilly before he is snatched away by WWE or another promotion. (****)

[Commercial Break]

Back from break, the entire Decade stable was standing in the ring. Jacobs talked about how their “young boys” were just not listening to their advice. Apparently, Strong had an idea that would grab the rookies’ attention. Out came the returning “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce! Jacobs welcomed him back and thanked him for teaching him respect back when he was 16 years old. For those who didn’t know, Jacobs told the story of Pearce clotheslining him to the mat so hard that he lost his back tooth. Jacobs asked Pearce if he would teach the same lesson to TaDarius Thomas.

2 - ADAM PEARCE vs. TADARIUS THOMAS (w/ The Decade)

Pearce refused to shake Thomas’s hand. The bell rang, and TaDarius offered another handshake. Pearce responded with a fist to Thomas’ face. They immediately cut to Pearce pinning Thomas. Kevin Kelly mentioned that Pearce used the piledriver, but it wasn’t shown.

WINNER: Adam Pearce via pinfall in 50 seconds (shown on TV).

After the match, Jacobs grabbed the mic and admonished Thomas for “falling short.” He told Jacobs that he “had a lot of learning to do.”

ANALYSIS: This gave the Decade something to do at this show, I guess. I thought it was odd that they didn’t even show Pearce’s piledriver, as dishing out punishment to Thomas seemed to be the whole point of this segment. It’s the same old story, as we wait for the “young boys” to finally have enough and fight back. (N/A)

Then-ROH champ Michael Elgin quickly hyped next week’s main event, a title defense against Silas Young. Wow, that felt stale.

3 - THE BRISCOES vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS

The Code of Honor was adhered to by all four men. Nick Jackson and Mark Briscoe started the match. Jackson taunted Mark with a crotch-chop, and then both men ran the ropes. Nick quickly hit a superkick, and then brother Matt came in and nailed a superkick of his own! The Briscoes regrouped on the outside, as the fans chanted, “superkick, superkick!”

Jay Briscoe tried his luck against Nick Jackson in the ring. The Briscoes trapped Nick in their corner and double-teamed him. “Man up” rang out from the crowd, as Jay dominated Nick in the middle of the ring. Mark tagged back in, elbowed Nick, and got a nearfall. Mark tagged Jay, but Nick was able to elbow the elder Briscoe and tag his own brother.

Matt Jackson immediately fell victim to the Briscoes offense, however. Mark delivered a belly-to-belly suplex, as the fans started a loud dueling chant. The Bucks took control after Nick hit Jay from the outside. The Bucks cornered Jay, and then hit a senton/elbow combination. The Bucks dominated for a minute, until they missed a move in the corner. This allowed Jay to tag Mark.

Mark immediately hit his Red Neck Kung Fu on Matt Jackson. Briscoe threw Matt out of the ring, and then dominated both Bucks on the outside. Mark went to follow up with his Cactus Jack elbow from the ring apron, but ate a super kick! Back in the ring, the Bucks hit their moonsault/springboard frogsplash combo on Mark, but could only get two. The show went to commercial at the 7:45 mark.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 9:45, the Bucks were in firm control of Mark Briscoe. Nick Jackson tagged in, but Mark used the brief pause to start throwing fists. Nick Jackson went for a spin kick, but Mark caught him, held onto his leg, and then forced Nick to kick his brother in the face! Mark hit Nick with a back suplex, and then made the hot tag to Jay!

Jay came in and punched both Bucks in the face several times. Nick Jackson hit a superkick out of nowhere. The Bucks went for a double-superkick on Jay, but he ducked, and then both Briscoes came back with a double-superkick of their own to both Bucks! The Briscoes hit a nice combination neck breaker on Matt, but couldn’t put him away. The Briscoes continued to double-team Matt in the ring. Jay hit a sick press slam into a Death Valley Driver, but could only get two!

Nick Jackson came in, hit a superkick on Mark, a springboard facebuster on Jay, and then a tornado DDT onto Mark on the outside! The Bucks hit their Tombstone piledriver combo on Jay, but Mark miraculously made the save! Mark ate a double-superkick for his troubles, however. The Bucks went for More Bang for Your Buck, but missed! Mark dove onto Nick on the outside, while his brother hit the Jay Driller on Matt in the center of the ring! It looked to be over, but Jackson somehow kicked out at two! Jay Briscoe couldn’t believe it, and neither could the fans. Jay hoisted Matt Jackson onto his shoulders for the Doomsday Device, and Mark hit it to finally put away the Bucks! The crowd chanted, “that was awesome” in unison.

WINNERS: The Briscoes via pinball at 14:30.

ANALYSIS: Another stand-out match from the Bucks. The Briscoes refrained from brawling, and instead went toe-to-toe against the Bucks with highspots. This was probably the better way to put the match together, as the crowd ate it up. It got a little indy-riffic toward the end, but both teams got in some creative (and very impressive) spots. This was really hard to compare to the opener, as they showcased two totally different styles, but both were indeed fun to watch. (****)

Next week: The former champion defends a championship he no longer holds against a guy who is out with a leg injury for four months.

FINAL REAX: I liken this show to buying some fresh deli meat, but then coming home to find out there is only some stale bread left in the pantry. It was another great hour of action from ROH, but there were certain aspects (Elgin hyping a World Title match against Silas Young, Jay Briscoe making no mention of his title aspirations) that made this show seem very inconsequential. It’s amazing how stale this show felt, despite only being taped three weeks ago. If you want to enjoy this show, throw out the stale bread and just enjoy the fresh meat for what it is. The two feature matches were incredible and are worth seeking out.

On a side note, it’s a shame to think that TNA once had A.J. Styles and the Young Bucks on their roster at the same time. After watching both acts consistently have great matches in ROH and NJPW this year, it makes me feel really sad to think of the rest of the TNA originals. Sure, many of them wouldn't have been able to rival the current success of Styles and the Bucks, but I think it has become apparent that TNA has misused and wasted wrestling talent over the past 12 years.

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