4/30 ROH in Warwick, R.I. – METZGER’S In-Person Report & perspective on live ROH show

Ring of Honor Live Results
April 30, 2016
Wast Warwick, R.I.
Report by Mike Metzger, PWTorch ROH contributor (@mD0uble)

Ring of Honor did a decent job filling the West Warwick Civic Center. By no means a sell-out, but aside from the back rows on the floor and empty spaces in the bleachers, it was mostly full with roughly 400-500 people there.

A – TAELER HENDRIX vs. SUMIE SAKAI

Good work from both ladies. Taeler kissed Sakai on the mouth, a move she calls Kiss Goodnight, and then hit a Tombstone for the victory.

WINNER: Taeler Hendrix via pinfall. Other than a minor hiccup, this was perfectly acceptable wrestling. (**)

Mr. Wrestling III was introduced as a commentator, but his flannel shirt and body language made a pretty convincing case that it was actually B.J. Whitmer under the mask.

1 – DALTON CASTLE (w/”the boys”) vs. KONGO

Castle received a nice reaction. It appeared that “the boys” were local guys, and not the Tate twins. They brawled around the ring for a bit before Castle hit an impressive deadlift German suplex on the 400-pounder.

WINNER: Dalton Castle via pinfall. Good choice for an opener, as the fans were excited to see a star and it set the tone for a night of solid wrestling. (**1/4)

2 – DONOVAN DIJAK (w/Prince Nana) vs. JOEY “DIESEL” DADDIEGO (w/Taeler Hendrix)

The crowd popped louder for Dijak than they did for Dalton in the opener. It could be because he’s a staple in the northeast indy scene, but either way, the crowd loved him throughout the match. It’s not a great match-up because Dijak stands at least a full foot taller than Daddiego. A distraction from Hendrix allowed Daddiego to take control on the outside. Dijak regained control, but Taeler got on the apron again. She licked her hand, which allowed Daddiego to hit a low blow from behind. A miscommunication caused Daddiego to nail Taeler, allowing Dijak to hit Feast Your Eyes for the victory.

WINNER: Donovan Dijak via pinfall. A solid win for Dijak. The outside interference bordered on overkill toward the end, but what do you expect with The House of Truth? Some storyline progression as well, since Dijak defeats his former House of Truth tag partner. More to come for Dijak later tonight. (*3/4)

3A – LIO RUSH vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS

This only went a few minutes until Kaz ran in for the blatant DQ.

WINNER: Lio Rush via disqualification.

The Addiction beat on Rush until Moose made the save. Moose’s manager Stokely Hathaway channeled Teddy Long and challenged The Addiction to a tag team match against Moose and Rush.

3B – LIO RUSH & MOOSE (w/Stokely Hathaway) vs. THE ADDICTION (CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & FRANKIE KAZARIAN)

The Addiction took control and worked on Rush for a while. The tag formula kicked in, as Moose was denied entry to the match a couple times because the ref didn’t see the tag. Moose eventually made the hot tag and cleaned house. Moose was way over with the crowd. Rush climbed onto Moose’s shoulders and hit a frogsplash for the victory.

WINNERS: Lio Rush & Moose via pinfall. Solid tag match with some memorable moments. Kudos to Kaz and Daniels for working heel so effectively. (*** for the whole segment)

The Addiction jumped Moose and Rush after the match. They then hit a Best Moonsault Ever/Tombstone (Best Meltzer Ever?) combo on Rush in an apparent statement to The Young Bucks. Out came The Bucks to a thundering ovation. They made the save in what was the loudest reaction of the night so far.

People initially got excited when The Kingdom’s music started blaring throughout the arena. Was it Matt Hardy? Bennett and Maria back in New England? Adam Cole, baby? No, it was just Matt Taven, who was out to do commentary for the next match.

4 – ROH World champion JAY LETHAL (w/Taeler Hendrix) vs. VINNY MARSEGLIA – ROH World Title match

This one had a slow build. Marseglia got some offense in initially. People in the back row were chanting “C.M. Punk” at Marseglia due to his similar tattoos and haircut. Marseglia responded by posing like Punk. Lethal eventually came back with a Figure Four and a Lethal Injection for the victory.

WINNER: Jay Lethal via pinfall to retain the ROH World Title. I really enjoyed the atmosphere in the building while Lethal made his entrance. ROH has been building this guy as the best in the world for two years now, so it was quite the spectacle to see him do his methodical entrance in person. This was one of the longer matches of the night. A good story was told, though, with Lethal getting another victory. (***1/2)

After the match, Taeler Hendrix began stomping on Marseglia. Donovan Dijak rushed to the ring and cleaned house. Dijak then posed with the ROH World Title belt over his shoulder.

[MM Reax: Finally! Ring of Honor – make this a full-fledged summer program and I promise people will be talking about ROH again.]

[Intermission]

(During intermission, a local news station interviewed hometown boy Vinny Marseglia about his match with Lethal. I also kept finding myself standing an arms-length away from ROH COO Joe Koff. Several fans would walk up and introduce themselves to Joe, before praising ROH. I got a Dixie Carter vibe from it. Regardless, Mr. Koff seemed pretty invested in the show, as he could be seen watching the action from various positions in the arena throughout the night.)

5 – VEDA SCOTT vs. MANDY LEON vs. JENNY ROSE – Women of Honor triple threat match

This was your basic three-way, which included several of those cute triple threat sequences. Finish sort of came out of nowhere with Veda going over. For some reason, Mandy and Jenny celebrated after the match.

WINNER: Veda Scott via pinfall. This was fine for its spot on the card. Someone has to lead off the second half, right? (*3/4)

6 – DELIRIOUS vs. SILAS YOUNG

Before the match, Silas cut an awesome promo on Delirious where he asked the real-life ROH matchmaker, “who booked this crap?” Delirious did his usual schtick at the start. At some point, Delirious went under the ring and then Cheeseburger, donning a Delirious mask, re-emerged from the other end. Delir-Cheese-us got in some offense, but Silas fought back. Eventually, Delirious reappared, but Silas made short work of him with Misery.

WINNER: Silas Young via pinfall. OKay, I understand why some (:cough: Sean Radican :cough:) would have a problem with this match, given two obviously different wrestlers were able to legally fight Silas throughout. But, this match harkened back to my childhood when I first got hooked on pro wrestling. It was a WWF King of the Ring 1993 qualifier between Doink and Mr. Perfect. There were obviously two Doinks trading places during the match, but because Curt Hennig was so darn perfect, he was still able to win the match. I know a heel beating two lower-card acts in a comedy match isn’t exactly the same, but I still popped for the finish. (**1/2)

7 – THE YOUNG BUCKS (NICK & MATT JACKSON) vs. THE ALL NIGHT EXPRESS (RHETT TITUS & KENNY KING)

ANX played heels well. The Bucks hit several of their signature spots. It definitely felt like a Young Bucks house show match, but that is still several notches above everything else, and Rhode Island even got a Meltzer Driver to boot!

WINNERS: The Young Bucks via pinfall. Despite coming out earlier in the night, The Bucks still got the loudest reaction of the night here. There is just no denying their star power right now. Awesome match that even my wife popped for. (****)

After the match, The Addiction ran out and beat down The Bucks. Moose made the save and then all three men began a “Moose/S*ck It” sequence where they pounded on Daniels and Kaz. Fun spot that made the crowd explode with energy.

8 – A.C.H. vs. KAMAITACHI

Hard-hitting action from both guys throughout. A.C.H. hit some huge spots, including a crazy Air Jordan dive to the outside and Midnight Star for the win.

WINNER: A.C.H. via pinfall. Dreams do come true! Glad to see A.C.H. finally get a victory over a NJPW wrestler. Kamaitachi isn’t a big name yet, but based on what I saw tonight, he will be. (***1/2)

9 – THE BRISCOES (MARK & JAY BRISCOE) vs. THE MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS (CHRIS SABIN & ALEX SHELLEY) vs. REDRAGON (KYLE O’REILLY & BOBBY FISH) – three-way tag team main event

This was your typical three-way where each team got their big spots in. This was my first chance to see Kyle O’Reilly live, and he did not disappoint. The crowd was burned out for this one, though. Eventually, The Briscoes hit the Doomsday Device for the victory.

WINNERS: The Briscoes via pinfall. This match was the victim of burnt-out crowd. Throw in the fact that all the teams are babyfaces and there was nothing on the line, and this was a really down-note to end the show on. (**3/4)

After the match, The Briscoes hard-sold the Global Wars PPV this Sunday, promising to regain the ROH World Tag Team Titles.

[MM Reax: As burnt out as the crowd was, they loved this. Maybe they should have cut this promo before the main event to give the crowd something to get behind.]

FINAL REAX: Solid show. It wasn’t full of four-star matches, but it was fun to see the ROH guys do their thing. It was also nice to see some storyline advancement, with Donovan Dijak going after Jay Lethal. I’m not as excited to see some other stories advance (e.g. Silas Young-Cheeseburger), but I still enjoyed the show as a whole.

The MVP of the show goes to The Addiction. These guys have been part of my favorite ROH moments throughout the last year, and they did not disappoint tonight. They were one of the only heel acts the entire night, and boy was it hot when The Young Bucks ran out to save Moose and Rush earlier in the show. ROH should spend the summer building Lethal-Dijak and Addiction-Bucks and I know people will be talking about Ring of Honor.