UMBC EVENT CENTER,
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
ON COMMENTARY – IAN RICCABONI, CAPRICE COLEMAN & NWA NATIONAL CHAMPION COLT CABANA
KICK OFF SHOW
FLIP GORDON VS RUSH
I don’t know whose decision this was, as this is a bona fide main event anywhere.
2 of ROH’s brightest stars squared off in a very energetic, hard hitting match that was even throughout.
With RUSH having the size and experience advantage it was going to be an uphill battle for a very game Flip Gordon and both those attributes were the telling factory as RUSH put away Flip with the Bulls Horns Dropkick for the victory in 10:16
This was one of the more intriguing battles but should have been placed on the main card as the crowd were well into the match, with a 50/50 split in allegiance.
Next was the NWA World Champion Nick Aldis coming to the ring to inform the crowd of a change in tag partner against The Briscoes , it was due to be Colt Cabana but due to a hematoma in his leg he was unable to compete , Aldis was a class act, wishing Colt a speedy recovery etc, but before the announcement James Storm came out and told Aldis that he knew that he wasn’t his choice to be his tag partner and demanded to know who it was , Aldis obliged and asked his Partner to introduce himself………………………..his partner was none other than ELI DRAKE (I marked out for this)
Eli then cut a promo about how he is the ‘defiant one’ and that he chose the NWA out of all other offers due to its history and that he wants the ten pounds of gold, but he has no problem putting a size 12.5 up the rear ends of The Briscoes first.
End of Kick Off Show……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Main Show
Opening the show up the video promo for the Dalton Castle VS Dragon Lee Match was shown before the opening signature.
Opening Match was
Dalton Castle VS Dragon Lee
This was a very personal match to Castle as he wanted to avenge his embarrassing loss to RUSH at G1 Supercard but destroying RUSH’s Brother Dragon Lee.
But he didn’t have it all his own way as Lee came out at the opening bell at lightning quick pace and nearly scoring an upset victory when he hit Castle with the Bull’s Horns twice, but he only got a 2 count.
Lee tried to follow Castle to the outside but his Hurricanrana attempt was blocked and countered with a vicious Powerbomb to the Ring Apron, this changed the pace of the match.
Castle has become a lot more ruthless over the last few months and it’s a change for the better in my opinion, he also made a point of trying to rip the mask off Dragon lee (a big no no in the lucha libre culture).
Throughout the match Lee got his shots in but nothing that really troubled Castle, although the Poisoned Rana that Lee delivered was a highlight.
The match came to a close when Castle hit Bangarang on Lee but did not go for the pinfall, instead he added insult to injury as he put Lee away with Rush’s Bulls Horns Dropkick (shots fired here).
Winner Dalton Castle in 09:05
Next up
WOH Tag Team Match
Kelly Klein & Jenny Rose VS The ALLURE (Mandy Leon & Angelina Love) w/Velvet Skye
Nothing spectacular in this one, quite a standard tag match with the only highlight being Kelly Klein delivering an Avalanche Fallaway Slam to Angelina.
The ALLURE got the victory following a shot with a High Heeled shoe to Klein which Love followed up with her Botox Injection Kick to score the victory in 09:32
Shortly after their victory the lights went out and a disturbing video was shown on the big screen , at the end the word MANEATER was shown, and when the light came back on the imposing figure of MARIA MANIC was stood behind ALLURE stalking them , ready to tear them apart, only for ROH security to defuse the situation.
This didn’t work and Maria just destroyed the Security officers, and whilst in this rage she tore off her shirt to reveal the word MANEATER on her stomach.
Something tells me the WOH division is about to change.
Next on the card is the rubber match in the best of 3 series between
Jay Lethal & Kenny King
They are tied at one match victory a piece
Although Kenny King Did injure Jay Lethal’s Left arm recently
This was a good solid match, the crowd were split between both fighters, and it was clear that both men knew each other very, very well , using each other’s moves , signature moves and even finishers but to no clear advantage.
But king managed to stay focused for once and he got the biggest victory of his career when he vanquished Lethal with a combination of a hard Lariat, Lethal Injection and his own Royal Flush.
This victory will no doubt have put King the world title picture and the burning question is ……..where does Jay Lethal go after the loss? , only time will tell.
Next up a match I’ve not seen in years
A PURE Rules match between
Jonathan Gresham and Silas Young
The rules are as follows
• 3 rope breaks per man to prevent pin/ submission attempts • After using all 3 rope breaks , any pin or submission in the ropes is considered legal and the referee does not have to break the hold • No closed fist punches to the face are permitted • Open hand strikes to the face are allowed • Punches to the body are legal except low blows • First closed fist punch to the face = warning • A second closed fist to the face = DQ
Code of Honor was adhered to surprisingly
This was my favourite match, it was my kind of wrestling, technical, holds and counter holds etc and both men did not disappoint with both men using their allowed rope breaks and Silas being warned for a closed fist face strike.
Silas did target the Lower Back of Gresham and his plan almost worked until he realised he was in the ring with arguably one of the best technical wrestlers on the planet , so he decided to use the size and power advantage which again worked well for a while and Gresham had no answer.
Gresham did manage to do damage to Silas’s Left arm and Shoulder by usin the Octopus hold and Cross Armbreaker.
The match came to a surprising close when Gresham used a Low Blow when the ref’s back was turned and then applied the Iron Octopus Hold for the Tap out victory.
Turnabout is fair play, but the Low Blow but a dark mark on a good match.
More Tag Team Action next when
The Briscoes take on NWA World Champion Nick Aldis and Eli Drake
This should have been a war but it really wasn’t, the match started in the ring and Aldis and Drake held their own for the opening minutes, but once Jay and Mark got into their groove they seemed a little out of their depth (and most teams would to be honest) although little scares for the Briscoes did happen after Aldis hit a Michinoku Driver to Mark and Jay was planted by Drake with a Burning Hammer.
After that the match spilled to the outside for so long the referee deemed the match a no contest which was in all honesty the right call, he had lost control.
Once The Briscoes back to the ring they cleared out ROH Security and Mark delivered FroggyBow to Aldis, driving him through a table. Marty Scurll came to the ring to help his friend backstage.
ROH TV Title is up for grabs next as
Bandido takes on Shane Taylor
Bandido does own a victory over Taylor but in a championship match, for some reason both men become harder to beat.
Considering the size and power differences between both men, this was a very even contest with both men showing great conditioning.
Both men had their near falls, Bandido with a springboard Rana (West Coast Pop) that got him a 2 count and a beautiful Shooting Star Press that earned him a 2.9 count (so close)
But Taylor’s ever-growing repertoire will cause problems for anyone and he is going to hold onto this title until he wants an upgrade, his Powerbomb/Package Piledriver combo is brutal but it didn’t get him the victory this time.
Bandido sensed the victory was close and he set Tayloe up for the 21Plex only for it to be countered into the Greetings from 216 by Taylor for the victory and successful title defence.
ROH 6 MAN Tag Team Championships are up next as
LifeBlood (Mark Haskins & Tracy Williams) & PJ Black Vs Villain Enterprises (Brody King, PCO & Marty Scurll)
VE dominated the match in the early going , with frequent tags , isolating one man etc, the haskins was tagged in and the pace quickened which earned them a 2 count on Scurll after a flurry of offence in their corner.
Then Brody King got back in the match and he took on both Lifeblood members at the same time and decimated them.
LifeBlood never really got on top of things once Brody got in the mood, although they did try to subdue PCO with a Double Team Apron Bomb but PCO was only down for a minute it seemed and that really was the beginning of the end for the young team, and after Brody hit a disturbing Ganso Bomb on Black, PCO polished him off with the PCOSault for the victory.
After the match the Soldiers of Savagery attacked LifeBlood including Bandido who came out to make the save.
Bully Ray hit the ring and wiped out Bandido, only for Flip Gordon to bew hot on his tail with a Kendo Stick.
LifeBlood extend their hands and offer Flip to join LifeBlood and he puts the T-shirt on, but then the lights go out again, and on the big screen is Marty Scurll and he tells everyone that how he and the other VE guys have been looking for forth member , an understudy so to speak, and he goes on to name THE MERCENARY……………………….FLIP GORDON, the crowd are in shock and so are Lifeblood who then are on the receiving end of a serious beatdown by all members of Villain Enterprises with Flip putting Williams through a table with a 450 Splash.
Main Event Time
ROH World Championship Match
Jeff Cobb Vs Matt Taven
I hate to say it but this was an awful title match, in my opinion this should have been Cobb’s night, to really cement him as an unstoppable, unbeatable champion, but obviously the ROH top brass didn’t see this.
The match had no fluidity, didn’t get the crowd engaged and to give it barely 10 minutes was somewhat of an anti-climax to the show.
I believe the turning point in this match was after Taven sent Cobb Head and Shoulder first into the Guard rail with a Suicide dive, after that it wasn’t a match anymore, Cobb seemed legitimately hurt and it showed, he battled on but to no avail, after Taven hit the Running Knee Strike 3 times, it seemed to have woke up Cobband he went for Tour of the Islands but it was countered brilliantly in a thunderous Climax (Cobb Sold this like a boss) that saw Taven retain his title.
This wasn’t the best show I’ve watched by ROH, but it wasn’t the worst.
Happy Reading
@BiekoDaniel
