IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: August 28, 2019
Location: Mattamy Athletic Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
Hosts: Quinn McCay, Ian Riccaboni

The slow decline of this show and possibly the promotion continues as they try whatever they can to get Matt Taven over as World Champion. This time around it means Alex Shelley as the veteran challenger with no chance of winning the title. It’s not like they have anyone else that Taven hasn’t already beaten, other than Rush, who seems to be the one to take the title off of him. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We look at Shelley injecting himself into the World Title picture.

Clips of Alex Shelley/Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham beating the Kingdom at Mass Hysteria when Shelley made Marseglia tap.

Shelley is ready to take the title from Taven in Toronto.

We look at Tasha Steelz pinning Angelina Love twice in a row but needing Kelly Klein to save her from the Allure.

Clips of Klein retaining the Women of Honor Title over Steelz at Summer Supercard. Angelina jumped them both after the match. Just put the title on her already and get it over with.

Klein jumped Angelina in the back.

Lifeblood is ready for Villain Enterprises. Again.

We see Flip Gordon attacking Tracy Williams, which seemed to cost Williams the TV Title match later in the night.

Taylor is tired of not being promoted as a big star.

Highlights from Ladder War in Toronto with the Briscoes defending against Guerrillas of Destiny, which has to be clipped due to violence. It certainly does look carnagey.

The announcers give a quick Top Prospect Tournament preview.

Ring of Honor World Title: Matt Taven vs. Alex Shelley

Taven is defending and OF COURSE we have all the time in the world for him. They go to the mat to start with Taven holding a headscissors until Shelley blows his nose on him for a standoff. It’s back to the mat for a rollup on Taven and they stare at each other again. That works so well that they do it again for yet another standoff. A third rollup into MORE STARING lets Shelley do some pushups as they’re staying in first gear.

Taven bails to the floor to change things up a bit before coming back in for….another rollup for two. Back from a break with Shelley’s Sliced Bread off the post attempt being shoved through a table as something finally happens. Shelley dives back in to beat the count so Taven hits a backbreaker for two. The back is bent over Taven’s knee, followed by a butterfly backbreaker for two more. A Liontamer makes the back even worse but Shelley makes the rope in a hurry.

Taven goes with a rolling neckbreaker for two but Shelley is back up with a slingshot DDT onto the apron for the double knockdown. Sliced Bread onto the barricade rocks Taven, who pops right back up with the dive over the barricade. Back in and Jay White’s Blade Runner gets two on Taven, followed by a pair of superkicks. Sliced Bread gets two more but Taven hits the Climax. The cover is countered into a rollup to give Shelley two but Taven knees him in the head and hits the Climax to retain at 15:22.

Rating: C+. The ending got better but all of the stuff with both guys’ backs being banged up just came and went. Taven’s seemingly never ending title reign continues with another pretty good but not great match. The problem is everything in between as the whole thing just keeps going, whether or not anyone wants to see it continue. Shelley never felt like a real threat to the title, but that is the case a lot of the time when Taven defends.

Overall Rating: C-. Well at least they finally moved forward to a slightly newer show. That being said, having the show focus on Taven isn’t an interesting way to go and I don’t quite see things getting much better. The whole company is searching for bright spots these days and that has been the case for a long time now. The problem is they’re getting further and further apart and that’s not going to work in the long term. The show wasn’t bad, but it isn’t something that makes me want to keep watching. Given their attendance issues of late, that is the case for a lot of people.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: August 21, 2019
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana
Hosts: Ian Riccaboni, Quinn McCay

We’re on the way to….I have no idea actually but the new format should let us know what is coming up. I still like this one a lot better and the match quality has been very good so far. Let the show serve as a showcase for the talent, but this time around it’s about the Shinobi Shadow Squad so I’m not too thrilled. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video looks at last week’s eight man tag, which was a heck of a fight.

Kelly Klein says all Karissa Rivera had to do was ask for a title shot, which is exactly what she did.

Clip of Rush beating TK O’Ryan at Manhattan Mayhem. How long can they run stuff from that one weekend?

We get a blink and you’ll miss it look at the Top Prospect Tournament brackets.

Video on Silas Young wanting to bring Josh Woods to the dark side and Woods considering it.

Clip of Young beating PJ Black pretty clean at Mass Hysteria.

Later that night, Woods brought Young some cigarettes, took one, and left. I guess that counts as storytelling around here.

Women’s Title: Kelly Klein vs. Karissa Rivera

Rivera is challenging. They go to the mat to start with Klein getting the better of it as Cabana tries to talk about Rivera’s family history in wrestling. A layout DDT stuns Rivera and a whip into the corner takes us to a break. Back with Klein working on the back even more as Cabana is ripping into Rivera for having no offense. Some hard shots in the corner keep Rivera rocked but the fall away slam is countered into a bicycle kick. Rivera hits a spinebuster, only to walk into K Power to give Klein the pin at 9:31.

Rating: D. How in the world does Ring of Honor think this is as good as they can get? This was a nearly ten minute squash with Klein never breaking a sweat after Rivera beat Sumie Sakai. The women’s division just needs to go far away as the matches are bad, the one angle they have feels like it’s been going on forever and nothing important is happening in the whole thing. Just get the title on the Beautiful People already and be done with it.

Post match Sumie Sakai comes out to help Rivera up. Klein praises Rivera, calls Sakai legendary, and tells Rivera that she can come get another title shot later. Cue the Allure (minus Mandy Leon) to complain about how it should be Angelina Love getting the title. Maybe Matt Taven was right when he talked about a conspiracy, but the conspiracy is against the Allure. Klein calls them b****** and that’s it.

Post break Klein says she, Sakai and Rivera are going to show Allure what Women of Honor is all about.

WHY DO THEY THINK ANYONE CARES??? You can’t even call Women of Honor a colossal failure because it was never big or good enough to be colossal in the first place. It’s a bunch of thrown together matches with the only stories being “everyone wants the title” and “ALLURE IS BAD”. Klein has switched face with no particular reason and while I’m sure there is more of an explanation on their YouTube videos or Honor Club or whatever, the whole thing just kills anything any given show can have. The division is completely uninteresting and while the wrestlers are talented, this needs to die in a hurry.

We look at a Defy Or Deny match from early June, with Matt Taven pinning Flip Gordon to prevent Gordon from ever getting another title shot. They’ll do it again in a few weeks, because you want to see more Matt Taven!

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Villain Enterprises vs. Shinobi Shadow Squad

The Squad is challenging and jump PCO to start, earning themselves a backdrop to the floor. That leaves Isom to face PCO on his own, with the monster turning his back so Isom can have some free shots. Isom gets powerslammed for two with the rest of the Squad making the save as we take a break. Back with PCO being backdropped onto his partners, followed by Isom springboarding onto everyone.

PCO kicks out of all three at once and Cheeseburger’s palm strike has no effect (GOOD! NOW EAT THAT SCRAWNY MAN AND TURN HIS SKIN INTO A TOP HAT AND HIS BONES INTO SPOONS!). The chokeslam plants Cheeseburger, leaving King to crush them in the corner. The sunset flip/release German suplex combination sends Isom flying and Scurll kicks Nova’s leg out. A powerbomb gives Scurll two and King is back in with the swinging sitout Boss Man Slam to drop Isom. The Backstabber/running backsplash combination to Nova retains the title at 9:44.

Rating: C-. It was a much better match than the Women’s Title match but I never once bought the Squad as threats to win the belts. They’ve turned the Villains into some awesome champions and I’m not sure who is going to take the belts from them. That’s going to make the eventual title change more important and that’s some good booking.

Overall Rating: D+. And there goes the streak of good shows. This week really emphasized how lame Ring of Honor can be at times with no one feeling like a top star. Taven is World Champion and doesn’t feel like a big star. That’s the problem right now: no one feels like a big star because no one is a big star. Ring of Honor seems happy with just putting people out there to fill in time every week and if one becomes a bigger deal, good for them. That’s not going to work and it’s a reason why ROH has fallen off a cliff in the last year and a half.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: August 14, 2019
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
Hosts: Ian Riccaboni, Quinn McCay

It’s the new format around here and that is the best for everyone involved. The old style wasn’t working very well so cutting out the matches that aren’t interesting in the first place is a good move. Ring of Honor knows how to do the one match a show format and that is what we’ll be having going forward. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We open with a recap of Flip Gordon turning down Lifeblood to join Villain Enterprises, which is probably a better move for him given how much Lifeblood has died over the last few months.

We get some highlights of Dragon Lee vs. Jonathan Gresham at Manhattan Mayhem, including a lot of chopping and Gresham cheating a bit. Lee won with a running knee to the face.

Lee says he’s here for competition and will take on the wrestling world with his brother.

Gresham says he listened to Jay Lethal and lost. So much for that.

The Shinobi Shadow Squad trains, after having thrown ninja stars at a picture of Villain Enterprises.

Karissa Rivera wants the Women’s Title. She’s bringing the fight and leaving it all in the ring. Maybe then she can go work on getting some more original material.

Rhett Titus talks about his history with Kenny King as the All Night Express but then King walked out, leaving Titus’ career going nowhere. Then King came back to get the team together again, to more limited success. That led to the Rebellion and egads that was a bad idea. Then Titus teamed up with Will Ferrara as the Dawgs and I’m starting to feel sorry for Titus being saddled with so many bad ideas. Shane Taylor beat him in the Proving Ground match and King yelled at him about losing his fire. Maybe King is right, but Titus’ biggest mistake was not hitting him in the face.

Soldiers of Savagery vs. Corey Hexx/Geddy Cahoon

Geddy Cahoon is so awful of a name that I don’t even feel sorry when the double chokeslam gets the pin at 45 seconds.

Clip of the Bouncers coming up short against the Briscoes for the Tag Team Titles.

Clip of the pretty awesome street fight from a few weeks back between Lifeblood and Villain Enterprises.

Lifeblood/Flip Gordon vs. Villain Enterprises

Scurll and Williams start things off with a grappling exchange (of course) with Williams grabbing a cravate. Some shoving triggers a standoff and it’s off to Bandido vs. Gordon to some rather enthusiastic reactions. That means a fast standoff so King comes in and, just to show off, runs up the corner into a multiple springboards armdrag to take Bandido down

As big as King is, he can still be superkicked, meaning it’s off to Scurll vs. Haskins with the latter working on the arm. Black comes in to do the same as Lifeblood starts taking turns. A slingshot stomp gives Black two and Williams drops a slingshot legdrop for two of his own. King has had it and comes in to clean house, including a big flip dive over the top. PCO gets backdropped over the top onto Haskins and Williams as we take a break.

Back with PCO hitting a Swanton for two on Williams, followed by a double chokeslam from the monsters. We settle down to Gordon stomping Williams in the corner but Scurll takes too much time talking, allowing Williams to grab a suplex. Bandido comes in….and catches PCO’s crossbody because THAT’S SOMETHING HE CAN DO. Bandido’s twisting moonsault takes out the Villains on the floor (Caprice: “I don’t think that’s a real move!”) but Scurll grabs a rollup for two.

Back from another break with Haskins getting the hot tag and striking away at King and PCO. The monsters are sent outside so Haskins hits back to back suicide dives, followed by Williams striking away at King. Everything breaks down and it’s PCO moonsaulting onto the pile outside. Bandido is up with a sunset bomb to take PCO from the apron to the floor, leaving King to Batista Bomb Haskins for two. Bandido is back in with the 21 Plex to King, setting up Black’s springboard 450 for the pin at 17:43.

Rating: B. These teams have chemistry together but at the same time, I’m not sure what to expect when Scurll’s ROH contract is up later this year. That’s the problem with so many promotions at the moment: AEW is taking away so much talent and I’m not sure what the rest of the team is going to do without him. At least we got a good match on the way there though and that’s always a nice thing to have.

Overall Rating: C+. The new format continues to work, though I’m not sure how it’s going to work when they have more than a pair of big shows to deal with at a time. As in how many videos can you air without showing many of the matches? The show is a lot easier to watch now though and the big main event makes it even better. With so much content out there, ROH needs to find a way to stand out and while this might not be exciting, it’s efficient, and that might be better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: August 7, 2019
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Alex Shelley
Hosts: Ian Riccaboni, Quinn McKay

This seems to be a special episode with footage from Manhattan Mayhem. That means a World Title match between Matt Taven and Jay Lethal. They have some chemistry together so we could be in for a good match between the two of them. I’m not sure what else we’ll be seeing, but it could be all over the place. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s World Champion Matt Taven, in a Red Sox jersey, to open things up and for some reason we skip his walk down the aisle. Taven talks about how he won the title the last time he was in this city and tonight, he’s going to finish this rivalry with Jay Lethal. Kenny King came out and says he wants in this match and Taven would be happy to beat him as well. King approved but Lethal came out to start the brawl over how unfair this is.

Ian and Quinn McKay welcome us to the show and say the format is changing around here. If that means less of a time lapse, I’m all for it.

Lethal talks about how cool it was to ride to Madison Square Garden but then the ride back was the worst ever. He lost the title but didn’t get pinned or submit. His mindset upon coming back to New York: don’t leave without the title. This has aired before.

Taven is tired of people doubting him so tonight he’ll prove himself, again.

Clip of the Briscoes vs. the Guerrillas of Destiny at War of the Worlds with the Guerrillas stealing the Tag Team Titles.

Clip of the Briscoes winning the titles back at Manhattan Mayhem. The Guerrillas attacked the Briscoes after a match the next night, setting up one more match.

The Guerrillas talked about how the Briscoes don’t know who they are and they’re not waiting to get the titles back.

The rubber match, a Ladder War, will take place at Summer Supercard in Toronto.

Video on Rush vs. Dalton Castle III at Summer Spectacular. Castle wore a mask at Manhattan Mayhem and jumped Rush from the crowd, including giving him the Bull’s Horns.

Castle, who insists on being listed as Quinn’s FAVORITE guest, isn’t worried about karma coming back on him because he’s not afraid of Rush. He dances a lot and says it’s street pretzel time.

The next night in Massachusetts, Castle hit Rush low for the DQ. The rematch is in Toronto.

Rush was ticked off and promised violence in Toronto because it’s a No DQ match.

We get clips of Silas Young vs. Josh Woods vs. Tracy Williams vs. Shane Taylor in a Proving Ground match. Williams won by pinning Young (thanks to a Woods low blow), earning himself a TV Title shot at Summer Supercard. Williams and Taylor yelled at each other post match with Williams spitting on a handshake offer.

Williams talks about being the best technical wrestler in the world. He won tonight but didn’t beat Taylor, so he’ll take the title in Toronto. That spit on his hand just lit a fire underneath him.

Taylor thinks Williams is here because he can’t go anywhere else and that’s not cool. He wants Williams’ family to be there to see Williams let them down again.

Young waits for Woods outside and says Woods is learning, but he should have won. Woods has more to learn.

Ring of Honor World Title: Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal vs. Kenny King

Taven is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. The champ bails straight to the floor to start, where he can trip Lethal to the floor for the brawl. King dives onto both of them and takes Lethal back inside for a hard clothesline. Taven comes back in for a discus lariat for two on King before throwing Lethal outside and hitting a DDT for the same.

Back from a break with a three way fight until King gets kicked in the head, only to come back with a double closeups for the triple knockdown. Lethal and King head outside so Taven hits a suicide dive onto both of them, followed by a no hands dive onto just King. Lethal is back in for a suicide dive to Taven, followed by two to King. Dang man what did King do to them?

Back in and Taven gets smart by going after King’s knee and putting on a Figure Four. Lethal tries to make the save with Hail To The King but King turns the hold over to make Lethal miss. With that broken, Lethal grabs a Crossface on Taven but King makes another save. King’s double springboard Blockbuster gets two on each of them. The Royal Flush is countered into a small package to give Taven two and the Lethal Injection gives Lethal the same on the champ. King is back up with a Lethal Injection and Royal Flush to Lethal but Taven hits the Climax and steals the pin on Lethal to retain at 13:03.

Rating: B. Good match here, as Taven can have a solid performance, though that all falls by the wayside as soon as he gets on a microphone. The addition of King didn’t do much here, unless they’re setting up a Lethal heel turn down the line as he can be annoyed at not getting his fair rematch. This was about as good as it could be with Taven and King involved so we can call this a nice surprise.

We run down the Summer Supercard lineup to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Oh I like this new format a lot. The main events have been a lot better as of late but I really didn’t need to sit through a bunch of lower to midcard matches to get to those main events. They’re much better off by having the hype packages to the Honor Club shows and then a featured match a week. ROH TV has never been anything important so scrapping the weekly format is the right call. Much better way to go here and it’s almost a relief in a way.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: July 31, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Caprice Coleman

We’re still in Philadelphia and in this case we have a big time main event between a pair of brother tag teams with Rush/Dragon Lee vs. the Briscoes. These four are going to beat the heck out of each other and that’s what you want from a match between them. Other than that, we get to see what else is out there in something like this. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a video on the tag match, which does seem cool.

Josh Woods vs. Silas Young

Young bails straight to the floor at the bell and grabs the mic. He has something to say: what has Woods done since he’s been in Ring of Honor? Woods is a multi time National Champion and should be winning titles around here. Does Woods just want to come out here and get some golf claps while cute girls hoot at him? It seems to Young that Woods has a lot of learning to do so put up or shut up. The referee takes the mic and it’s a low blow into a small package (I’m not going there) to give Silas the pin at 2:37.

We look back at last week’s street fight, which was quite entertaining. Note that commentary says that we’re doing this because the previous match was shorter than expected. I love little details like that.

Jay Lethal talks about how awesome it was to wrestle in Madison Square Garden. Going there was the coolest train ride in his life but the ride back was the worst because he lost the World Title without getting pinned or tapping out. He wants the title back.

Shinobi Shadow Squad vs. Joe Keys/Dante Caballero/Brian Johnson

Ryan Nova kicks Keys in the head to start and it’s quickly off to Isom to slam Caballero. Cheeseburger slaps Johnson to the floor but gets caught in the corner with Keys uppercutting away. A suplex plants Cheeseburger for two and Caballero sends him into the corner so the beating can continue.

Caballero hits Keys by mistake though (made better as they’re facing off in the Top Prospect Tournament) and it’s off to Isom to clean house. White Noise gets two on Caballero but Keys knocks him down again by mistake. With Keys and Johnson taken out, Isom and Nova hold Caballero up for a top rope double stomp from Cheeseburger for the pin at 5:50.

Rating: D+. I don’t like the Squad but I like the Top Prospect Tournament even less. I’m not sure what the point is for having a tournament of people that we’ve seen multiple times on the show, but it’s one of those traditions that could work well for them later on. The tournament is hit and miss so it could be a lot worse, but it’s hard to care about a jobber tournament. I will however give them points for telling a story here as the Squad beats some competition and the Keys vs. Caballero match is set up. It’s not interesting, but they did it in a nice way.

Post match Caballero and Keys fight some more.

Video on Sumie Sakai, who you will like, respect and care about no matter what you think of her.

Sumie Sakai vs. Karissa Rivera

Kelly Klein is on commentary and this is Rivera’s TV debut. Sumie goes for the arm to start but Rivera is right back up with an armbar of her own. They trade some pinfall attempts and come back from a quick break with Sumie getting a few more near falls of her own. A Boston crab into a leglock has Rivera in more trouble until she makes the rope.

Rivera hiptosses her way out of an abdominal stretch and gets two off a bicycle kick. Smash Mouth gives Sakai two and a missile dropkick is good for the same. They slug it out until Rivera hits a spinebuster for two of her own. Smash Mouth is broken up again and Rivera sits down on a sunset flip attempt for the upset pin at 9:50.

Rating: D-. This was messy, Klein was reaching new levels of boring on commentary and the match felt long, but above all else there is still zero reason to care about these people. Sakai’s claim to fame is that she’s been around here a long time and Rivera’s claim is that she’s done good stuff before. Still no personalities or characters, because they NEVER learn with this division and the problem gets worse and worse every time.

Post match, Sakai shoves the interviewer out of the way and shakes Rivera’s hand. That’s a relief. It was getting close to being interesting.

Silas Young tells Josh Woods that he is doing Woods a favor.

An edgier Coast to Coast won a match on Honor Club.

Briscoes vs. Dragon Lee/Rush

It’s a brawl to start (yes, in a Briscoes match) with Lee sending Mark to the floor off a hurricanrana. Jay and Rush trade flips and corner splashes, followed by Jay getting forearmed down. Lee and Mark trade kicks but Lee’s suicide dive is caught in midair for a double suplex.

We take an early break and come back with a notice that this match has been edited for content. Lee is in trouble as Mark hits a swinging suplex before handing it back to Jay for some shots to the face. A double shoulder puts Lee down again as the fans are WAY into the Briscoes here. Lee sends Mark into the corner and brings Rush in for the running slap and a nice reaction. Everything breaks down with the Briscoes being sent into the barricade a few times each.

Back in and Rush makes Jay scream off a chop, setting up a double basement dropkick. A bloody Mark comes back in and gets caught with a basement dropkick of his own. Rush and Lee hit the Tranquilo pose and we take a second break. Back again with Mark using a chair for a big springboard flip dive onto everyone. The Froggy Bow (with Mark’s face blurred for the blood) gets two on Rush with Lee making the save to a chorus of booing.

The slugout is on with Mark getting the better of it but getting caught with a reverse hurricanrana. Jay gives Lee a Death Valley Driver but Rush is back up with a snap German suplex to put everyone down. It’s Mark up with a Rock Bottom suplex and Jay loads up the Jay Driller on Rush. That’s broken up without much effort and Lee hits a running hurricanrana over the ropes to send Mark from the apron to the floor (sticking the landing, of course). The Bull’s Horns hits Jay for the pin 13:11.

Rating: B. I could go for the full version of this one as these four beat the heck out of each other and saved the show. While I can’t imagine Rush sticking around and not winding up in either WWE or AEW, ROH needs to push him to the freaking moon. He’s the best thing they’ve had in a LONG time and having him run through Taven in about ten seconds would be a great thing to see. The Briscoes have proven themselves time after time and Rush/Lee looked every bit as good. It’s a heck of a fight and the kind of high impact match you only get in the tag division around here, so I’ll take what I can get.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event was just about the only good thing on here and thankfully it’s just about great. ROH still knows how to do some awesome tag stuff but e pluribus gads they’re stuck on everything else. The women’s division has been a disaster since its inception and the Top Prospect Tournament has mixed results at best. Oh and Taven is back next week to make everything, ahem, better. This company needs a lot of changes and I don’t know how long they’re going to be able to put them off. Then again that has been the case for a long time so maybe this is as good as it gets.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: July 24, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Caprice Coleman

We continue with the post Best in the World fallout this week and that means….well it could mean a lot of things actually as this place doesn’t exactly have the easiest schedule to follow. We could be in for a variety of things around here and as usual, that can be quite the mixed bag. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Dalton Castle vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Jeff Cobb vs. Kenny King

One fall to a finish. Everyone is in the ring and the bell rings less than five seconds after we start in the arena. King lets Castle have Cobb, who blocks a waistlock without much effort. Back up and Cobb hits a heck of a dropkick before it’s off to King vs. Gresham. They slug it out until King kicks the leg and sweeps it away, setting up a knee to the head for two. Castle comes back in to work over Gresham in the corner as this is feeling like a tag match.

Gresham gets caught on the mat and it’s King coming back in for a springboard clothesline. Even commentary talks about this basically being a tag match early on. We take a break and come back with very little fanfare as King carries Gresham back into the corner for a tag to Castle. An AA into a splash gives Castle two with King not even inching over for a save.

The Bang a Rang is broken up and Gresham grabs two off a rollup. King comes back in and mocks Cobb, allowing Castle to pull Cobb to the floor. Castle tags himself back in but King does the same as the argument is on. Gresham is smart enough to quietly sneak over for the tag to Cobb (Is that really smart though? Cobb is fresh and a monster, but this has been a weird match all around.) so house can be cleaned.

Running elbows in the corner have Castle and King in trouble until Castle hits the reverse Sling Blade. King hits a Blockbuster for two on Gresham but Cobb is back up with a Jackhammer for the same. With the wrestling not working, King brings in a woman’s shoe. Gresham takes it away though and knocks King silly, setting up a rollup with tights to give Gresham the pin at 13:00.

Rating: C-. What a weird match. The psychology was all over the place as they really did seem to act like it was a tag match instead of the four way they were going for. You had people tagging out and then standing on the apron during covers, which misses the point pretty badly. The wrestling was good but think this stuff through.

The Shinobi Shadow Squad wants the Six Man Tag Team Titles. Well I want this team to be gone so you can’t have everything you want.

Video on Sumie Sakai, who is back soon. Great indeed.

Video on the Guerrillas of Destiny stealing the Tag Team Titles from the Briscoes.

We look back to last week with Maria Manic beating people up and the Kenny King/Rhett Titus segment.

Video on the Soldiers of Savagery debut and ensuing destruction.

Soldiers of Savagery vs. Primal Fear

The jobbers get punched in the face to start things off and it’s a double chokeslam to knock one silly. The other jobber gets the same for the pin at 46 seconds. Exactly what it should have been.

Jay Lethal yells at Gresham for cheating lately. Gresham doesn’t want to hear it and walks away but Gresham says this place is changing. He’s going to be the best in the world however he needs to do it. Gresham just pinned King, which Lethal couldn’t do. Think about that.

We look back at Flip Gordon joining Villain Enterprises at Best in the World. The destruction of Lifeblood followed.

Here’s Lifeblood for a chat. Mark Haskins rants about Villain Enterprises stealing Flip and him stabbing them in their backs, so get out here right now. Cue the Villains, with Flip shaking everyone’s hand but going to the back because he’s banged up (not mentioned here, though you can see him holding his arm after the 450 at Best in the World). A challenge is tossed out and Lifeblood wants to make it a street fight.

Villain Enterprises vs. Lifeblood

Non-title and Villain Enterprises (PCO/Brody King/Marty Scurll) are in trouble early on. Back with Bandido diving onto King as Haskins beats up Scurll. King gets sent into the barricade as Bandido loads up a table. Some chairs are brought in as well with PCO’s powerbomb to Williams being broken up. Haskins comes back in to try and take over but a left hand to King doesn’t do much good.

A chair shot to his back lets King hit a swinging Boss Man Slam for two but it’s Williams coming back in with the kendo stick, including wrapping King’s bad wrist around said stick. PCO makes the save and tells Williams and Bandido to beat him up with the chairs. That’s fine with him as he runs the chairs over, leaving King to cannonball off the apron to take out Bandido and Williams.

The monkey flip into the second cannonball sends PCO flying onto the two of them as it’s all the Villains. Scurll puts Haskins in the Boston crab and PCO drops the middle rope leg, followed by a backsplash onto a chair onto Haskins. Back from a break with Haskins being saved from a superplex through a bunch of tables. That lets Bandido and Williams powerbomb King through the chairs for two in an impressive kickout. Scurll fires PCO up so PCO goes to the top, only to get hurricanranaed to the floor and through the table in a heck of a crash.

That leaves Haskins to Sharpshooter Scurll, with Williams adding a Crossface with the kendo stick. King makes the save and sends both of them to the floor for the big flip dive. Scurll backdrops PCO onto everyone but Bandido superkicks Marty outside as well. You don’t set up a luchador like that and it’s the corkscrew moonsault onto everyone and we take a break.

Back with Bandido hitting a GTS on PCO to set up the 21 Plex onto a chair with King having to make another save. Haskins and Williams beat the heck out of King with the kendo sticks and then smash a chair into his face with the stick for a bonus. Scurll comes back in with the umbrella but Bandido is up with an umbrella shot to Marty on top. Scurll snaps his fingers on top though, only to have Bandido poke him in the eye and hit the super flipping fall away slam through a table to finish Scurll at 19:03.

Rating: B+. Oh yeah this worked. This was all about the violence and insanity, with one big spot after another. I know the story is there and Flip can’t do anything with the injury, but what we got here was a lot of fun with Ring of Honor knowing how to just let people go out there and beat each other up. Check this out if you want a crazy match.

The Briscoes are ready to fight Dragon Lee and Rush next week, with some Spanish thrown in.

A video on the Briscoes vs. Rush/Lee wraps things up.

Overall Rating: B. This has to be the weirdest TV show of the week. I can’t remember the last time I was excited to see the show because the stories aren’t there, but once they get in there and just have the wrestling, it winds up being pretty consistently entertaining. They need to make some changes, but what they had here was good. Just find some more interesting characters and stories to go with the wrestling and they would be gold.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Best In The World 2019
Date: June 29, 2019
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Colt Cabana

It’s another pay per view and in this case, the show isn’t looking half bad. They’ve managed to build things up better than usual with television and I’ll take that over what they tend to put together. The main event is Matt Taven defending the World Title against Jeff Cobb because for some reason we deserve Taven as champion around here. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Flip Gordon vs. Rush

Rush shoves him in the face to start but smiles at Gordon trying to slap him in the chest. A shove by the throat puts Gordon on the floor and Rush drives him into the barricade as this is one sided so far. Back in and a basement dropkick to the back of the head lets Rush get in some pushups.

Flip finally manages a kick to the head and a springboard missile dropkick for a breather. Rush is fine enough to sent him into the corner for the kick to the face and TRANQUILO. Back up and Gordon scores with a kick and strikes to the head, knocking Rush down for one of the only times.

The Star Spangled Spear gets two and Gordon nails a jumping knee to the face, which just seems to wake Rush up. A powerbomb out of the corner gives Gordon two and he sends Rush outside for the suicide dive….which is countered into a whip into the barricade. That’s good for some near falls back inside, followed by the Bull’s Horns for the pin on Gordon at 10:21.

Rating: C+. Rush is all but guaranteed to get a World Title shot soon, though I have a feeling that they might wait until Final Battle to let him run through Matt Taven. It says a lot when they have someone as pushed as Gordon get mauled like this as Rush is clearly someone they want to push to the moon. Just give him a story and we can see how far he goes.

Post match Rush says that he’s going to the top. I think at least, as the audio doesn’t come through that clearly.

The opening video talks about how everyone here is the best but they’re here for different reasons, such as competition, territory or just to be the champion. Nice enough video, especially as this isn’t ROH’s strongest suit.

Dragon Lee vs. Dalton Castle

Lee’s brother Rush destroyed Castle in sixteen seconds at Supercard of Honor so Castle is fighting someone close to Rush without actually having to fight him. Lee goes right with the dropkick into the corner and the Bull’s Horns for two, followed by another dropkick to put Castle on the floor. A hurricanrana off the apron is countered into a powerbomb onto the apron and Castle sends him over the barricade.

Castle tosses him into the chairs and a DDT gives Castle two. The waistlock goes on and of course it’s time to rip at the mask. You know, because it’s always time to go for the mask. A bodyscissors with a half nelson keep Lee down and Castle shakes his head. The mask is ripped and that’s enough to fire Lee up for a whip to the floor. Castle is rocked by a suicide dive and a slingshot dropkick keeps him in trouble back inside.

A reverse hurricanrana gives Lee two as Castle can’t get anything going. Castle’s quick Bang A Rang attempt is blocked and a gutwrench powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana. Another clothesline sets up the Bang A Rang for no cover, with Castle pulling Lee into the corner instead. The Bull’s Horns finishes Lee at 14:23.

Rating: C+. Castle continues to be someone who feels like the next breakout star, even though he is a former World Champion. That isn’t a good sign for Ring of Honor though as the other companies are going to come after him. When someone has that kind of charisma, you certainly can’t blame them either, and that’s going to be a problem for them.

We recap the Beautiful People showing up earlier this year and calling themselves the Allure for the sake of trying to not make it as obvious. They’ve gone after Kelly Klein and this is their in-ring debut.

Allure vs. Jenny Rose/Kelly Klein

It’s Angelina Love/Mandy Leon for Allure with Velvet Sky on the floor. Klein and Rose go straight to the brawling before the streamers can even be tossed out of the ring. Love drops Rose and yells at Klein, who comes in for some sneering. A shoulder drops Klein again but she’s right back with one of her own. Rose comes in for a double suplex on Love but Velvet gets in a cheap shot to take over.

Some running knees in the corner have Rose in more trouble and Leon gets in a cheap shot to Klein on the floor. Love dives onto the two of them as the announcers recap Mandy and Jenny’s history together. A spinebuster gets Rose out of trouble and it’s back to Klein for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down with Jenny spearing Mandy on the apron. That leaves Klein to hit a super fall away slam for two on Love but Velvet gets on the apron. The distraction lets Mandy get in a shot with a shoe, setting up the Botox Injection to give Love the pin on Klein at 9:30.

Rating: D. Yeah what else were you expecting here? The Beautiful People are back, even though they were a big deal over ten years ago. Love is still fine in the ring and Sky is still good enough at what she does while Leon….well Love and Sky are still good. That being said, it’s not like anything else is working in the division so it’s not the worst idea.

Post match the lights go out and we see a video of someone playing with dolls. Then the dolls are broken apart and the screen says MANEATER. It’s the rather scary looking Maria Manic showing up so the Allure bails, leaving Manic to beat up security, including a spinning torture rack and a Razor’s Edge toss to send one onto the rest.

We recap Jay Lethal vs. Kenny King with Kenny wanting to prove that he is the best after the first two matches of a best of three series.

Jay Lethal vs. Kenny King

Lethal won’t shake the hand so you know this is serious. They fight over arm control to start with King taking him to the arm and kicking Lethal in the back. The Fujiwara armbar goes on but King lets go to load up Lethal’s cartwheel into a basement dropkick. Lethal is ready for that and does it himself, followed by a snap suplex for one. King’s springboard is dropkicked out to the floor but he’s able to sit Lethal in a chair.

That just earns him a drop toehold onto the chair and Lethal teases Pillmanizing the arm (which King did to him recently to no apparent damage). King gets up and suplexes Lethal onto the apron to take over and it’s a Boston crab back inside. That’s broken up so they slug it out with Lethal nailing a middle rope missile dropkick. Lethal hits King’s Royal Flush for two, followed by another dropkick to send King outside again.

The suicide dive is countered with a spinebuster and King debuts a shooting star press of all things for two. Lethal is right back up with the Figure Four but lets go as a woman has thrown in King’s walking stick. Instead it’s the Lethal Injection for two on King and the shock is on. The woman runs off but King uses the distraction to hit a Blockbuster, his own Lethal Injection and the Royal Flush for the pin at 14:37.

Rating: B-. This was better than anything else on the show so far and it was a rather nice match. They have some chemistry together, though I’m still not entirely sure how much potential there is in King. Lethal on the other hand is the standard around here and someone who can be put in this spot and guarantee the big match and higher quality match against anyone. Good match here.

We recap Jonathan Gresham vs. Silas Young. Silas cheated to beat Gresham and has since declared himself the greatest technical wrestler in ROH. This sets up a Pure Rules match, with Young being the best jerk wrestler in years around here, as you had to expect.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Silas Young

Pure Rules (No fists to the face and if you do it twice it’s a DQ. Also, three ropes breaks and then falls under the ropes count.). They lock up against the ropes to start with Silas grabbing a hammerlock. Gresham is fine on the mat until Young gets up with a slap to the face (legal). Back up and Gresham uses his first rope break to get out of a waistlock as Young carried him over to the ropes in a smart move.

Young tries to do it again so Gresham pulls him down by the wrist for a save. Gresham blocks a stomp on the mat and grabs the leg as he gets back up. That’s enough to send Young over to the ropes and they’re tied at a rope break apiece. The Octopus sends Young straight back to the rope for the second break and frustration is setting in.

Back in and Gresham takes him down without much trouble before hitting a hard chop. Young punches him in the face, which is his only warning before a DQ. They head outside with Gresham being whipped into the barricade (There are no rules against that?) and then getting caught in the abdominal stretch back inside. The half crab sends Gresham to the ropes for his second break so they’re down to one each.

Young hits a backbreaker/clothesline combination to set up a seated full nelson. That means Gresham’s third rope break so he can start fighting again. Gresham goes up top but his back flares up, allowing Young to grab another full nelson. This time Gresham has to slip out and try the Octopus, but he gets clever and grabs Young’s hand to put it on the rope to get rid of the last break.

They forearm it out and trade failed suplex attempts until Young suplexes him over the top for a big crash to the floor. Back in and the referee goes to fix the apron, allowing Gresham to hit an uncharacteristic low blow. Now the Octopus can go on and with no breaks yet, Young taps at 18:15.

Rating: B-. This was a match with a big, long story coming in and I’m not sure how well the payoff worked. Gresham going with the cheating to win doesn’t feel right, though it certainly could lead to something. If nothing else, it was awesome to see Young being such a jerk leading into the match. What we got here wasn’t bad, but I think it slipped under the weight.

We recap the Briscoes vs. Colt Cabana/Nick Aldis. The Briscoes got annoyed at the NWA during the Crockett Cup so they laid out Villain Enterprises, Aldis and Cabana. However, Cabana is injured so Eli Drake has been put into his spot in a surprise.

Eli Drake/Nick Aldis vs. Briscoes

Mark and Eli start things off and it’s a long lockup with Drake sending him into the corner. it’s already off to Aldis vs. Jay with the latter slapping on a headlock. Jay knocks Drake off the apron so Aldis slugs away, only to get caught in the wrong corner. The big double shoulder has the Briscoes in control and the fans rather pleased.

Drake is right back in though and a double suplex puts Mark down. That means the E-LI-DRAKE elbow for two but that’s more than enough selling, meaning Jay comes back in for the double clothesline. Drake avoids a charge in the corner and hits a jumping neckbreaker, allowing the tag back to Aldis.

Everything breaks down and Mark hits an Iconoclasm for two on Drake. Aldis’ distraction lets Drake run the corner for a superplex, followed by a Burning Hammer of all things for another near fall. Jay comes back in and Redneck Boogey connects for two more. Mark hits a running dropkick through the ropes to Aldis, followed by the Bang Bang Elbow. The brawl is on and it’s a double countout at 10:57.

Rating: D+. I knew the ending to this one coming in and I still got annoyed at the double countout. I get why it needed to happen as you don’t want a big tag team to lose but you also don’t want the World Champion/newcomer to lose. That doesn’t make it any better, but it does make a little more sense. It doesn’t help when it was a pretty weak match in the first place without any time to really go anywhere. Drake looked awesome though, as usual.

Post match James Storm comes out so Drake spits water in his face and the two fight to the back. That leaves Aldis to get laid out on a table as Ian has to hold Cabana back. Kamilla Kane comes out with security but that goes nowhere, allowing Mark to hit the Froggy Bow through the table. After the Briscoes leave, cue Marty Scurll to check on Aldis and help him out, teasing that Aldis could be the surprise new member of Villain Enterprises.

We recap Shane Taylor vs. Bandido for the TV Title. Bandido beat him in a non-title match, annoying the rather dominant Taylor. Rather simple story and there’s nothing wrong with that.

TV Title: Bandido vs. Shane Taylor

Taylor is defending and Bandido slaps him in the face to start. That ticks Taylor off so Bandido can start ducking and dodging in a fast manner. They head outside and this time Taylor catches him with a powerbomb onto the apron to take over. Back in and the chinlock goes on but Bandido kicks him in the head for the break. Another kick to the head sets up a corkscrew crossbody to send Taylor outside.

You don’t do that against a luchador and it’s a running dive to take Taylor down again. Back in and another middle rope moonsault keeps Taylor in trouble but he catches a charge in the corner with something like a chokeslam. The middle rope splash gives Taylor two but Greetings From 216 is broken up. A superkick rocks Taylor but the 21 Plex is blocked with a grab of the rope. The powerbomb and a knee to the head set up a package piledriver for two on Bandido.

That means frustration sets in so Shane goes up….AND BANDIDO CATCHES HIM IN MID AIR??? That’s the kind of thing that impressed people when Diesel did it to Bret Hart so good freaking grief man. Bandido powerslams him for two and a shooting star gets the same. Another 21 Plex attempt is countered into the Greetings From 216 to retain the title at 12:35.

Rating: B. It takes a lot to truly shock me with a spot but Bandido, who is far from a big guy, pulling Taylor out of the air, actually stunned me. I don’t remember the last time that happened but my goodness it was awesome. Bandido is a lot more than just a high flier but he’s awesome at that too, making this one a very nice surprise.

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Six Man Tag Team Titles: Mark Haskins/Tracy Williams/PJ Black vs. Villain Enterprises

Haskins and Williams (part of Lifeblood) and Black are challenging but the champs come out in Legion of Doom spikes so they win by default. They even have custom titles to make things that much better. Haskins and Scurll start things off and it’s time to fight over some wristlocks. Since they’re British, that means some very snazzy escapes until it’s a standoff with the fans rather pleased.

PCO and Black come in with Black’s kicks not having much effect. A superkick doesn’t do much either so PCO hits a pump kick, meaning it’s time for the other pair to come in for the first time. Williams blocks a chop and pulls King into an armbreaker over the rope. With that broken up, they strike it out again until Scurll comes in to crank on Williams’ eternally bad arm.

The challengers are sent to the floor for a cannonball from King and an assisted cannonball from PCO for the big crash. Back in and King charges into a German suplex from Williams. It’s right back to Scurll, who gets caught in the wrong corner for a Rocking Horse from Black. Some running kicks to the head get two but Scurll is right over for the hot tag to King.

A backsplash crushes Haskins and Williams and everything breaks down. PCO dives onto Williams and Black, leaving Haskins to take a backsplash from King onto Scurll’s knees for two. PCO comes back in but a chokeslam attempt is quickly blocked. Everything breaks down again (Were they ever back together?) and it’s an assisted piledriver for two on PCO (with the referee counting to three after the kickout to annoy Lifeblood).

Back up and PCO gives Haskins White Noise, leaving Black to superkick Scurll. PCO clotheslines Black to the floor but Williams powerbombs him onto the apron. Black’s springboard moonsault gets two on Scurll but King busts out a springboard double wristdrag n Williams and Haskins. Well of course he does. Scurll is back up as King Gonso Bombs Black and the PCOsault retains the titles at 16:58.

Rating: C+. The issues here are the same as always in a Six Man Title match: it’s entertaining and fun, but there is little in the way of actual tagging and these teams still don’t do much other than fight in title matches. That doesn’t make them bad, but it limits how high up they can go on the totem pole.

Post match the Soldiers of Savagery run in for the beatdown but Bandido makes the save. Cue Bully Ray (of course) with a chair but Flip Gordon (Ray is there so of course Gordon is too) with a kendo stick for the staredown. Ray leaves so Lifeblood offers Flip a shirt, but he doesn’t put it on.

Instead the lights go out and it’s Scurll coming up on screen to announce the newest member of the team: FLIP GORDON, who is on screen next to Scurll (recorded) and then in the ring to beat up Lifeblood. Eh I’ve heard of worse twists and it’s not like Lifeblood means anything anymore. The rest of the Villains come out for the beatdown, including the 450 from the top to put Williams through the table. Since it’s Flip, that was a dislocated elbow, though it’s not clear if he’ll miss time.

Ring of Honor World Title: Jeff Cobb vs. Matt Taven

Cobb is challenging after asking for a title shot instead of wanting a rematch for the TV Title. On the other hand, Taven is champion because Ring of Honor invested so much time into him and have to get their money’s worth, even as the attendances die with him on top. We get a handshake to start and Cobb hits a hard shot to put Taven on the floor early on.

Back in and Taven tries to speed things up, only to have Cobb catch him without much effort. An overhead belly to belly and a delayed suplex slam keep Taven in trouble so let’s have another breather. This time Cobb follows him out but gets caught with a cheap shot. Taven nails the suicide dive and Cobb’s shoulder is banged up. Back in and the frog splash misses, leaving Cobb to hit a one armed pumphandle drop.

The standing moonsault gets two and a northern lights suplex is good for the same. Cobb hits the swinging belly to back but a powerbomb is countered with a hurricanrana. Taven knees him in the head a few times for two and the Climax gets the same. A wheelbarrow suplex drops Taven but the Tour of the Islands is countered into the second Climax to retain the title at 9:48.

Rating: C-. So you remember all of Taven’s matches where he wasn’t all that interesting and people were sacrificed to get him over? This was one against Jeff Cobb that ran 9:48. For the life of me I don’t know what Ring of Honor sees in him but it’s certainly not something I can get behind. He’s just so completely average and right now, this company needs something a lot more exciting than that. The matches are perfectly fine (and he’s capable of very good) but there’s just nothing between the matches to make me care about him. Cobb will be back, but my goodness they need to get the title on someone else soon.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was very back and forth with some rather good matches and some stuff that makes me want to see whatever else is on. The wrestling is still much better than the storyline stuff so the show was fun, but I need a lot more stuff to care about. It was a good enough show, but some of the matches feel as uninteresting as you can get. They need to fix their creative issues and get rid of Taven as champion before it’s too late, though given all of the other companies growing so fast, it might already be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: July 17, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re finally at a new taping cycle which means I should probably finish watching Best In The World at some point. Unfortunately that means more Matt Taven, who hasn’t been the most thrilling World Champion in the world so far. There is a lot to cover around here but odds are we won’t be seeing much of it tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Best In The World. That show that almost a month ago.

Opening sequence.

Rhett Titus vs. Shane Taylor

Non-title and Titus makes sure to get in some workouts on his way into the ring. Shane spits on the offer of a handshake so Titus rubs it into his chest. Uh yeah. A headlock doesn’t get Titus very far but a shoulder gets him knocked down. For some reason Titus tries a fireman’s carry and gets his head clotheslined off instead. We take an early break and come back with Taylor dropping the apron leg.

The big right hands have Titus in more trouble but he comes right back with some running boots in the corner. Now the fireman’s carry works for a Samoan drop but Taylor blasts him with a running knee to the face. Back up and more forearms finally stagger Taylor for more than a second….so he headbutts the heck out of Titus for the pin at 7:46.

Rating: C-. Titus is someone who just does not have much interest and there isn’t much of a way around that. Taylor on the other hand has gone from just a heavy to someone with some actual potential. He’s a good giant for someone to slay and whoever takes the title from him is going to get a nice rub. Not a bad match, but Titus held it down a bit.

Post match Kenny King comes to the ring and says Titus disgusts him. They used to be the Tag Team Champions as the All Night Express and now, Titus is this. Titus has the body of a god and the heart of a b****. King talks about Titus’ wife and son being embarrassed by him but Titus can’t bring himself to hit him. Titus’ wife doesn’t seem happy.

Kelly Klein is happy with the competition around here and wants to defend against them all.

Video on Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven, who fight for the World Title on July 20. They talked trash to each other until Alex Shelley made his return. His fingerprints are all over wrestling so maybe he should just play his veteran’s card. Shelley wants a shot at the winner.

Angelina Love vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Stella Grey vs. Jenny Rose

#1 contenders match with one fall to a finish and Women’s Champion Kelly Klein is on commentary. Before the match, Velvet Sky says Love is the only one who matters and she doesn’t know who Tasha is. It’s a fight to start with Tasha and Stella trading armdrags inside as the other two brawl on the floor. Love comes back in with some dropkicks to the back so Stella can be thrown outside.

Jenny spears Love for two but Tasha is back in with a hiptoss to Love. The sliding legdrop misses and Love just stares at her. Tasha wins a slugout but Mandy Leon pulls her down to the floor in a smart heel move. That earns Mandy and Velvet an ejection and we take a break. Back with everyone inside and a series of rollups that have no chance of working. Stella and Jenny go outside so Tasha can dive onto both of them, allowing Love to dive onto all three of them.

Hang on though as Love needs to shout at Kelly, who comes down to the ring. The distraction lets Love get powerbombed out of the corner so Tasha can stop to dance. Klein returns to commentary as Stella grabs a Koquina Clutch on Tasha. At the same time, Love puts Rose in a Koji Clutch but Rose is in the rope in a hurry. That lets Love break up the Koquina Clutch, which probably should have finished Tasha earlier. The Botox Injection (Brogue Kick) sends Stella outside but Tasha hits the cutter to finish Love at 10:24.

Rating: D+. Just a match here with four women who aren’t interesting, including Love. The entire Allure deal isn’t working and feels like they’re channeling Impact nostalgia instead of something that could actually work. As usual, the women still have no characters and I have no reason to care about them, and the company seems fine with that.

Post match Maria Manic pops up to stare Tasha down. Security gets beaten up.

Rush wants to face Dalton Castle for attacking his brother.

Bouncers/Jay Lethal vs. The Kingdom

Jay and Marseglia slug it out to start with Lethal hiptossing him into the basement dropkick. Milonas and O’Ryan come in with O’Ryan not being sure about this. Instead Lethal comes back in and gets shouldered down a few times as O’Ryan is more comfortable this time around. It’s already off to Bruiser (who might be a bit slimmer than before) who gets to face Taven.

Hang on again though as Taven wants to face Lethal as the lack of action continues. Lethal comes in and slugs it out with Taven, who takes over off a cheap shot and some choking. Back from a break with Lethal fighting out of trouble and getting over for the tag to Bruiser. The Downward Spiral DDT gets two on O’Ryan and it’s time to not bite Marseglia.

Milonas comes in and starts cleaning house, including dropping back onto Taven. A crossbody gets two on Marseglia and there’s the fall away slam/Samoan drop combination to Taven and O’Ryan. Lethal dives onto all three of them in a row but O’Ryan comes in off a blind tag. That’s fine with Bruiser, who catches him diving in. Closing Time finishes O’Ryan at 9:55.

Rating: C+. More Bouncers fun here and that’s a lot more than I was expecting from them. They even got a nice win here and it’s hardly a stretch as they could conceivably beat the Kingdom, especially with an assist from Lethal. It’s fine for a big time main event, but nothing that you really need to see.

Post match Taven gets in the Climax to Lethal on the floor to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. As usual, these shows aren’t all that interesting because a lot of the people involved aren’t all that interesting. That’s what I got out of this show: the talent involved just is not interesting for the most part. You have three main stories here and they focused on Rhett Titus, the Allure and Matt Taven. How good of a show can that actually be? The wrestling was fine, but I really do not care about these people and it’s getting worse.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: July 10, 2019
Location: ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington
Commentator: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

Another week and another show that is likely going to be little more than a filler as we wait for the fallout from Best in the World. The best thing I can say about that is we don’t need to see as much of the bad storytelling that takes place around here when they get away from what they do best. Hopefully the good wrestling can carry the week around here so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Kingdom vs. Bouncers

TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia for the Kingdom here and Brian Milonas is now Brawler Milonas. O’Ryan runs away from Brawler to start and gets sent into the buckle over and over for his efforts. A missed charge lets O’Ryan hit a running dropkick in the corner but Brawler falls on him for a clever spot. Bruiser comes in and punches at Marseglia, followed by doing the same to O’Ryan, with the fans being rather pleased. A little fish hooking gets Marseglia out of trouble but Bruiser bites his way to freedom. Well kind of as he has no teeth you see.

Everything breaks down and Bruiser hits a running flip dive to take them both down. The Kingdom gets smart and sends him into the barricade though and we take a break. Back with Bruiser getting the rope kicked into his face as the fans chant for beer. Amazingly enough, Bruiser isn’t going up for a double flapjack so he grabs a double side slam instead. That’s enough for the tag to Milonas but Closing Time is countered with a grab of Milonas’ leg, allowing O’Ryan to fall on top for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: C. See, this is how you use the Bouncers. They’ve been built up for a few months now and then lose to a bigger team. The fans like them because they’ve been established as a fun team and their gimmick is going to keep them around forever. It’s not a great match or anything, but it was the result of a few months of perfectly acceptable booking.

Post match the Bouncers bring in some beer (with Bruiser holding one to his injured mouth) and the Kingdom puts them over. They’re a good team, but they’re also fat and worthless like everyone here. The beer is poured out in an act of disrespect.

Matt Taven says beware of the quiet man, who he’s facing tonight in Tracy Williams. At the same time, Williams needs to worry about the World Champion. That’s true, as he might have to watch Taven.

Williams (I didn’t even recognize him, which says a lot about ROH at the moment) says this is the biggest match of his career and Taven better have enjoyed his time as champion.

Brian Johnson vs. Josh Woods

Johnson says Woods hasn’t done anything since winning the Top Prospect Tournament and Woods doesn’t like being called out like that. Woods drives him into the corner with no trouble and grabs a waistlock to mess with Johnson some more. An overhead belly to belly (Johnson: “NO! NO! NO!” Cabana: “I think the answer is yes.”) sends Johnson flying but he avoids a charge to send Woods into the post.

Back from a break with Woods fighting out of a chinlock but getting taken down by his banged up arm. The armbar is broken up with some right hands and a knee to the ribs starts the comeback. Johnson kicks the knee out though and Woods falls face first onto Johnson’s knee for a nice little spot, which they managed to make look natural. Not that it matters as Woods hits a knee to the face and the Seismic Toss for the pin at 8:18.

Rating: C+. I liked this more than I was expecting to and that’s always a nice feeling. Johnson is a good little heel and Woods is the kind of guy you can push as the resident shooter. I could see him going towards a midcard title shot and with some more seasoning and tweaking, even further than that. Nice match here and that’s quite the surprise.

We look back at Williams becoming the #1 contender.

Ring of Honor World Title: Matt Taven vs. Tracy Williams

Taven is defending, Jay Lethal is on commentary and the Kingdom is barred from ringside. Lethal is rather frustrated at Taven’s jabs at him for losing the title as Williams takes Taven down by the arm. Taven wrestles his way up and we take an early break. Back with Williams working on the leg and grabbing an ankle lock to send Taven over to the rope. Something like an Angle Slam plants Williams and Taven charges into a boot in the corner.

They head to the floor with Taven whipping him hard into the steps as the brawling goes badly for Williams in a logical move. Hang on though as Taven grabs the title and goes to leave. You don’t do that to a guy named Hot Sauce (seriously, don’t try it) as Williams goes after him and sends the champ into various things. Williams hits a running ax handle off the apron and it’s back into the ring.

Taven catches him on top and hits kind of a super Russian legsweep onto the apron (FREAKING OW MAN!) for a major crash. Back from another break with Williams missing a top rope double stomp but grabbing a sleeper instead. That’s broken up and an enziguri rocks Williams again but he shoves Taven off the top. A top rope DDT (always like that) gives Williams two and they’re both down. It’s Taven up first with a hard knee to the face for another double knockdown.

One heck of a clothesline from Williams sets up the Crossface and that looked like a tap. Of course it’s not though so Williams switches to an ankle lock. The rope is grabbed and Taven hits another knee. The Climax connects for two in a rather good false finish and Williams’ piledriver, with one arm, gets the same. With nothing else working, Taven sends Williams into the referee and drives the bad arm into a turnbuckle he exposed during the break. Now the Climax can retain at 16:44.

Rating: B. The wrestling was better here but there is only so much you’re going to get out of Taven given how uninteresting he can be. Williams feels like a bit of a low rent Chris Benoit and that’s the kind of wrestler who is always going to have a place on a show like this (or any other for that matter). Just find a slightly more interesting way to cut a promo and they could be somewhere.

Overall Rating: B. I know I say this almost every time but the lack of storytelling is the best thing that this company can do. These stand alone shows are that much better and a lot of that is due to them cutting out what they’re bad at and focusing on the good stuff. It’s worked for them for years but for some reason we only get it occasionally here. In other words, do everything backwards from what they seem interested in doing and it gets a lot better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: July 3, 2019
Location: ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington
Commentator: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re past Best in the World and other than commentary saying “we’re past Best in the World and it was awesome”, you probably won’t be hearing anything about the show because this was taped in advance. It’s another stand alone show and odds are the NWA will be getting a focus, though that’s not the worst thing in the world. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a very quick video on tonight’s main event of Mark Haskins vs. Jeff Cobb.

Opening sequence.

Jay Briscoe vs. PCO

They go with the exchange of shoulders and uppercuts to start until Jay kicks him in the face. A backdrop sends PCO outside, which just seems to get on his nerves so he chops away even more. Another backdrop sends PCO back first onto the apron though and we take an early break. Back with Jay swearing as he’s cut in something close to White Noise. Some running shots to the face and a forearm to the back put Jay down.

The Cannonball gets two and Jay gets in even more trouble with a Cactus Clothesline to send both of them outside. A running flip dive through the ropes drops Jay again but he’s right back with a hot shot onto the barricade. Jay puts him in a chair for a running crossbody but gets yelled at for bringing the chair inside. The slugout goes to PCO, who hits a pop up powerbomb and goes up for the PCOsault. Jay is right back up with a chair shot though and that’s the DQ at 10:50.

Rating: C-. Not a bad power match here with Jay being the kind of guy who can put over a million people and still be one of the biggest stars the company has ever seen. PCO on the other hand could still be in the World Title scene and there is no reason to have him lose clean. Throw in the Briscoes vs. NWA story and this was a well booked match, although not the most thrilling.

Post match Mark Briscoe comes out and it’s a Froggy Bow to put PCO through a table.

Mark Haskins says he and his family need him to beat Jeff Cobb.

Cobb promises to suplex Haskins back to England.

Brian Johnson promises Josh Woods that he’ll bring honor to the Top Prospect Tournament and not be a failure like Woods. A glare sends Johnson running.

Coast 2 Coast vs. Shane Taylor/Bully Ray

Ray tells Bobby Cruise to get out of the ring because he’ll do his own entrance. Hold on though as Ray needs to go to the floor to yell at a kid. Taylor and Ali start things off nearly two minutes into the match with Ali slapping him in the face. Some strikes work a bit better but Taylor easily catches a crossbody. LSG comes in for some forearms to the back and we take a break.

Back with Ray crotching Ali against the post and Taylor adding a headbutt as the slow offense can continue. Ray takes way too long winding up the Bionic elbow and gets superkicked in the chest. He’s fine enough to hit the powerbomb but misses a splash, allowing the tag to LSG. House is cleaned, including a high crossbody for two on Taylor and a double superkick to send Bully outside. Back to back frog splashes get two more on Taylor but Ray breaks up Coast to Coast (the second move that Ian said gave the team their name). Greetings From 216 finishes Ali at 10:27.

Rating: C. Better than the opener but Taylor and Ray as some of the top heels in the company isn’t interesting. Ray feels like someone who is there because he has to be whether you want him there or not. Taylor feels like a monster, but he’s coming off like Ray’s far too talented enforcer. I get why Ray is here, but there’s a firm limit to how far things are going with him as the big heel.

We look at Tracy Williams winning a four way match to earn a World Title shot next week.

Mark Haskins vs. Jeff Cobb

Cobb wrestles him down to the mat without much effort but Haskins pulls him into an ankle lock, which leaves Cobb impressed. Another technical exchange gives us a standoff and we take a break. Back with a chop off going to Cobb but his standing moonsault is blocked. Haskins reverses a powerbomb attempt into a triangle choke but he sends Haskins fast first into the buckle in a rather strong counter.

Haskins fights out of a bearhug and leapfrogs over a charging Cobb to send him outside. The suicide dive connects and a top rope double stomp is good for two. Cobb forearms him in the back though and nails a spinning piledriver for two of his own. Back from another break with Haskins starting in on the arm with a stomp and a cross armbreaker. Cobb bails to the floor for the escape so Haskins kicks the arm from the apron. That’s fine with Cobb, who grabs the spinning belly to back onto the floor.

They both dive in at nineteen and Cobb catches him with a snap German suplex. The standing moonsault crushes Haskins’ back but the Tour of the Islands is blocked again. Haskins can’t get the Sharpshooter so he settles for a Samoan driver for two instead. Cobb catches him on top but Haskins blocks the superplex attempt. A Kimura is blocked so Haskins settles for knocking him off the top. The double stomp misses again though and it’s the Tour of the Islands to finish Haskins at 16:05.

Rating: B. Rather good match here with the two of them playing off of each other well. It takes a lot to make Cobb sweat so Haskins looked strong in defeat. They played well with the back vs. the arm and both guys trying to hit their finisher until Cobb got his was all you needed it to be.

Overall Rating: C+. This was an easy show to watch with three matches that showcased different people. It gets annoying having to wait forever to get to the big storyline stuff, but it means less Matt Taven and that’s just good news these days. It’s pretty clear that the top storylines aren’t working at the moment (the attendance for this show was a disaster, as was the case at Best in the World) so going with the wrestling is the best idea they have.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6