ROH TV Report
Aired August 30, 2015 in syndication
To air September 2, 2015 on Dest. America
Taped 7/25 in Baltimore, Md.
Report by Mike Metzger (@md0uble), PWTorch Contributor

The ROH "Creating Excellence" signature aired, followed by the ROH TV opening.

Announcer Kevin Kelly welcomed viewers to the show, as the camera panned the crowd. They hyped tonight's main event of Jay Lethal defending the ROH TV Title against Hanson.

1 -- ADAM PAGE (w/B.J. Whitmer & Colby Corino) vs. JAY BRISCOE

Kevin Kelly advised his commentary partner Steve Corino to just ignore Whitmer following their confrontation a few weeks ago on ROH TV. Corino said that he had plenty of time to cool off. Jay extended his hand for the Code of Honor, but Page responded with a slap to Briscoe's face! The bell rang, as Briscoe seemed to laugh it off as best he could. The crowd chanted "Jay is gonna kill you," as Briscoe extended his hand once more. Page brazenly slapped Briscoe again!

Briscoe went after Page with some blows and a headbutt. He followed up by stomping Page in the corner. Briscoe missed a charge in the corner, but was still able to elbow Page to the floor and then followed up with a dive to the outside! Colby Corino snuck up behind Briscoe and nailed him with Whitmer's crutch. jay stalked Colby for a moment, but turned around and had a chair thrown in his face by Page! The ref immediately called for the bell.

WINNER: Jay Briscoe via disqualification in 2:08.

The Decade threw several chairs into the ring and then Page hit Briscoe with his Rite of Passage reverse piledriver onto a pile of chairs! Mark Briscoe ran out with several chairs of his own, but The Decade fled the ring.

ANALYSIS: More of an angle than a match. As mentioned in this past weekend's edition of "Moonlighting" with Greg Parks for VIP members, I think this is a good fit for all parties involved. It gives the Briscoes a chance to be reintroduced as a tag team, while giving Adam Page a chance to work with the former ROH World Champion. (n/a)

[Commercial Break]

Recap: Two weeks ago on ROH TV, "Party Peacock" Dalton Castle defeated Silas Young with the help of his "boys." After the match, Silas challenged Castle to a match in which the "boys" would be on the line. The show cut to a backstage promo with Castle and the "boys." Castle did his usual schtick. He insisted that they were his "boys," but he would put them on the line with one condition- if Castle wins, then Silas will have to become one of his "boys!" Castle closed the promo by telling Silas that he will make a wonderful ottoman.

[Reax: So yet another "if you lose, you become my personal assistant (or something like that)" storyline in pro wrestling. As mentioned on "Moonlighting," it is quite similar to what TNA is doing right now with ECIII and Jeff Hardy, but at least ROH has relegated this to the mid-card and not their top-tier feud.]

Kevin Kelly talked about this history between former teammates Cedric Alexander and Caprice Coleman as both men made their entrances for the next match. Cedric grabbed the microphone and said that he already beat Moose twice, so he had no need to face Coleman tonight. He attempted to exit the ring, but Caprice picked up the mic. Coleman wondered if he should speak to the person "with the most hair on their chest." He was referencing Veda Scott, as he told her she was doing a great job winning all of Cedric's matches for him. Cedric turned around and charged at Coleman and the bell rang.

2 -- CEDRIC ALEXANDER (w/Veda Scott) vs. CAPRICE COLEMAN

Caprice moved out of the way and then hit Cedric in the corner. Caprice talked some trash to Veda, which opened him up to an attack by Cedric. Cedric hit a chop, but Caprice came right back with a dropkick. Both men jockeyed for position until Veda grabbed Coleman's leg from the outside. Cedric was then able to nail Coleman with two kicks to the mid-section, as the show went to a break at 1:52.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 4:22, Cedric was still in control. Cedric nailed some more chops, but Caprice fought back with several slaps to the face. Cedric cut him off with a knee to the mid-section and then hit more chops. Caprice sent Cedric to the outside. Cedric grabbed Caprice by the legs, but Coleman was able to reverse into a tilt-a-whirl head scissors on the outside! Back in the ring, Caprice missed a move off the top rope. He was able to follow up with a springboard huracanrana, but Cedric kicked out of the pin attempt.

Coleman charged at Cedric, but he got the boots up. He came off the top rope with an axe handle, but couldn't put Caprice away. They jockeyed for position again until Cedric hit a 540 Kick and then a Michinoku Driver. He covered Coleman, but Caprice kicked out at two! Veda handed Cedric the turnbuckle wrench while the ref had his back turned. Stokely Hathaway came out, picked up Veda and then dropped her onto the floor! Meanwhile, Moose appeared at ringside and yanked the wrench away from Cedric! All the commotion allowed Coleman to hit his Star Splitter top rope leg lariat for the victory!

WINNER: Caprice Coleman via pinfall in 8:16.

Coleman was incensed after the match. He charged at Moose, but Moose nailed him in the face with the turnbuckle wrench! Prince Nana came out to congratulate Moose and Stokely, while Caprice looked upset with how things went down. Nana handed Coleman a fat envelope. He accepted it, but didn't look entirely on board with what was happening.

ANALYSIS: The match was good, but the ending had a lot of moving parts to it. I like the idea of keeping Coleman involved in the Cedric-Moose storyline, but when Prince Nana showed up it just struck me as a WWE-esque where they have a tendency to put virtually all of the African-American roster members out there together in one segment or one program. (**1/2)

[Commercial Break]

3 -- "BRUTAL" BOB EVANS vs. CHEESEBURGER

During the entrances, clips were shown of Evans side suplexing Cheeseburger through a table a few weeks ago on ROH TV. Before the match started, Evans covered his mouth while yelling something at Cheeseburger. Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino both heard it and were apparently too disgusted to even repeat what he said. Corino said that Evans would be lucky to still have a job after saying what he said. The n-word, perhaps?

Cheeseburger chased after Evans on the outside. Evans swung a chair, but missed. Cheeseburger kicked the chair into Evans's face. He positioned the chair on top of Evans and then hit a senton splash! They rolled back into the ring and then the bell finally rang. Evans begged off, but then threw the approaching Cheeseburger face-first into the turnbuckle. Cheeseburger out-quicked Evans, however, and stomped him in the corner. Cheeseburger went after Evans on the outside, but Evans snapped him throat-first across the rope.

Back in the ring, Evans slammed Cheeseburger and went for the cover, but he pulled him up after a two count. Evans continued to pummel Cheeseburger, as the fans rooted on the underdog. Cheeseburger tried to fight back, but found himself on the receiving end of a huge shoulder tackle from Evans. "Brutal" Bob went for the cover, but Cheeseburger kicked out t two. Cheeseburger tried to fight back with some kicks. Evans charged at him, but Cheeseburger was able to roll up Evans for two!

Evans quickly broke it up Cheeseburger's momentum with a lariat. Evans went to the outside and grabbed a table from underneath the ring. He set up the table on the outside and went after Cheeseburger. Evans set his former partner up for another side slam through the table, but Cheeseburger wriggled free and then delivered a palm strike that sent Evans through the table! The ref counted. Evans momentarily got to his feet, but collapsed to the floor as the count reached 20!

WINNER: Cheeseburger via count-out in 5:08.

ANALYSIS: This was fine for what it was, although I don't know ROH was going for in the beginning. The insinuation was that Evans used a slur of some kind. With the racial tensions going on in the U.S. right now, there is no place for that on a wrestling show, let alone some undercard comedy feud. (*3/4)

Backstage: ROH World & TV Champion Jay Lethal plugged his new "Undisputed Champion" t-shirt and then asked where the Hanson t-shirts were. He figured they were in the garbage because Hanson would accomplish nothing tonight. He said that Hanson would be "once again the fat kid sitting on the couch in a year or two." Then his dog would run away and he would be homeless again. Why? Because Hanson would come so close to winning the ROH TV Title, but would come up short tonight.

[Reax: Awesome promo from Lethal. He was all riled up and just oozing with confidence, which built sympathy for Hanson in the process.]

[Commercial Break]

Inside ROH: Mandy Leon hyped next week's "Championship Edition" of ROH TV. Jay Lethal will defend the ROH World Title against Roderick Strong in a rematch from Death Before Dishonor in July. The show cut to a backstage promo from Lethal. He said that Strong should be thanking him for putting him on the map and for granting him a rematch. He also encouraged Strong to "take note" of what he does to Hanson tonight because it's what Lethal is going to do to him next week.

Mandy then transitioned to hyping The Addiction defending the ROH World Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks on next week's episode. Leon threw to clips from a couple weeks ago on ROH TV when the Addiction attacked the Bucks and insultingly used their own moves against them. Mandy encouraged friends to tell their friends and family to tune in next week.]

[Reax: Great use of Inside ROH this week. I wonder if next week's "Championship Edition" will draw a rating on Destination America.]

[Commercial Break]

4 -- ROH World & TV champion JAY LETHAL (w/Truth Martini) vs. HANSON - ROH TV Title match

Clips aired of Hanson defeating Lethal at Survival of the Fittest 2014. Bobby Fish, who will challenge the winner of tonight's main event at All Star Extravaganza, joined the commentary desk for this match. Both men shook hands and the bell rang. The fans were split with Lethal actually getting louder chants. They tied up and then traded blows in the corner. Hanson threw Lethal back into the corner and just pummeled him. Fish observed that Hanson was wearing new under-trunks. Hanson nailed Lethal with a boot and went for the cover, but the champ kicked out at two.

Hanson followed up with several knees to Lethal's gut. Lethal tried to fight back, but Hanson delivered a stiff right hand to Lethal's face. Lethal fought back with a few chops, but Hanson no-sold them. He threw Lethal back into the ring, but a distraction from Martini allowed Lethal to dropkick Hanson off the apron. Lethal then hit a trifecta of dives, the last of which sent Hanson over the barricade and into the crowd! The show cut to a break at the the 3:28 point in the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 4:28, Lethal had Hanson in a chinlock. Hanson fought out of it, but Lethal grabbed Hanson by the beard and then snapped him throat-first across the top rope! Lethal went for the cover, but Hanson kicked out at two. Lethal applied another chin lock in the center. Hanson fought out. Lethal tried to chop Hanson back down, but Hanson picked him up and slammed him to the mat! Hanson delivered a backdrop and then followed up with a couple of corner clotheslines. Lethal elbowed his way out of the third clothesline in the corner, but Hanson cartwheeled around Lethal and nailed another clothesline! He covered Lethal, but the champ kicked out at two.

Hanson wrapped Lethal in the ropes and just pounded on his chest. Hanson went for his Bronco Buster in the corner, but Lethal got his boot up and nailed Hanson directly in the groin! The announcers wondered if it would be a disqualification, but they settled on it being more of an unintentional foul. Lethal followed up with his Hail to the King elbow smash, but Hanson kicked out of the pin attempt!

Reset at 8:35 as both men traded blows in the center. Lethal went for the Lethal Injection, but Hanson countered with an ugly-looking version of the move. Impressive for a big man, but it did not look good at all despite some quick camera work. Hanson went for a top rope moonsault, but Lethal got his knees up! Lethal went for the Lethal Injection yet again. Hanson fought it off, but Lethal caught him with a superkick. Lethal then hit two consecutive Lethal Injections to put the big man away.

WINNER: Jay Lethal via pinfall in 9:58 to retain the ROH TV Title.

ANALYSIS: Above-average match. Lethal created most of the movement, but Hanson held his own here. Hanson's signature cartwheel is cool to watch, but sometimes he tries to be too athletic for his own good, as was the case when he barely pulled off his version of the Lethal Injection. Still, Hanson is progressing quite nicely and has the potential to be a big star in ROH for years to come. (**3/4)

After the match, Lethal and Fish stared each other down. Fish told Lethal he would be more than happy to take both Lethal's title and his ability to walk. Kyle O'Reilly ran out to join his partner and Lethal challenged them both to a fight! ReDRagon got on the apron and talked trash to Lethal. Lethal was not impressed as the former tag champions entered the ring. Roderick Strong then charged the ring and Lethal high-tailed it out of there. The show ended with the babyfaces standing tall in the ring.

FINAL REAX: Another solid episode of ROH TV, although it was a notch or two below the last few weeks of stellar television. The build for All-Star Extravaganza is coming together quite nicely with plenty of time before the traditional PPV event on September 18. The company has also done a nice job of building toward next week's "Championship Edition" of ROH TV. It will be interesting to see what, if any ratings implications the show will have.

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