McXal's Reviews

A number of reviewers whom I really trust were extremely critical of this show, so I’m entering this review with a degree of trepidation (probably the first time I’ve said that about a 2016 ROH review). After an extremely strong first four months of the year, standards just seem to be slipping slightly. Getting into May with no new content taped for television since February is far from ideal. Trying to sell this PPV for $35 online (with ‘traditional PPV providers charging north of $40) when your only selling point is ‘New Japan are here’ isn’t great either…although reportedly tickets sold out easily. The lead-in live event on the Conquest Tour was a step down in quality too. Oddly, considering some of the negative reviews, the line-up for this PPV is among the best that ROH have put onto the paid format. The stars of New Japan are here, but it is ROH’s content which APPEARS to be the focal point. Jay Lethal defends the World Title against returning hero Colt Cabana, in his hometown, in a match many thought they’d never see. Bobby Fish faces Tomohiro Ishii in an attempt to get the ROH TV Title back onto US soil. War Machine defend the ROH Tag Titles against the Briscoes, who are looking to take those belts for an incredible ninth time. Elsewhere IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito faces Kyle O’Reilly, the Guerrillas Of Destiny make their ROH debut as part of a Bullet Club quartet in an 8-man tag also featuring the Young Bucks, the Motor City Machine Guns, Kushida and Matt Sydal…plus Okada and Tanahashi are taking each other on with their North American partners of choice as Okada and Moose face Tanahashi and Elgin. They couldn’t f*ck this card up could they? Kevin Kelly and Mr Wrestling III (of the Steve Corino variety, not BJ Whitmer this week) provide commentary from Chicago Ridge, IL. The Frontier Fieldhouse has hosted ROH events for more than ten years and looks packed for this show, which kicks off a week-long NJPW US tour…

The Decade’s Kelly Klein is something of a lightning rod when it comes to criticism of ROH’s female division. She is pushed as the dominant, alpha female within it…and as a result does take plenty of stick from some quarters. Personally I quite like her; she certainly has potential and room to improve. At this point she was still the Goldberg of the division and on a lengthy undefeated streak. Her opponent is ‘Crazy’ Mary Dobson who has appeared in ROH in the past, and has worked all over the independent scene including places like SHIMMER and WxW. She is, however, more recognisable as the Riott Squad’s Sarah Logan, having signed a developmental deal with WWE in the final quarter of 2016. Lets see how what the Women Of Honor division will be missing when she goes.

Dobson’s Crazy antics serve only to irritate Kelly…who quickly floors her with the K-Line. She beats Mary all over the ring, but looks agitated when her opponent belligerently keeps getting back to her feet and returning fire. Klein rakes Dobson’s face into the canvas and gouges her eyes whilst working a camel clutch. Rolling backbreakers next…but again Crazy Mary gets back to her feet, this time throwing kicks into the side of the head. Slingshot Stunner gets 2 for Dobson. Hail Mary knee drop gets 2 as well. Klein dishes out a snap fallaway slam, only to be left screaming in rage when Dobson gets her shoulders up. BJ Whitmer (at ringside with Kelly) gets anxious too, distracting Crazy Mary so his Decade representative can hit her rolling German/Dragon/Northern Lights suplex combo. Dobson looks for a flying knee strike only to be caught into a SNAP BRAINBUSTER! End Of The Match forces Dobson to tap at 07:20

Rating - ** - Women Of Honor matches are starting to fall into a similar pattern. Every match features hard working women busting their ass, but they rarely go more than seven minutes, and all tend to clock in at around the 2* level. This was no exception. The story of Dobson frustrating the undefeated Klein with her tenacity and resilience was good, but in such a condensed period of time this all felt rushed and superfluous. I’m still waiting for the WOH ladies to be given a chance to really shine…

Given the huge chips ANX have on their respective shoulders about being overlooked in the tag division, going from a featured Tag Title Match at the 14th Anniversary to getting bumped onto the pre-show will not sit well with them. Young and Bruiser have been looking good as a team of late, but they too will feel a little slighted that there was no spot for them on the big show. Their opponents are new to ROH and arrive from New Japan. Kamaitachi (Hiromu Takahashi) made his debut last weekend on the Conquest Tour in a spectacular, but losing, effort to ACH. Robinson was originally trained by Truth Martini, and used to work in NXT as CJ Parker, but requested his release from WWE and voluntarily went off to Japan to work as an NJPW Young Lion instead. As 2016 progresses he is expected to get greater opportunities in New Japan, as evidenced by the fact that he’s on this tour and working an ROH event for the first time.

Robinson starts with Silas and looks thoroughly impressive, much to the annoyance of the Last Real Man who summons Bruiser in to obliterate him with a dropkick. King and Kamaitachi in next with some mirror-image offensive spots. Hiromu moves at such an explosive pace he really is thrilling to watch. He tries to set up a dive to the floor but Titus knees him in the face to stop it. Beer City sees Kamai injured and decides he wants a piece of the action leading to something of a squabble as both the Milwaukee guys and ANX want to beat him up. Their arguing allows him to tag Juice back…only to be taken out with Rhett’s dropkick. Pop-up powerbomb by Tachi…followed by a spinebuster from Kenny. CORKSCREW PESCADO NAILED! Bruiser is left alone with Kamai and Robinson. The Taste kick from Robinson…into a Meteora from Kamaitachi! The NJPW crew get the win at 07:38

Rating - ** - Obviously as this was the warm-up match for the pay-per-view there was no way Hiromu was going to get as much freedom as he did with ACH at the previous live event…but he was still awesome here too. Everything he does is delivered with such fire and attack, therefore looks incredibly violent. I’m not sure why the New Japan guys got the win over the two ROH teams who could’ve really used it, but for a pre-show bout I had fun with this.

The PPV opens with a superb video package, documenting the history of the ROH/NJPW relationship and previewing the Lethal/Cabana match. We then go to Kelly and MW3 at ringside who reveal that the Young Bucks are promising to dish out a record number of Superkicks tonight…AND that there will be a new member of Bullet Club before the end of the show.

This is a #1 contendership match for the TV Title. Many would consider former 2-time champion Roderick to be the favourite, and he’ll be desperate to face whomever wins the Ishii/Fish match tonight. But the other three are not far behind him. ACH performs at a consistently high level, as his victory over Kamaitachi showed, is starting to add victories to his in-ring ability. Page is on a high after ending his feud with BJ Whitmer in a violent San Antonio Street Fight (which saw BJ leave heavily concussed). Castle too is riding a wave of momentum, going 2-0 at WrestleMania weekend and consistently impressing since defeating Silas Young back in Las Vegas.

Old rivals Page and ACH get us started, but Roddy quickly decides he doesn’t like them stealing the limelight so blind tags in and puts the boots to former Decade young boy Page. The second Adam fights back he retreats though, allowing Castle to take his place. The Party Peacock dispatches Hangman…only to be suckerpunched from behind by Mr ROH. Page comes back in with a powerslam, and the former Decade members form an uncomfortable alliance, taking turns at punishing Dalton. Minutes later Castle grapples Roddy into an overhead suplex, before doling out a Saito suplex on Adam. ACH blind tags, hitting Dalton with the slingshot flatliner. Heat Seeking Missile from Dalton to Roddy, as Page BUCKSHOT LARIATS over him to crush ACH. Rite Of Passage blocked though, so Adam heads through the ropes for the SHOOTING STAR TORPEDO TO THE FLOOR! AIR JORDAN BY ACH! He thinks it’s over but finds Roddy on him preventing the Midnight Star. Jumping Knee on Page, followed by the Muso on Castle…then the DEATH BY RODERICK for ACH. Sick Kick on Page. He has it won…but Dalton Castle is back. BANG-A-RANG ON TOP OF PAGE! Dalton pins Hangman to take the win at 09:26

Rating - ** - I realised part way through this match that I’d be happy if anyone other than Strong won. Don’t get me wrong, I love Roderick Strong…but even in 2016, by this point it was very heavily rumoured that he was leaving. Putting him in here and using him as a name to elevate three guys who have all been around a long time (particularly in ACH and Page’s case) without ever threatening to break through the glass ceiling is fine with me. ACH opened the very first ROH/SBG PPV two years ago (Best In The World 2014) in this exact same slot, i.e. a multi-man match for TV Title contendership. Given how outstanding his performances have been in the ensuing two years, his is a prime example of how unacceptably little growth is on offer for Ring Of Honor’s midcard. Castle winning is fine with me – particularly since ROH are heavily pushing how lethal a mat wrestler he is right now. Castle/Ishii and Castle/Fish both have a lot of potential. The match itself was decent enough for a PPV opener. It won’t be remembered for long, but packed in enough action, high spots and thrills to liven up the crowd. 

Daniels and Kazarian enter this in a foul mood as they are on a losing streak. They are developing a reputation for attacking opponents after the match and giving them a ‘Best Meltzer Ever’ though. Can they end their slump against another inexperienced duo? Liger is a hero to Cheeseburger, and was so taken with him when touring ROH that he taught him the secret of his legendary Shotei. Burger is now ‘very popular in Japan’, and Liger’s influence has played a part.

Remember when Liger coming over from Japan was such a big deal that he got a whole weekend of shows named after him? He still gets a f*cking massive reaction from the ROH fans at least. Daniels’ annoyed face as Burger yells at him for not shaking hands is probably the highlight of the show thus far. Liger SLAPS THE SH*T OUT OF HIM in a manner which suggests he really shouldn’t f*ck with his little buddy. Frankie almost clotheslines Burger out of his boots and assumes control for his team. ‘I have great penmanship on my notes’ – Mr Wrestling 3 aptly describing how much interest I have in Cheeseburger matches. The Addiction knock him around for a while and keep him away from Liger (who the fans really want to see). There’s a big pop when Jushin finally makes his way in, hammering Daniels with a Shotei and the LIGERBOMB for 2. Capo Kick on Kaz…who gets back to his feet just in time to stop the Ring General falling victim to the Brainbuster. CELEBRITY REHAB DROPS LIGER ON HIS HEAD! Did they just murder one of the most beloved veterans in wrestling? That looked horrific! Sensibly he retreats…but Cheeseburger enters into a flurry of STO’s from Daniels. The Fallen Angel wants to set up the BME, but somehow Burger rolls him up…FOR THREE!? #LigerBurger get the win at 06:56

Rating - * - I understand that Ring Of Honor are desperate to make Cheeseburger happen…but it just isn’t getting over with me. Spike Dudley worked in ECW because he got beaten to within an inch of his life most nights, made his opponents look AWESOME by how well he sold for them, had a super-over finishing move and took some absolutely crazy bumps. Cheeseburger does none of that. His opponents look like trash having to sell his sh*tty offence, the organic love from the crowd like Spike had in ECW just isn’t there so his opponents are constantly having to make Burger look good…and wrestling has changed so he doesn’t get beaten to a bloody pulp or take lunatic bumps. And don’t even try to tell me Cheeseburger doing a Shotei is remotely as over as the Acid Drop was! I can usually tolerate the dopey mascot thing when it’s limited to live event undercards…but winning high profile matches on PPV is not for me. Even with Addiction in a ‘losing streak’ having to watch Daniels put him over was no fun. The real story here was Daniels and Kazarian, experienced veterans themselves, almost crippling poor Liger. 

Daniels is livid, and summons Kazarian for the BEST…MELTZER…EVER! He proclaims that he has broken Cheeseburger’s neck before walking out.

A video package runs through the history between these two teams, who have been contesting violent wars with each other for the past two years. Hanson and Rowe have never beaten the Briscoes, and know they can’t call themselves the best team in ROH without having defeated Jay and Mark. But the 8-time champion Briscoe Brothers admit they have something to prove themselves. It is more than three years since they last held the belts. Do they still have it? Has tag team wrestling passed them by? If they can score another victory over War Machine tonight they erase those doubts, and add another chapter to their remarkable history going back to Day One in Ring Of Honor.

War Machine are incredibly fired up. Hanson twitches like he’s had too much caffeine as he throws Mark out of the ring, where Rowe is waiting to smash him into the railing. Jay doesn’t like that one bit and quite literally nabs Hanson from the floor and hauls him out for an assault. Even with a size disadvantage the Briscoes are comfortable brawling and they use that aggression to isolate Hanson. Their opponents may be the defending champions but they don’t have a fraction of the experience as a team that the challengers have. Jay and Mark tag in and out fluently, denying him a chance to get to his partner. That is until a pissed off Hanson simply heaves Mark OVER THE TOP ROPE! ELBOW SUICIDA NAILED! In the ring Mark drops Rowe on his head with a urinage…as on the outside his brother DOUBLE STOMPS HANSON THROUGH A TABLE! Whomever is running production on the broadcast f*cking missed that big spot (and obviously Sinclair didn’t care enough to fix it for the DVD release). It means that Hanson is well and truly incapacitated and Ray is left alone to carry the can. He and Jay take turns to not sell each other’s suplexes…so Rowe swings an elbow at the former World Champ that they both wind up down. Hanson returns with a LARIATOOOOO on Mark! All four guys stagger back to their feet and face-off, seemingly almost enjoying the violence they are inflicting on each other. The champs spill to the floor so Jay can take flight with a TOPE INTO THE GUARDRAILS! Blockbuster from the apron to the floor by Mark wipes out Hanson. Jay is STILL beating the hell out of Ray Rowe, this time by dragging his ass back into the ring for repeated lariats. Rowe blocks the Jay Driller with Superman Punches…into a knockout knee for 2. Fallout countered with a BACK DROP DRIVER! ICONOCLASM ON HANSON! FROG SPLASH/FROGGY BOW COMBO! FOR 2! Mark has won a LOT of matches with that move recently, so that did feel like a hot nearfall. Path Of Resistance decimates Jay, leaving him prone for the HANSON-SAULT! WHICH MISSES! JAY DRILLER ON HIM! HANSON F*CKING KICKS OUT! Jay is incredulous. He tries to set Hanson up for the Doomsday Device, only for Rowe to make the save with a massive German suplex on Mark. DEATH ROWE/SPIN KICK OF DOOM COMBO! FALLOUT ON MARK! War Machine retain at a spectacular 15:15

Rating - **** - Ring Of Honor have been building to this match all year and when it finally arrived it definitely lived up to expectations. After facing each other in multiple matches which have wound up resembling riots, both the wrestlers and referee Todd Sinclair came in fully expecting a war. They were granted some slack with the rules, they tore each other to shreds, every strike felt like a hammer blow and the near-falls got hotter and hotter as they went along. The hook going in was that War Machine have never beaten the Briscoes and were now absolutely determined to end that run. From the opening bell they were wide-eyed and tense; desperate to fight and defeat the challengers. It was a desperation which gave them the inner strength to kick out of both the Froggy Bow and the Jay Driller. It was a desperation which saw Hanson bust out his rarely seen crazy moonsault. There was a rare outing for Ray Rowe’s sick ‘Death Rowe’ knee strike finish too. This match was everything it needed to be, meant in the most positive sense of the phrase. 

This is a rematch from War Of The Worlds 2015; a match which saw Naito half-ass his way to victory. In 2016 he enters having defeated Kazuchika Okada to become the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. That means this is a major opportunity for O’Reilly to make waves both in Ring Of Honor, and in New Japan where he has mostly been a part of the junior division. This rematch is his next challenge after finally beating Adam Cole back at Supercard Of Honor 10…he knows victory here will make headlines and put him in the frame for some major championship opportunities.

Naito has no LIJ colleagues with him, but still acts like a colossal asshole. He disrespects the IWGP belt as usual, threatens to punch Paul Turner and looks down his nose at O’Reilly like a young boy. Kyle doesn’t take kindly to it at all and hauls him to the ground for some mounted palm strikes. He can’t quite put Naito in the Arm-ageddon though and gets booted in the side of the head. Naito smiles as O’Reilly throws strikes…but suddenly his look changes as Kyle really tags him with one. You can tell it hurt, and it pisses him off enough to continue kicking O’Reilly in the head. He spits at O’Reilly but his mouth drops open as Kyle starts kicking and elbowing at him again. The IWGP Champ is dropped to one knee, tries to kick Kyle in the head again but this time gets met with a jumping knee strike into a front choke. He transitions that to a kimura/anklelock dual submission…then again into an armbar. Naito drops him on his head again with a tornado DDT, followed by a hanging neckbreaker. SUPER RANA by Naito gets 2! Gloria blocked so O’Reilly can KNEE HIM IN THE HEAD! Naito tries to retaliate with a jumping enzi…but O’Reilly knows his head is a target and ducks it. JAWBREAKER LARIAT leaves both men down. Naito elbows at the neck to block the Regalplex, before they both just stand on wobbly knees elbowing the f*ck out of each other. Gloria COUNTERED TO THE REGALPLEX! Brainbuster blocked into a sidewalk slam…but then Kyle counters Destino with a KNEE STRIKE! Huge spinebuster by Naito, into DESTINO! He wins at 12:01

Rating - **** - Oh boy I’m going to get some flak for this rating. Personally I had this down as Naito’s best match in ROH by an absolute mile. Do I think he was working much harder than any of his previous appearances? In all honesty…not really. BUT he did give O’Reilly a lot of offence, and at the very least laid out a productive match structure which enabled ROH’s talent to look strong. My personal view is that this should never have been booked. ROH are trying to groom O’Reilly as a potential World Champion…so why the f*ck are they booking him against New Japan’s champ knowing full well Naito won’t be jobbing? It may fly in New Japan that just wrestling a competitive match with him is enough of a rub, but in Ring Of Honor the same shouldn’t apply. The story here was fantastic. Naito was a dick as usual, and sauntered to the ring intent on having the same lazy, half-assed ‘I’m here, American fans will cheer, I don’t need to try’ match he’s had previously. But he didn’t count on O’Reilly wanting to smack him silly. He may not have brought the workrate, but his facials and selling were absolutely on point. The moment that his smile turned to ‘f*cking hell, that REALLY hurts’ from one of Kyle’s kicks was simply brilliant. He went all out to break O’Reilly’s neck in preparation for the Destino…only for O’Reilly to continually fight back. I’ve seen literally nobody go this high on their rating, but I’m a sucker for a well-executed story and this had that in abundance. Even though, to repeat, there is no way it should have been booked at all given that ROH wants to make Kyle their top guy. Kevin Kelly’s sycophantic, odious, skin-crawlingly gross proclamations that O’Reilly is great just because he didn’t get completely squashed by Naito tells you everything about how this ‘special relationship’ between ROH and NJPW truly works.

Just to put the exclamation point on that fact, Kyle has to look like an idiot by remotely entertaining the idea that Naito would actually shake his hand. Obviously it’s a set up. The champ kicks him in the balls and throws the IWGP belt around some more.

The rivalry between Tanahashi and Okada is legendary, and has delivered some of the finest wrestling matches of all time. Here they saddle up with their respective ‘North American’ partners to bring their rivalry to Ring Of Honor. Elgin and Tanahashi have teamed semi-regularly for some time. They also teamed with Moose when ROH went to Japan for Honor Rising recently, so will have some familiarity with him. Okada is teaming with Moose after being impressed with his efforts when they wrestled each other at the 14th Anniversary. Moose’s entrance includes some token ‘hot girls’ coming to the stage to do his ‘Moose’ pumping fist motion, despite the fact they’ve clearly never heard the song in their lives. They are hilariously out of time, but do stay on the stage to throw Okada dollars too which I enjoyed.

Okada and Tanahashi start…and get a standing ovation for it. I can’t decide if that’s an incredibly special moment or indicative of the fact that people care SO much more about New Japan’s product than ROH’s. Tana thinks fast to block the Rainmaker, leading to a stalemate and more applause. They tag out, and the fan reaction is interesting now as both Moose and Elgin have a history of ROH fans sh*tting on them. Big Mike hits the stalling suplex but turns to find that Moose has totally no sold it and wants to pop him in the face. Tanahashi makes fun of Moose’s fist pumping…so Moose obliterates him with a football tackle. STEREO vertical leap dropkicks by Okada and Moose knock both opponents to the floor. ROPE RUN OVER THE TURNBUCKLES SUICIDE DIVE BY MOOSE! That looked f*cking insane…but would’ve worked better if all four hadn’t stood around looking at each other for almost a full minute whilst he set up for it. He seems to have injured Tana’s midsection on that and drives the wind out of him further with the Go To Hell Bomb. Hitstick leapfrogged allowing Big Mike to tag in. He crushes Okada with a slingshot slam and almost defeats Moose with a German suplex. Moose is clobbered again with a lariat, before the New Japan superstars tag in for another stint. Tanahashi hits a somersault senton for 2…then gets put down himself with DDT. Tombstone blocked…so Tanahashi can attempt the Rainmaker! Okada blocks and eats the Slingblade instead! Diving second rope powerslam by Unbreakable, into the wheelbarrow splash double team he and Tana used to win their tag match at the 14th Anniversary. Moose saves the Rainmaker this time however. Elgin Bomb COUNTERED to the Reverse Neckbreaker. Okada lands the dropkick on Elgin, leaving him in position for the Hitstick by Moose. RAINMAKER finishes it at 14:48

Rating - *** - Even in half-speed, exhibition match mode the exchanges between Okada and Tanahashi were solid gold. I think even they were a little taken aback by the affection the US fans had for their rivalry, and were then well aware that every little twist, turn or playback they gave them would get a thunderous response. I quite liked some of the teamwork between Okada and Moose too, even though the match never felt cohesive and often felt like Elgin and Moose were only there to carry the metaphorical bags i.e. do the bulk of the work and take the pin. Personally I thought the match Elgin and Tanahashi had with the Briscoes in Las Vegas was better than this.

At Final Battle Fish thought he had become Television Champion when he made Roderick Strong tap out, only to discover that the official hadn’t seen it. Strong won that and went on a ‘Roddy vs The World’ ego trip defending the belt against all comers…except Bobby. After arguing with Fish in the corridors of Korakuen Hall at Honor Rising, Strong lost the title to Ishii – a man who at that point has never stepped into an ROH ring. After both of them failed to get the belt back from the Stone Pitbull at the 14th Anniversary, they went to Supercard Of Honor 10 to settle their differences in a 2/3 Falls Match which Fish won. He now earns the right to challenge Ishii, who other than a single defence against EVIL in March, has used the TV Title as a prop in NJPW. If ROH want their belt back, right now Bobby is the best bet.

Fish tries to joke around and shoot his mouth…only for Ishii to watch in his usual stone cold silence then tackling him so hard that his challenger has to leave the ring. Next he kicks at the champ only for Ishii to look at him dismissively and ask for more. Bobby tries to put the boots to him in the corner only to he spun around and smashes to pieces with chops. There starts to become a question as to whether Fish has the firepower to threaten the Stone Pitbull as nothing he lands seems to stop him. He thinks a substantial spinning heel kick does the trick until Ishii gets back to his feet and scores with a sizeable suplex. Ishii looks at Fish like garbage and starts disrespectfully slapping him in the corner. Bobby evades a superplex…and this time even when he misses a diving headbutt he recovers quickly and starts targeting the champion’s leg. Clearly Ishii fears that approach almost immediately his guard is let down and Fish is able to land bigger offensive bombs. KO HEADBUTT by Ishii! He manhandles his limp challenger up the ropes to deck him again with the DELAYED SUPERPLEX! Fish ducks the sliding lariat so eats BACK DROP DRIVER instead. FOLDING POWERBOMB gets 2! Ishii just can’t shake Fish and finds his Brainbuster finisher countered with jumping knee strike. GERMAN SUPLEX on Fish! How is Bobby still standing…let alone still trying to throttle the champ in the ropes!? He manages to drop Ishii to his knees on the apron temporarily. They then trade blows on the apron for a while before slumping to the ground after the battered Bobby Fish kicks the champ’s legs from under him. It is a compliment to how hard Bobby has fought that Ishii genuinely tries to win by count-out after that. Fish manages to roll back in, right into a headbutt/lariat sequence which nearly renders him unconscious. Brainbuster countered to the rear naked choke for the third time. When Ishii escapes that Fish goes after his head with MMA ELBOWS! CHOKE ON THE GROUND! FISH CHOKES HIM OUT! FISH WINS! 15:33 is your time

Rating - **** - As I said after Naito/O’Reilly, I’m a sucker for a good story…and this had a great one. Ishii powered his way to victory over Strong in February, then came to the States and produced a similarly powerful showing at the 14th Anniversary. His approach hadn’t changed here, and for most of the match he dominated with Fish apparently powerless to hurt the Stone Pitbull. But Fish showed substantial amounts of resilience and kept fighting back and when facing a seemingly impossible task (i.e. how do I beat a man who visibly shakes off everything he gets hit with and wouldn’t submit under any circumstances). In the end he concocted a strategy to choke Ishii into unconsciousness, channelling great champions of ROH’s past (Bryan Danielson’s MMA Elbows into Samoa Joe’s Choke) and winding up victorious. A huge win for Bobby, Ishii drops the belt with his mystique and reputation fully intact and ROH’s publicity stunt move to have an NJPW talent hold their TV Title is over. Great stuff all round.

This is an ROH debut for the GOD. Tama Tonga had promised that, following the departures of Anderson and Gallows, he had a new partner coming to Bullet Club to help him get the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Championship back from Honma and Makabe. That wound up being his brother, formerly known as Camacho in WWE and Micah in TNA – he debuted as Tanga Loa in New Japan in late March. The Guerrillas won the IWGP Tag belts at Invasion Attack 2016 and now join their Bullet Club brothers the Bucks for what is promised to be the biggest Superkick Party of all time. Kushida and Sydal were part of the show-stealing NEVER Openweight Trios Tag Title Match at the 14th Anniversary…but lost to The Elite that night. Now they’ve recruited Kushida’s long-time tag partner (and Sydal’s ally) Alex Shelley, plus his current partner in MCMG Chris Sabin to join them in taking another stab at beating the mighty Bullet Club. Kelly and MW3 are heavily pushing that we’ll see a new member of Bullet Club tonight as well.

Matt and Nick’s parents are in the front row. Mr Wrestling has paid for a ‘Superkick Counter’ graphic. Sydal, still one half of the IWGP Jr. Tag Champions, starts with Matt Jackson – a man who wants those belts back. Reborn lures Jackson to the floor where Sabin is waiting to kick him in the face, as the Time Splitters sprint across the ring at the rest of the Biz Cliz. STEREO TOPES by Sabin and Sydal! Sydal, Shelley and Kushida then hit the ring to run through a mash-up of MCMG/Time Splitter spots to the hapless Matt. Nick helps his brother out and captures Kushida for some classic Bucks tandem offence. The Machine Guns COUNTER Rise Of The Terminator with stereo superkicks. But they try the same thing on the GOD…who totally no sell them. CORKSCREW PESCADO by Nick! Shelley dodges an attempted Superkick (meaning Corino’s Young Buck Superkick counter stays at zero), only to be hammered from behind by Tonga. Samoan Drop/flying neckbreaker combo by the Guerrillas on Alex for 2. Shelley is a f*cking veteran, meaning there is no explanation for his trying to headbutt Loa! It barely resonates and he is rightly despatched with a Michinoku Driver as a result. Bodies start to scatter with Shelley dropping both Jacksons into a flatliner/DDT combo then tagging out to Kushida. He tries the Handspring Elbow…and when Matt blocks it he simply grabs Nick instead for a German suplex. Hoverboard Lock blocked…Meltzer Driver blocked too! Sydal and Tama in, and Reborn lands a Meteora for 2. Tonga counters The Slice…only to be booted in the head for a standing moonsault instead. The Machine Guns dodge a couple of Superkicks (the counter is still zero), with Sydal joining Sabin for a DOOMSDAY METEORA BOMB! SOMERSAULT PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR BY KUSHIDA! SKULL & BONES by the Machine Guns for 2. MCMG and the Bucks meet in the middle of the ring for a BRILLIANT play on the four-way Superkick duels they’ve been doing every time they’ve wrestled recently; cleverly manipulated so that the Bucks still can’t hit a Superkick. Sliced Bread #2 COUNTERED TO THE MELTZER DRIVER! The Bucks win without a single Superkick! It’s over ay 13:19

Rating - *** - I liked this, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t somewhat disappointing. Taking the Superkicks away from the Young Bucks for a bit of a gimmick removed some of the excitement, and we really didn’t get to see much of the Guerrillas Of Destiny at all. In actuality my favourite parts of the match were the Time Splitter/Machine Gun hybrid spots. I’d really like to see a trios tag of Sabin, Shelley and Kushida against The Elite (or another BC trio including the Young Bucks) somewhere down the road. Compared to the incredible energy that The Elite’s trios match had at the 14th Anniversary this one just felt a little askew in comparison. 

Mr Wrestling is inconsolable as his expensive graphic goes to waste. The Bucks leave with an air of disappointment…and notably without a new member of Bullet Club in their ranks. After they leave BJ Whitmer comes out ranting about Mr Wrestling 3 being Steve Corino again, then presenting him with a flash drive which he needs to watch...

For the first time in more than five years, Cabana competes in a sanctioned Ring Of Honor match. He made his return at Supercard Of Honor 10 after Lethal proclaimed that there was nobody left for him to beat, and after pinning him in an impromptu match the following night this one was officially booked. ROH have made a big deal out of Colt getting this title shot in the building where he won the ROH Tag Titles with CM Punk for the first time (at Reborn Stage 2). They don’t mention that it is the scene of multiple failed ROH World Title opportunities in the past, to the extent that when he challenged Aries in a Steel Cage Match in this building in December of 2009 the event was named ‘Reverse The Curse’. Can he finally do it? Will he get the ROH World Championship win he says he needs to consider his career a complete, fully realised success? His old rival Nigel McGuinness has joined commentary…

The fans loudly chant ‘Colt Cabana’ over the introductions, creating a thunderous atmosphere. Lethal tries to attack him before the bell, then tries to hid behind Todd Sinclair but can’t lay a glove on the challenger as he takes a flurry of early punishment. He goes for an early pinning combination just like Dallas but this time a frantic Lethal escapes and sends him to the floor. Taeler Hendrix tries to distract him as Jay lines up a tope…but Colt still dodges causing Lethal to EAT GUARDRAIL! Hendrix keeps trying to get involved though, finally succeeding in dragging Cabana off the apron as Lethal TOPE SUICIDAS INTO THE F*CKING CROWD! Nigel McGuinness leaves commentary and orders Sinclair to eject her from ringside…then physically does the ejecting himself by dragging her away! Cabana is still absolutely reeling from the crazy dive though and only just beats the count back inside. When he struggles back in the champ is waiting to hit a Saito suplex for 2. Lethal Injection COUNTERED TO THE SUPERCARD OF HONOR ROLL-UP for 2! The challenger runs through Lethal with a lariat to leave them both on the mat. FLYING ASSHOLE! Jay drops him with the Lethal Combination, followed by Hail To The King. He runs at Colt with a kick to the neck and tries to line up a super rana, but it’s COUNTERED to Chicago Skyline for 2. They battle over a piledriver, until Lethal loses control and DRILLS Colt with a Tombstone. But even after that and a couple more shots at the neck he finds Colt blocking the Lethal Injection…into the BILLY GOAT’S CURSE! Taeler Hendrix runs back out and pulls Todd Sinclair out! The Young Bucks are out! They aim at her but wind up with DOUBLE SUPERKICKS ON SINCLAIR! SUPERKICK PARTY ON TAELER! They have Bullet Club shirts…and hand them to Lethal and Cabana! LIGHTS OUT! ADAM COLE IS HERE! HE HAS A BULLET CLUB SHIRT ON! SUPERKICKS ON CABANA AND LETHAL! The time was around fifteen minutes at this point, and the match was effectively ended here…

Rating - *** - It is fair to say that opinion is split on this one. I’m in the camp that didn’t like it at all. I love the Young Bucks and Adam Cole, and the angle itself was very well done and felt authentically chaotic and anarchic. But, I don’t think they needed to trash a PPV main event for it. It’s almost like Sinclair/ROH didn’t back the Lethal/Cabana match to deliver a suitable PPV headliner. But within seconds of Colt coming through the curtain it was obvious that wasn’t the case. The fans in the building were electric, and the match itself was legitimately enjoyable in front of such a great audience. Lethal attacked the neck but found himself permanently unable to best a man with almost two decades of experience and a notorious expertise in complex, intricate chain-wrestling and counter sequences. I do think the match is greatly cheapened by the nWo rip-off angle  - which would’ve been far better suited to TV…

Cole gets a microphone and confirms he is in Bullet Club…and that this is now their house. They continue to attack Lethal and Colt, then the Superkicks fly as security personnel flood in trying to help. Matt Jackson heads to the announce table and checks on the Superkick tally…which just keeps going up as more and more jobbers fill the ring. Cabana has vanished now, but Lethal is still out in the midst of this, as are the Guerrillas Of Destiny. INDY-TAKER ON THE FLOOR to a jobber! LOA WITH A FOLDING POWERBOMB THROUGH A TABLE on another guy! They start spray-painting ‘BC’ on the guardrails. DOUBLE SUPERKICKS ON KEVIN KELLY! Mr Wrestling III wants a ‘2 Sweet’, but gets EARLY ONSET ALZHEIMER’S instead! The Bucks take over commentary and watch as the GOD zip-tie Lethal to the ropes. Cabana is back trying to help his opponent, only for Cole to KO him with the World Title belt…before delivering repeated Superkicks to the defenceless champion. Poor Cabana gets the same treatment on the floor by the Young Bucks…and all of a sudden the Superkick Counter is at 44. Papa Jackson hops the guardrail trying to reason with his sons! TRIPLE SUPERKICK ON THEIR OWN FATHER! THEN THE CAMERA MAN! The show goes off the air with the five Bullet Club representatives smiling down the camera triumphantly (and the Superkick Counter ticking past 50).

Tape Rating - *** - This show is definitely a strange one to rate. Two things you can usually bank on with major ROH cards right now is that the Young Bucks will entertain the hell out of the crowd and Jay Lethal will have a storming World Title Match. But thanks to the Bullet Club gimmick shenanigans neither of those came true. The BC 8-man tag felt strange and uncomfortable, and the hotly-anticipated World Title Match was wrecked as ROH allows it’s own product to disappear further and further down the rabbit hole in favour of becoming an inferior New Japan subsidiary. The show itself was still good, and in all fairness, the Bullet Club/Cole angle was very memorable. ROH fed them PLENTY of bodies. Taeler Hendrix, Todd Sinclair, Kevin Kelly and Mr Wrestling III took a hit for them too. Up to Ishii/Fish I thought it was a really enjoyable pay-per-view though, so please don’t let the Bullet Club takeover sour you on everything. I think a 3* rating for the whole show is more than fair. Tetsuya Naito gave his best performance in an ROH ring, the Briscoes and War Machine stole the show, fans lapped up the Okada/Tanahashi rivalry. This was a watchable pay-per-view. It felt like a big deal. The issue is, it’s indicative and symptomatic of ROH’s current direction of travel…i.e. losing the company identity in order to preserve the New Japan relationship, which sells tickets and makes money.

3) Tetsuya Naito vs Kyle O’Reilly (****)

2) Tomohiro Ishii vs Bobby Fish (****)

1) War Machine vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe (****)