ROH TV 2/11/2018

This week on ROH TV, ROH World Champion Dalton Castle defends against Punishment Martinez.

ROH TV
Date: 2/11/2018
From: Nashville, TN

ROH World Champion Dalton Castle opens the program cutting a promo talking about how he doesn’t get surprised, but then didn’t realize one of his boys was to his right. So, sometimes he isn’t surprised. Castle doesn’t get surprised when Punishment Martinez attacked him. He doesn’t blame Martinez for attacking him since he wears eyeliner. Castle says that Martinez will be wrestling a champion and fighting someone who is protecting something he earned. He is going to do anything he can to remain the ROH World Champion.

Opening Contest: Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas vs. Coast 2 Coast (LSG & Shaeem Ali): Bruiser and Milonas waste zero time attacking LSG and Ali before the bel. LSG and Ali get caught coming off the middle rope and they get slammed to the canvas. Milonas knocks LSG down to the mat from behind and Bruiser nearly wins with an elbow drop. Milonas delivers a series of sit down splashes on LSG in the corner. Bruiser gets dropkicked into Milonas by LSG. Ali gets the hot tag and cleans house until Bruiser cuts him off. Bruiser accidentally decks Milonas and Coast 2 Coast hit Complete Shot for a near fall. Ali kicks Bruiser in the corner but gets distracted by Silas Young allowing Milonas to deliver a splash in the corner. Silas beats on LSG until Kenny King comes into the ring and that leads to all six men brawling. I’m assuming this leads to a six man tag match.

Second Contest: ROH Television Champion Silas Young, Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas vs. Kenny King & Coast 2 Coast (LSG & Shaeem Ali): That’s exactly what happens. King spin kicks Milonas and hits a corkscrew dive to the floor. Bruiser comes off the apron to take King out with a somersault dive. Ali hits a somersault dive to the floor. Young hits LSG with a springboard clothesline and fakes a dive to the floor. Young drops Ali on the apron with a Rock Bottom followed by a double stomp into the ring from the apron. LSG tosses Young to the floor following a kick. Milonas decks LSG from behind and hits a side slam after a dropkick from Bruiser for a two count. Young tags in and trades right hands with LSG. LSG hits a springboard forearm and Ali tags in to plant Young with Complete Shot for a near fall. King gets tagged in and he continues to work over Silas with a spinning heel kick. King is left in the ring with all three men and is splashed by both Bruiser and Milonas in the middle of the ring, twice. Silas covers King but only gets a two count. Silas and Ali collide with stereo clotheslines. LSG heads to the top rope to hit a 450 dive onto Milonas and Bruiser. Silas and Ali trade forearms in the middle of the ring. Silas gets caught and King hits the Royal Flush to win the match. (**. There were a couple of good spots thrown in there, but I didn’t find myself all that invested in the action. I was worried that Coast 2 Coast were going to job following their big win over War Machine. Luckily, this was used to instead advance the issues between King and Silas.)

Backstage, Rhett Titus and Will Ferrera cut a promo on Coast 2 Coast and they are mad about Coast 2 Coast getting cheers and they are going to send them packing.

We get a video package introducing us to Mandy Leon and Madison Rayne. Leon has been in ROH since day one for WOH. However, Rayne notes that she had been in ROH several years before Leon stepped foot in a ROH ring. They are both confident they’ll be the first WOH Champion.

Third Contest: Mandy Leon vs. Madison Rayne in a WOH Title Tournament Match: Leon backs Rayne into a corner and backs away cleanly. Leon shoulder blocks Rayne but Rayne comes back with an armdrag. Leon takes Rayne over with an armdrag as well. Leon kicks Rayne followed by a rolling neck snap for a near fall. Rayne has a rollup on Rayne but only manages a two count. Rayne stops Leon with a spear and a step up kick as we go to commercial.

Rayne keeps control with a swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Leon drives Rayne face first onto the canvas and they are both down. They begin to trade strikes from their knees. Leon hits a Flatliner and locks in a Koquina Clutch but Rayne reaches the ropes quickly. Leon kicks Rayne from the apron followed by a somersault dive off the apron. Leon hits a missile dropkick and nearly pins Rayne. Rayne comes back with an ace crusher but Leon kicks out at two. Leon nearly wins with an inside cradle. Rayne hits a package sit-down DDT for a near fall. Rayne heads to the top but misses a crossbody. Leon hits Natural Projection for the win. (*1/4. It wasn’t very good. Leon has never impressed me but ROH is obsessed with pushing her as the face of the division for whatever reason.) After the match, they embrace to show respect.

Last week, Cody was pissed about the Young Bucks not being there for him. Cody tells Bucks that they don’t need anything more involving Kenny Omega. The Bucks tell him they had just gotten there. Cody says that everyone wants the Bullet Club to breakup. Cody needs better from the Bucks. Marty Scurll came into the scene and had fan sign. He was oblivious to the tension.

Backstage, Briscoe Brothers cut a promo on the ROH Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns. They don’t care about their opponents nor do they care if the fans cheer them. They are making a statement that they are the baddest tag team ever. They don’t care if their opponents live or die. They believe the tag titles are their property and they are taking them back.

Marty Scurll is on commentary for the main event.

Main Event: ROH World Champion Dalton Castle vs. Punishment Martinez: Castle slaps Martinez to start the match and continues with right hands in the corner. Martinez tosses Castle out of the corner and is met with another slap. Castle dumps Martinez to the floor and hits a suicide dive to the floor! Castle continues to hammer away on Martinez sending him into the apron gut first. Castle leaps off the Boys but is caught by Martinez. Castle is able to send Martinez face first into the post as we go to commercial.

Martinez backs Castle into a corner a few times to break free from Dalton. Castle is kicked off the middle rope and crashes to the floor. Castle goes for a head scissors but Martinez counters with a Last Ride onto the apron. Martinez forearms Dalton on the floor. Martinez sends Castle back first into the corner and delivers a slam followed by a springboard senton splash for a two count. Castle rolls to the floor and the Boys wave down their champion. Castle takes advantage of a distraction but is decked by Martinez followed by a superkick. Martinez sends Castle face first into the guard railing a couple of times. Martinez gets a two count back in the ring. We go to another commercial.

During the break, Castle hit a head scissors on the floor. Castle hits a German suplex with a bridge but Martinez kicks out at two. Castle hammers away on Martinez several times and avoids a few strikes to hit an overhead suplex. Martinez gets up quickly but is tossed back down to the mat. Martinez nails Castle with a clothesline and Martinez hits a Falcon Arrow for a near fall. Martinez attempts a powerbomb but Castle blocks it. Martinez drops Castle with a big boot to the chest in the corner. Martinez dives over the post to take Castle and Boys out with a dive!

Martinez hits a spinning heel kick off the top rope but Castle kicks out at two. Martinez attempts a chokeslam but has to settle with a kick to the ear. Martinez delivers a ripcord kick and Castle looks to be out of it. Martinez has Castle set for the Psycho Driver but Castle counters with a rollup and wins the match. (**1/2. I’d have to consider this an overall disappointment. Martinez was by far the more impressive performer here, but they booked Castle as being lucky to survive the title defense. It keeps Martinez strong, but making the champion look weak does some damage.) After the match, Martinez destroys the Boys out of frustration.

Next week, Bullet Club defends the six man tag titles against SoCal Uncensored.

Final Thoughts:
I think for the first time this year ROH has disappointed me with a main event. I was hopeful for a much better match than what happened this week. They booked themselves into a corner to not sacrifice Martinez and his momentum. However, I think more damage is done to Castle if he has to steal a victory. Had he won with his finisher it would give much more creditability to his reign, which started with a mixed reaction amongst many fans. I think this was a skippable week of TV for ROH.

Thanks for reading.