2/10 ROH TV Report – War Machine defends ROH Tag Titles, Shelley vs. Kaz

ROH TV Report
Aired February 7, 2016 in syndication
Aired February 10, 2016 on Comet TV
Taped 1/9 in Charlotte, N.C.
Report by Mike Metzger (@md0uble), PWTorch contributor

The ROH TV opening aired.

Kevin Kelly and ROH matchmaker Nigel McGuinness welcomed viewers to
the show, and then threw to clips from a couple weeks ago when
Christopher Daniels attacked a referee. McGuinness noted that Daniels
had been suspended for violating ROH’s zero tolerance policy regarding
violence against referees. Frankie Kazarian and Chris Sabin made their
way to the ring, without Daniels.

1 – FRANKIE KAZARIAN (w/Chris Sabin) vs. ALEX SHELLEY

Sabin joined the commentary desk. He was dumbfounded as to why Kevin
Kelly asked him about his history with Sabin. Cute. Meanwhile,
Kazarian nonchalantly slapped Shelley’s hand to adhere to the Code of
Honor. The bell rang, and Sabin immediately jumped on the apron to
give Kaz some advice. Sabin then distracted Shelley, which allowed Kaz
to blindside him. Shelley fought back, though, and tossed Kaz out of
the ring. He went for a dive, but Kaz dodged and then went for a dive
of his own. He jumped through the ropes, but ate a kick from Shelley,
instead!

Shelley took control in the ring, where he worked Kaz’s knee. He
followed up with a Dragon screw legwhip in the corner. He grabbed
Frankie’s leg again. Kaz tried to throw a punch, but couldn’t reach
Shelley, who dropped Kaz to the mat again. Kaz raked Shelley in the
eyes, and then after distracting referee Todd Sinclair, he yanked
Shelley down by the hair. Kazarian hit a springboard DDT, as the show
cut to its first break at the 3:03 point in the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:33, Kaz lost a shoving match with referee Todd Sinclair
which allowed Shelley to roll him up for a nearfall! Nigel warned Kaz
on commentary, while Kaz stood on Shelley’s back as his neck was
draped across the middle rope. Both men wrestled on the mat, where
Shelley slapped Kaz hard in the face. Steve Corino joined the
commentators via phone. He said the time for talking was done, and
then told B.J. Whitmer that “it’s on next week.”

Meanwhile in the ring, Kaz was still in control and scored another
nearfall. He went up top, but missed a top-rope legdrop! Shelley got
to his feet and traded blows with Kaz. He hit a chop and then kicked
Kaz in the head! Shelley clotheslined Kaz to the outside onto a pile
of streamers, and then followed up with a running knee off the apron!
Back in the ring, Shelley hit a flying cross-body, but Kaz rolled him
over into a pinning combination. Shelley kicked out at two, despite
Kaz hooking the tights!

Kaz quickly followed up with a spinning neckbreaker. Both then men
traded blows. Shelley went for a move off the second rope, but Kaz
reversed into an Ace Crusher in mid-air! Kaz hit a reverse STO and
covered Shelley, but could only get a two count! Kaz charged at his
opponent, but Shelley reversed into a uranage into the corner! Shelley
then went up top, but Kazarian cut him off. Kaz went for the Flux
Capacitor, but Shelley headbutted him down to the mat and went for a
frogsplash, but Kaz got the knees up!

Sabin handed Kaz a hammer. Nigel was incensed on commentary, but the
ref didn’t see it. Kaz swung it at Shelley, but missed. Shelley hit a
German suplex and then grabbed the hammer. Sabin got on the apron.
Shelley thought about using the hammer, but tossed it to Sabin
instead. Kaz tried to attack from behind, but Shelley nailed him with
a superkick and then Sliced Bread for the victory!

WINNER: Alex Shelley via pinfall in 11:52.

ANALYSIS: Okay opener. I liked the psychology early on with Kaz only
being able to get the upper-hand after cheating. There were a couple of
decent sequences toward the end, but this never really got to the next
gear for me. The phone call from Steve Corino mid-match didn’t help
matters either. At least it looks like ROH is building toward a
Sabin-Shelley one-on-one match at the 14th Anniversary PPV. (**1/4)

[Commercial Break]

Joey “Diesel” Daddiego and Truth Martini made their entrance, as clips
aired of Donovan Dijak breaking from The House of Truth a few weeks
ago on ROH TV. Martini grabbed the mic, while “the boys” fanned Castle
in the corner. Martini said that Silas Young had been trying to turn
“the boys” into men. He thought Silas had gone about it all wrong
because “the boys” didn’t need to be men- they needed a daddy. So, who
better than Joey “Diesel” Daddiego? Get it?

2 – DALTON CASTLE (w/”the boys”) vs. JOEY “DIESEL” DADDIEGO (w/Truth Martini)

The bell rang after Daddiego refused to shake Castle’s hand. They tied
up in the center. Daddiego backed Castle into the corner and there was
a clean break. Castle wrestled Daddiego to the mat, before Joey rolled
to the outside. Meanwhile, Castle posed in the ring. Daddiego tried to
attack Castle from behind, but Dalton tossed him right back out. However,
Truth Martini provided a distraction that allowed Daddiego to take advantage.

Truth did a spinaroonie in the ring. As he confidently moonwalked out,
“the boys” held the ropes open, which caused Truth to fall backward
and out of the ring! Truth comedically chased “the boys” around the
ring, while Daddiego dominated Castle inside. Joey slammed Castle and
scored a nearfall. He went for a leg lock, but Castle kicked his way
out of it and then clotheslined Daddiego in the corner. Castle hit a
running knee and then positioned Daddiego on the top rope. Castle hit
Daddiego with a running boot from the apron, followed by the Bangarang
for the victory!

WINNER: Dalton Castle via pinfall in 3:33.

ANALYSIS: Virtual squash for Castle. That was fine, but I was
disappointed that Dijak did not make an appearance, now several weeks
after last being seen or heard from on ROH TV. (*1/2)

After the match, Silas Young came out to the ring and addressed “the
boys” as Brent and Brendan. Silas said he spent months trying to teach
them how to be “men.” As he walked to the ring, The Beer City Bruiser
came out of nowhere and grabbed the boys from behind. Castle tried to
break it up, but was blindsided by Young.

Silas hit his Misery finisher on Castle, and then re-directed his
attention to “the boys,” who were still being held by Bruiser. He gave
them the choice of being men or boys. “The boys” hesitated for a
moment, but then attacked Silas! Bruiser quickly got involved, and
then he and Silas made short work of them. Castle reappeared, but the
numbers game was too much for him. Bruiser hit a huge corner
cannonball, as the show cut to a break.

ANALYSIS: ROH has a hot act in Castle, yet they do nothing meaningful
with him. The feud with Silas was a great fit at the time, but there’s
only so much I can take after six-plus months of this program.

[Commercial Break]

3 – LEO ST. GIOVANNI vs. ACTION ORTIZ – Top Prospect tournament
first-round match

The winner of this match will face Brian Fury in the next round. Both
men shook hands and then the bell rang. Leo got the early advantage.
He splashed Ortiz on the mat and got a one count. Ortiz rolled to the
outside. St. Giovanni went for a dive, but Ortiz hit him in the face
with a forearm. Ortiz hit a big clothesline, which was good for a
nearfall. Ortiz went to the top. He went for a frog splash, but St.
Giovanni moved out of the way!

Both men traded blows on their knees in the center. They got to their
feet and continued to trade strikes. St. Giovanni came out on top with
some strikes and kicks, but Ortiz slammed him into a corner. St.
Giovanni fought out and then hit a handspring flip into clothesline!
He went for the cover, but Ortiz kicked out at two. Ortiz rolled to
the outside again, but this time St. Giovanni was able to a hit a huge
corkscrew dive onto the big man!

St. Giovanni went up top. Ortiz ran toward him, so Leo simply jumped
over him and back down to the mat. Leo hit a roaring elbow and then
hooked Ortiz for what looked to be a Butterfly Suplex, but Ortiz
kicked his way out of it. Ortiz then hit an inverted suplex, a move he
calls the Killscreen, for the victory!

WINNER: Action Ortiz via pinfall in 3:54.

ANALYSIS: Perfectly acceptable wrestling. Ortiz resembled Bam Bam
Bigelow with a lower-quality bodysuit. He looked fine in the ring, but
came across as indy-riffic. Hasn’t stopped ROH before, I guess. (**)

[Commercial Break]

Ringside: Stokely Hathaway was with Kevin Kelly. Hathaway claimed this
would be Moose’s year and then challenged IWGP World Hvt. Champion
Kazuchika Okada to a match against Moose at the 14th Anniversary PPV
before storming off.

Clips then aired from Final Battle when The All Night Express won the
a three-way against The Briscoes and The Young Bucks to earn a shot at
the ROH World Tag Team Titles.

4 – ROH World Tag Team champions WAR MACHINE (HANSON & RAYMOND ROWE) vs. THE ALL NIGHT EXPRESS (RHETT TITUS & KENNY KING) – ROH World Tag Team Title match

Kevin Kelly reminded viewers that ANX never lost the Tag Titles when
King defected to TNA a few years ago. Kelly also referenced the
unfavorable crowd reaction ANX received in Philadelphia at Final
Battle. The Code of Honor was adhered to before the bell. Titus and
Hanson started the match. Hanson got the early advantage with a
shoulder tackle. Titus came back with a knee to Hanson’s gut and then
tagged King. ANX hit an inverted atomic drop/clothesline combo, but
Hanson didn’t leave his feet. They followed up with a double
clothesline that did the trick. Hanson came right back with a double
clothesline of his own, however!

Hanson tagged Rowe, who knocked King to the mat with a big blow. Rowe
continued to dominate for several moments. He went for a hip toss, but
King landed on his feet. He was able to jam Rowe’s neck across the top
rope and then tag Titus. ANX double-teamed Rowe, before Titus could
score a one count on Rowe. Titus pummeled Rowe in the corner and then
tagged King. Kenny knocked Hanson off the apron. He went to
clothesline Rowe, but Hanson yanked him off the ring apron!

Meanwhile, Rowe regained control and slammed King to the mat. Rowe
then slammed his own partner onto King! War Machine hit a double-back
suplex and then Hanson powerbombed Rowe onto Titus! War Machine stood tall in the ring, as the show cut to its final break at the 4:05 point in the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:05, Kenny King was throwing fists at both Hanson and Rowe.
Hanson picked him up, though. War Machine went for their Path of
Resistance double-team, but Titus broke it up with a dropkick. Titus
low bridged Hanson to the outside. He went for a dive on Rowe, but got
caught. Rowe hit an Exploder suplex on Titus, while Hanson threw King
into the hockey boards at ringside. The referee counted while all four
men brawled at ringside. Kevin Kelly kept alluding to a possible
double count-out, as War Machine dominated on the outside. Hanson and
Titus were able to get back in the ring at a count of 19, however!

Titus rolled back to the outside, but Hanson was right behind him.
Hanson went for a huge dive, but barely caught Titus. Meanwhile, Rowe
continued to dominate King on the outside. He threw him in the ring
and set him up for Fallout, but King got free and hit Hanson with an
enziguri that knocked him to the floor! Rowe charged at King in the
corner, but Kenny pulled referee Paul Turner into Rowe’s path!

King nailed Rowe with Shotgun Knees. Titus grabbed a table from
underneath the ring. ANX stacked the table against the corner. They
went for a spike piledriver on Rowe, but he escaped and nailed King
with a uranage through the table! Referee Paul Turner came to just at
that moment and called for the bell.

WINNERS: All Night Express via disqualification in 9:33; War Machine retained the ROH Tag Titles.

ANALYSIS: Good match. War Machine did their usual spots, while ANX
were able to create some extra movement. I thought they were going for
the cop-out double count-out, so Hanson and Titus rolling into the ring
at the count of 19 was a nice touch. It was all for naught, as they
still did a DQ finish anyway. While I understand why ROH would want to
prolong this feud, it’s not setting the world on fire by any means.
(**1/2)

All four men brawled in the ring before security ran in to break it
up. “This is awesome” chant from the crowd, as Kevin Kelly hyped next
week’s main event of The Young Bucks vs. A.C.H & Matt Sydal!

FINAL REAX: Another week of ROH sliding further into oblivion. While
there were a few developments, I wouldn’t recommend going out of your
way to watch this. ROH used to be able to overcome lackluster
storytelling with solid in-ring action, but even that was missing
tonight.

There continues to be a lack of buzz surrounding this product, yet
Ring of Honor continues to do nothing about it. Take Dalton Castle,
for example. He is perhaps the fastest-rising star in the company, yet
he is dragged down by this never-ending feud with Silas Young. Why
isn’t Castle challenging for the TV Title at this point? He could even
be pitted against Jay Lethal in an ultimate underdog story, but
instead we have the same water treading that ROH fans have become
accustomed to. There’s also another rising star in Donovan Dijak, yet
he has been off TV for almost a month after a huge babyface turn.

ROH has found a nice groove the last couple of years with the NJPW
partnership and the traditional PPV clearance. Unfortunately for ROH,
the law of diminishing returns is setting in and unless the course is
changed soon, the company will be losing ground to the countless other
pro wrestling alternatives in 2016.