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ROH TV REPORT
JUNE 24, 2018
NEW YORK, NY AT HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM
AIRED ON SINCLAIR AFFILIATES & ROHWRESTLING.COM
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentary: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana
Opening theme.
-In the arena we opened with your ROH World Champion Dalton Castle. He made his entrance dressed in a burgundy suit with the world title over one shoulder and The Boys at his side. The ring was showered with streamers and the fans gave a resounding “Dalton Castle” chant. He said that right here was where he earned world title. Since then he’s done everything he can to ensure he would stay the champion. Why face two members of Bullet Club in the same match at Best In The World? Why not? He’s not afraid of them. The odds are against him, that’s true. Brent pulled a pretzel out of a paper bag and handed it to Castle so he could make a metaphor but Castle suddenly realized he doesn’t know what a metaphor is. You can put Cody, Scurll, or a werewolf Frankenstein man in the ring but it won’t matter. The title is still his and it will be for a long time!
(Pageot’s Perspective: A nice, fiery promo from Castle meant to really make us question what has, until now, felt like a preordained outcome at Best In The World. The question for weeks has been whether Cody or Scurll would walk out of the pay-per-view with the world title but don’t count Castle out just yet. It’s just a shame that we’ve had next to no interaction between the champion and his two challengers in the build to this show. But maybe that too is an indication that Castle will retain against all expectations?)
-Video package detailing Jay Lethal’s road to redemption starting with his initial promo where he laid out his plan to defeat everyone who defeated him in the recent past and including clips of his recent victories since then over the likes of Punishment Martinez, Matt Taven, and Mark Briscoe. By my research, the only people left with unavenged victories over him in the past year are Castle, Silas Young, and Chuckie T.[C]
-Video recap of Chuckie T pinning Jay Lethal in a triple threat also including “Switchblade” Jay White at War Of The Worlds on May 9. Lethal got a picture-in-picture promo during his entrance. He sold this as their very first one-on-one match against each other.
(1) JAY LETHAL vs. CHUCKIE T
Cabana talked about this being a classic ROH match of sorts with both competitors following the code of honor and simply out to see who the better man is tonight via a clean matchup. Taylor caught Lethal with a dropkick heading into the break. [C]
Lethal connected with his trio of suicide dives. Taylor came back with Soul Food. They hit dueling back body drops with each man landing on his feet. A double clothesline put them both down. Taylor with some left hand jabs. Lethal missed a dropkick to Taylor on the apron but dropped him with a cutter on the floor. Taylor rolled in at 19 to avoid being counted out. Taylor countered a figure four attempt into an inside cradle for two. Superkick from Lethal for a two-count of his own. “Let’s go Lethal” “Let’s go Chuckie” chants. Taylor hit a snap piledriver but Lethal kicked out at two and a half. Lethal avoided the Awful Waffle and hit Lethal Injection for the win.
WINNER: Jay Lethal in 13:22.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Make that just Castle and Young. When both of those men were holding gold two weeks ago I didn’t think either of those scenarios was likely but now that Silas is no longer the TV champion I suspect he and Lethal will be running into each other again sooner than later. The match itself was good, a solid television match, though I suspect I’m not as invested in Chuck Taylor as a lot of people. I don’t dislike him by any means, I just feel like I don’t know anything about him.)
-Video recap of Bully Ray’s Montana promo from two weeks ago on TV where he pretended to bury the hatchet with Flip Gordon only to kick him between the legs again. [C]
-Kenny King, Flip Gordon, Adam Page, Jay Lethal, The Briscoes, Dalton Castle & The Boys, Cody, and Marty Scurll did a series of quick backstage promos in succession sending final messages to their opponents ahead of Best In The World this Friday.
-The six men made four separate entrances (Martinez, Briscoes, Page, Bucks) for the main event. [C]
(2) ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION PUNISHMENT MARTINEZ & ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE BRISCOES (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) vs. THE HUNG BUCKS (Adam Page, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson)
Nick and Mark started. It didn’t take long for Bullet Club to clear the heels from the ring. The Bucks took out the Briscoes with splashes over the ropes but Martinez cut off a Page moonsault. Martinez hit a step-up cannonball off the ring post onto the Bucks on the floor. The Briscoes threw some steel chairs into the ring while Martinez set up a table at ringside. He laid Matt across the table while the Briscoes attempted Redneck Boogie on Matt through Nick through the table. Matt escaped, however, and Nick went to work on both Briscoes with kicks. Mark threw a chair at Nick’s head behind referee Paul Turner’s back as Turner fought to take a kendo stick away from Martinez. Mark hit a diving elbow on Matt through the table on the floor. [C]
Nick escaped Martinez to make the hot tag to Page. Dropsault on the Briscoes. Martinez no-sold a kick so Page spit on him and clotheslined him to the floor. Page went for his top rope moonsault again and landed it on all three opponents. Martinez took kicks from all three BC men in the corner. Frog-splash, moonsault, running shooting star press combo from BC on Martinez but Mark broke up the pin. Double sharpshooters from Bucks to Briscoes. Martinez grabbed both Bucks by the throat. Buckshot lariat from Page saves them. Page and Matt held up Martinez for Nick’s 450 splash on the ropes. Double clothesline put down Page and Martinez. [C]
Matt and Jay threw hands. Superkick from Matt, death valley driver from Jay. Nick broke up the pin. Doomsday Device on Matt but he landed on his feet. Jay lifted Page onto his shoulders and Martinez came off the top with a spinning heel kick. Mark with a blockbuster from the apron to Nick on the floor. Psycho Driver and a curb stomp from Martinez to Matt but Matt kicked out. Nick threw a chair at Mark’s head behind Turner’s back. Jay complained to the ref but ate a superkick from Matt. Superkick from Page to Martinez. Jay went nuts on all three BC members and took a triple superkick for his effort. Mark caught Nick with a cutter off the springboard, saving Jay from a Meltzer Driver. Jay Driller to Matt but Page broke up the pin! Page and Martinez brawled by the timekeeper’s table. The Briscoes set up Mark for another Doomsday Device but Nick stopped Mark on the apron. Page powerbombed Martinez through the timekeeper’s table. Matt rolled through the Doomsday Device attempt into a victory roll on Jay while Nick intercepted Mark to prevent the save.
WINNERS: The Hung Bucks in 18:13.
-The Briscoes immediately attacked the Bucks after the pinfall and looked for another beat down à la the ending of the May 13 television episode but Cody quickly hit the ring with a steel chair to prevent any such thing.
(Pageot’s Perspective: A very hot match with a very receptive crowd. Definitely a step above our typical 2018 ROH Bullet Club multi-man television main event. There was a real urgency overall with no slow moments and a sense that the teams truly hate each other. It also felt like something was on the line and everyone had something to prove heading into the pay-per-view. The ending with Cody making the save again while, just like on the May 13 episode, Marty Scurll was nowhere to be found seems intriguing but I was also intrigued following that prior episode and it was never really addressed. We’ll see if anything notable comes from this at the PPV on Friday but, with the existence of Being The Elite and All In and the BC’s merch sales, I can’t help but coming away from any Bullet Club in-crew tension feeling like nothing is going to change the status quo and everything is just going to go back to being “fine” in the end.)
-Next week: it’s Cody vs. Titán and Matt Taven vs. Ultimo Guerrero.
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