Ring of Honor
Date: February 10, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

Things are picking up again around here, as they so often do as we come up on a big match. The big story continues to be the multi-man World Title match at the 14^th Anniversary Show, but we also have the Top Prospect Tournament continuing, as well as the continuation of BJ Whitmer vs. Steve Corino. Let’s get to it.

Alex Shelley vs. Frankie Kazarian

Chris Sabin sits in on commentary. Shelley starts firing off chops as Sabin’s early advice doesn’t seem to have done much good. Kazarian’s dive is blocked with a kick to the head and it’s off to the knee to keep Alex in control. It doesn’t last long though as a slingshot DDT takes Shelly down as we go to a break. Back with Kazarian smacking Sabin in the face as Steve Corino calls in to the show. Corino is sick about what happened to Colby last week and he’s going to be back next week to deal with BJ Whitmer.

Shelley avoids a top rope legdrop and clotheslines Kazarian out to the floor. Back in and Kazarian grabs a swinging neckbreaker and a running Downward Spiral for two, only to get shoved away off the Killswitch. Shelley’s top rope splash hits knees though, only to have Kazarian pull out a hammer. Alex takes it away and glares at Sabin, setting up Sliced Bread #2 for the pin at 11:15.

Rating: C. I don’t care about this feud. Are they really building this up for the sake of a match between Sabin and Shelley? I know the Motor City Machine Guns were a big deal a few years back but are people still going to care about them enough to watch them fight in 2016? It doesn’t help that I’m really not feeling Shelley’s style and that Sabin is barely an active wrestler. I guess there’s an audience for it, but I’m really not feeling it.

Dalton Castle vs. Joey Daddiego

Before the match, Truth Martini suggests that the Boys need a daddy instead of someone teaching them to be a man. Joey takes him into the corner to start and does the WHO’S YOUR DADDY line. Castle easily takes over with a slam but does a big walk around the ring instead of diving through the ropes to take Joey out.

However, Martini actually does something for a change by crotching Castle on top, allowing him to get in the ring for some dancing. The Boys low bridge him to the floor though, leaving us with only the match for a change. A World’s Strongest Slam gets two for Joey but Castle starts the comeback with a running knee in the corner, followed by a running boot to the jaw for good measure. The Bang A Rang is enough to put Joey away at 3:35.

Rating: C-. Entertaining enough but it was a bit too much going on instead of just having the match. Daddiego is kind of worthless but at least there’s someone there to do the jobbing for the House of Truth. That being said, the entire stable is basically Truth, Lethal, Daddiego and Hendrix, which isn’t much more than Lethal and pals. Castle was fine though and is going to go somewhere once the Silas Young feud wraps up.

Speaking of Silas Young, here he is to make a final offer to Brent and Brendan (the Boys). As the Beer City Bruiser helps beat Castle down, Silas talks about how the Boys need to make their decision, only to have them fight back against Silas. That just earns them another beating and the villains get to yell a lot.

Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Leo St. Giovanni vs. Action Ortiz

Ortiz is described as a Bam Bam Bigelow type and was trained by Tommy Dreamer. Leo on the other hand has an MMA background. Ortiz gets knocked to the floor to start but blocks a charge with a big forearm to the face. Back in and Ortiz misses a Frog Splash, allowing Leo to go up for something like Xavier Woods’ Honor Roll from the top for two of his own. After a dive over the top to stagger him, Ortiz kicks Leo in the head to stagger him again. A belly to back flip suplex (as in Leo keeps going until he lands on his face) sends Ortiz to the next round at 3:45.

Rating: D. I really wasn’t feeling this one as neither guy had much of a presence. Leo was just a guy with a generic style and some decent flips, though it’s nothing that I haven’t seen a bunch of people do before. Ortiz is a bigger guy and moves well but again he doesn’t do anything for me. It’s not the worst, but it’s the same problem I’ve been worried about in this tournament: I don’t have any reason to care about these people and they’re not really helping things.

Stokely Hathaway wants Kazuchika Okada to face Moose at the Anniversary Show.

We look back at Final Battle to see the All Night Express becoming the #1 contenders.

Tag Team Titles: All Night Express vs. War Machine

War Machine (Hansen and Rowe in case you’re not familiar) are defending. Hansen and Titus get things going with the much bigger champion running him over. King comes in off a blind tag and an atomic drop/clothesline combination staggers Hansen, who comes right back with a double clothesline to take over again. It’s off to Rowe who terrifies King back into the corner for a tag to Rhett. Well that’s one way to switch things off.

The challengers take over but Hansen breaks up what looked like a powerbomb/neckbreaker combo. Rowe slams Hansen onto King for two, followed by Hansen powerbombing Rowe onto Titus as we take a break. Back with Titus low bridging Hansen to the floor but being pulled out of the air on a dive to Rowe. Everything breaks down with King being sent hard into the barricade with both teams diving back in at nineteen.

Titus will have none of this staying in the ring thing though as he and Hansen both dive through the ropes for huge crashes. Back in and King has to escape Fallout but he might have pulled the referee into the path of Hansen’s running knees. Titus pulls out a table (apparently not realizing that Nigel McGuinness is RIGHT THERE) but King gets driven through it, drawing a DQ at 11:02 as the referee wakes up just in time.

Rating: C+. The match wasn’t bad but it was clearly just a way to set up another title match at the pay per view. Knowing ROH, it’s going to be some big messy match with several teams that loses any sense of structure or order. However, this actually worked with the Express hanging in there with the monsters for the entire match and then somehow winning in the end. Well done and a reason to watch the rematch.

The teams keep brawling to end the show as the fans want to see them fight.

Overall Rating: C. I liked the show for the most part with enough of the stories rolling along, though the World Title situation continues to not really be a priority around here. It’s cool that so many other things are treated as major ideas but the old fan in me wants to see the World Title as the centerpiece of the promotion instead of just another part of the show. Good enough show here but it was a step beneath some of their recent efforts.

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Ring of Honor
Date: February 3, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling 3

We’re rapidly approaching the 14^th Anniversary Show but we’re a few weeks back in the syndication run. The big story coming out of last week was Michael Elgin offering to bring in Hiroshi Tanahashi to team with him against the Briscoes in a dream match, though I’m not sure how many people were dreaming of it. Let’s get to it.

TV Title: Roderick Strong vs. Masada

Strong is defending and Masada is a death match guy. They go to the mat to start with Masada grabbing a knee bar to send the champ bailing into the ropes. Back up and they chop it out to take it outside with Masada taking over. That actually doesn’t last long as Masada sends him back inside for a knee to the face and a backbreaker onto the apron as we take a break.

Back with Masada chopping away but Strong slips out (or might have been dropped) of a powerbomb. Instead Masada grabs a Death Valley Driver for two but Strong starts cranking things up with another running knee and a belly to back for two of his own. Masada pulls out some weapon but gets it knocked away, meaning he has to settle for a powerbomb instead. That means it’s time for some bamboo but Strong is a wrestler so he hits his third knee to the head to retain at 8:16.

Rating: D+. Masada had some better moments in there than I was expecting but Strong was getting repetitive in there with the knees to the head. Like, throw a dropkick or something dude. I really don’t see why Strong had to turn heel in the first place as he’s lost some of his steam since the turn and isn’t as entertaining as he was before.

Post match here’s Bobby Fish to say he better move to another planet if Strong wants to be the best wrestler in the world. Apparently Roddy vs. the World is about Strong defending the title against anyone not named Bobby Fish. Strong things Bobby is having issues dealing with his age catching up with him but Bobby offers to go to war whenever the champ wants.

We look back at Elgin’s challenge to the Briscoes from last week.

Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Colby Corino vs. Punisher Martinez

Martinez is a good sized guy who towers over Corino. Colby tries some quick strikes and gets his head taken off with a clothesline. Some hard throws send Colby into the corner and an over the shoulder backbreaker gets two. A Liger Kick staggers Punisher and a middle rope Diamond Cutter gets two on the big man and a flip dive to the floor drops Martinez again. The fans are getting behind Corino here but Punisher gives him a Last Ride onto the apron for a SICK crash. Back in and a sitout chokeslam advances Punisher at 3:28.

Rating: C. Martinez looked good here and could have a future in this place. Colby is a good choice for a ragdoll and ROH is the kind of place that could go somewhere as size doesn’t mean as much around here. Nothing to see here but that Last Ride bump looked great and made up for some of the other stuff.

Post match BJ Whitmer gets in the ring to tell Colby that he did well but now it’s time for Steve Corino to take off that mask. Steve Corino is the man who spent Christmas with his new family while Colby was with Whitmer over the holidays. Wrestling 3 denies it again so Whitmer grabs Colby by the throat and yells at him for calling his father on Christmas. Colby is forgiven for that, but not for the sins of his father, meaning it’s time for another beating. Whitmer throws Colby in front of Wrestling 3 and tells the masked man that he’s proven what BJ has been saying.

We look back at the announcement of the #1 contenders match from last week.

Nigel McGuinness has replaced Mr. Wrestling 3 on commentary as the masked man helped Colby to the back.

ReDRagon vs. Adam Cole/Jay Lethal

Adam won’t come in for the pre-match handshake so it’s Lethal vs. Kyle to get things going. Cole actually offers to tag in but tags right back out after a quick circle of the ring. We get a standoff until Lethal grabs a headlock, only to get countered into a cross armbreaker. Lethal is too close to the ropes but it’s off to Fish to keep the champ in trouble. The announcers talk about the incoming New Japan guys as Kyle stays on the arm.

Cole finally comes in to face Fish but freaks out when Kyle is about to be tagged in. Lethal gets Fish to the floor and whips him into the barricade before the tag can bring in O’Reilly though, allowing the heels to take over. We take a break and come back with Lethal dropkicking Fish in the back of the head to set up some posing. Cole comes in and eats a clothesline, allowing the tag off to Kyle as things speed up again.

It’s back to Lethal who gets caught in another cross armbreaker as everything breaks down. Cole and Fish go to the floor so it’s time for Lethal and O’Reilly to trade their forearms, because that’s how you fight in ROH. Chasing the Dragon is broken up and the Lethal Combination sets up a Shining Wizard on Kyle for two. We take another break and come back with Lethal dropping a top rope elbow on Fish but getting caught in a dragon screw legwhip.

We finally get the showdown of Cole vs. O’Reilly, meaning it’s time to grab each other by the head and fire off forearms. Kyle, who can barely stand up, no sells a German Suplex and keeps hammering away, though he’s nice enough to sell a superkick. Lethal comes back in and kicks Kyle in the head but gives Cole the Lethal Injection by mistake. Chasing the Dragon puts Adam away at 16:55.

Rating: B. Nice long tag match here with the right ending as I can’t stand it when a makeshift team who doesn’t even like each other beats one of the best teams the company has ever seen. I’m still not wild on ReDRagon as singles guys but they’re a very entertaining tag team who work well together.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event more than carried this show, as is almost always the case with the tag division. The rest of the show worked more than well enough though with Corino vs. Whitmer shaping up quite well, even though I’m not sure how strong of a match it’s eventually going to be. I’m liking this show far better than I was expecting to and it’s really found its niche in recent months.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: January 27, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling 3

It’s a new taping cycle as we’re out of Philadelphia and now moving towards the Anniversary Show pay per view. However, we’ve got something interesting for tonight as well with the start of the Top Prospect Tournament. This is an annual competition for newcomers (not necessarily rookies) and has led to the rises of names like Mike Bennett, Matt Taven and Donovan Dijak. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Brian Fury vs. Shaheem Ali

Fury is a seventeen year veteran and trained Sasha Banks. Ali shrugs off some headlocks to start as Kelly recaps both guys’ injury histories. A wristlock doesn’t get Ali anywhere so he knees Fury in the head and gets two off a basement dropkick. Back up and Fury rolls him into the corner (because in today’s wrestling, it’s all about doing something to send someone into the corner), followed by a belly to back for two.

Ali comes back with a gutwrench sitout powerbomb for two of his own before taking Fury outside for a t-bone suplex on the floor. Back in and Fury grabs the referee’s foot for a distraction to bring Ali’s head off the top, setting up a Pop Up Sitout Powerbomb for the pin on Ali at 5:55.

Rating: C. You can see the problem with the tournament from here: there’s no reason for these people to be fighting and I have almost no idea who any of them are. It might be cool if someone stands out over the rest but this was two guys doing moves to each other for a few minutes before one of them got a pin. I need more than that to care about a match and especially a tournament.

Here are Veda Scott and Cedric Alexander to brag about their victory in their lawsuit against Ring of Honor. Jonathan Gresham got lucky to beat Alexander, who deserves shots at the best talent in the world. That means an open challenge.

Cedric Alexander vs. Cheeseburger

Cheeseburger goes right for him to start and actually gets two off a quick rollup. Alexander’s fireman’s carry is broken up and a victory roll gets another near fall. A springboard knee to the head drops Cedric but the running palm strike is countered into the Lumbar Check for the easy pin on Cheeseburger at 1:42.

Post match Cedric keeps beating on Cheeseburger until Jonathan Gresham comes out for the save. Veda sets up an impromptu match, which she can just do.

Cedric Alexander vs. Jonathan Gresham

Gresham follows the Cheeseburger plan by trying an early rollup, sending Cedric out to the floor. Back in and Cedric quickly bails again as this is barely a match. Cedric comes in again but walks into an Octopus Hold, drawing in Veda for the DQ at 1:45.

Alexander beats up Gresham after the match until referees make the save.

Here’s the House of Truth to find out who Jay Lethal will be defending against at the Anniversary Show. Nigel McGuinness is in the ring and talks about how many big wins Lethal has had in recent months, including AJ Styles and Michael Elgin. That brings him to the next challenger, which makes Nigel thinking of Kyle O’Reilly. That’s fine with Lethal because he’s beaten Kyle already but Nigel wasn’t finished. Kyle is indeed great, but he was defeated by Adam Cole at Final Battle, which makes Cole the new #1 contender.

This brings out Cole who says it’s Story Time. He knows his battles with Kyle are over and that means O’Reilly will never be challenging for the World Title again. Lethal may have some great victories as champion but Cole isn’t on that list. Cole promises to win the title in Las Vegas but Nigel isn’t done. It’s true that Cole is the #1 contender, but Kyle isn’t done with Cole yet. Unless Adam is scared, there’s no reason to not make this a triple threat match.

Cue Kyle who is thankful for the title shot at the end of February, but what about the time between now and then? He wants a piece of both guys in Charlotte (the show is in Concord but close enough) so Nigel makes it ReDRagon vs. Jay Lethal/Adam Cole for some point in the near future.

We recap Silas Young vs. Dalton Castle and the saga over the Boys.

Silas talks about teaching the Boys to be like men for three months, but then along comes Dalton Castle to manipulate them into changing back. The Boys have one more chance to become men and that’s it for them.

Jay Briscoe vs. Michael Elgin

Mark Briscoe is out for commentary but here’s Moose to interrupt. If the World Title can be a three way, why can’t this match be one too? They do at least mention that Nigel signed off on the change.

Jay Briscoe vs. Michael Elgin vs. Moose

Briscoe Cactus Clotheslines Moose out to the floor so Elgin follows them out with a flip dive. Moose is left on the floor as Elgin puts Jay up in a delayed vertical. Elgin doesn’t even drop him when Moose kicks him in the ribs so Moose waits until Jay is down before bicycle kicking Elgin in the jaw. Moose and Jay slug it out until Briscoe kicks him in the face for two as we take a break.

Back with Elgin apron superplexing Briscoe until Moose breaks it up. That’s not cool with Elgin so he turns Moose’s superplex attempt into a slingshot Tower of Power to put everyone down. Elgin slips off Moose’s shoulders and lifts him up into a powerbomb for two as Jay makes the save. Briscoe gets two on Elgin off a Death Valley Driver, only to have Moose spear Briscoe down. That leaves Elgin and Moose to clothesline each other until Elgin clotheslines Jay instead. Elgin goes after Moose though, allowing Jay to backslide Michael for the pin at 9:37.

Rating: C+. Nice hard hitting match here though it was really just three alternating singles matches with the occasional big spot thrown in. Still though, that’s all you need a lot of the time as everyone was beating on everyone with bigger and bigger shots. Moose really didn’t need to be there but at least it protects Elgin a bit.

Post match Elgin says Mark was out here backing up his brother mentally, so why not make it a tag match at the Anniversary Show with Elgin teaming up with Hiroshi Tanahashi? That’s quite the jump to get to the match but the Briscoes agree to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I liked the show but the Cedric Alexander stuff in the middle really didn’t do anything for me, much like that whole story. I’m still not sure where it’s supposed to go but beating Cheeseburger didn’t make me care about Alexander. It’s still an entertaining show though and goes by quickly, which is all you can ask for.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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This might be the trickiest of all as you could say Sting is a rookie as he had his first WWE match in 2015. Since that could make things really complicated though, we’ll go with people I consider rookies, meaning I might not consider some of your choices.

We’ll start with someone outside WWE because I’m a WWE mark or something. ROH’s Dalton Castle had debuted a few years earlier but changed his gimmick and debuted in the Top Prospect Tournament in the early part of the year. This turned into a great run for him as he became one of the more entertaining guys on the roster with a surprisingly strong offense and a great character. He’s one of the people I enjoy most when watching ROH and his charisma alone will take him a long way.

Asuka is really kind of cheating as she’s been wrestling for over ten years. However, she debuted in NXT and was instantly the second (at worst) woman on the roster. It’s pretty clear Asuka vs. Bayley is coming at Takeover in Dallas and it should be one of the most awesome matches they’ve had…..well since the last time Bayley had a big showdown match. This is a stretch but she’s a rookie in WWE at least and that’s close enough.

Speaking of rookie women in NXT, we have Nia Jax, who actually did debut in 2015. I know her character is limited and I still don’t get why she and Eva Marie are teaming, but she played a perfect Vader to Bayley’s Sting, which is really impressive given that she was debuting six months prior to that. I don’t know how far she can go, but Nia is a great monster with a great look.

However, we finally have the runaway winner in Chad Gable. This is a guy who just gets it and was ready for the main roster about ten seconds after he debuted. Gable is the closest thing to another version of Kurt Angle as he went from the Olympics to the WWE where he’s a comedic goon who was capable of out wrestling anyone. This guy could be something very special in the future and he’s just fun to watch, especially when he’s with Jason Jordan.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: January 20, 2016
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 600
Commentators: Mr. Wrestling III, Kevin Kelly

It’s the final night of the Philadelphia tapings with a Philadelphia Street Fight between the Young Bucks, the Kingdom and ReDRagon. If they give this match this time, it could be quite an entertaining match. We’re getting closer to the 14^th Anniversary Show for the next pay per view but nothing has been set up yet. Let’s get to it.

Addiction vs. Alex Shelley/ACH

This is more about building up Shelley vs. Sabin down the line. Kazarian takes Shelley into the corner to start but accidentally forearms Daniels off the apron for some good old fashioned heel miscommunication. Alex grabs a dragon sleeper but lets it go when Sabin gets on the apron for a distraction.

ACH dropkicks Kazarian down and it’s quickly off to Daniels who is taken down just as quickly. Everything breaks down for a bit and some fast double teaming puts ACH in trouble, including something like a Diamond Cutter onto Daniels’ knee as we take a break. Back with ACH rolling over for a hot tag so Shelley can speed things up.

A Downward Spiral sends Kazarian face first into the middle buckle but Daniels comes back in with a top rope stomp to the chest, only to allow the hot tag a few seconds later. Everything breaks down and Shelly kicks Daniels into a German suplex for two. Sabin shakes the ropes to break up the Midnight Star, setting up Celebrity Rehab to give Addiction the pin at 9:48.

Rating: C-. Shelley and ACH are firmly in that category of wrestlers that I just don’t care for. I get the idea behind both guys but they both seem to be going off more of a set pattern than wrestling naturally, which rarely works for me. Addiction is fine in the ring but I’d like to see them get more mic time as it’s definitely their strong suit.

Post match Addiction beats on Shelley even more until Daniels punches the referee, which brings out Nigel to suspend him indefinitely without pay.

Mark Briscoe vs. Adam Page

Page won’t shake hands to start because he’s a good heel. Some early Redneck Kung Fu doesn’t work but Adam misses the standing shooting star press. Mark kicks him into the corner and now the crane kick connects for Briscoe. A brainbuster gets two for Mark but he charges into a powerslam into the corner for two. The fans are all over Whitmer as the announcers talk about the Top Prospect Tournament.

Mark dropkicks Page to the floor and hits the running Blockbuster off the apron. They chop it out a bit until Page gets two off a jumping DDT (ala Dolph Ziggler). Mark sends him to the apron but can’t kick him out to the floor, allowing Page to slingshot in for a clothesline to take over. BJ Whitmer yells about Mr. Wrestling III being Steve Corino, only to have Briscoe come back with a fisherman’s buster and the Froggy Bow for the pin at 6:32.

Rating: D+. This whole match was a collection of spots. I didn’t see a single instance of psychology, trying to put something together or either guy doing anything other than his signature spots. It wasn’t bad or boring or anything, but could you at least work an arm or something instead of just doing the stuff you always do?

Post break, Whitmer tells Mr. Wrestling III to unmask and be a father to Colby Corino. Mr. Wrestling III gets in the ring and asks Whitmer if he has a question for him. Whitmer tries to reply but he can’t get a word out before the fans boo him out of the building. BJ says everyone knows that it’s Steve Corino under the mask but Mr. Wrestling III denies it again. He does know Corino however, and Corino knows someone that wants to take Whitmer out. However, instead of saying who that is, Mr. Wrestling III just tells the Decade to leave. Well that ended flat.

Silas Young comes out and calls what happened with the Boys at Final Battle a disappointment. Whether the fans believe it or not, the Boys appreciated learning how to mow his lawn and shovel his driveway. The Boys have one chance to do the right thing and learn to be men.

Young Bucks vs. ReDRagon vs. Kingdom

It’s Cole/Bennett for the Kingdom here and this is a street fight. The Bucks jump O’Reilly and Fish during the entrances and we’re starting fast. The injured Taven gets a double superkick, as does ring announcers Bobby Cruz. ReDRagon gets back in to work on the Bucks, only to have the Kingdom come in again to turn this into a wild brawl that is going to be almost impossible to keep track of.

Bennett punches Fish down and it’s Cole setting Matt in a chair in the middle of the ring. A running charge sets up a chinlock and even Kelly has to acknowledge that it’s a spot they’ve seen before. Kyle backdrops Nick on the floor for a thud before diving into a superkick. We take a break and come back with Cole in a shopping cart and being wheeled into a superkick.

The Bucks set up a table at ringside but it’s ReDRagon double teaming Matt inside. The Kingdom brings in a ladder (Mr. Wrestling III: “It’s amazing what you can find in south Philadelphia”) to take out ReDRagon and it’s Cole putting the ladder around his neck. That only allows ReDRagon to blast the ladder with chairs before setting the ladder on top of those chairs.

Bennett comes back in to spinebuster Kyle onto the steel but the Bucks powerbomb him (Bennett) through the ladder. A Swanton onto the ladder sets up More Bang For Your Buck but Cole pulls the referee out at two. Kevin Kelly accidentally eats a superkick and Mr. Wrestling III freaks out while still shouting SUPERKICK in a funny moment.

We take another break and come back with Cole hitting the Canadian Destroyer on Matt but walking into a superkick from Nick. Bennett takes Chasing the Dragon on the floor, leaving O’Reilly and Cole to fight in the aisle. That leaves Fish alone against the Bucks but he stops to spear Bennett through a table on the floor. A double superkick off the apron gives Fish the weakest table bump in history with Nick having to splash him the rest of the way through.

Back in and the Bucks put a party hat on Bennett for a superkick party, only to have Maria hit them both low for a save. This brings out AJ Styles to hit Bennett in the ribs with a chair before laying him out with Bloody Sunday. Maria gets a Meltzer Driver and the Indytaker into the Styles Clash puts Bennett away at 16:45.

Rating: B. Totally wild brawl here and a lot of fun at the same time. This wasn’t about anything more than carnage and that’s all they delivered the entire time. The piledriver to Maria was a good way to write her off TV and the Kingdom goes out in a great performance, especially considering it wasn’t their usual combination.

Overall Rating: C+. This is a one match show and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when one match takes up so much of the hour. The only annoying thing here was the syndication schedule causing some issues as Mike and Maria debuted in TNA two weeks before this aired. Still though, the show was fun enough with the main event being a really good time.

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Ring of Honor
Date: January 13, 2016
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 600
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

The show started the new year on a roll so hopefully things can keep up this week. If nothing else this week won’t have build up for a show that already took place. Nothing has been announced for this show but that’s normally the case for this company and things tend to turn out fine. Let’s get to it.

Roppongi Vice vs. All Night Express

The Express are the #1 contenders to the Tag Team Titles so this should be a nice test for them. King and Barreta go to the mat to start and it’s a quick standoff. The Express gets smart by taking Barreta into their corner for some double teaming, only to have Titus get backdropped out to the floor. King clotheslines Barreta but gets taken down by Romero. Nice starting sequence.

Romero gets kicked in the face for his efforts and Barreta gets pulled off the apron, sending him head first into the buckle as we take a break. Back with Barreta getting double teamed again but King takes a breather to shout at the crowd for a bit. Barreta gets in his double stomp out of the corner though and the hot tag brings in Romero.

House is cleaned until it’s back to Barreta for a slugout, only to have Vice double knee Titus in the chest. King gets taken down by a suicide dive and there’s Strong Zero (a springboard spike Fade to Black) on Titus but there’s no count. Instead King, the legal man, runs in and rolls Barreta up for the pin at 10:48.

Rating: C+. I liked this a lot more than I was expecting to as I’m not a fan of either team. Instead they had a nice back and forth formula based match which worked far better than I though it would. The right team won and they did so legally while still being heels, making everyone come out looking fine. Much better match than I was expecting.

Here’s the Kingdom (including Mike and Maria who have both left and Taven who is out for the better part of a year) for the first time since Final Battle. Cole says it’s time for Story Time with the Kingdom. There’s security around the ring so Kyle O’Reilly can’t come out here for another cheap shot. Cole says that he won but the other two dropped the ball. How can they hold all the gold without Taven and Bennett holding the Tag Team Titles?

Cue ReDRagon to say they remade tag team wrestling in this company and if they have to run through the Kingdom to get their belts back, it’s time for Nigel to make the match. That’s fine with McGuinness, who makes the match for next week. This brings out the Young Bucks who says if anyone is taking out these Bullet Club marks, it’s them. Therefore, Nigel makes it a three way Philadelphia street fight. Well that was quick.

Donovan Dijak/Joey Daddiego vs. War Machine

Non-title. Rowe gets kicked in the face to start and Dijak knocks Hanson off the apron as well. Donovan isn’t done as he takes out both champions with a corkscrew dive but he isn’t interested in using the Book of Truth. Instead it’s off to Daddiego, allowing Hanson to start slamming both guys. He piles the two of them on top for some forearms to Dijak’s chest, followed by a double Bronco Buster. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker into a Superman Punch drops Dijak and there’s a double chokeslam to Daddiego. Fallout ends Dijak in a hurry at 3:22.

Rating: D+. Total squash here but Dijak looked solid. Daddiego is still just a small guy without much upside but Dijak is another example of a guy who really shouldn’t be able to do the things he does at his size. That never ceases to impress me, though the thing with the Book of Truth would suggest a split in the future.

Post break Truth Martini says Dijak is the weak link in the team, which even the announcers find stupid. There was no Dijak at the main event of Final Battle, which was a slap in Martini’s face. Truth slaps Dijak in the face and Daddiego punches Dijak down. Martini’s trash talk earns Daddiego a Feast Your Eyes so Martini fires Dijak. The fans seem very pleased. Cue Prince Nana to applaud as well.

ReDRagon is ready for next week.

We look at Dalton Castle reuniting with the Boys at Final Battle.

Dalton Castle vs. Jay Briscoe vs. Matt Sydal vs. Moose

This is one fall to a finish despite being called a survival match. You have to tag but there are lucha rules so going to the floor counts as a tag. Briscoe doesn’t seem cool with Castle, which really isn’t all that surprising. Sydal vs. Moose gets us going with Matt teasing a test of strength as a ruse to kick Moose in the thigh. A running curb stomp misses though and Moose tells him to bring it.

Now we actually get the test of strength with Matt going down in about half a second. Thankfully it’s off to Jay for the big staredown and the fans aren’t sure who to cheer for. Castle tags himself in to face Briscoe though and we get a much different showdown. The Jay Driller and Bang a Rang are both broken up to take us to a staredown, followed by a break. Back with Briscoe headbutting Castle before it’s off to Moose. The announcers say the two of them have been tagging in and out to work on Castle during the break, which may or may not be true but at least they’re trying to make it work.

As expected, Moose and Briscoe quickly break down and they trade some big left hands. Moose gets the better of it but stops to dance a bit, allowing Castle to get two off a German suplex. Everyone but Sydal winds up on the floor so Matt busts out a big moonsault to take them all down. The Boys start fanning until Moose’s manager Stokely Hathaway steals a fan to cool Moose off.

Back in and Sydal hurricanranas Moose for two until Jay makes a quick save. Moose spears Jay down but walks into a missile dropkick from Castle, who is taken down by Sydal’s reverse hurricanrana. The shooting star misses though and Castle Bang a Rangs Sydal for the pin at 9:18.

Rating: C. This was fine though more of your standard Ring of Honor formula. I know the name is a longstanding tradition in this company but when I hear the word “survival”, the first thing I think of is an elimination tag. I get the idea but I still wish they would change that. Castle winning is a nice touch and a surprise as he could definitely move up in the ranks soon enough.

Overall Rating: C. It was another totally watchable show from a company that specializes in such. The Kingdom basically crumbling is sad but at least they’ll have a good blowoff match next week to send them off. I’m not sure where a lot of this stuff goes but they have some time before we get to the next pay per view in late February.

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:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0188BJRGU

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 6, 2016
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 600
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling III

We’re back to a regular show this week but due to the taping schedule, this show will be about setting up the January 4 show in the Tokyo Dome. This show aired earlier in syndication which makes the online version a bit of a problem at times, especially given that this taping cycle will likely run three weeks at least. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

TV Title: Roderick Strong vs. Stevie Richards

Strong is defending and ignores the YOU TAPPED OUT chants. Stevie grabs an armbar to start but it’s a quick standstill. A hard kick to the back has Strong in trouble but he ribs Stevie’s chest off with a chop. Strong gets in a nice dropkick for his first real advantage and puts on a seated abdominal stretch. They aren’t exactly burning up the mat here. An Angle slam gets one for the champ and we hit the chinlock.

We take a break and come back with Stevie walking into an enziguri for two more. Strong goes up top, allowing Stevie to superkick him down, drawing a Young Bucks reference from Mr. Wrestling. A double arm DDT gets two on the champ but Strong calmly drops him with a backbreaker. The Sick kick is countered by another Stevie kick for two, only to charge into an Irish curse. The Stronghold doesn’t go on so Roderick knees him in the head to retain at 9:36.

Rating: C+. Nice match here, even if it was almost all about the live crowd instead of anything else. Stevie was doing well enough considering he doesn’t wrestle that much anymore at forty four years old. Strong continues to look strong as well, even in a match that he had no chance of losing.

Post match here’s Bobby Fish for a live Fish Tank. He talks about what a banner year 2015 was for the TV Title. The title dates all the way back to Eddie Edwards and now it’s in the hands of Mr. ROH. However, it wasn’t all good. Fish shows us a picture of Strong tapping out at Final Battle but Strong denies it again and storms off.

Will Ferrara vs. Caprice Coleman

No DQ and a rematch from two weeks ago when it turned into a chair duel. Before the match, Coleman promises to show that he’s more than just a jive turkey. Will forearms him in the face to knock Coleman outside for a suicide dive to get us going. Coleman is sent hard into the barricade to bug his eyes out (I love when that happens) but quickly kicks Will in the head to take over.

Back in and Coleman whips him with a belt until Ferrara is smart enough to grab the belt for a breather. It’s already time for a chair duel with Caprice getting in a shot to the ribs. There are the rolling northern lights suplexes with the third sending Ferrara into the chair in the corner for a big crash. More chair shots to the back just tick Ferrara off, because that’s how chair shots work. A DDT onto the chair gets two on Coleman and it’s table time. Ferrara loads him up on the top for what looks like a superplex, only to get knocked back to set up the Sky Splitter through the table to give Caprice the pin at 5:53.

Rating: C. Another solid enough match here but I’m not sure how much it needed to be anything goes. This stuff with Prince Nana and the letters isn’t going anywhere and I’m really not interested in watching it until it actually advances. The ending looked good here but neither guy is getting much out of this story.

Prince Nana comes out and looks rather happy.

Cedric Alexander vs. Jonathan Gresham

Cedric quickly takes him down to start and gets two off a dropkick to the back of the head. He can’t get the Three Amigos though (good, as the rolling suplexes spot is getting too common) as Jonathan small packages him for a fast two. A middle rope cross body gets the same on Cedric and there’s an octopus hold, only to have Veda Scott get up on the apron for a distraction. Cedric gets back up and hits a wicked Lumbar Check (belly to back suplex into a backbreaker) to knock Gresham cold. He takes way too long covering though, allowing Jonathan to roll him up for the fluke pin at 3:37.

Rating: D+. This is another story that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere but I can handle it as long as I have Veda Scott on my screen. That Lumbar Check looked awesome if nothing else and it’s cool to see a rookie like Gresham get a win, even if it’s almost guaranteed that he’s going to lose most of his next matches.

Anniversary show ad.

Michael Elgin vs. Donovan Dijak

This is supposed to help set up Lethal vs. Elgin in Tokyo, which has already happened by the time this aired on ROH’s website. Lethal sits in on commentary but Jerry Lynn comes up to him and offers a handshake to admit that Lethal was better at Final Battle. Dijak makes the mistake of trying to slug it out to start and is quickly knocked back into the corner.

Elgin is staggered by a boot to the face but runs Dijak over again. A pretty impressive gorilla press puts Donovan down again and an even longer delayed vertical suplex gets two. Back up and Donovan sends him to the apron for a discus big boot (yes a discus big boot) and we take a break. We come back with Donovan dropping him with a release suplex for two and putting on a cravate.

Elgin powers up and grabs a quick t-bone suplex which still doesn’t impress Lethal. An enziguri stops Dijak again and a delayed German suplex gets two. Dijak grabs a quick chokeslam backbreaker, followed by a middle rope moonsault for two of his own. The fans start chanting for Dijak but Feast Your Eyes is countered into the Elgin bomb for the pin at 8:15.

Rating: C+. Another good match here as Elgin looked dominant for the most part. That’s how you want to set up a title match down the line and another good reason to have minions like Dijak around. Even without knowing the ending in advance, I didn’t think Elgin had a chance at the title but at least we had a nice little build here.

Elgin and Lethal stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s pretty impressive to put three good matches together in less than an hour of TV. The problem though is the midcard stories really aren’t doing much for me at the moment. The Prince Nana stuff is lame and I just can’t imagine Fish getting the TV Title from Strong once they have their rematch. Still though, fun show here, as is the case almost every week.

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:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0188BJRGU

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 30, 2015
Host: Mandy Leon

This is another Best Of show and I’m actually looking forward to seeing what Ring of Honor considers their best. I’ve had a good time watching the show since the summer and things have been getting better for months now. You can almost guarantee a lot of New Japan talent to appear on this show so let’s get to it.

As usual, the matches on this episode will be heavily clipped but I’ll be posting the full review of each match. All dates listed are when the match aired.

We’ll start with those New Japan guys in a tag match from Global Wars. From June 17.

Matt Sydal/ACH vs. Tetsuya Naito/Hiroshi Tanahashi

Sydal is formerly known as Evan Bourne, ACH is a high flier and Tanahashi is basically the John Cena of Japan. The Japanese guys won’t shake hands to start, in theory making them heels here, even though an ROH crowd isn’t going to boo a star like Tanahashi. Sydal and Tanahashi trade go behinds to start until Matt takes him down for a standing moonsault. A double tag brings in Naito and ACH with the fans being split. They take their time to start until Naito slugs him down in the corner to take over.

ACH avoids a clothesline and does some unnecessary flips before dropkicking Naito in the face. Tanahashi knees ACH in the back and throws him into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Tanahashi missing a middle rope swanton but still preventing a hot tag. We hit the chinlock from Naito as I’m struggling to find things to say here. There’s no real story here other than company vs. company and the announcers aren’t giving me any information about any of the four guys.

Naito sends him into the corner for a basement dropkick. ACH finally counters a hurricanrana and makes the hot tag to Sydal, who comes in to clean house. In a nice counter, Sydal loads up the standing moonsault but Tanahashi is waiting on him with a German suplex. ACH fires off a bunch of kicks to Tanahashi and a clothesline for two. A German suplex from ACH gets the same and he mocks Tanahashi’s air guitar. Tanahashi puts on his Texas cloverleaf but Naito tagged himself in. Granted the referee didn’t seem to notice, leaving ACH to have to grab a rope.

The New Japan guys break up Sydal’s Asai moonsault but ACH hits a big dive to take both of them down. Back in and ACH hits a kind of springboard downward spiral to Tanahashi, followed by Sydal’s shooting star for two. Now it’s ACH going up top for a 450 but Tanahashi seemingly got the knees up. A sling blade sets up the High Fly Flow (frog splash) to give Hiroshi the pin.

Rating: C+. Fun match but it got a bit messy near the end. I still don’t get why they’re trying to make all the Japanese guys heels when they’re naturally faces for the most part, especially with fans like the ROH crowd. Still though, good enough match here and it got the crowd going like it was supposed to.

From June 24.

Roderick Strong vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Strong is on a roll at the moment and is known as Mr. ROH. Nakamura is a huge star in New Japan and has amazing charisma. I’ve always been a Strong fan and Nakamura is one of the few New Japan guys who lives up to the hype he receives. Nakamura takes him down by the arm to start but Strong reverses into a key lock of his own. Back up and Strong nails some dropkicks but can’t put on a bow and arrow hold.

An Angle Slam gets two on Nakamura but he kicks Strong in the head and starts with his signature knee strikes. Another knee puts Strong over the barricade and we take a break. Back with Strong winning a slugout but falling to the mat. Strong is back up with a torture rack into a backbreaker though (he’s been called the Messiah of the Backbreaker), sending Nakamura to the ropes before the Strong Hold (Boston crab) can be locked in.

Instead it’s Nakamura slamming him down but missing the running knee (Bryan took it from him) and taking a jumping knee to the face. A backbreaker onto the top turnbuckle gets two as I’m digging the psychology in this one. His move is a back hold so work on the back. Why is that so complicated? A big forearm drops Strong and a jumping knee from the middle rope knocks him silly.

Strong is up first and grabs the Strong Hold, sending Nakamura into the ropes for a break. They slug it out again with Strong taking Nakamura’s head off with a running boot (Sick Kick) but a suplex backbreaker (I told you he knew a lot of them) only gets two. The running knee gets one on Strong and Nakamura can’t believe it. Granted he usually gyrates around like that so it’s hard to tell how mad he is. Strong hits another knee but Nakamura just blasts him with a knee/kick to the face for the pin at 17:05.

Rating: B+. This was a hard hitting wrestling match here and that’s the kind of stuff that Ring of Honor is shooting for. Strong is a big star in ROH but Nakamura comes off like a natural performer, which makes him stand out anywhere he performs. This was a fun match that again lived up to its hype, which is what Nakamura does best.

Also from June 24.

Roppongi Vice/Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles/Young Bucks

This is Chaos vs. Bullet Club with Vice being a tag team of (Trent) Baretta (with its 19,000 spellings) and Rocky Romero. The Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) are the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions and Styles is IWGP Heavyweight Champion, making this champions vs. challengers. Styles and Okada get things going with AJ snapping off some armdrags before they trade victory rolls for two each. An early attempt at both finishers fails as well and it’s a standoff after a very fast start.

Off to Baretta vs. Nick for some missed superkicks before Matt and Rocky come in. The Bullet Club gets tired of waiting and cleans house with a single superkick. Yeah the Bucks REALLY like throwing superkicks. Baretta gets triple teamed but Romero comes in to break up a cover. The Bucks start their pretty slick double teaming before it’s off to Styles for a suplex into the corner. I like it when wrestlers do normal moves into different places. It’s simple yet still seems fresh, which is hard to do these days.

Back from a break with AJ taking Romero and Okada off the apron to prevent a tag, so Trent whips out a tornado DDT for the tag to Romero. Rocky cleans house by dropkicking AJ off the apron and hurricanranaing both Bucks at the same time. Matt nails a superkick to slow him down but Rocky pops off the ropes and hits a clothesline to put both guys down. Okada and Styles come in off another double tag with Okada taking over in a hurry. AJ comes back with his moonsault into a reverse DDT but Okada reverses into something like White Noise into a backbreaker.

Nick gets double teamed by Vice as everything breaks down. A Doomsday Device but with a running knee and on the floor, plants Nick but AJ plants Okada with Sunday Bloody Sunday (Prince Devitt’s old move, basically a one arm DDT brainbuster). Like so many Japanese stars, Okada isn’t interested in selling though and pops up with a tombstone. The Rainmaker (maybe the most overrated finisher I’ve ever seen. It’s a standing clothesline with theatrics) misses and Nick takes Okada to the floor with a tornado DDT which clearly didn’t connect.

Romero gets hung over the ropes for a swanton and More Bang For Your Buck (a quick series of dives) is broken up and Okada drops a top rope elbow on Nick. AJ’s springboard forearm (I love that move) takes Okada out again but Matt starts firing off even more superkicks, only to have Okada dropkick Styles down to break up the Clash on Romero.

All six slug it out and a triple superkick staggers Chaos. Okada again pops up and a double superkick/Pele combo and a spike piledriver into a flipping spike tombstone (the Meltzer Driver. Yes that Meltzer) puts him right back down, followed by a double superkick into a Styles Clash on Baretta for the pin at 17:25.

Rating: B. Here’s the thing: this match was not a very well done match. It was sloppy at times, the “fighting spirit” thing still comes off as a way to not have to sell, the flips are borderline meta, the move is actually called the Meltzer Driver, Kelly has to shout SUPERKICK every single time one connects, the tagging part was forgotten halfway through (and no that’s not an ROH thing. It annoys me when every company does it) and the fans cheering for the heels is always annoying because they’re cool heels instead of trying to do, like, heel stuff.

We recap the main event of Best in the World with Jay Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe for the TV/ROH World Titles, winner take all. Both guys had been on a roll for over a year and this is the showdown of the best in Ring of Honor for both titles. This match will be clipped as well and I don’t have a full version so there will be clips listed.

ROH World Title/TV Title: Jay Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal

They shake hands to start and we’re ready to go. The House of Truth tries some early interference and get thrown out to make this one on one. Well two on one as Truth Martini is still at ringside. Lethal drops to the floor twice in a row to start but the fans declare it awesome anyway. Well to be fair that was indeed some AWESOME walking around on the floor. A lockup doesn’t go anywhere so they trade wristlocks with both guys challenging, only to have Briscoe take over with a front facelock.

Both guys get back up and it’s time for the slugout with Briscoe being sent out to the floor. Lethal follows him out and drives Briscoe into the barricade to keep his control as we take a break. Back with Briscoe kicking Lethal in the head, only to be sent to the floor for a suicide dive. Lethal loads up another but Briscoe decks him with a hard clothesline and a big suicide dive of his own. Martini finally does something by grabbing Briscoe’s leg, allowing Lethal to stomp away some more.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before Briscoe fights back up and grabs a neckbreaker. Back from another break with the Lethal Combination getting a quick two. The Macho elbow is broken up for a bit, only to have Lethal shove Briscoe off to stop a superplex. Now the elbow gets two but a Koji Clutch is quickly broken up.

They head to the apron with Lethal hitting him low to save himself from a Jay Driller through the table. Well I’d hope he broke it up as it would have meant a bad case of death otherwise. Martini’s distraction earns himself an ejection and NOW the Jay Driller puts Lethal through the table as we take a third break.

Back with both guys inside and Briscoe running into a superkick, only to counter the Lethal Injection with a discus lariat. The fans are losing their minds over this stuff, though I’m still getting over the rolling out of the ring earlier. Lethal grabs the Injection out of nowhere for a very close two and Corino can barely keep going. With nothing else working, Lethal grabs a Jay Driller, followed by another Lethal Injection to finally become undisputed champion at 27:13.

Rating: B. The clipped version was good and I’m assuming the full version is even better. Lethal winning clean here, especially after going through the table like that, was a great way to make him look like the top guy in the promotion. Briscoe is pretty easily the most decorated name in the company’s history so having him lose a major match like this, especially going down fighting, isn’t going to cost him that much. This was good stuff all around and felt like a major showdown so well done all around.

Delirious of all people comes in to wish us Merry Christmas to wrap things up.

Overall Rating: B+. These shows are hard to screw up if they’re being put together by a competent company such as Ring of Honor. Giving us a pay per view main event nearly in full was a nice present though I’m not sure I’d call this a full on Best Of the year show as they really only touched on two things. Still though, it’s fun while it lasts and a really easy sit so well done.

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:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0188BJRGU

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

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

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

As the name suggests, this is the final major show of the year for Ring of Honor as well as the biggest show of the year. The main event is a dream match with Ring of Honor World Champion Jay Lethal defending against AJ Styles in a match that hasn’t been the best promoted. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Cheeseburger vs. Bob Evans

This is the blowoff to a feud that has gone on far too long for a low level team that split up. Evans, with new student Tim Hughes in his corner, is a grizzled veteran and Cheeseburger is the size of a fourteen year old on a growth spurt. During the entrances, Kelly asks why Mr. Wrestling III sounds EXACTLY like Steve Corino. I’m sure you get the joke here.

Cheeseburger has to fight off Hughes to start and low bridges Evans out to the floor. An Asai moonsault takes out both villains but we get some old school distractions so Hughes can cheap shot Cheeseburger. Evans makes it even worse by putting on Cheeseburger’s hat. That’s like, evil man. Back in and Evans steps on Cheeseburger’s broken hand (which Evans threatened to saw off) as the slow beating continues.

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.

Rating: D+. This is another feud where it needed to end a lot sooner than it did. It’s the same story they’ve had for months now and I don’t know why I needed to see another match between the two of them with Cheeseburger fighting from behind and getting the big underdog victory. At least it didn’t eat up a lot of TV time along the way though and they kept this before the pay per view here.

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

For the #1 contendership and one fall to a finish. The Express beat the Briscoes and got cheated out of a win over the Bucks. The Briscoes are here because they’re the best tag team in ROH history. Mark Briscoe and Nick Jackson get things going and we get an early SUCK IT because that’s what the Bucks do. As the Spanish commentary bleeds in a bit, Jay comes in to pound on Nick as Wrestling III goes on the shortest limb ever to suggest that Jay is the most decorated wrestler in ROH history.

Titus tags himself in and the fans are not happy with the Bucks being on the apron. Jay elbows Titus out of the corner but eats a superkick from Matt, meaning it’s time for a mini superkick party. The Bucks are cleared from the ring and it’s time for Titus vs. Mark. That doesn’t last long as Mark takes him to the floor for a Blockbuster off the apron, only to have King dive on Mark. Jay does the same to King and Titus eats a superkick.

Both Bucks hit 450’s for two on Titus and it’s time for everyone to kick each other a bunch of times. For instance, Jay takes Nick down with a neckbreaker but eats a superkick from Matt. Of course the fans eat this up while also likely booing John Cena for only having five moves. The Briscoes take over on King with some good old fashioned double teaming. A Doomsday Device to King is broken up but the Bucks are right there with double superkicks to King and both Briscoes.

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.

Rating: B-. Well they had the right idea here and the match was fun, though I really do not care for the Young Bucks. The idea is there but it’s just not something I ever need to see again. That being said, this was a really solid choice for an opener as the fans are on fire and the match was hot enough to get the show off on the right foot. Good stuff here, though far more entertaining than quality.

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

Young has the Boys with him but is quickly taken down with some amateur stuff. This sets up a chase but the Boys block Castle from going after their new…..boss? Back in and Young sends him hard into the corner and drops Castle face first onto the buckle. Kelly thinks Castle is just a step off here, meaning the Boys are worth a half step each. A low blow make things even worse for Castle but the fans are too busy telling Young that he sucks to notice what’s going on.

We hit the chinlock (now that’s something you don’t see too often in ROH) for a bit before Dalton pops back up with a German suplex to get a breather. A half butterfly suplex gets two on Young and it’s time to pull back the floor mats. The Boys don’t seem to mind and watch the two of them slug it out on the apron.

Young sends him to another part of the apron and spears Castle through the corner and out to the floor. They’re doing a good job here of having Silas doing the speed wrestling and amateur stuff while Young is just doing pure power brawling. Castle catches a charge and sends him out to the apron, followed by a nice deadlift German from the apron for two.

Young backflips out of the corner but gets speared right back in as they’ve swapped styles. A slugout goes to Young but he dives into a release belly to belly throw. The Boys try to break up another German and one gets pulled in, only to eat a right hand from Castle. The distraught Dalton walks into Misery to give Young the pin.

Rating: C+. I still like the story they’re going with here but I’m not sure what the point here was in having Young win again. You would think the play here would be to have Castle get his revenge, perhaps with the Boys helping out, though it would kind of make their recent show of loyalty to Young seem a bit questionable.

Post match Young stomps on Castle and demands that he admit Young is a real man. Castle won’t say anything so Young stomps him down even more. Silas gives the Boys some chairs and Castle finally admits that Silas is a man. A very foolish man however as those are Dalton’s boys, who beat Young down with the chairs. Castle adds a Bang-a-Rang and sits on the Boys, who are now free, meaning stipulations mean nothing in ROH. There better be a Boys Are Back In Town reference some point soon.

We recap Moose vs. Michael Elgin which is all about who is the better monster. Both of them want a shot at Jay Lethal’s World Title so let’s have them beat on each other until one can’t get up.

Moose vs. Michael Elgin

Winner might be #1 contender but it doesn’t seem to be official. Moose comes out in a football helmet and shoulder pads to play up his NFL career. They shake hands to start before shoulders don’t move either guy anywhere. The next set of shoulders put both guys down and they slowly slug it out with Elgin getting the better of it, setting up a delayed vertical suplex.

Elgin barely looked strained there but Moose pops right up, mainly because it’s just a suplex. Back up and Elgin beats him to the punch, only to walk into a dropkick from the big man. They head outside with Moose’s spear hitting the barricade, allowing Elgin to hit a cannonball off the apron. Back in and a top rope shoulder (always cool) gets two for Mike as the announcers try to figure out if Elgin vs. Lethal, already signed for January 4 in Tokyo, will be a title match if Elgin wins here. So much for leaving any doubt about the ending.

Moose sends him flying off a fallaway slam, only to eat an enziguri. By eat I mean take because you don’t eat with the back of your head of course. Some rolling Germans have Moose in trouble but he puts Elgin on the top for another impressive dropkick. That means it’s time for a top rope plancha from Moose which only kind of connects but it still looked good. A sitout powerbomb gets two for Moose as they’re trading bombs here.

They head to the apron with Elgin’s Death Valley Driver looking to set up a corkscrew senton (not great looking but Elgin is no high flier) for two. Moose hammers away but charges into a double pop up powerbomb (That’s not normal. Like at all.), followed by the Elgin Bomb for a very close two.

Elgin is stunned, allowing Moose to hit a spear out of nowhere for a near fall of his own, sending Stokely into hysterics on the floor. That Spanish commentary bleeds in again as Moose gets all fired up, only to miss a charge in the corner. A Burning Hammer of all things (reverse Death Valley Driver with a shout of I’M COMING FOR YOU LETHAL) finally puts Moose away.

Rating: C+. Take two monsters and let them beat on each other for about ten minutes. It’s a formula that’s worked forever and it’s going to keep working, even in a smark promotion like Ring of Honor. Elgin winning was obvious as Moose still needs a lot of seasoning, but at least it was a fun match while it lasted. Good stuff, though it never hit that big power match level that these things are capable of hitting.

They shake hands again post match.

We recap Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole. They used to be partners in Future Shock and started to put the team back together until Cole turned on him at All-Star Extravaganza. Cole was ticked off about O’Reilly being dubbed a future star after Cole already held the ROH World Title. This caused Cole to start ruining O’Reilly’s life and career, setting up a showdown here. The recap promos do little to disprove the fact that Cole is so far ahead of O’Reilly on the mic.

Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly

They’re all over each other to start with Kyle trying for a triangle choke, only to settle for kicking Cole in the face instead. Cole is knocked outside and tries a chair but Kyle dropkicks him off the apron to knock it away. Back in and Kyle starts in on the arm before grabbing a quickly broken choke. O’Reilly tries to get a bit too fancy though and gets dropkicked out to the floor, meaning it’s time for Adam to go after the leg.

Kyle doesn’t seem to mind as he fires off knees, only to get taken down by the leg again. A leg lock doesn’t do much so Kyle wins a slugout but Cole takes him down into a half crab. With the holds not working, Cole blasts him in the head with a running knee instead. Kyle gets in a knee to the face of his own but it slows him down. Of course he’s able to snap off a series of strikes with a leg sweep before holding his knee again.

Kyle slaps him in the face but Cole flips him off, earning himself a cross armbreaker. Cole counters with a stomp to the face as the fans think this is wrestling. Not quite but you don’t argue with Philadelphia fans. They trade kicks until Kyle grabs a suplex for two to put both guys down again. Kyle’s Kimura is countered into a fireman’s carry neckbreaker to give Cole a breather.

Cole kicks the knee out and enziguris Kyle out to the floor, only to get caught in a guillotine. That’s countered into a suplex neckbreaker to give Cole two back inside. With nothing else working, it’s time to hit the Figure Four on Kyle’s bad knee. They strike it off again with a bunch of Japanese kicks from Kyle, who walks into a superkick. Kyle bounces off the ropes ala Ambrose, only to walk into another superkick ala half the WWE roster.

O’Reilly gets in a lariat off the second rebound and grabs the armbreaker, sending Cole into the ropes. Fans: “THIS IS AWESOME!” I just want to shake these people hard and scream at them about how they don’t get it. Cole hits another superkick so Kyle grabs a triangle choke, only to have Cole fall forward and put his feet on the ropes for a pin.

Rating: B+. HORRENDOUS selling issues aside (“BUT IT’S FIGHTING SPIRIT!” No, it’s stupid. You can call it whatever you want but it’s code for they aren’t selling.), this was a very well told story with Kyle being so obsessed with the submissions and making Cole tap out that he forgot you could win by pinfall, giving Cole an opening to win. All the striking was a bit more acceptable here as they would do other stuff in between, but that section where Kyle got kicked in the face over and over and then just did a clothesline followed by another hold was horrible.

Kyle destroys Cole’s arm with a cross armbreaker 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

Prince Nana comes out for commentary for no apparent reason. Daniels and Shelley get things going with Alex taking him down by the arm. It’s off to Sydal with a slingshot dropkick but Kazarian gets in a cheap shot and comes in to take over. That goes nowhere so it’s off to ACH as the announcers discuss Dragon Ball Z. Sabin comes in and things speed up without much contact as it only can in ROH.

We get the big showdown with Shelley but you know it’s not happening that fast, meaning it’s off to Kazarian instead. ACH comes in for an awkward run into a drop toehold before Sydal comes back in for a standing moonsault. Everything breaks down (shocking) and Sabin cleans house with some running kicks/knees to the face. Daniels comes in with a running neckbreaker to Sydal as things settle down.

The heels all hit legdrops with Kazarian adding a spinning springboard to his. Addiction breaks up a hot tag attempt and it’s a triple dropkick for two on Sydal. Matt finally sends him into the corner and makes the tag off to Shelley for some much needed house cleaning. A dragon screw leg whip puts Daniels down and it’s off to ACH as this really isn’t clicking so far. Everything breaks down and ACH totally botches what looked to be a headscissors around the post.

Daniels can’t hit the BME and it’s back to Sydal for his jumping strikes. The good guys try a triple…..something on Daniels that doesn’t quite work, just like Matt’s shooting star as Daniels gets his knees up. Daniels starts taking down all of the good guys until ACH sends him into Sabin. The Midnight Star (450) and the shooting star press from Sydal are enough for the pin on Chris.

Rating: D+. Did you know these guys are indy wrestlers? I didn’t know if you knew it from the fifteen minute indy style match they just worked but they’re indy wrestlers. Sabin vs. Shelley never happened and after this I really don’t need to see it happen. Not a good match here and it really needed five minutes cut out. I’m not a fan of this style and it really didn’t do anything for me here.

We get a promo from Bobby Fish which aired on TV last week. Roderick Strong calls himself Mr. ROH but Fish is the man that takes everyone to the limit. Tonight he’s taking Strong past the limit and taking the title.

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.

Back in and a quick suplex gets two for the champ and a belly to back suplex into a backbreaker (not bad) has Fish in even more trouble. Strong comes back with a running elbow and a high collar suplex into the corner ala Sami Zayn. We hit the rear naked choke (rapidly becoming too popular) but Strong is quickly in the ropes and firing off the running strikes. Fish gets sent to the apron and grabs a dragon screw leg whip to take over again, meaning it’s time to trade forearms. Back in and Strong hits a quick enziguri and a middle rope backbreaker for two.

They head back up top with Strong pulling him down into a super falcon’s arrow for two more. This has been trading big moves for a while now and it’s starting to work more and more. Strong tries the running knee but gets caught in a leg bar. Roderick taps out where the referee can’t see it so Fish releases the hold, only to walk into the jumping knee to the head to give Strong the pin.

Rating: B-. While the six man needed to lose five minutes, this could have used a few more minutes. It felt like they were leading somewhere with the trading of spots but instead they went with an oddly placed Undertaker vs. Lesnar from Summerslam finish. It’s clear that they’re turning Strong heel with the finish, which makes me wonder who is supposed to be the top face at this point. Not a great match or anything but at least it was entertaining and told most of a good story.

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

Kingdom is defending here and there’s no real story. War Machine came out one day and told Taven and Bennett that they wanted the belts. Speaking of the belts, the Kingdom blasts War Machine with the titles before the bell and Taven dives onto Rowe. That’s not it though as the champs hit a Hail Mary (spike piledriver) onto the floor. The bell finally rings as Rowe is thrown inside for two.

Unfortunately Taven comes up limping and you can tell something is very wrong. Hanson gets sent back first into the apron and the champs are still able to double team Rowe for two back inside. Taven’s knee gives out on the floor so Rowe powerbombs Bennett up against the barricade. Back in and Fallout gives War Machine the titles in just over three minutes. I’m not going to rate this as it was clearly cut WAY short due to the injury and it wouldn’t be fair to grade a match where they had to go home that fast.

Mr. Wrestling III leaves commentary and here’s BJ Whitmer (not supposed to be here) to accuse Wrestling III of being Steve Corino. Security quickly gets rid of him.

We recap AJ Styles vs. Jay Lethal, which is really just to see who is better. It feels like a way to put Lethal over as they’ve barely done any interacting in the weeks building up to this.

Nigel McGuinness and Jerry Lynn join commentary.

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

Lethal is defending and has Truth Martini/Taeler Hendrix with him. Styles, who has a bad back coming in, is part of the Bullet Club but comes out alone. We get some big match intros and we’re ready to go. Feeling out process to start as they seem to have a lot of time to work with. AJ gets the better of a technical sequence and Lethal bails out to the floor. Back in and AJ grabs a headlock as the announcers debate whether Elgin vs. Lethal will be for the title or not.

We get the drop down into the dropkick from Styles but Lethal hiptosses him down for a basement dropkick of his own. It’s time for some big chops until Lethal gets caught in the Calf Cutter, sending him straight to the ropes. AJ has to avoid a book shot from Martini and gets dropped onto the apron, drawing a TRUTH MARTINI chant.

Lethal gets smart by sending him back first into the barricade and the pace slows down. We hit a camel clutch as the fans swear at someone over something. A suplex into the corner (also becoming too popular lately) rocks Styles’ back for two more and Lethal grabs the world’s least convincing bearhug. Shockingly enough, Jay Lethal holding a bearhug doesn’t last long as AJ comes back with forearms and clotheslines, followed by a suplex into the corner of his own.

The springboard forearm is caught in the Lethal Combination for two and the champ takes over again. They fight over a suplex until AJ takes him over for a neckbreaker. I’ve always liked that move. Styles can’t get the Clash so Lethal throws him into the air and pulls him down into a neckbreaker for two of his own.

Lethal gets tired of this wrestling stuff and throws AJ over the barricade and into the crowd. Ever the genius, Lethal tries a suicide dive with AJ still behind the barricade. AJ, also not that bright, tries the forearm off the barricade but really just collides with Lethal instead. Naturally the fans think it’s awesome because you could put an ROH label on Lord Littlebrook vs. Little Beaver and they would declare it wrestling.

Back in and Jay grabs a Koji Clutch, only to get countered into the Calf Cutter, sending Jay into the ropes again. A big Lethal Injection out of the corner gets two but AJ snaps off a Pele, followed by the Bloody Sunday. Styles loads up something else but gets thrown over the top and through a table, absolutely destroying it in the crash. AJ dives in at nineteen and the Lethal Injection gets two (of course). Instead, Lethal uses Jerry Lynn’s cradle piledriver (due to Jerry saying AJ would win) to set up the second Lethal Injection to retain.

Rating: B+. This wasn’t a masterpiece or even a classic but it was a pay per view quality main event. Lethal pinning Styles clean was a good way to make Lethal look great as AJ has been considered one of the best in the world for a long time now. I’m not sure how long Jay holds the title but if they want to pull the trigger on something, giving it back to Elgin in Tokyo would be rather smart.

Lethal and company pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Good show but not great. The midcard stuff really didn’t work well at times and it made the show feel like it was dragging more than once. A lot of the talents are having contract issues which changed up a bunch of the results but the show still worked well enough. I liked the show and it flew by so we’ll call it a success after several weeks of good TV which built the show up well enough but not perfectly.

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

Final Battle has come and past but we’re not going to get any significant fallout from it for a few weeks now due to the taping schedule. Therefore, it’s time for another stand alone show, which could range anywhere from really fun to nothing of note. I’m to the point where I’ll give Ring of Honor the benefit of the doubt though so let’s get to it.

Will Ferrara vs. Caprice Coleman

Before the match, Coleman says he and Ferrara have both been getting mail from someone (Prince Nana) lately, but Coleman’s mail will always be thicker and always come priority. I’d advise some better insults Coleman. They slug it out to start with Ferrara sending him to the floor for a suicide dive because you’re required to have a suicide dive in a match anymore.

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.

Rating: D+. I like the idea here but this feels like a really low level feud that isn’t going to mean anything. Ferrara is cool but Nana and the possibly reformed Embassy aren’t exactly the most thrilling plans. Coleman doesn’t do much for me either, leaving this as a fun enough fast paced brawl and little more.

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.

Here’s the House of Truth with potential new member Ken Phoenix. Martini tells him that if Phoenix impresses him in the following match, he’s officially on the team.

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.

It’s off to Phoenix for a bit but he doesn’t listen when Dijak tells him to tag out. Titus dodges a charge in the corner and King comes in to speed things up. A blind tag brings in Titus, who dives right into a chokeslam for two. Phoenix tags himself back in and Prince Nana is freaking out at the stupidity. Dijak gets knocked to the floor and a backbreaker from Titus sets up a corkscrew splash from King for the pin at 5:15.

Rating: C-. Just like in the opener, this was a simple story that they told well enough to make it work. Dijak seems to have the potential to go somewhere but I’m not sure how far he’s going to go as part of the House of Truth. You can tell things are going bad when the heel commentator is getting on you though and Phoenix wasn’t anything special.

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.

Here’s Steve Corino in a neck brace to address the crowd. He’s down right now but for twenty one years, this is all he’s ever wanted to do. One day though, this neck brace is coming off and BJ Whitmer is going to pay for his sins. Steve Corino will always be an evil man and Whitmer will find that out soon enough.

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

These partners were picked at random. Compton is better known as Domino from Deuce N Domino but he’s had a much better run in the indies as a serious guy. BJ Whitmer is sitting in on commentary. Jay and Roderick get things going with Jay grabbing a quick backslide for two. Strong can’t get a backslide of his own so it’s off to Matt vs. Page. Adam shoulders him down but Matt gives him a SUCK IT from the mat. In case you didn’t know they think they’re DX or the Kliq you see.

Off to Alexander vs. Lethal which seems to be something important. They trade shoulders to start and Jay hits one out of two dropkicks in a very fast paced sequence. Mark and Cliff come in and they agree to go fight on the floor. It’s Cliff in early control with a release belly to belly and it’s time for a table. Mark tries to grab a chair but the referee tells them to go back inside.

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.

We get a big power showdown between Moose and Jay Briscoe before Moose tags out to Mark for a showdown that is probably going to headline a pay per view some day if it hasn’t already. They trade about eight boots to the face until Jay scores with a discus lariat. A standoff sends us to another double tag with Adam and Matt coming in. It’s Page getting the better of it until Moose and Matt double team him. Moose plays Nick for a double superkick and we take a second break.

Back again with Matt’s 450 getting two on Page. Strong’s team surrounds Cheeseburger and he actually fights them all off with palm strikes. Moose takes him down with a weaker spear than you would expect but the Lethal Injection drops Moose and it’s time for the parade of secondary finishers. Compton gets superkicked off the top and through a table at ringside, leaving Page to eat a suplex backbreaker and the Froggy Bow from Mark for the pin at 21:20.

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.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like a special episode and that’s all it needed to be. I like this kind of show more than the New Japan episodes as you have some storyline advancement, even if it’s something in a low level story like Nana’s envelopes. Anyway, nice little fun show here and that’s all I was hoping for.

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:

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