SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
ROH TV REPORT
JANUARY 20, 2019
PHILADELPHIA, PA AT 2300 ARENA
AIRED ON SINCLAIR AFFILIATES & ROHWRESTLING.COM
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentary: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Caprice Coleman
Opening theme.
-In the arena the hometown Façade was out first for the inaugural match in a tournament to crown the new #1 contender to Jeff Cobb’s World Television Championship. The commentators said this is only a four-man tournament with the winner here going on to face the winner of Silas Young vs. Beer City Bruiser.
(1) ELI ISOM (w/Ryan Nova) vs. “THE NEON NINJA” FAÇADE – ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP #1 CONTENDER TOURNAMENT
This was a rematch from May 13 TV. That one ended in a no contest when Bully Ray attacked both men. They were evenly matched in the opening minutes. [C]
Façade connected with a springboard kick that sent Isom to the floor. He followed with a springboard 450 clothesline on the floor. Isom with a roaring elbow. Façade hit the Neon Hammer and went up top. He went corner to corner with a dropkick but Isom kicked out. Façade looked for a Canadian destroyer but Isom blocked and hit a brainbuster.
WINNER: Eli Isom in 7:32 to advance to the finals.
(Pageot’s Perspective: This was the most competitive Façade has looked yet in ROH, due to Isom’s detriment. I came away thinking the unsigned competitor looked great while Isom looked like he simply got lucky with a fluke victory off one move. This four-man tournament as a whole is very silly. Façade has no singles victories to warrant inclusion, while Isom and Bruiser only had one each last year. Meanwhile the fourth man in the tournament is a two-time former champ. Why were these four chosen? Way too many unanswered questions here.)
-WOH World Champion Kelly Klein was backstage to reiterate that every singles match she has going forward will be for her title.
-Recap of last week’s show-closing segment. Marty Scurll called out the world champion, which brought out Matt Taven and The Kingdom. PCO and Brody King then debuted as Scurll’s new partners in Villain Enterprises. [C]
-ROH World Champion Jay Lethal was backstage. He addressed Taven’s claims to being the real world champion. Lethal vowed he and Taven’s paths would cross sooner than later and Taven will get what’s coming to him.
-The Kingdom’s music hit and TK O’Ryan entered alone with his baseball bat. His opponent was the debuting Mexican megastar Rush. Riccaboni spoke about Rush founding Los Ingobernables and said this one spins out of the CMLL 85th Anniversary Show when Rush and Taven faced each other on opposite sides of a tag match.
(2) ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPION TK O’RYAN vs. RUSH
There were dueling chants early on. Yes, people were actually chanting for O’Ryan for some reason. Rush hit a big slap to O’Ryan’s chest. O’Ryan came back with a boot to the face that sort of almost connected. He controlled for half a minute before Rush came back with more strikes. [C]
They traded slaps to the chest in the corner. Rush won and stomped away at O’Ryan before hitting the patented tranquilo pose. O’Ryan hit a spinebuster for two. Rush hit a dropkick to O’Ryan seated in the corner for the win.
WINNER: Rush in 9:39.
-The red balloons floated up and Vinny Marseglia appeared in the ring. As he distracted Rush Taven appeared and clubbed him with his fake world title from behind. They brought in a number of steel chairs and hit their triple conchairto to Rush on the mat. [C]
(Pageot’s Perspective: I know he’s a multi-time six-man champion but O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia are rarely portrayed as anything more than midcard henchmen for Taven. The fact that this was so competitive and it took Rush so long to defeat him really did nothing for the new signee. In a straight-up singles match like this O’Ryan should not be getting two-counts on Rush. The only excuse for this match going this long would be if Marseglia was at ringside for distractions. The talk around Rush had me thinking he was going to be an immediate main eventer but he was positioned as lower midcard here by barely being able to beat a schlub. The post-match makes me fear Rush is going to join Villain Enterprises too. All this new talent coming into ROH at the same time means we have to work overtime to ensure their personalities and characters get over. Lumping everyone into factions does the opposite of that.)
-Out of the break Coleman was gone and Rhett Titus was on commentary in his place. Silas Young entered first for the main event without Bully Ray. Beer City Bruiser was out next without tag partner Brian Milonas. Bruiser took a mic and said it took him a long time to realize that Silas sucks. He called him “the last real boy” and challenged Young to a no DQ match.
(3) BEER CITY BRUISER vs. “THE LAST REAL MAN” SILAS YOUNG – NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH IN THE ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP #1 CONTENDER TOURNAMENT
Bruiser clotheslined Young over the top rope to the floor while Titus made fatshaming comments. Young caught Bruiser on the apron with a springboard clotheline. As Bruiser hit a series of elbows the fans chanted “beer” with each one. He followed with a cannonball off the apron onto Young on the floor. [C]
A table had been set up on the floor during the break. Anarchist suplex from Young for a one-count. Young wedged a steel chair in one corner while a table was leaning against the opposite corner. Bruiser hit a cannonball that put Young through the table. Young kicked out at two. He dove at Young in the other corner but Young moved and Bruiser went head-first into the chair. Young jabbed him in the gut with a chair. Bruiser suplexed Young off the guardrail to the floor. Bruiser laid Young across the seats of two chairs at ringside and went to the top rope but Young cut him off. Young tried to suplex Bruiser off the top rope through the chairs on the floor but Bruiser countered into a super-hiptoss from off the top rope into the ring. He followed with a suplex onto a chair. [C]
Young was laid across the seats of four chairs. Bruiser went up top but Young caught him again and threw him off and into the chairs. Young grabbed a ziptie and tied Bruiser’s left wrist to the middle ring rope. Young hit a chair shot to the back. “Beer” chant from the crowd. Young with another chair shot.
Brian Milonas hit the ring. He ducked a chair shot and unloaded with right hands on Young in the corner. Milonas with a running butt splash in the corner. He pulled out some scissors and cut Bruiser free. Milonas lay a chair across Young’s chest and looked for a Vader bomb but Young escaped, hit Milonas with the chair, and dumped him over the top rope and through the table on the floor.
Bruiser with a dropkick. Clothesline. Bruiser lay a chair across Young’s chest and connected with a Vader bomb-style elbow drop. Young kicked out at two. Bruiser grabbed his keg and clubbed Young with it. He lay Young across a table in the ring and went up top. Bruiser looked for a frog-splash but Young avoided it and Bruiser crashed through the table. Misery ended things.
WINNER: Silas Young in 15:39 to advance to the finals.
(Pageot’s Perspective: A fun match and arguably the best Bruiser has ever looked in an ROH ring. I wish they had done a better job taking us from Bruiser still thinking their friendship could be saved and not wanting to wrestle Young to demanding a no DQ match, though. It felt like we just fast-forwarded straight to the end of the story and skipped a whole bunch of chapters in the middle. ROH rarely disappoints bell to bell but the lack of quality storytelling is very distressing and does a big disservice to all the talent. The continued absence of Bully Ray is worth noting. Other than an appearance as part of the “Farewell To The Elite” angle he hasn’t been seen since Final Battle, which has to be significant. Young faces Isom in two weeks’ time on TV for the right to challenge Cobb, presumably at the 17th Anniversary Show on March 15.)
-Next week: it’s The Kingdom vs. Villain Enterprises for the six-man titles and Juice Robinson vs. PJ Black.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.