McXal's Reviews

This weekend marks the first time Ring Of Honor has run full, live, authentic shows of their own in the United Kingdom for almost a decade. They have lent their name out for various cross-promotional events, most notably for Preston City Wrestling's 'Supershow Of Honor' weekenders in 2014 and 2015 (and were scheduled to do the same again in 2016, until ROH pulled rank and booked their own events the weekend before, pissing PCW off so much that they scrapped the ROH relationship and replaced the entire weekend with the 'Wrestling World Championships', promoted with CZW and wXw instead)...but this is the first time the full ROH experience has reached these shores since the 5th Year Festival. The marquee match of the weekend is Jay Lethal's ROH World Title rematch versus Adam Cole in London for Night 3, but with Final Battle looming on the horizon, the World Champ will get very little time to think about that this evening as he and his Tag Champion stable-mates the Young Bucks team up for a trios match against all the #1 contenders at Final Battle; Kyle O'Reilly forming a one-night only team with the Briscoes as their opposition. ROH also proudly debut their newest contracted signings this weekend - the UK's very own Marty Scurll and Will Ospreay (albeit the latter would spend the majority of his contract working international dates and NJPW). Scurll takes on Dalton Castle, whereas Will has a huge debut showdown with TV Champion Bobby Fish. The undercard also gives us a huge Chris Daniels/Jay White rematch from the Reloaded Tour. We are in Liverpool, UK - back at the historic, beautiful and totally dingy Olympia, home to one of ROH's most famous matches (Bryan/Nigel at Unified in 2006). I was front row for this (as I was for Leicester the following night, although sadly family commitments prevented me from attending London), meaning it's one of those rare occasions when I can compare/contrast the live experience and the DVD/VOD product. Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino have made the trip across the Atlantic to provide ringside commentary.

There are a number of core ROH talents who weren't booked for the UK tour, but I'm delighted Rush was amongst those who made the cut. He absolutely deserves it, although as of writing in 2019 he's become something of a notorious talent for the wrong reasons at times, in 2016 he has been a phenomenal performer for ROH. He is looking to rebound after going to the final two in the Survival Of The Fittest tournament before falling to TV Champion Bobby Fish. Kazarian, like his partner Daniels, remains in the post-Ladder War slump. Both have been more humble and have vowed to work harder than ever to bring success back to The Addiction...

You'll immediately notice how loose the ropes are as they hit them - it's incredibly off-putting. Rush is the quicker of the two and leaves the veteran Kazarian on his ass. He leaves the ring, and the younger man makes a poor decision to give chase. Kaz instantly attacks him on the floor and dishes out strikes against the railings. Lio brings it back into the ring where once again his speed and precision comes into play. It means Frankie has to shut him down - which he does once and for all with a lungblower. He stays on the back and neck with a hiptoss neckbreaker for 2. An electric chair suplex gets a nearfall as well as Rush's neck starts to absorb more and more punishment...culminating in Kaz whipping him into the turnbuckles so hard that Lio actually tumbles through the ropes to the floor. The loose ropes continue to cause problems for both men, but Rush somehow gets the better of a battle on the apron in order to hit the Heat Seeking Missile. Frankie evades Dragon's Call...only for Rush to land on his feet and blast him with a sliding enzi for 2. Kaz hammers Lio's neck again with the Jerry Lynn leg drop, setting up the slingshot Ace Crusher to seemingly put him on the brink of victory. WAVE OF THE FUTURE gets 2! The veteran gets cocky though - slapping and taunting Rush even though the kid is still alive and kicking in the match. DRAGON'S CALL! Rush nabs a win from nowhere at 11:27

Rating - *** - I enjoyed this, it was a fun and energetic way to start the show. Kelly and Corino mentioned it on commentary, but it was a COLD night in Liverpool and the Olympia isn't the warmest venue in such weather. The fans were noticeably aloof during the opening exchanges, but were sucked into the action thanks to the hard work coming from these two performers. The whole thing was exceptionally smart - setting up Rush as faster and more dynamic, but Kazarian able to out-smart him, overpower him then beat the sh*t out of his neck. My one criticism would be that the finish was brutally sudden. There was no set-up or drama...in just seconds it went from Frankie dominating to Lio winning. It was extremely jarring and felt completely flat, somewhat ruining Lio's victorious moment. As has so often been the case during Sinclair's time in charge, this needed more time - feeling like two thirds of a great match with the final act skipped over completely.

Nigel McGuinness is brought out to talk to the live crowd - in the building where a decade ago he put his body through absolute hell in pursuit of the ROH Championship. I can't remember if he was booked for Final Battle weekend, but these UK shows wound up being something of a farewell tour for him as Match Maker before getting his dream move to the WWE. He reminisces on his ROH career, in particular reflecting on his memories working in the Liverpool Olympia. He has some announcements to make too, including confirming that the Fish/Ospreay match will indeed before the TV Title, rather than a Proving Ground Match as originally scheduled. 

Whilst Scurll and Ospreay also debut tonight, they were signed to ROH deals before this event so would technically already be part of the core roster. Hendry is the only 'local' UK talent without a contract working the show tonight (thanks in no small part to a number of other companies - including PCW) running this weekend as well. The 'Local Hero' looks to earn an ROH contract of his own against the dangerous, disgruntled (and directionless) Donovan Dijak tonight...

Dijak has some fun throwing Hendry around dismissively, but the first couple of minutes pass largely without incident. The format is predictable - Dijak tries to be a bully, Joe shows some heart and refuses to be pushed around. The big man absolutely crushes the debutant with a standing corkscrew senton for 2, and stays on the ribs with a ribbreaker, tossing release slam then the Trust Fall splash. It means that Hendry can't get him up for a suplex...and Dijak is then easily able to counter into Time To Fly. He hits it a second time, and even attempts it a third time - looking so dominant that it's genuinely a surprise when Joe counters back into a stalling suplex. Martini Killer by Dijak...but Hendry counters Feast Your Eyes into a DDT. Freak Of Nature nailed by Joe, but it sends Dijak to the floor meaning he can't pin him. If Kelly and Corino had made any effort to do any research or put that over as a potential finish this would've felt far more dramatic. Donovan NAILS a springboard moonsault to decimate the ribs again! Feast Your Eyes wins it for Dijak at 10:59

Rating - ** - Live I wasn't particularly into this match at all, but it did come across much better on DVD. Hendry is a really fun talent (and had enough about him to get a run with Impact Wrestling), but my personal opinion him is that he is a better character than he is a worker - i.e. you need to buy into the character in order to buy into his matches. This environment, therefore, didn't overly suit him. He came off looking quite cookie cutter and generic, which is a shame. Dijak was pretty fun to watch though - the way he attacked the midsection was the highlight of the match for me.

This is a rematch from the Reloaded Tour 2016 event in Pittsburgh, where (in a hell of a bout) Daniels did incredible damage to Jay White's neck but still couldn't find a way to beat him, meaning White would earn the second victory over Daniels in his brief ROH career. Tonight Daniels wants to even the score; convinced he has what it takes to end White's impressive undefeated streak in ROH...

Daniels is circumspect and calculating - looking to make his experience count but also trying to avoid the straightforward wrestling exchanges which White was able to best him at last time in Pittsburgh. Indeed, it's only after a couple of minutes when he does start trying to grapple with Jay that the NJPW Dojo graduate finds his feet and starts returning offence back in the General's direction. There are a couple of neat moments as they trade holds where the camera picks up Daniels flinging a strike or driving an elbow into Jay's neck, which is the same body part he worked last time. He keeps going for headlocks to target that body part as well. White works hard to increase the pace - moving quickly to pepper Daniels with elbows and kicks...but taking one risk too many on the top rope and allowing Daniels to dump him chest-first into the turnbuckles. Immediately realising the chest and ribs may be injured, Daniels heads to the ringpost and channels Bryan Danielson; using his opponent's arms to jerk his injury HARD into the post to do more damage. Now everything Daniels does targets the chest, including a quite brilliant gourdbuster to ribbreaker sequence for 2. With the New Zealander in real trouble the Ring General makes him expend serious amounts of energy in escaping a series of grounded bear hugs. The Arabian Press hammers into the core too - leading to a wonderful comedic moment as the fans call for a BME, only for Daniels to gesture to the sh*tty falling apart ring-ropes as if to say 'no f*cking chance guys'. DDT from White, planting Daniels on his own suspect neck - but simultaneously doing more damage to his own injury. The running suplex scores, followed by the Urinage suplex for 2. PUNCHES TO THE NECK in the corner by White! Daniels staggers backwards into prime position for a flying crossbody...which of course does as much damage to Jay as it does to the Fallen Angel. Muso by Daniels gets 2! Going for broke, Jay charges and scores with an elbow suicida into the guardrails! Missile dropkick nailed, badly hurting his ribs but also delivering a massive blow to Daniels' neck. Angel's Wings blocked into a HALF NELSON SUPLEX! Only for Daniels to then counter the Kiwi Crusher into a small package. Flash pin by White...HE WINS! White gets yet another victory over the Ring General at 16:54

Rating - **** - This was an excellent pure wrestling match again from these two. It didn't go as long and possibly wasn't as exciting as Pittsburgh, but for depth and layered quality this may have been even better. Being in the building I had a blast watching this, but having seen the Reloaded Tour encounter it came off as even better. As if we didn't already know, Daniels is an absolute genius at structuring matches like this - and he was at his best here. Everything they did played off their last match from the very second the bell ring and the veteran didn't start trying to lock-up with White because of how Jay managed to out-wrestle him last time. He tried to punk out the neck because that worked last time, except here in Liverpool White was able to quicken the pace and block it. The Ring General has so many ways to beat an opponent though - so he switched to the ribs with great effect. In a brilliant twist, Jay retaliated by going after Daniels' neck, getting payback for Pittsburgh and attacking a problem area that has blighted Daniels' entire, lengthy career. Having wrestled to a stalemate, once again it was White's will to win (and Daniels Ladder War funk) which proved the difference-maker as he grabbed a quick flash pinning combination and snatched victory. This was absolutely outstanding, White has so much potential...but the real story here is that Daniels is still an utterly fantastic professional wrestler.

Daniels takes the microphone and, just as he did to his opponents during Survival Of The Fittest weekend, he pays respect to his opponent as the better man. He leaves with a request for another rematch (and yells at the ring crew to fix the f*cking ring...)

Alex Shelley is booked this weekend, albeit not scheduled for a match on this show. I presume there was a reason for that (because I'd rather see Lethal/Shelley than Lethal/Sabin in honesty). Jay Lethal is gearing up for London when he gets his ROH World Title rematch and looks to sabotage the Final Battle main event by taking the belt back from Adam Cole. Momentum is critical - and he'll be looking to build up all he can with a victory over a name talent like Chris Sabin. Steve Corino has already mentioned it a couple of times on commentary - but spots on the Final Battle card are at a premium. The losers of Ladder War 6 (The Addiction and the Machine Guns) are on the outside looking in, knowing they need big wins if they are even to get a match at the big year-end PPV...

Lethal gets a rock star ovation for his entrance; the UK crowd absolutely loves him. However, just like his recent singles match with Cabana, the story in the opening exchanges is how nimble and capable Sabin is whilst trading holds with an adversary. He hasn't watched his Lethal tapes though, because he sits on his ass on the mat and watches as Jay lands the hiptoss dropkick spot he's done in every match for the last decade. It's Sabin's speed that is his biggest asset - punting Jay out of the ring and launching his body off the apron at the former World Champion in a cannonball. It appears to agitate a back injury on Lethal, and Sabin is savvy and experienced enough to capitalise - first with basic strikes to the spine, then with a more elaborate octopus stretch. The slack ropes and compact ringside area aren't enough to stop Lethal stringing together a springboard dropkick and a tope suicida...but it's telling that he makes no attempt to complete the Tope Trilogy just 48 hours away from his ROH Title shot. Back inside the ring the two athletes start BATTERING each other with simultaneous clotheslines - each delivered so forcefully that eventually they both just collapse to the ground in utter exhaustion. Chris lands a Yakuza Kick in the corner (complete with knowing El Generico-themed chants from the fans), setting the former champ up for a missile dropkick planted into the midsection. RUNNING LARIAT by Sabin for 2! Cradle Shock COUNTERED to the Lethal Combination. But then Sabin blocks the Lethal Injection with a boot to the face. Superkick by Jay, laying Sabin out for Hail To The King, but once again Sabin counters into a crucifix pin for 2! Tornado DDT gets another nearfall! REBOUND INJECTION by Jay! LETHAL INJECTION NAILED! Jay wins at 13:59

Rating - *** - This is the second time recently that a Chris Sabin singles match has really surprised me. I don't say that to bash Sabin particularly, but I have said that I think his back-catalogue of injury problems have taken their toll and he isn't the performer he once was. However throughout the final third of this year it has really felt like he is finding his groove once again. He moves with speed, the precision and attack with which he hits his moveset has improved massively (some of his sh*t looked BRUTAL in this one) and he looks completely at home on the mat locking horns and trading holds with some of the very best. Lethal came out smiling, playing with the crowd and treating this very much like an inconsequential warm-up match for London. The story here was Sabin turning that perception on his head; first by holding his own with the over-confident Lethal, then by taking the fight to him on the floor and almost inflicting a significant injury. Lethal spent the rest of the match on the defensive, and wound up needing back-to-back high impact Lethal Injection variants to take the win. 

INTERMISSION - Nigel McGuinness joins commentary for the second half of the show.

The Villain finally makes a long-overdue arrival into ROH. If you've ever talked wrestling with me you'll know that I've championed Marty for a LONG time. When Zack Sabre Jr. really started breaking out a few years ago I thought it would be inevitable that his long-time partner/rival would quickly follow suit, but it took a little longer than I'd expected. But when he left the days of 'Party Marty' behind to become 'The Villain', something really clicked into place. Unlike Ospreay (who's ROH deal is an off-shoot of his NJPW deal), Scurll is now a full-time member of the roster and he immediately brings some serious quality to a roster which has recently lost the likes of Roddy Strong, ACH, Elgin (and is soon to lose quite a few more). Debuting in his home country, he has a tough opponent. For as good as Marty is, Castle is every bit as capable - a dangerous, powerful and unpredictable grappling machine. Dalton is also working with a purpose too, as he prepares for a grudge match showdown with his former Tag Partner Colt Cabana at Final Battle.

Marty doesn't follow the Code Of Honor obviously - he's a Villain. And if you missed that, he then pulls the hair and mugs off the fans as they chant for Dalton. Things get interesting when they start working the mat - Castle is an accomplished (and stronger) grappler, but Scurll has spent his whole life on the UK circuit so knows innumerable counters and escapes. But Castle's showmanship gets under Marty's skin, meaning he loses control and is dumped into a Karelin lift suplex. The Villain quickly breaks more rules to shut it down - brawling with Dalton on the floor and raking his eyes whilst out there. With Castle's momentum quashed it means that Scurll can start attacking the arm. Soon the left arm starts to hang limp by Castle's side, but it doesn't stop him throwing strikes and isn't preventative to delivering a capture overhead belly to belly throw. He can't dead-lift Marty off the canvas as he did earlier, but switches grip to his good arm and hits a BACK DROP DRIVER. Bang-A-Rang blocked, but so is the Chickenwing. Castle starts throwing knees...until Marty caves in the side of his head. Tiger-feint rana on the floor! DIVING KNEE OFF THE APRON! Back inside the ring Scurll retaliates with an inverted Samoan drop for 2. Just Kidding kick to the knee lands, but Marty can't stop playing to the crowd and is almost pinned as a result. Castle rolls out of the Chickenwing...Marty blocks the Everest German...and then Dalton backs into the ropes to evade the finger-break spot Scurll loves. DEAD-LIFT EVEREST GERMAN FROM THE APRON INTO THE RING! FINGER BREAK BY MARTY! He then hits a body slam, intentionally letting Castle's legs get caught in the ropes so his shoulders take the impact. Marty grabs the ref to block Bang-A-Rang then F*CKING DESTROYS Castle with his umbrella as the ref scrambles to recover. CHICKENWING LOCKED IN! CASTLE IS OUT! The ref stops it, giving Scurll a huge debut win at 15:28

Rating - *** - As a crash course in exactly what Marty Scurll will bring to ROH this was really enjoyable. I didn't actually think this was Marty's best in-ring performance by any means. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but both live in the building and watching back on DVD there were points were it really seemed like he was quite nervous. But, the crucial thing was that he got his sh*t in and put over all the beats of his 'Villain' character. Dalton was a great choice of opponent, firstly because they meshed so well together when it came to pure wrestling exchanges, but secondly because he was one of the few guys who would get equal (if not more) crowd support than the hot UK star making his ROH debut in his home country. The atmosphere for this match probably as hot as it has been for anything on the show so far and it really helped. I considered going higher on my rating for this, so would definitely but it at a ***1/2 level if half stars are your thing.

The second new British signee to Ring Of Honor makes his debut now; an international star who has already received widespread acclaim for his work in Japan and various indies around the world, Will Ospreay. Indeed, the Aerial Assassin's reputation was such that he was granted a Proving Ground Match against TV Champion Bobby Fish for his debut. But that wasn't enough, having reportedly got into a war of words with Fish on Twitter, Ospreay managed to talk his way into a title shot on his first night in the company. Bobby has been a commanding TV Champion since choking Tomohiro Ishii out at Global Wars. He has beaten all manner of opponents, from all over the world, with multiple different methods of scoring a victory. Will he repeat that again here in Liverpool, or will he regret letting Will talk his way into the belt being put on the line?

Fish has been around a long time, and it's no surprise that he wants a grounded match and is trying to apply a cross armbreaker as early as the first minute. But Will is a special athlete, and he demonstrates that with some ludicrously athletic and exciting counters - actually driving Fish out of the ring when he'd been on offence just seconds earlier. Bobby's brash and confident persona is as much part of his act as his wrestling skill, and his pride is hurt by Will's skill and confidence. The vocal British fans loudly chant in support of Fish - meaning we have a strange break in the action for chants, dances and physical posturing...which actually makes perfect sense given the characters of the respective individuals and doesn't feel as frivolous as you may suspect. Also 'Ospreay's on fire, Bobby Fish is terrified' to the tune of Gala's 'Freed From Desire' is an exceptional chant! Will's confidence is visibly unsettling the champ, forcing him into action. He dodges the Cheeky Nando's Kick and goes right after Ospreay's legs...before mounting the challenger and straight-up beating the sh*t out of him with elbows. He hits a slingshot senton across the leg, leaving Ospreay writhing in pain. In just a couple of minutes the smiles, dances and athleticism of the challenger are gone and the champion is in total control. Ospreay CARTWHEELS over an attempted kick to the legs from the apron...then SHOOTING STARS TO THE FLOOR! Fish dodges, causing Will to land on his feet, blowing out his knee again! The incredible exchange ends with Bobby steamrolling his opponent into the guardrails with a spear. If you want an indication of much of an impression Ospreay has made - Bobby retreats to the ring and sits there desperately hoping for a count-out win. A bruised and battered Ospreay barely beats the count! He tries to quicken the pace, limping heavily but still delivering Pip Pip Cheerio then a standing corkscrew SSP senton for 2. HANDSPRING MOONSAULT OVER THE ROPES TO THE FLOOR! And he's still selling the knee too! He is too slow trying to follow up with another top rope move, allowing Fish to catch him on the turnbuckles. A kick to the leg causes him to flip through the air before crumbling to the floor. Falcon Arrow COUNTERED TO A MODIFIED OSCUTTER! Red Star Press! PHOENIX SPLASH BLOCKED by Bobby's knees in his ribs though. Fish leaves him crumpled on the ground again with a dragon screw. Fish tries to finish it with the avalanche Falcon Arrow but it's COUNTERED to the Cheeky Nandos! HANDSPRING PELE KICK COUNTERED TO THE FISH HOOK DELUXE! OSPREAY COUNTERS BACK WITH A BRIDGING PIN! OSPREAY WINS! In a stunning upset, Will Ospreay has become TV Champion in his ROH debut match! 14:51 is your time.

Rating - **** - Making the long, late night drive back from Liverpool after the show this was the match that had me buzzing. Two years later watching back on DVD it was every bit as special as I remembered. This was a spectacular match, and a vastly under-rated hidden gem from ROH's 2016 live event circuit. The script wrote itself and was expertly delivered - Fish works the legs to stop Ospreay flying and diving like a maniac. And that content was predictably superb, but it was the character work and selling which I really liked. So much of Fish's act is based around his big, brash, cocky, loudmouth persona. He acts like a dick, he talks to the fans, he cracks jokes with the commentators. But here he had to face off with someone who was every bit as confident as cocky as he was. Fish would pose and play to the crowd...but would be confronted by Will doing a crazy, flippy, spectacular move then putting it over with a dance, a token moonsault, a wink or a smile. Bobby didn't like it one bit, and the venom he then brought out on offence was a thing to behold. Will's back was covered in welts after that violent Spear on the floor. When he threw strikes at the challenger he made sure they stuck. This was hard-hitting, spectacular and thrilling to watch as it unfolded. A quite brilliant match, a complete show-stealer...and an immediate example just how damn good Ospreay is, hence why ROH could never really pin him down for many dates without other commitments getting in the way...

Here we have a trios tag main event Final Battle preview, with just a few weeks to go until the pay-per-view. On one side of the ring you have the Bullet Club; World Champion Adam Cole and Tag Champions the Young Bucks. On the other you have the #1 contenders, with O'Reilly challenging for the ROH Title at the PPV as the Briscoes face the Tag Champs. Of course, Cole and O'Reilly's history goes back years and years, but don't forget Kyle has also had issues with the Young Bucks - both as a member of reDRagon and previously with Future Shock. The relationship between the Briscoes and the Young Bucks is a curious one. At one point the Briscoes were the biggest name in independent tag team wrestling. They were fearless, innovative, spectacular and set the standards for tag team wrestling outside of the major promotions. But somewhere along the way the Young Bucks took that mantle from them. Now it's the Bucks that are the innovators, the trailblazers, the hot commodities. And they have an extra dynamic whereby the Bucks are acknowledged as the top team in business...except in ROH where they have to defer to the legendary 8-time former Tag Champs, the Day One veterans, the Briscoes. The fact that they don't get the same respect eats them up. They need a definitive PPV win over the Briscoes as much as Jay and Mark want the belts back. Tonight in Liverpool all six men get a chance to do some major point scoring, momentum building and injury inflicting...

O'Reilly starts for his team and therefore it's no surprise that Cole opts out and refuses to get involved from the bell. The pace is quick from the outset with the Briscoes unleashing a few early combo moves to make a point at Matt Jackson's expense. Kyle is still waiting for a chance to get his hands on Cole, but is jumped from behind by the Bucks just when it seems like he is about to get his chance. All six are involved in a brawl around ringside, making for a chaotic scene. Mark heads to the top for a FLYING MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! The fight on the outside has exacerbated O'Reilly's shoulder injury though and he nurses it as he returns t the ring - albeit with the World Champion now in his grasp. He and the Briscoes work Cole over - and it takes some nifty work from Matt and Nick to retrieve their partner from the clutches of their opponents. Kyle tries to fight all three opponents at once only to get unceremoniously booted out of the ring. Rise Of The Terminator blocked...SUPERKICKS ON THE FLOOR INSTEAD! RISE OF THE TERMINATOR BY NICK!  These chaotic multi-man scenes seem to favour Bullet Club, who have more experience operating as a trio of course, but every time they get back inside the ropes the power of the Briscoes or the technical prowess of O'Reilly seem to even the score. Mark attempts a Cactus Elbow, but eats a MID-AIR DOUBLE SUPERKICK! TRIPLE APRON BOMBS by Bullet Club! On commentary Nigel spots the extent of the damage that spot does to O'Reilly's shoulder. He is lying flat out on the floor as inside the ring Bullet Club profit from a 3-on-1 situation with Mark Briscoe. At every turn the Bucks make a point of taunting and aggravating the Briscoe brothers ahead of Final Battle - and eventually those four men fight out to the floor again to leave Cole and the wounded O'Reilly inside the ring trading blows. O'Reilly runs through submission holds at a frantic pace, doing whatever he can to inflict injuries before Final Battle. Cole desperately grabs a rope as his challenger at the PPV attempts to lock in Arm-ageddon. They spend a prolonged period countering every piece of signature offence they have...until Cole gets the upper hand and blasts Kyle with a Shining Wizard. DOUBLE dragon screw from Kyle to the Bucks! Splash Mountain Neckbreaker gets 2 on Matt. Jay follows that with a double Day One Neckbreaker to wipe out both Jacksons simultaneously. Arm-ageddon on Matt...only for Cole and Nick to break the hold! MOONSAULT OFF THE APRON by Nick! He hops back in for the ELEVATED 450 SPLASH on O'Reilly for 2. More Bang For Your Buck blocked with a front choke by Kyle. EARLY ONSET ALZHEIMER'S! DOUBLE SUPERKICK LAST SHOT COMBO ON O'REILLY! JAY MAKES THE SAVE! TRIPLE SUPERKICK ON JAY! Mark saves his brother from the Meltzer Driver and hops to the top rope. DOUBLE DOOMSDAY DEVICE! SUPERKICK FLURRY BY NICK! NO SOLD BY KYLE! JAWBREAKER LARIAT! BRAINBUSTER! O'Reilly pins Nick at 21:27

Rating - **** - When ROH books six man tag team main events for their house shows the results usually aren't great. They are rarely bad, but tend to be formulaic, safe and inconsequential fluff. And whilst this had a similar formula to many of those, thankfully the six participants were on fire for this show. They worked at a relentless pace, sprinkled multiple high octane dive/spot flurries throughout the match (not just one big splurge at the end) and juggled several storyline threads too. We saw Cole ducking O'Reilly at every turn. We saw the Young Bucks trying to get under the skin of the Briscoes. When the match became a chaotic multi-man brawl we'd generally see the Bullet Club in the ascendancy due to their familiarity as a trio (and the Bucks natural propensity for working this type of match). But whenever individuals were isolated 1-to-1, or power, strength and technical ability came to the fore it was generally the #1 contendership trio on top. I commented on the ROHWorld message boards after this show that O'Reilly feels very 'cold' for a man about to challenge for World Championship at Final Battle. That isn't entirely ROH's fault - he's struggled with injury and illness, and has worked multiple international tours which have prevented him from appearing at every ROH event. But him getting a big win here was critical if a potential World Title win in just a few weeks time is to retain any credibility. He was, by a vast distance, the least over man in the ring. In fact, I don't think he'd even crack the top ten most over wrestlers on this show - which is a worrying statistic for a man ROH are considering putting their top prize on...

Tape Rating - *** - Live and in person this felt like a fun, breezy show - and the DVD experience largely reinforced that opinion. Some matches came off better live (Sabin/Lethal being top of the list), but others I enjoyed much more watching on DVD - particularly Daniels/White which was much more enjoyable having seen their previous encounters on TV and in Pittsburgh. Although the trios tag is hugely entertaining, the centrepiece of the show and the main talking point coming out of it was Fish/Ospreay. That was every bit as good on DVD as it was live and is definitely one to check out even if the whole show doesn't pique your interest. My main gripe with this show is that, outside of the TV Title Match, I wasn't seeing much of any major significance. The London show gets Cole/Lethal and Ospreay/Scurll (amongst others), whilst the Leicester event got Bucks vs Ospreay/Scurll which (spoiler) was f*cking outstanding. Good though this show was, it was a very decent but inconsequential house show, which precludes me from going higher on a Tape Rating. That said, it's a couple of hours, flies by and the card is incredibly consistent. It's an easy one to give a solid recommendation to.

3) Adam Cole/Young Bucks vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe/Kyle O'Reilly (****)

2) Jay White vs Christopher Daniels (****)

1) Bobby Fish vs Will Ospreay (****)