Ring of Honor Television Report 1/27/16: Elgin vs. Briscoe vs. Moose‏

by Matt Storm

All roads will lead to Ring of Honor’s 14th Anniversary PPV in Vegas! But tonight in North Carolina, we have a big main event, a rematch from the Survival of The Fittest 2015. Plus this year’s Top Prospect tournament gets underway!

At ringside bringing you the action are Kevin Kelly (fully recovered from last week’s Superkick Party) and Steve Corino’s all time favorite commentator, Mr. Wrestling III.

1. Top Prospect Tournament Round 1 Match:

Brian Fury vs. Shaeem Ali

Kelly&Wrestling III frame this as a grizzled veteran going up against youthful, athletic exuberance. Fury is touted as having trained both Sasha Banks and last year’s Prospect winner Donovan Dijak. Now he’s out to show the world what he can do.

The Code of Honor is adhered to after the opening bell.

They lockup, neither man able to gain the advantage. Sensing the stalemate, Fury breaks off and lures Ali into a second lockup. Fury applies a side headlock, gets sent into the ropes, and comes back with a shoulder tackle. Ali kips right up to his feet. Fury applies a second headlock, then lands a second tackle when pushed back into the ropes. He comes off the ropes a third time with Ali dropping down and executing a leapfrog to avoid him. Ali goes a for a hip toss but Fury blocks it. Fury tries for one of his own, Ali able to also block it and take him over with a rolling armdrag.

Ali takes Fury to the mat with another armdrag,and maintains his grip on the arm. Fury fights to his feet and powers Ali back into the corner and drives a knee into the midsection. Fury whips Ali across the ring but Ali goes up& over when he follows in. Ali grabs Fury by the neck, unloading with repeated stiff knee strikes to the midsection. Ali snap mares Fury then comes off with the ropes with a sliding dropkick to the face for a nearfall.

Not letting up, Ali slams Fury and gets another nearfall after a splash off the ropes. Fury rolls toward the corner where Ali drills him with a clothesline. Fury reverses a whip and sends Ali into the corner. Ali catches Fury charging in with a back elbow. Fury evades Ali coming out the corner and leverage rolls him into the corner, his neck snapping against the middle turnbuckle.

Fury clubs Ali across the back and fires him hard into the corner, further damaging the back. Fury covers for a nearfall. Ali fights back with shots to the ribs from his knees following with forearm smashes to the jaw once he’s vertical. Ali chops Fury but his whip is reversed and he’s sent into the ropes. Fury lands back elbow for a nearfall. Fury quickly follows with a well executed back suplex for another nearfall. Fury with a chop across the chest before sending Ali back into the corner. This time Ali explodes out with a clothesline.

Ali hits a flying back elbow and an Ax kick. Ali hits a nice gut-wrench powerbomb then rocks Fury with alternating chops and forearms. Fury is leveled with a roaring back elbow but manages to duck a forearm and send Ali into the corner chest first. Fury comes off the ropes with a neckbreaker for a nearfall. Fury throws Ali through the ropes to the floor and looks to wipe him out with a plancha; Ali catches him and delivers an Exploder Suplex onto the floor.

Ali rolls Fury back into the ring and heads up top. He has to come down when Fury grabs ahold of referee Paul Turner and won’t let go. Ali’s attention is directed as Turner, allowing Fury to catch him with a headbutt to the chin. Fury hits a Pop Up Sit-out Powerbomb for the pinfall.

Winner: Brian Fury

Post-Match: Fury takes a downed Ali’s hand and mockingly shakes it to celebrate his big win.

Analysis: A good opener with great psychology. Fury brings a wealth of experience and knowledge into the ring and both were on full display here. It was a strong story of the talented rookie mounting strong offense before the cagey veteran pulled a trick out of his sleeve to put him away. I hope both are used regularly after the tournament ends. Very good start to the show.

We go to commercial.

Cedric Alexander and his adviser Veda Scott make their way out to the ring as the break ends. Kelly&Mr Wrestling go over their recent legal battle against ROH Management and the apparent settlement that was reached.

Mic in hand, Veda declares that for months on end, her client was a victim of Ring of Honor’s gross negligence and complete disregard for his health and well being. Their crusade for justice was hard, emotional. and above all else FREAKIN’ SWEET. They have enough money in the bank to buy everyone in the locker room a thousand times over. In fact, they were feeling so generous that they allowed some random nobody, Johnathan Gresham the biggest win of his career not too long ago. Mind you, that was a complete fluke win they’ve put in the past.

The next step? Bigger competition. Cedric Alexander is the Best In The World. He deserves to face Jay Lethal, Michael Elgin, Roderick Strong.. So ROH send someone of her client’s considerable talents out here for a fight..

Answering the call is CHEESEBURGER!! Crowd roars its approval as Kelly touts the Burger’s trip to the Orient for New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom 10 and New Year Dash where he was immensely popular with the Japanese crowd. We have an official in the ring and the match is on!

Analysis: Great setup to the match. Veda Scott has really developed into a great talker and manager. One of the best things for Cedric after he turned heel was to be paired up with her. And who doesn’t love Cheeseburger, aside from Brutal Bob Evans?

2. Cedric Alexander (w/Veda Scott) vs. Cheeseburger

Burger waves Veda off the apron as she discusses something with the referee. She shoots him a death glare as she complies so the action can get underway.

Alexander kicks away Burger’s hand when he extends it for the Code of Honor. Burger ducks a clothesline and rolls Alexander up for a great early nearfall. Burger delivers chops and a forearm smash but doesn’t have the strength to whip Alexander into the ropes. Alexander fires Burger into the ropes, Burger coming off into an attempted sunset flip. Alexander tries to pull him up by the throat but Burger counters into a body scissors victory roll for a nearfall.

Alexander buries a knee into the midsection and hoists Burger onto his shoulders. Burger wiggles off them and goes for a roll up. Alexander shrugs him off but is caught with a cradle hurricanrana for a nearfall. Alexander rolls to his feet and knocks Burger for a loop with a forearm smash.

Alexander missed a charge in the corner, Burger taking advantage with a springboard knee smash to the side of the head. Burger measures Alexander for an exploding palm thrust but Alexander catches him and delivers the Lumbar Check for the pinfall.

Winner:Cedric Alexander

Post-Match: Dripping with arrogance, Alexander chooses to continue beating on Cheeseburger until his recent thorn in the side, Jonathan Gresham hits the ring and backs him off. Veda steps in and gets back on the mic. She asks if Gresham would like another crack at Alexander. He does realize he’d be destroyed, correct? But hey, there’s a referee still in the ring so let’s do this..

An apparent rematch is up next as we go to commercial!

3. Cedric Alexander (w/Veda Scott) vs.Jonathan Gresham

The opening bell sounds as we return to action.

Gresham avoids Alexander charging at him and applies a waistlock. Gresham with a single leg takedown, Alexander quickly kicking him off. Gresham blocks a boot and goes behind for another waistlock. They exchange standing switches until Gresham pushes Alexander through the ropes and to the floor. Veda runs over for some conferring. Fired up, Alexander hits the ring and barrels into Gresham with a tackle.

When he stops to gloat, Gresham kicks him in the back of the leg from his back. Gresham ducks a clothesline, wrings the arm, and converts into a hammerlock. Three times Alexander attempts to spin out of the hold, all failing as Gresham maintains control. Alexander ducks his head down and sweeps Gresham’s leg. Gresham kicks Alexander through the ropes where Veda is back at his side.

Alexander rolls back into the ring and hits the ropes; Gresham catches and traps him in the Cobra Stretch. Fearing a tap out, Veda comes in and nails Gresham from behind prompting the DQ.

Winner: Jonathan Gresham via DQ

Post-Match:

The blow has no effect on Gresham who turns his attention to the paralegal terror. Veda slaps Gresham and Alexander lays him out with a running boot. Alexander puts Gresham in the corner and just goes off on him with dropkicks as Veda holds him in place. Alexander hits the Lumbar Check, immediately following with the Penalty Kick. Alexander pounds on Gresham with fists until a horde of officials run down and finally put an end to the savagery.

Analysis: I thought these were two very solid segments with key development for Alexander. The match with Cheeseburger was a strong showcase for him and Burger got some shine with the offense he was able to launch. That played into the second match with Gresham where Alexander’s cocky attitude and arrogance didn’t serve him as well and he may have lost had it not been for Veda’s intervention. Excellent post-match aggression cemented Alexander as a growing threat within ROH. As for Gresham, I like his potential. I first saw him in EVOLVE as he had Matt Riddle’s debut match there and he was very impressive. Overall, they gave four talents some shine with positive results. Thumbs up!!

As we go to break, an announcement from ROH Matchmaker Nigel McGuiness concerning the ROH World Title is hyped as being up next.

ROH World Title Announcement:

As soon as we return, The House Of Truth come out before Nigel, who is in the ring, could get out a syllable. ROH World Champion Jay Lethal flanked by Truth Martini and Taeler Hendrix saunter to the ring.

Lethal tells Nigel he knows why he’s out here, he just wanted to see and hear it for himself. In fact, all of Nigel’s business should revolve around him.

Nigel responds that Lethal is correct,this does concern him. Everyone wants to know just who he’ll be defending his title against at the 14th Anniversary PPV on February 26. Now isn’t any secret that Lethal has been on a tear lately. He defeated AJ Styles at Final Battle and then at the Tokyo Dome he turned back the challenge of Michael Elgin. He doesn’t need Nigel to tell him he’s the best wrestler in the world, that title he holds says it all.

But he need Nigel to tell him who the next challenger will be. When he thinks of top contenders, immediately coming to mind is Kyle O’Reilly. At All Star Extravaganza, O’Reilly took Lethal to the limit and could have possibly walked out champion if not for Adam Cole..

Lethal interjects that Nigel is mistaken if he thinks he’s sweating a rematch. He’s beaten Kyle O’Reilly once and he’ll do it again. It’d be a night off for him in Vegas.

Nigel informs the Champ he didn’t let him finish. Fact is, while O’Reilly is a viable contender, he lost to Adam Cole at Final Battle. So that would mean Cole is the rightful Number One Contender.

Right on cue, Adam Cole’s music hits and out he walks smiling like a Cheshire cat.

Once in the ring, he asks “Who is ready for Story Time with Adam Cole, BAY BAY?” Everyone saw him beat O’Reilly at Final Battle; that win not only ended their series but more importantly ended O’Reilly’s dream of becoming ROH World Champion. As for Lethal, he admits that his list of victims while defending his title is indeed impressive. However, he’s never beaten Adam Cole while defending the gold. The HOT trio do not look happy as this is all being said.

Once again, Nigel says he wasn’t allowed to finish. Yes, Cole is #1 contender but O’Reilly remains a credible challenger. Not only that, he told him he still wants a shot at Cole in the worst way imaginable. And unless Cole is afraid of him, surely he would love to do battle with O’Reilly one more time. Therefore, in Vegas at the PPV, it will be a Triple Threat Match: Jay Lethal vs. Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the ROH World Title!

O’Reilly is the next to join the fray once the actual announcement is made official. He takes the mic from Nigel with an intent look in his eyes. Cole immediately bails to the floor as his former Future Shock partner enters the ring. O’Reilly tells Nigel that the PPV news is fine and dandy but he isn’t in the mood to wait until then. After being screwed over time and time again, he wants a piece of Cole and Lethal here and now in NC!

Nigel polls the crowd about this and they can’t wait either. So, it will be Lethal and Cole teaming up to take on ReDragon. Big roar from the crowd as the segment concludes.

Analysis: Great segment with everyone looking strong coming out of it. I love how Lethal never sells any fear or concern over defending his title. It’s straight out of Rocky where Apollo Creed was so confident, he didn’t sweat anyone no matter their skill level. Cole was great as usual, his charisma becoming off the charts entertaining. O’Reilly was great as the fiery babyface hellbent on revenge and not being passive-aggressive when it comes to getting it. It’s going to be an awesome match in Vegas!

Nigel didn’t state it but I do believe he meant to say the tag match will take place next week.

We’re shown recap of Silas Young defeating Dalton Castle at Final Battle and The Boys turning on him afterward.

Backstage:

Silas cuts a promo reiterating his diatribe from last week, saying he taught those Boys to be MEN and they loved him for it. Then Dalton Castle came along and put a mental hold on them, convinced them to re-join him in living his way of life. So he’s offering them one last chance to come back, be men, or be very sorry.

4. Michael Elgin vs. Jay Briscoe(w/Mark Briscoe)

Before the match can even begin, Moose and Stokley Hathaway are out, Hathaway having something to say.

He says it’s 2016; that means new goals, new challenges, and new opportunities are on the horizon for his man Moose. Earlier when Nigel announced a triple threat for the PPV, it gave him an idea. He happened to approach Nigel with that idea as he walked past him in the back: Why not one more triple threat match?

He gives Elgin all due credit. At Final Battle, he defeated Moose but they want their rematch. And Jay Briscoe? He never backs down from a fight. So he hopes neither of them mind that the main event has been slightly changed. It is now a Triple Threat Match with Moose!

How will this new wrinkle play itself out? We’ll find out next!!

4A. Triple Threat Match

Michael Elgin vs.Jay Briscoe (w/Mark Briscoe) vs. Moose (w/Stokley Hathaway)

Mark joins Kevin and Mr. Wrestling III on commentary. That may be my new all time favorite announcing trio.

Briscoe misses a boot attempt on Moose and gets popped with a right hand. Moose and Elgin exchange waistlocks until Briscoe takes Moose over the top rope with a Cactus Clothesline. Elgin wipes them out with a sick somersault plancha.

Back in the ring, Elgin rocks Briscoe with forearm smashes. As he goes for a spinning forearm, Briscoe catches him with a headbutt. Briscoe sends Elgin into the corner but misses a charge when he follows in. Elgin with a boot to the midsection, goes for a delayed vertical suplex. Moose boots Elgin who nearly loses Briscoe but muscles him back up. Moose lands a second boot, Elgin maintaining the suplex. Elgin puts Briscoe across Moose’s shoulder and hits a Flatliner; this causes Moose to powerslam Briscoe on the way down. That was awesome.

Elgin covers both Briscoe and Moose for a nearfall. Moose drives Elgin back into the corner and is able to block a boot as he charges in. Moose spins Elgin around and nails him with a bicycle kick. Moose comes off the ropes into a back elbow. Elgin sets himself on the middle turnbuckle but Moose hits a standing dropkick sending him to the floor.

Briscoe comes off the top into the Moose Jabs. Moose winds up and hits the ropes, Briscoe catching him with a boot to the face. Briscoe comes off with ropes with three more boots, dropping Moose to his knees. Moose is sent into the corner where Briscoe follows behind with a dropkick. Briscoe with a snapmare and basement dropkick combination for a nearfall.

We go commercial.

The action resumes with Briscoe standing on the middle rope punching away at Moose. He gets to five before Elgin knocks him off onto the apron. Elgin clubs Moose across the back. Elgin tries to suplex Briscoe from the apron while standing on the middle rope but can’t connect. Moose nails Elgin in the back and dumps him onto the apron. With Briscoe still perched up top, Moose joins him and nails him with punches and a headbutt. Moose sets up a superplex but Elgin springs off the middle rope into a sunset flip Tower of DOOOOOM powerbomb.

Moose and Elgin are the first to their feet, Elgin landing forearms off the ropes. Elgin slams Moose and delivers a slingshot splash. Moose elbows his way off Elgin’s shoulders and tries to lift Big Mike onto his. Elgin slides down and stacks Moose for a nearfall. As soon as Moose’s shoulders are off the mat, Elgin hits a sick dead lift powerbomb for a nearfall, Briscoe breaking it up.

Elgin blocks Briscoe’s neckbreaker, Briscoe shrugging off a roll up attempt. Elgin misses a corner charge but recovers quick enough to catch Briscoe with an Enzuigiri. Elgin’s attempt to come off the middle rope is once again thwarted as Briscoe lifts him off and hits a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Briscoe stomps Moose in hopes of keeping him down and goes for a neckbreaker on Elgin. Elgin pushes him off into a spear from Moose. Briscoe rolls out of the ring so it’s the two big men doing battle again.

Elgin nails Moose with an Enzuigiri but the Elgin Bomb is blocked. They exchange Lariats, neither one leaving their feet. Elgin comes off the ropes, Moose pops him up and finally takes him down with a stiff lariat for a nearfall. Moose goes for a spear but Elgin leapfrogs him and he crashes into the middle turnbuckle. Briscoe superkicks Elgin who rebounds off the ropes with a lariat. Elgin alternates between Briscoe and Moose with forearm smashes.

Elgin drops Moose with a spinning forearm smash. He goes to nail Briscoe who ducks and backslides him for the pinfall.

Winner:Jay Briscoe

Post-Match:

Hathaway helps Moose to the back. Elgin sells immense frustration as Mark enters the ring to celebrate with his brother.

Elgin has the microphone and tells Jay that as far as singles matches go, they’re even. But here it took both him and Moose to defeat him. Plus, he always has his brother by his side. Mark may not have gotten involved physically, he definitely assisted mentally. And Jay does the same for him because that’s what brothers do. Tonight does not sit well with him at all so he has a proposition to make: At the 14th Anniversary show, he wants The Briscoe to team up and take on him and a man he considers his brother; Hiro ofshi Tanahashi.

Crowd loves the sound of that. The Briscoe do too and each shake on it to make it official.

Analysis: A really great main event!! Moose continues getting better and better with each match. As I’ve written previously, he’s going to be a major star for ROH if he keeps this level of improvement up and stays healthy. Elgin was reborn after being in New Japan’s G1 Climax last year and brought that same intensity back with him to the States. The crowds have noticed this and his reactions, once mild or cold, are now pretty big when he comes out. Jay Briscoe was great as usual. I especially loved the power spots between Elgin and Moose; they made them seem so effortless. Good win for Briscoe and it sets up what should be a fantastic match in Vegas. I like that the Tanahashi/Elgin pairing isn’t just a makeshift to squeeze in an NJPW star. The two have been teaming regularly since World Tag League last December.

The show ends with hype for next week’s main event of Jay Lethal&Adam Cole vs. ReDragon.

Final Thoughts:

A very busy show that accomplished plenty.

The opener was a very good start to the Top Prospect tournament. I can’t wait to see the rest of the field in action.

Cedric Alexander took a big top forward with his new aggression on full display. I look forward to his continuing feud with Jonathan Gresham.

Nigel’s segment set up a really strong PPV main event as well as next week’s main event in logical fashion.

Moose vs Elgin vs. Briscoe was an excellent main event. It also set up a top PPV match.

Silas Young’s promo was a rehash from last week but a good way of keeping viewers reminded of his intent. Just hope there’s forward movement very soon.

I highly recommend checking this show out!

Thoughts? Questions? Comments? I can be reached on Twitter: @RandomStormGuy or Rainmaker565@gmail.com