ROH TV HITS & MISSES 12/28: Ospreay vs. Fish, Todd Sinclair, Young Bucks, Non-Episodic TV

HITS

Will Ospreay vs. Bobby Fish for the ROH TV Title: Bobby Fish disrespects the UK flag as Bobby Cruise is announcing the two competitors in the match. This is a great way to ignite some heat in a foreign land. Credit Bobby Fish for setting the tone in this title match for the ROH TV Title with his flag move. This is an incredible match with lots of high spots. Ospreay hits an incredible dive/backflip over the top rope early on that Nigel McGuiness describes as picture perfect which could not have been stated any better. The finish is unique and I am not sure if I have seen anything like it before. Fish catches Ospreay in a knee bar and then with incredible technique and body control Ospreay bridges back with Fish’s shoulders on the canvas and gets the pin. Ospreay becomes the new ROH TV Champion!

Referee Todd Sinclair: Little is ever said about referees for the most part. Praise should be given to Sinclair though. During the Ospreay/Fish match Sinclair is never in the way of these two supreme athletes and yet he is always on time when it is time to make the count. Exceptional job by Todd Sinclair. The mark of a good refereeing in pro wrestling and most pro sports is to go unnoticed. In my eyes, Todd Sinclair goes unnoticed throughout this good match which shows how good of a job he does weekly.

Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll: From the start, this match has a big fight atmosphere. The lighting above the ring reminds me of the territories where the focus is on the ring and the talent. Also, the crowd is certainly into this from the start. I mention a spot fest not being something I am always into later in this article, but the pacing of the spots in this match is what makes this match solid to me. These guys had their share of great high spots but they also slowed things down when needed. For example, after an exceptional opening exchange between the two which ended with them both in Ospreay’s signature pose, things slow down for the most part as they pound on each other both in the ring and outside. A guy like Ospreay may be an acrobatic artist but he also can slow it down and pound on his opponents when needed. The same can be said for Scurll. While these guys do a lot of flips, they lay it in when it comes to lariats and kicks. The knee to the face and stomps to the back of the head of Ospreay right before Scurll ties Ospreay up in the chicken wing finisher were brutal. While in the chicken wing finisher, Ospreay tapped out and Scurll becomes the new ROH TV Champion.

MISSES

The Young Bucks vs. Will Ospreay & Marty Scurll: The match is joined in progress between these two teams. I am a fan of comedy in wrestling especially as it pertains to interviews and promos that can give fans a good chuckle. These guys are obviously four extremely capable talents but for my taste there was a bit too much comedy. Although mentioning too much comedy, this is still a very entertaining match with Nick and Matt hitting many of their great flips and moves that they do. Nick at one point hits a great series of moves with a kick off the top to the outside to Ospreay and a driver to Scurll who’s on the inside followed by a back flip from the ring apron to Ospreay on the floor. It was a really good series of moves that got the crowd excited. Again, this is a major spot fest which I can appreciate it. I can also appreciate the great athleticism all of these guys possess. However, for my money I love the old-school tag team wrestling style of the territories and this will never be mistaken for that. Even saying this, the finish is incredible when Ospreay hits a hurricanrana on Nick Jackson which sends him into Matt who has Ospreay set up for a Meltzer Driver. Again, the match is a miss because it’s not my taste but still a very fast paced and good match if this is the type of match that entertains you.

Non-episodic TV: This was a review show for ROH which they tend to do often on their weekly TV. It gave a chance for their fans to watch some of their higher profile matches from the ROH Reach for the Sky Tour. These were all good matches, but the one thing I would like to see more from ROH is a more episodic TV program with good angles and storylines. ROH certainly has great talent and great wrestling minds working for them that could create episodic programming, but it is something lacking on many occasions from their TV product.

Mike Mills is the new PWTorch.com ROH TV Hits and Misses Specialist, providing his point of view on ROH TV weekly. You can follow Mike at @BTT_Podcast and @Mike504Saints on Twitter and e-mail him at BookingTheTerritory@gmail.com