McXal's Reviews

Night One on the Road To G1 Supercard really impressed, whilst Night Two really didn't. Can Night Three stick the landing here? It features the culmination of the Tag Wars 2019 Tournament; triple threat semi finals contested by Villain Enterprises, The Bouncers, Beat Down Clan, Lifeblood, Coast 2 Coast and Lethal/Gresham, with the two winners advancing to the finals and main event vying for the 17th Anniversary Tag Title shot and a spot in NWA's rebooted Crockett Cup. Elsewhere Kelly Klein puts the WOH Title on the line in a long-awaited rematch with Sumie Sakai...before an uppercard which features Bandido/Romero, Scurll/Haskins and a Cobb/Mack/Taylor/Silas hoss-fight tag bout. Ian Riccaboni has Colt Cabana back alongside him this evening, calling the action from San Antonio, TX.

We start the night with trios action, featuring two of the teams who failed to make it past the first round of Tag Wars 2019. The NJPW LA Dojo representatives (Coughlin and Fredericks) were bested by David Finlay and Juice Robinson in Dallas, whilst last night in Houston the Shinobi Shadow Squad (Burger and Eli) failed to get through Coast 2 Coast. Pride is very much at stake here as it pits three products of ROH's wrestling school against three of Katsuyori Shibata's young students in the NJPW LA Dojo...

Fredericks starts with Burger, looking to use his size and power but getting out-smarted by the streetwise smaller man. Nova tags in...and is instantly put into the ground by a fired up Connors. Nova and Burger hit back with a couple of combo strikes before bailing, setting Isom up for the FROG SPLASH with a turn in mid-air that gets 2. SPEAR from Connors to an over-confident Cheeseburger! Coughlin in, capitalising on that to deliver some powerful strikes into Burger's back and midsection. Fredericks gets back in and starts working the legs as well; the LA Dojo kids clearly setting the leader of the opposition up for their preferred Lion Tamer finishing hold. He nearly lets Cheese escape...but pulls him back at the last and HAMMERS the ribs with a violent dropkick. Burger makes a crucial tag to Nova, who is uncomfortably quite a bit worse than the NJPW Dojo kids meaning his big hot tag sequence feels rather weak. The raw power of Fredericks quickly extinguishes Ryan's fire, and he keeps going by countering an Isom springboard into a spinebuster. Lion Tamer on Eli, whilst his partners block the rest of 3S from making a save. TRIPLE LION TAMERS! Isom refuses to tap and makes the ropes, even whilst being swarmed by the Young Lions. Air Raid Crash on Fredericks gets 2, followed by a Brainbuster! Isom wins at 09:54

Rating - *** - This alone was better than a vast proportion of last night's show. By design it was basic and it did have some weaker moments (usually involving Nova), but the story was solid and it provided us with by far the best showing from the NJPW LA Dojo crew this weekend. Connors and Coughlin in particular looked impressive with their grappling and striking. I really liked the way they worked Burger over without ever forgetting their finishing hold...but unfortunately they weren't able to win because by the time they could get him in it he wasn't the legal man. If I'm honest I'd expected ROH to pay lip-service to New Japan and let their kids go over here, so it was something of a bonus that Isom - whom Delirious is tasked with elevating in 2019 - went over in imposing fashion. 

After a solid trios match, Six-Man Champions The Kingdom enter the arena to steal their thunder. The fans loudly chant 'Real World Champ' at Taven, which he absolutely laps up. He confirms that they will 'one day' defend the Six-Man belts against 3S...but not tonight it seems as they attack all three Squad members and throw them out of the ring. Former Six-Man Champions Dalton Castle & The Boys show up to challenge The Kingdom for the belts, using reverse psychology to get Taven and his sidekicks to accept...

Castle and Taven are developing a heated rivalry, but when it counted (at Final Battle), it was Matt who emphatically won the match. Castle is on something of a losing streak, not least failing to get the World Title back from Jay Lethal at Honor Reigns Supreme...so would love to reinvigorate his career with a humiliating win over one of his biggest enemies.

Castle starts for his team as always and out-wrestles Marseglia for much of the opening ninety seconds. Vinny starts kicking at the braced midsection and back, meaning he is able to escape even after absorbing an early suplex. O'Ryan further provokes the Peacock by taking cheap-shots at The Boys, who quickly return and form human steps so Castle can hit a step-up knee smash. DOUBLE BOY BOMB gets 2! Just The Tip from Taven to Boy #1, quickly killing off their momentum. The champs isolate #1 with an effortless precision which demonstrates how fluent they can be as a trio. They lose their temper as they struggle to put him away though and eventually take their eyes off him for a few seconds - which is all Boy #2 needs to illegally swap places with his twin brother. He easily escapes and tags Dalton, who nails a DDT on O'Ryan within seconds. Exploder suplex follows, then the EVEREST GERMAN on Marseglia. Then he starts grabbing The Boys to launch them into the repeated assisted suicide dive flurry! Dr Bomb on TK gets 2! Boy #2 hops on the top rope, but is crotched and doesn't see Dalton coming to help. He accidentally elbows Castle right between the eyes! It sends Dalton back into House Of 1000 Horses. O'Ryan pins Castle to retain at 11:39

Rating - ** - I generally enjoy The Kingdom in trios matches where they get to work like a genuine heels, rather than cheating idiots or having to incorporate Marseglia being a prat under the ring. To that end this was decent, affording them plenty of opportunities to look dominant as a group and in particular making Taven look extremely dangerous. However, The Boys are very much a spent force as a novelty act for me. They rarely bring anything different to their matches, and Dalton's body simply isn't able to carry them in trios matches the way he once did. The finish, with a Boy costing Dalton the loss - on the heels of Castle already looking rather agitated after recent high profile losses, was by far the most interesting thing to come out of this...

Dalton angrily pushes The Boys to the ground after the match, but then apologises and helps them back to his feet. For now all seems fine with the trio...

The exodus of talent to AEW appears to have opened up enough roster spots for Rhett to get actual matches again. A former Tag Champion and veteran survivor of one of the earliest ROH wrestling school classes, now with more than ten years experience in the promotion he remains a dangerous opponent even whilst preening, posing and carrying around a bodybuilding trophy. He pushed Marty Scurll hard in Dallas and now gets the chance to test his skills against one of the members of Lifeblood. Hot Sauce has performed to a consistently high level since debuting at Survival Of The Fittest 2018 and comes in fresh from his first 'singles' victory at Honor Reigns Supreme...albeit by forfeit when Flip Gordon got injured. Titus' goofball gimmick feels like the kind of thing that won't necessarily align with the goals and standards set by Lifeblood. Tenille Dashwood is in Tracy's corner.

Williams is all business, taking the more jovial Titus to the ground for a flurry of early pinfall attempts. His technical superiority appears vast, much to Rhett's agitation. He looks to use his power only to find Tracy constantly able to counter, escape and stretch him out on the deck. Sensibly Titus creates some distance so he can start peppering his foe with strikes...but he is apparently unaware that Hot Sauce is a hell of a striker too. Williams starts pelting him, then nails a back suplex for 2. Credit to Rhett's tenacity; he keeps throwing strikes and at last works into a position where he can use his power - dropping his opponent to the mat with a gutwrench suplex. He celebrates by gyrating in Tenille's direction before using his strength to mount Tracy with an abdominal stretch. Williams escapes to hit a missile dropkick then hauls Titus up the ropes for a violent superplex. It appears that Rhett has done some damage to his midsection though, and he comes up selling his ribs. Titus blocks the discus lariat, knees him in the stomach then drills him with a helicopter back drop. Super Sex-Factor blocked INTO THE TURNBUCKLE DDT! DIVING DDT out of the corner gets 2! Tracy tries to go to the top again, but eats the big Dropkick that knocks him all the way to the floor for a rough landing on his injured ribs. Once again he stops to pose and thrust in Tenille's direction...so she shoves him on his ass. Williams dives practically over Dashwood to level him with a knee strike off the apron. CROSSFACE! Titus taps, giving Tracy a big win at 11:36

Rating - *** - A great match for its spot on the card. Tracy has been a revelation since joining the roster, and he was superb again here. His quiet, unassuming but relentless attack - usually focused on the neck - was effortlessly excellent, and the way he sold the ribs for Rhett was delightful in its detail too. I didn't envy Rhett here, it was a thankless task having to play up this bizarre body-building character (which appears to be an insane amalgamation of his 'Addicted To Love', 'Romantic Touch' and 'Big Dawg' personas all at once) whilst simultaneously trying to get his legitimate wrestling skill over. The guy is a veteran and comfortable in the ring with someone like Tracy. The best parts of this were all when Titus' gimmick was put to one side and they just beat each other up.

This is our first Tag Wars 2019 semi-final, and this one features a number of seriously big dudes. MVP returned to ROH last night, revealed as Kenny King's mystery partner for a Beat Down Clan reunion which saw them defeat Colt Cabana and Willie Mack. The Bouncers had arguably the easiest first round encounter as they near-literally steamrolled The Boys, but the most impressive victory came from the Villain Enterprises representatives Brody and PCO. They powered past rivals The Kingdom, sending a real message to the Six-Man Champions...

We begin with Beer City and Kenny in the ring together; the bigger man being very outspoken and comfortable using his size to control proceedings. Kenny retaliates with fast fists and feet which BCB doesn't have an answer for. Brody tags on one side, eats a horrible senton from Bruiser...then is confronted by the site of MVP getting in his face. They have some fun chopping and elbowing the tar out of each other...ending when Brody hits the DOUBLE SPRINGBOARD CROSSBODY for 2. Milonas tags and calls out PCO for another heavyweight showdown. PCO is super over with this audience and cheer loudly for his mere entrance into the fight. He starts headbutting the Kingpin, then absolutely runs through him with a tackle! Somersault senton misses, and Milonas NAILS him with a running crossbody. Everyone piles in for a fight but quickly spill out all over ringside whilst Bruiser and PCO chop each other relentlessly. Standing senton splash from Brawler to Kenny...right before he is flattened in the corner for a Brody King cannonball. TOPE SUICIDA from PCO to The Bouncers! DOUBLE CHOKESLAM from the Villains to Bruiser! Brody barely has time to get back to his feet before both members of the BDC are smashing him into the corner. Bossman Slam from Milonas to MVP! Bruiser blocks the One Night Stand, falls on his ass, bites King in the head and holds him up for the hanging guillotine legdrop from Kingpin. Bruiser climbs the ropes...TOP ROPE SUICIDE DIVE TO THE FLOOR! PCO wants to follow him, only for Milonas to get the biggest heat of the match by stopping him. DOUBLE POWERBOMB from the BDC to Milonas! Kenny winds up for a corkscrew pescado, as inside the ring MVP sets up for the Ballin' Elbow. Cactus Clothesline from Brody to MVP. PCO-SAULT on Bruiser! Villain Enterprises advance to the finals at 11:39

Rating - *** - So much better than anyone might have predicted. It wasn't always pretty, but was an absolute riot as a load of really big dudes (plus Kenny King) threw their bodies around entirely crazily. The slams were huge, the strikes were brutal and the big dives were almost physics-defying at times. They beat the hell out of each other and that all-action, high-octane violence really got over with the live crowd, who gave them a great reaction.

This should be completely different to the big man-centric first semi-final. Finlay and Juice of Lifeblood are already familiar with Lethal and Gresham. They had a rather tense exchange with Lethal at the Atlanta TV Tapings which led to Lethal picking a squad to face Lifeblood, then in Houston we saw Lethal and Gresh get past Fin-Juice's Lifeblood colleagues Mark Haskins and Tracy Williams. Lifeblood want to restore the honour to the company - and enter knowing a Tag Wars Tournament victory is the fast-track to that objective. C2C could be seen as outsiders, but spent 2018 racking up wins and becoming more of a force in the tag division...

Gresham and Ali start, The Octopus making Shaheem look a little silly at the request of Lethal. LSG senses the danger and joins his partner in the ring to kill off Jonathan's technical wizardry. Lethal shows his experience by positioning himself for a blind-tag, bringing himself into the match and allowing him to team up with Gresh for a dropkick/German suplex combo. A jumping enzi/dragon screw combo follows, but they don't see Robinson blind-tag his way into the fray. He unloads a flurry of cannonball sentons to both Lethal and St. Giovanni. Fin-Juice give Leon a real working over with plenty of offence punishing the ribs and back. It's a great tactic to slow down 'the Human Rocket' of course, and is carried out with such precision that Gresham, Lethal and Ali are all poised to break up any pinfall such is their certainty that LSG will be incapable. He does finally back flip out of an attempted back suplex to at least release Shaheem from the C2C corner. Paydirt on Juice! Saint-splosion on Finlay, followed by a gutwrench powerbomb from Ali for 2. Taste Kick by Juice! Lethal Injection blocked...Pulp Friction COUNTERED to an Ace Crusher! Implant DDT from St. Giovanni to Lethal! SPEAR from Finlay to Gresham! Olympic Slam from Shaheem to Finlay, which has Jay diving to break the fall. Lethal and Ali UNLOAD on each other with strikes...TOPE ATOMICO BY ALI! Robinson stops LSG from diving and shoves him to the floor, joining his partner for a double flapjack on Shaheem. TRASH PANDA! Finlay wins, Lifeblood advance at 11:20

Rating - *** - Stylistically different, but structurally very similar to the first Tag Wars 2019 semi-final. The last one was about big dudes beating the crap out of each other; this one was a collection of athletes ditching the formalities to work fast and pack in plenty of thrills. Fin-Juice attacking LSG's ribs was a nice touch and, in an understated way, I thought the contest did a good job of promoting any interaction with World Champion Jay Lethal as extremely significant. It leaves us with a Fin-Juice vs Villain Enterprises final in the main event.

This is a long-overdue rematch from the finals of the Women Of Honor Title Tournament last year. On that night, although it was admittedly a poor and extremely clumsy match, Sumie made history by becoming ROH's first ever Women's Champion. It wasn't the result many expected, and neither did many expect her title reign to last for the majority of the rest of 2018 - where she valiantly defended her prize against top challengers from all over the world. One person she did not defend against in a singles match was 'The Gatekeeper'. Kelly was initially distracted by a brief rivalry with Deonna Purrazzo, then had issues with Jenny Rose, then toured Japan so only appeared sporadically...but she accused Sakai of ducking her. When she finally did get to challenge, as part of a four corner match at Final Battle, Kelly swept the entire field including Sumie to become the new champion. Now flanked by her training partners in 'Camp Klein' and so full of confidence that she is voluntarily defending her belt in every match she wrestles, this showdown with Sumie felt inevitable.

Camp Klein act like a bunch of cartoon goons surrounding Kelly, which I don't think helps her image. She begins the match looking to make a statement by easily throwing the challenger around...but then retreating when the veteran starts landing elbow strikes in return. Sakai's striking starts to become a real problem for the champion, leaving her on her ass in the corner then seeking the refuge of her training partners again. One of them prevents Sumie from hitting a dive to the floor, distracting her so Klein can dump her face-first on the apron. Now Kelly has an opening to dominate Sumie, which she duly does. As always it isn't pretty or perfectly executed, but nevertheless she uses her power to overwhelm her smaller opponent - almost knocking her out with a violent knee strike. Sumie shows her experience again; judo throwing Klein into a cross armbreaker! Spinebuster by Kelly to escape - but she has sustained damage to her arm. She instantly tries to finish things with the K-Power which Sumie counters with a German suplex. She rains elbows down on the champ again, then connects with a TJ Neckbreaker for 2. FRANKENSTEINER by Sakai! Kelly's eyes are rolling around in her head...but she just about manages to move as Sakai MISSES a big moonsault. SPIKE DDT BY SUMIE! That's how she beat Kelly in New Orleans! But this time Klein isn't knocked out and is able to roll to the ropes. Sakai rattles her jaw with a running elbow...and when Camp Klein catch the champ Sumie climbs the ropes and wipes them all out with a TOP ROPE DIVE TO THE FLOOR! Fisherman Buster back in the ring drops Klein on her head once more, bringing us perilously close to a title change. Another member of Camp Klein trips her up, sending her into a thunderous mafia kick by the champ. K-Power nailed, but Sumie kicks out! Smash Mouth nailed! Kelly kicks out at 2! Sakai climbs the ropes once more, but is caught on the top! AVALANCHE K-POWER! Klein has it won with that, but she adds insult to injury by applying the End Of The Match. Given that Sumie is already out cold, Todd instantly calls it. Kelly retains at 12:01

Rating - *** - One of the most heated, and possibly even the best WOH Title Match thus far. By Women Of Honor standards they were given decent time to play with and they filled it with some compelling content. The Camp Klein stuff was awful, but the wrestling was decent throughout. It felt hard-hitting, it felt intense and it played to the strengths of both workers extremely well. Kelly is an uncomplicated, unrelenting and totally unsubtle bruiser. It makes her dangerous to a smaller opponent like Sakai...but in turn Sumie's craft, resilience, stamina and experience make her a real problem for Kelly too. The momentum swung back and forth; each woman believably and logically probing the other for weaknesses. In the end Kelly won in part because her arsenal of offensive bombs out-gunned Sumie, but in part because of her cast of idiots on the outside. The Camp Klein gimmick is already an irritant and legitimately made this match worse with their involvement.

The Twisted Sisterz run in and demolish Sumie, taking advantage of Madison Rayne not being in the building to help the former WOH Champion. Rosa rants at her in Spanish, whilst Holidead delivers a warning to the entire Women Of Honor roster. They leave, and Colt Cabana abandons commentary to help Sumie to the locker-room

NWA/CWFH commentator Joe Galli replaces Colt Cabana at the announce desk for the next match, which is lovely - but feels like it would have made more sense in the Tag Wars 2019 final/main event given that the winners get a spot in the NWA Crockett Cup. He's here to watch NWA National Champion Willie Mack in action it seems...

This could be wild if Delirious cuts the strings and lets these four men go all-out. Taylor and Cobb are clearly building to a clash for the TV Title. Taylor led an attack on Cobb last night (despite walking out on actually facing him in a match), whilst Silas would absolutely like a TV Title shot too given that he is a two-time former champion in his own right. Mack isn't a regular on the ROH roster, and has now started appearing as an NWA representative it seems. Therefore he'd like nothing more than to return to his apparent home promotion with bragging rights over forceful players on the ROH scene like Taylor and Silas.

Taylor and Cobb start, but Shane is blind-tagged out by Silas - whether he likes it or not - before they can lock horns. Taylor does the same thing right back, before he and Young stage a big, fake argument. It lures Jeff in...and Taylor takes his head off with the big Knockout Punch. Young tries to hold the Olympian down, which proves pretty fruitless when Cobb escapes and lands a dropkick. Willie and Taylor tag in, both finding the size of their adversary is preventative of executing their favoured moves. RUNNING RANA by Mack! He goes into a McGuinness-esque headstand, bewitching his foe so he can land a running knee strike. DUELLING STANDING MOONSAULTS by Cobb and Mack gets 2 on Silas! The Last Real Man recovers with a springboard lariat on the apron, set-up after an illegal distraction from Taylor. They give Willie a quick, brutal trip into the guardrails then use repeated fast-paced tags to cut him off from the TV Champ. Taylor's work is constantly punctuated with gestures and verbal volleys across the ring in Cobb's direction too. Mack and Young trade big shots until Willie leaps into the air for the STANDING METEORA! Jeff gets a tag; barrelling into the ring and going strike-for-strike with Taylor. Silas saves his partner from Tour Of The Islands, so eats the ATHLETIC-PLEX as punishment! PUMPHANDLE SUPLEX ON TAYLOR! Willie is injured but still wants the chance to hit a somersault plancha to the floor too. Lungblower/spinebuster combo from Taylor and Silas to Cobb gets 2. Mack and Taylor are legal...and Willie almost wins in an instant off a spinning heel kick. RUNNING CANNONBALL nailed! Stunner COUNTERED to a knee strike by Taylor! DEAD-LIFT GERMAN BY COBB! SLINGSHOT NECKBREAKER by Silas! STUNNER BY WILLIE! Shane punches Mack's lights out before he can dive off the top rope. He and Silas look for a double superplex, as Jeff sneaks behind them for the double powerbomb/superplex Tower Of Doom! This is a great match, which the crowd are eating up. Naturally therefore, here comes Bully Ray to ruin it with some kind of screwy, overbooked bullsh*t. He rants at Todd Sinclair to reverse his 'I Quit' decision from Final Battle until Cobb gets into his face. Young low blows Jeff, causing the match to end in a disqualification at 14:47

Rating - *** - It's a shame there couldn't be a finish to this one as it really was thrilling to watch four athletic, energetic, bigger guys pulverise each other. The Cobb/Mack team in particular were all kinds of fun and their crowd-pleasing offence made them terrific opponents for the aggressive Taylor/Silas duo. I can even give something of a pass on the non-finish as well. Since Cobb and Mack both hold singles championships in their respective companies neither ROH nor NWA would want their champion to drop the fall...and it would clearly be damaging to inflict another loss on Silas or Taylor whilst trying to get this 'sickness' angle off the ground. My preference would've been a twenty minute draw so we got another five minutes of this, then Bully comes out to stop there being 'five more minutes'. But what do I know...

Bully absolutely buries everything about Cobb and Mack, tosses their title belts to the ground, then wanders off to run through the usual 'yell at the fans' routine he's been pulling for more than 20 years

This is a potential showstealer, again if Delirious lets them loose. Romero is a somewhat surprising #1 contender to the TV Title after winning a Proving Ground triple threat last night in Houston. He gets his shot at Cobb in Florida so will have his eyes on building momentum with a big win over ROH's breakout star of 2019 thus far. Their biggest piece of post-Elite recruitment was signing Bandido from under AEW's noses and he has scored a number of high profile wins since debuting. He does, however, compete this evening with injured ribs as a result of his gruelling encounter two nights ago with Silas Young. He competed against doctors orders last night, and appears to have only just beaten medical advice to wrestle this evening too.

Rocky checks on the state of Bandido's bandaged ribs and appears to promise that he won't attack them. He stays true to his word in the opening exchanges which are entirely respectful but largely unproductive for both men. They go back and forth without breaking grip, countering monkey flips repeatedly...during which Bandido's midsection inevitably takes some punishment. Instinctively he tries to quicken the pace; landing a running rana, missing with a dropkick...before walking into a reactive heel kick into the stomach from Romero which causes him to double over in pain. Rocky apologises and helps him up off the canvas but it is clear just how vulnerable Bandido is tonight. It doesn't stomp him back-flipping, or hitting a satellite headscissors. Romero stops him hitting a big dive, hits the ropes himself for a TOPE SUICIDA INTO THE GUARDRAILS! Bandido's injured midsection absolutely crumpled against the steel railings there and a count-out at this early stage is a real possibility. He valiantly returns and facewashes Rocky in the corner. Jumping senton splash scores...and is immediately regretted; Bandido curling up in pain. For some reason he tries it a second time, and on this occasion Rocky puts knees deep into the back. Having enough of playing nice, Romero delivers a running punt to the ribs right after and gets 2. Shrugging his shoulders, and having seen Bandido willing to sacrifice his own body to pursue victory - Romero is now aware he needs to work the injury if he wants to win. He launches a sustained attack on the ribs and once again leaves his masked foe in a crumpled heap on the arena floor. Gory Special stretches out the injuries, but doesn't yield a submission before Bandido escapes with a lucha armdrag. Satellite DDT by Bandido, but Romero almost beats him back to his feet such is the extent of the damage sustained. He lands another running rana and goes for broke...TOPE ATOMICO TO THE FLOOR NAILED! It takes mere seconds for Romero to land more offence on the ribs to shut him down though, and he almost wins the match with a rebound DDT too. Bandido slithers to the apron, tries a springboard...but EATS a dropkick to the ribs. SPRINGBOARD DROPKICK TO THE BACK! Forever Clotheslines blocked...Shiranui blocked! X-KNEE NAILED! Both men go down. After almost a full minute on the deck they return to a vertical base and CHOP THE SH*T out of each other! Palm strikes by Rocky drop Bandido to his knees, only for him to fire back with a POP-UP CUTTER! SPRINGBOARD SUPER RANA BY BANDIDO! CODE RED GETS 2! 21-Plex countered to a roll-up for 2. Discus lariat by Bandido! He rips the bandaging away from his midsection and lines up the 21-PLEX! Bandido wins at 19:42

Rating - **** - Another in a rapidly-growing list of outstanding Bandido/ROH matches in early 2019. This was dramatic, exciting, extremely well-paced and tonally perfect for the audience they were working in front of. The vast majority of the chanting from the crowd was in Spanish and they were SO behind both guys. Rocky was in no way working as a heel (the way he gradually built into working the ribs was really skilful and completely believable), but Bandido was so compelling and sympathetic as he fought through injury it was impossible not to route for him. Could he have sold the ribs better on a technical level - probably. But, the way he used his body language, his eyes and vocals to get the audience behind him reminded me so much of what made El Generico so great. This show has been solid so far, but needed a hook...and here it is. There is an argument to be made that it is Rocky's best ROH singles match ever in fact.

In my opinion this is a match ROH should have held out on, until they could probably build up to it and promote it properly. However, one can't help but respect the fact that Delirious has unleashed these guys in a major match almost as soon as Haskins has made it to the US. This one now forms part of a Villain Enterprises vs Lifeblood double header of main events (since it will be Fin-Juice vs Brody/PCO in the next match) too. Clearly Scurll has bragging rights. He is the major international star coming out of the UK, following in the footsteps and traditions of guys like Doug Williams and Nigel McGuinness. But Haskins is the pretender to that crown. Not only does he want to prove himself the top English export into ROH, as a member of Lifeblood the 'villainous' ways of someone like Marty are precisely what his group have been founded to stomp out. 

Haskins and Scurll hug to acknowledge their lengthy history together...but as soon as the bell rings they try to punch each other's lights out. Mark knocks The Villain to the floor, rolls through the ropes to fake a dive before landing a tope suicida on the other side of the ring. Ole Kick nailed, leaving Scurll flat on his ass on the floor. He tries another Ole Kick, but this time Scurll hops onto the apron and delivers the Superkick as he charges the rails. But he takes too long celebrating with the fans and walks into a PK from Haskins, then another Ole Kick for good measure. Clearly Haskins has identified striking as an area he has the edge on Marty because, even once back in the ring he keeps peppering the former TV Champion with them. It leaves him so confident that he actually tries to choke Scurll to unconsciousness with a sleeper hold - and it nearly works. At last Marty escapes, kicks out the legs and drops him with a hanging lungblower in the corner. Tope suicida nailed by The Villain; taking risks in an effort to one-up his opponent. Indeed, he decides to copy Haskins again by using an Ole Kick as well. Tornado DDT back into the ring gets 2, with the pace slowing and The Villain starting to control proceedings. Chickenwing blocked...HALF NELSON SUPLEX INSTEAD! Haskins no sells, so Marty clubs him down again with a lariat for 2. FINGER SNAP! But Haskins pops his finger back into place! Graduation COUNTERED to the Sharpshooter! It leaves Marty desperately scrambling to the ropes, then getting kicked in the face for his trouble. Flying double stomp gets 2. STAR ARMBAR! Scurll refuses to tap and rolls through...but is almost pinned when Haskins counters his attempt at the Chickenwing into a pinfall. Landslide gets 2 for Haskins! Marty absolutely thumps him with an elbow strike, then they both start frenetically trading pinfall counters. Scurll is able to hold Haskins down, grabbing a pinfall victory at 12:13

Rating - *** - This was a fun match. They fought with great energy, acknowledged some of their history together and kept plenty back for a potential rematch with more build in future. That said, I was a little disappointed with this. I'll freely acknowledge that following Bandido/Rocky put them in a tough spot, but it all felt rather lacking in ambition. There are plenty of examples of matches in ROH history (particularly under Sinclair) that have gotten this much time - or less - and still utilised a really crisp and concise narrative to hold it together. Both men have that in their locker, but seemed content to plough through twelve minutes of brawling, striking and spots without much connective tissue. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it...but it is to say that this doesn't scratch the surface of what they are capable of as individual wrestlers and as opponents.

Kelly Klein interrupts Ian and Colt hyping Rush's return for the upcoming Florida shows. She calls out Mayu Iwatani and challenges her to a match at those events...

We know what these two teams are fighting for. At stake is a Tag Title shot at the 17th Anniversary show, and as a bonus they will also get a spot in the upcoming NWA Crockett Cup too. As we just covered, the ideologies of the two teams could not be more different. Brody and PCO are Villains; heavies recruited to stand at the side of Marty Scurll after all his friends 'died'. Lifeblood have formed to drive such villainy out of Ring Of Honor and know that possession of ROH gold is critical to the success of their mission. After three nights of gruelling combat, including two high octane semi-finals earlier in the show - how much do the four men have left in the tank in our main event? 

Lifeblood offer handshakes to the victorious Villains just as they did at the start of the match...but they are declined again. The Briscoes run in despite not being booked for this show and get into the faces of Brody and PCO. Of course, a brawl breaks out and it is GREAT! Mark gives King the Cactus Elbow whilst Jay just keeps NAILING PCO with a chair as he refuses to go down. FROGGY BOW THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR! BUT PCO GETS RIGHT BACK UP! Security rushes the ringside area trying to separate them to no avail, and Mark throws Brody into the guardrails on the top of his head. CHAIR THROWING DUEL between Mark and PCO! UNPROTECTED CHAIR SHOT DUEL! HOLY SH*T! PCO is still grinning like a lunatic too! The show fades out with security still frantically trying to pull the four men apart...

3) Marty Scurll vs Mark Haskins (***)

2) Jeff Cobb/Willie Mack vs Shane Taylor/Silas Young (***)

1) Bandido vs Rocky Romero (****)

7) Marty Scurll vs Mark Haskins (*** - San Antonio)

6) Brody King/PCO vs Vinny Marseglia/TK O'Ryan (*** - Dallas)

5) Jeff Cobb/Willie Mack vs Shane Taylor/Silas Young (*** - San Antonio)

4) Lifeblood vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe/Shane Taylor/Silas Young/Bully Ray (**** - Houston)

3) Bandido vs Silas Young (**** - Dallas)

2) Bandido vs Rocky Romero (**** - San Antonio)

1) Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham vs Tracy Williams/Mark Haskins (**** - Dallas)