3/16 ROH TV Report – One Match, Seven Teams

ROH TV Report
Aired March 13, 2016 in syndication
Aired March 16, 2016 on Comet TV
Taped 2/6 in Nashville, Tenn.
Report by Mike Metzger (@md0uble), PWTorch contributor

The ROH TV opening aired.

Announcer Kevin Kelly welcomed viewers to the show, as the camera
panned the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. Tonight, the entire hour
will feature a seven-team gauntlet match for a future shot at the ROH
World Tag Team Titles!

1a – REDRAGON (KYLE O’REILLY & BOBBY FISH) vs. CAPRICE COLEMAN & WILL FERRARA – tag team gauntlet match 1 of 6

The announcers wondered how reDRagon would fare, considering they were
the in the dreaded #1 slot. Both teams shook hands and then the bell
rang. O’Reilly and Ferrara started the match. They wrestled on the mat
until a quick stalemate at the 0:20 mark. The wrestled some more.
O’Reilly hit a knee to the mid-section, but Ferrara came back with
some strikes and then a second-rope hurricanrana. He went to follow up
with a dropkick, but O’Reilly held onto the ropes and Ferrara fell to
the mat. O’Reilly capitalized with a flurry of strikes and then tagged
his partner.

Fish continued to dominate with some knees in the corner. He then hit
a springboard senton, which was good for a nearfall. Fish made a quick
tag, and then reDRagon double-teamed Ferrara in the corner and
followed up with a double-suplex and another nearfall. O’Reilly
dropped the knee and then tagged Fish back in. Fish hit a back suplex
and scored a two-count. Fish made another quick tag. O’Reilly kicked
Coleman off the apron, but the brief distraction allowed Ferrara to
roll to his corner and tag Caprice!

Coleman was a house afire, as he nailed Fish with a bicycle kick and
O’Reilly with an STO. He followed right up with a springboard plancha
onto Fish on the outside. O’Reilly chased after Caprice around
ringside, but Coleman flipped around the ringpost and kicked O’Reilly
in the chest! Ferrara then dove onto Fish, before tagging into the
match officially. He charged at Fish, but Bobby tossed him to the
outside. This allowed reDRagon to double-team Coleman in the corner.
They hit their Two-Man Smash Machine combo. Fish went for an armlock.
Ferrara tried to break it, but Fish immediately rolled into a kneebar.
Coleman tried to break things up, but O’Reilly wrestled him to the mat
with a guillotine choke, as Ferrara tapped to Fish’s submission hold!

WINNERS: ReDRagon via pinfall in 5:35 to advance in the gauntlet.

ANALYSIS: Standard stuff here. Kind of slow for a reDRagon match, but
it was fine since they appear to be pacing themselves for a long
night. (**1/4)

The House of Truth’s music blared throughout the arena. Truth Martini
was followed by Joey “Diesel” Daddiego and a yet-to-be-named partner.
Martini called Donovan Dijak a quitter, claiming that the former
H.O.T. member robbed him and Daddiego of their dreams of having tag
team gold. Martini couldn’t stand the thought of a tournament without
The House of Truth. He introduced “The Heir Apparent” Chris LaRusso, a
martial arts expert and lawyer. Larusso was roughly the same size as
Martini. Truth told Larusso that if he did good, he’d get a thumbs up.
But if he did bad, he’d get thumbs down and he would go down.

[Commercial Break]

1b – REDRAGON (KYLE O’REILLY & BOBBY FISH) vs. THE HOUSE OF TRUTH (JOEY “DIESEL” DADDIEGO & CHRIS LARUSSO w/Truth Martini) – tag team gauntlet match 2 of 6

The bell rang, with Fish and Larusso starting things. Larusso shoved
Fish off his feet and posed for the crowd. Fish came right back and
tossed Chris around with some armdrags. Fish wrenched on the arm.
Larusso fought back with some kicks, but Fish quickly cut him off with
several kicks of his own. Fish went for the cross arm-breaker. Larusso
struggled to get free, but Fish was able to reverse into a kneebar.
Unfortunately for Fish, Larusso was too close to the ropes.

ReDRagon made some quick tags, taking turns nailing the newcomer with
some strikes and kicks. Larusso fought back, and then he and O’Reilly
traded blows. O’Reilly took Larusso down and exploded into a flurry of
strikes. Daddiego came into break it up. Fish met him in the ring.
Referee Todd Sinclair escorted Fish back to his corner, which allowed
Daddiego to drag Larusso to his corner and make the tag. Daddiego
nailed O’Reilly with a powerslam and then Larusso followed up with a
leg drop. The heels continued to double-team Kyle, as Daddiego nailed
him with some more blows. O’Reilly tried to fight back with a big
boot, but Daddiego caught it. Joey went to slam him, but O’Reilly was
able to briefly reverse into a triangle choke. Daddiego persevered,
however, and proceeded to pick up O’Reilly and powerbomb him to the
mat.

O’Reilly was able to tag Fish, though. Fish came in and had his way
with Daddiego, before going for another kneebar. Larusso came in and
broke it up. Daddiego held Fish for Larusso, but the newcomer hit
Daddiego with a spinkick by accident! Larusso attempted to maintain
control, but Fish nailed him with a jumping knee. Martini gave Larusso
the thumbs down, and then he and Daddiego left ringside. Back in the
ring, O’Reilly exploded into a flurry of strikes, followed by a
legsweep. O’Reilly nailed Larusso in the head with a knee and then
locked on a guillotine choke for the submission victory!

WINNERS: ReDRagon via pinfall in 5:52 to advance in the gauntlet.

ANALYSIS: Almost a complete squash for reDRagon. Larusso was mildly
impressive with his martial arts kicks, but I guess it wasn’t good
enough for Truth Martini. Yet another week without Donovan Dijak after
his huge babyface turn on the January 10, 2016 edition of the show. At
least he was mentioned by Martini this week, I guess. (**)

The Young Bucks’s music played, and out came Nick and Matt Jackson!

[Commercial Break]

1c – REDRAGON (KYLE O’REILLY & BOBBY FISH) vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS (NICK & MATT JACKSON) – tag team gauntlet match 3 of 6

“This is awesome” chant during the Code of Honor. The Bucks shoved
reDRagon, who quickly shoved back. The Bucks responded with a
double-crotch chop. ReDRagon answered by throwing fists, as the bell
rang! All four men started the match with some brawling. The Bucks
went for early superkicks, but reDRagon reversed with a couple of
ankle locks. The Bucks kicked out and then Matt launched Nick into the
air, as he kicked reDRagon to the outside. The Bucks did their “Too
Sweet” pose and then hit a pair of dives onto their opponents on the
outside.

Things settled down with Matt Jackson and O’Reilly in the ring.
O’Reilly tossed Matt’s leg to Nick, and then hit a double-Dragonscrew
leg whip to both Bucks. Fish tagged in, but Nick fought back wit a
kick in the corner. OReily nailed Nick with a DDT, but Matt was able
to reverse into a stunner in mid-air! The Bucks double-teamed Bobby
and went for a swanton in the ropes. O’Reilly cut it off by grabbing
Matt from behind with a sleeper. Nick went for the swanton anyway, but
Fish got the knees up. ReDRagon went for Chasing The Dragon, but Nick
low-bridged O’Reilly to the outside and then nailed a springboard
facebuster on Fish. Nick and O’Reilly went at it on the outside.
O’Reilly was able to lock on an ankle lock, but Matt dropkicked him
through the ropes. Matt turned around and walked into an exploder
suplex from Fish! The show then cut to a break at the 3:18 point in
the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:48, O’Reilly was pounding on Matt. Kyle nailed him with a
knee and then tagged Bobby. Fish came in and hit Matt with some
elbows. He followed up with a back suplex, which was good for a
nearfall. O’Reilly tagged back in and then reDRagon took turns nailing
Matt with knee strikes in the corner. O’Reilly charged at Matt, but he
got the boots up. Matt then a diving corkscrew sommersault cutter out
of the corner. Both men made tags, and Nick cleaned house. He
dropkicked O’Reilly off the apron. He went to superkick Fish, but
Bobby held on to the ropes. Both men jockeyed on the outside, with
Nick finally hitting a stiff kick to Fish’s face from the apron.

Nick went for a swanton, but Fish moved out of the way and hit a
Samoan Drop. Both men struggled to their corners and made tags.
O’Reilly threw Matt around with some double underhook slams. Fish came
in for a double-team, but re-entered and hit O’Reilly with a
roundhouse kick. The Bucks called for a superkick party, but O’Reilly
threw Nick’s superkick into Matt! O’Reilly came back with a rebound
lariat, but ate a double-superkick from The Bucks! Matt and Nick
followed up with More Bang for Your Buck on O’Reilly for the pin.

WINNERS: The Young Bucks via pinfall in 9:26 to advance in the gauntlet.

ANALYSIS: Really hot start to this one. ROH fans have just about seen
it all from these two teams, but this was good for its spot on the
show. Not surprising that the Bucks went over, considering their big
ROH contracts and the fact that Fish and O’Reilly have been focusing
on singles feuds lately. (***)

[Commercial Break]

1d – THE YOUNG BUCKS (NICK & MATT JACKSON) vs. TOUGH GUY, INC. (“BRUTAL” BOB EVANS & TIM HUGHES) – tag team gauntlet match 4 of 6

Evans and Hughes were hesitant to get in the ring to start the match.
The Bucks casually leaned against the ropes, as Tough Guy, Inc psyched
themselves up. Evans and Hughes charged the ring, but ate a pair of
superkicks from The Bucks! Evans and Hughes rolled to the outside and
then the bell rang to officially start things. Evans grabbed Hughes to
strategize with him, as the fans chanted “s*ck it” several times.
Hughes was incensed, as he told the fans to do the same.

Tough Guy, Inc. tried to charge the ring again, but The Bucks met them
on the outside and nailed them with another pair of superkicks! Hughes
ended up in the ring with Nick and ducked a splash. Hughes hit a
delayed sidewalk slam on Nick. Matt ran in and Hughes picked him up
for another sidewalk slam. However, this time, Nick broke it up with a
superkick! Evans ran in and kicked Nick in the shin and Matt in the
quad. Evans started “tuning up the band,” but then ate a pair of
superkicks from The Bucks. The Bucks hit their Buckle Bomb/enziguri
combo on Hughes and then followed up with a swanton in the ropes for
the victory!

WINNERS: The Young Bucks via pinfall in 3:00 to advance in the gauntlet.

ANALYSIS: Fun little squash for The Bucks. (n/a)

The Addiction’s music hit. The Bucks were ready for them, or so they
thought. Daniels and Kazarian appeared out of nowhere and attacked the
Bucks from behind.

1e – THE YOUNG BUCKS (NICK & MATT JACKSON) vs. THE ADDICTION (CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & FRANKIE KAZARIAN) – tag team gauntlet match 5 of 6

The bell didn’t ring, as The Addiction beat on both Bucks for a while,
culminating with a clothesline/footstomp combo. They threw Matt to the
floor and then mockingly posed like The Bucks. Nick reappeared with
some blows and a crotch chop. The Addiction cut him off with a
modified double-chokeslam. Daniels pummeled Nick on the mat and ref
started counting, despite the fact that the bell never rang. Kaz
attempted to springboard onto Matt on the floor, but he moved out of
the way and nailed Kaz with a superkick! Matt ran into the ring and
broke up an Angel’s Wings attempt with another superkick! Nick then
rolled into a jackknife cover for the victory!

WINNERS: The Young Bucks via pinfall in 1:56 (time elapsed from when
beatdown began) to advance in the gauntlet.

Immediately after the pin, Kaz ran in and pummeled Nick. Matt tried to
break it up, but Daniels cut him off. They brutally stomped The Bucks.
The Addiction hit Celebrity Rehab on Matt, as Roppongi Vice’s theme
music played! RPG Vice ran into the ring and brawled with The
Addiction, while the Bucks were still down on the mat. Kaz and Daniels
fought back momentarily, but Romero and Barreta were able to toss them
to the outside. Several ROH officials and security ran down to escort
The Addiction to the back. Roppongi Vice looked on, as Nick snuck up
from behind, shoved Romero into Barreta, and then rolled up Rocky for
a two count. Again, there was no bell, meaning the final match had
already begun!

1f – THE YOUNG BUCKS (NICK & MATT JACKSON) vs. ROPPONGI VICE (ROCKY ROMERO & TRENT BARRETA) – tag team gauntlet match 6 of 6

Trent broke up the cover. He went for a back suplex, but Nick flipped
out of it and hit a spin kick on Romero with an assist from Trent’s
back. The show then cut to a break at the 0:36 point in the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 1:36, Romero was nailing Nick with some corner clotheslines.
Nick ran out of the way of the last one, went to the outside, and
yanked Trent off the apron. He re-entered the ring and hit Rocky with
a kick, but Trent yanked him onto his shoulders on the outside. Romero
then followed up with a jumping knee from the apron. RPG hit a
double-team and then Romero covered Nick for a two-count. Rocky
dragged Nick into his corner and then tagged Trent. Barreta knocked
Matt off the apron, but the brief distraction allowed Nick to fight
back against both his opponents. He charged at them, but RPG Vice came
back with stereo jumping knee strikes. Rocky went for the cover, but
Nick kicked out at two.

Romero applied an armbar, as Nick quickly struggled his way to the
ropes. Trent came in, but Nick tossed him to the outside. He went to
toss Romero to the outside, but Matt was there with a superkick on the
apron! Nick made the hot tag to Matt, who came in and nailed a huge
Asai moonsault onto both his opponents at ringside! The show then cut
to its final break at the 4:34 mark of the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back at 5:34, Matt threw a water bottle at Trent on the outside. He
re-entered the ring and traded blows with Romero. The crowd chanted
along with his crotch chops, but Romero fought back with a European
uppercut. He went for Sliced Bread, but it got reversed. Nick then hit
a superkick on the outside! There was a near fall in the ring. The
Bucks hit their Buckle Bomb/Enziguri combo on Romero in the corner.
Nick went up top for More Bang for Your Buck, but Rocky broke free.
His escape was only temporary, as The Bucks looked to reverse into an
IndyTaker! Romero was able to break free again, however.

Romero went for a top rope hurricanrana, but Nick held onto the ropes
and then Matt nailed him with a cannonball kick into the corner! The
Bucks went for their finisher again, but Trent made a blind tag and
Rocky got his knees up. Barreta went to break up the second part of
the finisher by throwing Matt off the top, but Matt landed on his
feet! Trent ducked a superkick attempt and then RPG Vice then hit
their Strong Zero finisher for the victory!

WINNERS: Roppongi Vice via pinfall in 8:13 (time elapsed from Nick
Jackson’s roll-up) to win the 7-team gauntlet match!

ANALYSIS: I didn’t particularly like the story of this match. The
set-up in particular was clunky, as Nick Jackson took advantage of RPG
Vice’s generosity when he tried to roll-up Romero, despite just being
rescued by him. I get that The Bucks are tweeners, but that kind of
stuff just hurts the overall match for me. The match itself was fine,
but only about 6 minutes were shown after removing the commercial
breaks.  (**1/4)

Next Week: New Japan Pro Wrestling invades ROH (yet) again! Clips then
aired from last year when Shinsuke Nakamura and Kazuchika Okada
defeated The Briscoes.

FINAL REAX: So all that, and the NJPW team goes over in the end?
Pathetic. It’s a shame when the only newsworthy thing about a
wrestling company is the one-sidedness of their working agreement with
another promotion. The clips of The Briscoes losing to Okada and
Nakamura that aired immediately afterward were just icing on the cake.
As for the tag gauntlet itself, it was a fun theme for an episode,
although I felt there were too many “filler” teams in what is
advertised as the deepest tag team division in pro wrestling. I guess
I’m grateful that these Nashville tapings are finally over, but the
fact remains that ROH is still in need of a major shake-up if the
company wants to remain relevant in 2016.