Ring of Honor - Aug 31, 2013
by SamoaRowe
-From Providence, RI. Our hosts are Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness.
ROH Television Championship:
Matt Taven © (with Truth Martini and the Hoopla Hotties) vs. Brian Fury
I’ve seen both of these guys at numerous New England events, so it’s rewarding to see them getting an opportunity on national television. Fury nearly steals it with an early Falcon Arrow. Fury nearly botches a victory roll. Taven explodes with a clothesline to go on offense. Fury hits a neck breaker, but Martini prevents a cover. A Hottie runs in for a hurricanrana on Fury and Taven’s frog splash nearly ends it. Fury plants Taven for a near fall while Nigel McGuinness restores order. Taven’s DDT ends it at 3:33. Sadly, these guys still come across as indy wrestlers who aren’t ready for the main stage.Winner and still ROH TV Champion: Matt Taven
-Mark Briscoe announces that he’s medically cleared to wrestle.
-Michael Elgin comes to the ring to talk. He says he refused having the ROH title handed to him because he wanted to earn it. Kevin Steen interrupts, accusing Elgin of being afraid of him. Steen informs Elgin and his mullet that he isn’t going to be able to beat him in the tournament, just like he couldn’t beat him for the ROH title last year. They’re joined by Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis, who is disgusted that Bennett hasn’t received the main event opportunities that the others have had. Tommaso Ciampa shows up and tries to intimidate everyone. He announces himself as the next champion and leaves. This was pretty boring, Steen is the only one who has any business cutting live promos.
ROH Championship Tournament - First Round:
ACH vs. Karl Anderson
Anderson dictates the pace in the early going. ACH shows off his athleticism and hits a hurricanrana. Anderson resumes methodically wearing down ACH. Anderson dodges a split legged moonsault to the floor and nails a big boot. Cue the commercial! After the break, Karl is continuing to pick ACH apart. Anderson misses a senton, giving ACH the opening he needs to put together some offense. ACH dumps Karl for a springboard somersault cannonball! The crowd suddenly cares about ACH as he almost finishes it with a flying cross body. ACH blocks a superplex but Anderson comes back with a sit-out power bomb. Spinning neck breaker gets ACH a 2 count. A 450 splash by ACH gets another 2 count. ACH misses a second 450, and Anderson’s Ace Crusher ends it at 9:44 (shown). This got pretty good once they kicked it into a higher gear, but I don’t think anyone expected ACH to pull off the upset.Winner: Karl Anderson
ROH Championship Tournament - First Round:
Adam Cole vs. Mark Briscoe
After the feeling out process, Mark tries to put Cole away quickly, delivering Redneck Kung Fu. I’m impressed by how polished Adam Cole looks compared to the last time I saw him work. Cole is having a hard time connecting with any offense as Mark drop-kicks him into the barricade. Cole lands a desperate super kick as we head to commercial. After the break, Cole is working a chinlock. Sick neck breaker onto the knee by Cole gets a 2 count. Mark connects some shots to the head and drop-kicks him in the chest. Enziguri by Mark and a suplex is good for 2. Mark flies into a super kick! Another neck breaker onto the knee by Cole gets a near fall. Mark breaks out some more Redneck Kung Fu, but Cole nails an enziguri. Nice rolling Death Valley Driver by Briscoe and a flying elbow but Cole kicks out! The action comes to a halt, as Mark seems to have suffered another concussion. Cole gets an evil look on his face as he super kicks the head. Cole steals the J-Driller and pins Mark at 12:33 (shown). The crowd seems to have missed the “heel turn” memo. There was pretty much no psychology to this match, at least until the last 30 seconds, just a series of moves and pin attempts. Adam Cole looks like he’s ready to be ROH Champion, while Mark Briscoe looks like he’s ready to settle in as a comedy jobber.Winner: Adam Cole
Final Thoughts: This was a fairly dull episode. The talking segment in the middle didn’t do any favors for the participants, and none of the matches stirred up much passion from the fans in attendance. Adam Cole looks like he’s ready to step up and carry the ball for ROH, but I didn’t see anything else worth getting excited about. Thumbs down, you can skip this one.
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