ROH 379 – Global Wars 2015: Night 2 – 16th May 2015
We reach closing night of New Japan’s 2015 Ring Of Honor tour, and the format will change significantly this evening since this is an SBG TV taping. I’m pleased they released it on DVD (I’m a completist after all) but as a one-stop viewing experience this event may seem a little disjointed when compared to all the others. We have a mammoth 14-match card scheduled for the evening so I certainly don’t have high hopes for everything…but there are still some really exciting clashes on the bill. Roddy Strong vs Shinsuke Nakamura jumps out as a potential classic if they get enough time and if Nak is in the mood. reDRagon get a rematch with The Addiction for the ROH Tag Titles, The Kingdom face the Bullet Club for the second time on the tour too. The magnificent Dalton Castle is in action this evening as well, which is great as he really needs to be on as many ROH shows as possible. All of this leads up to our main event of the evening, and another Bullet Club multi-man tag as AJ and the Bucks face Kazuchika Okada and RPG Vice. Steve Corino and Kevin Kelly are in Toronto, ONT.
Will Ferrara vs Kushida
Nothing could make it clearer that this is a different show to the other three nights on the tour than Ferrara getting booked. It’s a shame that Kushida’s last match is wasted on him, as his performances have been outstanding. Many consider his match with Roderick Strong in Philadelphia to be a candidate for MOTY. Can he round off his tour with a win – or can Ferrara pull a major upset?
Kushida’s Carytron video is awesome, as is Corino pointing out that we are watching protégés of Tajiri (Kushida) and Taz (Ferrara) collide here. Kushida calmly and precisely controls the opening two minutes until Will turns the tables by blocking a standing moonsault. His punishment is to have his arm snapped over the top rope then his skull cracked with a springboard tomahawk chop. Handspring Tajiri Elbow misses…and fans start booing Ferrara even as he successfully takes flight for the tope tornado DDT on the floor! What a tough crowd. Kushida hits a perfect moonsault for 2, then misses a Buzzsaw Kick and almost allows Ferrara to capitalise with Eyes Wide Shut. Hoverboard Lock gets the win for the New Japan star at 07:29
Rating - * - Nothing wrong with this at all as it was short, punchy and completely inoffensive. In truth I probably rated it down solely because it was such a waste of Kushida. He definitely deserves an easy night though – given that he’s worked harder than the majority of the NJPW guys this week.
Silas Young vs Takaaki Watanabe
These two teamed up yesterday, but were unsuccessful in a match against Gedo and Moose. Silas blamed Watanabe for the loss and assaulted him, providing some (admittedly very simple) context to these two locking horns here. Kevin Kelly repeatedly tells viewers their match happened at War Of The Worlds. Just to let you know – it didn’t. Kevin Kelly is just awful at his job.
Young pops Watanabe in the mouth rather than follow the Code Of Honor…so he clearly hasn’t forgiven him for their loss yet. German suplex blocked by Silas, only for him to celebrate prematurely and absorb a back suplex instead…which in turn softens him up for the German. Realising he can’t let Watanabe build up a head of steam, the Last Real Man slows the pace by raking his face across his knee brace. Clothesline off the apron by Wata, putting Young into a position where he can GERMAN SUPLEX HIM ON THE FLOOR! Silas wisely crawls away to recover, and returns to the ring to land a TKO (which he calls ‘Misery’) for the win at 06:55
Rating - ** - This was really decent. They had a plausible reason for fighting, they told that story succinctly through their wrestling, their approaches to the match were both perfectly logical, there were a couple of big spots, and it ended with Silas debuting a new finisher – which he has badly needed. As far as random, undercard filler matches on SBG TV go this was really quite pleasant.
Up next we are scheduled to see Moose face BJ Whitmer in a grudge match following their altercation at the San Antonio Conquest Tour TV tapings. BJ is a slimeball though, and substitutes Decade young boy Colby Corino into the match instead. What follows is a total beating which barely constitutes a match. Some credit goes to little Corino for taking some serious punishment though…
The rescheduling of the card doesn’t stop there. It’s time for our first ‘TV main event’ of the night, and Truth Martini has apparently gotten Jay Lethal a night off. His spot in the scheduled main event is taken by J. Diesel…
Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Donovan Dijak/J. Diesel
This was originally scheduled to be an early preview of the anticipated main event for Best In The World 2015, and a chance to see World Champion Jay Briscoe square off with TV Champion Jay Lethal ahead of that event. That will now not be the case, meaning this match looks instantly the poorer for it (I’m not sure if Lethal had a legitimate injury or if this is purely to enhance the angle). Dijak has some promise, but Diesel is arguably the worst wrestler on the entire roster (and considering that the roster now includes the likes of Cheeseburger and Beer City Bruiser that’s no mean feat). Can the House Of Truth soften up the World Champion?
Mark starts with Dijak, and immediately confused the Top Prospect Tournament winner with his tomfoolery. That is until Dijak does a BACK FLIP of his own! Diesel is more of a buffoon, doing his stupid plodding boxing stuff until he is shut down and isolated by the veteran Briscoe brothers. Inevitably Lethal makes his presence felt from the announce table, distracting Jay Briscoe for long enough for Donovan to tag in and hit a colossal SUPLEX THROW for 2. Uncle Mule Kicks from Mark to save his brother, only for Truth Martini to cause a scene when he looks set to win it with the Froggy Bow. Dijak catches him for a mid-air ribbreaker before tossing him aside like trash. Jay gives Diesel a roaring elbow then picks him up for the Doomsday Device. Briscoes win at 11:17
Rating - * - I’m slightly concerned that Ring Of Honor think that this was an acceptable standard of main event to put on television. No disrespect to Dijak, who I thought worked extremely hard – but this was a lazy and quite tedious match to sit through. The Briscoes were on cruise control, Diesel was abysmal as usual…and even the brief interactions between Lethal and Briscoe felt lukewarm at best. Quite a shame, as the originally scheduled Briscoes vs Lethal/Dijak match could have been really interesting and a far more exciting television main event…
Dijak gives Mark Feast Your Eyes on the floor after the match…but inside the ring Jay Briscoe gets his hands on an irate Jay Lethal and lays him out with a Jay Driller.
The next ‘episode’ starts with The Addiction announcing that reDRagon’s Bobby Fish is out ‘injured’ so can’t compete this evening. Nevertheless, Daniels demands that either they come and accept their Tag Title rematch now…or lose by forfeit and fall back into the ranks to earn another shot. Kyle O’Reilly emerges through the curtain – and accepts their challenge by himself!
The Addiction vs reDRagon – ROH Tag Title Match
On paper this is a rematch from ROH on SBG Episode 188 when Chris Sabin emerged as a member of the KRD and helped Addiction take the Tag Championship from dominant champions reDRagon. That obviously isn’t the story now – as O’Reilly has been forced to contest this match by himself. It’s not completely unheard of for a competitor to win the ROH Tag Titles single-handedly (Jay Briscoe effectively did it at All Star Extravaganza 3 back in 2007) but imposing veterans like Daniels and Kazarian are a colossal handicap for Kyle to overcome…
The element of surprise benefits O’Reilly, who starts hot and successfully takes the fight to both opponents for a minute or so. I feel like Sinclair must have shot some kind of backstage angle to frame this, because Kelly and Corino are talking like Fish is out injured thanks to The Addiction. Why isn’t that on the DVD? I mean, I know why – lazy editing and production – but why is such laziness tolerated? Kyle tries to separate the champions by throwing them to opposing sides of the arena, before stacking them both for the FLYING APRON MISSILE DROPKICK THROUGH AN OPEN CHAIR! Rolling butterflies…into Arm-ageddon on Kaz! Daniels breaks it with the title belt, causing The Addiction to be disqualified at 04:08
Rating - N/A - This was taped for television, so actually I think they made the best of an unfortunate situation regarding Bobby Fish’s travel difficulties to make a solid televised angle. Seeing Daniels get some rare live promo time was delightful (and did more to flesh out The Addiction’s heel character than three or four dry, pre-taped pipe-and-drape interview segments), O’Reilly wrestled like a machine and the non-finish really enhances his credibility. In essence, I came away from this understanding more about the characters and motivations of the newly-turned Tag Champions and feeling like O’Reilly was a star. It is hard to deem this anything other than successful television.
Daniels attacks the referee as well, before the champs hit Celebrity Rehab with one of the belts on O'Reilly. Matt Sydal and ACH randomly come to the rescue…causing Addiction to retreat and make fun of ACH missing flights.
Dalton Castle vs Jushin Liger
You wouldn’t be able to tell it from the superstar ovation he gets from the Toronto fans, but this is a huge match for Dalton. Impressive as Donovan Dijak is, it is very clear that the 2015 Top Prospect Tournament will be remembered as a break-out moment for Castle rather than him. ROH has wasted no time getting him onto as many TV tapings as possible – and rightly so. He really is unlike anything anywhere else in the major American promotions right now and oozes star power. Putting him in the ring with a respected veteran like Liger on a show of this magnitude should tell you that Delirious is aware of his potential upside too.
Both these guys have awesome entrance themes and magnificent capes. Clearly the fans recognise that too since they barely touch in the first minute yet still get duelling chants and the ‘this is awesome’ treatment. Liger’s sensible plan is to ground his flamboyant opponent and really grind him down…but no such luck as Castle tosses him out of the ring so he can strut around. Apron 619…INTO A RANA ON THE FLOOR by Dalton! I love that Liger’s response to that is to simply knee him right in the stomach like a cranky old motherf*cker. SENTON OFF THE APRON by Liger! HE POSES WITH DALTON’S BOYS! Shotei ducked…into a DEAD-LIFT pumphandle suplex by the Party Peacock. Considering Liger’s bulk that is seriously impressive. Vader Splash gets 2 before they collide mid-ring and lie alongside one another each struggling to get up. SHOTEI! Frankensteiner scores for the masked veteran and gets a nearfall. Everest German blocked…BANG-A-RANG for 2! LIGERBOMB…for 2 as well! Liger finishes it with a brainbuster at 09:44
Rating - *** - A year down the line into Castle’s run this match wouldn’t have seemed so exciting and impressive, but at this point he feels so fresh. He still clearly has plenty to learn but something about him is incredibly watchable. Ring Of Honor have unearthed a real diamond, who should be locked down to a contract as soon as possible and made a core part of the Ring Of Honor brand. Liger’s work was as age-defyingly good as it always is, but actually his finest contributions to this tour have been motorboating Maria and posing with The Boys. The match itself had a delightfully simplistic structure, as the crafty Liger used all his experience to put down a spirited challenge from a hard-working and unorthodox young pretender.
Bob Evans vs Cheeseburger
As I discussed a couple of shows ago, I’m trying this new thing where I try to ignore all the bad things about modern-day ROH (and there are a lot of them) and try to focus on the positives (of which there are also many). I can’t pretend that new philosophy is going to be easy here – since this match has no business being on any Ring Of Honor show, let alone television. Brutal Burgers were a (pointless) team, but have now (pointlessly) split up because Brutal Bob was (pointlessly) jealous of Cheeseburger’s (inexplicable and annoying) popularity. He’s been Mike Bennett’s trainer, and Cheeseburger’s coach/sidekick – but all Evans has ever actually wanted to do is be an ROH wrestler in his own right. He now looks to take out years of career frustration on his ex-partner. Focusing on the positives – I would rather watch Brutal Bob wrestle than Cheeseburger.
Burger starts quickly and kicks Bob out of the ring…for an ugly Thesz press off the apron. To give Cheese his dues – he is clearly pumped up for this and visibly trembles as he prepares to hit a somersault senton off the barricade. Shotei nailed, but Evans basically no-sells it and football tackles him for 2. CRAZY SIDEWALK SLAM OFF THE APRON THROUGH THE TIMEKEEPING TABLE! That spot was so insanely out of keeping with the rest of this inane match I had to rewind the DVD to check it actually happened! The ref fears for Cheeseburger’s life, so calls it a no contest in a time of 02:59
Rating - N/A - I’ve watched Ring Of Honor wrestling for a long time, and I’m struggling to remember too many more idiotic moves from an ROH booker than to give a feud like Bob Evans/Cheeseburger any kind of air time. But after that ludicrous table bump I don’t have the heart to give this the ‘DUD’ treatment. It is also fair to say that Burger is getting a lot more precise in the execution of his spots. It still doesn’t make him particularly watchable or believable, but does at least stop me from questioning why I even bother watching wrestling anymore…like I normally do during his matches.
Michael Bennett/Matt Taven vs Karl Anderson/Doc Gallows
This is technically a ‘substitute’ TV main event as reDRagon/Addiction tag that was supposed to headline this episode went on first. The Kingdom and the Bullet Club have already contested a hell of a match with each other this week – with Bennett and Taven ending up on the winning side of a trios tag in Philadelphia. They have previous specifically with Anderson and Gallows, whom they defeated to become the IWGP Tag Champions back in April.
Karl Anderson has no interest in wrestling and instead sprints around the ring making a beeline for Maria. Taven comes to the rescue with a SUICIDE DIVE TO THE FLOOR taking out both members of the Bullet Club. The Kingdom set up the Hail Mary on the floor…COUNTERED IN MID-AIR TO A FLYING GUN-STUN ON THE FLOOR! F-5 ON THE APRON BY DOC! Back inside the ring Anderson lands the Rocket Kick for 2. Bennett blocks the Gun Stun and lands the Spear to turn the momentum in his favour. MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR BY TAVEN! He is killing himself in this one! Tempers get so frayed that referee Red Shoes gets decked…leading to a double DQ at 05:25. The fight continues though, with Bennett frantically rescuing his wife from being given the Magic Killer through a chair. He gets a Gun Stun…and Taven gets the MAGIC KILLER THROUGH OPEN CHAIRS instead!
Rating - *** - This was mad. It didn’t go long, but these guys absolutely beat the hell out of each other. Taven in particular was on another planet to everyone else and took a couple of bumps comparable to Cheeseburger’s table ride! I’m not the biggest fan of the Anderson/Gallows team, mostly since I think Karl is an awesome singles competitor and they are nowhere near as good as the Anderson/Bernard team from a few years ago…but they are at their best in fun, chaotic brawls like this. A great use of them, without overdoing the Bullet Club gimmick ahead of the main event.
Up next we are supposed to have War Machine facing The Decade. Just like earlier in the show (or a couple of weeks ago in TV terms) BJ Whitmer ‘generously’ gives up his spot in the match to give Colby Corino an opportunity. He takes delight in sending Steve Corino’s son into a guaranteed ass-kicking once again. Ray Rowe tries to reason with Colby…but eventually gives up and gives him a merciless beating (with Page refusing to tag in and help).
Cedric Alexander gets some promo time, although he isn’t deemed significant enough to have his ring entrance included. He knows his career has flatlined in 2015 and he needs to start racking up some serious wins. In an effort to do that he lays down a major challenge – to the ‘undefeated Moose’.
Cedric Alexander vs Moose
It wasn’t the prettiest of promos, but Cedric did an adequate job setting the stage for this one. In 2014 he was hot property after winning a feud with Roderick Strong, but has been stuck pressed against a glass ceiling ever since. In 2015 he hasn’t accumulated anywhere near enough victories to put himself into championship contention and the frustration has started to show - including last night when he walked away from Okada rather than shake his hand. He is looking to jump-start his career by ending Moose’s undefeated streak tonight. This is a big match for Moose too though, as he looks to press his claims for a World Title shot…
Alexander dodges the Moose dropkick and plants a kick into the back of his head. He then SHOVES Moose’s big head into the ringpost with an audible crack. The big man seems slowed momentarily, until he takes flight in style to dropkick Cedric OFF THE TOP ROPE! Alexander really craves victory though and it takes seconds for him to retaliate with a springboard lariat then the somersault senton over the top to the floor. A tornado DDT drops Moose onto his head again – and it really seems like Cedric on a roll now. But even semi-conscious the ex-NFL man is a major threat and proves it by landing the Game Breaker (pop-up lariat – Wikipedia said so) for 2. His adverse reaction to his opponent’s attack on his head is all too apparent though – and he stumbles trying to run to the top rope, enabling Cedric to catch him with the aptly-named Concussion On Delivery (his version of Aries’ IED, yes, I looked for that on Wikipedia too). Referee Paul Turner is concerned for Moose’s safety as Alexander just keeps putting kicks into his skull. ROLLING SPEAR FROM NOWHERE! Veda Scott tries to get Moose to use a wrench to ensure victory…and when he refuses Alexander grabs it and SMACKS HIM IN THE HEAD! He’s already on the point of unconsciousness, and Cedric nabs the chance to score a huge victory. Moose’s undefeated streak is over at 07:30
Rating - *** - As a match I really enjoyed this. Alexander has had an awesome weekend in Toronto actually, since his performance against Okada last night was terrific too. The story they went with – Alexander desperate for victory and breaking something of a ‘taboo’ in wrestling terms by outright trying to force a concussion on his opponent – worked really well. It also protected Moose’s limitations by letting Alexander do most of the work. Here’s my issue though; to the surprise of nobody, I COMPLETELY HATE the booking. I’m far from Moose’s biggest fan, but they’ve put him over a load of people and are half-way through an angle hyping him for a World Title shot. Why the hell would they blow his undefeated streak on a heel turn for the chronically uncharismatic Cedric Alexander? As a worker Cedric is very solid, and I am thrilled Delirious is looking to reinvigorate his career…but to me it makes no sense at all to kill off Moose’s streak in the process. Fans don’t like Moose enough to buy this as a huge change in Cedric’s fortunes, and Ced himself doesn’t have the promo skills to put it over that way either. All this does is murder Moose’s credibility just when he was starting to resemble a half-decent member of the roster after all.
Matt Sydal/ACH vs Hiroshi Tanahashi/Tetsuya Naito
I had sort of forgotten about the random ‘mutual respect’ team of Sydal and ACH. They don’t have a lot of experience as a team, and have a huge task before them as they face two of New Japan’s top stars. Do they have the weaponry in their arsenal to take down the likes of the great Tanahashi? Perhaps the bigger question here is – will Naito actually look like he gives a crap tonight, for the first time on the entire tour?
ACH has his own gear tonight, but just like last night (versus Nakamura) pesters Tanahashi by hopping around in front of him. Sydal isn’t phased by Tana’s reputation either and splashes into him with the standing moonsault early. Naito shutting ACH up by smashing his mouth with a huge running dropkick is possibly the best thing he’s done all week, although ACH is soon back on his feet and mocking his (stupid) pose. Tanahashi decides to attack ACH from behind and gives him a ride into the guardrails behind the ref’s back. The New Japan team start targeting the back and show a willingness to break any rule they need to in the process. Tanahashi is, unsurprisingly, much more interesting to watch than Naito – who is doing his usual Rob Van Dam tribute act of spot-pose-spot-pose on repeat. Sydal rescues his partner and takes out Naito in the process with a standing super rana…but then tries another standing moonsault and gets CAUGHT WITH A GERMAN SUPLEX by Tana! Slice on Tanahashi! Jumping knee/Hero’s Grip combo gets 2. Tanahashi looks insanely pissed off with ACH now, and puts real torque on the Texas Cloverleaf he applies on him. JUMPING KNEE TO THE FAAAAAACE! Team NJPW stop Sydal hitting a dive…AIR JORDAN NAILED BY ACH INSTEAD! SYDAL PRESS! Naito saves Tanahashi! 450 SPLASH…sort of blocked! SLING BLADE! HIGH FLY FLOW! Tanahashi finally silences ACH at 14:54
Rating - *** - This was, by a distance, the most enjoyable Naito match all week…although he was still the worst part of it. ACH being an annoying sh*t was the focal point of the match, and the New Japan guys were awesome in putting that over. He was such a tool he made Tanahashi want to work heel. He pissed Naito off so much he had to be stopped from ripping his eye open…and it got to the point where Tana had an in-ring temper tantrum at the fact that he couldn’t put ACH away. I should also point out that, whilst he didn’t get a lot to do, Sydal was completely awesome. He has quietly gotten over the injuries that have dogged the most recent years of his career and seems to be as good a wrestler now as he ever has been. If he can stay healthy and keep performing at this level then WWE will surely be recalling him before long.
Nigel McGuinness is here! It feels like it has been ages since he popped up on an ROH show, although that might just be because I haven’t watched ROH shows with any regularity at all in 2015/16. He is in position to host the contract signing for the Best In The World 2015 main event – the ‘Battle Of The Belts’ between World Champion Jay Briscoe and TV Champion Jay Lethal. Surprisingly it doesn’t end in violence, and culminates only in a few pointed remarks from each man and a stare-off as they raise their belts aloft. Jay Lethal looks every bit the World Champion in-waiting at this stage…
SIDENOTE – Kevin Kelly is always annoying, but his insistance that there has never been a champion like Lethal, who promotes his title as superior to the World Title, in ROH history is bafflingly stupid and ignorant. Nigel McGuinness is standing RIGHT F*CKING THERE! Hell, AJ Styles is in the main event tonight…the whole initial point of the old ‘Pure Wrestling’ Title was that he and Samoa Joe were going to battle over whether that belt or the World Title was superior. I find his constant clichéd dated commentary style intolerable enough, but when he makes vacant, boneheaded and obviously false statements like this I get even more annoyed. How he still has a job, and continues to actively increase his influence over Ring Of Honor wrestling is a real mystery to me.
Roderick Strong vs Shinsuke Nakamura
What a week it’s been for Roderick Strong. He produced a killer match with Kushida at War Of The Worlds Night 1, contested a bloody war with Hiroshi Tanahashi at Night 2 in Philly, then came to Canada for Global Wars 2015 and was part of the victorious ‘ROH All Stars’ team that overcame the Bullet Club last night. Can he end his week by giving the legendary Nakamura his first singles defeat in Ring Of Honor competition?
Nigel McGuinness has joined commentary, and manages to keep Kevin Kelly mercifully quiet for more than a minute. It means that he and Corino actually provide some really thoughtful insight into the two combatants jostling for position and superiority on the mat. Nak looks to be playing with Roddy just like he did with ACH…and is punished with a couple of chops then a jumping heel kick. The Olympic Slam gets 2…but Nakamura is too clever to get caught in a cycle of having his back endlessly worked over. He flees to the apron to break Strong’s momentum then absolutely PELTS him with a kick through the ropes. A big running knee leaves Mr ROH slumped in the front row! Nakamura starts to smirk as he hammers Strong all over ringside with his signature stiff strikes. Strong now breaks Nak’s momentum, ‘changing gears’ and scooping him up for a MUSO! Death By Roderick countered into a spinning heel kick to leave both men down! Running knee dodged by Roddy…so Nakamura scoops him up to drive a knee into his gut instead. JUMPING ELBOW TO THE FACE! NO SOLD! ROARING ELBOW BY RODDY! The cut to the head Strong sustained against Tanahashi earlier in the week has opened up again, although it doesn’t stop him nailing an inverted Death By Roderick for a close nearfall. Nakamura continues to fight but misses the Bomaye and eats turnbuckle backbreaker. End Of Heartache blocked! DIVING KNEE BY NAKAMURA! Bomaye COUNTERED TO DEATH BY RODERICK! SICK KICK…BLOCKED! STRONGHOLD INSTEAD! To the delight of the Toronto fans, Nakamura makes the ropes to continue the fight. ELBOWS! SICK KICK! END OF HEARTACHE! NAKAMURA KICKS OUT! A semi-conscious Nakamura slips out of another suplex attempt into a RUNNING KNEE! ONE COUNT OF DISRESPECT! BOMAYE…STRONG COUNTERS WITH A JUMPING KNEE TO THE FACE! BOMAYEEEEEEEE! Nakamura wins! What a fight! It’s over at 15:59
Rating - **** - The main event is going to have to be extremely special to stop this from stealing the show this evening. Roderick Strong is an absolute machine, and has been the week's clear MVP. After the three matches he’s already contested this week, I’ve got no idea where he found the energy reserves to pull this classic out from. Nakamura was, as ever, electrifying with his presence – and to be fair, he was also working much harder than he has done at any other time this week. But this was a wonderful performance from the Ring Of Honor veteran. He seemed to instinctively know when it was time to increase the pace or dial up the intensity. From his facial expressions to the way he moved around the ring, everything was masterful on his part. I liked that, in the main, both men tried to actively stop their opponents using their preferred tactics as well. Strong got in a few moves on Nak’s back…so Nakamura left the ring. Then Naka started to dominate using his feared strikes…so Roddy started moving faster to the point that the New Japan star couldn’t keep up with him. With each rendered unable to utilise their preferred strategies, they resorted to beating the crap out of each other – with the critical difference being that Nakamura found a way to kick out of Strong’s finishers, whereas Roddy couldn’t escape the Bomaye. Awesome story-telling. Terrific match. There have been some good ones this week, and this was right up there.
Gedo vs Michael Elgin
One can’t help but feel a little sorry for these two. Such are the complexities and intricacies of timing and laying out weeks of television on a single night of taping that these two have been left filling the popcorn break between Nakamura/Strong and the Bullet Club trios tag main event. This is not an enviable spot on the card – but they are here to pad out some time on an episode of ROH on SBG. At least Elgin gets an up-close-and-personal chance to impress Gedo and finally get his dream spot on a NJPW tour.
Elgin looks to bully the experienced junior heavyweight – and uses his superior strength to completely bully him. There appears to be a group of fans chanting for Super Dragon, which probably indicates how into this match the crowd is. Aside from a couple of craft veteran tricks, poor Gedo gets his ass handed to him for more than five minutes. Unbreakable gets cocky and misses a somersault senton then gets punished with a superkick for 2. Elgin retaliates with the Buckle Bomb, then the Elgin Bomb for the win in a dominant 06:24
Rating - * - A commanding performance from Elgin, who was on top for all but approximately thirty seconds of Gedo offence. Not the easiest watch on DVD or for the live audience, but I suppose if you buy tickets to attend a TV taping you probably know you’re signing up for matches like this at an entirely inappropriate point on the card. Personally I’d rather have seen this cut and allowed both the Bullet Club/Chaos 6-man and Strong/Nakamura more time – but I’ve never produced a wrestling television show…
Kazuchika Okada/RPG Vice vs AJ Styles/Young Bucks
It’s been a long night, but hopefully the crowd still has some energy left because this a big main event to conclude the 2015 New Japan/ROH tour. Multiple storied New Japan feuds are intertwined within an ROH ring this evening. The Bucks and Rocky Romero (with both Koslov and Trent) have feuded seemingly interminably over the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles. AJ and Okada were feuding over the IWGP Heavyweight Title back during the 2014 tour…and not much has changed a year later. And both Bullet Club and Chaos have been rival factions in NJPW too. All six will look to send the live audience home happy, and also inject a New Japan flavour into Ring Of Honor’s weekly TV show.
Everyone is so over they get a chance to pose on the turnbuckles…including Red Shoes. We aren’t starting slow either as Styles and Okada demand to face each other and instantly look to start delivering their big finishing moves. RPG Vice are in next and hit a flurry of double teams to isolate Nick Jackson. SUPERKICK BY MATT! He then spits at Okada whilst the rest of the Bullet Club (including Gallows and Anderson at ringside) choke Berretta in the corner. Nick tries a swanton bomb…but sails right into Trent’s knees. Dudebuster DDT nailed, before he makes a hot tag to Romero. SUPERKICK! NO SOLD! LARIAT BY ROCKY! Okada gets his hands on Styles again and mows him down with a running uppercut for 2. Phenom DDT…COUNTERED to a kryptonite neckbreaker! DOOMSDAY KNEE STRIKE OFF THE APRON BY RPG VICE! BLOODY SUNDAY ON OKADA! NO SOLD! TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER! TORNADO DDT TO THE FLOOR BY NICK! More Bang For Your Buck…COUNTERED WITH A ROPE RUN GERMAN SUPERPLEX BY TRENT! FLYING ELBOW BY OKADA! SPRINGBOARD ELBOW BY AJ! STRONG ZERO BLOCKED WITH A MID-AIR SUPERKICK! SUPERKICK/CODE RED COMBO ON TRENT! TRIPLE SUPERKICKS BY BULLET CLUB! OKADA REFUSES TO GO DOWN! EARLY ONSET ALZHEIMER’S/PELE KICK COMBO! POP-UP HOLLOW POINT! MELTZER DRIVER! DOUBLE SUPERKICK! STYLES CLASH! BERRETTA IS DEAD! Bullet Club win at 15:33
Rating - **** - Possibly the weakest of the three Bullet Club multi-man tags this week, but this was still great, and a mind-blowing match for a promotion to give away on free television. I really don’t understand why, having finally lured the Bucks back to the company on an almost full-time basis, ROH have now set about jobbing the Bucks out almost constantly…and it was awesome to see them win here. They were legitimately more over than either AJ or Okada and should, in my opinion, be the focal points of the promotion at this stage. Not everyone likes this style of wrestling, but it’s modern, it’s cutting edge and in the Jackson brothers, Ring Of Honor have talents who can work matches of this style better than anyone else in the world.
Tape Rating - ** - The weakest of the 2015 New Japan tour shows by some way, but given the restrictions and formatting of a TV taping that isn’t totally surprising – and as a competist I appreciate that they released this show on DVD. It’s not a bad show by any means. Cedric ending Moose’s undefeated streak was certainly noteworthy (although not a booking decision I agreed with), Liger/Castle was entertaining and despite being short the Bullet Club/Kingdom tag in the midcard was completely nuts. The two stand-out matches on the card (Strong/Nakamura and Bullet Club/Chaos) stand up there with the best matches of the entire week. The issue with this show is that there is so much more filler to sit through to get to the good stuff. I was also somewhat annoyed that, even with months to edit the DVD together, they really did a lazy job producing this. It really is just a copy of the live taping feeds and audio. None of the backstage interviews/segments that were inserted into the TV shows were included…which means at times you’re left scratching your head and trying to work out what is happening and what the announcers are referring to. I feel like they really could have added some genuine value to this DVD with just a little bit of effort in the production suite – and three hours of rushed match after match was quite a slog to get through without it.
Top 3 Matches
3) Cedric Alexander vs Moose (***)
2) AJ Styles/Young Bucks vs Kazuchika Okada/RPG Vice (****)
1) Shinsuke Nakamura vs Roderick Strong (****)
Top 5 Global Wars 2015 Matches
5) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Michael Elgin (*** - Night 1)
4) AJ Styles/Young Bucks vs Kazuchika Okada/RPG Vice (**** - Night 2)
3) Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe/Roderick Strong/War Machine vs Bullet Club (**** - Night 1)
2) Kazuchika Okada vs Cedric Alexander (**** - Night 1)
1) Shinsuke Nakamura vs Roderick Strong (**** - Night 2)
Top 7 War Of The Worlds/Global Wars 2015 Tour Matches
7) ROH All-Stars vs Bullet Club (**** - Global Wars 2015 Night 1)
6) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Roderick Strong (**** - War Of The Worlds 2015 Night 2)
5) Kazuchika Okada vs Cedric Alexander (**** - Global Wars 2015 Night 2)
4) Adam Cole/Michael Bennett/Matt Taven vs Bullet Club (**** - War Of The Worlds 2015 Night 2)
3) Roderick Strong vs Kushida (**** - War Of The Worlds 2015 Night 1)
2) Shinsuke Nakamura vs Roderick Strong (**** - Global Wars 2015 Night 2)
1) AJ Styles vs Adam Cole (****1/2 - War Of The Worlds 2015 Night 1)