ROH 495 - Road To G1 Supercard: Dallas - 24th January 2019

I'm not entirely clear how this triple-shot weekend of shows in Texas, in late January, will help set the scene for G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden in early April - especially with the 17th Anniversary PPV scheduled before then too. But it does emphasise what a momentous occasion running MSG will be and sets up a roster-wide battle for spots and ranking points to cement a coveted spot on the ROH/NJPW super-show. This weekend features the 2019 Tag Wars Tournament, with twelve teams competing over three days for #1 contendership to the Tag Titles (as well as a spot in the NWA Crockett Cup). Lifeblood (who at this point haven't even had their debuted aired on television yet) have two teams in the field, Fin-Juice and Haskins/Williams. They are joined by Marseglia and O'Ryan of The Kingdom, Brody and PCO of Villain Enterprises, The Bouncers, The Boys, Shinobi Shadow Squad (Isom and Burger), Coast 2 Coast, an NJPW LA Dojo Young Lion duo, World Champion Jay Lethal and his partner Jon Gresham, Colt Cabana and Willie Mack (who replaces the injured Flip Gordon), with Kenny King and a mystery partner rounding out the field. Tonight's card features Finlay and Juice facing the NJPW LA Dojo kids, Villain Enterprises vs The Kingdom, Lethal and Gresh vs Williams and Haskins in a purists' dream match main event - plus some enticing non-tournament bouts like Bandido vs Silas Young or the returning Rocky Romero facing Matt Taven. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana call the action in Dallas, TX.

Rhett Titus vs Marty Scurll
After spending the last couple of months of 2018 having him prat around in a Speedo, commentate on random matches and little else, the dawning of 2019 has at least brought Rhett more chances to actually get into the ring and wrestle. He carries with him a trophy, which he claims was awarded for him being ROH's 'Mr Survival Of The Fittest 2018' (as he is the 'fittest' man in the company). That puts him on a collision course with Scurll, the actual winner of SOTF 2018. The Villain is the #1 contender for the World Title and biding his time until he cashes in his shot at the gold...

Marty smacks Titus around from the bell then almost throws him through the guardrails. Hanging lungblower nailed on the way back in. Titus tries to trade strikes with The Villain next only to find himself chopped to the ground in a heap, with Marty looking to go to work on his arm too. Swinging neckbreaker, into a running blockbuster by Rhett; using his power and speed to deliver his first substantive offence of the contest. He starts whipping Scurll into the guardrails, further rattling his back and neck in the process. Back in the ring he punishes the neck with another knee strike into the Thrust Buster for 2. Back body drop over the top rope by Marty, as much to protect himself as to damage his opponent - although it does put Titus in prime position for the Superkick from the apron. 'Cambridge Crab' applied, allowing Riccaboni and Cabana to put over Titus' spectacular abs as a reason he is able to survive. Superplex by The Villain gets 2...only for Rhett to send him back to the floor with his big dropkick. NO HANDS somersault plancha by Rhett! HALF NELSON SUPLEX by Marty! NO SOLD! Thrust kick by Titus...but Marty no sells that and floors Mr SOTF with a roaring elbow. Scurll thinks about another superplex...only for Titus to FLIP him onto the turnbuckles. Buckle Bomb, followed with a POP-UP LIGERBOMB gets 2! Yakuza Kick flurry sets Scurll up...but the Big Dawg Splash gets knees. CAMBRIDGE DESTROYER! Graduation wins it for Marty at 09:25

Rating - *** - An odd but very enjoyable way to start the show. Having not presented Rhett seriously for the last couple of years, it is quite jarring seeing him trade offensive bombs in a straight-faced wrestling match with arguably ROH's biggest drawing star at the time. There really wasn't any 'comedy' content here at all; from the moment the bell rung they came out swinging with some really hard-hitting stuff. It did feel a little heavy on spots, light on substance...but as an opening bout to get the crowd into the show there was a lot to like here. 

ATLANTA - Since ROH can't keep running shows without acknowledging the formation of Lifeblood, they have produced a video package capturing the events of the most recent TV taping and the formation of the new group led by Juice Robinson looking to 'restore honour'. 

Alex Coughlin/Karl Fredericks vs Juice Robinson/David Finlay
This is the start of the Tag Wars 2019 Tournament. We'll see three quarter-final bouts this evening, and three more tomorrow in Houston. The winners will advance to a pair of triple threat tag team semi-finals on Night 3 in San Antonio, and the two teams who survive compete in the finals later that same evening. Juice and Finlay are representing Lifeblood, but have also teamed in New Japan so have experience as a duo. They couldn't be more fitting opponents for Coughlin and Fredericks, who are representatives of the NJPW LA Dojo (training under Katsuyori Shibata), making their ROH debut this evening. Robinson and Finlay came through the dojo system in Japan so are a great challenge for the two youngsters to pit themselves against this evening. Tenille accompanies Fin-Juice, then joins commentary for the match.

The NJPW LA Dojo kids are in classic Young Lion black trunks and boots, covered in bruises and welts from their training one presumes. Coughlin is absolutely ripped, using that power to more than hold his own on the mat with Juice. He actually beats Robinson into their corner where he and Fredericks can isolate him and unleash a couple of double-teams. Karl throws Robinson through the ropes and into the barricades then starts putting boots into Finlay's face as well. David doesn't like that one bit and uses a few big strikes to overwhelm Coughlin. He and Juice both use senton bombs to drive the wind out of the youngster. He has his brains scrambled with a double bulldog as well, which could potentially have been the finish were it not for Karl's interference. I like Tenille as a wrestler, but she is NOT good as the mouthpiece for Lifeblood on commentary by the way. Robinson hits the running cannonball for 2, further crushing Alex's ribs. Yet out of nowhere the plucky kid fires out of the corner with a rugby-inspired tackle on Juice! Hot tag to Fredericks, who arrives with his best basic Young Lion house of fire offence. Lion Tamer by Coughlin...as Karl spinebusters Juice into a Lion Tamer of his own! The crowd really buy this as a potential finish so it gets a great reaction. Coughlin starts going for flash pins on Finlay...only to be dropped with an urinage backbreaker. Running lariat gets 2, so Finlay hits Trash Panda for the win at 08:37

Rating - ** - I respected the stripped back and respectful vibe of this match. It felt like the 'ethics' of the new Lifeblood group ensured they were ideal opponents for the no-thrills NJPW LA Young Lions. Coughlin and Fredericks don't look like bad prospects at all; the former is ripped with a multi-sport background, the latter 'looks' like a star and moves with real poise. Going the better part of ten minutes was way too long for this though, and ensured we had to listen to far too much of poor Tenille on commentary. 

Jeff Cobb vs Clark Connors
Connors is another NJPW LA Dojo kid, and has Shibata at ringside to support him. This is a Proving Ground Match, so if he can get the upset victory over Cobb then he earns a TV Title shot. Based on what we saw at Honor Reigns Supreme 2019, Jeff could be forgiven for being distracted by the looming prospect of a showdown with the outspoken Shane Taylor...

Connors goes right to the legs, which seems smart but of course Cobb is an accomplished amateur grappler and very easily dismisses him. Everything the young kid tries ends with him getting dumped emphatically into the canvas. Cobb even throws out a big headbutt, one of Shibata's infamous staples, to floor one of his students. Connors does manage to dodge the standing moonsault and deliver a big body slam. He tries the same spinebuster/Lion Tamer combo that Coughlin and Fredericks used earlier, but Jeff easily shrugs him aside and hits the Athletic-Plex. Tour Of The Islands wins it for Jeff at 04:08

Rating - N/A - Precisely what it needed to be. They kept it brief, treated the NJPW LA kid with respect but mostly used his sound fundamentals as a launching pad to showcase Cobb's skills. Him using a big headbutt right in front of Shibata was an unnecessary but welcome touch of detail.

Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe/Shane Taylor vs Dalton Castle/The Boys
Five of the six men in this match are former Six-Man Tag Champions. The Briscoes and Taylor were part of the group of five who crashed The Elite's farewell; now bringing a lawless brand of violence to Ring Of Honor at the same time as Lifeblood try to clean it up. Jay Briscoe in particular has a long history with strong dislike of The Boys, to such an extent that it actually wound up costing the Briscoes and Bully Ray the Six-Man belts to Castle and his Boys back in 2017. Beer City Bruiser is at ringside 'scouting' since he and Brian Milonas face The Boys in Tag Wars Tournament action tomorrow.

Jay starts and is audibly annoyed that Castle won't let one of The Boys start with him. After a minute-long stand-off, Jay even gets a microphone and starts yelling at Dalton to let them in. Boy #2 is permitted to enter...and instantly planted on his face by the former World Champion. #2 gets up and slaps Jay in the face! Boy #1 runs in as well, setting up a flurry of twin-based double teaming. POUNCE by Taylor to put a stop to it! The Briscoes put a beating on Boy #2 before they unleash Taylor who relentlessly clubs the sh*t out of him. #2 is being bludgeoned without mercy; the heels tagging in and out frequently to minimise their energy expenditure. Shane gets over-confident and misses a second rope splash, allowing #2 to escape and tag Castle in. He levels Mark with a sliding DDT, then grabs Jay for a brutal capture back suplex. Diving knee strike off the apron takes Mark down, and Castle has enough left to turn on his heels for a Heat Seeking Missile on Jay as well. Jay accidentally knocks Taylor off the apron, clashing heads and causing Briscoe to walk unsteadily into the Bang-A-Rang. That would be a win, but Taylor drags Paul Turner out of the ring before he can count. Despite that having happened plenty of times over the last few years, Paul decides that this is the night he's going to take action. He disqualifies Taylor and the Briscoes at 09:16

Rating - * - Jay Briscoe seemed to be having fun, and it was entertaining watching Shane Taylor in particular beat the sh*t out of Boy #2. But I really didn't understand most of this. It was too long, it didn't seem to achieve a great deal, Dalton barely being involved protected his ailing body but KILLED the only really fun dynamic of his team with The Boys (him carrying a heavier load like a protective father figure). The finish was uninspiring too. Why did there need to be dissension in the Briscoes/Taylor trio already? Why couldn't they just beat a spent force like Dalton and low-hanging fruit like The Boys cleanly? Why was THIS the match where a ref decides being pulled out of the ring to break a pinfall is a disqualification when it has been happening for years?

Taylor shoves Paul Turner to the ground in a rage. He and the Briscoes then put a public beat-down on Dalton and The Boys. Lifeblood of Juice and Finlay run in to make a save - in particular making a beeline for the Briscoes as Tag Champions. Juice is furious at the lack of honour the trio just displayed, but promises the Dallas fans will get to see 'a whole lot of honour' in the main event instead - putting over the Lethal/Gresham vs Williams/Haskins Tag Wars 2019 bout. Dalton looks oddly perturbed at Fin-Juice's interventions but does eventually shake their hands.

Holidead vs Madison Rayne
This is a continuation of the Twisted Sisterz vs Rayne and Britt Baker feud that broke out in the latter stages of 2018. Sadly for the Women Of Honor division, Baker signed with AEW at the start of January, but Madison is in ROH full-time and now faces one half of the villainous team in singles action. Thunder Rosa is at ringside in support of Holidead though...

Holi is a powerful athlete and demonstrates it by throwing Rayne across the ring in the first few seconds. Rosa is vocal in her support of her partner, and also in belittling Madison from the floor. Madison breaks out a flurry of kicks to the legs driving Dead to the floor. Thunder fires up her partner, then distracts Rayne so Holi can clobber her with a clothesline. A leg drop on the apron follows, before both Twisted Sisterz take turns to illegally choke Madison in the ropes. Even Rayne's trademark pinfall flurry is quickly extinguished as Holi ploughs through her with a tackle. Mexican surfboard next, and when Rayne refuses to tap Dead simply lifts a foot and BOOTS her in the back of the head. Madison is nearly done; to the extent that Holi can lift her up and start charging her back and neck-first into the turnbuckles over and over. Finally Rayne comes out of that corner with a tornado DDT, but she looks to be a spent force at this stage. A strike flurry seems to bounce off Holidead's face without much impact...until the ripcord Ace Crusher does drive the Twisted Sister hard into the canvas. Thunder Rosa grabs Madison's hair...distracting her so Dead can land a spinebuster for 2. Holidead looks on the brink of victory until Rayne crucifixes her down into a pin and snatches an unlikely victory at 08:01

Rating - ** - I enjoy the Twisted Sisterz and having a regular tag team has provided a welcome change of pace in the Women Of Honor division. This one was a little predictable and over-loaded with interference for my taste though. Madison made a sympathetic babyface but her execution was a little wild and sloppy, and the highlight of the bout for me was the way Holidead really went after her head and neck. 

Rosa and Holidead jump Madison after the bell. Sumie Sakai comes out and grabs a steel chair to make a save; I think making her first on-screen appearance since losing the WOH Title at Final Battle. The Twisted Sisterz skulk up the aisle rather than pick a fight with her...

Rocky Romero vs Matt Taven
We've not seen Rocky in an ROH ring for a while, but he returns this evening for something of a special attraction match. Ian informs us that he and Taven are the only men to have held championships in ROH, NJPW and CMLL. Apparently they've never met in a singles match before, so we are putting that right this evening. Although not actually the 'Real World Champion' as he claims, Taven is a top contender for the ROH Championship - meaning he needs wins to secure his title shot, whilst Romero knows victory instantly puts him in the picture for ROH's top prize. Not that it means anything, but Matt does announce that he is putting the purple championship on the line tonight...

Taven rakes Romero's eyes and stomps him in the face inside ten seconds. Clearly he hasn't done much preparation though as Rocky is more than equipped to break a few rules - quickly coming back with a poke to Taven's eyes in return. He is also a lethal submission specialist and almost gets an early tap-out when he mounts Matt to apply an octopus stretch. Kick Of The King knocks Romero to the outside, but the Havana Pitbull recovers his composure quickly to land a jumping knee from the apron. Taven tries to suplex Romero on the entrance steps, but Rocky blocks that and charges for a SUICIDE DIVE OFF THE STAGE! A bunch of Vinny's red balloons flutter from under the ring apron though, distracting Romero and allowing Matt both time to recover and time to start shunting his opponent into the guardrails. Rocky looks to hit back with a hurricanrana but that is easily countered into a Boston Crab - piling yet more punishment onto Romero's already-injured back. Rocky escapes, misses an attempted Spear and finds himself trapped in a HANGING BOSTON CRAB on the second turnbuckle! Tiger Driver countered into a rana by Romero, then a brilliant springboard swinging DDT...even though that does more damage to his bad back. Slap duel between both men, which Rocky wins as someone who has actually competed in MMA fights. Matt recognises his deficiencies there and tries to escape, only to be caught in the Forever Clotheslines. Taven lands a stunner over the top rope, so Romero dropkicks his surgically-repaired knee. Shiranui COUNTERED to a capture backbreaker. RUNNING SHIRANUI INSTEAD! Rocky loses precious split-seconds in nursing his back injury though and can't get the win. He blitzes Taven with strikes, but when he tries to springboard out of the corner Matt ducks him and grabs the head for the Climax. Taven wins at 15:54

Rating - *** - The most ambitious match on the card thus far with the longest run-time thus far too, and on the whole this worked. I could have done with fewer verbals and stall-tactics from Taven, as when he actually went to work and put a beating on Romero's back it was really good stuff. For his part Rocky was as silky-smooth and effortlessly professional as he has been for the majority of his career. Something about this didn't quite click though. Maybe it was the slow pace or complete lack of urgency, or the sullen crowd which never felt particularly into proceedings no matter how hard Taven tried. 

Marseglia and O'Ryan join Taven in the ring and stand over the fallen Rocky Romero. They are interrupted by Vinny and TK's opponents in Tag Wars before they can do much though...

Vinny Marseglia/TK O'Ryan vs Brody King/PCO
Brody and PCO made their first appearances in Philadelphia, debuting as part of Marty Scurll's new 'Villain Enterprises' stable and coming to his aid as The Kingdom threatened to attack him. The Kingdom continue to duck the Villains when it comes to offering them a Six-Man Tag Title shot, but they don't have a choice over whether to get physical this evening having been paired off in Tag Wars 2019. With Villain Enterprises undefeated in Six-Man action, King and PCO will feel confident that victory here all but secures the Trios Title shot they've been chasing too. Scurll accompanies his new friends...albeit only briefly.

Marty chases Taven away from ringside, quickly removing both of them from the equation. O'Ryan starts for his team, quickly finding that none of his offence really impacts PCO. The Monster demands that Brody start chopping him to fire up too! Marseglia is caught trying a springboard move, and smeared into the canvas with a Brody running senton. The Kingdom team up on King, profiting from PCO's vociferous protestations with the referee. Spinebuster/diving headbutt combo gets 2; Brody now captured inside the ring and no doubt in pain from his fractured, wired shut jaw. Of course, big Brody is a huge guy to keep captured in one corner of the ring for too long and inevitably he does escape and make a tag. PCO tries to come off the top rope...so Vinny violently dropkicks him to the floor. PCO gets up from that like it is nothing...so The Kingdom give chase and rocket him head-first into the guardrail. PCO crawls back into the ring, right into Marseglia trying to claw out his one remaining good eye! For a second time The Kingdom start to dominate by keeping a member of their opposition team isolated. HEAD DROP DOUBLE FLAPJACK gets 2! Does PCO nearly die in every one of his matches?! POP-UP POWERBOMB on TK, even though his one working eye is damaged and he can't see! Hot tag to Brody, who storms in and suplexes Vinny right into O'Ryan's face. Cannonball senton nailed, as is a Bossman Slam for 2. PCO thinks about the moonsault only to get crotched by Vinny, who hits the ring for the Acid Drop on King as well. Redrum/backbreaker combo gets 2. House Of 1000 Horses - and that would be game over were it not for Brody diving in to break the pin. TK shuts him down with a Russian legsweep into the guardrails. Things start to break down with Marseglia deciding to set up a table at ringside. He puts King on it and climbs to the top rope! REDRUM SENTON THROUGH THE TABLE TO THE FLOOR...AND IT MISSES! TKO is left alone! GONZO BOMB! PCO-SAULT! Villain Enterprises advance at 14:54

Rating - *** - This probably went quite a bit longer than it needed to, but there was a lot to like as well. The aggression and violence of Brody, the deranged insanity of PCO and the fluent (if somewhat by-the-numbers) heel performance from The Kingdom all came together to produce a substantive match of genuine intrigue. As I said when reviewing the Villain Enterprises six-man tag at Honor Reigns Supreme, the arrival of Brody and PCO has forced an identifiable change in 'style' whenever they compete. They don't do big, elaborate layered spot sequences like the Young Bucks, nor do they stall and mug to the crowd like Cody Rhodes. What they do is bring an unrivalled physicality and aggression to their matches - and it forces their opponents to step up with them. 

Silas Young vs Bandido
It was an exceptional weekend for international superstar Bandido, on his first shows as a contracted ROH talent. At the Atlanta television taping he tore the house down with Mark Haskins before being revealed as a member of Lifeblood...then he went to Honor Reigns Supreme and nearly stole the show with PJ Black as well. The conduct of Silas, Bully, the Briscoes and Shane Taylor is exactly what Lifeblood have made it their business to prevent. We saw Fin-Juice get in the faces of the Briscoes and Taylor earlier. Now Silas has a chance to retaliate by putting down the masked luchador who is already beloved by Ring Of Honor fans. This is actually a replacement for the scheduled main event of this show, which should have been Bandido taking on Flip Gordon.

Once again, Bandido is wildly more over than most of the roster. They both battle over headlocks to start; Young to negate the high-flying whilst Bandido uses it to nullify Silas' power. Silas' smug reaction to somersaulting out of an attempted hiptoss is one of the highlights of the show, but he is quickly embarrassed as Bandido does flips and headstands. Eventually Young gets bored of his young opponent's theatrics and starts relentlessly biting his fingers. He chases the Last Real Man outside...but Silas sees him coming and batters the ribs and back into the guardrails repeatedly before slamming him on the arena floor. Bandido barely gets back to his feet from that before Young shunts him into the ringpost as well. The luchador crawls back into the ring, right into a succession of backbreakers. Even he breaks free Silas grabs a handful of hair and mask to toss him into the mat again. To make matters worse, the prolonged beating from Silas is accompanied by an ongoing verbal burial as well. Killer Combo gets 2, so Young backs him into the corner and visibly chops him in the ribs rather than across the chest. Bandido tries to mount a fight-back after Silas goes after his mask...but his opponent throws him down and viciously double-stomps the chest to keep him at bay. The fans distract Young for just long enough to allow Bandido some breathing space. TORNILLO! Silas bails...SECOND ROPE MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR by Bandido! He smears Silas all over the floor, but his back and ribs are so injured Bandido can do little to capitalise. Back in the ring he somehow leaps into a hurricanrana for 2...but then crumples up afterwards nursing his lower back. He doesn't have the strength to get Young up for the X-Knee, allowing Young to counter into the slingshot swinging neckbreaker. Bandido fights up and hits a FLURRY of tilta-whirl backbreakers, then a Shining Wizard to the delight of the Texas crowd. He tries a gutwrench powerbomb...but his back gives out. Bandido collapses, causing referee Paul Turner to consider stopping the match. Silas puts two boots through his ribcage yet again! PLUNGE NAILED! Bandido kicks out! Young looks to finish off Bandido's back once and for all with a SUPERPLEX! He tries to roll it through to Misery...BANDIDO COUNTERS TO A BRAINBUSTER! BOTH MEN DOWN! Bandido can barely stand, but pursues Young up the ropes anyway. Silas batters the injured back to block him, until they start trading strikes in the middle of the ring. 21-PLEX! WITH BACK-SELLING PIN! BANDIDO WINS! It's over at 20:04

Rating - **** - A great, old-fashioned Ring Of Honor match. Old-fashioned in the sense that it was an undercard bout which got a decent time allowance and was therefore allowed to tell a strong story - which promoted the in-ring skills and talents of both performers and culminates with a clear attempt to promote a very special, rising young star. And Bandido is indeed very special. It's astonishing that ROH were able to recruit him, and absolutely right that he is being pushed hard out of the gate. He has things to work on but he is exciting and, as this match shows, he isn't just a show-pony - he can WORK too. He can sell, he can elicit sympathy and he can absolutely capture an audiences attention in a feature-length match. A word for Silas too, who was inserted into this match at short notice and of course excelled (as he always does). This was the Silas Young who was so great in 2017 when he feuded with Lethal rather than the castrated, barely relevant 2018 version, relegated to playing Bully Ray's backing dancer. He may be getting older, but he's a great veteran to have around particularly for younger guys like Bandido to work with. I hope we see more of him in matches like this...

Silas shakes Bandido's hand...then boots him in the knee-cap, in the hope of putting a potential third star on the shelf with a knee injury (alongside Flip and Chris Sabin).

Tracy Williams/Mark Haskins vs Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham
This is our main event, and our third Tag Wars 2019 tournament bout of the evening. The winners will join Villain Enterprises and Fin-Juice in the next round - but there is plenty more at stake for these four too. Lethal enters as World Champion so has a target on his back, particularly for Haskins who pushed him to the limit at Honor Re-United last year and would love another shot. Williams will also be looking to avenge a loss - to Jon Gresham in his debut match back at Survival Of The Fittest 2018. If that weren't enough, Lethal and Gresham were part of a big 10-man tag match at the recent Atlanta TV taping - which saw them lose to the new Lifeblood group. That means they too have a loss they want to put right here in Texas. Kenny King joins commentary, both because he wants a World Title rematch with Lethal, but also scouting because he is part of tomorrow night's Tag Wars 2019 bouts (with an as yet unknown mystery partner).

Gresh and Williams start, getting straight into a heavy grappling session as you'd expect. Kenny King puts himself over as a Tag Wars finalist in 2010, having apparently completely forgotten about 2016 when he also reached the finals. Before you know it two minutes have flown by with Gresham and Hot Sauce effortlessly chain-wrestling back and forth. They vacate the ring and allow the Haskins/Lethal rivalry to take the spotlight next. The World Champ goes to the legs, but finds Haskins able to easily counter him and send him scurrying to the ropes. Tracy tags, joining his partner for a flurry of emphatic strikes in the corner to put the champ on his ass. Mark stomps the arm into the canvas, starting to set Lethal up for either the Crossface or the Star Armbar. Williams instantly recognises the strategy and happily takes over where the Englishman leaves off. Rings Of Haskins applied...bringing Gresham in for the first time looking to save his partner as Lifeblood turn the screw. Lethal's arm is hanging limp by his side...but he gets close enough to his corner for Gresh to make a blind-tag and The Octopus sneaks up behind Tracy for a STALLING German suplex! TOPE SUICIDA by Lethal! Williams has his body contorted against the guardrails then fed back into the ring where Gresham goes to work on his leg. He and the World Champion take turns attacking the leg, albeit Lethal has to limit his ring-time as he nurses his still-injured arm. With Tracy's leg hurt, Gresham switches focus and starts attacking his perpetually-injured shoulder too. Hammerlock/half crab combo almost forces Hot Sauce into a submission there and then. Lethal then joins his partner to hit a jumping enzi to the shoulder, whilst Gresh dragon screws the leg! The two-pronged limb-work heat segment on Tracy is BRILLIANT to watch...and culminates with Williams somehow lifting Gresham into a BRAINBUSTER! Hot tag to Haskins, who delivers a swift running punt to Jay's bad arm. STAR ARMBAR! Lethal stands up to counter, so Haskins rolls him into the Sharpshooter instead! Lethal almost takes Mark's head off with a kick, but is confronted with a limping Tracy Williams who hits a BUTTERFLY SUPERPLEX! Lethal Combination by the World Champion but he is looking seriously worse for wear now. He goes back to kicking at Tracy's leg, but doesn't have enough in the tank to apply the Figure 4. MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR from Gresham to Haskins! He then hits the ring with a quebrada on Williams, floated into an ANKLELOCK! LEG-CAPTURE GERMAN SUPLEX gets 2. Figure 4 Leglock by Lethal! Haskins THROWS GRESHAM AT HIM to break the hold. The Englishman kicks the sh*t out of Lethal's bad arm, but gets distracted as Williams continues to struggle with his leg. DVD/DOUBLE STOMP COMBO by Lifeblood gets 2! Williams tries to climb up the ropes, luring Lethal in to give him the SUPER TURNBUCKLE DDT! CRADLE POWERBOMB! GRESHAM BREAKS THE PIN! He spears Haskins away as Lethal blocks Tracy's Piledriver...only for Mark to escape and KNEE LETHAL IN THE FACE! DISCUS LARIAT ON GRESHAM! ROCKET LAUNCHER CUTTER by Lethal and Gresham! Gresh pins Tracy to win the match at 23:31

Rating - **** - Outstanding match - so good I considered going higher on my rating. The 2020 Pure Wrestling focused relaunch of ROH drew plenty of critical acclaim - and these four just produced a technical classic which would sit comfortably alongside anything ROH has done thus far in that period. As with the Silas/Bandido match, this was exactly the kind of action ROH used to be built upon. In fact, ROH has gotten so far away from this that at times the fans watched in total silence. This wasn't the Young Bucks diving all over the arena, it was world class technical wrestling - and I could not be happier to see this presented at a main event level once again. All four men were superb here. We'll be seeing a lot more of Tracy and Haskins as a team in 2019, and they really gelled quickly with some great work particularly when isolating Lethal. The Lethal/Gresham heat segment on Tracy was complete brilliance and the clear highlight of the match. The way they broke down Tracy's arm and leg at the same time made for compelling viewing; enhanced by Hot Sauce's strong sell on those injuries for the remainder of the match. I can't praise this highly enough

As honourable men, they all shake hands and accept the deserved applause of the crowd. That comes to an end when they are attacked by the Briscoes, Silas Young and Shane Taylor. Just like in Philadelphia, this group ruin a great moment with their penchant for violence. Juice Robinson and David Finlay try to save, but are quickly overwhelmed by the numbers too. 

Tape Rating - *** - As a top-to-bottom show this wasn't as good as Honor Reigns Supreme...but the top two matches are absolutely worth going out of your way to see. As someone who has been watching and writing about ROH since its inaugural year, I cannot deny that the direction of the product in the last 3-5 years hasn't saddened me. It certainly isn't a 'bad' company now, but it is drastically different. So when matches like Silas vs Bandido or Lethal/Gresham vs Lifeblood come along and remind me of what ROH shows USED to be like, it is actually quite hard to find the words to describe the emotion it stirs up or the joy it brings even though I'm fully cognisant of the fact that wrestling has changed and that my taste doesn't suit everyone. Outside of the main events this show does feel skippable - particularly the outright bad hour between the solid Scurll/Titus opener and the decent Taven/Romero match. Still, the top half of the card is decent, Honor Club lets you skip matches you don't want to watch and the 'good' parts of this event are very much worthy of your time.

Top 3 Matches
3) Brody King/PCO vs Vinny Marseglia/TK O'Ryan (***)
2) Bandido vs Silas Young (****)
1) Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham vs Tracy Williams/Mark Haskins (****)

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