Ring of Honor
Date: October 29, 2015
Location: Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

Last week was a good show for ROH as they addressed several stories while also giving us some good action. Tonight we have some fallout from last week with the Kingdom facing ReDRagon/Michael Elgin in a six man which has some potential. We’re also getting the return of Dalton Castle for the first time since he lost the Boys. Let’s get to it.

Just like last week the announcers’ audio is really low and I can barely understand them to start. They talk about King Corino facing repercussions for their actions last week.

Donovan Dijak vs. Moose

Dijak’s shoulder blocks don’t work early on so Stokely Hathaway tells Moose to go for it, meaning it’s a big dropkick to put Dijak on the floor. That’s fine with Dijak who chokeslams Moose onto the apron and follows with an Asai moonsault of all things (ok so he hit Moose’s shoulder but it still looked cool).

Back in and Moose headbutts him in the chest and dropkicks Dijak to the floor, followed by a suicide dive. Men this size should not be able to do these kind of things so easily. Moose scores with a bicycle kick but walks into a chokebreaker for two. Feast Your Eyes is broken up so Moose casually runs up the corner and comes off with a spinning kick to the face. The spear ends Dijak at 4:42.

Rating: C+. Well that worked. Yeah it was a spot fest but guys this young being able to do this kind of stuff isn’t normal. Moose looked like an athletic freak out there and Dijak showed why he’s considered such a top prospect. This was really fun stuff and I was impressed by a lot of what Moose did, even if it didn’t look as crisp as it could have.

Dalton Castle vs. Cedric Alexander

Castle is just in a t-shirt and trunks and Alexander is banged up from All-Star Extravaganza. Alexander pokes him in the chest to start but Dalton grabs him with a t-bone suplex. He deadlifts Cedric off the mat and then throws him right back down in a surprising display of strength. Veda Scott has to intervene by grabbing Dalton’s leg and Alexander gets in a kick to the face to take over. Chops just seem to tick Castle off and he catches a springboard in midair. Alexander gets kicked in the face and the Bat-A-Rang puts him away at 3:35.

Rating: D+. This is the kind of character evolution that works best in wrestling. Castle has a reason to be all angry and aggressive and it gets him away from the over the top style while still letting him showcase his charisma. That opens more doors for Castle going forward and was a very necessary adjustment for his career.

Post match Veda yells at Nigel for putting Alexander in an unsafe working environment and caused her unfair distress. Lawsuits are promised.

Here are Truth Martini and Jay Lethal with something to say. The fans chant for AJ Styles but Martini says that’s not his name. Cue Roderick Strong and please for all things good and holy don’t let him talk. Roderick congratulates Lethal on beating him the last time they “faced” but he shakes Martini’s hand because he’s the only reason Lethal has those titles. Lethal is livid so Strong gets right to the point: he wants one more match. They yell at each other a lot and you can hear the Flair in Lethal’s voice.

Lethal tells Nigel (remember that he’s the boss) to get in the ring and explain this to Strong. McGuinness says it’s true that AJ Styles is already the #1 contender to the World Title……but there currently isn’t a #1 contender to the TV Title. The match is quickly made for some point in the future and both guys react as you would expect. This worked far better than I was expecting as Strong seems to work better live instead of on tape.

We look back at the first four matches in the best of five series between ACH and Matt Sydal. The final match will be at Survival of the Fittest.

Kingdom vs. Michael Elgin/ReDRagon

It’s the brawl you would expect to start with Fish diving onto Bennett and Cole, leaving Kyle to grab an armbreaker on Taven over the top rope. Elgin dives on Bennett and Cole as well as McGuinness swoons over Maria (yep). Back in and Elgin Germans Taven into an armbreaker from Kyle as we take a break. It’s back to Elgin holding Taven in a delayed vertical suplex with Bennett’s kicks having no effect. Fish comes in but goes after Cole, allowing Bennett to superkick him into Taven’s enziguri for two.

The Kingdom starts their triple teaming, complete with a fake tag for bad measure. Bennett catapults Fish into a forearm from Cole, followed by a top rope elbow from Taven for two. Taven: “This is why we’re tag champs. Because we’re really good.” A high cross body gets two more but the fans chant for the Young Bucks. Off to Cole for a chinlock and we take a second break. Back with Fish avoiding a triple superkick and suplexing Taven into the corner. The hot tag brings in Elgin for a BIG MIKE chant.

Taven breaks up a superplex attempt so Elgin powerslams both he and Bennett at the same time for two. Bennett’s kicks to the face have no effect on Elgin (gah) so it’s off to Kyle for a top rope double missile dropkick. Everything breaks down and Fish drives Taven into the barricade. Taven is thrown inside for the rapid fire ReDRagon offense, followed by a wheelbarrow suplex for two on Bennett. Elgin takes a double superkick but Fish breaks up the spike piledriver. A buckle bomb sends Bennett into Taven in the corner and Chasing the Dragon puts Bennett away at 15:49.

Rating: B-. This was your fun ROH style main event with a lot of insanity but just enough coherence to keep track of what was going on. The ending is fine and keeps ReDRagon on the Kingdom’s trail while also keeping Cole vs. Kyle fresh for later. Elgin is an interesting addition as he doesn’t really have anyone in the Kingdom to feud with but maybe he and Cole fight later. Or he’s just there to fill in a spot.

Cole lays out ReDRagon post match and the Kingdom goes to leave. Kyle wants Cole next week but Cole is already busy with AJ Styles. Not a problem according to Nigel, who makes it a triple threat.

Overall Rating: C+. I had a good time with this show as they’ve definitely found a groove and know how to keep me entertained for an hour without getting bored. This show doesn’t feel like it goes by as fast as NXT but it’s still an easy hour to sit through with some fun action and tolerable promos. Good show this week and we should be hitting Glory By Honor soon.

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
Date: October 21, 2015
Location: Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

We’re in the middle of the regular taping cycle before we move on to the Glory By Honor tapings which are bigger than the regular shows, which could make for some entertaining TV in the coming weeks. Tonight’s big attraction is a statement from the Kingdom after they won the Tag Team Titles at All-Star Extravaganza. Let’s get to it.

Addiction vs. All Night Express

The Express claims that they’re the rightful Tag Team Champions as they never actually lost them a few years ago. Sabin is at ringside, throwing pieces of paper at Titus during the handshake. Kazarian and King get things going with Kenny backdropping him over the top and out onto Sabin. For some reason this earns him an ejection and the distraction lets the Express double team Kazarian and then Daniels as well. Some heroes.

Daniels gets punched in the face a few times before Daniels adds a nice spinwheel kick to the face. Kazarian rakes Titus’ eyes from the apron and we take a break. During the break we get a promo from Jay Briscoe for his No DQ match against Adam Page tonight. Jay is sorry that Page has hit the biggest bump there is in the road but Page is going to be a better man for it. Back with Daniels suplexing Kazarian onto Titus and covering with a boot on the chest.

We hit a front facelock for a bit until Titus dropkicks King into the corner and dives over for the tag off to King as the pace goes way up. Everything breaks down and a High/Low drops King. A springboard spinning legdrop gets two on Titus but he collides with Daniels to put all four down. King throws Kazarian with a suplex but Titus walks into a release Rock Bottom. Cue a guy in a red mask to distract Daniels from making the pin though, allowing the Express to catch Daniels in a powerbomb/Blockbuster combo for the pin at 10:10.

Rating: C+. This was a nice way to establish that the Express is back and another player in the tag division. The tag teams have been one of the strongest points around here in recent months and another talented team isn’t going to hurt that a bit. The Kingdom is the kind of act that doesn’t need to win most of the time and they’re still going to be over, though the red mask thing isn’t working for me.

Here’s the Kingdom in full with something to say. Bennett tells a story about a farmer and a snake. One day the snake asked the farmer to keep him warm, so the farmer put the snake close to his chest. Then the snake bit the farmer because he’s a snake and that’s what he does. Maria says she’s the manager of the greatest wrestling faction in history and even though she has to work in a male dominated industry, she doesn’t have to play by a man’s rules.

Taven talks about a vision the four of them had of them all standing next to each other with gold around their waists. That means the Kingdom will not rest until Adam Cole is World Heavyweight Champion once again. Cole turned his back on Kyle O’Reilly because Kyle doesn’t belong anywhere near the World Title.

It was clear that Cole was always a step better and not hearing his name listed among the top contenders for the World Title made him sick. He was behind people like Michael Elgin who had to go all the way to Japan to become relevant again. Cue ReDRagon but security holds them back. Fish says it’s a matter of time before they’re the Tag Team Champions again but first of all they’re coming for Cole. Adam laughs it off because of the numbers advantage but here’s Elgin to clean house on his own. The six man is set for some point in the future.

The Kingdom looked good here but it’s clear that there are a lot of weak promos in ROH right now. Cole and maybe Maria were the only ones to sound competent on the mic here as the rest sounded like a bunch of amateurs. The feud is fine though and Kingdom is a pretty solid stable, even though ROH has too many of them at any given time.

Inside ROH focuses on Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle and the Boys being turned into men by Young, much to Castle’s dismay. We see most of the Boys getting squashed last week as this is getting a lot more time than it needs.

Adam Cole is ready for AJ Styles in two weeks because it’s a different Cole than the one that Styles has beaten twice already.

The Kingdom vs. Elgin/ReDRagon will be next week.

Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Page

No holds barred. Whitmer joins commentary to drive Corino even crazier than usual. Page comes in with a banged up shoulder. Adam makes the mistake of slapping him in the face during the handshake so Jay kicks him in the jaw and clotheslines him out to the floor. Jay loads up a suicide dive but goes head first into a chair instead, giving Adam an unexpected advantage. It’s table time but Briscoe pelts a chair at Adam’s head to put him down again.

They head inside and Whitmer tries to slip Page the crutch but Mark Briscoe takes it away and leaves. Page DDT’s Jay through an open chair for two and we take a break. Back with Page choking in the corner and telling Jay to say his name (remember that Briscoe said he had no idea who Page was a few weeks back). Jay sidesteps a charge and the bad shoulder goes into the post, knocking Page right onto the table for a double stomp from the apron.

The arguing announcers wish that they would lose their voices as Jay slowly destroys Page. Back inside and the chair is wrapped around Page’s throat for a neckbreaker. Normally that would end things but Jay would rather get another table (which he has to rid of the stupid streamers). The fans want Jay to save the tables because, as usual, ROH wants to be different from WWE but goes along with all its good stuff. Adam grabs a pumphandle slam to send Jay through the table in an act of survival.

We take another break and come back with Jay not being able to hit the Jay Driller off the apron and through a table. Adam sets up yet another table but flips into a discus forearm to the head. Neither guy can hit their finisher off the apron through a table (because it would probably kill them) so Jay crowns him with a chair before actually hitting the Driller through the table (fans: “YOU JUST KILLED HIM!”) for……TWO??? That actually made my eyes pop open. Page slaps him in the face and scores with a kick to the jaw as Whitmer and Corino argue again. Another Jay Driller gives Briscoe the pin at 16:26.

Rating: B+. It takes a lot to surprise me in wrestling but they actually got me on that near fall. That’s going to go a long way for Page who doesn’t have a lot going for him but that’s one of those moments that people can talk about for a long time with him. Briscoe should have won here and the match can end this mini feud for him with both guys looking good, especially considering this was a squash on paper.

Post match Whitmer beats on Briscoe with the crutch. Corino gets in the ring, takes off his jacket, and punches out Whitmer with a roll of quarters. Steve hugs Kevin Kelly and leaves, likely without his job due to getting physical.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a solid show and a good use of an hour as several stories were covered and some matches were set up for the future. It’s a rare thing to see this show use its time so well but it worked well here and the result was an entertaining hour of wrestling TV. Check out the main event if you have time as it’s quite the brawl.

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
Date: October 14, 2015
Location: San Antonio Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 600
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

We’re FINALLY up to some fresh storyline material here with the fallout from All-Star Extravaganza which took place nearly a month ago. Jay Lethal retained both his titles at the pay per view but the TV Title is on the line tonight against Watanabe. There’s another pay per view next week so things have to pick up in a hurry. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

The commentary audio is notably lower this week as I can barely understand Kelly.

ACH vs. Matt Sydal

This is match #4 in a best of five series with ACH (from Texas, making him the crowd favorite) up 2-1. Kelly thinks winning match #3 bodes well for ACH. As usual, you can’t buy this kind of analysis. They shake hands to start but ACH holds up two fingers. The fans do a New Day style A-CH chant as they fight over a lockup to start. It’s time for some holds on the mat with neither guy being able to keep an advantage.

Sydal gets up and taunts ACH a bit which seems to get inside his head. ACH cartwheels out of a headscissors attempt and Sydal dropkicks him to the floor for a baseball slide. It’s time for the chops and therefore the WOO’s and therefore more audio issues. ACH grabs a headscissors of his own to take over, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back of the head (the Dum Dum Drop. Seriously?) for two. There isn’t much to say on a match like this as it’s just spot after spot with nothing in between.

We take a break and come back with ACH kicking Sydal in the face, only to dive into a nice spinwheel kick. Sydal gets two off something like Big Show’s Final Cut but ACH kicks him in the face again. A nice German suplex gets two on Matt, followed by a kick to the face (popular move) and a Cross Rhodes for another near fall.

Sydal rolls away from Midnight Star (450) and is booed as a result. Yeah somehow avoiding a finisher is a heel move. ACH takes him down again with a running shooting star dive to the floor but some jumping knees to the face look to set up the shooting star. It’s ACH up again though with a brainbuster but the Midnight Star hits knees. A reverse hurricanrana sets up the shooting star to give Sydal the pin and tie the series at 14:15.

Rating: C+. I get the idea here but I’m really not a fan of this kind of match. The ending told me everything I needed to know. When the 450 hit Sydal’s knees, Sydal did another big spot to set up the final big spot. They could have done the exact same ending with a cradle or something, but instead it’s all about the next big move. It makes the whole thing look like a big spot fest where they have no idea how to do anything else. That’s not good. Fun match, but very telling if you pay attention.

They hold up two fingers to each other for some gamesmanship but shake hands. Cue the Addiction and Chris Sabin to beat both guys down and clean house. Back from a break with the trio still in the ring with Kazarian yelling about how they weren’t defeated for their Tag Team Titles at All-Star Extravaganza.

It’s a good thing that they’re here in Texas because these people believe in justice. Not bathing or education, but certainly justice. Daniels doesn’t like the idea of a third man coming to the ring in a red mask and stealing Chris Sabin’s idea. They were never pinned or beaten and therefore they’re still the Tag Team Champions.

Daniels demands that the Kingdom comes out here and hand over the titles but it’s the All Night Express (Kenny King/Rhett Titus, who reunited at the pay per view) instead. King doesn’t want to hear about the Addiction’s complaints because the Express never lost their Tag Team Titles three years ago. They were only defeated by a bureaucracy and the Addiction can get some anytime.

Addiction vs. All Night Express is announced for next week.

Here are Silas Young and the Beer City Bruiser (a large man who carries a beer keg) with Dalton Castle’s boys, who Young won at All-Star Extravaganza. Silas yells at them for their ring attire and it’s time for a match.

Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young vs. The Boys

Bruiser runs both of them over in the corner and suplexes both Boys at the same time. They avoid a top rope splash though and the Boys try to ride Bruiser, only to be destroyed by Silas. Misery is enough to pin one of the Boys at 1:40.

Truth Martini and Jay Lethal talk about Watanabe learning English. Tonight he learns how to say Jay Lethal is the best wrestler in the world.

Inside ROH focuses on Adam Cole costing Kyle O’Reilly the World Title. ReDRagon promises revenge on Cole because he decided to chase the dragon. Cole’s reply says that he’s the next guy instead of Kyle. What Kyle is going to learn is that he’s just a lesser Adam Cole. Adam had the fire in his eyes here and blew away what ReDRagon said. That was good.

We’ll hear from the Kingdom next week.

TV Title: Watanabe vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending but uses the handshake to get in a cheap shot to take over early. Watanabe charges into a boot in the corner and gets elbowed in the face a few times, only to charge into a slam for two. A nice backsplash gets two for Watanabe but Truth Martini trips him up, allowing Jay to nail three straight suicide dives. We take a break and come back with Lethal getting two off a suplex.

Off to the chinlock from the champion followed by some knees to the face. A kick to Watanabe’s face gets two and Lethal goes Kevin Owens by loading up something big and then putting on a chinlock. Watanabe fights back and whips Jay hard across the ring before toss him away with a German suplex. The Lethal Injection is blocked and a big clothesline gets two. Martin throws in the Book of Truth, allowing Lethal to kick Watanabe low. The Lethal Injection retains the title at 12:28.

Rating: C. I’m still waiting on a reason to care about Watanabe. This was a glorified squash with Lethal picking Watanabe apart and putting on a clinic instead of ever feeling like he was in jeopardy. The match wasn’t bad or anything but it really didn’t make me care about either guy.

The fans remind Lethal that AJ Styles is coming for the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as I’ve forgotten a lot of the stories they built up for weeks because of the awkward schedule. Lethal vs. Watanabe was nothing special and the best of five series match was a way to set up another match instead of meaning anything on its own. I’m not sure what they’re building towards here as they didn’t mention the pay per view and now have one week to talk about it. I guess after next week it’s time for more stand alone shows and probably more New Japan. Watchable and quick show this week but nothing that did anything for me.

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
Date: September 30, 2015
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

It’s another stand alone episode with the New Japan guys coming in to help bridge the gap between the pay per view and the start of the new taping cycle. Tonight we have a dream match with Adam Cole facing Shinsuke Nakamura, who is one of the best in the world right now. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Matt Sydal vs. Kushida

Kushida’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. I’m not a fan of Kushida’s in ring work but the Back to the Future theme is awesome. The fans start the THIS IS AWESOME chants at the bell which always gets on my nerves. Feeling out process to start with Kushida taking him down off a headlock and floating around Sydal’s back until it’s a standoff.

They trade armdrags until Kushida no sells a hurricanrana and blasts him with a dropkick. Sydal gets smart and goes after the knee with some kicks and a bridging Indian deathlock as we take a break. Oddly enough WCW would always go to a commercial whenever anyone else put on those holds. Back with Kushida diving into a spinwheel kick but he comes back with a front flip into a kick to the head. So much for selling the knee of course but that’s such a common problem in wrestling and Japanese wrestling in particular.

Back in and a moonsault gets two on Sydal but Matt kicks the knee out. His standing moonsault is countered into the Hoverboard Lock (sweet name for a Kimura) but Sydal makes the ropes. They trade big strikes to the head and both guys are down. Sydal is up first with a reverse hurricanrana for two but the Hoverboard Lock goes on again. Matt rolls out of it and kicks Kushida in the head, setting up the Shooting Star (which still takes forever) for the pin at 12:14.

Rating: C. I’m not a fan of either guy and this really felt like a very stereotypical ROH match. The knee work went nowhere because Kushida wouldn’t sell the thing. Sydal is better than just a single finisher but I’m still not a fan of his since he left WWE. This wasn’t a bad match or anything but it’s not my style.

Watanabe vs. Will Ferrara vs. Moose vs. Adam Page

One fall to a finish. Before the match, BJ Whitmer says Page should get some better competition because he beats everyone he fights. Page goes right after Watanabe to start and the fans aren’t pleased because Watanabe is Japanese and therefore the ROH fans worship him. Ferrara comes in and knocks Page around the ring like he stole something. Off to Moose who throws Ferrara around but Page tags himself in to pick the bones. A belly to belly gets two on Ferrara but it’s quickly back to Watanabe for a backsplash.

Moose breaks up a cover and backdrops the much smaller Ferrara over the top and out onto Watanabe. Colby gets on the apron and is promptly kicked back to the floor. Page comes back in and gets speared in half, only to have Ferrara tornado DDT Moose. Back to Watanabe for a German suplex to Moose and an STO to pin Ferrara at 5:45.

Rating: C+. This would have been better with more time and I like Watanabe a little bit better than Kushida so this didn’t get to me as much. Moose is kind of in a free fall at this point and could use a big win but as usual Watanabe needs another win that doesn’t seem to get him anywhere. Ferrara continues to be spunky which is about as good as you can get for someone his size.

Bushwhacker Luke marches around the ring. This is a semi-regular thing in ROH.

We see Cheeseburger getting beaten down by Brutal Bob Evans earlier in the night because these two are destined to be fighting forever. Luke came in for the save with a Stunner (yes a Stunner) and used Cheeseburger for a Battering Ram.

Back in the arena and Luke says Corino looks like a bucket of sardines (a compliment) and licks his face. As someone who has experienced that as well, I don’t know why Corino is wincing.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Adam Cole

Nigel McGuinness is in on commentary. Cole is full on heel here and thankfully the commentary knows it for a change. Unfortunately they can’t say what he did but that’s the danger of a taped show. I still get a Mick Jagger vibe from Nakamura. Cole works on a wristlock to start but they stop to take in some crowd reactions. Nakamura does Cole’s pose in a funny bit but Cole kicks him in the leg and does an awkward little dance as we take a break.

Back with Nakamura driving Cole into the barricade but Adam scores with a superkick. Corino misses it though and sounds downright depressed. He’s really starting to grow on me and I’m not sure if I like that. Back in and Cole sends him hard into the corner before going into that evil smile of his. Nakamura starts driving the hard knees into the head and gets two off a gordbuster. We could all use a bit more Arn Anderson in our lives so I heartily approve.

Cole comes back with a superkick to both knees and a low one to the jaw for two. More kicks to the knee take us to a break and we come back with Cole slapping on the Figure Four. Nakamura gets the ropes so Cole busts out some dragon screw leg whips, only to get caught in a cross armbreaker. That goes nowhere so Nakamura comes back with knee strikes (gah) and an overhead belly to back suplex. The knee gives out though, allowing Cole to come back with a running knee to the face.

A Shining Wizard gets two for Adam and a superkick to the back of the head into a cross arm German suplex for two. Cole freaks out and goes after the referee but charges into a knee in the corner. Nakamura’s middle rope knee drops Cole but he can’t cover. An ax kick sets up the running knee to the side of Cole’s head for a close two. Cole spits in Nakamura’s face so Shinsuke comes back with the Landslide (sitout Death Valley Driver) and another running knee for the pin at 22:50.

Rating: B. Good but not great match here which felt like a major showdown as it was supposed to. Nakamura has more personality than anyone else in New Japan and it’s always fun to see him in the ring. Cole has that it factor and the smile when he had Shinsuke in trouble was great. The match was certainly good and well worthy of the spot they were going for here though I’ve seen better. The constant knee strikes from Nakamura after Cole spent the time working over the knee got annoying in a hurry but at least Shinsuke sold the knee a bit in between. That’s a lot better than some people would do.

Overall Rating: B. This was a solid, wrestling heavy TV show. When one match takes up nearly half the show it’s going to dominate the rating and that’s exactly what happened here. That being said, I could go for some more stories as I had them built up for weeks and now I have to wait more weeks to see where they go. I’d really like them to fix this problem because it gets on my nerves every single time. Still though, fun show here with a lot of solid to good wrestling.

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

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Ring of Honor
Date: September 9, 2015
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

This is a special show as we have a pair of title matches with the Young Bucks challenging the Addiction for the Tag Team Titles and World Champion Jay Lethal defending against Roderick Strong in a rematch from their pay per view draw. This is where Ring of Honor is supposed to shine so let’s see how good they can be. Let’s get to it.

Truth Martini and Jay Lethal say Strong has already had his shot so this is his final chance for the title.

Strong says he’s Mr. Ring of Honor because he wrestles as hard as he can every time he’s out there. There will be a winner tonight and he’ll be the new World Champion. Good night please get this guy a mouthpiece.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Addiction

The Addiction is defending. Sabin is at ringside with Kazarian and Daniels. The Bucks double superkick Daniels during the big match intros and the champs are in early trouble. Matt tosses Nick into a dropkick to put Daniels down again but Sabin pulls Kaz to the floor for a save. That goes badly as well with Sabin superkicking Daniels by mistake, earning him an early ejection. He tries to run back in but gets a double superkick for his efforts.

Kazarian gets kicked off the apron again as we’re still waiting on this to get down to a regular tag match. There’s a superkick to Daniels but Kazarian shoves Nick off the top to finally take over. Back from a break with Daniels pounding on Matt and dropping him with a gutbuster. We hit the waistlock on Matt to stay on the ribs and Daniels throws his feet on the ropes because he knows how to be a heel.

Matt comes back with a top rope flip into a Stunner (so much for the ribs) and makes the tag off to Nick. The slingshot X Factor gets two on Kaz and a Cannonball sets up the Swanton Bomb as Kaz is draped over the ropes for two. Daniels comes back in for the save for a release Rock Bottom but the BME hits knees. Kaz slingshots Nick into a cutter but Matt kicks his head off to put everyone down. It’s Addiction up first and a downward spiral puts Matt down, followed by a choke but here’s the Kingdom to go after Nick.

That goes nowhere as the Bucks get back up for a buckle bomb into an enziguri. The Meltzer Driver plants Kaz but Daniels makes the save, only to blame it on the Kingdom. The referee goes after the Kingdom, allowing Daniels to hit Nick with the title. Matt takes it away and cleans house with the belt until Maria takes it away. The distraction lets Kaz grab a quick rollup for the pin to retain at 13:50.

Rating: B. This was fun but could have been great had there not been quite as much interference. Still though, the Bucks are tailor made for this kind of a promotion and the Addiction are able to back up their antics in the ring. Either way, this was a very fun match and some of the Bucks’ stuff defies physics. I wouldn’t call this a well done match, but it was incredibly entertaining and that’s very good as well.

Wait a second though as cue Nigel McGuinness who says that’s not happening on his watch. Since the Bucks just got ripped off, let’s add them to All-Star Extravaganza on September 18 in San Antonio.

ROH World Title: Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong

Lethal is defending and has the entire House of Truth with him. The fans are split as the guys shake hands because being a heel means nothing in this company. They slug it out to start until Lethal kicks Strong out to the floor. The champ scores with a suicide dive but Strong runs back in for a great looking dropkick as we take a break.

Back with Strong sending Jay into the barricade but Roderick has to fight off the House of Truth, allowing Jay to get in a superkick. We hit the chinlock back inside before Lethal’s fireman’s carry into Snake Eyes staggers Strong again. It’s back to the chinlock as Roderick is bleeding a bit from the forehead.

Jay finally mixes things up a bit by sending Strong to the floor so the House of Truth can get in some cheap shots as we take another break. Back again with Strong hitting a quick backbreaker, followed by a string of chops in the corner. Lethal blocks another backbreaker out of the corner but Strong starts running the ropes and hitting a quick elbow to the face every time.

Strong misses a jumping knee to the face and the Lethal Combination gets two. The champ’s superplex is broken up and Roderick drops a top rope elbow for two of his own. The announcers start talking about Bill Belichick for some point that takes far too long to get to as the guys chop it out again. There’s the jumping knee to the head and Lethal is staggered.

Strong’s superplex connects but Jay grabs a small package out of nowhere for two. The jumping knee to the face is no sold (oh here we go) and Lethal loads up the Lethal Injection but gets countered by the Sick Kick for two and we take a third break. Back one more time with the referee taking the Book of Truth out of the ring, allowing Strong to hit another pair of knees to the face. Lethal comes back with two more superkicks and a belt shot. The Lethal Injection gets two and the fans are WAY into this. I believe the seventh superkick of the match sets up a second Lethal Injection to retain Jay’s title at 25:12.

Rating: B. This is an interesting case as it’s a more exciting and better match than the Tag Team Title match but my goodness the repetitiveness of the superkicks and jumping knees really held this back. There’s other stuff you can do and it makes the match feel like a video game where you find a single move that works and keep doing it over and over. The drama was solid, but mix that stuff up again. Also, stop no selling a jumping knee to the face, especially when the same move knocked you silly thirty seconds earlier. Not only are you not Hulk Hogan, you’re a heel. No selling is a face idea, not for the guy you’re booing.

ReDRagon comes out to stare Lethal down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Like I said, this was supposed to be where Ring of Honor shined and they did that here. This felt like a big preview for All-Star Extravaganza and it’s a good idea to set up the bigger matches here and give the fans a preview. There are still some things on here that get on my nerves but it could be a lot worse. Fun hour of wrestling here which really did feel like something different than WWE and TNA, which could be seen as a major compliment.

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Ring of Honor
Date: September 2, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

We’re coming up on All-Star Extravaganza where Lethal will again have to defend both of his titles in one night. That is of course assuming he makes it out of tonight’s TV Title defense against the powerhouse Hanson, who is one of the many people in line for a shot at one of the belts. Let’s get to it.

Adam Page vs. Jay Briscoe

Page has called Briscoe out for a few weeks for reasons that aren’t really clear. The announcers call Jay Briscoe a legend and one of the all time greats in Ring of Honor. If you’re talking just titles, Briscoe is pretty easily a mile ahead of anyone else and really is one of the best they’ve ever had. Page slaps him in the face instead of shaking hands. Jay actually offers another handshake and gets slapped one more time. Some left hands have Adam in trouble and he gets knocked to the floor for a suicide dive. Page’s young boy Colby Corino hits Jay in the back for the quick DQ at 1:45.

Page, who never took his vest off, throws a chair at Jay’s head and gives him the Rite of Passage on a pile of chairs. Mark Briscoe comes out for the save a few moments too late.

We recap Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young, which has evolved into a battle over Castle’s boys.

Castle will be silent no longer and is going to come crashing down on Silas Young like a thousand foot wave from the hand of Poseidon. The boys can be on the line, but if Castle wins, Young becomes one of Dalton’s boys. That makes things more interesting.

Cedric Alexander vs. Caprice Coleman

These two used to be partners. Before the match, Cedric sends manager Veda Scott to the back so Coleman gets in a verbal jab at her expense. The livid Cedric gets punched in the face and slammed into a rollup for one. Veda is still on the floor, which is certainly not a bad thing. She offers a quick distraction and Cedric kicks Coleman’s head off as we take a break.

Back with Cedric chopping his former mentor and cutting off a comeback. Coleman sends him outside for a hurricanrana before bringing Cedric back in for a second hurricanrana and a near fall. Cedric’s Michinoku Driver gets two so Veda slips him the wrench, only to have Stokely Carmichael (Moose’s manager) come out and drop Veda, allowing Moose to take the wrench away. The distraction lets Coleman come off the top with the Sky Splitter (Rough Ryder) for the pin at 8:08.

Rating: C-. I have no idea why I’m supposed to care about either of these guys. They’re both very stereotypical Ring of Honor guys: good enough hands in the ring but lacking presence and any reason for me to be interested in either of them. Veda is much more interesting than both of them, but that’s not really saying much.

Moose KO’s Cedric with the wrench. Prince Nana comes out and hands Coleman an envelope.

Brutal Bob Evans vs. Cheeseburger

This is one of those feuds that just won’t die. Evans swears at Cheeseburger to start so Cheeseburger ducks a chair shot and hits a flip dive off the barricade to start. They get inside and Evans begs off, only to send Cheeseburger into the corner. Evans pulls Cheeseburger up at two so he can keep up the beating. A shoulder block gets two for Bob but Cheesburger kicks away from the mat. Bob heads outside to load up a table but Cheeseburger smacks him off the apron and through the table instead, earning a countout.

Rating: D-. What a waste of time. They really hammered in the idea here and it’s not a very good one. These two have been feuding for months and I have no reason to care. Cheeseburger is smaller than Spike Dudley and comes off as a waste of time more than anything else. Total waste of time.

Jay Lethal promises to beat Hanson so badly tonight that Hanson’s dog is going to run away and Hanson is going to lose his house. I loved that line.

TV Title: Hanson vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending and Bobby Fish, who will be facing the winner of this at All-Star Extravaganza, is on commentary. Hanson throws Lethal around to start and kicks his head off with a big boot. The champ’s chops have no effect so Truth Martini offers a distraction, allowing Lethal to dropkick him out to the floor. A suicide dive from the champ takes us to a break.

Back with Lethal snapping Hanson’s throat across the top rope by the beard and slapping on a chinlock. That goes nowhere so Hanson comes back with a nice gutwrench slam. A cartwheel into a clothesline gets two on Jay as the announcers talk about the grind of being a double champion. That’s how you tell stories on commentary instead of talking about England winning some competition in some sport that isn’t clearly defined.

Hanson’s Bronco Buster is countered with a raised boot, followed by Jay’s top rope elbow for two. Hanson tries his Lethal Injection and only kind of botches it, followed by a moonsault which hits Lethal’s knees. Fish brings up the obvious point: shouldn’t that hurt Letha’s legs? Two straight Lethal Injections (the Tajiri handspring into a Diamond Cutter. Doing it twice doesn’t make it any less stupid looking) retain Jay’s title at 11:27.

Rating: C-. Just ok here as it was mainly a quick challenge for Lethal to get out of the way. You have to let him win a match or two like this every now and then, especially when Lethal has a bunch of bigger matches coming up. I really liked the announcers talking about how Lethal is trying to do too much as that is the most logical place to take the story.

Lethal talks trash about ReDRagon so Fish gets on the apron and is quickly joined by Kyle O’Reilly (a future World Title contender). Roderick Strong comes out to stare Lethal down as well and the champ runs off to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I’m having a really hard time caring about a lot of these stories. Lethal’s stuff is more about getting to the point where he collapses under the weight of everything he’s trying to do. That can make for a good long story but it’s not working for a one off week. The rest of the matches didn’t do much for me, save for the opener which set up something interesting down the line. These stories aren’t doing it for me, but I had a really good time with the Tag Team Title stuff, mainly because it was all self contained and I didn’t need to see a bunch of other shows to get the idea. Easily fixed, but not a great show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: August 26, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

This is a good time for ROH as their shows have been getting better over time with the focus shifting to the Tag Team Titles, which is a nice change of pace after Jay Lethal receiving so much of the focus due to having both titles. I’m hoping things stay on the mini roll they’ve had for the last few weeks so let’s get to it.

Steve Corino is back and says his issues with BJ Whitmer are over.

Bloodbound Warriors vs. Briscoes

The Warriors, Gray Wolf and Red Scorpion, look like the Legion of Doom crossed with the Ascension. Jay and Wolf get things going and this is one of the most bizarre looking matches you’ll ever see. A shoulder doesn’t do much to Gray and Jay likes this challenge a little bit more. Wolf gets smart by grabbing the beard but eats a boot to the face. It only knocks him into the corner though so it’s off to Mark vs. Red.

Scorpion slams Mark over the top, sending him head first into the top rope and onto the apron to make things even worse. Wolf throws Mark hard into the barricade as this has been one sided so far. Back in and a double flapjack gets two on Mark but he flips over to Jay to pick things up. Everything quickly breaks down and Jay dives on Wolf, leaving Mark to strut around, only to get flipped over the top and outside as well. Back inside and a Death Valley Driver gets two on Scorpion, followed by the Froggy Bow from Mark and a wicked lariat from Jay for the pin at 4:24

Rating: C+. I liked this a lot more than I was expecting to as the Warriors got to show off for a bit against the best team in the history of the promotion. That’s something I like to see out of matches at this level: letting the team who is way out of their league look good for a bit instead of just beating them in a few minutes. Not bad.

Post match here’s the Decade to call out Jay Briscoe in person. Jay says he doesn’t know who Page is but they can do this right now. Whitmer says not so fast because they can do it next week. Jay says it’s on.

Jay Lethal and Truth Martini are ready for Hanson next week. Martini: “Next week you’ll be gone in an mmmbop.”

Donovan Dijak vs. Roderick Strong

This is a way for the House of Truth to soften Strong up before his impending World Title shot. Dijak shoves Strong down to start and chops the skin off his chest, which actually doesn’t get a WOO. That’s such a nice change of pace. Strong comes back with a dropkick but a fireman’s carry doesn’t work on the huge Dijak. A kick to the head staggers Donovan but Strong has to avoid a shot from the Book of Truth, allowing Dijak to knock him to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Dijak throwing Strong down for two before catching him in mid air and tossing him to the mat ala Titus O’Neil. Strong finally scores with a loud dropkick for two but he still can’t lift Dijak. Why bother trying if you couldn’t earlier on? I mean, you’re not exactly Hulk Hogan dude. Strong fights out of a torture rack and manages an Angle Slam to get a breather. Dijak is sat on the top and eventually superplexed for two. A huge boot to the face gets the same on Strong but he comes back with the fireman’s carry into the gutbuster, followed by a Sick Kick for the pin at 10:48.

Rating: B-. I liked this well enough but they never could quite break through to the next level. Dijak has the potential to be something good but needs some more experience, which is the case for so many people in this company. Good enough match, but I’m not wild on Strong’s offense a lot of the time. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t seem like something that would ever blow me away.

The House of Truth comes in for the beatdown until War Machine makes the save. I smell a six man.

Tag Team Titles: Future Shock vs. Addiction

Addiction is defending and Corino freaks out over the Future Shock reunion. Chris Sabin is on commentary and Daniels is in a military uniform. Cole and Daniels get things going as Sabin talks about having mutant healing powers. Adam headlocks Daniels on the mat but gets stomped down on the mat and then in the corner for a change of pace. Kyle gets the tag and some slick double teaming gets two on Daniels as we take a break.

Back with O’Reilly kicking Kazarian in the face for two before tagging Cole back in. A big superkick puts Daniels on the floor and Cole loads up his signature shout, but Kyle stops him to turn it into a FUTURE SHOCK instead. Kazarian kicks Cole off the top so Daniels can send him into the barricade a few times to really take over. A slingshot legdrop gets two for Kazarian but Cole finally scores with an enziguri to break the momentum. Corino: “YOU CAN DO IT! I BELIEVE IN YOU!”

Ever the veteran though, Daniels runs around and pulls Kyle to the floor to break up the tag attempt. Cole slaps on the figure four (after a few failed attempts) until Kazarian turns it over. Kyle comes in and puts Kazarian in an armbar but Daniels comes in as well to throw O’Reilly in a Koji Clutch. Why any of these people would think the submissions would count is beyond me but wrestlers are dumb sometimes.

We take another break and come back with Kyle dropkicking the Addiction down and firing off a series of strikes to Daniels. There’s a cross armbreaker to Kazarian and a knee bar to Daniels as he tries to make a save. Future Shock mostly misses a clothesline/legsweep combo to Daniels, who kicks Cole low behind the referee’s back. Kyle gets two off a tornado DDT into a brainbuster.

Kyle puts Kazarian in a cross armbreaker for the tap out but the Kingdom comes out for a distraction. Matt Taven superkicks Kyle to give Kazarian two but Cole sees Maria interfere, finally realizing what’s going on. Cole goes after the Kingdom, leaving Kyle alone to take Celebrity Rehab for the pin at 14:33.

Rating: B-. More good tag wrestling around here and any match where I get to look at Maria is a good thing. The tag division is the best thing going in ROH right now and it’s nice to see one of those teams actually getting a shot instead of just having the contenders fighting each other all the time.

Bobby Fish and the Young Bucks run in for the save but the Kingdom comes back in to make it a huge brawl. The Bucks hit stereo dives and soak in the cheers to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was pretty easily the best show since they debuted on Destination America with an hour of solid wrestling, but they also advanced the stories as well as they have yet. The one thing I’d like them to work on though is doing a better job of explaining when these matches are taking place. I know there’s Death Before Dishonor, All-Star Extravaganza and some TV matches coming up, but I’ve completely lost track of when each is taking place. Settle those things down a bit and the show gets better. Good stuff this week though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I 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
Date: August 19, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

We’re getting closer to All-Star Extravaganza and the big story continues to be the tag team division. Last week saw several teams fighting each other for the belts, which could lead to some very good matches for the titles in the future. On top of that we have Jay Lethal getting ready to defend both his titles so expect to see quite a bit of him in the near future. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

McGuinness is in King Corino’s place due to Corino going nuts over BJ Whitmer last week.

Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle

This feud continues and that’s not a bad thing. Castle does his posing but runs straight at Young in the corner for some forearms to the face. He rams Young’s face into the mat as you can feel the charisma melting off of Castle. Fans: “FAN UP!” A rollup gets two for Dalton and he muscles Young over for a suplex. The boys fan Young on the floor and that’s just not cool with him. Castle uses the distraction to go after him again but gets sent hard into the barricade as we go to a break.

Back with Silas getting the better of a slugout (shocking I know) but the boys get on the apron to fan things off again. The distraction doesn’t work so well this time as Young comes back with a middle rope clothesline. Dalton shows off some surprising power by lifting him up like a spinebuster and charging to the ropes, dropping both guys out to the floor. A hurricanrana drops Young again and a spinout Rock Bottom gets two. Young grabs the Killer Combo (a backbreaker into a mat slam) but the boys offer yet another distraction, allowing Castle to catch Young in the Bang A Rang (reverse helicopter bomb) for the pin at 10:40.

Rating: C+. I liked this better than I was expecting to as Castle’s charisma actually has some wrestling skills behind it. Young is good as a midcard heel and Castle is a perfect foil for him, so the chemistry and idea here worked quite well. Good stuff here, but I’m not sure how far Castle can go up the card.

Post match Young rants about Castle’s lifestyle with the boys (who are adult men) and how he’s corrupting them. Silas wants one more match but with the boys on the line so he can turn them into men.

Bobby Fish thinks he can win the TV Title. Jay Lethal comes in and says Fish has no chance, meaning some shouting ensues.

Will Ferrara vs. Moose

Prince Nana is on commentary. Ferrara looks tiny compared to the giant Moose. Moose shows off some agility by dropkicking Ferrara off the top and out to the floor. Now we go with the power as Moose picks Ferrara up and slings him from one side of the barricade to the other. Well that’s one way to hurt somebody.

Back in and Will grabs a DDT to send Moose outside. Ferrara loads up a suicide dive but gets caught in midair, only to keep moving and DDT Moose onto the floor for a pretty sweet counter. They head inside again with Moose running up the corner, stumbling a bit, and superplexing Will down. The spear gives Moose the pin at 3:25.

Rating: C. This was another match that surprised me as they had what looked one sided and managed to turn it into something good. Ferrara is better than his size would suggest and he had some good stuff here, while Moose looks like the complete (yet still mostly green) package. Another nice surprise here.

Adam Cole can’t believe that Future Shock is getting a Tag Team Title match next week, but he also can’t believe that his friends in the Kingdom don’t believe in him anymore. It’s not what he brings to the table because he brings the entire table. So he’s the lost Dudley?

Roppongi Vice vs. Young Bucks

Baretta and Rocky Romero (Vice) are the only ones willing to shake hands and it’s with each other. Nick and Baretta get things going but the threat of a superkick puts Baretta into the corner for some safety. It’s off to Matt vs. Rocky as their partners fight on the floor. The Bucks try the Meltzer Driver but Rocky breaks it up, only to have Nick hit a big flip dive to take out everyone on the floor.

Back from a break with Matt hitting a running neckbreaker on Rocky but the cover doesn’t count because he’s not legal. Baretta breaks up a cartwheel splash into the corner to take out his partner and everything heads outside. The crowd is oddly silent for this part. Back in and Romero mocks the cartwheel and rapid fire superkicks before Vice settles in for some double teaming on Matt. Baretta takes too long posing though and eats a superkick from Nick.

Rocky gets one as well and the tag brings Nick in to dropkick Baretta off the apron. The Bucks speed things up and hit their stereo dives to the floor. The double superkick misses though and Rocky hurricanranas both down at the same time. Back from a second break with Baretta throwing Nick’s foot into Matt’s face and tornado DDTing Matt for no cover. The Bucks fire off their kicks but Rocky scores with some hard clotheslines to put everyone down in a very fast sequence.

Matt is taken to the floor for a Doomsday knee to the face before a Shining Wizard gets two on Nick. A double knee puts Nick down again but Matt comes back in with a superkick, allowing Nick to come back with something like a Canadian Destroyer. Nick’s springboard 450 gets two on Romero and it’s time for all the superkicks. Baretta is taken out on the floor and More Bang For Your Buck ends Rocky at 20:10.

Rating: B-. Fun match but again, I’m not a fan of the Bucks’ video game style. I’m not going to bother ranting about it again here, but there’s just not much in there I’m going to care about with them. On top of that, I’m not interested in what’s going on in New Japan. I know these two are in warring stables over there, but this is Ring of Honor, not New Japan. Save that stuff for the big shows, not a regular TV show. And yes, I’m aware I’ll likely be told I don’t get something.

Post match the Addiction and Chris Sabin clean house. I know they’re another stable, because Heaven forbid there aren’t a half dozen of them in a promotion that has an hour of TV a week. Nick gets hit with a spike tombstone, called the Indytaker. My how clever. The Addiction and Sabin stand tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I had a good time for this show, various overly smarky and flippy based main event match and story aside. The stories are making more sense now and their pacing is mostly fine, but I wouldn’t have twenty minute main events on a show that only runs an hour. Still though, good enough show this week which could still use some adjustments.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I 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
Date: August 12, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

It’s FINALLY a new batch of tapings as the show has moved from New York to Baltimore. The big story coming out of last week is the Tag Team Title situation as Future Shock reformed to take down the Addiction in a non-title match. This isn’t cool with Future Shock member Adam Cole’s stable the Kingdom, who will likely have something to say about this tonight. Let’s get to it.

Watanabe vs. ACH

Hey, it’s the guy that I still don’t get but keeps getting matches on TV because he’s Japanese and therefore must be awesome. They chop it out to start and Watanabe kneels down, telling ACH to chop him again. ACH obliges before kneeling down, only to have Watanabe’s chops work a bit better. Back up and ACH backflips to set up a dropkick as Corino runs down the Field of Honor card. Watanabe gets kicked to the floor and a running kick to the chest from the apron puts him down again.

We take a break and come back with ACH working on the arm but getting caught in a gordbuster. A backsplash (which is becoming too common of a move these days) sets up a chinlock on ACH. That goes as far as a chinlock can take you so ACH kicks him to the floor and hits a great looking flip dive over the top.

Back in and Watanabe’s fisherman’s buster is countered with a small package for two. They head outside again with ACH running up the pole to flip over, but he’s stupid enough to stand there and pose, allowing Watanabe to hit a wicked overhead German suplex on the floor. A fisherman’s buster gets two for Watanabe but ACH hits a brainbuster of his own, setting up the Midnight Star (450) for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: C. Well that happened. Seriously this had no impact on me whatsoever and was just nine minutes of wrestling with a commercial in the middle. Watanabe is as generic of a Japanese wrestler as I’ve ever seen and ACH can do flips. That doesn’t make me want to see either guy again as they feel like archetypes instead of characters.

ReDRagon is ready for the Kingdom tonight but imply they drink their own urine. Very simple, old school promo here, minus the last part that is.

From earlier in the day, ROH boss Nigel McGuinness was here to make some announcements. He heard the FIVE MORE MINUTES chants at Death Before Dishonor when Roderick Strong vs. Jay Lethal went to a sixth minute draw, but the only thing that would happen in five more minutes was a serious injury.

However, it’s clear that the people want to see more of these two, which means we’ll see it again at the August 21 TV tapings. The winner there will take the title to All-Star Extravaganza on September 18 to defend against Kyle O’Reilly. Also at All-Star Extravaganza, Bobby Fish will face the TV Champion, whoever that may be at that time.

Dalton Castle and the Boys (as opposed to Dem Boys) pitch merchandise. This guy just breathes charisma.

House of Truth vs. War Machine

It’s Diesel/Dijak for the House of Truth here with Lethal on commentary. The heels jump War Machine at the call for the Code of Honor but Hanson easily puts both of them on the top rope for some sledges to the corner. Lethal: “TRUTH! TELL HIM TO SLOW DOWN!” Some good old fashioned double team cheating lets Dijak kick Hanson in the face and Lethal is downright giddy.

Hanson stays down as long as a monster is going to against someone like Diesel and it’s quickly off to Rowe to clean house. Dijak throws Hanson down with a release suplex and Diesel adds a spear for two. War Machine’s Path of Resistance crushes Dijak and Hanson’s top rope splash makes it even worse. Lethal: “SLOW DOWN!!!” Fallout (a belly to back suplex/top rope guillotine legdrop) ends Diesel at 4:52. Oh and Hanson is facing Lethal for the TV Title in a few weeks. This match makes so much more sense all of a sudden.

Rating: C. I had fun with this as there’s always room for a Legion of Doom style team to destroy various people, especially someone as pesky as Diesel. Lethal was more entertaining on commentary than he was for years imitating people and I can kind of see the massive appeal he carries. Granted that’s likely to end as soon as I really don’t care for his matches.

Tim Hughes vs. Adam Page

This is the only match I can ever find listed for Hughes. Fans: “LET’S GO JOBBER!” The Rite of Passage ends Hughes in 24 seconds.

BJ Whitmer yells at ROH for giving Page such an easy opponent. Page calls out Jay Briscoe, much to Kelly’s shock. As luck would have it, Briscoe isn’t here. With that going nowhere, Whitmer yells at King Corino but Nigel comes out to say cut it out. The fans, ever bloodthirsty, say LET THEM FIGHT.

Back from a break with King Corino off commentary and Kelly going solo. We see a clip of Corino nearly killing Whitmer last week to show where this came from. I always appreciate stuff like that as not everyone saw the previous show, so let us know what’s going on.

Kingdom vs. ReDRagon

Kingdom has finally lost their IWGP Tag Team Titles. Adam Cole comes out to do commentary to a huge face reaction and Maria is freaked out. O’Reilly and Taven get things going with Kyle grabbing a headlock until Taven comes back with a great sunset flip for two. It’s off to Bennett vs. Fish as we have the standard double tag. Fish kicks Bennett in the chest before it’s back to Kyle for a nice double suplex. A slingshot hilo gets two for Fish and we take a break with Bennett getting low bridged to the floor.

Back with Kyle diving off the apron to take Bennett down and Fish swiveling his hips for reasons that aren’t clear. Maria offers a distraction (I wonder how she pulled that off) and Taven gets in a kick to the head to take over. Cole reiterates that he’s the only member of the Kingdom ready to hold the World Title as Bennett puts Kyle in a chinlock. Bennett’s Thesz press with punches and a middle finger elbow are a rather bizarre including so it’s off to Taven for some choking in the corner.

Kyle somehow grabs a leg bar for a breather and leg trips Taven down, setting up the hot tag to Bobby. Fish cleans house but Taven blocks the exploder suplex into the corner. The second attempt works a bit better though and Fish keeps cleaning house. Everything breaks down but Taven is able to escape Chasing the Dragon. There’s a choke to Bennett instead but he spins around for a running boot from Taven.

Matt’s high angle Swanton gets two on Fish and the wheelbarrow suplex gets the same for Kyle. O’Reilly eats a superkick and it’s time for everyone to kick with Taven kicking Kyle into the ropes for a superkick from Bennett. Hail Mary (spike piledriver) on the floor crushes Kyle again and Cole isn’t happy. Back in and Fish tries to go it alone but Taven kicks him in the face, setting up another Hail Mary for the pin at 14:04.

Rating: C+. This got a bit too insane for my tastes but they’re nailing the story at this point and I’m digging this more than almost anything else in ROH right now. Though to be fair, Maria has a lot to do with that. Good match here and you can see Cole’s full on face turn (he’s like 90% there already) on the horizon.

Post match the Kingdom loads up another Hail Mary but Cole comes in and says cool it, which Maria agrees with to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m starting to get into the stories around here, though I’m still not wild on a lot of the wrestling stuff. The tag team situation is getting better every week as you can see where they’re going with things, which as usual is a positive. The Jay Lethal stuff can work for awhile but they can only carry this on so long before the midcard starts to suffer. Good show this week though and I’m hopeful going forward.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: July 29, 2015
Location: Terminal 5, New York City, New York
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

We’re now past Death Before Dishonor but TV has yet to catch up with the results. Last week was a special historical show as Ring of Honor hit two hundred episodes, leaving only an eight person tag for new wrestling. It should be interesting to see where things go tonight as we get closer to All Star Extravaganza. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Matt Taven/Michael Bennett vs. Corey Hollis/Jonathan Gresham

Taven and Bennett’s IWGP Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. The jobbers (as named by the fans) get superkicked to start and Maria jumps in on commentary. Taven and Bennett destroy the guys on the floor with Bennett getting in a fan’s face as he chants LET’S GO JOBBERS. They settle down in the ring with Gresham getting in a few shots until Taven kicks him in the ribs, with Maria’s “see, I told you so” attitude being so perfect.

Gresham dives through the legs for a tag to Hollis, who comes in off a double missile dropkick. It doesn’t last long though as a superkick sends Hollis into a spear from Taven for two with Gresham making the save. Bennett is thrown into the ropes for a snap German suplex, only to have Taven springboard in with a kick to the face. They’re doing a good job here at the false hope spots. Hail Mary (Maria’s real name and a spike piledriver) ends Hollis at 4:27.

Rating: C-. Maria gets better every time she’s out there. The attitude of knowing she looks incredible and talking down to everyone with the bonus of believing she’s right while not sounding insulting is what Stephanie fails to be more often than not. It was also nice to let this have a few minutes instead of just having the champs crush them. Good little squash here.

Caprice Coleman vs. Bob Evans vs. Silas Young vs. Cheeseburger vs. Moose vs. Dalton Castle

Heel manager Prince Nana comes out for commentary to watch Moose, his protege, which hasn’t been mentioned since they debuted on Destination America. This is one fall to a finish and going to the floor is as good as a tag. The fans favor Castle before things get going. Castle and Moose start but Evans and Cheeseburger tag in before anything can happen.

Evans tags out to Silas out of the fear of Cheeseburger (a manly vegetarian perhaps?) as we’re still waiting on contact. Silas easily wins a test of strength on the tiny Cheeseburger but he rolls away and elbows Silas in the ribs to take over. As Kelly explains the Cheeseburger name (he needed to put on weight so he was told to eat cheeseburgers. That’s not a very good story), Silas throws Cheeseburger to the floor, meaning Coleman can come in legally and take a shoulder block.

We take a break and come back with Moose splashing Young in the corner. Coleman hurricanranas Young off the top but Evans shoves him out to the floor. More people are shoved out until it’s Castle and Silas left alone, only to have Castle take too much time strutting and get nailed in the back of the head (there’s no way I can say nailed from behind and not get a bunch of jokes).

Castle slaps on a chinlock (that’s a rare sight in ROH) but Dalton’s boys wave him back to his feet. A quick suplex puts Young down but Evans tags himself in, only to walk into a backdrop from Dalton. Off to Moose to clean house, including throwing Cheeseburger onto Evans, allowing Coleman to hit a flip dive onto both of them. Young breaks up a Moose dive (that could be awesome to see) but we do get Moose dropkicking Young off the top.

Now we get a flip dive from Moose (not a bad one either) and I’m really seeing the potential this guy has. Dalton breaks up a spear to Cheeseburger and it’s time for the parade of secondary finishers. Castle muscles Moose over in a delayed German suplex to freak out Prince Nana. Evans rolls up Moose and puts his feet on the ropes until Cheeseburger makes the save, leaving Moose to spear Evans down for the pin at 13:10.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t really feeling this one as it was just kind of a big mess with everyone fighting everyone for the sake of fighting everyone. Moose winning is the right idea as he could be a good monster down the line but the fans wanted to see Castle here. Unfortunately there was too much going on to really make sense of the match and it was too much at once. At least one of the right guys won though.

Here’s the Decade with something to say. BJ Whitmer talks about Colby Corino becoming a man right in front of the fans’ eyes, which means he has more heart than anyone in the locker room or even at ringside (with a sneer at King Corino). Whitmer praises Colby for how close he came to beating Moose and War Machine (he was squashed both times) and now sees him as his own son. BJ hopes that Colby sees him like the father he never had and tonight, Colby is getting a gift. Tonight, Colby gets to have a gauntlet match against four guys from the last tryout camp.

Colby’s four opponents combine to weigh over 1,800 pounds and that’s too much for King Corino. King gets in the ring and takes off his tie but Whitmer says this isn’t going to make up for abandoning his son. He abandoned Colby, so how long will it be before he abandons his wife and baby son? Nigel McGuinness has to come out and break up the fight as we go to another break.

I’m digging this feud as it’s built up very well, even though ROH hasn’t felt the need to say why Whitmer and Corino hate each other in the first place. Again: stop assuming we watch all of your shows and give us a thirty second recap. You know you’ve been on this new channel for like two months now, so a quick recap won’t kill you.

Back from a break with Nigel McGuinness on commentary in Corino’s place.

ACH vs. Bobby Fish

The fans are split here and Fish takes ACH down to the mat to start. ACH isn’t exactly on top of his game on the ground so he grabs a headlock to try to get back to his feet. An unnecessary cartwheel into a moonsault sets up a dropkick to put Fish down in the corner as we’re definitely seeing a contrast of styles. Bad News Barrett’s jump from the middle rope and swing around into a suplex gets two and Fish is sent to the floor where he avoids a dive as we take a break.

Back with ACH firing off some chops (for some lame WOOs) and it’s time to hit the kickoff, because what would ROH be without kicking at each other like it’s a kickboxing fight. ACH can’t follow up because of the work Fish did to his ribs during the break (nothing wrong with some basic psychology) and Fish drops him with a fall away slam. Kelly: “We invite you to order the replay of Death Before Dishonor on ROHwrestling.com! Well, order it after this match!” That was good for a chuckle.

Fish goes back to the ribs but ACH Matrixes back to avoid a cross body. That’s always a cool looking counter. Fish bails to the floor, allowing ACH to hit a sweet looking shooting star plancha. ACH hurts his knee coming back in off the top but is still able to kick Fish with the good leg for two. The 450 hits knees to bang up the ribs again and Fish goes to the two injured body parts. The Fish Hook knee bar has ACH in trouble but he bridges back into a rollup to make Fish break the hold. ACH gets kicked down on top though and a top rope falcon’s arrow gives Fish the pin at 12:55.

Rating: C+. I liked the match but it went on a bit too long. Also I would have liked the Fish Hook to make Fish tap as they spent the whole match building up the leg injury and then the submission hold is just another spot. ACH is good in the Kofi Kingston’s role of the high flier with almost no personality to speak of but you kind of knew he was going to lose here.

Overall Rating: C-. This could have been a lot worse but it’s one of those shows that ROH has to deal with: they’re after a pay per view but can’t spoil anything so we get these matches which could take place on any given night. It’s not bad, but it’s a total stand alone show with no long term consequences. Watchable enough, but nothing great.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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