Dynamite
Date: August 10, 2022
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Jim Ross

It’s another themed show with Quake By The Lake, though in this case it seems to just be a name instead of anything specific. The card is pretty stacked as we have Jon Moxley defending the World Title against Chris Jericho, plus a coffin match and a tornado tag. That should be enough so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Darby Allin vs. Brody King

Coffin match. Allin pops up out of the darkness to start fast, including some thumbtacked skateboard shots. They fight around the ring with Allin getting punched out of the air and being sent over the table. King breaks the skateboard over his knee, which has Allin diving right back at him. Back in and Allin fights his way out of trouble on top and hits a super Code Red, with King being sent outside again (there is a trail of blood on the floor). This time King whips him HARD into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with King missing Allin with a middle rope splash to the floor but hitting the table clean. Allin loads up a big dive but the lights go out, meaning it’s House Of Black time. Julia Hart trips Allin down and the beating is on, allowing King to hit a running flip dive through a table in the corner.

The coffin is loaded up, but Sting is inside. House is cleaned but Sting throws Malakai Black the bat. Black thinks about it but leaves, allowing Allin to hit a big cannonball suicide dive to drop King on the floor. It’s not enough to get him into the coffin though as King drops Allin onto the steps. Allin manages to get in a few chain shots though and chokes King on the apron. King falls off the apron and falls into the coffin to give Allin the win at 13:24.

Rating: B-. That was a lot of blood from King, who was gushing by the end of the match. The good thing here is that Allin won, which is pretty overdue for him in a big match. Odds are that isn’t it for him with the House of Black as Sting and Malakai still need to have their showdown, but for now, it’s a good win for Allin.

Jon Moxley says that since we have the FTW Title, his title might as well be the FYI Title. Tonight, he is going to push the last survivor of the Hart Dungeon and the Lionheart and see what happens.

Chris Jericho promises to win the title tonight because the Lionheart, complete with the leather vest, is back. Jericho talks about how he is going to stretch Moxley tonight and tonight he is going to win the title again.

We have brackets for the Trios Titles tournament:

Death Triangle
Will Ospreay/Aussie Open

Andrade El Idolo/Dragon Lee/Rush
Young Bucks/???

House Of Black
Dark Order

Trustbusters
Best Friends

La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Lucha Bros

Tornado tag with Jose and Alex Abrahantes here too. La Faccion starts fast and Fenix is suplexed hard into the corner. Penta is back up with a Sling Blade though and Fenix hits a suicide dive to send Rush into the barricade. There’s the running flip dive to drop Andrade again, leaving Penta to hit Made In Japan for two on Rush. Back in and Rush breaks up the spike Fear Factor and drops Fenix onto Penta for a double two. La Faccion hits stereo flip dives to the floor and we take a break.

We come back with the Bros hitting their own big flipping dives, setting up Fenix’s Eddie dance and frog splash. That only hits knees (spent too much time dancing) but Penta hits a rolling cutter to drop Rush, leaving all four down. Back up and Andrade ties Penta’s mask to the ropes (JR: “NOT THE DOUBLE KNOT!”), leaving Rush to piledrive Fenix. Penta rips the mask off and makes the save, leaving Andrade to throw the mask into the crowd. As the fans chant THROW IT BACK, Rush hits the Bull’s Horns and El Idolo finishes Fenix at 13:52.

Rating: C+. In a way, I can go with the idea of just throwing up your hands and not even bothering with the tags anymore. These matches exist for nothing more than a bunch of chaos, so just throw away the tagging part and get to what everyone is waiting on. They do the style well, but my goodness, enough with the Bros losing their masks.

The Young Bucks come up to Hangman Page and the Dark Order. The Bucks praise Page for everything he has done over the years and reminisce about their great times together, saying it was the best time of their careers. One more time: they can reunite the team and win the Trios Titles. Page is grateful for their time together but turns them down for the Dark Order, because they have had his back. They’ll get together later though, with the Bucks not being overly pleased but not arguing.

Anthony Henry vs. Luchasaurus

Jungle Boy is on commentary. Henry charges at him, gets beaten up, and walks into the Fossilizer (Sean O’Haire’s Widowmaker for those O’Haire fans out there) for the pin at 37 seconds.

Post match Christian Cage pops up on screen in the back….and Jungle Boy actually goes running after him because he knows where the interviews take place (as logical as it gets around here). Security keeps Jungle Boy from Christian but Luchasaurus comes in to take them out. Christian escapes and Luchasaurus headbutts agent Pat Buck.

Miro isn’t sure what to do about the House of Black but Julia Hart comes up to tell him to embrace their gift. She isn’t the woman allowed to touch his face, but he’ll accept their help.

Powerhouse Hobbs is interrupted by QT Marshall and the Factory. They’ll take care of Ricky Starks, which seems to have Hobbs’ approval.

Here are Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt. They brag about taking out Wardlow on Saturday and Lethal wants another shot. Cue Wardlow to say he’s taking them all out right now, with FTR coming out join them. The villains bail but come back in, with Wardlow and FTR clearing the ring.

The Jericho Appreciation Society is ready for Chris Jericho’s win tonight and even have a little bit of the bubbly waiting on them. Daniel Garcia calls himself the Dragon Slayer for taking out Bryan Danielson, which sends Anna Jay off to choke someone who doesn’t seem to like that. That would be Leva Bates (formerly known as Blue Pants).

Aaron Solo vs. Ricky Starks

The Factory is here too but get ejected for trying to interfere. Starks takes Solo down but the Roshambo is countered with a hurricanrana. Starks misses the spear but then hits the spear (almost from the side) for the pin at 2:02.

Post match Nick Comoroto comes in to go after Starks but he gets away from a chair shot. Then Starks runs away into the crowd when the rest of the team comes in.

Stokely Hathaway interrupts the Gunn Club and recruits the younger generation. Billy doesn’t like it, so Stokely calls him old. Danhausen comes in and a match seems to be made for Rampage.

The Trustbusters interrupt the Best Friends because Orange Cassidy won’t answer Ari Daivari’s texts or calls. Cassidy says no, so threats are made.

TNT Title: Madison Rayne vs. Jade Cargill

Cargill is defending and misses a charge into the corner to start. A middle rope dropkick sends Cargill outside. They head outside and Madison has to counter a powerbomb into a hurricanrana. Back in and Jade hits a heck of a spear as we take a break. Back with Rayne grabbing a neckbreaker and hitting a not great enziguri. The Baddie distraction lets Jade kick her down and, after countering a counter, hit Jaded to retain at 7:34.

Rating: C. This could have been worse, but Rayne is going to hit a pretty solid ceiling of just ok most of the time. At the same time, Jade isn’t going to lose in a mostly cold match on Dynamite so there was only so much drama. Rayne is a veteran who can wrestle a competent match, but this seemed more about giving Jade a win over a name, whatever that is worth in Rayne’s case.

Post match Athena, previously disguised as a Baddie, comes in to take Jade out and clear the ring.

Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm, now #1 contender due to Kris Statlander getting hurt, are cool with each other but ready to fight. Storm wants to keep her momentum going.

Here’s what’s coming on a bunch of shows.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho, in his WCW/ECW/NJPW look as the Lionheart, is challenging and William Regal is on commentary. Feeling out process to start as Jericho (with ponytail) armdrags him down a few times. Jericho takes him down to crank on the neck but Moxley is back up with some chops and trash talk. A snapmare drops Moxley and Jericho rips out the earring, with Regal saying fair enough, as he would have done it too.

We take a break and come back with a rather bloody Moxley working on an armbar but Jericho breaks that up. Jericho grabs the Hartbreaker Figure Four around the post, which lasts as long as it can. Back in and Moxley grabs a crossface, which is reversed into the Walls. We take a break and come back with Moxley still in the hold but crawling over to the rope for the break. Jericho tries the triangle dropkick but gets sent outside, allowing Moxley to go up top, only to dive into the Codebreaker for a close two.

With that not working, Jericho takes a turnbuckle pad off for a distraction, allowing Sammy Guevara to throw in a baseball bat (overthrow that is). A heck of a shot gives Jericho two and a ram into the buckle sets up the Judas Effect for a very close two. With nothing else working, Jericho goes for the belt but misses a charge into the exposed buckle. Moxley grabs a choke but Jericho (now bleeding too) reverses that into a Liontamer. That’s reversed into another choke and Jericho finally taps at 22:34.

Rating: B. This was a good enough big match feel, though the blood was a bit excessive after the opening bloodbath from Brody King. Jericho is still a big enough win that this boosts Moxley, as he continues to be able to stop Jericho each time. Rather good TV main event here, though Moxley is going to need someone for All Out.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Jericho Appreciation Society, followed by the Blackpool Combat Club and more of the Society run in for the big dive. Cue the returning CM Punk for the ring clearing save and showdown with Moxley. A middle finger from Moxley and a brushing off leave Punk alone to pose to end the night. It was about time for Punk to be back, as the interim thing was getting a bit ridiculous after two plus months. It’s the only thing that would make sense for All Out too, so this is about as perfect as you can get.

Overall Rating: B-. The opener and main event were both good but the middle dragged pretty badly here. What matters is that they now have a big main event set for All Out, which had been sorely lacking over the last few weeks. They still need some better work in the midcard and All Out needs a bit of a better focus, but the last half hour of this show was the important part and they covered it well.

Results
Darby Allin b. Brody King – Allin knocked King into the coffin
La Faccion Ingobernable b. Lucha Bros – El Idolo to Fenix
Luchasaurus b. Anthony Henry – Fossilizer
Ricky Starks b. Aaron Solo – Spear
Jade Cargill b. Madison Rayne – Jaded
Jon Moxley b. Chris Jericho – Choke

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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Dynamite
Date: July 6, 2022
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Taz, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re back to the normal show this week and that could mean more than a few things. In this case it means that we are going to be seeing Jon Moxley defend the Interim World Title against Brody King, which should be a heck of a fight. Other than that, it is time to build towards Ring Of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor later this month. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Scorpio Sky

Wardlow is challenging in a street fight. Sky strikes away at the leg to start and gets dropped with a hard shoulder. A low blow cuts off Wardlow but he’s fine enough to toss Sky around a few times. They head outside where an American Top Team distraction lets Sky send Wardlow into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Wardlow knocking him off the top and hitting a Swanton. The Powerbomb Symphony is loaded up but Wardlow clears them out without much effort. The distraction lets Sky get in a belt shot for two and Wardlow is back with the spinebuster. A three movement Powerbomb Symphony gives Wardlow the pin and the title at 8:29.

Rating: C. Not exactly a great match and I’m not sure on the idea of having Sky lose again here, but Wardlow needed to win something already and they pulled that off here. Wardlow shrugged off whatever was thrown at him here and he won the title like a monster should. Good enough match and it did what it needed to do.

Confetti falls and Wardlow gets to celebrate.

Jon Moxley is tired of people trying to make their name off of him and tonight, Brody King is going to do it again. You don’t know what kind of a monster you have with him but Moxley knows what he is facing tonight in King.

Here are Christian Cage and Luchasaurus for a chat. Christian has been asked what is going on for a few weeks now and why Luchasaurus has sided with him. Before he can say anything, here is Matt Hardy to interrupt. Matt says he and Jungle Boy have gotten close in recent weeks and Jungle Boy didn’t deserve what Christian did to him.

Christian: “Matt, you’re starting to make your brother sound like the sober one.” Matt talks about regretting the time he spent manipulating people and maybe the last month has been karma coming to get him. Christian calls Matt out for being delusional and for riding Jeff’s coattails for one more run. The brawl is on with Luchasaurus leaving Matt laying, including a chokeslam through the ringside table. I could have gone without the Jeff references but this was fine enough.

Video on Blood & Guts from last week. The Jericho Appreciation Society promises it is not over.

Jake Hager yells at Claudio Castagnoli for never being a World Champion. Castagnoli talks about respect and promises to earn it next week.

Butcher and the Blade vs. Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee

Bunny is here with the villains. Lee headbutts Butcher down to start so we’ll try Strickland vs. Blade instead. That doesn’t go so well for Strickland to start but he knocks Blade down and hands it back to Lee for a shot of his own. Blade jawbreaks his way to freedom but gets knocked outside. Bunny offers a distraction to cut off the dive though and Butcher gets in a cheap shot to take over as we take a break.

Back with Lee getting to clean house as everything breaks down. A lariat/enziguri combination drops Butcher but Blade pulls Swerve in the way of Lee. Butcher hits Lee with a Stunner and Butcher runs him over, allowing Butcher to toss Lee into Blade’s knee. A running knee gets a VERY close two on Swerve with Lee making a (maybe late) save. Back up and Swerve In Our Glory finishes Blade at 9:38.

Rating: C+. I’m not wild on the continued tease of Swerve and Lee breaking up, especially when they haven’t been around long in the first place, but at least they won the match in the end. Butcher and Blade almost feel like a relic from the past but they are still good enough as a team to make a match like this work. Just either split Swerve and Lee or let them stay together and stop with the teases if it isn’t happening.

Post match Team Taz comes out to yell at Swerve and Lee, with Ricky Starks losing his mind over what sounds like a challenge. Cue the Young Bucks to cut them off, though they don’t have to apologize for anything because they started this company. The Bucks brag about the tag division, including what we saw at Double Or Nothing, which was 4.5 stars. Granted that’s an off night for the Bucks, but they need to keep things going. The solution to that: a triple threat match next week at Fyter Fest. Fans: “FTR!” Nick: “We’re better than them and you know it.” The match seems to be on.

Malakai Black says his House’s violence is by design and Jon Moxley doesn’t know what he is in for.

Here is Eddie Kingston for a chat. He congratulates Wardlow on winning the title and everyone who won Blood & Guts last week. The only person he doesn’t like is Chris Jericho, who made him a liar last week. Kingston didn’t get to taste his blood…but Jericho cuts him off on the screen. Jericho asks if Kingston wants to get nuts and we see the Jericho Appreciation Society slamming Ruby Soho’s hand in a car (granted it wasn’t in the car and they more or less had to tell her to get it slammed in the door, making it look really bad).

Here is the Dark Order, complete with -1, to say that they aren’t going anywhere. They’re here to stay because Dark Order is forever but here is QT Marshall to interrupt. Marshall doesn’t think much of the team and -1 in particular, so threats are made. Cue Hangman Page to send Marshall into the ring and the big beatdown is on. -1 teases beating Marshall but says he’ll wait until he’s 18. This could have, and probably should have, been a post show segment.

Rush vs. Penta Obscuro

Andrade, Jose, Fenix and Alex Abrahantes are here too. They go right at it to start with Rush getting the better of things by running Obscuro over. The fight heads to the floor, where the Alex Abrahantes and Jose get in a fight of their own and we take a break. Back with Rush hitting a powerslam for two but Penta grabs a Backstabber for the same.

They slug it out until Rush knocks him into the corner and hits a top rope dropkick for two. Penta is back up with a kick to the face and the Fear Factor gets two, with Andrade putting Rush’s foot on the rope. The distraction lets Rush get in a low blow and rip off Penta’s mask (of course) for the pin at 11:04.

Rating: C+. Good brawl here, though I am completely over that rip off the mask ending. It has been done so many times with both of the Lucha Bros that it feels like something they have to do instead of something special. These two can work the hard hitting style well and they did here, though Rush is still only so interesting.

Jay Lethal and company are happy with the upcoming ROH TV Title shot at Death Before Dishonor. Lethal isn’t taking Joe lightly, but he is taking Joe’s title. Good line.

Mark Sterling is trying to get the Best Friends to sign a petition to get rid of Swerve Strickland. Orange Cassidy wants his lawyer present and that’s….Danhausen? Sterling wants Tony Nese vs. Cassidy on Rampage so they can make a lot of money. but Cassidy isn’t sure. Danhausen to Cassidy: “How about you vs. his client on Rampage? We’ll make a lot of money.” Cassidy is in. Funny stuff, especially Danhausen shouting various legal terms and no one paying attention to him.

Ruffin It/Fuego del Sol vs. Gunn Club/Acclaimed

The Club cuts off Caster’s rap and tensions are high. Fuego takes Colten down to start but it’s Bear Bronson coming in for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Caster hits the Mic Drop, but Austin tags himself in and steals the pin at 2:14. This story is oddly growing on me.

Post match the Club and Acclaimed get into it but Billy Gunn comes in the ring…and turns on the Acclaimed, leaving both of them laying. So there’s the Acclaimed’s face turn.

Miro is not happy with Malakai Black.

Thunder Rosa/Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir/Nyla Rose

Rosa takes Shafir into the corner to start and it’s a double suplex for two. A hip attack keeps Shafir in trouble as the dominance is on to start. Rose gets in a cheap shot though and a fireman’s carry slam drops Storm as we take a break. Back with Storm fighting out of the corner and handing it back to Rosa to clean house. The running dropkick against the ropes staggers Rosa but she’s back up with a Rock Bottom. Everything breaks down and the hip attack hits Shafir, setting up a spike fire thunder driver to pin Shafir at 9:07.

Rating: C. Calling Rosa and Storm Thunderstorm is a funny way to go, though at first I thought it was AEW’s latest gimmick match. Anyway, this is a fine way to set up what should be Rosa vs. Storm for the title down the line, though the less Shafir we see on TV the better. It isn’t working with her, but she’s here pretty frequently anyway for whatever reason.

Stokely Hathaway recommends Leila Grey as the newest Baddie. Jade Cargill says he better be right.

Daniel Garcia is ready to take the Ring Of Honor Pure Title from Wheeler Yuta at Death Before Dishonor.

FTR wants the Briscoes at Death Before Dishonor, one more time.

Interim AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Brody King

King is challenging and William Regal is on commentary. They shove each other around to start and get in each others’ faces to yell a lot. King knocks him outside and sends Moxley into various things to take over. Back in and Moxley gets in a few shots to the knee to take over but gets dropped again as we take a break.

Back with King missing a Cannonball in the corner so Moxley puts him on top and rakes the back for some pain. King blasts him with a clothesline and hits a piledriver for two before grabbing the sleeper in the corner. With that broken up due to being in the ropes, Moxley grabs a Paradigm Shift. The hammer and anvil elbows keep King in trouble, setting up the bulldog choke to finish him off (ala how Moxley beat Brodie Lee) at 11:14.

Rating: B-. They had a good fight here, even though it was Moxley defending against Moxley’s Designated Victim #1. There was no reason to believe that King was going to take the title here, but in this case that worked out well. Moxley gets a win over someone who looks impressive and King doesn’t lose anything from a loss to the champ. Completely logical choices.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t their strongest effort as everything seemed a bit off. Maybe it was a post-holiday hangover or something but it just didn’t quite click. They have some time before All Out and you can probably guess the top of the card from here, but focusing on it would be nice. Certainly not a bad show, but Dynamite has a pretty high bar and this was beneath their usual.

Results
Wardlow b. Scorpio Sky – Powerbomb Symphony
Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland b. Butcher and Blade – Swerve In Our Glory to Blade
Rush b. Penta Obscuro – Small package
Gunn Club/Acclaimed b. Fuego del Sol/Ruffin It – Mic Drop to Bear Bronson
Thunder Rosa/Toni Storm b. Marina Shafir/Nyla Rose – Spike fire thunder driver to Shafir
Jon Moxley b. Brody King – Bulldog choke

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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Rampage
Date: July 1, 2022
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We are done with Forbidden Door and that means it is time to start moving forward. In this case that means we need a new challenger for Jon Moxley’s newly won Interim World Title. We can find that out tonight in what sounds like a Royal Rumble for the #1 contendership. That should be enough to carry the show so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Royal Rampage

So this is a two ring battle royal, but not in the traditional sense. Instead, there are two rings with a separate battle royal going on in each. Once there is a single person left in each, they will have a two man battle royal for the shot. It is also Royal Rumble style entrances and it’s Hangman Page/Powerhouse Hobbs in blue and Darby Allin/Tony Nese in red (note that both ring skirts are red AND blue though, because Ring #1 and Ring #2 was too complicated of a system) to get things going (this is going to be a nightmare to follow).

Nese kicks Allin down and poses as Hobbs powers Page around. Page low bridges Hobbs to the apron as Ricky Starks is in the red ring. Team Taz starts double teaming Page as Allin springboards into an elbow to Nese. Smart Mark Sterling grabs Allin’s leg for a distraction, only to have Allin backdrop Nese out. Allin dives onto Nese for fun as Butcher (looking slim) is added to the blue ring. John Silver is in the red ring and starts to clean house until Page helps him with a double suplex on Hobbs.

Page hugs Silver and they tease throwing each other out. Max Caster is in the blue ring and raps about various Detroit references and promises to make Tony Khan hug him. Silver dances as Anthony Bowens shouts the city name. Rush is in the red ring and gets to clean some house as the Blade is in the Blue ring to give Butcher some extra help. Penta Obscuro is in the red ring and he gets in a fight with Rush in the aisle. Both of them get inside and Silver is eliminated. Swerve Strickland is in the blue ring and kicks Caster out as Keith Lee is in the red ring. We get a Swerve vs. Lee staredown across the rings and take a break.

Back with Matt Hardy in the blue ring and Dustin Rhodes coming in to the red ring. Penta and Rush fight to the apron and eliminate each other. A chair is pelted at Penta’s head for a bonus as Frankie Kazarian is in the blue ring. Hardy is out as Dante Martin is in the red ring. Starks has to be saved from Martin and Konosuke Takeshita is in the blue ring. Takeshita gets to clean house and Kazarian is gone.

Brody King completes the red ring, giving us a final field of King, Hobbs, Lee, Rhodes, Martin, Starks and Page. Orange Cassidy finishes the blue ring, giving us Cassidy, Allin, Takeshita, Butcher, Blade and Strickland. King tosses Martin as Cassidy starts cleaning house in the other ring. Takeshita stares him down and hits a chop But Cassidy tries a DDT….and we cut to the other ring. Dustin is out and so is Takeshita, the latter of which at the hands of Butcher and Blade.

Then, nearly twenty minutes in, we get a SPLIT SCREEN to show both rings for all of five seconds. As I try to get my head around that, Swerve tosses Cassidy and Lee knocks out Hobbs. Starks dumps Lee and Butcher/Blade get rid of Serve. Page fights back on King and Starks, with Starks being low bridged out.

King knocks Page out to win the ring though, quickly followed by Allin getting rid of Butcher and Blade to win his ring. King immediately powerbombs Allin and throws him into the other ring (not an elimination), followed by one heck of a Cannonball. Allin manages to get him to the apron but King pulls Allin to the apron with him. The sleeper knocks Allin out and King drops him down to win at 22:47.

Rating: C-. The setup really, really didn’t work as it was way too hard to keep track of everything going on. Between the rapid fire cutting between rings and the ramp and having ten different people in either ring, it was too much going on. I like the concept of a two ring battle royal, but if they need to do this again (and something tells me they will), they need to fine tune the heck out of the thing. A split screen/wide shot throughout would help, but more importantly, find a better way to remind us which ring is which. Again: Ring #1 and Ring #2 would work just fine. Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be.

As for the match itself, King is a perfectly fine choice as he can give Moxley a run for his money while not being the most serious challenger. Just having a World Title around is a good thing and Moxley getting his first title defense out of the way is smart. King is a good monster and the title match should be the kind of hard hitting fight where he can Moxley can both excel.

Hook isn’t talking in another interview so Alex Marvez asks if he is a go with the flow type person. That’s too far for Hook, who grabs Marvez by the shirt and says that’s other people’s problem.

Young Bucks vs. Yoshi-Hashi/Hirooki Goto

Non-title, though I thought the Bucks said it was a title match on Dynamite. Nick and Goto start things off but everything breaks down in a hurry, with Goto and Hashi clubbering Nick down. Matt comes in for the rolling northern lights suplexes before hitting one on both Goto and Hashi at the same time. The Bucks hit a big flip dive to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Goto and Matt getting the double tag so Goto can clean house. Matt takes Goto down and Nick hits a running knee to the face for two. Hashi is back in for the save and it’s a running Blockbuster/Russian legsweep combination for two on Matt. Hashi seems to kick Nick away without making contact but the GTR/powerbomb combination that gave them the win on Sunday is broken up.

The four way knockdown gives them a breather and Goto hits the fireman’s carry backbreaker. Hashi kicks Nick in the face and it’s a superkick/fireman’s carry backbreaker combination for two. The Bucks have had it though and it’s the BTE Trigger to Hashi, followed by a springboard crossbody to Goto. The Meltzer Driver finishes Hashi at 10:39.

Rating: C+. It was a short form Bucks match so you should know what you are getting here. That is only going to get you so far, and it wasn’t like you would expect the champs to go down. This felt like a way to say that there were going to be New Japan names on the show and little more, which isn’t the worst idea for this audience.

Jonathan Gresham is ready to face Tully Blanchard’s monsters next week on Rampage. Gresham is tired of his name being out of the discussions of the best and that is changing next week. Time to start building towards the Ring Of Honor pay per view, because we had a focus on AEW for all of two hours.

Nyla Rose is tired of Toni Storm running her mouth so she is ready to crush her. Storm is sick of her too.

Toni Storm vs. Nyla Rose

Marina Shafir is here with Rose. Storm tries to start fast and is quickly knocked down with a hard clothesline. Rose works on the arm until Storm fights up, only to have Shafir low bridge her to the floor. We take a break and come back with Rose hitting a running splash in the corner, setting up a missed Cannonball. Storm is back with the running hip attack and a double DDT plants Rose and Shafir on the floor.

Back in and a high crossbody gets one on Rose but the Beast Bomb is countered. Rose sits on her chest for two but Storm slips over the shoulder to escape another Beast Bomb attempt. The turnbuckle pad is ripped off and Rose superkicks Storm down for two. Rose misses her top rope knee though and a German suplex gives Storm two more. Shafir has to be kicked off the apron and it’s a pendulum DDT to give Storm the pin at 9:50.

Rating: B-. These two work well together and that is one of the best things that can be said about a pair of wrestlers. Storm isn’t exactly a speed wrestler but she knew how to work well against a monster like Rose. That is a formula that will always work and it certainly did again here. Go with what works and you should be fine in the long run.

Post match Shafir jumps Storm but Thunder Rosa makes the save, with Excalibur declaring them Thunder Storm to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Issues with the battle royal aside, this was a fun enough night of Rampage as the main event was good and it had some star power with the Bucks. I’m not thrilled with Ring Of Honor getting the focus next week but you have to build up Death before Dishonor somehow. Pretty nice show here and again, that one hour rung time makes all of the difference in the world.

Results
Brody King won the Royal Rampage last eliminating Darby Allin
Young Bucks b. Yoshi-Hashi/Hirooki Goto – Meltzer Driver to Hashi
Toni Storm b. Nyla Rose – Pendulum DDT

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Ballroom Brawl 12
Date: July 13, 2019
Location: Commodore Ballroom, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Commentators: Peter Brown, Cody Von Wilson

This is Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW), another promotion that I have heard a lot about but never actually seen. Again, thanks to the magic of Highspots, I get to knock another indy promotion off of my list and see what I can find out there. The card isn’t exactly big but there are some interesting names. Let’s get to it.

Keep in mind that as usual, I don’t follow this promotion and have no idea about any characters or storylines so please bare with me.

Opening sequence, which looks like an extended version of a regular TV show opening, though it does include the show’s card. It’s a nice highlight video, but going nearly three minutes might be a bit much.

The ring announcer, named Sweatervest, gets his own entrance. Granted it’s to Steve Austin’s music and with a pretty good Austin impression so I’ve seen worse. Sweatervest runs down some of the bigger matches and we’re ready to go.

David Starr vs. Judas Icarus vs. Beef Boy vs. Travis Williams

This is pretty close geographically to DEFY Wrestling and the opening match on their show that I looked at a few months back was also a four way featuring Icarus. Speaking of Icarus, he has a pretty big guy named the Natural with him, while Williams has Goddess Mandy. Beef is about 170lbs but billed at 606, giving him a bit of a Crash Holly vibe. Then we have Starr, who isn’t in wrestling anymore because he’s kind of a horrible person (allegedly).

The fans are behind Beef, though they should be behind the referee, who is the tallest person in the ring. Those same fans also think that Williams looks like Justin Bieber…and they might be on to something with that. The four way trash talk is on until Williams knocks Beef to the floor, only to get chopped outside as well. Starr Thesz presses Icarus down for two and a rolling kick to the face puts Icarus on the floor.

Beef comes in for a running hurricanrana on Starr but Williams is right back in to run Beef over. One heck of a chop puts Williams on the floor but Icarus cuts off Beef’s dive. An exchange of uppercuts gives us a standoff until Starr comes back in to chop at Williams. The big wind up chop in the corner is blocked though, meaning the big chop has to hit Icarus instead. Williams takes Starr down and stops to pose, allowing Starr to come back with another chop. A slap gets on Starr’s nerves and a long series of strikes has Williams mostly done on the ropes.

Williams is fine enough to hit a slingshot DDT but it’s back to Beef vs. Icarus. Some right hands give Beef control until Starr takes him down with a suplex for two. Icarus is back up with a string of uppercuts but Williams busts out a pair of RKO’s. Beef hits one of his own on Icarus, only to have Williams hit a middle rope version to Starr and Beef at the same time, leaving everyone down. That means the four way slugout from their knees until it turns into a circle chop off.

Williams is the only one left standing and takes Starr out with a quick suicide dive. Back in and Icarus grabs a fireman’s carry onto the knee to drop Williams, who is sent outside. Beef is left alone in the ring so he hits a running Blockbuster to take Williams off the apron and down onto the other two. Back in and Starr drops all three of them in a row, including a lariat to the back of Icarus’ head and a powerbomb onto the knee to break Beef. Williams dives in for a save and they’re all down again.

It’s Starr up first to stomp away on everyone else, though the fans are still behind Beef. Starr pulls Beef up but Icarus and Williams double team Starr down, setting up Beef’s Swanton. Icarus and Beef take Williams to the top, where he rams their heads together to save himself. That leaves Beef to drop Icarus onto the apron (Commentary: “Beef just Scar’ed his Mufasa!”) and another Swanton hits Judas for two, as Mandy pulls the referee out (ignore the referee’s hand slapping the mat for the third time). Williams kicks Beef low and hits a running knee for the pin at 14:23.

Rating: B-. This is the new version of the Cruiserweight match from the WCW Monday Nitro days as you have a bunch of people getting in the ring at once and flying around until someone wins. The fans were behind Beef but he took the fall anyway, which might not be the best way to start the show. Starr felt like the, uh, star here, but Williams had the fans hating him and that is a good thing. Just maybe don’t have him win by pinning the crowd favorite.

Come to upcoming shows!

Bishy Wishy/Randy Myers vs. The Shining

Bishy Wishy is Bishop and Fergie while the Shining is Chris Voros/Nicole Matthews/Patrick Voros (with Kristopher Kassidy). Voros and Voros are twins, just to make things even more confusing, and Matthews has her ECCW Women’s Title. Apparently Myers had a hand in the Twins’ development and they turned on him so it’s time for revenge. Bishy Wishy both wear purple and dance to the ring, which has Sweatervest cracking up.

Finally we have Myers, who is sung to the ring by a woman performing Welcome To The Black Parade. With that out of the way, the very flamboyant Myers (the Weirdo Hero, complete with green hair) comes out and runs through the crowd as the woman sings another sounds (sounds like she’s saying “so carry on” over and over). Kassidy tries his own song but Sweatervest is having none of that.

We actually get to the match, with Fergie and Matthews starting, and the latter stealing Fergie’s hat! That makes Fergie so mad that he lets Matthews bounce off of him with some shoulders. The hat goes back on and he shoulders Matthews into the corner for the tag to Patrick (commentary thinks it’s him at least). Some chops set up the tag to Myers, who tells Patrick to STOOOOOOOP and SHUUUUUUSH before firing off some Al Snow trapping headbutts.

Bishop and Chris come in, with Bishop hitting a quick powerslam. Patrick gets slammed onto Chris and it’s a moonsault from Bishop to crush both of them. Matthews comes back in and gets Michinoku Driver for two as everything breaks down. The Voros Twins take over but spend too much time posing, meaning they’re knocked off the apron. Fergie throws Matthews onto them and Bishop hits the big dive to take out the trio as this is one sided so far.

Back in and Kassidy’s interference is cut off, allowing Matthews to bring in the belt…to no avail as she is cut off too. That’s enough for Kassidy to get in a briefcase shot to Fergie and the villains take over. The Voros Twins stomp away before it’s off to Matthews for a heck of a chop. Bishop gets drawn in, allowing the triple teaming to ensue. Fergie shoves both Voros Twins away at the same time but the referee doesn’t see the hot tag. That means Matthews can get Fergie back into the corner so the chopping can ensue.

Some dust to the face blinds Fergie to make it worse but either Bishop or Myers sprays Matthews in the face with some water. Fergie finally flips Matthews off his shoulders but the Voros twins break up the tag AGAIN. Matthews grabs a choke but Fergie powers her over for the hot tag to Myers, sending all of the Shining to the floor in fear. Back in and a Russian legsweep/Downward Spiral combination drops the Twins before kicking Matthews low.

With that not working, Myers puts her in a fireman’s carry as Bishy Wishy hit a Rock Bottom and Stunner on a Twin each. An AA to Matthews gives us a triple cover and a triple two count with a triple foot on the rope. Bishop gets to clean house until Fergie hits a Bubba Bomb on Patrick. That leaves Chris to hit a middle rope dropkick/backsplash to Bishy Wishy but hold on as Myers kisses Kassidy and rolls up Matthews for the pin at 12:39.

Rating: C. The match itself wasn’t great but for a team comprised of Bishy Wishy and the Weirdo Hero, I got into this one and had a good enough time. I’ve seen Myers before and he certainly gets your attention, which is more than you would expect from someone who is that over the top. The Twins were just ok and Matthews was her usual pretty good self, but the match wasn’t exactly a classic outside of the standard six person formula.

Myers and Bishy Wishy get sung out again.

In the back, Travis Williams says you have no idea how cocky he is going to be now that he has beaten Beef Boy. He was tired of hearing promos (his word) from everyone else and now he is at the top after two years. Now he wants a title.

War Games is on September 6 with Team Eddie Osbourne vs. Team Scotty Mac.

Eddie Osbourne vs. Brody King

Osbourne has The Natural and Judas Icarus with him. They stare at each other to start before locking up after nearly a minute of glaring. An exchange of shoulders doesn’t go anywhere but King’s second attempt staggers Osbourne a good bit. They slug/chop it out with King getting the better of it, setting up a running clothesline against the ropes. King shoulders him down and gets to pose a bit, like any tattooed monster should.

Back up and King snaps off a running hurricanrana to the floor, setting up….a slide underneath the ropes that doesn’t make any contact. They chop it out on the floor, with King chopping the post by mistake. A Rock Bottom onto the apron plants King again and the Natural holds him in place, allowing Osbourne to hit a big Cannonball off the apron through King through a chair.

Back in and Osbourne chops in the corner before choking on the ropes. A lot of posing allows King to get back up and hit some running clotheslines in the corner. One heck of a crossbody gives King two and he wins another chop off, only to have the Natural make a save. Icarus gets tossed onto Osbourne and the Natural, setting up a heck of a piledriver….for two. Ok well done on the false finish.

A clothesline connects but the Natural has the referee. Osbourne is back with a Rock Bottom and a Death Valley Driver for two of his own and the shock is strong with this one. King can’t fireman’s carry him but he can block Osbourne’s running knee. A Samoan driver finally puts Osbourne away at 14:51.

Rating: B. Sometimes you need two hosses to beat each other up for about fifteen minutes. Some of Osbourne’s stuff didn’t look great, but King is enough of a monster to make almost anything work. This was the fun kind of monster clash that they made it seem like it would be and I had a good time with it as a result.

TJP is ready for the main event.

Here is Erik Strange with Scotty Mac, the latter of whom seems to be a big deal around here, even if he is badly limping. Mac is returning from an injury and talks about how he has always put ECCW above everything else, from family to relationships. They have sold this place out again but his leg is still banged up so he can’t wrestle tonight. That’s why he is here with Strange, who is going to wrestle for the Tag Team Titles for the both of them. Strange is winning the titles on his own so they can defend them when Mac is healthy again.

Hold on though as Strange has a replacement partner: Andy Bird. This brings out Bird, who has a bird costume made of Christmas lights and what looks to be one of those old plague masks that Marty Scurll would wear. It’s quite the visual and makes for a heck of an entrance. Hold on though as commentator Peter Brown grabs the mic (with Sweatervest explaining how to turn it on) to talk about how this is a dark time.

The Grindhouse has been the Tag Team Champions for a year now but that is changing tonight. Brown doesn’t like the fans booing him but he also doesn’t like Bird here as the replacement. He mocks Strange for being injury prone and accuses the three of them of using the Freebird Rule. The fans don’t like Brown, who finally gets to the point by trying to sign the three of them up. That’s a no from Bird but the trio wants to have a conference. Strange teases signing but instead it’s a ruse for Bird to hit Brown with his hair (ala Bianca Belair). And now, a match.

Tag Team Titles: Grindhouse vs. Andy Bird/Erik Strange vs. Wisemen vs. ReLoaded vs. Gross Misconduct

Grindhouse: Ashley Sixx/Cat Power
Wisemen: Billy Suede/Tony Baroni
ReLoaded: Jacky Lee/Shareef Morrow
Gross Misconduct: Drexl/Steve West

Grindhouse is defending and just in case this isn’t messy enough, FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE WITH ELIMINATIONS!!! Oh and the Wisemen have the Goddess Mandy with them because we need more people. I’m not even going to pretend to be able to keep track of everything going on in this one, because it’s more than a bit insane. The entrances alone take a VERY long time, which doesn’t exactly give me the most confidence.

Grindhouse gets surrounded to start and the brawl is on until it’s down to Power vs. Suede in the ring. Power clothesline him down for an early two (thankfully from the two referees) but it’s Sixx (a man, which might not have been clear) clearing the ring. Baroni breaks up the dive though, leaving ReLoaded to hit stereo suicide dives, because they’re the kind of smaller guys who would hit stereo dives.

Sixx goes up top for a dive onto a bunch of people, followed by Strange hitting his own big flip dive. Bird adds his own huge dive and everyone is down on the floor. The cameras lose sight of most of the people involved until it’s Lee beating up Sixx in the ring. Lee manages a headscissors into the corner….and we cut to a closeup of wrestlers brawling around the arena. We cut back to the ring with Sixx getting a cover but with no referee to count.

Suede has Power sprayed with beer at the bar and we’ll just stay on these two as commentary tells us what else is going on around the arena. The camera loses them for a second before coming back to Suede and Power walking around the arena and near what looks to be the merchandise stand. The two of them fight to the back as we hear about Bird being knocked down with a bench. Granted we can’t actually see that because the camera is on some fans. Back in and it’s Lee taking over on Baroni as we’re told that Strange and Bird have been eliminated at 9:24.

Baroni hits a pop up Codebreaker for two on Lee, setting up West hitting a Stinger Splash into a DDT (cool) for two on Sixx. Lee hits another big dive onto the pile, leaving Drexl to save West from Sixx as well. Power saves Sixx from a double suplex before knocking Drexl and West off the apron for the pin and the elimination at 13:10.

We’re down to three teams so things chill a bit, with Baroni and Suede stomping on Power. ReLoaded try to dive in and sends the Wisemen into each other, setting up a kick to the Baroni’s head for two. Suede makes the save with what looks to be hairspray, allowing him to pin Morrow at 15:17.

So we’re down to Power vs. the Wisemen as Sixx was handcuffed to the rope somewhere in there. Cue Beef Boy to get Sixx away from the rope and dropkick a stop sign into Suede’s face. Baroni is up with some superkicks of his own but the chair shot hits the rope and comes back into Baroni’s face this time. A Magic Killer (with Beef assisting) is enough to retain the titles at 17:23.

Rating: C-. This really wasn’t my style as there was way too much going on with the camera barely being able to follow things throughout the arena and the whole thing being a total mess. Do this gauntlet style and it is so much better but this was about as good as it could have gone given the situation. The fans seem happy with the win, but other than ReLoaded, it wasn’t like any of the challengers really stood out. Just cool things down a bit and it’s a huge improvement.

Post match Grindhouse celebrates for a good bit.

Brian Pillman Jr. is ready for his match with Kevin Sullivan, which is a long time in the making. Sullivan came in to MLW and tried to extend his career by latching on to the young stars. That’s how Pillman helped keep him a star, but now he has to take out the garbage. Tonight he is the Taskmaster, and he is tasked with ending Sullivan’s career.

We recap Sullivan vs. Pillman, which comes via a clip from MLW Fusion in August 2018. Sullivan wanted to help Pillman, but not so much his friends Teddy Hart and Davey Boy Smith Jr. Then Pillman took Sullivan out to prove his loyalties.

Sullivan promises revenge.

Kevin Sullivan vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

No Holds Barred. Sullivan jumps him before the bell and the fight goes into the crowd, as you probably expected to be the case. A shot to the throat rocks Pillman again but he manages a posting to get a breather as I don’t think the bell has rung yet. Some more strikes have Sullivan in trouble until he low blows his way to freedom. The brawl stays in the crowd and I can’t see anything going on, as tends to be the case with this show.

We get a better camera angle as Pillman cranks on the arm and they walk around the arena some more. Sullivan is busted open and they finally get inside, with Pillman slowly hammering away in the corner. A shot to the eyes gives Sullivan a breather but Pillman is right back with forearms to the face.

Hold on though as Pillman offers a handshake….and then beats on him even more. The referee tries to break it up so Pillman knocks him down, followed by some shots to producers who try to intervene. Then Sullivan’s fireball accidentally goes off in his hand early, meaning Sullivan walks off instead. Pillman cuts him off and they brawl to the back…and we’ll say that’s it at 9:45.

Rating: D-. Yeah this was a total disaster and I can’t say I’m all that surprised. Sullivan is almost 70 here and could barely move, including barely doing anything as Pillman beat on him in the corner. It doesn’t help that they were having a match built on a story between Sullivan and Pillman’s father in WCW and was then build up in MLW. Total miss here and that shouldn’t be anything close to a surprise.

ECCW Title: Artemis Spencer vs. TJ Perkins

Spencer is defending and we get some Big Match Intros. Feeling out process to start with TJP taking him to the mat for some riding before flipping up to his feet. Spencer does something similar and TJP is a bit impressed. An arm crank has Spencer in trouble but he spins it over into an armbar of his own. Back up and TJP twists around into the headscissors on the mat, meaning it’s time for some dabbing.

That takes too long though as Spencer pulls him down into a headscissors of his own. TJP nips up into a bow and arrow, which is flipped over into another standoff. We get the Canadian Content with TJP trying the Sharpshooter but Spencer pulls him into a failed triangle choke attempt. TJP grabs a Sharpshooter while grabbing the arms before switching into a Muta Lock of off things.

With that broken up, Spencer hits a heck of a springboard wristdrag but TJP pulls him into a DDT to cut it off again. There’s a slingshot hilo but Spencer sends him outside, setting up a heck of an Asai moonsault. Back in and Spencer’s armbar sends TJP straight to the ropes as he is starting to pick TJP apart. TJP gets his feet up in the corner though and a hurricanrana gives him a breather.

A tornado DDT gives TJP two but the Detonation Kick is blocked. That’s fine with TJP, who dropkicks the knee out to put Spencer in more trouble. An exchange of kicks to the head means a double knockdown and we get an old ten count. TJP is up first and knocks him into the ropes, setting up a slingshot kick to the head. Spencer drives TJP hard into the corner though and a headbutt lays TJP out on the top.

The top rope backsplash crushes TJP for two so Spencer goes after the arm again. That works for TJP, who pulls him into something close to a Sharpshooter. Spencer tries to reverse that into the Arte-choke (I chuckled) but gets pulled into a kneebar, which Spencer reverses into a cradle for two.

A powerbomb backbreaker plants TJP, who is fine enough to crotch Spencer on top. The top rope superplex sets up some rolling suplexes but Spencer kicks him in the head. TJP dragon screws the leg though and the Detonation Kick gets a very close two. Spencer catches him on top and tries another backsplash, only to have Spencer pull him into the Arte-choke. TJP is done, meaning a Spiral Tap can retain the title at 18:05.

Rating: B. That’s a good way to make someone like Spencer feel like a bigger star. Spencer hung in there with a more established name from the big leagues and beat him in the middle of the ring to retain the title. TJP is someone who can have a good match with anyone and he elevated Spencer here. Solid match and it felt like a main event, especially with something that didn’t seem to have much of a story other than “here’s a name for a challenger”.

Respect is shown post match.

In the back, Spencer says he’s ready for anyone to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked what we got here, though that Pillman vs. Sullivan match should be forgotten as quickly as possible. Other than that though, the biggest issue here was the camera work, which felt fairly low budget at times and was often missing spots or moments. The good thing is that the wrestling itself was quite good, as the talent shined through. I can see why this is a promotion that has stuck around for a long time and I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing something else from them down the line.

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Ring Of Honor
Date: January 5, 2022
Host: Quinn McKay

We are officially in the Best Of era for Ring of Honor, as the company is on hiatus for the next three months. Therefore, it is time to crack open the video fault and that is not the worst news. Ring of Honor has a very deep library to pick from and now we can see what they have handpicked. Let’s get to it.

Note that I will be posting the full versions of each match (assuming I have them already) rather than any clips that might be in the broadcasts.

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and promises to show us the best of 2021.

From the 19th Anniversary Show.

Flamita vs. Rey Horus vs. Bandido

This is going to be fast. Bandido and Horus seem cool but Flamita isn’t interested in a handshake. Flamita takes them both down to start but Bandido drops him to the floor. That gives us the Bandido vs. Horus showdown, which might not have the impact that they were looking for twenty seconds in. They shake hands until Horus starts kicking away, only to get kneed in the face.

A spinning headscissors puts Bandido down and respect is shown. Flamita is back in to send them both into the corner for some running clotheslines. The tornado DDT plants Bandido to send him outside, with Horus hitting a dive. Flamita hits a bigger dive and throws Bandido back inside. Bandido reverses a headscissors into a faceplant as Horus comes back in and gets kicked straight into the corner.

Flamita gets Bandido in an electric chair….where Bandido manages to suplex Horus anyway (that’s a new one). That’s enough for Bandido to send Horus outside and now we get a bit more impactful showdown with Flamita. They slap it out until Flamita hits a heck of a superkick into a spiral bomb for two, with Horus diving in for the save. Flamita’s slingshot DDT plants Bandido and it’s a Muscle Buster into a gutbuster to Horus, with the two of them landing on Bandido to give Flamita two.

That leaves Flamita to talk trash to the two of them, saying there is no more Mexisquad. Flamita is sent to the apron so Bandido can hurricanrana him to the floor. Back in and Horus wins the slugout, only to charge into a pop up cutter. Flamita is back in though and a three way boot to the face puts everyone down. Horus is up first with a satellite DDT to Bandido and the super victory roll gets two on Flamita.

Horus is sat on top as Flamita electric chairs Bandido….who reverses Horus’ high crossbody into a belly to bell, sending Flamita flying with a poisonrana at the same time (at least I think, as that was nuts). Bandido sends Horus outside for the big running flip dive, followed by a springboard hurricanrana for two on Horus. The 21 Plex gives Bandido the pin on Flamita at 10:48.

Rating: B+. This was exactly what you would have expected from these three and that is where they shine. These guys know how to do some completely insane stuff that worked amazingly well, as I was trying to figure out what the heck they were doing. You could run these guys in any combination for a LONG time and it was very fun here, as it should have been.

Post match respect is offered but Flamita walks away again.

From Honor For All.

Brody King vs. Jonathan Gresham

The winner is all but guaranteed the Final Battle World Title shot. King hits a Ganso Bomb in the first ten seconds for a near fall and Gresham is knocked outside early. There’s a suplex on the floor as this is dominance so far. Gresham manages to avoid a punch against the post and goes back inside as we take a break.

Back with Gresham hitting some suicide dives, with the last one sending King over the barricade. King does the big dramatic roll back in to beat the count, where he tells Gresham to hit him. That’s fine with Gresham, who strikes away at the leg and then scores with an enziguri. King knocks him HARD into the corner though, only to miss a Cannonball. The second attempt works a lot better though and Gresham is in trouble again.

A Ganso Bomb gives King two (despite his possibly broken hand) but Gresham is right back with a sleeper. Driving him into the corner isn’t enough for the break so King goes to the ropes in a much more logical move. Gresham gets smart by going to the hand and some rapid fire elbows to the head knock King silly. The sleeper goes on again but King powers out again, earning himself a heck of a forearm to the back of the head to give Gresham the pin at 10:41.

Rating: B. This was the power vs. technical match and that is the kind of thing that is always going to work. Gresham is far smaller than even the average wrestler but he is so good with the submissions and grappling that he can make it work. I liked this a lot and I can’t say that is any kind of a surprise given who was in there.

Respect is shown post match.

From Death Before Dishonor.

OGK vs. Briscoes

It’s a brawl to start with Mark having to save Jay from the Climax. Things settle down to Taven taking Mark down but missing an elbow to the head. A discus forearm rocks Bennett and it’s time for some Briscoes double stomping in the corner. Mark adds a running forearm and it’s Jay coming in to chop Bennett down. Bennett gets in a shot to the face though and Taven comes in with a missile dropkick to the face. Jay sneaks in off a blind tag and scores with a running big boot as everything breaks down.

OGK loads up a Doomsday Device on the floor but Jay cuts Taven off in a fast save. Taven has to cut off the same thing and then moonsaults down onto Jay (and Bennett, while sticking the landing). Mark isn’t done and dives onto everyone, setting up a big boot for two on Taven back inside. Jay’s neckbreaker gets the same but Taven scores with a knee to the face. That means a seated armbar can keep Jay in trouble, at least until Mark comes in to clean house.

There’s a dropkick through the ropes to drop Taven and another does the same to Bennett. Back in and the Froggy Bow gives Mark two on Taven with Bennett making the save. A chair is thrown in but Bennett breaks up Redneck Boogie, which would have given Taven an extreme case of pain. Mark uses the chair for a springboard flip dive onto Bennett but Taven rolls Jay up for the pin at 13:21.

Rating: B. Ring of Honor knows how to do big tag team matches and the Briscoes are as good as anyone else going right now. That makes a win over them like this feel like such a big deal and OGK got something out of this. It was a hard hitting, back and forth match so well done on doing exactly what they should have done. I liked this and I’m not even a bit surprised.

We get some credits, with a thank you to the people who have worked here in the past, including various executives and employees. A final graphic thanks the wrestlers and fans.

Overall Rating: A-. It’s always hard to grade these things as they are a handpicked collection of good stuff. That can cover so many different options while guaranteeing nothing bad makes the show. That isn’t a bad thing, but it doesn’t exactly have the same feeling. Still though, more Ring of Honor is a good thing, and I had fun for a little while.

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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Ring of Honor
Date: October 27, 2021
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Well now everything has changed. Ring of Honor’s future suddenly looks WAY different and that is not the best news. I’m not sure what is going to happen with the company but it is clear that things are going to be wrapping up. Hopefully the final few shows are good, but this is very uncharted territory. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Vincent is checking himself in the mirror and has the rest of the Righteous say that “he” is going to love it.

Quinn McKay runs down the card, which is all based on Violence vs. Pure.

Rhett Titus vs. Tony Deppen

Both of them talk about how they want to show that their style is better. They go with the technical stuff on the mat as Deppen wants to show he can do this too. Titus grabs a test of strength and powers him to the mat without much effort but Deppen reverses into a leglock. That’s broken up and we take an early break, coming back with Titus putting on a headscissors. Deppen is out in a hurry with a backslide but Titus snaps off a butterfly suplex for two.

A knee to the ribs and a knee to the back of the head give Deppen two of his own before he ties up Titus’ arms. Some biting of the hand gets two on Titus and here is Homicide to get on the apron for no logical reason. Titus blocks a backsplash by raising the knees and we take a break. Back again with Titus being sent to the apron but managing a hard slingshot shoulder for two. Homicide grabs a chair for a distraction, causing Titus to miss a running boot in the corner.

Deppen kicks him to the floor and hits a suicide flip dive (a Homicide specialty), followed by a top rope double stomp for two back inside. Homicide is NOT happy with the kickout as they trade rollups for two each. Titus gets in a gutwrench suplex and some running boots in the corner, setting up an implant DDT for two more. There’s the half crab with a knee in the back but Homicide throws in the chair for the distraction. Said distraction lets Deppen hit Titus with the chair, setting up the running boot for the pin at 12:23.

Rating: C+. I liked this one as Titus has improved a bit with his new style. He looks smooth with the clean wrestling stuff and that is nice to see as he has rarely had anything that has stuck (often through no fault of his own). Deppen is a rather good heel too and they worked well together, with the cheating making sense for the faction with the numbers advantage here.

Post break, Titus wants to know where the Foundation was during that. Fair question.

Tony Deppen asks why Homicide wouldn’t help him. They’re from the places with no rules so why would they follow rules here?

Brody King/Chris Dickinson vs. Jonathan Gresham/Tracy Williams

Homicide and Jay Lethal are the seconds. Before the match, both teams say their way is better. The Foundation jump them from behind to start in a bit of a twist and the fight goes outside early. Dickinson beats on Gresham in the corner and hands it off to King to power him around. It’s right back to Dickinson, who tries to go after Gresham’s leg, which just does not seem that bright.

King is back in with a neck crank to grind Gresham down but he finally sends King into Dickinson. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Williams so the pace can pick way up. Dickinson kicks Williams in the face but Williams hits a running corner clothesline. We take a break and come back with Gresham getting the tag and chopping away at Dickinson. The Foundation takes turns stomping on Dickinson’s ankles but Gresham ducks right into a knee to the face (that looked GREAT) to knock him silly.

Gresham gets up a boot in the corner though and tweaks King’s leg, setting up the sleeper. The other two get in a brawl of their own though and then crash the hold for the save. We take another break and come back again with King Boston crabbing Williams as Dickinson gets Gresham in an STF. Both holds are broken up so Dickinson puts the STF on Williams. That’s reversed into a Crossface but Dickinson flips out of that as well and grabs a rear naked choke. King holds Gresham back as Williams passes out at 12:52.

Rating: B. This was quite a match, with both teams getting the chance to shine. Dickinson beating Williams with a clean hold was interesting and not something I would have seen coming. If nothing else, I would have bet on the Foundation to win here to even up the night, so well done on throwing in a surprise here.

Jay Lethal and Homicide are already here and since they’re scheduled for the main event, let’s go.

Jay Lethal vs. Homicide

Lethal has the Foundation head to the back while Violence Unlimited stays at ringside, which can’t possibly go badly. Lethal starts fast and knocks Homicide outside, setting up the triple suicide dives. Back up and Homicide shoulders him to the floor, setting up the big flip dive and they’re both down for a second.

They get back in for the slow motion slugout until Lethal misses a middle rope dropkick. For some reason a fork is placed in the turnbuckle but neither can go face first into it. Instead, Homicide chokes away but Lethal scores with a superkick. Cue Dutch of the Righteous to jump Tony Deppen as the Lethal Injection finishes Homicide at 5:37.

Rating: C. It was fun while it lasted but they were flying through everything here until the screwy finish. That would be the finish where another faction interfered in a match between factions, but at least they interfered after a fast paced match. Lethal vs. Homicide could be a good showdown if they were given the chance, but we only got something fun for a little while here.

The Righteous poses on the stage and applaud everyone to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Another pretty good show here, but it is kind of hard to get interested when this version of Ring of Honor is not going to be around much longer. There was a theme here, but this time, even moreso than usual, it was all about a few groups of wrestlers and that is not exactly the most interesting. I could go for something different, though I’m not sure if that is an option right now. Either way, at least it was a fun show with a theme.

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Death Before Dishonor 2021
Date: September 12, 2021
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s back to pay per view and it’s actually out of Baltimore for a change. As tends to be the case in Ring of Honor, the show has not exactly been built up well, but the company has the ability to throw out a bunch of stuff and make it work. The main event is a four way elimination match for the World Title so let’s get to it.

In Memory of Daffney. That’s a nice touch.

Pre-Show: Honor Rumble

Fifteen man Royal Rumble with ninety second intervals and the winner gets a future World Title shot. Brian Johnson is in at #1 (and gets to talk about how amazing Philadelphia, his hometown, really is) and Brian Milonas is in at #2. The fans are behind Johnson, which has commentary very confused. The much bigger Milonas grabs a front facelock and takes him over to the ropes as he thinks this is a Pure Rules match. Johnson has to escape but it’s Beer City Bruiser in at #3 to put Johnson in real trouble.

A few shots in the corner don’t get Johnson very far as he charges into a side slam/running boot to the face combination. There’s a Vader Bomb elbow to crush Johnson as Danhausen is in at #4. Danhausen seems to curse (without swearing of course) Milonas, who accidentally gets crushed by Bruiser’s charge in the corner. A double chokeslam is countered into a double spinebuster to crush Danhausen as Caprice Coleman leaves commentary to be in at #5.

The Bouncers miss Coleman and crash into each other, leaving Coleman to kick Johnson in the face. Danhausen is confused about Coleman being in the ring but gets shut up by a cutter. Brian Zane joins commentary to replace Coleman, who knocks out Bruiser. Everyone gets together to toss Milonas as well as Sledge is in at #6. Johnson tosses Coleman as Sledge and Danhausen team up. A running boot sends Johnson through the ropes (not eliminated) and it’s PCO in at #7 (out of sixteen apparently, despite everything saying fifteen otherwise).

Johnson is knocked down again but Danhausen tries to break up PCO vs. Sledge. PJ Black is in at #8 as the ring is starting to fill up again. Black cleans a bit of house and joins forces with Johnson to clean some more house. Dak Draper (Zane’s pick) is in at #9 and it’s time for people to pair off. Silas Young is in at #10 but can’t quite get rid of Danhausen. Draper is sent to the apron but manages to backdrop Sledge out. Rey Horus is in at #11 and it’s time to pair off again. With nothing else happening, Dante Caballero comes in at #12 to clean house.

Johnson gets rid of Danhausen and the fans aren’t sure what to do. Everyone gets together to go after PCO, who knocks them all away….and eliminates himself. Flip Gordon, back in his old look, is in at #13 and tosses Young in a hurry. No one can get rid of anyone else and it’s Joe Keys in at #14. Keys and Caballero get together to go after Draper before fighting among themselves. Then they reunite to superkick Gordon and it’s World Famous CB in at #15.

Palm striking abounds and Draper gets rid of Keys and Caballero. The final entrant is Alex Zayne in at #16, giving us a final field of Johnson, Black, Draper, Horus, Gordon, CB and Zayne. We start fast with Zayne going after Draper but getting caught in the Mile High Muffler. That’s reversed into a hurricanrana though and Draper is out as Zayne is already rolling. Johnson Stun Guns Zayne, leaving Horus and CB to slug it out. Horus gets rid of CB but Johnson tosses him as well to clear out more of the ring.

That leaves us with Johnson, Black, Gordon and Zayne and the fans are VERY behind Zayne here. Gordon and Zayne superkick the other two down but neither can get very far by flipping the other. Johnson is back in to take the two of them down but spends too long going after Black, allowing Gordon to get in a quick elimination.

Black elbows Gordon and Zayne in the corner and everyone winds up on the same corner. That means a double hurricanrana from Zayne (egads) but Gordon is back up with the reverse Regal Roll to Black. The running shooting star press makes it worse but Gordon’s Kinder Surprise is countered into an elimination to get us down to two. Black gets a running charge at Zayne but crashes out to the floor to give Zayne the win at 32:07.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving well enough despite the long run time. Zayne returning and winning is fine, as he can have his title match at a one off event somewhere. The rest of the match was just kind of there, but it is always fun to see who is coming out of that curtain when the clock runs out.

Opening sequence.

The opening video focuses on the wrestlers coming into the building and how this is a historic venue. If the walls could talk, they would choose death before dishonor.

Dalton Castle vs. Eli Isom

Castle has the Dancing Boys with him but no Dak Draper, who is listed on his chiron (but winds up on commentary). An early takedown attempt doesn’t work for Castle as Isom strikes away and dropkicks him out to the floor. The Boys (or the Dancing Chickens, according to commentary) offer a distraction though and Castle gets in a cheap shot. Back in and Isom snaps off a suplex but gets dropkicked off the top and out to the floor. There’s a knee against the barricade and we hit a ten second chinlock back inside.

Castle throws him down with a suplex and gets two off a knee to the head. Isom slips out of another suplex though and scores with a running forearm in the corner. A Sidewinder slam gives Isom two and it’s time to slug it out. That means a trip to the floor, with Castle trying something like a 619 onto the apron into a hurricanrana to drop Isom (that wasn’t bad). Hold on though as Draper comes out to deal with the Dancing Chickens so Isom moonsaults onto all of them. Isom has to kick an invading Draper low, allowing Castle to hit the Bang A Rang for the pin at 9:38.

Rating: C. The more I see of Isom, the more I like him and the more over the top villainy we get from Castle, the better he is. It was a good choice for an opener as Castle is a big name around here. Isom got in some offense too and had to deal with the numbers game so this went pretty well for everyone.

Jake Atlas vs. Tyler Rust

They’re both newcomers and recently released from WWE. Commentary makes it clear they are fresh out of the company, which still feels weird to hear (though there is no reason to not mention it). Feeling out process to start with Atlas taking him to the mat and getting in a slap to the face. They trade arm cranking until Atlas grabs a crucifix for two.

Rust’s ankle lock sends Atlas bailing to the floor for a breather, only to get caught with the Shayna Baszler arm stomp back inside. Rust spins him around by the arm but Atlas comes back with a superkick. The chinlock goes on for a bit but Atlas’ arm gives out on a fireman’s carry attempt. Rust loads up the Perfect Circle (bulldog driver) before settling for the Rings of Saturn with his legs to make Atlas tap at 6:55.

Rating: D+. This was little more than a squash for Rust and it wasn’t exactly interesting either. Atlas didn’t do much here and the match was mainly Rust working on the arm until Atlas gave up. I get that this was supposed to be a showcase for both of them, but it felt like something that should have been a warmup for the live fans. Not long after this match, Atlas announced he was stepping away from wrestling, seemingly retiring. I mean….the match wasn’t THAT bad (and yes I know there was probably way more to it than that).

Violence Unlimited vs. Lee Moriarty/LSG/John Walters

It’s Tony Deppen/Homicide/Chris Dickinson for Violence Unlimited here. Moriarty has been on fire as of late and was signed by AEW less than a week before this show. The fans are VERY happy to see Deppen here, as he is the hometown boy. Homicide and Walters start things off with Walters grabbing a headlock to keep him down. Back up and Homicide tries an STF but gets pulled right back into the headlock. Dickinson comes in and gets caught by the arm, allowing LSG to come in and trade rollups.

LSG’s ankle lock is broken up so Deppen comes in to go technical with Moriarty (which seems like a bad idea). Deppen’s leapfrog is pulled out of the air and the abdominal stretch goes on. That’s broken up by Dickinson, who gets caught in an abdominal stretch as well. The rapid fire tags bring Walters and Homicide back in, with Walters tying up Homicide and Deppen in separate holds at the same time.

That’s broken up and it’s a double elbow to drop Walters for a change. Back up and Walters wins a slugout with Homicide, setting up a Backstabber. LSG comes back in to Stun Dickinson and Moriarty gets two off a sunset flip. Rocket By Baby knocks Dickinson silly but Deppen knees LSG in the face to cut him off. Moriarty is right back up with a suicide dive to Deppen and a springboard clothesline for two on Dickinson.

Everything breaks down and Walters ties up Dickinson and Homicide in a double Muta Lock. Deppen breaks that up but gets taken down by LSG as everyone is down again. Back up and Dickinson slugs it out with Moriarty but Homicide sends Moriarty outside. A big running flip dives takes down every non Violence member, leaving Dickinson to Death Valley Driver Moriarty for the pin at 10:57.

Rating: C+. Take a bunch of people and let them go nuts for a good while. It has worked before and it always will, even when you have a team who doesn’t have much of a change at winning. Moriarty and company were outmatched but still managed to hang in there, with Walters looking like a step above everyone else. Nice stuff here, even if it felt like a TV main event.

Post match the losers are left in the ring when the Foundation comes in. Jay Lethal praises all three of them, because they are the kind of guys who make the future bright. Lethal talks about people like Eli Isom and the upcoming new Women’s Champion. He puts over each member of the team on their own, even though Moriarty is leaving. Lethal talks about loving wrestlers like Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Samoa Joe and AJ Styles.

We’re still not done as Lethal talks about Reckless Youth and Alex Shelley. They all love professional wrestling, including Jonathan Gresham. Lethal doesn’t get why the Pure Rules division is considered exciting and new when it is what they all grew up on. the Pure Rules division comes out to applaud from the stage. Pretty awesome speech here, even if it came a bit out of nowhere.

OGK vs. Briscoes

It’s a brawl to start with Mark having to save Jay from the Climax. Things settle down to Taven taking Mark down but missing an elbow to the head. A discus forearm rocks Bennett and it’s time for some Briscoes double stomping in the corner. Mark adds a running forearm and it’s Jay coming in to chop Bennett down. Bennett gets in a shot to the face though and Taven comes in with a missile dropkick to the face. Jay sneaks in off a blind tag and scores with a running big boot as everything breaks down.

OGK loads up a Doomsday Device on the floor but Jay cuts Taven off in a fast save. Taven has to cut off the same thing and then moonsaults down onto Jay (and Bennett, while sticking the landing). Mark isn’t done and dives onto everyone, setting up a big boot for two on Taven back inside. Jay’s neckbreaker gets the same but Taven scores with a knee to the face. That means a seated armbar can keep Jay in trouble, at least until Mark comes in to clean house.

There’s a dropkick through the ropes to drop Taven and another does the same to Bennett. Back in and the Froggy Bow gives Mark two on Taven with Bennett making the save. A chair is thrown in but Bennett breaks up Redneck Boogie, which would have given Taven an extreme case of pain. Mark uses the chair for a springboard flip dive onto Bennett but Taven rolls Jay up for the pin at 13:21.

Rating: B. Ring of Honor knows how to do big tag team matches and the Briscoes are as good as anyone else going right now. That makes a win over them like this feel like such a big deal and OGK got something out of this. It was a hard hitting, back and forth match so well done on doing exactly what they should have done. I liked this and I’m not even a bit surprised.

We recap Josh Woods vs. Jonathan Gresham for the Pure Wrestling Title. Woods is an amateur wrestling champion and Gresham has been Pure Wrestling Champion for the better part of ever. This is a dream match in this kind of wrestling so it wasn’t hard to set up.

Pure Wrestling Title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Josh Woods

Woods is challenging. The fans are split to start and believe it or not, they start with some grappling. Woods takes him down by the arm but gets pulled into a test of strength, meaning it’s time to flip around with the hands interlocked. Back up and they fight over some grappling with neither being able to get anywhere. They go over to the ropes and we’ll call that a double rope break, which doesn’t sit well with either of them. Woods takes him down again and goes for the leg, which is broken up in a hurry.

Another try, this time with Woods going after the arm, is countered into a headscissors. Back up and Gresham scores with a kick to the arm but Woods is fine enough to suplex him out of the corner. They grapple into the ropes and the referee yells a lot over them not breaking. For some reason that isn’t another rope break so they trade armbars until they both go to the ropes again, which this time calls for their second break each. That means another standoff until they fight over a small package…until it’s a double pin at 11:46.

Yeah that’s not happening, as Gresham says we’re not done yet. The bell rings again and they slap it out until they go to the mat and grab each others’ legs. A roll to the ropes means they both use their third and final break. Gresham gets two off a sunset flip and a cradle but Woods pulls him into a sleeper with a bodyscissors. That’s broken up as well with a shot to the arm and a headscissors but Woods knees him in the face for a double knockdown.

Gresham goes right back to the arm and drives in elbows to the neck. They fight over an ankle lock until Woods grabs Rolling Chaos Theory for two as…..it looked liked Woods just dropped the cover. A slugout goes to Gresham with a bridging German suplex into an armbar. Woods reverses that as well into a Tombstone, which he flips backwards into a suplex to pin Gresham for the title at 20:01.

Rating: B-. I get the appeal of a match like this but I wasn’t feeling the mirroring each other deal. That doesn’t feel so much like a classic match as much as it feels like two people having a match they put together really intricately backstage and then performed it out here. Throw in the rope breaks being a little weird (especially with the referee not calling it every time) and this was only good when it could have been great. Gresham had to lose the title at some point and Woods gets a heck of a rub from the win too.

Respect is shown post match.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Shane Taylor Promotions vs. La Faccion Ingobernable

Shane Taylor/Soldiers of Savagery (with Ron Hunt/O’Shay Edwards) are defending for the Promotions against Dragon Lee/Kenny King/La Bestia del Ring, under Lucha Rules. Hold on though as King jumps Taylor with a chair, meaning Edwards will be taking his place. Khan takes Lee down to start and it’s already time for the slugout. That goes badly for Lee, who gets hammered down in the corner but Lee knocks him outside for a breather.

Moses comes in and kicks Lee in the face so it’s off to Bestia to drop Moses with a shoulder. That isn’t enough of a slugout so we’ll try Shane vs. King for a change. They trade hard shots to the jaw until Shane plants him with a spinebuster. Everything breaks down until Lee takes over on Khan in the corner. King adds a legdrop for two as the villains take over…for at least a few seconds as it’s back to Moses to really clean house.

Everything breaks down again and Lee knees Khan in the head for two with Shane making the save. King gets caught in the old MNM Snapshot but Bestia dives onto Shane. Lee hits a heck of a running dive onto Khan and King tries his own running corkscrew dive, which hits Lee by mistake. We settle back down to King spinebustering Moses and adding a springboard Blockbuster. Cue Shane to chair King in the head though and Moses gets the retaining pin at 11:33.

Rating: C+. This was your required faction war and, as usual, it was entertaining but not the most interesting. It feels like we have been doing these things for the better part of forever now and that gets repetitive in a hurry. The match was fun and Shane interfering made sense, but factions trading wins and losses over and over again gets a little old.

We recap the Women’s Title match between Rok-C and Miranda Alize. It’s a tournament final to crown the next inaugural champion so it’s back to back “we worked hard to get here” speeches.

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.

We recap the main event. Bandido is World Champion, Demonic Flamita is his former stable mate, and Brody King/EC3 are top challengers. Go have a four way for the title.

Ring of Honor World Title: Bandido vs. Demonic Flamita vs. Brody King vs. EC3

Bandido is defending and this is under elimination rules (as it should be). They stare at each other for a bit until Flamita drops outside, leaving the other three to fight among themselves. Bandido is sent outside as well so EC3 hammers on King. A Cactus Clothesline puts them on the floor so Bandido and Flamita take their places to pick up the pace. Bandido spins around Flamita into a headscissors to the floor, setting up the big running flip dive. Bandido isn’t done so he hits a big dive onto EC3, only to keep going and land in the crowd.

We settle down to EC3 brainbustering Bandido and it’s off to the neck crank. Flamita breaks that up (because reasons) so EC3 clotheslines him down for a change. Bandido comes back in and gets suplexed for his efforts so King is back in as well. That earns him a powerbomb out of the corner and EC3 powerbombs Bandido onto King for a bonus. Flamita’s chair shot to EC3 has no effect so he takes it away and chairs Flamita….which is a DQ to eliminate EC3 at 8:57. IN A FOUR WAY??? Flamita thinks it’s brilliant, which I’ll take as it gets rid of EC3.

We get the big sad walk off from ECW, leaving Flamita and Bandido to reform Mexiblood to take King down. Unfortunately this means the return of the Floss Dance but King isn’t having any of this and punches both of them in the face. A Doomsday Canadian Destroyer takes King down but Bandido turns on Flamita (as he should) for a near fall. Flamita is then launched at King on the floor, leaving Bandido to moonsault onto both of them. King saves Bandido from the MuscleBuster and it’s the All Seeing Eye to finish Flamita at 13:47.

Bandido and King shake hands and then start the brawl in a hurry. King drives Bandido’s pile for two and then chops the heck out of him on top. That just earns King a top rope hurricanrana for two and the crucifix bomb is good for the same. A shooting star press gives Bandido one and King turns him inside out with a lariat. The Ganso Bomb is loaded up but Bandido rolls around about thirty seven times until la majistral retains the title at 17:12.

Rating: B-. The action was good, but the match felt rather tacked on and that’s not a good thing. I couldn’t begin to tell you why these three people were getting a title shot in a four way elimination match and that’s one of the places where Ring of Honor needs some work. They are very light in storylines (which is a fine direction to take), but it can make for some weird moments when people aren’t wrestling on TV for months at a time and are suddenly getting pay per view title shots. Bandido is still awesome, but this wasn’t the most thrilling main event.

Post match the Foundation comes out to congratulate Bandido, with Jonathan Gresham taking a long look at the title. Cue the Righteous to applaud as well, because stables are cool.

Overall Rating: B-. As much as I wasn’t thrilled with it coming into the show, the Women’s Title match should have headlined here. It really was a good match and felt like a big deal, which was not the case with the main event. There wasn’t anything truly bad on the entire show and I liked what I saw for the most part, but there was nothing on here, save for maybe the Women’s Title match, that I am going to remember in just a few days.

Ring of Honor is in a weird place at the moment, as they still have rather good TV, but there is nothing going on that would make me want to see what happens next. You know you’re going to get some solid action, but they haven’t had a hot story in years. The stable/faction wars are beyond stale and seeing two more of them coming out at the end made me roll my eyes more than anything else. Overall it’s a good show because of the wrestling itself, but some upgrades in the stories would be a very welcome change.

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Ring of Honor
Date: September 29, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Last week was a rather unique show as everything was focused on the Pure Rules division. That worked for a one off, but I could go for something else this week. Hopefully that is the case, as it should be time for the fallout from Death Before Dishonor. You never know what you’re getting around here though so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay gives us the welcome and the rundown.

Brian Johnson is ready to take over the Pure Rules division. PJ Black comes up and says if he wins, Johnson has to shake his hands. Deal.

PJ Black vs. Brian Johnson

Pure Rules and Johnson says Black is the only non-bozo on the roster. He even handles his own entrance to save Bobby Cruise some time. Black, Johnson’s former mentor, says he didn’t teach Johnson everything. They go to the mat to start with Black working on the arm, setting up a front facelock. A headscissors has Johnson in more trouble and Black headlock takeovers him to make it worse. Back up and Black sweeps the legs, setting up a dropkick for a fast two.

That’s enough for Johnson to need a breather on the floor but he gets caught in another armbar back inside. The first rope break is used and Johnson gets kicked right back to the floor. Black hits a dive on the floor, followed by a top rope ax handle to the head back inside. There’s a high crossbody for two more on Johnson, who avoids a springboard as we take a break.

Back with Johnson hitting a knee to the ribs and spelling his nickname. Black scores with a backdrop into the rocking horse, but carries Johnson over to the ropes, which actually counts as Johnson’s second break. A belly to back suplex lets Black go up top but Johnson is up with a double clothesline for the double knockdown. Back up and the slug it out until Black throws him down by the beard (geez).

A kick to the face means Johnson has to use his final rope break, but he knocks Black into the corner. The referee almost gets bumped and the distraction lets Johnson get in a thumb to the eye. Black goes to the ropes so the referee tells the announcer that’s a break, allowing Johnson to punch Black in the face. The Process finishes Black at 10:58.

Rating: C. The ending was a little more complicated than it needed to be as the rope breaks are getting quite a bit of emphasis. The Pure Rules stuff is starting to take over a lot of television time, which can get a little annoying when there is so much that barely ever gets any focus. At least it is pretty good though, which matters quite a bit.

Post match Black says he isn’t happy with losing, but he shakes Johnson’s hand for a smart move.

Post break, Johnson doesn’t think much of Brian Zane, who is actually dumber than Quinn McKay. PJ Black comes back in to endorse Johnson again, which isn’t surprising.

Video on the women’s division.

Eli Isom loves to see Ryan Mooney showcase himself, but he isn’t winning.

Ryan Mooney is fired up about how much he loves Eli Isom, but Isom isn’t beating him.

We see the last few minutes of the Foundation vs. Violence Unlimited in an eight man tag at Glory By Honor. Looks like a heck of a match, with Jay Lethal pinning Tony Deppen with the Lethal Injection to give the Foundation the win.

Kenny King vs. Jay Lethal vs. Brody King vs. Shane Taylor

One fall to a finish, everyone gets a pre-match promo talking about how great they/their faction is, and Ring of Honor REALLY loves their faction stuff. Brody shoves Lethal down to start so Lethal starts pounding on the arm. That’s enough to send Brody into the corner, where Taylor tags himself in. Lethal gets powered into the corner and Taylor blasts him with a clothesline.

That means Lethal needs a new plan so he dragon screw legwhips Taylor into the corner, where Kenny can tag himself in. Lethal is sent into the corner for the third time, allowing Kenny to hit the cartwheel into the basement dropkick (ala Lethal’s trademark). Brody comes back in, drops Lethal with a right, and does the same to Kenny for good measure. Kenny is sat on top and chopped back into the ring, setting up Brody’s backsplash for two.

Back up and Kenny manages to kick him into the corner, setting up the Blockbuster for two of his own. Taylor grabs Kenny’s foot though and Brody hits a hard clothesline. It’s back to Taylor to slug it out with Brody, with Shane knocking him outside. Back in and Taylor catches Kenny in a hanging Stunner, followed by the Marcus Garvey Driver to Lethal. Somehow Kenny manages a Blue Thunder Bomb on Taylor, but Brody runs him over. Brody lariats Taylor for the pin at 12:54.

Rating: B-. They kept this moving, though it never quite felt like all four were involved at once. This was a lot of singles matches bunched together, which doesn’t make for the most thrilling stuff. I’m rather over the faction stuff, as it has been going on for a long time and doesn’t really go anywhere other than trading titles back and forth. Brody getting a World Title shot would not surprise me though, as Final Battle is starting to loom.

Brody and Taylor shake hands, but a singles match seems likely.

Overall Rating: C+. This did have a little bit better of a mixture, but there is only so much going on around here at the moment. We’re fresh off of a pay per view, but there are still very few storylines going on. That has long since been a problem in Ring of Honor and it can make for some dry stretches. It’s still rather good wrestling though and that is more than enough to keep me interested for a very long time going forward.

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Ring of Honor
Date: August 11, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni

We are still firmly in middle of the Women’s Title tournament, which dominated last week’s show. That meant a kind of hit or miss collection of matches, as you can only get so far with a bunch of wrestlers we haven’t seen before having short matches. While it wasn’t bad, it was lacking some interest, which hopefully is here this time. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We look at Allysin Kay defeating Willow to advance on the non-televised show.

Quinn McKay says she has come up short time after time and that is because of the Allure. Now it is her last shot and it is guaranteed to be one on one. Now she is getting her chance to thank the fans by beating Mandy Leon.

Mandy Leon thinks this is rigged because McKay has lost her two matches but is in the tournament anyway. Why is McKay here with one of the founding mothers of the division? No worries as she’ll take McKay out.

Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Quinn McKay vs. Mandy Leon

Rematch from a few weeks ago when Leon needed Angelina Love’s help to beat McKay. A spear cuts Mandy down at the bell but it’s too early for the Tangerine Dream. Mandy needs a breather on the floor but McKay follows her out to keep up the brawl. Back in and Mandy gets in a shot to the face though, allowing her to stomp away in the corner. A butterfly suplex gives Mandy two and we take a break.

We come back with a Hennig necksnap giving Mandy another two. Some forearms to the back in the corner allow for even more trash talk, setting up a running Unprettier for two more. The frustration is setting in and McKay avoids a charge in the corner, allowing a neckbreaker to connect for two. A powerslam sets up most of the Tangerine Dream but Mandy is out with a Backpack Stunner. Mandy’s Astral Projection is loaded up but McKay reverses into a cradle for the upset pin at 7:12.

Rating: C. This was the only way this match could wind up going and they got it right. McKay going on a serious run throughout the entire tournament would not be a surprise and I could go for seeing her do just that. Odds are the Allure messes with her again at some point and it wouldn’t be shocking to see them cost her. For now though, this worked well.

Commentary goes nuts at the upset and McKay runs over to celebrate with them.

Marti Belle got into wrestling because it was a little bit of everything she wanted to do. Trisha Adora wants to show you what she can do and is a military veteran. They have both been through adversity and Adora is fighting for her mother, who has cancer.

Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Marti Belle vs. Trish Adora

They go with the grappling to start as Adora spins out of an early wristlock. That doesn’t last long so they’re back up for another standoff. Belle headlocks her down as we hear about Adora being a chess aficionado. Back up and Belle blocks the Lariat Tubman (ok then) with an ax handle to the arm and we take an early break.

We come back with Belle’s running knee getting two and Adora’s arm being wrapped around the rope. A running knee gets a delayed two on Adora but she fights back with forearms to the head. Adora gets in a kick to the arm and a judo throw sets up some hard kicks. That’s enough for Adora, who grabs the Cattle Mutilation for the tap at 7:13.

Rating: C. Another perfectly fine match here without much that is going to stick with me. It helps a bit to have Belle as a more familiar face, though it is still not exactly great. The match wasn’t bad but it also wasn’t quite memorable, making this the most “there” match that I have seen in a little while now.

We look back at Bandido winning the World Title at Best in the World.

Brody King/Chris Dickinson vs. Rey Horus/Bandido

King and Dickinson are ready to hurt people. The luchadors try chopping away at the bell and are taken straight into the corner to start the choking. Dickinson takes Horus down into a Crossface to start and then chops him down again. King comes in to run Horus over and the neck crank goes on.

We take a break and come back with the stomping continuing in the corner as Horus stays in trouble. Horus finally manages to get away and the hot tag brings in Bandido to start cleaning house. King gets dropkicked down and there’s a heck of a gorilla press to Dickinson. The big Fosbury Flop to the floor takes out King and Dickinson and it’s some running clotheslines on Dickinson back inside.

Horus gets knocked outside though and King grabs the Boston crab. Horus’ dropkicks don’t break it up and he gets pulled down into the Crossface from Dickinson. Both are broken up and Dickinson brainbusters Bandido for two. Back up and the 21 Plex is countered, only to have Bandido drop Dickinson with it for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. Bandido feels like the World Champion and it was a good match, though the ending came a bit out of nowhere and it didn’t really get the time to be built up. What matters here is getting Bandido a win to keep him moving forward as champion, as it might be a while before he has his first major title defense.

Post match the rest of La Faccion Ingobernable runs in to go after Bandido, with Rush ripping off the mask. Violence Unlimited comes in for the brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a pretty flat show, as the tournament is only so interesting and the rest of the show wasn’t anything great. That is the regular trouble with tournaments, as they have a tendency to overshadow everything else and take away so much of the focus. It’s still perfectly watchable, but don’t expect much to change until we get to the finals.

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Best In The World 2021
Date: July 11, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 1,250
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time for the fans to be back here as well, which should make things a little more energetic. Ring of Honor has been one of the more consistently quality TV shows as of late and now they need to make that work on television as well. That might be easier said than done though so let’s get to it.

It really is cool to see some fans back.

Tracy Williams is out of the Tag Team Title match due to being hit by a car a few weeks back, so Jay Lethal will be defending in his place.

Pre-Show: Demonic Flaimta vs. Rey Horus

This is a rematch from the Survival of the Fittest qualifying round. Horus knocks him to the floor to start and snaps off a hurricanrana from the apron. Flamita gets whipped into the barricade but he is fine enough to dropkick Horus out of the air back inside. A running kick to the head gives Flamita a rather arrogant near fall and it’s time to slap Horus in the mask. Flamita stays cocky and cuts Horus down with some chops. Horus gets back up for a middle rope bodyscissors to the floor, naturally setting up the big no hands dive.

Back in and Horus hits a crazy springboard spinning tornado DDT for two. They get back up and slug it out until Flamita gets in a sitout powerbomb for two of his own. A frog splash onto Horus’ lets leaves both of them down until they slug it out from their knees. Back to back superkicks rock Horus, who grabs a satellite DDT for two more. Horus goes up top and gets pulled down with the MuscleBuster into the knees to the chest. Another superkick gives Flamita two so he tries another, only to get sunset flipped to give Horus the pin at 9:49.

Rating: B-. Take two luchadors and let them fly all over the place for about ten minutes. What better way is there to wake up a crowd for the rest of the night? Ring of Honor, like many other promotions before it, knew what they needed to do here and it worked out again. These guys were all over the place and that’s exactly what they should have been doing.

Post match Flamita drops Horus again and even spits on him.

Bouncers vs. PCO/Danhausen

The Bouncers have Ken Dixon with him. Brawler Milonas jumps PCO before the bell and it’s Danhausen in early trouble. Beer City Bruiser comes in to slam Danhausen, allowing Brawler to send him into the corner by the neck. A running clothesline drops Danhausen again and it’s time to choke on the ropes. It’s off to Bruiser for a clothesline of his own and it’s a Samoan drop into Brawler’s falling splash.

Danhausen avoids a charge in the corner though and manages a German suplex, allowing the hot tag to PCO. Striking abounds, setting up a crossbody of all things. PCO busts out a pair of dives onto both Bouncers and helps Danhausen chokeslam Bruiser. Cue Sledge to stare at PCO and Danhausen but Brawler takes PCO down.

Bruiser hits something like a Vader Bomb from the apron to the floor to crush PCO (egads), leaving Danhausen alone. Danhausen gets caught in a powerbomb from Brawler (Danhausen: “NO! PUT ME DOWN!”), which he slips out of to set up a hurricanrana off the apron and into the post. A quick pat wakes up PCO and Danhausen’s headbutt rocks Bruiser. Goodnighthausen is broken up so Danhausen manages an AA onto the teeth. The PCOsault finishes Bruiser at 9:05.

Rating: C. I can go for this kind of lighthearted comedy where they make no secret about what they are doing. Yeah it’s goofy but that’s the point, as Danhausen is in the exact right spot. If you want to have him team with PCO as a goofy team for awhile then so be it, as they aren’t going to win the titles or anything. Have some fun and don’t go anywhere beyond that.

Post match, PCO and Sledge have their staredown with Danhausen breaking it up.

The opening video looks at some of the bigger matches. They’re keeping it simple here.

PJ Black/Brian Johnson vs. Briscoe Brothers

The Brothers are back on the same page after beating each other up on their farm. Johnson yells at the fans on the way to the ring, because they’re all fat people who got fatter during the pandemic. He doesn’t like the idiot Briscoes either because they all like kissing their cousin. We even get a few jabs at Mama Briscoe, which is not likely going to go well. Johnson brags about being the best in the ring and on the mic so everyone will know his name.

It’s a big brawl to start (again, you don’t mess with a mama) and the Briscoes get the better of it, because Black messed with Mama Briscoe. Mark uses a chair for a big dive to drop Johnson and we settle down to Mark chopping at him inside. Jay comes in for the uppercuts and Mark does the same, as Ian says Happy Birthday to his mom (who you shouldn’t mess with either).

It’s off to Black, who kicks Mark in the face a few times to take over. Johnson adds a slam into an elbow drop for two and the referee takes some yelling. Mark isn’t having that though and fights up to bring Jay back in. The yelling and fighting are both on with Jay getting the better of things on Johnson. Black breaks up Redneck Boogie and Jay accidentally knocks Mark outside.

Johnson’s rollup gets two and Black breaks up the Doomsday Device. The Spike Eskin plants Jay and sets up a 450 to give Black two of his own. Jay kicks Black off the apron and Mark hits the kick through the ropes to Black. The apron Blockbuster drops Johnson and there’s the Cactus Elbow. Back in and the Jay Driller into the Froggy Bow finishes Black at 8:06.

Rating: C. This could have been fine as a TV main event so it works out well for a pay per view opener. The main point here was to establish that the Briscoes are back on the same page, which is a nice followup after their Fight On The Farm. It didn’t have much drama, but should there be between these teams?

We recap EC3 vs. Flip Gordon. EC3 was not happy with Gordon cheating to win a tag match because it does not fit with EC3’s Quest For Honor. At least it’s better than whatever he had been doing in the past few months.

EC3 vs. Flip Gordon

I’m not big on either guy so let’s get this over with already. They shake hands to start, with Gordon pulling him into a headlock for the opening bell. A hard shoulder drops Gordon but he’s right back up with the headlock. Gordon goes after the knee to take over and unloads on him with chops in the corner. A Ricky Steamboat style double chop puts Gordon down again but he takes out the knee in the corner.

There’s a dropkick to the knee to put EC3 on the floor, with the fans not sounding pleased. The leg cranking is on back inside but EC3 powers out, meaning it’s off to a chop off. The Psycho Boy takes Gordon down but the knee gives out again, allowing Gordon to bail to the floor. Gordon sweeps the legs and wraps the knee around the post to take over again.

Back in and the Submit To Flip goes on until EC3 makes it over to the ropes. Gordon goes up but gets top rope superplexed back down for the big crash. Gordon’s springboard….something is chopped out of the air but the knee doesn’t let EC3 follow up. A low superkick rocks EC3, who smiles up at him. That means it’s an Angel’s Wings into the Purpose (Bank Statement) finishes Gordon at 11:14.

Rating: C+. They worked a nice match here and both guys looked good, though it wasn’t exactly a smash. EC3 sold the leg well as it messed with his offense, but I’m still not sure I get what he is doing. It seems to be working for him, but a bit clearer of an explanation would be nice.

Post match Gordon slaps him in the face instead of shaking his hand, so EC3 extends his hand again. Another slap gets the same result, so Gordon spits in his face and walks off.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Dalton Castle/Eli Isom/Dak Draper vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Shane Taylor Promotions (Taylor/Soldiers of Savagery (Moses/Khan), with O’Shay Edwards) are defending. Castle’s jumpsuit is back and so are the Dancing Boys, because they better be. Draper takes Khan to the mat to start as we hear about Khan being a prince in Cameroon. Khan goes with the power and runs him over, allowing the double tag off to Isom and Moses. A dropkick staggers Moses but Isom tries a waistlock for no apparent reasons.

Castle comes in instead and points out that the fans are chanting for him (not exactly). The threat of wrestling earns Castle a hard push back into the corner but he low bridges Moses outside. The tease of a dive lets Castle drop to to the floor and hop onto the barricade for some more dancing. Back in and Castle gets all fired up on Shane, who drops him with a single chop. Isom comes in again and is planted with a spinebuster, allowing Khan to come back in for a suplex.

It’s back to Draper, who snapmares Khan down to drop a knee to the face, allowing Castle to snap off a t-bone suplex. The fast tags continue with Isom coming back in for a belly to belly, but Castle wants to come in instead. The delay lets Moses come in and wreck the challengers as everything breaks down. Back in and Draper picks up the pace, along with Moses for a powerslam, only to be told that Shane made a blind tag.

For some reason Draper thinks he can Dr. Bomb Taylor, who easily reverses into the Marcus Garvey Driver instead. Castle breaks that up so Isom comes back in for a rather impressive Air Raid Crash….as Castle is being tended to by the Boys on the floor. Isom goes up instead of covering but has to shove Castle off for trying to go up at the same time. That’s enough for Khan to hit a super Jackhammer (geez) and it’s time for the parade of finishers. Taylor has had enough of this and hits Draper with Welcome To The Land to retain at 10:56.

Rating: C. This was a very story heavy match as Castle continues to be a bit of a self obsessed pest, but how can you not love the jumpsuit? Isom continues to look like a star in the making and Ring of Honor is about the only place he could make that work at the moment. I’m still not sure why these titles exist, but the match was ok enough.

We get an ad for Honor Pals, Ring of Honor’s version of Wrestling Buddies, because those are the greatest wrestling toys ever.

Silas Young vs. Josh Woods

Last Man Standing and this former mentor vs. former mentee. They even make things a bit more interesting by pointing out that Young is 3-0 in Last Man Standing matches, making it his signature match. Woods jumps him from behind in the aisle though, because woods is smart like that. Young gets sent hard into the barricade but he is right back up with a springboard clothesline to put Woods on the apron. A hard forearm to the back cuts Young down again and Woods knocks him outside again.

Woods grabs a chair but Young shoves the referee into him (smart) to take it away. A chaos suplex off the barricade drops Woods again and it’s time to set up a table. We’ll add a ladder next to the apron, with Ian explaining that it’s there to fix the lighting. Woods sends him into the ladder and throws in a table of his own. Said table is set up in the corner, followed by a bunch of running strikes to Young in the corner. Young picks him up for a drive through the table though and it’s time to slug it out from their knees.

Woods pulls him into a leglock with Young crawling underneath the ropes and tapping to no avail. Yet another table is set up next to the other one on the floor but Young gets in a low blow for a breather. For some reason Young tries a running hurricanrana and is quickly powerbombed onto the ladder for his efforts. Woods throws in a bunch of chairs but gets caught in a backbreaker back inside. A chair shot to the back has Woods in trouble and Young nails Misery for a nine count. They slug it out on the apron above the two tables….and Woods German suplexes Young through both of them for the win at 13:10.

Rating: B-. That’s how it should have gone as these guys beat each other up for a good while until Woods survived. They built up the idea that Young was the best guy at this kind of match and then had someone beat him. Woods has been ready to break through to the next level for a long time now, though I’m not sure if this is going to be the big step forward.

During Hour One, Vincent challenged Matt Taven to a cage match in August and then beat him down.

From the trainer’s room, Taven accepts.

Brody King vs. Jay Lethal

Tracy Williams is here with Lethal. King powers him down with no effort to start and tells Lethal to bring it. A strike off doesn’t work for Lethal either so it’s a very early Lethal Injection for one. King bails to the floor so Lethal hits four straight suicide dives. That isn’t enough to put King down so Lethal hits a baseball slide, which doesn’t put him down either. Instead, King knocks him down again and throws him over the top by the throat. Back in and Lethal is chopped down in the corner as he can’t get anything to work so far.

King hammers away in the corner but Lethal slips out of a superplex and hits a powerbomb. That doesn’t last long either as King is back with a snap piledriver. King pounds him into a chair and hits a running crossbody to knock them both down. A Death Valley Driver onto the apron gets two on Lethal and he can’t even stand up for the Ganso Bomb. That means a hard running lariat to knock Lethal even sillier, followed by a pair of Ganso Bombs for the pin at 10:43.

Rating: C+. The more I see from this version of King, the more I’m expecting him to be the Final Battle World Title challenger. He was treated like a monster here and basically squashed Lethal, whose biggest stuff didn’t do much damage. That’s the right way to go with this and the Ganso Bomb looks like the biggest weapon going at the moment. Nice job.

We recap Mike Bennett vs. Jonathan Gresham for the Pure Rules Title. Bennett won a Pure Rules gauntlet match to earn a title shot but Gresham flat out said he didn’t respect him. Bennett has heard that over and over again but Gresham says this is all about his legacy. Now it’s time for Bennett to prove him wrong.

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.

Jay Lethal is too banged up to defend the Tag Team Titles so Tracy Williams asks Jonathan Gresham to take his place. Gresham reluctantly agrees.

TV Title: Tony Deppen vs. Dragon Lee

Deppen is defending, Lee has La Bestia de la Ring in his corner and Kenny King is on commentary. They go straight to the slugout to start with neither being able to get very far with the forearms. They try chops instead with Lee knocking him into the corner, where Deppen reverses for more chops of his own. Lee gets knocked outside so Deppen follows him, only to get kicked in the chest.

Deppen pounds him down again, setting up a suicide Canadian Destroyer, which is only good for two because the Destroyer is more played out than the DDT. Back in and Lee is fine enough to hit a shotgun dropkick in the corner. With Deppen in trouble, Lee puts him on top for an Alberto double stomp to the apron (dang that always looks rough) but Deppen is right back in with a small package for two.

It’s bad enough that King heads to the ring for a distraction so it’s an exchange of no sold German suplexes. Lee hits a poisonrana but Deppen pops back up for the double clothesline to put them both down. Back up and Lee kicks the knee out the Dragon Driver gets two more as frustration is setting in. More kicks just fire Deppen up and he chops away, only to get suplexed into a powerbomb. The Incinerator gives Lee the title back at 10:10.

Rating: C+. This was a spotfest and that might get a little annoying in a hurry. What are you supposed to do when a match features a suicide Canadian Destroyer for two? They weren’t even bother to sell a lot of the time here and while I get the idea, it was hardly the best thing to see. Entertaining perhaps, but it took me out of things more than once.

King comes in to celebrate so here are Homicide and Chris Dickinson to chase them off. They’re challenging for the Tag Team Titles next so here are the champs to start the match less than two minutes after the previous one ended.

Tag Team Titles: Foundation vs. Violence Unlimited

Rhett Titus and Jonathan Gresham are defending for the Foundation in a Fight Without Honor (basically a street fight). The brawl is on in a hurry with Gresham beating Dickinson up on the floor. That leaves Titus to send Homicide into a chair in the ring as the violence begins. Dickinson catches Titus on top though and shoves him into an open chair (freaking ow man) but Gresham is back in with an abdominal stretch on Homicide.

With that broken up, Gresham kicks the chairs out….as Titus gives Homicide a Falcon Arrow through the timekeeper’s table. Back in and Dickinson chokes Gresham with I believe a shirt but can’t quite get an armbar. The Death Valley Driver gets two on Gresham and Homicide is back with a super cutter on Titus. That’s not even good for a cover as Titus is up with a powerslam with Dickinson having to make a save. Titus goes Rob Van Dam with a dropkick into a chair (not quite a Van Daminator but close enough), leaving Gresham to Octopus Homicide.

Dickinson breaks it up again and it’s a camel clutch into a Homicide basement dropkick. An STF has Gresham in more trouble and Homicide throws in a table, which Gresham shoves out while still in the hold. Gresham won’t tap so Homicide busts out a fork but Titus breaks it up with a gutwrench suplex. Titus sets up the table but Dickinson breaks up a superplex attempt, meaning it’s a super Razor’s Edge to send Titus crashing through the table. Homicide busts out the always terrifying Cop Killer on Gresham for the pin and the titles at 11:01.

Rating: C. I couldn’t get into this as it was like they had two different matches going on at once. Gresham was trying to do his technical stuff and the other three were having a hardcore brawl (makes sense for Homicide and Dickinson). It also felt like they were flying through everything here to get things done in a hurry, especially with the fast start. Not bad or anything but I couldn’t get into this.

Here is Maria Kanellis-Bennett to introduce former Ring of Honor broadcaster Lenny Leonard, who will be calling the Women’s Title tournament. We even have brackets!

Sumie Sakai
Rok-C

Mandy Leon
Vita VonStarr

Max
Holidead

Angelina Love
BYE

Alize
Gracia

Mazzerati
Nicole Savoy

Allysin Kay
Willow

Marti Belle
Adora

Some of those are missing first/last names but that’s as much as we get.

Actually hold on though as Vita VonStarr is out due to breaking rules, so we have a replacement: Chelsea Green, who says this is what freedom looks like. She just spent two and a half years being deemed unworthy so she is here to prove that she is enough. The Maryland Athletic Commission has deemed her unfit to compete, but she will be ringside throughout the tournament watching everyone. Her scars remind her that she is unstoppable and in one month, she is taking this division to the forefront of wrestling. So we still don’t know who is getting the final spot.

We recap the World Title match. Bandido won Survival of the Fittest to earn the shot and he is coming for the unstoppable Rush.

Ring of Honor World Title: Rush vs. Bandido

Bandido is challenging and gets jumped at the bell, with Rush hitting the Bull’s Horns at six seconds for a one count as he pulls his foot off of Bandido’s chest. They head outside with Bandido being whipped into the barricade to take the beating into the crowd. Back to ringside and a heck of a whip sends Bandido into the barricade, setting up the whipping with the camera cord.

They get back inside with Rush cockily kicking away and stomping on Bandido’s head. There’s another kick to the face in the corner and Rush is feeding off of the crowd. Bandido falls outside and Rush cracks him in the leg with a chair. More playing to the crowd lets Bandido get up for a desperation dive, his first offense in about five minutes. Back in and a shooting star press gets two on Rush as the leg is mostly fine. Rush grabs (kind of) him low to ask where something is but charges into an attempt at the X Knee.

That’s broken up as Rush hits a superkick instead, only to get caught in a crucifix bomb for two. An overhead belly to belly sends Bandido hard into the corner and he gets dropkicked out of the air. Rush sends him outside for a big dive and let’s get a table. Bandido manages to get back inside for a superkick though and a running shove sends Rush through the table. Back in and they trade some snap German suplexes until Bandido hits a pop up touch of the head (supposed to be a cutter).

That earns him a spinning kick to the head (fair enough as it was nowhere near a cutter, which commentary pointed out) and they’re both down again. It’s Rush up first to drag Bandido to the apron by the hair but Bandido is back up with the super fall away slam. The 21 Plex connects for two and the fans think this is awesome. Bandido charges into another suplex into the corner and Rush starts tearing at the mask. A shove of the referee is enough for Bandido to grab a rollup for the pin and the title at 16:04.

Rating: B+. These guys started fast and didn’t stop, which is how a match like this is supposed to go. They had one heck of a hard hitting fight with Rush being the monster who got too cocky and let the athletic freak catch up to him in the end as he went over the line. The match absolutely didn’t feel like sixteen minutes and it was the right call as Rush had been champion for far too long already. Heck of a main event and worth a look as Bandido jumps through the glass ceiling.

Post match, La Faccion Ingobernable runs in to beat down Bandido, with Rush getting in a belt shot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s a rather good show with the main event leading the way, but it was also a bit longer than it needed to be and a match or two could have been dropped. What matters most here though is some stuff happened, as so much of Ring of Honor TV feels like it just keeps happening with no end in sight. Good show here, but it could have used more than a few adjustments.

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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AND

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