IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: July 22, 2020

This is going to be a tough one as the show is all about Hana Kimura, who took her own life earlier this year. She was featured on several Ring of Honor shows including some fairly high level events, which means they have a lot to pick from here. I’m not sure how this one is going to go but it likely won’t be easy. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Video on Kimura.

We get a quick bio of Kimura, who really did accomplish a good bit in such a short time.

From the 16^th Anniversary Show.

Pre Show: Women of Honor Title Tournament First Round: Sumie Sakai vs. Hana Kimura

Deonna Purrazzo is on commentary. Kimura is from Stardom in Japan and one half of their Tag Team Champions with her partner Kagetsu, at ringside. Sumie’s offer of a handshake is ignored and Hana pounds her down to start. A whip sends Sakai outside and Kagetsu chokes away like a villain should.

Back in and Hana pounds away, followed by a surfboard with a few presses up and down. A half crab stays on Sakai’s back but she’s still able to counter a suplex into a DDT. Sakai gets two off a bridging belly to back, only to have Kagetsu grab her leg on top. Hana’s brainbuster is good for two but it’s time for some heel miscommunication. The team is sent into each other and Sakai dives onto both of them in a good visual. Back in and Hana hits a Helluva Kick for two but Sakai grabs something like Cross Rhodes for the pin at 7:59.

Rating: C. I’m not wild on a match like this as you’re basically expected to watch the YouTube matches and Stardom to know who these people are. Sakai has been around Ring of Honor for a long time now and other than the fact that she’s a wrestler and from Japan, I couldn’t tell you a single thing about her. That’s the case with most of the women’s division and that’s not good. Work on that and the division will get better in short order.

In the back, Hana sings about having the belt and Sumie isn’t sure about that.

Cheeseburger introduces our next match, from Best in the World 2018.

Sumie Sakai/Jenny Rose/Mayu Iwatani/Tenille Dashwood vs. Hazuki/Kelly Klein/Hana Kimura/Kagetsu

Kagetsu is the Stardom Champion and we get a staredown over the titles. Sakai wants to start for the team and gets kicked in the face by Kagetsu. Well that’ll teach her. Kimura comes in and wants Dashwood, meaning the brawl is on. Before that has a chance to go anywhere, it’s Klein coming in to throw Jenny around. Of course the fourth pairing comes in with Iwatani Sling Blading Hazuki. I might be a bit more excited if you didn’t know the tags were coming as soon as the sequence started.

The villains (Klein’s team in case you get confused by the teams with a bunch of names thrown together because you don’t do your Stardom homework) come in and triple team Sakai with three boots on her face at once, allowing Kimura to hold up the Oedo Tai (stable) sign for a cute visual. Sakai DDTs Klein and the hot tag brings in Dashwood to clean house, including a double Taste of Tenille in the corner.

A high crossbody gets two on Dashwood and Sakai comes back in with a missile dropkick. Everything breaks down again and Sakai gets a guillotine choke on Kimura. That’s muscled into a delayed suplex for two on Sakai but Kagetsu hits Kimura with the sign by mistake. Sumie dives onto a pile and hits a dragon suplex for the pin on Kimura at 10:27.

Rating: C. I say this a lot and I’m going to keep saying it until it’s no longer a problem: I have no idea who these people are and I don’t know why I’m supposed to care about them. It’s a bunch of Stardom talents and some names from Ring of Honor, who I don’t know either for the most part. The division does exist, but it’s not going to go far if I have to do outside research to figure out who these people are or what they’re doing here. Give us some quick videos or translated promos if necessary, but find a way to let us know what’s going on.

Mandy Leon talks about meeting Hana after working with her mother. They wrestled together in Japan and Hana was always smiling.

From ROH TV, July 28, 2018.

Kagetsu/Hana Kimura vs. Jenny Rose/Mayu Iwatani

Mandy Leon is on commentary. Kagetsu gets double teamed to start and Iwatani hits a quick standing flip splash for two. Jenny gets sent outside and takes a suicide dive as we go to an early break. Back with Jenny getting crushed in the corner until a double clothesline bails her out. Mayu comes in with some dropkicks and a double springboard wristdrag. A double dropkick against the ropes has the villains (I think?) in trouble and an even harder baseball slide dropkick nails Kimura for two.

The frog splash misses and Hana hits a hard suplex, allowing for the double tag. Rose gets two each off a northern lights suplex and a top rope clothesline but Kagetsu pulls her into a cross armbreaker. A rope is enough for the save so Kagetsu grabs the referee, allowing Hana to hit Jenny with the Oedo Tai sign. Kagetsu kicks her in the head for two and a double big boot is good (I thought that was the finish). Instead a Samoan driver pins Rose at 9:57.

Rating: C+. If you give these people some characters or tell us a few things about them, I could easily get behind matches like this. It’s a very entertaining match and the four worked hard, but this division needs a top star to build around. For reasons that I don’t understand whatsoever, that spot has gone to Sumie Sakai instead of Tenille Dashwood.

Clips of Kimura in New York City and how important it was to get to wrestle in Madison Square Garden.

From the G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden.

Jenny Rose/Kagetsu/Hazuki vs. Hana Kimura/Stella Grey/Sumie Sakai

Kagetsu and Hazuki do their rather cool Oedo Tai dance. It’s a brawl to start with Stella getting beaten up in the corner. Oedo Tai ties her in the ropes for a big triple pose before Sumie gets double drop toeholded down. A double backsplash makes it even worse and it’s off to Rose for a running corner clothesline. The spinning side slam gets two and it’s off to Hazuki to choke on the ropes.

Sakai avoids a splash though and grabs a neckbreaker, allowing the hot tag to Kimura. Some running furry rainbow boots to Hazuki’s face get two but Kimura’s suplex attempt is countered into a guillotine. That’s broken up with straight power into a suplex and it’s a triple submission onto Rose and company. With that broken up, Kimura gets kicked in the face by Kagetsu and it’s off to Rose for a slugout with Sakai.

A double suplex is countered into a double DDT and Sumie’s brainbuster gets two on Hazuki. Smash Mouth gets two with Jenny making the save and everything breaks down. Sumie dives onto her own partners by mistake and Oedo Tai hits their stereo suicide dives. Back in and Kagetsu hits a Samoan driver for two on Sakai. Hazuki is back in with a springboard missile dropkick though and Kagetsu adds a 450 to finish Sakai at 6:48.

Rating: C+. This is how you get a show going as this was almost all action throughout. That’s a nice choice for an opener and while it didn’t exactly focus on Kimura, it was great to see her getting to be on a big stage like this. The match was good stuff too, mainly due to the Stardom women as the ROH roster leaves a good bit to be desired.

Everyone talks about how sad it was to see Kimura pass away like she did. Everyone needs to be nicer to each other.

Overall Rating: B-. I really didn’t know much about Kimura as I’m not the biggest joshi fan but it was clear that she was a young up and comer who was gone way too soon. There is no excuse for what she had to go through and it’s horrible that this was the result. She should have been a star for a long time to come and that smile certainly seemed to be a major trademark. She wasn’t around long but she did seem pretty good at what she was doing. That’s quite a shame and it’s nice to see ROH do something like this for her, as she deserved it.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: August 28, 2019
Location: Mattamy Athletic Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
Hosts: Quinn McCay, Ian Riccaboni

The slow decline of this show and possibly the promotion continues as they try whatever they can to get Matt Taven over as World Champion. This time around it means Alex Shelley as the veteran challenger with no chance of winning the title. It’s not like they have anyone else that Taven hasn’t already beaten, other than Rush, who seems to be the one to take the title off of him. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We look at Shelley injecting himself into the World Title picture.

Clips of Alex Shelley/Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham beating the Kingdom at Mass Hysteria when Shelley made Marseglia tap.

Shelley is ready to take the title from Taven in Toronto.

We look at Tasha Steelz pinning Angelina Love twice in a row but needing Kelly Klein to save her from the Allure.

Clips of Klein retaining the Women of Honor Title over Steelz at Summer Supercard. Angelina jumped them both after the match. Just put the title on her already and get it over with.

Klein jumped Angelina in the back.

Lifeblood is ready for Villain Enterprises. Again.

We see Flip Gordon attacking Tracy Williams, which seemed to cost Williams the TV Title match later in the night.

Taylor is tired of not being promoted as a big star.

Highlights from Ladder War in Toronto with the Briscoes defending against Guerrillas of Destiny, which has to be clipped due to violence. It certainly does look carnagey.

The announcers give a quick Top Prospect Tournament preview.

Ring of Honor World Title: Matt Taven vs. Alex Shelley

Taven is defending and OF COURSE we have all the time in the world for him. They go to the mat to start with Taven holding a headscissors until Shelley blows his nose on him for a standoff. It’s back to the mat for a rollup on Taven and they stare at each other again. That works so well that they do it again for yet another standoff. A third rollup into MORE STARING lets Shelley do some pushups as they’re staying in first gear.

Taven bails to the floor to change things up a bit before coming back in for….another rollup for two. Back from a break with Shelley’s Sliced Bread off the post attempt being shoved through a table as something finally happens. Shelley dives back in to beat the count so Taven hits a backbreaker for two. The back is bent over Taven’s knee, followed by a butterfly backbreaker for two more. A Liontamer makes the back even worse but Shelley makes the rope in a hurry.

Taven goes with a rolling neckbreaker for two but Shelley is back up with a slingshot DDT onto the apron for the double knockdown. Sliced Bread onto the barricade rocks Taven, who pops right back up with the dive over the barricade. Back in and Jay White’s Blade Runner gets two on Taven, followed by a pair of superkicks. Sliced Bread gets two more but Taven hits the Climax. The cover is countered into a rollup to give Shelley two but Taven knees him in the head and hits the Climax to retain at 15:22.

Rating: C+. The ending got better but all of the stuff with both guys’ backs being banged up just came and went. Taven’s seemingly never ending title reign continues with another pretty good but not great match. The problem is everything in between as the whole thing just keeps going, whether or not anyone wants to see it continue. Shelley never felt like a real threat to the title, but that is the case a lot of the time when Taven defends.

Overall Rating: C-. Well at least they finally moved forward to a slightly newer show. That being said, having the show focus on Taven isn’t an interesting way to go and I don’t quite see things getting much better. The whole company is searching for bright spots these days and that has been the case for a long time now. The problem is they’re getting further and further apart and that’s not going to work in the long term. The show wasn’t bad, but it isn’t something that makes me want to keep watching. Given their attendance issues of late, that is the case for a lot of people.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: August 21, 2019
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana
Hosts: Ian Riccaboni, Quinn McCay

We’re on the way to….I have no idea actually but the new format should let us know what is coming up. I still like this one a lot better and the match quality has been very good so far. Let the show serve as a showcase for the talent, but this time around it’s about the Shinobi Shadow Squad so I’m not too thrilled. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at last week’s eight man tag, which was a heck of a fight.

Kelly Klein says all Karissa Rivera had to do was ask for a title shot, which is exactly what she did.

Clip of Rush beating TK O’Ryan at Manhattan Mayhem. How long can they run stuff from that one weekend?

We get a blink and you’ll miss it look at the Top Prospect Tournament brackets.

Video on Silas Young wanting to bring Josh Woods to the dark side and Woods considering it.

Clip of Young beating PJ Black pretty clean at Mass Hysteria.

Later that night, Woods brought Young some cigarettes, took one, and left. I guess that counts as storytelling around here.

Women’s Title: Kelly Klein vs. Karissa Rivera

Rivera is challenging. They go to the mat to start with Klein getting the better of it as Cabana tries to talk about Rivera’s family history in wrestling. A layout DDT stuns Rivera and a whip into the corner takes us to a break. Back with Klein working on the back even more as Cabana is ripping into Rivera for having no offense. Some hard shots in the corner keep Rivera rocked but the fall away slam is countered into a bicycle kick. Rivera hits a spinebuster, only to walk into K Power to give Klein the pin at 9:31.

Rating: D. How in the world does Ring of Honor think this is as good as they can get? This was a nearly ten minute squash with Klein never breaking a sweat after Rivera beat Sumie Sakai. The women’s division just needs to go far away as the matches are bad, the one angle they have feels like it’s been going on forever and nothing important is happening in the whole thing. Just get the title on the Beautiful People already and be done with it.

Post match Sumie Sakai comes out to help Rivera up. Klein praises Rivera, calls Sakai legendary, and tells Rivera that she can come get another title shot later. Cue the Allure (minus Mandy Leon) to complain about how it should be Angelina Love getting the title. Maybe Matt Taven was right when he talked about a conspiracy, but the conspiracy is against the Allure. Klein calls them b****** and that’s it.

Post break Klein says she, Sakai and Rivera are going to show Allure what Women of Honor is all about.

WHY DO THEY THINK ANYONE CARES??? You can’t even call Women of Honor a colossal failure because it was never big or good enough to be colossal in the first place. It’s a bunch of thrown together matches with the only stories being “everyone wants the title” and “ALLURE IS BAD”. Klein has switched face with no particular reason and while I’m sure there is more of an explanation on their YouTube videos or Honor Club or whatever, the whole thing just kills anything any given show can have. The division is completely uninteresting and while the wrestlers are talented, this needs to die in a hurry.

We look at a Defy Or Deny match from early June, with Matt Taven pinning Flip Gordon to prevent Gordon from ever getting another title shot. They’ll do it again in a few weeks, because you want to see more Matt Taven!

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Villain Enterprises vs. Shinobi Shadow Squad

The Squad is challenging and jump PCO to start, earning themselves a backdrop to the floor. That leaves Isom to face PCO on his own, with the monster turning his back so Isom can have some free shots. Isom gets powerslammed for two with the rest of the Squad making the save as we take a break. Back with PCO being backdropped onto his partners, followed by Isom springboarding onto everyone.

PCO kicks out of all three at once and Cheeseburger’s palm strike has no effect (GOOD! NOW EAT THAT SCRAWNY MAN AND TURN HIS SKIN INTO A TOP HAT AND HIS BONES INTO SPOONS!). The chokeslam plants Cheeseburger, leaving King to crush them in the corner. The sunset flip/release German suplex combination sends Isom flying and Scurll kicks Nova’s leg out. A powerbomb gives Scurll two and King is back in with the swinging sitout Boss Man Slam to drop Isom. The Backstabber/running backsplash combination to Nova retains the title at 9:44.

Rating: C-. It was a much better match than the Women’s Title match but I never once bought the Squad as threats to win the belts. They’ve turned the Villains into some awesome champions and I’m not sure who is going to take the belts from them. That’s going to make the eventual title change more important and that’s some good booking.

Overall Rating: D+. And there goes the streak of good shows. This week really emphasized how lame Ring of Honor can be at times with no one feeling like a top star. Taven is World Champion and doesn’t feel like a big star. That’s the problem right now: no one feels like a big star because no one is a big star. Ring of Honor seems happy with just putting people out there to fill in time every week and if one becomes a bigger deal, good for them. That’s not going to work and it’s a reason why ROH has fallen off a cliff in the last year and a half.

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:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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: May 8, 2019
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Rhett Titus

It’s hard to say what we might be getting this week as last week’s return show after the trip to New York wasn’t the most thrilling in the world. It wasn’t bad by any means but I was expecting a little bit more. Maybe we get that tonight, but you really never can tell around here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Eli Isom vs. PJ Black

Isom gets the better of the wristlock exchange to start and it’s an early standoff. Back up and Black gets in an armdrag into some legsweeps but Isom hits a jumping knee to the face. A springboard missile dropkick is countered into Black’s Boston crab, which is reversed into a rollup as we take a break.

Back with Black cranking on both arms and grabbing a Billy Goat’s Curse of all things. That doesn’t last long so it’s a springboard high crossbody instead, with Isom rolling through for two. A German suplex gives Isom two more and it’s time for the not very dramatic exchange of strikes. Isom muscles him up for a Death Valley Driver but slips off of a springboard, allowing Black to hit a springboard 450 for two. The moonsault double knees to the chest finish Isom at 8:41.

Rating: C-. I’m still not feeling Black most of the time as there’s the same vibe from him as the Motor City Machine Guns, who feel like they have every single thing planned out at times. The match was the usual fine opener and I like Isom more and more every time I see him. There isn’t much to say here, but it was far from bad.

We recap the build to some of the matches on the War of the Worlds tour.

Ray Lyn vs. Kelly Klein

Non-title. Before the match, Ray says she likes Klein but doesn’t respect her and won’t shake her hand. Klein is NOT her champ, so Klein shoves her into the corner to start things off. We take another very fast break and come back with Lyn hitting a running knee in the corner but having her high crossbody reversed into a fall away slam. Klein gets in some running strikes in the corner, setting up K Power for the pin at 4:03.

Rating: D. So Klein is a face now? There isn’t anything about her that sounds like a face, but that hasn’t stopped wrestling companies from calling it a turn anyway. The match wasn’t a squash with Ray getting in some offense before getting crushed, though Klein as the star face of the division against Allure isn’t going to work. Granted it’s still better than whatever they’ve been doing for the last year plus.

Post match Klein commands respect from Lyn, who does shake her hand. Lyn leaves and Klein talks about being the fighting champion. Allure cares about their online presence and their looks but she cares about wrestling. That’s what Women of Honor is about but here are Velvet Sky and Mandy Leon. Angelina Love sneaks in with a bicycle kick so here’s Jenny Rose for a failed save attempt. Rose gets the lipstick branding, and yes we are supposed to believe that this isn’t a Beautiful People rehash.

We look at Rush beating Dalton Castle in 16 seconds at Madison Square Garden, causing Castle to snap and beat up the Boys.

Tracy Williams/Mark Haskins vs. Vinny Marseglia/TK O’Ryan

The Kingdom jumps them at the bell but get sent to the floor in a hurry as we settle things down. It’s an O’Ryan distraction so Marseglia can hammer away on Haskins before it’s O’Ryan coming in legally. A blind tag brings Williams in for the kick to the chest and it’s time to start on the arm. The Kingdom gets tied together and kicked in the chest, setting up a double camel clutch (with the legs still tied together) as we take a break. Back with Williams in trouble in the corner and favoring his arm.

Marseglia suplexes him back into the corner and O’Ryan slaps on a top wristlock. A raised boot in the corner lets Williams hit a middle rope Fameasser, allowing Haskins to come in off the hot tag. The Crossface into the Rings of Saturn has O’Ryan in more trouble until Marseglia pulls him to the rope. That’s fine with Williams, who hits a frog splash to continue the Radicalz tribute offense. The shoulder goes out on a powerbomb attempt so it’s an ankle lock to O’Ryan instead. Marseglia makes a save so Haskins grabs the pull back Sharpshooter to make O’Ryan tap at 9:51.

Rating: B-. Lifeblood may have completely faltered as a storyline but they still have the rather good matches which are more than enough to keep them in such a high place. The fact that they rarely lose helps as well and this was another nice win over a team with some value. Not a great match or anything, but fine for a TV main event.

Post match Williams calls out Bully Ray as a cancer in Ring of Honor and they want to cut him out. This brings out Ray, who mocks them for being upset about Tenille Dashwood. Ray tells them where they can go and leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The storyline advancement continues to take place at a rather slow place but at least the wrestling made up for it (mostly) this week. It still feels like they are in search of a top story and realizing that the World Title situation isn’t the best idea in the world. Not a great show as it feels like they’re slowly getting back to normal.

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: March 13, 2019
Location: RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

I’m not sure what to expect from this show anymore and that’s a very cool thing to say. The stories have gotten awesome as of late and that makes me want to keep watching. This is the unofficial go home show for the Anniversary Show this Friday, where a lot of things will be set up for the MSG show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Jay Lethal destroying Matt Taven’s fake World Title last week.

Opening sequence.

Kingdom vs. Villain Enterprises

TK O’Ryan/Vinny Marseglia vs. Marty Scurll/PCO here with no one in either corner. The Kingdom jumps them before the bell but a screaming PCO clotheslines them both. He and Scurll clear the ring and pose before settling down to work on O’Ryan’s arm. Marseglia breaks up a sunset flip attempt though and whips Scurll nearly through the barricade to take over. Back in and a double suplex gets two on Marty as we take a break.

We come back with O’Ryan ripping at Marty’s eye like a true villain should. A headbutt misses and it’s off to PCO for the scary power. I don’t mean that he’s overly strong, but he has power while being scary. Scurll backdrops the Kingdom to the floor and then backdrops PCO onto them for a good visual. Back in and a frog splash gives PCO two on Marseglia, who is right back up with a Russian neckbreaker on Scurll. What looked to be a piledriver on the apron is broken up and Marseglia suicide dives onto PCO. That lets O’Ryan bust Scurll’s spine, setting up a Swanton from Marseglia for two.

We take a second break and come back again with another Swanton driving PCO through a table. PCO almost immediately sits up but gets shoved off the top, sending him face first into a chair on the apron. O’Ryan hits a moonsault for two more on Scurll but Marty is right back with a powerslam into a Boston crab. A middle rope legdrop from PCO makes it even worse and Marseglia gets catapulted into the corner. The chickenwing makes Marseglia tap at 16:33.

Rating: B. It was energetic and long, which is the kind of thing that this company does well. I like Villain Enterprises a lot and having a monster like Brody King on the team as well makes them that much better. There’s a good chance that they could go after some titles soon and I could live with that including Scurll being World Champion. At least it’s not Taven.

Rush rants in Spanish and seems to say this is his house. Bandido comes in and speaks more Spanish before offering a handshake. That’s not happening, but they’re meeting at the Anniversary Show so there was indeed a clear point here.

Mayu Iwatani vs. Holidead

Iwataini’s freshly won Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Iwatani kicks her in the ribs to start and ducks a big boot as they start fairly fast. A dropkick puts Holidead on the floor but she makes a quick save on top and tries a superplex. Since that might kill Iwatani, they knock each other to the apron instead, followed by a Stunner over the rope to drop Iwatani. An apron legdrop takes us to a break and we come back with Sumie Sakai cheering for Iwatani.

Holidead rams her back first into a few buckles and shrugs off the kicks to the ribs. A kick to the head works a bit better but Holidead is right back with a belly to back suplex for two. Iwatani is back with a crucifix bomb for two more, only to get blasted with a clothesline for the same. With nothing else working, Iwatani superkicks her into a German suplex, followed by another kick to the head. A good looking moonsault finishes Holidead at 8:23.

Rating: C. Iwatani is already about 184x more interesting than Sakai ever could have been so at least they’re going in the right direction. I just hope we don’t have to see the two of them fight in some teacher vs. student deal, as I don’t think I can handle that much more Sakai. Anyway, entertaining match here, mainly because Iwatani has some good charisma.

Post match Kelly Klein and Team Kelly (A bunch of people in track suits who we’ve never seen before. I know it’s probably something established on Honor Club, but you can’t expect us to watch all that stuff and know who these people are.) appears. Iwatani takes them out like the goons (who only attack one at a time) they are, leaving Kelly to hold up the title, setting up their title match at the Anniversary Show.

We look at the Briscoe Brothers fighting with Villain Enterprises, setting up their title match at the Anniversary Show.

Kenny King vs. Dalton Castle

Castle, with taped ribs, is shaken up after losing the fall in the ten man tag a few weeks ago. King isn’t shaking hands to start so Castle takes him down with a waistlock. The gutwrench is blocked though and we hit that Peacock Pose. King gets knocked to the floor and Castle does the strut. We take a break and come back with King working on the ribs because he’s smarter than he looks.

A short DDT gets Castle out of trouble but it bangs up the ribs even more. They take turns missing a series of clotheslines in the corner so Castle goes with a suplex into the reverse Sling Blade for two. The wrestling isn’t working for King so he heads outside and grabs one of the Boys to throw at Castle. The distraction sets up the Royal Flush to finish Castle at 6:48.

Rating: C-. This was more angle advancement for Castle, who might be heading for a heel turn after all of these losses. The problem with that is Castle being so charismatic and great at what he does that he’s going to get cheered anyway, but maybe they have an idea to make up for that. It’s a risky move, but something that could work.

Post match King promises to beat up Marty Scurll again at the Anniversary Show.

Matt Taven is distraught over his title being destroyed and swears vengeance.

Pay per view rundown, with the quick promos from various people.

The Briscoes say they kill people.

Kelly Klein promises to win her title back.

Marty Scurll says the match may be in Kenny King’s hometown but it’s Villain Country.

Here’s Taven to rant about the title being destroyed. He’s out here by himself and Jay Lethal needs to come out here and face him like a man one on one. Lethal comes out in street clothes but the Kingdom runs in and beats Lethal down. Taven rips off Lethal’s clothes and the comeback is cut off by the numbers game. A table is brought in but here’s Jonathan Gresham to make a failed comeback bid. House of 1000 Corpses plants Gresham and he goes shoulder first into the post. A top rope elbow puts Lethal through the table to end the show. Nice heat segment here, though it’s still Matt Taven.

Overall Rating: B. Did this company change creative recently or something? They’re even getting their go home shows right as this was way more entertaining and focused than most shows before a pay per view. The TV has been a lot better but the next thing they need to do is nail a big show. They’ll have a chance on Friday and they already have a good track record with pay per views, so hopefully history stays on a roll. Another good show in a lengthening series of them.

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: January 2, 2019
Host: Ian Riccaboni

Now this one could be interesting and the focus is going to be on the Women of Honor. Why is that interesting you may ask? Well for once we might actually get to know what is supposed to be interesting about some of them. There are several women in the division, but I’m still not sure what is supposed to make a lot of them stand out. Hopefully we can find some of that out here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with a quick video looking at the division as a whole, plus some of the bigger names over the year.

From Honor Reigns Supreme in Philadelphia.

Tenille Dashwood/Mandy Leon vs. Kelly Klein/Stacy Shadows

This is Dashwood’s in-ring debut and I believe Shadows appeared a few times on TV over the year. Shadows and Leon start things off with Mandy hitting some pretty weak chops to the much bigger Stacy. That just earns her a forearm to the face and it’s off to Dashwood in a hurry. Tenille gets her to miss a charge over the ropes and fires off some kicks, followed by a Stunner to send her throat first into the middle ropes.

Dashwood charges into a boot to the face though and Kelly comes in for a cravate with knees to the face. The headscissors into the Russian legsweep gets Dashwood out of trouble and we take a break. Back with Kelly sending Leon into the corner and kneeing her in the face again. Stacy comes in for more of the same and throws Mandy down by the hair as the boring match continues.

Mandy does the big dive towards the corner but can’t quite get there until a DDT gets her out of trouble. The diving tag brings Dashwood in to clean house, including a shotgun dropkick to send her into the corner. The Taste of Tenille connects and the reverse layout DDT plants Stacy again. Mandy dives on Kelly and the yet to be named Spotlight Kick finishes Stacy at 9:00.

Rating: D. This was every boring tag match that you can imagine with the only good part being Tenille coming in for the big win in the end. I wouldn’t have had her in there against someone like Stacy who Dashwood can’t do a lot against, but maybe they didn’t have anyone else. It wasn’t terrible but it was dull, and that’s worse.

We see the end of Sumie Sakai vs. Kelly Klein for the first Women of Honor Title in a pretty lame ending with Klein kicking out of Sakai’s regular finisher and then getting pinned with a regular DDT. The big celebration is included.

From May 30.

Women’s Title: Sumie Sakai vs. Jenny Rose

Sakai is defending and Rose is another one of those interchangeable women that Ring of Honor thinks is important or interesting because they’ve been around for a while. Sumie takes her into the corner for some fast stomping and Rose is sent outside as we take another early break.

Rating: C. And the problems for the division continue. I’ve been watching Ring of Honor for a good while now and I still couldn’t tell you anything significant about either of these two. Rose trained with Sakai and wants the title. Fine. Now tell me something about Sakai or Rose. Let them have some promo time or a character or something, but what we’re getting right now is just people having not great matches.

From Honor United in the UK on May 27.

Women’s Title: Sumie Sakai vs. Chardonnay

Sumie is defending and shrugs off a cheap shot attempt. That means some stomping in the corner before Chardonnay gets tied in the ring skirt for a quick spanking. Back in and Chardonnay hammers her down before sending it right back to the floor. That means a baseball slide to send Sakai into the barricade but Sumie is right back with chops to the neck. A crossbody off the barricade misses though and Sumie crashes hard.

Chardonnay gets two off a chop and the Boston crab goes on. Sumie grabs the rope and we take a break. Back without much having changed as Chardonnay chokes in the corner and yells at the crowd. Sumie fights back with a running knee and Smashmouth gets two with almost no reaction on the kickout.

A bridging German suplex is good for two more on Chardonnay, who comes back with a spinebuster for the same. Chardonnay’s signature butterfly suplex gets two more but the Tower of London is broken up. Sumie misses her moonsault and gets caught with a running knee to the face for two more. Another butterfly suplex is countered into Smashmouth for the pin to retain at 10:46.

Rating: C-. Chardonnay had a good look and moved well in the ring but the lack of drama and crowd reaction really pulled the energy out of this. Sumie was her usual uninteresting self and that’s not exactly a good thing for a match like this. You can only do so much with these international house shows and this was no exception to the rule. Not terrible, but pretty dry.

From Best In The World.

Sumie Sakai/Jenny Rose/Mayu Iwatani/Tenille Dashwood vs. Hazuki/Kelly Klein/Hana Kimura/Kagetsu

Kagetsu is the Stardom Champion and we get a staredown over the titles. Sakai wants to start for the team and gets kicked in the face by Kugetsu. Well that’ll teach her. Kimura comes in and wants Dashwood, meaning the brawl is on. Before that has a chance to go anywhere, it’s Klein coming in to throw Jenny around. Of course the fourth pairing comes in with Iwatani Sling Blading Hazuki. I might be a bit more excited if you didn’t know the tags were coming as soon as the sequence started.

The villains (Klein’s team in case you get confused by the teams with a bunch of names thrown together because you don’t do your Stardom homework) come in and triple team Sakai with three boots on her face at once, allowing Kimura to hold up the Oedo Tai (stable) sign for a cute visual. Sakai DDTs Klein and the hot tag brings in Dashwood to clean house, including a double Taste of Tenille in the corner.

A high crossbody gets two on Dashwood and Sakai comes back in with a missile dropkick. Everything breaks down again and Sakai gets a guillotine choke on Kimura. That’s muscled into a delayed suplex for two on Sakai but Kagetsu hits Kimura with the sign by mistake. Sumie dives onto a pile and hits a dragon suplex for the pin on Kimura at 10:27.

Rating: C. I say this a lot and I’m going to keep saying it until it’s no longer a problem: I have no idea who these people are and I don’t know why I’m supposed to care about them. It’s a bunch of Stardom talents and some names from Ring of Honor, who I don’t know either for the most part. The division does exist, but it’s not going to go far if I have to do outside research to figure out who these people are or what they’re doing here. Give us some quick videos or translated promos if necessary, but find a way to let us know what’s going on.

Overall Rating: D+. Everything that has been bad about this division since its inception was on full display here: the non-existent characters, the not great wrestling, the matches that just come and go, and the incredible uninteresting Sakai at the top of the division. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen by a mile and there are some perfectly watchable matches at times, but the complete lack of character work kills any positives that could come from the whole thing. Highlighting the year is fine on paper, but was this really the best they could do? Boring show, but it went by quick.

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: November 7, 2018
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Colt Cabana

We’re onto a fresh taping cycle tonight and, believe it or not, the big story here in Philadelphia is about an ECW wrestler as Bully Ray and Flip Gordon are sending in representatives (Ray has already announced Silas Young) for a match where the winner gets to pick whatever happens to the loser. Should we just pull up a Tommy Dreamer graphic already? Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Gordon vs. Ray challenge and the setup for tonight.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Ray with an envelope as we’re starting big. He explains the concept again, because airing that video in the arena was too complicated. Flip comes out as well and has his own envelope, labeled “Bully Ray’s Punishment.” I’m not sure I want to see what’s inside there. Colt Cabana gets off commentary and gets in the ring, much to Ray’s stunned displeasure. Ray: “You really are stupid Flip.” Colt says he’s here for two reasons: to support Flip and to be in the ring when he sees who Flip has chosen. And then this happens.

Silas Young vs. Sandman

Yes, because THE ECW TRIBUTES MUST CONTINUE!!! I get where they are and I get why they’re doing this, but do you really want to bring up this memory from ECW? The company that folded seventeen years ago? Meaning seventeen years after Sandman’s, ahem, athletic prime? Sandman canes him down for two as the fans chant for a company that is decidedly not Ring of Honor.

They head outside with Sandman in full control and grabbing a ladder. Coleman lists off some great ECW names and there are at least three of them who didn’t retire five years ago. Back in and Sandman gets sent into the ladder as we hear about Mikey Whipwreck and Joel Gertner. Silas gets in a few shots of his own and then grabs a table. Sandman puts the ladder on top of him and hits the Swanton onto the ladder onto Silas for two. That’s about it though as Misery finishes Sandman at 4:33.

Rating: D. Well it could have been worse. Again, I get what they’re going for here but egads this isn’t a good idea. It’s not like Sandman is an ROH legend. He’s a legend in the building they’re in at the moment. It’s bad enough that Ray is arguably the top heel in the promotion right now, but between this and Tommy Dreamer getting a spot at last year’s Final Battle, they need to cut out this ECW stuff. I’m sure the fans in the arena loved it, but there are a lot more fans on the other side of those cameras who are probably wondering why this is happening.

Post break, we see an edited version (with graphics and commentary saying it’s too violent to show in full) of Gordon’s punishment: ten Singapore cane shots to the back, because THEY DID THAT IN ECW TOO! Wrestlers eventually come out, including the Bullet Club with Cody making the actual save despite past issues with Gordon.

Everyone else gets out and Ray says this one is for Brandi. Gordon won’t give up and says F*** YOU to Ray because he has one more. Ray hits him low instead and everyone comes in to scare him off. It was an effective angle, though the ECW stuff really hurt it for me. Not worthy of using half the show, but it was good.

Karen Q./Britt Baker/Kelly Klein vs. Jenny Rose/Madison Rayne/Sumie Sakai

Mandy Leon is on commentary. Apparently Klein attacked Rose at the zoo in Japan. That’s not something you hear too often so at least they’re doing something. I mean, showing us that might be interesting but I’ll take what I can get. Sumie chops away at Baker to start but gets rolled into something like the Rings of Saturn.

That’s broken up just as fast and Sumie hits a running knee to the chest for two. The Sling Blade gets the same on Sakai and Baker runs the ropes, until Karen tags herself in (Coleman: “I wish she’d tag me like that.”). Jenny comes in for a headlock and it’s quickly off to Madison for a wristlock. A northern lights suplex gets two and we take a break.

Back with Sakai hitting a headscissors on Karen and bringing in Madison to dropkick Kelly. A crucifix driver hits Karen for no cover as she’s not legal (good referee) and it’s a ripcord cutter for two more. Rose and Kelly come in for the brawling but actually settle in with an abdominal stretch on Kelly. That’s broken up so Rose rolls Kelly up for the pin at 8:14.

Rating: D+. Another Women of Honor match with little story (though Rose vs. Klein was something) and no one really standing out. Pinning Klein is a big deal for Rose, but I still don’t know anything about her, though apparently she goes to Japanese zoos. The division just isn’t working and I’m not sure how they can fix it, though it’s not exactly getting better.

The Kingdom is ready for their six man tag next week.

Kenny King vs. Cody

Non-title, Jay Lethal is on commentary and Brandi has changed her outfit. Feeling out process to start with neither headlock going anywhere. Kenny’s wristlock works about the same and it’s time for some dancing. Cody tries a hammerlock instead and gets hiptossed down as it’s all King so far. The drop down right hand finally takes King down and a release gordbuster gets two.

Back up and King falls down but blames Brandi, who was nowhere near him. A Flatliner gets two on King and this time he accuses Brandi of a slap. King puts him down again and grabs a chinlock as we take a break. Back with a double clothesline taking both guys down for a breather.

Cody is up first with the Disaster kick for two and a superplex is good for the same. Kenny sends him outside for a dive and there’s a spinebuster for two of his own. With Cody down, King throws an elbow pad at Brandi, drawing her in to distract the ref. Cody gets up and King throws him the IWGP US Title before falling down, ala Eddie Guerrero. Another referee runs out to say not so fast so King shoves the referee for the DQ at 11:09.

Rating: D+. That ending was all kinds of messy and continues my streak of not liking something about King’s matches. Cody wasn’t doing any favors here either as he hit the Disaster kick and not much else. They were hyping up King getting a title shot this weekend so there was indeed a point to the thing, but it wasn’t working for me, as tends to be the case in their main event stuff.

Post match Kenny kicks Cody low and grabs Brandi but Lethal runs in for the save. Brandi leaves and Kenny belts Lethal down to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This one was way off as the first half was spent on a single angle that featured Bully Ray, the Sandman, and an angle that felt more like a tribute to ECW than anything else. Then you had a women’s match that just showed how much the women all run together and a main event with an overbooked ending. I hope this was a one off bad show because this really missed bad.

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: August 15, 2018
Location: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Virginia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

Your guess is as good as mine about what we might be getting this week. This show could be about wrestling, it could be about storytelling, or it could be about setting up some show for the Honor Club that doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. The company is all over the place anymore, mainly due to not having a big show to build towards at the moment. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bouncers vs. Briscoe Brothers

Non-title and the Bouncers are the Beer City Bruiser/Brian Milonas. Brian catches Mark’s crossbody and throws him hard with a belly to belly suplex. Jay comes in and gets rocked as well, with the Bouncers running the Brothers over without any trouble. Another hard shoulder knocks Jay down but the Brothers are back up with a double knockdown to the floor. That means a big flip dive from Jay, followed by a Whisper in the Wind from Mark as we take a break.

Back with Mark in more trouble and Milonas hitting his falling backsplash for two. A Trash Compactor of all things gets two on Mark with Jay having to make the save. Bruiser misses a Cannonball off the apron though and the Briscoes start the running corner clotheslines to put Milonas in trouble. A missed charge sends Bruiser into Milonas and an impressive Death Valley Driver gets two on Milonas. There’s a Blockbuster from the apron to Milonas, followed by the Froggy Bow for the pin at 9:27.

Rating: C+. I came into this one ready to not like it but the Bouncers were much better than I was expecting. They were in there working hard and doing a strong big man style, which is where they do have value. Granted it helped to be in there against a team as good as the Briscoes. I’m not sure how well it would have worked without them, but that’s how any better match works.

Post match the Briscoes say no one is taking these belts from them, especially So Cal Uncensored. Cue So Cal Uncensored to talk about how they need gold to stick around at the end of the year. The fight is on and referees are breaking it up as we take a break.

Karen Q. vs. Madison Rayne vs. Kelly Klein vs. Tenille Dashwood

The winner gets a future Women’s Title match and it’s one fall to a finish. All of them get an inset promo on their way to the ring. Believe it or not, they all want to be champion. Way to show the awesome levels of character depth from this division. Karen bails to the floor to start and Klein is proud of ducking an early double clothesline, only to be knocked to the floor.

Madison rolls Dashwood up for some near falls and lets her know how close that was. That’s enough to bring Karen back in but she gets suplexed upon arrival. Ian says there are supposed to be tags here, which is quite the news to Colt. Fair enough actually. Karen is back up with some running forearms to Madison and a snap suplex gets two. Dashwood puts on the Tarantula and takes Karen up top, only to have Kelly come back in with the Tower of Doom on everyone as we take a break.

Back with Dashwood taking over but Klein breaks up a near fall on Karen. Klein puts Karen up in a fireman’s carry and easily catches Madison in a fall away slam at the same time. No matter who does those things, they’re always impressive. A high crossbody gives Dashwood two on Klein and the Spotlight Kick connects, only to have Karen steal the near fall. Madison is back up though and the Rayne Check finishes Karen at 9:36.

Rating: D+. Just a big collection of stuff here without much of a flow or story being told. Madison as the next challenger is a good idea as you need someone with some name value to the more common wrestling fan (Madison isn’t a star but she’s better known than the Stardom women in America). I’m a bit surprised given that Madison is in the Mae Young Classic but this feels like a one off title shot anyway.

Here are Cody and Brandi Rhodes to take issue with the way his World Title rematches have gone. Yes he’s had two shots, but neither of them have been on on one. He needs someone to come out here who is all business so here’s NWA World Champion Nick Aldis, who Cody will be defending against at All In. Aldis talks about agreeing to their match at All In, but where’s the upside for him? What does Cody have to offer him? There’s no ROH World Title on the line so Aldis has nothing to gain, and that doesn’t sound like good business.

Cody offers up the ring of honor as collateral, which Aldis accepts and leaves. Hang on a second though, as Cody calls out Aldis for beating a 53 year old history teacher for that title while Cody was beating Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi. Aldis gets back in and holds up the ring but here’s the Bullet Club to break things up. Nice segment here, especially for a match with the most obvious ending in the world.

Cheeseburger/Flip Gordon/Josh Woods vs. Bully Ray/Punishment Martinez/Shane Taylor

The Club is defending but hang on a second as here’s Bully Ray to post Flip and take him out. Post break, Bully and company say Cheeseburger and Woods need a partner so the fans chant for Colt Cabana. Cheeseburger says they’ll do it 3-2 so let’s hit the bell.

Cheeseburger/Josh Woods vs. Bully Ray/Punishment Martinez/Shane Taylor

Woods and Taylor start things off but Shane tags out to Martinez instead. That’s fine with Josh, who slugs away in the corner and a suplex has Martinez in trouble. Martinez stomps him out of the corner though and now Taylor is willing to come in so Woods suplexes him as well. Bully comes in and Cheeseburger comes in for the not very well done staredown. Cheeseburger slips out of a powerbomb and avoids a charge but Ray hides in the other corner.

The distraction lets Taylor crotch Cheeseburger and we take a break. Back with Ray talking a lot of trash as Cheeseburger tries to crawl to the corner. Shane knocks Woods off the apron with the running right hand and with Cheeseburger alone, Cabana runs in to be the third man and clean house. Cheeseburger tags himself in for a top rope double stomp and Cabana dives onto Ray. Taylor comes back in with Greetings From 216 and the pin at 7:41.

Rating: D. Good. I liked watching Cheeseburger’s head bounce off the mat and I was smiling when he got pinned. The character wasn’t creative in the first place and I’m sick of having the same stories pounded into my head for years now. It’s really annoying to watch him in there so often and even occasionally getting the better of people nearly 200lbs heavier than him. I can’t stand the guy and it was nice to see him get beaten up and pinned. Do it less often though, because it would mean Cheeseburger isn’t wrestling as often.

One positive: a thrown together team was fighting people they have issues with and not getting a random Six Man Tag Team Title match. I had just glanced at the graphic earlier and thought this was a title shot for Cheeseburger and company so the match we actually got was a bit of a relief.

Post match the beating is on but Flip Gordon comes back out with a chair for the save. Ray and company bail to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Like I said, this was another show where it was a total guessing game of what you were going to see. The wrestling wasn’t great to say the least (though the opener was good) and the main event angle is one of my least favorites in wrestling for the last year minimum. Building towards All In is better than nothing and gave the show its best segment. Other than that though, it feels like they were just throwing stuff out there and hoping for the best this week.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: July 18, 2018
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

Now I bet you were expecting some storyline development since we’re about three weeks removed from Best in the World, but you don’t know your Ring of Honor. Tonight is a gauntlet match for the #1 contendership to the Six Man Tag Team Titles. I’m not sure if there’s anything else on the card, but it wouldn’t shock me. Let’s get to it.

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

The Kingdom can’t wait to see how which Melvins get the next title shot because the conspiracy is still real.

Opening sequence.

Kelly Klein vs. Jenny Rose

Well at least there’s something else. Rose won’t put up with the trash talk and slaps Klein in the face to start. They hit the mat with Rose getting two off an Oklahoma roll and an armdrag out of the corner has Klein a little flustered. Rose charges into an elbow in the corner though and we take a break. Back with Klein dropping her with a clothesline and getting two off a one handed cover. She’s quite good with the cocky character.

There’s a running boot to drop Jenny again. Riccaboni: “Jenny Jenny, Kelly has your number right now.” Jenny turns to a running elbow in the corner and a release German suplex sends Klein flying. Klein is in trouble but grabs a quick suplex and rolls through into the End of the Match for the knockout at 7:58.

Rating: D+. Rose is another name in the division who can do the basics but can’t get much further than that. Klein and Dashwood come off as miles ahead of everyone else and it makes things look that much worse every time they’re out there. I still have no idea who these people are and I don’t know anything about them. The division isn’t going to get any better until that’s changed.

The Dawgs go to ask Cody for money to pay Shane Taylor to be their partner. Cody: “I just financed a 10,000 seat arena. I don’t have expendable cash right now.” The Dawgs think Marty Scurll might have it but Cody’s not cool with that. He pulls out an envelope of money and hands it to them instead, much to the Dawgs’ delight.

Matt Taven joins commentary with the Kingdom behind him.

Gauntlet Match

Five team trios gauntlet match with the winners getting a future Six Man Tag Team Title shot against the Kingdom. Shane Taylor/The Dawgs vs. Jonathan Gresham/Alex Shelley/LSG start things off, showcasing the depth of this “division” with two thrown together teams. LSG chops Taylor for no effect to start so Taylor kicks him in the chest. It’s off to Titus vs. Gresham as Riccaboni says every team has to start somewhere. True, but maybe it shouldn’t be in a #1 contenders match.

Shelley and Ferrara come in to make sure we have all three combinations before it settles down to Taylor headbutting Shelley in the face. Back from a break with Shelley avoiding the doggy splash. The hot tag brings in LSG for a running flip neckbreaker and the rope walk flip dive to take the villains down. Back in and LSG ducks Ferrara’s right hand into a rollup for the elimination at 8:58.

Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser/Brian Milonas are in third with Bruiser wasting no time in hitting the flip dive off the apron. Milonas catches LSG’s dive and picks up Shelley for a swinging side slam/dropkick to the head combo. Young and Gresham have a series of standing switches to a round of applause, break apart, and then do it again. That’s enough wrestling for Milonas, who crushes Gresham with a crossbody as we take another break.

Back again with Gresham and Young doing more standing switches until Gresham scores with a DDT. LSG comes back in and starts cleaning house, including low bridging Milonas to the floor. Everything breaks down and LSG hits something like a low F5 on Young. Milonas comes in to run LSG over though and what Riccaboni calls a Hart Attack with a legdrop (or as the Midnight Express called it, the Veg-O-Matic) gets two. The backbreaker into the clothesline drops Shelley and Bruiser’s windup DDT plants Gresham. The PowerPlex is broken up though and LSG’s 450 pins Milonas at 19:46.

So Cal Uncensored is in fourth and beat the heck out of the exhausted trio. We take a third break and come back with So Cal Uncensored taking turns beating on LSG. Sky’s super hurricanrana sets up Celebrity Rehab for the elimination at 24:17. Good performance from the makeshift team and I’m fine with having them get squashed in the third fall against an established team.

The final team is Kenny King/Eli Isom/Chuckie T because….well someone has to be the final team. It’s a big staredown to start so let’s look at the announcers a few times. Chuckie backdrops Daniels to start and clotheslines him into the corner for the tag off to Sky. King comes in as well and can’t quite figure out the Best Friends elbow with Chuckie. Some forearms have Kazarian in trouble and it’s already back to Chuckie for the rolling hilo.

Back from another break with Isom missing a dropkick and getting pummeled down like the jobber that he is. A slingshot legdrop gets two and it’s off to the chinlock. Isom fights up for a clothesline and King comes in to pick up the pace. King kicks Kazarian in the face as everything breaks down. For some reason Isom gets tagged in and it’s a three way hug. Chuckie and King dive to the floor, leaving Isom to reverse Angel’s Wings into a cover for the pin at 35:16.

Rating: B. I really don’t care for the idea of having all of those teams being thrown together for something like this but the action was quite good. The LSG team was a nice collection of three guys with nothing to lose trying everything they could and the surprise ending wasn’t bad. I’m still not sold on this “division” though and this match didn’t change my mind about the future.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event dominates the show and was entertaining enough to make things work fine. That being said, it’s not like any of this stuff matters as the trio isn’t going to win the titles so this was just a big one off show with no long term importance. That’s fine once in awhile, but it’s been the case for three weeks now. Do something that matters, because this is really old.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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: June 13, 2018
Location: Odeum Expo Theater, Villa Park, Illinois
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re getting closer and closer to Best in the World and thankfully two of the biggest matches have already been announced. In this case that would be the World Title and Tag Team Title matches, though the Tag Team Titles are on the line tonight as well. If nothing else, hopefully we can get a good match without much possibility of drama. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Flip Gordon

Flip has to flip out of a wristlock to start and then flips away to avoid a leg sweep. That means a You Can’t See Me (Cabana: “Wrong TV show.”) and Gresham actually gives him credit. Gordon gets sent into the corner but Gresham isn’t exactly going right after him to follow up. The modified Octopus Hold has Gordon screaming in pain and Gresham turns it into an abdominal stretch to make things even better.

Flip gets out and dropkicks him to the floor, of course setting up the sky high dive to take Gresham out. Back from a break with an exchange of some loud chops and then a forearm off until Gordon kicks him in the head. Gresham’s springboard tornado DDT is countered into a Falcon Arrow for a slightly delayed two. The Star Spangled Stunner gives Gordon the pin at 8:51.

Rating: C. I’m surprised by the finish here as Gresham isn’t someone you would expect to be putting Gordon over. If nothing else this should give us more fuel towards the BOOK FLIP FOR ALL IN story, which is actually rather amusing and could lead to a good payoff. I can also go with Gordon using the Stunner as the finisher as he doesn’t need to flip around all the time.

Post match here’s Bully Ray to talk about Gordon. He didn’t know that Gordon’s family was from Montana, which is where Bully’s parents wanted to retire. When Ray’s mother died, he was in the process of buying his parents a ranch in Montana. When he was finishing up the purchase, his dad dies of a heart attack. Ray hands them pictures of his parents, which he had with him at the Hall of Fame induction.

He also found out that Gordon was in the Army, which means a lot to Ray. From now on, they have no heat and Ray wants to shake his hand. I won’t even bother suggesting that he’s being legit as he’s already kicked Gordon low by the time I finish the previous line. Gordon is just a young boy and Ray thinks he’s nothing.

Video on Kelly Klein vs. Deonna Purrazzo.

We look back at the end of last week’s show with Kenny King costing Austin Aries the TV Title and Aries beating him down after the match.

Kelly Klein vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Purrazzo is in street clothes and jumps Klein anyway, sending her into the steps. They head inside with Purrazzo trying an early Fujiwara armbar but getting rolled up for two instead. Purrazzo follows her to the floor and gets caught in a fall away slam to cut her off. Back from a break with Purrazzo rolling some German suplexes, capped off by a release to rock Klein again. A snap suplex that looked more like a brainbuster gets the same and there’s the Fujiwara armbar.

Klein is in the ropes so Purrazzo chops the heck out of her. One more armbar attempt goes badly though and Purrazzo is sent shoulder first into the post. A super fall away slam (without much elevation) gives Klein two and there’s a ref bump (which happens WAY too often around here). Purrazzo hits a cutter for no count and yells at the referee for being knocked down. Klein is back up and reverses the Fujiwara armbar into the End of the Match for the tap at 9:35.

Rating: C+. These are two of the best the division has and that’s not a good sign as they only had a fairly good match. The division has some talent but there’s a reason you rarely see most of the women outside of this company. When two of their best can only put up this kind of a match, they probably need to do something a little bit different as this wasn’t much to see.

Jay Lethal is facing Kushida at Best in the World. This was the announcement that he didn’t get to make last week.

Dalton Castle isn’t worried about facing two friends at the same time because he rages like a furnace. They should fear him.

Caprice Coleman is on commentary for the main event.

Tag Team Titles: Roppongi 3K vs. Briscoes

The Briscoes are defending. Jay and Mark won’t shake hands and jump their much smaller challengers before the bell. As usual, these guys are such great villains. Mark gets caught in the wrong corner to start with Yoh hitting a slingshot dive. Coleman says that new champions wouldn’t mean an upset here. Uh, time to go back to the pulpit Caprice. A double back elbow puts the champs in control though and we take a break.

Back with Jay dropkicking Yoh in the face but not bothering to cover. Mark goes up and gets dropkicked out of the air but Jay is right in to cut off the hot tag attempt. It’s back to Mark to rip at Yoh’s face but he takes too long to follow up, allowing the hot tag to Show. That means rolling German suplexes with a superkick setting up the bridging version for two. 3K (Dominator/sliding cutter combination) is broken up though and Jay kicks Sho in the face, sending us to our second break.

Back with Mark powerbombing Sho for two more and the champs aren’t happy. Jay superplexes Sho to set up the Froggy Bow for another near fall and Coleman is losing it on commentary. Yoh comes back in for some running forearms so Mark chops the heck out of the two of them. That’s fine with Roppongi, who hit double flip dives to take the champs out again. 3K hits Mark with Jay diving in for the save. Jay throws in a chair for a distraction though and Mark gets in the low blow. Sho gets choked out and the Jay Driller to Yoh retains the titles at 13:39.

Rating: B+. I had a heck of a time here with all four working hard and turning it into a really fun match. Roppongi 3K’s growth in just the last year is nothing but amazing as they’ve gone from some worthless jobbers to guys capable of having a really good tag match. Excellent main event here and one of the most exciting things ROH has done in awhile.

Overall Rating: A-. The main event alone carries this one as the first two matches, while fine, didn’t exactly have the most energy in the world. I’ll still take a fun, fast paced main event that caps off a solid hour of wrestling but I could have gone for some build towards Best in the World. At least Lethal vs. Kushida should be a lot of fun as we haven’t seen much from Kushida in recent months.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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