ROH Reloaded Tour: Chicago
ROH Reloaded Tour: Chicago (9/12/2015)- Chicago, IL
BJ Whitmer did such a good job on commentary last night that he is being allowed back on tonight (Steve Corino is taking some time off to cool down after a recent incident with Whitmer).
THE KINGDOM (w/Maria Kanellis) vs. BRAD KEVINS & CURT STALLION- squash
Kevin and Stallions never got an entrance, the show just started with them in the ring and Scarlett announced them as being â€"already in the ring.†I don’t know if that has ever happened before on an ROH live event. Normally even the jobbers get some semblance of an entrance.
Apparently Maria was the one who set this match up, and not only did ROH officials just let her book whoever she wanted, but they didn’t even bother to tell the announcers their names (although Scarlett somehow knew). The Kingdom won in about ninety seconds, giving both jobbers spike piledrivers, including one on the floor.
WHOSE SIDE IS ADAM COLE ON?- decent segment.
Matt Taven cut a very good promo on Cole, and demands to know whether Cole is still part of the group. Cole came out to hear them out. Bennett also cut a promo on Cole, and then Maria demanded that Cole give her an answer. Before he could do so, reDRagon came out to confront Taven and Bennett about their attack last night. The other team that Taven and Bennett attacked last night, the Young Bucks, then snuck into the ring behind Taven and Bennett and superkicked them. They then turned to their opponents in tonight’s main event, Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly, and told them to suck it.
DALTON CASTLE (w/the Boys) vs. BEER CITY BRUISER (w/Silas Young)- 5.75/10
Well I’ll be darned! It appears that Silas Young has made a friend!
The match was fine for what it was and had an INSANE finish. I was certain Castle had a concussion at the very least.
On commentary, Kevin Kelly claims that Steve Corino has accused BJ Whitmer of having a history of domestic abuse (presumably this would be in the relationship that BJ apparently had with Allison Danger). I have never heard Corino say such a thing, so either Kelly is making it up, which is bad, or Corino was smart enough to not make such serious allegations on an ROH DVD where he and the company could be sued for defamation of character, but Kevin Kelly is apparently not that smart.
MICHAEL ELGIN vs. TAKAAKI WATANABE- 7.5/10
Strong style! Almost certainly the best match of Watanabe’s career thus far.
MICHAEL ELGIN PROMO- great. If you are one of those people who has been wanting to see something concrete to really establish this Michael Elgin babyface turn that has kind-of sort-of happened over the course of the early summer, this was it.
MARK BRISCOE vs. ADAM PAGE- no rating. Okay segment.
Before the match started, BJ Whitmer attempted to cut a promo, but was shouted down with loud chants of â€"SHUT UP, BJ!†The fans didn’t even stopped when Mark Briscoe tried to get them to let BJ speak. This went on for a good five minutes or so before BJ was finally able to speak. He buried Mark, and then claimed that Adam Page couldn’t wrestle tonight because he was injured (BJ made sure to point out that the injury occurred while Page was beating up Jay Briscoe last night in Dearborn.
Adam Page came out with arm in a sling and gave Mark a low blow. Page started to stomp away on Mark until Jay came out and kicked Page in the nuts in retaliation. The Briscoes set up a table to put Page through, but Whitmer pulled Page to safety and they escaped.
Then The Romantic Touch randomly showed up to apparently proposition the Briscoes for sex, so the Briscoes beat him up and put him through a really tough-looking table that didn’t break on the first try. I felt really bad for RT, as the only reason he was taking this bump in the first place is that Page got injured last night.
BOBBY FISH vs. RODERICK STRONG- 7.5/10
Kevin Kelly was calling this match solo, and it was one of those matches where I really wished he was Joey Styles or Lenny Leonard or someone would just call the moves.
FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL MATCH: Silas Young vs. Samson Walker vs. Will Ferrara vs. Cheeseburger- 5.75/10
Stokely Hathaway joined Kevin Kelly on commentary. Silas picks up a much-needed win, while Walker was once again impressive. His work this weekend has definitely earned him another look the next time ROH in in the Mid-West.
CEDRIC ALEXANDER vs. JAY BRISCOE- 7/10
This match is happening because Cedric interfered in Jay’s match against Moose two weeks ago in Atlanta, attacking both guys and causing a DQ. Jay was pissed that Cedric attacked him, so this match got booked for this show. It’s a nice, short simple story that spins off from Cedric’s feud with Moose, resulting in a one-and-done match that actually has some story behind it and shows that actions (in this case Cedric attacking Jay) do have consequences. This is the sort of thing ROH has been missing a lot of this year.
That being said, I really thought this match should have ended cleanly. That’s something else that has unfortunately been missing in ROH this year (especially over the last few months). They had a good brawl and worked over each other’s heads. Cedric tried to hit Jay with the wrench but Stokely stopped him, resulting in Cedric becoming distracted with Stokely, which allowed Jay to hit a roaring elbow for the win.
Cedric beat the crap out of Stokely after the match. Cedric ran off and Moose came out to tend to Stokely, but Cedric came back and hit Moose in the back of the head with the wrench, knocking him out.
BEST OF FIVE SERIES MATCH #2: Matt Sydal vs. ACH- 8.25/10
Bobby Fish has now joined Kevin Kelly on commentary. For the second straight night, these two put on an awesome match based around Sydal working over one of ACH’s limbs.
JAY LETHAL PROMO- I couldn’t hear what he was saying because Bobby Fish wouldn’t shut the f*ck up.
PROVING GROUND MATCH: ROH World Champion Jay Lethal (w/Truth Martini & Taeler Hendrix) vs. Moose- 6.5/10
Moose comes out selling his head from the earlier wrench shot. The referees are trying to tell him not to wrestle and trying to hold him back, but Lethal forces the issue by hitting a dive onto Moose while the referees are holding him back, thus starting the match.
Lethal obviously worked over Moose’s head the whole time and Moose sold it well. Good story, and a good showing from Moose, showing us that he can sell when he needs to.
YOUNG BUCKS vs. FUTURE SHOCK- 9/10
Totally f*cking nuts. It amazes me how the Bucks are always able to come up with something new for every match. Whether it is a new spot or a new variation on an old one, they always seem to have at least one point where you’re sure they are going to zig, but instead they zag.
POST-MATCH SEGMENT- The Kingdom comes out and Taven and Bennett cut boring annoying promos running down Cole and the Bucks. The Bucks challenge them to fight right now, but Maria tells them to not to. They start to head to the back, but then they turn around and run into the ring and both immediately get superkicked. This was dumb and pointless. It felt like one of those dark segments WWE will do after Raw with the babyface coming out on top to send the fans home happy, except that ROH did it in front of the DVD crowd as well, so it totally killed The Kingdom’s heat, and even worse it was completely unnecessary because the crowd (and everyone watching the DVD at home, too, I assume) was already extremely happy with the awesome main event we just saw.
A pretty damn great show from ROH. Everything on the card delivered in the way it was supposed to, and both the main event and the Sydal vs. ACH match were awesome, and supported by a great undercard. Definitely a show you should pick up.
STUPID ANNOUNCER QUOTES:
1. Kevin Kelly- â€"Roderick Strong has won many matches with this superplex.â€
No he hasn’t. In fact, he hasn’t won a single match with the superplex.
2. Kevin Kelly tried to sell us that losing cleanly to Bobby Fish would somehow make Roddy a top contender to the TV Title if Fish were to win it next weekend at All-Star Extravaganza VII.
BJ Whitmer did such a good job on commentary last night that he is being allowed back on tonight (Steve Corino is taking some time off to cool down after a recent incident with Whitmer).
THE KINGDOM (w/Maria Kanellis) vs. BRAD KEVINS & CURT STALLION- squash
Kevin and Stallions never got an entrance, the show just started with them in the ring and Scarlett announced them as being â€"already in the ring.†I don’t know if that has ever happened before on an ROH live event. Normally even the jobbers get some semblance of an entrance.
Apparently Maria was the one who set this match up, and not only did ROH officials just let her book whoever she wanted, but they didn’t even bother to tell the announcers their names (although Scarlett somehow knew). The Kingdom won in about ninety seconds, giving both jobbers spike piledrivers, including one on the floor.
WHOSE SIDE IS ADAM COLE ON?- decent segment.
Matt Taven cut a very good promo on Cole, and demands to know whether Cole is still part of the group. Cole came out to hear them out. Bennett also cut a promo on Cole, and then Maria demanded that Cole give her an answer. Before he could do so, reDRagon came out to confront Taven and Bennett about their attack last night. The other team that Taven and Bennett attacked last night, the Young Bucks, then snuck into the ring behind Taven and Bennett and superkicked them. They then turned to their opponents in tonight’s main event, Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly, and told them to suck it.
DALTON CASTLE (w/the Boys) vs. BEER CITY BRUISER (w/Silas Young)- 5.75/10
Well I’ll be darned! It appears that Silas Young has made a friend!
The match was fine for what it was and had an INSANE finish. I was certain Castle had a concussion at the very least.
On commentary, Kevin Kelly claims that Steve Corino has accused BJ Whitmer of having a history of domestic abuse (presumably this would be in the relationship that BJ apparently had with Allison Danger). I have never heard Corino say such a thing, so either Kelly is making it up, which is bad, or Corino was smart enough to not make such serious allegations on an ROH DVD where he and the company could be sued for defamation of character, but Kevin Kelly is apparently not that smart.
MICHAEL ELGIN vs. TAKAAKI WATANABE- 7.5/10
Strong style! Almost certainly the best match of Watanabe’s career thus far.
MICHAEL ELGIN PROMO- great. If you are one of those people who has been wanting to see something concrete to really establish this Michael Elgin babyface turn that has kind-of sort-of happened over the course of the early summer, this was it.
MARK BRISCOE vs. ADAM PAGE- no rating. Okay segment.
Before the match started, BJ Whitmer attempted to cut a promo, but was shouted down with loud chants of â€"SHUT UP, BJ!†The fans didn’t even stopped when Mark Briscoe tried to get them to let BJ speak. This went on for a good five minutes or so before BJ was finally able to speak. He buried Mark, and then claimed that Adam Page couldn’t wrestle tonight because he was injured (BJ made sure to point out that the injury occurred while Page was beating up Jay Briscoe last night in Dearborn.
Adam Page came out with arm in a sling and gave Mark a low blow. Page started to stomp away on Mark until Jay came out and kicked Page in the nuts in retaliation. The Briscoes set up a table to put Page through, but Whitmer pulled Page to safety and they escaped.
Then The Romantic Touch randomly showed up to apparently proposition the Briscoes for sex, so the Briscoes beat him up and put him through a really tough-looking table that didn’t break on the first try. I felt really bad for RT, as the only reason he was taking this bump in the first place is that Page got injured last night.
BOBBY FISH vs. RODERICK STRONG- 7.5/10
Kevin Kelly was calling this match solo, and it was one of those matches where I really wished he was Joey Styles or Lenny Leonard or someone would just call the moves.
FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL MATCH: Silas Young vs. Samson Walker vs. Will Ferrara vs. Cheeseburger- 5.75/10
Stokely Hathaway joined Kevin Kelly on commentary. Silas picks up a much-needed win, while Walker was once again impressive. His work this weekend has definitely earned him another look the next time ROH in in the Mid-West.
CEDRIC ALEXANDER vs. JAY BRISCOE- 7/10
This match is happening because Cedric interfered in Jay’s match against Moose two weeks ago in Atlanta, attacking both guys and causing a DQ. Jay was pissed that Cedric attacked him, so this match got booked for this show. It’s a nice, short simple story that spins off from Cedric’s feud with Moose, resulting in a one-and-done match that actually has some story behind it and shows that actions (in this case Cedric attacking Jay) do have consequences. This is the sort of thing ROH has been missing a lot of this year.
That being said, I really thought this match should have ended cleanly. That’s something else that has unfortunately been missing in ROH this year (especially over the last few months). They had a good brawl and worked over each other’s heads. Cedric tried to hit Jay with the wrench but Stokely stopped him, resulting in Cedric becoming distracted with Stokely, which allowed Jay to hit a roaring elbow for the win.
Cedric beat the crap out of Stokely after the match. Cedric ran off and Moose came out to tend to Stokely, but Cedric came back and hit Moose in the back of the head with the wrench, knocking him out.
BEST OF FIVE SERIES MATCH #2: Matt Sydal vs. ACH- 8.25/10
Bobby Fish has now joined Kevin Kelly on commentary. For the second straight night, these two put on an awesome match based around Sydal working over one of ACH’s limbs.
JAY LETHAL PROMO- I couldn’t hear what he was saying because Bobby Fish wouldn’t shut the f*ck up.
PROVING GROUND MATCH: ROH World Champion Jay Lethal (w/Truth Martini & Taeler Hendrix) vs. Moose- 6.5/10
Moose comes out selling his head from the earlier wrench shot. The referees are trying to tell him not to wrestle and trying to hold him back, but Lethal forces the issue by hitting a dive onto Moose while the referees are holding him back, thus starting the match.
Lethal obviously worked over Moose’s head the whole time and Moose sold it well. Good story, and a good showing from Moose, showing us that he can sell when he needs to.
YOUNG BUCKS vs. FUTURE SHOCK- 9/10
Totally f*cking nuts. It amazes me how the Bucks are always able to come up with something new for every match. Whether it is a new spot or a new variation on an old one, they always seem to have at least one point where you’re sure they are going to zig, but instead they zag.
POST-MATCH SEGMENT- The Kingdom comes out and Taven and Bennett cut boring annoying promos running down Cole and the Bucks. The Bucks challenge them to fight right now, but Maria tells them to not to. They start to head to the back, but then they turn around and run into the ring and both immediately get superkicked. This was dumb and pointless. It felt like one of those dark segments WWE will do after Raw with the babyface coming out on top to send the fans home happy, except that ROH did it in front of the DVD crowd as well, so it totally killed The Kingdom’s heat, and even worse it was completely unnecessary because the crowd (and everyone watching the DVD at home, too, I assume) was already extremely happy with the awesome main event we just saw.
A pretty damn great show from ROH. Everything on the card delivered in the way it was supposed to, and both the main event and the Sydal vs. ACH match were awesome, and supported by a great undercard. Definitely a show you should pick up.
STUPID ANNOUNCER QUOTES:
1. Kevin Kelly- â€"Roderick Strong has won many matches with this superplex.â€
No he hasn’t. In fact, he hasn’t won a single match with the superplex.
2. Kevin Kelly tried to sell us that losing cleanly to Bobby Fish would somehow make Roddy a top contender to the TV Title if Fish were to win it next weekend at All-Star Extravaganza VII.