McXal's Reviews

Whilst I'll admit that I'd forgotten and had to look up what happened at Manhattan Mayhem 5 (reDRagon beat the American Wolves to reclaim the Tag Titles in the main event), the 'Manhattan Mayhem' name still carries a certain amount of cachet. The legendary, infamous first show saw the Rottweilers run riot in the New Yorker hotel, #2 saw Morishima and Bryan deliver a match for the ages, #3 saw Austin Aries surprisingly take back the World Title in chaotic and controversial scenes, then #4 delivered one of the biggest shocks in ROH history when Eddie Edwards beat Roderick Strong for the World Title. ROH have brought it back for the first time since 2013, which tells you this is more than just a run-of-the-mill go-home house show before a big PPV. Despite having the 15th Anniversary and Supercard Of Honor coming up fast, ROH have pulled out some big guns for this event. Survival Of The Fittest winner Bobby Fish cashes in his shot at the belt looking for revenge on Adam Cole for running his tag partner out of the territory. That is the main event, sitting atop an undercard which will see Jay Lethal and the Briscoes continue their personal wars with Bullet Club in a trios tag, Sonjay Dutt return for a TV Title shot against Marty Scurll, Search & Destroy members Lio Rush and Jay White challenge the Young Bucks for the Tag Titles, Dragon Lee is booked for another round with Will Ospreay, plus Dalton Castle and Colt Cabana trying to settle their feud. Ian Riccaboni and Silas Young continue on commentary, having done a really solid job for all of ROH's live events in 2017 so far. I'd rather see Silas in the damn ring though...

This match is interesting in that it brings together three of the Women Of Honor division's top babyface talents without an obvious antagonist. Mandy tends to be a lightning rod for criticism, sometimes justifiably, but what little I've seen of her work so far hasn't been terrible. Sumie is, of course, the veteran of the division so will be relied upon to hold this together. Rose is the talent I'm still waiting to be impressed by. She has plenty of experience (relatively speaking), but has participated in some really poor matches. Perhaps tonight is her time to step forward and rise to prominence in the WOH division.

Taeler hypes this as Mandy's first match since their No DQ war in late 2016, such was the extent of the injuries she sustained then. She and Sakai try to team up on Jenny, who is having none of it and happily takes the fight to both of them at once. Once again a lot of Rose's offence is really clumsy and poor - to the extent that she and Mandy seem to botch a basic PUNCH. Jenny recovers somewhat with some crisp roll-ups on Leon. Sumie shows her how to throw a strike by putting an elbow in her throat! Even Sakai's gimmicky Mongolian chops look better. Mandy hits a double bulldog on both opponents but can't pin either. Unprettier from Mandy to Sakai...but it's barely more than a transition spot before Jenny dumps her on her ass. Sakai gets 2 with a briding Saito suplex...but MISSES a moonsault. Jenny hits a sh*tty looking Spear, then an EVEN WORSE PIN for 2. She tries to go off the top (because she hasn't f*cked enough up on the canvas) only for Mandy to toss her onto her ass. Leon shows some heel-ish tendencies by pulling hair and taunting Rose...but Sakai runs in to smash her off the apron. Fisherman's neckbreaker wins it for Sumie at 04:10

Rating - DUD - This was really poor. Jenny Rose messed almost everything up from the opening seconds of the match to the end, Mandy has limited experience and allowed herself to be dragged down with Jenny...and there is only so much Sumie can do in four minutes to carry them (and it's not like Sakai is a particularly elite level wrestler herself). I try to be balanced and fair in my critique of these Women Of Honor matches - and as a major advocate of women's wrestling I really want to support this division. I've been forthright and generous in my praise when something is good, and equally honest when I think something sucks. And this was atrocious...

The Ring General is preparing to meet the winner of the main event this evening at the 15th Anniversary next week. His final tune-up is one third of the Six-Man Champions, representative of The Kingdom, TK O'Ryan - in his first major ROH singles match. It's a significant opportunity for TK, but one that Daniels will hope he suppresses convincingly as he tries to build momentum...

Matt Taven comes out and encourages Daniels to retire, but bails to make sure TK is indeed the one who contests the match. Vinny Marseglia is at ringside too and trips Daniels to ensure O'Ryan takes an immediate advantage. Has anyone ever stopped to tell TK that his nickname ('Sassy Wild Horse') is atrocious? He dumps the General to the floor so Vinny and Matt can take a few more cheap-shots and it is immediately apparent that this match is going to be all overbooked shenanigans and in no way a break-out match for O'Ryan. Fall From Grace nailed and followed by the running STO, turning the tide in Daniels' favour. Blue Thunder Driver scores...and draws both Taven and Marseglia into the ring. Vinny accidentally boots his own tag partner in the face...and Daniels beats TK with the BME at 04:09

Rating - * - My initial reaction is that I wanted to DUD this. I hated it. It was a waste of Chris Daniels a week before his title shot, it made the entire Kingdom look dumb, it blew TK's first chance to make a big impression in singles competition, did yet more damage to the credibility of the fledgling Trios Title...and generally came off like the kind sh*tty overbooked mess that Ring Of Honor was founded fifteen years ago to stand against. I do have to concede that giving Daniels a convincing win before the PPV means he comes in looking a formidable challenger, and the resounding squash of the entire Kingdom did at least mean the fans were amped up and ready for the show however. 

This is the final grudge match showdown between these two partners turned rivals. Cabana, frustrated at some of Dalton's choices and their lack of success when the teamed, turned on the Peacock in the run-up to Final Battle. He ambushed The Boys, ripped up Dalton's cape in Texas and even stabbed Castle in the eye with a peacock feather. But Dalton got a big win at Final Battle - edging him into World Title contention (he has his shot at Supercard Of Honor) whilst Cabana returns to the midcard. For a man who returned to ROH almost a year ago looking to become World Champion, Dalton getting that shot will not sit well with Colt. He needs the win badly tonight...

Colt seems particularly annoyed by The Boys this evening and starts by chasing them around ringside rather than locking up. It's almost two minutes before they make contact...with Cabana slapping his opponent in the face then being punished by getting grappled into the ground by Dalton. Colt tries to flee but The Boys throw him back into the ring, setting up a belly to belly suplex. Back to the floor goes Cabana; to grab one of those peacock feathers which he has used as a weapon before. He doesn't use it but it is theatrical enough to leave Castle vulnerable to a flurry of ass strikes and elbows from the Chicago native. Jumping knee strikes from Dalton, setting up the Everest German for 2. Superman Pin from Cabana gets 2 as well. Flying Asshole scores too, flowed into the Billy Goat's Curse. The Boys leap onto the apron...pissing off Cabana so he releases the hold to hit them instead. Next he sets up the Chicago Skyline...but again lets go because The Boys are annoying him. Castle springs into life and hits Bang-A-Rang for the win at 09:25

Rating - * - I feel like Delirious showed real creative ineptitude and booked himself into a corner with this. Dalton is getting a title shot so obviously couldn't lose. But Cabana put him over in this same building just a few months ago, and their feud hasn't gone anywhere since (Colt hasn't worked many shows in truth). There is no way Cabana should have been putting him for a second time so quickly - and it is incredibly damaging for Colt to do so. With these two losses his credibility as a believable main event talent in Ring Of Honor is shot. Why Delirious felt the need to book these two to wrestle again so quickly if his only idea was to have Dalton go over in another meaningless ten minute undercard match, booked to make Colt Cabana look like an irrational idiot, then why do it at all? Why not string this along until after Supercard Of Honor? Honestly this match made me sad and angry; sad that Cabana's big return has been reduced to dust, angry that ROH is so creatively bankrupt that this was booked at all. 

So around this time ROH decided to stop building up challengers to Marty and the TV Title to deliver exciting and emotionally rewarding championship matches (such as the Dijak defence and the recent Scurll/Rush 2/3 Falls Match at The Experience) and instead bring in random guys for random title shots instead. At least when they did the same for Roderick Strong they gave it a gimmick ('Roddy vs The World'). For the record I like Dutt. He's never been a regular in ROH but has rarely disappointed when he does work here. He and Marty are extremely capable so I'm expecting a good match here, even if I've not been given any reason to invest in it or care about the result. Dear old Ian Riccaboni tries his hardest to sell me on 'Marty feels he has beaten everyone so has sent out contracts for international challengers'...but he's held the belt for a few months and hardly defended it so that holds no weight with me at all.

Scurll refuses to shake hands and looks laser-focused as he grabs Dutt and tries to ground him immediately. A ground game obviously favours the champ of course. Sonjay really fights to quicken the pace - eventually doing so with a couple of rana takedowns then chasing Marty to the floor and hitting a rolling headscissors out there as well. I love Scurll's response, which is to bring the match back to the ring, grab Dutt by the waist then go to work on the arm to prepare for the Chickenwing. The Hammerstein almost falls silent as he STOMPS the exposed and contorted arm into the apron. Sonjay tries to escape him with a monkey flip...but does more damage to his arm as Scurll hangs on and snaps the arm into the canvas again. Even on a back suplex Marty takes the time to ensure he has the bad arm cradled to inflict maximum damage to the injury. Dutt escapes his clutches with a turnbuckle flatliner before taking to the air with reckless abandon and landing a springboard moonsault to the floor! Frankensteiner back in...Marty rolls through...so Dutt rolls through that counter and delivers a standing moonsault for 2. Brainbuster by The Villain! Just Kidding kick no sold into a German suplex by Dutt! Marty no sells and clobbers the challenger with a clothesline, but can't capitalise and collapses to the ground alongside him. Dangerous Slam drops Dutt on his neck...only for Dutt to counter the Chickenwing with a superkick into a Red Star Press for 2! Diving splash attempted...but Scurll gets the knees up. Kick to the arm, right into the FINGER SNAP! FALCON ARROW CHICKENWING! Dutt taps immediately meaning Marty retains at 12:12

Rating - *** - Genuine quality for the first time on this show. The palpable lack of tension on a title change obviously didn't help them, but I thought they crafted together an enjoyable match. Dutt proved why he has never struggled for bookings in his career by delivering a crisp, dynamic and exciting display of offensive wrestling...but also proved why he's struggled to become an upper echelon indy talent because he sold the arm like sh*t and seemed to want a no-sell heavy spot-fest instead of the finish they'd spent ten minutes setting up. Scurll can be a little goofy and awkward in his promo delivery sometimes...but he has a presence, with tangible star power and a noticeable hold over the audience when he wrestles. He has been in the company for a few months and already feels like one of their biggest assets

These two tangled in triple threat matches twice over at the end of 2016, first in a TV Title Match including Marty at Final Battle and then an excellent televised bout including Kushida. On both occasions they both walked away having lost - and tonight we'll get to see them continue their competitive rivalry in an 'international dream' match. Ospreay, the Aerial Assassin from the UK, collides with one of the most exciting young luchadors on the scene. If Will wants to get back into the TV Title picture and another shot at Scurll then of course he needs to win big matches...

It isn't long before they are both sprinting all over the ring, countering like crazy and throwing flips all over the place. They fight to a mutually respectful stalemate then head to opposing corners to re-evaluate their strategies. Ospreay tries to use his height and starts tagging Lee with some rangy striking, eventually knocking him to the floor for a SHOOTING STAR OFF THE APRON! More elbows and the diving dropkick connect in the corner as the Assassin presses home his advantage. Dragon needs to find a way to counter the height and striking power of the Englishman - and does so with a SNAP GERMAN which drops Will right on his heavily taped shoulder! SOMERSAULT PLANCHA! Rolling suplexes from Lee draw a significant nearfall. RUNNING RANA OFF THE APRON...BUT WILL SOMERSAULTS AND LANDS ON HIS FEET! MATRIX FLIP OFF THE APRON! Pip Pip Cheerio countered with a boot to the head! DRAGON JUMPS THE TOP ROPE INTO A HURRICANRANA ON THE FLOOR! Back inside the ring he plants Ospreay on those taped shoulders with another German suplex, but still can't put him away. Desnucadora blocked into a handspring corkscrew enzi...then a Red Star Press...then a SECOND ROPE CORKSCREW SSP FOR 2! Cheeky Nando's Kick gets 2 as well. Going back to strikes serves Ospreay well, and he shows his athleticism again to counter the Desnucadora into a snap rana. Lee slingshots back in, only to be caught into a TURNBUCKLE GERMAN SUPLEX! SNAP SUPLEX TO THE BUCKLES BY LEE! Handspring Pele kick catches Dragon as he tries to climb the ropes. GHETTO STOMP NAILED for 2! Reverse rana by Will. OsCutter COUNTERED TO DESNUCADORA! LEE WINS! 12:56 is your time

Rating - **** - I question why Dragon was booked to go over here. Was it in deference to CMLL and respect for one of their titles that he holds? It feels damaging to Ospreay, who's signing was hyped as significant but after the Reach For The Sky Tour he hasn't been portrayed as anything more than a special guest. I'm amazed they aren't hyping him up for at least one Stateside rematch with Marty after their epic showdown in London. Victor aside, this match delivered everything you could possibly want to see from them. A condensed twelve minute run-time meant they blasted through copious feats of outrageous athleticism as if wrestling with the fast forward button pressed. It was utterly spectacular, shockingly brutal at times...and for the most part superbly executed too. 

Have I missed or forgotten where Jay and Lio earned this shot? Is Lio Rush acknowledged as part of Search & Destroy or not? The fact that I come into a championship defence totally unclear on those two points doesn't say much for the booking. Weirdly White is coming into this on the back of the lowest point in his ROH career to date as he just lost his undefeated streak to Jay Briscoe at the last TV taping. Thankfully whilst I'm shaky on the reasons for this being booked, I'm crystal clear on all four participants being enormously talented individuals. Much has been made of World Champion and Bullet Club stable-mate Adam Cole's gruelling schedule of title defences with Fish tonight, Daniels next week then Dalton at WrestleMania weekend. But the Bucks have it just as tough. They cannot afford to take their eye of the ball here, but if they do survive this they are SCHEDULED (wink wink) to face RPG Vice at the 15th Anniversary, then finally arriving at Supercard Of Honor for their huge dream match against the Hardy Boyz...

White and Rush disrespect the Superkick Party Title belts, much to the annoyance of the Bucks. They then kick-start the match with stereo tope dives to the floor and a Poetry In Motion-style elevate dropkick spot in the corner. Unfortunately throwing around double-teams takes them completely into the domain of the Jacksons...who turn up the heat in a flash. Lio ducks and dives for all he is worth, but is finally caught for a DOOMSDAY SUPERKICK ON THE FLOOR! Double Apron Bomb on Jay! And as he lies slumped on the side of the ring the Bucks powerbomb Rush on top of him for good measure. Rise Of The Terminator tope suicidas nailed, seemingly eliminating Lio and leaving White to fight alone for a few minutes. He uses heavy-handed strikes to battle the champs, producing plenty of fun moments as he repeatedly tricks the brothers into accidentally clocking each other. Lio gets a tag, splitting the Bucks like bowling pins with rolling dives. He comes up with an AWESOME counter to Nick's slingshot X-Factor, slithering out like a snake and booting him in the head! Nick evades Dragon's Call...by scurrying into the corner where Jay is waiting to suplex Matt on top of him! White puts Rush on his back...for a BACKPACK DOUBLE SENTON in the corner! Superkicks by Nick! TRUST FALL SUPERKICKS on Lio! They try another Doomsday Device...but this time Lio counters with a reverse rana on the floor. DRAGON'S CALL gets 2! SUPERKICK FLURRY on Nick! Matt saves with Superkicks of his own! Elevated Swanton Bomb nailed on Rush, but Jay breaks the pin. Meltzer Driver blocked with kicks from Rush...INDYTAKER! MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! MELTZER DRIVER! Bucks pin Lio to retain at 10:57

Rating - **** - They packed as much into a ten minute filler title defence as they possibly could there. Not all of it stuck, and there was a point in the match where I watched Todd Sinclair stand around motionless, like a zombie, as four guys perpetually ran around the ring hitting double teams without the slightest notion that a referee might be using a five-count to restore order. That happens a lot in Bucks matches, but in a ten minute sprint like this it was so obvious that poor Todd may as well not have bothered. What stood out to me amongst the mayhem is how innovative Lio is. In a typical Young Bucks spot war he wasn't just holding his own, he was finding ways to one-up the veterans with some really unique stuff. If I haven't said it enough - his year in ROH is awesome, he has been ludicrously under-rated and he will be a big miss when he leaves.

But we aren't done yet. As the Bucks celebrate, the lights go out and a haunting piano theme starts to play! THE BROKEN HARDYZ ARE HERE! They teleport into the ring and stand face to face with the 'Bucks Of Youth'...and demand a shot at the 'Honorable Gold' immediately! THE BUCKS SAY YES!

The difference in fan reaction here from the last time Jeff Hardy was in an ROH ring (or even the last time Matt Hardy was in an ROH ring) is incredible. We have been building towards a showdown between the 'Broken Hardyz' (working the 'Broken' gimmick but not by name as TNA, despite releasing them, pulled a power play and blocked them from using it) and the 'Bucks Of Youth' since Final Battle when Matt appeared on the Carytron. The Bucks, who we have seen agreeing to impromptu matches and unscheduled defences for months, are as desperate for this as the Hardy Boyz it seems and are only too happy to give us the scheduled Supercard Of Honor main event right now...

The building is molten hot for this; it really should have been the main event even if Bucks vs White/Lio would've initially felt like a weird headliner. Jeff isn't hanging about and dives off the apron with a suicide dive on Nick. Poetry In Motion nailed for 2! Nick gives Broken Matt a Superkick and tags in...to f*cking NAIL Nero with one as well. Jeff is bleeding from the mouth after that, but still climbs the ropes for Whisper In The Wind. Double Superkicks from the Jacksons who then scale opposing turnbuckles for STEREO 450 SPLASHES! Jeff's mouth is pouring blood, and it looks like Matt is bleeding from the mouth as well. He hits the Side Effect...only for Matt J to peg Jeff with yet another Superkick. TWIST OF FATE BY MATT JACKSON! SWANTON BY NICK! NERO SAVES! More Bang For Your Buck Blocked...JEFF SHOVES NICK THROUGH A TABLE! TWIST OF FATE! SWANTON BOMB! BROKEN MATT WINS! The Hardyz are tag champs at 08:23

Rating - N/A - I thought this was an awesome moment - so much so that I struggle to rate it as an actual match. Plenty of critics thought it was gimmicky, and another example of Delirious using a hot-shot title change to generate buzz instead of legitimate story-telling. They may have a point, but I personally thought this was a terrific twist. We've been building to Bucks/Hardyz for Supercard Of Honor since December. Anticipation for the match is such that it had already sold sufficient tickets to deliver ROH's biggest house ever. How then can ROH turn that anticipation for a dream match into something more? This was your answer. Having the Hardyz appear here was truly shocking. Letting the two teams have a quick little match (which was exciting in a 'play the hits' kind of way) to get familiar before the big showdown makes sense. The title switch does nothing to damage the Jacksons but does give the Hardyz another title to add to their impressive career resume, and adds so much hype to the Supercard Of Honor clash. As I said, I really think this should have closed the show. Obviously fans would've thought it was weird to have Bucks vs White/Rush be the 'main event', but the Bucks are over enough to pull it off with those two ultra-talented youngsters. I criticise Delirious and Sinclair-owned ROH openly and often. But I thought they booked this to perfection. The Broken Hardy act was hot and even TNA releasing them whilst being dicks about ownership of the gimmick couldn't stop that. With plenty of tickets already moved for Supercard, what they did here was create a genuine MOMENT. Wrestling is about moments. ROH used to deliver them often. They don't anymore...and should be applauded when they do. They worked flat out, spilling blood and hitting all the touch-points you'd expect them to. 

Broken Matt announces he is happy to have left that 'dreadful TNA', and refutes the rumours that they would sign with the 'dastardly Meekmahon'. Instead they have 'signed' with ROH on an even bigger contract than the Young Bucks - and as a result will be at the Anniversary Show, the TV Tapings and then Supercard Of Honor. 

The name makes this sound fancy, but it's just an old-fashioned Battle Royal to crown a new #1 contender to the ROH World Title. Fifteen men or more will enter, mostly coming in as part of a team like The Kingdom, Coast 2 Coast, Tempura Boyz or All Night Express - but with some interesting twists such as regular tag worker Chris Sabin entering without his regular partner, or the 'lone wolf' Punishment Martinez looking to make waves after a breakout weekend in Japan for Honor Rising 2017. Silas Young leaves commentary to join in the fun as well!

You know what a Battle Royal looks like. We start with a mass of humanity in the ring flailing away like idiots with no room to move. Matt Taven is presented like a star, but inadvertently causes the first elimination by provoking War Machine leading to Rowe Superman Punching O'Ryan over the top rope. Ian Riccaboni is good enough on commentary to spot The Rebellion working over Chris Sabin to continue that rivalry. As is par for the course with this kind of match it is challenging to follow. Rowe stacks a load of jobbers up in the middle of the ring before dumping Hanson on top of all of them in a pretty fun spot. Silas and Bruiser toss Ferrara...but then walk around trying to recruit guys for their never-ending quest to challenge for the Six-Man belts! Kenny King eliminates Leon St Giovanni with a capo kick...but celebrates too long and is himself eliminated by Shaheem. Titus gets payback by dropkicking Ali out of the match. The Rebellion try to beat up Coast 2 Coast on the floor so LSG hits a random CORKSCREW PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR! He then tosses Caprice into the match to be killed by Punishment Martinez as everyone else watches. They do a comedy spot where he tries to 'heal' Punisher and make him part of The Rebllion which draws some genuine chuckles. Tempura Boyz eliminate Rhett...and celebrate it like Kaientai during their Royal Rumble 2000 run-ins. War Machine give them the Taka Michinoku treatment, so they're both gone. Hanson and Punisher take centre stage and have some fun with big man lucha spots...fighting so hard they eliminate each other. SOUTH OF HEAVEN ON THE APRON! Punishment leaves having made a statement. Double team Killer Combo from Silas and BCB on Cheeseburger...who no sells it and Shotei's Ray Rowe over the top? Are you kidding me? Last week War Machine were making themselves #1 contenders to the IWGP Tag Titles in Tokyo. This week they are comedy fodder for f*cking Cheeseburger? Silas tosses Burger...but War Machine catch him before he hits the floor and toss him back. Young ensures it is just a temporary reprieve, right before Sabin tosses both the Bruiser and Silas simultaneously. It leaves Taven and Marseglia alone in the ring with Sabin - who no members of Search & Destroy to help him. As he tries to fight Vinny, Matt Taven sneaks up behind both of them to toss them to the floor. Taven wins and takes the ROH World Title shot at 14:14

Rating - * - Not all of this was horrible, but as a package from conception to execution it came off as incredibly unnecessary and dated. That isn't surprising considering who owns the company but it doesn't mean it was any more rewarding to sit through. War Machine should have come in hot for this weekend; they just went over the Young Bucks and the Guerrillas Of Destiny on consecutive nights in Japan. Instead they mess around here then have to sell for f*cking Cheeseburger and his stupid Shotei. Same story for Punishment Martinez, who arrived with plenty of momentum after his performance against Goto in Japan...but he barely made it past halfway. I don't object to Taven going over, particularly as he was one of the few in this match who ROH didn't present like complete crap. Hypothesising that Cole is still champion after Supercard Of Honor, a grudge showdown between current Kingdom leader (Taven) and the man he kicked out of the group is as good a story as any. But this was a terrible way to set up a World Title Match, hopelessly out of touch with the principles upon which Ring Of Honor was founded fifteen years ago...and did as much to highlight how many people ROH have on the roster that they aren't booking properly as it did promote any of them.

Such is the dislike the Briscoes and Lethal have for the Bullet Club that they event went on the New Japan Honor Rising tour and took the fight to the stable on 'home turf'. They have had problems with the group since the War Of The Worlds Tour last year - and Jay's issues with Hangman go back even further. Lethal and Cody are preparing to go to war in a Texas Bullrope Match at Supercard Of Honor. Cody didn't relish wrestling Lethal when they were part of a tag match at Night 1 of Honor Rising. Will he be more bold in New York tonight? This is also, of course, Frankie's first official match as part of Bullet Club in Ring Of Honor.

The Briscoes throw chairs around like maniacs during their entrances, presumably to make the point that losing to Bullet Club is starting to drive them crazy. Lethal wants to start with Rhodes, who of course refuses and lets Kazarian begin his Bullet Club debut as the legal man. Cody doesn't go quietly and takes distracting cheap-shots at Lethal...in the end provoking him so much that they get into a brawl on the floor. The other four combatants soon join them - with bodies flying all over the arena. The Briscoes try to set up a Doomsday Device off the stage on Frankie, only for Hangman to make a save by full-on tackling Mark in the entrance. Cody batters Lethal with a lariat on the floor which is a catalyst for the Bullet Club trio to successfully isolate Lethal from the Briscoes. I understand the central plot point which is Cody getting Kaz and Page to do his bidding and work over his rival but this is by far the worst piece of the match. Lethal Combination ends it, allowing a hot tag to Mark, whilst Jay hits an elboe suicida on Kaz. Cross Rhodes COUNTERED to a Fisherman Buster by the young Briscoe. Splash Mountain Neckbreaker nailed for 2 on the American Nightmare. Jay Briscoe pauses to hurl abuse at Page, demanding he get involved legally so they can continue their rivalry. He hands the noose to Page and yells 'HANG ME MOTHERF*CKER'...then proceeds to wrestle the next phase of the match with the noose draped insultingly round his neck. He and Page fight to a double knockdown and are then in a race to tag. They bring in Lethal and Cody to legally go at in the Hammerstein Ballroom once again. Lethal Injection  COUNTERED TO CROSS RHODES! But Lethal kicks at 2! Page and Rhodes tease a disrespectful Doomsday Device...then Hangman nails the Buckshot Lariat when Lethal blocks. Slingshot Cutter from Frankie to Mark! Superplex/Froggy Bow/Hail To The King trilogy destroys Cody...necessitating Kaz and Page dive in for a last-ditch save. SSP OFF THE APRON from Page to Lethal! SOMERSAULT PESCADO BY JAY! SUICIDE DIVE BY CODY! In the melee Kaz drags Mark down by the tights and uses them for a controversial pinfall win at 15:28

Rating - ** - The last few minutes of this (essentially after Page and Jay Briscoe dialled up the intensity with the noose) were really enjoyable. Unfortunately before that it all felt very safe, by the book and one-dimensional. Compare the heel work of Bullet Club here to the chaotic scenes we got during the Los Ingobernables ten-man tag at Honor Rising last week. The intensity just wasn't there until Jay Briscoe and Page stepped up...and as a result the first half of the match felt bland.

Others have received title shots before him, but Bobby Fish entered 2017 as the #1 contender to the World Title courtesy of winning the 2016 Survival Of The Fittest Tournament, He comes into this extra motivated as well, looking to avenge the devastating loss his partner Kyle O'Reilly suffered to Cole in his very first defence of the World Title at Wrestle Kingdom. O'Reilly didn't return to ROH after that loss, meaning Fish is alone in fighting the man who proclaims himself to be the leader of Bullet Club (in the USA anyway). These two have shared great matches before. Bobby proved by choking out Ishii at Global Wars last year that he is a big match performer. Is Cole equipped to survive the challenge and prevent a car crash of a World Title situation going into a PPV and a WrestleMania weekend show after that? Christopher Daniels awaits the winner at the 15th Anniversary - so joins commentary on a scouting mission...

Cole is incredibly over tonight, even when he stalls a time-wastes to avoid an early strike flurry from the challenger. Fish keeps coming with kicks and elbows and works his way into a position to hit a dragon screw. Once again Cole retreats knowing he can't allow himself to be set up for the Fish Hook. He catches Bobby in the face with a jumping enzi just as the challenger seems to be opening up an arm injury as well. Realising he is being picked apart inside the ring he relishes being on the floor instead and uses the environment to dump Bobby into the guardrails. But Cole then celebrates it too long and is punished with a GUARDRAIL SPEAR from Fish. Daniels' insight on commentary when talking about challenging for titles in the latter years of your career is incredibly interesting. As he speaks Cole violently shoves Fish from the top rope to the floor. Obviously Bobby is hurt...but when the champ tries to capitalise with a comically theatric rear chinlock Fish is able to instantly counter it into a Crossface submission to show, yet again, how he can beat an opponent with a variety of methods. Cole starts punishing the upper body of his opponent, trying to capitalise on that spill to the floor. Fish comes back with leg kicks and a LEG CAPTURE German suplex. A vicious flurry of martial arts kicks almost put Adam away soon after. Turnbuckle Exploder gets another nearfall, drops Cole on his head and also rattles his leg against the turnbuckles. I've already stopped to mention it once, but Riccaboni and Daniels are absolutely outstanding on commentary for this. They narrate Fish continuing to strike at the bad leg of Cole. The champ gives him the NXT Last Shot...but the impact is weakened and Cole is then slow to capitalise. BACK DROP DRIVER nailed when Fish tries to strike at him again. Bobby counters Panama Sunrise with an Alabamaslam into the turnbuckles...and converts to a Falcon Arrow for 2. Brainbuster nailed as well, with him clinging on to apply a cross armbreaker. Diving headbutt COUNTERED TO A MID-AIR SUPERKICK! LAST SHOT! But it destroys Cole's own leg! He takes an eternity to cover and when he does only gets a two-count. Adam can barely stand but still tries to climb up the ropes for an avalanche Panama Sunrise. Fish counters with the SUPER FALCON ARROW! Both weary, both injured; champion and challenger start teeing off on each other. SUPERKICK FLURRY from Cole! But again they injure his leg and he struggles to stand afterwards. Bobby raises his middle fingers! Shining Wizard gets a one-count! Bare Knee Wizard COUNTERED TO THE FISH HOOK DELUXE! Cole small packages free! FISH HOOK AGAIN! COLE GRABS THE TIGHTS! He barely escapes with the title at 18:38

Rating - **** - I thought this was a great match. The atmosphere was slightly odd since Cole is such a supreme slimeball, but was the fan favourite to much of the audience. The match felt well-paced and set up to expertly showcase the skills both men possess. In isolation I also really liked the cheap finish. They are always easy to criticise (I almost always moan about crappy finishes), but in the context of the match it had a clear purpose. It put over how dangerous Fish was as a challenger and how close he was to winning, but it also showcased the toll that being ROH World Champion is taking on Adam Cole. He has been champ for most of the last year, had to cope with the trauma of losing it (then going to Japan to get it back) and is in the midst of an insane schedule of defences which has seen him beat Yoshi-Hashi and Fish...yet still have Chris Daniels, Dalton Castle and now Matt Taven very close behind. Given what would go down in Vegas, showing some chinks in his armour tonight was solid booking. They definitely shouldn't have run another Bullet Club match with the exact same finish one match earlier though...

Cole cradles his injured leg and can't stand but smiles and celebrates his win anyway. Cody, Hangman Page and Frankie Kazarian all join him and start assaulting a pissed off Bobby Fish. They want to put him through a table and send him off like Kyle O'Reilly...but Jay and Mark Briscoe run out to stop them. Cole lays out Jay Briscoe with the title belt and tries to put him through the table instead. Bubba Ray Dudley, known outside of WWE circles as Bully Ray, randomly appears and powerbombs Cole through the table instead. Chris Daniels can barely contain his delight on commentary! They probably should have left it that...but instead we get a long, meandering Bully monologue. Almost ten minutes drifts by, he doesn't want to be a 'veteran who steals money from a wrestling company' or to be a veteran who 'tells guys what to do'...he's just here because he wants to be. This promo was so lethargic it KILLED any buzz the moment might have generated.

Tape Rating - *** - Though it may be ROH's best show of 2017 so far, this one was incredibly weird. The middle of the card and main event were awesome. The shock appearance of the Hardyz was a hell of a moment. But the show started extremely poorly, peaked in the middle then took us through another couple of pretty uninspiring matches before recovering for the main event. Booking back-to-back grab-the-tights finishes to end the night was the icing on the cake of the horrible pacing and show layout. I'm not going to comment too greatly on Bubba/Bully Ray's debut. He isn't needed in ROH, and it certainly shouldn't have happened the same night that the Hardyz showed up though. I've no problem recommending this show, assuming your remote control works so you can skip the crap...

3) Dragon Lee vs Will Ospreay (****)

2) Adam Cole vs Bobby Fish (****) 

1) Young Bucks vs Jay White/Lio Rush (****) -See below-