The Glimpse:
Adam Cole defends the ROH TV Title against friend and partner Eddie Edwards. Bennett and Mondo continue their ongoing feud. (Matches from Glory by Honor)
The Action:
Match 1: Mike Mondo vs Mike Bennett (From Glory by Honor)
Winner: Mike Bennett via pinfall
Mondo and Bennett have a physical battle and Mondo manages to break his leg during an unnecessary spot from the top of the entrance. Bennett ends up hitting a TKO after Maria shakes her goods and Mondo falls for the lure. At least Maria shook her goods, right?
Inside Ring of Honor:
Part two of the Matt Hardy interview. Hardy is here to scout TV Champion Adam Cole. Hardy talks about his injuries not being star making like Cole’s face injury. He continues to say that at the same age, he was more important. Ultimately, we get confirmation that Matt Hardy will battle Adam Cole at Final Battle.
Elgin cuts an “I’m gonna kill you” promo in the direction of Roderick Strong, which is a match we’re sure to see made for Final Battle.
Jim Cornette will announce the new “match maker” next week (we already know who it is, but for the sake of those few folks out there trying to stay spoiler free, we’ll touch on it next week in the Rant).
Closing moments of Rhett Titus/BJ Whitmer taking on Haas and Benjamin. Whitmer and Haas curse at each other as they kick each other. These are the worst exchanges that ROH offers, especially when there isn’t palpable heat between the guys. WGTT takes it with a double powerbomb while Titus is stuck in the corner.
Match 2: Adam Cole (c) vs Eddie Edwards, ROH Television Championship
Winner: Adam Cole via pinfall
Back and forth action throughout with comebacks on both sides. Edwards locks in the Achilles Lock and stomps on the head of the champ, but he fights his way out and straps on a Figure Four out of a victory roll. Edwards gets the ropes and after a nasty spill to the outside from the top, Cole finishes it with the Florida Key straight-jacket German. A very typical match for both guys, and that’s not at all a criticism.
The Reaction:
Ahh, two weeks running of reviewing matches from a month ago. Next week, we may very well have new matches for you!
Mike Mondo breaks his leg doing an entirely pointless dive in a mid-card ROH feud. Sure, it was great for an “Oh Sh*t” moment from the crowd, but by the time Mondo is physically ready to come back, nobody will care again. Which is a shame, as Mondo seemed to be getting a moderate push. Not a bad match at all, but Bennett’s feud-mate won’t be around for a while, so that leaves him in a bad place as well.
Hardy comes across insincere and digging for cheap heat, picking on the fresh new baby face. Definitely an “easy road” promo to set this match up.
“Match Maker” is the best title they can think of for this position? Is that literally all they do? Lazy.
High action from Cole and Edwards, as we’d all expect. There does come a point where I can only see these guys kick and chop each other so much. The occasional mix up to the match style wouldn’t hurt either one.
The Rant:
Mondo, you’re a dummy. It’s bad enough when a guy severely injures himself in a main event angle or when he’s somehow furthering his career. This did nothing for nobody.
I’m stoked to see Matt Hardy. I know he gets a lot of crap for being a YouTube nutjob and for various other reasons, but I’ve been a fan for long enough that I’m excited to see him when I attend Final Battle in December. This could be a big match for Cole; he’ll need to stay consistent with the types of matches he’s had with Edwards.
This is a “rant” so I’m supposed to piss and moan, but a match that can keep the crowd interested the entire way through and prove a strong, clean win for the champion is a thumbs up in my book. No real negatives to point out in this one, though I do wonder if Edwards dumping Cole to the floor from the top rope was a slip or semi-planned.
Unrelated to the actual episode, but still pertinent: ROH is offering the next few weeks of TV for $1.99 each on their website. There’s an obnoxiousness to this offer. No way do I pay you two bucks for your free TV show. That’s ludicrous, even if it’s “early”.
The Preview:
Next week we find out who the new “match maker” is for Ring of Honor.
The Shill:
As always, if you like what you read here, let me know in the comments or on twitter @sbfantom. Come on over to The Geek Asylum – we’re currently on hiatus, but we’ll soon be back for extended Raw and Smackdown reactions. Can’t make it to Final Battle? Considering not ordering the show? Get live updates December 16th via my Twitter and @pulsewrestling.
