IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: March 14, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

This is one of those weird weeks where a pay per view has come and gone but we’re not to the next taping cycle yet. Therefore, tonight is probably going to be a standalone show, which have very mixed results around here. There aren’t likely to be any results from the Anniversary Show, which works well as I haven’t seen it yet. Let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s show if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Battle Royal

Chuckie T., Barretta, Shane Taylor, Josh Woods, Will Ferrara, Leo St. Giovanni, Flip Gordon, QT Marshall, Caprice Coleman, Shaheem Ali, Kid USA, F.R. Josie

I think I got everyone in there. They waste no time with this as the sequence ends and the bell rings with everyone sliding into the ring. The final two in the ring will face off in a regular match for a shot at the TV Title at a date to be announced. Chuckie and Barretta are thrown out by Shane at the bell, followed by Josie and Ferrara being tossed out soon thereafter.

Kid USA gets knocked off the top and Coast to Coast can’t get rid of Taylor. Coleman shoves St. Giovanni out by breaking up a springboard with Ali and Woods being thrown out a few seconds later. We’re down to Marshall, Taylor, Coleman and Gordon with QT offering to pay the others off.

We take a break less than five minutes into the show and come back with all four still going. Coleman kicks Gordon in the face but gets cut off with a springboard spinning spear. Marshall hits Taylor by mistake and that’s it for QT. Gordon has to springboard back in from the apron and takes Coleman down with a clothesline. Taylor throws Coleman out and it’s Gordon and Taylor moving on at 8:55.

Rating: D. Well, it was certainly short. The problem here was they didn’t have the time or the star power to really make things work. They made it clear that these are people who have never held the title, which doesn’t exactly give you a lot of star power. Taylor and Gordon could make for a good singles match, but the battle royal wasn’t the best way to get there.

The Kingdom is sick of hearing about the Bullet Club when the Kingdom is on fire. So Cal Uncensored comes in to say they’ve been conspired against for years. An alliance is suggested and the Kingdom seems intrigued. Post break, TK O’Ryan doesn’t like the idea but Matt Taven says it’s worth it. Vinny Marseglia just wants violence against the Bullet Club.

Stacy Shadows is a good sized woman who wants to go through everyone to make history.

Tenille Dashwood is tired of being overlooked. She’s beaten Shadows before in a non-televised ROH match so this might not be the biggest surprise. I mean, the winner gets Brandi Rhodes in a match that already aired on the PPV pre-show so it’s kind of spoiled in advance.

Women of Honor Title Tournament First Round: Stacy Shadows vs. Tenille Dashwood

Dashwood is better known as Emma and Deonna Purrazzo is on commentary. The much bigger Shadows blocks an armdrag attempt and drives Dashwood into the corner. Some kicks to Stacy’s legs set up a hurricanrana into a Russian legsweep for one. The running corner crossbody is shrugged off and Shadows scores with a spinebuster as we take a break.

Back with Stacy still in control and the announcers taking about the dangers of Dashwood’s Spotlight kick. A Vader Bomb misses though and Tenille grabs the Tarantula. Dashwood gets two off a high crossbody and the Spotlight Kick (a running kick to the side of the head) is good for the pin on Shadows at 8:41.

Rating: D+. Shadows was every bigger woman you’ll see and there was no reason to believe that Dashwood was losing here. This is a good example of a match that would have been better suited in a shorter form as it came off like they were stretching things out for the sake of stretching things out.

The Bullet Club is in the back and Cody seems worried about the Kingdom and So Cal Uncensored teaming up. Cody is tired of being told that he’s the bad guy and the team isn’t going anywhere. Can we just name this the Bullet Club Hour already?

Beer City Bruiser/Brian Milonas vs. Ryan Nova/Eli Isom

I think you get the idea here. Bruiser forearms Nova down to start and Nova’s kick to the ribs has as much effect as you would expect. A crossbody crushes Nova (Colt: “IS HE STILL ALIVE???”) and Milonas does his reverse splash. Nova gets crushed between the two big guys and it’s actually off to Isom to keep things going. That means a hard right hand to knock him silly, followed by a superplex into a frog splash to give Bruiser the pin at 3:48.

Rating: D. They’re certainly hammering you over the head with the idea behind Milonas and Bruiser, but that makes sense in this case as it’s not like they have anything else to do. Bruiser is at least decent but Milonas….my goodness no. This was a long squash but at least they got the idea down.

Shane Taylor vs. Flip Gordon

Bully Ray is on commentary and the winner gets a future TV Title shot. Gordon strikes away at the monster and the chops actually have an effect. A superkick does a bit more damage but Taylor pulls Gordon HARD out of the air with a spinebuster for two. Taylor goes with the heavy forearms to rock Gordon even more as the pace slows quite a bit. One heck of a legdrop gets two and we take a break.

Back with Taylor blasting him in the face for two more with Bully being stunned on the kickout. He’s so stunned that we cut to the announcers for a chat about Supercard of Honor. Taylor even hits a Bubba Bomb and Bully is now full on behind Flip. An enziguri rocks Taylor and there’s a second to stagger him…..until a hard clothesline takes Flip’s head off for two. The middle rope splash misses though and the Star Spangled Stunner into the 450 gives Flip the pin at 9:31.

Rating: C+. This was another story that didn’t need much laying out, though I’m not sure how smart it is to do very similar matches three times in a row. Gordon has some good charisma and all of the flipping does him some serious favors. If that’s how he keeps going, he’s going to be fine for a long time to come.

Post match Scorpio Sky runs in for the beatdown on Gordon but the Young Bucks make the save. They seem to be interested in Gordon but he doesn’t quite know what to do.

Cody wants to know where the rest of the Club is but he can do this himself because he knows all of their parts. Bullet Club is fine as they head into a ten man tag, presumably next week.

Overall Rating: C-. For a standalone episode, I’m not sure how well this one worked. Setting up a future TV Title shot is a good idea but having a first round match after the winner already had her quarterfinal match? Really? Other than that, having three big vs. little matches in a row felt like a really weak presentation, but maybe it was all they could put together. Not a bad show, but the Bullet Club stuff is getting old.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

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Ring of Honor
Date: February 7, 2018
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

I’m actually looking forward to this show for once as the company has been more entertaining as of late. The World Title situation has been very fun in recent weeks, which I never would have guessed with Dalton Castle on top. Hopefully the rest of the show can be just as entertaining as we move forward. Let’s get to it.

We look at Matt Taven attacking Cody last week, seemingly turning Cody face in the process.

Opening sequence.

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

The Guns are defending. Sabin and Chuckie start things off and it’s an exchange of armdrags into a standoff. Both guys tag so it’s off to Shelley vs. Barretta with Shelley being taken down. The Friends load up the hug but Sabin breaks that up. Friendship hater. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Friends score with running corner clotheslines. That’s enough for the big hug and we take a break.

Back with Chuckie powerbombing Sabin for two but missing a moonsault. Sabin’s tornado DDT/dropkick combination takes the Friends down, followed by the Dream Sequence. Shelley tries a double Sliced Bread #2 on the floor but gets reversed, setting up a toss into a cutter. Barretta is right back up with a big flip dive and we get another hug in the aisle, only to have the Briscoes run in for the DQ at 9:13.

Rating: C-. I’m not wild on either of these teams but it’s not like it matters with the Briscoes being right there waiting to destroy whomever they face at the pay per view. The Best Friends do the hugging spot too often (twice in the match, plus another failed attempt) and it feels more like they’re just having fun than trying to win a title. That’s not a good thing and it happens too often around here.

Post match the Briscoes beat the Friends down before zip tying Shelley to the ropes. Sabin eats a Jay Driller “onto” a chair.

Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas debut next week.

Video on Punishment Martinez, talking about his fighting background and growing on the streets. He has a good, menacing voice here as he talks about torturing Jay White and various other names. After winning the Survival of the Fittest, it’s time to come for Dalton Castle and the World Title. Good promo here as Martinez shows us a bit of a different side.

Shane Taylor vs. Marty Scurll

Taylor throws him around to start so Marty stomps in the fingers to get a breather. A trip to the floor allows Marty to score with some superkicks from the apron, only to get shoved into the barricade. Back from a break with Shane missing a sitdown splash so Marty can score with a missile dropkick.

The suicide dive is broken up and Marty hits a tornado DDT off the apron. For some reason Marty tries the Ghostbuster, meaning he earns the splash for two. A chokebomb gives Taylor the same and amazingly enough, Marty’s finger break is stopped as he takes way too long. Somehow Marty manages a suplex for two, only to have the chickenwing broken up with ease. Shane grabs the umbrella but has it taken away, allowing Marty to throw powder in his face for the pin at 10:57. Ignore the referee not seeing the cloud of powder, the powder on the mat or the powder on Shane of course.

Rating: C. Marty was in full on face mode here and it was really working for him. I’m starting to get my head around the idea that a villain can be a good guy as Marty’s talents are starting to show more and more every time. I could easily go for Marty vs. Castle at Supercard of Honor and it would be a good match, if nothing else because of the promos.

Post match Scurll calls out Martinez, who sneaks in through the crowd. Next week, Punishment gets a World Title shot against Castle and Marty wants the first shot at the new champ. Martinez nods and then chokeslams Marty.

We look back at Bully Ray’s retirement last week.

The Women’s Title tournament starts next week. It’s about time.

Matt Taven vs. Cody

Taven speeds things up to start but neither can hit an early finisher. A standoff takes us to a very early break and we come back with Cody being tossed to the floor. They switch places though and Cody hits a big dive onto all three members of the Kingdom. Taven sends him arm first into the barricade though, followed by a whip into the post. The Kingdom gets in a few cheap shots in a sequence that works so well that they do it again.

Back in and both guys try a springboard kick to the head, meaning it’s another double knockdown as we take a break. We come back again with Cody hitting an Alabama Slam for two of his own. Taven kicks him down but his frog splash hits knees. The Kingdom tries to interfere again and that means a double ejection. The distraction lets Taven grab his walking stick but Cody kicks him low and hooks the small package for a pin at 11:25.

Rating: C-. I’m still not feeling Taven but I’m not sure how much sense it makes to have Cody go over here. Cody is a much bigger star than Taven and doesn’t need the win here. Let Taven get a pin here, especially if it’s by shenanigans, and build him up a bit if that’s where they’re going. The match was fine, albeit with a lot of the usual Kingdom shenanigans.

Post match the Kingdom beats on Cody, including crushing his hand. Taven forces him to kiss the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The roll takes a bit of a hit here but I still like what’s going on here more than most of the last year. There’s a great top of the roster here and that makes for a good show, especially with the Briscoes being as awesome as they’ve been in years to carry the tag division. Good show here as Ring of Honor has stopped being a chore to watch.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Will Ospreay vs. Matt Taven

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

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

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

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

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

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

War Machine vs. Addiction

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

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

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

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

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

Marty Scurll vs. Jay Lethal

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Best Friends disagree, albeit in multiple takes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Briscoe Brothers vs. Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ROH World Title: Cody vs. Dalton Castle

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

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

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

Castle celebrates to end the show.

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

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

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

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

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Ring of Honor
Date: October 25, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

I’m assuming it’s time to start the build towards Final Battle and aside from bringing in an outsider to challenge for the title, things seem to be heading towards Cody defending the World Title against Jay Lethal. I know there’s no story there yet but it’s not like there’s anything else to do. Let’s get to it.

We recap everyone wanting to challenge Kenny King for the TV Title. Tonight it’s a four way for the #1 contendership.

Opening sequence.

Marty Scurll vs. Jay White

Now this could be interesting. Marty grabs the ankle lock to start and takes White to the mat. Jay can’t shake off a front facelock but can manage to put Marty on the top. That means a bird pose and it’s a standoff. Back up and Jay takes him down with little effort, setting up a full Muta Lock.

Since that hold can’t last long, they hit a pinfall reversal sequence for some near falls. Ever the cheater, Marty gets caught putting his feet on the ropes. The referee gets in his face and the distraction lets Marty poke Jay in the eye. Back from a break with Marty hitting something like a reverse Angle Slam for two. It’s time to start in on the arm but Marty takes his time with a charge, earning him a chop.

White wastes no time in swinging away and grabs a suplex for two. A deadlift German suplex gets two more but Marty is back with something like an octopus hold. That goes nowhere so Marty switches into the standing chickenwing. White slips out and gets two off a rollup, only to have Marty throw him the umbrella. Since the referee is half blind, he grabs it as well to take it away from White. That allows Marty to hit a low blow, setting up a small package for the pin at 12:27.

Rating: B-. The ending didn’t work very well for me but these two are both favorites of mine. I’m hoping White doesn’t go back to Japan anytime soon as he’s one of the most consistent wrestlers on the roster. Scurll is someone who always seems to have potential but I’m not sure he’s going to be moving up to the next level anytime.

The Addiction is ready to take care of Jay Lethal Kushida whenever that match takes place.

Lethal is ready to deal with the Addiction because they don’t show Ring of Honor the respect it deserves.

Dawgs vs. Tempura Boyz

The Boyz charge in and start the fight in a hurry before snapping off some German suplexes to take Titus and Ferrara down. The bigger Dawgs are right back though with Sho being sent outside for a suicide dive. Rhett runs Yo down and we settle into a regular match. Will chokes Sho down and a dropkick gives Titus two as we take a break. Back with Rhett grabbing a quickly broken chinlock. Sho gets in a knee to the ribs and the hot tag brings in Yo to clean a few rooms of the house.

Some running knees in the corner (think Sasha Banks) give Yo two as everything breaks down. A superkick into a powerbomb backstabber gets two on Ferrara but Titus slugs the Boyz down with ease. The Boyz start firing off kicks to the head, followed by something like a Shining Wizard for two on Rhett. Ferrara blasts Sho with a wind up lariat and a gordbuster/top rope clothesline to the back (it’s kind of hard to describe) ends Yo at 10:20.

Rating: D+. Neither of these teams are doing anything for me and the fact that the Boyz are heading back to Japan doesn’t cause me any issues. They’ve never been interesting and the Dawgs don’t seem much better. I’m also not a fan of the “screw the tagging” formula and it was in full blast here. It wasn’t a miserable watch but this was almost everything I didn’t like about tag wrestling at once.

The Bullet Club talk about Cody’s contract and laugh hysterically.

Back from a break and they’re still laughing. That made this so much better in an odd way.

Mark Briscoe vs. Chuckie T. vs. Punishment Martinez vs. Shane Taylor

One fall to a finish for a future TV Title shot with Caprice Coleman on commentary. Thankfully there are tags here so it’s Chuckie vs. Martinez to start. A single chop has no effect on Martinez so it’s off to Mark instead. Briscoe hammers away with strikes and punches, only to get clotheslined inside out. Now Chuckle is willing to come back in, only to have his crossbody countered into a World’s Strongest Slam. Well that didn’t work.

Martinez stares Shane down but it’s a missile dropkick from Chuckie to take both of them down. Stereo dives take the monsters down again and we take a break. Back with Mark and Chuckie speeding things up, only to have Mark cut it off with some Red Neck Kung Fu poses. The monsters come in again and punch Chuckie down for daring to interfere. Mark is back up and kicks Shane into the corner, only to get destroyed by Martinez.

A release falcon arrow of all things (looked great) gets two but here’s Shane to clear out the ring again. Shane’s middle rope splash gets two on Chuckie and NOW we get the big showdown. The entirety of the fight: a double clothesline to put them both down and a pair of missed splashes. Back from a second break with Shane and Martinez slugging it out with Punishment getting the better of it until a headbutt staggers him into a corner.

The normal sized guys come back in with Chuckie hitting a sitout powerbomb for two on Mark. Martinez is back up though and it’s a springboard flip dive (geez) to take out everyone else. Back in and a hanging piledriver (think Orton’s DDT but with a piledriver instead) plants Shane, only to have Mark come in with a Death Valley Driver. The Froggy Bow gives Mark the pin and the title shot at 13:30.

Rating: C+. This was the kind of all over the place match that it should have been, which makes the tag match look a little more out of place. Mark winning the title shot is a great idea as him winning the TV Title later in the year while Jay has his match against Bully Ray at Final Battle is an interesting plan. Good enough match here and it did its job.

Post match Jay comes out and says Mark needs to be more loyal to the team. Mark is confused to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This feels like the build to the last big set of TV before Final Battle, which is where the real stories will take place. Mark vs. Jay has potential, though we might be a long time away from that. The rest of the show wasn’t great, though the lack of star power didn’t do the show any favors. Good enough episode but nothing you need to see.

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Date: August 30, 2017
Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

I don’t think we’re up to the newest batch of TV tapings just yet and that means it’s hard to say what to expect from this show. Last week was basically a throw away episode with the focus on the Six Man Tag Team Titles. That means this one could be anywhere really, which isn’t exactly the best thing in the world. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Jonathan Gresham/Jay White vs. War Machine

Non-title. Gresham and White jump them during the entrances in a somewhat heelish move. That lasts all of ten seconds though as War Machine slams both guys down, followed by Rowe slamming Hanson onto the pile. Gresham is back up with a dropkick to Hanson as White sends Rowe into the barricade. For some reason Gresham thinks a chop off with Hanson is a good idea, earning himself a battered chest.

White comes in for some more effective chops but Hanson runs him over and brings in Rowe. Everything breaks down and Gresham is LAUNCHED off a t-bone suplex. Rowe misses a dive to the floor and gets taken down with a suicide dive as we head to a break. Back with Rowe firing off running clotheslines in the corner. After he hits about twenty in a row, it’s a double splash to crush both Gresham and White.

Fallout is broken up so Gresham has to take a springboard clothesline into a German suplex instead. Another Fallout attempt is broken up so Rowe fireman’s carries both of them at once. That goes nowhere though and it’s Gresham enziguring him into a Downward Spiral for a rare near fall.

White’s German suplex gets the same but Rowe comes out of the corner with a seated senton to crush Gresham. Rowe headbutts everyone in sight (save for his partner and the referee of course) until Gresham moonsaults onto Hanson. A 450 is good for two on Hanson but it’s a pop up powerslam (Thor’s Hammer) to put Gresham away at 13:31.

Rating: B. That was a heck of a back and forth match as I don’t think I remember a bad White match. He does his thing very well and makes for some entertaining action. War Machine is better than your average power tag team and while it would be nice to see them get the ROH titles back. Then again that might suggest the Young Bucks aren’t the most amazing things ever and we just can’t have that. Really fun match here though.

Post match Punishment Martinez runs in and chokeslams White as War Machine leaves him to do so.

Caprice Coleman wants to know where his stuff is. He seems to think he’s a preacher and yells at the production staff. We get a nice rant about how he wasn’t respected when he was in the Rebellion and he’s tired of it. They have a week to get this stuff set up.

QT Marshall is out for commentary. Oh yeah he’s a person that exists.

We look back at the Kingdom destroying Jay Briscoe last week.

Shane Taylor vs. Josh Woods

Taylor attacked Woods a few weeks ago and this is as soon as we can get around to a follow up. Woods goes right after him to start with a flying knee and a kick to the head to put Shane outside. That’s fine with Josh who keeps slugging away, only to be thrown through the barricade to send us to a break.

Back with Woods stopping a corner charge with a raised boot. Taylor switches tactics and kicks him face first into the middle buckle before hitting a running Umaga attack for one. Woods fights up again with another running knee, only to get flattened with a clothesline. For some reason Shane goes after him on the mat and gets pulled into a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well so it’s off to an ankle lock and a German suplex for a nice power display. Shane runs him over again but goes outside to grab a chair instead of following up. The referee takes it away though, allowing Woods to roll Taylor up for the pin at 8:14.

Rating: C. Taylor still doesn’t do much for me as he’s just another big guy who can do some athletic stuff but nothing that really blows me away. Woods is starting to grow on me though, which is a lot more than I was expecting to after dreading the Top Prospect Tournament for so many weeks. I have a feeling the feud is going to continue though and that’s not the best thing in the world.

Post match Marshall comes to ringside to tell Taylor to beat down Woods. After Josh is destroyed, Marshall pays Taylor off. Oh yeah it’s continuing.

The Young Bucks are ready to defend against the Motor City Machine Guns because it’s not 2009 anymore. Superkicks are promised.

Minoru Suzuki will answer Cody’s challenge for Death Before Dishonor. Yep: another import with no connection to ROH getting the shot because he’s Japanese and therefore awesome. Screw the stories, screw the talent who has worked to get ROH over and screw everything else. Suzuki is a Japanese legend and that’s what Ring of Honor exists for anymore: giving New Japan guys another place to perform and be revered at ROH’s expense. I’m so freaking thrilled.

Cody is livid.

Kenny King talks about being on the Bachelorette and getting his rematch with Kushida at Death Before Dishonor in his hometown of Las Vegas. King was a lot more serious here and it worked a lot better. The Bachelorette could have been cut out though.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Motor City Machine Guns

The Bucks are defending and get straight in the Guns’ faces during the Big Match Intros. Back from a break with the opening bell, meaning Nick can tell Shelley to suck it, which of course makes him the biggest face in the building. The Guns send the champs outside for a suicide dive to both of them as things pick up. Back in and Nick is put on Matt’s shoulders for a Downward Spiral from Sabin and a missile dropkick to the back from Shelley.

That’s a great example of the way too choreographed style that rubs me the wrong way in most Guns matches. There comes a point where I can’t buy that something is natural and the Guns blow past it every match. Shelly dives into a kick to the head though and the Bucks clean house while making sure to soak in some cheers. A flip dive takes out the Guns again and it’s time for Matt to say SUCK IT over and over.

It’s off to a double Sharpshooter with the Bucks throwing in some TOO SWEET’s at the same time. Back from a break with some miscommunication from the champs as everything breaks down. Sabin kicks Matt in the face and dives onto Nick as the Bucks are in some rare trouble. The champs are sent into the corner with Shelley suplexing Matt into Nick. Skull and Bones is broken up and the wheelbarrow facebuster plants Sabin.

Nick comes in off the hot tag to speed things up with the kicks in the corner. The slingshot X-Factor drops Shelley and the moonsault from the apron does the same to Sabin. Shelley is back up with a high crossbody to a seated Nick and the Guns fire off their running dropkick sequence to Matt. It’s superkick time with the Bucks firing off about ten in a row until Shelley takes them down with a double clothesline. And never mind as here’s Addiction for the no contest at 14:27.

Rating: C+. I’m still not much of a Guns fan. I loved their TNA stuff but now it feels so much more forced, which really does hold them back. The ending doesn’t help either as we’re pretty clearly setting up ANOTHER three way title match because we haven’t had anything like that in….oh at least a month or two.

Daniels and Kazarian clean house post match, including shoving a referee and a plant in a Bullet Club shirt (not acknowledge by commentary, who is likely reading their cards instead of paying attention).

Overall Rating: B-. This show was entertaining but it felt really, really long. I’m still not a fan of the tag division (to put it mildly) but Woods is growing on me and the opener was a lot of fun. Basically just keep me away from the Bucks, the Guns and the worship of all things New Japan and I’m a lot better with the show. Good effort this week though as usual, it feels like they’re running with an anchor and without a map.

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Date: April 26, 2017
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Ian Riccaboni

We see stills from Supercard of Honor XI, now only three weeks old.

Opening sequence.

Video on Marty Scurll retaining the TV Title at Supercard of Honor.

Kazarian is ready to replace the chip on his shoulder with the TV Title.

Lio Rush vs. Shane Taylor

Post match the Motor City Machine Guns come out to prevent a post match beatdown, which takes place anyway as the Rebellion destroys the Guns.

We look at Josh Woods and John Skyler before the tournament finals. I believe this is the same video as last week.

Top Prospect Tournament Final: John Skyler vs. Josh Woods

A second backsplash is countered into a quickly broken triangle choke, followed by a series of strikes. Some suplexes give Woods two and he slips out of Southern Salvation (super Regal Roll). Skyler comes right back with a spear on the apron, followed but a slingshot spear for two more. For some reason Skyler tries another spear, only to dive into something like a GTS of all things. John tries a charge in the corner but gets caught in a Rolling Chaos Theory. Woods floats over into a kneebar for the tap and the tournament at 9:28.

Adam Cole wants to make up with the Young Bucks and get back to being the Bullet Club again.

TV Title: Marty Scurll vs. Kazarian

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Date: January 4, 2017
Host: Kevin Kelly
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

Keith Lee/Shane Taylor vs. War Machine

We take a look at the building of the ring for the Honor Rising show in Japan.

Highlights of Ladder War with the Young Bucks winning the titles at All-Star Extravaganza.

Video on the Women of Honor. As much as I enjoy looking at a variety of them, this division is such a waste of time.

We get an extended clips of Sumie Sakai vs. Deonna Purrazzo and Taeler Hendrix vs. Mandy Leon in a No DQ match.

ROH World Title: Jay Lethal vs. Adam Cole

Cole is ticked off and promises to get the title back.

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Date: October 19, 2016
Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

Opening sequence.

We see a clip of Silas Young winning the Honor Rumble.

Jay Lethal is ready for Young tonight and promises to get the World Title back.

Shane Taylor/Keith Lee vs. War Machine

Taylor and Lee wipe War Machine out post match.

Caprice Coleman says the Cabinet is ready to win the election for the Six Man Titles.

We finally get a bracket for the tournament.

ACH/Kushida/Jay White

Jason Kincaid/Leon St. Giovanni/Shaheem Ali

The Cabinet

Addiction/Kamaitachi

Team CMLL

The Kingdom

Bullet Club

Six Man Tag Team Titles Tournament First Round: Jason Kincaid/Leon St. Giovanni/Shaheem Ali vs. The Cabinet

Jay Lethal vs. Silas Young

Feeling out process to start with Young flipping out of a wristlock and grabbing a rollup for two. A quick springboard dropkick knocks Young out to the floor and hits the back to back suicide dives because WE HAVE TO HAVE A SUICIDE DIVE. Lethal even hits a third because we need to kill a few more minutes. Adam Cole comes out to commentary and we take a break.

Kyle brainbusts Cole to end the show.

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Date: September 14, 2016
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

Opening sequence.

Guerillas of Destiny vs. All Night Express

We look back at Tetsuya Naito and Evil turning their backs on Jay Lethal last week.

Shane Taylor/Keith Lee vs. Ken Phoenix/Ricardo Rojas

War Machine vs. Keith Lee/Shane Taylor

The match is called a no contest for reasons unclear. Rowe gets powerbombed through two chairs to put him out.

Matt Taven is on commentary for the main event and says the new Kingdom will be part of the Six Man Tag Team Title tournament. Partners to be announced.

Roppongi Vice/Kazuchika Okada vs. Kamaitachi/Addiction

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Date: August 31, 2016
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 850
Commentators: Matt Taven, Kevin Kelly

Opening sequence.

Shane Taylor/Keith Lee vs. War Machine

Back in and Taylor slugs it out with Hanson, only to have Lee come over to really take over for the first time. We take a break and come back with Hanson on offense, only to get caught in something like a double chokeslam. A blind tag brings in Rowe and a springboard clothesline into a German suplex gets two on Lee. Rowe gets caught in an AA into a Jackhammer (that was SWEET) for two with Hanson making the save. Lee somehow kicks out of a sitout powerbomb and a suplex into a sitout powerbomb puts Hanson away at 11:28.

David Starr vs. Cheeseburger vs. Joey Daddiego vs. Tim Hughes

The Young Bucks promises a superkick party and kick the camera down.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. Cabinet

Tag Team Titles: Addiction vs. Young Bucks

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