Welcome back to the PTB Nation Ring of Honor review. The show kicks off with the opening animation, which then leads inside the Ted Reeve Arena in Toronto for this week’s edition of ROH TV. Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino have the call for us tonight and we find out that Nigel MCGuiness will reveal the Best in the World main event here tonight.
Colin Delaney vs. Mark Briscoe
Whoa, talk about a blast from the past. Former WWECW punchline, Colin Delaney makes his ROH return here tonight and he is in for a tough challenge against Mark Briscoe. KK reminds us of the big showdown between the Briscoes last week, when Mark told Jay that he was sick of his new attitude since winning the World Title. Corino really puts over Delaney as a guy that has refocused and dedicated himself to this new opportunity. He also thinks he got a raw deal from WWE. Briscoe snaps him down with a nice powerbomb after some back and forth. Corino assumes his SCUM rep will get the BITW title shot based on the Border Wars stipulation but KK isn’t so sure. They spill out to the floor where Briscoe continues to dominate the action. Back inside, he takes Delaney over with a really nice suplex. Delaney is able to land a kick to the head to take over control. Briscoe comes back with some redneck kung fu but Delaney uses the ropes to put Briscoe down, following with a skin the cat elbow for two. Briscoe survives the brief flurry and drops the frog splash for the win. Nice little opener there. Delaney got some offense in, but this was a Briscoe squash for all intents and purposes. Time for a break.
Hey kids, text “ROH” to today and YOU can receive an autographed picture of Coleman & Alexander. Back in the arena, Nigel has hopped in the ring along with Jay Briscoe and he makes things official, revealing that Mark will challenge Jay at BITW. Corino is not happy. Now the American Wolves come out and interrupt the festivities. Davey notes that he will be facing his brother, Eddie Edwards for the title at BITW. KK explains this, clarifying that Davey is facing Jay for the title on 6/1 and if he wins, EE gets the title shot. I am still confused, but I will roll with it. Corino gets in the ring and gets in Nigel’s face. He said Nigel had the opportunity to right a wrong and make things up to Corino for Nigel putting his hands on him at BW. Corino didn’t go to HR because he is a class act but Nigel blew it. Mark lost to Kevin Steen in Asheville but he gets a title shot. Corino demands that Matt Hardy receive the title shot, essentially revealing that Hardy is SCUM’s pick to rep them in the future title match. Corino puts his hands on Nigel, causing Jay to come to his aid, but he accidentally cracks Davey, triggering a big brawl between the teams. Michael Elgin shows up in the aisle and watches the fight as we go to break. I like that ROH plans out these title matchs to help draw the houses, but it can really be confusing sometimes. It seems like they assume we know all this shit, but it hasn’t been announced on TV at all. I am glad KK explains it all nicely, but I feel like he is explaining away stuff that we should have known before the second act is unfolding on TV.
Back from break, Veda Scott cuts a backstage promo on MsChif about their recent issues. She has nothing to lose and everything to prove and she will never stop fighting. She asks Nigel to give her the chance to prove herself in the ring.
Cherry Bomb vs. MsChif
Things have calmed down a bit in the arena, but Corino has vanished, leaving KK on his own. This is kind of a rematch from last month as these two were involved in a four-corner match in NYC. Cherry is in her hometown here tonight, so we will see if that plays a roll. MsChif starts off with some strikes as KK recaps the previous segment for us. Cherry gets a couple of roll ups for near falls, swinging momentum around. MsChif does a nice job blocking an armdrag and slamming Cherry’s head to the mat. MsChif has really slowed down the pace, working Cherry over in the corner. This crowd has died off a bit after being red hot last week. MsChif lands a powerbomb but Cherry comes back with a jawbreaker. MsChif quickly cuts her off and drives her into the mat for two. ROH will debut in San Antonio on June 1st and that is where Davey Richards will battle Jay Briscoe. Cherry battles back with a pretty sweet double underhook bridge submission, but MsChif grabs the ropes to force the break. This match is giving KK plenty of time to shill tickets for upcoming shows. Cherry gets right in MsChif’s face and screams, but MsChif kicks her in the vagina. As MsChif rains blows down on Cherry, Veda shows up and runs interference. That allows Cherry to recover, clock MsChif with a missile dropkick and a DVD for the win. This is MsChif’s first official ROH loss thanks to Veda. That match was much too long and slow. Our main event is up after this break.
Before the match, KK takes us Inside ROH. He discusses the big show coming up in San Antonio and runs down some matches. Briscoe/Richards, Whitmer & Elgin/SCUM and ACH/Lethal make up a portion of the card. ACH is from San Antonio, so we get a promo from him. After that, we hear from Nigel, who talks about BITW. Kevin Steen pops in and asks Nigel when he is getting his rematch. Nigel says Steen didn’t hold up his end of the bargain at BW, which caused SCUM to get their title match first. Nigel thinks Steen could maybe still be aligned with SCUM. Steen laughs that off and dares Nigel to give him a SCUM gauntlet over the coming weeks so he can earn his rematch. Nigel promises Steen that if he beats every member of SCUM, he will get his match. Now that storyline is a really good one and this should be a good trail to follow along with. KK wraps up and now we take another break. That main event is coming next!
Roderick Strong vs. Taiji Ishimori
We hear from Roddy as we come back from break and then head inside the Ted Reeve as he makes his way out to the ring. Nigel has joined KK at the table to call this match. Roddy seems to always be the ROH rep to battle these incoming stars. Ishimori is from NOAH and is the GHC junior heavyweight champion. Edwards beat him in a non-title match at BW, earning him a title match in the future. The crowd is awake now. Pretty basic start with both men feeling each other out and trading holds. Ishimori eventually wins that battle and knocks Roddy to the floor. He follows him out where they continue to trade blows. Nigel thinks Ishimori is gaining confidence here in North America now. They battle on the apron, which ends when Roddy spikes Ishimori down on the back of his head. KK notes the international photographers at ringside as we take a break. When we return, Roddy has gained control back in the ring, cranking on a chinlock. The resthold gives KK and Nigel another chance to push upcoming shows, which make sense when you consider all the new cities they are hitting in the coming month. Roddy takes Ishimori down with a drop toehold and then just pounds on the lower back. KK notes that these two have wrestled in the past. Nigel does a nice job analyzing this one and how to beat Roddy, having to wait for him to make a mistake but hoping you have enough gas left in the tank to capitalize. Roddy continues to work the back as he starts breaking into his treasure trove of backbreakers. Ishimori is able to wriggle free of one of them and drop Roddy with a DDT. He follows with a handspring enziguri, knocking Roddy to the floor. He then hits the ropes and flies out on top of Roddy with a swanton dive. Back inside, Ishimori hits a charging knee to the face, followed by a rope propelled double stomp for two. He heads up top, but Roddy catches him with a kick. Roddy follows him out but Ishimori knocks him back to the mat and careens into him with his knees, driving him to the mat for a near fall. Roddy gets back in control with a backbreaker, natch, and starts working over Ishimori with some kicks. Ishimori gets caught off a springboard, leading to a Roddy backbreaker. Roddy locks in the Strong Hold but Ishimori crawls to the ropes to force the break. This has been a very good match. Ishimori catches Roddy coming and sticks him with a nasty DVD, but Roddy stays alive. Nigel talks about the importance of this match, as Ishimori won’t want to return to Japan winless. After some counters, Ishimori hits some sort of flapjack knee to the face but Roddy again kicks out of the cover. The crowd has come right back after a sluggish start to the show, adding to the big time atmosphere for this one. Roddy will not give in, landing a double knee gutbuster, but Ishimori blocks a powerbomb with a Frankensteiner that nearly kills poor Roddy. Roddy struggles to pull himself up and he meets Ishimori in the middle of the ring where they trade blows while staggering around. Ishimori peppers Roddy with kicks, but they are not enough to keep him down. They both end up on the top rope again, where Ishimori blocks a powerbomb, knocks Roddy to the mat and hits a 450 splash for the win. Damn, that was a hot match and a great showing from both men. Roddy hung with Ishimori every step of the way and looked damn good in losing. This was a really fun main event to close out this week’s show.
KK wraps things up and we are out for another week. Next week, the stakes will be high as we continue to head towards BITW. Until then, take care and respect the code.
