BRM Reviews the 5/7/2021 ROH (mixed)

[Big Red Machine]

Ian Riccaboni is taking over hosting duties for Quinn McKay because she is wrestling tonight.

EC III & FLIP GORDON IN-SET- fine
Flip was arrogant towards EC III.

QUINN MCKAY INTERVIEWS THE BRISCOES- two thirds bad, one third good
Jay was very good. Mark was back to being a total cartoon. Quinn has become quite annoying over the last two weeks. She used to feel like a believably naïve (meaning optimistic for a happy/fair resolution to things, but not like someone who had no conception that the opposite was realistic) mark fan who was so happy to be there and so excited to have the opportunity, and she asked all the right questions for the situation because she came across like a wrestling fan and not a plot device there to create a reason for us to be seeing exposition. Now she is coming across like… well… like that same great fan from before has let the fact that she has a role on the show go to her head and now she is doing things to try to get herself over.

THE BRISCOES vs. EC III & FLIP GORDON- 6.75/10
Flip did not shake hands before the match but EC III made a point of doing so. He was not happy at all with the various ways Flip bent the rules. Unbeknownst to EC III, Flip hit Mark with a foreign object, which knocked him loopy and allowed EC III to set up his finisher. Jay and Mark were very upset after the match and the referee had to stop them from going after Flip.

BRIAN JOHNSON VIDEO PACKAGE/PROMO- bad… but in a way that works, if that makes sense?
This was… characteristically delusionally self-important.

BRIAN JOHNSON MAKES AN OPEN CHALLENGE-
It’s answered by Danhausen. Kind of. Being the supposed babyface currently feuding with Johnson, you’d think Dorkhausen would answer the challenge, but no. Instead, Out-hausen has gotten PCO to answer the challenge instead, because Douche-hausen is a coward.

BRIAN JOHNSON vs. PCO- 1/10
Out-hausen was on commentary for this match, so I muted it. PCO did his dumb “malfunctioning” thing and attacked Bobby Cruise. Given the way ROH has been about such things since returning from the pandemic, this should at least be a suspension, if not a firing. If this is not followed up on, it will be a BIG strike against the company for me, and a sign that either the current creative direction is hollow, or that the booker has zero control over the talent.
That dumb crap pretty much killed a surprisingly decent match for me. They let Johnson get a lot of offense in, and even let him kick out of PCO’s finish (although PCO was applying a relatively lax cover). Johnson could be good if his character wasn’t such a f*cking cartoon.

ANGELINA LOVE PROMO- tremendous!

QUINN MCKAY VIDEO PACKAGE/PROMO- awesome (although I would have preferred that she not say that “storytelling” is her passion. That’s a word I would always avoid because it comes across as breaking kayfabe.

IF ANGELINA LOVE WINS, SHE GETS A BY IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE WOMEN’S TITLE TOURNAMENT; IF QUINN MCKAY WINS, SHE EARNS A BERTH IN THE TOURNAMENT: Angelina Love (w/Mandy Leon) vs. Quinn McKay- 5/10
Maria Kanellis Bennet was on commentary for this match.
Is Quinn going to wrestle with glasses on? That doesn’t seem very safe.
They told their story very well, but that story… well.. made Quinn look REALLY bad. She held her own against Angelina for a bit, but then got choked out and only survived because Angelina let her go. She made her comeback and locked on her finisher and actually had Angelina in deep trouble, but she gave the hold up because Mandy Leon was taunting her. Then she turned around into a Botox Injection for the finish. What an idiot.


This was quite the mixed bag from ROH. The opener was very good, the middle match was crap, and the promos for the women’s match were amazing but the story they decided to tell was just SOOOO not a good idea.

[cero2k]

Have you started watching the Women of Honor stuff? I've been appreciating some of the talent they're using

[Big Red Machine]

Have you started watching the Women of Honor stuff? I've been appreciating some of the talent they're using

No. I haven't been watching that or Week by Week. I'll watch when the actual title tournament starts.