Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander go after the ROH World Tag Team Championships when they meet the Briscoe Brothers!
Ring of Honor finally returns with fresh content after what seemed like an eternity of Road Rage episodes coming off the heels of “Final Battle 2012.” We should expect a lot of fallout from the iPPV on this show, including the Briscoes first defense of the ROH World Tag Team Titles against Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander.
Right off the bat we get a new intro for the television show, and it looks really good.
Kevin Kelly and Caleb Seltzer welcome us to the Du Burns Arena.
Alabama Attitude (Mike Posey & Corey Hollis) vs. Team Am-Fishin’ (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly)
Hollis and O’Reilly start the match off for their teams. Seltzer just called O’Reilly and Fish Team Am-Fishin’! That’s awesome! O’Reilly and Hollis trade quick counters before their tag partners tag in. O’Reilly knees Posey in the back allowing Fish to hit a dropkick ad give his team control. Fish connects with a backbreaker and O’Reilly turns it into a combination with an elbow drop from the turnbuckles. Posey escapes a double team attempt and tags in Hollis who comes in and cleans house. Hollis hits a combination sliced bread and DDT, and Posey follows it up with a leg drop on Fish for two. One the outside, O’Reilly hits a German suplex on Hollis. Team Am-Fishin’ hits a combination kick to the head and brainbuster for Fish to get the pinfall on Posey.
Winners by Pinfall: Team Am-Fishin’
ROHWorld.com’s Thoughts: First of all, the show looks incredible. It looks like Ring of Honor really stepped up their production game and it pays dividends. This is the kind of production Ring of Honor needs to have week in and week out if they want people to take them seriously. As for the match itself, it accomplished everything it needed to. It was a fun match that made Fish and O’Reilly look really good. Alabama Attitude also looked pretty decent, and I wouldn’t mind seeing them a little more often at all. This was a good start to 2013.
Back from break and Nigel McGuinness is in the ring. He addresses the Jay Lethal situation from “Final Battle” where he had to kick Lethal out of the building. He calls Lethal to the ring so he can hear the decision. McGuinness tells Lethal he didn’t expect Lethal to be the one to step up and try to test him. McGuinness gives Lethal a warning and says it’s the last one he will get. McGuinness tells Lethal if he steps out of line again he will regret it. Lethal says the last few weeks have been the most frustrating of his career and says he understand the warning. He asks McGuinness what he has to do to earn his title shot against Kevin Steen and says he won’t wait until Steen loses the belt. McGuinness says the only way Lethal can get a shot is if he changes Steen’s mind.
It’s now time for Inside ROH. We get a recap of Adam Cole’s loss to Matt Hardy at “Final Battle.” Next week, BJ Whitmer challenges Cole for the TV Title because McGuinness hated the way Hardy won. Hardy says he won with a wrestling maneuver in a wrestling company while Whitmer got carried out. Whitmer says opportunities like this don’t come often, so he’s going to make the most of it. Kevin Kelly says Kevin Steen might not be the same since “Final Battle.” Steve Corino says it will still be the same Steen when he returns. Kelly breaks down the Top Prospects Tournament, which begins tonight.
Truth Martini joins Kelly and Seltzer at the broadcast booth for the Top Prospects Tournament.
Top Prospects Tournament
Mike Sydal vs. QT Marshall w/ RD Evans
Marshall gets in a cheap shot in the corner and then sends Sydal to the apron. Evans distracts Sydal allowing Marshall to attack Sydal. A huge side suplex gets a two count for Marshall. Sydal hits a spinning DDT and both men are down. Two dropkicks and a neckbreaker gives Sydal control. A hurricarana sends Marhsall to the floor and Sydal goes to the top. He connects with a moonsault to the floor on Marshall and Evans, and he gets a two count back in the ring. Sydal goes for a standing moonsault, but Marshall gets the knees up. Marshall hits the God’s Gift to pick up the victory and advance in the tournament.
Winner by Pinfall: QT Marshall
ROHWorld.com’s Thoughts: This got off to a very sloppy start, but it turned into an ok match. Neither wrestler impressed me that much, but the moonsault to the floor was pretty cool.
Veda Scott is backstage with Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander. They say they respect the Briscoes, but they’re going to win the titles.
Back from the commercial and Veda Scott is backstage with the Briscoes. They say they can call Coleman and Alexander their friends, but when the bell rings there are no such thing friends.
ROH World Tag Team Titles
The Briscoes vs. Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander
Mark Briscoe and Alexander start the match off and they wrestle to a stalemate. Jay Briscoe and Coleman tag in. Coleman connects with a beautiful dropkick for a two count. Coleman and Alexander use a series of double-team moves ebfore finishing off the sequence with dual dives over the top onto the champions as the show goes to commercial.
Back from the break and the Briscoes have gained control of the match. A suplex gets a two count on Alexander from Mark. A sidewalk slam and leg drop combination gets another near fall for the champions. Alexander fights back and trades in Coleman who takes out both of the Briscoes. Coleman hits two consecutive Northern Lights suplexes on Mark before hitting a dual bridging Northern Lights Suplex on the Briscoes for a two count. The Briscoes retaliate and try for the Doomsday Device, but Alexander and Coleman fight it off and connect with the Overtime, but they kick out! Mark shows off some Redneck Kung Fu on Coleman as Jay pulls Alexander to the outside. Mark connects with the Froggy ‘Bow, but Alexander kicks out. The Briscoes respond with the Doomsday Device to retain their titles.
Steve Corino, Jimmy Jacobs an Rhino attack the two teams after the match and Rhino Gores Alexander.
Winners and STILL ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Briscoes
ROHWorld.com’s Thoughts: This was a fantastic match and an amazing way to finish off the show. Coleman and Alexander have come so far during their time in Ring of Honor and they consistently put on great matches. They have good chemistry with the Briscoes and it made for a fun match. If every ROH show is as good as this first one, 2013 is going to be a very good year for the company.
Credit to: ROHWorld.com