ROH TV Report
Aired September 13, 2015 in syndication
To air September 16, 2015 on Dest. America
Taped 8/21 in Philadelphia, Pa.
Report by Mike Metzger (@md0uble), PWTorch contributor

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

Ringside: Announcers Kevin Kelly & Steve Corino welcomed viewers to the show and immediately hyped ROH World & TV champion Jay Lethal's two separate title defenses against Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish at the All-Star Extravaganza PPV this Friday.

1 -- IWGP Jr. Hvt. Tag champions REDRAGON (KYLE O'REILLY & BOBBY FISH) vs. HOUSE OF TRUTH (JAY DIESEL & DONOVAN DIJAK w/ROH World & TV champion Jay Lethal and Truth Martini) -- non-title match

Lethal joined the commentary desk for the match. ReDRagon received a huge pop after emerging from the entranceway. Both teams shook hands. Lethal went into his egomaniacal promo style on commentary as the bell rang. O'Reilly and Diesel started the match. Both men traded forearms in the center. The fans did the "boo/yay" routine, with O'Reilly coming out on top of the exchange. O'Reilly then hit Diesel with a running slap to the face and then an armbar. Diesel quickly got to the ropes, however.

Fish tagged in and continued to dominate Diesel with several kicks. O'Reilly tagged in at 2:50 and then he and Fish simultaneously jammed both of Diesel's arms over their shoulders, all while doing their hip gyration routine! Dijak eventually nailed O'Reilly from the outside, which allowed Diesel to make the tag. O'Reilly exited the ring and Dijak followed. Dijak ran into Fish and the distraction was good enough for O'Reilly to hit a jumping knee from the apron! O'Reilly threw Dijak back in the ring and went up top, but Diesel ran over and grabbed his leg. O'Reilly shook him off, but jumped right into the waiting arms of Dijak, who then tossed O'Reilly over the top rope like a rag doll. The show then went to break at 4:45 of the match.

[Commercial Break]

[During the break, Silas Young cut a backstage promo on Dalton Castle. This was the same promo that aired last week, in which Young said he would teach the boys "how to chop wood" and "put a broad in her place" after he makes Castle's "boys" his at All-Star Extravaganza.]

Back at 7:20, Dijak was still in control of O'Reilly. He hit a suplex in which he again just tossed O'Reilly across the ring with ease. Diesel tagged in and hit O'Reilly with a fallaway slam. Dijak quickly tagged back in and hit a springboard elbow drop, but O'Reilly kicked out of the pin attempt! Dijak charged at O'Reilly in the corner, but he got the boot up. O'Reilly went to tag his partner, but Dijak ran over and knocked Fish off the apron.

O'Reilly fought back, though, with a series of slaps and strikes to Dijak. He knocked the big man off his feet and tagged Fish! Dijak tagged in Diesel and Fish took control. Fish hit an exploder suplex on Diesel in the corner, but Dijak ran in. O'Reilly came in to even things up and then both members of reDRagon took turns kicking both of Dijak's legs until he finally dropped to his knees. Once he did, O'Reilly and Fish both nailed Dijak with simultaneous kicks to his chest and back!

Diesel came back in, but was slammed by Fish. O'Reilly tried to dive onto Dijak on the outside, but the big man sidestepped him. Meanwhile, Fish applied the ankle lock to Diesel in the ring! Dijak came into break it up, but Fish would not break the hold! O'Reilly ran in and applied a choke to Dijak, while Fish would not let go of his ankle lock. Both members of reDRagon had their opponents in simultaneous submission holds! Before long, Fish tapped out Diesel for the victory!

WINNERS: ReDRagon via pinfall in 11:16.

After the match, O'Reilly and Fish got in a shouting match with Jay Lethal at ringside. Kevin Kelly thought that Lethal was "losing his grip on reality" and said that his time might be up this Friday at All-Star Extravaganza.

ANALYSIS: Above-average match between these two teams. ReDRagon did their thing, but I thought Dijak really stood out during this match. He has taken a back seat since being put in the role of Lethal's "heavy," but he looked really impressive in how he was able to toss O'Reilly around with ease. There's still the problem of Dijak having to job to Lethal's upcoming opponents on TV, but I thought this worked tonight at least. (**3/4)

[Commercial Break]

Backstage: Jay Briscoe said he currently had a "pimple on his ass known as Adam Page." Mark cut in and said that they would be facing a mystery team at All Star Extravaganza. Mark said it didn't matter if it was Godzilla and King Kong, they would "whoop they ass." Jay said it didn't matter who the mystery team was. Jay offered the mystery team a game plan - show up in San Antonio, Texas and the Briscoes would punch them in the mouth.

2 -- CEDRIC ALEXANDER (w/Veda Scott) vs. DALTON CASTLE (w/his "boys")

Silas Young was on commentary for this match. Young said that it was a joke that people referred to Castle as a "man," as he did his flamboyant entrance in the ring. The crowd was firmly behind Castle. Cedric refused to shake Castle's hand, so the bell rang. Cedric got the early advantage with an arm drag. Castle was fanned by the "boys" in the corner, which prompted a "fan up" chant. They broke into a chain wrestling sequence, which Castle got the better of when he did a pose and Cedric fell backwards in response to it.

Castle was in control, while Silas talked about how the "Party Peacock" represented what was wrong with society. Castle tried to go up top, but fell crotch-first onto the turnbuckle. Castle when to suplex Cedric in the ring, but Veda ran over and held onto her man's leg. The "boys" appeared and fanned Veda away! The brief distraction allowed Cedric to gain control. Cedric kicked Castle on the apron, as the show went to break at the 2:57 point in the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:27, Castle fought out of a chinlock. His momentum was short-lived, however, as Cedric came right back with a dropkick. Cedric mocked Castle and then dropped the knee on his face. Castle fought to his feet and traded blows with Cedric. Cedric charged at Castle, but ate an elbow instead. Castle threw some more elbows and then clotheslined Cedric to the outside! Silas was disgusted that the fans were cheering for Castle. Silas went on to talk about how society was becoming "soft" and that Castle was merely a symptom of it. Deep.

A distraction from Veda allowed Cedric to take control. Cedric went for a slam, but Dalton wriggled free and then shoved Cedric into the ringpost! Castle followed up his patented huracanrana off the ring apron. Dalton posed with the "boys" and the crowd popped huge! Castle rolled Cedric back into the ring and charged at him in the corner. Castle positioned Cedric up top. He climbed up behind him, but Cedric elbowed Dalton to the mat. Cedric came off the top, but Castle caught him and delivered a back drop! Castle went for the cover, but Cedric kicked out at two.

Both men jockeyed for position at 9:20 until Cedric hit a 540 Kick out of nowhere! He covered Castle, but could only get a two count. Cedric went for another kick, but Castle ducked and nailed him with a dead-lift German suplex, which was good for another nearfall. The "boys" got on the apron to fan Castle, but Silas came over and yanked them down. The distraction allowed Cedric to roll up Castle from behind for the victory.

WINNER: Cedric Alexander via pinfall in 10:40.

After the match, Silas grabbed both "boys" and tried to drag them to the back, but let go once Castle ran after them. A replay then aired. Back in the arena, Cedric and Veda were celebrating in the ring. Stokely Hathaway then walked down the aisle. Cedric and Veda exchanged words with him until Moose appeared on the opposite side of the ring and hit a huge spear on Cedric!

ANALYSIS: Some of the action was good, but things really broke down toward the end. The "boys" did their usual routine which is both creative and hilarious at times, but becomes overkill very quickly. More of a set-up for Castle-Young and Cedric-Moose than a showcase match. (**1/4)

[Commercial Break]

Inside ROH: Epic music played in the background as Mandy Leon hyped the All-Star Extravaganza PPV. Adam Cole quickly interrupted her, though, and announced that he would compete in a four-way against A.J. Styles, Michael Elgin, and Roderick Strong at the PPV to determine a #1 contender for the ROH World Title. Cole then hyped Lethal vs. O'Reilly for the ROH World Title and promised he would face his sometimes-partner O'Reilly if he wins the title. Mandy then ran down the rest of the card, including the first mention of A.C.H. against Matt Sydal in Match #3 of their Best of Five series.

[Commercial Break]

3 -- THE KINGDOM (MICHAEL BENNETT & MATT TAVEN w/Maria Kanellis) vs. WAR MACHINE (HANSON & RAYMOND ROWE)

Steve Corino mentioned that War Machine will be representing ROH on an upcoming Pro Wrestling NOAH tour. Both teams shook hands, but the Kingdom immediately threw a pair of kicks at War Machine. Hanson and Rowe fought right back, however, and then isolated Taven in the ring. Hanson left the ring after some double-teaming, which left Rowe to nail Taven with a stiff chop.

Hanson tagged right back in and slammed Taven to the mat. Rowe came in and they hit a double-slam on Taven. Then Rowe slammed Hanson on top of Taven, followed by Hanson powerbombing Rowe onto Taven! Taven kicked out of the pin attempt, however. War Machine continued to dominate. They went for another double-team on Taven, but he slipped free and tagged Bennett. War Machine simply turned their attention to Bennett and hit him with the double-powerbomb that was originally intended for Taven!

Hanson pounded away on Bennett in the corner, but Maria ran in and distracted the big man. Hanson picked her up and placed her on top of Bennett in the corner. It appeared he was going to start nailing Maria with forearms but Taven yanked Hanson out of the ring, thus cutting off the man-on-woman violence (an ROH specialty) before it began. Taven nailed Hanson with a spin kick off the hockey boards and then Bennett followed up with a flip dive from the apron, as the show cut to a break at the 3:45 point of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 4:45, The Kingdom was still in control. Bennett tagged in, but Hanson began fighting out of the enemy corner. His momentum was cut off by a dropkick from Bennett. Taven tagged in and then the Kingdom went for their Twist of Fate/Swanton combo, but Hanson broke it up and tagged in Rowe! Rowe came in and hit an overhead suplex on Taven, and then attacked both of his opponents in opposite corners. Bennett came off the top, but Rowe nailed him with a forearm that sent him to the floor! Rowe turned his attention to Taven and delivered a uranage and then tagged in Hanson!

Bennett re-entered the ring as well. War Machine charged at the Kingdom, but Bennett and Taven low-bridged them. Taven went for a dive, but War Machine caught him. Bennett tried a dive of his own, but War Machine caught him too and then slammed him on top of Taven! Back in the ring, it was Hanson and Taven. Hanson hit his cartwheel and then Taven answered with a cartwheel of his own! Then both men did cartwheels at the same time. Taven capitalized on all the hijinx with a step-up enziguri, as Bennett nailed Rowe with a spear off the apron!

The Kingdom took turns charging at Hanson in the corner. Bennett hit a spinebuster, followed by a springboard moonsault from Taven. Hanson kicked out of the pin attempt. Bennett hit a superkick on Hanson. Taven went for a springboard move, but Hanson caught him. Hanson gave him to Rowe, who powerbombed Taven to the mat. Hanson was going to come off the top rope, but Maria grabbed his leg! All of a sudden, the Young Bucks appeared at ringside and the crowd went nuts! Meanwhile in the ring, War Machine hit a double chokeslam on Taven. They followed up with their Fallout finisher for the victory.

WINNERS: War Machine via pinfall in 10:24.

After the match, the Bucks nailed Bennett with a double-superkick as Maria pouted at ringside. The Young Bucks celebrated until the Addiction and Chris Sabin appeared and nailed the Bucks with their title belts. Daniels, Kazarian and Sabin raised their arms in the center of the ring to close out the in-ring portion of the show.

ANALYSIS: Good match between these two teams. Kudos to ROH for letting the tag team division fill the "hard-sell" slot before the PPV. I think there was a real missed opportunity here, though. The Addiction and Bucks could have had an epic two-on-two match at the PPV, especially after the Addiction's brutal beatdown of the Bucks a few weeks ago on ROH TV. There was finally an opportunity to have the Bucks involved in a meaningful blood feud instead of the typical spotfest. Imagine the hard-sell of having the Bucks cut a go-home promo about how they would get revenge on Daniels and Kaz at the PPV. Instead, we just had the status quo option of three teams interfering in each other's matches. Maybe it's me, but it doesn't quite stir up the kind of emotions a promotion would want fans to feel heading into a big show. (**1/2)

Video Package: Final rundown for All-Star Extravaganza with some quick backstage promos from some of the wrestlers.

FINAL REAX: I thought that the overall build for this PPV has been much improved compared to previous big shows. That being said, ROH has really dropped the ball on promoting a big part of this card. I talked about this with Sean Radican and Brian Leahy on the Radican Wrestling Community Audio show last weekend. Tonight's Inside ROH segment was the first mention of who Adam Cole, Michael Elgin, Roderick Strong, and A.J. Styles would be facing on the card. It's hard to believe that ROH waited so long to promote some of the biggest stars in pro wrestling right now and they seem to have just thrown them into a match together. This was also the first time the A.C.H.-Matt Sydal Best of Five series has been addressed on TV.

Perhaps the company feels limited with only one hour of TV per week, but there's still no excuse to not promote a hot property like A.J. Styles until 48 hours before a PPV. Don't get me wrong, ROH TV has been very good lately, but there is still much a lot of work to be done. This is evidenced by the fact there is little to no buzz surrounding All-Star Extravaganza right now.

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