Ring of Honor TV – August 3, 2016: The After Before The Middle That Sets Up The Future
Ring of Honor Date: August 3, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly
We’re two and a half weeks away from Death Before Dishonor and it should be interesting to see how they get around last week’s ruling. Last week ROH matchmaker Nigel McGuinness said Adam Cole will NEVER get a World Title shot against Jay Lethal…..and then the match was announced on ROH’s website last week. They really need to time this stuff better. Let’s get to it.
We open with a long recap of last week’s World Title match with Cole and the Young Bucks injuring Kyle O’Reilly. This seems to be setting up Jay Lethal’s face turn.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Lethal with something to say. What happened to O’Reilly last week just wasn’t right and Jay wants to do something about it. Last week Cole took the shot away from O’Reilly and it’s time to do something about it. Tonight is supposed to be Young Bucks vs. the Briscoe Brothers, so let’s just add Lethal and Cole to make it a six man. Nigel agrees to the match and we have a new main event.
Steve Corino and Kevin Sullivan are in a park with Corino talking about embracing his evil. Sullivan blames Corino for ending the legacy of evil by having a family. I’d still love to hear why Kevin Sullivan is on my TV in 2016.
P-Dogg (former referee Mike Posey) is in the ring with his Getalong Gang to call out Moose.
Moose vs. P-Dogg
The Getalong Gang is thrown away like a group of rappers called the Getalong Gang is going to be, leaving one of them to be powerbombed over the top rope onto the rest. Dogg’s microphone shot to the head doesn’t work and a buckle bomb followed by two spears give Moose the pin at 1:16.
Post match here are Prince Nana and Donovan Dijak with something to say. Nana says he brought Moose to Ring of Honor and it’s been fun to see Moose dominating all these smaller talents. Instead, how about Moose vs. Dijak right now?
Moose vs. Donovan Dijak
Moose jumps him at the bell (which thankfully rings as we come back from a break and not before we go to one) but gets dropkicked out to the floor. Moose swings him into the barricade in one of those very cool power displays, only to charge into a chokeslam onto the apron. Back in and Dijak loads up something on top but Moose pops up with a dropkick to knock him to the floor in a nasty looking crash.
A Sky High gets two for Moose and it’s time for the big slugout. Moose gets the better of it thanks to the fist pumps and kicks Dijak in the face. A discus lariat looks to set up the spear but Dijak sends it into the corner. The chokebreaker gets one on Moose and Dijak is stunned. It’s not bad enough that he can’t give Moose Feast Your Eyes for the pin at 7:25.
Rating: C. I liked this more than I was expecting to as it was just two big guys beating on each other until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. That’s all it needed to be and it’s a good way for Moose to go out as he heads to TNA. Dijak needs to get away from Nana, who is becoming as valuable as Mr. Fuji or Slick at this point.
Post match Nana tells Dijak to kick Stokely in the head, which will likely write Moose and Stokely off TV.
Addiction says they’re awesome.
Colt Cabana gets his World Title rematch next week.
The Cabinet thinks they’re going to build a wall around the Young Bucks which the Bucks will pay for with a t-shirt and 8×10 sale. They don’t like Moose either.
Young Bucks/Adam Cole vs. Jay Lethal/Briscoe Brothers
Matt Taven is on commentary again. For the sake of sanity, I’ll only refer to Jay Lethal as Lethal and Jay Briscoe as Jay. It’s a big staredown and brawl to start with Mark (sporting a big haircut) hitting a Blockbuster off the apron to take Nick down. A double superkick saves Cole from a powerbomb over the top and the Bullet Club stands tall. Things settle down to Jay playing face in peril as the Club takes turns on him.
Matt comes in off the top with a double stomp to the shoulder, which is then sent into the turnbuckle. A quick fall away slam (more like an AA) allows the tag off to Mark, meaning it’s time for Cole to take a beating of his own. The Froggy Bow is broken up with Mark being shoved off the top and through a table for the big spot of the match. Back from a break with Mark being helped to the back to make this a handicap match, at least for the time being.
Lethal gets caught in a chinlock as the announcers talk about Taven’s sexual voice. A backbreaker and neckbreaker combination plants Lethal but he grabs the Lethal Combination on Nick for a breather. The hot tag brings in Jay for superkicks all around but Cole sends him head first into the mat as we take a break. Back with the Lethal Injection being countered with a double superkick. Jay has some better luck with a double clothesline, setting up the Lethal Injection on Cole. Lethal rolls Nick up for the pin at 13:47.
Rating: C. This was a bit too messy for my tastes and as much as I like seeing the Bullet Club lose, it wasn’t the right call to have them lose this match. The last thing you want is to have your heel stable look like they’re not capable of beating the teams the top guys, especially when they have a man advantage.
Post match Jay takes a Jay Driller onto a chair, leaving Lethal all alone. A triple superkick knocks him silly and it’s time for a haircut. They go almost all the way too as you can see most of Lethal’s scalp. Cole holds up the title to end the show.
Overall Rating: C-. I like the idea of them focusing on the World Title picture for extended periods of time for a change as it’s often not that clear what the top story is in this company. That being said, there’s also stuff like the Prince Nana mess and the huge waste of time that is the Kevin Sullivan story. They need to start setting up some more stuff for Death Before Dishonor, though it would be nice if they didn’t spoil their stories on their own website.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s WWE Grab Bag at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IH7O904
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Ring of Honor TV – July 27, 2016: Well, They Didn’t Lie
Ring of Honor Date: July 27, 2016 Location: Cabarrus Arena, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness
We’re still in North Carolina but this time there’s a big time main event as ROH World Champion Jay Lethal defends against Kyle O’Reilly. That means it’s likely an Adam Cole appearance as Cole has vowed to keep Kyle from becoming champion no matter what. In theory this should start the push towards Lethal vs. Cole, which somehow still hasn’t been announced despite what happened at Global Wars way back in May. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
ROH World Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal is defending and this is going to be the whole show. Well most of the show at least as Cole comes out before Lethal to say Kyle won’t even be wrestling in this match. Cue the Young Bucks with a double superkick to O’Reilly, which gets a face pop because ROH fans don’t get the concept of heels. Cole comes down to join them with a chair beatdown, including a Conchairto Pillmanizing (now THAT’S extreme) of the left arm. Bobby Fish finally comes out for the save and we take a break.
Back with a recap of what we just saw, which I thought ROH was above doing.
Kyle is getting his shoulder taped up in the back and tells the doctor that he wants to wrestle.
Due to the injury, it’s time for standby matches.
Tough Guy Inc. vs. War Machine
That would be Brutal Bob Evans and Tough Tim Hughes. Fallout ends Evans in 42 seconds.
Post match Shane Taylor and Keith Lee come out for the brawl but this time War Machine gets the better of it.
The Briscoes are ready for the Young Bucks next week. I can’t imagine that ends clean.
Cheeseburger vs. Will Ferrara
And never mind again as the Cabinet comes out to interrupt after about thirty seconds.
In case you haven’t heard about their one segment, the Cabinet is the Donald Trump inspired political group comprised of Caprice Coleman, Rhett Titus and Kenny King. Coleman, the Minister of Information, says this match is canceled because neither of the people in the ring meet the criteria to be a wrestler. King (the Commissioner of Championships) and Titus (the Secretary of Shoulders) rip on Cheeseburger and Ferrara and tell them to go buy a ticket or face the consequences. Ferrara says they don’t have a bear or an ox but they have something better: a TNA wrestler also named after an animal.
The Cabinet vs. Will Ferrara/Cheeseburger/Moose
We’re joined after a break (and a Young Bucks promo inviting the Briscoes to a superkick party) and we might break five minutes this time around. It’s a big brawl but Nigel McGuinness has to run to the back for some reason. Moose is left alone in the ring but elbows his way out of trouble before running the ropes for a spinning cross body.
Things settle down to Cheeseburger and Ferrara running into King in the corner, only to have Coleman come in and knee Ferrara in the face to take over. Titus slaps on a chinlock for a bit before the hot tag brings in Moose to clean house. A Rocket Launcher only has Cheeseburger hitting raised knees which of course does no damage to the knees. King corkscrew dives onto Moose and it’s Cheeseburger getting beaten down three on one, including a high angle Edgecution to give Titus the pin at 5:42.
Rating: D. I hated this Cabinet gimmick from the second it started as it’s not going to be entertaining while it lasts but thankfully it’s pretty much only going to last until the elections in November. These current events storylines and angles rarely work and having something inspired by the Trump campaign probably isn’t the best idea in the first place.
Kyle has demanded to wrestle tonight despite his shoulder.
ROH World Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal is defending but before the match he respectfully offers Kyle an out due to his injury. Kyle wants to fight like men though and we’re ready to go. Kyle is very tentative to start and throws a few kicks, only to get taken down by a headlock. A shoulder block makes Kyle scream but he comes back with a kick to the spine. Another kick jars the arm though and Lethal kicks him in the shoulder to send Kyle outside.
Back from a break with Kyle fighting back as the announcers talk about Lethal’s change of attitude since Truth Martini has been gone. The Lethal Combination gets two and we hit a modified Crossface. Jay hits a pair of suicide dives but looks very mad at having to do them due to the injury. Kyle comes back with a dive of his own and a missile dropkick but he can’t get up.
It’s Jay up first with a top rope elbow but Kyle reverses into a cross armbreaker, only to have Jay stomp at the shoulder for the break. That means another break and we come back with Kyle fighting out of another Crossface. Jay plants him with a series of shoulder breakers but he asks for a stoppage instead of the Lethal Injection. Kyle says no way and they slug it out until Jay kicks the shoulder, setting up the Lethal Injection for the pin at 15:04.
Rating: B. I liked this a lot more than I expected to as I’m really not a huge Kyle fan. The concern over the shoulder injury is going to go a long way in Lethal’s face turn, though I can’t imagine Cole isn’t champion in the next few weeks, likely at Death Before Dishonor. Good main event here though and that was the point, along with giving Kyle a nice rub along the way.
Lethal is disgusted and says that wasn’t right. Jay leaves and here’s the Bullet Club again with Cole hitting a backbreaker onto the knee. Security is held off, allowing the Bucks to hit an Indytaker onto a chair. Fish and Lethal come out just too late for the save. McGuinness grabs the mic and says Cole is NEVER getting another shot at the World Title.
Overall Rating: C+. The show long story was a good idea and a clever enough way to get around having the match go throughout the entire show. The Cabinet stuff really doesn’t work and unfortunately it got a big chunk of the action here. It’s definitely the best show since the New Japan guys left and that’s a positive sign.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s WWE Grab Bag at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IH7O904
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Ring of Honor Global Wars 2016: Japanese Cannon Fodder
Global Wars 2016 Date: May 8, 2016
Location: Frontier Fieldhouse, Chicago Ridge, Illinois
Attendance: 2,000
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling 3
This is a few months old and unfortunately someone requested it recently so I have to actually look at the thing. Basically it’s a bunch of New Japan vs. Ring of Honor matches and a few ROH only matches to pad out the card. I’m really not a fan of this concept, especially after weeks of watching the same thing on ROH TV. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
The opening video talks about the history and business relationship between the two promotions and looks at some of the great matches. Tonight is also about the return of Colt Cabana, who wants Jay Lethal’s ROH World Title. Thankfully the title part gets much more time than the interpromotional matches.
We run down the card in case you bought the show on a whim.
ACH vs. Dalton Castle vs. Roderick Strong vs. Adam Page
Winner gets a TV Title shot at some point in the future. Castle has the Boys with him and is the big crowd favorite. This is one fall to a finish but there are only two people in the ring at once. ACH and Page get things going with Adam scoring off a spinwheel kick. Back up and ACH starts his flips but Strong tags himself in to take a dropkick from Page. That means it’s off to Castle with Dalton doing his lean back to the mat to freak Adam out a bit. Strong tags himself in to beat on Castle as the announcers are worried about a referee mistake.
Page works over Castle with Strong saving a pin, much to Adam’s annoyance. It’s back to Strong to keep Castle down as this has turned into a glorified tag match. Castle gets in a suplex on Page but ACH springboards in for a swinging Downward Spiral. The heels are on the floor so Strong can get crushed by a suicide dive from Castle. Everyone but ACH is down on the floor and that means a big flip dive to really pop the crowd. Wrestling 3: “Cheese and crackers he’s good!” Back in and Strong blocks ACH’s top rope splash, only to have Castle Bang A Rang Strong onto Page for the pin at 8:28.
Rating: C. Good choice for an opener here with everyone flying around and the fun character winning to set up the biggest match of his career pretty soon. This is the kind of thing you want to open the show and if there’s one thing ROH knows how to do it’s get a crowd going, especially one like this who is already white hot no matter what.
Strong is livid about the loss.
Cheeseburger/Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Addiction
Daniels won’t shake Cheeseburger’s hand to start so he has to duck an early palm strike. It’s already off to Liger to face Kazarian but everything breaks down with Kazarian taking a bad looking double dropkick. Now it’s time for Kazarian and Cheeseburger to slap it out which really should go to Cheeseburger since he does a big palm strike (yes a palm strike). Kazarian takes over and the double teaming begins with a gutwrench suplex planting Cheeseburger.
Daniels suplexes his partner into a moonsault onto Cheeseburger, setting up an arrogant cover for two. We hit the chinlock for a bit before a hurricanrana allows the tag off to Liger (Wrestling 3: “Hot suey tag!”). The Liger Bomb gets two on Daniels but Kazarian breaks up the brainbuster. Celebrity Rehab (belly to back flip into a gutbuster) gets two with Cheeseburger making the save this time. A pair of STO’s put Cheeseburger down but he rolls Daniels up for the big upset at 7:02.
Rating: C-. Cheeseburger has been around for years now and while I get the appeal, he’s really not someone I have any interest in seeing. Yes he’s small and yes his big move is a running slap but that’s not enough to make me want to see him. The Liger partnership only helps a little bit as Cheeseburger just isn’t interesting no matter how you package him.
Post match the Addiction knocks Liger to the floor and hits the Best Meltzer Ever (moonsault into a spike Tombstone) on Cheeseburger.
We recap War Machine vs. the Briscoe Brothers. War Machine have the belts but can’t be considered the best until they beat the greatest team in ROH history. They’ve never beaten the Briscoes before so tonight is also about vindication. Now that’s a simple story that I can get behind.
Tag Team Titles: War Machine vs. Briscoe Brothers
War Machine is defending and this should be a really physical fight though they respect each other. Hanson easily throws Mark out to the floor and the champs start double teaming as I’m assuming they’re the moderate heels here. Jay pulls Rowe outside and now it’s time for the brothers to suplex Hanson. Mark grabs a Russian legsweep and get two off a clothesline. A backdrop sends Mark crashing out to the floor and it’s time for the big man dive to take everyone out.
Hanson does….something that sends him through the table but the camera misses it completely. Thankfully we get a quick replay showing that it was Jay double stomping him through the table, which is something you don’t see often enough. The replay that is, not the double stomp. Back in and it’s Jay slugging it out with Rowe, whose Rock Bottom suplex has no effect. Everything breaks down again and Hanson’s big clothesline flips Mark inside out to put all four on the mat.
We get the double standoff (cool visual) and it’s Jay winning the slugout against Rowe, followed by a Cactus Clothesline to put them both on the floor. Mark keeps things moving with an apron Blockbuster to Hanson as the fans are behind the Briscoes. Rowe blocks a Jay Driller and Superman Forearms Mark out of the air. Back up and it’s Hanson getting double teamed, only to have Jay get caught in the Path of Resistance. Hanson misses the moonsault though and there’s the Jay Driller for two. A pop up German suplex drops Mark and it’s Fallout to retain the titles at 15:15.
Rating: B. The lack of tagging aside, I had a lot of fun with this one as they beat each other up for fifteen minutes and told a story with War Machine going as far as they could to finally beat the Briscoes. Jay and Mark are the kind of team you can throw in there and have them put over anyone because of all the things they’ve accomplished over the years and that’s a very valuable asset.
Tetsuya Naito vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Naito’s IWGP World Title isn’t on the line here but he does come to the ring walking a white suit. Feeling out process to start with Naito threatening a right hand but pulling back and tapping Kyle on the chest instead. Kyle’s leg lock doesn’t get him anywhere and a cross armbreaker across the ropes has the same result.
The crowd cheers for Naito as he dropkicks Kyle because the Japanese guys are the stars here and everyone knows it. A dropkick in the corner sets up a slingshot dropkick have Kyle in trouble but he comes back with the forearms and kicks. That means it’s time for the guillotine choke into an arm trap/leglock at the same time.
Naito climbs the ropes for a tornado DDT followed by a neckbreaker off the ropes for two. They kick each other in the head until Kyle hits a rebound lariat to put both of them down again. A Regalplex gets two on Naito and a knee to the head makes it even worse. Not that it matters as he does a weird backflip into a reverse DDT (Destino) for the pin at 12:03.
Rating: B-. Kyle has grown on me as he’s gone from one of the most overrated people I’ve seen in years to downright tolerable. Naito winning was obvious because New Japan won’t let one of their top stars lose here because that might imply that ROH is on their level. The match was good though again: I need a story, not just having two people have matches.
Naito lays him out and throws the belt down post match.
We recap Kazuchika Okada/Moose vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi/Michael Elgin. Moose impressed Okada in their singles match and now they’re teaming. End of story and all animosity.
Hiroshi Tanahashi/Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada/Moose
Okada and Moose have Gedo and Stokely Hathaway in their corner. Tanahashi and Okada start things off and the fans are in awe, despite knowing that this was a distinct possibility. That goes nowhere so it’s off to Okada vs. Moose and the fans aren’t pleased. Elgin does the delayed vertical suplex but Moose no sells it. You know, because it’s just a suplex.
Tanahashi comes in and mocks the Moose chant, only to have Moose and Okada dropkick their opponents to the floor. Moose isn’t done as he hits a big dive to the floor to take them out and get the fans’ respect for a bit. It’s Tanahashi playing the face in peril (good role for him) until Moose misses a charge, allowing the hot tag off to Elgin for the powerful house cleaning. Elgin only stays in for a bit before we get to the real showdown with Okada vs. Tanahashi with Okada getting the worst of it.
Tanahashi escapes a Tombstone attempt but neither can hit a Rainmaker. Instead Okada hits a Sling Blade but Elgin comes back in to powerslam Tanahashi off the top. Elgin puts Tanahashi on his shoulders for a kind of reverse Alabama Slam for two on Okada with Moose making the save. Tanahashi and Moose head outside with Elgin hitting a hard clothesline to the back of Okada’s head. Moose comes back in with a spear to Elgin, followed by the Rainmaker for the pin on Elgin at 13:46.
Rating: B-. This wasn’t bad though I could have done with Moose pinning Elgin and actually getting a big rub off this instead of just getting to stand next to the big star. At least Moose was actually involved in the ending as until then it was just about all of the New Japan guys doing their thing while Moose was along for the ride.
We recap Tomohiro Ishii vs. Bobby Fish which really shouldn’t have anything to do with Ishii but screw off with the whole storytelling thing when we can just go “New Japan vs. ROH, next.” Fish had been feuding with Strong over the title as Fish made him tap but the referee didn’t see it, allowing Strong to retain the title. Then Ishii won the title and took it over to Japan, leaving Fish to beat Strong again and earn this shot in what should have been the title change.
I’ve already done this one twice for ROH TV so I’m just copying it instead of doing it all over again.
TV Title: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Bobby Fish
Ishii is defending. Fish actually runs the much bigger Ishii over to start but Ishii does the same to send Fish outside for a bit of his time. Back in and Fish fires off some kicks to put Ishii in trouble, which isn’t something you see happen to him that often. Ishii wins another slugout though and a headbutt puts Fish down with ease.
Fish makes the mistake of headbutting Ishii and the referee has to check on him as a result. The champ gets knocked off the top but Fish misses a flying headbutt, only to start back in with kicks to the knee. Fish hits an exploder suplex for two but getting headbutted for his efforts. Ishii gets his own near fall with a delayed vertical superplex, followed by a Saito Suplex.
Fish looks mostly dead so Ishii powerbombs him for two more but Bobby grabs a sleeper. I could go for a small vs. big match without the smaller guy jumping on his back with a sleeper. It’s just so overdone. Ishii, seemingly annoyed with how lame Fish’s strategy was, German suplexes him down.
They head to the apron with Fish back on his feet and slugging it out. As expected, Ishii easily knocks him down but Fish kicks the leg out to put both guys down on the floor. Back in and a hard lariat gets two for the champ but Fish goes back to the sleeper. He fires off some elbows to the head and survives a flip attempt to actually knock Ishii out at 15:30.
Rating: B. The match was a good, hard hitting brawl but Ishii is the definition of a guy that had no business winning the title or being involved in this story whatsoever. Strong vs. Fish had been a well built up story but instead of getting the payoff we had been set up for, Ishii got the belt despite having no connection to either of them. That’s becoming too common of a tradition and it’s getting old in a hurry. This match was good but Fish vs. Strong would have been as well and had a strong story to go with it. Which sounds better?
Kushida/Matt Sydal/Motor City Machine Guns vs. Bullet Club
For the sake of simplicity, I’ll only refer to Matt Sydal as Sydal and Matt Jackson as Matt. Young Bucks and the Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga/Tama Loa) here. Kushida and Sydal are IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, the Guerillas are the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions and the Bucks are two thirds of the Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions with Kenny Omega. Mr. Wrestling 3 has a Bullet Club Superkick Counter as we get so far into the meta humor that my head wants to explode.
Sydal rides Matt to start so it’s a Too Sweet poke to the eye and a lot of crotch chopping. The good guys (as in not the Club) clean house and it’s a double dive to take the Bucks out. Back in and we get some sweet (not too sweet) triple teaming to on Matt as this is one sided so far. The Bucks start kicking everyone (not superkicking, much to Wrestling 3’s chagrin) but their dives are broken up by Guns’ superkicks. Wrestling 3: “THOSE ARE THRUST KICKS!”
The Guerillas no sell kicks to the face and clothesline the Guns down and it’s time for some Buck diving. Back in and Shelley blocks a superkick but gets kicked in the head anyway. Loa comes in and is one of the biggest balls of energy I’ve seen in a long time with headbutts and splashes to keep Shelley in trouble. Tonga comes in for a splash of his own before it’s off to Matt for a chinlock.
Shelley takes out both Bucks and makes the hot tag off to Kushida as things speed up again. Everyone else clears out and it’s Tonga not being able to powerslam Sydal, who escapes with a kick to the head. Some, ahem, thrust kicks drop the Guerillas before Matt gets quadruple teamed in the corner. A powerbomb/top rope double knees to the face gets two as the Bucks run in for the save.
Skull and Bones (top rope splash/neckbreaker combo) gets two more before Nick comes in and does SUCK IT over and over because popping the crowd is far more important than having a good or logical match. Sliced Bread #2 is broken up and a quick Meltzer Driver puts Shelley away at 13:04. Wrestling 3: “I JUST WASTED SIX GRAND!!!”
Rating: C. The match was certainly watchable but this meta comedy and running jokes throughout the match really bring things down. As I’ve said roughly 18,000 times, the Bucks are supposed to be heels but spend the whole match doing things faces would do. It makes the match feel completely uneven and it’s really annoying when you’re trying to keep the match straight. I know their response is they’re “evolving” the business but as is always the case, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
Wrestling 3 is distraught and it gets even worse when BJ Whitmer comes out in a Masked Superstar mask. Whitmer has a flash drive with something Wrestling 3 will want to see.
Long recap of the World Title match with Colt Cabana returning to win the one title he’s never been able to capture. He’s an indy legend but wants one more chance at the big prize. Cabana pinned Lethal in a quick non-title match to earn a shot.
Nigel McGuinness joins commentary.
ROH World Title: Colt Cabana vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal is defending and only has Taeler Hendrix with him. Cabana, the hometown boy, knocks him into the corner to start and the chops start early and Jay hides for a bit. A hiptoss sets up a basement dropkick to knock Cabana out to the apron and they’re still at a fairly hot pace to start. Jay misses another dropkick but a Hendrix distraction fails as well. Eh she’s there because of how she looks, not because of how she does things.
Hendrix redeems herself a bit by grabbing Colt, allowing Jay to hit three straight suicide dives. Unfortunately that means an ejection with Nigel having to drag her to the back by the wrist. Back in and we hit the chinlock before the Lethal Injection is countered into a rollup for two. A quick Lethal Combination sets up the top rope elbow for two on Cabana but he dives into a rollup for the same. They fight over a Tombstone with Jay connecting for two, meaning he’ll likely get a letter from the Bullet Club for copyright infringement.
Colt comes right back with the Billy Goat’s Curse (reverse Boston Crab), only to have Hendrix run out and pull the referee to the floor. Speaking of the Bucks, here they are to superkick the referee and Hendrix. The Bucks pull out two Bullet Club shirts (Wrestling 3: “I’M GETTING THE SHIRT!!!”) and toss them to Lethal and Cabana (Wrestling 3: “BUT I WORKED SO HARD!”). There go the lights and it’s Adam Cole in the ring in the shirt. Cabana and Lethal take superkicks and we’ll call it a DQ at about 16:00.
Rating: C+. This was fine until the ending with the Bullet Club taking over the ending and making it all about them instead of having anything to do with the match. Unfortunately this is probably it for Cabana, who was really in this spot for the sake of having a face for the Bucks to superkick. In other words: it’s the same thing that happened far too often on this show but that’s how Ring of Honor works these days.
Security eats superkicks and the counter goes back up but they only count double kicks as one. I DEMAND A REFUND! The Guerillas come out and the beating continues with Loa spray painting BC on a table and a security guard being powerbombed through it. More spray paint continues with the announcers getting kicks of their own.
The Bucks jump on commentary to do a Jim Ross impression because that’s cutting edge. Cole ties Lethal to the ropes and superkicks him a few times with the counter still going. Cue the Bucks’ dad (just go with it) who gets superkicked as well. The cameraman is kicked down and the Club all stare into the camera to end the show.
Overall Rating: C. This is a show where the wrestling really isn’t important. This show was all about the Japanese stars looking WAY more important than the ROH stars, making this far less a competitive show and much more about making New Japan look completely superior to Ring of Honor.
There were eight total matches on this show with Ring of Honor wrestlers winning in five of them. Of those five wins, there were two tag matches with a New Japan partner and two matches with no New Japan stars involved. Counting the no contest, New Japan went 4-1 along with destroying the World Champion and the #1 contender to close the show.
This was basically a New Japan show featuring the Ring of Honor players. I get the concept there, but that’s been all we’ve seen on Ring of Honor TV for weeks leading up to this pay per view. Yes I said pay per view, as this show carried a $45 price tag. I’m sure all the fans who paid to see Ring of Honor vs. New Japan, which is how this show was billed (in the one week of TV dedicated to it), and got the Bullet Club dominating everything in the end.
If that’s what you want to see on your Ring of Honor shows then so be it but I really do not care about seeing the Young Bucks, Okada, Tanahashi or any of the other names come in and beat the tar out of the Ring of Honor stars. The wrestling was actually quite good but the booking was a disaster, especially since the ending was just a big TUNE IN NEXT WEEK…..when you get a Jay Lethal special! Followed by a Bullet Club special!
Ring of Honor REALLY needs to switch some stuff up because this booking isn’t doing anyone but New Japan and the Bullet Club any favors. If that’s what Ring of Honor is going for then keep going with it but it’s really not working for me. I watch ROH because I like their roster but the last few months have told me that they exist for the sake of putting over New Japan and this NWO tribute stable for reasons that I really do not understand. I’m sure it’s some kind of knock on WWE for introducing the Club because that’s unfair or whatever their latest reasoning is. Either way, it’s a good but very, very frustrating show.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s WWE Grab Bag at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IH7O904
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Ring of Honor TV – July 20, 2016: …..THE TASKMASTER???
Ring of Honor Date: July 20, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness
We’re less than a month away from Death Before Dishonor and it should be interesting to see how much ROH can cram into the card in the next few weeks. I mean, there’s always the possibility of bringing the New Japan guys in again as they haven’t been around in a full week at this point. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Kamaitachi vs. Jay White
This is fallout from Best In The World where Kamaitachi attacked White (a New Zealander), who was in the crowd. Naturally the commentators just show us this happening without actually saying anything. White’s name isn’t even mentioned in the clip they show. Kamaitachi is part of the Addiction (the New Japan contingent) and has Christopher Daniels in his corner. White is a good looking kid and New Japan Dojo graduate making his ROH debut.
Kamaitachi jumps him to start and a running shoulder to the ribs puts White on the floor. I’m not a big fan of the guy but Daniels is rather awesome as the overly proud manager. That’s something you can almost count on from a veteran and it adds a lot. They trade whips into the barricade and Daniels adds a clothesline to really cheat. Back from a break with Kamaitachi working on the leg with a modified figure four.
White escapes and hits a brainbuster but can’t nip up. That’s better selling than you get most of the time. A missile dropkick gets two for Jay but Kamaitachi hits a release Falcon’s Arrow. Double knees from the top rope get two on Jay and a swinging Rock Bottom gets the same on Kamaitachi. Daniels’ interference doesn’t quite work as Jay sends Kamaitachi into him, setting up something like a lifting Cradle Shock (Chris Sabin’s old finisher, called the Kiwi Crusher here) for the pin at 10:25.
Rating: C. Who are these people and why should I care? That’s what comes to my head far too often when I see New Japan wrestlers on this show: I have really no reason to care about these people and the wrestling is nowhere near good enough to overcome that lack of an emotional connection. I know a lot of fans only care about the in ring action but I need more than that and it lacks almost every time with this revolving door of imports. The match was fine but without a reason to care, it was just two people doing moves to each other.
The Addiction beats White down until the Motor City Machine Guns make the save. Now why couldn’t they have made this a proxy match for the teams’ feud? Sabin wants to make it a six man tag right now and McGuinness says ring the bell.
Addiction/Kamaitachi vs. Motor City Machine Guns/Jay White
Following WWE’s bad example, the bell rings and we take a break five seconds later with no one even in the ring yet. Back with Sabin getting double teamed followed by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker from Daniels. Kamaitachi hits a running basement dropkick before it’s off to Kazarian for a front facelock. Everything breaks down for a little bit and the hot tag brings in White for some running clotheslines. A powerslam gets two on Daniels and the Guns start in with some of their signature stuff, including the bridging neck crank into the running dropkick. With everyone else on the floor, White hits a sitout powerslam to pin Daniels at 9:10.
Rating: C+. I’m still not a fan of the Guns in ROH but this was an improvement for the simple fact that I know who these people are and who they’re having issues. White looked fine and was probably the best part of the matchbut I need a little more of a reason to care about the two newcomers. Having four others in there helped but White and Kamaitachi need some work.
The Bullet Club is tired of everyone running from Adam Cole, who promises that Kyle O’Reilly will never be ROH World Champion. If I were them, I’d be tired of that whole ending at Global Wars still not going anywhere. Was there a point to that or was it really just a random beatdown that might lead somewhere in a few months?
Shane Taylor/Keith Lee vs. Victor Andrews/James Anthony
Taylor and Lee are two monsters in suits who attacked War Machine at a recent show in Columbus. Anthony is sent outside early on and it’s time for the loud chops. A pop up sitout powerbomb sets up a middle rope splash (Senmetsu, Japanese for annihilation) crushes Andrews at 2:00.
War Machine comes out for the brawl with Lee, who probably goes about 350lbs, hitting a huge flip dive over the top to take everyone out.
Quick preview for Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the World Title next week. Both of them want to prove that they’re the best in the world. This was a simple exchange but it’s far more than we get most of the time.
Here’s BJ Whitmer to brag about beating Steve Corino at Best in the World. He’s accompanied by KEVIN SULLIVAN, in a purple wizard robe, who cost Corino the match. Whitmer says tonight is about Steve Corino’s questions. This started back in 2013 when Whitmer was sitting at home with a broken neck.
Sullivan approached him to carry on the legacy of evil that was started by King Curtis Iaukea and was supposed to be handed on to Corino and Whitmer. That wasn’t good enough though because Corino wanted it all for himself. Chaos is going to reign over ROH and all that matters is who will be causing that chaos to come. This chapter is over but the book has yet to be finished.
Does ANYONE want to see this ridiculous feud continue? Apparently this has been going on for three years now and they brought in KEVIN SULLIVAN to keep it going? That’s really the best they can do? Bring in someone who hasn’t been a regular wrestler in over twelve years (assuming you count a run in FIP as being a regular wrestler) because they’re evil? This really is the best thing they can come up with? As usual, ROH seems to have no idea how to just end something so they just keep it going, likely until Final Battle. The fans called this boring, which really isn’t something you hear around here.
Dalton Castle vs. Roderick Strong
There’s no real hiding the fact that this is Strong’s farewell match. Strong is taken into the corner to start and Castle tells him to bring it. Castle puts him on the mat and slams him for good measure. Now it’s Strong taking him to the mat as this is still in first gear. We take a break and come back with Castle being kneed off the apron, meaning it’s time for some fanning. Strong lays out the Boys and you just don’t do that to Castle.
Dalton’s fire is quickly extinguished with an Angle Slam into the post and both guys are down on the floor. Back in and some suplexes have Strong in trouble but he comes right back with a belly to back faceplant. Castle throws him down with a backdrop and some suicide dives send Strong into the barricade. The bridging German suplex gets two for Castle followed by more suplexes for the same. Dalton charges into a jumping knee to the face followed by a superplex and the Sick Kick for two. Back up and Strong charges into the Bang A Rang for the pin at 13:44.
Rating: C. This was fine but again it was just two people doing moves to each other. Castle lost a lot of steam with that loss to Fish though I get why they didn’t want to take the title off Bobby so soon. Strong didn’t get a sendoff or anything but maybe they just want him to quietly slip away instead of drawing the attention away from Castle and his win.
Overall Rating: C-. Slightly better show than last week as they’re still pretty much starting over from scratch since almost nothing was developed for weeks and months at a time. Having Cole mention Lethal and a World Title match announced for next week should help, especially with a pay per view in less than a month.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s WWE Grab Bag at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IH7O904
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Ring of Honor Date: July 13, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness
It’s about time. We’re finally back to some fresh episode with only the Ring of Honor crew as it’s time to deal with some fallout from Best in the World. It’s not clear what the next pay per view will be (or when it will be for that matter) but odds are we’ll be seeing Adam Cole as the next challenger to Jay Lethal’s ROH World Title. Let’s get to it.
We open with stills from Lethal vs. Briscoe II where Lethal retained the title clean.
Jason Kincaid vs. Donovan Dijak
Kincaid put in a strong performance in the Top Prospect Tournament. Dijak has Prince Nana because that new Embassy thing is STILL going on. Donovan powers him into the corner off a lockup and actually rams him into the corner while still in the lockup. I’ve never actually seen that. Dijak knocks him outside but can’t get a suplex on the floor. Instead Kincaid slips out and lands on the bottom rope, only to springboard backwards into a facebuster. That looked sweet and takes us to a break.
Back with Kincaid minus his shirt and getting thrown out of a suplex for a big crash. Another faceplant lets Kincaid come back again, setting up a seated Blockbuster to put Donovan on the floor. That means a suicide dive into a sunset bomb, followed by a springboard tornado DDT for two on Dijak back inside. That was a very flashy looking sequence and Kincaid gets even better by standing on the post for a super Diamond Dust (flipping Stunner). An armbar on the chokeslam arm has Dijak in trouble but he catches Kincaid coming off the top in Feast Your Eyes for the pin at 9:41.
Rating: C+. Big star making performance for Kincaid here, though it wasn’t the best idea in the world to have him use all of his big stuff in one night. That being said, when you’re not guaranteed a change to get out there very often, you need to get your stuff in. I wasn’t wild on the way he did things but he didn’t have many other options so it’s understandable. Dijak basically had one or two moves in the whole match but it’s not like he’s been doing anything other than the quick Lethal mini feud.
ACH is ready to become #1 contender to the TV Title tonight.
Tag Team Titles: Addiction vs. Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young
This was billed as the main event last week. Silas and Bruiser are challenging after winning Tag Wars on the road to Best in the World. Before the match, Daniels says he’s glad to be ready to face some REAL men. Kazarian and Young start things off by trading wristlocks before they both catch kicks to the ribs. They slowly put each others foot down before Kazarian takes over with some right hands. Daniels comes in and offers a knee for a faceplant but Young comes back with a kick to the chest.
The rather large Bruiser comes in to drive Daniels into the corner as this heel vs. heel thing is taking some getting used to. Daniels gets crushed in the corner with a running Umaga Attack, running knee and Cannonball but since Beer City Bruiser is…..well the Beer City Bruiser, Daniels easily takes over on him and scores with a split legged moonsault as we take a break.
Back (after Mark Briscoe saying he’s going to beat the better athlete in ACH tonight) with Bruiser crossbodying Kazarian to make the hot tag off to Silas as everything breaks down. Silas knees Kazarian in the face for two as the Addiction flips Silas into the air for a sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combo and another near fall. Now it’s Bruiser getting knocked into the corner but Silas breaks up a double superplex. The big frog splash misses though and it’s the BME and Flux Capacitor (springboard spinning legdrop) to put Bruiser away and retain the titles at 12:19.
Rating: D. I’m not a big Addiction fan in the first place but this really didn’t work. Why they went with heels vs. heels isn’t clear but it caused some issues as the fans weren’t sure who to cheer and that’s not a good position to put them in. Bruiser and Young are fine as midcard bullies but they’re not really a team that is going to be a threat to the titles.
Kyle O’Reilly is fired up about his chance at the ROH World Title in two weeks.
It’s time for a live Fish Tank (Bobby Fish’s talk show) where Fish talks about how he’s the King of ROH. So he’s married to Maria and therefore Mike Bennett? Anyway his guests tonight are the potential #1 contenders to his TV Titles: Mark Briscoe and ACH. Briscoe goes first and wants to know what ACH stands for.
Perhaps it’s American Child Hero because ACH looks like a fourteen year old who has been eating grilled cheese all morning. Maybe it means Acrobatic Catlike Horseman? Fish isn’t sure but thinks Mark is on to something. ACH doesn’t like being called names like that because he wants his legacy. That means it’s time to beat up a chicken like Briscoe so the name means Annihilating Chickens Punks. Fish says let’s do the match right now.
Mark Briscoe vs. ACH
Winner gets a title shot against Fish, who sits in on commentary. Briscoe sends him to the mat to start and grabs a headlock to keep the high flier on the mat. ACH’s wristlock doesn’t last long so he goes with a rollup for two instead. It’s time to start flipping around until ACH dropkicks him out to the floor, meaning we get some basketball posing. Mark switches places with him and drops ACH, only to miss a Cactus Jack (complete with BANG BANGs) apron elbow.
ACH runs way too far around the ring and jumps to the apron for a headscissors around the post. Back in and ACH tries a springboard in but Mark dropkicks him backwards as we take a break. We come back to ACH hitting a discus lariat in the corner before they fight over a suplex for a long time. Mark finally gets him over but bangs his own head in the process to put both guys down again.
It’s time for Briscoe to take over as he sends ACH into all four turnbuckles in a row and then back to the first for a bonus. Mark can’t get a fisherman’s suplex but settles for a Death Valley Driver. He takes too long going up top though and gets kicked in the head, only to block the Midnight Star. A brainbuster sets up the Froggy Bow to put ACH away at 11:30.
Rating: D+. I really wasn’t feeling this one as there wasn’t much of a flow. Then again that’s a common problem in almost every ACH match I’ve seen so far and that’s not really surprising giving how his high flying style goes. Mark winning was the right call as I could see him winning the title whereas ACH would come off as just another guy.
Briscoe and Fish stare each other down to end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. The show was far from great but it was so nice to see some fresh stories for a change. It wasn’t the best wrestling in the world but at least these people aren’t the same imports that we’ve been watching for months now. It should be interesting to see them add in some more stuff going forward as things are kind of starting over again. Not a great shot but it was a major change that I had been waiting for since the beginning of the year.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s WWE Grab Bag at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IH7O904
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Ring of Honor Date: July 6, 2016|
Host: Kevin Kelly
We’re at a special show this week with the 250th episode, which is going to showcase the best of 2016 so far. This could mean several things, though I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of the New Japan wrestlers who have basically dominated the year so far. Unfortunately that means even more time away from the new stuff ROH is doing but that’s a common problem for the promotion. Let’s get to it.
TV Title: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Bobby Fish
From Global Wars with Ishii defending after taking the title from Roderick Strong, the champion that Fish had been chasing. Fish actually runs the much bigger Ishii over to start but Ishii does the same to send Fish outside for a bit of his time. Back in and Fish fires off some kicks to put Ishii in trouble, which isn’t something you see happen to him that often. Ishii wins another slugout though and a headbutt puts Fish down with ease.
Fish makes the mistake of headbutting Ishii and the referee has to check on him as a result. The champ gets knocked off the top but Fish misses a flying headbutt, only to start back in with kicks to the knee. We take a break and come back with Fish hitting an exploder suplex for two but getting headbutted for his efforts. Ishii gets his own near fall with a delayed vertical superplex, followed by a Saito Suplex.
Fish looks mostly dead so Ishii powerbombs him for two more but Bobby grabs a sleeper. I could go for a small vs. big match without the smaller guy jumping on his back with a sleeper. It’s just so overdone. Ishii, seemingly annoyed with how lame Fish’s strategy was, German suplexes him down.
They head to the apron with Fish back on his feet and slugging it out. As expected, Ishii easily knocks him down but Fish kicks the leg out to put both guys down on the floor. Back in and a hard lariat gets two for the champ but Fish goes back to the sleeper. He fires off some elbows to the head and survives a flip attempt to actually knock Ishii out at 15:30 (original time).
Rating: B. The match was a good, hard hitting brawl but Ishii is the definition of a guy that had no business winning the title or being involved in this story whatsoever. Strong vs. Fish had been a well built up story but instead of getting the payoff we had been set up for, Ishii got the belt despite having no connection to either of them. That’s becoming too common of a tradition and it’s getting old in a hurry. This match was good but Fish vs. Strong would have been as well and had a strong story to go with it. Which sounds better?
Briscoe Brothers vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi/Michael Elgin
From the 14th Anniversary Show and no real story here other than ROH vs. New Japan in a “dream” match. Jay and Michael get things going with Jay kicking him in the face but getting gorilla pressed to put him right back down. We get the very cool delayed vertical suplex with Mark’s interference not doing a thing to stop Elgin. That’s such insane power.
It’s off to Mark vs. Tanahashi for the air guitar vs. Redneck Kung Fu battle which results in Tanahashi grabbing an armbar. Naturally that means it’s time to talk about Hiroshi’s hair but Jay is tagged in, only to stay on the floor while Mark hits a Blockbuster off the apron to take Elgin out. We get the big showdown (which isn’t treated as big or a showdown) with Jay getting two off an elbow to Tanahashi’s jaw. Mr. Wrestling 3 finally realizes what we saw there but it’s already off to Mark for a Russian legsweep.
The fans chant for Elgin but get a commercial instead. Back with the tag bringing in Elgin for some running strikes to Mark’s chest. Jay has to save his brother from Rolling Germans as everything breaks down. A back elbow/German suplex combo sends Mark flying but Jay breaks up the High Fly Flow.
Mark shouts a lot and flips Mike off the top for two. With Tanahashi down on the floor, the brothers take turns with headbutts until Mark is backdropped over the top. Elgin no sells a boot to the face (he’s from New Japan remember) and clotheslines Jay down for a breather. The hot tag brings in Tanahashi for some dragon screw leg whips but he walks into a neckbreaker.
Froggy Bow gets two before Elgin breaks up the Doomsday Device. In a cool move, Elgin gives Tanahashi a reverse Alabama Slam onto Mark for two more with Jay making the save. Jay is dispatched so it’s a powerbomb into the High Fly Flow for the pin on Mark at 14:50 (original match time).
Rating: C+. The match was fine though I’m rarely a fan of these matches where the only story is one great team against two guys who might team together for a few months. Oh and of course the New Japan team goes over clean. Heaven forbid Tanahashi isn’t treated as the biggest star in the history of ever over here.
Clips from the Fight Without Honor to blow off Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle. We see less than a minute of the match which ran over sixteen minutes. To recap: we can see a full TV Title match where a New Japan guy took a spot from an ROH guy for no reason other than “we need ROH vs. New Japan” and then we can see a full meaningless “dream” match where the freshly created New Japan team defeated the undisputed best team in ROH history. The blowoff match to a year long ROH only feud can’t even get a minute of TV time though. I’ve said it many times now but this isn’t an ROH show. This is New Japan TV: America.
ReDRagon vs. The Kingdom vs. Young Bucks
From ROH TV on January 20. It’s Cole/Bennett for the Kingdom here and this is a street fight. The Bucks jump O’Reilly and Fish during the entrances and we’re starting fast. The injured Taven gets a double superkick, as does ring announcers Bobby Cruz. ReDRagon gets back in to work on the Bucks, only to have the Kingdom come in again to turn this into a wild brawl that is going to be almost impossible to keep track of.
Bennett punches Fish down and it’s Cole setting Matt in a chair in the middle of the ring. A running charge sets up a chinlock and even Kelly has to acknowledge that it’s a spot they’ve seen before. Kyle backdrops Nick on the floor for a thud before diving into a superkick. We take a break and come back with Cole in a shopping cart and being wheeled into a superkick.
The Bucks set up a table at ringside but it’s ReDRagon double teaming Matt inside. The Kingdom brings in a ladder (Mr. Wrestling III: “It’s amazing what you can find in south Philadelphia”) to take out ReDRagon and it’s Cole putting the ladder around his neck. That only allows ReDRagon to blast the ladder with chairs before setting the ladder on top of those chairs.
Bennett comes back in to spinebuster Kyle onto the steel but the Bucks powerbomb him (Bennett) through the ladder. A Swanton onto the ladder sets up More Bang For Your Buck but Cole pulls the referee out at two. Kevin Kelly accidentally eats a superkick and Mr. Wrestling III freaks out while still shouting SUPERKICK in a funny moment.
We take another break and come back with Cole hitting the Canadian Destroyer on Matt but walking into a superkick from Nick. Bennett takes Chasing the Dragon on the floor, leaving O’Reilly and Cole to fight in the aisle. That leaves Fish alone against the Bucks but he stops to spear Bennett through a table on the floor. A double superkick off the apron gives Fish the weakest table bump in history with Nick having to splash him the rest of the way through.
Back in and the Bucks put a party hat on Bennett for a superkick party, only to have Maria hit them both low for a save. This brings out AJ Styles to hit Bennett in the ribs with a chair before laying him out with Bloody Sunday. Maria gets a Meltzer Driver and the Indytaker into the Styles Clash puts Bennett away at 16:45.
Rating: B. Totally wild brawl here and a lot of fun at the same time. This wasn’t about anything more than carnage and that’s all they delivered the entire time. The piledriver to Maria was a good way to write her off TV and the Kingdom goes out in a great performance, especially considering it wasn’t their usual combination.
Overall Rating: F. The wrestling wasn’t the problem here (obviously). The problem is the same thing I covered earlier: this isn’t about Ring of Honor anymore. I know the next set of TV tapings doesn’t feature the New Japan wrestlers but look at what they consider the best of the first half of 2016: New Japan wrestler, New Japan wrestlers, one minute of ROH only and the New Japan stable.
Also this was somehow their usage of the 250th episode. No mention of the history of the show, no classic matches (or even match), nothing but “Hey here’s a bunch of New Japan stuff in case you haven’t seen enough of it yet.” ROH should be better than this by now and it’s not like they can’t stand on their own feet without New Japan.
I really can’t imagine their ratings go up that high when they’re there, especially when they’re around that often. It’s not even a novelty anymore as they’re around so much that we just had a highlight show featuring them in every match. Having them around every once in awhile for a set of tapings here and there is fine as they’re certainly an attraction but this is WAY too far and has been for a long time.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Ring of Honor Date: June 29, 2016
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Andrew Gervani, Nigel McGuinness
This is another of those odd weeks where we should be past a pay per view but instead it’s a stand alone show which might feature a midcard feud not big enough to get on the actual pay per view. Or it might be an hour long look at the Bullet Club, which could be almost any given episode of the show. Let’s get to it.
Thankfully the opening narration tells us that we’ll be back in two weeks with the Best in the World fallout. Therefore tonight is all about the Women of Honor division, which is almost never mentioned on the regular TV show.
Opening sequence.
Veda Scott/Amber Gallows/Allysin Kay vs. Sumie Sakai/Thunderkitty/Crazy Mary Dobson
Kay is better known as Sienna in TNA. Gallows (the Bullet Babe, as in Bullet Club BECAUSE OF COURSE IT IS) starts with Kitty, who claims to be 95 years old. Amber beats her down to start and shrugs off a faceplant before it’s off to Dobson vs. Kay with Allysin catching a cross body in a fisherman’s buster. Scott comes in and misses some kicks, allowing Dobson to dropkick her in the chest.
Sumie comes in for two off a nice northern lights suplex, followed by a double dropkick with Kay helping things out a bit. Everything breaks down and Gallows offers a distraction so Kay can kick Sumie in the face. Scott grabs something like Stratusfaction and we take a break. Back with Gallows grabbing an X Factor before stopping to say Too Sweet. Sakai gets in a fisherman’s buster and the hot tag brings in Mary as house is cleaned.
Everything breaks down again and we get a Tower of Doom, followed by the parade of finishers. Dobson stomps on Allysin’s foot and kicks her in the head, setting up the Kaiju Killer (split legged moonsault) but Gallows makes a save. Kay gets in a discus lariat for the pin on Dobson at 9:45.
Rating: C-. This is going to be a long night. These matches fall under the category of “wrestling is cool because it’s wrestling” and that’s not a theory I really subscribe to. I need a story and some personalities and just calling someone CRAZY isn’t going to be enough. The match was fine enough but it was really just six women doing moves to each other for about ten minutes.
The other weird part is Scott is an evil attorney on the regular ROH shows and here she’s just a wrestler with no real character. There’s a disconnect there and ROH doesn’t do anything to explain it, other than saying we don’t usually like her. I need more than that and I don’t think we’re getting it here.
Faye Jackson vs. ODB
This is Faye’s debut and I’ve never liked ODB. Jackson isn’t sure what to do to start so ODB slaps her (own) chest and no sells a bad clothesline. A running splash in the corner crushes Jackson again and a better clothesline puts ODB down for two. We’re two minutes in and the announcers already declare it gutcheck time. Jackson hits three straight running Umaga Attacks in the corner (the Triple Spun Milkshake) for two but she can’t get ODB in a fireman’s carry. Instead ODB hits the middle rope Thesz press for the pin at 4:14.
Rating: D-. The match sucked and ODB continued to do everything that gets on my nerves about her. Jackson looked like a rookie out there and a lot of that probably has to do with how little ring time these women get. This show is rapidly falling downhill and a lot of that is due to having no reason to care about these women. Jackson is a rookie and that’s about all I know about her. Again, I need more than that.
Inside ROH is a pair of dueling promos from Hania and Mandy Leon before their match tonight.
Hania vs. Mandy Leon
Hania is billed as a huntress which feels like something out of GLOW though she looks like she’s carved out of stone. Leon on the other hand….how do I put this…..well simply put she looks great. Feeling out process to start until a test of strength doesn’t go anywhere. We get the eternally stupid suplex to break it up with both women laying on the mat and popping their shoulders up at two.
Hania flips her away and the overly choreographed stuff continues because that’s how a lot of people think wrestling works. They trade rollups for two each until Leon headscissors her out to the floor, only to have Hania trip her up and send Leon into the barricade. Back from a break with Hania getting two off a springboard missile dropkick. A victory roll gives Mandy the same but Hania gets two more off a spinwheel kick.
Mandy grabs a neckbreaker and hangs onto it for a fairly unique (and not that painful) submission, followed by a Stratusphere but she misses a moonsault. A double clothesline puts both of them down until Hania tries some YES Kicks. Mandy shrugs them off and grabs a bulldog, only to eat more kicks to the face. They trade reverse DDT attempts, only to have Mandy counter into a Koji Clutch. It’s right next to the ropes though so Hania gets in a Codebreaker for the pin at 13:46.
Rating: B. I was blown away by this as it really looked like two good looking women in their very revealing outfits (an aspect that worked very well here and there isn’t much other way to put it) but they were actually working hard. There’s A LOT of work to do for both of them but I got into the match and had fun watching it, even though I still don’t know much about either woman. Good stuff here and very interesting that Leon is better than just a talker.
BJ Whitmer talks about how awesome Kelly Klein is and says her name over and over again in an old school manager trick. The promo is about how strong of an athletic background she has and how serious she is about her training. That tells me more than I know about most of the women on this show in about thirty seconds.
Taeler Hendrix is tired of hearing about Klein because this is her company and we get in the ring with her.
Kelly Klein vs. Taeler Hendrix
BJ Whitmer and Truth Martini are in the respective corners. Klein grabs a quick abdominal stretch but Taeler reverses into one of her own. Hendrix grabs a rear naked choke but gets broken up as we take a break. Back with Klein sitting on the top rope with a chinlock before Hendrix cartwheels into a superkick. Kelly charges into a kick as well and a palm strike staggers her again. A spinning kick to the face gets two for Hendrix before she kisses Klein to set up a Tombstone for two. Klein doesn’t seem to care for the sexual assault and grabs a guillotine choke for the tap out at 6:32.
Rating: C. Not bad here and they have a character in Klein. Unfortunately there’s nowhere for them to go because the women are never featured on the TV show. The wrestling wasn’t bad and Hendrix comes off more like a character than a wrestler, which is exactly what this division really needs. You need someone to care about and someone reminiscent of a redheaded Paige is a good idea.
Overall Rating: C. Well it was different, though it seems to be a one week concept, which makes this a bit more difficult to care about. There was one strong match in here but I really don’t know enough about most of the women to get into the shows. For a one week concept I liked it though there isn’t enough to make this work every single time. A match here or there would be fine though and a nice change of pace over all the normal stuff they do on this show.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Ring of Honor TV – June 22, 2016: Go Home New Japan
Ring of Honor Date: June 22, 2016
Location: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly
It’s the go home show for Best in the World and my guess is that means it’s time to talk about the Bullet Club instead of anything related to the upcoming pay per view. I mean, I really don’t think that the last several months focusing on New Japan has been fair to them so we better dedicate another hour to them. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Dalton Castle vs. Gedo
The announcers use the entrances to run down Friday’s pay per view card. Feeling out process to start with Silas spinning out of an Irish whip, meaning it’s time for Young to bend back in a manner that freaks Gedo out in a funny bit. Gedo is sent outside where the Boys fan him down, earning themselves a poke to the eyes. We take a break and come back with Gedo hammering away but running into a forearm to the face. A facebuster has Castle in trouble but the Boys offer a distraction, allowing Castle to hit the Bang A Rang for the pin at 10:55.
Rating: C-. Believe it or not this actually has some meaning as Castle is challenging for the TV Title at the pay per view. I mean it’s not like they actually build the thing up or anything like that, but why build it up when you can remind us that Gedo is part of the Chaos stable, which means a grand total of nothing over here?
We recap BJ Whitmer vs. Steve Corino, or at least the most recent aspects of it. They bring up the idea of Corino being run out of the promotion but Mr. Wrestling III appearing in his place. Whitmer then drew Corino back by stalking Corino’s family (shown here for the first time) to finally set up the Fight Without Honor on Friday.
Adam Cole doesn’t care who wins on Friday because he’s going to be the next champ.
We look at Jay Lethal becoming undisputed champion at last year’s Best in the World, followed by Jay Briscoe having Jay Lethal pinned at a show back in April.
Will Ferrara vs. Tomohiro Ishii
They slug it out to start with Ferrara not getting very far on the bigger Ishii. A shoulder actually staggers Ishii and a dropkick puts him down. A neckbreaker gets two for Ferrara but Ishii slams him down for some two counts of his own. Ferrara comes right back with a running elbow in the corner and a Samoan drop for two. Will goes one step too far though as he tries a suplex, earning himself a beating in the corner. A running clothesline gets two for Ishii so Ferrara slaps him in the face. That means the brainbuster puts Will away at 4:06.
Rating: C. Not a bad power match here, especially when you keep in mind how small Ferrara is. Unfortunately it doesn’t mean anything other than a way to make Ishii look good, because that’s what the world was waiting for. I know I keep harping on this but there’s a pay per view in two days and we’re spending TV time on a nothing match that advances no story. That’s just bad planning and focusing on the wrong issues.
The Briscoes are ready for the main event.
Here’s Steve Corino for some thoughts on his Fight Without Honor against BJ Whitmer. Corino is an evil man and it sounds as sweet as a slogan on a t-shirt. Years ago he took barbed wire to Terry Funk’s flesh and convinced people to turn on their best friends but it was always about him. A few years ago he fell in love with a woman and tried to change himself but it’s just his nature to be evil.
Whitmer has accused him of of wearing a mask and BJ was right. However, the mask was this suit, these glasses and under this dyed hair because it made people believe he was who people wanted him to be. At the end of the day, he’s an evil man and BJ Whitmer will be out of Ring of Honor after Best in the World because Corino is taking the trash out.
Jay Lethal likes the idea of facing the Bullet Club on equal footing because something they never try.
Roderick Strong is ready to stand up for Ring of Honor against the Bullet Club.
Bullet Club vs. Briscoe Brothers/Roderick Strong/Jay Lethal
It’s Kenny Omega/Guerillas of Destiny/Matt Jackson for the Club in a somewhat weird combination. Matt and Mark start things off with Matt sliding under the crazy man but getting stopped by the threat of redneck kung fu, which earns him a jumping kick to the face. Strong comes in and knocks Matt down with an elbow to the face, meaning it’s off to Lethal vs. Omega for a BIG reaction from the crowd.
That goes nowhere though as Omega tags in Tonga Loa, who gets in a shot from behind to take over on Lethal. Now of course Omega is willing to come in and stomp away in the corner, only to have Mark take him into the ROH corner for a beatdown. Everything breaks down for a bit (of course) and it’s time for the multiple dives but Omega pulls Lethal to the floor and sends him into the barricade. Strong kicks Omega in the face though and we take a break.
Back with Omega trying to fight out of the corner but getting planted ribs first onto the mat. The tag brings Matt in anyway and it’s time for the superkicks because those are so hard to predict. The fifth superkick puts Roderick down for two and it’s off to Tama Tonga vs. Mark. Tonga’s suplex doesn’t work and it’s time for more kung fu. A Roll of the Dice drops Mark and it’s another double tag to bring in Lethal and Omega for a slugout.
The Lethal Injection is countered but Matt starts superkicking his partners by mistake. The One Winged Angel and Lethal Combination are both countered so it’s Jay Briscoe vs. whoever he can punch at the moment. Everything breaks down and the double superkick hits Lethal but the second attempt is broken up. The Jay Driller plants Loa for the pin at 15:12.
Rating: C+. It was nice to have them get together before their matches on Friday but as usual the Bullet Club had to be involved as well. Unfortunately that dominated the match and the pay per view matches weren’t exactly touched on because there was no time for something silly like that.
Dalton Castle and Bobby Fish trade promos about Castle earning his title shot but that not being enough to make him the champion.
Roderick Strong says Mark Briscoe may have been around here longer but he’s still going to be second best.
The Addiction is ready to prove that they’re the best in the world and not just the best in the busi-a-ness.
Both Jay’s are ready to go and prove that they’re the best in the world. Briscoe hopes Lethal has enjoyed all the good food he’s eaten in the last year because after Best in the World it’s back to Ramen noodles. This was really good, especially with the editing going back and forth like it did.
Overall Rating: C-. This was a watchable show on its own but a pretty lame go home show for a pay per view. That last little bit helped but a lot of it felt like they had forgotten they needed to plug this show. Hopefully the New Japan people are gone for a long while after this because they’re really dragging things down. It’s one thing to have the Bullet Club around but the people like Ishii, Gedo and Kushida are just taking up TV time from the ROH regulars and that’s not a good thing.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Ring of Honor Date: June 15, 2016
Location: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly, Mark Briscoe
We’re less than two weeks away from Best in the World and we’re getting ready for the showdown between Jay Lethal and Jay Briscoe for the ROH World Title. However there’s also the issue of the Bullet Club’s Adam Cole circling around the title as well, which almost has to be the next hurdle for whichever Jay comes out with the belt. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Moose vs. Tetsuya Naito
Naito’s IWGP Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line and he has a taped up knee coming in. Moose powers him into the corner to start and teases a right hand before just slapping Naito on the chest. Naito’s right hands have no effect so Moose dropkicks him down with ease. Another dropkick puts Naito on the floor and it’s easy to see why Moose is rumored to possibly go to NXT.
Naito slides back in and teases a dive but stops to pose instead. I can go for a cocky heel who knows how to deal with a monster like this. The second dive actually works as Mark talks about wanting to fight Roderick Strong at Best in the World. Moose misses the spear as we take a break.
Back with Moose doing his jab sequence but getting taken to the top for a hurricanrana. Since it’s just a hurricanrana though, Moose pops up and BLASTS him with a discus lariat for two. Moose keeps up the power with a suplex into the corner. A quick Koji Clutch slows Moose down and his delayed vertical suplex is countered into a snap DDT. Naito steps away from a dive ala Samoa Joe (love that spot) and a backflip into a reverse DDT gives Naito the pin at 10:16.
Rating: C+. It’s kind of weird to see the smaller guy as the heel and still have him be so dominant like this. Moose is someone who has kind of hit a wall as he has all the potential in the world but he needs to get a big win or have a story other than “he’s fighting people way better than him” because losing over and over doesn’t really do him much good, no matter how competitive he is.
The All Night Express want to make wrestling great again and get rid of all the superkicks. Now this I can get behind.
Jushin Thunder Liger/Cheeseburger vs. All Night Express
The Express attack at the handshake as the announcers try to figure out what makes Liger and Cheeseburger’s palm strikes so awesome. Speaking of the palm strike, Liger uses it to clean house before Cheeseburger’s dive is pulled out of the air. Instead Liger baseball slides into Cheeseburger’s back to put the Express down again. King drapes Cheeseburger over the ropes to take over as we take a break.
Back with Titus driving a knee into Cheeseburger’s face before King plants him with a spinebuster for two. We hit the chinlockery for a bit before Cheeseburger kicks King away and makes the hot tag off to Liger. Titus takes too long going up and gets superplexed down for two with King making the save. Liger saves King from a powerbomb/springboard clothesline combo but gets sent to the floor, leaving King to hit the Royal Flush (F5 with King landing on his face instead of his back) for the pin at 8:45.
Rating: C. It was nice of them to let one of the Ring of Honor teams to actually get a win instead of having to be beholden to the New Japan guys. Liger and Cheeseburger aren’t exactly interesting but I’m sure it gives the fans a thrill to see Liger in there after being in the ring for over thirty years. It’s not a bad match here but the New Japan vs. ROH idea has really gotten old.
Next week: ROH vs. Bullet Club.
Roderick Strong comes out to yell at Nigel about having to team with Mark in next week’s match against the Bullet Club. Mark doesn’t take kindly to this but no violence ensues.
The Bullet Club thinks Adam Cole should be in the main event at Best in the World and takes over the production stuff to let Cole talk about how awesome he is.
The announcers try to talk about the Best in the World card until Silas Young comes out to interrupt. Silas doesn’t like the idea of ACH playing video games in his locker room. ACH believes he’s a superhero from some Japanese cartoon but Young is ready to give him a hard fall back to reality at Best in the World. Young goes after a plant but security drags him away so ACH can run out and dive on him.
Kyle O’Reilly wants a rematch against Kushida after losing to him last year in the finals of the Beast of the Super Juniors. It’s been 367 days in the making and the match starts now.
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Kushida
So yeah, the ROH main event is a rematch from the finals of a New Japan tournament from last year. Kushida’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. Feeling out process to start until Kyle takes it to the mat. That’s fine with Kushida who can’t get a Hoverboard Lock but Kyle can’t get a cross armbreaker either. Back up and Kushida kicks him in the leg and then gets in one on the arm before stomping on the triceps. Kyle comes back with strikes of his own before going after Kushida’s leg. A knee bar has Kushida bailing to the ropes so Kyle knees him in the head as we take a break.
Back with Kyle getting in an ankle lock but Kushida flips away for the escape. Kyle takes him to the floor to work on the knee out there but dives into a cross armbreaker almost underneath the ring. Back in and they slug it out with Kushida knocking Kyle’s mouthpiece out. Kushida sends him into the ropes but gets caught in a guillotine, only to have Kushida reverse into the Hoverboard Lock. That’s reversed into a rollup for the pin at 11:50.
Rating: C+. So Kyle just pinned Kushida clean in the middle of the ring. Is this going to lead to a title shot? Say in Ring of Honor? I haven’t heard about anything yet, but I have a feeling that if it happens, we’ll see it in New Japan. That’s where they lose me on this promotion vs. promotion stuff: I shouldn’t have to go buy some other promotion’s shows or follow their stories to see where this stuff is going.
If you want them to feud in ROH then have them feud in ROH. If you want them to feud in New Japan then have them feud in New Japan. Either of those are fine, as are the occasional crossovers. The problem is these companies are basically running a full time crossover with a shared roster. If I want to know what half of this stuff is about, I have to watch New Japan as well. The problem is I’m not watching this show to see New Japan because the show is called Ring of Honor. I get that this is a special, but this same idea has been going for four months now. At what point does it stop being a special and become the norm?
Overall Rating: C. It’s another Ring of Honor vs. New Japan show and it seems that it’s what we’re going to get next week as well. “But KB! It’s War of the Worlds!” Yeah and it’s coming after Global Wars which came after Honor Rising which came after a bunch of regular shows with the New Japan guys around. Like I said earlier: this is now the norm instead of something special. Other than Young vs. ACH and a few mentions of Lethal vs. Briscoe, this was a stand alone show despite the pay per view airing in nine days. This keeps happening and it’s really getting old.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Ring of Honor TV – June 8, 2016: Get Me Something New To Complain About
Ring of Honor Date: June 8, 2016
Location: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly
It’s another week as we get closer to Best in the World and the big showdown between Jay Lethal and Jay Briscoe for the ROH World Title. On top of that though we have the Bullet Club running roughshod over the company and pretty clearly being in line for some title shots in the future. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
We open with dueling promos from Jay Lethal and Donovan Dijak about their match tonight. Dijak was tired of having to help fight all of Lethal’s battles when he was part of the House of Truth and fought back, only to injure manager Truth Martini in the process. That made it personal for Lethal and it’s time to fight.
Matt Sydal vs. Kazuchika Okada
Okada has Gedo in his corner. There’s actually a bit of a backstory here as Sydal wanted to be part of the Chaos stable in New Japan but Okada and Gedo gave the spot to Will Ospreay instead. Sydal has to escape an early Rainmaker attempt with a hurricanrana and the threat of a dropkick has Matt holding the ropes to get us to a standoff. Now it’s Sydal heading up top but getting caught by a great looking dropkick to send him to the floor and us to a break.
Back with Okada pounding on Sydal’s back, much to Gedo’s approval. Sydal gets in a few kicks and scores with a standing moonsault for two. Okada throws him right back down though and drops a top rope elbow, only to have Sydal duck the Rainmaker. The shooting star hits knees but Sydal slips out of the tombstone. Sydal misses his jumping knee though and the Rainmaker (still just a freaking clothesline) gives Okada the pin at 10:03.
Rating: C-. This was fine is a little obvious. I don’t think Okada has ever lost a singles match in Ring of Honor and it gets a bit tiresome to watch him come in and dominate people with no particular reason or any storyline advancement. Well at least not in this country but that doesn’t matter much around here.
The Bullet Club is ready for the winner of the Best in the World main event because Adam Cole wants his World Title back.
Silas Young didn’t like the fact that his son was coloring a picture of ACH because that’s not how a real man acts. It’s nothing personal but Silas just doesn’t like him.
Adam Page vs. Colt Cabana
This is over Page and the rest of the Bullet Club attacking Cabana a few weeks back. Feeling out process to start with Cabana throwing him into the corner and grabbing the arm before snapmaring Page for two. Cabana gets countered into a wristlock though and is sent outside for a big springboard shooting star as we take a break.
Back with Cabana making his comeback and hitting a Dusty Rhodes Bionic Elbow, followed by a forearm to the head. Page flips over the top into a clothesline for two but Cabana hits a standing Lionsault for the same. Back up and Page charges into an elbow in the corner, allowing Colt to grab a rollup for the pin at 10:09.
Rating: D+. Page is somewhere along the level of Buff Bagwell in the NWO, making him one of the least important members of the roster who is being in a featured angle because the Bullet Club needs more warm bodies. This story isn’t doing anything for me but it’s nice to see the Club lose for a change.
Post match the Guerillas of Destiny come out to beat Cabana down.
The All Night Express wants to make wrestling great again. Good grief yes we know Donald Trump is running for President. Find something new already.
Here’s BJ Whitmer to call out Steve Corino despite the fans calling him boring. Whitmer tells Corino to kiss his family goodbye before he goes off to Best in the World because he’ll never see them again. Cue Corino but security stops him from getting in the ring.
ACH thinks Silas Young is jealous because ACH can be himself while Young has to tell others how to be. Or maybe he’s just losing control of his household.
Donovan Dijak vs. Jay Lethal
Non-title with Prince Nana and Taeler Hendrix as the respective managers. Dijak wins a quick brawl and sends Jay to the floor to keep up the fighting. A whip sends Lethal into the barricade but he comes back by posting Dijak and heading inside. Dijak needs a breather so Nana gets in the ring, allowing Donovan to get on the apron. Jay knocks him outside again and hits two suicide dives, only to have the third countered with a throw into the barricade. Dijak bumps things up with a moonsault over the top for a huge pop as we take a break.
Back with Lethal scoring with a dropkick but banging up his own knee. Dijak throws him down with a suplex and nips up to his feet before covering. The Lethal Combination is broken up but Lethal snaps off a German suplex. Dijak uses FIGHTING SPIRIT (sounds like a video game weapon) to pop back up and turn Lethal inside out with a discus lariat.
Jay has to fight out of a chokeslam and counters into a rollup, only to have Dijak lift him up into Feast Your Eyes. The knee misses though, allowing Jay to superkick him back. The Lethal Injection is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two more, only to have Nana and Hendrix get into it. Dijak loads up another Feast Your Eyes but here are the Bullet Club to accidentally superkick Donovan, setting up the Lethal Injection for the pin at 12:26.
Rating: C+. Dijak actually isn’t bad but he needs A LOT of ring time and polishing to be able to really hang with most of the top names. I’m really not sure why we’re seeing the Bullet Club waiting on the sidelines while we sit through Briscoe vs. Lethal until we just have Cole win the title like he probably should have months ago. At least this was entertaining though and I’m glad they didn’t throw Donovan a title match as you have to earn them around here.
Post match the Club beats on Lethal until the Briscoes come in for the save. Jay Briscoe holds up the World Title and stares at Lethal to end the show.
Overall Rating: C. It’s nice to have things back to the closest thing to normal that you’re going to get around here, including the dominance of the Bullet Club. Yeah they’re definitely the new NWO and the fact that they’re basically the same thing really doesn’t make things better. Get the title on Cole already and hopefully have a way to wrap this up sooner rather than later so we can drop the New Japan obsession and I can find something new to complain about.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at: