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Ring of Honor
METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 2/2: Lethal defends TV Title, Del Rio appears, Adam Cole promo, Top Prospect continues

Feb 5, 2015 - 8:34:09 PM
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ROH TV Report
February 2, 2015
Taped 1/3 in Nashville, Tenn.
Report by Mike Metzger (@mD0uble), PWTorch contributor


The show opened with a pair of backstage promos from the House of Truth and A.C.H. Martini screamed incessantly, while A.C.H. simply promised to win the ROH TV Title once and for all tonight.

The ROH TV opening aired.

1 - ROMANTIC TOUCH vs. MOOSE (w/Stokely Hathaway & Veda Scott)

For those who don’t remember (or chose to forget), Veda and Stokely (the former Ramone) turned on R.D. Evans at Final Battle in December and sided with Moose. Both men shook hands, but Moose quickly jerked his arm away when Touch tried to kiss his hand. The bell rang and both men tied up. Touch appeared to get the early advantage, until Moose delivered a big knee to the gut. Touch tried to fight back, but Moose shoved him down to the mat. Touch fought back with some strikes and chops, which caused Veda Scott to freak out on commentary.

Veda left the desk, while Stokely distracted Touch. “The Romantic One” went to the outside to confront both Stokely and Veda. Stokely took off his sneaker and tried to nail Touch with it, but missed. Veda went for a slap and also missed. Stokely picked up Veda to get her out of harm’s way, but Touch dropkicked Veda into Stokely, which knocked both down to the floor! Touch got back in the ring, but was shoulder-tackled by Moose. Moose hit a Bobby Lashley-like spear and covered Touch for the victory.

WINNER: Moose via pinfall in 3:03.

ANALYSIS: Despite ditching R.D. Evans, Moose is still stuck in the comic relief spot on the card. This is a real shame, as he has shown he can be carried to a good match. (n/a)

[Commercial Break]

Back in the ring, The Decade were in the ring. Jimmy Jacobs complained about Alberto El Patron debuting in ROH and Kevin Steen leaving the company, while the Decade had been there the entire time. “ROH is house The Decade built,” and they would continue to do so without Roderick Strong. Jacobs announced that Adam Page was no longer their “young boy,” thus they now had an opening. Three potential “young boys” were ready for a try-out at ringside, but B.J. Whitmer grabbed the mic and invited another potential “young boy,” independent wrestler Chris LeRusso to join them in fighting the three jobbers.

2 - THE DECADE (Jimmy Jacobs & Adam Page) & CHRIS LERUSSO vs. LEON ST. GIOVANNI & CHRIS CHAMBERS & SHAHEEM ALI - six-man tag match

LeRusso appears to be quite short. He started the match, but was actually outwrestled by Giovanni and then Chambers. LeRusso was tossed to the outside, which prompted Page to run in and attack Chambers from behind. Page hit a nice fallaway slam on Chambers, which was good for a two count. Jacobs tagged in and hit a tornado suplex from the second rope. To add to the confusion of this match, Whitmer got in Corino’s face on the outside. Shaheem Ali tagged in and hit some chops and then a big suplex on LeRusso. However, Page attacked Ali from the apron and hit his behind-the-back piledriver for the win.

WINNERS: The Decade & Chris LeRusso via pinfall in 3:24.

After the match, Whitmer attacked LeRusso from behind and then locked him in the Strong Hold, as a means of insulting former Decade member Roderick Strong.

ANALYSIS: So, The Decade is still here and filling TV time. While the act is stale, I’m interested to see where they go with Adam Page. I think the best bet would be to get through the Strong feud as soon as humanly possible, and then go in an entirely different direction. It would be nice to see Page and Jacobs as fresh challengers for reDRagon, who I believe might be babyfaces at this particular moment. (n/a)

Backstage: The Briscoes cut a largely incoherent promo on The Kingdom. Afterward, a graphic confirmed that the Briscoes and ODB would face Michael Bennett, Matt Taven, and Maria Kanellis next week on ROH TV.

The same Chikara spot from last week then aired. Yes, tickets are apparently still on sale for the January 25, 2014 afternoon show at the former ECW Arena.

[Commercial Break]

Back from break, Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino announced that Jay Lethal would defend the ROH TV Title against Alberto El Patron at the 13th Anniversary PPV. Kelly clarified that Lethal would still face El Patron, regardless of who wins tonight’s main event TV Title match between Lethal, A.C.H., and Matt Sydal.

3 - DALTON CASTLE vs. ASHLEY SIXX - 2015 Top Prospect tournament quarter-final match

Castle came to ring, flanked by shirtless men holding up feathers. Castle got into the ring and unveiled huge bird feathers on the underside of his robe. (Castle is known as the “Peacock” in Upstate NY’s 2CW promotion. Castle is also the afternoon D.J. at an Albany, NY radio station, although the announcers did not mention this.) Castle’s attendants proceeded to get on their knees and remove his ring pants. The ref called for the Code of Honor and Castle extended his hand in a manner that suggested he wanted Sixx to kiss it. Unfortunately for Castle, that gimmick belongs to Romantic Touch (who wrestled earlier in the show, for anyone who chose to forget).

Sixx bit Castle’s hand, instead, and then the bell rang! He pummeled Castle in the corner and then stomped him down like Steve Austin. The announcers mentioned that Sixx had beaten cancer, but never used it as an excuse afterward. Meanwhile, Dalton regained control of the match and hit a snapmare out of the corner. Castle applied a chin lock, as Kevin Kelly hyped the 13th Anniversary PPV. After about 30 seconds, Sixx fought out of the hold, but Castle wrestled him right back into a corner. Sixx fought back and went up top. He took too long, though, as Castle caught him and slammed him for a two count.

Sixx regained control with a couple of wristlocks into a short-arm clothesline, a move he calls the Coke Zero. Sixx delivered a knee to the face, but Dalton responded with a tilt-a-whirl maneuver that he refers to as the Bang-o-rang. Two mysterious figures in red masks appeared at ringside, as Sixx hit a huge dive to the outside! Back in the ring, Sixx hit a chokeslam for the victory.

WINNER: Ashley Sixx via pinfall in 4:30 to advance to the semi-finals of the Top Prospect tournament.

ANALYSIS: I saw Castle wrestle at a 2CW show back in 2013. I thought he was the one stand-out wrestler on the show. He does have a good look and a great body-type, but I’m not sure if the homoerotic undertones to his gimmick really serve him well. While being overly-flamboyant is heel-ish, you really start to walk a fine line when you have shirtless men stripping off another man’s pants in the ring. It just reeks of cheap heat that is long past its expiration date in 2015. Sixx’s story on the other hand is pitch perfect: he’s a babyface cancer survivor who lives every day and wrestles every match as if it’s his last. The match was fine, but not long enough to go anywhere. (*1/2)

[Commercial Break]

Adam Cole promo time. Adam Cole’s music blared throughout the arena, and out walked the former ROH World champion. Wearing an arm brace and sling, Cole entered the ring and picked up the mic. He then dropped the mic and left the ring. He grabbed a chair and chased away the timekeeper. Cole then walked over to the commentary desk and stared down Kelly and Corino. Cole re-entered the ring and sat down in the chair.

Cole did not look amused and spent a few moments just sitting in the chair. He dropped the mic, pipe bomb-style and then flipped off the crowd! His music played and Cole left the arena without saying one word.

[Commercial Break]

4 - ROH TV champion JAY LETHAL (w/Truth Martini) vs. A.C.H. vs. MATT SYDAL - ROH TV Title match

There were chants for both A.C.H. and Sydal before the bell. All three men actually shook hands and the bell rang. The babyfaces surrounded Lethal, who smartly rolled to the outside. Lethal insisted that A.C.H. and Sydal battle each other to start the match. They obliged and tied up in the center. There was clean break in the corner and then, all of a sudden, Sydal hit a springboard plancha onto Lethal on the outside! Sydal rolled back into the ring and stood tall with A.C.H., as Lethal regrouped on the outside. The show cut to a commercial at the 1:45 point in the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 3:45, Lethal hit a slingshot on A.C.H., which sent him crashing into Sydal! Lethal isolated A.C.H. and chopped him hard in the corner. Lethal then stood on the back of A.C.H.’s head. The ref broke it up, but Lethal quickly followed up with a snap suplex and a pin attempt. Sydal tried to re-enter the ring, but Lethal knocked him off the apron. Lethal then ran to the other side and dove onto A.C.H., and then ran back to the other side with another dive onto Sydal!

On the outside, Lethal continued his dominance with some more chops to the chest of A.C.H. Lethal rolled the youngster back into the ring, but A.C.H. immediately kicked out. Lethal then tied A.C.H. to the “tree of woe.” Lethal went for a kick, but Sydal cut him off. Sydal proceeded to kick his former partner as well! Sydal went into a flurry of offense, where he hit Lethal with a spin kick and then hit a standing moonsault on A.C.H. Lethal quickly broke up Sydal’s momentum, and then battled A.C.H. on the top turnbuckle. Sydal joined the fray, which culminated with A.C.H. hitting a double foot stomp to Sydal!

A.C.H. then hit a roaring elbow and a German suplex into a pinning combination on Lethal, but the champ kicked out at two. A.C.H. hit Sydal with a spin kick, which sent him to the outside with Lethal. A.C.H. then hit his “Jordan” flip dive onto both opponents on the outside! Back in the ring, A.C.H. climbed to the top turnbuckle, but missed the 450 splash when Sydal moved out of the way! Sydal took advantage with a kick to A.C.H. Sydal then went up top, but was cut off by Lethal. Sydal held the champ at bay with a kick to the face, and then placed him on top of A.C.H. Sydal then went back up top for the Shooting Star Press. Lethal moved out of the way, but A.C.H. didn’t!

Sydal couldn’t capitalize, though, because Lethal immediately nailed him with a superkick! Lethal followed up with the Lethal Injection on Sydal, but Matt rolled out of the ring. A.C.H. got up, but Lethal hit him with the Lethal Combination and then a Lethal Injection for the victory!

WINNER: Jay Lethal via pinfall in 11:25 to retain the ROH TV Title.

ANALYSIS: I loved this match. Jay Lethal continues to be he most consistent worker in ROH and one of my favorite wrestlers to watch. He is just so deliberate in his movements, and the slowed-down pace he wrestles feels like such a refreshing throwback to how matches used to play out. Kudos to ROH on having Lethal look dominant here, although they have really missed the boat on Sydal, who seems like yesterday’s news at this point. (***)

After the match, Lethal continued to attack A.C.H. and Sydal. Before long, Alberto El Patron ran out to make the save. The crowd chanted “Si,” as the show faded to black!

FINAL REAX: This seemed like a “leftovers” edition of ROH TV. The first half of the show was filled with “the island of misfit toys,” in which you had Moose, Romantic Touch, and The Decade appearing for the first time since Final Battle. The one thing I took from their reappearances was that they were not missed. The Top Prospect tournament match was too short, and the Adam Cole promo wasn’t newsworthy by design. But, I implore you to seek out the TV title match and see why Jay Lethal is one of the few bright spots in ROH right now.


We suggest these recent related articles...
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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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