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ROH TV REPORT
OCTOBER 28, 2018
LAS VEGAS, NV AT ORLEANS CASINO
AIRED ON SINCLAIR AFFILIATES & ROHWRESTLING.COM
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentary: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
Opening theme.
-“SCU!” sounded over the PA and Scorpio Sky entered alone. Hangman Page was similarly without any of his stablemates. Page had a picture-in-picture promo. He asked if Sky could strike gold and beat the hangman.
(1) “HANGMAN” ADAM PAGE vs. SCORPIO SKY
Page no-sold a shoulder tackle and put Sky down with one of his own. Page with a big boot. Page clotheslined Sky to the floor at 2:00 and whipped him into the guardrail. Page lifted Sky into a fireman’s carry, ran with him on his shoulders, and hurled Sky head-first into the ring post. [C]
We returned from break with Sky in the midst of hitting his jumping hurricanrana to Page seated in the corner on the top rope. Guillotine leg drop on the apron. Backbreaker. They traded strikes. Page caught him with a clothesline. Fallaway slam. Running dropkick on Sky in the corner. Bridging German suplex for a two-count. Sky fired up with a double stomp to Page’s back and a fisherman’s buster for a two of his own. Sky avoided Buckshot Lariat and got a roll-up. Rite Of Passage ended things.
WINNER: Adam Page in 11:04.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Solid TV match. It’s just unfortunate that Page hasn’t risen through the ranks as much this year as we anticipated last fall. In fact he hasn’t done anything particularly memorable since his feud with Punishment Martinez abruptly ended four months ago and this certainly didn’t set up anything new going forward. Sky continues to hold the worst singles record of anyone in ROH this year at 0-9 now.)
-The Kingdom were backstage. TK O’Ryan said the Kingdom conspiracy is over. Matt Taven reminded us he’s the real world champion. Vinny Marseglia reasserted that the conspiracy is dead. [C]
-Page was heated up backstage. He wanted a title shot and listed off the six-man titles, traditional tag titles, TV title, or world title as all being possible candidates.
-Video recap of Jeff Cobb capturing the TV title last week.
-Video recap of Eli Isom pinning Shane Taylor in a four-corner survival match also involving Chris Sabin and Flip Gordon one month ago on television.
-Isom offered the code of honor so Taylor spat in his hand.
(2) ELI ISOM vs. SHANE TAYLOR
Isom struck early and dodged Taylor’s blows. Leapfrog. High knee. Taylor blocked a hurricanrana. Isom hit a dropkick. Taylor landed a right hand and a draping stunner with Isom’s feet hanging across the top rope. He hit the patented Big Show frying pan chest slap in the corner. [C]
Taylor with a clothesline. Isom avoided a standing frog-splash. He fired up with some leaping strikes and a running dropkick. Isom impressively lifted the 300-pounder up for a Samoan drop that woke up the crowd. Taylor gouged the eye and hit a knee lift. Sit-out tombstone for the win.
WINNER: Shane Taylor in 6:43.
-Taylor grabbed a steel chair and brought it into the ring. He wrapped it around Isom’s neck. Cheeseburger ran to the ring and unloaded with forearms on Taylor. He looked for the shotei but Taylor hit a right hand and another sit-out tombstone on Burger. Flip Gordon ran out next and speared the chair out of Taylor’s hands. Gordon jabbed Taylor in the stomach with the chair and cracked him across the back three times. He grabbed a microphone from the timekeeper’s table. “Is this what you wanted, Bully? You want me to get extreme? To get hardcore?” Gordon doesn’t care if it’s TLC, ladder match, street fight… He’ll fight Bully Ray anywhere any time.
-Ray walked out onto the stage with mic in hand. He sarcastically said “Wow” and it looked like Gordon was ready for a fight. Ray teased being on board with fighting right now and letting the fans decide the stipulation. He of course then said the fans aren’t getting a TLC match tonight or ever. Gordon’s not getting anything either. Ray’s already beat him and has nothing to prove. Gordon’s a nobody; Ray’s a god. Ray asked if Gordon’s a betting man. He said next week in Philadelphia, in the ECW Arena… Gordon’s best guy vs. Ray’s best guy. If Gordon’s man wins, Gordon can do whatever he wants to Ray including beat him up or fire him. But if Ray’s man wins, Ray can do whatever he wants to Gordon. Gordon said he’s not scared of anyone and accepted. Ray said he’d make it easy and even tell him who his man is. Ray called out Silas Young, who strode onto the stage. Young ran his mouth at Gordon as he and Bully left. Gordon checked on Cheeseburger. [C]
(Pageot’s Perspective: Isom’s slowly getting over with the crowd as the next Cheeseburger, a young underdog rookie who doesn’t back down despite the odds being stacked against him. Bully Ray is undeniably one of the top heels in ROH at this point but it’s still a little disconcerting just how much screen time he gets when there are so many up-and-comers being left off the show. Hell, this is now the sixth episode of TV in a row without a women’s match and that last one back on Sep.16 was only three minutes long. All signs point to Burger being Flip’s representative next week against Silas.)
-Tweets were shown of Cody pointing out he still hasn’t received a one-on-one rematch for the ROH world title since dropping it.
-Kenny King joined the commentary booth for the main event. Riccaboni pointed out that King has beaten Liger, Kushida, and Gresham in singles action this year. [C]
(3) ROH WORLD CHAMPION JAY LETHAL & “THE OCTOPUS” JONATHAN GRESHAM vs. KUSHIDA & JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER
Lethal and Kushida started it off. They tagged out to their partners at 1:30. Gresham looked for a series of pin attempts but Liger got a bow and arrow lock. Tag to Lethal. Blind tag from Gresham. He caught Liger from behind with a German suplex. Lethal and Gresham made frequent tags as they worked over Liger. Tag to Kushida at 5:50. He unloaded with kicks to Gresham’s arm and connected with a springboard back elbow. Roll-ups and reversals back and forth. [C]
Liger with a surfboard to Gresham. Kushida with an armbar to Lethal. Lethal escaped to the floor. Liger got a kimura on Gresham. Miscommunication between Liger and Kushida. Tag to Lethal at 10:00. Lethal Combination on Kushida for two. Kushida blocked a Lethal Injection with a kick to the face and tagged Liger. Gresham came in illegally for an enziguiri. Kushida met him, got knocked to the floor, and took a jumping knee off the apron. Liger countered a figure four from Lethal into a small package for two. Lethal with two kicks and a Lethal Injection on Liger.
WINNERS: Lethal & Gresham in 12:07.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Another fine match that could have been more if it didn’t feel completely like filler. The NJPW guys just show up now and again with no real reason and usually get slotted into tag matches like this where everyone’s a babyface and it doesn’t matter who wins. The only way this match could end up being meaningful down the line is if Lethal & Gresham end up challenging the Briscoes for the tag titles. The champs have beaten every other team in the promotion so it’s not that far-fetched but it also seems like the focus right now is on Lethal as world champ defending against King, Cody, and Taven.)
-Next week: it’s Silas Young vs. an opponent of Flip Gordon’s choosing.
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