IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Final Battle 2019
Date: December 13, 2019
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Colt Cabana

Yeah I know it’s been awhile since this show took place but given the place Ring of Honor has been in over the last few….well nearly years now, it took some time to get me to care enough to do the show. That being said, the company has a tendency to be a lot better when they just stick to the wrestling so hopefully that is the case here. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Josh Woods/Silas Young vs. Joe Hendry/Dalton Castle

We do get a nice inclusion from commentary as they say they have three pre-show matches scheduled but they are subject to time constraints. Why is that so hard to figure out? Castle is already running his mouth on the apron as Hendry and Young lock up to start. Young headlocks him down but Hendry powers up and nips up off another headlock attempt. Castle and Woods come in for a wrestle off with neither being able to get the better of things.

With that giving us a standoff, it’s Hendry coming back in to suplex Young. A jawbreaker gets Young out of trouble so everything breaks down, leaving Castle to get in trouble. Young kicks him in the head so Woods can get two off a half nelson. Castle finally suplexes his way to freedom and it’s back to Hendry to clean house. Everything breaks down again and Castle walks into Young’s backbreaker/clothesline combination. There’s a suplex to Hendry and a catapult into a running knee finishes Castle at 9:14.

Rating: C. Just a tag match here and that’s a good way to open the show. Young and Woods are starting to get some momentum with the fans and it is pretty clear that they are going to be turned face in the near future. Hendry and Castle on the other hand, not so much, as there isn’t much to them other than they’re a waky pair who can’t win much of anything.

The Bouncers, sitting in the front row, aren’t impressed with Young and Woods.

Pre-Show: Kenny King vs. Rhett Titus

King has Amy Rose with him and it’s a battle over who was the Marty Jannetty of the All Night Express. Titus’ wife and son are in the front row, more or less guaranteeing that he loses here. As a bonus, King comes out to the Express’ theme song. Feeling out process to start and they go head to head for some expressions of anger. They both miss kicks to the head and it’s an early standoff.

King sends him throat first into the top rope though and a clothesline takes Titus down again. Titus is right back up to send King outside, meaning a slingshot dive can hit him even harder. After a quick kiss to his son, Titus suplexes King on the floor, only to get spinebustered onto the apron. Back in and a belly to belly suplex into the corner gives King two, followed by the camel clutch.

That’s broken up in a hurry and Titus hits a clothesline, setting up a high crossbody for two. King is back up and tries a Lethal Injection, only to get dropkicked in the back. A Royal Flush plants King for two as the mind games are on. Some running kicks in the corner look to set up….something that we don’t get to see because Rose grabs Titus’ foot. The referee yells at her and it’s a low blow into the Royal Flush to finish Titus at 11:09.

Rating: C-. The action was fine but my goodness they are killing anything they could have with Titus every time he loses like this. I’m also not sure how smart it is to have heels win the first two matches (though Woods and Young are borderline) as the action was good, but not good enough that the fans don’t need something to cheer for. That and I have no reason to believe that King is going anywhere, because, you know, he never does.

Pre-Show: Jeff Cobb vs. Dan Maff

They go with the slugout to start and Maff takes him down off a shoulder. Cobb is knocked outside so Maff hits a suicide dive, so Cobb muscles him up with a suplex back inside. That just earns him a Pounce as the bigger Maff has a rare power advantage here. The Cannonball (WAY too popular a move in wrestling these days) misses Cobb in the corner and he muscles Maff up for the apron superplex.

Cobb hits a clothesline so hard that he falls outside, allowing Maff to come back with a superkick. Back in and they slug it out until Cobb grabs a German suplex. A bunch of strikes in the corner set up a running European uppercut but Maff won’t go down. Maff comes back with a spear but another suplex sends him flying again. A powerbomb out of the corner doesn’t work for Maff and it’s back to back Tours of the Islands to finish Maff at 8:50.

Rating: C+. Now that was a heck of a hoss fight as these guys beat the heck out of each other for a little while. That’s all you need to do at times, and it’s made even better when Cobb is strong enough to throw someone like Maff around. Maff is a monster in his own right and has had a rather nice resurgence in recent months.

Post match they shake hands and exchange chops in a display of respect….I think?

The opening video talks about how samurai fought for honor, but there were some how did not care. Tonight, it’s PCO vs. Rush for the World Title. It’s as sudden of a jump as it seems to be.

Villain Enterprises vs. Flamita/Bandido

Marty Scurll/Flip Gordon for the Villains here and Brody King is on commentary. Gordon shoulders Flamita down for a nip up to start and some headscissors work just as well. Marty and Bandido come in to trade rapid fire near falls into a standoff. Bandido snaps off a hurricanrana into a dropkick meaning it’s already back to Gordon. That goes badly as Bandido takes him down, allowing Flamita to climb onto Bandido’s shoulders for a splash.

Scurll comes in to take over though and a sunset flip gets two on Flamita. We settle down to Flamita superkicking Scurll down and Gordon getting knocked off the apron. A 619 sets up a running shooting star press for two and it’s a double Floss Dance into a double moonsault. Gordon comes back in, gets knocked outside again, and Flamita hits the big flip dive (after slipping that is). Scurll is back up with a tornado DDT to Flamita into a superkick from Gordon for two. Bandido is back up to kick both of them down, setting up the running flip dive.

Back in and Flamita superkicks Scurll, followed by a Spanish Fly to plant Gordon. Scurll is back up with a powerbomb/Sliced Bread combination for two on Flamita but Scurll kicks Gordon by mistake. A quick neckbreaker puts Flamita on the floor and Bandido hits a super fall away slam on Gordon. Scurll is right back with the chickenwing on Bandido but Flamita makes the save with a springboard 450. The X Knee puts Gordon on the ropes and Scurll is knocked behind him. That means a 619 into a double 21 Plex for the pin at Scurll at 13:51.

Rating: B. Sometimes you need four guys to go out there and have a fast paced tag match to open the show and that’s what we got here. Flamita and Bandido can do all kinds of things in the ring and look awesome at the same time so they could be an awesome addition. Then you have the Villains, who are as over as anyone in the company. Good match and a great choice for an opener.

We recap Matt Taven vs. Vincent. They were in the Kingdom together but Vincent (Vinny Marseglia) wanted to do his own thing so he started attacking people. This included a big beatdown with Vincent attacking Taven and busting him open. Taven: “You’ve always lived in my shadow and now I’m going to make sure my shadow is covered in your blood.” That’s a heck of a line as Taven is already more interesting in about a week as a face than he was for years as a heel.

Matt Taven vs. Vincent

Taven goes straight at him to start and sends Vincent outside for the suicide dive. Kelly rapid fires off Taven’s resume as Vincent is backdropped over the barricade. That means a dive from Taven and a jumping enziguri in the corner back inside rocks Vincent again. There’s a powerbomb for two and a freaky leglock works on Vincent’s leg. That’s broken up so Taven grabs a DDT for two more but Vincent sends him outside for a drop onto the apron.

A suplex onto the exposed concrete bangs up Taven’s back even more and they head back inside. Instead of staying on the back though, Vincent starts in on the ankle with stomps and bending around the rope. That’s broken up though and Taven sends him to the floor for the Flight of the Conqueror, followed by a top rope splash to the apron for two.

Back in and Vincent grabs a Side Effect, followed by Redrum for a near fall of his own. A quick Climax gives Taven two more and a second gets the same, leaving Taven stunned. With that not working, naturally it’s time for a hatchet but the attempted murder is countered into a Dudley Dog to finish Taven at 13:32.

Rating: C+. I’m as shocked as you are that Taven is working so well as a face. He really does seem to have been missing the point all this time and while he isn’t a huge star, he’s good enough to work in a spot like this. I could go for more of him, but his ankle injury would put him on the shelf for a long time. That’s a shame too, as he’s more interesting than he ever has been around here.

Post match Bateman comes out and helps Vincent crush Taven’s ankle.

We recap Mark Haskins vs. Bully Ray. Pick any Bully story over the last few years and it’s the same thing, with Haskins standing up to him.

Bully Ray vs. Mark Haskins

Street fight and Haskins’ wife Vicky is with him. Ray jumps Haskins from behind with a barbed wire board and even hits Vicky for a bonus. A chair to the back is enough to hit the bell and it’s time to head inside, with Ray raking the cuts from the barbed wire. Some release German suplexes send Haskins flying and Ray yells at the referee. Ray throws in a piece of the barricade and tosses Haskins onto it as this is one sided so far.

The Bully Bomb drops Haskins again and let’s grab a cheese grater. Ray spends too much time posing though and it’s an enziguri to take him down. That’s a bit too much selling for Ray though and he throws in a kendo stick. He grabs the mic and talks about how he talked trash about Haskins’ family while caning him down. Haskins says hit him harder and flips him off before sending Ray face first into the open chair.

A Van Daminator (pump kick instead of a spinwheel kick) drops Ray and let’s have a ladder. Haskins climbs to Pillmanize the arm but Ray shoves the ladder over, sending Haskins crashing into the barricade. Naturally it’s table time but Ray also throws in the barbed wire board and stacks it on top of the regular table.

Ray slams him through both and drops an elbow for two, with the kickout earning the referee a shot from behind. Another table is brought in, but first Ray needs to rub Haskins’ blood on his face. The middle rope splash is loaded up but Vicky comes back in with a cheese grater to the crotch. They both slam him down and Mark adds a top rope double stomp for the pin at 16:49.

Rating: D. It’s rarely a good sign when you can cut a match in half and have the same thing. This was a lot of slowly walking around and beating on Haskins until he came back and won. I don’t even watch all of the big Ring of Honor pay per views and I knew how this was going to go. It’s how every Ray feud/blowoff match goes and most people don’t get much out of it, but he’s on creative so here we are.

Alex Shelley vs. Colt Cabana

This was set up on the pre-show. Shelley leads the fans in the COLT CABANA chants and gets headlocked down for his efforts. A lot of rolling gets Cabana out of a wristlock and then he nearly handstands his way out of another. Shelley cranks on both arms at once for a change but Cabana reverses into a bodyscissors. That’s reversed into a surfboard but they get back up for a standoff. They run the ropes until Cabana grabs a wristlock, only to switch into the Superman pin for two. Back up and Shelley grabs the wrist but pulls him down into a crucifix for the pin at 6:33.

Rating: C. This was more of an exhibition than a regular match and that’s ok, especially considering it would wind up being Cabana’s last match with ROH. The fans like both of these guys a lot and it’s cool to see them getting to go out there and do something different than what we’ve been seeing so far. Fun little match too.

We recap Maria Manic vs. Angelina Love. Manic has been tormenting the Allure and now it’s time for her to actually have a match.

Maria Manic vs. Angelina Love

Angelina has Mandy Leon with her. Maria doesn’t waste time and slams Angelina down in a hurry but stops to beat up Leon as well. Some running boots hit Angelina in the corner as this is one sided so far. A Pearl River Plunge connects for no cover so Leon loads up the hairspray, only to have it kicked out of her hands. Mandy has to save Angelina from a piledriver on the apron so Maria beats her up and gorilla presses Love to the floor instead. Back in and a torture rack finishes Love, who didn’t get in a single bit of offense, at 6:22.

Rating: C. It wasn’t a competitive match whatsoever but dang that was fun and exactly what it should have been. There was no reason to have this be anything more than complete destruction and that’s exactly what they did. Then of course ROH almost managed to screw up Maria’s contract when she could have been a big deal, but that’s ROH for you.

We recap Shane Taylor vs. Dragon Lee. Taylor has been champion for a good while now and wants to set all of the records. Lee on the other hand is awesome so this could be interesting.

TV Title: Shane Taylor vs. Dragon Lee

Taylor is defending and has all of his goons with him. Lee dropkicks him into the corner but charges into a spinebuster. That doesn’t seem to matter as he dropkicks Taylor to the floor, only to get slammed onto the apron. Taylor sends him into the barricade and then chokes on the apron for a bit as the beating begins. The big legdrop gets two and Taylor tells him to do something.

Lee dodges a charge in the corner (that would be something) and kicks Taylor to the floor for a heck of a suicide dive. An even bigger no hands flip dive takes him down again and a running dropkick in the corner gives Lee two. Some running strikes to the face have Taylor on the apron so Lee snaps off a top rope double stomp. Another top rope double stomp gets two….so Lee slaps him in the face.

Taylor knocks him right back down and a clothesline turns Lee inside out. The package piledriver gives Taylor two and a German suplex drops him again. Lee gets in a kick to the head in the corner though and the Alberto top rope double stomp gets two. Taylor snaps off Greetings From 216 for another near fall and the frustration is strong.

With nothing else working, Taylor pulls out a chain but Lee is back up to knock it away. Lee is right back with a knee to the face, a Canadian Destroyer and another running knee with the chain wrapped around it for two. The knee pad comes off and another running knee (bone to skull) gives Lee the pin and the title at 14:34.

Rating: B. This was a rather great back and forth power vs. speed match as the two of them beat each other up for about fifteen minutes. It’s as basic of a match formula as you can get and this one was very good, as the crazy talented Lee gets to take the title from the monster Taylor. I liked this more than anything else on the show and I can’t say I’m surprised by that whatsoever.

We recap Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham vs. the Briscoes. Gresham lured Lethal to the dark side with promises of success and since Lethal’s resume is only lacking a Tag Team Title, here we go.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham

Jay avoids the basement dropkick and that means another standoff. Everything breaks down in a hurry and they all head outside with the Briscoes taking over. Mark throws a chair in for the running flip dive, setting up the Bang Bang elbow to Lethal. There’s a big boot to Gresham as it’s all Briscoes at the moment. Back in and Mark gets taken down by a dragon screw legwhip but Jay breaks up the Doomsday Device.

Jay cutters Lethal off the top and the Doomsday Device gets two on Gresham. We settle back down with Gresham hitting a springboard moonsault press on Mark, setting up the shooting star press for two. Gresham starts working on the leg even more and Lethal kicks the knee. A t-bone suplex gets Mark out of trouble though and it’s back to Jay to fire off the forearms.

Everything breaks down again and the Death Valley Driver plants Lethal. Gresham pulls the referee out at two and Lethal gets in a belt shot for the same. The Figure Four has Jay in more trouble until Mark makes the save with the Froggy Bow. The Doomsday Device is broken up though and Lethal rolls Jay up with a grab of the tights for the pin at 21:55.

Rating: B+. These guys beat each other up for a long time and it ended with the only realistic outcome. Lethal and Gresham had been set up as the big heels for a long time now and giving them the titles was the only way to go. The match was the awesome, action packed showdown that you would have expected and it was one of the best things about the show so far. Great match and the right result.

We recap PCO vs. Rush. PCO is 51 years old and trying to reach the top of the world after winning a tournament to gain the surprise title shot. Rush doesn’t really care.

Ring of Honor World Title: PCO vs. Rush

PCO is challenging and anything goes. They stare each other down to start and forearm it out with PCO shouting a lot. A clothesline drops Rush but he stops a suicide dive with a chair to the head. Rush whips him with a camera cord, followed by the running slap in the face in the corner. That means a Tranquilo pose but Rush would rather go over the barricade to get a small ladder. He throws the ladder at PCO and then wedges it in the corner before whipping PCO hard into said ladder/corner.

The posing takes too long though and it’s a pop up powerbomb to send Rush outside. PCO misses the Swanton to the apron though and Rush suplexes him onto the timekeeper’s table. They fight up the aisle and Rush hits him in the head with a barricade. Rush stacks up a bunch of barricades and chairs before throwing PCO off the stage for a huge crash.

PCO is a bit dead so here’s his trainer Destro to pop open the hoot of a well placed hearse…..and jump start PCO using some jumper cables. Well of course he does, allowing PCO to chokeslam Rush onto the car. Rush suplexes him off of the car and heads back to the ring, only to have PCO stagger after him.

That means it’s time for some doors, with Rush standing them up in opposite corners. Rush knocks him down and gets one off a top rope backsplash. PCO gets sent through the door but of course he’s right back up to send Rush through another door. The PCOsault gets two so Rush goes outside to beat up Destro. The delay lets PCO hit a chokeslam and another PCOsault through a table finishes Rush at 22:28.

Rating: D. And no. The problem here comes down to the fact that Ring of Honor was in a terrible place at this point and this is what they give us for the main event of the biggest show of the year? It was just a brawl, but a very slow paced one that should have been about ten minutes shorter. The PCO story is a nice inspirational one about never giving up on your dream, but this was a really rough sit, especially in this spot. It wasn’t the right way to go given where Ring of Honor was and it was a pretty terrible match as a result. Cut this down to ten minutes and put it in the middle of the card and maybe, but not like this.

Villain Enterprises come out to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s an up and down show with nothing that will blow you away, but a good string of solid enough matches to make it work. That being said, the bad stuff was rather bad and felt out of place on the biggest show of the year. Ring of Honor has gotten a bit better since this show, but they have so far to go to get back to anything close to good that one show doesn’t matter.

As it is, the show was more good than bad, but there are some major issues that stand out, including putting the promotion on PCO in a story that a lot of fans aren’t going to care about in a bad main event. It could have been worse though, and that’s not something you could say very often about this company in 2019.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: February 19, 2020
Location: Cabarrus Arena, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni
Hosts: Ian Riccaboni, Quinn McKay

For the first time in a good while, there are a few interesting things going on around here and that means we might be going somewhere. Granted I’ve had that false hope before and I’m almost scared to imagine how much worse it could get. Hopefully we get more of the good and less of the bad though so let’s get to it.

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

We look at Josh Woods/Silas Young beating the Briscoes to become the new #1 contenders to the Tag Team Titles in a good match.

Clips of Alex Zayne winning his debut match against Bandido.

Dalton Castle gives Joe Hendry advice during his photo shoot, involving roller blading and eating pizza that is too hot. Or maybe he’s a mean tree! I could listen to Castle’s random words for days.

Come to house shows!

Buy merch!

We look at Sumie Sakai turning heel. Yeah I still don’t care about her.

Clips of Sakai vs. Nicole Savoy.

Brian Zane’s Top 5 of the week looks at best factions, with Generation Next at the top of the list. That’s one of those really obvious ones and that’s ok.

Lifeblood vs. Vincent/Bateman

Vincent and Bateman jump them from behind before the bell but Lifeblood uses the power of good wrestling to save themselves. Bateman gets caught in the corner and a catapult sends him into an atomic drop. It’s off to Vincent who can’t hit a chokeslam but can get taken down with a middle rope dropkick. An elbow sends Williams to the floor, where he has to beat up the clown named Chuckles. That earns him a cutter from Bateman though and we take a break.

Back with Williams fighting out of the corner but getting rolled right back into said corner to keep him in trouble. Sliced Bread is broken up and it’s a hot tag to bring in Haskins for the fast paced house cleaning. Haskins clears the ring and kicks Bateman off the apron, followed by the suicide dive to Vincent. Back in and Haskins gets two off a clothesline to Vincent but everything breaks down. Williams piledrives Vincent into a Sharpshooter but Chuckles comes in with a block of wood for the DQ at 9:14.

Rating: C. Lifeblood continues to be entertaining and seems to be working as hard as they can ever time, but I’m not sure how much they can do at this level. Then you have Vincent and Bateman, who are already more interesting than almost everything the Kingdom ever did. They’re still nothing all that great, but it was the right call to not have them take a clean loss here.

Post match Vincent and Bateman go after Haskins’ leg but Williams chases them off with a chair.

Bouncers/2 Guys 1 Tag vs. Jeff Cobb/Dan Maff/Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham

So yeah, Woods and Young are just faces now. I’m not sure I’m good with that but sure why not. Gresham bails from the threat of Young’s wristlock to start before remembering that he’s Jonathan Gresham and therefore can easily take Young down. A headscissors freaks Gresham out and the staredowns continue. Gresham monkey flips him out of the corner but they keep their hands locked and it’s a monkey flip off.

Some rollups give Young some twos as they remember other people are involved in this match. That means Woods coming in to easily take Gresham down so it’s off to the floor for a breather. Woods tells Lethal to come in and easily takes him down in a hurry. Lethal gets run over with a few shoulders but manages the hiptoss into the basement dropkick. That means it’s off to the Bruiser vs. Lethal, with the former promising to punch him in the mouth. The no tooth bite and the promised right hand put Lethal down so it’s off to Cobb as we take a break.

Back with Woods suplexing Cobb but getting sent outside for the big beatdown. Lethal comes in and suplexes Woods for two before taking him into the corner for the tag to Gresham. And not that it matters as it’s right back to Lethal for a heck of a whip into the corner. A double suplex drops Woods again but he grabs a suplex of his own to drop Lethal. Gresham dives into a knee to the head and the three of them are all down.

The hot tag brings in Young, who slingshots in with a double stomp to Lethal. Young hits a backbreaker into a clothesline but it’s Maff coming in to chop away at Bruiser. Maff gets to clean house with a spear getting two on Young, setting up Cobb’s standing moonsault onto Woods. Cobb can’t suplex Milonas but he can hit the Tour of the Islands on the Bruiser for the pin at 16:53.

Rating: B-. They did a bunch of stuff in one match but at the same time, how much drama was there in this? Cobb is a nearly unstoppable monster and Lethal is one of the most successful wrestlers ever in this company. I’m supposed to be believe that a glorified comedy team like the Bouncers and eternal midcarder Silas Young were threats to that lineup? Good enough match, but not exactly a shocking result.

Post match Maff and Cobb stare the champs down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was good enough but it took about twenty minutes to finally get to that wrestling. What we got was good but it is pretty clear that there isn’t enough to make this into a regular TV show week to week. It’s basically just clips strung together into something resembling a show, which makes for a pretty standard experience week to week. That doesn’t make for the most thrilling stuff, but at least you get a good match almost every time.

Results

Lifeblood b. Vincent/Bateman via DQ when Chuckles interfered

Jeff Cobb/Dan Maff/Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham b. Bouncers/2 Guys 1 Tag – Tour of the Islands to Beer City Bruiser

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: January 1, 2019
Host: Ian Riccaboni

It’s the second Best Of 2019 show and this time around we’re looking at the Madison Square Garden G1 Supercard. I’m not sure why Ring of Honor would want to do that given that it was where everything started to fall apart, but they might as well get whatever tiny bit of credit they can, despite New Japan being responsible for the success. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with a clip of Kazuchika Okada winning the IWGP Heavyweight Title from Jay White in New York.

From the G1 Supercard.

Never Openweight Title vs. ROH TV Title: Will Ospreay vs. Jeff Cobb

Title for title. They shake hands before the bell and Cobb wastes no time in shouldering him out to the floor. Ospreay gets in a shot for a breather and runs back in for a Flying Space Tiger Drop, which is pulled out of the air. Whatever Cobb was trying is countered into a tornado DDT on the floor but he’s fine enough for the delayed vertical superplex for two back inside. There’s a hue toss across the ring as the power vs. speed is on full display early on.

We hit the bearhug with Ospreay having to elbow his way to freedom and nailing a spinwheel kick to the face. Pip Pip Cheerio gets two but it’s way too early for Stormbreaker as Cobb reverses into a fall away slam. The Samoan drop into the nip up into the standing moonsault gets two as Cobb gets to show off. Ospreay grabs the ropes to avoid the Tour of the Islands and it’s the Spanish Fly to drop the monster. A missile dropkick to Cobb’s bad shoulder keeps him in trouble but Code Red only gets two.

The Oscutter is broken up and Cobb turns him inside out with a clothesline. In a scary sight, Cobb goes up but misses the frog splash. The Oscutter is countered with Ospreay being thrown into the corner, where he bounces right back to make it connect on a second attempt for two. A hook kick to the head drops Cobb and there’s the Cheeky Nandos kick. Ospreay makes the mistake of trying a super Stormbreaker though because it’s a super Tour of the Islands to crush Ospreay dead. A regular version gives Cobb the pin and both titles at 12:56.

Rating: B. That was fun and the perfect choice for an opener. Cobb looked like a star who survived everything Ospreay could throw at him and hit his crazy power moves to retain/win. Power vs. speed is almost as basic as you can get in wrestling and when you do it right, it’s a very cool match, just like this one was.

We look at Rush beating Dalton Castle in less than 20 seconds with Ian explaining the whole thing over the video.

Video on the Honor Rumble.

From G1 Supercard to wrap it up.

Ring of Honor World Title: Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven vs. Marty Scurll

Lethal is defending in a ladder match and Taven is played to the ring via piano. The ring announcer makes it clear that this ladder match is ONE FALL. You can tell Lethal is fired up to be here, as he should be. Marty goes straight for a ladder so Jay baseball slides it into him. Taven is right there with the no hands dive to take them both down but bangs up his wrist in the process. Lethal goes with some chairs and bridges a ladder between some in the aisle.

That takes too long so Marty jumps him from behind and goes inside to put a pair of ladders in a pair of corners. Lethal and Taven are back in with Jay hitting both of them with ladders to take over. Instead of going up, he bridges a ladder over the bottom rope and of course gets sent face first into it. Marty ties Lethal in the Tree of Woe in the ladder and blasts it with a chair a few times. Lethal is mostly dead so Marty sets up a ladder in the middle, grabs the umbrella, and goes up.

That takes a bit too long though and it’s Taven making the save with a superkick. Taven knees the ladder around Lethal’s neck but it’s Marty going up the ladder. Lethal ties him up in a Figure Four in the ladder but they have to let go so Taven can be stopped. Marty takes a cutter on the apron and Taven powerbombs Lethal onto the bridged ladder in the aisle. This gives Aldis another chance to be the best analyst in wrestling today because he ACTUALLY ANALYZES THINGS.

Back in and Marty gives Taven a 619, which further injures his knee. Taven ladders Marty down and the fans are all over him, because Taven is as popular as a bad fungus. For some reason Taven climbs a ladder in the corner, earning himself a superplex back down. Lethal comes back in and flips out of the chickenwing attempt. With Marty down, Lethal goes up, punches Taven down, and gets caught in the chickenwing on the ladder.

Taven goes up as well and gets his fingers snapped but Lethal kicks them both off the ladder. A Lethal Combination sends Taven into the ladder and Lethal misses a charge, putting one ladder through another in the corner. Marty drops Taven onto the X between the ladders but walks into the Lethal Injection. Lethal throws the double ladder outside and it nearly knocks out half of the first row. Fans: “THAT’S A LAWSUIT!”

Scurll gives Lethal a brainbuster on the floor and loads up a table as Aldis is suddenly very anti-Lethal. Taven is back up and spears Marty off the apron and through the table. They’re both down so Lethal pulls out another table and the big ladder, setting up Hail to the King for the crazy spot of the match. Lethal and Marty go up but Taven busts out a big purple ladder. They all get knock down as Aldis has to explain to Riccaboni why a taller ladder is a good idea. Taven climbs up, hits Lethal in the head with the title, and wins at 29:38.

Rating: B-. This was good for the most part but it’s the worst possible outcome that deflated the crowd. The fans just do not want to see Taven on top of the company and have made that very clear. Instead, he gets the World Title because ROH had put so much time and energy into him that they just did it anyway. The match was entertaining but could have been at least ten minutes shorter on an already long show where New Japan has already lapped ROH five times.

Overall Rating: B. As I was getting some of the matches from the original review, it was really painful to see how much New Japan dominated the Ring of Honor side. The matches were better and their star power was higher, making everything feel that much better and more important. It was a good enough show but it really made me sadder than anything else. Ring of Honor could be something special, but right now, things are not looking good.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

And yes, this is the big one. I don’t think there is any secret to the fact that Ring Of Honor is not in the best place at the moment. The company has felt beyond ice cold for a long time now and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Maybe their biggest show of the year could make it a little bit better, but they still had a long way to go to make things better. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Joe Hendry/Dalton Castle vs. Josh Woods/Silas Young

So what we have here is a team of wacky partners who didn’t like each other but then did against a team that could be challenging for the Tag Team Titles in the future. In other words, this should go one way to set up a feud between a team, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see them switch it up and go with the surprising result.

I’ll take Woods and Young to win as Castle and Hendry can’t get along. It isn’t an interesting feud, but their combined charismas alone should be enough to get them somewhere. That being said, it’s hardly enough to be all that interesting of a feud and this could only make it on the pre-show. Woods and Young could be fine for some short term #1 contenders, but they’re the best of a bad group of competitors and little more.

Pre-Show: Kenny King vs. Rhett Titus

We have a battle of former tag team partners here, albeit from a team that hasn’t been together in years. King has seemed like someone Ring of Honor has wanted to push for years while Titus is….well he used to be in a good team and that’s about all he has going for him. His deal is that he has a great physique and wins some lower card matches, so naturally we need this match on the show.

For the sake of sanity, I’ll take King to win here as there is zero reason to push Titus. King at least has a resume around Ring of Honor and has more charisma than he knows what to do with and that is enough to give him the nod here. This is a match that should have taken place years ago and now it feels more like they’re doing it because it was written down as a note years ago and they found it under a box.

Jeff Cobb vs. Dan Maff

You might not be familiar with Maff as he is someone from way back in the day for the company. He’s back now though and we have a hoss battle on her hands, with the big Cobb facing the even bigger Maff. Sometimes it’s ok to have a match where two big guys hit each other really hard and throw each other around, which is what we’re going to be getting here.

Cobb takes this of course because Ring of Honor hasn’t gone completely insane yet. Maff is there for the limited legendary status he can offer to the company and Cobb is someone who they could consider giving the World Title in the near future. This one should be the biggest layup on the card and it could be a rather entertaining fight if they keep it short enough.

Angelina Love vs. Maria Manic

This is a case where it isn’t clear what to expect because of one major factor. Over the last few weeks, there have been a series of messages and emails released showing just how bad things have gotten backstage. Manic has been the subject of some of those messages, with Ring of Honor management suggesting that they don’t see much value in her and that she is leaving soon. So what does that mean for this?

I’m still going with Manic, as there is no logical reason to go with Love and I doubt those in charge of the company care enough to beat her on the way out. At the same time though, it wouldn’t shock me if they threw the Women of Honor Title on the line here and gave it back to Love, as the division really is bad enough that the Beautiful People is the best idea that they can come up with at this point. I think Manic wins, though I’m not exactly convinced that she will.

Mark Haskins vs. Bully Ray

This is the latest (out of FAR too many) instance of Ray being a jerk to some young, up and coming wrestler while shouting about being a legend and a Hall of Famer. Then the young guy feuds with Ray for months before going on to defeat him in the blowoff match. That’s the situation we’re in again here as Ray is the booker and therefore gets to do what he wants.

Hopefully I’m not insane by going with Ray to get even more comeuppance by losing to Haskins again here. Haskins is someone that Ring of Honor seems to like and given how their roster has been looking as of late, it would make a lot of sense for them to push someone new. I don’t know if Haskins is the right call to get the big push, but they have to go with someone so why not him?

Bandido/Flamita vs. Villain Enterprises

We may be seeing an out with the young and in with the new here as Marty Scurll seems ready to leave the promotion for AEW and Flamita is there to be a star. I’m not sure how this is going to go as a result, but the match should be entertaining due to Scurll’s talents and Flip Gordon being able to fly with just about anyone.

That being said, I don’t think he can fly with Bandido and Flamita, who are two of the best in the world at the moment. This should be their big debut on the grand stage and that means we could be in for one heck of a spectacle. It wouldn’t surprise me if this is it for Scurll and that is one of the worst things that could happen to Ring of Honor at the moment. Flamita is awesome though, and seeing him fly around with Bandido for the time being should be great.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes(c) vs. Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham

Lethal is one of the most successful wrestlers in the history of Ring of Honor but somehow he has never won the Tag Team Titles. He also just turned heel for the first time in years after getting frustrated with losing. Gresham is the one who drew him over to the side of evil so I think you know where this is going.

Of course I’m going with the Briscoes dropping the titles here because there isn’t anything else for them to do at the moment. Gresham and Lethal are at least a fresh pair to hold the titles as there is only so much that can be done when the Briscoes have dominated the Tag Team Titles for so long. It might be time to see what they can do as solo acts again because the lack of star power is really hurting things. Let Lethal and Gresham see what they can do with the titles, because the Briscoes need a break.

Matt Taven vs. Vincent

This is a feud that started a few weeks ago but we only just heard about it on television recently. Vincent is the former Vinny Marseglia, who helped make Taven World Champion. The act was beyond tired though and it was time to try something new, though I’m not sure how interesting Marseglia is going to be on his own. That being said, Taven’s title reign is partially why the company is such a mess so this could go either way.

I’ll take Vincent to win here, likely through some shenanigans, as otherwise the feud is done here. Taven is a much bigger star and a win over him would mean something, but I’m not sure how high of a ceiling Vincent is going to have on his own. Hopefully we get a good, intense brawl here as the card is going to need something like that. But yeah, Vincent wins here for the sake of keeping things moving forward.

TV Title: Shane Taylor(c) vs. Dragon Lee

Taylor is someone who has turned into a dominant champion but having him be the champion for hire isn’t exactly thrilling. He’s been turned into the dragon for someone to slay and…well…he’s facing someone named Dragon so it kinds of balances out. Couple that with Taylor also being rumored to be gone from the company and I think you know how this is going to go.

Give me Lee to become the new champion, which is probably best for everyone. He’s a very fast paced guy and someone who could be a great focal point going forward. The fact that his brother is coming into the show as the World Champion helps quite a bit. There isn’t much of a point to keeping the title on Taylor other than for the sake of a surprise, so go with Lee as the new champion instead.

Ring of Honor World Title: Rush(c) vs. PCO

So here we are, with one of their biggest matches of the year and it’s going to be Rush, a total star, against a Cinderella/nostalgia/freak show challenger in the form of PCO. I really don’t know how much they can drag out of PCO but that’s what we’re getting here. His run back to Ring of Honor was quite the accomplishment, but going this far? That’s their best option?

For the sake of sanity, I’ll go with Rush retaining here, though it would shock me if he is around the company all that much longer. Rush is someone who could be a top star in a major company for a long time to come and that means I can’t imagine him being in Ring of Honor that much longer. He’ll retain here, but I have no idea who they’re going to find to put the title on next. PCO getting here is so far beyond what anyone could have predicted for him and he can take a ton of pride in getting this far given everything about him. I’m not expecting much of a match, but Rush retains.

Overall Thoughts

I don’t even know how we got here but things are just such a mess around Ring Of Honor these days. Nothing sounds interesting, the television is a waste of time and there is little reason to believe things will get better. That being said, their big shows do tend to be good bell to bell and really, that’s all you can hope for from this company at the moment. The wrestling could carry things for a night, and that’s as much of a positive as you can realistically expect from them these days.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: November 20, 2019
Location: York Hall, London, England
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Dalton Castle
Hosts: Quinn McKay, Ian Riccaboni

We’re over in England this week and maybe that can make the shows feel a little more important. After last week being dedicated to the #1 contenders tournament and almost nothing else, I could use something else on the road to Final Battle. Then again ROH doesn’t seem to realize that show is coming up so it’s hard to say what we are going to be getting. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with highlights of TV Champion Shane Taylor going to a time limit draw with Joe Hendry, meaning Hendry gets a TV Title shot in London.

Long form clips of Jeff Cobb unsuccessfully challenging Rush for the World Title on the UK tour.

We look at Jonathan Gresham cheating to pin Jay Briscoe on the UK tour.

On the same show, Gresham offered Jay Lethal a chair to attack an injured Mark Briscoe. Lethal attacked Jay Briscoe with the chair and we have a big old heel turn. The big brawl was on with the referees having to break things up.

Later on the UK tour, Lethal says he is starting to understand what Gresham has been trying to say to him. Lethal has pride and love for wrestling but Gresham has gotten him to understand something: the best wrestlers around here do whatever they want to do, so that is what he and Gresham are going to do from now on. Now they want to level the playing field and on top of that, they want the Tag Team Titles.

The next night, Gresham attacked PCO with a chair to save Lethal, drawing out the Briscoes for the very delayed save.

We look at Kelly Klein getting the Women’s Title back, thanks to Maria Manic evening things out a bit.

Clips of Mandy Leon almost winning the title with a belt shot, only to have it taken back thanks to a Dusty Finish.

Clips of Mike Bailey vs. Flamita, the latter of whom has now signed with the company. This one looked good, though that may be due to seeing a bit more of it without the rapid fire clips.

Hendry is ready to win the TV Title.

Taylor says he’s going to knock Hendry out.

TV Title: Shane Taylor vs. Joe Hendry

Taylor is defending and they both have their entourages with them, though it’s one on one when we get ready. During the referee’s instructions, Shane calls him a ballerina and they lock up against the ropes. Hendry takes him into the corner for a shove off as Castle isn’t all that impressed so far on commentary. Taylor spins out of a wristlock so Hendry does it a little bit better, which doesn’t mean much when you consider Hendry’s much smaller size.

A big shoulder drops Hendry and we take a break. Back with Hendry shouldering him to the floor but Taylor pulls him down with a Tower of London. The big leg on the apron makes it even worse and for some reason Hendry tries a suplex back inside. This goes as well as you would expect so Taylor chinlocks some sense into him. Back up and Hendry gets sent outside for a whip into the barricade. We take another break and come back with Hendry sending him into the barricade to even things up again.

Taylor is sent into the barricade a few more times but comes back with a shot to the face for two more. Hendry finally does hit that suplex and starts striking away, setting up a Codebreaker for another two. That means another slugout until Shane hits a heck of a package piledriver for a great near fall. A middle rope splash gets a slightly less great two but Hendry is up with the fall away slam into the ankle lock. Hendry even sits down with it before being kicked away. Taylor slips out of a slam though Greetings From 216 retains the title at 15:59.

Rating: C+. Hendry is someone who should be a star but it isn’t clicking for some reason. Maybe it’s the fall away slam finisher but the whole package isn’t coming together. That being said, it’s not like he is going to be pushed as anything more than a midcarder around here anyway. Just get things together so we can see what all he can do.

Overall Rating: D+. Again, we are less than a month away from Final Battle and this week focused on one match for the show. Lethal’s heel turn was a good angle, but I need more than a pretty hot Tag Team Title match to sell me on an event. Why they feel the need to wait that long is beyond me, but it seems to be a trend for this company. And they wonder why they’re in trouble.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Death Before Dishonor 2019
Date: September 28, 2019
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Pre-Show: Jeff Cobb vs. Brody King

They trade the power shoves to start but Cobb can’t get his hand all the way up for a test of strength. Brody is nice enough to lower his hands and they roll around without breaking the grip. An exchange of shoulders goes nowhere so Cobb counters a charge with an overhead belly to belly.

King wins a strike off though and kicks Cobb down for a running backsplash before he just stomps away in the corner. Cobb pops back up for a clothesline though and it’s a double clothesline for a double knockdown. They slug it out from their knees and trade some running shots against the ropes. A Boss Man Slam gives King two but Cobb catches him on top with a dropkick.

That means a stalling superplex for one, followed by a standing moonsault for two. King’s hurricanrana puts Cobb on the floor for the suicide dive, setting up the piledriver for a VERY close two as the announcers aren’t sure about the kickout. They trade snap German suplexes but Cobb is right back with the Tour of the Islands for the pin at 12:59.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t a match that required a lot of thinking and that’s a good idea sometimes. The point of this was to have two monsters in there beating each other up and that is exactly what we got. Cobb is someone who could carry the World Title based on matches like this and King gets to show that he is more than just a tag guy. Good match, but it would have been even better on the main show in front of a warmed up crowd and without with more time. Still though, rather entertaining as Cobb tends to be.

The opening video talks about honor being what matters most and shows clips of the matches. Not exactly thrilling, but the HONOR MATTERS stuff lost its impact years ago.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Marty Scurll vs. Colt Cabana

Marty spins out of a wristlock to start but Cabana headscissors his way out of a headlock and we have a standoff. A test of strength goes to the mat with Scurll not being able to break a bridge. Cabana spins out as well and takes him down by the wrist, giving us another standoff. Some mocking of the bird pose annoys Scurll, who charges into a headscissors to put him on the floor.

Back in and Scurll catches him on top with a superplex, followed by a basement dropkick for two. We hit the crossarm choke for a bit but Cabana is up to knock Scurll out of the air. Scurll sends him outside for a superkick off the apron, only to get pulled down with a backbreaker. Back in and Scurll hits a snap German suplex into an enziguri and powerbomb for two. Cabana starts in with the snap jabs and a bionic elbow for a double knockdown.

They slug it out until Scurll knocks him out of the air and hits a piledriver for two. The chickenwing is countered into a failed Billy Goat’s Curse attempt and Marty pulls him into the full chickenwing. Cabana knocks him down though and hits a moonsault for two, followed by the Billy Goat’s Curse. A rope is grabbed so it’s the Chicago Skyline into the Superman pin for two. Scurll is right back with a clothesline though and the Black Plague finishes Cabana at 14:27.

Rating: C+. This could have been a lot worse but I continue to wonder how in the world Scurll hasn’t been the top star in the company for a long time now. He has all the star power you could want and can back it up in the ring. Having him beat Cabana is fine as Cabana is going to be over for the rest of his life. Of course Scurll isn’t going to win the title because he’s not Matt Taven, but I’m sure ROH knows exactly what they’re doing.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Kenny King vs. PCO

King has a bunch of goons and Amy Rose with him. King hits him once and then bails out to the floor and a single kick to the ribs send him back outside. Back in and PCO hits a pop up powerbomb but….takes his jacket off instead of covering. They head outside with King’s head bouncing off a cinder block that he brought out with him. King gets sent into a table and ladder at ringside as well, setting up a backsplash on the ramp.

The Swanton onto the apron hits King but PCO goes chest first into the edge of the table. PCO sets up some chairs on the floor before loading up the dive, only to go a bit nuts because the electrocution he uses to charge himself up has fried his brain (just go with it). That means he dives to the wrong side of the ring and completely crashes, leaving King to get up and wonder what happened.

King goes after him instead of taking the countout and puts the ladder around PCO’s head for a ram into the post. Here’s another ladder to be laid on top of the other, with King slamming PCO onto the pile. The big corkscrew dive crushes PCO against the ladders and they’re both down. Since it hasn’t gone on long enough, let’s pull the mats back but PCO is back up.

Rose slaps him in the face and runs away, allowing King to try a running sunset bomb to the floor, but he doesn’t rotate enough and PCO lands on King’s head for a terrifying crash. King is alive enough to come back in for two and even suplex PCO into the corner. And now, let’s pour water over PCO and electrocute him with a cattle prod…..which wakes him up enough to chokeslam King for the pin.

Rating: D. This is the first time where PCO felt ridiculous. This was a bunch of violent brawling with nothing in particular as far as a story or anything tying it together, plus the rather nutty electrocution deal. It’s very out of place in a more realistic company, though I think I’ll take that over the same uninteresting characters over and over.

We recap Angelina Love vs. Kelly Klein for the Women’s Title. Love showed up earlier this year and has been running through various people, albeit with some assistance from the Allure. Tonight she has to beat the champ and prove herself.

Women of Honor Title: Angelina Love vs. Kelly Klein

Klein is defending and Love has Mandy Leon in her corner. They grapple around the ropes to start with Klein taking her to the mat. A neckbreaker gets Love out of trouble but Klein is right back with a side slam. Klein drops her face first onto the buckle and Love needs a breather on the floor.

That means the dive off the apron to take out both Love and Leon but love sends her hard into the barricade. A suplex makes it even worse for Klein but she avoids a charge to get a breather. Back in and Klein hits a belly to back suplex for two, only to have Love hit the Downward Spiral into the Koji Clutch.

The rope is reached so Love gets up, earning herself a super fall away slam right back down. Love’s cutter gets two so it’s time for the slugout. Klein grabs K Power for two but Leon slips in the hairspray for the blinding. The Botox Injection gives Love two so Leon grabs the hairspray, which hits Love by mistake. Klein spears an invading Leon but another Botox Injection gives Love the pin and the title at 9:06.

Rating: D+. It’s just not interesting. I don’t know how many other ways I can say the same thing about the Women of Honor but it’s the same problem it has been for years. They’re trying and the wrestling can be completely competent but it’s more of the same every time: matches and titles come and go with nothing that gets my attention. Having a new version of the Beautiful People, as in a stable from over ten years ago, doesn’t get my interest up and this wasn’t the match to turn things around.

Post match Mandy Leon pulls the title out of Cary Silkin’s hands and hands it to Love. They load up the makeup but the lights go out and it’s Maria Manic appearing for the save. Allure and security are both beaten down.

We recap Jay Lethal vs. Jonathan Gresham. They have been friends for a long time but Gresham is getting frustrated and acting heelish so Jay is going to try and straighten him out a bit. Lethal has never lost to Gresham.

Jay Lethal vs. Jonathan Gresham

Lethal doesn’t think much of Gresham not offering a handshake but Gresham has to show off what a jerk he has become. They go to the wristlocks (of course) to start with Gresham taking him down and stomping on the arm. That gives us a standoff so Gresham headlocks him down, only to have Lethal shake out for another standoff. Gresham can’t get the Octopus so Lethal rolls him up for two instead.

They hit the mat and it’s another standoff as Gresham can’t outwrestle him yet. The stalemates continue until Lethal sends him to the apron for a baseball slide to take the knee out. Back in and Lethal dropkicks him right back to the floor, setting up the freaking suicide dive. Back in again and it’s Lethal hitting the cartwheel dropkick for two as Gresham is in trouble for the first time.

It’s too early for the Figure Four so Gresham’s knee is fine enough for a standing Lionsault, though the knee is still a little banged up. Gresham takes him down by the arm and cranks back on it while also pulling on the leg for a bonus. A keylock goes on but Lethal drives him into the ropes for another break. Lethal’s arm is banged up but it’s fine enough to hit a powerslam and now the Figure Four goes on.

They roll to the ropes and then out to the floor with the crash being the only thing that breaks the hold. Gresham’s chair is taken away so they stop to yell at each other about who caused their losing streak. The slugout starts on the floor and winds up in the ring with the Lethal Injection being broken up with a kick to the arm. Since the Injection isn’t working, Lethal goes with an RKO for two instead.

The Figure Four goes on again and is broken in another hurry so it’s another Lethal Injection attempt. This time it’s countered into a backslide for two, so Lethal tries it AGAIN, this time to have his arm go out. Lethal counters la majistral into a cradle for two but Gresham unloads with strikes to the head. The Octopus goes on and Gresham cranks WAY back on the arm for the tap at 17:21.

Rating: B+. I REALLY liked this one as Lethal was his usual great self but Gresham was fired up and needed to prove himself. Couple that with giving him a target like the arm and there was almost no way Gresham could lose here. It was a heck of a performance too as Lethal was giving it all he had but fell short in the end. They played a great chess game with Lethal having to protect the arm but going for the win with the Injection but eventually giving out after Gresham worked over the arm as much as he could. This was great and one of the best things I’ve seen from ROH in a long time.

Post match, respect is shown.

We recap Silas Young/Vinny Marseglia vs. the Bouncers, with Young taking the place of an absent TK O’Ryan. The Kingdom has gone after the Bouncers for weeks now, including burning Beer City Bruiser with a cigar and pulling out his tooth. Tonight it’s a Bar Room Brawl, meaning anything goes.

Bouncers vs. Silas Young/Vinny Marseglia

Anything goes and Josh Woods is on commentary. The Bruiser jumps Marseglia from behind during his entrance and we start in a hurry. Milonas comes in to crush Young with a crossbody and Bruiser adds a cannonball off the apron. The Bouncers clean house and it’s Marseglia getting chokeslammed onto the apron. Here’s a pool cue but Bruiser hits the post by mistake, leaving Milonas to get stomped down in the corner.

Milonas gets zip tied to the top rope so Marseglia can hit a cutter on Bruiser as the beatdown is on. A Side Effect puts Bruiser on the floor and it’s already time for a table. Milonas gets sick of waiting and rips the zip tie off and it’s time to crush some villains. Marseglia gets backdropped onto Young and it’s a swinging side slam/running boot to the head to make it even worse.

Just for fun, it’s time to bring in a spare turnbuckle but Marseglia takes it away and hits Milonas in the head to draw some blood. The broken cue is driven into the cut until Bruiser makes a rather late save. Young cuts off what looked to be a Vader Bomb with a crotching….and Marseglia pulls out some darts. Yes DARTS, like you throw at a dart board, which he throws into Bruiser’s back. Milonas is back up with some chair shots, including crushing Young in the corner in said chair.

A Boss Man Slam gets two on Marseglia as we see how crushed the chair really is. It’s Young making the save with a fresh chair and Marseglia Swantons Milonas through a table at ringside in the huge crash. Bruiser Death Valley Drivers Young onto the apron, which is enough to get Woods to carry him to the back. A superplex drives Marseglia through two open chairs for two more and a DDT onto a chair finally puts Marseglia away at 14:24.

Rating: B-. The darts thing aside (seriously, egads man), this was the kind of brawl that it needed to be and the Bouncers getting a big win is the right call. It’s not like the Kingdom lost here so Marseglia losing isn’t that big of a deal. The Bouncers have grown on me by leaps and bounds in recent months and while they have a firm ceiling above them, this was a hard hitting brawl and right up their alley.

Come to various shows!

Buy the Matt Taven DVD!

TV Title: Shane Taylor vs. Flip Gordon vs. Tracy Williams vs. Dragon Lee

Taylor is defending, it’s one fall to a finish and PJ Black is on commentary. Lee is a surprise bonus challenger. Gordon and Williams slug it out to start and head to the floor, leaving Lee to bounce off of Shane. A hurricanrana sends Taylor outside so it’s Gordon taking his place, only to get dropkicked back down. Now it’s Williams coming in and getting dropkicked down as well, leaving Lee to hit the Tranquilo pose.

That’s broken up and it’s Gordon vs. Williams all over again. Williams gets the better of it and grabs a dragon sleeper with Shane making a fast save. Lee sends Shane into the corner for a slingshot kick to the face, only to miss a dropkick to Williams’ head. We haven’t had a dive in a bit so Lee takes out Williams and Gordon at the same time with a big crash.

Taylor cannonballs off the apron to take everyone out at once for the big knockdown. Back in and Gordon hits a tornado DDT on Taylor but Williams DDTs Gordon onto the top turnbuckle. Lee comes back in and starts throwing some suplexes but Taylor isn’t about to get taken down with a hurricanrana. Gordon and Williams get in a fight over a chair, allowing Gordon to knock him down. That’s about it though as Gordon walks into Greetings From 216 to retain Shane’s title at 8:26.

Rating: C. They did well enough here, though it wasn’t anything great. The problem here is Shane has been so dominant and there isn’t a feud for him anywhere. It’s just one match after another and while he is kind of awesome, there is only so much that he can do without a reason to watch him. Gordon vs. Williams has been good, but it’s been done to death at this point, which is often a problem around here.

Post match Lee stares Taylor down to set up the next match.

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Tag Team Titles: Lifeblood vs. Briscoes

Mark Haskins/Bandido are challenging for Lifeblood here and there is no need for a recap. Basically Lifeblood won a bunch of matches and they earned a title shot. Works for me. Haskins’ wife is in the front row as well. We get handshakes before the bell and it’s Mark and Haskins (oh that’s going to be annoying) going to the mat to start. Some grappling gives us a standoff which quickly breaks down into a slugout. With that going nowhere, they tag out to bring in Jay and Bandido.

Jay can’t do much so it’s Mark and Mark coming in again instead. Haskins takes him down in a hurry for a basement dropkick but it’s right back to Jay for a heck of a clothesline. Mark dropkicks his brother through the ropes by mistake and everything breaks down in a hurry. Bandido kicks Mark in the face up against the barricade but the Briscoes are right back with stereo kicks to the face.

Haskins gets posted right in front of the post and one of the regular chairs (as in it doesn’t fold) is thrown inside. Even with the different style, it’s fine enough for Mark to hit the big flip dive to take out the other three, including his brother. It’s time to bring out a table but Mark has to suplex Bandido inside instead of through the table. With that out of the way, we actually get back down to the regular tag team stuff, with Jay working on Bandido’s back.

Bandido gets a boot up in the corner though and it’s a double tag to the Marks. A Downward Spiral/DDT combination puts both champs down and it’s a Falcon Arrow into a frog splash for two on Mark. We even get a tag back to Jay for the neckbreaker on Bandido. Jay and Haskins trade running boots to the face and it’s a double knockdown. A brainbuster plants Bandido but it’s Haskins with the Sharpshooter on Mark.

The 21 Plex takes Jay down but the Brothers grab each other for the double save. Bandido superplexes Jay into a top rope double stomp to give Haskins two with Mark making another save. Mark clotheslines the heck out of Haskins for two more and the Jay Driller drops Haskins on his head….but he kicks out anyway. The crowd didn’t even react to the kickout because it was so ridiculous. Bandido breaks up the Doomsday Device so Jay gives him Death Valley Driver. Another Jay Driller to Haskins retains the title at 20:18.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going and the switching from tagging to brawling was a little odd, but at least they had a heck of a fight for a long time. Haskins and Bandido looked great here, but there is only so much that can be done with the Briscoes these days. They have been do ridiculous dominant with the titles that there is nothing left for them to do. That has been the case for about five years now and I don’t see them getting away from the belts anytime soon.

Post match freaking Bully Ray comes out to beat up Bandido and Haskins because we are still doing this. Tracy Williams runs in for the save but Flip Gordon comes in to take him down. Bully goes after Haskins’ wife and gets slapped so Haskins the husband is powerbombed through a table. This went on WAY too long.

We recap Matt Taven vs. Rush for the World Title. Rush is unstoppable but Taven beat him in a big match in Mexico. Then Rush started teasing a run at the World Title over the summer and it’s time for Taven to face another monster after beating several of them.

Ring of Honor World Title: Rush vs. Matt Taven

Taven is defending but Rush one ups him in a white suit. They slug it out at the bell with both of them hitting some hard kicks to the head. It’s already time to go outside with Rush being sent into the barricade and then the timekeeper’s table. A backdrop puts Taven down on the ramp and there’s a whip to even the count of trips into the barricade.

Rush looks over at his family in the front row but gets suplexed over the top and back to the floor for a nasty crash. Taven hits ANOTHER suicide dive (people come on with that already) and the Flight of the Conqueror to really rock Rush. Back in and some strikes to the head give Taven two, followed by a DDT for the same. Rush fights back and pulls off a piece of the barricade to toss into Taven’s….well everything really.

Some fish hooking ensues as Taven is in some sudden trouble. Rush slams him onto the timekeeper’s table, freaking Coleman out in a bad way. Back in and Rush hammers away, setting up Tranquilo to really pop the crowd. A missile dropkick connects, only to have Taven avoid the Swanton.

Rush is fine enough to hit something like a Jay Driller for two but Taven grabs the Climax for two of his own. A German suplex sends Taven into the corner but he’s up with a spear to cut off the Bull’s Horns. Three straight running knees to the head rock Rush so Taven goes up, only to get caught in the Tree of Woe. A pair of Bulls’ Horns gives us a new champion at 16:14.

Rating: B. They did what they needed to do here as Taven died as champion (though he was getting better near the end) and Rush was the hottest thing in the company. He survived Taven’s best here and beat him so what more do you want? This was a solid main event and gave us the ending it needed so I’m rather pleased.

Taven eventually shakes his hand and Rush celebrates with his dad and Dragon Lee (brother) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Again: when ROH stops the angles and just gets down to the wrestling, they can have a heck of a show. It would be nice if people came to see them, but at least they can do something like this. What we had here was a slow starts and then a bunch of good stuff in a row, making this one of the better ROH shows I’ve seen in a long time. Above all else I cared about what was going on and I couldn’t begin to tell you the last time that was the case. Heck of a show here and worth seeing if you’re an ROH fan. I’m sure there are some of them left out there.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: November 6, 2019
Location: Uno Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Colt Cabana
Hosts: Ian Riccaboni, Quinn McKay

We are FINALLY at a new show with something from New Orleans instead of Las Vegas and the Death Before Dishonor Fallout show. I’m not sure what to expect from these shows but that isn’t the best feeling in the world. You never know what you might get on one of these shows but at this point I’m going to assume that it won’t be the most entertaining thing in the world. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We see the end of a battle royal with Silas Young winning a shot at the World Title, which will be tonight’s main event.

The hosts talk about Jonathan Gresham turning heel recently, meaning it’s time for the new Gresham to face his former mentor.

Alex Shelley vs. Jonathan Gresham

The camera shots aren’t friendly to the attendance here. Shelley works on the arm to start but Gresham is just fine with the technical stuff of course. Back up and Shelley gets creative with a hammerlock abdominal stretch for a little twist on some classics. The arm is sent into the corner but Gresham dropkicks the knee out as we take a break.

Back with Shelley going Cabana with the Billy Goat’s Curse into a Rocking Horse, followed by a quick rollup for two. Gresham starts in on the arm and almost goes Pentagon off a hammerlock. With the arms still trapped, Gresham pulls on the leg at the same time and even gets two off a rollup. Some more armbarring ensues as Shelley can’t figure out what to do here.

The armdrag into the armbar stays on the arm but Shelley throws him down and we take another break. Back again with Gresham small packaging him for two and frustration is setting in. They go to the mat for a battle of rollups for two, with something close to Zack Sabre Jr.’s European Clutch giving Gresham two more. Shelley’s Sliced Bread is blocked so he grabs a fisherman’s neckbreaker instead. Gresham tries the Octopus but Shelley reverses into a quick cradle for the pin at 14:32.

Rating: C+. This was the technical display that they should have gone with and hopefully it sets up the heel turn for Gresham. He has some serious potential as a heel and if he brings Jay Lethal down with him, so be it. The match was entertaining as well, but you had to know that was coming from these two.

Post match Gresham goes to grab a chair but Lethal breaks it up. Shelley offers a handshake and everything is cool.

Shane Taylor wants to be the modern Muhammad Ali by changing the game forever. The TV Title is just the beginning.

Someone attacked TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia. O’Ryan needed to be taken away but Marseglia and Matt Taven want answers.

Marseglia is all cryptic about the truth being a knife.

Special shows are coming!

Video on Bully Ray attacking Mark Haskins and threatening his wife.

Haskins is going to hurt Ray.

Video on the #1 contenders tournament, won by PCO.

We look at Rush winning the World Title at Death Before Dishonor.

Ring of Honor World Title: Rush vs. Silas Young

Rush is defending and wastes no time in knocking Young into the corner. The Bull’s Horns is broken up with a spear though and Silas hammers away. Young talks a lot of trash and takes it to the floor to send Rush into the post. Back in and Young stays on the ribs by driving him into the corner and getting a slightly delayed one off a suplex. The chinlock goes on and we take a break.

Back with Young yelling at the referee so Rush spits at him and snaps off a German suplex. Running knees put Young on the floor as Rush gets to start a comeback. The running kick in the corner lets Rush hit the Tranquilo pose but Young is back with the Regal Roll. The springboard moonsault out of the corner gives Young two so Rush is right back with a suplex into the corner. Bull’s Horns retain the title at 11:03.

Rating: C. Yeah this was fine and that’s about it. Rush wasn’t in any real danger but he beat Young well enough in a match that was never in doubt. That’s all you need for something like this, though having Rush beat him in ten seconds would have worked just as well. It isn’t a bad match at all, but it came and went with nothing more.

Overall Rating: C-. They set up things up well enough but it just isn’t interesting. That’s how to sum up ROH all at once at the moment: what on here is supposed to have my attention? Lethal and Gresham as a team could go somewhere, but I can’t bring myself to get fired up about PCO vs. Rush as the big title match at the most important show of the year. They have been needing a hot story for months now and I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: October 16, 2019
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Caprice Coleman
Hosts: Ian Riccaboni, Quinn McKay

So we should be coming up on something interesting here as at least it should be time for the Death Before Dishonor fallout. It helps that TV isn’t your normal fallout so hopefully we can get something fresh a little faster around here. I’m not sure what to expect otherwise as I still need to get around to the pay per view, but it could make for some more interesting TV. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with the end of Rush winning the World Title from Matt Taven at Death Before Dishonor.

Video on the Six Man Tag Team Title match at Death Before Dishonor Fallout, focusing on Dragon Lee. Kind of at least, as the hosts said it would be but it comes off as just a regular video on the match.

Jay Lethal is worried about facing PJ Black (injury replacement) in the #1 contenders tournament and complains about it to Jonathan Gresham. Didn’t they break up?

Video on Angelina Love cheating to win the Knockouts Title from Kelly Klein.

The announcers talk about the #1 contenders tournament.

Brian Zane from Wrestling With Wregret gives us the Top Five Things From Death Before Dishonor. I like Zane’s show so this is a nice little bonus.

PJ Black is ready to face Jay Lethal in the first round of the tournament. Always bet on Black.

Coast To Coast is coming for the Tag Team Titles.

Tracy Williams is ready for a No DQ match against Flip Gordon.

Coast To Coast vs. Silas Young/Josh Woods

Young and LSG start things off with Silas bouncing out of a wristlock and they roll around the ring with a small package getting several twos each. Woods comes in to kick LSG down so Ali comes in for some grappling, which is just fine with Woods of course. Ali gets taken into the corner for a series of running forearms from Young but he’s fine enough to take Woods into the corner.

Woods suplexes his way out of trouble and the hot tag brings in Young to clean house. The hanging swinging neckbreaker gets two on Ali and everything breaks down. The backbreaker/clothesline combination sets up Rolling Chaos Theory for two on LSG and it’s a toss into a cutter to finish Ali at 8:00.

Rating: C-. I’m actually getting into Woods and Young as a team, but I have no reason to believe that they’re going anywhere. This company has a bad tendency to build people up and then do nothing with them because the tier structure is so strong around here. Hopefully that changes, but until they get somewhere with some fresh talent, it isn’t going to matter.

Matt Taven wasn’t happy after losing the World Title.

We recap the first round of the #1 contenders tournament.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: PJ Black vs. Jay Lethal

Why they showed the result of this match in the previous recap isn’t clear. Jonathan Gresham is out with Lethal. They fight over arm control to start and roll into a standoff as the first gear continues. Black shoulders him down and gets one off a legsweep as the rapid fire takedowns send us into another standoff.

Lethal’s cartwheel into a basement dropkick has Black in trouble for the first time and Lethal stomps away in the corner. The Figure Four makes Black scream but he’s in the ropes in a hurry. Black grabs a reverse suplex into a dragon sleeper, followed by a double arm crank. The Rocking Horse hold keeps Lethal in trouble and we take a break.

Back with Black getting crotched on top, setting up a delayed superplex. They strike it out until Lethal dropkicks him to the floor for back to back suicide dives. The Lethal Combination sets up Hail to the King for two but Black pops up with a middle rope Spanish Fly for his own near fall. They fight on the top until Black knocks him down, only to miss the Placebo Effect (springboard 450). The Lethal Injection is blocked twice in a row so Lethal tries is a third time and connects for the pin at 15:42.

Rating: B-. Lethal is always good for a solid match and Black….dang I’m not sure what it is but there is just a little something off about him that takes away some of the impact he could have. His matches are usually fine if not good but there’s just something about him I can’t get behind. This was a rather nice main event, though the spoiler before the match didn’t help things.

Overall Rating: C. Perfectly acceptable show here, but that’s the problem: it’s just acceptable and not something you need to watch. Ring of Honor TV has become little more than an amped up Main Event, and that’s not a good place to be. What we got wasn’t bad, but it’s just nothing you need to watch. Get an Honor Club subscription if you really like the place, though if you have, there is no need to watch the TV show. That has been the case for a long time now and it’s getting to be annoying.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: October 2, 2019
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
Hosts: Quinn McCay, Ian Riccaboni, Rhett Titus

It’s Death Before Dishonor weekend, though I’m not sure this is going to mean a thing in the long run. The pay per views have never meant much as far as television goes, though we’re pretty clearly in a different era here. Hopefully some of that changes this time around, as it’s not like it can get much worse. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a clip of Rush and Jeff Cobb winning the All Stars vs. Champions elimination match but Rush kicked away the offer of a handshake.

Clips of Silas Young/Okumura/Felino beating the Shinobi Shadow Squad in Atlanta.

After the match, Silas brought in Josh Woods to say he hoped he had been learning. Woods low blowed Okumura and laid out Felino.

In the back, Silas grabs Woods’ notebook and tells him to take better notes before throwing the book down. Young doesn’t care that Woods’ girlfriend bought him that.

Soldiers of Savagery vs. Sal Rinauro/Michael Stevens

From Atlanta. Promised Land (double chokeslam) finishes both jobbers at 45 seconds.

Jeff Cobb needs another shot at Matt Taven so he’ll beat three guys tonight.

Atlanta again. Master and Machine are Griff Garrison/Marcus Kross while the Twins are the former Boys, now as superheroes, complete with an over the top voiceover introduction. Marcus starts with Brent with the latter jumping around and stopping a charge with the threat of a power ring. Brandon comes in off a blind tag for a springboard crossbody and it’s time to work on the arm.

Back from a break with Brandon enziguring Kross in the corner and monkey flipping him right back out. Caprice: “Would that be a super monkey flip?” Kross dropkicks them both out of the corner and the hot tag brings in Garrison for a bunch of forearms. A good spinebuster and some backbreakers have the Twins down and earn Garrison some nice applause. Brandon gets tossed at Brent and a spear gives Garrison two as Coleman isn’t sure if that would have been an upset or not. It would have been but that sounded good.

Everything breaks down and Kross enziguris Brandon down. Kross flips out of a chokeslam attempt and blasts Brandon in the ribs with a palm strike. A powerbomb/Disaster Kick combination gives Garrison two on Brent with Brandon making the save. Brandon dives onto Garrison and it’s a double belly to back faceplant to finish Kross at 8:20.

Rating: C. It was a little sloppy at times but I was digging both teams. The Twins having something different to do is a good sign though there is something amusing about them being somewhat bumbling superheroes instead of suddenly being awesome now that they have their own gimmick. Kross wasn’t much here but Garrison has some potential, especially with the fire he showed off the hot tag.

Quick discussion of the Top Prospect Tournament.

We look back at Mark Haskins winning the International Cup last year by defeating Adam Page.

Jay Lethal is ready to beat three other guys to get a title shot. It’s a big gamble but the title is that important to him. Tonight is his night and he has this.

Matt Taven vs. Jeff Cobb vs. Kenny King vs. Jay Lethal

Non-title Defy Or Deny, meaning an elimination match. If Taven wins, whoever he beats last can never have a title shot as long as Taven holds the title. If anyone else wins, they get a title shot. King has Amy Rose with him. Taven yells about how he’s beaten all three of them so the triple teaming starts in a hurry. King and Lethal pair off as Taven low bridges Cobb to the floor. That leaves Taven to headlock King down but Lethal comes in to get rid of both of them.

Cobb is back in for a showdown with Lethal with the fans being split on their choice. Lethal’s shoulders work as well as you would expect them to so Cobb shows him how it’s done. Lethal gets in a suplex but Cobb is on his feet first, just to show off a bit. Cobb misses the standing moonsault though, allowing Lethal to nail the basement dropkick for a delayed one. King pulls Lethal to the floor so Taven takes his place, only to get caught in a delayed vertical suplex.

King’s kick to the ribs doesn’t make Cobb drop Taven as he muscles him back up just to show off. That leaves Lethal to hammer away at King on the floor and we take a break. Back with Cobb LAUNCHING Taven into the corner for a good visual but missing a forearm. King and Taven double team Cobb down before kicking Lethal in the face. A hard whip into the corner keeps Lethal down as we’re in something close to a tag match.

King rolls Taven up for two but Taven would rather put Lethal in the Figure Four than get some revenge. Cobb throws King onto the hold for the break and beats up Lethal as we take another break. Back again with King hitting the Blockbuster for two on Cobb as they seem to be wearing down a bit. King loads up the Royal Flush on Cobb but Taven breaks it up, with the announcers bashing him for such a stupid move. Lethal counters the Climax and hits a cutter on Taven for two. Everyone comes back with superkicks and a DDT to Cobb gives us a four way knockdown.

Taven and King slug it out until Lethal hits the Lethal Combination on King. Hail To The King is loaded up but Lethal goes after Rose for grabbing the title. The belt is left in the ring so Taven can blast Cobb with it….for a DQ at 16:51. King hits Lethal with the title as well and grabs the Royal Flush and the elimination at 17:22. It’s King vs. Cobb for the title shot, meaning neither can lose their future title shots. The Royal Flush is escaped and Cobb snaps off a German suplex. Tour of the Islands gives Cobb the pin and the title shot at 19:18.

Rating: B. This took its sweet time to get going and that’s a positive thing in a match like this one. A longer form match is a good call in a longer form match and that’s the case even more when you have four people all fighting for something important. The wrestling was entertaining and the right person won so there isn’t much for me to complain about around here.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event helped this one a lot but you can just feel how far down this promotion has gone. There is almost nothing of interest to keep the fans around, though maybe some of the Death before Dishonor results could help make things a bit better. That is, if it isn’t too late already, which very well may be the case. Anyway, good main event and not much else.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: September 11, 2019
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Lanny Poffo
Hosts: Quinn McKay, Ian Riccaboni

The new version of the show continues and that means we’re in for a lot more highlights. I think we’re building to Death Before Dishonor but with everything being all over the place it can be kind of hard to remember at times. Either way, expect a face paced show here, which is both a specialty and a curse. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We look at how all of the champions won their belts. I think I sense a theme here.

The hosts welcome us to the show and promise us the Champions vs. Challengers match. Makes sense.

In Atlanta, Dalton Castle promised to become the World Champion again, which draws out the debuting Joe Hendry. Joe thinks the best titles in the world are right here and now Castle is the second most entertaining man in ROH. I’ve liked Hendry well enough over the different companies he’s worked for, though his in-ring work isn’t the most thrilling.

The champions brag about all of their gold and promise to win tonight.

LSG tells Shaheem Ali to be ready tonight. Kenny King comes in and tells Ali to go show what he used to be.

Clips of the quarterfinals of the Top Prospect Tournament. I still care about none of this.

Next week: Bandido vs. Marty Scurll.

CMLL stars will be at War of the Worlds.

Matt Taven/Shane Taylor/Briscoes vs. Rush/Jeff Cobb/Jay Lethal/Kenny King

Champions vs. Challengers and under elimination rules. Taven and Cobb start things off but Rush and Jay Briscoe come in before anything happens. Some grappling goes nowhere so Rush runs him over and glares a lot, which can be quite intimidating. Mark and Lethal come in with the former grabbing a headlock on the mat as commentary talks about Randy Savage. Lethal hiptosses him down for the basement dropkick but King tags himself in and does the same thing.

Therefore Taylor and Cobb come in for the big hoss showdown. The exchange of shoulders knock each other backwards until Cobb nails a dropkick to take us to a break. Back with Cobb chopping Taven and muscling him up for a one armed delayed vertical suplex. Lethal comes in for an ax handle and it’s everyone taking their turns on Taven. Rush hits his own basement dropkick and Lethal grabs a rollup for two.

Taven slips over for the tag off to Jay Briscoe, who takes Lethal into the corner as we take another break. Back with Mark driving Lethal into Lethal’s corner for some reason, allowing the tag to King. Everything breaks down until Mark suplexes King and the Briscoes run him over for two. With everyone else on the floor, Mark uses a chair for a big running flip dive onto a bunch of opponents. Back in and Redneck Boogey gets two on King with Cobb making the save. Amy Rose checks on King, prompting Jay Briscoe to throw water on her. King isn’t standing for that and grabs a rollup to get rid of Jay Briscoe.

King dances a lot and we take a break, coming back to Lethal chopping Taven in the corner. Taylor comes in but King tags himself in again and punches Taylor in the face. It’s Taven coming in and eating a Blue Thunder Bomb but Taylor is back in with Greetings From 216 to even things up. Lethal comes in and gets waistlocked, followed by a slam from Mark as we take a break.

Back again with Mark taking the Lethal Injection for the pin to make it 3-2. Taven comes in again to work on Lethal’s back with a series of backbreakers. Lethal kicks Taylor away, but also into the referee, meaning the hot tag to Rush doesn’t count. That’s a nice little twist on the classic spot. Taylor knees the still legal Lethal for two as everything breaks down again. The big no hands dive lets Taven knock everyone down and the Greetings From 216 finishes Lethal to even it up.

The four remaining guys slug it out until Taven reverses the Tour of the Islands into a Russian legsweep. Cobb suplexes Taven down and it’s Rush coming in to strike away. The delayed kick in the face lets Rush be Tranquilo, followed by the slugout with Taylor. A running forearm looks to set up the Bull’s Horns but Taven hits Rush with a chair for the DQ. Taven unloads on Rush with the chair….so Rush stands up. Taylor is back up but Cobb hits an Oklahoma Stampede and a snap German suplex. Now the Bull’s Horns can finish Taylor at 39:52.

Rating: B. The match was one of those concepts that is hard to screw up because it’s such an easy idea. One group of people have something and the other group wants that something. How many ways can that be messed up? The ending helps set up Rush as the next challenger, which should be the case very soon.

Rush won’t shake Cobb’s hand to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. It’s literally a one match show but it’s a one match show that took up two thirds of the time. The good thing is it included a bunch of big names and the match worked quite well. The rest of the show meant next to nothing and I had a good time watching it, so the show as a whole was entertaining. The problem continues to be how everything feels like they’re making it up as they go, but that’s a bigger problem than is going to be solved in a single week.

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

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

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

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