2/17 ROH TV Report – Young Bucks vs. Sydal & A.C.H., Top Prospect Tourney, more

ROH TV Report
Aired February 14, 2016 in syndication
Aired February 17, 2016 on Comet TV
Taped 1/9  in Charlotte, N.C.
Report by Mike Metzger (@md0uble), PWTorch contributor

The ROH TV opening aired.

Ringside: Kevin Kelly and ROH matchmaker Nigel McGuinness welcomed
viewers to the show and hyped tonight’s main event of The Young Bucks
versus A.C.H. and Matt Sydal!

1 – JASON KINCAID vs. LIO RUSH – Top Prospect Tournament First Round match

Both guys had unique looks – Kincaid with dreadlocks and Rush with an
orange mohawk. Both men shook hands and then the bell rang. Kincaid
came across as a heel with a boot to the mid-section. Rush out-quicked
him with an enziguri and a one count. He followed up with a flurry of
strikes, but Kincaid fought right back with a lariat into the ropes.
Kincaid hit a springboard neckbreaker and then stretched Rush across
his back. Rush tried to fight back, but Kincaid was able to drop him
to the mat and score another nearfall.

Kincaid tossed off some of his extra ring garb and lowered his straps.
He and Rush jockeyed for position until Rush was able to kip up and
then kick Kincaid in the face! He threw Kincaid to the outside and
then followed up with a very crisp flip dive to the outside! Rush
threw Kincaid back into the ring, as Kevin Kelly touted Rush’s amateur
wrestling credentials. Rush went to follow up, but Kincaid raked him
in the eyes and then slammed him into the corner. Kincaid set up for a
coast-to-coast dive from across the ring. Rush rolled out of the ring,
but Kincaid proceeded to jump across the ring and dropkick Rush
anyway!

Kincaid followed up with an impressive dive/rolling stunner combo to
the outside, which drew a huge reaction from the crowd. Kincaid went
for another cover, but Lio kicked out at two. He went to follow up
with a double-foot stomp, but Rush moved out of the way, grabbed
Kincaid, and then flipped him over into a one-man Spanish Fly for the
victory!

WINNER: Lio Rush via pinfall in 5:02.

ANALYSIS:  Very impressive showing by both Kincaid and Rush in a short
amount of time. Aside from their unique looks, both guys brought it in
the ring with some incredible moves. Kincaid seemed to get the bigger
pop from the crowd, although Rush won over fans of his own. As good as
a five-minute match can be. (**3/4)

[Commercial Break]

2 – SILAS YOUNG & BEER CITY BRUISER vs. WILL FERRARA & CAPRICE COLEMAN

Prince Nana joined the commentary desk for this one. During intros,
clips aired from a few weeks ago on ROH TV when Silas and Bruiser
attacked “the boys.” A video chronicling the recent issues between
Ferrara and Coleman followed. The heels refused to shake hands and
then the bell rang. Silas had his hair in a man bun, which despite the
name, didn’t appear to be very manly. He started the match with
Coleman. The ref called for a clean break in the corner, but Coleman
aggressively came out with a fist.

A slugfest ensued. Coleman came out on top with a dropkick, which was
good for a one count. Coleman tagged Ferrara. Silas overpowered the
smaller Ferrara, and charged him into the corner. Silas talked some
trash, but Ferrara was able to roll him up for a one count. Ferrara
followed up with a German suplex, but Silas ended up back in his own
corner and tagged Bruiser.

Ferrara went to slam the big man, but Bruiser fell right on top of
him. McGuinness pointed out Ferrara’s rookie mistakes on commentary.
Brusier slammed Ferrara and tagged his partner. Silas did some
show-boating, before tagging Bruiser right back in. Bruiser missed a
splash in the corner, which allowed Ferrara to throw some fists. The
numbers game was too much for him, though, as Silas hit a second-rope
moonsault followed by a splash from Bruiser. Bruiser went for the
cover, but Ferrara kicked out at two.

Bruiser tagged Silas again, as the heels continued to dominate Ferrara
in their corner. Bruiser missed a Corner Cannonball, which allowed
Ferrara to make the hot tag to Coleman! Caprice was a house afire as
he nailed both of his opponents. He hit Silas with a scissor kick and
then slammed him into the corner. Bruiser tried to get involved, but
Coleman kicked him to the outside. Silas climbed to the second rope,
but Coleman nailed a jumping hurricanrana from the mat! He went for
the cover, but Bruiser broke it up.

Ferrara thwarted a superplex attempt in the corner by powerbombing
Bruiser off the top rope! Coleman went for the Sidesplitter, but Silas
ran in and broke it up. He hit his backbreaker/clothesline combo.
Dalton Castle’s “boys” then appeared at ringside. The distraction
allowed Ferrara to nail Bruiser with a diving DDT on the outside,
meanwhile Coleman nailed the Sidesplitter off the top rope and onto
Silas for the victory!

WINNERS: Caprice Coleman & Will Ferrara via pinfall in 6:46.

ANALYSIS: Fine for what it was. I liked how Coleman and Ferrara were
playing subtle heels due to their greed over Prince Nana’s envelopes.
I feel like the Dalton Castle-Silas Young feud is long past its
sell-by date, but at least having “the boys” involved in an actual
match against Young/Bruiser will freshen things up a bit. (**1/2)

[Commercial Break]

Steve Corino’s Revenge

B.J. Whitmer and Adam Page were out next. It was an unexpected
appearance, according to Kevin Kelly. Clips then aired from a couple
weeks ago on ROH TV when Whitmer brutally attacked Colby Corino in an
attempt to prove that Mr. Wrestling III was, in fact, Steve Corino.
Whitmer claimed there were rumors that Corino was looking for revenge.
B.J. didn’t believe anyone actually wanted to fight him. Whitmer said
that Corino’s only friends were either sitting at ringside or had left
the company.

Corino’s music blared, and out came “The King of Old School!” Corino
stood at ringside, while Whitmer got back on the mic and begged Corino
to get in the ring with him. Corino said that Whitmer appeared week-in
and week-out on ROH TV, yet no one cared what he had to say. Corino
said he wouldn’t walk through the ropes today or tomorrow, but
promised that “someday it will happen.”

Corino said that there was someone who was willing to fight B.J.,
before advising him that he needed to have eyes in the back of his
head. The camera panned out and Adam Page grabbed Whitmer’s shoulder.
Page admitted that he was the man Steve was talking about! He said he
was going to put the microphone down and beat the hell out of Whitmer.
He made good on his word, as The Decade exploded in the ring! A huge
brawl ensued, until an army of referees and officials settled things
down.

ANALYSIS: Huge angle. I’ve been critical of The Decade’s storyline
over the the past couple months especially, but this segment was a
major step in the right direction for a couple of reasons. First, it
breaks up The Decade. Second, it provides a surrogate for the hugely
popular Steve Corino. Page has been an afterthought recently, but I
think he really gained some traction following his feud with Jay
Briscoe. Here’s hoping that ROH actually gives Page a serious push.

[Commercial Break]

Back from break, a Kevin Kelly voice-over ran down the 14th Anniversary
PPV card. Newly announced: War Machine defending the ROH World Tag
Team Titles against The All Night Express in a No DQ match. Clips then
aired from last week’s episode when ANX defeated War Machine via
disqualification after Rowe slammed King through a table. Also
announced was KUSHIDA/A.C.H./Sydal vs. The Young Bucks & Kenny
Omega.

3 – MARK BRISCOE vs. TIM HUGHES

Hughes appeared on ROH TV several weeks back as “Brutal” Bob Evans’s
latest protege. Hughes claimed he was doing what Evans taught him when
he refused to shake Mark’s hand. The bell rang and Mark went on the
attack with some boots to the mid-section. He followed up with a
jumping lariat off the ropes, but Hughes kicked out of a pin attempt.
Briscoe broke into some Red Neck Kung Fu and then delivered a vertical
suplex. Hughes kicked out of another pin attempt. Briscoe hit a side
Russian legsweep, which was good for yet another nearfall.

The announcers talked up The Briscoes vs. Elgin/Tanahashi at the 14th
Anniversary PPV, as Hughes took control. He yelled and screamed before
hitting Briscoe with a side slam. Hughes went for the cover, but
Briscoe kicked out. Hughes gave a shout-out to “Brutal” Bob before
slapping Mark in the face. Briscoe came back with Red Neck Kung Fu,
and then threw several chops and blows while Hughes was up against the
ropes. Briscoe followed up with an enziguri and then a running kick in
the corner. Mark hit a fisherman buster and then Froggy Bow from the
top for the victory!

WINNER: Mark Briscoe via pinfall in 3:52.

ANALYSIS: Unremarkable squash victory for Briscoe that served as an
opportunity for the announcers to hype Briscoes vs. Elgin/Tanahashi at
the 14th Anniversary PPV. (*1/2)

[Commercial Break]

4 – Then-IWGP Jr. Hvt. tag champions THE YOUNG BUCKS (NICK & MATT JACKSON) vs. MATT SYDAL & A.C.H. – non-title match

Sydal had more of a presence than usual during his entrance. The
announcers commented on his positivity being infectious. Both teams
exchanged words before the bell. Both Matts started the match. Jackson
held up his title belt, but Sydal grabbed it and disrespectfully
tossed it aside. Matt Jackson was incensed, so he pummeled Sydal to
the ground. A.C.H. tried to run in, but ate a superkick from Nick! The
Bucks then hit a double-team on Sydal, which sent him to the outside.
The Bucks followed up with a pair of dives to their opponents on the
outside. They posed for the fans at ringside, which allowed Sydal to
come right back with a change-in-direction dive onto both Bucks!

Back in the ring, Matt Jackson raked Sydal’s eyes. Sydal fought right
back with a lariat in the ropes and then tagged A.C.H., who came in
with a foot stomp off the top rope. A.C.H. hit a leg lariat on Matt in
the ring and then then a running kick from to apron to Nick. A.C.H.
did some acrobatics in the ring before nailing Matt with a dropkick,
but Nick returned and nailed A.C.H. with a superkick. Sydal reappeared
and hit a double rana on Nick and Matt, but The Bucks came right back
with a double superkick! The Bucks showed off with a phantom
superkick, as the show cut to its final break at the 3:05 point in the
match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 4:05, The Bucks were in firm control of A.C.H. They hit a pair
of dropkicks in stereo, and then Nick dropkicked Sydal off the ring
apron. Nick tagged his brother, who motioned for a big move.
Unfortunately for The Bucks, a miscommunication caused Matt to charge
into Nick! A.C.H. seized on the opportunity and hit Matt with the Get
Over Here. A.C.H. slowly crawled to his corner and then finally made
the tag to Sydal!

Sydal dodged a superkick and then kicked Nick in the head. He hit Matt
Jackson with a sliced legdrop and then a standing Shooting Star Press,
which was good for a nearfall. A.C.H. and Sydal went for a
double-team, but the Bucks broke it up momentarily. Sydal fought back
on the outside by catching Nick’s superkick and re-directing it at
Matt! Matt Jackson came right back with a superkick, however. A.C.H.
tried to regain control with a big dive to the outside, but jumped
right into a double superkick from The Bucks!

Back in the ring, Sydal reversed More Bang for Your Buck by hitting a
hurricanrana on Nick that sent him into Matt! Sydal went for the
Shooting Star Press, but ate a superkick from Matt! The Bucks hit
their powerbomb/enziguri double-team in the corner, followed by their
swanton combo in the ropes. Matt Jackson went for the cover, but Sydal
kicked out at two! The Bucks went for More Bang for Your Buck again,
but Sydal got the knees up on Nick and then the boots up on Matt! Out
of nowhere, A.C.H. hit a double footstomp on Matt Jackson, and then
Sydal immediately followed up with a Shooting Star Press for the
victory!

WINNERS: Matt Sydal & A.C.H. via pinfall in 8:49.

ANALYSIS: Really good while it lasted. The Bucks did their usual
routine, but Sydal and A.C.H. helped take things up a notch. I’m not a
fan of how The Bucks have been used since signing with ROH late last
year, but at least this gave some badly-needed rub to the floundering
Sydal and A.C.H. (***1/2)

FINAL REAX: Solid episode that was book-ended by two great matches.
I’ve been critical of the ROH product recently, but this week’s
episode was a step in the right direction. Kincaid and Rush had a
great match and added some intrigue to the Top Prospect Tournament.
There were also some developments in the mid-card, culminating with
Adam Page’s babyface turn. The 14th Anniversary card still leaves a
lot to be desired, but at least this episode efficiently built toward
next Friday’s PPV.