ROH TV results: Keith Lee & Shane Taylor vs. War Machine

Ring of Honor television from this past week featured a proverbial slobberknocker as Keith Lee and Shane Taylor collided with War Machine in a tag match that was the highlight of the show. Elsewhere on the episode, the world champion bragged early in the show only to find himself surrounded by challengers at the end of it.

The show opened with a montage putting over Ladder Wars from ASE.

Bullet Club entered the arena for an in-ring promo. The crowd chanted for The Young Bucks, as they were sporting the tag straps after winning the titles at ASE. Joining them were Hangman Page and ROH World Champion Adam Cole.

Talking about Ladder Wars, Matt Jackson said the Bucks turned All Star Extravaganza into “Five Star Extravaganza” with the craziest ladder match in ROH history. He also claimed the Bucks were the greatest tag team ever.

Then, it was “Story time with Adam Cole BAY-BAY” as Cole put over his stablemates. He promised even more acclaim, vowing Bullet Club would win the new six-man titles. Cole also assured Page he would soon win the TV title. That way, they would have all the power and control.  

War Machine defeated Keith Lee & Shane Taylor

Proving to be one of the best in-ring feuds of the year as far as tag teams, these two duos tore the house down. Hanson and Rowe dove on Lee and Taylor at the outset and a brawl ensued around ringside. They were several minutes into the match before ever actually getting into the ring. When they did, the action spilled outside again where Taylor did a wild flip dive off the apron.

Following a commercial break, the melee was finally in the ring. The four big guys were throwing each other around with power moves. Hanson started bleeding at some point. War Machine executed their finisher on Taylor, but he kicked out for a near fall.

Trading near falls, Rowe kicked out after a sit-out powerbomb from Lee. Hanson missed a guillotine legdrop off the top and Lee looked to finish him off. Rowe made the save and hit a Canadian Destroyer on Lee that has to be seen to be believed.

Rowe pinned Lee to give he and Taylor their first loss in ROH in this must-see match. To get their heat back, Lee and Taylor attacked War Machine after the match. They clobbered them with chair shots and left them laying.

In a backstage promo, Caprice Coleman had some political puns related to The Cabinet and the ongoing six-man tournament.

Kenny King, Rhett Titus & Caprice Coleman defeated Leon St. Giovanni, Jason Kincaid & Shaheem Ali to advance in the tournament

Playing off discourse concerning national anthem protests, The Cabinet took a knee during the Code of Honor. They also spoofed the issue during the match as well, kneeling at various times. The match itself had high spots galore and was far from a squash. Still, The Cabinet eventually won when Coleman pinned Giovanni after a Sky Splitter.

Jay Lethal defeated Silas Young

Earlier while plugging their website and its VOD library, they showed highlights of Silas Young winning the Honor Rumble to earn a title shot. Also, Lethal cut a promo on him before the two met in a match on this episode. Lethal wanted revenge for being the reserve winner in the Rumble.

While the tag match earlier was a great match displaying brute force, this match was a showcase of great finesse. Keeping a quick pace throughout most of the match, they were nip-and-tuck. Just as Lethal was completing a tope trifecta, Adam Cole joined on commentary.

After a commercial break, Young was getting heat on Lethal. Keeping a quick pace down the stretch, they traded near falls. Cole left the announce table to presumably interfere, or possibly distract the participants since both are top contenders for his title. Kyle O’Reilly stormed on the scene to cut off Cole, proceeding to pummel him at ringside. Young was setting up for his finisher, when O’Reilly leapt on the apron to set up his flying knee. Young shoved O’Reilly. With Young distracted, Lethal schoolboyed him, scoring the pinfall.

Afterwards, the world champion found himself surrounded by three challengers as they show closed.

On the next episode of ROH airing this weekend in syndication, Tetsuya Naito and EVIL face Motor City Machine Guns.

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