Impact Wrestling
Date: May 5, 2022
Location: Majed J. Neshewat Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the go home show for Under Siege, which has come up rather fast after Rebellion took place just a few weeks ago. Last week saw Tomohiro Ishii announced as the new #1 contender to Josh Alexander, which should be a nice trial by fire for the new champion. It’s time for the final push towards Under Siege so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Tonight it’s Monster’s Ball with PCO vs. Jonah and they actually bring back the “they’ve been locked away for 24 hours” deal, which I don’t remember them using in years.

Brian Myers vs. W. Morrissey

Tables match. Morrissey hits a running splash in the corner and goes outside to load up the first table. That is broken up with a slingshot dive to the floor but Morrissey fights up again. Another table is loaded up but Myers is right back to cut him off as we have a theme going here. Instead Myers sets up his own table, only to have to escape a powerbomb attempt. Back in and a big boot drops Myers again so Morrissey loads up the powerbomb.

Cue Matt Cardona for the save bur Morrissey fights back and hits a double chokeslam. Now it’s Chelsea Green for a distraction so Cardona can get in a Digital Media belt shot. Cardona puts a bunch of toys on the table but Morrissey fights up again. Green grabs Morrissey by the hair so the Players can grab a table and charge, only to hit the post and have it break (which would have been as unique of an ending to one of these things as I have seen in a long time).

Cardona tries to escape but gets cut off by Jordynne Grace, who takes him back to the ring to put him down. A powerbomb/big boot combination puts Cardona through a table (remember neither are in the match) and Myers is back up to break a piece of a table over Morrissey’s back. That doesn’t count either (fair enough) and Morrissey plants him with a Boss Man Slam. Morrissey has had it with Myers and powerbombs him over the top and through a table for the win at 10:41.

Rating: C+. I liked that they had some creative stuff in here for once and the big powerbomb finish looked good. Morrissey is almost channeling Sid (minus the charisma) here and that is not a bad use for him. Grace and Morrissey as a team could grow on me, though I would hope the Players would go over them in the end, as Cardona and Myers as major heels could go somewhere.

Willie Mack and Rich Swann are ready for the Bullet Club but the Major Players come in to ask about what happened to Brian Myers. This seems to set up Swann vs. Matt Cardona.

Here’s what is coming tonight and at Under Siege.

X-Division Title: Ace Austin vs. Rocky Romero

Austin is defending and takes him into the corner to start, only to miss a shot to the face. Romero takes him down with a headlock takeover, followed by some Forever Clotheslines. That’s broken up with a kick to the face though and we take a break. Back with Austin knocking him out to the floor, leaving Austin to lay over the top rope. Romero switches places with him though and it’s a hurricanrana off the apron to take over. Austin’s kick to the face is countered into a half crab but Austin is right to the rope. Back up and a kick to the face sets up the Fold to retain the title at 10:53.

Rating: C+. This is what you bring in Romero for: he can make someone look pretty good without putting all of the focus on himself or winning a major match as his reputation is enough to carry him. Austin gets a nice title defense and some momentum as he goes into New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors so this worked out well. I’m not the biggest Romero fan but this was a very fine effort from him.

Post match here is Trey Miguel to chase Austin off. The rematch is officially on for Under Siege.

Josh Alexander is ready to face Tomohiro Ishii at Under Siege because he wants to face the best in the world.

EGV is still coming.

Masha Slamovich vs. Damaris

Damaris hammers away in the corner and gets suplexed out for her efforts. The Snowplow finishes for Slamovich at 49 seconds.

Raj Singh and Shera threaten/growl at Bhupinder Gujjar for not joining up with them.

The Briscoes yell about Violent By Design having two more days as Tag Team Champions.

Violent By Design isn’t having any of the Briscoes trying to take their titles and power.

Bullet Club vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack

Jay White/Chris Bey for the Club here. White chops Swann into the corner to start but it’s quickly off to Mack for a facebuster/bulldog combination and an early near fall. Swann comes back in to chop at White until Bey gets in a cheap shot from the apron. Something like an F5 onto the top rope staggers Swann and the Club takes over.

White is smart enough to knock Mack off the apron, meaning Swann’s backdrop doesn’t set up a tag. Not that it matters as Swann gets over for the tag a few seconds later and house is cleaned. The Samoan drop from Mack sets up a splash from Swann which sets up a standing moonsault from Mack for two on Bey. White cuts off Swann though and it’s a half and half to drop Mack. The Art of Finesse gives Bey the pin at 6:49.

Rating: B-. White and Bey continue to make almost everything look easy while Swann and Mack are very smooth in their own right. This is a match that I could have gone with going a lot longer and it’s kind of a shame that it got so little time. It’s also nice to give another Bullet Club pairing a win rather than just the Good Brothers for once, as that has been done for so long.

Post match Honor No More runs in for the beatdown but the Good Brothers come in for the save. Rehwoldt uses this time to recap the Bullet Club’s week in New Japan, which is absolutely live and not a voiceover whatsoever.

Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans are walking through the back when the lights flicker. Decay starts haunting them and Evans is taken away, leaving Havok’s voice to say that Steelz is hers at Under Siege.

Deonna Purrazzo is ready for Taya Valkyrie and the AAA Reina de Reinas Title at Under Siege.

Steve Maclin vs. Tomohiro Ishii

They go straight to the forearm off to start until Ishii wins a battle of the shoulders. A powerslam sends Maclin outside and we take a break. Back with Ishii winning another exchange of forearms but Maclin grabs a backbreaker to take over. An elbow to the face sets up a chinlock, with Ishii actually using the rope for the break.

Ishii fights back up and chops away in the corner but Maclin hits an Angle Slam for two. The Boston crab goes on so Ishii grabs the rope again. Maclin slips out of a German suplex attempt and hits one of his own for two so Ishii blasts him with a clothesline. The brainbuster gives Ishii the pin at 12:53.

Rating: C. This wasn’t a great match but it gave Ishii a nice win on his way to the title match this Saturday. It’s a quick build to said title match and Ishii could have used another win but his reputation should make up for some of that. Other than that, you have Maclin taking a loss and I’m really not sure about that, especially coming off of his triple threat win at Rebellion.

Johnny Swinger tells Zicky Dice to dive into his training, as some women go into Swinger’s Dungeon. Swinger suggests a better finisher and offers to teach him all the crabs. Dice doesn’t think that will work, but he does accept….a certain kind of gag as another woman comes up with a whip. This joke is somehow working for me.

Under Siege rundown.

Jonah vs. PCO

Monster’s Ball and the fight starts in the back with Jonah jumping him from behind. They fight up the steps and make it into the arena, where PCO can’t chokeslam him off the stage. PCO slugs away to take over but gets suplexed onto the ramp. We take a break and come back with the two of them in the ring, surrounded by a bunch of weapons. Commentary talks about the history of the match, saying people like Abyss, Jeff Hardy and Tommy Dreamer put it on the mat. If you ignore that the match had been around for about six years before Dreamer was involved in one, sure.

Jonah gets in a sledgehammer shot to the neck but somehow doesn’t kill PCO, who is back with a hurricanrana. Jonah sends him into a ladder in the corner and it’s time to set up a table on the floor (which is far more devastating than a SLEDGEHAMMER). PCO fights back and slugs away, setting up a DDT onto the trashcan. The running flip dive through the ropes takes Jonah down again and the Deanimator connects on the apron.

The middle rope legdrop gives PCO two and Jonah is sent head first into a chair in the corner. Jonah plants him back first onto some open chairs for two and tells him to die. It’s thumbtacks time (because of course it is) and a powerbomb onto the tacks gives Jonah two. PCO catches him on top though and it’s a sledgehammer shot to knock Jonah through the ringside table. Back in and the PCOsault finishes for PCO at 17:57.

Rating: C+. It was the same kind of brawl that you have seen under different names for years now but at least they got a good deal of time and it felt like a blowoff between two monsters who have been going after each other for a long time now. PCO getting the win is a bit of a surprise but this was a heck of a fight to (in theory) wrap up the feud.

Overall Rating: B-. They had a pretty good build towards Under Siege here, which is a rather thrown together show but I don’t think it has the highest expectations in the first place. What matters here is we got some good action and you can see where some of these feuds are going in the next few weeks. I’m liking Impact most of the time these days and that was the case again here with another good effort.

Results
W. Morrissey b. Brian Myers – Powerbomb through a table
Ace Austin b. Rocky Romero – The Fold
Masha Slamovich b. Damaris – Snowplow
Bullet Club b. Rich Swann/Willie Mack – Art of Finesse to Mack
Tomohiro Ishii b. Steve Maclin – Brainbuster
PCO b. Jonah – PCOsault

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: April 7, 2022
Location: Fairmont Hotel, Dallas, Texas
Host: Josh Matthews

It’s a special week this time around as rather than building towards Rebellion with a regular show, we’re going to look at some of the Multiverse Of Matches card. The show was held over Wrestlemania Weekend but a lot of it had little to do with the upcoming pay per view. It should be fun for a one off though so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Note that I’ll be posting the full versions of the matches rather than the possibly clipped versions from the broadcast.

The opening video gives us a Multiverse Of Matches highlight reel.

X-Division Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Chris Bey vs. Blake Christian vs. Vincent vs. Rich Swann vs. Trey Miguel

Miguel is defending in Ultimate X and Swann busts out a Scott Hall pose for a great moment. It’s a group attempt to crawl across the ropes to start but that is all broken up. The audio gets a lot louder as Miguel is left alone, only to be pulled down by Swann and Bey. That means a three way exchange of strikes to the face with bey getting the better of things.

Grace is back in with a MuscleBuster to Bey but Christian clears the ring out again. Miguel takes Christian down though and goes up, only to get pulled down by Vincent. That earns Vincent a cutter from Swann, who is pulled down by Bey rather quickly. Bey plants Swann with the Art of Finesse so Christian goes up, only to drop does onto Bey with a Canadian Destroyer. Instead of climbing though, Christian hits a big flip dive onto the pile. It’s Grace going across the cables and using her legs, only to get knocked down by Miguel. That’s enough for Miguel to grab the title and retain at 7:25.

Rating: B-. This was one of those things where I’ve seen a bunch of Ultimate X matches over the years and a lot of them run together. The climbing was the focus here again as it tends to be, though it was a lot of two people do their thing and then some others take their place. Fun match, but if you’ve seen a few of these, you’ve seen them all.

Trey Miguel is ready for his triple threat title defense at Rebellion. If you can’t see the fire in his eyes right now, you aren’t looking close enough.

We look at Chelsea Green turning on Mickie James, who got taken out by Matt Cardona. A mixed tag match was set.

Mickie James is ready to take Green out and Nick Aldis is glad to be back for one night only. He just wishes it was under nicer circumstances than him stretching Cardona.

Matt Cardona/Chelsea Green vs. Nick Aldis/Mickie James

Green turned on James and Cardona took her out, so James brought in Aldis for a battle of married teams. The girls get in a brawl to start but we settle down to Aldis pounding on Cardona on the mat and in the corner. Mickie comes in but gets taken down by Cardona’s clothesline to put her in trouble. It’s off to Green to choke in the corner and forearm away, setting up the chinlock to keep James down.

The Reboot misses for Cardona though and Mickie grabs a flapjack, allowing the hot tag off to Aldis. The clothesline comeback is on, setting up a Tombstone. There’s a top rope elbow but Green makes the save as everything breaks down. Cardona has to save Green from the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf but she gets sent outside anyway. Back in and stereo King’s Lynn Cloverleafs make Cardona and Green tap at the same time at 8:00.

Rating: C. I remember this being a bit longer in person but it still worked out well enough. There is a simple story here with the two married couples going at it over one of them being attacked a few weeks ago. Aldis continues to look like a star, though he might be a bit dull, and James has been a legend for years. Green has come a long way and Cardona…my goodness he has had a career renaissance in the last year or so and it has been a lot of fun to watch.

Eddie Edwards is here representing Pro Wrestling Noah because they didn’t turn their backs on him. He is in his old school green and is ready to prove himself to Tomohiro Ishii.

Eddie Edwards vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Feeling out process to start with Edwards backing him up against the ropes to no avail. An exchange of shoulders (eventually) goes to Ishii but he is sent outside for the suicide dive. Ishii gets sent into the barricade but he is fine enough to hit a powerslam to drive Edwards into the floor. A DDT onto the apron rocks Ishii for two and Eddie is starting to get cocky.

That’s not a good idea against Ishii, who hits a suplex and unloads in the corner to take over. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets Eddie out of trouble for two and he kicks Ishii in the head in the corner. The Backpack Stunner is broken up so they trade snap German suplexes and clotheslines for a double knockdown.

Back up and Edwards starts striking away in the corner, earning a glare from Ishii and a YOU CENSORED UP chant from the crowd. Ishii hammers away but the sliding lariat is blocked and Edwards knees away. The Boston Knee Party is blocked and Ishii hits a running knee of his own. Edwards blocks the brainbuster and tries the Die Hard Driver but Ishii slips out. The big clothesline sets up the brainbuster to give Ishii the pin at 14:58.

Rating: B-. This felt like the match where they beat each other up until one of them just couldn’t get up again. That is a formula that will always work well enough, though it didn’t quite hit the highest point here. Ishii isn’t what he used to be but he is still good enough to get by on a combination of reputation and skill. If nothing else, it is nice to see a first time match that felt special, which is the point of this show.

Jonah/Josh Alexander vs. PCO/Moose

PCO jumps Alexander to start and knocks him into the corner. Alexander gets in a kick to the face though and it’s Jonah coming in, albeit after glaring at Alexander a bit (with commentary pointing out their previous issues). It’s off to Moose for the showdown with Jonah, but about ten shoulders won’t put Jonah down. One big shoulder does put Moose down, though Alexander tags himself back in to chase Moose around the ring.

PCO cuts Alexander off and it’s a double whip to send Alexander into the barricade. Back in and PCO drops his middle rope leg and Moose starts stomping on Alexander’s wrist. Alexander is able to grab a suplex on PCO but he’s back up to knock Jonah off the apron before the tag. The second attempt works just fine though and it’s Jonah coming in to clean house.

That doesn’t last long as the big backsplash misses and Alexander is already back in. Everything breaks down and PCO hits his big flip dive to the floor, setting up the Deanimator on Alexander. Back in and Jonah hits a superkick on PCO, leaving Alexander to blast Moose with a clothesline. We get the BOO/YAY slugout with Moose and Alexander until Moose bails from the threat of the C4 Spike. The Spike hits PCO instead for the pin at 12:48.

Rating: C+. Sometimes you need four big, strong guys to beat on each other for a little while. That is what we got here and it was entertaining while it lasted. That’s about all you can ask for here and they even built up Moose vs. Alexander at Rebellion. Throw in some fun interactions and this was about as good of a use of their time as they could have had.

We recap Jay White vs. Chris Sabin. They have met each other time after time and now it is Sabin’s chance to prove himself.

Chris Sabin vs. Jay White

White is a bit popular around here. A chop against the ropes wakes Sabin up to start and another hurts White’s own hand. Sabin grabs him by the arm and takes him down to the mat before grabbing an armdrag into a chop of his own. White is sent outside for the suicide dive and then gets dropped face first onto the apron. Back in and White catches him on top, setting up another chop out to the floor.

A pair of belly to back drops onto the apron have Sabin in more trouble and the half crab goes on back inside. With that broken up, White hits a backbreaker into a waistlock to stay on the back/ribs. Sabin fights up and hits a shot to the ribs of his own before another good one puts White down. Some elbows to the back of the head set up a missile dropkick to give Sabin two as his chest is a scary shade of purple.

White is back up with a snap DDT for two and a Saito suplex drops Sabin again. A swinging suplex gets two more and it’s White’s turn to be frustrated. The swinging Rock Bottom plants Sabin for another near fall and White is annoyed at the referee (the same one who allegedly messed up in the tag match last week).

Sabin counters the Blade Runner into a ram into the corner but White goes back to the damaged chest. That just fires Sabin up for some, ahem, machine gun style chops to put White down for a change. There’s the hard clothesline but the Cradle Shock is blocked. White tries the Blade Runner again, only to get rolled up to give Sabin the upset pin at 16:01.

Rating: B. I didn’t see that coming and I was actually surprised by the pinfall. White losing outside of anything but a big match is weird and Sabin winning a major singles match almost feels even weirder. It was a heck of a match though with both guys looking as smooth as they ever did. That’s the good thing about seeing people like these two getting in the ring and they made it work very well. Match of the night so far.

Post match Steve Maclin comes in to go after Sabin but White pulls him off. Maclin goes after Sabin again but gets hit low, leaving Sabin to celebrate.

Sabin talks about beating White in an upset because no one expected him to win. Now White will never forget it.

Good Brothers vs. Briscoes

This is a few hours after the Briscoes had their instant classic against FTR. We get the Big Match Intros and you really can feel the energy when the Briscoes are in the ring. They just make things feel big and the charisma is off the charts. Mark and Anderson go to the mat to start but everything breaks down in a hurry.

Back in and Karl rakes Jay’s eyes to take over and we settle down with Jay being sent into the corner. Gallows stomps away and Anderson goes back to the eyes like a villain (I think?) should. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Jay is taken into the corner for some right hands from Anderson. That doesn’t last long either and the hot tag brings in Mark to clean house.

The Iconoclasm gets two on Anderson and Redneck Boogie (commentary didn’t seem to know the name) connects for the same. Everything breaks down and the reverse 3D gets two on Jay. Mark breaks up the Magic Killer and everyone is down again. It’s Mark getting up first and heading to the top but Chris Bey pops up to distract the referee. Cue Jay White to shove Mark off the top, setting up the Magic Killer for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: C+. They went fast here and a lot of that is probably due to the Briscoes being a bit gassed after their earlier match. What mattered here was giving the Bullet Club a win and it isn’t like the Briscoes lose much after a previous match and interference. They had a good match here though and the energy was high to end the night.

Deonna Purrazzo doesn’t care that Mercedes Martinez won the Interim Ring Of Honor Women’s Title earlier tonight (at a different show) and she doesn’t care who answers her Champ Champ Challenge tonight.

Here’s Deonna Purrazzo for the Champ Champ Challenger.

AAA Reina de Reinas Title: Faby Apache vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Purrazzo is defending and defeated Apache to win the title in the first place. I had been hoping for Mercedes Martinez or Taya Valkyrie but this was certainly a surprise. Feeling out process with Apache taking her down by the leg and some legsweeps give them two each. A slugout goes to Purrazzo but Apache takes her down into the corner to stomp away. Purrazzo is back with some arm cranking but can’t get the cross armbreaker. Apache grabs a suplex into a legdrop as the fans aren’t sure what to make of her.

La majistral gives Apache two as Rehwoldt continues to sing Purrazzo’s praises. Something like a reverse Figure Four has Purrazzo in trouble until she gets over to the rope. Purrazzo is back up with a standing moonsault for two but Apache grabs the Fairy Tale Ending for her own two. The Fujiwara armbar is broken up and they kick each other in the face for a double knockdown. Back up and Purrazzo hits a German suplex but can’t get the Queen’s Gambit. With that not working, Purrazzo pulls her into the armbar for the tap to retain at 8:56.

Rating: C. The problem here is that the fans didn’t know Apache and they didn’t react tot he match as a result. While Apache is someone who was a threat to the title, you need something to care about and that isn’t the case with someone popping into the promotion for the first time. The match wasn’t bad, but it had almost no heat and that dragged things down.

Post match Purrazzo grabs the mic and says it doesn’t matter who what Mercedes Martinez won earlier tonight because she is the Champ Champ….and here is Taya Valkyrie to interrupt. The fans welcome her back and Valkyrie says Purrazzo should be worried about that Reina de Reinas Title. Valkyrie will see her at Rebellion.

Purrazzo says Valkyrie can bring it.

Valkyrie is ready to win the Reina de Reinas Title and shut Purrazzo up.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Alex Shelley vs. Mike Bailey

Bailey was all over Wrestlemania Weekend and this is one of a handful of matches I saw from him. The fans aren’t sure who to cheer for here but both seem rather popular. They take about a minute to lock up with Shelley working on a wristlock. Bailey breaks that up fast and sends Shelley into the corner to give us a standoff. A whip into the ropes doesn’t get Shelley anywhere as bailey is back with his bouncing kicks to the arms into the enziguri.

Shelley is sent outside where he seems to injure and then fix his own shoulder. A jawbreaker works a bit better for Shelley and they head outside again with Shelley chopping away against the barricade. We pause for a Ric Flair strut and a top rope knee is driven into the chest back inside. Shelley hits a leg trap DDT for two and we hit the crossarm choke. Bailey fights up again and kicks him down, setting up the running corkscrew shooting star press for two.

Shelley pulls him down into the Motor City Stretch, sending Bailey over to the rope. They head to the apron (oh dear) where Bailey trips him down but misses his moonsault knees (freaking ow man). That lets Shelley hit a slingshot DDT, which mostly drives Bailey’s shoulder into the apron to knock him silly. A brainbuster on the floor drops Bailey again but he dives back in and sends Shelley outside.

That means a big springboard moonsault because selling isn’t a thing on this show. Back in and Shelley gets annoyed so the real fight is on. Bailey kicks him down and hits the Ultimate Weapon (standing moonsault double knees) for two. A quick Motor City Stretch attempt is countered into a rollup for two before Bailey bounces him off the rope for another rollup and the pin at 15:03.

Rating: B-. You knew you were going to get this kind of a match on the show and it worked well here, though Bailey taking those big moves and popping up to win a few moments later was more than I could reasonably take. That was a problem for him all weekend long and while it is the kind of thing that you have to expect, it still isn’t easy to see over and over.

Overall Rating: B. This was more or less the Multiverse Of Matches show (minus the Knockouts Tag Team Title match) with Josh’s intros and some short promos added. It’s a pretty entertaining show and a nice way to take a breather after Wrestlemania Weekend. Rebellion can have its final push next week and they did advance enough on this show too. All in all, not a must see show, but worth a look if you don’t have time for the full Multiverse show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Multiverse Of Matches
Date: April 1, 2022
Location: Fairmont Hotel, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

This was a show that got my attention as it has a pretty nice card with a lot of things going on. The idea is that there are multiple companies coming together with some representatives for some matches we might not have seen before. That should be enough, even if this is just a side trip on the way to Rebellion. Let’s get to it.

I was in attendance for this show, sitting opposite the entrance in the fifth row center.

The opening video runs down the card.

X-Division Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Chris Bey vs. Blake Christian vs. Vincent vs. Rich Swann vs. Trey Miguel

Miguel is defending in Ultimate X and Swann busts out a Scott Hall pose for a great moment. It’s a group attempt to crawl across the ropes to start but that is all broken up. The audio gets a lot louder as Miguel is left alone, only to be pulled down by Swann and Bey. That means a three way exchange of strikes to the face with bey getting the better of things.

Grace is back in with a MuscleBuster to Bey but Christian clears the ring out again. Miguel takes Christian down though and goes up, only to get pulled down by Vincent. That earns Vincent a cutter from Swann, who is pulled down by Bey rather quickly. Bey plants Swann with the Art of Finesse so Christian goes up, only to drop does onto Bey with a Canadian Destroyer. Instead of climbing though, Christian hits a big flip dive onto the pile. It’s Grace going across the cables and using her legs, only to get knocked down by Miguel. That’s enough for Miguel to grab the title and retain at 7:25.

Rating: B-. This was one of those things where I’ve seen a bunch of Ultimate X matches over the years and a lot of them run together. The climbing was the focus here again as it tends to be, though it was a lot of two people do their thing and then some others take their place. Fun match, but if you’ve seen a few of these, you’ve seen them all.

Here’s what’s coming on the rest of the card as the structure is taken apart.

Earlier today, the Good Brothers promised to take the Briscoes out to even their career series.

Matt Cardona/Chelsea Green vs. Nick Aldis/Mickie James

Green turned on James and Cardona took her out, so James brought in Aldis for a battle of married teams. The girls get in a brawl to start but we settle down to Aldis pounding on Cardona on the mat and in the corner. Mickie comes in but gets taken down by Cardona’s clothesline to put her in trouble. It’s off to Green to choke in the corner and forearm away, setting up the chinlock to keep James down.

The Reboot misses for Cardona though and Mickie grabs a flapjack, allowing the hot tag off to Aldis. The clothesline comeback is on, setting up a Tombstone. There’s a top rope elbow but Green makes the save as everything breaks down. Cardona has to save Green from the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf but she gets sent outside anyway. Back in and stereo King’s Lynn Cloverleafs make Cardona and Green tap at the same time at 8:00.

Rating: C. I remember this being a bit longer in person but it still worked out well enough. There is a simple story here with the two married couples going at it over one of them being attacked a few weeks ago. Aldis continues to look like a star, though he might be a bit dull, and James has been a legend for years. Green has come a long way and Cardona…my goodness he has had a career renaissance in the last year or so and it has been a lot of fun to watch.

Aldis motions that he wants the NWA World Title back. Or maybe the Impact Digital Media Title.

Deonna Purrazzo doesn’t care that Mercedes Martinez won the Interim Ring Of Honor Women’s Title earlier tonight (at a different show) and she doesn’t care who answers her Champ Champ Challenge tonight.

Alex Shelley vs. Mike Bailey

Bailey was all over Wrestlemania Weekend and this is one of a handful of matches I saw from him. The fans aren’t sure who to cheer for here but both seem rather popular. They take about a minute to lock up with Shelley working on a wristlock. Bailey breaks that up fast and sends Shelley into the corner to give us a standoff. A whip into the ropes doesn’t get Shelley anywhere as bailey is back with his bouncing kicks to the arms into the enziguri.

Shelley is sent outside where he seems to injure and then fix his own shoulder. A jawbreaker works a bit better for Shelley and they head outside again with Shelley chopping away against the barricade. We pause for a Ric Flair strut and a top rope knee is driven into the chest back inside. Shelley hits a leg trap DDT for two and we hit the crossarm choke. Bailey fights up again and kicks him down, setting up the running corkscrew shooting star press for two.

Shelley pulls him down into the Motor City Stretch, sending Bailey over to the rope. They head to the apron (oh dear) where Bailey trips him down but misses his moonsault knees (freaking ow man). That lets Shelley hit a slingshot DDT, which mostly drives Bailey’s shoulder into the apron to knock him silly. A brainbuster on the floor drops Bailey again but he dives back in and sends Shelley outside.

That means a big springboard moonsault because selling isn’t a thing on this show. Back in and Shelley gets annoyed so the real fight is on. Bailey kicks him down and hits the Ultimate Weapon (standing moonsault double knees) for two. A quick Motor City Stretch attempt is countered into a rollup for two before Bailey bounces him off the rope for another rollup and the pin at 15:03.

Rating: B-. You knew you were going to get this kind of a match on the show and it worked well here, though Bailey taking those big moves and popping up to win a few moments later was more than I could reasonably take. That was a problem for him all weekend long and while it is the kind of thing that you have to expect, it still isn’t easy to see over and over.

The Influence isn’t worried about their Tag Team Title defense. Madison Rayne is reminded of one of her favorite quotes: “Everyone else sucks and we’re the Knockouts Tag Team Champions.” Who said that you ask? Tenille Dashwood of course. All three of the teams are going to hate each other or not get along so they should be fine.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Decay vs. Lady Frost/Gisele Shaw vs. Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans vs. Influence

Influence is defending and there are actually no seconds here. Shaw and Frost are replacing the IInspiration, who are missing for no apparent reason. Rosemary and Steelz start things off but Steelz hands it off to Evans before anything happens. A dropkick to the leg takes Evans down so Rosemary can bite her head, only to get knocked into the corner. Evans hiptosses Steelz into her for two but Shaw tags herself in.

Something like Natural Selection gets two on Steelz and it’s off to Frost for Cryme Tyme’s old G9 of all things. Instead of covering, they let Steelz tag in Havok for the wrecking on Frost. Rosemary adds the spear before handing it off to Dashwood for the stomping. A northern lights suplex gives Rayne two and Steelz has to make the save after a neckbreaker.

Frost kicks her way to freedom so it’s off to Havok vs. Rayne, with no one interested in Rayne’s offer of a tag. Everything breaks down as we hit the parade of secondary finishers, leaving everyone down. Evans/Steelz and Decay fight to the floor, leaving Frost and Shaw to kick the champs down together. Frost gets knocked off the top though and a double Stroke is enough to retain the titles at 9:03.

Rating: C. What else were you expecting from a match like this? There are eight women fighting to get ring time and no one is going to get the chance to shine. The titles still don’t mean much and it is hard to imagine anyone but the IInspiration taking the Influence down. At least they weren’t out there long and the match wasn’t awful, but it isn’t like these things ever work that well.

Eddie Edwards is here representing Pro Wrestling Noah because they didn’t turn their backs on him. He is in his old school green and is ready to prove himself to Tomohiro Ishii.

Eddie Edwards vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Feeling out process to start with Edwards backing him up against the ropes to no avail. An exchange of shoulders (eventually) goes to Ishii but he is sent outside for the suicide dive. Ishii gets sent into the barricade but he is fine enough to hit a powerslam to drive Edwards into the floor. A DDT onto the apron rocks Ishii for two and Eddie is starting to get cocky.

That’s not a good idea against Ishii, who hits a suplex and unloads in the corner to take over. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets Eddie out of trouble for two and he kicks Ishii in the head in the corner. The Backpack Stunner is broken up so they trade snap German suplexes and clotheslines for a double knockdown.

Back up and Edwards starts striking away in the corner, earning a glare from Ishii and a YOU CENSORED UP chant from the crowd. Ishii hammers away but the sliding lariat is blocked and Edwards knees away. The Boston Knee Party is blocked and Ishii hits a running knee of his own. Edwards blocks the brainbuster and tries the Die Hard Driver but Ishii slips out. The big clothesline sets up the brainbuster to give Ishii the pin at 14:58.

Rating: B-. This felt like the match where they beat each other up until one of them just couldn’t get up again. That is a formula that will always work well enough, though it didn’t quite hit the highest point here. Ishii isn’t what he used to be but he is still good enough to get by on a combination of reputation and skill. If nothing else, it is nice to see a first time match that felt special, which is the point of this show.

We recap PCO/Moose vs. Josh Alexander/Jonah. This is double fallout from Sacrifice where Alexander returned to go after Moose and Jonah injured PCO. There is nothing wrong with combining two feuds and this should be a hard hitting fight.

Jonah/Josh Alexander vs. PCO/Moose

PCO jumps Alexander to start and knocks him into the corner. Alexander gets in a kick to the face though and it’s Jonah coming in, albeit after glaring at Alexander a bit (with commentary pointing out their previous issues). It’s off to Moose for the showdown with Jonah, but about ten shoulders won’t put Jonah down. One big shoulder does put Moose down, though Alexander tags himself back in to chase Moose around the ring.

PCO cuts Alexander off and it’s a double whip to send Alexander into the barricade. Back in and PCO drops his middle rope leg and Moose starts stomping on Alexander’s wrist. Alexander is able to grab a suplex on PCO but he’s back up to knock Jonah off the apron before the tag. The second attempt works just fine though and it’s Jonah coming in to clean house.

That doesn’t last long as the big backsplash misses and Alexander is already back in. Everything breaks down and PCO hits his big flip dive to the floor, setting up the Deanimator on Alexander. Back in and Jonah hits a superkick on PCO, leaving Alexander to blast Moose with a clothesline. We get the BOO/YAY slugout with Moose and Alexander until Moose bails from the threat of the C4 Spike. The Spike hits PCO instead for the pin at 12:48.

Rating: C+. Sometimes you need four big, strong guys to beat on each other for a little while. That is what we got here and it was entertaining while it lasted. That’s about all you can ask for here and they even built up Moose vs. Alexander at Rebellion. Throw in some fun interactions and this was about as good of a use of their time as they could have had.

Mickie James and Gail Kim are running something called Dresselmania II which seems to be some kind of charity deal. Cool.

Here’s Deonna Purrazzo for the Champ Champ Challenger.

AAA Reina de Reinas Title: Faby Apache vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Purrazzo is defending and defeated Apache to win the title in the first place. I had been hoping for Mercedes Martinez or Taya Valkyrie but this was certainly a surprise. Feeling out process with Apache taking her down by the leg and some legsweeps give them two each. A slugout goes to Purrazzo but Apache takes her down into the corner to stomp away. Purrazzo is back with some arm cranking but can’t get the cross armbreaker. Apache grabs a suplex into a legdrop as the fans aren’t sure what to make of her.

La majistral gives Apache two as Rehwoldt continues to sing Purrazzo’s praises. Something like a reverse Figure Four has Purrazzo in trouble until she gets over to the rope. Purrazzo is back up with a standing moonsault for two but Apache grabs the Fairy Tale Ending for her own two. The Fujiwara armbar is broken up and they kick each other in the face for a double knockdown. Back up and Purrazzo hits a German suplex but can’t get the Queen’s Gambit. With that not working, Purrazzo pulls her into the armbar for the tap to retain at 8:56.

Rating: C. The problem here is that the fans didn’t know Apache and they didn’t react tot he match as a result. While Apache is someone who was a threat to the title, you need something to care about and that isn’t the case with someone popping into the promotion for the first time. The match wasn’t bad, but it had almost no heat and that dragged things down.

Post match Purrazzo grabs the mic and says it doesn’t matter who what Mercedes Martinez won earlier tonight because she is the Champ Champ….and here is Taya Valkyrie to interrupt. The fans welcome her back and Valkyrie says Purrazzo should be worried about that Reina de Reinas Title. Valkyrie will see her at Rebellion.

We recap Jay White vs. Chris Sabin. They have met each other time after time and now it is Sabin’s chance to prove himself.

Chris Sabin vs. Jay White

White is a bit popular around here. A chop against the ropes wakes Sabin up to start and another hurts White’s own hand. Sabin grabs him by the arm and takes him down to the mat before grabbing an armdrag into a chop of his own. White is sent outside for the suicide dive and then gets dropped face first onto the apron. Back in and White catches him on top, setting up another chop out to the floor.

A pair of belly to back drops onto the apron have Sabin in more trouble and the half crab goes on back inside. With that broken up, White hits a backbreaker into a waistlock to stay on the back/ribs. Sabin fights up and hits a shot to the ribs of his own before another good one puts White down. Some elbows to the back of the head set up a missile dropkick to give Sabin two as his chest is a scary shade of purple.

White is back up with a snap DDT for two and a Saito suplex drops Sabin again. A swinging suplex gets two more and it’s White’s turn to be frustrated. The swinging Rock Bottom plants Sabin for another near fall and White is annoyed at the referee (the same one who allegedly messed up in the tag match last week).

Sabin counters the Blade Runner into a ram into the corner but White goes back to the damaged chest. That just fires Sabin up for some, ahem, machine gun style chops to put White down for a change. There’s the hard clothesline but the Cradle Shock is blocked. White tries the Blade Runner again, only to get rolled up to give Sabin the upset pin at 16:01.

Rating: B. I didn’t see that coming and I was actually surprised by the pinfall. White losing outside of anything but a big match is weird and Sabin winning a major singles match almost feels even weirder. It was a heck of a match though with both guys looking as smooth as they ever did. That’s the good thing about seeing people like these two getting in the ring and they made it work very well. Match of the night so far.

Post match Steve Maclin comes in to go after Sabin but White pulls him off. Maclin goes after Sabin again but gets hit low, leaving Sabin to celebrate.

Good Brothers vs. Briscoes

This is a few hours after the Briscoes had their instant classic against FTR. We get the Big Match Intros and you really can feel the energy when the Briscoes are in the ring. They just make things feel big and the charisma is off the charts. Mark and Anderson go to the mat to start but everything breaks down in a hurry.

Back in and Karl rakes Jay’s eyes to take over and we settle down with Jay being sent into the corner. Gallows stomps away and Anderson goes back to the eyes like a villain (I think?) should. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Jay is taken into the corner for some right hands from Anderson. That doesn’t last long either and the hot tag brings in Mark to clean house.

The Iconoclasm gets two on Anderson and Redneck Boogie (commentary didn’t seem to know the name) connects for the same. Everything breaks down and the reverse 3D gets two on Jay. Mark breaks up the Magic Killer and everyone is down again. It’s Mark getting up first and heading to the top but Chris Bey pops up to distract the referee. Cue Jay White to shove Mark off the top, setting up the Magic Killer for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: C+. They went fast here and a lot of that is probably due to the Briscoes being a bit gassed after their earlier match. What mattered here was giving the Bullet Club a win and it isn’t like the Briscoes lose much after a previous match and interference. They had a good match here though and the energy was high to end the night.

The Bullet Club poses on the stage to end the show.

After the show, the Briscoes called that a bunch of BOLOGNA (Mark’s word) and promised to be back in Impact.

Overall Rating: B-. This might not have been an instant classic, but it was a fun night and one of the shows I had been looking forward to leading up to the weekend. Impact continues to be good when they are able to focus on the wrestling itself and this time they were able to mix things up a bit and have a fun show. Rebellion is the show that mattered, but this was the lighter show and they made that work rather well.

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Ring Of Honor
Date: April 6, 2022

So Supercard of Honor has come and gone and…it isn’t likely to mean anything for the time being, as Ring of Honor isn’t relaunching for a long time. That means we get to go back into the vault and that is where things can get fun. Ring of Honor has a long history and now we get to see some of it for the time being. Let’s get to it.

From The Era Of Honor Begins, February 23, 2002.

IWA Intercontinental Title Super Crazy vs. Eddie Guerrero

The title is vacant coming in and Eddie is trying to get things back together after being fired from the WWF in November. Crazy offers a handshake coming in and gets slapped in the face as Eddie isn’t friendly here. An elbow to the face and a suplex give Eddie two as commentary rapid fires off Eddie’s accolades. The headlock slows Crazy down as the fans aren’t sure who they like more.

Crazy fights up but gets caught in a belly to back suplex and the chinlock goes on. That’s broken up as well and Crazy snaps off some armdrags before hammering away in the corner. They head outside with Crazy being dropped face first onto the apron, allowing Eddie to hit a brainbuster on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Eddie hitting a slingshot hilo for two and grabbing a seated abdominal stretch. Crazy fights up again and slams him down, setting up the springboard moonsault for two. Going up takes too long though and Eddie snaps off a super hurricanrana. A hard powerbomb drops Crazy for two more and Eddie hits back to back brainbusters (prototype Three Amigos). The frog splash misses though and Crazy grabs a small package for the pin at 10:42.

Rating: B-. There is something so sweet about watching Eddie in the ring as he really was that smooth. This was a pretty big upset as Eddie was someone with a lot of experience and success on the big stage. Crazy was a star in ECW, but that isn’t quite the same as being at Wrestlemania. Nice match here, though Eddie would be back in WWE in about two months.

From The Era of Honor Begins, February 23, 2002.

American Dragon vs. Low Ki vs. Christopher Daniels

I’ve never actually seen this and Daniels, in full on evil priest gear, is billed from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Dragon (better known as Bryan Danielson) and Ki get together to kick Daniels down but Daniels is back up to knock them into a three way standoff. Ki dropkicks Dragon down but gets suplexed by Daniels. Dragon gets tied in the Tree of Woe, leaving Ki to kick away at Daniels.

That’s broken up with Dragon grabbing Cattle Mutilation so Daniels has to make a save of his own. Daniels Boston crabs Dragon and camel clutches Ki at the same time, which is quite the unique spot. With that broken up, Ki starts kicking away at Dragon until Daniels is back up.

We take a break and come back with Daniels and Ki trading chops in the corner. Dragon pulls Daniels into an Indian Deathlock with a reverse full nelson (think a kind of Gory Stretch on the mat) but lets go of the arms to northern lights suplex Ki for two at the same time. With that broken up, Dragon takes Daniels down by the arm and gets in a kick off competition with Ki, using Daniels’ back as a target. They kick each other in the leg by mistake though and everyone is down again.

We take another break and come back again with Daniels being slammed off the top, leaving Dragon to kick away at Ki. Back up and Daniels tosses Dragon at Ki for a tornado DDT. Daniels abdominal stretches Dragon on top but Ki pulls him into the Hanging Dragon for a change. Everyone is down for a bit until Ki enziguris Dragon into a Blue Thunder Bomb to give Daniels two.

Dragon catches Ki on top but Daniels joins them on top for a triple superplex to leave everyone down for a bit. A tiger suplex gives Dragon two but Daniels has to break up Ki’s Dragon Clutch. Daniels hits the (yet to be named) BME on Ki with Dragon making a save this time. Cattle Mutilation goes on Daniels but Ki makes the save with a Phoenix splash. The Ki Crusher gives Ki the pin on Daniels at 20:04.

Rating: A-. The biggest thing to remember about this match is the fact that it took place back when the WWF was still a thing. This was WAY ahead of its time and you can see the influence that this style would eventually have on wrestling. It helps that it’s almost all action between three young guys who were trying to make the fans notice. You can see why these guys were on last and it showed that ROH was going to try for something different. I’d say that it worked.

From the Conclusion, November 28, 2003.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. AJ Styles/Samoa Joe

The Briscoes are defending. AJ and Mark go technical to start before hitting the mat for an exchange of headlocks. Styles starts going after the leg before handing it off to Joe for the real limb damage. Jay comes in and gets caught in a front facelock, which is switched into a kneebar to send Jay over to the ropes. It’s back to Styles for something like a Big Ending, setting up the drop down into the dropkick.

Mark comes in off a blind tag with a springboard knee to the back as commentary wonders if the Briscoes have any future as a successful team. Everything breaks down and the Briscoes are knocked to the floor, setting up the stereo dives. We take a break and come back with Mark snapping off a suplex on Styles before chopping away in the corner. A northern lights suplex gets two and a quick shot at Joe allows Jay to come in for some double stomping.

AJ gets in an enziguri but Joe gets suckered in, allowing the champs to change places. A double DDT (one reverse, one regular) gets AJ out of trouble though and the hot tag brings in Joe to clean house. Some limb cranking has Jay in trouble before it’s back to AJ for a running neckbreaker. Joe is back in for the rapid fire strikes but Jay grabs him by the waist so Mark can add a missile dropkick into the German suplex. Everything breaks down again and Joe snaps off a string of suplexes to Mark. AJ clotheslines Joe by mistake though and a shooting star press gives Mark the pin to retain the titles at 15:52.

Rating: B. This is the kind of thing that I had been wanting to see when ROH started doing this kind of show. They have so many great matches like this one that hasn’t been thought of in years just sitting around, so open up the vault and let us see some of this stuff. It’s a dream match on paper and then they delivered, though it’s always bizarre to see the young Briscoes like this. More of this kind of stuff for sure though.

Overall Rating: A-. They went with some classics here and the good thing is that they could continue to do so for as long as they need. Ring of Honor’s video library is one of the most impressive in the wrestling world today, just due to the amount of hidden gems in there. Let us see what they have and give us a fun time until the new stuff is ready. Based on this, feel free to take your time too.

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It was nice to have that feeling back again.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-anything-can-happen/

Ring Of Honor
Date: March 9, 2022
Host: Ian Riccaboni

We’re done with the Hall of Fame shows so I have no idea what to expect this week. We could be in for something interesting out of the vault, but Ring of Honor has a tendency to throw in a surprise here or there. The relaunch is less than a month away though so they don’t have much more time to fill. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look at how Ring of Honor has come up through the years and the foundation of what it was built on.

Ian Riccaboni welcomes us to the show, which will be a Hall of Fame special looking at the original class.

First up we look at the Briscoes, who have been around since the first match in Ring of Honor history and are the greatest tag team the company has ever had. We see some clips of their greatest feuds and a highlight reel of some of their big matches, from title wins to grudge matches. Jay Briscoe’s World Title wins are included as well.

Riccaboni brings in Cary Silkin for a chat about the Briscoes, who he calls the Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig of Ring of Honor.

Next up is Bryan Danielson, who Silkin describes as Old Faithful.

We get Danielson’s Hall of Fame video, looking at him in the main event of the first Ring of Honor show, plus his rise to the World Title. Then he feuded with Nigel McGuinness for a long time before moving on to other promotions around the world.

Danielson’s highlight video looks at winning the World Title and some major title defenses. This is the kind of stuff I’d like to see more of out of the video vault as there are some forgotten gems in there. We also look at the unification match with Nigel McGuinness, which is still brutal, and his final match before heading to WWE. There is probably a very many hours long DVD worth of great Danielson matches and I could go for watching a lot of them.

Next up is Samoa Joe, who Silkin credits with navigating the company through some rough waters.

The Joe highlight video looks at Joe showing up and quickly winning the World Title, which he held for a VERY long time. We hear about his dominance before heading to other promotions, including a jump back to Ring of Honor in between.

We see some of Joe’s most famous matches, including winning the World Title and Joe vs. Punk II, plus his final match against Homicide (not counting his 2015 comeback). And then, the return of course, plus his second final match.

We’ll wrap it up with CM Punk, who Silkin and Riccaboni say you can’t talk about without talking about the trilogy with Joe. Silkin was a bit worried about the Summer of Punk but knew he would do the right thing.

Punk’s video looks at his Ring of Honor highlights, from his debut to winning the Tag Team Titles to the Joe trilogy and of course the Summer of Punk, leading to his departure for WWE.

We get some more classic clips, including Punk vs. Terry Funk from Glory By Honor II, which is one of those matches that you probably weren’t getting anywhere but Ring Of Honor. For something a bit more traditional, we look at the World Title win, setting off the Summer of Punk, including him dubbing the microphone as a pipebomb. His heel turn was pretty awesome and you can see all of the star power that made WWE bring him in. Then he lost the title to James Gibson and moved on to WWE.

Silkin is presented with a plaque as the final inductee, winning the Cary Silkin Legacy Award. Well that’s very nice.

Overall Rating: B. I’m not sure how to rate this one but I had fun with the whole thing so we’ll call it good. This was the short form version of the last four weeks and that might be the way that a lot of viewers would prefer to go. The Silkin deal was a very sweet moment and another thing that was well deserved, as the company probably doesn’t survive without him around. It’s sad to see Ring of Honor changing so much, but dang I’ve had fun with all of these flashbacks.

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Ring Of Honor
Date: February 9, 2022

It’s a special theme episode this week as we look at the first inductees into the Ring Of Honor Hall of Fame: the Briscoes. When you think about it, there isn’t anyone else it should have been if you are just looking at accomplishments. There are all kinds of classic matches here and hopefully they open the vault a bit. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

We open with a video on the Briscoes (seems appropriate), including a bunch of home videos. It moves on to some of their better moments and bigger feuds before welcoming them to the Hall of Fame.

From Night of Champions on March 22, 2003 in Philadelphia.

Tag Team Titles: AJ Styles/Amazing Red vs. Briscoes

Styles and Red (only the second champions in the titles’ history) are defending and the Briscoes (both teenagers here) are making their debut as a team. Jay and Red run the ropes to start before Mark comes in to try some suplexes. It’s too early for that so we’ll go with an exchange of rollups for a standoff instead. AJ comes in to ride Mark on the mat before snapping off a German suplex.

It’s back to Jay, who gets German suplexed as well, albeit with Red adding a superkick to make it worse. Back in and Mark hits a high collar suplex on Styles, setting up some running double chops/boots in the corner. We take a break and come back with AJ snapping off a backbreaker into a suplex for a breather. The tag brings in Red for a top rope elbow but Jay makes a blind tag for a missile dropkick.

Red is right back with Brain Damage (kind of a kneeling tombstone but Red falls backwards while driving Jay’s head into the mat, making it a bit unclear who got the worst of it). AJ comes back in with a brainbuster but Mark powerbombs his way out of a hurricanrana attempt. The middle rope moonsault DDT is countered with a dropkick but Mark’s springboard cutter is knocked out of the air.

Red cuts Jay off and comes in for a running kick to drop Mark. That lasts all of three seconds as Mark lays him out with a clothesline and brings Jay back in. Some of the rooms of the house are cleaned and we take another break. Back again with Mark suplexing Red for two and handing it back to Jay for a DDT. A front facelock keeps Red in trouble but he powers up and gets over to AJ….as Mark has the referee in a classic spot.

Red manages to kick Jay down and drop Mark on his head, allowing the hot tag off to AJ. The pace picks up so AJ can strike it out with Jay as everything breaks down. An assisted DDT plants Red for two but AJ is back in with a double DDT to both brothers. The Jay Driller and Styles Clash are both broken up, leaving Red to hit the super Code Red for two on Mark. Back up and AJ launches Red into the air for a super hurricanrana on Jay, sending him straight into the Styles Clash to retain the titles at 25:40.

Rating: A-. Yeah this was awesome and you could see that the Briscoes had all of the promise in the world. They still needed some extra ring time and seasoning but the base was there. These guys tore the house down and I wasn’t sure how it was going to end. I haven’t seen much of this time from Ring of Honor so it’s pretty cool to see how good some of this stuff can be.

We see a montage of all twelve Tag Team Title wins. That’s pretty awesome actually as it shows you just how many changes have taken place over the years. If nothing else, it’s weird seeing the Briscoes grow hair.

We look at Jay Briscoe’s two World Title wins.

From Global Wars 2018.

Briscoes vs. Cody/Hangman Page

Brandi Rhodes is here with Cody and Page. Mark and Hangman (who looks VERY young here) start things off with an exchange of shots to the face before they glare each other down. Jay and Cody come in for the staredown before Cody works on the wristlock. We take a break (apparently due to the power going out in the building) and come back with the Briscoes taking turns on Page in the corner.

Jay knocks Cody off the apron and kicks Page in the head for two as Colt Cabana (on commentary) makes chicken references. Page gets over to Cody for the tag and it’s time to clean house as Ian Riccaboni recaps what fans missed when the power was out (with Sabu references abounding for a good chuckle).

Back in and Jay pounds Cody down in the corner but Brandi grabs a chair…which seems to scare Mark off. Mark gets back inside and hits a Death Valley Driver but has to roll out of the Froggy Bow. The double tag brings in Jay to slug it out with Page and we take a break (TV, not power out). Back with Page blasting Mark with a clothesline for two but Jay’s neckbreaker gets the same on Page.

Redneck Boogie gets two more but Brandi gets on the apron, with Mark being whipped into her. Brandi grabs her shoulder and the distraction lets Mark kick Cody low. The Buckshot Lariat drops Mark though and a top rope moonsault to the floor takes out both Briscoes. Cross Rhodes gets two on Jay, who brawls to the floor with Cody. That leaves Mark to slip out of a super Rite of Passage (Deadeye) as Cody is whipped into the barricade. Back in and the Jay Driller sets up the Froggy Bow to give Mark the pin at 18:25.

Rating: B+. Another hard hitting and energetic match, which shouldn’t be a surprise. The Briscoes can hang with anyone and it makes sense to put some of the top AEW guys going today in here. That being said, it isn’t exactly an important match for the Briscoes and it would have been nice to see one of their title wins in full. I’ll take what I can get though and this was rather great stuff.

One more Briscoes video wraps us up.

Overall Rating: A. This was great and that is an awesome thing to see. What mattered here was making the Briscoes look good and that is what they did here. The team has been one of the only standards for all of Ring of Honor’s history and there was so, so much to pick from here. I could have absolutely gone for a three or more hour version of this because the Briscoes have more great matches than anyone else in Ring of Honor history. Check this out if you’re a fan of the team and then go see some more of them, because they’re an all time great team.

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Ring Of Honor
Date: January 26, 2022

We took a little detour last week into the history of the women’s division but this time around we should be back to normal. Well, at least as normal as you can get while the company is on hiatus and we’re looking at the Best Of Ring of Honor. That could mean a few things, but odds are we’ll be seeing more of the recent stuff. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Narrator Ian Riccaboni welcomes us to the show, where we will be going back to Final Battle in December 2021.

TV Title: Dalton Castle vs. Rhett Titus vs. Joe Hendry vs. Silas Young

Castle is defending and it’s one fall to a finish, with Castle bailing to the floor to walk into the crowd. Hendry (who is looking jacked compared to his old days) gets taken outside so Young can send him into the barricade. Back in and Castle t-bone suplexes Young, meaning it’s time for a lap around the ring. Titus comes in for a quick rollup but gets sent outside for an apron flip dive from Young.

Hendry blasts Titus with a clothesline but gets belly to belly suplexed into the corner. Castle is back in with the Bang A Rang to Titus, who reverses into a cradle for two. Titus sends Young outside but Hendry pulls Titus’ high crossbody out of the air, because he’s strong enough to do that.

A double fall away slam sends Young and Titus flying so it’s Castle coming back in with a big smile on his face. It’s Titus coming back in and getting planted by a heck of a Hendry powerbomb. There’s the Bang A Rang to plant Titus but Hendry belts Castle in the face. Cue Castle’s friend Dak Draper to take Hendry down though, leaving Titus to avoid Young’s moonsault. The dropkick gives Titus the pin and the title at 8:51.

Rating: C. They kept this fast and that’s probably the better idea. It was another one of those wild matches that was only there to be as exciting as possible and that is often better than letting things go long. Titus winning the title after trying for so long is a feel good moment and I liked what we got here. Granted that might have been Castle and his Dancing Chickens.

Jimmy Jacobs loved his time in Ring of Honor. He certainly is a legend around here.

Christopher Daniels talks about his time in Ring of Honor and what it meant to his career.

Mike Bennett talks about how this is the big finale and he wants to remember it.

The Briscoes can’t sleep without having the Tag Team Titles. Over the years, the only team to get the better of them was OGK, so they’re coming for revenge and the titles.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. OGK

OGK, with Maria Kanellis-Bennett, is defending. Mark powers Taven into the corner to start so Bennett comes in for the slugout. Taven is back in with a middle rope dropkick to put Mark down and the champs clear the ring in a hurry. Taven’s Flight of the Conqueror only hits Bennett though, allowing Mark to grab a chair. That means a big dive to take out both champs and it’s Taven in trouble back inside.

Bennett makes the save with an elbow to Jay for two as commentary even thanks Jim Cornette for his time around here. The tag brings Mark back in for Redneck Kung Fu, plus Redneck Boogie for two. Jay (already bleeding) can’t hit the Jay Driller as Bennett saves Taven and chops away. Bennett hangs Jay over the apron so Taven can hit a heck of a top rope splash for two back inside.

Taven Climaxes Mark but can’t cover, sending Maria into a half lap around the ring. The Briscoes send them outside for the big dives, setting up the Blockbuster off the apron to drop Bennett again. Back in and the Froggy Bow gets two on Taven, with Maria pulling the referee out. Maria gets dropped but it’s a Flight of the Conqueror Doomsday Device (dang) to drop Mark on the floor, setting up another near fall.

Hail Mary gets the same with Jay having to make the save. A quick Jay Driller sends Bennett rolling back to the floor but Taven hits Just The Tip on Jay. The top rope splash hits knees though and the Jay Driller gets two. The Doomsday Device gets the same as commentary is SCREAMING at these near falls. Another Jay Driller into the Froggy Bow gives the Briscoes the titles back at 15:36.

Rating: B. I know it’s a bit overdone but there is absolutely no one who should be the final ROH Tag Team Champions. The Briscoes are so far and away the greatest team in the company’s history that you could probably cut their careers in half and still have them at the top of the list. Heck of a match too, and that’s what you would have expected from these teams.

Post match respect is shown, with Jay thanking all of the fans.

CM Punk talks about his time in Ring of Honor and how special it was. It was a spirit that he loved and he will continue to foster it in AEW.

Overall Rating: B-. This is the kind of show that is going to each up the next few weeks and that is not a bad idea. Ring of Honor has about ten weeks left before they get some fresh content and airing stuff like Final Battle for a long stretch of that makes sense. Do the same with Death Before Dishonor and maybe the Anniversary Show and you have most of the time covered. Throw in a Best Of Jonathan Gresham and maybe the Briscoes and they should be all the way up to April.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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The Wrld On GCW
Date: January 23, 2022
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Kendall Gill
Hosts: Lenny Leonard, Pollo del Mar

Every now and then a show catches my attention and I’ll add it to the schedule. That is the case here, as GCW has become the hottest indy around at the moment and I’m going to give it a shot. I am absolutely not a fan of the deathmatch stuff, but apparently that kind of wrestling is not allowed in New York so we get a bit of a reprieve here. Let’s get to it.

Note that I barely follow GCW so I am not going to know much in the way of storylines or characters so please bear with me if I miss something.

Kickoff Show: Blue Ribbon Battle Royal

Psycho Clown, Dark Sheik, Cole Radrick, Parrow, Hoodfoot, Ruckus, Charles Mason, KTB, Juicy Finau, Steve Scott, Nate Webb, Big Vin, Brandon Kirk, Janai Kai, Dustin Thomas, Marcus Mathers, Yoya, B-Boy, Lufisto, Thunder Rosa

Clown jumps Parrow before most of the entrances have taken place and we’re starting fast. The huge Parrow fights him off but Sheik hits a pretty awesome looking jump up to his shoulders into a double stomp to the chest (kind of like Cameron Grimes’ Cave In). Sheik isn’t done and hits a top rope spinwheel kick to drop Radrick. Back up and Radrick runs Sheik over as more people come in (Are these entrances timed? That hasn’t been mentioned.), giving us Parrow vs. Ruckus.

Entrants keep coming in one at a time but with maybe fifteen seconds in between, making me wonder why they started so fast. Scott (I think? Commentary is too busy to say who these people are.) is clotheslined out as Big Vin takes his place. Vin grabs Sheik from the apron and backflips in for a World’s Strongest Slam (that’s a new one) before having a big hug with Finau.

The ring (which isn’t very big in the first place) is WAY too full here as Kirk is tossed. Thomas (the wrestler with no legs) comes in and hits a tornado DDT on KTB. Mathers and Yoya are in as Radrick is out in a hurry (and actually gets named). Mason (in a suit) is in next as this is just a free for all of people hitting one move after another with nothing close to coherence.

Now it’s B-Boy coming in as Clown hits a superbomb on Mason. Mathers (I think) is out with Sheik and KTB following him. Lufisto makes a big surprise return and there go Clown and Thomas. Thunder Rosa is the big surprise and final entrant so we look at her beating up Parrow in the corner while everyone else brawls.

Lufisto gets rid of Webb and B-Boy and we’re down to Lufisto, Parrow, Rosa, Mason and Vin. Rosa hurricanranas Parrow out and the women beat up Mason in the corner. Vin gets beaten down in an opposite corner until Rosa and Lufisto slug it out. Mason sneaks up and tosses Rosa but Lufisto suplexes both of them. Vin puts Lufisto on the apron and Mason drives Vin into her for the elimination. A low bridge sends Vin to the apron but he chokeslams Mason out for the win at 16:04.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t a good start to the night as I’m still not sure who all was in the match. Commentary didn’t do a good job of explaining what was going on and the camera work made it even harder to keep track of the whole thing. I’m not quite thrilled with where things are going from here, but hopefully we get something a little easier to follow going forward.

Kickoff Show: Jack Cartwheel vs. Alex Zayne vs. Grim Reefer vs. Shane Mercer vs. Ninja Mack vs. Dante Leon

No tags and one fall to a finish. Zayne is billed as The Sauce and from the nearest Taco Bell. The fact that he is from Lexington makes it even better. Mercer starts fast with a pop up powerslam on Reefer (that looked good) and there’s a big flip dive to drop some people on the floor. Cartwheel and Mack hit their stereo running flip dives to the floor, followed by dives from Zayne and Leon.

Reefer goes up, lights one up, and hits a big springboard flip dive to drop the pile. Back in and Mack punches away at Reefer before hitting the People’s Moonsault. Leon comes in for a cutter on Mack but gets powerslammed by Mercer. A super fireman’s carry flapjack drops Leon but Zayne clears the ring. Cartwheel takes him down for a slingshot hilo but Mercer is back up with a gorilla press drop.

Reefer kicks Mercer down and spins him into a Crossface with Leon making the save. Leon’s big cutter hits Reefer but Mercer plants Mack with a super backflip World’s Strongest Slam. Zayne is held in the ropes for a shooting star press from Cartwheel, driving Zayne into the apron. A chair is brought in but Reefer counters Mercer’s….something into a DDT onto the chair for the pin at 7:58.

Rating: C+. This was slightly easier to follow than the opener but that isn’t saying much. The thing to remember about a match like this is that it is all about getting your stuff in with nothing resembling a story being told. The match may be fun, but this is all about setting things up for the real card. Not exactly good, but a lot of fun and rather exciting, as is kind of the point.

Owner Brett Lauderdale comes out to hype up the crowd and talks about how hard it has been to get here. They were ready to take over the world but then the pandemic hit. He was told that a million GCW’s have come and gone but now they are here with the roster to make it work.

We get the entrances for the opener, which will start when the show goes on the air. This company has some AEW influences.

The opening video, which is rather quiet, shows a bunch of wrestlers in the empty building with their voiceovers talking about how they have no business at this level. Now they’re here to prove that they belong. Right on point here.

AJ Gray vs. PCO vs. Alex Colon vs. G-Raver vs. Tony Deppen vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Jordan Oliver

Ladder match, with the winner getting any title match they want at any time. AJ Gray is a surprise entrant as his scheduled opponent, Eddie Kingston, is out with an injury. They start fast (I’m not sure I heard a bell) with Deppen hitting a springboard dropkick to drive the ladder into Lloyd and Oliver.

Gray buckle bombs Deppen into the ladder in the corner and blasts him with a lariat before going up. His ladder is WAY too short though, meaning G-Raver does him a favor by throwing a ladder at Gray’s ladder for the save. PCO comes in, allowing Colon to lift up G-Raver for a Doomsday Device, albeit with a ladder shot instead of a clothesline to make it even worse. Colon hits PCO in the face with the ladder but Oliver dropkicks the ladder down to break up the double climb.

Oliver kicks Lloyd in the face and hits a dive to the floor. PCO hits his own running flip dive through the ropes. Deppen adds a double springboard flip dive to take out everyone, sending them walking up the aisle. As luck would have it, Gray is ready with his own running flip dive off the stage at the exact same time. PCO chairs Gray down and moonsaults off the top onto the big pile again.

That means PCO can climb, but he’s actually smart enough to drop down and beat up anyone trying to make a save. Deppen brings in a bigger ladder and bites PCO on the face but Jordan Oliver is there to cut him off. Lloyd breaks that up too but gets kicked down by Oliver. PCO chokeslams Oliver off of the ladder though and there’s a package piledriver onto the ladder to make it worse.

G-Raver and Colon break that up, with Raven putting Colon onto two chairs with a ladder over his back. Raver goes up, shoves the ring out of the way, and drops down onto the ladder onto Colon. Well that was dumb. Lloyd gives Raver a running Razor’s Edge over the top and onto a big pile of stuff on the floor. Gray goes up on a ladder on the floor and tries to dive into the ring, only to crash hard onto another ladder (the fact that I’m not sure who he was aiming for is a bad sign). Cue John Wayne Murdoch to take out Colon on the floor, leaving Gray to take the ring down at 15:11.

Rating: C-. The spots were good, but this was a very indy style ladder match, which is not meant as a compliment. There was too much going on between all of the people and it didn’t work so well. At the same time, you had a person shoving the ring out of the way to hurt someone else. That’s about as bad of a level of ladder match logic as you’ll find, making this quite the mess.

Gringo Loco/Demonic Flamita/Arez vs. Bandido/ASF/Laredo Kid

Lucha rules (duh) and it’s Arez starting with Kid. The trade early misses until Kid’s hurricanrana is easily blocked. An armdrag sends Kid outside so it’s Bandido coming in for Three Amigos. That means the Eddie dance as it’s a headscissors to send Arez outside. Loco comes in to hammer on Bandido, who is sent outside so ASF can come in. A wristdrag sends ASF outside for a change and it’s Flamita coming in to take his place.

The 619 in the corner looks to set up something off the top but Flamita flips off the crowd and drops down to flip the fans off instead. ASF is left alone in the corner, with Flamita and Arez hitting stereo moonsaults to the floor (that was sweet). Bandido and Kid get caught in stereo surfboards on the floor for the big running flip dive from Loco. ASF is sent outside as well, only to get launched over the top for the crash back inside (cool).

Flamita follows him back in for two, with ASF climbing Flamita to armdrag Loco. Bandido’s team is back in with stereo superkicks into stereo headscissors to the floor. The not quite stereo dives take out Loco and company but ASF and Kid miss missile dropkicks back inside. Flamita and Bandido are left alone for a big staredown, with Flamita kicking him down and hitting a huge frog splash.

ASF hits a 450 but Arez makes a save of his own. A dropkick breaks up Arez’s cover and a Death Valley Driver gets two on Flamita. It’s Bandido vs. Loco for a strike off until Bandido hits a heck of a tornado DDT. Back up and Bandido and Loco grab double electric chairs (as in Arez is on Flamita’s shoulders on Loco’s shoulders while ASF is on Kid’s shoulders on Bandido’s shoulders), leaving ASF and Arez to slug it out rather high in the air.

ASF snaps off a Canadian Destroyer (egads man) while Loco and Bandido hit powerbombs on the other two. Loco catches a charging Bandido in a Spanish Fly and everyone is down. Back up and Bandido LAUNCHES ASF over the top and into a hurricanrana on Loco. Flamita hits a dive, then Bandido hits a dive, then Kid Spanish Flies Arez off the top onto the pile. ASF and Loco seem to load up a super Canadian Destroyer but can’t get the timing right, leaving Loco to hit a regular piledriver for the pin at 14:10.

Rating: A-. The double electric chair was good enough to make this about as fun as it could have been and the rest was a bunch of insanity that you can only get in a match like this one. This kind of a match is designed to have a bunch of people flying around with one crazy spot after another and they made it work like only they can here. Bandido’s awesomeness has long since been established and it was on full display again with this one. Check this out, which you should always do with something involving these people.

Ian Riccaboni joins commentary.

Ring of Honor World Title: Blake Christian vs. Jonathan Gresham

Christian is challenging…or at least he would be if Gresham was here but we need to make a last second change. Worry not though, because we have a replacement.

Blake Christian vs. Lio Rush

Rush offers a handshake but Christian looks at him instead. They do shake left hands though and it’s an armdrag to take Rush down. Back up and Christian offers a handshake, which allows him to sunset flip Rush for two. Rush bails to the floor for a breather before heading back inside to avoid some charges.

Christian heads outside, only to pull Rush outside for a whip into the barricade. Back in and a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster gives Christian two, setting up a roll into a crucifix hold. That’s broken up and Christian misses a charge into the corner, allowing Rush to hit a spear for two. Christian is fine enough to catch him with a kick to the face on top but Rush kicks him down.

A ripcord Spanish fly drops Rush again though and a springboard 450 gives Christian two. Rush is right back with a twisting DDT and the Final Hour gets two more. They go to the apron where Rush can’t hit a German suplex to the floor. Instead they drop down, with Christian hitting a Tombstone. Back in and a 450 double stomp finishes Rush at 12:39.

Rating: B-. Take two guys and let them do their thing for about twelve minutes, which is all you needed to do here. Christian gets the win to keep him strong until he can get his title shot. Gresham being gone is rough to see but having someone like Rush as the backup worked as well as anything else. Good match, but they weren’t about to follow that six man.

We recap Matt Cardona vs. Joey Janela. Cardona married Chelsea Green but Janela faked some pictures of the two of them by a pool together, sending Cardona over the edge. The interesting thing is that Cardona is the huge heel who is mocking all things indy and trying to turn it into WWE. This has been one of the better things going on the independent scene and Cardona has had one awesome stunt after another.

The IF CARDONA WINS WE RIOT sign is a great touch.

Joey Janela vs. Matt Cardona

Chelsea Green is here with Cardona….who comes out to Enter Sandman entrance (or at least a cover), turning the crowd completely upside down in about three seconds. The “IF CARDONA WINS WE RIOT” shirt is an even greater touch. He also has a red flannel shirt with f*** Mick Foley on the back, while Green (with the Internet Title) is in the Zack Ryder half trunks/half tights. Cardona asks what’s up GCW Universe and takes credit for the sellout. Joey Janela didn’t do it, so tonight he’s ending Janela’s career before Tony Khan can fire him.

Cardona jumps him at the bell for two and flips off the fans. The fans get in a “F*** CARDONA/WOO WOO WOO!” chant so Janela hits a Death Valley Driver through the door. The suicide dive takes out Cardona on the floor and it is time for Janela to chair him down. A top rope flip dive sends Janela crashing through the chair though and Cardona gets to chair him down. Green pulls the chair away though and kicks Cardona low for a big surprise.

Janela goes up, only to get crotched by Green because it was a ruse. Cardona shows off the cup he was wearing but Janela is fine enough to hit a superplex to put them both down. Janela grabs the title, but here is Smart Mark Sterling (of AEW fame) to say that if Janela uses the title, he’s disqualified. Commentary: “But it’s GCW!” He brings out someone who is very influential in Cardona’s career, so here is someone in a Vince McMahon mask. It’s Vincent/Virgil though, and the distraction lets Sterling grab Janela.

The belt shot takes Sterling down by mistake though and a Death Valley Driver sends Cardona into the ring frame. Cue Swoggle to post Janela but here is a huge guy named Sam Stackhouse to take Swoggle out. Now it’s Marko Stunt to throw a chair at Swoggle’s head but Cardona takes him down as well. Janela brings in a pair of doors, with Swoggle and Cardona being put through one each.

Green hits Stunt with the belt and gives him a Canadian Destroyer, leaving Cardona to AA Janela through an open chair for a near fall. Cardona loads up two doors, which really does take too long so Janela takes him out. Green’s latest interference earns herself a piledriver so here is a guy in a motorcycle helmet. That would be Brian Myers, who decks Janela and helps Cardona hit a middle rope Radio Silence through the door for the pin at 19:39.

Rating: B-. It was a bit long, but this was a lot of fun with Cardona playing a perfect troll. Cardona knows how to make these people nuts by doing everything they don’t like and now he gets to take out another one of their heroes. The big flaw here is that the match went too long and you could have cut out a good portion in the middle which was more about several other people other than Janela vs. Cardona. This was all about Cardona putting together something else to get people to care about him though, as he continues to be one of the more creative people in wrestling.

Post match Sean Waltman of all people comes in and takes out Cardona before posing with Janela. I’m sold on getting to hear The Kings again.

Here is the injured Mance Warner for a chat. He talks about how awesome GCW’s locker room and entire crew is and thanks the fans for getting them here. Cue Atticus Cougar (pronounced Co-Gar) to say 44OH are the real outlaws around here. Cougar doesn’t like Warner’s Second Gear Crew so Warner is ready to fight.

44OH comes in for the beatdown, with Matthew Justice (Warner’s partner) coming in for the failed save attempt. The lights go off (BECAUSE WRESTLING!) and it’s Bill Alfonso and Sabu making the save. Chairs to the head put 44OH down and we actually get a pin, with Fonzie counting. Pantera’s Walk plays because ECW.

Video on Allie Katch vs. Ruby Soho. Katch talks about divine destiny, meaning that if something is meant to happen, it will happen no matter what. That seems to be the case with this match, as she runs into SOHO painted on a wall. Katch was billed as a big deal during Brett Lauderdale’s pre-show speech so she means something. I don’t remember her being much more than someone who did cat-esque things as Allie Kat but maybe things have changed.

Allie Katch vs. Ruby Soho

They shake hands to start and Soho armdrags her down early on. The threat of the Riott Kick is blocked early on but so is Katch’s piledriver. That’s fine with Allie, who hits a basement dropkick for an early two. Soho is sent into the corner and it’s a running hip attack into a Cannonball for two more.

They trade kicks to the face with Soho getting rocked, only to be able to come back with a German suplex for the double knockdown. Katch takes too long going up top though and gets armdragged back down for a quick two. The Riott Kick connects for two on Katch but she’s right back with a knee into the piledriver for two of her own. With that not working, Katch loads up a super piledriver, which is countered into a Riott Kick from the middle rope to give Soho the pin at 9:31.

Rating: C. I’d hope that Katch can do more than this as it felt like any other match. This came off like a match where a star was making a guest appearance in the territory with the story of the popular star getting a shot. It wasn’t bad, but there was absolutely nothing special to this and it just came and went.

We recap Jeff Jarrett vs. Effy. Jarrett doesn’t like GCW calling themselves outlaws because he is the Last Outlaw. There has to be a huge stable out there of people who have been THE LAST OUTLAW. There have also been guitar shots to show you how serious this has been.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Effy

Effy pulls $20 out of his trunks, which the referee throws to the floor. They go with the basics to start, with Jarrett powering him into the corner. Effy’s spins to get out of a wristlock don’t work so Effy drops to his knee, which freaks Jeff out for a bit. Some shots to the ribs set up a modified Tarantula but Jarrett is back with a clothesline. They head outside with Jarrett whipping him with the belt (which seems to draw a DADDY LIKES IT chant).

Back in and it’s time for more whipping and choking, which seems to make Effy smile. Jarrett uses the belt to tie Effy in the corner, which doesn’t exactly last long. Effy is back with more rights and lefts, setting up a faceplant for two. Now it’s Effy getting to whip away but he misses a Blockbuster. The guitar takes too long for Jarrett though so Effy pulls off his fishnets for some choking. That’s too much for Jarrett, who hits him with the guitar and grabs the Stroke for the pin at 11:15.

Rating: D+. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Effy and I’m going to assume that a lot of it is due to his promos and character work, because he wasn’t doing much in the ring here. All he had was a bunch of punches and a missed Blockbuster, which isn’t exactly stealing the show. That being said, Jarrett winning is a good bit weird, as he is the second outsider in a row to beat a signature GCW name on their biggest night ever. Not a great match, but you can see how much bigger of a star Jarrett is than most of the roster. If nothing else, seeing someone who seems like he knows how to put a match together is almost a rarity around here.

GCW World Title: Homicide vs. Jon Moxley

Homicide is challenging after winning a Rumble last month. The fans chant F*** BULLY RAY to start, which has to make Moxley smile a bit. They forearm/slap it out to start before going face to face. Homicide sends him outside but the dive is cut off with a shot to the face. The fight heads outside with Homicide biting away, only to get sent shoulder first into the post.

Moxley cranks on the fingers and hits a piledriver for two For some reason Moxley goes up but it’s a super cutter to bring him back down. They trade clotheslines until Moxley grabs the Paradigm Shift for two. Moxley hammers away and Homicide seems to lose a tooth. A chair is wedged in the corner but Homicide cuts him off and strikes away. The chair is on the mat and it’s another Paradigm Shift onto said chair to give Moxley two more. Homicide flips him off and bites Moxley’s face, only to get blasted with a lariat. The lifting Paradigm Shift onto the open chair retains Moxley’s title at 11:32.

Rating: C. That’s it? This was so short that I thought I missed part of the match, as I would have bet on it going a good bit longer than Jarrett vs. Effy. Maybe that is the result of ring rust from Moxley, or just time constraints from the pay per view, but this wasn’t exactly great. It worked while it lasted, but it just didn’t last very long.

Video on the Briscoes, who are issuing an open challenge for the Tag Team Titles. Most signs would suggest that this is going to be FTR, but you never know around here.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. ???/???

The Briscoes are defending against….Nick Gage/Matt Tremont. Well you knew Gage would be on here somehow. Gage puts Nick through the door in the corner to start and it’s time for a duel of the chairs. Mark and Nick trade pieces of door shots to the head but Jay breaks up the pizza cutter. Tremont gets beaten down and the Froggy Bow onto a door gets two on Gage. Back up and Tremont hits a release Rock Bottom to plant Jay and Gage hits a middle rope piledriver on Mark. The chokebreaker gives Gage the pin and the titles at 5:35.

Rating: D. That was a Nick Gage match alright, but this time he had a huge partner to do some really basic stuff too. I know why Gage had to be on the show but it isn’t like his matches are much to see. It’s the feel good moment of the show, though having it come in a five minute match didn’t do the show many favors.

Post match Gage swears a lot and puts over his gang while bragging about how far GCW came. The locker room comes in to celebrate and we’re out.

Overall Rating: D+. One of the shows you are probably going to see this compared to is Barely Legal. While it is nowhere near that important (or good), there is one thing that does stand out. My biggest issue with Barely Legal was the lack of an explanation of why Sabu and Taz hated each other. It was the “Grudge Match of the Century” but we were never told why they were fighting. The ECW fans knew, but Barely Legal wasn’t just a show for the ECW fans.

Now do that for three hours and you have this show. There was barely anything explaining who these people were, what they were doing here, why they were fighting or ANYTHING about them. Cardona vs. Janela had a bit of backstory, but this felt like the game plan was “just keep doing what we’ve been doing (minus the deathmatch stuff, which isn’t their fault)”. It was a show that you either got or didn’t get, with GCW not offering much in the way of guidance.

On top of that, the wrestling was hit and miss at best. Everything felt rushed and very little really stood out. The lucha match was great, but you could get one of those a week on Ring of Honor. Cardona is excellent at riffing on independent wrestling, but then he won, just like Soho over what seems to be the big female star around here. This show didn’t do a thing to make me more interested in GCW and as the big debut on the national stage, it was a pretty hard miss.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Ring of Honor
Date: January 12, 2022
Host: Quinn McKay

We’re continuing on the road to the relaunch, which means we get to continue our look through the video vault. So far that has only meant the best of 2021, which I can understand, but it would be nice to mix it up a bit with some of the older stuff. That is the foundation (not to be confused with The Foundation) of the company and a look back at it would be nice. Let’s get to it.

As usual, these will be the full versions rather than the clipped editions that air.

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay gives us the usual welcome but this week we have something special: the Best of 2021 Awards!

From Death Before Dishonor, and one of the top five matches of the year as voted by the fans, with Rok-C named the Women’s Wrestler of the Year.

Women’s Title: Miranda Alize vs. Rok-C

For the vacant title so we get the Big Match Intros. Feeling out process to start as they head to the mat, with Rok-C grabbing a headlock….and let’s look at commentary for a bit for some reason. Rok-C cranks on a hammerlock before switching over to the leg. That doesn’t last long either but Alize escapes the Fujiwara armbar, giving us a standoff. Rok-C flips out of a headscissors and takes a quick bow, followed by a cartwheel to escape again, meaning it’s another bow.

Alize pulls her out of the corner for a crash though, allowing her to chop away in another corner. Some running kicks in the corner rock Rok-C for two and we hit the chinlock (with Alize mocking some LET’S GO ROK-C chants). Back up and a hurricanrana gives Alize a slightly delayed two and it’s time for a double arm crank. Rok-C fights up and hits a middle rope Thesz press (with an actual press for a change).

Alize knees her down for two more, setting up a Go To Sleep for the same. A hanging DDT out of the corner gets another near fall and it’s off to something like a Crossface in the middle of the ring. The feet on the ropes get Rok-C out of trouble so they head outside with Rok-C hitting a suicide dive. Back up and Alize hits a running dropkick off the apron and another suicide dive leaves them both laying.

They dive in to beat the count and Rok-C wins a slugout, only to walk into a cutter. Rok-C is right back with a running shot to the face, leaving both of them down. The Crossface goes on again but this time Rok-C reverses into one of his own. That’s broken up as well so Alize hits back to back superkicks but Rok-C kicks her right back, setting up Code Red for the pin and the title at 18:15.

Rating: B. This started slowly but they did an amazing job of turning a match with virtually no story into a heck of a back and forth fight. I was into this by the end with the young prodigy getting the big win. Good stuff here and one of the better matches of the night. The division has a LONG way to go but at least they had a heck of a match to crown the first champion.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett presents Rok-C the title and her parents come in for the celebration.

More of the top five matches of the year:

4. Kenny King vs. Shane Taylor – Final Battle
3. Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Briscoe – Fight On The Farm

From Ring Of Honor TV, September 15, 2021, this is another match of the year, featuring the Briscoes as the Tag Team of the Year.

Briscoes vs. Bandido/Rey Horus

This could be good. Honor is shown before the match as we hear about the Briscoes’ history of troubles against luchadors. Bandido and Jay circle each other to start with Jay fireman’s carrying him to the mat for an armbar. That’s broken up and Bandido shows Jay the finger gun and starts flipping around to send us to a standoff/break.

We come back with Mark bringing Jay back in to elbow Rey in the face. A trip to the outside goes badly for the luchadors but Bandido comes back in with a springboard high crossbody to the Briscoes. Rey’s basement dropkick into a running shooting star press gives Bandido two on Mark but Jay is back in to run Bandido over. Mark kicks Bandido in the mask for two and then plants him down for a bonus. Bandido gets away for the tag to Horus though and the pace picks up.

A double chop into a double superkick gives Horus two with Jay having to make the save. Everything breaks down and we get a four way knockdown for a quadruple breather. Mark grabs an Iconoclasm for two on Horus but gets caught with a pop up cutter from Bandido. A Fosbury Flop takes Jay down and Horus flips Mark off the top for two. Back up and Jay sends Bandido outside, leaving Horus to get Doomsday Deviced for the pin at 12:10.

Rating: B-. Take two teams and let them get in there for a fun match. That’s what you should be doing on a show like this and they made it work here. If nothing else, it is nice to see the Briscoes finally getting somewhere against some luchadors. The match itself was a good power vs. speed match and it was a rather nice TV outing all around.

More matches of the year:

Matt Taven vs. Vincent – Glory By Honor
Briscoes vs. OGK – Final Battle

I’m not sure if counting is Ring of Honor’s forte.

Jonathan Gresham is the Male Wrestler of the Year and here he is in action.

From Best In The World.

Pure Rules Title: Mike Bennett vs. Jonathan Gresham

Gresham is defending and this is under Pure Rules, with an extended pay per view time limit. Cary Silkin of all people joins commentary as the fans seem split to start. An early lockup goes nowhere as they seem to be taking their time here. Gresham grabs a waistlock to start the grappling but gets taken to the mat without much effort. They pop back up with Bennett shouldering him down to make things seem a bit more serious.

The threat of a London Dungeon (seated armbar) sends Gresham going straight to the rope for the first break. Gresham pulls him down and starts cranking on the arm for some unnatural angles. An armdrag sets up a hammerlock and Gresham cranks on the other arm at the same time. Now it’s time to twist the ankle at the same time as Gresham’s confidence is going up. Back up and Gresham’s running shoulder hurts Bennett’s arm again.

The Kimura goes on so Bennett uses his first rope break in a smart move. Gresham is sent outside so Bennett tries a dive, only to get pulled back into the Kimura. Bennett taps to no avail before going back inside for another rope break for a bit of a weird sequence. Back up and Bennett goes for the arm as well, meaning Gresham needs his second break. Bennett uses the good arm to hit a Death Valley Driver for two and the seated armbar goes on again.

With that broken up, Bennett clotheslines him down but the arm gives out on a piledriver attempt. Another clothesline gets two on Gresham but the arm is banged up. Gresham is smart enough to use his feet to pop the arm and Bennett is in a lot of trouble. The Cobra Twist sends Bennett to the ropes for the third and final time so a pair of springboard standing moonsaults have Bennett knocked to the floor. Gresham adds a suicide dive but Bennett is right back up with a powerbomb for two.

That’s fine with Gresham, who pulls him into the Crossface. Somehow Bennett crawls out and rolls Gresham into the corner. The piledriver connects for three…but Gresham gets his foot on the ropes for his final break. Gresham switches it up and pops the knee this tine but Bennett stacks him up on a rollup attempt for two of his own. With the arm not working, Gresham ties him in a nasty looking kneebar for the tap to retain at 19:21.

Rating: B. There is something so fun about watching Gresham pick apart a limb like that as he turns it into a science. Bennett was trying hard here but got taken down piece by piece, with Gresham taking him apart to win in the end. This was a heck of a performance and it is great to see him do it every time. The problem is I’m not sure who is going to be able to beat him, as he is virtually unstoppable in this kind of a match. In other words, whoever takes the title from him is going to look awesome and get a heck of a rub.

Overall Rating: A-. Weird counting to give issues aside, this was another awesome collection of matches and it is great to see Ring of Honor mixing it up a bit. They have a long time to go to get to the new stuff and that could be a little bit of anything, so it is fun to be able to savor this stuff while we can. They showcased a lot of talent here, and hopefully they are still around when the promotion comes back.

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