12/16 ROH TV Results – Final Hype for “Final Battle,” Jerry Lynn, more

PWTorch specialist Mike Metzger covers the final hype for the Final Battle PPV on this week’s ROH TV episode featuring a main event of Matt Sydal & A.C.H. vs. RPG Vice, plus Jerry Lynn on the show.

ROH TV Report
Aired December 13, 2015 in syndication
To air December 16, 2015 on Comet TV
Taped in Nashville, Tenn.
Report by Mike Metzger (@md0uble), PWTorch contributor

The ROH TV opening aired.

Tonight: The last ROH TV episode before the Final Battle PPV this Friday!

1 – ADAM COLE vs. COREY HOLLIS

Hollis was already in the ring when Cole made his entrance. Kevin
Kelly and Nigel McGuinness pushed this Friday’s PPV hard on
commentary. Cole got a decent pop and a good amount of streamers from
the crowd. They shook hands and then the bell rang. They tied up in
the center, but Cole immediately overpowered Hollis into the corner
and stomped him, followed up by his “Adam Cole, bay bay” pose!

After a bit of jockeying, Cole hit a neckbreaker on Hollis over the
knee. Cole continued to dominate Hollis with a slam and then some
elbow drops. Cole went for a suplex, but Hollis fought back with a
knee. Hollis used his head as a battering ram, but Cole came right
back with a Shining Wizard. Cole yelled out his name again, but then
charged into a boot from Hollis. Hollis knocked Cole off his feet. He
went for a springboard move, but Cole caught Hollis with an enziguri
in mid-air that knocked him to the outside. Cole threw Hollis back
into the ring and exchanged words with some fans at ringside.

Back in the ring, Cole called for a superkick by stomping his foot on
the mat, Shawn Michaels-style. Hollis blocked it, though, and fought
back with some blows and then a headbutt. Hollis scored a nearfall,
but Cole came right back with a bicycle kick. Cole went for a suplex,
but somehow Hollis reversed into a jawbreaker. Hollis followed up with
a modified spinebuster and went for the pin attempt, but Cole kicked
out at two. Hollis tried to psyche himself up by ramming his own head
into the turnbuckle. He went up top, but Cole caught him with a
superkick in mid-air, followed by another neckbreaker over the knee
for the victory!

WINNER: Adam Cole via pinfall in 4:27.

After the match, Cole grabbed the mic and introduced an impromptu
edition of “Story Time with Adam Cole.” Cole said he is a man who
keeps his promises and then vowed to end Kyle O’Reilly’s ROH career
once and for all at Final Battle.

ANALYSIS: Nice squash for Cole, although Hollis did get some offense
in. That was fine, though, as Hollis was also featured in this year’s
Top Prospect tournament. At this point, a strong win for Cole, plus a
short promo afterward is all that’s needed to complete the hype for
O’Reilly-Cole at Final Battle. (*3/4)

[Commercial Break]

Commentary Desk: Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness hyped tonight’s main
event of A.C.H./Matt Sydal vs. Roppongi Vice. They also announced a
three-way #1 contender match featuring The Young Bucks vs. The
Briscoes vs. The All Night Express at Final Battle.

2 – WAR MACHINE (HANSON & RAYMOND ROWE) vs. THE WASHINGTON BULLETS (JOHN & DRE)

The heelish (and much smaller) Bullets refused to shake hands before
the bell. One of the Bullets kicked Hanson, who was unphased. He
charged at the big man, but Hanson easily picked him up and
side-slammed him to the mat. Hanson followed up with a cartwheel
clothesline and then tagged Rowe. He nailed the other Bullet with a
boot and then a German suplex. Hanson came in and they hit a
backbreaker double-team move. War Machine then hit their Path of
Resistance combo, in which Rowe hit a powerbomb and then Hanson
followed up with a top rope splash. The other Bullet ran in, but Rowe
hit him with a forearm and then War Machine hit their Fallout finisher
for the victory.

WINNERS: War Machine via pinfall in 1:37.

ANALYSIS: Complete squash for War Machine ahead of their ROH World Tag Team Title match at Final Battle. That’s pretty much all there is to say. (n/a)

[Commercial Break]

Mike Posey was out next, flanked by an unnamed entourage of three
other men and two women. He began to freestyle and called out Dalton
Castle. He brought up that Castle lost “the boys” and said Castle
would lose to him too. He was just about to finish his rap by telling
everyone to worship him when Dalton Castle’s music played and out came
the “Party Peacock!”

3 – DALTON CASTLE vs. MIKE POSEY (w/his entourage)

Castle immediately hit a T-bone suplex as the bell rang. He pummeled
Posey in the corner and looked very aggressive doing so. Castle ran
into Posey’s boot, but came right back with an armdrag take down.
Applying an armbar, Castle proceeded to bash Posey’s head into the mat
and then did his signature Peacock pose for the crowd!

Members of Posey’s entourage got up on the apron, but Castle knocked
them to the floor. Posey tried to take advantage of the distraction by
coming off the top, but Castle caught him and then threw him on top of
his posse at ringside! Back in the ring, Castle hit his Bangarang
finisher for the victory!

WINNER: Dalton Castle via pinfall in 2:00.

After the match, Castle grabbed the mic and described himself as “the
aurora borealis,” a reference to the Northern Lights. He said he was
tall, handsome as hell, and as majestic as it comes. He called out to
“Planet Peacock,” which drew cheers from the crowd. Castle admitted he
wasn’t a patient man, though, and demanded Silas Young come to the
ring so he could kick his ass!

Young’s music blared, but only “the boys” appeared in the entranceway.
They walked to the ring, which served as a distraction for Young to
nail Dalton from behind and hit him with his Misery finisher. Silas
stood over Dalton victoriously, as “the boys” raised his arms in the
ring.

ANALYSIS: Another squash match. Posey’s gimmick felt eerily similar to
John Cena’s original rapper character. Well, I guess it has been well
over seven years since then, after all. I liked Castle getting a strong
win here and looking more aggressive in the process. I’m still hoping
that “the boys” are swerving Silas Young, as there is still a lot ROH
can do with Castle and “the boys.” (n/a)

[Commercial Break}

Jerry Lynn Interview

In-ring: Kevin Kelly introduced former ROH World Champion Jerry Lynn!
Classic clips of Lynn in ROH aired, as Jerry made his way to the ring.
Lynn was sporting a haircut and actually looked really good, perhaps
better than he did during the latter part of his career. Kelly brought
up Lynn’s recent surgery. Jerry took the opportunity to thank all of
his fans, which drew a nice pop from the crowd.

Kelly referenced Lynn’s ROH World Championship reign, as he pivoted to
talking about the upcoming title match between Jay Lethal and A.J.
Styles at Final Battle. Lynn said he wrestled both men many years ago
and watched them grow over the years. He said there were many factors
to consider, rather poignantly including “nagging injuries.” Kevin
Kelly sensed that Lynn was dodging and asked him directly to pick a
winner. Before he could do so, Jay Lethal’s music began playing and
out came the ROH World Champion!

Lethal, who was flanked by Truth Martini and Taeler Hendrix, said he
was out for one reason only. He insulted Lynn for being old and then
demanded he answer Kelly’s question. Lynn declared that Lethal was not
the same man he knew back then. He called Lethal an arrogant prick and
said he thought A.J. “was going to take it.” The fans chanted “A.J.
Styles,” as Lethal looked annoyed. Lethal accused Lynn and the fans of
blindly supporting Styles. He said Lynn disrespected him and declared
it was time for Lynn to get his ass whipped.

Lethal started to unbutton his shirt, but Jerry cut him off. Lynn said
that he knew Lethal’s parents for a long time and thought they would
be very disappointed if he laid a hand on him. Lethal grabbed the mic
and broke into his maniacal promo style. He claimed to be the best
wrestler in the world and talked up his success during 2015. He
decided he wouldn’t put a hand on Lynn because someone would need to
console Styles after he beats him at FInal Battle. Lethal declared
himself the greatest wrestler in the world, threw the mic down, and
left the arena.

ANALYSIS: Creative way to hype Lethal-Styles without A.J. being there.
Lynn was serviceable and Lethal cut another great promo, but this
wasn’t an ideal “go-home” promo for the main event of ROH’s
self-proclaimed “biggest show of the year.” Would a pre-tape from
Styles have been too much to ask?

[Commercial Break]

Back from break, Kevin Kelly hyped that Moose will face Michael Elgin
at Final Battle. He then introduced a video package on the two men. It
focused on Moose recently beating Elgin’s previous record for
“shortest match in ROH history.” The package went on to show
highlights of the promo and recent tag match both men were involved in
a few weeks ago on ROH TV.

[Commercial Break]

Alex Shelley was out next and joined the commentators at ringside.
Clips aired from last week as he revealed himself as the latest man
under the red mask.

4 – MATT SYDAL & A.C.H. vs. ROPPONGI VICE (ROCKY ROMERO & TRENT BARRETA)

Kevin Kelly brought up the recent best-of-five series between A.C.H.
and Matt Sydal. McGuinness talked about how “both guys came out the
better for it” and that they were now stronger teammates. Both teams
adhered to the Code of Honor and then the bell rang. Romero and Sydal
started. They went into a chain wrestling sequence, while the
announcers asked Shelley about his confrontation with Chris Sabin last
week. Shelley dodged the question, as Sydal and Romero wrestled on the
mat.

The stalemate was broken at the 1:15 mark when Sydal nailed Romero
with a huracanrana. Both men tagged their partners. A.C.H. and
Barreta traded chops in the corner. A.C.H. hit some acrobatics and
then a dropkick. Barreta kicked out of a pin attempt, as the show cut
to a break at the 2:35 mark.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 3:35, Romero had Sydal in an abdominal stretch. Sydal broke
free, but Romero nailed him with some knees to the mid-section. Romero
followed up with a STF and then transitioned into a headlock. The fans
cheered on Sydal, as he kicked his way out of the hold. Sydal followed
up with a spinning heel kick. He slowly crawled over to his corner and
then made the hot tag to A.C.H.!

A.C.H. came in and hit a beautiful top rope cross body on Romero. He
followed up with a leaping enziguri and then hit Barreta with a
running kick from the apron. Romero went to the outside and then
A.C.H. hit his signature Air Jordan dive onto both members of RPG
Vice! Back in the ring, A.C.H. charged at Romero, but ate an elbow. He
came right back with German suplex, but Romero kicked out of the
pinning combination.

A.C.H. charged at Romero, but Barreta came in and then RPG Vice hit
him with their knees. Romero went for the cover, but A.C.H. kicked out
at two! Barreta tagged in, as did Sydal. Matt hit a knee strike on
Trent, but Romero was right there with Sliced Bread. A.C.H. went up
top and nailed Romero with a double foot stomp from the top rope!
Meanwhile on commentary, Shelley said, “there would be no A.C.H.
without the Motor City Machine Guns.”

Reset at 8:00, as Sydal and Barreta traded chops and then kicks. Sydal
came out on top of the exchange with a spin kick. He went for a
pumphandle slam, but Romero ran in and broke it up. Rocky proceeded to
charge at Sydal in the corner, but A.C.H. kicked him from behind,
which allowed Sydal to barely hit a top rope hurricanrana. Sydal
kicked Barreta and then A.C.H. immediately followed up with his Get
Over Here inverted STO from the ropes. A.C.H. then hit an inverted
flip dive on Romero on the outside.

Sydal went for the Shooting Star Press, but Barreta got his knees up!
Trent came back with a running knee strike and rolled up Sydal, but he
kicked out at two! Romero struggled to get back into the ring, as
Barreta set up Sydal for their Strong Zero finisher. A.C.H. cut off
Romero in mid-air, however, and then Sydal reversed Barreta into a
Sunset Bomb for the victory!

WINNERS: A.C.H. & Matt Sydal via pinfall in 10:11.

ANALYSIS: Okay match. The finish was pretty intense, but it seemed
like the match itself wasn’t anything special by design. It was just a
worthy main event for a show that was primarily focused on Final
Battle. (**3/4)

Kevin Kelly ran down the Final Battle card to close out the show.

FINAL REAX: This was the 1980s/early 1990s wrestling TV format at
its finest- a bunch of squash matches with one mid-card “main event.” I
really liked this episode, as every match built anticipation to this
Friday’s PPV. For a full preview of Final Battle, VIP members can
check out this week’s Radican Wrestling Community Audio where Sean and
I break down the card match-by-match!