It’s season-finale time, as Jeff Cobb stands in the way of the reigning White Belt champion and a ROH Television title shot!
Yes, it’s still Matt Lott in the studio for the season finale, and he pitches to a music video of the season so far, featuring plenty of backstage footage. Having not been seen since the season opener, Cobb’s back for his sit-down promo, as is Solow, who correctly labels Cobb as a monster. Solow notes that he’s not wrestled Cobb, but they’re well aware of each other… while Cobb just sees Solow as just someone else to throw around.
Aaron Solow vs. Jeff Cobb
ROH’s Todd Sinclair is our referee for the black belt match, which makes a little sense given what’s at stake. Jeff Cobb doesn’t come out with the black belt – it’s only the prize given to the overall winner here.
Cobb was presented as a monster heel, if only going by the booing from the crowd, but his mannerisms were largely the same as usual… although Cobb did offer Solow a way out… which of course was not taken. Solow tries to get in some right hands as Cobb was taken to the corner, as it seemed like “hit and move” was going to be Solow’s only hope.
Cobb does get to use his power a little, but he’s largely on the defensive until he sent Solow flying with a simple shoulder block. Sort-of pounce! The boots get put to Solow from there… but Solow takes to the air and sends Cobb outside with a missile dropkick, before a plancha is caught! Solow manages to escape and post Cobb after taking some knees to the ribs, before connecting with a nice tope con giro!
Back inside, a low dropkick nearly gets the W for Solow, as he segues into a crossface… but Cobb rolls back and almost snatches the win from there. A cross-chop to the throat rocks Solow, as does a dropkick as Cobb knocked him off the top rope before he brought him back inside with a stalling superplex! Still, Solow’s able to get up at two, only to get bulldozed back down with an elbow from Cobb as the big guy was perhaps starting to get frustrated at things.
A pumphandle fallaway slam is next for Cobb, but it’s still not enough as Solow had something left. Chops drained Solow a little more, but he’s able to headbutt away a superplex attempt as he returns fire with a flying tornado DDT, starting a comeback with some big boots, a gamengiri and a crossbody off the top! A wheelbarrow roll-up takes Solow into a double-stomp for a near-fall on Cobb, as you sensed the end was nigh. Solow perhaps gets a little too arrogant with some kicks to the chest, as Cobb catches one before pulling him up into a brutal clothesline as the power of “Mr. Athletic” almost brought the contest to an end… just as we see a crowd shot with a LOT of labels hanging out. Did half the crowd come wearing wrestling shirts that they were forced to turn inside out?
Cobb keeps up with an Athletic plex, pulling Solow out of the corner by his legs and into the move, but STILL it’s not enough, so we’ve more trash-talking out of Cobb. That sparks a boot, an enziguiri and a snapped cradle DDT… and just like that, Aaron Solow’s won the black belt! Streamers flood the ring almost instantly as Solow won a good David vs. Goliath match – not winning after Cobb slipped on a banana peel, but winning deservedly. ***½
Rob Johnston’s got Solow after the match with his snazzy black belt. Solow’s proud to be the first Dojo Pro Black Belt Champion, before saying that the title signified an opportunity – as he now goes into Ring of Honor for a shot at their TV champion at a time to be determined. They don’t name the champion, but Solow advises him to study tapes of Aaron Solow… otherwise he’ll be taking his belt too!
So, what’s our take been on this? Well, clearly Joey Janela and Aaron Solow were pushed as the two big stars in this series, while the likes of Gunner Miller and Kevin Ku had decent showings – only for the “sudden death” format to leave you feeling a little short changed when these guys disappeared into the ether. For fans “in the bubble”, Dojo Pro has been a good series, with your mileage varying depending on whether you like the studio wrestling vibe. Having not grown up watching that king of wrestling, it was a bit of a struggle for me to begin with, since the entire show felt very cut and paste… before you considered the “coached” nature of the crowd, which saw chants fed to them at what felt like random and inopportune moments.
On the whole, the true success of Dojo Pro will be determined not by how many people watch this on Amazon Prime, or even by how well the ROH crowd take Solow if he’s dropped into their product cold. It’ll come by the TV title match itself: if Solow wins, then the credibility of this (and I’d assume, the chances of a second season) increase… if it’s a squash, then all of this has been for nothing, and while a second season may not be a total loss, it’d definitely have to come with a new prize at the end of the road. Twelve episodes, all at thirty minutes or less… Dojo Pro has been an easy watch and one that you should definitely dip into – even if you’re a big fan of everyone in the field.