4/15 ROH TV Report: Frankie Kazarian vs. Hiromu Takahashi, tag team #1 contenders gauntlet match

ROH TV REPORT
APRIL 15, 2018
LAS VEGAS, NV AT SAM’S TOWN LIVE!
AIRED ON SINCLAIR AFFILIATES & ROHWRESTLING.COM
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Commentary: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

[Q1] Opening theme.

(1) ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPION FRANKIE KAZARIAN vs. HIROMU TAKAHASHI

Takahashi took a stuffed Darryl cat from a fan on the aisle and brought it into the ring before returning him to the fan. Back and forth holds and pin attempts early on. Takahashi went to ringside and sought support from Darryl. Kaz caught him with a boot and suplexed him into the guardrail. [C]

Kaz choked Takahashi on the middle rope and slapped him. Kaz hit two guillotine leg drops on Takahashi hanging over the rope. They were good for a two-count. Backbreaker from Kaz. Takahashi fought back with kicks. Running hurricanrana, clothesline in the corner, drive-by dropkick. Kaz bailed to the floor. Running dropkick off the apron on Kaz. Kaz suffered a cut on his right arm somehow. Slingshot DDT to Takahashi in the ring, then a slingshot cutter for a two-count. Kaz got into Todd Sinclair’s face about not counting fast enough so Sinclair shoved him. Kaz tried for a pin with his feet on the ropes but Takahashi kicked out. Roll-up attempts from Takahashi. Takahashi with a superkick, clothesline, and then the Time Bomb.

WINNER: Hiromu Takahashi in 11:02.

(Pageot’s Perspective: Nice opening match. We hadn’t seen Takahashi on ROH TV since the December 31 episode. I doubt this is leading to any sort of regular appearances or push for him in ROH, most likely it was just a surprise NJPW guest spot for the fans. Kazarian is a current champion but he’s almost exclusively a tag wrestler these days so the singles loss doesn’t hurt his credibility.)

[Q2] We cut to footage from earlier tonight of Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas roughing up LSG backstage. Milonas splashed him against a concrete wall and they left him lying. [C]

-Caprice Coleman joined the commentary team for our tag team #1 contender gauntlet match. Coleman said Coast 2 Coast were his favorites but it’s not clear if they’ll even be competing now following what happened with LSG.

(2) TAG TEAM GAUNTLET #1 CONTENDERS MATCH

Shaheem Ali cut a promo on his way to the ring. He claimed Bruiser & Milonas jumped LSG because they’re afraid of C2C but he’s not afraid of them and he’s not going to give up this opportunity. He’ll fight alone if he has to.

(2a) BEER CITY BRUISER & BRIAN MILONAS vs. COAST 2 COAST (Shaheem Ali & LSG)

Ali punched Bruiser off the apron and flipped over the top rope with a cannonball, taking him out. Milonas caught a crossbody attempt in the ring but Ali elbowed out. Dropkick to Milonas’ face but Bruiser returned. They caught him with the twin splash. Milonas and Bruiser tagged in and out, working over Ali. Sit-out power bomb from Milonas but Ali kicked out. [C]

Ali avoided a splash from Milonas in the corner. Elbows and a side kick to Bruiser. Flatliner to Bruiser for two. Ali went up top but Milonas cut him off. Superplex from Milonas and a frog-splash from Bruiser.

WINNERS: Bruiser & Milonas in 6:13.

-The Dawgs came out with plastic cups of beer. Titus claimed that they weren’t allowed to wrestle at 16th Anniversary because they were too wasted but they finally found two guys just as drunk as them. Why have a match when they can have a beer? The Dawgs handed their drinks over and Bruiser and Milonas downed them. They then thanked The Dawgs by punching them in the face.

(2b) BEER CITY BRUISER & BRIAN MILONAS vs. THE DAWGS (Rhett Titus & Will Ferrara)

Titus and Ferrara spit mouths of beer into their faces. Double team headbutts to Milonas. Ferrara pulled down the top rope and sent him tumbling to the floor. Titus catapulted Ferrara into Bruiser’s arms and hit Bruiser with a dropkick to the face. Bruiser kicked out at one.

[Q3] Titus whipped Little Willy shoulder-first into Bruiser. Ferrara with a hurricanrana that inadvertently sent Bruiser into his own corner. Milonas and Bruiser worked over Ferrara. Milonas hit a belly to belly suplex. [C]

Ferrara squirmed away from Milonas and escaped for the hot tag. Titus with a knee and kick to Milonas. Monkey flip to Bruiser. Ferrara with a tornado DDT to Bruiser on the floor. The Dawgs double-teamed Milonas. They tried for Who Let The Dawgs Out? but Titus couldn’t lift Milonas. Instead Milonas batted him away and superplexed Ferrara.

WINNERS: Bruiser & Milonas in 7:24.

(2c) BEER CITY BRUISER & BRIAN MILONAS vs. MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)

The Guns immediately went after the big men with right hands but Sabin was caught with a crossbody and a back splash from Milonas. Sidewalk slam from Milonas to Shelley. Sabin avoided offense from Bruiser and Milonas. Assisted bulldog on Bruiser. Bruiser took out Milonas with a cannonball on the floor by mistake. Double superkicks to Bruiser. Made In Detroit on Bruiser.

WINNERS: Motor City Machine Guns in 2:13. [C]

(2d) MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)

The babyface teams faced off as the referee tried to clear the streamers from the ring. Quick back and forth offense from both teams. Sabin with a missile dropkick on Matt. Matt was drop-toeholded right into Nick’s crotch in the corner. Dream Sequence on Matt. Superkick to Shelley on the floor. Sabin knocked Nick off the apron. Inverted wheelbarrow slam from Matt to Sabin. Shelley pulled Nick off the apron but took a superkick.

[Q4] Tag to Nick. Facebuster to Sabin. Suicide dive to Shelley. Assisted sliced bread #2 to Sabin. Double superkicks to Shelley on the floor. Spear from Matt to Sabin. Combination splashes to Sabin but he kicked out at two. Shelley returned and blocked a More Bang For Your Buck attempt. Matt caught Sabin with a backslide.

WINNERS: The Young Bucks in 6:28. [C]

(2e) THE YOUNG BUCKS (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. THE KINGDOM (TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia)

While Matt Taven posed on the stage O’Ryan & Marseglia entered through the crowd and attacked the Bucks from behind. They targeted Matt’s bad back. O’Ryan crawled under the ring and yanked Nick off the apron to prevent the tag. He ate a superkick from Matt. Nick returned for the tag. He was a whirlwind on The Kingdom. Top rope splash took out both men on the floor. German suplex to O’Ryan on the apron. Sharpshooter. Marseglia tried to break it up with punches but Nick no-sold so he grabbed his ax. The referee took it away and Marseglia used the opportunity to jab Nick in the stomach with O’Ryan’s baseball bat behind his back. Nick avoided another bat shot as did Matt. Matt with punches to both men and a double clothesline. Matt’s bad back prevented a power bomb attempt. Marseglia pulled up the mats off the floor and tried for a power bomb of his own. Nick kicked him in the face. Meltzer Driver to O’Ryan.

WINNERS: The Young Bucks in 9:39.

(Pageot’s Perspective: Another fun match that took up the majority of the show and told multiple stories. C2C continue their feud with Bruiser & Milonas and were protected from taking a team loss. The big men looked strong by winning two matches before falling to former champions. And the Bucks winning made the most sense as they’re the only team credible enough at this point to believably beat The Briscoes. ROH has done a good job lately of showcasing different aspects of their roster. This week it was nearly the entire tag division whereas last week highlighted some of their top heels.)