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 11/11/15)

Dem Boys Go All Night

– Nothing screams “I think this is an unsafe work environment that warrants a lawsuit” like competing the next week without any arguments, right? This is from the Cedric Alexander/Veda Scott side of things. She has helped him become more relevant, but his in-ring skills are still underutilized. Good idea for him to be matched with the fiery ACH, who almost bleeds that Street Fighter swag. This was a fun one, as both guys’  styles meshed well, almost bouncing off each other’s energy at one point in a “standoff.” Both guys are on the same spot on the totem pole, so a win would only help. Given that one guy (ACH) was hyping the final match of a Best-Of-Five Series with his tag team partner and the other was in a storyline where his manager is suing the company, it made sense to give this one to ACH to keep him hot until the match with Sydal. ACH’s post-match promo also hyped the Sydal match, saying he’d go into things the same way as when he fought Samoa Joe and AJ Styles, but would win this time. Mic skills aren’t his first asset, but it was decent. The finish even helped Scott further accuse Matchmaker Nigel McGuinness of an unsafe environment with Alexander slipping off the top rope.

– The Will Ferrara-Caprice Coleman match put a spotlight on Coleman’s slow-burn heel turn, starting recently when he accepted an envelope from Prince Nana with its contents undisclosed. There was more evidence of Coleman leaning towards bad guy territory, being more outspoken with his words and actions, leaving some doubts of his intentions. He put over Ferrara as a great guy and protege, but didn’t mind pushing him into the post rather than giving him a minute to recover, which seemed dirty. Coleman can have some great edge as a heel, so we’re all for it and the submission win also helped. Nana coming down to take notes and then offer Ferrara an envelope was interesting. His comments in the post-match promo makes us think perhaps he’s recruiting members for a new Embassy? If Jimmy Rave comes back, our jaws will drop.

– The tag team main event between The All-Night Express and The Briscoe Brothers was clearly made for the purpose of a quality main event that fit the effort they gave when ANX returned at All-Star Extravaganza VII. That part succeeded, but to new ROH fans, they’ve still yet to know much about ANX aside from them returning after two years. Where the hell was Rhett Titus in that time? Will we ever know? The Briscoes winning here was interesting, since it hints the possibility of a third match to decide some form of a #1 Contender for the Champions, The Kingdom.

Quick Results

• ACH def. Cedric Alexander (w/Veda Scott) via pinfall
• Caprice Coleman def. Will Ferrara via submission
• The Briscoe Brothers def. The All-Night Express