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Ring of Honor
METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 11/30: Matt Sydal vs. Adam Cole main event, ROH Champ in action, Final Battle build, more

Dec 1, 2014 - 6:54:03 PM
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ROH TV Report
November 30, 2014
Taped 10/25 in Lakeland, Fla.
Report by Mike Metzger (@mD0uble), PWTorch contributor


The ROH TV opening aired.

Tonight: It’s a battle of the #1 contenders, as Adam Cole faces Matt Sydal!

1a - Q.T. MARSHALL vs. CHEESEBURGER

The announcers mentioned that this was Marshall’s return to ROH after a lengthy absence, although they did not reference his prior affiliation with R.D. Evans. The Code of Honor was called for, but Marshall pie-faced Cheeseburger instead. Cheeseburger responded with a slap to Marshall’s face and then the bell rang. They did a sequence where Cheeseburger was too quick for Marshall, which culminated with Cheeseburger hitting a flying cross-body to the outside! It didn’t take long for Marshall to take control, however, as he dropped Cheeseburger face-first onto the ring apron and then threw him into the hockey boards. Marshall grabbed a commentator’s headset and talked about being “God’s Gift to Professional Wrestling.”

Back in the ring, Marshall dominated poor Cheeseburger. Cheeseburger fought back with a couple of chops, but Marshall came right back with a slam. Marshall scored a nearfall and then went for an elbow drop, but missed. Cheeseburger threw some punches and rolled up Marshall for a quick two count. Cheeseburger then hit a sunset flip for two. Cheeseburger followed up with a tilt-a-whirl DDT for another near all. Cheeseburger came off the top rope, but Marshall caught him and hit his finisher, which the announcers called the Dominator, to score the victory.

WINNER: Q.T. Marshall via pinfall in 4:34.

After the match, Marshall took the mic and said that he wanted the best that ROH had to offer. He brought up Final Battle being next week and thought there must have been a “promotional error” since he had been left off the card. Marshall promised to make good on the expression, “card subject to change.” He then changed the subject to tonight’s show. At literally the same moment he challenged Jay Briscoe to a match, Birscoe’s music blared and out came the champ! Briscoe and Marshall stared each other down and then came to blows, as the bell rang for an impromptu match.

1b - ROH World champion JAY BRISCOE vs. Q.T. MARSHALL - non-title match

Both men continued to exchange blows, until Briscoe nailed Marshall with a stiff forearm. He followed up with a clothesline in the corner and a headbutt, but Marshall reversed with an enziguiri. His momentum was short-lived, however, as Briscoe hit him with a lariat that turned him inside out. Briscoe hit the Jay Driller for the win.

WINNER: Jay Briscoe via pinfall in 1:05.

ANALYSIS: I was so ready to bash ROH for featuring such a lower-card match this close to Final Battle, but this turned out to serve the purpose of putting Briscoe over strong. This was also a nice way to re-introduce Marshall as a whiny heel (if he is, in fact, returning). He got squashed, but he’s not really a main eventer anyway, and should be able to get his heat back on the microphone. (*1/2 for Marshall-Cheeseburger, n/a for Briscoe-Marshall)

[Commercial Break]

A video package aired, which featured a clip from Final Battle 2013. It was Eddie Edwards’s last ROH match before leaving for TNA. He was shown embracing B.J. Whitmer after their match, but Whitmer turned on Edwards and formed the Decade stable with Jimmy Jacobs and Roderick Strong. The package closed with Whitmer stealing a line from C.M. Punk’s heel turn promo from almost a decade earlier when he said, “the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

[M.M. Reax: Nice use of history that makes the Final Battle PPV and even The Decade storyline seem really special.]

2 - ADAM PAGE (w/ B.J. Whitmer) vs. AARON SOLO

Kelly called this a “tune-up” for Page, ahead of his match against Roderick Strong at Final Battle. Page did not comply with the Code of Honor, and instead punched Solo in the face. The bell rang and Solo fought back with a dropkick. Page responded by throwing Solo to the outside. Page then threw Solo into the hockey boards several times, and then proceeded to nail Solo in the face with forearm blows. Page rolled him back in the ring and covered him for two.

Page continued to rough up Solo in the ring. Solo fought back with a jumping knee strike and a neckbreaker. Solo tried to get the fans behind him and then hit a running double-knee blow in the corner. He got Page caught up in the ropes, but Page came out of it with a big clothesline and another nearfall. Page hit his Guillotine Driver, which can be best described as a piledriver where his opponent is held upside down behind Page, instead of in front of him. Page covered his opponent for the victory.

WINNER: Adam Page via pinfall in 3:05.

After the match, Page took the microphone while Whitmer looked on from the corner. Page said that he “had sat under the tree of knowledge that is the Decade.” He said he learned things from Jacobs and Whitmer, but he learned the most from Roderick Strong. Page said that Roddy showed him what not to do. He railed on Strong for shaking Christopher Daniels’s hand, despite Daniels having left the company several times in the past. Page said he wouldn’t be Strong’s “young boy” anymore. At Final Battle, Page promised to make Strong his b****. Roderick Strong rushed out to the ring, but the heels fled the arena before he could get his hands on them.

ANALYSIS: Page got some real shine here. He looked very aggressive in the ring and got to squash a jobber. He still needs to find his true voice, but I think he cut a serviceable promo on Strong that got me excited for their match at Final Battle. Looks like some good will come out of the Decade storyline, after all! (n/a)

[Commercial Break]

A hype video for Final Battle aired. Jay Lethal cut a promo on Matt Sydal, and then the narrator ran down the rest of the card. The package closed with Briscoe and Cole exchanging words.

3 - MATT SYDAL vs. ADAM COLE

Jay Lethal joined the commentators at ringside. Sydal came out to a very slow-paced 90’s alternative theme song, which sort of worked for him. They showed a couple fans at ringside literally going crazy over Adam Cole and the Kingdom. Both wrestlers shook hands and the bell rang. They started out slow and wrestled to the corner. There was a clean break, which allowed Cole to get in his “Adam Cole, bay bay!” spot. They went into a mat wrestling sequence for the next minute or so. They ended up back in the corner for another break.

Cole called for a “test of strength” at the 2:45 mark. Sydal looked to be going along with it, but Cole kicked him in the gut instead. Sydal fought back with an arm drag take over into an armbar. Sydal then hit a double foot stomp, followed up with a baseball slide to the former ROH champ! Sydal then hit another dropkick, which caused Cole to roll out of the ring for a breather. Sydal chased him back into the ring and then hit a standing hurracanrana and a spin kick. Cole tried to fight back, but Sydal outwrestled him to the outside. Sydal followed up with a baseball slide. He went for a dive, but Cole countered with a superkick to Sydal in mid-air!

Cole seized the opportunity and threw Sydal into the hockey boards. Cole threw Sydal back into the ring and hit a snap suplex, which was good for a one count. Sydal tried to fight back with a cross-body off the second rope, but Cole reversed with a dropkick, as the show went to a break at the 8:00 mark of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 10:30, Cole somehow reversed Sydal’s jumping kick into a backbreaker. Sydal tired to fight back with chops, but Cole responded by blatantly raking his eyes. Cole dropped an elbow for another near fall. Cole then locked on a chin lock. Sydal fought out of it after about 30 seconds and rolled up Cole for a two count. The show then went to another break at 13:20.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 15:20, Cole was doing the “Adam Cole, bay bay!” spot, but Sydal cut it off with a kick to the face! Sydal hit a crucifix bomb into a pinning combination, but Cole kicked out. Sydal followed up with a standing moonsault, but could only get two. Sydal went for a suplex, but Cole blocked. He went for a suplex of his own, but Sydal countered by dropping his leg across Cole’s throat! Cole fought right back, however, with his brainbuster over the knee. Cole immediately locked on the figure-four leglock in the center of the ring! Sydal struggled for about 30 seconds until he was able to get to the ropes.

Both men got to their feet and traded blows. Sydal sold his exhaustion well. Both men traded running forearm blows, and then Sydal hit an inverted huracanrana! Cole rolled to the outside, which enabled Sydal to hit a flying knee to Cole on the outside! Lethal started talking trash to Sydal on the outside. Sydal nailed Lethal and then went to the top rope. Lethal tried to distract Cole on the apron, but the referee forced him down. Sydal came off the top rope, but ate a superkick from Cole! Cole hit a shining wizard, but somehow Sydal kicked out.

Cole went for another superkick, but Sydal reversed with a spin kick and a suplex. Sydal went up top, but Lethal distracted him again. Cole crotched him and then nailed a German suplex off the ropes. He quickly followed up with yet another superkick, and then the Florida Key for the victory!

WINNER: Adam Cole via pinfall in 21:10.

ANALYSIS: The match started off well, but the two breaks in the middle hurt the match’s overall momentum. The match picked back up in time for the finishing sequence. While some may think Lethal’s interference cheapened the match (and rightfully so), I give it a pass because ROH still gave the viewer a decisive finish, despite booking themselves into a corner with the two singles title contenders facing off. Definitely better than Styles-Sydal, but I’m still waiting for Sydal to start working at the ROH main event level. (***)

After the match, Lethal attacked Sydal. They brawled to the outside, where Lethal pummeled Sydal. Adam Cole watched on from the ring, but was attacked by Jay Briscoe! Out of nowhere, Tommaso Ciampa came out and attacked Briscoe! A brawl erupted at ringside, which allowed Sydal to hit a big dive onto everyone on the outside! The announcers did a hard sell for Final Battle, as the show faded to black.

FINAL REAX: Solid last show before the PPV (next week’s episode will be a “Final Battle preview”). As mentioned in my reports from the last few weeks, ROH has finally figured out how to use their TV product to properly hype a PPV. I feel that the undercard for this show is way more developed than Best in the World’s was earlier this year. While there isn’t a lot of internet buzz for ROH, Final Battle has the potential to be a great show!

[Torch photo credit Wade Keller (c) PWTorch.com]


We suggest these recent related articles...
METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 9/27 & 9/30: NJPW vs. ROH Series continues - Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Adam Cole, Sydal vs. KUSHIDA, more
METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 9/20 & 9/23: New Japan's top champions Okada & Goto in tag main event, ROH/NJPW announcement, more; Reax to post-PPV episode
METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 9/13 & 9/16: The Kingdom vs. War Machine main event, ReDragon vs. House of Truth, final build-up to "All-Star Extravaganza" PPV, more; Reax
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