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

It’s another special week here despite already doing the Final Battle fallout show. This is billed as a Best Of show which apparently means airing house show matches for the first time ever. That can be all over the place and maybe we can get something a bit more fresh instead of the dull Women of Honor stuff.  Let’s get to it.

Kevin Kelly runs down what we’ll be seeing and throws us to our first match.

Keith Lee/Shane Taylor vs. War Machine

This is No DQ and we’re joined in progress with all four fighting on the floor. War Machine takes over and Lee is powerbombed hard through a table for a big crash. Taylor gets beaten up inside and we take an early break. We come back (after hearing from the Briscoes about how they’re going to win all the titles this year) with Lee escaping a Death Valley Driver through a table.

Corino says we’re over fifteen minutes in and it’s Hanson flip diving off the top to take everyone down. They load up something near the announcers’ table but let’s clip it to Kelly getting bumped off a suicide dive instead. Eh I’ll take that over a table spot. Clipped again to Taylor going through the table in the corner, only to have Lee come in and Last Ride Rowe though a table for the pin at 13:36 shown.

Rating: C+. It’s really not fair to rate this one as it was so chopped up that you couldn’t get a feel for what they were doing. These teams have fought so many times though that it’s hard to care about what they’re doing. It’s not bad or anything but it’s something that’s been done so often that even a violent match like this doesn’t have the biggest impact.

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

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

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

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

It’s Bullet Club time with a focus on the end of Global Wars which eventually set up Adam Cole vs. Jay Lethal for the World Title at Death Before Dishonor.

The match is clipped on the broadcast but here’s the full version.

ROH World Title: Jay Lethal vs. Adam Cole

Lethal is defending and they’re both here alone. Apparently Nigel has told the referee to relax the rules here so there must be a winner. Cole pulls out some of Lethal’s shaved hair and the fight is on in a hurry. Lethal hiptosses him down and cartwheels into a basement dropkick. Cole comes back and it’s time to SHOUT A CATCHPHRASE.

They head outside with Lethal taking over again and setting up a table, which is kind of outside his nature. A cutter on the floor knocks Cole silly but he’s still able to roll off the table, sending Jay’s flying elbow through the table instead. Adam very slowly takes his time getting back inside so we can hit the chinlock.

Lethal finally gets up and hits a middle rope leg lariat to start the first of probably multiple comebacks. There’s a springboard dropkick to knock Cole off the apron and Lethal hits three straight suicide dives. That’s WAY too common of a move around here and it doesn’t get any better when he does it a fourth and fifth time. The sixth (this is reaching superkick levels) hits the barricade though and Cole is suddenly fine. To be fair they’re really just flying shoves so this isn’t a huge stretch.

Back in and Cole kicks him in the face to cut off a second comeback, followed by a Shining Wizard for another near fall. A superkick misses (I’m sure he’ll get to throw more) and Lethal takes him down with a clothesline. It’s way too early for the Lethal Injection though and Cole hits him low for two more.

Lethal can’t get a Figure Four but the Lethal Combination breaks up a choke and puts both guys down. The top rope elbow connects for two more and it’s time to trade big strikes. Cole’s Canadian Destroyer is countered but the Lethal Injection is blocked with, of course, a superkick.

The suplex backbreaker gets a VERY close two and the fans are way into this. Cole actually takes the time to talk trash and the Lethal Injection only gets two on Adam. Both guys are spent so Cole flips him off, sending Lethal into a rage. That’s exactly what Cole wants though as he grabs another suplex backbreaker for the pin and the title at 24:00.

Rating: B. They did a very good job with the ending as I was waiting on the Bucks to run in and then Cole just pinned him clean by getting inside Lethal’s head and throwing him off his game. Cole winning was the only real option here as Lethal can’t do anything else with the belt and it’s WAY past the point where the Bullet Club should have gotten the title. If nothing else now they’re not just on the sideline and dominating the show. Besides Cole is rather awesome and made a good champion the first time around.

We get some highlights of Kyle O’Reilly winning the World Title from Cole at Final Battle.

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

Overall Rating: C+. This was kind of all over the place with the World Title match being the only thing that really needed to be here. The opening match was really random and there was no need for the Women of Honor thing (though the more Mandy Leon and Kelly Klein on screen the better). It’s a bit of a mess though and really doesn’t do much to showcase what ROH is all about. Not bad but just watch the main event and move on.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: December 4, 2016
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 600
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

We’re past Final Battle and that means a few weeks before we actually get anything substantial in storyline terms. It’s really hard to say what we might get here but it could be anything from a house show to some nothing TV matches, but there’s almost a guarantee that it won’t be anything storyline driven. Let’s get to it.

Will Ferrara/Cheeseburger vs. Tempura Boyz

Joey Daddiego, Ferrara and Burger’s trainer, is on commentary. Ferrara and Burger double team Sho in the corner to start as we hear about Daddiego working on the Americans’ weight training. It’s off to Yo as the beating begins but Sho runs over to pull Cheeseburger off the apron to break up a hot tag attempt.

That goes nowhere though as Burger gets the hot tag a few seconds later, meaning it’s time for all the chops. Everything breaks down and the palm strike into a jumping Flatliner….only gets two as we take a break. Well it’s a special show so they have to fill in time. Back with Cheeseburger taking a package piledriver for the pin at 8:00. The post break stuff was less than a minute.

Rating: D+. Not much to this one but that’s going to be the case on the whole show. There’s nothing interesting to this one but at least the Tempura Boyz stand out a little bit instead of being a very similar kind of act than you see so often. Also it’s not like you can ever have too much talent on a roster so this is all fine. Not a good match or anything but fine enough for what it was.

Post match here are Prince Nana and Donovan Dijak to destroy Ferrara and Cheeseburger. Daddiego gets in and says this isn’t happening so let’s have a match.

Joey Daddiego vs. Donovan Dijak

Daddiego slugs away but can’t do much on the much bigger Dijak. A brainbuster gets two on Donovan but Nana crotches Daddiego. Feast Your Eyes gives Dijak the pin at 2:29.

We recap the Cabinet getting rid of their gimmick and calling themselves….the Rebellion. That’s really the best they could come up with? The idea of just scrapping the thing was out of the question? They also attacked Dijak and the Motor City Machine Guns at a house show.

Video on Kevin Sullivan/Steve Corino/BJ Whitmer. Thank goodness Corino just left the promotion instead of making us sit through this anymore.

BJ Whitmer/Damien Martinez vs. War Machine

As expected, they don’t even bother with the wrestling and just head outside to set up tables. The big brawl takes us to an early break with neither team in any real control. Back with a wrestling match having broken out with Whitmer and Rowe down off a double clothesline. Everything breaks down again with Hanson and Martinez slugging it out on the floor. The referee gets shoved and the match is thrown out at 7:16. Not enough to rate it but this was the kind of brawl it should have been.

Rowe gets chokeslammed through a table and Hanson gets kicked a lot. Kevin Sullivan talks to Hansen and apparently they knew each other back in the day. Hansen used to call himself Steve NEW SCHOOL Corino so Sullivan calls out the real Corino. This means a staredown between Corino and Hansen which goes….nowhere. Much like EVERYTHING ELSE IN THIS STUPID STORY!

Briscoe Brothers/Silas Young/Jay Lethal vs. Motor City Machine Guns/Lio Rush/Jay White

There are three people in this match named Jay. The referee is so confused by the horrible naming decisions that he doesn’t ring an opening bell (or maybe I just missed it) but Lethal shoulders Rush down to start. Rush starts firing off strikes and kicks Lethal in the head, setting up a big dive to the floor. That triggers a parade of dives to put everyone down as we take a break.

Back with more chaos, albeit slightly more controlled chaos. Mark takes a trashcan to the head and stops to chat about it on commentary for a bit. Lethal gets in trouble but there isn’t a heel corner for him to get caught in. Some quadruple teaming allows Lio to fire off some YES Kicks but Young tags himself in to save Lethal.

Rush gets caught in the corner as the Rebellion comes out to watch for reasons of general annoyance. We take a second break and come back with Rush handstanding his way out of a cutter (not a fan of the guy but that was cool). The hot tag brings in White as everything breaks down.

Everyone else winds up on the floor so Rush’s frog splash hits Lethal’s knees. White gets the tag but Mark makes a blind tag to kick White in the head. The Guns do their rapid fire stuff to Young and a double suplex staggers Jay Briscoe. White’s Kiwi Crush actually gets the pin on Jay Briscoe at 15:22 in a big upset.

Rating: B-. Rush is slowly growing on me though I still find him vastly overrated. White getting the pin is a nice touch though as he and Briscoe had that great brawl for one of White’s earliest matches. This was the high energy match that this promotion is capable of putting on and it worked well for this nothing show.

Overall Rating: C. For what we had here, this was actually a watchable hour. I like the idea of giving the lower stories and talent a show of their own like this as it’s not often they get a chance to shine. There are even stories to them most of the time, even though they don’t get to be on the pay per view. At least they get a chance to advance them, though unfortunately one of them is Sullivan vs. Corino. Good little show here, which was a nice surprise.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

It’s FINALLY back to the main storylines which are…..actually I can barely remember. That’s the problem with this company: it’s been multiple weeks since All-Star Extravaganza and I really don’t remember most of what happened last time. I know we’re gearing up for Final Battle and that means Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole for the ROH World Title. Let’s get to it.

We open with a montage of Ladder War with the Young Bucks winning the Tag Team Titles. As much as I can’t stand them, it makes sense to put the titles on them.

Opening sequence.

Here’s the Bullet Club en masse for an opening chat. Matt says All-Star Extravaganza was a FIVE STAR Extravaganza and Nick says they’re the best team in the world. Adam Cole declares STORY TIME, which means it’s time to hear about how great the Club is. They’re going to get the newly created Trios Titles as well and the Club is going to be stronger than ever. Really not much to this one but I’d much rather have a short opening promo than something needlessly filling time.

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

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

Shane Taylor/Keith Lee vs. War Machine

War Machine dives through the ropes to take out Taylor and Lee as we start fast. Rowe is slammed onto Lee as the announcers acknowledge a lack of countouts or disqualifications here. Hanson beats on Taylor as we’re still waiting on the first count. They head inside for the first time, only to have Lee backdrop Rowe onto both partners. A big cannonball from the apron has Lee crushing everyone as we take a break.

Back with the brawling continues and all four guys actually in the ring. Rowe tosses Taylor with an exploder suplex but Lee POUNCES ROWE ACROSS THE RING. A double chokeslam plants Hanson for two and he’s busted open off something in there. Now it’s Lee left alone but Taylor trips Hanson from the floor. An AA powerslam gets two on Hanson and THEY ACTUALLY BOTHER WITH A TAG. Like, why?

Hanson takes Taylor out with a Whoopee Cushion (sure why not) out of the corner and brings Rowe back in. Fallout gets two on Lee and Taylor’s sitout powerbomb gets the same on Rowe. Hanson misses a top rope splash as there’s nothing between these big moves. For some reason Lee tries a moonsault, only to have Rowe roll out of the way, setting up a Canadian Destroyer for the pin on Lee at 12:42.

Rating: B-. This was out of the Masato Tanaka vs. Mike Awesome playbook: take some big, strong guys and have them beat on each other for an extended periods of time. I’m not sure if there’s any need for them to fight again and it’s good that War Machine got the win here after losing so many times.

Taylor and Lee wipe War Machine out post match.

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

We finally get a bracket for the tournament.

ACH/Kushida/Jay White

Jason Kincaid/Leon St. Giovanni/Shaheem Ali

The Cabinet

Addiction/Kamaitachi

Team CMLL

The Kingdom

Bullet Club

So yeah: this REALLY doesn’t need to exist but Japan has them and that makes it awesome.

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

The introduction says this is Block A. Please, PLEASE tell me that this is just an eight team tournament and not double that. Maybe Block A is another attempt to make this sound like a Japanese tournament. It’s still stupid but it would make me feel better. Oh wait we can’t start yet because, I kid you not, the Cabinet needs to take a knee during the Code of Honor. Ali and King miss a variety of kicks against each other and it’s time for more kneeling in protest.

The Kingdom triple teams Ali and poses AGAIN (we’re less than three minutes in and that’s three times they’ve done the same bit), this time earning themselves dropkicks to the back. The makeshift team does some big, complicated triple team leg stretch spot on Coleman but Kincaid gets distracted off the top.

Back from a break with King missing another kick and allowing the hot tag to Shaheem. Everything breaks down with Leon coming in to spin into clotheslines. The former All Night Express cleans house until Kincaid slingshots in with a spinning cutter. A coast to coast dropkick gets two on Titus, who also blocks Leon’s Phoenix splash. The Sky Splitter ends Leon at 9:50.

Rating: C. At least the Cabinet is finally doing something other than getting on my nerves with their stupid promos. This wasn’t bad and did something to keep the tournament going but the kneeling continues to get on my nerves. I’ve never been a fan of current events characters and this made the Cabinet even worse than they were in the first place.

Jay Lethal vs. Silas Young

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

Back with Young driving a knee into Jay’s back and slapping on a chinlock. It’s too early for Misery though and a kick sends Silas sprawling across the ring. The Lethal Combination sets up Hail to the King but Jay tries one too many finishers, meaning the Lethal Injection is broken up. A cutter gets two for Young and it’s time for Cole to head down to ringside. That means Kyle O’Reilly needs to do his regular run-in to cut the champ off but he gets on the apron to distract Young by mistake. A quick rollup gives Lethal the pin at 11:07.

Rating: C+. I liked this better than I was expecting to but the ending was messier than it needed to be. It’s a good move to start elevating some fresh names into the main event and Young hasn’t exactly been doing anything else lately. I’d assume we’re getting a fourway at a house show at some point and that’s fine as a way to bridge us to Cole vs. O’Reilly.

Kyle brainbusts Cole to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Good wrestling, interesting stories and no need for the New Japan guys. Ring of Honor is a fun promotion that can do a lot of things when they act like themselves for more than five minutes and that’s what we got here. That main event scene has me intrigued and it’s nice to have the focus be back on the stuff that ROH does well.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete 2014 Raw and Smackdown Reviews Part I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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

We’re getting closer to All-Star Extravaganza and for once they’re actually setting up some stuff for the pay per view in advance. Now that being said, a lot of the card is going to be built around the Six Man Tag Team Title tournament so they can throw a lot of it together at their own leisure. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Steve Corino gets his own entrance to do commentary. As expected, he’s rather happy to be back.

Guerillas of Destiny vs. All Night Express

The announcers call them the All Night Express but they’re part of the Cabinet because that’s still a thing. Tama and Titus get things going and a pull of the hair takes the monster down. Loa tags himself and it’s time to start the beating. The Tongans snap Titus’ throat across the top and we take an early break. Back with Loa suplexing Titus as this is still one sided. We hear about a four way for the #1 contendership to the Tag Team Titles at All-Star Extravaganza (with the Express as the only team mentioned) as it’s off to King for some house cleaning.

A string of kicks to the head have Tama in trouble but it’s time for the big two on two slugout. King takes over with a slingshot corkscrew plancha but it’s Tama with a jumping neckbreaker on Titus. A powerbomb/neckbreaker combo gets two on Titus and the Tongans have to deal with Caprice Coleman. Not that it matters as a double inverted DDT (Guerilla Warfare) puts Titus away at 10:38.

Rating: C. This was fine while it lasted but as usual I have no interest in the Cabinet as I’m sick of the election being part of everything and how almost everything in ROH has to be some kind of a stable or a group. The match was fine enough for a TV match and it’s always good to see the Cabinet take a beating.

Coleman says they’re not done with the Bullet Club.

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

Lethal calls last week the second worst day of Naito’s life. The worst is going to be All-Star Extravaganza when Lethal gets his hands on Naito.

Shane Taylor talks about Ray Rowe teaching him to wrestle in Cleveland. Then War Machine happened and Taylor had to deal with all of the enemies Rowe had created. I’ve heard worse.

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

The much smaller Phoenix goes after Lee and is picked up with one arm. A dropkick to the side of the head only ticks Lee off so he headbutts Phoenix in the chest. Rojas comes in and hits Lee in the back but it doesn’t actually change anything. Taylor adds a middle rope splash to crush Ken at 1:53.

Taylor and Lee want War Machine while the fans chant for the Young Bucks. Cue War Machine with Rowe talking about taking care of Taylor for years. Tonight isn’t about that though because War Machine is here for violence.

War Machine vs. Keith Lee/Shane Taylor

Rowe knees him in the face to start but discuses into a right hand to actually put him down off a single punch. You don’t see that happen too often. Rowe gets beaten into the corner and blasted with big forearms and right hands. Sometimes you don’t need to do anything other than keep it simple.

More right hands get Rowe out of trouble and the hot tag brings in Hanson to fire off even more right hands. Hanson gets in a reverse powerslam on Lee and Rowe runs in with the shotgun knees to take out Taylor. They start trading the suplexes with Lee hitting an AA into a powerslam to put Hanson on the floor. A chair is brought in for a LOUD shot and that’s a DQ to give Lee and Taylor the win at 4:25.

Rating: C+. I like this feud more and more every time as it’s just so different than everything else they do on this show. They’re not trying to be the Bullet Club or flying all over the place because they’re just beating the heck out of each other for full matches with big power moves and that makes for entertaining TV.

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

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

Roppongi Vice/Kazuchika Okada vs. Kamaitachi/Addiction

Kamaitachi and Romero start things off but we get an Okada request. That’s fine with Okada who puts Kamaitachi up against the ropes and calmly pats his chest. Addiction charges in and get a flapjack each to send us to a break. Back with Romero hitting a long string of running clotheslines on the Addiction and it’s off to Beretta for his running flip dive onto the Addiction (and piles of Okada Bucks). Things finally settle down with Daniels driving knees into Beretta’s head and Kamaitachi getting a very fast head start for a running seated dropkick.

Daniels hammers away at the head and we take a second break. Back again with the hot tag bringing Okada in again for the house cleaning. A top rope elbow crushes Daniels but Kazarian breaks up the Rainmaker. White Noise onto a knee gets two more on Daniels, only to have Kazarian come in with a slingshot DDT. Kazarian cuts off Strong Zero and it’s the Best Meltzer Ever (a moonsault spike tombstone) to put Beretta away at 12:45.

Rating: C+. This was fine and a decent enough way to build towards the six man tournament where the matches will have almost no stories to them but at least they’ll be for titles that the company doesn’t want but it makes them more like New Japan and that’s the point of the whole thing. It’s a watchable enough match but I have little reason to care about most of these people.

Overall Rating: C. Not bad for a show with the B crew this week and assuming you can accept that the New Japan guys are the norm instead of a special attraction, this was more than watchable. All-Star Extravaganza isn’t exactly looking like anything interesting but it’s hard to say what you’re going to get on one of their shows these days. This didn’t do much to set up the pay per view but it’s fine for an hour of wrestling.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete 2014 Raw and Smackdown Reviews Part I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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

Opening sequence.

Shane Taylor/Keith Lee vs. War Machine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. Cabinet

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

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

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

Tag Team Titles: Addiction vs. Young Bucks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s WWE Grab Bag at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: July 27, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

We’re still in North Carolina but this time there’s a big time main event as ROH World Champion Jay Lethal defends against Kyle O’Reilly. That means it’s likely an Adam Cole appearance as Cole has vowed to keep Kyle from becoming champion no matter what. In theory this should start the push towards Lethal vs. Cole, which somehow still hasn’t been announced despite what happened at Global Wars way back in May. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

ROH World Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending and this is going to be the whole show. Well most of the show at least as Cole comes out before Lethal to say Kyle won’t even be wrestling in this match. Cue the Young Bucks with a double superkick to O’Reilly, which gets a face pop because ROH fans don’t get the concept of heels. Cole comes down to join them with a chair beatdown, including a Conchairto Pillmanizing (now THAT’S extreme) of the left arm. Bobby Fish finally comes out for the save and we take a break.

Back with a recap of what we just saw, which I thought ROH was above doing.

Kyle is getting his shoulder taped up in the back and tells the doctor that he wants to wrestle.

Due to the injury, it’s time for standby matches.

Tough Guy Inc. vs. War Machine

That would be Brutal Bob Evans and Tough Tim Hughes. Fallout ends Evans in 42 seconds.

Post match Shane Taylor and Keith Lee come out for the brawl but this time War Machine gets the better of it.

The Briscoes are ready for the Young Bucks next week. I can’t imagine that ends clean.

Cheeseburger vs. Will Ferrara

And never mind again as the Cabinet comes out to interrupt after about thirty seconds.

In case you haven’t heard about their one segment, the Cabinet is the Donald Trump inspired political group comprised of Caprice Coleman, Rhett Titus and Kenny King. Coleman, the Minister of Information, says this match is canceled because neither of the people in the ring meet the criteria to be a wrestler. King (the Commissioner of Championships) and Titus (the Secretary of Shoulders) rip on Cheeseburger and Ferrara and tell them to go buy a ticket or face the consequences. Ferrara says they don’t have a bear or an ox but they have something better: a TNA wrestler also named after an animal.

The Cabinet vs. Will Ferrara/Cheeseburger/Moose

We’re joined after a break (and a Young Bucks promo inviting the Briscoes to a superkick party) and we might break five minutes this time around. It’s a big brawl but Nigel McGuinness has to run to the back for some reason. Moose is left alone in the ring but elbows his way out of trouble before running the ropes for a spinning cross body.

Things settle down to Cheeseburger and Ferrara running into King in the corner, only to have Coleman come in and knee Ferrara in the face to take over. Titus slaps on a chinlock for a bit before the hot tag brings in Moose to clean house. A Rocket Launcher only has Cheeseburger hitting raised knees which of course does no damage to the knees. King corkscrew dives onto Moose and it’s Cheeseburger getting beaten down three on one, including a high angle Edgecution to give Titus the pin at 5:42.

Rating: D. I hated this Cabinet gimmick from the second it started as it’s not going to be entertaining while it lasts but thankfully it’s pretty much only going to last until the elections in November. These current events storylines and angles rarely work and having something inspired by the Trump campaign probably isn’t the best idea in the first place.

Kyle has demanded to wrestle tonight despite his shoulder.

ROH World Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending but before the match he respectfully offers Kyle an out due to his injury. Kyle wants to fight like men though and we’re ready to go. Kyle is very tentative to start and throws a few kicks, only to get taken down by a headlock. A shoulder block makes Kyle scream but he comes back with a kick to the spine. Another kick jars the arm though and Lethal kicks him in the shoulder to send Kyle outside.

Back from a break with Kyle fighting back as the announcers talk about Lethal’s change of attitude since Truth Martini has been gone. The Lethal Combination gets two and we hit a modified Crossface. Jay hits a pair of suicide dives but looks very mad at having to do them due to the injury. Kyle comes back with a dive of his own and a missile dropkick but he can’t get up.

It’s Jay up first with a top rope elbow but Kyle reverses into a cross armbreaker, only to have Jay stomp at the shoulder for the break. That means another break and we come back with Kyle fighting out of another Crossface. Jay plants him with a series of shoulder breakers but he asks for a stoppage instead of the Lethal Injection. Kyle says no way and they slug it out until Jay kicks the shoulder, setting up the Lethal Injection for the pin at 15:04.

Rating: B. I liked this a lot more than I expected to as I’m really not a huge Kyle fan. The concern over the shoulder injury is going to go a long way in Lethal’s face turn, though I can’t imagine Cole isn’t champion in the next few weeks, likely at Death Before Dishonor. Good main event here though and that was the point, along with giving Kyle a nice rub along the way.

Lethal is disgusted and says that wasn’t right. Jay leaves and here’s the Bullet Club again with Cole hitting a backbreaker onto the knee. Security is held off, allowing the Bucks to hit an Indytaker onto a chair. Fish and Lethal come out just too late for the save. McGuinness grabs the mic and says Cole is NEVER getting another shot at the World Title.

Overall Rating: C+. The show long story was a good idea and a clever enough way to get around having the match go throughout the entire show. The Cabinet stuff really doesn’t work and unfortunately it got a big chunk of the action here. It’s definitely the best show since the New Japan guys left and that’s a positive sign.

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Global Wars 2016
Date: May 8, 2016
Location: Frontier Fieldhouse, Chicago Ridge, Illinois
Attendance: 2,000
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling 3

This is a few months old and unfortunately someone requested it recently so I have to actually look at the thing. Basically it’s a bunch of New Japan vs. Ring of Honor matches and a few ROH only matches to pad out the card. I’m really not a fan of this concept, especially after weeks of watching the same thing on ROH TV. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

The opening video talks about the history and business relationship between the two promotions and looks at some of the great matches. Tonight is also about the return of Colt Cabana, who wants Jay Lethal’s ROH World Title. Thankfully the title part gets much more time than the interpromotional matches.

We run down the card in case you bought the show on a whim.

ACH vs. Dalton Castle vs. Roderick Strong vs. Adam Page

Winner gets a TV Title shot at some point in the future. Castle has the Boys with him and is the big crowd favorite. This is one fall to a finish but there are only two people in the ring at once. ACH and Page get things going with Adam scoring off a spinwheel kick. Back up and ACH starts his flips but Strong tags himself in to take a dropkick from Page. That means it’s off to Castle with Dalton doing his lean back to the mat to freak Adam out a bit. Strong tags himself in to beat on Castle as the announcers are worried about a referee mistake.

Page works over Castle with Strong saving a pin, much to Adam’s annoyance. It’s back to Strong to keep Castle down as this has turned into a glorified tag match. Castle gets in a suplex on Page but ACH springboards in for a swinging Downward Spiral. The heels are on the floor so Strong can get crushed by a suicide dive from Castle. Everyone but ACH is down on the floor and that means a big flip dive to really pop the crowd. Wrestling 3: “Cheese and crackers he’s good!” Back in and Strong blocks ACH’s top rope splash, only to have Castle Bang A Rang Strong onto Page for the pin at 8:28.

Rating: C. Good choice for an opener here with everyone flying around and the fun character winning to set up the biggest match of his career pretty soon. This is the kind of thing you want to open the show and if there’s one thing ROH knows how to do it’s get a crowd going, especially one like this who is already white hot no matter what.

Strong is livid about the loss.

Cheeseburger/Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Addiction

Daniels won’t shake Cheeseburger’s hand to start so he has to duck an early palm strike. It’s already off to Liger to face Kazarian but everything breaks down with Kazarian taking a bad looking double dropkick. Now it’s time for Kazarian and Cheeseburger to slap it out which really should go to Cheeseburger since he does a big palm strike (yes a palm strike). Kazarian takes over and the double teaming begins with a gutwrench suplex planting Cheeseburger.

Daniels suplexes his partner into a moonsault onto Cheeseburger, setting up an arrogant cover for two. We hit the chinlock for a bit before a hurricanrana allows the tag off to Liger (Wrestling 3: “Hot suey tag!”). The Liger Bomb gets two on Daniels but Kazarian breaks up the brainbuster. Celebrity Rehab (belly to back flip into a gutbuster) gets two with Cheeseburger making the save this time. A pair of STO’s put Cheeseburger down but he rolls Daniels up for the big upset at 7:02.

Rating: C-. Cheeseburger has been around for years now and while I get the appeal, he’s really not someone I have any interest in seeing. Yes he’s small and yes his big move is a running slap but that’s not enough to make me want to see him. The Liger partnership only helps a little bit as Cheeseburger just isn’t interesting no matter how you package him.

Post match the Addiction knocks Liger to the floor and hits the Best Meltzer Ever (moonsault into a spike Tombstone) on Cheeseburger.

We recap War Machine vs. the Briscoe Brothers. War Machine have the belts but can’t be considered the best until they beat the greatest team in ROH history. They’ve never beaten the Briscoes before so tonight is also about vindication. Now that’s a simple story that I can get behind.

Tag Team Titles: War Machine vs. Briscoe Brothers

War Machine is defending and this should be a really physical fight though they respect each other. Hanson easily throws Mark out to the floor and the champs start double teaming as I’m assuming they’re the moderate heels here. Jay pulls Rowe outside and now it’s time for the brothers to suplex Hanson. Mark grabs a Russian legsweep and get two off a clothesline. A backdrop sends Mark crashing out to the floor and it’s time for the big man dive to take everyone out.

Hanson does….something that sends him through the table but the camera misses it completely. Thankfully we get a quick replay showing that it was Jay double stomping him through the table, which is something you don’t see often enough. The replay that is, not the double stomp. Back in and it’s Jay slugging it out with Rowe, whose Rock Bottom suplex has no effect. Everything breaks down again and Hanson’s big clothesline flips Mark inside out to put all four on the mat.

We get the double standoff (cool visual) and it’s Jay winning the slugout against Rowe, followed by a Cactus Clothesline to put them both on the floor. Mark keeps things moving with an apron Blockbuster to Hanson as the fans are behind the Briscoes. Rowe blocks a Jay Driller and Superman Forearms Mark out of the air. Back up and it’s Hanson getting double teamed, only to have Jay get caught in the Path of Resistance. Hanson misses the moonsault though and there’s the Jay Driller for two. A pop up German suplex drops Mark and it’s Fallout to retain the titles at 15:15.

Rating: B. The lack of tagging aside, I had a lot of fun with this one as they beat each other up for fifteen minutes and told a story with War Machine going as far as they could to finally beat the Briscoes. Jay and Mark are the kind of team you can throw in there and have them put over anyone because of all the things they’ve accomplished over the years and that’s a very valuable asset.

Tetsuya Naito vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Naito’s IWGP World Title isn’t on the line here but he does come to the ring walking a white suit. Feeling out process to start with Naito threatening a right hand but pulling back and tapping Kyle on the chest instead. Kyle’s leg lock doesn’t get him anywhere and a cross armbreaker across the ropes has the same result.

The crowd cheers for Naito as he dropkicks Kyle because the Japanese guys are the stars here and everyone knows it. A dropkick in the corner sets up a slingshot dropkick have Kyle in trouble but he comes back with the forearms and kicks. That means it’s time for the guillotine choke into an arm trap/leglock at the same time.

Naito climbs the ropes for a tornado DDT followed by a neckbreaker off the ropes for two. They kick each other in the head until Kyle hits a rebound lariat to put both of them down again. A Regalplex gets two on Naito and a knee to the head makes it even worse. Not that it matters as he does a weird backflip into a reverse DDT (Destino) for the pin at 12:03.

Rating: B-. Kyle has grown on me as he’s gone from one of the most overrated people I’ve seen in years to downright tolerable. Naito winning was obvious because New Japan won’t let one of their top stars lose here because that might imply that ROH is on their level. The match was good though again: I need a story, not just having two people have matches.

Naito lays him out and throws the belt down post match.

We recap Kazuchika Okada/Moose vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi/Michael Elgin. Moose impressed Okada in their singles match and now they’re teaming. End of story and all animosity.

Hiroshi Tanahashi/Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada/Moose

Okada and Moose have Gedo and Stokely Hathaway in their corner. Tanahashi and Okada start things off and the fans are in awe, despite knowing that this was a distinct possibility. That goes nowhere so it’s off to Okada vs. Moose and the fans aren’t pleased. Elgin does the delayed vertical suplex but Moose no sells it. You know, because it’s just a suplex.

Tanahashi comes in and mocks the Moose chant, only to have Moose and Okada dropkick their opponents to the floor. Moose isn’t done as he hits a big dive to the floor to take them out and get the fans’ respect for a bit. It’s Tanahashi playing the face in peril (good role for him) until Moose misses a charge, allowing the hot tag off to Elgin for the powerful house cleaning. Elgin only stays in for a bit before we get to the real showdown with Okada vs. Tanahashi with Okada getting the worst of it.

Tanahashi escapes a Tombstone attempt but neither can hit a Rainmaker. Instead Okada hits a Sling Blade but Elgin comes back in to powerslam Tanahashi off the top. Elgin puts Tanahashi on his shoulders for a kind of reverse Alabama Slam for two on Okada with Moose making the save. Tanahashi and Moose head outside with Elgin hitting a hard clothesline to the back of Okada’s head. Moose comes back in with a spear to Elgin, followed by the Rainmaker for the pin on Elgin at 13:46.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t bad though I could have done with Moose pinning Elgin and actually getting a big rub off this instead of just getting to stand next to the big star. At least Moose was actually involved in the ending as until then it was just about all of the New Japan guys doing their thing while Moose was along for the ride.

We recap Tomohiro Ishii vs. Bobby Fish which really shouldn’t have anything to do with Ishii but screw off with the whole storytelling thing when we can just go “New Japan vs. ROH, next.” Fish had been feuding with Strong over the title as Fish made him tap but the referee didn’t see it, allowing Strong to retain the title. Then Ishii won the title and took it over to Japan, leaving Fish to beat Strong again and earn this shot in what should have been the title change.

I’ve already done this one twice for ROH TV so I’m just copying it instead of doing it all over again.

TV Title: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Bobby Fish

Ishii is defending. Fish actually runs the much bigger Ishii over to start but Ishii does the same to send Fish outside for a bit of his time. Back in and Fish fires off some kicks to put Ishii in trouble, which isn’t something you see happen to him that often. Ishii wins another slugout though and a headbutt puts Fish down with ease.

Fish makes the mistake of headbutting Ishii and the referee has to check on him as a result. The champ gets knocked off the top but Fish misses a flying headbutt, only to start back in with kicks to the knee. Fish hits an exploder suplex for two but getting headbutted for his efforts. Ishii gets his own near fall with a delayed vertical superplex, followed by a Saito Suplex.

Fish looks mostly dead so Ishii powerbombs him for two more but Bobby grabs a sleeper. I could go for a small vs. big match without the smaller guy jumping on his back with a sleeper. It’s just so overdone. Ishii, seemingly annoyed with how lame Fish’s strategy was, German suplexes him down.

They head to the apron with Fish back on his feet and slugging it out. As expected, Ishii easily knocks him down but Fish kicks the leg out to put both guys down on the floor. Back in and a hard lariat gets two for the champ but Fish goes back to the sleeper. He fires off some elbows to the head and survives a flip attempt to actually knock Ishii out at 15:30.

Rating: B. The match was a good, hard hitting brawl but Ishii is the definition of a guy that had no business winning the title or being involved in this story whatsoever. Strong vs. Fish had been a well built up story but instead of getting the payoff we had been set up for, Ishii got the belt despite having no connection to either of them. That’s becoming too common of a tradition and it’s getting old in a hurry. This match was good but Fish vs. Strong would have been as well and had a strong story to go with it. Which sounds better?

Kushida/Matt Sydal/Motor City Machine Guns vs. Bullet Club

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll only refer to Matt Sydal as Sydal and Matt Jackson as Matt. Young Bucks and the Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga/Tama Loa) here. Kushida and Sydal are IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, the Guerillas are the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions and the Bucks are two thirds of the Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions with Kenny Omega. Mr. Wrestling 3 has a Bullet Club Superkick Counter as we get so far into the meta humor that my head wants to explode.

Sydal rides Matt to start so it’s a Too Sweet poke to the eye and a lot of crotch chopping. The good guys (as in not the Club) clean house and it’s a double dive to take the Bucks out. Back in and we get some sweet (not too sweet) triple teaming to on Matt as this is one sided so far. The Bucks start kicking everyone (not superkicking, much to Wrestling 3’s chagrin) but their dives are broken up by Guns’ superkicks. Wrestling 3: “THOSE ARE THRUST KICKS!”

The Guerillas no sell kicks to the face and clothesline the Guns down and it’s time for some Buck diving. Back in and Shelley blocks a superkick but gets kicked in the head anyway. Loa comes in and is one of the biggest balls of energy I’ve seen in a long time with headbutts and splashes to keep Shelley in trouble. Tonga comes in for a splash of his own before it’s off to Matt for a chinlock.

Shelley takes out both Bucks and makes the hot tag off to Kushida as things speed up again. Everyone else clears out and it’s Tonga not being able to powerslam Sydal, who escapes with a kick to the head. Some, ahem, thrust kicks drop the Guerillas before Matt gets quadruple teamed in the corner. A powerbomb/top rope double knees to the face gets two as the Bucks run in for the save.

Skull and Bones (top rope splash/neckbreaker combo) gets two more before Nick comes in and does SUCK IT over and over because popping the crowd is far more important than having a good or logical match. Sliced Bread #2 is broken up and a quick Meltzer Driver puts Shelley away at 13:04. Wrestling 3: “I JUST WASTED SIX GRAND!!!”

Rating: C. The match was certainly watchable but this meta comedy and running jokes throughout the match really bring things down. As I’ve said roughly 18,000 times, the Bucks are supposed to be heels but spend the whole match doing things faces would do. It makes the match feel completely uneven and it’s really annoying when you’re trying to keep the match straight. I know their response is they’re “evolving” the business but as is always the case, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

Wrestling 3 is distraught and it gets even worse when BJ Whitmer comes out in a Masked Superstar mask. Whitmer has a flash drive with something Wrestling 3 will want to see.

Long recap of the World Title match with Colt Cabana returning to win the one title he’s never been able to capture. He’s an indy legend but wants one more chance at the big prize. Cabana pinned Lethal in a quick non-title match to earn a shot.

Nigel McGuinness joins commentary.

ROH World Title: Colt Cabana vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is defending and only has Taeler Hendrix with him. Cabana, the hometown boy, knocks him into the corner to start and the chops start early and Jay hides for a bit. A hiptoss sets up a basement dropkick to knock Cabana out to the apron and they’re still at a fairly hot pace to start. Jay misses another dropkick but a Hendrix distraction fails as well. Eh she’s there because of how she looks, not because of how she does things.

Hendrix redeems herself a bit by grabbing Colt, allowing Jay to hit three straight suicide dives. Unfortunately that means an ejection with Nigel having to drag her to the back by the wrist. Back in and we hit the chinlock before the Lethal Injection is countered into a rollup for two. A quick Lethal Combination sets up the top rope elbow for two on Cabana but he dives into a rollup for the same. They fight over a Tombstone with Jay connecting for two, meaning he’ll likely get a letter from the Bullet Club for copyright infringement.

Colt comes right back with the Billy Goat’s Curse (reverse Boston Crab), only to have Hendrix run out and pull the referee to the floor. Speaking of the Bucks, here they are to superkick the referee and Hendrix. The Bucks pull out two Bullet Club shirts (Wrestling 3: “I’M GETTING THE SHIRT!!!”) and toss them to Lethal and Cabana (Wrestling 3: “BUT I WORKED SO HARD!”). There go the lights and it’s Adam Cole in the ring in the shirt. Cabana and Lethal take superkicks and we’ll call it a DQ at about 16:00.

Rating: C+. This was fine until the ending with the Bullet Club taking over the ending and making it all about them instead of having anything to do with the match. Unfortunately this is probably it for Cabana, who was really in this spot for the sake of having a face for the Bucks to superkick. In other words: it’s the same thing that happened far too often on this show but that’s how Ring of Honor works these days.

Security eats superkicks and the counter goes back up but they only count double kicks as one. I DEMAND A REFUND! The Guerillas come out and the beating continues with Loa spray painting BC on a table and a security guard being powerbombed through it. More spray paint continues with the announcers getting kicks of their own.

The Bucks jump on commentary to do a Jim Ross impression because that’s cutting edge. Cole ties Lethal to the ropes and superkicks him a few times with the counter still going. Cue the Bucks’ dad (just go with it) who gets superkicked as well. The cameraman is kicked down and the Club all stare into the camera to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This is a show where the wrestling really isn’t important. This show was all about the Japanese stars looking WAY more important than the ROH stars, making this far less a competitive show and much more about making New Japan look completely superior to Ring of Honor.

There were eight total matches on this show with Ring of Honor wrestlers winning in five of them. Of those five wins, there were two tag matches with a New Japan partner and two matches with no New Japan stars involved. Counting the no contest, New Japan went 4-1 along with destroying the World Champion and the #1 contender to close the show.

This was basically a New Japan show featuring the Ring of Honor players. I get the concept there, but that’s been all we’ve seen on Ring of Honor TV for weeks leading up to this pay per view. Yes I said pay per view, as this show carried a $45 price tag. I’m sure all the fans who paid to see Ring of Honor vs. New Japan, which is how this show was billed (in the one week of TV dedicated to it), and got the Bullet Club dominating everything in the end.

If that’s what you want to see on your Ring of Honor shows then so be it but I really do not care about seeing the Young Bucks, Okada, Tanahashi or any of the other names come in and beat the tar out of the Ring of Honor stars. The wrestling was actually quite good but the booking was a disaster, especially since the ending was just a big TUNE IN NEXT WEEK…..when you get a Jay Lethal special! Followed by a Bullet Club special!

Ring of Honor REALLY needs to switch some stuff up because this booking isn’t doing anyone but New Japan and the Bullet Club any favors. If that’s what Ring of Honor is going for then keep going with it but it’s really not working for me. I watch ROH because I like their roster but the last few months have told me that they exist for the sake of putting over New Japan and this NWO tribute stable for reasons that I really do not understand. I’m sure it’s some kind of knock on WWE for introducing the Club because that’s unfair or whatever their latest reasoning is. Either way, it’s a good but very, very frustrating show.

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Ring of Honor
Date: July 20, 2016
Location: Cabarrus Arena, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

We’re less than a month away from Death Before Dishonor and it should be interesting to see how much ROH can cram into the card in the next few weeks. I mean, there’s always the possibility of bringing the New Japan guys in again as they haven’t been around in a full week at this point. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Kamaitachi vs. Jay White

This is fallout from Best In The World where Kamaitachi attacked White (a New Zealander), who was in the crowd. Naturally the commentators just show us this happening without actually saying anything. White’s name isn’t even mentioned in the clip they show. Kamaitachi is part of the Addiction (the New Japan contingent) and has Christopher Daniels in his corner. White is a good looking kid and New Japan Dojo graduate making his ROH debut.

Kamaitachi jumps him to start and a running shoulder to the ribs puts White on the floor. I’m not a big fan of the guy but Daniels is rather awesome as the overly proud manager. That’s something you can almost count on from a veteran and it adds a lot. They trade whips into the barricade and Daniels adds a clothesline to really cheat. Back from a break with Kamaitachi working on the leg with a modified figure four.

White escapes and hits a brainbuster but can’t nip up. That’s better selling than you get most of the time. A missile dropkick gets two for Jay but Kamaitachi hits a release Falcon’s Arrow. Double knees from the top rope get two on Jay and a swinging Rock Bottom gets the same on Kamaitachi. Daniels’ interference doesn’t quite work as Jay sends Kamaitachi into him, setting up something like a lifting Cradle Shock (Chris Sabin’s old finisher, called the Kiwi Crusher here) for the pin at 10:25.

Rating: C. Who are these people and why should I care? That’s what comes to my head far too often when I see New Japan wrestlers on this show: I have really no reason to care about these people and the wrestling is nowhere near good enough to overcome that lack of an emotional connection. I know a lot of fans only care about the in ring action but I need more than that and it lacks almost every time with this revolving door of imports. The match was fine but without a reason to care, it was just two people doing moves to each other.

The Addiction beats White down until the Motor City Machine Guns make the save. Now why couldn’t they have made this a proxy match for the teams’ feud? Sabin wants to make it a six man tag right now and McGuinness says ring the bell.

Addiction/Kamaitachi vs. Motor City Machine Guns/Jay White

Following WWE’s bad example, the bell rings and we take a break five seconds later with no one even in the ring yet. Back with Sabin getting double teamed followed by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker from Daniels. Kamaitachi hits a running basement dropkick before it’s off to Kazarian for a front facelock. Everything breaks down for a little bit and the hot tag brings in White for some running clotheslines. A powerslam gets two on Daniels and the Guns start in with some of their signature stuff, including the bridging neck crank into the running dropkick. With everyone else on the floor, White hits a sitout powerslam to pin Daniels at 9:10.

Rating: C+. I’m still not a fan of the Guns in ROH but this was an improvement for the simple fact that I know who these people are and who they’re having issues. White looked fine and was probably the best part of the match but I need a little more of a reason to care about the two newcomers. Having four others in there helped but White and Kamaitachi need some work.

The Bullet Club is tired of everyone running from Adam Cole, who promises that Kyle O’Reilly will never be ROH World Champion. If I were them, I’d be tired of that whole ending at Global Wars still not going anywhere. Was there a point to that or was it really just a random beatdown that might lead somewhere in a few months?

Shane Taylor/Keith Lee vs. Victor Andrews/James Anthony

Taylor and Lee are two monsters in suits who attacked War Machine at a recent show in Columbus. Anthony is sent outside early on and it’s time for the loud chops. A pop up sitout powerbomb sets up a middle rope splash (Senmetsu, Japanese for annihilation) crushes Andrews at 2:00.

War Machine comes out for the brawl with Lee, who probably goes about 350lbs, hitting a huge flip dive over the top to take everyone out.

Quick preview for Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the World Title next week. Both of them want to prove that they’re the best in the world. This was a simple exchange but it’s far more than we get most of the time.

Here’s BJ Whitmer to brag about beating Steve Corino at Best in the World. He’s accompanied by KEVIN SULLIVAN, in a purple wizard robe, who cost Corino the match. Whitmer says tonight is about Steve Corino’s questions. This started back in 2013 when Whitmer was sitting at home with a broken neck.

Sullivan approached him to carry on the legacy of evil that was started by King Curtis Iaukea and was supposed to be handed on to Corino and Whitmer. That wasn’t good enough though because Corino wanted it all for himself. Chaos is going to reign over ROH and all that matters is who will be causing that chaos to come. This chapter is over but the book has yet to be finished.

Does ANYONE want to see this ridiculous feud continue? Apparently this has been going on for three years now and they brought in KEVIN SULLIVAN to keep it going? That’s really the best they can do? Bring in someone who hasn’t been a regular wrestler in over twelve years (assuming you count a run in FIP as being a regular wrestler) because they’re evil? This really is the best thing they can come up with? As usual, ROH seems to have no idea how to just end something so they just keep it going, likely until Final Battle. The fans called this boring, which really isn’t something you hear around here.

Dalton Castle vs. Roderick Strong

There’s no real hiding the fact that this is Strong’s farewell match. Strong is taken into the corner to start and Castle tells him to bring it. Castle puts him on the mat and slams him for good measure. Now it’s Strong taking him to the mat as this is still in first gear. We take a break and come back with Castle being kneed off the apron, meaning it’s time for some fanning. Strong lays out the Boys and you just don’t do that to Castle.

Dalton’s fire is quickly extinguished with an Angle Slam into the post and both guys are down on the floor. Back in and some suplexes have Strong in trouble but he comes right back with a belly to back faceplant. Castle throws him down with a backdrop and some suicide dives send Strong into the barricade. The bridging German suplex gets two for Castle followed by more suplexes for the same. Dalton charges into a jumping knee to the face followed by a superplex and the Sick Kick for two. Back up and Strong charges into the Bang A Rang for the pin at 13:44.

Rating: C. This was fine but again it was just two people doing moves to each other. Castle lost a lot of steam with that loss to Fish though I get why they didn’t want to take the title off Bobby so soon. Strong didn’t get a sendoff or anything but maybe they just want him to quietly slip away instead of drawing the attention away from Castle and his win.

Overall Rating: C-. Slightly better show than last week as they’re still pretty much starting over from scratch since almost nothing was developed for weeks and months at a time. Having Cole mention Lethal and a World Title match announced for next week should help, especially with a pay per view in less than a month.

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Ring of Honor
Date: May 25, 2016
Host: Kevin Kelly

It’s another special show, this time focusing on the Bullet Club. In other words, yes again we’re looking at something that is going to be centered in Japan and will likely feature something from Honor Rising. I don’t know when Ring of Honor plans to go back to normal but ANYTIME SOON would be appreciated. Let’s get to it.

Since most of these matches are heavily clipped, I won’t be rating them unless most of the match is shown.

Kevin Kelly opens things up and promises to show us some clips from Global Wars, which could actually be something pertaining to the current storylines.

We look at Bullet Club showing up in Ring of Honor and one of their first major matches from War of the Worlds 2014.

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Briscoe Brothers vs. Doc Gallows/Karl Anderson

Anderson and Gallows are defending and we’re joined in progress with Jay and Anderson slugging it out in the ring. Jay kicks Anderson in the face as Mark is backdropped on the floor. Gallows splashes Jay and the Boot of Doom (not named here) gets two. Mark gets back in to break up the Magic Killer and chops away at Doc. Now it’s Jay back up with a discus forearm on Karl, followed by the Froggy Bow for a close two. Jay gets knocked to the floor and Mark dives into a Gun Stun (Diamond Cutter). Now the Magic Killer puts Mark away at 3:14 shown of 10:40.

From Global Wars 2015.

Bullet Club vs. ROH All-Stars

AJ Styles/Doc Gallows/Karl Anderson/Young Bucks

War Machine/Briscoe Brothers/Roderick Strong

Joined in progress (of course) with Ray Rowe diving off the top onto everyone. Strong superplexes Matt and AJ in succession before Nick breaks up another one on Gallows. Instead Strong superplexes Nick onto a big pile on the floor. Back in and Gallows hits his choke bomb on Hanson, followed by Bloody Sunday from AJ. Styles swears and Corino is shocked. Strong breaks up the Styles Clash and Jay superkicks Matt into a jumping knee, followed by the Jay Driller. Mark’s Froggy Bow puts Matt away at 3:49 shown of 17:25.

TIME FOR MORE HONOR RISING!!! You didn’t think they were forgetting about this one did you?

Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles: Elite vs. Briscoe Brothers/Toru Yano

Elite, challenging here, is a subset of the Club comprised of the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. Fellow Club member Cody Hall jumps the Briscoes before the bell and Yano is triple teamed, which draws little more than a hard stare from the referee. The Briscoes get back in to clean house with Nick being thrown over the top and onto Hall for a big crash.

Yano leans against the ropes until Hall grabs his legs, allowing the Bucks to hit a double superkick. A triple dive from the Elite keeps the champions in trouble and it’s time to choke Yano in the corner. We take a break and come back with Omega holding Yano in an abdominal stretch. Nick cartwheels into a backflip into a….backrake. Eh that’s no running into a Kevin Owens chinlock.

With nothing else working, Yano pulls the buckle pad off (remember that it’s a big column instead of individual pads) to block superkicks and then nail Matt. The tag brings in Mark as things speed up. The threat of Redneck Kung Fu deters Nick for a bit but Omega superkicks Mark down. Mark gets powerbombed into an enziguri in the corner, followed by the Swanton Bomb while Mark was hanging from the ropes for two. A triple superkick (Are you getting the concept yet?) gets two with Jay making the save.

Yano gets the tag for some low blows, though this time the referee just didn’t see them. Omega hair sprays Hall by mistake and gets low blowed and rolled up for two. The Briscoes come back in and it’s a double Indytaker, followed by More Bang For Your Buck for the pin on Yano at 12:55.

Rating: C+. The match was entertaining enough, assuming you can tolerate all the superkicks. If there’s one thing that the Club (and ROH in general) don’t get, it’s the concept of less is more. These titles don’t really mean anything either as they were introduced in January and we’re already on the sixth reign.

Here’s MORE from Honor Rising with the final match from Anderson and Gallows before they head to WWE.

Bullet Club vs. ReDRagon/Hirooki Goto/Katsuyori Shibata

It’s Bad Luck Fale (a monster), Tama Tonga, Anderson and Gallows for the Club here. The Club attacks to start (of course) until we settle down to Kyle firing off kicks at Karl. Goto comes in and we take a break. Back with Fale pounding on Goto in the corner before it’s back to Karl for a chinlock.

Tonga comes in for a running splash and dropkick with Shibata making the save. He even kicks his partner for some motivation, which actually drives Goto to clothesline Tama. Instead of tagging though, Goto would rather yell at Shibata. Fish is smart enough to tag himself in as everything breaks down. Tonga gets kicked down but still comes back with a fireman’s carry flapjack to plant Fish.

The double tag brings in Shibata to forearm Gallows down in the corner but Doc comes out with a hard uppercut. Everything breaks down again and a reverse 3D gets two on Shibata. Goto saves Shibata from the Magic Killer and escapes the Gun Stun. The Gallows Pole gets two on Shibata but he comes back with a quick choke, followed by a running kick to Doc’s chest for the pin at 10:22.

Rating: C. As usual, this was fine though I have no reason to care about who wins and who loses. It’s a three and a half month old match with people I might have heard of if I watch enough New Japan. Nothing to see here other than some watchable action, which isn’t enough after a show of nothing but that.

We go back to this year’s Global Wars with Colt Cabana holding Jay Lethal in the Billy Goat’s Curse. Cue the Young Bucks to superkick the referee and Taeler Hendrix before getting in the ring to hand Lethal and Cabana shirts. Then the lights go out and come back up with Adam Cole in the ring, of course sporting the shirt. More superkicks (with Mr. Wrestling 3 doing his obnoxious yelling every time) drop Lethal and Cabana and Cole says this is their house. Security runs in and eats a bunch of superkicks, meaning it’s time for some crotch chops (Wrestling 3: “THAT’S HOT!”).

Tama Loa and Tama Tonga (fellow Club members) come out and more security is beaten up with superkick after superkick. We cut forward to a security member being powerbombed through a table, which of course has been spray painted BC. The announcers eat superkicks so the Bucks take their places and do what sound like Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler impressions. Lethal is tied to the ropes as Cole picks up the ROH World Title. That means EVEN MORE SUPERKICKS before Cole runs around with the belt. The cameraman gets superkicked and the Club talks into the camera to end things.

Cole says this is a long time coming because this isn’t about little kids like the Kingdom anymore. Lethal has been saying he has no challengers but everyone knows that Cole is the man around here. He’s coming to take the title because he can.

Overall Rating: D. Uh….yeah. The last little bit was good because it actually addressed something going on in Ring of Honor but the rest felt like more “WE LOVE NEW JAPAN” stuff, which has been going on for months now. I’m sure you’ve heard all my standard issues at this point so I won’t bother doing it again, but they need to get back to regular stuff and soon. This is just making me care even less about ROH and I’m already forgetting most of the stories they’re doing. There was no indication that next week is another special but it’s almost too late to get back there, especially if the Club is going to be the focus now.

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

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

Tag Team Titles: War Machine vs. Roppangi Vice

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

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

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

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

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

ACH vs. Kenny Omega

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

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

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

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

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

Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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