ROH 15th Anniversary Results
March 10, 2017
Las Vegas, Nevada (Sam’s Town Casino)
Commentary: Kevin Kelly, Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana
Results by: Jason Namako of Wrestleview.com
Opening video package highlighted the Cole-Daniels main event.
Jay White def. Kenny King w/Caprice Coleman of The Rebellion by pinfall
White won after countering King’s Royal Flush with a cradle. Solid opener. Good heat on the Vegas mainstay King, who showed amazing agility throughout. Not much of a reaction for White, although he showed good fire. White paid tribute to the currently injured NJPW star Tomoaki Honma by hitting one of Honma’s Kokeshi headbutts at one point. King hit a nice corkscrew plancha later on in the match. Coleman got wiped out by a suicida dive from White. King hit a very unique TKO-style facebuster across the knee. White then hit an innovative neck-lock suplex into the buckles towards the end.
Video package on the break-up of The Addiction with Kazarian turning on Daniels and joining Bullet Club.
Kazarian became the #1 Contender to the ROH Television Title, defeating Cheeseburger, Hangman Page, Silas Young, Chris Sabin and Punishment Martinez by pinfall
Kazarian won by pinning Cheeseburger with his new finisher, The Ace of Spades, which is a Killswitch into a Stunner. Fun, frenetic match with tons of innovative offense. Kazarian and Page, fellow Bullet Club members, made their entrance together to a good reaction despite being heels. Big reaction for Cheeseburger, who got pyro on his entrance. Cabana got in some funny digs at Cheeseburger throughout. Punishment Martinez shows worlds of presence and potential, moves and is a mixture of early Undertaker in level of ability with “Purple Haze” Mark Lewin in terms of the dark aura and character he portrays. Fun series of quick nearfalls early between the veterans Sabin and Kazarian. Everyone went for dives, including Page uncorking his Shooting Star Shoulderblock on Sabin. Everyone caught Cheeseburger and it climaxed with the 6’9 Martinez hitting a step-up flipping plancha to wipe out everyone. Page and Kazarian feigned facing off, but “Too Sweeted” each other instead. Page has improved a ton since joining Bullet Club last year. Silas was showcased, hitting his Killer Combo and an Egotrip variation on Cheeseburger. Martinez was showcased a ton as a monster until everyone hit a big move to take him down. Sabin and Kazarian traded flying DDTs near the end. Martinez prevented Page from hitting the Rite of Passage on Cheeseburger on the apron and chokeslammed Page on the apron to a big reaction. Kazarian got a close nearfall with a slingshot cutter on Sabin, who then responded with a Super Release German on Kazarian. Silas almost had the match won near the end on Sabin with Misery, but Cheeseburger broke the pin and hit a Seth Rollins-style glancing knee, followed by his Shotei before Kazarian got him to set-up the pinfall.
Promos from Jay Lethal and Bobby Fish before the next match, with video showing their brawl while tag partners at a recent ROH live event.
Jay Lethal defeated Bobby Fish in a Top Contenders Match by pinfall
Lethal won with the Lethal Injection in a very good match. Lethal is one of the best pure wrestlers in the US today. Match was worked mostly babyface vs. babyface, although Fish played a psuedo heel at different points. Good reaction for Lethal, who also got pyro on his entrance. Fish hit a big push kick early to send Lethal outside, as he took a nasty spill. Lethal responded with his textbook dropkick combination. Fish drew Lethal in by refusing Lethal opening the ropes for him and kicking him in the leg from outside, then countered Lethal’s signature suicida dive by guiding him into crashing against the barricade. Fish worked over Lethal for a while as a cut was shown from his hand from one of the metal barricades. Lethal finally hit his suicida dive by the entranceway later in the match. Fish hit a ton of nice strikes and got a great nearfall after hitting a high-angle Saito Suplex, nearly dropping Lethal on his head. Lethal did a great counter of a standing anklelock into a running cutter. Great sequence with Fish countering Hail to the King into his Fish Hook submission, where Lethal fought it and barely got to the ropes. Lethal finally hit Hail to the King after the Lethal Combination towards the end, but Fish went back to the leg with strikes. Fish had an amazing counter near the end to counter the Lethal Injection back into the Fish Hook, but Lethal countered with a nearfall pin attempt.
Video package on how the 6-Man Tag Title match came about.
The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia) retained the ROH 6-Man Tag Team Titles over Dalton Castle and The Boys by pinfall
Kingdom retained the titles with their Rock Star Supernova double-team powerbomb on one of the Boys. Solid, fun match with a rushed finish due to a scary injury at the end. TK O’Ryan was injured near the end of the match after smashing his shin against the barricade when he hit an Asai Moonsault on the Boys. Attendants and medical personnel rushed out and carried O’Ryan to the back after as commentary wondered if he had broken his leg, which from the looks of how he reacted, as well as his partners, could very well be the case.
Castle got a great reaction as he came out with many different Boys. Cabana got a nice quip in about having to pay a ton of attorney fees, a dig at he and CM Punk’s lawsuit against Dr. Chris Amann, when Kevin Kelly deterred him from going after his rival Castle. Kingdom come out to decent heat, wearing Jerry Lawler-esque crowns as its noted that their reign as champs is known as the “Purple Reign” tour. The Boys hit stereo dives early, while Castle did his Peacock walk after feigning a dive. Marseglia plays a very fun stoogy slimeball kinda character, as he took out one of the Boys with a slam against the apron. The Boys, as played since their debut by the Tate Twins, were given a lot of showcase throughout, both on offense and in peril. Taven has really come into his own as a potential main-event heel since returning from major knee surgery. Kingdom hit some real fun fluid triple-teaming over the course of the match. The Boys pulled some Twin Magic at one point to get Castle in, while Cabana as screaming at the referee about what happened. Castle got a close nearfall with his Deadlift German on Taven. Castle hit his Bang-a-Rang, but it was broken up.
Video package on how the TV Title match came about.
Marty Scrull retained the ROH Television Title over Lio Rush by submission
Scrull retained with the Chickenwing after tearing off Rush’s Kinseio tape and assaulting his injured shoulder in a fantastic match. Best of the show thus far. Rush got a nice reaction, but Scrull got a real good reaction, coming out with a new “Villain” get-up for his entrance. Scrull has a ton of superstar charisma with his “Villain” persona. Rush shows a ton of aptitude as a babyface for only having a little over 2 years experience. Commentary sent word that TK O’Ryan was rushed to a hospital. Rush was sporting Kinesio tape on his shoulder as commentary noted his recent shoulder issues. Rush hit a nice rana outside using the apron. Good sequence where Scrull trapped Rush in the ring skirt off a baseball slide and hit a superkick on the apron, then stomped on Rush’s bent arm. Scrull worked over Rush for a while and did a damn good job at turning the crowd against him and behind him. Rush did a nice counter of Scrull’s finger-breaking attempt, then hit a great-looking DDT out of a Sister Abigail-position for a close nearfall. Rush then took a nasty bump into the turnbuckles after Scrull countered a whip. Rush responded with a Double Koppo Kick, an Apron PK and a double stomp outside in a good sequence. Scrull did a brutal looking punt kick to Rush’s injured arm, then hit a brainbuster towards the end for a close nearfall. Scrull hit his Just Kidding superkick to the knee and an Inside-Out Lariat at one point after Rush hit a nice Pele Kick. Rush had a nice fire-up towards the end after Scrull had hit him with three apron Superkicks. Great nearfall with them reprising the Hart-Piper Wrestlemania VIII finish with Rush pinning Scrull after countering the Chickenwing. Scrull hit a nasty piledriver near the end, then they did another great false finish with Rush nearly winning with his Rush Hour finisher, which is a Standing Spanish Fly. Rush teased hitting Scrull with the title belt, but thought against it. Rush then got another great nearfall after hitting his Dragon’s Claw frog splash, which a lot of the crowd thought was the finish. Rush set up two chairs outside and teased hitting a Super Rush Hour to the outside, but Scrull hit Nigel McGuinness’s old Tower of London before finally doing the finger-break sequence.
Commentary brought up ROH’s coverage in a recent article by USA Today before video was shown of Bully Ray’s ROH debut last week at Manhattan Mayhem VI.
The Briscoes (Jay and Mark) and Bully Ray defeated War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) and Davey Boy Smith Jr. by pinfall
Bully and the Briscoes won when they hit a triple-team variation of the 3D to pin Rowe in a solid 6-Man Tag. Smith and Rowe got in each other’s faces after, blaming each other for the loss, with Smith tossing around numerous ring attendants. Briscoes got a good reaction, while Bully Ray got a real good reaction, as he came out wearing his old Bully Ray ring attire from his Impact days. Bully cut a pre-match promo, saying that he and The Briscoes are gonna kick their ass. Tons of brawling by all 6 guys all over the place throughout early before it settled down into a normal 6-Man Tag. Smith Jr. has become worlds better since his time in WWE thanks to his years in Japan. Briscoes did a lot of double-teaming on Smith, who responded with a double Northern Lights in a nice sequence. Briscoes and Bully did the old Dudleys “Wassup” spot, with Mark hitting Smith low with Froggy Bow. War Machine prevented the Briscoes from getting the tables as asked by Bully and worked over Mark for a while. Smith got good heat at different points, while War Machine played psuedo heels in working over the Briscoes. Smith did his father’s classic delayed suplex at one point, then did a Liontamer before Jay was sent hard into the barricade by Smith. Mark was good on peril, hitting a German on the bigger Hanson before getting in brother Jay. Jay got a close nearfall on Rowe with his Hangman’s Neckbreaker. War Machine hit a real nice assisted Pop-Up Powerslam on Jay for a good nearfall towards the end. Smith prevented War Machine from hitting their Fallout finisher on Jay, causing dissension amongst them, allowing Jay to get Bully in. Mark hit a urnangi throw on Hanson, while Bully hit a standing urnangi on Rowe. Jay then hit a missile-like suicida to take out Rowe near the end.
Video is shown of the Broken Hardys appearing at Manhattan Mayhem VI and winning the ROH Tag Team Titles from the Young Bucks.
The Broken Hardys (Broken Matt and Brother Nero) retain the ROH Tag Team Titles against RPG Vice (Rocky Romero and Baretta) and The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) in a Las Vegas Street Fight
Hardys retain after Jeff Hardy pins Rocky Romero with a Swanton off the top of a ladder through a table. Wild garbage brawl with tons of insane sequences. Hardys stole the Bucks’ personalized Superkick Party title belts afterwards. Bucks have become one of the best tag teams in the world.
Commentary kept referring to the Hardys as Matt and Jeff Hardy and not by their “Broken” personas, appearing to stem from the cease and desist letter Impact Wrestling sent out to the Hardy family, PPV companies and ROH a few hours prior to tonight’s PPV, stating that they own the intellectual properties of the entire Broken Universe and that the Hardys can no longer use it. While the crowd did the “DELETE” and “OBSOLETE” chants throughout and Matt Hardy kept his “Broken” appearance, their presentation was extremely toned down because of the legal matters.
Bucks got a very good reaction, but the Hardys got the biggest reaction of the show, appearing in the ring after the lights went off and back on. Bucks and Hardys faced off, with both teams constantly getting RPG Vice out of the way before RPG Vice nailed them with trash cans. Romero hit a nice double rana on the Bucks early. Baretta stopped the Meltzer Driver, allowing Romero to hit a running Shiranui. RPG Vice kept getting involved to prevent the Hardys and Bucks from squaring off. Baretta took a brutal bump on the steel rampway after Matt Jackson did a running powerbomb from the apron. Bucks finally laid out the Hardys with superkicks, but the Hardys avoided the Bucks coming off the ropes, mocking the Hardys’ classic flying offense. Brother Nero brought a ladder in and the Hardys took out Baretta, before Romero dropkicked the ladder back into them. RPG Vice then did the Battering Knees double team while Matt Hardy was sandwiched against a ladder. Matt Hardy hit Matt Jackson with his V-Bomb, but Nick drilled him with a superkick. Baretta took another nasty bump after Matt Jackson sweeped out his legs from the ropes, sending Baretta crashing off a ladder that was on the middle rope. Nick Jackson was pushed off a ladder by Baretta, but he sprung off the ropes on the way down and wiped out everyone outside with a flipping plancha. Baretta was drilled with the bottom of a trash can in the head, then Matt Hardy broke up a close nearfall by the Bucks after a trash-can assisted 450 Splash. Romero countered More Bang for your Buck, then Matt Jackson countered a super release German by Baretta. Matt Hardy hit Twist of Fate near the end on Matt Jackson, but Nick Jackson got the knees up off a Jeff Hardy Swanton. Crazy sequence where Romero hits everyone with his Forever Clotheslines while wearing an arm sleeve covered in thumbtacks. Great nearfall where RPG Vice hit their Strong Zero finisher on Matt Jackson, but Nick broke up the pin. Baretta pours out another bag of thumbtacks near the end, but winds up taking the bump into them after the Bucks hit a variation of the Steiners’ old Doomsday Bulldog. Nick then superkicks thumbtacks out of Baretta’s mouth after Matt Jackson stuffs his mouth with them in an insane spot. Another insane spot where the Bucks hit the Meltzer Driver on Romero onto the thumbtacks, but Matt Hardy broke up the pin. Hardys got a close nearfall with stereo Twist of Fates on the Bucks, with Matt’s one going onto the tacks. Near the end, the Bucks superkick Baretta, then the Hardys dispose of the Bucks before the finish.
Commentary talks about the main event as attendants clean up the ring. Video package highlights how the main event came about, featuring Christopher Daniels’ incredible promo that was posted earlier this week.
Christopher Daniels becomes the new ROH Champion by defeating Adam Cole in the main event
Daniels wins the title after three Best Moonsaults Ever after Kazarian prevented Cole from hitting Daniels with the ROH title belt, revealing that him joining Bullet Club was all a ruse as he ripped off the Bullet Club t-shirt to reveal Daniels’ Destiny shirt. Referee was knocked down after a Cole superkick before Kazarian ran in. Very good main event with some great storytelling by both men. Title change with rumors of Cole’s ROH contract expiring soon seems to signify he is departing.
Nice reaction for Daniels, good reaction for Cole for the main event entrances. Lots of talk by commentary about Daniels being in the first ROH main event back in 2002 and his history with the company, including being 0-8-1 in ROH title matches, with his last title match taking place back in 2011. Cole has become one of the last great pure scumbag heels that’s left, in spite of how over the “Adam Cole BAYBAY” chant is. Daniels sports a “Destiny” shirt with today’s date on it. Storytelling was great throughout of the younger, swarmy Cole, constantly getting under Daniels’ skin, while the veteran, 46-year old Daniels knows that this could be his last shot at the ROH Title. Cole took a hard back body drop outside at one point before Daniels wiped him out with his classic Arabian Press. Daniels was then busted wide open above his eye after Cole superkicked him, causing his head to crash against the ringpost. Cole then turned the crowd against him by wiping Daniels’ blood on his chest as he continued to work him over. Cole kept berating and putting the badmouth on Daniels throughout, calling him an old man and saying he will never become ROH Champion. Great sequence where after Cole did one too many showboats, Daniels locked him in the Koji Clutch before Cole had to rush for the ropes. Cole then trash-talked Daniels’ wife, firing Daniels up. Daniels came back with his STO. Blue Thunder Bomb and Iconoclasm for a couple good nearfalls. Cole came back by superkicking Daniels after avoiding the BME for a close nearfall towards the end. Another close nearfall by Cole after a Ushigoroshi and a Shining Wizard. Daniels hit a nice super rana for a good nearfall. Good counter by Cole with a rana out of the Angels’ Wings. Daniels tried the Super Angels’ Wings near the end, but Cole stopped it. Cole then hit Daniels’ own Angel Wings after having his Panama Sunrise Destroyer thwarted for a great false finish. Cole made a killshot on Daniels after another Shining Wizard, but then Daniels hit Cole with his own Last Shot for a close nearfall. Awesome false finish after Daniels hit Cole with a Styles Clash to counter another Shining Wizard before the finish.
Daniels celebrated with Kazarian, being presented the ROH title belt by founder Cary Silkin, as well as the original version of the ROH title belt from back when the company started in 2002 as the show closed.
Overall, a very good PPV with four very good to tremendous matches.