Ring of Honor METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 12/28: Adam Cole vs. Brian Kendrick, plus Tag Wars Tag Title match
Dec 29, 2014 - 11:05:32 PM
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ROH TV Report
December 28, 2014
Taped 11/22 in Baltimore, Md.
Report by Mike Metzger (@mD0uble), PWTorch contributor
The show opened with some holiday greetings from the Briscoes, Jay Lethal, and Adam Cole. This 60-second promo was about what you’d expect from the wrestlers involved. It ended on a high note with Adam Cole declaring that all the ladies out there wanted “some Cole in their stocking.”
Tonight: It’s the finals of Tag Wars 2014, an elimination-style match between ROH Tag Team champions reDRagon, the Briscoes, A.C.H./Matt Sydal, and The Addiction!
1 - BRIAN KENDRICK vs. ADAM COLE
Kendrick, sans the flashy ring attire, walked out to a slower, more serious rap song. An inset interview with Adam Cole aired while the former champ made his entrance. Cole promised to prove that he was the face of Ring of Honor. The fans were very much behind Cole before the bell. Both men shook hands and then Kendrick immediately kicked Cole in the face! Cole rolled to the outside, but Kendrick met him out there with a big dive! Kendrick hit a flying cross body in the ring, but Cole fought back and stomped Kendrick in the corner, before hitting his “Adam Cole, bay-bay!” pose.
Kendrick came back and rolled up Cole for a nearfall. Kendrick followed up with a side headlock on the mat. He held on for about 30 seconds, until Cole got to his feet. They went back-and-forth for a few moments, until Kendrick hit a kick. He went for Sliced Bread #2, but Cole shoved Kendrick over the top rope onto the floor. The show went to its first break at the 3:00 point in the match.
[Commercial Break]
Back at 5:40, Cole was in firm control of the match. Kendrick began fighting back with some fists, but Cole cut off the momentum with a fireman’s carry neckbreaker. Cole really slowed down the pace at this point. He nailed Kendrick with a backbreaker and then applied a chin lock. Kendrick tried to fight out, but Cole immediately applied another chin lock. Kendrick came back with a backslide out of nowhere, but Cole quickly regained control with a kick to the face. Cole repeatedly charged at Kendrick in he corner, but Kendrick kept getting his boot up. Cole fought Kendrick to the mat and hit a Shining Wizard for a two count.
Cole lowered his kneepad, and slapped his knee to the delight of the crowd. He went for another Shining Wizard, but Kendrick countered with a roll-up for two. Both men jockeyed for position in the corner, until Cole hit a sunset flip powerbomb and then another Shining Wizard! Cole went for the cover, but Kendrick somehow kicked out! Cole went to follow up, but Kendrick countered with a dropkick and then a Burning Hammer for a nearfall of his own!
Kendrick applied a full nelson, but Cole wrestled out of it. Kendrick went for Sliced Bread again, but Cole crotched him on the top turnbuckle. Cole climbed up top behind Kendrick. They struggled for a few moments, and then Cole went for a German suplex from the top, but ended up getting tied to the Tree of Woe in the process! Kendrick took the opening and delivered a series of baseball slides to the helpless Cole! Kendrick freed Cole and then delivered a Dragon suplex into a pinning combination, but Cole kicked out! Kendrick jumped off the ropes, but Cole reversed with a superkick! Cole immediately followed up with a brainbuster over the knee and then the Florida Key to score the victory.
WINNER: Adam Cole via pinfall in 13:10.
ANALYSIS: Efficient and just excellent all-around. Kendrick played the role of veteran jobber well. He’s a guy who could have believably won the match, and he certainly took the viewer on that journey during a couple of the false finish sequences. This match also gave Cole a chance to “get his heat back” in convincing fashion, as he showcased why he is considered one of the top independent acts during the last two years. (***)
[Commercial Break]
(During the break, The Briscoes talked about how they had beat them all, except for reDRagon. They said that tonight would be the night they finally slay the dragon during the Tag Wars final.)
2 - ROH Tag Team champions REDRAGON vs. THE ADDICTION vs. A.C.H. & MATT SYDAL vs. THE BRISCOES - Tag Wars 2014 Final for the ROH World Tag Team Titles
Another inset interview aired during reDRagon’s entrance. Fish declared that his Christmas wish was to remain “the best team on God’s green.” O’Reilly said that he loved Christmas, but he loved gold even more. he crowd chanted “this is awesome” before the match even started, All of the participants shook hands with each other and then the bell rang. Kazarian and A.C.H. started the match. They wrestled on the mat for about a minute, until Daniels tagged in and double-teamed A.C.H. Daniels went for a suplex, but A.C.H. rolled out and tagged Sydal. The new team hit a double-team of their own. Sydal followed up with a standing moonsault on Daniels for a two count.
Fish tagged in, but ate a spin kick from Sydal. Briscoe came in and went after Fish. O’Reilly tagged himself in, but Jay wrestled him into the corner and stomped him repeatedly. Mark came in and slammed O’Reilly for a one count. He applied a brief Camel Clutch to O’Reilly and then slammed him again. Mark tagged Jay back into the match, and Jay delivered some headbutts to O’Reilly. Daniels blind-tagged Jay, which caused both men to exchange words, while O’Reilly caught his breath. O’Reilly attacked both men, and then all eight men began brawling in the ring!
Things started to break down at this point. ReDRagon disposed of Sydal and A.C.H. They posed for the crowd, but then were attacked by their opponents. It came down to the Briscoes and the Addiction in the ring. “The Fallen Angel” hit a STO on Mark, but Jay came in and hit a Death Valley Driver on Daniels. Then came the onslaught of highspots, as Kaz hit a sunset flip powerbomb to Briscoe on the floor! A.C.H. then hit a change-in-direction dive onto a pile of bodies on the outside! Sydal then hit a dive of his own, followed by Daniels with a moonsault onto the two remaining wrestlers who were still standing! In the ring, The Addiction hit their double-team finisher on Mark and pinned him. The show went to a break shortly after the fall.
[The Addiction eliminated The Briscoes when Daniels pinned Mark Briscoe at 7:10]
[Commercial Break]
Back at 10:00, O’Reilly had Daniels in the corner. Daniels fought back and tagged in Kazarian. Frankie hit a gut wrench suplex and tagged Daniels. “The Fallen Angel” hit a couple of suplexes, which was good for a two count. O’Reilly then spat in the face of Daniels. An angry Daniels chased O’Reilly around the ring, but the higher ground allowed O’Reilly to take control. Fish hit a springboard senton on Daniels for a nearfall. Fish locked Daniels’s legs, which allowed O’Reilly to come in and hit several knee strikes. O’Reilly followed up with a rest hold. Daniels fought out after a few seconds, but O’Reilly was able to quickly apply a cross arm breaker. O’Reilly let go and then dragged Daniels to his corner so he could tag Fish. Bobby continued to dominate Daniels for another minute and then tagged O’Reilly again.
O’Reilly went for some signature kicks, but Daniels was able to counter. Daniels struggled to make the tag, but was cut off by Fish. Daniels eventually hit an STO and tagged Sydal! Sydal was a house of fire, but was quickly cut off by O’Reilly. A.C.H. interfered, which allowed Sydal to score a nearfall on Fish. A.C.H. tagged in and hit a cross-body on Fish. A.C.H. kicked O’Reilly to the outside, but Fish was able to tag Kazarian. A.C.H. then hit an ugly combo where he monkey-flipped Kazarian into Sydal.
The Addiction hit their co-op leg drop spot on A.C.H., but Sydal broke up the pin attempt. Sydal springboarded into the ring, but Daniels hit him with an ace crusher. Daniels and A.C.H. squared off, until they both hit dropkicks on each other at the exact same time! The show went to another break at the 18:10 mark of the match.
[Commercial Break]
Back at 20:10, Daniels went for a superplex on A.C.H. in the corner. A.C.H. shoved him off, but Kaz immediately took over where Daniels left off. Kaz got shoved to the mat. Sydal hit a Shooting Star Press and then A.C.H. immediately followed up with a 450 Splash on Kazarian to win the fall!
[A.C.H./Sydal eliminated The Addiction when A.C.H. pinned Kazarian at 21:25]
The champs battled A.C.H. and Sydal in the ring. They fought to the outside, which allowed A.C.H. to hit a crazy “Air Jordan” dive onto his opponents! A.C.H. went for a 450 on O’Reilly, but missed. ReDRagon hit a double-team knee driver on A.C.H., but couldn’t put him away. Sydal came in, but reDRagon hit their Ax and Smash combination. ReDRagon hit their variation of Total Elimination on A.C.H., followed by Chasing the Dragon to win the match!
WINNER: ReDRagon via pinfall in 24:00 to retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles.
Instead of shaking hands after the match, the champs just arrogantly posed in the faces of their fallen opponents. The camera panned to the announcers at ringside, who thanked the viewers for a great 2014. The camera then shot back to a smiling Matt Sydal who looked to be fine with losing, as he graciously shook hands with O’Reilly and Fish.
ANALYSIS: Typical multiple-team tag match from ROH. Don’t get me wrong, it was a solid long-form tag match, filled with spectacular highspots and innovative sequences. But, it was missing something. The finish was a bit anti-climactic, but that wasn’t the issue. It’s just hard to invest in a match with such little back-story. I feel like I know so little about these teams that its comes off as more of an exhibition than a hot main event. (***1/4)
Next Week: It’s a “Best of 2014” edition of Ring of Honor TV.
FINAL REAX: Solid hour of action from ROH, but nothing stood out as particularly newsworthy. As mentioned earlier, I thought the opener was solid in so many ways. It struck me as a modern equivalent of an old WWF TV main event. It was a competitive match, but we got to see the former #1 contender decisively get back on the winning track. The main event was fine, but it didn’t feel “must-see.” ROH’s tag division has been so hot in 2014, but the reason it stopped generating buzz is because there are no real issues between these teams. To play on this week’s theme, my Christmas wish would be for ROH to build their characters better in 2015.
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