ROH Review for 11/29/14

Hello once again wrestling fans it is I Nathan here to provide you with your weekly dose of Honor with this weeks ROH Wrestling review.  This week was a very angle heavy show and was pretty much a one-match show to sell everyone on Final Battle, which takes place on December 7, live on Pay Per View.  Lets get on with the show shall we?

To start off the action for tonight, QT Marshall made his way out to the ring after a long absence (he wrestled a few matches in NXT under his real name but WWE realized he had zero talent so they canned him). He is now back in ROH (much to my chagrin) and he had a match tonight against Cheeseburger.

Match 1

QT Marshall vs. Cheeseburger

Result: QT Marshall defeats Cheeseburger via pinfall after catching Cheeseburger in mid air to deliver a Dominator.

Thoughts: Okay first things first, even before this match started I wasn’t all that into it.  QT is a guy that I’ve never liked and Cheeseburger is a guy that I can’t take seriously (thanks to Charlie Haas). Maybe if his name wasn’t Cheeseburger I could take him a bit more serious. Marshall started off the match by immediately taking Cheeseburger to the outside of the ring to work him over.

He then took the time to snatch a headset from one of the announcers and do his best (read: worst) imitation of The Rock. He pretty much talked about how awesome he thought he was. He also tried to make people like him, which is fine but it still doesn’t change my mind. The guy is just so plain. Yeah, he does some decent things in the ring. But, he looks like a giant mutant baby and I can’t get behind that (Ed. Note: He also looks pretty much how he did as a baby. Kind of creepy, even if he may be able to stomp mudholes in my head). The finish of the match came when Cheeseburger jumped off of the top rope and was caught by Marshall who performed a dominator to get the pinfall victory over Cheeseburger (please change his name).

Rating: *

After this match, QT gets on the microphone and says that his match for tonight was too easy. He wants real competition. This brings out ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe, who gets in the ring, setting up an impromptu match. This was bad news for me because I had to watch Marshall wrestle yet again.

Match 2QT Marshall vs. Jay Briscoe

Result: Jay Briscoe defeats QT Marshall via pinfall after a Jay Driller

Thoughts: This was a one move match, it consisted of the bell ringing and Jay Briscoe immediately hitting QT Marshall with a Jay Driller to score the pinfall victory.

Rating: N/A

After this “match,” we go to a commercial break, when we come back from break we are treated to a video package to relive BJ Whitmer’s heel turn at last year’s Final Battle when he turned his back on Eddie Edwards to join up with Jimmy Jacobs and eventually form The Decade. It was there that everyone found out that BJ Whitmer’s retirement (after legit getting injured by a pile driver on the ring apron by Michael Bennett) was a complete schmoz.

From there we get Adam Page who makes his way to the ring for the next match of the night.

Match 2 (The REAL Match 2)

Adam Page vs. Aaron Solo

Result: Adam Page defeats Aaron Solo via pinfall after a Kneeling back to belly piledriver.

Thoughts: This match was to build up Adam Page, as his opponent was pretty much filling an enhancement talent role. The match quickly goes to the outside of the ring where Adam Page throws Solo into the barricade and Solo takes it with his face (it looked bad). Page rolls Solo into the ring and hops on the apron and waits for his opponent to recover. Right as Solo makes it to his feet Page flips over the ropes and delivers a lariat to get a near fall. The finish came when Page hits a kneeling back to belly piledriver (that’s the best way I can describe the move) to score the pinfall victory. After the match, Page grabs a microphone and says that he is no longer Roderick Strong’s “Young Boy.” This immediately brings out Roderick Strong who chases Page out of the ring to the back of the arena.

Match Rating: *1/2

Back from commercial, Jay Lethal is out on commentary for the next match in order to scout Matt Sydal who is the challenger for Lethals’ Television Title at Final Battle.

Main Event – Match 3Matt Sydal vs. Adam Cole

Result: Adam Cole defeats Matt Sydal via pinfall following the Florida Key

Thoughts: This match was very good and pretty much saved this show from being a complete dud. Early on in the match, Adam Cole was down on the mat and Sydal hits a double foot stomp from off of the top rope. Sydal then hits a hurricanranna and follows it up with a spin kick to pick up a near fall.  The two men make their way to the outside of the ring where Cole throws Sydal into the barricade as we go to a commercial break.  Back from commercial we are back in the ring and Adam Cole has gained control of the match, Adam Cole executes a nice fake out making it look like he was going to do a high spot but he goes to the ground and applies a head lock on Sydal.

Adam Cole knows exactly how to be a heel—something that is truly a lost art in modern era wrestling. Later on, Sydal hits a standing moonsault on Cole for a near-fall. Adam Cole kicks out and gets Sydal to the mat where he applies a figure-four leg lock. Sydal manages to escape and the two men both make it their feet where Sydal hits a reverse hurricanranna for a near fall. Sydal makes his way to the outside of the ring and gets into it with his Final Battle opponent Jay Lethal before making his way back inside of the ring.  Meanwhile back in the ring Adam Cole catches Sydal in a German suplex to the bottom turnbuckle.   He then pulls Sydal to his feet where he hits the Florida Key which allows him to get the pinfall victory.

Match Rating: **3/4

From there Lethal attacks Sydal, Jay Briscoe attacks Cole and Tommaso Ciampa makes his way to the ring to attack Briscoe.  During all of this Sydal ascends to the top rope and manages to land face first on the outside of the ring after a shooting star press to the floor which he probably shouldn’t have done.  At least these tapings were from a while ago so he should be good to go at Final Battle.

Closing Thoughts: 

This show wasn’t very wrestling heavy which I am not used to from ROH. Besides the main event, it was kind of a dud.  Though I understand that they have a pay per view on December 7^th that they are building towards but it made for a very angle heavy show. Not a bad show but I expect more wrestling on this show then I got this week.  Out of this show I would definitely recommend the man event you could probably skip the rest; it just felt like filler.

That, however, will do it for me for this week’s ROH TV review. Until next time, ROH fans, I am Nathan saying so long and be sure to keep your Eyes on the Ring for some great wrestling. Also be sure and stay tuned to EOTR for all of the content that we will be providing you throughout the coming weeks.  Also please follow us on Twitter @EyesOnTheRing and of course myself @Headliner5 as well as likingour official Facebook page over at Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing.