Ring of Honor TV – April 12, 2017: Now Just A Month Behind
Ring of Honor Date: April 12, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Kevin Kelly
I’m not even going to pretend that I know what’s going on at the moment. I know we’re past the Anniversary Show but I’d assume we’re not up to Supercard of Honor yet, despite it taking place nearly two weeks ago. All I know is we’ll still be seeing Top Prospect Tournament stuff because that thing just won’t end. Let’s get to it.
The Briscoe Brothers take us back to Manhattan Mayhem where Bully Ray saved them from a Bullet Club beatdown. Tonight they’re going after the Six Man Tag Team Titles.
Opening sequence.
Punishment Martinez vs. Hanson
Martinez is now completely on his own, which should be a better fit for him. Hanson blocks a spinning kick to the face to start and sends Marintez to the floor for a suicide dive. A ram into the post sets up a Whoopee Cushion from the ramp to really have Martinez reeling. Back inside and Martinez runs him over in the corner before hitting a spring Swanton of all things.
We take a break and come back with Hanson winning a fight over a suplex. Martinez is laid on the top rope for some forearms (think Sheamus’ ten forearms) but one heck of a right hand puts Hanson outside. Since Martinez is an athletic freak, we hit the Taker Dive over the corner, followed by a top rope spinwheel kick for two (should have been the finish).
A chokeslam doesn’t work though and Hanson gets two off a powerslam. Hanson’s own spinning kick gets two and as you might expect, it doesn’t mean as much after Martinez’s huge one earlier. Cue Davey Boy Smith Jr. for a distraction though, allowing Martinez to avoid a moonsault. The sitout chokeslam ends Hanson at 8:45.
Rating: B-. Martinez is the kind of guy that ROH needs to push as he’s a bit different than the run of the mill guys you see around here so often. Hanson wasn’t bad and I’m glad they’re letting War Machine do their own things as there’s only so much they can do in the tag division. Hopefully Smith sticks around too as he’s an entertaining guy. Good opener here and the right guy won.
We look back at TK O’Ryan breaking his leg at the 15th Anniversary Show.
Hangman Page attacked Kazarian in the parking lot earlier this week.
Top Prospect Tournament Semifinals: Curt Stallion vs. John Skyler
From Manhattan Mayhem as we flash back to March 4. A lockup goes nowhere to start as I’m going to have a hard time telling these guys apart. Stallion rolls through a sunset flip and hits a jumping double stomp while shouting YOU’RE STUPID. So he’s the heel here. Fine enough and at least there’s something to set them apart. They head outside with one heck of a dive sending Skyler into the barricade and us to a break.
Back with Skyler getting two off a backsplash and grabbing a chinlock. Skyler gets two off a tiger bomb but stops to spit at him. Stallion is all fired up and no sells a German suplex before grabbing one of his own for two. Some running knees in the corner get two and Stallion no sells a superkick. Skyler gets two off a slingshot spear through the ropes, only to get caught in White Noise onto the knee for the good near fall. Stallion loads up something on the top, only to get caught in Southern Salvation (the middle rope Regal Roll) for the pin at 10:14.
Rating: B. I liked the match more than I was expecting to but I’m REALLY sick of this tournament. For some reason we’ve been stuck watching a match a week so the tournament has to drag on for nearly two months. It’s been getting better but I’m WAY past the point of being interested in anyone involved with the whole thing.
Adam Cole has recorded a video for the Young Bucks, asking for things to go back to the way they were.
Six Man Tag Team Titles: Bully Ray/Briscoe Brothers vs. Kingdom
Kingdom is defending and have Silas Young replacing the injured O’Ryan. The champs bicker before the match so Bully asks if they know who the three of them are. The fight is on in a hurry with Taven taking the worst of it in the for of a hard clothesline to the floor. Back from a break with Bully hitting those loud chops to Marseglia’s chest. Mark comes in to keep up the beating, followed by a facewash from Jay. The other champs finally get it together and crotch Jay against the post to take over for the first time.
Marseglia and Taven choke in the corner, followed by Young dropping a knee for two. Taven gets the same off a top rope elbow with Mark making the save. We take a second break and come back with Mark cleaning house. A cheap shot from the apron slows him down though and it’s time for the champs to argue again. The distraction allows the hot tag to Bully, who hits a quick triple 3D on Vinny for the pin at 10:41.
Rating: C+. That’s the right call as the Kingdom wasn’t doing anything at full strength so getting the titles off a weakened version was almost a requirement. Bully and the Briscoes are a more entertaining option but they still don’t solve the issue of there not being enough teams to warrant the titles in the first place. At least they got the booking right here.
Overall Rating: C+. That’s one of the better shows they’ve done in a good while, assuming you can ignore the ridiculous scheduling issues. We’re just now setting up the finals of an eight man tournament that started two months ago. I have no idea when the finals are going to air but I’m not sure why I’m supposed to care at this point. ROH tries to do WAY too much with one hour a week, especially when they have so many throwaway episodes. At least something happened this week, which makes things a bit better.
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Ring of Honor 15th Anniversary Show: You Can’t Rely on This Forever
15th Anniversary Show Date: March 10, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live Casino, Sunrise Manor, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Kevin Kelly, Colt Cabana
This was a recent request and for once I’m actually trying to get some of those knocked off. Ring of Honor has been around for a long time and the fact that they’ve made it this far is really quite impressive. Since it’s a major milestone show, the main event is an ROH legend in Christopher Daniels trying to win the ROH World Title for the first time. Let’s get to it.
The opening video looks at some of the bigger names in the company’s history (the only logical way to go) before switching up to Daniels talking about starting wrestling in 1993 and getting here. Champion Adam Cole says 1993 was important for him too as he learned to color. This is your classic young punk vs. veteran and there’s nothing wrong with that. It worked for Raven vs. Terry Funk and it can work well here. As a final note, Daniels’ best friend Kazarian joined the Bullet Club, which sounds rather swervish.
Jay White vs. Caprice Coleman
Great. We’re starting with a bonus match and a bonus REBELLION match on top of that. This show isn’t looking very promising. Ian: “Collar and elbow tieup to start here.” Colt: “Great call Ian!” They fight over wristlocks and armdrags to start with King getting the better of it and driving some knees into the back.
White gets in a few Tomoaki Honma spots to pop the crowd (Honma was badly injured and out of action at this point). Since it’s just a headbutt, King knocks him to the floor for a flip dive. A chinlock goes nowhere so White gets up and dives on fellow Rebellion member Caprice Coleman.
This proves to be a bad idea (as is almost always the case) as King hits a running dropkick, followed by a bridging capture suplex for two. White comes back with a Downward Spiral but charges into a spinebuster for no cover. Jay gets dropkicked on the top but shoves King away for a high crossbody. That’s rolled through as well with King trying the Royal Flush, only to have White small package him for the pin at 9:52.
Rating: C+. Nice match here with both guys looking good, or at least as the Rebellion is capable of looking. White is one of the many talented people in ROH who can wrestle a solid match but doesn’t really have a character, meaning he has a bit of a firm ceiling to how far he can go. The match was a good opener and the ending was exactly what it should have been.
We recap the dissolution of the Addiction with Kazarian joining the Bullet Club.
The Club welcomes their newest member.
Kazarian vs. Hangman Paige vs. Chris Sabin vs. Punisher Martinez vs. Cheeseburger vs. Silas Young
One fall to a finish, tags required, lucha rules and the winner gets a future TV Title shot. We start with Kazarian and Sabin trading probably a dozen one counts off a rollup. They’re on the floor in a hurry and that means we hit the parade of dives with the 6’7 Martinez hitting a step up dive of his own to really freak the crowd out (I’m not sure if that’s really easy or really hard to do around here).
Kazarian and Page take Martinez down, leaving us with a short lived Bullet Club showdown. Cheeseburger comes in to break it up but gets beaten up by Young, leaving the announcers to make food jokes. Martinez chokes Cheeseburger (Colt: “What a pickle!”) but everyone comes back in, allowing Sabin to hit a springboard tornado DDT on Young. Page loads Cheeseburger up for the Rite of Passage on the apron but Martinez breaks it up for no apparent reasons.
Adam spits at him for reasons of general stupidity, earning himself a chokeslam onto the apron. Back inside, Sabin German superplexes Kazarian but gets caught in Young’s Misery for two. Cheeseburger escapes the same thing and kicks Silas from the apron. The palm strike drops Young but Kazarian grabs the Ace of Spades (twisting Stunner) for the pin on Cheeseburger at 10:19.
Rating: B-. It was fun but this is one of Ring of Honor’s major problem areas: throwing a bunch of people into a match and thinking that’s good enough for a story. Kazarian was the only one in the match that had a real chance of winning (based on the story) so why did four others need to be there? Let Kazarian fight any of them (build someone up so they seem like a real threat to beat him) and tell a better story. Just throwing a bunch of people together feels like the easy way out and while the match was fun, it could have been better.
Jay Lethal and Bobby Fish both say they need to win the match so they can go after the World Title.
Bobby Fish vs. Jay Lethal
The match is billed as a top contenders match which may or may not mean a #1 contenders match. It’s pretty early in the show for something that big so I’ll assume it’s just another one of ROH’s ideas that might mean someone gets a title shot on some house show. They hit the mat to start before Fish starts in with the kicks. One big kick puts Lethal on the floor for a second thought on his strategy.
Back in and Lethal scores with a dropkick to send Fish outside. Another dropkick sends him into the barricade but Jay misses the suicide dive and hits the barricade as well. That means a bad arm but Jay gets in a third dropkick to keep control. Fish kicks him hard in the chest a few times though, shrugs off a European uppercut (why yes, we are watching an indy wrestling match) and hits another kick to the chest to drop Lethal.
Jay comes right back with a superkick (make your own jokes) and this time the suicide dive works. They get back inside for the big serious exchange of forearms with Fish driving him into the corner for an ankle lock. That’s not the brightest idea so Lethal grabs a cutter but Hail to the King is countered into the heel hook. A quick Lethal Combination sets up Hail to the King, only to have Fish grab another heel hook. Jay reverses into a rollup for the break, followed by the Lethal Injection for the pin at 15:12.
Rating: B. The matches are getting better and this one told a good story with the submission grappler against the natural all around performer who comes up biggest on the grand stages. I had a good time with this match, which isn’t the most surprising thing in the world given that I like both guys. Fish is a very solid hand but I think he’s pretty much resigned to the position of making the stars look good. Not the most horrible thing in the world to be sure.
We recap the Six Man Tag Team Title match. The Kingdom have the titles and since Dalton Castle and the Boys are a three man combination, they get a title shot. These belts continue to be one of the worst ideas possible for a company like this but hey, New Japan has them right? Both teams have a quick promo, saying they’ll win for the obvious reasons.
Six Man Tag Team Titles: The Kingdom vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys
The Kingdom is defending and Castle is just crazy over, being accompanied to the ring by an army of Boys. Thankfully Cabana is there to insult Castle and the Boys after their long feud. It’s a brawl to start and I don’t remember hearing a bell. The Boys start fast with double suplexes and the Kingdom bails to the floor for a meeting.
Castle and Marseglia start things off with Dalton wrestling him down and slamming the Boys onto him. Cabana actually knows how to tell the Boys apart and it’s #1 being taken to the floor for a beating. Colt: “THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN!” #1 gets slammed back first onto the apron and Marseglia follows up with some running forearms to the head. Since he’s a good boss, Castle offers a distraction so the Boys can switch.
Colt is losing his mind as he tries to get the referee’s attention but the hot tag brings in Castle anyway. The Bang-a-Rang plants O’Ryan for two so the Boys come in for a double dropkick on Vinny. O’Ryan sends the Boys outside and tries an Asai moonsault…..which hits the barricade, giving him a legitimate broken leg. Taven and Marseglia throw #1 back inside for a double powerbomb (Rockstar Supernova, an awesome name) to retain at 7:54. You can tell they were home REALLY fast and that’s completely understandable.
Rating: D+. This wasn’t any good and would have been boring on a regular TV show, let alone a major pay per view. I can’t imagine it would have been much to see even with the regular ending but you can’t fault them for ending the match soon because of a broken leg. The titles need to go away in a hurry though because they’re just not working.
We recap Marty Scurll vs. Lio Rush for the TV Title. Scurll has been a dominant champion and Rush is his latest challenger, having beaten him in a non-title 2/3 falls match. Assuming Scurll was champion then, why in the world was a 2/3 falls match non-title?
TV Title: Lio Rush vs. Marty Scurll
Rush is challenging and they’re quickly on the mat with a series of headlocks into headscssiors. Things speed up a bit with Rush tripping him to the floor for a hurricanrana off the apron. That’s fine with the arm flapping Scurll who superkicks him from the apron. Back in and Scurll start sin on the arm, including a stomp to the hand. Rush blocks the finger break though and hits a Tajiri handspring into a body block to take over.
Something like Sister Abigail into a DDT instead of a Downward Spiral gets two on the champ but he sends Rush shoulder first into the post. Rush speeds things up again and sends him outside for a double stomp to the back. Back in and Marty kicks at the legs for a change of pace (with the announcers explaining that he’s trying to break Rush down piece by piece and that he can always go back to the arm later).
One heck of a forearm puts Rush outside but he storms back in for a rapid fire exchange of forearms. Rush’s Tajiri handspring is pulled into the chickenwing but Rush makes the ropes. Scurll gets two off a piledriver but Rush comes right back with a running C4 (Rush Hour) for the same. With nothing else working, Rush heads outside and grabs the belt (Colt: “You have to win that first.”).
Not that it matters as he throws it right back outside and kicks Marty in the head for two. With nothing else working, Rush loads up a chair on the floor. A super Rush Hour is broken up though and Scurll takes him down with a Tower of London (hanging cutter out of the corner). The finger is snapped and Marty chickenwings him to retain at 18:38.
Rating: B. Really solid stuff here as Rush continues to grow on me in ways I never would have expected. Scurll is so much fun to watch though I could go for him doing more villainous things than just saying he’s a villain. To be fair though, when the setup for your finisher is breaking a finger, you’re quite evil in the first place. Good match here and probably the best thing all night so far.
We look at Bully Ray helping the Briscoes in Manhattan, which is all you’re getting for a recap.
Briscoe Brothers/Bully Ray vs. War Machine/Davey Boy Smith Jr.
This was supposed to be Smith/Lance Archer vs. the Briscoes but Archer is injured so this is a replacement match. War Machine and Smith don’t get along though so this might not be the most competitive match. It’s a brawl to start (of course) with Bully sending Davey into the corner a few times. The Briscoes come in and get suplexed at the same time in quite the power display.
Smith gets slammed down for What’s Up with Mark hitting an elbow instead of the headbutt. That means it’s time for some tables but War Machine makes a save and takes over on Mark. Kelly tries to explain the backstory with all the New Japan stables and as usual, I need a good sized chart to make sense of all this (please don’t explain it to me). A series of stomping sets up Smith’s camel clutch and a delayed vertical suplex.
Hansen tries one too many right hands and gets caught in a suplex, allowing the hot tag off to Jay. House is cleaned for a few moments until a pop up powerslam plants Jay for two but a clothesline allows the real hot tag to Bully as everything breaks down. Bully actually goes up top for a high crossbody (!) to take out everyone at once. The Jay Driller into the Froggy Bow sets up a three man 3D to finish Rowe at 11:45.
Rating: C+. This was the kind of fun match that you would expect. They beat each other up for a bit and didn’t bother wasting time on anything more than they needed to. Bully is best used as a featured attraction like this as he’s a legend who can just come in, do his signature stuff, and go to the finish. The match was fine and entertaining, which is all it needed to be.
Smith and War Machine fight on the floor which I’d assume will be resolved in another promotion in Japan.
We recap the Tag Team Title match. The Young Bucks were the champions and successfully defended at Manhattan Mayhem. Post match the Broken Hardys appeared and won the titles in an impromptu match. Roppongi Vice was already scheduled to challenge in a street fight so we’ll just make it a three way.
Tag Team Titles: Roppongi Vice vs. Young Bucks vs. Broken Hardys
Matt and Jeff are defending in a street fight. This is just after the TNA lawsuit, meaning the Hardys can only be kind of Broken because TNA is annoying and petty because they seem to think they can just throw the Broken gimmick on anyone and it’ll work (it won’t work because no one else can play the characters like Matt and Jeff). But hey, TNA gets to stand by its principles and if they just happen to look like penny pinching imbeciles, so be it.
Vice is knocked to the floor to start so they bring in some weapons to put the bigger teams down. A springboard dropkick drives a trashcan lid into Jeff’s back. The Bucks can’t hit a Meltzer Driver but the Hardys come back in to beat up Vice instead. Vice breaks up another Bucks vs. Hardys showdown so Nick powerbombs Romero off the apron and onto the ramp. The Bucks and the Hardys start brawling….and let’s hit the replay!
The champs get dropped with superkicks but the Bucks miss the stolen Hardys’ top rope shots. It’s time for the first ladder because I’m not sure the Hardys know how to work a long match without one. Jeff brings in a trashcan but gets superkicked with Matt taking one as well. A third superkick knocks Jeff off the ropes and into a big pile, only to have Nick get shoved off the ladder into a springboard flip dive onto the same pile.
Nick is right back in with a springboard 450 onto a trashcan onto Trent for two. More Bang for Your Buck is broken up and Jeff’s Swanton hits raised knees. With everyone down, Romero grabs a sleeve (as in from a shirt) covered in thumbtacks for a string of clotheslines in the corner. Strong Zero gets two on Nick with Matt making the save. Beretta pours out another bag of tacks but due to wrestling law #1, that means he’s sent face first into them, this time via something like a Steiner Bulldog.
The Five Star Driver (or maybe it’s the Meltzer Driver or whatever their insider name is for it that the fans cheer for because it makes them feel smart) sends Trent into the tacks, setting up another slugout with the Hardys. The champs get the better of it and bring out a table and a second ladder for various hardcore reasons. Matt and Jeff send the Bucks to the floor and a flip dive (not exactly a Swanton through Trent through the table is enough for the pin to retain at 17:14.
Rating: B+. These matches, along with most Bucks matches, are like junk food: there’s no quality to them but they’re a lot of fun to watch. I’d rather watch them just do their stuff with the superkicks and flips than try to have people tell me how great a match it is because they know how to put together better matches than any other team. The match was a fun, violent brawl and that’s all it needed to be. It was designed to pop the crowd and I got into a lot of those big spots, though the ending felt a bit flat. Also, well done on putting this together so quickly with the surprise addition of the Hardys.
The Hardys take the Young Bucks’ Superkick Titles too.
We recap the World Title match. Christopher Daniels won a tournament designed for older competitors to earn his shot. The idea is Daniels has given his all to the business but has never actually won the World Title. He’s put in everything he’s had for twenty four years and absolutely cannot lose.
This includes another outstanding promo from Daniels where he breaks into tears, talking about how he just has to win. Daniels has been on fire with the promos lately and I actually want to see him win after really not being a fan for years on end. The other detail is Daniels’ best friend Kazarian turning on him to join the Bullet Club to side with champion Adam Cole.
ROH World Title: Adam Cole vs. Christopher Daniels
There are no seconds here. Daniels is challenging and we’re ready to go after some Big Match Intros. We actually get a Code of Honor as the announcers talk about Daniels being 0-8-1 in World Title matches. Cole takes him down and makes a face before doing it again and slapping Daniels in the back of the head. The feeling out process/mind games continue as Cole sends him into the ropes for an ADAM COLE BAY BAY!
That earns him a right hand to the jaw so Adam stomps away in the corner. A backdrop sends Cole outside to give Daniels his first major offense nearly five minutes in. That’s quickly wrapped up though as a superkick knocks Daniels’ head into the post to draw some blood. Thankfully Adam is smart enough to stay on the cut and we hit a chinlock, which should squeeze more blood out of his head.
More kicks to the head have Daniels reeling but one too many poses allows Daniels to get in a Koji Clutch for a big hope spot. Daniels can’t follow up though so Cole talks trash about Daniels’ wife, which gives us the expected result. We hit the slugout with Daniels getting in an STO and a Blue Thunder Bomb for two.
The BME misses though and Adam scores with a superkick for two more. A Shining Wizard sets up the Last Shot for a near fall but Daniels hits him in the face again. Angel’s Wings is countered and it’s a double clothesline to put both guys down. Cole’s Canadian Destroyer is countered but he grabs Angel’s Wings on Daniels for two.
As you might expect, Daniels hits a Last Shot of his own for the same, followed by a Styles Clash of all things for a very near fall. Back up and the referee gets superkicked so heeeere’s Kazarian. We nearly get some heel miscommunication but instead Kazarian rips off the Bullet Club shirt to reveal a Daniels shirt. A Rock Bottom into three straight BME’s give us a new champion at 21:47.
Rating: B. I liked this more than I was expecting to with a great story as Daniels survived until he got one shot, just like he had done for his entire career. The Kazarian stuff was really well done (a bit predictable but still good) and Daniels did everything himself (Kazarian never touched Cole). They nailed the big moment and that’s all that mattered here with a good match to make it work even better.
The long celebration with a lot of the locker room coming out ends the show.
Overall Rating: A-. This really was a great show with the worst thing being the Six Man Tag Team Titles and even that was far from bad. They nailed the big ending which is all almost anyone is going to remember from this show and that’s the most important thing. However, it also brings up one of ROH’s major problems.
Aside from the main event and the Tag Team Titles to a lesser degree, almost nothing on here feels like it has a story that has either been thoroughly explained or even exists at all. I watch every episode of ROH TV and I couldn’t begin to tell you where a lot of these matches came from. Yeah Rush beat Scurll in a 2/3 falls match. Not only do I have no idea when/where he did that but I don’t remember it being mentioned on TV unless it was in passing.
This comes back to ROH’s TV being all screwed up. The go-home show for this (dated March 8) featured Kazarian turning, the Kingdom defending against the Rebellion with Dalton Castle on commentary and a Top Prospect Tournament match. Before that it was Addiction having issues, another Top Prospect Tournament match and the setup for Rush vs. Scurll, which involved about six more people. Finally, the last show of February featured Colt Cabana (on commentary here) squashing the Boys (title contenders here), an unrelated match and Daniels becoming #1 contender.
In the three weeks of build to this show, three out of the eight matches (World Title, TV Title, Six Man Tag Team Titles) got any kind of significant mention on TV. Maybe the other five matches were mentioned on the ROH website or something but I really should have a better idea of a pay per view by watching the last three weeks of TV. Run down the card or give us some promos (maybe you could get rid of the horrible Top Prospect Tournament matches or move them to a later date or something) or do SOMETHING to help build these matches up.
The formula worked here but you’re not going to be able to rely on the wrestlers knocking it out of the park every time. So much of this show worked because the main event (which was well built and told a great story) rocked and the ladder match had people who know how to work that match to near perfection. You can’t rely on that every single time and a big solution to that problem is to fix their freaking TV. I mean, they haven’t in years and it’s not going to get better anytime soon but it need to get better. Anyway, really strong show here and one of ROH’s best in a long time.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
Ring of Honor TV – April 5, 2017: Lost in Space and Time
Ring of Honor Date: April 5, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Kevin Kelly
We’re past Supercard of Honor and if we’re lucky we’ll hear about it in a few weeks. The big story at the moment seems to be Adam Cole having issues with the Bullet Club as he’s been on a losing streak as of late. That sounds like fuel for a face turn or a way to get to NXT. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
We open with bonus footage from after last week’s show. Adam Cole asked the Young Bucks to get in the ring because he’s disappointed in them. They left him alone at the Fifteenth Anniversary Show and he lost the title as a result. Then they superkicked him in the face and cost him a match tonight. Cole fires both of them from the Bullet Club but the Bucks say they brought him in. They remind Cole that Kenny Omega leave the Bullet Club and walk out.
Cole is furious about losing the title. He can live with losing the belt in a fair contest but he lost in a 2-1 situation. Not that it matters as he’s won the title three times and he’ll do it again.
Ray Rowe vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Davey hits him in the knee to start and we get a bell while the beating is going on. Ray is in early trouble as Davey wraps the knee around the post, only to get punched in the face for his efforts. The knee is dropped onto a table though and you get a rare shot of hardwood floors in the arena. I don’t remember seeing that very often but it’s a unique look.
A Hartbreaker around the post has Ray screaming as we go to a break. Back with Rowe punching him in the face again but the knee gives out on a suplex attempt. An STF makes the knee even worse until Rowe makes the ropes. Davey switches to a reverse Muta Lock before missing a charge in the corner.
Rowe uses the shotgun knees in the corner despite the injury but he didn’t get a running start and stays down after hitting them. A German suplex drops Davey again but Rowe wrenches his knee again. Davey’s Batista Bomb gets two more, only to have Rowe knee him in the face. A full nelson slam into a knee to the back (Death Rowe) is good for the pin on Davey at 11:04.
Rating: B-. I liked this way more than I was expecting to and I’m really surprised at how much better Davey really was since the last time I saw him. I’m not sure I get having him lose here (assuming this wasn’t a one off appearance) as he dominated the match until losing to a few knee strikes at the end. Good match though.
Marty Scurll says he’ll beat Kenny King.
Kenny says he’ll win.
Top Prospect Tournament Semifinals: Brian Milonas vs. Josh Woods
Sweet goodness END THIS TOURNAMENT ALREADY. This is from Manhattan Mayhem. Milonas is the huge guy and Woods is the submission specialist. Woods goes for the leg but can only drive Milonas into the corner for almost no avail. With that not working, Josh grabs an arm hold around the ropes but of course it has to be broken in a hurry. Milonas gets in a major side slam and we take a break.
Back with Milonas using standard huge man offense, including the fat man elbow. A knee to the head finally staggers the big man and an armbar has Milonas in trouble. That goes nowhere so Milonas sits on him in the corner. Since that’s not the best offense in the world, Woods knees and kicks him down again for two with Brian grabbing the ropes. That weird falling splash gets two on Woods but he comes back with a German suplex for the same. A kneebar finally makes Milonas tap at 9:28.
Rating: D. This just kept going with the same story throughout: Milonas is huge but Woods is a good striker and kept cutting him down. It’s not the worst match I’ve ever seen but sweet goodness it took forever to get to the end. Woods is definitely the right call and while Milonas isn’t horrible, he ran out of things to do in a hurry.
We see stills of Bully Ray debuting to join forces with the Briscoes.
The Briscoes talk about teaming up with their childhood hero to challenge for the Six Man Tag Team Titles.
Kazarian won a #1 contenders match for a shot at the TV Title. Later that night, he helped Christopher Daniels win the World Title for the first time ever.
TV Title: Marty Scurll vs. Kenny King
Scurll is defending and Kazarian is on commentary. After some big match intros, it’s time to hit the mat with no one getting anywhere. They fight over wristlocks instead with Scurll spinning out and posing to take us to a break. Back with King grabbing a headlock on the mat, which goes as far as anything else has so far.
King snaps him throat first across the top but Marty pops back up for a superkick from the apron. Back in and Scurll starts going after the arm with a few twists. A kneedrop onto the arm gets two and it’s off to a double arm choke. King reverses into one of his own before getting in one heck of a near fall for two. We take another break and come back with Scurll getting two off a brainbuster.
A piledriver gets the same as Marty is now working on the neck. That’s very smart to set up the chickenwing. Scurll heads up top but gets stunned by a dropkick. They head outside with King hitting a charge up against the barricade, followed by a Blockbuster for a close two back inside. Not that it matters as Scurll pops the finger and gets the chickenwing to retain at 13:17.
Rating: B-. This should have been better but it felt like we were waiting around for the chickenwing. That’s perfectly fine as Scurll is a really solid choice for the championship right now, though I could go for more character stuff from him. Other than breaking the fingers and his entrance, there isn’t a lot of villany in him. Good match though, with King wrestling a bit better than usual.
Overall Rating: B-. If you can get around the fact that this has NOTHING to do with the pay per view storylines and accept that we won’t pick them up again for a good two or three weeks, you can really enjoy this episode. I really don’t get why Ring of Honor can’t get this right somehow. They tape enough TV to make it work but the scheduling is ridiculous. Does it really take that long to turn around an hour of TV? Just figure out something other than this as I have no idea when this is supposed to take place as we’re a few days past a show where a team is defending titles they haven’t even won yet on TV. Fix this stuff already!
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Ring of Honor TV – March 29, 2017: We’re Almost There
Ring of Honor Date: March 29, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Kevin Kelly
I think we’re up to the pay per view now, only a mere three weeks after it took place. The big story is Christopher Daniels FINALLY winning that elusive World Title, which was the best possible option since Adam Cole is reportedly on his way out. That’s the case with far too many people and it’s a bad sign for the company. Let’s get to it.
Christopher Daniels talks about how he couldn’t lose on this one night and then he wouldn’t let it happen. So we’re FINALLY to the Anniversary Show, just as it’s the go home show for the next pay per view. Got it.
Opening sequence.
Here’s the Addiction to open things up with Daniels looking very happy holding that title. We even have APPLETINIS! Daniels immediately hits the bragging by talking about the brilliant plan, which can overcome a younger, faster and arguably more talented opponent. Kazarian couldn’t be happier for his buddy and just happens to be the new #1 contender to the TV Title. Cue Dalton Castle as we take a break.
Back with Daniels introducing Castle to the appletini, which seems to blow his mind. Dalton would love one of his own but there’s only one glass. No worries of course though as a single snap of the fingers brings out the Boys with a large glass for Castle. A toast allows Dalton to congratulate the new champion, but that brings some changes. This includes a title defense against Castle at Supercard of Honor and Castle wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
Cue the Bullet Club with Adam Cole not wanting to hear about the fairytale ending because he remembers it as the title being stolen. As for Castle, who in the world thinks he’s the best option for the title? Kazarian throws out a challenge for a six man later tonight and the match is made.
Marty Scurll cuts a promo about facing anyone when Kenny King comes up to challenge him for a title match. It seems to be all set.
Tag Team Titles: Briscoe Brothers vs. Hardys
Matt and Jeff are defending in a match with fifteen minutes’ build. Sweet goodness I can’t stand this show’s taping schedule. The champs have a very Broken style entrance without actually doing any of the Broken trademarks. Mark busts out some Redneck Kung Fu to confuse Jeff early on (you don’t hear that too often) but everything breaks down as the Hardys take over.
Chops in the corner give us some OBSOLETE/DELETE chants but Poetry in Motion is easily countered. Jay nails a suicide dive to set up the Cactus Elbow from the apron and it’s off to a break. Back with Jeff getting stomped down and then rear chinlocked for good measure. Jeff fights up and scores with a double Whisper in the Wind though, setting up the hot tag for the loud DELETE chants.
Matt’s bulldog is good for two on Mark and it’s back to Jeff for a chinlock. Back from another break with Mark and Jeff hitting a double clothesline to set up the double tag. Matt bites Jay in the corner to bust him open a bit. The neckbreaker gets two on Matt and the champs take back to back superplexes.
The Froggy Bow is only good for two on Matt though as the fans don’t seem sure who to cheer for. Mark comes in to slug away at Matt and the Doomsday Device gets yet another near fall. Back up and Jay is sent outside for a big crash, leaving Mark to take the Twist of Fate and Swanton…..for two? Dang I bought that as the finish, along with Mark rolling Matt up for two. Jeff makes a blind tag though and Matt backslides Mark down so Jeff can cradle him to retain at 17:44.
Rating: B+. That’s the best ROH match I’ve seen in a very long time and, while I’d love to see it actually get a proper build, there’s only so much you can do with the Hardys’ limited schedule. As a bonus, it’s pretty amazing to see Matt come back to ROH just a few years after he was Big Money Matt as this completely different character. He really is someone capable of re-inventing himself like this and it’s great stuff a lot of the time.
Post match the Young Bucks come out to challenge the Hardys to a ladder match at Supercard of Honor XI. The champs quickly agree.
Adam Page/Young Bucks vs. Addiction/Dalton Castle
This is joined in progress in a huge brawl and Daniels taking a double superkick. Nick adds a huge springboard flip dive to put everyone down, followed by another superkick. Of course that means the heels get to pose but the Boys break up the Rise of the Terminator dive. For your comedy, they even take the Bucks’ place next to Cole, who somehow doesn’t notice. The Bucks save another dive though and beat up the Boys (it’s not that hard) as Cole is STILL kneeling in the ring.
What does that say about the good guys on the floor Somehow they’re unable to be ready for the dives, which were loaded up about a minute before they even launched and Addiction had no chance of avoiding them. That’s a stretch even for wrestling. Back in with Kazarian getting beaten down in the corner before his partners come in, only to be triple suplexed. We take a break and come back with Kazarian blocking a double superkick but taking the slingshot X Factor.
Kazarian grabs a cutter though and it’s off to Daniels so house can be cleaned. Cole sneaks in with a superkick to drop Daniels but since he’s not a Buck, the champ can actually get the better of him. Castle (I forgot he was in this match) comes in for some suplexes but can’t hit the Bang-a-Rang. He can however catch Matt’s springboard in a German suplex. Nick comes back in with a Swanton on Castle but Daniels gets in Angel’s Wings on Matt.
Cole superkick him down though and everyone is out. The Canadian Destroyer nails Kazarian but it’s time for a Superkick Party. The Bucks kick Cole by mistake and Castle no sells a double superkick (that’s a new one and while I can’t stand the Bucks, that’s a bit of a stretch), setting up the Bang a Rang to put Cole away at 13:48.
Rating: B-. This was fun, though also served as the weekly Young Bucks party. At least the new champ was on the winning team, but he could have gotten the pin over Cole. You can see the problems with the Bullet Club coming through which is likely the way to set Cole’s exit from the company.
Castle and Daniels grab the title to end the show.
Overall Rating: A-. I know this isn’t going to last long term but at least we had a great show here. This was ALL about the wrestling with the Daniels promo as a bonus. This also helped set up the two Supercard of Honor main events, which certainly need the help with the show so close. Really good and entertaining show, mainly because they got back to the regular stuff instead of all the filler episodes.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
Ring of Honor TV – March 22, 2017: The Benefits of Good Wrestling
Ring of Honor Date: March 22, 2017 Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentator: Ian Riccaboni
We’re at….I have no idea where we are on the calendar at this point as we’re done with the 15th Anniversary Show but we’re also coming up on Supercard of Honor XI, meaning it’s almost impossible to tell where this show fits in. It’s the nature of the ROH beast though and it’s really never going to get better. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
We see a graphic for the Young Bucks defending the Tag Team Titles against the Hardys at Supercard of Honor. WE’RE NOT EVEN TO MANHATTAN MAYHEM YET??? Good grief GET THIS STUFF RIGHT ALREADY!
Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young vs. Cheeseburger/Will Ferrara
Before the match, Young and Bruiser confirm that they have a partner for the April 1 shot at the Six Man Tag Team Titles. Cheeseburger gets flattened with a powerbomb to start before a suplex and low clothesline drop Ferrara. The wrestling sandwich dives back in though and sends his partner into Silas to get a breather. The villains tease sending Cheeseburger over for a tag before grabbing him in a swinging Boss Man Slam backbreaker. Not bad.
Bruiser misses his Cannonball and the hot tag brings in Will for the real house cleaning. That means heel miscommunication (of course it does) and a jumping Downward Spiral gives Ferrara two on Young. For some reason Will tries to slam the huge Bruiser, allowing Silas to get in a clothesline. Bruiser misses a Cannonball off the apron though, allowing Silas to take the palm strike for two with Bruiser making a diving save. Ferrara’s luck runs out though as Young grabs a cutter, followed by Bruiser’s frog splash for the pin at 5:40.
Rating: C. That’s Bruiser’s best match ever which isn’t that much of a surprise given how worthless he is most of the time. Young continues to look good but I’m really not interested in seeing him wasting time with the Bruiser. Ferrara and Cheeseburger were your normal small team and that’s always going to work if they can get the fans behind them. Nice little match.
Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Josh Woods vs. Chris Lerusso
Brutal Bob Evans and Silas Young join commentary. Woods is an amateur wrestler who takes Chris to the mat to start but can’t get a cross armbreaker. A kneebar doesn’t work as well as Chris gets in a dropkick to take over. Some right hands have Woods in trouble and it’s off to a bodyscissors as the mat/submission work continues. Back up and they slug it out until something like a t-bone suplex gets two on Lerusso. Woods tells him to bring it and gets a low superkick for his efforts. That’s enough for Josh as he kicks Lerusso down and hammers away until the referee stops it at 5:31.
Rating: C+. Match of the tournament here by about 843 miles with Woods looking great and Lerusso being more than acceptable. Woods wrestles an MMA style and it sets him apart from the rest of this mostly horrible tournament. Just let us have something unique instead of the same stuff over and over again. I really don’t know why that’s so much to ask for in this tournament.
Jay Briscoe isn’t worried about Jay White because he’ll finish him quick. This is the same promo from last week.
Quick look at Lio Rush’s issues with the Rebellion.
Lio Rush vs. Kenny King
Chris Sabin and is the new commentary partner. They hit the mat to start with neither being able to hold a headscissors. King misses a bunch of strikes which Rush hits with ease, followed by a jumping enziguri for two. Rush sends him outside for a dive but Kenny breaks up a dive with a kick as we take a break.
Back with Lio slugging away and hitting a Tajiri handspring elbow. Two straight suicide dives keep King in trouble but he rolls through a high crossbody, only to get taken down by a reverse hurricanrana. The frog splash is only good for two (thankfully, as that would have been two of them in three matches). King misses running knees in the corner though and a second frog splash misses. Kenny grabs the Royal Flush for the pin at 8:17.
Rating: C. It’s amazing how much better Rush is now that ACH is gone. They were way too similar to really need both of them around but word on the street is that Rush is gone too. There are always going to be high fliers around though and as much potential as people saw in Rush, I don’t exactly see him as irreplaceable.
Post match Caprice Coleman stares Rush down but Shane Taylor comes out for the save. As you might expect, that lasts all of thirty seconds before Taylor lays him out to join the Rebellion. This stable DOES NOT NEED new members!
Jay White vs. Jay Briscoe
Mark Briscoe is on commentary and this is a rematch from their great time limit draw a few months back. White dropkicks him into the corner to start and then sends Briscoe outside for some elbows up against the barricade. Briscoe is done with this defense thing and grabs a hurricanrana, followed by a suicide dive into the barricade for a big crash.
Back from a break with Briscoe grabbing a snap suplex as we talk about Jay Lethal. Even Mark seems to getting lost with all the Jay’s. Headbutts and forearms have White reeling and his comeback is cut off by a hard DDT. We come back from a second break with White nailing a running forearm. A missile dropkick and spinning Rock Bottom have Briscoe reeling into a Crossface.
White makes it even worse with something like Rings of Saturn, sending Briscoe’s boot over to the ropes for the save. Briscoe comes right back with a neckbreaker for two but the Jay Driller is countered into a suplex to the corner. Mark is doing a good job on commentary here as he started off very confident and is getting nervous on the kickouts. That’s a nice touch. White goes up but gets crotched down and sent through a table.
Back in and Briscoe no sells a half nelson suplex, only to have White no sell back to back big boots. That’s too far for Briscoe who plants him with a Death Valley Driver for a rare one count. They slug it out from their knees (how the first match ended) with Briscoe getting the better of it. Briscoe finally has enough though and BLASTS him with a discus lariat for the pin at 16:48.
Rating: B. White is good and these two matches have done a great job of making you believe that he can hang with someone much higher up the ladder like Briscoe. ROH takes way too long to build up new stars sometimes so this was quite the change of pace, which is certainly a good thing. Awesome match here as these two have some wicked chemistry.
Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t looking like the best show on paper but the main event really pulled it out. Ring of Honor shows tend to take its time to really get the juices flowing at times, which is exactly what happened on this show. It’s an entertaining one though and the main event really helped bring it up. Sometimes that’s what one match can do and the company needed it after some of the boring stuff they’ve been doing.
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Ring of Honor TV – March 15, 2017: Tournament Are NOT Always Awesome
Ring of Honor Date: March 15, 2017 Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentator: Ian Riccabani
The 15th Anniversary Show has come and gone and….it’s not clear when we’ll hear about it on TV. Unfortunately that’s the way this place works and there’s really not a lot that can be done about it. It’s hard to say what we’ll get on this show, aside from the Top Prospect Tournament of course. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Alex Shelley is the first guest commentator.
Young Bucks vs. Coast to Coast
Non-title. So we’re not even up to Manhattan Mayhem on this one? Sweet goodness they take their sweet time around here. Nick and St. Giovanni get things going with a fight over a wristlock, only to have Nick drop down for a SUCK IT. Some rapid fire kicks have Coast to Coast on the floor, setting up the double dives but Ali pulls them to the floor. Of course the fans eat things up because they want to be cheering cool heels despite being smart fans. Leon hits a Downward Spiral on Matt and we take a break.
Back with Nick hitting a springboard SUCK IT crossbody on Leon. Coast to Coast (the double springboard dropkick to the Tree of Woe) gets two on Nick but that means a superkick. Nick starts firing off more kicks, plus a running Sliced Bread #2. Ali gets superkicked in the back of the leg and the springboard 450 is good for the pin at 7:04.
Rating: C-. This was a decent rub for Coast to Coast though as usual, the ROH fans continue to be some of the most irritating in the world. Then again the Bucks are a big part of that problem for reasons I’ve covered far too many times already. This could have been much worse though and Coast to Coast got a rub, which is more than you can expect most of the time.
Post match Leon takes a Twist of Fate and a Swanton Bomb.
We look at Lio Rush teasing joining the Rebellion before costing them a match last week.
Rush says he’s sick of the Rebellion and they don’t know what they’re dealing with. Cue Kenny King to say this is serious and a challenge is set for next week.
Brutal Bob Evans joins Ian and Alex.
Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Curt Stallion vs. Preston Quinn
Stallion looks like Andrew Everett. Quinn has been wrestling for 23 years and has a Jim Cornette knockoff in his corner. Curt has to shake the manager’s hand and gets punched in his head as a result. Some forearms set up a double stomp for two on Quinn but the manager (Andy Vineberg) trips him up.
A sitdown brainbuster (exactly what it sounds like) gets two on Curt, followed by Abyss’ Shock Treatment. Something like White Noise onto the knee (Okada does it) is good for two on Quinn but he grabs a good looking piledriver. Stallion avoids a middle rope elbow though and catches Quinn with a running headbutt for the pin at 7:09.
Rating: D. This tournament needs to end REALLY soon because no one has impressed me even in the slightest and someone is going to get a contract and a title shot out of this mess. The wrestling has been nothing of note and the characters have been even worse. You might want to make sure you have the talent to pull something like this off because it’s been a real problem in recent weeks.
Here’s Cody to ask where Jay Lethal has been. One fan says he’s seen him and Cody calls the fan a liar. Ever since Final Battle, Lethal has disappeared like the coward he really is. That’s not what Cody wants to talk about tonight though because he’d rather talk about Adam Page. Cue Page with his noose around his neck so Cody talks about bullrope matches with a cowbell included. The DUSTY chant starts up and Cody says the rope is going to become a Texas bullrope. The official challenge is laid out for Supercard of Honor.
Jay Briscoe is ready for his rematch with Jay White next week.
Jonathon Gresham vs. Dalton Castle
Gresham’s first name is spelled differently on his video graphic and his name graphic. Jonathon sits on the mat to avoid an Irish whip and grabs a rope to block an O’Connor roll. Some arm work doesn’t do much on Castle so he holds up a fist to say bring it. A nice technical exchange ends with Castle’s chest thrust, followed by a running knee in the corner.
Gresham grabs both arms for a freaky rollup and a springboard hurricanrana to the floor. A running knee from the apron sets up a chest thrust from Gresham and the gimmick infringement doesn’t set well with Castle. Neither does Jonathan diving off the top so Dalton catches him in the Bang-a-Rang for the pin at 4:41.
Rating: C. This was fine and a good way to warm Castle up for his World Title match at Supercard of Honor. Castle is an interesting choice for that spot as I don’t think anyone believes he’s going to win the title but he’ll certainly get a great reaction when he’s out there. Gresham is still a solid hand but he’s not going anywhere.
Marty Scurll is ready for his TV Title defense at Supercard of Honor.
Mark Briscoe joins commentary.
War Machine vs. BJ Whitmer/Punishment Martinez
No DQ. War Machine jumps them from behind during the entrance and the fight starts in a hurry at ringside. Rowe takes Martinez inside for a Superman Punch, followed by another one on Whitmer for good measure. Running charges crush Martinez and Whitmer before BJ and Hanson head back inside. BJ pelts a chair at Hanson’s head to take over and we take a break.
Back with Rowe hitting running clotheslines to both opponents, followed by a hard knee to Martinez’s face for no cover. Instead BJ grabs a great looking release German suplex to send Rowe flying. Rowe and Whitmer trade running forearms until Whitmer’s exploder suplex gets two. Hanson comes back in with a pop up powerslam for two and it’s time for a table. Whitmer has to escape Fallout and all three head to the floor for Martinez’s Taker Dive for a BIG pop. Back in again and Hanson takes a bit too long loading up something on top, allowing Punishment to chokeslam him through the table for the pin at 10:25.
Rating: C+. This worked well enough and Martinez continues to be one of the more entertaining people to watch on the whole roster. Just let him be something like the Undertaker and put on a bunch of flashy performances. I’m sure that’s not the idea though because we can have the boring Top Prospect Tournament matches instead.
Post match Martinez chokeslams Whitmer to break up the team, which doesn’t seem to be anything interesting to the announcers.
Overall Rating: C-. I’ve seen worse shows from ROH and oddly enough almost all of them seem to take place right after a pay per view. These are more or less filler shows and that doesn’t make for the most interesting stuff in the world. At least we had a fun main event and Martinez leaving the worthless BJ. Watchable show here but nothing you need to see.
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Ring of Honor Date: March 8, 2017
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentator: Ian Riccabani
Officially this is the go home show for the Fifteenth Anniversary Show but it’s hard to really imagine how the schedule is going to go based on how ridiculous some of these tapings go. We’re likely going to hear about the pay per view but also the Top Prospect Tournament, which continues to not do much for me. Let’s get to it.
The Briscoe Brothers, Jay Lethal and Bobby Fish are ready for their eight man tag against the Bullet Club.
Opening sequence.
Six Man Tag Team Titles: The Kingdom vs. The Rebellion
Kingdom is defending and Dalton Castle is on commentary. Titus and O’Ryan go after the hair to start as Ian points out how similar these two are, both in style and look. I really wouldn’t bring up how only one of them really needs to be employed dude. Titus seems to tweak his ankle on a leapfrog so it’s off to Vinnie and Caprice, both of whom try kicks to the ribs and then poke each other in the eye.
King and Taven come in instead with Kenny kicking him in the head. Titus comes back in to chop at O’Ryan and clean some house in general. The knee goes out again though and we take a break. Back with Titus being taken to the locker room and Coleman hitting something like an RKO on O’Ryan. King gets the tag but the referee doesn’t see it, nor does he see King hammering on Taven in the corner.
Coleman somehow knocks down all three champs but here’s Lio Rush dressed as a member of the Rebellion to take the tag. Lio cleans house (Castle: “HOW IS THIS ALLOWED?”) with his usual fast paced stuff before he gives King an RKO and watched from the apron. Ian: “Was this a ploy all along???” All along? It lasted like a minute and a half! The Kingdom’s triple powerbomb retains the titles at 8:14.
Rating: D. At what point does Ring of Honor realize that these teams are worthless as well as uninteresting and that having titles for a “division” that has three regular teams (including the champions) is ludicrous. Big waste of time here and time that could have gone to ANYTHING else.
Jay White wants a rematch with Jay Briscoe from their time limit draw a few months back.
Briscoe calls White dog food and accepts.
Dalton Castle and the Boys want a Six Man Tag Team Title shot at the pay per view. Castle starts quoting Pocahontas, asking if you’ve ever asked the grinning bobcat why he grins. Castle: “WELL I HAVE! And I got 36 stitches and a rabies shot!”
Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Raphael King vs. Brian Milonas
Bob Evans has replaced Dalton on commentary. King is a frat boy with a female manager. On the other hand, Brian is a huge guy who weighs nearly 400lbs. King does some shouting and the slugout is on with Brian’s right right hand not seeming to make contact. Trash is talked and King gets in a dropkick, only to be crushed by some splashes.
Brian misses a middle rope legdrop and gets kicked in the face as this isn’t exactly working. Evans asks what else you can do other than kicking and punching Brian, which isn’t the best thing to point out. The manager gets in a slap of her own, setting up a good looking Rock Bottom for two. A side slam sets up a…..well I guess a backwards splash as Milonas was setting up for a regular splash but turned around and just fell backwards for the pin at 3:38.
Rating: D-. No idea who these guys are and it was horrible to see Milonas just being huge and not having much skill beyond that. King was watchable enough but that doesn’t mean it’s worth watching. I really can’t stand this tournament and this is one of the weaker classes of talent I’ve ever seen it have.
Christopher Daniels is your new guest commentator.
Bullet Club vs. Jay Lethal/Briscoe Brothers vs. Bobby Fish
It’s Cody, Adam Cole and the Young Bucks. We’ll start with Lethal and Matt Jackson but Lethal has to knock the Club off the apron before really getting started. A suicide dive takes Cody into the barricade and everything breaks down in a hurry. We wind up with Cody and Lethal in the ring and Cody taking a cartwheel into a dropkick.
It’s off to Mark who gets pulled to the floor and pummeled by Matt as this match is all over the place so far. Cole hits some bicycle kicks on Fish but takes a big jumping knee to the head for his efforts. That means a Briscoes vs. Bucks showdown and of course that means superkicks all around.
The Bucks add some big flip dives to the floor but Mark gets in a running Blockbuster off the apron on Cole. Not to be outdone, Cody superplexes Mark onto the whole pile of people for a major crash. Back from a break with the Bucks working over Mark but stopping to strut because they’re cool heels you see.
Mark isn’t ready to fight out of the corner just yet so Cody suplexes Cole onto him for no count as Fish and Lethal have the referee’s attention. A flipping slam off the ropes takes Cole out though and the hot tag brings in Lethal. Everything breaks down and Lethal hits the four pack of suicide dives. Fish wants to pin Cole though and they get in a fight to take us to a second break.
Back with the Briscoes on their own and Mark punching all four Club members. A quadruple superkick is well scouted though and the Club is quadruple clotheslined to the floor. Jay gets two off a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination but Matt flips out of the Doomsday Device. Superkicks a go-go set up Cross Rhodes to Jay. The Last Shot sets up a Meltzer Driver for the pin at Jay at 12:46.
Rating: B. Well that worked. This was all about flying all over the place and letting everyone look good (especially the Young Bucks of course). Lethal and Fish are fighting at the pay per view so their brawl here makes sense, making the match a little more logical. It’s easily the best thing ROH has done in a few weeks and it was very necessary on this show.
Post match Cole is left alone in the ring so here’s Daniels in the ring with some scissors. A pair of Angel’s Wings drop Cole but here’s Kazarian to help. That leads to Kazarian pulling off his shirt to reveal a Bullet Club shirt, which freaks Daniels out as expected. Kazarian knocks the scissors away from Daniels and takes a lot of yelling. Too Sweet brings the Bucks back out for double superkicks and the Club stands tall to end the show. Note that Kazarian didn’t punch Daniels once, which seems like a potential swerve.
Overall Rating: D+. The main event did this show some wonders but there was just WAY too much damage done by the time we got there. As usual, Ring of Honor doesn’t seem capable of focusing on anything long enough to really build it up, which is why we’re seeing a pay per view build and a tournament at the same time. The main event helped but the talent drops off a cliff at various point in ROH and those first two matches really showed it.
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Ring of Honor TV – March 1, 2017: Back on the Rails
Ring of Honor Date: March 1, 2017
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentator: Ian Riccabani
We’re getting very close to the Fifteenth Anniversary Show and now we have a main event set in stone with Christopher Daniels getting his shot at ROH World Champion Adam Cole. Other than that we have the start of the Top Prospect Tournament, which is always a guaranteed look into the future but that could be either a big hit or a big miss. Let’s get to it.
We open with a quick speech from Daniels about his tournament win.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Daniels to welcome Pittsburgh to Ring of Honor. From the day he stepped foot in this company as a long haired babyface named Christopher Daniels (“Well, I don’t know about fresh faced or long haired but I was there!”). He knew it was his destiny to be the ROH World Champion and he has his chance on March 10 in Las Vegas.
Cue Adam Cole and it’s STORYTIME BABY! Cole says he’ll beat Fish in New York City (causing Fish to crack up on commentary) but Daniels looks like he wants a fight with Bullet Club right now. Adam Page runs through the crowd to jump Daniels but Kazarian runs out for the save. Fish: “Take your time Frankie!” Make your own Teddy Long joke.
Adam Page/Adam Cole vs. Addiction
Kazarian and Page head to the floor as Fish accuses Kazarian of hanging his partner out to dry. Daniels doesn’t seem to mind as he hits a good looking suicide dive to take out the Adams. A hurricanrana over the ropes doesn’t quite work though and Cole superkicks Daniels into a commercial.
Back with Cole taking too much time posing and charging into an elbow. The STO is enough for the tag off to Kazarian and a Backstabber plants Cole. House is quickly cleaned and the champ dives into a cutter for two more. Cole and Daniels slug it out in the ring with Daniels planting him off an STO. Daniels loads up the BME but lands on a raised boot, allowing Cole to grab a rollup for the clean pin at 7:43.
Rating: C+. This was more entertaining than I was expecting and that’s always fun. Addiction was a good heel team but I’m digging them even better as faces. The match wasn’t long enough to mean much and I’m somewhat intrigued about the idea of Daniels losing instead of doing the cliched “pin the champ before the title match” bit. If nothing else, Fish was really entertaining on commentary and makes me think he has a prayer in New York, which I’d never buy otherwise.
Kazarian yells at Daniels post match.
Fish cuts a quick promo about how Cole is playing checkers against a chess master. I know that’s the common line but how would a chess player beat a checkers play? I’ve never gotten how that line is supposed to make sense (yes I get what they’re going for).
Kazarian yells at Daniels again in the back.
Bob Evans replaces Fish on commentary, which is likely going to be a theme tonight.
Top Prospect Tournament First Round: John Skyler vs. Sean Carr
Skyler has made a few NXT appearances and calls himself the Southern Savior. Carr is always being asked why he’s not on TV and now he gets the chance. Feeling out process to start as I’m trying to find a reason to care about either of these guys. Skyler wins a slugout and takes him to the mat for a backsplash. It’s off to a chinlock for a bit as Evans talks about how important the ROH seminars really are.
Carr comes back with a superkick (he’s probably getting a job based on that alone) and a second sends Skyler to the floor. A suicide dive knocks John into the barricade. They head to the apron for a kick to the face that was so far from making contact that they had to cut the camera angle. Skyler spears him on the apron (looked cool) but gets caught in a middle rope Codebreaker for two. Back up and Skyler takes him to the middle rope for a super Regal Roll and the pin at 6:12.
Rating: C. Yeah I still don’t know who either of these guys are (Skyler was never much in NXT) and I have next to no reason to care about any of them. That’s always the problem with this tournament and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better with this edition. The match was fine but nothing exceptional, which makes for a rather uninteresting match when I have no reason to care because there’s no story.
The Kingdom thinks they’ll keep the titles forever and haven’t forgotten about Dalton Castle and the Boys. These titles continue to be the most worthless belts I’ve ever seen, including the Never Six Man Titles.
Tempura Boyz vs. Motor City Machine Guns
And never mind because the Guns have been attacked. No match.
We run down the Manhattan Mayhem card with Bobby Fish and Adam Cole giving some simple promos to set up their match. Cole has gotten much, much better on the mic.
Dalton Castle and the Boys are getting a Six Man Tag Team Title shot. They lost to the champs and the Rebellion but THEY’RE GETTING A TITLE SHOT??? I know I’d normally say they should have built a division before they have champions but New Japan did it first so it must be ok.
TV Title: Donovan Dijak vs. Marty Scurll
Marty is defending after Dijak won a big elimination match a few weeks back. The Code of Honor as Scurll throws a kick instead. Dijak knocks him outside instead and nails a suicide dive followed by a great looking springboard elbow for a near fall. Scurll knees his way out of a suplex attempt and we take a break.
Back with Scurll chopping away on the floor and Dijak getting kicked in the head for his efforts. Marty loads up a running kick so Dijak moonsaults off the apron to escape. That’s just scary athleticism. Scurll doesn’t really care as he kicks Dijak in the head for a near fall. Dijak is tired of getting kicked in the head (can’t say I blame him) as he picks Scurll up for a suplex but just tosses him with ease.
The chokebreaker is broken up as we see Lio Rush (#1 contender) watching on the stage. A sitout spinebuster gets two on the champ and it’s off to another break. Back again with Scurll elbowing his way out of another chokebreaker and kicking Dijak in the head. A piledriver gets two and Dijak is getting all fired up. Feast Your Eyes is only good for two and Scurll breaks the fingers to take over again. The crossface chickenwing and another broken finger (that sound never gets old) make Dijak tap at 13:39.
Rating: B+. This was all about the evil technician vs. the athletic freak but the fact that Dijak had already announced his exit from the promotion didn’t do it any favors. Scurll is getting better and better in this role as he just feels like a villain no matter how you look at him. I could go for more Dijak though as he’s just scary with the athleticism.
Rush comes to the ring and gets kicked in the head but the Rebellion comes out to chase Scurll off. The banged up Machine Guns and Jay White come out for another save and it’s a staredown to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. Good show here which ROH has been needing for a few weeks now. The wrestling was better but more importantly than that it felt like they were actually getting ready for a big show. Fish is a good choice for the Manhattan challenger but the money seems to be in having Daniels make a run at the belt. Finally, I’m still not much of a Riccabani fan but I’d gladly take him as a neutral commentator over someone trying to play a character.
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Ring of Honor TV – February 22, 2017: It Doesn’t Balance Out
Ring of Honor Date: February 22, 2017
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentator: Kevin Kelly
We’re finally ready for the end of the Decade of Excellence Tournament with Jay Briscoe vs. Christopher Daniels in what should be a pretty obvious ending based on the story they’ve been going with. Other than that there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing more Bullet Club because that’s how this place works. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap of course looks at the tournament, as it should.
Opening sequence.
Silas Young vs. Bull James
An early Beer City Bruiser distraction lets Silas get in a few early cheap shots but James puts his feet on Silas’ shoulders and pulls him out to the floor. That was supposed to be an ankle scissors but the lack of ANY grip around Silas’ head made it clear he was flipping himself. Another Bruiser distraction lets Silas hit a flip dive to take James down and we take a break.
Back with Young working on a cravate as the fans tell someone that they’re fat. It’s not a good sign when you can’t tell if they’re yelling at the face in the match or the heel manager. Bull makes his comeback with a Flip Flop and Fly followed by an elbow for two (you’re no Dusty Rhodes kid). James goes up but opts to run (work with me here) at the Bruiser for a tornado DDT off the apron instead. Back in and Misery puts James away at 7:48.
Rating: D-. Matt Borne told Bull James that he would make a million dollars in this business. I think this is proof that Borne wasn’t that bright. This is a rare match where all the good is on one guy and all the bad is on another. James is just big, slow and completely uninteresting. Young was doing what he could be he was limited by dealing with a horrible opponent.
Jay Briscoe was the first man to come through the curtain at a Ring of Honor show and it’s all about the numbers. It’s been fifteen years, ten years, eight time Tag Team Champion, three time World Champion or whatever. All that matters now is one, and that’s Christopher Daniels.
We look back at Bobby Fish’s rise to the main event, including winning Survival of the Fittest and then making Adam Cole tap last week. Those were just steps towards becoming World Champion because that’s the only thing that matters. No one works harder than he does and he promises to win the World Title on March 4. Fish has dominated every title he’s ever set his sight on and this will be no different. He gets in a good catchphrase with “Being Bobby Fish is good enough.”
Colt Cabana vs. The Boys
Yes this feud is still going. Before the match, Cabana laughs off the idea of Dalton Castle (on commentary here) thinking he’s the better man. Cabana: “I’m a legend!” Dalton names them #1 and #2 as the beating begins, despite the lack of an opening bell. Colt easily works them over until a double pose sends him outside. Back from a break (In this match?) with Cabana doing some Bionic Elbows and hiptossing #1 over the top for a big crash. Colt throws #1 into Dalton, hits the Chicago Skyline on #2 and grabs the Billy Goat’s Curse for the tap out at about 6:00. Not enough to rate but it was a long squash.
Daniels lists all of his accomplishments but none of them matter without winning the World Title. It is his destiny to win the title and it will cement him as the best instead of the best that never was.
Video on the history of the Top Prospect Tournament, which starts up next week.
Mark Briscoe and Frankie Kazarian come out for commentary on the main event. That’s a good idea actually.
Decade of Excellence Tournament Finals: Jay Briscoe vs. Christopher Daniels
The winner gets a World Title match at the Fifteenth Anniversary Show. Before the match, Daniels says Briscoe is the last obstacle between him and destiny. Briscoe says this isn’t personal at all. Feeling out process to start and both guys fail at an early finisher. Back from a break with Jay having to fight out of a headlock with the announcers keeping things calm.
Briscoe starts swinging and kicks Daniels in the face to take over as it seems he’s playing the default heel, though it’s not like the fans dislike either guy. Daniels gets in an STO and scores with a Lionsault for two. There’s a Koji Clutch (love that move) for a good bit until Jay makes the rope.
Angel’s Wings have to be broken up and Kazarian is quoting Karate Kid. Back from a second break with Jay hitting a suicide dive but getting caught with a springboard moonsault to put both guys down on the floor. The seconds both head to ringside and it’s a double crossbody to put both guys down inside. Double clotheslines have no effect so it’s time for a slugout. A quick Angel’s Wings gets two on Jay and frustration is setting in.
Jay is slow to get up but grabs the Death Valley Driver for a breather. Daniels misses the BME and gets his head taken off with a clothesline for two more. The drama is getting really strong here and the fans are split, as you might expect. With the Jay Driller not working, Jay takes him to the top but gets crotched for his efforts. A super Angel’s Wings is enough to give Daniels the tournament at 18:03.
Rating: B. Good, clean ending here and that’s all it should have been. This didn’t need to be an angle filled match because Daniels is going to be the mega face going into the title match and you don’t need some stupid cheating to get him there. I’m actually wanting to see Daniels win the title and that’s not something I expected. I’ve never been a big Daniels guy but they’ve nailed the story here and that’s what matters.
They shake hands to end the show.
Overall Rating: D. That main event was good but it’s not enough to make up for the rest of the show being such a disaster. It really is telling to see how horrible the rest of the show is compared to the one good thing they have going at the moment. Ring of Honor is a mess at the moment and I can’t imagine things getting much better anytime soon. We’re coming up on Wrestlemania season, which should be the biggest time of the year for any promotion, but there’s nothing even lukewarm right now around here and that’s a very bad sign.
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