McXal's Reviews

The third and final night of Survival Of The Fittest 2017 weekend...and at last the tournament itself will take centre stage. Silas Young, Shane Taylor, Punishment Martinez, Jonathan Gresham, Flip Gordon and Matt Taven are the men who go into battle looking to secure the prize of a guaranteed World Title shot. As usual when you pack a lot of talent into the main event the undercard tends to look stark, especially when you consider that quite a few talents who worked one or both of the first two nights aren't here for Night 3. Madison Rayne returns to ROH (albeit making her first appearance as 'Madison Rayne') to face Deonna Purrazzo in a Women Of Honor bout. Josh Woods pits his wits with Jay Lethal, 'Big Dawg' Rhett Titus has a big chance to shine when he wrestles Marty Scurll...and if all that weren't enough, Kikutaro is back as well. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana are in Oklahoma City, OK.

The opening match working Top Prospects isn't the spot on the card Jay Lethal wishes to occupy. He has voiced his desire to get back into the World Title picture, but lost his Survival Of The Fittest qualifier to Punishment Martinez two nights ago. Instead of vying for a title shot tonight, he is left as a measuring stick for Josh Woods to pit his skills against. Perhaps 'the Franchise' will ponder the validity of Marty Scurll's warning that he needs to rediscover his villainous edge in order to be successful. He won't want another loss on the final stop before Final Battle, and he'll be very aware that his Final Battle opponent (Marty) beat 'The Goods' last night in Dallas.

Lethal has a heavy bandage and pad on his left arm - which Woods instantly latches onto. He's also good enough to switch straight into a kneebar when Lethal tries to counter him. His attitude seems to piss Jay off, causing him to rip off all his pads ad taping and get right in the 2017 Top Prospect's face. Josh starts kicking lumps out of him, takes several swings at his previously injured knee, and literally beats the former World Champion out of the ring. That was such a great exchange. Lethal tries to re-enter the ring but is decked again with a knee strike into the side of his head. Then when Jay tries to exchange strikes The Goods simply blocks it and drops him with a capture suplex. The Franchise needs to quicken the pace and does so by unloading his hiptoss/dropkick combo. He knocks him to the floor with a springboard dropkick, into position for a tope suicida. Both guys are starting to look battle-weary. They trade strikes, which Lethal doesn't necessarily have the upper hand with. He can't put the Figure 4 on either...but can drop The Goods with a Lethal Combination. Hail To The King COUNTERED TO AN ARMBAR! Right on that taped up arm, causing Lethal to thrash like a fish out of water until he makes the ropes. He sucks Josh into making an error, getting too close and into a vulnerable position for an Ace Crusher. Lethal Injection countered into a rear naked choke! Lethal comes desperately close to being choked out. Woods goes for broke and looks for a superplex - which both Riccaboni and Cabana point out as an obvious strategic error. He is knocked to the ground, allowing Jay to fly with Hail To The King. ONE COUNT! Kicks from Lethal, into the Lethal Injection! At last Jay puts Woods away - taking the win at 11:32

Rating - *** - This was a tremendous opening match; I considered going to 4* on my rating, and would definitely reach ***1/2 if I did half stars. It was the best presentation of Josh's character that I've seen. He came off like a smug, smirking prick - grinning at an established main event talent after manhandling him and literally beating him out of the ring. He was a killer in those opening minutes - and Lethal sold for him beautifully to achieve that. It made sense that Lethal's route back into the match would be athletic, higher risk moves as a result, but even then Woods was always the aggressor and driving force, countering Lethal's signature moves with ease. Where I felt this lacked a little was in the closing stretch. I was waiting for a moment where I really felt like Woods was going to win - but it never came. I wanted to see a segment where Woods was aggressively pursuing victory, rather than countering Lethal. All that being said, I've enjoyed Josh Woods in 2017. He's had a couple of stinkers and has lots to improve on, but there have been some genuinely fun matches along the way too - this being at the top of the list.

Up next we are supposed to have a match between 'Unholy' Gregory James on debut, and Cheeseburger. They wrestle back and forth a bit; enough for me to gain a relatively positive impression of James and his anonymous 'follower' at ringside...until the Briscoes come out and interrupt. The match ends when they attack both competitors, and they lay James out with the 3-D. Jay announces that the Briscoes now 'own' that move since they destroyed Bully in the ECW Arena. Mark starts ranting and swearing in the crowd (in classic ECW Bubba Ray Dudley fashion!)...only stopping when Cheeseburger gets back into the ring. He demands a fight with Jay!

I like the way ROH have held the Briscoes (and more importantly, Bully) off a few shows recently. The segment in the ECW Arena with Bully and Tommy Dreamer was excellent, and holding them off a few live events until it aired to a) protect their character and b) allow Mark's arm injury to heal has been smart. There is some real mystique, unpredictability and freshness to their act for the first time in a while. Jay, in particular, is always fantastic at this somewhat unhinged redneck character. At the Florida TV taping he and his brother successfully goaded Joe Koff into agreeing to let Dreamer and Bubba fight them at Final Battle. He will look to send a message to the ECW veterans through Burger. Apparently the Briscoes were supposed to be in Dallas last night, but instead showed up at a House Of Hardcore event in Philadelphia to beat Tommy Dreamer up in the ECW Arena again!

Jay shakes off an early flurry of strikes and starts sadistically beating Cheeseburger down. Cheese keeps fighting though and loads up the Shotei in the corner. Briscoe no sells it to hit a press slam DVD though. He hits the Spiccoli Driver (one of Dreamer's finishers) on Burger - but he kicks out at 2. Briscoe does finish things off with the Jay Driller at 05:18

Rating - N/A - There is absolutely no way on earth that this needed to go five minutes. It should have been a swift and comprehensive demolition job and there was no need to have Jay selling any of Burger's offence. But the character work from both Briscoes was excellent. Jay was sadistic inside the ropes, and watching Mark prowl the outside goading fan after fan was really fun as well. 

Well this should be weird. Until this weekend neither man had been seen in televised ROH action in some time (I think Kikutaro had worked a couple of dark matches at TV tapings though). Long-time fans will no what to expect from Kiku however; he is an unapologetic comedy character. Ryan - who returned in San Antonio - does have more strings to his bow, but is mostly a walking gimmick too. This was an unannounced bonus match. Cabana - who had Kikutaro in his Wrestling Road Diaries 3 movie - gives Kiku a standing ovation from the announce booth. The generic entrance themes for both of these guys is completely appalling.

Kikutaro starts be refusing to touch Joey's dick, which is entirely reasonable. Instead he rips out chunks of Joey's chest hair and busts out a few armdrags. Joey blocks a bulldog, leading to an exchange of ass kicks. Kiku tries to low blow Ryan - which obviously hurts him due to the invincible penis of his opponent. Undeterred, he orders referee Paul Turner to grab a microphone so he can thank the fans for coming and let them know he's about to hit his finisher. Obviously Joey blocks it given the very loud advanced warning, and counters to the YouPorn Plex. 70's Kick wins it for Ryan at 06:01

Rating - ** - Silly, light-hearted and fun for what it was. The sound levels weren't great meaning commentary was very loud whilst the sounds of the ring and crowd were much quieter - which isn't great when so much of Kikutaro's comedy in the US is very vocal, expressive and relies on an exchange with the crowd. If you had a checklist of things you wanted to see, this probably hit all the boxes though. I'm curious to see if ROH brings Joey back anytime soon, given that he does have regular cameos in Being The Elite.

This is the biggest singles match Titus has had in some time. He has spent the majority of the last few years in tag team action with All Night Express or The Dawgs, or in multi-man tags as part of The Rebellion/Cabinet. Marty is a major independent star, a member of Bullet Club and the current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion so a victory over him would be a huge upset.

Will Ferrara joins commentary and says that 'Big Dawg' Rhett is trying to 'make weight' so they can challenge Roppongi 3K for the IWGP Jr Tag Titles. Titus lasts about seven seconds before Scurll wrestles him to the ground. Trading holds in a World Of Sport style is not the approach Rhett should be taking. Sucker-punching him when Scurll starts being a goof is far more appropriate. Marty didn't like that and starts stomping on the hand and arm of his opponent. Titus blocks Marty's kick from the apron, and although it gets a little ugly (more Marty's fault than his I think), he succeeds in clobbering him against the guardrail seconds later. Smartly The Villain returns the match to the ring and delivers a stranglehold lungblower. Just Kidding nailed...only for Rhett to block the Chickenwing with his big dropkick for 2. Big Dawg Splash misses, allowing Scurll to snap the fingers. Paul Turner spots Marty trying to use the ropes for a pin (I wish he'd stop doing the same spot in every match) though, creating enough of a distraction for Titus to hit a yakuza kick. World's Strongest Slam COUNTERED to the Chickenwing! Titus taps at 08:14

Rating - *** - This one won't live long in the memory, but I thought it was decent. Scurll went after the arm, Titus used his power to fight back...but ultimately just isn't in the same league as The Villain so couldn't block his finishing move forever. The story wasn't rocket science but it was well told and I appreciated that, for the most part, they tried hard to present Titus as a threat to The Villain. 

The American Nightmare is still World Champion, having survived a war with Christopher Daniels in Dallas 24-hours earlier. What is his physical condition after that match? With Final Battle on the horizon, a violent encounter with the Bruiser is probably the last thing he needs. Bruiser successfully talks his way into getting Cody to agree to put the 'Ring' Of Honor on the line tonight - but only on the understanding that if he loses he'll kiss it...

Bruiser spits all over the ring before smearing Cody into the canvas. On the outside the big man misses a cannonball and collides with the guardrails. He tries a Beer City Driver on the floor instead but Cody escapes and shoves him into the ringpost. Cody gets fed up of Silas being at ringside, so summons Marty Scurll from the back for a hug and a spritz. ROPE RUN SPRINGBOARD DIVE to the floor by the rejuvenated American Nightmare. His momentum is short-lived though as Silas trips him, causing him to stay in the perfect spot for Beer City to cannonball off the apron into him. SAMOAN DRIVER by Bruiser to counter Cross Rhodes. Again the champion has to move quickly to avoid the large, flying body of his opponent - but does so to dodge the cannonball in the corner. Disaster Kick, followed by the fluent powerslam, leaving both men on the canvas. Bruiser is up first and lays the champ out with a hiptoss knee strike. Cody chopblocks his meaty legs, clinging on to take them into a Figure 4 Leglock. Silas Young contributes to that not forcing a submission...and gets ejected from ringside by Todd Sinclair as a result. Keg Splash countered with the rope-run lucha armdrag...into Cross Rhodes. Cody wins at 12:23

Rating - ** - It is perfectly understandable that Cody wouldn't be going full throttle after the match he produced in Dallas. But even in his lower gear style I thought this had some potential to be fun. His big, brash personality should have contrasted nicely with the aggressive physicality of the Bruiser. But in the end this felt oddly sterile. Considering this a match with a prop ring on the line I expected more personality than I got. A straight-faced twelve minute wrestling match did neither man any favours.

Cody ensures that the KO'd Bruiser has to live up to his promise - and makes him kiss the ring before heading to the locker rooms.

Deonna is 2-0 for the weekend, with major victories over Britt Baker in San Antonio then Karen Q in Dallas. She now faces another big challenge in a veteran performer making her return to the promotion after a long-time away. Madison has held Tag Titles in TNA and SHIMMER and is also a former TNA Knockouts Champion too - joins the Women Of Honor division after leaving Impact Wrestling in July and having WWE try-outs in October. Purrazzo is young, hungry and getting better with every match. What does Rayne have in her box of tricks to curtail the momentum of The Virtuosa? Jessica James is on commentary, despite barely having featured in the WOH division all year.

Ian informs us that these two have been teaming regularly on the independents this year, so have gained a lot of familiarity with each other's work. Rayne starts strong and makes a statement by almost pinning Purrazzo with an elaborate roll-up sequence. Deonna is rattled so goes to what she knows best, which is targeting the arm of an opponent. She snaps Madison's arm in the ropes, knees it into the canvas then applies a wristlock too. Italian Legsweep gets 2. Now carrying an injury, Rayne goes right back to quick pins in an effort to defeat her opponent. A bridging northern lights gets 2 before the arm gives out preventing her from maintaining the pin anymore. Fujiwara Armbar by Deonna...and Madison instantly taps out. Impressive win for The Virtuosa at 05:49

Rating - ** - It is disappointing that ROH couldn't find more time for these women, because I was enjoying that. Purrazzo was an absolute machine tearing apart the arm, and the way Madison kept going for flurries of intricate pinfall attempts was an effective method of demonstrating her veteran instinct. Sadly it barely felt like it has got going before it ended. At least the quick finish really puts over Deonna's Fujiwara hard. She is 3-0 for the weekend and ends the year on a major streak.

Kenny King is out next, in his street clothes so clearly not defending his TV Title as scheduled. The Oklahoma State commission won't let him wrestle this evening because of the huge gash in his lip that he sustained against Scorpio Sky last night. 

Hot on Kenny's heels is Christopher Daniels, also in his street clothes. He momentarily dwells on his loss to Cody last night...but today is another day and he wants to get back into the World Title picture. To that end he starts burying the current #1 contender for not being championship material. Dalton comes out and is reminded by Daniels that last time they met, he lost. Daniels proposes they have a match for Castle's Final Battle title match...and Dalton wants to do it right now. Daniels jumps him from behind and orders that Todd Sinclair ring the bell...

It isn't clear whether Dalton's Final Batte title shot is actually on the line here...but since wrestlers have been making their own matches and stipulations in ROH for more than a year its probably safer to assume it is. Castle is on a roll heading into the PPV to challenge Cody for the World Title. He just said on the microphone that he feels like nobody can beat him. But Daniels has a track record of doing just that, most recently at Supercard Of Honor. Will he repeat that feat again tonight and take Castle's spot in a pay-per-view main event? Or will the Party Peacock add a win over a former World Champion to his resume before he challenges for the top prize in the promotion? 

Daniels is competing in this match in his regular clothes and stomps Castle down in the corner. Even in his t-shirt you can see bandaging on both arms, and every time anything even grazes his back he winces in pain. Castle knocks him off the top with a running knee strike, so Daniels hauls him back into the ring before choking and punching him on the canvas. He works hard to keep Dalton grounded, maintaining a minimal impact style to protect his body after the rigours of the Texas Death Match. Dalton finally fights free...and dumps his rival face-first onto the mat. Bang-A-Rang blocked, so Castle hits a Greco-Roman suplex instead - forcing Daniels to take his first back bump almost eight minutes into the match and causing him to cry out in pain. He keeps dumping the Ring General with suplexes until Daniels can't stand up...then gives him the Everest German too. BME blocked into Bang-A-Rang, giving Castle the win at 09:50

Rating - ** - It doesn't feel fair rating this one as a regular match. Daniels was clearly in a poor condition after his main event match with Cody the night before. It was extremely noticeable throughout that he was nursing the skin on his back - wearing a shirt to compete and visibly avoiding back bumps at all cost. The big takeaway for me was how impressive it is to see how ROH have converted Dalton from comedy Six-Man Champion in Liverpool during the War Of The Worlds UK Tour to a genuine #1 contender at the end of Survival Of The Fittest 2017. Beating Daniels in ten minutes was a crushing statement of intent by Dalton and does much to have him seem especially threatening to the title at Final Battle. But at the same time you knew this was well below the standards these guys could reach in an 'actual' match, and I spent the whole time distracted by whether Daniels should even have been out there competing at all.

Daniels peels his shirt off on the way to the locker room, revealing lots of burns and bandaging. Why they had him go out and compete here is beyond me, even when you consider that a few talents have dropped out of this show through injury.

The Kingdom want the Tag Titles, and feel they are the rightful Six-Man Champions too. Therefore a win over the world-famous Young Bucks is essential for them tonight. It would establish them as top contenders for another match with the Motor City Machine Guns, whilst moving them to the front of the queue for a shot at the Trios Title held by the Hung Bucks.

The Kingdom attack before the bell, which they basically do in every match now. The initial momentum doesn't last long, with Nick hitting a missile dropkick/crossbody block combo to both of them. Stereo backflip dropkicks sandwich Marseglia's skull as the Bucks dominate. Smartly The Kingdom take the match to the outside to negate the double-teams of their opponents...but they then instantly f*ck it up by being stupid and trying to rip off Rise Of The Terminator. They are soon deposited on the floor of the arena so the Bucks can deliver the actual Rise Of The Terminator tope spot. Marseglia tries an ugly tope suicida of his own...and barrels through O'Ryan by mistake. TK recovers in time to block the Meltzer Driver and, after five minutes of action, The Kingdom stop acting like idiots and enjoy a period of offence. Spinebuster/diving headbutt combo gets 2, then O'Ryan shows more genuine sensible wrestling by holding Matt on the ground in a side headlock. Matt escapes with a standing Shiranui...only for Vinny to jerk Nick off the apron to prevent a tag. Back to The Kingdom being morons. TK argues with Paul Turner for almost nothing...then gets shoved on his stupid ass by Paul. Matt Jackson profits to tag his brother in. Nick hits a somersault senton off the apron, and dives off it again moments later with a moonsault to take out O'Ryan. Marseglia blocks More Bang For Your Buck and is joined by TK for House Of A Thousand Horses. Cease & Desist blocked, so Matt gives TK a dead-lift buckle bomb. Redrum on his own partner by Marseglia - acting like a tool once more. He is Superkicked to the floor, and his partner is polished off with the Meltzer Driver. The Bucks win at 14:30

Rating - ** - Even the Young Bucks can't save the show this time. This has to be the worst Young Bucks tag match that ROH have seen in years. It was basically a squash, but at fifteen minutes long it seemed to exist only to devalue The Kingdom and make them look like colossal morons. It was almost a comedy - where you waited to see which one of them would do something totally incompetent next. I found Marseglia's clownish performance particularly unbearable. TK would occasionally produce some smart, intelligent wrestling...but then he'd ruin it by doing something dumb as well. I'd like to know who is responsible for this. Did Delirious tell them to go out and spend 15-minutes squashing The Kingdom? Does he have SO little faith in Vinny and TK that he didn't think it would be credible that they would be able to have a more even match with the mighty Young Bucks? Or was this led by the boys - and the wholly tone-deaf performance is more wrestler error than management? Either way, a fifteen minute, buffoonish squash match wasn't what this show needed.

This is the 2017 Survival Of The Fittest final, and as is tradition will be fought under elimination rules. The winner, as always, will receive a future shot at the ROH World Title. There are no previous winners in the final six this year which is interesting - and this line-up very much does represent a new generation of ROH talent. A youthful high-flyer in Flip, a grizzled 'Real Man' in Silas, a world-travelled technical wizard in Gresham, bruisers like Taylor and Martinez and the x-factor of Matt Taven - a man who has won everything in ROH except SOTF and the World Title. Interestingly three of the competitors in this field will meet again with the TV Title on the line so, even if they don't win the tournament, they'll be aiming to dish out some damage to their PPV opposition. 

Flip and Gresham start, mostly because everyone else stands grumpily on the apron and refuses to enter. They flip around and work at real speed which pisses Silas off...but then he gets suckered into a three-way counter sequence along with them. Punishment and Taylor enter the ring for another big boy battle which ends with them simultaneously clobbering each other out of the ring. Out of nowhere this is lucha rules, allowing Gresh to return and work circles around Taven. Flip eats a springboard enzi from Taven, who in turn stumbles into a spinning heel kick from Martinez. Air Taven...CAUGHT by Martinez! He teases a chokeslam on the floor for both Matt and Gresham only for Young to rake his eyes. Taylor is the beneficiary as he lands a rolling senton off the apron. Gordon hits the Cody rope-run springboard suicide dive, despite nursing a heavily bandaged arm. Taven returns to the ring with a rolling neckbreaker, then the Five Star Frog Splash on Flip for 2. Marseglia and O'Ryan come to the ring and try to give him weapons - including Marseglia's axe. Riccaboni's loud protestations about the rules forbidding murdering your opponent are funny. In the end Taven kicks Flip in the balls...but is seen by Todd Sinclair and disqualified. The Kingdom storm to the locker rooms complaining of yet another conspiracy. CHOKESLAM from Taylor to Punisher! GREETINGS FROM 216! Gresham kicks out at 2! Taylor gets distracted by yelling at Kenny King (on commentary) and is crotched in the corner so the other two men in the Final Battle fourway can pummel him. DOUBLE SUPERPLEX on Taylor! 450 SPLASH BY FLIP! SHOOTING STAR PRESS by Gresh. Both the Octopus and Flip clamber onto Taylor to eliminate him. Jon Gresham's lack of height makes him hard for Martinez to pin down. He hops onto Flip's shoulder and tries to chokeslam Punisher. SOUTH OF HEAVEN OFF GORDON'S SHOULDERS! Martinez eliminates Gresham. Silas decks Punisher with a springboard lariat and lands on his feet to counter the Psycho Driver into a sliding DDT for 2. The Last Real Man trash talks Flip and hammers him with some big elbow smashes. Star Spangled Stunner blocked...Killer Combo by Young for 2. Young blocks South Of Heaven and lands The Plunge for a close nearfall on Martinez. Misery countered with a ripcord roundhouse kick, then South Of Heaven! Martinez makes a big statement by beating Silas, eliminating him and giving us a final two of Punishment and Flip. MARTINEZ PROPELS FLIP FROM THE RING TO THE RAILING! Flip comes back and hits Kinder Surprise to leave them both down. He can't get his opponent up for the Samoan Pop so cleverly switches for a springboard Sling Blade instead. 450 Splash missed...but the Samoan Pop lands! Followed by a springboard moonsault for ONE! 450 SPLASH! STILL 2! Star Spangled Stunner blocked. South Of Heaven countered with a back flip...right into a mafia kick by Martinez for 2! Superkicks by Flip! No sold into the LAST RIDE! FLIP NO SELLS! LARIATOOOO! CURB STOMP! Martinez wins at 27-minutes(ish). My timer broke...

Rating - **** - I don't think this will stand out as the most memorable of SOTF finals, but I thought it was really enjoyable. The final 2 were fantastic. Flip was an awesome sympathetic babyface; he looked like hell coming in and was considerably banged up, so seeing him take the fight to the monstrous Martinez was great. And Punisher is such a promising big man worker. He is agile, athletic...yet also capable of being a tremendous base for smaller guys like Flip or Gresham to orbit around. I wish they'd have given this match more time. It isn't a short match but six men in a match is a lot to cram in and when the run-time is less than 30-minutes you inevitably feel like certain guys were under-utilised. Gresham, for instance, had a few fun sequences but never once felt like a genuine threat to win. Taylor is a big dude and had some fun moments with Martinez...but otherwise barely figured. And writing Taven out with yet another moment of Kingdom stupidity is unbelievably poor booking (in my opinion). Ultimately Punishment was the big winner here - and throughout the contest he carried himself with the same dominant poise, combined with a subtle ability to sell for his opponents without compromising his intimidating aura. I've been a real fan since his 2016 TPT match with Lio Rush and am thrilled to see him get the SOTF crown.

Punishment Martinez starts staring down Kenny King at the announce table...then Cody comes out to taunt him with the World Title belt as the show ends.

Tape Rating - ** - The worst show of the weekend in my opinion. After two nights on the 'Survival Of The Fittest Tour' where it felt like the SOTF was completely irrelevant...here on Night 3 it felt like the SOTF match was the only thing that WAS relevant. Lots of short, unsatisfying matches. Lots of guys taking it easy (albeit some - like Daniels and Cody - for understandable reasons), a fair few injuries to contend with...the midcard of this show is pretty desolate. Lethal/Woods was one of the best opening matches of 2017, the SOTF Final kept me entertained, Scurll/Titus was ok for what it was...but otherwise ouch. Probably one of the least enjoyable shows from the entire calendar year...

3) Marty Scurll vs Rhett Titus (***)

2) Jay Lethal vs Josh Woods (***)

1) Punishment Martinez vs Flip Gordon vs Silas Young vs Jonathan Gresham vs Shane Taylor vs Matt Taven (****)

7) Deonna Purrazzo vs Karen Q (*** - Night 2)

6) Jay Lethal vs Josh Woods (*** - Night 3)

5) Cody/Kenny Omega/Young Bucks/Stephen Amell vs Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky/Flip Gordon (*** - Night 1)

4) Punishment Martinez vs Flip Gordon vs Silas Young vs Jonathan Gresham vs Shane Taylor vs Matt Taven (**** - Night 3)

3) Punishment Martinez vs Jay Lethal (**** - Night 1)

2) Jay Lethal/Dalton Castle vs Young Bucks (**** - Night 2)

1) Cody vs Christopher Daniels (**** - Night 2)