It's a battle of stables in this week's episode of ROH as Villain Enterprises take on The Kingdom. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Let's dig into the rest of the episode before we get into what should an excellent main event.
The Kingdom (TK O'Ryan and Vinny Marseglia) vs. Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll and PCO)
Both teams jockey for position at the start of the match, trying to gain leverage over the other. After a distraction from O'Ryan, Marseglia slides Scurll out of the ring, slamming him into the barricade then throwing him back into the ring. Scurll manages to tag in PCO, who starts single-handedly taking out The Kingdom, shifting the advantage to VE for the time being. After sustaining a fair amount of abuse, O'Ryan hits Scurll with a desperation pele kick and tags in Marseglia.
PCO is taken out with an outside dive courtesy of Marseglia; The Kingdom then follow this up with a spinebuster/swanton bomb combination on Scurll. In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Marseglia hits another swanton, this time to PCO through a table, who shrugs it off like it's nothing. O'Ryan then hip-tosses PCO off the top rope onto a chair on the ring apron, seemingly taking him out for the time being. The Kingdom then hit Scurll with a side effect/moonsault combo; Scurll manages to kick out once again.
As PCO takes out O'Ryan on the outside, Scurll plants Marseglia with a powerbomb; VE then hits him with a boston crab/leg drop combination. PCO dives onto O'Ryan as Scurll locks in the crossface chickenwing on Marseglia, securing the victory for VE.
A solid match and a good way to kick off the show, though I am disappointed this wasn't a 6-man match for the titles. Still, the boys pulled out a decent effort here, displaying some crisp tag-team chemistry in the process. O'Ryan and Marseglia continue to impress me with how well they function as a two-man tandem; their fluidity and attack combinations are fantastic. I wouldn't have said this before, but expect them to be in the tradition tag title picture in the near future.
And this is nothing to take away from VE, who looked just as impressive in this outing. PCO did his thing by being the absolute freak of nature he is and Scurll ring-generaled (it's not a verb, but I'm making it one) his way to a victory. Good match, but I'm still bummed it wasn't a 6-man affair for the titles.
Holidead vs. Mayu Iwatani
Iwatani starts the match delivering a series of well-placed kicks, getting the early advantage. But after a quick exchange on the outside, Holidead turns the tables with a rope-hung stunner into a leg drop on the ring apron. Holidead uses her power advantage to work Iwatani over for a brief respite, Iwatani fighting back with a desperate series of kicks. She then counters Holidead's swinging side slam with a crucifix bomb.
Holidead continues to put up a fight, kicking out of a pin attempt and nailing Iwatani with a clubbing lariat. Iwatani comes back with a superkick, then a german suplex followed up by a kneeling roundhouse kick. She finishes the match with a moonsault to pick up the W.
A short, but fun match, and a nice way to bridge into the main event. The styles of both competitors gelled well here (Iwatani's speed and strikes against Holidead's strength and power), pulling out some supremely smooth sequences. While nothing mind-blowingly spectacular, a solid bout with great performances from both competitors. Holidead's reputation builds while Iwatani continues to bless the fuck out of us as champion (really hope this doesn't place any bad juju on her going into 17th Anniversary). Regardless of victory/defeat, everyone comes out looking like a million bucks here.
Dalton Castle vs. Kenny King
The match starts out with Castle grounding King, employing his technical prowess and showing off his amateur wrestling background. Shrugging off Castle's peacocking, King fights back and briefly works him over. Castle fights back with a knee strike/DDT combo, then a lariat after a series of teases. He then tosses King around with some suplexes, then hits him with a knee strike/bulldog combo out of the corner.
Following a gutwrench powerbomb from Castle, King rolls out to the outside to escape further damage. After shoving one of the Boys to the side, King then tosses the other Boy at Castle, distracting him long enough to plant him with his Royal Flush finisher for the win.
Nothing special here. Just a good match featuring more-than-capable workers that managed to have pretty solid chemistry, which is surprising given I've never really seen them face off in a 1-on-1 capacity. King builds up some momentum heading into 17th Anniversary with another W, while another loss builds up the despondency in Castle, who's seemingly teasing a heel turn with his increased aggression as of late. But aside from that, it's a decent match and a decent main event.
Post-match closer
Shortly after the match, the broadcast team runs down the card for 17th Anniversary. Shortly after, Matt Taven comes out to decry Jay Lethal, shaming him for destroying his "Real" World Title. He then invites Lethal to the ring, promising neither of his Kingdom constituents will be there. Lethal answers the call and the two briefly scuffle before O'Ryan and Marseglia come out to assist the beatdown. Jonathan Gresham tries to help, but it's to no avail as he's quickly disposed of. Taven puts Lethal through a table with a well-placed elbow drop to end the show.
A well-executed segment. It furthers support for Lethal as World Champion, while also allowing Taven to pepper in just a little bit more heel heat before the PPV. Taven's character has been one the most interesting things in ROH so far, and I'm more than hyped to see him get his well-deserved main-event spot.
A good episode and a decent go-home into 17th Anniversary. MOTN surprisingly goes to the curtain- jerker as Villain Enterprises and The Kingdom put on a damn good showing. The matches following it were decent and the closing segment was entertaining, albeit a bit formulaic as far as go-home shows go. Regardless, it's a solid episode throughout. Check it out when you get the chance.
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