McXal's Reviews

I haven't done any reading on what has prompted ROH's decision to abandon the 'insert tour name and year' title sequencing for their house shows, but it is a smart move and both of the live events this weekend have unique show names. I watch every show so it didn't necessarily impact me, but I can see how a casual viewer might reach the conclusion that the 'on tour' house shows were significantly less meaningful and skip them as a result. I think this show has arguably the weaker line-up of the weekend, but there is still some potentially exciting stuff to be found. Cody is on an ROH house show swing for the first time and has his skills tested by Donovan Dijak. Keith Lee makes his final ROH appearance, teaming with Shane Taylor one last time in a potential 'dream match' with the Briscoes. In the main event the Motor City Machine Guns lead allies Jay White and Lio Rush into battle with Bullet Club's Adam Cole, Adam Page and the Young Bucks. There's also a rather strange Six-Man Tag Title bout scheduled as The Kingdom defend against the entirely new trio of War Machine and Jax Dane. Ian Riccaboni (yes, we are finally fading out Kevin Kelly) and Silas Young provide commentary from a new building in San Antonio, TX.

In 2017 we'll be seeing a lot more of Jon Gresham - which is fantastic news. He may be similar in stature to his opponent tonight, but in terms of technical skill he is vastly superior (in my opinion anyway). What Gresham needs now is to start accruing victories and climbing the card. 

Ferrara tries to engage Gresham in a prolonged exchange of holds, which feels like a mistake. However, Will proves me wrong by not only hanging with Gresham but actually taking the fight to him as well. He breaks out an awesome counter as Gresh tries to swarm him - into a judo throw, escorting Jon to the mat so he can apply a snug wristlock. No matter what Jon tries it feels like Ferrara is able to hang on and counteract. Gresham starts getting frustrated and makes mistakes - but at last breaks free of the grip of his opponent and starts to work over his legs. Even then Ferrara repeatedly counters his Figure 4 attempt and has him scurrying for the ropes. Will struggles free his legs from the hold, effectively keeping Gresham in the submission for longer than he should after the rope break...and that REALLY fires Gresh up. He steams in and starts elbowing Will then jumps into a big headbutt. Gutbuster by Ferrara, then repeated knees to the stomach to once again put Gresham on the canvas. 'The Octopus' kicks Ferrara's legs out from under him again, into position for an Anklelock. Will tries to stand up...right into a bridging leg capture German suplex for 2. Next he lands a dragon screw in the ropes. Paydirt by Ferrara gets 2! He tries to follow with the rebound Ace Crusher spot but again Jon dropkicks the knee from under him. Hurricanrana into a DOUBLE STOMP TO THE LEG! He starts smashing Ferrara's leg into the mat like a savage, giving Will no choice but to tap at 10:01

Rating - *** - There is an argument to be made that Jonathan Gresham is the best wrestler in Ring Of Honor. He's not the biggest star, he's not a name and he isn't traditionally charismatic - but the guy is an absolute wizard inside the ring. Will Ferrara has been in ROH for a long time now, yet here he steps into the ring with Gresh for the first time and looks a completely different worker. This was by far Will's best ROH match. The story they told - with Gresham trying all his usual octopus-like grappling sequences only for Ferrara to counter him time after time - was simple but perfectly executed. They masterfully built the tension in stages through the ten minute match, and by the time it ended it was completely plausible that Gresham would be so fired up that he has no other strategy left other than to hammer his opponent's limb into the ground like a maniac. A hugely competitive encounter which put both men over huge regardless of the win or loss.

This match is a major opportunity for the Tempuraz. They get to share the ring with multi-time former Tag Champions The Addiction, in the knowledge that Christopher Daniels became #1 contender for the World Title by winning the Decade Of Excellence Tournament at the recent TV taping in Atlanta. Having failed to take the Tag Titles from the Young Bucks, despite a spirited showing, Sho and Yoh won't want to succumb to another defeat against another top tier Ring Of Honor team. Daniels is #1 pencilled in for a World Title shot in Las Vegas, so needs to start building his momentum for another charge at the biggest prize in the promotion. He gets some mic-time before the bout to muse over whether he'd prefer to face Cole or Fish at the pay-per-view.

Daniels goes right for headlocks and ground submissions on Yoh, obviously looking to nullify his speed. Yohei survives that...and almost drops Daniels on his head with a tilta-whirl slam. Easy big fella, don't ruin a PPV main event with your clumsiness there. Sho takes over but walks into a flurry of double-team offence from The Addiction. Yoh helps his partner out with some distraction, setting Daniels up for a Codebreaker from Tanaka for 2. The Tempuraz get a prolonged spell on offence and look extremely effective in beating down a potential future World Champion. It helps that they are, as ever, willing to bend a few rules in order to get ahead. Gutwrench gutbuster by Sho gets 2! Running STO from the Ring General to counter, opening the door to a hot tag to Kazarian. Lungblower drops Sho, leaving him in position for the slingshot DDT for 2. Frankie goes for repeated pinning combinations on Sho to demonstrate how desperate Addiction are to escape with the win. Daniels joins him for the powerbomb/neckbreaker combo. Adam Cole skips down the aisle to taunt Daniels - who leaves the match to chase the champ around the ring. Kaz is distracted, allowing Yoh to schoolboy pin him and score a shock win at 10:55

Rating - ** - This was perfectly solid, but felt like it was really lacking a spark. Both of the Tempura Boyz matches during the recent TV taping in Atlanta were full of energy so I was a little surprised that this felt flat. The Tempura Boyz didn't do much to embellish their villainous characters (which are more entertaining than the generic, Young Lion babyface act) and weren't the most interesting duo to watch here. One positive is that the fans seem totally invested in this 'one last run' gimmick they are pushing for Daniels...

Sho and Yoh look stunned at what they've just accomplished. They leave the ring celebrating, but inside the ropes Daniels and Kazarian are seen vociferously arguing about who's fault the loss was...

I have a real problem with this booking. On TV ROH have been pushing the contendership angle for the trios belts hard. They have Silas sat on commentary for this show, in the midst of a minor angle around whether he and Beer City Bruiser can find a third like-minded individual so they can make a run at the belts. Against that backdrop, it makes no sense that War Machine and Dane - who have never teamed before, get a title shot. I'm certain ROH will cover it with easy get-outs like War Machine doing well in the World Tag League (or crushing The Kingdom in 2015 when they were Tag Champions), or rewarding Dane for going to the Survival Of The Fittest finals, but I'm not buying it. There was no real reason to create this title. Now it exists ROH need to take it seriously and book it correctly. Matches like this give off the vibe that they are nothing more than midcard, filler, accessory straps they want to put on people they want to put on people to give them credibility as champions (rather than just book them properly to generate credibility organically).

The Kingdom run out and attack the big men during their entrance which is a smart strategy. Dane no sells their offence and fights all three champions away single-handedly. Vinny tries to leave through the crowd but instead is smeared into the railing by War Machine. Chaos ensues as all six bounce around ringside with The Kingdom taking heaps of abuse. Taven is thrown violently into the front row, wiping out a couple of fans in the process. O'Ryan manages to ram Hanson's head into the ringpost, but inside the ring Rowe obliterates Matt with Shotgun Knees. Marseglia and Taven low blow Rowe in the ropes...and are joined by TK for the Proton Pack. They gladly remain in the ring allowing Todd Sinclair to restore order, and an actual wrestling match breaks out with The Kingdom isolating Rowe. Eventually the big man steamrolls O'Ryan with the Cement Mixer...then tags in Hanson, who doesn't waste any time in commencing his usual routine of count along, loud screaming spots. I can't pinpoint when it happened, but Hanson wrestling every match doing the same autopilot spots is becoming REALLY boring. Taven is the unfortunately recipient of a Bronco Buster, only for TK to fire up and NAIL Hanson with a German. Dane gets a tag and tosses Vinny high into the air with an overhead choke-plex out of the corner. He tries to make O'Ryan tap to a Boston crab...but Matt saves with a springboard enzi. O'Ryan ducks the Superman Punch and lands a Pele on Rowe! Jax scoops up Taven and TK for a DOUBLE AIRPLANE SPIN! DOUBLE 300 SPEAR! Marseglia is the last champ left standing...albeit not for long as Dane drops him with a swinging neckbreaker. MASSIVE POP-UP POWERSLAM from War Machine to O'Ryan! Taven ducks Decapitation and feeds Rowe into the Redrum by Vinny...for 2! ASAI MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR BY TK! ELBOW SUICIDA BY HANSON! Taven is limping along, nursing his bad knee...and hobbles into an EXPLODER OVER THE TOP by Dane. Marseglia thinks he gets to dive as well, only for Rowe to drop him on his head with a German. Behind the ref's back O'Ryan nails Rowe with Taven's cane...meaning The Kingdom enjoy another tainted victory at 17:13

Rating - *** - Having criticised the set-up booking, it is important to point out that this match was really good. I've still not seen enough of TK to understand how good he is on his own, and Marseglia is extremely limited...but together as a trio this new Kingdom do have real chemistry. It would be easy to dismiss this as only entertaining because we got to see big dudes hit dives and toss smaller guys around - but that would be incorrect. Hanson doing his usual routine was actually the worst part of this. Taven and his group aren't the best workers...but as a group of sly, slick, nefarious heels they really click. Jax Dane also had a strong showing here. I've not seen much clamour for ROH to bring him in (and he wound up going to TNA/Impact anyway) but everything he's done in his bookings for this company has been very decent.

In a repeat of the previous match with The Addiction, Dane and War Machine argue briefly. Jax walks out having apparently levelled the blame for the loss at Ray Rowe.

This one is billed as a 'Top Contenders' match. They are the three men who made their presence felt to Adam Cole as potential challengers at the TV taping. Fish is obviously at the front of the queue, given that he is #1 contender, victor in the most recent Survival Of The Fittest and pencilled in for his title shot at Manhattan Mayhem 6. Behind him Dalton Castle pinned World Champion Adam Cole during Champions vs All-Stars at Glory By Honor 15 weekend...and Lethal is a perennial contender due to the success of his own World Title run and the high quality of his previous encounters with Cole. As we learned last year, Fish and Dalton are actually friends (who brunch). Will that friendship leave Jay at a disadvantage in this one?

Lethal wears his 'My List' jacket, parodying Cody and indicating that he still has the American Nightmare on his mind. Perhaps he isn't fully concentrating on this, as evident by the fact that Fish absolutely wipes him out to get us started. Bobby wipes Dalton out as well, then returns to the ring looking for the Fish Hook on Lethal. Lethal Injection COUNTERED to the Everest German by Dalton! Castle busts out some awesome amateur stuff to block Bobby's Fish Hook too, working him into a suplex position in the process. Jay builds momentum so he can pull-off rolling tope suicidas, effectively pulling off a DOUBLE Tope Trilogy! All three competitors crawl wearily back inside, with Lethal the most aggressive striker. Fish counters into a dragon screw (Lethal had problems with his knee in late 2016 remember)...but can't capitalise before Dalton gives him a belly to belly suplex. Superkick from Lethal to Fish - knocking him backwards into a Samoan drop on Castle. Lethal Combo scores on Dalton too...only for Fish to kick out Lethal's legs again before he can hit Hail To The King. AVALANCHE FALCON ARROW on Lethal...floated into the Fish Hook Deluxe! Lethal escapes into BANG-A-RANG! Castle gets the big win at 08:10

Rating - ** - There were three positives to this. Firstly Bobby Fish was awesome, again. He is a different performer now Kyle has left, and it is fascinating to watch. Even in a filler three-way, the level of detail he was putting into both character work and a brilliant assault on Lethal's knee problem was a clear highlight. Secondly the finishing stretch was hot and substantially more fun than most of the match that preceded it. Thirdly, Dalton winning here was the right call and felt like a big deal. Bobby is already #1 contender, Lethal is fresh out of the main event picture but has credibility to put others over. If ROH want to build Dalton up to potential main event status, having him win in situations like this is perfect. On the other side, the negatives here were obvious. The fact that we got three top tier guys slumming it in a super-short triple threat on a card which doesn't feel that substantial (and could've used a quality, main event level match from one of them) sucked. The fact that they only got eight minutes sucked. Until the last minute all of it was the worst kind of 'one guy stands around, the other two do stuff' bullsh*t that accompanies every triple threat too. I don't want to give the impression it was a bad match because it wasn't, and the decision to put Dalton over was GREAT. But it was a supreme waste of talent on many levels...

Ian Riccaboni randomly drops in an announcement that Dalton Castle is challenging for the World Title at Supercard Of Honor. He celebrates, whilst Bobby Fish and Jay Lethal get into our third heated post-match argument IN A ROW! They leave, then Dalton gets on the microphone and tells everyone that he has what it takes to represent Ring Of Honor as World Champion...

BJ Whitmer comes out after intermission to complain about being disrespected by ROH fans everywhere. The returning Romantic Touch, along with his inexplicable accent which bounces between Rhett Titus, stereotypical French, racist Italian, some Irish, a detour into Jamaican...then back to Rhett again. Whitmer attacks him, and they get into an impromptu brawl in front of a totally silent crowd (despite Ian and Silas' insistence that Romantic Touch is a fan favourite). A few minutes pass and I realise this is actually a match. It doesn't go long and ends when BJ hits the Exploder '98. 

This is Keith's last ROH appearance. It wasn't originally supposed to be. He and Taylor shot an angle with the Briscoes at the Atlanta tapings, and he was also booked for the following night in Dallas. However, having handed in his notice and informed ROH of his intention to sign with WWNLive, he is written out with this appearance. He and Taylor shared a violent clash with the Briscoes as part of a chaotic triple threat main event to the Arlington leg of Survival Of The Fittest 2016, and you can expect more of the same aggression and intensity from this one.

Both Briscoes are sporting rather odd mohawks. Lee and Taylor have both worked extensively in Texas (I think Keith is a native Texan) so get their fair share of fan support. Mark catapults himself into a somersault plancha on Taylor before he and his brother put the boots to Keith in the corner. Mark's speed is clearly a major asset that the Briscoes are trying to utilise due to the size of their opponents - and he runs circles around Lee as the ROH veterans start to take control. Silas makes a great call on commentary as he points out just how hard the Briscoes have to work just to get Keith off his feet though. Lee is able to wipe out their offence in mere seconds as he sends Mark soaring through the air with a belly to belly suplex. Taylor starts to manhandle the younger Briscoe, doing all he can to negate that speed that Mark was using so effectively earlier. The look of raw anger on Keith's face as Mark starts slapping and chopping him is a picture...and Mark finally takes him down with a TURNBUCKLE URINAGE! Big Keith landed right on his head! Jay comes in flinging boots to rocket Shane out of the ring...into position for a tope suicida. Blockbuster off the apron from Mark to Keith! This starts to breakdown, with Jay trying to bring a chair into the ring...only for Taylor to punch it into his face (behind the referee's back). GREETINGS FROM 216/BUTT SPLASH COMBO by Shane to take out both Briscoes. He climbs the ropes, but misses the big splash from the second. Lee swings a chair into Jay's back - again not seen by Todd Sinclair! TOP ROPE CROSSBODY TO THE FLOOR by Mark! All four congregate on the outside beating the sh*t out of each other. Taylor and Jay storm the ring, each armed with chairs! They shove the referee down and start a chair duel...which is enough to convince Todd to throw the match out at 12:48

Rating - *** - This was an extremely good match. The problem was that it didn't have a finish. Perhaps more specifically, not only did it have proper finish, the 'ending' Delirious booked sucked ass. I am going to join every writer I've seen who has given their thoughts on this show in querying why the hell we had a non-finish when Keith Lee had given his notice and should have been staring at the lights. It seems SO obvious that Lee should have been the one to take a loss here that I'm curious as to whether there was some other behind-the-scenes reason for this. The match was great and surprisingly intelligent. The Briscoes primarily using Mark as the lead-man for their team made sense in an environment where his speed would be more useful than Jay's brawling. Similarly, although Lee didn't lose, on the PBK side of things it was all geared around making Taylor look as strong as possible. This was probably MOTN thus far even with the finish we got, but it's so disappointing because there was no reason to go in this bullsh*t direction. Just let these guys have twenty minutes to beat each other up, and have Keith Lee take the pin before going to Evolve. Did Gabe slip Delirious some cash to protect Keith or something?

The match is over, but the fight continues as Jay clobbers Taylor across the spine with a chair...then gets tackled to the ground by Lee. Keith starts hammering Mark with a chair, only for the younger brother to fight him off then catapult Taylor backwards into a JAY DRILLER!  The Briscoes try to gang up on Keith - punching him onto the timekeeping table. FROGGY BOW OFF THE TOP THROUGH THE TABLE ON THE FLOOR! Keith Lee is done! The Briscoes stand tall!

This isn't quite Dijak's last weekend, but these are his last house show appearances. Despite that, he is currently #1 contender to the TV Title and gearing up to challenge Marty Scurll at the next tapings. As he prepares for his pending career in WWE, nothing could prepare him better than a guy who has been extremely successful in WWE; in the form of the American Nightmare. Cody has created controversy ever since Final Battle - cheating to beat Lethal in his debut match, getting into a fight with Steve Corino in the ECW Arena, then joining Bullet Club in Japan and coming back to ROH for 2016 with powerful new allies in the form of Adam Cole, the Young Bucks and Adam Page. He is still looking for a signature, 'now I've arrived' performance inside the ropes though. 

Rhodes is animated and tentative; looking unsure about how best to get into the fight with a man the size of Dijak. Donovan himself tries to intimidate the ROH newcomer and shrugs aside some signature Cody spots aside...until Cody is able to deliver a stalling gourdbuster. Time To Fly by Dijak, setting up the Trust Fall splash for 2. He misses a cannonball senton in the corner and falls right onto his head and neck. Not one to miss out - Cody hops the ropes and starts stomping on the neck. Dijak tries to escape back in the ring only to find Rhodes on him again with a swinging neckbreaker. On the outside Cody gets into an unnecessary and heated exchange with the announce team, ripping Riccaboni's headset off on anger. A camel clutch grinds on Donovan's neck some now, but Dijak escapes and delivers the ribbreaker into a big swinging slam. Martini Killer ducked by Rhodes! Feast Your Eyes blocked, but then Dijak escapes Cross Rhodes into the Choke Breaker! DIJAK-SAULT GETS KNEES! He can't hit Feast Your Eyes either...so recoils to the apron looking for a springboard elbow drop! More elbows by Dijak...DISASTER KICK! Death Valley Bomb by Dijak gets 2. He tries for a chokeslam on the apron only for Rhodes to escape and ping his forehead right into the ringpost. ROPE RUN DOUBLE SPRINGBOARD CROSSBODY TO THE FLOOR...COUNTERED TO A CHOKESLAM INTO THE FRONT ROW BY DIJAK! He wants to finish the match...but just like at Final Battle Cody tosses the ref aside and hits a low blow. CROSS RHODES! Cody picks up a huge win at 14:14

Rating - **** - Very much at the lowest end of a 4* rating on my scale, but this had a lot going for it. Cody delivered his best ROH performance to date and is clearly more comfortable as an outright villain. He is far from the best wrestler in the company but he has a persona, charisma and physical presence to him which others can't match. In other words, he has star power - and that really benefited this match. He was brilliantly watchable as he slithered and probed like a snake trying to find a weakness on Dijak - and when Donovan accidentally injured his neck Cody didn't hesitate in attacking it like a bastard. In all honesty the neck-work lost a lot of focus, both from Cody who stopped targeting it so much and also from Dijak who abandoned selling it. BUT, as they abandoned some of that storyline thread they replaced it with some incredible drama and excitement. Dijak is a superb athlete - WWE have a real responsibility to develop him properly, because he has all the physical gifts and tools you could possibly need to make it. His career may have been totally mismanaged and poorly booked by ROH's creative team but inside the ropes his absence will be sorely missed when he leaves.

Cody has quickly adopted the Bullet Club's attitude of doing whatever the hell he feels like doing, and he now hijacks the show bringing chairs into the ring then blasting Dijak IN THE FACE with one. Amusingly, Cody then sticks around to introduce the rest of Bullet Club for the main event. It doesn't necessarily add a tremendous amount, but Ian Riccaboni does an outstanding job conveying utter outrage at Cody's actions - without a hint of the smarmy, cliché-ridden crap Kevin Kelly usually feeds us in similar situations.

ROH have dedicated a lot of air-time to Alex Shelley complaining about Bullet Club and their numbers. He goes back years with the group in Japan and has been upset at how they have 'taken over' Ring Of Honor in the same manner. Having pulled together a group of friends, Shelley and Sabin are now calling their alliance 'Search & Destroy', and this quartet are acknowledged by that name this evening (although I think Gresham is in the group too, and probably Dijak as well except he'll leave before it matters). With the ROH Tag Champions and World Champion on the Bullet Club team title shots are, of course, up for grabs. Can someone pin a champ and therefore put themselves at the front of the line? 

Security and officials flock to the ring to convince Cody to leave ringside, which he eventually does. Lio and Nick start the match and we see Rush moving too quickly even for the Young Bucks to cope with. Matt has to poke him in the eyes after he dumps Nick to the floor. Springboard headscissors from Lio to Matt! He boots Cole off the apron and is promptly tacked by Hangman. MCMG take spills off the apron to wipe out two opponents, splitting the Bullet Club so Rush can pull off a BOTTOM ROPE ASAI MOONSAULT to the floor! TOP ROPE SWANTON TO THE FLOOR BY WHITE! Back inside the ring Shelley and Sabin try to create a human centipede out of Nick Jackson and Page. Nick is stranded as the legal man and subjected to plenty of innovative offence by Search & Destroy. Rush gets the closest nearfall with a springboard double stomp whilst his three partners elevate Nick in the ropes. Matt gets a crucial tag, joining his brother for some combo moves on the Machine Guns. FOUR MAN CRISS-CROSS RISE OF THE TERMINATOR DIVES by Bullet Club! Shelley breaks out a double testicular claw on the Bucks...and BITES COLE'S DICK AT THE SAME TIME! That's both insane, and also an obvious disqualification? Hangman comes to the rescue and ensures his team are able to capture and isolate Shelley from his partners. In the midst of it all the Young Bucks try to convince Page he wants to kiss Cole's cheek...only for Page to refuse and make do with punting Shelley in the chops. Turnbuckle Shellshock from Shelley to Cole, as on the other side White hits a flying forearm off he apron to take Nick out. Cole and Matt drag Alex's partners off the apron before he can make a tag - and Bullet Club then surround the ring for a TRIPLE APRON BOMB spot which eliminates everyone Shelley has to tag to in an instant. Next it's a 4-on-1 assault on Shelley who is clinging on desperately as his partners try to get back onto the apron. Lio Rush makes it into the ring! Then straight back out again with rapid fire Heat Seeking Missiles then a SATELLITE HEADSCISSORS INTO THE RAILING! Double running suplex from Jay to the Bucks! Superkick from Cole to Sabin, then the same treatment to Rush. Sabin recovers to rescue White from the Meltzer Driver. SUPERKICK GERMAN combo by Shelley and White, setting Matt up for DRAGON'S CALL! Rush gets a close nearfall there. Rush Hour blocked...Urinage by White! Buckshot Lariat by Page! SUPERKICKS by Cole and Nick! Lio is slumped in the ropes...but Page and Cole keep propping him up so the Bucks can batter him with more Superkicks! QUADRUPLE SUPERKICK ON THE FLOOR! White and Rush are hung in the ropes for a DOUBLE ELEVATED SWANTON! SSP TORPEDO OFF THE APRON by Hangman as bodies start to pile up outside the ring. DOUBLE SPRINGBOARD SOMERSAULT PLANCHA BY NICK! Lio somehow recovers to hit a double rana on the Bucks, then RUSH HOUR on Page! Cole hangs him in the corner for more Superkicks...and Page quickly recovers so he can carry both Rush and White to the middle of the ring. DOUBLE INDY-TAKER! Rush is pined at 20:23

Rating - **** - I'd read mixed reports on this one, with some praising it highly and others saying it wasn't great. I'm certainly in agreement with the former, as I found this another fun Young Bucks-style main event. Some of this didn't work - White and Page felt very lost in the shuffle against a back drop of guys with bigger personalities and more explosive movesets - but you certainly couldn't accuse it of being boring. Cole came off like a rock star, very rarely taking much punishment but always on hand to dish it out. The Young Bucks are the kings of this style of match so of course were at the forefront of all the craziness. Lio Rush was the fastest man in the match and produced some of the coolest spots to be seen all night. In many ways though, my favourites were the Motor City Machine Guns. I thought Shelley did an excellent job playing the face-in-peril for a few minutes in the middle (he didn't need to sell and bust his ass as much as he actually did) and the way MCMG slotted into their role as cranky veterans of the multi-man spot-fest match was really entertaining. This hasn't been the most exciting of live shows - but this match definitely made up for that

Rating - ** - I think I've rated this show quite harshly because very little is bad, and the two main events were really good. My problem here is that almost nothing has any real long term relevance. It's just a bunch of nice matches back to back with nothing more than a crap BJ Whitmer segment to break it up. More worrying still, the double main event sets the tone for the next two years in ROH whereby the Bullet Club dominate and are wildly over...whilst the rest of ROH's roster gets pushed to the side. Lethal, Fish and Dalton barely got eight minutes for their match. Dijak and Rush are leaving soon. Keith Lee is gone after this show. It means that when the Bullet Club (and later, The Elite) are in the ring the show is great. But everything else feels like a tangible step down. To end on a positive note - what a fantastic job Ian Riccaboni and Silas Young did on commentary. Both were a little unpolished and made errors. But they called the matches, told the stories, emoted the relevant points when needed (particularly Ian). Not once did they distract me by telling stupid jokes to make themselves laugh, and not once did their work feel dated or condescending to me as a viewer. Ian is a major improvement on Kevin Kelly.

3) Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Keith Lee/Shane Taylor (***)

2) Cody vs Donovan Dijak (****)

1) Adam Cole/Adam Page/Young Bucks vs Alex Shelley/Chris Sabin/Jay White/Lio Rush (****)