1/5/2013 ROH TV Report
Kevin
Kelly opens this “Road Rage” edition of the show from the Final Battle
show at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Kelly previews that matches seen
tonight will include Adam Cole vs Matt Hardy, Davey Richards and Eddie
Edwards vs Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong vs Michael
Elgin.
Veda
Scott is in the back interviewing Truth Martini. Veda asks Martini what
he is thinking about the Strong vs Elgin match. Martini says he has
talked to both men and they don’t see it is his way and that he has
talked to Nigel McGuinness who doesn’t see it his way. Martini says he
hasn’t been able to sleep, he doesn’t eat and he doesn’t know what to do
to get up. Veda asks whose corner he will be in tonight. Martini says
he will be in Strong’s corner and then says he will be in Elgin’s corner
and then changes back again. Martini says his whole life everything he
has done has been premeditated and this is the first time in his life
where he doesn’t know what he is going to do.
Elgin
is then shown coming to the ring followed by Strong. The “Tale of the
Tape” shows that Elgin is 25 and Strong is 28. Strong charges Elgin to
start but Elgin sidesteps and throws him into the corner. Elgin charges
and Strong sidesteps him and hits him with chops. Elgin takes Strong to
the mat and throws a series of punches. They get to their feet and trade
a number of forearms. Elgin runs at Strong who ducks sending Elgin to
the outside. Strong does a dive to the outside but Elgin catches him and
attempts a powerbomb. Strong gets out and tries to chop Elgin who
moves, causing Elgin to chop the ringpost. Elgin then chops Strong
around the ring and rolls him inside. As Elgin re-enters the ring Strong
gives him a sick-kick to the face and follows up with chops. Strong
tries to whip Elgin but Elgin stops it and pulls Strong into a
belly-to-belly suplex over the top rope to the outside. Elgin goes to
apron and hits Strong with a flying shoulder-tackle. Martini has come to
ringside and cheers Elgin who then whips Strong into the ring
barricade. Elgin chops Strong again before picking him up and giving him
a running powerslam on the floor. Elgin picks up Strong who stumbles
around the ring. Elgin chops Strong and rolls him inside. Elgin follows
Strong across the ring but takes a knee to the face. Strong attempts a
suplex on the ring apron but Elgin fights back with a forearm. Strong
hits Elgin with kicks and then drops him on the ring apron with a
backbreaker. Strong flies off the ring apron and hits Elgin with a
forearm. Strong runs Elgin into the ring barrier and the starts hitting
him with chops and forearms. Elgin fights back with his own chops and
Strong starts throwing punches. Elgin is knocked down but gets up and
hits a running forearm on Strong. The show goes to a commercial break
and on return Strong hits Elgin with a knee to the gut. Strong throws
forearms and they criss-cross leading to Elgin hitting a sit-out Black
Hole Slam for a two-count. Elgin charges Strong in the corner but Strong
gets out of the way and then hits a running forearm. Strong charges
Elgin but gets scooped up and Elgin hits a running Death Valley driver
into the corner for a pin attempt. Elgin goes to the corner in order to
hit his twisting corkscrew senton but Strong knocks his legs out and
crotches Elgin in the corner. Strong grabs Elgin who fights back with
elbows. Strong hits Elgin with an enzuiguri and then hits him with a
backbreaker on the turnbuckle leading to a two-count. Strong hits a
running knee to Elgin’s face in the corner followed by a running
forearm. Strong tries to pick up Elgin who stops him and hits Strong
with a number of short-range clotheslines to the front and back. Strong
hits Elgin with a knee to the gut followed by a forearm and a jumping
knee for a pin attempt. Elgin keeps kicking off Strong at this point.
Strong goes to the ring apron and manages to knock down Elgin and take
him to the corner. Elgin is on the second rope when he lifts Strong from
the apron and gives him a deadlift superplex into the ring for a
two-count. Elgin then gives Strong a buckle-bomb but Strong springs out
with a jumping knee. Elgin hits a spinning backfist and they trade
forearms. Strong then hits Elgin with a gutbuster but Elgin hits Strong
with a clothesline that spins him in the air. Both men are on the mat
and Martini is on the apron. Martini throws his “Book of Truth” in the
ring and distracts the referee. Strong goes to grab the book but Elgin
steps on it and hits Strong with a spinning backfist. Elgin then lifts
Strong up for a powerbomb but Strong has the book and hits Elgin in the
head with it. Strong then throws Elgin up in a suplex position and drops
him across his knees. Strong then scores the pinfall. Martini
celebrates and announces Strong as the winner and as the sole member of
the House of Truth. Strong grabs the microphone and says that if he has
told Martini once he has told him a million times, he is done with
Martini. Strong tells Martini to leave him alone and says “I quit”.
Martini then encourages Elgin to get up and says that he didn’t mean
what he said to Strong, that everyone knows that Elgin is the biggest
superstar in ROH. Martini says there is a connection between them and he
knows Elgin feels it. Martini says “I love you” and hugs Elgin who then
attempts to powerbomb Martini. Truth asks Elgin to hear him out and
then says “How dare you?” Martini says that when he first came to ROH
Strong had been there for years with multiple chances to win the world
title and won it with Martini after six months. Martini says that noone
had heard of Elgin before him. Martini says that Elgin won the Survival
Of The Fittest tournament because of him and was the breakout start of
2012 because of him. Martini says that Elgin has slapped him in the
face. Martini says he can see the inevitable and has one last lesson for
Elgin and says “This is the way a real man slaps someone in the face”.
Martini slaps Elgin in the face and Elgin then gives Martini a
buckle-bomb followed by a spinning backfist that knocks him out of the
ring.
After
a commercial break Kelly reviews the build-up to the American Wolves of
Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards vs Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish. Mike
Mondo is shown coming to the ring on crutches at Final Battle with
O’Reilly and Fish coming out to taunt him. O’Reilly says that Edwards
isn’t going to be teaming with Richards and that Richards will be in a
handicap match. Fish says that when he looks at Mondo the only word that
comes to mind is handicapped. They beat him down and Richards makes the
save but gets beat down as well. Edwards comes to the ring and O’Reilly
and Fish hold Richards for Edwards to hit him but Edwards kicks
O’Reilly Fish instead and he and Richards hit O’Reilly with an alarm
clock. Richards and Edwards then both hit tope suicidas onto Fish and
O’Reilly on the outside and then hug in the ring. The match is then
shown starting with Fish and O’Reilly whipping Edwards into the corner
and then hitting him with a forearm and a knee. O’Reilly whips Edwards
into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Fish and then O’Reilly hits a knee
from the top rope. Richards breaks up a pin attempt by Fish. Edwards
fights back with chops but Fish knocks him down with a kick and then
gives him a back suplex. O’Reilly tags in and he and Fish double-team
Edwards with knees and kicks to the head. Richards breaks up another pin
attempt. O’Reilly kicks Edwards while Fish hits Richards with a
forearm. Edwards fights back but takes a spinkick from Fish, an axe-kick
from O’Reilly, a knife-edge kick from Fish and then a punt from
O’Reilly. Richards comes in and hits Fish and O’Reilly with kicks but
they fight back with yet more kicks. Edwards takes out Fish and Richards
throws up O’Reilly for an alarm clock kick. O’Reilly hits a baisaku
kick on Richards but then Richards hits a knife-edge and a German
suplex. Fish rushes Richards and hits him a falcon arrow. This is
followed by Edwards hitting O’Reilly with a number of kicks. Richards
and Edwards then stand on opposite sides of the ring and suplex O’Reilly
and Fish outside to the floor. All four men are on the floor outside
and O’Reilly and Richards make it back inside. They square off and start
slapping each other in the face before switching to spin-kicks.
O’Reilly manages to put Richards in a dragon sleeper but Richards
applies an ankle lock at the same time. Richards breaks the sleeper and
has O’Reilly in an ankle lock on the mat. O’Reilly rolls out of it and
sends Richards to the corner. O’Reilly charges the corner and Richards
moves, allowing Edwards to hit O’Reilly with an enzuiguri. Edwards flies
off the top and hits O’Reilly with a chin-checker. Richards picks up
O’Reilly in a tilt-a-whirl tombstone and Edwards kicks him at the same
time. O’Reilly kicks out of a pin attempt. Edwards picks up O’Reilly for
a powerbomb but O’Reilly rolls into a sunset flip. O’Reilly then hits a
tornado DDT on Edwards and kicks Richards in the process. O’Reilly then
gives Edwards a brainbuster with Fish kicking Edwards at the same time.
O’Reilly applies a guillotine while Fish knocks Richards off the top
rope to the outside. Edwards flips over O’Reilly into a pinning position
and Fish hits a moonsault from the top rope to break up the pin.
Edwards sits up and gets kicked in the head by O’Reilly. Richards breaks
up a pin attempt and then throws Fish to the outside. Richards and
O’Reilly trade slaps in the middle of the ring. O’Reilly hits the ropes
but Richards hits him with a clothesline and flips him in the air.
Edwards picks up O’Reilly in a powerbomb and brings him down into a
lung-blower by Richards. Edwards applies an Achilles lock on O’Reilly
who is fighting back with kicks. Richards flies off the top rope with a
stomp on O’Reilly allowing Edwards to roll O’Reilly over into an
Achilles lock. Edwards then starts stomping on O’Reilly’s head and the
referee stops the match.
An
interview is shown with Richards and Edwards backstage. Richards says
it was a long time coming, that they saw it in New York and that
O’Reilly and Fish felt it in New York City. Richards says that everyone
is going to feel the wrath from the hunters, the elite, the top of the
food chain in ROH in the American Wolves. Edwards says that it was time
for a change and that change was for the American Wolves to reunite.
Edwards says that they have one goal in mind, to take over tag team
wrestling. Edwards says they are the American Wolves and he and Richards
say the hunt is on (I did feel ridiculous typing some of that
verbiage).
After
a commercial break Matt Hardy is shown coming to the ring followed by
ROH TV Champion Adam Cole. The “Tale Of The tape” shows that Hardy is 38
and that Cole is 22. They shake hands and the show goes to commercials.
Upon return the fans are chanting against Hardy. They tie up and Hardy
backs Cole into the corner. Hardy fakes a punch and Cole walks after him
into the corner. They tie up again and Cole applies a wristlock. Hardy
reversed into his own wristlock and then a hammerlock. Cole gets out and
then slaps Hardy. Cole throws a series of forearms and then a dropkick.
Hardy rolls outside and walks around ringside until Cole hits a tope
suicida. Hardy is flailing outside and Cole hits him with forearms. Cole
hits Hardy’s head on the ring apron. Hardy rolls inside and Cole
follows. Hardy rolls back outside and Cole hits a pescado onto Hardy on
the floor. Cole hits Hardy’s head on the ring apron again. They are both
standing on the ring apron and Cole attempts to hit a German suplex but
Hardy blocks and drops Cole with a side effect slam on the ring apron.
Hardy rolls Cole inside and attempts a pin. Hardy hits Cole in the head
with an elbow and then runs Cole’s head into the turnbuckle twice. Hardy
hits Cole with a flying clothesline for a pin attempt and then applies a
butterfly-style submission hold and drops to the mat. Hardy releases
the hold and then starts kicking Cole and pushing him around the ring.
Hardy runs Cole’s head into the turnbuckle and attempts to apply a Twist
of Fate but Cole blocks it. Cole applies a figure four leglock but
Hardy rolls over to reverse it. Cole grabs the rope to force a break and
Hardy wraps up Cole’s leg in the ropes as the show goes to a commercial
break. Upon return Cole kicks Hardy out of the corner but Hardy manages
to hit him with a Side Effect slam for a two-count. Hardy hits another
Side Effect and then picks up Cole and hits another one. Cole kicks out
of a pin attempt and Hardy hits yet another Side Effect for a two-count.
Hardy kicks Cole in the stomach and attempts a Twist of Fate but Cole
runs him into the corner. Cole charges Hardy but gets kicked in the
face. Hardy jumps off the second rope with an elbow to Cole’s head. Cole
gets up and hits a superkick for a two-count. Hardy is in the corner
when Cole starts kicking and stomping him. Hardy gets up and kicks Cole
in the stomach and attempts a Twist of Fate that Cole reverses into a
backslide for a two-count. Cole hits the Twist of Fate for a two-count.
Hardy rolls to the ring apron and Cole follows, allowing Hardy to drop
Cole throat-first on the top rope. Hardy applies a waistlock but Cole
gets out and hits an enzuiguri followed by a leg lariat for a two-count.
Cole kicks Hardy in the gut and goes for an Irish Whip that is reversed
by Hardy. Cole hits a rushing Hardy with an elbow but Hardy picks up
Cole in a Razor’s Edge position and drops him in a powerbomb for a
two-count. Hardy attempts another Twist of Fate but Cole blocks and
attempts a Florida Key that is blocked by Hardy. They go outside and
Cole hits his Florida Key suplex on the floor. Cole rolls Hardy in and
covers him for a two-count. They get to their feet and Hardy hits a
Twist of Fate for a two-count. Hardy climbs to the second rope but Cole
gets up and throws him to the mat. Cole applies his figure four leglock
and Hardy tries to make the ropes. Hardy is hitting Cole in the knee and
then rolls in an attempt to reverse it but Cole rolls through into the
figure four. Hardy grabs the ropes to break the hold. Cole attempts a
Florida Key that is blocked by Hardy who also pulls the referee’s shirt
over his head. Hardy kicks Cole with a low blow and then rolls him up
with a small package as the referee recovers to count the pinfall.
Kelly
announces that next week will be another Road Rage edition of the show
with Steve Corino and Jimmy Jacobs defending the ROH Tag Team Titles
against Jay and Mark Briscoe and Cedric Alexander and Caprice Coleman.
The
match selection was good this week and I enjoyed revisiting these
matches. It would be nice if there had been more new content but there
is lots of time until the next ippv so it is not that necessary as of
yet. Hopefully footage from the television tapings will be available for
two weeks from now to get 2013 rolling for the company.
Dave Musgrave
Oshawa, Ontario
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