McXal's Reviews

Final Battle is just a month away and most of the card starting to become locked down...but it feels like we have heaps of content to get through yet. Survival Of The Fittest 2017 will take place over three separate nights of competition for the first time, and we also have this Florida double shot as well - consisting of a live event and a TV taping tomorrow. The hook for these shows, as you could probably tell from the title, is that The Elite are out in force. Kenny Omega is back, and has once again delivered a bumper box office - even somewhere like Florida where ROH has always struggled to draw outside of a WrestleMania weekend. The entire 'Being The Elite' cast (including supporting cast members like Daniels, Kazarian, Flip, the Best Friends etc) are in fact here and will all see action. The aforementioned Omega teams with the Young Bucks in the main event, against an ROH 'all-star' team of Jay Lethal, TV Champion Kenny King and World Title #1 contender Dalton Castle. Cody defends the ROH Title against the returning Rocky Romero, whilst Hangman Page and Marty Scurll join forces in a triple threat tag bout also featuring The Addiction and the Best Friends. For the majority of the paying crowd, the rest of the card is somewhat irrelevant...but there is some potentially interesting stuff there. Matt Taven vs Flip Gordon could be decent. Taven's Kingdom stable-mates get a Tag Title shot against the Motor City Machine Guns. Punishment Martinez faces Shane Taylor in what should be a bruising encounter. Recently released WWE talent Simon Gotch, competing under the name 'Simon Grimm', also debuts. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana are in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

I'm not expecting a particularly high quality bout here, but this is a really interesting match. Rain returns to ROH after a prolonged absence. She retired from wrestling in January 2014, then the following month was in a serious car accident leaving her with catastrophic injuries to her legs and abdomen (check out her social media/YouTube for more details - it is a remarkable story of recovery). This is just her second match since deciding to return to the ring. Her opponent is obviously a recognisable face. She has appeared multiple times on ROH TV alongside her husband Cody - but has started pursuing an active in-ring role too. She has her work cut out against a veteran performer tonight. Ian Riccaboni is joined by both Mandy Leon and Sumie Sakai on commentary.

Brandi is a complete babyface. She strikes early with some strikes (which look awful) and an X-Factor which gets 2. Rain shows her veteran instinct by leaving the ring and stalling for time. When she returns she starts tossing Rhodes around by her hair. She hits a vertical suplex for 2 (Sumie gets a big pop from me for delivering a puro commentary 'brainbustaaaaaaaah' call), and gets a nearfall again seconds later with a running knee. Superplex blocked...into a dire attempt at a satellite headscissors out of the corner for Brandi. Missile dropkick from Mrs Nightmare. Rain gets up, punts her in the stomach and hits the Lacey DDT for the win at 06:17

Rating - * - As expected, this wasn't particularly good. Rain was in just her second match back and looked solid, but clearly had some rust. She is, however, a strong heel with a great story to tell and could be just the veteran presence the WOH division needs (although I believe her relocation to Hawaii makes booking her regularly a challenge). Brandi has a lot to offer professional wrestling - but not as a regular, active wrestler. She worked hard but didn't give a great account of herself tonight. Calling Rain an 'original Woman Of Honor' is quite a stretch too. She appeared a handful of times and certainly doesn't compare to the class of Lacey (her former tag partner), Sara Del Rey, Daizee Haze or Allison Danger as Ian Riccaboni tried to suggest on commentary.

Rain gets on the microphone and calls out Sumie Sakai as a fellow ROH veteran that she wants to get into the ring with as she restarts her career. Sumie enters the ring and accepts the challenge, but is then attacked by Rain and laid out with the Lacey DDT.

The TV taping in Philadelphia confirmed that Silas Young will be one of four competitors in a four corner TV Title bout at Final Battle 2017. He is now entrenched in preparations for that, so can't afford to have his momentum curtailed by he and Bruiser becoming the first big scalps claimed by C2C. Ali and LSG have impressed people plenty but are growingly haunted by their consistent failure to win big matches. With Young potentially distracted by TV Title aspirations and Bruiser still recovering from the leg injury inflicted by Jay Lethal, this could be their best shot.

C2C want a handshake but as all heels under Delirious' booking are completely one-dimensional they are, of course, jumped by Silas and BCB after they refuse to follow the Code Of Honor. Bruiser throws St. Giovanni around with ease and flattens him with the rolling cannonball in the corner for 2. The Milwaukee boys are really run as total bullies and almost knock LSG out cold with a knee smash/ocean cyclone suplex combo. Leon kicks Bruiser's legs out as he lines up a Banzai Drop then tumbles into a much-needed tag to Ali. He drops Young with a swinging front slam...then tags LSG right back in. Olympic Slam on Silas, setting Shaheem up to leave the ring with a slingshot senton over the ringposts to the floor. Apron cannonball by Bruiser. TOP ROPE SOMERSAULT DIVE by St. Giovanni! Shaheem can't get Bruiser up for a front slam and eats the Beer City Driver! Misery from Silas to LSG, giving his team the win at 07:23

Rating - ** - Short, sweet and relatively enjoyable as an opening match. The fans had minimal interest (as evidenced by the fact that half of the crowd weren't even in their seats when it started) and the near-silence made everything feel a little more awkward. But the work was solid. Silas and Bruiser have really developed into a decent tag team and consistently entertained me with their relentless bullying of LSG. The hot tag to Shaheem, only for him to hit one move then tag straight back out, was incredibly weird and I'm glad both Cabana and Riccaboni called it appropriately on commentary. 

What a bizarre collection of dudes. Grimm, formerly Simon Gotch in WWE (he regained the rights to use that ring-name in 2018) debuts here. Having competed in Europe and on various US indies (including Chikara), this was perhaps his highest profile booking since his release earlier in 2017. He is supposedly a strong grappler and has revamped his image moderately from the 'Vaudevillains' gimmick. Strong grappling is the forte of both of his opponents too. Woods is from Florida so will feel right at home. Gresham is small in stature but one of the best technical wrestlers on the planet. I've no idea how these three will translate their skills to a triple threat - but I'm curious to see it.

Woods tries an early suplex on Gresham - who simply rolls out of it and watches as his opponents frantically battle each other on the mat. Gresh returns with a flying crossbody to wipe out The Goods. Grimm joins the party with some unique suplexes, but he too finds it hard to deal with the totally unorthodox style Gresham utilises. Sunset flip/german suplex combo...then Grimm powerbombs The Octopus for 2. Woods messes something up trying to hurdle the ropes and strike Gresh...but recovers quickly by jumping off the apron for a knee into Simon's face instead. Cradle suplex on Gresham gets 2. Quebrada in response by Jon, seamlessly transitioned into a tope suicida aimed at Grimm. Bridging pin on Woods next - scoring Gresham a win at 05:07

Rating - ** - Not an unpleasant match to watch by any means, but it looked a weird combination of guys on paper and it was pretty weird in the flesh. Neither Grimm nor Woods looked overly comfortable and both looked awkward on more than one occasion. What this match did well was put over Gresham. It established how downright dangerous he is as an opponent (even when in the ring with an ex-WWE guy and a mixed martial artist) and gave him a clean, resourceful pin. Personally I'd have booked Gresham vs Grimm one-on-one and found something else for Woods to do. This ultimately felt like a nothing match with no real purpose...and I'm not wholly sure why they bothered booking Grimm if this is all they had for him.

Riccaboni rightly points out that the fleeting exchanges between these two men were real highlights of a TV Title contendership four-man match on Episode 318 of the Sinclair TV show. Now we get a welcome chance to see them go 1-on-1. Both men qualified for the Final Battle TV Title match alongside Silas Young at the Philadelphia Excellence taping, therefore this represents a chance for both competitors to inflict pre-emptive damage and negate the threat of their opposite number when the title is on the line next month.

These are two big, bad boys - and that size means they are understandably cautious in the opening stages. Each takes a turn showing off some speed and agility, before Martinez gets things started in earnest with a massive elbow into Taylor's jaw. BIG JAB by Taylor in response, right before he clobbers Punisher over the top rope. Martinez leaps onto the apron...so Shane simply smashes him off again! Apron back drop lands soon after and leaves Punishment in as much pain as he's seemed in his entire ROH career. He recovers fast, hits a couple of spinning heel kicks...and he uses those as a set-up for a springboard corkscrew senton. Greetings From 216 blocked; POP-UP CHOKESLAM by Taylor instead! Martinez looks out on his feet and is almost pinned after a massive running lariat. Taylor tries to finish things with his big splash from the second rope, only to be met by Punisher's cyclone kick. TOPE SUICIDA OVER THE TURNBUCKLES! Punisher re-enters the ring with a top rope spinning heel kick. SOUTH OF HEAVEN! Martinez wins at 06:49

Rating - *** - Is there a reason every match is quite so short tonight? Other than the obvious theory that fans are only paying to see The Elite guys anyway, so why book anything else to go longer. The totally silent crowd did hurt this too, which is a shame because they were beating the f*ck out of each other. I've enjoyed watching both men in 2017 and feel like both are hugely under-rated. Martinez has consistently over-achieved, regardless of the position he's been booked into, going all the way back to the 2016 Top Prospect Tournament. He was the right call to win here, but I wasn't ready to watch this strong-style brawl end. Taylor has been rebuilding post-Rebellion as a hired gun. Even with a strong performance I feel that losing in less than seven minutes to someone of a similar ranking and stature as him, felt very damaging.

The Briscoes come out and crash the show despite not being booked. They get a big reaction since their attack on Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer in the ECW Arena hadn't aired on television yet. Mark quickly changes that by running down the residents of Florida. Jay calls out Bully, and suggests that Mark had plans to sexually assault Velvet Sky too?! Bubba isn't here tonight, so instead they give a young Eli Isom (working security here) a 3-D to send a message. 

Trent and Chuckie defeated Daniels and Kazarian (with a little help from War Machine) to become #1 contenders to the Tag Titles so are now preparing for a big championship match at Final Battle. The Addiction will no doubt want revenge for that and will relish the opportunity to step into the ring with four competitors all beloved the ROH fans so they can sh*t all over what the fans love. The Villain and Hangman are here to put a beating on Daniels and Kaz (who have been thorns in the side of Bullet Club all year) - but will also know that a win over potential future Tag Champions the Best Friends would potentially install them as top challengers in early-2018.

Scurll is the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. Taylor and Kazarian both join commentary and start arguing rather than get into the ring to kick things off. As the first members of Bullet Club to make an appearance, Hangman and Marty get rapturous ovations. Beretta and Taylor have fun working Daniels over in the early minutes...until the Fallen Angel skulks off and forcibly tags Marty in. He takes a villainous cheapshot at Chuckie to give Bullet Club the advantage. Kaz and Page tag next, sprinting across the ring and knocking the sh*t out of each other as they renew hostilities for the first time since their Strap Match at Best In The World. The Addiction stop the Friends from their customary hug, right before Page dumps Frankie to the floor. Hangman wants to hit a spike Rite Of Passage, but Marty is apparently scared of climbing the turnbuckles and takes so long that Trent slides away. The Villain then punts his own partner in the balls when trying to kick out at Beretta. Page is so pissed off about it that he chases Marty all the way to the locker rooms leaving the Best Friends and The Addiction to fight amongst themselves. Kazarian and Daniels beat down the already-injured Beretta, finally fighting to a stalemate as Trent and Daniels collide mid-ring. Frankie makes sure Taylor is hauled off the apron before a tag can be made though. Page and Scurll are back out - still chasing each other around like a cartoon. In the midst of chasing Marty, Page finds time to hit the drop-sault on The Addiction! Just Kidding combo on Kazarian...and now Bullet Club start doing weird horse/bird poses!? Superkick/Apron SSP combo nailed! Page Buckshot Lariats back into the ring - but right into a lungblower by Frankie. Body slam flurry Chuckie...then STEREO PLANCHAS by the Friends! Lawn Dart on Kazarian! Finger Snap from Scurll to Daniels! Lungblower again by Kaz as Marty lines up the Chickenwing! Slingshot Cutter on Page! CHICKENWING by Marty! Hangman accidentally hits the Buckshot Lariat on his own partner! TOMIKAZE drops Page on his head! Gobstopper Knee! PILEDRIVER/DUDEBUSTER COMBO! Chuck pins Kaz at 15:20

Rating - *** - The problem with the wrestling scene in 2017 is that all six of these men are capable of putting on a great match...but the fans will cheer far more loudly if they ditch the wrestling and work bizarre comedy spots instead. Page and Scurll are among the best workers on the entire roster, but were given thunderous applause for f*cking things up, goofing off and performing a live-action Tom & Jerry skit in the middle of the match. Some of this match was really good. When the six competitors started burning through big spots and false finishes it was a fun watch. I enjoy Being The Elite on YouTube, and I like these performers...but this felt like another example where the sentimentality behind the BTE concept was bleeding into ROH in the most uncomfortable way. 

FR Josie, an ROH Dojo graduate in his first year, is set to be given an opportunity - making his main show debut against Cheeseburger. In their brief match I thought FR had a little something about him. The action is swiftly curtailed though - with The Dawgs coming out to interrupt. Josie technically wins his debut match, since it ends via DQ when Titus bundles him into the guardrails. Ferrara trash-talks Burger on the microphone, setting up a 2-on-1 attack. Hanson marches out to rescue Cheeseburger, then challenges Titus and Ferrara to a tag match...

As we know, Ferrara and Burger used to be team-mates. The partnership ended when Will got fed up of continuously losing (and 'carrying' Burger as he saw it) and turned on him in Chicago. That led to the formation of The Dawgs with his long-time friend/training partner Rhett Titus - and the pair have continued to antagonise Cheese. Tonight Burger has some seriously sizeable back-up though...

Rhett tricks Ferrara into charging into battle with both opponents...then watches from the outside as Hanson 'Little Willy' into the canvas. Sledgehammer strikes on both Dawgs by Hanson, but Titus saves his partner from the Bronco Buster then starts stomping on the fallen Hanson's head. Burger tags in with a springboard crossbody to Ferrara. Rhett tries to save...but accidentally punches his own partner in the face. Superkick by Cheese gets 2 - and he spits in Will's face too, such is his level of hatred for his former partner. Titus blocks Hanson's Cartwheel Lariat with a dropkick, setting up a tornado DDT on the floor by Will. Handspring elbow by Hanson in response! Cheeseburger hops on his back for a free ride as Hanson breaks out the Sesame Street corner clotheslines. Burger then BODY SLAMS Hanson into a senton on Ferrara for 2. The 'War Burgers' attempt Fallout, only for Titus to put a stop t it. Spike Rhett-ribution sees Will pin Burger to win at 08:26

Rating - ** - For a post-intermission popcorn match I found this to be entertaining. I like The Dawgs in general and feel like they are a fun act who fill a spot at the bottom of the card. The Ferrara/Burger spots were teased well and executed perfectly when they came meaning that this filler bout has some long-term context. The little/large team of Hanson and Burger produced moments of real comedy too. It would have been easy for Delirious to lazily put Hanson and Burger over. As a member of the NJPW roster Hanson could've been protected, and a victory for their team would've got an obvious pop. But it was the right call to put The Dawgs over as they look to establish themselves and build Burgers's feud with Ferrara. 

The Dawgs try to keep beating up Cheeseburger after the match, but Hanson cleans Rhett's clock with the Spin Kick Of Doom right before Burger sends Will packing with a Shotei.

Even with a scheduled title defence against the Best Friends at Final Battle signed, the Machine Guns want to be fighting champions and are defending their belts as much as possible. The Kingdom beat MCMG in Las Vegas on Episode 317 of the TV show (in a trios match also including Matt Taven and Jon Gresham) so feel like they've earned this title shot and were being held back from receiving it until now by the 'conspiracy' against them.

The Kingdom attack before the bell; they've started to make a habit of that. It is nothing the veteran champions haven't seen before though and they quickly drive both opponents out of the ring for tandem pescado dives. Scrapping on the floor is probably better suited to The Kingdom though as it allows them to negate the technical skill and tag team prowess of the Machine Guns. Smartly Shelley and Sabin bring it back into the ring and instantly get the upper hand with a flurry of double-teams. Missile dropkick/flatliner combo gets 2 on TK. Shelley dragon screws his broken leg and orders Sabin to join him so they can apply stereo Figure 4 Leglocks. O'Ryan's leg is badly hurt, preventing him from running the ropes and causing him to collapse to the floor. It isn't quite as bad as he makes out though - it lures Sabin into a spinebuster, which Marseglia follows with a tope suicida. It allows them to isolate Shelley for several minutes...with such success that they find a lot of time to pose and taunt the fans. Alex eventually tricks O'Ryan into a misplaced spear on his own partner, setting up the hot tag to Sabin. Through-the-legs tope nailed, putting both challenges on the arena floor. Marseglia blocks Skull & Bones, allowing the Kingdom to hit the Twist Of Fate/Redrum combo for 2. House Of A Thousand Horses gets 2 as well - but only because Shelley lunged in at the last second to break the pin. Vinny grows frustrated and brings his axe into the ring, mostly to cause a distraction so TK can use his bat! But O'Ryan accidentally clocks his own partner...then gets taken out with the Dream Sequence. Double Rubix Cube beats Marseglia at 12:40

Rating - ** - My issue here wasn't that I thought it was a bad match, but more that I found it bland and pretty devoid of excitement. The challengers were not presented particularly credibly. On offence they messed around and posed to the fans as much as they did anything interesting. I never felt they looked threatening enough to beat MCMG...and as with every one of their matches they resorted to bring in their signature weapons because they couldn't win by themselves. Shelley and Sabin tried to work a fast-based, spot-heavy style when I'd have preferred them to slow it down and showcase more of their technical prowess. Shelley is a terrific worker. This would have been far more interesting had they gone down the route of him picking apart TK's recently-healed leg (as they teased, but then abandoned) rather than a generic, formulaic tag which relied heavily on Sabin's high-flying/athletic moves - which in 2017 just aren't that impressive.

Matt Taven isn't happy with the result and attacks Shelley from behind. The Kingdom beat-down the Tag Champions, as Ian Riccaboni shills a trios match between them and Search & Destroy at Survival Of The Fittest 2017. Taven's opponent for the evening, Flip Gordon, comes out to make the save.

Flip has produced some tremendous performances of late. His match with Will Ospreay is one of ROH's best of the year, and even after defeat there he continues battling to climb the ranks in ROH. He isn't having to deal with the BTE cast-members bullying him tonight, and win over a former TV, Tag and Six-Man Champion in the form of Taven could be the signature victory he has been looking for.

A corkscrew enzi knocks Taven out of the ring...and Flip is straight out after him with a TWISTING MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! The Machine Guns drag Marseglia and O'Ryan to the locker room whilst inside the ring Gordon back flips into a big dropkick. He starts doing nip-ups to evade Matt, causing so much confusion that Taven walks into a quebrada. Finally Taven catches him going for yet another flip...and gives him a TKO ONTO THE TOP ROPE! When Gordon tries to recover, Matt sweeps his legs and drops him spine-first into the edge of the ring. This is good wrestling, so obviously the crowd start chanting for a Hulk Hogan cosplayer in the front row instead. F*cking wrestling fans! Taven is pissed off too and challenges the fake Hulkster to a fight - all the while allowing Flip plenty of time to recover. Credit to Taven, he is steering into the skid here and drags Flip into the ring to give him the Big Boot and the Leg Drop for 2! Double underhook backbreaker decimates Gordon's already-injured back, which has been the focal point of Taven's offence all match. A back injury clearly negates Gordon's ability to fly - and Taven makes it worse with a Boston Crab. Standing moonsault attempted by Flip - but he somersaults into Matt's knees and hurts himself still more. Climax countered the springboard Sling Blade to leave both men down. He eventually follows with a springboard DDT out of the corner but is visibly slowed right down as a result of the damage The Kingdom's leader has inflicted. He manages to bust out the Samoan Pop for 2, with even Cabana pointing out on commentary how much less hang-time he got on that. Taven dodges strike after strike from his opponent before putting him ass with a springboard enzi. Lionsault attempted...but he goes into Flip's knees and they both stay down. Taven up first to hit a rolling neckbreaker. He then gets distracted by the crowd allowing Gordon to land a Pele Kick followed by the Kinder Surprise. SOMERSAULT PLANCHA! The rest of The Kingdom are back, watching as Gordon misses a 450 Splash...then creating a distraction so Taven can kick Gordon in the balls and win the match at 12:57

Rating - **** - The fans were appalling, Delirious' usual crutch having a heel cheat to win sucked ass too. But I don't want that to detract from what I thought was a terrific wrestling match. The work Taven did in grounding Flip and going after his back was brilliant, and I thought that Gordon sold it outstandingly; modifying his moveset to put over the extent of his injuries. I'm SO angry that we couldn't find a more inventive finish than having Taven cheat to win this. It wasn't needed at all.

Nobody offers a satisfactory explanation as to why Romero has this title shot. He has held ROH Tag Championships in the past, and challenged both Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson for the World Title during their reigns - so does have championship match pedigree in this promotion at least. As a member of CHAOS he'll know taking the ROH Title from Cody would strike a major blow to the Bullet Club as well. 

As always, Cody is in no rush to compete - strolling around ringside, stalling for time and mucking around with the fans. Romero slaps him in the face and gives him a German suplex for his trouble (as the camera pans around to an entire section of fans decked out in Bullet Club shirts like a uniform). Within the first minute Rocky slams Rhodes' arm into the apron and guardrail - laying the groundwork early for the Diablo Armbar. He steals Cody's ring, causing the champ to freak out and find a nearby ringside attendant to take it to the back. Romero dives off the apron with a knee strike...but then takes some time out to set up a table at ringside. The delay allows Rhodes to deliver a hanging flatliner out of the ropes for 2. The champ flings the challenger over the guardrail, kick-starting a brawl through an absolute sea of Bullet Club shirts-wearing fans. Romero smartly brings it back to the ring and grounds the American Nightmare with an arm wrench. Rainmaker by Cody in response - stealing Okada's move since he is a stable-mate of Rocky (and faces Okada himself at a forthcoming NJPW show). Romero counters a second Rainmaker attempt into a Shiranui to leave them both on the canvas though. Forever Clotheslines flip the champ through the air, before Rocky puts him in the ropes for a springboard dropkick TO THE ARM! Diablo Armbar applied - but too close to the ropes. The two men fight on the apron in front of the table. Armbreaker by Romero...SUPLEX OFF THE APRON THROUGH THE TABLE BY RHODES! Cody decides he doesn't want to win by count-out so hauls Rocky back into the ring and locks him in the Figure 4. Next he spits water in Romero's eyes and blasts him with the Disaster Kick. For no reason at all, Cody then dumps a bag of thumb tacks into the ring? He lines up a bulldog...but Romero grabs a rope and dumps him in the tacks! RUNNING SHIRANUI IN THE TACKS! Cody somehow kicks out at 2! Why has Todd Sinclair not called for a DQ, or thrown this out!? Cross Rhodes by Cody - giving him an intense and hard-fought victory at 19:35

Rating - *** - Do ROH let the Bullet Club guys do whatever they want now? Strangely this match takes its place among Cody's better title defences, but it took such a weird turn in the last ten minutes. Before that I quite liked it as a wrestling match. Romero was presented as a genuine threat and used all his street-smarts, resilience and experience working over opponents' arms to put Cody's championship tenure in jeopardy. I also enjoyed Cody being a prick, ripping off Okada's move (since it was relevant on two separate counts) and being a total asshole to Rocky at every turn. That portion of the match was good...but rather than build to a finish they dropped that in favour of a complete switch to a hardcore match. Tables and tacks came into play with no effort made by the ref to stop it, or end the match. They took some horrific bumps and it was quite the spectacle...but I had absolutely no idea what was going on and/or why it was being allowed to happen. Unfathomably strange, but undeniably a fun twenty minutes of wrestling. I have this behind only Cody/Daniels 2/3 Falls on TV and Cody/Kushida in Columbus as his third best title defence.

This is what the vast majority of the packed crowd came to see. The Elite headline in trios action once again (without using 'Bullet Club Rules' to defend the Six-Man Titles tonight) - against an ROH all-star team of 'franchise' Jay Lethal, TV Champion Kenny King and #1 contender Dalton Castle. The Party Peacock is vulnerable here as The Elite will no doubt have been briefed by Cody to inflict damage on him ahead of their Final Battle title match. 

The Elite are treated like rock stars and get mind-blowing reactions and a 'this is awesome' chant just for showing up. King's reaction is interesting (given his history with the Bucks in particular) and he enjoys a strong start by matching pace with Matt Jackson easily. Lethal tags and shows his speed and agility with Nick...before going to ground to duck and cover as Nick lines up a Superkick. Omega tags in, with a small minority of fans chanting 'Y2J' at him. Dalton demands a shot at The Cleaner, meanwhile in the crowd there are actual COPS having to disperse throngs of fans massing against the railing rather than in their assigned seats. Omega blocks an Everest German attempt, then they battle over a body slam until they almost pass out. Nick moonsaults off the apron at King on one side of the ring, as on the other Lethal takes flight with a tope suicida to drive Matt's back into the guardrail. He tries a second...but walks into a Superkick from Nick. Corkscrew pescado by King! Kotaro Crusher on Dalton! After ten minutes of decent wrestling we press pause so The Elite can break out the 'ten boots' skit which was their calling card throughout the Global Wars Tour. Page and Scurll run in to join them, and this time they put the referee (Paul Turner) in the tree of woe so his boots are involved too. That isn't a DQ?! After all that Castle counters and batters Matt Jackson's head into all the boots. ACE CRUSHER ON THE FLOOR from Lethal to Matt! King and Omega battle so hard that they take each other out against the guardrails. Ian R has apparently forgotten about the HDNet era altogether as he says he can't remember seeing Omega and King in an ROH ring together (they wrestled a few times in multiple formats on the HDNet show). Team ROH isolate Matt Jackson with a concerted focus on his midsection, with Lethal making sure he antagonises Omega a few times as well. SPRINGBOARD DDT TO THE FLOOR from Matt to Dalton! He exploded from absolutely nowhere there. He follows with the Worst Case Scenario on Jay and tags The Cleaner in. Dragon Rush on King and Castle! Lethal Combination COUNTERED to the Dragon Rush! The fight spills onto the stage with an INSANE strike exchange. V-TRIGGER from Omega to Lethal! SOMERSAULT PLANCHA OVER THE ANNOUNCE TABLE TO THE FLOOR by Matt! Castle slams Omega through a trash can then feeds him back into the ring. Lethal Injection countered to another Dragon Rush! Hail To The King gets 2. Everest German from Dalton to Omega...broken with a frog splash by Nick Jackson. V-Trigger/reverse rana combo from Omega to King. The Cleaner and Matt then stack Lethal and King in the ropes for a DOUBLE SWANTON BOMB by Nick! TRIPLE SUPERKICK drops Castle to his knees. POP-UP INDYTAKER! But Lethal and King break the pin. V-TRIGGER! LETHAL INJECTION TO COUNTER THE ONE-WINGED ANGEL! DOUBLE SUPERKICK BY THE BUCKS! King COUNTERS THE MELTZER DRIVER INTO THE ROYAL FLUSH! BANG-A-RANG ON MATT! DALTON WINS! Huge victory for the #1 contender on the way to Final Battle - in a time of 26:38

Rating - **** - Strip the 'ten boots' skit out of this and my rating could have been even higher. This was utterly brilliant as a spectacle and better than any of the Bullet Club trios tag main events on the Global Wars Tour. From the rock star entrances of The Elite (which brought out genuine cops to disperse the crowd) through wild brawls around ringside, dives off the stage, precise work from Team ROH on Matt's ribs and back (which he made a real concerted effort to sell), and a performance of the highest order from Jay Lethal - this was thrilling viewing. I criticise Delirious heavily, but it was an incredibly brave (and correct) decision to put Dalton over here. The fans were only interested in The Elite - but the story is setting Castle up for a World Title shot at Cody. His victory here is a huge stepping stone on the way to Final Battle and takes him from fun, talented babyface to extremely credible threat to Cody's championship. 

Tape Rating - *** - This is an incredibly hard show to rate. As the name of the show would suggest, the only thing anyone cared about was the cast of Being The Elite. That extends to the booking, with anything not involving Bullet Club talent marginalised and kept as brief as possible. In the case of Taven/Flip that sucked, because I thought they had the second best match of the show even with a terrible finish...but on the other hand it meant we got a healthy twenty minutes for a World Title Match and even longer for the six-man tag mayhem in our main event. If you are fans of the wrestlers behind Being The Elite then this is a show you should check out. If you don't like those guys, you should probably skip it (although check out Martinez/Taylor and Taven/Flip on Honor Club). 

3) Cody vs Rocky Romero (***)

2) Matt Taven vs Flip Gordon (****)

1) Jay Lethal/Kenny King/Dalton Castle vs Kenny Omega/Young Bucks (****)