Ring Of Honor TV Results & Analysis – April 11, 2015

This Ring of Honor report is a special one, because we are set to look at the main events for 2015’s Supercard of Honor. Let’s get to the action!

Match #1: Jay Lethal vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger – Ring of Honor World Television Championship Match

This bout is a result of the working agreement between New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor and, considering the hectic schedule that Liger keeps as a member of New Japan’s roster, I would assume that there won’t be many rematches of these two, anytime soon. As far as the efforts put forth, they are considerable. Jay proves here, once again, that he is one of wrestling’s most versatile talents, as he has worked with a wide array of performers from AJ Styles to Kurt Angle to Ric Flair and has always managed to have a notable match against any of them under any circumstances. Liger, on the other hand, has proven that age will not hinder his ability to wrestle at the rate that he is accustomed to and, furthermore, continues to prove that his wrestling acumen is so substantial, that it is almost entirely outrageous that this man has never been booked as a champion of note in an American promotion. Quite frankly, Jay has been the victim of the same negligent treatment that Liger has suffered for much of his career and it is rather fitting that these two were able to have one the better matches of 2015, thus far, on this night, when one considers they are both victims of hesitant booking over the years. After a performance like this, I just can’t fathom how you could not afford to put the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship on Jay Lethal in the near future, or how Liger could not be rewarded with one last great run with one New Japan’s many singles titles.

Winner: Jay Lethal – Ring of Honor World Television Champion

Match #2: Jay Briscoe vs. Samoa Joe – Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship Match

Samoa Joe made his triumphant return to Ring of Honor’s main event scene in a marvelous showing with Jay Briscoe, who always manages to shine in these sorts of important bouts. Briscoe and Joe kept this one very physical, with a strong focus on ROH’s house style, which may help get the malaise that TNA’s booking strategy inadvertently glazed on Joe during the last half of his time with the promotion. The pacing was at a moderate speed, which gave these two a chance to add detail to their work. In the end, our champion retained in an excellent match that solidifies Jay Briscoe’s claim to being one of wrestling’s very best.

Winner: Jay Briscoe – Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion

News of the Night: In what may be a rather telling moment, Ring of Honor aired a Samoa Joe vignette to advertise new Joe merchandise, including a new T-Shirt, as well as Joe DVDs. What made me stop and look into this is the fact that, traditionally, when a wrestler is only looking to stay in a company for a short while, they typically don’t commit to advertising merchandise. While it may be something that was done out of goodwill from Joe himself, it just seems that Joe may have made a more substantial commitment than we are being led to believe. Furthermore, I can’t see why Joe would entertain an offer from the WWE, especially as he is preparing to exit his thirties in just a few years, when he could just take a possible New Japan offer and copy AJ Styles’s current position in professional wrestling, as he would make far more money, but for less work.

Final Analysis: Two great matches helped to cultivate one of the easiest nights that a wrestling reviewer can have. Having two notable names return to put over two signed roster members is as fine a way to legitimize a talent as any and helped add a different flavor to Ring of Honor that isn’t always possible with a promotion that relies only on its primary roster members.

Next Week: Michael Elgin vs. Cedric Alexander