IMG Credit: Pro Wrestling Guerrilla

Ernest P. Worrell Memorial
Date: March 12, 2005
Location: Frank & Son Collectible Show, City of Industry, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Disco Machine

When you do this for the better part of ten years, you think you’ll never find something new to say. Then you start looking through PWG show names and realize you have no idea what you’re talking about. Worrell was a character played by Jim Varney who appeared in a bunch of movies with his name in the title. He died five years before this show took place and that is the last bit of a connection that he has with anything on this show. Let’s get to it.

I have only seen a handful of PWG shows ever so I have no idea what is going on here storyline or character wise. Please bear with me if I miss some major details.

Excalibur (yes of AEW, in case you thought it was another Excalibur) is in the ring with I believe his SBS (not sure what that stands for) stablemate Super Dragon and talks about how great it is to be back here. Apparently Disco Machine has been promoted to interim Commissioner of PWG and the last time Excalibur was here, Machine suspended him for one month without pay. That’s not good because it took money from Excalibur, while also taking away his time in front of this audience.

Disco Machine needs to get out here RIGHT NOW and decide if he’s the commissioner or part of SBS. Super Dragon jumps him from behind but here’s Disco Machine to make the save. Dancing ensues and Excalibur thanks him before Disco says they have a lot of business to take care of in PWG. Cue Hook Bomberry and Top Gun Talwar (neither are named here as there is no commentary) with Talwar shouting a lot. Talwar wants Disco Machine to stop being a boss and be a wrestler again, so all four shake hands and it’s time for an eight man tag.

Ronin/Ballard Brothers/Charles Mercury vs. Excalibur/Disco Machine/Hook Bomberry/Top Gun Talwar

We have commentary (on the second audio channel for some reason) as Disco strikes away at Mercury to start with a backslide getting two. Disco goes to the armbar as commentary talks about Mercury’s issues with credit cards (commentary isn’t exactly the highest quality here, as it seems more like they were told to do it and aren’t quite putting in their best effort). Mercury counters a springboard armdrag into a cross armbreaker but Disco is out in a hurry.

They both miss dropkicks and it’s off to Bomberry vs. Shane Ballard (in his hockey jersey ala his brother). As we hear about Shane enjoying being verbally abused by his romantic partners due to childhood bullying issues, Bomberry shoulders him down and follows with a bad dropkick. A basement version to the side of the head gets two on Shane. Talwar and Shannon come in and it’s a cheap shot from Ronin to annoy Talwar in a hurry. Everything breaks down and it’s a quadruple bite (fingers and boots) to Shannon. I’m not sure what good it does to bite someone’s boot but Excalibur never struck me as all that bright.

Talwar and Shannon trade shoulders for one each, followed by exchanges of hiptosses and armdrags until Talwar misses another armdrag. They roll around for some quick rollups each and they’re so dizzy that they can’t stand up. Talwar collapses onto Shannon’s crotch so it’s off to Excalibur vs. Ronin. One of the fans doesn’t like Excalibur so we stop for him to be upset.

Excalibur hits a dropkick and running shoulder, followed by some jumping knees to the chest. A forearm to the face puts Excalibur down though and the Brothers come in for a double Russian legsweep. As commentary debates the merits of going to Russia, Ronin splashes Excalibur in the corner and Mercury clears the good guys off the apron. Shannon charges into a boot in the corner but comes back with a DDT for two. Excalibur gets in a big boot and a cubic zirconium cutter for the hot tag off to Disco as everything breaks down.

The good guys clear the ring and load up a series of dives, with Disco and Excalibur missing, Bomberry getting kicked out of the air, and Talwar landing on the apron. Call that a rather mixed bag I guess. Mercury and Bomberry chop it out at ringside with Mercury sending him face first into a chair. Back in and Ronin’s powerslam is countered into a reverse DDT from Talwar for two with Mercury making a save. A DDT gets two on Talwar with Excalibur making a diving save. We hit the parade of secondary finishers for some near falls and Talwar turns on Disco, setting up a Whirling Dervish from Shane for the pin at 13:54.

Rating: C-. This could have been a lot worse, though it still wasn’t exactly must see. They had a good amount of action, but it is rather clear that these guys don’t have the most extensive training outside of the fast paced indy style. I get why that kind of wrestling is popular, but the lack of almost anything else can get a little tiresome. Odds are that is going to be the case throughout the show, though maybe some of the others can be a little more seasoned.

Post match we’re clipped (doesn’t seem long) to Bomberry and Talwar beating down Disco and Excalibur. Talwar grabs the mic and shouts about stealing some titles….and injecting them into himself? Disco tries to fight back but the numbers get the better of him. Excalibur gets the same treatment, though points for at least trying. Disco gets up again and fights Talwar to the back.

Ricky Reyes vs. Chris Sabin

Reyes was part of the Havana Pitbulls in ROH and I’m pretty sure you know Sabin, who is making his company debut. They fight over wrist control to start and trade some flippy escapes. Excalibur dubs Reyes as the Tito Santana of PWG, which isn’t something I’m going to take lightly. Reyes grabs a headlock takeover as commentary talks about how Reyes can scout Sabin because Sabin is a regular on Impact. Fair point actually.

Sabin spins out of a double legsweep and gets two off a rollup, sending the fans into quite the applause over a standoff. Sabin forearms away in the corner and snaps off a hurricanrana to send Reyes outside. Naturally that means a suicide dive (indy show requirement) for two back inside but Reyes gets in a poke to the eye. A backbreaker gives Reyes two and he drops a knee to the chest. There’s an elbow to the face for two more and Reyes drops Sabin again for daring a sunset flip.

A loud kick to the back gets another near fall and it’s time to yell at the referee. Sabin uses the breather to come back with an elbow to the face as Excalibur talks about his love life declining. As a result, Sabin gave him some tips from the Kama Sutra. You can tell how professional this stuff is here people. Sabin comes off the top with a big diving DDT for his own two but the Cradle Shock is broken up.

Reyes grabs a bridging northern lights suplex for another near fall and they’re both down. Sabin manages an enziguri into a running diving powerbomb for a rather close two. A tornado DDT plants Sabin to give Reyes another near fall and it’s time for more kicks. Sabin shrugs them off and hits the Cradle Shock for the quick pin at 9:46.

Rating: C. I liked this one a bit more than the opener as it was a more grounded match that let them set things up a lot better. Granted the lack of six more wrestlers and an angle might have had something to do with that. Sabin is always worth a glance and Reyes has done some rather decent stuff in his own right so I’m not surprised that they had a nice match here.

Los Luchas vs. Human Tornado/Scorpio Sky

Tornado, with Dino Winwood, is replacing Sky’s regular partner Quicksilver, as the team is having some issues. Los Luchas (Zokre and Phoenix Star) have been around for the better part of ever. Zokre and Sky start things off as Excalibur talks about how he has been accused of being racist against Mexicans. With that out of the way, they trade armdrags and it’s off to Star for a dropkick to put Sky on the floor. Tornado comes in and gets springboard armdragged to the floor.

Zokre comes in for some miscommunication, followed by a headscissors. Sky is back in to pull Star out of the air into a Fujiwara armbar. Zokre kneebars Tornado at the same time but both holds are released. Sky sends Zokre outside and hits a running knee for two on Star. It’s Star being taken into the corner for a hiptoss backbreaker from Tornado. The chinlock (not a headlock Excalibur) goes on before it’s back to Sky for two off a dropkick. Star gets in a kick to the head though and it’s back to Zokre to pick up the pace.

A jumping knee to the chest drops Sky but Tornado avoids a rolling splash in the corner. Everything breaks down and Star does a handstand in the corner, leaving Sky and Tornado a little confused. Tornado walks over and pokes Star in the eye though, sending him down into a low blow on Zokre. Points for keeping it simple. Sky backbreakers Star and we hit the dancing for a bit. Zokre is back up with a middle rope double Blockbuster and everyone is down.

A surfboard to Tornado sets up a reverse Angle Slam from Star for two. Star spears Sky down for two more with Tornado making the save and sending Zokre outside. We settle back down to Tornado vs. Star, the latter of whom elbows the heck out of Tornado. A low blow has no effect on Tornado (it’s a thing with him) as everything breaks down again. Zokre breaks up Sky’s springboard and Star takes him out with a big dive.

Tornado takes them both down with a big flip dive and Zokre teases his own but bounces off the ropes instead. That leaves Sky to hit him with a twisting backbreaker, followed by a big dive of his own. Sky misses a frog splash though and everyone is back in. The Luchas tease stereo springboards but Zokre drops to the apron instead, leaving Star to hit a springboard flipping legdrop on Sky instead. Tornado breaks up Zokre’s dive but gets sent outside. That leaves the Luchas to hit a top rope Lionsault/springboard Swanton to finish Sky at 11:52.

Rating: C. That ending was rather sloppy and they didn’t exactly hide what happened. It was a fine enough spotfest match other than that but nothing that hasn’t been done better. Sky wasn’t standing out as much as he would later, though this wasn’t the kind of place for him to stand out. Fine enough match, but nothing that hasn’t been done better elsewhere.

Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles vs. El Generico vs. Kevin Steen

One fall to a finish for the #1 contendership for the World Title later tonight (the schedule had to be changed as original #1 contender Tony Stradlin was signed by WWE, where he never got out of developmental). Steen is better known as Kevin Owens and Generico is someone who knows Sami Zayn. Daniels gets a heck of a reception during the Big Match Intros and Styles’ isn’t that far behind. The MR. WRESTLING (Steen) chants start up after the bell as the fans are rather fickle here.

Steen (who is SKINNY here, as well as incredibly young) and Generico start things off and we actually have tags in a bit of a surprise. After a minute and a half of standing around, Steen takes Generico down with a front facelock. That’s reversed into a Fujiwara armbar as Excalibur talks about how he doesn’t like Generico that much. Steen switches to a headlock as Excalibur talks about loving astronomy and cooking, which somehow ties into Generico speaking French and Spanish but not English.

Generico armdrags Steen into the corner and it’s off to Daniels vs. Styles. That sends Daniels straight to the floor because he doesn’t want Styles just yet. So we can keep things moving, Styles tags Generico, who armdrags Daniels into an armbar. That lets Excalibur talk about NBA players using armdrags and the armbarring continues. Daniels chops his way out as Excalibur moves on to insulting all of Mexico, plus questioning how a luchador can be so pale.

Generico gets over to Styles for another tag so Daniels brings Steen back in. Styles slaps Steen in the face for offering a handshake (jerk) and headlocks him over. Now commentary has moved on to discussing Canadian television as Steen fights up, only to get caught in some armdrags. Back up and it’s off to Generico, who gets pulled into the corner so Daniels can keep him in trouble. Daniels even decks Steen, because Daniels isn’t that nice. It’s back to Steen for two off a snap suplex but Generico grabs a bridging northern lights suplex for two of his own.

Steen takes Generico down again and hands it back to AJ for a kick to the face/mask area. Generico blocks a suplex attempt so AJ goes with the always great drop down into the dropkick for two more. AJ goes Nexus with a McGillicutter but Daniels tags himself in and gets the two count. We hit the chinlock with a knee in the back as Excalibur wraps up a two minute story about sending his dad a picture of AJ’s dropkick. Daniels drags Generico over to the corner so Steen tags himself in and unloads on Daniels to even the score from earlier. Steen grabs a chinlock with a knee in the back as the fans chant for Daniels again.

The regular chinlock goes on for a bit until Daniels elbows his way to freedom. A double clothesline drops both of them and it’s Steen bringing in AJ, with Generico nowhere to be seen. AJ unloads on Daniels with clotheslines and a spinwheel kick, followed by a neckbreaker for two. Daniels is back with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two of his own but the moonsault out of the corner into the reverse DDT puts Daniels down again.

Steen comes in for the save and gets belly to back faceplanted for two more. Daniels is back in with an Iconoclasm for two on Styles with Steen making the save this time as the tagging has been dropped. AJ sends Daniels to the floor and hits a big dive as Generico comes back in. Steen teases his own dive….and then covers Generico for the pin and the title shot at 21:19.

Rating: B. This was the first match that felt like a big deal and I can give you four guesses why that was the case. As you might have expected, AJ feels like the biggest and most polished star of the match, though Daniels wasn’t far behind. Good match here though and Steen doing the logical thing to take the pin is very fitting for him, even back then.

Next up is the Tag Team Title match but the champs, Arrogance (Scott Lost/Chris Bosh) have something to say. Before we can get to that though, the fans tell Kazarian that he’s the coolest. Kazarian is ready to introduce his mystery partner but Lost needs to announce that ROBOCOP will be here in two weeks (at the venue, not a PWG show). Bosh: “I LOVE ROBOCOP!”

Hold on though as Bosh needs to go to the floor and insult all of the different races in the crowd (seriously), including saying “and we also have our white people!”. Lost gets back in the ring and says Kazarian’s real name is…..Snake Duncan? Apparently he’s going to WWE and they’ll join him there someday. Kazarian says he knows Arrogance likes movie references, so Kazarian references Bosh’s mother having, ahem, relations with various races in HER movies. With that, it’s time to meet Kazarian’s partner.

Tag Team Titles: Arrogance vs. Frankie Kazarian/Joey Ryan

Kazarian and Ryan, the latter dubbed the Homeless Vagabond, are challenging with Ryan making a big return. Before we’re ready to go, Bosh gets in an argument with a mentally challenged fan in the crowd, allowing Excalibur to make fat jokes about Ryan. Bosh steals a large fan’s chair (off camera) as we await the opening bell. Arrogance can’t decide who starts and the referee is getting fed up of this, so commentary makes fun of El Generico.

It’s a brawl to start with Lost spearing Bosh by mistake. Lost gets sent into Bosh in the corner and Kazarian adds a corner dropkick for a bonus. The slingshot dive hits Lost as Ryan seems content to stand on the apron and applaud. Ryan comes in and Lost (Ryan’s former partner) bails in a hurry so Ryan hurricanranas Bosh instead. Bosh gets chopped over and over in the corner and Kazarian’s running neckbreaker gets two.

A missed charge in the corner lets Bosh stomp Kazarian down and Lost comes in to punch Kazarian in the face (as per Bosh’s instructions). Lost’s leg lariat gets two (Bosh: “Good s***.”) and Bosh comes back in, mocks Kazarian’s springboards, and forearms him in the back. A clothesline drives Kazarian’s back onto Lost’s raised knees for no cover, as it’s time to choke on the rope instead. Some loud laughter sets up another forearm to the back, followed by a Tarantula from Bosh.

Lost gets in a rather blatant low blow, as DQ’s apparently don’t count around here. A Stinger Splash (or close to one) connects for Bosh but Kazarian gets in a spinning sunset bomb to get a much needed breather. Ryan comes in and low blows Bosh’s top rope dive out of the air but Lost runs away from the Ryan threat. Lost tries a cheap shot to no effect and it’s Ryan cleaning house on both champs. A slam puts Lost onto Bosh and Kazarian hits a top rope legdrop onto both of them.

It’s back to Kazarian, as Ryan is fine with watching him fight both champs at once. I’m starting to think he’s not the best partner. A Stunner stuns Kazarian into a Rock Bottom into a backbreaker for two. Kazarian is back up with a twisting DDT/swinging Downward Spiral, allowing the tag off to Ryan. Some rolling German suplexes put Bosh down and a fisherman’s suplex gets two. Lost kicks Ryan off the top but Kazarian does the same to Bosh, with the latter falling out to the floor.

Lost dropkicks Kazarian but grabs his knee and falls out to the floor with the referee checking on him. Ryan uses the distraction to grab a chair, which Kazarian takes away in a hurry. Bosh knocks them into each other and BLASTS Ryan in the head with said chair. Since Ryan is who he is, he flicks his head up to check where everything is (of course) and Bosh comes in to get the easy pin to retain at 13:15.

Rating: C+. Ryan looking up at the end made me laugh quite a bit because even when he’s just a guy in tights, he has to do something to take away the realism. The match was fine enough, but it wasn’t anything that hasn’t been done better. Maybe knowing and seeing more of the backstory would help, but Ryan was just a guy in tights here, which I’ll take over the more famous persona. Just….stop doing stupid stuff.

Post match Kazarian and some trainers check on Ryan. The fans give Ryan an ovation….and he kicks Kazarian low. Excalibur tries to come in and gets shoved away, so here’s Arrogance to stomp on Kazarian as well. A failed save attempt earns Excalibur his own beating and Ryan grabs the mic. Ryan says Kazarian expects him to be the good guy, and where did that get him? He’s been on his couch eating generic knockoff Cheetos for the last month.

Trying to please the people does him no good because Kazarian cost him a chance to become a champion. The worst thing the people did was like him more than they liked Scott Lost. That caused the problems between Ryan and Lost, who is Ryan’s best friend. The fans don’t think much of the best friend deal and it’s even worse when Ryan apologizes to Lost. Ryan and Lost hug but Kazarian runs back in to chase them off. Not a bad post match angle.

PWG World Title: Super Dragon vs. Kevin Steen

Steen is challenging and jumps Dragon from behind during the entrances. Dragon’s robe is thrown down and Steen tosses him into the chairs. They get inside with Steen hitting a spinwheel kick but it’s too early for the package piledriver. Super Dragon can’t hit a curb stomp but can get a figure four necklock to slow Steen down. A basement dropkick gives Dragon two and some Kawada kicks make it worse.

Dragon grabs a full nelson with his legs, meaning some kicks to the back of the head can rock Steen again. A snapmare gets one on Steen (probably because it was a snapmare) and he grabs the rope to block a Psycho Driver (whatever that is). Dragon sends him outside but misses a flipping suicide dive for a NASTY crash (with the good visual of the fans spreading away). Steen is glad to capitalize on Dragon’s banged up knee but he needs to yell at a fan too.

More yelling at another fan lets Dragon remember what planet he’s on before Steen throws him back in. A missile dropkick gets two on Dragon and Steen puts on his own leg full nelson with kicks to the head. Steen slams him down but stops to yell at the fans again. That means a rather delayed two, followed by a neckbreaker onto the knee for the same. We hit the choking, as Steen is looking great as the cocky heel here. A flipping legdrop gives Steen two more as Excalibur talks about going to a Detroit Pistons game and knee braces called can openers.

Dragon misses a rolling kick into the corner and bangs up the knee all over again. Steen takes too much time AGAIN though and now the rolling kick knocks him out to the floor. The running flip dive connects this time and they’re both down on the floor. Back in and Dragon hits a jumping stomp to the ribs, setting up the curb stomp. The fans want another one but Steen reverses into a small package for two. Another curb stomp gives Dragon two and a top rope backsplash gets the same.

Dragon misses a Cannonball though and Steen hits a great looking moonsault for his own near fall. Excalibur chokes on some water as the dueling chants begin. Steen grabs a slingshot Downward Spiral for a very close two, meaning it’s time for the package piledriver. A quick hurricanrana into a clothesline gives Dragon his own two and they’re both down again.

It’s Dragon up first to miss a top rope stomp, allowing Steen to grab a fisherman’s buster for the next near fall. Steen hits his own curb stomp and a heck of a package piledriver gets two more. That’s the kickout that lets you know Steen isn’t winning, even as Dragon rolls outside. Back in and Steen tries the Psycho Driver (it starts with a torture rack) but Dragon slips out and grabs his own package piledriver to retain at 18:16.

Rating: B. The match was good action with some solid near falls, but at the same time there was very little feeling that Steen was going to win the title. Once Dragon kicked out of the package piledriver, there was no chance whatsoever and it showed badly. Still though, good main event indeed with Steen as a great heel, even though it’s weird seeing a heel coming in at a disadvantage after wrestling a long match earlier tonight.

We’re off the air less than fifteen seconds after the bell and with Excalibur in mid-sentence.

Before we wrap things up, the DVD also includes a set of promos from after (or maybe during) the show.

Excalibur and Disco Machine are furious about their loss but they have fixed their burned bridges. Now Top Gun Talwar and Hook Bomberry have burned their own bridges. Ronin comes in and says they were having a good match and shakes Excalibur’s hand. Excalibur talks about how that is the kind of sportsmanship you want in a professional wrestler. Not anabolic steroids like in Talwar and Bomberry. That’s more fire than I’ve ever heard from Excalibur and it wasn’t bad.

Chris Sabin talks about coming to California and he’s made a name for himself everywhere else. Tonight, he showed why he’s better than everyone else, but that was just step one.

Talwar and Bomberry want to go to Tijuana, kill a hooker, and do cocaine off of her body. Steroids are discussed and apparently Talwar has absorbed title belts. This place is weird. Talwar: “I’m on steroids! I do cocaine! I f*** hookers!”

Joey Ryan talks about how he used to come here every month and wrestle but his fans stole everything from him. They always wanted him to be a nice guy but nice guys finish last. Where did any of that get him? It got him on the shelf for six months.

Chris Bosh and Scott Lost ask for some silence for their shoot interview. Their guest is the handicapped fan from earlier, who explains that he is very smart. He has spent a lot of time online learning about the independent wrestling scene. Bosh doesn’t think much of him so they yell at each other a lot.

The fan turns his back over threats of Bosh exposing himself but is told to sit down. He flips both of them off quite a bit over his DVD choices and then ask him about ask him about his, shall we say, size. The fan lists off various sex acts in regards to Lost and then shouts that Bosh is horny, over and over again. He then howls and leaves to wrap things up.

Overall Rating: B-. One of the criticisms that you hear about PWG is the lack of storylines but that wasn’t the case here at all, with more than enough to keep me into the show and knowing what was going on. That being said, a lot of the wrestling was just ok with the four way and main event being good enough to see. It’s a good enough show and at just a shade over two hours, it’s not something you can complain about all that much. Granted your Ernest tastes may vary, but overall, not bad at all and I could go for more of the company.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: January 9, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

I must be confused because it seems that we’re already back to regular shows, even though Final Battle was only a few weeks ago. Usually it’s the better part of a year so this is quite the nice treat. The big stories coming out of the show were Jay Lethal retaining the World Title and the Briscoes winning Ladder War to become ten time Tag Team Champions. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ian is in the ring with four men who have earned World Title shots as of late: Chris Sabin (Proving Ground match), Flip Gordon (won the Sea of Honor tournament), Dalton Castle (contractually obligated rematch) and Marty Scurll (won the Survival of the Fittest tournament). Tonight it’s a four way with the winner getting a title shot at Honor Reigns Supreme on January 13. Ian introduces Lethal but gets Matt Taven instead.

Taven doesn’t see anyone worthy of getting a shot. It’s good to see Flip’s face again because his head has been buried in the Young Bucks’….yeah you get the idea. Is it 2012 again? That’s the only way Sabin could be relevant in the World Title picture. Marty Scurll must be sad because he’s not tall enough to ride the train to Jacksonville. That leaves him with Castle, who he beat at Final Battle. Go off and fake another injury already. This brings out Jay Lethal, with Taven spitting on the title. The fight is on with referees and agents having to break it up. Nice opening, with Taven FINALLY showing some personality.

Jeff Cobb vs. Luchasaurus

This is a Proving Ground match, meaning if Luchasaurus can win or go to the fifteen minute time limit, he gets a TV Title shot. Luchasaurus kicks him in the head at the bell for an early two and hits a spinning kick to the head for two more. That just earns him a spinning belly to back suplex, followed by Cobb putting him on the top for a dropkick. Luchasaurus kicks him again and hits a chokeslam as we take a break.

Back with Cobb hitting a running uppercut in the corner but walking into a superkick. A jumping kick to the side of the head drops Cobb again but Cobb catches him with a belly to belly superplex. Cobb muscles him up for a piledriver and the Tour of the Islands finishes Luchasaurus off at 6:56.

Rating: C+. There’s something to be said about a monster who can throw around another monster. That’s just not normal no matter how you spin it and that’s what happened here. It’s not a great match or anything, but it’s a fun spectacle and I’ll take that over a standard match most of the time.

Kelly Klein vs. Nikki Addams

Before the match, Kelly grabs the mic and says starting right now, every one on one match she’s in, will be a title match. Dang and I had “non-title again” all ready to go. Klein hits her in the face at the bell and gets crushed in the corner for her efforts. Addams misses a running boot in the corner though and it’s off to a cravate.

Back from a break with Addams backhanding Klein in the head and now the running boot connects for two. Addams takes too long going up top and gets pulled right back down, sending Klein into a fit. K Power is broken up so Kelly knees her in the face to retain at 4:44. Too short to rate but Addams didn’t look great.

Post match here’s Jenny Rose to say they have some unfinished business. They have a match on January 13 so it’s already a title match, but let’s make it a street fight. Klein says it’s on.

Beer City Bruiser is upset that Silas Young won’t talk to him. Brian Milonas says go talk to him in the locker room.

We look at Bully Ray, the Briscoes and Shane Taylor attacking the Elite after their final match. The whole thing is on Honor Club.

Video on Marty Scurll beating Christopher Daniels to end his ROH career at Final Battle.

Here’s Daniels in a suit for a chat. After a THANK YOU DANIELS chant, Daniels says Final Battle wasn’t a good night for SCU. The only thing left for him to do is say goodbye but he’s going to take the memories with him. The memories of the first main event against Low Ki and Bryan Danielson. Of that first World Title match going 60 minutes in 100 degree heat and every opponent who became his friends and brothers. Finally, the memories of becoming World Champion after all those years. He says goodbye but here’s Joe Koff to say thank you as well.

What Daniels did at Final Battle made Koff rethink things. Daniels defended Cary Silkin, who played such a huge role in ROH. That showed Koff that he did it for Ring of Honor and not himself. Therefore, here’s his new contract to continue wrestling around here. Daniels hugs him and holds up the contract but here’s Shane Taylor to jump Daniels from behind.

A dive takes Taylor down and the fight is on but Taylor throws him into the post. They head inside with Taylor kneeing him in the face and blasting him in the back with a chair. Greetings From 216 on the chair wrecks Daniels neck all over again and Taylor rips up the contract. I hope that’s not how Ring of Honor thinks contracts works.

Marty Scurll vs. Chris Sabin vs. Flip Gordon vs. Dalton Castle

One fall to a finish with the winner getting a shot on January 13 with Jay Lethal on commentary just in case Taven isn’t gone. Scurll bails straight to the floor to start and tries to get the fans clapping. Castle gets sent outside so it’s Sabin and Gordon trading some standing switches. That goes nowhere so they dive onto Castle and Scurll to keep the fans into things.

Back in and Sabin missile dropkicks Scurll right back out of the ring and Gordon nearly does the same thing to Castle. Gordon and Sabin don’t seem thrilled to fight each other so Castle cleans house and we take a break. Back with Castle throwing Gordon down again but getting kicked in the chest by Sabin. Marty is right back up to send Sabin outside for the apron superkick, only to get chopped by Gordon.

With Gordon being knocked down, we hit the quadruple submission. Since that’s completely ridiculous, the holds are all broken up and Sabin shoves Scurll off the top, setting up a triple high crossbody. A tornado DDT to Gordon lets Sabin kick the other two down at the same time but Castle is back up with a suplex. Gordon kicks Castle in the head and gets two off a running shooting star press. Sabin snaps off a hurricanrana but Gordon rolls through and scores with an enziguri. It doesn’t do a ton of damage though as Sabin is back up with kicks to Gordon and Scurll but he walks into the Bang a Rang to give Castle the clean pin at 9:04.

Rating: B-. It was a bit wild but that’s kind of the point here. You have to give all four of them title shots at some point and Castle is as good of a next challenger as anyone. It’s pretty clear that this is going to wind up being Taven taking the World Title from Lethal, which is about as uninteresting as you can get. Therefore, enjoy what you can get in the meantime because it’s going to go downhill pretty soon.

Post match Lethal comes in and shakes Castle’s hand to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Good show from top to bottom here with a combination of solid angles and matches. This felt like a good fallout show from Final Battle, which tends to take forever more often than not around here. At least we got a nice show here, even though there’s a lot that still needs to be done. More of this, and this company will get that much better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: October 24, 2018
Location: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

The road to Final Battle is on but it’s almost impossible to keep track of everything we have going on at the moment. You know, because there’s so much going on at the moment. In other words, there’s Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal which has yet to be announced as of yet. Also, Jeff Cobb gets a TV Title match tonight against Punishment Martinez. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the TV Title match, as well as Coast to Coast challenging the Briscoe Brothers for the Tag Team Titles.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoe Brothers vs. Coast to Coast

The Briscoes are defending and the announcers seem unsure why this match is taking place now. Coast to Coast comes out to say they’re not waiting on the main event. Mark takes LSG down to start and rubs his face into the mat just to be a jerk. Or a heel. Close enough. LSG isn’t having that and chops him into the corner, only to have Mark deck Ali so Jay can come in for some cheap shots. It’s Ali in trouble in the corner as we take a break. Back with Ali still in trouble as Jay comes in for a headbutt.

Another kick to the face ticks Ali off so Mark pokes him in the eye. We hit the neck crank for a bit until Ali fights up and rolls over for the hot tag to LSG so the comeback can be on. A spinning gutbuster sets up a flip neckbreaker to stagger Mark and Jay misses a hard clothesline. LSG gets sent outside to draw Ali over, allowing Mark to dropkick the heck out of him as the champs are rolling. An elbow off the apron crushes Ali and Jay sends him into the barricade for a bonus.

Back in and LSG is mostly done as well, though even the announcers are wondering why the champs aren’t going after the completely destroyed Ali. Some right hands give Mark an arrogant cover and it’s back to Jay for a kick to the head. We take a second break and come back again with LSG still in trouble and Jay talking a lot of trash, as he is known to do. LSG gets the traditional enziguri and there’s the diving tag to Ali so the pace can pick up…for all of three seconds before Jay kicks him in the face.

The champs take over again and hit a neckbreaker on Ali before kicking away. A fisherman’s buster gets two and Redneck Boogie (Razor’s Edge into a neckbreaker) is good for the same with the kickout shocking Mark. LSG comes in for the save and a Stroke/Downward Spiral combination gets two on the illegal Mark, though the referee doesn’t seem to mind.

Coast to Coast hits Coast to Coast but LSG hits a 450 so Ali can get two. Coleman accurately points out that the sequence took WAY too long and they should have covered while Jay was down a few seconds earlier. Jay saves his brother from a double superplex and it’s the Doomsday Device to pin Ali at 17:23.

Rating: B. You know, Coast to Coast has gone from a one more team to some awesome underdogs. I wouldn’t have guessed the two of them could have become an entertaining team but they’ve worked their way to that point. I could see them finally winning the titles at some point, which would be a very nice come from behind moment. This was much better than I thought it would be as the Briscoes continue to be one of the best teams in the world.

Jay Lethal isn’t cool with Matt Taven holding his own worthless title.

Matt Taven holds up his belt and says he’s the real champion.

The Briscoes say they’re the best in the world and invite anyone to come for the titles.

Video on Jeff Cobb wrecking the Top Prospect Tournament and then laying out Punishment Martinez.

TV Title: Jeff Cobb vs. Punishment Martinez

Martinez is defending. They slug it out at the bell and Cobb shoves him around. The stomp out of the corner is easily blocked and Cobb hits the spinning belly to back suplex instead. A knee to the face has no effect and Martinez isn’t sure what to do. Martinez kicks him in the face to put Cobb down on one knee. The Silencer is shrugged off and Cobb clotheslines him down with ease. The Tour of the Islands gives Cobb the pin and the title at 1:28 as Martinez is off to WWE. This was EXACTLY how this should have gone as Martinez has been a monster but now the bigger monster has devoured him. Very smart booking.

Here’s an injured Tenille Dashwood (jumped at Death Before Dishonor by a mystery attacker) for a chat. She talks about how she’s not as good as she’s been saying because she has an autoimmune disease that is fighting her entire body and now she has a bad shoulder on top of it. She’s kept fighting because she’s stubborn but now she’s ticked off because she’s been attacked.

Now there’s nothing she can do about it because she has to have shoulder surgery. Whoever attacked her is probably happy but now she has all the time to think about what happened. She fought at Death Before Dishonor at less than 50%, so imagine what she can do at 100%.

Adam Page is ready for Scorpio Sky next week.

Chris Sabin vs. Marty Scurll

On his way to the ring, Sabin talks about spirit animals and how much more awesome his is than Scurll’s. Right. They fight over wrist control to start with Sabin being a bit more technically sound. Marty’s shoulder doesn’t move Sabin so it’s off to a posedown. They keep trying the same thing, including both of them trying kicks to the ribs. Neither is willing to let it go so the referee has to put both feet down.

Marty is all fired up but it’s right back to the wrist battle. I guess he’s a wrist enthusiast. Sabin takes him down and hits a running kick to the face for the first two. Some running elbows put Sabin on the floor though and that means the apron superkick. Back from a break with Sabin caught in a crossarm choke until he fights up for a kick to Scurll’s chest. The forearm exchange goes to Sabin and a missile dropkick puts Scurll on the floor.

Back in and a hanging swinging neckbreaker gives Sabin two, followed by the pinfall reversal sequence. A running kick to the chest keeps Scurll in trouble but he’s fast enough to catch Sabin with a superplex for two. Sabin pops up for a superkick and that means a double knockdown. Even more kicks put them both down but Marty tries the chickenwing. Sabin flips backwards into a rollup so Scurll lets go and powerbombs him again. Graduation (a spinning butterfly slam) finishes Sabin at 10:39.

Rating: B-. Scurll has figured out his role very well and is having some entertaining matches as of late. Sabin is still the same guy he’s been for years now and that’s not the worst place to be. There’s a pretty strong midcard around here and amazingly enough, Scurll is that much better when you don’t have him trading wins with the Hurricane.

Overall Rating: A-. Easily their best show in a very long time, though the TV Title match should have closed the show. You had two very good matches and one very intelligent match, which makes this one of their best put together shows in years. Ring of Honor has a bad tendency to just put stuff out there to fill in time with no apparent purpose but that wasn’t the case this time around. It’s amazing how much better things are when they’re focused, which they were here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: October 3, 2018
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re officially past Death Before Dishonor but you wouldn’t know that for a long time around here. Alas we’re stuck with another series of nothing shows that don’t follow up on the pay per view for a few weeks for reasons that even I’m tired of talking about. Hopefully they have something good for tonight, but you never can guess. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Eli Isom vs. Shane Taylor vs. Flip Gordon vs. Chris Sabin

One fall to a finish. Sabin shoulders Flip down to start and it’s time for a very early slugout. A double clothesline gives us a double knockdown and it’s off to Isom vs. Taylor. Eli makes the mistake of going right after him, only to get planted with a spinebuster for two. Sabin and Gordon go after Taylor as well but get choked for their efforts. Some double teaming puts him on the floor though and it’s Flip hitting the big dive onto everyone.

Shane is back up though and hits a Cannonball off the apron to take all three down and take us to a break. Back with Sabin dropkicking Taylor in the corner and flip spearing him through the ropes. One heck of a clothesline drops Gordon so Sabin comes back in with a high crossbody, followed by a missile dropkick. A tornado DDT gets two on Taylor but he slams Sabin out of the corner to get a breather.

Isom comes back in and avoids a charge before getting two off a suplex of all things. Sabin grabs a DDT/Downward Spiral combination for a double knockdown but Taylor is back up to be the monster again. A huge show drops Gordon but Isom rolls Taylor up for the huge upset at 11:31.

Rating: C. There’s nothing wrong with pushing an underdog but I really hope we’re not coming up on Cheeseburger’s replacement with Isom. This is his second big upset win but at least he’s not the smallest guy in the world. Having him pin Taylor is fine, but it doesn’t work as well if they have a singles rematch later. Hopefully they just let Isom get away with it, which is going to do more for him than anything else.

Post match Taylor cleans house until Gordon superkicks him to the floor.

Marty Scurll is ready to face Shane Helms again and wants Shane to be his hero.

TV Title: Aaron Solow vs. Punishment Martinez

Solow won a competition called Dojo Pro to earn this shot and is better known as Bayley’s fiance. A slap to Martinez’s face takes us to the opening bell and Solow has to duck a spinning kick to the head. The chokeslam is escaped twice and a dropkick has Martinez in some trouble. He stomps Solow out of the corner though and it’s time for a trip to the floor for a whip into the barricade.

Back from a break with Solow hitting a kick from the apron and clotheslining Martinez to the floor for the big flip dive. The chokeslam is countered again and the belly to belly (nice touch) into a spinning suplex gets two. Martinez is right back with the running stomp and a South of Heaven chokeslam retains the title at 8:43.

Rating: C+. Not bad at all here with Solow getting to show off a bit. That’s the kind of performance you need to put in when you have an opportunity like this. The match wasn’t exactly in doubt, but Solow looked good and showed off his talents, which is a good sign for his future. Maybe he’ll be back again, which wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

Coast 2 Coast is back next week.

Bully Ray isn’t happy that Silas Young is teaming with the Bouncers because he sees it as a step backwards.

We look at the Kingdom being cheated out of the Six Man Tag Team Titles.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Cody/Young Bucks vs. Silas Young/Bouncers

Cody, with Brandi and Bernard, and the Bucks are defending. Matt tries his luck with the massive Milonas to start and gets knocked into the corner without much effort. Bruiser comes in to overpower Nick so everything breaks down with the champs triple dropkicking Milonas to the floor. More kicks and dropkicks clear the ring and of course the fans love it. Back in and things settle down with Nick rolling over for the hot tag to Cody but a cheap shot takes him down as well.

Silas hammers away at Cody before handing it off to an already tired Bruiser. Cody sidesteps a charge and Bruiser knocks Bernard over, allowing Milonas to crossbody Cody down for two. Back from a break with Cody powerslamming his way out of trouble and diving over for the hot tag to Nick (which is what he’s best at). Everything breaks down (well duh) and the Bucks clean house, including breaking up a variety of near finishers.

The splash/standing moonsault hits Bruiser for two and Cody dives onto Milonas and Young. Bruiser dives onto the other five, leaving Cody to take a big Trash Compactor for two back inside. That doesn’t bother the Bucks though as they start firing off superkicks, which is enough to have Young walk out. Cross Rhodes to Milonas retains the titles at 15:37.

Rating: C. Cody and the Bucks can only do so much with guys like Milonas and Bruiser, who just aren’t the most versatile people in the world. Young leaving makes perfect sense, especially given him being a bigger star and having more success than the other two put together. It’s fine for a one off main event, but the Bruiser and Milonas need someone smaller to do a big chunk of the matches

Overall Rating: D+. This wasn’t a great show by any means and it gave a good illustration of how these post-pay per view shows aren’t all that interesting. The matches are all standalone and none of them were anything more than a run of the mill showcase. Solow looked good, but I need a little more than Bayley’s fiance turning in a nice performance over the course of an hour.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: August 22, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

Where are we again? I know it’s the start of a new taping cycle but when these shows run together as badly as Ring of Honor’s do, it’s rather hard to remember what happened last week. My guess is a big tag match with Cheeseburger being annoying and something about the TV Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Scorpio Sky vs. Chris Sabin

They actually shake hands to start with the fans starting some dueling chants. Sky armdrags him down so Sabin shouts DETROIT CITY. A pinfall reversal sequence doesn’t get anyone anywhere so Sky hits a double stomp to the back. Sabin gets sent outside for the big dive and there’s a legdrop on the apron for two. Back in and a double clothesline doesn’t go anywhere so Sabin enziguris him for a longer double knockdown. Sabin kicks him in the chest twice in a row and we take a break.

Back with Sabin hitting a missile dropkick and spinning Sky into a DDT for two more. Sky snaps off a super hurricanrana though and a kick to the head rocks Sabin again. A slingshot cutter gets the same and Sky is getting frustrated at the kickouts. Sabin grabs the arm and spins him around into a cradle for two, followed by a knee to the head and Cradle Shock for the pin at 8:30.

Rating: C. Perfectly fine match here as I’ve always liked Sabin a little more than Shelley in the ring. Sky has a different look than a lot of the people around here with some muscles to his frame and that makes a win for a technical guy like Sabin. I could see Sabin getting a nice singles push around here and having another hand with some success like Sabin is always a good thing.

Post match Alex Shelley says their careers have gone on for a long time now. He’s realized that there isn’t much left for either him or the Motor City Machine Guns in wrestling. A few weeks ago he was in a dentist’s chair having his broken teeth fixed for the third time. There isn’t a reason for him to be around anymore, so maybe this isn’t a retirement because that’s not what wrestlers do.

Maybe this is just a see you later, but Sabin needs to validate everything they’ve done over the years. He can do that by winning some gold around here, starting with the TV Title. We get a loud THANK YOU chant but here’s Punishment Martinez to jump them from behind. Before he can smash Shelley’s face into a chair, Sky makes the save with a chair of his own. That could be interesting.

Kenny King is ready to do whatever he needs to do to make Marty Scurll take a knee tonight.

Kelly Klein is on commentary for the next match.

Karen Q vs. Jenny Rose

Karen’s pre-match promo talks about wanting to end her losing streak which Rose talks about wanting to be Women of Honor Champion, which starts with Karen Q. Rose starts with a rollup for two and reverses a suplex into a small package. A running clothesline gets yet another near fall as Klein really isn’t impressed. Karen avoids a charge and chokes in the corner as we take a break.

Back with Karen cutting her down with a clothesline and choking on the ropes. Some running elbows in the corner mix things up a bit and an exploder suplex gets two on Rose. Jenny is right back with a fisherman’s suplex for two of her own and a spear is good for a nearer fall. That’s enough to get Kelly off the apron to throw her mouth piece at Jenny. That’s enough of a distraction for Karen to hit a full nelson slam for the pin at 7:32.

Rating: D. This was another lifeless women’s match with two people I know nothing about. I’m not sure when these matches to set up the feuds take place but I’d assume on the Honor Club exclusive shows. If those are the best they can do, I’m really not sure why the division exists at the moment. It’s not the worst, but it’s something that comes and goes every week without actually getting anywhere.

Post match Klein jumps Rose as Karen looks on.

Jonathan Gresham has come a long way in Ring of Honor but hasn’t been able to beat Jay Lethal. Jay admits that he underestimated Gresham but that won’t happen again. They meet again in three weeks in an Iron Man Match for the title.

Chris Sabin finds Alex Shelley down in the back, holding his mouth with a chair next to his head. Always interesting.

Top Prospect Tournament First Round: FR Josie vs. Eli Isom

Erg is this still a thing? Josie calls himself the resident body guy and has to look at his hand to remember that he’s supposed to win. Isom blocks an armdrag and throws Josie with a suplex. A springboard misses though and Josie kicks him in the face, only to dive into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Cue JEFF COBB (Matanza from Lucha Underground) to take out Isom for the DQ at 52 seconds.

Cobb beats both of them up and suplexes them at the same time to a big reaction. Fair enough as the guy is awesome.

The Kingdom is ready for the Bullet Club next week.

Kenny King vs. Marty Scurll

Marty spins behind him to start and let’s hit that bird pose. They go to the mat for a slow paced mat sequence (not a bad thing), including an exchange of headlock takeovers and that’s a standoff. Marty takes him down with a drop toehold and there’s the surfboard double stomp to the legs. Back up and King goes with the faster pace, including a legsweep into some….I think dancing?

They head to the floor with King sliding underneath the ropes and forearming Marty in the jaw before taking the umbrella away from him. The distraction lets Marty take him down by the wrist and kick King in the face. Back from a break with Marty getting two off a superplex but not being able to get the chickenwing. A spinning enziguri gets King out of trouble and a spinebuster gets two.

King blocks a low superkick and slaps on a Last Chancery as a nod to Austin Aries. The rope is grabbed so Scurll snaps off the brainbuster for two. He takes too long loading up the fingers though, allowing King to try a Royal Flush, which is countered into a DDT for two, even with trunks. Marty grabs the umbrella again but King rolls him up instead and puts his feet on the ropes for the pin at 13:42.

Rating: C+. So King is a heel again? Sure why not. I’m not sure what the point is in turning him when he seems to be feuding with Aries, but it’s not like King is doing anything at the moment. I’m surprised to see Scurll take a loss, even a dirty one, as the Bullet Club doesn’t lose very often. Not bad, but just a match really.

Overall Rating: C-. This was the midcard edition of the show and that’s not the most thrilling week in the world. The wrestling wasn’t too bad but at the same time it was a bunch of stuff that didn’t feel all that important. At least the Cobb debut went very well and he could be a star around here in short order. Oh and Lethal vs. Gresham in a few weeks should be fun. Pretty skippable show, save for Cobb.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Ring of Honor
Date: December 27, 2017
Location: RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

It’s after Christmas (or before depending on when this show airs for you) and that means it’s time for a special match. This time around we’ll be having a ten man tag with surprise teams, which could make for some fun stuff. We’re still waiting on the post Final Battle stuff but that’s how Ring of Honor works. Let’s get to it.

Cody is standing by some Christmas presents and isn’t happy with being a captain of a team tonight where he doesn’t even get to pick his own team. Dalton Castle, the other captain, comes in and gets to draw the first name. Castle likes his pick, which isn’t revealed.

Opening sequence.

The Dawgs vs. Flip Gordon/Simon Grimm

Rhett Titus is dressed as Santa and Will Ferrara is a reindeer. Grimm is better known as Simon Gotch from WWE and I’m interested in seeing if he’s as nothing here as he was there. Ferrara and Grimm fight over whether the reindeer suit should be zipped up or not. Grimm takes him down into a choke before it’s off to Flip. Some chops set up a standing moonsault for two, followed by a good looking dropkick for the same.

Ferrara trips him up though, sending Gordon face first into the apron. Back from a break with Titus throwing Ferrara into Gordon for another two as the Dawgs have lost the suits but Will kept the red nose. A double suplex drops Gordon and Titus catapults Will into a splash for two. Back up and a springboard forearm cuts Titus off though and the hot tag brings in Grimm. A tiger bomb gets two on Titus as everything breaks down. Ferrara hits Grimm with a present though and an implant DDT with Ferrara helping to spike Simon (Who Let the Dawgs Out) is good for the pin at 9:33.

Rating: C-. It’s the right outcome, assuming you can tolerate the Dawgs. Grimm was slightly better than his Gotch days but that’s not exactly saying much. The match was nothing to see but that’s kind of what you have to expect from a Dawgs match. It feels like such a nothing team and that’s pretty much what they are to this point.

Cody makes two picks. He’s pleased with one but doesn’t think the second even works here. Post break he makes a third pick. Cody: “Christmas sucks.”

Castle makes a pick and says this makes things interesting. No names have been given yet.

Video on the Women of Honor, mainly focusing on Deonna Purrazzo vs. Karen Q. I feel like we’ve seen packages like this for months now and while a title will help, they need to be on TV more than once every few months.

We get an ad for Final Battle….which aired over a week before this show.

Cody is in the ring with a present. He’ll give it to the loudest fan….but stomps it instead because he hates Christmas. It’s time for the reveal of the teams.

Team Cody vs. Team Castle

Cody, Scorpio Sky, Josh Woods, Chris Sabin, Punishment Martinez

Dalton Castle, Silas Young, Hanson, Jonathan Gresham, Marty Scurll

Neither Cody nor Castle (in an ugly Christmas sweater) has the World Title here for the sake of protecting pay per view results. Gresham and Sabin start things off and of course they hit the mat with neither being able to do much against the other. Sky and Castle come in but Young tags himself in instead. They slug it out and it’s pretty clear that Sky hasn’t turned heel yet. A backbreaker has Sky in trouble so he brings Cody in, only to have Castle come in as well.

As you might expect, Cody hands it off to Woods so Castle takes the sweater off. Cody puts it on instead as Castle and Woods take turns driving each other into the corner. Neither can gutwrench the other so Castle hits the peacock pose as we take a break. Back with Hanson and Martinez coming in for the hoss fight. Both guys get in a knockdown for no effect so Cody tags himself in. Hanson tags out by chopping Scurll off the apron but of course they just pose.

Castle sends Marty into Cody and despite tensions being teased, it’s just a big hug. Everyone comes in and it’s a big ten man staredown. Castle wants to fight because IT’S CHRISTMAS! Everything breaks down and it’s Sky with the big flip dive onto the pile. Woods powerbombs Sky onto the same pile before Cody comes off the top with yet another dive. It’s Martinez adding a springboard dive, followed by Hanson topping them all with a dive of his own.

Back from a break with Sky taking a series of running charges in the corner. Marty charges into a knee though and it’s a Flair Flop. Now it’s Marty’s turn to get hit with the running charges in the corner but Cody pulls up short of course. Martinez hits Cody instead until we settle down to Cody vs. Castle. That lasts all of three seconds though as Castle has to suplex a bunch of people.

Sky slips out of the Bang A Rang and it’s Gresham taking over with a dive. Sabin escapes Misery but it’s Hanson kicking Woods in the face. Cody and Hanson trade cartwheels until Cody hits the Beautiful Disaster on Castle. *That earns him a Bang A Rang but Sky takes Castle down with something like a neckbreaker, though Castle lands face first instead. Another Bang A Rang puts Sky away at 19:37.

Rating: B-. This was all it needed to be, aside from maybe some more Cody vs. Castle. They had to hide the results from Final Battle so it was really just a bunch of random fighting, though that’s just about all it needed to be. I had a good time with the match and for a big time special, it’s hard to complain about that kind of a result.

Overall Rating: C+. Solid show, even if it’s just thrown together as a filler episode. The main event was fun enough and I had a good time with it, though the opener kind of dragged things down. We’re still not ready for the Final Battle fallout though as we’re coming up on a Best Of show next week, though it wouldn’t feel right if we got to the next stuff so soon. Good enough show this week, but I could go for some storyline advancement.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Ring of Honor
Date: July 5, 2017
Location: Frontier Fieldhouse, Chicago Ridge, Illinois
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re still in Chicago and still getting ready to deal with the fallout from Best in the World, which should start in another two weeks if we’re lucky. I’m really running out of ways to complain about how messed up the schedule is and I still don’t understand why we have to wait so long. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here’s new World Champion Cody in the ring so apparently we’re already on the new taping cycle. THEN WHY DIDN’T WE HAVE THIS LAST WEEK??? Anyway before he can say much of anything, Christopher Daniels shows up and beats the heck out of the new champ. A referee gets tossed and the brawl continues with Cody hitting a Disaster Kick. Daniels gets in a moonsault to the floor though and security breaks it up. The fans want to see them fight and didn’t seem to favor one over the other. Good opener here and I have no idea why this didn’t follow the pay per view last week if it was already filmed.

Jay Briscoe says this is different than the Top Prospect Tournament and Josh Woods is in way over his head.

Jay Briscoe vs. Josh Woods

They adhere to the Code of Honor in a bit of a surprise. Feeling out process to start with Josh tripping him to the mat and chuckling a bit. A cross armbreaker doesn’t last long so it’s another trip to take Briscoe down. Josh knees him in the head and this is one sided in the first few minutes.

Jay comes right back with a big boot to knock Josh outside and there’s a suicide dive. Well done there with having Josh get the better of it when there are rules and structure but Briscoe takes over when things get a little more violent and intense. Back with Jay throwing him outside for a whip into the barricade as the brawling continues to go Briscoe’s way.

There’s a ton of room on the floor too, which makes me think they could have easily fit another row or even two of fans in there. I can’t imagine sales were that weak in Chicago of all places. Back in and Josh blocks a suplex for one of his own, followed by the TKO into a knee to the face. A springboard spinning knee/kick to the face gets two on Jay, who shrugs it off and lariats Woods for the pin at 10:50.

Rating: B-. I had a good time with this match as Briscoe continues to give the younger guys a rub, just like he did with Jay White. It’s not like he has anything else going on right now so give these guys something that they’re not going to be able to get from anyone else. Good match too with Woods showing off because he found out he was in over his head.

We look at Will Ferrara splitting with Cheeseburger because he’s sick of dealing with a charity case like Cheeseburger. Haven’t these guys split like three times now?

Tempura Boyz vs. Coast to Coast

Actually hang on as here are the Young Bucks who offer to add themselves to the match with the titles on the line under tornado rules.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Tempura Boyz vs. Coast to Coast

The Bucks are defending under tornado rules and the champs waste no time cleaning house. It’s immediately time to fire off the kicks to send all four challengers outside, followed by the Rise of the Terminators. The double dives are broken up though with the Boyz hitting stereo German suplexes on the floor.

Coast to Coast dives on everyone and we take a break. Back with Nick firing off running knees in the corner to both Boyz, only to get caught in something like a 3D with a Flatliner instead of a cutter. There’s the big flip dive to the floor to take out Coast to Coast but the Meltzer Diver is broken up.

Coast to Coast comes back in and breaks up the Superkick Party (Colt: “Everybody knows they’re just going to do superkicks so it’s not that hard to figure out.). A double Indytaker sets up double superkicks to retain the titles at 8:27. That’s the EXACT same ending as the match in Long Beach.

Rating: C+. I can’t believe I’m saying this but thank goodness for the Bucks here. Coast to Coast and the Tempura Boyz are completely worthless tag teams so throw the Bucks in there and turn it into a glorified squashed. The match wasn’t great but this could have been very boring so the Bucks really did help things out.

Highlights of Adam Cole vs. Marty Scurll in an anything goes match.

Mark Briscoe vs. Beer City Bruiser vs. Kenny King vs. Chris Sabin

One fall to a finish and the winner gets a TV Title shot. Mark says he has to win because he has four kids. I wonder if he has an above ground pool. Mark and Kenny start things off and apparently this is under lucha rules, meaning Bruiser can come in and toss people to the floor.

Sabin dives into a side slam and for some reason Bruiser tags out. Why would you do that in a one fall match where you have to be legal to win? King’s Muta Lock is broken up and it’s Mark coming in to clean house. A moonsault to the floor takes out Bruiser and King, followed by Sabin firing off the kicks from the apron.

We take a break and come back with Bruiser running Mark over as the tags have been completely abandoned, as is the custom in these matches. Mark gets crushed against Sabin in the corner for a good looking crash, followed by a running flip dive to the floor to take out Mark and Chris. Kenny dives onto everyone but Mark is smart enough to walk away. Back in and Mark hits the brainbuster on Kenny, setting up the Froggy Bow at the same time the Bruiser splashes Chris. Both guys get up to avoid leaving is as a three way but King actually manages a Royal Flush on the Bruiser for the pin and the title shot at 10:59.

Rating: C. Pretty standard chaos match here with everyone flying all over the place and little in the way of storytelling, though that’s kind of the point to something like this. King winning is an interesting way to go as the Rebellion was such a waste of time but King’s natural athleticism should be more than enough to give him a good match with Kushida.

Overall Rating: C+. I had a good time with this show as there were three solid matches and a strong angle to open things up. They should be fine head into the next few weeks but above all else I’m VERY happy that we’re already on the pay per view fallout and don’t have to sit around waiting through weeks of one off filler shows. Good show this week and one of the more entertaining editions in a long time.

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Ring of Honor
Date: May 17, 2017
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

And now for something completely different because we have a post-pay per view show. We’ll likely get to the next batch of TV tapings in three more weeks but for now we have a one off show with the Six Man Tag Team Titles on the line in the main event. While that might sound entertaining, the Rebellion is getting the shot. Now that your interest has been crushed, let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Will Ferrara/Cheeseburger vs. Chris Sabin/Jonathan Gresham

Didn’t Ferrara and Cheeseburger split like three times now? Before the match, Alex Shelley tells us that he’s injured thanks to the Rebellion so Gresham is his replacement at the moment. Shelley puts Gresham over as a great talent who deserves a chance to get over. Gresham and Ferrara go to the mat to start with an early standoff so it’s off to Sabin vs. Cheeseburger, the latter of whom has to tag himself in.

The threat of the palm strike scares Sabin a bit so Cheeseburger hits him in the face a few more times. Sabin and Gresham both get kicked out to the floor but Cheeseburger’s dive is pulled out of the air. Gresham dives onto all three though and we take a break. Back with Sabin cranking on an abdominal stretch/Octopus Hold hybrid to make Ferrara scream.

Everything breaks down with Sabin giving Ferrara a hanging neckbreaker off the apron to the floor. Back inside, Sabin enziguris Cheeseburger into a German suplex from Gresham, only to have Cheeseburger come back with the palm strikes. Not that it matters as Gresham grabs an Octopus Hold to make Cheeseburger tap at 9:38 with Ferrara watching from the floor.

Rating: C-. Just a match to further the split between Cheeseburger and Ferrara, though as usual most of these characters seem to be there for the sake of filling in both time and roster spots instead of being interesting. The matches are fine enough but they’re nothing I ever look forward to seeing and I rarely get excited over them.

Ferrara walks out on Cheeseburger.

Jay Lethal was getting ready for a commercial but Silas Young came in and beat him down, especially focusing on his leg. I’m not sure if this is a major downgrade for Lethal or a major upgrade for Young.

Silas Young vs. Bobby Fish

Speaking of downgrades, what the heck has happened to Fish? He looked like a World Title contender and now I barely remember his last important match. Young says he won’t make any excuses for his failures, unlike Fish, who will be a huge failure in this match. Feeling out process to start with Fish’s headlock not working as Young hits a good looking dropkick. A very quick kneebar sends Silas outside and we take a break.

Back with Young hitting a slingshot double stomp and laying in the trash talking. A springboard clothesline drops Fish again as this has been almost one sided. Back in and they trade some running shots with Fish getting the better of it, only to have a double clothesline drop them both.

Silas grabs a cutter for two as Colt talks about Fish going after the knee but not sticking with it like the old Bobby would do. Hokey smoke: an actual analysis. Silas shrugs off some more shots to the head and grabs a hanging neckbreaker for two. More kicks to the knee give Fish a breather but the Beer City Bruiser offers a distraction. Silas takes off his knee brace and knocks Fish cold for the pin at 13:39.

Rating: C+. Not bad here as Young continues to get better and better every single week. I can’t believe it but I’m starting to get into the Young/Bruiser team as they actually work well together. Fish continues to fall through the floor though, which really does seem to be setting up something (possibly a heel turn, as almost always seems to be the answer). Nice match here.

Dalton Castle lost once but he’s ready to become World Champion.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Rebellion vs. Briscoe Brothers/Bully Ray

The Briscoes and Ray are defending and Alex Shelley is on commentary. It’s Rhett Titus/Caprice Coleman/Shane Taylor for the Rebellion here with King nowhere in sight. Mark headlocks Titus to start but one heck of a left hand puts Briscoe down. A brawl breaks out in a hurry though and we take a break with the champs in control.

Back with Titus still in trouble but he’s still able to save Coleman from What’s Up. Taylor and those terrifying thighs come in to take over for all of two seconds and it’s Jay getting beaten down in the heel corner. Taylor’s hard clothesline gets two as Coleman dances on the apron.

We hit the big man standard in the form of a bearhug and take a break. Back with Shane missing a charge in the corner and getting hit in the face, allowing the hot tag to Bully. That means a string of clotheslines before it’s back to Mark to really clean house. Jay adds the big suicide dive but the Froggy Bow hits knees. Not that it matters as 3D ends Titus at 17:01.

Rating: D+. Hey, did you know the Rebellion sucks? I didn’t know if we had made that clear enough yet but they certainly do. There’s no reason to believe that they’re going to win anything and it doesn’t help that they’re just another team now. It completely defeats the point of the characters but that’s never stopped ROH before.

Coleman gets powerbombed through a table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Just a run of the mill post-pay per view show here which is all that you can expect. They put in whatever they can find to fill in the time here, which makes for some rather skippable shows. I’m sure we’ll have a few more of these and then we’ll get to the important stuff, which means the next few weeks really don’t mean too much. I’m really not a fan of these shows but at least they’re quick.

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Ring of Honor
Date: April 19, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Kevin Kelly

We finally wrap up the Las Vegas tapings here as we get closer to only being a month behind. This time it’s about the World Title again as we have a randomly drawn eight man tag. The winning team will face off next week in a four way with the winner getting a World Title shot at some point in the future. Let’s get to it.

The opening video explains what I just told you. I doubt people read those things but come on now.

Opening sequence.

Chris Sabin vs. Caprice Coleman

Feeling out process to start with Sabin doing the nip up out of the wristlock, only to have Coleman drop him because he’s smart enough to not stand there while Sabin does his movements. And never mind as Sabin does it again while Coleman just stands there. It was nice while it lasted.

Sabin gets in an enziguri and something like a spinning Big Ending for two. The running kick from the apron (that almost everyone seems to do anymore) drops Coleman, only to have Kenny King offer a distraction. Cue Lio Rush as Coleman gets two off a springboard dropkick.

Back from a break with Coleman rolling northern lights suplexes for two, only to eat a running boot in the corner. A Falcon’s Arrow gets two but Coleman grabs something like a running Diamond Cutter for the same. Sabin ducks the Sky Splitter and goes outside to take out King because he’s the kind of face who feels overly aggressive. A sunset flip (with Rush breaking up King’s cheating) gives Sabin the pin at 9:19.

Rating: C-. I really can’t stand Chris Sabin. He’s not interesting and so many of his matches feel incredibly choreographed. The match was fine enough and helped advance the feud between the two groups but it’s still not something that I really care about watching. The name Search and Destroy doesn’t help Sabin’s stable either. Watchable match with no interest.

We look back at the Briscoes and Bully Ray winning the Six Man Tag Team Titles last week.

Silas Young plugs Unauthorized in Milwaukee with the same promo from last week.

Cheeseburger/Will Ferrara vs. Roppongi Vice

Vice throws their gear to the announcers, who put them on for reasons of unfunny comedy. Trent and Ferrara start things off but the fans want a double tag. They immediately do the forearms with Cheeseburger telling him to bring it before dropping Romero with a shoulder. Everything breaks down for a bit with Trent picking Romero up and ramming him into both guys.

We take a break and come back with Romero doing his forever clotheslines (exactly what it sounds like) until Cheeseburger gets in one of his own. Everything breaks down again with Ferrara hitting his suicide dive but getting dropped by Romero’s running knee. Strong Zero is broken up and Cheeseburger does his running palm strike into a crucifix for two on Trent. Cheeseburger dives onto Romero and Ferrara hits a German suplex on Trent. Not that it matters though as a tornado DDT is countered into Strong Zero for the pin at 9:14.

Rating: C+. Better match than I was expecting but I’m still really tired of hearing about how great a team is in Japan. Yeah Vice has won a bunch of stuff in Japan but they haven’t done much in ROH, making it seem like I’m missing something. That gets old in a hurry and it happens far too often around here.

Ferrara shoves Cheeseburger away and walks off on his own.

Quick preview of next week’s Top Prospect Tournament final. Thank goodness we can be done with that thing.

Silas Young/Hangman Page/Jay White/Jay Lethal vs. Colt Cabana/Lio Rush/Hanson/Bobby Fish

The winning team advances to a four way for a World Title shot. White and Rush start things off with more spinning out of a wristlock, as in what we saw in the first match. Rush flips away a lot more, misses a few legsweeps, and grabs a rollup for two. Young is really not impressed and tells White to do better. Lethal’s team gets in a brawl and we take a break.

Back with Lethal vs. Cabana with Colt telling the other team to start fighting again. Hanson comes in and rubs his beard over Lethal’s face before it’s off to Page to work over Fish in the corner. Lethal’s team gets in another fight over who gets to stay on Fish with Silas eventually getting the call.

Back from another break with Fish being sent outside so Page can hit a good looking shooting star off the apron. Young and Page keep refusing to tag in either Jay so Fish suplexes Silas into Adam, allowing the tag to Hanson. That means it’s time for a bunch of clotheslines with two opponents in each corner. Hanson probably runs across the ring ten times before handing it back to Rush for a slam onto Page.

Rush manages to slam the 200lbs heavier Hanson onto Page as well but a tornado DDT only gets two on Lethal. Everyone keeps brawling on the floor until Rush dives onto the pile. Lethal gets the Lethal Combination on Cabana but Page refuses to take the tag. He goes to leave but gets caught by Kazarian, who throws Page to the back. Rush gets one heck of a powerbomb on Lethal but his frog splash hits knees. The Lethal Injection puts Lio away at 17:45.

Rating: B-. The psychology here made a lot of sense as you had so many people wanting to be the one to win that they didn’t see the bigger prize. I’m assuming Page didn’t want Lethal to win as the Bullet Club is scared of having to deal with him again. Other than that almost everyone was just there and that’s fine for a match like this. It’s a strong match and a good way to make things feel a bit more important.

Overall Rating: C. This show illustrated a problem that a lot of Ring of Honor shows have: a good chunk of it feels like it doesn’t matter and then there’s one major match that feels important. Look at the first two matches here. We had a match involving the Rebellion (the poster child for useless stables) and then a match that felt like it was designed to set up a team for a run in Japan/to break up a lower card team. Neither of those things really need to be taking up TV time, especially when it feels like so much time passes between some major stories.

It feels like ROH has so much going on but they take so long to get to a lot of those things. When you have an hour a week, you really shouldn’t be putting in filler. The second match certainly felt like filler while the first match just wasn’t all that interesting. They need to tighten this stuff up but I’ve been making those complaints for years now and it’s pretty clear that they’re not going to be changed anytime soon.

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Ring of Honor
Date: January 25, 2017
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

Tonight we’re looking at the Brits as the TV Champion Marty Scurll and his archnemesis Will Ospreay are both here tonight. It would be nice if that doesn’t turn into something about Japan for a change but Ospreay is part of the Chaos stable so I don’t have my hopes up. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video on Scurll and Ospreay for a really good visual of how different they are.

Opening sequence.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Marty Scurll

Non-title. Marty sends him into the corner and of course tells him to bring it on, which might have included some rather rude British hand symbols. Gresham works on the arm for a bit before getting chopped in the corner for his efforts. Scurll bounces out of a headscissors on the mat and sends Gresham outside for a hard superkick to the head. Back from a break with Marty standing on Jonathan’s legs and ripping on his nose. That really is villany.

They trade strange chokes on the mat until Marty is sent to the apron, only to miss a slingshot….something. Some very fast standing switches allowing Gresham to grab la majistral for two. A rollup gives Gresham another very close two but Scurll slams him onto the ropes. Marty superkicks him into a broken finger, setting up the crossface chickenwing to retain the title at 11:26.

Rating: C+. Gresham is a pretty dull guy but he can go out there and wrestle a very solid match when he’s given the chance. I had more fun with this one than I was expecting and Scurll is a solid choice for a heel champion, especially when he gets to be evil with stuff like breaking the fingers. Good little match here, which is surprising.

We get clips of Adam Cole winning the World Title back from Kyle O’Reilly at Wrestle Kingdom.

Jay Lethal is ready to beat anyone left in his quest to get the World Title back.

Jay Briscoe is ready for the other Jay….which means Lethal of course and not Jay White or any other Jay that I can’t remember around here.

Decade of Excellence Semi-Finals: Christopher Daniels vs. Chris Sabin

Kazarian is on commentary. Feeling out process to start with neither guy being able to get anywhere off a wristlock. Sabin sends him outside by the leg and hits a quick suicide dive, followed by a chinlock which doesn’t exactly fit with a speed guy. Chris takes him outside and gets sent head first into the barricade to send us to a break.

Back with Daniels putting on a chinlock but Sabin hurricanranas his way out of the Angel’s Wings. A running flip dive from the apron to the floor drops Daniels again and some more kicks have him in more trouble. Not that it matters as he grabs the Koji Clutch for a breather. That goes nowhere of course so Sabin misses a charge into the corner and takes the Best Moonsault Ever to give Daniels the pin at 11:47.

Rating: C+. Another good match here and that’s the best thing that you can get out of Daniels right now. He’s been on a roll since right before Ladder War and I’d love to see him get a quick title reign, just for the sake of all those years that he’s spent stuck in the midcard. It would be a cool moment and while I don’t think they’ll do it, there’s always a chance and that would be awesome.

Daniels helps Sabin up.

Kevin Sullivan’s Dark Army is standing around a barrel of fire with Sullivan being angry at Corino. Steve can get out of trouble if he brings Sullivan the golden one. Laughter ensues.

Dragon Lee vs. Will Ospreay vs. Kushida

One fall to a finish and sweet goodness I’m not even going to try to keep track of what’s going on in this thing. Everyone flips and spins around to start and it’s a big standoff for a standing ovation. Back from a very early break with….more clips of Cole vs. O’Reilly. Back to the actual match, Kushida gets in a shot to Will’s arm to keep him on the floor, only to have Lee pull Kushida into an STF.

Kushida, with light-up shoes on, cranks on Lee’s arm until Ospreay comes back in. Lee is sent to the floor as Ospreay gets caught in an armbar, only to have Ospreay come right back with a handspring into a kick to the face. Ospreay dives out to the floor to take Kushida out but Lee dives onto both of them for a huge crash.

It’s time to crank it up with Ospreay trying a shooting star off the apron and landing on his feet outside. Lee takes both of them out and we head to another break, this time with no Cole vs. O’Reilly. A suplex into a powerbomb gives Lee two on Kushida but Ospreay tries two moonsaults, only to switch up into a standing shooting star for another near fall on Kushida.

Lee muscles Kushida up in a German suplex but Ospreay drops Lee and all three are down. Back up and Lee snaps off a reverse hurricanrana on Ospreay and there’s the Hoverboard Lock on Will. That goes nowhere so Ospreay tries a springboard cutter, only to get caught in another Hoverboard Lock. One heck of a spinning DDT plants Ospreay and Kushida FINALLY puts Ospreay down for the pin at 14:43.

Rating: B. Now this was more like it with the Super Crazy vs. Tajiri vs. Little Guido formula from ECW. There’s just something cool about watching three talented high fliers spin around and do all kinds of spots that only the three of them can do. This was entertainment for the sake of entertainment and there’s nothing wrong with that.

We see the end of Cole pinning O’Reilly to win the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was the kind of entertaining show that it needed to be with a lot of entertaining wrestling and some moderate story progression. I like the idea of having some new characters brought in and everything was a lot of fun. Just do more stuff like this instead of doing the same boring stuff that this show has a tendency to put on.

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