ROH TV results: Dragon Lee vs. Dalton Castle TV title match
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Host Quinn McKay joined us from the ROH studio and ran down the three match card for tonight’s show that includes a Pure Rules match between Brian Johnson and John Walters, a contenders three way bout between Allysin Kay, Mandy Leon and Trish Adora, and a ROH Television Championship match between current champ Dragon Lee and Dalton Castle.
Brian Johnson defeated John Walters in a Pure Rules match (11:30)
This match never really clicked or reached that second level that I was hoping it would reach.
The match started with a Walters takedown before abruptly going to commercial break only a few seconds in.
When the bout returned, Walters had Johnson trying to avoid the onslaught of strikes he was delivering. Walters molded his strategy to take down Johnson to the mat and continue with a heavy emphasis on the arm. Johnson eventually found a way out of the ring and took a moment to recover.
Walters climbed to the top turnbuckle, but was knocked out by the “Mecca”. Johnson saw an opportunity and planted Walters with a draping neckbreaker for a two count. A cobra clutch was applied shortly afterwards by Johnson as the match went into another break.
As the match returned, Johnson used a closed fist and received a warning. This gave Walters an opportunity to will his way back into the match, hitting a series of clotheslines and focusing on the arm of Johnson again. As the match approached the 10 minute mark, Walters applied a few different submissions that would force Johnson to use all three of his allowed rope breaks.
As the match reached the final stages, Johnson was able to sneak in a poke to the eyes of Walters. After that, Walters tripped onto Johnson’s knee and was effectively knocked out. Johnson lifted him up and hit his signature neckbreaker before pinning him afterwards.
Mandy Leon (with Angelina Love) defeated Allysin Kay (with Marti Belle) and Trish Adora in a Contender’s Match (6:58)
Chelsea Green joined commentary for this match.
This was fine, but way too short. The result was also frustrating.
Leon retreated from the ring as soon as the bell rang, leaving Kay and Adora to fight it out. Kay applied a headlock to Adora and worked her to the mat. When Adora began to fight back, Leon came in and tried to take out both women, but failed.
Kay and Adora began working together to take down Leon, but seemed to struggle. There was a cool sequence where Kay cinched in a kimura lock on Leon while Adora worked on the ankle, but the hold broke down quickly after Kay and Adora traded strikes in the submission.
Kay positioned Adora on the top turnbuckle and was looking for a superplex, but Leon came to pick the bones again and turned it into a powerbomb combination. Adora rolled to the outside and looked to be in pain, causing the referee to get distracted and check on her. While this was happening, Love came in and clocked Kay with a forearm strike, allowing Leon to hit her signature pumphandle driver for the win.
Leon will face Willow in the coming weeks to determine Rok-C’s championship challenger at Final Battle.
Dalton Castle defeated Dragon Lee to capture the ROH Television Championship (11:34)
Dak Draper joined commentary for this bout.
This was a great championship main event bout and even seemed to re-ignite the “old” Dalton Castle.
Castle tried to take Lee off his feet but would be met with hard resilience and speed. Castle wrestled back with a speed that he normally doesn’t perform at anymore, controlling the waist of Lee.
When the match returned, Castle planted Lee with a German suplex before following it up with a kick to the face. The bout spilled to the outside and went awry quickly when Lee clotheslined Castle over the barricade but when Lee went to attempt a dive, Castle’s “boys” got in the way and took the dive.
Both competitors made their way back to the ring and Lee looked for the Incinerator knee strike, but Castle turned him inside out with a clothesline. Lee popped up quickly and looked for another knee strike when Kenny King came down to the ring. King almost got involved but was stopped by Shane Taylor Promotions. When the referee was distracted, Draper ran in from commentary and pushed Lee into Castle, who hit the Bang-A-Rang for the cover and the three count.
Next week:
- Rok C vs. Gia Scott – ROH Women’s Championship match
- Jay Lethal vs. EC3
Final Thoughts: This week’s episode of ROH TV featured some good in-ring action, but also a few questionable finishes. There’s not much benefit to Mandy Leon winning the contender’s match as Adora or Kay deserved that spot much more. Castle winning the TV title is a-ok in my book, but I’m unsure of where Lee and LFI (minus Kenny King) fit in on the Final Battle card.
This week’s episode of ROH TV is: Recommended Viewing