ROH Glory By Honor XIII
San Antonio, Texas 11/15/14
1.) "Sicilian Psychopath" Tommaso Ciampa vs. The Romantic Touch: **3/4
Now this should be a really interesting opener. This turned into a comedy match for a bit, and some of what they did was really funny. They did some unintentional sexual poses, Ciampa stuffed roses down The Romantic Touch’s trunks and later smacked him in the ass with the roses. We even saw Ciampa hit Project Ciampa on the roses, but they kick out at two!! Eventually, after the shenanigans, Tommaso Ciampa gets the win his Sicilian Stretch/Rings of Saturn/Rings of Honor submission. A fun little match here. Definitely entertaining. The crowd enjoyed it as well.
2.) Four-Corner Survival - Hanson vs. Mark Briscoe vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Moose (with Veda Scott & Ramon): ***
There are a lot of brawlers in this one. I actually wasn’t sure how this one would turn out, but it actually ended up being pretty solid. Everyone got to interact with each other, and everyone got a chance to shine. After the match broke down into chaos (as these Four-Corner Survival Matches usually do), Hanson was able to catch Mark Briscoe with the Spin Kick of Doom for the win.
Afterwords, the still-injured Ray Rowe comes out to congratulate his War Machine partner on his victory. Rowe says that when he comes back, they will be World Tag Team Champions. Michael Elgin soons interrupts them, accompanied by a sleazy looking cameraman. He says their success could disappear at the blink of an eye, and accused War Machine of not having his back a few months prior. Elgin tells Rowe to worry about himself, and that Hanson will abandon him if he continues to see great singles success. Elgin’s cameraman then tries to hit War Machine, in an attempt to distract them so Elgin can hit them, but it fails, as Elgin quickly bails, and War Machine laid out the sleazy cameraman.
3.) Roderick Strong vs. Frankie Kazarian: ***½
I want to say that this is a first time ever singles match, but I’m not entirely sure. Regardless, this was a pretty good match. It’s hard for Roderick Strong to have a match that’s not at least good, and he put on a really solid match with Kazarian. During the match, BJ Whitmer & Adam Page came out to observe the match. They later interfered, as they distract Strong, with Page actually landing a shot. Neither Kazarian or the referee saw the interference, and this led to Kazarian getting the win. Again, a pretty solid match, though the finish left some to be desired.
4.) ROH World Tag Team Titles - reDRagon vs. The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Michael Bennett with Maria Kanellis): ***½
Now this is an interesting title match, since both teams are technically heels, although reDRagon get a pretty positive reaction. reDRagon were recently in New Japan, where they won the annual Super Jr. Tag Team Tournament, and defeated The Time Splitters at Power Struggle 2014 the week before to capture the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles.
As far as this match goes, I thought this match was pretty good. It went a tad longer than I would have liked, but it was still pretty good. They do a bit of comedy where both teams attempt cheating. The action was relatively good as well. In the end, reDRagon would get the win, and retain their World Tag Team Titles.
5.) Will Ferrara vs. Adam Page (with BJ Whitmer): **1/4
This match was either a late addition from a few days prior, or unadvertised. I’m not sure. Either way, these two were happy a good little match here. Roderick Strong attacks BJ Whitmer at ringside, and that distraction allows Will Ferrara to roll up Page for the win. A brawl breaks out after the match with Strong & Ferrara against Whitmer & Page. The former get the upper hand, causing the latter to retreat. Strong then shook hands with Ferrara.
6.) ROH World TV Title - Jay Lethal (with Truth Martini) vs. RD Evans (with Veda Scott & Ramon): ***½
Here we go! It’s the ROH World TV Title up against The New Streak, which is at 173-0. This was another match on this show where I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but in the end, it ended up being pretty good. Lethal continues to play his heel role perfectly, while RD Evans really showed what he’s capable of, and the crowd was really into him, which always helps. There was a lot of solid action in here, and moments where RD Evans came close to winning. The big moment came when (I believe) the referee got taken out. Moose came out and charged at Jay Lethal for the spear, but he stopped. He then turned around and speared RD Evans instead!! Lethal covers Evans to retain the World Title Title, meaning The New Streak was sadly over.
After the match, Ramon comes out with a sign that I think said 173-1, along with “The end of an era”, or “A new era”, or something like that. He says his name is Stokely Hathaway to Kevin Kelly & Steve Corino before leaving with Moose. Veda Scott, meanwhile, stairs at Evans for a bit, before leaving on her own.
7.) Adam Cole vs. "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels: ****1/4
Here’s another dream match for you. I was really looking forward to this match, and it did not disappoint. These two put on an awesome match! Definitely the best match on this show. It had a lot of great action, and they told a good story, with Adam Cole berating Daniels for being an old man, only for Daniels to come back and give him the business (or buz-i-ness, as Daniels & Kazarian like to put it). Great stuff throughout this match. Cole would eventually pick up the win with the Jay Driller, sending a message to Jay Briscoe.
Daniels gets a large ovation as he exits.
8.) ROH World Title - Jay Briscoe vs. ACH: ***¾
It’s time for the Main Event! ACH earned this World Title shot (in his home state, nonetheless) based on his performance in the recent Champions vs. All-Stars match. You would think ACH would do a lot of high flying in this match, but Jay Briscoe had other plans. He forced ACH to fight him in more of a brawling style of match. I thought this was actually pretty good. We go the usual stuff from Jay Briscoe, but ACH showed a lot as well. A lot of solid action throughout this match. ACH fought very hard, but it was not enough to overcome Jay Briscoe, as he retains his World Title with the Jay Driller.
After the match, Jay Briscoe & ACH showed each other respect post-match, and Jay Briscoe is in the middle of cutting a promo when Adam Cole interrupts. He vows to win the ROH World Title and issues a challenge to make their World Title Match at Final Battle 2014 a Fight Without Honor. Jay Briscoe has no issues with accepting this challenge, but Matt Taven & Michael Bennett jump him & ACH from behind. Mark Briscoe & Hanson come out to make the save, and while everyone is brawling on the outside, ACH hits a big dive onto everyone. Jay Briscoe is able to escape the dive and is alone back in the ring. Michael Elgin comes out and stares down Jay Briscoe, but then Tommaso Ciampa comes out. Elgin bails, and then Ciampa gets into it with Jay Briscoe! The show ends with a giant, chaotic brawl still going on.
Overall: 8.0/10
San Antonio has really become a fun stop on the Ring of Honor calendar. The crowds are always really into the show, and this was no exception. This was a really good show. Maybe it doesn’t quite live up to some of past Glory By Honor shows, but it still had it’s fair share of great matches. Adam Cole vs. Christopher Daniels was easily Match of the Night, while Jay Briscoe vs. ACH had a really good World Title Match in the Main Event. The rest of the undercard was pretty solid, and there really wasn’t a bad match to speak of. On the whole, another enjoyable show from Ring of Honor, adding to list of really good to great shows they’ve put on in 2014.
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