McXal's Reviews

This review will be similar in format to my review of the ‘14th Anniversary TV Tapings’ DVD release, in the sense that rather than release the uncut night of action (as they could and probably should do), this DVD is simply a compilation of the four ROH on SBG episodes they taped on the May 11th stop on the War Of The Worlds 2016 Tour. As with that last taping in Vegas, since the New Japan crew are in town the roster is exceptionally deep so there is a lot of high quality content lined up (which may or may not get enough time). This is essentially to tape all the TV shows that will carry us from the Global Wars pay-per-view into Best In The World 2016. Kenny Omega makes his only appearance of the tour and joins in the fun as Bullet Club run riot over Ring Of Honor. We have a couple of Bullet Club multi-man tags at this taping, one of which featuring the ROH debut of former WWE star Yoshi Tatsu. Elsewhere we get the grudge match between Jay Lethal and Donovan Dijak, Moose gets more main event level competition by stepping into the ring with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito, plus Kazuchika Okada’s only singles match of the tour against Matt Sydal. Commentary comes from Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness.

On any normal Ring Of Honor event, or even TV broadcast, this would be a much bigger deal. Rush, winner of the 2016 Top Prospect Tournament, has equipped himself exceptionally well every time ROH have given him an opportunity (including potentially the 2016 MOTY thus far over Supercard Of Honor weekend). But that wasn’t enough to get him booked for Global Wars (and he only got on the Dearborn War Of The Worlds Tour event because Jushin Liger was injured). A win over ACH would be a big step forward for him. A few years ago ACH was where Lio is now. A precocious newcomer with a big reputation as an athlete from his independent work elsewhere, signed having impressing in a Top Prospect Tournament…he’ll know the challenges that lie ahead for Rush. And as a result, he knows how important beating him is. ACH’s ROH run has been crushingly held back by his failure to WIN great matches, rather than simply have great matches. He, perhaps more than anyone, knows that wins matter…

Silas Young joins commentary for no apparent reason, and creates a huge distraction to those watching at home. He doesn’t like ACH playing video games apparently. ACH and Lio try to outdo each other with ludicrous counters…and Rush gets the upper hand with a TOPE ATOMICO! ACH is rattled at the prospect of a younger, faster and more athletic guy than even him…so dips into his power game and steamrolls through Rush with a lariat. Hero’s Grip nailed for 2…before Lio counters the slingshot flatliner with a volley of rapid-fire strikes for his own nearfall. Rush Hour COUNTERED with a thrust kick into the Spirit Bomb. Midnight Star finishes Lio at 04:11

Rating - *** - Giving these two astonishing athletes only four minutes was criminal. In my view this is a match which should have been saved for a card where they had more time to spare – and we definitely need to get a rematch. However, given their hopelessly short time allocation I thought they did a hell of a job with this. It delivered exactly the match you’d hope to see, i.e. two super athletic and exciting young guys throwing a load of stuff out there for our entertainment. The idea that Lio was even quicker and more agile than ACH was a novel one and something I wish they’d had more time to explore. I loved that ACH used puroresu ‘power’ moves like lariats, suplexes and a brainbuster to overcome it as well. Blink and you’ll miss this, but it was good stuff.

Silas gets into the ring and disrespects both competitors, eventually jumping ACH from behind. He lays him out with Misery and walks away, apparently still bitterly unhappy about his tag loss to ACH and Sydal in Dearborn 48 hours earlier.

WAR OF THE WORLDS TOUR: DEARBORN – The finish to War Machine’s Tag Title defence against The Addiction is shown, to reveal them as the new Tag Champions ahead of the next match.

Daniels takes a microphone to proclaim The Addiction as ‘undefeated’ Tag Champions, and that no team in ROH has what it takes to beat them. Their former stable-mate in the KRD Chris Sabin reminds them that MCMG have already beaten them a couple of times (that feud shows no signs of slowing), whilst Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero just want to muscle in on things because they are a ‘cool, new team here’ (Beretta’s words, not mine). Daniels angry protestation that he is neither old, nor bald, is a genuine laugh out loud moment…but he does agree to give either of these teams a Best In The World PPV title shot if they can win this non-title encounter.

Rocky Romero isn’t that much younger than Kazarian and seems a little too excited to be on the ‘young’ side of the equation here. He breaks out the Forever Clotheslines early as RPG Vice take control. The Machine Guns take over and put the boots to the champions as well…until the cunning Daniels jumps Shelley from behind (we’ve seen that before) and hands The Addiction a route back into the match. Alex’s back takes some punishment and he is in trouble as we go to commercials. We return with him battling free and making the much-needed tag to Sabin…who tope suicidas through his partner’s legs wiping out Daniels and Frankie on the floor. Cradle Shock blocked, with Trent stepping in right after to German suplex Kaz onto his face. Daniels saves his partner from Strong Zero and hits the BME on Romero. MCMG break his pin and give Daniels Skull & Bones to win at 08:57 (shown).

Rating - ** - ACH and Rush proved in the opener that you can still get creative with a sh*tty time allowance…and I don’t think these guys did anywhere near as good a job. They worked a formula, played the hits...but the lack of fan interest in the finish, when it came, was incredibly awkward. Still, it’s another win for the Machine Guns over the new Tag Champions as their rivalry (which has spanned the entirety of 2016 thus far) continues to develop.

The Young Bucks and Adam Cole get some interview time to reminisce about their epic Superkick Party at Global Wars. They promise to unleash more chaos in the coming weeks…

We cut to the announce table where Nigel McGuinness announces that due to the content of Whitmer’s flash drive – footage of him stalking Steve Corino’s wife and son – he has no choice but to sanction a Fight Without Honor between BJ and Corino at Best In The World . Yes, it’s finally happening, then hopefully we can all move on.

WAR OF THE WORLDS TOUR: DEARBORN – Clips of Adam Page screwing Team ROH and becoming the ‘Hangman’ of Bullet Club is shown.

The DVD case lists The Elite as defending the NEVER Openweight 6-Man belts, but Bobby Cruise doesn’t announce it as a title match so I’ll go with that. The Elite actually lost the belts to their opponents tonight back in April when Tatsu made his return from an AJ Styles-inflicted long-term neck injury. He even formed a mini-stable, the ‘Hunter Club’ to get payback on Bullet Club (albeit he didn’t manage to recruit many people to it). Omega and the Bucks got the NEVER 6-Man Tag Title back at Wrestling Dontaku 2016, so the deposed former champions are coming for some vengeance tonight if not their belts. Toronto is the only date on this tour that Kenny Omega is appearing, and the same can be said for the debuting former WWE athlete Tatsu. Meanwhile Matt Jackson is competing with a broken hand he picked up in either Dearborn or Chicago…

The Elite get tossed with Elgin scooping up his own partner and press slamming him into a crossbody to the floor! SOMERSAULT PESCADO by Elgin! Back inside Unbreakable suplexes both Bucks at once…before Omega gobbles him up with the Dragon Rush. Nick Jackson isn’t moving well already, and suffered broken ribs somewhere in that opening flurry. He still has enough in them to hit double Superkicks on Tanahashi! RISE OF THE TERMINATOR DIVES! Kenny moonsaults back in to get a 2-count on Tanahashi. DOUBLE BACK FLIP BACK RAKE from Matt to Tana as well. The Ace scurries towards his corner to tag in Big Mike…who emphatically German suplexes both Young Bucks then slingshots Kenny into a powerslam. DEAD-LIFT AVALANCHE FALCON ARROW gets 2. He tries to position Tanahashi for the wheelbarrow Alabamasplash…only to find Nick Jackson in waiting to give him a Superkick. Meltzer Driver…but ELGIN CATCHES NICK AND POWERBOMBS HIM TO THE FLOOR! Yoshi delivers his first significant contribution, with the Rising Knee strike on Matt for 2. He tries to hit the Pedigree…but gets Kenny’s cleaning spray let off in his eyes! SUPERKICK PARTY ON TATSU! FOR 2! ONE WINGED ANGEL! Omega pins Yoshi at 09:00 (shown).

Rating - *** - For a TV main event compressed down once again to a really stingy time allowance, I thought this was great fun. The Young Bucks were both reportedly carrying injuries, making their contributions to this quite remarkable. Omega and Tanahashi came off like utter stars whenever they were involved, whilst Elgin’s involvement was largely restricted to what he is best at (freaky displays of power). Yoshi Tatsu’s ROH debut won’t live long in the memory (he hit about three spots) but still, I liked this…perhaps more than a 3* rating would suggest.

The Guerrillas Of Destiny and Hangman Page come out to join the celebrations in a display of Bullet Club strength and unity…

Prince Nana, Donovan Dijak, Taeler Hendrix and Jay Lethal get promo time to promote the main event of this episode, which is the grudge match between World Champion Lethal and the former enforcer in the House Of Truth, Dijak.

What next for Matt Sydal? In Dearborn earlier in the week ACH asked to end their team so he could strike out on his own. Having helped mould and cultivate ACH as a star of the future via their rivalry and team, Sydal is now left at a loose end (particularly since ROH can’t book his New Japan partner, Ricochet). He gets the ultimate opportunity to inject some purpose into but his ROH and NJPW careers with a bout against the Rainmaker here. Can he pull off a huge upset? We’ve seen him beat New Japan guys before – memorably beating IWGP Junior Champion Kushida in a shock result last year…

Perhaps unwisely Sydal tries to trade holds with Okada…and nearly eats the Rainmaker as a result. Sensibly he cranks up the pace and hits a running rana to counter it. He leaps into a spinning heel kick as well making it very apparent where he can damage Okada. The Rainmaker knows it too, and positions him on the top rope where he can pin him down and level him with the vertical leap dropkick. The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion visibly slows it down, almost bullying a man with four more years in-ring experience than he has. But Matt has seen these tactics time and time again, so rides out the storm then dials it up again with a standing moonsault then the diving Meteora for 2. He looks for a super rana…but Okada moves so he eats turnbuckle. He lands the Reverse Neckbreaker which nearly spells the end for Reborn. Sydal then MATRIX DUCKS the Rainmaker to hit a reverse rana. SYDAL PRESS GETS KNEES! Tombstone blocked…knockout dropkick instead! RAINMAKER NAILED! Okada wins at 07:29 (shown).

Rating - *** - This was a cracking little match. Controversial as it was, Okada’s work in TNA gave him plenty of experience in crafting short, made-for-TV sprints like this. Sydal has even more experience of that after his time in WWE, and the knowledge retained between these two guys showed. In less than ten minutes they put together an engaging story, which made sense and played to the strengths of both guys. Sydal used his speed and guile, but in the end couldn’t overcome Okada’s size, power and bullying attacks. The finishing sequence in particular was excellent stuff. MOTN thus far for me (even above The Elite trios tag which main evented the last episode).

More interview time for Adam Cole and the Bucks up next. Adam Cole doesn’t understand why he isn’t in the Best In The World main event, and announces his intention to face the winner of the big Lethal/Briscoe World Title Match. He also threatens to crash the main event of this episode too…

Silas Young shares a touching story of parenthood as he used the ROH colouring book to teach his son a lesson about being a ‘Real Man’ (and that ACH isn’t one). 

Bullet Club’s shocking takeover of Ring Of Honor this week has completely derailed Colt Cabana’s big comeback. They ruined his World Title Match with Jay Lethal…and beat him senseless in the process. Then 24 hours later they did it again after the main event of the War Of The Worlds Tour event in Dearborn. ‘Hangman’ Page’s decision to screw Team ROH and join Bullet Club was a big part of the reason why he got that second beating in Michigan…so tonight he makes his return to Ring Of Honor television looking for some revenge.

Colt’s entrance video on the massive Carytron screens that ROH use for TV and PPV is amazing. There is no handshake for this and Cabana looks fired up for it. Hangman takes a cheap shot at him but it has little effect and he finds himself getting made to look foolish by Colt’s effortless chain-wrestling. Page gets pissed off and takes matters into his own hands – pitching Cabana to the floor and mowing him down with the SSP Torpedo dive. Back inside he levels the veteran again with a lariat, followed by a Shotgun Dropkick for 2. Cabana responds with the Flying Asshole, but Page is on him again in a flash with the Buckshot Lariat. Rite Of Passage blocked with a quebrada for 2! Colt lunges into another funky pinning position, and picks up the win at 07:05 (shown).

Rating - ** - Relatively low key, but an effective return to ROH TV for Cabana. The lay-out of the match was decent here with Colt out-wrestling and out-smarting Page, pissing Hangman off and eventually tricking him into making a costly error and getting beaten. Obviously you can argue that Page losing so soon into his realignment into Bullet Club isn’t ideal…but reportedly that’s what Gedo wanted him for. He wanted a talented gaijin who NJPW could develop, but also take pins for the more prominent guys. Cabana has been torn apart by Bullet Club for two consecutive shows – he needs some payback, he can’t beat Cole or the Bucks…so Hangman is the fall guy. Joining Bullet Club inevitably increases Page’s profile, merch sales and gets him New Japan tour dates…but going back to being the fall-guy in a nominally ‘heel’ stable (i.e. the role he just broke away from in The Decade) is creatively a backwards step. I imagine when he counts his t-shirt sales he isn’t too fussed however…

Colt doesn’t get a chance to celebrate as Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa run out and attack him. Page sets Cabana up for the ‘Hangman’ treatment that Sabin got in Dearborn, but apparently that’s too graphic for TV so Kevin Kelly orders us to go to commercials. The fact that ROH/SBG just wanted to pocket the cash and didn’t put any effort into releasing an unedited version of this for DVD is annoying…

All Night Express are dressed in suits and announce their desire to ‘make wrestling great again’ in a mock political campaign video. They don’t view Cheeseburger and Liger (a ‘really old dude in a mask’ who stayed in the game ‘well past his prime’) as ‘great’ in any way…and next week plan to make an example of them. 

BJ Whitmer hijacks the show, thanking Nigel for booking his match against Steve Corino at Best In The World and uses Corino’s family to taunt him some more. Corino himself runs in through the crowd but is held back by security…

ACH cuts an interesting promo where he thinks Silas Young’s recent bullying of him is actually an expression of Silas’ own insecurities. This thirty second interview contained more depth, layering and personality than I think we’ve seen from ACH in his three years in ROH…

The World Title isn’t on the line here; this is personal. Dijak felt that Truth Martini and the House Of Truth held him back and utilised him to serve only as Lethal’s heavy rather than try to develop him. After being ‘fired’ from the House Of Truth for daring to convey this frustration, he had his eyes opened by Prince Nana and returned after a brief hiatus in Las Vegas at the Anniversary TV Tapings to attack Martini – breaking his neck and putting him out of ROH. The House Of Truth have sought vengeance on him, with Taeler Hendrix and Joey Daddiego injuring his ribs over Supercard Of Honor weekend. Now Lethal looks to clean up and remove the 2015 Top Prospect Tournament winner for good. Donovan will know victory here will immediately elevate him into the kind of higher profile matches he felt deprived of when House Of Truth were holding him back.

Lethal lurches into a fist fight, which isn’t necessarily the smartest idea against someone the size of Dijak. Donovan picks him up for the wild slam over the top rope to the floor…and continues the rough treatment with a release suplex on the mats outside the ring. Jay gets some respite by tossing his foe into the railings, only to get distracted by pursuing Prince Nana. Big Dijak gets time to recover so Lethal tries to put him down again with the TOPE TRIFECTA! BUT DIJAK THROWS HIM INTO THE GUARDRAILS AND HITS A RUNNING MOONSAULT FROM THE RING TO THE FLOOR! How is that even possible for someone as tall as he is?! During the commercial break he grabs the title belt and taunts Lethal with it and when we return it is apparent that the impact of the dive has severely injured Jay’s knee. It basically gives out on him when attempting the hiptoss/dropkick sequence and Donovan profits with a belly to belly suplex for 2. He tries the Lethal Combination…but the knee stops him and Dijak boots him in the head. GERMAN SUPLEX INSTEAD! DIJAK NO SELLS! TRUTH MARTINI KILLER KICK! LEG SELLING LETHAL COMBINATION! Somehow Jay hobbles up the ropes…but takes so long Dijak catches him by the throat as he dives for Hail To The King. Chokeslam Backbreaker countered to a wheelbarrow facebuster by Lethal for 2! Dijak then STANDS BACK UP! FEAST YOUR EYES BLOCKED! SUPERKICK! LIMPING LETHAL INJECTION COUNTERED TO A SIT-OUT POWERBOMB FOR 2! DIJAK MOONSAULT MISSES! Prince Nana has seen enough and tries to interfere from the apron…only for Taeler Hendrix to drag him away. Todd Sinclair is distracted and Dijak prepares for Feast Your Eyes. Matt Jackson and Kenny Omega run in trying to Superkick Party Lethal…BUT THEY GET DIJAK INSTEAD! Lethal shoves them out and hits a LETHAL INJECTION! He pins Dijak at 11:26 (shown).

Rating - **** - Even with the overbooked finish I thought this was an awesome TV match. Lethal really has grown into the role of Ring Of Honor ‘franchise player’ now. He carries himself like a champion, he gives off a championship aura…and he’s starting to develop the ability that all the great ROH Champions have had to get a decent match out of any opponent in any situation. These two, I’m sure, could have a great 20+ minute bout. But that wasn’t what they were booked to do here, so they went out and worked a superb ten minute sprint instead. Dijak got in piles of offence and was presented in as credible, dangerous and dominant a fashion as he has been during his entire ROH employment. In that regard, the fact that he was protected by a Bullet Club run-in at the end actually helps him too. Lethal allowed him plenty, crafted palpable drama with a great job putting over the knee injury (and in turn putting over the insane athleticism Dijak possesses) and made this match feel like a big deal even if it was non-title. Unfortunately we’re not in an era where potential and producing enjoyable 4* matches is enough to move you up the card in ROH (just ask ACH) so I don’t expect Dijak to progress much from this. He should…but he won’t. There’s a reason he took an NXT deal without a moment’s hesitation (literally, the rumour is that Sinclair threatened WWE with legal action as he was still under contract and had already decided he was going)…

The Guerrillas Of Destiny join Jackson and Omega in putting the boots to Lethal…bringing out the Briscoes to come to his aid. Interestingly it means that Jay Briscoe is coming to help the man he’ll challenge for the World Title at Best In The World. He nabs the ROH Title belt and looks longingly at it before handing it to Lethal as the fans enthusiastically chant ‘one more time’ at them…

Mark Briscoe joins commentary for this episode, pushing a match that has been signed for him and fellow ROH veteran Roderick Strong to face each other at Best In The World.

He earned the respect of Kazuchika Okada at the 14th Anniversary, then formed a tag team with him at Global Wars. In Dearborn he went toe-to-toe with Tomohiro Ishii in a bruising encounter. Now Moose’s quest for high profile matches leads him to a clash with the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. He knows a win would send shockwaves across the wrestling world and most definitely earn him a spot on the New Japan roster. 

Nigel draws attention to Naito’s heavily taped knee…although it doesn’t stop him spitting in Moose’s face and putting the boots to him. Unsurprisingly, the big man doesn’t take kindly to that and violently dropkicks the champ right out of the ring. Naito scrams before Moose can hit a dive…then starts to make fun of Moose before attempting a pescado. COUNTERED with a fallaway slam into the guardrails by Moose! That looked brutal, although Naito doesn’t make much of an effort to sell that and hops up pretty quick to hit his slingshot dropkick spot in the corner of the ring seconds later. At least Moose gets to no sell his offence too I suppose. He easily blocks Destino only for Naito to land a capo kick. Frankensteiner nailed by Naito…but Moose no sells that as well and lands a discus lariat for 2. Next Naito tries his tornado DDT and succeeds only in twirling in a circle as big Moose stands motionless…then suplexes him ON HIS HEAD on the turnbuckles. Naito takes it to ground next with the Pluma Blanca forcing Moose to use his size to escape. Moose tries another head drop suplex spot, but it’s a rookie mistake to try the same move on Naito twice and the IWGP Champion counters in mid-air with a beautiful DDT. ROPE RUN CROSSBODY by Moose, only for Naito to saunter away and watch him eat the canvas! Destino wins it at 07:43 (shown).

Rating - *** - Naito has been good value on this tour. Even this, his worst match thus far, felt like a step up from the work he put in during previous WOTW Tours. Moose/Okada was more energetic and had a big match feel that this one never reached, but I won’t deny this was outright fun from first bell to last. Naito likes to jerk around, but watching him try his usual routine only for Moose to no-sell his stuff and beat the sh*t out of him was great. The pacing was strong too, with Naito’s offence always coming when Moose made an error or demonstrated a lack of experience. 

Another ‘Make Wrestling Great Again’ campaign video airs for the All Night Express. I know The Cabinet gimmick got (what I’ll diplomatically call) a mixed reception, but the two vignettes I’ve seen thus far have been decent. Kenny King is one of the better promo guys ROH have in my opinion.

Liger and Cheeseburger should arguably be considered top contenders for the ROH Tag Titles. They are undefeated in ROH competition, and won their debut match as a team at Global Wars against now champions The Addiction. King and Titus have announced their ‘campaign to make wrestling great again’, and in doing so take cheap shots at Liger for being an old, sad guy in a mask and Cheeseburger for looking like a little boy. Those personal jibes won’t have been appreciated, even by someone as long in the game as Liger. 

Liger gets his usual superstar reaction; the fans go nuts for him. He’s such a veteran that he has zero problems surviving an attempted jump-start by the All Nights and instead helps Burger hit a springboard suicide dive to the floor. Sensibly King and Titus isolate Cheeseburger instead and have a much easier time bullying him around. The fans accusing Kenny of racism after he makes kung fu noises in Liger’s direction is a terrific little moment hidden in there too. Liger does eventually get the tag and lays Rhett out with a mammoth superplex. Burger tags back in though…and instantly needs help as ANX almost give him the One Night Stand. Shotei on Titus, only for King to hit the Royal Flush on Cheeseburger to hand ANX the win at 06:12 (shown).

Rating - * - I appreciate that King and Titus went over here, as it would have been an easy decision for Delirious just to put the popular Liger/Burger duo over again after their Chicago PPV victory. The All Nights needed this though, and an emphatic win over a team containing the legendary Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger is a nice way to put the exclamation point on a taping which has seen them launch their new Cabinet gimmick too. The match itself was basic, minimal and only of limited interest however. Liger’s involvement was kept to an absolute minimum as well…meaning the crowd quickly died.

NEXT WEEK – It is announced that main event for the final episode at this taping will be an 8-man tag pitting Jay Lethal, the Briscoes and ‘Mr ROH’ Roderick Strong against a Bullet Club quartet.

The Ring Of Honor team for that main event is significant, as it includes four men who all face each other at Best In The World. Roderick stomps down the aisle and complains to Nigel about having to team with the ‘Briscoe that doesn’t matter’ (right in front of Mark)…

Apparently Adam Cole and the Young Bucks (known is some parts as the ‘SuperKliq’) have weekly promo time at this taping. Cole is irritated that ROH’s ‘posterboys’ Jay Lethal and Jay Briscoe are getting the Best In The World main event that he wanted to be a part of…

Silas Young appears at ringside to interrupt Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness running through the card for the PPV, and times it well enough that he shows up just when they announce it will be him vs ACH at Best In The World. He spends more time trashing ACH for being childish and a loudmouth. He goes after a ‘fan’ (who looks very much like a plant’) wearing an ACH shirt in the crowd…and doesn’t see the actual ACH appearing in the ring to run at him with Air Jordan. 

Kyle O’Reilly gets some interview time ahead of the main event, and discusses losing to Kushida a year ago in the finals of the 2015 Best Of The Super Juniors Tournament (I know I don’t review much New Japan for my site…but I absolutely LOVED that match). He vows that he’ll ‘die’ before losing to Kushida again…

The 2015 BOTSJ final is an absolute classic, and I’m already annoyed that ROH didn’t put this big rematch on the New York War Of The Worlds Tour event rather than on TV where it will inevitably get screwed for time. Kushida won an epic battle that night, but O’Reilly returns believing himself to be a better wrestler than he was then. Having overcome Adam Cole, this is another high profile loss he needs to avenge before moving back into World Title contention.

They work the mat with great intensity early on; each unsuccessful in an attempt to lock in their signature arm-based submission finisher. Kushida succeeds with landing an early kick on O’Reilly’s arm and quickly follows it with a vicious stomp to the same limb. Quickly Kyle starts to favour his arm but finds a way to return fire using his kicks and knee strikes. He attacks Kushida’s leg, and busts out some pretty unique ways of doing so whilst protecting his left arm. Heel Hook applied to that leg as well but Kushida presumably finds a way to roll out due to Kyle’s limited arm. He limps to the apron for a desperation springboard dropkick…which I initially found annoying but he sells it afterwards so hard that O’Reilly is actually up before him. ANKLELOCK! PELE KICK TO BREAK! JAWBREAKER LARIAT! BRAINBUSTER BY KUSHIDA! Both men go down in a pile. Armbreaker by Kushida, followed by a handspring kick which knocks O’Reilly outside. He tries a pescado but lands on his feet KILLING his knee! O’Reilly grabs him for a SHINBREAKER ON A STEEL CHAIR! Kushida slumps into the same chair prompting O’Reilly to line up his big apron missile dropkick. KUSHIDA COUNTERS IN MID-AIR WITH A CROSS ARMBAR THROUGH THE DAMN CHAIR! Forced to release that of course, Kushida comes out and throws Kyle arm-first into the guardrails too. Back in the ring they take turns with savage kicks to their injured body parts. Axe & Smash…no sold…TANAKA PUNCH! Hoverboard Lock COUNTERED into a guillotine choke. BACK TO THE HOVERBOARD LOCK! COUNTERED TO A ROLL-UP…KYLE WINS! He avenges the Best Of The Super Juniors final loss at 10:45 (shown).

Rating - **** - I came seriously close to going even higher on this rating. Had I not seen the BOTSJ final (which was like this, but substantially better) it’s possible I even would have. One guy worked an arm, the other worked the leg, it led to a finish. The story-telling wasn’t complex…but the ferocity of the fight and precision of the execution is what made this a special TV main event. This was like a great twenty minute match, with the fast forward button pressed down so everything happens at frantic speed. That made it tremendously exciting but did lessen the drama somewhat. MOTN thus far, and one of the best matches from the tour on the whole…

The Party Peacock is the current #1 contender to the Television Championship, and gets his shot against Bobby Fish at the Best In The World pay-per-view (for which this is now the lead-in episode). He warms up for that with an encounter with veteran New Japan junior Gedo. Given his stature within the NJPW office, it would serve Castle’s interests well to deliver an impressive showing here.

Gedo looks confused by Dalton’s pre-match routine, and even more flummoxed by his posing once the match begins. It leads to Castle hitting an impressive dead-lift T-bone suplex which leads to Gedo leaving the ring. He is villainous of course, so decides to attack The Boys...then punts Dalton in the groin for trying to come help them. Dalton pull him back into the ring for another amateur-style throw. Gedo blocks the Bang-A-Rang and superkicks Castle right in the face for 2. The Boys take action to poke Gedo in the eyes, leading to Dalton hitting Bang-A-Rang for the win at 04:29 (shown).

Rating - * - Can someone explain to me why the hell ROH’s top contender for one of their singles titles just needed outside interference to beat f*cking Gedo? The relationship with New Japan has no doubt sold a lot of tickets, delivered PPV buys for Global Wars and shifted plenty of merch this week. But creatively it has significantly derailed ROH’s great start to 2016, and the ONLY reason why Gedo wouldn’t put Dalton over clean is that NJPW will always vehemently protect it’s own interests (even lowly – as an in ring worker anyway – Gedo) over ROH’s needs. Not finding a way to get two big, bold, brash characters (Bobby Fish and Dalton Castle) onto TV together even once to promote their PPV match is a real disappointment too…

ONE YEAR AGO – The concluding moments of Lethal/Briscoe in the spectacular Title vs Title main event at Best In The World 2015 are shown…as is the interaction between Briscoe and Lethal in San Antonio on the Conquest Tour a few weeks ago. 

Given that neither of these two are working Best In The World shouldn’t this one have been taped for an earlier episode rather than the go-home show? Ferrara has been decent thus far in 2016. Not a can’t miss prospect or anything like that, but all year he has been deceptively watchable so deserves a chance to work one of the big NJPW names on a filler TV bout. Ishii lost the TV Title to Bobby Fish at Global Wars, but recovered strongly to mow through Moose in an absolute slug-fest in Dearborn.

Ferrara’s strikes barely trouble Ishii initially…but after pummelling him for almost a minute he actually does get the Stone Pitbull off his feet. Ishii is back pretty quickly, disrespectfully kicking at Will who is so fired up he actually manages to knock him off his feet with a clothesline. He struggles getting the big, stocky Japanese athlete up for slams though. Ishii decks him with a lariat and starts to look seriously pissed off. He finishes it with a brainbuster at 04:07 (shown).

Rating - ** - There was some entertainment value to be had in Ferrara buzzing round Ishii like an irritating bug before the Japanese juggernaut finally snapped and clobbered him into the dirt. It was short and meaningless, and a bit of a waste of Ishii…but it’s hard to deny that we got another creditable performance from Will Ferrara somewhere in the midst of this.

Steve Corino comes to the ring next, giving his thoughts ahead of his Fight Without Honor against BJ Whitmer. He talks about his history in the business, dropping names like Terry Funk, Dusty Rhodes and Kevin Steen. He wants to make BJ pay for ‘crossing the line’ and bringing his family into things. He admits that he will be taking a ‘mask’ off when he fights at Best In The World…but it won’t be the Mr Wrestling III mask Whitmer thinks, but the mask of nice guy, ‘corporate’ Corino so that once again he can become the EVIL person he’s spent years suppressing. GREAT promo!

Nick Jackson had been announced as part of this match, but is injured and replaced by Omega (who comes out wearing one of the Young Bucks’ crazy jackets to fit in). Lethal has taken multiple beatings at the hands of Bullet Club this week, ever since Adam Cole appeared and wrecked the Global Wars main event. In Dearborn he and the Briscoes took more licks…so have now recruited ‘Mr ROH’ to their squad in opposing them. The problem here is that the four members of Team ROH will be facing each other at Best In The World. Mark and Roddy meet in a battle for pride between two locker room veterans, and the main event is set to be Lethal defending the World Title against Jay Briscoe in a rematch he has avoided for a year. Can those four coexist? Can the Bullet Club send a message to Jay Lethal on behalf of Adam Cole – who wants in on the title picture himself?

Mark and Matt start, having some fun with their big, goofy personalities. Mark gets the upper hand and feeds Jackson to his BITW opponent Strong. Omega tags in to help out his Elite buddy…and is surprised to find ROH Champion Jay Lethal stepping in to oppose him. He has no desire to face Lethal so turns around and tags Loa in. Only once the big man has taken some shots does The Cleaner show an interest…but Lethal swoops to nail him with the cartwheel dropkick spot anyway. The Briscoes team up to work Omega over, causing the rest of Bullet Club to rush the ring and come to his aid. As bodies spill outside Lethal starts hitting the ropes, delivering two thirds of the Tope Trifecta before Omega dumps him into the barricade. Strong is poised to stop Kenny landing the Rise Of The Terminator as well though. Omega hits him with the Kotaro Crusher and gets a tag to Jackson who unleashes a SUPERKICK FLURRY! Roddy eventually counters a Superkick into the Muso however. Mark tags in with Tonga and can’t put a glove on him as Tama slithers around into a dropkick for 2. Lethal and Omega tag again and this time come to blows in front of an enthusiastic crowd. V-TRIGGER! NO SOLD! Lethal Injection blocked…only for Matt Jackson to attempt a rescue mission and accidentally Superkick his own buddy. Lethal Injection blocked…One Winged Angel blocked! Lethal Combination COUNTERED TO DRAGON RUSH! Mark hits the urinage on Jackson…as Strong levels Tonga with the Sick Kick! SUPERKICK PARTY KO’S LETHAL! JAY DRILLER ON LOA! Huge win for Jay Briscoe at 10:38…but only after Lethal had to sacrifice himself.

Rating - *** - I’ve complained about New Japan guys going over ROH talents all tour, and quite perversely I’m now going to complain about NJPW guys NOT winning. I know Sinclair LOVE the Briscoes and have been incredibly protective of them for a prolonged period. But Jay Briscoe did NOT need the win here. Having torpedo'd a pay-per-view main event to get this Bullet Club takeover gimmick going, they should not have been jobbed out on a TV main event against four guys with more reasons to fail as a team than anyone. The match itself was entertaining enough. I thought they did a good job of teasing the ‘dream matches’ of Lethal/Omega and Briscoes/GOD and the last couple of minutes were exciting. It was a big step down from some of the better multi-man tags ROH have run in 2016 though.

Roddy refuses to join in the Team ROH celebrations and disrespects Mark Briscoe on his way out. Lethal and Jay Briscoe bicker and face-off as the show ends.

Tape Rating - *** - This was a solid set of TV tapings, albeit not as good as the 14th Anniversary Tapings. In many ways the Global Wars/War Of The Worlds 2016 shows mark a seminal moment and turning point in the direction of Ring Of Honor for years to come. ROH started the year concentrating on delivering a solid product putting over their core group of contracted workers and building up guys like Page, Castle, Rush and Dijak. But over this tour a lot of ROH’s talent has been pushed to the fringes for a parade of low key New Japan 'house show mode' matches which don’t make for the best television. There were some genuine highlights here, chief among them the always-excellent Kushida’s superb bout against Kyle O’Reilly. But the other stand-out moments for me were when ROH concentrated on their own bloody product. Donovan Dijak tore it up in a strong main event with Jay Lethal…before Bullet Club ruined it. The promotion of Lethal vs Briscoe was really strong…when Bullet Club weren’t detracting from it. The Silas/ACH mini-feud has been an enjoyable little piece of business for two under-appreciated acts. Steve Corino’s promo on Whitmer in the final episode taped was outstanding. But that is juxtaposed to Omega, Okada, Tanahashi and Naito in house show mode, Ishii getting an easy night, Cole not booked, the Young Bucks working severely injured and effing Gedo not putting someone over clean either. The New Japan guys put bums on seats. It’s a rush for the live crowds to get to see the big names that they might otherwise see via online VOD's. And it is a coup for ROH to get them on television. I’m not an idiot, I understand that this approach delivers a far greater bang for Sinclair’s buck. BUT, artistically and creatively this taping represented a serious step in the wrong direction…which is worrying.

3) Kazuchika Okada vs Matt Sydal (***)

2) Jay Lethal vs Donovan Dijak (****)

1) Kyle O’Reilly vs Kushida (****)