Ring of Honor
Date: November 25, 2015
Location: Wings Stadium Annex, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

This is a big show with a big main event as we have Roderick Strong challenging Jay Lethal for the TV Title to continue their long and rather entertaining feud over the last year or so. We’re getting closer and close to Final Battle and it’s about time to have a build between AJ Styles and Lethal for the World Title so maybe they can tie it in here. Let’s get to it.

As a side note, this is the final episode on Destination America, though the show will still air in syndication as it has for years now.

Opening sequence.

Moose vs. Dominic Carter

Spear ends Carter in five seconds.

Post match Moose’s manager Stokely Carmichael says Jay Lethal will only be World Champion until Moose gets his hands on him. Carmichael thinks he heard this last week from Michael Elgin, who isn’t as big or strong or talented as Moose. Therefore, Elgin needs to go to the back of the line where he belongs.

Instead Elgin comes out here to say that Moose did win his match faster than Elgin did last week, but there’s a bit of a size difference. Big Mike is ready to give Moose some real competition any time he’s ready. Moose says we can do it right now but here’s the House of Truth (minus Jay Lethal but including Taeler Henrdix (good lord)) to laugh all this off and call them out for using Lethal’s name to get over. Elgin says he’ll be in a hotel with Hendrix later. Those are fighting words and a tag match is on.

J. Diesel/Donovan Dijak vs. Michael Elgin/Moose

It’s a big brawl to start until we take a break. Back with Elgin taking Dijak down with an enziguri and a dropkick for good measure. Moose comes in for his own dropkick and then a suplex, challenging Elgin to best that. Elgin’s suplex is in fact longer but he stops to argue with Moose, allowing the House of Truth to make a comeback. Everything breaks down and Hendrix grabs Elgin for a distraction. Dijak grabs a good looking chokebreaker on Elgin as Kelly talks about Diesel wanting to go by Joey Diesel Daddiago or however that is spelled.

Moose makes his comeback on Diesel but Dijak jumps him from behind. Without a tag, Elgin sends both of them to the floor for an apron cannonball before teasing a kiss on Hendrix. That sexual assault goes nowhere so it’s a German suplex for two on Diesel instead. Everything breaks down again and Elgin buckle bombs Diesel, followed by a spear from Moose after a blind tag for the pin at 11:33.

Rating: C. This was all storytelling instead of a good match and there’s nothing wrong with that. Moose vs. Elgin has the potential to be two guys beating the heck out of each other for fifteen minutes at Final Battle and that’s all it needs to be. Lethal vs. either one could be a fun match on a big stage so everyone wins. Well save for whichever of them loses.

Moose and Elgin stare each other down as Elgin didn’t like that blind tag.

Long video on Strong wanting one more match to prove he can beat Lethal. It’s not about either title but rather Strong’s pride. They were smart to keep this taped as Strong live can be a disaster. He’s downright listenable taped though.

Story Time with Adam Cole focuses on the Kingdom being great Tag Team Champions. War Machine will get their hopeless title shot at Final Battle and Cole will beat up Dalton Castle next week. Simple, to the point and natural here.

Here’s the Decade so BJ Whitmer can rip on Steve Corino for lying about his neck surgery. Whitmer can’t believe that Nigel McGuinness bought it because McGunniness lied about being hurt a few years back. Nigel isn’t going to take this and gets in the ring to…..say the Decade can’t be at Final Battle either.

TV Title: Roderick Strong vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending and this is their third match of the year with Lethal holding a 1-0-1 lead. There’s no Truth Martini here but there are two referees to make sure it’s a fair fight. They go to the mat to start with Lethal bailing outside when he can’t keep up. An armbar frustrates the champion even more and he teases leaving, only to get dragged back in and chopped as a punishment.

We take a break with Roderick in control and come back with Jay firing off chops on the floor. Roderick tastes the barricade (needs some honey mustard) but is thrown back in at a thirteen count. Back in and they chop each other some more until Lethal takes over with a headlock. Well it’s better than the standard chinlock. A quick enziguri gives Strong a breather and he fires off his running strikes before picking Jay up for a backbreaker.

Back from another break with Lethal missing a dropkick but grabbing the Lethal Combination for two. There’s a Koji Clutch (which just looks cool) until Strong crawls over to the ropes and bails outside for a breather. Two straight suicide dives have Strong in trouble but he avoids a third. Well yeah he should after Lethal does the same thing three times. Back in and Lethal gets caught on the top for a kind of reverse belly to back suplex.

The Strong Hold is broken up and a Lethal Injection gets two. Strong comes right back with three straight knees to the face but a superplex is countered into a top rope bulldog. That only gets two more so Strong pops up for another knee to the head. The Sick Kick and a suplex into a backbreaker set up the Strong Hold to FINALLY end Lethal’s eighteen month reign at 21:48.

Rating: B+. They really didn’t have any other choice here and that’s often the best thing that can happen. Lethal had held the title for so long that it didn’t mean anything anymore and now it’s freed up for others to have their run with it instead. I’ve never been a fan of having one person as a double champion so it’s a good move to let Lethal just be World Champion. The match itself was really solid stuff too with the ending being the best part as Strong just threw everything he had at Lethal until Jay couldn’t stand up any longer.

The House of Truth pulls Lethal out as Strong poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. When a third of your show is one really solid match and the other major story is building up to what should be a fun match at Final Battle, everyone wins here. Everyone is on point right now and it’s making the build for Final Battle all the better. Good stuff here with another solid show, as it’s been for a long time now.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: November 18, 2015
Location: Wings Stadium Annex, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

The Glory By Honor tapings continue as we’re gearing up for Final Battle in the next few weeks. Roderick Strong vs. Jay Lethal for the TV Title is on the horizon, along with AJ Styles vs. Lethal for the World Title. The Tag Team Title scene is still hot too with several teams fighting for the belts. Let’s get to it.

We open with Silas Young telling the Boys it’s time to become men, starting by changing his tire. They keep losing the tire and then stop to clean the grease off themselves. Silas tells them to clean their hands with spit (his spit that is) and gets annoyed when they can’t drive a stick shift. These are the kinds of vignettes they should have been doing for weeks now.

Opening sequence.

War Machine vs. Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young

The Boys are carrying Bruiser’s keg with some great difficulty. The fans chant FREE THE BOYS and of course it’s already a hashtag. Hanson and Bruiser start but no one goes anywhere off a collision. They try it again with Hanson getting the better of it and Rowe comes in for running knees in the corner. Everything breaks down and the Boys try as hard as they can to get Bruiser back to his feet.

Young comes in and takes a bunch of gutwrench gutbusters, only to have the Bruiser run Rowe down. Control changes for the first time and Rowe’s comeback is easily stopped and Bruiser, who must weigh at least 300lbs, drops a frog splash for two. Back from a break with Rowe making the hot tag so Hanson can clean house again. The Boys try to grab Hanson’s legs (they certainly are loyal) but get dragged in and put on the top rope.

Silas gets annoyed at someone hitting his Boys so Hanson stacks him on top of the Boys and pounds away with forearms to all three chests. Rowe suplexes Bruiser but Young is back up with a kick to Rowe’s face. Bruiser takes out the Boys with an apron flip dive by mistake and Young is dropped off camera, leaving the Bruiser to take Fallout (4 I’m assuming) for the pin at 9:25.

Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I was expecting to with all four guys beating on each other with big power moves. Bruiser is a big guy and totally out of shape but he can do enough fat man offense to make his matches entertaining. I’m still digging this Boys story as Dalton is going to come back soon enough and get a huge reaction for attempting the save.

Recap of BJ Whitmer vs. Steve Corino, which we haven’t gotten in the months this feud has been going on. They keep it simple with the more recent stuff this time though, which might be be better given how long these two have been after each other. Corino finally snapped and punched Whitmer out, costing him his commentary job.

Here’s Corino for his first comments since snapping. Nigel McGuinness recaps the whole thing again and says he can’t condone what Corino did due to his no tolerance policy. Therefore, Nigel can’t reinstate him as a color commentator. Instead, he can reinstate Corino as a wrestler. Therefore, at Final Battle, it’s Whitmer vs. Corino in a Fight Without Honor (street fight).

Corino felt the rush of being a wrestler all over again in San Antonio and it’s all he’s ever wanted to do. He never would have guessed that he would still be here at 42 years old. The tours of Japan have taken a toll on his body and now it turns out he needs to have neck surgery. That means his in ring career is over but like any pro wrestler, he won’t retire until his last breath.

If this is goodbye though, he wants to thank Ring of Honor for keeping him around when he didn’t have to. Corino thanks a lot of people who have been there for him in ROH, including all of the boys in the back who have busted their backs, necks and heads for the fans. Finally he thanks the fans and says that he will always be an evil man. Really, really good stuff here as Corino sounded like he was speaking from the heart which always makes for a better speech. That might be it for him and if so, this was a great promo to go out on.

The Boys don’t know how to use a urinal. Seriously?

Story Time With Adam Cole is about how he isn’t on the list of World Title contenders. Kyle O’Reilly is though, even after he beat Kyle a few weeks back. Maybe he just needs to whine like Roderick Strong did to get his World TV Title shot. After a clip of Strong being granted his title shot and Cole plugging next week’s title match, he promises to take Kyle out of ROH forever. Again, Cole is one of the best talkers in the company.

Silas leaves the bathroom and hands the Boys a plunger.

Michael Elgin vs. Kevin Lee Davidson

Davidson is a big guy…..who gets pinned off a clothesline in nine seconds? There was an edit in there so either something horrible happened or it was cut for time. You really don’t see that in ROH too often so I’m curious to know what happened there.

Elgin, breathing heavily to really imply that something was cut there, talks about competing in the G1 Climax tournament in Japan. It made him realize that he wanted the ROH World Title back so now he wants to face Jay Lethal sometime soon.

We look back at the Kingdom stealing the World Tag Team Titles at All-Star Extravaganza.

Tag Team Titles: Kingdom vs. Addiction

Heels vs. heels here. Side note: it’s interesting how much catchier some of these songs are than any of the TNA ones. TNA has a few good ones but so many of them are forgettable. I’m already singing Kingdom’s song with them as they come out after hearing it maybe three times.

The Addiction is challenging and have Chris Sabin in their corner. Daniels is in a military uniform which makes him look quite different from his partner Kazarian. The Kingdom still has pink on because these tapings are from October when people still care about breast cancer. As usual, Nigel is far too happy to see Maria, though at least he has great taste.

Taven and Daniels start things off and Kazarian starts cheating early with a knee to the back. Bennett and Kazarian both try to come in but both guys catch each others kicks. They make a truce and both punch each other in the jaw because they’re all villains. A standoff takes us to an early break and we come back to Daniels stomping Taven down in the corner. Kazarian gets driven across the ring though and it’s off to Bennett for the first time. You just can’t buy good help these days.

Daniels comes in again and takes over but makes the mistake of insulting Maria, causing Bennett to get all fired up. That’s fine with Daniels as it turns into a slugout on the floor, leaving Taven and Kazarian to both bring in belts. That’s another standoff so they both do the Eddie Guerrero fall. Kazarian sits up and yells at Maria before collapsing again when the referee comes in. Maria: “OH MY GOD ARE YOU KIDDING???”

They run the ropes but Sabin and Maria both trip them up, earning them a double ejection as we take another break. Back with Bennett cleaning house and saying he saw this on TV before diving on Daniels. Everyone else hits a dive of their own and the fans are way too excited for an all heels match. Back in and Kazarian runs Taven over for two but gets caught in a backpack Stunner/running boot combo for two more.

Daniels is still down as Bennett loads up a spear (Bennett: “On this day, I see clearly!” I like this guy.) which takes out the referee by mistake. Cue Maria again as everything breaks down but Daniels grabs her by the hair. That’s enough for a low blow and superkick (not bad either) from Maria, followed by a Disaster Kick to take Kazarian down. Cue the guy in the red mask to superkick Kazarian again, setting up a spear from Bennett to retain at 17:05.

Rating: B-. Another match where I had a lot more fun than I was expecting to. The heel vs. heel stuff actually worked and I laughed at Bennett singing Edge’s music. Fun match here, though I’m hoping they wrap up this red mask thing pretty soon. It’s been done long enough now and they need to go somewhere with it.

War Machine comes out to stare the champs down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This is pretty easily the best ROH on Destination America show to date, which comes right before they’re leaving the network. The wrestling was all good tonight and we had a solid promo to back it up, plus setting the stage for Final Battle. Everything had a point tonight and I want to see where some of this is going, making the show a success on its own. Really good show this week which flew by as it always does.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: November 11, 2015
Location: Wings Stadium Annex, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

We’re on a new taping cycle now as we’ve hit Glory By Honor. These should be some better TV shows as most tapings with names tend to be. The big story continues to be the build towards Lethal’s next title defenses against Roderick Strong and AJ Styles, but we also have Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly likely about to be announced for Final Battle. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Cedric Alexander vs. ACH

Cedric has Veda Scott in his corner and that’s always a good way to open a show. ACH is coming up on the final match in his best of five series against Matt Sydal. Cedric isn’t interested in a handshake here so we have a feeling out process to start. A few kicks send Cedric to the ropes for a quick meeting with Veda and they trade flips over each other. ACH misses an enziguri and Cedric slams him head first into the mat.

Never one to sell for very long, ACH kicks him out to the floor but Veda blocks a dive, allowing Cedric to hit a running STO onto the apron as we take a break. Back with Alexander hitting some rolling suplexes and smiling a lot. It’s a bit too much smiling though as ACH grabs a downward spiral into the top turnbuckle. The same missed enziguri works a bit better this time as ACH bounces back with a kick to the jaw.

Cedric rolls to the floor but another Veda distraction blocks the dive. You know they’re getting in their dives on this show though as ACH hits that Jordan dive (Kelly: “Like a young Nigel McGuinness!”) of his. Back in and a German suplex gets two on Cedric and another kick to the head puts Alexander down again. The Dub Dub Stomp (egads the names in this place) misses and Cedric nails a running dropkick in the corner. He slips off the springboard though and ACH hits a superkick for indy darling move #1. It’s followed by indy darling move #2 with a brainbuster, followed by the Midnight Star to pin Cedric at 11:25.

Rating: C-. I know that’s something that’s going to get me yelled at but I really don’t like this kick and flip style. Alexander and Scott make a good pair, though it would be nice if he won something big after the feud with Moose. ACH on the other hand…..I just can’t get behind him. He’s the definition of a flippy guy (though to be fair they’re good flips) which makes for exciting matches, but they seem to be setting him up for something bigger. If that’s the case, he needs to change his style a bit.

Post match ACH says he’s going to beat Sydal.

After a break, Veda blames Nigel for the slip because of so much baby oil on the ropes.

Will Ferrara vs. Caprice Coleman

Before the match Caprice asks the fans to cheer for Ferrara but says he hasn’t taught him everything yet. They trade some armdrags with Ferrara getting control with some armbars. Caprice slams him back down but Will snaps the arm to stop him again. An STO (we get it: you played No Mercy) puts Ferrara into the turnbuckle for two and some knees to the chest keep him in trouble.

Ferrara comes back with a tornado DDT (I’m sick of that move) for two as Prince Nana comes out to watch. Back up and Will misses a charge into the post but Caprice doesn’t mind as he sends Ferrara’s shoulder into the steel again. A one arm camel clutch (the Judgment Seat) gives Caprice the win at 6:01.

Rating: C. This told a much better story as Coleman couldn’t hang with Ferrara as well as he thought he did so he cheated to win. Presumably this leads to a heel turn and a spot in the Embassy for Coleman, which is probably a good idea for him as the midcard veteran is only going to get him so far.

Nana gives Ferrara an envelope of his own post match.

It’s Storytime with Adam Cole where he gets to talk about whatever he wants. In this case it’s his issues with Kyle O’Reilly, even though everyone knows that Cole is the better man. After a clip of Cole pinning Kyle last week, we see him making Kyle tap back in 2012 in New York. Adam says that’s all the proof you need, but he’s not done until Kyle is out of ROH. Cole is far and away better than most of the roster on the mic.

Prince Nana says the envelopes contain the secrets to life. He is far from done in Ring of Honor.

We look back at the All Night Express (Kenny King and Rhett Titus) beating the Briscoe Brothers at All-Star Extravaganza.

All Night Express vs. Briscoe Brothers

Kenny and Mark get things going with Mark grabbing a headlock but taking a right hand to the jaw. It’s quickly off to Titus who walks into a belly to belly, allowing Jay to come in but he’s quickly taken down with a double shot to the face. Titus’ splash gets two and we’re already in the chinlock.

That goes nowhere so Jay comes back with a boot to the face, allowing for the hot tag (this early?) to Mark. Chops and a big flip dive have the Express in trouble and Titus gets stomped down in the corner. A quick Snake Eyes drops Mark but Jay is smart enough to break up the tag before Titus can go anywhere. Back from a quick break with Titus rolling over for the tag to speed things up.

Kenny cleans house and drops Jay off the apron to keep Mark in trouble. I love smart wrestling. King takes too much time posing though and walks into a forearm from Jay. The Doomsday Device to Titus is broken up but so is the One Night Stand. Jay’s suicide dive sends Titus into the barricade and Mark adds a Blockbuster off the apron to King. The Jay Driller and Froggy Bo put Titus away at 11:32.

Rating: B-. Much better than the other two matches here as they went with a tag formula of keeping it moving the whole time. The Express is a good team but the Briscoes are running into the problem that so many dominant acts have had to deal with over the years: what do you do when you’ve won everything? I know it’s been awhile but is winning another title going to mean much?

They shake hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. As usual Ring of Honor is a really easy forty five minutes to sit through as it comes and goes with a few good matches and some simple, well done stories. It helps so much that they have an hour on TV a week because it doesn’t have time to get weighed down. Unfortunately we might be coming up on another weird schedule due to Survival of the Fittest, but that’s one of the things you have to deal with in ROH. Still though, fun show this week as is becoming the norm.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: November 4, 2015
Location: San Antonio Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 600
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, Mark Briscoe

We’ve got a big main event this week with Adam Cole vs. AJ Styles vs. Kyle O’Reilly. Kyle was added last week because he wanted to get his hands on Cole no matter what he had to do to get there. We also have an upcoming showdown between Jay Lethal and Roderick Strong over the TV Title. Let’s get to it.

Kyle O’Reilly says he’s in a match with a man he respects and a man he once considered a friend. If he has to go through Styles to get his hands on Cole, so be it. All that matters to Kyle is seeing Cole flat on his face, completely broken at his hands. Still not good delivery but the message worked very well.

Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser vs. Young Bucks

Silas now has the boys in jeans and regular shirts. Briscoe thinks he’ll go as the Beer City Bruiser for Halloween but that might mean eating more chickens. Nick and Silas get things going with Jackson easily taking over. Bruiser tries to come in but gets dropkicked in the face to put him on the floor. Matt comes in and gets caught in the corner for some running knees to the face.

The Boys try to fan Matt off but wind up doing it to each other instead. It’s back to Nick for his dropkicks all around and a slingshot X Factor to take Silas down. After a dive to the floor gives him a breather, Silas comes back up with a Regal roll to Nick but he takes too much time setting up his corner moonsault, allowing Matt to superkick him down. That’s enough for Silas as he tells the Boys to get in there and finish the match. I guess that’s a no contest at about 4:00.

Rating: D+. Well at least there weren’t a bunch of superkicks. This is much more of an angle than a match and they did a good job of keeping it short. It gets really old watching matches that go on for a long stretch of time and then have the ending go nowhere because it’s an angle. Keep it short like this and it’s a lot easier to sit through.

The Boys vs. Young Bucks

I guess we’ll go with Boy #1 and Boy #2. Matt puts #1 in a headlock while throwing up the Too Sweet sign. A superkick puts #1 down so #2 pulls him over for a tag. It’s off to Nick who scoops up #2 to break up a headlock. Nick offers a Too Sweet but pokes #2 in the face with it instead. Silas and the Bruiser take quick superkicks on the floor before it’s back to Matt to continue the squash.

Mark and Nigel talk about trick or treating as the Bucks actually screw something up by kicking each other. #1 comes back in with a double missile dropkick, only to eat a double superkick. A buckle bomb/superkick combo sets up a double More Bang For Your Buck (impressive, even though the Boys might weigh 280lbs combined) for the pin on both Boys at 3:48.

Rating: C-. It’s amazing how much easier it is to sit through a Bucks match when you don’t have Corino screaming his head off all night long. The cool heel characters are already old but I guess that’s the point of the act. The squash was entertaining but I’m really not sure about spending over a fourth of the show on this one story.

The Bucks superkick the Bruiser again but Silas bails before he can get his.

House show ads.

BJ Whitmer comes out and wants Nigel to fire Corino so we look back at Corino knocking Whitmer out cold a few weeks ago.

That’s not it for McGuinness as Veda Scott has officially served him papers for the lawsuit about the unsafe working conditions.

Will Ferrara vs. Roderick Strong

I like Ferrara so this could be good. Strong charges into a boot to start but comes back with a great looking dropkick. Off to an early chinlock with Strong ripping at Will’s face, followed by a butterfly suplex for two. Totally one sided so far. Some elbows and a neckbreaker give Will an opening and a tornado DDT (another move that is getting far too common) to send Strong to the floor. Another tornado DDT onto the floor (see what I mean?) has Strong reeling but he comes back with a gutbuster and the Strong Hold for the submission at 5:03.

Rating: C. Repeat DDT’s aside, I had fun with this one. Strong may be one of the weakest talkers that I’ve seen in years but at least he can go in the ring. Ferrara is a small guy who doesn’t wrestle like a regular cruiserweight which makes him a lot more fun to watch. Good little match here as the night of squashes continues.

We look at Strong vs. Lethal over the last few weeks. Lethal hopes that when he has a kid with the hottest woman in the world, they have Strong’s determination, though they won’t be a loser like Strong is. How many times does Strong have to lose to get it through his head? Lethal accuses Nigel and Roderick of being in cahoots (I love that word). This isn’t some card game because it’s Lethal’s life and he’s going to stay the champion as long as he wants.

Final Battle is coming.

Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. AJ Styles

Lethal is in on commentary because of his upcoming match against Styles. Maria, Taven, Bennett, Fish, Elgin and the Bucks are all at ringside so Nigel ejects everyone other than the three people in the match. Cole immediately drops to the floor and tells the rest of them to go at it. That earns a chase from Kyle so AJ knocks Cole back to the outside for some kicks from O’Reilly.

Back in and Kyle catches AJ in an armbreaker but lets it go to put Cole in a leg lock. When that doesn’t work, Kyle suplexes them both at the same time for two each. More kicks to Cole’s chest has him in trouble but AJ low bridges Kyle to the floor and hits the moonsault into the reverse DDT. Cole takes AJ down as well and goes back inside to crank on Kyle’s leg, followed by a superkick to the knee.

AJ eats a Shining Wizard as soon as he gets back in but grabs the Calf Killer out of nowhere. Kyle breaks it up with an armbreaker so Cole puts AJ in the Figure Four at the same time. O’Reilly breaks it up to put Cole in the armbreaker but AJ makes the save. Back from a quick break with Styles and Cole kicking at each other until Kyle no sells one ala Dean Ambrose and hits the rebound lariat for two. Now it’s AJ and Kyle slugging it out until Kyle counters a right hand into a triangle choke. Cole breaks it up though and sends Styles to the floor, setting up a brainbuster onto the knee to pin Kyle at 12:03.

Rating: B. This was fun with Kyle trying to get at Cole but having to deal with AJ at the same time. Styles was just kind of there for the most part as Cole vs. O’Reilly was the focus for most of the match. It’s good that they didn’t have AJ get pinned because you don’t want to make the #1 contender look weak (right Ryback?) going into a major title match. Good match but it never hit a great level.

Post match Kyle goes after Cole again but Fish, Elgin, the Bucks and the Kingdom come out for a huge brawl. The Bucks give Cole and Taven a double IndyTaker (Sweet goodness I hate that move. Not as bad as the Meltzer Driver but still bad.). Lethal comes in to hold up the title in AJ’s face to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was your normal fun and easy show to get through though it’s rare to see Ring of Honor get anywhere above “eh that was pretty good”. You can probably figure out most of Final Battle from here so they have time to build towards it, which is a good sign with about six weeks before the show. Good show this week, as has been the norm recently.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: October 29, 2015
Location: Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

Last week was a good show for ROH as they addressed several stories while also giving us some good action. Tonight we have some fallout from last week with the Kingdom facing ReDRagon/Michael Elgin in a six man which has some potential. We’re also getting the return of Dalton Castle for the first time since he lost the Boys. Let’s get to it.

Just like last week the announcers’ audio is really low and I can barely understand them to start. They talk about King Corino facing repercussions for their actions last week.

Donovan Dijak vs. Moose

Dijak’s shoulder blocks don’t work early on so Stokely Hathaway tells Moose to go for it, meaning it’s a big dropkick to put Dijak on the floor. That’s fine with Dijak who chokeslams Moose onto the apron and follows with an Asai moonsault of all things (ok so he hit Moose’s shoulder but it still looked cool).

Back in and Moose headbutts him in the chest and dropkicks Dijak to the floor, followed by a suicide dive. Men this size should not be able to do these kind of things so easily. Moose scores with a bicycle kick but walks into a chokebreaker for two. Feast Your Eyes is broken up so Moose casually runs up the corner and comes off with a spinning kick to the face. The spear ends Dijak at 4:42.

Rating: C+. Well that worked. Yeah it was a spot fest but guys this young being able to do this kind of stuff isn’t normal. Moose looked like an athletic freak out there and Dijak showed why he’s considered such a top prospect. This was really fun stuff and I was impressed by a lot of what Moose did, even if it didn’t look as crisp as it could have.

Dalton Castle vs. Cedric Alexander

Castle is just in a t-shirt and trunks and Alexander is banged up from All-Star Extravaganza. Alexander pokes him in the chest to start but Dalton grabs him with a t-bone suplex. He deadlifts Cedric off the mat and then throws him right back down in a surprising display of strength. Veda Scott has to intervene by grabbing Dalton’s leg and Alexander gets in a kick to the face to take over. Chops just seem to tick Castle off and he catches a springboard in midair. Alexander gets kicked in the face and the Bat-A-Rang puts him away at 3:35.

Rating: D+. This is the kind of character evolution that works best in wrestling. Castle has a reason to be all angry and aggressive and it gets him away from the over the top style while still letting him showcase his charisma. That opens more doors for Castle going forward and was a very necessary adjustment for his career.

Post match Veda yells at Nigel for putting Alexander in an unsafe working environment and caused her unfair distress. Lawsuits are promised.

Here are Truth Martini and Jay Lethal with something to say. The fans chant for AJ Styles but Martini says that’s not his name. Cue Roderick Strong and please for all things good and holy don’t let him talk. Roderick congratulates Lethal on beating him the last time they “faced” but he shakes Martini’s hand because he’s the only reason Lethal has those titles. Lethal is livid so Strong gets right to the point: he wants one more match. They yell at each other a lot and you can hear the Flair in Lethal’s voice.

Lethal tells Nigel (remember that he’s the boss) to get in the ring and explain this to Strong. McGuinness says it’s true that AJ Styles is already the #1 contender to the World Title……but there currently isn’t a #1 contender to the TV Title. The match is quickly made for some point in the future and both guys react as you would expect. This worked far better than I was expecting as Strong seems to work better live instead of on tape.

We look back at the first four matches in the best of five series between ACH and Matt Sydal. The final match will be at Survival of the Fittest.

Kingdom vs. Michael Elgin/ReDRagon

It’s the brawl you would expect to start with Fish diving onto Bennett and Cole, leaving Kyle to grab an armbreaker on Taven over the top rope. Elgin dives on Bennett and Cole as well as McGuinness swoons over Maria (yep). Back in and Elgin Germans Taven into an armbreaker from Kyle as we take a break. It’s back to Elgin holding Taven in a delayed vertical suplex with Bennett’s kicks having no effect. Fish comes in but goes after Cole, allowing Bennett to superkick him into Taven’s enziguri for two.

The Kingdom starts their triple teaming, complete with a fake tag for bad measure. Bennett catapults Fish into a forearm from Cole, followed by a top rope elbow from Taven for two. Taven: “This is why we’re tag champs. Because we’re really good.” A high cross body gets two more but the fans chant for the Young Bucks. Off to Cole for a chinlock and we take a second break. Back with Fish avoiding a triple superkick and suplexing Taven into the corner. The hot tag brings in Elgin for a BIG MIKE chant.

Taven breaks up a superplex attempt so Elgin powerslams both he and Bennett at the same time for two. Bennett’s kicks to the face have no effect on Elgin (gah) so it’s off to Kyle for a top rope double missile dropkick. Everything breaks down and Fish drives Taven into the barricade. Taven is thrown inside for the rapid fire ReDRagon offense, followed by a wheelbarrow suplex for two on Bennett. Elgin takes a double superkick but Fish breaks up the spike piledriver. A buckle bomb sends Bennett into Taven in the corner and Chasing the Dragon puts Bennett away at 15:49.

Rating: B-. This was your fun ROH style main event with a lot of insanity but just enough coherence to keep track of what was going on. The ending is fine and keeps ReDRagon on the Kingdom’s trail while also keeping Cole vs. Kyle fresh for later. Elgin is an interesting addition as he doesn’t really have anyone in the Kingdom to feud with but maybe he and Cole fight later. Or he’s just there to fill in a spot.

Cole lays out ReDRagon post match and the Kingdom goes to leave. Kyle wants Cole next week but Cole is already busy with AJ Styles. Not a problem according to Nigel, who makes it a triple threat.

Overall Rating: C+. I had a good time with this show as they’ve definitely found a groove and know how to keep me entertained for an hour without getting bored. This show doesn’t feel like it goes by as fast as NXT but it’s still an easy hour to sit through with some fun action and tolerable promos. Good show this week and we should be hitting Glory By Honor soon.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: October 21, 2015
Location: Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

We’re in the middle of the regular taping cycle before we move on to the Glory By Honor tapings which are bigger than the regular shows, which could make for some entertaining TV in the coming weeks. Tonight’s big attraction is a statement from the Kingdom after they won the Tag Team Titles at All-Star Extravaganza. Let’s get to it.

Addiction vs. All Night Express

The Express claims that they’re the rightful Tag Team Champions as they never actually lost them a few years ago. Sabin is at ringside, throwing pieces of paper at Titus during the handshake. Kazarian and King get things going with Kenny backdropping him over the top and out onto Sabin. For some reason this earns him an ejection and the distraction lets the Express double team Kazarian and then Daniels as well. Some heroes.

Daniels gets punched in the face a few times before Daniels adds a nice spinwheel kick to the face. Kazarian rakes Titus’ eyes from the apron and we take a break. During the break we get a promo from Jay Briscoe for his No DQ match against Adam Page tonight. Jay is sorry that Page has hit the biggest bump there is in the road but Page is going to be a better man for it. Back with Daniels suplexing Kazarian onto Titus and covering with a boot on the chest.

We hit a front facelock for a bit until Titus dropkicks King into the corner and dives over for the tag off to King as the pace goes way up. Everything breaks down and a High/Low drops King. A springboard spinning legdrop gets two on Titus but he collides with Daniels to put all four down. King throws Kazarian with a suplex but Titus walks into a release Rock Bottom. Cue a guy in a red mask to distract Daniels from making the pin though, allowing the Express to catch Daniels in a powerbomb/Blockbuster combo for the pin at 10:10.

Rating: C+. This was a nice way to establish that the Express is back and another player in the tag division. The tag teams have been one of the strongest points around here in recent months and another talented team isn’t going to hurt that a bit. The Kingdom is the kind of act that doesn’t need to win most of the time and they’re still going to be over, though the red mask thing isn’t working for me.

Here’s the Kingdom in full with something to say. Bennett tells a story about a farmer and a snake. One day the snake asked the farmer to keep him warm, so the farmer put the snake close to his chest. Then the snake bit the farmer because he’s a snake and that’s what he does. Maria says she’s the manager of the greatest wrestling faction in history and even though she has to work in a male dominated industry, she doesn’t have to play by a man’s rules.

Taven talks about a vision the four of them had of them all standing next to each other with gold around their waists. That means the Kingdom will not rest until Adam Cole is World Heavyweight Champion once again. Cole turned his back on Kyle O’Reilly because Kyle doesn’t belong anywhere near the World Title.

It was clear that Cole was always a step better and not hearing his name listed among the top contenders for the World Title made him sick. He was behind people like Michael Elgin who had to go all the way to Japan to become relevant again. Cue ReDRagon but security holds them back. Fish says it’s a matter of time before they’re the Tag Team Champions again but first of all they’re coming for Cole. Adam laughs it off because of the numbers advantage but here’s Elgin to clean house on his own. The six man is set for some point in the future.

The Kingdom looked good here but it’s clear that there are a lot of weak promos in ROH right now. Cole and maybe Maria were the only ones to sound competent on the mic here as the rest sounded like a bunch of amateurs. The feud is fine though and Kingdom is a pretty solid stable, even though ROH has too many of them at any given time.

Inside ROH focuses on Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle and the Boys being turned into men by Young, much to Castle’s dismay. We see most of the Boys getting squashed last week as this is getting a lot more time than it needs.

Adam Cole is ready for AJ Styles in two weeks because it’s a different Cole than the one that Styles has beaten twice already.

The Kingdom vs. Elgin/ReDRagon will be next week.

Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Page

No holds barred. Whitmer joins commentary to drive Corino even crazier than usual. Page comes in with a banged up shoulder. Adam makes the mistake of slapping him in the face during the handshake so Jay kicks him in the jaw and clotheslines him out to the floor. Jay loads up a suicide dive but goes head first into a chair instead, giving Adam an unexpected advantage. It’s table time but Briscoe pelts a chair at Adam’s head to put him down again.

They head inside and Whitmer tries to slip Page the crutch but Mark Briscoe takes it away and leaves. Page DDT’s Jay through an open chair for two and we take a break. Back with Page choking in the corner and telling Jay to say his name (remember that Briscoe said he had no idea who Page was a few weeks back). Jay sidesteps a charge and the bad shoulder goes into the post, knocking Page right onto the table for a double stomp from the apron.

The arguing announcers wish that they would lose their voices as Jay slowly destroys Page. Back inside and the chair is wrapped around Page’s throat for a neckbreaker. Normally that would end things but Jay would rather get another table (which he has to rid of the stupid streamers). The fans want Jay to save the tables because, as usual, ROH wants to be different from WWE but goes along with all its good stuff. Adam grabs a pumphandle slam to send Jay through the table in an act of survival.

We take another break and come back with Jay not being able to hit the Jay Driller off the apron and through a table. Adam sets up yet another table but flips into a discus forearm to the head. Neither guy can hit their finisher off the apron through a table (because it would probably kill them) so Jay crowns him with a chair before actually hitting the Driller through the table (fans: “YOU JUST KILLED HIM!”) for……TWO??? That actually made my eyes pop open. Page slaps him in the face and scores with a kick to the jaw as Whitmer and Corino argue again. Another Jay Driller gives Briscoe the pin at 16:26.

Rating: B+. It takes a lot to surprise me in wrestling but they actually got me on that near fall. That’s going to go a long way for Page who doesn’t have a lot going for him but that’s one of those moments that people can talk about for a long time with him. Briscoe should have won here and the match can end this mini feud for him with both guys looking good, especially considering this was a squash on paper.

Post match Whitmer beats on Briscoe with the crutch. Corino gets in the ring, takes off his jacket, and punches out Whitmer with a roll of quarters. Steve hugs Kevin Kelly and leaves, likely without his job due to getting physical.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a solid show and a good use of an hour as several stories were covered and some matches were set up for the future. It’s a rare thing to see this show use its time so well but it worked well here and the result was an entertaining hour of wrestling TV. Check out the main event if you have time as it’s quite the brawl.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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Ring of Honor
Date: October 14, 2015
Location: San Antonio Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 600
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

We’re FINALLY up to some fresh storyline material here with the fallout from All-Star Extravaganza which took place nearly a month ago. Jay Lethal retained both his titles at the pay per view but the TV Title is on the line tonight against Watanabe. There’s another pay per view next week so things have to pick up in a hurry. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

The commentary audio is notably lower this week as I can barely understand Kelly.

ACH vs. Matt Sydal

This is match #4 in a best of five series with ACH (from Texas, making him the crowd favorite) up 2-1. Kelly thinks winning match #3 bodes well for ACH. As usual, you can’t buy this kind of analysis. They shake hands to start but ACH holds up two fingers. The fans do a New Day style A-CH chant as they fight over a lockup to start. It’s time for some holds on the mat with neither guy being able to keep an advantage.

Sydal gets up and taunts ACH a bit which seems to get inside his head. ACH cartwheels out of a headscissors attempt and Sydal dropkicks him to the floor for a baseball slide. It’s time for the chops and therefore the WOO’s and therefore more audio issues. ACH grabs a headscissors of his own to take over, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back of the head (the Dum Dum Drop. Seriously?) for two. There isn’t much to say on a match like this as it’s just spot after spot with nothing in between.

We take a break and come back with ACH kicking Sydal in the face, only to dive into a nice spinwheel kick. Sydal gets two off something like Big Show’s Final Cut but ACH kicks him in the face again. A nice German suplex gets two on Matt, followed by a kick to the face (popular move) and a Cross Rhodes for another near fall.

Sydal rolls away from Midnight Star (450) and is booed as a result. Yeah somehow avoiding a finisher is a heel move. ACH takes him down again with a running shooting star dive to the floor but some jumping knees to the face look to set up the shooting star. It’s ACH up again though with a brainbuster but the Midnight Star hits knees. A reverse hurricanrana sets up the shooting star to give Sydal the pin and tie the series at 14:15.

Rating: C+. I get the idea here but I’m really not a fan of this kind of match. The ending told me everything I needed to know. When the 450 hit Sydal’s knees, Sydal did another big spot to set up the final big spot. They could have done the exact same ending with a cradle or something, but instead it’s all about the next big move. It makes the whole thing look like a big spot fest where they have no idea how to do anything else. That’s not good. Fun match, but very telling if you pay attention.

They hold up two fingers to each other for some gamesmanship but shake hands. Cue the Addiction and Chris Sabin to beat both guys down and clean house. Back from a break with the trio still in the ring with Kazarian yelling about how they weren’t defeated for their Tag Team Titles at All-Star Extravaganza.

It’s a good thing that they’re here in Texas because these people believe in justice. Not bathing or education, but certainly justice. Daniels doesn’t like the idea of a third man coming to the ring in a red mask and stealing Chris Sabin’s idea. They were never pinned or beaten and therefore they’re still the Tag Team Champions.

Daniels demands that the Kingdom comes out here and hand over the titles but it’s the All Night Express (Kenny King/Rhett Titus, who reunited at the pay per view) instead. King doesn’t want to hear about the Addiction’s complaints because the Express never lost their Tag Team Titles three years ago. They were only defeated by a bureaucracy and the Addiction can get some anytime.

Addiction vs. All Night Express is announced for next week.

Here are Silas Young and the Beer City Bruiser (a large man who carries a beer keg) with Dalton Castle’s boys, who Young won at All-Star Extravaganza. Silas yells at them for their ring attire and it’s time for a match.

Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young vs. The Boys

Bruiser runs both of them over in the corner and suplexes both Boys at the same time. They avoid a top rope splash though and the Boys try to ride Bruiser, only to be destroyed by Silas. Misery is enough to pin one of the Boys at 1:40.

Truth Martini and Jay Lethal talk about Watanabe learning English. Tonight he learns how to say Jay Lethal is the best wrestler in the world.

Inside ROH focuses on Adam Cole costing Kyle O’Reilly the World Title. ReDRagon promises revenge on Cole because he decided to chase the dragon. Cole’s reply says that he’s the next guy instead of Kyle. What Kyle is going to learn is that he’s just a lesser Adam Cole. Adam had the fire in his eyes here and blew away what ReDRagon said. That was good.

We’ll hear from the Kingdom next week.

TV Title: Watanabe vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending but uses the handshake to get in a cheap shot to take over early. Watanabe charges into a boot in the corner and gets elbowed in the face a few times, only to charge into a slam for two. A nice backsplash gets two for Watanabe but Truth Martini trips him up, allowing Jay to nail three straight suicide dives. We take a break and come back with Lethal getting two off a suplex.

Off to the chinlock from the champion followed by some knees to the face. A kick to Watanabe’s face gets two and Lethal goes Kevin Owens by loading up something big and then putting on a chinlock. Watanabe fights back and whips Jay hard across the ring before toss him away with a German suplex. The Lethal Injection is blocked and a big clothesline gets two. Martin throws in the Book of Truth, allowing Lethal to kick Watanabe low. The Lethal Injection retains the title at 12:28.

Rating: C. I’m still waiting on a reason to care about Watanabe. This was a glorified squash with Lethal picking Watanabe apart and putting on a clinic instead of ever feeling like he was in jeopardy. The match wasn’t bad or anything but it really didn’t make me care about either guy.

The fans remind Lethal that AJ Styles is coming for the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as I’ve forgotten a lot of the stories they built up for weeks because of the awkward schedule. Lethal vs. Watanabe was nothing special and the best of five series match was a way to set up another match instead of meaning anything on its own. I’m not sure what they’re building towards here as they didn’t mention the pay per view and now have one week to talk about it. I guess after next week it’s time for more stand alone shows and probably more New Japan. Watchable and quick show this week but nothing that did anything for me.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: October 7, 2015
Location: MCU Park, Brooklyn, New York
Attendance: 2,000
Commentators: Prince Nana, Kevin Kelly, King Corino

This is a special change of pace as Ring of Honor held an event called Field of Honor at a baseball stadium in Brooklyn back in August. Therefore tonight, we’ll be taking a look at some of the bigger matches from the card before we finally get back to the updated storyline stuff that we’ve been waiting the better part of a month to actually see. Let’s get to it.

Time Splitters vs. Briscoe Brothers

Jay and Kushida get things going. Nana: “When was the last time we saw Jay and Mark team up?” Corino: “Yesterday.” It’s off to Mark before anything happens and Kushida gets stomped down into the corner. Kushida comes back and takes both Briscoes down with a headscissors and bulldog, only to have Mark punch him in the face. The Time Splitters speed things up and take over on Mark with rapid fire strikes as we take a break.

Back with Alex working on Mark’s arm but Mark sends Alex into a distracted Kushida who cranks on his partner’s arm by mistake. I’ve seen them do that spot before and it makes them look like stupid heels. They get their act together though and take turns on a wristlock as Corino lists off various Japanese wrestlers he worked with over the years. You know, because this is the New Japan show instead of Ring of Honor. A quick tag brings in Jay for a clothesline and it’s off to a front facelock.

Jay elbows Shelley in the face for two and we hit the chinlock. Shelley fights up and dropkicks both Briscoes down, allowing for tag to Kushida. Things speed up again until Jay breaks up a springboard. Shelley dives off the apron to knee Jay in the face, knocking him into the infield. Mark’s kung fu doesn’t get him very far as Kushida kicks him in the arm and puts on the Hoverboard Lock. Jay makes the save and all four are back in with Shelley holding his jaw.

The Splitters bust out some Motor City Machine Guns style offense, complete with a You Can’t See Me from Kushida. A moonsault/knee drop combo gets two on Mark but Jay comes back in for a Razor’s Edge/neckbreaker combo for two on Shelley. Two straight Jay Driller attempts are broken up until Mark suplexes Kushida down, setting up the Jay Driller on Alex for the pin at 14:30.

Rating: C+. This is a great example of how Ring of Honor gets on my nerves and makes me want to stop watching it. Most of the match was spent namedropping various Japanese wrestlers that these guys have worked with like it’s the most amazing accomplishment in the world to have worked a tour of Japan as a midcard tag act. It’s very pretentious and makes Japan sound like it’s a million miles ahead of any other wrestling on the planet.

The more Corino talks, the more he sounds like you’re a knuckle dragging moron if you don’t watch every Japanese show in history, which I hear enough of on the internet. It’s cool stuff, but stop pretending like it’s the only thing in the world. There’s other stuff out there, including Ring of Honor, which comes off like it’s nothing compared to the wonders of Japan.

Clips of Watanabe winning a gauntlet match for a TV Title shot next week. We see a good chunk of Watanabe vs. Cedric Alexander until Moose came out to interfere, allowing Watanabe to get the pin with an STO. Not enough of the match was shown to rate but I still don’t get Watanabe. I do however get the appeal of Veda Scott. Good lord.

Video on Adam Page vs. Jay Briscoe. Page must have something up his sleeve because he’s going to get killed.

Nigel McGuinness joins commentary.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Roderick Strong

Okada’s IWGP World Title isn’t on the line. They trade arm work to start until Okada grabs a freaky variation of the abdominal stretch (picture an STO but instead of driving him down, Okada grabs the arm and bends Strong around to stretch his ribs. That’s rather cool looking.), sending Strong to the ropes. A nice dropkick puts Okada down for two and we take a break. It’s Strong in control as we come back but Okada is quickly out of a chinlock. Instead it’s a kick to the face for two more as this has been almost all Strong so far.

We hit a one arm camel clutch until Okada grabs a rope. It’s cool to see Strong working on a body part to set up his finisher. I love basic psychology like that and it’s always going to work. They head outside and chop away until Strong drops him back first and then ribs first onto the barricade. Back in and we hit a chinlock with Okada’s arm trapped to stretch the ribs. Okada fights up with some running forearms and a DDT, followed by a nipup. What rib injury?

An enziguri out of the corner and a belly to back faceplant gets two for Roderick. Well if Okada won’t sell the ribs and back why not go for the face instead? Okada dropkicks him off the top and out to the floor as we take another break. Back again with nothing having changed and Strong dropping Okada onto the apron for two. A White Noise backbreaker gets the same for Okada but Strong hooks an Angle Slam.

Strong’s superplex gets two and there’s the Strong Hold (Boston crab) but Okada makes the rope. It’s not like he would sell it anyway so Strong was just wasting his time anyway. The Rainmaker is countered by three straight jumping knees to the face, a fireman’s carry gutbuster and the Sick Kick for two. Well of course it’s just two because Okada is Japanese and therefore unbeatable. Okada pops up, tombstones Strong twice and rolls some Germans for the pin at 17:24.

Rating: C-. This is Ring of Honor summed up in a single match. There’s no question that this was an exciting match, but the quality isn’t there. Strong wrestled a logical match (his finisher is a Boston crab and he worked the back) but Okada WOULDN’T SELL THE THING. I mean, put your hand on your ribs at least. It’s exciting and entertaining, but it gets really old trying to explain to ROH and New Japan fans that there’s a bit difference between exciting and quality.

Overall Rating: C. We’ll go with right in the middle for this one as neither match did much for me but neither was bad. I’m sick of these New Japan shows though as you can take or leave them without missing anything. I like the stories that ROH has but we’re stuck waiting for a month between the updates because of their taping schedule. In between though we get to worship at the altar of New Japan and hear the fans tell us that THIS IS AWESOME because so many of this company’s fans equate excitement with being good. It’s very Michael Bay-esque of them and that’s only a good thing on occasion.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: September 30, 2015
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

It’s another stand alone episode with the New Japan guys coming in to help bridge the gap between the pay per view and the start of the new taping cycle. Tonight we have a dream match with Adam Cole facing Shinsuke Nakamura, who is one of the best in the world right now. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Matt Sydal vs. Kushida

Kushida’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. I’m not a fan of Kushida’s in ring work but the Back to the Future theme is awesome. The fans start the THIS IS AWESOME chants at the bell which always gets on my nerves. Feeling out process to start with Kushida taking him down off a headlock and floating around Sydal’s back until it’s a standoff.

They trade armdrags until Kushida no sells a hurricanrana and blasts him with a dropkick. Sydal gets smart and goes after the knee with some kicks and a bridging Indian deathlock as we take a break. Oddly enough WCW would always go to a commercial whenever anyone else put on those holds. Back with Kushida diving into a spinwheel kick but he comes back with a front flip into a kick to the head. So much for selling the knee of course but that’s such a common problem in wrestling and Japanese wrestling in particular.

Back in and a moonsault gets two on Sydal but Matt kicks the knee out. His standing moonsault is countered into the Hoverboard Lock (sweet name for a Kimura) but Sydal makes the ropes. They trade big strikes to the head and both guys are down. Sydal is up first with a reverse hurricanrana for two but the Hoverboard Lock goes on again. Matt rolls out of it and kicks Kushida in the head, setting up the Shooting Star (which still takes forever) for the pin at 12:14.

Rating: C. I’m not a fan of either guy and this really felt like a very stereotypical ROH match. The knee work went nowhere because Kushida wouldn’t sell the thing. Sydal is better than just a single finisher but I’m still not a fan of his since he left WWE. This wasn’t a bad match or anything but it’s not my style.

Watanabe vs. Will Ferrara vs. Moose vs. Adam Page

One fall to a finish. Before the match, BJ Whitmer says Page should get some better competition because he beats everyone he fights. Page goes right after Watanabe to start and the fans aren’t pleased because Watanabe is Japanese and therefore the ROH fans worship him. Ferrara comes in and knocks Page around the ring like he stole something. Off to Moose who throws Ferrara around but Page tags himself in to pick the bones. A belly to belly gets two on Ferrara but it’s quickly back to Watanabe for a backsplash.

Moose breaks up a cover and backdrops the much smaller Ferrara over the top and out onto Watanabe. Colby gets on the apron and is promptly kicked back to the floor. Page comes back in and gets speared in half, only to have Ferrara tornado DDT Moose. Back to Watanabe for a German suplex to Moose and an STO to pin Ferrara at 5:45.

Rating: C+. This would have been better with more time and I like Watanabe a little bit better than Kushida so this didn’t get to me as much. Moose is kind of in a free fall at this point and could use a big win but as usual Watanabe needs another win that doesn’t seem to get him anywhere. Ferrara continues to be spunky which is about as good as you can get for someone his size.

Bushwhacker Luke marches around the ring. This is a semi-regular thing in ROH.

We see Cheeseburger getting beaten down by Brutal Bob Evans earlier in the night because these two are destined to be fighting forever. Luke came in for the save with a Stunner (yes a Stunner) and used Cheeseburger for a Battering Ram.

Back in the arena and Luke says Corino looks like a bucket of sardines (a compliment) and licks his face. As someone who has experienced that as well, I don’t know why Corino is wincing.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Adam Cole

Nigel McGuinness is in on commentary. Cole is full on heel here and thankfully the commentary knows it for a change. Unfortunately they can’t say what he did but that’s the danger of a taped show. I still get a Mick Jagger vibe from Nakamura. Cole works on a wristlock to start but they stop to take in some crowd reactions. Nakamura does Cole’s pose in a funny bit but Cole kicks him in the leg and does an awkward little dance as we take a break.

Back with Nakamura driving Cole into the barricade but Adam scores with a superkick. Corino misses it though and sounds downright depressed. He’s really starting to grow on me and I’m not sure if I like that. Back in and Cole sends him hard into the corner before going into that evil smile of his. Nakamura starts driving the hard knees into the head and gets two off a gordbuster. We could all use a bit more Arn Anderson in our lives so I heartily approve.

Cole comes back with a superkick to both knees and a low one to the jaw for two. More kicks to the knee take us to a break and we come back with Cole slapping on the Figure Four. Nakamura gets the ropes so Cole busts out some dragon screw leg whips, only to get caught in a cross armbreaker. That goes nowhere so Nakamura comes back with knee strikes (gah) and an overhead belly to back suplex. The knee gives out though, allowing Cole to come back with a running knee to the face.

A Shining Wizard gets two for Adam and a superkick to the back of the head into a cross arm German suplex for two. Cole freaks out and goes after the referee but charges into a knee in the corner. Nakamura’s middle rope knee drops Cole but he can’t cover. An ax kick sets up the running knee to the side of Cole’s head for a close two. Cole spits in Nakamura’s face so Shinsuke comes back with the Landslide (sitout Death Valley Driver) and another running knee for the pin at 22:50.

Rating: B. Good but not great match here which felt like a major showdown as it was supposed to. Nakamura has more personality than anyone else in New Japan and it’s always fun to see him in the ring. Cole has that it factor and the smile when he had Shinsuke in trouble was great. The match was certainly good and well worthy of the spot they were going for here though I’ve seen better. The constant knee strikes from Nakamura after Cole spent the time working over the knee got annoying in a hurry but at least Shinsuke sold the knee a bit in between. That’s a lot better than some people would do.

Overall Rating: B. This was a solid, wrestling heavy TV show. When one match takes up nearly half the show it’s going to dominate the rating and that’s exactly what happened here. That being said, I could go for some more stories as I had them built up for weeks and now I have to wait more weeks to see where they go. I’d really like them to fix this problem because it gets on my nerves every single time. Still though, fun show here with a lot of solid to good wrestling.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: September 23, 2015
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

This is one of those weird shows where the pay per view has taken place but there’s almost no way to talk about it because this episode was taped a month prior. Therefore, expect a lot of odd commentary where nothing is really revealed because the announcers don’t know the details yet. Let’s get to it.

Michael Elgin vs. Silas Young

We get right to it as the announcers say Young is dealing with the fallout from All-Star Extravaganza, despite a lack of any sort of details of what happened at the show. Young’s shoulders have no effect as the announcers talk about Elgin’s success in the G-1 Climax tournament in Japan. A big gorilla press puts Silas down and Elgin shows off with a long delayed vertical suplex for two.

Young gets creative with a DDT onto the apron and a slingshot double stomp (ow), sending us to a break. Back with Elgin missing a charge and something like an Irish Curse getting two for Silas. Michael comes back with big right hands (why overcomplicate things?) and a sitout Rock Bottom for two of his own. Elgin wins a slugout until Young kicks him in the face and hits his headstand into a springboard moonsault for two. That’s really not a very heelish move.

Michael kicks him in the face as well and scores with a discus lariat, followed by an apron superplex into a falcon’s arrow for two. Cool looking move there. Misery (TKO) puts Elgin on the floor and Silas pulls the padding back, only to get powerbombed into the barricade. Elgin is all ticked off and the Elgin Bomb is good for the pin at 11:28.

Rating: B-. This was a way to say that Elgin is back after his trip to Japan and it worked quite well in that regard. Young shouldn’t have lost after winning such a big match at All-Star Extravaganza but that’s part of the danger of taping shows this far in advance. Good opener here though and a fun match.

Adam Cole says his match with Shinsuke Nakamura is one of the best wrestlers in the world, but Cole is THE best in the world, which he’ll prove next week in Philadelphia. Simple, yet effective.

ACH vs. Caprice Coleman

Feeling out process to start as they fight over a wristlock and trade flips, capped off by Coleman getting no count off a dropkick. The announcers sell the idea that ACH is this generation’s Coleman as Caprice trips ACH and drops a leg for two. ACH comes back with a running kick to the face from the apron but his bottom rope clothesline is blocked.

Coleman grabs three rolling northern lights suplexes and we get a pretty awkward striking sequence, including a one inch punch from Coleman. It actually stops ACH from hitting his big dive and Caprice nails the Sky Splitter (top rope Rough Ryder) for two. ACH is still screwed up from the punch (Corino: “Holy Ox Baker!”) but he comes back with a quick brainbuster and the Midnight Star (450) for the pin at 6:52.

Rating: C. The one inch punch was a little awkward but at least ACH finally won something. They could make him something like the Kofi Kingston of this company but he needs to quit losing so much. Coleman is a good veteran who can make anyone look good and there’s some amazing value in that kind of a role player.

Post match Corino asks Coleman about the envelope that Prince Nana gave him a few weeks ago. There was money and a letter inside. Coleman took the money and read the letter over and over. At first it didn’t make sense but now he knows that Nana was right. Nothing more is explained.

Roppongi Vice/Kazuchika Okada vs. Briscoe Brothers/Hiroki Goto

Okada, part of Chaos with Vice, is IWGP Heavyweight Champions and Goto is the IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Well as of this taping at least. Jay and Okada get things going for what ROH would consider a dream match. They slug it out with Okada kicking Jay in the face to take over. Off to Rocky Romero (of Rocky Romero/Trent Baretta) who doesn’t do as well so here are Goto and Trent.

Hiroki scores with some shoulders before it’s off to Mark for shoulders of his own. Mark is fascinated by Trent’s headband and puts it on, setting up redneck kung fu and a dropkick. Vice starts some double teaming on Mark and Okada adds a slingshot hilo for two. All three members of Chaos rake Mark’s eyes until Mark grabs a Death Valley Driver on Okada. Goto comes in to fight Okada like he wants but he gets kicked in the face, setting up Okada’s top rope elbow.

The Rainmaker is countered into a backbreaker and we take a break. Back with Jay cleaning house before it’s off to Mark, who gets clotheslined in the corner to change control again. Jay comes back in with a powerbomb into a neckbreaker as everything breaks down. Mark counters the Rainmaker into a suplex but Romero kicks him in the face. Trent makes a blind tag but gets caught in a Doomsday Device from the apron to the floor.

Back in and the Froggy Bow gets a VERY close two on Trent but Okada comes back in with a tombstone. Goto breaks up the Rainmaker with a headbutt and everyone is down again. That’s enough for Jay as he blasts Trent in the face and scores with the Jay Driller for the pin at 14:05.

Rating: B. This was your usual fun six man New Japan match which is a great option to fill in the gaps on shows like this one. The Briscoes continue to look awesome as a team and would be a great addition to the already stacked tag division at this point. Okada vs. Goto was treated like a side story here, which is probably best considering they don’t work for this company.

Overall Rating: B+. This is one of the better shows the company has had on Destination America as everyone was on point and rolling this week with three good matches that served no real purpose other than filling in time. I’m not sure when we get to the next story driven shows but at least we had an entertaining show this week, which is all you can ask for here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

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

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