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:

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Ring of Honor
Date: September 16, 2015
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

It’s the go home show for All-Star Extravaganza but that means a few different things in Ring of Honor due to their taping schedule. We’ll hear about the upcoming show, but it’s not clear how much of the show is going to be spent hyping Friday’s show. These shows have settled into a nice groove lately and hopefully it continues tonight. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

House of Truth vs. ReDRagon

Dijak/Diesel for the House of Truth with Lethal and Martini at ringside. Lethal is defending both his titles against Fish and O’Reilly on Friday so this makes sense. The champ is even sitting in on commentary for a not very rare treat. We actually get handshakes to start before Kyle and Diesel get things going. They slug it out to start and Diesel, a Golden Gloves boxer, is throwing forearms. So much for common sense.

A big slap to the face puts Diesel down and Kyle grabs a cross armbreaker. It’s way too early for that to work though so it’s off to Fish for some kicks to Diesel’s chest. A double kick to the chest gets two on Diesel as Dijak is totally content to stay on the apron for all of this. He finally adds a knee to Kyle’s back to take over, only to chase Kyle to the floor where Fish gets in some shots to the ribs.

Back in and Dijak catches Kyle’s cross body and throws him over the top like a doll. We come back from a break with Dijak throwing Kyle across the ring with a big release suplex. There’s something to be said about a big strong guy throwing small opponents around. You don’t see it very often in ROH, which makes it even better. A springboard elbow gets two for Donovan but Kyle flips out of a belly to back suplex and fires off his strikes.

Fish comes in to strike away on Diesel and everything breaks down. ReDRagon take turns kicking Dijak’s knees until he goes down and Kyle puts Diesel in an ankle lock. Dijak comes back in and slugs away but the hold isn’t broken. I rather like that idea for a change. With Fish throwing Dijak in a sleeper, Kyle adds a grapevine to the ankle lock and Diesel taps at 8:43.

Rating: C+. This was better than I was expecting with the story making the match work better. Lethal has reason to be scared of ReDRagon already and now he can see what they’re capable of. Dijak is a beast though and has a ton of potential. I get a kind of Dino Bravo vibe out of Diesel and that’s a very good role for someone to play.

The Briscoes are ready for any mystery team on Friday, including Godzilla and King Kong. That’s not much of a team though as they would wind up fighting each other. Mark really needs to think this through better.

Dalton Castle vs. Cedric Alexander

Silas Young is on commentary before his match with Castle on Friday. Cedric celebrates an early armdrag, sending the Boys over to fan Castle off. Back up and Dalton can’t get an O’Connor roll but he lands on his feet to freak Cedric out for some reason. That wasn’t really surprising but wrestling heels are often stupid. Castle crotches himself in the corner and a big kick to the head knocks him silly.

Back from a break with Cedric still in control until he charges into a boot in the corner. Everything heads outside with Castle not being able to send him into the post. Instead it’s something like a 619 under the apron into a hurricanrana to take Cedric down. Nice spot. Back in and a belly to belly gets two for Castle but Cedric kicks him in the head. That’s fine with Dalton as he powers Cedric up into a German suplex for two. Silas goes after the Boys though, allowing Cedric to grab a rollup for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: C-. This was all story again but the entertainment level wasn’t as high as it was in the opener. Castle vs. Young is a simple story and that’s all it needs to be. Both guys play their roles very well and either ending having a lot of possibilities. The match was nothing great here but it did its job.

Moose comes out to spear Cedric.

Kingdom vs. War Machine

As usual, I tend to forget anything else going on when Maria shows up. Just…..good night. Bennett and Taven for the Kingdom here. Their early superkicks have no effect on Hanson and Rowe and the power guys start by double teaming Taven. We settle down to Hanson side slamming Taven before Rowe comes in for a double slam. Bennett gets in and is immediately planted with a double release belly to back.

Maria comes in and grabs Hanson’s hair but gets placed on top of Bennett in the corner. Taven saves her from getting forearmed and hits a Disaster kick off the barricade to drop Hanson as we take a break. Back with the Kingdom keeping Hanson in trouble in the corner. That lasts as long as two guys can keep a monster like Hanson in trouble though as he comes back with a reverse powerslam and makes the tag to Rowe. A massive release Boss Man Slam plants Taven and everything breaks down.

War Machine easily catches both dives to the floor and powerbombs Bennett onto Taven. That looked good. Back in and Hanson and Taven trade cartwheels in a pretty stupid bit. Taven enziguris Hanson down and gets two off a Lionsault. How Jerichoish of him. Rowe comes back in for the Path of Resistance but Maria grabs Hanson’s leg. Cue the Young Bucks to pull her off the apron, leaving Bennett to take a double chokeslam. Fallout is enough to put Taven away at 14:38.

Rating: C-. More storytelling but at least Hanson and Rowe were there to throw the Kingdom all over the place. Maria continues to be the star of the team and that’s exactly what she’s supposed to be. I’m sure we’ll have some post match stuff with the Addiction because that’s how wrestling works.

The Bucks superkick Bennett down but the KRD (Addiction/Chris Sabin) come in with belt shots. Makes sense.

A long All-Star Extravaganza video takes us out.

Overall Rating: C. This show was different from most go home shows as they talked about the matches, but it went from the World Title to the midcard matches to the Tag Team Title match. Other than that the rest of Friday’s card was basically ignored, but there’s only so much you can do in an hour of TV a week. It’s entertaining enough though and the wrestling was fine, but I’m a bit less interested in seeing the pay per view than I was coming in.

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:

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

Ring of Honor
Date: September 9, 2015
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

This is a special show as we have a pair of title matches with the Young Bucks challenging the Addiction for the Tag Team Titles and World Champion Jay Lethal defending against Roderick Strong in a rematch from their pay per view draw. This is where Ring of Honor is supposed to shine so let’s see how good they can be. Let’s get to it.

Truth Martini and Jay Lethal say Strong has already had his shot so this is his final chance for the title.

Strong says he’s Mr. Ring of Honor because he wrestles as hard as he can every time he’s out there. There will be a winner tonight and he’ll be the new World Champion. Good night please get this guy a mouthpiece.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Addiction

The Addiction is defending. Sabin is at ringside with Kazarian and Daniels. The Bucks double superkick Daniels during the big match intros and the champs are in early trouble. Matt tosses Nick into a dropkick to put Daniels down again but Sabin pulls Kaz to the floor for a save. That goes badly as well with Sabin superkicking Daniels by mistake, earning him an early ejection. He tries to run back in but gets a double superkick for his efforts.

Kazarian gets kicked off the apron again as we’re still waiting on this to get down to a regular tag match. There’s a superkick to Daniels but Kazarian shoves Nick off the top to finally take over. Back from a break with Daniels pounding on Matt and dropping him with a gutbuster. We hit the waistlock on Matt to stay on the ribs and Daniels throws his feet on the ropes because he knows how to be a heel.

Matt comes back with a top rope flip into a Stunner (so much for the ribs) and makes the tag off to Nick. The slingshot X Factor gets two on Kaz and a Cannonball sets up the Swanton Bomb as Kaz is draped over the ropes for two. Daniels comes back in for the save for a release Rock Bottom but the BME hits knees. Kaz slingshots Nick into a cutter but Matt kicks his head off to put everyone down. It’s Addiction up first and a downward spiral puts Matt down, followed by a choke but here’s the Kingdom to go after Nick.

That goes nowhere as the Bucks get back up for a buckle bomb into an enziguri. The Meltzer Driver plants Kaz but Daniels makes the save, only to blame it on the Kingdom. The referee goes after the Kingdom, allowing Daniels to hit Nick with the title. Matt takes it away and cleans house with the belt until Maria takes it away. The distraction lets Kaz grab a quick rollup for the pin to retain at 13:50.

Rating: B. This was fun but could have been great had there not been quite as much interference. Still though, the Bucks are tailor made for this kind of a promotion and the Addiction are able to back up their antics in the ring. Either way, this was a very fun match and some of the Bucks’ stuff defies physics. I wouldn’t call this a well done match, but it was incredibly entertaining and that’s very good as well.

Wait a second though as cue Nigel McGuinness who says that’s not happening on his watch. Since the Bucks just got ripped off, let’s add them to All-Star Extravaganza on September 18 in San Antonio.

ROH World Title: Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong

Lethal is defending and has the entire House of Truth with him. The fans are split as the guys shake hands because being a heel means nothing in this company. They slug it out to start until Lethal kicks Strong out to the floor. The champ scores with a suicide dive but Strong runs back in for a great looking dropkick as we take a break.

Back with Strong sending Jay into the barricade but Roderick has to fight off the House of Truth, allowing Jay to get in a superkick. We hit the chinlock back inside before Lethal’s fireman’s carry into Snake Eyes staggers Strong again. It’s back to the chinlock as Roderick is bleeding a bit from the forehead.

Jay finally mixes things up a bit by sending Strong to the floor so the House of Truth can get in some cheap shots as we take another break. Back again with Strong hitting a quick backbreaker, followed by a string of chops in the corner. Lethal blocks another backbreaker out of the corner but Strong starts running the ropes and hitting a quick elbow to the face every time.

Strong misses a jumping knee to the face and the Lethal Combination gets two. The champ’s superplex is broken up and Roderick drops a top rope elbow for two of his own. The announcers start talking about Bill Belichick for some point that takes far too long to get to as the guys chop it out again. There’s the jumping knee to the head and Lethal is staggered.

Strong’s superplex connects but Jay grabs a small package out of nowhere for two. The jumping knee to the face is no sold (oh here we go) and Lethal loads up the Lethal Injection but gets countered by the Sick Kick for two and we take a third break. Back one more time with the referee taking the Book of Truth out of the ring, allowing Strong to hit another pair of knees to the face. Lethal comes back with two more superkicks and a belt shot. The Lethal Injection gets two and the fans are WAY into this. I believe the seventh superkick of the match sets up a second Lethal Injection to retain Jay’s title at 25:12.

Rating: B. This is an interesting case as it’s a more exciting and better match than the Tag Team Title match but my goodness the repetitiveness of the superkicks and jumping knees really held this back. There’s other stuff you can do and it makes the match feel like a video game where you find a single move that works and keep doing it over and over. The drama was solid, but mix that stuff up again. Also, stop no selling a jumping knee to the face, especially when the same move knocked you silly thirty seconds earlier. Not only are you not Hulk Hogan, you’re a heel. No selling is a face idea, not for the guy you’re booing.

ReDRagon comes out to stare Lethal down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Like I said, this was supposed to be where Ring of Honor shined and they did that here. This felt like a big preview for All-Star Extravaganza and it’s a good idea to set up the bigger matches here and give the fans a preview. There are still some things on here that get on my nerves but it could be a lot worse. Fun hour of wrestling here which really did feel like something different than WWE and TNA, which could be seen as a major compliment.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: September 2, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

We’re coming up on All-Star Extravaganza where Lethal will again have to defend both of his titles in one night. That is of course assuming he makes it out of tonight’s TV Title defense against the powerhouse Hanson, who is one of the many people in line for a shot at one of the belts. Let’s get to it.

Adam Page vs. Jay Briscoe

Page has called Briscoe out for a few weeks for reasons that aren’t really clear. The announcers call Jay Briscoe a legend and one of the all time greats in Ring of Honor. If you’re talking just titles, Briscoe is pretty easily a mile ahead of anyone else and really is one of the best they’ve ever had. Page slaps him in the face instead of shaking hands. Jay actually offers another handshake and gets slapped one more time. Some left hands have Adam in trouble and he gets knocked to the floor for a suicide dive. Page’s young boy Colby Corino hits Jay in the back for the quick DQ at 1:45.

Page, who never took his vest off, throws a chair at Jay’s head and gives him the Rite of Passage on a pile of chairs. Mark Briscoe comes out for the save a few moments too late.

We recap Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young, which has evolved into a battle over Castle’s boys.

Castle will be silent no longer and is going to come crashing down on Silas Young like a thousand foot wave from the hand of Poseidon. The boys can be on the line, but if Castle wins, Young becomes one of Dalton’s boys. That makes things more interesting.

Cedric Alexander vs. Caprice Coleman

These two used to be partners. Before the match, Cedric sends manager Veda Scott to the back so Coleman gets in a verbal jab at her expense. The livid Cedric gets punched in the face and slammed into a rollup for one. Veda is still on the floor, which is certainly not a bad thing. She offers a quick distraction and Cedric kicks Coleman’s head off as we take a break.

Back with Cedric chopping his former mentor and cutting off a comeback. Coleman sends him outside for a hurricanrana before bringing Cedric back in for a second hurricanrana and a near fall. Cedric’s Michinoku Driver gets two so Veda slips him the wrench, only to have Stokely Carmichael (Moose’s manager) come out and drop Veda, allowing Moose to take the wrench away. The distraction lets Coleman come off the top with the Sky Splitter (Rough Ryder) for the pin at 8:08.

Rating: C-. I have no idea why I’m supposed to care about either of these guys. They’re both very stereotypical Ring of Honor guys: good enough hands in the ring but lacking presence and any reason for me to be interested in either of them. Veda is much more interesting than both of them, but that’s not really saying much.

Moose KO’s Cedric with the wrench. Prince Nana comes out and hands Coleman an envelope.

Brutal Bob Evans vs. Cheeseburger

This is one of those feuds that just won’t die. Evans swears at Cheeseburger to start so Cheeseburger ducks a chair shot and hits a flip dive off the barricade to start. They get inside and Evans begs off, only to send Cheeseburger into the corner. Evans pulls Cheeseburger up at two so he can keep up the beating. A shoulder block gets two for Bob but Cheesburger kicks away from the mat. Bob heads outside to load up a table but Cheeseburger smacks him off the apron and through the table instead, earning a countout.

Rating: D-. What a waste of time. They really hammered in the idea here and it’s not a very good one. These two have been feuding for months and I have no reason to care. Cheeseburger is smaller than Spike Dudley and comes off as a waste of time more than anything else. Total waste of time.

Jay Lethal promises to beat Hanson so badly tonight that Hanson’s dog is going to run away and Hanson is going to lose his house. I loved that line.

TV Title: Hanson vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending and Bobby Fish, who will be facing the winner of this at All-Star Extravaganza, is on commentary. Hanson throws Lethal around to start and kicks his head off with a big boot. The champ’s chops have no effect so Truth Martini offers a distraction, allowing Lethal to dropkick him out to the floor. A suicide dive from the champ takes us to a break.

Back with Lethal snapping Hanson’s throat across the top rope by the beard and slapping on a chinlock. That goes nowhere so Hanson comes back with a nice gutwrench slam. A cartwheel into a clothesline gets two on Jay as the announcers talk about the grind of being a double champion. That’s how you tell stories on commentary instead of talking about England winning some competition in some sport that isn’t clearly defined.

Hanson’s Bronco Buster is countered with a raised boot, followed by Jay’s top rope elbow for two. Hanson tries his Lethal Injection and only kind of botches it, followed by a moonsault which hits Lethal’s knees. Fish brings up the obvious point: shouldn’t that hurt Letha’s legs? Two straight Lethal Injections (the Tajiri handspring into a Diamond Cutter. Doing it twice doesn’t make it any less stupid looking) retain Jay’s title at 11:27.

Rating: C-. Just ok here as it was mainly a quick challenge for Lethal to get out of the way. You have to let him win a match or two like this every now and then, especially when Lethal has a bunch of bigger matches coming up. I really liked the announcers talking about how Lethal is trying to do too much as that is the most logical place to take the story.

Lethal talks trash about ReDRagon so Fish gets on the apron and is quickly joined by Kyle O’Reilly (a future World Title contender). Roderick Strong comes out to stare Lethal down as well and the champ runs off to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I’m having a really hard time caring about a lot of these stories. Lethal’s stuff is more about getting to the point where he collapses under the weight of everything he’s trying to do. That can make for a good long story but it’s not working for a one off week. The rest of the matches didn’t do much for me, save for the opener which set up something interesting down the line. These stories aren’t doing it for me, but I had a really good time with the Tag Team Title stuff, mainly because it was all self contained and I didn’t need to see a bunch of other shows to get the idea. Easily fixed, but not a great show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: August 26, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

This is a good time for ROH as their shows have been getting better over time with the focus shifting to the Tag Team Titles, which is a nice change of pace after Jay Lethal receiving so much of the focus due to having both titles. I’m hoping things stay on the mini roll they’ve had for the last few weeks so let’s get to it.

Steve Corino is back and says his issues with BJ Whitmer are over.

Bloodbound Warriors vs. Briscoes

The Warriors, Gray Wolf and Red Scorpion, look like the Legion of Doom crossed with the Ascension. Jay and Wolf get things going and this is one of the most bizarre looking matches you’ll ever see. A shoulder doesn’t do much to Gray and Jay likes this challenge a little bit more. Wolf gets smart by grabbing the beard but eats a boot to the face. It only knocks him into the corner though so it’s off to Mark vs. Red.

Scorpion slams Mark over the top, sending him head first into the top rope and onto the apron to make things even worse. Wolf throws Mark hard into the barricade as this has been one sided so far. Back in and a double flapjack gets two on Mark but he flips over to Jay to pick things up. Everything quickly breaks down and Jay dives on Wolf, leaving Mark to strut around, only to get flipped over the top and outside as well. Back inside and a Death Valley Driver gets two on Scorpion, followed by the Froggy Bow from Mark and a wicked lariat from Jay for the pin at 4:24

Rating: C+. I liked this a lot more than I was expecting to as the Warriors got to show off for a bit against the best team in the history of the promotion. That’s something I like to see out of matches at this level: letting the team who is way out of their league look good for a bit instead of just beating them in a few minutes. Not bad.

Post match here’s the Decade to call out Jay Briscoe in person. Jay says he doesn’t know who Page is but they can do this right now. Whitmer says not so fast because they can do it next week. Jay says it’s on.

Jay Lethal and Truth Martini are ready for Hanson next week. Martini: “Next week you’ll be gone in an mmmbop.”

Donovan Dijak vs. Roderick Strong

This is a way for the House of Truth to soften Strong up before his impending World Title shot. Dijak shoves Strong down to start and chops the skin off his chest, which actually doesn’t get a WOO. That’s such a nice change of pace. Strong comes back with a dropkick but a fireman’s carry doesn’t work on the huge Dijak. A kick to the head staggers Donovan but Strong has to avoid a shot from the Book of Truth, allowing Dijak to knock him to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Dijak throwing Strong down for two before catching him in mid air and tossing him to the mat ala Titus O’Neil. Strong finally scores with a loud dropkick for two but he still can’t lift Dijak. Why bother trying if you couldn’t earlier on? I mean, you’re not exactly Hulk Hogan dude. Strong fights out of a torture rack and manages an Angle Slam to get a breather. Dijak is sat on the top and eventually superplexed for two. A huge boot to the face gets the same on Strong but he comes back with the fireman’s carry into the gutbuster, followed by a Sick Kick for the pin at 10:48.

Rating: B-. I liked this well enough but they never could quite break through to the next level. Dijak has the potential to be something good but needs some more experience, which is the case for so many people in this company. Good enough match, but I’m not wild on Strong’s offense a lot of the time. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t seem like something that would ever blow me away.

The House of Truth comes in for the beatdown until War Machine makes the save. I smell a six man.

Tag Team Titles: Future Shock vs. Addiction

Addiction is defending and Corino freaks out over the Future Shock reunion. Chris Sabin is on commentary and Daniels is in a military uniform. Cole and Daniels get things going as Sabin talks about having mutant healing powers. Adam headlocks Daniels on the mat but gets stomped down on the mat and then in the corner for a change of pace. Kyle gets the tag and some slick double teaming gets two on Daniels as we take a break.

Back with O’Reilly kicking Kazarian in the face for two before tagging Cole back in. A big superkick puts Daniels on the floor and Cole loads up his signature shout, but Kyle stops him to turn it into a FUTURE SHOCK instead. Kazarian kicks Cole off the top so Daniels can send him into the barricade a few times to really take over. A slingshot legdrop gets two for Kazarian but Cole finally scores with an enziguri to break the momentum. Corino: “YOU CAN DO IT! I BELIEVE IN YOU!”

Ever the veteran though, Daniels runs around and pulls Kyle to the floor to break up the tag attempt. Cole slaps on the figure four (after a few failed attempts) until Kazarian turns it over. Kyle comes in and puts Kazarian in an armbar but Daniels comes in as well to throw O’Reilly in a Koji Clutch. Why any of these people would think the submissions would count is beyond me but wrestlers are dumb sometimes.

We take another break and come back with Kyle dropkicking the Addiction down and firing off a series of strikes to Daniels. There’s a cross armbreaker to Kazarian and a knee bar to Daniels as he tries to make a save. Future Shock mostly misses a clothesline/legsweep combo to Daniels, who kicks Cole low behind the referee’s back. Kyle gets two off a tornado DDT into a brainbuster.

Kyle puts Kazarian in a cross armbreaker for the tap out but the Kingdom comes out for a distraction. Matt Taven superkicks Kyle to give Kazarian two but Cole sees Maria interfere, finally realizing what’s going on. Cole goes after the Kingdom, leaving Kyle alone to take Celebrity Rehab for the pin at 14:33.

Rating: B-. More good tag wrestling around here and any match where I get to look at Maria is a good thing. The tag division is the best thing going in ROH right now and it’s nice to see one of those teams actually getting a shot instead of just having the contenders fighting each other all the time.

Bobby Fish and the Young Bucks run in for the save but the Kingdom comes back in to make it a huge brawl. The Bucks hit stereo dives and soak in the cheers to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was pretty easily the best show since they debuted on Destination America with an hour of solid wrestling, but they also advanced the stories as well as they have yet. The one thing I’d like them to work on though is doing a better job of explaining when these matches are taking place. I know there’s Death Before Dishonor, All-Star Extravaganza and some TV matches coming up, but I’ve completely lost track of when each is taking place. Settle those things down a bit and the show gets better. Good stuff this week though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: August 19, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

We’re getting closer to All-Star Extravaganza and the big story continues to be the tag team division. Last week saw several teams fighting each other for the belts, which could lead to some very good matches for the titles in the future. On top of that we have Jay Lethal getting ready to defend both his titles so expect to see quite a bit of him in the near future. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

McGuinness is in King Corino’s place due to Corino going nuts over BJ Whitmer last week.

Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle

This feud continues and that’s not a bad thing. Castle does his posing but runs straight at Young in the corner for some forearms to the face. He rams Young’s face into the mat as you can feel the charisma melting off of Castle. Fans: “FAN UP!” A rollup gets two for Dalton and he muscles Young over for a suplex. The boys fan Young on the floor and that’s just not cool with him. Castle uses the distraction to go after him again but gets sent hard into the barricade as we go to a break.

Back with Silas getting the better of a slugout (shocking I know) but the boys get on the apron to fan things off again. The distraction doesn’t work so well this time as Young comes back with a middle rope clothesline. Dalton shows off some surprising power by lifting him up like a spinebuster and charging to the ropes, dropping both guys out to the floor. A hurricanrana drops Young again and a spinout Rock Bottom gets two. Young grabs the Killer Combo (a backbreaker into a mat slam) but the boys offer yet another distraction, allowing Castle to catch Young in the Bang A Rang (reverse helicopter bomb) for the pin at 10:40.

Rating: C+. I liked this better than I was expecting to as Castle’s charisma actually has some wrestling skills behind it. Young is good as a midcard heel and Castle is a perfect foil for him, so the chemistry and idea here worked quite well. Good stuff here, but I’m not sure how far Castle can go up the card.

Post match Young rants about Castle’s lifestyle with the boys (who are adult men) and how he’s corrupting them. Silas wants one more match but with the boys on the line so he can turn them into men.

Bobby Fish thinks he can win the TV Title. Jay Lethal comes in and says Fish has no chance, meaning some shouting ensues.

Will Ferrara vs. Moose

Prince Nana is on commentary. Ferrara looks tiny compared to the giant Moose. Moose shows off some agility by dropkicking Ferrara off the top and out to the floor. Now we go with the power as Moose picks Ferrara up and slings him from one side of the barricade to the other. Well that’s one way to hurt somebody.

Back in and Will grabs a DDT to send Moose outside. Ferrara loads up a suicide dive but gets caught in midair, only to keep moving and DDT Moose onto the floor for a pretty sweet counter. They head inside again with Moose running up the corner, stumbling a bit, and superplexing Will down. The spear gives Moose the pin at 3:25.

Rating: C. This was another match that surprised me as they had what looked one sided and managed to turn it into something good. Ferrara is better than his size would suggest and he had some good stuff here, while Moose looks like the complete (yet still mostly green) package. Another nice surprise here.

Adam Cole can’t believe that Future Shock is getting a Tag Team Title match next week, but he also can’t believe that his friends in the Kingdom don’t believe in him anymore. It’s not what he brings to the table because he brings the entire table. So he’s the lost Dudley?

Roppongi Vice vs. Young Bucks

Baretta and Rocky Romero (Vice) are the only ones willing to shake hands and it’s with each other. Nick and Baretta get things going but the threat of a superkick puts Baretta into the corner for some safety. It’s off to Matt vs. Rocky as their partners fight on the floor. The Bucks try the Meltzer Driver but Rocky breaks it up, only to have Nick hit a big flip dive to take out everyone on the floor.

Back from a break with Matt hitting a running neckbreaker on Rocky but the cover doesn’t count because he’s not legal. Baretta breaks up a cartwheel splash into the corner to take out his partner and everything heads outside. The crowd is oddly silent for this part. Back in and Romero mocks the cartwheel and rapid fire superkicks before Vice settles in for some double teaming on Matt. Baretta takes too long posing though and eats a superkick from Nick.

Rocky gets one as well and the tag brings Nick in to dropkick Baretta off the apron. The Bucks speed things up and hit their stereo dives to the floor. The double superkick misses though and Rocky hurricanranas both down at the same time. Back from a second break with Baretta throwing Nick’s foot into Matt’s face and tornado DDTing Matt for no cover. The Bucks fire off their kicks but Rocky scores with some hard clotheslines to put everyone down in a very fast sequence.

Matt is taken to the floor for a Doomsday knee to the face before a Shining Wizard gets two on Nick. A double knee puts Nick down again but Matt comes back in with a superkick, allowing Nick to come back with something like a Canadian Destroyer. Nick’s springboard 450 gets two on Romero and it’s time for all the superkicks. Baretta is taken out on the floor and More Bang For Your Buck ends Rocky at 20:10.

Rating: B-. Fun match but again, I’m not a fan of the Bucks’ video game style. I’m not going to bother ranting about it again here, but there’s just not much in there I’m going to care about with them. On top of that, I’m not interested in what’s going on in New Japan. I know these two are in warring stables over there, but this is Ring of Honor, not New Japan. Save that stuff for the big shows, not a regular TV show. And yes, I’m aware I’ll likely be told I don’t get something.

Post match the Addiction and Chris Sabin clean house. I know they’re another stable, because Heaven forbid there aren’t a half dozen of them in a promotion that has an hour of TV a week. Nick gets hit with a spike tombstone, called the Indytaker. My how clever. The Addiction and Sabin stand tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I had a good time for this show, various overly smarky and flippy based main event match and story aside. The stories are making more sense now and their pacing is mostly fine, but I wouldn’t have twenty minute main events on a show that only runs an hour. Still though, good enough show this week which could still use some adjustments.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Finally, make sure to check out the Wrestling Bundle, which wraps up Sunday August 23 at midnight EST. Here are the details:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/08/16/the-wrestling-bundle/

Ring of Honor
Date: August 12, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

It’s FINALLY a new batch of tapings as the show has moved from New York to Baltimore. The big story coming out of last week is the Tag Team Title situation as Future Shock reformed to take down the Addiction in a non-title match. This isn’t cool with Future Shock member Adam Cole’s stable the Kingdom, who will likely have something to say about this tonight. Let’s get to it.

Watanabe vs. ACH

Hey, it’s the guy that I still don’t get but keeps getting matches on TV because he’s Japanese and therefore must be awesome. They chop it out to start and Watanabe kneels down, telling ACH to chop him again. ACH obliges before kneeling down, only to have Watanabe’s chops work a bit better. Back up and ACH backflips to set up a dropkick as Corino runs down the Field of Honor card. Watanabe gets kicked to the floor and a running kick to the chest from the apron puts him down again.

We take a break and come back with ACH working on the arm but getting caught in a gordbuster. A backsplash (which is becoming too common of a move these days) sets up a chinlock on ACH. That goes as far as a chinlock can take you so ACH kicks him to the floor and hits a great looking flip dive over the top.

Back in and Watanabe’s fisherman’s buster is countered with a small package for two. They head outside again with ACH running up the pole to flip over, but he’s stupid enough to stand there and pose, allowing Watanabe to hit a wicked overhead German suplex on the floor. A fisherman’s buster gets two for Watanabe but ACH hits a brainbuster of his own, setting up the Midnight Star (450) for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: C. Well that happened. Seriously this had no impact on me whatsoever and was just nine minutes of wrestling with a commercial in the middle. Watanabe is as generic of a Japanese wrestler as I’ve ever seen and ACH can do flips. That doesn’t make me want to see either guy again as they feel like archetypes instead of characters.

ReDRagon is ready for the Kingdom tonight but imply they drink their own urine. Very simple, old school promo here, minus the last part that is.

From earlier in the day, ROH boss Nigel McGuinness was here to make some announcements. He heard the FIVE MORE MINUTES chants at Death Before Dishonor when Roderick Strong vs. Jay Lethal went to a sixth minute draw, but the only thing that would happen in five more minutes was a serious injury.

However, it’s clear that the people want to see more of these two, which means we’ll see it again at the August 21 TV tapings. The winner there will take the title to All-Star Extravaganza on September 18 to defend against Kyle O’Reilly. Also at All-Star Extravaganza, Bobby Fish will face the TV Champion, whoever that may be at that time.

Dalton Castle and the Boys (as opposed to Dem Boys) pitch merchandise. This guy just breathes charisma.

House of Truth vs. War Machine

It’s Diesel/Dijak for the House of Truth here with Lethal on commentary. The heels jump War Machine at the call for the Code of Honor but Hanson easily puts both of them on the top rope for some sledges to the corner. Lethal: “TRUTH! TELL HIM TO SLOW DOWN!” Some good old fashioned double team cheating lets Dijak kick Hanson in the face and Lethal is downright giddy.

Hanson stays down as long as a monster is going to against someone like Diesel and it’s quickly off to Rowe to clean house. Dijak throws Hanson down with a release suplex and Diesel adds a spear for two. War Machine’s Path of Resistance crushes Dijak and Hanson’s top rope splash makes it even worse. Lethal: “SLOW DOWN!!!” Fallout (a belly to back suplex/top rope guillotine legdrop) ends Diesel at 4:52. Oh and Hanson is facing Lethal for the TV Title in a few weeks. This match makes so much more sense all of a sudden.

Rating: C. I had fun with this as there’s always room for a Legion of Doom style team to destroy various people, especially someone as pesky as Diesel. Lethal was more entertaining on commentary than he was for years imitating people and I can kind of see the massive appeal he carries. Granted that’s likely to end as soon as I really don’t care for his matches.

Tim Hughes vs. Adam Page

This is the only match I can ever find listed for Hughes. Fans: “LET’S GO JOBBER!” The Rite of Passage ends Hughes in 24 seconds.

BJ Whitmer yells at ROH for giving Page such an easy opponent. Page calls out Jay Briscoe, much to Kelly’s shock. As luck would have it, Briscoe isn’t here. With that going nowhere, Whitmer yells at King Corino but Nigel comes out to say cut it out. The fans, ever bloodthirsty, say LET THEM FIGHT.

Back from a break with King Corino off commentary and Kelly going solo. We see a clip of Corino nearly killing Whitmer last week to show where this came from. I always appreciate stuff like that as not everyone saw the previous show, so let us know what’s going on.

Kingdom vs. ReDRagon

Kingdom has finally lost their IWGP Tag Team Titles. Adam Cole comes out to do commentary to a huge face reaction and Maria is freaked out. O’Reilly and Taven get things going with Kyle grabbing a headlock until Taven comes back with a great sunset flip for two. It’s off to Bennett vs. Fish as we have the standard double tag. Fish kicks Bennett in the chest before it’s back to Kyle for a nice double suplex. A slingshot hilo gets two for Fish and we take a break with Bennett getting low bridged to the floor.

Back with Kyle diving off the apron to take Bennett down and Fish swiveling his hips for reasons that aren’t clear. Maria offers a distraction (I wonder how she pulled that off) and Taven gets in a kick to the head to take over. Cole reiterates that he’s the only member of the Kingdom ready to hold the World Title as Bennett puts Kyle in a chinlock. Bennett’s Thesz press with punches and a middle finger elbow are a rather bizarre including so it’s off to Taven for some choking in the corner.

Kyle somehow grabs a leg bar for a breather and leg trips Taven down, setting up the hot tag to Bobby. Fish cleans house but Taven blocks the exploder suplex into the corner. The second attempt works a bit better though and Fish keeps cleaning house. Everything breaks down but Taven is able to escape Chasing the Dragon. There’s a choke to Bennett instead but he spins around for a running boot from Taven.

Matt’s high angle Swanton gets two on Fish and the wheelbarrow suplex gets the same for Kyle. O’Reilly eats a superkick and it’s time for everyone to kick with Taven kicking Kyle into the ropes for a superkick from Bennett. Hail Mary (spike piledriver) on the floor crushes Kyle again and Cole isn’t happy. Back in and Fish tries to go it alone but Taven kicks him in the face, setting up another Hail Mary for the pin at 14:04.

Rating: C+. This got a bit too insane for my tastes but they’re nailing the story at this point and I’m digging this more than almost anything else in ROH right now. Though to be fair, Maria has a lot to do with that. Good match here and you can see Cole’s full on face turn (he’s like 90% there already) on the horizon.

Post match the Kingdom loads up another Hail Mary but Cole comes in and says cool it, which Maria agrees with to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m starting to get into the stories around here, though I’m still not wild on a lot of the wrestling stuff. The tag team situation is getting better every week as you can see where they’re going with things, which as usual is a positive. The Jay Lethal stuff can work for awhile but they can only carry this on so long before the midcard starts to suffer. Good show this week though and I’m hopeful going forward.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: August 5, 2015
Location: Terminal 5, New York City, New York
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

These marathon TV tapings are starting to become an issue as they’re still in the same venue, even after a pay per view elsewhere and as we’re coming up on the next pay per view where the cycle starts all over again. Last week’s show really didn’t work for me but maybe things can pick up again in another stand alone show. Let’s get to it.

Roderick Strong is in the back and talks about proving himself against Jay Lethal at Death Before Dishonor in their hour long draw. They went toe to toe for sixty minutes but Lethal couldn’t beat him. Nighel McGuinness needs to understand that Lethal’s next defense is a rematch with Strong. What Strong needs to understand is that he needs a mouthpiece because he just can’t talk.

Opening sequence.

War Machine vs. Young Bucks

Oh joy, another match of hearing SUPERKICK over and over. It’s a brawl to start with Hanson and Rowe destroying the Bucks with ease. An old Harris Twins H Bomb drops Nick and Rowe launches him over the top and onto his partner. The Bucks’ stereo apron moonsaults are easily caught in midair and War Machine throws them into each other for a cool crash.

Superkicks (what else?) break up a chokeslam off the apron but Hanson shrugs off the Bucks’ flippy splashes and takes them down with a double clothesline. That earns him a double superkick to the floor and Nick follows with a flip dive, only to come up lame. Back from a break with Hanson throwing Matt Jackson back inside as Nick is still down on the floor. War Machine has Matt two on one but here’s AJ Styles to check on his Bullet Club teammate.

This also presents another problem with the taping schedule as Styles is still announced as the IWGP Heavyweight Champion but he lost the belt over a month ago. Matt’s rollup is countered with a wicked clothesline from Hanson, but he’s able to roll away when Rowe tries to powerbomb Hanson onto him. Cue Styles onto the apron as the new partner to help clean house, only to clothesline the referee down by mistake. It’s superkick time with Nick Jackson running in, totally fine of course, to help out. The Styles Clash puts Rowe away at 14:12.

Rating: C. So the Young Bucks. I’m still not sure what I think of them as the idea of being cool heels is played out but well done, but at the same time, I really don’t like the huge wink at the camera and breaking of the fourth wall as they’re as close to flat out saying “yeah we’re faces but saying we’re cool heels and cheating to make the whole face/heel dynamic worthless.” I really can’t stand that kind of character but it’s something you have to deal with in Ring of Honor and other similar companies as they have to try to be smarter than the fans who want “real” wrestling.

Adam Cole knows where he is in Ring of Honor after his surgery. As far as he can tell, his handshake with Kyle O’Reilly a few weeks back didn’t cause any problems in the Kingdom, because he and Kyle have been friends for years. Tonight’s match is about respect.

Cedric Alexander vs. The Romantic Touch

Touch is a masked man and an over the top, stereotypical, uh, romantic, I believe played by Rhett Titus. Alexander dropkicks him in the corner during the entrances as Cedric’s former partner Caprice Coleman is on commentary, taking issue with Cedric’s recent heel turn. A big right hand drops Touch but he sends Cedric to the floor for a flip dive and pelvic thrusting. Veda Scott grabs Touch’s leg though, allowing Alexander to kick the middle rope for some crotching. A belly to back suplex into a backbreaker (Lumbar Check) puts Touch away at 2:45.

Post match Veda says Cedric should be tired of waiting on his time to come. She would never lie to him and Alexander knows what she needs to him: to rip off the Touch’s mask and expose him as Rhett Titus. This brings Coleman to the ring for the save but here’s Moose for the real save as Cedric runs off.

Jay Lethal and Truth Martini admit that Strong took Lethal to the limit at Death Before Dishonor but now he’s going back to the end of the line.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole

These two used to be partners in a team called Future Shock and Christopher Daniels is on commentary. They wrestle around to start and tease a superkick, because that’s the one move you always get in Ring of Honor. Kyle grabs a headlock on the mat (fans: “HEADLOCK CITY!”) and takes Adam over with another one for good measure as we take a break. Back with Kyle headlocking Adam down a third time.

Cole flips to the apron but Kyle grabs him by the head and drags him back inside. Adam’s belly to back suplex still can’t break the headlock so Cole bails to the floor. That earns him another headlock with Kyle DIVING off the apron to grab the hold again. Well at least they’re trying something different. Cole goes after Daniels for no apparent reason, drawing Daniels in for the no contest at 8:24.

Rating: D+. The headlock thing was an idea and was actually getting entertaining by the end but then they cut the match short to set up the post match stuff. That’s fine in this case as they were talking about respect so not really going after each other makes sense. These two probably could have a good match with time and an ending but they got cut off here.

Kazarian comes down to help Daniels but Kyle gets back in and Future Shock clears the ring. Cole says they’re tired of this nonsense from the Addiction, so why not settle it right now?

Addiction vs. Future Shock

Non-title. Cole grabs a neckbreaker on Kazarian to start before backdropping Daniels (in street clothes). It’s off to Kyle for some chops and kicks to the chest as Future Shock is already rolling with their tandem offense. We take a break and come back with Daniels begging off from Kyle and getting hit in the face for his efforts. Addiction finally takes over and gets to double team for a change with Kazarian suplexing O’Reilly down for no cover.

A running flip neckbreaker drops Kyle again as we’re into an old school tag formula here, which is probably why I’m enjoying this as much as I am. Kyle manages to crotch Daniels, allowing the hot(ish) tag to Cole. A Shining Wizard gets two on Daniels and it’s time for a Figure Four but Kazarian makes the save with a springboard legdrop. For those days when a regular legdrop just doesn’t do it you see. Addiction’s powerbomb/neckbreaker combo puts Kyle down but Cole rolls Daniels up for the surprise pin at 8:37.

Rating: C+. I liked the ending here as the wrestlers beat the cocky team when the cocky team started showboating a bit too much. Cole as a face has potential but I’m hoping they keep ReDragon together for a bit longer as I don’t see O’Reilly as a solo act. I’m sure this sets up a title shot, which likely sets up Cole’s split from the Kingdom. Nice little match here.

Chris Sabin and Bobby Fish run in to keep up the brawling with ReDragon and Cole cleaning house. The Kingdom comes out to stare down the three of them as the show ends.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a better stand alone show than last week as the stories felt like they were advanced better, with the promos from Strong and Lethal making a big difference. Sure they were just basic speeches but it made you feel like you were watching something a bit more important. The matches were all decent at worst and the talking worked well. Good enough show here as we get close to some fresh shows soon enough.

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