Ring of Honor TV – May 17, 2017: Back in Five Minutes
Ring of Honor Date: May 17, 2017
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni
And now for something completely different because we have a post-pay per view show. We’ll likely get to the next batch of TV tapings in three more weeks but for now we have a one off show with the Six Man Tag Team Titles on the line in the main event. While that might sound entertaining, the Rebellion is getting the shot. Now that your interest has been crushed, let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Will Ferrara/Cheeseburger vs. Chris Sabin/Jonathan Gresham
Didn’t Ferrara and Cheeseburger split like three times now? Before the match, Alex Shelley tells us that he’s injured thanks to the Rebellion so Gresham is his replacement at the moment. Shelley puts Gresham over as a great talent who deserves a chance to get over. Gresham and Ferrara go to the mat to start with an early standoff so it’s off to Sabin vs. Cheeseburger, the latter of whom has to tag himself in.
The threat of the palm strike scares Sabin a bit so Cheeseburger hits him in the face a few more times. Sabin and Gresham both get kicked out to the floor but Cheeseburger’s dive is pulled out of the air. Gresham dives onto all three though and we take a break. Back with Sabin cranking on an abdominal stretch/Octopus Hold hybrid to make Ferrara scream.
Everything breaks down with Sabin giving Ferrara a hanging neckbreaker off the apron to the floor. Back inside, Sabin enziguris Cheeseburger into a German suplex from Gresham, only to have Cheeseburger come back with the palm strikes. Not that it matters as Gresham grabs an Octopus Hold to make Cheeseburger tap at 9:38 with Ferrara watching from the floor.
Rating: C-. Just a match to further the split between Cheeseburger and Ferrara, though as usual most of these characters seem to be there for the sake of filling in both time and roster spots instead of being interesting. The matches are fine enough but they’re nothing I ever look forward to seeing and I rarely get excited over them.
Ferrara walks out on Cheeseburger.
Jay Lethal was getting ready for a commercial but Silas Young came in and beat him down, especially focusing on his leg. I’m not sure if this is a major downgrade for Lethal or a major upgrade for Young.
Silas Young vs. Bobby Fish
Speaking of downgrades, what the heck has happened to Fish? He looked like a World Title contender and now I barely remember his last important match. Young says he won’t make any excuses for his failures, unlike Fish, who will be a huge failure in this match. Feeling out process to start with Fish’s headlock not working as Young hits a good looking dropkick. A very quick kneebar sends Silas outside and we take a break.
Back with Young hitting a slingshot double stomp and laying in the trash talking. A springboard clothesline drops Fish again as this has been almost one sided. Back in and they trade some running shots with Fish getting the better of it, only to have a double clothesline drop them both.
Silas grabs a cutter for two as Colt talks about Fish going after the knee but not sticking with it like the old Bobby would do. Hokey smoke: an actual analysis. Silas shrugs off some more shots to the head and grabs a hanging neckbreaker for two. More kicks to the knee give Fish a breather but the Beer City Bruiser offers a distraction. Silas takes off his knee brace and knocks Fish cold for the pin at 13:39.
Rating: C+. Not bad here as Young continues to get better and better every single week. I can’t believe it but I’m starting to get into the Young/Bruiser team as they actually work well together. Fish continues to fall through the floor though, which really does seem to be setting up something (possibly a heel turn, as almost always seems to be the answer). Nice match here.
Dalton Castle lost once but he’s ready to become World Champion.
Six Man Tag Team Titles: Rebellion vs. Briscoe Brothers/Bully Ray
The Briscoes and Ray are defending and Alex Shelley is on commentary. It’s Rhett Titus/Caprice Coleman/Shane Taylor for the Rebellion here with King nowhere in sight. Mark headlocks Titus to start but one heck of a left hand puts Briscoe down. A brawl breaks out in a hurry though and we take a break with the champs in control.
Back with Titus still in trouble but he’s still able to save Coleman from What’s Up. Taylor and those terrifying thighs come in to take over for all of two seconds and it’s Jay getting beaten down in the heel corner. Taylor’s hard clothesline gets two as Coleman dances on the apron.
We hit the big man standard in the form of a bearhug and take a break. Back with Shane missing a charge in the corner and getting hit in the face, allowing the hot tag to Bully. That means a string of clotheslines before it’s back to Mark to really clean house. Jay adds the big suicide dive but the Froggy Bow hits knees. Not that it matters as 3D ends Titus at 17:01.
Rating: D+. Hey, did you know the Rebellion sucks? I didn’t know if we had made that clear enough yet but they certainly do. There’s no reason to believe that they’re going to win anything and it doesn’t help that they’re just another team now. It completely defeats the point of the characters but that’s never stopped ROH before.
Coleman gets powerbombed through a table to end the show.
Overall Rating: C-. Just a run of the mill post-pay per view show here which is all that you can expect. They put in whatever they can find to fill in the time here, which makes for some rather skippable shows. I’m sure we’ll have a few more of these and then we’ll get to the important stuff, which means the next few weeks really don’t mean too much. I’m really not a fan of these shows but at least they’re quick.
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Ring of Honor TV – April 19, 2017: Are We Ready Yet?
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 TV – January 25, 2017: The ECW Formula
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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Ring of Honor TV – January 11, 2017: ….Excellence?
Ring of Honor Date: January 11, 2017
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness
We’re back to the regular schedule this week and that means the Decade of Excellence tournament continues. The winner gets a World Title shot at the 15th Anniversary Show against new World Champion Adam Cole, who won the title for an unprecedented third time at Wrestle Kingdom 11. Let’s get to it.
We open with clips of Christopher Daniels defeating Mark Briscoe in the first tournament match.
Daniels talks about being around for the start of Ring of Honor. He’s been around for fifteen years because there is no expiration date on destiny. I’ve never been a big Daniels fan but I could really go for him winning the tournament and the title. He’s earned it with some excellent promos recently and it would be cool to see.
Opening sequence.
Decade of Excellence Tournament First Round: Jay Briscoe vs. BJ Whitmer
Unfortunately this means we get to hear about Kevin Sullivan, who is still at ringside. Whitmer pokes Jay in the eyes to start and chops him in the back of the head a few times. Jay’s running clothesline in the corner rocks Whitmer but they head outside where Punishment Martinez offers a distraction so BJ can take over.
Back from a break as I continue to loathe all things associated with this Sullivan story, save for Martinez of course. Whitmer runs into an elbow and it’s time for some snap punches. A suicide dive takes Whitmer into the barricade but Jay might have banged up his elbow. Whitmer seems to be enjoying the pain so Jay punches him a few more times, only to get caught in an exploder suplex for two. It’s time for the spike but Mark Briscoe comes out for the save, allowing the Jay Driller to score the pin at 9:57.
Rating: C-. Not bad here and the lack of Sullivan doing anything of note helped a lot. Briscoe advancing is a big deal as he’s still one of the top stars in the company and can be turned into a big dragon (albeit a friendly one) for someone to vanquish. It’s not bad and the right winner helped a lot.
Whitmer says everything ends with a sacrifice next week.
Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser vs. Alex Reynolds/Jon Silver
Silver actually suplexes Young for two to start until the massive Bruiser comes in with a clothesline to knock Reynolds into a German suplex for two. Bruiser adds a cannonball for two more on Alex but he avoids a charge and rolls over for the tag off to Silver. The much smaller Jon manages a suplex on the Bruiser in an impressive display of strength. A Codebreaker into a German suplex gets two on Young but he kicks Silver in the head. Bruiser adds a Banzai Drop and Young gets the pin at 4:50.
Rating: C. This was better than it had any right to be and that’s always a nice surprise. Silver and Reynolds are on a long list of names of smaller guys who don’t have much of a look but can put on an energetic enough match to get by. They need some more polishing (ok a LOT more polishing) but at least it was a good first performance.
Post match Young says he and Bruiser want another partner to go after the Six Man Tag Team Titles (oh yeah those exist). They call out Bull James and then beat him up for not being the guy. Ok then.
Kingdom vs. Cheeseburger/Will Ferrara/Joey Daddiego
Non-title. The Kingdom jumps them to start with Marseglia beating up all three at once until Daddiego gets in a fall away slam to put the champs on the floor. Back from a break with Ferrara getting stomped in the corner as the Kingdom continues to be difficult to tell apart because no one bothered to tell us anything about them.
O’Ryan spears Taven by mistake and the hot tag brings in Cheeseburger. Everything breaks down and the Kingdom starts firing off kicks, only to be taken down by the palm strikes. There are a bit too many members of the Kingdom though and a kick drops Cheeseburger so Taven can frog splash him for the pin at 7:53.
Rating: D+. Here’s the problem: Kelly said the Kingdom rules the six man division and I guess that’s true, assuming you can name more than three or four six man teams. There’s just NO need for these titles and it’s becoming more and more clear every single time they’re brought up. The Kingdom is fine enough but that doesn’t mean they’re in need of titles.
We look at Matt Hardy promising to come after the Young Bucks. I still love the fact that, at least so far, TNA doesn’t seem to be gaining anything at all from this match.
Here are the Young Bucks with something to say. Matt can barely talk because he’s been screaming for joy over their new contracts. They’re not spot monkeys and they won’t be deleted. The lights go out and a drone (not Vanguard I) flies in, earning itself a superkick.
Decade of Excellence Tournament First Round: Colt Cabana vs. Chris Sabin
Alex Shelley is on commentary. They fight over a wristlock to start until Chris kicks him in the chest and gets two off a high crossbody. What looked like a thumb to the eye allows Colt to send him outside and we go to a break. Back with Colt putting on a one armed camel clutch but missing a middle rope splash. Instead Chris gets in a missile dropkick to send him outside, setting up a running kick to the chest. Back in and Cabana scores off a hip attack but here are the Boys to fan Cabana a bit. The distraction lets Chris get a small package for the pin at 8:14.
Rating: C-. This was fine again though I’m not wild on Sabin, who was hardly beaten down, using a very heel style rollup to win a match. Neither guy seems to have even the slightest chance of winning the thing, which hopefully is being loaded up for a Daniels win, though Jay Lethal is also a possibility.
Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t the worst show in the world but it’s much more about setting up things for the future instead of being a major show this week. There weren’t a lot of big names involved this week and, save for a longer squash, most of it didn’t do anything for me. It’s still fine but that’s not really noteworthy.
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Ring of Honor TV – February 10, 2016: I’d Hate To See The Bottom Prospects
Ring of Honor Date: February 10, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness
Things are picking up again around here, as they so often do as we come up on a big match. The big story continues to be the multi-man World Title match at the 14th Anniversary Show, but we also have the Top Prospect Tournament continuing, as well as the continuation of BJ Whitmer vs. Steve Corino. Let’s get to it.
Alex Shelley vs. Frankie Kazarian
Chris Sabin sits in on commentary. Shelley starts firing off chops as Sabin’s early advice doesn’t seem to have done much good. Kazarian’s dive is blocked with a kick to the head and it’s off to the knee to keep Alex in control. It doesn’t last long though as a slingshot DDT takes Shelly down as we go to a break. Back with Kazarian smacking Sabin in the face as Steve Corino calls in to the show. Corino is sick about what happened to Colby last week and he’s going to be back next week to deal with BJ Whitmer.
Shelley avoids a top rope legdrop and clotheslines Kazarian out to the floor. Back in and Kazarian grabs a swinging neckbreaker and a running Downward Spiral for two, only to get shoved away off the Killswitch. Shelley’s top rope splash hits knees though, only to have Kazarian pull out a hammer. Alex takes it away and glares at Sabin, setting up Sliced Bread #2 for the pin at 11:15.
Rating: C. I don’t care about this feud. Are they really building this up for the sake of a match between Sabin and Shelley? I know the Motor City Machine Guns were a big deal a few years back but are people still going to care about them enough to watch them fight in 2016? It doesn’t help that I’m really not feeling Shelley’s style and that Sabin is barely an active wrestler. I guess there’s an audience for it, but I’m really not feeling it.
Dalton Castle vs. Joey Daddiego
Before the match, Truth Martini suggests that the Boys need a daddy instead of someone teaching them to be a man. Joey takes him into the corner to start and does the WHO’S YOUR DADDY line. Castle easily takes over with a slam but does a big walk around the ring instead of diving through the ropes to take Joey out.
However, Martini actually does something for a change by crotching Castle on top, allowing him to get in the ring for some dancing. The Boys low bridge him to the floor though, leaving us with only the match for a change. A World’s Strongest Slam gets two for Joey but Castle starts the comeback with a running knee in the corner, followed by a running boot to the jaw for good measure. The Bang A Rang is enough to put Joey away at 3:35.
Rating: C-. Entertaining enough but it was a bit too much going on instead of just having the match. Daddiego is kind of worthless but at least there’s someone there to do the jobbing for the House of Truth. That being said, the entire stable is basically Truth, Lethal, Daddiego and Hendrix, which isn’t much more than Lethal and pals. Castle was fine though and is going to go somewhere once the Silas Young feud wraps up.
Speaking of Silas Young, here he is to make a final offer to Brent and Brendan (the Boys). As the Beer City Bruiser helps beat Castle down, Silas talks about how the Boys need to make their decision, only to have them fight back against Silas. That just earns them another beating and the villains get to yell a lot.
Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Leo St. Giovanni vs. Action Ortiz
Ortiz is described as a Bam Bam Bigelow type and was trained by Tommy Dreamer. Leo on the other hand has an MMA background. Ortiz gets knocked to the floor to start but blocks a charge with a big forearm to the face. Back in and Ortiz misses a Frog Splash, allowing Leo to go up for something like Xavier Woods’ Honor Roll from the top for two of his own. After a dive over the top to stagger him, Ortiz kicks Leo in the head to stagger him again. A belly to back flip suplex (as in Leo keeps going until he lands on his face) sends Ortiz to the next round at 3:45.
Rating: D. I really wasn’t feeling this one as neither guy had much of a presence. Leo was just a guy with a generic style and some decent flips, though it’s nothing that I haven’t seen a bunch of people do before. Ortiz is a bigger guy and moves well but again he doesn’t do anything for me. It’s not the worst, but it’s the same problem I’ve been worried about in this tournament: I don’t have any reason to care about these people and they’re not really helping things.
Stokely Hathaway wants Kazuchika Okada to face Moose at the Anniversary Show.
We look back at Final Battle to see the All Night Express becoming the #1 contenders.
Tag Team Titles: All Night Express vs. War Machine
War Machine (Hansen and Rowe in case you’re not familiar) are defending. Hansen and Titus get things going with the much bigger champion running him over. King comes in off a blind tag and an atomic drop/clothesline combination staggers Hansen, who comes right back with a double clothesline to take over again. It’s off to Rowe who terrifies King back into the corner for a tag to Rhett. Well that’s one way to switch things off.
The challengers take over but Hansen breaks up what looked like a powerbomb/neckbreaker combo. Rowe slams Hansen onto King for two, followed by Hansen powerbombing Rowe onto Titus as we take a break. Back with Titus low bridging Hansen to the floor but being pulled out of the air on a dive to Rowe. Everything breaks down with King being sent hard into the barricade with both teams diving back in at nineteen.
Titus will have none of this staying in the ring thing though as he and Hansen both dive through the ropes for huge crashes. Back in and King has to escape Fallout but he might have pulled the referee into the path of Hansen’s running knees. Titus pulls out a table (apparently not realizing that Nigel McGuinness is RIGHT THERE) but King gets driven through it, drawing a DQ at 11:02 as the referee wakes up just in time.
Rating: C+. The match wasn’t bad but it was clearly just a way to set up another title match at the pay per view. Knowing ROH, it’s going to be some big messy match with several teams that loses any sense of structure or order. However, this actually worked with the Express hanging in there with the monsters for the entire match and then somehow winning in the end. Well done and a reason to watch the rematch.
The teams keep brawling to end the show as the fans want to see them fight.
Overall Rating: C. I liked the show for the most part with enough of the stories rolling along, though the World Title situation continues to not really be a priority around here. It’s cool that so many other things are treated as major ideas but the old fan in me wants to see the World Title as the centerpiece of the promotion instead of just another part of the show. Good enough show here but it was a step beneath some of their recent efforts.
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Ring of Honor TV – January 20, 2016: Thy Kingdom Goes Away
Ring of Honor Date: January 20, 2016
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 600 Commentators: Mr. Wrestling III, Kevin Kelly
It’s the final night of the Philadelphia tapings with a Philadelphia Street Fight between the Young Bucks, the Kingdom and ReDRagon. If they give this match this time, it could be quite an entertaining match. We’re getting closer to the 14th Anniversary Show for the next pay per view but nothing has been set up yet. Let’s get to it.
Addiction vs. Alex Shelley/ACH
This is more about building up Shelley vs. Sabin down the line. Kazarian takes Shelley into the corner to start but accidentally forearms Daniels off the apron for some good old fashioned heel miscommunication. Alex grabs a dragon sleeper but lets it go when Sabin gets on the apron for a distraction.
ACH dropkicks Kazarian down and it’s quickly off to Daniels who is taken down just as quickly. Everything breaks down for a bit and some fast double teaming puts ACH in trouble, including something like a Diamond Cutter onto Daniels’ knee as we take a break. Back with ACH rolling over for a hot tag so Shelley can speed things up.
A Downward Spiral sends Kazarian face first into the middle buckle but Daniels comes back in with a top rope stomp to the chest, only to allow the hot tag a few seconds later. Everything breaks down and Shelly kicks Daniels into a German suplex for two. Sabin shakes the ropes to break up the Midnight Star, setting up Celebrity Rehab to give Addiction the pin at 9:48.
Rating: C-. Shelley and ACH are firmly in that category of wrestlers that I just don’t care for. I get the idea behind both guys but they both seem to be going off more of a set pattern than wrestling naturally, which rarely works for me. Addiction is fine in the ring but I’d like to see them get more mic time as it’s definitely their strong suit.
Post match Addiction beats on Shelley even more until Daniels punches the referee, which brings out Nigel to suspend him indefinitely without pay.
Mark Briscoe vs. Adam Page
Page won’t shake hands to start because he’s a good heel. Some early Redneck Kung Fu doesn’t work but Adam misses the standing shooting star press. Mark kicks him into the corner and now the crane kick connects for Briscoe. A brainbuster gets two for Mark but he charges into a powerslam into the corner for two. The fans are all over Whitmer as the announcers talk about the Top Prospect Tournament.
Mark dropkicks Page to the floor and hits the running Blockbuster off the apron. They chop it out a bit until Page gets two off a jumping DDT (ala Dolph Ziggler). Mark sends him to the apron but can’t kick him out to the floor, allowing Page to slingshot in for a clothesline to take over. BJ Whitmer yells about Mr. Wrestling III being Steve Corino, only to have Briscoe come back with a fisherman’s buster and the Froggy Bow for the pin at 6:32.
Rating: D+. This whole match was a collection of spots. I didn’t see a single instance of psychology, trying to put something together or either guy doing anything other than his signature spots. It wasn’t bad or boring or anything, but could you at least work an arm or something instead of just doing the stuff you always do?
Post break, Whitmer tells Mr. Wrestling III to unmask and be a father to Colby Corino. Mr. Wrestling III gets in the ring and asks Whitmer if he has a question for him. Whitmer tries to reply but he can’t get a word out before the fans boo him out of the building. BJ says everyone knows that it’s Steve Corino under the mask but Mr. Wrestling III denies it again. He does know Corino however, and Corino knows someone that wants to take Whitmer out. However, instead of saying who that is, Mr. Wrestling III just tells the Decade to leave. Well that ended flat.
Silas Young comes out and calls what happened with the Boys at Final Battle a disappointment. Whether the fans believe it or not, the Boys appreciated learning how to mow his lawn and shovel his driveway. The Boys have one chance to do the right thing and learn to be men.
Young Bucks vs. ReDRagon vs. Kingdom
It’s Cole/Bennett for the Kingdom here and this is a street fight. The Bucks jump O’Reilly and Fish during the entrances and we’re starting fast. The injured Taven gets a double superkick, as does ring announcers Bobby Cruz. ReDRagon gets back in to work on the Bucks, only to have the Kingdom come in again to turn this into a wild brawl that is going to be almost impossible to keep track of.
Bennett punches Fish down and it’s Cole setting Matt in a chair in the middle of the ring. A running charge sets up a chinlock and even Kelly has to acknowledge that it’s a spot they’ve seen before. Kyle backdrops Nick on the floor for a thud before diving into a superkick. We take a break and come back with Cole in a shopping cart and being wheeled into a superkick.
The Bucks set up a table at ringside but it’s ReDRagon double teaming Matt inside. The Kingdom brings in a ladder (Mr. Wrestling III: “It’s amazing what you can find in south Philadelphia”) to take out ReDRagon and it’s Cole putting the ladder around his neck. That only allows ReDRagon to blast the ladder with chairs before setting the ladder on top of those chairs.
Bennett comes back in to spinebuster Kyle onto the steel but the Bucks powerbomb him (Bennett) through the ladder. A Swanton onto the ladder sets up More Bang For Your Buck but Cole pulls the referee out at two. Kevin Kelly accidentally eats a superkick and Mr. Wrestling III freaks out while still shouting SUPERKICK in a funny moment.
We take another break and come back with Cole hitting the Canadian Destroyer on Matt but walking into a superkick from Nick. Bennett takes Chasing the Dragon on the floor, leaving O’Reilly and Cole to fight in the aisle. That leaves Fish alone against the Bucks but he stops to spear Bennett through a table on the floor. A double superkick off the apron gives Fish the weakest table bump in history with Nick having to splash him the rest of the way through.
Back in and the Bucks put a party hat on Bennett for a superkick party, only to have Maria hit them both low for a save. This brings out AJ Styles to hit Bennett in the ribs with a chair before laying him out with Bloody Sunday. Maria gets a Meltzer Driver and the Indytaker into the Styles Clash puts Bennett away at 16:45.
Rating: B. Totally wild brawl here and a lot of fun at the same time. This wasn’t about anything more than carnage and that’s all they delivered the entire time. The piledriver to Maria was a good way to write her off TV and the Kingdom goes out in a great performance, especially considering it wasn’t their usual combination.
Overall Rating: C+. This is a one match show and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when one match takes up so much of the hour. The only annoying thing here was the syndication schedule causing some issues as Mike and Maria debuted in TNA two weeks before this aired. Still though, the show was fun enough with the main event being a really good time.
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Genesis 2006 Date: November 19, 2006
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 900
Commentators: Don West, Mike Tenay
We just looked at the rematch of Joe vs. Angle, so now let’s look at the original. That’s the main event obviously, in Angle’s TNA debut match. As I said in the previous show, this isn’t something that makes you think big show. What’s even stupider is that Angle was at the previous show, Bound For Glory, as a guest referee while Joe had a pointless Monster’s Ball match. Then again this is TNA so logic is pretty much thrown out. Let’s get to it.
The opening video talks about how it’s a new age, comparing this to the first steps on the moon. Now we have opera music. It’s all about Angle vs. Joe of course with a little bit about the world title match and even some about LAX. They’re on the poster so they do need some coverage. As always, this video goes on WAY too long, running almost three and a half minutes. Dave Penzer being heard we’ve fifteen seconds from going live is a nice touch.
Kazarian/Maverick Matt/Johnny Devine vs. Voodoo Kin Mafia
The three guys that would become Seretonin are in their new look now but have only been talking about their redeemer who would later be revealed as Raven. The Mafia is now at WAR with WWE. Tenay flat out says they’re going after Vince and it would only get worse. The fans chant that DX sucks. Anyway, Roadie, the guy only famous for being in DX, starts off with Matt.
BG (Road Dogg) gets taken into the corner and the heels alternate on him to take over. They tease the white shirt wearing Kip to allow more triple teaming. They’re flying through this match so it’s not going to last long. BG gets in a shot and hot tags Kip. Kip cleans house and uses a Pedigree as Tenay talks about the War. Devine jumps off the top but gets caught in the cobra clutch slam for the pin.
Rating: D+. Nothing to see here but anything that furthers this idiotic angel isn’t a good thing. As I said in the Turning Point review, I have no idea what they thought they were proving with this thing, but it would result in them “invading” a house show which they claimed was the same thing as DX invading WCW in 1998.
BG says the ground war begins on Thursday. Tenay: “I know where I’m going to be Thursday night! Watching Impact on TV!” These jokes write themselves.
We run down the rest of the card in TNA tradition.
Kaz and Matt bring back Devine whose head is now covered. And here’s Raven in a white suit. West sounds like he’s seeing a bluejay in a park. Devine gets on his knees so he can be beaten with a kendo stick.
Shane Douglas and the Naturals talk about beating up Team 3D and putting them through a table. Tonight they’re facing….Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt.
The Naturals vs. Sonjay Dutt/Jay Lethal
The X guys have Jerry Lynn with them. The Naturals are Chase Stevens and Andy Douglas for those of you unfamiliar, which is probably a lot of you. They shout about Team 3D for most of the match. Stevens tries what would have been an AWESOME sunset bomb to the floor but Lethal saves himself. The Naturals are rammed together and sent to the floor so the X guys hit stereo dives to take them out.
Back inside and the smaller guys hit some incredibly fast paced double teaming on Stevens who plays the heel in peril. There’s a rarity for you. Off to Douglas (no relation to Shane) who hits Lethal low to take over. Off to a seated abdominal stretch on Lethal. Back up and a jumping knee to the face puts Lethal down for two.
Stevens comes in and stops Jay’s comeback with a wheelbarrow suplex for two. Hot tag to Dutt and he speeds things way up. What was supposed to be a seated senton hits Douglas and Lethal hits the Lethal Combination for two on Chase. Shane interferes so that a missile dropkick/powerbomb combo can get the pin. The powerbomb was awkward but it worked.
Rating: C-. The match was fine but I have no idea what the point of it was. The Naturals talked about Team 3D for awhile but they were nowhere in sight, so what was the point of the reference? Shouldn’t the return of Team 3D happen here for the beatdown after this match happened on Impact? I don’t get it but whatever. Also, it’s better than a bikini contest. Not a bad match, just not interesting.
LAX rants about Petey Williams stopping the flag burning on Impact. Konnan goes on an anti-military rant for some reason and says no one can stop them from burning a flag tonight because they have rights.
We recap Daniels vs. Sabin. Daniels is the honorable champion, Sabin is the whiny punk challenger. That’s about it.
Daniels says that he and AJ are cool after Daniels took the title from him on Thursday.
X-Division Title: Chris Sabin vs. Christopher Daniels
This is Daniels’ first defense. Sabin slaps him in the face a few times to get on Daniels’ nerves. Daniels grabs a wristlock and Sabin spins out of it but winds up slapping the champ again. Daniels tries the same thing but with a right hand instead of a slap, but Sabin blocks it and pokes Daniels in the eyes. The match turns into a fast paced gymnastics routine resulting in Sabin bailing to the floor.
Back in it’s another counter routine, resulting in Daniels having his foot on the back of Sabin’s head and driving it into the mat. Daniels tries a sunset flip but when he goes for the shoulder to the ribs to set it up, Sabin kicks him in the face and dropkicks him to the floor. A double ax to the floor has the champ in trouble. This is a chess match with neither guy being able to get an extended advantage.
Sabin drops him throat first over the barricade which gets two back in. I think we have our first advantage here. A running one footed dropkick to the back of a seated Daniels’ head gets two. Off to a nerve hold and Daniels rubs Sabin’s hand in a manner that needs a bad romance song. The champion tries a spinning springboard cross body but Sabin ducks. West compares Sabin to Kobe Bryant for some reason. The analogy of raw talent followed by attitude makes sense, but I don’t remember Bryant ever choking Kevin Garnett over the middle rope with his knee.
Sabin puts him in the Tree of Woe and hits a hesitation dropkick. Now he throws in some chairs while telling West to shut his mouth. Here’s Styles to pull out the chairs and tick Sabin off. With Daniels still in the Tree of Woe, Sabin tries a baseball slide but Daniels pulls himself up in a situp. Sabin slides to the floor and Daniels comes off the top with a HUGE dive to take Sabin out.
STO puts Sabin down and he puts Sabin up on the top. A kind of sitout slam off the top gets two. Release Rock Bottom looks to set up the BME but Sabin kicks him in the head to break the momentum. A springboard DDT gets two for Sabin. I can’t say Chris because it might get a bit confusing so I’m sorry for constantly using the same two names. Roaring Elbow misses for Sabin and Daniels hits a running enziguri.
He tries a rana but gets caught in a sitout powerbomb for two. Sabin goes up for another DDT but jumps into a Death Valley Driver. BME hits but only gets two. Angel’s Wings is countered and Sabin hits a dragon screw leg whip. Cradle Shock is countered into a crucifix for two. Sabin loads up something that looks like the start of a Razor’s Edge but Daniels rolls out of it and hooks Sabin’s feet for the rollup pin.
Rating: A-. I don’t usually like Daniels matches but I was WAY into this one. The long running string of counters and both guys knowing each other so well was really working for me. Sabin could fly with the best of them and that’s what he did here. Styles coming out didn’t really need to happen but it only lasted about ten seconds so it wasn’t a huge deal. Really good match here and maybe the best Daniels match I’ve ever seen.
Jerry Lynn comes out post match to demand Sabin shake Daniels’ hand but it’s not happening. Ok yes it is….and there’s the Cradle Shock out of it instead.
We get a clip from Paparazzi Productions where Shelley and Starr say they can give Nash at least 90% out there tonight. Nash says if they follow him, they could have careers like those of Don Kernoodle, George South, Reno Riggins, Lazer Tron, Nelson Royal, George Scott, Porkchop Cash and Italian Stallion. Funny stuff but it probably went over the head of most of the audience.
Paparazzi Productions vs. Ron Killings/Lance Hoyt
No idea why this match is happening but it’s probably something like a squash match with some extra time. Nash is on commentary and talks about defending his X Title in Japan last night after messing up a 375 but winning anyway. Truth and Shelley start things off. They go to a test of strength with Shelley taking the hands down to the mat and stomping on Truth’s fingers.
Killings comes back with his gyrations so Shelley imitates Rick Rude right back at him. Off to Starr who dances some more. This needs to get going. Truth misses a charge and Aries (Starr) dances again. Truth hits the first big move in the four minutes this match has been running in the form of a powerslam. Off to Big Lance for some double teaming. Big boot gets two. One armed flapjack puts Austin down.
Hoyt loads up a moonsault but Shelley breaks it up and Lance is put in the Tree of Woe. With Truth trying to come in and distracting the referee, the Paparazzi hit a double neckbreaker while Hoyt is still upside down. Shelly holds the knees down so Starr can hit a slingshot hilo for two. They work on the knee for a bit and a slingshot corkscrew splash gets two.
Shelley comes in and does the jump into the boots spot (missing the feet almost entirely) and there’s the tag to Truth. The fans aren’t all that thrilled here. Truth causes heel miscommunication and hits his suplex into a Stunner spot for two on Shelley. Hoyt comes back in for a modified What’s Up (appropriate no?) and everything breaks down. Hoyt loads up a DVD but the Paparazzi take out the knee. Starr tries a suicide dive to Truth who is on the concrete. Shelley frog splashes the knee and calls for the camera. The delay lets Hoyt roll him up for the pin.
Rating: D+. The match wasn’t bad but there was too much dancing for my taste. I don’t know if this was supposed to be a comedy match that just wasn’t funny or what but it didn’t really work. It wasn’t all that bad, but again I don’t think the real idea of what they were going for with Nash and the X guys ever made much sense.
We recap Christian vs. AJ. Christian debuted a year ago at this show and has never been pinned or submitted despite losing the world title. The loss in King of the Mountain made him turn heel. AJ got tired of his whining so here’s a match between them.
Christian says he doesn’t make mistakes and talks about AJ jumping him during the preshow because AJ needs an advantage to have a chance. Christian faces his challengers like a man and JB rolls his eyes. Cage doesn’t like that but cuts himself off from yelling. AJ is #1 on Christian’s hit list and we hear about how awesome Christian has been lately.
Christian Cage vs. AJ Styles
I miss Christian’s ridiculous costumes. AJ is looking extra jacked here for some reason. The fans are split as you would expect. They lock up and roll around the ropes as they jockey for position. They fight over control on the mat now using technical stuff which is always fun to see. Since no one can really get an advantage there, AJ slaps him in the face. AJ does the drop down into the dropkick and Christian is getting frustrated.
Christian shoulder blocks him down and it’s a stalemate. The crowd is extra loud for this one. Now AJ runs him over with a shoulder of his own for two. The fans chant CLB and Christian takes over a bit, using an elbow and some chops. Full nelson attempt fails and the Unprettier gets the same result. AJ sets for the Clash but Christian bails to the floor. He goes for a chair but Slick Johnson stops him.
Back in AJ hits a flapjack for two as things speed up. Christian heads to the floor again to slow things down but AJ hits a huge dive to take him out. His legs hit the railing as well though with a sick sound. Back inside that gets two and Styles is wincing from the leg. Christian slides back outside again and gets kicked into the barricade, but as AJ tries a slingshot dive, Christian hooks his feet to send AJ crashing legs first into the apron and shift momentum.
Off to a chinlock with Christian’s knee in AJ’s back, followed by the reverse DDT into a backbreaker for two. I’m not sure why he’s working on the back instead of the knee. Back to the chinlock and Christian puts him on the mat. AJ does the always cool nipup into the rana for two. He misses a splash in the corner though and walks into a belly to back suplex for two. Back to the chinlock but AJ elbows up and hits the fireman’s carry flip onto the knee.
A Low Down misses and both guys are down. Now Christian goes up but AJ snaps off a rana to put both guys down again. They slap it out and AJ starts his comeback. Dropkick sets up a knee drop for two. The springboard into the DDT gets two and Styles goes up. He jumps over Christian but runs into a spear for two. Unprettier and Styles Clash are both countered but the Pele connects for two. AJ tries a springboard rana but gets caught in a powerbomb for a pair of twos. Christian throws in a chair but Daniels runs out to pull it out. It’s a tug of war and AJ tries a sunset flip, but Christian drops down onto him for the pin.
Rating: B. This was a pretty solid match and the ending played into the angle from earlier and also would further the angle that AJ was going into around this time. Christian basically got a clean win here as the chair had been dropped by the time the cover happened. As usual, at the end of the day just putting on a good wrestling match is the best thing you can do.
Daniels and AJ almost get into a fight but the X guys and Rhyno come out. Rhyno wants a mic and says that he and Christian used to be friends but started fighting, and it started just like this. He wants a handshake but AJ says if he needs a psychiatrist, he’ll call Dr. Phil.
AMW says they’re not worried about LAX and says that Gail Kim is a tough mamacita. LAX wants to burn a flag and AMW isn’t cool with that. Gail looks REALLY good in blue. Storm says a lot of racist things and their match is up next.
We recap the tag title match which is what I just explained.
Tag Titles: LAX vs. America’s Most Wanted
LAX has the titles. Konnan says TNA and Cornette can’t stop him from burning the flag tonight or there’s going to be a lawsuit. AMW jumps them and the brawl starts on the floor. I think the match has started but I’m not really sure. AMW double teams Homicide in the ring and throws him on top of Hernandez on the floor. Things settle down with Harris vs. Hernandez. Harris pounds him down but can’t hang with the power so it’s off to Homicide.
Hernandez comes back in very quickly and hooks a one arm chinlock. The champs tag very quickly as Homicide chops on Harris so Hernandez can choke him on the floor. Off to a Homicide chinlock which sounds like police jargon. Harris comes back with a spinebuster and both guys are down. Storm (looking really strange without the beard) starts a USA chant before he gets the hot tag.
Hernandez throws him over the top but Storm skins the cat and comes back with a headscissors. James has to fight both of them at once and Harris saves him from the Border Toss. Harris comes in and hits something like a hybrid between a Thesz Press and a shoulder block to take SuperMex down. Suplex gets two. Homicide runs in for a tornado DDT to take Harris down.
Storm comes in but I don’t think there was a tag. That brazen cheater. AMW loads up the Death Sentence but Hernandez makes the save. He goes up top and grabs Harris by the throat, throwing him over his head in a choking belly to belly superplex for two. Hernandez hits a powerbomb to set up a Homicide frog splash for two.
Gringo Killa is escaped and AMW hits something like a Hart Attack for two. Enziguri from Storm to Hernandez and Harris adds a top rope clothesline to take the big guy down. Death Sentence hits but Konnan has the referee. Homicide comes in with the blowtorch for the flag to the back of Storm’s head for the pin to retain the titles.
Rating: B-. This was much more of a brawl than a match and based on the story, that’s what it should have been. AMW wasn’t going to be around much longer but they were still a name, so having them put over the hot new team of LAX was probably the best thing they could have been used for. Fun stuff here.
Post match LAX goes to beat up Gail but Petey Williams comes out for the save as AMW gets back up. Jim Cornette comes out and says the titles are stripped. That would be overturned and the belts would be returned on Thursday. The title reign was considered one continuous run. Since this is Cornette, it takes a few minutes to get through that, including a big patriotism speech. The fans HATE this decision too. If they don’t give up the belts by Thursday, they’re fired.
Mitchell says he’s going to send Abyss into Sting’s mind to break his will.
We recap the world title match. Sting won the title from Jarrett last month and promised to bring honor to the title, because that’s what Sting does. Abyss is on a monster rampage through the company and it’s up to Sting to stop him. The Monster won the Fight for the Right tournament, which very well may have been the dumbest idea in TNA history. It’s better that you don’t know, but it involved a battle royal where you got in the ring, then got out of the ring, then had a regular match, triple threats and a singles match, including a title match in there somewhere I believe.
Mike says Sting has the decided experience advantage. How is that a decision? It’s fact.
NWA World Title: Sting vs. Abyss
Mitchell, Abyss’ manager, has stolen Sting’s bat to show how personal this is. Sting is actually in regular tights here instead of his usual garb. He jumps Abyss before the big match intros and hits him with the bat to send him to the outside. They go into the crowd and Sting sends him into the wall. All champion so far. Back to ringside and AS ALWAYS, Sting’s splash to an opponent laying on the railing misses.
Abyss hits him in the back with a chair and sets up a table next to the stage. Make that two tables and a pair of conveniently placed barbed wire boards. Sting fights back on the ramp and they brawl back to ringside. They haven’t been in the ring yet at all other than about 10 seconds. Now they get in and Abyss hooks a neck crank. Sting fights him off and hits a pair of Stinger Splashes before going for the knee.
Sting goes up and knocks a charging Abyss down, followed up by a top rope splash for two. Abyss gets up a big boot and Mitchell hands him the belt. Sting avoids the shot and here’s the Scorpion. Abyss makes the rope and Sting grabs the belt, only to walk into a Black Hole Slam for two. A chokeslam is broken up but the referee gets bumped. Abyss gets the bag of tacks but Sting gets the bat. A bat shot takes Abyss down and the Death Drop should get the pin but Mitchell pulls the referee to the floor.
Now Sting gets the bag of tacks and pours them out, but because this is a wrestling match he gets chokeslammed down onto them for two. Sting Hulks Up and drop toeholds Abyss face first into the tacks. He hooks the WORST Scorpion ever and Abyss taps but Mitchell has the referee. Mitchell goes into the Scorpion and the guys head to the floor. Sting hits Abyss with the chair and then wraps the repel cord (why is that there?) around Abyss’ leg. He pulls the cord up to hang Abyss upside down so he can beat him with a chair while Abyss is defenseless, including one to the face. I really don’t need to see Abyss’ underwear.
Sting lets him down and they go up the ramp towards the boards on the table. The referee yells at Sting and gets clotheslined….AND THAT’S A DQ. Not the HANGING OF ABYSS AND BEATING HIM WITH A CHAIR, not chokeslamming Sting onto tacks (still in his back), not the bat, but THAT? Oh and the title changes hands on a DQ in TNA, which I don’t think has been mentioned in years but that’s the rule. It never happened before or again that I remember, but it’s the rule.
Rating: D+. What a MESS. As I said, the ending was completely insane and while the title change makes sense, THAT’S WHY THEY DQ HIM??? Not for throwing Abyss through the tables like Sting did, but for hitting a referee? Also, great way to make the monster look like a monster here. I get what they were going for with Sting losing his vow of honor and all that, but man the execution didn’t work.
Abyss is unconscious but gets the belt anyway.
We recap the Angle vs. Joe feud, which is Angle coming in and wanting the best. He headbutted Joe and busted him open to establish this match. Angle was a guest referee at BFG because Jarrett had to be the world champion at the biggest show of the year. Joe jumped Angle at that show. Oh and this isn’t Angle’s first TNA match, as he faced Abyss on a special two hour show. The idea is that Joe is the best in TNA and undefeated. This could have been a long built match, but I can kind of see the idea here. I don’t agree with it, but I can see it.
Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe
The fans immediately chant this is awesome, which is kind of annoying. Feeling out process to start and Kurt goes straight for the ankle. Joe blocks the hold pretty easily and pounds him down onto the ropes. Kurt snaps off the belly to belly and clotheslines Joe to the outside. Joe grabs him in a powerbomb position, pulls him to the outside and swings him into the barricade.
Back in Angle misses a charge, hitting the post shoulder first. Out to the floor and Joe hits the suicide elbow before sending Angle into the steps. Pretty one sided so far. Kurt’s all nice and busted now. That’s a good thing too as he had a big annoying bandage on his head before that. Joe goes right for the cut and rips away at it. Powerslam gets two. Angle gets in some uppercuts but walks into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two.
Kurt’s head is flowing very solid here. Joe loads up the MuscleBuster but Kurt comes back with a front facelock into a tornado DDT, getting two. They slug it out and Joe misses a charge, setting up the Rolling Germans. He tries to release the last one but drops him on his face instead. That gets two and Kurt is all fired up. Joe armdrags his way out of the Slam and hits the MuscleBuster for two.
Angle rolls out of the Clutch and hits the Slam for a very quick two. There go the straps and he hooks the ankle lock. Joe rolls through but can’t break the hold. He pulls Angle down into the Clutch and Kurt is in trouble, but he manages to grab the foot and hook the ankle lock again. The fans are WAY into this. Joe rolls out to send Kurt into the middle rope, but he walks into another Olympic Slam. Kurt puts the straps back up so he can take them back down. Oh MAN he’s serious here. Angle hooks the ankle lock with the grapevine and Joe has to tap.
Rating: B. That’s it? Don’t get me wrong the match was good but this was only about thirteen and a half minutes. Why in the world would you make this match run that short? There are over six minutes left in the show and they cut it that short? It couldn’t be Kurt’s cardio as he was a full time guy less than six months earlier. Good match, but WAY too short.
Joe grabs a mic and says Angle was the better man today. He says if Angle is half the man he thinks he is, Kurt will give him a rematch. Joe sticks out his hand but Angle walks away. Joe says we’ll have to do this the hard way.
Tenay and West talk for a few minutes to end the show.
Overall Rating: B. For a traditional B-level show, this was a really good show. There’s some weak stuff in there but the majority of the big matches worked (odd DQ decisions aside). It wasn’t the home run main event they were hoping for but it was good enough and set up two rematches. This is definitely one of their better shows and is probably worth checking out. Good show.
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Ring of Honor TV – October 14, 2015: Where Are We Here?
Ring of Honor Date: October 14, 2015
Location: San Antonio Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 600
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly
We’re FINALLY up to some fresh storyline material here with the fallout from All-Star Extravaganza which took place nearly a month ago. Jay Lethal retained both his titles at the pay per view but the TV Title is on the line tonight against Watanabe. There’s another pay per view next week so things have to pick up in a hurry. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
The commentary audio is notably lower this week as I can barely understand Kelly.
ACH vs. Matt Sydal
This is match #4 in a best of five series with ACH (from Texas, making him the crowd favorite) up 2-1. Kelly thinks winning match #3 bodes well for ACH. As usual, you can’t buy this kind of analysis. They shake hands to start but ACH holds up two fingers. The fans do a New Day style A-CH chant as they fight over a lockup to start. It’s time for some holds on the mat with neither guy being able to keep an advantage.
Sydal gets up and taunts ACH a bit which seems to get inside his head. ACH cartwheels out of a headscissors attempt and Sydal dropkicks him to the floor for a baseball slide. It’s time for the chops and therefore the WOO’s and therefore more audio issues. ACH grabs a headscissors of his own to take over, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back of the head (the Dum Dum Drop. Seriously?) for two. There isn’t much to say on a match like this as it’s just spot after spot with nothing in between.
We take a break and come back with ACH kicking Sydal in the face, only to dive into a nice spinwheel kick. Sydal gets two off something like Big Show’s Final Cut but ACH kicks him in the face again. A nice German suplex gets two on Matt, followed by a kick to the face (popular move) and a Cross Rhodes for another near fall.
Sydal rolls away from Midnight Star (450) and is booed as a result. Yeah somehow avoiding a finisher is a heel move. ACH takes him down again with a running shooting star dive to the floor but some jumping knees to the face look to set up the shooting star. It’s ACH up again though with a brainbuster but the Midnight Star hits knees. A reverse hurricanrana sets up the shooting star to give Sydal the pin and tie the series at 14:15.
Rating: C+. I get the idea here but I’m really not a fan of this kind of match. The ending told me everything I needed to know. When the 450 hit Sydal’s knees, Sydal did another big spot to set up the final big spot. They could have done the exact same ending with a cradle or something, but instead it’s all about the next big move. It makes the whole thing look like a big spot fest where they have no idea how to do anything else. That’s not good. Fun match, but very telling if you pay attention.
They hold up two fingers to each other for some gamesmanship but shake hands. Cue the Addiction and Chris Sabin to beat both guys down and clean house. Back from a break with the trio still in the ring with Kazarian yelling about how they weren’t defeated for their Tag Team Titles at All-Star Extravaganza.
It’s a good thing that they’re here in Texas because these people believe in justice. Not bathing or education, but certainly justice. Daniels doesn’t like the idea of a third man coming to the ring in a red mask and stealing Chris Sabin’s idea. They were never pinned or beaten and therefore they’re still the Tag Team Champions.
Daniels demands that the Kingdom comes out here and hand over the titles but it’s the All Night Express (Kenny King/Rhett Titus, who reunited at the pay per view) instead. King doesn’t want to hear about the Addiction’s complaints because the Express never lost their Tag Team Titles three years ago. They were only defeated by a bureaucracy and the Addiction can get some anytime.
Addiction vs. All Night Express is announced for next week.
Here are Silas Young and the Beer City Bruiser (a large man who carries a beer keg) with Dalton Castle’s boys, who Young won at All-Star Extravaganza. Silas yells at them for their ring attire and it’s time for a match.
Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young vs. The Boys
Bruiser runs both of them over in the corner and suplexes both Boys at the same time. They avoid a top rope splash though and the Boys try to ride Bruiser, only to be destroyed by Silas. Misery is enough to pin one of the Boys at 1:40.
Truth Martini and Jay Lethal talk about Watanabe learning English. Tonight he learns how to say Jay Lethal is the best wrestler in the world.
Inside ROH focuses on Adam Cole costing Kyle O’Reilly the World Title. ReDRagon promises revenge on Cole because he decided to chase the dragon. Cole’s reply says that he’s the next guy instead of Kyle. What Kyle is going to learn is that he’s just a lesser Adam Cole. Adam had the fire in his eyes here and blew away what ReDRagon said. That was good.
We’ll hear from the Kingdom next week.
TV Title: Watanabe vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal is defending but uses the handshake to get in a cheap shot to take over early. Watanabe charges into a boot in the corner and gets elbowed in the face a few times, only to charge into a slam for two. A nice backsplash gets two for Watanabe but Truth Martini trips him up, allowing Jay to nail three straight suicide dives. We take a break and come back with Lethal getting two off a suplex.
Off to the chinlock from the champion followed by some knees to the face. A kick to Watanabe’s face gets two and Lethal goes Kevin Owens by loading up something big and then putting on a chinlock. Watanabe fights back and whips Jay hard across the ring before toss him away with a German suplex. The Lethal Injection is blocked and a big clothesline gets two. Martin throws in the Book of Truth, allowing Lethal to kick Watanabe low. The Lethal Injection retains the title at 12:28.
Rating: C. I’m still waiting on a reason to care about Watanabe. This was a glorified squash with Lethal picking Watanabe apart and putting on a clinic instead of ever feeling like he was in jeopardy. The match wasn’t bad or anything but it really didn’t make me care about either guy.
The fans remind Lethal that AJ Styles is coming for the title to end the show.
Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as I’ve forgotten a lot of the stories they built up for weeks because of the awkward schedule. Lethal vs. Watanabe was nothing special and the best of five series match was a way to set up another match instead of meaning anything on its own. I’m not sure what they’re building towards here as they didn’t mention the pay per view and now have one week to talk about it. I guess after next week it’s time for more stand alone shows and probably more New Japan. Watchable and quick show this week but nothing that did anything for me.
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Best of Motor City Machine Guns: I Don’t Think That Word Means What You Think It Means
Best of Motor City Machine Guns Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz, Don West
Host: Jeremy Borash
On the other side of the spectrum from the technical brawlers of Beer Money, we have the fast paced high fliers in the Guns. This is one of the most popular teams the company has ever had, but unfortunately just like the other set, a lot of great stuff happened after this was filmed. This actually includes a lot of singles stuff too. Let’s get to it.
Borash does a quick intro to try and tie this into the Beer Money part, even though it’s completely separate.
The Guns talk about how great the tag team division is in TNA right now.
Brutus Magnus vs. Chris Sabin
From Against All Odds 2009 and Magnus is issuing an open challenge. This is when Magnus was a Roman gladiator, based on his character on the UK show Gladiators. This was referenced by Tenay except for one thing: he never actually said what Gladiators actually was. That’s kind of important to mention no? Magnus easily shoves him down to start as the fans chant USA. They stay on the mat with Magnus holding a horrible armbar until Sabin fights up for a kick to the ribs. He escapes a gorilla press and goes after the legs until Magnus just ends him with a clothesline.
A delayed vertical suplex gets no cover on Sabin but a slingshot elbow has him in trouble. After a chinlock goes nowhere, Sabin fights up and nails a springboard clothesline for two. He tries to get too fast though and has his hurricanrana countered with a powerbomb. Magnus misses a charge and falls to the floor, only to get taken down by a big plancha. Back in and Magnus grabs the referee, earning him a shove into the ropes to crotch Sabin. Tormentum (a spinning Samoan drop) is enough to give Magnus the pin.
Rating: D+. That’s how you open a DVD about how great the Guns are? With a dull match ending in a loss? The gladiator character really didn’t do much for me and Magnus would be far more interesting once he just became a British guy. I still can’t get over this loss though. What’s the thinking here?
The Guns talk about having experience all over the world and how it’s made them a stronger team.
X-Division Title: Alex Shelley vs. Eric Young
Also from Against All Odds 2009 and Shelley is defending. For some reason they aired these matches out of order, meaning that this match was spoiled by the commentary in the previous match. Alexis is the villain here here and Eric hammers away to start before clotheslining him out to the floor. They keep trading places with no contact until Alex gets dropkicked off the apron, setting up a slingshot plancha from Young.
Shelley comes right back by sending Eric into the barricade, only to be sent into it as well. That’s fine with Alex though as he sidesteps a dive, sending Eric into the steel a second time. Back in and Alex kicks him out of the air before putting on a bow and arrow hold. A top rope knee to the back has Young in even more trouble as they head out to the apron.
Alex tries a catapult out there but can’t send Young anywhere. He can however duck a charge, sending Young crashing over the post. Back in and Shelley nails some running elbows to the face and a low dropkick for two. Off to a cobra clutch for a few moments before Young grabs a quick flapjack to get a breather. A discus lariat gets two for Eric but Alex hits a top rope jawbreaker of all things. Young’s Death Valley Driver is countered but he nails a springboard Fameasser for two.
The champ avoids a moonsault and nails what would become known as Sister Abigail for two. A standing Sliced Bread #2 gets the same and Shelley takes him up top. Young tries to counter but winds up eating a Mysterio sitout bulldog, followed by a nice Frog Splash for an even closer two. They head back up again with Eric countering something into a hot shot onto the buckle. For some reason Young stops to argue with the referee, allowing Shelley to grab a rollup to retain.
Rating: C. Not bad here but Young barely got in any offense after the first few minutes. It wound up being an extended squash with an odd ending, as Young didn’t even cover before he went over to yell at the referee for no apparent reason. It’s not a bad match or anything but it was oddly worked.
The Guns name the Midnight Express as their greatest influence and say they have to rely on their minds rather than their physical abilities.
Steel Asylum
Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Curry Man, Jimmy Rave, Jay Lethal, Johnny Devine, Petey Williams, Shark Boy, Sonjay Dutt, Super Eric
From Bound For Glory 2008. You should know who everyone is here. Super Eric is Eric Young as a superhero and is part of the Prince Justice Brotherhood along with Shark Boy and Curry Man (Christopher Daniels as an Indian curry company mascot). This is inside a big red cage with a dome on top. There’s a hole in the top of the dome and the first person to climb up and out gets an X-Division Title shot at some point in the future. Since there are ten men in the ring, it’s almost impossible to tell what’s going on.
Everyone goes after everyone to start with the Brotherhood and the Guns taking over early on. Shark Boy gets beaten up in the corner and then Devine gets the same treatment. The abused start fighting now as Sharky stomps on Johnny in the corner. We get a six man suplex with the Brotherhood all getting suplexed at the same time. Naturally they sell way too long for a suplex but that’s what you get in big spots like that.
Petey hooks his Russian legsweep on Dutt but gets pulled down when trying to escape. Curry Man goes up but Shelley makes a save. Alex’s climb goes just as well with Shark Boy leg sweeping him down. Super Eric drops Devine with a neckbreaker off the middle rope before Lethal and Dutt slug it out on the top rope. Curry Man takes Sonjay down with the Tokyo Dangerous backbreaker off the ropes. Lethal hurricanranas Rave off the top and Shelley adds a frog splash for good measure.
Eric hits a Death Valley Driver on both Devine and Dutt at the same time but the Guns stop him from leaving. The Guns take everyone down until Petey nails Shelley with a Canadian Destroyer. Shark Boy hits a double Stunner off the top to plant Shelley and Petey at the same time. The parade of finishers begins and Devine is the last man standing. Dutt gets up to stop his escape attempt though and Curry Man takes everyone down so he can do his dance. Curry almost gets to the exit but Dutt pulls him down. Lethal hammers Dutt in the ribs and climbs out for the win.
Rating: C. These matches are fun but they get really tiring after awhile. You can only see these spots for so long before you want some kind of storytelling or coherence after awhile. The match was entertaining but I’d much rather have like five guys in there at most. It would make things flow so much easier instead of being the mess that it was.
The Guns talk about not getting opportunities for about fifteen seconds.
Rock and Rave Infection vs. Kaz/Eric Young vs. Rellik/Black Reign vs. LAX vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Petey Williams/Scott Steiner
From Lockdown 2008. This is one of the dumbest ideas TNA has ever had: Cuffed In A Cage. It’s an elimination match but you only eliminate a team by handcuffing them to the cage. I’ve never gotten Russo’s obsession with handcuffs but I have a feeling it’s rather disturbing. On top of that, we don’t even have tags so it’s everyone fighting to start. The Infection is a bad rock band (complete with Rock Band guitars) made of Jimmy Rave and Lance Rock. Before the match we see Young getting laid out by Rellik (Johnny the Bull) and Black Reign (Dustin Rhodes) to continue their stupid monster feud, leaving Kaz to go it alone.
It’s a huge brawl to start of course and there’s almost no way to call anything. Steiner gets taken down and stomped by the monsters and Rock before they quickly cuff him. Eric Young stumbles out to make sure have TWELVE people in the ring at once. Thankfully the monsters keep him out because Eric is afraid of them. Young walks out and heads to the back, leaving Kaz all alone.
The match is still a huge mess where you can barely tell what’s going on, even with things slowing down. Kaz sidesteps Sabin to send him into the cage before cuffing him to the cage. Shelley gets cuffed as well, eliminating the Guns. Williams gets beaten up by the monsters and cuffed to the cage. This is almost like a battle royal as there’s nothing going on between these eliminations.
A Doomsday Cutter from LAX drops Rave and Hernandez just LAUNCHES him into the steel. Rock makes a save with a clothesline as Kaz hits the Flux Capacitor (top rope C4) to knock Rave silly. The monsters are on him almost immediately and LAX has been cuffed. So we’ve got Kaz, Rock and Rave, Reign and Rellik still in it. Rock and Kaz head up top with Lance chokeslamming him down, allowing the monsters to cuff Kaz.
The fans are screaming for Super Eric and get him almost immediately. It’s Eric Young as a superhero which keeps him from being afraid of the monsters. Young dives onto all four guys left in the match and quickly cuffs the Infection. So it’s Young vs. Reign/Rellik as everyone else is still in the ring, cuffed to the side of the cage. Do you have any idea how hard it is to have a handicap match where you can barely reach the side of the cage? Rellik tries to cuff Eric but gets cuffed instead, leaving Eric to piledrive Reign and cuff him for the win.
Rating: D-. There was barely any wrestling, the match was such a mess because there were so many people in it, and the whole thing was a disaster. Young being afraid of the monsters worked if you didn’t think about it, but Reign and Rellik were pretty horrible in the roles, which didn’t make things any better.
The Guns talk about the idea behind the team: two bodies, one mind.
Steel Asylum
Sonjay Dutt, Curry Man, Consequences Creed, Shark Boy, Jimmy Rave, Kaz, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Johnny Devine, Jay Lethal
From Sacrifice 2008. It’s the same concept as earlier, meaning everyone is in the ring at once and the first man to climb out wins a shot at the X-Division Title. By the way, this is the fifth match on the set and the Guns have only been a team in the cuffed match, where they were eliminated first. This isn’t much of a Best Of set. TNA boss Jim Cornette comes out and offers the winner a spot in tonight’s World Title match due to Angle being unable to compete.
Again it’s the big red cage with ten guys inside at once so you can barely keep track of what’s going on. Creed takes Curry Man (Daniels) down with a flip clothesline but gets nailed by Rave. Sharky dropkicks Kaz but gets double teamed by the Guns’ speed offense. Sonjay’s piledriver attempt on Shelley is countered into a reverse powerbomb (that’s a finisher waiting to be made).
We get our first attempt at an escape with Creed going up, only to dive down onto Kaz instead. The Guns beat up Curry Man again before Sonjay throws Sabin into Shelley, causing Chris to DDT Alex when Sonjay takes Sabin down with a neckbreaker. It’s as stupid as it sounds. Back up and we get a ridiculous six man Tower of Doom, capped off by Devine hitting a hurricanrana off the top of the cage.
Rave stops Lethal from escaping before taking him down with a freaky spinning Angle Slam kind of move. Sharky hits the Chummer (Stunner) on Shelley followed by the Dead Sea Drop (Diamond Dust) on Sabin. Curry Man takes Dutt up top for a powerbomb onto everyone else for a huge crash. Rave and Curry slug it out until Curry Man hits a top rope Spice Rack (upside down AA) as this just keeps going. Kaz takes Curry Man down with a Flux Capacitor but Creed stops him from escaping. Devine piledrives Creed down and goes up, only to have Kaz throw him onto the pile again, allowing Kaz to climb out for the win.
Rating: C+. The match is a total spot fest but man alive it gets annoying to have these big messes. It was like they were trying to come up with stuff to fill in time instead of having any kind of flow to the match. On top of all that, the Guns continue to barely be a factor in their own DVD set. What’s up with that?
The Guns talk about what it means to face Team 3D.
X-Division Title: Jay Lethal/Motor City Machine Guns vs. Johnny Devine/Team 3D
From Against All Odds 2008. Believe it or not, this has a bunch of stipulations. Team 3D and X-Division Champion Devine have gone to war against the X-Division and if they win here, the division disbands. If Lethal and the Guns win, Team 3D has to weigh less than 275lbs to wrestle and the person who gets the fall wins the X-Division Title. Got all that?
It’s a huge brawl to start as you would expect and thankfully we go split screen to see most of it. I say most of it because there’s a huge AGAINST ALL ODDS logo covering the top half of the screen. Is that there in case you’ve bought all the PPVs that night and are flipping through the channels to pick something to watch? They finally start heading inside with Lethal nailing Ray in the head with a Dead End sign. The good guys hit stereo dives to the floor to take out everyone else in a nice visual.
Now we get the big weapons, including Sabin throwing in an inflatable doll. We also get the now clichéd kitchen sink, which makes West far too excited. Team 3D takes some sink shots to the face as Devine chokes Lethal on the floor. The Guns put sleepers on 3D and Lethal gets back in, only to take a double suplex from Team 3D, driving the Guns into the mat in the process. The villains take over with Devine nailing Lethal in the head with a keyboard for two.
Sabin saves Lethal from a big kendo stick shot and the Guns start speeding things up again to take over. High/Low gets two on D-Von but he pops back up to nail 3D on Sabin. Shelley eats one of his own but Lethal nails a springboard dropkick to drop D-Von. The fans want tables as Ray nails Lethal to take over again. Jay’s girlfriend So Cal Val is begging them to stop but Lethal flips Ray off, earning him a trashcan shot to the head. Ray pulls Val in as Tenay freaks out, because the idea of Team 3D attacking a woman is just sick right Mike?
Lethal saves Val from a cheese grater to the head and takes Ray down with a top rope hurricanrana. D-Von pulls the referee out at two so Jay dives onto him as this has basically turned into a handicap match. Jay’s springboard clothesline gets two on Ray and the Lethal Combination gets the same on Devine. A huge Bubba Bomb puts Jay down for two as it’s table time. Jay fights off all three guys again and blasts Devine with the Dead End sign. A Macho Elbow through Devine through the table gives Jay the title. The Guns weren’t seen for the last four minutes of the match.
Rating: C. The match was fun, if not TOTALLY RIDICULOUS. I mean, I’m supposed to believe that Jay Lethal can beat Team 3D and the X-Division Champion on his own in a street fight? The Guns continue to mean nothing on this set, which is really starting to get old. Can we see them featured in a single match already? They certainly weren’t here, as this was all about Jay Lethal.
The Guns talk about Generation Me being younger versions of them. Generation Me (the Young Bucks) aren’t on the set but it’s nice to hear about them.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. No Limit
From Lockdown 2009 and inside a cage with the Guns defending. No Limit is a Japanese team comprises of Naito and Yujiro. No tags again here as we have to make sure everything is as big of a mess as possible. Naturally it’s a brawl to start and I have no idea which member of No Limit is which. I believe Naito goes up for a cross body but Shelley breaks up his second attempt by tying him into the Tree of Woe.
Hernandez yells at the referee as Homicide elbows Yujiro in the jaw to take over. Yujiro powers Homicide up into a powerslam for two. Sabin kicks Hernandez in the head but has his Octopus Hold easily broken up. Hernandez just LAUNCHES Sabin into the cage in an awesome looking crash. Shelley chops away at SuperMex but Sabin has to break up a delayed superplex. That’s fine with Hernandez as he suplexes both of them down with ease.
No Limit takes the Guns down as well but LAX runs them over like the generic foreigners that they are. A middle rope knee drop gives Homicide a two count on Yujiro but the Guns get back up to crotch Homicide on the ropes. They bust out the kicks on Hernandez before putting Homicide on his shoulders for a missile dropkick, driving both members of LAX into the mat.
No Limit gets back up and hits a kind of Poetry In Motion on Shelley, setting up a big splash from Hernandez. A middle rope dropkick to the ribs gets two on Yujiro but Hernandez easily blocks a sunset flip attempt from Sabin. Chris gets LAUNCHED into the cage again as Hernandez is just way too strong for everyone. Shelley gets Border Tossed into the cage but No Limit slams down both members of LAX with Hernandez kicking out at two.
Sabin avoids a swan dive from Yujiro and a corkscrew moonsault from Naito as the Guns take over again. LAX gets back up though and takes Yujiro down with a Doomsday Cutter. The Guns bust out the kicks on Hernandez and nail a sitout powerbomb/Sliced Bread #2 (Made In Detroit) on Naito to retain the belts.
Rating: C. This was the first somewhat traditional match we’ve had on this entire set and it was only so good. Naito and Yujiro were just warm bodies out there and barely did anything for the entire match. LAX vs. the Guns would be a far better match, assuming you can overlook Hernandez not being a junior heavyweight.
The Guns talk about some international teams that they think would be great opponents, including Apollo 55 from New Japan.
Team Mexico vs. Team Japan vs. Team TNA vs. Team International
Team Mexico – Ultimo Guerrero/Rey Bucanero/Averno
Team Japan – Milano Collection A.T./Masato Yoshino/Puma
Team International – Alex Kozlov/Doug Williams/Tyson Dux
Team TNA – Curry Man/Alex Shelley/Chris Sabin
From Victory Road 2008 and this is part of the World X Cup, which was something like a World Cup for X-Division wrestling. This is a four corners elimination match with the winners getting three points, second place getting two points and third place getting one point. Also this isn’t the final, as there’s an Ultimate X match later on in the show.
Curry Man starts with Yoshino and eats a quick dropkick that might have just needed some sauce (I apologize for that joke already). The Guns quickly come in and hammer away on Yoshino, firing off some incredibly fast kicks in the process. Dux tags himself in to work on Sabin before handing it off to Williams for a running knee in the corner. This is moving incredibly fast so far.
An inverted Gory Stretch/Dragon Sleeper combo has Sabin in major trouble before it’s off to all three members of Team Mexico to clean house on Williams. Dux takes a spinebuster/neckbreaker combination before Guerrero hits a big flip dive to take out Douglas. A quick rollup gives Bucanero a pin on Dux as this ring needs to be cleared out a bit.
Yoshino and Bucanero fight on the floor before Yoshino throws him back inside for a double team from the other Japanese guys. Off to Bucanero vs. Puma with Ray hitting a kind of reverse sitout powerbomb for two. Mexico and Japan have an insanely fast sequence ending in Puma kicking Milano by mistake, allowing Averno to faceplant Puma down for the pin.
Milano flips Averno to the apron but gets kicked in the head, followed by a low superkick for two with Ray making the save. Sabin tries a springboard forearm but Milao Matrixes down to avoid any contact. Shelley comes in at the same time but both guys get taken down into a single half crab from Milano. Curry Man makes a save but Milano pretends to take a low blow, only to have a second referee say Sabin didn’t cheat. Instead Sabin kicks Milano in the head, setting up the Cradle Shock for an elimination.
So we’re down to all three TNA guys, Kozlov and Williams for International, all three Mexico guys and just Yoshino for Japan. Yoshino grabs a kind of double leg Fameasser for two on Sabin but Shelley comes in off a hot tag to kick Yoshino in the head. The Guns speed things up again with some hard kicks to the head for two more but Yoshino comes back with an Octopus Hold on Shelley. Sabin makes a fast save but Averno tags himself in to hit a kind of reverse spinout powerbomb (popular move tonight) for two on Yoshino. They trade rollups until Yoshino cradles Averno down for the pin.
Kozlov comes in to powerslam Curry Man but stops for his dancing kicks spot. Williams slides in for Rolling Chaos Theory on Sabin with Curry making a save. It’s Williams and Curry Man slugging it out now until Team Mexico double teams Curry Man in the corner. Guerrero throws Bucanero onto Williams’ back before powerbombing Curry Man down for an elimination. Guerrero puts Williams over his knees for a corkscrew plancha from Bucanero for the pin.
We’re down to the Guns for TNA, Bucanero and Guerrero for Mexico, Kozlov for International and Yoshino for Japan. The Guns dropkick Team Mexico to the floor but miss their dives. Kozlov tries to start a RUSSIA chant in the ring so Guerrero counters with a MEXICO chant. He might actually have a chance as this show is in Houston. Kozlov kicks Guerrero low and puts on a kind of cobra clutch crossface for the submission. Bucanero comes right in and faceplants Kozlov for two, sending Kozlov off to tag in Sabin.
Bucanero goes up top but takes a huge hurricanrana from Sabin, followed by a double kick from the Guns for an elimination, finishing off Team Mexico. Yoshino eats some kicks to the face as well before the Guns but out some insane double teams, including a dropkick into a Downward Spiral, for two on Kozlov. The Russian dives into a dropkick to the ribs and eats an RKO followed by a wicked clothesline for two. Kozlov is almost done but still grabs a rollup on Sabin with his feet on the ropes for the pin.
It’s Shelley vs. Kozlov vs. Yoshino now with Kozlov hitting a huge dive to take out his fellow Alex in a big crash. Yoshino fires off strikes to Kozlov’s face, followed by Sin Cara’s La Mistica mat slam for two. A kind of armbar makes Kozlov tap and we’re down to one on one. Shelley comes back in but takes too much time setting something up, allowing Yoshino to nail a dropkick for two.
A quick Sliced Bread #2 gets two on Yoshino but he blocks a Frog Splash with raised knees. Shelley puts him on top for a superkick, only to get caught in a kind of springboard spinning Zig Zag to give Yoshino a VERY close near fall. Yoshino says that’s it and takes him up top, only to take a top rope atomic drop, followed by Sheamus’ White Noise to give Shelley the pin.
Rating: B+. This took some time to get going but once they got going it was nothing but fast paced action the entire way. Some of those near falls were excellent and they kept the match moving fast enough that you couldn’t keep up with what was going on. Keeping it up for over twenty four minutes is very impressive and the match was a blast.
Interestingly enough, the rest of this DVD isn’t on the video TNA put up on its official YouTube channel and I had to find it myself. That’s rather odd, especially when the Beer Money disc was there in its entirety.
The Guns talk about singles competition and how it means a lot to them, just like teaming together.
X-Division Title: Suicide vs. Daniels vs. Amazing Red vs. Homicide vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley
From Bound For Glory 2008 and it’s Ultimate X with Red defending. Red is a guy that was around near the beginning of TNA and did some very impressive flips, earning the adulation of Don West. Don is now managing the champ and was known to climb on the announcers’ table and cheer for him. Sabin and Shelley won a match on the preshow to get in this match. Suicide is a video game character who started appearing on TV, portrayed by Daniels or Kazarian (the latter here). Homicide is part of the World Elite stable, which is a group of international wrestlers, led by Eric Young, who feel they haven’t been treated right.
It’s a mad scramble to the corners to start but no one can get anywhere. Everyone goes after everyone with Homicide getting the biggest advantage by taking down Shelley and diving through the ropes to take out Daniels. Suicide rolls the champion over and dives onto Homicide but the Guns work together to set up a suicide dive on…uh Suicide actually. Red kicks Shelley but gets dropped by Daniels, who goes for a climb. Red isn’t done yet and hurricanranas Daniels onto everyone else in the match.
Back in and Sabin busts out a giant swing on Red but Shelley adds a dropkick to the champ’s head to make it even worse. Daniels attacks both Guns and Homicide goes for a climb, only to have Suicide springboard up to the ropes and make a save, only to get pulled down into a Gringo Cutter. Sabin holds Daniels and Homicide for a top rope double stomp from Shelley.
The Guns continue their control by working over Red but the champion escapes a Doomsday Device with a Sliced Bread #2 instead of a clothesline and takes Sabin down with a hurricanrana. Suicide comes back in but Homicide suplexes him down. Homicide drops the champ and goes up but Daniels pulls him down and nails a Death Valley Driver. Red goes for the ropes but slowly comes back down for some reason, only to go back towards the belt until Suicide pulls him back down.
Now it’s Daniels and Sabin going up and kicking at each other while hanging in the air, eventually knocking each other down for a big crash. Sabin nails a tornado DDT on Daniels and Shelley nails a Sliced Bread #2 on Suicide. We get the Parade of Secondary Finishers, followed by Shelley, Red and Suicide hitting a huge Tower of Doom out of the corner with Suicide taking the worst of it (and kicking Daniels in the face on the way down).
Suicide throws Daniels down but Red kicks him in the face and gets caught by a corkscrew dive. Sabin goes nuts until Suicide kicks him off the top rope. Suicide goes right back up and hits the Flux Capacitor on Sabin, setting up Daniels’ Best Moonsault Ever. Daniels and Suicide climb onto the top of the structure above the cables and Red follows after them.
The fans ask them not to die so Daniels and Suicide tease suplexing each other off. They slap each other until Daniels carefully climbs down onto the X but Suicide does the same and they both fall with Daniels landing on his head. Tazz rightfully shouts CHECK HIM as Red slips down through the treeses as well and grabs the title before someone dies.
Rating: C+. That Daniels bump had me terrified when I saw it live and it doesn’t get any easier here. Thankfully he was ok for the most part. I can’t emphasize how much better this was than last year’s opener with just six men involved. It gives the match a chance to breathe and you can keep track of what’s going on. This was a good opener but the Daniels fall made it hard to sit through at the end.
What would happen if they fought each other? We would find out at Genesis 2009.
X-Division Title: Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley
From Genesis 2009 and it’s a tournament final. They circle each other to start until Alex grabs an armbar. Sabin grabs one of his own but gets kicked off and they nip up to a standoff. Back up and Sabin cranks on the arm a bit more until Shelley takes him down by the leg. They get up again and speed things WAY up with armdrags and flips into another standoff.
Sabin gets in the first major shot of the match with a kick to the face before cranking on an armbar with his leg around Shelley’s head. Chris sends him out to the floor for a big suicide dive, driving Alex’s head into the announcers’ table. Back in and Sabin drapes Sabin over the middle rope, setting up a Harlem Hangover into a Fameasser for a close two. They trade chops with Shelley getting the better of it before hitting a Lionsault for two. Off to an abdominal stretch from Alex with an additional arm crank for good measure.
It doesn’t last long though as Sabin tries Cradle Shock, only to have Alex escape and send him face first into the mat. That’s fine with Sabin who pops up and kicks Shelley’s head off for two. They slug it out again with Sabin knocking him into the corner for a running elbow to the jaw.
A big springboard tornado DDT gets two on Alex as Sabin is getting frustrated. He goes for another springboard but dives into a Crossface which Shelley spins into an attempted tiger suplex, only to have Chris send him into the corner for a break. Sabin snaps off the tiger suplex for two and White Noise gets the same for Shelley. Alex blocks a top rope hurricanrana and plants Sabin with a slam, only to have his Frog Splash hit knees.
Sabin misses a kick of his own and Alex nails two straight Frog Splashes for two. Back up and Sabin nails a clothesline and Cradle Shock gets two. A middle rope Cradle Shock is countered into a super Sliced Bread #2 for another near fall and Alex is STUNNED. He loads up another Sliced Bread but Sabin throws him off, only to have Shelley come up limping. Sabin checks on his partner and gets rolled up for the pin to give Alex the title.
Rating: C+. I liked most of this and the idea was decent enough, but the opening was kind of a stretch. The idea is that they think the exact same way, but there comes a point where it’s clearly choreographed and there’s almost no way around it. The rest of it worked well enough with a bunch of near falls, and they probably did the right thing with a shifty ending instead of letting one member get a fair pin.
The Guns talk about how the future is more important to wrap things up.
Overall Rating: D+. What the heck was that? I’m really not sure how this can be described as the Best of the Motor City Machine Guns when there’s a single match where they’re a regular team and the rest is almost all about them either in a big gimmick match or as afterthoughts in a multiman singles match. They said the fans picked these matches, which makes me think the fans don’t like the Guns all that much. This set needed to be released about three years later, when the Guns had built up a big catalog of matches to pick from. Like a title win for example.
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Bound For Glory 2013 (2014 Redo): It’s Sad In A Way
Bound For Glory 2013 Date: October 20, 2013
Location: Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
Attendance: 3,000
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
We’ll wrap up the redos here with a show that really doesn’t feel like the biggest deal of the year. The main event is AJ Styles, who has spent most of the year channeling 1997 Sting as the loner who barely talks, challenging Aces and 8’s President Bully Ray. This doesn’t feel like as big a deal as it should due to Ray only having won the title back about two months ago following a meaningless reign by Chris Sabin. Let’s get to it.
There was a pre-show match in 2013.
Pre-Show: Gauntlet Match
This is a four team gauntlet match with the winners getting a Tag Team Title shot on the regular pay per view. We start with Bad Influence vs. Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez. Guerrero and Kaz get things going but it’s quickly off to Hernandez who hits the over the shoulder backbreaker to both guys at the same time. SuperMex heads to the ramp and gets a running start to take out Bad Influence with a huge running double clothesline.
We take a break and come back with Hernandez hitting a kind of powerbomb on Kaz for no cover. Both guys crawl over to make tags so Chavo can speed things up with shoulders to Daniels. Everything quickly breaks down and Hernandez is back up to clean house with clotheslines. Chavo hits Three Amigos on Daniels because he’s an Eddie Guerrero tribute wrestler. Speaking of Eddie, Chavo goes up for the Frog Splash but Kaz shoves him off the top to give Daniels a rollup pin.
Joseph Park and Eric Young are the third team and drop Kaz with a double back elbow. Park’s big splash gets no cover but he does slam Kaz down again. Park tries another slam but gets dropped on his head to change control. Bad Influence changes without a tag because they’re, well, bad, allowing Daniels to send Park face first into Kaz’s boot. A slingshot elbow followed by a slingshot legdrop gets two as Young teases interfering.
Kaz’s sunset flip is countered but Park only hits mat when trying to sit down. We take another break and come back with Eric getting the hot tag and cleaning house with elbows and right hands. A belly to belly gets two on Daniels but he comes back with a release Rock Bottom. He misses the BME though and Park’s Samoan drop gives Young the pin.
Before the fourth team comes out though, Kaz lays out Young with Fade to Black and send Park into the Ultimate X structure. The BroMans are the final team (due to winning a match on Impact and come out with Mr. Olympia Phil Heath. Park is carried to the back and we’re starting with a handicap match. Robbie starts for the team but it’s quickly off to Jesse for a shot to the ribs. Young comes back with a double clothesline and some right hands to both Bros. The top rope elbow gets two as Jesse makes a save and the yet to be named BroDown (Hart Attack) gives the BroMans the title shot.
Rating: C. This match got a good deal of time, running about twenty two minutes. That’s far more than you usually get in a gauntlet match and it’s really nice for a change. I always have trouble with gauntlets as most of the falls take no time, which makes me wonder why that never happens in regular matches. This was a free match so it’s hard to complain when compared to the rest of the card.
The opening video is almost all about AJ with his voiceovers talking about how tired he is of doing the right thing all the time. Now he’s back to fight for himself instead of TNA, even though it makes him the same guy he used to be when he got ticked off. One other note: Dixie Carter is now evil and has sided with Bully Ray, who is still trying to take over her company. It was around this time that people were sick of hearing from her, so of course she became a bigger and bigger focal point of TV.
Taz is now part of Aces and 8’s so we have a heel commentator.
X-Division Title: Samoa Joe vs. Manik vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Sabin vs. Austin Aries
Ultimate X with Manik defending against an all-star lineup. Joe is part of the reformed Main Event Mafia which is around to fight Aces and 8’s. Sabin quickly goes to the corner but gets glared down by everyone else in the match. Instead he bails to the floor and pulls Aries outside with him, only to be rammed into the tress. Back inside and Manik is put in the Tree of Woe so Sabin can stand on his crotch.
Tenay says this is the 32nd time Ultimate X has been held, which is pretty frequent considering the company isn’t even twelve years old at this point. Joe snapmares Chris down for a loud chop to the back, making Sabin’s girlfriend Velvet Sky scream. Manik takes Joe down with a springboard dropkick as Hardy and Aries start going up the tress. Jeff pulls Austin down before Manik hurricanranas Hardy and Sabin down.
Aries is left alone in the ring and goes up, only to have Hardy pull him right back down before hitting the reverse powerbomb from last year. Since it’s a Jeff Hardy match, it’s ladder time until Joe hits a suicide elbow to take Jeff out. Sabin baseball slides the ladder into Joe but Manik dropkicks Joe down. Aries dives onto Joe and Manik but Manik gets back up and hurricanranas Sabin out to the floor.
Joe hammers away on Aries in the corner but the MuscleBuster is countered. Hardy comes back in but eats the running dropkick, followed by Joe getting the same. The brainbuster is countered into a swinging Koquina Clutch to send Aries outside. The champ goes up but gets pulled down into a low blow. Joe hits a running backsplash on Manik before getting dropkicked out to the floor by Sabin.
The Whisper in the Wind drops Sabin and now the ladder is brought in. Manik and Aries climb the ladder and fight over the belt but Sabin knocks it over. He goes after Hardy instead of climbing, earning himself a Twist of Fate. Sabin tells Velvet Sky to stop Hardy from climbing and throws her in the ring against her will. The distraction of Velvet in that tight of a dress lets Sabin run up the ladder to win the title.
Rating: C+. This was a good idea to freshen up the match but at the same time they’ve killed the concept. Why in the world would someone use the hard method of crawling along the ropes now instead of just climbing a ladder? It’s a nice followup to Sabin’s World Title run and heel turn, but it’s not like the title means anything outside of Destination X season.
It’s time for our theme of the night: great AJ Styles moments, starting with Styles becoming the first X-Division Champion back in 2002.
Here’s Bad Influence to fill some time since this is a seven match card. Kaz says no men have been screwed more than them since Brokeback Mountain. It’s an embarrassment that they’re not on the card tonight since Bad Influence IS TNA. They beat Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez and then had to face a lawyer and a fisherman so that shouldn’t even count. TNA loves to mess with things so let’s make it a three way for the Tag Team Titles.
This brings out Eric Young who says he’s here on scientific business. Earlier tonight, Bad Influence created a monster and everyone knows they should run. They beat him down but here’s Abyss to save his partner and clean house. Both Bad Influences take Black Hole Slams and Abyss helps Young up.
Gunner and James Storm tell the BroMans to not worry about their hair and girls because the champions are ready for them. JB’s hair looks funny for some reason.
Tag Team Titles: BroMans vs. James Storm/Gunner
Storm had a spot in a four way Tag Team Title match at Slammiversary and Gunner impressed him enough to get on the team. They won the belts and haven’t had much competition since. Mr. Olympia Phil Heath is with the challengers again. It’s a brawl to start with the champions cleaning house and Storm being backdropped over the top onto the BroMans. Back in and Storm throws Jesse across the ring before bringing in Gunner for some right hands to the head.
Gunner takes Jesse into the corner for some chops but a Robbie distraction lets Jesse pull him off the middle rope to take over. Robbie comes in legally and hammers away before giving it back to Jesse for two. E. quickly comes back in for a chinlock before Jesse breaks up a backslide attempt with a dropkick. The Bros break up a hot tag attempt and Jesse poses a lot. He gets crotched on the top though, allowing Gunner to hit a fall away slam to take Jesse down.
There’s the hot tag to Storm and house is cleaned again. James gets two off a top rope elbow and is sporting a big cut on his leg. Everything breaks down and Robbie escapes the Eye of the Storm before nailing an implant DDT for two. Gunner plants Robbie with an Irish Curse but Jesse breaks up the Gun Rack. A powerbomb/Backstabber combo gets a VERY close two on Robbie. The Last Call plants Jesse but Robbie throws in a title belt for a distraction, setting up the BroDown for the pin and the titles.
Rating: C-. I remember this being a bit better but the match wasn’t that bad. The near fall was really good and having new champions was a big surprise, but it was still missing something. I have no idea why Heath was out there as he didn’t add a thing to this match. Not bad but the new champs wouldn’t have anyone to feud with for awhile.
Video on Angle’s Hall of Fame induction.
Sting comes out to officially induct Angle into the Hall of Fame. Kurt comes out and thanks the fans but says he can’t accept this induction. This wound up being a story and Angle would eventually accept, which makes the Hall of Fame seem like a prop for angles rather than something special. It’s not a horrible thing but I still don’t like this. My guess however is it had something to do with Angle’s DUI in early August.
Clip of AJ wining the World title at No Surrender 2009.
Dixie Carter puts all of AJ’s merchandise on sale. Her nephew Ethan comes up and we get the new catchphrase: “The world needs us. We’re the Carters.” Well he’s easy to hate.
Knockouts Title: Gail Kim vs. Brooke vs. ODB
ODB is defending and Aces and 8’s member Brooke is Miss Tessmacher. Brooke is quickly run over and Gail gets sent to the floor by the champion. Back up and Brooke stomps away in the corner before giving ODB a Stinkface. That’s fine with ODB who pops up and chest bumps Brooke into the corner for a Bronco Buster. Gail gets back in and is quickly knocked right back to the floor. Brooke faceplants ODB for two as Gail is holding her arm.
ODB powers up to break a reverse chinlock but gets dropped by a running forearm. A spinning neckbreaker puts the champion down for two but Gail pulls Brooke down for a Figure Four around the post. ODB takes Gail down but Brooke gets two off a rollup. Off to a half crab on Brooke and Gail has to run in to break up a tap out. Both challengers go to the top so ODB tries to superplex them both, only to be shoved down. Gail missile dropkicks ODB and Brooke drops a top rope elbow on Kim to put all three on the mat.
ODB is up first to run everyone over but the referee gets crushed in the corner. Another shot knocks him out to the floor and we get the double fireman’s carry to show off ODB’s strength. Brooke falls off so ODB gives Gail the Bam onto Brooke’s body. Cue Lei’D Tapa to fight with ODB and knock the champion to the floor. A powerbomb plants Brooke and Tapa puts Gail on top for the pin and the title.
Rating: D+. Giving Gail a new monster bodyguard doesn’t make her any more interesting. Tapa had a different kind of look but at the end of the day, she was nothing compared to Ivelisse from Gut Check. The match was nothing we haven’t seen on Impact a bunch of times and just restarts the circle of Knockouts with the title all over again.
New broadcaster Gil Corsey (he didn’t last) is with the BroMans and Mr. Olympia. Protein shakes are poured and that’s about it.
Bobby Roode says he’ll prove he’s a better man than Kurt.
We recap Roode vs. Angle. Roode didn’t like Angle going into the Hall of Fame so he and Bad Influence (the Extraordinary Gentlemen’s Organization) inducted Bobby into the EGO Hall of Fame.
Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode
This is Angle’s first match back from rehab. Feeling out process to start with Roode actually taking him down to the mat. Kurt is a bit more hesitant to go after Roode this time but gets caught in a headlock anyway. A quick Crossface attempt sends Angle running but his ankle lock does the same to Roode. Back in and Roode hammers away in the corner until Kurt suplexes him out to the floor.
The fight heads out to the floor where another suplex drops Bobby. Angle tries one too many times though and gets his neck snapped across the top rope. Back in and Roode stomps away before getting two off a suplex. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Angle fights up with right hands. The Rolling Germans have Roode in trouble but he gets a shoulder up at two. The Angle Slam is countered with an armdrag and Roode gets two off a spinebuster.
Kurt escapes a Roode Bomb and puts on the ankle lock as we’re into the trading finishers section. The counter sends Angle arm first into the post and a DDT on the arm sets up the Crossface from Roode. A foot on the rope breaks the hold and Roode is getting frustrated. He walks into another suplex but avoids the moonsault. Roode slaps on the Crossface again but Kurt grabs the ankle lock to break the hold. I love that counter. Bobby pulls him down and puts on the Crossface again until Angle rolls over for two.
That gets rolled over for two more and Angle’s clothesline is countered into yet another Crossface. Kurt reverses THAT into another Angle Slam for two but he can’t follow it up. They slug it out from their knees and Kurt starts rolling more Germans. Bobby can’t take more of those though so he grabs the referee, allowing a low blow to Angle. The yet to be named Roode Bomb gets a very close two. He loads up another one but Kurt rolls down into the ankle lock.
Angle gets the grapevine for good measure and Roode starts to black out, but he’s being crafty. Channeling his inner Bret Hart, Roode is goldbricking and uses the referee checking his arm to grab the rope. Kurt is frustrated but takes Roode to the top for a Super Angle Slam. Both guys are down but Roode gets to his feet long enough to fall on Angle for a surprise pin. Angle never moved after hitting the Slam.
Rating: A-. This was the great match of the show with both guys showing off some awesome stuff. I like that they went with the Austin vs. HHH finish from No Way Out where they hit each other but HHH fell on top for a pin. It’s also the right call as Angle didn’t need the win and Roode gets the (unmentioned) win back from Bound For Glory 2011.
Angle is taken out on medics but wakes up when they try to put a neck brace on him, allowing him to walk out on his own.
AJ beat Sting at Bound For Glory 2009.
Styles is getting ready.
Bully Ray is in the back with a bunch of people we can’t see. A lot of the Aces and 8’s had left at this point so it’s implied they’re back tonight. Ray says the team is reborn tonight and says it’s all about the colors. We never saw who he was talking to.
Ethan Carter III vs. Norv Fernum
Fernum is a jobber who might weigh 150lbs and both guys are debuting tonight. Carter throws him around to start as you would expect before dropping him with a forearm. A high collar t-bone suplex makes Taz smile and Ethan rubs his face in the mat. Fernum scores with some dropkicks and a high cross body for two. Not that it matters as the yet to be named 1%er gives Ethan the easy pin.
Rating: C. Of course it’s not much of a match but this was exactly what you want from a debut for a guy like Carter. He’s become such an awesome heel and this was the kind of start they should have gone with. They played up the idea of Carter getting a handpicked opponent, which is something a rich guy would get. Smart and effective debut.
Magnus says he’s going to get his big win tonight and become the star he’s destined to be, even if it’s at Sting’s expense.
We recap Magnus vs. Sting. Magnus was in the finals of the Bound For Glory Series and lost, destroying his confidence. Sting said Magnus, his Main Event Mafia brother, was going to be a star and Sting was going to give him the chance to do just that.
Magnus vs. Sting
Both guys are good here and this is about making Magnus a star instead of a rivalry. They trade headlocks to start until Sting clotheslines Magnus down. A shoulder puts him on the floor and we’re in a slow start. Sting holds the ropes to let Magnus back in before getting knocked out to the apron with a European uppercut. The Brit holds the ropes open for Sting before leveling him with a clothesline to take over.
Off to a bodyscissors from Magnus for awhile until Sting finally grabs the ropes. Some ax handles have Sting in more trouble and Magnus stays on the ribs and back. Sting comes right back with a backdrop and the Stinger Splash followed by the Deathlock with very little torque on it. Magnus powers out of it and a double clothesline puts both guys down.
Back up and Magnus starts no selling shots to the face ala Sting vs. Flair back in 1987 before hitting a Stinger Splash of his own. A Michinoku Driver gets two but Sting shrugs off a Cloverleaf attempt. Now Sting starts no selling and hits his own Stinger Splash and another Deathlock with so little torque that the fans are barely interested. I guess Sting’s knees just won’t let him sit down anymore.
Magnus finally makes the rope and stops another Splash with a European uppercut. The Scorpion Death Drop puts Sting down and the top rope elbow gets two. A second elbow misses but Magnus fights out of some Death Drop attempts with HARD elbows to the face. Sting says Magnus to come on so Magnus takes him down and puts on the Cloverleaf for the very surprising submission.
Rating: D+. The fans are really not pleased with the ending and I can’t say I blame them. One of the biggest problems with Sting’s later TNA stuff is how fast his matches end. There’s no buildup to them and they just stop out of nowhere. This wasn’t a very good match either but that’s the case with almost all passing the torch matches. Without any hatred between them, there’s no reason for them to be fighting and it makes for a dull match.
They shake hands post match but Magnus doesn’t seem too interested.
AJ beat Magnus to get the title shot tonight.
Bully quotes Welcome to the Jungle to tell AJ that he’s going to die tonight. He doesn’t want AJ to die though. Ray wants AJ to have to live with himself and go back to Gainesville, Georgia and go into that trailer park so he can look at his kids and tell them he’s a failure. That will kill AJ and tonight, he’s in Bully’s jungle.
We recap AJ Styles vs. Bully Ray, which is almost all about AJ vs. Dixie. AJ won the title shot in the BFG Series but the main story is about Dixie Carter not wanting a hick like AJ as the world champion. She’s promised tonight is his last night in the company and has made the main event basically a street fight.
TNA World Title: AJ Styles vs. Bully Ray
Bully is defending and has the gorgeous Brooke with him. Ray powers him into the corner to start and says he can see the fear in AJ’s eyes. Styles tells him to bring it and gets taken down by the wrist. He finally rolls out but takes AJ down with a big boot to the face. Bully knocks him down again and tells AJ he’ll take care of the wife and kids. That just ticks AJ off and the drop down into a dropkick puts Ray down.
AJ’s Calf Killer goes on out of nowhere but Aces and 8’s member Garrett Bischoff comes out for a distraction. Ray picks up a hammer but AJ kicks it out of his hands and swings it himself. Bully prevents a bad case of death by chopping Styles a few times to Taz’s delight. He mocks Hogan with the hand to the ear before chopping AJ again. AJ asks him for another and Ray backs up into the corner out of fear. Styles goes off on him in the corner but gets nailed by a clothesline.
Ray’s next chop leaves a handprint on AJ’s chest but he comes back with kicks to the leg. Cue Aces and 8’s member Knux for a chokeslam on Styles, giving Bully two. Ray is ticked off at the near fall so he pokes Hebner in the chest, only to get shouted down. A big running clothesline hits Knux by mistake and AJ grabs a rollup for two. Ray kicks AJ right in the face to knock him out to the floor as this is picking up again.
They head outside and Ray picks up the hammer but gets Peled onto the announcers’ table. Styles loads up the springboard 450 but Ray moves, sending AJ crashing through the table for a huge wreck. Taz hands Ray a boxcutter so the champ can start cutting up the ring. He peels back the mat and then the padding underneath, leaving only the wooden boards.
With AJ still down, Ray calls the boys to the ring. Instead he gets Dixie because where would we be without her? She hands Ray a chair but AJ comes in with the springboard forearm to drive the chair into Bully’s face. The springboard 450 connects but Dixie tells Hebner not to count the pin. The hesitation lets Ray kick out at what should have been about 15. AJ’s Clash is countered with a backdrop onto the wood and Ray actually hits the middle rope backsplash. It’s only good for two though so Ray nails him in the back with a chair. AJ escapes the piledriver and nails a Pele, followed by Spiral Tap for the pin and the title.
Rating: B-. The match was good but it felt like a long segment at times instead of a match. The missed splash looked great and ripping up the ring was interesting, but man alive does Dixie Carter drag down segments she’s in. It’s not due to being a bad character as she’s easy to hate. It’s that I just do not want to see her involved because she’s going to get way more focus than she deserves and make things a lot more annoying than interesting.
As for AJ’s character, it’s questionable at best. We spent months on him as the loner who didn’t want anything to do with TNA and teased being a part of Aces and 8’s, but now he’s TNA’s conquering hero? That’s a stretch to say the least and the match felt more about Dixie vs. AJ by the end. They could save that for later on TV, which they would do again because TNA does some questionable things.
A bunch of recaps and a celebration end the show.
Overall Rating: C+. This show tried and had its moments but there’s not enough here to make the show great. That being said, not having to sit through the bad TV shows setting up this show made things a lot easier. It’s just the wrestling and the main event and Roode vs. Angle matches make it worth sitting through. Not a great show or anything and the booking continues to be AWFUL but the wrestling isn’t bad.
Ratings Comparison
Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez vs. BroMans vs. Eric Young/Joseph Park vs. Bad Influence
Original: C
Redo: C-
Chris Sabin vs. Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Manik
Original: C+
Redo: C+
Gunner/James Storm vs. BroMans
Original: C
Redo: C-
Brooke vs. ODB vs. Gail Kim
Original: D+
Redo: D+
Bobby Roode vs. Kurt Angle
Original: B+
Redo: A-
Ethan Carter III vs. Norv Fernum
Original: D-
Redo: C
Sting vs. Magnus
Original: C
Redo: D+
AJ Styles vs. Bully Ray
Original: C
Redo: B-
Overall Rating
Original: D+
Redo: C+
As usual, the lack of sitting through the build is a good thing. When TNA cuts out the nonsense of TV, they’re much easier to sit through.
So that’s Bound For Glory so far. Overall, the show is very endemic of TNA in general: they have good stuff, but the lack of creating top stars kills them. Four of the first five shows are more about Sting than anything else and the latter ones are mainly about Angle or Hogan. I get the idea of making them look strong so putting someone over them means something, but that only happened once at the biggest show of the year. Other than that, it’s almost all about making the old guys look good and that’s missing the point.
The show is worth checking out most of the time, but you can see TNA going downhill after about 2007. There’s almost always value to the show and none of them are horrible, but man alive they can be frustrating to sit through at times. Again, that’s true of so many things TNA does and they make it hard to be a fan for more than a little while at a time. Check out some of the better matches, but I wouldn’t recommend putting yourself through the full shows most of the time.