ROH “The Experience” Review
02/12/17
Columbus, Ohio
The Briscoes vs. The Tempura Boyz
Sho and Mark started off, with Mark taking control with a side headlock, however SHoe was able to use arm drags to keep Mark off his feet. Sho and Yo tagged in and out double teaming Mark before Jay was able to tag himself in. As Jay came into the ring, Mark shoved Yo off the apron and connected with a blockbuster to the arena floor. On the inside, Jay was able to keep Show subdued with strikes before he and Mark kept Jay on their side of the ring. Show avoid a double team attempt by the Briscoes and hit a double spear, flooring both opponents. After a gutwrench gutbuster to Mark, Show caught Jay with a stretch muffler slam into a single leg crab, but Mark broke up the submission and went into kungfu chicken mode before the Briscoes caught Sho with boots in the corner. With Yo shoved off the outside, Jay hit a neckbreaker on Sho and Mark hit the froggy-bow for the pinfall victory. Mark adhered to the code of honor, but Jay walked away without doing so. Average opener here, very little heat between the teams and Yo participated so little that it makes one wonder if he was injured and was being protected.
Winners: The Briscoes
The next segment saw Dalton Castle hold a Q & A with fans hosted by Mandy Leon and Larry Legend.
Search and Destroy (Jay White & Chris Sabin) w/ Alex Shelley vs. The Rebellion (Kenny King & Caprice Coleman w/ Rhett Titus)
Before the match Riccaboni informed us that this match was scheduled to be a six man tag but that changed before the show as Titus suffered an injury the night before. Titus joined Young and Riccaboni on commentary as White and Coleman started the match off. White took Coleman down with a shoulder block but was caught with a dropkick that led to a near fall. Coleman slapped White, who returned the favor many times over afterward, as Coleman scampered to the corner and tagged out. Sabin tagged in as King did and Sabin caught King’s leg, taking him down with a dragon screw. Sabin then locked in a hammerlock that King was able to escaped with a Japanese arm drag. Sabin’s headscissors led to a tag to White and some double team work on King. Coleman waltzed into the ring and received the same treatment. Before being tossed out side. White connected with a suicide dive, but King stopped Sabin from following suit. King kicked White off the top rope and targeted the knee before posing and tagging out to Coleman. White absorbed a good deal on punishment before finally making the hot tag to Sabin who handled King and Coleman without issue. Sabin flung King to the outside and then proceeded to double team Coleman until King broke up the pinfall attempt. King was able to lock on a single leg crab, only to be broken up by a Sabin superkick.
As all four men fought in the ring, Shane Taylor came down to ringside and was described as the insurance policy by Titus. Taylor grabbed Shelley by the throat and had a drink spit into his face before Sabin kicked him in the back of the head. Titus commented that Taylor decided to join after Keith Lee left him high and dry, so Taylor chose to join up with the Rebellion. Meanwhile, King was able to use the distraction to hit the chin check on Sabin before Coleman connected with the Skysplitter leg drop from the top rope for the pinfall victory. Taylor’s addition to The Rebellion may what that group needs to go to the next level. It’s good to see the group picking up important victories, especially if the division is going to be something ROH highlights.
Winner: The Rebellion
The Briscoes held a Q & A.
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match
The Young Bucks (Mark and Nick Jackson) vs. War Machine (Hanson and Ray Rowe)
Frankie Kazarian, replete in a Bullet Club shirt, came down to ringside with the Bucks and joined Young and Riccaboni on commentary. As Matt and Rowe locked up, Riccaboni brought up Kazarian’s betrayal of Christopher Daniels, with Kazarian saying that he did what he had to do and that the Bullet Club has a plan. Rowe initially overpowered Matt during the opening exchange, forcing Matt to tag out. Nick and Hanson locked up and Hanson tossed Nick into the corner. Nick escaped and dodged Hanson who knocked Rowe off the apron. The Bucks knocked Hanson to the outside before hitting Rise of the Terminators, only to be caught by War Machine who tossed the brothers Jackson into each other head first. Rowe and Hanson tossed the Bucks towards the stage, allowing them to hit dueling flipping sentons, regaining control. Rowe was able to catch Nick mid-air and hit a sit out powerbomb for a two count.
Kazarian was great on commentary, as he and Silas laughed about fans who try to start lame chants and fail. He continued to insult the fans, talking about the fans in Columbus don’t shower and take drugs. Kazarian then said that Hanson looks like he could be a villain from the He-Man cartoon, going so far as to say that Hanson would be boys with Skeletor. All this while Nick absorbed War Machine’s attack, finally making a hot tag to Matt who flew in and out of the ring, taking both Hanson and Rowe out. He scaled the turnbuckle and hit a crossbody blocks to both Hanson and Rowe. Nick and Matt successfully hit Rise of the Terminators.
Back inside things broke down as all four men were in and out of the ring, seeing Hanson hot his forever clotheslines before the Bucks kicked off a superkick party. Matt was able to hold Hanson for the Meltzer driver, but Rowe caught Nick mid-air. Just as War machine seemed poised to win, Kazarian jumped up on the apron and distracted them. Despite hitting Fallout twice on Nick, they could only get a two count. Nick was able to hit a 450, but that wasn’t enough, so he and Matt superkicked War Machine repeatedly, much like they did to the Briscoes at Final Battle. After too many superkicks to count, the Young Bucks won by pinfall. This was good little match here. The four worked well together and the ending made sense with the difference in size between the two teams. Matt really showed off his strength during this match and this is definitely a matchup that should be revisited.
Winners: The Young Bucks
Dalton Castle vs. Cody
While Castle came out, Cody, dressed as a boy, took out of the boys out and snuck into the ring. Castle eventually realized it was Cody and was caught with a low blow before the bell sounded. Cody immediately went for Cross Rhodes, but only got a two count. He grabbed a mic and called for the fans to throw their streamers before continuing to beat Castle down. Castle was able to fight back and send Cody outside after a knee to the head. Cody turned the tables and slammed Castle into the barricades before rolling him back into the ring. The two ended up outside yet again, with Castle able to hit his apron hurricanrana followed by a tope suicida. Both men were slow to beat Todd Sinclair’s, but both did, with Castle hitting his bridging German suplex for a two count. Cody hit a powerslam and then grabbed two chairs and brought them into the ring. Riccaboni then wondered if Castle was about to get “Dijaked”. Just before Cody could crack Castle with the chair, one of the Boys bought him some time. Castle hit Bang-A-Rang, but Adam Cole and Adam Page came out, holding one of the Boys hostage. Castle chased Cole out and back into the ring, allowing Cody to planting him into the mat with Cross Rhodes for the pinfall victory. The Bullet Club beat on Castle, prompting Jay Lethal and Bobby Fish to make the save and call for their falls count anywhere match to start immediately.
Winner: Cody
The Bullet Club (Adam Cole & Hangman Page) vs. Bobby Fish & Jay Lethal
Lethal and Page fought through the crowd near the merch stand as Fish laced into Cole ringside. Lethal and Page fought onto an elevator and as Cole went to hit his Bay-Bay pose, Fish speared him into the barricade. Page and Lethal fought onto the balcony arena as Cole took control. Really crazy start to this one as the action was in two different places for a long portion of the start. Page saw Cole in trouble from the balcony and began to run down to ringside, breaking up Fish’s half crab on Cole, with Lethal not far behind him. The tandems played a bit of switcharoo, with Fish and Cole fighting into the crowd as Lethal and Page stayed ringside. Cole superkicked Fish off the stage, Lethal hit a suicide dive, only to have Page hit him with a Shootstar shoulder block off the apron. Cole went for a destroyer off the stage, but Fish launched him with an exploder suplex. Cole and Page dominated back in the ring until Lethal dodged Cole and threw him to the outside, allowing Lethal to hit Lethal Injection on Page for the pinfall victory. Fun that that started off hot and furthered the story along, with some tension between Fish and Lethal thrown in.
Winners: Bobby Fish and Jay Lethal
The Kingdom Q & A.
Will Ferrara vs. The Beer City Bruiser vs. David Starr vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Shane Taylor vs. Punishment Martinez
Beer City Bruiser spit beer and accidentally got some on Punishment, with Taylor joining the fracas. Starr, Gresham and Ferrara sat back and drank beer. The three spit beer at the larger men and then hit stunners before trying chokeslams before thinking better of it. Starr and Ferrara hit suicide dives on Taylor and BCB while Gresham tangled with Martinez on the inside, eventually hitting a moonsault from the outside of the second rope to the arena floor on Martinez. The match really was just a series of short one on one scuffles, with the other four men on the outside every time. Eventually Martinez hit BCB with a sit out chokeslam and won via pinfall. Martinez looked strong in this one, as he seems to have added some moves to repertoire. Would have liked to see this match split into two, with a four corner survival and a one on one as it would have given guys like Taylor and Starr some more time to shine.
Winner: Punishment Martinez
Christopher Daniels Q & A.
Proving Ground 2/3 Falls Match
Lio Rush vs. Marty Scurll
Kazarian back on commentary for the rest of the night. Kazarian seems to think that he’s Vince McMahon, continually calling everything a great maneuver and calling Silas Young Jesse. Also, an odd editing note, but Kazarian clearly stated that he was excited about the match between War Machine and the Young Bucks later on. Scurll slapped Rush and Rush retaliated with a number of his own quick slaps before launching at Scurll with two suicide dives. Rush rolled Scurll into thering and hit a frog splash, but Scurll kicked out before three. Scurll got himself disqualified after hitting Rush with his umbrella.
The second fall was very quick, with Scurll taking advantage of the damage from the umbrella and scoring a pinfall. Scurll went for the chickenwing, but Rush was able to hit an enziguri and avoid it, even if Scurll stayed in control. All the while Kazarian continued his WWF commentary references, calling Riccaboni Gorilla over and over again. Scurll locked in a surfboard on Rush, but wasn’t able to hold it long enough to earn the submission win. Scurll was able to lock on the chickenwing, but Rush was able to make it to the ropes to break the hold. Scurll then cracked Rush’s fingers and went for the chickenwing again, but Rush saw it coming and rolled him up for a three count and a future title shot. Rush held the title up after the match and Scurll didn’t take kindly to that, getting in his face. Rush dropped Scurll and held the belt as he posed over the fallen champion.
Winner: Lio Rush
Main Event: 6 Man Tag Team Championship Match
Fans voted on challengers
The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia) vs. Chris Sabin, Jay Briscoe & Cheeseburger
Before the match, Taven spit at Briscoe who chased him out of the ring and into the crowd. In the confusion thereafter, the bell rung and O’Ryan and Marseglia took early control in the ring. Taven eventually ran through the entrance way and back into the ring, quickly pursued by Briscoe who double clotheslined O’Ryan and Marseglia. The match never really settled into any sort of a tag match. Cheeseburger breifly dominated, hitting shoteis on O’Ryan and Taven before having a shotei showdown with Marseglia. Burger came out on the winning end of that exchange and the action spilled outside, with just about everyone hitting some sort of dive onto the rest of the pack. Back inside, Taven stopped Sabin and Briscoe from hitting the Doomsday Device on Marseglia, instead hitting Rockstar Supernova on Cheeseburger for the three count. The Kingdom then began to punish Cheeseburger after the match, only for him to fight out and for Briscoe to hit a Jay Driller on Taven. Briscoe, Sabin and Cheeseburger stood together triumphantly as the Kingdom slinked away. Not really a surprising ending to a match that really felt empty, especially if one wasn’t live to vote on the three participants.
Winners: The Kingdom
Final Thoughts: C
This felt like the epitome of a fun house show that just did not translate as a standalone VOD entry. There were some good matches on the card, particularly Rush/Scurll as well as Page and Cole/Lethal/Fish. However, for a show that only clocks in at 2:35, the question and answer segments were painful and time-consuming. The talent seemed up to snuff, but some of the fan questions were inane and some felt like the audience members were trying to get a reaction. Kudos to Larry Legend for really carrying these segments to the best of his ability. Daniels not wrestling was a bit odd, but he technically could have been voted into the main event. Overall, this simply felt like an event where nothing of real importance occurred. There was some good wrestling as always, but it felt as if the event never really left first gear here.