ROH TV Report
March 8, 2015
Taped 1/24 in Philadelphia, Penn.
Report by Mike Metzger (@mD0uble), PWTorch contributor

The ROH TV opening aired.

Tonight: A dated TV taping from January will feature an ROH World Tag Team Title match, in addition to the finals of the 2015 Top Prospect tournament!

1 - THE ADDICTION (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) vs. HOUSE OF TRUTH (ROH TV champion Jay Lethal & J. Diesel with Truth Martini)

The announcers talked about how Jay Lethal had raised the prestige of the TV title since recapturing it last year. Take note, WWE. There was a handshake between all four competitors and even Truth Martini, followed by the opening bell. Kazarian and Diesel started the match. They did a chain wrestling sequence for the first minute or so, where Kaz simply outwrestled Diesel. Lethal tagged in and talked trash about Daniels, which prompted Kaz to tag his partner. Lethal took control with some chops, but Daniels came back with a couple of cross-body blocks. Daniels hit some chops of his own, but Diesel came in without a tag and slammed Daniels from behind.

Diesel then officially tagged into the match, but quickly received a receipt from the Addiction when Kaz came in illegally with a springboard legdrop! Truth tried to interfere by grabbing Daniels’s leg, but the “Fallen Angel” stomped on his arm! Daniels hit a dive onto Diesel outside the ring, but Lethal jumped down from the apron and tossed Daniels directly into the hockey boards, as the show went to a commercial at the 4:25 mark of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:55, Lethal was in firm control of Daniels in the ring. Lethal hit a snapmare and applied a chinlock. Daniels struggled for about 10 seconds, until Jay released the hold and just stomped Daniels. The House of Truth went for a double-team in the corner, but Daniels fought back against both men. Lethal attempted a dive onto Daniels, but missed and hit Diesel by mistake! Kazarian tagged in and cleaned house. Martini tried to get involved, but was quickly disposed of by Kaz. Frankie hit an Ace Crusher on Lethal and applied a leg lock in the center of the ring, but Lethal was not the legal man!

Daniels tagged in, and then all four men fought each other in the ring. Diesel hit a fallaway slam on Daniels, which was immediately followed up by Lethal’s Hail to the King elbow smash! Lethal went for the cover, but Kaz broke it up. It came down to just Lethal and Daniels in the ring. Daniels was going for a move, but one of the member of the Knight of the Rising Dawn (the guys in red masks, referred to as the K.R.D.) came out and distracted Daniels. Lethal seized the opportunity and rolled up Daniels for the victory.

WINNERS: The House of Truth via pinfall in 11:05.

ANALYSIS: Perfectly acceptable wrestling. I love how Lethal slows things down and brings that old-school feel to his matches. Unfortunately, these guys just never hit that next gear, and the screwy finish didn’t help matters. The Addiction are just not catching fire in ROH for whatever reason. (**)

[Commercial Break]

Video Package: 2015 Top Prospect tournament recap.

2 — DONOVAN DIJAK vs. WILL FERRARA — 2015 Top Prospect tournament finals

To recap, both of these guys have been portrayed as likable babyfaces in the tournament thus far. Ferrara is a scrappy underdog, while Dijak is a 6’7” athletic big man. About one foot in height and 100 pounds separated the two, according to ROH’s “Tale of the Tape.” Both men shook hands and the bell rang. They stared each other down for the first 30 seconds and then tied up in the center. They wrestled into the corner, where Ferrara showed no fear by shoving his way out. They went into a nice sequence where every time it looked like Dijak was about to catch Ferrara, the smaller man was able to counter and stand his ground. This went for about a minute, until Dijak just clobbered Ferrara with a big boot to the face! Dijak went for a cover, but Ferrara kicked out. The show broke away at the 2:50 point in the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:20, Ferrara was fighting out of the corner. Dijak cut this off with a kick to the gut and a one count. Dijak then whipped Ferrara hard into the turnbuckle and scored another nearfall. “Brutal” Bob Evans came out to ringside. Kevin Kelly mentioned that Evans had trained Dijak, but “loved” Ferrara as well. Things started to break down, as Veda Scott and Stokely Hathaway came down to ringside. Meanwhile, Ferrara applied a short-arm scissorlock on Dijak in the center of the ring. Dijak struggled in the hold, as the Decade came out and approached the ring. Dijak grabbed the bottom rope after about 30 seconds and the hold was broken.

Dijak nailed a couple of big elbows in the corner. He went for a third, but ate a boot from Ferrara instead! Dijak quickly regained control with a suplex and then a springboard elbow drop, which was good for a two count. Dijak hoisted up Ferrara for his Feast Your Eyes finisher, but Ferrara reversed into a Tornado DDT! Ferrara went for the cover, but Dijak kicked out! Ferrara went for a sunset flip powerbomb off the ring apron, but Dijak held on and then hit a huge moonsault! The crowd went absolutely nuts.

Back in the ring, Dijak again went for Feast Your Eyes, but Ferrara wriggled free and rolled up Dijak for two! Ferrara hit the Sonic Boom, which was a standing sunset flip powerbomb, but Dijak again kicked out at two! “This is awesome” chant from the crowd, as a frustrated Ferrara started slapping Dijak in the face. This woke Dijak up, as he lifted up Ferrara and finally hit Feast Your Eyes for the victory!

WINNER: Donovan Dijak via pinfall in 11:20.

After the match, Dijak and Ferrara shook hands. All of Dijak’s potential suitors entered the ring. Jacobs whispered something to Dijak and then left the ring. Veda and Hathaway made their pitch to Dijak, while Evans stood beside the tournament winner. Truth Martini appeared on the ring apron. Truth simply smirked and then slunk away, as Dijak celebrated in the ring!

ANALYSIS: Great match. Loved the little details earlier on, as they really played into the “David vs. Goliath” match-up. It really picked up toward the end after Dijak hit his moonsault on the outside. He’s unbelievably athletic for a guy his size and seems to have a charisma that gets the fans behind him. The match itself was really good, but the way these guys won over the crowd brought it up a notch to three-star territory. (***)

[Commercial Break]

3 -- ROH World Tag champions REDRAGON (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. THE DECADE (B.J. Whitmer & Adam Page) - ROH World Tag Team title match

The champs made their entrance, but were attacked by the Decade as soon as they entered the ring. There was no bell, as Whitmer and Page just clobbered Fish and O’Reilly around ringside. The Decade shoved reDRagon back in the ring, but the champs reversed with a couple of baseball slides and a pair of dives to the outside! Now reDRagon threw the challengers into the hockey boards at ringside, as the fans chanted “ROH!”

The bell finally rang after 1:30 of brawling. O’Reilly went for a quick cover, but Page kicked out. The champs isolated Page and worked him over with several quick tags for a couple minutes. O’Reilly tied up Page in the ropes from the apron, while Fish ran to the other side and yanked Whitmer to the floor. Back in the ring, O’Reilly hit Page with a jumping knee strike and then a slap to the face. O’Reilly went for a dive, but Whitmer caught him in the ring skirt, Fit Finlay-style! This allowed the challengers to regain control, as the show cut to a break at the 4:10 mark.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 6:10, Whitmer was still in control of O’Reilly. Kyle fought back and both men traded blows in the center! O’Reilly charged at B.J., but Whitmer reversed into a slam and scored a two count. Page tagged in and hit a nice fallaway suplex on O’Reilly. He tagged Whitmer back in and the challengers continued to dominate. O’Reilly tried to fight out of the enemy corner, but he couldn’t overcome the numbers game. O’Reilly tried to make it to his corner again, but Whitmer reversed him into an Exploder suplex. Page came in and traded blows with O’Reilly. Kyle applied an arm bar, but Whitmer ran in to break it up.

O’Reilly burst into a flurry of strikes and kicks, and then tagged in his partner! Fish fought off both challengers and hit a Falcon Arrow on Page! He went for the cover, but B.J. broke it up. O’Reilly came in and hit his Axe and Smash combo on Whitmer, and then Fish hit a Saito Suplex! The champs double-teamed Page, but couldn’t put him away. The champs set up for Chasing the Dragon, but Whitmer yanked Fish out of the ring and threw him into the barricade. Meanwhile, Page revered O’Reilly into a neckbreaker! Page went for the cover, but O’Reilly kicked out!

The Decade double-teamed O’Reilly. Page hit a big clothesline and covered O’Reilly, but Fish made the save! B.J. hit a big dive onto Fish on the outside. Page went for a standing Shooting Star Press, but O’Reilly somehow revered into his Arm-ageddon submission hold! After a brief struggle, Page had no choice but to tap out

WINNERS: reDRagon via submission in13:05.

ANALYSIS: ReDRagon continues to shine in the ring. Not sure why The Decade deserved a title shot here, but this was sure fun to watch. It was a more traditional-style tag match, but things got pretty crazy toward the end. (***1/2)

After the match, an angry Whitmer sprayed a water bottle all over Corino at ringside. Corino ran into the ring after Whitmer, but a member of the ring crew got in the way and Corino shoved him hard to the mat. It sounded like Whitmer said “what did your mother tell you about him” to the young ring crew member. Kevin Kelly said nothing on commentary, but judging by the looks of the crew member, it appeared the Decade’s latest “young boy” may very well be Corino’s son, Colby!

FINAL REAX: Not bad for a show that was taped six weeks ago. I have to give credit to ROH for keeping their TV product relevant, despite only being one week removed from the 13th Anniversary PPV. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Dijak in ROH. It will be interesting to see if he really has a genuine connection to the crowd, or if it was just a case of the Philly crowd really liking the two matches he wrestled during this taping.

I spoke about the ROH tag division this past weekend on Radican’s Wrestling Community Audio. As good as reDRagon is, I really wish they’d have a chance to be involved in a more developed storyline. I understand that they have a tough international touring schedule, but this is something ROH should try their best to work through, as I feel golden opportunities have been missed with the likes of reDRagon, A.J. Styles, and the Young Bucks in the last year. Crazy athleticism and sick highspots can make a great match, but its the minor details and storytelling within a match that makes it a true classic.

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