ROH 06/23/17 TV Review
06/03/17
Chicago Ridge, IL

The show this week opened with Ian Riccaboni, Alex Shelley and Colt Cabana welcoming us to the show.

The episode was the first episode taped in Chicago Ridge, as part of the Road to the Best in the World tour.

First Match: Flip Gordon vs. Jonathan Gresham

Quick waist lock reversals to start the match that saw both men have time to show off their considerable set of skills. Gresham won via submission after locking on the Octopus stretch. Shelley came to the ring and got on the mic post match, putting the match over before reminding him that the company needs Gordon just as much as he needs the company and extending a mentorship to Flip Gordon. This was a strong opening segment and a bit of a preview of ROH years from now as both men are talented and young. Shelley’s continued position as a mentor is effective and believable.

Winners: Jonathan Gresham

Jay White promo talking about Punishment Martinez attacking him from behind and how he plans on getting revenge for those attacks.

Josh Woods video package aired next. The video showed his Top Prospect Tournament win and his revenge on David Starr. Woods came out for an arena interview with Riccaboni. He declared that he wants to challenge KUSHIDA for the ROH World Television title, but that he doesn’t want to wait until he returns to ROH, so he challenged Jay Briscoe.

Second Match: Silas Young vs. Bobby Fish

Young came out with the Beer City Bruiser and went for the code of honor, disingenuous as it may have been, only for Fish to start kicking him immediately. Fish dominated early on, lacing into Young inside the ring and out with a bevy of kicks as we went into the first commercial break. The stiff match ended with Young hitting Misery and picked up a clean pinfall victory over Fish. This was a super hard hitting contest. Timing can never be predicted, but with Fish appearing at the NXT tapings the same weekend this aired, it is good to see Young went over clean here, as he should have.

Winner: Silas Young

A promo package for the Marty Scurll vs Adam Cole VOD exclusive aired next.

Main Event:Punishment Martinez vs. Jay White

White started off full of fire and the match quickly went to the outside. With White tossing Martinez into the barricade and flying across the arena floor to flatten his opponents. Back on the inside Martinez was able to take control after a spinwheel kick and slow down the pace.  Again, this was an example of ROH using this episode as a platform to showcase young talent. In the end, Jay White rolled up Martinez and was ready for the post match attack, sending Martinez to the outside. He briefly had control but was tossed into the barricade. Martinez called for the timekeeper table to be cleared before powerbombing White through the table.

Winner: Punishment Martinez

Final Reaction: B+/A-

Start to finish, this entire episode felt dedicated to the future of the company. Sans any of the current champions, this week’s show was still very strong. Young may not be one of the young talent the company has, but he certainly someone who needs to continue to be made to look strong as his heel work is strong enough to make new faces believable. Alternately, Gresham, White, Gordon and Martinez are young star that all should have a place moving forward and this hour of television proved that they can be engaging and have the ability to be focal points in the months and years to come.

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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *