ROH TV Ep 343 Recap: Kazarian v Takahashi, Big Tag Team Gauntlet Main Event w/ Young Bucks, MCMG, More

This brings out the last team, The Kingdom. It’s Vinny Marseglia and T.K. O’Ryan. During the break we see that Matt Taven entered from the entryway as his buddies entered the fray from the outside, attacking Matt & Nick from behind. Vinny locks Matt into a chin lock, digging his knee into Matt’s back. O’Ryan and Vinny work on Matt in the corner. O’Ryan crawls under the ring to attack Nick Jackson. Matt hits O’Ryan with a superkick and hits Vinny with a top rope stunner to bide some time. Nick gets the tag and hits The Kingdom with a clothesline bulldog. Nick steadies to attempt a 450 on O’Ryan, but T.K. rolls out of the way only to get a nasty German suplex on the apron. Nick locks in a sharpshooter on O’Ryan as Vinny started punching Nick who still doesn’t break the hold. Vinny goes for the axe to break it up and referee Paul Turner takes it from him only for a baseball bat to enter the fold. Vinny hit Nick with the butt end in the mid-section, but it’s only good for two. Kingdom go to attack more with the bat, but Matt avoids and continues the assault until he’s hit in the small of his back. Matt gains the upper hand and goes for a powerbomb, but it’s prevented. The Kingdom get more dastardly by removing the padding on the outside as Vinny preps to powerbomb Matt onto the bare floor. Nick makes the save by punting Vinny in the face. Matt can’t lift T.K. up, waves Nick in to help lift him as the two connect for the “Meltzer Driver” and The Bucks get the win.

Winners & #1 Contenders For The ROH World Tag Team Championships: The Young Bucks via pinfall 32:30

Holy smokes what main event. Let’s start off by saying Shaheem Ali has a vocal presence on the mic that will serve him well down the road. Plus, he was given a great amount of time to showcase his fortitude and resilience against the monster duo of Bruiser & Milonas before falling victim to their size and handicap advantage. In turn, Bruiser and Milonas had plenty of ring time to get over their powerhouse chemistry, even against a fully-stoked team like MCMG. And if you want to see the artistry of high-flying athleticism then you have to see the Bucks and Guns work their magic because it’s visual eye candy. You can tease their showdown was just one taste of future matches to come.

The Kingdom were straight-up wonderful to hate as they pulled out every diabolical tactic known to man, but still wasn’t able to put an end to The Bucks. The half-douchey wrestling snob in me (as well as the genuine concern for athletes’ physical longevity in and out of the wrestling ring) wanted me to see the teams slow the pace a bit, but the other half was absolutely astounded by the out-of-this-world talent on display.

If you needed any affirmation as to who the best tag team in wrestling currently is, watch The Young Bucks put on a show for you in this episode. You won’t be able to make an argument afterward. Even if it wasn’t needed since I like the ROH TV format, the gauntlet was a healthy change of pace to an already exciting product. This gravy train of ROH quality entertainment just keeps rollin’ merrily along.