1/18 Ring of Honor TV Review: Ciampa Defends the TV Title, The Decade Tries to Recruit Mark Briscoe, Kevin Steen Responds to Last Week’s Attack

Matt Taven is out before the main event can get started. It's just him – no Hoopla Hotties – and he's dressed formally, which is pretty unusual for him. Taven says he held the title for nine months, and extends his hand to Ciampa. Silas Young decks him and the two brawl around the outside of the ring until officials get Taven out of there. 

ROH World TV Championship Match

Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Silas Young

Ciampa is absolutely crazy, and Young has to hide behind the announcers to avoid getting a knee to the face early on. After a quick break, what follows is a solid ten minutes of fluid wrestling. Both guys have made a good name for themselves recently in Ring of Honor, particularly the new TV champion, and both have interesting yet unobtrusise characters. Silas tries to involve the strap that he beat Mark Briscoe with at Final Battle, but Ciampa takes advantage of any and all distractions. Tommaso with a Sicilian Stretch to tap out the challenger for the win. 

After his defeat, Silas Young gets the strap and beats the hell out of Ciampa with it. Matt Taven comes back and superkicks Young, leading to a stare down between Ciampa, Lethal and Taven with the title held high to end the episode. 

Ring of Honor continues its roll of good storytelling and episodic progression with a second week of new content in 2014 (I don't count the January 4th episode, as it was a recap of Final Battle). The Decade faction remains strong and ever present in my mind, while the consistent reminders of AJ Styles' impending return are helping to build up anticipation for that collision in just a few weeks. I am insantly grabbed by the Cliff Compton and Kevin Steen angle, which is just starting out. Compton was a guy I wanted to see more from following the SCUM invasion last year, and I'm glad to see a lot of thsoe guys – Hardy, Cliff, Jacobs, Corino – finding their way back into the fold. 

I'll give this week's show another solid B, as it was on par with the last episode. I was into the product from beginning to end, and I love the way things are naturally progressing in Ring of Honor ring now. There's a lot to look forward to, yet each episode doesn't make you feel like you're sitting around waiting for the big matches on the horizon. 

Visit ROHWrestling.com to watch this week's episode, and all the Ring of Honor TV episodes with a Ringside Membership. 

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