ROH TV Report
September 27, 2014
Taped 8/23 in Chicago Ridge, Ill.
Report by Mike Metzger (@mD0uble), PWTorch contributor

The ROH TV opening aired.

1 - SILAS YOUNG vs. B.J. WHITMER (w/The Decade) vs. A.C.H. vs. MICHAEL BENNETT (w/Maria Kanellis) - Four Corner Survival match

No one would shake hands with A.C.H., until Bennett tentatively walked over and slapped it. A.C.H. proceeded to slap hands with the announcers and other ROH personnel at ringside. A.C.H. and Whitmer started the match. A.C.H. threw some chops at Whitmer, but was quickly knocked down. A.C.H. battled back with some flips, and then knocked Whitmer out of the ring! Bennett and Young ran in, but A.C.H was able to fend them off and send them back to the outside!

Whitmer came back in and hit A.C.H. and then tagged in Bennett. A.C.H. fought back, however, and clotheslined Bennett to the outside. A.C.H. attempted to follow up with a springboard plancha, but landed on a fist from Bennett on the outside. The show went to its first break at 2:45 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:15, not much seemed to have been skipped, as Bennett was still dominating A.C.H. on the outside. Bennett threw him into the hockey boards, and then back into the ring. Whitmer was tagged in, and he delivered a back suplex to A.C.H. for a nearfall. Whitmer continued his assault with another backbreaker. A.C.H. tried to battle out, but Whitmer just choked him.

Silas tagged himself in by slapping the back of Whitmer, and then wheelbarrowed A.C.H. throat-first across the bottom rope. A.C.H. again tried to battle back, but couldn’t overcome Silas’s size and strength advantage. Young tagged Bennett, who immediately went for a cover, but could only get two. Maria joined the announcers on commentary, and talked about how Bennett was dominating A.C.H. in the ring. She hyped that the Kingdom was “getting stronger and stronger.”

In the ring, Silas tagged in and wrestled A.C.H. for a moment. A.C.H. was able to deliver a spin kick to Young, but Silas immediately tagged in Whitmer. A.C.H. held B.J. at bay for a moment, but Bennett reappeared and attacked him. Kevin Kelly was upset about how it was “three-on-one,” as the show went to another break at 10:00.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 13:00, Bennett was going for a piledriver on Whitmer on the apron, but Whitmer got loose and yanked Bennett’s legs out from under him. A.C.H. came out of nowhere and dropkicked Whitmer on the outside. He rolled him back in the ring and covered him, but Silas broke it up. Silas hit a huge lariat, but could only get a two count. Whitmer came back in and jockeyed for position against Young, who hit a TKO on B.J. for another nearfall. Bennett then hit a spear on Young for a two count of his own!

A.C.H. reappeared and worked Bennett’s arm in the corner. A.C.H. came off the top, but was spinebustered by Bennett in mid-air for another two count! Bennett and Whitmer were then face-to-face in the ring. They argued over their confrontation earlier in the match. They went into an exchange, which resulted in Whitmer dropping Bennett on his head with a German suplex. Whitmer went to follow up with a piledriver on the apron of his own, but Bennett got away. Silas knocked Whitmer to the outside and followed up with a springboard plancha!

A.C.H. and Bennett were alone in the ring. A.C.H. got distracted by Maria, and then ate a superkick from Bennett. Bennett went to dive on the other two men, but they simply walked away, causing Bennett to crash and burn on the mat. Those three began brawling at ringside, which set up A.C.H. to hit a beautiful change-in-direction moonsault on his opponents! A.C.H. quickly went to follow up with a 450 splash, but Whitmer moved out of the way. A.C.H recovered nicely and then dropkicked TaDarius Thomas, who got on the ring apron a moment earlier. Thomas ran into the ring after A.C.H., but was inadvertently clotheslined by Whitmer. A.C.H. capitalized on the distraction and hit Whitmer with a German Suplex into a pinning combination for the victory!

WINNER: A.C.H. via pinfall at 18:30.

ANALYSIS: This match told a good story with babyface A.C.H. being outnumbered by three heels. This was your typical multiple-man match, with some amazing high-flying moves from A.C.H. sprinkled in. You could see that A.C.H. was in for a big push when this was taped. It will be interesting to find out what will happen to him after missing his flight (and ROH TV Title match) at All Star Extravaganza. (**1/2)

[Commercial Break]

(During the break, ROH aired a 30-second spot on All-Star Extravaganza. Without coming out and actually saying it, the ad did show Jay Briscoe defeating Michael Elgin for the ROH World Title. This was the first indication on ROH TV that the title had changed hands back on September 6.)

2 - JIMMY JACOBS & RODERICK STRONG (w/The Decade) vs. JOSH ALEXANDER & ETHAN GABRIEL OWENS

The Code of Honor was not adhered to before the match. Strong and Alexander locked up in the center. Kelly said that Alexander wore the amateur headgear because his right ear suffers from a severe case of cauliflower ear. Alexander got the early advantage and tagged in his partner. Owens dominated for about 30 seconds, but Strong was able to battle back and tag in Jacobs.

Jacobs slapped Owens, and Owens returned the favor. Jacobs hammered Owens with forearms, but Owens fought back with a slam and legdrop. He went to follow up, but Jacobs reversed into a spinning headscissors takeover! Alexander came in and attacked Jacobs, but Strong came in to even things out. Jacobs and Strong both hit big spears the sent their opponents to the outside!

Owens got tied up in the ring skirt, so Jacobs ran away, and then charged at Owens all the way from the entranceway! Back in the ring, Owens was able to reverse and slam Jacobs out of desperation. Both men tagged their partners, and Alexander was a house of fire against Strong. The Decade tried to double-team, but Alexander held them off. He delivered a German suplex into a bridge on Strong, but Roddy kicked out.

Owens came in and they double-teamed Strong for a moment. Jacobs ran in, but the babyfaces threw him back out. They went for another double-team maneuver, but Jacobs distracted and Roddy hit a backbreaker. Strong slammed Owens and then Jacobs delivered a top-rope senton onto him, but they couldn’t put Owens away!

Strong tagged Jacobs in, and they attempted a double-superplex on Owens. Alexander ran in and broke it up. He hit Jacobs with a discus forearm and then Owens came off the ropes with an enziguri. Owens and Alexander hit their finisher, in which Alexander lifted Jacobs into an Attitude Adjustment, but Owens caught him and hit a sit-out powerbomb. It appeared to be over, but somehow Jacobs kicked out! Owens and Alexander went for a double-powerbomb, but Strong ran in and hit a sick kick and running knee to both of his opponents. Jacobs then hit a spear on Alexander for the pin!

WINNERS: Roderick Strong & Jimmy Jacobs via pinfall at 8:50.

ANALYSIS: Good match, with a very convincing false finish toward the end. Alexander and Owens have really proven themselves in the past couple months and definitely deserve a spot on the ROH roster going forward. (**3/4)

Backstage, Michael Elgin talked about his upcoming title defense against Tommaso Ciampa on next week’s ROH TV episode.

[Commercial Break]

3 - ROH TV champion JAY LETHAL (w/Truth Martini & Seleziya) vs CAPRICE COLEMAN - ROH Television Title match

Before the bell, Martini had ring announcer Bobby Cruise refer to Lethal as “the greatest first-generation wrestler.” Both men shook hands and the bell rang. Lethal stalled early when he asked Martini for some advice. They went into a chain wrestling sequence, with Coleman getting an early nearfall after taking Lethal’s legs out from under him. They ran the ropes and Coleman hit a series of arm drag takedowns! Coleman continued to work the arm, until Lethal got his feet on the ropes. Lethal rolled outside to regroup with the House of Truth at ringside.

Back in the ring, both men locked up again. This time, Lethal hit some arm drag takedowns of his own. Coleman blocked an attempted Lethal Injection, which caused Lethal to again stall on the outside. Coleman followed the champion, however, and chopped him around ringside. Lethal went for his patented springboard dropkick, but Coleman had it well-scouted. Coleman his a weak-looking dropkick of his own on the outside, and then rolled Lethal back in for a two count.

In the ring, Coleman continued to dominate the match and scored a few nearfalls. Lethal eventually broke up Coleman’s momentum with a rake to the eyes. Lethal followed up with a baseball slide to Caprice on the outside. Truth Martini took an early victory lap around ringside, as the show went to its final commercial break at the 6:00 mark.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 8:00, Lethal was still in control. He scored a two count of his own, and then just taunted Coleman. Caprice fought back, however, and a fistfight ensued. Coleman hit a heart punch on Lethal, but it had no effect, so Lethal came right back with a superkick that sent Coleman to the mat! Lethal went to follow up, but began to sell Coleman’s heart punch, and dropped to the mat. Coleman followed up with a big splash from the top rope, but could only get two! Coleman continued his offensive, as the crowd was firmly behind him. Lethal hit a Lethal Combination out of nowhere, but could only get a two count.

Lethal set Coleman up for his Hail to the King elbow smash, but Coleman got up and hit a leaping huracanrana from the mat and onto Lethal on the top rope. Seleziya tried to get involved, but was knocked off the apron for her troubles. Coleman exploded into a series of Northern Lights suplexes, but Lethal kicked out of the pin attempt. Martini threw the Book of Truth into the ring. Coleman picked it up and threw it back at Martini. The momentary distraction allowed Lethal to hit a superkick, followed by the Lethal Injection for the victory. Both men shook hands after the match.

WINNER: Jay Lethal via pinfall at 10:55 to retain the ROH Television Title.

ANALYSIS: Another great title defense from Jay Lethal. Coleman shined as well. I thought this was the match of the night, as it was just a basic wrestling match that slowed things down and told a good story. (***)

FINAL REAX: Solid show. This episode was all about featuring the mid-card. WWE and Impact can certainly take a lesson from it. This was a very enjoyable hour of wrestling that left me quite interested in seeing more from A.C.H., Alexander-Owens, Caprice Coleman, and Jay Lethal.

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