Ring of Honor TV Results – July 19, 2017: The Low Card Hits a Low Level
Ring of Honor Date: July 19, 2017 Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana
We’re coming up on War of the Worlds in the UK and that means we need a pay per view card. You can almost guarantee that Cody will be defending the World Title against Christopher Daniels at some point but it might not be at the pay per view. If not, I have no idea who would be getting the shot instead. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Cody to open things up after Christopher Daniels’ comments were deemed inappropriate to air on television. Cody agrees that he does deserve it before moving on to Daniels, who isn’t that popular with the crowd at the moment. Daniels isn’t happy at the moment and it’s almost like he’s lost his smile (this is the same building where Shawn Michaels gave the Lost My Smile speech).
Cody still hasn’t signed a Ring of Honor contract and that means his family owns the ROH World Title. Fans: “TOO SWEET!” Back to Daniels, he’ll get his rematch but let’s make it 2/3 falls. Ring of Honor doesn’t care too much for him because he’s steroid free full time….and that’s it. Kind of an abrupt ending.
Punishment Martinez vs. Jonathan Gresham
The monster Martinez shoves him around to start but Gresham keeps charging at him, including a failed attempt at a guillotine choke. Martinez misses a running boot in the corner though and Gresham gets in a kick to the leg. He’s sticking and moving to start and it’s working about as well as that style can. Something like a headlock takeover frustrates Martinez again but Gresham yanks on his knee and it’s time to go after a target. A spinning backbreaker cuts Gresham off though and it’s time for a break.
Back with Gresham getting in a DDT and moonsaulting to the floor to drop Martinez again. The one footed stomp to the chest out of the corner puts Gresham down again though and a Falcon Arrow gets two. Jonathan is right back on the knee though including something like a reverse Indian deathlock (they’re both on their back) to send Martinez over to the ropes. A shooting star press gets two but Gresham goes right to an ankle lock. Martinez rolls outside though and counters Gresham’s dive into a Last Ride onto the apron. Back in and the Psycho Driver (inverted Samoan driver) ends Gresham at 9:25.
Rating: C+. Gresham is talented but he’s another name on a very long list of Ring of Honor talents who are little more than a guy in boots and tights. There’s nothing special about his character (Does he even have one?) and that keeps him from standing out from the crowd like he needs to do. The match was good, though I really don’t know about Martinez selling so much.
Martinez goes after Gresham post match until Jay White runs in for the save.
We look back at Best in the World where the Briscoes and Bully Ray lost the Six Man Tag Team Titles. After the match, Bully yelled at the Briscoes for the loss because Jay lost his cool and Mark got pinned. It’s a TEAM you see. Well so are the Briscoes Bully.
Mandy Leon announces a Women of Honor show in two weeks but Silas Young comes in and announces 22 days since Jay Lethal was injured.
Tempura Boys vs. Cheeseburger/Joey Daddiego
Riccaboni: “Listen to the ovation here in Lowell.” All I heard was pure silence but that’s just me. The announcers ask where the beef is and make Burger King references as the Boyz jump Cheeseburger and Daddiego to little effect. Daddiego throws Sho with a fall away slam and does the same to Yo for two. The Boyz come back in with a Backstabber to Cheeseburger and Yo gets two off a standing moonsault.
Cheeseburger gets beaten down even more as the announcers talk about the tag division. Sho gets thrown onto Yo and there’s the hot tag to Daddiego. It’s right back to Cheeseburger as everything breaks down. A spear drops Yo as the stupid fast food jokes continue. The Shotei palm strike ends Sho at 3:58.
Rating: D. The Tempura Boyz continue to be one of the least interesting tag teams I’ve seen in a long time. I have no idea what’s supposed to be interesting about the two of them, save for the fact that they’re from New Japan and therefore must be awesome. No one in this match feels important as Cheeseburger comes off as someone they put out there for the sake of a smile without being comedy relief. Cheeseburger just kind of comes and goes while still being popular and it’s still nothing I can bring myself to care about.
Post match Will Ferrara jumps Cheeseburger.
We look at Jay White beating Punishment Martinez a few weeks back.
Bullet Club vs. Bully Ray/Briscoe Brothers
Young Bucks and Adam Page here in what was supposed to be a title match until Bully and the Briscoes lost the titles. Jay forearms Adam to start before it’s off to Mark for some forearms of his own. The Bucks get in some double teaming, including a springboard crossbody, to take the Briscoes down and it’s off to an early break.
Back with Bully staring the Bucks down and Matt making the mistake of chopping him in the chest. Matt offers up his own chest but pokes Bully in the eye before the big chop can hit. Again, the Bucks are presented as the smartest heels in the history of ever and the faces all have to look stupid for the sake of TOO SWEET chants. Bully comes back with the chops and stereo Flip Flop and Fly jabs. Say it with me though: double SUPERKICKS put him down and it’s back to the too sweet chants.
The Rise of the Terminators is loaded up but the Club is pulled outside for a suicide dive from Jay. Mark adds a moonsault to the floor and Bully loads up a dive of his own, only to have to deal with Page. More superkicks put him down though and it’s time for the Bucks to hit some dives because they haven’t gotten to show off in all of a minute. Things settle down with Bully getting triple teamed, including the kicks to the head in the corner.
We take another break and come back with Bully breaking up What’s Up. The hot tag brings in Mark for a fisherman’s buster on Nick but the ref gets bumped. The three man 3D gets two from a replacement referee, earning himself a double superkick. Cue Marty Scurll to hit Jay in the back with the umbrella to give Page the pin at 10:01.
Rating: C-. It really is amazing how much different the ROH Bucks are to the New Japan Bucks. This version is nothing but superkicks and flip dives while making themselves look as cool as possible. The New Japan version is actually a polished high flying team that I have fun watching. I guess that doesn’t sell as many t-shirts though so this is what we’re stuck with stateside.
The Briscoes beat up security and Bully is disappointed to end the show. I could go for a Briscoes heel turn.
Overall Rating: D+. This one missed pretty badly as it was definitely the B level guys (at best) doing their thing while the bigger names were too busy. Cody’s cameo and speech were the best parts of the show but that’s not enough to make up for some lackluster stuff elsewhere. The fact that we’re also coming up on another Women of Honor show doesn’t help things. The women try but when they’re on TV two or three times a year, it makes the shows feel like a waste of time. They’re trying though and that’s on the company rather than the talent. Anyway, nothing to see here but that’s often the case around here.
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Ring of Honor TV – June 7, 2017: We Can Only Hope to Be Double Cheeseburgers
Ring of Honor Date: June 7, 2017
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni
We’re continuing on the road to Best in the World and it’s pretty clear that we’re getting Cody vs. Christopher Daniels one on one for the ROH World Title. That makes sense after what we saw at War of the Worlds and they actually have some time to build this show up for a change. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Cheeseburger/Will Ferrara vs. War Machine
War Machine’s IWGP Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Cheeseburger forearms Rowe to start for no effect. That means it’s off to Ferrara, who has exactly the same result. Rowe snaps off rapid fire headbutts to both guys before belly to belly suplexing them both at once. It’s off to Hanson for a spinwheel kick, followed by easily blocking a bulldog from Cheeseburger.
Ferrara’s hurricanrana sends Rowe into Hanson for a breather but that’s about it for the offense at the moment. Cheeseburger gets planted but Ferrara eats something like a springboard spinning Hart Attack. One heck of a powerbomb drops Cheeseburger……FOR TWO? That was a heck of a kickout and the fans went nuts as a result.
I can’t say I blame them as my head snapped back on the kickout. That’s quite impressive when I already knew it was coming and was surprised anyway. Cheeseburger comes back with the palm strikes (see, it’s from Japan so it’s a lot more effective) but gets tossed into one heck of a powerslam for the pin at 4:16.
Rating: C+. That’s for the kickout alone, which was enough to actually surprise me. War Machine is a great choice for two power guys, which you don’t see very often around this place. You can only have so many fast paced flippy guys so going the opposite direction makes for a nice change of pace. Not bad here and one of the more entertaining squashed I’ve seen in a good while.
War Machine talks about their history in Philadelphia and this building in particular. They won the ROH Tag Team Titles here for the first time and now they want them back. That means a call out to the Young Bucks, which could be an entertaining match.
We look back at the end of War of the Worlds, along with Cody’s promo from last week to continue his issues with Daniels.
The title match is official.
Daniels says he’s ready.
Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Bully Ray/Briscoe Brothers/Dalton Castle
Castle is the only one here without a title as Sanada/Bushi/Evil are the IWGP Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions and Naito is the Intercontinental Champion while Ray and the Briscoes are the ROH Six Man Champions, which certainly aren’t knockoffs of the New Japan versions. Naito and Mark Briscoe get things going and it’s already time for Naito to fake the dive and pose, naturally turning him into an even bigger face.
Now things get interesting as it’s off to Bully vs. Naito and remember we’re in the former ECW Arena. Bully runs the ropes and rolls into the Naito pose, followed by Naito running the ropes and then tagging out. The fans applaud the lack of wrestling and it’s off to the smaller Bushi, who gets his shirt ripped open for a chop to the chest.
The rest of Los Ingobernables get the same, save for Naito who chills on the floor. Everything breaks down as Los Ingobernables tie Castle up ala Jack Gallagher. We settle down to Castle punching Evil in the face and getting his eyes raked for his efforts. Evil drops a backsplash for two and we take a break. Back with the hot tag bringing Mark in to clean house.
Everything breaks down again with Mark mostly missing a Blockbuster to Evil and Jay CRUSHING Naito with a suicide dive. Mark and Dalton hit stereo What’s Ups on Evil and Sanada but now it’s time for tables. Bushi loads up some mist so the Boys come in to save Castle (who would have had his hair covered in mist), leaving Jay to take it instead. Naito grabs a rollup for the pin at 9:57.
Rating: C-. Well that was…..interesting. This was much more about the performance than the match and I’m rarely a fan of that style. To be fair though, ROH would be crazy to not get Bully Ray out in front of an old ECW crowd in any way they could. There wasn’t exactly a lot of wrestling here but that’s about what you have to expect for the most part. Not bad but more of a performance than a match.
Jay yells at Castle and the Boys scram.
Adam Page is ready to end Adam Cole.
Punishment Martinez video. It’s amazing how much better he’s been since the Kevin Sullivan/BJ Whitmer garbage was dropped.
Jay Lethal is ready to team with Bobby Fish to face Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young in two weeks. Lethal didn’t have to look far for Fish to help him but wants Bobby to leave Young for himself.
The announcers, now joined by Kevin Kelly, talk about the Young Bucks vs. Roppangi Vice coming up in Japan.
Roppangi Vice is ready for the Bucks and say it’s illegal for the Bucks to attack them backstage like they’ve been doing. A six man is teased but when they open the door, SUPERKICKS! As usual, the Bucks are treated as the smartest, most amazing people in the promotion. Also ignore that this is far more about a match in JAPAN and not here.
Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole
They slug it out to start with Page being sent outside for a quick suicide dive. Back from a very early break with Page hitting his own dive and shouting “ADAM PAGE BAY BAY!” Cole misses an enziguri and a tabletop suplex (bridging fall away slam) gets two. Back up and Cole tells him to swing away and spits in Page’s face, triggering the forearm exchange.
The fireman’s carry neckbreaker gets two and Cole superkicks the knee. Cole grabs a Figure Four for a bit but Page is right next to the ropes. Page tries the slingshot lariat, only to walk into a superkick, followed by a Shining Wizard for a rather hot two. I mean not Cheeseburger level but everyone strives to reach that level. Maybe one day they could even, dare I say, double Cheeseburger? Page takes his head off with a clothesline and we take another break.
Back again with Cole getting two off a sunset flip and hitting another superkick. That’s no sold (of course) and Page gets two off a piledriver. Cole is right back up with three more superkicks and another Shining Wizard, only to have Page hit his own Last Shot for two. Starting with the piledriver, that whole sequence took less than eighty seconds. And people wonder why old school wrestlers criticize new stuff.
Page takes him to the apron for the Rite of Passage but eats a loud superkick. That’s not enough though as Cole hits a CANADIAN DESTROYER FROM THE APRON TO THE FLOOR to pretty much kill Page dead. Back in and Cole tries a regular version but gets countered into the Rite of Passage (less than seventy five seconds between the Destroyer and the Rite of Passage connecting). A hard lariat sets up a second Rite of Passage for the pin at 13:29.
Rating: C+. The match was entertaining but GOOD GRIEF the rapid fire selling was making me long for an old cruiserweight match. A guy takes a piledriver, pops up and hits three superkicks and a Shining Wizard before taking his own finisher in about a minute and twenty seconds? Followed by a flipping piledriver ONTO THE FLOOR not even keeping someone down for a minute?
That Destroyer probably should have not only ended the match but kept someone off TV for two weeks selling it. The problem is simple: if that barely has any effect, it’s a bit hard to buy any of this as being realistic. If the wrestling isn’t realistic, why should I believe the stories are either? This isn’t complicated: either don’t do the big spots or stop trying to cram so much stuff into a match that isn’t even fifteen minutes long. Let the stuff breathe and it’s going to be a lot more memorable than the fact that you did ten superkicks.
Post match Page whips Cole with the belt until Kazarian makes the save to end the show.
Overall Rating: C. Just a run of the mill show here with the build to Best in the World continuing. Daniels vs. Cody officially being announced is a good thing as they actually have time to set things up now instead of cramming it all into one week. Now if only they can keep up this trend instead of turning the show into some big New Japan showcase, everything should be fine.
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Ring of Honor TV – May 17, 2017: Back in Five Minutes
Ring of Honor Date: May 17, 2017
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni
And now for something completely different because we have a post-pay per view show. We’ll likely get to the next batch of TV tapings in three more weeks but for now we have a one off show with the Six Man Tag Team Titles on the line in the main event. While that might sound entertaining, the Rebellion is getting the shot. Now that your interest has been crushed, let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Will Ferrara/Cheeseburger vs. Chris Sabin/Jonathan Gresham
Didn’t Ferrara and Cheeseburger split like three times now? Before the match, Alex Shelley tells us that he’s injured thanks to the Rebellion so Gresham is his replacement at the moment. Shelley puts Gresham over as a great talent who deserves a chance to get over. Gresham and Ferrara go to the mat to start with an early standoff so it’s off to Sabin vs. Cheeseburger, the latter of whom has to tag himself in.
The threat of the palm strike scares Sabin a bit so Cheeseburger hits him in the face a few more times. Sabin and Gresham both get kicked out to the floor but Cheeseburger’s dive is pulled out of the air. Gresham dives onto all three though and we take a break. Back with Sabin cranking on an abdominal stretch/Octopus Hold hybrid to make Ferrara scream.
Everything breaks down with Sabin giving Ferrara a hanging neckbreaker off the apron to the floor. Back inside, Sabin enziguris Cheeseburger into a German suplex from Gresham, only to have Cheeseburger come back with the palm strikes. Not that it matters as Gresham grabs an Octopus Hold to make Cheeseburger tap at 9:38 with Ferrara watching from the floor.
Rating: C-. Just a match to further the split between Cheeseburger and Ferrara, though as usual most of these characters seem to be there for the sake of filling in both time and roster spots instead of being interesting. The matches are fine enough but they’re nothing I ever look forward to seeing and I rarely get excited over them.
Ferrara walks out on Cheeseburger.
Jay Lethal was getting ready for a commercial but Silas Young came in and beat him down, especially focusing on his leg. I’m not sure if this is a major downgrade for Lethal or a major upgrade for Young.
Silas Young vs. Bobby Fish
Speaking of downgrades, what the heck has happened to Fish? He looked like a World Title contender and now I barely remember his last important match. Young says he won’t make any excuses for his failures, unlike Fish, who will be a huge failure in this match. Feeling out process to start with Fish’s headlock not working as Young hits a good looking dropkick. A very quick kneebar sends Silas outside and we take a break.
Back with Young hitting a slingshot double stomp and laying in the trash talking. A springboard clothesline drops Fish again as this has been almost one sided. Back in and they trade some running shots with Fish getting the better of it, only to have a double clothesline drop them both.
Silas grabs a cutter for two as Colt talks about Fish going after the knee but not sticking with it like the old Bobby would do. Hokey smoke: an actual analysis. Silas shrugs off some more shots to the head and grabs a hanging neckbreaker for two. More kicks to the knee give Fish a breather but the Beer City Bruiser offers a distraction. Silas takes off his knee brace and knocks Fish cold for the pin at 13:39.
Rating: C+. Not bad here as Young continues to get better and better every single week. I can’t believe it but I’m starting to get into the Young/Bruiser team as they actually work well together. Fish continues to fall through the floor though, which really does seem to be setting up something (possibly a heel turn, as almost always seems to be the answer). Nice match here.
Dalton Castle lost once but he’s ready to become World Champion.
Six Man Tag Team Titles: Rebellion vs. Briscoe Brothers/Bully Ray
The Briscoes and Ray are defending and Alex Shelley is on commentary. It’s Rhett Titus/Caprice Coleman/Shane Taylor for the Rebellion here with King nowhere in sight. Mark headlocks Titus to start but one heck of a left hand puts Briscoe down. A brawl breaks out in a hurry though and we take a break with the champs in control.
Back with Titus still in trouble but he’s still able to save Coleman from What’s Up. Taylor and those terrifying thighs come in to take over for all of two seconds and it’s Jay getting beaten down in the heel corner. Taylor’s hard clothesline gets two as Coleman dances on the apron.
We hit the big man standard in the form of a bearhug and take a break. Back with Shane missing a charge in the corner and getting hit in the face, allowing the hot tag to Bully. That means a string of clotheslines before it’s back to Mark to really clean house. Jay adds the big suicide dive but the Froggy Bow hits knees. Not that it matters as 3D ends Titus at 17:01.
Rating: D+. Hey, did you know the Rebellion sucks? I didn’t know if we had made that clear enough yet but they certainly do. There’s no reason to believe that they’re going to win anything and it doesn’t help that they’re just another team now. It completely defeats the point of the characters but that’s never stopped ROH before.
Coleman gets powerbombed through a table to end the show.
Overall Rating: C-. Just a run of the mill post-pay per view show here which is all that you can expect. They put in whatever they can find to fill in the time here, which makes for some rather skippable shows. I’m sure we’ll have a few more of these and then we’ll get to the important stuff, which means the next few weeks really don’t mean too much. I’m really not a fan of these shows but at least they’re quick.
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Ring of Honor TV – April 12, 2017: Now Just A Month Behind
Ring of Honor Date: April 12, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Kevin Kelly
I’m not even going to pretend that I know what’s going on at the moment. I know we’re past the Anniversary Show but I’d assume we’re not up to Supercard of Honor yet, despite it taking place nearly two weeks ago. All I know is we’ll still be seeing Top Prospect Tournament stuff because that thing just won’t end. Let’s get to it.
The Briscoe Brothers take us back to Manhattan Mayhem where Bully Ray saved them from a Bullet Club beatdown. Tonight they’re going after the Six Man Tag Team Titles.
Opening sequence.
Punishment Martinez vs. Hanson
Martinez is now completely on his own, which should be a better fit for him. Hanson blocks a spinning kick to the face to start and sends Marintez to the floor for a suicide dive. A ram into the post sets up a Whoopee Cushion from the ramp to really have Martinez reeling. Back inside and Martinez runs him over in the corner before hitting a spring Swanton of all things.
We take a break and come back with Hanson winning a fight over a suplex. Martinez is laid on the top rope for some forearms (think Sheamus’ ten forearms) but one heck of a right hand puts Hanson outside. Since Martinez is an athletic freak, we hit the Taker Dive over the corner, followed by a top rope spinwheel kick for two (should have been the finish).
A chokeslam doesn’t work though and Hanson gets two off a powerslam. Hanson’s own spinning kick gets two and as you might expect, it doesn’t mean as much after Martinez’s huge one earlier. Cue Davey Boy Smith Jr. for a distraction though, allowing Martinez to avoid a moonsault. The sitout chokeslam ends Hanson at 8:45.
Rating: B-. Martinez is the kind of guy that ROH needs to push as he’s a bit different than the run of the mill guys you see around here so often. Hanson wasn’t bad and I’m glad they’re letting War Machine do their own things as there’s only so much they can do in the tag division. Hopefully Smith sticks around too as he’s an entertaining guy. Good opener here and the right guy won.
We look back at TK O’Ryan breaking his leg at the 15th Anniversary Show.
Hangman Page attacked Kazarian in the parking lot earlier this week.
Top Prospect Tournament Semifinals: Curt Stallion vs. John Skyler
From Manhattan Mayhem as we flash back to March 4. A lockup goes nowhere to start as I’m going to have a hard time telling these guys apart. Stallion rolls through a sunset flip and hits a jumping double stomp while shouting YOU’RE STUPID. So he’s the heel here. Fine enough and at least there’s something to set them apart. They head outside with one heck of a dive sending Skyler into the barricade and us to a break.
Back with Skyler getting two off a backsplash and grabbing a chinlock. Skyler gets two off a tiger bomb but stops to spit at him. Stallion is all fired up and no sells a German suplex before grabbing one of his own for two. Some running knees in the corner get two and Stallion no sells a superkick. Skyler gets two off a slingshot spear through the ropes, only to get caught in White Noise onto the knee for the good near fall. Stallion loads up something on the top, only to get caught in Southern Salvation (the middle rope Regal Roll) for the pin at 10:14.
Rating: B. I liked the match more than I was expecting to but I’m REALLY sick of this tournament. For some reason we’ve been stuck watching a match a week so the tournament has to drag on for nearly two months. It’s been getting better but I’m WAY past the point of being interested in anyone involved with the whole thing.
Adam Cole has recorded a video for the Young Bucks, asking for things to go back to the way they were.
Six Man Tag Team Titles: Bully Ray/Briscoe Brothers vs. Kingdom
Kingdom is defending and have Silas Young replacing the injured O’Ryan. The champs bicker before the match so Bully asks if they know who the three of them are. The fight is on in a hurry with Taven taking the worst of it in the for of a hard clothesline to the floor. Back from a break with Bully hitting those loud chops to Marseglia’s chest. Mark comes in to keep up the beating, followed by a facewash from Jay. The other champs finally get it together and crotch Jay against the post to take over for the first time.
Marseglia and Taven choke in the corner, followed by Young dropping a knee for two. Taven gets the same off a top rope elbow with Mark making the save. We take a second break and come back with Mark cleaning house. A cheap shot from the apron slows him down though and it’s time for the champs to argue again. The distraction allows the hot tag to Bully, who hits a quick triple 3D on Vinny for the pin at 10:41.
Rating: C+. That’s the right call as the Kingdom wasn’t doing anything at full strength so getting the titles off a weakened version was almost a requirement. Bully and the Briscoes are a more entertaining option but they still don’t solve the issue of there not being enough teams to warrant the titles in the first place. At least they got the booking right here.
Overall Rating: C+. That’s one of the better shows they’ve done in a good while, assuming you can ignore the ridiculous scheduling issues. We’re just now setting up the finals of an eight man tournament that started two months ago. I have no idea when the finals are going to air but I’m not sure why I’m supposed to care at this point. ROH tries to do WAY too much with one hour a week, especially when they have so many throwaway episodes. At least something happened this week, which makes things a bit better.
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Ring of Honor 15th Anniversary Show: You Can’t Rely on This Forever
15th Anniversary Show Date: March 10, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live Casino, Sunrise Manor, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Kevin Kelly, Colt Cabana
This was a recent request and for once I’m actually trying to get some of those knocked off. Ring of Honor has been around for a long time and the fact that they’ve made it this far is really quite impressive. Since it’s a major milestone show, the main event is an ROH legend in Christopher Daniels trying to win the ROH World Title for the first time. Let’s get to it.
The opening video looks at some of the bigger names in the company’s history (the only logical way to go) before switching up to Daniels talking about starting wrestling in 1993 and getting here. Champion Adam Cole says 1993 was important for him too as he learned to color. This is your classic young punk vs. veteran and there’s nothing wrong with that. It worked for Raven vs. Terry Funk and it can work well here. As a final note, Daniels’ best friend Kazarian joined the Bullet Club, which sounds rather swervish.
Jay White vs. Caprice Coleman
Great. We’re starting with a bonus match and a bonus REBELLION match on top of that. This show isn’t looking very promising. Ian: “Collar and elbow tieup to start here.” Colt: “Great call Ian!” They fight over wristlocks and armdrags to start with King getting the better of it and driving some knees into the back.
White gets in a few Tomoaki Honma spots to pop the crowd (Honma was badly injured and out of action at this point). Since it’s just a headbutt, King knocks him to the floor for a flip dive. A chinlock goes nowhere so White gets up and dives on fellow Rebellion member Caprice Coleman.
This proves to be a bad idea (as is almost always the case) as King hits a running dropkick, followed by a bridging capture suplex for two. White comes back with a Downward Spiral but charges into a spinebuster for no cover. Jay gets dropkicked on the top but shoves King away for a high crossbody. That’s rolled through as well with King trying the Royal Flush, only to have White small package him for the pin at 9:52.
Rating: C+. Nice match here with both guys looking good, or at least as the Rebellion is capable of looking. White is one of the many talented people in ROH who can wrestle a solid match but doesn’t really have a character, meaning he has a bit of a firm ceiling to how far he can go. The match was a good opener and the ending was exactly what it should have been.
We recap the dissolution of the Addiction with Kazarian joining the Bullet Club.
The Club welcomes their newest member.
Kazarian vs. Hangman Paige vs. Chris Sabin vs. Punisher Martinez vs. Cheeseburger vs. Silas Young
One fall to a finish, tags required, lucha rules and the winner gets a future TV Title shot. We start with Kazarian and Sabin trading probably a dozen one counts off a rollup. They’re on the floor in a hurry and that means we hit the parade of dives with the 6’7 Martinez hitting a step up dive of his own to really freak the crowd out (I’m not sure if that’s really easy or really hard to do around here).
Kazarian and Page take Martinez down, leaving us with a short lived Bullet Club showdown. Cheeseburger comes in to break it up but gets beaten up by Young, leaving the announcers to make food jokes. Martinez chokes Cheeseburger (Colt: “What a pickle!”) but everyone comes back in, allowing Sabin to hit a springboard tornado DDT on Young. Page loads Cheeseburger up for the Rite of Passage on the apron but Martinez breaks it up for no apparent reasons.
Adam spits at him for reasons of general stupidity, earning himself a chokeslam onto the apron. Back inside, Sabin German superplexes Kazarian but gets caught in Young’s Misery for two. Cheeseburger escapes the same thing and kicks Silas from the apron. The palm strike drops Young but Kazarian grabs the Ace of Spades (twisting Stunner) for the pin on Cheeseburger at 10:19.
Rating: B-. It was fun but this is one of Ring of Honor’s major problem areas: throwing a bunch of people into a match and thinking that’s good enough for a story. Kazarian was the only one in the match that had a real chance of winning (based on the story) so why did four others need to be there? Let Kazarian fight any of them (build someone up so they seem like a real threat to beat him) and tell a better story. Just throwing a bunch of people together feels like the easy way out and while the match was fun, it could have been better.
Jay Lethal and Bobby Fish both say they need to win the match so they can go after the World Title.
Bobby Fish vs. Jay Lethal
The match is billed as a top contenders match which may or may not mean a #1 contenders match. It’s pretty early in the show for something that big so I’ll assume it’s just another one of ROH’s ideas that might mean someone gets a title shot on some house show. They hit the mat to start before Fish starts in with the kicks. One big kick puts Lethal on the floor for a second thought on his strategy.
Back in and Lethal scores with a dropkick to send Fish outside. Another dropkick sends him into the barricade but Jay misses the suicide dive and hits the barricade as well. That means a bad arm but Jay gets in a third dropkick to keep control. Fish kicks him hard in the chest a few times though, shrugs off a European uppercut (why yes, we are watching an indy wrestling match) and hits another kick to the chest to drop Lethal.
Jay comes right back with a superkick (make your own jokes) and this time the suicide dive works. They get back inside for the big serious exchange of forearms with Fish driving him into the corner for an ankle lock. That’s not the brightest idea so Lethal grabs a cutter but Hail to the King is countered into the heel hook. A quick Lethal Combination sets up Hail to the King, only to have Fish grab another heel hook. Jay reverses into a rollup for the break, followed by the Lethal Injection for the pin at 15:12.
Rating: B. The matches are getting better and this one told a good story with the submission grappler against the natural all around performer who comes up biggest on the grand stages. I had a good time with this match, which isn’t the most surprising thing in the world given that I like both guys. Fish is a very solid hand but I think he’s pretty much resigned to the position of making the stars look good. Not the most horrible thing in the world to be sure.
We recap the Six Man Tag Team Title match. The Kingdom have the titles and since Dalton Castle and the Boys are a three man combination, they get a title shot. These belts continue to be one of the worst ideas possible for a company like this but hey, New Japan has them right? Both teams have a quick promo, saying they’ll win for the obvious reasons.
Six Man Tag Team Titles: The Kingdom vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys
The Kingdom is defending and Castle is just crazy over, being accompanied to the ring by an army of Boys. Thankfully Cabana is there to insult Castle and the Boys after their long feud. It’s a brawl to start and I don’t remember hearing a bell. The Boys start fast with double suplexes and the Kingdom bails to the floor for a meeting.
Castle and Marseglia start things off with Dalton wrestling him down and slamming the Boys onto him. Cabana actually knows how to tell the Boys apart and it’s #1 being taken to the floor for a beating. Colt: “THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN!” #1 gets slammed back first onto the apron and Marseglia follows up with some running forearms to the head. Since he’s a good boss, Castle offers a distraction so the Boys can switch.
Colt is losing his mind as he tries to get the referee’s attention but the hot tag brings in Castle anyway. The Bang-a-Rang plants O’Ryan for two so the Boys come in for a double dropkick on Vinny. O’Ryan sends the Boys outside and tries an Asai moonsault…..which hits the barricade, giving him a legitimate broken leg. Taven and Marseglia throw #1 back inside for a double powerbomb (Rockstar Supernova, an awesome name) to retain at 7:54. You can tell they were home REALLY fast and that’s completely understandable.
Rating: D+. This wasn’t any good and would have been boring on a regular TV show, let alone a major pay per view. I can’t imagine it would have been much to see even with the regular ending but you can’t fault them for ending the match soon because of a broken leg. The titles need to go away in a hurry though because they’re just not working.
We recap Marty Scurll vs. Lio Rush for the TV Title. Scurll has been a dominant champion and Rush is his latest challenger, having beaten him in a non-title 2/3 falls match. Assuming Scurll was champion then, why in the world was a 2/3 falls match non-title?
TV Title: Lio Rush vs. Marty Scurll
Rush is challenging and they’re quickly on the mat with a series of headlocks into headscssiors. Things speed up a bit with Rush tripping him to the floor for a hurricanrana off the apron. That’s fine with the arm flapping Scurll who superkicks him from the apron. Back in and Scurll start sin on the arm, including a stomp to the hand. Rush blocks the finger break though and hits a Tajiri handspring into a body block to take over.
Something like Sister Abigail into a DDT instead of a Downward Spiral gets two on the champ but he sends Rush shoulder first into the post. Rush speeds things up again and sends him outside for a double stomp to the back. Back in and Marty kicks at the legs for a change of pace (with the announcers explaining that he’s trying to break Rush down piece by piece and that he can always go back to the arm later).
One heck of a forearm puts Rush outside but he storms back in for a rapid fire exchange of forearms. Rush’s Tajiri handspring is pulled into the chickenwing but Rush makes the ropes. Scurll gets two off a piledriver but Rush comes right back with a running C4 (Rush Hour) for the same. With nothing else working, Rush heads outside and grabs the belt (Colt: “You have to win that first.”).
Not that it matters as he throws it right back outside and kicks Marty in the head for two. With nothing else working, Rush loads up a chair on the floor. A super Rush Hour is broken up though and Scurll takes him down with a Tower of London (hanging cutter out of the corner). The finger is snapped and Marty chickenwings him to retain at 18:38.
Rating: B. Really solid stuff here as Rush continues to grow on me in ways I never would have expected. Scurll is so much fun to watch though I could go for him doing more villainous things than just saying he’s a villain. To be fair though, when the setup for your finisher is breaking a finger, you’re quite evil in the first place. Good match here and probably the best thing all night so far.
We look at Bully Ray helping the Briscoes in Manhattan, which is all you’re getting for a recap.
Briscoe Brothers/Bully Ray vs. War Machine/Davey Boy Smith Jr.
This was supposed to be Smith/Lance Archer vs. the Briscoes but Archer is injured so this is a replacement match. War Machine and Smith don’t get along though so this might not be the most competitive match. It’s a brawl to start (of course) with Bully sending Davey into the corner a few times. The Briscoes come in and get suplexed at the same time in quite the power display.
Smith gets slammed down for What’s Up with Mark hitting an elbow instead of the headbutt. That means it’s time for some tables but War Machine makes a save and takes over on Mark. Kelly tries to explain the backstory with all the New Japan stables and as usual, I need a good sized chart to make sense of all this (please don’t explain it to me). A series of stomping sets up Smith’s camel clutch and a delayed vertical suplex.
Hansen tries one too many right hands and gets caught in a suplex, allowing the hot tag off to Jay. House is cleaned for a few moments until a pop up powerslam plants Jay for two but a clothesline allows the real hot tag to Bully as everything breaks down. Bully actually goes up top for a high crossbody (!) to take out everyone at once. The Jay Driller into the Froggy Bow sets up a three man 3D to finish Rowe at 11:45.
Rating: C+. This was the kind of fun match that you would expect. They beat each other up for a bit and didn’t bother wasting time on anything more than they needed to. Bully is best used as a featured attraction like this as he’s a legend who can just come in, do his signature stuff, and go to the finish. The match was fine and entertaining, which is all it needed to be.
Smith and War Machine fight on the floor which I’d assume will be resolved in another promotion in Japan.
We recap the Tag Team Title match. The Young Bucks were the champions and successfully defended at Manhattan Mayhem. Post match the Broken Hardys appeared and won the titles in an impromptu match. Roppongi Vice was already scheduled to challenge in a street fight so we’ll just make it a three way.
Tag Team Titles: Roppongi Vice vs. Young Bucks vs. Broken Hardys
Matt and Jeff are defending in a street fight. This is just after the TNA lawsuit, meaning the Hardys can only be kind of Broken because TNA is annoying and petty because they seem to think they can just throw the Broken gimmick on anyone and it’ll work (it won’t work because no one else can play the characters like Matt and Jeff). But hey, TNA gets to stand by its principles and if they just happen to look like penny pinching imbeciles, so be it.
Vice is knocked to the floor to start so they bring in some weapons to put the bigger teams down. A springboard dropkick drives a trashcan lid into Jeff’s back. The Bucks can’t hit a Meltzer Driver but the Hardys come back in to beat up Vice instead. Vice breaks up another Bucks vs. Hardys showdown so Nick powerbombs Romero off the apron and onto the ramp. The Bucks and the Hardys start brawling….and let’s hit the replay!
The champs get dropped with superkicks but the Bucks miss the stolen Hardys’ top rope shots. It’s time for the first ladder because I’m not sure the Hardys know how to work a long match without one. Jeff brings in a trashcan but gets superkicked with Matt taking one as well. A third superkick knocks Jeff off the ropes and into a big pile, only to have Nick get shoved off the ladder into a springboard flip dive onto the same pile.
Nick is right back in with a springboard 450 onto a trashcan onto Trent for two. More Bang for Your Buck is broken up and Jeff’s Swanton hits raised knees. With everyone down, Romero grabs a sleeve (as in from a shirt) covered in thumbtacks for a string of clotheslines in the corner. Strong Zero gets two on Nick with Matt making the save. Beretta pours out another bag of tacks but due to wrestling law #1, that means he’s sent face first into them, this time via something like a Steiner Bulldog.
The Five Star Driver (or maybe it’s the Meltzer Driver or whatever their insider name is for it that the fans cheer for because it makes them feel smart) sends Trent into the tacks, setting up another slugout with the Hardys. The champs get the better of it and bring out a table and a second ladder for various hardcore reasons. Matt and Jeff send the Bucks to the floor and a flip dive (not exactly a Swanton through Trent through the table is enough for the pin to retain at 17:14.
Rating: B+. These matches, along with most Bucks matches, are like junk food: there’s no quality to them but they’re a lot of fun to watch. I’d rather watch them just do their stuff with the superkicks and flips than try to have people tell me how great a match it is because they know how to put together better matches than any other team. The match was a fun, violent brawl and that’s all it needed to be. It was designed to pop the crowd and I got into a lot of those big spots, though the ending felt a bit flat. Also, well done on putting this together so quickly with the surprise addition of the Hardys.
The Hardys take the Young Bucks’ Superkick Titles too.
We recap the World Title match. Christopher Daniels won a tournament designed for older competitors to earn his shot. The idea is Daniels has given his all to the business but has never actually won the World Title. He’s put in everything he’s had for twenty four years and absolutely cannot lose.
This includes another outstanding promo from Daniels where he breaks into tears, talking about how he just has to win. Daniels has been on fire with the promos lately and I actually want to see him win after really not being a fan for years on end. The other detail is Daniels’ best friend Kazarian turning on him to join the Bullet Club to side with champion Adam Cole.
ROH World Title: Adam Cole vs. Christopher Daniels
There are no seconds here. Daniels is challenging and we’re ready to go after some Big Match Intros. We actually get a Code of Honor as the announcers talk about Daniels being 0-8-1 in World Title matches. Cole takes him down and makes a face before doing it again and slapping Daniels in the back of the head. The feeling out process/mind games continue as Cole sends him into the ropes for an ADAM COLE BAY BAY!
That earns him a right hand to the jaw so Adam stomps away in the corner. A backdrop sends Cole outside to give Daniels his first major offense nearly five minutes in. That’s quickly wrapped up though as a superkick knocks Daniels’ head into the post to draw some blood. Thankfully Adam is smart enough to stay on the cut and we hit a chinlock, which should squeeze more blood out of his head.
More kicks to the head have Daniels reeling but one too many poses allows Daniels to get in a Koji Clutch for a big hope spot. Daniels can’t follow up though so Cole talks trash about Daniels’ wife, which gives us the expected result. We hit the slugout with Daniels getting in an STO and a Blue Thunder Bomb for two.
The BME misses though and Adam scores with a superkick for two more. A Shining Wizard sets up the Last Shot for a near fall but Daniels hits him in the face again. Angel’s Wings is countered and it’s a double clothesline to put both guys down. Cole’s Canadian Destroyer is countered but he grabs Angel’s Wings on Daniels for two.
As you might expect, Daniels hits a Last Shot of his own for the same, followed by a Styles Clash of all things for a very near fall. Back up and the referee gets superkicked so heeeere’s Kazarian. We nearly get some heel miscommunication but instead Kazarian rips off the Bullet Club shirt to reveal a Daniels shirt. A Rock Bottom into three straight BME’s give us a new champion at 21:47.
Rating: B. I liked this more than I was expecting to with a great story as Daniels survived until he got one shot, just like he had done for his entire career. The Kazarian stuff was really well done (a bit predictable but still good) and Daniels did everything himself (Kazarian never touched Cole). They nailed the big moment and that’s all that mattered here with a good match to make it work even better.
The long celebration with a lot of the locker room coming out ends the show.
Overall Rating: A-. This really was a great show with the worst thing being the Six Man Tag Team Titles and even that was far from bad. They nailed the big ending which is all almost anyone is going to remember from this show and that’s the most important thing. However, it also brings up one of ROH’s major problems.
Aside from the main event and the Tag Team Titles to a lesser degree, almost nothing on here feels like it has a story that has either been thoroughly explained or even exists at all. I watch every episode of ROH TV and I couldn’t begin to tell you where a lot of these matches came from. Yeah Rush beat Scurll in a 2/3 falls match. Not only do I have no idea when/where he did that but I don’t remember it being mentioned on TV unless it was in passing.
This comes back to ROH’s TV being all screwed up. The go-home show for this (dated March 8) featured Kazarian turning, the Kingdom defending against the Rebellion with Dalton Castle on commentary and a Top Prospect Tournament match. Before that it was Addiction having issues, another Top Prospect Tournament match and the setup for Rush vs. Scurll, which involved about six more people. Finally, the last show of February featured Colt Cabana (on commentary here) squashing the Boys (title contenders here), an unrelated match and Daniels becoming #1 contender.
In the three weeks of build to this show, three out of the eight matches (World Title, TV Title, Six Man Tag Team Titles) got any kind of significant mention on TV. Maybe the other five matches were mentioned on the ROH website or something but I really should have a better idea of a pay per view by watching the last three weeks of TV. Run down the card or give us some promos (maybe you could get rid of the horrible Top Prospect Tournament matches or move them to a later date or something) or do SOMETHING to help build these matches up.
The formula worked here but you’re not going to be able to rely on the wrestlers knocking it out of the park every time. So much of this show worked because the main event (which was well built and told a great story) rocked and the ladder match had people who know how to work that match to near perfection. You can’t rely on that every single time and a big solution to that problem is to fix their freaking TV. I mean, they haven’t in years and it’s not going to get better anytime soon but it need to get better. Anyway, really strong show here and one of ROH’s best in a long time.
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Ring of Honor TV – March 29, 2017: We’re Almost There
Ring of Honor Date: March 29, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Kevin Kelly
I think we’re up to the pay per view now, only a mere three weeks after it took place. The big story is Christopher Daniels FINALLY winning that elusive World Title, which was the best possible option since Adam Cole is reportedly on his way out. That’s the case with far too many people and it’s a bad sign for the company. Let’s get to it.
Christopher Daniels talks about how he couldn’t lose on this one night and then he wouldn’t let it happen. So we’re FINALLY to the Anniversary Show, just as it’s the go home show for the next pay per view. Got it.
Opening sequence.
Here’s the Addiction to open things up with Daniels looking very happy holding that title. We even have APPLETINIS! Daniels immediately hits the bragging by talking about the brilliant plan, which can overcome a younger, faster and arguably more talented opponent. Kazarian couldn’t be happier for his buddy and just happens to be the new #1 contender to the TV Title. Cue Dalton Castle as we take a break.
Back with Daniels introducing Castle to the appletini, which seems to blow his mind. Dalton would love one of his own but there’s only one glass. No worries of course though as a single snap of the fingers brings out the Boys with a large glass for Castle. A toast allows Dalton to congratulate the new champion, but that brings some changes. This includes a title defense against Castle at Supercard of Honor and Castle wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
Cue the Bullet Club with Adam Cole not wanting to hear about the fairytale ending because he remembers it as the title being stolen. As for Castle, who in the world thinks he’s the best option for the title? Kazarian throws out a challenge for a six man later tonight and the match is made.
Marty Scurll cuts a promo about facing anyone when Kenny King comes up to challenge him for a title match. It seems to be all set.
Tag Team Titles: Briscoe Brothers vs. Hardys
Matt and Jeff are defending in a match with fifteen minutes’ build. Sweet goodness I can’t stand this show’s taping schedule. The champs have a very Broken style entrance without actually doing any of the Broken trademarks. Mark busts out some Redneck Kung Fu to confuse Jeff early on (you don’t hear that too often) but everything breaks down as the Hardys take over.
Chops in the corner give us some OBSOLETE/DELETE chants but Poetry in Motion is easily countered. Jay nails a suicide dive to set up the Cactus Elbow from the apron and it’s off to a break. Back with Jeff getting stomped down and then rear chinlocked for good measure. Jeff fights up and scores with a double Whisper in the Wind though, setting up the hot tag for the loud DELETE chants.
Matt’s bulldog is good for two on Mark and it’s back to Jeff for a chinlock. Back from another break with Mark and Jeff hitting a double clothesline to set up the double tag. Matt bites Jay in the corner to bust him open a bit. The neckbreaker gets two on Matt and the champs take back to back superplexes.
The Froggy Bow is only good for two on Matt though as the fans don’t seem sure who to cheer for. Mark comes in to slug away at Matt and the Doomsday Device gets yet another near fall. Back up and Jay is sent outside for a big crash, leaving Mark to take the Twist of Fate and Swanton…..for two? Dang I bought that as the finish, along with Mark rolling Matt up for two. Jeff makes a blind tag though and Matt backslides Mark down so Jeff can cradle him to retain at 17:44.
Rating: B+. That’s the best ROH match I’ve seen in a very long time and, while I’d love to see it actually get a proper build, there’s only so much you can do with the Hardys’ limited schedule. As a bonus, it’s pretty amazing to see Matt come back to ROH just a few years after he was Big Money Matt as this completely different character. He really is someone capable of re-inventing himself like this and it’s great stuff a lot of the time.
Post match the Young Bucks come out to challenge the Hardys to a ladder match at Supercard of Honor XI. The champs quickly agree.
Adam Page/Young Bucks vs. Addiction/Dalton Castle
This is joined in progress in a huge brawl and Daniels taking a double superkick. Nick adds a huge springboard flip dive to put everyone down, followed by another superkick. Of course that means the heels get to pose but the Boys break up the Rise of the Terminator dive. For your comedy, they even take the Bucks’ place next to Cole, who somehow doesn’t notice. The Bucks save another dive though and beat up the Boys (it’s not that hard) as Cole is STILL kneeling in the ring.
What does that say about the good guys on the floor Somehow they’re unable to be ready for the dives, which were loaded up about a minute before they even launched and Addiction had no chance of avoiding them. That’s a stretch even for wrestling. Back in with Kazarian getting beaten down in the corner before his partners come in, only to be triple suplexed. We take a break and come back with Kazarian blocking a double superkick but taking the slingshot X Factor.
Kazarian grabs a cutter though and it’s off to Daniels so house can be cleaned. Cole sneaks in with a superkick to drop Daniels but since he’s not a Buck, the champ can actually get the better of him. Castle (I forgot he was in this match) comes in for some suplexes but can’t hit the Bang-a-Rang. He can however catch Matt’s springboard in a German suplex. Nick comes back in with a Swanton on Castle but Daniels gets in Angel’s Wings on Matt.
Cole superkick him down though and everyone is out. The Canadian Destroyer nails Kazarian but it’s time for a Superkick Party. The Bucks kick Cole by mistake and Castle no sells a double superkick (that’s a new one and while I can’t stand the Bucks, that’s a bit of a stretch), setting up the Bang a Rang to put Cole away at 13:48.
Rating: B-. This was fun, though also served as the weekly Young Bucks party. At least the new champ was on the winning team, but he could have gotten the pin over Cole. You can see the problems with the Bullet Club coming through which is likely the way to set Cole’s exit from the company.
Castle and Daniels grab the title to end the show.
Overall Rating: A-. I know this isn’t going to last long term but at least we had a great show here. This was ALL about the wrestling with the Daniels promo as a bonus. This also helped set up the two Supercard of Honor main events, which certainly need the help with the show so close. Really good and entertaining show, mainly because they got back to the regular stuff instead of all the filler episodes.
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Ring of Honor Date: March 8, 2017
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentator: Ian Riccabani
Officially this is the go home show for the Fifteenth Anniversary Show but it’s hard to really imagine how the schedule is going to go based on how ridiculous some of these tapings go. We’re likely going to hear about the pay per view but also the Top Prospect Tournament, which continues to not do much for me. Let’s get to it.
The Briscoe Brothers, Jay Lethal and Bobby Fish are ready for their eight man tag against the Bullet Club.
Opening sequence.
Six Man Tag Team Titles: The Kingdom vs. The Rebellion
Kingdom is defending and Dalton Castle is on commentary. Titus and O’Ryan go after the hair to start as Ian points out how similar these two are, both in style and look. I really wouldn’t bring up how only one of them really needs to be employed dude. Titus seems to tweak his ankle on a leapfrog so it’s off to Vinnie and Caprice, both of whom try kicks to the ribs and then poke each other in the eye.
King and Taven come in instead with Kenny kicking him in the head. Titus comes back in to chop at O’Ryan and clean some house in general. The knee goes out again though and we take a break. Back with Titus being taken to the locker room and Coleman hitting something like an RKO on O’Ryan. King gets the tag but the referee doesn’t see it, nor does he see King hammering on Taven in the corner.
Coleman somehow knocks down all three champs but here’s Lio Rush dressed as a member of the Rebellion to take the tag. Lio cleans house (Castle: “HOW IS THIS ALLOWED?”) with his usual fast paced stuff before he gives King an RKO and watched from the apron. Ian: “Was this a ploy all along???” All along? It lasted like a minute and a half! The Kingdom’s triple powerbomb retains the titles at 8:14.
Rating: D. At what point does Ring of Honor realize that these teams are worthless as well as uninteresting and that having titles for a “division” that has three regular teams (including the champions) is ludicrous. Big waste of time here and time that could have gone to ANYTHING else.
Jay White wants a rematch with Jay Briscoe from their time limit draw a few months back.
Briscoe calls White dog food and accepts.
Dalton Castle and the Boys want a Six Man Tag Team Title shot at the pay per view. Castle starts quoting Pocahontas, asking if you’ve ever asked the grinning bobcat why he grins. Castle: “WELL I HAVE! And I got 36 stitches and a rabies shot!”
Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Raphael King vs. Brian Milonas
Bob Evans has replaced Dalton on commentary. King is a frat boy with a female manager. On the other hand, Brian is a huge guy who weighs nearly 400lbs. King does some shouting and the slugout is on with Brian’s right right hand not seeming to make contact. Trash is talked and King gets in a dropkick, only to be crushed by some splashes.
Brian misses a middle rope legdrop and gets kicked in the face as this isn’t exactly working. Evans asks what else you can do other than kicking and punching Brian, which isn’t the best thing to point out. The manager gets in a slap of her own, setting up a good looking Rock Bottom for two. A side slam sets up a…..well I guess a backwards splash as Milonas was setting up for a regular splash but turned around and just fell backwards for the pin at 3:38.
Rating: D-. No idea who these guys are and it was horrible to see Milonas just being huge and not having much skill beyond that. King was watchable enough but that doesn’t mean it’s worth watching. I really can’t stand this tournament and this is one of the weaker classes of talent I’ve ever seen it have.
Christopher Daniels is your new guest commentator.
Bullet Club vs. Jay Lethal/Briscoe Brothers vs. Bobby Fish
It’s Cody, Adam Cole and the Young Bucks. We’ll start with Lethal and Matt Jackson but Lethal has to knock the Club off the apron before really getting started. A suicide dive takes Cody into the barricade and everything breaks down in a hurry. We wind up with Cody and Lethal in the ring and Cody taking a cartwheel into a dropkick.
It’s off to Mark who gets pulled to the floor and pummeled by Matt as this match is all over the place so far. Cole hits some bicycle kicks on Fish but takes a big jumping knee to the head for his efforts. That means a Briscoes vs. Bucks showdown and of course that means superkicks all around.
The Bucks add some big flip dives to the floor but Mark gets in a running Blockbuster off the apron on Cole. Not to be outdone, Cody superplexes Mark onto the whole pile of people for a major crash. Back from a break with the Bucks working over Mark but stopping to strut because they’re cool heels you see.
Mark isn’t ready to fight out of the corner just yet so Cody suplexes Cole onto him for no count as Fish and Lethal have the referee’s attention. A flipping slam off the ropes takes Cole out though and the hot tag brings in Lethal. Everything breaks down and Lethal hits the four pack of suicide dives. Fish wants to pin Cole though and they get in a fight to take us to a second break.
Back with the Briscoes on their own and Mark punching all four Club members. A quadruple superkick is well scouted though and the Club is quadruple clotheslined to the floor. Jay gets two off a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination but Matt flips out of the Doomsday Device. Superkicks a go-go set up Cross Rhodes to Jay. The Last Shot sets up a Meltzer Driver for the pin at Jay at 12:46.
Rating: B. Well that worked. This was all about flying all over the place and letting everyone look good (especially the Young Bucks of course). Lethal and Fish are fighting at the pay per view so their brawl here makes sense, making the match a little more logical. It’s easily the best thing ROH has done in a few weeks and it was very necessary on this show.
Post match Cole is left alone in the ring so here’s Daniels in the ring with some scissors. A pair of Angel’s Wings drop Cole but here’s Kazarian to help. That leads to Kazarian pulling off his shirt to reveal a Bullet Club shirt, which freaks Daniels out as expected. Kazarian knocks the scissors away from Daniels and takes a lot of yelling. Too Sweet brings the Bucks back out for double superkicks and the Club stands tall to end the show. Note that Kazarian didn’t punch Daniels once, which seems like a potential swerve.
Overall Rating: D+. The main event did this show some wonders but there was just WAY too much damage done by the time we got there. As usual, Ring of Honor doesn’t seem capable of focusing on anything long enough to really build it up, which is why we’re seeing a pay per view build and a tournament at the same time. The main event helped but the talent drops off a cliff at various point in ROH and those first two matches really showed it.
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Final Battle 2016 Date: December 2, 2016
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly
This has been a fairly big request so I might as well get it out of the way before it’s way too late. Final Battle is the biggest Ring of Honor show of the year and this edition is headlined by Adam Cole defending the ROH World Title against Kyle O’Reilly. The card isn’t the strongest in the world but there’s always potential. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
We open with Story Time with Adam Cole, who has a story about two knights. One of them went on to become the King but everyone was jealous of him. The King had all all the friends he needed and all the other knight had was a shot at the throne, which he failed. Then he failed again and again until Kyle O’Reilly is out of shots. Cole drops the story and promises that tonight, Kyle fails all over again.
Opening sequence.
The announcers run down the card (as in the one you already paid for) which now includes a triple threat instead of a fourway as Bobby Fish’s mother passed away, forcing him out of the match.
Rebellion vs. Motor City Machine Guns/Donovan Dijak
The Guns are still in search of a permanent partner because trios are suddenly awesome. The Rebellion is the former Cabinet (Caprice Coleman/Kenny King/Rhett Titus) because Rebellion might actually be an even weaker name. To really show how rebellious King is, he has an upside down ROH logo on his trunks. Sabin and King run the ropes a bit to start with a grand total of nothing happen. Gotta love that non-offense from these rebels.
A quick triple team puts Dijak down and it’s Titus, billed as the BIG DAWG with a similar ROH logo on the trunks, getting triple teamed right back. Shelley does a little Ric Flair strut and helps hold Titus up for a middle rope splash from Dijak. A good right hand (Corino: “PS!”) drops Sabin though and it’s time for the Rebellion (and their dastardly trunks to take over. Coleman, the true rebel here due to his slacks, gets in a few stomps of his own.
More triple teaming ensues until Sabin gets in a tornado DDT. That means Dijak gets to clean house with a top rope chokebreaker (close enough at least) getting two on Titus. The fans are WAY into Dijak here but the chants are cut off as the Guns start speeding things up. Well as speedy as they can make them at this point in their careers.
Dijak actually busts out a springboard flip dive to make my eyes pop open. Feast Your Eyes sends Titus into a powerbomb for two with Coleman and King diving in for the save. Another powerbomb puts King down but Skull and Bones are broken up. The Sky Splitter sets up the Big Dawg (frog) splash to put Sabin away at 12:27.
Rating: C+. Now this is a good way to start a show: with a mostly meaningless six man tag featuring a bunch of flying around and fast paced offense that gets the crowd going early on. Unfortunately that’s about it for the good stuff as the Rebellion might be the least interesting idea for a gimmick this year. It’s one of those cliched names that you throw out there on a tiny indy show, not the biggest show of the year for one of the biggest promotions in the country.
We recap Silas Young vs. Jushin Thunder Liger. Young got annoyed at a fan dressing up like Liger so he wanted to beat up the inspiration for never showing his face like a coward.
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Silas Young
Young has Beer City Bruiser with him. A cheap shot puts Liger trouble but the threat of a surfboard sends Silas bailing to the floor. Back in and we hit the surfboard until Silas grabs the referee for the break. A neckbreaker puts Liger down and the Bruiser offers a cheap shot (it’s not like he’s going to do much else) to keep Silas in control. Young actually goes for the mask because he really is that evil.
Liger gets caught in a backbreaker for two but manages to get in a double clothesline for a breather. It’s too early for the Liger Bomb though and a big neckbreaker gets two for Young. That means it’s time for a shot of beer, which is spat on Liger’s mask. It’s enough to make Liger hit a brainbuster but a top rope splash hits knees. Misery puts Liger away at 11:04.
Rating: C-. Nothing to see here but above all else the right person won. Liger is still an attraction and a win over him seems to mean something, which is exactly what someone like Silas needs. It’s nothing great but it did its job well enough. I’m still not sure where they’re going with Young but we’ve waiting on it for a long time.
We recap Colt Cabana vs. Dalton Castle, which is your standard short term tag team breakup feud with Cabana playing heel.
Colt Cabana vs. Dalton Castle
You can tell Colt has turned as his music into something much slower with rap lyrics. Castle comes out in a chariot pulled by the Boys. Dalton immediately poses on the middle rope with his legs crossed like a gentleman. A quick takedown puts Colt on the mat and he bails to the floor, allowing Castle to do his strut after faking Cabana out on a suicide dive. The Boys are thrown in so Castle uses them as stepping stones to set up a dropkick. Now that shows some thinking out there.
Another trip to the mat goes badly for Cabana but he finally pulls Dalton out of the corner to take over. A quick Billy Goat’s Curse sends Castle diving for the ropes, which looked quite a bit like a tap. Dalton grabs a hurricanrana before sidestepping a Lionsault press. Colt pops up but can’t hit the Chicago Skyline. He can however reverse the Bang A Rang into a rollup for two but Dalton grabs the Bang A Rang for the pin at 10:22.
Rating: C. Castle is another guy who could be something special if he’s given the right kind of push. However, his character is one of those kind that has a firm ceiling above its head because of the nature of the persona. He’s getting better in the ring though and those eyes being all buggy make things even better.
Jay Lethal gives a great promo about how he won’t be remembered if he doesn’t do something memorable. Tonight he’s going to show why he’s the best wrestler in the world, like he’s been for years.
Cody vs. Jay Lethal
Brandi Rhodes gets in a chuckle worthy line with “Where we’re going we don’t need Rhodes.” Lethal has a vest containing his wish list, which include Cody. We’re not quite ready to go yet though as the Addiction comes out to interrupt. They’re cool with the night off after what they went through at Ladder War. Daniels talks about growing up watching Dusty Rhodes and how important it is to have wrestlers like Cody on the roster. Addiction will be sitting in on commentary.
Feeling out process to start as they hit the mat early on. A hiptoss exchange goes fine until Lethal gets in a dropkick for the first major offense. Cody comes right back with a very delayed gordbuster and starts in on the arm. Addiction keeps putting over the idea of Cody having experience in big matches and not buckling under the pressure.
A skinning of the cat is broken up by Jay dropkicking Cody in the face (that’s a new one) to send him outside. That means three straight suicide dives with Cody being ready for the third and breaking it up with a Disaster Kick. Back in and another Disaster Kick grazes Jay’s hands but he backflips on the impact anyway. Eh it wouldn’t be Ring of Honor if there wasn’t an unnecessary flip.
Lethal comes back with a Crossface but Cody rolls into a modified Indian Deathlock of all things. After a rope is grabbed, Cody turns him inside out again with a clothesline and the frustration sets in on the kickout. The moonsault press misses, which Kevin calls Cody’s first mistake. Oh I’m sure I could find a few. Jay starts striking him in the face but we’ve got a ref bump, allowing Cody to kick Jay low for the surprise heel turn. Cross Rhodes puts Lethal away at 13:12.
Rating: B-. Best match of the night so far but it still wasn’t great. Turning Cody heel is certainly interesting though as you don’t often send in someone like Cody and then have them do anything other than be a short term conquering hero. A win over Lethal is still a big deal, even though Jay has taken a few steps down from where he was recently. Good enough match too.
Post match Cody mocks the Code of Honor and flips Lethal off. Addiction chases him away while Corino jumps back in on commentary to say “he was right all along.” Rhodes shoves Corino down but Steve keeps his cool.
Long recap of the Six Man Tag Team Title tournament. Lio Rush is replacing ACH, who has left the promotion.
Six Man Tag Team Titles: Kingdom vs. Kushida/Jay White/Lio Rush
The titles are vacant coming in and I still have no idea which one is TK O’Ryan and which is Vinny Marsegila. Before the bell, Corino says the Father (likely meaning Kevin Sullivan) said the evil was coming and that’s clearly Cody. Things start very fast with Rush hitting a standing C4 and frog splash for a pretty hot two.
After a break on the floor, White takes O’Ryan down until it’s off to Kushida for a dropkick to the head. Rush comes in for some YES Kicks but Taven sneaks in for a DDT to take over. O’Ryan adds a spear for two as things settle down into your normal formula. The first hot tag brings in Kushida for the Hoverboard Lock but O’Ryan is quickly in the ropes.
The announcers are nice enough to start explaining why we should care about the Kingdom as Kushida scores with a double Tajiri handspring elbow. Everything breaks down and White gets two off a missile dropkick. To really pick things up a bit, White gets caught in a half crab from the top rope, only to have Kushida put Vinny in the Hoverboard Lock on the top for the save.
A superplex breaks the submissions which don’t count because they’re in the ropes and it’s time for Rush to get to show off because ROH LOVES that guy. Kushida gets in a big dive to take all of the Kingdom down, only to have Taven dive onto the even bigger pile. Back in and Rush has Vinny beaten so TK dives off the top to take out the referee. Rush goes crazy with his strikes but the triple powerbomb crushes Lio to give the Kingdom the belts at 15:22.
Rating: C+. This is a good example of just throwing titles out there and not bothering to put anything important behind them. There’s no reason to care about Six Man Tag Team Titles when there were barely any trios in the first place. It comes off like someone else did something so now we’ve got Trios Titles. That doesn’t mean it works and the match wasn’t great either, making this the finals of one heck of a waste of time, especially with the winners being a reincarnated stable that is missing all the parts that made it work in the first place.
We recap the rapidly changing TV Title picture. Will Ospreay took the title from Bobby Fish, only to lose it two days later to Marty Scurll. Dragon Lee is involved here as well because we need to bring in other people from around the world whether they’re interesting or not. Fish is out of the match due to a death in the family earlier in the day.
TV Title: Will Ospreay vs. Dragon Lee vs. Marty Scurll
Scurll, dubbed the Villain (I can work with this) is defending. As you might expect, everything starts fast with all three doing a bunch of flips without making any real contact. Will and Lee chop it out before all three wind up on the floor, only to have Lee hit a big flip dive. Back in and Will’s standing shooting star gets two on Lee, starting a British double team.
With Lee dispatched, Ospreay and Scurll start slugging it out until Marty gets caught in the Tree of Woe. Cue Lee for the Alberto Del Rio top rope double stomp and a near fall. A running hurricanrana pulls Ospreay off the apron and down to the floor but Will pops back up for a big running flip dive of his own.
A very fast series of dives has Scurll in trouble but he catches a final dive in his crossface chickenwing. Lee dives in for the save and it’s time for the circle chop fest. Ospreay does a double Tajiri handspring spinning kick to the face. Well that works. Scurll gets tired of this nonsense and BREAKS LEE’S FINGER, setting up the chickenwing to retain the title at 11:04.
Rating: B+. See, now this is something I can get behind. They didn’t bother trying with anything other than fast paced action and that’s what we got. I was having flashbacks to the Cruiserweight Classic here as it was all about speed and nonstop action, which is why you bring people like these three in. It might not have been the highest quality match but it was a lot of fun and highly entertaining.
We recap the Tag Team Title match, which is just about the Briscoes wanting their ninth title reign.
Tag Team Titles: Briscoe Brothers vs. Young Bucks
The Bucks are defending. Mark and Nick get things going but it’s quickly off to Jay (now with hair, making it easier to tell them apart) for an elbow. That goes nowhere so it’s a big staredown. The double superkicks are countered with the Bucks being sent to the floor, only to come back in for the slingshot dropkicks. A flip dive takes the challengers down and even more dives have them reeling.
The Briscoes are a bit more old school though and will have none of this being on defense thing, meaning a big double clothesline takes the Bucks down. Jay drops a BANG BANG Elbow off the apron because he’s not that original. We settle down to the Bucks in trouble because ROH is a weird company where the heels are faces and the faces are weaker faces because the heels are cool heels in Japan, which makes them faces by default.
Nick gets up and sends Jay outside for a tornado DDT off the apron, only to have the Briscoes come back in for a double superkick of their own. Unfortunately that means the Bucks start with their own superkicks and Corino SHOUTS THE MOVE’S NAME A LOT. Eh I’ll still take it over Joey Styles.
The draped over the ropes Swanton to Jay sets up More Bang for Your Buck on Mark, sending the fans even further into Buck-Love. Jay comes back in with a superkick of his own and the Jay Driller sets up the Froggy Bow for a very close two on Matt. A springboard Doomsday Device gets the same and the Briscoes can’t believe it.
That’s a bit too much selling for the Bucks though and it’s Nick cleaning house with a bunch of strikes because he can beat up both Briscoes on his own. The Meltzer Driver gets two on Mark and then, I kid you not, TWENTY EIGHT SUPERKICKS IN A ROW give the Bucks a double pin to retain the titles at 16:08.
Rating: B. I know the Bucks are annoying but they’re still two of the best high fliers going right now. The superkicks get really, really annoying at times (albeit nowhere near as bad as the “we’re cool heels like the NWO” schtick) but at least you get some good matches out of them. The Briscoes will be fine when they do whatever is up next for them and that’s been the case for years.
The lights go out…..AND WE’VE GOT BROKEN MATT HARDY! They’ll be coming to ROH soon (probably around Wrestlemania season) to make the Bucks and the Briscoes obsolete. The fans are WAY into the DELETE chant. The Bucks look stunned.
We recap Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole in a video that aired on ROH TV. The idea is they’ve spent years associated in some way and Cole is obsessed with keeping the title away from Kyle at all costs.
ROH World Title: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Cole is defending and this is now anything goes as per Kyle’s request to not have to be held responsible for his actions. Kyle wins an early slugout and gets the armbreaker over the top rope. It’s not clear why he lets it go but Cole kicks him in the head for his general stupidity. Back in and Kyle kicks away before getting shoved off the top to give the champ control.
Even more kicks have Cole reeling but he stops a dive with a belt shot. That’s how a heel should use the weapons and it even draws blood from Kyle’s forehead. Kyle can’t stand up due to the blood loss so Cole puts a trashcan over him for a superkick. O’Reilly starts no selling chair shots (Seriously?) and suplexes Cole onto an open chair for…..well very little actually.
Instead he takes Cole outside again and dropkicks a trashcan into Cole’s chest for a big crash. It’s table time and, after fighting it off for a bit, Cole gets belly to back superplexed through the table for the big crash. That’s not enough for Kyle so he grabs a guillotine choke on the apron and kind of DDT’s Cole off the apron and through a second table.
Kyle looks under the ring (where they keep all those freaking streamers) and finds a chain for a callback to their match in Dallas. Cole (busted as well) gets in a low blow for two and it’s time for thumbtacks. The triangle choke has Kyle in control so Cole powerbombs him onto the tacks for the break. O’Reilly one ups him with a BRAINBUSTER ONTO THE TACKS, followed laying down on those tacks while locking in the cross armbreaker for the submission and the title (announced after a few seconds for some reason) at 19:14.
Rating: B+. I wanted to see more of this and that’s a good thing. It felt like the needed a few more minutes to really flesh it out but Kyle laying in the tacks after dropping Cole onto them made it feel like he really just wanted to beat him no matter what. Cole felt like a jerk throughout but he just didn’t have heart to keep up with Kyle, which is wrestling in a nutshell. It’s not a classic but it told a story, albeit one that should have had its trigger pulled a long time ago. Maybe it’s just that I’m not a huge fan of this feud but I never got into the big emotional impact here.
O’Reilly celebrates to end the show.
Overall Rating: B+. The first half of the show isn’t as strong as the second but it’s still more than good enough to set up the main events. Nothing really stands out above everything else but nothing was bad and the last three matches range from good to very good. This show’s problem is the lack of a strong build, as nothing on here really feels like it’s something worth seeing. That makes it a rare instance where it’s better to watch the show with no TV build as the pay per view is actually very strong and better than most stuff ROH puts out.
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Ring of Honor TV – November 23, 2016: Two Unknowns Are Better Than Three
Ring of Honor Date: November 23, 2016
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 600
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Steve Corino
We’ve only got two shows left until Final Battle and that means we won’t be hearing most of the matches for a few more weeks because ROH can’t figure out a schedule to save their lives. Next up is going to be the remainder of the Six Man Tag Team Title tournament as we need opponents for ACH and company. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Silas Young vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Feeling out process to start with Kyle grabbing a full nelson to no avail. A kneebar works a bit better but Silas throws him outside, leaving a nice sweat puddle on the floor. That’s much more in Silas’ wheelhouse and he sends Kyle hard into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Adam Cole on commentary and Kyle using another kneebar to get out of trouble. A cross armbreaker makes Silas’ night even worse and the brainbuster puts Young away at 12:37.
Rating: C-. If they want Silas to become a bigger deal, I’m really not sure how they’re going about it. After the break, this was all Kyle beating the heck out of Young, who barely had any offense in the second half of the match. ROH needs some fresh talent at the top of the card and if they want to push Young then they need to push him instead of jobbing him out in such dominant fashion.
Post match Young criticizes a Jushin Thunder Liger fan for dressing up in a costume. Silas is out here every week facing the music but Liger is a coward. There’s a Final Battle match.
Jay Lethal is ready for his Final Battle match with Cody Rhodes. I’m assuming that was announced on ROH’s website because it wasn’t announced on TV. That’s one of the things they really need to work on. I know a lot of their stuff is online but you can’t throw up a fifteen second graphic and have Kelly mention it?
The Motor City Machine Guns talk about how brutal the Ladder War was before going into a rant about how Adam Page turned on them earlier this year. This turns into the Guns talking about how much they love the ROH roster and it sounds like they’re going after the Bullet Club. I’m not entirely sure what they were going for here as it was a bit all over the place.
The Addiction wants their titles back but more importantly, to prove they’re the best. They get the Briscoes next week. As has been the case recently, this was great fire.
Dalton Castle is still missing the Boys (Where did they go anyway?) so Colt Cabana offers him some replacements.
Colt Cabana/Dalton Castle vs. Preston Quinn/Ken Dixon
Castle and Dixon start things off and it’s time for the chest thrust. The Bang A Rang finishes Ken in 55 seconds. You don’t see squashes like that around here too often.
Post match Castle says he knew he could make Colt smile. Cabana says he saw a lot of himself in Castle but maybe it’s better if they go their separate ways. Colt goes to leave but Castle says not so fast. He’d like a goodbye hug but Cabana knees him low. Well that was rather uncalled for, especially considering he was willing to leave in peace thirty seconds ago. Cabana as a heel could actually be interesting as I’ve never seen it before. Colt beats up the Boys and stabs Castle with a feather.
Six Man Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: The Kingdom vs. Team CMLL
Yay for people we don’t know and the announcers won’t explain! O’Ryan and Hecheiro start things off but it’s quickly off to Taven, who gets rolled up for some near falls. Vinny and Ultimo Guerrero, the latter of whom Corino praises because EVERYONE knows who Ultimo Guerrero is. A triple team beatdown has Vinny in trouble as we take a break. Back with Okimura not being able to sunset flip Taven thanks to some old fashioned cheating. Everything breaks down and Guerrero gets triple teamed, only to pop back up and clean house.
Corino: “I LOVE THIS GUY!” Good for you Steve, because we can barely remember his name as he’s been in an ROH ring all of twenty minutes and has never even gotten an introduction. Hecheiro grabs a leg lock on Taven with T.K. making a save as we go to a second break. Back the Kingdom taking over via a dive to the floor, followed by a modified triple bomb for the pin on Hecheiro for the pin at 11:04.
Rating: C+. The match was entertaining though I’m still not sure if the faces or heels won. I mean, I know the Kingdom are heels but was I supposed to cheer for Team CMLL? Why? Just because they’re from Mexico and are here as visitors? I was having a hard enough time keeping track of who was who, let alone wondering if I should be happy with the winners. At least Taven is someone ROH fans is familiar with and it’s a much clearer face vs. heel picture in the finals.
The Briscoes are ready for their tuneup next week because the Addiction are just a step on the way towards Final Battle, where they’ll get the titles back.
Overall Rating: C. I liked this show a lot more than the recent episodes as they advanced several stories and fleshed out a lot of the Final Battle card. That’s been lacking in recent weeks and they nailed it this week. The wrestling was fine enough and hopefully they can give us the big go home show next week, though ROH tends to lack in that area a lot of the time.
Ring of Honor TV – November 2, 2016: It’s All The Rage In Japan
Ring of Honor Date: November 2, 2016 Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly
We’re still in Lowell and things are slowly starting to get ready for Final Battle. Kyle O’Reilly is probably on his way through the Bullet Club to get to Adam Cole and that’s likely going to include a tag match with Cole and Adam Page against ReDRagon, which has the potential to be a lot of fun. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of ReDRagon vs. the Adam’s.
Opening sequence.
Donovan Dijak vs. Danny Miles
The fans know this is going to hurt. Dijak kicks the handshake away and mauls Miles into the corner with forearms. The chokebreaker and back to back to back Feast Your Eyes wrap this up at 2:17.
Prince Nana says Dijak will never quit.
We look at the Motor City Machine Guns brawling with the Bullet Club after last week’s show went off the air.
The Briscoes are ready for the Addiction.
Briscoe Brothers vs. Addiction
Actually hang on a second as the Addiction is in street clothes. Frankie says they’re too banged up from Ladder War to compete here before going into the Briscoes’ legacy here in ROH. When Kazarian thinks about legacies, he thinks about Christopher Daniels, who has given everything he has to Ring of Honor and it’s Kazarian’s privilege to stand beside him and fight the wars with him. The Addiction leaves as I wonder what has lit a fire under them with these promos lately. I’m not a big Daniels fan but I’d love to see these speeches go somewhere.
The Briscoes say they didn’t lace their boots up for nothing so let’s get the Young Bucks out here right now for a World Tag Team Title shot.
Adam Page/Adam Cole vs. Briscoe Brothers
The Adam’s are here because the Bucks are still banged up. The Briscoes fight off an early ambush and it’s Page vs. Mark to start, only to have Cole jump Mark from behind. It’s Page sending Mark into the corner as the villains take over early on. The announcers use the stomping time to talk about Cole’s long list of challengers, which is one of the better uses of such time that you’re going to see.
We come back from a break with Mark having to fight off the double teaming with an enziguri to Cole. The hot tag brings in Jay (who is oddly booed) for a hard clot and neckbreaker on Page. Jay loads up the Jay Driller on the champ but takes a World Title shot to the head for the DQ at 7:30.
Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but I’m digging Page getting a push. He showed he can go in the feud with Jay Briscoe and it’s not like you can ever have too much talent. The Briscoes are one of those teams who can be fine no matter how many times they lose and I’m sure they’ll get another Tag Team Title feud soon enough.
ReDRagon makes the save despite Fish barely being able to move due to bad ribs.
Matt Taven says the Kingdom debuts next week.
Jay Lethal thinks he’ll get the World Title back in London.
We recap the Six Man Tag Team Title tournament so far.
Caprice Coleman says the Cabinet is ready to win the belts.
Six Man Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: The Cabinet vs. ACH/Jay White/Kushida
This is for a spot in the finals, despite the other half of the bracket not even starting yet. The Cabinet does their protest of the handshake but jump the good guys, meaning it’s time to stomp on White. We come back from a way too early break with White still in trouble until he kicks Coleman and Titus off the apron.
It’s off to ACH (now Super ACH apparently, which I actually kind of dig) and everything speeds up in a hurry. The announcers talk about how this is more traditional in Japan, which is as close of an admittance to “we’re doing it because New Japan did” as you’re going to get. The Hoverboard Lock sends Coleman to the ropes for a hilarious “GET HIM OFF ME!” in a high pitched voice.
Coleman’s arm gets worked on with a variety of wristlocks. King low bridges ACH to the floor as everything breaks down again. We come back from another break with King suplexing ACH for two as Corino thinks he and Kelly can get Nigel McGuinness to come out of retirement and win the belts.
ACH sends Coleman and Titus together and brings in Kushida to clean house. Everything breaks down and Titus gets triple teamed until Coleman and King have to save a pin. The Sky Splitter gets two on White and Kushida kicks King and Titus to the floor. A Rock Bottom plants Coleman and the Midnight Star gives ACH the pin at 21:07.
Rating: B-. I really can’t stand this tournament, though the Cabinet being eliminated helps a lot. They’re really not hiding the fact that these titles exist because New Japan has them and that doesn’t do much for me as a fan. You have three guys thrown together against a team with a stupid gimmick and if you win three matches in a row you get titles? These things just exist and I need more than that to care.
Overall Rating: C. This show was kind of all over the place with the tournament eating up a bunch of time, a quick squash and a long segment involving the Briscoes. It’s certainly not a bad episode but it basically comes down to your stance on the tournament. If you like that, you’ll like this show. If you’ve grown sick of all things New Japan like I have solely because of ROH, this probably isn’t your favorite show.
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