Ring of Honor returns to the Pittsburgh area this Saturday as the build toward “Best in the World 2013” begins. The show is headlined by a huge ROH World Tag Team Title match and has a number of intriguing matches on the undercard. The show looks good on paper and should deliver with quality matches.
Let’s take a closer look at each match.
ROH World Tag Team Championship
reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) (c) vs. The Briscoes
reDRagon shocked the world by winning the ROH World Tag Team titles at the “11th Anniversary Show” by defeating the Briscoes. Although that match was just over two months ago, a lot has changed. Most notably, Jay Briscoe captured the ROH World Title at “Supercard of Honor VII” in a historic moment by beating Kevin Steen. His younger brother Mark has challenged for both singles titles since then, and although he came up short both times, he had impressive showings. He is once again poised for a title shot as he will battle his brother for the ROH World Title at “Best in the World 2013.” While the Briscoes have been chasing singles’ success, reDRagon have only continued to improve as a tag team. Fish and O’Reilly are only scratching the surface of their potential as a team, which is scary given how good they already are. The Briscoes are getting their opportunity to capture the tag titles for a ninth time, but Jay could make history in a different way: He can become the first person to hold multiple titles in the company’s history. This is going to be a great match and could be one of the best tag matches ROH will deliver all year.
Kevin Steen vs. Rhett Titus
Kevin Steen and Rhett Titus proved themselves to be at opposite ends of the war between ROH and SCUM at “Border Wars.” Steen, SCUM’s former leader, joined Michael Elgin in trying to expel Steve Corino from wrestling once and for all. Steen ultimately lost the match, which gave SCUM a future ROH World Title match and Corino a position on commentary. Earlier in the night, Titus proved his devotion to the group by intentionally losing his match to BJ Whitmer to save Corino from an attack. Steen’s crusade against SCUM continues against one of the group’s most-devout members. Steen has the skills advantage, but Titus has to be the favorite based on SCUM having his back.
Michael Elgin vs. ACH
ACH has taken ROH by storm this year and is one of the company’s fastest rising stars. He goes one-on-one in Belle Vernon against last year’s breakout star in Michael Elgin. Elgin is looking to continue building momentum toward his eventual ROH World Title shot, while ACH will be trying to make a name for himself by defeating one of the best the company has to offer. This should be a fantastic match and one that could steal the show. ACH will try to use his speed advantage to gain control of the match, but Elgin’s freakish strength may be too much to overcome. Either way, this is going to be a great match.
No DQ
Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Jacobs
At “Border Wars,” Jay Lethal injured his knee and was unable to continue the fight against the SCUM team of Jimmy Jacobs and Cliff Compton. Steen entered the match in Lethal’s absence, which led to Jacobs picking up the victory. The war between SCUM and ROH continues this Saturday as Jacobs challenged Lethal to a No DQ match to see how tough the former ROH World TV Champion is. Rave has made his name on being sadistic and bending the rules, and matches like this are right up his alley. Lethal has shown some killer instinct in the past, but this kind of match may be slightly out of his element. This should be a wild brawl between two talented wrestler who hate each other.
Proving Ground
ROH World TV Champion Matt Taven vs. TaDarius Thomas
These two wrestlers met in the finals of the Top Prospect Tournament earlier this year. Taven picked up the win and it catapulted him to becoming the Television Champion. Taven has become swept up in the Hoopla of the House of Truth, which has helped him retain the title on several occasions. Thomas has since formed a tag team with ACH, but he will get another chance at capturing a future ROH World TV Title shot Saturday in the Proving Ground match. Taven has already lost one of these matches and Thomas is looking to make it two. As long as he has the House of Truth in his corner, Taven has to be considered the favorite of any match he’s in.
Roderick Strong vs. Adam Cole vs. BJ Whitmer
This match has no titles on the line. There are no future title matches at stake. The only thing these three are wrestling for is bragging rights over the other two men. Cole is looking to rebound after failing to capture the ROH World Title at “Border Wars.” Strong and Whitmer both won their matches at the iPPV and a win here would continue to build momentum for them. A win for Cole would put him back in title contention. This is going to be another good match on a show that is loaded with solid matchups.
American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. QT Marshall & RD Evans
RD Evan’s big mouth may have bitten his team off more than they can chew. He’s been claiming he and Marshall deserve a title shot despite not doing anything to earn one. Nigel McGuinness decided to give them the opportunity to earn a title match, but they must go through the American Wolves to do so. The Wolves both had singles success at “Border Wars” and are looking to get rolling as a team once again. They should be able to work toward another title match by making quick work of Marshall and Evans.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Vinny Marseglia
Tommaso Ciampa made a surprising return from injury at “Border Wars” when he interrupted shenanigans from Evans and Marshall. He makes his in-ring return this Saturday in Belle Vernon. He will be able to work out any ring rust against Marseglia. Ciampa’s rage and instability has been building for months on the sidelines and he will take that aggression out on Marseglia.
Ring of Honor returns to Belle Vernon Saturday, May 11, at the The Rostraver Ice Gardens. Keep checking back to ROHWorld.com for full results of the show.