IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Best In The World 2019
Date: June 29, 2019
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Colt Cabana

It’s another pay per view and in this case, the show isn’t looking half bad. They’ve managed to build things up better than usual with television and I’ll take that over what they tend to put together. The main event is Matt Taven defending the World Title against Jeff Cobb because for some reason we deserve Taven as champion around here. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Flip Gordon vs. Rush

Rush shoves him in the face to start but smiles at Gordon trying to slap him in the chest. A shove by the throat puts Gordon on the floor and Rush drives him into the barricade as this is one sided so far. Back in and a basement dropkick to the back of the head lets Rush get in some pushups.

Flip finally manages a kick to the head and a springboard missile dropkick for a breather. Rush is fine enough to sent him into the corner for the kick to the face and TRANQUILO. Back up and Gordon scores with a kick and strikes to the head, knocking Rush down for one of the only times.

The Star Spangled Spear gets two and Gordon nails a jumping knee to the face, which just seems to wake Rush up. A powerbomb out of the corner gives Gordon two and he sends Rush outside for the suicide dive….which is countered into a whip into the barricade. That’s good for some near falls back inside, followed by the Bull’s Horns for the pin on Gordon at 10:21.

Rating: C+. Rush is all but guaranteed to get a World Title shot soon, though I have a feeling that they might wait until Final Battle to let him run through Matt Taven. It says a lot when they have someone as pushed as Gordon get mauled like this as Rush is clearly someone they want to push to the moon. Just give him a story and we can see how far he goes.

Post match Rush says that he’s going to the top. I think at least, as the audio doesn’t come through that clearly.

The opening video talks about how everyone here is the best but they’re here for different reasons, such as competition, territory or just to be the champion. Nice enough video, especially as this isn’t ROH’s strongest suit.

Dragon Lee vs. Dalton Castle

Lee’s brother Rush destroyed Castle in sixteen seconds at Supercard of Honor so Castle is fighting someone close to Rush without actually having to fight him. Lee goes right with the dropkick into the corner and the Bull’s Horns for two, followed by another dropkick to put Castle on the floor. A hurricanrana off the apron is countered into a powerbomb onto the apron and Castle sends him over the barricade.

Castle tosses him into the chairs and a DDT gives Castle two. The waistlock goes on and of course it’s time to rip at the mask. You know, because it’s always time to go for the mask. A bodyscissors with a half nelson keep Lee down and Castle shakes his head. The mask is ripped and that’s enough to fire Lee up for a whip to the floor. Castle is rocked by a suicide dive and a slingshot dropkick keeps him in trouble back inside.

A reverse hurricanrana gives Lee two as Castle can’t get anything going. Castle’s quick Bang A Rang attempt is blocked and a gutwrench powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana. Another clothesline sets up the Bang A Rang for no cover, with Castle pulling Lee into the corner instead. The Bull’s Horns finishes Lee at 14:23.

Rating: C+. Castle continues to be someone who feels like the next breakout star, even though he is a former World Champion. That isn’t a good sign for Ring of Honor though as the other companies are going to come after him. When someone has that kind of charisma, you certainly can’t blame them either, and that’s going to be a problem for them.

We recap the Beautiful People showing up earlier this year and calling themselves the Allure for the sake of trying to not make it as obvious. They’ve gone after Kelly Klein and this is their in-ring debut.

Allure vs. Jenny Rose/Kelly Klein

It’s Angelina Love/Mandy Leon for Allure with Velvet Sky on the floor. Klein and Rose go straight to the brawling before the streamers can even be tossed out of the ring. Love drops Rose and yells at Klein, who comes in for some sneering. A shoulder drops Klein again but she’s right back with one of her own. Rose comes in for a double suplex on Love but Velvet gets in a cheap shot to take over.

Some running knees in the corner have Rose in more trouble and Leon gets in a cheap shot to Klein on the floor. Love dives onto the two of them as the announcers recap Mandy and Jenny’s history together. A spinebuster gets Rose out of trouble and it’s back to Klein for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down with Jenny spearing Mandy on the apron. That leaves Klein to hit a super fall away slam for two on Love but Velvet gets on the apron. The distraction lets Mandy get in a shot with a shoe, setting up the Botox Injection to give Love the pin on Klein at 9:30.

Rating: D. Yeah what else were you expecting here? The Beautiful People are back, even though they were a big deal over ten years ago. Love is still fine in the ring and Sky is still good enough at what she does while Leon….well Love and Sky are still good. That being said, it’s not like anything else is working in the division so it’s not the worst idea.

Post match the lights go out and we see a video of someone playing with dolls. Then the dolls are broken apart and the screen says MANEATER. It’s the rather scary looking Maria Manic showing up so the Allure bails, leaving Manic to beat up security, including a spinning torture rack and a Razor’s Edge toss to send one onto the rest.

We recap Jay Lethal vs. Kenny King with Kenny wanting to prove that he is the best after the first two matches of a best of three series.

Jay Lethal vs. Kenny King

Lethal won’t shake the hand so you know this is serious. They fight over arm control to start with King taking him to the arm and kicking Lethal in the back. The Fujiwara armbar goes on but King lets go to load up Lethal’s cartwheel into a basement dropkick. Lethal is ready for that and does it himself, followed by a snap suplex for one. King’s springboard is dropkicked out to the floor but he’s able to sit Lethal in a chair.

That just earns him a drop toehold onto the chair and Lethal teases Pillmanizing the arm (which King did to him recently to no apparent damage). King gets up and suplexes Lethal onto the apron to take over and it’s a Boston crab back inside. That’s broken up so they slug it out with Lethal nailing a middle rope missile dropkick. Lethal hits King’s Royal Flush for two, followed by another dropkick to send King outside again.

The suicide dive is countered with a spinebuster and King debuts a shooting star press of all things for two. Lethal is right back up with the Figure Four but lets go as a woman has thrown in King’s walking stick. Instead it’s the Lethal Injection for two on King and the shock is on. The woman runs off but King uses the distraction to hit a Blockbuster, his own Lethal Injection and the Royal Flush for the pin at 14:37.

Rating: B-. This was better than anything else on the show so far and it was a rather nice match. They have some chemistry together, though I’m still not entirely sure how much potential there is in King. Lethal on the other hand is the standard around here and someone who can be put in this spot and guarantee the big match and higher quality match against anyone. Good match here.

We recap Jonathan Gresham vs. Silas Young. Silas cheated to beat Gresham and has since declared himself the greatest technical wrestler in ROH. This sets up a Pure Rules match, with Young being the best jerk wrestler in years around here, as you had to expect.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Silas Young

Pure Rules (No fists to the face and if you do it twice it’s a DQ. Also, three ropes breaks and then falls under the ropes count.). They lock up against the ropes to start with Silas grabbing a hammerlock. Gresham is fine on the mat until Young gets up with a slap to the face (legal). Back up and Gresham uses his first rope break to get out of a waistlock as Young carried him over to the ropes in a smart move.

Young tries to do it again so Gresham pulls him down by the wrist for a save. Gresham blocks a stomp on the mat and grabs the leg as he gets back up. That’s enough to send Young over to the ropes and they’re tied at a rope break apiece. The Octopus sends Young straight back to the rope for the second break and frustration is setting in.

Back in and Gresham takes him down without much trouble before hitting a hard chop. Young punches him in the face, which is his only warning before a DQ. They head outside with Gresham being whipped into the barricade (There are no rules against that?) and then getting caught in the abdominal stretch back inside. The half crab sends Gresham to the ropes for his second break so they’re down to one each.

Young hits a backbreaker/clothesline combination to set up a seated full nelson. That means Gresham’s third rope break so he can start fighting again. Gresham goes up top but his back flares up, allowing Young to grab another full nelson. This time Gresham has to slip out and try the Octopus, but he gets clever and grabs Young’s hand to put it on the rope to get rid of the last break.

They forearm it out and trade failed suplex attempts until Young suplexes him over the top for a big crash to the floor. Back in and the referee goes to fix the apron, allowing Gresham to hit an uncharacteristic low blow. Now the Octopus can go on and with no breaks yet, Young taps at 18:15.

Rating: B-. This was a match with a big, long story coming in and I’m not sure how well the payoff worked. Gresham going with the cheating to win doesn’t feel right, though it certainly could lead to something. If nothing else, it was awesome to see Young being such a jerk leading into the match. What we got here wasn’t bad, but I think it slipped under the weight.

We recap the Briscoes vs. Colt Cabana/Nick Aldis. The Briscoes got annoyed at the NWA during the Crockett Cup so they laid out Villain Enterprises, Aldis and Cabana. However, Cabana is injured so Eli Drake has been put into his spot in a surprise.

Eli Drake/Nick Aldis vs. Briscoes

Mark and Eli start things off and it’s a long lockup with Drake sending him into the corner. it’s already off to Aldis vs. Jay with the latter slapping on a headlock. Jay knocks Drake off the apron so Aldis slugs away, only to get caught in the wrong corner. The big double shoulder has the Briscoes in control and the fans rather pleased.

Drake is right back in though and a double suplex puts Mark down. That means the E-LI-DRAKE elbow for two but that’s more than enough selling, meaning Jay comes back in for the double clothesline. Drake avoids a charge in the corner and hits a jumping neckbreaker, allowing the tag back to Aldis.

Everything breaks down and Mark hits an Iconoclasm for two on Drake. Aldis’ distraction lets Drake run the corner for a superplex, followed by a Burning Hammer of all things for another near fall. Jay comes back in and Redneck Boogey connects for two more. Mark hits a running dropkick through the ropes to Aldis, followed by the Bang Bang Elbow. The brawl is on and it’s a double countout at 10:57.

Rating: D+. I knew the ending to this one coming in and I still got annoyed at the double countout. I get why it needed to happen as you don’t want a big tag team to lose but you also don’t want the World Champion/newcomer to lose. That doesn’t make it any better, but it does make a little more sense. It doesn’t help when it was a pretty weak match in the first place without any time to really go anywhere. Drake looked awesome though, as usual.

Post match James Storm comes out so Drake spits water in his face and the two fight to the back. That leaves Aldis to get laid out on a table as Ian has to hold Cabana back. Kamilla Kane comes out with security but that goes nowhere, allowing Mark to hit the Froggy Bow through the table. After the Briscoes leave, cue Marty Scurll to check on Aldis and help him out, teasing that Aldis could be the surprise new member of Villain Enterprises.

We recap Shane Taylor vs. Bandido for the TV Title. Bandido beat him in a non-title match, annoying the rather dominant Taylor. Rather simple story and there’s nothing wrong with that.

TV Title: Bandido vs. Shane Taylor

Taylor is defending and Bandido slaps him in the face to start. That ticks Taylor off so Bandido can start ducking and dodging in a fast manner. They head outside and this time Taylor catches him with a powerbomb onto the apron to take over. Back in and the chinlock goes on but Bandido kicks him in the head for the break. Another kick to the head sets up a corkscrew crossbody to send Taylor outside.

You don’t do that against a luchador and it’s a running dive to take Taylor down again. Back in and another middle rope moonsault keeps Taylor in trouble but he catches a charge in the corner with something like a chokeslam. The middle rope splash gives Taylor two but Greetings From 216 is broken up. A superkick rocks Taylor but the 21 Plex is blocked with a grab of the rope. The powerbomb and a knee to the head set up a package piledriver for two on Bandido.

That means frustration sets in so Shane goes up….AND BANDIDO CATCHES HIM IN MID AIR??? That’s the kind of thing that impressed people when Diesel did it to Bret Hart so good freaking grief man. Bandido powerslams him for two and a shooting star gets the same. Another 21 Plex attempt is countered into the Greetings From 216 to retain the title at 12:35.

Rating: B. It takes a lot to truly shock me with a spot but Bandido, who is far from a big guy, pulling Taylor out of the air, actually stunned me. I don’t remember the last time that happened but my goodness it was awesome. Bandido is a lot more than just a high flier but he’s awesome at that too, making this one a very nice surprise.

Go to house shows!

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Six Man Tag Team Titles: Mark Haskins/Tracy Williams/PJ Black vs. Villain Enterprises

Haskins and Williams (part of Lifeblood) and Black are challenging but the champs come out in Legion of Doom spikes so they win by default. They even have custom titles to make things that much better. Haskins and Scurll start things off and it’s time to fight over some wristlocks. Since they’re British, that means some very snazzy escapes until it’s a standoff with the fans rather pleased.

PCO and Black come in with Black’s kicks not having much effect. A superkick doesn’t do much either so PCO hits a pump kick, meaning it’s time for the other pair to come in for the first time. Williams blocks a chop and pulls King into an armbreaker over the rope. With that broken up, they strike it out again until Scurll comes in to crank on Williams’ eternally bad arm.

The challengers are sent to the floor for a cannonball from King and an assisted cannonball from PCO for the big crash. Back in and King charges into a German suplex from Williams. It’s right back to Scurll, who gets caught in the wrong corner for a Rocking Horse from Black. Some running kicks to the head get two but Scurll is right over for the hot tag to King.

A backsplash crushes Haskins and Williams and everything breaks down. PCO dives onto Williams and Black, leaving Haskins to take a backsplash from King onto Scurll’s knees for two. PCO comes back in but a chokeslam attempt is quickly blocked. Everything breaks down again (Were they ever back together?) and it’s an assisted piledriver for two on PCO (with the referee counting to three after the kickout to annoy Lifeblood).

Back up and PCO gives Haskins White Noise, leaving Black to superkick Scurll. PCO clotheslines Black to the floor but Williams powerbombs him onto the apron. Black’s springboard moonsault gets two on Scurll but King busts out a springboard double wristdrag n Williams and Haskins. Well of course he does. Scurll is back up as King Gonso Bombs Black and the PCOsault retains the titles at 16:58.

Rating: C+. The issues here are the same as always in a Six Man Title match: it’s entertaining and fun, but there is little in the way of actual tagging and these teams still don’t do much other than fight in title matches. That doesn’t make them bad, but it limits how high up they can go on the totem pole.

Post match the Soldiers of Savagery run in for the beatdown but Bandido makes the save. Cue Bully Ray (of course) with a chair but Flip Gordon (Ray is there so of course Gordon is too) with a kendo stick for the staredown. Ray leaves so Lifeblood offers Flip a shirt, but he doesn’t put it on.

Instead the lights go out and it’s Scurll coming up on screen to announce the newest member of the team: FLIP GORDON, who is on screen next to Scurll (recorded) and then in the ring to beat up Lifeblood. Eh I’ve heard of worse twists and it’s not like Lifeblood means anything anymore. The rest of the Villains come out for the beatdown, including the 450 from the top to put Williams through the table. Since it’s Flip, that was a dislocated elbow, though it’s not clear if he’ll miss time.

Ring of Honor World Title: Jeff Cobb vs. Matt Taven

Cobb is challenging after asking for a title shot instead of wanting a rematch for the TV Title. On the other hand, Taven is champion because Ring of Honor invested so much time into him and have to get their money’s worth, even as the attendances die with him on top. We get a handshake to start and Cobb hits a hard shot to put Taven on the floor early on.

Back in and Taven tries to speed things up, only to have Cobb catch him without much effort. An overhead belly to belly and a delayed suplex slam keep Taven in trouble so let’s have another breather. This time Cobb follows him out but gets caught with a cheap shot. Taven nails the suicide dive and Cobb’s shoulder is banged up. Back in and the frog splash misses, leaving Cobb to hit a one armed pumphandle drop.

The standing moonsault gets two and a northern lights suplex is good for the same. Cobb hits the swinging belly to back but a powerbomb is countered with a hurricanrana. Taven knees him in the head a few times for two and the Climax gets the same. A wheelbarrow suplex drops Taven but the Tour of the Islands is countered into the second Climax to retain the title at 9:48.

Rating: C-. So you remember all of Taven’s matches where he wasn’t all that interesting and people were sacrificed to get him over? This was one against Jeff Cobb that ran 9:48. For the life of me I don’t know what Ring of Honor sees in him but it’s certainly not something I can get behind. He’s just so completely average and right now, this company needs something a lot more exciting than that. The matches are perfectly fine (and he’s capable of very good) but there’s just nothing between the matches to make me care about him. Cobb will be back, but my goodness they need to get the title on someone else soon.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was very back and forth with some rather good matches and some stuff that makes me want to see whatever else is on. The wrestling is still much better than the storyline stuff so the show was fun, but I need a lot more stuff to care about. It was a good enough show, but some of the matches feel as uninteresting as you can get. They need to fix their creative issues and get rid of Taven as champion before it’s too late, though given all of the other companies growing so fast, it might already be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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

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IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: May 1, 2019
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are FINALLY back to the present with some fresh material after nearly a month of pre-taped shows. It’s been a long time coming and I can barely remember what happened at the Madison Square Garden show, but Matt Taven is the World Champion and that means we’re not in for something all that interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Taven winning the title.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Taven for his first address as champion. He takes his sweet time getting into the ring and gets a pretty weak YOU DESERVE IT chant. Taven: “I earned this.” Taven explains what it means and another weak TAVEN chant starts up. He lists off everything he’s done in the last year, which is quite the run. It took a long time to get there, but everything was worth it in the end. If you want this title, you’ll have to earn it like he did.

This brings out Flip Gordon (rocking a suit) to say he earned his opportunity when he won the Sea of Honor tournament. Taven laughs that off because a tournament on a cruise ship is different than the main event in Madison Square Garden. Gordon doesn’t think it’s so funny, because he is the official #1 contender. This wasn’t crazy long, but the reaction to Taven is as underwhelming as I was expecting it to be. He’s the Jeff Jarrett of ROH and that didn’t work so well either.

We look back at Silas Young injuring Jonathan Gresham’s knee, the ensuing trash talk and then the cheating win.

Silas talked more trash after the match when Gresham came in and asked for one more match. Security broke it up in a hurry though.

In three weeks: Gordon vs. Taven for the title on the 400^th episode.

Silas Young vs. Jonathan Gresham

Young has promised to win with a wrestling move. He also wants a handshake, which Gresham agrees to before dodging an early low blow attempt. Some leg trips gives Gresham two and it’s time to go old school with the crisscross. A hiptoss sends Young outside but he pulls Gresham with him, meaning it’s time for the headlock takeover into the headscissors counter sequence on the floor. Back in and another hiptoss attempt doesn’t send either of them over the top so we take a break.

We come back with Young riding him off a waistlock until Gresham chops his way to freedom. Young doesn’t like the strikes because he was offering pure wrestling. They chop it out until Gresham starts throwing fists, which is way outside of his norm. Young offers him the wrist and then spins out of a wristlock into a quickly broken armbar. Gresham does the same to him as this isn’t quite what I was expecting. Now it’s Gresham offering Young the wrist, which earns him the cheap shot you knew was coming.

A dropkick sends Young into the corner and there’s the running dropkick as we take a second break. Back again with Young getting a fast two off a sunset flip, followed by a DDT to send Young outside. Young tries to bring in a chair, which is quickly taken away, allowing Young to get in a ring bell hammer shot to the head. An abdominal stretch goes on and the unconscious Gresham is unconscious at 11:25.

Rating: C+. I liked the story here and that’s what mattered most as they’re pretty clearly setting up a rematch with that finish. Young is being a great jerk in the whole thing and the win is the ultimate slap in the face to Gresham. The third match will be entertaining as well and that’s a good sign for a midcard feud.

We look back at Kelly Klein winning the Women’s Title back but getting beaten down by the debuting Allure.

Klein says the title is what matters so she’s going to clean up the hot mess.

We look at Rush beating Dalton Castle in thirty seconds in New York.

We look back at Bully Ray putting Tenille Dashwood through a table (off camera) last week.

Lifeblood promises revenge on Bully Ray and the Kingdom.

Briscoes vs. Soberano Jr./Caristico

Soberano and Caristico (the original Sin Cara) are from CMLL. Mark takes Soberano down and shakes at him a bit so Soberano grabs a waistlock into a sunset flip for two. Some kicks to the arm set up a springboard hurricanrana and it’s off to Jay vs. Caristico. Jay doesn’t take kindly to the dancing test of strength so it’s a headlock to slow Caristico down. He’s fine enough for a rope walk wristdrag to send Jay outside but they back up before the double dives.

Back in and the masked men get kicked out to the floor with Mark hitting a dropkick through the ropes. The Cactus Jack elbow takes us to a break with the Briscoes in control. We come back with Caristico still in trouble as Mark headbutts him into the corner. A double handspring elbow takes down both Briscoes and it’s back to Soberano to pick up the pace.

That means a running moonsault dive to the floor and everyone is down on the outside. Back in and Caristico kicks Mark in the head, setting up a high crossbody for two. Jay is tired of this flying stuff and sends Caristico face first into a chair on the floor. A Death Valley Driver gives Mark two on Soberano and Redneck Boogie gets the same. The Jay Driller into the Froggy Bow finishes Soberano at 13:01.

Rating: B-. Good formula based match here and that’s what you should be doing when there’s no story. I’m not wild on the random foreigners appearing more often than not but at least we got a good match out of it, which is all you can ask for in a situation like this. You know the Briscoes are getting back in the title scene soon so the win here makes sense.

Overall Rating: C+. Uh, ok I guess. We spent nearly a month waiting for an announcement of a big TV main event, the continuation of a midcard feud and a one off tag match? I mean, it was a good show but is that really the best they had with all this time off? The stories need to be a little stronger and this wasn’t a good start to the new era. Hopefully it improves in the coming weeks but this was pretty underwhelming for what the show should have been.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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IMG Credit: Black Label Pro Wrestling

Adventures In Wrestling
Date: April 5, 2019
Location: White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, New Jersey
Commentator: Sarah Shockey, Drew Cordero

This is from Black Label Pro, which I’ve heard of in name only. We’re still in Wrestlemania weekend and that means that, as usual, I have no idea what to expect here. This is one of the rare shows where I’ve heard very few good things about the event. For the show to be considered that bad, I’m almost scared of what is going to happen here. Let’s get to it.

Ring announcer Stepstool Sarah (who was on the Independent Wrestling Family Reunion show) welcomes us to the show and introduces the first match.

Black Label Pro Title: Ethan Page vs. Kobe Durst

Page is defending and comes out first, demanding that Durst get out here right now. Durst comes in from behind and smashes Page with a chair as I guess this is No DQ. Page gets knocked to the floor and a kick to the face makes it even worse. The announcer does let us know that it’s a street fight, which really could have been said before the introductions. A chair shot knocks Durst backwards and Page loads up the chair in the corner. They slug it out on the floor until Durst gets thrown head first into the chair for a knockdown.

The chair is wrapped around Durst’s throat and gets sent into the post as they haven’t been in the ring yet. As the announcers give us the first bit of backstory (Durst has recently gone heel, though Page is heelish as well), Durst comes back with a chair shot of his own and sends Page into the post to even the score. Durst throws a trashcan (full of weapons) and they actually get inside over four minutes into the match.

We get an OLD CHAMP/NEW CHAMP dueling chant as Durst gets caught on top with a super fall away slam which nearly saw him land on his head. With that near death experience out of the way, Durst is fine enough to kick out at two. A jumping Fameasser gives Durst two but Page is right back with a superkick into a toss powerbomb onto a trashcan. That’s only good for two as Durst’s goons come in to lay out Page but Durst gives one of them a top rope Codebreaker by mistake. How you can conceivably give someone a move like a TOP ROPE CODEBREAKER by mistake isn’t clear.

Page is back up and throws Durst onto his goons but Durst is right back in with a top rope seated senton onto Page onto a chair for a huge crash. There’s a table bridged between a pair of chairs but Page super jackknifes him through said table for the big crash. Page goes for a chair but Durst winds up wrapping it around his head for a Codebreaker. A piledriver onto a chair gives Durst the pin and the title at 15:07.

Rating: C+. This worked, though they could have gone with a lot more backstory. We got bits and pieces here and there but I needed a lot more than just “well they used to be friends but WHAT A CHAIR SHOT!” It could have been a lot worse though and I could piece the story together well enough. Couple that with some action and they had a nice enough opener.

Page chases Durst to the back.

Independent Wrestling TV Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Bryan Alvarez

Bryan is challenging and yes it’s THAT Bryan Alvarez, of F4WOnline fame. Cassidy is a rather heavy favorite and starts with his signature hands in his pockets pose. The no effort shoulder freaks the fans out and Cassidy kicks him away and does it again. Alvarez tries to run the ropes so Cassidy crawls through his legs. Apparently not having watched any shows this weekend, Alvarez goes for a waistlock so Cassidy dances out and nips up (on the second attempt).

To mix things up a bit, Alvarez pulls out some tapes and wraps Cassidy up to keep the hands in the pockets. With Cassidy stuck, Alvarez STEALS THE GLASSES and puts them on, which allows the chops to knock Cassidy down. They head outside with more chops having Cassidy in trouble. Back in and Alvarez breaks the glasses, freaking commentary out and making Cassidy Hulk Up. The tape comes off and Cassidy hits a Michinoku Driver for two. It’s time for some juice but Alvarez kicks it into his face and goes up…but here’s Marko Stunt. Or at least his music, allowing Cassidy to grab a rollup and retain at 9:59.

Rating: D+. I’m just kind of over Cassidy at this point, having seen nearly half a dozen matches from him over the weekend. They’re all very similar and after so many of them in a few days, they become rather repetitive and lose their charm. It wasn’t a bad match for comedy stuff, but that’s about all it had going.

Sadkampf vs. Manny Fernandez/Tank

Sadkampf is Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku and Fernandez was a star in JCP back in the mid to late 1980s (and elsewhere). I always liked the guy and he was a big reason why I wanted to see this show. Before the match, Fernandez pays a quick tribute to Vickie Funk and says that without the fans, the wrestlers are nothing. Tank, a rather big guy, goes straight to what looks like a fork to stab Ku in the head. Fernandez slams Garrini as Ku gets a fork between the legs.

There’s a bite to Garrini’s feet as I don’t think we’re going to be having any regular wrestling. Tank headbutts his partner to fire him up and it’s time for some barbecue skewers, sending Sadkampf running into the crowd. Fernandez gets posted and it’s Garrini bringing in some chairs to blast Tank. That’s broken up by a horrible chair shot from Fernandez and it’s time to sit in the chairs and hit each other in the face. The barbecue skewers start drawing blood and Tank hits some assisted splashes in the corner. Fernandez gets sent to the floor in a hurry though and a small package pins Tank at 7:20.

Rating: F. Oh…no, in every sense of the word. This was terrible with Fernandez looking like he was dragged out of storage with Tank being a huge guy with little more than freak show hardcore appeal. Sadkampf was more sad than kampf and the ending looked terrible. Easily the worst thing I’ve seen this weekend that was actually wrestling.

Post match Tank and Fernandez cleans house with the chairs.

Nick Gage vs. Swoggle

Oh geez is going to get worse. Swoggle goes straight for two chairs and sits in the middle for a slugout with Gage. After Swoggle gets the better of it, Gage takes him down with a spinebuster. They head outside with Gage being thrown into the chairs and a dive off the second level drops him again. Back in and Gage hits him with a chair, setting up the Vader Bomb elbow for two.

The Facewash in the corner keeps Swoggle down but here’s DB Smooth to give Gage a cutter onto the chair. Six straight superkicks give Swoggle two but here’s Marcus Crane (these are just people, as we’re not told anything about them) to throw fire at Smooth. Gage throws Swoggle into a chair in the corner…to no effect. Swoggle’s German suplex is no sold and it’s a chokebreaker into a piledriver. That’s no sold as well so Gage does it again, this time for the pin at 7:11.

Rating: D-. Gage isn’t a wrestler and Swoggle was doing everything he could. There isn’t much of a need to have two run-ins in a seven minute match but then again there’s little need for this other than freak show appeal. I know I’m not the right audience, but I like Swoggle and they kept it….timely. Just get rid of Gage.

Post match Gage praises Swoggle and promises to get in a deathmatch by the end of the weekend. Swoggle thanks Gage for proving to the marks that he can still do this.

Brian Zane of Wrestling With Wregret (which I somehow just started watching) is here to host the battle royal. He’s loudly booed out of the ring but manages to say that the winner will be the Wrestling With Wregret Internet Champion. Oh and they get a million dollars.

Wrestling With Wregret Internet Title: Battle Royal

Allie Kat, Aspyn Rose, Boomer Hatfield, Cabana Man Dan, Danhausen, Danny Adams, Derek Direction, Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham, Eddy Only, Frisco Flame, Jay Freddie, Kody Lane, Levi Shapiro, Maria Manic, Marino Tenaglia, Matt Knicks, O’Shay Edwards, Perry Von Vicious, Philly Collins, Steph De Lander, White Mike, Yuu

Shapiro is defending and it’s just a bunch of names with nothing more than an individual entrance. Danhausen throws someone out almost immediately and it’s Yuu out next. Commentary is the only thing I can go for here as these people aren’t named other than when they’re being eliminated. A few unnamed people are tossed and a woman with very yellow hair starts Stunning a line of also unnamed entrants.

The huge Edwards no sells a few until a third sends him into the corner but Manic (a rather angry looking woman) isn’t having any of this. Danhausen goes up top for no apparent reason, allowing Edwards to dump him, Direction and Only. Rockingham is thrown out but comes back in to offer tickets to Edwards and Manic. That means a double toss, followed by a slugout between Manic and Edwards. Maria gets rid of him and someone else, but someone (NAME THESE PEOPLE) eliminates Hatfield.

Cabana Man Dan beats on people with his flip flops before being tossed as well. More eliminations follow and it’s Maria and Steph beating on Allie in the corner. That partnership lasts as long as any partnership and it’s Maria tossing her after a shoulder. We’re down to Allie, Maria and Shapiro, who is out in a hurry. Maria pulls out and loses a knife but jumps over the top for a dropkick….and misses completely to eliminate herself and give Allie the win at 10:37. Oh hang on though as Adams runs back in, tries an elimination, and gets piledriven on the apron to give Allie the real win at 11:46.

Rating: F. You know, I’m struggling to come up with a show that just died so hard in the middle like this. The opener was passable, the second match was good enough if you haven’t seen Cassidy all weekend and then….my goodness. I don’t know who was in this match and I have no reason to care, but hey, Allie won and gets to pose with someone the fans hate despite being a face. Egads it could actually get worse too.

Post match Zane gives her the title and a huge check before they both leave so we can move on.

Kurt Stallion/AJ Gray/Gary Jay vs. Jake Parnell/Chris Dickinson/Rory Gulak

Parnell is Indiana State Champion….but hang on as Rory wants to make it an eight man tag.

Kurt Stallion/AJ Gray/Gary Jay/CW Anderson vs. Jake Parnell/Chris Dickinson/Rory Gulak/Daniel Makabe

Good thing Stallion and company had a friend ready. Makabe’s shoulder has no effect on Anderson to start so CW slaps him in the face. It’s off to Dickinson vs. Stallion for some technical stuff until a headbutt knocks both of them down. Jay comes in to chop Dickinson, who is right back with a Death Valley Driver as they’re getting in as much as they can as fast as they can. Parnell comes in to chop at Jay (archenemy) and it’s Gulak (Drew’s brother) coming in for a chinlock.

Jay gets taken into the corner and Dickinson puts Rory on his shoulders, setting up a big elbow drop. Jay jawbreaks his way out of Makabe’s chinlock and it’s Gray coming in to clean house with clotheslines. Parnell gets catapulted into Anderson’s superkick as everything breaks down. That means the parade of strikes and suplexes until Anderson hits his spinebuster. Gray lariats the heck out of Parnell for the pin at 7:10.

Rating: D+. This was the best match in a long time on the show but it’s another case of having so many people involved that no one got to stand out and it didn’t work. There wasn’t much of a reason to make this an eight man tag, other than getting an ECW name in there. Just too rushed and cluttered to work, but that’s been the case all show.

Jordynne Grace/Kylie Rae/Nicole Savoy/Samantha Heights/Solo Darling vs. Charli Evans/Indi Hartwell/Jessica Troy/Shazza McKenzie/Zoe Lucas

They’re kidding right? This is USA vs. the World, which is the most original idea they could come up with. Troy and Darling start things off (I think, as the announcers are talking about other matches over the weekend) with Troy getting caught in a half crab on the mat. Darling reverses into something like a Tequila Sunrise. That’s reversed into an exchange of leg pulls, with the other eight coming in to make it a huge tug of war.

Savoy and Hartwell come in with Hartwell getting caught in an ankle lock, sending her over to Shazza for a save. Jordynne comes in as well for a captain vs. captain showdown (because this match needs captains). Grace gets caught in an early La Majistral for two and it’s a pinfall reversal sequence into a standoff.

They shake hands and it’s off to Rae, who is similar to Bayley’s original NXT gimmick (and downright adorable). A chin and facebreaker get rid of Rae and Evans comes in to take over on Rae in the corner. Grace breaks up a cover but it just allows Rae to get beaten down even more.

The Aussies take turns whipping each other into Rae in the corner but a bunch of forearms get her out of trouble, setting up the hot tag to Grace to clean house with raw power. Savoy and Heights hit stereo dives and Rae adds a trust fall, leaving Grace to dive onto everyone. Back in and it’s another parade of I’m assuming finishers, including the Grace Driver to finish Lucas at 11:42.

Rating: D+. This is a joke right? As has been the case with most of the matches tonight: no story, no psychology, barely anything differentiating the wrestlers. This is a bunch of people doing moves to each other until one of them gets a fall. I’m getting sick of this nonsense and I don’t see things getting any better.

Tag Team Titles: Space Pirates vs. Besties In The World vs. Robbie Eagles/Sammy Guevara

The Pirates (Space Monkey/Shane Sabre) are defending and this was billed as a four way during the entrances. It’s a brawl to start with Monkey pulling at the Besties’ (Davey Vega and Mat Fitchett) hair. Sammy and Eagles make the save and clean house until we hit a hanging DDT with a triple reverse DDT with a Salida Del Sol, because MULTI MAN MATCH!

A series of springboard shots to the head sets up Sabre backdropping Monkey for a cutter onto Eagles for two (cool spot) with Sammy making the save. Sammy’s Burning Hammer into a cutter gets two on Sabre with the Besties diving in to break it up. A toss cutter gives the Besties two but it’s a kneeling belly to back piledriver with a tail whip (exactly what it sounds like) to give Eagles the pin on Fitchett at 5:35.

Rating: C-. Another match with a bunch of people thrown together with everyone hitting a series of moves until there was a pin. I didn’t bother looking up the Besties’ names because it’s not like they made a difference. The other teams’ names didn’t either as I knew them in the first place. This show has gone off a cliff and this was the same problem all over again.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Shigehiro Irie

Irie is a hard hitting guy from Japan who has been around all weekend. Gresham gets in and Irie jumps him at the bell, setting up a seated senton for an early two. Back up and Irie gets knocked to the floor but he’s fine enough to pull Gresham outside and send him into the barricade for rather limited impact.

Back in and Gresham wins a slugout, setting up a running basement dropkick in the corner. The sleeper doesn’t work and Irie gets two off a swinging Boss Man Slam. Irie’s top rope splash gets two but Gresham is right back with a hurricanrana for two of his own. The sleeper is broken up again and this time Irie hits a Cannonball in the corner. A standing Lionsault makes Irie roll to the floor, allowing Gresham to hit the running flip dive.

The Shooting Star gets two back inside and it’s time to trade forearms again. Gresham hits a pair of sliding lariats but a running backbreaker gives Irie two of his own. Another dive to the floor has Irie in trouble and Gresham grabs the sleeper outside. The hold stays on as they roll back inside with Irie passing out to give Gresham the win at 8:00.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t great but egads it was a breath of fresh air after everything that I’ve had to sit through in the last hour and a half. Gresham is one of the best technical guys in the world right now and Irie is someone who is likely going to get a regular job out of this weekend after his very solid performances. Good main event, which was exactly what the show needed.

Overall Rating: D. Oh yeah I get the negative reception. The wrestling was watchable enough but they felt like they were trying to cram in every single thing that they could, which just didn’t work. There’s no blow away match here and ending with a random match instead of the title match (Page was likely booked elsewhere so it makes sense) didn’t help. This was easily the worst show I’ve seen this weekend from a structure standpoint and packing everything together was the fatal downfall.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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: April 10, 2019
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Nick Aldis

We’re almost to the biggest Ring of Honor show ever and that means we should be getting an update on it in just a month or so because ROH can’t figure this out to save their lives. In other words, this is another lame duck show in a series of them, meaning we could be going in a variety of ways. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Alex Coughlin/Karl Fredericks/Clark Conners vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys

They’re Young Lions from the New Japan Los Angeles dojo, meaning black trunks and boots with a limited moveset. Dalton takes Conners down with ease to start but Conners says bring it on. The amateur wrestling goes to Castle (well duh) and an airplane spin sends Conners over for the tag to Alex. Both Boys tag themselves in at the same time and Coughlin has to deal with both of them at once, meaning a dropkick from #1.

Coughlin isn’t having any of the chops and drops #1 with some of his own. Back from a break with everything breaking down and the hot tag bringing in Castle to slug away at the Lions. Suplexes drop all three of them as Aldis can’t remember which Boy is which either. I mean, it’s not like it matters. Castle is alone in the ring and says to BRING HIM A BOY, both of whom are thrown onto a Lion, with both of them getting three turns each.

Back in and Conners gets powerbombed for two with Fredericks making the save. #2 gets the tag but is sent straight into the post, leaving Castle to take a double flapjack. Conners knocks #1 into the corner and a hard chop sets up the Boston crab. Castle makes a save of his own and pulls Conners outside, allowing #2 to take #1’s place. The small package finishes Fredericks at 10:08.

Rating: C+. I saw the Lions over Wrestlemania weekend and just like they did there, they impressed me here. Those guys have some skills to them and with more experience, they’re going to be fine. There’s something to be said here about having the Boys get the win though, as Castle’s bad run continues.

We look at Bandido beating PJ Black in January.

Black calls the loss an eye opener that made him see that the cheating wasn’t working for him. The rematch is in two weeks.

Bouncers vs. Voros Twins

That would be Chris and Patrick (twins), which is more information than we get about jobbers most of the time. They’re rather small and have lights in their hair as they seem very excited to be here. Aldis things the Twins, who don’t shake hands and offer a double thumbs down, are a little intoxicated. Patrick gets run over to start so Chris offers a failure of a distraction.

Another attempt lets Patrick chop block Bruiser down but the fans chant for beer. Since the Twins aren’t all that great, they allow Bruiser to roll over for the tag to Milonas so the big splash can connect in the corner. One heck of a clothesline puts Patrick on the floor and it’s the Last Call to Chris at 3:20.

Rating: D. The Bouncers are fine in a role like this and it’s about time they were turned face. How much booing do you think a team from the bar who loves to drink is going to draw? This is as good as it’s going to get for them, save for a token title shot somewhere in there. Just let the fans have fun and that’s all it needs to be.

We look at Silas Young attacking Jonathan Gresham at the Anniversary Show. Hence tonight’s main event.

The Briscoes are ready for Jeff Cobb and Willie Mack. What a random yet kind of awesome team.

Silas Young vs. Jonathan Gresham

Young’s headlock takeovers are countered with headscissors so he rakes the eyes instead. A test of strength goes to Young as well, with the boot to the ribs helping things out. They head outside for the exchange of chops with Gresham holding his own until they have to dive back in to beat the count.

Back from a break with a series of standing switches until Young realizes he’s in over his head. They head outside again with Gresham hitting a dive, only to miss the high crossbody back inside. A suplex sets up a double arm crank on Gresham, who gets out of it as easily as something that is easy to get out of. Young tosses him to the floor in a heap and a hard whip into the corner keeps Gresham’s back in trouble.

We take another break and come back with Gresham getting two off an O’Connor roll and spinning into a DDT to drop Young again. Gresham hits a running basement dropkick in the corner before bridging up into a failed backslide attempt. Young’s rollup gets two and it’s a double clothesline for a double knockdown. A Death Valley Driver into a bad looking double stomp gives Young two more and they’re both down again. The hanging swinging suplex gets two more but Gresham starts in on the leg.

For some reason Gresham is fine with a slugout, with some running forearms getting two each. Young gets sent into the ropes for a snap German suplex into another forearm for two more. Gresham sends him outside for a suicide dive and a shooting star press….only gets two again. It’s straight into an ankle lock until Young rolls him into the referee. A low blow into a rollup gives Young the pin at 21:50.

Rating: B-. It was rather long, but that fits well around a promotion like this with the wrestling being the focal point. Gresham is getting better and better every week while Young is the same villain he’s been for a long time. The match wasn’t great, but I can go for a long match for a change instead of squeezing in as many matches as you can onto a show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a wrestling heavy show as we continue to have almost nothing storyline based for a few weeks. Once the pay per view actually takes place though, we’re going to be in for a long wait, as tends to be the case around here. That being said, the stories coming out of the Supershow aren’t the strongest in the world so the wait doesn’t sound too bad. Pretty good show here though, with the wrestling getting the focus.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: Independent Wrestling.TV

Family Reunion
Date: April 4, 2019
Location: White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, New Jersey
Commentators: Kevin Ford, Dylan Hales

It’s Wrestlemania weekend and that means indy shows a go-go. I’m going to be covering as many of them as I can and we’ll start with this one from IndependentWrestling.TV. I have absolutely no idea what to expect from this show and that’s going to be the case with a lot of events over the weekend. From what I can tell, this is a bunch of promotions getting a showcase under the Independent Wrestling banner. Let’s get to it.

Quick opening sequence based on the old MTV vignettes with the flag being planted on the moon.

Independent Wrestling Television Title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Orange Cassidy

Gresham, challenging here, is a technical wrestler from ROH and Cassidy is a slacker who often sleeps during matches. He’s played to the ring by a woman with a flute and brings the title out of a backpack, which apparently is a thing. Cassidy is billed as being from Wherever and his weight Doesn’t Matter. Oh and he’s Freshly Squeezed, whatever that means.

We get referee instructions and apparently this has a round system (six five minute rounds) and cards for fouls ala soccer. They go low to start and Cassidy, wrestling in sunglasses, almost in slow motion, lays down for a second, with the referee pointing out that under European rules you can’t strike a downed opponent. A graphic with all of these rules before the match would have been a really good idea.

Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets and doesn’t even pull them out when Gresham snapmares him a few times. The sunglasses come off so the referee puts them back on in some bonus work. A very quick pinfall reversal sequence goes nowhere and it’s back to Cassidy standing there with his hands in his pockets. Cassidy headbutts him and runs the ropes, still with his hands in his pockets. They pop out for a quick rollup though and Gresham is pinned at 3:13…for the first fall. That’s something that should have been mentioned earlier. Like, during the rules segment.

Gresham is annoyed and throws down Cassidy’s glasses to start the second round (as the rounds apparently reset due to a fall). They suddenly start wrestling with Cassidy headlocking him down but getting reversed into a headscissors. Cassidy wiggles out and puts his feet on the ropes for a breather as the odd style is working for him at the moment. Back up and Cassidy walks out of a full nelson.

The hands go into his pockets again and he dances out of a waistlock as the method to his madness becomes a little more clear. Cassidy takes him into the corner as the second round ends. Some rather patronizing pats to Gresham’s chest makes him shove Cassidy down so that’s a yellow card.

Round three starts and Cassidy turns it up to about 14, running the ropes and going technical with Gresham, eventually catching him with a rollup called the Mousetrap (an arm trap crucifix) for the pin at 11:34. That came out of nowhere and the stunned look on Gresham’s face sums it up rather well.

Rating: C. That was…actually kind of fun. Cassidy is quite the gimmick and it worked rather well. Gresham is well known as one of the better technical wrestlers around and it was cool to see him get completely confused by Cassidy’s antics. It was kind of weird for an opener, but they managed to take me from thinking it was going to be stupid to being entertained so well done.

The backstage interviewer talks about what’s coming up over the rest of the weekend and doesn’t know what’s coming on Cassidy’s own show on Saturday. Apparently Teddy Hart will be…reading something?

Back in the ring, Cassidy says he still doesn’t understand the rules. Maxwell Jacob Friedman (a rich guy from MLW and various other promotions), the Limitless Wrestling Champion, gets in the ring to talk about how impressive that was…as Cassidy might be asleep on his feet. Friedman talks about being the #10 contender for the title, though he’s not happy with being behind a cameraman at #9. Anyway, he wants to go title for title at some point. Cassidy: “Uh….no.” Friedman kicks him low and hits his hanging piledriver (Orton’s hanging DDT but a piledriver) so he can hold up both titles.

Justin Sane/Kobe Durst/Cody Lane vs. Space Pirates/Brett Michael David

No rounds on this one. These guys are from Alpha-1 Wrestling in Canada and five of them hold all of the company’s titles. I have no idea who these people are so I have no idea what I’m in for here. The referee tries to hold all of the titles but they’re a bit too heavy in a funny bit. It’s a big brawl to start with Space Monkey (and yes he has a tail) moonsaulting onto a bunch of people on the floor.

Sane and David are left alone in the ring for a slugout with Davis blasting him with a clothesline. As assisted moonsault gives Shane Sabre (the pirate of the Space Pirates) two on Sane but it’s quickly off to Lang, the only non-champion in the whole match. Kobe comes in for a Codebreaker on Shane and Lane adds a Swanton, followed by Sane’s frog splash for two with Monkey making a save.

Sabre gets in a DDT for a breather but Sane pulls David off the apron. Shane is fine enough to fight off everyone at once and it’s off to Space Monkey (the Cosmonaut Primate because apparently he’s a Communist) to clean house. Everything breaks down and it’s down to Lane vs. Sabre. Lane gets superplexed down and it’s Monkey adding a moonsault into David’s 450 (with the knees hitting Lane’s shoulders) for the pin at 8:35.

Rating: C-. This was the showcase match and while the titles were all over the place, it was nothing I haven’t seen done better elsewhere. It wasn’t bad at all but it was rather formula based for a six man tag. Monkey is the only one I’ve actually heard of (from Chikara) and no one really stood out all that much. Not bad, but nothing great.

Red Eagle vs. Mike Verna vs. Ethan Page vs. Arik Cannon vs. Mikey vs. Ophidian

This is a six way scramble with one fall to a finish and everyone is from a different promotion. Eagle is from Portugal, Verna is from Italy, Page is from a bunch of promotions, Cannon is from First Wrestling (no country listed), Mikey is from St. Louis Anarchy (he’s rather odd) and Ophidian (you might remember him from the Osirian Portal) is from Demand Lucha.

Thankfully there are tags with Cannon and Eagle starting things off. They trade arm work to start with Eagle whipping him into the ropes for a standoff. A dropkick puts Cannon on the floor and since it’s lucha rules, Verna comes in for a one arm buckle bomb to Eagle. Ophidian tries to come in but gets caught in a slingshot suplex off all four ropes as Verna gets to show off the power.

Mikey comes in to slam a few people but can’t do it to Verna or Page. He sends them into each other though and now the slams work a little better. A top rope splash, with Mikey calling it his finish, completely misses….and the referee slams Mikey for no logical reason. Everything breaks down (yes in this match) and it’s Page getting to clean house for a bit. Cannon’s Total Anarchy gets two on Ophidian with Verna making a save.

The very strong Verna powerbombs Eagle and World’s Strongest Slams Cannon at the same time with Ophidian making his own save. A rather spinning headscissors from Ophidian takes Verna down and it’s Eagle vs. Ophidian for a battle of the masks. They hit the pinfall reversal sequence and Eagle actually gets the pin at 7:30.

Rating: D+. You knew there was going to be something like this on a card promoted by Independent Wrestling. Verna got to show off the power but other than that, no one really stood out and the lack of time didn’t help things. Again it’s not bad, but it’s something that feels like it could be on any indy card. Makes sense, but not exactly inspiring.

The backstage interviewer promotes some other shows as the ring announcer is introducing the next match. Not the best look there people.

Jack Bonza/Mick Moretti/Bel Pierce vs. Unsocial Jordan/Caveman Ugg/Steph Dunander

From Australia. Jordan is from the App Store and Ugg is from the Third Cave On The Left and weighs eight boulders. Bonza and Jordan start things off as the announcers talk about how odd these teams are. Steph (a rather strong woman) and Moretti (the Rapscallion, meaning he’s awesome) trade shoulders with Steph getting the better of things and handing it back to Jordan.

Bonza comes back in to hook something like the third cousin of a Tequila Sunrise on Jordan, who breaks out and kicks Bonza in the face. Bel comes in for the battle of the women and kicks Steph down for a running seated crossbody. It’s off to Ugg for the first time and Pierce throws glitter at him, earning herself a chop to the chest. The announcers yell about how annoying glitter is as we get a big man showdown between Ugg and Bonza, including a loud chop off.

Ugg takes out all three opponents, including a release Boss Man Slam on Pierce. Moretti low bridges Ugg and the announcers mention lucha rules for the first time (Lucha Australia apparently) so Jordan comes in to get ankle locked by Bonza. Ugg saves Jordan from a monkey flip and hits one on Moretti to show off a bit. Steph comes back in for a TKO on Pierce but walks into a Fire Thunder Driver from Bonza as we enter the parade of finishers. Moretti grabs something like a suplex/spinebuster combination to finish Jordan at 9:05.

Rating: C. This was another messy match but I had a good time with the fun gimmicks. It didn’t need to be anything more than it was and as a showcase, I had a good time. If nothing else, those chops from Ugg were worth seeing. This made me think the promotion could be entertaining and that’s exactly the point of something like this so well done.

Isaias Velazquez/Kylie Rae vs. Robert Eagle Anthony/Shottzi Blackheart

From Freelance Wrestling. Rae is basically old school Bayley/Dakota Kai. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Rae who is having a breakout year. Anthony and Shottzi have Frank the Clown (I believe of Noelle Foley fame) in their corner. The women start things off with Shottzi kicking her in the face but Rae gets in a shoulder, setting up a low superkick to the face.

The rather tall Eagle comes in and gets to face Velazquez as things slow down a bit. A dropkick and enziguri have Eagle in trouble so he hands it off to Shottzi for a headscissors. Shottzi hits a basement dropkick which looked very low and the referee just lets it go. Rae comes in and gets caught in a surfboard from Eagle for a weird visual given the size difference.

Shottzi misses a top rope backsplash and the hot tag brings in Rae. That’s not the best idea as Eagle hurricanranas her off the top into the backsplash from Blackheart for two with Velasquez making the save. Rae is fine enough to powerbomb Anthony out of the corner but Frank grabs Velazquez to block something off the top.

Shottzi tries a Sliced Bread on the apron but gets her leg caught in the ropes for a bad looking botch. Eagle’s Death Valley Driver gets two on Rae and Frank gets in the ring to accidentally hit Eagle in the head with a sparkly shoe. Frank takes a double superkick to the best reaction of the night so far and Eagle gets superkicked into a Crossface to give Rae the tap out win at 9:41.

Rating: C-. I can see why Rae is so popular right now as her energy is infectious. This was a rather nice showcase for her and I could see her getting some bigger bookings. I’ve seen Shottzi and Velazquez before so for once, I actually had an idea of what I was watching. Just drop the clown though as it wasn’t working in the slightest.

Action Wrestling Title: AC Mack vs. Fred Yehi

This is from Georgia and Mack is defending. Mack is in a SWAT team vest and declares this his ring while doing his own introduction. Well we certainly have a heel here. Yehi is introduced as “angry, ticked off and short”. Yehi starts fast with an elbow to the face as we hear about Mack’s victories, all of which come in Georgia. Some running forearms in the corner have Mack in trouble and pulls him out of the corner for a crash.

An early powerbomb gives Yehi two and he counters the Mack Ten (looked like a cross arm Pedigree) into a Downward Spiral. The Koji Clutch has Mack in trouble so he goes to the eyes for a smart counter. A standing Meteora and a basement dropkick put Yehi down and Mack is rather cocky in a hurry. Yehi slips out of the corner and seems to hit his head, followed by a quick kick to the head from Mack.

The Mack ten is broken up again and Yehi busts out a giant swing into a catapult (with Mack stopping in the middle so it looked rather lame). Yehi stomps on the hand and hammers away but might have gotten poked in the eye. Mack grabs the title and as it’s being taken away, a low blow sets up the Mack Ten…for two. Mack hits it again to retain at 6:58.

Rating: C+. Probably the best match of the night here even though they were flying through things. Mack has some good charisma and I could see him being something in a bigger promotion down the line. Yehi has been good almost wherever he goes, though I don’t remember him actually winning a big match.

Kris Stadtlander/Solo Darling vs. Jessica Troy/Shazza McKenzie

From Women’s Wrestling Revolution. Stadtlander is an alien and Darling is taller than a stack of pancakes and slimmer than a pint of ice cream. Kimber Lee is on commentary and doesn’t like being brought around to not be in the ring. Troy pounds on Darling to start and it’s quickly off to McKenzie to work on the leg. Darling gets knocked down and kicked in the face to give McKenzie and Troy two each.

The villains chop away at Darling in the corner but a running knee in the corner misses as Lee continues to list off her accomplishments, which aren’t enough to get her on this show. Stadtlander finally gets the tag and starts to elbow away until a kick to the face cuts her off. Everything breaks down and Stadtlander catches a suicide dive from Troy but Darling spends too much time posing and gets baseball slidden to the floor.

Shazza dives onto all three of them and it’s an exchange of suplexes back inside. Stadtlander throws Troy into a Sharpshooter from Darling with McKenzie making the save. Troy’s running Meteora to the back in the corner gets two with Stadtlander diving in for a save of her own. Stadtlander is back up with a kneeling Tombstone for the pin on McKenzie at 8:02 as Darling gets the Sharpshooter on Troy.

Rating: C-. Kind of messy here but I’ve seen a few of these women before and they’re rather solid for the most part. It wouldn’t surprise me to see one or two of them in WWE eventually, but they still have some work to do before they get there. This didn’t overstay its welcome (a common theme tonight) and that’s made the matches a lot easier to watch.

A rather fired up guy named Righteous Jesse from Southern Underground Pro Wrestling out of Nashville introduces the next match and is rather excited to be here.

O’Shay Edwards/Mr. Brickster/Cabana Man Dan vs. Brett Ison/Dominic Garrini/Kevin Coo

The announcers talk about some kind of real life fight that set this match up with some of the wrestlers not wanting to be here. It feels like they’re trying to be some real life promotion and it’s feeling rather out of place. Dan kicks the monster Ison into the corner so it’s off to Garrini who gets rolled up for two. A gutwrench suplex sends Dan flying onto his face and it’s the huge Edwards coming in to clean house.

Edwards deadlift German suplexes Garrini but Ison comes in for a dropkick. Everything breaks down and Garrini dives onto Brickster. Edwards is left alone in the ring against all three so it’s a series of suplexes and some running dropkicks in the corner for two. Brickster and Dan come back in to help triple team Kevin with Edwards hitting a moonsault for two with Garrini making the save. That really should have been the finish is Edwards and company win.

Coo is right back up with a gutwrench Project Ciampa to Dan and Brickster hits a reverse Razor’s Edge into an Iconoclasm but Ison is back with a Jay Driller for no cover. Edwards counters a second attempt into White Noise for no cover again. Garrini gives Edwards a snap piledriver but Dan comes back in with the flip flops to hit Garrini in the face. Coo gets back up and tries a dragon superplex on Dan, which is reversed into a super Sliced Bread for the pin at 9:02.

Rating: D. Yeah this really didn’t work as it felt like they were trying for some ECW inspired stuff and it was rather bad. I have no idea what the story is here or why I should care. It was all over the place and no one got to stand out at all here. Easily the worst match of the show here and the very annoying ring announcer didn’t help.

Jake Parnell vs. Gary Jay

This is from St. Louis and is the culmination of a two year rival so it’s a Last Man Standing match. Why are they feuding? Not worth mentioning apparently. Parnell recently beat Jay in an I Quit match but Jay blacked out and never said he quit so we’re having this match to decide a winner. It’s better than nothing. Jay is slim, not muscular and nearly looks homeless. They exchange chops to start as we hear a bunch of gimmick matches these two have had, including a Last Man Standing match last January.

An exchange of forearms and slaps give us another standoff until Parnell headscissors him to the floor. Back to back suicide dives from Jay have the fans clearing out of the front row but Parnell gets in a clothesline. Parnell hits a suicide flip dive but Jay pelts a chair at his head. They go behind the seats before coming back to ringside with Parnell getting in a posting to take over for a few seconds. A northern lights suplex on the floor gets five on Jay and they head back inside.

They trade chops in the corner, which doesn’t exactly scream hatred to me. Jay kicks him in the face and they head to the apron for more chops. A middle rope DDT plants Parnell onto the apron so Jay goes up, only to get caught with a release belly to back superplex. That means a double count with the referee crossing his arms in the X sign as he counts, which is rather distracting. They both roll outside to beat the count at nine and Parnell climbs onto the stage for a running double stomp to the back, sending Jay face first into a chair.

Thankfully Jay isn’t dead so Parnell sends him head first into the chair again. It’s time for a door (a thing in Game Changer Wrestling, which is using the same arena so it’s actually covered here), which Parnell bridges between some chairs. You know what that means and it’s a Death Valley Driver to send Jay through the door for a big knockdown. Jay doesn’t even bother waiting on the count and finds some wrenches underneath the ring to take off a turnbuckle (callback to a previous match). He takes off all four turnbuckles so we’re down to two ropes.

Back in and Jay can’t get the hook in Parnell’s mouth as Parnell shoves it away and hits a running clothesline. Parnell hooks Jay’s mouth instead and throws him over the top, just as Jay did to him in their previous Last Man Standing match. Also not willing to wait on the count, Parnell pulls out another door as Jay is back in at around eight.

A chair is thrown in as well and Jay gets half and half suplexed through the door in the corner. Parnell still isn’t done and ties Jay’s head in the chair, only to get punched out of the air. Jay ties him in the chair instead and hits a top rope double stomp. A chair shot to the chair around Parnell’s neck for the win at 19:42.

Rating: B-. The violence was good and the ending was rather devastating but this went on too long. It felt like a main event, though I don’t know these people so I don’t know why I should be caring about these them wanting to hurt each other. What we got was good though and it was rather violent, so it was good enough for what it was supposed to be. Nothing great, but a solid main event.

Overall Rating: C. This was kind of a weird one as it wasn’t one promotion but rather a bunch of companies getting together for a series of matches. It’s nothing that I’m ever going to watch again but as basically a sampler of everything that you can see over the next few days, it worked well enough. The stream was good and for ten bucks, it’s mostly worth your money for a quick watch.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: March 27, 2019
Location: RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

The post-Anniversary Show shows continue here and that means another one off night that may or may not mean anything. There’s always the chance that none of this goes anywhere, which can be rather tiresome. At the same time though, there is a real chance of getting something very nice out of these shows. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. Lifeblood

Bandido/Tracy Williams/Juice Robinson with Tenille Dashwood for Lifeblood here. Castle sends Robinson to the floor for the strut to start, only to have Robinson throw him to the floor for a strut of his own. Another exchange of tosses to the floor is capped off by Castle being sent over the top but he comes back in for another strut off. It’s off to Williams instead, with the Boys making some rather weird noises to suggest that they want in.

Boy #2 comes in for a chop but has to bring in #1 for threat of being chopped back. The exact same sequence brings #2 back in and Williams chops both of them down for being annoying. Back from a break with Bandido in trouble as #1 hits a top rope double stomp to the arm. Castle slams him down and drops the Boys onto him but Bandido comes back up with a top rope corkscrew crossbody.

Robinson comes in for the snap punches and an airplane spin to #1, capped off by the Juicebox. Pulp Friction connects with Castle making the save, earning himself a big flip dive from Bandido. #1 forearms away but a springboard forearm has no effect. A slingshot hurricanrana takes Castle out but he’s fine enough to dive in for a save. Bandido throws #2 at Castle and Bandido’s rolling German suplex is good for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: C. Castle’s misfortunes continue as I keep trying to figure out how they’re going to turn him heel down the line. You can only have him do so many of his antics before the fans start cheering him again, which has to be expected. Lifeblood is still awesome and could go somewhere, but they need something to do other than one off matches.

Jay Lethal is excited to be wrestling in a sold out Madison Square Garden.

The Briscoes (still with the Tag Team Titles that they lost about two weeks ago) are ready for the MSG show where they’ll win the IWGP Tag Team Titles.

NWA National Title: Willie Mack vs. Rhett Titus

Titus has the Survival of the Fittest trophy and is very oily. An armbar doesn’t get very far on Mack but a headscissors works a lot better. Back up and Mack hits a running knee to the face, setting up the chop off in the corner. A big boot takes Mack down and we take a break with Titus in control.

Back with Mack getting two off a backslide and the swinging slam sets up an inverted Cannonball in the corner. That’s enough to send Titus outside for the running flip dive but it’s too early for a frog splash. Instead Mack goes with a Samoan drop into the standing moonsault. Now the Stunner sets up a frog splash to retain the title at 10:57.

Rating: C-. Mack is awesome and I’m very glad to see him showing up in so many promotions lately. He has such a natural charisma and it’s hard not to want to see him in the ring. Titus was just an opponent here, which has been the case for almost everything that he’s done since the All Night Express. That being said, I’ll take his “I’m in shape and have a trophy” deal over the Dawgs all day.

Bully Ray talks about his WWF successes in Madison Square Garden and throws out an open challenge for Madison Square Garden.

Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham vs. Coast 2 Coast

Lethal has bad ribs and they shake hands before we get started. Lethal and Ali start things off with Jay hitting a hard shoulder. The cartwheel into a dropkick is broken up and it’s off to LSG for a running neckbreaker. A suplex doesn’t work on Lethal and it’s a blind tag to bring in Gresham for a German suplex. LSG drives him into the corner though and it’s Ali with a bit of a dance into a spinning splash for two of his own. Gresham starts going after Ali’s leg and we take a break.

Back with Ali hitting something like an Angle Slam to get Gresham off his leg. Everything breaks down and the Lethal Injection is countered with a running flip neckbreaker. We settle down to Lethal and Ali slugging it out until an enziguri takes Ali down. Everything breaks down again and the Lethal Combination drops LSG, who gets sent outside. Gresham slaps the Figure Four on Ali with Gresham diving in for the save. Lethal rolls Gresham forward and a jumping cutter finishes Ali at 11:04.

Rating: C+. Nice enough tag match here as Coast 2 Coast being back is a good prospect. They’re a solid team and can help bolster a somewhat weak tag division outside of the very top. There’s nothing wrong with being in the midcard of the division and that’s where they are likely going to be if they stick around.

Overall Rating: C-. Completely skippable show this week though it was far from bad. It’s yet another example of a show that was taped before the pay per view and therefore has almost nothing in the way of advancing things for the big show. That’s not a good sign with a week to go before Madison Square Garden, but New Japan and the venue itself will be the stars of that show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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 27, 2019
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

I’m not used to saying this but I’m looking forward to this show. The last few weeks have been awesome around here and that’s the kind of thing that you don’t get to say about Ring of Honor too often. Again I don’t know if it’s the lack of the Elite guys but if that’s the case, so be it as these shows have been very good. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Sumie Sakai vs. Jenny Rose vs. Madison Rayne

Madison and Jenny get taken down to start but Madison sunset flips Sumie for two. Jenny is right back up with a bridging suplex for two on Sumie, who rolls out to the floor so Madison can get two off an enziguri. Sumie is back in with a dropkick to Madison, making her DDT Jenny for two more. We get the triple submission with Jenny in a Boston crab from Sumie, who gets caught in a sleeper from Madison. Back up and Jenny enziguris Madison to send us to a break.

We come back with Sumie’s fisherman’s brainbuster getting two on Jenny but Madison comes back in with the Rayne Check to both of them for two on Sumie. Jenny and Madison head outside for a double dropkick from the apron as this keeps going. Back in and Madison gets rolled up for two more but pops back up for a reverse DDT to finish Sumie at 10:03.

Rating: C-. It wasn’t bad but it felt very Ring of Honorish: people doing moves to each other with no particular desire to win the match. Yeah they were going for covers but it felt like they were doing that because it’s what they were supposed to do instead of having a desire to win the match. It was fine, though it was missing a spark.

We recap the debut of Lifeblood and last week’s challenge to a ten man tag against Jay Lethal and friends.

Lifeblood vs. Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham/Flip Gordon/Dalton Castle/Jeff Cobb

Lifeblood is David Finlay/Tracy Williams/Bandido/Mark Haskins/Juice Robinson with Tenille Dashwood on commentary. Each Lifeblood member gets their own entrance, which doesn’t feel like a way to stretch the show out whatsoever. Robinson and Lethal lock up to start until Robinson shoulders him into the corner. Castle gets on the rope and says he likes what he sees and wants to show Robinson some of his Honor Babies.

The fans want to see Bandido so Castle yells at him, allowing Robinson to grab a rollup for two. They both miss a series of right hands in the corner (with the Boys ducking as well) until Castle hits the Peacock Pose. Robinson does one of his own and it’s time for the snap jabs. It’s off to Williams vs. Gresham and they quickly wrestle to a standoff. A series of headlocks into headscissors counters goes to Gresham until Williams headstands to his feet and offers a handshake.

Back from a break with Finlay and Lethal missing elbows until Finlay scores with a dropkick. It’s off to Haskins and Cobb with Haskins looking more than happy to face the monster. Cobb can’t hit a pop up powerbomb but Haskins makes the mistake of running at him, allowing Cobb to catch him in a German suplex. Haskins flips out so Cobb nips up, which is one of those things that is just going to make you stop in your tracks.

With Haskins a little shaken, he hands it off to Bandido to face Gordon, which the fans certainly seem to appreciate. Everyone else drops to the floor as the flips begin, with both guys countering a hurricanrana and missing a dropkick for a pair of standoffs. We take another break and come back with Castle working on Bandido’s arm before it’s back to Williams to beat up Gordon.

Something like the Rings of Saturn has Gordon in trouble with Gresham coming in to make the save. That’s rather dishonorable. Bandido adds a slingshot hilo but Finlay gets dropped, allowing the hot tag to Lethal. House is cleaned and we take another break. Back with Lethal’s Figure Four being kicked off and Robinson hitting a running corner clotheslines. A full nelson slam drops Jay but Gordon springboards in with a missile dropkick.

The parade of secondary finishers is on until everyone but Gordon and Bandido are down on the floor. Gordon’s springboard flip dive sets up Bandido’s corkscrew moonsault onto everyone for the big crash. Back in and it’s Haskins trading forearms with Castle and countering the Bang a Rang into the really hard Sharpshooter to make Castle tap at 26:25.

Rating: B. This felt like a major house show main event and that’s what it should have been. They did a good job with making Lifeblood out to be a big time threat here and the extended time helped a lot. Lethal is going to have even more people to deal with sooner rather than later and I’m not sure how much longer he’s going to be able to hold the title. Or stay face at this rate.

Post match everyone but Castle (down) shakes hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The opener wasn’t great but this was all about the main event and that’s perfectly fine. Sometimes you just need a show built around a single match like this and it worked out very well here. There’s some interesting stuff going on at the moment and with the right direction, we could be in for some very good television as we move towards some of the bigger shows of the year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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: December 19, 2018
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Caprice Coleman

So Final Battle has come and gone but around here….actually you know what I’m going to say here so I’m not even going to bother. It’s going to be a stand alone match tonight, but there’s a chance that we’re going to be seeing something Christmas related. That kind of show has been hit or miss in wrestling history but hopefully it works well here. Let’s get to it.

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

Tonight, Jay Lethal and Matt Taven will be captains in the Christmas Surprise ten man tag. They’ll both be opening presents to find out who their partners will be. Lethal is happy but Taven only wants the rest of the Kingdom on his team because he hates surprises. I think you know where this is going.

Opening sequence.

Twisted Sisterz vs. Britt Baker/Madison Rayne

That would be Thunder Rosa and Holidead, who jumped Baker and Rayne at Survival of the Fittest to set this up. Baker is a hometown girl and rather over as you might have guessed. Some early forearms send Rosa outside and Madison hits a dive off the apron to take them both down. Back in and Madison gets a few rollups on Holidead, who them catches her in a belly to back faceplant to take over.

It’s off to a reverse chinlock to slow Rayne down before Rosa comes in to tie her in the Tree of Woe. That means a running dropkick to send us to a break. Back with Rayne still in trouble as Holidead gets two off a neckbreaker. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Rayne jawbreaks her way to freedom. It’s off to Baker for a running knee in the corner, followed by the Sling Blade.

Back to back basement lariats keep Rosa in trouble but Holidead breaks up what looked to be a double neckbreaker. An Irish Curse into a Backstabber into a Downward Spiral into Rosa slamming Holidead (mostly) onto Baker gets two with Rayne making the save. Holidead hits a sweet spinebuster on Baker, who comes back with a ripcord forearm into a cutter from Rayne. That earns Rayne a shot to the face and White Noise into a top rope double stomp to the back finishes Baker at 9:57.

Rating: C. I was worried that they were going to go with the upset by having the thrown together team win, which would have been a horrible idea as the Sisterz are a nice monster team who could go somewhere if there was somewhere to go in this division. Still though, it’s better than nothing and I’ll take what I can get.

Lethal and Taven open some of their names. Jay is rather pleased but Matt complains about a series of Melvins. No names are given.

We look back at Jeff Cobb winning the TV Title.

Lethal is annoyed that he didn’t get Cheeseburger in the drawing but Caprice Coleman gives him one last present….which is of course Cheeseburger. So who got thrown off Lethal’s team? He didn’t have any names left so why would he be convinced that there was no Cheeseburger?

Taven gets one extra name in the form of a stocking and seems happy for once.

Ian and Colt ask Caprice how he knew what was in the box. Coleman says it was just the Christmas spirit.

Team Lethal vs. Team Taven

Jay Lethal, Cheeseburger, Rhett Titus, Vinny Marseglia, Jeff Cobb

Matt Taven, Brian Milonas, Jonathan Gresham, Beer City Bruiser, Marty Scurll

Milonas and Bruiser come in from the bar, as they should. As you might guess, there’s quite an argument over who is starting here. There’s also an argument over the Christmas attire the wrestlers are wearing, because this isn’t quite as serious as some matches. Lethal even tries to engineer a trade with Gresham for Marseglia but that’s against the rules, which are strictly followed around here. The fans give us a MERRY CHRISTMAS chant as Lethal and Gresham start things off.

The technical sequence goes to Gresham but it’s Bruiser tagging himself in because Gresham isn’t willing to cheat. It’s off to Bruiser for a headlock but Lethal speeds things up and takes the skin off his chest with some chops. The hiptoss into the basement dropkick keeps Bruiser in trouble and we take a break.

Back with Taven wanting and receiving Cheeseburger, who comes in with some pushups. Taven immediately tags out to bring in Milonas, but Cheeseburgers is willing to fight for himself. A headlock doesn’t get Cheeseburger very far so he tries speeding things up and jumping over Milonas in the corner until Milonas needs oxygen. Titus comes in without a tag and tries a suplex until Cheeseburger, Milonas and Bruiser suplex Cheeseburger and Titus at the same time. Marseglia isn’t going to be outdone because he brings in an ax to scare Marty.

Someone throws Marty the umbrella, but he opts to tag out to Taven instead. No one will tag either of them though and it’s time for the fight that everyone else in the match wants to see. They hit the ropes a few times before heading outside for the huge brawl. Bruiser goes up top for the huge dive to take everyone out and it’s off to a break.

Back with Lethal superkicking Marseglia out of instinct, bringing Taven in to deck Lethal. A bunch of splashes in the corner have Lethal in trouble, with Taven having to kick Gresham and whip him in. That goes badly for Taven as Lethal starts whipping people into Taven in the corner. Stereo basement dropkicks to Taven set up a German suplex from Cobb. The dog pile cover gets two with Gresham diving over for the save.

Bruiser comes in and turns Lethal inside out with a clothesline. Milonas starts cleaning house but Cobb picks him up, only to have Scull shove him over before the Tour of the Islands can hit. Taven beats up Cheeseburger (this guy’s all right) but gets caught in the Lethal Injection. Cobb suplexes Milonas to a big pop and hits a good Tour of the Islands on Bruiser for the pin at 15:34.

Rating: C+. Cobb is a beast and something like this is going to be on his highlight reel for a long time. This was the kind of match that is a fun way to fill in a show that doesn’t mean much. Even the announcers were talking about how this wasn’t as serious and the interaction between the guys were fine. It’s a good idea for a match and the people had a fun time, which was the point.

Overall Rating: C. Much like the main event, this whole show was little more than a way to fill in a week as we move from Final Battle to the start of the new year. The next two weeks or so are going to be Best Of shows so they might as well have some fun here. I liked the main event and the opener was fine so it served its purpose well enough.

Results

Twisted Sisterz b. Britt Baker/Madison Rayne – Top rope double stomp to Baker

Team Lethal b. Team Taven – Tour of the Islands to Bruiser

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: November 14, 2018
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re still in Philadelphia and on the road to Final Battle, but the big question is how many more ECW names can we get in here. I wonder if Blue Meanie is doing anything tonight. Anyway we still need a card for the pay per view so maybe we can start building things up this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Shane Taylor vs. Jeff Cobb

Non-title. Shane spits on his extended hands and they start ramming into each other. Cobb hits his swinging belly to back suplex but Shane pops up. That earns him a t-bone suplex and Cobb is right back up again. They slug it out until Taylor blasts him with a clothesline. Back from a break with Shane telling Cobb to show him why he’s the chosen one. Cobb is right back up with a running elbow in the corner and a dropkick as Taylor is on the ropes.

Since that’s not impressive enough, a delayed release suplex gives Cobb one. That means the standing moonsault for tow more as Cobb isn’t sure what to do with this guy. Taylor is back up with a running Canadian Destroyer of all things but Cobb is back up with a German suplex. The Tour of the Islands finishes Taylor at 7:05.

Rating: C+. This was EXACTLY as it was advertised with two big guys doing things that people their size shouldn’t be able to do. It was a lot of fun with both guys beating each other up until the other couldn’t stand any longer. Good, fun match that didn’t try to be anything more than it should have. I didn’t expect to like this and they entertained me so well done.

Post match Hangman Page comes in for a staredown with Cobb but they pause to beat up security. Page stares at the title….and one security guard is foolish enough to still be in the ring. Page leaves and Cobb hits a superkick and the Tour of the Islands.

Jay Lethal knows that being World Champion has put a target on his back and Kenny King took a shot at him. He’ll take care of King at Global Wars on November 11 (as in after this show aired) and tonight he’ll show that off in a six man tag.

The Bouncers aren’t sure of their opponents’ names tonight but know they have to win.

Post break, Brian Milonas has lost the Beer City Bruiser. Ok then.

Marty Scurll talks about being stuck in the story of superhero vs. supervillain. Next week, it’s round four. Earlier this month, Scurll won the Survival of the Fittest tournament to earn a World Title shot. There is zero reason for him to be in an extended feud with Shane Helms.

Milonas finds Bruiser drinking because Silas Young won’t talk to him. The talk of hitting people makes Bruiser feel better. Well I’m so glad that problem was started and solved in the span of five minutes.

The Bouncers vs. Cheeseburger/Eli Isom

Cheeseburger and Isom have Ryan Nova in their corner. Isom can’t do much to Bruiser to start so he steps on the big man’s foot. The suplex just isn’t happening though and Bruiser sends him into the corner, only to miss a charge. It’s off to Cheeseburger for a chop, followed by a sleeper to the also tagged in Milonas. He staggers over for a tag to Bruiser for a side slam/dropkick combination and it’s time to bite Cheeseburger. Make your own jokes.

Milonas sits on Cheeseburger in the corner but misses a charge and goes shoulder first into the post. That’s enough for the hot tag to Isom and the pace picks up. A high crossbody gets two on Milonas and everything breaks down. Cheeseburger DDTs Bruiser and Isom manages a suplex for two. The dive is caught though and Cheeseburger gets posted, leaving Isom to take Closing Time for the pin at 6:02.

Rating: D+. Isom has grown on me a lot and that’s not something I would have expected. They teased the idea of him outgrowing Cheeseburger (his mentor, which would make me want to quit wrestling) and I’m really hoping it doesn’t lead to some match and feud between them. I’d hope they can do better than that for a passing of the torch. As for the Bouncers…I don’t hate them. I thought I would have but for a team that plays a pretty specific role, they’re not terrible.

Here’s So Cal Uncensored for a chat, where they suck up to Philadelphia and insult it, because that’s what Scorpio Sky does. Kazarian calls this place sacred ground and there’s the required ECW chant. He lists off some names in the Hardcore Hall of Fame and gets the fans to chant SCU, who at least work for this company. Daniels (in an SC F’N U shirt) says he wants to be serious for a minute and talk about Joe Koff throwing out Kazarian and himself after this year’s Final Battle.

Some things have changed since then and now Koff should want to keep SCU around here. Maybe the best way to prove their value is to take the Tag Team Titles from the Briscoes. They came up short at Death Before Dishonor, but next week it’s the Briscoes vs. the Addiction and the Young Bucks. Daniels promises to win the titles next week and next year, the best thing about Ring of Honor is going to be SCU. Good fire from Daniels here, which tends to be the case. The trio goes to leave but here are the Briscoes to beat them down, including a Jay Driller to Daniels on the stage. That sounds like an injury angle.

Daniels was helped to the back during the break.

Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham/??? vs. The Kingdom

The mystery partner is…Dalton Castle, who is making his return after a lengthy injury absence. Castle’s thigh, elbow and back are taped up but he seems to be moving fine. Gresham and the now mohawked Taven start things off as the fans are behind Jonathan. It’s amazing how being not Matt Taven makes you popular. O’Ryan comes in before anything of note happens so Gresham takes him down and tries to spit on him. Some hero.

A kick to the leg sets up a dropkick to send O’Ryan into the corner for the tag off to Marseglia. Vinny wants the peacock though and it’s off to Castle for a big reaction. Castle can’t hit a bulldog but can hit the peacock pose with those wild eyes. Another takedown lets Castle work on the arm for a second, followed by a clothesline to the floor. The teased dive lets Castle bring back the slow motion strut and now Taven is willing to come in. Taven gets in Castle’s face but the rest of the Kingdom pulls Lethal and Gresham down, allowing Matt to take over with a cheap shot.

Castle gets thrown into the crowd but the good guys take over with Lethal putting Taven in a chair. The referee breaks up a dive…gets pulled underneath the ring. Lethal’s suicide dive sends O’Ryan into the barricade but, with the referee having been pulled into the abyss, Taven comes in with a chair to Lethal’s ribs. Back from a break with Taven kneeing the heck out of Lethal’s face but Jay fights up and brings Gresham in anyway.

Everything breaks down and Gresham cleans house, allowing the hot tag to Castle. A running knee in the corner gets two on Taven and Gresham elbows Marseglia down. That means a dive onto O’Ryan but the shooting star hits knees. Lethal hits the Lethal Injection on O’Ryan as Marseglia brings in a chair. That goes badly though as it’s the Bang-a-Rang onto the chair to give Castle the pin at 12:08.

Rating: C+. This was all about Castle’s return and that worked very well. The fans went coconuts for him and he adds another big name to the roster. I’m not sure what they can do with him at this point but having too much talent around isn’t a problem. Gresham continues to look like a star and it’s always nice to see the Kingdom taking a loss.

Castle poses with the winners but points at the title. Lethal isn’t sure about that so Castle extends a handshake, which Lethal accepts. Sounds like a title match is imminent.

Overall Rating: C. This show had the energy back again with some good wrestling and a nice surprise in the end. They’re starting to talk about Final Battle more too and that’s a good sign as we get closer to the biggest show of the year. Just keep up the angles and stories instead of the filler episodes and things will start getting better at the right time.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: October 31, 2018
Location: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Things got more interesting around here last week as Jeff Cobb made his in-ring debut and ran over Punishment Martinez to become TV Champion. Sometimes you need to shake things up a little bit and that’s what they did last week. The show isn’t the most thrilling in the world at times but when they do something well, they do it very well. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Scorpio Sky vs. Adam Page

Page doesn’t think Sky can strike gold and beat him. Neither can get anywhere with a headlock so Page runs him over with a shoulder, followed by a big boot for good measure. The stomping in the corner sets up a clothesline to put Sky on the floor and that means some whips into the barricade. A running fireman’s carry toss into the post rocks Sky again and we take a break.

Back with Sky hitting a super hurricanrana to get himself a breather with a two thrown in for a bonus. Sky grabs a chinlock but Page jawbreaks his way to freedom. The fall away slam and a German suplex give Page two, followed by Sky stomping him in the back for the same. Sky hits a fisherman’s buster for the same so Page turns him inside out with a discus lariat, setting up the Rite of Passage for the pin at 10:52.

Rating: C. Perfectly watchable match here with both guys hitting a few nice moves and one of them winning in the end. Page is someone who could become a big deal around here with people moving on and off the roster so it makes sense to have him get a few wins. Sky is already in a perfectly fine midcard stable and will be ok despite the loss.

The Kingdom is sick of the conspiracy against them but it’s over now because Matt Taven is the REAL World Champion.

Page wants a title shot against any champion.

Clip of Cobb winning the TV Title.

Shane Taylor vs. Eli Isom

It feels like we’ve seen this match half a dozen times in the last few months. Taylor spits on his hand when a handshake is offered so Isom hits a quick chop. A jumping knee to the face rocks Taylor and there’s a dropkick to stagger him again. Isom’s springboard is broken up though and a hanging Stunner has him in more trouble.

Back from a break with Isom striking away and hitting an enziguri, earning himself a heck of a clothesline to cut him down. More strikes give Isom a breather and he actually manages a Samoan drop (impressive) for two. Not that it matters as Taylor plants him with Greetings From 216 for the pin at 6:59.

Rating: D+. They were getting somewhere with the Isom comeback but it would have been too far to have Isom beat a monster like Taylor here. I’ll give them credit for turning Isom into something better than just a goofy jobber. He’s not great or even very good here yet but at least they’re trying to do something, which is more than some people get.

Post match Taylor wraps a chair around Isom’s neck but Cheeseburger (GO AWAY YOU TINY ANNOYING MEAT THEMED MAN!) runs in for the save. Thankfully Taylor cleans him out with ease so Flip Gordon runs in instead. A few chair shots to Taylor’s back cuts him down and Gordon tells Bully Ray that he’ll fight him anywhere, anytime in any match Ray wants. Cue Ray to mock Gordon and say we’re NOT having a TLC match tonight or any night.

Gordon is a nothing and Ray is a two time Hall of Famer. Ray asks if Gordon is a betting man so Gordon says he bets he can kick Ray’s a**. Here’s Ray’s idea: next week, they both pick a guy to come to the ECW Arena. The winner’s guy gets to do whatever they want to the other. Ray says his guy is Silas Young, who comes out for a staredown.

Cody wants a one on one rematch for the World Title.

Jonathan Gresham/Jay Lethal vs. Kushida/Jushin Thunder Liger

Kenny King is on commentary. Lethal and Kushida start things off (I can go for this) and some snapmares don’t do anyone any good. They hit the mat with neither getting anywhere off some attempted arm holds so we’ll try Gresham vs. Liger for a change. Liger headlocks him down but gets broken in just a few seconds, as Gresham rolls him up for two. Lethal comes back in for a showdown that isn’t as epic as you might have expected. Liger’s shoulder doesn’t work so Lethal tries his own but Gresham makes a blind tag and catches a distracted Liger in a German suplex for a smart move.

A hard whip into the corner has Liger in more trouble as Lethal and Gresham start making more tags. Liger shoves them into each other though and brings in Kushida for the springboard elbow on Lethal. Gresham comes in for a very fast paced series of rollups for mostly zeroes until a rollup for two on Gresham sends us to a break. Back with Liger putting Gresham in the surfboard and Lethal getting caught in a cross armbreaker. Lethal and Kushida head outside so Liger wraps up Gresham’s arm and leg while wrapping a leg around Gresham’s neck at the same time. I’m sure that’s going to hurt.

Back up and Gresham sends Liger into Kushida and the hot tag brings in Lethal to take over. The Lethal Combination gets two on Kushida but Lethal takes too long setting up the Lethal Injection and gets taken down instead. Gresham takes Kushida to the floor for a running knee off the apron, leaving Lethal to kick Liger in the head. The Lethal Injection is good for the pin at 12:41.

Rating: C+. This felt like they were going for the special tag match and it only approached that level. The wrestling was fine but was there any serious doubt that Lethal and Gresham were going to win in the end? Right now we’re waiting on the start of Lethal’s next title program and maybe King is part of that, but this didn’t make for the most exciting main event. Pretty good, but nothing that you need to see.

Overall Rating: C-. While nothing great, this was a perfectly watchable episode of the show. I could still go for them advancing the top stories (or having a top story actually) but what we got here was fine enough. Just give Lethal something to do as we get ready for Final Battle, which is only about six weeks away. They need to start putting something together, and I hope it’s more than Lethal vs. Taven.

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

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

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

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