McXal's Reviews

It felt like Delirious and the ROH core roster were starting to build some real momentum. New stars like Lio Rush and Punishment Martinez had arrived. Guys like ACH, Adam Page, Moose and Donovan Dijak looked set to break out to the next level. The three-way tag feud with the Young Bucks, The Addiction and the Motor City Machine Guns was enjoyable. Jay Lethal sat atop the pile and was really starting to come into his own as champion, with a clutch of reliable workhorse guys underneath like Cole, O’Reilly, Fish and Strong delivering on a consistent basis. But then the New Japan guys rocked up and sort of derailed things. Adam Page was put right back into his box as the fall guy for a heel group, Colt Cabana’s big return was sidelined for Bullet Club festivities, the Tag Titles were hot potatoed horribly, Donovan Dijak’s breakout against Jay Lethal was quickly forgotten and Lio Rush went from delivering the MOTY to barely getting on the cards. With most of the NJPW talent now gone (with the exception of the on-excursion Kamaitachi) and a hastily thrown together Toronto taping making a decent fist of laying out the forthcoming Best In The World PPV…we now have a five-show ‘Road To BITW’ Tour to put some flesh on the bones. Tonight Jay Lethal and Jay Briscoe, who battle over the World Title at the pay-per-view, are on opposite sides of a trios main event also featuring the current Tag Champions The Addiction and former champs War Machine. Matches like Adam Cole vs Kamaitachi or Alex Shelley vs Lio Rush could steal the show if they get sufficient time, and on the undercard ACH prepares for his PPV showdown against Silas Young by taking on his tag partner the Beer City Bruiser. Kevin Kelly isn’t at these shows, which thankfully means we get Ian Riccaboni instead who, as always, is a vast improvement. He is at the announce table in Collinsville, IL – joined by Veda Scott (who did a great job at the last Manhattan show). 

This is a Women Of Honor bonus feature on the DVD. Taeler has almost come from nowhere to become the focal point of the Women Of Honor division. She has usurped Veda Scott as top heel manager figure thanks to her role in the House Of Truth, and at times has felt more like the face of the fledgling Women Of Honor division than anyone else. Her opponent tonight is a veteran of the Texan scene and has also worked for SHIMMER in the past. She is known for being diminutive in stature but a real firecracker of a worker that should never be underestimated.

Taeler licks James rather than shake her hand, which feels uncomfortably like a rip-off of Catrina’s Lucha Underground thing. Jessica is experienced enough to recognise Hendrix plans to jump her from the bell, and quickly counters her into an armbreaker for 2. Hendrix’s striking puts the smaller competitor on the floor temporarily…but as I said, she should never be underestimated. She gets back up and dishes out a roundhouse kick that leaves Taeler on the floor. JJ Kick nailed, into an Octopus Stretch driving Taeler into the ropes. La Petite Morte is slightly botched and only gets 2. TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER by Hendrix! She wins at 03:23

Rating - ** - I honestly don’t understand how Ring Of Honor expects fans to take the WOH division seriously when they treat it with such little significance. This was on the same level as all the other Women Of Honor matches I’ve reviewed thus far – in that it was contested in good spirit and wasn’t unenjoyable…but felt very much like a short, dark match (which is in effect what these are). I understand the Women Of Honor matches do decent numbers on YouTube and young people like to consume things through that medium…but where are the feuds? Where are the great matches? Where is anything that converts a casual fan who watches a five minute YouTube video into a fan of Ring Of Honor and their women’s division? Hendrix isn’t necessarily the greatest worker but she does have a presence and charisma to her. James was largely similar to how she came off in SHIMMER – a spitfire who busts her ass but prone to sloppy executional mishaps. There was nothing wrong with the match at all, but seven seconds after it had ended I imagine almost everyone will have forgotten about it.

There hasn’t been much room for Caprice on ROH shows as of late. I don’t know if he’s been injured or simply not booked, but aside from a brief rivalry/alliance with Will Ferrara he hasn’t done anything of note and hasn’t appeared too often. He is back here, and with a huge opportunity too as he steps into the ring with the current #1 contender for the TV Title. Castle is preparing to face Bobby Fish for the TV Title at Best In The World, so will obviously plan to build further momentum here.

Coleman backs himself to handle Castle on the canvas and almost sneaks him into a successful pinning combination to emphasise his skill. Next he escapes Dalton’s mounted headbutt spot…and gets into his head by willingly trading ‘poses’ with him. They go into a rapid-fire headlock duel which the live crowd laps up…and also serves to quicken the pace which Caprice is by far the more comfortable with. Dalton actually walks out of the ring and takes a fan with The Boys as he ponders his poor start to the match. Eventually he storms back into the ring and hits an emphatic amateur takedown before driving elbows into the spine. He evicts Coleman from the ring, but Caprice uses the environment to his advantage. He throws one of The Boys at Castle to cause a distraction then levels him with the feint around the ringpost 619. Eye poke into the Bless-TO gets 2. The diving axe kick gets 2 too, as Caprice continues to surprise with the strength of his showing. Castle counters an attempted low kick into a dead-lift capture suplex…but is beaten up and doesn’t capitalise right away. He delivers a flurry of punches and elbows in the corner and catches Caprice trying to jump out at him into a stalling overhead belly to belly throw. Everest German COUNTERED TO THE TRINITY! Coleman lands the standing leap frankensteiner…only for Dalton bridge up from the floor into the EVEREST GERMAN! That same hold is blocked moments later for Caprice to deliver the Mind Trip. SKY SPLITTER MISSES! BANG-A-RANG! Dalton wins at 13:25

Rating - *** - I’ve had this concern with Caprice Coleman at live events before. He’s a capable worker with lots of charisma…but he is almost irrelevant in ROH  terms. Therefore when he comes from not being booked in months to suddenly having competitive matches with top tier guys it feels uneasy. I had the same feeling when he worked the likes of Jay Briscoe and Roderick Strong in 2015, and I did again here. The match itself was really good, built around a shockingly strong performance from Caprice – who almost took everyone in the room by surprise by just how commendable an opponent he was for Dalton. There definitely is room for Caprice to do something more substantial in Ring Of Honor. He certainly has the promo skills to deliver an increased role…but they can't keep going from having him play an enhancement/bottom-feeding talent on TV to expecting me to buy him as a viable challenger to ROH's biggest names at house shows.

This is the first time Kincaid has returned to ROH since impressing in the first round of the Top Prospect Tournament. He was defeated by eventual winner Lio Rush on that occasion, but his unique style and unorthodox persona certainly meant that he stood out. He now faces a man who is similarly unusual, in the form of Mark Briscoe. Mark is preparing for a match with long-time friend/rival Roderick Strong at Best In The World…

The opening minute is hotly contested as both bearded oddballs defy their appearances and demonstrate sound fundamentals. Kincaid proclaims himself a ‘technical wizard’ and gets in Briscoe’s face…so Mark slaps him! He then delivers an emphatic release back suplex which almost snaps the smaller man in half. Kincaid grabs Mark’s beard and uses it to guillotine him on the top rope then delivers a rolling double stomp over the ropes to the apron. TOPE SUICIDA INTO A SUNSET FLIP GUARDRAIL BOMB! Some of the crowd start to rally behind Kincaid after that, and inside the ring he counters a charging Briscoe into a diving powerslam for 2. Mark retaliates with the big fisherman buster for his own nearfall. Jason blocks an attempt at a second fisherman buster to dump Briscoe on the apron. DEATH FROM ABOVE DOUBLE STOMP TO THE APRON! Kincaid is letting it all hang out. SORCERER’S STOMP OFF THE RINGPOST! Briscoe survives that and breaks out the Redneck Kung Fu…then lunges into a lariat. A second fisherman buster earns Mark the win at 10:39

Rating - *** - Credit to Mark Briscoe here, who worked incredibly hard and was willing to let Kincaid ‘get his sh*t in’ for the majority of the contest. And get his sh*t in Jason Kincaid most certainly did. He has some cool, innovative pieces of offence which the fans enjoyed, but crucially he strung them together with solid basics and sound timing. It never once slipped into becoming an RVD-style spot/stall/spot/stall sequence of events which is testament to the abilities of both men. Mark earns the win, but in the process gave Kincaid another commendable showing. I’m amazed ROH let him slip through their fingers to Evolve/WWN.

All Night Express come out to continue their campaign to make wrestling ‘great again’. King, as usual, does an excellent job on the microphone; feigning humility before attacking the St Louis fans, and the majority of the talent in the locker room. Tonight their issue is with out of shape wrestlers who look like they should be in the crowd with the overweight wrestling fans. Rhett thinks the Young Bucks should be in Women Of Honor, War Machine don’t have an ab between them and the Briscoes drink themselves ‘under the bar more than they raise the bar’. They are pissed off at not being booked tonight, and issue an open challenge to a match right now…

If ANX don’t like ‘out of shape’ wrestlers then I’m not sure what they’ll make of the Pretty Boy Killers. Lee is an absolute beast though, and this team have looked outstanding every time they’ve been booked. Their combination of strength, agility and sheer size make them a fearsome proposition. King and Titus will have their work cut out for them here…

Rhett gets manhandled by Taylor so emphatically that he has no choice but to bail. Lee and King tag and run through an AMAZING movie fight scene-style strike sequence…and as the pace keeps getting quicker Keith looks more and more comfortable; eventually levelling Kenny with an AJ Styles-esque dropkick. ANX take Taylor to the outside and drive him into the apron, mauling him 2-on-1 whilst Lee remonstrates with referee Paul Turner. Even when his opponents are manipulating the rules to within a whisker of getting themselves disqualified Shane continues to fight – always ready to no sell some offence or throw a couple of shots back in the direction of King or Titus. The hot tag to ‘Limitless’ Keith Lee eventually comes…and he mows through the All Nights with ease. King blocks the Spirit Bomb then distracts the referee as Rhett nails Lee with a steel chair. But Keith totally no-sells it! Taylor grabs the chair and nails Titus with it…which Paul Turner does see. PBK are DQ’d at 08:06

Rating - ** - The issue with this was that it went longer than it should have. Lee and Taylor once again looked terrific as the hoss team, and ANX are more than comfortable as a slimy heel act. The heat segment on Taylor went on far too long though, and this would have been equally impactful without it. The finish made sense at least, as it protected both teams – who both would have been damaged with a clean loss.

During the War Of The Worlds Tour Silas Young started trying to bully ACH. Apparently unhappy at ACH’s jovial attitude, flashy moveset, big mouth and propensity to watch cartoons or play video games in the locker room, he is the latest member of the ROH roster that Silas has accused of not being a ‘real man’. After attacking each other during the Toronto TV Taping, we saw Young/ACH booked for Best In The World. Tonight ACH tries to prepare for that by facing Silas’ tag partner, whilst Young himself will be expecting his partner to inflict some damage to ACH before he even reaches the pay-per-view. Silas is on commentary so may well make his presence felt.

ACH’s strikes have no effect on the burly Bruiser…and he gets driven out of the ring after Silas creates a distraction. BIG FAT APRON CANNONBALL to the floor by BCB. He misses a standing butt splash…only for ACH to attempt a body slam and have his back give out on him. Beer City counters the slingshot flatliner spot with a clubbing clothesline for 2. In case anyone had forgotten that Bruiser largely sucks and has his weaknesses hidden by teaming with Silas, he reminds us by messing up some form of powerbomb spot. ACH’s back is taking a beating, and he collapses holding it again when trying to get Bruiser on his shoulders. Instead he kicks Beer City to the floor…where BCB simply lies in wait and drives him into the apron when he prepares to strike. Rolling apron cannonball for a second time MISSES! That leaves Bruiser landing on the hard floor with a sickening thud and in prime position for AIR JORDAN! The back is still bothering him however, and back inside the ring Bruiser runs through him with a cannonball in the corner for 2. But Bruiser gets overconfident and tries to hit his big fat frog splash. ROPE RUN PELE by ACH to block that, followed by an impressive DVD. BACK SELLING MIDNIGHT STAR! ACH wins at 08:37

Rating - *** - Despite a couple of moments of sloppiness from the Bruiser, this was MOTN thus far for me. The story they told was spot on, with ACH needing multiple big hits to topple the big man – who in turn knew he couldn’t complete with ACH when it came to speed and athleticism so concentrated on using his body weight to smother and crush any attempted offence thrown his way. The story around ACH’s back was a nice touch and rather well-sold by ACH too (not always his strength). It is starting to dawn on me that we are now just a handful of months way from ACH leaving Ring Of Honor. He will be a huge miss when he does go...

No new talent has shone brighter in 2016 than Lio Rush, who won the Top Prospect Tournament, almost won the World Title in Dallas at Supercard Of Honor 10 and has reached an extremely high standard every time out. Shelley returned to ROH in late-2015 as a singles worker, and whilst his current priority is the Motor City Machine Guns and tag team aspirations, he certainly won’t want to drop a match to a young, precocious upstart like Lio. Back in 2005 he was in Rush’s spot and wanted to make a name for himself by starting Generation Next and trying to take spots from the veterans and established members of the roster. Now Shelley is on the other side of that scenario…

Showing the fearlessness of youth, Lio has no problem trying to chain-wrestle with Shelley. He starts well but Alex soon starts breaking out the freaky mat stuff and almost captures Rush for a quick pin. When they run the ropes, however, Rush has an edge and puts a boot through Shelley’s face. Foolishly Alex tries a dive spot…which Lio easily counters by rolling back into the ring and landing an enzi strike. HEAT SEEKING MISSILE by Rush! That big move hands the TPT winner advantage and enables him to pursue Shelley around ringside delivering chops and kicks. Shelley wisely brings it back inside and lands the Shellshock into the turnbuckles to quell Lio’s momentum. Rush heads back to the floor…so Shelley LEAPFROGS HIM CHEST-FIRST INTO THE GUARDRAIL! Lio somehow crawls back into the ring…and when he puts his head through the ropes Alex snaps his neck with a snap Golden Gate Swing. Kicks from Rush, but he almost collapses himself after each one and eventually Shelley counters him into a CAPTURE DDT! BORDER CITY STRETCH! Lio makes the ropes to break it but may now be critically wounded. He gets adrenaline rush and unloads with rapid-fire strikes, followed by a SOMERSAULT PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR! To the top the youngster goes, dodging a rope-run attack from Shelley to hit DRAGON’S CALL! SHELLEY KICKS OUT! He decks Lio with an elbow strike…only for Rush to flip into a jumping enzi! E HONDA STRIKES! SPINNING F-5 GETS 2! Rush Hour countered…WA4 countered…Shelley dodges Lio’s strike flurries into a superkick. WA4! Shelley wins at 13:15

Rating - **** - Excellent stuff from these two, who really deserved longer to convert this from being a damn good match to a great one. As a long-time fan of Ring Of Honor, seeing Shelley in the complete opposite role he played back in the Generation Next days was a lot of fun (although it made me feel ancient). He was now the skilled but battle-weary veteran that the plucky, talented and innovative newcomer wanted to dethrone. Could he pick apart Lio’s neck and upper body before falling victim to one of Rush’s insane combo’s or crazy high spots. Sometimes the simple stories are the most effective, and I really related to this one. On this occasion the old lion still had gas in the tank, but once again Lio Rush leaves having delivered a ridiculously good match considering his age and lack of experience. He is as much of a prodigy as the teenage Briscoe Brothers were back in Year One…

Shelley gets as fired up and passionate about putting Rush over after the match as he did in actually working the match itself…

Ian Riccaboni leaves commentary and enters the ring to conduct an interview with BJ Whitmer, who has apparently come out to ‘save the show’. He thinks Corino won’t have the courage to even show up at Best In The World for their Fight Without Honor. Steve is in Japan apparently…but his son Colby isn’t. Whitmer thinks Colby will turn out to be a disappointment just like his dad, and young Colby himself runs out to confront him (bringing a referee with him). He looks strikingly like a young version of his old man as he slaps BJ in the face and gets the fight started. He fights gamely but falls to Whitmer’s bullying tactics in just a few minutes. BJ departs having sent a message to Steve Corino…

Here we see Sabin looking for some payback for the events of War Of The Worlds 2016: Dearborn. In Sabin’s hometown Page turned on Ring Of Honor, joined Bullet Club and announced his ‘Hangman’ persona by bringing out a noose and hanging Sabin from the ropes. There is only minimal Bullet Club representation tonight though, meaning Page will need to stand on his own two feet and show the kind of wrestling skill which saw him beat BJ Whitmer in a Street Fight and push Jay Briscoe to the limit last year. Right now joining Bullet Club has led to him going on a losing streak. Sabin grabs a microphone and demands the match be fought under No DQ rules…

Sabin jumps Page during his entrance and flies at him with a cannonball off the apron. He dropkicks the Hangman through an open steel chair, and the Bullet Club member has no choice but to retreat into the ring. He socks Sabin with a lariat for 2 and starts raking his eyes just to keep him at bay. Chris grabs his noose and tries to hang him in payback for Dearborn…but Hangman counters by getting his feet on the apron and superkicking his opponent to the floor. SSP TORPEDO OFF THE APRON THROUGH A CHAIR! Page grabs his noose and wraps it around Sabin’s throat looking to choke him out. Dead-lift wrist clutch slam gets 2. Sabin is still carrying neck injuries courtesy of The Addiction and that move seems to exacerbate them. He lands a hanging neckbreaker using the noose to further damage that body part. The Machine Gun blocks an attempting hanging and heads to the top to land a missile dropkick. Springboard tornado DDT follows that…and Sabin declines to cover so he can do more damage with the chair. He wedges it in the corner but takes too long about it and sees Hangman drive him head-first into it. SPIKE DDT drills Sabin’s neck again for 2. Page lines up a Rite Of Passage through a chair…but Sabin blocks with a headscissors through a chair instead! POWERSLAM THROUGH A CHAIR BY PAGE! Even Alex Shelley on commentary starts to wonder how much longer Sabin can keep fighting through his ‘laundry list’ of injuries. Buckshot Lariat NO SOLD! Both men fire up and unload on each other lariats…then collapse to the ground in tandem! From their knees they throw punches and chops. Sabin goes for that tornado DDT again, but this time Hangman blocks it. Rite Of Passage countered to a Yakuza Kick in the corner. STEEL CHAIR HESITATION DROPKICK NAILED! MEXICAN SURFBOARD WITH THE NOOSE! Page taps at 16:39

Rating - *** - I appreciated that, unlike most ROH matches these days, they got plenty of time to play with here. I won’t deny that it felt a little flat and heatless for a ‘grudge match’ at times, but there was some really good stuff in here as well. Page is a talented guy – and was excellent here. The way he believably and seamlessly moved between playing a cowardly creep to a violent aggressor multiple times over was impressive. Shelley put over his resilience on commentary, but a career-full of injuries really have slowed Sabin down a lot. Compared to the mid-00’s in TNA he has lost so much of his snap, precision and speed…and if you’re being critical it did show a little here. Perhaps my favourite thing then, was that they actually worked his ailing body into the story. Page attacked the neck and we got to physically see Sabin slow down and struggle to execute the moves he wanted to. Of course I’m going to be critical that Page lost AGAIN. I don’t quite understand why Sabin needed to win here, and I’m not sure ROH fans were crying out for him to get vengeance on the ultra-popular Bullet Club stable anyway. As I’ve said in previous reviews, I’m sure Hangman will make a LOT more money now – which he damn well deserves. Spinning this career move as anything more than a creative backwards step is impossible, however. 

Adam Cole doesn’t take kindly to Hangman’s defeat so sprints to the ring and puts the boots to Sabin. Obviously that draws Alex Shelley away from commentary to join the fight as well. 

An ageing former ‘Superstar’ isn’t normally the kind of talent I enjoy seeing in Ring Of Honor, but Stevie has been great every time he’s competed. He has worked hard, shown a willingness to put over younger talent (including Roderick Strong as part of his ‘Roddy vs The World’ angle) and shown he still has the fitness, desire and ability to deliver in the ring. If he could somehow pull off the win over Mr ROH, Moose and the Last Real Man then he would nail down a permanent spot on the roster. Roddy and Silas both have big matches at Best In The World to prepare for (vs Mark Briscoe and ACH respectively)…but in many ways the pressure is on their opponents. If Moose or Stevie want a spot on ROH’s second biggest pay-per-view of the year then they need to win matches and earn it…

Beer City Bruiser is on commentary, and his cartoonish sexism towards Veda is both boorishly unpleasant but does draw some laughs. Stevie starts the match and demands that Strong step in to face him. He actually gets an early nearfall on a sidewalk slam too, doing sufficient damage that Moose looks to profit from it by blind-tagging in. Roddy dodges the Hitstick, before Young rakes the eyes to block the Go To Hell Bomb. Stevie Kick blocked by Moose, who converts to the colossal dropkick which sends Richards to the floor. Young and Strong team up on Moose and work together to keep him in the ring so they can wear him down. They keep him isolated…but aren’t inflicting enough damage to beat him. In the end they turn on each other and don’t see Moose crawling away into the hot tag to Richards. Koji Clutch on Silas, which Strong has to break before decking Stevie with the Olympic Slam for 2. Moose returns with a discus lariat on Mr ROH for 2 before bailing to leave Stevie and Silas taking centre stage. DEATH BY RODERICK…NO SOLD! STEVIE KICK! All four men are down! Silas lands the Killer Combo…only to walk into the HITSTICK! HITSTICK ON RICHARDS! Moose wins at 09:41

Rating - ** - The last couple of minutes were really exciting, unfortunately everything else was a little generic. I would rather have seen a Strong/Stevie rematch in all honesty. Their exchanges were the undoubted highlight of this (with Richards yet again looking right at home in an ROH ring). It was also no surprise that Richards ended up starting at the lights to put the up and coming guy over. His willingness to bust his ass whilst putting young talent over is why he keeps getting bookings, and Stevie is most certainly welcome back for more as far as I’m concerned.

In West Warwick we saw Kamaitachi make his main show debut in a show-stealing and spectacular encounter with ACH. Sadly for him he has mostly been shoved into dark matches ever since to make way for his touring colleagues from the NJPW main roster. They’re gone, so he jumps right back into the prominent spot his work in CMLL (and in West Warwick) deserves. Bullet Club are obviously villains in his home promotion, so he’ll know beating new member Adam Cole will undeniably get the attention of the New Japan office as he continues his excursion. Cole is vocally trying to angle into the World Title picture, so therefore knows he needs to win matches like this to do so. 

Ian Riccaboni says that Kamai has been talking to ‘veterans’ and leaders in the locker room so that he can follow the Code Of Honor and be a fan favourite. He does offer a handshake to Cole as well, but it’s declined by the new Bullet Club member. He also makes fun of the ‘Adam Cole Baybay’ pose which really annoys Cole. Cole struggles to lay a finger on the NJPW touring artist…so instead makes it a brawl on the floor and bundles him into the guardrails. It turns the match in his favour, and he keeps the pace as slow as possible to negate Kamaitachi’s skillset. Even when Tachi finds a way to lay in some mounted punches, Adam is able to slink away and superkick the knees from under him. Kamaitachi’s legs become a target, although being brutally honest he isn’t overly interested in selling it. He mounts a comeback with a running rana…then superkicks Cole to the apron…then runs into a tackle which knocks him to the floor, all without a hint of a limp. FLYING KNEE OFF THE APRON! Luckily what Kamaitachi lacks in selling he makes up for in craziness. As proven as he climbs to the top and lands the FLYING LUNATIC SENTON TO THE FLOOR! Even Cole’s face as they sell the aftermath of that says ‘this dude is mental’. Back in the ring Kamai lands a falcon arrow for 2. Superkick by Cole, into the DVD over the knee for his own nearfall. I criticise Kevin Kelly a lot, so it’s only right to point out that Riccaboni makes an error here and sells that as Kamaitachi kicking out of the Last Shot – which is a completely different move. Cole spits in Tachi’s face…then drops him on his neck with a German. NO SOLD BY KAMAITACHI! ROLLING GERMANS! NO SOLD BY COLE! NXT LAST SHOT (also a different move, thanks WWE)! BOTH MEN DOWN! SUPERKICK DUEL! Kamai hits a pop-up powerbomb for 2. Meteora nailed…but he misses a second and lands on his bad leg again. SUPERKICK TO THE NECK! BARE KNEE WIZARD! FOR 2! LAST SHOT! Cole wins in an entertaining 13:33

Rating - **** - Seriously, this show is so much better for clearing out all the big names from New Japan collecting a paycheck and trying to not to get injured…and replacing them with a bunch of fired up young guys with lots to prove. Kamaitachi crushed it on debut during the Conquest Tour, and now returns during the Road To BITW Tour when his NJPW colleagues have gone home to deliver another killer match. If you’re being truthful, much of the subtlety and story-telling here came from Cole. He quietly worked the neck and back all match to set up his finishes. He was the guy orchestrating a brawl on the floor because Kamaitachi was out-wrestling him. Hiromu certainly didn’t give us anything subtle here. He flatly refused to sell the leg, and instead decided what he’d like to do is go mental with crazy bumps on the floor, lunatic neck bumps inside the ring and a generally crazy style which fans were always going to get on board with. Rush/Shelley was technically a more enjoyable story and better match…but I don’t know that it was more exciting than this one.

We are just weeks away from the huge Lethal/Briscoe rematch at Best In The World. This match represents a huge opportunity for each to inflict damage on their rival going into the pay-per-view. Their partners won’t be pulling any punches either, considering how The Addiction manipulated War Machine into giving them a title shot in Dearborn…then cheated to take the belt from them. The question here is which trio will be able to coexist better. Lethal, Daniels and Kazarian are all experienced professionals who have wrestled each other multiple times…but on the opposition team Briscoe, Hanson and Rowe have been involved in multiple heated matches against each other. Has that violent rivalry cultivated a respect between them, or created rifts and disharmony that the championship team will be able to exploit.

There is a tense stand-off before Lethal and Briscoe agree to follow the Code Of Honor. Rowe and Daniels (who wrestle each other in singles action tomorrow) start the match for their teams. Big Ray manhandles the Ring General…sending him packing for his corner. Lethal and Briscoe tag in, only for Frankie to piss everyone off and blind-tag the World Champion out, reassuring Lethal on the way that he is going to ‘soften Briscoe up’ for him. Kazarian and Briscoe tear into each other, and Frankie can’t live with Jay in a fist fight. He too is sent packing, leaving Lethal to step in with Hanson. None of Lethal’s offence works on Hanson…so he pokes him in the eyes then vacates, leaving The Addiction to fight their own battles. Hanson drags Daniels into his corner where Ray Rowe is waiting to join him in a battery of double team combo moves. Indeed, Lethal stands on the apron and watches as Briscoe and War Machine beat the hell out of both of his partners. In the end Briscoe literally flings Daniels back towards his own corner and demands that the champ tag in and face him. Kazarian comes to Lethal’s aid before they lock horns – attacking Briscoe from behind and kick-starting a six man brawl around ringside. The aftermath of that is The Addiction isolating Briscoe inside the ring and living up to their promise of softening him up for their partner for the evening. Only now he has been weakened is Lethal willing to enter the ring with Briscoe, and even then it is merely to lay in a few stomps before heading out and leaving Kazarian to do more of the heavy lifting. Over-confidence proves to be the champ’s undoing; boldly tagging in with Briscoe again and this time walking into a DVD. Hanson tags in and unleashes the body avalanche flurry on the Tag Champions. Inverted powerslam drops Daniels, followed by the cartwheel lariat on Lethal. Rowe takes the fight to both members of The Addiction single-handedly, scattering them with ease. DVD OVER THE TOP ROPE from Briscoe to Kazarian! At last Lethal and Briscoe come to blows on an even footing…ducking their heads and piling into each other with punches. ELBOW SUICIDA BY BRISCOE! TOPE TRIFTECTA BY LETHAL! TOP ROPE SOMERSAULT SENTON TO THE FLOOR BY HANSON! War Machine haul the Ring General back inside to give him the Path Of Resistance…with Kaz breaking the pin stemming from that at 2. Day One Neckbreaker blocked…so Frankie can give Briscoe a slingshot DDT. NECK DROP GERMAN from Rowe to Kazarian! RYDIEN BOMB from Hanson to Daniels! Lethal tries to give Hanson the Lethal Injection…only for Rowe to shove his partner aside and take the move himself! SPIN KICK OF DOOM ON LETHAL! LEG LARIAT OFF THE APRON by Hanson…but Daniels capitalises on him being out there to drill him into the railings. Lethal Injection blocked…Jay Driller blocked! Daniels blind-tags in trying to win it for his team, which pisses the World Champion off as he wanted to fight with Briscoe himself! Briscoe sneaks up and schoolboys Daniels to win at 19:37

Rating - **** - I always have mixed feelings when approaching house shows with ‘big’ trios matches as a main event. Some are good, but many fall into the trap of forgettable filler with guys playing the hits and not bothering to do anything interesting (something ROH has picked up from NJPW house shows). Thankfully this didn’t fall into that category. It certainly felt like they were ‘playing the hits’ at times, but I’ve no issue with that when they are at least trying to craft a story as well. What this did really well was make EVERY exchange between Briscoe and Lethal matter. Considering ROH is pimping their rematch as ‘a year in the making’ or ‘the biggest rematch in ROH history', Briscoe and Lethal really haven’t interacted much since Best In The World 2015. With only one exchange at a live event on the Conquest Tour plus a staredown at the TV Tapings in Toronto, ROH could hardly be accused of over-exposing the rivalry this time around. For the hardcore fanbase, matches like this really do add substance to the PPV main event build. The Addiction were also at their very best as agitating irritants throughout. Their issue with War Machine wasn’t explored in depth, but Daniels and Kazarian were often the catalyst for something violent to happen thanks to their propensity for winding their opponents (and eventually their own partner) up. 

The Addiction attack Briscoe after the bell, giving him Celebrity Rehab onto one of the Tag Title belts. Jay Lethal is Briscoe’s unlikely saviour as he gets into Daniels’ face still sore about the way they lost the match. DOUBLE LETHAL INJECTION on the ROH Tag Team Champions! Lethal and Briscoe angrily stare each other down as the show fades out…

Tape Rating - *** - Up to Supercard Of Honor 10 weekend ROH had been having a killer 2016. The New Japan 2016 tour didn’t exactly destroy it, but it certainly caused distraction and disruption, steamrollering over ROH’s in-house storylines and roster (quite literally in the case of Bullet Club) and replacing young talent busting their ass to make an impact with big names popping a crowd with their mere presence. There is a place for both, but I can’t pretend I wasn’t happy to see the big names gone and the likes of Caprice Coleman, Jason Kincaid, Keith Lee, Shane Taylor, ACH, Beer City Bruiser (yes, I said it), Lio Rush, Adam Page and Kamaitachi get their chances to shine instead. That clutch of talent delivered the goods tonight, along with the kind of workrate ROH shows since Supercard Of Honor 10 in Dallas have mostly lacked. Lio Rush stole the show again, with the completely insane Kamaitachi in hot pursuit. Most matches on the show were solid, we saw an ROH-career-best showing from Beer City Bruiser and a strong main event putting some flesh on the (pretty bare) bones of the Lethal vs Briscoe rematch. With no ‘major’ names from New Japan, no reDRagon, no Colt Cabana and no Young Bucks ROH’s roster showed there is still plenty of depth and talent just waiting for an opportunity to break through.

3) Jay Lethal/The Addiction vs Jay Briscoe/War Machine (****)

2) Adam Cole vs Kamaitachi (****)

1) Alex Shelley vs Lio Rush (****)