12/29/2012 ROH TV Report
Kevin Kelly opens the New Year’s edition of the show featuring the announcement of 2012 Match Of The Year. Kelly reviews that earlier in the year Jay and Mark Briscoe teamed with their father Papa Briscoe to take on The House Of Truth of Michael Elgin, Roderick Strong and Truth Martini. Kelly notes that this was originally recorded for Ringside members but is being shown on this show as a holiday gift to fans.
The Briscoe family (along with cousin Jethro) is shown coming to the ring and the match jumps to Jay taking on Elgin. Jay floats over Elgin but takes an elbow to the face. Jay fights back with a dropkick followed by chops and an uppercut. Mark tags in and hits Elgin with punches. The match cuts to Jay tagging in and hitting uppercuts before getting whipped into Martini’s knee. Jay goes to punch Truth who jumps off the apron. Strong charges Jay and gets an elbow to the face but Jay runs into Elgin who hits a Samoan drop for a pin attempt. Elgin hits several forearms to Jay’s back. Elgin rolls Jay outside where he is attacked by Strong who holds him for a chop from Martini. Jay gets rolled inside where Elgin attempts a pin and then tags in Strong who works over Jay. Strong and Jay exchange chops in the corner. Strong gets the advantage and tags in Martini who stomps on Jay. Martini gets punched in the stomach and quickly tags in Elgin who whips Jay to the corner. Elgin misses a charge and Jay attempts a belly-to-back suplex but gets knocked down with elbows from Elgin. Jay gets knocked down and Elgin drops an elbow on him. Elgin goes to the corner and tags in Strong who lays into Jay with punches in the corner. Jay gets whipped to the opposite corner. Strong charges him but Jay blocks him and hits him with a Snake-Eyes in the corner. Jay attempts to tag in Mark who gets pulled off the apron by Truth Martini. Papa Briscoe then chases Martini to the back. Strong works over Jay’s leg and tags in Elgin who whip Strong into Jay with a knee. Elgin follows up with a forearm smash to Jay’s jaw. Elgin picks up Jay for a long delayed vertical suplex before dropping him on the mat and attempting a pin. Strong tags in and he and Elgin whip Jay into the corner and then whip in Martini. Jay gets out of the way and Martini ends up crotched in the corner. Jay then somersaults out of the way of Strong and Elgin and tags in Mark who throws punches at both Strong and Elgin. Mark lands on his feet after a backdrop from Strong and hits an enzuiguri. Mark dropkicks Elgin and then tags in Papa Briscoe who gets cut off by Strong who attempts a double-knee gutbuster before taking a superkick from Mark. Papa then chokeslams Strong who rolls to the outside where he gets hit with a pescado from Jay. Martini then attacks Papa from behind in the ring but Papa turns around and is going to punch Martini but is stopped by Elgin with a forearm to the back. Mark then grabs Elgin and throws him outside and hits him with a tope con giro. Martini has powder in his hands in the ring and is approaching Papa Briscoe who kicks Martini’s hands sending the powder into his eyes. Papa Briscoe then hits an Ace Crusher on Martini and scores the pinfall for the win.
Kelly reviews that Jay and Mark faced ROH Tag Team Champions Steve Corino and Jimmy Jacobs along with challengers Cedric Alexander and Caprice Coleman at Final Battle which is available on replay.
After a commercial break Kelly notes that ROH athletes put it all on the line every time they step in the ring and sacrifice blood, sweat and tears. Kelly says that the mental and physical pain takes its toll and in 2012 two of ROH’s best athletes suffered severe injuries suffered severe injuries in competition. Footage is shown of Tomasso Ciampa blowing out his ACL in a match with Jay Lethal at Boiling Point in 2012 and then showing a gutsy performance. Footage is also shown of Mike Mondo injuring his ankle against Mike Bennett at Glory By Honor and then still jumping off the entrance way.
Kelly introduces footage of the 7/21/2012 television match with ROH Champion Kevin Steen defending against Mike Mondo. This is my write-up from the original airing. Mondo lays into Steen with punches and they trade forearms. Steen gets knocked out of the ring with a knee to the back and takes a dropkick from Mondo as Steve Corino joins Kelly and McGuinness on commentary. Steen eyerakes Mondo and chases him around the ring where they trade forearms again. Steen gets whipped into the guardrail and Mondo then rams his head into the guardrail repeatedly. The match jumps to Steen and Mondo brawling in the aisle where Steen rips off a piece of ringside barricade and attempts to drive it into Mondo who gets out of the way. Mondo attempts a suplex onto the barricade section but Steen blocks it and powerbombs Mondo on the barricade. Corino says that he has dreamed of Steen doing that to Jim Cornette. Steen is back in the ring while the referee is counting out Mondo who crawls back into the ring. Jacobs is taunting Mondo who gets into the ring at a count of nineteen as the show goes to commercial. After the break Steen is in control and working over Mondo against the ropes. Steen yells into the camera as he bites Mondo’s ear. Mondo attempts to fight back with punches but gets kicked repeatedly on the mat by Steen who continuously taunts the crowd. Steen pulls Mondo in for a short-arm clothesline followed by a senton. Steen goes for a pin but Mondo kicks out. Steen grabs a microphone and says “Let’s go Mondo!” as he kicks him. Steen says that Mondo doesn’t deserve the title shot and that when he is done with him he will not be known as “No Fear”, he will be known as “No Balls”. Mondo then fires back with punches and Steen gets knocked out the ring. Steen continues to talk on the microphone and screams as Mondo hits him with a dive. Back inside and Mondo goes to the top rope and gets part of a double stomp on Steen for a pin attempt but Steen kicks out. Mondo gets to the top rope but Steen cuts him and they trade punches. Steen takes him to the apron and then DDT’s him in the corner. Steen hits his running cannonball splash and gets a two-count. Steen goes for an F-5 but Mondo turns it into a small package for a near-fall. Steen is staggering and Mondo attempts to hit a double-arm DDT but Steen manages to get him up for an F-5 and manages to hit it for the pinfall and the victory.
Footage is then shown of Steen’s ROH World Title defenses from throughout 2012. Kelly says that many on the inside of ROH have predicted that if Steen defends the title through 2012 and is still the champion in 2013 it could be the end of ROH. Kelly says that ROH’s top athletes have vowed that honor still lives and that Kevin Steen and S.C.U.M. will not be able to destroy ROH. Kelly says that after the break we will look at another star who created havoc which surprised many.
After the break Kelly says that 2012 was a year of transformation for Jay Lethal. Kelly notes that Lethal was ROH TV Champion and one of the best athletes on the roster but then ROH Executive Producer Jim Cornette felt that Lethal may not have been ready and did not have the killer instinct needed to do battle with champion Steen. Kelly notes that Lethal set out to prove Cornette wrong and dug into his own dark depths and was eventually granted an ROH Title match with Steen in Lethal’s hometown of Rahway, New Jersey. Steen is shown spitting on Lethal’s mother in that match leading to Lethal attacking Steen and then attacking Cornette backstage. Kelly notes that Lethal was disciplined and Steen’s complaints were settled with Steen being told he would not need to defend against Lethal again. Kelly notes that Lethal did earn an ROH World Title match and footage of him doing so is shown with highlights of his Survival Of The Fittest finals win over Davey Richards.
After a commercial break Kelly announces the 2012 Match Of The Year in Davey Richards vs Michael Elgin for the ROH World Title match at Showdown In The Sun in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on March 31, 2012. Kelly notes that Richards has said it was one of his toughest matches. Kelly says that when the history of ROH is written this match will be looked at as the night that Michael Elgin arrived.
The match starts with Elgin and Richards facing off and Richards charging him with a boot to the face followed by kicks to the body. Elgin whips Davey into the ropes and they collide with shoulder-blocks. They criss-cross and Richards hits a dropkick. Elgin charges but Richards pulls down the ropes causing him to fall outside. Richards kicks Elgin in the back and then hits him with a tope suicida. Richards then kicks Elgin against the guardrail in several spots around the ring. Richards then takes Elgin to the ring apron and goes to the top rope for an apparent attempted DDT. Elgin blocks this and climbs the ropes to clothesline Richards into the ring. Elgin then stops on Richards’ back and they trade forearms. Elgin picks up Richards in a delayed vertical suplex before dropping him to the mat. Richards kicks out of a pin attempt. Elgin rolls outside and hits forearms on Richards who is draped on the apron. Elgin then does a leg-drop on Richards on the ring apron and rolls inside for a pin attempt. Elgin attempts a powerbomb but Richards drives him into the corner. Richards charges Elgin and gets taken up in a fireman’s carry. Richards slides out into a waistlock but Elgin turns around and this a knee. Richards recovers and does a handspring with Elgin catching him in a torture rack and dropping down with him for a pin attempt. Richards rolls to the corner and Elgin drags him out and attempts a belly-to-back suplex but Richards fights out with elbows. Elgin knocks him down but Richards fights back with punches and chops. Elgin knocks Richards down with a chop and then hits a forearm to his back. Elgin picks up Richards but gets hit with a chinbreaker. Richards hits the ropes but Elgin follows in with a shoulder-block to the stomach transitioning into a Northern Lights suplex for a pin attempt as the show goes to a commercial break. Upon return Elgin is on the top rope and Richards follows him up to attempt a belly-to-back suplex. Elgin knocks him off and Richards goes to the top again but gets knocked off with elbows. Richards steps outside and kicks Elgin in the face and then crawls up the ropes on the inside again and hits a dragon suplex for a two-count. Richards transitions into an ankle-lock but Elgin gets to the ropes. The fans are chanting for Elgin who gets to his knees as Richards starts kicking him in the chest repeatedly. Elgin gets to his feet slowly and shoves Richards in the face. Richards starts hitting Elgin with Kawada kicks but Elgin responds with repeated knees to the face. They switch back and forth with this twice until Richards knocks Elgin back to the ropes with a number of kicks to the chest. Richards runs the ropes but Elgin follows him and catches him in an O’Connor Roll transitioning into a Chaos Theory back suplex for a pin attempt. Elgin then hits a superkick followed by an STO out of a suplex position. Elgin then applies a Labelle Lock. Richards appears to be passing out but comes back and manages to put his foot on the ropes to break the hold. Elgin holds on through most of a five-count and releases the hold. Elgin goes to the top rope but Richards gets up and hits him forearms and a headbutt followed by a dragon screw legwhip across the second rope. Elgin is lying on the ring apron and Richards hits a double stomp off the top rope. Elgin rolls inside the ring where Richards hits another double stomp for a two-count. Richards hits a forearm in the corner. Elgin kicks Richards’ leg to block a clothesline but Richards spins around with a lariat and then hits a wristclutch suplex for another near-fall. Richards attempts a knock-out kick but Elgin catches his leg. Richards spins around with an enzuiguri followed by punches and a kick to the gut. Richards attempts a kick to the head but Elgin ducks and hits a spinning forearm. Elgin picks up Richards in a reverse suplex and drops him down on his head. Elgin picks up Richards and hits a buckle-bomb in the corner. Richards comes out with a spinning kick but then gets hit a clothesline that spins him in the air. Elgin attempts a powerbomb but Richards flips over and catches Elgin in an ankle lock. Elgin fights out and reverses into a Labelle Lock. Richards rolls over into a cover and Elgin kicks out. Richards charges Elgin but gets hit with a knee to the face followed by a spinning backfist. Elgin hits his spinning sit-out powerbomb. Richards kicks out of a pin attempt and Elgin rolls over into a Labelle Lock. Kelly says this is the greatest professional wrestling match he has ever called. Richards is crawling toward the rope but Elgin rolls over to re-apply the Labelle Lock in the middle of the ring. Richards fights out and grabs Elgin’s left leg to get out of the Labelle Lock and apply an ankle lock. Elgin tries to crawl toward the rope but Richards pulls him back. Elgin rolls over and kicks Richards who turns Elgin over again with the ankle lock. Elgin rolls over and throws Richards to the corner. Elgin attempts to charge Richards but his ankle gives out and he falls to his knees where Richards hits a Shining Wizard. Elgin gets to his knees and spits at Richards who then kicks him in the head repeatedly. Elgin falls over and Richards covers for a two-count. Richards then kicks Elgin in the head one last time, allowing him to score the pinfall and win the match.
Kelly says this was the match of the year for 2012 in ROH and asks what will be the match of the year for 2013. Kelly encourages fans to check out live events, dvd’s, ppv broadcasts and to become and ringside member. Kelly wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and says that next week will be a Road Rage episode from Final Battle.
This was a really fun show this week. We got to see a match not previously broadcasted in the Briscoes six-man tag as well as what was a fun title match brawl between Steen and Mondo. I loved the Richards vs Elgin match when it originally happened and continue to love it after watching this show. It continues to be a strong match of the year candidate and ROH did a good job in this episode of presenting this as a reason to check out ROH shows.
Dave Musgrave
Oshawa, Ontario
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