100 Percent Fordified: Ring of Honor Live and Let Die

Columbus, OH – 6.8.2013

Championship Rundown
ROH World Champion: Jay Briscoe
ROH Television Champion: Matt Taven
ROH World Tag Team Champions: reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)

Commentary is provided by Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino.

Adam Cole vs. Caprice Coleman

A stalemate is reached on the mat. Cole breaks a wristlock and dropkicks Coleman to the floor. Coleman responds in kind. Cole enzuigiri’s him back to the floor and follows with a suicide dive. He gets one with a low dropkick back in the ring. Coleman rolls under a clothesline. He hits the Rough Ryder for two. Cole kicks him to stop a backdrop. He drops Coleman with a neckbreaker. Cole is persistent in trying to get a three count and gets frustrated when it doesn’t work out. He applies a figure four headscissors. Coleman escapes and hits the BlessTO. He sends Cole to the floor. He then hits an Asai moonsault from inside the ring. In the ring he gets two with a high crossbody. He brings Cole off the top rope with a Leap of Faith for another two count. When Cole tries a brianbuster onto his knee, Coleman counters with two-thirds of the Trinity. Cole stops the third suplex with a brainbuster across his knee. The Florida Key gets him the win at 7:19. Coleman delivered in one of his rare singles appearances. He and COlehad some excellent chemistry and got the crowd into a tizzy. Corino was singing Cole’s praises on commentary to further that angle which I am excited to see get paid off. Cole contemplates leaving without shaking hands but ends up doing so in the end. **¾

Roderick Strong vs. QT Marshall

Both guys cleanly break-up lock ups in the corner, though Strong teases a chop. Marshall should blocks him down twice. Strong trips him to avoid a third one. He catches Marshall with a leg lariat. Strong chops him in the corner. Marshall knees him and drives his shoulder into Strong’s mid-section. Strong gives him more chops. Marshall catches him in the corner and drops him crotch first onto the top rope. He brings Strong back in for a two count. He sets up for the People’s Elbow and misses. Strong gets two with a school boy. Marshall elbows him to take back control. Strong throws chops and elbows in the corner before delivering a bulldog. He nails a dropkick for two. He also gets two with the Angle Slam. He sets up for the Tiger Driver but Marshall escapes. He gives Strong a tilt-a-whirl slam for two. He pops up Strong and drops him on his chest. He follows that up with a lariat for two. He goes for God’s Gift. Strong slips out. He hits Death by Roderick and puts on the Strong Hold. Marshall taps out at 9:24. This may have been the best Marshall has looked so far. He worked over Strong’s mid-section the entire time so his finisher could be more effective, and aside from the People’s Elbow didn’t utilize too much gaga. Then again, Strong is a terrific opponent for him, so we’ll have to see if Marshall can keep the good work up in subsequent bouts with other people. **½

Adam Cole comes out. He apologizes to Strong for not shaking his hand last week in Texas. He points out that they have a rematch in two weeks at “Best in the World 2013.” Cole and Strong shake hands with Cole saying that the best man will win in the rematch.

Davey Richards vs. Cedric Alexander

They stand-off after a wristlock exchange goes to the mat. Alexander shoulder blocks Richards who takes a quick retreat on the floor. They stand-off again after a similar ending to the first exchange. Richards gets Alexander’s arm in the ropes and kicks at the ropes to do damage. Alexander hip tosses Richards into a dropkick. Richards knees him in the stomach and kicks him in the chest. He ties up Alexander’s legs and snaps back on them. He then turns him into a modified cloverleaf on his shoulders. Alexander kicks out. He sunset flips Richards into a Frankensteiner. He sends Richards to the floor. However, Richards hops up to the apron and kicks Alexander in the chest on the floor. In the ring Richards lands a diving headbutt to the chest for two. He keeps control for a bit until Alexander sends him to the floor. He tope con hilo’s after him. In the ring he Finlay rolls Richards into a split-legged moonsault for two. He tries for a springboard manuever. Richards dropkicks him to the floor. Alexander sweeps out his feet. He successfully hits a springboard clothesline, then rolls Richards into a double underhook facebuster for two. They trade kicks. Richards catches Alexander’s enzuigiri attempt and puts on a cloverleaf. Alexander turns it into a small package for two. Richards hits the Alarm Clock. Alexander sneaks in a Sankakugeri before both men fall to the mat. Richards kicks Alexander in the chest repeatedly in the corner when they recover. He tries a sunset bomb. Even though that fails, he does manage to German suplex Alexander off of the top rope. He turns Alexander inside out with a lariat before giving him another German suplex for two. Richards misses a double stomp. Alexander spikes him with two reverse Frankensteiners. He hits the IED and a brainbuster. Richards kicks out. He goes for a frog splash. Richards gets his knees up. He gives Alexander a running kick to the chest and a top rope double stomp. Alexander kicks out. Alexander ducks a kick and rolls up Richards for two. Richards swiftly kicks him in the head. Alexander kicks out again so Richards puts on the cloverleaf. Alexander taps out at 18:12. Alexander got the opportunity to shine like a star. If you get the chance to hang with Davey Richards on an ROH show you’re destined for greatness. The one issue was the ending stretch reached the law of diminishing returns with each nearfall getting less and less of a reaction. Had they ended it slightly earlier it could have been much better but I can’t take away too much from the match because it was a still an excellent contest. ***¾

Proving Ground Match
reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Adrenaline Rush (ACH & Tadarius Thomas)

If Adrenaline Rush defeats reDRagon or lasts the time limit, they will have earned a shot at the ROH Tag Team championships. Fish and Thomas take things to the mat. When neither of them get control they tag out. ACH snapmares O’Reilly into a chinlock. O’Reilly rolls out and kicks ACH away. He kicks away ACH’s left arm and kicks him in the corner. ACH rolls out of the corner and comes off the second ropes with a back elbow. Thomas throws some of his own kicks. O’Reilly catches him with a running knee strike. Thomas avoids a kick and floats over into a chest kick. O’Reilly tags Fish in. Fish goes after Thomas’ leg. ACH blind tags in. Fish goes for ACH’s legs as well. He misses an elbow to the shoulder blades. ACH kicks him in the back. He slams Thomas onto Fish for two. Thomas and ACH help each other wear down Fish. Fish catches ACH with a Manhattan Drop. O’Reilly drops a knee across his head. ACH catches him on the second rope. O’Reilly brings ACH down with a second rope divorce court. reDRagon isolate ACH in their corner and focus the attack on his arm. ACH hurts his arm giving Fish an Ace Crusher but it might have been worth it as he’s able to tag in Thomas. He blasts O’Reilly with a haymaker and a cartwheel kick. He sends Fish out with an enzuigiri. He Slingblades O’Reilly for two. Rush double teams O’Reilly while Fish is recovering. Thomas goes for a Sasuke Special. Fish grabs his legs and drags him out instead. O’Reilly drop toe holds him into the corner. O’Reilly puts ACH in a Fujiwara armbar. ACH breaks it with a pump-handle suplex. Fish moonsaults onto them to break the count. Fish drops Thomas with a Saito suplex. ACH drops both members of reDRagon with a DDT/neckbreaker combo. He sends Fish to the floor. He misses an Arabian Press and gets sent back first into the barricades. Thomas kicks O’Reilly on the ring apron. Fish kicks Thomas’ leg out. O’Reilly comes off the apron and dropkicks ACH into the barricades. He and Fish give Thomas Chasing the Dragon on the floor! ACH kicks out back in the ring. reDRagon light him up with kicks to the leg and chest. ACH valiantly fights them off. Fish kicks him into O’Reilly’s Regalplex for two. Fish is sent out. ACH Rolls the Dice on O’Reilly for two. Fish drags Thomas to the floor. He tries a 450 splash. O’Reilly gets his knees up to block it. He puts on an armbar and ACH taps at 20:36. I don’t know if it was positioning this right after the previous match or what, but the crowd did not seem to be as into this at points. Their probably should have been a buffer match between the two, but I can’t say that these two teams didn’t bust their asses. The beginning was a little shaky but once they got going it was a very fun spectacle. ***¼

Truth Martini brings a parade of Hotties out with him including Scarlett Bordeaux and Seleziya Sparx. The other women are from a local gym called Columbus Gold. Martini has them here to audition for a spot amongst the Hotties. When the girls go backstage to prepare for the physical portion of the contest, Martini brings out his guest for the night: Cheeseburger! Martini asks how it felt to kiss Maria Kanellis. He’s not satisfied when he answers that it “felt good.” Cheeseburger corrects himself to say it was “the greatest moment of his life.” It was that action that earned Cheeseburger an invitation to the “Night of Hoopla” in Chicago next month. He accepts the invitation. Martini says for it to be official he has to answer another question: did you get a boner when kissing her? Cheeseburger is embarrassed. It takes some encouragement, but he confirms that he did. Martini awards his honesty with a lap dance from Bordeaux and Sparx. When it ends, Cheeseburger asks if he can kiss them. Martini says he can kiss both of them if he also takes his pants off. Cheeseburger is close to doing so when Rhino enters and gives him the Gore! Kevin Steen runs out and our next match is on.

Kevin Steen vs. Rhino

Steen nails a flying forearm. He spinwheel kicks Rhino before pitching to the floor. Rhino trips Steen’s legs out from the apron and sends him face first into a ringside chair. Steen fights Rhino off and comes off the apron with a senton. Back in the ring Rhino drops him with a spinebuster for two. He spears him in the corner. They collide head first in the opposite corner. Steen throws a couple clotheslines and a dropkick. A second rope dropkick leads to a cannonball senton in the corner for two. He comes off the top with a Swanton Bomb for another two count. Rhino takes him over with a belly-to-belly suplex. Steen gets his foot up to block the Gore. He hits the Gore himself as well as the F-Cinq for the pin at 8:04. Significantly shorter than I expected but a solid win for Steen in his quest to defeat all of S.C.U.M. **

Matt Hardy runs out as soon as the match is over. Steen almost gives him a Package Piledriver. Steve Corino stops Steen and allows Hardy to hit a Twist of Fate. Mark Briscoe makes his way out for our next match.

Mark Briscoe vs. Matt Hardy

Mark runs in and pummels Hardy in the corner. Hardy tries a backdrop. Mark lands on his feet and continues his flurry of offense. Hardy slips to the floor. Mark dropkicks him into the barricades. He sends Hardy into the ring post. Hardy grabs the microphone. Referee Todd Sinclair tries prying it from his hands. Meanwhile Corino shoves Mark into the ring. Hardy catches him with the Side Effect for two. He gives Mark a few neckbreakers before applying a sleeper hold. Mark escapes it using a chin breaker. Corino grabs him by the foot. Hardy sneaks in another neckbreaker for two. Mark shoves Hardy to the corner to block the Twist of Fate. He sweeps Hardy’s feet off the second rope. He throws some Redneck Kung-Fu at him. He drops Hardy with a rolling Death Valley Driver. Corino distracts Mark long enough for Hardy to recover and drop Mark to the canvas. He drives his elbow into Mark’s neck. Hardy goes for a Twist of Fate. Mark turns it into a sleeper hold. Rhett Titus runs in. Kevin Steen comes out to stop him. However, Jimmy Jacobs and Cliff Compton drag Steen out of the ring. Steve Corino then gives Mark a brass knuckles assisted right hand. Hardy then hits the Twist of Fate for the pin at 6:12. I’ll give Mark a lot of credit for dropping a lot of his shtick and having a serious bout with Hardy. It may have been all for naught with an interference heavy finish but it goes to show that he’s capable of being a good singles wrestler when the time calls for it. This just was not that time. *½

Steen fights with Hardy to the back. The other three S.C.U.M. members are in the ring with Corino and about to attack Mark when Michael Elgin, BJ Whitmer and Jay Lethal hit the ring. Our next match is up.

No Rules
Michael Elgin, BJ Whitmer & Jay Lethal vs. S.C.U.M. (Jimmy Jacobs, Rhett Titus & Cliff Compton)

The ROH Team takes the early lead. They barely feel the effects of a triple suplex and give the members of S.C.U.M. stereo delayed vertical suplexes. Lethal dropkicks Jacobs to the floor and suicide dives after him. Meanwhile Elgin and Whitmer send Compton and Titus into the barricades. The fight spills out into the crowd. Lethal and Jacobs are the first ones back in the ring. Lethal hits him with a back handspring elbow. Jacobs goes for the Contra Code. Lethal throws him off and superkicks him out of the ring. Titus comes in and clotheslines Lethal out. Whitmer tries for an exploder suplex. Titus fights out but gets caught off the ropes with the exploder anyhow. Compton does the deal with a Falcon Arrow. Elgin backfists Compton off the apron. Jacobs gives Elgin the Contra Code on the ring apron and lands onto everybody on the floor. In the ring he drops Lethal with a springback Ace Crusher. Elgin catches Jacobs mid-senton. Lethal and Whitmer boot him into Elgin’s short arm lariat. Titus breaks the pin. Elgin Samoan drops Compton and fallaway slams Titus at the same time. Jacobs hits Elgin with a chair to stop him from giving Titus a powerbomb. Elgin feels no effects and grabs the chair. Compton kicks it into his face. Whitmer attempts to fight everybody off. When he tries to powerbomb Titus, Jacobs drops him in a reverse Frankensteiner. Lethal then comes in to fight S.C.U.M. by himself. He sends Jacobs into Compton, then DDT’s Jacobs and gives Titus a Complete Shot simultaneously. With them down, he tries for the Lethal Injection. Jacobs hits Lethal with a chair as he hits the ropes. Compton hits the F-Cinq for the pin at 10:30. This had the crowd really fired up and firmly in the ROH corner. They could not have chosen better people for the ROH team in terms of crowd support. The finish was pretty creative and for once it made Compton look like a worthwhile member of the S.C.U.M. faction. This was a fun brawl while it lasted. ***

ROH World Championship
Jay Briscoe vs. Eddie Edwards

Bobby Fish is on commentary. Jay and Edwards fight for control. Edwards holds onto a side headlock. Jay escapes and catches him coming off the ropes with a headscissors. Edwards comes off the second rope with a Frankensteiner. He looks for the Achilles Lock but Jay rolls him up for two. Edwards reapplies the side headlock. Jay delivers a right hand. He headbutts Edwards and forearms him down in the corner. Jay gets two with a legdrop. Edwards gives Jay a chinbreaker and throws a chop. He sends Jay to the floor and then suicide dives onto him. Back in the ring he rolls Jay into a chinlock. He then puts Jay in the surfboard stretch. Jay kicks out when Edwards leans him back onto his shoulders. Jay throws some jabs. A headbutt and big boot take Edwards off of his feet. Jay gets two with a suplex. He goes to the second rope. Edwards catches him with a gamengiri and hits the Chin Checker for two. He goes for the Achilles Lock. Jay counters with a small package. He tries the Jay Driller. Edwards counters into a Backslide leading into a series of pinfall attempts. That leads them trading chops. Both of them spill to the floor when Jay tries for a suplex. They trade forearms once they get to their feet. Realizing they’re close to a double count out they slide back into the ring. They boot each other simultaneously seven times. Jay throws a few more boots. Edwards superkicks him. Edwards flips out of a German suplex attempt and rolls Jay into the Achilles Lock. Jay crawls to the ropes. A heavy strike exchange ends with Jay successfully pulling the Jay Driller out of nowhere for the pin at 19:57. Edwards was such a great opponent for Jay. He was smart to keep on the headlock early to wear Jay down, he wasn’t afraid to catch him off guard with a quick pin here and there, and matches him with strikes when needed. The finishing strike exchange was absolutely awesome and the Jay Driller finish was believable and came at exactly the right time. Jay’s title reign has been somewhat lacking but this match really gave viewers something to sink their teeth into. ***½

Both men are about shake hands when the entire S.C.U.M. faction comes out. Corino says he has just one more defense until D-Day when he faces Matt Hardy (if he retains against Mark Briscoe at “Best in the World 2013”). Corino promises Hardy will be the final ROH World Champion and that Honor will die.

Bonus Content

Honor Roll (6.5.2013)
Post-Show Wrap Up
Q&A with Steve Corino and Matt Hardy (DVD only)

The 411: The streak good ROH house shows continues. The S.C.U.M. matches were tedious as usual but at least had a purpose and we're close to the end. Richards vs. Alexander, the Proving Ground bout, and the main event were really great and the other undercard bouts are worth a watch as well. It's a nice pre-cursor to "Best in the World 2013" and the bonus Q&A is quite entertaining. You can pick up this DVD from Ring of Honor's store. You can check out all of my ROH reviews over at the 100% Fordified blog. Be sure to follow me on Twitter as well!

Final Score:  7.3   [ Good ]