McXal's Reviews

Of the three 'live events' that form the 2019 War Of The Worlds Tour (Night 4 in Chicago is a TV taping), this show is arguably the one with the most build and the most-stacked card. It is headlined by a hotly-anticipated World Title showdown as Canada's own PCO challenges Matt Taven - which should certainly be a spectacle if not a wrestling classic. This show also includes Kojima and Nagata's only singles matches of the tour as well, against Jay Lethal and Silas Young respectively. The undercard sees the Briscoes in a grudge match with Lifeblood's Mark Haskins and Tracy Williams, another big test of Rush's undefeated streak as he faces the veteran PJ Black, whilst EVIL & SANADA of LIJ face The Kingdom's Vinny Marseglia and TK O'Ryan. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana provide commentary from Toronto, ONT.

This is a major opportunity for the NJPW LA Dojo squad to test themselves against stalwarts of New Japan's main roster. The Guerrillas Of Destiny are the reigning IWGP Tag Champions too, which would lend even greater significance on any victory the Young Lions may score over them tonight. They team with their younger, taller brother Hikuleo - himself a graduate of the Dojo system - and will look to secure an emphatic victory this evening as they prepare for their grudge match with the Briscoes at the end of the tour.

Coughlin and Loa start in a familiar pattern; the LA Dojo Young Lion unsettling the more established star with his firm grasp of Shibata-taught fundamentals. Tonga tags and tries to strike Alex into his place, but is caught off-guard with more basic offence then overwhelmed 3-on-1 in the Young Lion corner. Tama drops Coughlin with a bad-tempered lariat and feeds him into a running powerslam from Loa...before they leave him for big Hikuleo to have some fun. Coughlin continues to defiantly absorb punishment from the Tongans though and finally fights his way back to his corner for a tag to Fredericks. He hits a Stinger Splash on Tama, who himself uses that move and angrily hits it right back at the Young Lion moments later after Loa tackles Karl into the corner. Connors and Coughlin storm the ring for a 3-on-1 attack on Hikuleo but the GOD quickly save their little brother. Tongan Twist takes out Coughlin...as Connors takes a run-up and Spears Tama! T-Bomb by Hikuleo, winning the match for his team at 09:57

Rating - * - Sloppy at the end, largely uninteresting throughout and offering almost no value to Ring Of Honor as a promotion. Even judged by New Japan Young Lion vs established act standards this wasn't particularly good. Hikuleo is arguably ahead of the LA Dojo kids in terms of exposure but actually looked a lot worse than them in terms of wrestling skill. This had no business going almost ten minutes.

This is one of my most anticipated matches of the entire tour, but its positioning on the card makes me suspect it won't go very long. Young is a long-time favourite of mine on the current ROH roster; a versatile worker with an established character who never fails to entertain. He meets the decorated New Japan veteran Yuji Nagata; a man who has won almost all there is to win in Japan but has plenty of experience wrestling all over the world.

Nagata gets the better of the opening exchanges, getting Young more and more agitated until he finally takes a cheap-shot at the veteran. Nagata doesn't like that at all and starts swinging kicks at the Last Real Man. Silas protects himself with throat chops when Yuji starts trying to target the arm in preparation for some of the Nagata Lock variants. With the former IWGP Champion still catching his breath Young climbs on top of him with a chinlock, then guillotines the throat over the top rope too. Nagata rallies with more kicks before unleashing the Exploder Suplex for 2. Silas scurries to the ropes to block a Fujiwara Armbar and comes away from those same ropes to deliver the Anarchist Suplex. Misery scores, but knocking referee Paul Turner to the ground in the process. It means the official isn't in position to count Nagata's shoulders down, much to Young's annoyance. He decides to bring a steel chair in whilst Turner is still KO'd...and Nagata actually dares him to use it. Young tosses the chair to Yuji then goes down selling a fake chair shot in the hopes of getting him disqualified. Nagata goofs around for a bit, then wraps the chair around his head and lies down alongside Silas! The furious Young tries to get the chair back - and is now seen by Paul Turner and disqualified for presumed weapon use. 10:02 was the time.

Rating - * - I'm not sure I could have envisioned a less interesting match between these two big characters, nor could I have booked a worse finish if I'd have been trying to do so. Clearly that conclusion was dumb, but actually it wasn't the worst thing about the match for me. Irksome as it was, it is in keeping with Silas' current character progression and he has used nefarious tactics to con referee's into two controversial victories over Jon Gresham recently. For me, worse than the finish was how lazy the actual body of the match was. Silas injected a modicum of purpose by trying to work Nagata's throat, but for the most part this was just low key, paint-by-numbers routine stuff for them in essence stalling for time and filling the match with meaningless mediocrity until it was time to go home. There won't be a bigger disappointment on the entire tour, and this is a colossal waste of Nagata's only singles match in ROH (to date).

Silas jumps Nagata after the match, but even then isn't allowed to get his heat back because Nagata simply drops him and locks in an armbar.

Ian R points out that these four men have met quite a few times in multi-man matches. This latest instalment is an interesting one as you feel that both teams need a win to secure a path towards the Guerrillas Of Destiny - but for different reasons. LIJ have an ongoing rivalry with GOD over the IWGP Tag Championship, whilst The Kingdom would love the opportunity to secure the ROH Tag Championship which the Guerrillas also hold. Apparently there is also some bad blood between Marseglia and EVIL, with Vinny believing that as 'The Horror King', nobody is more evil than him.

O'Ryan tells the camera that he has figured out the solution to Sanada's Paradise Lock and duly starts the match with him. He is full of confidence and has no problem keeping up with the extremely athletic LIJ representative early on. He counters the Paradise Lock...and tries to put it on Sanada in return. Sanada pretends he is trapped, waits until TK celebrates then pops up to level him with a dropkick. Evil and Vinny tag with Marseglia so fired up that he actually gets the better of the bigger man in a strike exchange. Evil starts using tricks like pulling the beard or dreadlocks to get ahead instead. Vinny and Sanada double up on Evil to regain control; trapping him in their corner so they can work him over. Spinebuster/diving headbutt combo gets 2, and is delivered with impressive precision to keep Evil right in their corner whilst executing. Evil finally escapes with a superkick to Vinny's ass, releasing Sanada who quickly hits a standing moonsault on the Horror King. Vinny stops Sanada from applying the Paradise Lock though and The Kingdom hit a double flapjack then a hopelessly out-of-sync diving headbutt/leg drop combo. Sanada blocks House Of 1000 Horses and hits a TKO on O'Ryan. Magic Killer on Marseglia gives LIJ the win at 10:03

Rating - ** - LIJ played the hits, but to their credit The Kingdom went the extra mile to make this interesting by working some intriguing character plot-points around EVIL and SANADA's usual act. Vinny wanted to be 'more evil' than EVIL, whilst O'Ryan tried to thwart SANADA's standard shenanigans involving the Paradise Lock. It amounted to very little and this felt like a routine victory for Los Ingobernables de Japon in the end but the match really is only noteworthy because of what Vinny and TK contributed.

Having gone months without a singles loss, Rush is now a scalp everyone on the roster would love to take. Next up is another stern test in the form of PJ Black. The Darewolf is still trying to find his place in ROH and knows being the first man to beat Rush would finally deliver that signature victory in this promotion that he has been looking for.

Black drags the explosive luchador to the canvas which visibly irritates him. He tries to swat PJ away but fails to free himself. Slowly the pace starts to quicken though, and at this stage of Black's career it doesn't favour him. He stumbles into a leaping forearm strike and immediately retreats to the floor. Out there he springs an ambush for Rush; leaping from the ground to kick him in the face before propelling him into the guardrails. Abdominal stretch applied, again geared around trying to slow El Toro Blanco down. It leaves Rush on his knees and defenceless as the Darewolf repeatedly delivers big strikes. SNAP GERMAN out of nowhere by Rush! Once again Black runs away to curtail Rush's momentum - but this time Rush intercepts him on the outside and pays him back for earlier with repeated trips into the barricades. Back in the ring he hits a belly to belly suplex into the turnbuckles - followed by the BULL'S HORNS! Rush wins, meaning the streak continues at 06:05

Rating - *** - ROH have obviously decided they like having Rush work these explosive, high-octane sprints in the middle of the card to flesh out his undefeated streak. It went wayward last night in Buffalo during his match with Silas Young, but this one had me from start to finish; telling a really intriguing story. PJ Black is internationally-recognised as a world class high-flier...so it was fascinating to see him compete despite age and countless injuries taking away what was previously acknowledged as his most potent weapons. He was more cumbersome and less athletic than Rush, but worked around that with a strategy designed to constantly slow down and thwart Rush's momentum. For five minutes it worked and he dominated...but as soon as Rush was able he shut it down and then dispatched Black in mere seconds. Punchy and brief, this was exactly the match I wanted from these guys - all action with absolutely no wasted movement or sequence.

As soon as Rush leaves, Dalton Castle comes out. Despite an unpleasant afternoon in Toronto, he feels happy because he has finally gotten rid of The Boys. Apparently it is now time for the 'renaissance of Dalton Castle'...

The Lifeblood angle itself has already been so marginalised that Ian and Colt barely even mention that this is something of a grudge match because the Briscoes, Bully, Silas and Taylor have been such rule-breaking menaces all through 2019 so far - directly opposing the values that Lifeblood were formed to protect. The Briscoes are gearing up for their Tag Title shot against the GOD in Chicago so can't afford a loss here.

Haskins and Mark start, with the Englishman obviously trying to work a grap-heavy style on the canvas. He almost rolls Briscoe into the Samoan Driver early, but is thwarted by the arrival of Jay to help his brother. Tracy in to help his partner as well, putting Jay in a Boston Crab whilst Haskins drives boots into the back of his head. They try to attack Jay's arm but fall victim to the experience of the Briscoes who easily divide and conquer. Eventually both members of Lifeblood are skittled on the outside with a top rope corkscrew senton from Mark. Jay seems to be trying to cave Haskins' skull in; stomping on his head from multiple positions. Crossface strikes from Mark Briscoe as well and together the Briscoes barely let Haskins off the canvas. Jay gets distracted taking a cheap swing at Williams, taking his eyes from Haskins for mere seconds - allowing the British fighter away for the hot tag. Hot Sauce slaps Mark in the face and DUMPS him with a high angle back suplex. Flying Rocker Dropper on Jay, then a discus lariat on Mark gets 2. The Briscoes leave the ring, only to absorb big kicks from the apron by Lifeblood. TOPE SUICIDA/TOP ROPE PLANCHA COMBO NAILED! That dive sequence from Lifeblood opens up the cut the GOD gave Jay Briscoe last night, as inside the ring Haskins hits the Samoan Driver then puts Mark in the Star Armbar! Jay breaks the hold and levels Haskins with the Day One Neckbreaker. Jay Driller blocked, with Tracy sailing in to hit a Frog Splash for 2. Mark tries to come off the top rope but is intercepted by Williams. Jay nabs him...DOOMSDAY DEVICE! Jay pins Williams to win at 13:15

Rating - *** - It is disappointing that these two teams weren't permitted to put on more of a show. This was thoroughly decent for an undercard tag but they are clearly capable of much more than this. Obviously Briscoes/GOD is the 'money match' of the entire tour so ROH need to protect the Briscoes from injury I suppose - but it was frustrating to see these extremely talented wrestlers tease moments of greatness only to settle for a competitive, feisty but relatively formulaic and predictable encounter.

Bully Ray trundles down the aisle with a smirk on his face, congratulating the Briscoes on their work for the evening. He reminds Lifeblood that they cut a promo telling Bubba to 'come find them', and now stands over the fallen Williams taunting him for taking out Tenille. He gloats that Juice is 'in Japan doing jobs' and that Finlay is injured so he can't beat him like he used to do to his father...then extends some unpleasant remarks towards Haskins' wife as well. Haskins threatens him with a chair, prompting Bully to leave...

After intermission Women Of Honor Champion Kelly Klein marches to the ring. She is here to be a fighting champion and to defend her title in Canada for the first time - and wants to face someone from Canada accordingly. The Allure come out, fronted by Angelina Love (who is Canadian). Love reminds Kelly that she is a six-time recognised Women's World Champion and goes through multiple cheap pops. It's a swerve of course, she is happy to have left Canada for the US and decides she'd rather face Klein for the belt when they get back to the States...

This is actually a rematch, with Lethal having successfully defended the ROH World Title against Koji back in 2016 on the final date of the G1 Climax Tour in NJPW. It also marks Kojima's first ROH singles match since he beat another former ROH Champion - Homicide - back at Final Battle 2003. 

The pace is predictably slow from the bell, with Kojima trying to engineer situations where his bulk and power give him an edge. Lethal kicks at Koji's thick legs then sweeps him off his feet into the hiptoss/dropkick sequence. He keeps attacking the leg...but Kojima is able to floor Jay with a single swiping strike as soon as he gets back up. The veteran isn't overly interested in selling the leg injury as he puts the boots to ROH's 'Franchise' in truth. Jay isn't deterred and hooks it again for a Russian legsweep and deathlock on the canvas. This time when Kojima gets back to his feet, Jay is prepared and pounces again to nail a shinbreaker. Koji muscles him into the corner for Machine Gun Chops, vaguely paralleling the situation Lethal's mentor Samoa Joe found himself in with Kenta Kobashi almost fifteen years earlier. Jay escapes and hits an elbow drop to the exposed leg on the concrete floor...but as he walks away on the apron Kojima LARIATS THE LEGS from under him. APRON DDT by Kojima! The old-timer ascends the ropes for the 'Bakayaro Elbow' and gets 2. When Jay tries to get up Koji simply grabs him for another DDT, planting him on his head again. Blue Thunder Driver by Lethal in response - but he is so beaten down that he can't capitalise. Figure 4 Leglock eventually applied, but Kojima's size is such that he is able to grab the bottom rope. Lethal Injection dodged, right into the KOJI CUTTER! He goes to finish it...only for Jay to pop up from the ground into the Lethal Combination. LETHAL INJECTION COUNTERED WITH A LARIAT! BRAINBUSTER! Koji winds up a final Lariat...but Lethal blocks by kicking the arm! LARIAT DUCKED...LETHAL INJECTION! Lethal wins at 15:01

Rating - *** - Slow going early on, and it took Kojima a little while to warm up and really start firing. However, by the end it was thrilling stuff as Kojima tried to roll back the years and put down one of ROH's top stars. Lethal going over is the right decision; a victory over Kojima does nothing to damage the NJPW star's reputation in his home promotion but does much to repair Lethal's status following his loss at G1 Supercard without having to put him over other ROH guys. My biggest criticism of this was that I found the work on Kojima's leg very confusing. From a tactical perspective I understood Lethal's motivation, but Koji's selling veered wildly from disinterested to theatrically over-the-top without much of an explanation, and was only relevant to the finish in passing too. 

This wasn't originally scheduled to be a TV Title Match, but Taylor apparently pressured Cobb into putting the title on the line. Both Taylor and Goto have fallen to Cobb in previous defences so are keen to avenge those losses. Goto has previous experience of beating Jeff in New Japan, whilst Taylor vs Cobb at the 17th Anniversary is arguably the best match of either man's ROH careers thus far. Brody is the wild card - coming to the ring on the back of an outrageously successful 2019 which has seen him capture the ROH Tag and Six-Man Titles, win Tag Wars 2019, win the 2019 Crockett Cup and therefore also become an NWA Tag Champion too. Can he now add his first ROH singles championship to the mix as well?

Taylor narrates everyone else's entrances, spits at King and gets straight into a fist-fight with Cobb from the opening bell. They brawl around the ring whilst Goto and King trade shoulder tackles inside it. Goto gets the better of that exchange but gets no time to celebrate before Jeff is in his face throwing elbows. Brody drops Taylor with a running rana, clearing everyone from the ring into prime position for a SOMERSAULT PLANCHA! He and Taylor have some fun lighting each other up with chops, until Shane rocks his previously broken jaw with a battering ram forearm strike. Knock Out Punch from Taylor to Cobb...but in turn Shane walks into a lariat from Goto! Discus Lariat from Brody to Goto as well, leaving everyone on the canvas. Cobb blocks the Gonzo Bomb by body slamming King into a standing moonsault! Back Drop Driver from Goto gets 2...so Jeff decimates him with the Athletic-Plex. Rope-hung cannonball from King to Cobb, but Brody lowers his head and eats the CLEVELAND DESTROYER from Taylor. Shane T plots Brody's demise with a second rope splash, only to be captured out of the corner by Goto and given the Ushigoroshi. Goto looks to finish Cobb, turning his back on King just as he unleashes another lariat. GERMAN SUPLEX from Cobb to King. NO SOLD! TOUR OF THE ISLANDS! KNEE STRIKE BY TAYLOR knocking Cobb to the floor! GREETINGS FROM 216! Taylor pins King to win the title at 09:05

Rating - *** - Discussing the match first; it was good and delivered pretty much what you'd want or expect. That being four big guys beating the hell out of each other, doing some outrageously athletic stuff and hitting big offensive bombs for the full duration. Taylor did his job as the antagonist, Cobb was by far the most over man in the match, Goto produced his usual stuff (which in this circumstance is fine) and Brody was probably the stand-out performer with his athleticism coming to the fore. Taylor is a deserving TV Champion, having been one of ROH's most under-valued/under-rated assets for quite some time - whilst Cobb has been ready to be inserted into the World Title picture for some time so loses very little by having the TV Title taken off him. The problem comes, not for the first time under Delirious' booking, with the fact that this title change felt so sudden and undercooked. Taylor and Cobb had an absolute thriller at the Anniversary Show...but have barely been near each other since. Indeed, after producing the performance of his life in that PPV match it's hard to say that Taylor has done much at all since then. He literally jobs to Bandido on TV the day after this show. If the plan was to put the TV Title on him, why wasn't he put right back on TV calling for a rematch? Why hasn't he stayed in the same orbit as Cobb. Fans were shocked, then loudly jeered the finish here. That wasn't heat for Taylor. That was love for Jeff Cobb, and a complete lack of willingness to accept Taylor as a viable champion...because at no point in his ROH run has he ever been booked with any consistency. Perhaps that will come now he is the champion and it is an opportunity he really does deserve - but the lack of ability to long-term book the product properly means this title change really didn't have the impact it should have. 

An agitated Jeff Cobb, who wasn't pinned to lose, hands his belt over to Taylor - who doesn't accept it with much grace; snatching it off him and ordering Jeff out of the ring.

PCO earned this title shot by pinning Taven in a successful Villain Enterprise defence of the Six-Man Championship against former champions The Kingdom at Masters Of The Craft 2019. The Monster has, like Brody King, torn through Ring Of Honor in 2019 racking up tournament and championship wins with unprecedented rapidity. Taven hasn't been World Champion for long, but in truth nothing could prepare him for the challenge of PCO. Few champions in Ring Of Honor's 17+ year history have ever faced a challenger like PCO in fact. Last night in Buffalo Matt even tried to attack his challenger, only for PCO to entirely ignore a direct shot to the head with the title belt. Destro accompanies PCO to the ring for the biggest match of his ROH career so far, participating in another bizarre entrance which involves car batteries and PCO snapping a wrench over his own leg.

Rather than follow the Code Of Honor, PCO demands that Taven jump him from behind just like he did last night. Taven manages to knock him out of the ring with Kick Of The King...but is astonished to see PCO standing there right after demanding he try a big dive. This time Matt refuses and instead starts stomping on the challenger's head. Moments later he does try a tope suicida, only to be caught around the throat by PCO for a CHOKESLAM ON THE APRON! PCO then 'short circuits' and hits a tope suicida onto absolutely nobody on the wrong side of the ring - as in he ate the arena floor hard. Obviously that confuses everyone, but Destro quickly urges the Monster back to his feet - and back across to the other side of the ring for a TOPE CON HILO! The champion is doing little more than trying to get away from PCO at this point and clings to the ropes to evade a Package Piledriver. MICHINOKU DRIVER INSTEAD! Vinny Marseglia and TK O'Ryan sprint down the aisle with Taven seemingly on the brink of defeat as the challenger climbs for the PCO-Sault. They distract him for long enough for Matt to get back to his feet...only for PCO to counter the Climax into a lariat. Marseglia holds his axe in the ring...and Taven RAMS PCO'S FACE INTO IT! It busts open PCO's only good eye which Taven quickly makes worse by bashing his face into the ringpost as well. It means that PCO is now fighting almost blind, and he continues to take more damage as Taven repeatedly strikes, stomps and claws at the bloody eye injury. Even when PCO lands a few hopeful chops, Matt simply cuts his momentum off with repeated DDT's right onto his damaged face. POP-UP POWERBOMB! TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER! Even blind PCO has enough fire-power to put Taven on the brink of defeat - so once again the champ crawls to the apron trying to escape. SOMERSAULT PLANCHA ONTO THE APRON BY PCO! Only the second time he has ever successfully hit it! Still Taven tries to get away, now with PCO in pursuit pinballing him off the guardrails. CLIMAX THROUGH A CHAIR! Taven wants a count-out victory, but with Destro again firing up PCO he beats the count. SO TAVEN SUNSET FLIP BOMBS HIM OFF THE APRON! Aurora Borealis gets 2. Huge portions of the crowd are on their feet roaring PCO on now...even as Taven blasts him with Just The Tip. He tries the same move again but this time PCO counters with a dragon screw. PACKAGE PILEDRIVER! CANNONBALL SENTON! PCO-SAULT! But he misses Taven when trying to pin him due to the eye injury, using valuable seconds during which O'Ryan manages to drape Matt's leg in the ropes. Marseglia grabs Destro outside the ring, so PCO marches out and POWERBOMBS HIM THROUGH A TABLE! In the most ugly manner possible too. TK passes Taven a purple spike...which Taven rams into PCO's eye! He pins PCO, with the challenger kicking out almost as soon as the three-count is completed. The building is confused, but Taven has retained and The Kingdom quickly flee the scene. 18:05 was your time

Rating - **** - This match is probably a microcosm of Matt Taven's entire World Title reign. It was kind of weird, probably shouldn't have been an ROH Championship main event, featured way too much interference...but holy sh*t did they ever work hard and produce a much better match than you might ever have predicted. Upon reflection I'm sure they probably did get too far down the rabbit-hole with the 'PCO's not Human' routine. The tope onto nobody spot was idiotic (and would've made much more sense if they'd have done it after he'd been blinded), it didn't need to become a 3-on-1 match at the end and they definitely didn't need PCO kicking out almost as the three-count was made, confusing everyone in the building. But the drama in this match was real. PCO legitimately only has one 'good' eye and it was bleeding profusely. He was such a monstrous juggernaut here, with Taven doing such a good job across the ring from him as a total weasel - that you really did buy him as unstoppable. The crowd were as lively and organically 'into' an ROH match as I've seen at any point this year. I may have found it a slightly strange match but I can't deny that it connected with a live audience in a way that very little else ROH has done in 2019 really has. 

Tape Rating - ** - This show is an interesting contrast to the Buffalo event the previous evening. On the one hand there is a higher quantity of 'better' matches this evening, compared with more than half a card of filler on Night One. But I don't necessarily think that makes Toronto a better show. Taven/PCO was great, unique and watchable in a way that few Ring Of Honor matches have been of late. But although more matches hit a 3* level, that doesn't make them can't miss bouts or worth going out of your way to see as a casual/selective viewer. This is a decent night of wrestling - but was anything outside of Taven/PCO even close to the level of Bandido/Flip or the Villains Six-Man Title defence last night? Only a couple of matches on this show felt like they got appropriate time allocations to deliver what you'd want or expect, hampering the end product as a result - which is drastically different to the Buffalo show which was really well managed in that regard. The reality is that there was probably more for a 'selective' Honor Club viewer last night than there was here...

3) Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Tracy Williams/Mark Haskins (***)

2) Jay Lethal vs Satoshi Kojima (***)

1) Matt Taven vs PCO (****)