Hello there. My name is Michael and I’m new here and I thought I would try out this 10 Thoughts format for Ring of Honor television. I have been watching ROH weekly for about a year now and I find it highly compelling. I don’t have access to WWE NXT, WWE Raw is often too tiring to slog through three hours, WWE Smackdown is not at the best time for my television viewing schedule, TNA is TNA, and NJPW is a good time, but I’ve found it a little difficult to get invested as so much of what I’ve seen on AXS has been from months prior. So let’s see what my thoughts are on ROH television.
- First match of the night is The Addiction (with Chris Saban) vs. ACH and Alex Shelley. I’ve never been a huge fan of The Addiction, mainly due to Frankie Kazarian. Despite being quite athletic, Kazarian always seems to be a bit sloppy, like he is in the wrong spot, or thinking about something else all the time. These type of slight botches have always just bothered me. Christopher Daniels is quite awesome, however. Not sure yet how I feel about this “General” thing he has going on, though. The Fallen Angel gimmick was much cooler in my mind.
- Speaking of The Addiction, I still am not sure why Chris Saban is with them. Is it just because they are buddies? Or is there another reason for him to second The Addiction all the time? It isn’t like he is wrestling much, which I would prefer. Plus, why is Alex Shelley even there to mess with him? The Motor City Machineguns haven’t been a team in quite a while, so what’s the deal? (Full disclosure, I’ve been an Alex Shelley fan for a long while. I’ve always thought he could have been the next Chris Jericho if he ever got the chance on a big stage.)
- I guess I should mention who won the match. The Addiction won with Celebrity Rehab after a distraction by Chris Saban. ACH took the fall, which is a bit of a shame, as I think ACH is what Rob Van Dam could have been – a lot of the flippy-floppy action but with some force and reason behind it.
- Post-match, The Addiction attacked Alex Shelley. And then Christopher Daniels punched a ref, so Nigel McGuinness wandered out and suspended Daniels. All well and good, but the match seemed to exist only to get to this. I mean, why was ACH teaming with Shelley anyway? Didn’t he have a team established with Matt Sydal? And why was it Daniels looking to hit Shelley with the ring bell hammer and not Saban, if that is where the animosity is? Honestly, it took away a little from a solid tag match.
- Next up was Adam Page (with BJ Whitmer and Colby Corino) vs. Mark Briscoe. Mark Briscoe is fun, but hasn’t seemed to be involved in any “important” storylines since I’ve been watching. Adam Page has a good look and is quite athletic and interesting in the ring. I get an early Brian Pillman feel from Adam Page. Let’s hope I never get a late Brian Pillman feel from him.
- Hey, Mark Briscoe won a match. Briscoe always looks strong in his matches, but I don’t see him win often enough to take him seriously.
- Post-match, BJ Whitmer decides to waste some time complaining about Steve Corino pretending to be Mr. Wrestling #3 at the announce table. I don’t know what the history is between Whitmer and Corino, but they both do a good job at projecting a long-lasting hatred for each other. Whether it will go anywhere, who knows?
- Oh, hey, here’s Silas Young coming out to talk about Dalton Castle and the boys. Too much talking in this episode of ROH television. And let’s end the Young/Castle storyline already, it’s been months.
- Redragon vs. The Young Bucks vs. The Kingdom in a Philly Street Fight is the main event. Sort of weird watching this match knowing that Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis have already debuted in TNA, especially since I don’t really care for the rest of The Kingdom (Adam Cole or Matt Taven). Bennett is pretty decent in the ring, but I have to admit, I’ll miss seeing Maria more on these shows.
- Of course, with this being a Philly Street Fight, there are chairs, a shopping cart, tables, ladders, party hats, accidental violence on announcers (including Kevin Kelly taking a superkick to the face), outside interference (from Maria and fellow Bullet Club member AJ Styles), and crazy spots galore. It took a while to get the O’Reilly and Cole death-hatred for each other to come into play, but eventually those two fought to the back, leaving the Young Bucks the only team with both members remaining. You’d think that would be enough to have them win, but it took a Styles Clash to finish the match. I guess that makes sense with the Bullet Club tie-in, but didn’t seem necessary.
- I can’t count very well. And I talk a lot, apparently.
- The Young Bucks play the pretty boy team with an attitude (ala the Midnight Rockers) very well.
- Redragon is probably the best tag team out there right now. Their work is top notch.
- Michael Bennett took the pin, which was to be expected.
- I could have done without the unnecessary violence towards Maria, but wrestling still has a ways to go before they are truly evolved.
- And thus ends ROH TV for this week. Overall an enjoyable show, as it normally is, even though it did smell a little of storyline advancement/time wasting.
Hopefully you found some enjoyment in this little article. Let me know what you think. Until next time…
