{"id":7563,"date":"2016-01-06T21:57:25","date_gmt":"2016-01-07T03:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=7563"},"modified":"2016-01-06T21:57:25","modified_gmt":"2016-01-07T03:57:25","slug":"16-roh-tv-strong-defends-tv-title-final-battle-fall-out-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/01\/06\/16-roh-tv-strong-defends-tv-title-final-battle-fall-out-more\/","title":{"rendered":"1\/6 ROH TV &#8211; Strong defends TV Title, Final Battle fall-out, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3837073298\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>Ring of Honor kicked off 2016 with a TV Title match on their weekly TV show, plus more fall-out from &#8220;Final Battle&#8221; and talk about ROH&#8217;s relationship with New Japan.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ROH TV Report<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Aired January 3, 2016 in syndication<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>To air January 6, 2016 on Comet TV<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Taped in Philadelphia, Pa.<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Report by Mike Metzger (<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/md0uble\" target=\"_blank\">@md0uble<\/a>), PWTorch contributor<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The ROH TV opening aired.<\/p>\n<p>The camera panned the 2300 Arena, as Kevin Kelly wished viewers a<br \/>\nHappy New Year. Kelly was joined by Mr. Wrestling III (Steve Corino)<br \/>\nat the commentary desk. They announced that Michael Elgin will be<br \/>\nfacing the House of Truth&#8217;s Donovan Dijak in tonight&#8217;s main event.<\/p>\n<p>Roderick Strong made his entrance. He appeared to be more cocky as he<br \/>\nwalked to the ring. He grabbed a mic, while fans chanted &#8220;You tapped<br \/>\nout&#8221; in reference to the referee not seeing Strong tap during his<br \/>\nmatch against Bobby Fish at Final Battle.<\/p>\n<p>Strong told the crowd that he was still the ROH TV Champion and demanded they continue &#8220;this Roddy versus the world thing.&#8221; Apparently, he was referencing an open challenge for the ROH TV Title. Generic music played, but out came former ECW star Stevie Richards to a huge pop!<\/p>\n<p>1 &#8212; ROH TV champion RODERICK STRONG vs. STEVIE RICHARDS &#8211; ROH TV Title match<\/p>\n<p>Kevin Kelly hyped this as &#8220;the first match of 2016,&#8221; as both men shook<br \/>\nhands and the bell rang. There was a decent &#8220;Stevie Richards&#8221; chant<br \/>\nwhile Strong and Richards engaged in a chain wrestling sequence. There<br \/>\nwas a stalemate at the 1:00 mark. They tied up again, as the<br \/>\nannouncers wondered where Strong&#8217;s head was at after tapping to Fish<br \/>\nat the PPV. Stevie hit a stiff chop, but Strong came back with one of<br \/>\nhis own. Stevie put him back down with a slam, which was only good for<br \/>\na one count.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1786033409\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>They ran the ropes a bit until Strong hit a beautiful dropkick. Strong<br \/>\nhit a belly-to-back suplex, but he could only get a one count. Strong<br \/>\napplied a chin lock. Stevie fought out of it, but Strong hit him with<br \/>\nan Olympic Slam, which was good for a two count. Stevie hit a back<br \/>\nsuplex of his own, but Strong came right back with a heel kick, as the<br \/>\nshow went to its first break at the 3:55 point in the match.<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break]<\/p>\n<p>Back at 6:25, Strong was still in control, but Stevie was trying to<br \/>\nfight back. Roddy held him at bay, though, and scored another<br \/>\nnearfall. Roddy grabbed Stevie and went up top, but Richards broke<br \/>\nfree and then superkicked Strong off the top rope! Strong quickly got<br \/>\nup and both men traded blows at the 7:30 mark. Stevie came out on top<br \/>\nwith an Impaler DDT and then covered Strong, but could only get two.<br \/>\nStrong reversed an Irish whip and then hit some running knees and a<br \/>\nrunning forearm. Stevie tried to fight back, but Strong reversed into<br \/>\na backbreaker, which was good for yet another nearfall.<\/p>\n<p>Strong hit a double knee gut buster. He went to follow up, but Stevie<br \/>\nhit a superkick out of nowhere! He went for the cover, but Strong<br \/>\nkicked out at two! Richards applied a Boston Crab, but Strong was able<br \/>\nto kick his way out after a few seconds. Roddy hit a neckbreaker and<br \/>\nthen applied his own version of the Boston Crab, the Strong Hold.<br \/>\nStevie tried to fight it off and was eventually able to grab hold of<br \/>\nthe bottom rope. Strong came right back with a jumping knee. He<br \/>\nquickly went for the cover and scored the victory!<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: Roderick Strong via pinfall in 10:20 to retain the ROH TV Title.<\/p>\n<p>ANALYSIS: Fine for what it was. Not a lot really happened over the ten<br \/>\nminutes, but Stevie looked good in putting Strong over. The finish<br \/>\nseemed to come out of nowhere, which was fine. The main focus was how<br \/>\nStrong was dealing with the Final Battle fallout, and this told that<br \/>\nstory well. (**1\/4)<\/p>\n<p>ReDRagon&#8217;s music began playing, and out came Bobby Fish. Fish, donning<br \/>\na three-piece suit, advised there would be an impromptu edition of The<br \/>\nFish Tank up next. Several ring crew members were close behind with a<br \/>\nmakeshift set, as the show cut to a&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break]<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1795528732\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Back from break, Fish sat down at a table in the ring. Roddy tossed<br \/>\nhis chair away, which caused Fish to stand as well. Fish said 2015 was<br \/>\na &#8220;banner year&#8221; for the ROH TV Title. He said that lineage dated back<br \/>\nto &#8220;Die Hard&#8221; Eddie Edwards. Mr. Wrestling III, tapping into the usual<br \/>\nSteve Corino schtick, wondered what had ever happened to Eddie<br \/>\nEdwards.<\/p>\n<p>Fish said there had never been &#8220;more buzz surrounding the name of<br \/>\nRoderick Strong.&#8221; Fish claimed to have prepared some material that<br \/>\nshowed what a great year it was for Roddy. The camera focused on the<br \/>\nbig screen, where a still shot of Strong tapping out to Fish at Final<br \/>\nBattle was shown. Strong was irate, as Kevin Kelly agreed that Fish<br \/>\nhad a point. Strong grabbed a mic and denied tapping out. He called<br \/>\nFish a &#8220;sore loser&#8221; before throwing the mic in his face and walking<br \/>\noff.<\/p>\n<p>ANALYSIS: I&#8217;m not entirely sold on another heel run for Strong in ROH,<br \/>\nbut that appears to be where they&#8217;re headed. While there are<br \/>\ndefinitely some positives in having a heel act as a gatekeeper in the<br \/>\nmidcard, it just feels very been there\/done that when it comes to<br \/>\nRoderick Strong.<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break]<\/p>\n<p>Clips aired from a few weeks ago ROH TV, when a match between Caprice<br \/>\nColeman and Will Ferrara ended in a double-DQ when both men used<br \/>\nchairs against each other. Kevin Kelly talked about how both men had<br \/>\nbeen acting more aggressively since Prince Nana started giving them<br \/>\nhis mysterious envelopes. Ferrara and Coleman made their entrances for<br \/>\na rematch.<\/p>\n<p>Coleman yelled at ring announcer Bobby Cruise, demanding he take his<br \/>\nring jacket. Coleman then grabbed the mic and set the stage for his<br \/>\nno-DQ match with Ferrara. Coleman said that even though &#8220;Willy&#8221; got a<br \/>\nvisit from the mailman, he was still a &#8220;giant turkey.&#8221; Coleman said he<br \/>\nwas going to beat Ferrara because he had &#8220;the body of a god and the<br \/>\nface of an angel.&#8221; Ferrara responded with a forearm to Coleman&#8217;s<br \/>\nchest, and then the bell rang!<\/p>\n<p>2 &#8212; CAPRICE COLEMAN vs. WILL FERRARA &#8211; No-Disqualification match<\/p>\n<p>Coleman immediately rolled to the outside, which opened him up for a<br \/>\nbig dive from Ferrara! Will threw Coleman into the barricade a few<br \/>\ntimes. He tried to throw Coleman back into the ring, but Caprice<br \/>\nfought back with some fists. After cursing at the crowd, Coleman hit<br \/>\nFerrara in the mid-section and then nailed him with a kick. Coleman<br \/>\ngrabbed his belt from the ringside and then proceesed to whip Ferrara<br \/>\nin the middle of the ring several times.<\/p>\n<p>Ferrara grabbed onto the belt and then nailed Coleman with a huge<br \/>\nGerman suplex! Ferrara went back outside and grabbed a chair. Coleman<br \/>\ndid the same. They met in the middle and then hit their chairs into<br \/>\none another. Coleman won the duel and then set his chair up in the<br \/>\ncorner. Ferrara tried to come back with a Tornado DDT, but Coleman was<br \/>\nable to reverse into a trifecta of Northern Lights suplexes, the third<br \/>\nof which was on top of the steel chair in the corner!<\/p>\n<p>Coleman continued his onslaught by nailing Ferrara on the back with a<br \/>\nchair. Ferrara got to his feet. Coleman hit him again, but Ferrara<br \/>\nno-sold it! Ferrara then hit a DDT onto the chair and covered Caprice,<br \/>\nbut could only get a two count. Ferrara rolled to the outside and<br \/>\ngrabbed a table. He set it up in the ring and then positioned Coleman<br \/>\non the top rope. Mr. Wrestling III commented on how the table already<br \/>\nlooked broken. Ferrara went for a superplex, but Coleman fought him<br \/>\noff and then hit a Sky Splitter leg drop from the top rope and scored<br \/>\nthe victory!<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: Caprice Coleman via pinfall in 5:45.<\/p>\n<p>ANALYSIS: Shorter than tonight&#8217;s opener, but this was much more<br \/>\naction-packed. I am intrigued by Prince Nana&#8217;s envelopes. Ferrara had<br \/>\nsome great moments during the match, even drawing some scattered<br \/>\nchants from the crowd. Not bad for ROH&#8217;s perennial jobber. (**1\/2)<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break]<\/p>\n<p>3 &#8211; CEDRIC ALEXANDER (w\/ Veda Scott) vs. JONATHAN GRESHAM<\/p>\n<p>Kevin Kelly brought up Veda Scott&#8217;s lawsuit against ROH for &#8220;unsafe<br \/>\nworking conditions.&#8221; Kelly also pointed out that Cedric was wearing a<br \/>\nnew diamond-crusted Rolex watch at Final Battle. The bell rang, as<br \/>\nCorino, err, Mr. Wrestling III compared Gresham to a young Bryan<br \/>\nDanielson. Cedric pinched Gresham&#8217;s cheek and then wrestled him into<br \/>\nthe corner. Cedric followed up with a forearm and then a dropkick to<br \/>\nthe back of Gresham&#8217;s head. Cedric followed up with more forearms.<br \/>\nGresham tried to fight back, but Cedric immediately reversed into a<br \/>\nseries of suplexes. Gresham was able to reverse the third one into a<br \/>\nsmall package, but Cedric kicked out of the pin attempt.<\/p>\n<p>Gresham followed right up with a big dropkick. He nailed Cedric in the<br \/>\nhead with some forearms and then hit a flying cross-body from the<br \/>\nsecond rope, which was good for a nearfall. Gresham then locked on the<br \/>\nOctopus hold, but Veda got up on the apron. Gresham was distracted,<br \/>\nbut moved out of the way before Cedric&#8217;s could attack him from behind.<br \/>\nHe rolled up Cedric for an O&#8217;Connor roll, but Cedric came right back<br \/>\nwith a 540 Kick. Cedric hit a couple of charging dropkicks in the<br \/>\ncorner and then followed up with the Lumbar Check. Cedric went for a<br \/>\nlaxidasical cover, which Gresham reversed into a pinning combination<br \/>\nfor the win!<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: Jonathan Gresham in 3:32.<\/p>\n<p>ANALYSIS: The announcers were pushing Gresham hard. I wasn&#8217;t that<br \/>\nimpressed, but three-and-a-half minutes is hardly enough time to truly<br \/>\nevaluate someone. Nothing against Gresham, but he came across as just<br \/>\nanother underdog babyface. If the pattern holds, he will get a few<br \/>\nwins before going on a losing streak and then turn heel. (*1\/2)<\/p>\n<p>Ad: &#8220;Come party with Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling at the<br \/>\n14th Anniversary PPV in Las Vegas!<\/p>\n<p>The House of Truth was out next. Kevin Kelly reminded viewers that<br \/>\nDonovan Dijak won last year&#8217;s Top Prospect tournament. Dijak lifted<br \/>\nMartini on his shoulders in the ring, as Lethal joined the<br \/>\ncommentators at ringside. Jerry Lynn appeared out of nowhere. He told<br \/>\nLethal that he was big enough to admit he was wrong, and then<br \/>\ncongratulated him for being the better man at Final Battle. Lethal was<br \/>\necstatic, as Lynn walked to the back.<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break]<\/p>\n<p>4 &#8211; MICHAEL ELGIN vs. DONOVAN DIJAK (w\/ROH World champion Jay Lethal and Truth Martini)<\/p>\n<p>Kelly asked Lethal about his then-upcoming title defense against Elgin<br \/>\nat NJPW&#8217;s Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo. Lethal simply said it would be<br \/>\na &#8220;snowball effect&#8221; because he had already beaten &#8220;everybody.&#8221; In the<br \/>\nring, both men shook hands and the bell rang. Elgin and Dijak tied up<br \/>\nin the center, while Lethal continued to gloat about what Jerry Lynn<br \/>\nsaid on commentary. Elgin hit a big forearm, but Dijak came right back<br \/>\nwith an elbow. Dijak tried to knock Elgin off his feet, but Elgin<br \/>\nknocked Dijak to the mat instead.<\/p>\n<p>Elgin lifted up Dijak for a press slam and then dropped him to the<br \/>\nmat. Elgin followed up with a clothesline in the corner, and then he<br \/>\nlifted him up for a delayed vertical suplex. The fans counted to 30<br \/>\nbefore Elgin finally suplexed Dijak to the mat. Elgin went for the<br \/>\ncover, but Dijak kicked out. Elgin charged at Dijak, but the big man<br \/>\nwas able to get out of the way and then sent Elgin to the floor with a<br \/>\nbig boot. Martini ran into the ring and did a spinaroonie, as the show<br \/>\ncut to a break at the the 2:49 point in the match.<\/p>\n<p>[Commercial Break]<\/p>\n<p>Back at 3:49, Dijak was stomping Elgin in the center of the ring.<br \/>\nLethal continued to talk trash about Elgin, as Dijak tossed him across<br \/>\nthe ring. He went for a cover, but Elgin kicked out at two. Dijak<br \/>\napplied a modified chin lock. He only held on for about 15 seconds<br \/>\nbefore Elgin elbowed his way out. Dijak charged at Elgin in the<br \/>\ncorner, but &#8220;Big Mike&#8221; caught him and then hit an overhead suplex.<br \/>\nElgin slammed Dijak and then hit a springboard splash. Elgin hit Dijak<br \/>\nwith a running forearm in the corner and then set him up for a<br \/>\nsuperplex.<\/p>\n<p>Dijak fought his way out, but then ate an enziguri from Elgin! Elgin<br \/>\nhit a deadlift German suplex into a bridge, but Dijak kicked out at<br \/>\ntwo! Dueling chants rang out from the crowd, as Dijak nailed Elgin<br \/>\nwith some huge blows in the center. Elgin fought back with another<br \/>\nenziguri. He went for the Elgin Bomb, but Dijak kicked his way out and<br \/>\nthen hit a chokeslam into a backbreaker. He followed up with a top<br \/>\nrope moonsault, but could only get a nearfall!<\/p>\n<p>Dijak looked a little concerned, but not overly frustrated. He went<br \/>\nfor Feast Your Eyes, but Elgin punched his way out of it. He nailed<br \/>\nDijak with several forearm smashes, the last of which knocked Dijak<br \/>\noff his feet. Both men jockeyed for position, until Elgin was able to<br \/>\nhit a deadlift powerbomb. He immediately followed up with an Elgin<br \/>\nBomb for the victory.<\/p>\n<p>WINNER: Michael Elgin via pinfall in 9:15.<\/p>\n<p>ANALYSIS: Good match, although I felt like it never got to the next<br \/>\ngear. Dijak continues to be under-utlilized as this was a glorified<br \/>\nsquash for Elgin ahead of his ROH Title Match at Wrestle Kingdom 10.<br \/>\n(**1\/2)<\/p>\n<p>After the match, Lethal entered the ring and got in ELgin&#8217;s face. Both<br \/>\nmen exchanged words. Lethal raised his title belt in the air, as Kevin<br \/>\nKelly hyped that both men would face off at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FINAL REAX:<\/strong> Okay show. Definitely not that hot first show of the new<br \/>\nyear, but ROH took advantage of being involved with NJPW Wrestle<br \/>\nKingdom 10, a show that actually generated a lot of buzz among ardent<br \/>\nwrestling fans. ROH&#8217;s mid-card is intriguing with Roderick Strong<br \/>\nturning heel, the ongoing envelopes saga, and a new act in Gresham,<br \/>\nbut a lot of it just felt like a repeat. Hopefully, ROH brings a<br \/>\nstronger effort starting next week now that WK10 is in the record<br \/>\nbooks.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3610718232\"><div id=\"pwtor-2739364897\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Ring of Honor kicked off 2016 with a TV Title match on their weekly TV show, plus more fall-out from &#8220;Final Battle&#8221; and talk about ROH&#8217;s relationship with New Japan. ROH TV Report Aired January <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/01\/06\/16-roh-tv-strong-defends-tv-title-final-battle-fall-out-more\/\" title=\"1\/6 ROH TV &#8211; Strong defends TV Title, Final Battle fall-out, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[87,404,167,381],"class_list":["post-7563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv_rohreports","tag-new-japan","tag-njpw","tag-roh","tag-roh-wrestling"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/ROH_3x21.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7563"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7566,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7563\/revisions\/7566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}