Marseglia and O’Ryan jumped their opponents at the bell, but PCO powered through them and Scurll used apron superkicks to get the early advantage.
Marseglia and O’Ryan then cut off Scurll and used a double flapjack to start their attack. Inevitably, Scurll got the tag to PCO — who got in and brushed off the attacks of The Kingdom. PCO used a pop-up powerbomb and a swing-out slam to nearly finish off Marseglia, but he only got a two count as O’Ryan broke up the pin.
Scurll sent both Kingdom members to the floor and then launched PCO onto them.
Scurll used a superplex and PCO came off the top with a frog splash, but Marseglia kicked out. Marseglia used a tilt-a-whirl side Russian leg sweep on Scurll but wasn’t able to secure the pin. The Kingdom took out PCO with a Marseglia dive and followed that up with a Red Rum senton on Scurll — but again Scurll kicked out.
After the break, The Kingdom were able to take out PCO as O’Ryan managed to hip toss him off the top turnbuckle onto a chair across the apron. PCO’s lower back snapped off the apron. This allowed O’Ryan to hit a moonsault on Scurll.
It looked like PCO was out, but he made it back to his feet and took out O’Ryan. This left Scurll alone with Marseglia — and he was able to latch on the chicken wing and Marseglia had to submit.
Mayu Iwatani defeated Holidead
Sumie Sakai was at ringside but didn’t get involved at all. An even exchange started off the match, but Holidead used a stunner and a leg drop on the apron to get the advantage. Iwatani used her quickness to evade and hit a single-leg dropkick. However, Holidead caught her and hit a big spinebuster to get a two count.
Iwatani used a crucifix bomb, but Holidead kicked out at two. She then turned Iwatani inside out with a big clothesline. Holidead looked to finish off Iwatani with a double underhook powerbomb, but Iwatani landed on her feet and nailed a superkick and a German suplex.
Iwatani went up top and hit a moonsault onto Holidead to get the win.
Kenny King defeated Dalton Castle
Castle ducked some early attacks by King. He frustrated King early and it looked like King was about to bail on the match. However, after the break, King was in the ring getting hit with a few amateur suplexes from Castle. Castle followed up with a bulldog, but King kicked out at two.
King rolled to the floor. It looked like Castle was about to fly, but King picked up one of the Boys and pressed him at Castle. He got in the ring and hit the Royal Flush on Castle for the win.
King then got on the mic and challenged Scurll to a match at ROH’s 17th Anniversary pay-per-view in Las Vegas this Friday.
Backstage, Taven was holding his broken title belt and proclaimed that he would show Jay Lethal why he was Matt Taven.
Taven then went to the ring and called out Lethal. Lethal came out, but he got jumped by The Kingdom. They tore Lethal’s clothes off and Taven chopped him until Lethal broke free and fought back.
But the numbers game got the best of Lethal. Marseglia and O’Ryan hit him with the House of 1,000 Horses and then got a table out from under the ring.
Before they could set the table up, Jonathan Gresham ran in and met the same fate as Lethal. They finally set up the table, then Taven hit a giant elbow off the top rope to put Lethal through it.
The Kingdom stood strong heading into Friday’s Anniversary PPV, where Lethal will defend his ROH World Championship against Taven.
Ring of Honor’s Six-Man Tag Team titles will be on the line at their next set of television tapings.
ROH announced today that The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) will defend their Six-Man titles against Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, PCO & Brody King) at March’s TV tapings. The tapings are taking place at Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 16, which is the night after the venue hosts ROH’s 17th Anniversary pay-per-view.
Villain Enterprises were originally scheduled to challenge for The Kingdom’s titles at this month’s tapings in Florida, but King didn’t appear at the show due to the birth of his son.
Taven is challenging for Jay Lethal’s ROH World Championship in the main event of the 17th Anniversary event. PCO & King are challenging for The Briscoes’ Tag Team titles at the PPV, and Scurll is facing Kenny King in a singles match.
ROH was in Miami, Florida on Sunday for Bound By Honor, the final night of their short Sunshine State loop this weekend.
Caprice Coleman and Nick Aldis (w/ Kamille) were on commentary for tonight’s show. Aldis filled in for Ian Riccaboni tonight, as Riccaboni was home with his family awaiting the birth of their second child.
The venue was smaller but the front area looked packed in. The seats towards the back were peppered with fans but looked to be empty, mostly.
Jay Briscoe defeated Rhett Titus
Titus flexed his baby oil-laden muscles and cut a basic promo on Briscoe in the ring before the match. He at one point flexed until his face turned red. Moments later, the crowd began chanting “Jay is gonna kill you.”
Titus worked Briscoe over with stomps, chops, and a back-rake early on. He then used a tope con giro to the floor and received applause from a confused crowd who didn’t seem to know how to react after all of Titus’ heel work.
Briscoe quickly came back with a Rude Awakening-style neckbreaker. He followed up by hitting the Jay Driller for a quick win. Not a great match — but it felt like it did its job in keeping Jay strong in singles action.
Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger, Eli Isom & Ryan Nova) defeated Dalton Castle & The Boys
Castle and the Boys shook hands with 3S before the bout. Castle’s trash talk was funny and his mat wrestling looked great, which allowed Nick Aldis to start to shine on commentary. He did a good job at detail-oriented play-by-play.
Cheeseburger got a few chants when he tagged in. 3S used some double-team work on both Boys, and Isom hit a decent springboard splash to one of them.
The crowd died halfway through until Isom hit the ring. Nice springboard missile dropkick and a few wild suplex from Isom here. Castle started yelling at the Boys after this, which led to some miscommunication on an Irish whip a few moments later, with Castle and a Boy getting knocked off the ring. Isom used a brainbuster on the other Boy for the upset win.
This could have been about five minutes shorter. It’s looking as though Castle and the Boys will split soon. That was the only real story within the match, and it didn’t become apparent until the last few minutes.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Colt Cabana
This was nonstop World of Sport-style mat wrestling — both looked excellent throughout. They had natural chemistry together; Sabre, the arrogant, vicious heel, Cabana, the fun-loving wrestling craftsmen who isn’t afraid to throw a few closed-fist punches every now and then.
There were almost no strikes in this match, actually, or at least for the first five minutes or so. It was all catching, all hold-for-hold, all pin combos and reversals.
The crowd heated up once the two started chopping and kicking each other. Sabre used a harsh penalty kick on Cabana, and later finished him with a triangle choke/straight reverse armbar.
If old WOS is your thing, you should probably go out of your way to check this out. ZSJ was really “on” tonight.
Kenny King defeated Marty Scurll, Willie Mack, and Silas Young in a four corner survival match
This was all action. Young shoved all the competitors in the ring before the bell and left the ring. He continued to jaw-jack from the floor after the match kicked off.
Willie Mack gave Kenny King a nipple-twister. There was a point early on when only Mack and Scurll were in the ring together and it looked like they have the capacity to pull off something special in a singles match.
Mack did a crossbody block to all three wrestlers, then hit a huge tope con giro to the floor and received an entirely different response to the spot than Rhett Titus did earlier on.
Mack and Scurll were who people were most excited for in this match, which in a way is a shame because King and Young both looked pretty good tonight, too, tighter than usual, especially regarding Young.
Mack and Scurll did some nice double-team work on King and the crowd lit up. The two then had a chop-off.
Scurll used a half-nelson suplex on Young, then put him in the chicken wing. Young tapped, but King distracted the referee after he brought a chair into the ring. After referee Todd Sinclair grabbed the chair from King, King gave Scurll a low blow and pinned him for the victory.
This match was good but would have been better if it were either a tag match or a singles match between Scurll and Mack. The crowd hadn’t reacted to anything so vociferously up until those two were in the ring.
ROH Television Champion Jeff Cobb defeated Rocky Romero to retain his title
This was fine. A bit of a David vs. Goliath story at the start. Cobb stood like a stone and wouldn’t sell any strikes — he wouldn’t leave his feet for any wrestling-related holds.
After a couple of minutes, Romero decided to use an eye poke to shift the match’s momentum briefly. Cobb came back with ease and dominated the bout some more. He used a cool modified Oklahoma Stampede on Romero for two.
The crowd died in the middle of this until Cobb hit a standing moonsault. Romero rallied back and used an unassisted Sliced Bread on Cobb for two. Romero fluffed a few springboard spots. When he went for another Sliced Bread, Cobb reversed it into a backbreaker.
At the end of the match, Cobb went on a suplex tear and finished Romero off with Tour of the Islands.
This looked better on paper then it ended up being. I’m not sure if it was the awkwardness between the wrestlers, like with their chemistry together, or because the crowd sort of gave up halfway through the match.
Mayu Iwatani defeated Kelly Klein to win the Women of Honor World Championship
This might have been the best match of the show so far next to the ZSJ vs. Cabana WOS showcase.
Klein looks more confident with every show she’s been on since she’s won the WOH title. A few fans threw streamers in the ring for Iwatani.
The two started off with rough chops, headlocks, knees, and kicks. Up to this point in the show, no one was as good at selling as Iwatani was during this match. It helped Klein look like a monster, plus it induced the crowd to get behind Iwatani whenever she made a comeback. I mean, she was getting pops off of shoulder blocks at one point.
Iwatani hit a stunning plancha from the top turnbuckle to the floor. Klein returned with a release German suplex onto the floor.
Iwatani used two release Dragon suplexes and a few brutal kicks for two. She later used two moonsaults onto Klein for the shock win. The crowd was stunned and very into it.
LifeBlood (Juice Robinson, Mark Haskins, Bandido & Tracy Williams) w/ Tenille Dashwood defeated The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas) & Coast to Coast (LSG & Shaheem Ali)
Too many cooks in the kitchen here. The match didn’t feel like it really began until Bandido was tagged in. He springboard around the ring a bit until the heels and babyfaces all squared off for a small skirmish. This made for a nice visual that’d fit well into a promo package.
Haskins worked very hard in this match. Great selling and intense offense. He took much of the heel defense in the middle of this one.
Beer City Bruiser did his “I ain’t got no teeth!” catchphrase. The crowd responded with a confused groan.
Robinson was quite over but didn’t do a whole lot in this one. He used a nice spinebuster at one point. He looked to be the tallest guy in the match, too, which I found strange for some reason.
Bandido used a slingshot frankensteiner to the floor onto Bruiser, then a tornillo in the ring on LSG for two.
On the apron, Bruiser used a Death Valley Driver onto Haskins and it got a “holy sh*t” chant. This looked nuts.
The biggest pop of the night came when Bandido caught Bruiser off the ropes and cleanly powerslammed him. Wow. How he doesn’t have a hernia, I don’t know. He used 21+, the rolling slingshot German suplex, on LSG for the win. Lots of action at the end of this one.
The Bouncers busted out a small cooler and all of the wrestlers — Dashwood included — chugged a few.
PCO defeated Mark Briscoe
A great modern brawl with an unfortunately tired crowd. At the start, the two exchanged heavy strikes before running to the outside of the ring to grab steel chairs. They wanted to have a chair duel, but referee Todd Sinclair broke it up.
Mark Briscoe later hit a running blockbuster to the floor on PCO. They exchanged chops after this — and every one of them sounded painful. Briscoe’s chest was purplish-red.
PCO later returned the attacks with a big chokeslam and even more chops in the corner.
The crowd woke back up when PCO used a tope con giro through the middle ropes, like the one Fenix does, it’s just here it’s, well, it’s PCO. It should be noted that PCO was bleeding from the left eye at this point in the match.
The two really started going at it after the floor spots. PCO took another insane bump onto the edge of the apron tonight, the missed somersault senton. Mark Briscoe took advantage of this and did a corkscrew senton from the top turnbuckle to the outside.
The match spilled out into the aisle, then onto the stage. Briscoe powerbombed PCO onto the stage floor and it looked really dangerous. PCO no-sold this, then Briscoe dropkicked him down the entrance stairs.
Briscoe hit PCO with two hard chair shots, then hit a Froggy Bow for two. Somehow PCO came back and landed his monstrous moonsault for the win.
If you like late-90s ECW, this was pretty much that. It’s truly unreal to see PCO take so much punishment so regularly, which is worrisome, but a spectacle, still.
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) defeated ROH World Champion Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham & Rush in a non-title match
This weekend in Florida was Rush’s official debut as an ROH talent. He and TK O’Ryan were terrific together early in this match. The audience loved all the Los Ingobernables taunts and poses he did.
Lethal and Taven bolted at each other outside the ring after this, apropos of nothing, really, and started blasting each other with punches. It was so heated and well done that the crowd went all in on it. The rest of the competitors followed suit, and the next few minutes of the match consisted of mostly brawling.
It was hard to figure out who the legal man was at points. The referees tonight allowed for tons of leeway with the wrestlers on the outside and basically didn’t use any counts.
This bothers a lot of fans. Realistically, it’s been a part of the American scene since the ECW days, so I and others have grown used to it and often don’t mind, but it’s something worth discussing. The same idea could be applied to the PCO vs. Mark Briscoe match, where the ref felt more like a piece of furniture with wheels, always there but not really adding much else to the aesthetic of the match.
Marseglia and O’Ryan used House of a Thousand Corpses on both Rush and Gresham, then Taven pinned Lethal after the Climax.
Kenny King came out and cut a promo on Lethal and Marty Scurll. Scurll followed King and attacked him, and then — pretty much the entire locker room emptied out and it looked like a very tired battle royale.
Bully Ray came out last and started screaming at Todd Sinclair for some reason. PCO confronted Bully and they exchanged chops until the Briscoes attacked PCO, who eventually came back and did a moonsault from the top onto about 20 wrestlers.
The match was chaotic and kind of a mess, but it wasn’t bad. I didn’t really understand the underlying function of the last segment, unless it was just to come up with an excuse for PCO to moonsault onto everyone so that the company can use it for their sizzle reel.
Final thoughts —
This was a decent show that was a bit of a slog at times. ZSJ vs. Cabana, Iwatani vs. Klein and PCO vs. Mark Briscoe were probably the best matches of the night, or at least the most fun to watch.
Villain Enterprises are getting their first shot at the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles.
ROH has announced that Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, PCO & Brody King) will challenge for The Kingdom’s (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) titles at the promotion’s television tapings in Lakeland, Florida on Saturday, February 9.
Villain Enterprises have been feuding with The Kingdom since forming at last month’s post-Final Battle tapings. An angle aired on this week’s episode of ROH TV where Villain Enterprises were supposed to face The Kingdom for the titles, but The Kingdom said they hadn’t earned a title shot yet. Scurll, PCO & King defeated Cheeseburger, Eli Isom & Ryan Nova instead.
This is the second title match to be announced for the Lakeland tapings, with Jeff Cobb set to defend his Television Championship against Silas Young. ROH has also announced Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Rocky Romero for the tapings.
The Lakeland tapings are part of Bound By Honor weekend, which also includes an HonorClub show in Miami on Sunday, February 10.
The show opened with a recap of last week’s announcement by Christopher Daniels that Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky had new contracts, but that he did not. His last match on his current contract will be at Final Battle against Marty Scurll, and should he lose, he will be out of the company. Scurll’s future ROH World Championship shot will be on the line.
Before a match between them, Flip Gordon challenged Silas Young to man up and make it an I Quit match. Young booted Gordon and started the pummeling immediately, then grabbed the microphone and declared that he accepts.
Flip Gordon and Silas Young went to a no contest in an I Quit match
It was an intense game of cat and mouse as Young chased Gordon, but Gordon had the speed edge and out-maneuvered him. Gordon landed a moonsault to the floor on Young to gain control.
After the break, Gordon pulled a table out and set it up in the corner. As he went to get his opponent, Young tossed a chair at him and gained the advantage.
Young continued to beat Gordon with a chair inside the ring. Young landed the Anarchist suplex and applied a full-nelson stretch, but Gordon fought out and landed a superkick. Gordon then missed with a dive. That gave Young the opportunity to grab a Singapore cane.
Seeing the cane fired up Gordon. He cut off Young with a chair, laid waste to Young, and picked up the cane himself. This brought Bully Ray down. Bully choked Gordon with a chain. Young speared the helpless Gordon through a table. The match was thrown out by the referee due to interference.
A preview for ROH Television Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Hangman Page at Final Battle aired. Page called Cobb’s run in ROH so far a disappointment.
ROH Tag Team Champions Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky, representing SoCal Uncensored, came to the ring. Sky got the microphone and — just as he was about to say Pittsburgh was the worst town he’s ever been in — they were jumped from behind by The Briscoes.
The Young Bucks came down to cut off The Briscoes and save SCU. They exchanged a respectful handshake, but as the Bucks turned away, The Briscoes shoved SCU into them. The Bucks returned the favor with superkicks on both teams. They then pulled a ladder out from under the ring, but before they could set it up, Kazarian dropkicked it into the Bucks and Sky landed a flip dive on The Briscoes. SCU stood tall on the ladder holding their belts to end the segment.
Daniels discussed his last opportunity to claim a contract with ROH. He must defeat Scurll at Final Battle, and should he be successful, he will not only win a title shot down the line, but he will also gain a new lease on life with a new ROH contract.
ROH World Champion Jay Lethal, Cody Rhodes & Dalton Castle defeated The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan)
Castle is returning from his “concussion-like symptoms” after he received a three-man con-chair-to by The Kingdom a few weeks ago.
This one started quickly as The Kingdom triple teamed Castle and Cody and Lethal bickered. Castle fought off The Kingdom while wearing his amazing “ugly” purple sweatshirt. He tagged in Cody, and Cody took over on O’Ryan.
Taven had seen enough and got involved. He took over and led the charge on Cody. He tagged in O’Ryan — who tossed Cody down by the hair. Cody swung the momentum with a powerslam and tagged in Castle. Castle came in with a fury. The Kingdom cut him off and put a hurting on him on the outside as the referee was distracted.
Marseglia got in with Castle and kept The Kingdom in control. He tagged in Taven — who antagonized Lethal. Castle finally fought back and tagged in Lethal.
Lethal ran wild until the numbers game caught up with him. Taven got a chair involved and looked to connect with a con-chair-to, but Castle came in and went after Taven. Both spilled into the crowd as Castle chased Taven. That left Lethal and Cody in against Marseglia and O’Ryan.
Lethal and Cody couldn’t work together and it looked like Cody was about to fall victim to The Kingdom, but Lethal made the save and that allowed Cody to land the Cross Rhodes on O’Ryan for the win.
Episode #362 of Ring of Honor television was taped at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia last month.
The first match was called by a three-man announce booth as Caprice Coleman joined Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana.
Christopher Daniels defeated Jay Briscoe by DQ
A grudge match between SoCal Uncensored and The Briscoes has been building for a while. In this chapter of the feud, Daniels seemingly had Jay beat until he was save by Mark. The match started hot with Daniels landing an Arabian press moonsault to the floor. Daniels was aggressive in the opening until Jay cut him off with an STO, driving Daniels’ face into the turnbuckle.
After the break, Daniels was in charge and landed an STO of his own. A Blue Thunder Bomb was looking like the set up to the Angel’s Wings, but Jay fought out and went for a Jay Driller. Daniels countered and landed a big slam. He seemingly had the match won, but Mark slid in and smashed a folding chair across the back of Daniels for the disqualification.
The Briscoes attempted to do further damage to Daniels until the rest of SoCal Uncensored made the save.
A video package highlighting Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham’s upcoming ROH World Championship match aired. ROH also recapped the four-way match that led to Madison Rayne becoming the number one contender to the Women of Honor Championship.
Flip Gordon defeated Silas Young
Young cut off Gordon right away, but Gordon used his speed to arm drag Young twice. Young slammed a forearm into the mouth of Gordon and went to work on the high flyer. Gordon landed a huge flip dive to the outside, which brought us to the break.
Gordon used a springboard spear to put Young down. Gordon landed on his feet after a counter by Young, then Young drilled him with a clothesline. Young landed his Anarchy suplex, but Gordon kicked out at two.
A forearm exchange ended with Gordon being knocked down, but he got back up and landed a Falcon Arrow driver, which put both men down. Another forearm exchange led to Young getting rolled up by Gordon for the pin.
After the match, Bully Ray came in and hit Gordon below the belt, then stared down Young.
Kenny King talked about his return to wrestling after The Bachelorette and cheating to defeat Marty Scurll last episode.
Nick Aldis joined Riccaboni and Cabana on the headsets for the main event.
The Young Bucks & Cody Rhodes defeated The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) to win the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles
Early on, The Bucks saved Cody from a suplex and looked to start the Superkick Party, but The Kingdom bailed. The Kingdom went to work on Matt Jackson’s knee. Aldis said he was impressed by O’Ryan’s skill.
After the break, Matt Jackson fought back until The Kingdom cut him off. However, he made the tag to Nick Jackson, who went crazy and destroyed The Kingdom until Marseglia popped a balloon in his ear. Cody was tagged in and went for the Sharpshooter submission — as did The Bucks. All three members of The Kingdom were in trouble.
The Kingdom escaped and a parade of finishers ensued. Marseglia had another balloon and looked to pop it in Cody’s ear, but Nick Jackson superkick the balloon and it popped in Marseglia’s ear instead. A triple superkick on Taven got a two count. Cody hit the Cross Rhodes on Taven, but O’Ryan pulled Cody off the pin. Everyone hit a dive, including Brandi Rhodes coming off the top turnbuckle onto everyone. Burnard the Business Bear got up on the apron and ate an enzuigiri for his troubles.
Taven hit the Climax and Marseglia connected with a Swanton, but Matt Jackson broke up the pin. All six men engaged in a striking exchange. The Kingdom had Cody up for the Rockstar Supernova, but The Bucks made the save. Cody landed the Cross Rhodes on Marseglia and that got the three count to win Cody & The Bucks the titles.
Apparently Marseglia was not the legal man. The Kingdom ended the show complaining to the referee to reverse the decision — which did not happen.
Episode #358 of Ring of Honor television continued the run of shows that were taped in Fairfax, Virginia following Best in the World.
A recap aired of Jay Lethal’s ROH World Championship victory over Dalton Castle, Cody Rhodes, and Matt Taven from the week before.
KUSHIDA defeated Jonathan Gresham
This match was a technical classic. A million back-and-forth exchanges started it off. Gresham had the early advantage with a few really nice pinning combinations. Some very unique looking offense from both men led us into the first commercial of the show.
Back from the break, KUSHIDA took over and worked Gresham’s arm with a few different submission holds. There was a back-and-forth pin exchange that lasted seemingly forever and got the crowd going. KUSHIDA was able to snatch the arm back and get a Kimura lock on Gresham. It looked like Gresham was going to have to tap, but he got to the ropes.
A striking exchange got Gresham the advantage, but KUSHIDA seemingly out of nowhere hooked on the fisherman’s DDT and spiked Gresham on top of his head for the victory.
SoCal Uncensored cut a promo on The Briscoes and The Kingdom and reminded us that they were the greatest tag team and/or six-man tag team on the planet.
Hana Kimura & Kagetsu defeated Jenny Rose & Mayu Iwatani
Mandy Leon joined Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana on commentary as she’s nearly ready to return from injury.
A lot of fun action started this off. Rose had control until Kagetsu grabbed the referee. This allowed Kimura to grab Rose and drag her out of the ring. Kagetsu then hit a dive through the ropes and landed on the pile.
Iwatani missed a dive off the top. Kimura went for a suplex but ate a kick. She then countered Iwatani for a suplex slam. The tag was made to the two fresher competitors. Kagetsu came in and went right after the eyes of Rose. Rose landed a fisherman’s suplex on Kagetsu and hit a big dive for a two count. Kagetsu countered a move of Rose and sunk in an armbar, but Rose got to the ropes.
Rose and Kagetsu exchanged forearms. Kagetsu distracted the ref, then Kimura came in and landed some shots with a wooden sign. Kagetsu hit a fireman’s carry falcon arrow on Rose for the win.
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) defeated Eli Isom, Kenny King & Chuckie T to retain their titles
The makeshift team of Isom, King & Taylor had the early advantage as they landed some revolving corner smash forearms. Taylor landed Soul Food for a near fall. Next, King and Taven exchanged moves until Taven was thrown outside, which allowed King to land a dive. Back in the ring, Taylor landed a falcon arrow on O’Ryan. They all landed big kicks on each other, putting everyone down.
Taylor tagged in Isom, and Taven beat him down. Isom countered into a fallaway slam. Isom went up top, but Marseglia popped a balloon in his ear. The Kingdom went for the Rockstar Supernova on Isom, but Taylor and King pulled The Kingdom out of the ring. That allowed Isom to get an unsuccessful pin attempt on Taven.
Isom’s success didn’t last long as Taven countered his attempt at a hurricanrana back into the Rockstar Supernova for the win.
Matches from the promotion’s June show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City continued to be featured on episode #356 of Ring of Honor television.
The show opened with The Kingdom talking about a conspiracy against them and how it doesn’t matter who wins the six-man gauntlet match tonight because their belts aren’t going anywhere.
Kelly Klein defeated Jenny Rose
This was a very basic match and was designed to get Klein over as a monster for her to take on Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai, as Klein put a beating on Rose.
Rose landed a nice German suplex and a spear for a near fall, but Klein hit a snap suplex, floated over, and hooked on the guillotine. Referee Todd Sinclair called for the bell after Rose went limp.
Backstage, The Dawgs entered Cody’s locker room. They were looking for money. Cody was quite annoyed and ended up throwing money at them to get them out of his hair.
The Kingdom joined Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana at the announce table for the gauntlet match because the winning team will get a Six-Man Tag Team title shot against them.
Gauntlet match: Alex Shelley, LSG & Jonathan Gresham defeated Shane Taylor & The Dawgs (Rhett Titus & Will Ferrara)
LSG got the hot tag and cleaned house on The Dawgs. He went to the top turnbuckle and did a 450 to the floor. He threw Ferrara back in and got the pin on Ferrara with a roll-up.
Gauntlet match: Alex Shelley, LSG & Jonathan Gresham defeated Silas Young & The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas)
Silas Young and The Bouncers entered next. Gresham and Young exchanged a lot of reversals. The Bouncers took control and worked over Gresham. Gresham landed a DDT on Young and LSG got another hot tag. The Bouncers ended up taking over, but LSG landed a 450 on Milonas for the win.
This brought out the fourth team, SoCal Uncensored.
Gauntlet match: SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) defeated Alex Shelley, LSG & Jonathan Gresham
SoCal Uncensored took over and laid waste to LSG. Sky hit a monster hurricanrana that allowed Daniels and Kazarian to hit Celebrity Rehab for the win.
This brought out the final team of the gauntlet match, Kenny King, Chuckie T & Eli Isom.
Gauntlet match: Kenny King, Chuckie T & Eli Isom defeated SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky)
Chuckie T ran wild. He tagged in King for some double team moves until Sky cut off King and tagged in Kazarian. King fought for his team and landed a nice spine buster on Kazarian, but his efforts were cut off by Daniels.
Sky did an insane flip dive that left Isom in the ring with Daniels. Isom was able to counter and get a pin on Daniels for the win. So, King, Chuckie T & Isom have earned a shot at The Kingdom’s Six-Man Tag Team titles.
From the Odeum Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Ring of Honor presented episode #349 of their television series, featuring the first-ever Women of Honor Championship defense and a Six-Man tag title main event.
– Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana were on commentary this evening.
Cheeseburger & Jushin Thunder Liger defeated The Dawgs (Rhett Titus & Will Ferrara)
The crowd threw streamers for Liger and Cheeseburger. Cheeseburger started with a few roll-ups, but Titus tossed him. Cheeseburger tagged Liger and they hit stereo cannon ball dives off the apron.
Back from the break, Liger was surfing on Ferrara’s spine. Titus made a blind tag, aka a slap to the back of Ferrara’s head, which caused a bit of dissension, and Titus launched Ferrara into Cheeseburger. Ferrara and Titus then hit doggy splashes off the bottom rope.
Cheeseburger managed to land a reverse tornado DDT and Liger got the hot tag. Liger hit a Liger Bomb on Ferrara, then double Shotei palm strikes on both foes led to a Liger brainbuster on Titus for the win.
– ROH World Champion Dalton Castle challenged both Marty Scurll and Cody Rhodes for Best in the World, claiming that each man has a deserving case for a title shot.
Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai defeated Jenny Rose to retain her title
This was the first-ever WOH title defense in history. Early on, Sakai landed a crossbody block off the top turnbuckle to the floor. However, a side slam and a swinging fisherman’s suplex gave Rose control. Rose connected with a shoulder tackle on Sakai, who was on the apron, and Sakai went tumbling to the floor.
Rose hit a drop toe hold onto a chair outside the ring, but she got lazy as she rolled Sakai back in. Sakai landed a hurricanrana off the top and followed it up with the Smash Mouth for the win.
SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, & Scorpio Sky) defeated ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) by DQ
Daniels popped a balloon over Marseglia’s head and Cabana commented that it may be the only pop Daniels receives tonight. Later, Marseglia popped a balloon in Sky’s ear. The Kingdom beat down Sky, using a triple hot shot on the top rope. Sky almost made the tag, but The Kingdom pulled his partners off the apron.
Eventually, Sky tagged Kazarian, who brought Taven in the hard way into a cutter, then used a Northern Lights suplex and a bridge for a double pin, but The Kingdom kicked out. SCU used a double hip toss into a dual powerbomb and cutter for a near fall. Kazarian hit an outside-in DDT on Marseglia.
Then came the dives. Taven landed a big dive on Daniels, Kazarian hit a leaping rana to the floor, Marseglia used a springboard plancha, and O’Ryan looked to hit a moonsault but was cut off by a knee from Sky, who then used a running flip dive on everyone.
Back in the ring, Daniels grabbed some knucks, but the referee stopped him from connecting with the loaded punch. Taven attempted to strike Daniels with his cane, but the ref grabbed that as well, and as the ref was setting the cane outside, Kazarian came running into the ring with a chair. Taven ducked the chair shot, causing Kazarian to hit the rope with the chair. It ricocheted back into his own head, creating a self knockout.
The referee didn’t see what happened but heard the chair shot, so he called for the bell and awarded the match to SoCal Uncensored by disqualification. The Kingdom remain the ROH Six-Man champions.
Next week’s main event will be Austin Aries returning to ROH in-ring action for the first time in over three years as he challenges for Silas Young’s TV title.
After the match, Riccaboni officially announced that the three-way World Championship main event between Castle, Cody, and Scurll has been signed and is set for ROH’s next pay-per-view, Best in the World, on June 29th in Baltimore.
A change in the card led to new champions last night at the first ROH War of the Worlds event in Lowell, Massachusetts.
During the show Castle came out and said that due to accumulating injuries, he would be unable to defend the ROH championship tonight. He reiterated that he was not relinquishing the title, but would instead take time off to heal injuries. It was reported in the newest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Castle has back and hand injuries, including a possible break in the hand.
An angle was set up during the Coast 2 Coast/Marseglia and O’Ryan bout where SoCal Uncensored came out from the back and took the ROH six man tag team titles from The Kingdom, who in storyline had recently stolen them. This set up a new match for later that night, where The Kingdom regained the six man titles from SoCal Uncensored, ending their two month reign with the titles.
The main event of the show had the Young Bucks defeat the Los Ingobernables de Japon team of BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi.
Bully Ray teamed with Mark & Jay Briscoe to challenge The Kingdom for their six-man tag titles. Hanson and Punishment Martinez battled in a singles match with tag team implications. And a semifinal match set the stage for the conclusion of the Top Prospect Tournament.
Also, “Story time with Adam Cole” turned solemn and the Bullet Club retaliated against Frankie Kazarian.
Where to watch —
Airing this past weekend in syndication, the episode is available this week via the FITE TV app before airing on Wednesday at midnight ET on Comet TV, including on that channel’s free online live stream. The episode is also available on the official ROH website to watch for free on Thursday. Check local listings for availability.
Show recap —
The show opened with Mark and Jay Briscoe reflecting on the debut of Bully Ray in ROH where he joined up with “Dem Boys” to form a team. In the main event of this show, they challenge The Kingdom for the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship.
Damien “Punishment” Martinez defeated Hanson
These two were recently in a short tag team feud that produced some wild brawls. They picked up where they left off here by brawling at the outset of a mean guy match.
Though the match was good enough, annoying noises (and these weren’t just cheers or boos) from a portion of the crowd were so audible it made the first half of the match almost unbearable to watch. The second half of the match after the first commercial break was much more pleasant as the noises stopped.
The brawling gave way to them trading near falls down the stretch. Hanson kept countering Martinez when he attempted a chokeslam. Not necessarily breaking news, but Hanson can fly like a cruiserweight. He did springboards and such. Not to be outdone, Martinez ran and leapt over the ropes into a dive to the outside.
In the closing moments, Hanson climbed the ropes looking to finish off Martinez with a high flying move off the top. Suddenly, Davey Boy Smith Jr. walked onstage to cause a distraction. Hanson turned his attention to Davey Boy, allowing Martinez to capitalize and execute his South of Heaven chokeslam for the pinfall.
Recapping events from the 15th Anniversary Show, footage of TK O’Ryan smashing his leg into a guardrail showed the injury that led to him being sidelined for some time to come. Thusly, the six-man tag later in the show will include a substitute for The Kingdom to defend the titles.
After the recap of the severe injury to O’Ryan, Silas Young cut a promo hyping a house show. That was ironic as he would go on to replace O’Ryan in the main event of this TV show.
In his promo, Silas promoted the “ROH Unauthorized” show in Milwaukee. As the tagline indicates, the show will be more edgy as all the matches are “unsanctioned” so anything goes. Silas vowed to fight a lot and drink lots of beer.
In an angle, Hangman Page attacked Frankie Kazarian in a parking garage. The Bullet Club were retaliating on Kazarian for swerving them. Page jumped Kazarian as an unknown associate filmed the sneak attack.
Grabbing a rope, Page went to presumably put a noose around Kazarian’s neck when a bystander wandered onto the scene off camera. Bullet Club then fled the scene.
John Skyler defeated Curt Stallion and advanced to the finals of the Top Prospect Tournament
Taped during “Manhattan Mayhem” from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, Brutal Bob Evans provided guest commentary for this semifinal match of the tournament.
Both Stallion and Skyler worked hard trying to have as exciting a match as possible. They were doing just that when Stallion wiped out on a dive through the ropes. Skyler sidestepped and Stallion crashed onto the floor just before a commercial break. The match continued and they kept working hard. God only knows how as Stallion took quite a bump on the outside.
They set a quick pace and continued it throughout most of the match. For the finish, Stallion went for a Frankensteiner as they were perched on the top turnbuckle. Skyler blocked it to deliver his finisher, Southern Salvation. Skyler pinned Stallion to advance towards the finals of the Top Prospect Tournament.
Adam Cole somewhat tried to repair ill will in the Superkliq subfaction of the Bullet Club. In a solemn promo, Cole pleaded with The Young Bucks for them all to reconcile their differences. Ever the heel, Cole never totally admitted his own fault nor did he take any blame for their issues.
The Briscoes & Bully Ray defeated The Kingdom & Silas Young to win the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship
A backstage skit showed Silas Young making his proposal to The Kingdom for himself to sub in exchange for his own team getting a future title shot. Though everyone agreed to him being the replacement, tension clearly existed within the group from the beginning.
That would play into the story of the match. Young even argued with both Matt Taven and Vinny Marseglia in the ring before things got started.
As Young argued with The Kingdom, Bully Ray interrupted them to introduce himself and The Briscoes. Then they jumped the heels before the bell and cleaned house.
Marseglia was getting bullied by Bully Ray when he cut him off. The Briscoes pummeled Marseglia for doing such. Taven and Young interfered to crotch Jay Briscoe on a ring post, turning the tide for The Kingdom.
The heels worked over Jay until a hot tag to brother Mark. As Mark began to run wild, The Kingdom cut him off. Young tried to steal a cover from The Kingdom. Taven and Young begin to argue when a babyface tag brought in Bully Ray to clean house.
Both Briscoes lifted Marseglia for Bully Ray to deliver the 3D. Bully Ray then pinned Marseglia to capture the ROH World Six-Man Championship.
The rise of a new version of The Kingdom began on the latest episode of Ring of Honor television. Taped in Lowell, MA, the show featured Matt Taven returning to TV with a new stable facing off against Adam Cole and the Bullet Club.
Also on the episode, Dragon Lee earned a TV title shot against Bobby Fish. In the opening match, Big Mike played cat-and-mouse with trickster Toru Yano.
Michael Elgin defeated Toru Yano
Taped before breaking his orbital bone, Big Mike was his usual self here. So was Yano. The early portion of the match was Yano begging off. He offered a left handed handshake then tried to turn it into a test of strength. He failed that test as the power of Elgin proved too great. Elgin then pummeled Yano before knocking him out of the ring.
On the outside, Yano grabbed a pair of snips that he used to cut loose a turnbuckle pad. Yano gained a momentary advantage using underhanded tactics like choking Elgin with the tag rope. But Big Mike would soon fire up.
Elgin got a near fall when he executed a falcon arrow. Moments later, Elgin retrieved the snips and cut loose another turnbuckle pad. Upon blocking a buckle bomb, Yano sent Elgin into an exposed buckle. Referee Todd Sinclair blocked an attempted low blow only for Yano to use him as a human shield. Yano then used a low blow anyway and cradled Elgin for a two count.
Elgin hoisted up Yano and dropped him on an exposed buckle with snake eyes. Yano still kicked out even after a lariat clothesline. So, Elgin finished him off with a sit-out powerbomb and covered him for the pinfall.
Hyping a TV title match on the next episode, Bobby Fish cut a promo on Hangman Page. Besides being a title match, there is a grudge to settle as Page injured Fish in storyline when he attacked him with a chair. Fish would later have his ribs taped and that played a part in the story of the next match.
Dragon Lee defeated World TV Champion Bobby Fish in a non-title proving ground match
In an effort to get him over and introduce him to the TV audience, a video package highlighted Dragon Lee and aired earlier in the show before this match. On commentary, Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino played up the injury to Fish. Dragon Lee was at first reluctant to target the taped ribs until doing so later in the match. That was after Fish turned up the intensity.
They started off with mat wrestling that led to dives and heated exchanges down the stretch. Fish sold the ribs during the match, fighting through the pain. Lee applied a submission hold but Fish got a rope break. Fish had a last minute flurry, but Lee rolled him up with a la magistral cradle for the pin. In winning the “proving ground” match, Lee gets a future title shot for beating the champion.
The announcers put over Fish having to defend the title in “seven days” against Page on the next episode of ROH TV. In reality, the matches took place several weeks apart. Nevertheless, the injury angle unfolded on TV the past several weeks so the storyline is consistent.
The Kingdom defeated Bullet Club to advance in the six-man tag tournament
The back story here was the history between Adam Cole and Matt Taven. Formerly, Cole was the leader of The Kingdom with Taven as a stablemate. Cole went on to leave the stable before joining Bullet Club. Taven reformed The Kingdom in his image after being sidelined by an injury and now seeks vengeance on Cole.
With Taven as the leader of a new Kingdom, TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia debuted as members of the new faction. They would face Cole and The Young Bucks in this match as part of the first round in the B block of the six-man tag team championship tournament.
As part of their grand entrance, a scribe read a proclamation from a scroll as a little person held candles and a microphone in introducing Taven and his new Kingdom. The new stable attacked Bullet Club before the bell to start the match. They thrashed Cole and the Jackson brothers, leaving them laying heading into a commercial.
Just after the break, Bullet Club came back with triple superkicks. They went to do the Rise of the Terminator spot, but The Kingdom tripped them up. Bullet Club responded by powerbombing them all on the ring apron, then redoing the Terminator spot to set up triple dives through the ropes. Cole almost ate it as he exploded across the ring, but he recovered nicely. Bullet Club would go on to do some comedy before Kingdom cut them off.
Kingdom worked over Matt Jackson for some time doing double and triple-team combinations. For the hot tag, Nick Jackson ran wild before a commercial, and was he still running wild as the show returned from the break. Relating to the back story, Cole and Taven eventually came face-to-face. They had mostly avoided each other until squaring off late in the match. A slugfest ensued.
Taven spat at Cole, so Cole superkicked Taven’s braced knee, then Cole sent a snot rocket at Taven in retaliation. They traded near falls as the others would also jump in. The Bucks of course had a superkick party. Cole jumped off the top rope into a wicked Canadian Destroyer that folded up Taven. When the dust settled after the action peaked in the closing moments, Kingdom isolated Matt and O’Ryan covered him for the pin.
