Ring of Honor
Date: January 10, 2018
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

We’re FINALLY at the post Final Battle tapings and that means it’s time to get on with the stories. There are some big issues coming out of the pay per view with Dalton Castle winning the World Title at the top of the list. It should be interesting to see where the fallout goes, including perhaps a new challenger for Castle. Let’s get to it.

We look at some clips from Final Battle, naturally focusing on the title change more than anything else.

Opening sequence with Castle more prominently featured.

Here are Castle and the Boys to get things open, as is tradition around here. The fans chant for the Boys until Castle, now with a rather white microphone cube, talks about making mistakes in the past. Like investing money in the sparkling water business. People kept telling him he would never be World Champion but it turns out that there’s a long time between now and ever.

Now he’s the World Champion and as long as he holds the title, the world is going to know that he’s not just a big fish in a little pond. This brings out Jay Lethal, who would be a logical first challenger (though I would have bet on Punishment Martinez). Castle: “THIS IS SHOCKING!”. In the years that Castle has been here, Lethal has never even given him the time of day. Lethal hasn’t even sent him a friend request on Facebook! Dalton isn’t sure what Jay could possible want from him now Castle: “I’m puzzled. It seems there could be so many things you could want.”.

Jay does want to congratulate him on his accomplishments and that title makes him the best in the world right now. To get to the point though, Jay wants his shot. That’s not what Castle was expecting and sits down on one of the Boys to think it over. The other Boy offers Jay a seat which he accepts, after wiping the Boy’s back down first. Jay can’t do it so the fans tell Jay to try it again. Castle: “It’s a shame to waste a perfectly good Boy.”

Dalton throws his feet on the other Boy’s back but Jay gets to the point, saying he wants to be at the top of Castle’s list. The champ agrees and Jay bails in a hurry. With the ring to himself, Dalton says this title is for the Boys. With Castle ready to leave, Punishment Martinez, who is owed a title shot due to winning the Survival of the Fittest, comes in for a chokeslam to lay Dalton out.

More often than not, a new champion will start their reign off by saying it’s a new era or something like that. For once, Castle’s actually does feel different. The stuff with the Boys is something we’ve seen before, but Castle was in regular street clothes here and having the Boys being used as chairs by a guy you might see anywhere was quite the odd visual. I buy him as champion and it feels different enough that I care, which is a great sign for him going forward.

The Kingdom says they’re coming for all the titles. My goodness shut up with this same stuff already. It’s been the same promo for WAY too long now and Taven not being a great talker doesn’t help either.

TV Title: Silas Young vs. Simon Grimm

Young is defending after winning the title at Final Battle. Grimm comes out in a mask for a rather different look, which might actually work. They hit the mat to start with Grimm getting the better of a wristlock. Young flips out of a snapmare as they seem to be trying to do a fast paced cruiserweight sequence but are a bit too big. It doesn’t look bad and it’s a well done change of pace, but it does look a bit awkward.

They fight over a pinfall reversal sequence until Grimm powers him up, only to get hurricanranaed right back down. A clothesline puts Grimm on the floor and we take a break. Back with Young still in control as the camera makes sure to look at Beer City Bruiser. Grimm gets in some uppercuts (because that’s what so many wrestlers use these days) and a bridging suplex gets two. Not that it matters as Misery retains the title at 7:31.

Rating: C-. Simple title defense for Young here to get him off on the right foot while we wait on the real challenger. They took their sweet time on giving Young a run with anything so it’s nice to finally see this pay off in any way. Young could make for a good TV Champion, even if he doesn’t hold the title all that long. Grimm is better than he was given credit for in WWE but I’m not seeing any great potential that the company missed.

Post match Kenny King with a beer bottle, just like the one that Silas had to use to take the title from him. Sure Silas beat Martinez on his own but it took a beer bottle to beat King. He’s already signed up for his rematch but thanks to the eight beers he’s had tonight, he’s ready to fight Young right now. Referees are right there but this was fine to set up the obvious rematch.

Stills package of Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer vs. the Briscoe Brothers. Bully left his boots in the ring after the loss.

Clip of the Women of Honor Title tournament being announced.

Briscoes vs. Ryan Nova/Eli Isom

New music for Mark and Jay. The Briscoes jump the jobbers during the video package and Jay takes Isom’s head off with a clothesline. Mark does the same and the Froggy Bow ends Isom at 1:34. These guys are awesome heels, partially because they look like they could snap your neck at a moment’s notice.

Post match the Briscoes brag about ending Bully’s career. They want the Tag Team Titles back because no one is on their level right now. The Briscoes destroying the Guns would be as appropriate as anything else at the moment.

Silas, with his hair looking cleaner than it has in years, isn’t happy with what King did. The Beer City Bruiser wants to win the Tag Team Titles and even has a partner in mind. Silas gives him his blessing. This would have been more effective if the Briscoes hadn’t just squashed a team and challenged for the titles as well.

The Young Bucks and Adam Page aren’t happy with the Addiction and Scorpio Sky (now known as SoCal Uncensored). They can have a shot at the titles if that’s what they really want. Another year, another team crammed together for the sake of creating challengers for the titles.

Flip Gordon vs. Marty Scurll

Scurll’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. During the entrances, Scurll says he wants a shot at Castle too because he helped Lethal reach his inner villain. I completely support this. The fans are almost entirely behind Scurll as they fight over a wristlock to start. Gordon flips him down to start and Marty isn’t sure what to make of it. The handstand walk turns into Flip’s dance, followed by the multiple nip ups to avoid a clothesline.

It’s Flip getting in the first hard shot to send Marty outside, allowing Flip to stand on the top on one foot just because he can. Back from a break with Flip keeping the pace fast (Colt: “Fast and furious. Too fast and too furious!” Get your movies straight dude. It was Fast and THE Furious first. Fast and Furious was the fourth.) until Marty gets in a dropkick to take over. It’s already off to the cross arm choke and a Backstabber gives Marty two.

The near fall leads to a shoving match with the referee where the ref shoves him down (it worked for HHH back in the 90s and it would work here too). The referee gets BOOED for defending himself but the fans are distracted by a superkick to Gordon, despite him doing a handstand at the time. They rock each other with forearms until an enziguri gives Gordon his first offense in a good while.

A 619 around the corner has Scurll in trouble and a springboard Sling Blade is good for two. The standing shooting star gets the same and we take an abrupt break. Back again with Marty hitting the apron superkick and giving a rather evil sneer. Some spinning kicks are countered into a rollup, followed by some exchanged superkicks. Scurll’s Ghostbuster (Adam Cole’s Last Shot) gets two but Gordon sends him outside for a very big flip dive. A 450 gives Gordon two more and a Falcon Arrow gets the same. Scurll is done with this though and hits a second Ghostbuster for the pin at 13:40.

Rating: C+. Gordon is someone who interests and frustrates me at the same time. The athleticism is great but there comes a point where there’s just too much of it. Unfortunately Gordon hits that point about five minutes into his matches and it gets silly in a hurry. The last few minutes of this one showed that he can do more things than just flips and that would make the athletics look that much better. Mix is up a bit and learn to make those spots mean more and he could get a lot further.

Overall Rating: B. Now that’s how you do a first shot back. Three titles get challengers set up and there’s a good opening sequence plus a strong squash. The wrestling wasn’t bad either and there’s a lot of stuff to pick from around here. This is a lot better than the normal stuff you get around here and Marty going towards the World Title makes me rather smiley indeed.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: January 3, 2018
Host: Ian Riccaboni

It’s another Best Of show as we’re STILL waiting on the fallout from Final Battle. In theory this is the last show before we move forward but that doesn’t exactly do much good for the fans who are waiting around. That being said, a highlight show can do a lot of good so hopefully this lives up to expectations. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Ian welcomes us to the show and says tonight is going to be all about the War of the Wolds UK Tour.

From August 18 in London.

TV Title: Titan vs. Kushida

Kushida is defending. Technical sequence to start and it’s an early standoff with the fans being impressed. Then again it’s a Ring of Honor crowd so they would probably cheer if they were bored out of their mind. Titan springboards into an armdrag to the floor, followed by a running hurricanrana on the outside.

Back in and Titan teases a hand walk headscissors but Kushida throws him at the referee for a kick to the ribs. They’re quickly back on the floor with Kushida putting him in a chair for a running dropkick. Kushida starts in on the arm to soften it up for the Hoverboard Lock. A basement dropkick mixes things up a bit but the actual holds sends Titan bailing to the ropes. Back up and something like a Pele cuts Titan down but he’s still able to hurricanrana the champ to the floor. A big old Lionsault puts Kushida down (and sees Titan landing on the barricade) as we take a break.

Back with Titan grabbing something like a Figure Four but a rope is grabbed in pretty short order. Titan gets caught on top but Kushida pulls him down into a cross armbreaker. That’s rolled into the ropes again but Titan handsprings right back into the hold. Titan rolls out of that as well and la majistral gets two.

Another wacky rollup gets the same and that draws the FIGHT FOREVER chant. A springboard hurricanrana takes Kushida down but he’s right back up with the Hoverboard Lock. Titan gets a bit too close to the ropes so Kushida rolls away and tries Back to the Future. That’s countered as well (geez) and Titan kicks him in the head. A Downward Spiral into the buckle sets up Back to the Future to retain the title at 15:49 shown.

Rating: B+. Wow. When this match started, I was expecting just another pretty good TV match that didn’t really offer anything special. What I got was one of the best Ring of Honor matches I’ve seen in a VERY long time as both guys left it all in the ring and came out looking like stars. Kushida is my favorite New Japan guy and this is a great example of why. I’ve always really liked his matches and this is one of the better ones I’ve seen from him. Definitely check this out.

From August 19 in Liverpool.

Jay Lethal vs. Josh Bodom

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

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

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

Once again from August 18 in London.

Bullet Club vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

Cody/Young Bucks/Hangman Page/Marty Scurll

Tetsuya Naito/Bushi/Evil/Sanada/Hiromu Takahashi

Marty and Takahashi start things off with Hiromu stealing the umbrella. That scoundrel! Does he not know who the villain is around here? The tease of a lick to the umbrella is just too far for Scurll and the fight is on with a technical sequence into the bird pose. A running hurricanrana allows Takahashi to do his own bird pose but he has to flip out of a chickenwing attempt.

Cody and Sanada come in with the fans singing about Cody, including his last name as a copyright infringement. Maybe that earns another Cease and Desist letter? Sanada dropkicks him into the corner and the singing continues. We get the big ten man showdown but there’s no violence. Instead the fans want some superkicks so it’s Page coming in and teasing one. Naito comes in as well and we take a break.

Back with Naito avoiding a lockup and handing it off to Evil. Page is sent outside and it’s Naito spinning into his signature pose to a BIG reaction. Scurll jumps him from behind but Los Ingobernables clear the ring without much effort. A quick spank from Evil keeps Scurll in trouble (Appropriate?) and it’s off to Bushi for a middle rope dropkick. Marty gets in a Backstabber and the hot tag brings in both Bucks (sure why not) for the house cleaning to go with the big reactions from the crowd.

Everything breaks down and the Club does the five man Rise of the Terminators, setting up four straight dives. Marty gives Bushi a reverse Razor’s Edge into something like a One Winged Angel, followed by a top rope splash to give Matt two. Back from another break with Page and Nick missing moonsaults. Matt misses as well so Nick and Cody stomp away. The Club wants Marty to try a moonsault and panic sets in very quickly. He finally gets up (shaking the entire way) and….I think misses? His hands grazed Bushi but he sold it like a miss.

The hot tag brings in Sanada to tie Page up, followed by the running dropkick to the back. Everything breaks down again and Page hits Naito with the rolling lariat. Sanada comes back in with Cross Rhodes for Cody, only to have Scurll break his fingers. The Superkick Party is on and the Bucks grab Takahashi’s stuffed cat Daryl. Takahashi has to save Daryl from the chickenwing but he winds up taking the Meltzer Driver.

The Club poses and Takahashi starts crying. Fans: “SAY YOU’RE SORRY!” Takahashi fights all of them because his partners are out looking for hot dogs and beet juice. A quintuple superkick drops Takahashi but Naito comes back in. Bushi offers some mist and Naito rolls up the very green Page for two. Destino plants Page for the pin at 22:09 shown.

Rating: B. That’s a great way to do a major house show main event and that’s the right idea. The fans need something entertaining to make the shows feel more important and having two big groups like this in one match is the right way to go. They had some good stuff going on here, but some of the screwy comedy stuff wasn’t exactly my taste. I can see why this is considered one of the best things the company had though as it was some good fun, especially for the fans there live.

Ian wraps it up and we get some credits to end the show in a nice touch.

Overall Rating: B+. In a way, I like this better than just going with the standard Best Of formula. There’s way too much to cover in the course of a year in just an hour long show so focusing on a single tour might have been the way to go. Two really solid matches and…well they had two really solid matches and that’s more than you get more often than not. Fun show here, but I’m really looking forward to getting back to the regular stuff.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: December 27, 2017
Location: RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

It’s after Christmas (or before depending on when this show airs for you) and that means it’s time for a special match. This time around we’ll be having a ten man tag with surprise teams, which could make for some fun stuff. We’re still waiting on the post Final Battle stuff but that’s how Ring of Honor works. Let’s get to it.

Cody is standing by some Christmas presents and isn’t happy with being a captain of a team tonight where he doesn’t even get to pick his own team. Dalton Castle, the other captain, comes in and gets to draw the first name. Castle likes his pick, which isn’t revealed.

Opening sequence.

The Dawgs vs. Flip Gordon/Simon Grimm

Rhett Titus is dressed as Santa and Will Ferrara is a reindeer. Grimm is better known as Simon Gotch from WWE and I’m interested in seeing if he’s as nothing here as he was there. Ferrara and Grimm fight over whether the reindeer suit should be zipped up or not. Grimm takes him down into a choke before it’s off to Flip. Some chops set up a standing moonsault for two, followed by a good looking dropkick for the same.

Ferrara trips him up though, sending Gordon face first into the apron. Back from a break with Titus throwing Ferrara into Gordon for another two as the Dawgs have lost the suits but Will kept the red nose. A double suplex drops Gordon and Titus catapults Will into a splash for two. Back up and a springboard forearm cuts Titus off though and the hot tag brings in Grimm. A tiger bomb gets two on Titus as everything breaks down. Ferrara hits Grimm with a present though and an implant DDT with Ferrara helping to spike Simon (Who Let the Dawgs Out) is good for the pin at 9:33.

Rating: C-. It’s the right outcome, assuming you can tolerate the Dawgs. Grimm was slightly better than his Gotch days but that’s not exactly saying much. The match was nothing to see but that’s kind of what you have to expect from a Dawgs match. It feels like such a nothing team and that’s pretty much what they are to this point.

Cody makes two picks. He’s pleased with one but doesn’t think the second even works here. Post break he makes a third pick. Cody: “Christmas sucks.”

Castle makes a pick and says this makes things interesting. No names have been given yet.

Video on the Women of Honor, mainly focusing on Deonna Purrazzo vs. Karen Q. I feel like we’ve seen packages like this for months now and while a title will help, they need to be on TV more than once every few months.

We get an ad for Final Battle….which aired over a week before this show.

Cody is in the ring with a present. He’ll give it to the loudest fan….but stomps it instead because he hates Christmas. It’s time for the reveal of the teams.

Team Cody vs. Team Castle

Cody, Scorpio Sky, Josh Woods, Chris Sabin, Punishment Martinez

Dalton Castle, Silas Young, Hanson, Jonathan Gresham, Marty Scurll

Neither Cody nor Castle (in an ugly Christmas sweater) has the World Title here for the sake of protecting pay per view results. Gresham and Sabin start things off and of course they hit the mat with neither being able to do much against the other. Sky and Castle come in but Young tags himself in instead. They slug it out and it’s pretty clear that Sky hasn’t turned heel yet. A backbreaker has Sky in trouble so he brings Cody in, only to have Castle come in as well.

As you might expect, Cody hands it off to Woods so Castle takes the sweater off. Cody puts it on instead as Castle and Woods take turns driving each other into the corner. Neither can gutwrench the other so Castle hits the peacock pose as we take a break. Back with Hanson and Martinez coming in for the hoss fight. Both guys get in a knockdown for no effect so Cody tags himself in. Hanson tags out by chopping Scurll off the apron but of course they just pose.

Castle sends Marty into Cody and despite tensions being teased, it’s just a big hug. Everyone comes in and it’s a big ten man staredown. Castle wants to fight because IT’S CHRISTMAS! Everything breaks down and it’s Sky with the big flip dive onto the pile. Woods powerbombs Sky onto the same pile before Cody comes off the top with yet another dive. It’s Martinez adding a springboard dive, followed by Hanson topping them all with a dive of his own.

Back from a break with Sky taking a series of running charges in the corner. Marty charges into a knee though and it’s a Flair Flop. Now it’s Marty’s turn to get hit with the running charges in the corner but Cody pulls up short of course. Martinez hits Cody instead until we settle down to Cody vs. Castle. That lasts all of three seconds though as Castle has to suplex a bunch of people.

Sky slips out of the Bang A Rang and it’s Gresham taking over with a dive. Sabin escapes Misery but it’s Hanson kicking Woods in the face. Cody and Hanson trade cartwheels until Cody hits the Beautiful Disaster on Castle. *That earns him a Bang A Rang but Sky takes Castle down with something like a neckbreaker, though Castle lands face first instead. Another Bang A Rang puts Sky away at 19:37.

Rating: B-. This was all it needed to be, aside from maybe some more Cody vs. Castle. They had to hide the results from Final Battle so it was really just a bunch of random fighting, though that’s just about all it needed to be. I had a good time with the match and for a big time special, it’s hard to complain about that kind of a result.

Overall Rating: C+. Solid show, even if it’s just thrown together as a filler episode. The main event was fun enough and I had a good time with it, though the opener kind of dragged things down. We’re still not ready for the Final Battle fallout though as we’re coming up on a Best Of show next week, though it wouldn’t feel right if we got to the next stuff so soon. Good enough show this week, but I could go for some storyline advancement.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: December 20, 2017
Location: RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

We’re past Final Battle but we won’t be getting to the fallout from that for at least a few weeks. It’s hard to say what we might be getting tonight but there’s a good chance that we might be having a Best Of show or a bunch of matches taped from other shows. This could range anywhere from a waste of time to something entertaining so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Addiction vs. Coast to Coast

They start fast with Daniels taking a double flipping faceplant as the announcers discuss Final Battle without actually mentioning any specifics in a nice touch. We settle down to Kazarian chopping Ali in the corner until it’s off to Daniels for some face raking of his own. Back from a break with more of the same, including Kazarian’s slingshot legdrop, followed by Daniels’ springboard moonsault.

Ali fights out of the corner and Angle Slams Daniels, finally allowing the hot tag off to LSG. A double front flip clothesline takes Addiction down and a springboard spinning forearm nails Daniels. Ali’s Downward Spiral plants him again but Kazarian breaks up Coast to Coast’s Coast to Coast. Daniels’ Backstabber into the Unprettier takes Ali down, only to have LSG springboard back in with a clothesline. The Best Meltzer Ever finishes LSG at 9:38.

Rating: C+. I like Coast to Coast but would it kill them to A, limiting the Meltzer stuff to one team and B, having a tag match that doesn’t turn into a wild brawl after a few minutes of actual tagging? That was how this stuff went in ECW and it was annoying there too. This is supposed to be the wrestling company and for some reason they can never go even a good chunk of a tag match without this stuff going haywire. It would be nice for a change.

Post match LSG says he’s tired of losing because they haven’t won a single major match in a year. Ali says they’re done if they lose their next match. LSG agrees.

Shane Taylor vs. Eli Isom

The massive Taylor shoves him around to start and hits one of the loudest chops I’ve heard in years. One heck of a clothesline sets up a right hand to knock Isom cold for the referee stoppage at 2:45. Now that’s how you get Taylor over as a killer. I always love the guy who is knocked out with his eyes open, unable to move but basically in shock from the impact. It’s a great visual.

The Young Bucks have brought their best friend for a six man tag. Marty Scurll comes in but they’re talking about Kenny Omega.

It’s time for Coleman’s Pulpit with special guest Brandi Rhodes. She plugs being on the cast of WAGS: Atlanta and Coleman compares her to Sapphire. Brandi is ready for the Women’s Title tournament, even though she hasn’t won any matches yet. She used to be a figure skater so she knows about competition. As usual, nothing worth seeing here. Well save for Brandi, who continues to be stunning.

The Elite vs. Best Friends/Rocky Romero

Now you know Omega is getting a superstar pop here. Matt and Romero get things started with Rocky not being able to hit Sliced Bread. It’s off to Omega vs. Chuckie with Kenny asking for silence during the handshake. Barretta jumps Omega from behind though, thankfully just definitely making the Elite the faces for once. The One Winged Angel is broken up and everything breaks down in a hurry. Elite cleans house (well duh) and it’s a triple dive so we can hit the pose.

Back from a break with the Bucks actually in trouble, including the Two Dog Night into a big hug. Matt gets in a springboard spinning cutter to drop Romero and the hot tag brings in Nick to clean house. A Swanton hits knees though and Barretta gets in a running knee. The Dude Buster is broken up and the hot tag brings in Omega for another big reaction. Back to back Snap Dragons have the bad guys (I think?) in trouble but a tornado DDT cuts Omega off.

The V Trigger is broken up but we hit the Superkick Party. Rocky superplexes Nick though and Barretta German superplexes Matt onto him in a moonsault. Barretta’s snap piledriver gets two on Omega and we take a second break. Back again with Omega hitting the V Trigger but Barretta piledrives him onto the apron. Nick German suplexes Barretta onto the apron, only to get caught with Sliced Bread onto the pile at ringside.

Back in and Romero cleans house with running shots in the corner, followed by a kick to Nick’s face. Omega misses a V Trigger and gets caught with something like a running reverse cutter. The Bucks are back up to clean house and Romero is caught in a Sharpshooter/Crossface combo (The Cease and Desist. It’s funny because it makes fun of WWE you see.).

Nick is thrown into them for a break though and it’s time for a triple slugout. Triple superkicks stagger the Friends but triple jumping knees into triple cradle piledrivers get two on the Elite. A super Dudebuster gets two on Nick but Omega breaks up a double Sliced Bread. Matt and Omega load up Tombstones with Nick dropkicking down onto the two of them. A One Winged Meltzer into the Cease and Desist (with a horrible Crossface) ends Romero at 20:53.

Rating: B+. If you can ignore all the pre-planned stuff, this was a heck of a fight with everyone moving at a very fast pace the whole way. They were beating the heck out of each other, but there’s one much more important thing: the Elite wrestled as faces, which takes away one of their biggest issues. It gets very tiresome watching the group wrestle as faces but being presented as heels, especially when they wrestle a face style. Let them do what feels natural and see how much better it works.

Overall Rating: B. The main event is almost half of the show so there’s only so much you can criticize around here. This is the kind of stand alone episode that is always going to work and there’s nothing wrong with that. We can get to the fresh stuff later on and as long as you have a big attraction like Omega or something big in general, things will be fine.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Final Battle 2017
Date: December 15, 2017
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

It’s the biggest show of the year for Ring of Honor and the card is actually not too bad. The main event is Dalton Castle challenging Cody for the World Title with another big match in the form of Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer vs. the Briscoe Brothers in a street fight. You know, to check off the ECW box on the card. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about how this was the greatest year in ROH history. I’m thinking no on that one. It’s your standard hype video with the narrator saying things like “great debuts” and “major changes” with clips of such things being shown. Not bad, but nothing that hasn’t been done far better before.

The production gets a major upgrade tonight with fire shooting up on the stage and a square lighting fixture above the ring with some LED signs. It looks very good, albeit a little out of place around here. Still good though.

The announcers hype up some of the big matches. We just did this in the opening video.

Will Ospreay vs. Matt Taven

This is your required “here’s a New Japan guy” match that has no storyline behind it. Ospreay kicks him in the face to start and hits a big flip dive over the top onto the other members of the Kingdom. Taven is right back up with a big dive of his own though as they’re starting very fast.

Back in and Taven flips out of a hurricanrana but gets armdragged into a dropkick to send him outside. Ospreay teases a dive but instead backflips into his signature pose to pop the crowd even more. The Kingdom offers a distraction so Taven can take over. Cabana: “Ospreay is great but notably kind of dumb.” Vinny Marseglia SWINGS AN AX at Ospreay’s leg, allowing Taven to dropkick him down.

The beatdown is on and Taven adds a hard knee to the face for two. Ospreay kicks him in the head again and gets two off a running shooting star. Taven reverses a hurricanrana into a Liontamer of all things, drawing a Y2J chant. A rope is grabbed and Taven shouts to the camera that he better be on Jericho’s cruise. Ospreay speeds things up a bit and gets behind Taven but still manages to superkick him in the jaw.

One heck of a superkick puts Taven on the floor and Ospreay runs the corner for a springboard shooting star onto the rest of the Kingdom. Taven is right back in with a kick to the face but his frog splash hits knees. The Oscutter is countered straight into the Climax to give Taven the sudden pin at 10:50.

Rating: C+. While little more than a flipping and kicking match, this was a great choice for an opener. Ospreay is one of the best high fliers in the company and he got to show off in front of the fans, who ate up everything he was doing out there. I’m still not getting the point of Taven but it makes sense to have him win here as he’s around a lot more often than Ospreay.

We recap the Addiction vs. War Machine. War Machine had the Tag Team Titles won when Addiction interfered and cost them the match. The monsters wanted revenge but accidentally took out a fan, earning Ray Rowe a suspension. While he was gone, Addiction cut off part of Hanson’s beard. You know what kind of revenge that warrants.

War Machine vs. Addiction

It’s a brawl to start with War Machine winning the brawl on the floor but Hanson’s clothesline train is cut off in short order. Rowe comes in for a save as this isn’t exactly going to have a lot of tagging. Some fans try to start a JOHN CENA SUCKS chant but seem to be promptly shouted down. Good. Rowe t-bone suplexes the heck out of Kazarian but Daniels trips him up to take over.

We actually get to the tag stuff with Daniels choking Rowe in the corner, followed by Kazarian’s springboard legdrop. Addiction fires off a string of springboard dives to keep Rowe in trouble. The double teaming doesn’t quite work though as Rowe Rock Bottoms Daniels onto Kazarian. Hanson comes back in off the hot tag to clean house and Addiction is stacked up in the corner for a quick pounding.

A double Bronco Buster (that’s a new one) sets up a German suplex/middle rope clothesline combo. Kazarian gets in a Backstabber on Rowe and an Unprettier is good for two. Celebrity Rehab gets the same and a Downward Spiral takes Hanson down as well. He’s right back up with a double Tajiri handspring elbow though and it’s Fallout to end Daniels at 9:35.

Rating: C. This was a well built match and War Machine winning was the right call. Addiction isn’t a team that really ever needs to win anything else and putting teams like War Machine over is a great use for them. War Machine should get back to the title hunt soon, though I could see WWE coming after them one day in the near future.

We recap Marty Scurll vs. Jay Lethal. Scurll got to pick his opponent and wanted to face someone he saw as one of the best villains in Ring of Honor history. Lethal doesn’t want to go back to the dark side but Scurll has him getting closer to being villainous all over again.

Marty Scurll vs. Jay Lethal

Scurll, in all white here, isn’t defending his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title. Marty wins a technical sequence to start and grabs a wristlock. A clean break against the ropes keeps the mind games high. Lethal armdrags him down but Marty rolls straight into a bird pose. The cartwheel into a basement dropkick rocks Scurll but he’s still able to stomp on Jay’s fingers.

Jay’s elbow gets stomped as well, only to come back with a hard whip to send Marty into the barricade. Someone throws a streamer into the ring and the fans are all over him. Again, good. A springboard dropkick has Marty in trouble again, followed by a single suicide dive. Back in and Marty suplexes him into the corner before going right back to the arm. They slug it out until a Lethal Combination gives Lethal a delayed two.

It’s off to a torture rack of all things (Cabana: “Can we call that the Lethal Express?”) with Lethal rolling forward for two more. Marty is up first and catches Jay with a tornado DDT on the floor. That’s fine with Lethal, who hits a cutter off the apron to take Scurll right back down. It doesn’t seem to have much effect as Marty grabs the chickenwing, only to have Lethal reverse into a rollup for an escape. The ref is bumped (makes sense this time around) so Marty grabs a chair for the Eddie Guerrero treatment.

Jay is one step ahead of him though, wrapping the chair around his own head and dropping down to the mat. The referee says keep it going so Scurll grabs a brainbuster onto the knee for a near fall. A Figure Four is quickly broken up so Marty grabs the umbrella. The referee takes it away so Marty pulls out a second one to knock Jay silly. That and a piledriver are only good for two so Jay kicks him low, setting up the Lethal Injection for the pin at 15:53.

Rating: B+. I really like both of these guys and it was cool to see them play up a story like this. That being said, this feels like a start to the story and I wouldn’t be complaining about seeing them do some more of this. I don’t think Lethal needs to turn heel, but an edge to his character would be nice. Scurll pinning Lethal in the future would be nice too.

The Motor City Machine Guns say no one is on their level, which is why they’re here.

The Best Friends disagree, albeit in multiple takes.

Tag Team Titles: Best Friends vs. Motor City Machine Guns

The Guns are defending. Sabin and Chuckie start things off and the fans still don’t seem to care about the Guns. An armdrag into an armbar sets up the Friends’ Two Dog Night but Shelley blocks the big hug. Shelley does a Rick Rude hip swivel and sends the Friends outside, where we get that hug. Eh Bryan and Kane did it better.

The Guns hit back to back kicks and knees to the head to take over. Back in and Sabin stands on Barretta’s crotch in the corner, followed by the face to the crotch spots. The Guns even hug to hammer home the joke. At least they seem to be embracing (no pun intended) the heel roles here. Barretta ducks a kick that goes onto Shelley’s head instead, followed by a tornado DDT to Sabin.

The hot tag brings in Chuckie to clean house and that means another hug. Yes it’s funny, we get it. Back in and the Dude Buster is broken up, but so is the rollup from the Guns. Skull and Bones gets two on Barretta, followed by Strong Zero for the same on Shelley. The Friends try another double team but Sabin rolls Chuckie up for the pin at 10:26.

Rating: C. I know this isn’t the most popular opinion in the world but I really can’t stand the Guns anymore. Their matches are basically signs that say these things were all rehearsed and planned out beforehand and I never buy the idea that they’re having a spontaneous match. The Best Friends aren’t much better with the constant hugging (I know it gets a reaction but maybe they should have something else), making this one of those matches I had to get through rather than enjoy.

We recap the TV Title match. Kenny King is a fighting champion and is ready to defend against anyone. So how about defending against three people at once?

TV Title: Kenny King vs. Punishment Martinez vs. Silas Young vs. Shane Taylor

King is defending and it’s elimination rules. Martinez comes out of a coffin and has what appears to be his legion behind him. Young and King start things off with the champ stopping for a quick dance after a shoulder. It’s off to Martinez, who grabs a headlock of all things. That’s not exactly what a monster should be doing. King can’t do much with Martinez so Taylor tags himself in for the big showdown.

Everything breaks down with Silas diving over the top onto Taylor. King dives onto both of them so of course it’s Martinez hitting his own springboard flip dive onto the pile. Back in and Martinez takes King down with a top rope spinwheel kick, putting all four down on the mat. King and Martinez kick each other in the face but Taylor catches the champ in a spinning sitout piledriver.

For some reason no one covers King with Taylor instead hitting a running Death Valley Driver to send Martinez into the corner. Taylor gets crotched on top and King manages a Royal Flush, followed by Martinez’s springboard twisting swanton to get rid of Shane at 9:07. Martinez elbows the other two in the corner but gets knocked outside in short order.

King and Young beat on the monster outside and it’s a powerbomb/Blockbuster combo for good measure. Back in and the Royal Flush plants Martinez but Young hits King with a beer bottle for the elimination at 12:58. The chokeslam gives Martinez two but Beer City Bruiser makes a save. They fight to the floor again with Young winning the brawl and kicking away back inside. Back in and some knees to the ribs set up Misery to give Young the title at 17:24 in a rather sudden finish.

Rating: D. I’m not sure why this match is getting the really harsh reactions it’s been receiving. Yeah it was bad but you would think it was one of the worst matches ever or something. The match was a bit of a mess, but what else were you expecting? Matches involving tags that break down into wild brawls are kind of ROH’s thing and that’s what you had here. Young winning is the right call and I have no idea what else you would have expected here.

We recap Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer vs. the Briscoe Brothers. Bully and the Briscoes were partners but they turned on and injured him at Death Before Dishonor. Ray has teased retiring but was suddenly fine enough for this fight. Fellow ECW alum Tommy Dreamer is with him for the sake of nostalgia, though it does fit for what they’re doing.

Briscoe Brothers vs. Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer

Street fight with the ECW guys coming in through the crowd. It’s a brawl to start (as it should be) with the Brothers in early trouble. Dreamer hits a flip dive off the apron onto Jay and Mark is already bleeding a bit. Bully crossbodies both of them off the apron but Jay posts him to get a breather. Jay’s good looking suicide dive takes Bully down again and it’s time for some chairs. All four wind up with one though and it’s time for the dueling.

They switch to kendo sticks instead with Bully and Dreamer pulling out plastic lightsabers. You know, for part of the match where taking place out of such EXTREME hatred. A kitchen sink is brought in and Dreamer is told to get the tables. The Briscoes fight up and clean house again, this time busting Ray open. We’ve got a ladder now too and you know this isn’t going to end well. It’s cheese grater time and Bully’s cut is a lot worse in a hurry. Maybe they shouldn’t have spent as much time with the lightsabers.

Ray knocks Mark down and blocks the Jay Driller, only to get chaired in the head. Jay takes too long getting a table though and Bully kicks it away, followed by a reverse 3D. The Death Valley Driver off the apron and through a table takes care of Mark. Bully’s middle rope splash drives Jay through a table…and let’s have some fire. The fluid is poured on the table but the Briscoes are back up with a 3D onto the table (didn’t break). Mark adds a Froggy Bow for the pin at 16:17.

Rating: C. I really could go the rest of my life without another ECW tribute. It’s annoying enough to have this be a New Japan holding pen half the time but do we really need the ECW stuff too? I know it’s asking a lot to have ROH find its own identity again but it would be nice if they would try. The match itself was the brawl you would expect and really that’s all it needed to be. Again, the right guy won too and that’s always a perk. The ECW stuff was a little heavy handed but at least the build to this was good. It still should have been Bully vs. Jay though.

Video on the Top Five moments in Final Battle history. There’s no need for this but it only takes about two minutes. Austin Aries FINALLY ending Samoa Joe’s World Title reign is #1.

Ian brings out the Women of Honor because we’ll be having a Women’s Title tournament starting in late January. It’s a nice idea but the division has been filler at best so far. A title might help them though.

The Young Bucks and Hangman Page are ready to defend the Six Man Titles.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks/Adam Page vs. Flip Gordon/Titan/Dragon Lee

The Bucks and Page are defending, Titan and Lee are basically guest stars and Scorpio Sky is on commentary. Lee and Nick start things off and immediately go to the mat for a technical sequence. Nick is up first and walks the corner for a wristdrag before a double dropkick goes nowhere. Titan and Page come in with the masked man grabbing a headscissors before it’s off to Matt vs. Flip.

Gordon still won’t shake hands though and Matt isn’t happy. Flip…uh, flips around a lot and it’s six straight stereo dropkicks before all six come in for a dropkick at the same time for a not terrible spot. Things settle down with the challengers working on Matt’s arm until Page comes in for a dropsault. Page moonsaults down onto all three of them and Matt hits a running flip dive from the ramp onto all five.

Back in and Page stomps on Titan until a legwhip takes him down. Flip comes back in and nips away from a series of superkicks. A springboard double Blockbuster cuts the Bucks down and a springboard flip dive takes them down again. Flip’s running shooting star gets two on Page but Nick has to scratch the superkick itch. A springboard DDT plants Lee onto the apron, leaving Flip to escape the Rite of Passage.

Matt superkicks Nick by mistake and Titan’s suplex into a sitout powerbomb gets two. That’s about it for the Bucks being in trouble though (might be a record for them around here) as more flip dives and a shooting star Indytaker plants Lee onto the floor. Gordon chops at everyone but gets triple superkicked. The Indytaker Rite of Passage to Titan and Gordon retains the titles at 15:14.

Rating: B-. As usual, the Bucks are a lot more entertaining when they’re not just throwing a bunch of superkicks. Unfortunately and also as usual, there was no question about who was winning here. The Six Man Titles are still completely worthless and odds are we’ll have to have another team thrown together to get another title match set up. Entertaining match, assuming you can handle the Bucks being around even longer.

Post match Sky and the Addiction come in to beat on Gordon and hold up the titles.

We recap the main event. Dalton Castle has been a wrestler for a long time, even if Cody doesn’t respect him. That’s the story of the whole thing: Castle has been fighting for as long as he’s been here while Cody thinks he deserves everything being handed to him. It’s a good story, even if they’re recycling the same videos we saw on TV in recent weeks.

ROH World Title: Cody vs. Dalton Castle

Cody, now with bleach blond hair, is defending and has Brandi in his corner. Castle comes out with a fleet of Boys, which is really what he should do here. It’s a cool entrance, which fits him quite well. Castle shoves a kick away to start and an armbar sends Cody bailing to the ropes. A chase around the ring allows Brandi to grab Castle’s foot and a DDT gives Cody his first offense.

The Alabama Slam gets two and it’s time for a shoving match with the referee. Cody takes him outside and throws him into the ramp steps, followed by a powerbomb through the timekeeper’s table. Brandi isn’t done as she goes up, despite being in a long, tight dress, and dives onto the Boys. That means a triple ejection and we’re down to one on one. Cody stops for some pushups but the delay allows Castle to slug him down into the corner. A suplex drops the champ as well and Castle pulls him face first into the post for a bonus. Blood is draw, which is probably why the hair has been bleached.

Cody comes back with a Disaster Kick but the ref gets bumped. Naturally it’s right before Castle gets that arm hold of his on to make Cody tap. Back up and Cross Rhodes gets two, followed by the Disaster Kick. Cody tries one too many charges though and gets caught in the Bang A Rang for the pin and the title at 12;55.

Rating: C. So….that’s it? After spending nearly half a year as champion, Cody just loses the title in less than fifteen minutes? As stunned as I am that they actually put the title on Castle, it’s cool to see them go with someone new. Castle is one of the only homegrown stars they have around here and giving him the title, even if it’s for a short reign, is a smart move. Just do it in a better match next time.

Castle celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The show wasn’t bad but aside from Lethal vs. Scurll, nothing stands out on it. I like that they’re going with less outside talent for a change and focused more on storytelling, but this was missing the big blowaway moment. Castle winning is the closest thing they had to one but Castle is more of a feel good deal than a game changer. It all depends on where they go from here and it’s a fine show, though I wasn’t as impressed as I was hoping to be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Ring of Honor is kind of an oddball promotion. Unlike most wrestling companies, they wait until the end of the year for their biggest show, which actually makes sense. WWE holds their big show in March/April and Impact Wrestling’s is in October/November. Those are kind of strange choices, which is why “Final Battle” being held in December makes some sense. Their biggest show of the year is being held tonight so let’s get to it.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks/Adam Page(c) vs. Titan/Dragon Lee/Flip Gordon

We’ll get this one out of the way early as I’m certainly not a fan of the Bucks. It doesn’t help that I can never even remember these titles exist. They’re hardly ever defended and the teams seem to be thrown together more often than not. That’s what’s happened here as Titan and Lee are CMLL wrestlers who are being brought in for another special appearance, this time getting a title shot.

Therefore, I’ll take the Bucks and Page to retain, as it’s not like they have anything else to do at the moment. It’s rather annoying to have these belts thrown around for no apparent reason other than for the sake of having more titles but having to deal with the Bucks makes it even worse. I’m sure the match will be entertaining and could make for a fun opener but it’s not much more than that.

Matt Taven vs. Will Ospreay

Another special attraction match with Ospreay coming in from New Japan for a guest appearance. Taven is another name that doesn’t do anything for me, along with the rest of the Kingdom. They’re just kind of there more often than not and this feels like a way to make sure Taven is on the card and fill in some time.

As awesome as Ospreay can be at times, I’ll go with Taven winning here. There’s no reason to have the outsider win here, though Ring of Honor has some weird opinions on how to treat the New Japan wrestlers. Taven seems better suited as a tag team wrestler but maybe having do a singles match will be a better fit for him. I mean, it’s not like it can get much less interesting.

Jay Lethal vs. Marty Scurll

Now this is more like it. Lethal has completely won me over and I see him as one of the true stars of Ring of Honor. He has consistently good matches, including pulling off a minor miracle against Beer City Bruiser a few weeks back. Scurll is a heck of a performer too and I’m actually starting to come around on this idea of cheering for someone whose gimmick is being a villain. They’ve even had a good story here with Scurll pointing out that Lethal was more successful on the dark side and trying to tempt him back.

I’ll take Lethal here, but Scurll winning would be a huge moment for him. It’s a case where you can’t go wrong with either pick and that’s a very nice situation to be in. Scurll isn’t quite a full time Ring of Honor guy and Lethal can absorb the loss just fine, though I think he needs the win at this point. I’m looking forward to this match and if it goes as I’m expecting, it could very easily steal the show.

Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer vs. Briscoe Brothers

The build for this one has been downright impressive. In modern wrestling and especially in a promotion like Ring of Honor, it’s next to impossible to sell an angle. However, Ray sold the heck out of the thing and made it seem like he really was done. You could always feel that he was going to be in the ring at this show, but my goodness they made it work while they were building it up.

This is going to be the emotional rollercoaster of the show and it’s going to end with the Briscoes destroying the ECW legends. I’m not sure why this isn’t Ray vs. Jay Briscoe but the tag match works well enough. The Briscoes have their work cut out for them to get booed in New York but if there’s one team that can help them pull it off, it’s a pair of ECW alumni.

Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns(c) vs. Best Friends

We’re back to the matches that don’t feel like they have much going for them. The Best Friends showed up a few months back and haven’t exactly done much. That being said, they also haven’t done too little. The same is kind of true for the Guns, who are a semi-legendary team who deserve at least one run with the titles. That’s fine, though not exactly inspiring stuff.

I’ll take the champs to retain here as the Best Friends don’t quite seem ready for the belts. The Guns could lose them at any time (please, not back to the Bucks) but I really don’t think that’s the case here. The match should be well laid out, albeit in that Ring of Honor style that I’m just not a fan of most of the time. It won’t be bad, but I can’t see myself getting too far into this one.

Addiction vs. War Machine

This is more my style. These teams have built up a very nice rivalry over the last few weeks with War Machine wanting the titles back and Addiction using every heelish trick they can come up with to cut them off at every turn. Getting Ray Rowe suspended (likely for a tour or an injury) was a nice move and it gives you a reason to want to see War Machine crush them.

As much as I want to think it’s going to be the Addiction, I can’t get past the idea of seeing War Machine beat those two into the ground. Addiction doesn’t need a win like this and while they’re still good, are probably better suited more as gatekeepers for younger teams with more long term potential. War Machine is one such team, assuming they’re not eventually WWE bound.

TV Title: Kenny King(c) vs. Punishment Martinez vs. Silas Young vs. Shane Taylor

I’m not sure what to think of this but King has really grown on me in recent weeks. Who would have thought that someone who can talk and is a borderline athletic freak was better suited as a face? Again, they’ve built the heck out of this match and I really want to see who comes out as champion.

I’ll go with Young winning, as they’ve teased giving him something for so long now that they have to actually do it at one point or another. Having the match under elimination rules might make that a little more complicated, but he’s probably the best choice of the four. King would be the second best option and Martinez can be a solid monster, though I don’t see Taylor being much of an option no matter what he does. The match should be good, especially if they tell a story with some drama included.

ROH World Title: Cody(c) vs. Dalton Castle

As well as ROH has built Castle up, I just can’t bring myself to take him as a serious contender to the World Title. Having the Boys gone helps (though you can pencil them in for a return here, even if it’s just a run-in) and the wardrobe change is a good move, but Castle just doesn’t seem serious enough to take the title. Of course that being said, Cody hasn’t felt like a real World Champion since he won the thing and I don’t see that changing either.

In a prediction I’m almost sure to get wrong, I’ll go with Cody to retain. The problem is I’m not sure who takes it off of him if he gets by Castle. Lethal maybe? A Japanese import? Their options near the top of the card are a little limited as Castle could face the Bullet Club for months. I just can’t see them going with Castle though and that’s why the main event scene is one of the company’s biggest issues at the moment.

Overall Thoughts

This is one of Ring of Honor’s best built cards in a long time and that’s a nice thing to see. Far too often these shows feel like they’ve been slapped together and it’s cool to see them actually make the top show feel like the top show. There are multiple matches I want to see and I don’t get to that point very often around here. Well done on setting something up but now follow through on it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: December 13, 2017
Location: RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

It’s the go home show for Final Battle and you never know what that means around this promotion. They might set up something for the pay per view but at the same time it might be any given show. Unfortunately it’s probably going to be two weeks at minimum before we get to any kind of follow up due to the annoying taping schedule. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Kenny King vs. Caprice Coleman. That’s going to be our feature attraction tonight isn’t it? I’m so thrilled.

Opening sequence.

TV Title: Kenny King vs. Caprice Coleman

Silas Young is on commentary. King is defending but Coleman has the enforcer for hire Shane Taylor in his corner. The champ works on a hammerlock to start but it’s way too early for the Royal Flush. Back from a break with Coleman snapping him throat first across the top rope and grabbing a headscissors on the floor.

King gets sent hard into the corner for two and it’s off to something like a camel clutch/crossface chickenwing hybrid. A top rope hurricanrana doesn’t work though as King slips out, leaving Coleman to take a heck of a fall with his legs bouncing off the ropes. King gets two off a tabletop suplex but Coleman grabs his rolling northern lights suplexes for two more.

The Sky Splitter is good for the same but Coleman can’t hit a piledriver. Taylor finally gets involved with a distraction attempt, prompting the announcers to talk about King being on the Bachelor. Coleman’s rollup gets two but King is right back with the Royal Flush to retain at 10:05.

Rating: C-. Total lack of drama aside, this wasn’t too bad. Coleman continues to be a guy who is just there and I’m not sure how many people were begging for a Rebellion blowoff match. King is already set for a major title defense on Friday and they’re not going to mess with that so close to the show. Not bad though, especially that landing off the missed hurricanrana.

Post match Taylor and Punishment Martinez come in to beat King down but Young goes after both of them.

Here’s the Addiction to demand War Machine be fired for accidentally hitting a fan a few months back. Cue Hanson to go after both of them until a chair shot to the back takes him down. Hanson gets taped to the ropes and Daniels clips off a piece of his beard. Security comes in and Hanson gets free to clear things out.

Bullet Club is ready to defend the Six Man Tag Team Titles. I keep forgetting those exist.

Here are the Briscoe Brothers for a chat, though the fans aren’t exactly accepting of the heel turn. They’re here to tell it like it is and that includes saying they want Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer. Jay talks about doing everything they can to get those two in the ring and they don’t know what else they can do.

Cue Bully and Dreamer but security quickly cuts them off. COO Joe Koff comes out to try and calm things down but the Briscoes say the ECW guys are taking orders from a short old man. Koff gets in the ring and yells at them, saying he’s the matchmaker around here. The Briscoes are disrespecting everyone around here so the match is on for Final Battle and it’s going to be hardcore. Bully and Dreamer get in for the brawl but security is on them.

Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal

Marty Scurll is on commentary. They go straight at it and head to the floor in the first few seconds. Lethal shrugs off some chops and throws Taven over the barricade, only to suplex him back to ringside. A top rope ax handle gives Lethal two back inside and there’s the cartwheel into the basement dropkick. Scurll rips on him for the theatrics but Cabana points out that Marty spins around before the chickenwing. Marty: “IT’S MOMENTUM!” Cabana: “FOR A CHICKENWING???”

Jay’s Figure Four is countered into a small package for two but Lethal clotheslines him to the floor. That means a suicide dive but Jay stops at one for a change of pace. Taven gets in a dive of his own though and we take a break. Back with Taven getting two off a flip neckbreaker but hitting knees on a Lionsault attempt.

A slow slugout goes to Lethal and now the Figure Four goes on. The Kingdom helps Taven get to the ropes and Marty freaks out on Cabana for some reason. Hail to the King gets two as Marty goes to ringside. He throws the umbrella in but Lethal’s not sure. The delay allows Taven to grab a rollup for the pin at 10:11.

Rating: C+. They were working out there and Lethal losing via distraction is fine. Taven didn’t do much here but at least he wasn’t talking and that’s always a perk in his case. Not a bad match and it didn’t overstay its welcome. Scurll vs. Lethal should be a lot of fun and Taven….well Scurll vs. Lethal should be a lot of fun.

It’s time for the contract signing between Cody and Dalton Castle. Cody, in a fur coat, and company, including Brandi Rhodes also in a fur coat, are in the ring but Castle gets an entrance. Castle says Cody looks ridiculous but Cody is too busy eating what appears to be meats and cheeses.

Cody and Brandi stop for some champagne until Castle talks about breaking Cody’s heart at Final Battle. He was excited when he heard Cody was coming because Cody loved wrestling as much as Castle does. Then Cody showed up and it was clear he was overdressed, overpaid and overrated. Both guys sign and they stare each other down to end the show. No violence of anything, making this kind of disappointing. How appropriate in Cody’s case.

Overall Rating: C-. Uh….yeah. This didn’t exactly do much in regards to getting me fired up for Final Battle as the matches were ones you would see on any given TV show. I’m looking forward to the pay per view though and that’s a lot more than I thought I’d be saying a few months ago. Hopefully the show is better, but as always I’m cautiously optimistic around here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: December 6, 2017
Location: RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

Things are starting to pick up with two weeks to go before Final Battle. I’ve been liking the shows more and more as of late, which hopefully keeps up this week. They still need some more build towards some of the matches but they’ve certainly been doing more good than bad as of late. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Beer City Bruiser vs. Marty Scurll

Marty gets tossed outside to start so he gets a bit smarter by going after Bruiser’s fingers. Some forearms against the barricade have Bruiser in even more trouble as this is full on face Marty. Bruiser misses a charge and hits the barricade as we take a break. Back with Bruiser missing a frog splash and Jay Lethal coming out to watch. A superkick to the jaw and another to the leg have Bruiser staggered but a hard clothesline takes Marty back down for two.

Marty’s rollup with feet on the ropes gets two and Bruiser knocks him outside again. That means another missed dive and both guys are down on the floor. Bruiser dives back in at nineteen and it’s off to an octopus hold. The referee gets bumped (of course he does) and the fans say he deserves it. What a bunch of jerks. Marty hits Bruiser in the head with the umbrella for the pin at 10:16 with Jay teasing coming out for the save but standing his ground instead.

Rating: D+. I could go for Scurll as a face actually, even if his name is the Villain. I know it’s a stretch to have a villain as a face, but in a weird way it’s actually working. Bruiser wasn’t the best in the world here but having Lethal tease making the save and then allow Scurll to be the villain makes for an interesting story heading into the pay per view.

We look at Dalton Castle winning the first Soaring Eagle Cup tournament.

Castle talks about being a wrestler his whole life and it being who he is instead of what he does. Then he showed up here and worked his way to the top. It took a long time to get himself noticed and one person to notice him was Cody. They had a match earlier this year where Cody snuck in and attacked him. Cody even shipped the Boys out, which isn’t going to make him weak. Next week: they sign the contract. Castle was a lot more serious here and it worked that much better.

Earlier this week, the Briscoe Brothers went to Bully Ray’s training center but he wasn’t there. The trainees introduced themselves to the Brothers and of course got beaten up. The Brothers went on to break a bunch of pictures with Jay shouting at a picture of Bully, asking what it’s going to take to get in the ring. One of the trainees takes a 3D to wrap this up. Another good segment here for a good story.

It’s Coleman’s Pulpit time and hopefully I can hear him this week. Coleman’s guest is….himself. Coleman is ready for his TV Title shot and thinks Kenny King is just jealous. Kenny isn’t a king, a peasant or a pawn but rather a ho. I still don’t get the point of this show.

Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Kingdom

The Kingdom (TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia this time) are challenging and this is from a show in Fort Lauderdale. The Guns get jumped from behind to start but come right back with some clotheslines. That means a double dive to the floor, only to have the Kingdom whip the champs into the barricade.

Back in and Marseglia gets punched out of the air, setting up something close to Poetry in Motion in the corner. The champs start in on O’Ryan’s leg and we hit a Figure Four. Marseglia gets one as well but both holds are pretty quickly broken. Everything breaks down with the Kingdom grabbing a spinebuster on Shelley to take over. The Kingdom holds up the titles and we take a break.

Back with Sabin hitting a high crossbody onto the two of them, only to have O’Ryan grab a Twist of Fate. Marseglia’s Swanton gets two and the assisted Regal Roll gets the same with Sabin driving O’Ryan into the cover for the break. With nothing else working, it’s time for the baseball bat and the ax but TK hits Marseglia by mistake. Since IT WAS A BASEBALL BAT TO THE HEAD, something like a double One Winged Angle is needed to put Vinny away at 11:53.

Rating: C. Hopefully this helps to get rid of the Kingdom being around the Tag Team Title scene. They may not be horrible but I really don’t need to see them near the titles. Watching them wrestling is still better than listening to Matt Taven talk, though that’s not saying much. Good enough match, but they completely lost me after the ball bat to the head. I mean…..really? That’s not even worthy of a cover?

Flip Gordon vs. Adam Page

No transition here as we’re back in Lakeland for the main event. Flip gets shoved away but he backflips to stay on his feet. Page can’t clothesline him due to a series of nipups as the announcers plug the Being the Elite series. They trade flips off the apron and there’s the handstand into a headscissors to put Page on the floor. Another flip dive takes Page down but he’s still able to kick Gordon in the face to take over. It’s chair time with Page launching up into a hard shot to the face as we take a break.

Back with Page getting two off a bridging suplex but Gordon scores with an enziguri. They kind of botch a sunset flip and both guys are down for a bit. A running shooting star gives Gordon two but Page sends him outside for a big moonsault to the floor. Rite of Passage is broken up and the Samoan Pop (a reverse Regal Roll), followed by a springboard spinning Stunner for the pin on Page at 8:44.

Rating: C-. So here’s the problem: Gordon is known for his flips and being all athletic and stuff. They were trying to make him stand out….and then they have Page match him move for move and flip for flip. That just makes me think Page is his equal and a win by a relative newcomer isn’t going to help that. I like the idea of pushing someone new, but they execution didn’t work.

Post match the Young Bucks come in and superkick Gordon down, drawing the big face pop. OH COME ON ALREADY! You just gave Gordon a big, clean win and THIRTY SECONDS LATER you have him getting beaten down again for the sake of ANOTHER YOUNG BUCKS MOMENT! The Bucks didn’t need to be there and it would be nice to have pushed Gordon on his own for a few minutes. But no, let’s push the big stars instead because they’re what matters and they might not get every viewer to their YouTube show if we don’t push them as the biggest deal in the world. My goodness this made me mad and that shouldn’t happen.

Cody says Gordon won’t take the Six Man Tag Team Titles, just like Castle won’t take the World Title.

Overall Rating: C-. That ending just destroyed any good things this show had going for it. I liked the Briscoes segment and the Scurll match was the right idea but none of that matters if we don’t focus on the Bucks AGAIN. Would it be the worst thing in the world to have them leave for a bit? Maybe they could actually have some other names get somewhere and not be so reliant on them all the time. But nah, let’s go with the Bucks every single time because that’s never going to get old.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: November 29, 2017
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’ve got three shows left before Final Battle and for the first time in longer than I can remember, I’m digging the heck out of ROH. They’re putting on good matches and telling interesting stories, which is a lot more than you can say about most wrestling shows these days. Let’s get to it.

The Bullet Club is in the back and ready for the eight man tag main event. They’re ready to face the spot monkeys and Flip Gordon will never flip again.

Opening sequence.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Silas Young

The winner is the final entrant in the four way TV Title match so TV Champion Kenny King is on commentary. Gresham gets sent into the corner to start but Gresham goes after the arm to slow things down a bit. A Beer City Bruiser distraction doesn’t get Young very far so Gresham sends him outside without much effort.

Back in and we hit a crisscross until Young grabs a sunset flip for two. Gresham ties his legs together to….I guess mildly annoy Young. Back up and Gresham pulls Young up by one leg and it’s time for a comedy spot. After nearly thirty seconds of waiting, Gresham pushes him back and scores with a dropkick. Back with Gresham slugging away with some really bad looking punches. A suplex puts Young down and a good looking high crossbody gives Gresham two.

The octopus hold goes on but Bruiser throws in a keg for a distraction, allowing him to sneak in and break things up. In other news: ROH referees are really stupid. Bruiser grabs the leg but this time Gresham takes him down with a suicide dive. Another distraction allows Young to avoid a second high crossbody, allowing Young to hit Misery for the pin at 11:19.

Rating: C-. The Bruiser stuff got really annoying with three different interferences. I can go for Young being in the title match but he needs something a little better than the Bruiser cheats and then Misery. Young is a good promo and a passable worker but more importantly he’s more interesting than Gresham, who is a technical guy with no personality.

The Kingdom is ready for their Tag Team Title match next week.

We look at the end of last week’s show with Mark Briscoe turning heel and helping to beat down Bully Ray.

War Machine comes out for a match but the Addiction jumps them in the aisle. The brawl is on with War Machine throwing the Addiction into the barricade, including a hard shot that takes down a plant.

It’s time for Coleman’s Pulpit with his first returning guest: Kenny King. Kenny is ready to be a fighting champion and doesn’t want to hear Coleman’s speech about reality. Coleman thinks King is being played for a fool because he’s just a pawn. He’s being pimped out, which King doesn’t care for. Somehow this gets Coleman a TV Title shot in Florida, which seemed to be Coleman’s idea.

We look back at Bullet Club beating down Dalton Castle from last week.

Flip Gordon/Scorpio Sky/Coast to Coast vs. Bullet Club

It’s the Bucks/Adam Page/Marty Scurll here. Jay Lethal is on commentary and Cody comes out for a bonus. Before we get going, Cody says Gordon’s dreams of beating the Bullet Club is the same as Castle winning the title: a pipe dream. Scurll takes LSG down by the wrist to start and it’s time for an early wrestling sequence. You don’t do that to a British guy though as he pops up with a bird pose, only to have Cody come up on the apron for the same. That earns him an ejection though and it’s off to Matt vs. Sky.

Neither can hit much of anything until Scorpio nails a dropkick. Nick comes in and of course the fans are mostly behind the Club. It’s off to Gordon, who refuses a series of handshake offers. Flip makes the mistake of doing his dancing handstand, allowing Nick to dropkick him in the ribs. Back up and Gordon keeps nipping up to avoid superkicks and because this is a Bucks match, Nick keeps trying the same stupid move over and over. A standoff takes us to a break and we come back with Gordon still refusing a handshake.

Matt comes in and grabs him by the hand though, allowing Scurll to break the fingers. Naturally, the partners just STAND AND WATCH ALL THIS, including the triple superkicks. The fans think this is awesome because they’ll cheer anything the Bucks do. Coast to Coast gets sent outside and it’s time for a bunch of dives, as you might expect. Gordon nails an even bigger dive and comes back in to face Nick….who promptly pokes him in the eye to take over. Sky gets sent into the corner and it’s time for a Bullet Club train of clotheslines.

Back from another break with Flip having to bail out of a 450 and getting superkicked down. Flip grabs a reverse Regal Roll but backflips into the chickenwing. Sky makes the save and grabs a dragon sleeper, only to have the superkick party begin. Ali and Matt slug it out on the apron until LSG hits his partner by mistake. A belly to back suplex onto the apron drops Ali, leaving Flip all alone in the ring. He tries his own dive, and, say it with me, lands on a bunch of superkicks.

More Bang For Your Buck doesn’t work and Gordon springboards into a mostly missed dive to the floor. Nick is caught in the Tree of Woe for a double Coast to Coast but Gordon’s 450 only gets two. Scurll does the chickenwing dance but gets kicked in the head. A blind tag brings in Ali….which doesn’t matter as it’s ANOTHER string of superkicks as the Bucks cut off another comeback. Matt superkicks Scurll by mistake but Page comes back in for a Rite of Passage/Tombstone/Indytaker combo to Gordon and Sky for the double pin at 20:07.

Rating: B-. Well that was maddening. This match was designed to push Gordon as a young up and comer but all I saw here was the Bullet Club superkicking everyone in sight and hitting a big team move for the win. As usual, the problem with the Club’s matches is the same: they’re never made to look like they’re in any kind of danger. Every time the good guys got something going here, it was a bunch of superkicks to cut them off again. Sure there were some exciting moments here and there but I should buy the idea that the underdog faces have a chance. That wasn’t the case here and it got old in a hurry.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was much more about the in-ring work instead of the storytelling but you can tell they’re especially working hard around this time. You also would have expected something from Lethal vs. Scurll here but that was barely discussed in the slightest. It’s still a good show, though it wasn’t exactly the same formula they’ve been using, or the one they should have been using for that matter.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: November 22, 2017
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re less than a month away from Final Battle and, for the first time in forever, Ring of Honor feels like they’re on a roll. The last few weeks have been incredibly entertaining with some great promos to set up some of the bigger matches at the pay per view. It’s hard to say what you’re going to get around here but hopefully the last two weeks are a good indication. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Jay White vs. Matt Taven

In theory this is one of White’s last matches with ROH before heading back to New Japan. Taven punches him at the bell and we start in a hurry. White is right back with a forearm into a Muta Lock (kind of early) to send Taven scurrying over to the ropes. They head outside with Taven getting caught in a heck of a suicide dive as we take a break.

Back with White uppercutting away and hitting a brainbuster from the floor to the apron. That looked like a heck of a bump but of course Taven is right back in and kicking out of a Saito suplex. Taven’s spinning kick to the face sets up a missed Lionsault and Jay grabs a DDT for no cover. The Kiwi Crusher is loaded up but White has to stop due to a spitting Vinny Marseglia. A spinning Rock Bottom gives Jay two instead but Marseglia offers another distraction, setting up a Super Climax to give Taven the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C. I still don’t care for the Kingdom but they’re a lot easier to deal with when they’re not talking. Taven is the best of the three in the ring though one of the more annoying talkers around. Just let them be a trio instead of constantly whining or sounding like nitwits and they’ll be fine. That’s probably it for White, which is a shame as he’s become one of the more entertaining guys on the roster. His feud with Punishment Martinez was good and I hope he comes back here again at some point.

White gets beaten down post match.

Flip Gordon recruits Coast to Coast to help him fight the Bullet Club next week. They need a fourth man.

Shane Taylor vs. Cheeseburger

Caprice Coleman is on commentary. The winner goes on to the TV Title match at Final Battle. Taylor talks a lot of trash and shoves Cheeseburger down as we wait on the inevitable. Cheeseburger’s sleeper doesn’t work but some palm strikes stagger the big man. Taylor runs him over without much effort and a right hand puts Cheeseburger away at 2:27. Can we please get rid of Cheeseburger already? The joke isn’t funny anymore and it’s more embarrassing than anything else.

Post match the Dawgs come out with some coins to buy off Taylor but he pours them over Will Ferrara’s head. PLEASE tell me we’re not in for Cheeseburger/Taylor as a team.

We recap Mark Briscoe injuring his elbow and his brother costing him the TV Title match last week.

Silas Young is ready to beat Jonathan Gresham and become #1 contender to the TV Title.

Scorpio Sky joins Gordon’s team.

Adam Page vs. Dalton Castle

Cody is on commentary and freaks out as Dalton dives outside onto Page at the bell. Page gets sent hard into the barricade and it’s all Castle to start. Back in and Castle loads up another dive but does his strut again, sending us to a break. We come back with Page sending him into the barricade and moonsaulting down to the floor onto Castle. A catapult sends Dalton throat first into the top rope as this is a fight instead of a match.

Cabana calls Page Adam Cole by mistake as they head back inside for some SD Jones references. Back in again with Castle suplexing him down a few times and getting all fired up, especially at Cody. We come back with a second break with Page flipping out of a German suplex and scoring with a superkick.

The Bang-a-Rang connects but Cody dives out of his chair to pull the referee outside. Castle gives chase and runs right into a shooting star off the apron. The Rite of Passage is countered though and Page is set into Cody, setting up a seated armbar with a choke to make Page tap at 12:37.

Rating: C+. The more I see of Page the more I like him as he’s turned into quite the scrappy guy. That’s rather impressive when you consider how worthless he was just a few years ago. He’s fine for the guy you send out to soften up bigger stars, even if he rarely wins a match like this one. Good enough stuff here and it helps advance Cody vs. Dalton ahead of their match in New York.

Cody and Page beat Castle down post match.

We recap Bully Ray’s injury and possible retirement at the hands of Jay Briscoe. Things have intensified since then but it looks like Ray may be done. Tommy Dreamer came in to speak on Ray’s behalf and Jay’s brother Mark seems to be against him too.

Here’s Bully to say he’s very proud of what he accomplished here in the ECW Arena but he’s every bit as proud of ROH. He has a few comments to read and pulls out a piece of paper….complete with the old Bubba Ray glasses. But eh, who needs a script. It’s time to walk away, but first he wants to say how proud he is of this company. ROH COO Joe Koff gets in the ring to say the company loves him.

Cue Jay Briscoe to ask if Ray is really going out like this. Jay knocks Bully’s hat off and Koff actually shoves him away, only to have Jay deck Bully. Tommy Dreamer comes in as Velvet Sky (Ray’s real life girlfriend) comes out to check on him. Mark Briscoe is here as well….and he kicks Dreamer low to turn full heel. A 3D to Bully ends the show. I’m still digging the heck out of this story and while I would have gone with Bully vs. Jay, this works very well too.

Overall Rating: B-. They’re getting hot at the right time and that’s one of the most important things there is to do. The big Bully/Dreamer vs. Briscoes story is doing good things for me and the World Title feud is solid as well, despite Castle not being the most serious character in the world. I want to see Final Battle, and that’s a lot more than I would have expected to be saying.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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