1/7 ROH TV Report: New World Champion Dalton Castle, Scurll vs. Gordon, Grimm vs. Silas Young for the ROH TV Title

ROH TV Report
January 7, 2018
Taped December 16 in Philadelphia, Pa. at 2300 Arena
Aired On Sinclair Affiliates & ROHWrestling.com
Report By Harley R. Pageot, PWTorch Contributor

Announcers: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

[Q1] We opened with a video package highlighting all the Final Battle pay-per-view results.

-Opening theme.

-As is customary, we opened in the arena with the new world champion. Dalton Castle made his entrance dressed in a turtleneck, blazer, and slacks with the title over his shoulder and accompanied by The Boys. Castle was showered with streamers to a “you deserve it” chant. Castle said he’s made a lot of mistakes in his life but coming to Ring Of Honor was never a mistake for him. People told him he would never be a champion but he learned “a lot can happen between now and never.” He’s not just a big fish in a little pond, he’s a damn megalodon swimming through the ocean.

Jay Lethal’s music interrupted. Lethal made his way to the ring with a microphone, dressed in a dress shirt and slacks. Castle was surprised, make that shocked. Lethal had never once interrupted Castle before or even sent him a friendship request on Facebook. Cabana questioned if Castle was star-struck. Castle asked Lethal what was on his mind. Lethal said that everyone knows why he’s out there, “champ.” Lethal said he thinks Castle is a strange dude but he is ROH Champion, which makes him the best wrestler in the world. And Lethal wants his shot.

Castle was caught off-guard and needed to sit down and think about it. One of the Boys quickly got onto all fours to make a chair for Castle. Castle asked Lethal to take a seat as well and the second Boy quickly ran over and crouched down in front of Lethal. Hilarious. Lethal looked very uncomfortable while the fans chanted “take a seat.” Castle asked him to sit down so they could discuss this “like grown ass men.” Lethal pulled a bandana out of his pocket and wiped off the Boy’s back. He tried sitting down but couldn’t bring himself to do it so the Boy crawled over to be an ottoman for Castle instead. Lethal cautioned Castle that people are going to be coming at him from every angle for the ROH title but all Lethal wants is for his name to be at the top of the list. Castle agreed. Lethal exited and Castle proclaimed “This one’s for the boys!” His music hit to end the segment…

…but wait! It was Punishment Martinez out of nowhere. The Boys were shoved aside and Castle took a South of Heaven chokeslam. Martinez held the title up in the air as Castle squirmed on the mat in pain and the Boys looked on in fear. Riccaboni reminded us that Martinez won the 2017 Survival Of The Fittest and earned a title shot in the process. [C]

(Analysis: Terrific opening across the board. Castle is the people’s champion, the underdog who made good. Lethal’s made clear for months that he wants the ROH title again so it only makes sense that he would be the first person to come out and ask for a match face to face. Punishment, on the other hand, has a long history of jumping people from behind and goading them into fighting him. I love that it’s clear that everybody wants the ROH gold (because why wouldn’t you? It’s the most important title in the company.) and I’m intrigued by the fact that the former champion Cody was nowhere to be seen.)

[Q2] The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, & Vinny Marseglia) were backstage. Taven used to sarcastically call himself the “internet darling”, mocking all us melvins at home who looked past his greatness. But now all of our heroes have gone down to the king: Lethal, Flip Gordon, Jay White, and, at Final Battle, Will Ospreay. Marseglia reiterated that they’re coming for the six-man titles and the world title. The ROH conspiracy won’t stop them.

(1) SIMON GRIMM vs. “THE LAST REAL MAN” SILAS YOUNG (w/The Beer City Bruiser) – ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP

The former Simon Gotch of WWE wore a metal Guy Fawkes mask to the ring for his first singles match in ROH. Young is the new TV Champion after winning a four corner survival match at Final Battle to dethrone Kenny King. They exchanged technical wrestling holds to start. Young tried for a deadlift power bomb but Young countered into a hurricanrana. Young hit a springboard clothesline that left Grimm laid out at ringside. [C]

Grimm tried for an armbar but Young was able to keep him from locking it in. Young with a big knee to the head. Grimm with a series of uppercuts, a forearm, and a clothesline. Grimm hit an underhook suplex into a bridge for a two-count. Young with a double stomp to the chest and he hit Misery a short time later.

WINNER: Silas Young in 8:03 to retain the ROH World Television Championship.

-As the referee handed Young the TV Title, Kenny King’s music hit. King paced on the stage with a microphone in one hand and a beer bottle in the other. He took umbrage at the fact that Young was able to beat Martinez clean in the four corner match at Final Battle but had to resort to hitting King over the head with a beer bottle in order to eliminate him. Young said the wrestling business is a business of results. King said he already filed his paperwork and he’s going to get his rematch. That’s not why he was out there. He was out there because he’d already had eight beers and felt like fighting. Young told Bruiser he didn’t need his help. King sprayed a mouthful of beer into Young’s face, blinding him. King jumped into the ring but security separated the three men.

(Analysis: A strong, clean win for the new champion but Grimm didn’t look terrible in defeat either. We only ever saw him as a tag team wrestler in NXT and WWE so it may take some time to see how he cuts it as a singles act in ROH. He certainly didn’t look out of place here. New additions to the ROH roster often start with losses against established acts before working their way up so this is in no way an indication of any future success. The Young-King feud continuing makes sense based on the way King lost the title. King as the babyface chasing for the title that was stolen from him, needing to overcome both Young and Bruiser, could be the best thing for him at the moment. We still need to really establish who Kenny King is following his dismal turns in The Rebellion and The Cabinet.)

[Q3] A photo slideshow recapped The Briscoes vs. Bully Ray & Tommy Dreamer at Final Battle with Bully leaving his boots in the ring after the match. [C]

-A video recapped the Final Battle announcement of the new ROH Women’s Championship and the tournament that will crown the first winner. Hopefully those matches actually air on television as part of the weekly shows instead of being segregated to YouTube.

(2) THE BRISCOES (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) vs. RYAN NOVA & ELI ISOM

Riccaboni said we’ll hopefully hear from Bully Ray in the coming weeks. The Briscoes jumped the Future Of Honor talent before the bell and double-teamed Nova. Isom tried making a comeback to no avail. Jay with a spinning elbow and Mark hit a froggy-bow on Isom for the pin.

WINNERS: The Briscoes in 1:31.

-Jay took a microphone. He introduced them as the baddest tag team on the planet. At Final Battle they ended a legend’s career. Next on the docket is the World Tag Team Championships. The Motor City Machine Guns are one of the best tag teams in the world but right now there’s not a tag team in the world that is on the Briscoes’ level. They promised Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin that they’re coming for them.

-Young and Bruiser were walking backstage with Young still wiping King’s beer out of his eyes. Bruiser told him to calm down. Young called King a sore loser. Bruiser assured Young that he can handle King. While he does that, Bruiser wants to get some tag team gold of his own. He has a partner in mind. Young gave him his blessing. [C]

(Analysis: Something tells me Bruiser’s new partner isn’t going to be Bull James. Maybe “Kingpin” Brian Milonas for a new big man tag team? This could head in many different directions and I like that mystery.)

-The ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and Hangman Page were hanging out on a couch in the locker room. Something at Final Battle made Nick angry. Cut to video of The Hung Bucks being jumped after their successful title defense by Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky. The new trio are calling themselves SoCal Uncensored. Page said that if they want a shot at their belts, they’ll get it – a shot right over the head.

[Q4] A picture-in-picture promo from Marty Scurll aired during his entrance for the main event. He wasn’t upset about his loss to Lethal at Final Battle. If anything, he was proud that there is still a villain inside Lethal and that it gave him the confidence to confront Castle and demand a title shot. Scurll didn’t realize it was that easy to get a title shot. Why has he been waiting on the sidelines? He’s had zero shots at the world title since arriving in ROH and this company deserves a true champion in the form of The Villain.

(3) FLIP GORDON vs. “THE VILLAIN” MARTY SCURLL

Riccaboni talked about how Bullet Club have been doing “what they call harmless ribs” to Gordon lately. Chain wrestling from Gordon and Scurll to begin. Scurll flipped off the ropes to escape a wristlock. Gordon did his kip-up series to escape Scurll’s offense and kicked Scurll in the head, sending him to ringside. Scurll teased a flip, balanced on the top rope, and did a backflip back into the ring instead. Scurll bailed into the crowd and looked on with intimidation while Gordon mockingly flapped his arms at him. [C]

Gordon and Scurll chased each other around and through the ring. Scurll caught him with a European uppercut and a suplex into the corner. Scurll went for a cover and grabbed the rope out of habit. He apologized to the referee as the commentators said that he couldn’t help it, it’s like a compulsion for him. Scurll with a backbreaker and he worked over Gordon’s arm. Stranglehold lungblower to Gordon. When Gordon kicked out at two, Scurll got hot at referee Todd Sinclair. They argued, Scurll shoved Sinclair, and Sinclair responded by shoving Scurll to the mat. Gordon and Scurll traded punches. Gordon with a Pelé kick. With Scurll in the corner, Gordon hit a 619 around the ringpost. Gordon with a springboard slingblade. He tried for a 450, Scurll moved, but Gordon rolled through. Running shooting star for a two count. [C]

Scurll took Gordon down at ringside with a kick to the face and a lariat. The men exchanged superkicks. Scurll with the Ghostbuster (brainbuster onto the knee). Cabana acknowledged that he stole the move from Adam Cole after defeating Cole and running him out of ROH. Gordon with a suicide dive and cannonball to Scurll at ringside. He rolled Scurll in the ring, went up top, and hit the 450 but Scurll kicked out. Gordon perched Scurll up top and hit the Kinder Surprise. Scurll with another Ghostbuster for the three count.

WINNER: Marty Scurll in 13:35.

(Analysis: Solid match and another example of what ROH does so well. Both men came across looking like stars here. Gordon continues to build momentum and support even in defeat and Scurll continues to add to his résumé. I love that Scurll addressed the opening segment from tonight and questioned if you really can just ask for a championship shot and get it. Obviously, as a former world champion, Lethal’s request holds more weight than it would from someone else but it’s the kind of match setup that other companies do all the time, expecting you to set logic aside.

This was a great show, top to bottom. Every championship was addressed and the official or unofficial #1 contenders were set up in each division as well. The roster from tonighhttps://www.pwtorch.com/site/2018/01/02/12-31-roh-tv-report-footage-war-worlds-uk-august-including-bullet-club-vs-los-ingobernables-de-japon-kushida-vs-titan/t’s episode was a who’s who of the top names in ROH and the people who will be driving the stories going forward in 2018. Perhaps the biggest development is the sense that Bullet Club might just be booked as babyfaces going forward. The Hung Bucks are definitely the heroes in a feud with SoCal Underground, Scurll was portrayed as somewhat good-natured and lovable tonight, and of course Kenny Omega’s clearly a babyface over in NJPW. Oh wait, we’re forgetting somebody. The total absence of Cody from tonight’s show is very much worth noting.)

-Next week: it’s Jay Lethal vs. Will Ospreay and Dalton Castle & The Boys vs. The Kingdom.

NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS REPORT: 12/31 ROH TV Report: Footage from War Of The Worlds UK in August including Bullet Club vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon, Kushida vs. Titán