BRM Reivews the 1/6/2016 ROH

[Big Red Machine]

Roderick Strong comes out to make an open challenge TV Title defense. It’s answered by STEVIE RICHARDS.

ROH TV TITLE MATCH: Roderick Strong(c) vs. Stevie Richards- 6.75/10
Stevie got a big pop when he came out, and he has certainly earned this spot with his performance against Jay Lethal at Reloaded Tour: Lockport, but I really wasn’t happy with the massive “ECW!” chant breaking out. ECW has been dead for almost fifteen years. The thing that is so strange about it, though, was that the fans were actually into Stevie himself. They popped big when they saw him and were chanting for him by name (as opposed to when you bring in someone like Balls Mahoney or the Rottens who aren’t actually over themselves as much as the idea of them mutilating themselves in the ring is over, and hence the “ECW” chants).
They had a very good match. It was almost a 7, but not quite.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- Bobby Fish comes out and announces that we are getting a special live edition of the Fish Tank right now!

ACH MERCH COMMERCIAL- here’s an idea? Instead of plugging water bottles and backpacks and coloring books with the ROH logo on them, why don’t we promote the thing that people actually want from ROH: DVDs!?

LIVE FISH TANK WITH SPECIAL GUEST BOBBY FISH- Roddy doesn’t want to cooperate, so he throws the chair is he offered across the ring… but he will be a dick and stand there and show his title off to Fish. Fish pulls up a different angle of Roddy tapping out at Final Battle and demands to know whether Roddy tapped or not. Roddy says he didn’t tap accuses Fish of being a sore loser, and walks off.
I didn’t like this for a few reasons:
1. Bobby Fish should’t be the guy asking Roddy “did you tap out or not?” He should be the guy shouting “you tapped out you liar, and you cheated me out of the TV Title by doing so!”
2. How the f*ck are we supposed to prove that Roddy was tapping out by looking at a STILL PHOTOGRAPH?!
3. The announcers had spent most of the match talking about the controversial finish in the TV Title match at Final Battle, with Mr. Wrestling III often encouraging us to go to www.ROHWreslting.com and order the replay to decide what we think happened for ourselves… and yet they gave the footage away right here (well… they really didn’t, but the way Kevin Kelly reacted and the way Bobby Fish is acting makes it seem like Delirious thinks this photograph is supposed to somehow prove this).
Instead, I would have had Fish come out and just start screaming at Roddy to admit that he tapped. Then, next week, I’d have a backstage interview with Roddy where he denies tapping out and walks off (and all the while, the announcers are telling us to go to the website or buy the PPV replay and decide for ourselves). Then, the third week, I’d no an in-ring segment with both guys there and Todd Sinclair there and Nigel there and Nigel would determine that in his opinion, it looked like Roddy tapped and he knows the dirty trick Roddy was trying to pull… but the referees decision is final, so Roddy is still the winner and Roddy keeps the belt… but he’ll have to defend it against Fish at the next set of TV tapings.
At those tapings, you can do some sort of double-pin finish where Roddy gets the pin, but the referee doesn’t realize that Roddy’s shoulders were down as well. Then you use the “Roddy vs. The World” open challenges on the remaining January shows and the Nashville TV taping in February to say that Roddy is trying to dodge Fish, with Fish finally calling him out on it at the TV tapings, which leads to Nigel booking the match at the PPV where there will be not one but TWO referees to eliminate any possible controversy.

NO DISQUALIFICATIONS MATCH: Will Ferrara vs. Caprice Coleman- 6.5/10
Caprice cut a good pre-match promo. If nothing else comes from this Prince Nana giving out envelopes angles, at least we still got to hear Caprice cut some fun promos before his matches.
To drive home to us how crazy it is that these two particular men are beating each other with weapons, Kevin Kelly tells us that when Ferrara was competing in the Top Prospect Tournament back at the beginning of 2015, Caprice “was one of his biggest supporters.” So even one of Ferrara’s “biggest supporters” and a guy whose gimmick has been that he works with young guys to help them out, never cut a single promo putting him over? What does that say about Ferrara? This was a fine example of one of those times where Kevin just should have kept his mouth shut instead of just making up random crap to make the situation seem more personal than it really is.
The match was very good, especially because it’s not quite what you usually expect from these guys. They did a great job of building up to the big spots and told their story very well.

JONATHAN GRESHAM vs. CEDRIC ALEXANDER (w/Veda Scott)- 2/10
Kevin Kelly told us about Gresham’s “unique style” of wrestling. Well… when Gresham finally managed to stop being thrown around like a ragdoll, we got to see this unique style. In fact, I was so impressed, that I recorded every single move Gresham did. Here they are:
Punch, dropkick, forearm small package, crossbordy, O’Connor roll, octopus, crucifix pin.
Unique stuff indeed.
Cedric spent all match kicking the sh*t out of Gresham and throwing him around like he was a jobber. Then he got too cocky and didn’t go for the cover right away after hitting his finisher and also made a very cocky cover, so he got rolled up and pinned. If the intention here was to try to get me to think Gresham was impressive, it completely failed. All he did was get his ass kicked and get lucky.
I’m also really not sure how this is supposed to be some sort of payoff to the whole “unsafe working conditions” angle, and if it wasn’t, then what the hell was the point of that whole angle?


14TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW PPV COMMERCIAL- bad. They just recycled the dumb “LOOK EVERYONE! WE’RE IN VEGAS!” graphics from last year but changed the 3 to a 4. Even worse, they didn’t mention anything about the top New Japan talent who will be appearing on the show.

PRE-MATCH SEGMENT- not good.
So Lethal goes over to do commentary, but Jerry Storm storms out from the back and goes over to Lethal and grabs him angrily… and then tells him “I’m a man who can admit when I was wrong. You were the better man. Now shake my hand.” If this was supposed to be Lynn coming to Lethal with his hat in hand after being proven wrong, Jerry’s body language was completely off. I was shocked the Lethal didn’t punch Lynn out of instinct with the way Lynn grabbed him from behind.

MICHAEL ELGIN vs. DONOVAN DIJAK (w/the House of Truth)- 6.75/10
Pretty good for a ten minute match. Then Elgin and Lethal had a stare-down to build up the Tokyo Dome show.

An okay show from ROH.