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ROH TV REPORT
DECEMBER 23, 2018
AIRED ON SINCLAIR AFFILIATES & ROHWRESTLING.COM
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentary: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Caprice Coleman
Opening theme.
-In a voiceover Ian Riccaboni welcomed us to a year in review edition of ROH. He touted the launch of Honor Club, ROH setting a new personal attendance record with this year’s Supercard Of Honor, and other notable developments from 2018.
Our first match came from Supercard Of Honor on April 7. Excerpts of the match were shown in an abridged form. My full coverage of that match from when it happened was as follows.
(1) CODY (w/Brandi Rhodes & Burnard The Business Bear) vs. “THE CLEANER” KENNY OMEGA
As soon as the bell rang the fans chanted “holy shit!” Everyone was on their feet. They just stared at each other for the first minute and a half. Cody with a shoulder block. Omega with a running boot that sent Cody to the floor. Omega with a dropkick to knock Cody off the apron. Rise Of The Terminator but Burnard tripped Omega as he ran the ropes. A huge dropkick through the ropes took out Burnard and knocked his head off but we couldn’t get a look at who was in the mascot costume. The referee sent the unidentified man to the back. Cody jumped Omega and threw him back in the ring. Cody with a release suplex to Omega. Cody did push-ups while Omega winced on the mat. Cody with a cartwheel and a body shot to Omega in the corner. He set Omega up for his brother’s Shattered Dreams and even did the Goldust chest rub only to stop and give the fans the finger instead. Cody caught a hurricanrana attempt from Omega with a power bomb. Indian deathlock on Omega. Omega made it to the ropes right in front of Brandi, who slapped him. Cody kicked out Omega’s knee and hit a chop block. Brandi threw a foreign object to Cody right in front of the ref. As the ref grabbed it and threw it to ringside, Cody kicked Omega between the legs. As Cody and the ref bickered, Brandi punted Omega in the stomach on the floor. She followed up by walking across Omega’s back but the referee saw it and threatened to send her to the back too.
Cody ran Omega into the guard rail. Body slam on the floor. A fan asked for a too sweet so Cody gave him the finger. Omega tried to fight back but got ran head first into a chair. Cody bickered with some obnoxious fans, stole one of their drinks, took a sip, and spit it on them. The rest of the arena chanted “Cody” in appreciation. Cody and Omega traded blows in the ring. Omega unloaded with chops. Cody pulled out his brother’s drop to the mat uppercut. Omega with a top rope crossbody but Cody rolled through for two. Ax handles from Omega. Moonsault but Cody got his knees up. Jumping frankensteiner took down Cody and sent him to the floor. The Terminator Rises again and a jumping flip over the ropes that took out Cody. Leapfrog bulldog in the ring. Crosslegged brainbuster on Cody. V-Trigger to Cody. Cody escaped the one-winged angel. Dragon Rush to Cody. And a second. Cody blocked a third and hit a Beautiful Disaster kick for two. Omega blocked a CrossRhodes attempt. Jumping knee on Cody in the corner. He lifted Cody up on his shoulders but Cody escaped and turned it into a figure four. Omega struggled in the hold for a long, long time. He eventually rolled over and Cody immediately broke the hold.
Cody hit a dragon-screw leg whip around the second rope. He pulled a table out from under the ring and set it up at the foot of the entrance ramp. Omega was on the apron when Cody looked for a CrossRhodes through the table. Omega fought out. Cody tried for a piledriver instead. Omega fought back again. Omega looked for Dragon Rush and hit it on the apron, avoiding the table. Both men were down on the floor but Omega reached his feet first. With the table set up on its side, Cody dropped Omega ribs first across the sharp side. Cody kicked the ring announcer and time keeper out of their table and cleared it. He threw Omega into the ring again and hit a springboard dropkick. Alabama Slam care of his former tag partner Hardcore Holly. Brandi helped him relocate the second table to the foot of the entrance ramp again. It gave Omega time to recover slightly. They traded chops. Cody caught Omega with a Dragon Rush of his own. Omega came right back with a v-trigger on the ropes. Inverted hurricanrana planted Cody on his head. Brandi climbed on the apron for a distraction. Cody attempted to capitalize, Omega took over, v-trigger attempt, Cody moved, and Brandi was v-triggered off the apron and through the table on the floor.
Omega checked on Brandi in despair at the accident. Cody took advantage to hit CrossRhodes. Omega kicked out at two and three-quarters. Flip Gordon came out to help carry Brandi to the back. (He’s just a good guy, okay? That’s all. He helped Cheeseburger too! It doesn’t mean anything.) Cody and Omega wound up on the top rope with Omega taking a standing superplex. “This is awesome” chant. Cody took off his belt and whipped Omega with it. Cody with a top rope moonsault but Omega moved. Omega fired up in the corner. V-Trigger point blank. And another. Finger guns but Cody shoved the referee in Omega’s path. Cody went for an eye rake but Omega blocked. Third v-trigger and a running fourth. Cody kicked out just before three. V-trigger again with Cody in the ropes. Cody up for one-winged angel but he countered into a vertebreaker for two. Cody did a throat slash and looked for CrossRhodes again. Omega countered and referee Paul Turner got sandwiched in the corner and went down. Both men ran the ropes and went for a crossbody at the same time. Cody and Omega collided in the air and all three men were down.
The Young Bucks made their way down to the ring with a Being The Elite camera man following behind. They entered the ring and talked quietly to each other before looking at Cody and Omega. They sized up both men for superkicks. They decided to go after Cody but he ducked and Matt and Nick took out Omega by accident. Cody with CrossRhodes while they watched in anguish. The referee slowly came to and groggily counted one… two… three.
WINNER: Cody in 37:15. [C]
(Pageot’s Perspective: Too little was shown of that to really convey anything if you didn’t see it originally. Rather it was just a nod to one of the biggest matches in ROH this year and some big superstars on the biggest ROH stage to date.)
-A video package traced the history of the ROH World Television Championship this year with Silas Young and Kenny King trading it back and forth before Punishment Martinez captured the gold. Our second match came from October 21 television and aired again here in its entirety. My original coverage follows.
(2) PUNISHMENT MARTINEZ vs. JEFF COBB – ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP
They went face to face. Martinez with a thunderclap. Cobb with a shoulder tackle. Martinez with a clothesline but Cobb no-sold. Martinez with the Silencer. He looked for a second but Cobb flipped him. Clothesline. Tour Of The Islands.
WINNER: Jeff Cobb in 1:27 to capture the TV title. [C]
(Pageot’s Perspective: Nice one to include here since the undefeated Cobb had the best record in ROH this year and him squashing a current NXT star is still pretty funny.)
-Our third match came from Survival Of The Fittest on November 4. Roughly the last third of the match aired in full. Original coverage presented here.
(3a) THE ELITE (Cody, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson) vs. THE KINGDOM (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia, & TK O’Ryan) – ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Marseglia and Nick started. Paul Turner was the referee inside the ring while Todd Sinclair was at ringside. The Elite hit a flurry of signature offense in the early minutes. Cody with a delayed vertical suplex to Marseglia. Taven tagged in and renewed his long feud with Cody. The Kingdom isolated Cody and double-teamed him while both referees were busy on the other side of the ring. They ran him into the guardrail. The Kingdom continued to tag in and out as they worked over Cody. Hot tag to Matt at 8:30. Triple sharpshooters to all three Kingdom members at 10:50. Sinclair got taken out by a stray kick at ringside. CrossRhodes to Marseglia. Taven looked for a springboard kick on Cody but he ducked and Turner went down too. CrossRhodes to Taven. O’Ryan with a baseball bat to The Elite. “You suck” chant. Rockstar Supernova to Cody. A short referee in a baseball cap ran out and counted two before stopping. Brandi Rhodes pulled off her hat and gave Taven the finger. They cornered her but The Elite returned and Cody hit CrossRhodes on O’Ryan. Brandi counted three and called for the bell. After a pause it rang and Cody’s music hit.
WINNERS: The Elite in 14:13 to retain the six-man titles?
-Turner, Sinclair, and the ring announcer consulted. The music cut out. As they huddled in the corner Taven went after Cody and Brandi was knocked down in the process. The real referees clarified that Brandi was not a legal official so the match must be restarted.
(3b) THE ELITE (Cody, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson w/Brandi Rhodes) vs. THE KINGDOM (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia, & TK O’Ryan) – ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Cody lifted Brandi to carry her out of the ring but Taven hit Climax on him with his wife in his arms. The Kingdom cleared Cody and Nick and hit House Of A Thousand Horses on Matt for the win.
WINNERS: The Kingdom in 14:47 to capture the six-man titles. [C]
(Pageot’s Perspective: Love them or hate them, The Kingdom were a big focal point of ROH this year and Taven is sure to be one of the top main event names in 2019 so them getting a win over the much-beloved Elite made this a prime candidate for replaying. It also provides some background for The Kingdom’s first 2019 feud if ROH’s own leaked January TV spoilers are to be believed.)
-Up next it was the world title match from July 22 TV. We opened with Taven getting a table from under the ring. My initial coverage from that episode is thus.
(4) DALTON CASTLE (w/The Boys) vs. “THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE” CODY (w/Brandi Rhodes & Burnard The Business Bear) vs. JAY LETHAL vs. ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPION MATT TAVEN – ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Taven and Castle fought at ringside while Lethal chopped Cody in the ring. Lethal took out Cody and Taven entered. Taven got rid of Lethal, then got dumped by Cody. Castle went after Cody and clotheslined him to the floor. Castle peacocked in the center of the ring. Lethal wound up in the ring alone. Suicide dive to Castle and The Boys, then Taven, then Cody, then Castle and The Boys again, then Taven again, and finally Burnard. Brandi threw the ring of honor to Cody. As the ref took it away Cody kicked Lethal between the legs, then Taven. Cody and Castle threw hands. Castle pummeled Cody down and body slammed Lethal. American deathlock from Cody to Castle. Lethal wanted to break it up with his top rope elbow drop but Taven shoved him off and hit a top rope frog splash onto Cody and Castle instead.
Lethal with a DDT + flatliner combo to Cody and Castle. Lethal dragged Castle into the center of the ring and went up top. Castle got a foot up to try to block Hail To The King but Lethal grabbed his leg and locked in the figure four instead. Cody pulled Lethal off and looked for CrossRhodes but Lethal avoided it. Taven returned, only to eat 20-30 chops from Lethal. Just The Tip of the knee from Taven to Lethal but Castle made the save. Lethal tweaked his knee and went down. As referee Todd Sinclair was checking on Lethal Taven got a roll-up on Castle for a visual eight-count. Taven flipped out on Sinclair and Cody hit CrossRhodes on Taven but Taven kicked out! Cody with a disaster kick but Taven with The Climax on Castle. Cody broke up the pin. Cody and Taven battled mid-ring and Lethal hit a Lethal Injection on both men at the same time. Another cutter to Castle and a Lethal Injection! One… two… and Taven pulled Sinclair from the ring! Brandi responded by angrily slapping Taven, even though she should be happy that he just kept the match from ending.
Cody was carrying a steel chair around the ring when Lethal crashed into him with a suicide dive that took out Lethal. Taven flew over the ropes and crashed down onto Cody. Taven pulled a table out from under the ring. He set it up in the ring and told Cody that he’s going to end things between them once and for all. He set up Cody for a superplex through the table but Castle turned it into a tower of doom that put Cody and Taven through the table. Lethal covered Taven but Taven grabbed the bottom rope with his right hand. Sinclair struggled to get the broken table out of the ring with help from stagehands. With Cody and Taven dead at ringside Castle and Lethal threw hands. Castle avoided Lethal Injection, Lethal avoided Bang-a-rang, roll-up, kick out, Lethal Injection!
WINNER: Jay Lethal in 17:19 to capture the ROH world title.
-Streamers flew as Riccaboni and Cabana flipped out on commentary. Lethal started to cry as Sinclair handed him the world title and raised his hand. Ring announcer Bobby Cruise belted out “and newwww” as the fans chanted “Lethal, Lethal.” Lethal’s music cut out as Castle found his feet and stared at the new champion. Lethal laid the belt down between them and held out his hand. Castle shook. [C]
(Pageot’s Perspective: You obviously can’t do a year in review show without showing how the current world champion won the belt. This was also the origin story of Taven’s real world title, although that portion of the match wasn’t shown this time.)
-Our final match came from Best In The World on June 29. It aired nearly in its entirety including full entrances. My live coverage from that show was the following.
(5) THE BRISCOES (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) – ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Mark and Nick started things off. Jay cut Nick off with a back elbow that brought Matt into the ring too. [C]
The brothers went head to head and threw hands. Double superkicks to the Briscoes. Split-leg dropkick from Nick to the Briscoes. Redneck Boogie got a two-count on Matt. Dueling “man up / Young Bucks” chants. The commentators explained it as the Briscoes living less than an hour away. Matt tried to make a tag to Nick. Jay held Matt on the floor but he escaped, leaving Mark crashing into his brother with a dropkick through the ropes. Tag to Nick. Corkscrew flip off the top rope onto both Briscoes on the floor. Nick went to town on both Briscoes. Stereo suicide dives from the Bucks. “The Elite” chant from the crowd. High knee from Nick to Jay in the corner. Mark grabbed him into a rear naked choke but the referee made him break the hold as Jay was still the legal man. Mark with a blockbuster off the apron to Matt at ringside. Froggy-bow from Mark to Nick for two. The Briscoes looked for Redneck Boogie from the second rope but Matt pulled away from Jay and Nick hit a hurricanrana on Mark. Tag to Matt. Clotheslines on Mark. Jay with a death valley driver. Jay stomped away at Matt and channeled his inner Bayley, yelling “You boys ain’t shit!” at Nick on the apron. The teams traded stereo superkicks. Jay Driller to Matt but Nick broke up the pin at two and three-quarters. [C]
The Bucks with a springboard Doomsday Device to Jay at 13:25 but Jay kicked out. More Bang For Your Buck on Jay but Mark hit a top rope elbow drop on referee Paul Turner. It was questionable whether he was aiming for Matt and missed or whether he hit Turner on purpose. Mark swung a steel chair at the Bucks but they avoided and superkicked Mark. Meltzer Driver to Jay but it was a slow count due to Turner being hurt and Mark broke up the pin. Mark threw a chair at Nick’s head on the apron. Jay Driller to Matt on the steel chair. Another slow count from Turner and Matt kicked out! Cabana said it was essentially a four-count due to Turner’s slow pace. The Briscoes looked for Redneck Boogie from the second rope again and landed it. Mark pinned Matt as Jay prevented Nick from getting back into the ring.
WINNERS: The Briscoes in 17:02 to retain the tag titles.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Another fine choice, spotlighting current champions looking strong with a decisive victory over the most popular act in the company this year. All four current champions were highlighted on this episode and the fifth will get her time next week.)
-Next week: it’s a look back at Women Of Honor in 2018.
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