McXal's Reviews

Every time I come round to reviewing one of these Anniversary Shows I start to feel incredibly old, having been writing about Ring Of Honor through various online mediums since 2002. Thinking about everything that has transpired in this promotion since that first show when Eddie Guerrero drew a crowd so Low Ki, Bryan Danielson and Christopher Daniels could tear the house down, it has been a remarkable journey. Sinclair ownership has fundamentally changed the very fabric of ROH and moved it enormously from the principles upon which it was founded, but without them the reality is that we may not even be here celebrating a 15th Anniversary at all. Quite incredibly, in the main event tonight will be one of those three men who participated in that very first ever ROH headline bout. Christopher Daniels was one of the 'veterans' ROH built themselves all the way back in 2002, so to still be performing at such a high level all this time later is a stunning accomplishment in itself. He remains driven by a burning desire to be ROH World Champion - like so many of his contemporaries. Is tonight the night he finally joins the elite list of ROH Champions - attaining a belt many felt was earmarked for him from the moment it was created? Beneath that the card is somewhat odd, but undeniably packed with quality. Dalton Castle and The Boys getting a Six-Man Title shot says everything about the credibility of those belts. Davey Boy Smith Jr. is in for an appearance from New Japan and joins War Machine for a hoss trios tag against the Briscoes and the debuting Bully Ray in a match. The (definitely not Broken, thanks to TNA) Hardy Boyz are here too - defending the ROH Tag Titles they so surprisingly won a week ago in New York. The undercard also includes a top contenders match between Bobby Fish and Jay Lethal which many critics singled out as a showstealer and potential ROH MOTY so I'm looking forward to checking that out. Kevin Kelly is back tonight, but he acknowledges that he will now be part time and that Ian Riccaboni is now ROH's lead play-by-play man (which got a big pop out of me). Colt Cabana is a new face on the broadcast team. He is, of course, exceptional at it...but it does feel like a waste when many feel he has more to offer as a performer and in-ring talent. Las Vegas, NV has become an almost annual home for the Anniversary Show - for reasons that aren't entirely clear to me.

Only Caprice Coleman is at ringside with Kenny to represent The Rebellion this evening. I'm not sure whether Rhett Titus or Shane Taylor are booked and in the building. We know The Rebellion have their issues with Search & Destroy. In truth S&D haven't really been acknowledged as a stable on TV or live events all that much and it has never been nailed down who exactly represents them. We know the Motor City Machine Guns and Jay White are part of the group however, and Jay will be keen to ensure that he delivers victory for their team over the dishonourable Rebellion faction...

Kenny is almost surprisingly honest upon his arrival. He shakes hands, offers clean breaks and makes a statement solely by the quality of his ringwork - by repeatedly taking White off his feet. He works Jay's back...until White fires back with a Honma tribute Kokeshi headbutt! Kevin Kelly obviously gets excited because he can talk about New Japan some more. Kenny swipes that aside and levels the New Zealander again with a corkscrew pescado. Over-confidence starts to replace Kenny's laser-focus though, and he misses a springboard leg drop after taking too long posing. White capitalises with a jumping elbow but is noticeably nursing his midsection. He tries to line up a tope suicida only for Caprice to shove King aside and take the bullet for him. URINAGE ON THE FLOOR from White to King! Back in the ring Kenny blasts the ribs again with Shotgun Knees, right into a bridging capture suplex for 2. Flatliner/German suplex combo by Jay...NO SOLD so Kenny can hit a spinebuster! Both men go down in a heap. Judo DDT into the turnbuckles gets White a 2-count. Kenny meets him on the top rope - back flipping into a vertical leap jumping enzi strike that almost knocks him out. Cradle superplex blocked with a savage headbutt, but when Jay tries a flying crossbody King rolls through. Royal Flush COUNTERED to a small package! White wins at 09:50

Rating - *** - Wrestling promotions have been trying to make Kenny King happen for a decade or more. Gabe thought about in FIP, his successors tried in ROH, TNA had multiple ideas, and since then ROH have taken him back and are still pushing him as a rising star. But every so often he comes up with a match like this and reminds you that he can f*cking go! There were no gimmicks here and minimal outside interference - it was just dudes contesting a hard-fought wrestling match. Colt Cabana pointed out that this was the kind of action ROH was built upon and he was right on the money. It was hard hitting, high-flying, crisply executed and exciting. King takes a loss but looks strong in defeat having prevented White from hitting the majority of his signature spots due to injury. In the 'old' ROH someone like Gabe would've realised that these guys had chemistry and given them longer on a subsequent card in a rematch to go better. I don't hold out much hope of that, but this was a decent way to start the PPV that came out of nowhere and will have surprised a few people with how good it was.

The Young Bucks and Adam Page congratulate Frankie Kazarian for being the better and more handsome member of The Addiction and are ecstatic he is in Bullet Club...

Do ROH have some kind of contractual obligation to put a multi-man TV Title #1 contendership match on every pay-per-view? Given that Kazarian and Page come out together as representatives of Bullet Club you'd have to make them the favourites. Kaz has plenty of history with Sabin of course, so we may revisit that here. The wildcard is Punishment Martinez - who should come into this hot after destroying BJ Whitmer then going to Japan for Honor Rising weekend and almost pulling off a major upset in a NEVER Openweight Title Match with Hirooki Goto. Silas Young has been working commentary with Ian for most of 2017 thus far, which means he may have a little ring rust to contend with if he wants the next shot at the winner of Scurll/Rush later tonight...

Cheeseburger's popularity continues to be completely lost on me. The crowd go nuts for him, then literally die when he doesn't start and we watch Sabin and Kazarian blow themselves up going for rapid-fire pin attempts instead. Hangman and Frankie try to double team Sabin...but he knocks them both out of the ring and hits a tope. Page hits the SSP off the apron...before Burger back drops Young out on top of them. Cheese tries a springboard plancha to no effect. STEP-UP SOMERSAULT PLANCHA BY MARTINEZ! This guy is unreal! Not content with that, he re-enters with a springboard imploding senton on Sabin for 2. Bullet Club team up to shut Punishment down - with Page eventually hitting the Spike DDT to remove him from the ring. Cabana pointing out how ridiculous it is that Burger keeps trying springboard crossbody blocks makes my evening. Killer Combo on Burger, which in turn leaves Silas open for a missile dropkick. Chris then saves Burger from a Last Ride at the hands of Martinez. SHOTEI/BUCKSHOT LARIAT COMBO by Cheese and Hangman, and it barely takes Punisher off his feet! Cheeseburger levels Young with strikes...only for Page to Superkick him. SOUTH OF HEAVEN ON THE APRON from Martinez to Hangman. Sabin JUMPS OFF SILAS' BACK INTO A GERMAN SUPERPLEX ON FRANKIE! Plunge on Sabin misses, so Young hits Misery instead for 2. Burger blocks the same move and hits a springboard knee. Shotei gets 2 before Kaz breaks it. Frankie gives Burger the Ace Of Spades and wins at 10:10

Rating - *** - The match was good, far better than I'd expected in fact. But the choice of winner feels totally inspired. I have nothing against Kazarian, and the shape he'd gotten himself into at this point in his career is incredible. But I can't believe anyone has any serious interest in a singles run for him. The fact that Martinez didn't get a big win on PPV to back up his TV breakout moment with BJ or his strong tour of NJPW feels incredibly weird. If a Bullet Club member had to win, why not at least have Hangman go over, given that he is younger with a far greater upside. Mean-spirited though it was, Cabana low key burying Cheeseburger every time he did anything was a highlight of the match for me.

Before their match both Jay Lethal and Bobby Fish have pre-taped interview segments. Lethal knows he needs a win over Fish so he can get back to the World Title he holds so dear. Bobby's promo is a masterclass in saying absolutely nothing in as many words as possible. He says nothing of any relevance at all and comes off very much like a man running down his dates...

This is a top contenders match, with the winner undoubtedly moving a step closer to getting an ROH Title shot after Supercard Of Honor. Bobby is just a week removed from the crushing disappointment of failing to beat Adam Cole for the belt at Manhattan Mayhem. Ian Riccaboni calls it 'one of the most gruelling World Title Matches ever' which is a ludicrous statement, but it was an intense battle and Bobby only wound up on the losing side because Cole cheated. Jay Lethal knows plenty about getting over the disappointment of losing a World Title Match to Adam Cole - and is still in hot pursuit of both the champ and Bullet Club. 

The difference in approach from the two men is marked. Lethal is relaxed and wants to trade holds, whilst Fish's first move into lunge into an attempt at the Fish Hook Deluxe. He throws kicks at Lethal, pummelling him so hard that Jay plummets through the ropes to the floor. Lethal returns to the ring aware he needs to avoid Fish's strikes at all costs. He takes him to the ground for the hiptoss dropkick sequence - delivered with such force that this time Bobby leaves the ring. Lethal isn't chilled out and working wristlocks now - he sarcastically tries to help Fish into the ring...and then smashes him with a springboard dropkick. TOPE SUICIDA MISSES! Fish points at the guardrails almost to point out his skill in dodging that move. It injures the chest and ribs and Fish has no problem in exploiting those injuries immediately. Weirdly, Jay doesn't really put that over and chooses this moment to deliver a Michael Elgin special stalling suplex. Bobby shuts him down with knees to the chest...then kicks him so hard that Lethal crumples in pain. He keeps BATTERING Lethal with some ferocious kicks. Backbreaker nailed before Lethal crawls to the apron to avoid a springboard moonsault attempt. He kicks Fish into the aisle (where there is no barricade this time) and NAILS the tope suicida second time of asking. Exhausted and battered, both men wearily crawl into the ring egging each other on to keep throwing strikes. Fish unloads some body shows...so Lethal ELBOWS HIM IN THE JAW! ROUNDHOUSE KICK TO THE SKULL! BACK DROP F*CKING DRIVER RIGHT ON HIS HEAD! Lethal kicks out! Fish goes for an Anklelock...only for Lethal to skip out of the corner into an Ace Crusher! He sets up Hail To The King, but Fish crucifixes through it into Fish Hook Deluxe. The crowd really bites on that as a finish and pop huge for Lethal making the ropes. He lands the Lethal Combination as set up for Hail To The King. Fish kicks at the leg to counter the Lethal Injection! So Jay strikes at his neck to stop him hitting another suplex. SPRINGBOARD INJECTION! LETHAL INJECTION COUNTERED TO THE FISH HOOK! Jay somehow turns that it into a pinning situation just to free himself. LETHAL INJECTION! Jay wins at 15:07

Rating - **** - If you dropped this match into a 2005-2007 era show it wouldn't have felt remotely out of place. It wasn't perfect by any means, but oozed quality and felt like a really epic collision between two top tier performers. The quality of reDRagon's run as a team, plus Kyle O'Reilly's singles career, means that Bobby is really under-rated as a singles worker. The last year has seen him step up and really show what he can do. He was the driving force behind everything good in this match - he was charismatic, he worked body parts, he sold his desperation to win beautifully. I'd call it a star-making match, and it could've been the one to cement his position as a legitimate main event guy in ROH were it not for the fact that he is now working down his contract so he can rejoin Kyle in NXT. I've purposefully not mentioned Lethal because it almost goes without saying how good he is. By this point he is every bit as important to Ring Of Honor as Bryan Danielson was back in his day. Lethal is the workhorse of the promotion, and the one Delirious knows that he can chuck through the curtain with anyone on the roster and he'll produce a note-worthy match. Third match on the card and these guys could well have stolen the show...

The Kingdom berate Dalton and The Boys for trying to ruin their 'Purple Reign Tour'. It is set against footage of them attacking The Boys in the back, or in an empty arena after a show. I've not seen it on TV or VOD which is weird. 

It has been a massive bug-bear of mine that ROH have introduced these Six-Man Titles with seemingly no plan whatsoever and have largely used them as a prop to legitimise Matt Taven and his goons. There are plenty of factions/groups/collectives in ROH right now and we could have seen the belts contested in legitimate matches with legitimate feuds behind them. Instead random thrown together teams get shots, teams with no heat or qualifying criteria get shots...and tonight a team which involves two guys who are hardly even on the active roster gets a crack. Dalton and The Boys are generally a fun act. The Tate Twins and their shrieking, high-flying antics are easy to watch if not follow. But this isn't a title defence which makes me think I should be taking the Trios Title seriously...

Castle gets a super-special entrance and is carried onto the stage by a whole gaggle of extra Boys. 'I beat those Boys by myself in like four minutes' - Cabana, who applies far too much logic to ROH's sh*tty booking. All six men brawl from the outset, with The Boys hitting STEREO SOMERSAULT PLANCHAS! Marseglia is so over-exaggerated and extreme in his portrayal of a crazy person that it comes off as incredibly corny. The Boys have different hair to tell them apart which is good. Vinny body slams Boy #1 into ring apron and watches as he lands on his head. The Kingdom isolate #1, almost pinning him with their rapid-fire German suplex/springboard elbow combo. Aware that #1 is in trouble, Boy #2 pulls a switcheroo behind Todd Sinclair's back and makes a fake hot tag to Dalton! Everest German on TK! Same again on Taven gets 2. Bang-A-Rang scores only for TK and Vinny to break the pin. Marseglia hits an ugly ass tope, setting up an O'RYAN ASAI MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! He rattles his feet on the guardrail on the way down and breaks his f*cking leg! He is done, and his partners quickly innovate a two-man version of Rock Star Supernova to pin Boy #2. The Kingdom retain, but attention immediately switches to O'Ryan on the floor who is obviously seriously injured...

Rating - ** - Rating this as a match is of course secondary to TK's health. Breaking his leg like that is desperately bad luck for a young man in the midst of the biggest break of his wrestling career. Opinion is divided on whether Taven's 'new' Kingdom are worth watching, but I've found them to be a largely solid act put in a position which does them no favours at all in working these random Trios Title Matches. Marseglia isn't great and Taven is inconsistent, but O'Ryan shows glimpses of potential that we wouldn't get to see more of. The actual match wasn't terrible - with the usual assortment of twin-thing comedy capers and Boy-related skullduggery. Vinny needs to dial down his stupid character work because it is completely out of keeping with the rest of The Kingdom...

Ring crew, random wrestlers and medical staff all crowd around TK and immediately remove his boot. Vinny leads the group of people who rapidly carry him to the back, with Taven looking completely devastated behind them...

Not much of any real significance has come from ROH's house show circuit pre-Manhattan Mayhem this year. One of the few news-worthy occurrences so far was Lio's victory in a 2/3 Falls Proving Ground Match over Marty at The Experience to earn this opportunity. Lio's year in Ring Of Honor has been spectacular - from victory in the Top Prospect Tournament, an MOTYC with Jay Lethal at WrestleMania weekend, going deep in Survival Of The Fittest and more. A win over The Villain would be the next step in his development as a rising star of professional wrestling.

The crowd goes nuts for Marty; he really was one of the biggest stars in ROH well before Bullet Club and Being The Elite. He repeatedly tries to take Lio to the ground, but struggles to retain his grip on the challenger. Rush effortless hops off the apron into a headscissors on the floor proving how dangerous he can be when he quickens the pace. Scurll recognises it too and tries to shut him down by trapping him in the ring skirt and booting him in the face. Lio is still reeling as Marty stomps the exposed arm into the ring canvas. There is already heavy taping and bandaging on Lio's left shoulder, making no secret of the fact that he comes into the match already struggling with problems in that arm. DEATH SLAP BY LIO! Marty wrenches the arm but his ear is still ringing from that slap and he walks into a handspring elbow. Rush Hour blocked...so Lio hits a twisting DDT instead for 2. Too early for the Dragon's Call though, and Marty whips Rush into the buckles so violently he almost crumples through them to the outside. Heavily nursing his bad arm he retreats to the apron...but BACK FLIPS away from Scurll when he tries to grab the arm then lands a running double stomp from the apron to the floor. Double stomp back into the ring gets 2. Scurll stomps the legs to slow him down then hits a running punt to the bad arm. BRAINBUSTER, hooked using the injured arm, gets 2 for The Villain. Chickenwing BLOCKED with a Pele Kick! Just Kidding nailed, soon followed by a big lariat to leave both champion and challenger on the ground. Scurll starts repeatedly heel kicking Lio from the apron, but Lio refuses to stay down and charges back from the floor with rapid-fire strikes. Handspring elbow COUNTERED TO THE CHICKENWING! RUSH ROLLS THROUGH FOR 2! DRAGON'S CALL GETS KNEES! JUMPING PILEDRIVER by Marty...gets 2! Lio is bleeding from the mouth, but refuses to accept defeat and somehow counters a Tombstone attempt into a Chickenwing of his own. RUSH HOUR NAILED! SCURLL KICKS OUT! Rush can't believe it and stomps out of the ring to arm himself with the title belt. Realising he has lost his temper, he puts the slides the belt out but has lost valuable seconds. DRAGON'S CALL! AGAIN Scurll gets a shoulder up - presumably because he got extra seconds thanks to the title belt shenanigans. Lio is doing an awesome job telling the story of an angry young man unravelling in a pressure match. He starts setting up chairs outside the ring, teasing a completely insane top rope Rush Hour into them. COUNTERED TO THE TOWER OF LONDON! FOR 2! FINGER SNAP! CHICKENWING! Marty pauses to rip the bandaging off the shoulder...then starts elbowing him in the neck! RUSH TAPS! Scurll retains at 18:35

Rating - **** - This was yet another completely awesome Marty Scurll TV Title Match. Given the talent Ring Of Honor lost in 2016, he has proven to be an exceptionally smart acquisition and is consistently delivers one of the best matches on the card whenever he is booked. This had everything you want to see in a championship match - with smart wrestling, legitimate drama, believable performances from both athletes and a thrilling finish. For a guy who hasn't gotten many plaudits for his charisma or story-telling during his ROH run, Lio's body language and character work during this were superb. He totally had me sold on him being an angry, inexperienced kid falling apart under the pressure of a big PPV title match. Whether that makes sense given everything he has done in the last year is up for debate, but on this night I fully bought into it. His 2016/17 Ring Of Honor run is criminally under-rated (as I've said multiple times) and this is his last substantive match in the company (although he does work a couple more TV tapings). Not signing this outrageously talented young man to a longer deal was a major oversight by ROH...

Kevin Kelly informs me that this was supposed to be Briscoes vs Killer Elite Squad, but was changed to a Briscoe open challenge when Lance Archer succumbed to injury. War Machine answering the call and teaming with Bulldog Jr. is an interesting one since KES and War Machine really don't like each other and have a rivalry spanning both NJPW and ROH. Bully Ray is the wildcard, stepping into an ROH ring for the first time. On the pre-show he made it known that he demanded that ROH officials get him into the ring with the Briscoes, hence he teams with them this evening. 

Why is Bully talking? Just shut up and fight man! He gets started by throwing punches in Davey's direction, ensuring his team successfully isolate him before War Machine can get involved. Smith shows his power by suplexing both Briscoes at the same time...so the Briscoes put him down with a Wassup elbow drop. Bully gets carried away and wants some tables, meaning his entire team turn their backs on Hanson and Rowe who charge in and deck them. Their sheer size overwhelms Mark Briscoe, and acts as a surprisingly effective foil for the ruthless technical precision of Smith as well. Stalling vertical suplex in tribute to his father nailed successfully...and when Jay tries to come rescue his brother Davey EJECTS him from the ring brutally. Mark hits a German suplex on Hanson and tags out to his brother, who drops Rowe with the Day One Neckbreaker for 2. Pop-up powerslam from War Machine to Jay sets him back though. War Machine think about Fallout...except Davey has other plans and forcibly tags his way in to stop them hitting it. They start arguing about who gets to lead the charge, opening the door for Jay to tag Bubba. Davey puts Bully down with a mafia kick, before Mark drops Hanson with the urinage. Judo throw knee from Rowe to Jay! ELBOW SUICIDA TO THE RAILINGS by Jay in response. The Briscoes want Bully to go to the top rope...and he obliges. TRIPLE CROSSBODY BY BULLY! Jay Driller on Hanson! Froggy Bow nailed! Rowe accidentally smashes Davey with the Shotgun Knees...before stumbling into the 3-D. Briscoes and Bully win at 11:47

Rating - *** - Bringing Bully into ROH isn't something I particularly wanted or needed to see, and I certainly don't see the long-term value in him playing the hits and recyling spots that we've seen over and over for more than fifteen years. But equally, it is worth pointing out that he didn't do anything wrong in this match. The fans were happy for him to play the hits, he contributed where he could but otherwise largely stayed out of the way so the other five guys could do their thing. The War Machine and Davey tension was fun, but never felt particularly relevant given that the vast majority of their rivalry will be contained to New Japan - and it came at the expense of paying any real reverence to the Briscoes/War Machine rivalry which HAS delivered great things in an ROH ring. As a come down match to separate the great TV Title Match from the two main events this was extremely decent.

This was initially scheduled to be Rocky and Trent challenging the Bucks in a Street Fight, until those plans were derailed in a major way by the events of Manhattan Mayhem. Weeks before they were scheduled to return to ROH at Supercard Of Honor, the Hardyz made an unscheduled appearance in New York to challenge the Bucks for the belts there and then. Matt and Nick have made their reputation as fighting champions and had already agreed to multiple unscheduled defences of the belts - and that night was no different...except this time they lost. The Hardyz added the ROH Tag Titles to their incredible career resume then announced they'd 'signed' with ROH on an even bigger contract than the Young Bucks. As a result they are here in Vegas this weekend - working both the PPV and TV taping before going to Supercard for a rematch with the Bucks. It means they've been inserted into this match as scheduled. RPG Vice still get their title shot, the rules are still thrown out the window, and the Young Bucks have an immediate opportunity to get their belts back from the (definitely not) Broken Hardyz here tonight...

Romero and Beretta stand in the corner and watch as the Bucks and the Hardyz go nose-to-nose, then get swatted away like insects by the defending champs. They charge back armed with weapons and lay waste to both opposing teams. Rocky hits a springboard dropkick, through a trash can lid, into Jeff's back. He gives the Bucks a double rana, and thinks fast to counter an Indytaker attempt into a standing Shiranui. The Hardyz break up the RPG dominance with some of their signature double teams...and go right back to staring off with the Jacksons. The unthinkable then happens - the Hardyz and the Bucks start teaming up to beat up RPG Vice. POWERBOMB ON THE ENTRANCE RAMP from Matt J to Trent! Superkicks lay out the Hardy Boyz! The Bucks MISS stereo Hardy Boy rip-off dives, leaving Jeff free to bring a ladder into the ring. Before they can get their mojo going Romero spoils the party by springboard dropkicking it into their faces though. RPG Vice then hit their signature wheelbarrow knee smash...except through a ladder onto Matt Hardy. Jeff saves with a ladder...only to be Superkicked in mid-air by Matt J! Trent tries to climb to the top...only for Matt J to TRIP HIM THROUGH THE LADDER! SUPERKICK KNOCKS JEFF TO THE FLOOR! Nick climbs the ladder, then steps off it into a SPRINGBOARD SWANTON TO THE FLOOR! 450 SPLASH THROUGH A TRASH CAN gets 2 on Beretta. Romero blocks More Bang For Your Buck...but then Matt FLIPS OUT OF A GERMAN SUPERPLEX TO SUPERKICK TRENT! Twist Of Fate from Matt H to Matt J! SWANTON BOMB GETS KNEES! Romero reaches into a bag and pulls out a sleeve covered in tacks! FOREVER THUMBTACK CLOTHESLINES! STRONG ZERO! MATT J BREAKS THE FALL! Beretta pours more tacks onto the canvas, only to be given a DOOMSDAY BULLDOG FACE-FIRST INTO THEM by the Bucks! Matt puts tacks in Trent's mouth! SICKO SUPERKICK NAILED! Rocky tries a Shiranui...COUNTERED TO A MELTZER DRIVER INTO THE TACKS! The Hardyz break the pin! STEREO TWIST OF FATES INTO THE TACKS! The champs bring a table and a fresh ladder into play...and drape poor Trent across it. SWANTON BOMB OFF A LADDER THROUGH A TABLE! Jeff pins Beretta to retain at 17:13

Rating - **** - Completely wild; almost unbelievably so considering the fact that RPG Vice were nothing but token challengers and the Bucks/Hardyz rivalry has a much bigger match still to come. They let it all hang out here, fuelled largely by a completely bonkers performance from Trent Beretta. That guy took a horrific beating - almost every high spot in this match featured him as the victim. The fact that they openly acknowledged RPG Vice as totally superfluous to the 'bigger issue' between the Jacksons and the Hardyz was extremely smart. It opened the door to multiple teases of Jackson/Hardy violence without blowing through everything...and meant it made complete sense that Rocky and Trent were doing batsh*t crazy stunts just to get noticed. Of course this was a thrown together match, a Street Fight for absolutely no reason and a secondary title match on a major PPV. But wrestling is supposed to be fun...and this was fantastically FUN from start to finish. 

Before leaving Matt and Jeff Hardy beat the Bucks down then steal their Superkick Party Title belts!

EARLIER THIS WEEK - An emotional Chris Daniels talks about sacrificing his personal aspirations to be World Champion when The Addiction made their return to ROH in 2014. He admits they never went away and is now tearful and scared as he knows he is in the twilight of his career and still hasn't fulfilled his destiny.

Fifteen years after main eventing the very first Ring Of Honor show, Christopher Daniels is still here and still striving to add his name to the list of men who can call themselves ROH Champion. He has masterminded Xavier getting it. He saw his contemporaries like Low Ki, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson and CM Punk get it. And as he drifted in and out of the company he has watched the next generation - guys like Eddie Edwards, Davey Richards, Roderick Strong, Jay Briscoe, Michael Elgin, Tyler Black, Kevin Steen and more hold it. Now in the twilight of his career and considered a legendary pioneer of this promotion - he still feels his career is incomplete and his destiny will be unfulfilled if he doesn't hold a belt he has been chasing since 2002. Standing before him is a THREE TIME champion, in his mid-20's, with all the advantages you could wish for. Younger and faster, part of the most influential wrestling faction outside of the WWE in more than a decade, with a pull so enticing that even Daniels' best friend Frankie Kazarian seemingly couldn't resist. He stabbed Daniels in the back to join Bullet Club after Daniels won the Decade Of Excellence Tournament to earn this shot. Ring Of Honor officials (and Daniels himself) have been promoting this as arguably the Fallen Angel's last chance to become World Champion. Can he seize the opportunity at long last?

Daniels shakes hands with a smiling Adam Cole - a symbolic gesture given that he was the first man to openly refuse the Code Of Honor. He barely lays a glove on the champ in the opening minute, making the point that Adam is faster, younger and extremely dangerous. For his part Cole doesn't appear to be taking this seriously at all and amuses himself playing to the fans and hurling abuse at the challenger. He provokes Daniels into ditching the pleasantries and throwing strikes...but again Cole puts him down with ease. Daniels ups the stakes...and nails the Arabian Press to the floor. Again Adam is up to the challenge though; recovering with a SUPERKICK into the ringpost! Daniels is busted open as a result, so of course the smirking champion puts an exclamation point on it by ramming his skull into the post for a second time. Back inside the ring he grinds onto a chinlock to squeeze as much blood from the wound as he possibly can, before rocking the head again with the NXT Last Shot. Daniels kicks out of that but is rewarded solely with repeated, rugged big boots right into his bloody face. Cole plays to the fans...and doesn't see the Koji Clutch coming! Vintage Chris Daniels...but it isn't enough to force a submission. The champ escapes and continues to verbally berate the veteran - with increasingly personal abuse too. It fires Daniels up and with blood streaming down his face he decks Cole with a running STO, quickly followed by the Blue Thunder Driver. Fall From Grace nailed for 2. BME countered into a Superkick for 2! More punishment to the bloody head and neck follows with a Shining Wizard then the DVD over the knee. Panama Sunrise countered with a frankensteiner by the weary Daniels, who just refuses to stay down. In return Cole rana's out of Angel's Wings, leading to stereo clotheslines and both competitors prone on the canvas. Daniels tries to recreate the avalanche Angel's Wings which won him the Decade Of Excellence Tournament...but Cole blocks it with punches to the bloody wound. ANGEL'S WINGS FROM COLE TO DANIELS gets 2! Bare Knee Wizard COUNTERED TO THE LAST SHOT ON COLE! Now it's the champ's turn to kick out of his own finisher. STYLES CLASH NAILED! A tribute to another of Daniels' best friends! BUT COLE KICKS OUT! Todd Sinclair gets bumped with a misplaced Superkick...and Cole tries to profit with a low blow! The ref collapses to the ground...and out comes Frankie Kazarian. He wants to hit Daniels with the title belt...but then tosses it away and tears off his Bullet Club shirt to reveal a Daniels shirt underneath. IT'S A DOUBLE CROSS! URINAGE SLAM! BEST MOONSAULT EVER...FLURRY! DANIELS WINS! DANIELS IS ROH CHAMPION! Destiny fulfilled at 21:50

Rating - **** - Is this the way I'd have booked Daniels winning the ROH World Championship? Absolutely not. On a personal level I've found the weepy veteran, 'one last chance' build-up to this a little dated - especially when up to Ladder War 6 last year Daniels was being pushed as a remorseless, evergreen, calculating 'Ring General'. But, although it may not be the story I'd have told, I can't deny that Daniels has excelled in the role and delivered superbly on the brief given to him. We have been building to this moment from the moment Ladder War 6 was booked, with Daniels showing more emotional vulnerability in the last six months than we've seen arguably in his whole career. He bled buckets, fought like a trooper but was powerless to stop the rise of the Young Bucks and the Bullet Club back at All Star Extravaganza. He and Frankie were in the wilderness as a tag team, seemingly unable to fight the meteoric rise of Bullet Club, and Daniels dream of being World Champion further away than ever. But winning the Decade Of Excellence Tournament restored his confidence, and after that the crafty, calculating Ring General concocted his most dastardly and devious scheme yet. This is a man who led the unfancied Xavier to the ROH Title. A man who convinced a young Mark Briscoe to leave his family and join The Prophecy. Adam Cole was young, talented and ultra cocky - meaning he let his guard down, allowed Kaz into the fold and unwittingly cemented the end of his third title run. Again, not the story I'd have gone with...but undeniably well told and this match BRILLIANTLY executed the culmination of it. It meant that they didn't necessarily work the finest wrestling match of all time, but it felt like a good, old-fashioned, character driven fight and entertained me from first bell to last. On a card where we've seen super wrestling, crazy brawling, high-flying and even broken legs, this was totally different yet excellent in its own way. And it means that at long last, after waiting since 2002, we'll finally get a run with Christopher Daniels at the top of Ring Of Honor - working main event matches - with the World Title around his waist.

Cary Silkin presents Daniels with the original ROH Championship belt along with the current belt in an emotional scene. All the babyfaces booked on the show fill the ring to congratulate him, with fellow Era Of Honor Begins survivors Jay and Mark Briscoe front and centre...

Tape Rating - **** - Sinclair-owned Ring Of Honor has attracted plenty of critics throughout their tenure of ownership, myself amongst them. But this was undeniably a great wrestling show. From the ultra-competitive and exciting opener through to the emotionally draining main event this card ticked all the boxes you want to see as a wrestling fan. Bobby Fish and Jay Lethal tore the house down. Marty Scurll and Lio Rush delivered an exciting cutting edge and completely modern championship match. The Bucks, the Hardyz and RPG Vice produced all manner of innovative hardcore high spot. Then Cole and Daniels brought the curtain down on a long-term story arc for Daniels in spectacular fashion. Even the commentary was excellent, with Kevin Kelly marginalised so the outstanding Colt Cabana and enjoyable Ian Riccaboni could take the lead. The only 'bad' match on the card was over quickly, and probably could've been salvaged were it not for one of the competitors breaking his damn leg trying to entertain. Cabana said many times on commentary that 'this is the kind of action ROH was built upon' and he was dead right. This was a great show in 2017, and if it had taken place in 2006 it would've been considered a hell of a night then as well. By far ROH's best event so far this calendar year and obviously one you should check out...

3) Jay Lethal vs Bobby Fish (****)

2) Adam Cole vs Christopher Daniels (****)

1) Hardy Boyz vs Young Bucks vs RPG Vice (****)