ROH TV HITS & MISSES 1/14: Dijak, Lio Rush, Cody, Lethal, Liger, Whitmer, Corino, Sullivan, Martinez

HITS

The Rebellion (Caprice Coleman, Kenny King, Rhett Titus) vs. Lio Rush, Jay White, and Donovan Dijak: I like that we got a recap from a previous episode when Lio Rush was attacked by Titus and King after defeating Caprice Coleman which set up this 6-man tag match. There is a sequence in this match that was very nice where Lio Rush does two straight dives through the ropes to take out Titus and King. He slides back in to the ring after the second dive and calls White and Dijak back into the ring. Dijak and White each go to a corner. Simultaneously White front flips off one corner to take out King, Dijak backflips/moonsaults from another corner to take out Titus, and Rush dives through the ropes to take out Coleman. It was a thing of beauty to watch. For a second I thought that may be the highlight of the match until we get to the finish. First, White slams Coleman, then with Dijak’s help, Rush does a frog splash off Dijak’s shoulders. This is then followed by a beautiful moonsaults from Dijak. Rush then pins Caprice Coleman. If you have read some of my Hits and Misses columns in the past you will know that I make comments about the greatness of old school wrestling and the territories. I enjoyed the end of the match because although Rush, Dijak, and White get the win, The Rebellion does what old school heels use to do after being defeated and that is get some heat by beating on the faces after getting the win. Very solid match that opens this week’s ROH TV. I have to give this a big thumbs up from all six guys here.

Marty Scurll Video Package: Very short and to the point here but I think it is always good to introduce your audience who may not be familiar with a talent. I like what they did with Scurll here in this package as they show his evil side. I also like that they tease us with the ROH TV champion appearing on next week’s show. In short, he’s a champing and he’s important so let’s tease his appearance on next week’s TV.

Cody: I do not know whose decision it was to have Cody turn heel but it appears to be a very sound move. Cody delivers a solid promo. He pulls on the hearts of the ROH fans in a number of ways. One of the ways is that he asked the fans if they want to see Brandi (Rhodes). There’s an eruption of cheers from the fans as he asked the question a few times. But he finally says, “You don’t deserve to see Brandy.” That gets a bunch of boos. He also says, “I’m a star that this building hasn’t seen fade” which really gets under the skin of the fans at the 2300 Arena. Again, very solid delivery from Cody and a good promo overall.

Steve Corino vs Cody: This is a good match. Paying honor to Dusty Rhodes throughout this match was great. Corino does a number of Dusty’s signature moves such as the Dusty sequence of punches and the Dusty elbow. Cody gets the win with a low blow to Corino and then dropping a big elbow. The crowd was a little quiet throughout this match which was somewhat shocking considering the promo that Cody delivered prior to it.

Decade of Excellence Recap: I have been difficult on ROH in the past when their programming has not been episodic. Give them credit here with them recapping the past few weeks Decade of Excellence matches and running through the results. They quickly go through who has advanced in the tournament to this point.

Jay Lethal vs Jushin Thunder Liger: I generally stay away from ROH spoilers and I was glad I did for this one. This one was not about the actual match but rather the outcome for me. The match was above average. I respect Jushin Thunder Liger tremendously and cannot believe he is still wrestling at such a high level well into his career after debuting over 30 years ago. However, for me this match was about Jay Lethal getting the victory and now moving on to the second round in the Decade of Excellence tournament to face Jay Briscoe. Many of you may recall that Lethal was the man who ended Jay Briscoe’s ROH World Title reign at Best in the World 2015. These two always seem to have good matches and I will be looking forward to seeing them square off again in the next round of the tournament.

MISSES

Whitmer, Sullivan, and Martinez: These three appear on stage when Corino comes out to confront Cody. If you are reading this article and questioning this being a miss, I would love to know what I am missing with what I am about to say. I understand the storyline of why Corino came out to confront Cody. However, Whitmer, Sullivan, and Martinez appear on stage but never get involved. I know this is being a bit picky but it’s what immediately crossed my mind while watching this week’s ROH TV. We see them when Corino comes out but this evil group completely disappears never to be seen again during or after the match. Instead, Lethal comes in to chase Cody off after Cody wins the match.

Final Thoughts

This was another solid week of ROH TV. I am sold on watching the Decade of Excellence tournament play out through the end. Adam Cole is the current champion but given what I have read about his long-term status with ROH, I am curious as to who wins this tournament and who ends up facing the ROH World Champion. I should also again mention the first match of the show. The 6-way tag match was a great way to start the show with a high energy and exciting match that thrilled the crowd.

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