McXal's Reviews

I think this may be the first show ever in the ROH 'main' series that I've reviewed via VOD streaming rather than physical media but times are a'changing. This show wasn't actually released as a DVD in all fairness; forming the second half of a unique taping where the first half was recorded for television and the second half was taped as a Ringside Membership VOD exclusive. We are on the Road To Best In The World this evening - and our main event could have a real impact on two of the highest profile bouts at the pay-per-view. The Addiction - World Champion Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian - face the Bullet Club combo of Cody Rhodes and Adam Page; the men they'll face in singles action in Lowell. Bully Ray will face Matt Taven, and we'll also be seeing the Young Bucks and Jay Lethal in action. Ian Riccaboni, Alex Shelley and Colt Cabana provide commentary from Chicago Ridge, IL.

The Rebellion's Caprice Coleman is so excited about finally getting a chance to share the ring with a main event level talent that he demands to 'sing' himself to the ring with a totally bizarre rap. In all fairness to Coleman, terrible as it was there aren't many in ROH right now who could've pulled that off at all. He'll be looking to capitalise on Jay Lethal being distracted by his ongoing issues with Silas Young. Similarly, though, Caprice may have one eye on Best In The World when The Rebellion will battle Search & Destroy with the very existence of those two factions at stake...

Coleman tries to get Lethal to join The Rebellion, basically taking up ten minutes of this two hour show in the process. Annoying as he is, Caprice is a talented worker and he has no problem hanging with 'The Franchise' on the mat. He counters the hiptoss dropkick sequence by grabbing an arm for a wristlock, and seconds later sidesteps an attempt at the Lethal Injection into a rear chinlock. Next he counters Lethal's trademark tope suicida sequence and rolls backwards through the ropes into a headscissors on the floor. 619 around the ringpost drops Jay again. An attempt at the Sky Splitter misses though, allowing Jay to tear into him with strikes. An attempt at the frankensteiner MISSES for Coleman (and he really committed to it too) and at last Lethal starts finding ways to deliver his signature offensive combinations. Roaring Elbow sets up a running Ace Crusher for 2! Lethal Combination lands, only for Caprice to COUNTER Hail To The King with the running super rana! Trinity suplex combo gets 2. In turn Lethal climbs the ropes to block the Sky Splitter - eventually springing into a sunset flip for 2. Rapid fire pins all get 2. LETHAL INJECTION! Lethal wins at 10:34

Rating - *** - Every so often ROH books Caprice into a serious match with one of their big names and he always delivers. That isn't a surprise because the guy is a solid performer. The issue I always have with it is that when he is basically a big-mouthed jobber the rest of the time, having to suspend my disbelief to watch Jay Lethal - arguably the top worker in the company - bend over backwards to sell for him it feels very unsettling. This was very decent though, and could've used another couple of minutes to really take it to the next level. Caprice's endless promo time at the beginning was tedious to sit through but it definitely ensured the crowd were invested in the match when it eventually broke out. 

Booking this match actually makes some sense. After TK O'Ryan got injured it was Bully and the Briscoes who defeated The Kingdom to take the Six-Man Titles so of course the leader of The Kingdom would want to go after the ECW icon. As usual, Bubba gets a microphone and makes this one a Street Fight. The man is such a parody it's laughable...

Taven jumps Bully from behind and waffles him with his cane. 'Bully has been pulling this schtick a lot in ROH recently' - Colt Cabana. Still reeling, Matt belts him with a chair then chokes him with it. Ray is only interested in selling for so long of course, and eventually comes back with big chops. He rams Taven's cane into the ribs...then decides to continue his annoying quest to hit a dive. Marseglia distracts the ref (needlessly - it's no DQ!) so Matt can toss him off the top rope. Vinny chokes Bully in the ropes - once again with the ref distracted even though it doesn't matter. Bubba swats him aside with a thrust kick but is blasted with a springboard enzi by Taven moments later. Getting confident, Matt starts verbally berating the old timer...and takes his eye off the ball so Bubba can block a moonsault with his knees. He convinces referee Paul Turner to hold Taven's legs in the air...and press slams Marseglia into Taven's groin Wassup-style. Vinny recovers to toss a table into the ring for his partner - which Taven botches setting up to the delight of the remorseless Chicago fans. When he finally completes the job, Bubba simply walks in and chokeslams him through it, making him look like the biggest loser on the planet. Bully wins at 11:24

Rating - DUD - I've made it clear that I'm not a fan of Bubba Dudley in ROH, but I also like to think I've been pretty fair and given praise accordingly when he has contributed to a good match. But this is the second time he has stunk out the place with a lazy, sh*tty, nostalgia-spot driven match that has totally crushed a legitimate rising star in ROH's ranks. His win over Silas was criminal, and this was on a similar level. I didn't have as much of a problem with him beating Taven - but I do think the way he utterly CRUSHED him in what was basically a handicap match was spectacularly unhelpful and should never have been allowed. Taven and Marseglia looked SO dumb in this match. Painfully, idiotically, brutally dumb. I can't find a way to explain how selfish, self-serving, ego-stroking a performance this was by Bully, enabled by Sinclair and how hugely damaging The Kingdom it was. It has been a couple of months now and I'm still waiting to see what the point of Bully in ROH is...

The Kingdom cower on the mat as Bully celebrates and leaves - then get up to attack the crew member sweeping up the wreckage of the table. Matt walks out in a strop, leaving Marseglia alone to rant on the microphone. He buries Chicago...until Colt Cabana gets up from the announce table, pops backstage to put on his singlet and comes out to challenge him.

The downside of having Colt at ringside as an excellent commentator is that we don't get to see him in the ring all that often. Given how good he was during his 2016 run that is a real shame. Tonight he steps out from behind the announce desk looking to teach the mouthy, overwhelmingly annoying Vinny Marseglia a lesson in humility and respect.

Marseglia is pretty useless as a wrestler and is made to look stupid both in a kayfabe and non-kayfabe sense as Colt wrestles circles around him. His only tactic is to tear off Todd Sinclair's shoe then attack Cabana when he tries to give it back to Todd. He rattles off strikes in the corner, setting up a Side Effect for 2. Flying Asshole nailed by Colt, but Marseglia blocks Billy Goat's Curse into a mafia kick. Redrum by Vinny...into Colt's knees. Billy Goat's Curse has Vinny tapping at 05:02

Rating - * - They kept it short, and I'm pleased that they let Cabana get a win in Chicago rather than jobbing him out. But this was a stark reminder as to how limited a worker Vinny Marseglia is. One of the real successes of The Kingdom since Taven brought in Vinny and TK is just how well they've covered up their weaknesses. Taven recovering from a knee injury, TK young and finding his feet in  ROH, Marseglia just flat-out not that good. As an act they've worked well together. Individually Vinny is still terrible. He was the drizzling sh*ts trying to keep up with Cabana's chain-wrestling stuff (you know, the goofy comedy routine he does in almost every match, so it's not like Vinny could claim not to have seen it before). His offence isn't particularly interesting, and his personality is annoying as hell too. All that said, I didn't hate this enough to give it the DUD treatment. Cabana getting to wrestle was nice, and this was undeniably snappy and enjoyable to the live crowd.

Both trios have huge matches at Best In The World. As we've discussed, The Rebellion are fighting for their existence (and to eliminate Search & Destroy from ROH permanently), whilst Dalton and The Boys have a somewhat undeserved Trios Title Match. It means both groups badly need a victory to build momentum towards the Lowell pay-per-view.

Colt gets his parents on commentary to talk about how gross Dalton and The Boys are. Castle and Kenny start with a thumb war, which is so intense that Dalton soon needs to be fanned. Rhett demands a fight with The Boys...and punches both their lights out. They string together some of their excitable double-team sequences, so Rhett takes them both outside for a double lariat into the guardrails. Corkscrew pescado follows by King...then Taylor wipes out Dalton when he tries to intervene. The Rebellion isolate one of the Boys. That is until Dalton distracts the referee and the Boys pull a switch! The fresh Boy nimbly leaps into a hot tag to Castle, who suplexes both members of ANX whether they want to go over or not. Everest German blocked with a capo kick...and Kenny decimates Dalton's bad back using a spinebuster. Referee Mike Posey gets in the way of one of The Boys when he tries to run up the ropes for a lucha rana (f*ck you P-Dog), and it all looks a little ugly as Shane catches the wayward Boy and launches him back in Dalton's direction. EVEREST GERMAN ON TAYLOR! ANX make the save before Dalton can pin him through. One Night Stand blocked...Bang-A-Rang blocked as well! Heat Seeking Missile/stereo tope atomicos by Dalton & The Boys! Jay Briscoe runs in and starts f*cking up The Boys...then gets into a punch-up with Dalton! They brawl to the locker rooms leaving The Boys to fight alone. One Night Stand nailed, followed by the big splash from Taylor. The Rebellion get the victory at 13:39

Rating - ** - There were some good things in this match. Kenny King looks really motivated having returned from his stint in reality TV, and I am thoroughly enjoying Shane Taylor in his role as The Rebellion's enforcer. The match as a whole didn't click for me though. Castle's body has been slowly giving out on him and he is now becoming more gimmick than wrestler. The Boys (and Mike Posey) were the major issue with this one though. A lot of what they did wasn't up to scratch and they felt badly exposed in a longer format match than the usual 3-5 minutes they get on television.

Search & Destroy - Chris Sabin, Jon Gresham and Alex Shelley - all hit the ring to prevent The Rebellion doing more damage to the helpless Boys. Jay White and Caprice Coleman are soon on the scene as well and we have a brawl all over ringside as we countdown to their big showdown at Best In The World 2017...

I've not seen too much said about it, but the Young Bucks seem to have declared an open challenge to anyone who thinks they can take the Tag Titles away from them. That is why they've extended a title shot to the underdog team of Cheeseburger and Ferrara here. Will and Cheese have struggled to stay on the same page, but enter as a unified team looking to pull off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport. 

Ian and Colt start the match casually discussing how the Bucks are basically ROH's only draw, which is an astonishing thing to openly talk about! Matt starts making fun of Flip Gordon spots, then tries to belittle Cheeseburger and almost walks into a Shotei. Nick pretends Burger is overpowering him, before boasting that he's 'just ribbing him' and blasting Cheese with an elbow strike. Matt tries to tackle Burger from behind...only to be inadvertently clocked by his own brother. Will counters the slingshot X-Factor and scores with a tope suicida; a really fun little sequence. Matt comes to the rescue with a Superkick on Ferrara, followed by an APRON BOMB on Burger! Fans don't give a sh*t (even in a Young Bucks match) because Burger wrestling in a semi-main event is bullsh*t. They start chanting about the New Day - which actually looks like it pisses Matt and Nick off a little. Their recovery is swift though; giving Ferrara the Trust Fall Superkicks into an elevated Swanton to the floor. Cheese gets a 'hot off the grill' tag (eye roll) and comes in with some ludicrously fake, sh*tty looking offence. Kobashi chops on Matt look terrible, into an even worse looking springboard knee. Nick moonsaults off the apron and Ferrara...only to springboard right into a Shotei. DOUBLE SUPERKICK on Burger for 2. Rolling powerbomb/Buckle Bomb combo nailed, followed by the SPRINGBOARD elevated Swanton Bomb for 2. Double Shotei by Burger for a dumb nearfall. More Bang For Your Buck blocked...but Burger inadvertently Shotei's his own partner! Ferrara goes down in a heap. Meltzer Driver finishes Burger at 12:38

Rating - * - There was so much I didn't like about this, but I couldn't give it a DUD. Firstly because the Bucks were fun, like always. Secondly because if you don't despise watching Cheeseburger matches (like I do), then this may have been more fun for you. However, to my taste this was appalling. We started with ROH's own commentators dismissing the rest of the roster and calling the Bucks the only draws. Most of the match felt like the Bucks having to bump and sell for Cheeseburger's TERRIBLE offence. He has like three moves, none of which he hits particularly effectively, and I am so damn bored of the Shotei comedy in every match too! Both Bucks going down like they'd been shot after that abysmal 'double Shotei' spot was a real low point. And whilst I'm glad the 'split' angle between Ferrara and Burger is progressing, my real issue is that I don't have much interest in watching singles matches involving them either. If both guys disappeared from the roster tomorrow nobody would miss them. As was demonstrated by the crowd audibly not giving a f*ck at times...in a YOUNG BUCKS match!

The Bucks put Ferrara and Burger over before leaving...for the inevitable turn angle to take place. Ferrara attacks Cheeseburger for 'dropping the ball', leaving him KO'd on the mat.

This is very much a warm-up bout for Best In The World, as all four of these men will share two marquee matches on the card. Cody Rhodes challenges Christopher Daniels for the World Title in the main event; a hotly anticipated showdown with ROH officials supposedly dreading the prospect of a 'free agent' champion (for reasons that have never really been explained convincingly). Meanwhile Kazarian and Hangman will look to settle their ongoing feud in a Strap Match. There are scores to settle, pride on the line and a chance to soften opponents up ahead of the pay-per-view in play during our main event of the evening...

Kaz steals Cody's shirt and throws it to a fan in the crowd...so Rhodes climbs the barricade and tries to get it back! In the midst of that Page attacks Daniels from behind to start the contest. Only when the champ is beaten down does Cody voluntarily get into the ring with him. The table, of course, turns when Daniels tags Frankie in - as Hangman flees and refuses to get involved with his arch rival. The Addiction start isolating Rhodes, with their fluency and experience as a team coming to the fore. Page and Kazarian quickly get distracted though - spitting at each other then coming to blows, whilst Daniels and Cody brawl on the floor. Hangman darts Kazarian into the ringpost, then grabs the champion's legs to prevent him delivering an Arabian Press - which Cody capitalises on with a Superkick to the exposed jaw. Bullet Club really rough Daniels up whilst keeping him away from his corner for several minutes. Hangman almost drops him on his head with a rear naked choke that spills through the ropes and all the way to the outside. It also puts Page on the floor so that even when Daniels looks set to make a critical tag, the 'problem solver' is in prime position to haul Frankie off the apron. FIGURE 4/RED STAR PRESS COMBO gets 2! Alabamaslam COUNTERED to the flatliner! Finally the champion gets the tag to Kazarian - who promptly rocks Page with the hiptoss neckbreaker. Belly to belly on the floor nailed too, floated seamlessly into slingshot DDT on Rhodes for 2. Tomikaze also gets 2 before Hangman breaks the pin. Disaster Kick/Buckshot Lariat combo gets 2! Daniels dives at Cody with a tope suicida, as inside the ring Frankie hits Back To The Future! Powerslam by Cody! He and Daniels collide in the centre of the ring...and all four men go down! They all come back up throwing fists as referee Todd Sinclair loses control! Bullet Club clear the ring. DOUBLE SPRINGBOARD PLANCHA BY CODY! SSP TORPEDO TO THE FLOOR BY PAGE! Slingshot cutter by Kaz! Cross Rhodes blocked...ANGEL'S WINGS! BEST MELTZER EVER ON PAGE! The Addiction win at 15:35

Rating - *** - Clearly the best match of the night, although largely because it was the only match where it felt like all four competitors were putting a serious effort in. Cody has been hit or miss in his ROH tenure thus far - but he was very good here. He antagonised when he needed to, but also busted his ass and effortlessly kept up with the ferocious pace that the other three men were working at. Some of the highlights of the match for me were some of the combo moves Cody and Hangman produced. It was as basic as a formula tag match gets, but everyone delivered on their role and it was an enjoyable preview to Best In The World.

Tape Rating - * - I get asked a lot for my opinion on what I think the 'worst ROH show ever' is. Of course, opinions are subjective...but this one may well have taken the dubious crown. I can see why they never bothered to release this on DVD as apart from a semi-decent opener and a competitive main event this was a really bad night. Chicago Ridge used to be one of ROH's biggest markets. ROH used to be renowned for phenomenal workrate on even their least significant shows. Times have changed...seeing the Frontier Fieldhouse so empty was sad, and that the Sinclair/ROH ownership feel so entitled that they can just chuck out a lazy, half-assed show like this and fans won't call them out for it is contemptible. I've had plenty of people tell me that 2017 was a bad year for Ring Of Honor - and I've therefore been pleasantly surprised at the volume of good content there has actually been, even if only from an in-ring standpoint rather than a creative one. But this was really poor and a saddening example of just how far ROH's corporate overlords have taken this promotion from the values it once stood for. I appreciate without Sinclair ROH probably wouldn't exist. I appreciate this was 'just a house show'. I appreciate that this was after a TV taping (and a decent TV taping at that) so a lot of guys had wrestled twice. But even considering all that - this fell FAR below the standards ROH should set for itself. They are in no way big, significant or successful enough to be the kind of promotion that has zero effort, coast-along house shows. If you have Honor Club the main event is ok. But nothing else here is really relevant at all. It's rare that an ROH show makes me angry...this one did.

3) Kenny King/Rhett Titus/Shane Taylor vs Dalton Castle/The Boys (**)

2) Jay Lethal vs Caprice Coleman (***)

1) The Addiction vs Cody/Adam Page (***)