ROH TV Report
October 12, 2014
Taped 9/27 in Wheeling, W.V.
Report by Mike Metzger (@mD0uble), PWTorch contributor

The ROH TV opening aired.

The show opened with a video package that featured clips from the main event of All-Star Extravaganza 6, when Jay Briscoe defeated Michael Elgin to become a two-time ROH World champion. And ROH TV moves into the present this week!

Tonight: It’s an Honor Rumble to crown a number one contender for the ROH World Championship!

In the ring, Kevin Kelly introduced new champ Jay Briscoe. Jay received a loud “man up” chant, as he walked to the ring with the title belt. Briscoe said that Michael Elgin called himself unbreakable, but “he done been broke.” Briscoe said he knew he now had a bullseye on him, and challenged everyone to take their best shot. But, he also warned everyone to take notice because he will fire back with the heavy artillery! Kelly then brought up Briscoe’s “real” ROH title belt and mentioned that Michael Bennett and Maria Kanellis had renamed it the “Title of Love.” Briscoe was confident he would get that title back, too, but was then interrupted by the music of Adam Cole!

Cole came out and said that he thought Briscoe’s first title reign was embarrassing enough, and now he made it worse by becoming champion again. Both men exchanged insults, and Cole promised to make sure he would make Briscoe’s life a living hell. Cole promised to win tonight’s “Honor Rumble,” so he could challenge Briscoe for the title in two weeks on TV. Briscoe said to hell with waiting, and called Cole to the ring. Cole walked up to ringside and grabbed a microphone, but suddenly put it down and walked back toward the entranceway. This drew loud boos from the crowd, including a “you are chicken” chant. Briscoe grabbed the mic and hoped that Cole would win the Honor Rumble, so he could “whip his little b---- ass” in two weeks.

[Commercial Break]

The Decade cut a backstage promo about tonight’s Honor Rumble. Whitmer cut off Jacobs, and asked about TaDarius Thomas’ whereabouts. Jacobs said he wasn’t happy about Thomas’s absence either, but was confident that Adam Page would come through and help one of the main Decade members win. Strong interrupted Jacobs and declared he would win the Rumble. This caused Whitmer to speak out again, this time declaring he would be tonight’s winner. Jacobs tried to play peacemaker, but Whitmer ended up walking off the set.

1 - R.D. EVANS & MOOSE (w/Veda Scott and Ramon) vs. RED SCORPION & GREY WOLF (w/Prince Nana)

Evans’s streak was at 153-0 at this point. Prince Nana’s team was reminiscent of the Road Warriors in their muscularity and painted-up faces/bodies, although they didn’t appear to be very tall. Grey Wolf and Evans started the match. Evans seemed a bit upset that Moose wanted him to start, so he quickly feigned a quad injury and tagged in Moose. Moose came in and towered over Grey Wolf. He got some offense in on Moose and tagged Red Scorpion, but Scorpion quickly ate a dropkick from Moose!

Sensing weakness, Evans begged Moose for the tag and got it. He hit a double axehandle off the top, but was quickly stopped by Scorpion, who hit a version of Goldust’s Final Cut maneuver for a two count. The show went to a break at the 2:30 mark of the match.

[Commercial Break]

(During the break, Adam Cole hyped next week’s match against Cedric Alexander. Generic promo, with Cole saying that Alexander didn’t stand a chance against him.)

Back at 5:30, Scorpion was still in control of Evans. He tagged in Wolf. Wolf charged at Evans, but Evans got the boot up and then low bridged the ropes and sent Scorpion to the outside. He was able to tag in Moose, who came in and splashed both men in the corner. Nana’s team hit a double-flapjack on Moose, which slowed him down momentarily. They threw him to the ropes, but Moose reversed with a flying cross body off the ropes! Evans tagged in and went for a Hurricane-esque double-chokeslam on his opponents, but couldn’t get them off their feet.

Moose tried to run in and help, but Wolf and Scorpion sent him over the ropes and isolated Evans. Scorpion hit a reverse cannonball on Evans in the corner and went for a pinning combination, but Veda Scott grabbed the legs of referee Todd Sinclair to break up the count! Nana cornered Veda on the outside. Wolf rolled outside, but Veda slapped him in the face. Wolf then attempted to strike Veda, but luckily Veda ducked, which caused Wolf to nail Nana in the face!

Back in the ring, Wolf and Scorpion tried to double-team Moose, but he quickly reversed into a double spear! Moose appeared to have the match won, but Evans snuck into the ring and pinned Scorpion for the victory!

WINNERS: R.D. Evans & Moose via pinfall at 9:35.

ANALYSIS: This was mostly a comedy match, without much else to it. Nana’s team was a prime example of why the muscular look doesn’t really work for shorter wrestlers. They just looked really small and bush-league. Moose was fine for what they ask him to do, but I know that he has a lot more in him after seeing a great performance against A.R. Fox at EVOLVE 34. (*1/2)

[Commercial Break]

Mark Briscoe cut a brief backstage promo, where he touted that he had won two previous Honor Rumbles. He said it would be a three-peat tonight, whether his brother was champion or not. Jay comedically snuck up behind his brother, as he yelled, “I don’t care if Jay’s the champ!” A more serious stare-down ensued.

2 - 20-MAN HONOR RUMBLE - Winner Receives Future ROH World Title shot

Jay Lethal and A.C.H. were the first two men out. They quickly charged at each other and started exchanging blows. Lethal got an early advantage and chopped A.C.H. in the corner, but A.C.H came right back and attempted to dump Lethal over the top rope. A.C.H. hit some more chops and then slammed Lethal’s head into the turnbuckle. He went to dump Lethal out again, but the TV champ fought back.

TaDarius Thomas was out at #3. He quickly stared down former partner A.C.H., but Lethal hit A.C.H. from behind and tried to talk Thomas into working together. This was short-lived, as Thomas quickly attacked Lethal. ROH Head of Security J. Diesel was out next at #4, and he immediately dumped A.C.H. out of the ring! The camera shot to Martini on the outside, who bragged about paying off Diesel.

Back in the ring, Lethal hit the Lethal Injection on Thomas with an assist from Diesel. He rolled out to the ring for a strategy session with Martini, which allowed Diesel to toss Thomas out of the ring. Lethal sat on the apron and took a breather, as Romantic Touch made his entrance at #5. Touch was immediately attacked by Diesel and Lethal. Diesel held up Touch for the Lethal Injection, and Jay hit it flawlessly. Diesel then quickly disposed of Touch.

Martini went to take a selfie with Lethal on the apron, but Mark Briscoe’s theme music broke it up in a hurry! Briscoe came out and chased Martini around the ring and then attacked Lethal on the outside. He entered the ring and went after Diesel, but Lethal came back in and double-teamed with Diesel. Adam Page was out at #7. Lethal fought Page, while Briscoe hammered away on Diesel. Will Ferrara then entered at #8. He went after Diesel, but was quickly knocked down, as the match went to its first commercial break at the 7:35 mark.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 10:05, Caprice Coleman and “Brutal” Bob Evans had entered the match. Kevin Kelly assured the viewers that no one had been eliminated during the break. Out at #11 was former ROH champ Adam Cole! Cole came out, but was in no hurry to get into the ring, as he taunted Mark Briscoe from the outside. Hanson was out at #12 before Cole even got into the ring. Because of this, Hanson ran toward the ring and threw Cole inside!

Hanson came in and was a house of fire, as he immediately threw “Brutal” Bob out. Hanson went right back after Cole, but this was surprisingly broken up by Briscoe. Caprice butted in and went after Hanson, but the big man hit his Spin Kick of Doom to eliminate him! Briscoe went right back after Cole and choked him on the mat, as B.J. Whitmer came out at #13.

A bunch of wrestlers went after two-time Honor Rumble winner Mark Briscoe, but he was able to fight them off. Kyle O”Reilly was next at #14. He came right in and delivered several kicks and elbows. Out of nowhere, Page and Whitmer teamed up to dump Hanson over the top rope! Briscoe went right after Page, but was unsuccessful in eliminating him. Jimmy Jacobs was out next, but this was quickly overshadowed by Will Ferrara tossing Jay Lethal out from behind! Diesel tried to throw Ferrara out, but Ferrara reversed and sent his fellow ROH dojo member to the floor!

On the outside, the House of Truth yanked Ferrara out of the ring under the bottom rope and just pummeled him. Martini chucked Ferrara back in the ring, which allowed Adam Page to easily throw him over the top rope. All of this went on while Roderick Strong entered at #16. Strong sprinted to the ring and appeared to be going for a clothesline on Thomas, but Thomas ducked, and Roddy eliminated Page instead!

Jacobs, Whitmer, and Strong triple-teamed Briscoe in the corner, while Page looked upset on the outside. Cedric Alexander was out next at #17, but was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, suspended wrestler Tommaso Ciampa came out instead. He started attacking ringside attendants. Nigel McGuinness grabbed his leg to stop him. They started each other down at ringside. ReDRagon’s music blared and Bobby Fish was the next man out at #18, but his partner O’Reilly was eliminated by Strong before he could make it to the ring. Meanwhile, the situation at ringside cooled down when Ciampa left through the crowd.

Cedric appeared out of nowhere and entered the match, but was favoring his neck. Cheeseburger was out at #19, but was quickly attacked by the Decade members. Cheeseburger fought back and tried to eliminate Jacobs, but the “Zombie Princess” held on. Michael Bennett was the last man out at #20, as the show went to its final commercial break at 19:55.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 21:55, no one had been eliminated during the break. Whitmer and Jacobs attempted to toss out Cheeseburger, but Cedric Alexander came out from behind and dumped both Whitmer and Jacobs over the top! Unfortunately for Cedric, Roderick Strong was in perfect position to eliminate him from behind. A huge “Cheeseburger” chant broke out, as things settled down a bit in the ring. Fish and Strong pummeled each other on the apron, until both men fell to the floor at the exact same time!

The final four were Cole, Bennett, Briscoe, and Cheeseburger. All four men ran at each other. Cole had the early advantage on Cheeseburger, while Briscoe stomped Bennett in the corner. Cole thought he eliminated Cheeseburger, but the crowd favorite held on! Cheeseburger tried to battle back from the apron, but was eventually sent to the floor by Cole. All of a sudden, Briscoe tossed out Cole from behind, but Bennett was not too far behind himself, as he tossed out Mark Briscoe for the victory!

WINNER: Michael Bennett at 25:30 to earn a future ROH World Title shot.

After the match, Bennett and Maria celebrated in the ring, although fellow Kingdom member Adam Cole did not look very happy for his friend on the outside.

ANALYSIS: Well-booked Rumble match. It told a good story throughout, starting with some newcomers getting a chance to shine and then some solid mid-card storyline development. There did seem to be a lack of main event stars in the match, but I was fine with it since this was just setting up an easy first title defense for Briscoe on TV. It would have been nice if the final four men didn’t immediately go into an “abandon ship” sequence, but it still told an intriguing story with Cole not being as happy as he should be for his partner Bennett. (****1/4)

ORDER OF ENTRY

#1 - Jay Lethal
#2 - A.C.H.
#3 - TaDarius Thomas
#4 - J. Diesel
#5 - Romantic Touch
#6 - Mark Briscoe
#7 - Adam Page
#8 - Will Ferrara
#9 - Caprice Coleman
#10 - “Brutal” Bob Evans
#11 - Adam Cole
#12 - Hanson
#13 - B.J. Whitmer
#14 - Kyle O’Reilly
#15 - Jimmy Jacobs
#16 - Roderick Strong
#17 - Cedric Alexander (Injured by Tommaso Ciampa)
#18 - Bobby Fish
#19 - Cheeseburger
#20 - Michael Bennett

ORDER OF ELIMINATION

#1 - A.C.H. by J. Diesel
#2 - TaDarius Thomas by J. Diesel
#3 - Romantic Touch by J. Diesel
#4 - “Brutal” Bob Evans by Hanson
#5 - Caprice Coleman by Hanson
#6 - Hanson by Adam Page & B.J. Whitmer
#7 - Jay Lethal by Will Ferrara
#8 - J. Diesel by Will Ferrara
#9 - Will Ferrara by Adam Page
#10 - Adam Page by Roderick Strong
#11 - Kyle O’Reilly by Roderick Strong
#12 - B.J. Whitmer by Cedric Alexander
#13 - Jimmy Jacobs by Cedric Alexander
#14 - Cedric Alexander by Roderick Strong
#15 - Bobby Fish by Roderick Strong
#16 - Roderick Strong by Bobby Fish
#17 - Cheeseburger by Adam Cole
#18 - Adam Cole by Mark Briscoe
#19 - Mark Briscoe by Michael Bennett

FINAL REAX: Very enjoyable hour of ROH TV. They really needed to put on a hot episode after several weeks of stale TV, and they certainly delivered here. I definitely recommend seeking out this episode, as several storylines were advanced and Rumble matches are always fun to watch.

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