Supercard of Honor XII
Date: April 7, 2018
Location: UNO Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Attendance: 6,000
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

It’s time for one of the biggest shows of the year in front of the biggest crowd Ring of Honor has ever had. I know I criticize them a lot but drawing 6,000 people (at least mostly paid, if not the vast majority) is no small task and they deserve some serious credit for pulling that off. Tonight is a double main event with Cody vs. Kenny Omega as part of the Bullet Club Civil War and Dalton Castle defending the World Title against Marty Scurll. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Women of Honor Title Tournament Semifinals: Mayu Iwatani vs. Kelly Klein

Instead Iwatani goes up and scores with a double stomp for no cover again. Klein blocks the snap dragon suplex but can’t block the reverse hurricanrana. Well she kind of can’t as she goes down, but lands on her back like a German suplex instead of flipping over. That’s good for two as well but Klein is right back with a front face DDT. A good northern lights suplex gives Mayu two but Klein suplexes her into the End of the Match (guillotine choke, with a great name) and Iwatani is out at 8:59.

Rating: C+. Klein winning here makes sense as the victory over a big international name makes her feel like a bigger deal. In addition, you don’t build Klein up as undefeated and then have an outsider come in and get the first win over her. This sets Klein up to lose in the finals, allowing whoever beats her to look like an even bigger deal.

Pre-Show: Women of Honor Title Tournament Semifinals: Sumie Sakai vs. Tenille Dashwood

Sakai is a veteran who has been around Ring of Honor for the majority of the company’s history. However, I couldn’t tell you much about her because she’s just a woman who wrestles without much else to her. Dashwood is the ball of charisma that used to be known as Emma. A very early clothesline gives Dashwood two but a spinning fisherwoman’s suplex gives Sakai the same.

Dashwood sends her into the corner over and over and grabs the Tarantula as they’re certainly starting fast. Sakai gets sent outside for a heck of a dive and it’s Dashwood in full control early on. Back in and it’s time to work on Sakai’s knee as Ian goes through Sakai’s wrestling lineage. That’s escaped so Sakai goes for a cross armbreaker into a Crossface.

It’s too early for a submission though so Sakai misses a charge into the corner and Dashwood adds a Taste of Tenille (running crossbody in the corner) for two. A Batista Bomb gets the same but Sakai is right back with Smashmouse for the same. With nothing else working, Sakai heads up top and gets release German superplexed back down for another near fall. The Spotlight kick misses though and Sakai grabs a crucifix to advance at 7:54.

Rating: C. Commentary helped Sakai here as I know nothing about her save for the little bites I’m getting here and there. I need something more than “she wrestles and she’s been here for a long time” and this was at least inching in that direction. I’m also surprised that they had Dashwood lose here as her vs. Klein seemed like a bit of a layup. Sakai better win at this point or there’s not much of a point in this result.

Post match Klein comes out for the photo op but decks Sakai from behind instead.

The opening video takes a quick look at the history of the promotion (as in about thirty seconds with clips and a standard “we’ve been doing this for a long time” voiceover) before moving into the quick clips about each match. Cody vs. Omega’s clip is on last, which I get here for a change. Cody’s line that Omega is everyone’s favorite underground band but no one can name any of their songs is still awesome.

The crowd looks great and it’s very cool to see this company reach this point.

Chuckie T. vs. Jonathan Gresham

Feeling out process to start with Gresham taking Chuckie down with almost no effort but letting him right back up. Chuckie takes him down and works on the leg with Gresham not being able to spin out. Who knew Chuckie could do that? Gresham blocks a lift from the mat with a wag of the finger (oh it’s on now) so Chuckie goes with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker instead. The moonsault misses (as is its custom) and Gresham snaps off a hurricanrana to put Chuckie on the floor.

Gresham tries a suicide dive but goes over Chuckie’s head for a nasty looking crash. Chuckie’s friend Trent Barretta offers a distraction though and Chuckie’s second backbreaker gets two. A rollup into an ankle lock has Chuckie in more trouble as Gresham is starting to roll. Chuckie slips out and gets two off a Falcon Arrow but Gresham gets in a knee to Chuckie’s knee. That just earns him Soul Food (Eat Defeat) and a small package gives Chuckie the pin at 8:29.

Rating: C. Fine choice for an opener here as the fans like Chuckie and it’s not like Gresham loses anything by taking a fall here. He got to do his stuff and then get pinned so it all works out well. Not a bad match either with the fans getting to see something fun, though this probably could have been a pre-show match rather than the tournament stuff.

Some demonic looking guy comes up to the announcers’ table, leaving something there (later revealed to be an alligator claw) and saying something I couldn’t make out.

Punishment Martinez vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Non-title (Ishii won the Rev Pro UK Heavyweight Title the night before in a great match and has the title with him here) and this could be fun. Martinez now comes out of a casket and has a mask during his entrance. Well that’s certainly more intimidating. Ishii gets a crazy reaction and you shouldn’t be expecting anything else. They do the tall vs. short staredown and Ishii goes straight to the forearms and shoulder blocks.

Martinez shrugs it off and takes him into the corner for some clotheslines. Ishii shrugs off some kicks to the face and hits his own running corner clothesline. A heavily muscled up suplex drops Martinez for two but he’s right back up with a kick to the head to send Ishii outside. The over the top dive overshoots Ishii and Martinez lands ON HIS HEAD with Cabana clearly sounding nervous on commentary.

Rating: B-. Sweet goodness what a showcase for Martinez. If nothing else, to beat the heck out of a monster like Ishii is a big deal, especially in Ring of Honor where New Japan guys are revered. This should move Martinez up the ladder and towards the World Title, which is a place you could keep him in for a long time in an athletic Kane kind of role. Ishii barely got in anything here and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a rematch somewhere else, perhaps in Rev Pro for the title.

Hangman Page vs. Kota Ibushi

No backstory here but it’s part of Kenny Omega reforming the Golden Lovers with Ibushi, which didn’t sit well with the Bullet Club, including Page. They start slow with Page powering him around off a lockup and then headlocking Ibushi for good measure. Page’s standing shooting star misses but so does Ibushi’s kick to the chest. The second attempt at the kick works far better and Page is down with Ibushi not following up.

A neckbreaker across the middle rope (hangman style of course) puts Ibushi down again though and the fans are not pleased with Page. It takes a lot to get the Bullet Club booed so well done. A bridging fall away slam (meaning it’s not exactly falling away) gets two as Colt talks about wrestling in every Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in America. Ibushi gets tired of the trash talk and hits a very smooth dropkick to put Page down, followed by a standing moonsault. They’re doing well with giving Ibushi those bursts of offense while Page controls for the most part.

Ibushi hurricanranas him to the floor but Page is ready to break up the moonsault to the floor. Page jumps to the barricade and Ibushi GERMAN SUPLEXES HIM ONTO HIS HEAD (making my mouth come open on the terrifying landing), thankfully with Page writhing in pain instead of, you know, not moving.

Now the running moonsault to the floor drops Page again and you know that’s getting a standing ovation. Back in and a kneeling Tombstone gives Page two and he can’t believe the kickout. Ibushi goes with the simple idea of kicking him in the head but gets backdropped onto the apron. A great looking moonsault to the floor drops Ibushi again and the Buck Shot Lariat gets two.

The pinfall reversal sequence gives us a sequences of reversed pinfalls until Ibushi grabs a German suplex for two more. They slug it out from their knees and then on their feet with Ibushi asking him to hit harder. It turns into a slap off until Page hits the discus forearm to the jaw. The sitout Last Ride gets two and an arm trap German suplex gets the same. That’s it for Ibushi who SMASHES Page in the face with a knee for the pin at 14:31.

Rating: B+. That knee alone was worth it. These two beat the heck out of each other and it turned into a great spectacle with both guys showing how hard they were working to beat the other. The dives were awesome and the shots were hard, which is all you could ask for here. Page was awesome as well and looked like he belonged on this level, which says a lot when you consider that he was a young boy when they were in New Orleans for Supercard of Honor in 2014.

We recap the pre-show tournament semifinals.

Women of Honor Title: Sumie Sakai vs. Kelly Klein

The title is vacant coming in and Daffney is at ringside. I’m not sure why as she was never a champion that I know of, but she wrestled in the previous generation so she’s a legend or something. Sumie isn’t up for waiting on the bell and jumps Kelly before the bell, only to get suplexed down for her efforts. A rollup gives Sakai one so Kelly grabs a Stun Gun. They head outside with Klein in full control as the announcers talk about how Sakai is pretty much done. Just get her nameplates ready then.

The End of the Match goes on outside but Klein lets it go in a hurry. Why? Other than the twenty count she could hold that thing as long as she wants. Back in and Sumie slips out of a super fall away slam and hits a kind of rollup powerbomb to drop Klein. The fisherwoman’s suplex looks to set up a victory roll but Klein muscles her over for a German suplex.

Cue a bunch of people from the tournament to watch at ringside as Sakai gets dropped with another shot to the chest. Klein gets two off a northern lights suplex and Sakai grabs a fisherwoman’s buster. Sakai misses a moonsault (she might have grazed Klein) so it’s a really bad looking DDT to put Klein away (her first pinfall loss in ROH) for the pin and the title at 7:44. The DDT was so messy looking that I wouldn’t be surprised if the moonsault was supposed to be the finish and Sakai did whatever she could for the finish.

Rating: D+. What the heck was that? We spent months (years in some cases) talking about how important this thing was and the final doesn’t even get eight minutes? In a pretty lame match too? The ending was bad as well as you can’t even have Sakai hit her finisher? And why is Sakai champion again? She’s been here a long time? That’s the best reason you have?

I really don’t know about this as you have better, more interesting options but this is what we get, possibly as a thank you for her work in the division. You know, the thing that wasn’t even worth eight minutes and had its other matches (neither of which broke nine minutes) on the pre-show. This felt like ROH saying “there, you have your title now” and that’s not how this was built up, which is a lot more annoying than anything else. Not a very good match and an even more questionable choice to win the thing.

Sakai holds up the title in what feels like a very rushed celebration.

We get a graphic for the next match and miss Klein and Sakai hugging. Back in the arena, the rest of the women hug Sakai as the graphic for the next match is still on the screen. Good grief if you don’t care, don’t pretend that you do.

We recap the Six Man Tag Team Title match. So Cal Uncensored and the Young Bucks/a variety of partners have been feuding over the titles for months now with So Cal Uncensored winding up with the titles thanks to doing horrible things to Matt Jackson’s back. They need to hold onto the titles to avoid being fired at the end of the year so tonight it’s a ladder match with Flip Gordon fighting on the Bucks’ side.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: So Cal Uncensored vs. Young Bucks/Flip Gordon

So Cal Uncensored is defending in a ladder match with Shane Taylor on commentary. It’s a brawl to start (well duh) and Gordon kicks the first ladder into Scorpio. Nick hits a corkscrew dive over the top to take Daniels down and Kazarian gets a ladder tossed into his face. Sky tries a flip dive….over the Bucks….who are holding a ladder….which they use to cover themselves. Even Cabana has no idea what that was supposed to be.

Back in and Daniels accidentally clotheslines Kazarian over the top but miscommunication drops Matt as well. Daniels uses the distraction to go up but Matt throws Nick onto the ladder for the save. Gordon and Kazarian clothesline each other down, leaving Daniels to throw Nick off the top and onto the ropes. Now it’s Kazarian and Gordon both jumping onto the ladder for a slugout on top until Kazarian takes him down with a huge TKO. All six are back in with the Bucks and Gordon suplexing Daniels and Sky.

The Bucks start taking over and let’s hit those….Wild and Crazy Kids references? I KNEW I WATCHED THIS SHOW FOR A REASON! With Daniels on the ladder on the bottom rope, the Bucks backflip Gordon into a 450 for the next crazy spot. Kazarian is back up with the ladder around his head but Gordon nips up to avoid shot after shot. The double superkick to the ladder brings Kazarian down, followed by Matt hitting the 450 onto Sky onto the ladder.

Matt goes up top but a ladder to the back brings him down again as the champs take over. Sky is back up and snaps off a super hurricanrana to drop Gordon. Celebrity Rehab onto the ladder rocks Matt again but Gordon is back up with a series of kicks and a monkey flip to send Kazarian into the ladder. Another flip dive drops Daniels, leaving the Bucks to beat up Scorpio.

Kazarian brings in a ladder so Matt stomps onto it, crushing Kazarian’s hand in a nasty crunch. A wheelbarrow cutter sends Daniels into the ladder and it’s off to a Cease and Desist on Sky through the ladder. Flip climbs up at the same time but Daniels uses a ladder for the save. Kazarian tries a hurricanrana over the top but takes out Daniels by mistake, leaving Flip to flip onto all of them.

Since the Bucks aren’t that bright, Nick dives onto everyone else before going up, allowing the Kingdom, in Dudley Boyz camouflage, to make the save. Rock Star Supernova plants Matt but they beat up the champs as well. TK O’Ryan, who isn’t in the match, climbs up but everyone else turns the ladder over. The Bucks superkick So Cal Uncensored down but all six climb at the same time. Gordon gets smart by jumping to the very top of the ladder and touches the belts. That earns him a shot from Daniels, sending Gordon face first onto the top of the ladder and down to the mat in a bad crash.

Kazarian and Matt fight on the top until Daniels takes Matt down with a Downward Spiral from the top. The others go down as well and it’s time to clear some ladders out. It’s time for the big ladder but before the climbing can start, Kazarian gets superkicked. The Kingdom has to be taken out again and Nick DDTs Kazarian onto the apron. Gordon springboards into a double blockbuster to take Sky and Daniels onto the pile….and it’s table time.

O’Ryan and Sky are laid onto said tables and that means stereo 450 splashes to the floor. Daniels is left alone to go up but Matt runs up for a save. In a smart move, Daniels drops down and shoves the ladder over, sending Matt through Marseglia through a table. That’s enough for Daniels to go up and pull down the titles at 24:08.

Rating: A-. It’s a great match but as is always the case with these things, all the ladder matches start to run together after awhile. There’s really nothing here that makes it stand out but the spots were cool and the ending worked. I’m glad the Bucks didn’t win again at least but there was too much Kingdom for my taste. Still though, solid stuff.

Post match the Kingdom steals the titles and run off.

We look at some highlights while the ring is cleaned up.

It’s intermission time and that means we get to see the pre-pre-show match.

Brian Milonas/Beer City Bruiser vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Luke and PJ Hawx

Caprice Coleman is on commentary. I’ve heard a lot about Hawx but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen more than one or two of his matches. PJ (apparently Luke’s son) works on Shelley’s wrist to start before it’s off to Luke for some backbreakers to Sabin. Chris kicks PJ away but Bruiser comes in to lumber people over. Milonas’ falling splash gets two on PJ and the big guys crush him for good measure.

A side slam/big boot combination (the Authors of Pain used to use that) plants Shelley and the big guys are dominating. Sabin comes back in to slug away but gets crushed by Bruiser in the corner. PJ is up as well though and cleaning house with a big dive to the floor. You don’t have a big pile on the floor with Milonas around though and it’s a cannonball to crush them all. Back in and the PowerPlex destroys PJ for the pin at 6:17.

Rating: D+. I still don’t care for Milonas and Bruiser but this was perfectly fine for an opening match to warm up the crowd. They kept it short and the dives were good to move things along. This is a case where the match might not have been the best but it was the right way to do things, which is what matters most in this situation.

The intermission keeps going for a few more minutes.

Tag Team Titles: Jay Lethal/Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Briscoes

The Briscoes are defending and there’s no story here. Lethal and Tanahashi are two great singles guys and they’re getting a shot at the titles. I’ve heard worse ideas, especially when the Briscoes are such dominant champions. For the sake of simplicity I’ll only refer to Jay Brisco as Jay. Lethal and Jay start things off with a lockup going nowhere. Briscoe shoulders him down and snaps off a hurricanrana (you don’t see him do that very often) and it’s off to Mark vs. Tanahashi.

Mark wastes no time in going after the hair so Tanahashi busts out the crane kick pose. Red neck kung fu is no match for a dragon screw legwhip and we hit the GO ACE chant. The middle rope swanton gets two as we’re still waiting to get into the second phase here. Lethal comes back in for a pair of basement dropkicks and even knocks Jay off the apron as a bonus. You don’t do that to Jay though and Lethal gets his head knocked off as a result.

Mark’s running apron dropkick keeps Lethal in trouble and I wouldn’t expect that to change for a while. As you might guess, this turns into a discussion of super bands and how they don’t have the most success in the world. Lethal chops both champs and sends Mark outside, with Tanahashi following instead of taking a tag. The suicide dive takes Jay down and it’s off to Tanahashi for two off a standing backsplash. That means a fight over a suplex with neither being able to pull it off. Mark adds in a kick to the back and it’s Jay kicking Tanahashi in the face to take over.

We’re off to the camel clutch, followed by a big double shoulder from the champs. A Sling Blade to Mark is enough for the hot tag off to Lethal as things pick up again. The Lethal Combination and a cutter are enough to set up a Figure Four. Mark comes in with the Froggy Bow for the save and Jay’s brainbuster gets two on Lethal. The Lethal Injection is only good for two on Mark and the fans think that was three. Tanahashi is back in but a Doomsday Device is broken up. Instead Jay gives Lethal a German suplex and the real Doomsday Device retains the titles at 19:36.

Rating: B. As mentioned, this was two great singles guys getting a Tag Team Title match so I’m not sure how much of a chance fans were really giving them. What they did have though was a rather good match, which is all you can ask for here. The Briscoes are as good as anyone right now and there’s no need to do anything more than put in a solid performance. Ring of Honor has a deep tag division but no one is anywhere close to their level (save for maybe the Bucks) so this is as good of an idea as they can do.

We recap Silas Young vs. Kenny King for the TV Title. They’ve traded the title a few times now so tonight is the final battle (as opposed to their match at Final Battle) in a Last Man Standing match.

Before we get to the match, here’s Austin Aries (with a banana in his pocket) to say he wants the winner of this match. He’ll be on commentary here.

TV Title: Silas Young vs. Kenny King

King is defending and it’s Last Man Standing. Silas loads up a table before King comes out as Aries complains about not having a place to put all of his belts. King punches him into the corner to start but gets his head taken off by a running clothesline. A swinging Rock Bottom backbreaker puts Young down as the announcers want to know how Aries is allowed to be here. King goes with a Boston crab to slow Young down before switching to the Last Chancery (Aries: “WHOA WHOA WHOA!”). It’s cool as Aries has given his permission, but King is botching the execution.

Young fights up and tosses King over the top and through the table for an eight count. Some whips into the barricade and right hands have King in more trouble but Young stops to yell at the fans. Back in and King manages a backbreaker onto the turnbuckle, followed by an apron Blockbuster to the floor. Aries isn’t sure if that’s worth the risk to your own body and as usual, he’s got a good point. Young is up at eight and they head back inside, only to walk into a spinebuster to stay on the back.

They head to the apron and Young’s back is fine enough to hit Misery, sending King face first onto said apron for an eight. It’s trashcan time with King taking a shot to the back, causing Ian to bust out a Bangin on a Trashcan reference, making him the greatest commentator of all time. King dropkicks the can lid into Young’s face and the Royal Flush onto the can for nine with Young rolling underneath the ropes to land on his feet in a smart save.

A quick suplex onto a ladder has Young in trouble again and a shooting star from the top to the floor drives him through a table in the big spot of the match. They’re both down with Young pulling himself up on the barricade but King’s feet have been tied up by Bruiser, who was hiding underneath the ring. Oh come on with that stupid ending.

Rating: C+. This was good for the most part but that ending was ridiculous. So King hits the big finishing spot but HAHA screwy finish to end the feud! They were trying to make King look good but put the title back on Young too and that’s not a good idea. You have to pick one or the other and trying to go in the middle just makes me roll my eyes as the backdoor they’re trying to go through hit them in the head on the way out. The rest of the match was fun stuff and the usual good brawling, but it could have moved at a somewhat faster pace.

Post match the double beatdown is on but Aries runs in for the save.

Since Ring of Honor apparently doesn’t have scissors, King has to hop away with his feet still tied. Thanks for the big spot dude. Enjoy your reward.

Cheeseburger/Eli Isom vs. The Dawgs

We’re nearly three hours into this show, have the double main event to go, and THIS GETS PAY PER VIEW TIME??? The announcers nearly laugh at Cheeseburger for picking Isom when people like Austin Aries, Colt Cabana, or ANYONE ON THE ROSTER is available. The Dawgs jump them before the bell and Isom gets crotched against the post. His knee gets crushed with a chair and here’s Bully Ray for the save.

With the Dawgs on the floor, Ray calls them scumbags for jumping their opponents before the bell. Since Cheeseburger doesn’t have a partner, the match has to be thrown out. Cheeseburger begs Ray to be his partner so Ray can have a final fight to go with his final moment. He appeals to Ray not wanting to disappoint 6,000 people so Ray says ring the bell.

Cheeseburger/Bully Ray vs. The Dawgs

The beating is on with the Dawgs in trouble and a Bionic Elbow to Ferrara. There’s the palm strike and Cheeseburger plays D-Von in What’s Up. Ray tells him to get the tables and then chokeslams Cheeseburger. If you actually call this a match….I’m not sure why.

Ray asks Cheeseburger who he thinks he is for putting him on the spot like that. Cheeseburger is what’s wrong with wrestling (yep) like the rest of his kind. This entire generation is selfish, spoiled and entitled because they think it’s all about them. It’s guys like Cheeseburger, Will Ospreay, Flip Gordon and Ricochet that have destroyed wrestling. Cue COO Joe Koff to ask what’s going on but Ray says signing people like Cheeseburger is killing wrestling. Koff, who doesn’t have a mic, yells a lot as Cabana wants Ray out of the ring (yep).

Now it’s Flip Gordon coming out but Ray loads up a piledriver, which would end the show here and now with no questions asked. Ray tells the young boy to get off the apron, which has Cabana calling the old bitter vets the problem with wrestling. More insults to Koff are followed by Ray putting on his WWE Hall of Fame ring (Cabana: “Then go over there. Go to New York.” You know, where so many of this company’s shows are held.) and powerbombing Cheeseburger to FINALLY end this.

Where do I even begin here? First of all, this was fifteen minutes on a show that is already approaching four hours with two major matches to go. That’s about twice as long as the Women’s Title match received. Second, I can’t stand Cheeseburger so I don’t know why I’m supposed to be disagreeing with Ray.

Cheeseburger is pretty much the Ring of Honor mascot and I need a lot more than that to make me care about him. Wow he’s a small guy with foam cheeseburgers and Jushin Thunder Liger taught him a move. WHO CARES??? I get that he’s not supposed to be taken seriously but he’s been on the show for at least the last few years in the same role and stories. This company doesn’t have a lot of TV time and wasting it on him gets old in a hurry.

Other than that, this very easily could have been done on TV instead of adding even more time to an already long pay per view. Throw in Ray being the face boss for what, three weeks or so, and it’s already feeling like a warmed over WWE/TNA storyline. This was a big waste of time and I was agreeing with a lot of what the heel was saying. Do this later (if you absolutely have to do it) and stop inflating your shows. Modern wrestling companies do not grasp the idea of less being more sometimes and it would really be a nice lesson for them to learn.

We recap Cody vs. Kenny Omega in the battle of the Bullet Club. So a little over a year ago, Cody joined the Bullet Club, led by Kenny, and slowly started trying to take over. This didn’t sit well with Kenny and the rest of the team has been pulled into the middle. Of course to know the full thing you have to watch New Japan and the Being the Elite webseries but since I don’t watch either, those are the details I’m going into this with instead of doing a bunch of research.

Cody vs. Kenny Omega

Cody comes in with Bernard the Business Bear (there better be a good reveal), Brandi Rhodes, and a bunch of cops. The fans lose their minds at the opening bell but hang on because Cody needs a kiss from Brandi. It takes over a minute to lock up….and they immediately cut to the crowd. Cody’s headlock goes nowhere as Kenny kicks him to the floor and runs the ropes until Bernard trips him up.

Omega dives onto Bernard and takes off the head revealing….just a guy, or at least someone not important enough to show. Cody uses the distraction to get in a cheap shot as the bear is ejected. Oh come on now. Hasn’t he suffered enough? Cody loads up Shattered Dreams but stops and flips off the crowd instead. So to clarify: the WWE Hall of Famer who works here is a heel move but Goldust is a face. Got it. I think? The fans sing for Omega and are rewarded by Cody powerbombing him to cut off a comeback attempt.

The American Deathlock goes on but Kenny makes the rope, only to be slapped by Brandi. In a blatant bit of cheating, Cody has a foreign object thrown in but uses the referee distraction to kick Omega low. All Cody so far. The beating continues on the floor with Cody shifting his focus to the back. Omega gets sent face first into a chair but hang on because Cody has to steal a beer and spit it at fans. Of course that gets Cody a chant and it’s time to slap it out.

Omega gets the better of the chopping but his moonsault hits knees. Cody heads outside and takes one heck of a suicide dive, followed by a sitout bulldog for two back inside. Something like Adam Cole’s old Last Shot plants Cody again and there’s the V Trigger for a big reaction. A pair of Snapdragons makes things even worse but Cody breaks up a third attempt and scores with a Disaster Kick for two.

Another V Trigger in the corner looks to set up the One Winged Angel but Cody reverses into a Figure Four instead. Omega is in trouble and rolls around to little avail. A few slaps to the face wake him up enough for the turnover though and the hold is broken. Cody grabs a dragon screw legwhip to send Omega to the apron and it’s table time (Kevin: “Did we have a banquet earlier today?”).

Cross Rhodes through the table is broken up and a piledriver is blocked as well with Omega trying the Snapdragon on the apron. It knocks Cody down, though it would be a little more effective if Cody’s head actually touched the apron. Amazingly enough that’s not enough to finish Cody, who picks Omega up and drops him ribs first on the side of the table for a good looking crash. Instead of, you know, using the table again, Cody throws Omega back in for two off the Alabama Slam (almost no reaction from the crowd) and they’re both down again.

Another V Trigger rocks Cody and the reverse hurricanrana gets almost no rotation and Cody nearly lands on his back. Again, the fans aren’t reacting to most of this stuff and it’s not a good sign when they’re only about twenty minutes in to what’s likely going to be a crazy long match. Brandi sets up a table on the floor and gets on the apron, meaning it’s a missed V Trigger to put her through the table. Kenny is distracted so Cross Rhodes gets a close two, again with VERY little reaction.

Cody doesn’t know that Brandi is down so here’s Flip Gordon to help her out, following up on a Being the Elite angle. I know that’s the case because commentary tells us about it, which is all I need. A superplex brings Omega back down and it’s time for a whipping with the weightlifting belt as we move into the Hollywood Hogan period. Cody misses the moonsault though and one heck of a knee to the face has him in even more trouble.

Two more running knees get two (Remember: when Omega spams moves, he’s awesome. When someone in WWE does it, they’re not real wrestlers.) but the One Winged Angel is reversed into a Vertebreaker for two more. We get the required ref bump (How else are you going to get the Bucks in there?) and a double crossbody puts both guys down. Cue the Bucks (with a Being the Elite camera) to decide whom to superkick. They aim for Cody but hit Omega instead with reality setting in very quickly. Cross Rhodes gives Cody the pin at 36:35.

Rating: B-. Well, it was good and long (you could have cut 10-15 minutes) and it advanced the story. The problem is this felt like a big chapter but not a chapter important enough for 36 minutes of nothing mind blowing. Cody can’t get to that level and it’s showing more and more every time he’s in a major match. They did a very good job of explaining things that set up the match and feud, which was a major issue coming in so well done there. Overall though, this was lacking and nothing that I’m going to remember as really, the big spot was Brandi’s table bump and that was nothing great. Good, but not what they were hyping.

Omega glares at the Bucks as he’s helped to the back.

We recap the World Title match. Dalton Castle won the World Title at Final Battle and is still trying to prove himself as the World Champion. Marty Scurll beat Castle in his first match in Ring of Honor so he might have Castle’s number. Somehow, this is close to the Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior match in 1990, if that’s possible.

Ring of Honor World Title: Marty Scurll vs. Dalton Castle

Castle is defending and has more Boys than usual. With NWA World Champion Nick Aldis in the crowd, Castle drives Marty into the corner to start. Marty’s right hand in the corner earns him a chest thrust and Scurll is already looking confused by Castle. An exchange of wristlocks gives us another standoff, which isn’t a good sign given that we’re already to nearly four hours with this show and the crowd is obviously tired.

Scurll flips him off so Marty reaches into his (own) trunks to pull out a middle finger. You don’t offer Marty your finger but Dalton punches his way to freedom before the finger is broken. Instead Marty grabs the golden umbrella but puts it in the corner, allowing Marty to grab a single leg. The chops it out from their backs before going to a standard punch out. Castle goes with the wrestling in the form of some gutwrench suplexes but Marty avoids a charge to send the champ into the post.

As the Boys FAN UP, Marty keeps Castle in trouble with some chops. It’s time to start stomping on the arm as this is definitely going long, no matter what makes sense on this show. Marty snaps the arm back ala Pentagon in Lucha Underground to not much success. That really should be a big deal but here’s it’s just a move. Shows what happens when you get a move over. Castle strikes away and elbows Marty in the face, followed by a simple beal to really get back into this.

Marty sends him outside but Castle grabs a German suplex through the ropes and drops him hard on the floor. Back in and Scurll kicks him in the head (because a GERMAN SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR isn’t a big move) but gets knocked back to the floor. A DDT plants Castle on the floor again (How long are they going to spend out there?) but he powers out of a tornado DDT. The Bang-a-Rang is reversed into a rollup so Castle knees him in the face instead.

The fans finally get into this with some dueling chants but calm back down when Castle can’t hit a gutwrench superplex to the floor. A superkick drops Castle on the floor again (erg) and Marty backdrops him onto the steps in the aisle for a VERY nasty looking bump. Back in again and the already damaged arm is sent into the buckle as the fans have already dropped their short lived interest.

The Ghostbuster gets two and they go outside AGAIN as the match is clearly being extended for the sake of being extended. Castle gets sent into the steps and in the melee, Aldis hands Marty some clippers so he can cut off a turnbuckle pad. A suplex drops Marty though and a deadlift German suplex gets two more.

Marty is back up with a superkick to the back of the head for two of his own….and now it’s time to stop as he looks underneath the ring for something specific. He can’t fine whatever it is so Dalton sends him into the barricade instead. Marty finally finds some powder, which is kicked back into his face. The blindness causes him to break the referee’s hand so there’s no count off the Bang-a-Rang. Well that’s a new way to do a familiar spot so well done.

With the referee on the floor, Marty gets in an umbrella shot for two. The Boys get beaten down and we need a new referee. A brainbuster gets a delayed two from a second referee so LET’S KEEP GOING! The threat of a chickenwing earns Marty another Peacock Pose but he grabs a loose chickenwing anyway. Castle reaches for the rope so Marty BREAKS THE FINGER and stomps away at the champ’s head. Back to back superkicks rock Castle but he pops up with the Bang-a-Rang to retain at 31:41.

The previous match went nearly forty minutes and this should have been cut down as a result. The wrestling was fine and Castle getting a win over a pretty strong name helps him a lot but egads the length just murdered this match. This might have worked better with fifteen minutes cut off on a less overloaded show but as it was, this didn’t work at all.

Overall Rating: C+. There’s a really good show underneath a lot of the dead weight on this one. This show was dying for one heck of an edit/rewrite to make things better but as it is, this is a major struggle. It felt like Ring of Honor was trying to go with a Wrestlemania style show and it collapsed underneath the weight. There was a lot of stuff on here (the Bully Ray turn, the opener, large chunks of both main events and a little of the ladder match, plus the intermission) that could have been left off. This needed to be about an hour shorter because as it is, they’re teetering on the brink where a lot of very good stuff is forgotten.

Now that being said, there’s a lot of very good stuff on here. The ladder match and Page vs. Ibushi are both worth seeing and some of the other matches range from entertaining to more than worthy of being on a show like this. Above all else though this felt like the big show, especially with the huge crowd. They should be proud of what they accomplished here as that’s a heck of a house and a heck of a gate. Just use some of that money to hire someone to say “cut this and cut that”, because it could turn a good show into a great one and now wear down the crowd so much.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: May 9, 2018
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re on the road to Best in the World and I’m really not sure what that means at the moment. The show is in June but since Ring of Honor’s schedule is so all over the place, we might be getting a wide variety of stuff to set things up. Hopefully the show is at least good, which has been the case more often than not as of late. Let’s get to it.

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

Beer City Bruiser/Brian Milonas vs. Coast to Coast

The big guys are sent to the floor to start and Coast to Coast tries some stereo dives. Only Bruiser is taken down though as Milonas catches LSG but Ali is there with a dropkick to take them down. Things settle down with Bruiser knocking Coast to Coast to the floor right some forearms, only to miss the cannonball off the apron for a (very big) crash.

Back from a break with Ali in more trouble and Milonas hitting his falling splash. Another splash misses though and it’s off to LSG for some fast kicks. A 450 gets two on Milonas but Bruiser is back in with a Downward Spiral. Ali hits the same thing on Bruiser but Closing Time is broken up. Last Call connects instead with Ali diving in to make a save. Bruiser is sent outside and Coast to Coast hits Coast to Coast for the pin at 10:24.

Rating: C-. While the match wasn’t much, the ending was an absolute sigh of relief. This match needed to go to Coast to Coast as they’re starting to gain some momentum. The other team, as you may have noticed, is fat. That’s the extent of their characters and really, I could go for….oh just about anything else. Coast to Coast isn’t great but they’re better than those two and I’m glad ROH went with the right move here.

Jay Lethal is lost without gold and is ready to do whatever it takes to change that.

The Young Bucks are ready for one more match with the Briscoes in their Tag Team Title match next week.

Will Ferrara vs. Jonathan Gresham

Rhett Titus is on commentary and SOMEONE SHOOT ME NOW! Feeling out process to start and that’s a really bad idea from Ferrara’s perspective. Ferrara actually manages to take over with a wristlock as Titus keeps calling himself the Big Dog. Gresham can’t get out of the wristlock until a headscissors gets us to a standoff. Ferrara drops him again and we take a break.

Back with Ferrara working on the arm until Gresham uppercuts Ferrara’s arm in a nice counter. A running kick to the arm has Ferrara in more trouble but the Octopus Hold is broken up in short order. Ferrara takes him down with a clothesline and slaps on a cobra clutch Crossface of all things. Gresham makes the rope so it’s time for the slugout, which goes against the entire match they’ve been having so far. A German suplex gets two on Ferrara but la majistral into a bridging cradle ends Ferrara at 8:35.

Rating: C. Anything to get Titus off commentary. He and Ferrara are WAY too good at being the most annoying people in the promotion without having anything to back it up so they’re on the right path in one area at least. Gresham isn’t much more than he’s presented as and there’s nothing wrong with playing that role.

Post match the Dawgs beat on Gresham until the Motor City Machine Guns make the save.

Cody and Marty Scurll can’t agree on who should become the World Champion at Best in the World. Bullet Club is fine though.

So Cal Uncensored wants their belts back.

Shane Taylor is here to hurt people again. He doesn’t like having people like his opponent here tonight because that money could go in Shane’s pocket. That more money is Nova’s problem though.

Nova actually gets promo time, promising to scorch Taylor.

Shane Taylor vs. Ryan Nova

Kicks, two chokeslams and a Fire Thunder Driver are enough for the match to be stopped at 38 seconds.

War of the Worlds rundown.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. The Kingdom

Taylor is still at ringside and the Kingdom pays him for something. During the entrances, Castle and the Boys are ready for some chaos. TK O’Ryan hides from Dalton to start as Shane is sitting at ringside and guarding the Six Man titles. A shoulder puts O’Ryan down and there’s the first suplex to send him flying. Marseglia comes in and has to fight out of an early Julie Newmar attempt.

Instead Castle settles for another suplex and it’s off to the Boys with #1 climbing on #2’s shoulders to kick Marseglia in the face. #2 comes off the top with a missile dropkick for two but Marseglia takes him down by the leg. Taven comes in to face Castle chest to chest with Dalton sticking his out rather hard. A running kick to the chest in the corner has Taven in trouble and we take a break.

Back with Taven tripping Castle so Marseglia can take him down and going for the hand. Everything breaks down and the Boys dropkick Taven down. #1 gets triple stomped down as this just keeps going. A Saito suplex gets two on #1 and Taven adds a spinebuster. Cue Christopher Daniels to go after the titles but Shane shoves him down because money talks.

The Boys switch places (which works despite them having different color hair) in the melee, allowing #2 to kick O’Ryan in the head and bring in Castle. Everything breaks down and the Boys are tossed over the top rope multiple times each to take the Kingdom out over and over. Taven uses the distraction to hit Castle in the bad hand with a title, leaving #2 to take the Climax for the pin at 15:32.

Rating: D+. This was much longer than anything else, especially as a way to set up Taven vs. Castle at the major show later in the week. At least the side story with So Cal Uncensored and Shane wasn’t treated as a big deal that got a ton of time, but they’ve done worse things before. Not a terrible match but it was longer than it needed to be.

Post match the beatdown continues with Taven Pillmanizing Castle’s arm.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this show as it was mainly stuff for future episodes or the upcoming week of big house shows, most of which aren’t exactly thrilling stuff. The main event really sucked the life out of the show though as it just went on too long and wasn’t all that good in the first place. Then again, Taven and the Kingdom aren’t interesting and that might have had a big part of the problem.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

Originally, I was going to write this article for Friday, solely based on this tiny storyline going on in NXT. Then I read Cordova’s Commentary on the “Not So” Greatest Royal Rumble. Great read on the women. Then I saw Impact. Then I saw Backlash. It seemed like I was getting more and more fodder for this. You know the drill with main roster WWE. Their love of buzzwords, twisting perception, etc. But one buzzword that actually seems to resonate with many in a positive manner is “Women’s Revolution”. In short, Women’s wrestling in North-American TV no longer sucks. It’s no longer about their looks. Not that those are bad things, but {most} wrestling fans have grown to be sophisticated and long for quality in the ring. You can’t blind them with just being tall on in the case of females, by having a large rack. WWE has in fact developed a complete generation of women and are already working on the second one. Just look at NXT the past few weeks.

Since Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title, we’ve gotten a completely clean slate on the division. There is no more Ember Moon who could be seen as the last of the first generation of women in NXT. She carried what Asuka left. Her streak, her dominance and before her was Bayley with the rest of the 4 Horsewomen. NXT is now starting clean, introducing us to the likes of Lacey Evans, Candice LeRae, Bianca Belair and one that has struck a cord with me lately: Dakota Kai.

See, Dakota has something I consider odd. When you binge Raw, Smackdown, 205, NXT and whatever other show WWE musters, you notice trends. And Dakota is breaking one by showing something a lot (and I mean A LOT) of people refuse to show in wrestling. Fear. She fears Shayna Baszler who broke her arm twice. Now to the “muy macho” world of WWE and pro wrestling at large, fear can be seen as synonymous with weakness. A big no-no for them. It shatters their image of manliness. Or wo-manliness here. Provided Saudi Arabia doesn’t make a generous donation. But fear is not a sign of weakness. No, it is a very powerful storytelling device that can show many things. Perseverance. Courage. Self-Improvement. That all starts with fear and can give a very dynamic story. Something you can see in say Jessica Jones where she fears Killgrave (The Purple Man for us real nerds) for the horrible things he did to her. That’s just one of many examples. But it gives Dakota Kai a point of interest and something very different to the norm. And if I do say so, a very positive story about how to deal with bullying if it does end up with Dakota eventually beating Baszler. It’ll certainly be better than Nia Jax dominating Alexa Bliss and then giving a pre-written Be A Star ad, that’s for sure.

But hey, that’s not the only dynamic story involving women on TV. Nope. Our pals on Impact Wrestling are also having their own “out of nowhere” renaissance of women’s wrestling. With Allie, Rosemary, Taya Valkyrie and Su Yung on top, Tessa Blanchard coming in, Kiera Hogan being an out of nowhere surprised. Last week Impact gave us something different when they headlined with Rosemary vs Su Yung. No, it wasn’t different because women closed the show. No, beforehand we saw what felt like a genuine friendship. Allie begging to help her best friend Rosemary who in turn, refused. Worried for her friend’s safely. The match takes place and Su Yung summons a casket. Planning to throw Rosemary in there, but Allie appears against the wishes of her friend to help. But just as Rosemary predicted, Allie falls in danger. But Su Yung ends up attacking Rosemary, driving her through a table as her best friend is forced to watch in horror. Now what? Allie disobeyed. Rosemary is hurt. Su Yung is still getting the upper hand. Is Allie heartbroken thinking this is all her fault? That is a gripping story right there. There’s emotions for you to grasp.

What’s Raw offering? Well, while people can relate to Nia Jax being bullied for her weight, that goes straight to the dumpster when you see her dominate a person a third of her size. As Backlash showed, fan’s did not buy it or her phony Be A Star promo afterwards. And what’s Smackdown offering? Not Asuka’s streak. Not a strong Charlotte reign. Nope. WWE decided to trade all that in favor of Carmella. Who in her second singles match of 2018 (besides the cash in) had a terrible match with Charlotte. That is what was selected to follow one of the best women’s matches in WWE history. It certainly was the best in Wrestlemania.

What’s my point? Well, it’s simple. The true appreciation for the “Women’s Revolution” doesn’t come from Raw and Smackdown who are yet to shake all the cobwebs of their “Divas” days. No, it still comes from the alternatives. Time will tell how WOH will shape up in ROH. But for now, if you want your women to be as dynamic if not more given the two examples above, than the men, you’re better off searching for it in NXT and Impact. It’s great that women now get to have big time matches and have prominent spots on your rosters but, we as fans also crave good storytelling to go with it and WWE’s main roster is just not delivering right now while it’s developmental field continues to show them up and now the same company that let themselves go for 5 years and fell on hard times is actually picking itself up to offer something WWE doesn’t yet again with it’s own new crop of women.

==

Thank you for reading. My name is AB Morales, Puertorican Dirt Sheet writer, a friend of KB for years. You can find and follow me here:

Facebook | Where I have my own personal blog with daily wrestling updates and even cover anime and videogames once in a while.

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Twitter | Where I do….., well it’s Twitter.

Impacto Estelar | My own little Spanish Dirt Sheet site.

Ring of Honor
Date: May 2, 2018
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, BJ Whitmer

We’re FINALLY at the new stuff after Supercard of Honor, which only took place last month. The big stories coming out of there are the Bullet Club’s continuing issues (expect to hear that for a long time) and Dalton Castle retaining the World Title over Marty Scurll. It’s now time to get ready for War of the Worlds….which starts a week from tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

As expected, we open with a long package on Supercard of Honor. It’s about time.

Opening sequence.

Chuckie T. vs. Josh Woods

Chuckie is getting a lot of time lately. He wastes no time in poking the eye and grabbing a Russian legsweep. Something like an Octopus Hold has Woods in trouble and an enziguri to the ribs (which makes no sense as enziguri means head kick) drops him again. An exploder suplex drops Chuckie and we take a break.

Back with another suplex putting Chuckie down again but he nails a middle rope dropkick for no cover. Chuckie gets two off a Falcon Arrow and Soul Food (Eat Defeat)….doesn’t have much effect (as it shouldn’t), with Woods hitting a fireman’s carry into a knee to the jaw. Rolling Chaos Theory gets two on Chuckie but he reverses a cross armbreaker into a rollup for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: C-. What happened to Woods? He was a solid midcard act for a few months there and this is the first time I’ve seen him do anything of note in a long time. Now he’s mostly getting squashed in an opening TV match. They don’t have the room for the roster they have and Woods seems to be one of those victims. I’m sure we’ll get a Cheeseburger match in the near future though right?

Brandi Rhodes says Cody is her favorite wrestler but he goes with Dalton Castle. Dalton is NOT like 1978 Bob Backlund because he’s just that good. Cody beat Jay Lethal so he should get something. Brandi makes the motion of a title around her waist. Cody: “YOU’RE PREGNANT???” Not quite, with Brandi’s reaction being worth a chuckle.

The Kingdom brags about stealing the Six Man Tag Team Titles.

Sumie Sakai vs. Stella Grey

Non-title and Jenny Rose is on commentary. Sakai dropkicks her down and does it again from the top rope for good measure. A spear cuts Sakai in half for two but she easily breaks up a powerbomb out of the corner. Some stomps to the face have Stella in more trouble but she’s right back with a tornado DDT. Sakai gets two off a belly to back suplex and Stella gets the same off a small package. Smashmouse finishes Stella at 3:25.

Rating: C. It’s an entertaining match but 100% the wrong match to have. Sakai isn’t just the new champion but she’s the FIRST champion. Her first match shouldn’t be going back and forth with someone with no resume. This should have been a quick squash but instead, Sakai looks weak right out of the gate. Completely wrong booking here and that’s not a good thing.

Post match Jenny gets in the ring and shows a clip of some miscommunication between the two of them in a tag match earlier this year. Jenny wants a title shot and Sakai reluctantly agrees to fight her friend. Sakai extends her hand but Jenny leaves without shaking it.

So Cal Uncensored is very mad at the Kingdom, who they refer to as children.

We look at Marty Scurll pinning Dalton Castle at the recent Masters of the Craft event.

Scurll wants a title shot at Best in the World. Logical progression and you can pretty much guarantee a multiman title match.

We look at Bully Ray helping Cheeseburger at Supercard of Honor and then turning on him because that’s EXACTLY what Bully’s role was calling for. How long was he even retired for?

Here’s Bully Ray to ask why Cheeseburger can put a legend like him on the spot (by asking Bully to do What’s Up). Cheeseburger is everything that Bully hates about the wrestling business, just like all of these fans. People like Cheeseburger and Flip Gordon are spoiled and entitled, must like people here tonight. A fans throws something and Ray threatens to come over the barricade and hit them in the face. Here come the streamers, with one of them hitting Ray in the head.

Ray calls out company boss Joe Koff, who provides these young guys a platform. They lack respect but Koff signs them to be the nice guy. Ray is still the enforcer around here and holds up the WWE Hall of Fame ring, which makes him better than everyone around here. Again: I wouldn’t go out of my way to bring up other promotions.

So….why am I supposed to disagree with Bully here? Cheeseburger looks like he’s about fifteen years old and is little more than this company’s less talented Spike Dudley. Yeah he sells merchandise, but he can do that without getting as much TV time as he gets. I’ve never been a fan and I’m not going to boo one of the most decorated wrestlers ever for saying something I agree with him on.

Castle talks about looking at his munchkin cat calendar and realized he’s been champion for over 100 days. Still though, people are asking if he’s championship material. Castle lists off some names he’s defeated and absolutely he is championship material.

TV Title: Silas Young vs. Flip Gordon

Gordon is challenging and Shane Taylor is on commentary. They fight over a wristlock to start and Flip nips up off a shoulder block. Young gets sent outside for a big flip dive (Oh….I get it.) but takes Gordon’s head off with a clothesline as we take a break. Back with Silas hitting a spinebuster and backdropping Flip to the apron.

That means an enziguri (to the head this time, as it should be) and a springboard missile dropkick for no cover. A springboard spinning spear drops Young for two more but he’s up to block the 450. Instead Gordon sends him outside for a suicide dive and we take a break….or at least we’re supposed to but Ian says we’re sticking with it. The 450 is downgraded to a 360 as Young rolls away. The standing shooting star gets two and now we take that break.

Back with Flip missing a charge into the corner and no selling a snap German suplex. Young’s backbreaker into the kneeling clothesline rocks Gordon and a hanging swinging neckbreaker gets two. The Star Spangled Stunner is countered but Gordon rolls him up for two more. A superkick into a Falcon Arrow gets a close two on Young and he rolls outside. Back in and the kick the rope low blow gets another near fall on Gordon (they got me on that one). Not that it matters as Misery retains the title at 13:45.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what it is about Young’s matches but something always feels just a bit off with them. There’s not much structure or flow to them and that creates a little bit of an odd feeling. At the same time though, they have good near falls and they’re certainly not boring. I like them more than I don’t like them so well done again.

Overall Rating: C. This was all about throwing everything after Supercard of Honor into one show, which unfortunately came so far after the show that I wasn’t sure what happened on the thing. There’s no reason to wait that long outside of the weird syndication schedule and it’s making it harder and harder to care about the big shows. The show wasn’t bad but it’s like we’re starting all over again with no momentum. Why cut yourselves off when you don’t have to?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: April 25, 2018
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

So I had a full introduction written up talking about how this is the start of a new taping cycle and we finally get some storyline advancement before War of the Worlds. Then I started watching the show….and it’s a special on the Women of Honor tournament. Yes indeed, we’re going to go nearly a month between storyline advancement shows because Ring of Honor is really weird sometimes. Let’s get to it.

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

Ian and Colt welcome us to the show and explain what we’ll be seeing tonight. You know, as in stuff we’ve seen before.

We see highlights from some of the opening round matches, mainly focusing on Kelly Klein.

From the Supercard of Honor pre-show.

Women of Honor Title Tournament Semifinals: Kelly Klein vs. Mayu Iwatani

Feeling out process to start and they hit the mat for some grappling to no avail. Iwatani sweeps the leg and kicks her in the chest as they’re still in first gear. Kelly kicks her in the face to take over and drives some knees into the head. A clothesline turns Iwatani inside out and we take a break.

Back with Kelly choking in the corner and going up, earning herself a kick to the head. A super hurricanrana brings Klein down and Iwatani gets two off a top rope double stomp. That’s not enough for a cover so Iwatani drops a frog splash for two instead. Klein grabs a front face DDT and something like a Samoan driver for two of her own. Instead it’s the guillotine choke and Iwatani is out at 11:35.

Rating: C. Not bad here and Klein continues to look like she’s a few miles ahead of everyone else in the tournament. That makes me expect someone to beat her in the finals, just for the sake of the surprise to wrap things up. Iwatani was working here and the match was entertaining, though it’s odd to see her brought in for a loss on the Kickoff Show.

We look at more early round matches, including Tenille Dashwood debuting.

Again from the Supercard of Honor pre-show.

Women of Honor Title Tournament Semifinals: Tenille Dashwood vs. Sumie Sakai

Sumie grabs an early fisherman’s suplex for two but Tenille is right back with the Tarantula. It’s time to go after Sumie’s knee with a leglock but she’s right back up with a cross armbreaker. Tenille stacks her up for two so Sakai reverses into a Crossface. That’s reversed as well and Sumie’s misses charge hits turnbuckle.

The Taste of Tenille gets two but Sumie is right back up with Smashmouse (reverse Cross Rhodes) for two of her own. Sumie gets caught on top with a release German superplex for two and you can see the frustration setting in. The Spotlight Kick misses though and Sumie grabs a crucifix for the pin at 7:57.

Rating: C+. Well that happened. This whole thing was screaming Dashwood vs. Klein in the finals but instead we’ll go with the uninteresting choice because she’s been around for a long time or something. I’ve seen Sakai on and off for a few years now and I still have no idea why I’m supposed to be interested in her. She’s not that great in the ring and doesn’t have a character, but she’s been around for a long time so I’m supposed to be interested I guess.

Post match Klein comes in for the photo op and decks Sakai with a forearm during the handshake.

From Supercard of Honor.

Daffney is ringside for the finals.

Women of Honor Title: Kelly Klein vs. Sumie Sakai

Sakai jumps her during the entrances and stomps away in the corner to rock Klein. A release German suplex drops Sakai though and Klein is confident enough to put in the mouth guard. They head outside with Klein sending her into the barricade and we take an early break.

Back in a hurry with Klein getting two but getting powerbombed off the top. Klein’s fall away slam and release German suplex put them both down and here’s the women’s division to watch from ringside. They slug it out from their knees, which doesn’t work so well about five minutes into the match. Kelly’s kick to the chest gets two but Sakai is right back with a fisherman’s buster. A moonsault (more like a moonsault headbutt) doesn’t do much damage to Klein so Sakai goes with a DDT for the pin and the title instead at 8:40. That’s Klein’s first pinfall loss in Ring of Honor.

Rating: C+. So after all that, the final was (without the commercial) less than eight minutes long? I know they were going for the big epic moment here but egads let them have a little more time here. I’m not getting Sakai winning the title but they backed themselves into a corner here as there’s not much interest in having the champion be this undefeated monster. Sakai doesn’t do anything for me though and putting the title on her because she’s been here for a long time isn’t the best thinking in the world.

Sakai celebrates and shakes Klein’s hand.

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling wasn’t bad but this was the wrong time to air a best of/recap show. By the time we get to next week’s show, nearly a month will have passed since Supercard of Honor. I’m really not sure why we have to wait this long and that gets really annoying after awhile. The show was fine for what it was, but it was the wrong time to air something like this.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: April 18, 2018
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Caprice Coleman

We’re still in the vacuum of the post pay per view stretch and that means it’s time for another stand alone show. This time around though we might get some videos inserted to talk about some stuff from Supercard of Honor. You never know what you might get from these shows match wise though so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Hiromu Takahashi

Hang on a second as Takahashi has to bow to Daryl (don’t ask). Feeling out process to start with Kazarian getting two off an early rollup and nipping into a standoff. They head outside with Kazarian sending him hard into the barricade, which may banged up his knee. Back from a break with Kazarian hitting his spinning springboard legdrop to the back of the head. A backbreaker keeps Takahashi in trouble so he superkicks his way to prosperity and a near fall of his own.

Takahashi sends him to the floor for a running knee from the apron with Kazarian sprawling across the floor. Back in and Kazarian slips out of the Time Bomb and hits a sloppy slingshot DDT. Kazarian isn’t happy with the near fall so he yells at the referee, allowing Takahashi to roll him up with trunks for two. Another superkick sets up the Time Bomb to end Kazarian at 11:04.

Rating: C. I was never big on Takahashi when he was Kamaitachi and the Time Bomb persona is only somewhat better. The match wasn’t too bad but nothing more than a stand alone show filler. That being said, I’m MUCH happier with the New Japan guys making less frequent cameos. For a long time there it was almost every week. Now it’s every few weeks and that’s so much better. Don’t take away the special treat feeling they bring with them.

Earlier today, Brian Milonas and Beer City Bruiser attacked LSG before the tag team gauntlet match tonight.

Caprice Coleman is on commentary.

Tag Team Gauntlet

There are six teams involved and the winners get a Tag Team Title shot at some point in the future. Brian Milonas/Beer City Bruiser are in first with Shaheem Ali coming in and saying he’ll fight without LSG because Coast to Coast never gives up. Ali wastes no time in diving over the top to take Bruiser out but Milonas catches a crossbody back inside. Some elbows get the overly large man down and there’s a dropkick to the face. A standing double splash crushes Ali though and the beating begins. Bruiser backdrops him into a sitout powerbomb for two and we take a break.

Back with Ali headbutting them both down, followed by a lifting Downward Spiral on Bruiser. Not that it matters as a superplex into a frog splash gets rid of Ali at 6:28. Next up are the Dawgs because I did something horrible in a previous life. The Dawgs offer beer but get kicked down for their efforts. The beer is spat into the monsters’ faces and a pair of double noggin knockers has some effect. Milonas is low bridged to the floor and a dropkick gets one on Bruiser. The size catches up with the Dawgs again though and Ferrara gets crushed in the corner as Milonas just sits on him.

Back from another break with Milonas missing a sitdown splash, allowing the hot tag to Ferrara. Does it count as a hot tag when I want the ring to collapse and both teams to fall into a hole? Titus manages a monkey flip onto Bruiser with Ferrara adding a tornado DDT on the floor. The announcers make Punch Out references to make this a little easier as Ferrara bicycle kicks Milonas down. Not that it matters as Ferrara gets caught on top with a superplex sending Milonas and Bruiser on at 15:04.

The Motor City Machine Guns are in fourth with Milonas’ falling splash crushing Sabin. Bruiser kicks Shelley into a spinning side slam but misses the Cannonball in the corner. The rapid fire offense has the big guys in trouble and a double superkick rocks Bruiser. Skull and Bones gets rid of Bruiser at 16:52 and it’s the Young Bucks in fifth.

Back from another break with a double slugout, as should be the case with these four. It’s the Bucks taking over (of course) with their dropkicks until they both run into Shelley’s boots in the corner. A missile dropkick puts Matt down and he’s sent head first into Nick’s crotch. Stereo running boots in the corner have the Bucks in more trouble and there’s the Dream Sequence to Matt.

We hit the chinlock (not the move you would expect in a fast paced match like this) as the announcers talk about the Women’s Title tournament without actually saying who won the thing. The first superkick gets Matt out of trouble and a few more are enough for the hot tag to Nick. That means the slingshot X Factor and apron moonsault, followed by a suicide dive as things speed way up.

Double superkicks have Shelley down on the floor but Shelley gets out of the Meltzer driver. A superkick and spear set up a springboard splash/standing moonsault for two on Sabin. Shelley comes back in and tries Sliced Bread #2 but gets taken down instead. More Bang For Your Buck is broken up but Skull and Bones is countered into a backslide to pin Sabin at 26:29.

Back from one more break with the Kingdom beating on Matt as his back has flared up again. Marseglia can’t hit a Russian legsweep so he takes Matt down and puts a knee into his back for a chinlock instead. Matt gets in a shot but O’Ryan pulls Nick off the apron and takes his place. That earns him a superkick and Nick comes in off another hot tag. To be fair he’s pretty good at it so it’s harder to complain. A big flip dive takes both Kingdom guys down but it’s too early for a 450.

Instead he gives O’Ryan a German suplex on the apron and a tornado DDT from the same apron to Marseglia. There’s the Sharpshooter on O’Ryan and Marseglia’s right hands aren’t enough for the break. Instead he grabs the ax but murder is a bit too far. The referee takes it away so Marseglia uses the bat to give O’Ryan two instead. Just a baseball bat shot you see.

Another shot misses and it’s off to Matt to forearm away until O’Ryan gets him in the bad back. Matt gets taken to the floor for a powerbomb on the bare boards but Nick makes the save with a kick to the face. The Meltzer Driver, with Nick helping Matt lift O’Ryan for the Tombstone, is good for the final pin at 37:02.

Rating: B-. See, the Bucks selling and making a comeback instead of beating the heck out of everyone for the whole match makes things that much easier to sit through. The rest of the teams, save for the Guns, were really just there for the sake of filling in time, which is the common trend for a match like this. It didn’t feel long either so it’s not that much to sit through. Good match, but really just there to set up something later on.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event made this a good show with one big thing taking up most of the show instead of trying to build the storylines without actually advancing any of the stories. It was fine for a way to get through an hour and hopefully next week gets us to something fresh. I can live with something like this for awhile but you’re only going to get that far with stand alone episodes. At least this one was good though and that’s all you could hope it would be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: April 11, 2018
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

It’s one of those weird shows as we’re past Supercard of Honor but still at least a little time away from the next batch of TV tapings. There’s a good chance we’ll be having some minor storyline advancement but for the sake of this show, odds are we’re going to be seeing some stand alone stories. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Punishment Martinez vs. Shane Taylor

This could be fun. The fans are behind Martinez and a knee to the ribs cuts him down on an early test of strength. Martinez slips out and jumps over Taylor (not bad) to set up the exchange of the shoulders. A big right hand seems to please Taylor but he ducks a few kicks to the head. Martinez’s crossbody has no effect and he can’t slam the bigger man so Taylor sends him outside. Taylor can’t hit a dive so we take a break.

Back with Shane hitting a Cannonball in the corner, followed by a running flip dive from the apron. Martinez Falcon Arrows him off the top though and a running elbow connects in the corner. South of Heaven is broken up and Taylor hits his own chokeslam. Now Martinez’s kicks work a bit better to send Taylor outside. You don’t have to ask Martinez twice to hit a big dive and Taylor is rocked. Back in and South of Heaven gives Martinez the pin at 9:14.

Rating: C-. Not bad here with Martinez getting the logical win. Taylor is good in an enforcer role, meaning he doesn’t need to win anything more than a squash or tag match. He’s designed to be beaten up by someone like Martinez, who can get a lot out of a win like this. Nothing too bad here and I’m liking Martinez more every time I see him.

It’s time for Coleman’s Pulpit with Jay Lethal as the guest. Lethal doesn’t like the show so he’s only giving Coleman two questions. Coleman asks about him losing the World Title so Jay goes into a rant about how Coleman is never going to be in the World Title scene so it doesn’t really matter. He’s beaten people Coleman is never going to be able to beat so let’s get on to the next question. Coleman brings up Lethal dating AJ Lee and gets cut off, sending Coleman into a fit of laughter. That’s enough for Lethal and he’s out. Good, because the Pulpit is terrible.

Kazarian is ready to face Hiromu Takahashi, who used to be their friend. He’s not a fan of Daryl and instead of being a time bomb, Kazarian is a gun that you can’t unload.

Jay Lethal vs. Caprice Coleman

They brawl on the floor to start with Lethal grabbing a suplex to take over. Some chops rock Coleman and they head inside….only to head right back to the floor. Lethal gets whipped into the barricade but he’s right back with chops. An enziguri staggers Coleman and they head inside with Lethal dropkicking him to the floor for the third time. A suicide dive takes us to a break as the stuff on the floor is getting really old.

Back with Coleman getting two off an STO and grabbing a chinlock. Lethal fights up but the Injection is countered into a cobra clutch of all things. Better than another chinlock at least. Back up and Lethal chops away even more before grabbing a torture rack. Not exactly what I would have expected and Coleman breaks out in short order. The Lethal Injection puts him away a few seconds later at 11:03.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one and a lot of that was due to Lethal not exactly looking interesting. This was a lot of chopping and then the Lethal Injection. That being said, even an unmotivated Lethal is often better than most people around the promotion. It’s not a terrible match, but Coleman needs to go FAR away.

Videos on the downcoming Women’s of Honor Title Tournament semifinals. Why downcoming? Well they already happened (along with the finals), so they’re certainly not upcoming. This is the kind of stuff that makes Ring of Honor look minor league half the time.

Cody vs. Matt Taven vs. Christopher Daniels

Cody still has a bear with him, introduced as Bernard the Business Bear. They circle each other to start until Taven gets caught in an exchange of right hands. That’s enough to send him outside so Cody and Daniels can exchange shoulders. Taven comes back in with a dropkick but misses a charge to put all three outside. Daniels scores with an Arabian moonsault to take Cody out and Taven kicks Cody in the face for good measure.

Back in and Taven’s flip neckbreaker gets two on Cody but Daniels is back in with his usual. Taven sends Daniels outside for a big dive, which is followed by Cody’s own version. We take a break and come back with Cody getting the American Deathlock on Taven but the BME is good for the save. Taven and Daniels collide before trading cheating rollups for two each. Cody comes back in and sends Taven to the floor before hitting the Rise of the Terminator pose. Cross Rhodes hits Daniels but Taven hits a frog splash on Cody and steals the pin on Daniels at 9:35.

Rating: C+. They were working out here and the match worked well enough as a result. It’s amazing how much easier it is to put up with Taven when I don’t have to hear him talk. Oh and when there’s no Kingdom there with people I have no reason to care about. Cody not winning is a bit of a surprise but Taven gets more out of it than either of the other two would have.

A quick recap of Masters of the Craft takes us out.

Overall Rating: C. I wasn’t feeling this one and that package on the tournament matches which have already taken place was inexcusable. Like seriously, how in the world do you leave that in? Show something from Future of Honor or have a video ready on the new champion, but don’t air stuff hyping matches that have already happened. That’s TNA level stuff and there’s nothing positive about that. Not a bad show, but completely skippable in every way.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: April 4, 2018
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

So this is the go home show for Supercard of Honor, which must have made for an odd taping. The stuff that can give away storyline advancement and results likely stopped right in the middle, but at least we’ll be getting something important tonight. Expect a lot of Bullet Club, which you should be used to by now. Let’s get to it.

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

Briscoes vs. Kenny King/Dalton Castle

Non-title with Marty Scurll on commentary. Dalton tries to suplex Mark to start but gets taken into the corner for a stomping. Kenny and Jay come in with Briscoe actually trying a sleeper of all things. That goes nowhere as Kenny flips away and we take a break. Back with Dalton throwing Jay down but Mark getting in a slam to take over.

Jay elbows Dalton in the face as everything breaks down with the Briscoes beating Castle down on the floor. Back in and Jay breaks up the hot tag as Marty is in his glory by ripping on everything Castle does. The Briscoes knock them outside in a heap again and we take a second break.

Back again with Dalton fighting out of a bearhug and diving over for the hot tag to King. A spinebuster gets two on Jay but a hard lariat gets the same on Kenny. Jay’s superplex into Mark’s Froggy Bow gets two with Kenny making the save, sending Marty into hysterics at the cheating. Cue Silas Young to yell at King and the distraction sets up the Jay Driller to end Kenny at 16:18.

Rating: C+. This was more of a spectacle than a big match and that’s perfectly fine. There’s something cool about having all of the champions in a single match, even if the Briscoes didn’t have a real threat here. At least it wasn’t a title match, which wouldn’t have made much sense. As a bonus, they used the match to set up something at Supercard of Honor. Well done, even if the match wasn’t anything great.

Post match Marty loads up a belt shot but hands it to Castle instead.

Quick recap of the Kingdom’s issues with Bully Ray.

Cheeseburger vs. Kikutaro

Kikutaro is a masked Japanese comedy guy and the Dawgs are on commentary. They pose to start and Kikutaro grabs an early rollup for two. The referee gets whipped into the corner but raises a boot to stop Kikutaro with the announcers calling this garbage. Kikutaro grabs a suplex but stops to do his own commentary, bringing the Dawgs in for the DQ at 2:43. Thank goodness.

Ray comes out for the save.

Women’s Title tournament recap.

Women of Honor Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Mayu Iwatani vs. Deonna Purrazzo

They hit the mat for an early standoff until Deonna runs her over and grabs a running hurricanrana for two. That earns her a running dropkick to the floor but Iwatani’s charge hits a raised knee. Back from an abrupt break with a chop off with Iwatani putting Purrazzo down. A big dive to the floor is countered into a Fujiwara armbar with Purrazzo letting go in a hurry. As Colt asks, why would you let that go when you can do it until eighteen or nineteen?

Back in and some rolling German suplexes have Iwatani in more trouble but she gets in a dragon suplex for a breather. Mayu slugs away until Deonna pulls her down into the Fujiwara. A rope is grabbed though and the bridging dragon suplex sends Iwatani to the semifinals at 9:43.

Rating: C+. Purrazzo is one of those wrestlers who can give you a good match but doesn’t really stand out all that much. She’s certainly good and knows how to handle herself in the ring but I can barely remember anything she’s done. Iwatani’s Stardom resume alone guaranteed her a semifinal spot, which is kind of annoying given how big a deal Purrazzo was to the early days of the division.

The Briscoes are ready to beat two great singles wrestlers at Supercard of Honor.

Jay Lethal wants the Tag Team Titles.

Kenny King wants to keep the TV Title.

Silas Young wants to win the TV Title.

Adam Page is VERY intense about beating up Kota Ibushi.

Punishment Martinez promises to send Tomohiro Ishii south of Heaven.

The Young Bucks drew a big house and now they’re tearing it down.

Marty Scurll is ready to take the World Title.

Dalton Castle will look fantastic and retain.

Here’s Cody to insist that Bullet Club is FINE. This Saturday he’s facing Kenny Omega and has a question: can you name a great Omega match that didn’t involve Chris Jericho or Kazuchika Okada? Omega is that great indy band that you swear is awesome but can’t remember any of their songs. The reality is that Cody leads the Bullet Club while Omega says Cody is a reject from WWE. Omega is a reject from its developmental system.

That gets a BIG gasp (as it should) but here’s Omega to interrupt. He liked that Bullet Club is fine line, but wants to know why Cody didn’t bring it up with the leader of the team. As for Brandi, who kissed him at the 16^th Anniversary Show, he was confused. It went on so long that Omega thinks she wants to do it again. The brawl is on with security and the Bullet Club running in for the save to end the show. Cody was on fire with that promo and the segment made me want to see them fight so well done.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

Overall Rating: C+. I liked parts of the show but at the same time it didn’t feel like much of a go home episode. Cody vs. Omega was good but other than that, I’m having to think of what’s actually on the pay per view. As usual, there’s a good chance that this was taped before a lot of the matches were announced, making this more of a last episode before the pay per view than a go home show. That’s rather annoying, but not exactly shocking. It’s not bad though and did well enough, which is better than you can expect at times.

Yeah it’s simple but what else was I supposed to do this week?

https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-ring-honor-supercard-honor-xii-preview/

Ring of Honor
Date: March 28, 2018
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

As usual, Ring of Honor is in a weird place as they have to build to a pay per view with two episodes of TV and then a few episodes of unrelated TV after the show. At least we’re getting something and it’s not like the pay per view needs a lot of build up in the first place. Things should be fun though and that’s what matters, as Ring of Honor has been good as of late. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s the Kingdom with Matt Taven reiterating the conspiracy theory. They can get the Six Man Tag Team Titles back at Supercard of Honor but here’s Bully Ray to interrupt. He’s sick of hearing about the conspiracy and thinks maybe the Kingdom just sucks. The trio doesn’t have a match at Supercard of Honor but Taven protests. That earns him a no, with Taven asking why they won’t just show up anyway. Bully says go ahead, because he’d fire them right now if he could. That’s it, leaving the segment feeling like part of it was missing.

Quick video on the Women of Honor Tournament.

Women of Honor Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Kelly Klein vs. Mandy Leon

They slap it out to start until Klein easily takes over with a backbreaker. A hard knee to the back gives Klein two and Mandy is already fighting from underneath. Mandy’s first comeback bid is cut off with a kick to the chest and it’s off to a chinlock. Kelly heads outside but gets shoved to the floor for a cannonball off the apron.

Back from a break with Mandy pounding away in the corner and hitting an over the shoulder backbreaker onto the knee for two. Kelly is done with this getting beaten up thing though and grabs a super fall away slam for a double knockdown. It’s off to a dragon sleeper with a bodyscissors but Mandy rolls out in a bit of a surprising counter. Astral Projection gives Mandy two and she grabs a neckbreaker choke. Kelly taps so Mandy lets go but the referee didn’t see it. With Mandy yelling, Kelly grabs the End of the Match and Mandy passes out at 11:55.

Rating: D+. Mandy is getting better but it’s clear that most of the people she’s been facing are just that much better than she is. That becomes a problem when it’s pretty clear Ring of Honor wants her to be their Trish Stratus. Kelly may not be great but she’s more than capable of having a passable match. Mandy isn’t quite there yet (or at least not every time) and it’s showing against the more experienced opponents.

Jay Lethal is ready to team with Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the Tag Team Titles. There’s a story to be told with Lethal chasing one of the few things he hasn’t done around here.

So Cal Uncensored will do whatever it takes to retain the Six Man Tag Team Titles.

Hangman Page/Marty Scurll vs. The Boys

Rating: D-. Well that happened. This was just a quick match with nothing going on other than a way to have Castle and Scurll in the same arena. The match should be a good one when it happens but this didn’t do anything for Marty and Page doesn’t have anything going for him at the moment. Waste of time here for the most part.

Silas Young and Kenny King are brawling in the back.

The Briscoes are ready to beat the best because no one can touch them.

Young and King come into the arena with referees breaking up the match. Bully comes out and tells King to do something. Kenny throws out a challenge for a Last Man Standing match at Supercard of Honor. Things seem to be ready.

Scorpio Sky vs. Flip Gordon

Gordon misses an early superkick attempt and it’s already time for a nip up. A handstand (with one hand at times) has Sky in trouble and Flip takes him outside as we go to another early break. Back with Sky driving him into the corner and hammering away but stopping to pose as a heel is known to do. A running shoulder to the ribs gets two on Flip but he’s right back with a 619 to the gut. Gordon is fine enough for a springboard Sling Blade but here are Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian. Not that it matters as Gordon rolls Sky up for the pin at 5:25.

Rating: C-. Gordon is fun for what he is and yet somehow they’re making him grow further than I would have bet on him being able to do. I’m not sure how far he’s going to be able to go as he’s really just a flippy guy, but at having them embrace that is a very different way to go. The match was mainly there for the post match angle advancement and that’s fine enough.

Post match the beatdown is on but here are the Young Bucks for the save. The fans chant for ALL IN but Gordon shakes the Bucks’ hand. Bully comes back down and says it’s about time. This is interesting, but let’s make it more interesting: how about the Bucks and Gordon challenge So Cal Uncensored for the Six Man Tag Team Titles at Supercard of Honor? And let’s make it a ladder match.

Overall Rating: D. They advanced a few things but for a show based around wrestling, I don’t think this was clicking at all. The schedule continues to hurt them as it’s time to burn through the Supercard of Honor build and it’s even harder when a lot of the talent is from New Japan and therefore not here. This was a major misfire after what they’ve been doing of late and that’s very disappointing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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