aceldamas presents ROH

[Pariah]

Very cool that Nigel has allowed Sydal to partner up with Coleman for the remainder of Tag Wars... Still, this duo has to viewed as the underdogs to claim the vacant tag straps...

Pleased that reDRagon were able to put the HoT on ice... The tourney just wouldn't be the same without Fish & O'Reilly... Hoping they walk out with the gold...

Jay Briscoe continues to impress with hit run as TV champion... Even when they had him shortly outnumbered, it looked like Affluence wanted no piece of him... Perhaps they recall what he did to Jimmy Jacobs and the Fringe not too long ago...

Great stuff, as always!

[cruefan68]

My man Pariah has it all covered as usual. Jay Briscoe is not one to mess with and I think Affluence is going to learn that real quick. Tag Wars is coming along great and I am pulling for reDRagon to win the belts.

[aceldamas]

Pariah , cruefan68 - reDRagon showed why they were the #1 seed in Tag Wars but their next opponents will test them. The Kingdom await.

You both hit the nail on the head with Affluence showing discretion in calling off an attack on Jay Briscoe. Here's the follow-up to that...

Uploaded to the Ring of Honor YouTube Channel:

Affluence pick their battles.

Adam Cole - “Why didn’t we take Jay Briscoe out? It was a perfect opportunity. I had him worn down, Mark isn’t around. Explain that to me.”

Christopher Daniels - “Adam, your enthusiasm was eclipsing your judgement. Now isn’t the time to engage on a new front. When there are too many fronts, you soon find yourself surrounded.”

Kazarian - “We don’t need him and Elgin joining forces.”

Chris - “Precisely. Besides, you don’t attack an enemy at the peak of their ascendancy. Jay Briscoe is in all his glory right now but when he shows a weakness, only then will we strike.”

Adam - “You’re right. And when he does, the ROH Television Championship will be mine.”

[Pariah]

Always the Ring General, you gotta love when a guy like Christopher Daniels takes control... One of the greatest in minds around, if you ask me... Nice!

[cruefan68]

I really liked that meeting of the minds between the Affluence members, very cool and calculating. I don't picture Jay Briscoe ever being vulnerable but who knows if Affluence strikes at the right time they could take him out and take the television title to boot.

[aceldamas]

Pariah , cruefan68 - Affluence want to concentrate on getting Michael Elgin off Jay Lethal's back before trying to conquer new territory.

An inside the booking moment - I don't want to put Jay Briscoe into another big feud so soon after his battles with The Fringe. And that would be unavoidable with Affluence involved. So with their stated goal of getting all of the gold, I had to put them off his scent so to speak. This match gave me the perfect opportunity to explain them not pursuing him right yet.

Thanks for following along, guys!

[aceldamas]

Conquest 2016

March 26, 2016

Philadelphia

Chris Sabin def. ACH by pin
Sabin started hearing a few boos tonight for some of his recent behavior but he had the crowd’s support for the most part. ACH was coming off of a big non-title win against ROH World Champion Jay Lethal. This match mirrored Sabin’s recent performance on ROH Television against Caprice Coleman. ACH tried opening with a dropkick but Chris stepped aside. Sabin then tossed ACH with a pair of German Suplexes before finishing him with Cradle Shock.
Sabin wasn’t able to celebrate his impressive win before The Addiction ran down to the ring and attacked ACH looking for revenge for the defeat of their Affluence stablemate, Lethal. As Kazarian put the boots to ACH, Christopher Daniels gave Sabin a cautionary glare. Sabin put his hands up, showing he had no intention of interfering with them. Daniels nodded to him then joined in on the boot party for ACH. As Sabin made his exit, fans voiced their disapproval of his inaction.

TAG WARS semi-final
Matt Sydal & Caprice Coleman def. War Machine by pin
The hastily formed team of Sydal and Coleman were undoubtedly the underdogs against War Machine. Coleman and Hanson start out with a fast-paced exchange. Caprice and Matt try a high risk combo but Sydal crash and burns. Matt fights his way back but misses a Shooting Sydal Press. Raymond Rowe tags in and tosses Sydal about with a bevy of suplexes. Ever resilient, Matt once again fights back and this time lands a Shooting Sydal Press only to have Hanson break up the pin attempt. Coleman and Sydal get into a groove and pull off the upset win as another Shooting Sydal Press results in the pin on Rowe. There is a mixed reaction from the crowd and War Machine grudgingly follow the Code of Honor. Sydal and Coleman advance to meet either The Kingdom or reDRagon for the ROH World Tag Team Championship!

TAG WARS semi-final
The Kingdom def. reDRagon by pin
The Kingdom made a splash in the opening round of the tournament and were now going to face the top seed in reDRagon. Michael Bennett and Kyle O’Reilly got this one started. Bennett threw Kyle off his game with a sneaky roll up. Mike then hit a Side Effect and went for a Ring Apron Piledriver. O’Reilly was hurt badly and Bennett easily pinned him. The abrupt ending to the match, as well as Bobby Fish and the referee huddled over Kyle, had the crowd concerned. There was an intermission as O’Reilly received medical attention.

After the break, Steve Corino joined Kevin Kelly on commentary ahead of schedule as Nigel McGuinness was seeing to the O’Reilly situation in the back. Kevin was wary of Corino as Steve began his probationary stint at the announce position after striking a deal with McGuinness.

Jay Lethal def. Rhett Titus by submission
With a number one contender still to be determined, ROH World CHampion Lethal faced Titus in this non-title bout. Rhett got the hot start but went crashing to the floor when Jay pushed him from the top turnbuckle as he was setting up for a move. Lethal smashed him into the ringpost, then cracked Titus’ leg against the post as well. With Rhett’s leg still wrapped around the post, he put on a figure four leg lock in classic fashion. After dishing out the punishment at ringside, back between the ropes, Jay locked on a Koji Clutch. Titus lasted a few minutes in the hold before tapping out. The world champ looked in top form in this one-sided contest.

Moose def. Donovan Dijak w/Truth Martini by pin
Dubbed ROH’s Clash of the Titans, the crowd was hyped for the Moose/Dijak confrontation. Moose went right after Dijak, trying to cut the only man in ROH who dwarfed him down to size. After a couple of failed attempts, a scoop slam by Moose made the ring shudder and brought the fans to their feet. Truth flipped out when he saw his man get slammed to the mat. The two battled back and forth with Moose starting to gain momentum, leading to a Spear. Martini pulled the ref out of the ring before he could make the three count. Moose hit the Spear again and Truth pulled the same stunt, nearly getting his man disqualified. Moose continued to pummel the wavering Dijak. As Moose went for another cover, the ref, perhaps out of irritation with Truth, made a quick count. The match ended in underwhelming fashion and the crowd voiced their displeasure.

Proving Ground match
Jay Briscoe def. Adam Page w/Truth Martini by DQ
Page, being the only man of late to give Briscoe a decent fight, jumped at the opportunity for this rematch, attempting to earn a shot at the ROH World Television Championship. Once again, Adam brought the fight to Briscoe and had him on the defensive for nearly the entire match. Late in the match, Jay reversed Page with a Yakuza Kick and tried taking the fight to the floor. This backfired when Page started bouncing Jay’s head off the timekeeper’s table with Truth Martini’s encouragement. The referee tried to put a stop to it and Page shoved him to the ground, resulting in a disqualification. This didn’t seem to bother Truth too much as Page went a long way in showing he can hang with Briscoe.

Adam Cole def. Michael Elgin by pin
This was an important battle in the war between Elgin and Affluence. If Cole could beat Big Mike, it may knock him out of the championship picture for a while, protecting Jay Lethal’s ROH World Championship. The opening action was scrappy as each man struggled for the advantage. Cole nailed Elgin with a loud enzuigiri that dropped him to his knees and followed up with a superkick to the back of the head. Cole looked to finish Mike with a figure four leglock but it was far too soon. Elgin blocked a German suplex attempt and went on the offensive. The enemies fought back and forth, each taking a lot of hard shots. Twice the Florida Key failed to keep Elgin’s shoulders to the mat so Cole went for the Panama Sunrise to get the hard-earned win. This capped a strong night for Affluence and while they haven’t been able to take Elgin out, they’ve pushed him down the rankings and possibly out of title contention.

Nigel McGuinness had returned to commentary for the main event and addressed Kyle O’Reilly’s condition. Kyle suffered no serious damage but Nigel was concerned about Mike Bennett’s use of the piledriver and would be reviewing the matter. Nigel also begrudgingly commended Steve Corino’s good behavior while announcing most of the show.

TAG WARS final
RING OF HONOR TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
The Kingdom def. Matt Sydal & Caprice Coleman by referee stoppage
In an unusual turn of events, the next ROH World Tag Team Champions would be a duo that had not teamed in ROH prior to Tag Wars. Michael Bennett began against Matt Sydal. Bennett weathered some kicks from Matt and speared him with On This Day and tagged in Matt Taven. Sydal turned the tide and gave Taven an Aftershock. Taven tried to tag out but Coleman tagged in first and cut him off. Caprice’s advantage was short-lived and The Kingdom doubled teamed him with a Hail Mary spike piledriver. Nigel McGuinness voiced his apprehension about the direction this was going. Coleman was able to kick out of the pin attempt but was at Bennett’s mercy. Taven came back in and use a piledriver himself. Nigel was conflicted but said he would stop the match if he had to. It only got worse as Bennett then pile drived Coleman on the floor. He laughed as Sydal desperately tried to tag his partner. Mike continued to work on Caprice’s neck with Go Back To Japan but Coleman would not give up. The Kingdom combined for the Hail Mary again and Nigel had seen enough. He climbed onto the apron and ordered the ref to ring the bell. The match was over and The Kingdom became the new ROH World Tag Team Champions under a cloud of controversy.




Current Rankings:

1. Jay Lethal
2. Adam Cole
3. Michael Elgin
4. Chris Sabin
5. ACH
6. Jay Briscoe
7. Moose
8. Cedric Alexander
9. Dalton Castle
10. Donovan Dijak

[Pariah]

Sometimes controversy is the best foundation for a great story... And I'm liking the cloud the surrounded The Kingdom's title victory... Should make for some interesting developments going forward...

I'm also curious to see where Sabin's head is at... Is there a spot in Affluence waiting for him? Or is he simply playing the lone wolf?

The Proving Ground match between Page and Briscoe was exciting... Gotta think that a rematch is in the cards...

Fantastic stuff!

[cruefan68]

What a night for both Kingdom and Affluence at Conquest 2016. I was thinking of a reDRagon vs. War Machine final but it went the complete opposite way. That was pretty cool and the Kingdom looked vicious en route to claiming the vacant ROH tag team titles. Adam Cole over Michael Elgin capped off the strong night for Affluence and it is going to be interesting to see just who can stop that faction and get the ROH Heavyweight title off of Jay Lethal. As Pariah noted it looks like Chris Sabin is a "Lone Wolf" but maybe he will be the one to finally take down Affluence. Some great questions remain to be answered. Excellent show from start to finish.

[aceldamas]

Pariah , cruefan68 - The Kingdom's sudden rise to the top wasn't necessarily a surprise but the brutal way in which they have done it was unexpected.

Chris Sabin's disposition in the company appears to be that of the lone wolf but the landscape of ROH at this point in time demands that you either join a pack or start your own. This will develop further as we approach the next PPV.

Thanks for the comments guys!

RING OF HONOR TELEVISION

2016 Season Episode 10

ACH def. Kazarian w/Christopher Daniels by count out
ACH has been a target of Affluence since his upset win over ROH World Champion Jay Lethal. Chris Sabin was sitting in on commentary and was asked by Kevin Kelly why he didn’t help out ACH when Affluence attacked him after their match at Conquest. Chris stated that it was not any of his business. Kevin got right to the point, asking Sabin if he was aligned with Affluence. Chris said “no comment”.
The only offense Kaz got in was when Daniels interfered on his behalf and was able to get in a couple of moves. ACH would not be denied. Late in the match, as Kazarian was taking a powder, ACH ran the apron and connected with a hard boot to the chest. Daniels, the Ring General, called for a retreat and ACH ended up winning by count out, reinforcing the case for him to be named number one contender to Jay Lethal’s title.

Bobby Fish was in the ring and updated everyone on the status of the injury to his reDRagon partner Kyle O’Reilly suffered at the hands of The Kingdom during Tag Wars. He said Kyle would be back real soon but he wasn’t going to sit idly by waiting for him to return. He wanted someone from The Kingdom to step into the ring with him tonight. Michael Bennett and Maria answered his challenge. They stopped by the announce position and Bennett told Sabin that there was room for one more in The Kingdom and Maria said he should think about it. Sabin commented that he felt like the pretty girl at the dance.

Michael Bennett def. Bobby Fish by submission
Bennett had the early advantage and tried for the submission with Go Back To Japan. Fish escaped the hold and fought his way back into the match. A super falcon arrow set up a Fish Hook Deluxe Edition with Bennett barely making it to the ropes to break it up. Bobby continued to work the leg submissions, then took his opponent to the floor, driving him hard into the barrier. Fish went for his finisher again and this time Maria had to come to her husband’s aid. Fish used suplexes to rattle Bennett, then nailed him with Sleeps With The Fishes. Mike bailed to the floor and caught the pursuing Fish, sending him into the ring post. Bennett gave Fish a piledriver on the floor and Bobby barely beat the ref’s count to get back in the ring. After a couple of more hard shots, Bennett went for Go Back To Japan again and this time got Fish to tap out.

INSIDE ROH: Supercard of Honor is coming to Dallas, TX for one of ROH’s biggest shows of the year! Jay Lethal, Jay Briscoe, and The Kingdom will all be defending their championships! The Young Bucks will also be back! And the much anticipated return of Mark Briscoe! Keep tuning into ROH Television for details as they develop!

Jay Lethal w/Moose def. Raymond Rowe by submission
As Lethal made his entrance, ROH matchmaker Nigel McGuinness promised he would soon be announcing who Jay Lethal’s opponent would be at Supercard of Honor for the ROH World Championship. Physically outmatched, Lethal resorted to dirty tactics but Rowe shrugged them off. Ray used some big suplexes to soften Jay up for Death Rowe. Lethal got his foot on the rope before the three count. T-Bone suplex by Rowe for another near fall and the champion was facing another potential upset. Ray crushed Jay into the guardrail with a suicide dive and Moose had to help the champ back into the ring. Jay took Death Rowe again and Moose made the save by pulling the ref out of the ring. The official ejected Moose from ringside. Lethal bounced back and caught Rowe with a Lethal Injection. Ray kicked out but Jay transitioned into a Koji Clutch and Rowe submitted.

Next: Jay Briscoe defends the ROH World Television Championship!