Ring Of Honor TV Recap (7/25): World Title Match, Jay Lethal Vs. Kyle O'Reilly, Bullet Club

RING OF HONOR TV

TAPED 6/25/16 CONCORD NORTH CAROLINA

EPISODE #253

AIRING IN SYNDICATION & COMET TV

Last week's show featured Roderick Strong's final ROH match. This week's tv show was built around and the entire hour was dedicated to a Ring Of Honor World Title match with current reigning champion, Jay Lethal defending against Kyle O'Reilly.

The show opens with the world title match but before the match can even begin. The challenger, Kyle O'Reilly is attacked by The Bullet Club. Adam Cole and The Young Bucks jump O'Reilly and beat him down with steel chairs. Cole has promised that Kyle would never become ROH world champ and the intent here is to injure him and that's exactly what they do. Using steel chairs, all 3 members target and injure O'Reilly's left shoulder. The match is postponed.

Nigel McGuinness, ROH's match maker and color commentator is livid and is forced to go to stand by matches as a replacement for the originally scheduled world title match. He orders security to ban the Bullet Club from the arena.

WAR MACHINE DEFEATED BRUTAL BOB EVANS AND KEN HUGHES

This is the first stand by match that takes place. Standard squash match. Hanson and Raymond Rowe dominate this quick match. The back story is that they are frustrated with recent events involving the tag team of Keith Lee and Shane Taylor, who cost them the tag titles and got the upper hand on them last week on TV. Post match sees Lee and Taylor run down but this time, War Machine gets the upper hand and lays them out.

We got an interview backstage with The Briscoes. The IWGP tag champions. The Briscoes hype next week's tag match with current IWGP junior tag champs, The Young Bucks. Back to the arena. Another stand by match is scheduled in place of the world title bout being suspended.

CHEESEBURGER VS WILL FERRARA

Just as this match gets started. The Cabinet arrives on the scene and they claim that they are on a campaign to rid ROH of wrestlers they feel are not worthy. The cabinet consisting of Caprice Coleman, Kenny King and Rhett Titus cancel the current match and order Cheeseburger and Ferrara from the ring. They refuse to leave and instead challenge The Cabinet to an impromptu 6 man match with their partner being Moose.

CAPRICE COLEMAN, KENNY KING & RHETT TITUS DEFEATED MOOSE, CHEESEBURGER & WILL FERRARA

Just as this match starts. Nigel McGuinness leaves the broadcast table to go get an update on the status of Kyle O'Reilly. Throughout the match, Kevin Kelly receives updates from backstage and updates the audience. Kelly announces that despite Kyle's injury at the hands of The Bullet Club. O'Reilly is refusing doctor's orders and is planning to come out and wrestle for the ROH world title.

This match itself was fairly chaotic. This is one of Moose's final TV appearances with ROH as he has since joined TNA. He was showcased heavily in this match but didn't factor into the finish. The Cabinet won this match when Rhett Titus pinned Cheeseburger with a hanging DDT.

The Young Bucks are shown in a taped interview hyping next week's tv tag match vs The Briscoes. There is also an ad shown for ROH's Death before Dishonor PPV on August 19th.

ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH

JAY LETHAL VS KYLE O'REILLY

Kyle comes out for this match with his left shoulder heavily taped up.. As introductions are being made for this match. Jay Lethal after being introduced grabs the microphone and says that he doesn't want to have this match. That contrary to popular belief, He respects O'Reilly and feels that he shouldn't wrestle under his current condition and that he would gladly defend the title against him at a later date. O'Reilly thanks Lethal for his respect and concern but he refuses Lethal's request and insists that they have the world title match now.

This was a good match for what it was. Kyle spent the majority of the match, clutching his left shoulder in pain and trying to work around it. He used strikes with his legs as his primary offense. Jay Lethal was playing the role of someone with compassion that doesn't want to injure Kyle permanently and that he wants to win this match quickly and just get it over with.

That was the premise and story in this entire match. Twice in this match, Kyle O'Reilly got near submissions on Lethal by using a triangle choke. One great spot was Jay Lethal attempting the Randy Savage elbow drop from the top rope and as he landed. Kyle turned Jay's landing into a triangle choke submission attempt. Jay couldn't put Kyle away in this match and got more frustrated and aggressive as the match went on and at one point started targeting the shoulder to try and end the match. O'Reilly rallies at one point and re-injures his shoulder on a suicide dive on the outside. At one point, O'Reilly hit a missile dropkick from the top rope and landed poorly on his shoulder and couldn't move. Kevin Kelly stood up from his announce desk and pleaded with referee Todd Sinclair to stop the match. The final sequence of this match saw Lethal hit several shoulder breakers on O'Reilly for near falls and then even Lethal pleaded with the ref to stop the match but Kyle refused to quit. Jay Lethal finally ends the match with his Lethal Injection finish on Kyle for the victory.

JAY LETHAL DEFEATED KYLE O'REILLY TO RETAIN THE ROH WORLD TITLE

Post match. Jay Lethal didn't celebrate. He stormed out of the ring angry that the match ever took place. Moments later, As O'Reilly laid on the mat injured. Out from the crowd comes The Bullet Club. Cole and The Young Bucks once again target Kyle's injured shoulder with steel chairs. Adam Cole hits a shoulder breaker on O'Reilly. The Bucks then hit a Meltzer driver on O'Reilly on top of a steel chair. Out comes Bobby Fish and a returning Jay Lethal to run the club out of the ring. Cole and the Bucks flee into the crowd. An angry ,Nigel McGuinness gets on the microphone and tells Adam Cole that he will never be ROH world champion because of a result of his actions on this show, As long as Nigel is ROH's matchmaker. Adam Cole will never receive a world title match. The show ends after this announcement.