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Ring of Honor
METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 11/16: Lethal defends TV Title vs. A.C.H., The Decade explodes, Final Battle hype

Nov 17, 2014 - 9:52:53 PM
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ROH TV Report
November 16, 2014
Taped 10/25 in Lakeland, Fla.
Report by Mike Metzger (@mD0uble), PWTorch contributor


The show opened with backstage comments from Jay Lethal and Truth Martini. Lethal joked about A.C.H. actually being in the building tonight, taking a shot at A.C.H. for missing his flight to the All-Star Extravaganza iPPV in September. Lethal said that it was time to burst A.C.H.’s bubble. Lethal promised that the naysayers would be silenced because A.C.H. would go down once and for all.

The ROH TV opening aired.

Kevin Kelly and the returning Steve Corino were shown at ringside. They hyped tonight’s card, and then Kelly announced that he would be interviewing Raymond Rowe for the first time since his tragic motorcycle accident last August.

1 -- CAPRICE COLEMAN & TADARIUS THOMAS & WILL FERRARA vs. THE DECADE (Roderick Strong & B.J. Whitmer & Adam Page) -- six-man tag match

Kevin Kelly noted that Jimmy Jacobs was conspicuous by his absence. The Code of Honor looked doubtful, and became a definite “no” when Whitmer and former Decade “young boy” TaDarius Thomas stared each other down briefly before trading blows. The bell rang, as all six men brawled in the ring. The babyfaces threw all three heels to the ropes, but all of the Decade members took the opportunity to exit the ring. Coleman and Thomas immediately followed up with a pair of baseball slides, and then they assisted Ferrara in hitting a flip dive onto all three Decade members on the outside!

Back in the ring, Thomas fought Whitmer into the corner and stomped him. Thomas whipped Whitmer into the opposite corner and then nailed him with a running kick. Coleman tagged in. He and Whitmer exchanged chops briefly, until Page was tagged. Coleman hit a nice hip toss into sunset flip. Ferrara tagged in, which allowed the babyfaces to nail Page with a double dropkick! Ferrara kept the upper hand on Page for a few moments, until Page got to his corner and tagged Strong. Ferrara hit Strong with a flurry of offense and scored a two count.

Ferrara went to follow up, but Page nailed him with a knee from the apron. This allowed Whitmer to tag in, and then he and Strong stomped Ferrara in the corner. Whitmer raked the eyes of Ferrara, while Kevin Kelly announced that Jay Briscoe would defend the ROH World Title against Adam Cole at the Final Battle PPV in December. The show went to its first break at the 3:55 point in the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:25, Whitmer was still in firm control of Ferrara. Whitmer tagged Strong, who came in and nailed Ferrara with a stiff chop. Ferrara tried to fight back off the ropes, but Strong caught him and delivered a backbreaker. Ferarra kicked out of the pin attempt. Whitmer and Page attacked Thomas and Coleman on the outside. The referee went to break it up. Page tried to take advantage of the distraction by handing Roddy a chair, but Strong refused it. Ferrara got to his feet and hit Strong with a nice tornado DDT!

Ferrara was finally able to tag Coleman. Caprice came in and made short work of Strong. Page tried to run in, but was chopped down by Coleman. Whitmer attempted to stop Coleman from the second rope, but Coleman leapt from the mat to the top rope and nailed a beautiful huracanrana! Coleman threw Whitmer to the outside. Page returned, but Coleman grabbed him and hit two consecutive northern lights suplexes. Strong tried to break it up, but was picked up and taken along for the third consecutive northern lights suplex. Coleman attempted to pin both men, but they kicked out at two.

Strong came right back by kicking Coleman in the head. Thomas reappeared and hit Strong with his capoeira offense. They brawled to the outside, which allowed Coleman to hit a springboard moonsault onto the sea of humanity at ringside! Coleman went up top, but Whitmer grabbed his leg. This opened him up for a superplex from Strong! Roddy went for the cover, but Ferrara broke it up at the last moment! Ferrara hit Code Red (standing sunset flip powerbomb) on Strong, but Whitmer was there to break up his offense. Thomas reappeared and attacked Whitmer. He went for a dive, but was cut off by Page. Out of nowhere, Coleman came off the top rope, but missed Page. Strong and Page went for a double-team maneuver, but Coleman ducked, causing Page to inadvertently hit Strong with a springboard clothesline! Coleman snuck in and covered Strong for the victory!

WINNERS: Caprice Coleman, TaDarius Thomas, and Will Ferrara via pinfall in 12:25.

Highlights of Page clotheslining Strong were shown after the match. Back in the arena, Strong was verbally berating Page in the ring. Whitmer grabbed the mic and said they weren’t going to beat around the bush, they were going to “squash it right now.” Whitmer demanded Strong shake Page’s hand. Strong adamantly refused, but this opened him up to an attack from behind by Page! Surprisingly, Whitmer assisted Page in the beatdown, but Strong fought back and threw both men to the outside! The fans were firmly behind Strong, as Corino exclaimed, “The Decade has exploded!”

ANALYSIS: Over ten minutes of nonstop action. Normally, I’m immune to multiple-man spotfests, but this told a good story. Ferrara continues to be featured as a gritty underdog. Coleman had another great match. Thomas, although trying to show fire against his former teammates, still seemed to be missing something. The Decade storyline looks to be headed to a conclusion, and I don’t think it can happen soon enough. (***1/4)

[Commercial Break]

A video package aired, chronicling War Machine’s rise in the ROH tag team division this past summer. It was all cut short when Raymond Rowe suffered a horrific motorcycle accident in August, in which Rowe broke his nose, thumb, and arm. Images of Rowe in the hospital were shown. Kevin Kelly announced that Rowe was now in the rehabilitation phase of his injuries. While he won’t return until 2015, Kelly said that Rowe swore he will return better and stronger than ever.

Back in the arena, Kevin Kelly introduced Raymond Rowe to the ring. Rowe came out to the ring, sporting a brace over his surgically-repaired left arm. He got a decent ovation from the crowd, as he approached Kelly in the ring. Kelly talked about Rowe’s accomplishments being cut short by the motorcycle accident. He asked him about his recovery. Rowe was about to respond, until Whitmer and Page stormed out to the ring.

Whitmer said he wanted to break up the pity party, and demanded Rowe take his “b---- ass” to the back. Rowe stood up to Whitmer, but B.J. laughed it off. Whitmer said he would bet everything he owned that he could turn his back and Rowe would do nothing. He proceeded to turn his back, but Rowe began to unfasten his arm brace! Several ROH officials ran in to break things up before they escalated, however.

Whitmer then turned his attention to Roderick Strong. He said that when they formed the Decade last year, he always knew that Strong was the one “wild card” because was never sure if Strong could set aside his ego in favor of the group. Whitmer called Strong a “cancer” and said that he would cut him out. B.J. appeared to be ready to challenge Strong to a fight, but instead challenged Strong to a match against Adam Page at Final Battle. Back on commentary, Kevin Kelly thought it was cowardly that Whitmer volunteered Page to fight his battles for him. Page seemed pleased that Whitmer was asking him to step up, as he arrogantly posed for the crowd.

[Commercial Break]

Adam Cole cut a backstage promo, where he announced that he won the Survival of the Fittest tournament on November 8 to earn a shot at the ROH World Title at Final Battle. Cole said he always knew he wouldn’t be at the back of the line for very long because he belonged at the top of the card as champion. Cole said that Jay Briscoe thought that they were finished, but Cole declared they would never be finished because they hate each other’s guts. Cole promised that after Final Battle, there would be no more excuses and no more whining because Briscoe would be “finished.”

[M.M. Reax: After six months of pulling the hair out of my head, ROH has finally decided to reap the benefits of post-production! The fact that Cole referenced a live event that occurred just last week made this show seem current and newsworthy. Bravo, ROH!]

2 -- ROH TV champion JAY LETHAL (w/Truth Martini) vs. A.C.H. -- ROH Television Title match

Matt Sydal joined the commentators at ringside. Kelly praised Sydal’s match against A.J. Styles from a couple weeks ago on ROH TV. Lethal and A.C.H. shook hands and then the bell rang. Corino talked about how A.C.H. pinned Lethal most recently at the “Champions vs. All-Stars” VOD event. Both men locked up, while Matt Sydal found a way to talk about himself in response to the announcers building up A.C.H. Back in the ring, the competitors spent the first couple minutes in a mat wrestling sequence. A.C.H. looked impressive after doing some flips, but Lethal came right back with a cartwheel/dropkick combination, as the show went to a commercial at the 2:54 mark of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:24, Lethal went for a Lethal Injection, but was cut off by the challenger. A.C.H. actually was able to tie Lethal in the ropes and then dropkick the tangled champion. Lethal rolled to the outside and Martini checked on him. A.C.H. rolled to the outside and chopped Lethal. Jay rolled back into the ring, but A.C.H. followed and chopped him again. Lethal reversed a whip and flapjacked A.C.H. The champ went for a cover, but A.C.H. kicked out. Lethal threw the challenger to the outside. Lethal followed, chopped A.C.H. a few times, and then did the “truthie” spot where Martini snapped a photo of both men on the apron.

In the ring, Lethal went for a sunset flip, but A.C.H. blocked and then countered with a double foot stomp for a two count! The crowd started to get behind A.C.H., as he slammed Lethal three times in a row. A.C.H. followed up with an elbow drop, but could only get a nearfall. A.C.H. continued his onslaught with another stiff chop, followed by another two count. Lethal fought back, and both men exchanged blows in the center. Lethal now had A.C.H. tied up in the ropes, and then nailed him with a running forearm. Lethal went for another, but A.C.H. got the boot up!

A.C.H. attempted to follow up with a back suplex, but Lethal fought out of it with an elbow. A.C.H. then mysteriously dropped from the apron. The announcers wondered what happened, while the referee checked on A.C.H. on the outside. Lethal slapped hands with Martini, as the show went to another commercial at 12:25.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 14:25, several officials and Matt Sydal were still checking on A.C.H. at ringside. They began to take him to the locker room, as Kevin Kelly announced the match was over. Before long, A.C.H. reappeared and began beating Lethal around the ringside area! Both men rolled into the ring, but Lethal capitalized on the momentary distraction and drove several knees into A.C.H.’s back. Lethal proceeded to stomp A.C.H. on the mat and then posed for the crowd. Lethal applied a chin lock for about 30 seconds, until A.C.H. fought back to his feet.

A.C.H. fought back with some chops, but Lethal cut him right off and chopped him again. Lethal charged at A.C.H. but missed, which allowed ACH to regain the advantage with some chops of his own. A.C.H. hit a nice roaring elbow and then a reverse enziguiri! A.C.H. followed up with a jawbreaker over the top rope and then climbed to the top and delivered a double foot stomp to Lethal! A.C.H. was exhausted, but he again climbed to the top rope until Lethal cut him off. A.C.H. fought right back with a spin kick. A.C.H. then hit a reverse STO off the ropes, but also hit his head on the way down.

Lethal rolled to the outside, as A.C.H. called for a big move. He delivered with a huge flip dive onto Lethal on the outside! A.C.H. went for a 450 splash, but Lethal moved. It didn’t matter, as A.C.H. rolled through and then exploded into a flurry of spin kicks! He went for the cover, but Lethal kicked out! A.C.H. went to follow up, but Lethal threw him face-first into the middle turnbuckle. Lethal hit the Lethal Injection, but A.C.H. miraculously kicked out! A.C.H. attempted to get back to his feet, but Lethal cut him off and nailed him with a sick cradle DDT for the pin.

WINNER: Jay Lethal via pinfall at 22:05.

ANALYSIS: A good match between these two, but nowhere near their 30-minute draw from this past summer. It started out okay, but didn’t get to that next gear until it was too late. (***)

After the match, Matt Sydal entered the ring. He went over to Lethal and Martini. It looked to be friendly, but Kelly made it sound like Sydal was questioning him. Lethal went for a handshake, but Sydal yanked his hand back and pointed at Lethal’s title belt, as the show faded to black.

FINAL REAX: This show featured two solid matches and a significant storyline development for The Decade. I’m pleasantly surprised that ROH was able to get its act together and begin hyping the Final Battle PPV. Promoting big events has not been ROH’s strong suit lately. Combine the fact that they are packed with live events so close to Final Battle, a coherent television product seemed out of the question. But, things are coming together quite nicely with Briscoe-Cole, reDRagon-Time Splitters, Strong-Page, and presumably Lethal-Sydal.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]


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