Episode #442 opened up by recapping the recent history between Villain Enterprises, Nick Aldis, and La Faccion Ingobernable. Quinn McKay then followed it up by hyping the main event between PCO & “The Villain” Marty Scurll and Rush & Nick Aldis. There were only two matches on offer this week, mainly because they spent most of the episode hyping the upcoming Past vs Present event through video packages of Homicide, Matt Sydal, Delirious, the Havana Pitbulls, and Doug Williams. Not that it was a bad thing, especially because it reminded us of just how phenomenal ROH was back in the day.

Rey Horus vs Brody King

These two worked together really well, despite the size difference and opposing styles. King is a phenomenal performer for his size, and for most of the match, he tossed around Horus like a rag doll. He controlled the match early on by flooring Horus with a knife-edge chop and landing a big splash, only getting a two-count for his troubles.

Rey Horus did get some high spots in, with a tasty over the top rope hurricanrana and a tornado DDT off of the turnbuckle, but Brody King continued to assert his dominance. After failing to get the win with a Gonzo Bomb, he ended things a little later on by dropping Horus with another one after clobbering him with a monumental clothesline for the pin.

Winner: Brody King

Brian Zane was back for another Top 5, this time picking his favourite odd couple tag teams from ROH history. First up was Charlie Haas and Rhett Titus, with the embodiment of honour Low Ki and his time pairing with the loose cannon Homicide coming in fourth. In third place was Jimmy Jacobs and BJ Whitmer, followed by “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal. Zane got his choice for top place spot on, as he chose Cheeseburger and Jushin Thunder Liger.

Quinn McKay was back, and she interviewed La Faccion members Rush and Kenny King, with Amy Rose. When asked how Rush felt about teaming up with “National Treasure” Nick Aldis, he was not keen at all. “Who is Nick Aldis?” said Rush, as he continued to tear up the mic. King chipped in by saying Aldis was “useless” and “obsolete,” and he wasn’t even the most famous wrestler in his own house. The interview ended with Rush saying he’ll beat Marty Scurll and PCO and make ROH his empire.

Nick Aldis & Rush vs PCO & Marty Scurll

These four guys are on top of their game at the moment, so seeing them in a match together was a dream come true. Their feud over recent weeks has been entertaining, and the heat between both Aldis and Scurll, and Rush and PCO made for great viewing. Rush has continued to become more aggressive since he came to ROH, and that showed from the off as he attacked before the bell.

PCO may be 51-years old, and he does make the occasional mistake, but there’s no denying that he doesn’t give his all in every match. He attempted to land a somersault on Aldis as he lay on the apron, but the NWA Champion moved out of the way. As if being shocked back to life, PCO got up and continued to bring the pain, but Rush rammed his head into the barricade, followed by choking him with the camera cable.

There’re few things as satisfying as watching two technicians working together to connect with reversals and submissions like a glorious tapestry. Nick Aldis and Marty Scurll pulled off some beautiful technical wrestling in this match. There was such a mix of styles that every performer brought something special to the table. After Aldis and Scurll had gone at it, Marty attempted to ‘charge’ PCO up by delivering some chops, leading him to go flying over the ropes and into the bodies of Nick Aldis and Rush.

Marty landed a superplex on Aldis, and PCO hit a Quebec Cannonball, but only managed a two-count. Rush ended up leaving the match after Aldis mistakenly hit him. Things went from bad to worse for the “National Treasure,” as PCO connected with a chokeslam, followed by a PCOsault for the three-count.

Winners: PCO & Marty Scurll

Instead of ending with the main event, ROH aired a promo for the upcoming 18th Anniversary event. We heard from Session Moth, Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham, and Bandido, but the final part of the promo ended with Mark Haskins delivering a passionate speech about challenging for the title. He said that he got into wrestling thanks to a childhood friend who had cerebral palsy, and once brought round a wrestling tape to his house. From there, all Haskins wanted to do was become a wrestler, and he’ll always thank his friend for that. He went on to say that friend died a few years ago, and he would do it for him. Mark Haskins has always been a great in-ring performer, but this promo was world-class, and it helped to elevate the promo and the PPV.