ROH TV Report
January 25, 2015
Taped 1/3 in Nashville, Tenn.
Report by Mike Metzger (@mD0uble), PWTorch contributor

The ROH TV opening aired, which now featured Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, A.J. Styles, Hanson, A.C.H., Silas Young, reDRagon, Tommaso CIampa, and Moose. I believe that was the first update to the package since early 2013.

Clips were aired from last week’s episode, when The Kingdom attacked Jay Briscoe after his successful title defense against Matt Taven. Pre-taped promos from the Briscoes and the Kingdom then aired in between the clips. Taven said, “when you man up against the Kingdom, failure is your only option.” Jay and Mark were pumped up and “ready to do this thing right now!”

1 - THE KINGDOM (Michael Bennett & Matt Taven w/Maria Kanellis) vs. THE BRISCOES (ROH World champion Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe)

The Kingdom came to the ring and were greeted with some streamers. There were even more streamers for the Briscoes, as they ran in the ring and immediately started brawling with the Kingdom. There was no bell, as Jay clotheslined Taven over the top rope and Mark followed up with a Cactus Jack-like elbow off the apron. Bennett came out of nowhere and nailed Mark with a chair from behind, however. The Kingdom tried to take control on the outside, but Jay and Mark dominated with some whips into the hockey boards and a chair throw or two.

Mark and Taven eventually made it into the ring, where Mark continued to dominate. Mark quickly dumped Taven over the top rope, and more brawling on the outside ensued. Kevin Kelly hoped the match would officially begin eventually, as he segued to a break.

[Commercial Break]

After 5:30 of brawling and a commercial break, the bell finally rang. Jay tagged in Mark, and the Briscoes double-teamed Taven. Mark followed up with a suplex, as the fans chanted “man up!” The Briscoes went for a Doomsday Device on Taven, but Bennett broke it up. Bennett speared Mark all the way to the outside, as Taven regained control in the ring! Jay began to fight back against Taven, but Bennett ran in and blatantly nailed Jay in the face with the “Title of Love.” Referee Paul Turner called for the bell.

WINNERS: The Briscoes via disqualification in 1:15.

After the match, Bennett and Taven stomped away on Jay in the ring. Maria handed Bennett and steel chair, which he then used to keep Mark from helping his brother. Maria then entered the ring and Bennett handed her a chair. She was about to use it on Jay when, out of nowhere, ODB ran out to make the save! ODB stared down Maria, as the announcers and the crowd when nuts. ODB busted out her usual gyrations, which sent Maria running for higher ground! ODB poured some “liquid courage” down the throats of both Jay and Mark, as the fans chanted “ODB!”

Kevin Kelly ran over to get comments from ODB. She had a message for the queen of the Kingdom, Maria: “There’s a new b---- in town, the ODB - One Dirty Briscoe!” The Briscoes and ODB posed for the camera as the fans cheered.

ANALYSIS: Typical Briscoe brawl, which amounted to more of an angle than an actual match. Cool to see ODB in ROH, although her Ring of Honor debut was spoiled weeks ago if you follow ROH online. While it adds some intrigue to the Briscoes-Kingdom feud, it feels like ROH World Title is treading water ahead of the 13th Anniversary PPV on March 1. (n/a)

[Commercial Break]

Backstage: Jimmy Jacobs stated that ROH was the house that The Decade built. Jacobs pondered that it was time to look forward to the next decade. Therefore, The Decade would be keeping a close eye on this year’s Top Prospect tournament to find their next “young boy.” Jacobs then turned his attention to former Decade member Roderick Strong when he promised to continue building the house that was ROH, with or without Strong.

2 - BEER CITY BRUISER vs. MIKEY WEBB — 2015 Top Prospect tournament quarter-final match

Beer City Bruiser is an overweight beer-drinker of about Bastion Booger proportions. Mikey Webb is a typical, undersized babyface with an uncanny resemblance to Tyson Kidd. Both men shook hands and the bell rang. Kevin Kelly complained of Bruiser’s stench. Bruiser slapped Webb hard in the face. Webb fought back with a sunset flip, but Bruiser stopped him and easily picked him up. Webb used his speed to stay ahead of Bruiser. He went for a suplex, but could not lift the big man.

Webb continued to fight back with some dropkicks, which barely phased Bruiser. Webb then hit a huracanrana, which sent Brusier to the outside. Webb went for a dive, but Brusier just side-stepped it and planted Webb hard onto the floor! Bruiser followed up with a huge cannonball dive to Webb on the outside, as Caprice Coleman stole my Bastion Booger joke on commentary. Brusier rolled back in and seemed to be satisfied with a count-out victory. The referee counted to 19, but Webb was able to roll back in at the last second!

Webb rammed his shoulder into the mid-section of Bruiser. He went for another suplex, but Bruiser reversed and scored a nearfall. Webb fought back with some fists and elbows, and then hit a dropkick and an enziguiri. Webb tried a third time for the suplex and nailed it, but he couldn’t put the big man away! Mikey charged at his opponent, but Bruiser reversed with a nasty lariat. Webb fought back with some more elbows and then a knee to the face. This softened up Bruiser for Sliced Bread, but Bruiser kicked out at two. Webb charged at Bruiser, but the big man caught him and then hit a move he calls the Two Day Hangover (Bam Bam Bigelow’s Greetings from Asbury Park) for the victory.

WINNER: Beer City Bruiser via pinfall in 7:25 to advance to the semi-finals of the Top Prospect tournament.

ANALYSIS: This match told a good story of the smaller underdog fighting an uphill battle against a larger opponent. Unfortunately, Bruiser’s overall look and in-ring style felt very indy-riffic, which hurt this match for me. I was surprised to see Bruiser win, but I guess he’ll serve as good fodder for Will Ferrara in the next round. (*3/4)

Vignette: The mysterious silhouette standing in front of ROH clips was back this week. The distorted voice said, “In 2015, dawn shall rise in Ring of Honor. And we will usher in that dawn. Because we are the catalysts. We are the agents of change. We are the knights of the rising dawn.” Light shined on the face and revealed a red mask.

[Commercial Break]

(During the break, a Chikara commercial aired, which hyped their January 25 afternoon show at the ECW Arena. Unfortunately, this aired at 9:30 p.m. Sunday night in the author’s market.)

Back from break, clips from Alberto El Patron’s debut from last week’s episode were shown.

3 - CHRISTOPHER DANIELS vs. ALBERTO EL PATRON

Both men were greeted with lots of streamers and respect from the crowd. There were also some dueling chants before the match began. The Code of Honor was adhered to, but the show cut to a break before the opening bell.

[Commercial Break]

(During the break, there were two different spots for the 13th Anniversary PPV on March 1. The first was a generic PPV promo. The second spot included a graphic on the 4-way ROH World Title match and comments from Hanson. Hanson said that he had been the top prospect since day one, but he has also been a “psychopath” and “unbreakable.” He promised to have some “beginner’s luck” in Las Vegas.)

Back from break, the bell rang and the fans chanted, “This is awesome,” before Alberto and Daniels even locked up. They went into a chain wrestling sequence for the first minute or so. Alberto came out on top when he shoulder-tackled Daniels to the mat. They locked up again and wrestled on the mat some more. Alberto kicked Daniels’s knee and then tackled him again. Daniels came right back with a dropkick. Alberto then sent Daniels to the outside with a baseball slide, but there Daniels took control by ramming Alberto into the hockey boards. Daniels followed up with an Asai moonsault to El Patron on the outside!

They re-entered the ring, but Alberto countered with an enziguiri that sent Daniels back to the outside. El Patron followed and whipped Daniels head-first into the hockey boards not once, but twice! Alberto rolled Daniels back in the ring and then hit him with a cross-body from the top, which was good for a two count. Alberto grabbed a hold, as Jay Lethal appeared in the entranceway. Both men went to the outside, where El Patron clotheslined Daniels, as the show went to a break at the 6:25 mark.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 8:25, Daniels fought out of an armbar, as Jay Lethal joined the commentary desk. Daniels was not free for long, as Alberto locked on his cross arm-breaker in the ropes! Daniels escaped and then regained control with a huge superplex! Alberto kicked out of the pinfall attempt, and then both men exchanged blows in the center. They jockeyed for position, until Daniels hit an STO. He followed up with a powerbomb, which was good for another nearfall. Daniels charged at El Patron, but Alberto reversed into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a two count of his own!

Alberto pounded his chest, as the crowd cheered him on. Daniels hit another STO, however, and immediately applied a Koji Clutch. Daniels had it locked on for about 30 seconds, until Alberto got his feet on the ropes. Alberto got up and hit a superkick out of nowhere and scored another nearfall. Alberto played to the crowd, but this gave Daniels the opportunity to regain control. Both men fought on the top turnbuckle, where Alberto hit a reverse superplex! Alberto got up and called for the superkick, but Daniels reversed into a Yuri Nagi. Daniels went for the BME, but El Patron moved and then hit an enziguri and applied the cross arm-breaker for the victory!

WINNER: Alberto El Patron via submission in 15:05.

ANALYSIS: Good showing from both men, but this was just your basic back-and-forth match. The babyface vs. babyface dynamic didn’t help, either. The crowd was really into the match because of the star-power, but it felt to me like both guys just settled in and never got to the next gear. (**1/2)

After the fans applauded both men, Jay Lethal entered the ring and got in Alberto’s face. Lethal demanded an apology, to which Alberto slapped him in the face! J. Diesel and Truth Martini ran out and attacked Alberto until Daniels and Kazarian made the save!

Next week: Jay Lethal defends the ROH TV Title against both Matt Sydal and A.C.H. in a three-way!

FINAL REAX: Solid, albeit skippable show. If you’re a huge fan of Alberto El Patron, you might want to seek out his debut match, but it wasn’t anything special. This episode set up Briscoes/ODB vs. The Kingdom/Maria and Alberto/Addiction vs. House of Truth, and that’s really all you need to know.

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