ROH TV taping results: Fallout from Final Battle
Submitted by reader Brian Streleckis
The night after Final Battle, Ring of Honor was at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia for their last television tapings of the year.
Pre-show —
– Brutal Bob Evans & Tim Hughes defeated Ryan Nova & a partner in a Future of Honor match
Evans and Hughes won with an assisted senton off the top. Right before the finish, Evans did a flip dive to the floor and somehow got a deep gash on the back of his head. They went right to the finish and Evans was immediately given a towel to put on the wound, which had a lot of blood coming out of it.
– Jessie Brooks defeated Gabby Ortiz in a Women of Honor match to qualify for the upcoming title tournament
Brooks got the pin with a tiger suplex.
TV tapings —
– After winning the ROH World Championship at Final Battle, Dalton Castle came out with The Boys to open the tapings. He received “You deserve it” chants and cut a victory promo, saying coming to ROH was never a mistake and mentioning that people said he would never be World Champion.
Jay Lethal then entered to challenge him. There was some funny banter between the two, including Castle telling Lethal to sit down and discuss it with him while using The Boys as seats. Lethal told Castle that people are going to be gunning for him and said he’s only requesting to be at the top of Castle’s list of contenders. Castle agreed, then Lethal thanked him before leaving.
Castle looked to close out the segment by holding up the World title, but Punishment Martinez showed up out of nowhere and hit him with the South of Heaven chokeslam.
– ROH World Television Champion Silas Young (w/ Beer City Bruiser) defeated Simon Grimm to retain his title
They had a solid match, with Young hitting Misery for the win. Kenny King appeared after and cut an angry promo from the entrance, calling out Young for using a beer bottle to eliminate him from the fatal four-way at Final Battle.
After Young replied, King said he knows he has a rematch due to him, but he’s had at least eight beers already (and had one with him) and he came out to fight. He spat beer in Young’s face before the ring crew separated them.
– The Briscoes defeated Ryan Nova & a partner
Mark Briscoe connected with the Froggy Bow to win what was a squash match. Jay Briscoe cut a promo after about how they ended Bully Ray’s career at Final Battle. He said they’re now coming after the Motor City Machine Guns to win back the ROH World Tag Team titles.
– Marty Scurll defeated Flip Gordon
This was a TV main event and one of my favorite matches of the night. Gordon used his agility to psych out Scurll and hit his regular offense, with him escaping the chicken wing and getting a near fall after hitting a 450 splash. Scurll got a two count with the Last Shot before hitting it again for the win.
– Brandi Rhodes defeated Stella Grey in a Women of Honor match to qualify for the upcoming title tournament
Though they’re less experienced, both put in a fine effort. Rhodes was very over and won with the Final Cut. Karen Q was on commentary and got up on the apron after, mockingly congratulating Rhodes on her win.
– Jay Lethal defeated Will Ospreay
They had another one of the best matches of the night, though it wasn’t announced as a TV main event. Scurll came out during the match to sit in on commentary. For the finish, Lethal countered the OsCutter with an Ace Crusher and hit the Lethal Injection.
– Kenny King defeated Brian Milonas
King hit the blockbuster neckbreaker to win. They had a fairly competitive match despite Milonas receiving an off-camera entrance. King called out Young after, and Young briefly fought with King before bailing to the floor.
Milonas came up and attacked King from behind, with Young, Beer City Bruiser, and Milonas putting the boots to King to close the segment.
– Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky entered. Daniels and Kazarian introduced Sky as the hottest new talent in ROH. The trio are calling themselves So-Cal Uncensored. Before they could continue, they were interrupted by Joe Koff. Koff said he knows fans don’t want to see him. They want to see the best wrestlers — not the most disruptive wrestlers, referring to Daniels, Kazarian, and Sky.
Koff said he’s thought about firing them. Kazarian threatened to beat Koff up, but Daniels told him to calm down and reminded Koff that when he was World Champion, he would stop by the office where they discussed grand plans for ROH in the future. Daniels then said that if they were to be fired, he might discuss those plans with the likes of his good friend Don Callis, or one of his best friends “named AJ,” who would have the ears of some top executives somewhere else.
Koff responded by saying that he’s a businessman, and instead of firing them, he spoke with his attorney and their ROH contracts expire in a year. Koff closed by saying that by the time Final Battle 2018 comes around, they’re done.
– ROH World Champion Dalton Castle & The Boys defeated The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan)
Castle tapped Marseglia out with his Julie Newmar submission. This was the second TV main event. Leading up to the finish, Castle and Taven kept reversing each other on attempted tombstones before Castle finally hit it. He then hit O’Ryan with the Bang-a-Rang. The Boys dove onto Taven and O’Ryan on the floor as Castle scored the submission win.
Following the match, The Kingdom jumped Castle and The Boys from behind as they were celebrating. Taven laid out Castle and held up the World title, indicating that he’s another potential challenger for it.
– Mandy Leon & Deonna Purrazzo defeated Jenny Rose & Sumie Sakai in a Women of Honor match
Kelly Klein was on commentary for this. It was solid and seemed to be well-received by the crowd, with Leon pinning Rose with a victory roll.
Klein got up to leave, then Purrazzo got on the mic and acknowledged that Klein just recently returned from Stardom in Japan but no one really missed her. Purrazzo brought up her 30-day undefeated streak and said this is now her Women of Honor. The other wrestlers in the ring laughed when Purrazzo mentioned the undefeated streak.
Klein had some brief words for Purrazzo, who then talked about the title tournament, threatened to break Klein’s arm, and called her a bitch. The four women in the match stayed in the ring making belt motions, and Mayu Iwatani from Stardom came out to do the same.
– ROH World Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns defeated The Dawgs to retain their titles
Rhett Titus made a joke at Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz’s expense during The Dawgs’ entrance. The match was just okay and fairly competitive, with MCMG retaining with a two-man slam on Will Ferrara.
After the match, The Briscoes came out to the entranceway and reiterated that they want the Tag Team titles.
– Jonathan Gresham defeated Josh Woods
Gresham worked over Woods with a number of submissions before Woods caught him with a big knee as he came off the top. Woods also got some suplexes and hit another knee before Gresham caught him in a prawn hold pin for the victory.
– Cody Rhodes made his way down for a promo. He admitted that Castle was the better man at Final Battle, but while humbled, he said that he’s still guaranteed a rematch, and he still has possession of the official Ring of Honor. He was boasting about the amount of set stones in it when The Kingdom’s music interrupted him.
O’Ryan and Marseglia stayed by the entrance while Taven came down to the ring, dressing down Cody. He said the title loss exposed him, said he relied on his father’s name that he can’t even use, and he couldn’t do things on his own and thus joined the Bullet Club. He said Cody is now nothing but a blond-haired bitch. Taven dropped his mic for emphasis, but Cody denied him the final word by saying his blond hair received a bigger reaction than Taven ever has.
Cody then requested that Taven kiss the ring. Taven indeed kissed it, but he kicked Cody in the groin. Fans chanted “You still kissed it” at Taven as he left, and Cody remarked that Brandi won’t be happy about that kick to the groin.
– Punishment Martinez won a squash match
The crowd dubbed Martinez’s opponent “Fat Jesus.” Martinez beat him with the South of Heaven chokeslam and called out Castle.
Castle came out and offered Martinez the first title shot, but he ended up hitting Martinez with a T-bone suplex to send him to the floor. Martinez leapt back onto the apron for a brief staredown before just smirking and leaving.
– Coast 2 Coast defeated War Machine
This was great and had a surprising conclusion and aftermath. It was announced online that Coast 2 Coast would disband if they lost, but that wasn’t mentioned to the live crowd. War Machine were mostly dominant, though Coast 2 Coast kept surviving their offense.
The biggest shocker was Shaheem Ali kicking out of Fallout. It was during the second attempt where Leon St. Giovanni held onto Hanson’s foot while he was up top, leading to Ali escaping Ray Rowe’s grasp and winning with a roll-up.
War Machine looked dumbfounded, but they still congratulated Coast 2 Coast. War Machine stuck around in the ring and seemed to basically be saying farewell to ROH, bowing to each section of the audience to a great reception.
– The Young Bucks defeated Dragon Lee & Titan and Best Friends in a triple threat tag team match
They had a big, wild TV main event. Beretta and Chuck Taylor provided some more lighthearted moments amid the chaos, but everyone looked great. Titan took the pin after being hit with the Meltzer Driver.
So-Cal Uncensored ran out to attack the Bucks, but Hangman Page chased them off with a chair.
– Bully Ray came out to the ring as the tapings continued. He was holding his wrestling boots and said Final Battle was indeed his final battle. He said he was born in New York but was born as a professional wrestler in Philadelphia, and mentioned how Bubba Ray Dudley was born here in October of 1995. He then laid down his boots in the ring and thanked the crowd, saying it has been his honor.
The babyface locker room came out to surround the ring, with Jay Lethal stepping in to say some words. Lethal said he’s known Bully for a long time. He said a lot of people heard rumors about him and had their guard up when he came to ROH, but then he saw how Bully would help out and listen to everyone in the locker room, helping them get better. Lethal feels that makes Bully a legend and thanked him for everything.
– So-Cal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) defeated Cody, Hangman Page & Marty Scurll
Taven did commentary for the match, with Marseglia and O’Ryan standing by him. This had good action throughout, though Page may have injured his ankle doing a top rope moonsault to the floor. That led into the finish where Sky pinned him with a high knee after a quick barrage of offense.
– The night closed with some post-show antics from the Bullet Club. Cody grabbed the mic and challenged Kazarian to a posedown. He agreed despite the crowd being biased in favor of the Bullet Club. The fans chanted for Ian Riccaboni to get involved, which he did as an honorary participant. Kazarian posed to boos, Cody got cheers, and Riccaboni got even more cheers and was declared the winner.
Cody and Kazarian then did a push-up contest, which Cody won by swiping at Kazarian’s arm to cause him to fall.
The Bullet Club and So-Cal Uncensored brawled briefly before The Young Bucks joined in and hit superkicks. Kazarian and Daniels were locked in submission holds as Scurll sang a Backstreet Boys song, and then Brandi Rhodes was invited out to hit Kazarian with a stunner to close the show.