Ring of Honor
Date: August 31, 2016
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 850
Commentators: Matt Taven, Kevin Kelly

This is another show that’s only kind of related to the main stories but there’s a chance that we might get some new stuff this week. If nothing else there is a title match this week as the Addiction defends the Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks. Last week’s stand alone show was good so hopefully they can continue that trend here. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Shane Taylor/Keith Lee vs. War Machine

Grudge match between two big teams. Kelly finally explains the story as Ray Rowe trained Taylor but Taylor turned on him and decided he was ready to be part of the better team. That’s a story that is going to work every single time and it’s fine here. Thankfully they don’t even bother wrestling here as it’s a huge brawl with Hanson dives onto Taylor, only to have Lee land on his feet to counter a monkey flip. The brawl heads outside with Lee and Hanson both being sent into barricades. War Machine starts getting the better of it with Rowe slamming Hanson onto Lee for a good looking crash.

Back in and Taylor slugs it out with Hanson, only to have Lee come over to really take over for the first time. We take a break and come back with Hanson on offense, only to get caught in something like a double chokeslam. A blind tag brings in Rowe and a springboard clothesline into a German suplex gets two on Lee. Rowe gets caught in an AA into a Jackhammer (that was SWEET) for two with Hanson making the save. Lee somehow kicks out of a sitout powerbomb and a suplex into a sitout powerbomb puts Hanson away at 11:28.

Rating: B. This was the PERFECT way to book this match and I liked it more than I was expecting to. There was no reason to waste time with the regular tag stuff so they just had two teams beat the heck out of each other with one big power move after another. Sometimes you need to switch up the booking and go with what makes sense and that’s exactly what we got here.

David Starr vs. Cheeseburger vs. Joey Daddiego vs. Tim Hughes

Bob Evans is on commentary and here’s BJ Whitmer to sit in on commentary. The four guys in the ring do nothing interesting as we hear about BJ going around the world and eating a positive cookie. Starr dives onto Hughes and Evans and Daddiego throws Cheeseburger onto them as well. Hughes takes forever to give Cheeseburger a side slam as Whitmer keeps saying it’s almost time.

The lights go out and we’re told that the new Purple Haze is coming. Back in the ring and……PUNISHER MARTINEZ IS BACK! House is cleaned for the no contest at 4:12 though we didn’t see enough to rate. To be fair it was just background noise so Whitmer could bring out Martinez. I’m really happy with this guy being back but PLEASE don’t let this be about Kevin Sullivan.

The Young Bucks promises a superkick party and kick the camera down.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. Cabinet

Coleman throws the Boys around so it’s off to Castle for a chest thrust-off. Dalton sends him outside and then launches the Boys over the top onto the Cabinet, hopefully breaking some of the doors and handle off the thing so it goes away for a long time. Back from a break with Boy #1 (the announcers’ words) getting triple teamed. King snaps #1’s throat across the top and it’s time for some twin magic, despite the Boys having different hair styles. The hot tag brings in Castle and of course everything breaks down. King kicks a lot and superplexes #2 to set up a guillotine legdrop/frog splash combo for the pin at 9:28.

Rating: D. The Cabinet couldn’t be less interesting if their lives depended on it. They don’t even have characters for the most part and it’s just a single idea that is tied into pop culture. You would expect that from WWE instead of a “smarter” company like Ring of Honor. The wrestling was watchable enough but I have no reason to care about the Cabinet and the live fans didn’t seem impressed either.

Adam Cole is sick of Kyle O’Reilly and knows he’s better because of the two World Title reigns.

Tag Team Titles: Addiction vs. Young Bucks

Veda Scott is on commentary. Addiction is defending and wait for the Bucks in the aisle. Therefore, since the Bucks are the best team ever, they sneak up on the Addiction, apparently just knowing the champs would be doing that. Daniels gets dropkicked in the face as we’re waiting on the opening bell. Some tables are set up at ringside and it’s Kazarian clotheslining the Bucks down to get a breather. A ladder is brought in as Veda suggests she could represent Taven on commentary if he gets even more injured.

Back from a break and I guess the bell rang while we were gone. Daniels breaks up More Bang For Your Buck by sending Nick off the top and through a table, followed by Matt slingshotting into a cutter for a near fall. Veda talks about the Bucks never beating the Addiction and that horrible voice makes it clear why she’s rarely allowed to talk.

Daniels and Kazarian hit back to back to back to back Lionsaults and spinning legdrops for no cover as the heel champions wrestle like heels and the “heels” wrestle like the faces they really are. Matt finally flips off the top into a cutter of his own as the Bucks take over again. Nick’s Swanton hits knees (feet but close enough) but Matt springboards into a DDT onto the apron to knock Kazarian silly. Hey, did you know that’s the hardest part of the ring?

Daniels comes right back with a suicide dive but Angel’s Wings is broken up with, you guessed it, a superkick. Cue Kamaitachi for a distraction but the Motor City Machine Guns come out (WAY too fast) for the save, only to have Nick dive onto the Guns. In the melee, Sabin accidentally hits Matt with the chair to give Daniels the pin at 9:15.

Rating: C. I’m not a fan of either team but it’s not like the tag division exactly has a lot of options at the moment anyway. The match was a bit more reined in than most Bucks match and I’m glad that they’re not going with the Bullet Club holding all of the titles at once, at least not so soon. I still have no idea why I’m supposed to care about Kamaitachi other than he has something to do with New Japan and they’re amazing or something.

Kevin Kelly calls this a travesty after talking about how the Bucks break the rules all the time. I’m not even going to bother complaining about it this time as you’ve heard it before.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked the opener and the booking of the main event was a nice plus so we can kind of overlook the boring Cabinet match. It also helps that the expectations are a bit lower because it’s not a regular show with major storyline development, leaving us with just the wrestling to carry things. Good enough show here as ROH is getting a lot more steady, which is a really important step.

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Ring of Honor
Date: July 27, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

We’re still in North Carolina but this time there’s a big time main event as ROH World Champion Jay Lethal defends against Kyle O’Reilly. That means it’s likely an Adam Cole appearance as Cole has vowed to keep Kyle from becoming champion no matter what. In theory this should start the push towards Lethal vs. Cole, which somehow still hasn’t been announced despite what happened at Global Wars way back in May. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

ROH World Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending and this is going to be the whole show. Well most of the show at least as Cole comes out before Lethal to say Kyle won’t even be wrestling in this match. Cue the Young Bucks with a double superkick to O’Reilly, which gets a face pop because ROH fans don’t get the concept of heels. Cole comes down to join them with a chair beatdown, including a Conchairto Pillmanizing (now THAT’S extreme) of the left arm. Bobby Fish finally comes out for the save and we take a break.

Back with a recap of what we just saw, which I thought ROH was above doing.

Kyle is getting his shoulder taped up in the back and tells the doctor that he wants to wrestle.

Due to the injury, it’s time for standby matches.

Tough Guy Inc. vs. War Machine

That would be Brutal Bob Evans and Tough Tim Hughes. Fallout ends Evans in 42 seconds.

Post match Shane Taylor and Keith Lee come out for the brawl but this time War Machine gets the better of it.

The Briscoes are ready for the Young Bucks next week. I can’t imagine that ends clean.

Cheeseburger vs. Will Ferrara

And never mind again as the Cabinet comes out to interrupt after about thirty seconds.

In case you haven’t heard about their one segment, the Cabinet is the Donald Trump inspired political group comprised of Caprice Coleman, Rhett Titus and Kenny King. Coleman, the Minister of Information, says this match is canceled because neither of the people in the ring meet the criteria to be a wrestler. King (the Commissioner of Championships) and Titus (the Secretary of Shoulders) rip on Cheeseburger and Ferrara and tell them to go buy a ticket or face the consequences. Ferrara says they don’t have a bear or an ox but they have something better: a TNA wrestler also named after an animal.

The Cabinet vs. Will Ferrara/Cheeseburger/Moose

We’re joined after a break (and a Young Bucks promo inviting the Briscoes to a superkick party) and we might break five minutes this time around. It’s a big brawl but Nigel McGuinness has to run to the back for some reason. Moose is left alone in the ring but elbows his way out of trouble before running the ropes for a spinning cross body.

Things settle down to Cheeseburger and Ferrara running into King in the corner, only to have Coleman come in and knee Ferrara in the face to take over. Titus slaps on a chinlock for a bit before the hot tag brings in Moose to clean house. A Rocket Launcher only has Cheeseburger hitting raised knees which of course does no damage to the knees. King corkscrew dives onto Moose and it’s Cheeseburger getting beaten down three on one, including a high angle Edgecution to give Titus the pin at 5:42.

Rating: D. I hated this Cabinet gimmick from the second it started as it’s not going to be entertaining while it lasts but thankfully it’s pretty much only going to last until the elections in November. These current events storylines and angles rarely work and having something inspired by the Trump campaign probably isn’t the best idea in the first place.

Kyle has demanded to wrestle tonight despite his shoulder.

ROH World Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending but before the match he respectfully offers Kyle an out due to his injury. Kyle wants to fight like men though and we’re ready to go. Kyle is very tentative to start and throws a few kicks, only to get taken down by a headlock. A shoulder block makes Kyle scream but he comes back with a kick to the spine. Another kick jars the arm though and Lethal kicks him in the shoulder to send Kyle outside.

Back from a break with Kyle fighting back as the announcers talk about Lethal’s change of attitude since Truth Martini has been gone. The Lethal Combination gets two and we hit a modified Crossface. Jay hits a pair of suicide dives but looks very mad at having to do them due to the injury. Kyle comes back with a dive of his own and a missile dropkick but he can’t get up.

It’s Jay up first with a top rope elbow but Kyle reverses into a cross armbreaker, only to have Jay stomp at the shoulder for the break. That means another break and we come back with Kyle fighting out of another Crossface. Jay plants him with a series of shoulder breakers but he asks for a stoppage instead of the Lethal Injection. Kyle says no way and they slug it out until Jay kicks the shoulder, setting up the Lethal Injection for the pin at 15:04.

Rating: B. I liked this a lot more than I expected to as I’m really not a huge Kyle fan. The concern over the shoulder injury is going to go a long way in Lethal’s face turn, though I can’t imagine Cole isn’t champion in the next few weeks, likely at Death Before Dishonor. Good main event here though and that was the point, along with giving Kyle a nice rub along the way.

Lethal is disgusted and says that wasn’t right. Jay leaves and here’s the Bullet Club again with Cole hitting a backbreaker onto the knee. Security is held off, allowing the Bucks to hit an Indytaker onto a chair. Fish and Lethal come out just too late for the save. McGuinness grabs the mic and says Cole is NEVER getting another shot at the World Title.

Overall Rating: C+. The show long story was a good idea and a clever enough way to get around having the match go throughout the entire show. The Cabinet stuff really doesn’t work and unfortunately it got a big chunk of the action here. It’s definitely the best show since the New Japan guys left and that’s a positive sign.

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

We’re less than two weeks away from Best in the World and we’re getting ready for the showdown between Jay Lethal and Jay Briscoe for the ROH World Title. However there’s also the issue of the Bullet Club’s Adam Cole circling around the title as well, which almost has to be the next hurdle for whichever Jay comes out with the belt. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Moose vs. Tetsuya Naito

Naito’s IWGP Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line and he has a taped up knee coming in. Moose powers him into the corner to start and teases a right hand before just slapping Naito on the chest. Naito’s right hands have no effect so Moose dropkicks him down with ease. Another dropkick puts Naito on the floor and it’s easy to see why Moose is rumored to possibly go to NXT.

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

Back with Moose doing his jab sequence but getting taken to the top for a hurricanrana. Since it’s just a hurricanrana though, Moose pops up and BLASTS him with a discus lariat for two. Moose keeps up the power with a suplex into the corner. A quick Koji Clutch slows Moose down and his delayed vertical suplex is countered into a snap DDT. Naito steps away from a dive ala Samoa Joe (love that spot) and a backflip into a reverse DDT gives Naito the pin at 10:16.

Rating: C+. It’s kind of weird to see the smaller guy as the heel and still have him be so dominant like this. Moose is someone who has kind of hit a wall as he has all the potential in the world but he needs to get a big win or have a story other than “he’s fighting people way better than him” because losing over and over doesn’t really do him much good, no matter how competitive he is.

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

Jushin Thunder Liger/Cheeseburger vs. All Night Express

The Express attack at the handshake as the announcers try to figure out what makes Liger and Cheeseburger’s palm strikes so awesome. Speaking of the palm strike, Liger uses it to clean house before Cheeseburger’s dive is pulled out of the air. Instead Liger baseball slides into Cheeseburger’s back to put the Express down again. King drapes Cheeseburger over the ropes to take over as we take a break.

Back with Titus driving a knee into Cheeseburger’s face before King plants him with a spinebuster for two. We hit the chinlockery for a bit before Cheeseburger kicks King away and makes the hot tag off to Liger. Titus takes too long going up and gets superplexed down for two with King making the save. Liger saves King from a powerbomb/springboard clothesline combo but gets sent to the floor, leaving King to hit the Royal Flush (F5 with King landing on his face instead of his back) for the pin at 8:45.

Rating: C. It was nice of them to let one of the Ring of Honor teams to actually get a win instead of having to be beholden to the New Japan guys. Liger and Cheeseburger aren’t exactly interesting but I’m sure it gives the fans a thrill to see Liger in there after being in the ring for over thirty years. It’s not a bad match here but the New Japan vs. ROH idea has really gotten old.

Next week: ROH vs. Bullet Club.

Roderick Strong comes out to yell at Nigel about having to team with Mark in next week’s match against the Bullet Club. Mark doesn’t take kindly to this but no violence ensues.

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

The announcers try to talk about the Best in the World card until Silas Young comes out to interrupt. Silas doesn’t like the idea of ACH playing video games in his locker room. ACH believes he’s a superhero from some Japanese cartoon but Young is ready to give him a hard fall back to reality at Best in the World. Young goes after a plant but security drags him away so ACH can run out and dive on him.

Kyle O’Reilly wants a rematch against Kushida after losing to him last year in the finals of the Beast of the Super Juniors. It’s been 367 days in the making and the match starts now.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Kushida

So yeah, the ROH main event is a rematch from the finals of a New Japan tournament from last year. Kushida’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. Feeling out process to start until Kyle takes it to the mat. That’s fine with Kushida who can’t get a Hoverboard Lock but Kyle can’t get a cross armbreaker either. Back up and Kushida kicks him in the leg and then gets in one on the arm before stomping on the triceps. Kyle comes back with strikes of his own before going after Kushida’s leg. A knee bar has Kushida bailing to the ropes so Kyle knees him in the head as we take a break.

Back with Kyle getting in an ankle lock but Kushida flips away for the escape. Kyle takes him to the floor to work on the knee out there but dives into a cross armbreaker almost underneath the ring. Back in and they slug it out with Kushida knocking Kyle’s mouthpiece out. Kushida sends him into the ropes but gets caught in a guillotine, only to have Kushida reverse into the Hoverboard Lock. That’s reversed into a rollup for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: C+. So Kyle just pinned Kushida clean in the middle of the ring. Is this going to lead to a title shot? Say in Ring of Honor? I haven’t heard about anything yet, but I have a feeling that if it happens, we’ll see it in New Japan. That’s where they lose me on this promotion vs. promotion stuff: I shouldn’t have to go buy some other promotion’s shows or follow their stories to see where this stuff is going.

If you want them to feud in ROH then have them feud in ROH. If you want them to feud in New Japan then have them feud in New Japan. Either of those are fine, as are the occasional crossovers. The problem is these companies are basically running a full time crossover with a shared roster. If I want to know what half of this stuff is about, I have to watch New Japan as well. The problem is I’m not watching this show to see New Japan because the show is called Ring of Honor. I get that this is a special, but this same idea has been going for four months now. At what point does it stop being a special and become the norm?

Overall Rating: C. It’s another Ring of Honor vs. New Japan show and it seems that it’s what we’re going to get next week as well. “But KB! It’s War of the Worlds!” Yeah and it’s coming after Global Wars which came after Honor Rising which came after a bunch of regular shows with the New Japan guys around. Like I said earlier: this is now the norm instead of something special. Other than Young vs. ACH and a few mentions of Lethal vs. Briscoe, this was a stand alone show despite the pay per view airing in nine days. This keeps happening and it’s really getting old.

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

We’re still in Las Vegas with the cool blue curtains and a World Title defense with Hirooki Goto from New Japan challenging ROH World Champion Jay Lethal. It’s not like Lethal has anything else going on right now so having him defend against someone from outside the company isn’t the worst idea. Let’s get to it.

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

This is a Four Corner Survival match which actually means one fall to a finish. Strong and Sydal get things going with a nice running of the ropes before Roderick gets in his first backbreaker for two. Page tags himself in to go after Strong but Sydal tags himself in as well, only to get sent to the floor. That’s as good as a tag so it’s Moose coming in to slam Strong for two with Page making the save.

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

Moose dropkicks Sydal and Page off the corner so everyone starts focusing on Moose to give themselves an opening. Page throws Sydal with a release dragon suplex but here’s BJ Whitmer to trip Page up, allowing Sydal to knee him in the face. The shooting star press crushes Page but Strong comes back in with a knee to both faces and the pin on Page at 11:53.

Rating: C. The match was certainly energetic but I’m not a fan of these wild messes with no real story (save for maybe Moose being dominant) and action all over the place. There’s a way to do these things but they have a bad tendency to turn into borderline trainwrecks like this one. It certainly wasn’t bad but it just came and went with no real impact.

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

This brings out Matt Taven on a crutch to promise titles both in American and Japan. Well actually he’ll be winning them on his own because Cole hasn’t won any gold in a long time. After Cole got hurt, it was Taven who was keeping Cole relevant and he’s tired of carrying Adam. The Kingdom will be rebuilt in Taven’s image and that’s it for Cole.

Dalton Castle isn’t a fan of rules (like dress codes because he’s a clothing optional man) so he loves the idea of a Fight Without Honor against Silas Young in two weeks.

Cheeseburger vs. Foxx Vinyer

Foxx pounds the much smaller man down to start and some strikes to the chest don’t have much effect for Cheeseburger. Instead a powerslam gets two on Cheeseburger but he pops back up with a knee to the head. The palm strike is loaded up but here’s the All Night Express to pull Foxx out for the DQ at 1:32 for no apparent reason.

The Express isn’t here to attack Cheeseburger because they like him. They see the heart inside him and know that he’s tough enough to go through tables and be bent over ladders, even though the fans don’t care about him. Yeah no matter how badly he’s been beaten up, the people aren’t going to care.

The Express reads some mean Tweets from fans before ripping on the other teams for being too small (the Young Bucks), smelly farmers (the Briscoes) and big bald guys (War Machine). The fans chant for Cheeseburger, who reads the catchphrase on the back of the Express’ shirt and gets beaten down. Wrestling III: “HE’S JUST A BURGER!!!” War Machine and the Briscoes come out for the save but the Briscoes pick up the belts. The champs aren’t happy with that and it’s a big staredown.

The House of Truth is ready for the main event.

ROH World Title: Hirooki Goto vs. Jay Lethal

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

Lethal hits a chinlock back inside and we take a break. Back with Goto making his comeback and blocking the Lethal Injection. A Saito suplex gets two on the champ and an AA into a backbreaker gets the same. Martini offers another distraction though and it’s the Lethal Injection to retain the title at 10:17.

Rating: C. This is the kind of match that doesn’t do much for me as there’s no real story other than Goto won a match at a show a few weeks back. There’s no connection or animosity between these two and with about seven minutes of airtime, there’s only so much they can actually do. It’s a perfectly watchable match but I need something else to care about or a lot higher quality.

Post match Donovan Dijak comes in to go after Lethal and easily wins the slugout. The Book of Truth to the back has no effect so Dijak kicks Martini’s head off to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I really wasn’t feeling this one as it’s a collection of midcard stuff or short term angles that don’t seem to have much importance. The show went by fast enough and wasn’t exactly bad but nothing felt big here, save for maybe the big angle at the end. Then again I can’t imagine they’ll put the title on Donovan Dijak, even though I’m a fan of the guy. This wasn’t a horrible show but it’s completely skippable.

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Ring of Honor
Date: January 27, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling 3

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

Opening sequence.

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

Fury is a seventeen year veteran and trained Sasha Banks. Ali shrugs off some headlocks to start as Kelly recaps both guys’ injury histories. A wristlock doesn’t get Ali anywhere so he knees Fury in the head and gets two off a basement dropkick. Back up and Fury rolls him into the corner (because in today’s wrestling, it’s all about doing something to send someone into the corner), followed by a belly to back for two.

Ali comes back with a gutwrench sitout powerbomb for two of his own before taking Fury outside for a t-bone suplex on the floor. Back in and Fury grabs the referee’s foot for a distraction to bring Ali’s head off the top, setting up a Pop Up Sitout Powerbomb for the pin on Ali at 5:55.

Rating: C. You can see the problem with the tournament from here: there’s no reason for these people to be fighting and I have almost no idea who any of them are. It might be cool if someone stands out over the rest but this was two guys doing moves to each other for a few minutes before one of them got a pin. I need more than that to care about a match and especially a tournament.

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

Cedric Alexander vs. Cheeseburger

Cheeseburger goes right for him to start and actually gets two off a quick rollup. Alexander’s fireman’s carry is broken up and a victory roll gets another near fall. A springboard knee to the head drops Cedric but the running palm strike is countered into the Lumbar Check for the easy pin on Cheeseburger at 1:42.

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

Cedric Alexander vs. Jonathan Gresham

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

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

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

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

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

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

Silas talks about teaching the Boys to be like men for three months, but then along comes Dalton Castle to manipulate them into changing back. The Boys have one more chance to become men and that’s it for them.

Jay Briscoe vs. Michael Elgin

Mark Briscoe is out for commentary but here’s Moose to interrupt. If the World Title can be a three way, why can’t this match be one too? They do at least mention that Nigel signed off on the change.

Jay Briscoe vs. Michael Elgin vs. Moose

Briscoe Cactus Clotheslines Moose out to the floor so Elgin follows them out with a flip dive. Moose is left on the floor as Elgin puts Jay up in a delayed vertical. Elgin doesn’t even drop him when Moose kicks him in the ribs so Moose waits until Jay is down before bicycle kicking Elgin in the jaw. Moose and Jay slug it out until Briscoe kicks him in the face for two as we take a break.

Back with Elgin apron superplexing Briscoe until Moose breaks it up. That’s not cool with Elgin so he turns Moose’s superplex attempt into a slingshot Tower of Power to put everyone down. Elgin slips off Moose’s shoulders and lifts him up into a powerbomb for two as Jay makes the save. Briscoe gets two on Elgin off a Death Valley Driver, only to have Moose spear Briscoe down. That leaves Elgin and Moose to clothesline each other until Elgin clotheslines Jay instead. Elgin goes after Moose though, allowing Jay to backslide Michael for the pin at 9:37.

Rating: C+. Nice hard hitting match here though it was really just three alternating singles matches with the occasional big spot thrown in. Still though, that’s all you need a lot of the time as everyone was beating on everyone with bigger and bigger shots. Moose really didn’t need to be there but at least it protects Elgin a bit.

Post match Elgin says Mark was out here backing up his brother mentally, so why not make it a tag match at the Anniversary Show with Elgin teaming up with Hiroshi Tanahashi? That’s quite the jump to get to the match but the Briscoes agree to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I liked the show but the Cedric Alexander stuff in the middle really didn’t do anything for me, much like that whole story. I’m still not sure where it’s supposed to go but beating Cheeseburger didn’t make me care about Alexander. It’s still an entertaining show though and goes by quickly, which is all you can ask for.

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Ring of Honor
Date: December 23, 2015
Location: Tennessee State Fair Grounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Prince Nana

Final Battle has come and past but we’re not going to get any significant fallout from it for a few weeks now due to the taping schedule. Therefore, it’s time for another stand alone show, which could range anywhere from really fun to nothing of note. I’m to the point where I’ll give Ring of Honor the benefit of the doubt though so let’s get to it.

Will Ferrara vs. Caprice Coleman

Before the match, Coleman says he and Ferrara have both been getting mail from someone (Prince Nana) lately, but Coleman’s mail will always be thicker and always come priority. I’d advise some better insults Coleman. They slug it out to start with Ferrara sending him to the floor for a suicide dive because you’re required to have a suicide dive in a match anymore.

Ferrara grabs a chair but gets sent into the barricade instead. A hard running dropkick drives Ferrara head first into the barricade again as this is far more violent than you would expect. Back in and Caprice rolls some northern lights suplexes to send Ferrara into the corner. Will breaks up a few Sky Splitter attempts by slamming Coleman off the top, only to have both guys grab chairs. The quick duel draws a no contest at 3:23.

Rating: D+. I like the idea here but this feels like a really low level feud that isn’t going to mean anything. Ferrara is cool but Nana and the possibly reformed Embassy aren’t exactly the most thrilling plans. Coleman doesn’t do much for me either, leaving this as a fun enough fast paced brawl and little more.

Jay Lethal and the House of Truth are opening boxes to determine who are on their team in the ten man tag. They think Moose is in a big box but they get Cheeseburger instead. I like the idea here.

Here’s the House of Truth with potential new member Ken Phoenix. Martini tells him that if Phoenix impresses him in the following match, he’s officially on the team.

Donovan Dijak/Ken Phoenix vs. All Night Express

Titus and Phoenix get things going with Rhett taking him down into a headscissors. Phoenix sends Titus outside where Dijak gets in a few cheap shots, allowing Ken to baseball slide him down. Dijak comes in for the power game but throws in a superkick to keep his modern wrestler card.

It’s off to Phoenix for a bit but he doesn’t listen when Dijak tells him to tag out. Titus dodges a charge in the corner and King comes in to speed things up. A blind tag brings in Titus, who dives right into a chokeslam for two. Phoenix tags himself back in and Prince Nana is freaking out at the stupidity. Dijak gets knocked to the floor and a backbreaker from Titus sets up a corkscrew splash from King for the pin at 5:15.

Rating: C-. Just like in the opener, this was a simple story that they told well enough to make it work. Dijak seems to have the potential to go somewhere but I’m not sure how far he’s going to go as part of the House of Truth. You can tell things are going bad when the heel commentator is getting on you though and Phoenix wasn’t anything special.

Post match Martini gives Phoenix the thumbs down, earning him a Feast Your Eyes from Dijak. The House of Truth leaves and Nana gives Dijak another envelope.

Here’s Steve Corino in a neck brace to address the crowd. He’s down right now but for twenty one years, this is all he’s ever wanted to do. One day though, this neck brace is coming off and BJ Whitmer is going to pay for his sins. Steve Corino will always be an evil man and Whitmer will find that out soon enough.

Jay Lethal/Cheeseburger/Adam Page/Cliff Compton/Jay Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong/Cedric Alexander/Mark Briscoe/Moose/Matt Jackson

These partners were picked at random. Compton is better known as Domino from Deuce N Domino but he’s had a much better run in the indies as a serious guy. BJ Whitmer is sitting in on commentary. Jay and Roderick get things going with Jay grabbing a quick backslide for two. Strong can’t get a backslide of his own so it’s off to Matt vs. Page. Adam shoulders him down but Matt gives him a SUCK IT from the mat. In case you didn’t know they think they’re DX or the Kliq you see.

Off to Alexander vs. Lethal which seems to be something important. They trade shoulders to start and Jay hits one out of two dropkicks in a very fast paced sequence. Mark and Cliff come in and they agree to go fight on the floor. It’s Cliff in early control with a release belly to belly and it’s time for a table. Mark tries to grab a chair but the referee tells them to go back inside.

We take a break and come back with Lethal tagging in Cheeseburger to face Alexander, who immediately tags out to Moose. Cheeseburger tries with everything he can until Moose casually launches him into the corner. Matt comes in for some slams before Strong slams everyone onto Cheeseburger in a cool sequence. Nana: “Cheeseburger looks like a broken poodle dog!” Cheeseburger stops some charges in the corner and flips out of two suplexes in a row, allowing the tag to Jay Briscoe.

We get a big power showdown between Moose and Jay Briscoe before Moose tags out to Mark for a showdown that is probably going to headline a pay per view some day if it hasn’t already. They trade about eight boots to the face until Jay scores with a discus lariat. A standoff sends us to another double tag with Adam and Matt coming in. It’s Page getting the better of it until Moose and Matt double team him. Moose plays Nick for a double superkick and we take a second break.

Back again with Matt’s 450 getting two on Page. Strong’s team surrounds Cheeseburger and he actually fights them all off with palm strikes. Moose takes him down with a weaker spear than you would expect but the Lethal Injection drops Moose and it’s time for the parade of secondary finishers. Compton gets superkicked off the top and through a table at ringside, leaving Page to eat a suplex backbreaker and the Froggy Bow from Mark for the pin at 21:20.

Rating: B-. This was exactly what it was supposed to be with everyone working hard and giving the fans something fun to end the meaningless show. Those showdowns with Briscoe vs. Briscoe and Briscoe vs. Moose were interesting and made things feel more special than they should have otherwise. Fun match here and it did everything it was supposed to do.

The winners praise Cheeseburger to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like a special episode and that’s all it needed to be. I like this kind of show more than the New Japan episodes as you have some storyline advancement, even if it’s something in a low level story like Nana’s envelopes. Anyway, nice little fun show here and that’s all I was hoping for.

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Ring of Honor
Date: September 2, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

We’re coming up on All-Star Extravaganza where Lethal will again have to defend both of his titles in one night. That is of course assuming he makes it out of tonight’s TV Title defense against the powerhouse Hanson, who is one of the many people in line for a shot at one of the belts. Let’s get to it.

Adam Page vs. Jay Briscoe

Page has called Briscoe out for a few weeks for reasons that aren’t really clear. The announcers call Jay Briscoe a legend and one of the all time greats in Ring of Honor. If you’re talking just titles, Briscoe is pretty easily a mile ahead of anyone else and really is one of the best they’ve ever had. Page slaps him in the face instead of shaking hands. Jay actually offers another handshake and gets slapped one more time. Some left hands have Adam in trouble and he gets knocked to the floor for a suicide dive. Page’s young boy Colby Corino hits Jay in the back for the quick DQ at 1:45.

Page, who never took his vest off, throws a chair at Jay’s head and gives him the Rite of Passage on a pile of chairs. Mark Briscoe comes out for the save a few moments too late.

We recap Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young, which has evolved into a battle over Castle’s boys.

Castle will be silent no longer and is going to come crashing down on Silas Young like a thousand foot wave from the hand of Poseidon. The boys can be on the line, but if Castle wins, Young becomes one of Dalton’s boys. That makes things more interesting.

Cedric Alexander vs. Caprice Coleman

These two used to be partners. Before the match, Cedric sends manager Veda Scott to the back so Coleman gets in a verbal jab at her expense. The livid Cedric gets punched in the face and slammed into a rollup for one. Veda is still on the floor, which is certainly not a bad thing. She offers a quick distraction and Cedric kicks Coleman’s head off as we take a break.

Back with Cedric chopping his former mentor and cutting off a comeback. Coleman sends him outside for a hurricanrana before bringing Cedric back in for a second hurricanrana and a near fall. Cedric’s Michinoku Driver gets two so Veda slips him the wrench, only to have Stokely Carmichael (Moose’s manager) come out and drop Veda, allowing Moose to take the wrench away. The distraction lets Coleman come off the top with the Sky Splitter (Rough Ryder) for the pin at 8:08.

Rating: C-. I have no idea why I’m supposed to care about either of these guys. They’re both very stereotypical Ring of Honor guys: good enough hands in the ring but lacking presence and any reason for me to be interested in either of them. Veda is much more interesting than both of them, but that’s not really saying much.

Moose KO’s Cedric with the wrench. Prince Nana comes out and hands Coleman an envelope.

Brutal Bob Evans vs. Cheeseburger

This is one of those feuds that just won’t die. Evans swears at Cheeseburger to start so Cheeseburger ducks a chair shot and hits a flip dive off the barricade to start. They get inside and Evans begs off, only to send Cheeseburger into the corner. Evans pulls Cheeseburger up at two so he can keep up the beating. A shoulder block gets two for Bob but Cheesburger kicks away from the mat. Bob heads outside to load up a table but Cheeseburger smacks him off the apron and through the table instead, earning a countout.

Rating: D-. What a waste of time. They really hammered in the idea here and it’s not a very good one. These two have been feuding for months and I have no reason to care. Cheeseburger is smaller than Spike Dudley and comes off as a waste of time more than anything else. Total waste of time.

Jay Lethal promises to beat Hanson so badly tonight that Hanson’s dog is going to run away and Hanson is going to lose his house. I loved that line.

TV Title: Hanson vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending and Bobby Fish, who will be facing the winner of this at All-Star Extravaganza, is on commentary. Hanson throws Lethal around to start and kicks his head off with a big boot. The champ’s chops have no effect so Truth Martini offers a distraction, allowing Lethal to dropkick him out to the floor. A suicide dive from the champ takes us to a break.

Back with Lethal snapping Hanson’s throat across the top rope by the beard and slapping on a chinlock. That goes nowhere so Hanson comes back with a nice gutwrench slam. A cartwheel into a clothesline gets two on Jay as the announcers talk about the grind of being a double champion. That’s how you tell stories on commentary instead of talking about England winning some competition in some sport that isn’t clearly defined.

Hanson’s Bronco Buster is countered with a raised boot, followed by Jay’s top rope elbow for two. Hanson tries his Lethal Injection and only kind of botches it, followed by a moonsault which hits Lethal’s knees. Fish brings up the obvious point: shouldn’t that hurt Letha’s legs? Two straight Lethal Injections (the Tajiri handspring into a Diamond Cutter. Doing it twice doesn’t make it any less stupid looking) retain Jay’s title at 11:27.

Rating: C-. Just ok here as it was mainly a quick challenge for Lethal to get out of the way. You have to let him win a match or two like this every now and then, especially when Lethal has a bunch of bigger matches coming up. I really liked the announcers talking about how Lethal is trying to do too much as that is the most logical place to take the story.

Lethal talks trash about ReDRagon so Fish gets on the apron and is quickly joined by Kyle O’Reilly (a future World Title contender). Roderick Strong comes out to stare Lethal down as well and the champ runs off to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I’m having a really hard time caring about a lot of these stories. Lethal’s stuff is more about getting to the point where he collapses under the weight of everything he’s trying to do. That can make for a good long story but it’s not working for a one off week. The rest of the matches didn’t do much for me, save for the opener which set up something interesting down the line. These stories aren’t doing it for me, but I had a really good time with the Tag Team Title stuff, mainly because it was all self contained and I didn’t need to see a bunch of other shows to get the idea. Easily fixed, but not a great show.

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Ring of Honor
Date: July 29, 2015
Location: Terminal 5, New York City, New York
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

We’re now past Death Before Dishonor but TV has yet to catch up with the results. Last week was a special historical show as Ring of Honor hit two hundred episodes, leaving only an eight person tag for new wrestling. It should be interesting to see where things go tonight as we get closer to All Star Extravaganza. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Matt Taven/Michael Bennett vs. Corey Hollis/Jonathan Gresham

Taven and Bennett’s IWGP Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. The jobbers (as named by the fans) get superkicked to start and Maria jumps in on commentary. Taven and Bennett destroy the guys on the floor with Bennett getting in a fan’s face as he chants LET’S GO JOBBERS. They settle down in the ring with Gresham getting in a few shots until Taven kicks him in the ribs, with Maria’s “see, I told you so” attitude being so perfect.

Gresham dives through the legs for a tag to Hollis, who comes in off a double missile dropkick. It doesn’t last long though as a superkick sends Hollis into a spear from Taven for two with Gresham making the save. Bennett is thrown into the ropes for a snap German suplex, only to have Taven springboard in with a kick to the face. They’re doing a good job here at the false hope spots. Hail Mary (Maria’s real name and a spike piledriver) ends Hollis at 4:27.

Rating: C-. Maria gets better every time she’s out there. The attitude of knowing she looks incredible and talking down to everyone with the bonus of believing she’s right while not sounding insulting is what Stephanie fails to be more often than not. It was also nice to let this have a few minutes instead of just having the champs crush them. Good little squash here.

Caprice Coleman vs. Bob Evans vs. Silas Young vs. Cheeseburger vs. Moose vs. Dalton Castle

Heel manager Prince Nana comes out for commentary to watch Moose, his protege, which hasn’t been mentioned since they debuted on Destination America. This is one fall to a finish and going to the floor is as good as a tag. The fans favor Castle before things get going. Castle and Moose start but Evans and Cheeseburger tag in before anything can happen.

Evans tags out to Silas out of the fear of Cheeseburger (a manly vegetarian perhaps?) as we’re still waiting on contact. Silas easily wins a test of strength on the tiny Cheeseburger but he rolls away and elbows Silas in the ribs to take over. As Kelly explains the Cheeseburger name (he needed to put on weight so he was told to eat cheeseburgers. That’s not a very good story), Silas throws Cheeseburger to the floor, meaning Coleman can come in legally and take a shoulder block.

We take a break and come back with Moose splashing Young in the corner. Coleman hurricanranas Young off the top but Evans shoves him out to the floor. More people are shoved out until it’s Castle and Silas left alone, only to have Castle take too much time strutting and get nailed in the back of the head (there’s no way I can say nailed from behind and not get a bunch of jokes).

Castle slaps on a chinlock (that’s a rare sight in ROH) but Dalton’s boys wave him back to his feet. A quick suplex puts Young down but Evans tags himself in, only to walk into a backdrop from Dalton. Off to Moose to clean house, including throwing Cheeseburger onto Evans, allowing Coleman to hit a flip dive onto both of them. Young breaks up a Moose dive (that could be awesome to see) but we do get Moose dropkicking Young off the top.

Now we get a flip dive from Moose (not a bad one either) and I’m really seeing the potential this guy has. Dalton breaks up a spear to Cheeseburger and it’s time for the parade of secondary finishers. Castle muscles Moose over in a delayed German suplex to freak out Prince Nana. Evans rolls up Moose and puts his feet on the ropes until Cheeseburger makes the save, leaving Moose to spear Evans down for the pin at 13:10.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t really feeling this one as it was just kind of a big mess with everyone fighting everyone for the sake of fighting everyone. Moose winning is the right idea as he could be a good monster down the line but the fans wanted to see Castle here. Unfortunately there was too much going on to really make sense of the match and it was too much at once. At least one of the right guys won though.

Here’s the Decade with something to say. BJ Whitmer talks about Colby Corino becoming a man right in front of the fans’ eyes, which means he has more heart than anyone in the locker room or even at ringside (with a sneer at King Corino). Whitmer praises Colby for how close he came to beating Moose and War Machine (he was squashed both times) and now sees him as his own son. BJ hopes that Colby sees him like the father he never had and tonight, Colby is getting a gift. Tonight, Colby gets to have a gauntlet match against four guys from the last tryout camp.

Colby’s four opponents combine to weigh over 1,800 pounds and that’s too much for King Corino. King gets in the ring and takes off his tie but Whitmer says this isn’t going to make up for abandoning his son. He abandoned Colby, so how long will it be before he abandons his wife and baby son? Nigel McGuinness has to come out and break up the fight as we go to another break.

I’m digging this feud as it’s built up very well, even though ROH hasn’t felt the need to say why Whitmer and Corino hate each other in the first place. Again: stop assuming we watch all of your shows and give us a thirty second recap. You know you’ve been on this new channel for like two months now, so a quick recap won’t kill you.

Back from a break with Nigel McGuinness on commentary in Corino’s place.

ACH vs. Bobby Fish

The fans are split here and Fish takes ACH down to the mat to start. ACH isn’t exactly on top of his game on the ground so he grabs a headlock to try to get back to his feet. An unnecessary cartwheel into a moonsault sets up a dropkick to put Fish down in the corner as we’re definitely seeing a contrast of styles. Bad News Barrett’s jump from the middle rope and swing around into a suplex gets two and Fish is sent to the floor where he avoids a dive as we take a break.

Back with ACH firing off some chops (for some lame WOOs) and it’s time to hit the kickoff, because what would ROH be without kicking at each other like it’s a kickboxing fight. ACH can’t follow up because of the work Fish did to his ribs during the break (nothing wrong with some basic psychology) and Fish drops him with a fall away slam. Kelly: “We invite you to order the replay of Death Before Dishonor on ROHwrestling.com! Well, order it after this match!” That was good for a chuckle.

Fish goes back to the ribs but ACH Matrixes back to avoid a cross body. That’s always a cool looking counter. Fish bails to the floor, allowing ACH to hit a sweet looking shooting star plancha. ACH hurts his knee coming back in off the top but is still able to kick Fish with the good leg for two. The 450 hits knees to bang up the ribs again and Fish goes to the two injured body parts. The Fish Hook knee bar has ACH in trouble but he bridges back into a rollup to make Fish break the hold. ACH gets kicked down on top though and a top rope falcon’s arrow gives Fish the pin at 12:55.

Rating: C+. I liked the match but it went on a bit too long. Also I would have liked the Fish Hook to make Fish tap as they spent the whole match building up the leg injury and then the submission hold is just another spot. ACH is good in the Kofi Kingston’s role of the high flier with almost no personality to speak of but you kind of knew he was going to lose here.

Overall Rating: C-. This could have been a lot worse but it’s one of those shows that ROH has to deal with: they’re after a pay per view but can’t spoil anything so we get these matches which could take place on any given night. It’s not bad, but it’s a total stand alone show with no long term consequences. Watchable enough, but nothing great.

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Ring of Honor
Date: June 10, 2015
Location: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 1,500
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, King Corino

It’s still Global Wars Night 2 here with more matches taped back in May. We’ve still got two weeks before we get to any shows that have been taped after the Destination America deal was announced. Also, Best in the World 2015 is coming soon, which means the Battle of the Belts with Jay Briscoe’s World Title vs. Jay Lethal’s TV Title. Let’s get to it.

We open with the Addiction saying Red Dragon is finally getting their shot after all their whining and complaining, but tonight they get what they ask for, even though they’re right where the champions want them. Red Dragon has seen what they’ll do to win these titles, so what would they do to keep them?

Opening sequence.

Bobby Fish of Red Dragon has been attacked outside the arena. Not that we get to see it or anything but at least it was mentioned.

Here’s Addiction to open things up in the arena, even though they’re scheduled in the main event. Since Fish is out, there’s no title shot because the contract says against Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish. Daniels offers a shot right now and here’s O’Reilly to fight on his own.

Tag Team Titles: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Addiction

Kyle slugs away on Daniels and Kazarian to start and chops Daniels in the corner before ducking a clothesline from Kazarian, sending him into his partner instead. The numbers finally catch up to him though and a High/Low gives the champions control. I’ve always liked that move. It’s Kazarian starting for the team but it’s quickly back to more double teaming as the champions cheat like heels should be doing.

Kyle sends Daniels to the apron for more miscommunication and everyone heads to the floor with Daniels being sat in a chair. Kazarian is sent head first between Daniels’ legs, setting up a running dropkick off the apron to knock both champions out of the chair. The fans are way into this as you would expect. Back in and Kyle rolls some butterfly suplexes into a cross armbreaker but Daniels comes in with the title belt for the DQ at 4:16.

Rating: C+. I was digging this way more than I was expecting as Kyle kept it going as fast as he could, which is why a four minute match was the best thing they could have done. This felt like an angle instead of a match and there’s nothing wrong with that. This was the kind of energetic opener than was a good option to kick the show off and much better than the Kushida match last week.

Addiction beats Kyle down post match but Matt Sydal and ACH come out for the save.

We recap the ending to last week’s show and see Donovan Dijak hitting the reverse AA into a GTS on Mark Briscoe. That’s a cool move, but it shouldn’t take three tries for us to see it connect.

Mark says he’s going to initiate Dijak into this company and give him a beating. There’s something about ostriches vs. chickens in there too.

Dalton Castle vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

I’ve seen Castle wrestle before and really didn’t think he was as great as people say he is. His entrance is good but there’s almost nothing in the ring to back it up. I’m going to assume you know who Liger is. Castle offers a handshake to start and Liger isn’t sure how to respond. I think we’re in for a comedy match here. Both guys give us clean breaks against the ropes and the ROH fans are already calling this awesome. No, not really no.

The surfboard has Castle in early trouble but since it can only last a few seconds, Castle is able to throw Liger to the floor. Liger ducks what was going to be a dive but Dalton struts around the ring instead. They head outside with Castle being whipped into the apron for a 619 under the bottom rope and back out for a hurricanrana (ok that was sweet) as we take a break. Back with Liger backdropping him to the floor and baseball sliding him into the barricade, setting up a flip dive off the apron.

Liger asks for Castle’s peacock men to come in the ring to steal Castle’s pose, which actually was awesome. An annoyed Dalton comes back in to suplex Liger down and strut into a falling splash. We hit a front facelock and chinlock on Liger for a bit as things slow down as they should. Back up and it’s a double clothesline to give us another tried and true spot. Liger’s top rope hurricanrana gets two but his top rope splash hits knees. The Liger Bomb gets two more and the brainbuster is enough to pin Castle.

Rating: B-. Now that was actually entertaining from Castle. To be fair the other match I saw had him in TNA so maybe I can just blame them for screwing up someone else as is their custom. Castle is a good comedy guy and could go somewhere in the midcard if they build him up in the right way. Liger is always worth a quick look.

They shake hands post match and it’s still cool to hear Liger’s music.

Liger wishes Cheeseburger luck in his match and gives him a quick palm strike (Liger’s signature) demonstration.

Bob Evans vs. Cheeseburger

This is a grudge match between former partners. Evans is an older guy who wears trunks way too small for him and laid out Cheeseburger after a loss. Cheeseburger is a tiny guy who is treated as a huge underdog. We start fast with Cheeseburger kicking him out to the floor but eating a right hand to put the small guy down in a hurry. Cheeseburger dives off the apron to take him down and avoids a charge into the barricade.

Something resembling a swanton off the barricade doesn’t quite crush Bob (Cheeseburger couldn’t crush a sandcastle. Or a Dalton Castle) and he runs Cheeseburger over back inside. A tornado DDT across the top rope gives Cheeseburger an opening and the Seth Rollins springboard knee to the head sends Bob to the apron. That’s fine with Evans as he picks Cheeseburger out of the air and side slams him through a table on the floor for a HUGE crash and a no contest at 2:55. Fans: “REST IN PEACE!” They packed a lot of stuff into a short amount of time here and that’s the right idea with something like this.

Jay Lethal is ready for his contract signing next week and wants Jay Briscoe to bring his pen.

Jay Briscoe tells Lethal to just sign his name next week.

Addiction vs. Red Dragon in a No DQ match at Best in the World.

Kingdom vs. Bullet Club

The Bullet Club is the top heel stable in New Japan but they’re insanely popular anywhere else. This is ROH vs. New Japan again with Matt Taven/Michael Bennett (with Maria Kanellis, who is absolutely gorgeous and looks even better in person) vs. Doc (Luke) Gallows/Karl Anderson. The Kingdom’s IWGP Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line because this isn’t a New Japan show and those belts should be meaningless but they’re from Japan so they’re cool right? Gallows’ face paint, which looks like a black and white stripe prison uniform, looks awesome.

Anderson, who has issues with Maria, goes after her to start but gets cut off by Maria’s husband Bennett. Taven is left alone in the ring and dives onto Bullet Club, who are referred to as the internet darlings. Bennett adds a flip dive off the apron as the ROH contingent is in full control early on. Taven tries to dive off the middle rope but gets caught in a cutter from Anderson, followed by Gallows dropping Bennett on the apron as we take a break.

Back with Bennett in trouble and taking a Brogue Kick from Anderson. A running boot to the face drops him again as this is one sided. Taven crawls back to the apron as a reverse 3D plants Bennett, only to have Taven come off the top with a splash on Anderson to get a breather. The Kingdom fights back with a double dropkick to Gallows and a superkick/spear combo to Gallows. Taven misses a high cross body though and everything breaks down with Anderson and Bennett shoving the referee for the double DQ at 9:38.

Rating: C. Fun match here to set up the six man between the teams and a partner each at Best in the World. There’s a story involved with Anderson having a thing for Maria but it never really went anywhere here. Anytime she’s out there it’s a good thing though as she looks great but is also awesome at being a heel valet.

Post match Bennett is about to be slammed onto chairs but Maria offers a distraction, only to have Bennett eat a cutter and Taven to take the slam through the chairs instead.

Overall Rating: C+. I had a good time with this show and found it much more entertaining than the previous week’s episode. It was more about the in ring action, which has always been one of ROH’s selling points. Instead of just having a bunch of Japanese guys, it focused more on the homegrown talent, which is a better way of getting fans used to the product rather than just talking about guys who aren’t going to be around in a few weeks.

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