Ring of Honor Free Enterprise
2-9-20
UMBC Event Center
Baltimore, Maryland
By Dylan Hager
Free Enterprise time! Let's see where this Marty era goes!
We start the show with a Joe Koff video telling us all about how great ROH will be in 2020.
After Koff, we see Marty signing a ROH contract, and the Villain welcomes us to the show.
Ian and Caprice are on commentary. They hype up tonight's matches, and it time for our first match!
Mark Haskins vs Alex Shelly
This is how you open a show! My gosh this match ruled! Alex Shelly is a indie wrestling legend at this point, and Haskins is so freaking good. This match was exactly what you would expect from a Haskins vs Shelly match - a fast paced, technical masterpiece. Haskins worked over the arm of Shelly. The two exchanged submission holds and signature moves. Haskins would get the win with a sharpshooter, and he continues to build momentum heading into his main event title shot in St. Charles, MO against PCO and Rush later this month. Again, great match! Winner: Mark Haskins
The Righteous (Vincent and Bateman) vs Joe Hendry and Dalton Castle
Let me start off by saying I believe in Joe Hendry. Clap clap. Vincent and Bateman are accompanied by the other two members of The Righteous, and Dalton has two boys with him (not The Boys, but boys nonetheless.) I thought this match was alright. Not bad, but nothing special. The Righteous pick up the win after Chuckles pulled Castle out of the ring, and Vincent hit his finish on Hendry. The Righteous could have legs as a faction. Bateman was a great pickup for ROH. I love Joe and Dalton. Hoping they stay together as team for several months before the inevitable breakup. Winners: The Righteous
Quinn McKay announces that Best in the World will be held June 19th in Baltimore.
Slex vs Flip Gordon
Time for the ROH debut of Slex! This was my first time experiencing Slex, and I really enjoyed it. Great match!! Slex looked great and got in a bunch of offense early, but Flip was able to comeback and get the win. I thought Slex had won on at least two occasions, once on a powerbomb and once on a clothesline, but Flip was able to kick out. Flip's springboard spear is becoming one of my favorite moves in wrestling. Flip picked up the win after hitting a curb stomp. In my opinion, this was a surprise win with it being the debut of Slex, but a win that Flip needed. Injuries slowed down Flip in 2019, but I'm hoping he has a huge 2020. Also excited to get more Slex in 2020. Good signing for ROH. Winner: Flip Gordon
After the match, Slex gets attacked by Shane Taylor and the Soldiers of Savagery. Taylor says that he is officially back in ROH.
Alex Zayne vs Andrew Everett
#BoddyByTacoBell it is Alex Zayne time!! This match ruled! As you would expect, this match had a good pace and included a ton of flips and dives. Everett almost won after hitting a big splash. Everett attempted a top rope poison-rana, but Zayne landed on his feet. The finish came after Everett missed a shooting star, allowing Zayne to hit the Crunch-wrap and pump handle driver of sorts for the 1-2-3! Hopefully ROH continues to bring in both of these athletes. I'd love to Zayne get a shot at Dragon Lee's Television Title! Winner: Alex Zayne
Bandido and Flamita vs The Briscoes
We've got two-thirds of the Six Man Champs vs Dem Boys! My freaking gosh this match ruled! It started out pretty even, but Bandido and Flamita quickly took over. Bandido hit a springboard shooting star to the outside. Bandido and Flamita hit several double team moves that I had never seen before. Dem Boys regained the advantage and took the fight to the outside. Mark hit a couple dives and his apron Cactus Elbow. Bandido hit his X Knee, but only got a two count. Flamita landed a 450, but only got a two count. The Briscoes hit their Redneck Boogie for a two, and they hit a neckbreaker/froggy-bow combo for a near fall. Bandido and Flamita hit stereo Spanish Flies, but Dem Boys kicked out. The finish finally came after the Briscoes hit a Doomsday Device on Flamita! WHAT A MATCH! Definitly the match of the show up to this point. Bandido and Flamita impress me every time out, and Mark and Jay are one of the best tag teams of the past 15 years. GREAT match! Winners: The Briscoes
Speaking of The Briscoes....during the intermission, ROH aired the first Mark vs Jay match from August 2002.
Honor Rumble!
Time for the Honor Rumble! The participants are Tracy Williams, Danhausen, Cheeseburger, Crowbar, Silas Young, LSG. Josh Woods, Beer City Bruiser, Brian Milonas, Dak Draper, Eli Isom, Brian Johnson, Blue Meanie, Gangrel, Maria Manic, PJ Black, Kenny King, Dragon Lee, Rhett Titus, and Delirious. The winner gets a future ROH World Title shot! Delirious, of course, starts the match by running circles around the ring. Gangrel was the first out, eliminated by Draper. Dak eliminated LSG, Crowbar, and Isom before being eliminated by Burger. Meanie got the Bouncers to dance with him, but he was eliminated by Johnson. Johnson eliminated his "mentor" PJ, but Johnson was then eliminated by Maria. Rhett gets eliminated by Maria. Both Bouncers get eliminated by Maria. Silas goes to eliminate Maria, and Bully Ray runs out to pull her over the top. Bully proceeded to hit Maria with a chair and powerbomb her through a table. Bully has so much heat. Danhausen gets Delirious to drink his jar of teeth (what the heck did I just type?!), but Danhausen then eliminated Delirious. Silas eliminates Danhausen. Silas eliminates Burger. It appears that we're down to Silas, Woods, Williams, and Dragon Lee. Silas and Woods eliminate Williams. Woods accidentally kicks Silas off the apron, eliminating Silas. Dragon Lee eliminates Woods, and just like last years Rumble in MSG, Kenny King enters the ring and tries to eliminate Lee. Lee skins the cat and takes off his mask?! It turns out it has been Flip Gordon under the mask this whole match! Flip eliminates Kenny to earn a future a title shot! Fun Rumble!! Cool to see Meanie and Gangrel in there. I need to see Danhausen vs Delirious in a singles match. It will be interesting to see if Flip challenges his stable mate PCO for the title or if he waits for PCO to lose before challenging. Winner: Flip Gordon
Angelina Love and Mandy Leon join commentary for this match.
Session Moth Martina vs Sumie Sakai
Another debut tonight as Martina makes her first appearance for ROH. Martina is completely different from everybody else in Women of Honor, and that is a GREAT thing for the division. Martina got in a lot of her offense early before Sumie took control. Martina attempted a comeback, but took out the ref by mistake. This gave Sumie a chance to use a chair on Martina. After Sumie brought the ref back in the ring, Martina caught her with the Jager Bomb (at least I think that is what they called it) for the win. The match was good, but it kind of dragged in the middle. I do like Sumie's new attitude, and I think Martina is going to do a ton for this division. Winner: Session Moth Martina
Proving Ground Match: Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham vs Dan Maff and Jeff Cobb
Of course the proving ground rule means that if Maff and Cobb can beat the champs, they'll get a future title shot. This match was just so freaking fun. It didn't have a ton of dives or flips or weapons. It was just a great tag match. Both teams showed great teamwork. Lethal and Gresh hit several double team moves, including a series of suicide dives. Cobb and Maff spent the match throwing their competition around the ring and splashing them in the coolest way possible. Lethal locked Cobb in the figure four, but Maff climbed into the ring from the floor and broke up the submission. Oh, and he had Gresham on his back the whole time! Jay went for the Lethal Injection, but Maff caught him and it a Burning Hammer for the win. Really just a fun match. All four of these guys are great singles wrestlers, and they make two great teams. Not sure either get the respect they deserve since both teams are fairly new, but they are adding a ton to this tag division right now. Winners: Dan Maff and Jeff Cobb
Rey Horus vs Brody King
Kind of a quick match, but this late into the show I'm not mad at it. King dominated early, but Rey's speed and high flying brought him back into the match. The story of the match really became King's power vs Rey's speed. King knocked Horus inside out with a clothesline and finished him off with Gonzo Bomb for the win. Good match. It was fun while it lasted. Perfect time on the show for that match. Winner: Brody King
Main Event time!!!
Nick Aldis and Rush vs PCO and Marty Scurll
On one side it is the NWA World Champ and the #1 Contender for the ROH World Title. On the other side, the ROH World Champ and the #1 Contender for the NWA World Title. Rush started the match off hot by attacking PCO from behind. The teamwork of Villain Enterprise led to PCO and Marty taking over the match. All four men had their chance to shine. PCO missed his apron senton, which led to Rush and Aldis taking control of the match. Marty had a chance to lock on the Chickenwing, but Aldis countered. Aldis and Rush had control of the match. Rush was holding down PCO for a Aldis elbow drop, but PCO pulled Rush into the elbow. Rush and Aldis got into it, and Rush left the ring. Aldis tried to use his title belt on PCO, but Marty stopped him and cracked his fingers. PCO hit Aldis with a chokeslam and a PCOsault for the win. Really solid main event. It wasn't as good a tag match as the Briscoes vs Bandido and Flamita from earlier, but it did a good job progressing the two rivalries moving forward. Winners: PCO and Marty Scurll
After the match, Marty laid out the stipulations for his title shot against Aldis at the NWA's Crockett Cup. If Marty wins, he becomes the champ, but if Aldis wins, Marty has to pay him half a million dollars. Marty also announced that Aldis would be wrestling PCO at Supercard of Honor in April!
Really solid show. At almost four hours, it was a little long for my liking, but there really wasn't a bad match. ROH did a good job at getting a lot of talent on this free show. It is crazy how much better the three 2020 shows have been than the last three months of 2019. Really loved the Briscoes tag match and the Proving Ground match. Looking forward to the upcoming shows in Nashville and St. Charles.