ROH TV Episode 298

6/3/17

Philadelphia, PA

War Machine vs. Cheeseburger & Will Ferrara

The IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team champions got the full entrance treatment while their opponents were already in the ring ready to be slaughtered. Seriously, even following the Code of Honor saw Will & Cheeseburger struggle to pull away. It was Cheeseburger and Ray Rowe to kick this one off and Cheeseburger realized he needed some help. Ferrara joined him, only for the pair to have their forearms blocked by Rowe’s head-butts. Grabbing both opponents Ray overhead belly-to-belly suplexed both men at the same time. A quick tag from Hanson saw him execute that cartwheel clothesline before he decided he wanted to be slammed on Ferrara. Will moved out of the way, giving Cheeseburger the chance to dropkick Hanson atop his own partner. Cheeseburger & Ferrara were actually giving the big men a fight when they made the mistake of trying to double Irish whip the champs. Instead, both men got turned inside out including Cheeseburger being tossed into a sit-out power bomb … that gave Rowe a near fall!

The fans exploded when Cheeseburger kicked out as War Machine watched in shock. Cheeseburger somehow got a second wind, avoiding a double team slam to Shotei palm strike Rowe. Sadly for Cheeseburger, his momentum quickly ended with Cheeseburger ran into the pop-up power slam double team that gave War Machine the pin.

Rowe grabbed the microphone to remind everyone that it was here War Machine was born and where War Machine won the World Tag Team title. Rowe threw out the challenge to The Young Bucks and the ROH gold.

Following a recap of Cody’s complaints last week, Christopher Daniels promised to continue his dream by ending “The American Nightmare” in the main event of “Best in the World ‘17” in their first one-on-one match for the World title.

The Briscoes, Bully Ray & Dalton Castle vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, Sanada & EVIL)

As expected there was no respect for the IWGP Intercontinental title belt as Tetsuya Naito literally kicked the belt all the way to the ring. Shockingly, Castle got a bigger response than Bully Ray in the former ECW Arena. Mark Briscoe and Tetsuya Naito started this one with Mark threatening some Redneck Kung Fu early . Naito responded by sending Mark to the floor for that dive feign before calling out Bully Ray. Bully actually did his version of Naito’s dive feign; much to the chagrin of Naito who tagged out. Bully was a one-man army, knocking down all of Tetsuya’s partners before calling out the man himself. Naito was having none of it, leaving BUSHI to feel the fury of Castle’s … peacock pose following some takedowns. Naito had grown tired of this, causing a sneak attack where Sanada tagged himself in after tying up Castle into a human ball so he could dropkick Dalton’s butt. Castle’s was getting worked over something fierce thanks to some sadistic face clawing by EVIL heading into the commercial break.

Castle was trying to make a tag when the show returned, elbowing his way to “The Sussex County Chicken” so Mark could unleash some Redneck Kung Fu. It was all Dem Boys as Jay ran in to set up some double teams and Jay going full speed to wipe out Naito on the floor with a tope. Bully didn’t fly, but got EVIL and Sanada ready for some Wazzup action before deciding he wanted tables. The Boys ran in during this moment to shove Castle out of the way when his saw BUSHI enter ready to mist Dalton. Jay got hit instead, leaving him prone to a BUSHI roll up for the three count.

The Six-Man Tag champs were furious, arguing with Castle before going after The Boys – who slipped underneath the ring to hide and hightail it up the aisle.

Hangman Page declared the fans are lined up to witness Cole’s last shot in ROH at the hands of Page.

Another Punishment Martinez creepy video aired with the big man warning his inevitable foes that they will be punished.

Jay Lethal also was in the promo area to let everyone know in two weeks it’ll be him & Bobby Fish taking on Silas Young & Beer City Bruiser. Lethal warned Fish to leave Young to him in that match.

Roppongi Vice had a pre-taped promo hyping their match with The Young Bucks & Hangman Page for a six-man tag team match. Rocky was fine with going two on three against The Bullet Club, but Beretta promised he had a guy. Looking to exit stage left, their opponents mysteriously appeared (or were eavesdropping) to super kick Vice and leave them lying.

Adam Cole vs. Hangman Page

Of course there was no Code of Honor. Backing Cole into the corner, Page initiated a brawl that he lost when Cole kicked him to the floor for a tope as the show entered a commercial break.

The show returned as Page knocked Cole off the top rope to stop the Panama Sunrise for a tope of his own. Page did his version of the Adam Cole pose to a loud chorus of boos. Showing great strength, Page was tossing Cole around with ease. Cole fought back with some spit, a bicycle kick, and that over-the-knee neck breaker. Cinching in the figure four leg lock didn’t end this one in a submission for Cole, but did hinder Page for going for that slingshot somersault clothesline. Instead of hitting Cole, Page met a super kick. Once again, Hangman rolled onto the apron to distance himself when Cole followed. This proved to be detrimental for the former champ as that shooting star press off the apron took him down when Page blocked the Florida Key on the apron. Rolling Cole into the ring, Page executed his slingshot somersault clothesline … to gain a near fall before the final commercial!

The show returned with Cole countering the Rite of Passage, super kicking Page. Page retaliated with a pile driver by feigning a punch. Once again, Cole stopped Page’s finisher, super kicking Page in position for the shining wizard. Rather than go for the pin, Cole went for the Last Shot. Page actually countered and used his own finisher against his former ally … to attain another near fall!

Rolling Cole onto the apron, Page wanted the Rite of Passage possibly to the floor. Cole was having none of it, breaking free to super kick Page to the floor. Cole had an idea, jumping off the apron to execute the Panama Sunrise on the floor! The referee started counting both men out after checking on them, but Cole refused to let it end this way. Rolling Page into the ring, Cole wanted another Panama Sunrise when Page caught him with the Rite of Passage … that gave Hangman a two count!

Furious, Page exploded with the lariat topped off by another Rite of Passage put Cole’s lights out for those previous three seconds.

In a surprising twist, Frankie Kazarian saved Adam Cole from a whipping courtesy of Page and the referee’s belt.

Overall: The renewed focus on story advancement that really made last week’s episode what it was mostly continued here with a potential new story beginning midway through the episode. Following a long-than-expected opening match that was more entertaining than one would’ve expected on paper, War Machine put out the challenge for The Young Bucks. These two teams have been involved in some fantastic matches this year against each other in ROH and elsewhere; so this rematch should be no different. What was essentially a ROH-New Japan showcase with the eight-man tag might be the beginnings of something big. The very good match was somewhat overshadowed by Jay Briscoe blaming Castle for their loss while potentially setting the stage for a Briscoes & Bully Ray vs. Castle & The Boys match in the future. The main event might not have been a classic – which is somewhat disappointing if this is Cole’s final ROH televised match – but it was incredibly good with the perfect ending. ROH has gotten Page to the point with big wins in the past and failed to capitalize on his momentum. Hopefully that won’t be the case this time around as Page might have kept his promise and run the only three-time ROH World champ out of the company. Between it all were several promos that did a great job hyping both the next couple of weeks of ROH TV and “BitW”. Another strong episode from ROH that didn’t have anything necessarily must-see, but delivered on an entertaining episode that flowed smoothly and never felt like a drag to watch.