Image provided courtesy of Ring Of Honor.

By Nicholas Jason Lopez

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

(Aired 11/18/15)

The King Bids Farewell 

– For what it’s worth, the Silas Young-Boys cold opener of him forcing them to do “manly” things like changing a car tire and using “manitizer” (aka spitting into your hands and rubbing them together) was worth a good laugh. This was some of the stuff we imagined the moment Young won their “service” at All-Star Extravaganza VII.

– The Young/Beer City Bruiser-War Machine match featured raging testosterone levels, flubbing guts and long beards. It was amazing seeing BCB take as many bumps as he did given his weight, but it added to the fun. The Boys actually tried to help out on their own, but it backfired. War Machine eventually won and The Boys got abused some more. Great match that actually helped the case of selling War Machine as next contenders for the Tag Team Championships.

– Obviously, the highlight of the show was Steve Corino’s emotional “farewell” speech that bordered on Kleenex material. Given that Corino actually recently had this major neck surgery he talked about in the promo, we knew it was legit. It’s sucky timing given that the Corino-BJ Whitmer storyline dominated the show at one point and was building to a worthy payoff. The date was originally destined to be Final Battle in a Fight Without Honor between Corino and Whitmer, but Corino needing surgery was enough to axe his in-ring career and the idea of that happening. Corino was shooting straight from the hip on his 79 tours of Japan over his 21 years of wrestling experience being a factor along with his lingering pains that made his wife convince him to get an MRI to reveal the neck conditions in the first place. The crowd were true sports about it and were enthusiastic in showing their appreciation. Needless to say, Corino will leave a huge gap in the commentary booth, as while McGuinness is good, he just doesn’t mesh with Kevin Kelly like Corino did. From McGuinness’ perspective, he came off as a strict professional, not being able to reinstate Corino as an announcer due to him knocking out Whitmer after bringing him back on a  zero tolerance policy. It made sense and felt real.

– The “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin-Kevin Lee Davidson match lasted about five seconds via a forearm clubbing clothesline and that’s all that was needed. His promo afterwards made him talk about the G1 Tournament and how it made him want the ROH World Championship and he laid a challenge. Smart move since it seems like the next man to be in line for a shot.

– The ROH Tag Team Championships main event match between Matt Taven/Michael Bennett and The Addiction was a little tricky to book given the heel-heel alignment, but the key was emphasizing that both teams were enthusiastic rule breakers and that was exploited to its fullest potential here. Both teams resorted to eye raking, pretending they got hit by the Titles, even the outside valets physically tripped their opponents inside the ring, which led to the ejection of both Maria Kanellis and Chris Sabin. The action down the stretch relied on Maria coming back and nearly getting punched out for it, until she low-blowed Daniels and Superkicked him, but then Red Mask came and cost The Addiction the match, meaning Kingdom retains. War Machine came out and confronted them, making it known about their Final Battle match on December 18. Sort of odd that we never heard any mentions of next week’s TV Title main event between Roderick Strong and ROH World Television Champion Jay Lethal.

Quick Results

• War Machine def. Silas Young (w/The Boys)/The Beer City Bruiser via pinfall 
• “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin def. Kevin Lee Davidson via pinfall
• ROH Tag Team Championships – Matt Taven/Michael Bennett (Champions) def. The Addiction via pinfall to retain