McXal's Reviews

For the second year in a row Ring Of Honor will break their own attendance record at Supercard Of Honor (supposedly more than 5800 fans have tickets for tonight). Last year the Bucks/Hardyz Ladder Match delivered a bumper audience for the annual WrestleMania weekend extravaganza. This year the main draw is undoubtedly Cody vs Kenny Omega. The culmination of the Bullet Club 'civil war' as the two men who want to call the shots and proclaim themselves leader of the faction finally square off. ROH have confirmed they are allocating a bumper time allowance for this on Honor Club too, giving more time to what is a packed card. Dalton Castle defends the World Title against Marty Scurll, Hangman Page represents 'Team Cody' in a match against the returning Kota Ibushi, Punishment Martinez and Tomohiro Ishii will meet in a potential slug-fest, the Briscoes defend the Tag Titles against the Franchise of ROH (Jay Lethal) and the Ace of New Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi), the Women Of Honor Title Tournament final concludes...oh and there's a Six-Man Title Ladder Match with SCU defending against the Young Bucks and Flip Gordon. This show was also a hot-selling DVD as well; the only DVD I can remember that sold out it's initial run via the ROH store. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana provide commentary from New Orleans, LA.

Arguably the best matches in the tournament thus far have been Kelly's strong-style encounter with Bonesaw Brooks and Mayu's matches with HZK and Deonna Purrazzo - which indicates the quality these two will bring to the first of our Semi-Finals. Klein has dominated the Women Of Honor division, going two years without being pinned (and with only one count-out loss to her name). But has she been a big fish in a small pond? Now she tests herself against the 'Icon of Stardom' and one of the very best female pro-wrestlers (hell, one of the best wrestlers of any gender) on the planet. Iwatani has plenty of experience of high pressure championship situations, plus lots of tournament experience as puroresu is full of tournaments. This one is too close to call.

Kelly tosses Iwatani to the ground and smirks...but then she tries to do it a second time and finds Mayu too quick and too skilful for her. The Stardom Icon peppers Klein with kicks from all angles. The Gatekeeper retreats to the ropes; luring her opponent in then kneeing her in the face when she gets too close. A mafia kick follows that, knocking Iwatani sideways and leaving her struggling to get up from the canvas. Cravat knee strikes next, Klein maintaining hold of Mayu so she has no opportunity to build up any momentum. Finally she gets too confident and tries to come off the top rope. That is well outside of Klein's comfort zone and Iwatani catches her with shots to the head. Frankensteiner scores, followed by a missile dropkick. Iwatani goes upstairs for again...for a flying double stomp. FROG SPLASH gets 2 for Mayu. Dragon Suplex blocked...hurricanrana blocked...Fubuki Rana instead gets another nearfall for Iwatani. Klein still fights the Dragon Suplex into the diving DDT. K-Power nailed for 2. Suplex...into End Of The Match! Iwatani is choked out; Todd stops the match at 09:00.

Rating - *** - Probably the worst Iwatani match of the tournament, but it was still pretty good. Mayu is simply outstanding and even with so little time she still went out and absolutely busted her ass trying to put Kelly over. In all honesty I think a number of mishaps and minor mis-steps on Klein's part put pay to that, and I don't think they were ambitious enough with the story they told. The crowd was hot at the start, they were ready for something more substantial. This was a somewhat superficial cat and mouse game, with a really flat and underwhelming finish. I don't disagree with Klein going to the finals; she has been the monster of the division since it started. I think Iwatani was the right opponent for her too. I just wanted more time for them to produce something better than we got. As is, this was yet another perfectly decent but ultimately short and insubstantial WOH bout.

The winner here advances to face Kelly Klein on the main show with the WOH Title on the line. Dashwood has made a major impact since debuting at Honor Reigns Supreme 2018. Her path to the semi-finals has been relatively untroubled with comprehensive wins over Stacy Shadows and Brandi Rhodes. Sumie is a surprise package; the journeywoman who competed in Women Of Honor competition as far back as 2002 who survived Oedo Tai's Hana Kimura and Kagetsu to make it this far. Surely she can't go any further, when confronted with arguably the biggest 'name' in the tournament?

Sakai is pumped and scores early with the fisherman neckbreaker. Dashwood retaliates with the Dilemma and a jumping neckbreaker in the ropes. CRAZY TOP ROPE SUICIDE DIVE by Tenille! Mongolian chops by Sakai, then a judo throw into a cross armbreaker. Dashwood fights that...so Sakai transitions her into a crossface as well. Tenille has plenty left in the tank to fight it though, and she escapes to hit the Emma-mite Sandwich. Missile dropkick in response by Sumie! Dashwood catches her trying a rana though...and blasts her with a sit-out powerbomb. Smash Mouth gets 2 for Sakai. They battle up the ropes, where Dashwood lands a GERMAN SUPERPLEX. Spotlight Kick dodges into a crucifix pin...and Sumie wins! 07:52 is the time (and loud boos can be heard).

Rating - * - A couple of wild spots saved this from being a real bust from my perspective. I'm not for one second holding Tenille up as one of the best women's wrestlers around, but in Women Of Honor she is by far the biggest star. She is pretty much the only Women Of Honor who's entrance gets any kind of reaction and was still relatively hot coming off her WWE release at this stage. It feels an unfathomable decision to put Sakai over her. I prefer Mayu Iwatani to Kelly Klein, but I clearly understand the reason for putting Kelly over. Here the logic escapes me; are ROH really telling me that the story I want is Sumie Sakai, a spirited, admirable, enthusiastic and solid veteran facing the undefeated Gatekeeper in the final INSTEAD of undefeated monster vs mainstream star Tenille? The match itself was a bit of a mess. For eight minutes one woman would hit a move, they'd both get up, then the other would hit a move...then they'd both get up and the first would do another move. There was no real story or plot. Just two women giving all they had but in a slightly aimless manner which didn't land with me at all.

Ian Riccaboni brings the Women Of Honor Title belt and Kelly Klein to the ring. They are supposed to have a 'photo op' as is a Stardom tradition. Klein, to the surprise of nobody, uses it as an opportunity to blast poor Sumie with a cheap-shot.

The main show opens with pyro blasting through the arena, nearly 6,000 fans on their feet...and the sound of Colt Cabana audibly gasping at the size of this Ring Of Honor show.

Gresham is preparing for the rematch of his Honor Reigns Supreme 2018 MOTYC against Jay Lethal, Taylor is somewhat rudderless after losing partner Trent Beretta to injury. Neither are essential to this card, but are both terrific workers and I'm glad to see them on the bill. This could be really fun...

They start by jovially exchanging holds, but gradually they get more and more intense. Chuck looks to be targeting the leg Gresham injured against Lethal. The Octopus appears to demonstrate that the injury has healed though as he shakes those off and scores with a few takedowns. Taylor hits a couple of backbreakers, but then misses his big moonsault to allow Jon to floor him with a springboard headscissors. TOPE SUICIDA...GRESH LANDS ON HIS HEAD! He basically glanced off Chuckie's back and ate the floor of the arena. Another backbreaker on the floor ensures Taylor retains control. Anklelock by Gresham which Chuck escapes with a falcon arrow. Sole Food...instantly no sold by Jon to hit the springboard quebrada press. But Gresham switches off momentarily and grabs his back. As he does so Chuckie T drags him down into a pinning position - winning at 08:29

Rating - *** -  There was a lot to like about this as an opening match. They clicked as opponents, putting together some pretty intricate sequences with real fluidity. Gresham's rough landing on the dive spot was a little scary. In the end it was a short, punchy and highly skilled opening match which the crowd were really into.

Martinez gets a big-time entrance, which includes an oddball druid figure creeping out Cabana and Riccaboni at the announce desk. He has had a spectacular last 6-9 months but is now out of the World Title picture and needs to figure out what his next move is. A big-time match against the returning former TV Champion, the Stone Pitbull Ishii (who came into this having won the RevPro Title the previous evening) could be just what he needs. Can he secure a major victory against a visiting New Japan talent?

Martinez dwarfs Ishii in height and shakes off all of the Stone Pitbulls strikes before easily decking him with a jumping tackle. The big falcon arrow drops Ishii again and the crowd is stunned into silence such is the dominance of Punisher's start to the contest. They roar with approval as he chops the throat and muscles Martinez into a big suplex. Punishment kicks him in the head until he leaves the ring...then DIVES OVER THE RINGPOST WITH A TOPE SUICIDA! Like Gresham he face-planted hard on that! Ishii gets up...so Martinez returns to the ring for a STEP-UP SOMERSAULT PLANCHA! Super spinning heel kick back into the ring gets 2. Again the Pitbull gets up, even as Punishment unloads on him with elbows and boots. It is forcing Martinez to take even bigger risks - which he does by hitting a frankensteiner. And again Ishii is up before Punisher can down him with a Curb Stomp. HEAD KICKS! NO SOLD! GERMAN SUPLEX by Ishii! The RevPro Champion drags Martinez up the ropes to hit  STALLING superplex for 2. Ishii looks for a diving headbutt...so Martinez grabs him by the throat. LARIATOOOO! Ishii Driller blocked...and Martinez lands a lariat of his own. Headbutts! Ripcord kick...South Of Heaven! Martinez wins at 08:25

Rating - *** - For the time given this was a riot. It wasn't pretty or perfectly executed, but by and large it was the match I wanted to see - i.e. two big, tough dudes clubbing the piss out of each other. Like Gresham in the first match, I'm amazed Martinez didn't seriously injure himself on his big tope spot, which makes his performance all the more remarkable. Perhaps the most pleasing thing about this wasn't the violence - but how it was structured to put Martinez over. He entered 2018 as #1 contender, but has subsequently suffered a number of high profile losses. The dominant nature of his victory here re-establishes him as an upwardly mobile force to be reckoned with.

This is the first time Ibushi has appeared on an ROH show since 2008. He and Kenny Omega have reformed the Golden Lovers against the backdrop of the civil warfare within Bullet Club. Hangman is Bullet Club's 'problem solver' and has nailed his colours firmly to the mast of 'Team Cody'. It has put him on a collision course with Omega's beloved best friend. The same night that we'll see Kenny and Cody finally collide, their trusted lieutenants do battle as well. 

Page looks fired up and determined, whilst Kota looks a little more calm and calculated. He gets into Page's head with his agility and speed...cranking up the pace until Hangman misses an attempted Red Star Press and walks into a kick to the sternum. Ibushi's kicks are so violent that they actually drive Page out of the ring. Changing the momentum, Page lures him in to the ropes then gives him a neckbreaker over the middle rope. The fans are actually booing a BTE cast member, such is the babyface believability of Ibushi. Hangman targets the neck and tries to maintain a methodical pace to the contest, almost beating him with the pumphandle suplex. Kota fires back with relentlessly quick strikes which blast the Problem Solver backwards, into the path of a standing moonsault. Page retreats to the floor...but retains his senses to block the Golden Triangle Moonsault. Ibushi dodges the SSP off the apron in turn only for Page to tackle him into the guardrails. GERMAN SUPLEX HEAD-FIRST OFF THE GUARDRAILS BY IBUSHI! HOLY SH*T! GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOONSAULT NAILED! They battle back to the ring, where Page counters an Ibushi powerslam into a CRADLE TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER! Kota clings to the ropes desperately to prevent him hitting the Rite Of Passage before springing into a glorious Pele Kick to knock him sideways. Back drop on the apron by Hangman. He then climbs the ropes....HANGMAN-SAULT TO THE FLOOR! Buckshot Lariat back in for 2. But every time he looks for the Rite Of Passage still he finds Ibushi desperately blocking it. They stare at each other from their knees...then start pummelling each other with forearms. SLAPS! PALM STRIKES! ELBOWS! ROARING ELBOW by Hangman! Kota drops to his knees...then pops up and takes Page's head off with a roundhouse kick. GOLDEN STAR POWERBOMB gets 2. Kamigoye dodged...STRAIGHT-JACKET GERMAN! KAMIGOYE! Ibushi wins at 14:30

Rating - **** - As I always say, if you give Page the spotlight he won't let you down. This was one of the biggest matches of his ROH career, in front of the biggest ROH crowds ever, facing one of the biggest names on the NJPW roster and he looked completely at home. The biggest compliment I can give this is that I felt like I was watching a New Japan match for the most part. Big hitting, huge dives all building to a brutal finishing sequence which had the entire building on the edge of their seat. Kota Ibushi is an extremely special performer and I'm thrilled that ROH gave him a platform to show the US fans on a WrestleMania weekend how good he is.

I don't think this is the final most fans would've expected (or wanted), but here we are. Kelly's presence isn't too surprising. She remains almost undefeated in WOH competition and enters the final full of confidence having overcome the biggest challenge of that 'streak' by defeating Mayu Iwatani in the semi-final. Few had Sakai pegged for the final, but she has been an invaluable veteran presence throughout the WOH relaunch and has been vocal about how thankful she is for this run. As she enters the twilight of her career, she'll be looking to pull off a huge upset. She will enter this fired up after Klein attacked her during the 'photo opportunity' at the end of the pre-show too. 'Original Woman Of Honor' Daffney is at ringside. Was Allison Danger busy?

Sumie has no interest in pageantry or introductions; she charges at Kelly and tries to punch her lights out. Similarly Klein gives no f*cks and dumps her right on her neck with a German suplex. Sakai is rattled and starts making mistakes - running at the Gatekeeper only to be easily countered to a flapjack over the ropes. Klein refuses to allow Sumie any time to recover - battering her into the guardrails then suplexing her into End Of The Match on the outside. Sakai has to be dragged back into the ring, and although she keeps fighting Kelly simply dumps her again with a fallaway slam. Fisherman neckbreaker by Sakai...which Kelly no sells and hits another German. Members of the Women Of Honor roster come out and circle the ring to watch the conclusion of the match. Sumie is kicked mercilessly into the canvas and seems on the brink of defeat. Yet somehow she finds the strength to hit a fisherman buster. Moonsault...but she basically overshoots it and misses. She tries to recover that and hits an ugly DDT. That leads to an even uglier pinfall...then a weird three-count where it seemed like neither wrestler, nor Todd Sinclair, knew what was supposed to happen. Sumie Sakai is, nevertheless, crowned the first WOH Champion at 07:42

Rating - ** - I've seen some reviews really tear into this match, which isn't fair. Clearly this isn't the final, nor the result I'd have booked, and obviously things went very wrong at the end...but for the majority of the match I thought it was decent. Klein beat the sh*t out of Sumie, whilst Sakai brought a lot of energy and took some real big hits to sell her babyface fighting from underneath storyline. There isn't any getting away from the fact that it was a TERRIBLE finish though, which marred not only the match but probably the tournament as a whole. My biggest issue with the WOH Title Tournament is that, with the exception of a few matches, it hasn't been any different or felt any more special than any of the random YouTube/dark matches the female roster were already doing. It felt more like lip-service than a genuine attempt to promote women's wrestling in ROH. And to that end Sumie feels very much like a corporate, 'safe' champion. I understand wanting someone on the core WOH roster to win, hence ruling out star names like Tenille or Iwatani. But that core talent should have been Deonna as the best worker, or Kelly as the dominant 'Goldberg' of the division. Throwing Klein's undefeated streak away in such a flat fashion, to put a belt on Sumie because she's safe, reliable, not getting signed anywhere else and probably inexpensive is genuinely more disappointing than anything they did between the ropes.

SoCal Uncensored formed at Final Battle 2017 and instantly made their intention to become Six-Man Champions known...by attacking both the Bucks and Flip. With Joe Koff planning to release them at the end of the year, getting their hands on championships became more important as it gives them leverage over Sinclair. Therefore we know SCU will fight to the death to keep the belts they beat themselves senseless to finally win at the 16th Anniversary. This was originally scheduled to be them defending against The Kingdom...but ROH Enforcer Bully Ray decided to ban The Kingdom from the show and replaced them with the Bucks and Flip, who have settled their differences after the Being The Elite cast relentlessly bullied Flip in 2017. Shane Taylor joins commentary for this one. Just one of the three Six-Man Championship belts hangs above the ring.

Matt is wearing his Cody-gifted weight-lifting belt, perhaps to protect his back. Gordon dropkicks a ladder into Daniels' face to get the part started...with him in position for a twisting moonsault to the floor by Nick. TOPE ATOMICO THROUGH A LADDER by Scorpio! This is all in the first minute. Flip tries to climb for the belt early, but of course the veteran Daniels has him scouted. SUPER RANA OFF THE APRON from Sky to Nick...only for Matt to hit a SPEAR ON THE FLOOR on him seconds later! Flip stops Kazarian running up the ladder for the belts, leaving a path clear for Daniels and Matt to beat the hell out of each other. Matt takes a spill to the floor...so Flip ROPE WALKS ONTO THE LADDER to knock Daniels off. Kaz SPRINGBOARDS ONTO THE LADDER to stop him. TKO OFF THE LADDER! The Bucks hang a ladder in the ropes and drape Daniels over it. BACK DROP 450 SPLASH COMBO THROUGH THE LADDER by Flip and the Jacksons! They have no time to celebrate before Frankie tries to murder them by throwing another ladder into their faces. Terry Funk ladder helicopter by Frankie...until Flip starts MATRIX NIPPING under it! He and the Bucks TRIPLE SUPERKICK the ladder into Kaz's throat. ELEVATED LADDER SWANTON BY NICK! Matt goes for the belts...only for Frankie to ram a ladder right into his bad back. Scorpio hits a running single leap frankensteiner to take out Gordon...as The Addiction whip Matt spine-first into another ladder. CELEBRITY REHAB on the ladder! Springboard blockbuster by Gordon, but he's all alone and mobbed by Kaz and Sky instantly afterwards. Still he rallies and launches himself at Daniels on the floor with a somersault plancha. Matt's back is so messed up he starts missing trademark Young Bucks double-team spots, even though Nick keeps telling him to try anyway. He can't even back flip into the double dropkick spot they always hit! It just about manages to hold Daniels aloft for an elevated Ace Crusher through a ladder. CEASE & DESIST THROUGH THE LADDER RUNGS has Sky tapping out! Gordon tries to run for the belts after that, right as Daniels rams a ladder into his ribs. There are now four ladders inside the ring...right as the action spills to the floor with Gordon tricking Kaz into an accidental rana to the floor on Daniels. He hops into the ring and tries to hit a one-legged moonsault off the ringpost...but slips, so changes IN MID-F*CKING-AIR TO A CORKSCREW SENTON! That's insane! NICK SPRINGBOARDS ACROSS THREE LADDERS, OFF THE ROPES TO A SOMERSAULT PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR! The Bucks look like they have it won...but The Kingdom run in and mug them! They are dressed in purple camo gear to piss off Bully - and hit Rock Star Supernova on Flip. SCU are pleased to see them (thinking they still have an alliance) but are shocked to see Taven, Marseglia and O'Ryan start attacking them too. AIR TAVEN! O'Ryan climbs for the belt...so the Bucks, Kaz and Sky pick up the ladder and dump him to the floor! SUPERKICKS on Sky and Kaz...no sold for stereo Ace Crushers! Three ladders are set up, with all six competitors in the match climbing for the belt. KINDER SURPRISE knocks Sky down! KAZ SMASHES FLIP TO THE GROUND! He and Matt each have hands on the belt. Jumping flatliner off the ladder from Daniels to Matt! X-Factor off the ladder from Nick to Kazarian! Flip brings an even bigger ladder into the ring and runs for the gold...SPRINGBOARD CODEBREAKER OFF THE LADDER BY KAZ! CORKSCREW MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR ON THE KINGDOM! Matt gives Frankie a springboard DDT to the apron. SLINGSHOT ACE CRUSHER ON THE APRON by Sky! FLIP HITS A SPRINGBOARD DOUBLE BLOCKBUSTER ON TOP OF EVERYONE! People start setting up tables at ringside - with Nick and Flip going to opposing turnbuckles. STEREO 450 SPLASHES THROUGH TABLES ON THE FLOOR! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Daniels teases doing one too - but then pisses everyone off by dashing towards the unguarded championship. Back-selling Matt Jackson makes a desperate charge to stop him - flogging him with the weight-lifting belt! Matt thinks he has it won! Daniels pushes him off the ladder...SO MATT CONVERTS TO ELBOW DROP VINNY THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR! THAT'S INSANE! DANIELS WINS! The insanity is finally over at 24:08

Rating - ****1/2 - Between Ultimate Mayhem at Manhattan Mayhem, the Street Fight at the 16th Anniversary and now this Ladder Match carnage, the last few shows have delivered a trilogy of utter lunacy featuring the Young Bucks, their pals and their enemies. This match went almost twenty-five minutes, which is incredible in itself - but the real miracle was that these guys were beating the sh*t out of each other right from the start. The first big ladder spot was in the first twenty seconds, with dives to the floor occurring inside a minute as well. It was breathless, ridiculous, incredibly fast-paced and beautifully choreographed. Even when there were little mishaps, they were all so in-tune with each other that it actually improved things anyway (like Matt messing something up then selling the back, or Flip slipping on the ringpost but still hitting a crazy dive regardless). Some of the set-piece stunts - like Nick going from one side of the ring, to the other, then to the floor vaulting from ladder to ladder, or the stereo splashes through tables, or Matt getting knocked off a ladder but deciding to f*ck Vinny up anyway, were stunningly inventive. The Kingdom didn't NEED to be out there and did detract from it a little, but actually other than Taven all they really did was provide props and bodies for more innovative high spots anyway. A brilliant match and, I suspect, one which just stole the show even from Cody and Kenny...

A bitter Taven attacks Daniels from behind, brains him with his own title belt - then leads The Kingdom in stealing all three title belts before leaving through the crowd.

INTERMISSION - The following bout was filmed before the pre-show, but airs during intermission of the live event...

I believe ROH use Luke Hawx's promoter's license when they run NOLA, so in return let him work the show. Formerly known as Altar Boy Luke he has popped in ROH from time to time over the years, and now teams with his son. For the Machine Guns, they need to rebound after losing the Tag Titles to the Briscoes at the Anniversary Show. The Bouncers are a new team who would love to climb the tag ranks, so will know a win over former Tag Champions on (pre-show of) the biggest show of the year certainly boosts their stock and status.

PJ is apparently in his fifth match ever, and he starts with Shelley. The nineteen year-old kid surprises everyone by holding his own with a veteran like Shelley and actually drives him back to his corner. PJ vacates the ring and lets his father hit a backbreaker/ribbreaker/powerslam sequence on Sabin. PJ tries to hit a few moves on Bruiser too...but is roundly squashed! Samoan drop by BCB, setting up the standing senton by Milonas for 2. Is former WWE/Lucha Underground referee Marty Elias officiating this? It's only the intervention of Shelley which prevents The Bouncers from beating PJ at that juncture. Sick Kick/sidewalk slam combo on him by The Bouncers. Ass attack/cannonball senton combo on Sabin as well. Tag to Luke who uses spinning heel kicks to floor The Bouncers. Through-the-legs tope suicida by Sabin! Top rope crossbody to the floor by PJ! Cannonball senton off the apron by Bruiser! Last Call nailed, and Milonas pins PJ to win for The Bouncers at 06:16

Rating - ** - For a pre-show/intermission/popcorn bonus match (not sure what we're supposed to call it!) there wasn't much wrong here. Young PJ didn't disgrace himself even though it was clearly the early stages of his career, Luke looked solid...and the whole match was set up to put The Bouncers over effectively (which it achieved). There is an argument to be made that it was a waste of Sabin and Shelley's time, and another to be made about whether ROH should really be pushing The Bouncers in any capacity - but the match had a clear purpose and served it competently. It is therefore hard to be too harsh on a mere six minutes of wrestling content.

The Briscoes refocused their efforts on the Tag division at the end of 2017 and cemented that with a violent victory over Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer at Final Battle. Believing themselves the rightful and uncrowned Tag Champions they violently pursued the Machine Guns to the 16th Anniversary, where they defeated them to become 9-time champions. Enter Jay Briscoe's old rival Jay Lethal. Having lost his World Title shot at the Anniversary, Lethal resets his target to one of the only Ring Of Honor championships he doesn't have. 'The Franchise' of ROH has formed a dream team with the 'Ace' of New Japan. Can Lethal end another Briscoe title reign, just like he did to Jay Briscoe's World Title run at Best In The World 2015?

Lethal and Jay Briscoe start, immediately renewing their storied rivalry. Ian goes over their history, but fails to mention Briscoe's win over Lethal as part of the Decade Of Excellence Tournament last year. Briscoe uses his smarts to counter a load of Lethal's signature spots and sends him packing back to his corner. Tanahashi tags with Mark - who starts pulling his glorious hair to get an advantage. Tana does a Redneck Kung Fu pose...which pisses Mark off so much that he spits in the Ace's face. Dragon screw by Tanahashi in response, soon followed by the somersault senton across the midsection for 2. The superiority of Lethal and Tanahashi as singles wrestlers has caused Mark real problems - which his brother recognises. Jay Briscoe barges into the ring, kick-starting a 2-on-2 brawl within which the champions enjoy far greater success. A couple of lusty blows on the apron leave Lethal reeling and cut off from his partner. It isn't pretty, but it doesn't need to be; the Briscoes take turns ruggedly brutalising the former World & TV Champion. Tanahashi realises that he now needs to act, first by knocking Mark off the apron then by tripping Jay Briscoe and pulling him out of the ring...so Lethal can hit the tope suicida. The effects of that are immediately visible as Briscoe struggles to get off the ground whilst Lethal and Tana tag in and out working him over. Mark tries to cheap-shot Tanahashi...so the Ace slaps him off the apron! The Briscoes don't like that one bit and mob him, milking a 2-on-1 advantage to beat him down. Mark tries to drag Tanahashi off the top rope...but lets him slip free and hit the ropes to deliver a violent Sling Blade. Tags to Lethal and Jay Briscoe - meaning we are back where we started with these two great rivals smacking the sh*t out of each other. Lethal Injection dodged, so he hits the Lethal Combination instead. Hail To The King blocked...Figure 4 countered...Ace Crusher by Lethal gets 2! This time he unleashes the Figure 4 Leglock, with Tanahashi brawling with Mark to keep his path clear. Mark knocks him off the apron to block the High Fly Flow...then hits the Froggy Bow on Lethal to break the Figure 4. Urinage/fisherman buster sequence from Mark to Lethal. Sling Blade from Tana to Jay Briscoe. Twist & Shout on Mark, then a pescado on his big brother as Tanahashi goes on a tear. LETHAL INJECTION on Mark! He kicks out! The challengers think about a double superplex - but both turn their back on Jay Briscoe as he returns to the ring swinging punches for all he is worth. Tana and Lethal tease the Doomsay Device, but Jay blocks it. Lethal Injection COUNTERED to a German by Jay B! DOOMSDAY DEVICE on Lethal! Briscoes retain at 19:35

Rating - **** - I absolutely adored this match. It was contested at a methodical pace and probably wasn't the best fit for an audience still coming off 25-minutes of Ladder Match insanity, but I loved the whole piece. It was a twenty minute musing on whether two elite level singles workers were good enough to beat a top-tier tag team with twenty year of experience together. The momentum shifted constantly. All four showed their experience and tactical knowhow at different points. The exchanges between Lethal and Jay Briscoe were all loaded with significance. The bitter, snarky, violent little flashpoints between Tanahashi and Mark were all brilliant. Nothing about this match was overblown, crazy or spot-heavy - but to me this felt like a refreshing change of pace. Particularly on a modern-day ROH show where matches almost never get twenty minutes to riff or explore the central premise of a contest. I understand that this won't have suited everyone's taste, but to me this bout was absolutely fascinating.

There has been bad blood between these two ever since Silas smashed a beer bottle over King's head to eliminate him from his four-way TV Title defence at Final Battle 2017. That was the night that saw the Last Real Man go on to become the new Television Champion...but his celebrations were short-lived and dogged by the pursuit of King. Despite multiple assaults and backstage muggings, King won back the title in Atlanta...and retained it at the 16th Anniversary in controversial circumstances. Determined to put the feud to bed, Kenny challenged Young for Supercard - and called for Silas' signature match stipulation. He is undefeated in Last Man Standing rules matches. Austin Aries, who appeared unannounced at the 16th Anniversary and announced he wanted a TV Title shot, shows up again this evening and joins commentary for the match...

The action is hot from the outset, with King opening up an advantage by targeting Young's back. A swinging backbreaker into a Boston Crab...then King breaks out the Last Chancery, much to Aries' dismay on commentary (who accuses him of botching it). Silas escapes...and LAUNCHES King through an open table he'd set up on the floor during his entrance! The challenger is keen to press home his advantage - and starts flinging him into the guardrails before he's had a chance to recover from the table spill. Young ends up so confident that he actually tries a top rope move...only to be punished with a leaping enziguri by King. Turnbuckle backbreaker from the champ, going back to that injury from earlier. When Silas leaves the ring Kenny dives after him with the One Night Stand off the apron, sacrificing his own body trying to further injure the Last Real Man. He hits a spinebuster...but can't get Young up for the Royal Flush because his own back was so badly roughed up by the table bump. MISERY ON THE APRON by Young! Kenny beats the 10-count there, unaware that Silas had spent the same seconds filling the ring with weaponry. He rattles a trash can lid across Kenny's back...only for the champ to hit back with a missile dropkick Van Dam-inator. ROYAL FLUSH THROUGH A TRASH CAN! Silas shows his experience by rolling out of the ring - and using gravity to help him back to his feet on the way down! Kenny lays him over an open table out there...but can't use it before Beer City Bruiser tries a run-in. King grabs a garbage can and starts bashing Bruiser with it; unfortunately giving Young all the time he needs to recover and smash him in the injured back. The challenger brings out a ladder and places it over the guardrail, right before King grabs him for a BELLY TO BELLY THROUGH IT! TOP ROPE SHOOTING STAR PRESS THROUGH THE TABLE ON THE FLOOR! HOLY SH*T! Todd Sinclair starts administering the 10-count - and shock ripples through the arena when Silas gets up to answer the count but King doesn't. Silas Young has regained the TV Title at 15:55...as Beer City Bruiser appears from under the ring, having tied King's feet together to stop him getting up.

Rating - *** - A great match completely ruined by that silly booking. When Silas used a similar finish, but using his own ingenuity, to beat Jay Lethal in 2017 I thought it was a great idea. This, however, was crap. It didn't make him come off as a genius, it made him come off as lucky and undeserving. King produced one of the best individual performances of his ROH career in this one. He took some insane bumps, sold an injury extremely competently, structured his own offence in a logical and coherent manner...and had the composure to pull off a totally crazy highspot at the end too (no Brock Lesnar-esque faceplants for him). The actual match itself was far superior to their workmanlike but unspectacular TV match. It didn't capture the imagination of the live crowd - but nothing these two have done together has in all honesty. Lining up Aries as the next challenger is interesting. On a personal level I'm more interested in Silas/Aries (as I prefer Young)...but I do think King/Aries would've made more sense given their history.

Austin Aries pulls his coat off and runs down the aisle. HEAT SEEKING MISSILE on Silas and Bruiser as they stomp a hole in Kenny King! He threatens Silas with a chair to protect his friend and former protege 

Up next, we are supposed to have a completely unnecessary match between The Dawgs and the team of Cheeseburger and Eli Isom. Before the bell Rhett and Ferrara try to break Isom's leg by smashing it against the ringpost with a steel chair. Bully Ray comes out (where was he when The Kingdom were here earlier?) and tries to throw the match out, until Burger convinces him to team up. They hit a few comedy spots like the Shotei and the Wassup headbutt, but then Bully turns on Burger with a massive chokeslam. He rants about Will Ospreay, Flip Gordon and Ricochet (seriously, why?) until Joe Koff comes out. Flip arrives too...as Bubba threatens to piledrive Burger to get the show shut down. To provide some context, the Louisiana athletic commission tried to ban piledrivers for WrestleMania weekend for all promotions. Some exceptions wound up being made for promotions like ROH though (hence we've already seen a couple tonight) - so this comes off as pretty hollow. He calls Flip a 'young boy', slips on his WWE Hall Of Fame ring (which he was presented with the previous evening) and powerbombs Burger...before leaving

There is little doubt that this match is the biggest draw for this show. Without a video package Riccaboni does a great job of distilling down almost two years-worth of storyline across ROH, NJPW, Being The Elite and more, to outline why this is happening. Omega usurped AJ Styles as leader of Bullet Club in early 2016, and when Cody joined at the end of that same year many felt his ambition would lead to him doing the same thing. But for a long-time Cody was happy being part of a Bullet Club ensemble. He drove the faction on, was integral to the runaway success of Being The Elite and largely respected the status of Omega as top dog - particularly in Japan. But gradually cracks started to form. Cody wanted to lead, wanted more of the spotlight...and started allowing cracks to widen within the unity of Bullet Club. Trying to undermine the bond between 'The Elite' of Kenny and the Bucks, trying to recruit the likes of Hangman and Marty to 'Team Cody', attacking Omega and watching as he mended bridges with Kota Ibushi to reform the Golden Lovers - Cody has watched as everything they built crumbles, whilst insisting that 'Bullet Club is fine'. Tonight we find out who the better man is, and more importantly, who the real 'leader' is...

The whole crowd is standing and chanting 'holy sh*t' before the bell rings which is pretty incredible. Kenny drives Rhodes to the floor with kicks but is stopped from hitting Rise Of The Terminator by Burnard The Business Bear. KENNY DECAPITATES BURNARD! The distraction is enough for Cody to hit a tope suicida at least. Back in the ring he puts Kenny in the corner and pisses the fans off by teasing (but then refusing to hit) Shattered Dreams. Powerslam nailed instead for an early nearfall. From there Omega tries a big hurricanrana, but finds the size and presence of Cody too much and eats a powerbomb. American Nightmare Lock applied early...and when Kenny makes the ropes Brandi Rhodes is waiting to slap him in the face. Low blow by Cody (after Brandi distracts the ref by handing her husband a foreign object). He then tosses the fallen Cleaner to the outside so Brandi can take a few more cheap shots. The American Nightmare gets violent; ramming Omega into the guardrails, slamming him into the arena floor then smashing his face into the open chair of a ringside attendant. He starts disrespectfully paintbrushing Kenny, who reacts angrily of course and chops lumps out of him - until Rhodes breaks out the dropdown palm strike. The Cleaner tries to quicken the pace, tries a second rope moonsault and launches himself chest-first into Cody's knees. RISE OF THE TERMINATOR! Cody tries to flee back into the ring, but can't shake Omega who drops him again with the Kotaro Crusher. Aoi Shoudou nailed. That has been a finisher for Kenny at points in his career, however tonight he doesn't have enough to cover. V-TRIGGER! Cody no-sells...so Kenny gives repeated Dragon Rush suplexes. Disaster Kick in response from Rhodes. Cross-Rhodes blocked with a heel kick to the neck...V-TRIGGER TO THE NECK! One-Winged Angel countered to a Figure 4 Leglock. Despite The Cleaner's furious attempts at escaping, Cody clings to the hold in an attempt to negate all associated offence from Kenny's extensive repertoire. 

Omega spends literal minutes ensnared in the legs of his hated rival before finally flipping it over to escape. Omega is now nursing a serious leg injury - and Cody exploits it with a dragon screw in the ropes. With The Cleaner incapacitated, Cody gets cocky and sets up a table by the ring. A Cross Rhodes off the apron is teased but blocked...DRAGON RUSH ON THE APRON! Both men now struggle to get off the ground. When they do Cody grabs Kenny for a GOURDBUSTER ON THE EDGE OF THE TABLE! Springboard dropkick is planted in the ribs moments later which, in turn, sets up a rib-crushing Alabamaslam. NECK DROP dragon suplex by Cody...NO SOLD! V-TRIGGER! Reverse rana by Omega, dropping Rhodes on his neck again. Brandi gets on the apron trying to cause a distraction. KENNY V-TRIGGERS HER THROUGH A F*CKING TABLE! The knee was aimed at Cody, who ducked and let his wife take the hit! CROSS RHODES! Kenny kicks out! Flip Gordon, ever the do-gooder, comes out and carries Brandi to the locker room. Cody still hasn't checked on his wife and instead hauls Omega up the ropes for a superplex. Cody flogs Omega with his weight-lifting belt...right before MISSING his diving top rope moonsault. Close-range knee strikes to the face by Omega...which snap Cody's head right back but don't take him down. He spits in Kenny's face! V-TRIGGER! CODY KICKS OUT! V-TRIGGER IN THE ROPES! One-Winged Angel COUNTERED TO A VERTEBREAKER! FOR 2! Both men get up with wobbly legs and scrambled brains. Omega throws knees to block Cross Rhodes...and Paul Turner is knocked out in the midst of their heated battle. The ailing Young Bucks hobble to the ring to survey the damage. They try to double Superkick Cody...HE DUCKS! THEY KNOCK OUT OMEGA! CROSS RHODES! Cody wins at 37:07

Rating - **** - There is a reason New Japan let ROH 'have' this match. It almost had to be the whole dog and pony, Being The Elite-centric show. It was inevitable that we'd need to see the Young Bucks, with their torn allegiances involved. We'd invariably see some shenanigans with a bear mascot after Kenny's appearance as Bury in Las Vegas. Brandi was heavily involved, Flip had a cameo, there were ref bumps, tables and all the bells and whistles. It absolutely delivered a great match. For forty minutes we saw an intoxicating clash of styles as 'best bout machine' Omega battled the sports entertainment-influenced Cody. By design it wasn't a Omega/Okada 'six star match', and NJPW probably couldn't main event WrestleKingdom with this the way that ROH have sold out Supercard with it. It really was entertaining watching Omega doling out the V-Triggers like it was the Tokyo Dome, only to see Brandi appear in her yellow jumpsuit making him look foolish. I do think it was probably overly long. There were sections, which although decent in themselves, felt like someone working a body part for a few minutes to kill time rather than for any long-term significance. Certainly nobody was selling a damn thing at the end when they broke out all the false finishes and ref bumps. The finish keeps the angle rolling though - as it appears that the Bucks aimed for Cody, but wound up taking out Omega so there are plenty of opportunities to tell new stories with those guys. All in all this was a really good match. Not an MOTYC, and probably not the epic they were shooting for with a forty minute match, but thoroughly enjoyable and hitting all the marks you probably expected them to. 

The Bucks try to apologise to Omega after the match, but he shoves them away and leaves...

The Villain has been chasing a World Title Match all year. He challenged Dalton, he negotiated deals with Lethal and Martinez in case they beat him...and finally earned this spot with a win over Punishment at the 16th Anniversary. This is his first shot at the top prize in ROH, and coincidentally a repeat of his Ring Of Honor debut. On that night in Liverpool he used his signature umbrella to score a victory over Dalton. If he repeated that feat this evening he will be leaving New Orleans as World Champion.

Dalton gets a super-special entrance including pyro and confetti cannons. NWA Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis is at ringside to watch this one (and is friends with Marty). They barely touch in a tense opening minute, which sees Castle pointedly back the challenger into the corner, before Scurll comes close to delivering a cheap punch only to be thrown off by a signature Castle pose. Marty can pose as well though; using his British style to get the better of Dalton then flipping him off. He tries to break Castle's finger...and Dalton lays him out with an elbow! That hit with such force that Scurll almost loses his temper and uses his (golden) umbrella as a weapon. Castle grapples him down and drives down with elbows which thunder through the arena and drive The Villain outside. He tries his apron Superkick, misses that, but then leaps out of the way of Dalton, causing him to collide violently with the ringpost. Still rattled by that, Castle stumbles into a big body slam on the floor - causing his bad back extreme amounts of pain. The Villain takes it back to the ring and goes to work on the arm, setting up his big finish. Dalton tries to get away...so Scurll jerks his arm nastily against the ropes. The champion gets vicious again; blasting Marty with a flurry of big strikes and dumping him onto the apron...where Scurll catches his arm again and Stunners it over the top rope. Castle gives him more thunderous elbows and knees, right into a BACK DROP DRIVER! Did Dalton just decide to be a Peacock-feathered Misawa now he's World Champion? Still Marty tries to defend himself by working the arm...but it's still strong enough to pull him through the ropes for an EVEREST GERMAN ON THE FLOOR! Dalton's arm is now starting to hang limp by his side, so he uses a knee strike instead to fire Marty from the turnbuckles to the floor. The arm is clearly a major problem - causing him to slow down on his tiger-feint off the apron...and allowing Marty to capitalise with a tornado DDT off the apron. He tries the same move back in the ring and is almost countered into Bang-A-Rang. He rolls free and hits Just Kidding, but again Dalton uses his knees to knock him back. His arm isn't strong enough to hit a gutwrench superplex though and Marty counters with a superplex into the apron Superkick. The Villain takes the fight up the aisle, with Castle fighting him and bashing him into the guardrails every step of the way. In the end Scurll gives him a BACK DROP ON THE STAIRS! He starts hammerlocking the injured arm and ramming it over and over again into the turnbuckles then hits an WRIST CLUTCH Ghostbuster variant for 2. The champion has no choice but to leave the ring...unfortunately on the outside again he finds himself savagely dumped into the rails, right in front of Aldis who hands Marty bolt cutters so he can Toru Yano the turnbuckle covers. Castle refuses to allow him to use the exposed turnbuckle as a weapon and starts straight-up HEADBUTTING Marty. Kicks and stomps rain down on Scurll's head and neck. OUTSIDE-IN EVEREST GERMAN for 2. Scurll need a villainous low blow to recover from that, and snaps Castle's head back with a springboard kick out of the corner seconds later. Superkick to the neck gets 2. Marty digs around under the ring looking for the bag of powder that he has used so often...but can't locate and spends so long about it that Castle recovers and f*cks him up with a wild slam on the floor! Marty finally finds the powder, only for Castle to kick it straight into his own eyes! Marty is blinded...and he SNAPS Todd Sinclair's fingers by mistake! BANG-A-RANG! Todd counts to one then goes to ground writhing in pain from his broken finger. I mean, I've never seen that before! GOLDEN UMBRELLA SHOT RAMPAGE! Scurll beats the sh*t out of Castle and The Boys with his umbrella, looking to beat him just as he did in Liverpool in 2016. BRAINBUSTER! Paul Turner comes out to replace the hapless Sinclair. Chickenwing...countered with Peacock Pose! BACK DROP DRIVER! NO SOLD! CHICKENWING! Castle reaches for the ropes...FINGER SNAP! HEAD STOMPS! BLACK SUPERKICKS! Turner wants to stop it. BANG-A-RANG OUT OF NOWHERE! Dalton retains at 31:38

Rating - **** - Maybe a little too long, way overbooked at the end, and there was a hint of Jericho/HHH main eventing over Hogan/Rock at WrestleMania 18 about the atmosphere...but I thought there was a really great World Title match here too. After spending literally YEARS criticising Sinclair-owned ROH for not letting matches go long enough, I'm certainly not going to condemn them for letting these guys have more than 30-minutes to express themselves. Dalton Castle's performances in these two major main events (16th Anniversary and Supercard Of Honor) have been remarkable. As I implied during play-by-play it feels like Dalton won the belt, watched a load of All Japan 90's Triple Crown Matches and thought 'I want to try that'. The change in his style to a more physical, gruelling one has been incredible to watch; marvellous in its violence...but also really tough knowing the damage it was ultimately inflicting on his already ailing body. My biggest problem with this match was that the sheer amount of overbooked, villainous shenanigans at the end felt totally out of sync with everything Castle was doing. Marty spending minutes ferreting around under the ring for powder was odd (although they pay-off with him breaking Todd's fingers REALLY got over with the live crowd). Aldis randomly being there for a Toru Yano tribute was strange too. The cheating spot that I liked was the umbrella sequence, as that called back to their very first match. I can't argue that it was perfect, and I definitely wouldn't have had this main event over Cody/Kenny - but I felt it was a strong main event and I really commend ROH for giving them so much time for it.

Tape Rating - **** - I can't argue that this was a perfect show. It was, however, one of the more authentic ROH viewing experiences I've had since Sinclair took over. I want them to run more longer shows like this. I want more shows where multiple matches get a lot of time to actually achieve their full potential. So what if Castle/Scurll and Cody/Kenny were both a little too long? ROH has got gradually worse for YEARS going the other way and going too short all...the...time. Of course I still have problems with the booking. Without wanting to list them all, the biggest gripes that spring to mind are Sumie as Women's Champion (and only finding seven minutes for the final), Bully Ray getting a fifteen minute segment to turn heel with a load of jobbers and Joe Koff, the finish to an otherwise very good Silas/King match, and the sheer volume of silliness in the main event. But for the most part this show was fun to watch. Almost five hours, very few bad matches, some extremely good wrestling. It felt like the titular 'Supercard' it was designed to be. I hope ROH learns from the successes and failures of this and starts letting their roster have more time, more often. 

3) Dalton Castle vs Marty Scurll (****)

2) Cody vs Kenny Omega (****)

1) Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs Young Bucks/Flip Gordon (****1/2)