McXal's Reviews

Chances are that most people reading this review will already have seen this pay-per-view, or at least the main event. More eyes than ever before watch ROH these days, but it feels like an increasingly rare occurrence when they produce a match or moment which really creates a legitimate ‘buzz’ like the main event of this show succeeded in doing. The triangle Ladder Match – featuring The Addiction defending the ROH Tag Team Championship against the Young Bucks and the Motor City Machine Guns – was the talk of the wrestling world. It should be a hell of a contest, and the rest of the card is packed with potential show-stealers too, which makes me excited but also concerned at how they are going to compress everything into the strict PPV time allowance. Adam Cole defends the World Title against his old rival Michael Elgin, the Six-Man Tag Title Tournament kicks off with the Briscoes and Toru Yano facing Kushida, Jay White and ACH, Jay Lethal looks for revenge on Tetsuya Naito for walking out on him in Las Vegas, plus CMLL’s Dragon Lee debuts against his old rival Kamaitachi. Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino provide commentary from Lowell, MA.

Dijak won a #1 contendership match at Death Before Dishonor, defeating Lio Rush, Kamaitachi and Jay White to earn this spot. He is a Massachusetts native, so will have the home-town support to drive him forward tonight. He is tall, explosive and athletic; another totally unique challenge for champion Bobby Fish to overcome. He beat the Stone Pitbull, Tomohiro Ishii to win the title – and since then has beaten a whole assortment of opponents with a variety of finishing methods. What does he have in the locker to keep the belt around his waist against an extremely dangerous foe? A bunch of Dijak’s fellow New England scene talents accompany him to the ring (alongside Prince Nana) including 2016 Top Prospect Tournament finalist Brian Fury.

Dijak gets a MASSIVE babyface pop in his hometown. He tries to intimidate Fish…only to find that the champ is a veteran of mind games. He retaliates by flicking kicks at Donovan’s legs then making fun of them for being ‘spindly’ before hiding in the ropes. He keeps going after the legs and despite Dijak’s smiles he clearly doesn’t like it and starts limping. The challenger tries to use his power and size, but Fish counters his usual throwing slam over the top rope and slides down onto the apron. MARTINI KILLER KICK! Dijak just knocked Fish’s block off! But the move hurt his own leg to execute so he can’t cover. He continues to nurse the legs, although he has considerable time to do so because Bobby is still out on his feet after that kick. Time To Fly nailed for 2. He cranks on the neck with a cravat – which Fish pounds on the leg to break. However, just as quickly Dijak is able to hammer at Fish’s neck to stop him hitting the exploder suplex. TURNBUCKLE EXPLODER drops the challenger on his head for 2. Dragon screw into the knee bar…but Dijak is so damn tall he simply stands up and lifts him into LEG-SELLING FEAST YOUR EYES! BUT HIS LEG HURTS TOO MUCH TO COVER! He finally crawls over into a pin…but Bobby is too close to the ropes by that point and grabs them to break the count at 2. Donovan goes for broke, limping one-legged up the ropes ONLY TO MISS A PHOENIX SPLASH! That dude is insanely athletic! His leg is shot now, and Bobby rolls him into FISH HOOK DELUXE! Dijak is tall enough to grab the ropes, and Nana creates a distraction so he can try Feast Your Eyes again. COUNTERED TO THE ISHII CHOKE! KICKS TO THE LEG! REAR NAKED CHOKE! Dijak is choked out at 11:44

Rating - **** - This was my favourite Bobby Fish TV Title match thus far, probably even over the Ishii match at Global Wars. Matches don’t always need to go long to make an impact, and this was extremely effective in it’s circa twelve minute run-time. Fish worked the leg from minute one and made no secret that was his tactic. The drama and fascination came from whether he could do enough damage before the phenomenally talented Dijak knocked him out. Dijak did a fantastic job selling the neck, and was generally impeccable in what was his biggest ROH match to date. Before the show I didn’t think I was ready for another title change – but watching this it felt like a HUGE missed opportunity to create a new star by not putting Dijak over here. His wrestling was superb, his high spots were remarkable, he has one of the best finishing moves in the promotion and crucially, in this market he was wildly over. 

The winners here will become #1 contenders to whomever leaves Ladder War 6 with the Tag Titles. Without wanting to disregard former Tag Champions ANX or the new duo of Cabana and Castle, the story here is War Machine and the Pretty Boy Killers locking horns. Hanson and Rowe feel like they would already have the belts were it not for Taylor and Lee screwing them in Columbus in an attempt to make a name at their expense. Prominent indy wrestler and future Lucha Underground/AEW worker Sonny Kiss is a part of The Cabinet’s entourage tonight. Between him and Kiera Hogan during the Reloaded Tour it is staggering the names ROH have missed out on recruiting. In a really nice touch, following on from the events of the Reloaded Tour when wrestlers continually attacked The Cabinet whilst doing their lame kneeling protest gimmick – Caprice Coleman has obtained an injunction which means anyone who jumps them whilst they ‘peacefully protest’ will be disqualified.

War Machine get around the injunction by attacking Lee and Taylor during the kneeling protest instead! As everyone else piles out to the floor in a brawl Colt and Dalton hang out inside the ring posing for their adoring fans. Rowe demands that he be allowed to wrestle Taylor, so of course ANX heel it up by preventing them from doing so. Hilariously, Rowe simply knocks him the f*ck out with a knee strike then runs into the PBK corner with Hanson for another brawl anyway. Taylor comes in legally for the first time and easily tosses Colt aside so he can continue the punch-up with War Machine. Rhett tags out to Dalton…but with Cabana already in the ring the two partners look at each other in confusion since they are both now ‘legal’. They engage in a totally bizarre show of theatrics, before Colt tries to pin Castle leaving everyone to argue about whether that would make them the winners, the losers or both! Caprice Coleman is on commentary calling it more injustice against The Cabinet (even though ANX instigated it)…but attention soon turns to Hanson, Rowe, Lee and Taylor who are brawling AGAIN. Rhett hits a back drop driver on Dalton, followed by the Dawg Splash for 2. One Night Stand blocked by Shane Taylor – who remembers he is in a match and destroys Titus with a lariat. SPIRIT BOMB FROM LEE TO ROWE! Flying Asshole from Cabana! Hanson’s attempt at a Cartwheel Lariat is COUNTERED TO GROUND ZERO! EVEREST GERMAN FROM DALTON TO KEITH! CORKSCREW PESCADO to the floor by Kenny King! Lee has recovered quickly from Castle’s attack…BIG MAN TOPE ATOMICO NAILED! SOMERSAULT PLANCHA BY HANSON! Titus and Castle are still legal…BANG-A-RANG! Dalton wins it at 08:51

Rating - *** - Considering it was nothing but filler, this was really good. The tension between PBK and War Machine was handled perfectly as they continually prioritised fighting each other over the match itself – their exchanges were the fulcrum of the action. Dalton and Colt had fun doing their thing, and ANX excellent in the role of antagonists whilst having other, more talented, individuals to carry the bulk of the work. Every time I see Keith Lee wrestle in an ROH ring it blows my mind that they didn’t nail him down to a contract. If the plan was to have Castle and Cabana win this one, why the hell did the Briscoes go over them in Lockport on the Reloaded Tour? 

Nigel McGuinness joins the commentary table – which is on a high stage this evening solely to protect the announcers given how crazy things get at ringside. He discusses his regret at ‘having’ to book Ladder War 6 to settle the issues between those six men.

Recently on ROH television we saw Kamaitachi defeat CMLL’s Stuka Jr. That match was well received, and Ring Of Honor officials promised the fans that it wouldn’t be the last talent exchange between this company and CMLL. Matt Taven’s return from injury kick-started when he toured the Mexican promotion…and tonight CMLL send Dragon Lee across the border for his ROH debut. His opponent is no stranger to him. They have contested some heated battles, both in Mexico and Japan, and now bring their storied rivalry to the United States.

Kamai refuses to shake hands, and they go right into an explosive near-miss flurry which demonstrates that they are so evenly matched they can barely lay a finger on each other. TOPE SUICIDA by Lee! SUNSET FLIP BOMB TO THE FLOOR BY TACHI! ROLLED INTO A POWERBOMB ON THE FLOOR! And when Dragon scrapes his battered body off the ground after that Kamaitachi coils and unleashes a flying dropkick off the apron as well…then tosses him into the crowd! RUNNING DROPKICK OVER THE GUARDRAILS! Despite all that brutal offence Kamai can’t put Lee away, and when they return to the ring the masked luchador explodes back at him with a flurry of kicks. SOMERSAULT PLANCHA NAILED! Next he tree of woe’s Tachi around the ringpost, and hits a FLYING DOUBLE STOMP TO THE FLOOR! Desnucadora gets 2 for Lee. He tries a tree of woe double stomp back into the ring as well, only for Kamaitachi to evade it before giving him a belly to belly into the turnbuckles. Tachi climbs the ropes…SUPER SENTON OF TOTAL DEATH TO THE FLOOR! That move is utterly crazy and a slow motion replay shows Kamaitachi’s head smack into the floor upon landing there. They crawl back into the ring almost egging each other on to keep doing crazy sh*t. Each goes for frantic pinning combos, until Lee hits the DRAGON DRIVER for 2. Next they head to the top, which Kamai uses as a set up for the inverted sunset flip bomb and gets another 2-count. German by Dragon…no sold…NECK DROP GERMAN by Kamai! NO SOLD TOO! SPANISH FLY by Lee for 2. Kamaitachi starts flinging his masked adversary into another flurry of German suplexes but can’t find a way to put the debutant down. Lee puts a stop to that by going for a Fujiwara Armbar – which is a pretty sensible tactic given how often he has been thrown on his head tonight. RUNNING RANA OVER THE TOP TO THE FLOOR! Kamaitachi is wounded, allowing Lee to give him rolling northern lights suplexes, into a brainbuster. POP-UP CANADIAN DESTROYER BY KAMAITACHI! FOR 2! Tree of woe double stomp by Dragon…but when he goes for a powerbomb Tachi counters to the DESTROYER AGAIN! STILL 2! RUNNING DVD TO THE BUCKLES! TIME BOMB BLOCKED! PHOENIX SUPLEX DROPS TACHI ON HIS F*CKING HEAD! LEE WINS! 16:06 is your time…

Rating - **** - This was utter insanity, which if you’ve seen some of their previous encounters shouldn’t surprise you. Having said that, it was a genuinely pleasant surprise that Ring Of Honor gave them the platform to bring this rivalry to the US…but also allowed them to get their crazy sh*t in and therefore give a realistic representation of what made that rivalry great in other territories. It was the kind of wrestling which makes Jim Cornette cry on his podcast – two smaller guys flipping around and trying to destroy each other…and whilst I appreciate the sentiment behind what he is saying, this is 2016 and there is absolutely a place in the pro-wrestling pantheon for ultra-exciting, unbelievable displays of athleticism (and choreography) such as this. I didn’t think the pacing was great (they went SO hard from the opening bell that there was a real lull in the second half), and some of it was dangerously sloppy…but ultimately it was exactly the match ROH fans hoped to see when this was announced. Kamaitachi’s whole ROH excursion has been super under-rated. Whenever they’ve given him a feature-length match he has absolutely crushed it…and with just over a month until he returns to Japan this was a fitting bout to mark the beginning of the end of his run.

The first hour of this show has been killer, so I hate to be a downer…but this match feels like terrible booking. Not only is their style potentially going to bomb after Kamaitachi and Dragon Lee just dived and threw their bodies all around the arena, but putting these two men together is painfully dumb. At the last PPV we saw Hangman get the biggest win of his career by defeating Jay Briscoe. Since then he has been in Japan for all but TV tapings, and already it feels like the momentum he gained from beating Jay has dissipated. At the same event O’Reilly made his return from the arm injury inflicted by the Bullet Club to ruin Adam Cole’s World Title celebrations. In short, both guys are ‘hot’ and need to win, and therefore whoever loses here is going to be seriously damaged. The story behind this is that Cole has enlisted the Hangman to take O’Reilly out of commission so he doesn’t even get to challenge for the ROH World Title any time soon…

No clean breaks are offered here – the two men hate each other and waste no time throwing strikes. Page clings to the ropes to stop Kyle locking in Arm-ageddon early, but O’Reilly pulls him back in and starts picking apart the arm and shoulder anyway. Hangman retreats and hits a hanging neckbreaker into the apron! That clearly hurts Kyle and Page is all over his neck after that. He gives him a powerslam into the turnbuckles that leaves him visibly clutching his head and neck. O’Reilly kicks at Page’s arm and possesses sufficient strike power that he easily takes Hangman off his feet. Once again they go to the apron…where Page pulls out Kyle’s mouthguard then floors him with an elbow. SHOOTING STAR TORPEDO OFF THE APRON! That scored but leaves Page with a damaged leg. It means he can’t hit the Buckshot Lariat and enables Kyle to dragon screw him in the ropes. Buckshot Lariat nailed second time around…and Page can’t get up afterwards. Kyle knees him in the jaw but sees Axe & Smash blocked. Arm-ageddon instead – with the bad knee cradled as well! Page has no choice but to tap at 09:58

Rating - *** - I don’t want to be a complete downer because it isn’t the fault of either one of these men that they were put into this situation. I actually thought the match was very decent. It wasn’t alarmingly exciting but was easy to watch, technically very proficient, full of great strike exchanges and told a cohesive narrative throughout. In no way is it a ‘bad match’. But, as I said in my introductory paragraph, you always knew this was going to tank in front of the live crowd. Going on after Kamaitachi/Dragon blew up the crowd really hurt them, and I truly can’t understand who the hell decided that those two matches shouldn’t have been flipped around. Secondly, whilst O’Reilly leaves with an impressive victory as he is built up for a title match, once again Adam Page is left to ponder how ROH have absolutely squandered all the momentum he has generated from a big match performance like the one he had against Briscoe in Vegas. It’s back to the drawing board once again for Hangman, who continues to bang his head against the midcard ceiling it seems…

Page doesn’t take defeat well and he attacks the arm injury that Kyle has just returned from. He wraps the arm in a steel chair and smashes it against the ringpost! O’Reilly is potentially seriously injured once again, but thankfully Bobby Fish comes to his aid before further damage can be done. 

Kevin Kelly interviews World Title #1 contender Silas Young (once again bumped to the pre-show because New Japan talent have taken all the good spots on pay-per-view)…and starts by talking about the Six-Man Titles because Kevin Kelly is horrible at his job. Silas brings it back to the World Title, reminds fans that he won the Honor Rumble and doesn’t care whether he faces Adam Cole or Michael Elgin in Florida for the belt.

This is the first match in the tournament to crown the inaugural ROH Six-Man Tag Champions. The trio we’d initially expected to see compete was White, ACH and Lio Rush – a group of men who all have mutual respect for each other having shared some extremely hard-fought matches. But Alex Shelley, a friend to them all, suggested Lio would be better suited going to tour Europe and hone his craft there…so made a call and brought in his Time Splitter friend Kushida to replace Lio. Their opponents are dangerous ones. Of course we know the Briscoes are a legendary team in ROH and would love to add Six-Man gold to their lengthy resume. But their trio with Yano has a track record of tournament success – as they won a similar tournament in NJPW to become the first ever NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champions. 

Mark and ‘Super’ ACH start at breakneck speed with an enormous amount of armdrags. Kushida tags in with Yano – who of course wants rope breaks and time-outs rather than to compete. At the first sign of Kushida offence Toru instantly tags out to Jay Briscoe. Without hesitation White tags in to meet him so they can reprise their excellent time limit draw from television. Yano watches with a big smile on his face as the Briscoes put the boots to all three opponents. ELBOW SUICIDA TO THE RAILINGS by Jay Briscoe to wipe out White and ACH. With bodies scattered Yano busies himself cutting the turnbuckle pads off as he is so prone to do. He waffles White with the pad and follows it with a hard whip into the exposed metal bolt. The New Zealander isn’t a fool though – and he quickly counters with a whip to the buckles of his own. Kushida has fun putting the boots to his countryman, getting him to the ground to apply a cross armbreaker. Yano makes the ropes (with more than a hint of a submission on the way)…only for Kushida to dropkick his outstretched arm as he reaches for a tag. Next Kushida brawls with the Briscoes, wiping them both out with the Tajiri-style handspring elbow. AIR JORDAN BY ACH, who drags Mark back inside for a running lariat immediately afterwards. He holds the younger Briscoe open for White’s perfect missile dropkick which gets 2. Jay Briscoe rescues his brother and feeds White into the Mark Briscoe urinage. Day One Neckbreaker nailed for 2. Kushida prevents him hitting the Jay Driller…so Jay hits the DVD instead. Froggy Bow from Mark…only for White to kick out. Yano wants a piece of the action – catapulting White into double superkicks from the Briscoes. White back drops Mark over the ringpost! Kushida saves Jay from a Yano low blow! Urinage by White! SOMERSAULT PLANCHA OFF THE TOP BY KUSHIDA! MIDNIGHT STAR! ACH beats Yano to advance his team at 14:10

Rating - *** - There was absolutely nothing wrong with this, although it didn’t necessarily hit the heights you might have hoped. Weirdly it felt like a collection of individually enjoyable moments and exchanges, rather than holding together as a really good match on the whole. Anything involving Jay Briscoe and Jay White, spinning off their recent time limit draw, was extremely good. ACH and Kushida weren’t given a lot to do, but were explosive and exciting when they were involved. The Briscoes and Yano have such an odd chemistry as partners; the toughness of the brothers combined with the bizarre, cowardly weirdness of the New Japan representative is so strange to watch…but it works. Yano using his turnbuckle antics as a set-up for the Briscoes to rough up White really made sense…and it was genuinely funny watching him mug about with bolt cutters whilst the other five guys were diving all over the place. This was billed as an upset, and ACH’s victory truly did feel like that…although as ACH quits ROH very shortly don’t expect to see loads more of him.

Jay Lethal gets some promo time to accuse Naito of kicking him when he is down…

At New Japan’s Honor Rising events an alliance was formed between the House Of Truth and Los Ingobernables de Japon; an alliance Jay Lethal hoped to leverage in his quest to even the score with Bullet Club and take back his World Title. Naito and EVIL appeared to agree to team with him in Las Vegas to oppose Bullet Club…but betrayed him and walked out because they are villainous bastards. Lethal was enraged and challenged Naito to this match, knowing full well that a win over a high profile star like him would force Nigel’s hand and book his championship rematch. For his part, Naito comes in full of confidence having defeated Michael Elgin in the main event of NJPW’s Destruction In Kobe 2016 event to win the IWGP Intercontinental Title.

Naito beats up Bobby Cruise to stop him announcing Lethal’s arrival – something he is prone to doing in Japan as well. Jay sprints to the ring to help out, before he too gets attacked by Naito and sent packing to the floor. Back inside the ring the Lethal Combination scores, and the two stand toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring swinging elbows at each other. Rolling back suplexes from Lethal, leaving the Intercontinental Champ in position for Hail To The King. Too early for the Lethal Injection though, and Naito is able to counter with the sliding dropkick. It’s his turn to head upstairs – hitting a frankensteiner for a 2-count. Gloria gets another nearfall…before Lethal COUNTERS Destino into an Ace Crusher. Capo kick from Naito to block another Lethal Injection which leaves both men flat on the mat. Lethal swings a kick at Evil watching from ringside (for absolutely no reason, the guy was just standing there!)…and almost loses the match as a result of taking his eyes off of Naito. It also provokes into actually getting involved; he pulls the referee out of the ring as Jay tries to tap the LIJ leader with a Crossface then marches into the ring to stomp Lethal into the mat. Superkick on Evil! Rebound Cutter on Naito…gets 2! Lethal Injection nailed, giving Jay a massive victory at 13:04

Rating - ** - When two main event talents of this calibre have the worst match of the night then something has gone very, very wrong. In truth, Naito is always hit or miss on his guest appearances. He was decent during the Global Wars/War Of The Worlds Tour earlier in 2016, but he has form for leaving his working boots in Japan and coasting along through his US dates by playing the hits and charming the audience. That was absolutely the case here – he almost seemed to be working like someone had made a bet with him to do as little as humanly possible. Except it wasn’t really working with the fans, who mostly sat in silence too, making this whole affair seem even more awkward. Having said all that, putting Lethal over here is significant. Naito is a major commodity for New Japan and just won their secondary singles championship. The New Japan office allowing the ROH talent to go over him is uncharacteristically generous given the history of the NJPW/ROH ‘special relationship’.

Kelly, Corino and Nigel sort of ruin the moment by acting like Lethal – acknowledged as a top star in ROH, dominant champion and veteran of the company going back to 2002 – beating Naito, himself only the secondary champion in New Japan, is a cataclysmic shock. In kayfabe terms this really shouldn’t be as big a deal as they make it out to be. 

I love that ROH have managed to book this match before Elgin vanishes from the scene entirely. This actually turned out to be his last weekend with the company, and this match is fitting for him on his way out. These two rose to prominence in ROH at similar times – in the latter stages of the HDNet Era – before achieving incredible success once Sinclair took over. Cole beat Elgin at Death Before Dishonor 11 in the finals of the tournament to crown a new ROH Champion following Jay Briscoe’s injury-forced abdication of the belt. They shared a hell of a battle and Unbreakable remained in hot pursuit of the gold. Cole looked poised for greatness and a Joe/Nigel/Danielson-style lengthy run with the belt in 2014, and celebrated by shaving his old rival Michael Elgin’s head during the build-up to Best In The World 2014. But on that night, with the two selected to main event the first never live, national pay-per-view presentation from Sinclair-owned ROH, Unbreakable beat Cole – taking his title and leaving him in a championship-free wilderness that would take him two years to come back from. Now restored as Ring Of Honor World Champion, Michael Elgin is arguably the one man Cole knows he needs to beat in order to solidify his claim as one of the greatest ever to hold the title. But the defending champion isn’t the only man looking to right the wrongs of the past this evening. Two years ago, at All Star Extravaganza 6, was when Elgin’s ill-fated and controversial reign as World Champion came to an end in Toronto, Canada at the hands of Jay Briscoe. Dogged by rumours that he ‘cracked under pressure’, hounded by Ring Of Honor fans, and head-turned by his ‘dream’ of working for NJPW, many feel Michael Elgin’s title run ended in disappointment…and maybe even disgrace. Two years later, it would mean a great deal to him to rectify one of the lowest moments of his career…

Elgin knows that his strength is the key to bringing the belt back to him this evening and demonstrates it by muscling the champ around. Cole knows it too so quickly acts to kick his legs from under him. Elgin is hurt but unflustered and muscles Cole into a swinging front slam for a close 2-count. He wants to finish it early, and NAILS the spinning back first! Buckle Bomb countered with the DVD over the knee from the champ to leave both men on the mat. Big Mike is up first…only for Cole to superkick the knee when he attempts the dead-lift superplex. Kelly and Corino reveal that Naito and LIJ have injured his knee in Japan and now the champion is looking to benefit from it. They also point out that Cole was on the same tour for NJPW so knows all about the injury. Rolling Germans by Elgin…and despite landing three of them he sits on the ground next to his opponent clutching his knee. He almost trips trying to run the ropes and basically stands on one leg whilst delivering a falcon arrow for 2. Another superkick rocks the knee, causing Elgin to hobble into the NXT Last Shot. TURNBUCKLE GERMAN BY ELGIN! Cole’s head and neck basically pinged off all three turnbuckles on the way down! Big Mike goes for broke, shaking his leg from under him as he climbs the ropes. In an instant Cole is on him – putting him into the tree of woe for an unprotected third superkick to the knee. Figure 4 Leglock applied, although Unbreakable has enough power and size to quickly make the bottom rope. Somehow he blocks the Panama Sunrise…and defies the pain his leg to hit a CANADIAN DESTROYER – FOR 2! LIMPING BUCKLE BOMB! Elgin Bomb COUNTERED TO A REVERSE RANA! PANAMA SUNRISE! Now Elgin gets a turn to kick out on the cusp of defeat. Repeated superkicks by Cole, no sold so Big Mike can score with a lariat. Elgin Bomb blocked…INTO THE LAST SHOT FOR 2! Back to the Figure 4, and this time Elgin has a far harder job finding a rope-break. In the end he breaks the hold by repeatedly SLAPPING Adam in the face. Superkick to the knee once again…followed by a Shining Wizard. BARE KNEE WIZARD to the neck. LAST SHOT! Cole retains the title at 14:11

Rating - **** - I haven’t seen many complimentary things about this match so didn’t quite know what to expect. I loved their Death Before Dishonor 11 match, and had it as one of my favourites from ROH in all of 2013…but I thought their Best In The World 2014 bout (which many had as an MOTYC) was considerably over-rated. I actually thought this one was on a similar level to their 2014 match, with a shorter run-time allowing for a more purposeful, punchy and dramatic match as opposed to the rather overblown, clichéd, big match syndrome encounter they delivered on that fateful night in Nashville. The pace here was fantastic and within seconds of the match starting you knew exactly the match you were going to see. Elgin, just as he has done with Cole in the past, wanting to overpower him. And Cole, just as in the past, had a strategy to overcome him. He targeted a known injury that he has seen others exploit in Elgin’s current home base of Japan, he weakened the challenger considerably as a result…then when he couldn’t stand any longer it left the champ free to hit his finishing moves. A simple story for sure, but I thought they did a terrific job. Compare the bite, aggression and energy these guys had to the mind-numbing lethargy of Lethal/Naito. 

A chilling pre-match video shows new fans why this is only the sixth Ladder War in ROH history. In highlight form some of the devastation we’ve seen in the previous five looked absolutely shocking. Former ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky was reportedly so terrified for the safety of his performers after Ladder War 1 (Briscoes vs Steen and Generico) that he swore he’d never book another one – a promise he kept as it wasn’t until two years later, following his departure from the company, that Ladder War II (American Wolves vs Steen and Generico) was booked. Armed with that knowledge, having Match Maker Nigel McGuinness (a vocal advocate for stronger regulations around wrestler safety, concussion protocols, blood testing and so on) book this is a powerful statement. These three teams have been at each other all year. They have traded wins, we’ve seen mysterious masked strangers, they’ve fought both for tag gold and without it. Frankie Kazarian calls this a battle between three of the most iconic, innovative and trend-setting teams of the current generation. Who will leave Ladder War 6 as Tag Team Champions? Or is the more pertinent question – ‘who will survive Ladder War 6?’

I’ve rarely seen the Young Bucks look more pumped for an ROH match than this, but it’s the defending champions who introduce weapons first; cracking all four of their opponents across the backs with steel chairs. Con-Chair-To COUNTERED with Superkicks to the chairs by the Bucks! The Addiction legit almost wipe out an entire row by throwing a ladder at the ducking Nick…and get taken out themselves by Sabin, hitting a springboard plancha to the floor. Nick follows suit with a somersault plancha. Not wanting to get involved with dives, Shelley cunningly manipulates a situation where he can stomp a ladder into both Bucks’ hands. They recover, capturing Daniels head between Matt’s legs so Nick can f*cking HAMMER him with an unprotected ladder shot. Frankie is going it alone right now and SPRINTS up a ladder towards the belts! Nick leapfrogs his brother up after him, and MCMG eventually smack them both down with chairs. Daniels is back – and covered in blood after that ladder shot! Shelley has no mercy and drop toeholds him into ladder as well. SWINGING NECKBREAKER on a ladder by Sabin! That on a man who once broke his neck in a wrestling match! The Jacksons SUPERKICK A LADDER into The Addiction’s heads! Even Corino and Kelly seem genuinely concerned about Daniels. Matt isn’t, he gives the General a LADDER BOMB! SWANTON BOMB THROUGH THE LADDER BY NICK! Daniels…is…dead! Rather than climb the ladder the Bucks, (who went on record in the build-up through social media channels that they were excited about showing ROH fans how crazy they get in these types of matches) go outside the ring and make a sick structure out of guardrail panels. Kaz climbs a ladder literally just to get away from him, and Nick simply SPRINGBOARDS onto it to join him. Some of the athleticism amongst the trainwreck stuff here is amazing. TKO OFF THE TOP OF A LADDER BY KAZARIAN! SHELLEY TOSSES HIM OFF THE APRON THROUGH A TABLE! SABIN BACK DROPS MATT FROM THE RING THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR! STO OFF THE APRON THROUGH A TABLE FROM DANIELS TO SABIN! Nick is climbing! 450 SPLASH PUTTING KAZ THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR! HOLY SH*T THIS IS INSANE! Daniels is a f*cking mess, Kazarian is bleeding from the back of the head…there are bodies everywhere. Daniels, Sabin and Matt each set up a ladder and make a dash for the belts. Shelley and Frankie soon join them, along with Nick who once again effortlessly springboards across the ring and latches onto a ladder like Spiderman. 

We have a six-way slug-out with the belts within their grasp! Gradually bodies crash to the ground until Nick is the last man up there! THE ADDICTION AND THE GUNS PICK UP THE LADDER! AND THROW HIM OFF IT THROUGH A TABLE IN THE AISLE! The replay on that (and Nick’s face as he braces for impact) is horrific to watch. SHELLSHOCK ON A LADDER from Shelley to Kazarian as the carnage continues. MCMG sandwich Daniels in a ladder then stack him in the corner, before suplexing Frankie right into it. Christopher Daniels is bleeding as badly as anyone has in ROH for years. Sabin and Shelley look set to win until the Jacksons make an unlikely return with SUPERKICKS! Matt climbs, Kaz springboards to stop him…SO MATT SUPERKICKS HIM OUT OF THE SKY WHILST CLIMBING! SUPERKICKS FOR EVERYBODY! EARLY ONSET ALZHEIMER’S SENDS DANIELS THROUGH THE GUARDRAIL STACK ON THE FLOOR! Alex tries to hit a Sliced Bread #2 on the floor, but Matt tries to counter it into a Tombstone. Meanwhile inside the ring Kaz shoves Nick off a ladder…SO HE SPRINGBOARDS OFF THE TOP INTO THE F*CKING INDYTAKER TO THE FLOOR! STOP THE F*CKING MADNESS! Even the Young Bucks can’t believe they hit that! The Young Bucks, bodies covered in blood and bruises, climb for the belts. They grab them…ONLY FOR KAMAITACHI TO SHOVE THEM TO THE FLOOR! The Addiction are going to cheat and scam their way to victory again. ANGEL’S WINGS ON A LADDER takes out Sabin. Jay White is out to help his friends, the Machine Guns. HE SHOVES KAMAITACHI THROUGH A TABLE! KAZARIAN SLINGSHOT CUTTERS WHITE THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR! BLOODIEST MOONSAULT EVER on Matt! The fans are actually chanting for Daniels now, such is the scope of his performance here. Addiction set Matt on a table adjacent to a ladder inside the ring…as on the other side Nick uses another ladder as a bridge and steps across to join them. He shoves the belts out of Daniels’ grasp AND BACK BODY DROPS HIM OFF IT, THROUGH THE F*CKING BRIDGED LADDER! Kaz and Matt are still fighting on the top rope perilously over a table. Matt grabs him! NICK HAS THE BELTS IN HIS HAND! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? INDYTAKER OFF THE LADDER THROUGH A F*CKING TABLE! The Young Bucks climb again…THE YOUNG BUCKS WIN! The madness ends at 23:45!

Rating - ***** - For me this usurps even Briscoes/Steen-erico as the greatest Ladder War in Ring Of Honor history. It wasn’t just that it was crazy, or that it was bloody, or that it was downright incredible, it’s that it was also near flawless in it’s execution (aside from a wobbly table and a comical moment where Matt panicked and couldn’t get the belts off the hook). We had six guys (eight if you include Kamaitachi and White) doing f*cking insane things to each other, totally wrecking their bodies, and with incredible precision. There were so many wow moments in this I don’t even know how to recap. The ladder tip, into a springboard Indytaker to the floor was mind-blowing. Four guys picking up a ladder with someone at the top and propelling him miles into the air through a table down the aisle was sadistic (Nick was basically bruised all the way up his side after that). How about the rapid-fire lunatic table smash sequence in the middle?! And amidst the carnage and mayhem, the story-telling aspect of this match was masterful too. The Young Bucks are renowned show-offs, love to pop a crowd and publicly stated that they wanted to show ROH fans how crazy they are in Ladder Matches. So it made perfect sense that they were instigating much of the insanity, and at the end even CHOSE one more brutal highspot even at the risk of not winning at all. The Machine Guns are less flashy, but with Shelley on board as technically savvy as anyone else, so held the match together. The Addiction wanted to escape, the Bucks wanted to show off…the Guns wanted to WIN. Everything they did was geared around minimum effort, minimum set-up and maximum damage – which I thought was extremely effective. And then we get to Daniels and Kazarian, for whom this was a career-defining performance in my eyes (even in careers as long as theirs). All year they’ve cheated, schemed, got lucky breaks and generally been complete assholes to all who came across them. This was the moment they paid the piper. Beaten, covered in blood and broken – this was the wrestling equivalent of being flogged, dragged through the streets and having their Tag Title reign publicly executed. This was the pay-off, and cathartic moment which makes a year of sh*tty booking and ruined matches somehow acceptable. Even outside interference (in the form of Kamaitachi and Jay White) made PERFECT sense given all that has led us to this. All six men deserve our respect and gratitude for this. Christopher Daniels said on television that there weren’t any lengths he wouldn’t stoop to in order to retain those belts. Even in losing he backed up his words. For a near-fifty year old man, with a previously broken neck, this blood-soaked and courageous performance was as good as anything I’ve seen in thirty plus years as a wrestling fan. If you need to know how good it was – a crowd full of f*cking Young Bucks fans chant ‘thank you Daniels’ OVER Matt and Nick’s celebrations.

Tape Rating - **** - I’ve just written heaps about the main event. It’s an all-time great ROH match pulling together a year’s worth of angles into a twenty minute assault on the senses which needs to be seen to be believed and, by this point (writing this in April 2019) most people have seen it. What people don’t talk about as much is that this is a really decent pay-per-view. It isn’t flawless, was paced strangely and the Kamaitachi/Dragon Lee match murdered the crowd for much of the second half…but this was a really strong show. The first hour was HOT, with the terrific Fish vs Dijak opener, a lively multi-team sprint followed by the wild, aforementioned Kamai/Dragon encounter. The next hour was a little slower; O’Reilly/Page was all-round awful booking (albeit a decent match), the trios tag was fine but forgettable whilst Lethal/Naito really wasn’t great and wound up being worst match of the night (which is almost inexcusable given the talent those two gentlemen possess). But the last hour came back strong, coupling the legendary Ladder War 6 main event with a super-overlooked Cole/Elgin title match which I liked. If, for some reason, you follow ROH but haven’t seen this show – you definitely need to.

3) Adam Cole vs Michael Elgin (****)

2) Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi (****)

1) The Addiction vs Motor City Machine Guns vs Young Bucks (*****)