[2022-07-23-ROH-Death Before Dishonor] FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) vs Mark & Jay Briscoe

[corwo]

FTR defend the ROH World Tag Team Title in a 2/3 falls match

The first fall was nothing to write home about. It was very basic and I would have preferred if they'd gone straight into the action rather than doing another extended feeling-out process. Respect was shown early, with both FTR & The Briscoes backing off when the doctor attempted to attend to a member of the opposing team. Things progressively escalated when The Briscoes began taking cheap shots. Wheeler makes a fantastic save, delivering a lariat to Mark as he tries to go for the Cactus Elbow off the apron onto Dax. Dax takes a nasty bump, hitting the post chest-first, and The Briscoes hit a Doomsday Device to pick up the first fall.

Something I found interesting about the way this match was structured is how FTR alternated as the face in peril, with Cash taking the brunt of the offense in the first fall and Dax in the second.Harwood's chest gets busted open from chops by Mark. The Briscoes expertly cut off the ring and milk the tags for all they're worth, knocking Wheeler off the apron at every opportunity.

After a while of Harwood taking the heat, The Briscoes attempt a second Redneck Boogie, but Wheeler cuts Jay off at just the right time. That leads to Wheeler hitting a Gory Special for an extremely close near fall. Jay hits Wheeler with the ring bell, splitting him open. Harwood makes the save and pulls Jay out of the ring, goading Mark in and delivering a Flapjack into the steps to take him out. FTR scores the second fall with the Big Rig on Jay shortly thereafter. I cannot overstate how great FTR's saves in this match were, as they were perfectly-timed each go-around. This was arguably the apex of the match, as The Briscoes were repulsive in their heat segment, and Harwood was great as the never-say-die babyface.

The third and final fall is the come down, which feels odd to say since it starts off hot with Cash and Mark headbutting each other. Wheeler pushes Mark off the top rope when The Briscoes attempt another Doomsday Device, allowing Harwood to deliver a right hand to Mark in mid-air.Jay ducks a punch and Dax erroneously decks the referee. I'm never a fan of ref bumps, especially ones this poorly-executed. They come off as theatrical, and Jay looks stupid when he goes for a pin knowing the referee was taken out mere seconds earlier.

The hyperbole from commentary didn't help matters, with Coleman saying something along the lines of "this is the greatest match I've ever seen in my life," and Riccaboni responding with "one of the absolute greatest tag matches I've ever seen." That brings me to the discourse surrounding this match. It's not enough for something to be good or even great. Everything has to be The Best Thing Ever. I, myself, have a propensity to hype up matches, but all I'm asking is for people to be a little more thoughtful.

Wheeler makes another great save, breaking the count at 2.99 after The Briscoes finally land the Doomsday Device they were looking for earlier. There was a botched suplex over the ropes, which made the match feel slightly more dangerous. The Briscoes locked in double submissions and FTR grabbed each other's hands to keep from tapping out, which came across as a hokey relic of NXT. Wheeler gave a back suplex to Mark from the top rope to a table on the outside, allowing Harwood to hit a top-rope piledriver on Jay for the win.

I liked that they saved the top-rope piledriver for the finish, as that move should be treated as a potential career-ender. I probably sound more negative on this match than I actually am, but it's only because I loved their first encounter so much. The tease of two straight falls gave more weight to the near falls. The second fall is superb, straight-forward tag team wrestling at its finest. However, the match is bogged down by bloat and some late melodrama that didn't land for me. Regardless, if you're a fan of these teams, there's plenty to enjoy here.

[Makai Club #1]

Great match. I thought they made good use out of the 2/3 Falls stipulation, using the time wisely, not waiting for the first fall in 4 minutes as is the norm, and building properly to the finish for each fall. The first fall did tend to feel overdrawn though, so it’s not perfect. But I think they paced the match well for the most part. The blood aspects didn’t seem to add anything to the match, nor did the ref bumb which was stupid for several reasons, including legitimately knocking the referee loopy but the wrestling was really good. Not as good as their first match but it was a great outing nonetheless. ****