BRM Reviews the 3/12/2021 ROH

[Big Red Machine]

JAY LETHAL PROMO AFTER LAST WEEK’S VICTORY- good
Lethal cut a great promo here about the 19th Anniversary Show being The Foundation’s chance to “purify” ROH by winning the titles back from those cheaters in LFI (apparently Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams are getting a tag title shot… which they haven’t really done much to earn, but they still have done more than anyone else in the division).
That being said, there does need to be a moment where Lethal eventually addresses the fact that he benefited from Vita VonStarr distracting Taven. I’m fine with it not being right here, as this was right after the match and he probably didn’t know yet, but he has to address it at some point, because it feels like the sort of thing he would want to do his best to make right.

DAK DRAPER PROMO- This was good, but it would have been better if the person filming it was able to HOLD THE F*CKING CAMERA STEADY.

FRED YEHI PROMO- good
He feels like he needs a win to stay employed.

PURE RULES MATCH: Fred Yehi vs. Dak Draper- 5.75/10
Will Ferrara was on commentary for this match. He was okay. I liked the fact that they emphasized that the judges (of which Ferrara is one) take whether or not you get a warning for throwing a closed-fist punch as a major factor in who to vote for.
Draper won, but set himself up for the win by blatantly throwing a punch to the face. ROH has done a good job so far of making the punches feel important in these matches.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- good
Draper was a dick and offered Yehi a “participation ribbon” with his handshake, so Yehi turned the handshake down and stormed off.

QUINN MCKAY INTERVIEWS TONY DEPPEN- fine
Deppen was fine here. I really didn’t like that the Board of Directors have said that if Deppen beats Kenny, he will almost certainly get another shot at Dragon Lee’s TV Title. Dragon Lee beat him cleanly at Final Battle, and his only match since was a clean loss to LSG.

KENNY KING PROMO- great… until the end, which got weird
Kenny cut a great promo on Deppen. Maybe a little too good, as the booking of Deppen that I pointed out above makes Kenny’s comments about Deppen being overrated and a creation of internet hype feel pretty accurate.
Then it got weird as he turned and told Amy Rose “I told you to stop talking crazy at me” even though she hadn’t said anything. Quinn McKay scolded the already-departed Kenny for acting in such a way and told the already-departed Amy Rose that she doesn’t have to take that behavior. This was all very weird and out of nowhere.

TONY DEPPEN vs. KENNY KING (w/La Faccion Ingobernable)- 5.75/10
This was solid for the time it got. Kenny was cocky throughout the match, and it cost him in the end, resulting in him losing via roll-up.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- great
LFI (sans Rush) beat up Deppen. Brody King came out to make the save and took it to LFI. Rush came out to fight Brody and Brody laid him out, but he then got overwhelmed by the other three and got put through a table via a diving senton from Bestia del Ring.

FLIP GORDON PROMO- good
He’s unhappy that he hasn’t been given his title shot yet. He says he had better be given his title shot in his next match.

FLAMITA PROMO- very good
He hasn’t forgotten that Flip tired to pull his mask off the last time they met (back at HHonor Reigns Supreme 2020) and says that he can be just as rough and vicious as Flip.

FLIP GORDON vs. FLAMITA- 7/10
During this match, they announced a card for the 19t Anniversary Show on the bottom of the screen, which included Tracy Williams getting a TV Title shot. Has he even won a singles match since the Pure Title Tournament? And isn’t he already getting the tag title shot (then again, if Dragon Lee is pulling double-duty, it makes some sense to have someone on the challenging team have to pull double-duty as well).
The match was athletic and hard-hitting and great for the time it got, but that time was not acceptable for an ROH main event. Flamita got the win after Mark Briscoe hit Flip with a chair as revenge for Flip costing the Briscoes the #1 contendership match a few weeks ago.
This loss gives us a (barely acceptable) reason to put Flip’s title shot off for a bit longer, and it sets up a grudge match with Mark at the PPV.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- good
Flip attacked Flamita and pulled his mask off. Rey Horus and Bandido come out and attacked Flip. And here is another feud that can be used to put Flip’s title shot off, if booked right.


This was an okay show from ROH. The angles were mostly good, but I am starting to lose my recently rebuilt faith in the logic of things with some of these title shots. I also didn’t like the three-match format, as only the opener felt like it got enough time to get the wrestlers’ in-ring talents over in the way it needed to. Of all of the wrestling shows out there right now, ROH is the one that most needs an extra thirty (or even sixty) minutes.