McXal's Reviews

This is the last night of what has thus far been a solid Honor United Tour. Can this show complete a positive weekend and cement ROH's bounceback from a series of pretty poor live events that has coincided with the launch of Honor Club? We have plenty of big matches on tap; Sumie Sakai defends the WOH Title against the UK's Chardonnay...Silas Young defends the TV Title against the returning former Pure Champion - 'The Anarchist', the 'Ambassador for British Wrestling', the legendary Doug Williams too. Beyond that we have Jay Lethal and Matt Taven renewing their old rivalry, plus a four-team non-title main event as champions the Briscoes face the Young Bucks, The Kingdom of O'Ryan and Marseglia and Los Ingobernables de Japon represented by EVIL and SANADA. Ian Riccaboni and BJ Whitmer are behind the announce desk in Doncaster, England (UK).

Being at the bottom of the card isn't a place Daniels and Kazarian want to be. Earmarked for release in December once their contracts expire, if they want leverage over Joe Koff they simply cannot afford to be in meaningless opening matches. To that end they'll be looking for a status-boosting victory over former TV Champion Kenny King and international star Toru Yano. Tenille Dashwood is brought out as special referee for no reason other than she's been booked for this tour and getting paid despite creative having nothing for her to actually do. Why the hell not have her at least officiate the WOH Title Match?

Yano makes a rush for the turnbuckles instantly, trying to take advantage of the inexperienced referee which I like. Daniels stops him doing that so he immediately leaves the ring rather than wrestle. King uses his speed and power to dominate Kazarian on the mat...before he propels Kaz into a hiptoss by Tenille. She pleads innocence and suggests it was a reaction to a dude being tossed at her, but then gives Daniels a hiptoss as well when he tries to get her! Frankie breaks out some misogyny and tries to intimidate her and it almost leads to his immediate demise as King sneaks up for a schoolboy pin. Yano and King actually work like an efficient team, isolating Kaz from his partner. Daniels has to trip Yano from the floor to wrest the advantage back for SCU. They barely allow Yano out of their corner as they land repeated offensive blows to the upper body, making it hard for the 'Master Thief' to even catch his breath. Finally Yano gets knees up to block an Arabian press and makes his exit to bring Kenny in. Corkscrew pescado from King to Daniels...before he takes selfies on the floor with Dashwood. The distraction allows Yano to expose the metal turnbuckle bolt. He low blows Daniels into a small package and grabs the win at 08:52

Rating - * - The highlight here was some solid tag team heat segments from both duos. Unfortunately too much of this was totally aimless and boring. The whole set-up felt enormously low key and uninspired, with the ROH talent having to spend too long making themselves look stupid or playing whipping boy to Toru Yano's rather dated act. I truly don't understand why ROH have put Yano over both Shane Taylor and The Addiction this weekend? What does he have pictures of Delirious doing to leverage that kind of booking?!

Welcome back The Anarchist! A man who debuted in ROH way back in 2002 on the fourth ever Ring Of Honor event, a man who participated in the first ever ROH Title Match, a former ROH Pure Champion, a trail-blazing and hugely influential ambassador for the British wrestling scene...Doug Williams returns to ROH for the first time in more than a decade. He steps right back into championship action too, stepping up to face Silas Young for the TV Title. Young has faced a demanding schedule on this tour and is making his third defence across the three shows. Will fatigue catch up with him? He'll need to be at his very best...

Right out of the gate Williams unleashes some whacky World Of Sport chaining which confuses the champ so much that he dives out of the ring. It's like 2002 all over again! With a broad smile on his face, Doug is clearly having a whale of a time working circles around Young. Finally having enough, Silas opts for a straight-up punt to the midsection, and even then finds himself dumped to the ground again in a prolonged wristlock exhibition. Young tries to escape by dropping Doug on the top rope - but celebrates it for too long and eats a flurry of European uppercuts. The Last Real Man is being taught a wrestling lesson - but is a smart performer in his own right. Realising how out-matched he is in the ring; he tosses Williams out of the ring and beats on him in the lawless environment of the ringside area. Even when they return to the ring he busts his ass to keep Doug on the canvas and unable to return to a vertical base and start grabbing limbs again. Williams finally escapes his grasp and throws him with a belly to belly suplex. More uppercuts rock Young's jaw, followed by a Misawa-style twisting elbow smash for 2. Chaos Theory blocked, but a back suplex isn't. The challenger climbs the ropes, but Silas moves before he can hit the Bomb Scare. Exploder suplex instead gets 2. Silas crotches him going for the Bomb Scare again and almost pins Doug with his feet on the ropes. Killer Combo nailed. Misery countered...but Silas grabs referee Todd Sinclair to prevent Williams from hitting the Chaos Theory, kicking him in the balls in the process. Misery nailed, giving Silas the win at 12:01

Rating - *** - I've had the privilege and pleasure to watch Doug Williams wrestle countless times over the last twenty years. His incredible, effortless level of skill never fails to amaze and impress. He may be a little bit older and slower, but his speed of thought and his repertoire of incredible counters and chain sequences is still phenomenal. For their spot on the card this was so much fun. Doug got his sh*t in and made Silas look stupid. Young sold his frustration and embarrassment so brilliantly, and took to brawling on the floor in an effort to negate it. In the end he only managed to retain by cheating. Normally I'd suggest that your TV Champion needing to cheat to beat a 'local guy' was poor - but with someone of Doug's pedigree and rich ROH history (plus his beloved status with British wrestling fans), the finish was actually a pretty smart way to have him go under whilst getting more heat on Silas. If ROH were to book Doug Williams more often I'd be incredibly supportive. Him and Jon Gresham in an ROH ring would be spectacular...

Castle made his return from injury on this tour, but already it is perfectly clear that he isn't in the best physical condition and shouldn't really be competing. He found a way to escape London with a World Title victory over EVIL yesterday...but his only reward is to team with The Boys against three big dudes. Martinez and Taylor would both love to beat him and get into the World Title picture, and who knows what Bubba's motives are? He beat the sh*t out of The Boys in London though and Dalton really hates it when people mess with his Boys...

Dalton genuinely looks in pain just getting into the ring. Before the bell even rings Bully ruins his back and legs by flogging him with a chain (whilst Taylor stops the ref from starting the match and Martinez holds The Boys captive). As medics take Castle to the back, Bully kills some time goading The Boys and messing with the fans, before eventually we have ourselves a handicap 3-on-2 match. Taylor biels Boy #1 right onto his neck and throws him away like trash. Martinez tags with Boy #1...and tries his hardest to knock him out with a forearm smash across the jaw. The Boys, already hurting from consecutive nights of Bully roughing them up, are quickly rendered a mess on the canvas. The crowd cheer as #2 lands a few punches on Bully. Dalton Castle hobbles back down the aisle and demands a tag! Despite his broken hand he unloads strikes on all three opponents, knocking them all to the floor so he can start throwing Boys at them! Some of the bumps the poor Boys take during this sequence are horrendous. Clotheslines to Taylor and Bubba, as The Boys hit top rope splashes on Punisher. Castle and Bully brawl out of the building, but that means The Boys are on their own. Taylor hits a diving splash, Martinez hits South of Heaven. It is all over for The Boys at 08:58

Rating - DUD - There was nothing comfortable about watching this one. Castle was such a physical wreck that he looked in pain just getting out to the ring, Bully rehashing his ECW 'no music, yell at fans' routine in 2018 to the benefit of nobody but himself is just awful, The Boys have rather overstayed their use as a novelty act and seeing talents like Martinez and Taylor placed into the ring with this disaster was a total waste. Once again the live audience allowed themselves to be manipulated by Bully, so I presume he once again heads back to the locker room congratulating himself on the great heat he got and how much he 'helped' The Boys...but this match just shouldn't have existed. Dalton should have had the night off, Bully shouldn't even work for this company and they should have given Taylor and Martinez ten to fifteen minutes to produce the kind of cutting edge, physical in-ring action which ROH used to be known for...

This is a big-time match for this tour, throwing together two men who are right in the hunt for the World Championship. Lethal is looking to earn another shot at the gold by avenging past defeats (such as the losses he has suffered against Taven during some of their storied battles against each other over the TV Title in the past), whilst Taven is still smarting from having his shot at Castle cancelled due to Dalton's injuries. Beating a guy like Lethal would certainly ensure his shot is rescheduled ASAP...

The bell rings...and Taven slides out of the ring, looking to throw Lethal off his game by stalling and delaying the outbreak of hostilities. Almost two minutes pass before they touch, which would be fine if they were going 20+ minutes, but as I suspect they will go 10-12 minutes it is totally unacceptable. They trade strikes and it appears that Jay has the heavier fists as he is quickly able to give Taven a back drop. He chops Taven ferociously in the corner before Irish whipping him so hard that he is sent back to the same arena floor that he spent the first minute of the match stalling on. Figure 4 blocked, but a backbreaker isn't and Jay starts to press home his advantage. Matt finally gets in some serious offence - hot-shotting Lethal throat-first into the top rope. Lethal recovers by whipping Taven into the guardrails, wiping out a camera guy in the process. Taven quickly takes it back to the ring and works the worst chinlock in the history of wrestling...which unsurprisingly Jay is able to counter and hit him with a tope suicida, then score with a Lethal Combination for 2. Jumping enzi by Taven to stop Jay going up for Hail To The King, setting up a big superplex. Just The Tip gets 2...before the Five Star Frog Splash gets nothing more than Lethal's knees. Matt screams abuse in his old rival's face as they wearily slug it out. Climax COUNTERED to an Ace Crusher in a really awesome little sequence. Lethal Injection scores, followed by Hail To The King. Lethal wins at 13:52

Rating - ** - To me this felt like a big-time disappointment. Wasting so much time at the start given how short the match was killed their momentum right from the opening bell and it never really felt like they recovered. There were a couple of nice sequences and some decent intensity from Taven at the end...but so much of this was listless, B-show back and forth filler content with no driving purpose or dynamism from either man. I've sung the praises of both Lethal and Taven in 2018 - but this flopped. And it's a shame because it is one of the marquee matches for this card - which in turn makes me wonder why they didn't get more time. It felt like they WANTED to work a longer match, or needed to go shorter and just splurge offensive bombs from the outset. Unfortunately this is modern day ROH - the matches you want to see (especially ones with no Being The Elite cast-members involved) don't get enough time sadly... 

One of the biggest hidden gems on this tour was the snappy WOH tag team encounter that took place in Edinburgh. It saw an extremely solid debut from Chardonnay, showing both a big personality and also really crisp in-ring skills. She is a tall, rangy and dangerous challenger for Sumie, who cannot afford to look past her with concerns about Kelly Klein and Tenille Dashwood pursuing her championship too...

Chardonnay oozes confidence; striding to the middle of the ring and poking fun at Sumie's height. Sakai has far too much experience for that of course, drilling knees into her throat in the corner and then making fun of her challenger right back by tying her in the apron and spanking her. The power of the challenger comes to the fore again though as she batters Sakai in the chest with a knee and emphatically dumps her to the outside. Sakai hops onto the guardrails...but MISSES a flying crossbody off them and violently eats the floor of the arena. Chardonnay immediately capitalises on that error by taking her into the ring and cranking on the presumably sore midsection with a Boston crab. Elbows by Sumie, followed by a running knee strike as Chardonnay drops to the deck. Fisherman neckbreaker gets 2! The challenger still has gas in the tank though, which Sumie looks to smash out of her with a BRIDGING Saito suplex. Spinebuster by Chardonnay, going back to the core injuries of the champion to re-establish control. Sakai tries to wrest it back again with a pin, only for Chardonnay to plant her with a gourdbuster. DOUBLE UNDERHOOK BUSTER! Sakai blocks the Tower Of London though. MOONSAULT MISSES! Chardonnay plants a big running knee through the sternum for a close nearfall. But she makes one error - misses a charging attack and runs right into the Smash Mouth. Sakai retains at a hard-fought 08:18

Rating - *** - I am still very clear in my belief that Sakai was the wrong choice as inaugural WOH Champion, but certainly won't ever fault her lacking workrate or heart. Her first defence against Jenny Rose was deceptively decent, and this was a really competitive little championship bout. The momentum swayed back and forth relentlessly, the strategies of the two women were instantly relatable (Chardonnay using her size and power to attack Sakai's midsection, Sumie looking to use her years of experience to punish every mistake Chardonnay made), and the finishing stretch was extremely strong. Logistically I get that it is unreasonable to expect ROH to sign the UK-based Chardonnay, but at the very least she is the prototype for the kind of recruitment ROH should be looking at for the WOH division. Young, talented, athletic and with clear space to improve and further develop. 

Back during Cody's ROH Title run he went through a phase of sarcastic sham title defences against jobbers on television. One such challenger was Scorpio, with Cody apparently not realising that Sky was a seasoned veteran and respected athlete with years in the business. Scorpio was so impressive that he has worked for ROH almost full-time since that night, and now wants to progress further by defeating the American Nightmare to avenge the lack of respect that was shown to him...

Scorpio refuses to kiss the ring, so Cody heads outside to find fans who will kiss it instead. At least when the bell rings it seems like he has his working boots on, bringing the goods as he jostles for position with Sky and actually driving the SCU member into the ropes. Scorpio lurches to the outside as Cody lines up an early Cross Rhodes attempt...where he walks right into Brandi who spits water in his face. He gets some payback by throwing a pint of beer into Cody's face then giving him a neckbreaker on the floor. Striking, punching and clawing at Cody's face form a part of Sky's game-plan in the ensuing minutes and it has the former World Champion in plenty of trouble. Even when working a grounded bodyscissors he keeps clawing at the nose and fish-hooking the mouth. Over-confidence starts to set in though and leads to Rhodes catching him dawdling on the top rope - to blast him with a superplex. The Nightmare quickens the pace and steers clear of Scorpio's strikes, landing the Disaster Kick to send him spinning to the outside yet again. JUMPING KNEE TO THE FACE by Sky to counter an attempted springboard by Cody! It knocks Rhodes to the floor where Scorpio can fly at him with a somersault plancha. Slingshot cutter slams the face into the mat again and gets 2. RUNNING frankensteiner gets another nearfall. Cody gets desperate and tries to break out Din's Fire just to put his opponent away. Sky blocks that but is rolled right into the American Deathlock. Frankie Kazarian arrives to stop Brandi from giving her husband a can of hairspray concealed in her sling...which quickly turns into Sky blinding Cody with the hairspray and hitting the Blackout for 2. He headbutts Cody but misses a springboard out of the corner and walks into Cross Rhodes. Cody wins at 12:54

Rating - *** - Throw a better finish on that and we could have been talking an even higher rating. As I've said repeatedly, when Cody shows up to work he is really good; even better when he gets to throw down with a silky smooth and ultra-experienced guy like Scorpio. Structurally this match was really interesting. Sky worked like Cody often does, with frequent attempts to stall and delay the action. His approach to the match - attacking Cody's face and head almost constantly - was pretty unique for an ROH match as well. Even the act of using Brandi's hairspray was made far worse by the amount of times he'd scraped, raked and clawed at Cody's face throughout the contest. I did feel like we were waiting for an escalation in the action which never came and, as always, I'd rather have seen a clean finish than shenanigans involving Brandi, Frankie, hairspray and referee ineptitude - but this was completely decent. I call Cody out when I don't think he wanted to work on a given show, this absolutely was NOT one of those.

What a monumental opportunity this is for the Hangman. He could be called one of the most under-rated guys in ROH, one of the most under-rated guys in Bullet Club, one of the most under-rated guys in New Japan...and he is fed up of it. Having openly expressed frustration at the antics of his stable-mates eclipsing his accomplishments earlier in 2018 it will be at the forefront of his mind how impactful a win over the Universe Ace would be. He would return to NJPW with a singles victory over the beloved Tanahashi. He would be propelled immediately into the ROH World Title picture (along with Cody and Marty). Last time he was in a spot like this it was facing Kota Ibushi at Supercard - a match he lost. He'll be desperate to grab the high profile victory over the international talent this time...

There is a tangible 'big fight' atmosphere as they get started. Tanahashi is quick to exert his dominance with headlocks and tackles...but doesn't reckon on Page getting right back up and knocking him down when he starts doing his air guitar pose. The striking gets a little but more intense, however Tana still retains his composure and knows exactly when to break that and drop Hangman with a springboard crossbody. Page has had enough, pulling Tanahashi's glorious hair until he can give him a neckbreaker on the apron. Given Tana's history of back issues that is a major blow and Page has no intention of letting up. He starts driving the back into the guardrails to leave him really struggling. Back in the ring he tries to quicken the pace and line up a Sling Blade - only for Hangman to spot it, swipe him to the ground and pile into the midsection again with a Red Star Press. Tanahashi counters Page into a neckbreaker of his own and snatches the opportunity to quicken the pace and maintain distance. Somersault senton gets 2. Again Page stops him hitting the Sling Blade though; this time with a roaring elbow into a DDT. SLAP by Tanahashi! NO SOLD! SUPERKICK! Rite Of Passage COUNTERED to Twist & Shout! For a third time Page blocks the Sling Blade...and the way Tana reacts is unbelievable. He teases a big dive to the floor, waits for Page to re-enter the ring to block it...then f*cking NAILS him with the Sling Blade then instead. Page shoves Todd Sinclair into the ropes to stop him climbing for the High Fly Flow though. Buckshot Lariat gets 2. MOONSAULT...MISSES! Page's moonsault is such a thing of beauty. Flying crossbody by Tana...rolled through into another Rite Of Passage attempt - which Tanahashi counters back into a bridging pin. Tana wins! 11:25 is your time

Rating - **** - There is an argument to say that this is Tanahashi's best match in an ROH ring. Admittedly that doesn't say a great deal, with probably only his 2015 bout with Roderick Strong rivalling it...but this was REALLY good. The way it toyed with NJPW's ranking system to produce a brilliantly layered match was really fun. We saw Page, a lower card guy in New Japan, bust his ass to gradually close the gap on the Ace, to the point that he came desperately close to hitting his finishing move and scoring the upset. Tanahashi wanted to smile and play the hits - but was made aware in the first minute that Page wouldn't stand for that when he was beaten down for air guitar-ing. Page went after Tanahashi's glass back and found repeated ways to stop him hitting the Sling Blade. With this lower-card guy cutting off his big moves and going after his documented injuries, Tanahashi snapped. His slap to Page's face was a clear display of the Ace's bad temper. He went from smiling and posing to slapping Bullet Club's gaijin job guy and going for desperation roll-up finishes just to escape with the win. They accomplished SO much in such a short period of time, and packed in some exceptional touches of psychology. I really am racking my brains to think of anything Tanahashi has done in ROH that I liked more...

Tanahashi is so impressed with Page's efforts and so relieved to escape Doncaster with the victory that he extends a hand to the Bullet Club member...which Hangman accepts. They shake hands and receive a warm ovation from the crowd.

Neither the ROH or IWGP Tag Titles are on the line here. It is a clear prelude to Bucks/Briscoes at Best In The World of course, and also offers the Jackson brothers a chance to step up to EVIL & SANADA as they pursue the Heavyweight Tag Championship in NJPW for the first time. They also have a score to settle with The Kingdom; Marseglia and TK come in as two thirds of the Six-Man Champions; belts the Bucks and Adam Page would love to recapture I'm sure. 

Nick and Evil start with Ian heavy-selling New Japan's upcoming Bucks/LIJ Tag Title Match. Their exchange plays out as you'd expect; Evil is stronger and overpowers, Nick is much quicker...then their partners pile in for a stand-off. LIJ block Superkicks, then the Briscoes muscle in because they want a fight. The Kingdom watch everyone else argue then cheapshot all of them from behind, which is pretty smart wrestling. Stereo Sharpshooters by the Bucks, broken by LIJ  and the Briscoes take turns teeing off on them. The Jacksons hit duelling pescados next, before lining up opponent after opponent for double team combo moves back inside the ring. Evil eventually decimates all four of Matt's limbs to put a stop to their momentum! Sanada dumps both Briscoes to the floor and puts The Kingdom into the Paradise lock when they try to jump him. One of Sanada's opponents f*cking up the Paradise Lock as a comedy spot becomes infinitely less funny when they do it in EVERY match by the way. TK and Vinny lay Matt out with a couple of double teams in an attempt to establish control only for Marseglia to stray too close to the Briscoe corner and find himself forcibly tagged out so the ROH Tag Champions can work Matt over. SUPERKICK on Jay...then Vinny! Spear nailed on Mark, opening the door for a hot tag to Nick Jackson. He kicks the sh*t out of both Briscoe brothers at the same time, laying down a clear marker for Best In The World. Swanton Bomb misses though, allowing Jay and Mark to lay him out with the Splash Mountain Neckbreaker. TK stops them setting up the Doomsday Device, which Nick profits from to hit a moonsault to the floor. Urinage from Mark to Nick! Pele by O'Ryan! Mustang Ride/Redrum combo gets 2! TK blocks the Magic Killer by LIJ...so eats the Evil Lariat instead. Magic Killer nailed! Somersault plancha by Matt! ELEVATED SWANTON gets 2 on O'Ryan. Jay runs in with his brother to spoil the Superkick Party though. We get a tense stare-down between the Young Bucks and the Briscoes...DOUBLE SUPERKICKS! NO SOLD! SUPERKICKS by the Briscoes! FOUR MAN SUPERKICKS ON LIJ! NO SOLD! LARIATS! Everyone is down! TK tries to lay Matt out with a Six-Man Title belt...but misses and gets a Superkick. Quebrada by Sanada, only for Jay to inadvertently save Nick from Skull End. DARKNESS FALLS from Evil to Jay! Vinny pops a balloon in Matt's ear to block the Meltzer Driver, setting TK up to finally waffle a Young Buck with a title belt...for 2! That was a great nearfall, the whole building thought the match was over. ROPE RUN CORKSCREW MOONSAULT BY NICK! Meltzer Driver on TK for the win at 19:47

Rating - *** - Anything involving the set-up of Briscoes/Bucks for Best In The World was good, and the last six or seven minutes were extremely hot...but before that a lot of the action gave of a rather 'exhibition match' vibe. Lots of people hit lots of spots, but mostly in a manner devoid of any real storyline or connective threads - instead just as a display of 'here's some moves we do that will kill time until we can leave'. The real issue is that we've seen the Bucks and the Briscoes deliver GREAT matches in these multi-man environments before...repeatedly in fact. Therefore when the action is clearly a big step down from that elite level it is quickly apparent and noticeable. Clearly there was some great sequences and the live crowd in Doncaster had fun I'm sure. But as a DVD/VOD viewer I don't think this one has a whole lot of re-watch value...

Tape Rating - ** - I've seen certain critics call this the strongest show of the Honor United 2018 Tour, but that certainly wasn't my experience. It was hardly a bad show, but nothing came anywhere near the quality of Bucks vs Aldis/Haskins, Briscoes vs Cody/Page, the triple threat Six-Man Title Match or Briscoe/Haskins from the first two nights of the tour. I've not even seen many people go as high as I did on [what I felt was] the best match on this show in Page/Tanahashi. The Doncaster crowd were treated to a solid night of wrestling though and as a one-off VOD view this isn't a terrible watch. But when your World Champion is so physically ruined he has to be hidden in a gimmicked handicap match that is mostly a vehicle for Bully Ray's ill-judged heel run...and when one of the biggest matches on the card in Lethal/Taven falls flat, it clearly has some rough-patches too. For my money, if you're skipping any of the three shows from this tour it is clearly this one...

3) Cody vs Scorpio Sky

2) Young Bucks vs Vinny Marseglia/TK O'Ryan vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs EVIL/SANADA (***)

1) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Adam Page (****)

7) Dalton Castle vs EVIL (*** - Night 2)

6) Jay Lethal vs Mark Briscoe (**** - Night 2)

5) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Adam Page (**** - Night 3)

4) Jay Briscoe vs Mark Haskins (**** - Night 2)

3) Matt Taven/Vinny Marseglia/TK O'Ryan vs Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs Young Bucks/Adam Page (**** - Night 2)

2) Young Bucks vs Nick Aldis/Mark Haskins (**** - Night 1)

1) Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Cody/Adam Page (**** - Night 1)