Cook’s ROH TV Review 4.1.22

Hey kids! A new era of Ring of Honor began this past Friday night and you can read my review of it if you’d like to get caught up. This particular ROH TV episode is taking the Wayback Machine back to the first ROH event with a couple of classic matches featuring some old favorites, and then a tag team match with some other old favorites, three of which were a pretty big part of last Friday’s event. Let’s hook em up!

Cook’s ROH TV Review 4.1.22

The Era of Honor Begins: IWA Intercontinental Title Match: Eddie Guerrero vs. Super Crazy: It’s Murphy Rec, it’s February 23, 2002 and it’s the very first ROH show. Eddie is working his way back up the ladder, and Super Crazy is Super Crazy. Let’s let it roll. Eric Gargulo & Steve Corino provide the commentary. Crazy offers the hand of friendship, Eddie wants none of it. He gets the bootscrape in early. Shoulderblock by Eddie, then a vertical suplex gets two. Headlock into a headscissors like it’s a Gresham match. Eddie works the headlock. Crazy hits a back suplex. A punch sends Eddie down, but Eddie fires back. Crazy with a hip toss a couple of arm drags. Crazy up top with another arm drag. A little less than ten punches in the corner. Eddie gets the upper hand on the floor. Sends Crazy into the ringpost, then a brainbuster on the floor! We go to commercial.

Eddie hits the springboard senton for two as we return. Fallaway slam gets two. Eddie works an abdominal stretch. Eddie delivers some kicks to Crazy for a two count. Crazy gets a dropkick to the back of Eddie’s head, then a springboard moonsault gets two. Missile dropkick gets two. Eddie meets Crazy up top, hits a rana and gets two. Crazy hits a spin kick for two. Eddie slides out of the brainbuster, hits a stacked up power bomb for two. Tiltawhirl backbreaker by Eddie. Two Amigoes, then Eddie goes up top, Rolls through, Crazy gets a small package and the win!

Winner: Super Crazy (10:42 via pinfall)
Match Rating:**1/2

Bit of a styles clash here from what I saw. Eddie was trying to find his style & Super Crazy probably wasn’t the best opponent for it. You saw some flashes of what Latino Heat became.

The Era of Honor Begins: “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. “Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels vs. Low Ki: Dragon & Ki face off and also smack Daniels down early. Daniels attacks both guys, gets taken down. Ki suplexes Dragon in the corner, then kicks him in the Tree of Woe. Ki kicks away on Daniels on his knees, but Dragon tries to apply the Cattle Mutilation, Daniels breaks it up. Dragon targets Daniels’ arm. Then Ki kicks away on Dragon. Daniels hits a leg lariat on Ki. Gutwrench suplex on Dragon gets two as we go to commercial.

Ki & Daniels go off on each other. Then Dragon goes off on them. Dragon gets Daniels nto a modified Muta Lock, but Ki breaks it up. Some near falls, and the crowd goes crazy. Dragon gets a nearfall on Daniels, Ki kicks away on Dragon. Dragon & Ki take turns kicking on Daniels. Everhybody ends up down. We go to commercial.

We back & Daniels gets kicked down by both men. Daniels hits a belly to belly on Low Ki for two. Low Ki takes Dragon out with a DDT, gets a nearfall on Daniels. Ki gets knocked off the top by Dragon, but Daniels is there. Daniels wants to do an abdominal stretch, and Ki wants to stretch everybody with the Hanging Dragon. Doesn’t work. Daniels hits the Blue Thunder driver on Dragon for two. We end up with a belly to back superplex with all three men. Low Ki with the Dragon Clutch on Dragon, and Daniels breaks it up. Best Moonsault Ever gets two. Daniels clotheslines Dragon’s head off. Ki hits a handspring elbow in the corner. Danielson locks in the Cattle Mutilation on Daniels, then Ki comes off the top with a Phoenix Splash! Ki hits the Ki Krusher on Daniels and it’s over!

Winner: Low Ki (20:05 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***3/4

Legendary match that rolled the ball forward for too many things to count. Whether we rate this thing on the same level as other great matches of the time period or not doesn’t matter. It’s one of those matches that set the bar.

The Conclusion: ROH World Tag Team Title Match: Jay & Mark Briscoe (c) vs. Samoa Joe & AJ Styles: Oh hell, we’re back in the days where I couldn’t tell Jay & Mark apart. AJ faces off with one of them while the announcers point out that Jim Cornette isn’t at ringside as if we’d miss him in the mid 2000s or in the early 2020s. Some good mat wrestling early, then Joe tags in to land some chops. Joe & Jay fire away on each other. AJ comes in with a two count. AJ hits th big dropkick on Mark for two. Joe tags in. Jay gets the blind tag and a good hit on Joe. Joe hits that STJoe on Mark, AJ hits a DDT on Jay, then Joe & AJ both hit tope suicidas as we go to commercial.

We back, Styles hits the back & stomach breaker. BrisocesA with some doubleteaming for a two count. Jay chops away on AJ. Styles eats a vegomatic for a two count. Lariat on AJ gets a two count. Jim Cornette has taught the Briscoes all of the tag team strategy they’re using now. AJ fights back, hits a brainbuster for two. Briscoes pulling the Twin Magic, AJ gets suplexed for a two count. He goes for the moonsault into the inverted DDT, ends up DDTing both Briscoes. Joe comes in to go ham on these two. Joe does the powerbomb into the STF on Mark, rope break. AJ tagged back in, a neckbeaker gets two. AJ drops a Briscoe on his head for a two count. Joe tags in. Slaps & kicks to the Briscoe but Joe gets double teamed. Jay hits a legdrop, Mark gets knocked out of it. The four men face off. Joe gets suplexed, he’s suplexing Mark Briscoe. Things break down, Joe gets held for a shooting star press from Mark and gets pinned!

Winners: Jay & Mark Briscoe (15:52 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

Some darn good wrestling matches. Not enough sports entertainment for some, but that was not ROH's thing back in this day, so I don't need to take their considerations into mind.