ROH 396 – Glory By Honor 14 – 24th October 2015
Technically this is Night 2 of Glory By Honor 2015 weekend, but Night 1 in Kalamazoo was a TV taping and not released onto DVD…and as a result of last night’s action the main event for this one gets a pretty serious shake-up. The now-annual Champions vs All Stars Match is our headliner here, and you’ll notice Roderick Strong appears on the ‘Champions’ team. That’s because he defeated Jay Lethal for the TV Title in Michigan, therefore joins still-World Champion Lethal and Tag Champions The Kingdom to take on the ‘All Star’ opposition of Moose, Dalton Castle and The Addiction. I won’t lie, the undercard beneath that main event looks rather awful. War Machine face the Briscoes, and their matches are usually decent, but some of the other stuff makes me shudder. J. Diesel has a singles match, Adam Cole is wasted with Will Ferrara, Beer City Bruiser is booked, and once again ROH wastes the momentum Adam Page gained from a strong TV main event with Jay Briscoe to throw him back into worthless filler four-way crap. Oh, and AJ Styles is injured so can’t work either! Kevin Kelly and BJ Whitmer – presumably replacing Steve Corino as a result of his actions on TV this week – provide commentary from Dayton, OH.
Holy sh*t we actually don’t start in the ring waiting for the opening match! Instead we’re in the parking lot as Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser pull up in a car. They are transporting The Boys in the boot (trunk) of the car, and let them out to carry their bags.
Kelly Klein vs Ray Lynn
At the last live event in Lockport the Women Of Honor division produced one of the most entertaining matches of the whole show when Veda Scott and Sumie Sakai beat the hell out of each other. This is something of a change of scenery as it features two women making their main show debuts. Klein has decent size to her, and is dating BJ Whitmer which I presume will be acknowledged in some way as he accompanies her to the ring. She was trained in part by Les Thatcher, whom I believe also trained BJ. Lynn is an OVW product. As it’s the WOH division, Ian Riccaboni handles commentary – this time with Veda Scott…who shouts everything despite wearing a headset.
At Whitmer’s instruction Klein refuses to shake hands and instead dismissively tosses Lynn to the ground. Ray swings a big slap in her direction…so Kelly knocks her lights out with a lariat. She wins with her guillotine choke – called the ‘End Of The Match’ – at 01:08. Is that a nod to Decade founding member Jimmy Jacobs' 'End Time' finisher?
Rating - N/A - Obviously at barely a minute long we don’t have much to go in by way of assessing the talent of either woman. Klein did a decent job making me believe in her total destroyer gimmick, and associating her with The Decade and Whitmer immediately makes her an identifiable heel which the Women Of Honor division will certainly need.
Adam Cole vs Will Ferrara
On paper you might roll your eyes at this and question why you need to see another obvious Ferrara singles loss. He works this bottom-of-the-card enhancement talent spot on basically every show, so it certainly won’t be anything new. But, to defend him, he does have some talent, and his best match so far was when he got to show some of that ability against a legitimate top tier performer in his match with Roderick Strong during the Conquest Tour. Obviously Cole’s plan will be to defeat him at a brisk pace and continue on his path to what he hopes is regaining the World Title…but will he take the tenacious young underdog too lightly?
Cole smiles and poses to the crowd, indicative of how unimpressed he is by Ferrara. He then hits the ropes with such force that the turnbuckle snaps and effectively leaves us without a top rope. A back drop driver dumps Will on his head…and when he tries to forcefully re-enter from the second rope Cole meets him in mid-air with a gutbuster. Ferrara remains fearless and flips the bird in Adam’s direction, earning him the violent punishment of being thrown head-first into the guardrails. Still the youngster keeps coming – this time slapping the former World Champion in the face and drilling him with a couple of snug forearm smashes. Crucifix Driver to counter Cole’s DVD over the knee gets 2! Cole retreats…and Ferrara goes right after him with a tope suicida. Code Red landed and gets another close nearfall for the underdog. Finally Cole shuts his momentum down with a big superkick out of the corner. Shining Wizard into the Last Shot gets Cole the win at 09:13
Rating - ** - It certainly wasn’t rocket science, and on a paper-thin undercard felt like a huge waste of Adam Cole…but they set out to tell a simple story and executed it extremely competently. Cole was an arrogant ass, Ferrara did his usual hopeful comeback spots, before doing what he has a job in ROH to do which is putting other guys over. I wouldn’t want to watch it again, and being brutally honest you could have predicted exactly how this match would go move-for-move without ever needing to see it, but considering how predictable it was it’s actually a testament to the quality of their work that this never felt boring or forced in any way.
Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser vs All Night Express
Already King and Titus have some work to do as the momentum that took them to a comeback victory over the Briscoes at All Star Extravaganza has quickly waned. They dropped a Proving Ground Match to the Tag Champions during the Reloaded Tour and fell to a payback defeat to the Briscoes at the TV taping the previous night. Young and Bruiser are the kind of duo they absolutely need to beat if they want back into the Tag Title picture. Quick question about Silas Young – if he’s supposed to be turning ‘The Boys’ into men, why are they still allowed to wear their usual Boy-esque ring attire?
Bruiser’s new purple trunks look like huge granny panties. Young steps out and orders The Boys to wrestle instead. The identical twins get a standing ovation for some impressive double teams on King, which Silas deems too flashy. He ejects them and re-instates himself and BCB into the match. Rhett displays a modicum of wrestling skill by tossing Young to the floor…so he throws The Boys back in! Beer City finally gets up off the announce table and enters the match as well, as this utterly implausible but oddly watchable spectacle continues. Even Whitmer admits to being confused as to who is actually wrestling! Snuggle Monkey Flip blocked by Young, leaving Rhett in position for the big fat cannonball by the Bruiser for 2. Snuggle Monkey Flip on him instead! Shotgun Knees from King get 2…before he gets put down by a double-team Killer Combo. BCB blocks the One Night Stand, and catches King for a shockingly awful Finlay Roll. Titus punishes him with the Thrust Buster…so Young DDT’s him into the bottom turnbuckle! Fatty Frog Splash gets 2 for Beer City. The big man tries to climb the ropes again, but gets pulled away by Rhett for the ONE NIGHT STAND! ANX win at 11:20
Rating - *** - So sue me, I had fun with this match and found it to be comfortably the best ANX bout since their return. The silliness with Young making The Boys wrestle, then pulling them from the match, then throwing them back made no sense from a kayfabe perspective but was really funny and a neat little continuation of that angle…and from there the wrestling was surprisingly good. Bruiser always looks better in tag matches as he gets plenty of chances to catch his breath, but he was used sparingly and sensibly throughout. Similarly Rhett Titus – the other weak link – was only really involved when it was hitting a big spot and wasn’t required to do any real ‘wrestling’.
Samson Walker vs Caprice Coleman
Based on his competent and moderately enjoyable matches during the Reloaded Tour Samson is certainly deserving of this opportunity. Caprice Coleman is the man he needs to overcome in order to secure a more permanent roster spot…but unfortunately for him Caprice has been enjoying a career resurgence of late. Eschewing his nurturing, nice guy image, he is now more cocky and aggressive. It’s an approach which has brought him a few wins; a streak he’ll want to continue.
Caprice’s pre-match promo is as bitingly vicious as it is mischievously entertaining, with a particular highlight being to call this a ‘Please can I have a job’ match for Walker. He starts strongly as well; tricking Samson into thinking he’s going to get into a strength battle then instead unloading a barrage of kicks and knee drops. Walker’s response is to take a puff of his asthma inhaler…then start biting Coleman’s stomach and back? Just when you think he’s gone completely strange he almost puts Caprice through the damn canvas with a massive spinebuster to remind everyone what a powerhouse he truly is. Caprice jumps into the Leap Of Faith super rana to pull Walker off the second rope…and as he leaves the ring rolls backwards through the second rope into a headscissors on the floor. Ole Ole Body Avalanche on the floor misses for Samson! And I mean he literally did the whole Samoa Joe gimmick! It’s unsuccessful though and leaves him exposed for Caprice to dropkick him into the guardrails. He looks to follow it with a pescado…but it is countered to a RUNNING POWERSLAM ON THE FLOOR! Samson brings chairs in…but before he can use them and before the ref has clocked it Coleman pulls an Eddie Guerrero and goes down faking a head-shot! As Walker pleads with the official not to disqualify him, Caprice sneaks a schoolboy pin and grabs the win at 08:13
Rating - ** - There definitely is some raw talent with Samson. He is a strange character to watch, and at times you feel like he needs to ‘pick a lane’ and decide whether he wants to be a goofy loon or a marauding powerhouse (at times his performance leaps rather jarringly from one extreme to the other) – but it is also tough to deny that his ‘I work in Puerto Rico’ unpredictability makes it hard to take your eyes off him. I also remain a big fan of Coleman’s new gimmick, and it’s an avenue I’d have explored with him right after the C&C WrestleFactory split. The Dayton crowd had a hard time getting into this as Caprice, who they are used to being a generic babyface, works a new heel-ish persona…whilst Walker isn’t as recognisable to them and also looks more comfortable working heel. Coleman’s match with Pepper Parks in Lockport worked much better because the crowd were super into his opponent.
Bobby Cruise goes ‘off format’ and brings out his old friend Steve Corino. He’s banned from commentating, but there’s nothing stopping Bobby from letting him be guest ring announcer. BJ Whitmer is apparently so pissed off that he leaves commentary – to be replaced by Prince Nana.
Michael Elgin vs Donovan Dijak
As I’ve said countless times, Dijak is completely wasted in his terrible tag team with J. Diesel. I understand that at TV tapings it’s a necessity, but he has a lot of potential and there really is no excuse for Delirious/ROH not giving him more substantial opportunities at live events. That changes here as the current House Of Truth enforcer for the World Champion meets Michael Elgin, a man who previously held that role when Roderick Strong held the gold. Elgin has started putting together wins and impressive performances both in ROH and Japan…and now wants back into the World Title picture. That means he knows how much of a statement a win over Jay Lethal’s henchman would make here, and likewise Martini and the HOT will realise how crucial it is that Donovan ‘take him out’.
The difference in stature between them is so striking, with Donovan SO much taller than Elgin, but also looking rather wiry when contrasted to the powerfully built former World Champion. Unbreakable strikes first, giving him a press slam and cannonballing off the apron after him when he tries to walk out. Elgin reiterates his status as the more powerful of the two by brutally winning a shoulder tackle battle and easily lifting him for a 45-second vertical suplex. Too early for the Elgin Bomb, and Dijak’s legs are too long for him to put him in a Sharpshooter. The Top Prospect winner gets some distance from his stocky opponent and drops him with a superkick. He knows he has a bigger reach and is the faster of the two, so lures Elgin into missing a body avalanche in the corner then drops him with a back suplex for 2. Next his long limbs are used as leverage to crank onto a cravat and upon escape again Michael runs at him – allowing Dijak to floor him with another big kick. But like Elgin earlier, it’s too soon to go for a finish and Feast Your Eyes is easily blocked. The two big man stand dead centre of the ring and start teeing off on each other, with neither one backing down! Elgin wins the exchange with a big lariat but is so exhausted himself that he has no ability to capitalise. Roaring Elbow to Dijak’s neck followed by a bridging German out of the corner for a 2-count as Elgin’s sheer power start to take their toll on Donovan. He creates distance again, coming off the apron for a SLINGSHOT SPRINGBOARD ELBOW DROP! That is such a big dude to be doing spots like that! A rope stunner knocks the Canadian to the floor…DIJAK MOONSAULT OFF THE APRON MISSES! CORKSCREW SENTON by Elgin! LARIAT TO THE NECK for 2! Dijak is still fighting and counters an attempted Buckle Bomb into the Chokeslam Backbreaker. Feast Your Eyes blocked into a dead-lift powerbomb by Elgin. Donovan looks for Feast Your Eyes again…and this time when Elgin tries to counter he flips him backwards into a sit-out powerbomb! Dijak to the top…with Elgin up after him! TOP ROPE GERMAN SUPERPLEX! BACK FIST! ELGIN BOMB! Elgin wins at 18:57
Rating - **** - The concept of a young, talented enforcer getting better by working future opponents of his World Champion stable-mate is such a simple one. Roderick Strong improved hugely when he did it for Austin Aries during the Generation Next days, similarly Michael Elgin first broke out as a singles star doing the same job for Roddy in the House Of Truth. Hopefully Delirious now realises that Dijak is easily talented enough to get the same treatment. This was the first really great, must-see match of his ROH career and truly shows what he is capable of when the dead-weight that is ‘Joey Daddiego’ isn’t weighing him down. Neither are known for being skilled technicians, so I’m glad they didn’t opt to fill their generous time allowance with ‘work a body part’ stuff. These are big dudes who like to hit hard and drop major offensive bombs – so that was how they approached it. Elgin wanted to use his power to overwhelm Dijak…who countered by using his height, reach, speed and athleticism. It was a war from start to finish, ending when Dijak took one risk too many, got caught on the top rope and punished as Elgin was the first man able to hit his finishing move. It is absolutely crucial Delirious/ROH follow up on this performance with more substantial matches in the future. They cannot allow him to go back to random sh*tty tag matches with Diesel now after this.
INTERMISSION – A smiling Ian Riccaboni joins Kevin Kelly for the second half.
Shaheem Ali vs Joey Daddiego
Daddiego is J. Diesel, to whom House Of Truth have given a new name for reasons I don’t know (but then again, I'm still waiting on an explanation as to why Taeler Hendrix hangs out with them which will probably never come). I was underwhelmed by Ali’s last main show appearance against Bob Evans, but I know a lot of people think he’s a real prospect so lets see how he does in carrying Diesel’s talentless backside…
Joey wants to throw punches because, as the commentators harp on about every time he wrestles, he’s had moderate boxing success previously in his life. Those blows are easily avoid by Shaheem who uses his speed to repeatedly take his opponent to ground. Taeler Hendrix helps Diesel out by tripping Ali on the apron and allowing the HOT member to land a diving stomp to the neck. The next couple of minutes are rather dull viewing, but are at least logically wrestled as Daddiego uncompromisingly keeps the more agile competitor on the canvas. Ali lands a gutwrench suplex to kick-start a comeback, and gets a nearfall with a swinging front slam. To the top rope he goes…only for Taeler to get involved again. Daddiego capitalises to punch his lights out…and wins with a DVD at 06:52
Rating - * - I wanted to rate this lower because I really dislike Diesel, but it’s only right to acknowledge that this was one of his better performances. It wasn’t what you’d call ‘good’ in anyway, but when you’re dealing with a talent whom at times has seemed so hopeless it really is fair to note that he didn’t mess anything up spectacularly here and worked entirely competently throughout. I’m still yet to see what all the fuss is about regarding Shaheem, but will concede Bob Evans and J. Diesel aren’t exactly the kind of opponents you’d like to make an impact against.
SIDENOTE – I have criticised Kevin Kelly endlessly throughout his ROH tenure, so it may surprise a few that I’m putting in a sidenote to praise him here. I don’t like his work at all, but it is worth pointing out that the way he incorporated his protégé Ian Riccaboni into his announce work during this match was extremely professional and showcased how much he has learned from his countless years in the business. I’ve noticed that even JR struggles to work directly with another play-by-play commentator, so it’s really not an easy thing for a ‘lead announcer’ to do. I thought Kevin did a strong job taking a back seat, letting Ian get comfortable calling the ‘bread and butter’ play-by-play content and instead interjecting himself only when he had something of value to add.
Adam Page vs Cliff Compton vs Cedric Alexander vs Bob Evans
Compton was supposed to work the Reloaded Tour event in Atlanta, but missed it due to a medical emergency (which I believe wound up being diagnosed as a stroke, enforcing his retirement) but does get a make-up booking tonight. Evans takes the spot of Cheeseburger, whom he injured at the TV taping yesterday. Page should come into this red-hot following his outstanding performance in his televised No Holds Barred Match with Jay Briscoe, and I’d argue it is critical he gets a strong victory here to continue that momentum. There’s some sweet continuity here as Cliff grabs a mic and calls Whitmer Page’s ‘drug addict manager’ – since Cliffy is a known associate of Steve Corino.
Alexander tries to jump Compton and instead gets dropped with the Media Blitz for 2. Page engages in a dynamic little exchange with Cedric next, which ends when Cliff puts his foot through Adam’s face. 540 Kick from Alexander drops Compton, with Cedric gesturing that he deliberately aimed the kick at the head of a man who suffered a documented seizure just months prior. Brutal Bob’s lackey ‘Terrible Tim’ (Hughes) tries to interfere, so at Veda Scott’s request referee Paul Turner ejects him. Alexander continues to target the head of Cliff and even goes so far as to make fun of his seizure…which makes for rather uncomfortable viewing. Veda looks to choke Cliffy in the ropes, so now she is ordered to leave ringside. Now Colby Corino and BJ Whitmer try to help Page…and they are ejected too! Compton capitalises with a Rock Bottom on Alexander for 2. Compton whips Cedric, who uses the momentum to dive into a tope on Evans…AS PAGE SLINGSHOTS OVER HIM into the lariat on Cliff! Awesome spot, but f*cking terrible camera work/editing basically missed it! Springboard lariat by Cedric, into the Three Amigos…only for Page to counter the third causing them both to plummet over the top rope! As the ref checks on that carnage, he doesn’t see the wounded Cheeseburger run in and give Brutal Bob the Shotei. Compton pins Evans for the win at 07:57
Rating - * - Putting Cliff over here is absolutely ludicrous. I understand that it’s nice to give him a ‘moment’ after enduring such a traumatic medical emergency…but is that really more important than the careers of Alexander and Page? Hell, even Bob Evans winning would’ve made more sense! The match wasn’t a total bust because Page and Cedric were excellent, but it was such a huge waste of their talent. As expected, Page’s career-high performance against Jay Briscoe is immediately dusted under the carpet so Delirious can return him to regularly scheduled programming of jobbing in sh*tty undercard matches…and I can only presume that by this point Cedric had already informed ROH that he intended to leave when his contract expired. I’m not saying he’s the best wrestler in the world, but he is a decent and exciting worker and on a level above a lot of people who get significantly more air-time than he ever does.
Cheeseburger grabs the microphone and challenges Bob to a match at Final Battle. Are you f*cking serious?
War Machine vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe
These two teams have already built quite a back catalogue of chaotic brawls. They were in the midst of a growing rivalry when Ray Rowe’s 2014 motorcycle injury caused him to miss almost a year of ring-time, but renewed hostilities at the Conquest Tour event in Hopkins and beat each other senseless yet again. War Machine lost that night and are still chasing a big win over the Briscoes. With Hanson and Rowe now positioned as top contenders for Tag Titles as we move into Final Battle season, now would be a great time for them to get that victory over the 8-time former champs.
Even as age and injuries have caught up with him Mark remains remarkably quick on his feet, and he needs to be to stay out of Rowe’s clutches. The second Ray does lay a hand on him he drills him face-first into the mat. Jay chooses a different strategy and tries to stand in the middle of the ring trading shots with Hanson…which unsurprisingly doesn’t work and leaves him vulnerable to a nifty little double-team knee strike flurry from War Machine. Mark looks seriously motivated for this; his cat-and-mouse strike/mat wrestling exchanges with Ray Rowe have been one of the highlights of the show so far. War Machine look too powerful for the Briscoe brothers, thwarting them with rugged and forthright power at every turn. In fact, they take turns boxing the hell out of the former World Champ in the corner leaving him visibly reeling. His little brother switches things up and comes back in working much faster. He lunges all over the ring with assorted kicks then flies off the top rope for a crossbody block on Rowe. Finally he tries one running attack too many and is shut down with the reverse direction powerslam from Hanson. Jay rescues his brother from the Sledgehammer…so Rowe JUDO THROWS HIM INTO A KNEE STRIKE! Bronco Buster on Mark gets 2. BACK DROP DRIVER BY JAY! That huge move temporarily incapacitates Rowe giving the Briscoes some time to break out of some of their signature combo moves; obtaining a significant advantage for the first time and seriously wounding Hanson. It’s only when Mark gets lured back into trading strikes with the big man that he loses control and gives him a route towards the hot tag on Ray Rowe. Jay shuts down his momentum with the Rude Awakening…then gets decked by Hanson’s cartwheel lariat. Urinage by Mark! SUPERMAN ELBOW by Rowe! ROARING ELBOW by Jay! All four go down! And of course, they all come up at the same time still throwing punches! They spill to the floor, recreating scenes from their previous encounters! APRON BLOCKBUSTER from Mark to Rowe! Jay gives big Hanson an uncompromising suplex on the hard floor…and he gets up into a running mafia kick from Mark. ELBOW SUICIDA BY HANSON! TOP ROPE MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR BY MARK! FROG SPLASH BY JAY! This is crazy! SPIKE JAY DRILLER ON ROWE! HANSON SAVES! DEAD-LIFT SCREWDRIVER ON JAY! GETS 2! Path Of Resistance nailed, and this time it’s Mark diving in at the last to save. HANSON-SAULT MISSES! FROGGY BOW TO THE BACK! JAY DRILLER ON ROWE! Briscoes win at 20:48
Rating - **** - It’s rare that the winner of a match directly influences my rating, but it’s possible that had they put War Machine over here I’d have gone even higher. This is definitely one of the best 2-vs-2 tag matches ROH has done all year regardless. But...again, I really don’t get why War Machine didn’t go over though, bearing in mind they are #1 contenders for the Tag Titles at Final Battle. Having said that, Hanson and Rowe have suffered at the hands of Delirious' booking inconsistencies more than most, so perhaps one shouldn't be too surprised. These guys have always had great chemistry, and it was awesome to see them cut loose with a decent time allocation and given a platform to really steal the show – which they absolutely did. There was meaning and motivation behind every move and counter, from Mark trying to stay out of Rowe’s clutches in the first few minutes all the way through to the flurry of false finishes at the death. You could just tell from the very start that the Briscoes – especially Mark – were extremely motivated. They aren’t as supremely and consistently outstanding as they were back in 2007, but when they are on they are still as good as any tag team on the planet. Which is why I get so very frustrated when they coast through matches doing little more than rehashing their usual spots! Elgin/Dijak earlier was very good…but this was even better.
Ahead of the main event the #1 contender for the World Title at Final Battle drops in for a visit – which of course means that AJ Styles is in the house. He’ll be commentating on the main event apparently.
Jay Lethal/Roderick Strong/Michael Bennett/Matt Taven vs Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian/Dalton Castle/Moose
Is this the worst ‘All Star’ team in the history of Champions vs All Stars? In their defence though, the All Star team has had multiple line-up changes, even as recently last night as a result of the action at the Kalamazoo tapings. Both Roderick Strong and AJ Styles were originally supposed to be on the All Star team…but since Roddy defeated Lethal for the TV Title he now joins his nemesis on the Championship team, and AJ is injured so misses out. I think ACH was also in the running for a spot at one point too. So with Roddy moving to the Champions making them a four-person team, plus ACH and AJ dropping out due to injury it effectively opens up ALL the spots on the All Star team. The Addiction step into two of them, looking for payback on The Kingdom for taking their Tag Titles at All Star Extravaganza. Moose steps into another, presumably with his priority being to score a pinfall on the World Champion and force the title shot he is so desperate for. Perhaps the final, but most critical question of all – how will great rivals Lethal and Strong be able to coexist just 24-hours after Mr ROH ended Jay’s historic second Television Championship reign (just like he ended the first one)?
Strong starts the match for his team, but with Lethal in the background posing to the fans and stealing his heat. He starts with Daniels, and the standard they set is excellent…albeit easy to miss since Kelly and AJ are happily chatting away about Tanahashi and Okada at Wrestle Kingdom. Bennett opportunistically tags in once Roddy has done the hard work beating down the Ring General, ably assisted by Maria raking Daniels’ eyes. The most over man in the match is actually Dalton, and the Dayton fans go nuts when he tags in to work Taven at five minutes. Lethal briefly tags in, calls out Moose…then tags out to Taven before he has to lock up with the big football star which draws some laughs. Taven dodges the Game Breaker…but walks into the colossal Moose dropkick instead. TRIPLE SUPERKICK from Lethal and The Kingdom on him! Everyone piles into the ring then spills to the floor…and in the melee Castle gives Roddy an old Austin Aries move – the Heat Seeking Missile! ARABIAN PRESS TO THE FLOOR by Daniels to take out multiple guys. But inside the ring Kingdom give his tag partner the Hail Mary…and eliminate Kaz at 10:55. Jay Lethal steps in for the first time, dragging Daniels into the corner where the announce table is situated to hurl abuse at Styles as he stomps the life out of his real-life friend. Twist Of Fate/Swanton Bomb combo by The Kingdom next, necessitating both Moose and Dalton lunging in to break the pin. But the Tag Champs get over-confident, and Bennett doesn’t see Daniels coming. The Ring General swoops to roll-up up and eliminate him at 14:54. Daniels makes a vital tag to Castle, who has had a really strong showing thus far. He and Taven counter back and forth attempting Tombstone Piledrivers at insane speed…until Dalton gets dizzy and DROPS TAVEN ON HIS HEAD! AND HE CLINGS ON! PUMPING TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER…gets 2!
Matt fights Angel’s Wings, but gets low blowed by Daniels (a measure of payback for All Star Extravaganza). Daniels eliminates Taven after the BME at 17:52, meaning he sent both Tag Champions packing here tonight. It leaves the warring World and TV Champions alone to face three All Stars, with Roderick first to face the music and taking some real punishment from Moose and Dalton. He and Daniels then go back and forth attempting pinning combinations at mind-blowing speed considering we are twenty minutes deep. END OF HEARTACHE almost from nowhere! Strong eliminates Daniels at 21:39…and we’ll call Moose and Castle not trying to break that up ‘inexperienced’ rather than ‘f*cking moronic’ I guess. Castle tries to swarm Mr ROH before he can get up…but that over-enthusiasm soon means he’s on the back foot again and being worked over by both champions in turn. Strong and Lethal are ultra-competitive with each other, which is obviously bad for the Party Peacock as they continually up the aggression at his expense. The Boys sneak out to ringside trying to cheer Dalton on…but are quickly dragged to the back by Silas Young! Their brief appearance galvanises Castle though, and he violently dumps Roderick with an improvised suplex and gets a crucial tag to big Moose. CHOKE-BOMB on Lethal gets 2! Lethal lines up a tope suicida…but accidentally takes out his own partner! Castle has taken so much punishment that he flubs his 619 on the apron…so instead grabs Lethal’s head and DDT’S HIM ON THE F*CKING FLOOR! Taeler Hendrix and Truth Martini distract Castle briefly…LETHAL INJECTION! Jay pins Dalton at 32:34, much to the disappointment of the Dayton fans. Moose is the last All Star standing…running into the HITSTICK on Lethal! Knee strikes by Roddy…SICK KICK NAILED! Strong wins! He and Lethal are the last men standing for the Champions at 33:29
Rating - **** - If you’d have told me at the start that Moose and Dalton were going the distance for their team I’d have been a little uncertain, but actually the biggest strength of this match was the way it was laid out. Castle was hugely popular in the building, so seeing him get down to the final minute really kept the live crowd involved. The Kingdom and The Addiction are both over regardless, and the way they interacted, and eliminated each other added real substance to the middle period, but also got them out of the way for the ‘singles’ guys to get their moments to shine. Moose is always best when hidden in multi-man matches and used sparingly like this, and despite going more than half an hour I never felt like he wasn’t being protected – or that his weaknesses were getting exposed. And ultimately, given the haphazard and last-minute manner in which the All Star team was thrown together, it made perfect sense that the winners would be the dominant World Champion Jay Lethal and ROH 2015 MVP Roddy Strong. Castle and Moose get the rub by making it to the end, but in giving their champions victory Ring Of Honor ensure that their two top guys look incredibly strong as we enter Final Battle season.
Strong and Lethal each raise their belts and antagonise the other, prompting the fans to call for one more match between them. AJ Styles eventually hops in too, begrudgingly raising the hand of the man he’ll face in the Final Battle main event. The show ends with Lethal and Styles nose to nose
Tape Rating - *** - ROH really only cared about three matches on this show. However, thankfully they gave all three of those matches plenty of time (at the expense of all the filler crap nobody really wanted to see) and as a result the majority of this DVD is taken up by some seriously high quality wrestling. Elgin/Dijak and War Machine/Briscoes are genuinely excellent matches, and a real joy to watch some talented gems (that Sinclair’s ROH deserve credit for unearthing) step up to deliver at an elite level. The main event, packing in eight big names (plus Truth Martini, Taeler Hendrix, Maria Kanellis, Adam Cole, Stokely Hathaway and AJ Styles all at ringside) was quite a spectacle even if it didn’t reach the heights of some previous Champions vs All Stars matches. Obviously there is some crap to get through, and it is a shame that Adam Cole is completely wasted (could he have been booked into the Champs vs All Stars match to provide some intriguing Kingdom vs Kingdom action?)…but you’ll only care about three matches, and they all deliver. It’s hard not to recommend this show at least partially therefore!
Top 3 Matches
3) Jay Lethal/Roderick Strong/Michael Bennett/Matt Taven vs The Addiction/Dalton Castle/Moose (****)
2) Michael Elgin vs Donovan Dijak (****)
1) Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs War Machine (****)