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pwchronicle · 5 years

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Ring of Honor “Best in the World” TV Taping Report June 29th in Philadelphia, PA

ROH followed up their annual Best in the World PPV in Baltimore with a TV taping at the 2300 Arena. For fans in my neck of the woods, it was either this or All Elite Wrestling’s second show, Fyter Fest, available for free on B/R Live. There was also UFC airing on regular ESPN, so plenty of choices tonight. A number of people chose not to attend tonight’s taping; it definitely did not look like the sell-out ROH was reporting, certainly down from the last two times ROH ran here last October and December. Myself? I can catch these other shows later in the weekend. I went in to this after just reading about what went down in Baltimore, unfortunately not all that compelled to order it, but still looking forward to fun stuff tonight.

Future of Honor: Azrieal beat Matita (?) with a splash off the top rope. That’s right, Azrieal, the former Special K member who cleaned up his act, has made his way back into ROH after being absent for several years. He and his opponent (billed from Africa) both looked pretty good. I probably butchered his opponent’s name, but towards the end he was up on the top rope when Azrieal shoved the ref into the ropes, pretending it was an accident as his opponent was crotched on the top. Azrieal then hit him with a draping DDT to lead to the finish.

Future of Honor: The Tate Twins (formerly The Boys) beat Geddy Cahoon and “Classy” Max Stenway after a double chokeslam on the larger Cahoon. The Boys have matured a little, with a Batman-esque video screen that still calls them The Boys as they come out in capes. I’ve seen Cahoon once before in Chikara’s Young Lions Cup tournament last year I think. He has an old-school look, black trunks with white boots, while his partner wore gray pants and a top that looked like a buttoned vest. I thought this was okay, one noticeable hiccup being one of the twins and Cahoon doing some sloppy pin exchanges.

The injured Colt Cabana was able to make it out tonight, with the help of a cane, to call the action with Ian Riccaboni. Kenny King joined them on commentary for the first televised match.

1. Shane Taylor beat Rhett Titus in a Proving Ground Match after hitting him with a headbutt. Titus did some flexing early to get out of Taylor’s grip for comedic effect, and he was able to hit a nice dropkick early. Taylor was all business and gave him a legdrop on the edge of the ring. Nearfall by Titus following at least three running boots in the corner and a Samoan Drop.

- Following Titus’ loss, King came down ringside and said he was disgusted. He brought up his history with Titus as the All Night Express, when they picked up wins over the Briscoes, the Young Bucks, Roderick Strong, and Tyler Black. Now King thinks Titus is a joke, and he brought up his pregnant wife in the crowd. He asked Titus how she could be proud of him, and why Titus’ son (Jimmy Controversy? I’ve seen him wrestle late last year) can’t look him in the eye. Titus got hot, but he just left the ring as King called him a punkass bitch.

2. Tasha Steelz won a 4-Way #1 Contender’s Match over Angelina Love (w/ Velvet Sky and Mandy Leon), Jenny Rose, and Stella Grey when she pinned Grey after hitting an ace crusher. Kelly Klein joined commentary for this, and this was the first time I’ve noticed Brian Hebner reffing for ROH. Sky said this match was bull and that Love is already the true #1 Contender to Klein’s WOH World Title. Leon, meanwhile, had a dog with her, and the dog was wearing a leather jacket. There were no incidents between the Allure and fans in the crowd, but there wasn’t much enthusiasm from fans during this match either, even though Rose and Grey got hometown wrestler pops, and everyone liked the dog, though it didn’t get involved. Leon got involved trying to trip one of the women, and Hebner ejected her, Sky, and the dog from ringside because of it. Love hit a dive to the floor from the top rope, then got up in another corner to call out to Klein afterward. Klein came down to ringside briefly, and this distraction led to the other three wrestlers taking down Love.

- After the match, the lights went out while Love and Steelz were still in the ring, the Maneater video played, and when the lights came back on, newcomer Maria Manic was standing behind Love and Steelz. Manic got a good reception. Love bailed out of the ring while the next title challenger Steelz stepped up to her. Four crew members separated the two of them. Manic took out all four guys herself, including putting one of them in a torture rack before dumping him out of the ring, and taking out another with a tree slam. This made Manic even more popular, so a job well done on her arrival into ROH and Women of Honor.

3. Jay Lethal & The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas) beat The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, and Vinny Marseglia) after the Bouncers hit O’Ryan with Closing Time. Good action with three popular babyfaces. Before the match, Lethal demanded timekeeper Amy Rose (not Sonic the Hedgehog’s friend) to leave the ringside area because of her interference in Lethal’s match against Kenny King at Best in the World (she returned maybe two matches later). The Kingdom preferred to be in the ring with Lethal as opposed to the Bouncers, and Lethal was worked over before making hot tags to each of them. Lethal hit his suicide dives towards the end. The Bouncers’ stock continues to rise (they recently earned a Tag Team Title shot in the Northwest), but before they could celebrate with post-match beers, Taven yanked Lethal down from the apron and gave him a Climax on the floor. The Bouncers and other crew attended to Lethal as he was helped to the back.

4. Eli Drake beat Grizzly Redwood with an air raid crash. Pretty short squash by new NWA signee Drake on another returning face in Redwood, though he’s local, so I’m not sure how much of a return it really is. Nick Aldis, flanked by Kamille, was on commentary during this. Drake cut a promo afterward about his arrival into the NWA and his pursuit of the World Title, and I thought he came off well.

5. Coast 2 Coast (LSG & Shaheem Ali) beat Marcus Kross & Griff Garrison when Ali pinned Kross after a Boss Man Slam spun out from a powerslam position. This ended up being a competitive match and not a squash, with Kross (with gear and hair inspired by Goku) and Garrison (who just looks like an in-shape wrestler) getting a good amount of offense against the more established Coast 2 Coast. I also thought it was quite good, and a portion of the crowd chanted “Please Come Back!” to Kross and Garrison.

6. Jonathan Gresham won a Four Corner Survival over Jeff Cobb, Kenny King, and Dalton Castle. Caprice Coleman joined the commentary team from this point on. Castle, who is now heel and has ditched the flowing, winged robe for just a glittery jacket, was still beloved by the crowd. He and King hesitated getting in the ring, while Gresham and G1 Jeff kept it more serious. The Four Corner Survival rules of only two men in the ring at a time via tags (which confused the rowdy group of guys behind me, down from Ottawa, ONT Canada [!] for a bachelor party) naturally broke down, leading to Cobb going nuts with his suplexes. The end came when King took a shoe from Amy Rose to use as a weapon, but Gresham got a hold of it, hit King with it, and pinned King with a handful of his trunks. I thought it was fun, and it might come off better to me if I were to watch it on TV. Gresham returned the shoe to Rose.

- Jay Lethal came out to speak to the crowd. He said he hasn’t spoken about his losing the ROH World Title at G1 Supercard because he’s a bad loser, and it was a heavy pill to swallow. Then he remembered that he’s a two-time World Champion, meaning he lost it once, but worked hard and was able to win it again. He will have a title match next month in New York, and he plans to win the title back from Matt Taven. This cued Taven to come out and dress down Lethal. He said Lethal was embarrassing his parents, who were in the crowd, and that Lethal was proving that his parents raised a liar. Taven said Lethal choked in Madison Square Garden, and now Taven is the face of ROH, and they’re living in the Time of Taven. As Taven finished what he had to say, out came Alex Shelley in a suit. He’s making his return, as he said he was careful not to say he was retiring when he last appeared in ROH. He said he’s been wrestling for seventeen years, has constantly been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he’s left his mark around the world. He said he’s pulling out his proverbial veteran’s card yet again, and that he wants a shot at whoever is the champion after the match in New York. This segment was followed by intermission.

7. The Soldiers of Savagery (Moses & Kaun) beat two wrestlers after hitting double chokeslams on both of them. After just doing run-ins up until now, the Soldiers of Savagery had an official entrance, and it was a pretty cool one. Quick post-intermission squash, as they attacked their opponents (who were in matching gear) before they could be introduced.

- Caprice Coleman came out to the ring to host an interview segment with Nick Aldis. Kamille held the NWA World Heavyweight Title for Aldis. Coleman brought up the Summer Supercard happening in Toronto on August 9, with ROH hosting talent from New Japan and CMLL. Coleman had heard the NWA World Heavyweight Title would be defended at Summer Supercard and asked Aldis who his challenger would be. Aldis started by bringing up his fight with the Briscoes at Best in the World, and he offered Jay Briscoe a title shot whenever he pleases. As for Summer Supercard, he suggested he might want to have another match with Marty Scurll. This prompted Scurll to come out, and he said that he would also like to have a rematch. Aldis said he wasn’t finished, as he’s actually offering the title shot at Summer Supercard to any member of Villian Enterprises, and he will let Scurll choose who it will be. Aldis and Kamille left, as Coleman asked Scurll who he chooses for the title match, or if he’s taking the match himself. Scurll stalled for a little bit and said he had a lot to think about. Coleman closed by reiterating the name of the event and it’s August 9 date.

- Another segment followed, with Riccaboni and Cabana coming down to ringside. Riccaboni talked a little about Cabana’s injury and asked him for an update. Cabana stated how he has a cane now, barely got the the okay from his doctor to fly out to the events this weekend, but then James Storm interrupted. He was dressed to wrestle, brought up his match against Cabana in Chicago for the NWA National Title, and that he’s here for those five more minutes Cabana offered after the match went to a time limit draw. Cabana brought up how Cabana would have given him those five more minutes, but the Briscoes attacked him and Storm did nothing. Cabana began to leave when Storm shoved him from behind to the ground and berated him. Cabana agreed to the title match after this, despite his bad leg and not being dressed to compete.

8. James Storm beat Colt Cabana to win the NWA National Title. This couldn’t have lasted more than five minutes. Cabana tried for his Superman pin right off the bat but couldn’t get it properly with his bad leg. Storm worked over Cabana’s leg as Riccaboni remained at ringside and tried to convince Storm to stop, very concerned for Cabana. Storm put Cabana in a half crab on the injured leg, but Cabana got to the ropes. Cabana fought back, and he tried and failed to get Storm in the Billy Goat’s Curse. Storm hit a superkick and locked in the half crab in the middle of the ring, finally forcing Cabana to submit. Storm then made Riccaboni announce him as the winner and new NWA National Champion. Good drama throughout that the crowd followed. This was likely the end of Cabana’s commentary for the night.

9. Silas Young beat Josh Woods with a small package. After the opening bell but before any action took place, Young got a hold of the mic. He said Woods has been in ROH for two years, but he hasn’t accomplished anything. He said the fans don’t respect Woods like they respect him, and that Woods could benefit from learning from him. He then gave the mic back to the ref, and as the ref did so Young kicked Woods in the groin and rolled him up for the quick win. Young has already corrupted Gresham, and he might be doing the same to Woods.

10. Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger, Eli Isom, and Ryan Nova) beat Brian Johnson, Joe Keys, and Dante Caballero after they hit Caballero with a draping DDT/top rope double stomp combo. The three Future of Honor regulars, especially Johnson and Caballero, got a chance to show more of their personalities during this match. They suffered from some miscommunication though, ending with Keys accidentally hitting Caballero to lead to the finish. Afterward, Keys and Caballero came to blows with each other and had to be separated while Johnson just walked off.

11. Karissa Rivera beat Sumie Sakai after sitting down on a sunset flip attempt for the pin. This was Sakai’s first match back from injury, and this seemed to get a good amount of time with a lot of nearfalls. The action was pretty decent, though there was a moment where Sakai bowed to Rivera, Rivera went to bow back, and Sakai rolled her up in a small package that looked pretty bad. Rivera getting the upset win here came off well to me based on the crowd reaction, and Sakai sold the shock of it. Quinn McKay came into the ring to interview Rivera about it, but Sakai intervened and offered Rivera a handshake and congratulated her. If this is just a torch passing from Sakai, that’s A-okay.

12. Rush & Dragon Lee beat Jay & Mark Briscoe when Rush pinned Jay after hitting the Bull’s Horns. This match came off fantastic, as it was basically a fast-paced brawl. They began brawling on the floor early, starting when Dragon Lee went to hit a suicide dive onto the Briscoes, but they caught Lee and gave him a double suplex onto the floor. A little later, Mark came up bleeding heavily from the forehead, and I don’t know how it happened if it was hardway. It likely was as someone retrieved a towel to attend to Mark. This wasn’t at the level of how Jay has bled in the past, but Mark was bleeding so much Rush began focusing on it, wiping some of it on his chest and biting at the wound. ROH TV likely wouldn’t allow spots like this, so I imagine this match will be heavily edited when it airs, with the full uncut match featuring these spots put on HonorClub. Nevertheless, the blood added some intensity to the match, and the wrestlers capitalized on it. Mark used a chair to assist his running dive over the top to the floor. Rush was given a neckbreaker by Jay and the Froggy Bow by Mark, but Rush still kicked out that a lot of fans saw as three. Lee took out Mark with a running hurricanrana over the top rope to the floor to leave Rush to finish off Jay. A wild match that had the crowd shitting apes. Dragon Lee continues to be on a roll after some stellar matches these last two months in New Japan.

- There was a quick change of the ring canvas and wiping down of the ropes as Bobby Cruise announced that Villain Enterprises would be out next. When the ring was ready, the LifeBlood trio of Bandido, Tracy Williams, and Mark Haskins came out (they’re all that’s left of this faction!). Haskins brought up how Villain Enterprises played a fast one on them at the PPV with their recruiting of Flip Gordon when they thought he would join LifeBlood, and they demanded they came out. Marty Scurll came out again, accompanied by Gordon, Brody King, and PCO. Scurll properly introduced Gordon to the crowd as the newest employee of Villain Enterprises, the understudy, the intern, and the mercenary. He then gave Gordon the night off (following a potential injury at the PPV) to watch this six-man tag team match from the back, and he told LifeBlood that this would not be for their recently remade Six-Man Tag Team Titles, as they just defended them at the PPV (against Haskins, Williams, and PJ Black). Williams was fine with that, as they just wanted a fight, and given where they were, he demanded a Philadelphia Street Fight. The crowd was all for this, Villain Enterprises agreed, and the match was on.

13. LifeBlood beat Villain Enterprises in a non-title Philadelphia Street Fight when Bandido pinned Scurll. Chaos from the start. The timekeeper’s table was cleared off early and set up where the entrance way reaches ringside. The first big moment was King attempting to superplex Haskins onto two rows of chairs, but King went through them himself after Williams and Bandido made the save. LifeBlood began using canes. Bandido gave PCO a hurricanrana off the top rope through the table on the floor, and it all seemed perfectly executed. This left Scurll alone, and he was put into a sharpshooter by Haskins and a cane-assisted crossface by Williams, but King made the save. Dives to the floor from King and PCO was followed by a twisting dive from the top by Bandido. The landing looked rough but Bandido still got up. Back in the ring, Bandido gave PCO his version of the GTS, followed by the 21-plex onto an open chair. During all of this, a woman in the crowd shouted, “Leave him alone! He’s old!” This was only a nearfall as Scurll and King made the save, and then they brought a second table into the ring. Williams and Haskins peppered King with more cane shots. Scurll responded with shots from his umbrella. Scurll took down Bandido with his umbrella, placed him on the table, and went up top, but Bandido recovered and stopped Scurll, finally giving him his moonsault slam off the top through the table for the big win. Another wild, crowd-pleasing match. Bandido, Haskins, and Williams shook hands with all of the ringside fans, and then Williams took the mic and thanked the crowd for coming out on behalf of LifeBlood and everyone at ROH.

The main show started at about 6 PM and ended at 9:47 PM. I had some issues with the pacing of this show early on. A lot of talking segments that were good, some longer matches that weren’t good, and some shorter matches, but I really enjoyed the two last matches, and they energized the crowd and ended the night on a high note. A lot of focus on the NWA, and I’m not sure how it will play into ROH as I don’t know how much of it will be part of ROH TV. Cabana vs. Storm likely will be, but I don’t know about the Aldis-Scurll segment or the Eli Drake squash. ROH has a little bit of direction with the faction warfare, the World Title picture with Alex Shelley returning, and Maria Manic joining the women’s division, but I listened to the reactions, and they varied to people from Dalton Castle to Rush. No direction for Jeff Cobb following the PPV as he’s off to be G1 Jeff, and late in the game I joined the bandwagon of wanting him to win the ROH World Title and take it with him to Japan for a month in change, throwing the other contenders into crisitunity over the summer in the attempt of some more compelling stories. But no, ROH is focused on Matt Taven and company, and Taven still has his fans. No return date was given for Philadelphia, while they hit up New York City and Lowell, MA next month.

#ROH #Ring of Honor #ROHBITW #ROHPhilly #Wrestling #nwa wrestling #NWA

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