11/29 RING OF HONOR TV REPORT: EC3 vs. Jay Lethal, Rok-C vs. Gia Scott for the ROH Women’s Championship, more

RING OF HONOR TV (EPISODE #532)
NOVEMBER 29, 2021
AIRED ON SINCLAIR SYNDICATED TV & ROHWRESTLING.COM
REPORT BY CHRISTOPHER MAITLAND

Host: Quinn McKay

Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Ring Announcer: Bobby Cruise

– The opening theme aired. Quinn McKay welcomes everyone to this week’s show. This week’s episode features a main event Jay Lethal vs EC3. The ROH Women’s Title is on the line when Rok-C defends against Gia Scott and the Briscoes will wrestle Danhausen and PCO.

(1) THE BRISCOES vs DANHAUSEN & PCO

Ian welcomes everyone to the show. Danhausen comes out first followed by PCO. The Briscoes come out next.

Code of honor not adhered to. Danhausen and Mark start. Mark grabs Danhausen’s jar of teeth but Danhausen takes it awat. Mark punches Danhausen and takes control. Danhausen tags PCO. PCO and Danhausen trade chops and then hug. PCO clotheslines Mark but Danhausen tags him from behind. Danhausen goes for the JayDriller but Mark gets out. Mark runs the ropes, tags Jay. Jay misses a clothesline and Danhausen yells at PCO. Jay takes advantage and hits Danhausen with a back elbow. (c)

During the break, Danhausen hit a German suplex on Mark after Mark hit a vertical suplex on him. Jay has Danhausen in a camel clutch but Danhausen reaches the ropes. Jay continues to work over Danhausen. Jay charges Danhausen but misses and gets hit with a German suplex. Jay tags Mark as Danhausen tags PCO. PCO hits Jay and Mark with double axe handles. PCO hits Jay with a stungun and a boot. Mark attacks PCO but can’t knock him down. PCO malfunctions and goes outside and asks Mark for a tag. Mark goes after Danhausen who leaves the ring apron. The Briscoes attack PCO but he hits a double clothesline. PCO staggers into the corner and Danhausen tags in. Danhausen pours teeth into Mark’s mouth and follows with a kick. Danhausen goes for the choke slam but Mark blocks it. PCO comes in and helps him. PCO and Danhausen argue over who hit the choke slam. PCO shoves Danhausen and leaves the ring. Sledge comes out and gets into a fight with PCO. They fight over the barricade. The Briscoes hit Danhausen with a double hip toss. Jay hits the Jay Driller and Mark gets the victory. (c)

WINNER: The Briscoes at 8:54

A replay is shown of the finish. Jay helps put the teeth in Mark’s mouth and Mark smiles.

(Maitland’s Thoughts: The match was a vehicle to give the Briscoes another victory heading into Final Battle. They faced a team that had dissension throughout so the result was not a surprise. That is probably Danhausen’s last match in ROH due to his injury though I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Sledge vs PCO match appear on one of the last episodes of the year.)

Matt Taven mentions his first match in 2009 and he couldn’t believe he was sharing a locker room with so many people he thought highly of. He knew then that he wanted to be in Ring of Honor forever. Mike Bennett says with death comes rebirth and this won’t be the last time you hear the name Ring of Honor. (c)

(Maitland’s Thoughts: This promo marks the first mention on television of the reimagined Ring of Honor to come and that Final Battle is being called An End of an Era.)

Maria Kanellis Bennett says that this Final Battle means hope and that her first stint in Ring of Honor gave her belief in professional wrestling again. She says she has that feeling again as everyone looks to help each other on the road to Final Battle. She believes the spirit of Ring of Honor will never die.

(Maitland’s Thoughts: I guess we are going to see a lot of these promos on TV for the next couple of weeks. These promos are good and sad but it might be better to do promos for the matches that will take place on Final Battle.)

(2) ROK-C (c) vs GIA SCOTT – ROH Women’s Championship

Quinn McKay is on commentary. Gia Scott comes out first In a pre match promo, Scott says she should have been in the tournament and the champion. She said she has been vocal about that. She says she is going to show Maria that she is the best and she will not be overlooked. Rok-C comes out next and in a pre match promo, says she is aware that she has a target on her back as the champion. She says that as the champion she is the best. Rok-C will defend the title anywhere and anytime. She is not underestimating Scott so she really hopes Scott is not underestimating her and that she will defend the title with honor.

(Maitland’s Thoughts: Gia Scott getting a title shot based on harassing Maria Kanellis Bennett after having six wrestlers wrestle for a title shot is nonsensical especially for someone who hasn’t won a singles match in ROH. Rok-C seems very nervous during her promo.)

Bobby Cruise introduces both wrestlers. Code of honor adhered to. They start with a lock up and Scott overpowers Rok-C. Scott mocks Rok-C about her size. Rok-C gets control through a wrist lock but Scott counters. Rok-C uses a head scissors into a bridge to escape and get a two count. Scott and Rok-C trade pinning predicaments. Rok-C gets a head lock but Scott pushes her off. They run the rope and Scott takes Rok-C down with a shoulder charge. She talks trash to Rok-C and takes Scott down with a sing leg takedown. Rok-C rolls through and curtsies. Rok-C counters Scott for a roll up for a two count. Scott goes outside. Rok-C holds the ropes for Scott. Scott returns to the ring and extends her hand for a left handed handshake. Scott goes for a clothesline but Rok-C ducks and controls Scott’s arm. Rok-C gets on the top rope but Scott breaks out and hits Rok-C with a shoulder tackle for a two count. (c)

Scott throws Rok-C into the corner. Scott Irish Whips Rok-C into the corner repeatedly. Scott hits a side Russian Leg Sweep for a two count. Scott attempts to Irish Whip Rok-C but Rok-C blocks her. Rok-C blocks again and hits a choke. Scott powers out and breaks the hold by shoving Rok-C into the corner. Rok-C hits Scott with a back elbow followed by a boot. Rok-C follows up with a Thesz Press and punches. Rok- C counters a hip toss into an arm drag and hits the Rok Knees for a two count. Rok-C applies the crossface and rolls Scott through for a two count. Rok-C rolls up Scott for another two count. Scott hits a spear for a two count. Scott charges Rok-C and gets hit with a knee to the face. Rok-C applies the crossface again for the submission victory.

WINNER: Leon at 9:06

Rok-C celebrates in the ring after her victory.

(Maitland’s Thoughts: This match was fine but from a storyline perspective would have made more sense as a non-title match. No one thought Gia Scott would win but there could have been an argument that she would have moved up the rankings with a victory and been in line for a title shot down the road.)

Shane Taylor says in 2007 he was sitting on his couch watching TV and he saw Ring of Honor wrestling. The very first people he saw was the Briscoes. From that point on, the dream of becoming a professional wrestler was real. He found out what Ring of Honor was and knew this is where he wanted to be. (c)

(Maitland’s Thoughts: Another good promo but it wouldn’t hurt to mention Taylor’s match with Kenny King. The selling point of Final Battle is mostly about the End of an Era than any particular match. It worked on me since I am going but other people might want to know what matches will be on the show.)

Josh Woods says Ring of Honor has been his home since 2017. He says he can’t compare the Josh Woods of 2017 to the Josh Woods of 2021. He found out who he was and Ring of Honor gave him the avenue to express who he was. He says Ring of Honor made him a star and he thanks them for the last four years.

(Maitland’s Thoughts: Josh Woods will defend his Pure Title against Brian Johnson at Final Battle. I agree that Ring of Honor has given Johnson a good opportunity to showcase his ability and I am interested to see where he goes in the future.)

(3) JAY LETHAL vs EC3

EC3 comes out first. An EC3 promo airs and he says all of our leaders have failed us. He says we deserve more. He said he heard Lethal’ s speech at Death Before Dishonor and it is a cliché. EC3 says they need to move forward into the future. He says Lethal has worked so hard but he is so tired. EC3 says Lethal has done this for so long and this company needs a new idea. EC3 says we will see if Lethal is the leader he says he is and that Lethal has been warned. Jay Lethal comes out next without the Foundation. In a pre-match promo, Brian Zane asks Jay Lethal about how he feels about his match. Lethal laughs nervously and says he hasn’t heard from the Foundation in a few days and asks Zane if they returned his calls or texts. He says he gets why they are hurt and in this world it is hard to trust people. He says the only way to fix this is to find the footage. Zane asks Lethal again about his match and Lethal says I don’t know and walks off.

(Maitland’s Thoughts: The commentary of this match shows that it was originally supposed to air the week after the Foundation wrestled the Righteous. Clearly this match was changed due to Lethal signing with AEW. The Foundation appeared on Glory by Honor and Week by Week without Lethal. It is ironic that the Foundation questions his loyalty with him now wrestling in another company.)

Code of honor adhered to. Match starts with a collar and elbow tie up. Lethal gets control of EC3’s wrist. EC3 breaks out and they trade wrist locks. EC3 hits a shoulder charge and sends Lethal to the outside. (c)

Lethal regroups on the outside. EC3 yells that our leaders fail us. EC3 golds the ropes for Lethal to get back in the ring. Lethal gets in slowly but hits a drop kick sending EC3 to the outside. Lethal dives on EC3 and follows up with punches. Lethal rams EC3 into the ring and throws him into the barricade. Lethal chops EC3 and throws him back in. Lethal charges EC3 but EC3 responds with a clothesline and throws Lethal into the corner. EC3 asks if the Foundation is watching and puts Lethal in a headlock. Lethal elbows to break the hold but EC3 hits a Thesz Press followed with punches. EC3 boots Lethal and stomps on his arm. EC3 hits a suplex for a two count. Lethal fights back with punches but EC3 throws Lethal into the corner again sending Lethal to the outside. EC3 yells there is no fight in Lethal. Lethal gets back in the ring and attacks EC3. Lethal and EC3 collide after a double cross body. EC3 hits Lethal with several shoulder charges in the corner. (c)

EC3 chops Lethal. EC3 knows what it feels like to be a failure but what separates him is he has gotten control. Lethal punches EC3. EC3 maintains control and clotheslines Lethal in the corner. EC3 puts Lethal on the top rope and goes for a superplex. Lethal fights out and shoves EC3 to the floor, falling over in the process. A replay is shown. Lethal and EC3 return to the ring. EC3 and Lethal trade strikes. Lethal hits a series of clotheslines. Lethal gets EC3 on his shoulders. EC3 gets down but Lethal hits the Lethal Combination. Lethal goes to the top rope and hits an elbow drop after being encouraged by EC3. EC3 catches Lethal’s leg on a superkick and rolls him up for a two count.EC# hits a DDT for a two count. EC3 yells at Lethal, puts him on his shoulders but Lethal gets out and hits an Ace Crusher. A video airs of Lethal saying he didn’t like the Foundation when Lethal is about to go for the Lethal Injection. Lethal says he didn’t say that goes for it again but EC3 catches him and hits a Tiger Drive. EC3 puts on his Find Your Purpose submission for the victory.

WINNER: EC3 at 15:11

A replay is shown of EC3 winning. EC3 extends his hand for a handshake and he should focus on himself. A graphic is shown for matches taking place next week, Taylor Rust vs Chris Dickinson, and Mandy Leon vs Willow and PJ Black vs Bandido.

(Maitland’s Thoughts: This match was good for a storyline perspective. It appeared that EC3 was going to be set up as the leader of The Righteous. That storyline will not make it to fruition with this likely being Lethal’s last appearance on ROH television. Hopefully the next two shows, really only one is going to air in most markets before Final Battle, will focus on Final Battle. A good show overall but a show where the direction created may never materialize.)

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S ROH TV REPORT: 11/22 RING OF HONOR TV REPORT: Dragon Lee vs. Dalton Castle ROH TV Championship, Walters vs. Johnson, more