McXal's Reviews

ROH's conclusion to their calendar year - Final Battle - by its very name represents the end of something. This year that fact is more stark than ever, as Ring Of Honor presents its final pay-per-view event with The Elite, plus others who would follow them to AEW like SCU and Best Friends (who don't even make the main card). And they go out with a bang rather than a whimper, as the departing stars are the focus of essentially all the marquee matches. Cody ends his ROH career as it started two years earlier - at Final Battle against Jay Lethal, this time with the World Championship on the line. They aren't the main event though; that spot is reserved for Ladder War 7, with Tag Titles hanging in the balance as SCU defend against the Briscoes and the Young Bucks. Those bouts sit atop one of the strongest line-ups of the year. Jeff Cobb defends the TV Title against the outbound Hangman Page, Christopher Daniels fights for #1 contendership and to save his ROH career against Marty Scurll, Matt Taven defends his sham World Championship against arch rival Dalton Castle, Zack Sabre Jr makes a LONG-awaited ROH debut against fellow technical wizard Jonathan Gresham, Flip Gordon and Bully Ray's year-long feud comes to an end (hopefully) in an 'I Quit' Match, plus a four-way bout for the Women Of Honor Championship as well. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana are on commentary, live from the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, NY.

The consequences of King's failure to win the World Championship in Toronto are dire. After being in the main event competing for the top prize at the conclusion of the Global Wars Tour, he is now relegated to the opening match against an ROH Dojo graduate. Isom's spot in the card is a reward for a strong first year - including pinfall wins over the likes of Chris Daniels and Shane Taylor. Kenny gets on the microphone before the bell to call Eli 'a commercial for the ROH Dojo', then says the training system 'sucks'. 

King whacks Isom around the head with the microphone before the bell, meaning he has an immediate advantage. He kicks the youngster out of the ring and absolutely wipes him out with the corkscrew pescado too. Eli tries to fight back only for King to rebound off the apron and deck him with an elbow strike too. Isom does finally land a few strikes - which quickly put King into retreat. CRAZY SOMERSAULT PLANCHA by Eli! Sensibly King brings the match back into the ring and does his best to kick his young opponent's head off. Inverted suplex Stunner gets 2, with King looking to slow proceedings right down. Isom blocks the Royal Flush, creates some distance and delivers a jumping enzi to the neck. He rolls through Kenny's sunset flip spot out of the corner and rams him into the canvas with a short, dead-lift powerbomb. He drops King on his head again moments later with a back suplex..only for Kenny to shove the ref into the ropes to stop Eli hitting a springboard. One Night Stand nailed - and King has it won. He pulls Isom's shoulders up at 2 looking to humiliate the kid. Isom counters the Royal Flush into a small package for 2...into a Gory Bomb! Kenny is in trouble, so breaks out a new Michinoku Driver variant of the Royal Flush for the win at 09:00

Rating - ** - Scrappy and not needed on the card, beyond as an advertisement for the ROH training school as King said. But clearly ROH has big plans for King to be one of those talents that fills the void left by the departing AEW guys, so getting him on the Final Battle card and scoring an emphatic win isn't without relevance. Eli once again looked scrappy and athletic, raw but talented. The pressure is very much now on Delirious to transition him from 'hey, he's good for a Dojo kid' matches to providing something of actual substance for him to do - if he wants fans to invest in Eli's growth as a performer.

2018 has been a strong year for Hangman Page. He has established himself as an exceptional heavyweight wrestler in both ROH and NJPW, played his part in some absolutely crazy multi-man tags with the Young Bucks at the start of the year (including moonsaulting off the balcony in this very building at Manhattan Mayhem), pushed international stars like Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tetsuya Naito to their limits, went to the final of the International Cup Tournament at Honor Re-United - and ends the year demanding that ROH stop f*cking around and put him in a position to win some gold. I've spoken at length about how ROH blew it with the likes of Cedric Alexander, Donovan Dijak, Punishment Martinez, Lio Rush, ACH and more because Delirious is no good at transitioning exceptional upper midcard wrestlers into main event talents. Hangman is the one of the originals in that regard. This is a guy who has been around ROH regularly since 2012. A guy who Delirious has fluffed his lines with SO often he's had a 'break-out match' with Jay Briscoe about three times over and still hasn't really progressed up the card. Now he has his sights set on Cobb. Unlike Page, he showed up in ROH, terminated through the Top Prospect Tournament participants and grabbed the TV Title in his first 'official' match; emphatically crushing former champion Martinez so badly that he left the company. Cobb is unbeaten and seemingly unstoppable...but in Page he finds a man taller and with comparable strength or big man athleticism. This is the biggest test of Jeff's ROH career so far...

Page rushes Cobb from the bell, unloading a barrage of strikes designed to take the monster out early. The champ leaves the ring. SSP TACKLE OFF THE APRON...COUNTERED TO A SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR! There we saw the power of Cobb and back in the ring we see the speed - unleashing a spectacular running uppercut. Lionsault by Page, going aerial in an effort to escape Jeff's clutches. A slingshot senton across the ribs follows in a similar vein. It's too early for the moonsault though; Cobb explodes from the canvas to dropkick him whilst he perches on the top! DEAD-LIFT STALLING SUPERPLEX! ONE COUNT! STANDING MOONSAULT BY COBB! Red Star Press misses! Page capitalises with an IED in the corner, before scooping Cobb up for a fallaway slam. Obviously the crowd is super into Page as a BTE cast-member, and the place goes nuts as he nips up after that. He lands an elbow suicida up the aisle. HANGMAN-SAULT TO THE FLOOR! Red Star Press back into the ring. ONE COUNT for Cobb! RED STAR PRESS AGAIN! And still Jeff kicks out. These two pause for breath as we approach ten minutes...then go right back to beating the sh*t out of each other. Athletic-Plex blocked...SIT-OUT PILEDRIVER INSTEAD! Page kicks out at 2! SUPERKICK! Roaring elbow too, but not only does Jeff refuse to go down he actually blasts him with a headbutt. Buckshot Lariat flips Cobb in the air! Rite Of Passage blocked...F-5 BY COBB! Tour Of The Islands attempted only for Page to roll through into a desperately close crucifix pin. Buckshot Lariat COUNTERED TO TOUR OF THE ISLANDS! TOUR OF THE ISLANDS A SECOND TIME! Cobb retains in an explosive 13:31

Rating - **** - Up there with some of the most memorable TV Championship matches of all time. This is the kind of match Cobb specialises in, so it is a little strange that ROH have had him for months yet it feels like this is the first time they've really cut him loose. He looked extremely motivated, as did his opponent. Page is no stranger to spinning his wheels in ROH whilst never really being allowed to show his full potential. Most of his ROH career falls into that category, so I'm really glad they gave him the opportunity to do something special on his way out. There wasn't anything complex about this - big, strong boys trying knock the other one out as quickly as possible. They smartly established that Cobb was the stronger, but Page had the smarts and speed to threaten him, then had a lot of fun playing with that premise. A great match between opponents with real chemistry, a fitting (on-screen) farewell to Hangman, who busts his ass to put Cobb over on the way out. If ROH is to survive the AEW talent defections then letting Cobb do this more often is essential in 2019.

Mandy Leon joins commentary. Sumie has beaten all three of these women in 2018. She scored a huge upset win over Klein at Supercard Of Honor in the finals of the tournament to crown the first champion, successfully defended the title against Madison on TV and went over Karen in a Proving Ground Match over the summer too. Her unlikely reign has seen her defeat challengers from the US, Japan, Australia and the UK, sitting atop the division like a proud mother. But whilst her opponents might respect her, they all want to beat her. Kelly is extremely frustrated that she has never received a rematch from Supercard Of Honor; a loss which sent her into a tailspin, sidetracked in a dispute with Deonna Purrazzo...and only an excursion with Stardom was able to restore her focus. Karen is the outsider; lacking in experience...but she has a huge personality and went down in the record books as the first female talent to ever beat Klein. That leaves Rayne; a veteran like Sumie, enjoying a career renaissance in 2018 and now finding a permanent home in WOH. So many times during this run it has felt like the night Sakai drops the belt...yet she's always found a way to retain. Can she pull it out again and roll her reign on into a new year? This is under elimination rules.

Kelly gets the party started by popping Rayne in the mouth. Sakai wipes Klein out with a running dropkick then sends Karen to the floor with a back suplex as well. MISSILE DROPKICK OFF THE APRON from Sakai to Klein, whilst on the other side Madison wipes out Karen with a flying crossbody to the floor as well. Back in the ring Rayne tries to go into that routine where she goes for rapid-fire pinfalls...but since she does that in every match Sumie has it scouted and counters with a rear naked choke - which Q rushes in to break. DOUBLE Spring Roll from Karen to Madison and Sumie! Klein bundles back in and breaks up the party with some pretty rough treatment on all three opponents. Kelly and Karen form an alliance to beat on Rayne in the corner after Klein almost KO's Sumie by throwing her into the barricades. It breaks down quickly after Q accidentally clocks the Gatekeeper with a mafia kick though. Crucifix Driver by Madison for 2, but then she and Karen charge over to the corner trying to stop Sakai diving in. Klein returns and powerbombs them both off the top, only for Sakai to refuse to play ball on a Tower Of Doom and in turn blast Kelly with a missile dropkick. Full nelson slam from Q to Klein! Spring Roll blocked into the K-Power! Kelly eliminates Karen at 06:53. Rayne blocks the same move and hits a tornado DDT, with Sakai waiting in the wings to pounce on her as soon as she gets up. Ace Crusher from Madison to the champ gets 2. BARBIE CRUSHER! Sumie kicks out again! Smash Mouth in response by Sakai...but then Kelly kicks her in the head and pins Rayne in her place. Madison is eliminated at 08:52. Kelly and Sumie are the final two in a repeat of the WOH Title Tournament finals at Supercard Of Honor. They unleash a strike exchange which is more potent and emotive than anything they did on that night in New Orleans...ended by Sumie judo throwing Kelly to the mat and putting her in a cross armbreaker. Klein grits her teeth and tries to spinebuster her way free...but then has to dive into the ropes when Sumie refuses to let go. Smash Mouth nailed...for 2. Sumie goes for a running rana only to see it countered into an emphatic powerbomb. K-Power, only for Sakai to kick out as well. Klein is furious so muscles the champion up to the top rope. AVALANCHE K-POWER! Kelly is the new champion at 13:39

Rating - *** - This entire match felt like a fitting summary of Sumie's WOH Title reign. It was better than you might have expected, but felt all wrong, looked really awkward at times and ends up where we should have been months ago back in New Orleans - with Kelly Klein as the champion. I've enjoyed Sumie's run more than I thought. For a woman who made her ROH debut in the Murphy Rec days sixteen years ago, she has acted as a motherly figurehead for a division which has struggled to gain focus or retain its best talent. But ROH spent two years building Kelly Klein up. If they weren't going to put the belt on Tenille Dashwood (the biggest 'name') back at Supercard, it simply had to be her. She is now the champion, getting there with a dominant performance which saw her pin all three opponents. Yes she was clumsy at times, but she did plenty of good things as well - and was really the only woman getting any kind of reaction out of the New York crowd. It felt like ROH wanted an 'All In' women's fourway vibe - understandably so since Tessa Blanchard, Chelsea Green, Madison Rayne and Britt Baker crushed it. But the elimination rules prevented that from happening. For the first time in 2018 they gave a women's match a half-decent time allowance, but promptly ruined it by having them bounce from one fall to the next. There were some neat spots and I definitely enjoyed this and it was solid enough - but nothing I saw here made me feel like this was a launching pad for bigger things in the Women Of Honor division in 2019.

Kelly completes an uncomfortable babyface turn by offering a handshake and hugging Sumie. 

Jonathan Gresham talks about earning his spot as one of the best 'pure professional wrestlers' in the world; grafting from the bottom to the top in every promotion he has worked for. To that end he can't wait to face Zack Sabre Jr tonight and prove how good The Octopus truly is.

Gresh's trilogy of matches with Jay Lethal in 2018 elevated his status within ROH substantially. He may have lost all three, but the calibre of performance ensured he progressed from respected, undercard outlier to being respected as one of the best wrestlers in the company. He has formed a solid team with Lethal, called for the return of the Pure Title and stated his ambition to be respected as the best pure professional wrestler in the world. But in laying out those big statements, he drew the attention of ZSJ. Zack is beloved and respected as one of the best wrestlers on the planet today. From the UK and Europe, to Evolve, WWE and more in the US, then New Japan as well his astonishing skill has seen him earn rave reviews and delivering classic matches wherever he goes. He finally makes his long-awaited ROH debut tonight, with a reputation that precedes him. After a year of great performances that end in defeat, can Gresham end 2018 with a win over one of the most feared technicians in the sport?

Gresh has new entrance music that I really like. Zack slaps Gresham in his face during his entrance which I love. The Octopus looks PUMPED, entirely in contrast with the smirking nonchalance of Sabre. Even when Gresham gets the better of the opening mat exchange Zack simply looks him in the eyes, slaps him again then starts making fun of his height. ZSJ looks to grab an arm like always, forcing Jonathan to work extremely hard to protect himself. The long limbs of the Englishman work to his advantage; helping him to repeatedly counter Gresham's attacks and tie him up on the canvas. But on the flip side, some of Gresh's countering is utterly enthralling too. Eventually they start slapping the sh*t out of each other WHILST trading holds! Gresham flips out of an attempted bow and arrow stretch into the first substantial nearfall of the match which really pisses Zack off. He starts PELTING The Octopus with European uppercuts...until Jon starts going after the legs to take him off his feet and stop him striking. Of all things, Sabre battles out and tries to put Gresham into an Octopus Stretch. He settles for an abdominal stretch instead, which drives the American grappler into the ropes. Once again ZSJ batters his opponent with stiff strikes...and when Gresh tries to return fire he simply catches his arm and STOMPS it into the ground. PALM STRIKE DUEL! BRUTAL SLAPS BY ZACK! NO SOLD! GERMAN SUPLEX BY GRESHAM! RUNNING ELBOW for 2! Half crab by Jon, countered to a triangle choke by Zack. Gresham escapes and hits a running punt to the arm. OCTOPUS STRETCH! COUNTERED to an Anklelock...oh but Gresham has that scouted and rolls straight through into his own anklelock! PK gets 2 for Sabre. He tries a second...and SLAPS THE SH*T out of Gresh when he catches the foot. QUEBRADA/KNEE DROP TO THE ARM by Gresham! Bridging roll-up blocked by Zack...into a NO-HANDS bridging roll-up of his own! ZSJ wins at 11:50

Rating - **** - I don't think anyone in ROH needs telling that, whenever they have the opportunity, they absolutely should get Zack Sabre Jr on their shows. His arrival is long overdue, thanks in no small part to his long-standing relationship with the WWN promotions even whilst working with NJPW. And he lived up to all the hype with this performance. In a strange way this felt like nothing more than their version of a spotfest to these guys. They weren't given endless amounts of time, so worked a rapid-fire exhibition of their skillsets which was both fascinating to watch, but also well crafted and paced to ensure the tension and drama continually escalated. At this stage it felt like Zack might be available to ROH more regularly in 2019, so this felt like a clever debut whilst holding plenty back to protect him as the kind of part-time/marquee attraction ROH would need to withstand the loss of The Elite. Sadly it didn't work out like that, with just a handful of matches for him in ROH the following year...

There has been tension between these two men for most of the year. It started because Taven wanted the World Championship which Dalton held. He was scheduled to get his opportunity in Lowell during the War Of The Worlds Tour...only for Castle's extensive injury list to strike him down. Matt was furious and has never gotten over the denial of a 1-on-1 title match. When he finally did get his shot - on television along with Cody and Jay Lethal - he scored a three-count which went unseen by the official...in a match which Lethal ultimately won to become champion. Taven headed to Mexico, returning with a new hairstyle, even worse attitude and a purple belt which he claims makes him the 'Real World Champion'...but his return coincided with Dalton's return from the injury list as well. They clashed in Philadelphia; skirmishes which ended with The Kingdom laying out Dalton and his Boys. Dalton wants a shot at the World Title so feels like he needs to go through Taven in order to earn it...

TK appears in the ring to make Bobby Cruise introduce Taven as the 'Real World Champion', immediately making it obvious that Marseglia will be coming out from under the ring later. Taven gets a full Okada-esque ticker-tape entrance and confirms that he is putting his purple title on the line. In a polar opposite scene to Gresham and ZSJ, this is an utter brawl from the bell. Castle's back is clearly bothering him...but The Boys are on hand to catch him when Matt tries to knock him off the apron with Kick Of The King. Leg-capture back suplex by Castle as he returns to the ring! O'Ryan helps Taven out by moving him as Castle charges for another attack, and Matt capitalises with a tope suicida. AIR TAVEN...BUT DALTON MOVES! TAVEN EATS THE F*CKING GUARDRAIL! He almost cut himself in half with that landing! Somehow he gets up...so Dalton knocks him down again with a diving knee off the apron. HIPTOSS ONTO THE ENTRANCE STEPS by Taven! With his own ribs and back decimated by that dive, he makes a clear decision to go after Castle's ailing back with that move. He returns to the ring looking to recover somewhat, leaving TK to return Dalton a little later. Backbreakers and Irish whips to the turnbuckles soon follow; each one bringing a look of pain to Castle's face that is hard to watch. He dishes out a desperate suplex but goes down in a heap clutching at his back again...leaving Taven to take advantage with a DDT. Climax blocked with knees to the ribs, then a sliding DDT by the former World Champion! Before he can capitalise O'Ryan appears on the apron to cheap-shot him...so The Boys start attacking him. Double tope suicida from The Boys to TK! Balloons appear from under the ring, heralding Vinny Marseglia's predictable appearance. He gives The Boys a double inverted DDT on the floor...and drags them away under the ring as he departs. As referee Paul Turner is completely distracted Taven is free to rattle Castle's skull with the purple title belt for 2. Just The Tip nailed too, but he is too injured and slow to get up top before Castle is on him with knees to the head. Tiger feint headscissors from the apron top the floor on Taven, followed by a lariat on TK. BANG-A-RANG INTO THE RINGPOST! Back in the ring he somehow muscles Taven into a gutwrench powerbomb...and the pin is only broken because O'Ryan THROWS one of the unconscious Boys at Dalton. The ref throws TK out as Dalton sets up Bang-A-Rang. Sadly for him Taven lands basically in the ropes so easily breaks the pin. Bang-A-Rang countered with Just The Tip. Climax wins it for Taven at 15:48

Rating - *** - I liked this more than a 3* rating would suggest and contemplated going higher on my rating. I didn't because there wound up being a little too much outside interference for my taste, and the finish felt a little flat for some reason (after the match before it felt very heated). I really should say that Taven is lucky to be alive after landing on the guardrails with that dive early on, it was an astoundingly bad fall. Putting aside all the overbooking, at its core Taven and Dalton put on a really solid, high energy brawl which took the show in a completely different direction to the technical brilliance of Gresham/ZSJ. They took a number of huge bumps, they produced some smart working of the various injuries they'd sustained...and showed they didn't actually need all the silliness from TK, Marseglia and The Boys to get over.

As it stands this is Daniels' final ROH match. SoCal Uncensored's poor attitude led to COO Joe Koff deciding that he was going to release them all when their contracts expired after Final Battle 2018. It has meant that the trio have spent the year fighting for leverage and looking for a way to keep their jobs. Kazarian and Sky seem to have found it, with new contract offers made after winning the ROH Tag Championships from the Briscoes. It leaves Daniels alone on the brink of unemployment, despite appearing to change his ways and SCU becoming one of the most over gimmicks on the roster. His last chance to save his job is here and now. He made it to the final two of Survival Of The Fittest 2018 before being defeated by The Villain. But Marty saw the desperation in Daniels' eyes as they exchanged heated words in the locker rooms afterwards. It led to Scurll agreeing to put his SOTF title shot on the line this evening - the winner here gets the guaranteed ROH Championship match. But for Daniels it represents more; he knows that Koff won't be able to release him whilst he has a shot at the title, so needs nothing less than a win to save his job.

Marty exudes confidence in front of an adoring crowd, but when he tries to make fun of the veteran we see Daniels take him to ground repeatedly. Daniels has a counter to everything he tries; a totally unfamiliar position for the British worker who is used to being technically superior to his opponents. The Fallen Angel begins to target the back and ribs, which so much of his signature offence targets. Scurll keeps him bay with a European uppercut...only for Daniels to drop him rib-first on the apron then hit the ARABIAN PRESS to the floor. Marty hides behind Todd Sinclair to get a break before crotching Daniels in the corner and levelling him with a superplex. Superkick from the Apron next as Daniels starts to feel the neck injury the Briscoes inflicted on TV. It gets worse when Scurll repeatedly blasts him into the guardrails too. Inside the ring he starts wrenching the injured neck around the ropes before delivering a swinging neckbreaker - both of which continue this prolonged set-up for the Chickenwing. MISSILE DROPKICK TO THE NECK gets 2. HALF NELSON SUPLEX! NO SOLD! BLUE THUNDER DRIVER! Both men go down! Daniels is up first with the running STO to put Marty on his back again, and follows it with a crushing gourdbuster for 2. Lionsault gets 2 as well whilst doing more damage to Scurll's ribs. He tries to do Marty's 'finger snap' spot on him, only for Scurll to counter with Just Kidding. ROARING ELBOW to the neck! Angel's Wings blocked...but so is Graduation, into the same pinfall counter that Daniels was pinned by against Eli Isom on this same building! PACKAGE PILEDRIVER drops Daniels on his head! Chickenwing COUNTERED to a flipping pin. SPICY DROP BY DANIELS! Scurll kicks out! Angel's Wings COUNTERED TO A JUMPING TOMBSTONE! UNDERTAKER PIN...GETS 2! FINGER SNAP! Daniels tries to grab the ropes to block the Chickenwing...so Marty snaps that finger too! Daniels can't even clasp the hands to hit the Angel's Wings now. OPEN-HANDED ANGEL'S WINGS GETS 2! BEST MOONSAULT EVER GETS KNEES! Graduation blocked...Black Superkick by Marty. STOMPS TO THE NECK! GRADUATION! GETS 2! NECK STOMPS! CHICKENWING! DANIELS TAPS! Scurll is the winner at 17:34

Rating - ****1/2 - I knew this would be a good match...I hadn't expected an absolute classic though. Christopher Daniels exits ROH as he came in, putting on a stellar match in front of a red hot crowd. It was probably Marty's singles match since the Ospreay TV Title Match back during his debut weekend as well. Unlike Taven/Castle, this was brilliant because they cut out all the bullsh*t and let it all hang out in a WRESTLING match; the kind of thing ROH used to be about. Daniels was utterly superb (as he always is) - his performance as the veteran fighting to save his career was a thing of beauty. He dominated the early exchanges, he attacked Scurll's midsection as he has done to so many opponents in his long career to set-up the BME or Angel's Wings. But at nearly 50 years of age he didn't have enough gas in the tank to best The Villain...and as Marty attacked, the way Daniels sold for him was peerless. Scurll weathered the early storm, endured his injuries and brutally attacked the problem neck - which Daniels has spent his whole career battling and just got hurt again on television. He wasn't just villainous, he was ruthless - dumping Daniels on his head time after time, stomping and striking at the neck until the ROH founding father could take no more. Daniels gave it everything he had, even busting out the finishing move of the mysterious, enigmatic, hot and spicy Curry Man as well...but had to give up when all hope was lost. In an era where ROH really enjoy overbooking the sh*t out of big matches - this was a refreshing change of pace and a quite stunning effort from both men. It ensures Daniels, one of the most influential performers in the history of Ring Of Honor, goes out in the proper way. At 50 years old, with AEW waiting in the wings to give him what appears to be one last contract...it is entirely probable this will stand as the great man's last ever ROH bout. For that reason alone this really resonated with me - and stayed with me long after I'd finished watching the show.

Ian and Colt adopt super-serious, super-sombre tones and talk about Chris Daniels as if it is the end of his career. He gets a standing ovation and a thunderous 'Thank You Daniels' chant from the Hammerstein and it feels like a genuinely touching moment - even if it clearly wasn't the end of his career. Bully Ray ends it by running in and giving Daniels one of his extra-creepy prolonged low blows. I'm literally too bored and fed up of watching this guy on ROH shows to even rant about it by this point...

Towards the end of 2017 it felt like Bully Ray was about to retire. He gave a succession of apparent farewell speeches on the Global Wars Tour and competed in what was thought to be his final match, teaming with long-time friend Tommy Dreamer against the Briscoes last year at Final Battle. Set up with a comfortable 'ROH Enforcer' role, he appeared to settle into a life outside of the ring...until Supercard Of Honor. Cheeseburger needed a partner and begged him for 'one more match', which Bubba took as a sign of disrespect so violently attacked him. Flip was someone from the locker room who took offence to Bully's actions and stood up to him...making him a target from that point on. Their feud has spanned most of the year and has been far from pretty. Flip looked poised to become a huge star in 2018, but instead has been sidelined carrying a relic from ECW around. Highlights include a tables match (also featuring Colt Cabana) at Death Before Dishonor (which Flip won but got screwed out of), Flip enlisting fellow ECW alumni The Sandman in the old ECW Arena...only for Bubba to then use Sandman's own Singapore Cane for a brutal, bloody caning sequence which had to be censored on television and moved to Honor Club. Bully wants to put flashy 'young boys' like Gordon out of ROH for good, whilst Flip wants to beat some respect into the old-timer and FINALLY move on...

After disposing of Daniels, Bubba calls out Gordon to get things started...and in scenes reminiscent of Bully at Final Battle 2017 - Flip comes out through the balconies in the crowd. Dressed in army fatigues and waving a US flag, he springboards in and levels Ray with a Superkick. Bully leaves the ring with Gordon in hot pursuit. VAN DAMINATOR against the guardrail! Clearly it is too early for Bubba to quit though; he comes back by raking the eyes and beating on Flip with a (full) trash can. Ian brings our attention to Flip's girlfriend in the front row...as Bully tries to put him through a table right in front of her. Gordon escapes, only for Bully to back drop him over the top rope to the floor. He find a length of metal chain and belts Gordon between the eyes with it. So confident of victory, Bully starts hurling abuse at Cary Silkin...so Bobby Cruise stands up for him! Bully shoves Bobby into the guardrails, so now Todd Sinclair wants a piece of him! Bubba shoves Todd over as well then starts threatening Cary with a kendo stick! CHRIS DANIELS DIVES IN FRONT OF CARY AND TAKES THE KENDO STICK SHOT! He just 'took a bullet' for Cary! A bloody Flip makes a save with a pescado...but immediately afterwards Bully gives him a back body drop over the table to the hard floor behind! Now Bully grabs Flip's girlfriend! He threatens to put her through the table unless Flip quits! CARY SAVES WITH THE KENDO STICK! Bully's look of absolute fury at that is one of the highlights of his entire ROH run. Flip's girlfriend rescues Cary with a low blow, as Gordon arms himself with his US flag. SPRINGBOARD FLAG SHOT TO THE SKULL! KENDO STICK CROSSFACE! Silas Young runs in now and saves Bully, dropping Flip with Misery. With both combatants down, Silas douses a table in lighter fluid. Cheeseburger runs in for a failed save attempt but gets laid out with Misery as well. Colt Cabana leaves commentary next and destroys Silas with a steel chair. This is totally mental! Cabana gets tossed after a low blow, so Silas can light the table on fire. The lights go out...THE SANDMAN IS HERE! Singapore Cane to Silas! BEER CAN TO HIS OWN HEAD! Star Spangled Stunner by Flip! Sandman hands him the cane so he can get payback for the ECW Arena and start flogging the sh*t out of him! Bully quits at 14:25

Rating - *** - That was batsh*t crazy. I fully expected to hate this, and as good as it ended up being it still in no way justifies derailing a year of Flip's career for. What I hadn't anticipated was how they'd steer into the skid and embrace the absolute ridiculousness of the whole angle. It became a classic hardcore car crash as one character after another made an appearance. Todd, Cary, Bobby, Cabana, Silas, Cheeseburger, Flip's girlfriend and of course The Sandman. The finish, bouncing off the Philadelphia caning angle, complete with another Sandman appearance, was really good and a fitting way to end this feud. Clearly it was completely silly - but in the same sense that Vince vs Shane at WrestleMania 17 or Vince vs Hogan at WrestleMania 19 were. Bully should have left ROH after he had a really good match with the Briscoes last year. He somehow eeked another year of paychecks out of this company - but this really should have been his swansong...it would have been a decent end to run.

The orange branding/video package that would turn out to be for Lifeblood plays, then Caprice Coleman replaces Colt Cabana at the announce table as the ring is cleared ahead of our double main event. (If, like me, you prefer to watch on physical media, this is where you'll have switched to the second DVD in this 2-disc set). 

Two years ago Cody debuted in ROH at Final Battle 2016. In what would come to be known as a 'blueprint' for how to become successful after a WWE release, Cody priced himself competitively and marketed himself superbly...with a dream list of opponents and a desire to wrestle on major shows all over the world. He showed his 'true colours' on that first night and defeated ROH's 'Franchise', Jay Lethal, with a low blow. It sparked a feud which climaxed at Supercard Of Honor 11 in a memorable Texas Bullrope Match, but they have remained rivals ever since. Cody captured the World Title at Best In The World 2017, holding it until Final Battle 2017 when he - somewhat surprisingly - lost it to Dalton Castle. He remains yet to receive a 1-on-1 rematch, unsuccessfully challenging for the belt in a triple threat alongside his Bullet Club stable-mate Marty Scurll...then again on television when he, Matt Taven and Jay Lethal challenged Castle. That would be the night that Lethal regained the belt. It put these two men on a collision course that Cody has promised will 'change the face of professional wrestling'. Two years after he debuted against Lethal, one year after he lost the World Championship...will Cody return to Final Battle, regain the top prize in ROH and shape the company in his own image? Or will ROH's established 'Franchise' retain his place at the summit...and leave the career of the American Nightmare (and the rest of The Elite) at a crossroads?

Cody starts with an attempt to turn heel on his adoring fans, saying he doesn't love them, refuses to work the MSG show and telling them to 'kiss [his] ass'. It doesn't really work. The two men butt heads in some frenetic mat work, with neither able to get close to applying their signature submission hold. Cody (who has been nursing a knee injury which caused him to miss Global Wars Toronto) goes down clutching his knee. Todd Sinclair shows some concern and pulls Lethal away...after which Rhodes predictably hops up and tries to punch the champ's lights out. He then leaves the ring to parade around and kill time working the crowd; a staple of his ROH career. Lethal wearily leans on the ropes, tired of the whole act...before dropkicking him in the knee and slamming him on the floor. Cody blocks the Lethal Combination into a powerslam and starts attacking Jay's arm. Disaster Kick ducked, allowing Lethal to chop-block the bad knee with his good arm! The challenger tries to leave so Lethal starts absolutely battering it into the ring apron and ringpost. He then props the exposed knee up against the post and delivers a running dropkick straight to it. Soon Rhodes can barely stand, but fights to block the Figure 4 Leglock. Brandi Rhodes appears on the apron trying to help her husband! With Todd diving for cover after almost eating a Superkick, Brandi runs in and takes Lethal out with a Spear (using her 'bionic shoulder'). CROSS RHODES! Lethal kicks out, with Ian on commentary talking about Cody wanting to 'take the belt to Jacksonville'. Dropkick to the knee again by Jay as he refuses to accept defeat. He props Cody in the corner and teases Shattered Dreams. Todd Sinclair stops him so he doesn't have to disqualify him...prompting Brandi to run in with another Spear. This time Jay leapfrogs it and watches as she takes out her own husband. Lethal stops Todd from ending the match with a DQ there too! LETHAL INJECTION...CODY MOVES SO HE TAKES OUT BRANDI! CROSS RHODES AGAIN! FOR 2! Cody doesn't even stop to check on his wife, instead marching over to put Lethal in the Figure 4 Leglock! At 16:59 the bell rings...but only because Hangman Page has snuck to ringside and is trying to help Cody pull a Montreal on Lethal! Todd Sinclair (busy night for him) makes it clear the match isn't over, as Jay grabs Cody and drops him with Cross Rhodes - his own finisher - for 2. Hail To The King GETS KNEES! Cody got those knees into the arm he worked earlier, but clearly hurt himself in the process and Lethal clobbers him over the top rope. Tope Hexology! Cody gets bored of standing there and getting mangled into the rails...so walks back into the ring and hits DIN'S FIRE for 2! Both men are exhausted; Cody yelling at Lethal and telling him to get back up. They swing punches until Todd accidentally gets socked. Lethal takes the opportunity to grab the World Title belt and SMASH CODY IN THE KNEE! He does a Stardust pose and starts repeatedly kicking Cody in the head! LETHAL INJECTION! MORE SUPERKICKS TO THE FACE! FIGURE 4 LEGLOCK! CODY TAPS! Lethal retains the title at 23:45

Rating - *** - More grand, overblown and exciting than their Final Battle 2016 match, but it didn't live up to the levels of aggression and fire that they produced at Supercard Of Honor 2017. Buried under layers of overbooking and comedy there was a REALLY good match here. Lethal trying to attack Cody's knee injury; Cody using all his cunning and deviousness to get ahead - they were great anchors to build the action around. By this point a lot of the AEW trademarking had been leaked so it was already pretty clear what the next step was going to be for The Elite...therefore you had the extra drama of Cody trying to 'take the belt with him' too (or alternatively take the belt and rebuild ROH in his own image - a spin on the rumour that the Bucks and Cody wanted control of creative if they were to re-sign with ROH). This match did go far longer than it needed to though and they really got lost in the middle. The stuff involving Brandi and her 'bionic shoulder' was pretty weak (ugly bump on the Lethal Injection aside), the spot with Hangman trying to recreate the Survivor Series screwjob fell totally flat, and the endless tope suicida sequence didn't land with most of the audience either. BUT, they recovered with a great finish. I rarely like ref-bumps, however it was a wonderful parallel of Final Battle 2016 to see Lethal cheating this time; taking the belt to Cody's knee. His pre-match interviews painted him as a man completely tired of Cody, Bullet Club, The Elite and their entire gimmick. He outright stated he doesn't think Cody belongs in ROH so his deranged onslaught at the end - cheating then repeatedly trying to kick his head off - was a stunning pay-off to two years of frustration at being eclipsed by Cody and his crew. Having Cody tap out, ending his ROH run by physically giving up and conceding that Jay Lethal is The Franchise, and the man to take ROH into 2019, was a moment of real significance (and generosity by Cody, whom I'm certain could have refused if he didn't want to do it).

Marty Scurll interrupts Jay Lethal's celebrations, whilst on the stage appears NWA Champion Nick Aldis and Kamille. The Villain gets in Lethal's face, whilst Aldis ominously stares them both down. 

This is officially 'Ladder War 7'. meaning Bucks/Hardyz from Supercard Of Honor 11 and SCU vs Bucks/Flip from Supercard Of Honor 12 were only 'Ladder Matches'. These three teams have been at each other in one form or another all year. We started 2018 with SCU forming and waging a violent war on the Young Bucks and Adam Page which saw them capture the Six-Man Championships from them (then defend them in the aforementioned crazy Ladder Match in New Orleans). The Briscoes defeated the Motor City Machine Guns to become Tag Champions at the 16th Anniversary, putting them on a collision course with long-time rivals the Young Bucks for Best In The World. That wound up being a classic (arguably the best Briscoes/Bucks match ever) and saw Jay and Mark retain. With SCU desperate for leverage to prevent Joe Koff from firing them, The Addiction (Kaz and Daniels) put targets on the Briscoes for Death Before Dishonor...but again Jay and Mark were victorious. However, before that show we saw some magic at All In. Kazarian and Sky defeated the Briscoes in a non-title bout on the 'Zero Hour' pre-show...proving they had what it takes to beat them. When the Briscoes injured Daniels (with a Jay Driller on the entrance ramp), Sky took his place in a scheduled triple threat title defence on TV (also including the Bucks)...and they won the belts! A #1 contenders match between the Briscoes and the Bucks dissolved into chair swinging chaos, prompting SCU to put it all on the line and challenge them to Ladder War 7. The issues between these three teams ends tonight - and with rumours swirling about the futures of multiple participants here, this may well be the last time they are all in the ring together.

The Briscoes refuse to start, instead prowling the ringside area and throwing chairs around. They eventually try to mug Nick with a chair...only for Matt to dropkick it into Mark's face! Slinghot rana to the floor from Kaz to Matt, WHO FLIPS INTO A SPEAR on Briscoe! ACE CRUSHER ON THE APRON from Scorpio to Nick! Blockbuster off the apron by Mark! CORKSCREW SENTON off the apron by Matt! F*cking hell the match is barely two minutes old! DOUBLE STOMP THROUGH A TABLE from Jay to Sky! Mark patrols the ring beating on Matt and Frankie with a chair, joined by his brother who is armed with a trash can. Kazarian is bleeding, Nick is out cold in the aisle...as Mark goes Terry Funk with a ladder around his head. LADDER DOUBLE SUPERKICK by the Bucks! Matt isn't satisfied and picks Jay up for a brutal powerbomb through a ladder as well. Worst Case Scenario on Scorpio, then the signature backflip/double dropkick combo on the bloody Kaz. SCU join forces and beat on Matt Jackson in the corner before making the first run for the belts. The Young Bucks haul them down...SPEAR THROUGH THE LADDER BY MATT! Nick goes up the ladder and gets finger tips on the gold, and when he is pulled down he joins his brother with more Superkicks. SPRINGBOARD CODEBREAKER OFF THE LADDER from Frankie to Nick! He goes after the belts, JUMPS OVER a chair thrown at him by Jay Briscoe...only to land with a chair thrown by Mark clanging into his skull instead. URINAGE THROUGH A LADDER from Mark to Nick! Jay then back body drops Kazarian at a ladder, causing him to land horrendously on his leg. Scorpio rescues his partner by throwing Jay head-first through a chair and double stomping onto Mark's back. TOPE ATOMICO TO THE FLOOR! ROPE RUN TWISTING MOONSAULT BY NICK! Matt thinks about a dive...only for Jay to BACK BODY DROP HIM THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR! Jay is covered in blood as well now, but it doesn't stop him pulling out a staple gun. His brother eats the Jerry Lynn legdrop on the ropes by Kaz. SLINGSHOT CUTTER THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR BY FRANKIE! Kazarian's whole leg is bruised after that. In the ring Matt Jackson is threatening Jay with a f*cking sledgehammer! SUPERKICK INSTEAD! POP-UP SPEAR on Scorpio! Sky fights back and hits a JUMPING SUPER RANA THROUGH A LADDER on Nick. He tries to retrieve the same ladder to go for the belts...only for Matt to sacrifice his own body by diving from the top rope to the floor, through the ladder causing it to see-saw right into Sky's face! Matt goes for the ladder but gets a chair into his bad back by Jay. CHAIR BACKBREAKER BY JAY! Nick help his brother out with the slingshot X-Factor on a chair...but he then misses his moonsault off the apron and eats the ASSISTED TORNADO DDT ON THE FLOOR by SCU! They get no time to celebrate either because Mark throws a ladder into their faces. He heads up a ladder, and remains there as the Bucks line up his brother. MELTZER DRIVER COUNTERED WITH AN ACE CRUSHED OFF THE LADDER! JAY DRILLER ON MATT! Jay Briscoe is an absolute mess by the way - bringing a table into the ring as his brother sets up an elevated ladder between the turnbuckles and another ladder in the middle. It takes long enough that Kazarian can recover and start bashing them with chairs. STYLES CLASH ON A CHAIR BY KAZ! He grabs the belts...but Mark bites his bloody head to stop him! FRANKIE THROWS HIM THROUGH THE HANGING LADDER! Nick climbs up after Kaz and touches the belts now. JAY SHOVES HIM OFF THE LADDER THROUGH A F*CKING TABLE ON THE FLOOR! It's down to Jay and Frankie! Mark throws a chair into Frankie's head from the floor! HE FALLS THROUGH A TABLE! JAY GRABS THE BELTS! Briscoes win in an insane 22:31

Rating - ****1/2 - When they were taking turns trying to smear each other's brains all over the floor of the Hammerstein in the first ninety seconds you knew this was going to be crazy. It wasn't quite the masterpiece that was Bucks/Addiction/MCMG in Ladder War 6, it wasn't the emotionally draining and guttural Steen/Generico Ladder War 4, it didn't quite have the sheer drama of Steen-erico/Wolves at Ladder War 2 and it wasn't the visceral, unhinged carnage of Briscoes/Steen-erico in Ladder War 1. However, in terms of  'bang for your buck', or sheer number of insane, car crash spots per minute this was one of the wildest of them all. Blood was spilled, bodies were broken, the four men who were leaving the company this weekend took frankly INSANE risks...building to a frantic conclusion where body after body went flying off ladders and through tables. What really blew me away was how much of this LOOKED perfect. Painful as f*ck, but under the most intense and extreme circumstances these guys were all SO good that they barely missed a step as they rattled through one chaotically elaborate sequence after another. A fine way for the Bucks to leave ROH (their farewell match was a dark match exclusively for Honor Club), and an emphatic way to once again crown the Briscoes as the undisputed kings of ROH's tag division as they lead the promotion into yet another new era. In a year that has seen Ring Of Honor deliver some absolutely outstanding spot-fest matches, this was one of the very best...

Tape Rating - **** - Once again a PPV-level show for ROH in 2018 delivers a real home-run. It wasn't perfect, but it provided an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, a variety of matches, a fitting farewell for several of the biggest names in the history of Ring Of Honor...and acts as a scintillating conclusion to 'The Elite era'. Adam Page, Cody and the Bucks went out on their swords, whipping crowds into a frenzy whilst putting acts that ROH will prominently feature in 2019 over hard. It was a show so good that even the Bully Ray match is well worth going out of your way to see (as an overbooked, sports-entertainment style piece of theatre), a show which was almost stolen by Christopher Daniels in his emotional final ROH match...and ultimately a show which sits as essential viewing for Ring Of Honor fans. As I've said multiple times this year I will be entirely upfront in my criticism of ROH's crushingly corporate presentation and poor booking...but you absolutely have to give them credit for how they have turned round the 'major show experience' in 2018. After 2017 gave us multiple PPV main event busts (Cody/Daniels and Cody/Suzuki particularly stick in my mind), the sheer quality of the Anniversary Show, Supercard, Best In The World, Death Before Dishonor and Final Battle are all to be commended. Now 2019 looms; MSG is on the horizon, along with a brand new era as ROH looks to cope without almost all of their most over acts...

3) Jeff Cobb vs Adam Page (****)

2) Marty Scurll vs Christopher Daniels (****1/2)

1) Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Young Bucks (****1/2)