Ring of Honor
Date: April 12, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Kevin Kelly

I’m not even going to pretend that I know what’s going on at the moment. I know we’re past the Anniversary Show but I’d assume we’re not up to Supercard of Honor yet, despite it taking place nearly two weeks ago. All I know is we’ll still be seeing Top Prospect Tournament stuff because that thing just won’t end. Let’s get to it.

The Briscoe Brothers take us back to Manhattan Mayhem where Bully Ray saved them from a Bullet Club beatdown. Tonight they’re going after the Six Man Tag Team Titles.

Opening sequence.

Punishment Martinez vs. Hanson

Martinez is now completely on his own, which should be a better fit for him. Hanson blocks a spinning kick to the face to start and sends Marintez to the floor for a suicide dive. A ram into the post sets up a Whoopee Cushion from the ramp to really have Martinez reeling. Back inside and Martinez runs him over in the corner before hitting a spring Swanton of all things.

We take a break and come back with Hanson winning a fight over a suplex. Martinez is laid on the top rope for some forearms (think Sheamus’ ten forearms) but one heck of a right hand puts Hanson outside. Since Martinez is an athletic freak, we hit the Taker Dive over the corner, followed by a top rope spinwheel kick for two (should have been the finish).

A chokeslam doesn’t work though and Hanson gets two off a powerslam. Hanson’s own spinning kick gets two and as you might expect, it doesn’t mean as much after Martinez’s huge one earlier. Cue Davey Boy Smith Jr. for a distraction though, allowing Martinez to avoid a moonsault. The sitout chokeslam ends Hanson at 8:45.

Rating: B-. Martinez is the kind of guy that ROH needs to push as he’s a bit different than the run of the mill guys you see around here so often. Hanson wasn’t bad and I’m glad they’re letting War Machine do their own things as there’s only so much they can do in the tag division. Hopefully Smith sticks around too as he’s an entertaining guy. Good opener here and the right guy won.

We look back at TK O’Ryan breaking his leg at the 15^th Anniversary Show.

Hangman Page attacked Kazarian in the parking lot earlier this week.

Top Prospect Tournament Semifinals: Curt Stallion vs. John Skyler

From Manhattan Mayhem as we flash back to March 4. A lockup goes nowhere to start as I’m going to have a hard time telling these guys apart. Stallion rolls through a sunset flip and hits a jumping double stomp while shouting YOU’RE STUPID. So he’s the heel here. Fine enough and at least there’s something to set them apart. They head outside with one heck of a dive sending Skyler into the barricade and us to a break.

Back with Skyler getting two off a backsplash and grabbing a chinlock. Skyler gets two off a tiger bomb but stops to spit at him. Stallion is all fired up and no sells a German suplex before grabbing one of his own for two. Some running knees in the corner get two and Stallion no sells a superkick. Skyler gets two off a slingshot spear through the ropes, only to get caught in White Noise onto the knee for the good near fall. Stallion loads up something on the top, only to get caught in Southern Salvation (the middle rope Regal Roll) for the pin at 10:14.

Rating: B. I liked the match more than I was expecting to but I’m REALLY sick of this tournament. For some reason we’ve been stuck watching a match a week so the tournament has to drag on for nearly two months. It’s been getting better but I’m WAY past the point of being interested in anyone involved with the whole thing.

Adam Cole has recorded a video for the Young Bucks, asking for things to go back to the way they were.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Bully Ray/Briscoe Brothers vs. Kingdom

Kingdom is defending and have Silas Young replacing the injured O’Ryan. The champs bicker before the match so Bully asks if they know who the three of them are. The fight is on in a hurry with Taven taking the worst of it in the for of a hard clothesline to the floor. Back from a break with Bully hitting those loud chops to Marseglia’s chest. Mark comes in to keep up the beating, followed by a facewash from Jay. The other champs finally get it together and crotch Jay against the post to take over for the first time.

Marseglia and Taven choke in the corner, followed by Young dropping a knee for two. Taven gets the same off a top rope elbow with Mark making the save. We take a second break and come back with Mark cleaning house. A cheap shot from the apron slows him down though and it’s time for the champs to argue again. The distraction allows the hot tag to Bully, who hits a quick triple 3D on Vinny for the pin at 10:41.

Rating: C+. That’s the right call as the Kingdom wasn’t doing anything at full strength so getting the titles off a weakened version was almost a requirement. Bully and the Briscoes are a more entertaining option but they still don’t solve the issue of there not being enough teams to warrant the titles in the first place. At least they got the booking right here.

Overall Rating: C+. That’s one of the better shows they’ve done in a good while, assuming you can ignore the ridiculous scheduling issues. We’re just now setting up the finals of an eight man tournament that started two months ago. I have no idea when the finals are going to air but I’m not sure why I’m supposed to care at this point. ROH tries to do WAY too much with one hour a week, especially when they have so many throwaway episodes. At least something happened this week, which makes things a bit better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Ring of Honor
Date: April 5, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Kevin Kelly

We’re past Supercard of Honor and if we’re lucky we’ll hear about it in a few weeks. The big story at the moment seems to be Adam Cole having issues with the Bullet Club as he’s been on a losing streak as of late. That sounds like fuel for a face turn or a way to get to NXT. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

We open with bonus footage from after last week’s show. Adam Cole asked the Young Bucks to get in the ring because he’s disappointed in them. They left him alone at the Fifteenth Anniversary Show and he lost the title as a result. Then they superkicked him in the face and cost him a match tonight. Cole fires both of them from the Bullet Club but the Bucks say they brought him in. They remind Cole that Kenny Omega leave the Bullet Club and walk out.

Cole is furious about losing the title. He can live with losing the belt in a fair contest but he lost in a 2-1 situation. Not that it matters as he’s won the title three times and he’ll do it again.

Ray Rowe vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Davey hits him in the knee to start and we get a bell while the beating is going on. Ray is in early trouble as Davey wraps the knee around the post, only to get punched in the face for his efforts. The knee is dropped onto a table though and you get a rare shot of hardwood floors in the arena. I don’t remember seeing that very often but it’s a unique look.

A Hartbreaker around the post has Ray screaming as we go to a break. Back with Rowe punching him in the face again but the knee gives out on a suplex attempt. An STF makes the knee even worse until Rowe makes the ropes. Davey switches to a reverse Muta Lock before missing a charge in the corner.

Rowe uses the shotgun knees in the corner despite the injury but he didn’t get a running start and stays down after hitting them. A German suplex drops Davey again but Rowe wrenches his knee again. Davey’s Batista Bomb gets two more, only to have Rowe knee him in the face. A full nelson slam into a knee to the back (Death Rowe) is good for the pin on Davey at 11:04.

Rating: B-. I liked this way more than I was expecting to and I’m really surprised at how much better Davey really was since the last time I saw him. I’m not sure I get having him lose here (assuming this wasn’t a one off appearance) as he dominated the match until losing to a few knee strikes at the end. Good match though.

Marty Scurll says he’ll beat Kenny King.

Kenny says he’ll win.

Top Prospect Tournament Semifinals: Brian Milonas vs. Josh Woods

Sweet goodness END THIS TOURNAMENT ALREADY. This is from Manhattan Mayhem. Milonas is the huge guy and Woods is the submission specialist. Woods goes for the leg but can only drive Milonas into the corner for almost no avail. With that not working, Josh grabs an arm hold around the ropes but of course it has to be broken in a hurry. Milonas gets in a major side slam and we take a break.

Back with Milonas using standard huge man offense, including the fat man elbow. A knee to the head finally staggers the big man and an armbar has Milonas in trouble. That goes nowhere so Milonas sits on him in the corner. Since that’s not the best offense in the world, Woods knees and kicks him down again for two with Brian grabbing the ropes. That weird falling splash gets two on Woods but he comes back with a German suplex for the same. A kneebar finally makes Milonas tap at 9:28.

Rating: D. This just kept going with the same story throughout: Milonas is huge but Woods is a good striker and kept cutting him down. It’s not the worst match I’ve ever seen but sweet goodness it took forever to get to the end. Woods is definitely the right call and while Milonas isn’t horrible, he ran out of things to do in a hurry.

We see stills of Bully Ray debuting to join forces with the Briscoes.

The Briscoes talk about teaming up with their childhood hero to challenge for the Six Man Tag Team Titles.

Kazarian won a #1 contenders match for a shot at the TV Title. Later that night, he helped Christopher Daniels win the World Title for the first time ever.

TV Title: Marty Scurll vs. Kenny King

Scurll is defending and Kazarian is on commentary. After some big match intros, it’s time to hit the mat with no one getting anywhere. They fight over wristlocks instead with Scurll spinning out and posing to take us to a break. Back with King grabbing a headlock on the mat, which goes as far as anything else has so far.

King snaps him throat first across the top but Marty pops back up for a superkick from the apron. Back in and Scurll starts going after the arm with a few twists. A kneedrop onto the arm gets two and it’s off to a double arm choke. King reverses into one of his own before getting in one heck of a near fall for two. We take another break and come back with Scurll getting two off a brainbuster.

A piledriver gets the same as Marty is now working on the neck. That’s very smart to set up the chickenwing. Scurll heads up top but gets stunned by a dropkick. They head outside with King hitting a charge up against the barricade, followed by a Blockbuster for a close two back inside. Not that it matters as Scurll pops the finger and gets the chickenwing to retain at 13:17.

Rating: B-. This should have been better but it felt like we were waiting around for the chickenwing. That’s perfectly fine as Scurll is a really solid choice for the championship right now, though I could go for more character stuff from him. Other than breaking the fingers and his entrance, there isn’t a lot of villany in him. Good match though, with King wrestling a bit better than usual.

Overall Rating: B-. If you can get around the fact that this has NOTHING to do with the pay per view storylines and accept that we won’t pick them up again for a good two or three weeks, you can really enjoy this episode. I really don’t get why Ring of Honor can’t get this right somehow. They tape enough TV to make it work but the scheduling is ridiculous. Does it really take that long to turn around an hour of TV? Just figure out something other than this as I have no idea when this is supposed to take place as we’re a few days past a show where a team is defending titles they haven’t even won yet on TV. Fix this stuff already!

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Ring of Honor
Date: March 22, 2017
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentator: Ian Riccaboni

We’re at….I have no idea where we are on the calendar at this point as we’re done with the 15^th Anniversary Show but we’re also coming up on Supercard of Honor XI, meaning it’s almost impossible to tell where this show fits in. It’s the nature of the ROH beast though and it’s really never going to get better. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

We see a graphic for the Young Bucks defending the Tag Team Titles against the Hardys at Supercard of Honor. WE’RE NOT EVEN TO MANHATTAN MAYHEM YET??? Good grief GET THIS STUFF RIGHT ALREADY!

Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young vs. Cheeseburger/Will Ferrara

Before the match, Young and Bruiser confirm that they have a partner for the April 1 shot at the Six Man Tag Team Titles. Cheeseburger gets flattened with a powerbomb to start before a suplex and low clothesline drop Ferrara. The wrestling sandwich dives back in though and sends his partner into Silas to get a breather. The villains tease sending Cheeseburger over for a tag before grabbing him in a swinging Boss Man Slam backbreaker. Not bad.

Bruiser misses his Cannonball and the hot tag brings in Will for the real house cleaning. That means heel miscommunication (of course it does) and a jumping Downward Spiral gives Ferrara two on Young. For some reason Will tries to slam the huge Bruiser, allowing Silas to get in a clothesline. Bruiser misses a Cannonball off the apron though, allowing Silas to take the palm strike for two with Bruiser making a diving save. Ferrara’s luck runs out though as Young grabs a cutter, followed by Bruiser’s frog splash for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C. That’s Bruiser’s best match ever which isn’t that much of a surprise given how worthless he is most of the time. Young continues to look good but I’m really not interested in seeing him wasting time with the Bruiser. Ferrara and Cheeseburger were your normal small team and that’s always going to work if they can get the fans behind them. Nice little match.

Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Josh Woods vs. Chris Lerusso

Brutal Bob Evans and Silas Young join commentary. Woods is an amateur wrestler who takes Chris to the mat to start but can’t get a cross armbreaker. A kneebar doesn’t work as well as Chris gets in a dropkick to take over. Some right hands have Woods in trouble and it’s off to a bodyscissors as the mat/submission work continues. Back up and they slug it out until something like a t-bone suplex gets two on Lerusso. Woods tells him to bring it and gets a low superkick for his efforts. That’s enough for Josh as he kicks Lerusso down and hammers away until the referee stops it at 5:31.

Rating: C+. Match of the tournament here by about 843 miles with Woods looking great and Lerusso being more than acceptable. Woods wrestles an MMA style and it sets him apart from the rest of this mostly horrible tournament. Just let us have something unique instead of the same stuff over and over again. I really don’t know why that’s so much to ask for in this tournament.

Jay Briscoe isn’t worried about Jay White because he’ll finish him quick. This is the same promo from last week.

Quick look at Lio Rush’s issues with the Rebellion.

Lio Rush vs. Kenny King

Chris Sabin and is the new commentary partner. They hit the mat to start with neither being able to hold a headscissors. King misses a bunch of strikes which Rush hits with ease, followed by a jumping enziguri for two. Rush sends him outside for a dive but Kenny breaks up a dive with a kick as we take a break.

Back with Lio slugging away and hitting a Tajiri handspring elbow. Two straight suicide dives keep King in trouble but he rolls through a high crossbody, only to get taken down by a reverse hurricanrana. The frog splash is only good for two (thankfully, as that would have been two of them in three matches). King misses running knees in the corner though and a second frog splash misses. Kenny grabs the Royal Flush for the pin at 8:17.

Rating: C. It’s amazing how much better Rush is now that ACH is gone. They were way too similar to really need both of them around but word on the street is that Rush is gone too. There are always going to be high fliers around though and as much potential as people saw in Rush, I don’t exactly see him as irreplaceable.

Post match Caprice Coleman stares Rush down but Shane Taylor comes out for the save. As you might expect, that lasts all of thirty seconds before Taylor lays him out to join the Rebellion. This stable DOES NOT NEED new members!

Jay White vs. Jay Briscoe

Mark Briscoe is on commentary and this is a rematch from their great time limit draw a few months back. White dropkicks him into the corner to start and then sends Briscoe outside for some elbows up against the barricade. Briscoe is done with this defense thing and grabs a hurricanrana, followed by a suicide dive into the barricade for a big crash.

Back from a break with Briscoe grabbing a snap suplex as we talk about Jay Lethal. Even Mark seems to getting lost with all the Jay’s. Headbutts and forearms have White reeling and his comeback is cut off by a hard DDT. We come back from a second break with White nailing a running forearm. A missile dropkick and spinning Rock Bottom have Briscoe reeling into a Crossface.

White makes it even worse with something like Rings of Saturn, sending Briscoe’s boot over to the ropes for the save. Briscoe comes right back with a neckbreaker for two but the Jay Driller is countered into a suplex to the corner. Mark is doing a good job on commentary here as he started off very confident and is getting nervous on the kickouts. That’s a nice touch. White goes up but gets crotched down and sent through a table.

Back in and Briscoe no sells a half nelson suplex, only to have White no sell back to back big boots. That’s too far for Briscoe who plants him with a Death Valley Driver for a rare one count. They slug it out from their knees (how the first match ended) with Briscoe getting the better of it. Briscoe finally has enough though and BLASTS him with a discus lariat for the pin at 16:48.

Rating: B. White is good and these two matches have done a great job of making you believe that he can hang with someone much higher up the ladder like Briscoe. ROH takes way too long to build up new stars sometimes so this was quite the change of pace, which is certainly a good thing. Awesome match here as these two have some wicked chemistry.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t looking like the best show on paper but the main event really pulled it out. Ring of Honor shows tend to take its time to really get the juices flowing at times, which is exactly what happened on this show. It’s an entertaining one though and the main event really helped bring it up. Sometimes that’s what one match can do and the company needed it after some of the boring stuff they’ve been doing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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Ring of Honor
Date: March 8, 2017
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentator: Ian Riccabani

Officially this is the go home show for the Fifteenth Anniversary Show but it’s hard to really imagine how the schedule is going to go based on how ridiculous some of these tapings go. We’re likely going to hear about the pay per view but also the Top Prospect Tournament, which continues to not do much for me. Let’s get to it.

The Briscoe Brothers, Jay Lethal and Bobby Fish are ready for their eight man tag against the Bullet Club.

Opening sequence.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: The Kingdom vs. The Rebellion

Kingdom is defending and Dalton Castle is on commentary. Titus and O’Ryan go after the hair to start as Ian points out how similar these two are, both in style and look. I really wouldn’t bring up how only one of them really needs to be employed dude. Titus seems to tweak his ankle on a leapfrog so it’s off to Vinnie and Caprice, both of whom try kicks to the ribs and then poke each other in the eye.

King and Taven come in instead with Kenny kicking him in the head. Titus comes back in to chop at O’Ryan and clean some house in general. The knee goes out again though and we take a break. Back with Titus being taken to the locker room and Coleman hitting something like an RKO on O’Ryan. King gets the tag but the referee doesn’t see it, nor does he see King hammering on Taven in the corner.

Coleman somehow knocks down all three champs but here’s Lio Rush dressed as a member of the Rebellion to take the tag. Lio cleans house (Castle: “HOW IS THIS ALLOWED?”) with his usual fast paced stuff before he gives King an RKO and watched from the apron. Ian: “Was this a ploy all along???” All along? It lasted like a minute and a half! The Kingdom’s triple powerbomb retains the titles at 8:14.

Rating: D. At what point does Ring of Honor realize that these teams are worthless as well as uninteresting and that having titles for a “division” that has three regular teams (including the champions) is ludicrous. Big waste of time here and time that could have gone to ANYTHING else.

Jay White wants a rematch with Jay Briscoe from their time limit draw a few months back.

Briscoe calls White dog food and accepts.

Dalton Castle and the Boys want a Six Man Tag Team Title shot at the pay per view. Castle starts quoting Pocahontas, asking if you’ve ever asked the grinning bobcat why he grins. Castle: “WELL I HAVE! And I got 36 stitches and a rabies shot!”

Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Raphael King vs. Brian Milonas

Bob Evans has replaced Dalton on commentary. King is a frat boy with a female manager. On the other hand, Brian is a huge guy who weighs nearly 400lbs. King does some shouting and the slugout is on with Brian’s right right hand not seeming to make contact. Trash is talked and King gets in a dropkick, only to be crushed by some splashes.

Brian misses a middle rope legdrop and gets kicked in the face as this isn’t exactly working. Evans asks what else you can do other than kicking and punching Brian, which isn’t the best thing to point out. The manager gets in a slap of her own, setting up a good looking Rock Bottom for two. A side slam sets up a…..well I guess a backwards splash as Milonas was setting up for a regular splash but turned around and just fell backwards for the pin at 3:38.

Rating: D-. No idea who these guys are and it was horrible to see Milonas just being huge and not having much skill beyond that. King was watchable enough but that doesn’t mean it’s worth watching. I really can’t stand this tournament and this is one of the weaker classes of talent I’ve ever seen it have.

Christopher Daniels is your new guest commentator.

Bullet Club vs. Jay Lethal/Briscoe Brothers vs. Bobby Fish

It’s Cody, Adam Cole and the Young Bucks. We’ll start with Lethal and Matt Jackson but Lethal has to knock the Club off the apron before really getting started. A suicide dive takes Cody into the barricade and everything breaks down in a hurry. We wind up with Cody and Lethal in the ring and Cody taking a cartwheel into a dropkick.

It’s off to Mark who gets pulled to the floor and pummeled by Matt as this match is all over the place so far. Cole hits some bicycle kicks on Fish but takes a big jumping knee to the head for his efforts. That means a Briscoes vs. Bucks showdown and of course that means superkicks all around.

The Bucks add some big flip dives to the floor but Mark gets in a running Blockbuster off the apron on Cole. Not to be outdone, Cody superplexes Mark onto the whole pile of people for a major crash. Back from a break with the Bucks working over Mark but stopping to strut because they’re cool heels you see.

Mark isn’t ready to fight out of the corner just yet so Cody suplexes Cole onto him for no count as Fish and Lethal have the referee’s attention. A flipping slam off the ropes takes Cole out though and the hot tag brings in Lethal. Everything breaks down and Lethal hits the four pack of suicide dives. Fish wants to pin Cole though and they get in a fight to take us to a second break.

Back with the Briscoes on their own and Mark punching all four Club members. A quadruple superkick is well scouted though and the Club is quadruple clotheslined to the floor. Jay gets two off a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination but Matt flips out of the Doomsday Device. Superkicks a go-go set up Cross Rhodes to Jay. The Last Shot sets up a Meltzer Driver for the pin at Jay at 12:46.

Rating: B. Well that worked. This was all about flying all over the place and letting everyone look good (especially the Young Bucks of course). Lethal and Fish are fighting at the pay per view so their brawl here makes sense, making the match a little more logical. It’s easily the best thing ROH has done in a few weeks and it was very necessary on this show.

Post match Cole is left alone in the ring so here’s Daniels in the ring with some scissors. A pair of Angel’s Wings drop Cole but here’s Kazarian to help. That leads to Kazarian pulling off his shirt to reveal a Bullet Club shirt, which freaks Daniels out as expected. Kazarian knocks the scissors away from Daniels and takes a lot of yelling. Too Sweet brings the Bucks back out for double superkicks and the Club stands tall to end the show. Note that Kazarian didn’t punch Daniels once, which seems like a potential swerve.

Overall Rating: D+. The main event did this show some wonders but there was just WAY too much damage done by the time we got there. As usual, Ring of Honor doesn’t seem capable of focusing on anything long enough to really build it up, which is why we’re seeing a pay per view build and a tournament at the same time. The main event helped but the talent drops off a cliff at various point in ROH and those first two matches really showed it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Ring of Honor
Date: March 9, 2016
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 675
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling III

It’s another stand alone show as we wait the first tapings from after the Anniversary Show. This week is a big week as we have the finals of the Top Prospect Tournament, though the most interesting prospect has already been eliminated. Other than that we don’t have a lot going on but one big match is better than none. Let’s get to it.

Dalton Castle talks about drawing a bath the other night when he realized he was hungry. Not for food though, but rather victories. He’ll be taking the moon starting tonight with Christopher Daniels.

Opening sequence.

Top Prospect Tournament Finals: Brian Fury vs. Lio Rush

They take their time to start with the bigger (though still average sized) guy shoving Rush around with ease. Rush takes him to the mat for some technical stuff as the crowd is eerily silent here. It’s almost like there’s no reason to care about either guy and it’s based entirely on their work. Fury gets knocked to the floor for a suicide dive as commentary is gone for some reason. A hiptoss counters a charge to send Rush into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Rush doing the same kind of strike sequence that almost every indy wrestler does. Fury nails a headbutt to set up the Pop Up Powerbomb, only to be countered with a hurricanrana. A DDT gets two for Rush but Fury grabs a Gory Special into a faceplant for two of his own. Fury reverses a sunset flip and puts his hand on the rope for two but gets caught by an actually competent referee. The Pop Up Powerbomb gets two on Lio so he comes back with the C4 for the pin and the tournament at 9:02.

Rating: C+. The match was fun and if they’re so obsessed with Lio then so be it but I still don’t get it. Fury wasn’t much better as an option due to his age but I would have liked to see someone different instead of someone who screams INDY WRESTLER. It’s not a bad match or anything here so good enough, just nothing that interests me due to the names in there.

ReDRagon is ready for a tag team gauntlet match next week.

Moose vs. Kongo

Kongo is overweight and his singlet looks torn. No Stokely Hathaway for Moose here. They slug it out to start with Moose getting the better of it off a dropkick. Kongo is sent hard into the barricade but he sidesteps Moose to send him in as well. Back in and Kongo crushes him with a pair of splashes as this is WAY more competitive than it should be.

Moose headbutts him a few times before no selling a suplex. A discus lariat gets two on Kongo but he comes back with a Pounce of all things (minus the actual pouncing) for his own near fall. Moose bicycle kicks him in the face and runs the ropes for a cross body which was more like a standing splash to the face. The spear puts Kongo away at 5:04.

Rating: D-. Horrible stuff here as Kongo was a horrible option here. This should have been Kongo hitting a few fat man forearms to the back and then getting speared down for the pin in thirty seconds. Not every match needs to be some drawn out affair that wastes this much of our time on a boring match. Bad booking here and it showed horribly.

The Young Bucks are ready for the gauntlet match.

Earlier today, Mike Posey and the Get A Long Gang (seriously) rapped a lot until Cheeseburger came out to beat them down with a bunch of palm strikes.

Ad for War of the Worlds and all the New Japan stars who are coming in again.

We recap Jonathan Gresham turning down Veda Scott’s offer of money in exchange for a TV Title shot and his departure from the company.

Cedric Alexander vs. Adam Page

Scott is in her wrestling gear here which is rather fetching. Never mind as BJ Whitmer comes in and beats Page down. Alexander joins in until Gresham runs out for the save, possibly setting up a tag match next week.

We recap Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser beating the Boys last week which lead to Dalton Castle being beaten down.

Dalton Castle vs. Christopher Daniels

Silas Young is on commentary. They shove each other around to start until Silas stands up for a distraction. Young: “I’m just adjusting my pants!” Castle offers a clean break in the corner but stops Daniels in his tracks with a peacock chest thrust. They trade shoulders and it’s a standoff over who can bend backwards further.

Daniels can’t get as deep so Dalton gutwrenches him down before slowing down again. Castle’s running knee puts Daniels on the floor but he drives Dalton back first into the barricade. Kazarian offers an unnecessary distraction and we hit the waistlock to keep Dalton in trouble.

Back from a break with Castle hitting a running clothesline, followed by a pair of suplexes. A bridging German suplex gets two on Daniels as they’re still just trading moves with no particular rhyme or reason. Dalton misses a high cross body but Kazarian punches one of the Boys. That goes nowhere so Daniels grabs Angel’s Wings for the pin at 11:11.

Rating: D. I really wasn’t feeling this one as Young and Kazarian screwed up whatever they might have gotten going. It doesn’t help that these two have no reason to be fighting, much like Castle has no reason to still be fighting Young. Those two have been feuding for months and there’s really no reason for it to keep going. It’s not like it’s done Castle any good either as he was one of the hottest acts on the show and now he’s just there.

Post match Castle says everyone knows he’s better than Silas and it’s time for some titles. That can’t happen though because Castle can’t stop focusing on Silas. They should be done with each other so let’s have a Fight Without Honor.

Overall Rating: D. This was pretty easily the worst show they’ve had in months and there’s little to blame other than the way the show was put together. I’m really not sure why the tournament opened the show when the announcement of the Fight Without Honor wasn’t the strongest ending in the first place. Just a bad show with only one watchable match and very little interesting as far as storyline development. I expected a lot better than this from ROH.

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

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

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

Alex Shelley vs. Frankie Kazarian

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

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

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

Dalton Castle vs. Joey Daddiego

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tag Team Titles: All Night Express vs. War Machine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

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

Cedric Alexander vs. Cheeseburger

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

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

Cedric Alexander vs. Jonathan Gresham

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jay Briscoe vs. Michael Elgin

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

Jay Briscoe vs. Michael Elgin vs. Moose

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

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

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

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

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

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AXP08DK

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

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