Thought Zero – Hello there. Having some computer issues, but I am going to try to work through it to get these ten thoughts out. Let’s see if I can do it. Shall we begin?
1) Pre-opening theme song we get a review of the Bullet Club attack on Kyle O’Reilly last week and ending with Nigel McGuinness’ pronouncement that Adam Cole will never get another world title shot as long as he is the matchmaker.
2) Jay Lethal comes down to the ring and they hype the main event of next week to be Jay Lethal versus Colt Cabana for the ROH World title. Cool. Two world title matches on television in three weeks. That is how you do it. But for now, Jay Lethal is talking bout how what went down last week wasn’t right. So Lethal asks Nigel to add himself and Adam Cole to the Briscoes versus Young Bucks main event tonight. See? I like that a lot better than some authority figure just randomly putting various feuds together masquerading as hype for a PPV (I’m looking at you, WWE).
3) By the way, I should point out that whole segment took about five minutes. No twenty minute promo was needed. Lethal came out, cut a good promo, asked to change the main event, and left. And that’s how you do it.
4) We’re back with a weirdly produced segment which is Steve Corino and Kevin Sullivan sitting at a park bench somewhere, just talking. Nothing different is said here than in the BJ Whitmer promo a couple weeks ago, so I will skip past this. Because I just don’t care about this never-ending storyline.
5) Now there is someone named P-Dogg and the Getalong Gang in the ring. Maybe this group should get matching club jackets or something, because they look like a very ragtag bunch. P-Dogg calls out Moose with a rap that is early John Cena quality (i.e. horrible). So Moose comes out and the Getalong Gang attacks before the bell. So Moose casually kills each of them. Then he grabs P-Dogg, hits a buckle bomb and two flipping spears and it’s over. Nice knowing you, Moose. Enjoy TNA where no one will ever see you again.
6) Hey, Prince Nana comes out with Donovan Dijak and suggests Moose versus Dijak right now. Hmm, I would think this was a match they could have built up to even a little bit. Maybe they were just thinking, “Moose is out of here and we never got a chance to shoot this angle. Let’s just do it and at least get a bit of a rub onto Dijak?” This match really smells like one of those trades in professional sports where a big star is in a contract year and you know there is no way you can re-sign him in the off-season, so you trade him to anyone who wants him for a bag of peanuts. Just so you can say you got something. Anything. Oh well, how is the match?
7) This was a pretty good match between these two big men. Both men hit huge power moves. Both men countered each other with hard hitting moves. Both men used their athleticism to enhance their strengths. A bit short, but very hard hitting and intense. I really do wish Moose would have stuck around Ring of Honor longer to build up to this match, as I think it could have been a really good top tier program. Dijak wins with the Feast Your Eyes. And now we say so long to Moose. Oh yeah, Dijak also kicked Stokely Hathaway’s head off before leaving.
8) Main event time – Bullet Club (Young Bucks and Adam Cole) versus Mark and Jay Briscoe and Jay Lethal. And Matt Taven is at the commentary table to earn his keep while rehabbing his injury. Interesting that this match includes the IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions (Young Bucks) and the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions (The Briscoes). I like that. But you know what is a bit weird? This is ROH, not New Japan. I still like it, but it is just a bit odd to see.
9) No Taeler Hendrix again this week with Jay Lethal. I know they don’t want Lethal getting booed for this main event, but still. Oh well. Matt Taven doesn’t seem to like anyone. But he does get a nice little riff going about how Mark Briscoe shouldn’t have cut his hair because it was so great before. The match is pretty fast and furious with a lot of cool high risk moves and tag team moves, as to be expected. Eventually Mark Briscoe gets tossed through a table from the top rope and it is breaking down. (By the way, Mark made me laugh a few minutes early by hitting a Crane Kick on one of the Young Bucks outside the ring. Gotta love that.)
10) Nigel declares Mark Briscoe has to leave ringside to be checked on by the medical team, esentially making this a handicap match now. I really hope they aren’t setting up a turn for Nigel. We’ve seen that storyline so many times before. I’m going to have to go into sub-thoughts now as this match continues to break down with the awesome.
10) A) Nice sequence outside the ring with Jay Lethal just dismantling the Young Bucks and Adam Cole. Very well choreographed sequence there.
10) B) Hot tag from Lethal to Jay Briscoe where Kevin Kelly and Matt Taven are selling it as a huge deal considering how those two have had some big battles.
10) C) Now the commentary team is putting over an old feud between Jay Briscoe and Adam Cole, which was before I started watching Ring of Honor on a regular basis, so that is good information to have. This is how you build interest during a match. Take notes, WWE.
10) D) The match ends with Jay Lethal rolling up Matt Jackson for a three count after hitting the Lethal Injection on Adam Cole. There were a bunch of cool superkicks and reversals and things by everyone for about a minute before that too.
10) E) Post match, the Bullet Club beats down Briscoe and Lethal. Adam Cole cracks Jay Briscoe with a chair a couple times and then hits a Jay Driver onto the chair.
10) F) With both Briscoes out of it, the Bullet Club hit two triple superkicks on Jey Lethal. Then Adam Cole pulls out scissors and clippers and cuts and shaves Lethal’s head. That did a good job of turning the crowd at least. The Bullet Club got lots of cheers through the match, but by the end of that segment, it was all boos.
10) G) I have to admit, as cliche as it sometimes is in professional wrestling, the head shaving thing usually works.
10) H) Quick thought on Adam Cole – I think Adam Cole is pretty good in the ring. I think his character work is pretty good. I am not his biggest fan, but he is a good and solid mid-to-almost-top-level heel. But when he is in a match like this, with 5 other guys who are very over, and sometimes over the top, he sort of disappears. What I mean by that is this match seemed like the YOUNG BUCKS and adam cole versus the BRISCOES and JAY LETHAL. For Adam Cole to be the top-level heel, it has to be ADAM COLE with the Young Bucks. I need to feel that Adam Cole is the successor to AJ Styles who was the successor to Prince Devitt in leadership of the Bullet Club. And I just don’t get that feeling from Adam Cole. This seems more like Adam Cole is jumping into whatever he can in order to get the World Title. Which would be okay as a storyline, Cole jumping from The Kingdom to Bullet Club just because he thinks it could help him. But that doesn’t feel like what they want to make it be. And as such, I am worried we will get some pretty uninspired main events coming up in the future. I just hope they don’t put the belt back on Cole just to try to capitalize on the Bullet Club thing.
Okay, a bit longer than I anticipated, but my computer held out for it, so that’s good. Until next week…
