Ring of Honor
Date: November 25, 2015
Location: Wings Stadium Annex, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

This is a big show with a big main event as we have Roderick Strong challenging Jay Lethal for the TV Title to continue their long and rather entertaining feud over the last year or so. We’re getting closer and close to Final Battle and it’s about time to have a build between AJ Styles and Lethal for the World Title so maybe they can tie it in here. Let’s get to it.

As a side note, this is the final episode on Destination America, though the show will still air in syndication as it has for years now.

Opening sequence.

Moose vs. Dominic Carter

Spear ends Carter in five seconds.

Post match Moose’s manager Stokely Carmichael says Jay Lethal will only be World Champion until Moose gets his hands on him. Carmichael thinks he heard this last week from Michael Elgin, who isn’t as big or strong or talented as Moose. Therefore, Elgin needs to go to the back of the line where he belongs.

Instead Elgin comes out here to say that Moose did win his match faster than Elgin did last week, but there’s a bit of a size difference. Big Mike is ready to give Moose some real competition any time he’s ready. Moose says we can do it right now but here’s the House of Truth (minus Jay Lethal but including Taeler Henrdix (good lord)) to laugh all this off and call them out for using Lethal’s name to get over. Elgin says he’ll be in a hotel with Hendrix later. Those are fighting words and a tag match is on.

J. Diesel/Donovan Dijak vs. Michael Elgin/Moose

It’s a big brawl to start until we take a break. Back with Elgin taking Dijak down with an enziguri and a dropkick for good measure. Moose comes in for his own dropkick and then a suplex, challenging Elgin to best that. Elgin’s suplex is in fact longer but he stops to argue with Moose, allowing the House of Truth to make a comeback. Everything breaks down and Hendrix grabs Elgin for a distraction. Dijak grabs a good looking chokebreaker on Elgin as Kelly talks about Diesel wanting to go by Joey Diesel Daddiago or however that is spelled.

Moose makes his comeback on Diesel but Dijak jumps him from behind. Without a tag, Elgin sends both of them to the floor for an apron cannonball before teasing a kiss on Hendrix. That sexual assault goes nowhere so it’s a German suplex for two on Diesel instead. Everything breaks down again and Elgin buckle bombs Diesel, followed by a spear from Moose after a blind tag for the pin at 11:33.

Rating: C. This was all storytelling instead of a good match and there’s nothing wrong with that. Moose vs. Elgin has the potential to be two guys beating the heck out of each other for fifteen minutes at Final Battle and that’s all it needs to be. Lethal vs. either one could be a fun match on a big stage so everyone wins. Well save for whichever of them loses.

Moose and Elgin stare each other down as Elgin didn’t like that blind tag.

Long video on Strong wanting one more match to prove he can beat Lethal. It’s not about either title but rather Strong’s pride. They were smart to keep this taped as Strong live can be a disaster. He’s downright listenable taped though.

Story Time with Adam Cole focuses on the Kingdom being great Tag Team Champions. War Machine will get their hopeless title shot at Final Battle and Cole will beat up Dalton Castle next week. Simple, to the point and natural here.

Here’s the Decade so BJ Whitmer can rip on Steve Corino for lying about his neck surgery. Whitmer can’t believe that Nigel McGuinness bought it because McGunniness lied about being hurt a few years back. Nigel isn’t going to take this and gets in the ring to…..say the Decade can’t be at Final Battle either.

TV Title: Roderick Strong vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending and this is their third match of the year with Lethal holding a 1-0-1 lead. There’s no Truth Martini here but there are two referees to make sure it’s a fair fight. They go to the mat to start with Lethal bailing outside when he can’t keep up. An armbar frustrates the champion even more and he teases leaving, only to get dragged back in and chopped as a punishment.

We take a break with Roderick in control and come back with Jay firing off chops on the floor. Roderick tastes the barricade (needs some honey mustard) but is thrown back in at a thirteen count. Back in and they chop each other some more until Lethal takes over with a headlock. Well it’s better than the standard chinlock. A quick enziguri gives Strong a breather and he fires off his running strikes before picking Jay up for a backbreaker.

Back from another break with Lethal missing a dropkick but grabbing the Lethal Combination for two. There’s a Koji Clutch (which just looks cool) until Strong crawls over to the ropes and bails outside for a breather. Two straight suicide dives have Strong in trouble but he avoids a third. Well yeah he should after Lethal does the same thing three times. Back in and Lethal gets caught on the top for a kind of reverse belly to back suplex.

The Strong Hold is broken up and a Lethal Injection gets two. Strong comes right back with three straight knees to the face but a superplex is countered into a top rope bulldog. That only gets two more so Strong pops up for another knee to the head. The Sick Kick and a suplex into a backbreaker set up the Strong Hold to FINALLY end Lethal’s eighteen month reign at 21:48.

Rating: B+. They really didn’t have any other choice here and that’s often the best thing that can happen. Lethal had held the title for so long that it didn’t mean anything anymore and now it’s freed up for others to have their run with it instead. I’ve never been a fan of having one person as a double champion so it’s a good move to let Lethal just be World Champion. The match itself was really solid stuff too with the ending being the best part as Strong just threw everything he had at Lethal until Jay couldn’t stand up any longer.

The House of Truth pulls Lethal out as Strong poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. When a third of your show is one really solid match and the other major story is building up to what should be a fun match at Final Battle, everyone wins here. Everyone is on point right now and it’s making the build for Final Battle all the better. Good stuff here with another solid show, as it’s been for a long time now.

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Ring of Honor
Date: October 29, 2015
Location: Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

Last week was a good show for ROH as they addressed several stories while also giving us some good action. Tonight we have some fallout from last week with the Kingdom facing ReDRagon/Michael Elgin in a six man which has some potential. We’re also getting the return of Dalton Castle for the first time since he lost the Boys. Let’s get to it.

Just like last week the announcers’ audio is really low and I can barely understand them to start. They talk about King Corino facing repercussions for their actions last week.

Donovan Dijak vs. Moose

Dijak’s shoulder blocks don’t work early on so Stokely Hathaway tells Moose to go for it, meaning it’s a big dropkick to put Dijak on the floor. That’s fine with Dijak who chokeslams Moose onto the apron and follows with an Asai moonsault of all things (ok so he hit Moose’s shoulder but it still looked cool).

Back in and Moose headbutts him in the chest and dropkicks Dijak to the floor, followed by a suicide dive. Men this size should not be able to do these kind of things so easily. Moose scores with a bicycle kick but walks into a chokebreaker for two. Feast Your Eyes is broken up so Moose casually runs up the corner and comes off with a spinning kick to the face. The spear ends Dijak at 4:42.

Rating: C+. Well that worked. Yeah it was a spot fest but guys this young being able to do this kind of stuff isn’t normal. Moose looked like an athletic freak out there and Dijak showed why he’s considered such a top prospect. This was really fun stuff and I was impressed by a lot of what Moose did, even if it didn’t look as crisp as it could have.

Dalton Castle vs. Cedric Alexander

Castle is just in a t-shirt and trunks and Alexander is banged up from All-Star Extravaganza. Alexander pokes him in the chest to start but Dalton grabs him with a t-bone suplex. He deadlifts Cedric off the mat and then throws him right back down in a surprising display of strength. Veda Scott has to intervene by grabbing Dalton’s leg and Alexander gets in a kick to the face to take over. Chops just seem to tick Castle off and he catches a springboard in midair. Alexander gets kicked in the face and the Bat-A-Rang puts him away at 3:35.

Rating: D+. This is the kind of character evolution that works best in wrestling. Castle has a reason to be all angry and aggressive and it gets him away from the over the top style while still letting him showcase his charisma. That opens more doors for Castle going forward and was a very necessary adjustment for his career.

Post match Veda yells at Nigel for putting Alexander in an unsafe working environment and caused her unfair distress. Lawsuits are promised.

Here are Truth Martini and Jay Lethal with something to say. The fans chant for AJ Styles but Martini says that’s not his name. Cue Roderick Strong and please for all things good and holy don’t let him talk. Roderick congratulates Lethal on beating him the last time they “faced” but he shakes Martini’s hand because he’s the only reason Lethal has those titles. Lethal is livid so Strong gets right to the point: he wants one more match. They yell at each other a lot and you can hear the Flair in Lethal’s voice.

Lethal tells Nigel (remember that he’s the boss) to get in the ring and explain this to Strong. McGuinness says it’s true that AJ Styles is already the #1 contender to the World Title……but there currently isn’t a #1 contender to the TV Title. The match is quickly made for some point in the future and both guys react as you would expect. This worked far better than I was expecting as Strong seems to work better live instead of on tape.

We look back at the first four matches in the best of five series between ACH and Matt Sydal. The final match will be at Survival of the Fittest.

Kingdom vs. Michael Elgin/ReDRagon

It’s the brawl you would expect to start with Fish diving onto Bennett and Cole, leaving Kyle to grab an armbreaker on Taven over the top rope. Elgin dives on Bennett and Cole as well as McGuinness swoons over Maria (yep). Back in and Elgin Germans Taven into an armbreaker from Kyle as we take a break. It’s back to Elgin holding Taven in a delayed vertical suplex with Bennett’s kicks having no effect. Fish comes in but goes after Cole, allowing Bennett to superkick him into Taven’s enziguri for two.

The Kingdom starts their triple teaming, complete with a fake tag for bad measure. Bennett catapults Fish into a forearm from Cole, followed by a top rope elbow from Taven for two. Taven: “This is why we’re tag champs. Because we’re really good.” A high cross body gets two more but the fans chant for the Young Bucks. Off to Cole for a chinlock and we take a second break. Back with Fish avoiding a triple superkick and suplexing Taven into the corner. The hot tag brings in Elgin for a BIG MIKE chant.

Taven breaks up a superplex attempt so Elgin powerslams both he and Bennett at the same time for two. Bennett’s kicks to the face have no effect on Elgin (gah) so it’s off to Kyle for a top rope double missile dropkick. Everything breaks down and Fish drives Taven into the barricade. Taven is thrown inside for the rapid fire ReDRagon offense, followed by a wheelbarrow suplex for two on Bennett. Elgin takes a double superkick but Fish breaks up the spike piledriver. A buckle bomb sends Bennett into Taven in the corner and Chasing the Dragon puts Bennett away at 15:49.

Rating: B-. This was your fun ROH style main event with a lot of insanity but just enough coherence to keep track of what was going on. The ending is fine and keeps ReDRagon on the Kingdom’s trail while also keeping Cole vs. Kyle fresh for later. Elgin is an interesting addition as he doesn’t really have anyone in the Kingdom to feud with but maybe he and Cole fight later. Or he’s just there to fill in a spot.

Cole lays out ReDRagon post match and the Kingdom goes to leave. Kyle wants Cole next week but Cole is already busy with AJ Styles. Not a problem according to Nigel, who makes it a triple threat.

Overall Rating: C+. I had a good time with this show as they’ve definitely found a groove and know how to keep me entertained for an hour without getting bored. This show doesn’t feel like it goes by as fast as NXT but it’s still an easy hour to sit through with some fun action and tolerable promos. Good show this week and we should be hitting Glory By Honor soon.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: October 14, 2015
Location: San Antonio Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 600
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

We’re FINALLY up to some fresh storyline material here with the fallout from All-Star Extravaganza which took place nearly a month ago. Jay Lethal retained both his titles at the pay per view but the TV Title is on the line tonight against Watanabe. There’s another pay per view next week so things have to pick up in a hurry. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

The commentary audio is notably lower this week as I can barely understand Kelly.

ACH vs. Matt Sydal

This is match #4 in a best of five series with ACH (from Texas, making him the crowd favorite) up 2-1. Kelly thinks winning match #3 bodes well for ACH. As usual, you can’t buy this kind of analysis. They shake hands to start but ACH holds up two fingers. The fans do a New Day style A-CH chant as they fight over a lockup to start. It’s time for some holds on the mat with neither guy being able to keep an advantage.

Sydal gets up and taunts ACH a bit which seems to get inside his head. ACH cartwheels out of a headscissors attempt and Sydal dropkicks him to the floor for a baseball slide. It’s time for the chops and therefore the WOO’s and therefore more audio issues. ACH grabs a headscissors of his own to take over, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back of the head (the Dum Dum Drop. Seriously?) for two. There isn’t much to say on a match like this as it’s just spot after spot with nothing in between.

We take a break and come back with ACH kicking Sydal in the face, only to dive into a nice spinwheel kick. Sydal gets two off something like Big Show’s Final Cut but ACH kicks him in the face again. A nice German suplex gets two on Matt, followed by a kick to the face (popular move) and a Cross Rhodes for another near fall.

Sydal rolls away from Midnight Star (450) and is booed as a result. Yeah somehow avoiding a finisher is a heel move. ACH takes him down again with a running shooting star dive to the floor but some jumping knees to the face look to set up the shooting star. It’s ACH up again though with a brainbuster but the Midnight Star hits knees. A reverse hurricanrana sets up the shooting star to give Sydal the pin and tie the series at 14:15.

Rating: C+. I get the idea here but I’m really not a fan of this kind of match. The ending told me everything I needed to know. When the 450 hit Sydal’s knees, Sydal did another big spot to set up the final big spot. They could have done the exact same ending with a cradle or something, but instead it’s all about the next big move. It makes the whole thing look like a big spot fest where they have no idea how to do anything else. That’s not good. Fun match, but very telling if you pay attention.

They hold up two fingers to each other for some gamesmanship but shake hands. Cue the Addiction and Chris Sabin to beat both guys down and clean house. Back from a break with the trio still in the ring with Kazarian yelling about how they weren’t defeated for their Tag Team Titles at All-Star Extravaganza.

It’s a good thing that they’re here in Texas because these people believe in justice. Not bathing or education, but certainly justice. Daniels doesn’t like the idea of a third man coming to the ring in a red mask and stealing Chris Sabin’s idea. They were never pinned or beaten and therefore they’re still the Tag Team Champions.

Daniels demands that the Kingdom comes out here and hand over the titles but it’s the All Night Express (Kenny King/Rhett Titus, who reunited at the pay per view) instead. King doesn’t want to hear about the Addiction’s complaints because the Express never lost their Tag Team Titles three years ago. They were only defeated by a bureaucracy and the Addiction can get some anytime.

Addiction vs. All Night Express is announced for next week.

Here are Silas Young and the Beer City Bruiser (a large man who carries a beer keg) with Dalton Castle’s boys, who Young won at All-Star Extravaganza. Silas yells at them for their ring attire and it’s time for a match.

Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young vs. The Boys

Bruiser runs both of them over in the corner and suplexes both Boys at the same time. They avoid a top rope splash though and the Boys try to ride Bruiser, only to be destroyed by Silas. Misery is enough to pin one of the Boys at 1:40.

Truth Martini and Jay Lethal talk about Watanabe learning English. Tonight he learns how to say Jay Lethal is the best wrestler in the world.

Inside ROH focuses on Adam Cole costing Kyle O’Reilly the World Title. ReDRagon promises revenge on Cole because he decided to chase the dragon. Cole’s reply says that he’s the next guy instead of Kyle. What Kyle is going to learn is that he’s just a lesser Adam Cole. Adam had the fire in his eyes here and blew away what ReDRagon said. That was good.

We’ll hear from the Kingdom next week.

TV Title: Watanabe vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending but uses the handshake to get in a cheap shot to take over early. Watanabe charges into a boot in the corner and gets elbowed in the face a few times, only to charge into a slam for two. A nice backsplash gets two for Watanabe but Truth Martini trips him up, allowing Jay to nail three straight suicide dives. We take a break and come back with Lethal getting two off a suplex.

Off to the chinlock from the champion followed by some knees to the face. A kick to Watanabe’s face gets two and Lethal goes Kevin Owens by loading up something big and then putting on a chinlock. Watanabe fights back and whips Jay hard across the ring before toss him away with a German suplex. The Lethal Injection is blocked and a big clothesline gets two. Martin throws in the Book of Truth, allowing Lethal to kick Watanabe low. The Lethal Injection retains the title at 12:28.

Rating: C. I’m still waiting on a reason to care about Watanabe. This was a glorified squash with Lethal picking Watanabe apart and putting on a clinic instead of ever feeling like he was in jeopardy. The match wasn’t bad or anything but it really didn’t make me care about either guy.

The fans remind Lethal that AJ Styles is coming for the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as I’ve forgotten a lot of the stories they built up for weeks because of the awkward schedule. Lethal vs. Watanabe was nothing special and the best of five series match was a way to set up another match instead of meaning anything on its own. I’m not sure what they’re building towards here as they didn’t mention the pay per view and now have one week to talk about it. I guess after next week it’s time for more stand alone shows and probably more New Japan. Watchable and quick show this week but nothing that did anything for me.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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Note to self: next time, actually post the thing after you write it up.

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Ring of Honor
Date: September 16, 2015
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

It’s the go home show for All-Star Extravaganza but that means a few different things in Ring of Honor due to their taping schedule. We’ll hear about the upcoming show, but it’s not clear how much of the show is going to be spent hyping Friday’s show. These shows have settled into a nice groove lately and hopefully it continues tonight. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

House of Truth vs. ReDRagon

Dijak/Diesel for the House of Truth with Lethal and Martini at ringside. Lethal is defending both his titles against Fish and O’Reilly on Friday so this makes sense. The champ is even sitting in on commentary for a not very rare treat. We actually get handshakes to start before Kyle and Diesel get things going. They slug it out to start and Diesel, a Golden Gloves boxer, is throwing forearms. So much for common sense.

A big slap to the face puts Diesel down and Kyle grabs a cross armbreaker. It’s way too early for that to work though so it’s off to Fish for some kicks to Diesel’s chest. A double kick to the chest gets two on Diesel as Dijak is totally content to stay on the apron for all of this. He finally adds a knee to Kyle’s back to take over, only to chase Kyle to the floor where Fish gets in some shots to the ribs.

Back in and Dijak catches Kyle’s cross body and throws him over the top like a doll. We come back from a break with Dijak throwing Kyle across the ring with a big release suplex. There’s something to be said about a big strong guy throwing small opponents around. You don’t see it very often in ROH, which makes it even better. A springboard elbow gets two for Donovan but Kyle flips out of a belly to back suplex and fires off his strikes.

Fish comes in to strike away on Diesel and everything breaks down. ReDRagon take turns kicking Dijak’s knees until he goes down and Kyle puts Diesel in an ankle lock. Dijak comes back in and slugs away but the hold isn’t broken. I rather like that idea for a change. With Fish throwing Dijak in a sleeper, Kyle adds a grapevine to the ankle lock and Diesel taps at 8:43.

Rating: C+. This was better than I was expecting with the story making the match work better. Lethal has reason to be scared of ReDRagon already and now he can see what they’re capable of. Dijak is a beast though and has a ton of potential. I get a kind of Dino Bravo vibe out of Diesel and that’s a very good role for someone to play.

The Briscoes are ready for any mystery team on Friday, including Godzilla and King Kong. That’s not much of a team though as they would wind up fighting each other. Mark really needs to think this through better.

Dalton Castle vs. Cedric Alexander

Silas Young is on commentary before his match with Castle on Friday. Cedric celebrates an early armdrag, sending the Boys over to fan Castle off. Back up and Dalton can’t get an O’Connor roll but he lands on his feet to freak Cedric out for some reason. That wasn’t really surprising but wrestling heels are often stupid. Castle crotches himself in the corner and a big kick to the head knocks him silly.

Back from a break with Cedric still in control until he charges into a boot in the corner. Everything heads outside with Castle not being able to send him into the post. Instead it’s something like a 619 under the apron into a hurricanrana to take Cedric down. Nice spot. Back in and a belly to belly gets two for Castle but Cedric kicks him in the head. That’s fine with Dalton as he powers Cedric up into a German suplex for two. Silas goes after the Boys though, allowing Cedric to grab a rollup for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: C-. This was all story again but the entertainment level wasn’t as high as it was in the opener. Castle vs. Young is a simple story and that’s all it needs to be. Both guys play their roles very well and either ending having a lot of possibilities. The match was nothing great here but it did its job.

Moose comes out to spear Cedric.

Kingdom vs. War Machine

As usual, I tend to forget anything else going on when Maria shows up. Just…..good night. Bennett and Taven for the Kingdom here. Their early superkicks have no effect on Hanson and Rowe and the power guys start by double teaming Taven. We settle down to Hanson side slamming Taven before Rowe comes in for a double slam. Bennett gets in and is immediately planted with a double release belly to back.

Maria comes in and grabs Hanson’s hair but gets placed on top of Bennett in the corner. Taven saves her from getting forearmed and hits a Disaster kick off the barricade to drop Hanson as we take a break. Back with the Kingdom keeping Hanson in trouble in the corner. That lasts as long as two guys can keep a monster like Hanson in trouble though as he comes back with a reverse powerslam and makes the tag to Rowe. A massive release Boss Man Slam plants Taven and everything breaks down.

War Machine easily catches both dives to the floor and powerbombs Bennett onto Taven. That looked good. Back in and Hanson and Taven trade cartwheels in a pretty stupid bit. Taven enziguris Hanson down and gets two off a Lionsault. How Jerichoish of him. Rowe comes back in for the Path of Resistance but Maria grabs Hanson’s leg. Cue the Young Bucks to pull her off the apron, leaving Bennett to take a double chokeslam. Fallout is enough to put Taven away at 14:38.

Rating: C-. More storytelling but at least Hanson and Rowe were there to throw the Kingdom all over the place. Maria continues to be the star of the team and that’s exactly what she’s supposed to be. I’m sure we’ll have some post match stuff with the Addiction because that’s how wrestling works.

The Bucks superkick Bennett down but the KRD (Addiction/Chris Sabin) come in with belt shots. Makes sense.

A long All-Star Extravaganza video takes us out.

Overall Rating: C. This show was different from most go home shows as they talked about the matches, but it went from the World Title to the midcard matches to the Tag Team Title match. Other than that the rest of Friday’s card was basically ignored, but there’s only so much you can do in an hour of TV a week. It’s entertaining enough though and the wrestling was fine, but I’m a bit less interested in seeing the pay per view than I was coming in.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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Ring of Honor
Date: September 9, 2015
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

This is a special show as we have a pair of title matches with the Young Bucks challenging the Addiction for the Tag Team Titles and World Champion Jay Lethal defending against Roderick Strong in a rematch from their pay per view draw. This is where Ring of Honor is supposed to shine so let’s see how good they can be. Let’s get to it.

Truth Martini and Jay Lethal say Strong has already had his shot so this is his final chance for the title.

Strong says he’s Mr. Ring of Honor because he wrestles as hard as he can every time he’s out there. There will be a winner tonight and he’ll be the new World Champion. Good night please get this guy a mouthpiece.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Addiction

The Addiction is defending. Sabin is at ringside with Kazarian and Daniels. The Bucks double superkick Daniels during the big match intros and the champs are in early trouble. Matt tosses Nick into a dropkick to put Daniels down again but Sabin pulls Kaz to the floor for a save. That goes badly as well with Sabin superkicking Daniels by mistake, earning him an early ejection. He tries to run back in but gets a double superkick for his efforts.

Kazarian gets kicked off the apron again as we’re still waiting on this to get down to a regular tag match. There’s a superkick to Daniels but Kazarian shoves Nick off the top to finally take over. Back from a break with Daniels pounding on Matt and dropping him with a gutbuster. We hit the waistlock on Matt to stay on the ribs and Daniels throws his feet on the ropes because he knows how to be a heel.

Matt comes back with a top rope flip into a Stunner (so much for the ribs) and makes the tag off to Nick. The slingshot X Factor gets two on Kaz and a Cannonball sets up the Swanton Bomb as Kaz is draped over the ropes for two. Daniels comes back in for the save for a release Rock Bottom but the BME hits knees. Kaz slingshots Nick into a cutter but Matt kicks his head off to put everyone down. It’s Addiction up first and a downward spiral puts Matt down, followed by a choke but here’s the Kingdom to go after Nick.

That goes nowhere as the Bucks get back up for a buckle bomb into an enziguri. The Meltzer Driver plants Kaz but Daniels makes the save, only to blame it on the Kingdom. The referee goes after the Kingdom, allowing Daniels to hit Nick with the title. Matt takes it away and cleans house with the belt until Maria takes it away. The distraction lets Kaz grab a quick rollup for the pin to retain at 13:50.

Rating: B. This was fun but could have been great had there not been quite as much interference. Still though, the Bucks are tailor made for this kind of a promotion and the Addiction are able to back up their antics in the ring. Either way, this was a very fun match and some of the Bucks’ stuff defies physics. I wouldn’t call this a well done match, but it was incredibly entertaining and that’s very good as well.

Wait a second though as cue Nigel McGuinness who says that’s not happening on his watch. Since the Bucks just got ripped off, let’s add them to All-Star Extravaganza on September 18 in San Antonio.

ROH World Title: Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong

Lethal is defending and has the entire House of Truth with him. The fans are split as the guys shake hands because being a heel means nothing in this company. They slug it out to start until Lethal kicks Strong out to the floor. The champ scores with a suicide dive but Strong runs back in for a great looking dropkick as we take a break.

Back with Strong sending Jay into the barricade but Roderick has to fight off the House of Truth, allowing Jay to get in a superkick. We hit the chinlock back inside before Lethal’s fireman’s carry into Snake Eyes staggers Strong again. It’s back to the chinlock as Roderick is bleeding a bit from the forehead.

Jay finally mixes things up a bit by sending Strong to the floor so the House of Truth can get in some cheap shots as we take another break. Back again with Strong hitting a quick backbreaker, followed by a string of chops in the corner. Lethal blocks another backbreaker out of the corner but Strong starts running the ropes and hitting a quick elbow to the face every time.

Strong misses a jumping knee to the face and the Lethal Combination gets two. The champ’s superplex is broken up and Roderick drops a top rope elbow for two of his own. The announcers start talking about Bill Belichick for some point that takes far too long to get to as the guys chop it out again. There’s the jumping knee to the head and Lethal is staggered.

Strong’s superplex connects but Jay grabs a small package out of nowhere for two. The jumping knee to the face is no sold (oh here we go) and Lethal loads up the Lethal Injection but gets countered by the Sick Kick for two and we take a third break. Back one more time with the referee taking the Book of Truth out of the ring, allowing Strong to hit another pair of knees to the face. Lethal comes back with two more superkicks and a belt shot. The Lethal Injection gets two and the fans are WAY into this. I believe the seventh superkick of the match sets up a second Lethal Injection to retain Jay’s title at 25:12.

Rating: B. This is an interesting case as it’s a more exciting and better match than the Tag Team Title match but my goodness the repetitiveness of the superkicks and jumping knees really held this back. There’s other stuff you can do and it makes the match feel like a video game where you find a single move that works and keep doing it over and over. The drama was solid, but mix that stuff up again. Also, stop no selling a jumping knee to the face, especially when the same move knocked you silly thirty seconds earlier. Not only are you not Hulk Hogan, you’re a heel. No selling is a face idea, not for the guy you’re booing.

ReDRagon comes out to stare Lethal down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Like I said, this was supposed to be where Ring of Honor shined and they did that here. This felt like a big preview for All-Star Extravaganza and it’s a good idea to set up the bigger matches here and give the fans a preview. There are still some things on here that get on my nerves but it could be a lot worse. Fun hour of wrestling here which really did feel like something different than WWE and TNA, which could be seen as a major compliment.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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

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

Adam Page vs. Jay Briscoe

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

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

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

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

Cedric Alexander vs. Caprice Coleman

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

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

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

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

Brutal Bob Evans vs. Cheeseburger

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

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

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

TV Title: Hanson vs. Jay Lethal

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

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

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

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

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

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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: August 12, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

It’s FINALLY a new batch of tapings as the show has moved from New York to Baltimore. The big story coming out of last week is the Tag Team Title situation as Future Shock reformed to take down the Addiction in a non-title match. This isn’t cool with Future Shock member Adam Cole’s stable the Kingdom, who will likely have something to say about this tonight. Let’s get to it.

Watanabe vs. ACH

Hey, it’s the guy that I still don’t get but keeps getting matches on TV because he’s Japanese and therefore must be awesome. They chop it out to start and Watanabe kneels down, telling ACH to chop him again. ACH obliges before kneeling down, only to have Watanabe’s chops work a bit better. Back up and ACH backflips to set up a dropkick as Corino runs down the Field of Honor card. Watanabe gets kicked to the floor and a running kick to the chest from the apron puts him down again.

We take a break and come back with ACH working on the arm but getting caught in a gordbuster. A backsplash (which is becoming too common of a move these days) sets up a chinlock on ACH. That goes as far as a chinlock can take you so ACH kicks him to the floor and hits a great looking flip dive over the top.

Back in and Watanabe’s fisherman’s buster is countered with a small package for two. They head outside again with ACH running up the pole to flip over, but he’s stupid enough to stand there and pose, allowing Watanabe to hit a wicked overhead German suplex on the floor. A fisherman’s buster gets two for Watanabe but ACH hits a brainbuster of his own, setting up the Midnight Star (450) for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: C. Well that happened. Seriously this had no impact on me whatsoever and was just nine minutes of wrestling with a commercial in the middle. Watanabe is as generic of a Japanese wrestler as I’ve ever seen and ACH can do flips. That doesn’t make me want to see either guy again as they feel like archetypes instead of characters.

ReDRagon is ready for the Kingdom tonight but imply they drink their own urine. Very simple, old school promo here, minus the last part that is.

From earlier in the day, ROH boss Nigel McGuinness was here to make some announcements. He heard the FIVE MORE MINUTES chants at Death Before Dishonor when Roderick Strong vs. Jay Lethal went to a sixth minute draw, but the only thing that would happen in five more minutes was a serious injury.

However, it’s clear that the people want to see more of these two, which means we’ll see it again at the August 21 TV tapings. The winner there will take the title to All-Star Extravaganza on September 18 to defend against Kyle O’Reilly. Also at All-Star Extravaganza, Bobby Fish will face the TV Champion, whoever that may be at that time.

Dalton Castle and the Boys (as opposed to Dem Boys) pitch merchandise. This guy just breathes charisma.

House of Truth vs. War Machine

It’s Diesel/Dijak for the House of Truth here with Lethal on commentary. The heels jump War Machine at the call for the Code of Honor but Hanson easily puts both of them on the top rope for some sledges to the corner. Lethal: “TRUTH! TELL HIM TO SLOW DOWN!” Some good old fashioned double team cheating lets Dijak kick Hanson in the face and Lethal is downright giddy.

Hanson stays down as long as a monster is going to against someone like Diesel and it’s quickly off to Rowe to clean house. Dijak throws Hanson down with a release suplex and Diesel adds a spear for two. War Machine’s Path of Resistance crushes Dijak and Hanson’s top rope splash makes it even worse. Lethal: “SLOW DOWN!!!” Fallout (a belly to back suplex/top rope guillotine legdrop) ends Diesel at 4:52. Oh and Hanson is facing Lethal for the TV Title in a few weeks. This match makes so much more sense all of a sudden.

Rating: C. I had fun with this as there’s always room for a Legion of Doom style team to destroy various people, especially someone as pesky as Diesel. Lethal was more entertaining on commentary than he was for years imitating people and I can kind of see the massive appeal he carries. Granted that’s likely to end as soon as I really don’t care for his matches.

Tim Hughes vs. Adam Page

This is the only match I can ever find listed for Hughes. Fans: “LET’S GO JOBBER!” The Rite of Passage ends Hughes in 24 seconds.

BJ Whitmer yells at ROH for giving Page such an easy opponent. Page calls out Jay Briscoe, much to Kelly’s shock. As luck would have it, Briscoe isn’t here. With that going nowhere, Whitmer yells at King Corino but Nigel comes out to say cut it out. The fans, ever bloodthirsty, say LET THEM FIGHT.

Back from a break with King Corino off commentary and Kelly going solo. We see a clip of Corino nearly killing Whitmer last week to show where this came from. I always appreciate stuff like that as not everyone saw the previous show, so let us know what’s going on.

Kingdom vs. ReDRagon

Kingdom has finally lost their IWGP Tag Team Titles. Adam Cole comes out to do commentary to a huge face reaction and Maria is freaked out. O’Reilly and Taven get things going with Kyle grabbing a headlock until Taven comes back with a great sunset flip for two. It’s off to Bennett vs. Fish as we have the standard double tag. Fish kicks Bennett in the chest before it’s back to Kyle for a nice double suplex. A slingshot hilo gets two for Fish and we take a break with Bennett getting low bridged to the floor.

Back with Kyle diving off the apron to take Bennett down and Fish swiveling his hips for reasons that aren’t clear. Maria offers a distraction (I wonder how she pulled that off) and Taven gets in a kick to the head to take over. Cole reiterates that he’s the only member of the Kingdom ready to hold the World Title as Bennett puts Kyle in a chinlock. Bennett’s Thesz press with punches and a middle finger elbow are a rather bizarre including so it’s off to Taven for some choking in the corner.

Kyle somehow grabs a leg bar for a breather and leg trips Taven down, setting up the hot tag to Bobby. Fish cleans house but Taven blocks the exploder suplex into the corner. The second attempt works a bit better though and Fish keeps cleaning house. Everything breaks down but Taven is able to escape Chasing the Dragon. There’s a choke to Bennett instead but he spins around for a running boot from Taven.

Matt’s high angle Swanton gets two on Fish and the wheelbarrow suplex gets the same for Kyle. O’Reilly eats a superkick and it’s time for everyone to kick with Taven kicking Kyle into the ropes for a superkick from Bennett. Hail Mary (spike piledriver) on the floor crushes Kyle again and Cole isn’t happy. Back in and Fish tries to go it alone but Taven kicks him in the face, setting up another Hail Mary for the pin at 14:04.

Rating: C+. This got a bit too insane for my tastes but they’re nailing the story at this point and I’m digging this more than almost anything else in ROH right now. Though to be fair, Maria has a lot to do with that. Good match here and you can see Cole’s full on face turn (he’s like 90% there already) on the horizon.

Post match the Kingdom loads up another Hail Mary but Cole comes in and says cool it, which Maria agrees with to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m starting to get into the stories around here, though I’m still not wild on a lot of the wrestling stuff. The tag team situation is getting better every week as you can see where they’re going with things, which as usual is a positive. The Jay Lethal stuff can work for awhile but they can only carry this on so long before the midcard starts to suffer. Good show this week though and I’m hopeful going forward.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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Ring of Honor
Date: July 22, 2015
Location: Terminal 5, New York City, New York
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

This has the potential to be a very interesting show as it’s the 200^th episode under the Sinclair Broadcasting banner as well as the go home show before this Friday’s Death Before Dishonor pay per view. I’m really hoping they don’t go too heavy with the historical stuff here because the pay per view market is still young for them. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

It seems that most of this show will be a clip show, but I won’t be rating the matches since I won’t be seeing the majority of them and it’s not really fair to say if a match is good or bad based on a quick clip.

After a quick intro from the announcers, we go to a clip from April 25, 2015 when the Addiction took the Tag Team Titles from ReDragon. We see most of the finish after ReDragon’s hot tag, setting up a series of double team moves for near falls. ReDragon takes over but a masked man known as the KRD runs in and superkicks O’Reilly by mistake, setting up Celebrity Rehab to give the Addiction the titles.

The masked man is revealed to be Chris Sabin and the Addiction joins him to beat down the former champions. Apparently this was a big reveal, but there’s no backstory given. Quit assuming people watch all your shows. O’Reilly is busted open but the blood is censored, which I like WAY better than turning the screen black and white. What difference does it make what color it is? We know it’s blood, so why bother?

Various wrestlers are excited about making it to 200 episodes.

Highlights from Steel Cage Warfare from July 27, 2013 where SCUM was destroyed. King Corino laughs off being evil.

Package on the Top Prospect Tournament, capped off by Donovan Dijak beating Will Ferrara in the finals. They show how the match ends but then go back to show the last few minutes. The main highlight here: a Mark Jindrak reference. Now there’s one you don’t see every day. The ending was a nice back and forth slugout with Dijak hitting Feast Your Eyes (a Burning Hammer into a GTS) for the win and the tournament.

Clip of the end of Tag Wars on December 27, 2014 with ACH/Matt Sydal vs. the Briscoes vs. Addiction vs. ReDragon. Chasing the Dragon was enough to pin ACH/Sydal and retain the Tag Team Titles.

Clip of Hanson vs. AJ Styles from November 22, 2014. Hanson hits a nice powerbomb for two but takes too much time going up (especially considering how big he is), allowing Styles to hit the Clash for the pin.

One last clip of Lance Storm vs. Mike Bennett from August 4, 2012. That’s kind of a random one to end on but any extra Maria is a great thing. Bennett won with a Photo Finish (TKO) onto a chair.

House of Truth vs. Briscoe Brothers/ODB/Roderick Strong

That would be Donovan Dijak/Jay Diesel/Jay Lethal/Truth Martini. ODB and Truth actually start with Martini busting out a Spinarooni. It’s off to Lethal vs. Strong, so Lethal tags out to Dijak for our first actual violence. Roderick takes over and drags Donovan to the corner for the tag to the Briscoes for some double teaming. Mark hits a middle rope splash and we take a break, coming back to Donovan hitting a release suplex slam on Mark to take over.

Off to Lethal for some stomping in the corner as the heels start rotating. Everyone but Truth gets in some shots on Mark until he comes back with a middle rope forearm to the face. The hot tag brings in his brother for left hands and a neckbreaker to Dijak. The Jay’s (as in not Diesel) slug it out with Lethal taking over and slapping on a cobra clutch. We take a break and come back with Roderick getting the hot tag to hammer away on the World Champion.

The Sick Kick gets two and everything breaks down with Lethal superkicking Roderick. ODB tags herself in and chokes the champ, allowing for a tag off to Martini. The House of Truth surrounds ODB but she takes a shot from the flask and slugs all of them until the heroes come back in. Everyone goes to the floor, leaving ODB to spit booze in Truth’s eyes, setting up a rollup pin at 16:35.

Rating: D+. Well that happened, and instead of setting up something for the pay per view, a wrestling valet pinned a manager. I’m so glad we got that instead of anything between the World Champion and his challenger or any mention of the Briscoes’ match on Friday. No, what we needed was Truth Martini getting rolled up for a laugh instead of talking about a pay per view. I know they’re new at this but work with me here people.

Overall Rating: D-. I don’t want to say this was a bad show, but it was a misfire. Like I said in the opening, this would have been fine for a stand alone special anniversary show, but it doesn’t work when you have this right before a pay per view. A lot of the highlights were either meaningless or fine but it didn’t really make me want to watch more of the show. The idea here was fine, but they needed to tweak it a lot more to make it work.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: July 15, 2015
Location: Terminal 5, New York City, New York
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

It’s time for more build towards Death Before Dishonor, where Roderick Strong will be challenging Jay Lethal for the World Title. However, Lethal is still the TV Champion, meaning it’s time for a title defense against Mark Briscoe. This show has been solid so far and hopefully it keeps going in that direction. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Adam Page vs. Matt Sydal

This continues to be part of the King Corino vs. BJ Whitmer feud over Colby Corino being Page’s young boy. Matt takes Adam into the corner to start before dropping him with a hurricanrana. A spinwheel kick puts Page on the floor but a baseball slide takes Colby out by mistake. You would think Papa Corino would be more upset over this but it sounds like more of an annoyance than anything else.

We take a break and come back with Sydal getting a close two off a rollup but a pumphandle fall away slam (that’s a new one) gets the same on Matt. With nothing else working, Sydal just kicks Adam in the face but can’t hit the shooting star. Instead it’s a fireman’s carry into a backbreaker for two for Page, followed by a front flip from the apron into a clothesline. Matt comes back with a kick and the shooting star for the pin at 9:15.

Rating: D+. Why am I supposed to care about Adam Page? He’s a generic guy in the ring with nothing interesting going on other than an association with BJ Whitmer, who seems to be the one with the issues with King Corino. The match was really lacking too as they were just doing moves until Sydal hit his big move to win. Boring match with a boring heel.

Post match Whitmer comes in for the beatdown but ACH tries to make a save. This goes very badly as Colby throws in a bunch of chairs to help with the beatdown, capped off by the reverse piledriver on Sydal onto the chairs. King Corino freaks out and tells his kid to stop.

We run down the Death Before Dishonor card.

Here’s the gorgeous Veda Scott to mock Moose’s loss to Cedric Alexander. At Death Before Dishonor, Alexander will prove that you win with skills instead of potential. Alexander is going to take what Moose never deserved. This was a good way to build a match in about a minute and that’s exactly what it was supposed to be.

Silas Young vs. Will Ferrara

Silas knees him in the ribs to start and drops him with a release gordbuster. I’m digging the old school style he’s using and it’s working well for him. Back up though and Ferrara grabs the arm to slow things down and take over for a bit, only to get dropped on his back in a kind of powerslam. Silas cranks on both arms at once before Ferrara stops a charge with two raised boots. A tornado DDT gets two but Silas one ups him (in a way) with a DDT into the corner. Cue Dalton Castle’s boys for a distraction, allowing Ferrara to roll him up for the pin at 5:47.

Rating: D+. Just a quick match here with Ferrara being a decent enough worker for his experience level, but this was more about Castle vs. Young. It’s interesting that Castle is really a glorified comedy character but is getting a pretty high profile feud. What’s even more interesting though is how well he’s handling it so far. That’s a good sign going forward and Young is a great choice for him to feud against. Not much of a match but it served its purpose.

The Briscoes are fired up for next week’s 200^th episode.

TV Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal, also the World Champion, is defending. They slug it out to start with Jay knocking him to the floor for a baseball slide. Truth Martini loads up the Book of Truth but ODB (the Briscoes’ friend) breaks it up to let Mark take over with a string of rams into the barricades. Back in and Mark gets two off a top rope chop to the head and we take a break.

We come back with Roderick Strong on commentary to bore everyone to death. Mark suplexes the champ down and kicks him in the chest, only to have the House of Truth come in for a distraction so Lethal can take over. We hit the chinlock followed by a front facelock until Mark nails a running clothesline. Jay superkicks him in the jaw to stop the comeback but the Lethal Injection is countered with a German suplex to send him outside. A Cactus Jack elbow takes us to our second break of the match.

Back again with ODB and Martini getting into it again and Jay Briscoe taking out Jay (PICK A NEW FIRST NAME) Diesel, allowing the Froggy Bow (frog splash elbow) to get two on the champ. ODB gets wiped out and Diesel hits Mark low, setting up the Lethal Injection (that stupid handspring RKO) to retain the title at 16:45.

Rating: B-. I liked this more than I was expecting as they managed to have all the people running in but still kept the whole thing from falling apart. I’m not wild on Mark’s promos but at least his in ring style matches his insane persona. Lethal still doesn’t do much for me and I don’t like one guy holding two titles, but it’s not bad so far.

Roderick Strong comes in to break up the post match beatdown, possibly setting up a six man next week. I’m mostly right as it’s going to be an eight person tag with ODB and Martini thrown in for good measure.

Overall Rating: C-. This wasn’t their best show but the main event helped a bit. Instead, they were basically spending the entire show hyping up the next pay per view, which is a very nice change of pace. Lethal still isn’t the most interesting guy in the world though and I’m not wild on him as a champion. That could be fixed through some more time though and it’s a problem with being thrown into a series instead of allowing it to be built up. The 200^th episode should be fun though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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