Ring of Honor Best in the World 2014 results, live blog

Ring of Honor (ROH) Best of the World is all set to launch a new era for the venerable independent promotion tonight (Sun., June 22, 2014) from the Tennessee State Fairgrounds/Expo in Nashville, TN, at 8:00 p.m. ET, live on pay-per-view (PPV).

CagesideSeats.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, match-by-match coverage of Best in the World below, beginning with the first match of the evening and right on through to the main event.

Kick your off your shoes, relax, and enjoy all the action with your favorite pro wrestling website. And remember to keep refreshing! (REMINDER: NO GIFs or pics in this thread. Offenders will be banned.)

__________________________________

ROH BEST IN THE WORLD QUICK RESULTS

• Michael Elgin vs. Adam Cole (c) for the ROH World Championship
• reDRagon (Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) retain their ROH World Tag Team Championship by defeating Christopher Daniels & Kazarian
• Kevin Steen defeats Silas Young
• Jay & Mark Briscoe defeat Matt Hardy & Michael Bennett in a No DQ match
• Cedric Alexander defeats Roderick Strong in a Submission match
• Jay Lethal (c) defeats Matt Taven to retain the ROH TV Championship
• ACH defeats Takaai Watanabe, Caprice Coleman, Tadarius Thomas, BJ Whitmer and Tommaso Ciampa for a future TV Championship shot

__________________________________

ROH BEST IN THE WORLD LIVE BLOG & MATCH COVERAGE

Sean here, BAY BAY.

Well, one point is better than none, but boy...three would have been nice.  Now that I've kissed by Portuguese sister, I'm ready for some ROH PPV!

Going for some WWE/TNA-level production with the opening video...and they did an okay job with it.

Sounds like a hot crowd.  Props to the guys in tuxes in the front row.  Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino are our main announcers (I had heard that Nigel would be with them, but maybe just for the title bouts).

The six-man will kick us off, which is the obvious call.  (This is as good a time to tell you all as any, if you're looking for a blow-by-blow, move-by-move account of things...this probably ain't gonna be it.)  ACH out first, followed by Watanabe.  Corino just compared Caprice Coleman to Brian Christopher.  He better watch his back around The King.

Whitmer and Thomas came out together with Adam Page in a show of Decade-ship.  Ciampa might have my favorite entrance theme in wrestling today (no offense Stardust).

ACH vs. Takaai Watanabe vs. Caprice Coleman vs. Tadarius Thomas vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Tommaso Ciampa

ACH and Ciampa start.  This is an open tag match with two men in the ring and a man in each corner, with lucha rules where if someone goes to the floor, anyone else may enter.  Watanabe doesn't seem to understand it any better than I do.

ACH doing the bulk of the work against each of the other five men.  Eventually we get Tommaso and Coleman, but they both go out on a clothesline from the Sicilian Psychopath.  Watanable can move for a big dude...ACH wants to dive on him, but BJ with some quality heeling by denying the fans an aerial move.

Coleman gets a tag from a beat up ACH, and hurricanranas BJ from the top rope, then hits two straight Northern Lights Suplexes.  The Trinity is broken up by Thomas - no! - double of suplex on The Decade!  Ciampa and Watanabe dueling elbows that bust open Tommaso, but hits Kryptonite Krunch.  Tadarius flied out of nowhere to break it up, ACH in...and I'm losing track of things.

Project Ciampa on Coleman, broken up by ACH and Project Ciampa on ACH!  Whitmer and Thomas in together, and BJ hits the exploder on his young charge.

I want to see Tommaso vs Takaai sometime, because these boys are killing each other.  Ciampa with a flip to the outside!  Coleman follows!  ACH gets about 100 feet in the air and follows him!  ACH hits a 450 on his old tag team partner Thomas for the win!

ACH wins a future Television Championship match

Ciampa begrudingly acknowledges the code of honor with ACH after the match, and BJ Whitmer goes after Corino at the announce table.

Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal (c) for the ROH TV Championship

Lethal is out with Truth and Celesia (sp?).  Martini will be handcuffed to the ringpost so he can't interfere, or he can only interfere in the corner?  What about Celesia?

Crowd seems to be slightly tilted to the heel, and honestly, I would be, too.  Truth is blanching at being handcuffed, but Jay coaxes him into with some help from his female bodyguard (who does not seem to be handcuffed or escorted from ringside).  Taven camp getting more vocal around the bell.  The story will be that the challenger is as interested in getting at his old manager as he is at winning back his belt.

Chops and WOOs mixed with some chain wrestling to start, and a drop kick from Taven gets things moving.  Celesia distracts Taven and lets lethal connect with a (slightly botched) enziguri to take charge with punches on the floor.  Stiff elbows even it back up, and a modified blue thunder bomb lets Taven make a beeline for Martini, but the bodyguard slows him down and lets Lethal catch up with an elbow to the back of the head.

Rest hold, and then trading strikes until Taven gets the lead with kicks.  A big enziguri, and rope assisted spinning neckbreaker gets a nearfall!  Comeback with Lethal Combination allows Jay to do a much nicer top rope elbow drop than another "best in the world", but he can't get three.  Two straight Lethal Injections miss, and the second is countered with an enziguri.  Brainbuster!  But can't get three.

Jay with a suicide dive, goes for another and gets met with a kick to the head!  Taven goes for two and connects!  On a third he goes high for a splash and takes out Lethal and Celesia!  Matt gets a chair and goes for Truth while his troops are down.  Martini bribes the head of security (Jay Diesel), who catches a chair shot and delivers a slap, but eats a superkick.

Celesia breaks the handcuffs and scampers off with Martini.  Taven turns back to the champ, who is now laid out in the middle of the ring.  He goes for a top rope dive, but Jay was playing possum and gets the knees up.  Lethal Injection and Lethal pins Taven.

Jay Lethal retains the ROH Television Championship

Roddy comes out with Thomas and Page for the next round of Strong vs. Alexander.  The first one was dope, btw.

Roderick Strong vs. Cedric Alexander in a Submission Match

Cedric refuses the code of honor, and we get right to some grappling.  Announce is selling how the stipulation favors The Decade member (because of the Stronghold), but that Alexander would have agreed to anything to get to Strong.

Starting kind of slow with lots of strikes, and ocassional splash from Cedric like a dive through the middle rope onto Strong.  OOOWWW - back body drop of the side of the apron by the Messiah of the Backbreaker.  My spine hurts, I can't even imagine what Alexander feels like.  He is primed for a Stronghold now.  The Decade young boys are taunting Corino again, so I'd expect him involved in a feud soon (C & C & C?)

Lots of heeling, stretches and moves that wear down Alexander while working the back.  Cedric is defiant in the face of strikes, and comes back with a Kick to Kill 2.  Big elbow and headbutts, then a dodge and drop kick to take Strong to the floor...huge swan dive onto the floor, but Roddy evades and leaves Page and Thomas to take it.

Alexander keeps on the heat and makes up for a slip on a kick off the barricade, and then turns a DDT into a guillotine!  Strong forces the break at the ropes, and the men trade kicks.  Corner drop kicks from Alexander, one-two...then a forearm smash.  Dragon sleeper after a slam, but knees to the head make Cedric release the hold.

Both men exhausted, and strikes give Strong an opening to put Cedric on the top rope - hits him with a Superplex!

Multiple running strikes in the corner from Roddy, and a disrespectful spit in the face.  A backbreaker attempt gets countered into another submission hold from the younger man!  Strong gets to the ropes, who then does some damage to Alexander on the floor.  Rolls him in for a backbreaker and tries to go for the Stronghold (for the first time).  Cedric fights him off, but takes a kick to the head..  Up top  for something off the top, but Alexander brings him down back first on the turnbuckle!  Backbreaker! He's going for the Stronghold!  Roddy taps!

Cedric Alexander wins his Submission Match against Roderick Strong with a Stronghold

Alexander offers his hand after the match, Strong teases adhering to the code but then turns and walks away.

Matt Hardy & Michael Bennett vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe

Maria is an attractive woman and an excellent promo.  She accompanies Bennett to the ring.  Big Money Matt Hardy is out with Peabody Award winner Nick Searcy.  If you said "who?", welcome to the club.

Jay looks pissed.  Mark looks...like Mark.  Streamers and "Man Up" chants rock the arena.

Mark and Michael start us off.  Redneck kung fu takes down Bennett quickly, and Jay comes in with boots to the gut - allowing him to turn to Hardy.  Matt bails, and Dem Boys work over MB.  A drop kick allows him to tag in Matt Hardy, and the heels isolate Mark in the corner.  This place will explode when Jay gets in with v1.

And it happened!  With a Thesz Press and strikes...and it all breaks down quickly.  Jay is working Matt over on the floor, while Mark does the same to Bennett in the ring.  Searcy and Maria distract Briscoe and lets Hardy escape, but the brothers are right back in control in the ring.  Jay with triple neckbreakers to the ICONIC titleholder, but only gets a two count.

Briscoe sets up for more damage, and Bennett in to attack Jay with his old belt.  The referee calls for the DQ, but Briscoe grabs a mic and call for McGuiness.  Here comes Nigel, who makes it no DQ!  Dem Boys immediately get chairs and start throwing the heels around.  The matchmaker joins Kelly and Corino on commentary.

"What if they hurt Matt Hardy!?!?!" - Steve Corino

Corino cracks me up, when he's not offending me.

Bennett taking a ton of abuse courtesy of chairs while the crowd chants for tables.  Jay goes for one, but Hardy stops him.  Maria grabs a chair from Mark and lets her man get some chair-based offense in on the Briscoe boy.  Hardy with a ladder!  Rams it broadside into Jay.  He sets it up in the corner of the ring, while Bennett throws Mark into the barricade at ringside.

Hardy calls for a Twist of Fate onto two chairs, but Jay counters into an AA onto them.  Suplex onto the ladder!  Mark throws Bennett from the top and then channels Mick Foley with an apron drop kick to Hardy in the corner.  I'm missing spots trying to keep up (and I think ROH has lost a camera)...Briscoes with a Doomsday Device on Bennett on the floor!

Peabody Award to the fruits on Jay from Matt, but can only get a two count.  Nick Searcy (who I just recognized him as Raylon's boss from Justified) takes an elbow drop from Mark, but the distraction lets Hardy get a Twist of Fate!  One, two...NO! Jay kicks out!  The Kingdom sets up a ladder and a table in the ring.  Here comes Mark!  Redneck kung fu takes out both men, and then he sets up Bennett on the table on the floor.  Top rope elbow drop through the table!

Jay Briscoe on a table, Hardy climbs the ladder.  Before he can dive, Mark with a fire extinguisher. JAY WITH A SUPLEX OFF THE LADDER THROUGH THE TABLE.  He's not done!  Jay Driller to Hardy!  That does it!

The Briscoes win their grudge match against Matt Hardy & Michael Bennett

Jay grabs his belt, but Maria grabs it and scampers to the back.  "Thank you Briscoes" chant.  They're not leaving, fans.

Footage of Cole and Bennett's attack on Elgin and MsChif from last weekend.  A lot of talk here, which makes it feel like their usual intermission spot.  Larry Mercer and Mandy Leon introduces us to the newest ROH signee, "Moose".  He's a former NFL football player with a good look who needs to work on his mic skills.

VEDA TIME!  #NEWSTREAK 122 - 0!  Evans is still in Japan...BOO!  Scott is trying to convince Moose to sign with her.  He puts her off to talk later, which I don't think is what she was looking for.  Her manservant stares at the Syracuse grad and storms off.  Weird segment, super-bummed for not R.D. Evans.

Kevin Steen vs. Silas Young

Steen, continuing to look trim, tells the camera that we are looking at the future of professional wrestling.  This match makes me a little sad, I won't lie.

Mr. Wrestling takes the action to Young right away.  Cannonball splash onto the floor and tosses Silas into multiple barricades as the announce team wonders if Steen's head is in the match.  Young gets some momentum while an  Olé chant rains down.

Countered apron powerbomb lets The Last Real Man take charge.  Works over Steen with strikes and slams after he sent him head first into the barricade (it sounded SICK).  He slips out of most Mr. Wrestling's usual comeback moves, until a pop-up powerbomb gives him a little bit of space.   The announcers keep pointing out that Young isn't capitalizing on Kev's head injury, which is weird.

Draping DDT and strikes can't get a pin for Steen.  Young with a nifty evasion in the corner leads to Kev bouncing head first off the turnbuckle.  He grabs a rope before Silas can cover, and eventually hits a neckbreaker for a nearfall.  Young slips out of another powerbomb set-up, and gets his opponent hung up on the top.  Brings him down with a good-looking rope-run clothesline, but he still can't get three.

It's Steen's turn to reverse Young headfirst into a turnbuckle, and that leads to a cannonball, then a senton off the top!  But only gets two!  Silas' snaps Kev's head off the ropes, and almost hits his corner springboard moonsault, but Steen evades.  Young lands on his feet, and much trash talking accompanies their trading strikes.

Silas sets him up on the top, but Steen counters with head butts!  Off the top, PACKAGE PILEDRIVER!  He wins - what does this mean!

Kevin Steen defeats Silas Young

He has a microphone.  "We love you Steen" is answered with "And I like spending time with you".  We do love you, Kev.  He puts over Young as a worker, and calls himself a top guy.  He admits that his contract is up soon, and says he'll be in ROH for a month and a half or so.

It's really gonna happen, isn't it?

Says he's glad one of his last matches was with Young on a big stage like this.  Silas accepts his handshake.

Kev starts to thank the Nashville crowd, and Silas slides back in and chop blocks him from behind!  He puts the boots to him as officials come in to break it up.  So it looks like he's getting put over with a whole program rather than just one match.

Christopher Daniels & Kazarian VS. reDRagon (Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) (c) for the ROH World Tag Team Championship

Bad Influence out first (and yes, screw you TNA, I'm calling them Bad Influence).  No Tom Lawlor, at least to start, with the champs.  reDRagon has a banner advertising their MMA-like sponsors, including Grumpy's Bail Bonds.

Heh.

Code of Honor offered and accepted.  O'Reilly and Daniels to start.  This is cool.  Technical wrestling, until Kyle comes with kicks and a disrespectful slap.  Fallen Angel bounces back with a leg lariat and slap of his own.  Kaz in for a tandem move, before Fish comes in to work with him, including a nifty leg drop across the back of the head for two.

Bad Influence has already gotten a chance to show more than they did in their last six months in Florida.  They're staying in control of both men, until Kaz crashes shoulder first into the ringpost and Fish works it over, including with a sneaky chair onto the arm.  Both men than proceed to work over the body part, allowing Kyle to put his arm bar on, but Chris comes in to break it up with a boot.

Kaz comes back with dodges and attacks with his good arm, and manages to get to the corner - but Fish pulls down Daniels so there's no one home.  More of the same until a neckbreaker gets his partner in for the hot tag!  Crowd finally wakes back up for the Fallen Angel who cleans house and sets up O'Reilly for a BME, but Kyle rolls out.  Fish runs in to set-up a series of sick double-teams!

CD starts another comeback by pushing shoving Kyle off with a bump that sounded like it put his forehead into the back of his head when he hit the apron.  Dive by Daniels takes him out of the picture, but Bobby Fish holds his own - including almost hitting a moonsault on Daniels.  That allows O'Reilly to come back after a DDT from Kaz, but he quickly gets a Blue Thunder Bomb from the Fallen Angel.  Everyone is too wiped to try for a pin.

Elbows to Fish from Daniels sets up Angel's Wings, but Kyle breaks up the pin.  Drags Fish to the corner for a tag, and the subsequent flurry ends with two sick bumps into the barricade for Daniels.  Kaz is the legal man, and manages to hit a Flux Capacitor on O'Reilly, but lands on his bum wing.  He covers after realizing that his partner is out of it, but Fish pulls the ref out of the ring.  No DQ is called for, and the champs eventually hit Chasing the Dragon.

But Kaz kicks out!  O'Reilly goes right for the arm bar, though, and Frankie has to tap.

reDRagon retain their ROH Tag Championship

Hands are shook, but the Fallen Angle jaws with the champs and tells them "it's not over".

Michael Elgin vs. Adam Cole (c) for the ROH World Championship

Cole did Unbreakable a big favor with that haircut.  He's still a strange looking man, but the buzz cut makes him look more intimidating than creepy.  Both men are out on their own.  Extra referees out to hold Elgin back, but he does extend a hand - which the champ accepts.

Unable to bait Elgin into an early charge, Cole heads in himself. The challenger with a double leg takedown - punches and forearms to his downed opponent.  The champ gets some momentum back, but Elgin walks away from a dive to the floor.  Cole goes for a chair shot, but Elgin counters to avoid a DQ and carries Adam all the way to the ramp for a big slam on the steel.

Reversal in the corner lets the Panama City Playboy take charge for the next stretch.  A telegraphed spot where Elgin turns a pop over into a gutbuster lets Unbreakable get back on top, but his inability to cover right away keeps things even.

Back and forth action, punctuated with Elgin deadlifting Cole up for a suplex - countered by the champ into a brainbuster onto his knee.  Crossface by Michael is turned into a roll-up, and he catches the champ with a drop kick when he tries to springboard back into the ring a second later.  Deadlift superplex by Elgin with a Falcon Arrow finish - but only for two!

Reverse hurricanrana follows a frankensteiner, and Florida Keys looks to repeat his title win over Elgin - but Unbreakable kicks out!

Big boot catches Cole, but he misses a second kick.  Cole responds, but Elgin ducks and referee Todd Sinclair gets caught square.  Buckle bomb, Elgin bomb...and a five count (minimum) but with no one to count.

The Kingdom out to beat down Elgin, but he comes back to suplex both Hardy and Bennett.  Cole is back up, but he gets powerbombed to the floor onto his teammates.  Maria up to stop him, and Unbreakable considers hitting her, but can't do it.   She slaps him, he chases her...right into Hardy with his title!  War Machine out to run off Bennett and Hardy.  Suplex from Cole on the floor,and the twenty count starts.

Elgin rolls in at around eighteen, and Maria comes out to distract Elgin and the ref and get Cole his belt.  Before he can strike, MsChif runs in!  Mist to Maria's face, and Elgin uses the distraction to hit the Buckle Bomb/Elgin Bomb combo.  Me and everyone in Nashville thinks we have a new champ, but NO!

Champ set up on the top rope, but before the challenger can do anything, Cole rakes the eyes.  Drop kick to the knee, and Adam with figure four on the ring post!

Back in for another Figure Four, but a roll-up for two!  School boy gets one, and the Cole misses a Superkick.  Elgin locks on a crossface, but Cole punches the knee to force a break.  Unbreakable tries a charge, but his knee gives in, and the champ hits him head first with kick.  Up top for Panama Sunrise...one-two-NO!

Back up top for another one, but Elgin rolls through.  He holds on for one, two, THREE POWERBOMBS!  Sinclair counts...NEW WORLD CHAMP!

Michael Elgin defeats Adam Cole to win the ROH World Championship

Elgin clutches the title while Cole sulks off holding his head.