Ring Of Honor TV Results & Analysis – April 4, 2015

– This card features AJ Styles, which is contested against Mark Briscoe, who has been a frequent opponent of “The Phenomenal One” for many years. Let’s get to the action!

* Michael Elgin vs. Will Ferrera

This was a squash match, pure and simple. Elgin beat the life out of poor Ferrera, who worked very much like former Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion Davey Richards in this match. When all was said and done, Elgin was made to look like a legitimate monster in a match that was never able to fully engage the crowd, due to a lack significant psychology or logical pacing. Most of Elgin’s offense did no more damage to Ferrera than any other. This match ended just as quickly as it began.

Winner: Michael Elgin

* War Machine (Hanson & Rowe) vs. Anthony Green and Cam Zagami

War Machine didn’t get much of a chance to truly demonstrate what they can do in this squash match which, like the first bout of the evening, didn’t have the atmosphere that one would want for a team that is being pushed as “the next Road Warriors”, as the announce booth put it. The jobbers looked good and did their job well, which was to be decimated by two imposing brutes.

Winners: War Machine

* Michael Elgin vs. War Machine – Handicap Match

This bout happened after Elgin challenged the pair after their last bout ended, in an effort to “destroy what he created”, in regards to Elgin assembling the team last year to protect him. This was a brief affair that ended when Elgin pummeled the team with a few chair shots, which caused the inevitable disqualification.

Winner(s): War Machine – Disqualification

* ACH vs. QT Marshal

ACH won a mediocre bout that let QT control the pace for most of the time allotted. QT is by no means a terrible wrestler, but he is not ready to be the focal point of the action just yet, which was corroborated by his lackluster work here. I don’t doubt QT’s passion, but I do doubt his reliability as a consistent presence on ROH cards. QT needs more time to hone his craft and when he does, then he will be ready for what he was asked to do tonight. ACH, on the other hand, continues to impress in a time when every one is performing exactly as he does, from aerial work to transitions. Hopefully, ROH has something substantial in mind for ACH, in the coming months

Winner: ACH

* AJ Styles vs. Mark Briscoe – Main Event

AJ had another great match here tonight, working with the often underrated Mark Briscoe. It’s matches like this that further cement AJ’s claim to being one of professional wrestling’s very best in the world, today. This match-up will likely not be regarded as a clash for the ages, but it will be remembered as one of many great efforts on AJ’s part that will help to create the body of work that so many are sadly lacking these days. Mark had an excellent showing here, with many different little bits from Briscoe’s bag of tricks that separate his matches from almost everyone else.

Winner: AJ Styles

News of the Night
* The “ROH Codeline” is running an angle where spectators can call in and find out if Cedric Alexander or ACH are looking to hire a manager. It will be interesting to see where this is headed, as both men are actually in need of a good mouthpiece.

* A nice promo with Jay Briscoe warning Samoa Joe that he is not the “little kid” that he was 13 years ago. This is an excellent way to set the stage for the World Title match between the two for the Supercard of Honor main event.

* The Decade attacked ACH after his match, so it appears that he is set to feud with the stable for the near future. BJ Whitmer, in particular, did a great job antagonizing ACH and was finally able to project the aura of a legitimate leader, which he has had some trouble with in recent months.

Final Verdict
This was a decent edition of “ROH TV” that felt innocuous at best. Aside from the main event, nothing here felt important or exciting, even when it actually was. Another problem here was the lack of proven star power, which is evident when one compares the main event to every other match on the card. When you consider that Ring of Honor is only given an hour to establish everything they want to establish, you would think that said promotion would want to focus on the guarantees that they have (top draws), instead of looking too far into the future at people who are simply not ready yet.

– Next week, we have these two fantastic pairings coming our way:

Jay Lethal vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger – Ring of Honor World Television Championship
Jay Briscoe vs. Samoa Joe – Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship

These two bouts are from the aforementioned “Supercard of Honor”.

– Former TNA X-Division & TNA World Heavyweight Champion Chris Sabin is set to debut in a role that I will respectfully decline to elaborate on until he arrives.