Ring of Honor – November 2nd, 2016

Howdy!

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Ring of Honor TV – 11/2/16

We open with highlights of Kyle O’Reilly tapping out Adam Page at All-Star Extravaganza, followed by Page’s post-match attack. That’s followed with Kyle’s win from last week, followed by Page’s post-match attack, in which he was joined by Adam Cole to beat down both members of reDRagon, including a chair to the ribs of Bobby several times. Page tells us that the TV title is HIS; man, I wonder who he’ll attack after a match THIS week? Only one way to find out!

We are TAPED from the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts! Your hosts are Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino. Tonight, the 6-man tag team tournament continues, as ACH, KUSHIDA, & Jay White will take on the Cabinet!

But we’re starting off the show with Donovan Dijak’s music! He and Prince Nana are out with the Dijak spirit squad to a nice reaction from the hometown crowd. Speaking of hometowns, his opponent is Danny Miles, who hails from the ubiquitous town of ‘already in the ring’! I suspect that he will NOT do his hometown proud today. The announcers remind us that Dijak did NOT tap out at ASE, no sir, it was referee stoppage.

Donovan Dijak (w/ Prince Nana) vs Danny Miles

Miles offers the Code of Honor, but Dijak slaps his hand away and kicks him in the gut instead. I’m guessing that would be his way of declining. Forearm knocks Miles to the mat, and Dijak goes a-stompin’ in the corner. Donovan pulls Miles to his feet and Danny tries for some rather pathetic punches which Dijak rightly no-sells. Chokeslam backbreaker from Dijak, followed by Feast Your Eyes. The crowd wants one more, so Dijak gives them two more to turn Miles into a quivering pile of jelly. 1,2,3. (Donovan Dijak over Danny Miles, pinfall, 2:20)

WORTH WATCHING? – NOPE.

Post-match, Nana demands that the music be shut off. He wants to make one thing clear in this stinking place; at All-Star Extravaganza, Dijak never quit! And he will never quit in a Ring of Honor ring! And yes, Nana was disappointed by the outcome at ASE, but that will NEVER EVER happen again! Right, Dijak? Right? Dijak just stares and breathes. I suppose that’s a yes in his world.

Now that’s how I like my Donovan Dijak matches. Less than 3 minutes long.

Let’s look at some footage from last week’s show, after the main event; Ian was interviewing the Bullet Club backstage. The Bucks are hurting after Ladder War, but it’s all worth it because they’re the 2-time ROH tag champs! And now, the Machine Guns come through the curtain with ice packs, and the Cole makes a lame joke about them being hurt again, so they’re the ‘Fragile City Machine Guns’; Sabin is so offended by how dumb that joke was, he takes a shot at Cole and the fight is on! Security heads in to break that up quickly.

Time to check in with the Briscoes; they’re facing off against The Addiction tonight! Jay: “Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels; The Addiction. Last time we were in the ring together, y’all cost us the chance to be the Ring of Honor champs.” Footage shows that Jay has himself a point there. Mark points out that they would be 9 time tag champs if it wouldn’t have been for those underhanded tactics! Well, the Briscoes know that the Addiction aren’t the champs anymore, but hell, they’ve got heads, don’t they? And you know what we have? We’ve got this great ad break!

“Reach for the sky, boy!” We’re back with the music of Dem Boys! Jay and Mark Briscoe make their way to the ring. And there’s the music of The Addiction! Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, and Kamaitachi make their way to the top of the stage….in street clothes? Mercy! I don’t know if we’re going to have this match; they make their way to the ring and they’ve got a mic, let’s see what’s going on. Kaz tells the Briscoes that they’re out dressed to fight, but the Addiction is not; despite the staples in their head, though, they’re still here! Ladder War changed them, but they recognize that the Briscoes are warriors; the word that Kaz thinks about is legacy! The Briscoes have been there since day one, and their 8 reigns as champs makes most people think that the Briscoes are the greatest tag team in Ring of Honor! But you know what else he thinks about when he thinks about legacy? Uh, Cody Rhodes? No, he thinks about Christopher Daniels, his best friend, a man who has given everything he has to professional wrestling! A man who has given everything he has to Ring of Honor, who has broken his body for this company, and it’s been an honor and a privilege for Kaz to break his body alongside him! And they may have to retreat tonight, but Kaz will make it his dying quest to make people talk about the greatest tag team in Ring of Honor history, and that team won’t be the Briscoes, it’ll be the Addiction! And with that, the Addiction takes their leave.

But the Briscoes want to fight, so Jay gets a mic: “Hey, real talk, man – that was a hell of a speech! But we didn’t lace these boots up for nothing! Me and my brother are here to fight!” Now, there are plenty of teams they’d like to beat up in the back, but there’s one that everyone wants to see; Young Bucks, get out here and bring those titles with you, and let’s give these people what they want to see! Yeah! Let’s do that! But first, let’s watch more great ads!

We’re back with the Briscoes still in the ring, and there’s the music of the Bullet Club! But that’s not the tag champs; that’s the ROH World champ Adam Cole and Adam Page! Cole has a mic: “Man up! Man up! Man up!” That’s hilarious to Cole; challenging a team that just went through Ladder War, that’s really brave, isn’t it? But the Briscoes think that since they’ve been around since day one, they run the place! Well, there’s a new sheriff in town, and it’s the Bullet Club! So, just to inform you two rednecks, you won’t be fighting the Bucks tonight! Jay says that hey, since there are two of them, why not bring their two pretty asses in the ring and fight? Page and Cole look to leave; but they change their minds and rush the ring! The fight is on!

The Briscoes (Jay and Mark) vs The Bullet Club (Adam Cole & Adam Page)

4-way brawl to start, with Jay on Page and Mark on Cole. Dropkick from Mark sends Cole to the floor, and the Briscoes double-team Page with splashes in the corner and double dropkick to a slumped Page. Cole pulls him to safety on the floor and tells the ref to back the Briscoes up. Mark and Page look to start us off proper now, but Cole attacks Mark from behind as Page cheapshots Jay off the apron, and it’s a double-team beatdown for the Bullet Club now. They stomp away and Cole gets out, so Page backs Mark to the corner and goes for his eyes. Cross-corner whip by Page, Mark goes over the top and they trade reversals before Page drops him with a clothesline. He runs Mark into Cole’s boot, and a tag brings in the World champ. He stomps away at Mark in the corner; Mark tries to fight out, but Cole goes to the eyes and tags Page back in. Page mounts Mark in the corner and shoves his palm across Mark’s face, following with a belly-to-back suplex. That gets two. Page takes Mark back to the top buckle of the Bullet Club corner and tags in Cole, and we’ll tag out for some great ads!

We’re back with Mark fighting out of a headlock from Cole. Palm strikes by Mark, then an elbow for Page in the corner. Mark charges, but Cole knocks him loopy with a leg lariat to the side of the head. 1,2, no! Tag to Page now, and it’s a double cross-corner whip, but Page gets taken out by Mark on a springboard forearm. Cole tries to prevent the tag with a go-behind, but Mark fights out with a Pele kick, and there’s the tag to Jay! He runs wild with forearms and superkicks to both Adams, then European uppercuts before a headbutt sends Cole to the floor. Page with a kick, but Briscoe murders him with a lariat when Page comes off the ropes, and follows that with the Time Bomb neckbreaker for two. Jay signals for the Jaydriller, but Cole comes in with the belt and nails Jay in the face, and that’s enough for the DQ. (The Briscoes over the Bullet Club, DQ, 6:04)

WORTH WATCHING? – That finish blows. Match was finally starting to get into a decent groove after the hot tag, but they pissed that away. NO, I’d take a pass on this one. It’s more angle than anything else, with more of the Bullet Club making enemies in ROH, which is fine, I suppose.

Post-match, Cole clocks Mark with the belt too; Cole and Page go and get chairs, but reDRagon comes down with chairs of their own to chase them off. Fish is selling the ribs and takes awhile to get in there. O’Reilly stands over the World title belt as Fish dares Cole to get back in the ring to retrieve it. Finally, Kyle kicks it to Cole on the floor and sits in the chair, daring Cole to get in the ring as the two have words. Remember when Page beat Jay Briscoe in that street fight, and it was kind of a great match? No?

Hey, it’s Matt Taven! Let’s hear what he has to say! “I’ve given you fair warning.” He’s told us week after week, that a Kingdom will be built in his image; well next week, we’ll meet the new Kingdom, and all of you melvins will be saying “Thy Kingdom Come!” And with that, let’s take another break to watch some ads!

We’re back with Kevin Kelly, who has a guest; Mr. Jay Lethal! I wonder what’s on the former champ’s mind? “Well, Kevin, I’ve been pacing around backstage because it’s finally sinking into me, it’s finally sinking in!” And what’s sinking in? The fact that during the Reach for the Sky tour, in London, he finally gets his rematch for the ROH World title! And Jay believes that he is, indeed, the greatest wrestler in the world! Now some out there, namely Adam Cole, may think that an opinion, there’s one thing that will make it a fact; and that’s Jay Lethal becoming the 2-time ROH World Champ! There’s a REALLY annoying fan responding to Lethal in the background; shut up, fan! But Lethal has removed all of his distractions around Cole; he’s actually forgiven him for shaving Jay’s head; it’s a lot easier to maintain this way! And Jay admires Cole, because Adam did everything in his power to regain the ROH World title, and that’s exactly what Lethal is going to do, and he’ll return from London the 2-time ROH World champ! He thanks Kevin for the time, and speaking of time, there’s always time for an ad break, right?

We’re back with footage from ASE again, this time of ACH hitting the Midnight Star to put away the Briscoes and Yano in the first round of the 6-man tag tournament! And now, we see footage from ROH TV of the Cabinet winning their first round match! Who will advance to the Finals? We’ll find that out right now!

Caprice Coleman wants everyone to know that every round goes higher and higher, and the Cabinet is here to stake their claim; they’re gonna win!

Back to the announcers, as we see on the bracket that this will fill out the top half of the bracket, with the bottom half still to come. And that’s the music of the Cabinet! They make their way to the ring with their entourage. Now, it’s time to dance, as we hear the music of one Super (ugh) ACH! He’s out with KUSHIDA and Jay White, and we’re ready to start this thing!

KUSHIDA, Super ACH, & Jay White vs The Cabinet (Kenny King, Rhett Titus, & Caprice Coleman)

As usual, Coleman gets the mic and reminds us that the Cabinet is taking a knee during the Code of Honor, because that’s some cutting edge satire right there, which is exactly what Ring of Honor is known for, right?

Anyway, the faces don’t take too kindly to this gesture and respond with a gesture of their own, which you can probably guess, and that causes the Cabinet to attack! We’ve got ourselves a pier-6 brawl here, so Katie bar the door! The Cabinet tosses everyone and rules the ring; White rolls back in and gets triple-teamed. Dumbass. They finish with that and take a knee again, and we’ll take a proverbial knee and watch some ads!

We’re back with the Cabinet in control of Jay; why are there so many wrestlers in ROH named Jay? I’m living in fear of the Jay Lethal/Jay Briscoe/Jay White triple threat I’ll have to recap someday. Coleman chokes White against the top rope in the heel corner and tags in King, who comes in with some boots to the chest of White. White catches the boot of Kenny, but King responds to that with a handstand kick and BEAUTIFUL spinebuster; seriously, it was a really good one. Arn Anderson would have been proud. It gets two. King sends White to the heel corner and taunts the faces, thus missing that White has started firing elbows at King’s teammates. King turns around and tries a suplex, but White kicks off Titus and Coleman, flipping over the top of King and staggering backwards to his corner to tag in ACH. ACH and King do a nifty sequence that ends with an ACH legsweep and a knee to the back of King’s head. Tag to White and KUSHIDA comes in for the party as well, and they just murder Kenny in the corner. Running European uppercut by Jay! Running splash from KUSHIDA! ACH springs off the back of KUSHIDA with an elbow! White goes up, missile dropkick to Kenny! 1,2, no! White takes out Titus and Coleman again, then goes back to King, who kicks White off. King with a kneelift and a tag to Caprice, who comes in with rights to White. KUSHIDA blindtags without Coleman noticing, and White reverses an Irish whip into a drop toehold to set up a KUSHIDA dropkick. He sends Caprice to the corner, and they nail Coleman with a triple-team set of shots to the head. KUSHIDA goes for the Hoverboard lock, but Coleman scrambles for the ropes. Armwringer by KUSHIDA and a tag to Jay, armwringer by Jay and a tag to ACH, armwringer by ACH as Coleman howls in pain. It’s actually over the top and annoying, but I’m enjoying this match, so I’ll let it slide. KUSHIDA gets the tag now, and he wrings that arm even more, then White and ACH come in for even more punishment, and that culminates in ACH holding the arm up for KUSHIDA to kick it. That was fun. ACH chops away at Coleman now, cross-corner whip is reversed, Coleman charges but eats a double boot. ACH goes up and fights off Titus, then manages to hang onto the top rope when Coleman goes for the no-hands ‘rana off the top. He doesn’t hang on when King tosses ACH to the floor, though. The ANX beat on King outside the ring and toss him back in, and Kevin Kelly tosses us to our final ad break of the evening!

We’re back with Titus working over ACH in the corner, then slingshotting him into a forearm from Coleman. Tag to King, who does a running snap of ACH on the top rope, and Coleman follows that with an elbow across the knees of Rhett. 1,2, White makes the save. Coleman mounts ACH and chokes away, then tags in King. ACH tries to fight out of the corner, but gets caught with by King with a bridging T-bone suplex for two. Tag to Titus, but ACH manages to run the ANX into each other, then a combo cutter/flatliner to buy some time. Tag to KUSHIDA by ACH! Springboard dropkick to Titus! KUSHIDA kicks the arm of Coleman when the latter comes in, then an inverted atomic drop to Caprice. He dropkicks the knees of Coleman, then hits a dropkick out of a cartwheel. I very much enjoy watching this man engage in gentlemanly fisticuffs. ANX gets it together and attacks, sending KUSHIDA to the corner; King misses a big splash in the corner! KUSHIDA legsweeps him to a seated position, and a drop toehold on Rhett sends Titus face first into Kenny’s…..well, figure it out. KUSHIDA rolls up Titus, Rhett tries to kick out as KUSHIDA stands and ducks a clothesline from Coleman, and KUSHIDA does a bridging German suplex on Coleman while rolling Titus back up! That was cool as SHIT. Crowd rightfully chants for KUSHIDA after that. Titus ducks a roundhouse kick from KUSHIDA and hits a right hand, but takes one in return. Tag to White now, Jay and KUSHIDA send Titus to the ropes. KUSHIDA charges, but gets dumped by Rhett. ACH grabs Titus from behind and White hits a running uppercut, and KUSHIDA follows that with an enzuigiri from the apron, then Jay turns Titus inside-out with a lariat. Jay loads Rhett up; brainbuster! 1,2, King and Coleman make the save! Everyone back in now, and guys get dumped to the floor, leaving White and Titus in the ring. Uranage attempt by White is blocked, White fires back and comes off the ropes, dropkick by Titus! Titus splashes Jay in the corner and tags in Coleman, who hits a knee to the back of White’s head, King with a fireman’s carry into a stunner, Skysplitta from Coleman! 1,2, KUSHIDA makes the save! ANX double-teams KUSHIDA, but KUSHIDA comes off the ropes with a double handspring elbow! KUSHIDA charges Coleman, but gets spinebustered by Caprice. Coleman turns around right into Get Over Here by ACH, but ACH takes a kick from Titus right after. German suplex by Titus on ACH, then some SHOTGUN KNEES~! from King send ACH crashing to the corner. King and Titus both charge White in the corner, but both get alley-ooped to the apron, and KUSHIDA sends them both to the floor with a rolling kick. KUSHIDA gets a running start, but he gets tripped up by Coleman on the outside. Caprice goes up now, but gets caught coming off into a uranage by White. Jay tags in ACH as KUSHIDA runs across the ring with a tope con hilo to King on the outside! ACH goes up now, Midnight Star hits Coleman! 1,2,3! (Super ACH, Jay White, & KUSHIDA over The Cabinet, pinfall, 12:03)

WORTH WATCHING? – I’m such a sucker for six-man tags, and this was no exception. YES, this one was fun as hell, with triple teams galore and big spots and saves and KUSHIDA being awesome as he normally is. Good stuff, especially the near-falls at the end. Good stuff.

Post-match, the faces celebrate as the replays play. They’re moving onto Final Battle! The graphic says so!

Next week, a proving ground match between Dragon Lee and Bobby Fish! Also, the bottom half of the bracket gets started with The Kingdom taking on the Bullet Club! And we’re done for the week.

FINAL THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Much better than last week; although the ringwork had its problems, we did a lot this week; The Bullet Club got involved with the Briscoes to get that feud going, Lethal cut a decent promo selling the London tour, and we got a good main event to send our first team to Final Battle. No complaints this week.

As always, thanks for reading this thing I wrote,

Rick Poehling
@MrSoze on Twitter