ROH TV Recap: Briscoe Vs. White 2, Top Prospect Tourney Continues, Supercard Of Honor Build And More

By Leon Milici

Ring Of Honor TV Episode #287
Taped @Stage AE In Pittsburgh,PA

This week's show is the last set of tapings that took place in Pittsburgh before ROH's last pay-per-view. Ian Riccaboni is flying solo on commentary at the start. He intros the show as Silas Young and The Bruiser make their way to the ring.

In a clear example of what can happen with continuity when you tape so far in advance.... A promo by Silas Young and The Bruiser airs prior to the opening tag team match on this show. They were originally scheduled to challenge for The ROH Six-Man Championships on April 1st. In the promo, Silas and Bruiser tease revealing their mystery six-man partner for Supercard of Honor XI....

The match above is clearly no longer in the plans. Young and Bruiser may still end up revealing a partner at the show but they are no longer scheduled to contend for the titles..... So much has changed in the Six-Man title picture since this promo. TK O'Ryan's serious injury at the last PPV has shaken up the story a bit. With O'Ryan injured, Young took his spot in The Kingdom and they subsequently lost the 6 man titles to The Briscoes and Bully Ray at the most recent tapings. The Briscoes and Bully Ray are now scheduled to defend those titles against Hangman Page and The Guerillas of Destiny at Supercard of Honor.

'The Last Real Man' Silas Young & The Beer City Bruiser Vs. Cheeseburger & Will Ferrara

Young and The Bruiser half heartedly adhere to the Code of Honor at the outset, and then predictably proceed to attack Cheeseburger and Ferrara from behind. Silas and The Bruiser hit tandem moves on both men. Cheeseburger and Ferrara eventually rally with some tandem offense of their own. Except they use each other as weapons. Young and Beer City re-take control of the match for the next few minutes. They isolate Cheeseburger in their corner and rough him up. The Bruiser misses a running senton, which enables Cheeseburger to make the hot tag to Will Ferrara. He comes in into the ring and takes on both men. Ferrara is able to evade The Bruiser and then hits a jumping flat liner on Silas. Which nets him a near pin fall. Ferrara continues to battle both men by himself. He goes after The Bruiser and tries to lift him up on the ring apron. When he is unable to do so, Silas Young runs over and hits a springboard lariat on Ferrara. This takes Will to the outside floor. The Bruiser then attempts a running senton off the apron and onto Ferrara but he misses. Cheeseburger is now back up and he and Ferrara go to work on Silas Young. They hit a tandem move on Silas which ends with Burger hitting his Shotei strike. This leads to another near fall but the pin is broken up by The Bruiser. Cheeseburger then attempts his Shotei strike on The Bruiser but misses. Bruiser picks up Cheeseburger and he ends up "eating" the Beer City slam. Ferrara is now left alone. Silas Young connects with a cutter on him. The Bruiser then leaps off the top rope and flattens Ferrara with a frog splash. Bruiser pins Ferrara following this move to secure the victory.

Silas Young & The Beer City Bruiser defeated Will Ferrara & Cheeseburger

After the commercial break. Silas Young heads to the broadcast table to join Ian Riccaboni and Brutal Bob Evans on commentary for this next match.

Ring of Honor Top Prospect Tournament 1st Round Match
Josh "The Goods" Woods Vs. "The Heir Apparent" Chris LeRusso

Just some quick background here..... Josh Woods is a former NXT trainee. Who appeared on NXT TV as an enhancement talent. He was released last summer. Woods resume is not that of an enhancement level talent though. He is a former national wrestling champion and 4-time all American out of UCF. He has also had some MMA training and experience. He certainly looks the part.... Chris LeRusso like Woods, has had MMA training as well. LeRusso however is a young veteran in the wrestling business. He has been wrestling for over 11 years now on the independent scene mostly in his hometown of Pittsburgh. LeRusso is actually a licensed corporate attorney but wrestling has always been his top priority. He calls himself "The Heir Apparent", because he feels like he is the next in line of great wrestlers like Bryan, Punk and McGuinness, to be considered the best wrestler in the world. Both men have promos taped backstage prior to their tournament match. Very brief promos with each man stating why they are going to be the next Top Prospect.

Best televised match so far in the tourney with both men having very good showings here.... Woods in MMA styled gear goes straight to his MMA playbook. He strikes LeRusso with a high kick and then takes him down with a double leg chinlock. LeRusso gets out of it by turning the submission attempt into a potential pinfall victory and Woods is forced to break the hold. LeRusso then connects with a nice looking missile dropkick which grounds Woods. He then attempts to cover Woods but gets caught in an armbar submission. LeRusso again counters by turning the armbar into a potential pin and Woods has to break the hold. Silas Young is asked about Woods and LeRusso on commentary. He says that he is out here to scout this tournament for a potential partner for a six-man team with The Bruiser. He says that he has knowledge of the ROH talent in the locker room and that he wants to get a good look at the talent in the tournament. Silas puts over Woods and his unique ability and background..... Seconds later, Josh Woods springs off the ropes and hits a high knee on LeRusso. He then covers him and when LeRusso kicks out at 2, Woods transitions his pinfall attempt into an ankle lock. LeRusso gets to the ropes to break the hold.

Chris LeRusso then springs off the ropes and connects with a sweet looking neckbreaker on Josh Woods. LeRusso then connects with a pretty standing dropkick. He even gets the crowd to start chanting his name. LeRusso then grounds Woods with some stiff kicks. When he hovers over Josh, He nearly gets caught in another ankle lock but he grounds and pounds Woods to break free. LeRusso then puts Woods in a body scissors submission. Woods breaks free but LeRusso continues to remain in control. Both men eventually start trading stiff forearm strikes. When Woods starts winning the exchange, LeRusso puts a stop to it with a thrust kick. Moments later, Woods catches LeRusso in mid-air in a half nelson, transitions from that, and then hits a beautiful german suplex. Woods then attempts another one, LeRusso tries to break free with back elbows but ends up eating yet another suplex.

LeRusso battles back with a high knee and then an innovative looking pump handle fireman's carry slam. Which leads to a near fall. The final sequence sees both men staring each other down. LeRusso delivers a stiff kick to Woods. Josh springs back up and hits a stiff side kick to LeRusso's head. LeRusso goes down and is knocked out as a result of the kick. Woods mounts LeRusso and starts pounding away. Referee Todd Sinclair calls for the bell with LeRusso knocked out and unable to defend himself.

Josh Woods defeats Chris LeRusso by TKO/Ref Stoppage to advance to the semi-finals of The ROH Top Prospect Tournament

That was a fun match. Both guys should get contracts with ROH. The field in the tournament is now down to four. Woods will go on to face Brian Milonas. While Curt Stallion faces off with John Skyler.

The Supercard of Honor show is promoted during several of the show's commercial breaks. It was just recently announced that the newly crowned ROH World Champion, Christopher Daniels will defend his championship against Dalton Castle..... Another major match on the show is of course, The Hardy's defending the ROH tag titles against The Young Bucks in a ladder match.

The major match that has been recently added to Supercard of Honor on April 1st is former ROH World Champ, Adam Cole challenging 'The Villain' Marty Scurll for The ROH Television Championship. In the video below, Adam Cole addresses his loss of the world title, and he talks about the demands, he has made recently to ROH management. That has led to this upcoming match.

When the show returns from the break. A brief promo by Jay Briscoe airs. Where he hypes his main event rematch with Jay White. Briscoe talks about Jay White being all hype. How despite that the fact that White is unbeaten in singles action. That White doesn't have the resume or toughness that he does. Briscoe says that this time, Jay White will not take him to the limit in a draw. That he is going to put an end to him quickly.....

A video package then airs that showcases the history between The Rebellion and Lio Rush. Which leads into this next match.

Kenny King w/Caprice Coleman Vs. Lio Rush

Ian Riccaboni is joined on commentary by Chris Sabin.... The word is already out on the streets that Lio Rush has given his notice and will no longer be working for Ring Of Honor. He is scheduled to work for The EVOLVE promotion in April and in turn, has been rumored to be joining NXT and could eventually become a part of The WWE's cruiserweight division. The 2016 winner of ROH's Top Prospect tournament seems like a natural fit there. Rush was originally slated to take on Marty Scurll at Supercard Of Honor.

Sabin spends the majority of the match on commentary putting over Lio Rush and his great character. How he and Alex Shelley believe in him and see Lio as the future of the company. Another example of the weak points of taping shows far in advance and putting them in the can untouched.

Fast paced action throughout this match. Very evenly contested early on. When Lio Rush attempts a suicide dive. King strikes him in mid-air and takes control. As the show goes to break.... When the show returns, Both men are trading strikes in the center of the ring. The pace of the match picks up and Lio Rush ends a fast paced sequence by hitting a springing back elbow on King. He then charges at Kenny and gets back flipped onto the apron. King then strikes Rush with a Brazilian styled inverted round kick. This sends Lio to the floor. King then attempts to hit a corkscrew leap onto Rush but misses. Lio springs up into the ring and hits two consecutive suicide dives. Moments later, Lio Rush attempts a flying cross body onto King but he gets rolled up into a fireman's carry position. Rush breaks out of the hold by hitting a inverted hurricanrana on Kenny. Rush then hits a frog splash from the top rope but King kicks out. King then attempts a running double knee into the corner on Rush but misses. Lio then tries another frog splash from the top but King moves out of the way. Kenny then picks up Lio and hits "The Royal Flush". King's signature Fireman's carry styled cutter to get the pinfall victory.

Kenny King defeats Lio Rush by pinfall

After the match. Caprice Coleman comes into the ring and stands over Lio Rush and starts trash talking him. Rush pushes Coleman. King goes to defend Caprice but Coleman pushes Kenny away, and offers to go after Lio himself. Just as Coleman is getting ready to strike Lio Rush. Shane Taylor makes his way to the ring. Taylor teases teaming up with Rush against Coleman and King, but then turns on Lio. He hits a spinebuster on Rush and then celebrates with Kenny King and Caprice Coleman. All 3 men do the Rebellion symbol. Chris Sabin comes down to ringside and tends to the fallen Lio Rush.

Ring Of Honor TV Main Event Jay Briscoe Vs. Jay White

Mark Briscoe joins Ian Riccaboni on commentary.... Jay White is billed as being undefeated in ROH singles action for over 9 months. The last time these two met. They battled to a tv time limit draw. This match gets started 20 plus minutes before the end of the show. Presumably teasing yet another tv time limit draw... Briscoe's intention to end this match quick doesn't come to a fruition.

Jay Briscoe disrespects Jay White during the Code of Honor handshake to start things off. An enraged Jay White goes after Briscoe and takes the fight to him early on. After a flurry of offensive moves, White hits a snap german suplex that sends Briscoe crashing to the outside. He then follows that up with a suicide dive. White then starts throwing Jay Briscoe into the barricades around ringside. He runs into Briscoe with successive European uppercuts. Moments later, The momentum swings back quickly in Briscoe's favor. When he hits a hurricanrana on White and then follows that up with a running big boot and a suicide dive of his own. Jay Briscoe then gives White a taste of his own medicine by throwing him into the steel barricades at ringside.

Briscoe is still in control when the show returns from the break. He is beating down Jay White inside the ring. He controls the next few minutes of the match. Every time that Jay White tries to fight back. Jay Briscoe shuts him down. It builds to the point where Briscoe starts to get frustrated when he can't put Jay White away. Briscoe goes through his entire arsenal of strikes and moves.

After losing several striking battles with Briscoe throughout the match. Jay White eventually wins a striking exchange and begins to build up momentum. He strings together several moves and then heads to the top rope and hits a missile drop kick. He then follows that up with a judo style throw suplex. White then puts Briscoe into a cross faced submission. Briscoe is barely able to escape by extending his foot to the ropes. Moments later, The momentum shifts back to Briscoe when he connects with a neck breaker. Briscoe then goes for The Jay Driller but White counters out of it. Briscoe then attempts his discus punch but White avoids that as well. White then hits a succession of moves on Briscoe. A flat liner, a german suplex and then an exploder suplex into the corner. This all leads to a near fall.

Both men now battle to the top rope. Jay Briscoe pushes White off and he lands through a table at ringside. When Jay White is brought back into the ring. Briscoe goes for his Jay Driller but both men end up trading several counters and reversals. The sequence ends with Briscoe hitting a death valley driver. He covers him but White kicks out at 1. This shocks and frustrates Briscoe. With time running on the show, The two Jay's start exchanging stiff strikes from a seated position in the center of the ring. They make their way to their feet and continue trading strikes until Jay Briscoe spits in Jay White's face. Briscoe then hits a running discus forearm on White and finishes him with off a running lariat to secure the victory.

Jay Briscoe defeats Jay White by pinfall

The show ends with trainers attending to a fallen Jay White in the ring. As Ian Riccaboni states that Jay Briscoe had to throw honor out the window in order to beat Jay White. Here is a preview for next week's show in the video below. Next week's show will be the start of the tapings that took place after ROH's 15th Anniversary PPV. ROH TV next week will feature the new ROH Champ Christopher Daniels and a tag team match between The Hardy's and The Briscoes.

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