I'm going to watch this PPV with a heavy heart.
The opening video package showed ROH throughout the years. There was no sound at the beginning, but the package was emotional.
Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are on commentary. These two are the most underrated tandem in the business. Riccaboni has the voice to become one of the best ever. Coleman is very intelligent when he discusses the matches.
The event is in Baltimore, where most ROH's shows took place during the Sinclair era.
REY HORUS VS. DRAGON LEE
Both competitors worked a very fluid bout. The aura of ROH is that they employ the best workers in the industry. There were many near-falls in this match that I lost count. Dragon Lee gets the victory here.
Eddie Edwards has a video message, thanking ROH.
WORLD TV CHAMPIONSHIP
Right off the bat, whoever produces the entrance video and theme music is not going to be out of work for long. Silas Young, who looks like he doesn't hit a gym, Joe Hendry, who has a catchy theme song, Dalton Castle, former ROH World Champion and Rhett Titus, one of the longest tenured performer for the company, are squaring off in this contest. This wasn't fluid as the first match was. Castle has a No Way Jose gimmick, which I hope he can repackage wherever he goes. Rhett Titus has a beautiful dropkick, which he used to pin Young to win the title. What a way to end his tenure.
AEW World Champion Hangman Page has a Thank You message for ROH.
BRIAN JOHNSON VS. JOSH WOODS
Johnson cuts a promo, name dropping past ROH stars, in full-heel mode. Brian Zane joins Riccaboni and Coleman on commentary. I've followed Zane through his YouTube channel, Wrestling With Wregret, since 2017. He is the best in the business on that platform. Check it out. The rules for the PURE championship are odd. Each competitor are only allowed three rope breaks for the match. Whoever gives Josh Woods a contract will not be disappointed. Johnson is a loud wrestler. Due to the rules, this was a slow-paced contest. Apparently, there is a 20 count to get back in the ring and the champion can lose the belt via countout. Told you it was odd. Johnson uses heel tactics to pin Woods, but to no avail. Woods retains the title, using a front sleeper since Johnson was out of rope break usage.
Jimmy Jacobs on video, telling stories about his time at ROH.
KENNY KING VS. SHANE TAYLOR
This is a Fight Without Honor bout. According to Jim Cornette, Kenny King left ROH for TNA while still holding the Tag Team Championship with Rhett Titus. That is dishonorable enough. Riccaboni seems to go off script and mentions the other wrestling promotions, stating these competitors are fighting for a paycheck. Take that grievance to Sinclair Broadcasting. At one point, both men crash through tables outside the ring. They get kendo sticks, which causes Riccaboni to curse. It's a No Holds Barred match, apparently. Both men gave it their all in this one. Trash cans, kendo sticks and ladders.....oh, my! King jumps off the ladder and splashes Taylor, who was placed on a ladder. They're are a lot of near pinfalls in this match. King tells Taylor to hit him with a chair in the head and hits a piledriver on the chair to win the match. Both embrace after it.
CM Punk is up with an emotional video, recalling his time at ROH.
ROK-C VS. WILLOW
Quinn McKay joins commentary in this Women's championship match. This was your classic babyface vs. babyface contest. Both ladies went hell and high water on this one. Rok-C retains on a Sunset Flip-type maneuver. Deonna Purrazzo comes out and challenges Rok-C for the ROH Women's title, which she accepts.
Adam Cole with a video, thanking ROH, while standing in front of a TV with the AEW Rampage logo on it. They also cut the video off before it was finished.
EIGHT-MAN TAG MATCH
Violence Unlimited and Rocky Romero go up against The Foundation and EC3. Right off the bat, EC3 looks like a million dollars. You can tell he works his ass to be in shape. Homicide is still around? Dude looks like he can still go. The whole run-to-the-ropes and fly-out-so-everyone-catches-you sequence is outplayed and looks fake. During the match, wrestlers are doing spots and Riccaboni starts naming off former ROH superstars in which the spot emulates. Brody King scores the victory for Violence Unlimited and Romero. Homicide grabs a sign with the ROH logo. EC3 grabs the mike and helps Eli Isom up. He cuts a promo about corporate wrestling and how the talent should take it back. This is actually something he said that was from his heart. Then Braun Strowman shows up with two men and destroy everyone in the ring. I think he is in an alliance with EC3.
The Young Bucks have a Thank You message for ROH.
THE BRISCOES VS. THE OGK
Okay, here comes the rant. The Briscoes are the best tag team in the industry. How this team doesn't gather many awards like the Young Bucks is baffling and sad. Cary Silkin joins commentary. This man kept ROH afloat for many years after the Rob Feinstein fiasco. Matt Taven and Mike Bennett are going to make a wrestling company very, very happy. This was a competitive contest between these four men. Maria Kanellis was in the corner for OGK. Man, if you love, I mean, LOVE tag team wrestling, this is your cup of tea. Bennett accidentally spears his wife on the hardest part of the ring. She took that spear beautifully. The two teams kept executing finishing tag team maneuvers and both kept kicking out. The Briscoes score the victory and end the era with the belts for the 12th time. The four men and Maria embrace after the match. The Briscoes address the crowd and challenge any tag team out there. FTR appear and a brawl ensues. THE BRISCOES VS. FTR.....take my money please.
Bryan Danielson has a special message for ROH, saying his thanks.
They show a video package showing former ROH World Champions.
JAY LETHAL VS. JONATHAN GRESHAM
When Lethal left TNA to go back to ROH, many thought his career would take off. He became one of the best professional wrestlers on the planet. Jonathan Gresham could be an asset somewhere. I say he goes to Impact! where he can be a key player there and his wife, Jordynne Grace, is employed in the company. Both competitors had a slow-paced beginning, but picked up towards the middle. The entire locker room empties out and surrounds the ring to witness the remainder of the match. Gresham locks Lethal into his Octopus submission and Lethal taps. Jonathan Gresham is the "last" ROH World Champion. Everyone celebrates. Jordynne Grace enters the ring to congratulate her husband as Cary Silkin hands Gresham the title. Riccaboni gives his thanks and signs off. Before the show fades to black, Caprice Coleman blurts out, "See you in April". After the show ends, a graphic appears showing the date, "April 2022.....Ring Of Honor Wrestling". So, it is coming back? If it is, Sinclair Broadcasting needs to stay the hell away from it.
My review is simple. This pay-per-view was good because the talent wanted to put on a show to close out an era. The two matches that were the best tonight were the Briscoes/OGK and the King/Taylor bouts. How about that? Kenny King actually had a match that made Kenny King look serviceable. Who would have thought? The world championship match was a perfect passing of the torch moment. Lethal handing the baton off to Gresham as he moves on. Having Purrazzo, FTR and Braun Strowman show up to continue feuds with certain talent even if ROH "closes their doors" is something to look forward to if you are a wrestling fan.
Other than the NXT pay-per-views, this one didn't have a bad match. There were a couple of botches, but that really didn't affect the match as a whole. NXT, when Triple H ran it, was always that. A show where wrestling was king and the fans would enjoy it.
I wish they had Austin Aries on to give thanks to the company. Hell, I would have loved to see Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn or Kyle O'Reilly give a video message, praising ROH. All three are on their way out anyways. Just pour some gasoline on that fire.
Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman did their best to call a solid wrestling show, but you could tell they were not working with a script and just winged the whole show.
The Baltimore crowd came out and showed their appreciation to the talent and were on their every move throughout the night.
As I conclude this blog, my thoughts are this. If the graphic at the end of the program is true and the promotion is coming back in April as it suggest, I will welcome it back with open arms. Wrestling fans need their show that contains WRESTLING. ROH was that. There are others that contain that, but not with the passion Ring Of Honor had.
Hopefully, that return will happen.
(For more content check out our Facebook page, our website @www.realsportsaz.com and the Wix mobile app)
Comentários