SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
ROH TV REPORT
JANUARY 13, 2019
PHILADELPHIA, PA AT 2300 ARENA
AIRED ON SINCLAIR AFFILIATES & ROHWRESTLING.COM
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentary: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Caprice Coleman
Opening theme.
(1) ZACK SABRE JR. vs. “HOT SAUCE” TRACY WILLIAMS
Williams walked back and forth across Sabre’s ankles and snapped on an ankle lock. Sabre rolled out. Sabre caught Williams’ leg on a leapfrog attempt and wrenched in a bow and arrow lock. Williams escaped and the men squared off heading into the break. [C]
Sabre stomped on Williams’ elbow but Williams came right back with a loud chop. Saito suplex from Williams and a death valley driver for two. Sabre rolled through into an ankle lock. Williams grabbed the left arm into an armbar but Sabre escaped. Williams with a Texas cloverleaf and he sat down deep to loud applause. As he attempted to drag Sabre away fom the ropes the movement allowed Sabre to roll out. They traded strikes. Sabre kicked away at Williams’ arms and locked in Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than The Last; The Inexorable March Of Progress Will Lead Us All To Happiness (a double wrist-clutch octopus hold). Williams was forced to submit.
WINNER: Zack Sabre Jr. in 9:07.
-As he exited Sabre spoke to the camera and addressed Jonathan Gresham. He said whatever Gresham can do, he can do better.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Fantastic PPV-quality match. It’s strange to think that this was only Sabre’s second ROH match ever when he’s such a perfect fit for the company. The list of potential dream matches is a long one indeed. This was also Williams’ best showing in ROH by far. Expect to see more of him going forward. He’s another fine addition to the class of 2019.)
-Beer City Bruiser was sitting in a hallway backstage. Silas Young walked past and Bruiser stopped him. Bruiser said they’ve been friends for 18 years. Young said it’s just wrestling and to let it go. Bruiser said they’re booked in a singles match next week but he doesn’t want to fight him. He believes they can fix their friendship. Young said they were never friends and Bruiser doesn’t want to wrestle him because he knows he can’t hang. [C]
-The Briscoes were backstage to brag about being ten-time ROH tag team champions. They mocked SCU for cashing in on their rematch clause and said they’ll put them six feet under.
(2) MADISON RAYNE & DR. BRITT BAKER vs. TWISTED SISTERZ (Holidead & Thunder Rosa)
Holidead and Rayne started. Holidead asked for a test of strength. She powered Rayne down but Rayne came back with a roll-up for two, then a victory roll. Tag to Baker. Rosa grabbed her hair while she ran the ropes. Legdrop from Holidead. Holidead slammed her partner onto Baker. Rosa locked in a chinlock. [C]
Clothesline from Holidead. Superkick from Baker. Tags to Rayne and Rosa. Rayne hit a cutter for two. Tag back to Baker. They whipped Rosa toward the ropes but she baseball slid under to the floor and Holidead jumped them from behind. Rosa with a lungblower to Baker for two. The heels licked Baker’s face and said it was over but she avoided a dropkick from Rosa that took out Holidead. Rolling elbow from Baker into an enziguiri from Rayne and a pumphandle fallaway slam from Baker, who pinned Rosa.
WINNERS: Baker & Rayne in 7:11.
(Pageot’s Perspective: And with that Baker is off to AEW. A very surprising finish as I thought for certain the established team would go over the two singles wrestlers like they did four weeks ago on TV. It’s possible this was the setup for a rubber match before Baker abruptly signed with AEW. We’ll see if and how the Rayne vs. Sisterz rivalry continues based on that development.)
-Kaz and Scorpio Sky made their entrance for the main event without Christopher Daniels. The Briscoes were out second. [C]
With Kaz and Sky in the ring they threw steel chairs at the Briscoes on the floor, who threw them back.
(3) THE BRISCOES (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) vs. SOCAL UNCENSORED (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) – ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Sky started for SCU. The Briscoes tagged in and out repeatedly, keeping Sky stuck in their corner. Sky caught Jay with a high knee at 3:30 and tagged Kaz. He was a house of fire on both brothers. Sky leaped over the top rope and took out both Briscoes on the ramp. [C]
Sky was tossed into the guardrail and Kaz found himself isolated in the ring. Lungblower from Kaz into a slingshot cutter from Sky for a two-count on Jay. Mark dragged Kaz to the floor. Slingshot cutter to Mark. Pop-up tornado DDT to Jay. Jay raked Kaz’s eyes and grabbed a chair but Sky intervened. SCU hit a Rock Bottom + lungblower combo but Mrk pulled referee Todd Sinclair from the ring to prevent the three-count.
Kaz hit a hurricanrana on Mark that sent him into Sinclair and all three men went down. Jay cracked Sky across the back with the chair. Mark gave Kaz one for good measure. Doomsday Device blocked from Sky. Victory roll from Kaz to Jay. The fans counted to five before referee Paul Turner hit the ring and counted two. Jay kicked out. Jay Driller to Sky. Superplex to Kaz and a froggy-bow from Mark but Kaz kicked out. Jay was bleeding from the forehead as the chicken farmers double-teamed Kaz. Redneck Boogie to Kaz ended things.
WINNERS: The Briscoes in 12:54 to retain the tag titles. [C]
(Pageot’s Perspective: And with that SCU are off to AEW. This was a great match but I’m more than ready for the AEW crew to move on to new avenues and to invest ROH TV time to acts that are going to be around for the long haul. Tag Wars returns in a week and a half as part of the Texas Road To G1 Supercard shows with the winners of that tournament earning a title shot at the 17th Anniversary PPV.)
-“The Villain” Marty Scurll made his entrance in trunks and a Villain Enterprises t-shirt, carrying his umbrella. He asked what’s next for him. He said he’s been the top guy in ROH for a while and it’s about time he took the top prize. By winning Survival Of The Fittest he earned the right to a world title match. He made his intentions clear when he confronted Jay Lethal and–
The Kingdom interrupted. Matt Taven reminded Scurll that Lethal is not the world champion, he is. TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia circled the ring. Taven said he’s been waiting for this moment because Scurll doesn’t have any backup anymore. They entered the ring. Scurll said his friends have left but that doesn’t mean he can’t make new ones. The lights went out. When they came back on Brody King stood next to Scurll. The lights went out again. Electricity started to light up the video wall. PCO appeared in the ring and the six men brawled. King hit a piledriver to Marseglia. PCO hit a top rope moonsault onto all three Kingdom members on the floor. The crowd went nuts with a deafening “PCO” chant. Scurll took a mic and welcomed us all to Villain Enterprises.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Man, that would have been such a hot ending to the show if ROH social media hadn’t spoiled this the second it happened. It was still really fun, though, and Scurll should have a blast playing off of PCO and King for the next few months before he too leaves for AEW. There will definitely be a six-man title reign in there but will Scurll take Lethal’s title? That remains the question.)
-Next week: it’s the debut of CMLL star Rush vs. TK O’Ryan and the start of a tournament to crown a new #1 contender to Jeff Cobb’s TV title. First-round matches next week include Beer City Bruiser vs. Silas Young and Eli Isom vs. Façade.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.