SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
ROH TV REPORT
AUGUST 4, 2019
NEW YORK, NY AT HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM
AIRED ON ROHWRESTLING.COM
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Hosts: Ian Riccaboni, Quinn McKay
Opening theme.
-ROH World Champion Matt Taven made his entrance wearing a Boston Red Sox jersey to loud boos. Taven said the last time he was in New York City was the greatest time of his life because all the melvins got to see him to take home the world title. He bragged about throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park earlier this week. Taven said his long feud with Lethal comes to an end tonight. Tonight he’ll prove to all the haters that he’s the ROH world champion and he’s better than Lethal.
Kenny King interrupted. He said he wanted to say what everybody was thinking. “That’s a lame ass jersey on a lame ass person.” He told the fans to shut up because the Yankees suck too. King didn’t care that Taven beat Lethal and Scurll because last time they were in NYC he beat Jushin Thunder Liger and The Great Muta (in a battle royal). He said this is the new ROH and they want to do some live and unpredictable shit. He told Taven to add him to tonight’s title match. (King is owed a world title match due to winning the Honor Rumble at G1 Supercard.) He threatened to send Taven to a hospital bed next to David Ortiz. Taven ran down the list of challengers he’s already beaten and said he’d be happy to add King to the match. King was pleased and peaced out.
Lethal stormed the ring. He got in Taven’s face about accepting the stipulation without conferring with him first. They came to blows until security and referees separated them. Taven left and Lethal paced around, frustrated at losing his singles match and being thrown into a new situation that he didn’t have time to plan for.
(Pageot’s Perspective: This is the first episode of television in the new era where ROH will be streaming (most of) their TV tapings live on Honor Club, then delivering that footage in a more clipped form again later as a sort of “best of” compilation on weekly TV. This segment cut out the wrestlers’ full entrances and some local New York barbs from Taven. For repeat segments like this one and the main event I’ll simply be copying and pasting my coverage from my original Manhattan Mayhem live report.)
-Riccaboni was joined by backstage interviewer Quinn McKay. They acknowledged the new approach to weekly TV.
-The same Jay Lethal promo from Manhattan Mayhem and last week’s TV played again. He spoke about wrestling in Madison Square Garden at G1 Supercard. He said he doesn’t care what the ROH title means to other people, he knows what it means to him, and he could not leave New York City without the world title.
-Taven was backstage, ranting to the camera as he tends to do. People want to dump on him being champion but the list of people he’s defended successfully against is already a long one and tonight he’d add two more names. [C]
-Video package on the tag title feud between The Briscoes and Guerrillas Of Destiny.
-The finish to their street fight at Manhattan Mayhem aired. Mark pinned Tama Tonga after hitting a froggy-bow off the top of a ladder to Tonga, who was perched on Jay’s shoulders, and through a table. The Briscoes became 11-time ROH tag team champions in the process.
-Footage aired from Mass Hysteria of The Briscoes and The Bouncers sharing the toast of honor (after the Briscoes retained the tag titles over the Bouncers). The Briscoes were then jumped by Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa and busted open. Jay’s bloody forehead was blurred out. G.O.D. were incensed that the Briscoes had used a ladder to win their street fight.
-In first-run footage cameras caught up with G.O.D. in a locker room. Loa said they write the story. Tonga said God giveth and God taketh. He swore a bunch and told them to man up.
-McKay and Riccaboni acknowledged that the two teams will meet in the tenth Ladder War this Friday at Summer Supercard. [C]
-Video package on the Rush-Dalton Castle feud. At Manhattan Mayhem Rush fist-bumped fans in the front row, including one in a Rush mask. The “fan” jumped the guardrail and pummeled away at him, throwing him into the guardrail and ring post before hitting The Bull’s Horns on Rush in the ring. Dalton Castle unmasked.
-In first-run footage McKay was backstage with Castle. She asked if deceit is the best way to go about revenge. He doesn’t believe in karma and he’s not afraid of Rush. Castle was giddy and shimmying.
-Footage aired of Rush vs. Castle in singles action at Mass Hysteria the next night in Lowell, Massachussetts. We got their full entrances and then immediately cut to the last 20 seconds of the match. Rush slid a steel chair into the ring. Castle grabbed it and swung but Rush ducked. The ref allowed things to continue. Castle low blowed Rush and the ref called for the disqualification. Castle threw the chair at Rush’s head, then hit his left shoulder over and over.
-In first-run footage Rush flipped over a table backstage. Rush acknowledged that they’ll be facing off again in a No DQ match at Summer Supercard. He said nothing happens unless he lets it happen. [C]
-Highlights aired from a YouTube-exclusive four-corner survival proving ground match between Silas Young, Josh Woods, Tracy Williams, and ROH World Television Champion Shane Taylor. Woods low blowed Young (in response to developments on last week’s TV) and Williams hit a piledriver, pinning Young to earn a TV title match against Taylor at Summer Supercard. Post-match he offered a handshake but Taylor spit in his hand instead.
-In first-run footage it was McKay’s turn to be backstage with Williams now. He came to ROH to prove he’s the best technical wrestler in the world. Holding up the TV title felt empty because he hadn’t actually won it yet. In Toronto he will, in front of his family.
-Cut to: first-run footage of McKay backstage with Taylor. He called Lifeblood a crock. ROH is his company and Williams will let down his family when Taylor knocks him out.
-In first-run footage Silas Young was outside a venue, waiting for Josh Woods. He said Woods isn’t so stupid after all. He congratulated him on learning one lesson but said he would have actually won the match after the low blow, unlike Williams. [C]
-Alex Shelley joined Riccaboni and Colt Cabana on commentary for the world title match. Cabana complimented him on his new look. Shelley looked and talked with a shade of Keanu Reeves to him. He will challenge the winner for the world title at Summer Supercard on August 9 in Toronto. [C]
(1) MATT TAVEN vs. JAY LETHAL vs. KENNY KING – ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Taven powdered to ringside to let Lethal and King go at it. Taven pulled Lethal out and they went at each other until a corkscrew tornado from King took out both of them. King went to work on Lethal in the ring. Taven returned and took over control on Lethal. Taven and King wrestled for a bit while Lethal sold at ringside. [C]
All three men threw hands. All three were down on the mat at 10:00. Taven with a suicide dive to both men at once. He jumped and dove over the ropes onto King but turned around into a suicide dive from Lethal. A second to King. A third to King. Hail To The King elbow drop blocked by King’s boot. Lethal with the figure four instead. Taven with a frog-splash to break it up. Taven with the figure four to King. Lethal with the elbow drop. Taven rolled over to avoid it but reversed the pressure, putting himself in figure four peril instead. Lethal locked on a crossface. King broke it up. Chinchecker from King to Lethal and a springboard kick from Taven. Springboard double blockbuster from King to both men. Taven countered the Royal Flush into a small package. Just The Tip (of the knee) to King. Lethal Injection to Taven at 15:00! The fans came to their feet but Taven kicked out. Dueling “Let’s go Lethal! / Let’s go Taven!” chants. Lethal Injection from King to Lethal! Royal Flush! Climax from Taven to King. Taven steals the pin on Lethal.
WINNER: Matt Taven in 16:04 to retain the world title.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Taven’s title reign is starting to gain some real steam, especially with the shenanigan-free victories. Taven-Shelley main eventing in Toronto might seem a bit weak on paper but maybe they’ll surprise us. This match was a blast from the ten-minute mark on. Lethal is officially out of the title picture now. Time for him and Gresham to make a serious foray toward the tag belts? I suspect King’s not far from the title picture, though. He can once again argue about having the match won before Taven stole the pin and you know he won’t rest until he gets another shot at the belt.)
-A slideshow of graphics ran down the Summer Supercard lineup to close the episode.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Oof. If you thought ROH television was bad before they found a way to make it even worse. If you’re an Honor Club subscriber who watched Manhattan Mayhem live there was no reason to watch this. The only new footage was McKay hosting some paint by number backstage promos and they alley interaction between Young and Woods. If you’re not an Honor Club subscriber there’s also no reason to watch this. You got one match with about eight minutes from the beginning cut out and everything else shown in such a short, cut-up manner that it accomplished nothing. Just video package after video package, entrances and finishes. Four matches were supposedly recorded in Manhattan but did not air as part of the live Mayhem stream. One was presumably the YouTube TV title four-way. The other three will hopefully be airing on TV over the next few weeks, otherwise I don’t know if there will even be any reason for me to do these weekly reports anymore.)
-Next week: it’s Lifeblood vs. Villain Enterprises in an eight-man tag.
If this is the new format for the show, I will not be watching. Who wants to watch a clip show?
What in the world is the management of ROH thinking? If ROH wants to succeed, it needs to get away from being “Runts of Honor” and get some men who can crank up the violence. They have some (Jeff Cobb, Brodie King, PCO, Shane Taylor, Bully Ray) and some slightly smaller guys who are great like Lethal and Silas. But I just can’t buy things like Lifeblood and Shinola Shadow Squad. Women of Honor is great and we need more of that, as I especially enjoy seeing women with different body types who would never get a second look from Vince.