Cook’s ROH TV Review 12.21.20

Hey kids! Kind of an oddly timed episode of ROH television this week, as Final Battle aired on PPV Friday night while Sinclair stations aired this show at various times Friday, Saturday & Sunday. I remember a few years ago they would handle these situations by having a clip show hosted by Mandy Leon. That was always fine with me because I was fine with Mandy, but we probably are pretty burned out on clip shows at this point. So we’ve got a couple of stand alone matches that don’t have much to do with Final Battle itself, but do have some personal issues involved. Let’s hook em up!

– Quinn McKay welcomes us to Ring of Honor Wrestling & Final Battle Weekend. Tonight’s show features two big matches. The main event pits two longtime rivals against each other: Delirious & the Foundation’s Rhett Titus. First, we’ll see Brian Johnson take on Dalton Castle.

– Dalton calls Brian a rude little toad. Which makes sense, as Brian threw a drink in his face backstage after Dalton’s loss to Brody King. If this was on the street, Castle would have a sock full of batteries with Johnson’s name on it! Harsh! He thinks Brian has all the right tools, but his biggest weakness is what’s going on in his head. PJ Black could control him, but since PJ isn’t around, it’s not good. Johnson should respect the names he’s working with in ROH. He’s made the biggest mistakes of his life! Dalton has a lot of rage inside of him.

– Brian talks about how ROH prides itself on honor being real, then talks about how he’s sick and tired of everybody talking about what they used to do. Dalton Castle was wrong when he interrupted him. They should be talking about Brian Johnson instead of all the stuff Dalton Castle does. They say Brian’s angry and bitter, and he says he is because they’ve been hanging on to relics like Castle too long. Dalton had his chance, won the World Championship, and crumbled under the pressure. Honor isn’t real to him, nobody’s honored him. He’s going to run through Castle and run through a whole meccade of excellence. Mecca vs. Everybody.

– Ian & Caprice call the action as usual.

Brian Johnson vs. Dalton Castle: Johnson attempts to yell over Bobby Cruise throughout his introduction. Castle does hold a 2-0 advantage over Johnson, but maybe the third time will be the charm for the guy. Johnson’s actually been wrestling longer than Castle, much to my amazement. Castle immediately goes for the Bangarang, but Johnson slides out & goes to the floor. Some running around & some back & forth, Castle with a back suplex, then a waistlock on the mat. Johnson comes back with a few shots, then a stun gun on the top rope sending Castle outside. Booted down to the floor, then the tope suicida. Johnson talks some smack to the camera, Castle attempts a comeback and clotheslines the ring post. Back in the ring, Johnson with a clothesline off the top, then a standard one gets two. Johnson working over that shoulder with some shots. Single-arm DDT as we go to commercial. Johnson still working Castle over when we return. Castle sent into the ring apron, tries to swing around but the shoulder doesn’t let him complete the swing. Johnson tries a slingshot pin with his feet on the ropes, but the referee isn’t buying it. Dropkick from Johnson, who goes to the Greco-Roman nerve hold on Castle’s shoulder. Working the man over on the mat. Castle still trying to fight back but it doesn’t last long. Nice arm wringer dropping Castle to the mat. Back elbow swings the momentum, but Dalton hurts himself delivering this offense to Johnson. Johnson tries to go up top, Castle knocks him off the turnbuckle onto the ropes, and that rope isn’t in a great place. Castle & Johnson fight up top, arm wringer by Johnson off the top rope, hits the Tower of London for 2.85! Castle fighting back, hits a German suplex, knee in the corner, suplex, Bangarang! Gets the three count!

Winner: Dalton Castle (10:30 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***

– Good showing for Johnson here, but Castle definitely needed the win. He’s been losing a lot on TV lately, and needs to be able to beat some level of competition to be taken seriously as a contender heading into 2021.

– The Code of Honor wasn’t followed pre-match, it’s somewhat followed post-match.

– Final Battle commercial!

– Quinn McKay speaks with Dalton Castle afterward. Dalton knows he can be really good at wrestling, and shut people’s mouths. He’s got buttons, and Brian pushed the wrong one. Dalton invites Quinn for a drink, and they’ll invite Brian for one too.

– LSG talks about how nobody expected him to go the distance with Jay Lethal. He knows for a fact he would have tapped Jay out had that match gone one minute longer. Kenny King is one of the cornerstones of ROH, and if has to go through Kenny to make a name for himself, he will.

– Kenny King talks about his recent loss to Shane Taylor and how it doesn’t change anything. However, he does need to prove himself to his fellow stablemates, Rush & Dragon Lee. LSG has a lot of potential, and has hung with Jay Lethal. Just hanging with somebody isn’t going to get you anywhere in ROH. Kenny’s done pretty well against Jay Lethal before. He’s going to treat LSG like snot on the bottom of his shoe. This is all setting up a match between LSG & Kenny King airing on Honor Club & YouTube December 24th, in case you were wondering.

– Matt Taven pimps Honor Club.

– Rhett Titus can’t remember what life was like before ROH. His entire life has revolved around it. Anything else had to be put on hold because ROH came first. He’s had a lot of ups & downs, has became more of a man and has a lot more to offer. The Foundation wants to reward him for his hard work. They are going to restore honor & preserve the history of ROH, and he’s going to start with his own personal history. Delirious was the first person to bloody & scar him up. They started off friendly, a girl got in the way, things got heated. Rhett is 0-4 against Delirious in singles matches. This is a Pure Rules match, Delirious can’t bloody him up here. He’s been developing counters to the Cobra Stretch. He has a dropkick ready for Delirious. He wanted this match to relive his own personal history and close this chapter once and for all.

– Delirious notes how Titus is a major part of his career, and it’s been ten years since they faced off. One thing was always the same, Delirious was always victorious. Rhett is overlooked and underappreciated. Rhett has a family motivating him, he’s at the top of his game physically & mentally. Delirious lives off the grid! He doesn’t want people to see his life or know his motivations. He doesn’t want to be understood. Rhett knows Delirious better than most. Delirious notes that Titus, Kenny King & Austin Aries ended his full-time career. Delirious has always been a master of the craft, has always been dangerous, and will always beat Rhett Titus.

Pure Rules Match: Delirious vs. Rhett Titus: Rhett has the height & weight advantage, but I’ll take “The Edge of Sanity” over “Strong Beach Island, New Jersey” as a hometown. The Code of Honor is adhered to, the bell rings, and Delirious goes right after Titus. Some grappling to start. Rhett with an early advantage, using his power to work Delirious down. Delirious going for headlocks & chinlocks, Titus working the arm. Exchange of pinning combinations. Delirious with some funky moves to take Titus down. We return from commercial to some more back & forth action. Gutwrench suplex from Titus at the 5-minute mark. Kick from Delirious, dropkick the back and now the Lizard man is cooking. Going for that Cobra Stretch, and Titus goes right to the ropes for the first rope break of the match. Delirious goes for it again, and Titus goes to those ropes again. Rhett might be a little too freaked out by that move. Delirious working the arm now. Single arm DDT followed up by some creative use of Delirious’s tassels to work the arm. Titus with a sunset flip, misses the dropkick. Delirious goes back to that Cobra Stretch, Titus reaches for the ropes, ends up propelling himself to the apron & Delirious to the floor. Counts as Rhett’s final rope break, but Delirious took quite the tumble to the floor. He’s favoring his leg now. Titus delivers some big boots in the corner, but Delirious goes back to that Cobra. Leg sweep, Titus pushes off the ropes and gets a nearfall! Northern Lights suplex gets 2. Back to the shoulder, but Titus with the belly to belly! Backhand to Delirious, Titus goes for the suplex but Delirious drops down. Delirious slips out, hits a cobra clutch suplex! Misses the Panic Attack in the corner! Delirious back to the cobra, Titus slips out, hits the dropkick! That’s it!

Winner: Rhett Titus (12:24 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***1/4

– Delirious needs those ice packs on his face! They shake hands and that’s all for this week.

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

I do love me some call backs to old ROH history, and I enjoyed Delirious vs. Titus much the same way I enjoyed Delirious vs. Sydal. Also liked Dalton getting a big win, so I've got nothing to complain about this week. Weirdly timed show considering the PPV, but worked for what it was.