Powell's 7/8 ROH Wrestling TV review: Matt Taven vs. Eddie Edwards for the ROH TV Title, Veda Scott vs. MsChif, Silas Young vs. Adam Page, Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander vs. Alex Reynolds and John Silver

By Jason Powell

ROH Wrestling on SBG television affiliates
Taped in Baltimore, Maryland at Du Burns Arena

[Q1] The show opened with footage of the aftermath of Jay Briscoe defeating Mark Briscoe to win the ROH Title at the Best in the World iPPV... The opening video aired... Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino checked in on commentary as the camera panned the crowd and at one point showed an empty section of the bleachers. Kelly hyped the Matt Taven vs. Eddie Edwards TV Title match as the main event...

1. Alex Reynolds and John Silver vs. Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander. The announcers noted that Reynolds and Silver were trained by Mikey Whipwreck. Kelly noted that Coleman and Alexander would get an ROH Tag Title shot on next week's television show. Corino did the match a disservice by talking about how Coleman and Alexander keep losing, yet keep getting title shots. Kelly hyped it as the biggest month ever in ROH TV with three title matches and steel cage warfare.

The teams shook hands before the opening bell. Coleman worked the match in a t-shirt and got off to a fast start for his team. He sold briefly for his opponents, but came back with a dropkick and a small package for a two count. Reynolds came back by clotheslining Coleman over the top rope. Silver came back with a suplex and then Coleman did a weird twitch to sell it.

Coleman came back with a dropkick on both opponents and then made the hot tag to Alexander. Adrenaline Rush (ACH and Tadarius Thomas) came out to watch the match. Coleman took his shirt off before tagging back in. Coleman and Alexander rattled off a series of tag moves, including their finisher, and Alexander pinned Silver to win the match...

Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander defeated Alex Reynolds and John Silver in 5:00.

Powell's POV: A good showcase match for Coleman and Alexander heading into their tag title match next week. Kelly framed Adrenaline Rush as watching the match to scout just in case Coleman and Alexander win the tag titles. I didn't care for Corino complaining about Coleman and Alexander getting a title show when they lose so often. I know he's a heel, but that one hit too close to home.

An ad aired for the Briscoe brothers documentary DVD... [C]

Matchmaker Nigel McGuinness stood in the ring and said he was reminded at Best in the World why he loves ROH. The fans chanted Best in the World. Nigel praised Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe for putting everything aside and finding out who the better man was. He said they did the fans, the company, their family, and themselves proud. "Amen," Kelly said. Corino responded by telling him to shut up. Funny.

Nigel said Jay Briscoe injured his shoulder during the match, and Mark Briscoe suffered a concussion during their match. Nigel said Mark would not be cleared to wrestle for Team ROH in the steel cage warfare match against SCUM. Corino laughed and mocked him from ringside. Nigel said the question was who to put in his place. "No one!" Corino yelled.

[Q2] Kevin Steen made his entrance. He said he wasn't going to complain about what happened at Best in the World. Rather, he said he wanted to be put in steel cage warfare. The fans chanted yes. Nigel brought up Steen starting SCUM and being the face of it. Nigel questioned why he should believe him. Steen said he started SCUM and he can finish it. He said he needs to be in it and Nigel knows he needs him in the match. He told him to grow a pair and make it happen.

SCUM headed to the ring and surrounded Steen before attacking him. ROH wrestlers BJ Whitmer, Jay Lethal, and Michael Elgin ran out for the save. Security entered the ring... An ad aired for Friday's ROH event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The American Wolves spoke about their singles matches against the Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly... [C]

Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly were featured in the weekly text content spot...

2. Veda Scott vs. MsChif. Kelly said Scott is a lawyer who got into pro wrestling via broadcasting. They played her up as being very smart, yet still an underdog against MsChif. They had a tense handshake to start the match. MsChif grabbed Scott from the handshake and ended up throwing her to the floor, where she roughed her up.

Back inside the ring, Scott took a shot at MsChif's knee and went on the offensive. It didn't last long, as MsChif came back and eventually hit the Desecrator, but Scott kicked out. The announcers put it over as a big deal that she was able to kick out. However, MsChif came right back with a crazy facebuster off the second rope and got the win. Scott held her neck after the match and did a good job of selling the move...

MsChif defeated Veda Scott in 4:55.

Powell's POV: I really like the Scott and MsChif feud, but MsChif needs the right talker to help her act. I don't think they have the right person on the roster because I can't see her fitting in with Steve Corino, Bob Evans, R.D. Reynolds, or Truth Martini. If I had to choose from that group, I would probably go with Reynolds for MsChif with the hope that he could tone down his entertaining act while he's with her and put the emphasis on her dominance, similar to the way Gary Hart did for his wrestlers.

Another spot aired for Saturday's ROH's live event in Dearborn, Michigan. Adam Cole was featured discussing his match against an unnamed opponent... [C]

[Q3] A graphic hyped the Steel Cage Warfare is three weeks away...

3. Silas Young vs. Adam Page. Young cut a promo before the match saying he was embarrassed that he had to followup a women's match. He said they should be home cooking and cleaning. He said it's a man's business, but he doesn't see any real men in ROH. He said he's the last real man in wrestling, then took jabs at Page's hair. They had a tense handshake.

Young took control and threw Page to ringside, but jumped off the ring apron and into a dropkick from Page. They ended up on the ring apron and Young drove Page back-first into the post. Young missed with a kick and crotched himself on the ringside barricade, which Page suplexed him off of for a big pop.

Back inside the ring, Page performed a cross body block for a two count. There was a bit of awkwardness as Young ducked a clothesline, but he came back with a nice combo. Page ended up catching Young with a victory roll off a failed dragon suplex attempt for the three count. After the match, Young offered his hand to Page, who accepted. Young caught Page with a cheap shot and beat him down until referees and security came out to intervene... [C]

Adam Page defeated Silas Young in 4:50.

Powell's POV: A very pleasant surprise. Young's promo grabbed my attention right away and I thought this would be a showcase match for him, but it turned out to be a very competitive match with a surprising finish. There were a couple of awkward moments, but the live crowd was into the match and both guys got over. Young showed something with his mic work and I hope we get more of the "real man" persona.

A narrator ran through the upcoming live events... The text message spot with Red Dragon was replayed from earlier... Ring introductions for the main event took place. Once again, Martini came out with the Hoopla Hotties on each arm and the camera focussed on him while the ROH TV Champion came out behind them and received minimal attention. So ass backwards...

[Q4] 4. Matt Taven (w/Truth Martini, Hoopla Hotties) vs. Eddie Edwards for the ROH TV Title. Taven was cocky as he slapped Edwards hand and sort of shook it before the bell. Kelly pointed out that the match had a 15-minute time limit, which worked against Edwards.

Edwards controlled the early part of the match and chopped Taven at ringside. Back inside the ring, he applied a surfboard. Taven had good facial expressions for both. Truth distracted Edwards, allowing Taven to come back with a kick that knocked Edwards off the apron to the floor. Truth choked Edwards on the floor heading into the break. [C]

Taven rolled Edwards back inside the ring and covered him for a two count after the break. Taven held up Edwards for a suplex and the camera once again caught a bad shot of an empty section of the bleachers. Edwards came back and went for a superplex, but Taven shoved him off and the missed a frogsplash attempt. Edwares came back with a series of chops in the corner.

Later, used the top turnbuckle to clip over the corner and onto Taven at ringside, which drew loud Eddie chants from the crowd. Great move. Edwards missed a top rope stomp, but came back with a big kick for a two count. Taven avoided an Ace Crusher and came back with kicks and an angel's wings suplex for a two count. The announcer spoke about the move being used by Christopher Daniels. Corino said he was the first man who did not adhere to the Code of Honor. "Because he was smart," he added. Funny.

At 10:45, Edwards caught Taven in the Achilles Lock. Truth climbed onto the ring apron and Edwards released the hold. One of the Hotties slid the belt to Taven, who swung and missed. Edwards tried to reapply the hold, but Taven kicked him off. Edwards stopped short of colliding with one of the Hotties, then Taven hit his finisher and scored the pin...

Matt Taven pinned Eddie Edwards to retain the ROH TV Title in 11:25 (of television time).

Powell's POV: A very good television main event. This is the best match I've seen Taven have since he captured the TV Title and it's a credibility building win for his character. There are still issues with the Truth and Taven act. They really need to do more to spotlight Taven rather than leaving him in the background during the entrances and promos. Even if the long term plan is for Taven to split away because of this, it's harming him now because he looks like the other guy in the act rather than the featured player. Still, though, he came off looking very good in the ring. Edwards is consistently excellent in the ring and his performance here was no exception. Taven will be over as the TV Champion with more performances like this one and with a couple of tweaks to his act with Truth.

Overall, this was a very good show. It was the first show of the taping so the crowd was hot, and there was never a dull moment. The tag match was essentially a squash, but it served a purpose heading into Coleman and Alexander's tag title shot next week, and the Young and Page match was a nice surprise. ROH really needs to do a better job of establishing what's at stake in the steel cage warfare match because right now it just feels like an eight-man tag team match because the stipulations aren't being emphasized. Perhaps that's coming next week.