Last week: Brody King earned a ROH World Championship shot by overcoming Shane Taylor after Josh Woods shocked the world by pinning Jay Lethal.
ROH TV Episode 481
December 5, 2020
Baltimore, MD
Brody King had words after his win over Shane Taylor; simply stating he is coming for the ROH World Championship because, “…violence is the answer.”
Josh Woods was also excited about winning last week. Woods wished Silas Young was here to see how well “The Goods” has been doing.
Mike Bennett vs. Vincent
Vincent spent the early going avoiding contact until Mike Bennett dropped his guard and turned his back. Vincent attacked his opponent from behind with Bennett trying to punch his way out of a bad situation. They were trading knife edge chops with Bennett channeling Kobashi when they entered the corner. Vincent ended up on the apron, avoiding a shoulder ram to pull off an ace crusher off the apron. Big belly to back suplex from Vincent before the show entered a commercial break.
Vincent was on the top rope for something when Bennett rolled away. Bennett got up swinging for the fences prior to throwing a super kick to set up the Death Valley driver. Bennett’s neck was killing him as he hooked Vincent for something. Instead, Vincent broke free and knocked Bennett into the corner for the Side Effect. Bennett kicked out of Vincent’s follow up in, only to get slapped around while his opponent. Bennett countered whatever Vincent had in mind for a follow up with the exploder suplex. When Vincent kicked out of Bennett’s pin attempt, he found himself in the corner in preparation for Bennett’s Backpack Stunner.
Vincent countered with the guillotine choke. Bennett kept his base, rushing Vincent into the corner. Blocking Vincent’s follow up, Bennett unleashed another super kick. Bennett came off the ropes to propel himself into the guillotine choke again. Bennett muscled his way off the mat, pulling off a brain buster to counter the submission. Vincent was running off at the mouth even from a prone state, forcing Bennett to retaliate in kind. Bennett executed a side Russian leg sweep; setting up the spear soon after. Though Vincent felt the spear he stopped a piledriver by rushing Bennett into the corner for an illegal choke. The referee demanded Vincent stop; having to disqualify him for not relinquishing the illegal attack.
Vincent was dragging Bennett up the aisle when the show returned. Laying Bennett on the entrance steps, Vincent stepped back in preparation for something big when Matt Taven came sailing off the stage. Bateman entered the ensuing fray as security tried to separate everyone. Vincent found himself being beaten by both Taven & Bennett when they discovered a lapse in security. Eventually The Righteous retreated.
A vignette aired promoting the lack of respect Rhett Titus gained during his ROH career. With Jay Lethal & Tracy Williams surrounding an octopus mask-wearing Titus, The Foundation declared Titus is worthy of being credited for restoring pure wrestling. Finally removing his mask, Rhett Titus proclaimed, “I am The Foundation.”
Mark Briscoe was confused that his family could be so stubborn during this time of the year. With his big brother occupied with his issues with EC3. But Mark is ready to get those Tag Team title belts back even if it’s not with Jay. What seemed to be a festive decoration behind him turned out to be a Christmas present Mark was ready to open early: his tag team partner PCO!
Pure Rules Match: Tracy Williams vs. John Walters
Flip Gordon joined the commentators and Ian Riccaboni revealed that Gordon will challenge for the Pure Championship at “Final Battle”. John Walters didn’t take kindly to Tracy Williams’ entrance as they came face to face; shoving his eventual opponent. Stern exchange with both focusing on the other’s head after the bell sounded. Using his momentum & leverage against him after getting locked in a full nelson, Williams sent Walters to the floor by running forward and tripping himself. The former Pure champion wasn’t deterred, going hold for hold with Williams until his left arm got caught & twisted. Put in an omaplata, Williams grabbed the nearby ropes to save himself from a sure loss. With the action resetting, Walters took his chance trip “Hot Sauce” into the Texas Cloverleaf attempt. Five minutes had passed with Williams regaining control by going after his opponent’s legs before the commercial break.
Walters landed a big knife edge chop that was topped by a chop block when he came off the ropes. After an exchange in the corner, Williams found himself caught in the Cloverleaf. Williams had no choice by to use a rope break. Walters didn’t stay on his opposition; getting yanked into a knee bar that forced Walters to use the ropes again. Hoisting Walters up, Williams pulled off a belly to back suplex that he used to convert into the crossface/Face Lock. Walters wasn’t screaming, but was in serious pain; enough pain to sacrifice his final rope break. Williams attempted the piledriver, only for it to be blocked. Walters wanted to convert the failed maneuver into a submission, but ended up getting rolled in position for the Face Lock. Walters made it to his feet while pressing Williams against & up the turnbuckles. Williams pulled Walters off the ropes with that turnbuckle DDT. Discus lariat-Piledriver combo connected for “Hot Sauce” for him to pick up the pin fall victory.
Overall: The road to “Final Battle” is drawing to a close quickly and ROH is doing its best to make a PPV-worthy card even if they haven’t had all the time to create a slew of impressive stories or feuds (case in point: the announcement of Gresham vs. Gordon for the Pure title; PCO returning to be Mark Briscoe’s partner). The one constant story since ROH TV returned to its current format has been the issues between Matt Taven and Vincent. Bennett-Vincent was a solid affair outdone by the short post-match brawl. The main event looked good on paper, but didn’t seem worthy of being a TV main event. Thankfully Walters is just as good, if not better than he was fifteen years ago and he & Williams had excellent chemistry. Hopefully Walters is here to stay as he could be an amazing gatekeeper in the Pure division, if not a future two-time champion. A solid episode if there ever was one with PPV implications.
