Honorable Mention
ROH TV 5/2/15
Written by Mark Adam Haggerty
I'm back! The clouds have lifted, the earth has shifted, you knew I'd be back so—that was the beginning of a Kid Rock song. Not sure which one or how the rest of it went, but whatever. How's it going wrestling fans? Mark Adam Haggerty back with another edition of "Honorable Mention," where I cover Ring of Honor TV for those of you who might not have the chance to check it out on the reg. Last week's episode was—dare I say—incredible? The tag team main event was a shoe-in for "Match of the Week," and the Knights of the Red Dawn reveal was pretty awesome. Especially considering so many of us figured the KRD was the Kingdom in disguise. Let's kick things off with Kevin Kelly and "King" Steve Corino, back inside the Shrine Auditorium.
The fans are electric as always—who wouldn't be at a LIVE Ring of Honor event? I've seen Ring of Honor in person twice, most recently in Las Vegas for the Thirteenth Anniversary Show. It's always a fun atmosphere with ROH, featuring fans that are happy for the comradery and not beat for the bullshit. This is another off-the-chain hour of wrestling from the premiere mat-based promotion in the United States. The opening bout is a tag team match between Ring of Honor's War Machine and The Killer Elite Squad—the current NWA and GHC tag team champions—representing Suzuki-gun of NJPW. If I just threw a whole lot of nonsensical terms at you, allow me to break it down:
War Machine, comprised of Hanson and Rowe, have had their beef with former ROH World Champion Michael Elgin in recent weeks. Elgin surprised War Machine, as well as the Ring of Honor fans, by bringing David Hart Smith and Lance Archer to even the odds. Smith and Archer are known in Japan and around the world as The Killer Elite Squad, and are members of Suzuki-gun with Minoru Suzuki, Shelton X Benjamin, Taka Michinoku, and others. Suzuki-gun recently invaded NOAH, and proceeded to capture all of their titles, including the GHC tag team titles, now held by KES. All caught up? Good, because this match was a barn-burner.
Michael Elgin leads the highly decorated tag team champions to the ring, as they prepare to take on one of the most fearsome teams in Ring of Honor since the Briscoe Brothers debuted a decade ago. These performers have a hard time starting things of in a traditional sense, and instead all four combatants battle-it-out until War Machine has the upper hand. Michael Elgin is already sweating bullets; he can't believe his �ringers' have already been manhandled, but it isn't long until KES shifts the momentum back in their favor. War Machine double teamed David Smith, and Hanson ascended ropes, giving Smith and Archer the opportunity to strike. The entire ring shook with every move, the result of a powerful corner-based offensive maneuver by War Machine. Every time any of the wrestlers hit the ropes, the turn posts would buckle and emit an unsavory sound that must have concerned the fans in the front row. The Killer Elite Squad maintained their edge over War Machine, and Smith tagged Archer into the bout. Archer laid into Hanson with thunderous chops across the chest and a forceful body slam in the center of the ring. Archer stayed poised in the corner while he waited for Hanson to return to his feet, and capitalized with a lethal lariat. He tagged his partner, David Hart Smith, into the action and Smith continued the dominance over War Machine with a slew of submission holds including a crippling camel clutch. He followed with swift side-kicks and big boots, and tagged Archer into the bout once again. The Killer Elite Squad are decimating one of the most dominant teams in ROH history, when we head into a commercial break.
As soon as we're back, Hanson is powering—or HULKING—up and returning Archer's fire with a number of stiff shots of his own. His comeback wouldn't last however and Hanson was soon on the business end of a double team attack. David Smith drew Hanson's arms behind his back and placed a knee square in the center of his spine, hoping to end this match via submission. Hanson began to power out, but Smith had the wherewithal to bring him to his corner before it was too late. Lance Archer beat Hanson down with brutal right hands to the back and shoulders, and maintained his edge over his opponent by knocking Ray Rowe off the apron, so that he couldn't tag Hanson. Davey Boy Jr. was now back in the match and went for a powerbomb on Hanson, but Hanson fought back and was finally able to tag his partner, Rowe. Ray and Lance went to war right out of the gate, as Kevin Kelly said: "Two men very familiar with the Texas wrestling scene." War Machine was now cooking with gas, and planted Lance Archer with a double chokeslam. War Machine prepared for their finishing maneuver, "Fall Out"—a sidewalk slam/leg drop combination from the top rope. War Machine was within a three count of upsetting the GHC and NWA world tag team champions, when Michael Elgin pulled the official from the ring. This gave the KES the opening they needed to get the upper hand; they hit Ray Rowe with a variation of the "Hart Attack," a double team maneuver performed by David's uncles Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart. The Killer Elite Squad were only able to get a two count, and this match continued and degenerated into all-out chaos. After well-over a minute of anarchy, featuring all four men in the match and Michael Elgin, referee Paul Turner had no choice but to call for the bell.
The next match is our main event, and unlike WWE Superstars or Main Event, that means we've got a 25-minute match ahead of us. Although this is a championship match, the television champion is the first to appear. Jay Lethal is accompanied by his long-time manager Truth Martini and the newest member of the House of Truth and 2015 Top Prospect winner, Donavan Dijak. Tommaso Ciampa could have the coolest entrance in all of Ring of Honor; his "Titan Tron" video features his trademark Mohawk-skull, and he walks to the ring dressed like Doctor Doom wearing a hoodie. Bobby Cruise is our ring announcer per usual and introduced the Sicilian Psychopath, as well as the Ring of Honor World Television Champion. The crowd is split in their support with the battle cries "Let's Go Ciampa" and "Let's Go Lethal" echoing throughout the arena. The champion and challenger engage in the "Code of Honor," the bell rings, and this match is ready to begin. The audience is relentless with their cheers, and the noise inevitably corrupts Lethal's objective thinking, forcing the champ outside the ring to take a lap. We head into commercial, and by the time the action resumes, Lethal is in control but only for a moment. Ciampa plays possum and scoops Lethal up with a school boy, but to no avail. He Irish whips Lethal into the corner and follows up with a hard full body attack, but the champion's resiliency allows for him to meet the challenge head-on. They trade off on the offensive edge for a matter of moments with Lethal living up to his name, and the Sicilian acting truly PSYCHOTIC.
Every time Tommaso gained any sort of upper hand, Jay jumped onto the outside where he was protected by his lackeys, Truth and Dijak. Ciampa finally got Lethal where he wanted him and bit his nose in the corner, along with a number of hard shots to the face. He Irish-whipped his opponent into the ropes, but Lethal reversed him and Truth Martini pulled down the opposing rope. The result was a tumble for Tommaso, over the top and down onto the outside. He was ready to take out his aggression on Martini, but Jay Lethal was ready with a few "Crash and Burn" suicide dives in rapid succession. Tommaso was launched over the barricade between he and the audience, and nearly kicked a young woman in the face. Tommaso Ciampa struggled to regain his composure while Donavan Dijak and Truth Martini mocked him from ringside. Senior Official Todd Sinclair was in the middle of counting to twenty, when Jay Lethal returned to keep the advantage in his favor, fearing Tommaso would most certainly make the count. He dragged Tommaso inside the squared-circle, because any champion of length such as Jay Lethal knows the only place to BEAT your opponent is between the ropes. He situated Ciampa's skull—complete with Mohawk—in a vice comprised of his forearm and bicep. The headlock kept the number one contender grounded for several moments before he landed a few well-placed elbows, to alleviate the pressure. Tommaso went for his signature clothesline, but Lethal ducked and missed the blow within an inch of his life.
Both men were reeling going into another commercial break. When we get back, Tommaso was in control and ready to plant Lethal on his back with a belly-to-back release suplex. Some might call it a German suplex, but as Sean "X-Pac" Waltman will tell you: "A German Suplex includes an arch and a pin." This sent Lethal spiraling outside of the ring where Tommaso was able to perform his signature running knee strike, from one corner of the ringside area to the other, and back again. The second attempt was so forceful that it sent Ciampa over the barricade, but he was on his feet only seconds later, smiling and taking selfies with a fan at ringside. I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff. I really like seeing independent stars reach out to the fans in this way, especially the die-hard loyalists seated at ringside. The entire Shrine Auditorium popped for Ciampa, and the two returned to the ring at the count of SIXTEEN. Jay Lethal took control of the match and Super-plexed Ciampa down and into the center of the ring. Steve Corino made a valid point when he told Kevin Kelly, "The amount of time that Tommaso Ciampa spent taking a selfie with a fan—that gave Jay Lethal the opportunity he needed!" The two traded shots back and forth with Lethal landing an elbow and Tommaso returning with a knee. Both men were down and the audience brought the �Auditorium to life with stomps and claps and screams and "Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole."
The chants returned: "Let's Go Lethal" was forced to once again contend with "Let's Go Ciampa." The ring was making the strange "broken" sounds again, as they both flew from side to side. Lethal climbed the ropes and jumped over a charging Tommaso, and doubled back for a "Lethal Combination." But Tommaso turned Lethal's signature spot into the "Sicilian Stretch." Lethal fought with all he had and reached the ropes where Martini was waiting. We head into the final commercial break of the hour, and Tommaso Ciampa is staring down Donavan Dijak on the outside of the ring. Lethal remained in the ring, as Ciampa refused to step down; he walked toward the towering Dijak, unafraid of his wrath and slapped him across the face, begging him to react. Lethal sprang into action and attempted another "Crash and Burn," but was instead caught by Ciampa—who gave him the belly-to-back piledriver on the outside. He sent Lethal into the ring and was in a pinning predicament within seconds. After earning but a two count, he hit him with another belly-to-back piledriver from the top rope. This time he was robbed of the victory when Truth Martini pulled Todd Sinclair from the ring; Donavan Dijak entered and hit Ciampa with a big boot in the style of Sheamus's "Brogue Kick."
Despite the obvious advantage, Lethal was unable to pick up the win and the crowd went wild with a rallied cry of: "THIS IS AWESOME!" Tommaso Ciampa flew to the outside to take out Dijak and returned to try his hand at securing the television title. Lethal opted to perform his "Lethal Injection," but was surprised when Ciampa mimicked the champ's actions by handspringing into the ropes alongside Lethal. Ciampa followed up with a discus lariat and a top rope variation of Lethal's elbow drop dubbed "Hail to the King." Sensing that the House of Truth might be in trouble, the gargantuan Donavan Dijak injected himself into the ordeal, only to be met with immediate expulsion from Tommaso. Todd Sinclair points at Donavan, and he points at Truth—and says: "You, you, GET OUT OF HERE!" He ordered Donavan Dijak and Truth Martini to return to the backstage area, and followed behind to make sure they did as they were told. The lack of an official gave Jay Lethal the opportunity to land a low-blow on his opponent. Jay followed up with a successful "Lethal Injection," and a 1-2-3 to retain his Ring of Honor World Television title.
There were only two matches on tonight's episode of Ring of Honor TV, but they were two of the best matches you'll probably see anywhere all week. The tag team opener featuring the Killer Elite Squad was a specific treat, and the 20+ minute main event was a thing of beauty. I don't generally give Ring of Honor TV a score, but on a scale of one-to-ten, I'd be inclined to give this a solid 8—maybe even an 8.5. Until next time this has been Mark Adam Haggerty reminding you to keep checking out my work here at Cheap-Heat and at Daily Wrestling News; follow me on Twitter via @TapeTraderz and on Facebook at "The B+ Players"; and listen to my weekly series of podcasts available Friday, Saturday, and Sunday exclusively at Cheap-Heat.com.
