IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: April 10, 2019
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Nick Aldis

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

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

We look at Bandido beating PJ Black in January.

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

Bouncers vs. Voros Twins

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

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

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

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

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

Silas Young vs. Jonathan Gresham

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: April 3, 2019
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel And Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

It’s the go home show for the New Japan/Madison Square Garden Show and the first bit of fallout from the Anniversary Show. I’m not sure what they can do to set up and deal with those shows in the span of forty five minutes, though I’m so used to it at this point that it doesn’t matter. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Kingdom vs. Villain Enterprises for the Six Man Tag Team Titles. There’s enough for that to earn a recap?

Opening sequence.

Mark Haskins vs. Rush

Dalton Castle is on commentary and Rush kicks the hand away because he’s a little rudo. They grapple against the ropes and an amateur off on the mat goes to a standoff. Haskins’ chops have no effect so Rush knocks him to the floor and the beating is on. Back in and Rush stares down at Castle, who isn’t scared because he walked Fremont Street last night. Rush kicks at Haskins’ head so Haskins slugs away as the hard shots continue. A big shot sends Rush outside but he’s ready for the dive, allowing Haskins to swing back inside for a cool visual.

Haskins seems to drop him on a suplex attempt so it’s something like a V Trigger instead. Rush is right back with a fireman’s carry cutter for two of his own, setting up the running kick in the corner. The Tranquilo pose takes too long so Haskins comes after the arm, only to get powerbombed into the corner. Haskins is right back up with a Samoan driver for two of his own but walks into a running Canadian Destroyer. You don’t sell something like that though as Haskins hits a tornado DDT for a double nine count. Back up and Rush has had it, suplexing Haskins into the corner for the Bull’s Horns for the pin at 9:22.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of the young talent that Ring of Honor has brought in and how much better things can be with them around. There is more talent out there than just the Bullet Club and it’s a good move to showcase some of these people. Let us see who we like and what they can do, kind of like what made ROH work in the first place.

Castle is fired up and wants to punch the farm animal in the face and roast him for dinner.

We look at the Tag Team Title vs. Tag Team Title match being set up for Madison Square Garden. Since this is wrestling though, the match turned into a four way with the two champions (Guerrillas of Destiny and Villain Enterprises) being joined by Evil/Sanada and the Briscoe Brothers.

We look at the World Title three way match becoming a ladder match, which I think took place earlier in this taping cycle but is being included here due to scheduling issues.

Jeff Cobb says Will Ospreay beat him in a tag match in Japan for his only loss in Ring of Honor. At MSG, let’s make it title for title. Why we need to see this challenge now when it was announced at the Anniversary Show isn’t clear.

Also at MSG: Mayu Iwatani defends the Women’s Title against Kelly Klein, because THAT’S ALL THIS DIVISION IS GOOD FOR. We see a video on Klein not being sure if she’s good enough because she couldn’t get the title back. This is the biggest match in Women of Honor history. Good for it. Still don’t care because ROH hasn’t given me a reason to care in the slightest.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Villain Enterprises vs. The Kingdom

The Kingdom is defending and it’s a brawl to start (like it could be anything else) with all six fighting to the floor. Brody King goes inside and hits a big flip dive to take everyone out, including landing on his feet for a bonus. Back in and the Kingdom starts taking over on Marty’s leg, followed by a butterfly backbreaker for two on Scurll. Taven slams him down, declares himself the real World Champion, and brings Marseglia back in.

Scurll finally rolls over for an enziguri to bring in PCO for the crazy power, including pop up powerbombs all around. Marseglia manages to take him down with a cutter but it’s King coming in for a German suplex. We settle down to Scurll not being able to get the chickenwing on Marseglia and it’s a blind tag to bring Taven back in for the frog splash and a near fall with King making the save. Scurll fights off a triple stomp in the corner as PCO and King come back in to take over.

O’Ryan gets caught on the ropes for a 619 from Marty with a Cannonball to the back at the same time for a cool visual. King chops away but gets triple teamed, capped off by Rockstar Supernova. Scurll is legal though, allowing PCO to get back up and drive Marseglia into the apron a few times. Taven’s dive doesn’t work but PCO’s Cannonball from the apron connects to send us to a break. Back with Marseglia powerbombing PCO onto the ramp but it’s a chickenwing to make O’Ryan tap for the titles at 16:13. The post break part was barely a minute long.

Rating: C+. This one is going to depend on your taste as it was a wild brawl for the most part, but these people excel in wild brawling, making it a rather entertaining match. It also helps if you completely ignore the Six Man Tag Team Titles being some of the easiest titles in the world to win. Fun enough match though, and it does add something to the World Title match for a change.

Various wrestlers talk about what it means to be wrestling in Madison Square Garden. Castle thinks it’s BANANAS and Taven thinks the Kingdom Conspiracy was just a setup so he could be headlining this show. Either way, it’s a rather awesome deal for them to be at the arena and should put to rest any debate about ROH vs. Impact.

Overall Rating: C+. While the very (and I mean VERY) rushed build worked, it’s sad that this is the best they can do. They really can’t find some way to film some of the stuff in advance or have some of the post pay per view stuff come later when you can have some more filler episodes? It would actually have a flow instead of letting everything just stall for weeks before we get to something like this almost literally all at once. It’s not a bad show, but I have no idea if I want to see the show or not because it came flying at me all in one hour. That can’t be the best solution, but it’s the one they use every single time.

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/G1 Supercard
Date: April 6, 2019
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

My goodness it feels wrong to be typing that for another company. This is the indy/non-WWE main event of the weekend and the only show that stands a fighting chance to topple NXT for best event of the weekend. It’s a combination Ring of Honor/New Japan card and the first time New Japan gets to take the big stage in the big time. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Honor Rumble

This is a 30 man Royal Rumble with one minute intervals and the winner gets a future ROH World Title shot. Kenny King is in at #1 (by request) and Minoru Suzuki is in at #2. There is some horrible static during Suzuki’s entrance and it’s kind of distracting, though you can hear the roar over it just fine. For some reason King tries a chop and the fans know pain is coming. King runs the ropes a bit before the forearm connects and it’s Cheeseburger (erg) in at #3. He tries to chop both of them and gets knocked down, leaving the other two to fight as the announcers make hamburger jokes.

Beer City Bruiser is in at #4 and punches at all three guys before biting Cheeseburger, despite barely having any teeth. Suzuki kicks right back and it’s Sho of Roppongi 3K in at #5 for some dropkicks. Suzuki gets to kick him down in the corner though and it’s Shingo Takagi in at #6. He goes right for Sho to renew their rivalry and it’s Bushi, Shingo’s partner, in at #7. They double team Sho again until Yoh, Sho’s partner, is in at #8 for the greatest coincidence in Rumble history.

Yoh takes over on Shingo and Bushi as the ring is getting too full. A double dropkick connects (well half connects as Yoh’s half clearly wasn’t close) Shingo and Bruiser is the first elimination. Shaheem Ali is in at #9 and people start pairing off with Ali getting in some offense. It’s Rhett Titus in at #10 doing his best Chris Masters impression. He immediately poses in the middle of the ring until King kicks him in the head.

We’ve got King, Suzuki, Cheeseburger, Show, Takagi, Bushi, Yoh, Ali and Titus at the moment with LSG coming in at #11. More brawling against the ropes ensues and it’s Ryusuke Taguchi in at #12 (please get him out of here in a hurry). Taguchi starts throwing his rugby ball around and hits the hip attack until Will Ferrara is in at #13. The Dawgs have a mini reunion and it’s Chase Owens in at #14 as the ring is WAY too full, mainly due to the entrances coming far too fast.

No one comes close to an elimination again so it’s Rocky Romero in at #15 to complete the trio. He and Taguchi stare each other down because that nightmare of a match they had at Rev Pro wasn’t bad enough. The Forever Clotheslines start and everyone gets involved to hit Bushi for about thirty seconds straight. Romero tosses Bushi and it’s Brian Milonas in at #16. Milonas gets rid of Ali and LSG, meaning he isn’t worthless this time around. Bad Luck Fale is in at #17 to get rid of Roppongi 3K.

Cheeseburger gets thrown over but his friends catch him so he’s still in BECAUSE HE’S SMALL AND FUN AND WE ALL LOVE HIM SO FREAKING MUCH. Cheeseburger gets back in as Jonathan Gresham is in at #18. Shingo gets rid of Titus but Suzuki tosses him as the ring is thankfully clearing out a bit. Tracy Williams is in at #19 and with nothing going on, Yoshi-Hashi is in at #20 as Taguchi is eliminated. That gives us King, Suzuki, Cheeseburger, Ferrara, Owens, Romero, Milonas, Fale, Gresham, Williams and Hashi as Williams trades headbutts with Suzuki.

PJ Black is in at #21 and Ferrara is out as Black and Owens try to double team Suzuki. You just don’t do that as Suzuki eliminates Owens. Jushin Thunder Liger is in at #22 and you know the place is going nuts for that one. Liger fires off the palm strikes and gets rid of Milonas on his own. TK O’Ryan is in at #23 and Vinny Marseglia is in at #24 because of course. The Kingdom gets together and tosses Williams as Delirious is in at #25. The booker gets himself onto the biggest card in the company’s history? I’m as shocked as you are.

His entrance takes so long that it’s Tomohiro Ishii in at #26. Now this guy has to get rid of at least a few people. Black is out first and it’s Toru Yano in at #27….or not actually as he runs over to commentary and gives his spot to Colt Cabana in a nice moment. Yano sits in on commentary and let’s put the camera on that instead of the ring. Hirooki Goto is in at #28 as Romero and Hashi are tossed. Everyone gets together to get rid of Fale and it’s freaking King Haku in at #29 (Yano: “VERY SCARY!!!”).

It’s a Tongan Death Grip for Cabana, who waves Yano down for the save. Yano comes in…..and it’s THE GREAT MUTA in at #30 to complete the field. Sweet goodness the one year I don’t go to Wrestlemania weekend and I miss Muta and Liger. The final grouping is King, Suzuki, Cheeseburger, Gresham, Liger, O’Ryan, Marseglia, Delirious, Ishii, Cabana/Yano (I’m not sure which you count as legally in), Goto, Haku and Muta. We get confirmation that Yano is in at #31 because why not.

Muta tosses Delirious and Yano accidentally hits Cabana with a buckle pad, allowing Suzuki to get rid of both of them. Gresham is out and it’s Goto and Suzuki going to the apron. Suzuki kicks Goto out and gets back in, giving us the required slugout with Ishii. They go to the ropes with Suzuki going for the armbreaker but Ishii pulls him up for the lariat and the elimination. We’re down to eight….and King is nowhere in sight so you know where this is going. Cheeseburger takes House of 1000 Corpses and gets tossed (I like this so much better all of a sudden) and Haku gets the same, minus the corpses.

Rating: D+. The one thing that this showed me was how much better New Japan’s roster is than ROH’s even in the undercard. Look at the biggest names in this match from both sides. Who from ROH was interesting here? King? The Kingdom? On the other side you have legitimate legends like Muta and Liger, plus stars like Ishii and Suzuki. This was one sided and the ending was just annoying as I was digging the visual of Liger and Muta, which is probably the only time they’ll ever be here.

As for the match itself, it felt like every WWE Rumble trick known to man packed into one match. Between the partners coming in on consecutive numbers to the #1 entrant lasting until the end to the always annoying “oh he’s not eliminated”, I’m pretty sure I just saw five Royal Rumble in one package. It’s fine to let everyone get on the card (Cabana’s face in the ring while he was soaking things in genuinely made me smile) but come up with something fresh instead of just copying WWE.

Post match Muta gives King the mist for a cool moment.

The opening video features the New Japan wrestlers talking about what it means to wrestle in Madison Square Garden. Fair enough man, as I still can’t believe I’m seeing it.

We’ve got pyro. But WWE can’t afford it right?

The announcers run down the card.

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

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

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

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

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

Rush vs. Dalton Castle

Rush dropkicks him into the corner and hits a pair of Bull’s Horns for the pin at 19 seconds. I was wondering how they would handle this and they handled it by making Rush look awesome.

Post match Castle snaps and beats up the Boys.

Mandy Leon joins commentary because Delirious still runs this company.

Juice Robinson has been attacked.

Women’s Title: Mayu Iwatani vs. Kelly Klein

Klein is challenging after they’ve traded wins over the last few months. Kelly sends Camp Kelly to the back so it’s one on one. An exchange of wristlocks doesn’t go anywhere so Klein gets smart by going after Iwatani’s bad knee. The leglock goes on with punches to the knee but Iwatani reverses into a rear naked choke. Klein breaks that up and catches a diving Iwatani in a fall away slam.

That’s not going very far though as Iwatani sends her outside and hits a big dive (good one too) but gets her throat snapped across the top rope. Back in and Klein wins an elbow off and drops Iwatani on her head in a release German suplex. She pops back up for the knockdown though and we get a quick breather. A dragon suplex sends Klein into the ropes but Iwatani misses the moonsault. Klein powerbombs her out of the corner and K Power gives her the title back at 10:16.

Rating: C+. Ok. It’s another title change between women I know next to nothing about. Klein certainly did beat her though and apparently that’s all ROH thinks we need to know, because it’s all they’ve given us in the year the title has been around. It doesn’t matter who holds the thing if we have no reason to care about (positively or negatively) about either of them and ROH doesn’t get that.

Post match Angelina Love and Velvet Sky (the Beautiful People, who Madison Rayne wanted to team with and then left anyway) debut and Leon comes to the ring. The three of them beat Klein down and do the same to an invading Stella Gray and Jenny Rose. A graphic pops up on screen dubbing them The Allure. Good. They’re already the most interesting thing in the division’s history because they’re known characters with personalities and the ability to talk. Now DO SOMETHING WITH THEM.

Caprice Coleman joins commentary because we need to keep that four person booth.

Here’s Mega Ran to perform the theme song. QUIT COPYING WWE ALREADY! The fans boo the heck out of this and here’s Bully Ray to interrupt. Mega begs off and gets beaten up anyway, but now we need a replacement opponent. Guess who’s here.

Flip Gordon vs. Bully Ray

Of course it’s Gordon because ROH has no idea how to end a feud. Gordon starts fast but Ray knocks him down and goes for an early table. Cue Silas Young and Shane Taylor though (oh here we go) and the beatdown seems imminent, but Juice Robinson and Mark Haskins run in for the save, complete with a bucket of weapons. Wait if Robinson is fine three minutes into the match, why was Gordon needed in the first place? I’m going to go with “that’s what the script said” and move on.

Flip Gordon/Mark Haskins/Juice Robinson vs. Bully Ray/Silas Young/Shane Taylor-

It’s now a six man with Juice unloading on Ray until a thumb to the eye lets him take over. Haskins and Gordon get together to take on Taylor but it’s the villains surrounding Gordon with kendo sticks. Gordon takes a shot, flips off Ray, and demands more. Haskins and Robinson come back in with more sticks and the good guys take over, leaving Ray down 3-1. The bailing up the ramp is quick but Robinson makes the stop. That earns him a low blow….and a superkick? From BULLY RAY?

Taylor helps clean house and sets up a table (Fans: “THAT’S NOT D-VON!”) for the powerbomb to put Gordon through. Ray gets crotched by Haskins, giving us the always funny “OW MY BALLS!”. Taylor brings in a wooden pallet but Robinson saves Haskins. Robinson Cannonballs Taylor through it instead and Ray takes What’s Up from Haskins (Ray: “OW MY BALLS!” Dang rough night for him.). Gordon adds the 450 for the pin at 14:59.

Rating: D+. This is a match that happened, even though we’ve seen Gordon beat Ray one on one before. I have no idea why we needed Gordon to do this again but I’ll go with ROH not knowing how to go anywhere else. You have an open challenge available and can’t have Ishii or Suzuki come out there and destroy him? At least they’re pushing Gordon, and that’s what matters most. Young and Taylor could have been any two warm bodies here, as Young was barely a factor at all.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Dragon Lee vs. Bandido vs. Taiji Ishimori

Ishimori is defending and this is going to be insane. The champ gets knocked outside to start and it’s Bandido with a pair of hurricanranas to Lee. The running flip dive takes Lee down but it’s Ishimori back in to crank on Bandido’s neck. Lee hurricanranas Bandido outside as they’re already crazy fast to start. Ishimori moonsaults onto both of them and they all head back in with Lee powerbombing Ishimori for two. Lee’s top rope double stomp is countered by Bandido’s super hurricanrana, earning himself a Canadian Destroyer as Lee popped right back up.

Ishimori knees Lee down but walks into a pop up cutter for two. Now Lee hits the top rope stomp on Bandido but his suplex is countered into a hurricanrana for two from Ishimori. The Bloody Cross gets two on Lee and they head up top with Bandido on his feet as well. Bandido catches them both for a SUPER DOUBLE FLOATOVER FALL AWAY SLAM (Cabana: “THAT’S NOT A REAL MOVE!!!”). After two on Lee, Bandido hits….something on Ishimori that we miss because the camera was looking at the crowd looking at itself on the screen. Lee knees Ishimori to the floor and hits a fisherman’s suplex powerbomb on Bandido for the pin and the title at 8:56.

Rating: B+. Oh come on like this was going to be anything but awesome. It was a pure spotfest and that’s exactly what we should have been getting here. Any of these guys could have left as champion and I’d bet on all three of them being champion at some point again. Just do more of this and they’ll be fine.

Ishimori puts the best on the new champ in a display of sportsmanship.

IWGP Tag Team Titles/ROH Tag Team Titles: Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Villain Enterprises vs. Evil/Sanada vs. Briscoes

The Guerrillas have the IWGP Titles and Enterprises have the ROH Titles, winner take all. Just to make sure PCO is ready, he’s strapped into an electric chair for some extra fire. The Briscoes start in a hurry and Jay is backdropped out to the floor. PCO suicide flip dives onto him and it’s a wild brawl all over ringside. The champs get back inside for the slugout but the Briscoes pull the Villains outside.

Sanada ties Tama in the Paradise Lock for the running dropkick but the Briscoes are back in to take him out. King comes in to crossbody both of them so here’s Loa for the big man showdown. King hits his own running flip dive (no hands) and it’s Mark with his own corkscrew dive (you never see that). Jay’s running Blockbuster off the apron drops Sanada and Tama kicks Jay outside.

Evil wraps a chair around Tama’s head and hits it with another chair for the big knockdown. The Briscoes break up the Magic Killer and it’s the Jay Driller into the Froggy Bow for two with King making a save. PCO hits the Cannonball onto Mark on the apron and the fans go nuts as he’s been trying to hit that since he debuted. King’s Ganso Bomb into PCO’s moonsault crushes Mark again with the Guerrillas making the save.

The Guerrillas are done playing and powerbomb PCO over the top onto the floor (nothing to break the fall)….and he sits up, which actually shocked me. He falls back down, but I think he won the point already. Back in and the Gun Stun to King sets up the Superbomb to give the Guerrillas all the titles at 9:56.

Rating: B. Much like the previous match: let them go nuts and give the fans what they wanted. The Guerrillas winning isn’t exactly a surprise but how cool is it for PCO to make it back to the Garden as a champion? That’s the greatest career renaissance of all time and there’s nothing close to it.

As the match ends, Enzo Amore and Big Cass jump the barricade to flip off the crowd and yell, earning a beatdown from the Briscoes and Bully Ray. It wasn’t clear if this was a work or a shoot, but ROH retweeting a video of it should clear up the confusion. If anything could make me give up on this company, it’s having to listen to Enzo again.

The celebration is on and Toru Yano steals the IWGP Tag Team Titles. Why the Guerrillas don’t go after him isn’t clear. Colt: “He’s going to need a partner right???”

The announcers make sure to not talk about Enzo and Cass, though you can hear the fans booing them. We go to a shot of the video screen to fill in time. They’re getting booed, but I have a feeling it’s not the kind of heat that is going to translate well to ROH TV. The announcers do talk about “people trying to make a name for themselves.” It’s real people.

British Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre is defending and Tanahashi has bad knees coming in. Taka Michinoku is here with Sabre as the hype man. Taka asks who is going to win and then says Sabre doesn’t just win this one, but EVERY match. Feeling out process to start with Tanahashi tentatively going to the mat and getting spun around into a wristlock. Tanahashi goes with a kick to the ribs and a middle rope crossbody to some better success.

Sabre is right back with a cross armbreaker into a Disarm-Her but Tanahashi makes the rope. It’s time to start in on the shoulder (for now) and the cocky kicks bring Tanahashi back to his feet. Sabre throws him over the top and the shoulder keeps Tanahashi from skinning the cat. Never to miss an opportunity, Sabre grabs a cross armbreaker with Tanahashi in the rope. Tanahashi is back with a running dropkick and a middle rope Swanton for two.

The Cloverleaf doesn’t go on but an abdominal stretch does, leading to a fight over who can keep the hold. Sabre goes to the rope in a ruse, allowing him to crank on the arm some more. Tanahashi grabs a dragon screw legwhip for a break but can’t keep the Cloverleaf. Instead Sabre pulls him down into a triangle choke, which is reversed into the full Cloverleaf. Sabre is in the ropes almost immediately because he’s good at escaping as well as applying.

The High Fly Flow is broken up and there’s a Pele to the arm. Another dragon screw legwhip is countered into the European Clutch for two and there’s the PK to drop Tanahashi again. The Zack Driver is countered into another legwhip and Twist and Shout has Sabre in trouble. Sling Blade gets two but the dragon suplex is countered into something like an Octopus Hold and then a double arm crank with the legs (almost a full nelson) to make Tanahashi tap at 15:17.

Rating: B. Well of course it works. There’s something so fun about watching Sabre take someone apart like that, even if it’s Tanahashi. This was a great rub for Sabre, who could have a very long career on top if he keeps evolving. Those holds are deadly and of course Tanahashi will be fine as he’s been a legend for years now.

We recap Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi for the Intercontinental Title. Ibushi beat Naito in the New Japan Cup to earn a shot and it’s time to tear the house down.

Chris Charloton joins commentary.

IWGP Intercontinental Title: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi

Ibushi is challenging and Naito has the white suit on so you know it’s serious. I love the New Japan zoom in at the bell. Naito ducks a pair of charges to start and they lock up a minute in. Kelly’s summation: “They seem to enjoy dropping each other on their heads.” Naito grabs a headlock into a headscissors but Naito rolls out and hits the Tranquilo pose for the expected reaction. Ibushi’s hurricanrana sends Naito outside but he’s right back in for a baseball slide to put Ibushi out there instead.

A whip into the barricade has Ibushi in trouble and another one sends him into the crowd. Ibushi is back in at 11 (20 counts and titles can change hands on a countout) and Naito gets two off a neckbreaker. We hit the cravate as Naito stays on the neck until Ibushi is back up with a dropkick. Some kicks into a standing moonsault gives Ibushi two and it’s a running kick to the head to knock him outside.

Ibushi hides his head from the referee so Naito hits a reverse DDT onto the knee. Naito gets kicked off the top though and they fight to the apron, where Naito runs into a hurricanrana out to the floor in a crazy cool looking spot. Back in and Naito is fine enough for the tornado DDT for another near fall and frustration seems to be setting in. Gloria (arm trap belly to back on the back of Naito’s head) gets two but Ibushi blasts him with a clothesline.

To mix things up a bit, a dead lift German superplex from the apron gives Ibushi two more. The big knee to the face is blocked and a kind of kneeling piledriver from the mat (dropping Ibushi on his head again) gets another two. They slug it out from their knees and Naito spits in his face. That’s too much for Ibushi but Naito hit s a reverse hurricanrana into Destino for two and Naito is stunned. Another Destino is countered into a kick to the head and a pair of Kinshasa knees knock Naito sillier. The Gold Star Bomb gets two and the big knee to the face finishes Naito at 20:43.

Rating: A. As much as I was cringing at all those head shots, I wasn’t taking my eyes off of this as they were hitting each other as hard as they could and it was nothing short of outstanding. Ibushi fighting through for the sake of achieving his goal was great and this should free Naito up to go after the World Title again. Great stuff and exactly what the New Japan fans wanted on this show.

We recap the ROH World Title match. Jay Lethal is champion, Marty Scurll is crazy popular and has never been champion and Taven is cutting the same I SHOULD BE CHAMPION AND YOU’RE ALL AGAINST ME promos he’s been on for over a year. Taven and Lethal went to an hour long draw last month so he’s earned another shot while Scurll won the Survival of the Fittest. It’s a ladder match so there can be no biases from the referees.

NWA World Champion Nick Aldis joins commentary.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We recap the IWGP World Title match. Jay White rocketed up the ranks and defeated Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom before winning the title, partially due to Okada’s manager Gedo switching sides. Okada is back to his old self, having won the New Japan Cup, and is out for revenge and the title. Works for me, as New Japan stories are more about being well told than too complicated.

IWGP World Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White

White is defending and completely loathed by the crowd. The champ bails to the floor to start so it takes a little bit for the lockup. A shoulder puts Okada down but a Gedo distraction lets White grab a headlock takeover. Back up and Okada kicks him in the face, setting up a neckbreaker for one. They head outside and White goes hard into the barricade before going over the barricade.

Another Gedo distraction lets White drive him into the post and we hit the reverse chinlock back inside. A belly to back gets and a DDT has Okada down again. We go old school with the Muta Lock but Okada is right next to the ropes. Okada nips back up and hits a DDT of his own for two of his own. White’s kicks to the head just get on Okada’s nerves and there’s the dropkick to send White outside.

A Helluva Kick sends White over the barricade again and Gedo is tossed on top of him. The big dive over the barricade takes both villains down to a nice reaction. Back in and White escapes something and snaps off a Saito suplex. The White Noise onto the knee puts White down again and Okada gets angry with the shotgun dropkick into the corner.

The top rope elbow connects but White sits down to avoid the Rainmaker (thankfully we get the awesome zoom out). A Downward Spiral and a German suplex put Okada down again and White suplexes him into the corner. The Kiwi Crusher (White’s ROH finisher) gets two and Okada is right back with the Tombstone.

It’s time for the forearm exchange but Okada misses the dropkick. The second attempt connects but the Rainmaker is countered into a suplex. The Blade Runner is countered and the Rainmaker into the Rainmaker gets two, stunning the crowd. When is the last time you saw someone kick out of a pair of clotheslines?

Now Blade Runner connects for no cover as White is done. They forearm it out from their knees as we hit the thirty minute mark. Gedo offers another distraction and it’s a low blow to Okada. Both finishers are countered again so Okada goes with the dropkick. Two Rainmakers, a spinning Tombstone and another Rainmaker gives Okada the title back at 33:44.

Rating: A-. It was the most obvious ending in the world and White, while great, isn’t great enough to go all the way up to this level. Okada is one of the best of all time and is going to need a top challenger now that he has the title. That would seem to be Naito, which is as good of a match as you’re going to get right now. Let them do their thing and White can rebuild. He’ll be back.

Overall Rating: B. This one was a cut down the middle of a show as you’re going to get. We’ll start with the good. New Japan looked incredible here and showcased themselves on the biggest stage of American. Their stars looked like stars and the gave you enough of a set of styles that there was something for everyone. I don’t know what else there is to say here because everything they did worked in one way or another.

Then there’s Ring of Honor and it’s a bad night if you’re a fan. You got Kenny King, Kelly Klein and Matt Taven pushed as big deals (along with Rush and Gordon, the only good things to come out of this show for the company) pushed as big deals and those three people have one thing in common: ROH fans don’t care about them. King is the same guy they’ve been trying to milk something out of for years, Klein is boring and Taven is Jeff Jarrett without a Tennessee accent.

For ROH, this was a night of pessimism as they try to push whatever they can think of to get success without remembering what got them here in the first place. Tonight felt like they were trying to be WWE at times (Enzo and Cass) while also forcing us to accept ideas that we’ve already rejected (Taven). The future looks bleak at the moment and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. It’s like ROH doesn’t get it and that has been the case for way too long in the bigger situations. I still have some hope in Lifeblood, but other than that it’s a bad sign as they choke at the big show. Again.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. Lifeblood

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

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

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

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

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

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

NWA National Title: Willie Mack vs. Rhett Titus

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

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

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

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

Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham vs. Coast 2 Coast

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

17^th Anniversary Show
Date: March 15, 2019
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Nick Aldis

I think the title of this show speaks for itself as we have a big pay per view in honor of the company’s founding. The main event is Jay Lethal defending the World Title against Matt Taven, who continues to get a rocket push for reasons that tend to elude me. Other than that, the improbably rise of PCO continues as Villain Enterprises challenge the Briscoes for the Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on Jay Lethal’s records as World Champion but Matt Taven hijacks the video, saying that he’s tired of having his greatness ignored. Now you can start the show.

Kenny King vs. Marty Scurll

They’re both villains and have traded wins of late but Scurll does it with a smile. Kenny even brings out his own Scurll look alike to really rub things in. An uppercut sends King to the floor at the bell and Marty hits the apron superkick just as fast. Back in and they trade chops in the corner before Marty scores with an elbow to the face. Kenny is right back with a neck snap over the top and a springboard Blockbuster for the first two.

A Blue Thunder Bomb gets the second and we’re onto the chinlock. Aldis even analyzes that, as he’s very, very good on commentary so far. Marty fights up and goes up top, earning himself an enziguri to the floor. Of course the being down part doesn’t last long and it’s a tornado DDT off the apron for a knockdown. A snap German suplex into a backbreaker gets two on Kenny and there’s a 619 of all things for the same. King is right back with some kicks to the head and a spinebuster gets two.

With the wrestling not working, Marty starts going after the fingers so King sends him outside for a senton from the apron. Back in and the Royal Flush connects but Scurll rolls outside as King is down too for some reason. Frustration sets in so King grabs a chair, which is taken away in all of a second, allowing Marty to hit him with the umbrella for the pin at 12:45.

Rating: C. Perfectly watchable opener here with Marty using the cheating to win as is his custom. You knew Marty would win here but they did the entertaining stuff to get the fans into the show, which is the entire point of an opener like this. King continues to be fine as the midcard heel and losing to someone about to fight for the World Title next month isn’t going to hurt him.

We recap Jeff Cobb vs. Shane Taylor. It’s a battle of the bulls with Taylor being the only person who can hang with Cobb’s size and power. Cobb has been unstoppable since debuting and winning the title so this should be fun.

TV Title: Shane Taylor vs. Jeff Cobb

Cobb is defending and the fight is on at the bell with both of them no selling release suplexes. A dropkick staggers Shane but he Pounces Cobb off his feet. Some very hard chops have Cobb in trouble but he headbutts and uppercuts his way out of trouble. A running big boot sends Taylor outside, where he spears Cobb to take over again.

Back in and a Cannonball misses, meaning Cobb can throw him around with a pumphandle suplex (that’s insane). Taylor goes back to the strikes to the face until Cobb hits a clothesline, though his swing sends him falling to the floor. Back in again and they square up to each other for the slugout with Cobb hitting a running elbow in the corner. Taylor headbutts his way out of a superplex attempt so Cobb throws him down, setting up the standing moonsault for another near fall.

Rating: B. This was FUN. These guys beat the heck out of each other as only two hosses can and that’s what everyone wanted to see them do. Cobb is a special kind of talent and Taylor has gone way beyond just being a big guy. I had a lot of fun with this as it was a pure popcorn match in the vein of an old monster movie.

We recap the Women’s Title match. Mayu Iwatani won the title from Kelly Klein in a big upset and now it’s time for a rematch. Normally there would be more character building and development than that, but not in ROH.

Women’s Title: Kelly Klein vs. Mayu Iwatani

Iwatani is defending while Klein comes out with Camp Kelly, her unnamed goons. They actually shake hands before Klein jumps her at the bell, continuing a trend tonight. The champ gets knocked outside and it’s some knees to the face to keep her in trouble inside. There’s a running elbow to the face to cut off a comeback attempt as Coleman compares this to Razor Ramon vs. the 1-2-3 Kid, except Iwatani is called a star and not a rookie. And she won a long match instead of a fluke. Other than that, totally the same thing.

Iwatani fights back and hits a few kicks to set up a double stomp to the ribs. Klein wins a strike off though and sends Iwatani outside for a rather odd breather. Back in and they trade German suplexes, with Iwatani landing HARD on her neck. Mayu is fine enough to take Kelly down and hit a quick moonsault, but an attempt at a second only hits knees. K Power gives Klein two but her excessive trash talking lets Iwatani slap on a small package for the pin at 8:52.

We recap Lifeblood forming and their efforts to bring Ring of Honor back to normal. This included destroying Matt Taven’s fake World Title, meaning it’s time for Lifeblood vs. the rest of the Kingdom tonight.

It’s not time for the tag match yet though as here’s Taven to say he’s not waiting another second for his title shot so let’s do this RIGHT NOW.

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

Lethal is defending and they go straight to swinging instead of shaking hands. Some chops have Taven in early trouble until he suplexes the champ down for two. A clothesline gives Lethal the same but Taven is right back with some knees. Lethal is a little more down to earth with a right hand to the face and a suplex so Taven gives him a running forearm to the face.

We hit the chinlock on the champ to slow things down until Lethal is right back up with a dragon screw legwhip (remember that Taven had a major knee injury). The Lethal Injection is broken up and Taven blasts him with a spinning kick to the face. The chinlock goes back on as we get the breaking news of Will Ospreay challenging Jeff Cobb for the New York show. Cool match, though not the best time to announce it here.

Back up with Lethal favoring his shoulder and getting knocked out to the floor. That goes nowhere as Lethal nails a dropkick and starts in on the back with some knees. The reverse chinlock has Taven in trouble here as they seem to be burning through a lot of time. That’s broken up as well and Lethal gets two off a quick powerslam. Lethal goes for an inverted Texas Cloverleaf (with Lethal sitting on the mat and pushing on the legs) but the bad shoulder means it’s only with one arm.

That’s broken up as well so Lethal starts chopping and knocks Taven outside for four straight suicide dives, each on a different side of the ring. As you might expect, Lethal’s shoulder is banged up but his legs are fine enough to stomp on the bad knee. A kneecrusher gets two and the referee checks on Taven, allowing him to pike Lethal in the eye. Taven starts back in on the arm (makes sense) with a DDT on said arm and then just a hard pull. The cross armbreaker doesn’t last long so it’s a Stroke into a crossthroat/face.

With Lethal getting close to the ropes Taven switches into the Rings of Saturn, meaning Lethal needs to use a foot to make the rope. They stare each other down with Lethal headbutting him, earning himself more damage to the shoulder. A sitout gordbuster (not a sitout Falcon Arrow Ian) knocks Lethal silly, though not silly enough that he can’t hit a Lethal Combination. An enziguri has Taven in even more trouble and it’s time for Hail To The King….but the red balloons pop up for a distraction from Vinny Marseglia, allowing TK O’Ryan to hit Lethal with a baseball bat.

Jonathan Gresham runs in for the save and gets his ankle crushed by a chair. They load up a table but Haskins and Williams make a save as Gresham is taken out. Taven hits a low blow into the Climax for a very close two and the shock sets in. The frog splash gets the same so he tries it again, with the second attempt hitting knees. Lethal’s cutter connects for two more and they slug it out one more time.

A torture rack into a reverse Regal Roll gives Lethal another near fall but Hail to the King is countered into a crucifix. Lethal doesn’t even get to his feet as he grabs the leg for the Figure Four. The rope is finally grabbed so it’s time to stomp on the legs some more, much to Aldis’ delight. The knee is strong enough to revers a suplex to send Lethal over the top and through the table at ringside, with the shoulder taking a lot of it.

That’s only good for two as well and a backpack Stunner gets the same. You should be able to tell what’s coming here and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Lethal gets in a Climax of his own, setting up the Lethal Injection for the closest two yet and the fans are shocked. You don’t see that kind of a reaction too often around here and it worked well. Lethal isn’t sure what to do so he drops him face first onto the apron, with Taven not being able to get back inside.

A table is pulled out as Taven pulls himself to the apron. Lethal takes too long again and it’s a DDT to send the shoulder into the apron. Taven bridges a ladder between the apron and the table but Lethal dropkicks him onto the ladder, which can’t end well. Another Hail to the King only hits ladder, which doesn’t break, though Lethal himself may.

Rating: B+. I had a very good time with this one and they told an awesome story, though there was a stretch where things dragged in the second half. What matters the most is there’s a reason to believe that Taven can win because Lethal couldn’t finish him off. The good thing here though is I bought Taven as someone who was a threat to the title, which is quite impressive given how horribly uninteresting his promos and character have been over the last….ever actually. Anyway, great match here, and I get why they went with this in the middle of the show instead of the close.

Post match they’re both done so Marty Scurll comes out to hold up the title. Both guys get helped out.

Silas Young has attacked Gresham backstage.

Here’s a rapper named Mega Ran to perform but Bully Ray interrupts to say rap music sucks. Ray insults Man’s name being ripped off from a video game and then accuses Ran of playing wrestling games as a kid and playing as him. Ran: “Actually I played as D-Von.” Ray goes after both of them but security gets rid of them. That leaves Ray to rant about being the only one here or in New Japan to wrestle at Madison Square Garden. He even main evented and sold the place out. The fans chant for Flip Gordon but Ray cuts them off and issues an open challenge for the Madison Square Garden show. That….could be interesting.

We recap Rush vs. Bandido. Rush arrived and Bandido offered friendship but got turned down, meaning it’s time for a fight over who is the best Mexican import. I think?

Rush vs. Bandido

Dalton Castle is on commentary, with Coleman thanking him for bringing the Boys with him for the fanning. They don’t shake hands so it’s straight to the mat as Castle says both of them are rather handsome with great hair. Rush gets the better of things and it’s time for the flipping around with neither getting anywhere. That means a standoff until Bandido sends him outside, only to have a hurricanrana countered into a powerbomb.

Rush whips him into the barricade a few times and it’s a dropkick to the back of the head back inside. It’s too early to make a serious play for the mask so Rush claps a bit instead. Bandido isn’t much for clapping so he pops back up and kicks Rush to the floor for the big Fosbury Flop. Back in and a snap powerslam gives Bandido two but Rush knocks him into the corner for a breather.

A running kick to the face in the corner lets Rush hit the Tranquilo pose. The running Canadian Destroyer plants Bandido but he pops up for a running headscissors for the double knockdown. Rush knocks him off the top though and hits the apron superplex Bandido is back with a suplex and the springboard 450 with Rush caught in the ropes gives him two of his own.

Back up and Bandido gets dropkicked out of the air, setting up a big flip dive to the floor. An apron piledriver is countered with a hurricanrana off the apron and they’re both down on the floor. They head inside with Rush taking a knee to the head but being fine enough to suplex him into the corner. The running corner dropkick (The Bullhorns) finishes Bandido at 14:52.

Rating: B-. I’m still not sure why they were fighting because we never got a translation or subtitles but the match was your high flying, hard hitting lucha libre style fight and that’s what they were brought in to do. Bandido is a great high flier and Rush is clearly a star in the making (if not already made). ROH needs to enjoy Rush while he can, as he might not be around much longer given how good he could be.

Post match Castle gets in the ring and challenges Rush for Madison Square Garden. That might be a si.

Silas Young has attacked Jonathan Gresham so there’s no match between the two of them. Haskins/Williams vs. Kingdom is off too due to time constraints. This kind of thing happens WAY too often for ROH.

We recap the main event, with the newly debuted Villain Enterprises going after the Tag Team Champion Briscoes in a wild brawl in Texas. Do I need much more of an explanation? It’s the Briscoes vs. PCO/Brody King in a street fight.

Silas Young joins commentary.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. Villain Enterprises

The Briscoes are defending in a Las Vegas street fight. They all head to the floor for weapons to start and go straight at it with the chairs to the back. The champs get the better of it as Silas says PCO/King don’t seem so tough now. The huge King is fine enough to hit a spinning high crossbody to take Mark down, leaving Jay to take a Michinoku Driver off the apron through a table.

Back in and PCO has King chop him to fire him up a bit but it’s King using a chair to drive another chair between Jay’s legs for the always painful looking spot. Mark kendo sticks PCO down and the Briscoes get a chance to double team King inside. A table is set up in one corner and a chair is wedged into another but King drives a Briscoe into each of them, with a Death Valley Driver putting Mark through the table.

Jay is busted open from hitting the chair so PCO hits him in the head with a piece of the table. King takes the stick away from Mark and hammers away but Jay drops PCO back first onto the apron as the announcers freak out over the blood on them. Back in and the very bloody Jay has King in trouble as Mark sets up a pair of tables at ringside.

The Blockbuster off the top takes King off the apron through the tables and King gets thrown back inside. The Jay Driller is only good for two (and a rather lame response from the crowd) so the champs beat on King with kendo sticks. PCO comes back and takes a beating of his own, which only fires him up. He breaks both sticks so Jay stabs him in the throat with the jagged stick to cut him off.

Another table is set up but King slams Mark off the apron and through a pile of chairs. The Jay Driller through the table is broken up and King hits a “piledriver” through the table instead. Back in and the moonsault onto the chair onto Jay is enough for the pin and the titles at 19:44.

Rating: A-. Sometimes you need to go all out with the violence and the blood which is what they did here and it was a heck of a ride. PCO and King winning the titles is a great way to end the show and it’s almost impossible to believe that PCO went from basically retired to this comeback. Really that’s one of the best stories you’ll see in wrestling and this worked very well for what might be the apex of his career. Great violent match here and a good chance of pace after everything they’ve had on the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Shortened card aside, this was a heck of a show and the kind of thing that Ring of Honor does well. Their TV might not be the best thing in the world but at least they can nail the big shows. The question now is what they can do on the huge stage, and there’s a chance that they could make something work incredibly well. It’s worth seeing and at less than three and a half hours, it doesn’t even run that long. Check this one out and have a good time.

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: March 20, 2019
Location: RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

It’s time for things to get a little weird as we have the post-pay per view show taped before the pay per view, meaning we won’t be getting any kind of fallout. In other words, it’s going to be all about the wrestling and I’m not sure what that’s going to include. Hopefully they have something good here so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Shinobi Shadow Squad vs. Silas Young/Briscoes

Oh this is going to hurt. Eli Isom and Jay start things off with Eli actually taking over for all of two seconds off a front facelock. A kick to the ribs cuts him down though and it’s off to Mark as the announcers tease spoiling a pay per view that hasn’t happened yet in a clever enough chat. Cheeseburger comes in and gets clotheslined as we take a break.

Back with Young clotheslining Burger as well before handing it off to Mark for a camel clutch. A missed charge lets Burger roll away a few times and the hot tag brings in Isom to pick up the pace. White Noise gets two on Jay but it’s the Death Valley Driver into the Froggy Bow….for two? The strong pushing of Isom continues and gets even stronger as his brainbuster hits Jay for another near fall. The Briscoes are done with him and come back in for a High/Low into the Jay Driller for the pin at 9:14.

Rating: C-. The more I see of Isom, the more I like him. There’s no reason for him to be anything more than a jobber but he’s trying hard and getting a bit of a push as a bonus. That’s nice to see and the fact that he’s an average sized person and not Cheeseburger sized makes it better. There was no way the villains were losing here, but at least there was a nice moment or two.

Rhett Titus is ready to win the NWA National Championship from Willie Mack next week.

Joe Keys and Brian Johnson are in the ring and don’t like the ugly women here in Florida.

Joe Keys/Brian Johnson vs. The Bouncers

Keys wants a posedown with Bruiser, who starts a BEER chant instead. A test of strength lets Bruiser hit him in the face and an atomic drop has Keys in the corner. Another chop sends him crawling over to Johnson and the jobbers get Bruiser into the corner for a double stomping. A double slam gets one on Bruiser, who gets over to the corner for the tag to Milonas without any trouble. Everything breaks down and Closing Time finishes Joe at 5:19.

Rating: D. This was a mostly squashy squash and that’s not the most thrilling thing in the world. I’m still not wild on the Bouncers but at least they’re now just there for the fun matches instead of anything important. This was a fun match for the crowd and while the jobbers got in a little too much offense, this could have been worse.

Madison Rayne doesn’t like Thunder Rosa disrespecting the Women of Honor.

Willie Mack is defending his National Title in all fifty states and next week Florida will be state #5.

Madison Rayne vs. Thunder Rosa

Sumie Sakai and Holidead are the seconds and Rayne charges to the ring and starts hammering away. A running forearm has Rosa in more trouble but Rayne and Sakai have to drop Holidead, allowing Rosa to take over. Back in and a kick to the back has Rayne in trouble and we take a break. We come back with Rayne hitting an enziguri but getting pulled down into a chinlock instead. That goes nowhere so Rayne is up with a spear, followed by another enziguri for two. Rosa hits a Gory Bomb for her own near fall but the reverse DDT gives Rayne the pin at 9:15.

Rating: D+. I still don’t care much for the women’s division, but at least they’re putting out some fresh talent. It’s still not the most thrilling in the world and Rayne is leaving, though at least there’s someone new out there. Rosa and Holidead should be pushed stronger, even if there’s nothing they can do because the Women’s Title scene is kind of a mess.

Coast to Coast is back next week.

Rocky Romero vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Feeling out process to start with Sabre taking over on the arm as only he (and I mean that literally) can. Romero gets out with a dropkick to the floor but Sabre is back in to work on the leg. Make that the arm again as Sabre switches up in a hurry. Another dropkick gets Romero out of trouble again so this time Sabre goes after the neck as we take a break. Back with Sabre still toying with Romero and grabbing a crossarm choke.

Romero reverses into one of his own, followed by a tornado DDT for his first real offense. A springboard crossbody gives Romero two and there’s a kick to the face for a bonus. The forever lariats in the corner are countered into an STF but Sabre tries to make it a little too flashy and Romero makes it to the rope.

for the win at 13:44.

Rating: B-. Sabre is one of those once in a generation talents with some of the most incredible holds you’ll ever see. Romero….I don’t get it. I know he’s a much bigger deal in Japan but I don’t ever remember seeing him do anything better than average in the ring. Sabre’s insane stuff worked well here, but it was just a one off match for a special main event due to Sabre’s appearance.

Overall Rating: C-. These shows are the definition of hit or miss as you never know what you’re going to get. This was all about wrestling and it wasn’t very good for the most part, including some lame long form squashes and nothing that meant anything long term. It wasn’t terrible, but nothing that you needed to see whatsoever.

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

Supercard of Honor XI
Date: April 1, 2017
Location: Jenkins Arena, Lakeland, Florida
Attendance: 3,500
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Kevin Kelly

This was requested at some point and I might as well knock it out. It’s the Wrestlemania weekend show down in Orlando, which is usually pretty entertaining. It’s also usually pretty long, which is quite the problem around here. The main event is a ladder match between the Young Bucks and the Hardy Boyz, which has awesome spectacle written all over it. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at tonight’s big matches and why some people come here.

TV Title: Marty Scurll vs. Adam Cole

Scurll is defending and Cole, part of the Bullet Club, is running out of time around here. Marty kicks away a handshake offer because he knows what Cole is thinking. They go with the technical sequence to start but neither can get anywhere other than to a standoff. Cole strikes the pose so Marty rolls away and flaps his arms. A takedown lets Cole run the ropes and go with the Kevin Owens chinlock, which is broken up in short order. Scurll sends him outside for chops against the barricade but Cole grabs the umbrella.

Marty gets the belt and it’s an evil standoff. A missed big boot lets Scurll hit his apron superkick and it’s back inside with Scurll spitting at him. That fires Cole up enough for the fireman’s carry backbreaker as the fans sound completely split. An exchange of low superkicks goes to Scurll and a brainbuster gets two. Since he takes forever loading up the chickenwing though, Cole is ready with an enziguri, followed by a sliding kick to the face for two.

Never being one to learn, Cole loads up his own chickenwing but his own dancing setup lets Scurll roll him up instead. The finger snap staggers Cole but his feet are fine enough for some superkicks. The package piledriver gets two and it’s time to grab the belt. With the referee taking it away, Scurll breaks the umbrella upside Cole’s head, followed by a piledriver for two more. Cole gets two of his own off a Tombstone but it’s two more finger snaps into another piledriver to knock him silly. The chickenwing retains Scurll’s title at 12:59.

Rating: B-. Pushing Scurll as a bigger name is a good idea for ROH, especially with Cole on his way out. The wrestling was an interesting exchange between two heels and Scurll was just better overall. Cole’s issues with the Bullet Club continue and you can feel the split coming from here. Nice opener though, as the crowd was into both guys.

We recap Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser vs. the Kingdom. The Kingdom needed a partner to defend the Six Man Tag Team Titles so Silas offered his services but the team lost the titles, with Silas not taking the pin. Tonight it’s about settling things.

The Kingdom vs. Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young

The still injured TK O’Ryan is the odd man out here. Before the match, Matt Taven insults the crowd and O’Ryan says he’s sick of hearing the stupid fans offering their condolences. Not to be outdone, Silas says the loss was the Kingdom’s fault because they’re boys instead of men. It’s a brawl to start with Silas being sent into the barricade, allowing Marseglia to dive off the apron. Bruiser comes in to clean house and yells at Marseglia, which is the next logical step in a match.

Marseglia calls Bruiser a pumpkin and gets crossbodied for two with Taven springboarding in for the save. A headlock driver puts Bruiser down again and it’s time for a slugout with Silas. The springboard clothesline sends Taven outside and it’s a double superplex into stereo frog splashes from Bruiser and Taven for two each. Bruiser dives onto Taven for the squash spot but Marseglia stops….for a cigar? Silas avoids being blinded by the lit cigar, hits Misery and smokes the cigar as he gets the pin at 6:57.

Rating: C. Not a bad little brawl here and anytime you keep Bruiser’s ring time short, it’s probably a good idea. The story makes sense and it pushes Young and Bruiser, possibly towards a title shot, and Silas getting the pin makes even more sense. Seeing the Kingdom lose is just a bonus.

Bully Ray is ready to defend the Six Man Tag Team Titles because it’s a big deal. He’s still new around here and has already had a bunch of firsts. Tonight, he’ll have another first when he faces God (the Guerrillas of Destiny that is), who he just happened to train.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Bully Ray/Briscoes vs. Bullet Club

The Club (Hangman Page/Guerrillas of Destiny) is challenging. Tama and Mark start things off and the fans are into the Club (shocking I know) as they trade clotheslines. For some reason Mark decides to headbutt a Tongan and gets forearmed backwards but a crossbody works a bit better. Jay comes in but a blind tag brings in Loa for a hard clothesline of his own.

The headbutts actually work on Loa until a powerslam puts Jay down again. A double backdrop doesn’t work and it’s off to Bully for the big showdown. He wants a handshake because that’s how the Guerrillas were taught but the beatdown is on instead. Ray and Loa slap it out with Ray going up top and diving onto everyone, setting up What’s Up on Tonga.

It’s table time but the Club takes the Briscoes down to break it up. Ray’s spear is enough to keep Page down for the tag off to Mark for the house cleaning. Mark dives onto Tama but Page is right off the apron with the running shooting star. Everything breaks down and it’s the parade of big moves that aren’t even secondary finishers. Tama and Page get caught in a double Doomsday Device and the Super 3D finishes Loa at 13:30.

Rating: C+. This was a nice brawl and the teacher vs. student story, while not exactly emphasized here, worked as a story for the match. Bully being treated as a legend is a bit of a stretch but at least he’s someone with some status who isn’t going straight to the World Title picture. Also, it’s nice to see the Bullet Club not win even more titles, though this isn’t their top lineup anyway. Oh and the table didn’t get used?

We recap Cody vs. Jay Lethal. Cody debuted against Jay at Final Battle and turned heel to beat him. Lethal wants revenge and since Cody is the son of Dusty Rhodes, it’s a Texas bull rope match between a guy from New Jersey and a guy from Georgia in Florida.

Cody vs. Jay Lethal

Pin/submission to win. They’re in street clothes because that’s how you have a bullrope match. Cody does make up for it a bit with a LETHAL SUCKS EGGS shirt. Hang on though as Cody needs to go outside before the rope is attached. We get going with Jay choking but getting stomped down in the corner.

That just earns Cody chops and stomps in the corner before Jay gets smart by tying Cody up with the rope. There’s a posting and Cody comes up bloody. Lethal goes with both the side and bottom of the bell to the head before bringing in a chair. Naturally he takes too long setting it up though and gets pulled off the ropes into said chair to give Cody his first advantage. The Flip Flop and Fly is broken up, as is the Lethal Injection with a pull of the rope.

Cody goes after the knee with the bell and gets in a shot to the ribs as a bonus. The table is set up on the floor before Cody goes with the Figure Four. Jay gets smart by hitting him in the head with the bell for the break but Cody slams him off the top through the table for a well received crash. Back in and a low blow sets up Cross Rhodes for a close two followed by a boot to the head. A superplex is countered and Hail to the King gets two. The Lethal Injection finishes Cody at 17:23.

Rating: B-. They did a good job here with the vindication for Jay as Cody takes his first loss. I know ROH (and many other companies) love Cody but sometimes you need to have him lose and this is the kind of match where that should happen. The bullrope wasn’t used all that much but it was just enough of a factor to make it worthwhile.

Post match Cody hands Jay the bell, which is….symbolic?

Intermission, thankfully skipped on the video.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. Cheeseburger/Will Ferrara vs. Rebellion

Rhett Titus and Shane Taylor for the Rebellion. Egads I had forgotten how pathetic that stable was. Titus and Cheeseburger get things going and it’s quickly off to Ferrara, who picks Cheeseburger up to drive him into Titus in the corner. Sabin comes in to trade rollups with Ferrara for two each before a blindly tagged in Shelley sends Ferrara to the floor.

Everything breaks down (What took them so long?) and the Guns clear the ring until Titus gets in a shot from behind to take over. We settle down to Taylor crushing Ferrara with a jumping legdrop but Titus’ splash hits knees. Cheeseburger comes in and tries the rapid fire chops, which have no effect on Titus. A springboard knee to the side of the head works a bit better but Taylor makes the save.

Titus boots Cheeseburger in the face and gets two off the frog splash. The Guns are left alone in the ring but it’s a bunch of kicks from the apron instead of the dives for a change of pace. Back in and Cheeseburger cleans house with the palm strikes until Taylor punches him out of the air. The Guns come back in with the Dream Sequence and something like a double Death Valley Driver finishes Cheeseburger at 9:24.

Rating: C. It was entertaining but this should have been a dark match to let the show breathe a little more. It’s not like this meant anything of note so having it on the card just made things longer than it needed to be. The Guns winning is fine as they’re the best of the three teams, but it’s nothing I needed to see.

Post match Ferrara isn’t happy with Cheeseburger for losing but here’s Punishment Martinez to scare Ferrara off. Martinez is in a match next so let’s cut out the stuff in between.

Punishment Martinez vs. Frankie Kazarian

Kazarian goes right after him in the corner but gets muscled across the ring and onto another corner. A shot to the face knocks Kazarian outside and that means the big dive over the top, which always looks awesome. Kazarian gets sent into the barricade and a release suplex slam have him in more trouble inside.

A Backstabber into a backsplash gets Kazarian a breather but Martinez is right back with a torture rack faceplant for two. The slingshot DDT really staggers Martinez and Kazarian follows him with a dive. Another slingshot into a cutter gives Kazarian two and the springboard spinning legdrop is good for the same. Cue Hangman Page for a distraction though and the South of Heaven chokeslam finishes Kazarian at 6:02.

Rating: C-. Weakest match of the night so far as it was little more than a glorified squash for the most part. Page and Kazarian having issues make sense as they’ve hated each other for a LONG time, but this felt forced in again. Martinez getting a win is a nice thing to see, but I’m not sure how much it needed to be on the show.

Now we get the intermission video.

Bobby Fish vs. Silas Young

Silas jumps him to start and they’re off fast. They head outside with an exchange of whips into the barricade, followed by Fish kicking him in the chest back inside. The referee gets his leg kicked out though and here’s a second referee. This one takes a chair away from Silas, who shoves him down for the DQ at 2:29. Uh, ok then.

Post match Fish spears Young through the ropes but gets spinebustered onto a pair of chairs. Security gets rid of Young. The post match match stuff was more interesting than the match itself.

Volador Jr./Will Ospreay vs. Dragon Lee/Jay White

International showcase. White and Ospreay start things off in a match that would be quite different just a few years later. Ospreay does the rapid fire nipups (without actually getting up) to escape a wristlock and we have an early standoff. White misses a kick to the head and it’s off to Volador vs. Dragon Lee, the latter of whom flips into the ring like a luchador should. The rapid fire trips and headscissors give us a standoff until Lee hurricanranas him to the floor for a suicide dive, which the camera misses.

White comes back in and forearms Volador down but it’s quickly back to Lee, who gets taken down as well. That means Ospreay comes in again as this is as fast paced as you would expect. Ospreay’s handspring moonsault double kick to the head takes but Lee is up with a running hurricanrana over the top to the floor. The series of dives begins but White catches Ospreay and brainbusts him on the top. Back in and White’s missile dropkick gets two on Ospreay and it’s a Downward Spiral into a German suplex.

Volador and Lee come in for some dropkicks and all four are down for a much needed breather. Lee’s Alberto Del Rio top rope double stomp gets two on Volador and it’s time for a luchador strike off. Lee gets in a snap German suplex but Volador is right up with a tornado DDT and a Canadian Destroyer. Just because he can, Ospreay runs the corner for a shooting star to the floor to take Lee out, leaving Volador to hit a (somewhat botched) super hurricanrana to pin White at 13:57.

Rating: B. Yeah what else were you expecting here? This was four guys going insane on each other for some time in front of a big crowd on a big show and it was one of the most entertaining things all night long. The action was great and it was exactly what it was supposed to be throughout. I’m not sure what else there is to say here and that’s a good thing to have on a card.

Christopher Daniels enjoys an Appletini and is very proud of winning the World Title but he’s ready to do anything to defend it, including against Dalton Castle.

Dalton Castle was getting worried about facing Daniels but then it hit him: he’s Dalton Castle and he’s fantastic.

ROH World Title: Dalton Castle vs. Christopher Daniels

Daniels is defending and Castle has the Boys with him. In something you don’t hear too often, Cabana flat out says that Daniels is 100% the better wrestler. They shake hands and we’re ready to go. They take their time to start with a wristlock not getting anyone anywhere. The fans are split here as you probably expected but it’s time to fan Castle off a bit. Castle can’t get a gutwrench suplex but he can hit the Peacock Pose to scare Daniels off a bit.

Daniels even takes Castle’s seat in the corner and asks for a fanning of his own, with the Boys having to stop themselves before they do the wrong thing. An O’Connor roll doesn’t work for Castle so Daniels sends him outside and steals the fans. Wait can he do that? The fans don’t seem to think so and the Boys get in to yell at him, allowing Castle to slap on a waistlock. A clothesline sends Daniels outside and we hit the strut. Back in and the waistlock goes on again but Daniel nails an STO to take over.

The champ gets two off a tilt-a-whirl slam and the Kofi Clutch goes on with Castle grabbing the mat, which Cabana insists was a tap. Castle gets to the rope and comes up with some shots to the face and a German suplex. Daniels gets laid over the top rope for a running knee to the head as the announcers debate sarcasm. With Castle in the ring, Daniels takes out the Boys, sending a flying Castle through the ropes to crush Daniels, as he should. Back in and a Blue Thunder Bomb gets two and a release Rock Bottom plants Castle.

The BME is countered with a German suplex (cool) and the Bang a Rang gets the very close two. Daniels is right back with a Downward Spiral into another Koji Clutch but Castle powers up (Cabana: “No. No. NO!”). The Angel’s Wings and Bang a Rang are countered so Castle tries a German suplex with Daniels kicking him in the leg and rolling him up to retain at 15:47.

Rating: B-. Not bad here but there was no way that this was going to be able to live up to some of the other matches. Daniels definitely felt like a transitional champion even a few weeks into his title reign and there’s nothing wrong with that. They were really playing up the idea that Castle made a step towards the title and it was a good story to spend the rest of the year on.

Post match they shake hands but Cody runs in to jump them both and hold up the titles. Kazarian makes a save.

We recap the main event and….it’s the Young Bucks vs. the Hardys in a ladder match. I think we have this covered.

Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are challenging in a ladder match. The Hardys aren’t allowed to be Broken here….but they’re Broken. We get the staredown with the Hardys throwing down the Superkick Titles (stolen from the Bucks) and the fight is on because you don’t throw down vanity titles. It’s the Hardys taking over with their usual to start until Jeff dives into a superkick and Matt’s bulldog is broken up with another. Top rope knees connect on Jeff’s chest and Nick rolls across the ring for a Backstabber.

The Hardys are right back up with stereo Twists of Fate and we’ve got the first ladders. Granted that takes some time so the Bucks dive onto both of them but it’s WAY too early for a serious climb. The chops in the corner give us a DELETE/THE ELITE dueling chant and it’s a double DDT to send Nick outside. Matt throws Matt (erg) Jackson to the apron and Jeff ladders him through a table for the first big crash.

With the Bucks down, Matt tells Jeff to set up a kind of teeter totter but the Bucks get back up (because this took its sweet time) and Matt sets up a pair of tables on the floor. Back in and Matt uses the teeter totter to drive a ladder into Jeff’s face and Matt dives onto Matt (Hardy). A top rope 450 drives Jeff through a table, leaving us with a battle of the Matt’s on top of a big ladder. Nick comes in to make it the powerbomb into the enziguri in the corner but we need to stop for a superkick to Jeff.

The Hardys are back up for a Spin Cycle (that spinning double belly to back suplex thing of theirs) to drive Nick through a ladder but it’s Matt back up with a slingshot DDT to drive Jeff onto the apron. For your first really crazy spot, Nick goes up a small ladder, gets shoves onto a big ladder, falls from the big ladder to the top, and springboards into a spinning splash onto Jeff through a table. I think that description sums that up well enough.

Somehow Nick is up fast enough to slug it out with Matt on top of the ladder for a slugout and the DELETE/SUCK IT chants. They both crash for the four way knockdown but of course they’re all going up just a few moments later. A near crash sends Nick and Matt (Hardy) down and Jeff from one ladder to another (just go with it) until Matt (Hardy) has to shove Matt off the big ladder and through a table at ringside.

Nick shrugs off a double stomp in the corner and strikes away as his brother gets back in for a bunch of superkicks. Matt (Hardy) clotheslines the Bucks down and they’re all on the mat (oh come on) again. Nick and Jeff are backdropped over the top through tables and Matt Side Effects Matt (Jackson) off the apron through another table. The fans are behind the Bucks as all four come back in and both teams climb their own ladder. The Bucks are on the bigger one though and a pair of superkicks knock the Hardys down to give us new champions at 25:25.

Rating: A. Like this was going to be anything else. They hyped it up exactly this way and that’s what you got, with the Hardys again showing how great they still can be and making a big impact. The fact that they would return to WWE less than 24 hours later and win another ladder match for the Raw Tag Team Titles was even more impressive. This was awesome though, with a pretty obvious ending not hurting it one bit. Incredible stuff, and were you expecting anything different?

Post match Matt (Hardy) says the Bucks are the best tag team they’ve ever faced. He’s not sure how much longer he and Jeff can do this but they know the future of tag team wrestling is safe. Matt and Jeff knee to show respect and Jeff promises to celebrate by fading away and classifying themselves as obsolete. They said the same thing to the Lucha Bros the previous night at the WrestleCon Supershow. Celebrating takes us out.

Overall Rating: B+. For once, I think I might be questioning if I made the right choice by going to Takeover: Orlando on the same night. I mean, the fact that this was about an hour’s drive from my hotel instead of ten minutes away aside that is. They didn’t overstay their welcome here and the show never felt long, though there were a few things that could have been cut out to save some time. Almost everything ranged from very good to more than watchable though and the main event is a classic, so I’m not sure what more you could want here. Very entertaining show, as you had to expect.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: February 27, 2019
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

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

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

Opening sequence.

Sumie Sakai vs. Jenny Rose vs. Madison Rayne

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: February 20, 2019
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

Things have been on fire around here as of late, mainly due to last week’s debut of the Lifeblood stable. I don’t know if it’s no longer being able to rely on the Bullet Club guys or what, but the last few weeks have been a lot of fun. Now if they can keep this up, we could be in for a great time. Let’s get to it.

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

Luchasaurus vs. Chris Sabin vs. Shane Taylor vs. Flip Gordon vs. Kenny King vs. Rhett Titus

Tags with lucha rules. We come into the arena for the opening bell as everyone is already in the ring. Sabin can’t get anywhere with a hold on Luchasaurus, who shrugs him off and kicks him in the head. A middle rope hurricanrana works a bit better to send Luchasaurus to the floor so King comes in, only to have Titus tag himself in for an All Night Express showdown. They run the ropes for a bit without making any significant contact as they know each other that well. Makes enough sense.

Taylor, a former Rebellion teammate with the two of them, comes in so King and Titus kick him down in short order. Luchasaurus gets the same treatment but the fight breaks out over who gets to cover him, as tends to be the case. Gordon comes in with a springboard spear to King but Taylor LAUNCHES Gordon to the floor with a hard shoulder.

Luchasaurus comes back in with some great looking kicks until Sabin hits him with one of his own. Everything breaks down and it’s a six way knockdown as we go to a commercial. Back with Titus diving onto Gordon and Luchasaurus, leaving Shane alone in the ring, allowing Kenny to springboard in with a Blockbuster. Shane is fine enough to block Luchasaurus’ dive before hitting one of his own.

Now Luchasaurus hits the step up dive but Gordon has climbed into the balcony for his big flip dive. The 450 hits Shane back inside but King makes the save and hits Gordon with a chair. That’s enough to DQ King and we’re continuing as a five way. With Sabin down (apparently due to a torn ACL, which could keep him out of action for nearly a year), Titus tries his bet on Shane but gets caught in Greetings From 216 for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: B-. It was wild and I can live with the DQ ejection as this was almost all action from beginning to end. The important thing here though was having the match open the show, which is something you don’t get very often. It fits the idea of the promotion being all about action and that’s a nice way to open things up. Good, fun match too.

Trent Barretta has a family emergency so Chuckie T. has found a replacement for the Tag Team Title shot tonight.

Marcus Kross/Griff Garrison vs. Bouncers

Griff and Marcus like to dance with the latter looking a bit Super Sayianish. Marcus gets shoved down so it’s off to Garrison, who gets the exact same treatment. Double teaming doesn’t work very well on Milonas either so it’s off to Bruiser, who misses some elbow drops. A top rope headbutt rocks Bruiser but he pulls Marcus out of the air for a Samoan drop. Milonas’ reverse splash connects but Marcus smacks Bruiser in the face, allowing the hot tag to Garrison. The running splash misses in the corner though and Milonas nails a sitout Boss Man Slam. Closing Time crushes Garrison for the pin at 3:57.

Rating: C-. The jobbers were trying here and that’s as good as you can get from something like this. It’s not like the ending was in doubt so let them get in a little bit before they get crushed. There’s a good chance that they’re going to be around as commentary was hyping them up, so it helps to have them do something before they lose in the end.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. Chuckie T./???

We take a break and come back with Chuckie getting posted and chopped into the corner as Cabana tries to come in like an inept partner. Chuckie finally gets in a middle rope dropkick and the hot tag brings in Cabana to clean house. That means a double standing Lionsault and the snap jabs that so many people tend to use anymore. A Bionic elbow sends Mark into the corner but he’s right back with a middle rope bulldog.

Everything breaks down again and Chuckie hits a standing Sliced Bread #2 on Jay. Colt grabs a chair on the floor with Jay making a save. A Blockbuster from the apron knocks Cabana out of the chair and we take another break. Back again with Jay kicking Chuckie in the face but the Doomsday Device is broken up. That’s fine with Jay, who hits the Jay Driller to pin Chuckie at 11:51.

Rating: B. They’re pushing the idea of the Briscoes as part of the plague, which almost has to be the next heel stable. That could be something interesting with Lifeblood running around, though we’re still in the early stages of everything so it’s hard to say. It would seem to be where things are heading though and given the amount of people who have left the company, a stable war is a good way to bridge the gap.

Post match Mark hits the Froggy Boy to put Chuckie through a table.

We see a clip of the big Elite beatdown, which again would seem to point to the plague being a thing.

Clip of Lifeblood forming, which seems to point to the stable war.

Here’s Jay Lethal for a chat, though after he sends Ian out of the ring. Jay puts the title on the mat and says there is so much pressure on him other than just being World Champion. Some of that pressure involves watching this company deteriorate right in front of your eyes. You have people like Bully Ray and the Briscoes running around doing whatever they want and Jay isn’t going to stand for it anymore.

Then there’s a man running around with a fake World Title and that’s too far. Dark days are here but a change is coming. This brings out Lifeblood, who says they’re speaking the same language. Jay says he knows some guys who believe the same thing, which is why he doesn’t want to join a group like this. Juice says there was never an invitation, which doesn’t sit well with the champ.

Jay talks about how awesome the team is and goes through each member to sing their praises, though he has to stop for a few chants. After several minutes of praise, Juice says if Jay knows a bunch of people in the back like him, let’s have a ten man tag. The match is made for next week. This took a LONG time to set up but, other than a lot of the praise, there wasn’t much that could have been cut.

Overall Rating: B. You mean the solution all along was to stop focusing on the same people over and over again for years? I know the Elite guys were really popular but things have gotten that much better since they’ve been gone. This was another very good show in a series of them and if this is what we can get used to around here, I could see this becoming one of the real highlights of the week.

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