Cook’s ROH TV Review 11.30.20

Hey kids! We’ve got two big matches this week on the program. Pure wrestling continues with Jay Lethal taking on Josh Woods, and we get two big hosses this week in the main event with Brody King facing off against Shane Taylor. Let’s hook em up!

Cook’s ROH TV Review 11.30.20

– The Foundation kick us off. Jonathan Gresham talks about wanting to reclaim their place on top of the company. They can do that by winning every title in the company. Jay Lethal says that doesn’t make them bad guys, and invites Rhett Titus to remove his octopus mask. Tracy Williams cuts him off, asking why they would allow people to see the face they haven’t cared about for fifteen years. They’re here to create a new normal & change. They will rebuild ROH brick by brick.

– Quinn McKay runs down the card, then we go to videos featuring words from Josh Woods & Jay Lethal.

– Josh Woods talks about he demanded perfection from himself during the Pure Wrestling Tournament. He still feels good about his performance against Jonathan Gresham. Jay Lethal’s career has been long & amazing. Woods’ isn’t there yet, but when you add in his amateur experience it gets closer to Lethal’s. Pure wrestling was made for Josh Woods, and that’s going to be his advantage in this match. He lost to Jay in 2017 to the Lethal Injection. Every move can be countered, and he’s prepared for the challenge. He knows Jay wants a definite finish, they’re the only two guys that have had a judge’s decision go in their favor. Beating Jay Lethal will shoot him straight to the top of the rankings, and change the way people look at Josh Woods.

– Jay Lethal could not be more proud of the way these pure matches are going and the way things are turning out. Actual pure wrestling warms his heart. Even if he got the decision over LSG, he did not beat LSG. The rules beat LSG, and if the match was 1 minute longer, Jay Lethal would have won. But that’s part of the fun of the rules. He respects LSG. Josh Woods has to be the most dangerous man under pure rules in this company. The rules were made for people like Woods. Woods sounds a little over-confident and cocky, but Lethal doesn’t blame him. There will not be a decision this time. Woods has every right to believe in himself, and should win this match. He won’t.

Pure Wrestling Rules: Josh Woods vs. Jay Lethal: Ian & Caprice are with us on commentary as always. Silas Young is not with Woods this week. Code of Honor is followed. Tieup goes around the ring a couple of times, nobody gets the upper hand. Woods with a hammerlock, Lethal sweeps the leg into a side headlock. Works into a wristlock, then to the legs trying to find some kind of leglock. Doesn’t get anything out of it. Woods with a gutwrench into a short arm scissor, Lethal opts to use his first rope break. Lethal is frustrated, Woods is the opposite. Woods talks some trash, and Lethal comes alive for a strike exchange. Woods gets the upper hand, T-bone suplex followed by some mounted strikes. Lethal reverses the mount, Woods works it into a choke. Woods with multiple pinfall attempts. Lethal with the hip toss into the dropkick for two. We go to a commercial break, during which Jay Lethal dominates. Tries to make Woods humble with the camel clutch. Woods reaching for the ropes, which Lethal was trying to make happen anyway. Lethal goes for a suplex, Woods goes for one of his own but that back isn’t having it. Woods with a back elbow, kicks Lethal into stumbling out of the ring. Woods rolls Lethal back into the ring for two. Strike exchange, Woods with a bridging German suplex for two. They exchange shots in the corner, neither man gets an advantage. Woods misses in the corner, gets dropkicked off the apron to the outside. Lethal with the tope suicida! Lethal up top, goes for the Hail to the King, but Woods catches him and locks on the cross-arm breaker! Lethal rolls out, Lethal Injection reversed into a choke, Lethal rolls out into a pin, then Woods with the kneebar! Switches to the ankle lock! Lethal fights it, gets out of it, Lethal goes for a figure 4, Woods turns Lethal into a cradle-type move (splaydel?) and gets the three count!

Winner: Josh Woods (14:03 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***3/4

– Big win for Woods, who was able to counter everything Lethal could do! Lethal looks offended by Woods’ ass slap after the handshake, something tells me this is far from over.

– Matt Taven welcomes us to Trending With Taven. His first guest is Mike Bennett. He’s been doing this since he was fifteen years old. He’s gone all over the world. Bennett & Taven won tag team championships everywhere. Bennett is a student and a fan, and has keeping tabs on ROH & Taven during his absence. There was something missing. Taven needed somebody to have his back.

– Mark Briscoe talks about how he & Jay are due a tag team title shot, and Final Battle is right around the corner. Jay is too worried about EC3. Mark thinks the mask is constricting the blood flow to Jay’s brain. Mark’s going to do what a man has to do, and get those tag team titles. He just needs to find a partner.

– Brody King talks about his match with Dalton Castle. He & Shane Taylor have a lot of the same philosophies. They grew up fighting their whole lives. Shane thinks somebody is out to get him and trying to hold him down. Brody doesn’t care. Shane’s TV title win came against Brody in a 4-way. It was a cheap win though, and a receipt is coming. They both want the World Championship. Brody’s going to prove why he belongs in title contention.

– Shane Taylor talks about the huge weight off of his shoulders after defeating Kenny King. They’re still friends, Kenny understands why Shane had to do what he had to do. Shane doesn’t know that much about Brody King. They have the same strengths, from what he understands. The hypocrisy of Brody’s fanbase is something he finds amusing. If Shane Taylor walked around in a skimask, he wouldn’t get the same reaction. They have the same goal, and have been on a collision course for a long time now. With the ROH Championship will come power, recognition & respect.

Shane Taylor vs. Brody King: SOS comes out with Shane, but they return to the back. The two big boys tie up and try to shoulderblock each other down. Forearm exchange leads to some chops & punches by King, who knocks Taylor through the ropes with a big strike. King up and over the top rope, runs down the apron and delivers the cannonball! They walk around outside with King delivering strikes and tossing Taylor into the barricade. Head first into the ringpost goes Taylor, into another barricade. We return from commercial, and Taylor gets the advantage, tripping King on the apron and DDTing him from the apron to the floor! Big forearms from Taylor knocking King silly. Taylor sends King into the barricade. Knees the man so hard he knocks part of the barricade out! King looking dazed as the referee continues the count. He’s lucky it’s a twenty count, that’s the only chance he had of making it back in. Makes it at 19.5, Taylor stomps King down. Taylor nearly got himself DQed on a choke in the corner. King fires back, but Taylor answers with a popup slam for two. Chokes him on the ropes. Taylor goes for something, King had it scouted, knocks Taylor throat first onto the ropes and hits a cannonball for two. King misses in the corner, but gets Taylor up and DVDs him into the corner! They make the count and exchange strikes again. I’m not lining up to do that with either of these guys. Blg clothesline by Taylor gets 2.5, and the frustration is setting in if it hadn’t already. Taylor off the ropes into a modified Bossman Slam for two, hits a piledriver for another two count. Goes for the Gonzo Bomb, but Taylor fights out, goes for the Package Piledriver and hits it for 2.65! Goes for the Welcome to the Land, King slips out, hits a big German suplex and a lariatoooo gets 1! Some more clotheslines from King, and he finally gets the pin!

Winner: Brody King (12:37 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***3/4

– The handshake follows, but there will be another day between these two. Ian says this bumps Brody King up to #1 in the rankings, which bodes well for his Final Battle chances.

– We fade to black hyping the returns of John Walters & Mike Bennett next week.

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Two really good matches makes this episode a pretty easy recommendation. Two different types of matches too, Lethal & Woods had a great technical style match while King & Taylor just beat each other up. Gotta like that.