Roderick Strong and Jay Lethal welcome us to a very special 100th episode of ROH on SBG. They will look back at some of the best TV matches we have seen and give their thoughts. It should be pretty interesting.
Episode 2 – ROH World TV Title Match: El Generico vs. Jay Lethal
It looks as if Strong and Lethal will interject at times and give their thoughts on the action. Strong says he remembers the match and what a big match feel it had. The two also discuss the 15 minute time limits placed on TV title matches and how it affects how you prepare. It’s quite hard to focus on the wrestling when you have a box with Jay and Roddy popping up every five seconds. If I remember correctly, this was Generico’s first title defence after he beat Christopher Daniels for the title at ‘Best In The World’. Lethal says the adrenaline from the crowd fired him up and helped him towards the end of the match as we see the time expire. Both men agree to extend the time until we have a winner. Lethal somehow kicks out of a Dragon suplex and then hits the Hail To The King for two. Lethal then blocks a Yakuza Kick before hitting the Lethal Combination to become new champion.
Winner by pinfall and NEW ROH World TV Champion: Jay Lethal
ROHWorld.com’s thoughts: I remember being really disappointed that Generico lost the belt in his first defense but it was a great match and one that I had forgotten about so it was nice to relive it. I wasn’t a fan of the time limits in TV title matches either so glad that doesn’t feature much anymore. A good match to kick off the show.
Episode 13 – The Briscoes vs. The House of Truth (Roderick Strong & Michael Elgin)
This is another match that highlights some of the terrible stuff from the Cornette era. Both teams put in $5,000 with the winning pair taking the whole pot. Because that makes sense in wrestling! Roddy talks about how Truth Martini is in fact quite the manager. He did lead him to the World title after all. Strong then explains why he throws so many chops as Lethal points out that Mark Briscoe’s chest looks like pizza. Jay gets powder thrown into his eyes by Martini and he then proceeds to go and get a baseball bat from the back and then uses it on Strong and Elgin. The House of Truth get the disqualification victory in an ending fit only for Jim Cornette.
Winners by disqualification: The House of Truth
ROHWorld.com’s thoughts: Not really sure why they included this one as it’s not exactly a classic. Again it points out some of the worst parts of Cornette’s era with the dodgy finish and awful stipulation. Decent enough match but you could easily find better from all four men involved.
Episode 58 – Survival of the Fittest 2012 Final
This is a six-man elimination match between Roderick Strong, Michael Elgin, Davey Richards, Jay Lethal, Adam Cole and Mike Mondo. Lethal says because it was elimination rules, he just let everybody else do their thing and then picked up the pieces. Makes sense… Strong, Mondo and Cole are the first men to be eliminated. That leaves a trio of Elgin, Richards and Lethal to battle it out for a World title shot. This was still during the infamous dissension in the House of Truth that lasted for approximately 37 years (hyperbole included). This was the real beginning of Elgin’s breakout time where he was being built up to be a real beast. Lethal and Richards try and double team Elgin but it doesn’t work until both men hit a number of kicks to his head to finally put him down. The locker room comes down to ringside to watch the final two fight it out. They just kick the crap out of each other for five minutes with both refusing to quit. Lethal finally wins with the Lethal Injection.
Winner and Survival of the Fittest 2012 Winner: Jay Lethal
ROHWorld.com’s thoughts: This was a fantastic finals to the tournament and I think it was the first one to be shown completely on ROH TV. It really signalled the beginning of Elgin’s rise to the top and the final five minute s between Lethal and Davey were amazing. And we also got to see the KILLER INSTINCT! Good match to end a weird if not entertaining episode on.