McXal's Reviews

The amount of mileage you'll get out of these Global Wars 2017 Tour shows really does depend on how much you like 'Being The Elite'. Sure ROH and NJPW promote them - but in name only. You could hardly call Hiromu Takahashi, Kushida, the Killer Elite Squad or even Minoru Suzuki a huge draw for NJPW for instance. These shows have served as little more than a celebratory 'live tour' for the YouTube series, with the full cast out in force and delivering bumper houses. This show supposedly has an attendance comparable to (although less than) Supercard Of Honor 11 earlier in the year. In Florida it was done on the back of a Bucks/Hardyz dream Ladder Match, on WrestleMania weekend. This massive crowd has been delivered on the drawing power of The Elite alone and is, whilst an astonishing and wildly impressive feat, a worrying next step in ROH's worrying direction of travel. Look at the card tonight and strip out Omega, Cody, Hangman, the Bucks, Daniels, Kazarian, Cabana, Archer (and referee Paul Turner) - all of whom are in AEW as of writing in May of 2020 - and you start to see the scale of how catastrophically reliant on The Elite (and NJPW) Sinclair-owned ROH now is. Having said all that, I'm a fan of The Elite and, if you watch the Global Wars Tour as a fan of pro-wrestling generally, rather than with any pro-ROH bias they've been good shows. Tonight has a weird card, but does have perhaps the biggest drawing bout of the entire weekend as Kenny Omega competes in his only singles match on the tour, making the first American-soil defence of the IWGP US Title against Yoshi-Hashi. Beneath that, other standout matches featuring Bullet Club include a 4-on-4 tag against Search & Destroy and Marty Scurll facing Hiromu Takahashi. BTE supporting cast member Flip Gordon has his highest profile ROH singles match to date as well - in the semi-main event against Will Ospreay. We are in Chicago, IL - a new building for ROH; a bigger arena which ECW even ran a PPV (Anarchy Rulz '99) out of. Ian Riccaboni and BJ Whitmer provide commentary

Cody opens the show with a microphone, bragging about how he, as champion, has led ROH to the most lucrative series of live events in the history of the company. He starts cracking on Roman Reigns (without naming him) because they have Twitter beef then leaves the ring trying to get Cary Silkin to 'kiss the ring'. Then he brings a 'super fan' into the ring to 'go live on Being The Elite' kissing the ring instead. The fan, however, unmasks as the returning Dalton Castle! He gives the champ an ass kicking, sending him running up the aisle in error!

Chuck and Trent bringing their partnership to ROH has been an extremely welcome addition to the tag division. Last night in Pittsburgh they were part of a crazy six-man main event - and their night ended with them both being Superkicked off the stage and through a table. How healthy are they tonight, and are they ready to step into the ring with Silas Young and Bruiser - who are winless on the tour so far?

Taylor starts with Young who, according to Riccaboni, has 'really stepped up his game' since beating Lethal at Death Before Dishonor. I'd point to his three high profile losses since that PPV as evidence to the contrary. Beretta soon wants in with Bruiser to live up to his new moniker of 'Heavyweight Trent'. Silas admonishes both of the Friends for hugging rather than shaking hands 'like a man', and is driven out of the ring by the slingshot boot scrape/stalling senton combo. BCB cuts off another attempt at a hug and smashes Beretta's arm into the ringpost. Ian points out that Trent's arm is heavily bruised after going through the table in Ohio. The Milwaukee boys isolate the clearly not entirely healthy Trent for several minutes but can't find a way to defeat him. Chuckie suplexes the Last Real Man onto his own partner then does The Deal for 2. Cannonball by Bruiser gets 2! Assisted tornado DDT by Beretta! STEREO somersault planchas nailed. The ring is clear, so at last the Best Friends can hug. Young back flips out of the double Chokeslam and gives Trent a sliding DDT. BANZAI DROP gets 2 for Beer City! Chuckie builds some momentum...and has it all knocked out after a back body drop on the floor. KEG SPLASH MISSES! Gobstopper by Beretta, into a PILEDRIVER! Silas launches his body into Trent to break the pin. Back drop on the apron by BCB, followed by a rolling senton to the floor. Sole Food on Silas...but Bruiser whacks Chuckie from behind with the beer keg! MISERY! Silas pins Taylor to win the match at 13:00

Rating - *** - I'm really enjoying Best Friends getting a run in ROH. I understand that their gimmick can be a little silly and feels somewhat out of place in ROH. However, at their core they are experienced workers who mesh well as a team and have the ability to work a number of different styles. They worked the Bucks in their 'style' of high octane, frantic action trios match yesterday. Tonight it was slower and more of a traditional babyface performance - and they worked well there too. Silas' victory - even tainted - felt like a bigger deal thanks to the quality of the showing Chuckie and Trent had produced in the match itself. 

Now this is the kind of match I want to see The Villain in. I've complained about his move to Bullet Club feeling unnecessary and I dislike his relegation from lethal 'villain' to singing goofball in 'Being The Elite'. He faces LIJ's Takahashi in a huge bout with bragging rights and championship contention at stake in both ROH and New Japan. 

The crowd are hot and evenly split for this...which the two participants milk for all it is worth. They are both quirky characters and have lots of fun with the crowd through the opening minutes. Scurll blocks an attempt at the sunset bomb off the apron Hiromu hit Jay Lethal with last night by stomping on the arm. DROPKICK OFF THE APRON by Takahashi! He smirks as The Villain crawls into the ring to escape - but it's all a ploy as Scurll gives him another armbreaker seconds later, then stomps on the hand and arm again. Marty smashes Hiromu into the railing right in front of Daryl (on the timekeeping table)...then grabs the stuffed cat to bring him into the ring to be used as a weapon. As Takahashi tries to get some payback for that he has his hands stomped for a third time. Running rana by Hiromu. He wants to quicken the pace but is visibly bothered by his injured arm. Dynamite Plunger blocked only for Taka to counter the Finger Snap into a pop-up powerbomb. Marty snaps the arm and shoulder into the canvas again to kill his momentum...and grounds him with Just Kidding seconds later. Takahashi is so injured he starts going for quick pinning combinations in an effort to escape with the victory, but Scurll has an answer for every one of them. HEAD DROP TURNBUCKLE SUPLEX! The Villain is almost out on his feet - and now he is the one looking to save face with a flash pin; even using the ropes to get it. Referee Paul Turner has to keep stopping both men from using the ropes to pin the other...and soon they both want to beat him up! A prolonged chop duel really fires the crowd up, so Hiromu superkicks his opponent into the SUNSET BOMB FROM THE APRON TO THE FLOOR! Dynamite Plunger gets 2! Time Bomb blocked into a tornado DDT flurry by Marty! JAWBREAKER LARIAT! Time Bomb COUNTERED TO THE CHICKENWING! Takahashi taps at 14:20

Rating - **** - In the first minute, as they stalled and played to the crowd, I was worried they were going down the comedy route with this one, which would have been desperately disappointing. Thankfully that wasn't the case at all. The obligatory Daryl involvements were minimal and what comedy and goofiness there was came as a natural extension of their natural characters and gimmicks, rather than because they were trying to manufacture a lazy comedy match to replace hard work. Quite the opposite in fact; I felt like they were really busting their asses here. They could've done with more time to sell the story (a common complaint I have with modern-day ROH shows) but all in all this was good stuff between two top quality junior heavyweights. Scurll worked the arm, Hiromu worked the neck; the formula wasn't complicated or revolutionary - so it really was the quality of the in-ring performances which made this one memorable.

This is something of a rematch from Global Wars 2016 when Cheeseburger, teaming then with Jushin 'Thunder' Liger, defeated Daniels and Kazarian. Kushida has gotten himself on the wrong side of The Addiction of late too, and teamed with Jay Lethal to face them on television in Las Vegas. The Addiction will want revenge for that 2016 loss - but more importantly are now motivated by their desire to crush what the ROH fans love. The popularity of their opponents makes them obvious targets.

Kushida starts for his team, impressively taking the fight to both of the former Tag Champions and even inviting Burger in to impersonate some of his signature moves. Tanaka Punch floors Frankie, then he starts tutoring Cheese in how to apply an armbar. Unfortunately the big issue is that Burger weighs very little - so Frankie stands up and throws him at Kushida! The Addiction smartly isolate Cheese, all the while taunting the Chicago fans. Burger launches himself into an ugly hurricanrana on Daniels - bringing in Kushida...who hits an ugly DDT on Kaz. TOPE ATOMICO on Daniels! Kushida climbs the ropes carrying a hoverboard with him! HOVERBOARD CROSSBODY on Frankie! CELEBRITY REHAB on Kushida - almost dropping him on his head just like Liger last year! Then - totally inexcusably, the feed cuts out on the live stream...ON A F*CKING DVD! Fix this sh*t before you sell it Sinclair, you twerps! The commentary track is left in, and advises us that Daniels stops Burger from hitting the Shotei. Best Meltzer Ever apparently finishes it at 08:09

Rating - DUD - What I saw of this wasn't terrible. The Addiction were assholes, Kushida was fantastic, whilst the things I find frustrating about Cheeseburger were kept to a minimum. But in a dying physical media market, where ROH actually have fans who are still willing to hand over $20+ dollars for a DVD of a show then they have a responsibility to clean the f*cking show up before releasing it. Are you seriously telling me that not one camera was capturing the action even when the feed went out - that they could've edited on here? I understand it was only a couple of minutes - but it was the end of a goddamn match. I was appalled and, to be frank, it's all I'll remember of this. It was a waste of Kushida in truth. After his terrific TV Title run, other than his match with Cody in Columbus he's been under-utilised throughout the Global Wars 2017 Tour.

Pictures come back as The Addiction prepare to put Cheeseburger through a table. Sadly for them they don't see Bully Ray coming down the aisle. He chokeslams Kazarian through it as Daniels flees...then explains that he did it because putting people through tables is his gimmick (rather than a desire to save Burger or anything). He goes through the same ECW nostalgia-driven possible retirement speech that he did in Buffalo and Pittsburgh, and gets a little kid out of the crowd for extra sincerity. 

We don't have many dates left on Jay White's full-time excursion, so it's nice to see him get to join forces with the entirety of Search & Destroy once more. The faction was thought up by the Motor City Machine Guns as a way to overcome the numbers advantages typically enjoyed by groups like Bullet Club in ROH. For more than a year the Machine Guns have been going toe-to-toe with Bullet Club, The Elite and of course, particularly the Young Bucks. At Death Before Dishonor they defeated the Jackson brothers to become ROH Tag Champions for the first time so of course the Bucks want revenge for that. Cody will also be a target for all four members of S&D too, knowing that a win over the American Nightmare would be a ticket to a future World Title shot.

Once again Shelley, in particular, seems to relish the unique challenge of being a de facto heel due to the rampant popularity of Bullet Club - who are more over than ever in the aftermath of the 'Cease & Desist' controversy. Gresham refuses to 'kiss the ring' which does nothing to endear him to the crowd either. Gresh is such an incredible worker that he makes it completely believable that, despite Cody towering over him, he is a real danger to the champ. His success kick-starts a super-fun sequence where everyone misses a big dive, then simultaneously go for an eight-way dropkick. The Bucks clear the ring for the ROPE RUN SUICIDE DIVE by Rhodes! MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR by Page! Matt Jackson runs up the aisle for a SOMERSAULT STAGE DIVE down entrance steps. Still nobody can pin The Octopus down though! He grounds Nick with ease and leads all of his team-mates in stomping him into the mat! Then Search & Destroy all throw up 'Too Sweet's to get even more heat! Hesitation Dropkick by Sabin as they chant 'Detroit Sucks' at him! Backpack senton bomb by White and Gresham scores soon after. Jay tries a missile dropkick, but sails into a MID-AIR SUPERKICK! Nick finds his path to the corner blocked by Shelley though. Flatliner/DDT combo from Shelley to Cody and Matt as they try to help! Hangman gets a legal tag and hits the Drop-sault on White and Sabin. SSP TORPEDO OFF THE APRON to take out Gresham and Shelley too! Buckshot Lariat gets 2 on the New Zealander. Rite Of Passage blocked for a judo suplex into the buckles by White. Gresham in, rocking Page with a Stunner then dropping him on his head with a German suplex. Powerslam by Cody - who is prevented from hitting Cross Rhodes by Sabin. Dream Sequence from MCMG to Matt! Nick misses a moonsault off the apron. SLICED BREAD #2 ON THE FLOOR BY SHELLEY! DOOMSDAY DROPKICK on Matt - WHO BACK FLIPS INTO A SUPERKICK! Jay White tries to rip off the Bucks new Sharpshooter gimmick...so they f*ck him up with stereo Superkicks! FOUR-WAY SHARPSHOOTER! Superkick on Sabin! SHOOTING STAR INDYTAKER ON THE FLOOR by Page and Matt to wipe out Shelley. CROSS RHODES ON WHITE! Gresh is on his own - and he keeps fighting! TRIPLE SUPERKICK! SPRINGBOARD CORKSCREW PRESS TO THE FLOOR by Nick! RITE OF PASSAGE! Page pins The Octopus for the win at 14:25

Rating - **** - There is an argument to be made that this was the best Bullet Club multi-man tag of the entire Global Wars 2017 Tour. They cut the BTE comedy, they allowed their opponents to become as much a part of the match as The Elite cast were...and the match was all the better for it. The crowd were electric from the second the Bucks' music hit - and as with Vegas the veterans Sabin and Shelley immediately twigged it. They switched up their approach and spearheaded a FANTASTIC heel performance from Search & Destroy. From the Machine Guns using their veteran skills to counter and block out Bullet Club constantly, to Gresham being a cocky little prick, to Jay White being a constant antagonist - it was terrific stuff that made me sad White is leaving so we couldn't do a full heel Search & Destroy vs babyface Bullet Club feud. For fans of the 'Young Bucks style' this was essential viewing.

Johnson and Pusser, along with valet Miss Jasmine, don't even have entrance music. They just walk out yelling whilst the War Of The Worlds/Global Wars background music plays. Apparently they are collectively known as 'One Mean Team'. They've worked together extensively in the north east and, whilst I can find nothing on Pusser post-2018, as of writing in 2020 Johnson is still in ROH now known as 'The Mecca'. Tonight they face The Dawgs, who have been relatively entertaining during their short run - and boast a victory over current IWGP Jr, Tag Champions Roppongi 3K too.

Pusser is the stockier of the 'Mean Team' representatives, and has some seriously ugly gear. His size doesn't prevent The Dawgs from giving him an early double suplex. Rhett starts using his uncooperative partner as a weapon again - until Miss Jasmine and Johnson distract Ferrara from the floor. Backbreaker/reverse DDT combo gets 2 on Will before Titus makes a save with a double clothesline. Ferrara and Rhett can't stop arguing...so for a second time Titus uses his partner as a weapon. He lariats Pusser into the guardrails, then piles in with his partner to hit the double-team Rhett-ribution. The Dawgs win at 05:01

Rating - * - Clearly this wasn't a better match than Addiction vs Kushida/Burger, but at least we actually got to see the finish on this one. The Dawgs are fine as comedy undercard fodder, but there's no way this should have been on the card for an iPPV presentation. Sumie Sakai worked a Women Of Honor dark match which should have switched places with this. Johnson and Pusser showed very little, not that they were given much opportunity to do so. Brian Johnson's improvement physically and in how he carries himself since this bout to where he is now is pretty remarkable though.

Jay Briscoe makes his first appearance since the Las Vegas TV taping and decimates both members of One Mean Team. He grabs a microphone and reminds his injured brother Mark that he shouldn't be focusing on TV Titles, singles matches and Six-Man Titles - and thinks that lack of focus is why he got injured. He wants the Briscoes to get back to being the baddest team on the planet...

Shane Taylor is out next. As a gun for hire in ROH, his primary motivation is money and competition. With Mark Briscoe out injured, he has the chance to replace him in a high profile, marquee match - which therefore offers a bigger winners purse. As such he announces he will be Mark's replacement...

This was going to be a clash between honourable veterans representing ROH and the anarchical, grouchy Suzuki-gun trio who have already contested some wild matches on this tour. Taylor replacing Mark Briscoe changes the dynamic however. Lethal and King now have to team with someone they don't know that they can trust, with far less big-time big match experience in this promotion. BUT, the upside is they have a big, hungry bruiser who is more than capable of dealing with the imposing physicality the likes of Suzuki, Archer and Smith Jr. will bring...

Suzuki-gun attack before the bell obviously. Quickly we go to the floor for another wild brawl, which sees Minoru deck King with a chair behind the referee's back. Tope suicida from Lethal sends Archer into the guardrails. In the ring Taylor drops Smith Jr with a Samoan drop for 2 but then gets tagged out by Jay Lethal, who pisses him off by pulling rank and demanding to face Suzuki. The reaction a showdown between Suzuki and Lethal gets immediately makes me wonder by ROH didn't book this as a singles match. One Suzuki chop later and Jay's chest already shows a couple of spots of blood. Hiptoss B*TCH SLAP by Lethal! He is fired up and calls ROH 'my f*cking house' as he stomps Minoru in the corner. Suzuki responds by putting the former champ in a hanging armbar as the KES beat the sh*t out of King on the floor. Suzuki tries to choke Lethal out with cabling on the floor, again behind the back of Paul Turner. They return to the ring and chop lumps out of each other - to Minoru's absolute delight. He starts laughing off Lethal's chops like he doesn't feel them...then BOOTS Lethal out of the ring! Bulldog Jr hauls him to the top to deliver a massive superplex...which ironically drags Taylor (the man Jay forced out earlier) back in to break the pin. Lethal counters a Hart Attack with a DDT on Smith...then makes a hot tag to the TV Champion. Archer lines up the Derailer only to find it countered with a spinebuster for 2. Shane Taylor stops Kenny's momentum because he wants to dive...but in the end King runs past him into a corkscrew pescado anyway. Sidewalk slam by Lance, leading to tags all round and Taylor going face-to-face with Suzuki. Shane mows him down with a Warrior Splash for 2. Greetings From 216 blocked...Gotch Piledriver blocked...Killer Bomb blocked too! Minoru chokes Taylor - into a STALLING GOTCH PILEDRIVER! Suzuki pins Taylor at 16:46

Rating - **** - This felt like the most authentic 'Minoru Suzuki' performance of any of his ROH dates. His exchanges with Jay Lethal were astonishingly violent and also beautifully emoted by both workers. I was generous in my rating but this one had everything I like about Suzuki-gun with very little of the bullsh*t which tends to drag their matches down.

Cabana specifically challenged Yano for this match and has been calling him out on commentary all week too. After deputising for Mark Briscoe last night in Columbus, Cabana is in action for a second consecutive evening - this time in his hometown.

Yano tries to shill his DVD, and Colt has brought his own DVD out with him to trade. Yano tosses it out of the ring and tries to pin Cabana...so Colt does the same trick back at him. He then has to chase Yano around the ring trying to stop him ripping off a turnbuckle pad. Toru eventually gets one, so Colt leaves and refuses to come back until he drops it. Yano obliges then watches in horror as Colt Artful Dodger's his way past the Japanese star to grab it. Yano grabs one as well...TURNBUCKLE PAD DUEL! It ends with Yano calling for a rope break before repeatedly bashing Colt's skull into the exposed turnbuckle bolts. Cabana jumps out of the ring to evade the low blow which typically comes with Toru hiding behind the referee, instigating a game of Todd Sinclair tennis...and the veteran ref collapses. Flying Asshole nailed only for Yano to tie Cabana's arms together with wrist tape. ARMS-TIED Superman Pin! Cabana wins at 07:53

Rating - *** - Exactly the match I wanted it to be; genuinely funny, long enough to be worthwhile but also not so long that the novelty wears off. Seasoned professionals, gifted comedians with well-rehearsed and familiar routines - these guys pulled it off with consummate ease. 

This is one of the most hotly-anticipated matches of the entire tour. Gordon was given an ROH contract part-way through 2017 and has quickly won the affections of the fanbase...albeit as much for his supporting role in 'Being The Elite' as for his impressive in-ring work thus far. Last night in Columbus he produced a stunning performance and took the fight to his BTE bullies the Young Bucks. Now he looks to test himself against one of the best junior heavyweights in the world (and current IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion) in Ospreay. 

Will is all smiles and poses, which clearly pisses Gordon off. He tries a running rana...but finds Ospreay up to it and somersaulting out of it. Ospreay plays to the crowd and starts acting like a cat, until Gordon FLIPS into a headlock! Flip then tries to show off to the fans as well, only to be punted between the eyes by the Aerial Assassin. Octopus Stretch applied, with Will joking around selling t-shirts and doing more cat poses. The New Japan star is acting like this is already in the bag until Flip hits a double-rotation headscissors. Cartwheel on the apron by Gordon...into a BERMUDA TRIANGLE MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! Back flip dropkick next as Gordon's athleticism comes to the fore and he finally forces the Englishman to take him seriously. ONE-LEGGED standing moonsault gets 2! Handspring Pele by Ospreay, leaving them both on the canvas. STANDING CORKSCREW SENTON gets 2 for Will. He topples Gordon out of the ring soon after and easily connects with the Sasuke Special. Pip Pip Cheerio back into the ring - but still Flip is kicking out and coming back for more from the IWGP Junior Champ. KINDER SURPRISE knocks Ospreay to the floor. DOUBLE SPRINGBOARD CORKSCREW MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR BY FLIP! 450 Splash back in misses...Samoan Pop scores, right into a springboard moonsault for 2. Flip wants to hit the Kinder Surprise again, but then BLASTS Ospreay with a vertical leap Pele Kick to the top rope when he blocks it. Cheeky Nando's countered...Stun Dog Millionaire! NO SOLD! OSCUTTER BY GORDON! Both men are exhausted and struggle to get back up after that. When they do it is to trade elaborate strike sequences - where Will has the edge. OsCutter blocked with a corkscrew enzi to the neck, setting up the springboard Sling Blade. 450 SPLASH GETS 2! 4-Nifty misses, and Ospreay hangs Flip in the ropes for the BURNING STAR PRESS! FLIP KICKS OUT! Robinson Special into the OSCUTTER! OSPREAY WINS! It's all over at 15:22 

Rating - ****1/2 - Ospreay's trilogy of 2017 matches in ROH versus Jay White, Punishment Martinez and now Flip Gordon is an incredible body of work for a guy who isn't even a regular. They are all totally different, but compelling and must-see viewing. Tonight we saw a different side to Ospreay. He was fighting from on top; a global superstar at the top of his game taking on a young gun who he felt was beneath him. When the match started he was cocky, he played with the crowd and he clearly pissed Flip off as a result. Gordon, not taken seriously as the butt of the joke in 'Being The Elite', stepped up to the plate big time and pulled off a sensational underdog performance. He matched perhaps the top high flier in the world with ease and came desperately close to a stunning upset. Cynics will write this off as a spot-fest/stunt-show but they are completely wrong. There was real substance here. Unless Omega and Hashi do something very special these two men have just delivered the best match of the Global Wars 2017 Tour...

The result here would feel somewhat less of a formality if Omega even brought the belt with him. Hashi has beaten Kenny in the past and has been promoted throughout this tour as the 'Bullet Club Head Hunter'. Can he produce something special, take the IWGP US Title from the leader of Bullet Club and stun a packed crowd who will all be loudly behind his opponent? Which Omega will we see tonight too? Are we going to see the jovial, light-hearted, 'Being The Elite' prankster who has delighted crowds goofing off with his friends all week...or is the 'Best Bout Machine' in the house?

Omega gets such a rock star ovation that the match is more than a minute old before the crowd have even calmed down enough for the wrestlers to go to work. Hashi isn't phased and drops Kenny to his knees with an early chop. The champ didn't like that - and starts disrespectfully slapping and paintbrushing Yoshi. Head Hunter scores and gets an early nearfall. Omega rushes in trying to hit back but is dropkicked over the ropes to the outside. The challenger pursues The Cleaner around the ring smashing him into guardrails...until that strategy comes back to haunt him and Omega lands a GUARDRAIL MOONSAULT! The champ goads Hashi for not being on the same level as him, then tries to put him through a table before Yoshi counters with a suplex on the hard floor. The match returns to the ring with both competitors smearing each other with some ferocious strikes. Kotaro Crusher scores; Omega is now started to direct a lot of offence to the neck and back of his adversary. He continues to grin and continues to come across as dismissive of the challenger. Bunker Buster by Yoshi, but a weary cover follows it and doesn't come close to finishing the match. Omega snaps him down by the neck again with a hurricanrana, forcing Hashi to leave the ring. RISE OF THE TERMINATOR NAILED! POWERBOMB THROUGH A TABLE! Aoi Shoudou gets 2 for Omega as the totally broken Hashi finds the will to kick out from somewhere. V-TRIGGER! NO SOLD! LARIAT! DRAGON RUSH! One-Winged Angel COUNTERED into a diving DDT. Hashi follows it with a bridging powerbomb for 2. The Cleaner blocks Karma by pulling Hashi's hair...and knocks Todd Sinclair out of the ring in the process. You can hear fans booing the ensuing bullsh*t, and there are still audible boos when the Young Bucks and Marty Scurll run in and start assaulting Hashi. Kenny teases wanting his friends to stop, but obviously wants to do the 'ten boots' spot instead. Cody and Hangman duly arrive and what had been a great main event has descended into total farce. Hashi blocks the ten boots with a lungblower. Yoshi calls for his CHAOS friends to help him. Out come Trent Beretta, Toru Yano, bringing their friends Chuck Taylor and FLIP GORDON out with them! They form a ten boot tower on the opposite turnbuckles - effectively creating a ten-boot tug of war. V-Trigger by Omega, and he gives Hashi ten boots...to both Bullet Club and CHAOS. This is completely dumb. Dr Wily Bomb gets 2 as Todd Sinclair conveniently returns to the fray. V-Trigger again, into the ONE-WINGED ANGEL! But Yano pulls the ref out of the ring! Beretta runs into the ring and gives Omega the Dudebuster! Buckshot Lariat on him! DOUBLE SUPERKICK from the Bucks to Chuckie T! Just Kidding from Marty to Yano! Cross Rhodes from Cody to Flip! OSCUTTER on Cody! ROPE RUN SHOOTING STAR PRESS TO THE FLOOR! 450 SPLASH THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR FROM NICK TO FLIP! Hashi thinks he has it won...but misses the Loose Explosion. BARE KNEE V-TRIGGER! ONE-WINGED ANGEL! Omega retains at 25:02

Rating - *** - The groans from the crowd when Todd Sinclair was bumped out of the ring tell you everything. It was overbooked and unnecessary; the crowd wanted 'Best Bout Machine' Omega. And for almost twenty minutes that is what we got. I could have done with Hashi selling the neck better, but for twenty minutes they were having a GREAT match. Kenny going after the challenger's neck whilst disrespectfully calling him out as 'not on the same level' was an engaging story and the fans were into it. I'm not going to crap all over this as I've seen in some reviews. Before the bogus run-ins, ref bumps, shenanigans and chaos, Omega and Hashi gave us some really strong work. Once all the run-ins had taken place that sequence of endless finishing moves and dives to the floor really was an adrenaline rush to watch. I can't say who booked this; i.e. was this Delirious' idea? Did NJPW ask for this to protect Yoshi-Hashi? Having drawn huge box office numbers all week, was this a case of The Elite calling their own shots and thinking it would be fun? Either way, coming out of this match I felt like my senses had been assaulted; for reasons both good and bad.

Cody gets on the microphone to celebrate how red-hot pro-wrestling is right now, then puts Kenny Omega over hard as the leader of Bullet Club and best in the world. Kenny thanks Chicago for their merch sales and says that whilst he has an NJPW contract, he actually represents 'Being The Elite'. The Young Bucks want a picture to commemorate the occasion...but none of them have their phone. Luckily Jimmy Jacobs, freshly fired for associating with The Elite during their YouTube Raw invasion, is in the front row, so they take a picture with him to end the show.

Tape Rating - **** - This is probably my favourite show of the year, even with the disappointing last five minutes of the Omega/Hashi main event. Ospreay/Flip was a total showstealer, we got the best Bullet Club multi-man tag of the week, another wild Suzuki-gun trios, the superb Scurll/Hiromu bout, great comedy from Cabana and Yano, the returns of Jay Briscoe and Dalton Castle and so much more. It was one of those shows which felt like it offered a little bit for all kinds of wrestling fans and I appreciate the attempts made to a) give matches more time and b) present all styles of wrestling for all kinds of fans. Clearly I'd have booked Omega/Hashi differently. Clearly I'd have given Kushida something more important to do (and made sure my production team fixed the feed issue on his match before printing a DVD). But the good vastly outweighed the bad here. I came away feeling like I'd more than gotten my money's worth. Overall the Global Wars 2017 Tour has felt like a very realistic snapshot of precisely where ROH was at back in 2017. Baffling, even indefensible booking decisions at times, crowds so overwhelmingly invested in The Elite/Bullet Club that EVERYTHING else becomes an irrelevance, a crippling reliance on NJPW/The Elite to sell tickets...with a cruelly neglected but hugely talented group of core domestic talents (Lethal, Gresham, Silas, Martinez, Flip, Cabana, Taylor, Chuckie, Castle etc) churning along on a treadmill beneath them. ROH were very much cashing on NJPW, The Elite and their supporting cast. This week has laid bare how totally and dangerously reliant on those relationships the promotion has become. Writing in 2020, it is quite uncomfortable to watch ROH sleepwalking into such a perilous situation come the end of 2018.

3) Marty Scurll vs Hiromu Takahashi (****)

2) Cody/Adam Page/Young Bucks vs Alex Shelley/Chris Sabin/Jay White/Jonathan Gresham (****)

1) Will Ospreay vs Flip Gordon (****1/2)

7) Marty Scurll vs Hiromu Takahashi (**** - Chicago)

6) Kenny Omega/Young Bucks vs Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor/Flip Gordon (**** - Columbus)

5) Cody/Adam Page/Young Bucks vs Alex Shelley/Chris Sabin/Jay White/Jonathan Gresham (**** - Chicago)

4) Jay Lethal vs Jay White (**** - Pittsburgh)

3) Jay Lethal vs Hiromu Takahashi (**** - Columbus)

2) Punishment Martinez vs Will Ospreay (****1/2 - Buffalo)

1) Will Ospreay vs Flip Gordon (****1/2 - Chicago)