ROH 335 – The Road To Greatness: Night Two – 7th September 2013

I mentioned during my review of yesterday’s ‘Road To Greatness: Night 1’ event that I found it a real slog to sit through and review the show. In fact, I found it such a chore to sit through I didn’t actually watch any wrestling whatsoever for nearly two months. Admittedly there have been some personal circumstances involved in there too, but I’d just become so fed up with the predictable and uninspired creative direction set by Delirious (coupled with the continued penny-pinching by Sincair Broadcasting and the disgusting decision to vacate the World Championship during the summer) that I couldn’t stomach anymore. This is the first time I’ve even attempted to watch a wrestling show in weeks, and even now I’m telling myself I’m giving ROH the rest of 2013 to hook me in again, otherwise that may be it for me. I’ve followed this promotion since 2002, but with a new wife, a new house and increasingly ‘grown up’ priorities as I get closer and closer to the big 3-0 I am really struggling to justify the time and expense on Ring Of Honor products when they perennially offer so much but wind up leaving me a tad disappointed. Being honest, the line-up for this show isn’t exactly spectacular but fingers crossed it will spring a few surprised. Davey Richards meets Michael Bennett in the pick of the undercard matches, whilst the main event sees the return of the ‘Ringmaster’s Challenge’ as Roderick Strong and Adam Cole conclude their summer-long rivalry. There is some other stuff which has potential – such as Jay Lethal in the Proving Ground with Matt Taven, Michael Elgin and Raymond Rowe in a heavyweight battle and the ‘Instant Reward’ Tag Title Proving Ground fourway, so lets get into the action. We’re in Birmingham, AL (another debut I believe). Once again Kevin Kelly isn’t actually there but will provide canned commentary with Prince Nana.

Tommaso Ciampa vs Luke Hawx
Hawx made an unexpected (and for in my opinion not particularly welcome) return to Ring Of Honor the previous evening in Chattanooga, coming up short in a forgettable encounter with Jay Lethal. When Lethal, one of ROH’s most reliable performers, can’t drag a performance out of you then you know your ROH career is in jeopardy. He’ll know only a strong showing against Ciampa will secure him more bookings. Tommaso is another guy who has been pretty consistent in 2013, and with the finals of the World Title tournament now imminent he’ll want to keep the hammer down and mow through Luke on his way to Philadelphia.

Ciampa dominates Hawx out of the gate, grounding him and making it impossible for him to get up off the canvas. He steals Luke’s headband and rubs it DEEP in the ass crack for maximum insult points. Hawx dislikes that obviously, and goes after the nose of his opponent (which was cut open during the main event last night). Tommaso exposes his knee though, driving it into the side of Hawx’s head to shut him down again. The lively, if rather sparse crowd, is right behind Ciampa – but are quickly disappointed as Luke drives him face-first into the apron. Even Kelly points out how the crowd just dies whenever Luke controls the match. He hits a fallaway slam (to what could generously be described as ‘boos’) for 2. Springboard moonsault from the outside of the ropes to the middle of the ring lands for another nearfall. Snake Eyes drops Ciampa down onto his damaged face again…and this time he seems totally dazed. Eventually he does get up, dropping Hawx with a dragon suplex for 2...but before he can follow up Altar Boy is on him again by hitting a close-range heel kick. More knee strikes from Ciampa, followed by the AVALANCHE Air Raid Crash for victory at 08:54

Rating - ** - This was better than Hawx/Lethal at the very least. I could attribute that to the better crowd and the fact that I like Ciampa more than Jay – but to give Luke credit he contributed to this too. I liked his attacks on Ciampa’s face. It was logical considering what happened to Tommaso yesterday, and made for an interesting story as the match wore on. On the negative side, for an opening match this was rather lifeless. The crowd loved Tommaso, but couldn’t have cared less about Hawx. Hardly the best way to get a few hundred people amped up for an evening of wrestling I’d say.

Kevin Steen vs QT Marshall
Yes, this is really happening. Flanked by Veda Scott, QT Marshall is getting a huge opportunity tonight as he enters the ring with the former World Champion. Kevin Steen, like Ciampa in the previous match, wants momentum going into Death Before Dishonor. He already has considerable amounts of it after winning the tag team main event from Night One and has his sights set on an emphatic win over God’s Gift here.

If you’re in any doubt – that isn’t heel heat Veda and QT are getting. It’s ‘shut up, stop talking, we’re not interested in seeing you’ heat. Marshall fails to get the jump on Steen and is instead squashed into the mat with a running senton then bashed out of the ring. Upset at his poor start, Veda tries to assist her charge to the locker room…but she forgets his robe – which Steen takes great pleasure in wearing, then tossing in their faces. Marshall finally lands a punch, but only after hiding behind Veda as a distraction. He runs through the generic heel playbook from there. Eye rake – check. Choke in the ropes – check. Mouth off at the crowd to your own detriment – check. Steen runs through him with a lariat and delivers a hanging DDT for 2. F-5 blocked with a superkick. Oh you have to be kidding me. Marshall gets more cheap heat by doing John Cena poses then delivering the Attitude Adjustment for a nearfall. Mr Wrestling cannonballs back into the match then goes upstairs to NAIL the Steen-ton Bomb. It’s all over at 06:29

Rating - * - QT Marshall is crap. On occasion he can be funny (mostly when carried by RD Evans), but this was an appalling performance. It wasn’t poor in the sense that it was badly executed. It’s just that, being in the ring with a genuinely top notch independent superstar like Kevin Steen exposed just how painfully mediocre Marshall is. Steen is uber-charismatic, fun to watch, exciting and precise with his wrestling and even when coasting along at a b-rate house show can entertain a crowd. In response, Marshall had absolutely nothing. He used generic heel wrestler tactics they teach people in basic wrestling classes. And when that didn’t work he had nothing else other than cheap John Cena gags. If RD Evans can’t make a show, just don’t book Marshall either. He is a total waste of time and money.

Michael Elgin vs Raymond Rowe
Now this one should be interesting. I’m usually critical of the sort of talent ROH has recruited since the SBG takeover. Sure additions to the roster like ACH, Cedric Alexander and even Matt Taven are decent. But mostly they are guys like Alabama Attitude, Luke Hawx or the endless procession of OVW nobodies we had when Jim Cornette ran things. However, Rowe does look to be a genuine find. He is certainly very raw and a bit clumsy – but he has a hell of a look, hits incredibly hard and presents an intimidating aura in his ring work. As such, it becomes intriguing to see him step into the ring with another such performer in Michael Elgin.

Rowe makes an instant statement as he displays comparable strength to Elgin during the initial lock-ups and tackles. It’s actually experience which winds up giving Elgin the edge, as he catches an over-excited Rowe going for an ill-advised leapfrog and drops him with a big powerslam. ONE MINUTE SUPLEX! On a guy the size of Ray Rowe that is pretty impressive – as the Birmingham crowd point out. Incredibly, Raymond absorbs that gets back up and hits a vicious exploder suplex in return. Taz-style overhead belly to belly suplex next! Elgin doesn’t like that…ST-JOE! Unbreakable tears into Rowe with clubbing lariats, followed by a TKO OVER THE KNEE! DEAD-LIFT GERMAN! These are amazing feats of strength from Elgin as Raymond Rowe is genuinely one of the biggest guys he’ll come across in Ring Of Honor. Buckle Bomb blocked and Rowe sprints into a flying knee strike. ROLLING GERMANS on Elgin for 2! Back Drop Driver puts Elgin on his head…only for him to jump straight back up and HAMMER Raymond with another lariat. The two big men stand in the middle of the ring teeing off on each other with elbow strikes, with Rowe the one who blinks first – but it’s a plot as he counters a boot attempt from Elgin into a powerbomb for 2. Michael piles into him with more elbows. BUCKLE BOMB! SPIRAL BOMB! Elgin wins at 10:51

Rating - *** - Finally a match I can get into. Elgin has been arguably Ring Of Honor’s best performer all year, and he is particularly good when he gets in the ring with guys his own size. We’ve seen it with the likes of Kevin Steen, Karl Anderson and Tommaso Ciampa that he puts on really strong, hard-hitting heavyweight contests and this was no exception. His power continues to amaze everyone. It’s not just the ability to hit these moves, it’s how quickly he executes them as well. It’s not like he’s power-lifting these guys – straining, sweating and really heaving to get them off the mat. Rowe is a huge guy and Elgin was picking him up like a child! Phenomenal on Unbreakable’s part, and another excellent outing from him on his way to the title tournament. It was also another solid showing for Ray Rowe – who looks to be a genuine find from one of those ROH try-out camps. He needs to work on his character and personality, but the in-ring skills are solid.

Davey Richards vs Michael Bennett
I’m not sure there’s much storyline behind this, just as there wasn’t with Richards/Taven yesterday. With WWE rumours intensifying (plus, as we now know, issues with his behaviour backstage too), I think ROH had all but decided they were done with Davey by the end of 2013 by this point. However, he’s signed up for more shows yet, and he now has the opportunity to produce some strong outings with ROH’s up and coming stars. I wasn’t too impressed with the Matt Taven match yesterday. It wasn’t bad, but certainly wasn’t memorable either. This one has some promise though. For all his detractors, Bennett has always been solid in the ring and very carry-able by better talents. With the ink dry on his new contract he will want to score a huge victory over a former World Champion.

Bennett slaps Davey in the face early, then bails without having to deal with the consequences. But if you thought he was just going to be cocky here, he backs it up moments later by working Richards to the canvas and delivering a violent stomp across his arm. That was well done, but he pauses to celebrate – and is rightly punished with a returned slap from the American Wolf. They work a test of strength…and again it’s Bennett with the edge. Davey breaks it and stomps on his hands, forcing Michael to retreat to his corner and seek solace in the arms of Maria. Davey mows down his opponent again with a spinning heel kick, but a pattern is emerging of Bennett constantly breaking up Davey’s momentum by fleeing to the ropes. This time, though, Davey has seen enough and he sprints across the apron with the running soccer kick. Bennett appears to be lacerated across the back as a result of that but it doesn’t stop him returning to the ring and nailing the Wolf with a neckbreaker. Not to be outdone by the former World Champion – Michael escorts him to the outside and marches him around ringside delivering various forms of punishment right in front of the watching audience. Everyone of his running boots is aimed at Davey’s neck which appears to be bothering him at this stage. And even when they return to the ring he continues his assault on that body part. He sets up the piledriver only for Richards to muscle him down into the path of a standing double stomp. Alarm Clock rocks Bennett, toppling him out of the ring to set up for a tope suicida. Missile dropkick follows that although it evidently hurts Richards to execute that move. He drives a running knee deep into Bennett’s ribs, then heads to the top rope to MISS the flying double stomp. Octopus stretch instead! The former Prodigy makes the ropes and snaps Richards’ head back again with a superkick into the TKO! They battle up the ropes with sweat literally pouring from their bodies as they lay into each other. TOP ROPE OCTOPUS BY RICHARDS! And he seamlessly goes into a rugged sunset bomb for 2. FLYING DOUBLE STOMP! FOR 2! For the third time he locks in the Octopus, but Maria Kanellis is on the apron distracting the referee as Michael starts to tap. Davey doesn’t like that, but turns his back and gets a SUPERKICK TO THE NECK! PILEDRIVER! Bennett wins at 17:41

Rating - **** - I’ll be clear from the outset, I am aware this rating is extremely generous. However, considering how mediocre the vast majority of this weekend has been thus far, I wanted to reward what was a genuinely high quality match with a rating to indicate how much better it was than most of what had come before it. This was top notch stuff, with both guys working a body part, telling a sound story, executing it extremely well and with a finish which really elevates Bennett at a time when people were questioning his suitability for an ROH spot after the BJ Whitmer incident. It is debatable whether he should be using the piledriver as a finish, but you can’t deny it will get some heat and if his opponent trusts him enough to let him do it then it’s ok with me. Credit to Richards too. For all the rumours going and negative press about his supposed backstage attitude – when he gets into the ring there aren’t many better performers. As I’ve said all year, in terms of in-ring quality he remains pretty much untouchable for Ring Of Honor and he is a talent they will sorely miss when he departs come the end of the year. I’ll enjoy him while I have a few of his ROH shows left to watch.

Davey congratulates his opponent on being the better man this evening – then indicates he hasn’t finished with Michael Bennett and Maria yet

Matt Taven vs Jay Lethal
This is under Proving Ground rules, with Lethal looking to get back into the hunt for the TV Title he once wore with such pride. To obtain it he’ll need a win or a draw tonight, then to defeat Taven in a championship match. It sounds straight-forward, but when you consider that Matt is now the longest reigning champion in Ring Of Honor and has an exceptionally impressive record since defeating Adam Cole for the belt earlier this year, it’s not such a simple prospect. That said, Taven has looked vulnerable in a few matches recently (most notably with the likes of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards) so will know it won’t be simple to knock back Lethal’s challenge.

It’s almost a minute before these two even touch each other…and within seconds Taven is back outside the ring after eating the hiptoss/dropkick combo. Kevin Kelly suspects Matt’s stall tactics are the result of a lingering problematic knee injury, but the crowd are sh*tting on this and loudly chanting ‘we want wrestling’ as the champ continues to mooch around on the floor. Jay has seen enough, chasing Taven all over ringside delivering chop after chop…so Seleziya and Truth Martini get involved to put a stop to that. Tope suicida floors Taven again, and now it’s Scarlett Bordeaux who tries to distract Jay. She is ridiculously hot, so it works – allowing Matt to land a springboard enzi. Stalling suplex follows that (although the entertaining Birmingham crowd ride Matt with an ‘Elgin’s better’ chant), and the TV Champion has successfully got the pace of the match down to a slow crawl. Lots of sleeper holds and chinlocks are used, which although dull do make sense as they allow Matt to use his height to keep Lethal down on the deck. Inevitably, though, Jay does escape and hits a diving reverse elbow. Lethal Combination gets 2 before Martini pounces to put Taven’s foot on the ropes. Matt evades the Macho Elbow and nails Angel’s Wings. A spinning heel kick drops Lethal again and puts him into the path of an Asai moonsault for 2. Climax blocked with an emphatic superkick! Lethal Injection nailed…and here come the House Of Truth! Lethal grabs Seleziya as she tries to deck him…and plants a smacker on her lips. Poor Scarlett simply falls out of the ring like a goof…and as Martini misses a shot with the Book Of Truth Jay flips into a DOUBLE LETHAL INJECTION! Taven is pinned at 11:57

Rating - ** - Taven had been showing some promise recently, but unfortunately both matches this weekend have seen him relapse into what made him and the House Of Truth act so frustrating through the first half of 2013. He is a great talent, but this gimmick makes him work such plodding, clichéd style that just doesn’t suit him. It’s the same blueprint that got Jimmy Rave and Prince Nana over back in the day. But the difference is Rave could work like this, and drew legitimate crowd heat. Taven (or maybe it’s Truth) just doesn’t have the same connection and his matches are boring live crowds. And when the whole gang interfere in the finish of basically every match he wrestles it’s just all too predictable. I like Taven, but either the HOT gimmick needs to go, or the TV Title needs to be moved elsewhere as this just isn’t fun anymore.

reDRagon vs Alabama Attitude vs Adrenaline RUSH vs Caprice Coleman/Cedric Alexander
This is another Proving Ground match, except this time it’s ‘Instant Reward’ – meaning Fish and O’Reilly have agreed to an immediate title shot if any of their three challengers can defeat them in this one. C&C have made no secret of their desire to be Tag Champions for a long time, but for many reasons have never been able to get over the final hurdle and actually take the belts. Next in line is Adrenaline RUSH, the rookie team who have gelled supremely quickly to produce some spectacular, high flying contests. The popular ACH and the mysterious, unpredictable Tadarius Thomas have proven to be a potent combination in 2013. Last on the list is Alabama Attitude. They’ve failed in previous championship opportunities, they’ve failed to impress or nail down a permanent spot in any of the multiple chances they’ve been given – but they’re back again tonight looking to spring an upset or two and earn themselves a contract.

The ‘bluetooth headset’ Fish wears during his ring entrance is actually his mouth guard?? My mind is BLOWN! Even in Alabama it seems that Corey Hollis is the only over part of his team apparently. He starts with O’Reilly – working the mat with serious intensity. ACH tricks both members of reDRagon out of the ring, then flips around the ring taunting them and is nearly pinned by a sneaky Mike Posey. This is lucha rules apparently? Caprice and Posey run through a nice near-miss sequence then we go to Alexander and Thomas. TD does his best to dislocate Cedric’s jaw with capoeira kicks which gives RUSH the advantage. Fish is a veteran and senses danger in that – tagging in to shut ACH down and literally stomp him out of the ring. Coleman somehow gets tangled in the ropes during a basic Irish whip spot and nearly gets his neck broken! That looked nasty, and he sensibly tags out to let reDRagon isolate Posey. The weak link (in his team, the match – you pick) is under the cosh for several minutes before Hollis gets the tag and delivers a running neckbreaker on O’Reilly. Everyone piles in…only for Caprice to clean house with elbow smashes to everyone – including inadvertently decking his own partner! Tadarius comes in and starts beating up both members of reDRagon at the same time like they are extras in a Kung Fu movie…before ACH catapults in with a slingshot flatliner! DETONATION KICK from Alexander to ACH! Corey then flattens Cedric with a discus lariat! Coleman drops Kyle with the Mind Trip but can’t even celebrate before Fish is dropping him on his neck with a Saito suplex. There are bodies everywhere now! Alabama Attitude hit some rather tentative and unimpressive dives to the floor…and are instantly put to shame with a RUNNING SWANTON OVER THE TOP from Alexander! SPRINGBOARD SUICIDE DIVE BY COLEMAN! BERMUDA TRIANGLE BY TADARIUS! There’s one guy left! ACH HITS AIR JORDAN! Fish gets the knees up as he attempts a 450 splash though! CHASING THE DRAGON! reDRagon pin ACH at 12:54

Rating - *** - They played it fast and loose with the rules, but that actually worked in their favour as it allowed everyone to showcase their skills, hit their spots without having to worry about selling too much or coming up with anything of real substance. I really don’t get the booking though. Why the f*ck is Delirious having ACH lose here? He has Alabama f’n Attitude in the match, so he puts reDRagon clean over one of the hottest up and comers ROH have? Somebody explain that to me. Why book the ‘Instant Reward’ stipulation if you weren’t going to actually follow it through? Lousy booking aside (ROH’s creative is really atrocious at the moment), some of the spots here were fantastic. But rather than pick out the usual suspects, I’ll talk about Corey Hollis. He’s saddled with a pointless tag partner, but I thought Corey was excellent in this. He was crisp in his strike exchanges, sold everyone else’s offence like a real pro, and on the deck looked extremely confident trading holds with an established technician like Kyle O’Reilly. The sooner he ditches Posey the better.

Roderick Strong vs Adam Cole – Ringmaster’s Challenge Match
This is only the second Ringmaster’s Challenge in Ring Of Honor history. The first saw Roderick Strong and Eddie Edwards contest a 40+ minute technical epic to settle their increasingly heated series of matches together back in 2011. It was Die Hard that came out victorious that evening, and Roddy won’t want to go 0-2 in this match type by losing again this evening. Again this is booked as a result of a series of matches through the summer. These two have traded wins, with Cole generally being a sporting, nice guy when he wins but an angry prick when he loses. He’s put Roddy through tables, he’s refused to shake hands, and now he finds himself in the ring with him again just two weeks away from Death Before Dishonor. After losing the tag match between the four World Title tournament semi-finalists at Night 1 you really feel that Cole needs a win tonight. If you need a refresher on the gimmick – this is basically 2/3 Falls rules, with a twist. The first fall is a standard match, the second is submissions only, and the third fall (if needed) is a 15-minute Iron Man Match.

Strong looks to intimidate Cole early on – and comes out all guns blazing as he lands strikes from multiple angles. Adam tries to leave…and when Strong cuts him off on the outside Cole scoops him up for an OCEAN CYCLONE into the apron! The momentum shifts instantly, with Adam pouncing to hit a jumping neckbreaker and a DVD over the knee for 2. Nana points out how aggressive Cole is, remorselessly targeting his offence on Roderick’s neck with very little wasted motion. It’s too early for the Flying Crossbody though, and he is dropkicked out of the sky by Strong. Olympic Slam blocked, so Roddy hits the urinage backbreaker instead! MICHINOKU DRIVER by Cole, putting his rival down on his neck once again! It’s all been set up for the Florida Key, but Strong blocks that with a jumping knee strike. Orange Crush Backbreaker countered as well! Cole superkicka Strong into the FLORIDA KEY! He wins the first fall at 08:40, and we now go into the Submission Rules second fall. The two men stagger to the apron…and with his neck already a target Strong once again falls foul of Cole’s aggressive approach. FIGURE 4 AROUND THE RINGPOST! Having spent the first fall working on Strong’s neck for the Florida Key, Cole has instantly switched tactics at the start of the second and is now viciously assaulting the legs to prepare for the Figure 4 Leglock. That works fine until Strong locks in the Stronghold out of nowhere! Cole, with a fall already in the bank quickly submits to prevent further injury, meaning we’ve reached a 1-1 tie at 11:35 and we now have 15-minutes under Iron Man rules to decide a winner. Both men rise to their feet sweating profusely and clasping at various injuries before charging into battle again.

Capture powerbomb nailed by Strong, before Cole fires right back with the Shining Wizard. Florida Key is blocked though, with Roddy leading Adam into the corner for a Jerry Lynn style guillotine leg drop in the ropes. Superplex…straight into the ORANGE CRUSH BACKBREAKER! He pins Cole at 15:27, making it 1-0 in the Iron Man format. DEATH BY BACKBREAKER gets 2! Gibson Driver countered to a cradlebreaker for 2! Cradlebreaker again, and still Roddy fights out. FLORIDA KEY! For the second time in the match that move pins Roderick, making the score 1-1 at 17:37. SUPERKICK THROUGH THE TIMEKEEPING TABLE! Except rather than go through it Roddy just sort of bounces off it…and splats onto the concrete floor in extremely ugly fasion. Just like Best In The World, Cole has no intention of helping his fellow Floridian and smirks as he tells Todd Sinclair to give him a count-out victory. It doesn’t work though, and Strong even gets a shoulder up after he slides straight into a savage close-range superkick. FIGURE 4 LEGLOCK! They slap the crap out of each other even whilst in that hold…as Larry Legend announces we have less than 5 minutes to go. With his legs and neck killing him Strong struggles to get back to his feet…but somehow smears Cole into the deck with a Roaring Elbow. Cole SPITS IN HIS FACE! What a jerk! DEATH BY RODERICK! SICK KICK! FOR 2! Cole snatches a precious pinfall with a small package at 24:30 – meaning it’s 2-1 with only a couple of minutes left! And with that Cole RUNS AWAY! He wants to run the clock down, standing on the outside for as long as he can without being counted out…rolling into the ring…then rolling straight out again. We have a minute to go and Adam is flat out refusing to compete! Strong is so hurt he can’t even chase him too well. The last thirty seconds. It’s all over at 26:59 with Cole smirking on the floor as he wins both the Iron Man, and the overall match by a score of 2-1.

Rating - **** - I saw some pretty low ratings for this, and lots of live reviews said it was disappointingly short. However, I tried not to let those influence me. The Strong/Elgin 2/3 Falls match from earlier in the year had a similar write-up and (whilst I’ll fully admit it was probably too short for a feud-ending blow-off match), I thought that was exceptionally well done. The same applies here, in that it probably was rushed a little – particularly in the second fall. Given that the total run time of this DVD is only just over 2 hours there really isn’t an excuse for Delirious/Sinclair not giving them more time to really flesh out the limb and body-part work in that second fall. HOWEVER, it doesn’t stop it from being a really strong main event. This was, by some distance, Adam Cole’s best ROH performance of the year so far. Maybe not the best match,  but he was superb. He carried the match, walking the fine and incredibly difficult ‘tweener’ line to perfection. He was aggressive, he worked body parts, he cheated on occasion, he repeated the controversial Best In The World table spot…and it all culminated in the last few minutes which saw him running away and stalling. Lots of fans hated that – but then again, lots of fans hated the Aries/Tyler 60-minute draw at Final Battle 2009 for exactly the same reason, and I loved that. As a quality main event this delivered to an extent. It could have been better, but it was still an excellent match. As a vehicle for putting Adam Cole over, however, this was really first rate. If you didn’t believe Cole could be a viable, credible, entertaining Ring Of Honor World Champion, you probably should after this performance.

Roderick Strong chases Adam Cole all the way to the locker room, and Michael Elgin trots through the curtain to deliver a corny ‘thanks and goodnight’ promo.

Tape Rating - ** - I’ve been generous in a couple of ratings tonight. I guess lots of people will have rated the Richards/Bennett and Cole/Strong matches lower than I did. However, what I’m not going to do is be generous with the overall Tape Rating. This was the better of the two Road To Greatness shows, but believe me that really isn’t saying very much. They were both the very epitome of a ‘B-show’. Both cards have plenty of skippable dross, forgettable and average matches, some downright horrible performances from QT Marshall and Luke Hawx, booking that at times is so bad you won’t believe what you’re watching. Much as with yesterday in Chattanooga – sure this DVD has a couple of strong matches, but they just aren’t anywhere near good enough to justify sitting through hours of badly booked, averagely performed wheel-spinning by Ring Of Honor as they prepare for Death Before Dishonor. Skip these, or get them on VOD or in a sale if you’re desperate. They aren’t worth full price

Top 3 Matches
3) reDRagon vs Adrenaline RUSH vs Alabama Attitude vs Caprice Coleman/Cedric Alexander (***)
2) Michael Bennett vs Davey Richards (****)
1) Adam Cole vs Roderick Strong (****)

Top 5 Road To Greatness Weekend Matches
5) reDRagon vs Adrenaline RUSH vs Alabama Attitude vs Coleman/Alexander (Night 2 - ***)
4) Michael Bennett vs Davey Richards (Night 2 - ****)
3) Kevin Steen/Michael Elgin vs Adam Cole/Tommaso Ciampa (Night 1 - ****)
2) Kyle O’Reilly vs Cedric Alexander (Night 1 - ****)
1) Adam Cole vs Roderick Strong (Night 2 - ****) 

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