Image provided courtesy of Ring Of Honor.

By Nicholas Jason Lopez

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post. 

(Aired 7/8/15)

An Element Of Lethal Truth

– How nice that we finally got fallout from Best In The World that started with a simple video package of still shots of the Jay Briscoe-Jay Lethal match that ended with Lethal on top. An hour isn’t a lot of time, but ROH always manages to find a way to pace things out to satisfy everybody alike. That said, we have to wonder if the company did themselves a disservice with their taping schedule, as their next iPPV, Death Before Dishonor XIII is in three weeks, which leaves not too much time for a build. The only downside for this show was that besides the DBD main event, we still don’t know the exacts of the card.

– The Watanabe-Dalton Castle match was a good clash of hot acts on many aspects. Broadcast team did a good job of explaining that the NYC crowd would probably be on the side of the flamboyant Castle. The “roll-up pin ball” spot was a creative one that the crowd liked. Watanabe held his own well as he mocked Castle at points, but his crowd-pandering allowed him to get caught in Castle’s finisher. The code of honor was followed after with sportsmanship, which was interesting for both characters in terms of interaction. Castle’s post-match promo was all about calling himself the “last real man,” while laying down on his Boys. Funny. Good way to extend the feud, as Silas Young came out screaming held back by officials.

– The segment with Nigel McGuinness, Jay Lethal, House Of Truth and Roderick Strong was a good way to put a new twist on tradition and push the main event for Death Before Dishonor on July 24. Lethal came into the segment with a lot of gained respect from the fans for the quality of his last match and everybody was genuinely happy to see him achieve the success he has. Having Truth Martini first do the speaking was a good start to getting all the heat back, as he called “Lethal’s people” not the fans, but the House Of Truth. Eventually, Lethal did address the crowd and insulted the fans, proclaiming himself the best in the world in that confident way we all know and love. McGuinness bringing up the topic of Lethal possibly vacating one of the Titles made sense, but it’s hard to really not side with Lethal on this one logically, since he did fairly win both belts. He’s being built up further as a “fighting champion,” but he’s doing it to feed his own ego and that aspect was covered excellently. Seeing Lethal in multiple matches for both Titles on a given night also creates an aura of unpredictability. We got the announcement here that Lethal would defend the Television Championship next week against Mark Briscoe, which should be good. Strong coming out and speaking helped add to the segment as he held his own well. He has improved on the mic which is always great to see. His mission is a simple one: beat Lethal. Nothing more, nothing less. We all know this will be a money match already, so it was a relief to finally see some storyline backing of it.

– The reDRagon/Michael Elgin-Kingdom match carried on the string of quality main event matches for the TV show, as we had incredible action with some excellent near-falls. Maria’s pre-match promo shed some intrigue on where The Kingdom stood with Adam Cole, as she was willing to look past Best In The World and took full responsibility for the loss. Another match highlight was Elgin’s performance, as that was the best he has looked to date. Some of those near-falls were brutal-looking and it made him look strong by kicking out at the last moment. On that note, it looked like the match could’ve went either way so many times, but the faces getting the nod was a good call. reDRagon is on fire right now as a team and this only adds more fuel to things. Cole following the code of honor with the winners without his teammates was an interesting development that teases a little dissension upon The Kingdom, taking the pre-match promo into account. This was all a good hook for next week’s show.

Quick Results

– Dalton Castle (w/Dalton’s Boys) def. Watanabe via pinfall

– Six-Man Tag – reDRagon/Michael Elgin def. The Kingdom (w/Maria Kanellis) via pinfall