1/20 Ring of Honor TV Report: Kingdom vs. Bucks vs. ReDragon
by Matt Storm
Will tonight see the final crumbling of The Kingdom? Just how many Superkicks will The Young Bucks throw? Will Kyle O’Reilly satisfy his hunger for revenge on Adam Cole? So many questions, some just might be answered in tonight’s main event!!
Calling the action at ringside are Kevin Kelly and the best student from the Steve Corino School of Announcing, Mr. Wrestling III.
1. The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian w/Chris Sabin) vs. ACH and Alex Shelley
This is the first time we’ve seen The Addiction in action since they bolted for Japan to escape the perceived conspiracy against them from ROH management. No indication what changed for them but nonetheless, glad to see them back.
Kaz and Shelley kick off the opening contest. They lock up, Kaz backs Shelley into the corner and pokes him in the eye as the referee steps in to force a break. Kaz with a knee to the midsection, sends Shelley into the corner. As Shelley come out, Kaz comes off with a Russian Legsweep.
Shelley fires back with forearms then clamps on a side headlock. Kaz sends Shelley into the ropes allowing Daniels to grab hold of him. Kaz swings and winds up nailing Daniels when Shelley ducks out of the way. Shelley takes Kaz over with a hip toss, follows with a dropkick to the back. Shelley traps Kaz in a neck vice and kicks him square in the face.
Shelley executes a snapmare turned into a Dragon Sleeper. Sabin hops on the apron providing a distraction; Kaz rolls Shelley up for a nearfall. Kaz connects with a knee strikes, then comes off the ropes right into a knee to the midsection from Shelley.
ACH gets the tag. Shelley sends Kaz into an ACH battering ram from the apron. Kaz shrugs off a roll up attempt, ACH kips up and dropkicks Kaz coming off the ropes. ACH lands a chop to the chest prompting Sabin to grab his foot. ACH stomps on the offending hand but that distraction allows Kaz to jump him from behind Daniels tags in and works over ACH in the corner. ACH is whipped across the ring but manages to go up& over as Daniels follows him in. ACH ducks a clothesline and cartwheels his way out of a backdrop to land a dropkick.
ACH fakes out an incoming Kaz and dropkicks him for good measure. ACH lights up Daniels’ chest with a chop then rocks him with a short-arm forearm smash. Daniels reverses a whip and sends ACH into the corner. He follows in but is met with a boot to the face. ACH perches on the middle rope but turns his attention to nailing Kaz as he’s running at him. Daniels takes advantage and delivers the Tower of London.
Kaz bounces Shelley off the apron then tags in after Daniels pounds on ACH with alternate fists. The Addiction send ACH into the ropes for a double boot to the midsection. Daniels hits an inverted atomic drop, Kaz following with a facebuster, and Daniels finishing the sequence with an STO.
We to commercial.
Back from the break, both Kaz and ACH are down on the mat. Shelley gets the hot tag and launches into the air to nail Kaz with a one legged missile dropkick. Daniels runs in but is quickly flipped over with a dropkick to the kneecap. Shelley’s Irish Whip is reversed and he’s sent into the corner. Kaz runs into a boot to the face, shakes it up, and runs into a second boot. Shelley hits a Flatliner into the middle turnbuckle.
Shelley comes off the top rope but Kaz manages to avoid a double foot stomp to the back. Kaz grips the waist and shoves him into a Daniels right hand. Daniels tags in, holds Shelley’s arms up and comes off the top rope with a kick to the chest for a nearfall.
Shelley backdrops his way out of an attempted Angel’s Wings; Daniels tries to turn that into s sunset flip but Shelley rolls through and kicks him in the face. ACH is tagged back in. He goes for a Tornado DDT from the middle ropes, Daniels catches him in a waistlock. ACH does a standing switch but his German Suplex attempt is blocked. ACH pushes Daniels into the corner where he’s met with a leaping kick to the back of the head from Shelley. ACH delivers a German Suplex for a nearfall with Kaz making the save in the nick of time.
The actions breaks down as all four men go at it. Shelley smashes Kaz with a forearm to the face. Kaz tries to answer with one of his own but Shelley ducks and buries a knee into the midsection. Kaz reverses a whip, sending Shelley into a hanging clothesline from Daniels. Kaz rushes ACH, ACH leapfrogs out of the corner. ACH boots Kaz and delivers a stereo stunner/flatliner to Addiction.
ACH heads back up top, this time it’s Sabin there to distract him. ACH leaps off and decks Sabin off the apron. Kaz plans a knee to the lower back. The Addiction hit Celebrity Rehab and Daniels covers ACH for the pinfall.
Winners: The Addiction
Post-Match: Not satisfied with just a victory, Addiction and Sabin triple team Daniels goes the the floor and snatches the timekeeper’s hammer. He wants to hit Shelley with it but official Paul Turner grabs it out of his hand. Daniels thanks him for his efforts with a right hand.
ROH Matchmaker Nigel McGuiness is seen at ringside, none too pleased by that display. He gets on the microphone and tells Daniels he’s crossed the line once too often. There’s a zero policy in effect so as of now, he’s suspended. Furthermore, should he fail to exit the ring right now, the suspension will be for a year. Daniels wildly protests but is eventually forced up the aisle as the crowd taunts him with the “Goodbye”song.
Analysis: Strong, athletic opener. ACH and Shelley made for a great team, I wouldn’t mind seeing them paired back up in the future. Usual quality from The Addiction along with Sabin making for a good antagonist from the outside. Interesting post-match angle; could it pave the way for Sabin to be without his cohorts and Shelley being able to get him one on one?
2. Adam Page (w/BJ Whiter and Colby Corino) vs. Mark Briscoe
Keeping in line with the disrespectful nature of The Decade, Page blows off Mark’s attempt to adhere to the Code of Honor.
The initial lockup sees both struggle to get the upperhand. Briscoe switches into a side headlock and is sent into the ropes. Page goes for a backdrop, Briscoe manages to land on his feet and block a right hand attempt. Briscoe nails Page with some Redneck Kung-Fu then takes him over with a snapmare. Page avoids a sliding dropkick but misses a standing Shooting Star Press. Whitmer draws Briscoe’s attention onto him which allows Page to jump him from behind. Page chokes Briscoe down in the corner; Colby gets his shots too as the official backs Page up.
Briscoe fires back with shots to the midsection but Page cuts him off with repeated punches. Page sends Briscoe hard into the corner then delivers a stinging right hand. He sends Briscoe across the ring but Briscoe is able to use his momentum to spring off the middle rope into a forearm smash. Briscoe with a running dropkick into the corner. Page blocks a suplex so Briscoe changes course and lights him up with chops and forearm shivers. Briscoe hits a suplex for a nearfall. Briscoe backs Page into the corner and alternates between fists and boots to the face.
Page reverses a whip, Briscoe is able to go up& over as he follows in. Page catches Briscoe with a powerslam into the corner for a good nearfall. Page grinds his boot into Briscoe’s face then rams him into the corner. Page rushes in only to Briscoe to dip his shoulder and deposit him onto the apron. Page lands a battering ram, Briscoe answers with an Enzuigiri that knocks him to the floor.
Mark delivers a dropkick through the ropes and follows with a wicked Blockbuster off the apron. He rolls Page back into the ring and hits a lariat for a nearfall. Briscoe goes for a Fisherman Buster which Page blocks; Page tries for a cradle but is unable to get it. Mark with a stiff shot to the gut which sets off a back&forth exchange of chops and forearms. Page turns it up a notch to gain the advantage. Briscoe tries to trip up Page as they both hit the ropes but Page doesn’t bite and hits a leaping DDT for a nearfall.
Page hoists Briscoe onto his shoulders but Briscoe throws elbows to escape. Briscoe throws Page over the top rope but he manages to land on the apron and hook onto the top rope. Briscoe drills him with successive boots but he’s still able to hold on. Page blocks another boot and tries to flip Briscoe onto his face but Briscoe lands on his feet instead. Page slingshot flips back into the ring, delivering a lariat for a nearfall. Briscoe counters Rite of Passage into a sunset flip attempt, Page rolling through it. Page finds himself in the corner and as Briscoe leaves his feet, catches him with a boot to the chest.
For some reason Whitmer decides it’d be a good time to start yelling to Page about Mr. Wrestling III really being Steve Corino. The distraction leaves Page open for a dropkick then a Fisherman’s Buster. Briscoe heads up top and delivers the Froggy Bow for the pinfall.
Winner: Mark Briscoe
We got to commercial
When the show returns, The Decade is still in the ring and a fuming Whitmer has a microphone. The crowd really lets him have it before he can get a word out. Finally he points to Mr. Wrestling and screams that we all know he’s Steve Corino. So why doesn’t he be a man for once in his life? Show his son how to be a man and take some responsibility and take that mask off.
Mr. Wrestling III steps into the ring and wonders if BJ is implying anything. Does he have something to ask him? Because he can ask any question he’d like and get an honest answer. Whitmer’s not interested in a Q&A and steps a bit closer in to tell him to take the mask off. Mr. Wrestling III reminds Whitmer of the zero tolerance towards violence and what happened to Christopher Daniels earlier in the night, Now, he knows Steve Corino and Steve knows someone who wants to take a crack at Whitmer: Steve Corino. So why doesn’t Whitmer take his lapdog, who just lost, and get the hell out of the ring? A seething Whitmer backs off and actually heeds that advice to end the segment.
Analysis: Very good back&forth match. Page has improved considerably over the past several months. Dare I say this was his best outing in recent weeks? I do! The finish suggests that like Donovan Dijak last week, they may be building towards Page’s next chapter post-Decade. It would seem an eventual Corino vs. Whitmer match is still brewing though the question is, can they sustain interest if that’s the direction they go in? And would Mr. Wrestling III corner for Corino?!
As Kelly and Mr. Wrestling III give final hype to the main event up next, a despondent Silas Young makes his way over to them with something to say.
What happened at Final Battle, The Boys turning on him and rejoining Dalton Castle, could only be termed as a disappointment. Believe or not, he loved those Boys and that’s why he taught them all he did. Why he even took them into his home and let them sleep in his basement. They appreciated being allowed to shovel snow and mow the lawn. He thinks Castle has a mental hold on them so he’s going to give them one more chance: Be men, or remain Boys and suffer the consequences.
Analysis: Silas is awesome. We need more real men like him and his associate Beer City Bruiser!
3. Three Way Dance Philadelphia Street Fight
The Decade (Adam Cole and Mike Bennett w/Matt Taven and Maria Kanellis) vs. ReDragon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly) vs. The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson)
With Kingdom already in the ring, ReDragon makes their entrance but are almost immediately taken out by The Bucks. Bucks hit the ring and superkick Taven off his crutches. Cole looks to retaliate with a superkick but winds up taking out ring announcer Bobby Cruise. Bucks superkick Bennett then Cole.
ReDragon have recovered and involve themselves in the action. They hit stereo clotheslines to the Bucks. Matt Jackson’s arms are snapped across their shoulders and he’s sent into the ropes for stereo kicks to the chest. Matt is sent into the corner and unloaded on; O’Reilly lands a forearm smash, Fish follows with a knee strike to the face, and O’Reilly finishing with a head kick.
O’Reilly whips Matt into a Fish Tilt-a-whirl Backbreaker.Fish holds Matt in place so O’Reilly can deliver a knee drop from the middle rope. The Kingdom crawl into the ring and go after ReDragon. They send O’Reilly into the ropes but he hooks onto the ropes to halt momentum. Cole charges in but is leveraged over the top rope onto the floor. Bennett is dumped onto the apron for his efforts.
O’Reilly assists Fish onto the apron and Fish somersaults over the post onto Cole and Matt Jackson. Nick Jackson takes out Fish with a somersault plancha of his own. O’Reilly traps Bennett in the ropes with a cross armbreaker until Cole whacks him with a chair. Fish returns to the ring and boots Cole in the midsection but Bennett ducks his attempt of a head kick. Bennett drills Fish with a spinning right hook. Meanwhile on the outside, Nick sends O’Reilly into the security railing.
Cole seats Matt on a chair and comes off the ropes into a sleeper hold. Matt breaks free with a jawbreaker into the top of the chair. Matt fakes a chair assisted handspring in the corner and instead nails Cole in the back with the chair. O’Reilly backdrops Nick onto the floor then puts him in a chair. He leaps off the apron only to be met by a superkick.
We go to commercial
The action picks up with Matt putting Cole into a shopping cart in the aisle and wheeling him into a superkick from Nick. O’Reilly hits a dropkick from the apron on Bennett as Matt pounds on Cole with fists. Bucks set up a table on the outside while Bennett runs away from O’Reilly, bailing to the floor. O’Reilly blocks a Matt Jackson superkick and spins him around into a rear naked choke. Fish is back in and delivers a spinning back kick to the ribs, O’Reilly following with a standing ax kick. RD hit a modified Total Elimination on Matt. Nick springboards back into the ring and right into a gut shot from Fish.
ReDragon deliver Double Dragon to Nick. On the floor, The Kingdom have pulled out a ladder. RD try to baseball slide the ladder into them but they lift it and RD go to the floor instead. Kingdom lay them out with the ladder. .
In the ring, Cole slams the ladder in the ribs of The Bucks. He then puts the ladder around his neck ala Terry Funk and spins around, catching both Bucks in the face. Suddenly he gets caught between ReDragon who have chairs in hand. RD deliver stereo chair shots to the ladder, jamming Cole’s neck. Cole’s sent into the corner and it’s his turn to receive a hat trick of offense; O’Reilly follows in with a forearm smash, Fish with a corner splash, and O’Reilly with a knee to the face. RD hit the Tilt-a-Whirl backbreaker/flying knee combination a second time, O’Reilly using a chair for added damage.
ReDragon set up two chairs and bridge the ladder across them. They set up Cole for Chasing The Dragon onto it but before it’s executed, Nick pulls Fish to the floor and sends him into the railing. Bennett fights out of a suplex and goes for a powerbomb; O’Reilly slides through his legs to avoid it and delivers a roundhouse kick to the ribs.
O’Reilly hits a second standing ax kick to Bennett’s back and measures Bennett for a spinning forearm. Bennett catches him as he rotates with a spinebuster onto the bridged ladder. Nick jabs Bennett in the ribs with a chair. Matt does a forward handspring to trap Fish on the apron with his legs and Nick simply throws the chair into his head.
Bucks set the ladder on the middle rope and Matt powerbombs Bennett onto it, snapping the bottom. Matt holds the ladder steady with Bennett laid out on it so Nick can hit a Swanton Bomb off the top rope. O’Reilly is on the apron so Nick promptly superkicks him off.
The Bucks hit More Bang For Your Buck on Bennett but Cole pulls the referee to the floor as he gets to a two count. Nick goes to superkick Cole but he ducks and Kevin Kelly is taken out!! Matt connects with a baseball slide to Cole but as he starts to skin the cat back into the ring, O’Reilly slams the chair across his back. Nick is on the apron and hits a running kick knocking the chair into O’Reilly’s face. Fish sweeps the leg and Nick flips onto the apron head first. Bodies are everywhere as we go to commercial!
Back from the break, Cole comes off the middle rope into a Canadian Destroyer. on Matt. As soon as the move connects, Nick superkicks Cole then Bennett superkicks Nick. O’Reilly avoids a plancha from Bennett who manages to land on his feet. He’s immediately met with a kick to the midsection and RD deliver Chasing The Dragon onto the floor. Cole runs from O’Reilly who gives chase and they fight all the way to the back,leaving their respective partners alone.
Back in the ring, Fish tries to fend off The Bucks with forearms to both. He rushes Nick and drives him into the corner, then does the same to Matt. On fire, he slides to the floor and spears Bennett through a table propped up against the railing. Fish misses a charge in the corner and Nick nails him with a wicked head kick. Fish winds up on the apron and superkicked off onto the remnants of the table. Nick hits a sick Frog Splash off the top rope to the floor and onto Fish.
Matt rolls Bennett into the ring and puts him on a chair. He then places a party hat on his head for a SUPERKICK PARTY!! Perhaps not happy about the lack of invitation, Maria prevents the party with stereo low blows to The Bucks. Bennett looks to strike with a chair when AJ Styles hits the ring and yanks it away. Styles drives the chair into Bennett’s ribs, following with a Bloody Sunday. Maria goes for the chair but AJ steps on it. Bucks take Maria out with a Meltzer Driver. AJ assists with an Indy Taker on Bennett, followed by a Superkick Party/Styles Clash combination. Bucks pile on Bennett and get the pinfall.
Winners: The Young Bucks
The show ends with Bullet Club standing tall and The Kingdom crumbled.
Analysis: What a wild, awesome main event!! All six men threw everything they had and if the kitchen sink had been under the ring, that would have been included too. I loved that they showcased how dangerous it was to the point ring announcers and commentators weren’t safe from the carnage. Obviously this was the swan song for Bennett and Maria who have since moved to TNA but ironically served as the televised farewell for AJ Styles who has signed with WWE. Great win for The Bucks who have to be at the top of the pile for ROH Tag Team Championship contenders. And the Cole/O’Reilly feud rages on which I am completely happy with.
Final Thoughts: Fantastic show this week. You had a strong opening tag match like last week and a tremendous Street Fight to cap it off. Briscoe vs. Page was very good and I was entertained by the antics of Whitmer and Mr. Wrestling III Big thumbs up!
Questions or comments? Hit me up on Twitter: @RandomStormGuy or Rainmaker5685@gmail.com
