We don’t cover Ring of Honor enough here at Last Word on Sports. For me personally it’s because I felt the company took far too many steps backwards in 2014. To build up a brand new champion and face of the company in Michael Elgin only to take it away from him due to what appeared to be a completely ridiculous dispute just left a bad taste in my mouth. I can’t be the only person who just dropped off of interest after that whole situation. You’re going to un-make your new star just because he likes baseball, had a passport issue and you didn’t bother to follow up on what he’d be doing on his independent bookings? That isn’t really the time to drop your long term plans.
Despite this, ROH is still a fantastic product which has been making real headway into 2015, regardless if their champion is a bigot. I won’t lie that is also a major issue for myself. Does everyone deserve second chances? Sure. Do I believe his apology was sincere? Not a chance. Throw a couple dollars to whatever charity you want, it isn’t going to change the truth. However, Ring of Honor is more than just Jay Briscoe. It’s much more. With the Bullet Club coming to the 13th Anniversary along with current stars like Jay Lethal, Alberto El Patron and reDragon, it’s no doubt that this card is going to be big.
The bigger news is the return of one of the biggest ROH stars of all time: Samoa Joe. Joe just left his contract with TNA Wrestling and is taking no vacation. His appearance in Ring of Honor is going to be monumental. So big in fact that the rumours on who is or isn’t going to show up at this anniversary are getting crazy. It’s because of this I brought in someone from the background here at Last Word on Sports in Christopher Duarte to discuss the show with me.
You can watch the ROH 13th Anniversary live in Las Vegas, Nevada from the Orleans Casino and Hotel Sunday, March 1 starting at 7:30PM EST live on Pay Per View.
Roderick Strong vs. BJ Whitmer
WINNER:
Chris: Roderick Strong
Aaron: BJ Whitmer
THOUGHTS by Aaron Wrotkowski: I love to bash Roddy. I can’t stand the guy in the ring when it comes to how he always pops up from a move in under three seconds. The guy just refuses to lay down and sell. That said, I also think Roddy is a talented guy who shouldn’t be some sort of grizzled veteran in Ring of Honor just because he has been there for so long. The guy is what, 31? 32? He’s still quite young in wrestling years. Nobody needs to take an exit from ROH more than Roderick Strong and find somewhere esle to go. He’s extremely talented and with the right direction and momentum, he could be a star elsewhere and return to ROH down the road with some real fire in his belly. That’s why I hope BJ Whitmer beats him in some way that allows him to take an exit at the 13th Anniversary.
The Kingdom vs. The Addiction vs. Bullet Club
WINNERS:
Chris and Aaron: The Kingdom
THOUGHTS by Chris Duarte: Coming out of the Atlanta match with the Briscoes, I just have a feeling there is going to be a bigger emphasis on the Kingdom going forward in the tag division. With some rumblings of NJPW being interested in Bennett and Maria, I would not be surprised with Bullet Club taking the fall for the Kingdom or if this match is just being used to set up an IWGP Tag Title match at the ROH/NJPW shows. I don’t expect this match to blow anyone away but I think it should be fine.
Maria vs. ODB
WINNER:
Chris and Aaron: ODB
Thoughts by Aaron Wrotkowski: For all of the “Give Divas a Chance” stuff in the WWE, why has Ring of Honor been so lazy when it comes to a competent women’s division? I recall a couple months ago having MsChif take part but she was mostly used as Mike Elgin’s wife. I’m sure the company still has a good relationship with Dave Prazak, who runs SHIMMER. Where is the Women’s division in ROH? This is the company that had Sara Del Rey for years and never capitalized on it. Just a shame. This match is gonna be silly so the less said the better. Come on ROH, step up your game. We need more places for good women’s wrestlers.
Cedric Alexander vs. Matt Sydal
WINNER:
Chris and Aaron: Cedric Alexander
THOUGHTS by Chris Duarte: This should be a fun little match. I’m going in expecting Alexander to win since he hasn’t won in months and that was by DQ. In fact the last time he won clean was against Jimmy Jacobs at Michael Bennett’s Bachelor Party Show (October 9th). I think this match is meant to give him a big win over an established star to rehab him.
Moose vs. Mark Briscoe
WINNER:
Chris and Aaron: Moose
THOUGHTS by Aaron Wrotkowski: I like Moose. Moose is big. You know who I don’t care for? Mark “Should have been a Bushwhacker” Briscoe. This is a great guy for Moose to look strong against but I have a fear that instead we will see a bunch of “Redneck Kung-Fu” spots that are supposed to make me laugh instead of putting Moose over as a monster. Hopefully he just runs over Mark Briscoe and sends him back to the chicken farm.
ACH vs. AJ Styles
WINNER:
Chris and Aaron: AJ Styles
THOUGHTS by Chris Duarte: This is the match I’m most excited for on this show as I’m quite the fan of both of the participants. ACH is truly starting to find his own. He’s able to get the crowd at the palm of his hand, gives you flashy show stealing moments and is just overall extremely likeable as a character. I honestly believe he’s someone that NEEDS to be in the main event scene because I believe he’s a breath of fresh air right now. As badly as I want ACH to win this match, I really don’t see that happening. Especially now that AJ Styles is the IWGP Champion. AJ has only lost to Micheal Elgin since returning to ROH and unless they plan on pushing ACH up the card I don’t see him as being the guy to defeat him next. This should be an excellent match though and could possibly steal the show.
ROH Tag Team Championship
The Young Bucks vs. reDragon (c)
WINNERS:
Chris: The Young Bucks
Aaron: reDragon
Thoughts by Aaron Wrotkowski: You know, Chris is probably right that the Young Bucks are going to take this. reDragon has been tag champions for a long time now, the shining stars of the division. If someone like The Addiction are not going to bump them off then surely it’s going to take a lot. The Young Bucks are very deep in the Bullet Club so I can’t see the result from earlier building up to them going after the tag titles. If the Kingdom is going to start something, it could be good to do it against the Young Bucks. Who is the good guys? Who is the bad guys? Who cares? Watch some flippy dipsy doodles while Fish and O’Reilly prove they are the best midcard act in the business. I’m still going with reDragon.
ROH TV Championship
Alberto El Patron vs. Jay Lethal (c)
WINNER:
Chris and Aaron: Jay Lethal
THOUGHTS by Chris Duarte: Lethal has been so fantastic as of late and has honestly brought this title to new heights giving it legitimate value. For a while this title has been seen just as a mid card title but it seems as if they took a page out of the NJPW book by giving him quality stars to defend the title against and main event positions on TV. Alberto doesn’t look to be sticking around in the company very long due to budget concerns (especially now with Joe returning and the upcoming NJPW shows) so I don’t see him taking the title. Maybe we might get some DQ finish with Patron winning if AAA decides he can’t lose but ultimately no way is Lethal leaving the show without the belt.
The Return of Samoa Joe
Will he be challenged at the PPV?
Chris: Jay Lethal
Aaron: No
THOUGHTS by Aaron Wrotkowski: There is only two names that could be bigger than Samoa Joe for returning to ROH: Bryan Danielson and CM Punk. Daniel Bryan is now one of the biggest stars in the WWE. CM Punk is on his way to UFC. Yet I don’t know if either man actually means more to ROH than Samoa Joe. The pop for his return will be unmatched this year in ROH (unless CM Punk decides he wants to hang out at the Anniversary celebration) and I get the feeling that Joe is going to be there just to make a statement. That statement might be first in an interview and next at the end of the main event. It’s why I think Mike Elgin is going over. What better match to set up than Elgin vs. Joe? Great to see you back, Joe.
Main Event
High Stakes Four Corner Survival
ROH World Championship
Hanson vs. Mike Elgin vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jay Briscoe (c)
Who takes the pin:
Chris: Hanson
Aaron: Jay Briscoe
WINNER:
Chris: Jay Briscoe
Aaron: Mike Elgin
THOUGHTS by Chris Duarte: This match is going to be just a crazy brawl. As much as I would love to see Ciampa win the belt, i don’t see them playing hot potato and taking the belt off of Jay Briscoe so soon. The only people I see taking the belt off of Briscoe right now is Adam Cole (when he returns from injury) or AJ Styles. I’m more interested in seeing who suffers the pinfall. One would think Hanson since he’s the lowest on the totem pole and you can easily go back to an Elgin or Ciampa match. Both are very believable competition for Briscoe where Hanson feels a little tooo soon. Although Elgin losing again would make sense to his storyline of him completely being out of luck and keeps Hanson strong.
Big thanks to Chris for helping me out with this. See you at the 13th Anniversary at 7:30PM EST Sunday night.
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