McXal's Reviews

Ring Of Honor set something of a precedent last year of releasing a DVD of any TV taping that a full NJPW is in town to participate in. They did it with Global Wars and the Aftershock Tour, and do so again with this one. Unfortunately they’ve gotten REALLY lazy with this one and simply released a compilation of the four episodes taped – which seems like something of a rip-off. Would it really have killed them to release the uncut versions? Standout bouts on tap include the Young Bucks taking on Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin, Adam Cole versus Kushida, The Addiction in a grudge match against the returning Motor City Machine Guns, Jay Lethal defending the World Title against Hirooki Goto, War Machine defending the Tag Titles against RPG Vice, Kenny Omega in singles action against ACH and a main event Fight Without Honor as Silas Young and Dalton Castle look to settle their feud. We are in Las Vegas, NV once again. Commentary comes from Kevin Kelly, Mr Wrestling III (plus Nigel McGuinness at various points).

This was taped as a YouTube exclusive match I believe, and wasn’t on any of the episodes broadcast from this show. Answers on a postcard as to why ROH went to the expense of bringing Spanky back for a weekend only to barely use him whatsoever. He competed on the first ever ROH show back in 2002 and it feels right that he competes again fourteen years later. 

Kendrick looks composed, but finds Ferrara to be a tenacious foe whom he just can’t keep on the deck. He wrenches him to the deck with the Bully Choke which visibly hurts Will, giving Spanky the advantage. The neck and jaw start to become a targets, but Ferrara keeps battling back to his feet to his credit, and lands the rebound tornado DDT which almost delivers a big upset. Sliced Bread #2 countered, but Kendrick rolls through to a bridging pin and scores a popular victory at 05:30

Rating - ** - I’ve been a fan of Kendrick for a long time, and I’ve always enjoyed it whenever he’s returned to ROH. In truth, other than the first few shows (and a little run in 2005) he’s never really been a regular in this company which is a shame. Perhaps that was a possibility with this run before the WWE Cruiserweight Classic came calling and brought about a well-deserved career renaissance for him. It was fun to see him do his thing here, and I was pleased that this was more about showing how good Spanky is, rather than doing loads to put over Ferrara.

We are set to open this episode with BJ Whitmer challenging Tomohiro Ishii for the TV Title. Just as we saw with Jon Gresham previously, Veda Scott and Cedric Alexander interrupt and offer BJ money for his title shot…and to the delight of the Vegas fans he accepts!

The chronic mis-use of Cedric has reached such an extent now that he wasn’t booked for the 14th Anniversary PPV (his second missed pay-per-view in succession). Had Cedric already given notice that he was running down his contract at this point? Either way, tonight he has a huge chance to make a big statement by dethroning the mighty Stone Pitbull and preventing the TV Title from going back to Japan with him again.

Ishii no sells strikes from Alexander like gentle taps, and actually starts encouraging him to have a free swing in his direction. Eventually he delivers a chop with such force that Cedric crumbles to his knees. Veda trips Ishii from behind which does allow the challenger to blindside him and assume a measure of control. Kelly and Mr Wrestling question his tactics though as he taunts the Pitbull, and targets the head which is known to be pretty impervious to pain. Inevitably the champ snaps and decimates Cedric with chops and elbow strikes in the corner. Alexander retaliates with a rebound enzi out of the corner, and gets his closest nearfall yet with a Michinoku Driver. Lumbar Check blocked with a KNOCK-OUT HEADBUTT! Sliding lariat countered back by Alexander into a crucifix pin for 2! LARIATOOOOO by Ishii! BRAINBUSTER! He retains at 06:15

Rating - ** - Disappointingly brief and surprisingly slow considering how little time they actually had to play with. The last couple of minutes were great, but it didn’t seem to have a whole lot of drive or direction before that. The contrast between the complete lack of momentum in Cedric’s career at the start of 2016, versus where he ended the calendar year in the WWE is quite remarkable. It’s quite depressing to watch his talent wasted so spectacular in ROH at this point.

The Addiction are out next to give their reaction to the Motor City Machine Guns reuniting. They claim to have saved Sabin’s career and made him ‘relevant again’ and demand an apology for his betrayal. MCMG come to the stage to call them ‘bitter, delusional douchebags’ and are very up for a fight. Daniels and Kaz back away claiming they’ll only wrestle them when the time is right…

TWO WEEKS – After commercials Mr Wrestling III announces that Nigel McGuinness has taken the decision out of The Addiction’s hands, and booked them versus the Machine Guns for two weeks time.

Scum (Thornstowe and Luster The Legend) have appeared before, but are back looking to nail down a spot permanently. They’ll know a victory over the Briscoes would more than likely secure future bookings with the promotion, so will be supremely motivated (particularly in their home state). Jay and Mark need the win themselves, having lost to Tanahashi and Elgin at the pay-per-view.

Mark starts by putting the boots to Adam Thornstowe, then leaves him to get clobbered to the floor by Jay. Luster barges in to lend a hand and tackles Mark in the corner handing the momentum back to Reno Scum. They show their experience and fluency as a team by competently cutting the ring in half and isolating Mark for a couple of minutes. Catapult DVD combo gets such a close nearfall that it necessitates Jay diving in to save his brother. Jay gets the tag and retaliates with a DVD of his own on Thornstowe. Meanwhile Mark floors Legend with the urinage to take him out. Splash Mountain Neckbreaker gets 2 on Adam! GERMAN SUPLEX DOUBLE STOMP COMBO from Reno Scum to Mark for 2! Mark recovers with the Froggy Bow on Thornstowe, for the win at 06:59

Rating - ** - Reno Scum are solid hands, and I’ve seen people request them to be used more regularly before. This was a nice little exhibition for their skills in the ring against the most decorated team in ROH history. They didn’t disgrace themselves and clearly have more to offer should ROH decide they are worth the investment. At the time they didn’t, and Reno Scum eventually made their way to TNA by way of the relationship with Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling. As a filler TV midcard bout there wasn’t much wrong with this. It felt hard-fought and physical, with Thornstowe and Luster coming off credibly enough that the amount of offence they got in didn’t feel damaging to the Briscoes in any way.

Fresh off stealing the show at the 14th Anniversary with their spectacular NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Title defence alongside Kenny Omega, Matt and Nick Jackson actually enter this one with a hell of a lot to prove. In ROH they may be established as arguably the most over stars in the promotion…but they know a win here would have major implications for their work in NJPW. If they were somehow able to defeat the Ace, Tanahashi, and his partner Big Mike (i.e. major heavyweight stars) it would be a significant statement. Kevin Kelly brings his NJPW knowledge in and calls this a legitimate grudge match due to the Bucks helping Kenny Omega beat Tana for the IWGP Intercontinental Title and repeatedly attacking his bad shoulder in matches.

This will feel very different to NJPW, as even Tanahashi has to play second fiddle in the popularity stakes to the deliriously over Bucks. Tana sensibly starts on the apron given that both Jacksons are vocal about wanting to attack his shoulder again. Nick starts with Elgin and is just too quick for him, eventually ejecting him from the ring via a pop-up dropkick with the assistance of brother Matt. RUNNING CORKSCREW PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR! But when we cut back from commercials we see Tanahashi blocking a Superkick attempt and holding Matt hostage so Big Mike can blast him off the apron. Tana does a great job of conveying his dislike of the Jacksons – going so far as to emulate them with some theatrical back rakes. Elgin suplexes both Bucks at the same time in his latest display of freaky strength. Abdominal stretch to target Matt’s back comes next, and the Bucks are starting to struggle with the power and big game experience of their opponents. SUPERKICK ON THE FLOOR from Matt to Elgin! MOONSAULT OFF THE APRON INTO A TORNADO DDT ON THE FLOOR BY NICK! Back from commercials with Nick getting a 2-count on Tanahashi off a Swanton Bomb. Tana retaliates with a rebound crossbody and vacates the ring to leave Big Mike to drop bombs on both opponents. Fallaway slam/Samoan drop combo sends them skittling to the outside, only or Elgin to drag Matt back in with a DEAD-LIFT AVALANCHE FALCON ARROW! SUPERKICK PARTY ON TANAHASHI! 450 SPLASH COMBO ON ELGIN! Big Mike blocks More Bang For Your Buck…then Tana NO SELLS a Superkick to deck Matt with a lariat. WHEELBARROW SPLASH GETS KNEES! SUPERKICKS ON ELGIN! NO SOLD! SUPERKICKS ON TANA! Meltzer Driver…BUT ELGIN CATCHES NICK WITH A POWERBOMB! SLING BLADE ON MATT!  HIGH FLY FLOW! Tanahashi wins at 12:29 (shown).

Rating - **** - What I liked about this was that it felt very different to the usual Young Bucks, spot-heavy junior main event style. They did a terrific job of tweaking their usual formula to work with heavyweights like Elgin and Tanahashi and this was, as a result, supremely entertaining. Elgin’s catch-and-counter spot on the Meltzer Driver was unreal to watch. I liked the carry over from NJPW, particularly as it drew a more character-driven performance from Tanahashi (as opposed to ‘exhibition house show match, play the hits’ Tanahashi). I’m sceptical of how productive it is to put Tana over two of ROH’s top tag teams in the same weekend, but (as I've said before) such are the complexities of being the junior partner in the ROH/NJPW relationship.

NEXT WEEK – Hirooki Goto challenges Jay Lethal for the ROH World Championship.

There is a lot of history between Roderick and two of his opponents tonight. He and Page have crossed paths before, mostly on Roddy’s way out of The Decade (and before Page too jumped ship). Going further back, Strong and Matt Sydal also used to be in Generation Next together, but have also been on the opposing side of some scorching battles over the ROH Tag Titles years ago. The one unifying element all these four share is that they lost their respective matches at the 14th Anniversary. Strong was pinned by Ishii for a second time. Page failed to beat arch rival BJ Whitmer. Matt Sydal’s recent hot streak was spectacularly snuffed out by The Elite in a trios match. And Moose, despite a great showing against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, also slumped to defeat. Which man is the first to rebound from the PPV disappointment?

Sydal and Roderick’s semi-respectful fist bump (on the back of Strong being a dick to Page and Moose) is a nice touch to pay homage to their history. It doesn’t stop Roddy crushing Sydal with an early backbreaker of course. His impressive start continues as he next dismisses Page following a gourdbuster into the top rope. His luck runs out with Moose though, who levels him with the Go To Hell Bomb for 2. Sydal tricks Moose to the floor…but then tries a slingshot headscissors and gets caught for an APRON BOMB! Strong baseball slides Moose THROUGH the guardrails! SSP TORPEDO HEADBUTT by Page! He looks for the Rite Of Passage on Roddy, who slips to the apron and delivers the APRON BACKBREAKER on Moose! Slice/flatliner combo from Sydal to Page and Strong! Moose full on clatters Roddy with his discus lariat, then puts both Sydal and Page on the top rope to dropkick both of them to the floor. SPRINGBOARD SUPER RANA by Sydal! DEATH BY RODERICK! BUCKSHOT LARIAT! SPIKE DDT from Page to Roderick! NECK DROP DRAGON SUPLEX ON SYDAL! What a flurry from Hangman! He looks set to close out the win until BJ Whitmer runs out and distracts him. SYDAL PRESS ON PAGE! END OF HEARTACHE ON SYDAL! KNOCKOUT KNEE ON PAGE! Strong takes the win at 08:19 (shown).

Rating - *** - I had no real expectations going into this, so it was a genuinely, pleasantly surprising that it turned out so enjoyably. Normally these undercard multi-man matches on TV barely capture my interest, but they were allowed to turn up the heat here and delivered some really explosive flurries of offence. The last minute in particular was extremely exciting.

Adam Cole arrives for Story Time, ready to address his recent ‘downward spiral’ (i.e. the World Title loss and TV loss to Sydal). It quickly becomes something of a rant; swearing that Kyle O’Reilly will never be World Champion, and that Cole himself is certain to be the man who ends Jay Lethal’s reign. He is eventually interrupted by The Kingdom’s entrance music…and a limping Matt Taven on crutches. After faking pleasantries, Taven calls Cole dead-weight in The Kingdom and proclaims himself to be the true star of the group. He kicks Cole out and vows to return from injury to ‘rebuild The Kingdom’ in his image. He leaves, and on commentary Kelly and Mr Wrestling contemplate how Cole can ever become World Champion again without anyone watching his back…

TWO WEEKS – Dalton Castle gets his wish for a Fight Without Honor against Silas Young. 

Up next we are set to see Cheeseburger in action against Foxx Vinyer (who looks like someone found a way to gene-splice Ultimate Warrior, Demolition and Darren Drozdov into a single wrestler). They get through circa a minute of action before All Night Express come out and destroy Vinyer. They intimidate Cheeseburger too…whilst berating the Vegas fans for how they acted during their Tag Title match against War Machine. Kenny is, once again, outstanding on the mic – talking about how his daughter was in the front row crying whilst the rest of the crowd was sh*tting on the match. It gets better as they read ‘Mean Tweets’, then bury the rest of the teams in the division. Of course it all builds to them assaulting Burger. War Machine and the Briscoes (who had just been verbally trashed by ANX) run out for a belated save…but of course then turn to face each other knowing they will inevitably be facing each other for the Tag Titles somewhere down the road…

When Goto arrived in the United States for this weekend he was in a career slump. He’d failed to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Title, and at Honor Rising we’d even seen his own partner Shibata slap him in the face to try to motivate him. Perhaps, then, he turned the corner at the 14th Anniversary when he scored a hard-fought victory over Dalton Castle. His reward is a World Title shot against a man who has undeniably been a fighting champion. This is taped just 24-hours after his gruelling triple threat defence against Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly and is effectively his third third title defence in a week. Many ROH Champions of the past have found months of having targets on their back and constant brutal title defences too much to take. Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness were never the same after their World Title reigns. Homicide was so broken down in his quest to get it he barely kept it for any time at all. Jay Briscoe was so hurt he had to relinquish the title and still carries the shoulder injury to this day. Adam Cole’s shoulders are in poor shape. Even the great Samoa Joe couldn’t go on forever. Does Lethal have enough in the tank to survive another challenge in such a short space of time?

Lethal obviously wants to end this quickly and jumps Goto during the handshakes to that end. But it takes just a couple of heavy strikes from the challenger to slow Lethal down. Indeed, he crumbles to the mat and hides in the ropes clearly in real pain. Taeler Hendrix almost has no choice but to get involved, creating a distraction which enables Lethal to TOPE SUICIDA Goto up the aisle. Note he’s so beaten up there is no trilogy tonight! Jay gasps for air and slouches back into the ring to gather his thoughts, only moving to retrieve the challenger when it is apparent he isn’t going to win by count-out. Goto fires up with a lariat then the Muramasa kick in the corner. A roundhouse kick to Lethal’s clearly-wounded back blocks the Lethal Injection, and is followed with a back drop driver for 2. DVD backbreaker does further damage to Jay…but again Goto has to pause to get Hendrix and Martini out of the ring. Lethal Injection scores and hands the champ a victory at 07:13 (shown).

Rating - *** - I won’t pretend this was a bombastic, exciting or overly memorable World Title Match, but as a study into how gruelling and thankless it can be as the champion of a company like ROH this was fascinating. Lethal clearly wasn’t in top shape out there. Some of it kayfabe, but my assumption is that some of it wasn’t. He was slower, he modified his moveset to protect himself, and this wasn’t booked to go long at all. Against that back drop some of this felt quite dramatic. Simple shoulder tackles from the sturdy Goto were sold like he was getting hit by a truck. He was constantly rolling for the ropes, gasping for air and working defensively. It was a side of the champion we don’t always see and did a lot to play up the ‘fighting champion’ element of the character he has portrayed recently (even if ultimately he needed to cheat to win). 

The House Of Truth pose triumphantly…as Donovan Dijak and Prince Nana march down the aisle. Dijak is evidently here for payback after being fired and punches Lethal’s lights out in short order. Martini tries to nail him with the Book Of Truth, but to no effect. DISCUS KICK on Martini! Kelly and Mr Wrestling III sell that like death and call for immediate medical attention as the show ends. 

Jay Lethal opens the show with an angry promo, revealing that Truth Martini suffered a ‘broken neck’ at the hands of Donovan Dijak. He says it was Martini’s idea to bring Donovan into the House Of Truth after winning the 2015 Top Prospect Tournament, not his. Now Lethal wants to deal with Dijak ‘his way’…

Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly have been conspicuous by their absence from the first two episodes taped. Both failed to capture the respective singles title they were challenging for at the 14th Anniversary Show, but neither was pinned. It would be a significant statement of intent – for both their ROH and NJPW careers – if they were able to come back together as a team to defeat a team containing the IWGP Heavyweight Champion here tonight.

Fish starts with Gedo and almost taps him out early with the Fish Hook Deluxe. The Rainmaker steps in with O’Reilly next, as the announcers discuss Kyle’s recent ear injury which has required repeated draining and has started to cauliflower up. It doesn’t stop he and Okada moving at great speed, and Kyle coming perilously close to locking in the Arm-ageddon. Gedo breaks it by punching the aforementioned injured ear. The tenured veteran tags in legally and starts to work the ear over in earnest. Okada gets in on the action too – slamming O’Reilly ear-first into Gedo’s boot. O’Reilly tries to throw some strikes…only for Gedo to drop him to his knees with an EAR-VICE! Fish gets a critical tag and suplexes Gedo into the IWGP Heavyweight Champ for 2. Reverse Neckbreaker gets 2 for Okada, before he lands the perfect diving elbow drop. Rainmaker countered to a Samoan drop by Bobby! Gedo knocks Kyle ear-first into the guardrails before he can make a tag though. O’Reilly does manage to dive in to break the pin on the Gedo Clutch. Two Man Smash Machine gets 2, and this time it’s the Rainmaker diving in to make the save. Axe & Smash knocks him out! CHASING THE DRAGON! Fish pins Gedo at 09:20 (shown).

Rating - *** - This is the second episode running that has delivered a really enjoyable opening match. You don’t see too many matches that make an ear the focal point. Okada didn’t feature too much, in what has been a pretty low key weekend for him (although his match with Moose at the PPV was really fun).

The Briscoes deliver a message for War Machine, reminding them that the champs have failed to win every time they’ve met inside the ring. Despite that, Jay and Mark think it is themselves that have something to prove – after three years since they last held the ROH Tag Titles

As he addressed last week, after recent losses to Matt Sydal and Jay Lethal, Adam Cole feels he is currently in a slump. Despite that he remained confident in his abilities and swore to be the man who defeated Jay Lethal for the World Championship. But that was before Matt Taven came to the ring, kicked him out of The Kingdom and called him the ‘weak link’. How has that affected him? Does he have the mental resilience to step back into the ring tonight and deliver victory against one of the most explosive, exciting and gifted junior heavyweights on the planet in Kushida?

Cole, now decked in black trunks and boots, wisely maintains a slow pace in the early-going. He can’t get too technical or mat-based though, because Kushida demonstrates that he is capable of working circles around him in that department! He has Adam scurrying for the ropes in desperation off an attempt at the Fujiwara armbar. It signals his intent to work Cole’s left arm…which the ROH man quickly looks to dismiss by taking the match to the floor. As soon as he re-enters Kushida delivers an armbreaker over the top rope though, before flooring him with a slingshot lariat. Kushida kicks at his opponent’s arm and shoulder but can’t land the Buzzsaw Kick. TOP ROPE SOMERSAULT SENTON TO THE FLOOR! He looks to follow it with the Moonsault…but dives into Cole’s knees before falling victim to the NXT Last Shot. Kushida grabs the arm to block the ROH version of that move, and Adam has to rake the eyes to block the Hoverboard Lock. Florida Key COUNTERED to the Hoverboard Lock, but then countered right back to a small package for 2. ROARING ELBOW! NO SOLD! JUMPING ENZI! NO SOLD! TANAKA PUNCH! Kushida delivers a running punt to the arm, setting up the HOVERBOARD LOCK! Cole tries to counter to the DVD over the knee, so Kushida grabs the arm for a HANGING ARMBAR instead! SUPERKICK ON COLE! TAJIRI ELBOW COUNTERED WITH A COLE SUPERKICK! ARM-SELLING LAST SHOT! Cole wins at 09:10 (shown)

Rating - **** - Wow! This is a clear MOTN thus far for me. I’m gutted they didn’t get to go longer, but the stunning quality they packed into the time they did get more than makes up for it. Kushida is such a dynamic performer and at this point is probably the most reliable of the NJPW talent from an ROH perspective. His back catalogue of great matches in this company is really starting to mount up. He looked superb in defeat here; dominating a former ROH World Champion for long periods with his savage attack on the arm. Sadly he couldn’t force the submission before Adam was able to land his big finish and sneak out of Vegas with his (good) arm raised. What a match!

Between Ring Of Honor and TNA/Impact these four men have so much history together. It was The Addiction who brought Sabin back to ROH (or as they see it, ‘made him relevant’ again) as part of the elaborate KRD plan which delivered Tag Title gold. But the same Red Mask ploy was used to cost them the belts – this time by the returning Alex Shelley. Daniels and Kazarian were hellbent on revenge, but Sabin was always more reticent and never resorted to physical violence on his former friend and partner. This came to a head at the 14th Anniversary when Sabin stopped The Addiction from cheating, costing Daniels a match against Shelley and leading to MCMG formally getting back together. This is their first ROH match in years – will time and injury impair their performance? Are they still at the level a regular team like The Addiction can reach?

The Addiction don’t even make it to thirty seconds before they start double-teaming their former associate Sabin. Shelley is quick to come to his aid, removing both opponents from the ring in a flash. They start rolling back the years with a flurry of classic MCMG double teams, culminating in Alex holding the ropes open for Sabin’s through-the-legs tope suicida. The Addiction are no slouches at combo moves either, and retaliate by crotching Shelley in their corner for a hanging lungblower from Frankie. They halt the Machine Gun momentum with a period of isolation on Shelley, who’s head and neck take the majority of the offence they land on him. Kazarian wants to capitalise with the Tomikaze, only for Alex to counter with a jawbreaker/DDT combo. No tag though, because the Ring General is already in the opposition corner to drag Sabin off the apron. Back inside Alex evades Celebrity Rehab and does get his hot tag to Sabin. But with Shelley still down the numbers count against him and The Addiction are able to hit the Blue Thunder Neckbreaker combo. Celebrity Rehab blocked again, into the ASCS Rush on Daniels! Skull & Bones wins it for the Machine Guns at 10:44 (shown).

Rating - *** - Fingers crossed that this isn’t the only time these two teams meet. They have obvious chemistry, but this one felt hampered by a short time-allowance and blighted by little mis-steps and hiccups which go with the territory when one of the teams haven’t worked together for a while but still try to hit all the intricate, complex and fast-paced sequences they used to be known for. The Machine Guns are/were a great team, and I’m curious to see how they fit into the 2016 pro-wrestling landscape, where the likes of the Young Bucks have taken American junior tag matches to a whole new level. This was a fine, but formulaic and pretty unremarkable TV main event. It didn’t help that it came after Cole/Kushida

The Addiction are sore losers, and Daniels is furious at his second loss of the weekend to Alex Shelley. Matt Sydal and Kushida make the save, which is fine since both have been teaming with Shelley recently. But part of me is annoyed by this…since where the f*ck is ACH? He has teamed with all three of Kushida, Shelley and Sydal recently and it makes no sense that he wouldn’t want to be a part of this rescue mission! 

We saw Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero earn this title shot by winning the #1 contendership Gauntlet on Episode #234. They got a prime spot and capitalised, and now step up to the intimidating, bearded Tag Champions. Hanson and Rowe destroyed The Kingdom at Final Battle, and contested a war with ANX at the 14th Anniversary. But they are growing increasingly distracted by their differences with the Briscoes. Romero is no stranger to ghosting into the middle of a feud between teams and stealing the gold for himself, as he did when Forever Hooligans waded into the American Wolves/reDRagon rivalry to become Tag Champs. Will history repeat itself tonight?

Rocky comes out wearing an RPG Vice-edition Black Tiger IV mask. He and his team-mate have evidently seen War Machine’s entrance, because they are coiled and ready to hit them with tandem knee strikes as they start their usual pose on the apron. Stereo topes drive them back into the railings and a brawl ensues before the bell has even rung. Of course, a brawl favours the champions…and their heavy-hands soon see them assume control. Beretta tugs at Rowe’s beard to block a press slam…so Ray tries to knee his damn head off! He retains some composure and diverts an attempt at the Shotgun Knees from Rowe into his own partner, visibly winding Hanson. Forever Clotheslines by Romero, blocked with the Superman Punch by Rowe! DOUBLE KNEE STRIKE blocks Hanson’s cartwheel lariat as once again RPG Vice counter signature War Machine offence. They think about Strong Zero, but it’s too early and War Machine counter by powerbombing them into each other. Trent blocks Path Of Resistance…so Rocky can hit a frankensteiner on big Hanson. Somersault plancha by Beretta CAUGHT AND COUNTERED TO AN APRON BOMB! SPIN KICK OF DOOM floors Romero. Fallout wins it for the champions at 06:23 (shown).

Rating - *** - I considered going down to 2* on this, as it felt a little confused, and took place in front of a live audience who clearly struggled to relate to either duo. RPG Vice are a fun team, and Rocky Romero is a charismatic performer in his own right. But they’ve been around ROH for a while, without ever really getting much promo time, or an opportunity to engage with the ROH fanbase. In short, we are supposed to care about them because Rocky shouts a lot and New Japan book them!? It just doesn’t work like that! That said, they worked such a smart match here, with Vice basically countering everything War Machine do right down to their f*cking ring entrances. It was that level of detail and quality that convinced me to go to 3*.

Donovan Dijak (wearing a Jay Lethal shirt) and Prince Nana are out for some interview time now. Why the f*ck was this not on the previous episode, rather than booked for this show when Omega/ACH and Castle/Silas are already going to get screwed for time? Nana refuses to reveal what is in the mystery letters, and backs Dijak to be the next World Champion. Donovan gets to talk briefly as well, but he needs a LOT of work in that department and thankfully Jay Lethal comes to the ring to interrupt him. No words from the World Champion; he tackles Dijak and tries to punch his lights out. They have to be separated…as do Nana and Taeler Hendrix!

Dalton Castle gets one last promo in before the main event, where he points out that tonight is the first time that he is actually going out to ‘hurt’ Silas (as opposed to proving himself, or trying to earn his Boys back). That makes him more dangerous than ever apparently.

The return of The Cleaner to Ring Of Honor television is a major event. He holds the IWGP Intercontinental Title and NEVER Openweight 6-Man Titles too, and is positioned as the top dog in the 2016 version of the Bullet Club. He is now one of the top professional wrestling stars outside of the WWE system and represents a significant challenge for ACH to overcome. But ACH is no stranger to stepping up to elite level competition. He has faced the likes of AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and Alberto El Patron – giving them all stern tests. What he still needs is a major victory to break through the glass ceiling and cement a top spot in Ring Of Honor. Victory over Omega tonight would certainly meet that criteria. He has far more to gain from this than Kenny, which makes him a threat…

Omega (who is out with the Young Bucks) gets a rockstar welcome from the fans. It must be intimidating for ACH to work with, so credit to him for starting fast and landing the Stone Cold combo. Kenny blocks the Stunner…ACH blocks the Dragon Rush and dropkicks The Cleaner so hard he leaves the ring! ACH is so impressed with himself that he back flips off the apron…into a SUPERKICK from Nick Jackson (whilst Kenny remonstrates with referee Tiger Hattori). Hilariously, Nick then puts a banana peel on the ground and acts like ACH slipped on it! Thankfully Kenny has his cleaning broom on hand to sweep it up and remove any ongoing hazards. Second rope moonsault misses for Omega, and he eats a ROPE RUN TIGER FLIP KICK by ACH knocking him to the floor. The Young Bucks again get involved trying to distract him…so ACH takes a run up and hits AIR JORDAN to wipe out the entire Elite! Brainbuster blocked…into DRAGON RUSH! But then ACH counters the One-Winged Angel right back into a brainbuster for 2. Midnight Star misses….Hero’s Grip blocked into V-TRIGGER! NO SOLD! V-TRIGGER AGAIN! Sweet Chin Music blocked…Stone Cold Stunner blocked…Rock Bottom blocked…STONE COLD STUNNER BY ACH! Crazy oversell by Omega too! ACH climbs the ropes but EATS THE MAT on a missed Midnight Star. V-TRIGGER! ONE-WINGED ANGEL! Omega wins at 10:18 (shown).

Rating - **** - There was a PWG-esque vibe to this which I really liked. They could have gone a different route and worked an altogether more serious match, but personally I thought this was great. It’s ok for wrestling to come out and be downright fun, and this absolutely was. Both of these men are renowned for having slightly unconventional personalities, and they let it show with this performance. The key thing is that whilst some of the content was semi-serious at best, the crispness and precision of the actual wrestling was always on point. Sure they goofed around, but they also leave you with the impression that you just watched two outstanding ATHLETES go at it. The Young Bucks contributed to that vibe as well, staying out of the way when needed, but also rearing their heads early on to bring some entertainment value themselves. For free television, the night after all of these guys went ballistic in a trios match (and with Omega needing to protect himself for his lucrative NJPW spot) this was spot on.

Ring Of Honor have been promoting this hard as the first ever televised Fight Without Honor, which simply isn’t true (unless the HDNet show is considered a non-canon, parallel universe...). I believe it’s the first one that has aired on the Sinclair show at least. We know the history between these two. Silas took exception to Castle’s antics, and grew frustrated after suffering a couple of losses to him as well. In the end he manipulated a situation whereby he was able to beat Dalton and gain possession of his Boys. He tried his damndest to make The Boys ‘Real Men’, but failed. They rejected his tutelage to return to Planet Peacock at Final Battle. Now the time has come to settle this war once and for all, in the ultimate Ring Of Honor feud-ending match stipulation.

Dalton doesn’t wear his signature spandex entrance suit for this, and sends The Boys to the back so you know he means business. They brawl through a mass of streamers early on, before Castle hacks Young to the floor and nails him with a HEAT SEEKING MISSILE! Silas gets payback by dodging a knee strike on the apron and shoving his rival to the outside for a somersault pescado. He rams a steel chair into Dalton’s back (which will go on to become a problematic nagging injury throughout his career). Castle tries to respond with chops but accidentally connects with the ringpost with a sickening thud. He avoids serious injury there though, and as we come back from commercials Young is seen introducing tables and ladders to the equation. Apron tiger-feint rana attempted by Castle, but COUNTERED INTO A POWERBOMB THROUGH TWO OPEN CHAIRS! The Peacock blocks the Peegee Waja Plunge on the ladder…only to be muscled to the ground into an STF, piling still more pressure onto his bad back. PEEGEE WAJA PLUNGE INTO THE LADDER MISSES! Young sells that like total death, and they both look worse for wear as they slowly peel each other off the canvas. Young rakes at the bad back…then drags his opponent back to the canvas with an Ace Crusher for 2. MISERY gets 2! Dalton is on the brink of defeat, so Silas gets a microphone to verbally berate him as he starts hammering on him with a trash can lid. The Boys have seen enough and try to help…but get decisively battered by the Last Real Man. Castle tries to capitalise with a running knee strike, but misses and falls to the floor. TOPE SUICIDA BY SILAS…BUT THE BOYS SACRIFICE THEMSELVES! They shoved Dalton aside and ate the guardrails themselves. EVEREST GERMAN GETS 2! Young clings to the ropes to save himself from Bang-A-Rang SO DALTON THROWS HIM OVER THE TOP THROUGH A TABLE! AND STILL HE KICKS OUT! He spits in Castle’s face! BANG-A-RANG ON A CHAIR! Castle wins the feud at 13:09 (shown).

Rating - **** - The days of bloody, ultra-hardcore Fights Without Honor are gone. In the Sinclair era this is about as violent as Ring Of Honor really gets, and I thought they absolutely delivered a match befitting of the ‘Fight Without Honor’ legacy here. It isn’t easy to do this kind of match within the confines of a TV taping – from a wrestling or production standpoint. But everything came together here. The commercial breaks came at the right time, Kelly and Mr Wrestling sold the action well and crucially, they put together a really strong story to undercut the violence and big spot bumps. Watching it in 2019, knowing that Castle would go on to be so bothered by back injuries, Silas’ work on his back here becomes even harder to watch. It’s a huge victory for Castle, and this feud has done a hell of a job of reminding everyone why they love the theatrical campness of his gimmick…but also that he’s a bad ass who can WORK. It is critical that Delirious does something with him on the back of this. Cedric Alexander, Adam Page, ACH etc…they’ve all come out and produced fantastic performances in feud-ending blow-off matches like this. But then gone nowhere and remained in exactly the same spot as they were before the particular feud they were engaged in began. Fingers crossed the same fate doesn’t await Dalton.

NEXT WEEK – Road Rage from Honor Rising 2016 weekend begins…

Tape Rating - *** - I know it’s negative, but I am going to start this wrap-up to my review of the entire DVD by slamming ROH for the laziness of it. I’m obviously glad they released it at all. I’m a completist, I distrust streaming services and much prefer hard copies – therefore getting this show in any form is a bonus. BUT having released it on DVD (i.e. extracting additional money from a fanbase that could presumably have already seen the contents at significantly lower cost elsewhere), where is the value-add on this physical release? Presumably Sinclair and ROH don’t view the Kendrick/Ferrara match as so good it’s worth a DVD buy? It is extremely disappointing that this DVD is just a compilation of the episodes taped – and not full, unedited versions of the matches. BUT, with that gripe out of the way, it is only fair to say that this was one of ROH’s strongest batches of episodes for some time. Every one of the four shows is worth checking out. Every one has a great match, a must see moment and/or a New Japan star popping up to reward the viewer. We saw possibly Hiroshi Tanahashi’s best Ring Of Honor performance, Truth Martini’s last appearance, Adam Cole and Kushida tear the house down, the reformation of the Motor City Machine Guns, another brilliant in-ring promo segment from All Night Express, all culminating in the top two matches (Omega/ACH and Castle/Young) which are both awesome. If you’ve seen the episodes or you have Honor Club you don’t need to buy this. But if you’re like me and like physical media, this is a rewarding purchase and welcome addition to a collection…

3) Hiroshi Tanahashi/Michael Elgin vs Young Bucks (****)

2) Adam Cole vs Kushida (****)

1) Dalton Castle vs Silas Young (****)

5) Hiroshi Tanahashi/Michael Elgin vs Young Bucks (**** - 14th Anniversary TV Tapings)

4) Adam Cole vs Kushida (**** - 14th Anniversary TV Tapings)

3) Dalton Castle vs Silas Young (**** - 14th Anniversary TV Tapings)

2) Jay Lethal vs Adam Cole vs Kyle O’Reilly (**** - 14th Anniversary Show) 

1) Kenny Omega/Young Bucks vs Kushida/Matt Sydal/ACH (**** - 14th Anniversary Show)