Ring of Honor TV – September 12, 2017: Goals Make Great TV
Ring of Honor Date: September 13, 2017 Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Marty Scurll
We’re less than two weeks away from Death Before Dishonor and hopefully we can actually get somewhere other than “hey, Minoru Suzuki is going to be here” for a change. I know he’s a Japanese legend but it seems that he’s the major selling point for the pay per view, despite not actually being on the card. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of the Kingdom returning to health and beating down the Briscoe Brothers and Bully Ray.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Bully Ray to open the show. He’s accomplished a lot of things in his career but this is the first time he’s been in Atlanta with Ring of Honor. When he got here, the company asked him what he wanted to do. He immediately wanted to team up with the Briscoes and they won the Six Man Tag Team Titles but unfortunately they lost them almost as soon. All he wants now is to get those titles back in Las Vegas, and that’s exactly what he promises to do. Simple and to the point here.
Quick look at the Young Bucks and Hangman Page winning the Six Man Tag Team Titles. You know, in case they hadn’t been featured enough lately.
We recap Cheeseburger vs. Will Ferrara. They used to be partners until Cheeseburger hit Ferrara by mistake, sending Ferrara over the edge. Tonight it’s a grudge match.
Will Ferrara vs. Cheeseburger
Ferrara tries to come in through the crowd for a cheap shot but Cheeseburger is ready for him. A kick to the ribs and a kneedrop have Will in trouble as the fans are way into this. Cheeseburger gets sent throat first into the rope though and a clothesline puts him down again. Ferrara snaps the throat across the ropes and we take a break.
Back with Cheeseburger palm striking him off the top and getting two off a springboard swanton bomb. A Michinoku Driver gives Ferrara two but he can’t get something out of a fireman’s carry. Cheeseburger grabs a Saito suplex and an ankle lock of all things until Ferrara makes the ropes.
The high flying goes a bit too high though as Ferrara pulls him out of the air with a Codebreaker for two, followed by a jumping Downward Spiral for an even closer near fall. The required low superkick sets up a dragon suplex to drop Ferrara, followed by a Tombstone for two. There’s a top rope double stomp for the same but Ferrara blocks a tornado DDT. The hammerlock lariat sets up a modified Crossface to knock Cheeseburger out at 11:19.
Rating: B. This was WAY more fun than it should have been, despite a pretty horrible build to get us here. The stakes for this one are still really low and it’s not a thrilling story but sweet goodness they beat the heck out of each other with some awesome near falls. Good match, but they can only get so far with Cheeseburger when he does the same story over and over again.
Ferrara won’t let go of the hold so here’s Rhett Titus for the save. As you might expect, Titus stomps away on Cheeseburger as well.
It’s time for Coleman’s Pulpit where he doesn’t like jive turkeys. And that’s it for this edition, which was basically just a preview with the new set.
Video on Jay Lethal vs. Silas Young in a street fight with neither of them being able to get up after the match was over. Therefore, it’s Last Man Standing at Death Before Dishonor.
Silas Young vs. Chase Brown
Young shoulders him down to start and beats the heck out of the jobber, including that backbreaker into a clothesline. Brown gets in a few shots but is taken down with ease. Misery ends Brown at 2:35.
Post match the beatdown is on but Lethal comes in for the save. Silas offers a challenge for Last Man Standing, even though that’s already been set.
Cody is ready to face Suzuki.
The Bullet Club attacked Dalton Castle to advance the story from War of the Worlds UK.
Pay per view rundown. This is more than you get for these things more often than not.
Bully Ray and the Briscoes are ready to take the Six Man Tag Team Titles back.
Kenny King is ready to win the TV Title in his hometown.
Search and Destroy vs. Bullet Club
Motor City Machine Guns/Jonathan Gresham/Jay White vs. Guerrillas of Destiny/Young Bucks. Scurll dancing to the Guerrillas’ music is rather amusing. Nick and Gresham start things off with things speeding up and neither being able to do much of anything. Gresham finally gets in a dropkick to send Jackson outside though and the Bucks are in some early peril.
The Guerrillas have some better luck but Sabin is there with a suicide dive to take them out. The Bucks are right back up with the kicks to the head though, followed by some suicide shoves of their own. Matt adds a running flip dive off the stage and everyone is down. Gresham gets up for some dives of his own, followed by a shooting star press, only to have Roa run in for a cutter to pull Gresham out of the air in a SWEET counter.
Back from a break with Gresham taking the Bucks down and bringing in White to fight both Guerrillas at the same time. A double Flatliner has Scurll panicking but Tama is right back with a Lumbar Check. Nick gets the tag and beats up both Guns at the same time in a completely face sequence.
Everything breaks down and it’s a double Sharpshooter to the Guns. Sabin slips out of More Bang For Your Buck and it’s the Dream Sequence to Matt. Nick will have none of that though and cleans house until Jay Rock Bottoms Matt down, followed by a big flip dive out to the floor to drop a pile of people. The Meltzer Driver is broken up and it’s the Guns kicking the heck out of Matt. Something like a double Death Valley Driver is enough to put Matt away at 11:20.
Rating: B. This was another fast paced, entertaining match that could even overcome the Bucks levels of annoyance. Having the Bucks lose was a good way to set up a likely title match at the pay per view and that’s as simple of a way as you can go. The Bucks need challengers and while I don’t think the Guns are going to get the belts, they’re as fine as anyone else for some short term challengers.
Bucks vs. Guns for the Tag Team Titles is announced for the pay per view to end the show.
Overall Rating: A-. It’s almost like this show is WAY better when there’s actually a point. This show gave us two good matches and helped hype up the pay per view. We have an actual card now and that keeps the TV shows from being dull, meaningless wastes of time. I had a good time with this show and that’s something I don’t get to say much around here.
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Ring of Honor TV – September 6, 2017: You Can Tell It’s Pay Per View Time
Ring of Honor Date: September 6, 2017 Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana
We’re rapidly approaching Death Before Dishonor and it would be nice to actually hype up the show instead of just having a single episode to build things up. They got it right with Best in the World and I have no idea why it’s so hard to repeat the success. Unfortunately it’s the end of a taping cycle so things might not be the most energetic. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Jay Lethal vs. Silas Young, which has turned into a nice feud, assuming they finally go anywhere with it.
Beer City Bruiser vs. Jay Lethal
No DQ and we’re joined in progress with the two of them fighting in the aisle. Lethal slugs away and manages to avoid a cannonball to send Bruiser into the barricade. Jay hits one of his own and Bruiser is in early trouble. A dropkick staggers Bruiser with Jay scoring with a suicide dive to follow up.
Back from a break with Lethal missing a chair shot and Silas Young on commentary. Scratch that as he heads towards the ring, where Bruiser is hitting Lethal in the ribs with a chair. The chair is wedged into the corner and you know what that’s going to mean. Security stops Silas so he goes back to talk some more, which means we need to look at him far more often than is necessary. A basement dropkick of all things staggers Lethal and it’s time for some duct tape.
Jay fights back though and takes off his belt for a beating. Ian and Silas argue over whether or not Riccaboni is impartial as Jay sends Bruiser head first into the chair in the corner. Young heads to the ring again and we take a break. Back with Bruiser missing a top rope elbow, earning him some praise from Silas. Young: “Smart move Bruiser.” Colt: “Said no one ever.”
There’s the Lethal Injection but Jay would rather tape Bruiser to the ropes instead of covering. Jay grabs Bruiser’s keg and puts it over the knee, which he then crushes with a chair. More chair shots to the leg have Bruiser screaming in pain and it’s a Figure Four for the submission at 15:11.
Rating: B. When did Bruiser start getting good? I was buying into the hatred and the violence here with Lethal getting a good warmup before his major showdown with Young at the pay per view. When Lethal is on his game he’s as good as anyone in the promotion and this was no exception. Really solid brawl with the beating doing a great job to show off Lethal’s anger.
Post match Jay puts the hold on again as security holds Silas back.
Video on Minoru Suzuki, who is from New Japan and has an MMA background so he’s the coolest guy ever.
Cody talks about the difference between MMA and “sports entertainment”. Which one of them is real? Suzuki has 29 recorded wins in mixed martial arts. You know what else is ready? Cody is going to stretch him and Suzuki is going to call him daddy.
Earlier today Will Ferrara attacked Cheeseburger at an autograph signing.
We look at the Addiction attacking the Motor City Machine Guns and the Young Bucks last week.
Earlier today Caprice Coleman wanted to interview the Addiction but just had chairs and a microphone, much to his annoyance. Kazarian says he wanted to talk to Caprice Coleman and only Caprice Coleman because he knows what it’s like to be disrespected. Look at the lack of set that Coleman requested weeks ago. That’s why the Addiction is declaring war on respect.
Caprice asks if Daniels wants the Tag Team Titles back so Daniels takes the one mic they’re sharing (Coleman: “Be careful. It’s attached.”) to say that’s not the point. He feels betrayed by the fans, who booed him at Best in the World. Daniels was ready to lead the company but the fans didn’t want that. They’re going to find out what the fans want and that’s what they’re going to prevent from happening. If the fans want the best wrestling, the Addiction is going to burn it to the ground.
Will Ferrara vs. Howie Timberche
Howie throws him into the corner for some right hands and sings A Whole New World from Aladdin before punching Ferrara in the face. More dancing and singing sees Ferrara get slammed down, followed by a good looking dropkick. They head outside with Timberche getting pulled shoulder first into the post, followed by the suicide tornado DDT. Timberche gets in a jumping back elbow and a side slam before putting him in the Tree of Woe (complete with more singing). A backflip into an elbow gets two on Ferrara but a low blow cuts Howie off. The second tornado DDT gives Ferrara the pin at 4:26.
Rating: C-. I really hope that’s not all we see from Timberche, who should have gotten at least a second look out of that performance. He has a good look, a lot of charisma and his work is fine. Ferrara was outshined here, which isn’t surprising given how generic he is. He’s just a small guy who doesn’t have anything that makes him stand out, which is a problem for a lot of people around here. Timberche was fun and I’d like to see him again, though he definitely looks more like a WWE guy than an ROH guy.
Post match Cheeseburger comes out to issue a challenge for next week. I know he’s a cult favorite but I’ve been watching him have the same “my partner betrayed me” feud for what feels like years now.
Jay Briscoe has a concussion but Ring of Honor paid for him to be here anyway so here he is.
Mark Briscoe/Bully Ray vs. Cody/Adam Page
I love that Cody is one of the only champions around that still wears the belt. Cody does his “who wants the shirt” bit before handing it to Page. The classics never die. Mark dropkicks Page off the apron and sends Cody outside for a dropkick. The apron Blockbuster makes things even worse but Cody elbows him in the face to get a breather.
After a little spitting from Mark, Page trips him up and hits the slingshot clothesline to really take over. Mark can’t quite fight out of the corner yet as Cody forearms him in the back and stomps away. Back from a break with Mark kicking Page in the face and making the hot tag off to Bully for the house cleaning.
Bully hammers on Page and hits a Bionic Elbow on Cody (that’s rather cruel). What’s Up with Mark hitting an elbow instead of a headbutt has Cody in trouble and it’s table time. Cue Marty Scurll for a distraction but Jay comes out to take care of him. Jay sets up a table but gets punched in his concussed head, which can’t be a good thing.
Marty and Jay fight around the back of the crowd and it’s a Doomsday Device on Page. Cody breaks up the elbow to drive Page through the table but walks into Mark’s fisherman’s buster for two. Cue the Kingdom to take Mark out though and Cross Rhodes puts him away at 11:20.
Rating: C-. This was every ROH main event all over again: too much stuff packed into a match to really work, which goes against the idea of the entire promotion. Then again it’s what worked in WWE for so long and that’s what wrestling companies do, even if it gets dull in a hurry. At least the ending helped set up the Six Man Tag Team Title stuff at Death Before Dishonor, which still isn’t all that thrilling.
Post match the Kingdom lays out Mark and Bully until Jay makes the save. That just earns him Rock Star Supernova (still way too awesome of a name for such a lame team) to end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. You can tell they’re at the end of a taping cycle here and unfortunately it’s a taping cycle as we head towards a World Title match with a challenger who has no connection to the promotion. In other words, the World Champion is just a detail in the promotion while the big deal is a Japanese legend who isn’t appearing or talking until the pay per view. You know, like what happened at the last pay per view. But hey, at least the New Japan fans get what they want out of this and that’s what matters. Not a good show this week, as they’re firmly in the period of having nothing to do despite a big show coming up.
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Ring of Honor TV – August 30, 2017: With an Anchor and Without a Map
Ring of Honor Date: August 30, 2017 Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana
I don’t think we’re up to the newest batch of TV tapings just yet and that means it’s hard to say what to expect from this show. Last week was basically a throw away episode with the focus on the Six Man Tag Team Titles. That means this one could be anywhere really, which isn’t exactly the best thing in the world. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Jonathan Gresham/Jay White vs. War Machine
Non-title. Gresham and White jump them during the entrances in a somewhat heelish move. That lasts all of ten seconds though as War Machine slams both guys down, followed by Rowe slamming Hanson onto the pile. Gresham is back up with a dropkick to Hanson as White sends Rowe into the barricade. For some reason Gresham thinks a chop off with Hanson is a good idea, earning himself a battered chest.
White comes in for some more effective chops but Hanson runs him over and brings in Rowe. Everything breaks down and Gresham is LAUNCHED off a t-bone suplex. Rowe misses a dive to the floor and gets taken down with a suicide dive as we head to a break. Back with Rowe firing off running clotheslines in the corner. After he hits about twenty in a row, it’s a double splash to crush both Gresham and White.
Fallout is broken up so Gresham has to take a springboard clothesline into a German suplex instead. Another Fallout attempt is broken up so Rowe fireman’s carries both of them at once. That goes nowhere though and it’s Gresham enziguring him into a Downward Spiral for a rare near fall.
White’s German suplex gets the same but Rowe comes out of the corner with a seated senton to crush Gresham. Rowe headbutts everyone in sight (save for his partner and the referee of course) until Gresham moonsaults onto Hanson. A 450 is good for two on Hanson but it’s a pop up powerslam (Thor’s Hammer) to put Gresham away at 13:31.
Rating: B. That was a heck of a back and forth match as I don’t think I remember a bad White match. He does his thing very well and makes for some entertaining action. War Machine is better than your average power tag team and while it would be nice to see them get the ROH titles back. Then again that might suggest the Young Bucks aren’t the most amazing things ever and we just can’t have that. Really fun match here though.
Post match Punishment Martinez runs in and chokeslams White as War Machine leaves him to do so.
Caprice Coleman wants to know where his stuff is. He seems to think he’s a preacher and yells at the production staff. We get a nice rant about how he wasn’t respected when he was in the Rebellion and he’s tired of it. They have a week to get this stuff set up.
QT Marshall is out for commentary. Oh yeah he’s a person that exists.
We look back at the Kingdom destroying Jay Briscoe last week.
Shane Taylor vs. Josh Woods
Taylor attacked Woods a few weeks ago and this is as soon as we can get around to a follow up. Woods goes right after him to start with a flying knee and a kick to the head to put Shane outside. That’s fine with Josh who keeps slugging away, only to be thrown through the barricade to send us to a break.
Back with Woods stopping a corner charge with a raised boot. Taylor switches tactics and kicks him face first into the middle buckle before hitting a running Umaga attack for one. Woods fights up again with another running knee, only to get flattened with a clothesline. For some reason Shane goes after him on the mat and gets pulled into a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well so it’s off to an ankle lock and a German suplex for a nice power display. Shane runs him over again but goes outside to grab a chair instead of following up. The referee takes it away though, allowing Woods to roll Taylor up for the pin at 8:14.
Rating: C. Taylor still doesn’t do much for me as he’s just another big guy who can do some athletic stuff but nothing that really blows me away. Woods is starting to grow on me though, which is a lot more than I was expecting to after dreading the Top Prospect Tournament for so many weeks. I have a feeling the feud is going to continue though and that’s not the best thing in the world.
Post match Marshall comes to ringside to tell Taylor to beat down Woods. After Josh is destroyed, Marshall pays Taylor off. Oh yeah it’s continuing.
The Young Bucks are ready to defend against the Motor City Machine Guns because it’s not 2009 anymore. Superkicks are promised.
Minoru Suzuki will answer Cody’s challenge for Death Before Dishonor. Yep: another import with no connection to ROH getting the shot because he’s Japanese and therefore awesome. Screw the stories, screw the talent who has worked to get ROH over and screw everything else. Suzuki is a Japanese legend and that’s what Ring of Honor exists for anymore: giving New Japan guys another place to perform and be revered at ROH’s expense. I’m so freaking thrilled.
Cody is livid.
Kenny King talks about being on the Bachelorette and getting his rematch with Kushida at Death Before Dishonor in his hometown of Las Vegas. King was a lot more serious here and it worked a lot better. The Bachelorette could have been cut out though.
Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Motor City Machine Guns
The Bucks are defending and get straight in the Guns’ faces during the Big Match Intros. Back from a break with the opening bell, meaning Nick can tell Shelley to suck it, which of course makes him the biggest face in the building. The Guns send the champs outside for a suicide dive to both of them as things pick up. Back in and Nick is put on Matt’s shoulders for a Downward Spiral from Sabin and a missile dropkick to the back from Shelley.
That’s a great example of the way too choreographed style that rubs me the wrong way in most Guns matches. There comes a point where I can’t buy that something is natural and the Guns blow past it every match. Shelly dives into a kick to the head though and the Bucks clean house while making sure to soak in some cheers. A flip dive takes out the Guns again and it’s time for Matt to say SUCK IT over and over.
It’s off to a double Sharpshooter with the Bucks throwing in some TOO SWEET’s at the same time. Back from a break with some miscommunication from the champs as everything breaks down. Sabin kicks Matt in the face and dives onto Nick as the Bucks are in some rare trouble. The champs are sent into the corner with Shelley suplexing Matt into Nick. Skull and Bones is broken up and the wheelbarrow facebuster plants Sabin.
Nick comes in off the hot tag to speed things up with the kicks in the corner. The slingshot X-Factor drops Shelley and the moonsault from the apron does the same to Sabin. Shelley is back up with a high crossbody to a seated Nick and the Guns fire off their running dropkick sequence to Matt. It’s superkick time with the Bucks firing off about ten in a row until Shelley takes them down with a double clothesline. And never mind as here’s Addiction for the no contest at 14:27.
Rating: C+. I’m still not much of a Guns fan. I loved their TNA stuff but now it feels so much more forced, which really does hold them back. The ending doesn’t help either as we’re pretty clearly setting up ANOTHER three way title match because we haven’t had anything like that in….oh at least a month or two.
Daniels and Kazarian clean house post match, including shoving a referee and a plant in a Bullet Club shirt (not acknowledge by commentary, who is likely reading their cards instead of paying attention).
Overall Rating: B-. This show was entertaining but it felt really, really long. I’m still not a fan of the tag division (to put it mildly) but Woods is growing on me and the opener was a lot of fun. Basically just keep me away from the Bucks, the Guns and the worship of all things New Japan and I’m a lot better with the show. Good effort this week though as usual, it feels like they’re running with an anchor and without a map.
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War of the World UK 2017 Date: August 19, 2017 Location: Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, England Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, BJ Whitmer
So this is a show that exists. I mean, you would have almost no idea about it if you just watched the regular TV show because they only mentioned it halfway through the go home show but it does in fact exist. There is such little effort being put into this show and I’m worried about how bad it’s going to be as a result. Let’s get to it.
The version I’m watching includes the announcers’ introductions (and them asking if they can hear each other in a quick sound check) and the pre-show match.
Pre-Show: The Boys vs. CCK
CCK (Chris Brookes/Travis Banks, the Commonwealth Catch Kings) are from the UK based Rev Pro promotion and their Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. It’s a brawl to start with the Boys taking down the giant Brookes (probably a foot taller than anyone else in the match) down by the legs. It’s Banks and we’ll say Boy #1 starting things off with #1 being tossed over the corner to land on the apron.
Some double teaming drops Banks though as the announcers aren’t sure which Boy is which. Back in and Brookes puts Banks on his shoulders and launches him at #2 for a Codebreaker in a sweet spot. Brookes even drops a backsplash onto #2 for good measure as the beating begins. In what must be British humor, Chris puts #2 in a camel clutch and both members of CCK stick their fingers in Chris’ mouth and then into #2’s ears.
Some Twin Magic allows #1 to come in and grab a suplex as everything breaks down. The Boys hit stereo dives but Brookes catches #1 in a hanging swinging neckbreaker for two. #1 sends CCK into each other and brings in #2 for a Backstabber. Not that it matters as Banks grabs a fisherman’s driver for the pin on #2 at 6:36.
Rating: C-. Just a tag match here for the sake of firing up the crowd. I’m not sure how smart it is to have your champions lose to some outsiders but then again ROH has never really cared all that much about protecting its titles. I mean, why bother worrying about your own talent when you can put over someone else’s talent? The match was watchable with some nice spots but there’s a reason it was just a dark match.
Opening sequence.
Adam Page vs. Kenny King
Fallout from Page costing King his TV Title shot. They hit the ropes to start until Page misses a standing shooting star and King misses a spinwheel kick to give us a standoff. Both of them wind up on the floor with Page running him over before taking him back inside for Old School, capped off by a thumb to the eye instead of anything else. See he’s in the Bullet Club and needs to do “cute” stuff like that. A sunset flip out of the corner gives King two and it’s off to a seated abdominal stretch.
That goes nowhere so King grabs a spinebuster for two more. Since selling isn’t a thing in ROH, Page is back up with a neckbreaker over the ropes and a tabletop suplex for two. King kicks him in the head again and hits a flip dive out to the floor. The springboard Blockbuster gives King two but he gets caught with the slingshot clothesline for the same. The Rite of Passage is broken up and it’s another kick to the head to set up the Royal Flush to pin Page at 8:43.
Rating: C-. This was the Ring of Honor “style” in a nutshell: no psychology, no storytelling, no transitions between moves and little more than “I do a spot and then you do a spot”. It completely felt like getting their stuff in and leaving, which isn’t what I’m really wanting to see. Some of the spots were good but it felt like just a bunch of stuff instead of a match and that’s not good.
Ultimo Guerrero/Rey Buccanero vs. Titan/Mistico
Under lucha rules of course. I don’t know if ROH brings in these teams because they think it’s more interesting than their roster or if they don’t have enough talent to fill out a show on their own. The more I watch their stuff, the more I think it’s the latter and that’s not good. Mistico and Buccanero start things off and it’s a LUCHA LIBRE chant to spice things up a bit.
The much bigger Rey turns Mistico inside out with a shot to the mask and it’s a quick exchange of near falls. Guerrero and Titan come in with Titan hand walking away from a clothesline and headscissoring Guerrero to the floor. Titan’s flip dive is countered into a powerbomb on the floor though, leaving Buccanero to go after Mistico’s mask.
Everyone heads to the floor with Guerrero jumping over Rey to crash onto both smaller guys at once. Back in and Buccanero moonsaults onto Titan, whose back is over Guerrero’s ribs. A slingshot dropkick in the corner has Titan in trouble but he pops back up with a double handspring elbow.
It’s off to Mistico for a hurricanrana each as everything breaks down. Guerrero superbombs Mistico but gets kicked in the head, allowing Titan to come back in. Why things settled back down isn’t clear but lucha matches aren’t exactly built on enforcing structure (not a bad thing). Titan springboards in with a dropkick to Buccanero before sending him outside for an Asai moonsault. Mistico moonsaults onto Rey as well, leaving Guerrero to hit the Guerrero Special (reverse superplex) to put Titan away at 11:34.
Rating: C+. Better match than I was expecting here though the fans cheering all four guys when Guerrero and Buccanero were trying to play heel was odd. The other problem, and I’m sure you’ve heard me say this many times (and I’ll keep at it as long as it’s a problem): I don’t know who these people are and I have no reason to care.
The background I received here: Buccanero and Guerrero were the Observer’s Tag Team of the Decade for 2000-2009. Uh, great, and what have they done in Ring of Honor? Or in the last eight years for that matter? As usual, it feels like I need to have a lot of outside knowledge coming in to get a lot of this stuff and when the show is barely advertised in the first place, that’s hardly a good way to expand your product.
The announcers talk about Sanada’s vertical leap.
Jay Lethal vs. Josh Bodom
Bodom’s British Cruiserweight Title isn’t on the line. I’ve seen Bodom’s work before and wasn’t that impressed but maybe a better opponent will help. They exchange wristlock counters to start until Lethal blocks a hiptoss and grabs a swinging neckbreaker. A springboard dropkick puts Bodom on the floor but he comes back in with a hurricanrana. There’s a dropkick to really stagger Lethal, though not enough that he can’t hit his cartwheel into a dropkick of his own.
A missile dropkick misses and Bodom knees him in the head. Bodom grabs a reverse hurricanrana to put him outside, followed by a middle rope moonsault. Back in and a top rope double stomp to the back of Jay’s head, followed by a standing shooting star, gives Josh a near fall. The Lethal Combination gets Jay out of trouble and Hail to the King gets two. We hit the Figure Four but cue Silas Young for a distraction. Not that it matters as the Lethal Injection is good enough to pin Bodom at 9:18.
Rating: C-. Ok so maybe it is Bodom. This did nothing for me, again, and that’s not a positive sign when we’re only on the third match. Lethal shrugged off the distraction and won anyway, making me think that Lethal vs. Young was the right move here. You know, a match between two people with a story and who happen to actually WORK FOR RING OF HONOR. There were some moments here but it didn’t work, again.
Young beats Lethal down post match.
Bully Ray/Briscoe Brothers vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon
Bushi/Evil/Tetsuya Naito for Los Ingobernables here. The fans are just CRAZY for Naito but he brings in Bushi to start with Mark instead. An early hurricanrana sends Mark into the corner so it’s already off to Jay for some harder hitting offense. Evil comes in to rake his eyes and shoulder Jay down, only to get kicked in the face. Bushi gets sent into the wrong corner and actually calls out Bully Ray. Well he certainly has guts.
Ray comes in and rips Bushi’s shirt open for some chops before calling in Naito. They take turns sidestepping each others’ lockup attempts as there’s no contact for over a minute. Even the lockup gets a cheer and Naito grabs a headlock with a fist going into the eye. It’s back to Jay for some stomping but Naito rips at his eye too. Bushi comes in with a missile dropkick and we finally hit a heat segment.
That lasts all of a few seconds as Jay dropkicks Evil and brings Mark back in to speed things up. Everything breaks down with Bully coming back in to clean house. Evil is in line for What’s Up but Naito dives onto the mat with his signature pose to block Mark’s dive. Ok that was clever. It’s Bully taking something like What’s Up (Ray: “OW MY BALLS!” Ian: “I didn’t know Bushi was a baller!”) but Bushi mists Evil by mistake. The 3D ends Evil at 13:35.
Rating: B-. This was starting to look really good but they spent a bit too much time with the goofiness instead of the actual match. Los Ingobernables are growing on me every time I see them and Naito is clearly one of the top stars in New Japan. Giving the Briscoes and Bully the win was a nice surprise as I would have bet on them going with the New Japan guys in one of the bigger matches so it was a nice twist.
Post match, Bully and Naito have a pose off for some reason. I’m not sure if Ring of Honor thinks Bully is on Naito’s level but that’s not quite the case….I don’t think.
Intermission eats up about twenty minutes.
The announcers talk about what’s left on the card.
Silas Young vs. Mark Haskins
Mark is a British high flier and the referee is taller than both guys in a weird visual. A drop toehold just annoys Silas (like it’s so hard) and they slug it out with Haskins actually getting the better of it off a kick to the face. Young bails to the floor and gets faked out off a dive, setting up the regular version on the adjacent side of the ring. Nice little sequence there.
Silas is right back with an apron powerbomb to take over for the first time but we slow down for the trash talk. A middle rope jumping back rake (that’s a new one) sets up a lariat (that’s an old one) for two. Haskins gets sick of being slapped in the face and comes back with some rapid fire forearms before rolling into a modified Fujiwara armbar.
It’s off to a Sharpshooter instead but Silas is way too close to the ropes. An electric chair faceplant and a short DDT give Young two and the short lariat is good for the same. Misery is loaded up but here’s Lethal for a distraction, allowing Haskins to roll into a Samoan driver for the pin at 10:14.
Rating: C+. The ending was fine as it helps to play up the Lethal vs. Young feud, which has been one of the better things in Ring of Honor as of late. Haskins was a fan favorite though he didn’t really show me anything that I haven’t seen from a lot of other wrestlers. Still though, good match as the show continues to pick up a bit.
Referees break up Silas vs. Jay.
TV Title: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Dalton Castle vs. Marty Scurll vs. Kushida
Kushida is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Scurll is of course beloved in his home country. Kushida and Scurll head outside, leaving Takahashi and Castle to play with the former’s doll Daryl (who is apparently a big thing). Takahashi gets caught between the peacock pose and the bird pose, allowing Kushida to springboard in with an elbow to the head. Now Daryl is on commentary and the announcers ask him questions because the idea of being serious around here is just not happening.
Takahashi comes back in to take out Kushida’s knee, only to stop to meow at Castle. Dalton stops for his strut but gets superkicked by Scurll. Kushida grabs the cross armbreaker to make Takahashi tap on the floor but gets suplexed into the corner back inside. With Kushida down, Takahashi tries a sunset bomb to send Castle to the floor but the Boys make a save.
Back inside and Scurll hits a modified piledriver and a running knee for two on Takahashi. Castle breaks up the chickenwing attempt with a German suplex before Kushida comes back in for a pinfall reversal sequence with Scurll. It’s Castle suplexing everyone in sight but getting sent to the floor.
Scurll misses a moonsault and takes one from Kushida for two. Kushida flips into the chickenwing but slips out into the Hoverboard Lock. Castle and Takahashi grab stereo German suplexes for the save and everyone is down. Cue Adam Page for a distraction so Scurll can hit Castle with the umbrella, only to have Kushida punch him down. Back to the Future on Castle retains the title at 11:28.
Rating: B-. Fun match if you ignore all the nonsense with Daryl (which to be fair wasn’t all that much). Castle losing via shenanigans helps a bit though he needs to actually win something at some point. Scurll continues to grow on me a lot, even if his in-ring stuff isn’t anything great. Takahashi is just kind of there, though maybe he’s just one of those characters that I don’t get.
Kushida shakes Castle’s hand. You know, just after dropping him on his head to beat him.
Tag Team Titles: Addiction vs. Young Bucks
The Bucks are defending because Heaven forbid they’re not holding titles. Addiction jumps them during the Big Match Intros to Ian’s annoyance, which I guess means the Bucks are faces tonight. The Bucks easily fight them off with dropkicks so we hit the Rise of the Terminator pose. Matt gets sent to the apron where Daniels pulls him face first down as the champs are in some trouble. Eh I give it thirty seconds.
Back in and Matt gets stomped down in the corner, followed by a low bridge to the floor. The beating continues with a face to the knee and an STO to give Daniels two. Daniels’ Lionsault hits knees though and it’s off to Nick off the hot tag. The Bucks speed things up with the double kicks to Daniels in the corner and a Backstabber for no cover. It’s off to the Sharpshooter because the Bucks needed another finisher.
Everything breaks down and it’s an Unprettier to Nick but Matt hurricanranas his way out of Angel’s Wings. Kazarian breaks up a Sharpshooter on Daniels and it’s time for everyone to punch everyone. The Bucks get the better of it but More Bang For Your Buck is broken up. Daniels hits the BME for two on Nick, followed by a sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combo for the same. Back up and Daniels goes up top, only to get caught in the Tree of Woe. That leaves Kazarian in trouble, meaning it’s the Meltzer Driver to retain the titles at 13:30.
Rating: B. As is almost always the case, whenever the Bucks don’t just spam superkicks, they’re far more competitive. The problem though continues to be that there’s no reason to believe they’ll win. Even if they drop the titles, you know full well that they’ll be getting them back anytime because that’s just how Ring of Honor and New Japan roll. I’m starting to like their work better, but then they’ll just do thirty five superkicks in a match again to mess that up.
ROH World Title: Sanada vs. Cody
Cody is defending and won’t shake hands to start. Jerk. We hit the long form stall to start as Cody isn’t cool with the fans being behind Sanada. No contact in the first two minutes. A nice little technical sequence really gets us going with both guys trying headlock takeovers but getting reversed into a headscissors before they try dropkicks at the same time for a standoff.
Now it’s Sanada who won’t shake hands as they’re mirroring each other so far. The Beautiful Disaster is countered with a dropkick and Cody takes another breather on the floor. Cue Naito to cut off an escape attempt so Cody throws Ian into Sanada. Did England not get the notice about Cody turning face? Back in and Cody flips off the fans before getting two off a delayed gordbuster.
An armdrag pulls Sanada off the top but Cody would rather channel his inner Scott Steiner with some push-ups. After more stalling (WAY too much of that so far), Cody grabs a quickly broken half crab. Instead it’s that modified Indian Deathlock to send Sanada slowly crawling to the ropes and then the floor. Cody switches places with him but gets knocked off the apron and into the announcers.
Back in and Sanada ties him up for the dropkick to the hip, only to get caught with the Beautiful Disaster. Cody misses the moonsault press though and la majistral gives Sanada two. A TKO gives him the same but Cody spits at him. That just earns the champ some right hands to the jaw and we have a ref bump.
Cross Rhodes gets no count but Sanada’s rollup gets two, only to be countered into a LeBell Lock. With that broken up, Cody shouts that he’s waiting on Brian Danielson. Cody loads up a superplex but gets countered into a powerbomb for two. Back up and Sanada grabs the dragon sleeper, only to have Cody flip over into Cross Rhodes to retain at 20:02.
Rating: D+. This was WAY too long and felt like a televised midcard title match instead of a pay per view World Title defense. The ref bump didn’t need to be there and Cody looked like he was more interested in wasting time than defending the title. Not a good match at all, even with Sanada doing whatever he could to make it work.
Post match Cody grabs the mic and insults the Liverpool fans for being so poor. He’ll defend the title against anyone so here’s Dalton Castle (thankfully with his title) to interrupt. Dalton doesn’t understand why Cody doesn’t like these people because he loves them. Castle is no silly goose and the only reason he’s not the TV Champion is Cody sending Page out during their match. If Cody wants to know who’s left, Dalton Castle is left. Cody bails and Castle thanks the fans for coming out to end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. This did not need to be a pay per view and it was clear that there wasn’t a ton of effort put into it (into the build, not the wrestlers/wrestling). There was almost nothing in the way of story advancement outside of the ending with the wrestling not being enough to carry things. Things got better in the second half but I really wasn’t feeling most of the show. The fact that I didn’t know about the pay per view until less than a week before the show tells you almost everything you need to know about the card and that’s really not a good thing. There are worse shows, but few more lifeless ones, which is a lot worse.
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Ring of Honor Date: August 23, 2017 Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, BJ Whitmer
Tonight is all about the Six Man Tag Team Titles as yet ANOTHER team has been thrown together for the sake of giving the champions some challengers. In this case it’s Dalton Castle and the Boys defending against Colt Cabana and the Tempura Boyz. And yes, it’s all because both bigger names have partners called Boys(z). Let’s get to it.
Dalton Castle says taking the titles from him when he’s flanked by the Boys is like trying to boil a chicken so he’s not worried.
Opening sequence.
Coast to Coast vs. Best Friends
Caprice Coleman jumps in on commentary and for some reason we keep looking at the commentary booth instead of the ring. Chuckie (Chuckie T, of the Best friends with partner Berreta) and LSG start things off with some flips going nowhere. It’s off to Ali vs. Berreta with some chops dropping Ali, who comes right back with chops of his own.
They head to the corner for a tag to LSG, who the announcers don’t realize was in the match already. Chuckie tags himself in before Berreta takes LSG down with a dragon suplex. That’s good for a big hug and we take a break. Back with LSG cleaning house and getting two on Chuckie off a faceplant. Berreta comes in for the save but Ali is right there to block a tornado DDT out of the corner.
Instead it’s a swinging Rock Bottom for two on Berreta, who bails outside for a breather. Back to back dives, including a corkscrew version from LSG, has the Best Friends reeling as Coleman is begging for them to go for a cover. Ali gets two off a frog splash but LSG’s 450 hits knees. Berreta’s running knee knocks LSG silly and it’s the piledriver into a cradle piledriver to put him away at 11:51.
Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I was expecting to, even if it just became a big spot fest near the end. The Best Friends are a popular enough team to eventually become a threat to the Bucks. Coast to Coast is getting better too and looks like they’re one of the better young teams who could mean something down the line. Or get split up for no apparent reason.
Jay Lethal talks about how rough it was to be put in the hospital for the first time in his career when Silas Young comes up. The brawl is on with Jay getting the better of it until the Beer City Bruiser comes up for a distraction, allowing Young to hit him in the back with a chair. Post break, Lethal demands any kind of a match against Young and/or Bruiser.
Matt Taven vs. Jay Briscoe
Jay tries to jump him at the bell but actually loses a slugout. Vinny Marseglia busts out an ax to distract Jay (well that could do it) so Jay grabs a chair to even things out. Since that could cause a bad case of death, they head back inside with Jay splashing Taven in the corner and adding a big boot for good measure.
Taven slips out of….something and knees Jay in the face. That’s enough time to check himself out in the camera though and we take a break. Back with Raven bailing out on a frog splash and getting caught with a Death Valley Driver. Taven’s Disaster Kick sets up a Lionsault which hits raised knees, followed by Briscoe’s hard lariat for two.
Jay slugs him in the jaw but a Blue Thunder Bomb gives Taven two more. The Climax (1%er) is broken up so Jay kicks him outside for a suicide dive. Cue Marseglia to interfere but Briscoe cuts him off with a neckbreaker. Now TK O’Ryan gets pulled in as well but he takes off his cast and knocks Jay cold for the DQ at 11:42.
Rating: C. Oh joy, the Kingdom is back. It helps to shore up the Six Man Tag Team Titles but on the other hand, it helps to shore up the Six Man Tag Team Titles. The team does nothing for me but I’ll take them as a trio over random singles matches. Briscoe is still in a weird place as he seems to be teasing a heel turn a lot of the time and then he does a straight face match like this. I mean, it’s hard to be a heel when you’re down 3-1 and one guy has an ax.
Post match the Kingdom covers Jay with chairs and then crushes him with more chairs. Bully Ray and Mark Briscoe are nowhere to be seen.
Cody is ready to face anyone for the ROH World Title.
Six Man Tag Team Titles: Colt Cabana/Tempura Boyz vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys
Dalton and the Boys are defending. Colt and Dalton start things off and it’s time for some dancing, followed by the champs being sent to the floor for Colt’s own strut. That’s a bit too much comedy for me so we take a break. Back with the Boys bent over backwards to make themselves into a table. Dalton cleans house and then has a seat on them, allowing some much needed fanning up.
Back in and Dalton shakes his knees but Colt tags Sho in instead of having a dance off. It’s off to the Boys…..with one getting on the others shoulders. Sho does it to Yo and we’ve got a game of chicken. Thankfully Colt breaks it up to take over as this match is giving me a headache. Sho grabs a Fujiwara armbar but it’s Twin Magic for the save. Colt tries to make another switch but Sho does the same thing as this is what a championship match has turned into.
We take a second break and come back with the Boyz fanning Colt, allowing more Twin Magic to get one of the Boys out of trouble. The hot tag brings in Castle for some suplexes, including catching a diving Cabana. The Boys dive onto the Boyz and it’s Castle with the peacock strut. A double missile dropkick sets up another German suplex for two but the Boyz come in and take over without too much effort. The Boys pull the Boyz together though and a Bang a Rang ends Colt to retain the titles at 13:44.
Rating: D-. I can’t stand this kind of stuff as they’re just doing lame comedy and it’s for some of the most worthless titles in wrestling. The fact that this whole thing is all about “hey, I’ve got my own boys now” tells you all you need to know about it. Castle is far too talented and far too charismatic to be stuck in something like this. The Six Man Tag Team Titles need to die already, even if it ticks off Papa New Japan.
Post match Castle says Cabana has been an inspiration for a long time. Colt hasn’t made it easy to like him though as Cabana hasn’t accepted that Castle is just better. Now that it’s three straight wins for Castle, can he have Colt’s respect? Cabana shakes his hand to end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. That main event killed what was an otherwise solid show. I’m probably not the audience for that kind of match but it just didn’t work for me. What also doesn’t work for me are these stand alone shows with nothing major in the way of storytelling. This is all about filling in time until we can get back to talking about the pay per view that was barely talked about in advance. Such is life in Ring of Honor, though it’s still rather annoying.
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Ring of Honor TV – August 16, 2017: A Good Show or a Complete Failure
Ring of Honor Date: August 16, 2017 Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana
It’s kind of a new start for Ring of Honor as we officially finished off Cody vs. Christopher Daniels last week with Daniels losing his 2/3 falls rematch for the ROH World Title. Now we need a new challenger for the title as Cody is on his own at the moment. Jay Lethal is back as well and you know he’ll be a big deal again in a hurry. Let’s get to it.
We open with a quick recap of last week’s title match with Cody nearly laughing over his win.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Kazarian to get things going. He wants to know if the people here appreciate the things Daniels has done in this business. The fans seem to think so but Kazarian wants to know what was up with the reactions that Daniels received last week. If the fans here say they respect Daniels, every one of them are liars.
Kazarian isn’t sure if Daniels will ever wrestle again but the fans don’t deserve him anyway. These people are here to do stuff like throw streamers…..and we pause for the streamers to be thrown. Kazarian: “This isn’t Japan!” Preach it brother. He’s going to make it his mission to destroy everything about Ring of Honor that the fans love because, in a singing voice, YOU DESERVE IT! Kazarian: “Stupid marks.”
Punishment Martinez vs. Flip Gordon
Gordon is introduced as a member of the National Guard and he’s now in camouflage pants. Flip ducks a big boot and chops away to so much avail that he might as well be Ric Flair to Martinez’s Sting. They head outside with Martinez trying a chokeslam but not being able to follow up. A baseball slide and superkick from the apron stagger Martinez and a Lionsault puts him down.
Back in and Punishment easily hiptosses him into the corner before punching Flip in the ear for two. A clothesline turns Flip inside out and we head to a break. Back with Gordon hitting a springboard Sling Blade (cool) and a twisting frog splash for one. Gordon grabs a fireman’s carry and backflips into a Samoan drop (that’s a new one), followed by a Lionsault for two. Back up and Martinez kicks him square in the face and a Falcon Arrow gets two. Gordon kicks him away again and heads up top, only to get caught by the throat for a super sitout chokeslam and the pin at 8:22.
Rating: B-. I can actually go for Gordon as this kind of one dimensional character as they’re not even trying to hide what they’re doing with him. That being said, the chokeslam at the end looked awesome and had to finish him no matter what else he was doing. Martinez should be a great dragon for someone to fight but his feud with Jay White is still going, because wrestling today has no idea how to end a feud.
Post match White comes out for another brawl with Martinez.
Kenny King is ready to take the TV Title from Kushida, who is all he thinks about.
Colt Cabana can’t interview the Tempura Boyz because they don’t speak English. Comedy you see.
Back in the arena, Ian suggests that Colt team up with the Tempura Boyz to face Dalton Castle and the Boys. Colt: “My own boys???”
Rhett Titus vs. Cheeseburger
Titus jumps him at the start and hammers away in the corner as Colt can’t stop talking about the Tempura Boyz. Cheeseburger gets two off a rollup but gets caught in a big backbreaker. A Razor’s Edge is countered with a hurricanrana to send Titus into the corner and there’s the palm strike. Cue Will Ferrara for a distraction though, allowing Titus to hit a frog splash (the Doggy Splash from the Big Dog) for the pin at 2:39.
Cody laughs off the idea of someone working harder than him or being able to take his title.
Colt agrees to face Cody (which doesn’t sound serious) but Ian says Cody has to face Sanada on the upcoming i-pay per view, which I believe is the first mention of the show that is less than a week away. Cue Dalton Castle and the Boys to agree to give Colt and the Tempura Boyz a title shot. Again: the division is like two regular teams and whoever they throw together that month. Kill the thing already.
Video on Shane Taylor.
TV Title: Kenny King vs. Kushida
Kushida is defending and they have over twenty minutes left. They hit the mat to start as we hear what might be only our second reference to the upcoming War of the Worlds show. Kenny takes him down for an armbar before grabbing a spinebuster for two. A leg sweep sets up a modified Muta Lock as this is all King so far.
It’s too early for the Royal Flush as Kushida gets in the Hoverboard Lock, albeit over the ropes. King misses a corkscrew dive to the floor and eats a dropkick before being sent into the post. That’s fine with Kushida who hits a flip dive off the top to the floor, followed by the Hoverboard Lock back inside. Cue Adam Page and Marty Scurll for the DQ at 5:40.
Rating: C+. This was starting to go somewhere when they had the annoying run-in. This felt like they wanted to protect both guys and while that’s fine, it makes for a rather annoying ending to what could have been a good match. Just get to the tag match already though as you know that’s where this is going.
Post break King says he’s not having his title shot ruined by the Bullet Club B-Team. He wants a tag match right now and since we have ten minutes left in the show, let’s do it.
Kushida/Kenny King vs. Marty Scurll/Adam Page
Ian calls this a dream team because that’s what you call any team these days. It’s a brawl to start with the fresh Club getting the better of it and stomping away on Kushida in the corner. Scurll gets in a kick to the head and it’s time to start in on Kushida’s arm. Kushida rolls over for the hot tag to King though and house is quickly cleaned. A spinebuster gets two on Page but Scurll pulls King outside for a whip into the barricade.
Back from a break with King still in trouble and Kushida getting shoved off the apron. Kenny kicks Page in the head and it’s off to Kushida for the house cleaning strikes. He even gyrates his way into the Hoverboard Lock on Page but Scurll makes the save and breaks Kushida’s fingers.
You don’t need ten fingers for a Hoverboard Lock though and Scurll is in trouble in the middle of the ring. Page makes the save as everything breaks down with King diving over the top to take Adam out. Adam clotheslines Kushida into the tiger driver from Marty for two. Now it’s King coming back in with the Blockbuster and a Royal Flush to put Page away at 8:55.
Rating: C+. Good stuff here again but the match didn’t exactly need to exist. It was still fun though with Kenny getting a strong push to start his face run and Kushida being awesome as always. The Bullet Club isn’t going to be hurt by a loss, especially when it’s two of the lower level members like these two.
Post match King points to the title but shakes Kushida’s hand. One last mention of the pay per view (no card listed) wraps things up.
Overall Rating: B-. If you made me guess, I would have no idea what to expect from the upcoming pay per view. There’s nothing on this show that made me care about a pay per view because they barely talked about it. All I know is that Cody is defending the World Title and Kushida is in a four way. The opponents were mentioned in a rush and while I can look them up, asking for a series of graphics or even some quick promos isn’t the biggest request in the world. It’s a good show on its own but a complete failure of a go home show, so this one kind of depends on how you look at it.
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Ring of Honor TV Results – August 9, 2017: Out of Way Too Many, One
Ring of Honor Date: August 9, 2017 Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Rico De La Vega
It’s a big night for Ring of Honor as we have the World Title being defended as Cody faces former champion Christopher Daniels in a 2/3 falls match. This is a rematch from Daniels losing the title to Cody back at Best in the World where we got a rare double turn to make Cody one of the top faces in the company. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
We open with a look at Cody winning the title and deciding that he deserves it. He’s still not signed to a Ring of Honor contract and is supposed to be an outsider despite not having a contract not really changing anything.
Daniels, in the same promo we’ve seen three times now, says one loss doesn’t define him.
Cody thinks Daniels’ rise to the top is amazing and Daniels is a classy professional wrestler but he doesn’t understand that Cody isn’t giving up this soon. He even takes credit for the higher buyrate when he’s in the title match, which isn’t quite the line you expect to hear but it fits for him. Cody is tired of all the mediocrity because he’s ready to be magnificent. Yes but is he DASHING?
Here are Daniels and Kazarian to the ring, albeit from a few weeks ago. This footage was barred from airing on ROH TV but it’s making its debut here. Kazarian rips into the fans for booing Daniels, including a row of fat guys in Bullet Club shirts flipping him off. Those fans are the same “stupid marks” that congratulated Daniels when he won the title. It’s the same out with the old, in with the new mentality that makes Kazarian sick.
Daniels, sitting on the top turnbuckle, talks about hearing dueling “DANIELS SUCKS/CODY chants”, which he finds interesting because no one cared about Cody when he was Stardust. He brings up Cody being a free agent but no one talked about him signing a two year contract. Daniels calls the fans a bunch of something censored, and then promises to win the title and get released. That way he can defend it around the world, except for here in Ring of Honor. From now on, it’s all about Daniels and Kazarian. Good heel promos, though I have no idea why we had to wait three weeks to see them.
Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser are here for their weekly Jay Lethal update. It’s now been 43 days since he’s been injured and Lethal isn’t coming back anytime soon. Silas remembers Lethal begging him not to do it but the Bruiser came up with the idea of splashing Jay through a table. There go the lights though and here comes Lethal. House is quickly cleaned with a chair and Young takes Lethal Injection. Lethal grabs the sign and writes a ZERO on it for the big visual.
ROH World Title: Christopher Daniels vs. Cody
Cody is defending and this is 2/3 falls. Daniels hits the floor immediately so Cody does some push ups. No contact in the first minute. They finally lock up with Cody grabbing a quick rollup for an early two. A headlock doesn’t do much as they’re firmly in first gear. Cody shrugs off a slam and hits a gordbuster, followed by some trash talk. Daniels bails to the floor for an argument with a fan and we take a break.
Back with Daniels jumping over Cody in the corner and taking him outside for a hard whip into the barricade. Cue the trainer to pop Cody’s shoulder back into joint, allowing him to hit a dropkick. Daniels breaks up a springboard though and Cody bangs his ribs on the apron. Back from a second break with Daniels still on the arm but stopping to yell at a fan. Not bright dude. Daniels heads up top so Cody runs the corner for a super armdrag and a powerslam gets two.
A quick Figure Four eventually sends Daniels over to the ropes so Cody tries a Rainmaker of all things. Daniels kicks him into the referee though and they trade low blows. Kazarian runs out but Marty Scurll chases him off. Cody grabs a rollup for the first fall at 17:48 but Daniels chairs him down before the second fall beings.
We take a third break and come back again with Cody still on the floor. It’s only a nineteen count though and Daniels is getting frustrated. The trash talk goes on a bit too long though and Cody grabs a Flatliner for a breather. Cody wins a slugout and hits the Bionic Elbow but Cross Rhodes is countered. Daniels hits Cross Rhodes of his own for two but Angel’s Wings are countered. The second attempt works just fine….for two. The BME misses as well and Cody flips over him in the corner, setting up Cross Rhodes to retain at 25:43.
Rating: B. Not a great match but it puts Cody over very strong with a straight falls win to vanquish Daniels once and for all. This didn’t need to be some kind of a classic as long as Cody won and having it be clean in both falls helps so much more. Now Cody needs a new monster villain to come after the title and hopefully that’s not too hard to find.
Overall Rating: B+. Take a good main event and throw in a solid Jay Lethal segment and the whole show is quite the sit. It’s time to build towards Death Before Dishonor and I have no idea what to expect for Cody going forward. You can figure out a lot of the card but I really don’t know what to expect in the World Title scene, which is a good thing in a way. Really good show this week, though that’s likely more to do with them only focusing on one story in an hour.
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Ring of Honor TV – August 2, 2017: It’s Like I’ve Always Said
Ring of Honor Date: August 2, 2017 Location: Lowell Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts Commentators: Joe Koff, Ian Riccaboni
This is a special episode of the show as we’re looking at the Women of Honor this time around. Ring of Honor does have a women’s division but outside of some one off matches on their website, they very rarely make television. Therefore, there are going to be stories built in here but it’s not like anything is going to have been covered on TV. Hopefully the announcers cover things so let’s get to it.
The opening video tells us who we’ll be seeing tonight and explains the story of the triple threat main event, which we’ll get to later.
Opening sequence.
High Speed Title: Sumie Sakai vs. Kris Wolf
Wolf is defending and the title from Stardom, a major Japanese women’s promotion. They slug it out to start as the announcers talk about how Women of Honor will be seen a lot more frequently going forward. I’m glad we got that out of the way as it’s been promised every time they’re featured and nothing ever comes of it.
Sakai works on a wristlock but gets sent to the floor with a headscissors sending her crashing down. A running kick from the apron drops Sakai and we take a break. Back with Sakai grabbing a Crossface as Koff (the company’s COO) tries to figure out what to call various holds, though he’s clearly having a good time here. Sumie ties her in the ring apron and offers a few spanks, followed by a slightly more serious missile dropkick for two.
A horrible slam puts Wolf down but she avoids a moonsault. Wolf gets two off a Shining Wizard but walks into a fisherman’s buster for the same. The announcers, as in the people supposed to hype up this stuff, ignore the entire thing to talk about Cody not being signed. Wolf gets a rollup out of the corner for two before diving into another rollup to put Sakai away at 8:13.
Rating: C-. And here’s the problem with this concept: I have no idea who these two are outside of their appearances on other Women of Honor shows. They’re just women doing moves to each other and one of them happens to have a title. Why should I care about that belt? It means nothing here and unless I follow women’s wrestling in Japan, I have no idea why it’s important.
Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser come out with Young saying this show needs some testosterone. He updates the sign, which now says it’s been thirty six days since we’ve seen Jay Lethal and he’s never coming back. This didn’t need to be here but they had to fill the time in somehow.
We recap Mandy Leon vs. Jenny Rose. They trained together in the New Japan Dojo. Leon tried to help Jenny when Kelly Klein grabbed a chair but cost her the match instead.
Mandy Leon vs. Jenny Rose
Feeling out process to start as you can see more empty seats in the first few rows than there are fans. AWA tapings weren’t even that bad. Mandy kicks her down and grabs a Hennig neck snap for two. Jenny gets taken down again with Mandy sitting on her back and waving a lot, which has the announcers criticizing her for being silly. Fair enough actually. Leon hits a Cannonball off the apron, only to get caught in a DDT on the floor as we take a break.
Back with Jenny kicking her in the ribs as Koff talks about both of them wanting to get over. Mandy charges into a spinning side slam and a middle rope clothesline gives Jenny two. A quick Unprettier gives Leon two of her own as the announcers talk about spreading the word about Women of Honor through social media. You know, instead of putting them on TV more than twice a year.
A full nelson with the legs has Jenny in trouble until she reverses into a modified surfboard. That gets let go for no apparent reason, allowing Mandy to grab a completely bridgeless (and therefore bad looking) reverse cradle. Some of the weakest kicks I can ever remember seeing have little effect on Jenny so Mandy heads up top, only to be spanked (that’s all it can be described as) to slow her down. Rose grabs an electric chair for the pin at 8:22.
Rating: D-. This really didn’t work and a lot of that is on Leon. She has a good look and a lot of energy but there’s just not enough in-ring ability to back it up. Between the horrible kicks and the lack of bridging, it felt like I was watching someone who had only been wrestling for a few months. I get that she’s one of the faces of the division but she needs WAY more experience and likely some better coaching to really make any of this work.
We recap the main event. The undefeated Kelly Klein tapped out to Deonna Purrazzo at the Supercard of Honor preshow but the referee was bumped, allowing Klein to steal a win. Purrazzo then cost Klein a countout loss against Karen Q for her first ever loss in over 520 days. The triple threat was made for tonight.
And now, for a way to fill in some time.
We recap some of the top stories in Ring of Honor, including Bully Ray having issues with the Briscoe Brothers due to Jay Briscoe’s issues with Dalton Castle. This really hasn’t sat well with the Briscoes, who seem to be teasing a heel turn.
Next up is Shane Taylor destroying various people after the Rebellion was forced to disband. Taylor was in the Rebellion for all of five minutes so I have some issues making this feel like a big deal.
Kenny King is ready for his shot at the TV Title.
Karen Q. vs. Kelly Klein vs. Deonna Purrazzo
Klein tries a double clothesline to start and gets double teamed in the corner. A pair of handspring clotheslines in the corner have Klein in trouble and a bicycle kick puts her outside. Karen and Deonna fight over a test of strength until Klein grabs Deonna from the floor and sends her into the barricade.
That means it’s time to double team Klein again with Karen taking her down with a high crossbody to the outside. A standing moonsault gets two on Kelly back inside but she powerbombs Karen out of the corner for the same. Purrazzo finally comes back in but Kelly breaks up the double teaming with a double clothesline. This really isn’t the best way to make Klein out to be a huge heel. Kelly gets in a forward DDT on Purrazzo and we take a break.
Back with the announcers talking about Cody vs. Christopher Daniels as this HUGE match, including Klein suplexing both of them at the same time, gets ignored. Deonna slugs away on Kelly and hits a running knee, followed by a release German suplex for two. The Fujiwara armbar doesn’t work so Kelly grabs a cravate for some knees to the face. Karen pops back up and dropkicks Klein to the floor though and a rollup pins Deonna at 9:02.
Rating: C+. Easily the best match of the night here and the fact that Klein and Purrazzo are a lot more experienced has nothing to do with that I’m sure. Now that being said, there was the huge issue of the match: Klein as the huge heel who kept making face comebacks because she was being double teamed. The story makes sense on paper but it made for a really weird dynamic the whole way through. Not bad, just strange.
A recap of Cody vs. Daniels wraps things up.
Overall Rating: D. I appreciate what they were going for here but when you have people like Charlotte and Sasha Banks tearing the house down a lot of the time (at least in NXT) and even the good efforts from the Knockouts, this really isn’t cutting it. The main event was watchable but the first two matches felt like something you would see on a small indy show rather than something like this.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:
The women need more time and experience and putting them on YouTube once every how often and two TV specials a year isn’t going to cut it. This show came, went and disappointed, which isn’t what you want when it’s supposed to feel special. The biggest problem is that’s what I’ve been saying since they started airing these things over a year ago. It really should have gotten better since then and that’s just not the case. They’re trying but you need a lot more than that and it’s really showing.
Ring of Honor TV – July 26, 2017: Happy Humphrey Would Be Proud
Ring of Honor Date: July 19, 2017 Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Rico De La Vega
It’s back to the title picture tonight as Kushida is defending the TV Title against Jay White in what could be a good match, assuming Punishment Martinez doesn’t interfere. There’s also a six way match because where in the world would we be without throwing a bunch of people into a match with no particular rhyme or reason? Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
De La Vega is from Future of Honor and Women of Honor and sounds like an Armando Alejandro Estrada knockoff.
The Young Bucks and Adam Page are in the ring to start. They want the Six Man Tag Team Titles you can consider the title match booked. That’s enough from them though as they bring out Marty Scurll for the opener.
Marty Scurll vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Josh Woods vs. Vinny Marseglia vs. Will Ferrara vs. El Terrible
One fall to a finish with tagging required, though lucha rules apply. We do the fast paced tagging with no action to start until it’s Ferrara vs. Kazarian to really get us going. Kazarian grabs a hiptoss to start but Woods tags himself in to face Ferrara. Will’s thrust to the neck has no effect so he tags in Marseglia instead.
Terrible comes in to chop it out with Vinny and the rather gutty Terrible gets sent into the corner where he no sells a forearm to the jaw. Scurll breaks up a cover off a DDT and it’s Kazarian vs. Terrible. A hard clothesline drops Kazarian and we take a break. Back with Marseglia and Ferrara in the ring as everything breaks down around them. Woods sends Ferrara outside and hits a slow motion running knee to the jaw.
Cue Shane Taylor to beat Woods up, leaving us to hit the parade of secondary finishers, capped off by Marseglia’s Swanton on Ferrara. Scrull tries the chickenwing but gets chased off, leaving Kazarian to hit a Backstabber and Unprettier on Terrible. Scurll runs in to throw Kazarian out though and pins Terrible at 11:07.
Rating: C. I really don’t care for this kind of match as there’s too much going on and nothing really gets advanced. Scurll breaking up pins and then stealing the fall was a good way to push him, though I could have gone for this meaning something (maybe a title shot or a spot in a #1 contenders match). It was a way to fill eleven minutes but nothing with much value.
Christopher Daniels agrees to face Cody for the ROH World Title in two weeks but wants it to be 2/3 falls.
Beer City Bruiser vs. Brian Milonas
Milonas is a rather large tub of goo from the Top Prospect Tournament where he didn’t do much for me. They do the big collision of the stomachs to start and Milonas actually hits a fall away slam. Silas Young offers a distraction though and Bruiser sends him outside for the Cannonball from the apron. Back in and Bruiser hits a running shot to the face, followed by a boot the same general area for two. Milonas catches him on the top with a superplex but misses the middle rope legdrop. Bruiser kicks him in the face again and hits the frog splash for the pin at 4:59.
Rating: D-. See, they’re both big and overweight so it’s interesting. Ring of Honor is a company that is supposed to be the next generation of wrestling or whatever but this was straight out of Vince McMahon’s playbook in the 1980s, if not far before in the days of people like the McGuire Twins or Happy Humphrey. Milonas is embarrassingly huge and made Bruiser look good by comparison.
Post match Young says it’s going to be a long time before Jay Lethal is back.
TV Title: Kushida vs. Jay White
Kushida is defending and this has potential as I like both guys. Feeling out process to start with White taking him down by the arm. De La Vega is getting even more irritating as he starts telling Ian to shut up in Spanish, just like almost every other evil Hispanic wrestling character ever. Back up and Kushida hiptosses him down for the basement dropkick to take over. White trips the champ up though and we take a break.
Back with White slamming him out of the corner for two and we hit the chinlock. A Muta Lock with White pulling on the arm for extra leverage sends Kushida bailing to the ropes. Kushida sends him outside for a dive though and it’s time to get fired up. White grabs the rolling single underhook suplexes to cut him off, including a third into the corner. Another suplex is countered into the Hoverboard Lock with a bodyscissors, only to have White power out.
A Flatliner and dead lift German suplex give White two but Kushida is right back with another Hoverboard Lock. White gets to the ropes and we take a second break. Back with White elbowing the heck out of White’s head and grabbing a cobra clutch on the mat. That doesn’t do much for White so he tries the Kiwi Crusher but Kushida reverses into a small package for two.
A kick to the head drops White again and we get a breather. White is up first and hits the Kiwi Crusher but the bad arm means a bad cover so Kushida can kick out. Back up and White slugs away to put both guys down again. Kushida catches him on top and grabs the Hoverboard Lock up there. That’s not enough as he superplexes White down and hits Back to the Future to retain at 14:40.
Rating: B. That’s what I was expecting with the arm work playing into the match and the finish. Kushida is pretty easily my favorite New Japan guy and he works some of their best matches every single night. White was no slouch here either as he wrestled his usual good match, which has a simple style but does everything it needs to do.
Post match they shake hands as #1 contender Kenny King (Then why did White get the shot here?) comes out to stare Kushida down and end the show.
Next week: Women of Honor! Uh…great.
Overall Rating: C+. Good show this week and we have something special to look forward to in two weeks. The main event is solid and makes Kushida, as well as the title, look more important, though hopefully we get the talented King instead of the one who feels like the Gold Standard Shelton Benjamin. I liked the show more than usual and, save for the bad yet short middle match, it’s worth checking out.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here: