ROH TV Review (4/15/17)
Episode 291
Las Vegas, Nevada
Sam’s Town
The show this week was the last episode taped in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ian Riccaboni and Kevin Kelly were on commentary to start the show.
First Match: Caprice Coleman w/ Kenny King vs. Chris Sabin
Coleman began the contest by disrespecting Sabin by tussling his hair after backing Sabin up in the corner and kept control with a side headlock until Sabin used his speed and quickness to reverse a wristlock. Coleman went to take a breather but Sabin ran onto the apron and kicked him. As Sabin tried to follow up King stood in his way, allowing Coleman to use an eye poke to gain advantage. Lio Rush came out to ringside to even the odds as Sabin ate a missile dropkick from Coleman. After the break Coleman hit three consecutive flipping Northern lights suplexes, but it was enough to keep Sabin down for a three count. Coleman then missed an attempt at his finish, the Skyscraper leg drop from the top rope, instead irishing whipping Sabin into the opposite corner. Sabin flipped over the turnbuckle and landed on the apron, taking King out with a flipping senton before returning to the ring. As King attempted to help Coleman stay upright after a sunset flip Rush got involved and kicked their arms, allowing Sabin to roll Coleman up for the pinfall victory.
Winner: Chris Sabin
Recap of the Bully Ray/Briscoes 6-man tag team title win from last week’s episode.
Second Match: Roppongi Vice vs. Will Ferrara & Cheeseburger
Barreta and Ferrara were poised to start the match off until Romero demanded to be tagged in and then urged Cheeseburger to come in. The two teams wrestled to a stalemate into the break and once the action resumed Romero punished Cheeseburger with Forever clothesline that didn’t quite last forever, allowing Cheeseburger to tag out. Romero and Barreta went for an early Strong Zero but it was broken up which allowed Ferrara and Cheeseburger to use the opportunity to combine for a crucifix/jack knife cover on Barreta. Romero broke up the pinfall attempt just before the count of three and once on the outside, he was able to partially deflect a dive to the outside by Burger. On the inside Barreta got the best of Ferrara and hoisted him up for Strong Zero. Romero was able to fend Cheeseburger off with a kick from the apron and connect with the dropkick that led to the completion of Strong Zero, picking up the pinfall victory.In a bit of a developing story, Ferrara was frustrated with Cheeseburger and left the ring without his partner, so it seems that it may be splitsville for these two in the near future.
Winners: Roppongi Vice
A recap of the Top Prospect tournament so far with a preview of the finals set for next week between Josh Woods and John Skyler aired next and did well to get any uninitiated viewer caught up.
Main Event: Wild Card 8-Man Tag Match
Winners earn a spot in 4 Way Number 1 Contender Match
Silas Young, Adam Page, Jay White & Jay Lethal vs.
Colt Cabana,Lio Rush, Hanson & Bobby Fish
White and Rush started this one off after a tense moment between Cabana and Rush, who argued about who should start the match. With Hanson backing Rush, Cabana reluctantly moved to the apron, but the seeds for dissention were planted. Rush and White had a brief exchanged that impressed each other, but not Young, who mocked the two before asking White to tag him in. Hanson tagged in which prompted Young to reconsider and tag Lethal in with a knife edged chop. The team fell apart here and fought each other, as Lethal and Young traded rights, soon followed by Page and White following in suit. After the break Cabana and Lethal were the legal men, with Cabana in control before he tagged out to Hanson. The story of the match was the issues the two teams dealt with as they clearly weren’t on the same Page. After the match broke down, Lethal accidentally knocked Page off the apron as he bounded off the ropes. Page feigned tagging in and left Lethal high and dry, heading to the back. Lethal seemed frustrated and stunned but was happy to see Frankie Kazarian and tear into Page at the top of the ramp. Rush tried to take advantage of the distraction bit hitting and powerbomb and going for a frog splash, but Lethal got his knees up to block the latter.. Lethal was then able to hit a Lethal Injection and picked up the pinfall victory. This was a really fun match and had various threads here such as the dissension between the teams themselves, the issues with Page/Kazarian and the brewing rivalry between Young and Fish.
Winners: Silas Young, Adam Page, Jay White & Jay Lethal
Final Reaction: B+
This week’s episode was an effective way to move various feuds moving forward. The long standing issues between the Rebellion and Search and Destroy were on display in the opener and Coleman/King’s antics came to bite them in the posterior when Rush came out to even the odds. I do feel that the members of the Rebellion need to earn a clean victory at some point to so they are more of a credible threat in any contest. Roppongi Vice being on the show was a nice treat here and they new development of issues between Ferrara and Cheeseburger makes their work more intriguing. The main event was stellar and could have come off as having too many moving parts but was instead able to make everything feel organic.
Thanks for stopping by again this week and look for more Ring of Honor coverage the same time next week. Until then, please go over to Running Wild Podcast and take a listen to a show that covers oodles of wrestling news and ridiculous conversations. You can find us on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud and Google Play store.
