Ring of Honor
Date: March 16, 2016
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 675
Commentators: Mr. Wrestling III, Kevin Kelly

Tonight is literally all about the tag division as we’ll be seeing the entire show containing one match. In this case it’s a seven team gauntlet match, which hopefully won’t include any thirty second falls. The winners here get a Tag Team Title shot at some point in the future, which could make for some entertaining action. Let’s get to it.

Tag Team Gauntlet

ReDRagon and Caprice Coleman/Will Ferrara (Together due to accepting Prince Nana’s envelopes over the last several, several months. Normally I would say they need to get things going with that story but I don’t remember the last story I cared less about so drop it already) get things going with Ferrara and O’Reilly starting us off. Kyle can’t get a Kimura in so he holds the arms to avoid a dropkick.

Ferrara gets punched down with ease, allowing ReDRagon to start taking their turns on him in the corner. Fish gets two off a belly to back but Will dives through the legs and gets the tag. Unfortunately it’s not the hottest tag because the fans realize they’re going to see six falls before the ending. Everything breaks down and Fish backdrops Ferrara over the corner, only to have Will come back in and get caught in Fish’s knee bar for the tap at 5:52.

The third team in is the House of Truth, comprised of Joey Daddiego/Chris Laruso. This seems to be Laruso’s debut, who is described as a martial artist and a lawyer. The action starts after a break with Chris armdragging Fish down for little effect. Bobby comes right back with another knee bar but Laruso is fast enough to get over to the ropes.

ReDRagon starts taking turns again as they tend to be quite efficient at doing, including O’Reilly pounding away with strikes to the head. Daddiego has to break up an arm hold as the fans are still dead silent for this. A powerbomb gets Joey out of a triangle choke and everything breaks down again. Laruso kicks Daddiego by mistake and Joey walks out, leaving Laruso to get kneed in the face and choked out by Kyle at 17:30 total, including entrances.

The Young Bucks are in fourth and tell ReDRagon to suck it to get things going. Fish and O’Reilly grab stereo ankle locks, only to get sent out to the floor, allowing us to get TOO SWEET and a double suicide dive. We settle down with O’Reilly throwing Matt’s kick into Nick’s leg, allowing him to dragon screw leg whip both of them at the same time. It’s stupid when Davey Richards does the DDT version and it’s stupid here too. Everything breaks down and Nick’s Swanton hits Fish’s knees.

Kyle and Nick start trading kicks on the floor, only to have O’Reilly counter a superkick with an ankle lock. We take another break and come back with Fish suplexing Matt for two. It’s back to Kyle, who gets caught with a spinning Diamond Cutter out of the corner. Cool looking spot, even if the flip wasn’t really necessary. Nick comes in off the hot tag and superkicks Fish, only to miss another Swanton. Kyle and Nick come in off the double tag for a double superkick from the Bucks. More Bang For Your Buck puts ReDRagon out at 35:56 total.

Brutal Bob Evans and Tim Hughes come in fifth, charge into a double superkick, and are knocked to the floor for the opening bell. Hughes and Evans stall on the outside until we get another double superkick. Some might say this is a one move team. Hughes gets inside for a slow motion side slam, only to have Nick superkick him in the jaw. Evans comes in for some sweet shin music, setting up ANOTHER double superkick. A corner powerbomb into an enziguri sets up the hanging swanton for the pin on Bob at 39:57.

Next up is the Addiction, who sneak in from behind to jump the Bucks. Kazarian and Daniels start things fast and of course charge into a superkick. Another superkick drops Kazarian and a third breaks up Angel’s Wings, allowing Matt to roll Daniels up for the pin at 43:30. Well that was quick.

Addiction beats the Bucks down again after the match as Roppangi Vice come in last. The Addiction beats them down too until Vice fights them off, allowing referees to break it up. The actual match starts fast with the Bucks taking a slight advantage before we go to a break. Back with Vice dropping Matt with a Doomsday Device off the apron with a knee instead of a clothesline. Well at least they’re moving fast out there. Vice’s double jumping knee to Nick’s face gets two and it’s off to a seated abdominal stretch.

Back up and Nick sends Romero to the floor before superkicking Trent off the apron. The hot tag brings in Matt but we take yet another break. Back with nothing having changed and Matt telling Romero to suck it. The Meltzer Driver is broken up (Kelly: “That’ll mess up the star rating.”) twice in a row with Nick getting crotched on top during the second counter. More Bang For Your Buck is broken up as well and Strong Zero puts Matt away at 53:29 total, giving Vice the title shot.

Rating: B-. I liked most of this but they definitely could have cut some stuff out. Stuff like Hughes and Evans or Coleman and Ferrara easily could have been excluded to give more time to the bigger pairs but I get why they wanted to get as many people into this as possible. ReDRagon starting things off was a good option and they’re even protected by only losing in their third fall. I could have gone for a different team than Vice winning but you take what you can get in something like this.

Vice celebrates a lot.

We end with a video hyping up next week’s Global Wars, including a clip of Okada/Nakamura vs. the Briscoes from last year.

Overall Rating: B-. These show long matches are hard to pull off but if you can get an entertaining match out of it, things are about as strong as they can be. This has nothing on Zayn vs. Joe from a last week but at least there was enough entertaining stuff here to keep the show moving at a fast pace. It’s nothing great or anything, though it accomplished something and set up a match later on so it’s not the worst idea.

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Ring of Honor
Date: January 20, 2016
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 600
Commentators: Mr. Wrestling III, Kevin Kelly

It’s the final night of the Philadelphia tapings with a Philadelphia Street Fight between the Young Bucks, the Kingdom and ReDRagon. If they give this match this time, it could be quite an entertaining match. We’re getting closer to the 14^th Anniversary Show for the next pay per view but nothing has been set up yet. Let’s get to it.

Addiction vs. Alex Shelley/ACH

This is more about building up Shelley vs. Sabin down the line. Kazarian takes Shelley into the corner to start but accidentally forearms Daniels off the apron for some good old fashioned heel miscommunication. Alex grabs a dragon sleeper but lets it go when Sabin gets on the apron for a distraction.

ACH dropkicks Kazarian down and it’s quickly off to Daniels who is taken down just as quickly. Everything breaks down for a bit and some fast double teaming puts ACH in trouble, including something like a Diamond Cutter onto Daniels’ knee as we take a break. Back with ACH rolling over for a hot tag so Shelley can speed things up.

A Downward Spiral sends Kazarian face first into the middle buckle but Daniels comes back in with a top rope stomp to the chest, only to allow the hot tag a few seconds later. Everything breaks down and Shelly kicks Daniels into a German suplex for two. Sabin shakes the ropes to break up the Midnight Star, setting up Celebrity Rehab to give Addiction the pin at 9:48.

Rating: C-. Shelley and ACH are firmly in that category of wrestlers that I just don’t care for. I get the idea behind both guys but they both seem to be going off more of a set pattern than wrestling naturally, which rarely works for me. Addiction is fine in the ring but I’d like to see them get more mic time as it’s definitely their strong suit.

Post match Addiction beats on Shelley even more until Daniels punches the referee, which brings out Nigel to suspend him indefinitely without pay.

Mark Briscoe vs. Adam Page

Page won’t shake hands to start because he’s a good heel. Some early Redneck Kung Fu doesn’t work but Adam misses the standing shooting star press. Mark kicks him into the corner and now the crane kick connects for Briscoe. A brainbuster gets two for Mark but he charges into a powerslam into the corner for two. The fans are all over Whitmer as the announcers talk about the Top Prospect Tournament.

Mark dropkicks Page to the floor and hits the running Blockbuster off the apron. They chop it out a bit until Page gets two off a jumping DDT (ala Dolph Ziggler). Mark sends him to the apron but can’t kick him out to the floor, allowing Page to slingshot in for a clothesline to take over. BJ Whitmer yells about Mr. Wrestling III being Steve Corino, only to have Briscoe come back with a fisherman’s buster and the Froggy Bow for the pin at 6:32.

Rating: D+. This whole match was a collection of spots. I didn’t see a single instance of psychology, trying to put something together or either guy doing anything other than his signature spots. It wasn’t bad or boring or anything, but could you at least work an arm or something instead of just doing the stuff you always do?

Post break, Whitmer tells Mr. Wrestling III to unmask and be a father to Colby Corino. Mr. Wrestling III gets in the ring and asks Whitmer if he has a question for him. Whitmer tries to reply but he can’t get a word out before the fans boo him out of the building. BJ says everyone knows that it’s Steve Corino under the mask but Mr. Wrestling III denies it again. He does know Corino however, and Corino knows someone that wants to take Whitmer out. However, instead of saying who that is, Mr. Wrestling III just tells the Decade to leave. Well that ended flat.

Silas Young comes out and calls what happened with the Boys at Final Battle a disappointment. Whether the fans believe it or not, the Boys appreciated learning how to mow his lawn and shovel his driveway. The Boys have one chance to do the right thing and learn to be men.

Young Bucks vs. ReDRagon vs. Kingdom

It’s Cole/Bennett for the Kingdom here and this is a street fight. The Bucks jump O’Reilly and Fish during the entrances and we’re starting fast. The injured Taven gets a double superkick, as does ring announcers Bobby Cruz. ReDRagon gets back in to work on the Bucks, only to have the Kingdom come in again to turn this into a wild brawl that is going to be almost impossible to keep track of.

Bennett punches Fish down and it’s Cole setting Matt in a chair in the middle of the ring. A running charge sets up a chinlock and even Kelly has to acknowledge that it’s a spot they’ve seen before. Kyle backdrops Nick on the floor for a thud before diving into a superkick. We take a break and come back with Cole in a shopping cart and being wheeled into a superkick.

The Bucks set up a table at ringside but it’s ReDRagon double teaming Matt inside. The Kingdom brings in a ladder (Mr. Wrestling III: “It’s amazing what you can find in south Philadelphia”) to take out ReDRagon and it’s Cole putting the ladder around his neck. That only allows ReDRagon to blast the ladder with chairs before setting the ladder on top of those chairs.

Bennett comes back in to spinebuster Kyle onto the steel but the Bucks powerbomb him (Bennett) through the ladder. A Swanton onto the ladder sets up More Bang For Your Buck but Cole pulls the referee out at two. Kevin Kelly accidentally eats a superkick and Mr. Wrestling III freaks out while still shouting SUPERKICK in a funny moment.

We take another break and come back with Cole hitting the Canadian Destroyer on Matt but walking into a superkick from Nick. Bennett takes Chasing the Dragon on the floor, leaving O’Reilly and Cole to fight in the aisle. That leaves Fish alone against the Bucks but he stops to spear Bennett through a table on the floor. A double superkick off the apron gives Fish the weakest table bump in history with Nick having to splash him the rest of the way through.

Back in and the Bucks put a party hat on Bennett for a superkick party, only to have Maria hit them both low for a save. This brings out AJ Styles to hit Bennett in the ribs with a chair before laying him out with Bloody Sunday. Maria gets a Meltzer Driver and the Indytaker into the Styles Clash puts Bennett away at 16:45.

Rating: B. Totally wild brawl here and a lot of fun at the same time. This wasn’t about anything more than carnage and that’s all they delivered the entire time. The piledriver to Maria was a good way to write her off TV and the Kingdom goes out in a great performance, especially considering it wasn’t their usual combination.

Overall Rating: C+. This is a one match show and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when one match takes up so much of the hour. The only annoying thing here was the syndication schedule causing some issues as Mike and Maria debuted in TNA two weeks before this aired. Still though, the show was fun enough with the main event being a really good time.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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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: 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:

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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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Ring of Honor
Date: July 1, 2015
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

We’re finally past the Global Wars stuff so it’s time for something actually Ring of Honor instead of a co-promoted show. Therefore tonight….it’s War of the Worlds, which is another Ring of Honor/New Japan co-promoted show from before Global Wars took place. They’re entertaining, but I’m more interested in their storylines instead of shows from two months ago. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Kelly promises fallout from Best in the World next week, meaning it’s FINALLY a new, all ROH show.

Addiction vs. Gedo/Kazuchika Okada

Addiction’s ROH World Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line, but they do insist on being called the World Tag Team Champions of the World. Gedo and Okada are part of the Chaos stable. Kaz and Gedo get things going with Gedo firing off some Flip Flop and Fly (with the punches missing) before it’s off to Okada vs. Daniels. The fans are split but Okada wins some points by teasing a big chop to the chest but stopping to gently pat him.

Gedo books his team into control with a poke to the eye but it’s quickly back to Kaz. The Addiction screws up to give Gedo a rollup (with tights) for two. At least Gedo is showing some personality here. He’s one of those guys where I just don’t get it so this is a mild improvement. Back from a break with Kaz putting Gedo in a freaky arm/leg hold but Daniels shoves the referee and almost gets in a fight with him, which might be an homage to Tommy Young boxing with Jim Cornette back in the day.

A top rope stomp to the chest gets two on Gedo but he grabs a quick Downward Spiral, finally allowing the hot tag to Okada. House is cleaned and the White Noise onto the knee gets two. Some double teaming slows Okada down until a double cross body gives us a breather. Back to Gedo for a jawbreaker and low superkick for two but Celebrity Addiction (belly to back into a gutbuster) is enough for the pin on Gedo at 14:41.

Rating: C+. This is where I get tired of Ring of Honor fans. The match was really nothing all that great, but Gedo and Okada are from Japan so the fans are going to act like this was one of the most amazing things they’ve ever seen. Yeah it was fine, but it was just a run of the mill tag match. Okada has his moments of awesome, but Gedo is just a guy for the most part.

Daniels takes the Rainmaker post match, and it’s still just a clothesline.

Adam Page vs. Watanabe

This is joined in progress. Watanabe takes him down with a neckbreaker and backdrops Page to the floor. Page backflips out of a German on the floor to prevent a broken….well probably multiple brokens, and a Colby Corino distraction lets Page mostly miss a shooting star off the apron. Back in and Page breaks up a half and half suplex but gets caught in a belly to back superplex. I’m still waiting on anything but a spot fest here. My suspicions are confirmed as Page hits his Right of Passage reverse piledriver for the pin at 4:54 shown.

Rating: D+. Well that happened. This is another good example of the problem with these shows: who are these people and why should I care? If you don’t follow New Japan, there’s very little reason to care about what these people are doing. I know both guys are young stars, but that’s about all I know of either guy. You could have any guy fill that role, and that’s not a good sign. The match certainly wasn’t bad, but I have no connection or reason to care about either guy and that hurts a lot.

AJ Styles vs. Adam Cole

Styles’ IWGP World Title isn’t on the line. They shove each other around and run their mouths a bit to start before Cole cranks on a weak armbar. Styles shrugs it off and comes back with an AA into a backbreaker to take over. A seated version of the Superman forearm (minus the springboard) gets two and the drop down into the dropkick sends Cole to the floor and us to a break. Back with Cole hitting a nice wheelbarrow suplex onto the apron for the first really cool spot of the match.

A knee to the face gets two for Cole and we hit the chinlock. Cole spits on the commentators and flips off the fans (censored) but AJ will have none of that and comes back with a torture rack powerbomb for two of his own. Corino thinks AJ is sexy. Ok then. Cole’s recently injured shoulder is sent into the corner but he superkicks AJ out of the air for two more. We hit the Figure Four and Corino is in full on fanboy mode. Fans: “THIS IS WRESTLING!” Oh shut up.

Styles makes the rope and kicks him to the floor as we take another break. Back with a VERY fast paced kick exchange, capped off by AJ missing the Pele and taking a low superkick for a near fall. A Canadian Destroyer doesn’t work very well so Cole busts out a Styles Clash for an even nearer fall. How exactly do you nearly fall anyway? Is it like slipping and catching your balance at the last minute? Now the Pele connects and AJ is mad enough to hit a kneeling piledriver and the Clash for the pin at 22:45.

Rating: B-. I liked the match and they picked it way up later in the show, but again this was more for people who are long time watchers of the show than a good initiation for new fans. I’ve seen enough of Cole to know he’s good (though not as good as he’s made up to be) but they didn’t do a great job of making me know that. Still though, good main event.

They shake hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The show was fun, but I’m REALLY not a fan of this style of show. Like I said, if you don’t know how things are going in Ring of Honor or New Japan, this was mainly just a collection of wrestlers having matches with no stories or anything to make me care about them. It was a fine show for an hour, but these guys really needed some video packages or promos to let us connect to them.

A lot of wrestling companies forget about how important it is to care about the wrestlers and think it’s all about the in ring action. You’re almost always going to be able to find better wrestling, but wrestlers you care about having good matches are far more interesting than wrestlers you don’t care about having a slightly better match. I’m really glad we’re finally moving forward next week, because this stuff is getting tiresome.

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

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