Thought Zero – We’re on the road to Supercard of Honor! Wait. I’m not sure if WWE has trademarked that phrase. Let’s just say it’s time for Ring of Honor wrestling. Wooooooo…
1) The first match is Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser versus Cheeseburger and Will Ferrara. Ian Riccaboni already stretches his credibility by saying that Cheeseburger and Will Ferrara are on a roll (was that a burger bun joke?) and that they have come out on top in their feud with the Tempura Boys? Wait, what? They were engaged in a “feud” with the Tempura Boys? Since when? And didn’t the Tempura Boys get a tag team title shot just a couple weeks ago? That doesn’t sound like coming out on top.
2) Silas Young’s entrance video is odd. Very few shots of him but a ton of footage from old public domain movies. Old westerns, gangster movies, etc. You know, like real men. Or something. Honestly, I am not too sure why his entrance video is that way, but it seemed worth using a thought on.
3) Beer City Bruiser and Silas Young are apparently still on the hunt for a partner to go after the six-man titles. They say that they have found someone but won’t tell who until their title shot at Supercard of Honor on April 1. Surprises like this hardly ever work out, so let’s hope ROH has something good up their sleeve.
4) The Beer City Bruiser and Silas Young have developed some pretty good chemistry as a team. Seriously, they are working very quickly and effectively together. You may laugh, but it is almost Motor City Machine Guns-esque. Except they are much bigger men and thus the offense looks that much more devastating.
5) I know I have said this before, but Silas Young is damn good. He makes everyone look good in the ring, can work fast or a slower pace, can handle high fliers and ground-based wrestlers, his moveset is sharp and looks believably painful, and he sells effectively but still looks strong in the process. His character is just one or two notes short, but otherwise I see no reason Young isn’t a superstar.
6) Commentary note – Ian Riccaboni went solo on that first match, but now Brutal Bob Evans is here so it must be Top Prospect time. Silas Young has also joined the announce table for some reason. Next is the final first round match in the tournament. Josh “The Goods” Woods versus “The Heir Apparent” Chris LeRusso. Okay, LeRusso’s nickname is stupid. Heir apparent to what? Does he even know what that means? Is Matt Taven going to bring him into The Kingdom? They probably have an opening now that T.K. O’Ryan has smashed his leg apart. Also, “The Goods” is a lousy nickname too. But it rhymes, so it’ll get play. I’ve seen LeRusso before and he is not all that impressive. I’ve never seen Woods, but they are hyping him up, so we’ll see. Of note, he is sporting a man bun.
7) Woods starts off with some very impressive submission moves. Per Silas Young, Josh Woods has a solid collegiate wrestling background as well as an MMA background. However, he does not have a lot of pro wrestling experience and that could cost him. Young also discusses the benefits of a body scissors to wear down an opponent and shorten his breathing. Dang, Silas is darn good at color commentary as well.
8) The end of the match is interesting as Woods hits a roundhouse kick that floors LeRusso. Woods then pounces on LeRusso and start laying a flurry of punches onto his LeRusso. The referee calls for the bell and stops the match. I have to wonder if Woods is coming in to take the Kyle O’Reilly spot on the roster.
9) Chris Sabin is at the announce desk. And he is sporting a very Daniel Bryan-esque beard now. It doesn’t work, Sabin. You still look like you are 13 years old. The next match is Lio Rush versus Kenny King. Of note (sort of) is the Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin led group is being called Search and Destroy. That’s not a great name, you can do better ROH. Rush and King work through a very good which you would expect, including many high impact and high risk moves. Kenny King gets the win, which is probably the right move as The Rebellion need to get some momentum back. Post-match, Caprice Coleman threatens to attack Lio Rush, but Shane Taylor comes out to defend Rush?. No, it’s a swerve and Taylor hits a double choke powerslam on Rush. Apparently, Shane Taylor has joined The Rebellion and Keith Lee has moved on. That’s a shame because Lee was the more impressive half of his team with Taylor, I thought. (Bonus minor thought – Ian Riccaboni needs to stop doing the Road Warriors’ pronunciation of “Rrrrrrrrrrrrrush” every time Lio White dives to the outside of the ring. Seriously. Just stop.)
10) The main event is Jay White versus Jay Briscoe. Mark Briscoe is on color commentary now (and is solid as always). White and Briscoe have a very good match, but the crowd is oddly subdued. I have a feeling this was towards the end of their TV tapings and the fans were tired. Ian keeps talking about how Jay White is unbeaten in ROH and about how he is showing more aggression in this match than we’ve seen before. Seems to be foreshadowing of some sort. At one point, Briscoe just tossed White off the top rope through a table at ringside which popped the crowd. Jay Briscoe finally gets the pin after spitting on White, getting him a bit out of control so Briscoe could hit the discus elbow and big lariat for the pin.
Overall, another very good episode with some solid in-ring action. The Kenny King vs. Lio Rush match and the Jay White vs. Jay Briscoe match were both really, really good and better than anything you see on Raw on a weekly basis. The tag match to open the show was also very good if you ignored that Cheeseburger was in it. And Josh Woods looks like the guy the Top Prospect Tournament is preparing for a push. Now preview of next week, but I have a feeling it will be the Anniversary show fallout. See you then.
