McXal's Reviews

After not using the Glory By Honor event name in 2017 (the first time in ROH's history going back to 2002), Sinclair have brought it back for 2018...albeit for an Honor Club VOD show only. We won't pretend the card is outstanding for this show because it isn't, but the main events should be good. Jay Lethal renews his storied rivalry with Silas Young, this time with the World Title on the line. I loved their feud last year so I'm sold on this show already, but if you needed more how about SCU trying to get the Six-Man Title back from Bullet Club of Cody and the Young Bucks? The rest gets a little more sketchy but includes Scurll/Helms III, Bully Ray vs Jon Gresham, a Briscoes vs Bouncers rematch and the in-ring VOD debut for Jeff Cobb. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana are in Baltimore, MD.

Well this should be physical. Taylor is a bruiser who is fed up of being denied opportunities and getting stuck at the bottom of the card. His opponent is similarly frustrated. Hangman believes he is one of the most dangerous men in ROH, wants title shots in his immediate future and doesn't even care which belt he gets the opportunity to challenge for. A win here feels crucial for the aspirations of both men.

Hangman gets an INSANE reaction from what crowd there is. Taylor gets really pissed off about it and spits at Page. He absorbs a few blows but then lariats him clean across the back of the head! They start pounding each other with strikes, a fight Hangman is clearly out-matched in. He tries a pescado and misses that, so goes for the Buckshot but instead gets hauled into the Tower Of London for 2. Taylor taunts Page for relying on Cody and the Bucks for his popularity as he throttles him in the corner. CANNONBALL SENTON! Hangman almost collapses out of the ring...but pops up and dives at Shane with ROLLING TOPE SUICIDAS! HANGMAN-SAULT TO THE FLOOR! Frog crossbody back into the ring gets 2, which Riccaboni calls as reminiscent of the High Fly Flow. Superkick blocked with a headbutt into an urinage slam and a Warrior Splash to re-establish Taylor's control. He almost knocks Page clean out of the ring with a single elbow strike...which of course knocks Hangman into prime position for the Buckshot Lariat! They start slapping each other around...Rite Of Passage countered with a couple of knock-out knee strikes which in turn set up a brutal powerbomb. Shane slowly climbs the ropes, only to find himself pulled out into a powerbomb by Page! RITE OF PASSAGE! Page scores the big win at 09:04

Rating - *** - Good, hard-hitting, heated and intense stuff to get the show started. The crowd were unbelievably invested in Page which meant the whole bout was contested in frenzied atmosphere. Taylor was dominant at times and incredibly personal with the nature of the verbal insults he directed towards Page. It was the kind of strong performance which made Page look even stronger when he rose up to overcome him. If the goal is to prime Hangman Page for one last title shot of some form before he leaves the company then this was extremely good.

TK really looks to be piling on some muscle mass. Ian calls this match 'interesting', which is a polite way of saying that it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It's not much more than a set-up anyway, since King furthers his heel turn angle by not showing up and leaving Flip to face The Kingdom by himself. 

The Kingdom jump Flip from behind as Riccaboni starts implying that Todd Sinclair is some kind of de facto Match Maker in ROH without an official authority figure?! Todd does decide to ring the bell which seems a ridiculous decision, meaning Gordon is immediately subjected to a violent 2-on-1 beating. Todd doesn't even do a great deal to force The Kingdom to keep a man in the corner holding the tag rope either. Three minutes in Cheeseburger runs down the aisle, looking to help Flip the way Gordon had helped him with Bully Ray. Flip hammers Vinny and TK with Superkicks and tumbles over for a tag to Burger. O'Ryan blocks the Shotei and they hit him with House Of 1000 Horses for a Kingdom victory at 05:26

Rating - DUD - A waste of Flip Gordon, a waste of time, with little more achieved than putting over Vinny and TK's new finishing move for their team. In late 2017 Gordon looked like he was going to be a major star for ROH with some incredible performances, most notably his MOTYC with Will Ospreay during the Global Wars Tour. Sadly Delirious has mis-managed and killed a lot of that in 2018. The stuff with Bully Ray has been awful and he should not be put in a position where the booking calls for him to be carried to the back by Cheeseburger of all people. Just skip over this...

This is the first time Jeff Cobb has wrestled on ROH VOD. He enters fresh from murdering Punishment Martinez at the post-Death Before Dishonor TV taping and will be looking to make short work of the plucky Isom tonight. Eli was a victim of Cobb's Top Prospect Tournament destruction and is coming for revenge tonight. He has ditched the generic music and is accompanied by fellow Shinobi Shadow Squad members Ryan Nova.

Eli gets into Cobb's face. The former Olympian tries to cool him off, but finds Isom coming at him from all angles with strikes. Of course it only lasts so long before Jeff launches him into the air with a belly to belly suplex. A massive biel rockets him back the other way to the opposite corner of the ring - where Jeff hauls him up the ropes to deliver a one-armed, stalling superplex. Standing moonsault gets 2! Eli tries to climb the ropes...but is caught with a vertical leap dropkick by the TV Champ! Instead Isom kicks a leg out from underneath Cobb and almost scores the upset with a flipping neckbreaker. Riccaboni makes a huge deal out of Isom being the first person to get Jeff off his feet. It's only fleeting before Jeff gives him a Tour Of The Islands and wins at 05:14

Rating - * - Either have Cobb squash a guy, or book him in the kind of matches ROH fans are excited to see him in. This was bad, not because either performer did a bad job...but because the tone was all wrong. I'm impressed with Eli Isom, but he should have been getting steamrollered here. If ROH officials didn't want him completely crushed then he shouldn't have been booked in this spot and Nova should have been taking the hit. The absolute last thing Cobb needs is to have a hard time beating Eli or bumping around for his offence. 

These two teams had a decent match on TV in Fairfax a couple of months ago. The Briscoes won that and won't be putting the Tag Titles on the line tonight either - but will know that the size and capabilities of Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas are a real threat to them. On the other hand, Bruiser and Milonas know a win over the champs puts then at the front of the queue for a title shot...

Milonas starts with Mark orbiting him like a satellite. Of course, Briscoe quickly uses his experience and speed in an attempt to strike and move. Jay joins him and together they knock him to the floor. Cannonball off the apron from Mark to Bruiser! The four men brawl all over ringside, with Mark stepping off a chair into a flying crossbody into the guardrails. The champs try to suplex Brian to no avail, before BCB drags Mark out and Kingpin bows Jay down with a body avalanche. The Bouncers use their bulk to isolate the former World Champion. Bruiser gets 2 with a Vader Bomb Elbow, which is something new and looks pretty awesome. In the end Jay outright batters his way past BCB to make a much-needed tag. It leads to Mark and Jay teaming up to work over Beer City. Mark tries to apply his Choke...which Bruiser escapes with a backpack Stunner! Milonas gets a tag and absolutely FLATTENS Jay with a running crossbody! Capture DDT from Bruiser to Mark! BCB is crotched in the corner...but when the Briscoes hit him with a double superplex they don't see Milonas swooping him to deliver a simultaneous DOUBLE GERMAN SUPERPLEX! The Bouncers hit the double team elevated guillotine leg drop spot for a surprisingly heated nearfall. Jay and Mark get back up and (just about) give Milonas a double superplex. Froggy Bow finishes Bruiser at 13:36

Rating - ** - I much preferred the TV match these two teams contested. It was shorter and way more energetic. This match had a hot opening brawl and a couple of neat spots playing on Milonas' size, but other than that it was really plodding and lethargic. Both teams got a heat segment; neither did anything interesting with it. Very little, if any, peril was felt and at no point did it seem like The Bouncers had what it took to defeat the Briscoes. 

The Briscoes and The Bouncers share a few beers after the match which is quite a touching scene. Except it means Jay and Mark get an entire building cheering for them when they are supposed to be heels now. 

It's Hero vs Villain III. Scurll won their first encounter, a fight he picked in a bitter rage after failing to take the World Title at Best In The World. Helms petitioned ROH officials to bring him back for a rematch, which they duly did in Philadelphia. The Hurricane grabbed a victory there meaning they each come into this with a 1-1 record against the other. Marty says he is 'tired' of being stuck in this issue with Helms so plans to finish it permanently tonight.

Marty has Hangman Page come out to the stage in full Villain robe and mask, creating a diversion which allows Scurll himself to jump Helms from behind. I don't hear a bell ring before the brawl spills to the floor...where Marty repeatedly dumps his foe into the front row. Paul Turner does eventually start the match with Hurricane already beaten senseless. Even when he tries to mount some offence Scurll simply dismisses him and Superkicks him from the apron. EYE OF THE HURRICANE TO THE FLOOR! Helms tries to target The Villain's legs...only for Marty to make it to the ropes and hang him in those same ropes for a neckbreaker. His attack on the neck is pretty savage, complemented by some really effective commentary from Coleman and Cabana. The Hurricane is all power in response, defying his injuries to repeatedly muscle Scurll to the ground, culminating in another Eye Of The Hurricane for 2. Marty gives him a big superplex then Superkicks the neck to shut him down though. Chickenwing blocked...and referee Paul Turner is bumped with a wayward uppercut moments later. Hurri-Chokeslam nailed. Helms has Marty pinned but, of course, the official is down and out. Marty low blows Helms and hits the Ghostbuster for 2. A replacement ref counted that by the way. DOUBLE CHOKESLAM on the replacement official! Paul Turner saw that apparently, so throws the match out at a time of 10:31

Rating - ** - This actually had some of the best wrestling of their entire series. Scurll's work on Helms' neck was fantastic and a great example of what Marty is particularly good at. Unfortunately, rather than finish this angle off here we got a completely bogus finish, another failure to remove Marty from this situation which was hampering his main event push and clearly setting up yet another rematch that nobody wants to see. Over the last few years Delirious has presided over so many great one-off matches which were crying out for rematches, or to be turned into a series. Why the f*ck is Scurll/Helms getting this treatment?! 

The match is over but the fight isn't by any stretch. Crew members fill the ring trying to separate them, until Hangman Page comes back and tosses them all away. Helms spears him to the ground...but gets his neck stomped again by Scurll as a result. He tears Hurricane's mask off and carries it away like a trophy. 

Madison Rayne replaces Caprice Coleman on commentary and is congratulated on signing a contract with Ring Of Honor. 

Sakai remains the Women Of Honor Champion, having survived arguably her sternest test to date versus Tenille Dashwood at Death Before Dishonor. With the newly-signed Madison Rayne watching on (another woman she has successfully beaten with the WOH World Title on the line), she now teams with Britt Baker to face two of her proteges in Rose and Grey. Who will be the next in line to face Sumie for her championship? Britt has her own Cary-tron video now, but ROH have stopped short of her using Adam Cole's entrance theme as she did at All In.

Baker starts with Rose, working the mat with intensity and looking entirely evenly matched. Stella tags and almost decapitates Baker with a running crossbody, but soon finds the power and rangy striking of the dentist too much to overcome. Sumie tags in with her student only for Grey to take her down with some really poor strikes. Sakai looks like she is walking Stella through this; judo throwing her into an armbar. Jenny tries to save but runs into Lockjaw by Britt rendering her unable to save her partner. Slingblade from Baker to Grey gets 2. Sumie and Britt try to double suplex Grey next...and she winds up dumping them both on their heads when countering to a double suplex/DDT. Rose tags and lands an equally slack double spear...but quickly tightens up on a fisherman suplex to Sakai. Frankensteiner by the WOH Champion! Bulldog/Rocker Dropper combo gets 2 on Jenny, before Britt goes back to Lockjaw. Rose escapes this time and floors her with another Spear. German suplex on Baker! Missile dropkick from Sumie to Rose! Ripcord elbow from Britt to Stella. The Dr has a hard time lifting her, but finally does land a TKO. Baker wins for her team at 09:05

Rating - * - Pretty rough going in this one unfortunately. There have been some good Women Of Honor matches on main shows in 2018, but sadly this wasn't one of them. Stella had a night she'll want to forget and was poor throughout. I didn't think Jenny was much better either. Sakai and Baker played the hits and did their thing...but really didn't have a lot to work with when their opponents were struggling so badly. Given that she won here and has her own music/video I suspect ROH were trying to recruit Baker to the permanent WOH roster. Clearly that didn't go as well as they'd have hoped...

COLEMAN'S PULPIT - Silas Young has no-showed the Pulpit...but Bully is here it seems. He hijacks the interview for himself, and Caprice provides the highlight of the entire show so far by going with 'how's Spike?' as his first question. Jon Gresham crashes the party, still pissed off at getting repeatedly low blowed at the Philadelphia TV taping. He challenges Bubba to a No DQ Match at Glory By Honor...

In the 2300 Arena Bubba humiliated, embarrassed and belittled Gresham. He nut-shotted him over consecutive weeks of television, and beat him in a heated tag team main event which also featured Jay Lethal and Silas Young. The Octopus has refused to accept that treatment, so laid down the challenge for this match...even though the size difference between he and his opponent is substantial.

Bully's entrance includes lengthy rants aimed at the fans, Bobby Cruise and Colt Cabana and feels like it lasts longer than some of the matches tonight. He takes one last verbal shot at Jordynne Grace as well, leading to Gresham punching him in the mouth to get us started. TOPE CON HILO NAILED! The Octopus has Bubba on the run, attacking his leg against the guardrail then delivering a dragon screw on the floor. But Bully is so much bigger than he is...and when they get back into the ring the former ECW star simply runs through him. He tosses a table into the ring before smacking a steel chair into Gresham's back. Obviously Bubba isn't selling the leg at all now. Gresham needs the help of the ropes to stand but keeps talking smack to Bully, then spits in his face. Bubba Bomb blocked, into the mounted Sleeper that he used to choke out Shane Taylor! Bubba rakes the eyes of Todd Sinclair...and starts tapping out to the Octopus Stretch whilst Todd is still blinded. Of course he then pops up still not selling any of Gresham's offence to boot Jon back to the mat. He MISSES a second rope splash and dives sternum first through the table though! And still Bubba manages to crawl out of the wreckage of the table in time to avoid being whacked with a chair. MISSILE DROPKICK WITH A CHAIR! SHOOTING STAR PRESS! Bully kicks out at 2! He low blows Gresham for the win moments later, in a time of 12:18

Rating - ** - This was the worst kind of Bully Ray in ROH performance. I get the feeling he thinks he is being generous - he uses his tedious promos to get babyface heat on his opponents and very obviously lures live crowds into loudly applauding his rivals. But if he isn't going to sell ANY of Gresham's offence, what is the point? The match itself wasn't bad...but that's only because Gresham was exceptional within the sphere of things he could control. His work was precise and exciting, he took some sizeable bumps and effortlessly bridged what was a really large size and weight gap. 

Gresham has to be carried out whilst, of course, Bubba stands alone in the middle of the ring taking more attention and time on the show dedicated solely to him. 

SCU get some promo time, looking forward to their Six-Man Title shot up next. Daniels laments that the Bucks were the ones who took the ROH Tag Titles from them, and that Cody was the man who ended his World Championship reign. But before getting too crestfallen, Scorpio Sky reminds everyone that SCU beat Bullet Club (of the Bucks and Page) for the same Six-Man Title earlier in the year...

We are now into October meaning time is running desperately short if SoCal Uncensored are to gain the leverage they need to secure new ROH contracts for next year. Tonight they look for that leverage in the form of the Six-Man Championship; belts they've beaten Bullet Club for already this year. As Daniels touched upon in his interview, these three men have a lot of history together, making this one incredibly tough to call. Riccaboni putting over the BTE 'countdown clock' angle (which wound up being the formal announcement of Cody, the Bucks and Page leaving ROH at the expiration of their contracts to form AEW) is almost comically short-sighted.

Cody and Kaz start the match not by wrestling, but instead by delivering a sales pitch for their new joint venture into the Cigar business. Even their partners start getting irritated by it, and soon enough they've killed more than three minutes. Frankie then pops Cody in the mouth before heading outside and kicking Burnard The Bear to the ground. Nick and Scorpio take his place in the ring, fighting to a stalemate at breakneck speed. Both Bucks charge the ring using combo moves to seize the advantage, sending all of their opponents sprawling. Daniels is the unfortunate challenger to be trapped in the ring and subjected to all manner of Bullet Club offence. The Fallen Angel escapes by hitting a Blue Thunder Driver to damage Matt's permanently-injured back. Sky gets a tag and drops Rhodes with a slingshot cutter. SLINGSHOT RANA TO THE FLOOR by Kazarian, followed quickly by a somersault plancha from Scorpio. It means SCU can spend a prolonged period of time working over Matt's back. Even when he tries to retaliate Sky acts quickly with a knee into the midsection, then rocketing Frankie into a tornado DDT. ARABIAN PRESS to the floor by Daniels to damage the back still further. From nowhere Matt hits the Worst Case Scenario on Sky and thankfully tags out to the American Nightmare...who drops Kaz instantly with the Disaster Kick. Springboard missile dropkick on the rest of SCU too! He tries to tap Scorpio out with a figure 4...as the Bucks trap The Addiction into stereo Sharpshooters. SLINGSHOT SUPERKICK by Cody and Matt! Daniels in, countering Cross Rhodes into a running STO. Slingshot Cutter by Kaz! Superkicks by Matt. ANGEL'S WINGS! CROSS RHODES! Kaz and Scorpio break the pin! TRIPLE SUPERKICK on Kazarian. ROPE RUN TWISTING PRESS TO THE FLOOR by Nick! Daniels and Cody desperately counter back and forth looking for pins. SUPERKICK/CROSS RHODES COMBO! Cody pins Daniels to retain at 17:31

Rating - **** - The live theatre cigar commercial didn't do much for me and went on too long, but everything afterwards was good. Bullet Club trying to isolate the oldest man (Daniels) made sense, as did the strategy of the Ring General to damage Matt's back whilst escaping from him. Matt J, as always, produced a selling, convincing performance to emphasise his recent injury woes too. They definitely had more in the tank and could have produced an even bigger, more elaborate second half of the match if required.

It's time for the main event, but rather than either participant instead Matt Taven, brandishing his 'Real World Championship' and flanked by the rest of The Kingdom, comes out. Taven lists multiple big names he has beaten in his ROH career as proof that he has 'earned' his World Title and, although he'd like to defend it tonight...he feels there isn't a single worthy challenger in the locker-room.

This is a rivalry which stretches back to 2016, but reached a crescendo in 2017 as they beat each other to a pulp in Street Fights, Last Man Standing Matches and more. Nobody has a better record or more wins over Lethal in the last two years than Silas. The Last Real Man has formed an uneasy alliance with Bully Ray and it is that which has brought him back together with Lethal. He attacked the champ on television, and Jay is more than happy to put his belt on the line to get some payback.

Silas loudly reminds Lethal that he's had his number for the past year or more. He looks to be in the champ's head too; comprehensively out-wrestling Lethal for the first few minutes. He even lifts Jay's hiptoss/dropkick sequence in an 'ugly but effective' manner. Even when Jay tries to retaliate, Silas starts countering his signature sequences with ease...and all whilst berating Lethal constantly. It's only when they start brawling on the floor that the champ's striking power comes to the fore - as he savagely beats Young against the railings and delivers the hiptoss/dropkick sequence outside. Young is rattled but happy to trade bombs outside the ring and delivers a hard suplex on the floor. The challenger tries to control the pace of the match once more, utilising a sleeper hold to choke Jay to the brink of unconsciousness. Lethal Combination blocked...Figure 4 blocked...Killer Combo blocked! ACE CRUSHER by Silas gets 2 at the end of a scintillating counter-wrestling exchange. He tries to hit The Plunge...but Lethal holds on almost crucifix pins him for a win. Slingshot swinging neckbreaker instead, earning a 2-count for the Last Real Man. He tries to give Lethal a Misery on the apron, and has to duck quickly when Lethal tries to counter with a springboard dropkick. LETHAL INJECTION! Young kicks out at 2! Jay sinks to the mat, seemingly doubting his own ability to beat Silas now. He starts punching and kicking at Young like it's a bar fight...but without a strategy leaves himself wide open to The Plunge which gets a nearfall as well. Lethal Injection countered with a knee strike. Misery blocked! TKO BY LETHAL! TOPE TRILOGY! Missile dropkick lands on the back of the head, and Jay empties the tank with both a Lethal Combination and Hail To the King right afterwards. Still no pin though. LETHAL INJECTION! The champ retains at 15:20

Rating - **** - A fantastic match, MOTN on this show by a mile and actually better than some of their longer matches from 2017 in my opinion (they've still not topped the brilliance of their match at Unauthorized though). What I really liked here is that it was completely different to their previous encounters, yet also clever in the way it referenced them and had each combatant carrying the psychological aftermath of their 2017 feud. Silas was supremely confident and dominated Lethal in a way nobody else has this year. He relentlessly countered everything Lethal had to offer, then kicked out of a Lethal Injection almost causing the champ to have a breakdown. It built to a superb finishing sequence, where Jay basically unleashed every big offensive move he has (that Silas had been countering all match beforehand) in a frantic rage to secure victory. The rivalry between Silas Young and Jay Lethal is one of the best things Delirious has EVER booked in ROH. I'm glad this bout enhanced, rather than detracted from that legacy. Lethal as champion is on fire right now.

Lethal doesn't get much time to celebrate the win, because Cody's music starts blaring out across the PA system. The American Nightmare comes out to remind everyone that he still hasn't had a singles rematch for the World Title...and he wants Lethal to agree to one. Kenny King is here tonight and comes out now...to ask Cody what he has 'done for ROH lately'. Unlike Rhodes, who has multiple championships outside of ROH, has been promoting major pay-per-views, participating in multiple YouTube series' and launching new side ventures, King has spent his summer rediscovering himself and going on a winning streak in Ring Of Honor. He urges Lethal to ignore the politics and the popularity and put the belt on the line against him instead. Jay tells them both 'any time, any where' then walks away leaving them to argue...

Tape Rating - ** - ROH has produced some good shows in 2018, but creatively they have so little going on right now. Some of the angles they are running - such as Bully getting himself over at the expense of the entire roster, or Helms/Scurll - aren't exactly scintillating viewing either. With no real angles to capture your attention, most of this card becomes a succession matches which are at best forgettable and at worst outright bad. Taylor/Page was decent and clearly the main events delivered. But by this point ROH was very literally on a countdown to losing (most of) The Elite and badly need to get past this crux of hiding a bad show behind a Young Bucks spot-fest to pop the crowd. Honor Club Members should seek out the Lethal/Silas match if they liked their previous feud...but even that is far from essential viewing given how often ROH have run that match now. I want to be positive, but this was a poor live show that even the quality of the top two bouts couldn't cover up...

3) Adam Page vs Shane Taylor (***)

2) Cody/Young Bucks vs Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky (****)

1) Jay Lethal vs Silas Young (****)