Ring of Honor
Date: January 17, 2018
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’ve got a stacked show this week, including something resembling a dream match (I use that term kind of loosely) between Jay Lethal and Will Ospreay. In this case dream means more like “it should be very good”, which is certainly not a bad thing to say about a match. Other than that there’s probably more from new World Champion Dalton Castle so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Jay Lethal vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title isn’t here yet so non-title. They fight over a wristlock to start and it’s Jay being flipped over off a wristlock. Jay pops back up and shows Ospreay how to do a wristlock but the cartwheel into a basement dropkick is cut off. Lethal gets sent outside but is ready for Ospreay’s handspring dive, grabbing his hands to take Will down.

The three straight suicide dives send Ospreay over the barricade and it’s Marty Scurll coming out as we take a break. Back with Marty on commentary, explaining that he won at Final Battle because he brought out the old Lethal. Marty also demands a World Title match and that works very well for me. Ospreay knocks Lethal into the corner and lights up his chest with a chop.

A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets Lethal out of trouble and he scores with an uppercut. Ian: “To the European himself.” Marty found that one HILARIOUS and….eh I love easy jokes but not really. Back up and Ospreay kicks Lethal in the chest, followed by an enziguri in the corner. Will sends him outside and the Flying Space Tiger Drop (cartwheel into a moonsault over the top) crushes Jay as we take a second break.

Back again with the Oscutter being caught in a torture rack (Marty: “THE LETHAL EXPRESS!”). Jay rolls it forward like a reverse Regal Roll (Ian: “HE’LL BE YOUR HERO!”) for two and Marty is losing it on these near falls. Ospreay is right back with a reverse Impaler for two of his own, only to walk into the Lethal Combination. Jay’s Figure Four is countered into a small package but Jay counters the Oscutter into a cutter of his own. The Lethal Injection puts Ospreay away at 16:37.

Rating: B. Yep it was a very good match and again, that’s all you need on something like this. They were trading the big bombs here but they also played up the idea that they knew each other very well, which makes for a nice story. The Oscutter into the cutter was a very cool counter and Marty wanting to face Jay again could set him up for the title shot in New Orleans.

It’s time for Coleman’s Pulpit with guest Jonathan Gresham, who is in a much higher chair. Because he’s not that tall you see. Coleman starts in with the short jokes but Gresham talks about being trained by Mr. Hughes in Atlanta. We hear about Gresham’s not great win/loss record and Coleman laughs a bit. Gresham talks about mastering his style and the rules he would like for people like him. Sounds like a return of the Pure Rules format. And that’s it, ending another, ahem, thrilling, Coleman’s Pulpit. This is one of the lamest interview segments in wrestling history and it’s not getting any better. Just drop it already.

Kenny King vs. Brian Milonas

Milonas is the big fat guy who was pretty terrible in the Top Prospect Tournament. Brian throws him into the air but King lands on his feet out of a hiptoss. A kick to the head doesn’t do much to Brian but Kenny low bridges him to the floor with some more success. The corkscrew dive barely connects but let’s stop for a picture with a fan. Back in and King chops away to little avail as the big splash in the corner cuts him off. A twisting sunset flip out of the corner doesn’t work but King avoids the sitdown splash. King kicks him in the head and finally drops the big man. The springboard Blockbuster ends Milonas at 3:54.

Rating: C-. There’s only so much you can do in something like this and Milonas isn’t exactly much besides a tree to be knocked down. King needs to be built back up, especially for what seems to be a rematch for the title in King’s hometown of Las Vegas for the Anniversary Show. Not a terrible match and about as good as it could have been.

Post match King wants to fight Silas Young and gets his wish, only to get jumped from behind by Milonas. Beer City Bruiser gets back in for the beatdown, meaning Milonas is Bruiser’s partner as they go after the Tag Team Titles. I’ve….well I’m sure of a worse sounding team somewhere, though Bruiser has been growing on me.

So Cal Uncensored is in the ring for a chat. Before they can get very far though, ROH COO Joe Koff comes out to say the fans don’t want to see him. They want to see the best wrestlers, but that’s not what So Cal Uncensored is. They’re the most disruptive though and Koff should just fire them right now. Daniels threatens to go to TNA or WWE and tell his new bosses all of Koff’s plans for expansion. Koff isn’t worried because Daniels’ contract expires in a year. Therefore, at Final Battle 2018, the Addiction is done. ENOUGH WITH THE CORPORATE STUFF! It’s annoying in WWE and it’s even worse elsewhere. Cut it out already.

The Briscoes want their titles back.

The Kingdom vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys

O’Ryan and Castle start things off with the champ taking TK down without much effort. Back up and a ducked clothesline allows Dalton to hit the peacock pose, only to get jumped by the now legal Marseglia. Boy #2 (according to Ian, after a debate) tags himself in and it’s #1 springboarding in with a crossbody for two. Taven comes back in and demands to face Castle as we hear about him wanting the title. Egads please don’t do that as I can’t handle the promos.

Castle wrestles him down again but can’t get a German suplex. Taven scores with a running enziguri though, only to be sent outside. Castle loads up a dive but stops for that long striding strut of his. #2 dives in with a stomp onto Marseglia’s arm as we take a break. Back with #1 being sent into the barricade twice in a row to really put him down.

A good looking double flapjack sets up a backsplash/legdrop combo for two as the beating continues. Taven tells O’Ryan to let the Boy go and a missed charge allows #1 to get over to Castle for the hot tag. Dalton gets to clean house until he tries a Tombstone on Taven, leading to seven or eight reversals, capped off by Castle planting Matt. The Bang A Rang drops Taven again and the Julie Newmar (close to a crossface chickenwing) makes Marseglia tap at 11:53.

Rating: C. The match was fine, though my complete lack of interest in all things Kingdom isn’t changing anytime soon. It doesn’t help that O’Ryan and Taven look alike, but it’s just Taven and two goons, which doesn’t help the fact that Taven isn’t very interesting on his own. Castle continues to look like a star though and I’d actually be really interested to see him vs. Scurll down the line. The star power is there and I’m glad they took a chance on him at Final Battle.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty good show here with only the worthless Coleman’s Pulpit holding things down. It’s too early to start worrying about the next pay per view but for now, things are looking fairly solid around here. Castle is an energetic champion, the Briscoes are looking more awesome by the week and King vs. Young could be a nice feud. I’m liking things around here right now and that’s not something I can say around here very often.

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Ring of Honor
Date: August 23, 2017
Location: Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, BJ Whitmer

Tonight is all about the Six Man Tag Team Titles as yet ANOTHER team has been thrown together for the sake of giving the champions some challengers. In this case it’s Dalton Castle and the Boys defending against Colt Cabana and the Tempura Boyz. And yes, it’s all because both bigger names have partners called Boys(z). Let’s get to it.

Dalton Castle says taking the titles from him when he’s flanked by the Boys is like trying to boil a chicken so he’s not worried.

Opening sequence.

Coast to Coast vs. Best Friends

Caprice Coleman jumps in on commentary and for some reason we keep looking at the commentary booth instead of the ring. Chuckie (Chuckie T, of the Best friends with partner Berreta) and LSG start things off with some flips going nowhere. It’s off to Ali vs. Berreta with some chops dropping Ali, who comes right back with chops of his own.

They head to the corner for a tag to LSG, who the announcers don’t realize was in the match already. Chuckie tags himself in before Berreta takes LSG down with a dragon suplex. That’s good for a big hug and we take a break. Back with LSG cleaning house and getting two on Chuckie off a faceplant. Berreta comes in for the save but Ali is right there to block a tornado DDT out of the corner.

Instead it’s a swinging Rock Bottom for two on Berreta, who bails outside for a breather. Back to back dives, including a corkscrew version from LSG, has the Best Friends reeling as Coleman is begging for them to go for a cover. Ali gets two off a frog splash but LSG’s 450 hits knees. Berreta’s running knee knocks LSG silly and it’s the piledriver into a cradle piledriver to put him away at 11:51.

Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I was expecting to, even if it just became a big spot fest near the end. The Best Friends are a popular enough team to eventually become a threat to the Bucks. Coast to Coast is getting better too and looks like they’re one of the better young teams who could mean something down the line. Or get split up for no apparent reason.

Jay Lethal talks about how rough it was to be put in the hospital for the first time in his career when Silas Young comes up. The brawl is on with Jay getting the better of it until the Beer City Bruiser comes up for a distraction, allowing Young to hit him in the back with a chair. Post break, Lethal demands any kind of a match against Young and/or Bruiser.

Matt Taven vs. Jay Briscoe

Jay tries to jump him at the bell but actually loses a slugout. Vinny Marseglia busts out an ax to distract Jay (well that could do it) so Jay grabs a chair to even things out. Since that could cause a bad case of death, they head back inside with Jay splashing Taven in the corner and adding a big boot for good measure.

Taven slips out of….something and knees Jay in the face. That’s enough time to check himself out in the camera though and we take a break. Back with Raven bailing out on a frog splash and getting caught with a Death Valley Driver. Taven’s Disaster Kick sets up a Lionsault which hits raised knees, followed by Briscoe’s hard lariat for two.

Jay slugs him in the jaw but a Blue Thunder Bomb gives Taven two more. The Climax (1%er) is broken up so Jay kicks him outside for a suicide dive. Cue Marseglia to interfere but Briscoe cuts him off with a neckbreaker. Now TK O’Ryan gets pulled in as well but he takes off his cast and knocks Jay cold for the DQ at 11:42.

Rating: C. Oh joy, the Kingdom is back. It helps to shore up the Six Man Tag Team Titles but on the other hand, it helps to shore up the Six Man Tag Team Titles. The team does nothing for me but I’ll take them as a trio over random singles matches. Briscoe is still in a weird place as he seems to be teasing a heel turn a lot of the time and then he does a straight face match like this. I mean, it’s hard to be a heel when you’re down 3-1 and one guy has an ax.

Post match the Kingdom covers Jay with chairs and then crushes him with more chairs.  Bully Ray and Mark Briscoe are nowhere to be seen.

Cody is ready to face anyone for the ROH World Title.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Colt Cabana/Tempura Boyz vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys

Dalton and the Boys are defending. Colt and Dalton start things off and it’s time for some dancing, followed by the champs being sent to the floor for Colt’s own strut. That’s a bit too much comedy for me so we take a break. Back with the Boys bent over backwards to make themselves into a table. Dalton cleans house and then has a seat on them, allowing some much needed fanning up.

Back in and Dalton shakes his knees but Colt tags Sho in instead of having a dance off. It’s off to the Boys…..with one getting on the others shoulders. Sho does it to Yo and we’ve got a game of chicken. Thankfully Colt breaks it up to take over as this match is giving me a headache. Sho grabs a Fujiwara armbar but it’s Twin Magic for the save. Colt tries to make another switch but Sho does the same thing as this is what a championship match has turned into.

We take a second break and come back with the Boyz fanning Colt, allowing more Twin Magic to get one of the Boys out of trouble. The hot tag brings in Castle for some suplexes, including catching a diving Cabana. The Boys dive onto the Boyz and it’s Castle with the peacock strut. A double missile dropkick sets up another German suplex for two but the Boyz come in and take over without too much effort. The Boys pull the Boyz together though and a Bang a Rang ends Colt to retain the titles at 13:44.

Rating: D-. I can’t stand this kind of stuff as they’re just doing lame comedy and it’s for some of the most worthless titles in wrestling. The fact that this whole thing is all about “hey, I’ve got my own boys now” tells you all you need to know about it. Castle is far too talented and far too charismatic to be stuck in something like this. The Six Man Tag Team Titles need to die already, even if it ticks off Papa New Japan.

Post match Castle says Cabana has been an inspiration for a long time. Colt hasn’t made it easy to like him though as Cabana hasn’t accepted that Castle is just better. Now that it’s three straight wins for Castle, can he have Colt’s respect? Cabana shakes his hand to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. That main event killed what was an otherwise solid show. I’m probably not the audience for that kind of match but it just didn’t work for me. What also doesn’t work for me are these stand alone shows with nothing major in the way of storytelling. This is all about filling in time until we can get back to talking about the pay per view that was barely talked about in advance. Such is life in Ring of Honor, though it’s still rather annoying.

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Ring of Honor
Date: July 12, 2017
Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

Unless I’m missing it, there isn’t exactly anything huge set up for this show. Part of the problem with Ring of Honor is how little anything sticks out and that’s really being showcased here. So many shows feel like they stand alone instead of leading anywhere else, which isn’t the most interesting thing in the world. Let’s get to it.

Cody reminds us that he and Christopher Daniels brawled last week. Next week though, we have the rematch from Best in the World.

This is from Lowell, which would be after Best in the World. So did we see stuff from these tapings mixed with the Chicago tapings? It wouldn’t be the first time but it’s a bit confusing.

Opening sequence.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. Flip Gordon/Coast to Coast

Non-title. Castle freaks Flip out a bit with the chest thrust before stopping for some exercise. Everything breaks down for a big brawl and the announcers actually try to tell the Boys apart. The Boys both hit dives but Castle walks across the ring instead of diving, as Cabana knew would be the case.

Gordon kicks the Boys outside again, only to have Boy #2 cut him off with a hurricanrana. Now it’s Coast to Coast with their own dives until everyone but Gordon is on the floor, setting up a run up the corner into a springboard 450 to put everyone down. Back from a break with Boy #1 getting stomped in the corner and kicked in the head to give LSG (Leo St. Giovanni) two.

Gordon gets the same off a standing moonsault, followed by a Stroke/Flatliner combo. For no logical reason, Gordon and Coast to Coast yell at the crowd, allowing the Boys to switch places. The hot tag brings in Castle to clean house and catch Gordon in a German suplex. Everything breaks down and something like an F5 gets two on #1. LSG dives onto all three champs but gets suplexes for his efforts back inside. Bang a Rang puts LSG away at 11:18.

Rating: B-. This was a lot better than I was expecting with both teams looking great. The Boys have greatly improved and are actual wrestlers instead of just people who are there to fill in spots. Fun match here with the flips making sense and Castle being miles ahead of everyone else, which is exactly what he should have been.

We look back at Beer City Bruiser and Silas Young injuring Jay Lethal’s ribs.

Young is at the hospital Lethal spent the night at and promises that the war is far from over.

Ultimo Guerrero vs. Matt Taven

Feeling out process to start with Guerrero being sent into the corner and thankfully the announcers explain why these two started feuding in the first place. During the entrances they mentioned that it started in Mexico and they dropped the whole thing. Guerrero takes him to the mat but stops to yell at the Kingdom.

That means nothing as Taven gets clotheslined down for two but avoids a baseball slide. The Kingdom offers a distraction so Taven can take over but TK O’Ryan’s chop has no effect. Guerrero knocks Taven into the crowd and there’s a running dive for good measure. Back from a break with Guerrero down and Taven doing that smile of his.

Not that it matters as Guerrero comes right back with the slingshot Bronco Buster. A second attempt is countered into a Sharpshooter which doesn’t last all that long. Guerrero is right back up with a super gordbuster for two, only to have his reverse superplex broken up. Taven’s frog splash gets two but he grabs the referee and gets in a low blow. The Climax (arm trap bulldog driver) gives Taven the pin at 13:03.

Rating: C+. I still don’t care about the Kingdom or any of its members and I’m not wild on bringing in these legends and telling us to care about them because they’re famous elsewhere (which Guerrero certainly is). That being said, they did have a good match here and that’s what helps quite a bit, but not having Taven around would help even more.

The Young Bucks and Adam Page blame Bully Ray and the Briscoes for losing the Six Man Tag Team Titles before they had a chance to win them.

Silas Young says it’s been fifteen days without an accident but Lethal will never be safe no matter what. Did we really need to do this twice in one show?

Motor City Machine Guns vs. War Machine

Hanson and Sabin start things up with Chris’ modified Octopus Hold having as minimal effect as possible. Sabin gets thrown away and we have an early standoff. A double tag allows Rowe to Superman Punch Shelley as everything breaks down in a hurry. War Machine takes over and we take an early break. Back with Shelley in trouble in the corner as War Machine seems to be the de facto heels.

Hanson slams Rowe onto Shelley for two but Alex pops up and brings in Sabin as everything breaks down again. The Guns take over with the rapid fire offense, including double dives called Crossing the Streams. Back in and Rowe gets choked in the corner and more precision offense. Shelley misses a charge though and it’s back to Hanson for the running clotheslines in the corner.

Back from another break with Rowe throwing Hanson onto both Guns. A springboard clothesline into a German suplex gets two on Sabin but Fallout is broken up. Hanson suplexes both Guns down without much effort but an assisted standing Sliced Bread takes him down. Skull and Bones is broken up but Hanson misses a suicide dive and it’s time for the Guns to fire off the kicks. Sabin dives through Shelley’s legs to take Hanson down again and it’s Made in Detroit (powerbomb/Sliced Bread #2 combo) to put Rowe away at 14:13.

Rating: B. That’s the best Guns match I’ve seen in a long time as it felt like they were having a match instead of just doing all of their choreographed looking spots. War Machine is great as the power team which you don’t get around here too often. Good match here and that’s the kind of thing you can always go for.

Overall Rating: B. That’s one of the best episodes they’ve put together in a long time, despite me having issues caring about almost anyone on the show. They put on solid matches with the lower half of the roster and that makes for a pretty easy hour of wrestling to sit through.

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Ring of Honor
Date: February 22, 2017
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentator: Kevin Kelly

We’re finally ready for the end of the Decade of Excellence Tournament with Jay Briscoe vs. Christopher Daniels in what should be a pretty obvious ending based on the story they’ve been going with. Other than that there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing more Bullet Club because that’s how this place works. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap of course looks at the tournament, as it should.

Opening sequence.

Silas Young vs. Bull James

An early Beer City Bruiser distraction lets Silas get in a few early cheap shots but James puts his feet on Silas’ shoulders and pulls him out to the floor. That was supposed to be an ankle scissors but the lack of ANY grip around Silas’ head made it clear he was flipping himself. Another Bruiser distraction lets Silas hit a flip dive to take James down and we take a break.

Back with Young working on a cravate as the fans tell someone that they’re fat. It’s not a good sign when you can’t tell if they’re yelling at the face in the match or the heel manager. Bull makes his comeback with a Flip Flop and Fly followed by an elbow for two (you’re no Dusty Rhodes kid). James goes up but opts to run (work with me here) at the Bruiser for a tornado DDT off the apron instead. Back in and Misery puts James away at 7:48.

Rating: D-. Matt Borne told Bull James that he would make a million dollars in this business. I think this is proof that Borne wasn’t that bright. This is a rare match where all the good is on one guy and all the bad is on another. James is just big, slow and completely uninteresting. Young was doing what he could be he was limited by dealing with a horrible opponent.

Jay Briscoe was the first man to come through the curtain at a Ring of Honor show and it’s all about the numbers. It’s been fifteen years, ten years, eight time Tag Team Champion, three time World Champion or whatever. All that matters now is one, and that’s Christopher Daniels.

We look back at Bobby Fish’s rise to the main event, including winning Survival of the Fittest and then making Adam Cole tap last week. Those were just steps towards becoming World Champion because that’s the only thing that matters. No one works harder than he does and he promises to win the World Title on March 4. Fish has dominated every title he’s ever set his sight on and this will be no different. He gets in a good catchphrase with “Being Bobby Fish is good enough.”

Colt Cabana vs. The Boys

Yes this feud is still going. Before the match, Cabana laughs off the idea of Dalton Castle (on commentary here) thinking he’s the better man. Cabana: “I’m a legend!” Dalton names them #1 and #2 as the beating begins, despite the lack of an opening bell. Colt easily works them over until a double pose sends him outside. Back from a break (In this match?) with Cabana doing some Bionic Elbows and hiptossing #1 over the top for a big crash. Colt throws #1 into Dalton, hits the Chicago Skyline on #2 and grabs the Billy Goat’s Curse for the tap out at about 6:00. Not enough to rate but it was a long squash.

Daniels lists all of his accomplishments but none of them matter without winning the World Title. It is his destiny to win the title and it will cement him as the best instead of the best that never was.

Video on the history of the Top Prospect Tournament, which starts up next week.

Mark Briscoe and Frankie Kazarian come out for commentary on the main event. That’s a good idea actually.

Decade of Excellence Tournament Finals: Jay Briscoe vs. Christopher Daniels

The winner gets a World Title match at the Fifteenth Anniversary Show. Before the match, Daniels says Briscoe is the last obstacle between him and destiny. Briscoe says this isn’t personal at all. Feeling out process to start and both guys fail at an early finisher. Back from a break with Jay having to fight out of a headlock with the announcers keeping things calm.

Briscoe starts swinging and kicks Daniels in the face to take over as it seems he’s playing the default heel, though it’s not like the fans dislike either guy. Daniels gets in an STO and scores with a Lionsault for two. There’s a Koji Clutch (love that move) for a good bit until Jay makes the rope.

Angel’s Wings have to be broken up and Kazarian is quoting Karate Kid. Back from a second break with Jay hitting a suicide dive but getting caught with a springboard moonsault to put both guys down on the floor. The seconds both head to ringside and it’s a double crossbody to put both guys down inside. Double clotheslines have no effect so it’s time for a slugout. A quick Angel’s Wings gets two on Jay and frustration is setting in.

Jay is slow to get up but grabs the Death Valley Driver for a breather. Daniels misses the BME and gets his head taken off with a clothesline for two more. The drama is getting really strong here and the fans are split, as you might expect. With the Jay Driller not working, Jay takes him to the top but gets crotched for his efforts. A super Angel’s Wings is enough to give Daniels the tournament at 18:03.

Rating: B. Good, clean ending here and that’s all it should have been. This didn’t need to be an angle filled match because Daniels is going to be the mega face going into the title match and you don’t need some stupid cheating to get him there. I’m actually wanting to see Daniels win the title and that’s not something I expected. I’ve never been a big Daniels guy but they’ve nailed the story here and that’s what matters.

They shake hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. That main event was good but it’s not enough to make up for the rest of the show being such a disaster. It really is telling to see how horrible the rest of the show is compared to the one good thing they have going at the moment. Ring of Honor is a mess at the moment and I can’t imagine things getting much better anytime soon. We’re coming up on Wrestlemania season, which should be the biggest time of the year for any promotion, but there’s nothing even lukewarm right now around here and that’s a very bad sign.

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Ring of Honor
Date: February 15, 2017
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mark Briscoe

We’re still getting ready for the Fifteenth Anniversary Show and that means we’re still getting ready for the finals of the Decade of Excellence Tournament. The big story from last week is Donovan Dijak earning a TV Title shot against Champion Marty Scurll, which may or may not take place at the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

Cody Rhodes is sitting in a dark room smoking a cigar. He goes over some of his former gimmicks and asks if the world is ready for the American Nightmare.

Opening sequence.

Adam Page vs. Matt Sells

Page jumps him during the entrances and hits a Helluva Kick in the corner. A toss into the post sets up the Rite of Passage for the pin at 1:14. The match was such a squash that we cut to the commentary team twice in less than seventy five seconds and Page never took his jacket off.

Post match the rest of the Bullet Club comes out, including Cody as the big deal. Cody gets a huge face reaction from his hometown fans but rips on the crowd because this is such a garbage city. Ever since he moved in to the richer neighborhoods, Cody knew that he and his family were better than the rest of the people in the town. Right now though, he’d like to have Jay Lethal come out here for a chat. Cue Lethal who charges into the ring after some trash talk. Cue Bobby Fish to try and help (he and Lethal are teaming up tonight), followed by Alex Shelley, Lio Rush and Jay White for the real save as we take a break.

Jay Lethal/Bobby Fish vs. Adam Cole/Cody

This was scheduled for later but we’re doing it right now. Fish clotheslines Cody down to start as Kelly praises Mark for not jumping in and helping on the brawl. We head outside with the Club taking over on Fish as Lethal should be a bit more helpful than that. Cody suplexes Cole onto Fish for two and we hit the chinlock.

The beating takes us into a break but we come back with the illegal Lethal chopping Cole down. It’s not enough for the hot tag though as Cody dances a bit and stomps Fish back into the corner. Fish gets in an exploder suplex and there’s the hot tag to Lethal. Everything breaks down (as it always tends to do) and the Lethal Injection hits Cole….who isn’t legal.

There’s a Lethal Combination to Cole as Fish runs over Cody, putting all four down at the same time. Back from a second break with Lethal hitting the suicide shove on Cody, which even the announcers acknowledge didn’t have a ton of effect. Fish ducks a Shining Wizard and Cole taps to the kneebar at 14:02.

Rating: B-. The idea here was to set up Fish’s title shot in Manhattan and while I don’t buy Fish as having a prayer at winning there, this was as good of an idea as they could have used to set it up. Unfortunately the multiple breaks really cut things off here and there’s only so much you can do when such a large portion of the match is cut off like that.

Since this was the main event, Dalton Castle/the Boys vs. the Rebellion has been switched into its place. Therefore, Dalton wants to see some angry teeth from the Boys.

Mark Briscoe is ready to see his brother become #1 contender and win the title in Las Vegas.

Frankie Kazarian wants to see Daniels win because it’s Daniels’ last chance. One day Daniels is going to run out of tomorrows and the business is going to tell him it’s time to go. That’s what the business does and this is Daniels painting himself into a corner with his own blood. After this tournament, Daniels could either be at the peak of his career or he could be on his way out.

Quick hype for the Hardys vs. the Young Bucks. I still love the fact that there has been no mention of the Bucks going to TNA in this whole thing.

Mark Briscoe vs. Sal Rinauro

Kelly not knowing this match was coming was rather amusing. Sal dances to start and gets headlocked for his efforts. Mark sends him outside for the Blockbuster from the apron but Rinauro (who is a former Tag Team Champion but gets a LET’S GO JOBBER chant) grabs a Michinoku Driver for two. That just earns him a fisherman’s buster, followed by the Froggy Bow to give Mark the pin at 2:59.

Bobby Fish talks about how great of a tag team wrestler he was before ReDRagon broke up as both guys wanted to pursue singles careers. He made the TV Title important and now it’s no longer as important, at least until he decides to win it again. I’m assuming this was to hype up the Cole match but he never mentioned Cole or the title match.

Rebellion vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys

Beer City Bruiser and Silas Young are on commentary. King strikes a pose in front of Castle to start so we have the third dancing sequence of the show (kind of at least). Dalton gets chopped to officially get things going but he takes Kenny down with a waistlock for his efforts. Titus comes in for a staredown but it’s quickly off to one of the Boys (names would be appreciated). Unfortunately the match is ignored at this point because Beer City Bruiser is out of beer. King talks trash but here’s Colt Cabana with a six pack for the Bruiser.

Back with Bruiser drinking beer (just labeled “beer”) and Cabana taking his place on commentary. The beating of Boy #1 continues as the announcers argue over whether Cabana should go in and beat Castle up. Kelly calls them Boy #1 and Boy #2 (Cabana: “Boy oh boy.”) as #1 gets over and makes the hot tag to Castle. Dalton’s lifting German suplex gets two on King as everything breaks down. Castle hits back and forth running knees until he gets launched out to the floor. That leaves Boy #2 to take the Sky Splitter and the frog splash from Titus is good for the pin at 10:04.

Rating: D-. Where do I even begin? First of all: the Rebellion sucks and there’s no other way to put it. They’re not a good team and the wrestlers aren’t all that great but above all else the gimmick is just horrible. How many indy companies have something like that and how many of them are nothing compared to ROH? Other than that most of this match was set up to be a story about Cabana and the Bruiser instead of ANYTHING else. It had no business being the main event but for whatever reason, they switched this with a match that had actual star power and a decent story.

Overall Rating: D. What in the world is going on with this company right now? The World Title is barely a thing, the TV shows are all over the place, the big story is about waiting on a #1 contender and right now the big draw is bringing in a TNA team to face a team that would rather be in Japan.

When did Ring of Honor go flying off the rails like this? The show is a huge mess and I have no idea what the heck the point of this promotion is anymore. Right now it’s a big combination of everyone leaving and trying to throw things together with the leftover pieces. If an argument over who should be the co-commentator on the main event is the best story they’ve got, they’re in major trouble.

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Ring of Honor
Date: September 7, 2016
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

We’re finally back to the regular taping cycle though thankfully we had two strong stand alone shows in the weeks since the pay per view. The big story is Adam Cole winning the ROH World Title and bringing it to the Bullet Club, which is suddenly stronger than ever before around here. Let’s get to it.

We open with a package on Cole winning the title and being attacked by Kyle O’Reilly, likely setting up their showdown at Final Battle.

Opening sequence.

Here’s the Bullet Club for their big celebration. It’s Story Time With Adam Cole, who has delivered on his promise to become a two time ROH World Champion. He’s going to be champion as long as he wants but here’s Jay Lethal to disagree. Cole knows that Jay wants his rematch tonight but it’s the champ’s night off. If Lethal wants to fight later then that’s fine, but just remember the Bullet Club will be right there. Lethal isn’t worried though because he’s got friends of his own: Los Ingobernables de Japan. The big staredown takes us to a break.

A six man tag has been made for next week.

We look at what happened after last week’s show ended, with the Young Bucks beating Addiction down.

Here’s the Addiction at the announcers’ desk to say that footage was doctored.

Video on Punisher Martinez being the new heir to Kevin Sullivan’s evil.

Caprice Coleman vs. Dalton Castle

They actually start with a battle of the thumbs until Dalton single legs him down for two. We get the chest stick out followed by a BOO/YAY fight over a headlock. A running knee knocks Coleman off the corner and there’s a running kick to the head because wrestling is about running strikes these days. With Coleman in trouble, the rest of the Cabinet goes after the Boys and we get a four man ejection to take us to a break.

Back with the Boys still at ringside and Coleman being thrown off a suplex. Castle does a sweet bridge out of a rollup into the lifting German suplex but here’s the Cabinet to get on my nerves all over again. I love that the company’s boss is RIGHT THERE and this keeps happening. The Boys come in and dive onto the Cabinet, leaving Castle to hit the Bang A Rang for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: C-. Castle and the Boys are as different than the Cabinet as you can possibly be. I know that’s probably why they’re feuding but that doesn’t work when the major difference is one being entertaining and the other being an act that caused me to wait several days to sit through this show. Hopefully this wraps up soon.

Clips from the way too good Jay Briscoe vs. Jay White match that ended in a time limit draw.

Here’s the Addiction with a ladder to say they’ve beaten every team put in front of them. See, they’re at the top of this ladder and each rung is a team beneath them.

Bobby Fish is ready for his title defense against Katsuyori Shibata next week and suggests that Shibata just pay off the referee because he has no chance otherwise.

Donovan Dijak vs. Manny Lemos

Manny slaps Dijak in the face on the handshake and gets punched down for his disrespect. Dijak throws him to the floor, bring him back in, and finishes with Feast Your Eyes at 1:34. Total squash.

Post match Prince Nana says Dijak is coming for the winner of next week’s TV Title match.

The Briscoes can respect what Jay White did in their singles match but tonight it’s a tag team match and that’s their world.

Briscoe Brothers vs. Lio Rush/Jay White

Non-title. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll only refer to Jay Briscoe as Jay. Mark and Rush get things going with Lio snapping off a springboard hurricanrana. It’s already off to White but Jay crushes him with a splash in the corner. Back from a break with White DDTing Jay and tagging in Rush for his variety of kicks. That means it’s time for the first flip dive over the top to take Jay out, only to have Mark come back with the Blockbuster from the apron.

Back in and Rush gets thrown with a gutwrench suplex, followed by a regular suplex for two. As you might expect, more kicks allow the tag off to White to face Jay and you can feel the energy picking up. White scores with a missile dropkick for two and we take a second break. Back with Rush hitting a suicide dive to take Mark out, leaving White to cover Jay for two. The fans are actually accurate for once with their THIS IS AWESOME chants.

Mark grabs a fisherman’s buster for two on Lio and the kickout stuns him. A Shining Wizard catches Mark for two more and it’s time for the slugout between Jay and Lio. The Death Valley Driver into the Froggy Bow knocks Lio silly but White tackles Jay onto the cover for the save. The even bigger slugout goes to Jay but White slaps him in the face anyway. A double forearm from the Briscoes puts White on the floor and sets up a Doomsday Device to put Rush away at 18:41.

Rating: B+. I know he hasn’t won anything but this mini-feud has done more for White than almost any initial push that I’ve seen in a long time. It’s certainly better than having him win a tournament over a bunch of other unknowns and then having him lose to a singles champion. White has the goods and could be something special if he can talk.

We get the big handshake to really make the young guys look good.

Before we’re done, Nigel makes Addiction vs. Young Bucks vs. the Motor City Machine Guns in a ladder war at All Star Extravaganza. Addiction is treated as the heels here, which really should confirm the fact that the Bucks are faces despite acting like heels. The champs freak out backstage to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event easily carries this one and it was cool to see the focus on something other than the main event again. That being said, we’re less than three weeks away from the pay per view and I barely have any idea what we’ve got coming up other than a World Title match, a ladder match and some matches in the Six Man Tag Team Title tournament, which is likely a thing because they’re a big deal in New Japan. They need something more to fill in the card and I have a bad feeling it’s more New Japan to the rescue.

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

This is another show that’s only kind of related to the main stories but there’s a chance that we might get some new stuff this week. If nothing else there is a title match this week as the Addiction defends the Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks. Last week’s stand alone show was good so hopefully they can continue that trend here. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Shane Taylor/Keith Lee vs. War Machine

Grudge match between two big teams. Kelly finally explains the story as Ray Rowe trained Taylor but Taylor turned on him and decided he was ready to be part of the better team. That’s a story that is going to work every single time and it’s fine here. Thankfully they don’t even bother wrestling here as it’s a huge brawl with Hanson dives onto Taylor, only to have Lee land on his feet to counter a monkey flip. The brawl heads outside with Lee and Hanson both being sent into barricades. War Machine starts getting the better of it with Rowe slamming Hanson onto Lee for a good looking crash.

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.

Rating: B. This was the PERFECT way to book this match and I liked it more than I was expecting to. There was no reason to waste time with the regular tag stuff so they just had two teams beat the heck out of each other with one big power move after another. Sometimes you need to switch up the booking and go with what makes sense and that’s exactly what we got here.

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

Bob Evans is on commentary and here’s BJ Whitmer to sit in on commentary. The four guys in the ring do nothing interesting as we hear about BJ going around the world and eating a positive cookie. Starr dives onto Hughes and Evans and Daddiego throws Cheeseburger onto them as well. Hughes takes forever to give Cheeseburger a side slam as Whitmer keeps saying it’s almost time.

The lights go out and we’re told that the new Purple Haze is coming. Back in the ring and……PUNISHER MARTINEZ IS BACK! House is cleaned for the no contest at 4:12 though we didn’t see enough to rate. To be fair it was just background noise so Whitmer could bring out Martinez. I’m really happy with this guy being back but PLEASE don’t let this be about Kevin Sullivan.

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

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. Cabinet

Coleman throws the Boys around so it’s off to Castle for a chest thrust-off. Dalton sends him outside and then launches the Boys over the top onto the Cabinet, hopefully breaking some of the doors and handle off the thing so it goes away for a long time. Back from a break with Boy #1 (the announcers’ words) getting triple teamed. King snaps #1’s throat across the top and it’s time for some twin magic, despite the Boys having different hair styles. The hot tag brings in Castle and of course everything breaks down. King kicks a lot and superplexes #2 to set up a guillotine legdrop/frog splash combo for the pin at 9:28.

Rating: D. The Cabinet couldn’t be less interesting if their lives depended on it. They don’t even have characters for the most part and it’s just a single idea that is tied into pop culture. You would expect that from WWE instead of a “smarter” company like Ring of Honor. The wrestling was watchable enough but I have no reason to care about the Cabinet and the live fans didn’t seem impressed either.

Adam Cole is sick of Kyle O’Reilly and knows he’s better because of the two World Title reigns.

Tag Team Titles: Addiction vs. Young Bucks

Veda Scott is on commentary. Addiction is defending and wait for the Bucks in the aisle. Therefore, since the Bucks are the best team ever, they sneak up on the Addiction, apparently just knowing the champs would be doing that. Daniels gets dropkicked in the face as we’re waiting on the opening bell. Some tables are set up at ringside and it’s Kazarian clotheslining the Bucks down to get a breather. A ladder is brought in as Veda suggests she could represent Taven on commentary if he gets even more injured.

Back from a break and I guess the bell rang while we were gone. Daniels breaks up More Bang For Your Buck by sending Nick off the top and through a table, followed by Matt slingshotting into a cutter for a near fall. Veda talks about the Bucks never beating the Addiction and that horrible voice makes it clear why she’s rarely allowed to talk.

Daniels and Kazarian hit back to back to back to back Lionsaults and spinning legdrops for no cover as the heel champions wrestle like heels and the “heels” wrestle like the faces they really are. Matt finally flips off the top into a cutter of his own as the Bucks take over again. Nick’s Swanton hits knees (feet but close enough) but Matt springboards into a DDT onto the apron to knock Kazarian silly. Hey, did you know that’s the hardest part of the ring?

Daniels comes right back with a suicide dive but Angel’s Wings is broken up with, you guessed it, a superkick. Cue Kamaitachi for a distraction but the Motor City Machine Guns come out (WAY too fast) for the save, only to have Nick dive onto the Guns. In the melee, Sabin accidentally hits Matt with the chair to give Daniels the pin at 9:15.

Rating: C. I’m not a fan of either team but it’s not like the tag division exactly has a lot of options at the moment anyway. The match was a bit more reined in than most Bucks match and I’m glad that they’re not going with the Bullet Club holding all of the titles at once, at least not so soon. I still have no idea why I’m supposed to care about Kamaitachi other than he has something to do with New Japan and they’re amazing or something.

Kevin Kelly calls this a travesty after talking about how the Bucks break the rules all the time. I’m not even going to bother complaining about it this time as you’ve heard it before.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked the opener and the booking of the main event was a nice plus so we can kind of overlook the boring Cabinet match. It also helps that the expectations are a bit lower because it’s not a regular show with major storyline development, leaving us with just the wrestling to carry things. Good enough show here as ROH is getting a lot more steady, which is a really important step.

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Ring of Honor
Date: April 13, 2016
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling 3

It’s a very big show this week with the Tag Team Titles on the line, a major star from New Japan making an appearance and a Fight Without Honor for the first time ever on ROH TV. I know these staggered shows get annoying but they’ve actually got a big card here and that’s a rare sight on an hour long TV show. Let’s get to it.

Tag Team Titles: War Machine vs. Roppangi Vice

Vice (Trent Barreta and Rocky Romero) is challenging and knocks Hansen and Rowe off the apron before the bell. Rowe says ring the bell but gets beaten down in the corner to start. A standing moonsault doesn’t have much effect though and it’s Hansen back in for rights and lefts of his own. Romero is kicked out to the floor as Wrestling 3 tells stories of “joysting” (not jousting but joysting), whatever that is.

We take a break and come back with Hansen taking Rowe’s shotgun knees by mistake, followed by Romero kicking Rowe in the face. A quick Superman punch puts Romero down but Trent dropkicks both champs down to save his partner in a nice spot. Two double knees to the face drops Hansen but War Machine gets tired of these pests and lifts them up for powerbombs, only to slam the challengers into each other. That’s a new one. The Path of Resistance is broken up though as Romero hurricanranas Hansen down. A flip dive is countered into an apron bomb though and Fallout puts Romero away at 9:56.

Rating: C+. This was fine despite me not being a big fan of Barreta and Romero. There wasn’t much of a surprise here as they had been setting up the Briscoes challenging for the titles over the last few weeks but at least we had something other than a squash to get us there. Nice little match here.

Prince Nana brings out Donovan Dijak, in a Jay Lethal shirt, for something to say. Let’s get right to it with the envelopes: you’re not going to find out because you don’t need to know. Nana talks about how Dijak is enlightened while Donovan talks about being tired of spending the last year guarding Jay Lethal. This brings out Lethal for a brawl that security has to break up.

Dalton Castle says his goal is different again tonight because this time he wants to hurt Silas Young.

ACH vs. Kenny Omega

Omega, whose Intercontinental Title isn’t on the line here, is the head of the Bullet Club in New Japan and he has some awesome entrance music. Kenny is called the Cleaner so of course he comes out with a broom, along with the Young Bucks. As expected, the fans are almost entirely behind Omega.

Feeling out process to start with ACH doing all his flips as the announcers explain the latest issues in New Japan. An elbow to the head drops Omega and a dropkick puts him out on the floor. Naturally the numbers become an issue though as Omega distracts the referee, allowing a superkick to put ACH down. In a funny bit, Matt throws out a banana peel to offer an explanation.

We take a break (and get a promo from Adam Cole about how he created the Kingdom, meaning Matt Taven has no right to reform the team) and come back with ACH holding Omega in a headlock, only to be countered into what looked like a one man More Bang For Your Buck. That goes nowhere and ACH gets up a boot in the corner, followed by another kick to the face to put Omega on the floor.

The Jordan dive takes out the Bucks and Omega to a nice reaction as it’s not all Omega fans for a bit of a surprise. Back in and a top rope double stomp to the back gets two on Kenny and a brainbuster is good for the same. A 450 misses though and Omega gets in a hard knee to the ribs to take over. ACH comes back again and gets in a Stunner, giving us a Rock style sell job. The Midnight Star misses though and the One Winged Angel (electric chair into a forward piledriver) puts ACH away at 13:31.

Rating: B. I’m not a fan of ACH but this was pretty easily his best Ring of Honor match to date. I’ve heard a lot of great things about Omega over the last few months and he was definitely entertaining here but not quite as great as he’s been made out to be. I can go for ACH far more easily if he’s acting like a wrestler instead of a guy doing scripted out flips.

Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young

Fight Without Honor, basically meaning street fight. Castle has the Boys with him but they go to the back before he hits the ring. That’s the right idea for something like this. The fans are behind Castle as he clotheslines Silas to the floor while the streamers are still all over the ring. A suicide dive takes Young out again but Castle misses a running knee on the apron and gets shoved out to the floor. This hasn’t gotten violent yet but you can feel a different vibe.

Back up and Castle chops the post by mistake to give Young his first target. Castle tries another chop but fakes Young out and sends him into the barricade for a smart move. We take a break and come back with Young setting up a table on the floor to go with the ladder already in the ring. Neither of those are good enough for him though as he powerbombs Castle onto two open chairs instead.

A slingshot elbow gets two on Dalton and it’s time for some simple choking. For some reason Young lets him loose though and tries his slingshot moonsault but only hits ladder. They slug it out from their knees and then their feet with Castle getting the better of it until Young grabs a cutter for two. Misery gets the same so it’s time for a trashcan lid and some yelling on the mic.

Silas wishes the Boys were out here to see this beating so here they come, only to have one of them jump on Young’s back. That ticks Castle off all over again but he misses a running knee to send him outside. The Boys take a suicide dive to protect Dalton, who slides into the ring for a hurricanrana to send Young onto the floor again.

Back in and the Bang A Rang is countered so Dalton throws him over the top and down through the table for a YOU JUST KILLED HIM chant. Somehow that only gets two, followed by Silas hitting him low for the same. Not that it matters as the Bang A Rang onto the chairs gives Dalton the pin at 16:42.

Rating: B. This would have been a lot better if it had happened back in say……December. It was a good brawl and a very strong win for Castle but this story went on WAY too long to have the impact they were going for. I still like the feud and it’s a good blowoff match this could have been so much more if they had done it a long time ago.

Overall Rating: A-. A one hour show having two strong matches is about as easy of a layup as you’re going to get. This was the first time in a long time that a show felt like something big and a lot of that is due to how much time they spent building up Young vs. Castle. No they didn’t have amazing promos that made me want to see it, but just saying “it’s in three weeks” made me want to see where the match was going. You don’t get that in most promotions and it was a really nice change of pace which wound up working. Well done ROH, which isn’t something I’ve been able to say lately.

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Ring of Honor
Date: March 2, 2016
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 675
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling III

We’re officially in one of those weird periods where the pay per view has passed but we’re still not done with the old taping cycle so this will be a lot of stuff that has nothing to do with the Anniversary Show or its fallout. We do however had a big match with Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser vs. Dalton Castle’s Boys. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser vs. The Boys

The Boys are Brent and Brandon (named a few weeks back but not mentioned here). Before the match, Dalton Castle sneaks in from behind and gets in a few cheap shots on Young and Bruiser but the Boys stand back and let them regroup on the floor. Great, so now they’re mad. Castle is escorted out and we get down to a regular match. Before the action starts, Young rips on the Boys for failing every task he gave them. There is no fairy tale ending tonight though and Young is so confident he and Bruiser will win that he’ll put his career on the line in this match.

We get a second bell so I’m not sure if the match just started or if we’re two minutes in. Bruiser starts with we’ll say Brent as the announcers preview the show and ignore the match. Brent can’t do a thing with Bruiser so it’s off to Brandon for a double clothesline. That goes nowhere either so it’s a double Eat Defeat to stagger the big man. Bruiser smacks Brent down and we take a break. Back with Brent flipping out of a rollup and bulldogging Young down. The hot tag brings in Brandon and everything breaks down with Bruiser getting DDT’ed for two.

Young catches Brandon in the DDT into the bottom buckle but Bruiser’s top rope splash is countered with….well it was supposed to be a cutter but looked more like a jumping uppercut. Either way it only gets two, followed by Brent flipping off Brandon’s shoulders to take both guys down at once. Brandon follows with a big moonsault and a faceplant gets two on Young. Not that it matters as the Bruiser comes back in and crushes both Boys in the corner with a Cannonball, giving Silas the pin at 8:30.

Rating: C+. It’s the power vs. speed dynamic working again, as if there was any doubt it was going to. The Boys looked like any given jobber team coming into this but they wound up being a surprisingly decent high flying team. I’m not sure how long they can have the Boys as valets when it’s clear they can wrestle well enough but the Castle character has evolved well so far so hopefully the trend continues.

Dalton tries to run in post match but gets taken out as well.

Adam Cole is ready for Matt Sydal tonight.

Top Prospect Tournament Semi-Finals: Brian Fury vs. Action Ortiz

Ortiz takes him down to start and runs the smaller (though still good sized) Fury over, knocking him out to the floor. A big flip dive over the top crushes Fury (or at least his shoulder as Ortiz didn’t make perfect contact) for two back inside. Brian dropkicks the knee out and Ortiz is in trouble for a bit, only to come back with some right hands to the jaw. Another right hand drops Fury but he raises his boot on the way down for an “accidental” low blow. A sitout Sky High gives Fury the pin to advance at 4:05.

Rating: D+. Fury, who reminds me of Test (in a good way), was the better option here as Ortiz is really just an update on Bam Bam Bigelow. This whole tournament is kind of hard to get a handle on as the characters are being built from the ground up, which is a very tricky move to pull off. The match wasn’t the best in the world either as Ortiz was yet another big guy who can fly while Fury is a fairly generic guy with some decent power. Fury isn’t much but I liked him a lot better than Ortiz.

Fury doesn’t care who is in the finals with him because he hasn’t shown us anything yet.

Top Prospect Tournament Semi-Finals: Lio Rush vs. Punisher Martinez

Martinez has impressed me more than anyone else in this tournament and definitely has a presence about him. Lio slugs away to start and has to escape from the sitout chokeslam. Punisher misses a running big boot and they head outside with Lio getting in a running kick to the chest to drop Martinez for the first time. A springboard is quickly countered as Lio gets caught in a jawbreaker and the beating is on.

Lio rolls back out to the floor, only to have Punisher dive over the top for a great looking plancha. It would have looked even better if it had come close but at least it was a great dive. The apron Last Ride is escaped but Rush jumps up to the apron for a springboard into a tornado DDT (because everyone gets to use the tornado DDT) onto the floor. Back in and Punisher shrugs it off (granted it wasn’t much of a DDT) to set up a super chokeslam, but Lio counters into something resembling a C4 (landing on his own head in the process) for the pin at 6:04.

Rating: C. So much for Punisher getting to show off. I mean, we have ACH Jr. and that’s what matters around here. For the life of me I do not get the appeal of Rush while Martinez is a monster with a great look. Hopefully he gets hired by someone soon because I had a good time watching him. There’s a future for him either on his own or as a bodyguard and it should be awesome.

During the pin, you can see A LOT of empty seats opposite the camera. That’s a rare slip up from ROH.

Rush (who sounds like a Briscoe) is ready for the finals.

Matt Sydal vs. Adam Cole

Feeling out process to start as they have a lot of time to spend here. Cole takes him into the corner but Sydal trips him up and grabs an Indian Deathlock with a chinlock. The bridging forces Sydal to break the hold after a few seconds though and Cole takes over with a jawbreaker. Sydal gets shoved off the top for a big crash onto the apron and it’s time for Cole to take over. We hit the chinlock for a bit before taking an early break.

Back with Cole walking into an enziguri, followed by a standing moonsault for two. Sydal tries to fly around too much though and dives into Cole’s arms, allowing Adam to slam him into the apron and take over again. A Shining Wizard gets two on Matt but he hurricanranas Cole off the ropes to break up a Canadian Destroyer. Cole shrugs that off as well and grabs the Figure Four but it’s countered as fast as any other Figure Four. Back up again and Cole scores with two straight superkicks so Sydal takes him down with a reverse hurricanrana. The Shooting Star puts Cole away at 12:30.

Rating: B-. The match was fun and they’re setting up Sydal for his big house show title match, though I would have liked it to be against someone a little less important than Cole. It was entertaining though and a very ROH style match which isn’t exactly my thing most of the time but at least Cole looked awesome. Sydal as a house show challenger is fine enough but there are too many people who wrestle that style on the roster at the moment.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling helped make up for the mostly non-existent storyline advancement. That’s the thing you have to get used to in Ring of Honor though and I can’t really say I’m surprised. These stand alone shows are very hit or miss most of the time so this could have been a lot worse and the mostly decent wrestling helped get them through the hour.

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

Final Battle is rapidly approaching and last week saw the first real build towards AJ Styles vs. Jay Lethal for the ROH World Title. The rest of the show is starting to come together and it’s looking like a good show. We still have two shows left before the pay per view but the syndicated schedule could cause problems with the second episode. Let’s get to it.

Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser vs. ReDRagon

The Bruiser shoves Fish down to start so Bobby asks for a test of strength. As you might expect, that earns Bruiser a kick to the ribs, followed by a right hand to Fish’s jaw. Kyle (sweet goodness that is a pale man) tags himself in for some tandem kicks to Bruiser. Not wanting to feel left out, Silas tries to come in but gets both arms worked over.

With his limbs hurting, Silas goes to the eyes to take over and brings Bruiser back in for a right hand to the jaw. Bruiser’s running Umaga attack sets up a Broski Boot for two on Kyle and here’s Adam Cole to sit in on commentary. Back from a break with Kyle’s comeback being stopped again. Silas takes him into the corner (showing off the really old looking ring ropes) but Kyle avoids a charge and sweeps Bruiser’s leg for the hot tag.

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

Kyle has to kick a Boy down and dive onto Bruiser but the distraction means Misery only gets two on Fish. A Samoan drop puts Silas down and it’s a double tag to Kyle and the Bruiser. Kyle grabs a guillotine choke on Bruiser for a long time until he reaches the ropes, only to leave Silas to take a beating. Chasing the Dragon puts Bruiser away at 12:10.

Rating: B-. As usual, the tag division is the best part of ROH as they continue to have good match after good match. Well at least entertaining match after entertaining match but I’ll take what I can get. The Bruiser is a lot less worthless than I thought he was going to be when I first saw him, though that’s not really covering a lot of ground.

Cole and O’Reilly almost get in a fight after the match.

Silas orders the Boys to beat up the referee and they don’t seem to mind complying. The villains leave but here’s Dalton Castle to say Silas has something that belongs to him. Bruiser goes after Castle but gets knocked out by a microphone shot. The Boys tease getting in but walk away, nearly bringing Castle to tears.

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

TV Title: Roderick Strong vs. Samson Walker

Strong is defending, Walker is a good sized power guy and Bobby Fish, the #1 contender to the title, is on commentary. Walker shoves him around to start so Strong fires off a leg lariat to stagger the big man. It’s out to the floor with Strong’s back being driven into the post and the fans chant SEXUAL CHOCOLATE. We hit the kneeling bearhug on the champ, followed by a nice spinebuster for two. There go the straps (drawing gasps from the crowd) but Roderick nails a dropkick. Fish grabs the title and sits back down as Strong hits the running knee and the Sick Kick to retain at 5:37.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here but it’s always a plus to have the champ get a win like this where he wasn’t in much danger in the first place. Fish isn’t the most interesting challenger in the world but the fans love him and the match should be fun so it’s kind of hard to complain.

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

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

Briscoe Brothers vs. Young Bucks

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

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

Jay dives onto both Bucks and everyone is down. The Bucks tell Jay to suck it because the Bullet Club is turning the NWO/DX into a goofy comedy bit and the ROH fans eat it up due to irony or whatever, only to have the Briscoes take over again. Matt flips out of a Doomsday Device because he’s no selling a top rope clothesline from Mark. A double superkick and the Indytaker set up More Bang For Your Buck for the pin on Mark at 11:20.

Rating: C+. This was much better suited to the ROH style but I liked the first tag match, which was a much more traditional power vs. speed match. It doesn’t help that I still don’t care for the Bucks. I get the idea behind them (“WE’RE DOING STUFF THAT MAKES US LOOK LIKE INDY WRESTLERS!”) but it still doesn’t do it for me. The Briscoes are fine and the match was good, but the Bucks are just not for me in the slightest.

The Express gets in the ring and it’s a big three team brawl with security failing to break it up to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, ROH is nailing it going into the biggest show of the year. The only major problem I have with them is they have so much stuff going on and the matches getting this much time means you don’t get a touch on every program each week and I forget where things are going at times. Tweak that and this is up there with NXT for best wrestling show of the week.

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