Welcome to ROH Honorable Mention, Last Word on Sports’s look at the biggest news coming out of Ring of Honor.
Future Shock Challenge
This week’s episode of Ring of Honor finally revealed the main event for the 14th anniversary show that will take place on February 26th in Las Vegas. Nigel McGuinness came out to make an announcement and was interrupted by Jay Lethal and the House of Truth as he was about to name Lethal’s opponent for the jubilee in Sin City. After Nigel announced that Adam Cole, the number one contender, would be getting his opportunity at the strap, Cole promptly walked out to brag and openly laud himself for his accomplishment.
Once again, McGuinness made it clear that he wasn’t finished speaking and mentioned Kyle O’Reilly’s name, prompting Cole’s former partner to make his way to the ring and argue that he should be first in line to take Cole out for costing him during the match with Lethal. As predictable as a Teddy Long tag team main event, Nigel announced that Lethal will be defending against both men at the anniversary show in triple threat match for the ROH World Championship.
Who Takes It All?
Jay Lethal had a fantastic 2015. After defending the belt ROH Television championship and holding the title for 567 days, Lethal also carried the ROH World Championship after besting Jay Briscoe in a Battle of the Belts. After dropping the Television title to Roderick Strong, he defended the World title against the likes of Michael Elgin, Kyle O’Reilly and A.J. Styles. He has been buoyed by the House of Truth, but after his skirmish with Elgin at Wrestle Kingdom 10, he has yet to find himself embroiled in a storyline that has allowed him to sink his teeth into. He plays the smug heel well, but logic would dictate that sooner or later he will relinquish the belt to another grappler. The triple threat match allows him to lose his title without being pinned, but as we’ve seen before, Lethal has knack for slipping away with the title and with Truth Martini in his corner, anything is possible.
reDragon Champ?
Kyle O’Reilly, along with his tag team partner Bobby Fish, has resigned with ROH. As Fish has been embroiled in a game of one upmanship with Roderick Strong after a controversial match ending, O’Reily may indeed be getting a singles push here. His character has shown some inconsistencies, vacillating from angry revenge-seeking face to goofy face, which doesn’t work for a legitimate world champion with his build. Granted, Ring of Honor has shown in the past that the company no qualms about forging forward with a champion whose work rate outpaces his mic work. O’Reilly sees the unlikely winner in this scenario, as him chasing the title would be a decidedly stronger way to elevate him to main event status as a singles wrestler.
New Champion Bay-bay?
Adam Cole has had a resurgence this year, returning from injury and eventually earning a number one contender spot after playing his former partner like a fiddle. With Matt Taven on the shelf and the departure of Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis, Cole now stands alone in his quest for greatness. A former ROH World Champion in his own right, Cole has all the tools to carry the title. His betrayal of O’Reilly allows for an interesting grudge match/chase for the title if does indeed come away with a victory at the 14th anniversary show. He has proven time and again that he excels in the ring as well as on the microphone and winning the title would give him renewed purpose as well as draw the ire of fans by being a truly despicable heel, not someone the fans cheer for. If anyone has proven that he deserves to dethrone Jay Lethal, it’s Adam Cole.
Championship Gamble
As the 14th anniversary show quickly approaches, ROH has chosen to seemingly simply stick Lethal into Cole and O’Reilly feud, with no more than a defense as the motivation for the company’s top wrestler for over a year. After resigning with the company, it’s clear that both Lethal and O’Reilly are expected to play a major role in ROH’s title picture going forward, however this match still feels a bit rushed. The wrestling itself will be top notch, but as the main event, there should be more substance to the match. The next few weeks should go a long way to building up all three of these men and their motivations for the match. Lethal can easily and believably walk out as champion once more, but the title will give the feud between Cole and O’Reilly more gravitas and propel Kyle to a consistent top spot for the rest of 2016. No matter what the result will be, this will be the match of the night and a true celebration of everything that makes Ring of Honor one of the top wrestling companies in the world right now.
