Csonka’s ROH TV Review 6.20.18

Csonka’s ROH TV Review 6.20.18

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Kenny King defeated Chuckie T @ 9:30 via pin [**½]
– Shane Taylor defeated Josh Woods @ 3:43 via pin [*½]
– Bullet Club (Cody, Marty Scurll, Adam Page, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson) w/Burnard The Business Bear defeated LIJ (Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, EVIL, SANADA, & BUSHI) @ 17:25 via pin [***¾]

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Kenny King vs. Chuckie T: King offers a hug, but they aren’t best friends, so Chuckie refuses. Lock up to begin, and they work to the corner for a clean break. King now works shoulder tackles, but Chuckie cuts him off with a headlock and then a shoulder tackle. They pick up the pace, King hits arm drags and they work into a stand off and they hug. Chuckie looks for another hug and then hits a belly to belly. Post break, and Chuckie is in control, hitting a slam and then misses a moonsault. This allows King to fire up and make the come back. King dumps him to he floor and hits a tornillo before taking a selfie with a fan. Back in and King hits the high cross for 2. Chuckie then stuns him off the ropes, and follows with a plancha to the floor. Chuckie now takes a selfie with a fan. Back in and Chuckie hits a sitout powerbomb for 2. Chuckie connects with soul food, and then does the deal with a falcon arrow for 2. King battles back and hits a spinebuster for 2. He now looks for the royal flush, but Chuckie counters into a cradle for 2. The snap piledriver gets 2. King counters awful waffle and hits the royal flush for the win. Kenny King defeated Chuckie T @ 9:30 via pin [**½] This was an overall solid opening match. The work was clean, but lackadaisical, with no sense of urgency to it. Also, with two weeks until the PPV, why are we filling TV with guys that do not have a PPV match booked?

– We get a recap of The Young Bucks vs. The Briscoes TV match where the Bucks won when the champions got themselves DQ’d. We go to the chicken farm for words from the champions. Mark said the Bucks are the best in the world at selling t-shirts and making YouTube videos, and Jay said they can’t take the tag titles from them. They tell the fans to stop asking them questions and to mind their business because all they need to know is that the Briscoes are champions.

– We get a Shane Taylor vs. Josh Woods video package. Taylor now cuts a promo, claiming that he had woods beat in West Palm Beach until King Mo got involved.

Shane Taylor vs. Josh Woods: Wood tries a springboard but Taylor easily swats him out of the air, like a bear playing with a toy. They brawl to the floor and Taylor hits a cannonball against the barricade. Post break, and Woods locks on a rear naked choke and then hits a German on Taylor. Woods takes Taylor to the corner, lights him up with knees until the ref backs him off. This allows Taylor to hit the KO shot and pick up the win. Shane Taylor defeated Josh Woods @ 3:43 via pin [*½] This was far from horrible, but they continue to have no idea what to do with Woods after giving him the top prospect tournament win. They also aren’t sure if Taylor is a face or heel most weeks, and despite him putting in good performances, it makes it hard for the crowds to invest in him. ALSO AND AGAIN, with two weeks until the PPV, why are we filling TV with guys that do not have a PPV match booked?

– Dalton Castle joins commentary to scout Cody & Marty.

Bullet Club (Cody, Marty Scurll, Adam Page, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson) w/Burnard The Business Bear vs. LIJ (Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, EVIL, SANADA, & BUSHI): Naito is over like a God here. He and Cody work back and forth, with Naito dumping and frustrating Cody and giving him a little traquilo. Marty tags himself in, frustrating Cody, and starts to work over BUSHI until SANADA makes the save and the Bucks come face to face with EVIL & SANADA. They brawl and work into a face off. Takahashi tags in and we get everyone facing off and they all brawl. The crowd loves this. The Bucks run wild, clear the ring and Bullet Club runs wild. Takahashi & Daryl junior run wild until the Bucks hit superkicks. SANADA breaks up the Meltzer driver. Post break, and SANADA works over Matt until Matt wipes him out with a superkick. We get tags to Marty & Takahashi, they trade strikes and Marty eventually takes control. The apron superkick to BUSHI and Naito follows. Marty gets a chicken wing and then the ghostbuster for 2. Takahashi now hits the overhead suplex to the buckles and tags in EVIL. SANADA joins him and Nick fights them off, hits the x-factor on EVIL for2 as SANADA makes the save. The Bucks now look for sharp shooters, but Naito & BUSHI break things up until Page cuts them off. Punishment Martinez arrives and Page brawls with him to the back. Post break, and BUSHI hits a missile dropkick as LIJ takes control of things. Marty cuts off BUSHI, but Takahashi in and Cody wipes him out as we break down into the big move buffet. The magic killer gets 2 on Matt as Cody makes the save. He follows with a step up dive to the floor. BUSHI MISTS BURNARD! Marty then accidentally hits Cody with the umbrella as the Bucks fire up with superkicks. The Meltzer driver finishes BUSHI. Bullet Club defeated LIJ @ 17:25 via pin [***¾] This was a very good main event, with a hot crowd and a tremendously fun pace. Bullet Club winning made the most sense as all members have PPV Title matches coming up.

– Next week is the Best In The World go home show… with nothing announced.

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

As a stand-alone show, I’d call it average overall, with a really good and fun main event. But the booking of ROH TV leaves a lot to be desired. ROH is really missing the mark here, with two weeks to go there was really no PPV build or hype. Cody, Marty Scurll, Adam Page, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson all won as they should as they have title matches at the PPV, but also, why book LIJ (EVIL, BUSHI, SANADA) to lose on this show instead of having them win a match (book them in another match) to get momentum ahead of the trios title match that they have at the PPV. They should also be using Honor Club live events to augment the TV and add to the storytelling instead of delivering largely average shows. Especially with TV time being so limited, you can run angles and show them on TV clipped in theory, but that would require the company to alter the TV taping schedule to keep it more up to date. They won’t and it will keep hurting them.