ROH State Of The Art
San Antonio, Texas 2/8/14
Pre-Show
1.)
Jessica James vs. Angel Blue: **
Maria
Kanellis is out to join Kevin Kelly on commentary. Angel Blue is from Alaska,
which I find very interesting. Don't know any wrestlers from Alaska so she's
definitely the first. This was actually a pretty decent pre-show match. Both
women got to show what they had and looked impressive. Jessica James gets the
win.
Main
Show
Things
start off hot as Jay Briscoe, the "Real" World Champion, makes his
way out. He says San Antonio came to see him whip Adam Cole's ass, and tells
him to get out here right now! Cole surprisingly answers Briscoe's challenge
and here we go!
1.)
"Real" World Title - Jay Briscoe vs. ROH World Champion Adam Cole:
***3/4
This
was going to be the Main Event, but they didn't want to wait. Jay Briscoe's
version of the World Title is on the line here. Cole immediately goes to hit
Briscoe with the ROH World Title but Briscoe ducks and the match starts off
hot!! This was a really great match. The crowd was hot from the very beginning
and I think having this go first was ultimately a good call. Lots of good
action here. Eventually, after getting into it with Referee Todd Sinclair when
he tried to his Briscoe with the "Real" World Title Belt, Jay is able
to hit the Jay Driller and successfully defeat Cole to retain his version of
the World Title.
2.)
The Romantic Touch vs. Caprice Coleman: **1/2
Here
we have a match where both men are looking for their first wins in 2014. Solid
action here. The match was mostly ok but picked up near the end. Kevin Kelly
& Steve Corino speculate that Veda Scott isn't at the show tonight because
of The Romantic Touch and the "intimate interactions" they supposedly
might have had. Coleman gets the win.
3.)
BJ Whitmer (with Jimmy Jacobs & Roderick Strong) vs. Raymond Rowe: **3/4
Rowe
is coming off being in the finals of the 2014 Top Prospect Tournament, where he
lost to Hanson. Again, another decent match, but nothing that's really
worth nothing. Kevin Kelly & Steve Corino did a good job on commentary
explains The Decade's views and the reasons why they're going after the young
talent. BJ Whitmer gets the win over Rowe.
After
the match, Jimmy Jacobs cuts a promo, explaining The Decades motivations and
why they are targeting people like Chris Hero & AJ Styles, who have
returning to the company, and the younger stars like Cedric Alexander and
Adrenaline RUSH. He tells BJ to relax since he's done for the night, and calls
out Cedric Alexander for their match.
4.)
Jimmy Jacobs (with Roderick Strong) vs. Cedric Alexander: ***1/4
This
took a while to get going, but when it did, it got good. It told a solid story
between the younger Alexander and the veteran Jacobs. A funny moment during the
match saw Strong getting into it verbally with an older gentleman and
(presumably) his grandson who were sitting in the front row. Towards the end of
the match, Cedric Alexander calls out Strong before he hits his backbreaker
variation, the Lumbar Check, on Jimmy Jacobs. Strong gets on the apron and distracts
Cedric long enough for Jacobs to hit a spear and pin him for the win.
After
the match, Strong takes the mic and tells Cedric that his performance tonight
didn't earn their respect. He lectures Cedric about not stealing other people's
moves and then tells Cedric to unlace Jimmy Jacobs' boots. Alexander refuses
multiple times so The Decade decide to kick him out of the locker room. BJ
Whitmer brings out and throws Cedric's bag around and they block Cedric from
going backstage.
5.)
Alex Reigns vs. Weezy Woo: *3/4
Here
we have a match that's being billed as a local showcase. Nothing really much to
say here. Just your basic stuff. This served mainly to set up the next segment.
After
Weezy Woo got the victory, RD Evans came out (in very colorful ring attire)
with his own personal referee, Ramon, and quickly pinned Alex Reigns with Ramon
counting the pin. He then goes to pin Weezy Woo but he kicks out. Evans quickly
grabs the mic and tries to apologize by saying he just wanted to pin the other
guy and got caught up in the moment. He seemingly congratulates Weezy Woo on
his win but when his back is turned, Evans rolls him up and Ramon counts 3!!
The New Streak continues!! RD Evans touts his success, and says he should be
called Mr. ROH. This brings out Roderick Strong, who is not pleased, and leads
to a match between the two...
6.)
"Barrister" RD Evans vs. Roderick Strong: **1/4
Something
like this would normally be seen as a squash, but RD Evans got in some offense
in so I decided to rate it. This was more of a match within an overall segment
that advanced both The New Streak & The Decade's storyline with Cedric
Alexander, who after being kicked out of the locker room, joins Kevin Kelly
& Steve Corino on commentary. Towards the end of the match, Strong spits on
Cedric twice. This leads to Alexander getting in the ring, and while he goes to
hit Strong, he ducks and hits RD Evans instead. Strong & Alexander brawl to
the back, while a dazed RD Evans is declared the winner by DQ, thus keeping The
New Streak alive at 32-0, much to the crowd's delight!!
7.)
Michael Bennett (with Maria Kanellis) vs. Mark Briscoe: ***1/4
This
was a pretty solid match. Good back & forth action between both guys. Mark
Briscoe is always entertaining (he came out in a cowboy hat) and Bennett is
always improving and has gotten to the point where he doesn't have bad matches
anymore. Bennett would end up getting the win with the Anaconda Vice (or as he
likes to call it, "Go Back To Japan").
After
the match, Bennett cuts a promo with Maria in the ring. He talks about how
great of a World Champion Adam Cole is and essentially challenges Jay Briscoe
for his version of the World Title. This brings out Jay who goes to fight with
Bennett, but it appears to be a setup as Adam Cole shows up and attacks from
behind. Mark Briscoe recovers and joins the fight with his brother as Cole,
Bennett & Maria retreat to the back, leaving The Briscoes standing tall in
the ring.
8.)
Proving Ground Match - ROH World Tag Team Champions reDRagon vs. Adrenaline
RUSH: ****
If
ACH & TaDarius Thomas get the win here, they earn a future World Tag Team
Title Match. This was a great match. Started off slow, put picked up a lot in
the second half and got really good down the stretch. All four of these guys
are very good wrestlers so it proved to be very entertaining to watch. Towards
the end of the match, ACH hits a massive dive to the outside, leading to a huge
frog splash and the pin!! Adrenaline RUSH earn themselves a future ROH World
Tag Team Title Shot as Fish & O'Reilly are visibly upset about losing the
match.
9.)
Fatal Four-Way #1 Contender's Match - Jay Lethal vs. "Unbreakable"
Michael Elgin vs. ROH World TV Champion "Sicilian Psychopath" Tommaso
Ciampa vs. Kevin Steen: ****
So
with Adam Cole & Jay Briscoe deciding the have their match at the start of
the show, that meant this was now the Main Event. Not only that, but it now a
Fatal Four-Way (They called it a Four Corner Survival with Texas Tornado Rules,
but dammit, it's a Fatal Four-Way) and the winner will receive a future ROH
World Title Shot. I really enjoyed this. All four guys in this match are great
wrestlers so it's no surprise that we got a really good Main Event. Everyone
got a chance to shine, but it was seemingly Kevin Steen who shined brightest,
winning the match after giving Jay Lethal the Package Piledriver on top of
Michael Elgin.
After
the match, Kevin Steen takes the mic to cut a promo. He talks about how, over
the last year, he hasn't felt like he belonged in ROH since he hasn't been
focused on what's important after dealing with S.C.U.M. and most recently Cliff
Compton. He mentions how Jay Lethal & Michael Elgin have shown him what he
should be like (in terms of their goals of becoming champions in ROH) and talks
about the lineage of the ROH World Title. He says before he's done with ROH, he
wants to win the ROH World Title back and have another reign, but this time, he
wants to have a reign he can be proud of and that will live up to legacy of the
ROH World Title.
Overall:
8.0/10
On
the whole, I'd say that this was a relatively enjoyable show. You have a really
hot opener that furthered the Adam Cole/Jay Briscoe rivalry and two top matches
in the form of the Proving Ground Match and the Fatal Four-Way that definitely
delivered at the top of the card. The undercard had some good to decent
wrestling on it but it felt like at times that the middle of show dragged a
bit. The good thing is the San Antonio Crowd was very good the whole night so
it made the show easy to watch and enjoy. A solid outing from ROH.
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