Summer Bash 2016
Date: June 24, 2016
Location: Evolution Sports Gym, Elizabethtown, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Rhodes, Mike Cooper, Heath Snead

This is from NWA Smoky Mountain as I continue a trek through some random independent companies (or as independent as the NWA is). As usual, I have no idea what to expect from this show but it’s the NWA in Tennessee so you can imagine the fans are going to be pretty into the show. Let’s get to it.

Keep in mind that I have no idea what is going on here from a storyline or character perspective so please bear with me.

There is no intro video and we’re going straight to the first match.

White Trash Millionaires vs. Air America vs. Hardliners

That would be Corey Smith/Lenny Stratton (with Taylor Hennig (I think?)) vs. Gavin Daring/Skylar Kruze vs. Bryan Montgomery/Jeff Connelly (with Travis Stikes). I think you can get the idea of the debuting Millionaires and Air America seem to be hometown high fliers. Kruze spins out of a wristlock and cranks on Stratton’s wrist before handing it off to Daring for more of the same.

Back up and Stratton hits a shoulder, only to get armdragged into the corner. Smith, in overalls, comes in to power Daring into the corner for a right hand to the face. It’s back to Kruze for a double drop toehold and a front facelock but Smith is back up without much effort. Stratton comes in and gets to face Montgomery, the latter of whom starts with a Rick Rude hip swivel. A rather high hiptoss puts Montgomery down and a kick to the head puts him on the floor.

Kruze jumps to the apron and kicks the Millionaires down (Cooper: “They’re worth about $1.50 right now!”) before Stratton gets back in. Smith’s knee from the apron cuts Kruze down and there’s the gorilla press toss face first onto the turnbuckle. Stratton comes back in with a slingshot spear for two but Montgomery tags himself in to plant Darling for two. A Russian legsweep/dropkick combination gets two so Connelly grabs an STF.

Montgomery comes back in to cut off a comeback bit and something like a Russian legsweep cuts Darling off again. Darling finally comes back with a Sling Blade and the hot tag brings in Kruze to clean house. A springboard bulldog hits Montgomery but Connelly isn’t even going to let him get one. Everything breaks down with the parade of finishers, including a fireman’s carry slam, which is called a version of the Go To Sleep by commentators who aren’t as good as they think they are.

Darling catapults Stratton into a superkick (with commentary getting in one of the most annoying calls I’ve ever heard by calling it a SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPERKICK in a loud voice) from Kruze. Stikes breaks up something on the top so Darling dives onto him and Smith, leaving the hardliners to hit a Downward Spiral 3D to finish Kruze at 12:31.

Rating: C+. This definitely felt like lower level stars trying to do a match that they have seen others do better, but it worked out fairly well. The finish looked cool and Air America is a good name for a team, though the Millionaires were barely a factor here. Good enough choice for an opener here, even if I want the commentators tied up to a wall and pummeled with various clubs and sticks.

The Agency (seems to be a rather large heel stable) throws out the interviewer (who might be Heath Snead) and says they are going to dominate everyone tonight. The leader, or at least the main talker, is ready for Buff Bagwell in the main event.

Vince Brent vs. Axton Ray

This is champion (Brent is the Mountain Empire Champion and Ray is the TV Champion) vs. champion but it’s non-title. Brent is part of the Agency and has a bunch of people, including a woman named Kayla, with him. On the other hand, Ray is still around to this day and popped up on AEW Dark as a jobber. They take their time circling each other before going to one of the weakest lockups I can remember seeing.

A battle over wrist control goes to Ray but he gets armdragged down, allowing Brent to dab. Back up and Ray flips out of a headscissors and armdrags him out to the floor. Ray’s dive is cut off though and they brawl out into the fans. Axton gets sent over the bleachers but dives over them, setting up a dive off said bleachers. Back in and Ray sends him outside again, this time setting up the big slingshot dive. They go inside again, with Brent grabbing a Backstabber for two this time.

The chinlock goes on for a bit before Brent’s suplex gets a rather cocky near fall. Brent grabs a front facelock before sending Ray outside for a running flip dive. Back in and we hit the chinlock, with the camera showing the WIDE gap between Brent’s arm and anything but Ray’s jaw. Even commentary has to point out that it’s not doing anything as Ray fights up and hits a Russian legsweep for a breather.

They slug it out from their knees until Ray is up with a dropkick for two. Brent is right back with a Codebreaker for two of his own but Ray hits a slam. Ray loads up a People’s Elbow but rolls over Ray and springboards into the elbow drop (ok that was clever) for two of his own. They both go up top with Ray getting pulled face down onto the turnbuckle, setting up a running knee for another near fall.

Brent gets sent into the corner though and it’s a springboard missile dropkick for two, as part of the Agency pulled Ray out. Ray misses a top rope double stomp though and it’s the Killshot (jumping Downward Spiral) for the really near fall. The Agency offers another distraction though, allowing Brent to get a chain. Said chain knocks a springboarding Ray silly and Brent gets the pin at 17:55.

Rating: B. One of the best compliments I can give a match in a promotion I don’t watch is that I wanted to know who was going to win. That was the case here, as they got the drama rolling very well. The action was certainly good for a show of this level and Ray seems to have something. I liked this one quite a bit and it was a lot better than I would have expected.

Post match Brent celebrates….but here is someone named Toby Farley, who shows the referee that Brent left part of the chain hanging out of his tights (like a moron). That’s good for a restart, allowing Ray to roll him up for the pin at 18:46. Oh yeah this is a Tennessee show.

United States Tag Team Titles: Cabal vs. Heatseekers

The Heatseekers (Elliott Russell/Sigmon) are defending against the Cabal (Jason Kincaid/Travis Lee), who are creepy/weird, complete with a manager (Brian Wayne) with a stop sign covered with a smiley face. Lee, a monster, has the title belts despite the Cabal being the champions. Kincaid (who I’ve seen before and is a bit odd) sits down to look at the champs before starting with Sigmon.

After nothing happens there, Lee comes in to throw Sigmon into the corner and hit him with a headbutt. It’s back to Kincaid, who gets stomped down in the corner before the champs give him a double back elbow. Sigmon’s suplex sets up Russell’s Russian legsweep for two, followed by some forearms to the back. Lee gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and it’s Russell getting stomped down in the corner for a change.

That’s enough for Lee to start going nuts and ram his own head into the buckle, allowing the tag back to Sigmon. For some reason the champs try a suplex on the nearly 400lb Lee, earning themselves a double suplex right back. A chokebreaker drops Sigmon again and it’s Kincaid raking Sigmon’s back. Lee front facelocks Sigmon as Kincaid has a seat on the top. The slow beating continues and Kincaid, the creepy/crazy one, grabs a creepy/crazy chinlock.

Back up and Sigmon hits a good dropkick to get himself out of trouble but the tag is broken up again. This time it’s Sigmon getting sent outside so Wayne can get in some stompings. Sigmon gets back in again, where a seated Kincaid is waiting on him to block the tag again. Kincaid gets smart by taking Russell off the apron but has to kick out of a quick rollup attempt. Lee stomps on Sigmon’s back (the “shoulderplexus” according to commentary) but a Russell distraction lets Sigmon get in a dropkick.

This hasn’t gone on long enough though and it’s Lee hitting a catapult into the corner. Kincaid charges into an elbow in the corner but goes up for no logically explored reason, allowing Lee to cheap shot him. A Diamond Cutter onto the knee gives Kincaid two but he misses a top rope double stomp (second match in a row with that one). Sigmon gets in a German suplex and it’s FINALLY back to Russell to pick up the pace. There’s a neckbreaker to Kincaid and a belly to belly gives Russell a delayed two.

Kincaid snaps off a powerslam though and it’s a jumping double stomp. A springboard is loaded up but Kincaid dives into a belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination. That’s still not enough though as Kincaid is back with a running clothesline against the ropes. The slingshot Blockbuster (to a bent over Russell) gets two more but Russell is back with a boot to the chest for a double knockdown.

Lee goes after them but it’s a double superplex to take him down, with the impact crotching Kincaid on top. Sigmon’s suicide dive takes Lee down on the floor and it’s a super hurricanrana to Kincaid. The fireman’s carry onto the knee finishes Kincaid to retain the titles at 18:37.

Rating: C. This was LONG and that is the kind of match that gets annoying in a hurry. It felt like it just kept going and I was waiting for it to get over with already, which is never the kind of feeling that you want. The Heatseekers weren’t exactly a thrilling team and Lee was little more than your standard monster. Kincaid is different, but not an entertaining match as it went on FAR too long.

Dani Fererra/Rock-C vs. Kaela/Nicole Stratton

That isn’t future Ring of Honor Women’s Champion Rok-C and Stratton is Lenny’s wife. Kaela is part of the Agency so part of the team is here with her. Rock-C has a stuffed Flounder from the Little Mermaid to make her a bit better. Kaela and Fererra start things off with commentary talking about how attractive the women are in a bad flashback. It’s off to Stratton almost immediately and Fererra slams her down, allowing the tag off to Rock-C.

Kaela comes in but gets sent into Stratton, leaving Rock-C to chest bump Stratton down. Back up and Stratton German suplexes Fererra as commentary talks about how much these two dislike each other. They hit stereo…flying head attacks I guess you would call them for a double knockdown. That means it’s back to Kaela vs. Rock-C with the former having to escape a fireman’s carry. Everything breaks down and Kaela hits a running knee to finish Rock-C at 3:46.

Rating: D. Yeah this was bad as it felt like a match that was there for the sake of having a women’s match on the show. It wasn’t much above the Divas era of WWE and that is rather striking given that this is a year after the Women’s Revolution. It was sloppy and the women did not exactly look polished or ready to be on anything above the lowest level show.

Post match Fererra gets taken out as well.

Colby Corino vs. Timmy Lou Retton

Believe it or not, Retton is a gymnast. The villainous Corino offers a handshake but then misses a kick to the head. A suplex drops Corino and a standing shooting star makes it worse. Back up and Corino avoids a charge into the corner as commentary points out that Retton looks like Big E. Corino knocks him outside and teases a dive but instead slides to the floor for a chop.

Back in and Retton gets kicked in the chest, followed by a running kick to the head for a delayed two. Corino chops him up against the ropes and a right hand to the face puts Retton down again. There’s a dropkick for two more and it’s off to something like a seated abdominal stretch. Commentary keeps making New Day references as Corino hits some running knees in the corner.

Double knees to the face knock Retton silly and he looks out in the corner. Retton manages to pull himself up though and it’s a Pele to drop Corino. A corner splash sets up a leg lariat into a reverse Cannonball in the corner. Corino avoids a corner charge though and a Stunner gets two on Retton. Back up and Retton says hit him harder before flipping Corino down into a spinebuster. A nice looking moonsault finishes Corino at 10:00.

Rating: C. Corino is a rather small guy and it is kind of hard to buy him as a physical threat to just about anyone. Retton is rather athletic and the gymnastics background helped him a lot here. The moonsault looked good too and I could see Retton doing fairly well going forward. He has appeared for AEW as well so there is something to him.

Post match Corino spits on Retton, who chases him out of the arena.

Buff Bagwell/Toby Farley vs. Jordan Kage/Chris Richards

It isn’t a good sign when your big name is Buff Bagwell. Richards and Kage are part of the Agency so the team is here with them. This is Farley’s return after a shoulder injury so he gets a big entrance. Bagwell’s is bigger though, as he gets the still awesome WCW theme but his right shoulder is in a big brace and he can only slap hands with fans using his left hand. Before the match, a fan wins some kind of a contest, with commentary saying we could have done that after this was over.

We hit the stall button before the bell as Kage isn’t happy with the fans throwing toilet paper at him. Bagwell can barely get through the ropes to the apron due to his shoulder so it’s Kage vs. Farley to start. Actually we’ll make that Farley vs. the very tall Richards instead, with Farley being tossed down. That works so well that they do it again so let’s try Bagwell vs. Kage. The one armed Bagwell can still strut and pose (kind of) as the fans mock Kage by calling him a princess.

Kage shoulders him down and gets to pose as Bagwell isn’t looking happy. Back up and Bagwell’s shoulder works a bit better and some atomic drops send Kage into the corner. Richards gets knocked off the apron as well and the good guys clear the ring without much effort. That means more stalling on the floor as this hasn’t exactly been interesting so far. Back in and a double elbow puts Kage down again, setting up Farley’s (loudly called) backdrop.

Kage gets in a shot of his own though and it’s Richards coming back in for some choking. It’s back to Kage for two off a dropkick, allowing Richards to stand on Farley’s throat. Some spitting draws Bagwell in, leaving Farley to get caught in a Hart Attack for two. Bagwell tries to come in again so the referee doesn’t see Farley’s rollup on Kage. Instead Farley knocks Kage down and the hot tag brings in Bagwell for the one armed house cleaning. Everything breaks down and Bagwell hits Richards with I guess you would say a one armed Pedigree for the pin at 11:00.

Rating: C-. I know Bagwell was hurt but this was bad even with that added in. He couldn’t do much of anything and most of his offense was lame because of the injury. The rest of the match was what you would have expected and that wasn’t exactly much to see. Farley seems like someone the fans would care about, but he was mainly selling here until Bagwell got the win. Not much to this one, even with Bagwell’s injury holding him back.

Bagwell and Farley pose to end the show.

Of note: the IndependentWrestling.TV preview for this show mentions an opening match between Wild Bull and Onslaught, which apparently took place but isn’t mentioned here. In addition, the splash image preview is of the Outsiders, who were apparently there for a meet and greet and were mentioned on commentary, but never appeared either. What a weird double bit of false advertising.

Overall Rating: C-. There was some decent enough stuff on here but the last two matches were lame and I’m not wild on waiting on something to take place after it was listed. Brent vs. Ray and the opener were both good, but the rest of the show was pretty much downhill after that. Not a good show, and it didn’t make me want to see anything else from this company, save for maybe Ray.

 

 

 

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Ring of Honor
Date: October 19, 2016
Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

It’s FINALLY back to the main storylines which are…..actually I can barely remember. That’s the problem with this company: it’s been multiple weeks since All-Star Extravaganza and I really don’t remember most of what happened last time. I know we’re gearing up for Final Battle and that means Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole for the ROH World Title. Let’s get to it.

We open with a montage of Ladder War with the Young Bucks winning the Tag Team Titles. As much as I can’t stand them, it makes sense to put the titles on them.

Opening sequence.

Here’s the Bullet Club en masse for an opening chat. Matt says All-Star Extravaganza was a FIVE STAR Extravaganza and Nick says they’re the best team in the world. Adam Cole declares STORY TIME, which means it’s time to hear about how great the Club is. They’re going to get the newly created Trios Titles as well and the Club is going to be stronger than ever. Really not much to this one but I’d much rather have a short opening promo than something needlessly filling time.

We see a clip of Silas Young winning the Honor Rumble.

Jay Lethal is ready for Young tonight and promises to get the World Title back.

Shane Taylor/Keith Lee vs. War Machine

War Machine dives through the ropes to take out Taylor and Lee as we start fast. Rowe is slammed onto Lee as the announcers acknowledge a lack of countouts or disqualifications here. Hanson beats on Taylor as we’re still waiting on the first count. They head inside for the first time, only to have Lee backdrop Rowe onto both partners. A big cannonball from the apron has Lee crushing everyone as we take a break.

Back with the brawling continues and all four guys actually in the ring. Rowe tosses Taylor with an exploder suplex but Lee POUNCES ROWE ACROSS THE RING. A double chokeslam plants Hanson for two and he’s busted open off something in there. Now it’s Lee left alone but Taylor trips Hanson from the floor. An AA powerslam gets two on Hanson and THEY ACTUALLY BOTHER WITH A TAG. Like, why?

Hanson takes Taylor out with a Whoopee Cushion (sure why not) out of the corner and brings Rowe back in. Fallout gets two on Lee and Taylor’s sitout powerbomb gets the same on Rowe. Hanson misses a top rope splash as there’s nothing between these big moves. For some reason Lee tries a moonsault, only to have Rowe roll out of the way, setting up a Canadian Destroyer for the pin on Lee at 12:42.

Rating: B-. This was out of the Masato Tanaka vs. Mike Awesome playbook: take some big, strong guys and have them beat on each other for an extended periods of time. I’m not sure if there’s any need for them to fight again and it’s good that War Machine got the win here after losing so many times.

Taylor and Lee wipe War Machine out post match.

Caprice Coleman says the Cabinet is ready to win the election for the Six Man Titles.

We finally get a bracket for the tournament.

ACH/Kushida/Jay White

Jason Kincaid/Leon St. Giovanni/Shaheem Ali

The Cabinet

Addiction/Kamaitachi

Team CMLL

The Kingdom

Bullet Club

So yeah: this REALLY doesn’t need to exist but Japan has them and that makes it awesome.

Six Man Tag Team Titles Tournament First Round: Jason Kincaid/Leon St. Giovanni/Shaheem Ali vs. The Cabinet

The introduction says this is Block A. Please, PLEASE tell me that this is just an eight team tournament and not double that. Maybe Block A is another attempt to make this sound like a Japanese tournament. It’s still stupid but it would make me feel better. Oh wait we can’t start yet because, I kid you not, the Cabinet needs to take a knee during the Code of Honor. Ali and King miss a variety of kicks against each other and it’s time for more kneeling in protest.

The Kingdom triple teams Ali and poses AGAIN (we’re less than three minutes in and that’s three times they’ve done the same bit), this time earning themselves dropkicks to the back. The makeshift team does some big, complicated triple team leg stretch spot on Coleman but Kincaid gets distracted off the top.

Back from a break with King missing another kick and allowing the hot tag to Shaheem. Everything breaks down with Leon coming in to spin into clotheslines. The former All Night Express cleans house until Kincaid slingshots in with a spinning cutter. A coast to coast dropkick gets two on Titus, who also blocks Leon’s Phoenix splash. The Sky Splitter ends Leon at 9:50.

Rating: C. At least the Cabinet is finally doing something other than getting on my nerves with their stupid promos. This wasn’t bad and did something to keep the tournament going but the kneeling continues to get on my nerves. I’ve never been a fan of current events characters and this made the Cabinet even worse than they were in the first place.

Jay Lethal vs. Silas Young

Feeling out process to start with Young flipping out of a wristlock and grabbing a rollup for two. A quick springboard dropkick knocks Young out to the floor and hits the back to back suicide dives because WE HAVE TO HAVE A SUICIDE DIVE. Lethal even hits a third because we need to kill a few more minutes. Adam Cole comes out to commentary and we take a break.

Back with Young driving a knee into Jay’s back and slapping on a chinlock. It’s too early for Misery though and a kick sends Silas sprawling across the ring. The Lethal Combination sets up Hail to the King but Jay tries one too many finishers, meaning the Lethal Injection is broken up. A cutter gets two for Young and it’s time for Cole to head down to ringside. That means Kyle O’Reilly needs to do his regular run-in to cut the champ off but he gets on the apron to distract Young by mistake. A quick rollup gives Lethal the pin at 11:07.

Rating: C+. I liked this better than I was expecting to but the ending was messier than it needed to be. It’s a good move to start elevating some fresh names into the main event and Young hasn’t exactly been doing anything else lately. I’d assume we’re getting a fourway at a house show at some point and that’s fine as a way to bridge us to Cole vs. O’Reilly.

Kyle brainbusts Cole to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Good wrestling, interesting stories and no need for the New Japan guys. Ring of Honor is a fun promotion that can do a lot of things when they act like themselves for more than five minutes and that’s what we got here. That main event scene has me intrigued and it’s nice to have the focus be back on the stuff that ROH does well.

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Ring of Honor
Date: July 13, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

It’s about time. We’re finally back to some fresh episode with only the Ring of Honor crew as it’s time to deal with some fallout from Best in the World. It’s not clear what the next pay per view will be (or when it will be for that matter) but odds are we’ll be seeing Adam Cole as the next challenger to Jay Lethal’s ROH World Title. Let’s get to it.

We open with stills from Lethal vs. Briscoe II where Lethal retained the title clean.

Jason Kincaid vs. Donovan Dijak

Kincaid put in a strong performance in the Top Prospect Tournament. Dijak has Prince Nana because that new Embassy thing is STILL going on. Donovan powers him into the corner off a lockup and actually rams him into the corner while still in the lockup. I’ve never actually seen that. Dijak knocks him outside but can’t get a suplex on the floor. Instead Kincaid slips out and lands on the bottom rope, only to springboard backwards into a facebuster. That looked sweet and takes us to a break.

Back with Kincaid minus his shirt and getting thrown out of a suplex for a big crash. Another faceplant lets Kincaid come back again, setting up a seated Blockbuster to put Donovan on the floor. That means a suicide dive into a sunset bomb, followed by a springboard tornado DDT for two on Dijak back inside. That was a very flashy looking sequence and Kincaid gets even better by standing on the post for a super Diamond Dust (flipping Stunner). An armbar on the chokeslam arm has Dijak in trouble but he catches Kincaid coming off the top in Feast Your Eyes for the pin at 9:41.

Rating: C+. Big star making performance for Kincaid here, though it wasn’t the best idea in the world to have him use all of his big stuff in one night. That being said, when you’re not guaranteed a change to get out there very often, you need to get your stuff in. I wasn’t wild on the way he did things but he didn’t have many other options so it’s understandable. Dijak basically had one or two moves in the whole match but it’s not like he’s been doing anything other than the quick Lethal mini feud.

ACH is ready to become #1 contender to the TV Title tonight.

Tag Team Titles: Addiction vs. Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young

This was billed as the main event last week. Silas and Bruiser are challenging after winning Tag Wars on the road to Best in the World. Before the match, Daniels says he’s glad to be ready to face some REAL men. Kazarian and Young start things off by trading wristlocks before they both catch kicks to the ribs. They slowly put each others foot down before Kazarian takes over with some right hands. Daniels comes in and offers a knee for a faceplant but Young comes back with a kick to the chest.

The rather large Bruiser comes in to drive Daniels into the corner as this heel vs. heel thing is taking some getting used to. Daniels gets crushed in the corner with a running Umaga Attack, running knee and Cannonball but since Beer City Bruiser is…..well the Beer City Bruiser, Daniels easily takes over on him and scores with a split legged moonsault as we take a break.

Back (after Mark Briscoe saying he’s going to beat the better athlete in ACH tonight) with Bruiser crossbodying Kazarian to make the hot tag off to Silas as everything breaks down. Silas knees Kazarian in the face for two as the Addiction flips Silas into the air for a sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combo and another near fall. Now it’s Bruiser getting knocked into the corner but Silas breaks up a double superplex. The big frog splash misses though and it’s the BME and Flux Capacitor (springboard spinning legdrop) to put Bruiser away and retain the titles at 12:19.

Rating: D. I’m not a big Addiction fan in the first place but this really didn’t work. Why they went with heels vs. heels isn’t clear but it caused some issues as the fans weren’t sure who to cheer and that’s not a good position to put them in. Bruiser and Young are fine as midcard bullies but they’re not really a team that is going to be a threat to the titles.

Kyle O’Reilly is fired up about his chance at the ROH World Title in two weeks.

It’s time for a live Fish Tank (Bobby Fish’s talk show) where Fish talks about how he’s the King of ROH. So he’s married to Maria and therefore Mike Bennett? Anyway his guests tonight are the potential #1 contenders to his TV Titles: Mark Briscoe and ACH. Briscoe goes first and wants to know what ACH stands for.

Perhaps it’s American Child Hero because ACH looks like a fourteen year old who has been eating grilled cheese all morning. Maybe it means Acrobatic Catlike Horseman? Fish isn’t sure but thinks Mark is on to something. ACH doesn’t like being called names like that because he wants his legacy. That means it’s time to beat up a chicken like Briscoe so the name means Annihilating Chickens Punks. Fish says let’s do the match right now.

Mark Briscoe vs. ACH

Winner gets a title shot against Fish, who sits in on commentary. Briscoe sends him to the mat to start and grabs a headlock to keep the high flier on the mat. ACH’s wristlock doesn’t last long so he goes with a rollup for two instead. It’s time to start flipping around until ACH dropkicks him out to the floor, meaning we get some basketball posing. Mark switches places with him and drops ACH, only to miss a Cactus Jack (complete with BANG BANGs) apron elbow.

ACH runs way too far around the ring and jumps to the apron for a headscissors around the post. Back in and ACH tries a springboard in but Mark dropkicks him backwards as we take a break. We come back to ACH hitting a discus lariat in the corner before they fight over a suplex for a long time. Mark finally gets him over but bangs his own head in the process to put both guys down again.

It’s time for Briscoe to take over as he sends ACH into all four turnbuckles in a row and then back to the first for a bonus. Mark can’t get a fisherman’s suplex but settles for a Death Valley Driver. He takes too long going up top though and gets kicked in the head, only to block the Midnight Star. A brainbuster sets up the Froggy Bow to put ACH away at 11:30.

Rating: D+. I really wasn’t feeling this one as there wasn’t much of a flow. Then again that’s a common problem in almost every ACH match I’ve seen so far and that’s not really surprising giving how his high flying style goes. Mark winning was the right call as I could see him winning the title whereas ACH would come off as just another guy.

Briscoe and Fish stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The show was far from great but it was so nice to see some fresh stories for a change. It wasn’t the best wrestling in the world but at least these people aren’t the same imports that we’ve been watching for months now. It should be interesting to see them add in some more stuff going forward as things are kind of starting over again. Not a great shot but it was a major change that I had been waiting for since the beginning of the year.

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Ring of Honor
Date: February 17, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

The Anniversary pay per view is almost here and we’re also getting closer to the end of the first round of the Top Prospect Tournament. However, we’re also getting closer to the end of this taping cycle which means things have a tendency to start dragging. Ring of Honor isn’t the best at going week to week so there’s little connection between shows. That can make things hard to keep track of but hopefully it isn’t a major issue here. Let’s get to it.

Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Jason Kincaid vs. Lio Rush

Two smaller guys here with Kincaid looking like Erick Rowan minus about 100lbs (but with some hair) and with pictures of a woman and a skull on his thighs. Nigel thinks Lio is in the vein of ACH. Well at least they don’t look the same. Lio kicks at the leg to start but Kincaid heads to the apron for a slingshot flip neckbreaker. Off to a Gory Stretch on Rush, followed by something like a standing abdominal stretch (as in Lio isn’t twisted around) into a jawbreaker.

Kincaid takes off his shoulder pads vest (that helped) but Lio knocks him outside for a flip dive. Back in and something like a spinebuster into the corner has Lio in trouble, though he’s still able to head outside before Jason can go Coast to Coast. That’s fine with Jason as he does it anyway, actually hitting the Coast to Coast with Lio on the floor. He’s not done though as Kincaid dives through the ropes into a flip Diamond Cutter. Jason’s top rope double stomp misses though and Lio catches him in a standing C4 for the pin at 5:05.

Rating: C+. Best match of the tournament so far and I’m really hoping Kincaid gets another look after that performance. One important thing here was Kelly putting over Jason’s backstory as coming up from pure poverty to get where he is today. That helped set Kincaid apart and let us connect to him a bit, which is the best thing you can do here. Unfortunately ROH felt the need to add another generic high flier because they don’t have enough of them yet. I mean, Nigel said Rush is exactly like ACH, so why would they want to go with him when they already have ACH?

Will Ferrara/Caprice Coleman vs. Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young

Prince Nana is on commentary to continue this story which feels like it’s been going on for six months despite not actually going anywhere. Coleman and Young get things going with a slugout as Kelly asks Nana about going after Donovan Dijak. Nana says the pieces of the puzzle are all in the letter and that’s all Kelly needs to know. Coleman takes over but Ferrara tags himself in, much to his partner’s annoyance.

A rollup gets two for Will but he goes with a much more effective German suplex to send Silas into the corner, meaning it’s off to the much bigger Bruiser. For some reason Ferrara tries to slam the big man and gets crushed as he deserved after something that stupid. The villains take turns beating on Ferrara until Bruiser misses a charge and Coleman gets the lukewarm tag.

Everything breaks down and Bruiser tries a superplex on Coleman, only to have Ferrara run in for a powerbomb. The Sky Splitter is broken up but here come the Boys (so much for selling a big beatdown) for a distraction, allowing Ferrara to DDT Bruiser on the floor. Now the Sky Splitter is enough to put Young away at 6:10.

Rating: C. Not bad here but again I lost all interest in whatever Nana is doing months ago. If he wants to reform the Embassy or whatever then so be it but that’s just it: so be it already. Instead of just giving people envelopes and showing them the way or whatever, do something because a Ferrara/Coleman/whoever else he has stable isn’t exactly thrilling in the first place.

Here’s the Decade with something to say. Whitmer has been hearing Steve Corino promising to come here tonight and have someone deal with BJ. Corino has three friends in wrestling and most of them are gone from this company already. This brings out Corino, who doesn’t exactly seem ready to fight.

No one wants to hear Whitmer talking week after week (I don’t mind it) and now BJ thinks Corino is the one coming for him. That’s going to happen one day but it’s not just yet. Someone has come to Corino and offered to take Whitmer out…..and apparently it’s Adam Page. The brawl is quickly on and the fans have no issue cheering for Page as security comes in to break it up. This makes as much sense as anything else if Corino is too hurt to fight.

We run down the PPV card, including a video of All Night Express beating War Machine via DQ to set up their No DQ match. The triple threat main event gets a quick video as well.

Mark Briscoe vs. Tim Hughes

Hughes is small and very pale. Mark knocks him into the corner as you would expect from a star beating on a jobber in a squash match on the weekly TV show. A Russian legsweep gets two on Hughes but Tim comes back with a long sidewalk slam. That just earns him some Redneck Kung Fu and a fisherman’s buster, followed by the Froggy Bow for the pin on Hughes at 3:50.

Rating: D. This was what it was with Mark getting a squash that he really didn’t need. I’m not sure what they were going for here as Briscoe is ready for a big tag team showdown, so why give him something like this? Nothing to see here and on top of that it wasn’t even all that entertaining.

ACH/Matt Sydal vs. Young Bucks

The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line here and for the sake of simplicity I’ll only refer to Matt Jackson as Matt. The handshakes take a while but thankfully they wait until after the break of the opening bell. Sydal slaps a belt out of Matt hand to start and it’s an early superkick party to send the non-champions to the floor but Sydal dives out to drop both Bucks.

Back in and ACH dives in, followed by a leg lariat and dropkick to Matt. A bit too much posing allows Nick to score with a superkick though and it’s time for a double superkick to send Sydal to the floor. The Bucks superkick an invisible ball into the crowd and we take a break. Back with Nick riding ACH’s arm and posing on the apron like a heel should, even though he’s a face here.

It’s time for more invisible basketball but ACH trips them up, allowing Sydal to come in off the hot tag. Everything breaks down and the slingshot X-Factor drops ACH and it’s yet another superkick party. More Bang For Your Buck is broken up but Sydal misses the Shooting Star, allowing Matt to hit another superkick. Nick’s Swanton is good for two but More Bang For Your Buck is countered again with some raised knees. Now the Shooting Star connects on Matt for the big upset win at 10:11.

Rating: C. I’m not wild on the teams here and I’m not sure how much I like champions losing clean, even if they’re champions in another promotion but there was something about that ending I did like. The Bucks’ offense was countered and Sydal/ACH get another win over them, which again I know because Kelly told us that at the start of the match. It sounded like a minor detail to start but knowing that helps the story they’re going for here. Again, well done and something so easy to do, which is what makes it so frustrating when most companies don’t do it.

Overall Rating: C. This was fine for the most part, but again they’re not exactly doing a great job of building up the pay per view. I know the World Title isn’t always the most important thing in Ring of Honor but they seem to go out of their way to not have Lethal out there. It’s nice for a change, but at times it becomes a bit annoying as whether Ring of Honor likes it or not, the World Title is going to be seen as the most important thing in the promotion. Still though, totally watchable show here, even with the midcard getting the focus.

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