McXal's Reviews

With all the TV for Final Battle promotion taped, the card for the year-ending PPV locked in and rumours swirling about The Elite creating their own wrestling promotion once their ROH contracts expire, this four-show long Global Wars 2018 Tour feels strangely superfluous and as much about giving the likes of Cody and the Bucks one last hoorah on the ROH circuit - with extra merch and ticket sales delivered by the NJPW talent and branding to boot. In addition to the likes of The Elite or Jeff Cobb who are regulars for both ROH and New Japan, making the trip from Japan to the US will be Kushida, Juice Robinson and Los Ingobernables of Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA and BUSHI; perhaps the thinnest set of talents send across for one of these ROH/NJPW co-promotional tours yet. This particular show has the novelty of being ROH's first ever event in the state of Maine. Stand-out matches include Juice Robinson vs Christopher Daniels, the Briscoes facing Cody and Hangman in a rematch from the Honor United Tour, the Young Bucks squaring off with Bully Ray and Silas Young before a main event bringing together Jay Lethal, Jon Gresham, Chris Sabin and Kushida to face the four LIJ talents on the tour. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana are in Lewiston, ME.

This is a battle of impressive young talent, both of whom have caught the eye fpr their exploits in 2018. Of course, Flip was catching the eye before he ever went near Bully Ray too, but that's a different conversation for a different day. Gordon is preparing to meet the Hall Of Famer at Final Battle so is looking to rack up wins and build momentum.

Flip is impressive in the early going, demonstrating both the speed and wrestling skill to overwhelm Isom. In the end it is simply by hanging in there and avoiding complete collapse that Eli earns the respect of the crowd. He tries to throw a punch...but Flip nips under it and levels him with a Pele Kick, then a quebrada press for 2. SOMERSAULT PLANCHA SCORES! Isom is really struggling now; even when he tries to throw strikes with Gordon he is dropped on his ass. The rest of the Shinobi Shadow Squad bang on the canvas trying to fire Eli up and he responds with a few diving firearms. He dodges a springboard from Gordon and lands a bridging back suplex for a nearfall. Flip's response is to nip up from the apron, scramble through Isom's legs and blast him with a swivelling heel kick. Falcon Arrow blocked...DEADLIFT GERMAN by Eli! He tries to follow up with a brainbuster only for Flip to counter back into the Falcon Arrow. Flip-5 blocked...Springboard Spear instead. FLIP-5! Gordon grabs the win at 07:59

Rating - *** - Of all the 'check out how impressive Eli Isom is' matches that ROH have served up in 2018, this was by far my favourite. He didn't win, as he did against Daniels or Shane Taylor, but this felt like a more authentic Ring Of Honor experience. He fought hard, weathered an early onslaught from the more experienced campaigner across the ring for him, then showed real gumption to fight back and threaten Flip's dominance. Some of the execution was a little scrappy but I enjoyed the competitive vibe and athletic in-ring action. A decent little start to the show.

The Tag Titles are not on the line here, which is probably just as well since the TV episode which saw SCU win them still hasn't been aired yet. Milonas and Bruiser will still know that this is an opportunity to jump the queue and lock down a title shot in the near future though. Any victory you can grab over an incumbent championship act, even in non-title action, puts the winner into immediate championship contention. What do the SoCal veterans have in the locker to negate the sheer size of their opponents tonight?

Kazarian starts with BCB, using his speed and experience to embarrass the big man. Milonas tags in and it takes both SCU representatives to get him off his feet. He lands the slingshot rana to the floor to take Bruiser down...but is then throw over the ropes to join him by Kingpin. CANNONBALL off the apron by Beer City. The Bouncers have too much bulk for Frankie to combat; Brian ass-attacking him into the corner as a set up for a another running cannonball from Bruiser for 2. A sidewalk slam/mafia kick combo gets another nearfall for the big men...but finally Frankie finds away to tumble through the middle of them and get the hot tag to Scorpio. He gives Bruiser a headscissors...which rockets him into a spear takedown on Milonas as well. Kingpin retorts with a body slam on the apron for Sky then gives him a buckle bomb on top of his own partner. Elevated guillotine leg drop double team nailed - with Kaz having to dive in and break the pin. The Bouncers look for Last Call...only for Scorpio to shove Bruiser from the top rope TO THE FLOOR! DOUBLE POWERBOMB on Milonas! SCU grab the win at 08:45

Rating - ** - The last couple of minutes were really exciting and exactly the kind of match I'd hoped to see - pitting the speed, trickery and experience of SCU with the battering ram brawling of The Bouncers. Unfortunately much of the first half was all too sedate and predictable - making it REALLY drag. 

Clearly this is a complete mismatch. With Cobb preparing for Hangman Page at Final Battle, the last thing he needs is to sustain his first ROH loss to Cheeseburger of all people. Burger is fighting for the honour of his team-mates in 3-S, both of whom took a beating at the hands of Cobb when they tried to participate in the 2018 Top Prospect Tournament.

Even Cheeseburger has to laugh at how ridiculous it looks when tries to work a headlock on The Monster. Jeff swats him away as he tries waistlocks and leglocks, looking almost inconvenienced at even having to work with Burger tonight. A dropkick knocks Cobb into the corner...so Jeff full-on HEADBUTTS him out of the sky seconds later. A bearhug is applied by the TV Champ, which Cheese creditably counters into a front choke momentarily. Again he is punished though and eats a vertical leap dropkick in the corner followed by a stalling superplex. Standing moonsault misses! Burger catches Cobb in a Stunner - sending him backwards into the corner for a Shotei. Springboard somersault senton gets 2 for Cheeseburger! Jeff has seen enough, blocking the Shotei and obliterating him with Tour Of The Islands to win at 06:22

Rating - * - At times it was funny, but I couldn't shake the feeling that this was damaging to Cobb. By having him crush Punishment Martinez in just a couple of minutes, ROH set a high bar for him and it means when someone like Cheeseburger is able to go far longer with him, and get a credible nearfall along the way too, it feels completely unhelpful to Cobb's momentum. ROH would be better served cutting him loose and letting him deliver the kind of matches that had fans wanting to see him in Ring Of Honor in the first place...

This will set the table for the grudge match between Taven and Castle at Final Battle. Taven is still bitter that Dalton's injuries on the War Of The Worlds Tour meant he didn't get the World Title shot he was scheduled to receive, and when Dalton returned to television he was targeted again by the leader of The Kingdom. Both Dalton and Taven want to be at the front of the line to face the winner of the Lethal vs Cody Final Battle World Title Match as well so any clash between them is a chance to springboard above the other in the rankings as well. Dalton and The Boys have been Trios Champions before of course so know what it is like to win these belts as underdogs. The Kingdom, though, will be desperate to hold onto them having only just taken them back from Cody and the Bucks. Rhett Titus in his skimpy Speedo is on commentary for absolutely no reason...

We start with a messy brawl after Marseglia jumps one of The Boys from behind and an argument breaks out over whether his 'Boy bag' was loaded with a weapon. Castle is quickly left alone fighting all three champions by himself, without a shirt tonight revealing the big back brace and extensive bandaging he now has to wear just to get through a match. TK picks up Boy #1 and tries to use him as a weapon, but it fails when #2 hops in to rescue his brother. The Kingdom are ejected from the ring, milling around ringside until Dalton starts throwing The Boys out after them. Marseglia takes the opportunity to crawl off under the ring...abducting Boy #2 along the way. Sam Hane then the Side Effect on Boy #1...which he celebrates so enthusiastically he walks straight into Bang-A-Rang. It gets 2 before Taven and O'Ryan break the pin. Castle blocks Rock Star Supernova...so Taven gives him Just The Tip instead! Boy #2 emerges from under the ring dressed in a Freddy Krueger sweatshirt, charging Vinny and giving him a standing Shiranui. He tries to start attacking Marseglia with an imaginary Freddy Krueger bladed glove...which Marseglia sells. Meanwhile Dalton and Taven start beating the hell out of each other, brawling out of the ring and all the way up the aisle! House Of 1000 Horses on Boy #2 gives The Kingdom a win at 09:18

Rating - ** - This wasn't the complete bust I'd expected it to be. The Boys have been in some of the worst ROH matches of 2018 and Dalton just looks like a physical wreck every time he wrestles. But actually, every exchange between Castle and Taven was excellent and really sold me on wanting to see them in a singles bout at Final Battle. In that sense the primary focus of the match felt like it was accomplished. The Marseglia 'Horror King' spot under the ring rarely lands with me, so expanding it to include one of The Boys using imaginary blades to slash at opponents clearly didn't stick either.

Matt Taven gets on the microphone and barks an ominous warning to Dalton ahead of their PPV match

This is a rematch from Honor United Night 1 when these four men delivered one of the most under-rated ROH matches all year. Their Tag Title clash in Edinburgh was really good; pitting the brawling and tag team fluidity of the experienced Briscoe brothers against the individual power and singles skill that Hangman and the American Nightmare brought to the party. With title shots to prepare for at Final Battle Cody and Page can't afford to pick up any injuries but they also can't afford to reach the PPV short of form or wins. They will no doubt be looking to soften up the Briscoes before the Young Bucks get their hands on them in the triple thread Ladder War too...

Page starts with Mark...who drags him down by his hair like a dick but quickly finds himself embroiled in an intense exchange of running strikes. Jay tags but is left pacing the ring in frustration as Cody stalls on locking up so he can throw his shirt out into the crowd. In the end he leaves it to Mark, only to watch his little brother walk into a gourdbuster/gutbuster combo by The Elite...before technical difficulties interrupt the match. When we come back Hangman appears to have been captured in the ring by the Briscoes and is taking a real beating. He blocks the Briscoe football tackle though and makes a critcal tag to the American Nightmare. Disaster Kick on Jay, then a powerslam on Mark gets 2! The Briscoes have to join forces to quieten his momentum; showing their experience as a duo to overwhelm him. Brandi is so incensed at the treatment of her husband that she even threatens Mark with a chair. Froggy Bow misses though, leading to an explosive mid-ring collision leaving both Mark and Cody on the deck. Tags all round, bringing in bitter rivals Jay and Page to tear into each other once more. Hangman quickly clobbers Jay to the ground and hits the SSP TO THE FLOOR to take Mark out too. Jay is happy to brawl on the outside of course and smashes Page into the guardrails before setting Rhodes up for a flying kick from his brother. Redneck Boogie gets 2 on Page, with Cody flying in at the last to break the pin. Brandi hops onto the apron...only to be knocked out by Mark; whipped into her by her own husband. Low blow on Cody! Buckshot Lariat by Page! HANGMAN-SAULT TO THE FLOOR NAILED! CROSS RHODES! Jay breaks the pin! Iconoclasm by Mark, into the JAY DRILLER on Page! Froggy Bow sees Mark pin Hangman at 15:05 (shown)

Rating - *** - It didn't feel like we lost much time during the drop-out due to technical difficulties. They were very clearly caused by power issues in the building as when we come back it is clear that the entire Cary-tron had crashed as well. I am astonished that NONE of the cameras filming this event are battery operated and/or could record and capture footage to slot into a corrected version of the DVD/VOD at a later date though. I don't think this was quite as tight or quite as exciting as the Edinburgh match between these teams, but at its best it shared a lot of the same qualities. Whenever Cody or Page were able to isolate a Briscoe brother one-on-one they were a real threat; hitting major offensive moves and seemingly putting the multi-time former Tag Champions in real trouble. But the Briscoes are seasoned campaigners and a far more experienced tag team. They persistently found ways to engineer 2-on-1 situations or brawl on the floor - going all the way through to the finish when they incapacitated Cody on the outside before stringing together double-teams on Hangman. Good stuff throughout with real urgency too...albeit slightly soured by technical difficulties spoiling the experience for all

This is the first time Juice has appeared in an ROH ring since January 2017 (excluding the NJPW Honor Rising shows). Since we last saw him he has really broken out in New Japan and returns as a former IWGP US Champion. Daniels is the ROH star ready to greet him; a former World Champion seemingly heading for the exit door unless he can convince COO Joe Koff to re-sign him. He prepares for Marty Scurll at Final Battle - with a World Title shot up for grabs as seemingly his last chance at redemption...

Daniels is still competing with his neck heavily taped thanks to Jay Briscoe but he uses his veteran instincts to control the early pace. Robinson hits a crescent kick and a stalling suplex...then looks to exacerbate the neck injury with a hard Irish whip into the turnbuckles. Running cannonball misses though and Daniels drives him straight back down with an STO. Koji Clutch/Flatliner combo later ('we usually see that from Naito' - Riccaboni, who apparently has never seen a Chris Daniels match before ever) has Juice scrambling for the ropes with the match now wide open. The Fallen Angel targets Juice's neck, including a high Arabian Press right across the throat for 2. Just when Robinson looks to be in real trouble he is able to drill Daniels with a spinebuster; in a single move inflicting as much damage as Daniels was able to in the previous few minutes. He scores with the cannonball in the corner and a full nelson slam. So Daniels drops him right back on his own neck with the Blue Thunder Driver! Next they take turns trying to dive off the top rope and crotching each other...with Daniels particularly violent in how he drops Juice over the top turnbuckle. Jab flurry by Robinson, setting up Pulp Friction for the big win at 12:10

Rating - *** - These two had great chemistry and this MOTN for me thus far. Daniels doesn't work too many singles matches these days but he is always fantastic in no-nonsense out-and-out wrestling matches like this one. I loved his approach here, with him trying to negate his neck injury by inflicting one on Juice. I didn't feel like Robinson was particularly interested in selling that which was a shame, and twelve minutes was a frustratingly brief time allocation as it felt like they had a LOT more in the tank before rushing to a rather flat finish. All in this was a really good wrestling match which disappointed only in that it could have been even better had they been given the opportunity to produce...

With Bully preparing to face Flip Gordon at Final Battle, it is very relevant that the Bucks are friends with Flip and will absolutely be looking to soften the big man up for their buddy before the pay-per-view. They also have a big Tag Title Match themselves that they'll want to build momentum for too. For Silas and Bully, even though they don't get on, they will recognise it as an opportunity to make a major statement if they can beat Matt and Nick Jackson. 

Bully starts on the apron and barks orders at Silas. He is then visibly annoyed when Young takes an early neckbreaker/slingshot senton combo from the Bucks. Bubba agrees to a tag, slaps Matt in the face before quickly breaking to hurl abuse at a 'chubby kid' in the crowd. To give him his credit, he does appear to have come in with a strategy; trying to engage Matt in an 'old school wrestling match' where Bully's strength and size allows him to dominate each lock-up and hold. He isn't big enough to overcome a few double teams from the rapid-fire Jackson brothers though...and neither is Silas who eats a double gourdbuster when he tries to help. Bubba comes back by crotching Matt against the ringpost, incapacitating him and allowing Bully and Silas to start working over his dodgy back. Although its actually Silas who does most of the working over as Bully is more concerned with yelling at fans and getting his stupid sh*t in. It's also Silas who distracts referee Paul Turner, causing him to miss Matt's hot tag to Nick and force him back into action. Bully goes for the second rope senton only to be intercepted with a frankensteiner from Matt...which he promptly no sells and lands a sidewalk slam. Jumping senton misses (rendering the entire last sequence pointless and serving only to allow Bully to get himself over by no-selling some of Matt's offence)...and this time Nick does get his hot tag. Obviously Bully vacates the ring now, leaving Silas to take almost all of Nick's babyface fire comeback. Superkick blocked...Killer Combo countered...so Young hits the Killer Combo from the other side instead for 2. Nick evades Misery but eats the slingshot swinging neckbreaker instead. The Plunge misses though, putting Young in prime position for a Superkick. Nick then wipes Bully out with a moonsault off the apron before returning to the ring to put the Last Real Man in a Sharpshooter. Bubba tries to save...but eats a DOUBLE Superkick as the feed drops out again. When we come back Silas and Bully have turned the tide, with Bully trying to convince Silas to play D-Von in the Wassup Headbutt spot. Young refuses...and they both get Superkicks from Matt Jackson. The big man knocks Nick off the apron when the Bucks set up the Meltzer Driver...and distracts the ref as Silas kicks Matt in the balls. Misery wins it for Silas at 15:48 (shown)

Rating - *** - When Bully wasn't involved this was a good match. The Bucks did their usual stuff, but had real chemistry with Silas who was great both during the heat segment on Matt but also as being the target for all of the Young Bucks offence too, since Bully wasn't particularly interested in doing much bumping or selling for them. Clearly the feed drop-out sucked and obviously I'd prefer if I didn't have to sit through more than fifteen minutes of a Bully Ray match at this point in his career...but its hard not to support Silas going over the Young Bucks on their way out, and hard to miss that putting Young over was at the forefront of everything good about the bout itself.

This is our main event, pitting Los Ingobernables de Japon against an ROH/NJPW dream-team. Jay Lethal is World Champion, and also has previous with LIJ going back to 2016 when Naito stabbed him in the back when he thought they had an alliance. Lethal's partners are intriguing too. He has gelled with Gresham as a tag team, yet their rivalry as opponents is as good as anything ROH has produced all year. He also has a competitive rivalry going back years with Kushida, whom he last face (and defeated) in a spectacular clash at Best In The World. After the Motor City Machine Guns went on hiatus a few years ago, Kushida formed the Time Splitters with Alex Shelley...so now with Shelley himself taking a break from competing, we see his two former partners joining forces as well. Sabin also has history teaming with Gresham as part of Search & Destroy too. Will all these inter-woven stories help or hinder the four singles stars as they step up to the strong, unified force of Los Ingobernables?

Lethal's squad nominate Gresham to start, with Naito standing across from him. LIJ's leader is completely uninterested in working with The Octopus though so turns around and instantly brings in Sanada. Gresham actually blocks the Paradise Lock such is his level of skill - shoving Sanada away before tagging out to Sabin. Bushi jumps him from behind, but is clobbered out of the ring soon after. Evil superkicks Sabin in the ass instead, driving him back and allowing Kushida to tag. Dream Sequence by Kushida and Sabin, directly lifting moves out of the MCMG moveset now. Assisted senton/standing moonsault combo by Lethal and Gresham next as the all-star team extend their advantage over Evil. They all take turns working over his arm...until Naito and Sanada ambush Kushida to help out their partner. All eight brawl outside as LIJ try to eliminate their opponents one-by-one out there. The tables are soon turned with Los Ingobernables taking turns attacking the arm and shoulder of Kushida instead. Bushi starts using his shirt to choke Kushida, whilst Naito winds up every one of his partners so they distract Todd Sinclair. Paradise Lock/ass dropkick combo gets 2 for Sanada, who then knocks all of Kushida's partners off the apron so he has nobody to tag. Tajiri Handspring Elbow nailed, leaving both men down! Hot tag to Lethal who quickly lands the Lethal Combination on Evil. CRISS-CROSS CANNONBALL SENTONS by Sabin and Kushida! Flying crossbody/Hail To The King combo by Lethal and Gresham! Lethal Injection blocked...Skull End blocked...slingshot neckbreaker by Sanada! Stunner from Gresham to Bushi, followed by a bridging German suplex for 2. DOUBLE ARM KICKS by Gresh and Kushida! Octopus Stretch locked in! Evil rakes Lethal's eyes and barges past him to break that up though. Sabin has to save Gresh from Destino, and he then hauls Sanada to the ground for a modified Dream Sequence ending in Kushida's handspring basement dropkick. DOUBLE rana from Bushi to kill the momentum of the Machine Gun/Time Splitter hybrid duo. LETHAL INJECTION on Bushi! Darkness Falls by Evil! Evil Lariat decks Gresham before he can save the World Champion as well. DESTINO on Gresham! Naito wins at 16:45

Rating - *** - Fun, functional, sprinkled with excitement...but lacking in any kind of real substance or innovation. In truth, although some of the pairings were fun (i.e. Gresham worked well with all of the LIJ squad) and I loved that Naito - who never tries on ROH shows anyway - was used sparingly to maximise his impact...this never escaped feeling like it was a filler match, allowing a whole bunch of big names to take it easy at the top of the card. At less than seventeen minutes it breezes by and feels well-paced for the time allocated with an action-packed final flourish. I can't say this felt like a main event worth going out of your way to see though, or one with any kind of substantial re-watch value.

Tape Rating - ** - ROH has done some really good things with its pay-per-view offerings in 2018, but that has come at the cost of a general lowering of quality across their VOD/TV shows. I'd actually describe this as a fairly typical Honor Club VOD show experience in truth. It isn't very long, no match gets enough time to amount to anything substantial, the format and pacing of the card is almost oppressively predictable, technical issues threatened to seriously damage viewer enjoyment and you're left with a show which, whilst not unsatisfactory to watch, can be forgotten almost as soon as you have consumed it. There are some exceptions to that (Survival Of The Fittest was good, and the Honor Re-United Tour was brilliant) but unfortunately too much of 2018 has been spent producing uninspired and complacent content like this. And that goes a long way to explaining why ROH entered 2019 with zero momentum and was easily picked off and plunged into irrelevance by AEW. I don't mean to sound outrageously negative; this is by no means a bad show. There were matches I really liked, such as Juice vs Daniels. But everything about this was lazy. So much of this show was ROH settling for 'good enough', which is completely unacceptable for a company with this kind of legacy and heritage. There is SO much better wrestling content out there now and nothing about this show sells ROH as must-see product, or convinces anyone to drop hard-earned money to maintain an Honor Club Subscription...

3) Tetsuya Naito/EVIL/SANADA/BUSHI vs Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham/Chris Sabin/Kushida (***)

2) Bully Ray/Silas Young vs Young Bucks (***)

1) Juice Robinson vs Christopher Daniels (***)