ROH WRESTLING TELEVISION, EPISODE 325

ROH Wrestling Television, Episode 325, from the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, FL! The K I N G puts his ROH WTVC up just days before Final Battle’s 4 Way!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• ROH World Television Championship: Kenny King VS Caprice Coleman; King wins, and will defend the title at Final Battle.
• Jay Lethal VS Matt Taven; Taven wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

Kenny King is the ROH World Television Champion, but is he just ROH’s Pawn?

Caprice Coleman told The K I N G just as much when he was a guest on Coleman’s Pulpit. Coleman even accused King used his daughter for ratings and cheap pops like “a pimp.” This offended Kenny, of course. Kenny gets it now, Coleman and his Pulpit, “it’s all bullshit”, like a false prophet. A King ranks higher than a Bishop, so he’ll put the title on the line and put Coleman in checkmate. Will the King keep his throne this close to Final Battle?

ROH World Television Championship: Kenny King VS Caprice Coleman!

There’s no need to wait for this major match, the K I N G faces a friend turned selfish enemy, can he make The Bishop #BendTheKnee and move on to Final Battle? But wait, The Bishop has back-up in the form of the Notorious Hitman, Shane Taylor! The Bishop pays Shane to be his Rook, will this affect The King keeping his throne?

This definitely improves Shane’s chances, since he’s already in the Final Battle Four Way Elimination Match. Silas Young is also on commentary for this match, as he is one of the participants in Final Battle’s ROH WTVC match.

Kenny wants to uphold the Code of Honor, Coleman refuses. The bell rings, fans chant for Kenny as they tie up. Kenny puts Coleman in a corner, then backs off for a clean break, Coleman lets Kenny “chatter”. The two circle again, tie up again, Kenny gets a headlock but Coleman reverses to a hammerlock then headlock. Kenny reverses back out but Coleman reverses again, Kenny spins but Coleman blocks the whip. Coleman pie-faces Kenny then mocks the fans, Kenny blasts him with shotgun knees! Coleman hits buckles and flounders, Kenny gives him an arm-drag. Kenny goes for a fireman’s carry, Coleman slips off to slip out of the ring, he needs a breather while we go to break.

We return, Kenny puts Coleman in a corner again, and gives a sharp chop. Coleman escapes to the apron and shoulders in to then yank Kenny right into a post! Kenny tumbles to the ground while Coleman trash talks, Coleman then cusses out a fan before whipping Kenny at the apron. Kenny spins around but Coleman kicks him, Coleman gives the apron a spin and hits flying headscissors! Coleman tells the referee to keep that ring count going before giving Kenny a dropkick against the barriers!

Coleman sits a moment, “I think I killed Kenny.” He stands up, drags Kenny up and into the ring, then covers, ONE. Kenny gets to a corner, Coleman gives him a chop and a corner to corner whip before shoving him back with a standing STO. The referee checks on Kenny while Coleman imitates #SaltBae, Coleman drags Kenny out for an elbow drop and cover, TWO. Coleman moves right into an armlock and chinbar, fans rally. Kenny feeds off the energy, drags himself with one arm, and gets the ropebreak. Coleman stomps away on Kenny, then stalks him to a corner for body shots. Coleman hoists Kenny up, climbs up to join him, jumps for the Super Steiner but crashes and burns on the top buckle as Kenny ducks to evade.

The referee checks on Coleman, Shane looks worried and upset, Kenny gets up and unloads jabs and body shots on Coleman. Kenny rallies on Coleman, whips for the big heel kick. Cover, TWO, but Kenny doesn’t lose focus. He brings Coleman up, Coleman kicks a couple times before running, but runs into Kenny’s trapped-leg T-Bone Suplex! With a bridge! TWO, Kenny is getting frustrated. He brings Coleman up, fireman’s carry but Coleman fights out again. Coleman gets the waistlock, Kenny throws back elbows, Coleman lets him spin around for the Northern Lights, roll through for another! And another for the Holy Trinity! TWO!

Coleman is shocked but the fans are applauding. Coleman then climbs up, Kenny stops him with a haymaker. Kenny climbs up now, Coleman resists, shoves Kenny but Kenny lands on his feet, Coleman hits Sky Cutter! TWO! Coleman is furious, but he won’t stop there. He drags Kenny up, the fans duel while Coleman attempts the gut wrench, but Kenny slips out and gets the fireman’s carry. Shane hops up onto the apron, Kenny knocks him down with a forearm, then he bucks Coleman off before using a slingshot plancha to topple Shane over! Fans fire up as Kenny gets back in the ring, Coleman rolls him up, with tights, TWO! Coleman keeps moving, but runs into a spinebuster! Kenny fireman’s carry, he hits the Royal Flush! Cover, Kenny wins and retains!

Winner: Kenny King, by pinfall; still ROH World Television Champion

The K I N G moves on to Final Battle, but Final Battle is coming to him as Punishment Martinez appears! Martinez gets right in the ring and aims at Kenny, but Kenny ducks the spinning roundhouse to give his own! Shane gets in the ring, Kenny lifts him up in the fireman’s carry! Shane is too much for Kenny, he slips out to then feed Kenny to Punishment’s triangle superman punch! Kenny is rocked, Shane rocks him more with a heavy right of his own.

Silas Young leaves commentary to head for the ring himself. The Last Real Man stands up to the two behemoths before him, to add stomps of his own. All three men stomp Kenny, but then they fight over who gets to do the most damage to Kenny! Coleman washes his hands of this as the three challengers brawl right into a commercial break. With the damage done and the challengers chomping at the bit, can the King hope to keep his throne after Final Battle?

The Addiction is here!

“Silence! Silence, you peons.” Christopher Daniels says “the last time the Addiction, those living legends of Ring of Honor, were on television,” they were blindsided! They were “cowardly” attacked by War Machine; this is false, The Addiction were the ones who attacked War Machine. Truth aside, Daniels continues by saying “those garbage human beings” tried to injure and retire The Addiction, but “inadvertently” injured a fan at ringside. Rowe was suspended 30 days, but that’s not enough! In this day and age, “scandal turns a talented man into a pariah.” Therefore, Daniels demands ROH fire both members of War Machine, immediately! Kazarian speaks now. “Don’t get us wrong, we don’t give a damn about the injured fan.” In fact, The Addiction would love to injure each one of the fans here today. Before Kaz can say more, Hanson appears and attacks Daniels!

Daniels falls, Kaz isn’t even aware of it until Hanson turns him around for a haymaker! Hanson boots Daniels down, then throws Kaz into barriers. He stalks Daniels into the ring, Daniels flounders to a corner but Hanson is upon him with a rain of heavy rights. Kaz retaliates with a chair to Hanson’s back! Kaz SMACKS Hanson again and again, keeping Hanson down on the mat. Fans boo and jeer, disapproving of this. The Addiction regroups and tapes Hanson to the ropes! Daniels picks up the mic, “Frankie! This guy’s had a beard for so long, I wonder what a little bit off the sides will look like.” Daniels has a box cutter!?

Daniels cuts off locks of Hanson’s “War Beard”, Kaz keeps Hanson subdued with stomps and punches. “Frankie, you’re a movie buff, right? Did you ever see Reservoir Dogs?” The Addiction plans to give Hanson the “Van Gogh” treatment! In other words, they want to cut his ear off!! Security rushes the ring to stop this, but Daniels and Kaz fight them off! Another security guard gets around to Hanson and cuts him free of the tape, Hanson goes after The Addiction again! The Addiction retreats, Hanson holds the ring and that steel chair. With Rowe set to be back by his side at Final Battle, can Hanson get proper revenge on Daniels & Kaz for threatening his well-being?

The ROH World Six Man Tag Champions speak on their coming defense.

The Young Bucks and Hangman Page prepare for “the biggest show of the year”, Final Battle. The challenging team consists of Flip Gordon, Dragon Lee and Titan, but “Where do you think you’re going?” The Bullet Club “welcomes” them to ROH, but will they underestimate their opponents and drop those titles to the new #FlipArmy?

The Briscoes come to the ring.

“Do you know who we are!?” Jay and Mark invaded The Dudley Boys’ training school to then vandalize it, and now they’re here in Lakeland to state that “we’re the guys that’s gon’ tell y’all the truth!” The “truth” is that Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer, “two guys that y’all consider legends, two guys that y’all consider heroes,” are just cowards! The Briscoes ask “What’s it gonna take” to get Bully and Tommy in the ring with them? They ruined Bully’s retirement, laid Tommy out in his own backyard, and even went to 3D Academy to trash the joint. And yet, still no answer to the challenge! Jay changes his statement. Bully and Tommy, “y’all ain’t cowards. Y’all worse than that. Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer, y’all some pussies!” The Briscoes pace, but here come Bully and Tommy!

The fans chant “E C Dub! E C Dub!” as the two make their way to the ring, but security stops this before it begins. Fans want them to “Let them fight!” The Briscoes want it, too! Bully and Tommy arm themselves, Bully trash talks the Briscoes, but Joe Koff appears to talk them down. The ECW originals argue with Koff, but Koff insists they leave. Fans chant “Fight! Fight!” The Briscoes encourage it, as does Tommy. Koff keeps insisting Bully leave for his own physical health, but Bully counters by asking how Koff “as a man” can allow The Briscoes to say what they’ve said without consequence? Jay Briscoe speaks again to point out something. “Who’d have thought we’d ever see the day when Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer take orders from a short old man?”

Koff gets into the ring now to get in the Briscoes’ faces. “That’s enough!” The Briscoes don’t make the matches, Koff does! The Briscoes have disrespected everyone in ROH, from Bully to Tommy to Koff himself! Most of all, The Briscoes disrespected the fans who once had their back. Listen up, Briscoes, and be careful what you wish for, because it’s gonna come true. This match is happening, at Final Battle! “It’s gonna be brutal, it’s gonna be extreme, and effing hardcore!” Koff drops the mic and leaves the ring, so Bully and Tommy rush The Briscoes! A brawl erupts while security scrambles to get in the ring! Fans chant “E C Dub!” once more as The Briscoes are backed up against the ropes! The brawl ebbs and flows while we go to break! Who will survive the coming hardcore tag team grudge match!?

Jay Lethal VS Matt Taven w/ The Kingdom!

The Kingdom has cried “conspiracy” ever since their Sassy Wild Horse returned to action, given they have yet to receive a rematch for the ROH World Six Man Tag Championships. Even so, the leader of the trio looks to get a singles victory over the Greatest First Generation Wrestler ahead of both men’s Final Battle matches. Lethal will face The Villain while Taven will face the Aerial Assassin, who will gain momentum before those big time matches? In fact, Marty Scurll is on commentary to watch his Final Battle foe very closely.

The Villain says that ever since coming to ROH, he has wanted to face the best. Scurll even acknowledges Lethal is one of the best to ever compete in ROH, but not this Lethal. Scurll wants “the old Jay Lethal”, the one that was ruthless enough to be both ROH World Heavyweight and Television Champion at the same time.

Lethal and Taven uphold the Code of Honor, but then Taven pushes Lethal’s head so Lethal shoves back! Taven shoves back, so Lethal chops him! The bell rings at the same time Taven slips out of the ring, Lethal pursues. Lethal rocks Taven with chops and haymakers, Taven fights back with haymakers of his own. Taven then bumps Lethal off the side of the apron and into barriers. He goes for another apron bump but Lethal blocks to then return the favor, Taven goes into and even over barriers! Lethal dumps Taven all the way over, so that he can turn him around for a chop! Lethal suplexes Taven up, over and onto the floor! The fans chant “Lethal! Lethal!” as Scurll takes credit for Lethal rediscovering his mean streak.

Things return to the ring, Lethal climbs up top and hits the double ax handle. Fans applaud but the Kingdom is worried. Lethal swipes at them, Taven uses the opening to turn things around on Lethal. Taven whips Lethal to the ropes, Lethal reverses, hip toss to cartwheel to dropkick! Cover, TWO, Scurll criticizes Lethal for pandering. The Kingdom taunts Lethal, fans chant for Lethal, Lethal chops Taven in a corner a couple times. Corner to corner whip, and a third chop! TWO, but Lethal is not frustrated. Lethal drags Taven around, works on the leg then goes for the Figure Four, Taven counters with a small package, TWO! Lethal clobbers Taven with a lariat, covers, TWO! The Kingdom talks trash while Lethal chops Taven again. Taven reverses the whip, Lethal kicks him away then clotheslines him out, then builds speed to DIVE!

The fans fire up as Lethal paces the ring. The Kingdom coaches Taven back into things but Lethal returns to put Taven in the ring. While Taven distracts the referee, Vinnie tries to trip up Lethal, only to be shoved away. O’Ryan comes over with his bat! Lethal kicks at O’Ryan, but that’s all the opening Taven needs for the triangle jump enziguri! Lethal tumbles down, Taven builds speed and wrecks Lethal with a wrecking ball dropkick! The Kingdom’s leader is in control while we go to break.

ROH returns, Taven brings Lethal into the ring to then suplex him up and over, TWO. Taven stalks Lethal, stands him up then whips him to ropes, only for Lethal to reverse again. Taven denies the back body drop to instead hit Moonlight Drive! Cover, TWO, The Kingdom is frustrated. O’Ryan argues with the referee while Taven gets going, Lionsault meets knees! Both Taven and Lethal are down, fans rally while the referee starts a ten count. Lethal feeds off the energy, he and Taven stand up and brawl with heavy haymakers.

They go back and forth, Lethal growing stronger with every hit. Lethal chops, punches, repeat, whip reversed, Lethal jumps but Taven ducks. Taven wags his finger “no no”, proud of himself that he outsmarted Lethal there. The Kingdom and Scurll applaud Taven while he stalks Lethal to the apron. Taven drags Lethal up but Lethal shoulders back in. Lethal slingshots for a sunset flip, TWO! Taven runs in, but into the Lethal Combination!

Fans applaud while The Kingdom panics, a rally begins as Lethal crawls over and brings Taven up. Lethal suplexes, Taven slips out, but Lethal blocks the kick to trip Taven and apply the Figure Four! Taven endures the legendary hold as fans “WOO~!” The Kingdom shouts for Taven to move, Taven gets to ropes for the break. The referee has Lethal let Taven free, Lethal holds on until 4. The Kingdom brandish their weapons while Lethal drags Taven to a corner. Lethal climbs up, Taven fights out, and rocks Lethal with a right hand. Taven climbs up now, clubbing Lethal a couple more times before trying a superplex. Lethal resists, then drops Taven with a Super Gordbuster! Lethal adjusts, aims and jumps, Hail to the King! Direct hit, to the cover, TWO!

Scurll says he wants a “closer look” at this match. The Villain, umbrella in hand, walks right down to the ring. Scurll slides his umbrella to Lethal? He wants Lethal to use the umbrella? Lethal takes the umbrella in hand, the referee tells him not to do it! Scurll wants Lethal to hit Taven, The Kingdom says not to. Lethal fights through the conflict and throws the umbrella back at Scurll, Taven capitalizes with a roll-up! Taven steals the win! Marty Scurll is shocked that Lethal lost like that! Scurll may be disappointed in Lethal’s dedication to the high road, but can Lethal still win this way against The Villain?

It is time for the ROH World Heavyweight Championship contract signing!

The American Nightmare and his lovely wife, Brandi, are already in the ring. The man with the most lucrative ROH contract ever shows off that wealth with his fur coat and champagne as he waits for his challenger, Dalton Castle, to enter the ring. The Peacock finally gets his hands on Cody at Final Battle in the biggest match of his career, this contract signing is to make that chance iron clad. Both men sit at the table as Ian Riccaboni presides over the meeting.

“The richest prize in professional wrestling” will be defended, Cody as the 23rd ROH WHC ever against The Peacock, Dalton Castle. Castle wishes to speak. “You look ridiculous”, Cody. Cody is given his chance to speak, but a bit of cheese first. “Dalton, these are wonderful, you have to try them.” Except Cody hordes literally all of them. And that’s all he has to say, the mic goes back to Ian. “With all due respect, Cody, a match of this magnitude” deserves more than that. Cody doesn’t appear to be feeling the “gravity” of the situation. Does Ian know who Cody is? He’s the ROH WHC! Better yet, Cody does have more to say. Cheers! To his wife, Brandi.

Ian gives Castle another chance to speak. While Cody and Brandi play lovey-dovey, Castle asks “What’re we doing here?” Thanks for the fancy meats and cheeses platter, but Castle vows to “break your heart.” Then Castle will visit his uncle, “who’s a real whiz with chemicals”, to cook up some strong adhesive so that Castle can glue together all those pieces of Cody’s broken heart, “and break it again!” All this will happen the moment Castle takes away that ROH WHC. When Cody decided to come to ROH, Castle honestly got excited. Castle wanted and “tried so hard” to like Cody. When Castle first saw Cody, he thought “There’s a guy who loves wrestling as much as I do! There’s the guy that’s gonna come and bring a lot of eyes and help grow the place that I love the most.”

However, Cody’s “skinny, stupid ass came” to ROH, and Castle saw “a boy that isn’t worthy of being ROH World Champion.” Castle sees Cody as overdressed, overpaid, and overrated! Fans agree with that sentiment! Cody doesn’t, and is upset by that to the point he stands up and takes off that fur coat. He demands Castle sign, Castle signs. Cody takes his other jacket off, signs the contract himself, and it is “signed, sealed and delivered.” Castle snatches Cody’s drink, chugs it, fans are red hot for The Peacock. Cody and Castle glare into each other’s eyes as Cody raises that belt high, who will be the owner of that belt after Final Battle?

My Thoughts:

Now this is how you do a go-home! There were only two matches, but they were great matches, and everything else that happened was incredibly relevant to Final Battle. Opening with the ROH WTVC match was a bold move, but it worked as it plugged all parts of the ROH WTVC story in one segment. Coleman uses Shane’s drive to his own advantage, even though it did not work out the way he’d hoped. Kenny still gets beat up, to Coleman’s liking, and enters his title defense as the underdog given the three tough and talented challengers set before him. Kenny winning a Four Way Elimination match would go a long way to building him up as a star while also sticking it to Coleman for everything he said during The Pulpit.

The promo segments in the middle were all brilliantly done. The Addiction ups the Heel Heat in a way that’s a bit extreme, but it worked to get fans to hate them more. I’m confused, though. What happened to War Machine being brutal Tweeners? They are the Faces in this one, will they immediately turn Heel again right after this feud? I assume they’ll win, of course, so that just seems odd to me.

The main event match was also great, because of the added story element between Lethal and Scurll. Lethal could’ve smacked Taven, but that would mean he’d lose the match and Scurll wins the war for Lethal’s morality. Lethal could’ve also ignored Scurll outright and won clean. Instead, he got stuck deciding whether to be Heel or Face and lost, which was likely Scurll’s plan all along. Lethal-Scurll will surely have a similar spot before the end, so if Lethal lets himself be distracted or gives in, Scurll still wins. The contract signing was fun, Cody’s arrogance is at an all-time high and I sense it will cost Cody in the end. The fans at Final Battle will mark out if Castle wins, and I’m still hoping The Boys make a triumphant return to save Castle from the Bullet Club for an even stronger mark-out moment.

My Score: 8.5/10