Cook’s ROH TV Review 12.31.21

Hey kids! This week Ring of Honor presents the Best of 2021! Three big matches that I haven’t reviewed yet, which is nice of them.

Cook’s ROH TV Review 12.31.21

Quinn McKay wishes us a Happy New Year and welcomes us to Ring of Honor Wrestling! Today we’ll highlight the best ROH matches of this year. Whatever’s next, they promise to innovate and never imitate, and present the best pro wrestling on the planet.

19th Anniversary Show: Flamita vs. Rey Horus vs. Bandido: These three were still part of Mexisquad back on March 26, 2021. Flamita hadn’t become DEMONIC just yet, but there were problems percolating. This was meant to settle things. Flamita kicks Bandido’s hand away during the opening handshake. Flamita goes on the offense right away and gets knocked out of the ring. Horus & Bandido go at it. Big knee from Bandido, then a flying headscissors. Horus with a headscissors of his own, it all leads to a mutual respect standoff before we go to commercial.

Ric Flair has returned to Carshield, if you’re keeping track of these things.

Flamita wants Bandido to hit him, and they start exchanging the forearms. Flamita’s headscissors is countered. Bandido sweeps the leg. Horus runs in to eat a superkick. Flamita gets Bandido in the electric chair, Bandido grabs Horus and we see the ol’ electric chair vertical suplex. Bandido rolls Horus out of the ring. He & Flamita have some words and then some strikes. Some flips & whatnot, Flamita superkicks Bandido inside out. Sitout powerbomb by Flamita gets two. Horus breaks it up with a kick to Flamita’s face. Flamita sends Bandido into the corner, hits a pendulum DDT. Horus in the other corner, Flamita sets him up, looks like a musclebuster but he inverts it into a gutbuster while backsplashing Bandido. Pretty nifty, only gets two. Flamita says “No more Mexisquad” while slapping Bandido & Horus. Flamita ends up on the apron, Horus tosses Bandido into a flying headscissors sending Flamita to the floor. Horus & Bandido go at it in the ring. Horus with the facebuster, but Bandido answers with a popup cutter. Flamita with a frog splash on Horus, then everybody boots each other down. Horus with a DDT on Bandido, Flamita goes up top, Horus follows him, hits a sunset bomb for two. Bandido broke it up. Bandido sends Flamita into Horus in the corner. Horus ends up top. Flamita gets Bandido in the electric chair, Horus with the crossbody which ends up with Bandido fallaway slamming Horus & poison ranaing Flamita? OK, these kids are crazy. Horus gets tossed outside, Bandido with the fosbury flop, springboards onto Flamita for the West Coast Pop and it gets two, X-Knee to Flamita, and now it’s time for the 21plex! It gets three!

Winner: Bandido (10:47 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ****

That’s the kind of match you really need a crowd losing their minds over to get the full pro wrestling effect. Still very impressive work by all three.

Honor For All: Brody King vs. Johnathan Gresham: This match set up the #1 contender for Bandido’s World Championship at Final Battle. As we now know, plans changed. Gresham has the experience edge, but King has everything else on the tale of the tape going for him. King goes on the offensive right away and hits the gonzo bomb for two. Gresham not worn down enough just ten seconds into the match, but now Brody is gonna wear him out on the outside of the ring. Blg slam on the floor. Ian points out that this is how King took out Jay Lethal at Best in the World. Chop sends Gresham down. Vertical suplex on the floor. King goes for the chop, but Gresham ducks and King chops the ringpost. I’ve never seen that spot so much as I’ve seen it in 2021, people just love chopping that ringpost now. Gresham heads back into the ring as we go to commercial.

Gresham with a series of topes onto King, the third one sends King over the barricade. Brody takes his time, but finally makes it back into the ring. Gresham tries a cross-body, but bounces off of Brody King due to physics. King asks Gresham what he’s got and asks to be hit. Gresham complies, King chops him down but Gresham starts with the kicks. King goes for the chokeslam, but he used his weak hand & Gresham can break the grip. Gresham can also get suplexed into the corner though. King’s cannonball gets nothing but bottom turnbuckle. Gresham with the basement dropkick. King aries and tosses Gresham into the other corner and hits the cannonball. Two count due to ropes. King hits a one armed gonzo bomb for 2.96. King drags Gresham to the center of the ring but gets his hand kicked. Gresham goes for the sleeper. King snap mares him down but misses a back splash. Gresham goes back to the sleeper. King tries to force him off, finally grabs a rope to break it. Gresham goes back to the hand, King tries to clubber him off but Gresham just keeps going after it. Springboard moonsault, kick, then some Bryan Danielson style repeated elbows followed by a sleeper. King looks out of it, but returns to consciousness. A running forearm to the back of King’s head gets the three count.

Winner: Jonathan Gresham (10:51 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ****

David slays Goliath! Gresham acknowledges that this is King’s company too and he fought with honor. King raises Gresham’s hand.

Death Before Dishonor: The OGK (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe: We got fans in attendance for this thing! These two teams last met six years ago, and would meet again before ROH’s hiatus. Handshakes & conversation had before the match. Action starts right away. Jay & Matt go for finishing moves, everybody stands off. Mark & Taven face off once we get one person from each team in the ring. Mark whips Taven into the corner, up & over, off the ropes and a dropkick by Taven. Drop toe hold, but Mark avoids the fistdrop as we go to commercial.

Jay Briscoe & Mike Bennett tag in & exchange shots. Rolling forearm by Jay. He takes Bennett into their corner and tags Mark in to stomp Mike down and chop him. Whip into the corner and a clothesline by Mark. Tag to Jay. Big boot in the corner while Mark knocks Matt down in the corner. Tag to Mark as the Briscoes are tagging quite frequently. Bennett tries to fight back but gets chopped down by the redneck kung fu. Mark goes for a suplex but Mike fights out of it and takes him into the OGK corner so Matt Taven can tag in. Missile dropkick by Taven gets two. Taven with a side Russian leg sweep for two while he talks some trash with Jay. Blind tag by Jay leads to Taven getting kicked down and Bennett knocked off the apron. Taven fights back, but Jay hits the DDT. Mark tags in, Taven regains the offensive & Bennett sets up Mark for the Doomsday Device on the outside, but Jay interjects with a flying head scissors to Taven. Bennett ends up just dropping Mark on the ring apron. Jay with a superkick to Bennett, then sets him up for the Doomsday, but Taven breaks it up. They pair off on the floor & the corner. Taven hits a moonsault onto Jay (and his partner) as we go to commercial.

Briscoes are double teaming Taven as we return. Jay hits the neckbreaker for two. Bennett tags in, hits the DVD. Taven with Just the Tip of the knee, and Bennett locks in an armbar for the submission. Mark breaks that up. Mark strikes both OGK members, but gets superkicked and speared for his trouble. The OGK take exception to an unruly audience member & Bennett goes back to work on Jay Briscoe. Bennett goes for the piledriver, but Jay blocks. Backdrop and a tag to Mark. Taven runs in to get chopped. Bennett gets some palm strikes. Mark with a Pele kick to Taven, sending him outside. Mark dropkicks Taven through the ropes, Bennett gets sent outside, Taven gets block bustered on the floor. Jay rolls Taven into the ring, clotheslines him out of his boots. Mark up top, hits the froggy bow for two. Bennett makes the save. Jay & Mark stomp Bennett down & Jay follows him outside. Lots of bleeping going on for the last thirty seconds or so. Mark places a chair in the ring. They try to hit a move onto the chair, but Bennett breaks it up. Todd gets the chair out of the ring. OGK set up the spike piledriver, but Mark gets out of the situation and crotches Taven on the top turnbuckle. They got that chair again, and Mark uses it to springboard onto Bennett on the outside. Jay sets Taven up for the Jaydriller, blocked, inside cradle by Taven gets the three count!

Winners: The OGK (13:17 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***1/2

This win would vault the OGK up the rankings and towards the Tag Team Championship, which they won from Dragon Lee & Kenny King before losing at Final Battle to…yep, the Briscoes.

We close with credits.

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Three new matches to me that delivered some good action is a win for me. I do feel like they should have shown Flip Gordon's New Year's Eve party that nobody attended, but I don't think they're worried about that particular plot point.