Impact Wrestling
Date: March 3, 2022
Location: Alario Center, Westwego, Louisiana
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

Somehow it’s already the go home show for Sacrifice and the card is mostly set. The big match on the show seems to be the Tag Team Title match as Moose defending the World Title against Heath is only so important. Odds are they will add one or two more things to the card tonight so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Eddie Edwards vs. Steve Maclin

Maclin starts the brawl in the aisle and they slug it out, with Maclin hitting a running knee. They go inside for the opening bell and Maclin punches him right back to the floor, setting up a hard suicide dive. Back in and Eddie grabs a Blue Thunder Bomb to take over but they trade running forearms for a double knockdown. They slug it out until Maclin hits a running clothesline but Eddie catches him on top with a running boot. Maclin knocks him into the Tree of Woe and hits the spear in the corner to send Eddie outside. That means an apron elbow drop but Eddie has had it and blasts Maclin with a kendo stick for the DQ at 6:53.

Rating: C. They got clever here with the ending as you don’t want Edwards to get pinned in his first singles match as part of Honor No More but you also want to keep Maclin strong. The match was a fast paced fight too, which is where Maclin tends to do fairly well. I’m not sure where this story is going, but at least they have a bigger name on Honor No More now.

Post match Eddie keeps up the beating but Team Impact chases him off. Honor No More shows up with Maria mocking Team Impact for believing in honor. Heath calls her delusional but Vincent says that the real delusion is believing that Heath has a chance to win the World Title at Sacrifice. The challenge is on and let’s do that right now.

Vincent vs. Heath

The fans are split here as Heath grabs an early headlock. A shoulder puts Vincent into the corner as they’re still firmly in first gear. Vincent knocks him into the ropes for a change and it’s another standoff. Heath sends him into the corner and hammers away before a swinging neckbreaker gives Vincent a quick two. Matt Taven gets in a distraction from the floor and another neckbreaker drops heath again as we take a break.

Back with Vincent getting two off a Russian legsweep, which the fans declare as awesome. As I try to figure out what they define as awesome, Heath gets in a shot of his own for a breather. Vincent is right back with a guillotine choke, which is broken up with a suplex. Heath slugs away and kicks him in the face, only to get caught with a quick Redrum for two. Another Russian legsweep is loaded up but Heath reverses into the Wake Up Call for the pin at 13:03.

Rating: C. I’m not sure where the AWESOME description came from but this could have been worse. Heath gets a win for a little momentum going into his World Title shot and that was the point of this one. It is almost weird to see Heath doing well on his own, but there is something to him and he could be a fine enough singles guy for awhile to come.

Post match Honor No More comes in for the beatdown but Team Impact makes the save. With the ring mostly cleared out, Moose comes in to go after Heath but gets taken down by the Wake Up Call. Heath counts his own three.

Flashback Moment of the Week: the Motor City Machine Guns beat Beer Money and Team 3D in a triple threat.

Masha Slamovich vs. Raychell Rose

A running knee and the Russian Death Device finish Rose in 1:00.

The Guerrillas of Destiny declare it personal against Jay White. Violent By Design comes in and are ready for tonight’s main event. They want their Tag Team Title shot so the business offer is thrown out. The Guerrillas leave without saying anything.

Ace Austin, with Madman Fulton, talk to Mike Bailey, who seems interested in a partnership, but not with Fulton around.

Madison Rayne vs. Cassie Lee

Tenille Dashwood, Kaleb With A K and Jessie McKay are here too. Before the match, Dashwood puts blue tape on the floor in an X and tells Kaleb With A K to stay RIGHT THERE. Madison elbows her down to start and mocks the IInspiration’s pose. A northern lights suplex gives Madison two and we’re off to the chinlock. That’s broken up and Cassie is sent outside, where Dashwood drives her into the apron. McKay makes the save and gets sent into Kaleb With A K, who makes a nice catch. Madison isn’t happy so Lee kicks her in the head and finishes with the IInspiral (spinning suplex) at 4:15.

Rating: C-. There is something oddly charming about this story and I could go for seeing some more of it. I don’t know if the titles are going to change hands on Saturday, though that might not be the worst move. It’s almost a comedy version of Paul Heyman with Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, which has oddly been working for me.

Video on Jake Something, who promises to win the X-Division Title at Sacrifice.

Tasha Steelz vs. Chelsea Green

The winner gets a Knockouts Title shot at Mickie James, on commentary here, at Sacrifice and Savannah Evans is here with Steelz. An early headbutt rocks Green, who is back with a running kick to the face for two. Steelz grabs a Codebreaker and stops to rub her head before choking Green in the ropes. A running elbow cuts Green down again as James and Rehwoldt keep bickering on commentary.

Green fights up and backdrops her out to the apron before a double clothesline puts both of them down. The comeback is on with Green hitting a few clotheslines into a Backstabber but I’m Prettier is broken up. Instead the delayed Downward Spiral gives Green two but Steelz is back with a Stratusfaction, which has Mickie audibly rolling her eyes. Green gets sent outside so Evans can kick her in the face, which draws Mickie to her feet. Back in and Steelz finishes with a frog splash at 8:00 for the title shot.

Rating: C. That’s a bit of a surprise and makes me think that the title is changing hands on Saturday, perhaps with Green turning on James. Steelz isn’t exactly interesting, but the division needs someone to step up and take over the title scene. Either that or Slamovich takes the title from James at some point, but that might be a bit of a risky move. Not exactly a great match, but it seemed more about storyline advancement anyway.

Post match Mickie and Tasha yell at each other.

Matt Cardona is asked for his backstage pass because the big gold belt on his shoulder isn’t enough proof. He shows people some photos of his wins and says no one respects him.

Jonah vs. Johnny Swinger

Swinger goes to the eyes, gets slammed down for his trouble, and crushed with the Tsunami for the pin at 49 seconds.

Post match Jonah loads up another Tsunami but PCO comes in for the brawl and actually clears Jonah out.

Deonna Purrazzo is ready to defend one of her titles at Sacrifice but Gisele Shaw interrupts. Shaw takes credit for Purrazzo beating Lady Frost but Purrazzo isn’t convinced. Frost comes in to say Shaw can’t answer the Champ Champ Challenge at Sacrifice because Frost vs. Shaw II is already set.

Sacrifice rundown.

Guerrillas of Destiny/Violent By Design vs. Bullet Club

That would be Deaner/Joe Doering for Violent By Design and Jay White/Chris Bey/Good Brothers for the Club. It’s a big brawl before the bell (makes sense) and the Club has to save White from a huge beatdown. Cue Scott D’Amore to say this match isn’t going to happen…as a regular match. Instead, we’ll make this No DQ so RING THE BELL! Note that D’Amore took about thirty seconds to make this announcement and not five minutes. It’s not that hard.

We take a break a few seconds after the bell and come back with Tonga Loa bringing in a chair to save his brother from the Good Brothers. Doering shrugs off White chopping away at him so White hits him in the head with a trashcan lid. The trashcan is loaded into the corner but then gets wrapped around Deaner so Bey can hit a double stomp. The brawling continues around the arena, with Tama Tonga hitting Gallows in the ribs with a baseball bat. White tries to choke Doering with a chain but gets flipped onto a trashcan.

We hit the parade of shots to the head back inside until the Guerrillas clear the ring. The Brothers save White again and the two tag teams (the brothers and the Brothers) fight to the back. We actually go split screen to watch both fights as Doering whips out a door (Tom: “Chris Bey is about to be introduced to the Forbidden Door.” Oh shut up.). Doering misses a charge into the door so Deaner makes the save with a chair. That just lets White hit a Bladerunner onto said chair to pin Deaner at 13:18.

Rating: C+. Sometimes you need to have a big brawl with people going all over the place, but at the same time, it is a little hard to get into this fight over stuff that mainly happened in Japan. Throw in the Good Brothers continuing to be such a focus and it isn’t exactly interesting material. Fun brawl, but this story needs to go somewhere, and by that I mean getting rid of Violent By Design and moving the titles already.

We cut to the back where the Guerrillas and the Brothers are still brawling, with the Brothers being chased off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Impact is in a weird place as they are trying to build up Sacrifice, but it just isn’t that interesting of a show. Nothing really stands out as the top match on the card, as Heath vs. Moose isn’t exactly a show stealer and more of the Good Brothers isn’t going to make it work either. There are some good pieces there and this show was far from bad, but it isn’t the kind of show that made me want to see Sacrifice any more than I did coming in.

Results
Steve Maclin b. Eddie Edwards via DQ when Edwards used a kendo stick
Heath b. Vincent – Wake Up Call
Masha Slamovich b. Raychell Rose – Russian Death Device
Cassie Lee b. Madison Rayne – IInspiral
Tasha Steelz b. Chelsea Green – Frog splash
Jonah b. Johnny Swinger – Tsunami
Bullet Club b. Violent By Design/Guerrillas of Destiny – Bladerunner onto a chair to Deaner

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: February 24, 2022
Location: Alario Center, Westwego, Louisiana
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s time for a fresh taping cycle as No Surrender has come and gone. The big story coming out of the show was Eddie Edwards turning on Impact Wrestling to join Honor No More, meaning he has a lot of splainin to do. Other than that, Moose needs a new challenger for Sacrifice on the way to Rebellion. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at the rise of Honor No More and the big showdown at No Surrender, where Eddie Edwards turned on the company.

Opening sequence.

Here is still World Champion Moose for a chat. Moose isn’t happy that he has worked so hard and fought so much but now all everyone is talking about is Eddie Edwards. He fought to retain the World Title and nothing changed. Look what happened to people like Josh Alexander and Matt Cardona after he beat them. The Lord knows what is going to happen to W. Morrissey now that he lost.

Cue Heath of all people, to say this isn’t a joke. Eddie Edwards was a huge part of the Impact puzzle and Moose is out here making jokes. We’re at war and this is what the champion is doing. Heath worked hard to get here and yeah he was out for a year, but Impact Wrestling stuck by him. Now he is looking at a leader who is doing nothing.

Moose wants to know where Heath was for the last month but Heath says he has been out with Covid protocols. Now he’s clean though and he wants a World Title shot so the company can have a champion who will fight for its company. Moose doesn’t care about anything or anyone, including Heath and his ugly kids. The fight is on and Heath leaves him laying with the Wake Up Call. It’s just for their version of In Your House and that’s fine.

The rest of Team Impact is glad to see Heath when Scott D’Amore comes in. They’re not happy with Honor No More sticking around but they can deal with it in tonight’s six man tag. No one is putting their hands on Eddie Edwards tonight, but Rhino can take him apart at Sacrifice. Works for Rhino.

Post break Honor No More arrives and they get safe passage until the six man tag. D’Amore wants to know where Eddie Edwards is but here is Moose to interrupt. Moose says he has no problem with them, but stay away from his title. Honor No More leaves and D’Amore yells at Moose about him not being bothered by them. Moose can defend the World Title against Heath at Sacrifice.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Digital Media Title: Matt Cardona vs. Jordynne Grace

Cardona is defending and this is No DQ. Grace comes out swinging with a DVD player (complete with her social media info) and a shot to the shoulder knocks Cardona outside. Back in and Grace blocks a whip and backdrops Cardona to the floor again. That means a suicide dive and it’s time for some weapons as we take a break.

We come back with Cardona stomping away in the corner and hitting Grace with a keyboard. A shot to the head gets two and a neckbreaker is good for the same. With nothing else working, Cardona brings in a chair (which he hit her in the head with at Sacrifice) but Grace drops him ribs first onto the top of said chair.

Some shots with the pieces of a selfie stick keep Cardona in trouble and a running elbow in the corner sets up a Vader bomb for two. Grace whips out a bag full of…cell phones? Cardona loads up a mouse shot to the head but gets powerbombed out of the corner onto the phones for two more. A low blow connects but Cardona has an ALWAYS READY cup (which I believe he used at The Wrld On GCW). He tries to put it in Grace’s face but she kicks him low and does it to him instead. Cardona sends her face first into a chair in the corner though and a rollup with a grab of the rope finishes Grace at 12:12.

Rating: C+. The match was certainly goofy and the theme was as subtle as a boulder to the face but these two have chemistry together. I’m not sure how much damage the phones would have done, though I do appreciate doing something different than the kendo sticks and trashcans. Mix it up a bit and it might be a bit more memorable, which was the case here. Cardona is rolling as a heel too and this was more fun stuff.

The IInspiration and the IInfluence continue to argue over Kaleb With A K. Their Tag Team Title match is on for Sacrifice and Madison Rayne will face Cassie Lee next week.

We look at Ace Austin and Mike Bailey beating #1 contender to the X-Division Title Jake Something and X-Division Champion Trey Miguel on Before The Impact.

Something is annoyed but Miguel says it isn’t that big of a deal. That’s too far for Something, who doesn’t want his pity. Something needs Miguel to fear him, and that’s what he will do.

John Skyler vs. Bhupinder Gujjar

Brian Myers is on commentary (with his own table). Skyler tries to jump him to start but gets taken down without much trouble. A top rope splash misses though and Skyler sends him shoulder first into the post. Some stomps to the arm set up an armbar as Skyler certainly knows how to focus on an injured limb. Back up and Gujjar hits something like a Sling Blade before superkicking Skyler down. Skyler goes right back to the arm but a superplex is broken up. Gujjar hits the middle rope spear for the pin at 4:38.

Rating: C-. The match was short and to the point but it was a pair of guys who aren’t that interesting, with Skyler being a pretty standard heel. Gujjar on the other hand is the latest name whose character is almost completely defined as “hi, I’m from India”, which is only going to get him so far. It wasn’t a bad match, but it also wasn’t interesting and that’s a problem.

Post match W. Morrissey comes out and goes after Brian Myers but Skyler makes the save. That earns Skyler a chokeslam through Myers’ table.

Steve Maclin doesn’t care what Eddie Edwards has to say because next week, Edwards is answering to him.

Reina de Reinas Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Lady Frost

Purrazzo is defending in another Champ Champ Challenge, with Frost getting to pick the title she can win. An early lockup doesn’t go anywhere so Purrazzo goes with a headlock takeover instead. That’s broken up as well and Frost kicks her in the face, only to get pulled down into a surfboard for the double stomp to the calves.

Purrazzo starts in on the leg, including a good smash onto the apron. Frost flips over her though and hits a dropkick to the back, setting up a Cannonball in the corner for two. A trip to the top takes too long though and Purrazzo takes out the leg. Purrazzo grabs a Boston crab but Frost slips out, only to get pulled into the Venus de Milo to retain the title at 5:43.

Rating: C. This didn’t have much time as Purrazzo’s roll over the Knockouts division continues. I’m not sure who is going to be the big road block to finally cut her off but it is making for some interesting television, as it can be fun to find out who is coming through that curtain. Purrazzo is getting a lot out of this too and she could be on this kind of a roll for a long time.

Post match Purrazzo leaves and Gisele Shaw comes in to pose.

Bullet Club, now with the Good Brothers instead of the Guerrillas of Destiny, talk about having to shed dead weight. Violent By Design comes in to say they made a deal and now they should get a Tag Team Title shot. Violence is teased but the Guerrillas of Destiny run in to jump the Club. The Guerrillas and Violent By Design look at each other, with Eric Young saying “all right.”

Zicky Dice vs. Jonah

Dice tries a chop block but gets suplexed down. The backsplash into a powerbomb finishes Dice at 57 seconds.

Post match Jonah crushes him again. Jonah goes to the back, where Gail Kim tells him that he can’t do that again. He wants better competition, so it’s Jonah vs. PCO at Sacrifice. Jonah is happy and leaves, so here is Johnny Swinger to say he has been training with Bill Dundee and wants one more shot at Jonah next week. Sure.

Mickie James and Chelsea Green sit down with Gail Kim with Mickie wanting to give Green a Knockouts title match. Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans come in to yell about not getting a fair match. The result is Steelz vs. Green for the Sacrifice title shot next week.

Sacrifice rundown. It looks like a good show and I’ll be there live.

Honor No More vs. Chris Sabin/Rich Swann/Willie Mack

Matt Taven/Mike Bennett/Kenny King for Honor No More, with the rest of the team, plus Rhino and Heath at ringside. It’s a brawl to start with Swann being left alone but Mack and Sabin are back in there for the save. We settle down to Sabin working over King but Bennett is in rather quickly. Bennett is kicked outside and kicked in the chest by Sabin so it’s Taven coming in for a neckbreaker to drop Sabin.

We take a break and come back with Bennett suplexing Sabin for two but Sabin sends him into Taven in the corner. That’s enough for the tag off to Swann to pick up the pace as everything breaks down. Mack helps Swann out with a 3D to Bennett and Mack hits Taven with a standing moonsault. A blind tag lets Bennett come back in for a cheap shot, setting up the Proton Pack to finish Mack at 9:09.

Rating: C+. Honor No More continues its roll as they now have their official spots around here. At some point they are going to need to do something a bit bigger if this story is going to really take off, but at least they got the important part out of the way. What used to be Team Impact is now a bit shaken up, but it isn’t like they were some long term serious team in the first place.

Post match Honor No More brings out Eddie Edwards for a chat. Post break, Eddie says you should be angry, but not at him. He bled and fought with and for Ring of Honor and it hurt him when he heard that they were taking a hiatus. Now Honor No More has found the corruption in this industry and it is time to clear everything out. Two years ago, the world changed and it was time to bring in as many outside stars as Impact Wrestling could find to make things better.

Then Rich Swann lost the World Title to Kenny Omega, an outside. Eddie knew he would get his shot and he even beat Omega in a six man tag. Who got the shot to bring the title back to Impact though? Josh Alexander. It was at that point that Edwards knew that Impact had honor no more and it was time to change things up.

Everyone is asking what Eddie did and it is because he gave everything to this company and got nothing in return. Cue Alisha Edwards to ask what Eddie is doing. He taught her to believe that anything is possible and to never stop believing. Eddie needs to be with his family, but he says that’s what he’s doing. Alisha asks if she is still his family but Eddie doesn’t know. Eddie leaves with Honor No More to end the show.

This was a long promo but we got an explanation from Edwards and his reasoning makes sense. It’s also nice to have someone with a long history in Ring of Honor joining the team, as it would be strange to have someone with no real reason to join the team other than it was the new heel faction.

Overall Rating: C+. The best thing about Impact right now is how many things they are pushing. Honor No More is the top story, but it isn’t the only story and that makes a big difference. There are other important things going on as well and Impact is doing a good job of making those stories matter. They are avoiding the problem that so many promotions have of making one thing so much bigger than others that nothing else really matters. It’s a balanced show and that makes for some much better storytelling throughout. Good show here, as we’re now on the road to Sacrifice.

Results
Matt Cardona b. Jordynne Grace – Rollup with a grab of the rope
Bhupinder Gujjar b. John Skyler – Middle rope spear
Deonna Purrazzo b. Lady Frost – Venus de Milo
Jonah b. Zicky Dice – Powerbomb
Honor No More b. Chris Sabin/Rich Swann/Willie Mack – Proton Pack to Mack

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: February 3, 2022
Location: Charles Dodge Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are on the way to No Surrender and things are starting to pick up. The main event is already set with W. Morrissey getting his World Title shot against Moose, but there is another major match on the card in a different way. The other major match will see a team of Impact wrestlers facing off with Honor No More, which should boost the story that much more. Other than that, the Bullet Club seems to be here again. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Digital Media Title: Matt Cardona vs. Jordynne Grace

Cardona is challenging and shoves Grace around a few times to start, which has Grace a bit surprised. Grace’s running shoulders don’t do much good so she trips Cardona down instead. Cardona misses a neckbreaker but Grace misses a Vader bomb, allowing Cardona to suplex her into the corner. A regular suplex drops Grace again and there’s a hard whip into the corner. Some elbows miss as Cardona doesn’t seem to want to go after her, only to hit a slightly reluctant clothesline.

Grace is right back with a spinebuster and it’s time to start in on Cardona’s leg. A kick to the leg takes Cardona down and now the Vader Bomb connects for two. Back up and Cardona kicks her in the face as the reluctance is starting to go away. The Reboot connects for two and there’s the shocked kickout face. Grace gets in a desperation kick to the floor, with Cardona winding up in front of the title. Cardona picks it up but gets it taken away, allowing him to blast Grace with a chair instead. Radio Silence gives Cardona the pin and the title at 9:51.

Rating: C+. This was a tricky balance to figure out but they managed to pull it off well enough. They had to come up with a way to make Grace look strong, have Cardona look unwilling to bring everything he could and then do the title change in the end. Putting all of that together is pretty impressive and they made it work out well here. Also, Cardona going heel and winning the title that he pioneered so long ago is a great thing.

W. Morrissey hunts for and finds the Learning Tree. Scott D’Amore and security breaks it up though and Morrissey gets Brian Myers next week, No DQ, just as he wants.

No Surrender/tonight’s rundown.

Jonah vs. Crazzy Steve

The rest of Decay is here with Steve. Jonah shoves him down to start and grabs a choke but Steve bites his way to freedom. That’s not cool with Jonah, who sends him flying with a fireman’s carry toss. The Tsunami finishes Steve at 2:06. Total dominance.

Post match another Tsunami is loaded up but Black Taurus gets in the way.

Matt Cardona is fired up about his win but is asked about what Chelsea Green will think. Cardona says to ask Jonathan Gresham what it’s like to be married to a loser (Gresham is Jordynne Grace’s husband).

Madison Rayne yells at Kaleb With A K when the IInspiration comes in. They have a present for him: a photo of the two of them. I’ve heard worse.

Steve Maclin vs. Jonathan Gresham

Non-title, Ian Riccaboni is on commentary and Cary Silkin is watching. Maclin drives him into the corner to start but Gresham goes for the knee to escape. A headlock takeover has Maclin down and he spins over Maclin to put it on again. More headlocking keeps Maclin in trouble and a crucifix gives Gresham two. Maclin drives him throat first into the middle rope for the escape though and we take a break.

Back with Maclin dropping a knee on the ribs before running him over with an elbow to the face. The Boston crab is broken up though and the slugout is on. Gresham actually gets the better of things but a springboard moonsault press is countered into a powerslam. Maclin gets frustrated and hammers away in the ropes, which is enough for the DQ at 11:12.

Rating: C+. Gresham continues to work well with just about anyone and that is the kind of person that is very valuable to have. The fact that you forget he is a smaller guy because his technical wrestling is so strong is all the more impressive. Maclin has cooled off a good bit, but he is hardly falling through the floor. Pretty good match too.

Post match Maclin puts Gresham in the Boston crab for the tap but here is Honor No More for the beatdown. The team tries to get Gresham to join them but he leaves alone.

Josh Alexander vs. Vincent

The rest of Honor No More is here. Alexander elbows him in the face to start and they’re on the floor in a hurry. Some distractions let Vincent get in a cheap shot on Alexander and it’s a running basement Downward Spiral inside. Some elbows set up a chinlock but Alexander is up pretty quickly. That gets broken up as well, with Vincent switching over to a guillotine choke.

Alexander hits a hard German suplex for two and the fans are way behind him. Vincent hides behind the referee and the distraction lets him hit a Russian legsweep. Redrum only hits knees though and it’s an ankle lock to put Vincent in more trouble. Honor No More offers a distraction so Vincent can get in a rollup for two of his own. Cue the rest of Impact’s No Surrender team to take out Honor No More, leaving Alexander to take out Vincent’s leg. The ankle lock gives Alexander the win at 8:56.

Rating: C. This was the way the match should have gone as Vincent was one of the lower names on the Honor No More lineup and he was against one of the hottest Impact stars in the last year. They didn’t have any other choice with this one and it isn’t like Vincent is going to be hurt by the loss. No Surrender is all that matter these days and now we should be in for a good showdown.

Post match Kenny King runs in to lay out Alexander and join Honor No More.

W. Morrissey finds Moose and jumps him in the back. He even puts Moose’s head in the freezer and slams the door on it over and over. That’s serious.

Honor No More is here to take over and are ready to fight at No Surrender.

John Skyler vs. Bhupinder Gujjar

Skyler runs him over with a shoulder to start but Gujjar kicks the leg out to put Skyler on the apron. A Russian legsweep sets up a quickly broken chinlock with Gujjar hitting a powerslam. Gujjar’s slingshot elbow gets two but Skyler catches him on the middle rope. That’s broken up though and a middle rope spear gives Gujjar the pin at 3:48.

Rating: C-. You had two people and they had a match. There wasn’t much to see here, though Gujjar’s hair flip was rather good. This was designed to introduce us to Gujjar and he did well enough, but how much is there to get out of a cold match between two pretty low level names?

Post match Raj Singh comes out to applaud Gujjar, who walks off on his own.

We see a clip of Mickie James in the Royal Rumble, which is still bizarre to see around here.

Mickie James is happy with what she did but here is Tasha Steelz to interrupt. Steelz suggests, in song, that James is going to lose the title. James says she talks too much and here is Chelsea Green to stare down Steelz and Savannah Evans. James gives her a match next week.

Gisele Shaw is still coming.

Masha Slamovich vs. Kaci Lennox

Slamovich kicks her in the face to start and the Russian Death Device (scoop brainbuster) finishes at 43 seconds.

Deonna Purrazzo talks about storming out of the State of the Knockouts division last week because she IS the state of the Knockouts division. She talks about some of her accomplishments and needs an audience, so next week, it’s an open challenge for either of her titles.

Here’s what’s coming next week/at No Surrender.

Bullet Club vs. Mike Bailey/Jake Something/Ace Austin/Madman Fulton

Chris Bey/Jay White/Guerrillas Of Destiny for the Club here. Bailey backs White into the corner to start so it’s Bey coming in for an exchange of flips. Bey takes Bailey into the corner so White can start stomping away as the Club starts taking turns on Bailey. A quick escape allows the tag off to Fulton, who is quickly double clotheslined out to the floor by the Guerrillas. Fulton is fine enough to pull Bey’s out of the air though and we take a break.

Back with Austin suplexing Bey for two and Fulton choking him in the corner. It’s back to Austin for a kick to the head in the corner, setting up a cartwheel moonsault for two. Bey manages to duck a springboard kick to the face though and comes back with a Superman forearm for a needed breather.

Austin isn’t about to let that happen though as he pulls Bey down, allowing Fulton to knock the rest of the Club off the apron. Bey kicks Austin in the face though and it’s off to Bailey vs. White. Some rapid fire kicks give Bailey two but White’s big Rock Bottom gets the same. The double tag brings in Tama Tonga to face Fulton, with the Guerrillas hitting the Magic Killer for two.

The Guerrillas get to wreck the rest of the team for a bonus but Bey’s frog splash hits Austin’s raised knees. Austin refuses to bring in Something, who finally just slaps Austin’s chest for the tag. House is cleaned for a bit but the Club gets the numbers advantage on Something. With the Club holding Something in place, the Art of Finesse finishes for Bey at 15:38.

Rating: B-. This got some time and felt like the Club got to pick apart the other team, who couldn’t get along in the first place. The Club is already feeling like a big deal, but this time around they don’t seem to be taking over the entire company, which tends to happen when they are in America. Austin and Fulton not liking Something is interesting, but Bailey continues to leave a bit to be desired.

Post match Violent By Design and the Good Brothers run in for the beatdown on the Club to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. There are a few things going on here, but the most important is that I want to see where these stories go. These stories are starting to make me want to see next week’s show and that is one of the best things that can be said about a wrestling show. Other than that, there are some good to pretty good matches, making this a rather easy two hours. Fairly solid show this week, and No Surrender is looking rather appealing.

Results
Matt Cardona b. Jordynne Grace – Radio Silence
Jonah b. Crazzy Steve – Tsunami
Jonathan Gresham b. Steve Maclin via DQ when Maclin attacked in the ropes
Josh Alexander b. Vincent – Ankle lock
Bhupinder Gujjar b. John Skyler – Middle rope spear
Masha Slamovich b. Kaci Lennox – Russian Death Device
Bullet Club b. Jake Something/Ace Austin/Mike Bailey/Madman Fulton – Art of Finesse to Something

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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19^th Anniversary Show
Date: March 26, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Rocky Romero

This is the Ring of Honor Wrestlemania season show and I get to continue my tradition of taking forever to get to the company’s pay per views. Things are still getting back to normal after the pandemic, though Rush is still the World Champion and defending the title against Jay Lethal. Let’s get to it.

Commentary kicks us off with some bad news: Dragon Lee is off the show so Kenny King will defend the TV Title as a replacement.

Pre-Show: Brian Johnson vs. Eli Isom vs. Danhausen vs. LSG

Only two in the ring at a time but this is Lucha Rules. Johnson yells at everyone else to start because he can’t shut up. Isom backdrops Johnson a few times to start so it’s out to the floor, meaning Isom gets to take LSG down. They pop up to a standoff but Johnson tags himself in and shouts a lot. LSG scores with a rolling clothesline and backdrops Johnson outside again but goes out with them, setting up Isom’s moonsault to take them both down.

Isom goes up and gets crotched, allowing Johnson to hit a hanging cutter. That’s enough to send Isom outside so LSG comes back in with a springboard crossbody. Rock A Bye Baby gets two on Johnson but Isom is back in with a high crossbody for two on LSG. Ism starts cleaning house, including a face buster which sends Johnson’s knee at least ten inches away from Isom’s knee. A triple clothesline puts everyone but Danhausen down so here he comes to low bridge Johnson to the floor.

Suplexes abound, including a northern lights suplex for two on Johnson. Good Nighthausen is broken up but Danhausen busts out the jar of teeth, which go into Johnson’s mouth. Johnson freaks out and a triple superkick makes it even worse. Isom plants Danhausen with a spinning DDT and exchanges rollups with LSG. Danhausen is back in with Good Nighthausen for two on LSG with Johnson making the save. Johnson hits the Process to finish Danhausen at 10:52.

Rating: C+. The action was fun and there is something about Danhausen that is just fun to watch. They keep him on these lower level matches so he doesn’t make anything seem ridiculous and that is all he needs to do. There is a place for someone like him and it makes for some fun moments like this one here. Good choice for an opener with the right person winning.

Pre-Show: Six Man Tag Team Titles: Mexisquad vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Mexisquad is challenging and this is also under Lucha Rules. The champs pose on the apron so Mexisquad dropkicks them all to the floor at the bell. The triple dive takes the champs down again and it’s time to triple team Shane inside. Some rapid fire strikes set up a double dropkick into a frog splash for two but Moses and Khan make the save. Shane brings in Khan, who gets triple teamed down as well.

Moses has had it with this and cleans house, including a spear for two on Flamita. A swinging Downward Spiral gives Shane two but the Squad gets together to take him down again. All three of them get onto the middle rope for a triple splash to crush Shane but Khan is back in for the Victory Lap (3D into a Downward Spiral) to knock Bandido silly.

Flamita is back up with a 619 to Shane, who sends Flamita into Bandido for a double knockdown. That doesn’t last long as Flamita goes up, only to have Bandido thrown into him for a crotching. Horus comes back in for a tornado DDT on Shane but Moses takes him down. Khan’s super Jackhammer plants Flamita and an elevated DDT (MNM’s old Snapshot) retains the titles at 7:51.

Rating: C. There was an idea here with the champs not being familiar with the Lucha Rules to put them in trouble. The Squad continues to have issues though and that seems to be building towards a split. I’m curious to see where it goes and who turns heel as a result, but for now it is nice to see the champs retain.

Post match, the Mexisquad gets in each others’ faces and a triple threat is set for later.

Opening sequence.

The opening video starts with a collection of VHS and DVD’s of Ring of Honor events (that’s a cool visual), including a look at the first event. Those shows inspired a new generation, and those wrestlers will be in action tonight. We don’t get much of a look at the specifics of the show, but I really liked that old show motif.

TV Title: Tracy Williams vs. Kenny King

King, with Amy Rose, is defending on behalf of Dragon Lee, who can’t travel following surgery. Williams takes him down into something like a seated abdominal stretch in a hurry. With that broken up, Williams starts in on the leg and cranks away on the foot before switching over to a front facelock. Back up and King unloads with right hands in the corner, setting up his own seated abdominal stretch. You don’t do that to Williams, who is right back with more leg cranking.

That’s broken up as well and King grabs a spinebuster into a tiger bomb for two. Williams puts him on top, gets shoved down, and comes back with a running enziguri anyway. That doesn’t get King very far as Williams grabs a Death Valley Driver for two of his own. The Crossface is broken up with a boot on the rope and King gets in a cheap shot for another near fall. Rose throws in Williams’ Tag Team Title to set up a tug of war, with Williams pulling him into a piledriver for the pin and the title at 7:14.

Rating: C. They kept this short as King wasn’t scheduled to be there and both guys had to wrestle again later in the night anyway. I can go for Williams getting a singles title though as he was rather good in the Pure Rules tournament and should have gotten something of his own. Pushing a traditional wrestler makes sense and it is nice to see him having some success.

Flip Gordon vs. Mark Briscoe

Grudge match and commentary tells us to expect a brawl. Briscoe slugs away to start and chops him up against the rope, setting up a brainbuster. A belly to back slam sets up a flipping backsplash for two on Flip, who is right back with the Kinder Surprise to send Briscoe outside. Back in and Gordon hammers away, setting up a fisherman’s suplex for two. The Eye of the Hurricane gets two more but another springboard is broken up with a shove out to the floor.

Briscoe hits the running Blockbuster off the apron (with Ian making a pair of Blockbuster jokes) but Gordon catches him on top back inside, setting up a top rope superplex for the double knockdown. They get up and slug it out until Gordon nails a jumping knee to the face. Briscoe kicks him to the floor though and pulls out a chair, which the referee gets rid of because, you know, it’s a chair. The distraction lets Gordon get in a low blow and Flip Five (I think? It’s a TKO.) finishes Briscoe at 7:49.

Rating: C+. I liked this one a bit more as it felt like they were trying to beat each other up because they want to hurt the other, which is the idea behind a grudge match. The ending was a bit lame as it was just a quick low blow into a finisher, but it could have been worse. Gordon continues to not do much for me though, even if he is one of the more prominent names around here.

Flip Gordon vs. Josh Woods

They’re moving quick here and Silas Young is in Woods’ corner. Woods wrestles him down to the corner without much effort but Castle is back with his own takedown. More grappling ensues until Woods puts him in the ropes for a German suplex. Gordon bails out to the floor for a breather but Castle runs back in for an elbow to the jaw. A running knee in the corner staggers Woods, who misses a springboard knee.

Castle takes him outside for a whip into the barricade, followed by a Russian legsweep back inside for two. The waistlock keeps Woods down for a bit before they fight over a suplex. One heck of a right hand (a rarity from Woods) sends Castle into the corner and Woods takes him outside for a ram into the barricade (call it a receipt). Two more whips into the barricade keeps Castle in trouble and a big right hand stagger him again.

A powerbomb onto the apron has Castle in even more pain and Young loads up a chair. Woods isn’t having that and the distraction lets Castle get in a few suplexes for two. The referee has to get out of the way of a charge into the corner, where Young (intentionally) holds up the chair to knock Woods silly. Castle didn’t seem to see what happens and gets the pin at 10:19.

Rating: C. They had the two wrestlers doing most of a wrestling match here until the storyline ending. The match wasn’t too bad, but this felt like a TV match instead of something pay per view worthy. Young turning on Woods will give them both something to do for awhile, but knowing Ring of Honor, it will take at least two months to get anywhere.

Post match Young says he has been a patient man with Woods for over a year but now Woods has defied him. This is the last time Woods will ever defy him, because Young will hurt him in ways to make Woods question his career. Young was a big rambly here but he got the point across.

Jay Briscoe vs. EC3

This is to decide if honor is real, as EC3 continues his babbling which doesn’t seem to actually mean anything other than saying words in an attempt to sound smart. EC3 is now the Essential Character, which seems to just confirm what I thought about the controlling your narrative deal. They talk trash to start with EC3’s running shoulder just giving us a standoff. EC3 takes Jay down with a headlock and it’s back up for more staring.

Some shoulders put EC3 down this time but he’s back up with a Thesz press for some rights and lefts (EC3: “WHERE’S YOUR HONOR???”) into a chinlock. Back up and EC3 knees him in the ribs as commentary talks about how the wrestling is confusing the brawling Briscoe. A powerbomb plants Briscoe again and we hit the chinlock again (EC3: “Wrestling.”). Back up and EC3 grabs a TKO but charges into a Downward Spiral into the middle buckle.

Briscoe’s running big boot puts EC3 on the floor, with Briscoe hurting his knee by following him out. Back in and EC3 grabs a superplex, followed by an Angle Slam. That means more shouting instead of a cover, setting up a brainbuster. EC3 misses a charge though and it’s a Death Valley Driver onto the apron to knock him silly. Another running big boot rocks EC3 but Briscoe’s knee is too banged up to cover.

The neckbreaker is broken up so Briscoe kicks him in the face again. EC3 is right back with his layout DDT to put them both down again. More yelling about honor earns EC3 a Death Valley Driver and he starts laughing. Briscoe can’t figure out how to finish him off and EC3 is back with another Thesz press. Back up and a discus forearm rocks EC3 for two, so now he offers a handshake. The Jay Driller finishes EC3 instead at 20:58.

Rating: B-. I don’t know if I’m not smart enough to get what EC3 is doing or if it’s just a bunch of nonsense, but it is one of the more worthless gimmicks going in wrestling today. Maybe he’s trying to be all out there or he’s trying to mess with people’s heads, but it isn’t working for me. The in-ring stuff was was good enough and it felt like a bit match. Just find something that draws me in a bit more, because EC3 shouting about honor isn’t doing it.

We get the post match handshake.

Quick recap of Mexisquad’s issues on the pre-show, setting up this.

Flamita vs. Rey Horus vs. Bandido

This is going to be fast. Bandido and Horus seem cool but Flamita isn’t interested in a handshake. Flamita takes them both down to start but Bandido drops him to the floor. That gives us the Bandido vs. Horus showdown, which might not have the impact that they were looking for twenty seconds in. They shake hands until Horus starts kicking away, only to get kneed in the face.

A spinning headscissors puts Bandido down and respect is shown. Flamita is back in to send them both into the corner for some running clotheslines. The tornado DDT plants Bandido to send him outside, with Horus hitting a dive. Flamita hits a bigger dive and throws Bandido back inside. Bandido reverses a headscissors into a faceplant as Horus comes back in and gets kicked straight into the corner.

Flamita gets Bandido in an electric chair….where Bandido manages to suplex Horus anyway (that’s a new one). That’s enough for Bandido to send Horus outside and now we get a bit more impactful showdown with Flamita. They slap it out until Flamita hits a heck of a superkick into a spiral bomb for two, with Horus diving in for the save. Flamita’s slingshot DDT plants Bandido and it’s a Muscle Buster into a gutbuster to Horus, with the two of them landing on Bandido to give Flamita two.

That leaves Flamita to talk trash to the two of them, saying there is no more Mexisquad. Flamita is sent to the apron so Bandido can hurricanrana him to the floor. Back in and Horus wins the slugout, only to charge into a pop up cutter. Flamita is back in though and a three way boot to the face puts everyone down. Horus is up first with a satellite DDT to Bandido and the super victory roll gets two on Flamita.

Horus is sat on top as Flamita electric chairs Bandido….who reverses Horus’ high crossbody into a belly to bell, sending Flamita flying with a poisonrana at the same time (at least I think, as that was nuts). Bandido sends Horus outside for the big running flip dive, followed by a springboard hurricanrana for two on Horus. The 21 Plex gives Bandido the pin on Flamita at 10:48.

Rating: B+. This was exactly what you would have expected from these three and that is where they shine. These guys know how to do some completely insane stuff that worked amazingly well, as I was trying to figure out what the heck they were doing. You could run these guys in any combination for a LONG time and it was very fun here, as it should have been.

Post match respect is offered but Flamita walks away again.

We go to a Police Athletic League gym for Vincent vs. Matt Taven as it’s time to go cinematic, or at least pre-taped.

Matt Taven vs. Vincent

Taven comes into the gym where it all started between these two, where Vincent is waiting with a big WELCOME BACK MATT TAVEN banner. Vincent talks about how Taven just wants the attention and then runs away as Taven says come down here and fight. Taven runs up some stairs to find Vincent, who jumps out near another ring to start the fight. After Vincent dances with a mannequin, Taven sends him into the post and shouts about how his world is a sad, sad world.

Vincent rolls outside so Taven’s suicide dive only hits some ladders (freaking ow man). Apparently Taven’s photo is on the wall, with Vincent pointing it out and then sending him into a filing cabinet. They go into a hall way with Taven being thrown over a desk and landing on his wrist. Back up and Taven throws him down some steps, setting up a big elbow over said steps.

Vincent runs away and slams a door onto Taven’s head. They slug it out and head into the room with the original ring, as Vincent asks if Taven remembers this. Taven slams him onto a rack of chairs before taking him into the ring. Vincent gets choked with a belt but manages a low blow to get a breather. The ring mat is pulled back and a Dudley Dog onto the exposed wood knocks Taven silly.

That means it’s time for Vincent to talk about how Taven loves the pain. Vincent drags….something towards the ring before throwing Taven onto a platform. We pause for some dancing until Taven is thrown into a door. They go up some more stairs and into some bleachers looking down at the ring, where they wind up sitting on the balcony. Cue a large man in overalls to shove both of them down through a table for a huge crash. The large man carries Vincent out, meaning it’s a no contest at we’ll say 13:00. He would eventually be named Dutch, as the newest member of the Righteous.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure what to think of this as it was more of a big segment than a match. These two do feel like the eternal rivals so it makes sense to do something like this. What we got was good, but as usual with Ring of Honor, they don’t quite know how to wrap things up and it can become quite the problem. Good for awhile and it didn’t overstay its welcome, but it was a way to keep things going and that happens too often.

Jay Lethal asks the referee to not stop the main event early. Deal.

Here is Queen McKay to bring out Maria Kanellis-Bennett, who is now on the Ring of Honor Board of Directors. Maria gets straight to the point: this summer there will be a tournament to crown a new Women’s Champion. Anyone around the world is invited to come and compete but here is the Allure to interrupt. Angelina Love doesn’t like the idea of Mara showing up and taking over, wondering which position got Maria this position.

Maria laughs it off and says that Angelina’s career accomplishments mean nothing since she hasn’t had a match in a year. She’ll offer Love a deal though: win a match and she can have a first round bye in the tournament. Love can face….Quinn McKay on Ring of Honor TV. McKay gives us an adorable celebration and the staredown is on.

Dak Draper thinks he is the favorite in every match, including against Jonathan Gresham for the Pure Title.

Jonathan Gresham is ready to shut Draper up and plant the Foundation flag over him.

Pure Rules Title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Dak Draper

Gresham is defending and is giving up over a foot to Draper for a heck of a visual. They stare at each other a bit (Draper down, Gresham up) until Gresham’s takedown attempt goes nowhere. Draper takes him down instead and drives a forearm into the face. Back up and Gresham has to jump to grab a headlock, setting up a forearm to Draper’s face to even things up. Another knockdown has Gresham in trouble but he avoids a handstand knee drop.

Draper grabs him again and this time Gresham has to use a rope break. A rolling waistlock has Gresham in more trouble and he can’t do much with the much bigger Draper. Gresham gets planted again and Draper and twists it over into a rollup for two, which allows Gresham to get back up. Something like a reverse bearhug stays on Gresham’s ribs but he finally grabs the wrist to get a breather, allowing him to dive to the ropes for a second break.

This time Gresham gets to unload in the corner to put Draper down for a change. Draper comes back with a knee into a Stretch Muffler, making Gresham use his last rope break. An armdrag lets Gresham come back with a springboard moonsault press into an ankle lock to put Draper in his most trouble so far. That’s broken up in a hurry though and Draper hits a running crossbody. Another Stretch Muffler is blocked with some kicks to the head and Gresham kicks away at the leg.

A hard forearm to the side of the head gives Gresham two, with Draper having to use the rope. Gresham stays on him and the second rope break is gone too. There’s the ankle lock and Draper is out of rope breaks too. Back up and a hard right hand puts Gresham down, with the referee getting to a nine count until Gresham rolls to the apron, which breaks the count because he moved. Ok then.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a David vs. Goliath match with the ending being a great way to go. Draper tried to use his power to fight through Gresham but the octopus deal caught him. Gresham is fun to watch every time and Draper got to show a bunch of potential here. Now just let him win something, even if it is just a big match.

Commentary talks about what we just saw but Delirious comes in to whisper something to Rocky Romero. It seems like we have a challenge.

Tag Team Titles: Foundation vs. La Faccion Ingobernable

Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus of the Foundation are challenging La Bestia de la Ring (replacing Dragon Lee, his son) and Kenny King, with Amy Rose. It’s a big brawl to start (perhaps before the bell) with everyone heading outside. Williams gets whipped hard into the post, leaving Titus to get dropped with a double dropkick. Bestia hits a backsplash but Williams comes back in for the chop off.

Williams tells Bestia to bring it and gets dropped with a clothesline. Another backsplash misses but King gets in a kick from the apron. King comes in for an enziguri to the floor, setting up a slingshot corkscrew dive. Back in and Williams manages a knockdown of his own, allowing the tag back to Titus for the big slugout with King. Everything breaks down and Titus clotheslines King into a Texas Cloverleaf.

Titus adds a half crab on Bestia but King grabs the rope, meaning both holds are broken. King grabs something like Eddie Guerrero’s Lasso From El Paso but Williams is out in a hurry. It’s already back to Titus, with Williams hitting a quick piledriver on King. Titus grabs a swinging full nelson with Bestia having to make a save.

Bestia plants Williams with a Tombstone and chops it out with Titus. A Codebreaker out of the corner gives Bestia one on Titus so Rose tries to slide in a chair. Bestia doesn’t want it and turns back to Titus, who nails some running boots in the corner. The full nelson knocks Bestia out to give us new champions at 10:29.

Rating: C+. This one didn’t quite make it to the next level but it wasn’t quite fair when you had champions teaming together for the first time. Titus and Williams work well together with Williams being great at the technical stuff and Titus having the size and heart to make it work. The title change makes the show feel more important, though the match itself was only pretty good.

Post match the big argument is on, with Rose slapping King in the face. Bestia cuts Rose in half with a spear and the guys leave.

We recap Jay Lethal challenging Rush for the World Title. Remember the last match which was a culture clash between two stables? Same thing here, but the singles version.

Ring of Honor World Title: Rush vs. Jay Lethal

Rush is defending and has the horned mask with the white fur coat because….I’m not sure actually. For the first time in Ring of Honor, Rush actually shakes hands before we’re ready to go. A headlock sends Lethal straight to the ropes so they go to the mat for some grappling. That gives us a clean break and things reset a bit. They go right back to the mat and it’s the same result as the feeling out continues.

Rush hits him in the face to make Lethal a bit more serious and they strike it out in the corner. Lethal hiptosses him down for the basement dropkick but Rush pops up, earning himself another dropkick. This one sends Rush outside and it’s a springboard dropkick to knock him off the apron. Back to back suicide dives send Rush into the barricade and he comes up holding his knee before Lethal can try the third. Lethal is smart enough to go after the knee back inside but Rush hits him in the face.

It’s back to the floor with Rush sending him into the barricade a few times, meaning we need a camera cord. Rush chokes a bit and hits a backdrop on the floor and it’s time to talk to the camera. They head back inside with Rush kicking away and standing on Lethal’s head for a laugh. Rush loads up the Bull’s Horns but stops to roll into Tranquilo instead. Lethal uses the delay to send him into the corner and they’re both down for a breather.

Some shots to the face just annoy Rush so they strike it out for another double knockdown. Rush puts Lethal up top but gets shoved down, setting up Hail To The King for two. The Figure Four goes on to put Rush in more trouble as the knee gets banged up even more. The rope grab breaks that one up in most of a hurry but Rush snaps off a rebound German suplex. A knee to the face gets two on Lethal and a middle rope double stomp connects for the same.

Something like the Calf Crusher has Lethal in trouble for a change but Rush misses a top rope backsplash. The Figure Four goes on again and here is La Faccion Ingobernable to offer a distraction. Cue the Foundation to clear them out as Rush loads up the Bull’s Horns. That’s countered into a spinebuster, setting up a cutter and the Lethal Injection for two in what was Lethal’s best shot. Rush forearms him into the corner and the Bull’s Horns sends Lethal outside. Back in and another Bull’s Horns retains the title at 18:30.

Rating: B. It felt like a main event match but all of the clutter didn’t help things. There was too much going on near the end and that brought the rest of the match down. Lethal was a good challenge for the title and he wore Rush down, but Rush still feels like a piece of the main event scene rather than the big star. Given that he is approaching the longest reign in the World Title’s history, they might need to find a way around that. Still though, solid main event between two of the bigger stars the company has had.

Post match the stables are back for another brawl (because that’s what they do) with the Foundation getting beaten down. Cue Brody King to say Rush finally did something without his family for a change. Rush has always had the numbers advantage but now King has his own numbers. Cue Tony Deppen, Chris Dickinson and Homicide to beat down La Faccion Ingobernable but they spare the Foundation….for all of a few seconds before laying them out as well. The new team poses to end the show, because just two big stables wasn’t enough.

Overall Rating: B. It’s a good show, though it didn’t have anything that really jumped off the page. As usual, Ring of Honor is rather strong with the wrestling but not so much with the storytelling. The stable wars, now with three instead of two, is more than played out and I didn’t need to see another team added. There is nothing bad on here and it is an easy three hour watch, but this wasn’t exactly the big spark that they needed.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: December 9, 2020
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

The build towards Final Battle continues and it needs to hurry up as the show is in less than ten days. I’m not sure how much they can build towards the show but at least it seems like they have a lot of the ideas set up in advance. We seem to be getting Brody King challenging for the World Title, so hopefully they set up some more things here. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and throws us to the end of Brody King beating Shane Taylor last week.

King says he’s coming for the World Title.

McKay throws us to Josh Woods beating Jay Lethal.

Woods is very fired up by his win.

Video on Vincent vs. Mike Bennett. Mike talks about how Vincent is insane, but Vincent wants to know why Bennett bailed on Matt Taven when he hurt his knee. Vincent was all Taven had left and they used to be friends. Now Bennett doesn’t recognize Vincent and it’s time to beat him up.

Vincent vs. Mike Bennett

Vincent starts with the mind games and drops to the floor at the bell. They switch places though and Vincent stomps him down in the corner to take over. The strike off goes to Bennett and a running forearm sends Vincent outside again. Bennett charges into an elbow though and gets dropped throat first across the top. A side suplex on the floor keeps Bennett down and we take a break.

Back with Bennett slapping him in the head over and over, setting up a superkick into a Death Valley Driver. Vincent sends him into the corner for some running elbows, only to get caught in an exploder suplex. A quick guillotine choke slows Bennett down until he drives Vincent into the corner. The spear is countered into the guillotine again so Bennett suplexes his way to freedom. Back up and they slug it out until Bennett scores with a clothesline. Now the spear connects but the piledriver is blocked. Vincent unloads on him in the corner…and the referee calls the DQ at 11:34.

Rating: C+. That’s a weird way to bring Bennett back to the ring but Vincent shouldn’t be losing before the big showdown at Final Battle. Vincent is a monster and Taven is the hero to fight him, so having him lose clean to a returning Bennett would be wrong. At the same time though, Bennett losing as soon as he gets back is a little weird too. Hopefully things get better, but Bennett turning on Taven wouldn’t shock me.

Post break the beating is still on, with Vincent saying he’s going to make it even worse for Taven. Cue Taven with a dive off the stage so the real fight can be on. Bennett gets up and here’s Bateman to keep up the brawl until referees break it up.

Video on Rhett Titus being overlooked but joining the Foundation. Titus: “I am the Foundation.”

Mark Briscoe has picked PCO as his partners for the Tag Team Title match. What an oddball team.

Tracy Williams didn’t win the Pure Title tournament but he was glad to get his chance against Jonathan Gresham. The Foundation is still about rebuilding this company though and now it is time to deal with some of the other veterans. That brings Williams to John Walters, who is a former Pure Champion returning to the company after ten years. Williams has fifteen minutes to beat him tonight and he’s ready to prove himself again.

John Walters explains who he is and talks about some of his bigger wins. He’s back because Pure Wrestling is back and doesn’t get how Williams says he wants to be like an old school Pure wrestler when Walters is right here. Williams isn’t ready for him.

John Walters vs. Tracy Williams

Pure Rules and Flip Gordon, who will be challenging Jonathan Gresham for the Pure Title, is on commentary. Walters headlocks him to start before they fight over wrist control. Williams takes him down into an armbar but it’s too early for any serious danger, as Walters bails to the ropes for the first time. With that not working, Williams switches to the knee as we take a break.

Back with Walters hammering away in the corner and taking out Williams’ knee. The dragon screw legwhip sets up the Sharpshooter, sending Williams straight to the ropes for his first break. A kneebar sends Walters to the ropes as well so it’s time for a slugout. Williams suplexes him down and now the Crossface has Walters in real trouble. The third rope break gets Walters out of trouble again but he goes back to the knee. Williams is fine with that as he does the same and the top rope DDT rocks Walters again. The piledriver finishes Walters at 11:41.

Rating: C. Well Walters is back after ten years, reminds people of who he is, and then loses in a fairly uneventful match. I’m not sure I need to see much more from Walters as there are several names around here who can do what he did but better, and they don’t need to be reintroduced. Maybe they owed him a shot due to the old vs. new show being canceled, but this wasn’t exactly eventful.

They shake hands post match.

We run down the Final Battle card to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It really is kind of impressive that they are managing to set up a coherent Final Battle card this fast, as they have only had a few weeks outside of the Pure Title tournament. The show isn’t looking too bad all things considered, but there wasn’t much to see in the ring this week. They have one more show before the pay per view and it’s going to be a weird last push, but I have some slight optimism for a change.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: October 28, 2020
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time to get some finalists for the Pure Title Tournament, which has been rather good so far. The wrestling has been top notch and that is the kind of thing that you can always go with on a show like this. I’m not sure what we are going to be seeing next week but odds are it’s going to have some good wrestling, just like this show. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the tournament so far and the final four participants.

Opening sequence.

We look at Tracy Williams advancing to the semifinals by making Fred Yehi submit.

Williams doesn’t like that Jay Lethal doesn’t seem to know his name. Tonight, Williams isn’t just breathing down his neck because he’s going to bite off Lethal’s nose.

We look back at Josh Woods making PJ Black tap out to make it to the semifinals.

Silas Young says no, you shouldn’t be surprised that Woods won. Now where is Woods’ hug?

Video on Woods vs. Gresham, which is part of the same video on Woods and Gresham saying he’ll win.

Pure Title Tournament Semifinals: Jonathan Gresham vs. Josh Woods

This should be awesome. Gresham goes for the leg to start but Woods easily blocks the takedown attempt. That’s enough to send Gresham outside for a breather and he still can’t take the leg on the way back inside. Instead it’s Woods grabbing a gutwrench, sending Gresham to the ropes for the first break of the tournament. Woods takes him to the mat without much trouble and a frustrated Gresham bails to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Woods’ knee to the face being countered and Gresham dragon screwing said leg over the rope. Gresham goes to the top but Woods grabs him by the arm and suplexes him down, meaning Gresham has to use a second rope break when Woods picks the arm again. Woods rolls some gutwrench suplexes but his arm gives out, allowing Gresham to grab something close to an Octopus.

Gresham hammers away at the head ala Daniel Bryan until Woods Samoan drops him down for the break. With Gresham down on the mat, he still manages to twist Woods’ knee to bring him down (that was cool). Gresham grabs a small package but they roll around the ring until Woods finally gets two. Not that it matters as Gresham grabs a sunset flip for the pin at 12:00.

Rating: B-. The technical stuff was here but I was waiting to see them go further and kick it into a higher gear. What we got was good while it lasted but I was wanting more. That’s one thing in a regular match but we only have two matches left in the whole tournament. Still though, what we got here was rather good and Gresham in the finals is one of the best options that they could have had.

Matt Taven comes out for a match but here’s Vincent to jump him from behind and shout that it’s over. Taven is sent head first into the floor and back first into the barricade, allowing Vincent to set up a table. Vincent lays him on the table and whips out a rather big ladder. Some right hands leave Taven on the table and Vincent hits the Swanton off the ladder. Vincent makes sure to ask if Taven gets what he’s saying.

We look back at EC3 debuting last week and a six man tag being set up. EC3 tells Shane to grow up and Shane says he grew up harder than EC3 can ever go. The Briscoes have earned EC3’s respect because there is honor in what he has done. Taylor is ready with the Soldiers of Savagery, which could set up a good tag match.

Jay Lethal is ready to win the title but Tracy Williams is ready to show Lethal who Williams is.

Pure Title Tournament Semifinals: Jay Lethal vs. Tracy Williams

Feeling out process to start until it’s time to trade headlocks. Lethal takes him down by an armbar and can’t shake his way out of it to start. It’s broken up eventually though so Williams takes him down by the leg for a change. Lethal ties him up by the legs and arms at the same time (Coleman: “It’s the Indian Deathboard!”) but Williams is out in a hurry and grabs the leg. That’s enough to send Lethal over for his first rope break.

A rollup gives Williams two and Lethal has to use another rope break, which is quite the fast usage. Williams takes him down by the leg again but Lethal reverses, meaning Williams has to use one for a change. We take a break and come back with Williams grabbing a chinlock with a forearm across the face. That’s broken up as well so Williams knocks him down into the corner for a change. Lethal sends him out to the apron though and that means a triangle dropkick to the floor.

Lethal puts him on top but Williams grabs the super DDT onto the turnbuckle. A piledriver gives Williams two, with Lethal using his last rope break. The Crossface goes on but Lethal cutters his way to freedom. The Lethal Injection connects….for two as Williams uses his last rope break as well. They slowly get back up to slug it out until Lethal cranks his arm down to the mat. Hail To The King connects but the Lethal Injection is countered into a rear naked choke. Lethal gets over to the ropes and kicks off, only to get caught in the Crossface to give Williams the win at 19:29.

Rating: B+. This was the kind of match that you would expect from these guys and what we had here was a heck of a showdown. Williams getting the upset makes for an interesting story and I can go for the idea of someone as good as Williams getting the chance. If nothing else, it was nice to see him pulling Lethal into those submissions. Lethal was trying to mix up the submissions with his usual style and it worked out well, though Williams was just too much. Really good match here though.

Overall Rating: B. Another week and another rather awesome show from the tournament. You can’t go wrong with the matches of course, but it was great to have something thrown in there with the Taven vs. Vincent feud. I’m curious to see where things go once the tournament is over, but I’m going to miss it when it’s gone. Another rather good show here, which is hardly a surprise these days.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: October 14, 2020
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time to start the quarterfinals and that’s a nice thing to see. The Pure Title tournament is such a pallet cleanser after so many things are so bad around here and I could go for a lot more of it. Thankfully that seems to be what we are going to be getting for a long time to come and I can’t say I’m complaining. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a look at the tournament, as we should.

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and runs down the quarterfinal participants.

We look at Tracy Williams advancing last week.

Williams says that was round one and he’s here for the best competition. He thanks Rust Taylor for knocking the rust off and hopes he never has to wrestle someone that tough again. Now he has Fred Yehi, who was part of Catch Point with him. So bring it on, because Yehi was what Catch Point was all about.

PJ Black beat Tony Deppen and knows he can use enough moves to make people burn through his rope breaks. Now he’s ready for round two.

We look at Jay Lethal beating Dalton Castle to advance to the second round. He’s ready for David Finlay.

We look at David Finlay beating Rocky Romero to advance to the second round. He’s ready for Jay Lethal.

Pure Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Jay Lethal vs. David Finlay

The time limits are extended to twenty minutes in the second round. They fight over wristlocks to start with Finlay knocking him to the mat but having to fight out of a cross armbreaker attempt. Lethal takes over on the arm and then drives him down into something close to a Fujiwara armbar. Back up and they fight over a hiptoss with Lethal being sent out to the floor in a crash.

They switch places with Finlay hurting his knee on the landing but still being able to get away before Lethal can dive. Back in and Finlay uses a headscissors to escape a headlock, only to get pulled into another headlock. With the holds not working, Lethal hits the hiptoss into the basement dropkick as we take a break. We come back with Lethal in trouble thanks to a backbreaker (with commentary calmly explaining the main point of what we missed during the break, because this show is treated as an actual sport).

Lethal escapes but can’t get a Figure Four as his knee is banged up, instead settling for the Lethal Combination for a double knockdown. That gets a very delayed two but Lethal takes way too long going up top because of the knee. Finlay pulls him down into something close to an Indian deathlock. Lethal is smart enough to use his first rope break and they fight out to the apron. Finlay is left on the apron and it’s a springboard dropkick to put him on the floor. The bad knee means Lethal can only hit one dive but the Lethal Injection connects for the pin to eliminate Finlay at 14:58.

Rating: B-. Lethal’s knee was banged up throughout the second half but it only held him back so much as he was still hitting almost all of his usual stuff. Finlay was a bit more interesting so far but I completely get why it’s Lethal moving on. He’s the biggest star Ring of Honor has at the moment and there is no reason to have him eliminated early on. Good match, but not quite as good as I was expecting.

We actually get an in-ring promo with Vincent coming to the ring to talk about how everyone is talking about change. He doesn’t need to change though because he is righteous. At one time, he stood there in the shadows and almost needed someone to bring him in. Now though, he’s here as the face of horror and it tastes so good man. He wants us to get closer and dig what he is saying. If you want to be successful you need friends, but if you want to be even more successful, you need to have some enemies.

Cue Matt Taven to take Vincent out and the beatdown is on in a hurry. Taven rips the canvas up and hits a knee to the face, followed by the Climax onto the exposed wood. That’s not enough as Taven whips out a table and drives Vincent through it at ringside before walking away. Face Taven is still a mile better than the heel version and this is a good way to build things up aside from the tournament.

We get a vignette on the importance of freedom. Three lines come up and we see the words YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

We look at Jonathan Gresham moving on by defeating Wheeler Yuta. He’s ready for Matt Sydal.

We look at Matt Sydal moving on by defeating Delirious. He’s ready for Jonathan Gresham.

Pure Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Jonathan Gresham vs. Matt Sydal

The break takes place before the bell for a nice relief. Sydal takes him down by the leg to start and cranks away before switching to an armbar. You know Gresham is fine on the mat and starts pulling on Sydal’s foot but Sydal gets in a kick to the face for the escape. Sydal puts on an ankle lock, only to get taken down into Gresham’s hammerlock. Gresham ties the arm around his leg and pulls back on Sydal’s leg at the same time for a bonus. That’s broken up so they trade some headscissors.

With that going nowhere, Sydal takes him down and starts working on the arm some more. This time they stumble into the ropes for a break, which is somehow not a rope break. We take a break and come back with Sydal striking away but not being able to get the cobra stretch. Sydal takes him down by the leg instead and kicks away at the knee. A big kick to the chest drops Gresham but it’s quickly off to a pinfall reversal sequence. Gresham’s knee is fine enough to pull Sydal into a surfboard but drops Sydal down to horribly bend the ankle and Sydal taps at 13:27.

Rating: B. This was more like it and the kind of thing that made the time worth it. The whole point here was two guys being technical masters with Gresham being just that much better. If nothing else, it’s great to see the two of them trying various methods of destroying the other’s limbs and Gresham’s big finishing hold was awesome. Really good stuff here and that’s what I was hoping to see.

We get another CONTROL YOUR NARRATIVE video and it’s confirmed to be EC3.

Overall Rating: B+. Seriously what else could you want from an hour long show? They had two good to very good matches, a surprise at the end and a story being brought back after several months away. Ring of Honor is doing the most basic stuff right now but they’re doing it well, and I’ll take that every single time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: July 15, 2020

We’re dropping down the ladder around here, with this week’s show focusing on Vincent.. In other words, it’s like a look at Luke Harper right after he broke away from the Wyatt Family. That’s a pretty far cry from some of their previous offerings, and I’m almost scared to see what we get soon. Let’s get to it.

Video on Vincent to start.

Vincent talks about how he has grown up in Ring of Honor and used a lot of stepping stones to get here. That all started back at Final Battle 2016 so that’s where we’re going first.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Kingdom vs. Kushida/Jay White/Lio Rush

The titles are vacant coming in and I still have no idea which one is TK O’Ryan and which is Vinny Marsegila. Before the bell, Corino says the Father (likely meaning Kevin Sullivan) said the evil was coming and that’s clearly Cody. Things start very fast with Rush hitting a standing C4 and frog splash for a pretty hot two.

After a break on the floor, White takes O’Ryan down until it’s off to Kushida for a dropkick to the head. Rush comes in for some YES Kicks but Taven sneaks in for a DDT to take over. O’Ryan adds a spear for two as things settle down into your normal formula. The first hot tag brings in Kushida for the Hoverboard Lock but O’Ryan is quickly in the ropes.

The announcers are nice enough to start explaining why we should care about the Kingdom as Kushida scores with a double Tajiri handspring elbow. Everything breaks down and White gets two off a missile dropkick. To really pick things up a bit, White gets caught in a half crab from the top rope, only to have Kushida put Vinny in the Hoverboard Lock on the top for the save.

A superplex breaks the submissions which don’t count because they’re in the ropes and it’s time for Rush to get to show off because ROH LOVES that guy. Kushida gets in a big dive to take all of the Kingdom down, only to have Taven dive onto the even bigger pile. Back in and Rush has Vinny beaten so TK dives off the top to take out the referee. Rush goes crazy with his strikes but the triple powerbomb crushes Lio to give the Kingdom the belts at 15:22.

Rating: C+. This is a good example of just throwing titles out there and not bothering to put anything important behind them. There’s no reason to care about Six Man Tag Team Titles when there were barely any trios in the first place. It comes off like someone else did something so now we’ve got Trios Titles. That doesn’t mean it works and the match wasn’t great either, making this the finals of one heck of a waste of time, especially with the winners being a reincarnated stable that is missing all the parts that made it work in the first place.

Then someone attacked TK O’Ryan and Vincent. Matt Taven demanded answers, but it was Vincent of course. Vincent took out Taven as well, setting up their big showdown at Final Battle 2019.

Matt Taven vs. Vincent

Taven goes straight at him to start and sends Vincent outside for the suicide dive. Kelly rapid fires off Taven’s resume as Vincent is backdropped over the barricade. That means a dive from Taven and a jumping enziguri in the corner back inside rocks Vincent again. There’s a powerbomb for two and a freaky leglock works on Vincent’s leg. That’s broken up so Taven grabs a DDT for two more but Vincent sends him outside for a drop onto the apron.

A suplex onto the exposed concrete bangs up Taven’s back even more and they head back inside. Instead of staying on the back though, Vincent starts in on the ankle with stomps and bending around the rope. That’s broken up though and Taven sends him to the floor for the Flight of the Conqueror, followed by a top rope splash to the apron for two.

Back in and Vincent grabs a Side Effect, followed by Redrum for a near fall of his own. A quick Climax gives Taven two more and a second gets the same, leaving Taven stunned. With that not working, naturally it’s time for a hatchet but the attempted murder is countered into a Dudley Dog to finish Taven at 13:32.

Rating: C+. I’m as shocked as you are that Taven is working so well as a face. He really does seem to have been missing the point all this time and while he isn’t a huge star, he’s good enough to work in a spot like this. I could go for more of him, but his ankle injury would put him on the shelf for a long time. That’s a shame too, as he’s more interesting than he ever has been around here.

Post match Bateman comes out and helps Vincent crush Taven’s ankle.

Vincent and Chuckles the Clown talk about being righteous and hating their lives. They’ll drink to that.

Someone pulls a woman out of a car and she shouts about how much she hates him. Vincent sits down next to her and says he can help her. She comes with him.

Vincent and the woman go to meet Chuckles, who is sharpening a knife. Using said knife, Vincent cuts her hand open and she cringes a lot.

Vincent talks about how he isn’t carrying Taven any longer.

Now it’s time for the team to come together. From ROH TV, February 26, 2020.

Vincent/Bateman vs. Dalton Castle/Joe Hendry

Chuckles and Vita are in Vincent/Bateman’s corner. Bateman and Castle stare at each other to start until Castle takes him into the corner so Hendry can work on the arm. A fireman’s carry into a running shoulder has Bateman in trouble and a jumping knee gives Hendry two. Castle drops a middle rope knee and we hit the waistlock. Vincent holds out Matt Taven’s crutch for a distraction though, which just lets Hendry clothesline Bateman to the floor. Vincent finally comes in and posts Castle as we take a break.

Back with Hendry in trouble as Bateman and Vincent take turns kicking him in the ribs. Vincent gets two off a Side Effect and grabs a guillotine choke for a bonus. That’s broken up with a suplex and the hot tag brings in Castle. House is cleaned with suplexes until Vincent puts Castle on the top.

That goes nowhere as Castle slips down and catches him in a release German suplex. Vincent knocks him outside, only to have Castle get over to Hendry. That means a double fall away slam so Hendry can show off quite a bit as everything breaks down. A reverse Sling Blade puts Bateman down and there’s the facebuster to Vincent, only to have Chuckles pull Castle to the floor. Vincent hits a Dudley Dog for the pin on Hendry at 12:38.

Rating: C+. They were working hard here with Vincent and Bateman continuing to be more interesting than the Kingdom ever was. Castle and Hendry’s oddball stuff isn’t exactly thrilling and the two of them have been doing the same stuff for months now. At least we got a good match out of it though and that’s more than some people can say.

Vincent says a journey is a path we all must take. This is a Righteous beginning. Dig what he is saying?

Overall Rating: B-. The action was fine but at the same time, there is only so much that can be done with a lower level name like Vincent. He might be something one day and he knows how to talk, but I’m not sure what they were expecting here. That being said, I do like the idea of focusing on someone a little lower on the card like this. Let them have the spotlight for a change and plan for the future. Not a bad show by any stretch, but not the most thrilling.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: May 20, 2020

The Best Of’s continue with Dalton Castle, who has had one of the more interesting careers in Ring of Honor. Castle is someone who should be little more than a comedy guy but has wound up becoming World Champion and a top star. You can’t deny his charisma and he could be worth another look. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Video on Castle.

Castle talks about how strange things have been in quarantine but he has been trying to see what kinds of exercises he can do, plus annoying his cats. He remembers winning the World Title at Final Battle 2017 and we see a few minutes of the match.

And now, Castle makes pizza! Seriously he just makes a pizza.

Castle talks about winning the title and then having a bull’s eye put on his back. That included a huge match at Supercard of Honor XII in New Orleans, where he came in with a broken back and then broke his finger early on.

Ring of Honor World Title: Marty Scurll vs. Dalton Castle

Castle is defending and has more Boys than usual. With NWA World Champion Nick Aldis in the crowd, Castle drives Marty into the corner to start. Marty’s right hand in the corner earns him a chest thrust and Scurll is already looking confused by Castle. An exchange of wristlocks gives us another standoff, which isn’t a good sign given that we’re already to nearly four hours with this show and the crowd is obviously tired.

Scurll flips him off so Marty reaches into his (own) trunks to pull out a middle finger. You don’t offer Marty your finger but Dalton punches his way to freedom before the finger is broken. Instead Marty grabs the golden umbrella but puts it in the corner, allowing Marty to grab a single leg. The chops it out from their backs before going to a standard punch out. Castle goes with the wrestling in the form of some gutwrench suplexes but Marty avoids a charge to send the champ into the post.

As the Boys FAN UP, Marty keeps Castle in trouble with some chops. It’s time to start stomping on the arm as this is definitely going long, no matter what makes sense on this show. Marty snaps the arm back ala Pentagon in Lucha Underground to not much success. That really should be a big deal but here’s it’s just a move. Shows what happens when you get a move over. Castle strikes away and elbows Marty in the face, followed by a simple beal to really get back into this.

Marty sends him outside but Castle grabs a German suplex through the ropes and drops him hard on the floor. Back in and Scurll kicks him in the head (because a GERMAN SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR isn’t a big move) but gets knocked back to the floor. A DDT plants Castle on the floor again (How long are they going to spend out there?) but he powers out of a tornado DDT. The Bang-a-Rang is reversed into a rollup so Castle knees him in the face instead.

The fans finally get into this with some dueling chants but calm back down when Castle can’t hit a gutwrench superplex to the floor. A superkick drops Castle on the floor again (erg) and Marty backdrops him onto the steps in the aisle for a VERY nasty looking bump. Back in again and the already damaged arm is sent into the buckle as the fans have already dropped their short lived interest.

The Ghostbuster gets two and they go outside AGAIN as the match is clearly being extended for the sake of being extended. Castle gets sent into the steps and in the melee, Aldis hands Marty some clippers so he can cut off a turnbuckle pad. A suplex drops Marty though and a deadlift German suplex gets two more.

Marty is back up with a superkick to the back of the head for two of his own….and now it’s time to stop as he looks underneath the ring for something specific. He can’t fine whatever it is so Dalton sends him into the barricade instead. Marty finally finds some powder, which is kicked back into his face. The blindness causes him to break the referee’s hand so there’s no count off the Bang-a-Rang. Well that’s a new way to do a familiar spot so well done.

With the referee on the floor, Marty gets in an umbrella shot for two. The Boys get beaten down and we need a new referee. A brainbuster gets a delayed two from a second referee so LET’S KEEP GOING! The threat of a chickenwing earns Marty another Peacock Pose but he grabs a loose chickenwing anyway. Castle reaches for the rope so Marty BREAKS THE FINGER and stomps away at the champ’s head. Back to back superkicks rock Castle but he pops up with the Bang-a-Rang to retain at 31:41.

The previous match went nearly forty minutes and this should have been cut down as a result. The wrestling was fine and Castle getting a win over a pretty strong name helps him a lot but egads the length just murdered this match. This might have worked better with fifteen minutes cut off on a less overloaded show but as it was, this didn’t work at all.

After losing the World Title, Castle had to take some time off but he came back and things were going ok. Then he lost to Rush in Madison Square Garden in about 16 seconds. There wasn’t much to remember about the match, but he was proud of his seven minute entrance.

There have been a lot of ups and downs during his time with ROH, but he’s always been fantastic. Now his role in Ring of Honor is looking more different than ever because now he has a tag partner. We see some clips of Castle with Joe Hendry and it’s time for our final match.

From Bound By Honor 2020.

Joe Hendry/Dalton Castle vs. PJ Black/Brian Johnson vs. Vincent/Bateman vs. Lifeblood

One fall to a finish. Hendry takes Black down by the wrist to start but Black flips over him into an armdrag. Williams comes in to work on Black’s leg but Black takes him down as well. Johnson gets the tag and is armdragged straight down, allowing Haskins to come in and stomp on the arm. Now it’s Castle’s chance to headlock Johnson, who sends Castle outside.

That’s too much for Castle, who comes back in and hits the Peacock Pose. It’s off to Hendry for the delayed vertical suplex, followed by Haskins getting in a few shots of his own. A blind tag lets Bateman come in though and we take a break. Back with Vincent rolling Haskins into the corner and getting two off a Side Effect. Haskins hits a backdrop so here’s Johnson to stomp away and keep Haskins in trouble.

he belly to back suplex doesn’t work though, meaning it’s a forearm each to Vincent and Bateman. While I’m trying to figure out why those don’t count as tags, Haskins tags Williams in to clean house. A Death Valley Driver plants Johnson so Bateman comes in. This Is A Kill is broken up as everything breaks down. Black hits the big corkscrew dive to the floor, leaving Williams to forearm Johnson for two.

Castle comes in for the suplexes until Williams dropkicks him down. Hendry hits a fall away slam on Black and Williams at the same time but lays down so Vincent can hit Redrum (that looked terrible). Haskins comes off the top with a double stomp to Vincent, leaving Castle to give Haskins the Bang A Rang. A Codebreaker from Hendry into a reverse Sling Blade from Castle is enough for the pin on Haskins at 11:37.

Rating: C+. This was the kind of match that is almost impossible to screw up and they didn’t come close here. They had all eight guys doing something in there at some point and that makes for an entertaining match. You can’t put together much of a story in there but it still works well enough to have a good time. Just go with what works, like they did here.

Castle doesn’t know what his future holds but it’s going to be fantastic. Then he eats pizza.

Overall Rating: C-. Castle is a hard one to put together as so much of his appeal is based on being over the top and eccentric. We got a lot more of that out of the parts at his house instead of his matches, which makes for a weird sit. The Scurll match came at the wrong time on the wrong show but the tag match was a lot more entertaining. Just a weird selection here, but Castle will always get your attention.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: April 22, 2020

It’s Matt Taven’s week and that could mean a few things. Taven is someone who has done some good things in his time, but as long as we don’t hear him talk, everything should be fine. He has some solid matches on his resume and we might be seeing some of those here. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Taven talks about rehabbing from a knee injury in 2016 and knowing he had some goals. He knew he would have to beat Adam Cole because they started at the same time but Cole was already the World Champion. Then he beat Dalton Castle, allowing him to bring in the REAL World Title. The match that gives him the most pride is going an hour with Jay Lethal, even though he didn’t win the World Title. Then he won the World Title in Madison Square Garden, which was all he ever wanted.

From War of the Worlds 2019: Grand Rapids.

Ring of Honor World Title: Matt Taven vs. Mark Haskins

Taven is defending and tries to hit him with the belt before the bell. That earns him a kick to the face and they head outside with Haskins kicking him in the jaw again. A penalty kick from the apron connects but Taven is back in to run the ropes a bit before getting kicked down again. Haskins hits a shinbreaker and a basement dropkick gets two. Something like an Indian Deathlock stays on the leg, followed by a DDT for two more.

Taven gets to the apron though and snaps the arm across the top to get a breather. They head outside with Taven staying on the arm, including sending it into the post. Back from a break with Haskins being thrown up the steps and onto the stage. Haskins has to dive in to beat the count at nineteen so Taven stomps on the shoulder some more. A Fujiwara armbar has Haskins in major trouble but he gets over to the rope for the break. Taven hits him in the face so Haskins says bring it on and wins a slugout with a leg lariat.

Back up and Taven catches him in a fireman’s carry and drops Haskins throat first on the top rope. We take another break and come back with Taven pulling on the arm again but getting pulled down into a Crossface. Make that the Rings of Saturn as Taven is getting too close to the ropes. A foot on the rope makes the save and Taven is fine enough to hit a running knee to the face for two.

An enziguri into a Blue Thunder Bomb gives Taven two more but he misses the frog splash. The Gibson Driver gets two on Taven and they’re both down again. It’s Haskins up first and kicking at the chest until stereo dropkicks give us another double knockdown. They get up and slug it out with Haskins dropping him and hitting the top rope double stomp for two.

Haskins takes him to the apron but gets caught with the Climax. Back in and Taven hits the frog splash for two and the big shocked face. Haskins is mostly dead but manages to roll into a Sharpshooter….and here’s Bully Ray (Commentary: “NO!!!!”) to ask how Haskins’ wife is. The distraction lets Taven get in a cheap shot and the Climax retains at 25:52.

Rating: B+. Man they had me going there until the Bully Ray ending, which has been done so many times before. As usual, Haskins is one of the most entertaining guys on the roster and Taven can do very well when he drops the talking and just goes in the ring. I liked this one quite a bit and if they had done ANYTHING but the Ray ending, it would have been even better.

Taven talks his feud with Ultimo Guerrero in Mexico. That made him into a bigger deal and they did it again in America.

From ROH TV, July 4, 2018.

Matt Taven vs. Ultimo Guerrero

Oh it’s a post pay per view TV show for sure. No Vinny Marseglia with Taven and TK O’Ryan here and I don’t find that to be a bad thing. This is an old rivalry and Guerrero works a top wristlock to start. The fans give that a LUCHA LIBRE chant and it’s time for a standoff, complete with a lack of commentary for some reason. After chasing O’Ryan away, Guerrero sends Taven to the apron and baseball slides him out to the floor.

Taven gets thrown into the crowd and O’Ryan goes into the barricade to keep things even. Another whip sends Guerrero into the barricade as well and we take a break. Back with Guerrero fighting out of a chinlock but gets enziguried out to the floor. That sets up Taven’s great looking no hands dive but Guerrero steps to the side. Taven and O’Ryan are set on a chair for a big wipeout, followed by some rapid(ish) fire chops in the corner.

A super gordbuster gets two but Taven is right back with a knee to the face. Back again with Taven getting two off a Lionsault but having a super hurricanrana countered into a superbomb. A springboard enziguri drops Guerrero again but he’s right back up to catch Taven on top. Cue the red balloons and Marseglia from underneath the ring for a distraction though, allowing Taven to hit the Climax for the pin at 14:17.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what to say about this. It wasn’t boring and the work was fine but Guerrero is more a treat for the live crowd and he’s not exactly the biggest name in the world. This really felt like a main event on a show you didn’t need to see and while it was fine, it’s really not a match that I need to see or really care about. Taven has gotten a lot better though.

Post match the Kingdom celebrates for a long time before Taven says he respects Guerrero. Just realize that you’re not as good as Taven of course.

Taven talks about how important these matches are but Vincent cuts in and says he left Taven laying at Final Battle. Vincent is the best of Matt Taven.

Overall Rating: B. That opener is great and is enough to pull the just pretty good main event up. Taven is someone who does not have the best reputation in ROH (fair enough) but things get a lot better when he’s in the ring. This was as good as it was going to get from him and I liked the show well enough. Face Taven could be interesting, and seems like such a natural fit for him. Why did it take until the end of last year to make that happen?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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