Enz Promo
Enz enters dressed as O’Ryan James and wearing his attire as well as emulating his entrance until getting to the bottom of the ramp where he feigned a crippled walk, zombie-like walk. Enz begins his promo with what I am assuming was an intentionally horrible impersonation of James, mocking James for getting his “ass whooped by a female” and brief title reign saying that he lost his belt because he just couldn’t beat Desmond, he continued mocking his contentment with losses and his assertions of heart. Enz mocked James for losing to Will Steele, for taking his anger out on him (Enz) and for his apparent relationship issues.
After he was done mocking James, Enz really got to the point of this promo; to fire a lot of people. He fired to the social media management, marketing and production staff for using James on the posters and intros (Naming Jack, Jill, Johnny, James, James Jr, James III, James IV, James II, Jack VIII, Jill IX). He then fired Roger, the referee who officiated Will Steele vs. ORJ on Burnout Episode X for failing to help Enz while he was being stomped out by ORJ. He then fired Cameraman #9 for zooming in on his beatdown at the hands of ORJ, he fired the person in the back watching the show right now, he then hired a random member of the crowd only to fire him moments later. He then threatens to fire more people throughout the night for failing to help him on Burnout X. Ending the promo with a dick show comparing the size of his massive ego to his genitalia.
KIO Defeats TJ Rave
This match began by skipping all the traditional pleasantries of lock-up exchange instead of having KIO exhibit his superior strength pushing Rave to the ground multiple times. Rave would briefly retaliate with a series of forearms and strikes but his overconfidence would get the best of him and KIO would catch him with a snapmare back chop/kick combo while Rave was taunting.
As this match continued KIO would seek to keep this match slow and grounded using his experience to cut off the inexperienced Rave’s offense. KIO would also make good use of his slight size advantage over Rave dragging and lifting him around the ring and controlling the terms of this match. Rave would get impressive flourishes of offense, showcasing his high paced highflying style and managing to capture the crowd’s attention. At one point hitting an impressive Spin-Out Sitout Powerbomb especially considering the size difference between the two men. KIO kicked out and managed to retake control over the match slowing it back down to a pace he was more comfortable with displaying KIO’s high in-ring intellect. Rave, however, would pick up some momentum sending KIO flying off the apron before landing a perfectly executed Arabian Press Moonsault.
The end of this match would see KIO swat away Rave after he came flying off the ropes before hitting a running bicycle knee strike and then planting him with a One-Handed Electric Chair Driver.
This match was rated **¾ (2.75 Stars) by us here at TIC, the action was slow and unimaginative especially considering how capable both men are however the match did present a clear story, despite it being a slower match the high spots were well balanced. We would have liked to see more from TJ Rave, we would have liked to have seen him truly rely on his highflying and make inventive use of his agility to allude and retaliate on KIO. Nonetheless, it was a decent opener to the show and it left us excited to see how both men develop as talents in ROX.
OKAMI Defeats Ivan Roski
This brief match saw the debut of Ivan Roski the newest acquisition from ROX all the way from Russia however his debut may not have gone to plan for him. As the match began Roski made an immediate dash for OKAMI who caught him with a rolling heel kick, OKAMI would then hit shining wizard to pick up the win.
This match was rated a DUD (0.00 Stars) by us here at TIC, although it was a spectacular way to showcase OKAMI as a lethal competitor the match only lasted 22 seconds and thus could not be rated any higher. The far more interesting takeaway was the post-match beatdown at the hands of Everett Continelli on OKAMI with a kendo stick and although this was a continuation of their storied rivalry it could not be factored into the grade of the match. OKAMI did nonetheless look impressive and we are thrilled to see him treated as a real threat in ROX.
Desmond Cruise/Will Steele Backstage Brawl
We cut to backstage where Desmond Cruise and Will Steele, who are meant to be partners in tonight’s main event are involved in a brawl. Desmond Cruise gets the better of Steele throwing him into the wall before driving him head first into the ground with an Inverted Death Valley Driver.
Kattya Defeats Brie Black
This match began with a traditional lock-up both women jockeying for an advantageous position, the more experienced Kattya would take an immediate advantage locking Black in a headlock before transitioning to a high key lock then slamming Black down into the mat. Kattya would pick the pace throwing Black off the ropes then catching her with a deep arm drag on the rebound following that up with a wheelbarrow arm drag then flooring Black with a basement dropkick for a two count.
As the match continued Kattya would attempt a wrist lock hurricanrana from the corner only to have it reversed into a sit-out powerbomb by Black. This match would go on to be surprisingly competitive with Black landing a respectable amount of offense on the more established Kattya. However as expected Black would not have control of the match long before Kattya retaliated with a barrage of vicious kicks. Kattya managing to outmatch the very inexperienced Black at every turn making great use of her trademark impressive athleticism.
The finish of the match would see Kattya plant Black with a straight jacket german suplex following it up with a kneeling superkick for the win.
This match was rated *¾ (1.75 Stars) by us here at TIC, it was essentially a one-sided squash match however Black did get a respectable amount of offense on Kattya but the match’s intention was clearly to get Kattya over. We’re still excited to see how both of these women fit on the roster, Kattya is clearly going to play a big role in the future of the division but we hope to see Black stick around for just a bit longer.
Dames Of Deception Attack Kattya
Olivia interrupts Kattya's victory celebration congratulating her on her win and debut in ROX, she expresses that she respects what Kattya and done and the impact she’s had. Olivia feigns an apology and genuine regret for her actions, for what she and the DOD did to that fan. This all turned out to be a ploy and the other two members of the DOD proceeded to beatdown Kattya the same way they beat that fan on Burnout X.
Olivia retakes the mic and expresses how she truly feels about Kattya calling her a “joke” and “an insignificant, expendable waste of space”. The beatdown was interrupted by a returning Helena Rose who came to the aid of Kattya and the two would send the DOD running as they joined in solidarity.
Tesla Vendetta's “Apology”
Before Vendetta could even get a word out Enz interrupted her acknowledging that they both know that Vendetta wasn’t actually going to apologize. In fact he never actually wanted an apology from her, instead, he was going to give her an opponent for the Vengeance CPV telling her that if she lost she would not only lose the belt she would also be immediately released from ROX.
Ryan Ricci “Exposes” JTD
Ricci came out to a chorus of boos and immediately began with his typical heelish antics making excuses of him running away from JTD. He belittles JTD for being the last CTO Global Champion and blamed him for killing the belt, even going as far as to say that he wasn’t a real champion because he could never defend the belt. This promo was structured and delivered like the average Ricci promo, it wasn’t anything unique but nonetheless, it was effective.
The promo was interrupted by JTD who made his way out the crowd and attempted another attack on Ricci before Ricci managed to escape.
Jamoshi Ali Defeats Desmond Cruise Via Count-Out
This match began with Cruise taking an immediate and decisive advantage punching Ali all around the ring before sending him flying into the corner and crushing him with a spear/belly to belly combo. Desmond would seek to continue his dominance before Ali managed to shift his weight while in a pumphandle slam taking an advantage briefly. Ali would send Cruise pummeling to the outside before climbing to the top turnbuckle and hitting a seated senton on Cruise on the outside. Ali would make the mistake of bringing the match back down a pace that Cruise was comfortable with allowing him the opportunity to take back control.
As the match continued Cruise continued to display his dominance over Ali. Cruise would just pummel Ali into submission not giving him any chance to recover. Ali would manage to get some offense picking up the pace and throwing everything he could at Cruise. For a while, it seemed that Ali had a legitimate chance of actually defeating Cruise and winning the title but it was not meant to be as Cruise would catch him and destroy him with chokeslam backbreaker.
Some ways into the match Ali would pull the referee into the way of Cruise while he was barreling towards him. This incident led to Will Steele running out and attacking Cruise in retaliation of to what Cruise did to him earlier, sending him outside with suicide spear and continuing the beatdown with a vicious salvo of grounded punches. Steele would eventually end his beatdown Release Spinning Fireman’s Carry Throw onto the steel part of the ramp.
The match would underwhelmingly end via countdown however it featured a notable mistake where the bell was rung at an 8-count. This mistake tainted the result of this match and must be addressed soon but our sources tell us that ROX and Ali have discussed the terms of his victory are set to address it at the next Burnout.
This match was rated **¼ (2.25 Stars) by us here at TIC, the match droned and just lacked anything to peak our excitement, the story was one dimensional and until Steele interfered there was really nothing to write home about during this match.
Overall Show Rating: **¾ (2.75 Stars)
The show overall left some to be desired, the matches weren’t bad they just weren’t anything too exciting to take away from them. We appreciated the focus on the stories throughout the show, every major segment furthered a story. We also appreciate the improvements in production quality, the audio and visual was greatly improved from Burnout X. The commentator also improved leaps and bounds since the last show, he was on point with all of his calls and wasn’t nearly as intrusive as he was on previous shows. Overall this is another step forward for ROX and we are extremely excited to see how they move and continue to improve in the future.
Written By: Philip Nelson
Contributions By: Cole Michaels, Andrew Brown, and Justin Lawrence
Twitter: @TodayInCAW and @PhilipNelsonTIC
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