ROH TV: July 6th 2013

OK, first of all I feel that I should clear up any confusion
about the ROH world title situation which might still exsist.  The Briscoes ARE NOT contracted to the WWE at this time, but their future with ROH is still in question.  They have been written off TV with Kayfabe injuries.  A 16 man tournament has been established to crown a new champion. 8 participants have been announced as of today, “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin, Brian Kendrick, “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson, “Mr. Wrestling” Kevin Steen, “Intrepid Traveler” Paul London, Roderick Strong, Adam Cole, and Sonjay Dutt.  The tournament is looking stacked already and it should make for a great couple months of matches leading to the final at Death Before Dishonor in September 

Now without Further Ado, you’re here for a reveiw

Silver and Reynolds seem a lot less Jober-y then most of the enhancement talent ROH brings in (looking at you Rip Impact).  This is Reynolds and Silver’s debut with ROH.  The code of honor is adhered to.  Things start in earnest with Cedric Alexander hitting a snap-mare and dropkick for a 1 count.  Cedric tags out and delivers a double suplex with Caprice.  Coleman picks up Silver for the bodyslam, then gives him a legdrop.  Silver counters into a jaw(ber) breaker and is able to tag in Reynolds.  Reynolds doesn’t have anymore success then Silver did, his attempt at a pump handle slam is reversed, and then Caprice takes him down with a big right hook.  Coleman sends Reynolds into the ropes to hit a minister-approved dropkick.  Coleman then shows off his small package and gets a 2-count.  Pull back clothesline for Coleman keeps him in the driver seat, but Silver distracts him from the apron and Reynolds is able to leap over and hang him across the top rope.  Silver is tagged in; he gets a vertical suplex for a 1-count.  Reynolds and Silver start making quick tags and we get a brief heat segment.  Silver gets a serious of running elbows on a grounded Coleman, but he gets cocky and stops to pose before dropping the last one, and it works for him about as well as it did for Silva.  Reynolds comes in for support but he and Silver miss the double clothesline and Alexander comes in on the hot tag.  He runs wild and sends Reynolds packing before drilling Silver with a Full Nelson facebuster.  ACH and TD Thomas show up in the entrance way to scout the competition.  Adrenaline Rush VS C&C would probably be a great match now that I think about it.  The numbers catch up to Cedric with Caprice out on the apron, but I don’t know how because the ACH’s overwhelming Charisma sucked the camera to him and me miss what was happening in the ring.  The camera guy finally gets his act together in time to see a Codebreaker/Bridging German Suplex combo that Coleman had to break.  Coleman then decides that he’s done playing with these jobbers; he chucks Reynolds and forces Silver into the corner.  Alexender rips Silver’s face off with a dropkick, and then Coleman hoists him to the top rope.  Overtime connects and C&C has the 3-count.  *1/2  A perfectly fine, semi-competitive squash.  C&C looks good going into their title match next week and a future feud with Adrenaline rush should be awesome.  I wouldn’t mind seeing Silver and Reynolds continuing to be used, but I wont care if I never see them wrestle again either.

Nigel is out next to address Mark Briscoe’s health and what the ramifications will be for Steel Cage Warfare in a month.  He starts by putting over the entire roster for giving it everything they had the night before at BitW.  He anounces that Jay re-agrivated his arm injury and fucked up his back taking a Froggy Bow through a table outside, while Mark suffered a concussion from the three Jay Drillers it took to put him down.  He says Mark has not been cleared to wrestle and he needs a replacement for the match against S.C.U.M.
The crowd voices its desire for Mr. Wrestling, and lo-and-behold here he comes.  Steen says he’s not here to complain about how he lost last night, he just needs Nigel to add him to steel cage warfare.  Nigel says he still doesn’t trust Steen. Kevin get’s pissed “You want honor, I want payback–and to kick their asses.”  He says he started S.C.U.M., amd he can end it too.  he keeps on ranting “So you need to grow a pair and put me in the God damn match!” Steen is awesome here.  Out comes S.C.U.M. for the beat down, but Nigel waves for backup so Lethal, Elgin, and Whitmer make the save.

Veda Scott vs Mschif
This is of course the big match for the women’s feud that has captivated a nation; I hear as many as 3 people may be invested in this storyline.  Mschif throws Veda outside as soon as we get underway.  Veda is sent crashing into the barrier a number of times before Mschif starts throwing knees into her back.  Satisfied with how much tar had been kicked out of Veda, Mschif tosses her back in the ring for a 1-count.  Veda gets in her first offense with some elbows to the midsection and a drop kick. Gorilla Monsoon is channeled by Kevin Kelly.

Kelly: Dropkick to the mid section
Corino: Really it was more in the baby maker
Kelly: Will you stop!

Veda pins Mschif in the corner with a flurry of kicks.  Mschif tries to get out with a clothesline but is German Suplexed into the corner for her trouble.  Veda devlivers what might be the weakest looking dive ever delivered in a ring of honor ring to the seated Mschif and slides outside the ring.  Mschif shrugs the “dive” off and Germans Veda on the floor to a mild reaction from the otherwise dead crowd.  Veda rolls in at 17.  Kelly praises her tenacity, Corino thinks she should have just stayed down–I’m with Steve.  None the less Veda actually manages a decent combination of elbows to set up a Saito Suplex for a near fall (I was shocked that Corino didn’t make the obvious Mitsuhara Misawa comment).  The two women get into a screaming match, but it comes to an abrupt end when Mschif gets a 2-count from a baldo bomb.  Mschif hits the Desecrater for 2, but by the way the commentators freaked out about the kick out you’d think she’d have just kicked out of the Burning fucking Hammer.  It wasn’t THAT impressive guys.  Mschif picks up the near lifeless Veda and puts her into position on the Turnbuckle for something.  Kelly called the move Mschif hit Obliteration; I called it HOLY FUCKING SHIT-CAKES THAT WAS BRUTAL. It got the three count regardless. 1/2*  I was all ready to call this match a dud, but I can’t do that in good conscious after that finish–can we please see that in a match that doesn’t suck.  They had the right idea from a story telling perspective with Veda as the plucky under-dog babyface who doesn’t know when to quit, the problem is that Veda sucks.

Back from commercial with Silas Young and Adam Page in the ring.  Yong has a Microphone and cuts a horribly chauvinistic promo about how the ring is a man’s place, and that Women should be at home cooking and cleaning.  He then says he’s the only man in the locker room and insults Page’s pretty boy appearance.  All of a sudden the brawl is on and the bell rings for…

Adam Page VS “The Last Real Man in Pro Wrestling” Silas Young
The two men continue engaging in some rather spirited brawling until Page gets Young in position for a catapult.  He sends Young into the corner and hits him with a European uppercut on the rebound.  Page starts chopping away until Young bails to ringside.  Young dodges a baseball slide then throws Page into the barricade.  Young and his mustache jump off the apron to dive on Page, but he manages to dropkick Pro Wrestling’s Last Real Man out of mid air.  Page looks pissed now and whips Silas for some of the nastiest bumps I’ve seen off those Barricades.  Young counters a third whip with knee strikes. some renewed brawling leaves both guys battling on the apron.  Silas Young wins that battle by tackling Page into the outside of the turnbuckle.  Young sits Page in a chair that was set up at ringside and then charges for a big boot.  He misses and crotches himself on the barricade.  There goes Wrestling’s last man.  Page uses this chance to recover and then delivers a superplex off the barricade!  I’ve never seen that before.  Page throws Young in the ring and takes a “page” out of the other Adam in ROH’s playbook and looks for the win with a cross body, but it only gets a near fall.  A woozy Silas Young is lifted to the top turnbuckle, then Page takes a seat next to him on the top rope.  Chops are exchanged until Young decides chops aren’t MANLY enough and smashes Page to the mat with a lariat to the back of his head.  He gives pursuit, but has to duck a clothesline from Page.  Unfortunately Silas has the last MANLY botch and messes up a kip up.  It was covered well however with Young delivering a MANLY Backbreaker, then clotheslining Page while he was still on his knee–It gets the last manly 2-count in this match.  This has been a sprint the whole way through and both guys look a little winded as they getup and start trading blows in the centre of the ring.  Silas tries for a dragon suplex, but Page reverses it into a victory roll for the 3-count out of nowhere! **1/4  This was way more fun then it should have been given the fact both competitors are basically jobbers.  It felt in Kayfabe like what it was in reality, two guys trying to prove to ROH they deserve more bookings and they don’t slowdown once all match.  It was the kind of match where you got the feel it was all business and either guy was laser focused on getting the win.  Young isn’t great on the stick but the character itself has potential.  I think Adam Page should find a tag team partner, he’d make a great Ricky Morton.

Silas Young beats down Adam Page post match.
  
TV Title: Matt Taven (c) VS “Die Hard” Eddie Edwards
First things first, a challenge for anyone reading this, whoever can tell me what the hell is tattooed on Truth Martini’s stomach gets a prize.  Code of Honor is adhered to.  They lock up and start trading armbars. After some more technical wrestling Taven gets the advantage and beats Eddie down.  Taven looks to fly but Eddie annihilates his chest with a chop.  Taven falls back and his hanging on the tree of woe outside the ring.  unique spots all over tonight.  Eddie slides out and scores a running dropkick that bounces Taven’s head off the steel turnbuckle.  God that looked sick.  Eddie calls for an assist from the fans, making them hold Taven against the Barricade while he hits more chops.  Corino wants a DQ for outside interference.  Eddie eventually throws Taven back in the ring and stretches him out with a bow-and-arrow.  Eddie tilts the hold back and scores a 2-count.  Edwards whips Taven into the corner, but is sent to the apron when he charges in.  Truth grabs Edwards ankle which allows Taven to get a disaster kick.  Edwards lands HARD on the apron, just a brutal bump.  Truth starts choking Edwards behind The ref’s back as we fade to commercial

Back with Taven getting 2.  Taven lands a vertical and again looks to fly, but yet again he is cut off on the top rope by Die Hard.  Taven wins the exchange this time reverse suplexing Edwards to the mat; the frogsplash misses however.  Taven ends up in the corner and Edwards just starts giving him the machine gun chops in the corner, garnering a “Kobashi” chant from the crowd.  Taven is sent to the floor so Truth gets up on the apron to block a suicide dive.  Taven gets back in just to be tossed out the opposite side of the ring, this time he hangs on and skins the cat back in however, so Eddie finally says fuck it and just clotheslines him over the top.  Taven knows Edwards likes to go for the dive here so he moves behind the turnbuckle where it’s presumably safe.  Edwards isn’t deterred and just hits a massive somersault dive over the Turnbuckle.  The fans help Eddie up, and he tosses Taven back into the ring.  An attempted double stomp misses, but the shining Wizard that came next didn’t for another 2 count.  Edwards sets Taven up for the Chinchecker, but he fights out and connects with 2 kicks to the head and Angel’s Wings for 2.  Now Taven sits Edwards on the top rope but after some struggling all he gets is a Boston Knee Party for his trouble.  Edwards runs the ropes but is caught with a spinkick.  Taven tries for his Modified DDT finish, but Edwards reverses it into an overtop gourdbuster.  Enzugiri and Double stomp gets two, but Taven’s kick out is immediately rolled into the Achilles lock.  Eddie has to release the hold to deal with Martini however, and Scarlet slips Taven the belt.  Eddie ducks the belt shot and locks the Achilies Lock back on!  Taven barely fights out and pushes Eddie away so he almost hits Silesia (Hoopla Hottie #2).  Taven only needed that momentary distraction as he hits the modified DDT for the pinfall victory.  ***1/2 Awesome free TV match where Eddie went above and beyond to put on a show.  Truth sucks, but Taven looks natural in this roll as undeserving champ/sex fiend.

A Strong week for ROH with every segment having something to be exited about, A potential Adrenaline Rush and C&C Wrestle Factory feud, Steen being his usual self, Veda Scot’s face exploding, Young and Page fighting for a roster spot, and that whole damn main event!  Thumbs up for this show