Last week: Tracy Williams overcame the returning John Walters after Vincent and Mike Bennett fought to a security-separated brawl.
ROH TV Episode 482
December 12, 2020
Baltimore, MD
Footage of last week’s brawl between Vincent & Bateman and Matt Taven & Mike Bennett led to Quinn McKay confronting the latter pair backstage with a knee-hobbled Bennett declaring that The Kingdom decides when this feud is over. Taven agreed, noting that Vincent has always feared Bennett coming back to prove that Vincent isn’t righteous at all and the new trend is the original Kingdom.
The Bouncers vs. Mark Briscoe & PCO
It was Beer City Bruiser starting off with Mark Briscoe. During the initial tie up, Briscoe got backed into the corner and unleashed some retaliatory strikes. BCB enjoyed what Mark had to offer, demanding they he bring the fight. When Mark attempted to showcase some redneck kung fu, BCB squashed him with a cross body block. Briscoe tagged out after coming off the ropes with a forearm. PCO refused to be hip tossed, knocking BCB into the tag of Brian Milonas. PCO was chopping the big man down before using a shin kick to DDT “The Kingpin”. Milonas recovered fast enough to pull off a devastating cross body of his own. Scaling the ropes instead of going for the pin, Milonas jumped off with a splash in mind. PCO rolled out of the way, knocking the reeling Milonas out of the ring for a tope. Milonas wisely crawled and then walked his way toward BCB so Bruiser could somersault off the ring’s edge to wipe out PCO. Briscoe gave Bruiser a taste of his own medicine seconds later courtesy of the blockbuster off the apron leading into a commercial break.
During the break, PCO felt that decapitation leg drop, but refused to stay down. Blind tag by Mark allowed him to dropkick BCB after PCO landed a ridiculous amount of chops. Under Mark’s behest, PCO went for that dive off the top on BCB while the latter was draped across the apron. Bruiser moved and PCO crashed & burned. In the ring, Milonas executed the Lo Down for a two count. Mark, like his partner, stayed vertical as much as he could and avoided splashing attacks until PCO recovered so he could eventually tag out after Bruiser missed the Vader Bomb. Body block after body block from PCO was topped by the Stroke. Milonas pulled PCO out of the ring, whipping him into the ring post. Mark grabbed a chair to set it up in the corner so he could springboard over the turnbuckles to dive on everyone. BCB rolled into the ring, taking a uranage after avoiding the Froggy Bow. PCO scaled the ropes, coming off with the PCOSault to pin Bruiser.
In the back were PCO & Mark Briscoe excited about their win with a declaration that they’re coming for those ROH World Tag Team title belts while making everyone in their path will, “Rest in Hell!”
They run down the “Final Battle” card that was set prior to the recent Covid-19 testing showed that EC3, Bandido, Flamita & Kenny King tested positive; meaning the Six-Man Tag Team Championship and EC3-Jay Briscoe won’t happen during the show.
Pure Rules Match: Josh Woods vs. Flip Gordon
Josh Woods was able to not only shoulder block a running Flip Gordon after the initial collar & elbow tie up, but also forced Gordon to use his first rope break by attempting an ankle lock. Flip found himself being easily countered and almost used a second rope break when his legs flailed in the wrong direction during a pinning combination against him. Flipping out of a maneuver, Gordon dumped Woods to the outside with the intent of diving; doing so successfully. Gordon was in complete control with strikes aimed at “The Goods’” back heading into a commercial break.
Big knife-edge chop from Gordon had Woods stumbling around; as did the flying knee strike in the corner. Dropping Woods across the top rope stomach-first, Gordon unleashed a springboard dropkick that gave him a two count. Going after the knee even though he was on the defensive, Woods backed Gordon into the ropes. The referee declared Gordon used a rope break as he began elbowing his way to freedom. Woods took advantage of this situation, landing a knee strike of his own before failing to pin his opposition. Gordon countered whatever his opponent had in mind with a reverse Finlay roll. Gordon climbed the ropes, only to get caught with a superplex. Woods couldn’t take advantage of the maneuver, leading to a forearm exchange when both men made it to their feet. Ducking a roundhouse kick, Woods kicked his opposition into the doctor bomb for a two count. Gordon slipped between the legs of his incoming opponent to land a spinning back kick topped by the moonsault that gave Flip a near fall. Dropping Woods in position for a curb stomp, Gordon was able to end Woods’ winning streak via a pin fall.
Overall: ROH’s “Final Battle” go-home episode was solid with some nitpick moments and things they couldn’t plan for hurting the overall effectiveness. In regards to the latter there’s the fact EC3, Bandido & Flamita tested positive for Covid-19; meaning their promoted matches are not happening. Another issue was simply the main event happening when it did as it would’ve worked a lot better in terms of winning unpredictability as it was already announced Gordon will be challenging for the Pure title at “Final Battle” while Woods will be in a TV title top contender match at the PPV. If this match happened last week as a Pure title contender match it would’ve been even more surprising that Woods lost because of his recent winning streak including overcoming Jay Lethal.
From an in-ring perspective, this episode was fun; but didn’t surpass some previous weeks. Gordon looked great in a Pure Rules environment; showcasing a great mix of grappling & high-impact strikes. PCO & Mark Briscoe worked well as a unit and their match with The Bouncers presented their known toughness and ability to turn a match into something that favors them (a wild brawl). This isn’t a must-see episode, but, as per the norm with ROH TV in the last few months, is an easy watch if someone simply wants to spend a few minutes watching some wrestling.
