SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
ROH TV REPORT
SEPTEMBER 1, 2019
TORONTO, ON AT MAPLE LEAF GARDENS
AIRED ON FITE.TV
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Hosts: Ian Riccaboni, Quinn McKay
Opening theme.
-Recap of Matt Taven pinning Alex Shelley to retain the world title at Summer Supercard on August 9. Post-match he listed off everyone he’s beat since winning the title and was interrupted by Rush. They had a stare-down.
-I.Q. (Ian & Quinn) checked in from their usual spot and discussed the Rush-Taven development.
-Brief highlights aired of Rush vs. Dalton Castle in a no disqualification match at Summer Supercard. Rush no-sold some garbage can shots to the head and pinned Castle following a German suplex and The Bull’s Horns. 2:10 aired of the 15:22 match.
-In some first-run footage McKay was backstage at Summer Supercard and asked Jonathan Gresham his thoughts on his tag match ahead of the match. He told her to go and talk to Jay Lethal. [C]
-She went and talked to Lethal. Lethal said Gresham is worried because of what was at stake in their match. Neither of them have been tag champion in ROH and that’s where their tunnel vision is focused on. Lethal promised that he and Gresham would be our next tag team chapions.
-Riccaboni & McKay discussed the 2019 Top Prospect tournament briefly.
-A short vignette played on Dante Caballero. He looked out at the ocean and talked about being from Puerto Rico.
-A short vignette played on Joe Keys. He stood in front of a large fan with his long blonde hair blowing in the breeze. He also posed, flexed, and bossed around an assistant. (I dubbed him Bootleg Tyler Breeze the first time I saw him and this only accentuated that.)
-Highlights aired of Caballero vs. Keys in a first-round match of the Top Prospect tournament. Caballero countered a superplex and made Keys tap to a crossface. He faces Austin Gunn in the semi-finals.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Even this match wasn’t original content as ROH posted both this one and Brian Johnson vs. Austin Gunn on their YouTube channel last week.)
-Recap of The Bouncers pinning Coast 2 Coast in a three-way that also involved Soldiers Of Savagery at Manhattan Mayhem on July 20. Post-match TK O’Ryan and Vincent Marseglia of The Kingdom attacked The Bouncers with steel chairs and Marseglia put out a lit cigar on Bruiser’s chest.
-At Summer Supercard The Bouncers watched The Kingdom lose to Villain Enterprises in a tag match. Post-match The Bouncers hopped the guardrail and they and The Kingdom brawled until security separated them.
-In first-run footage cameras caught up to The Bouncers backstage. They were fired up and said they’ll fight them anywhere, any time. Milonas vowed that they’d be standing tall and drinking tall ones.
-Marseglia was elsewhere backstage. He said the stuff The Bouncers have been doing is the stuff he likes. All they wanted to do was have fun and drink beer. Now he’s bringing something different out of them. Let’s have fun. [C]
(Pageot’s Perspective: “The Fiend” Vincent Marseglia.)
-Riccaboni and McKay recapped the growing tension between Lethal and Gresham.
-Highlights aired of the CMLL trios tag from Summer Supercard. Caristico, Stuka Jr., & Soberano Jr. defeated Hechicero, Templario, & Bárbaro Cavernario when Cavernario tapped to an armbar from Caristico. [C]
-Our TV main event was more footage from Summer Supercard when Lethal & Gresham faced Mark Haskins & Bandido. My original report from live in the arena was as follows…
(1) LIFEBLOOD (Mark Haskins & Bandido) vs. JAY LETHAL & JONATHAN GRESHAM
Gresham has been cheating lately, beating Young with a low blow at Best In The World and hitting Kenny King with a shoe on July 21 TV. Big brother Lethal did not approve of these tactics. [C]
Sure enough, Gresham used some more questionable tactics here. [C]
First he low-bridged Bandido as he ran the ropes, causing the luchador to fall to the floor. Gresham then ran him into the guardrail and the apron repeatedly. When he grabbed a steel chair Lethal got involved. The partners bickered and Lethal was knocked down in the process.
A short while later Gresham & Lethal looked for the Keller Cutter on Haskins but Haskins caught Gresham and nailed him with a death valley driver. Lethal with a figure four to Haskins but Bandido broke it up by powerbombing Gresham onto Lethal. Bandido would end up catching Lethal with a 21plex and Haskins flowed it instantly into a sharpshooter. With Gresham out of action on the floor Lethal was forced to tap.
WINNERS: Lifeblood in 19:43.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Depending on your tastes, this and the ladder war main event were a toss-up for match of the night. This was a classic ROH match, the kind of wrestling the company should be centering its identity around, and the crowd uniformly loved it. Everyone was engaged and on board throughout.)
-ROH World Champion Matt Taven was backstage (apparently the only place ROH cameras are able to film). He again listed off everyone he’s succesfully defended the world title against. He addressed Rush and reminded American audiences that Rush is the reason Taven lost his long hair. “It’s your fault I look like this!” he cried, pointing to his short mohawk. (As if he couldn’t have grown his hair back out in the eleven and a half months since that luchas de aspuestas match took place at the CMLL 85th Anniversary Show last September.) He said Rush’s name would be the next name on his list and the most joyous one of them all.
(Pageot’s Perspective: There is literally nothing to say about ROH television anymore. It takes me longer to cite and annotate the various clips they play than it does to actually type up what new content exists. This week that was limited to the backstage stuff with Lethal, Gresham, The Bouncers, Marseglia, and Taven and the two top prospect vignettes. That’s maybe 4-5 minutes total? Everything else already aired uncut and commercial-free on Honor Club or YouTube. This new format is nothing but an hour-long ad for Honor Club each week with ROH essentially telling you that you’re an idiot if you waste your time watching this instead of subscribing to their network.)
-Next week: it’s the champions vs. all-stars eight-man tag from Saturday Night At Center Stage.
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