McXal's Reviews

This is the second of a two night adventure into new markets for Ring Of Honor, and is the final stop on the road to Best In The World 2019. Defy Or Deny returns in the main event, with three men who have already failed to take the World Championship from Matt Taven lining up for another crack at the champ; Mark Haskins, Flip Gordon and PCO. We'll also see another chapter in the Jay Briscoe/Jay Lethal saga as they meet in a singles match for the first time in more than two years. There's also a rather unappealing Tag Title #1 contendership Gauntlet Match in the middle of the card if those are your thing. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana are here for ROH's debut in Portland, OR.

The show opens with the odious sight of Bully Ray on the stage hurling abuse at the commentators. He insults a few fans then challenges 'anybody in Ring Of Honor' to a fight. Tracy Williams answers the challenge, with a trash can full of weapons. He dares Bubba to get 'Hardcore' and accept an Anything Goes Match...which Bully accepts by kicking him in the nuts

Bubba has been a natural enemy of Lifeblood all year. His self-centred, self-indulgent rule-breaking throughout the year is what Lifeblood formed to eliminate from Ring Of Honor. Bully lashed out by injuring Tenille Dashwood, taking her out of Lifeblood and Ring Of Honor permanently. He mocked Finlay for his injury and Juice Robinson for fleeing to Japan, has cost Mark Haskins the World Title and made disparaging comments about Haskins' wife too. At G1 Supercard Lifeblood did get a measure of revenge when they teamed with Flip Gordon to beat Bully in his hometown...but the feud continues, and has now become so personal that elite technician 'Hot Sauce' Tracy Williams wants to get hardcore with an ECW legend.

With Williams already down after the nutshot, Bully orders the bell to ring then belts him in the head with the microphone. He then launches Tracy head-first through the garbage can. Bully starts taunting Williams and starts throwing suplexes just to show he can wrestle. In particular the German suplexes he throws look brutal. He tries to choke Tracy out in the corner too...only for Hot Sauce to counter him into a hanging armbar in the ropes! Tracy tries to follow by springboarding out of the corner, but bounces violently off Bully's beefy torso and collapses to the mat. Back drop through the trash can by Bubba gets 2. The Hardcore veteran extracts a table from under the ring but then instead grabs a kendo stick and flogs Williams with it instead. Next he rips Tracy's shoulder brace off and precisely canes the shoulder for good measure. Tracy escapes with a Testicular Claw, only for Bully to toss him backwards so hard he actually flies over the table altogether. Senton bomb misses for Bully, and Williams flash pins him for the 'shock' win at 08:08

Rating - ** - I'm as vocal a Bully Ray critic as anyone and I certainly didn't enjoy seeing Tracy Williams wasted taking a beating from him here. But I did find this to be a lively opening match with a simple, easy to follow structure, a recognisable name and a world class wrestler to ease a new market into Ring Of Honor. Give me this over the NJPW LA Dojo guys working the exact same match on repeat any day.

Bully instantly cheap shots Williams, then knocks out referee Todd Sinclair as well. Mark Haskins runs out to make the save...until Bully caves his face in with a big boot then powerbombs him through the still-open table. Haskins chances of winning Defy Or Deny just got a lot smaller.

Given than ROH's women's division consists almost entirely at this stage of Kelly Klein and The Allure, clearly there are spots up for grabs. Mazzerati is back having debuted in Las Vegas earlier in the year. Her opponent makes her WOH debut this evening, and is barely over a year in the business. Each woman will be looking to win and to catch the eye of fighting champion Kelly Klein...

Mazzerati riles the crowd up with her big attitude and refusal to follow the Code Of Honor, and she begins the match by slapping her opponent. Danika retorts with a dropkick...so Mazz rakes the eyes and leaves the ring. DDR tries to give chase but finds Mazzerati lying in wait to deliver an armbreaker in the ropes. Northern lights suplex gets 2, followed by a vertical suplex causing Danika to land hard on her neck. Della Rouge climbs the ropes, only to be crotched on the turnbuckles by a diving Mazzerati. German suplex by Danika...but it doesn't yield a victory. After some sloppy miscues on a few strikes, Mazz delivers a spinning heel kick to win at 05:00

Rating - ** - There wasn't much more these two could have accomplished with just five more minutes of ring-time. It's a shame they got a little messy at the finish, because before that this felt extremely solid. Mazzerati has a lot of presence and drew plenty of heat from the thinly-spread crowd in this cavernous building.

Mazzerati has barely picked herself off the canvas before she finds herself getting assaulted by The Allure, who give Danika similar treatment as well. Velvet uses lipstick to put The Allure's signal onto the KO'd Della Rouge's forehead.

Riccaboni bills this as a big opportunity for Woods, which is absolutely right. He returned from hiatus a couple of months ago and has been beating enhancement talents with ease on television. But he is now tested with a genuine, veteran opponent and needs to demonstrate that he has improved and is now finally able to deliver on the potential which saw him win the 2017 Top Prospect Tournament. Mark could be excused for looking past this match, with grudge matches against an NWA team at Best In The World, followed by Guerrillas Of Destiny at Manhattan Mayhem.

Mark piefaces Woods and tries to talk smack...until Josh knocks the sh*t out of him in the corner. Briscoe somersaults out of a back body drop, only to be smashed in the corner again with a big knee strike. Belly to belly suplex tosses Mark out of the ring and Woods gives chase to barrel him into the guardrails too. BELLY TO BELLY ON THE FLOOR! Rolling gutwrench suplexes force Briscoe to leave the ring again, this time setting a trap that allows him to toss Woods head-first into the barricades. He also returns the favour with a vertical suplex on the outside. SECOND ROPE CACTUS ELBOW TO THE FLOOR! And when Josh tries to escape Mark gives him a back suplex on the apron as well. Back in the ring Briscoe tries to control Woods with headlocks...until The Goods muscles him into a back suplex to leave them both reeling. Woods peppers Briscoe with elbows and kicks once again forcing the veteran to retreat. Mark clings to the ropes to avoid being suplexed to the floor. Josh keeps pulling though...GERMAN SUPLEX FROM THE APRON TO THE FLOOR! Back in the ring he almost KO's Mark with a knee strike, with only the ropes saving him from being pinned. Mark is anxious and teases using a chair...but instead hits a low blow, then the Froggy Bow to win at 11:17

Rating - *** - The match was so good that it deserved a better finish. They really beat the hell out of each other here, taking some massive bumps and delivering an intensely physical match from the very outset. Mark in particular threw his body around wildly to put Woods over and accentuate 'The Goods' skills as a grappler and as a striker. Ultimately Mark's veteran savvy was enough to sneak the win, albeit I wish they could have found a more innovative way for him to demonstrate that than to have Delirious' once again booking the heel to use a shady low blow to win. 

This is billed as a 'first time ever' special attraction match for the new market. Both Black and Cobb are preparing for championship matches at Best In The World so can ill-afford a defeat here. Jeff remains undefeated in ROH and faces World Champion Matt Taven for the belt at the PPV. It would be crushing for him to lose his undefeated record at this stage. Black, meanwhile, teams with his newfound allies in Lifeblood to challenge Villain Enterprises for the Six-Man Titles. He has pledged to fight honourably, but that won't dent his ambition. The veteran will know the value of a win over the #1 contender to the World Title...

Cobb starts trying to take Black to the mat, forcing the South African to scrap hard just to maintain his vertical base. PJ tries plenty of veteran counters to thwart Jeff, but every time finds himself unable to halt the forward march of his adversary. Eventually he starts leaping off the ropes, levelling Cobb with elbows and forearms from a height. It means he can unload with a flurry of martial arts kicks, temporarily putting him ahead...until Cobb smears him down with a dropkick. The Olympian slows the pace down, and when Black tries to quicken it back up again with a springboard crossbody Jeff CATCHES HIM and looks for a stalling suplex. PJ counters to a small package...so Cobb ROLLS THROUGH and hits the suplex anyway! Diving front slam follows, but when he looks to hit the standing moonsault Black COUNTERS into a Koji Clutch! Cobb makes the ropes so PJ swings into a guillotine choke. And when Cobb tries to escape with a suplex Black ghosts over his shoulders and hits a reverse DDT. Springboard moonsault gets 2 for the Darewolf. Jeff hits back with an authoritative body slam then the standing moonsault second time of asking. PJ stomps on his face, chases him up the ropes for a SPRINGBOARD SPANISH FLY for 2! Wildness blocked by Cobb, hitting a GERMAN SUPERPLEX! TOUR OF THE ISLANDS! Cobb wins at 11:02

Rating - *** - Like Briscoe/Woods, this was a punchy and exciting little match. PJ has been hit or miss through the initial period of his ROH career but matches like this show how he is starting to find his feet. I thought he meshed really well with Cobb, working a physical style and relying on his wrestling smarts to tell a smart story rather than trotting out recognisable high spots from his back catalogue for ease and convenience (at half the speed he used to perform them in the WWE). It wasn't quite as exciting as Black's matches with Bandido earlier in 2019 so didn't resonate with me on quite the same level but this was nevertheless a sound, bruising bout which built to an exciting conclusion. There's not much more you can ask of an eleven minute wrestling match.

Ian and Colt announce that Mark Haskins has been withdrawn from Defy Or Deny due to the injuries inflicted by Bully Ray at the start of the show. 

This match brings together six teams vying for a shot at the ROH Tag Championship, currently held by New Japan's Guerrillas Of Destiny. The participants are the Voros Twins, The Bouncers, The Kingdom, Coast 2 Coast, the duo of Silas Young and TV Champion Shane Taylor...all joined by the odd pairing of arch-rivals Dalton Castle and Rush. The Bouncers and C2C have something of a minor rivalry going on at the bottom of the card, clearly everyone will have eyes on pinning Taylor and earning a TV Title shot, but the inevitable focus of our attention now will be on how Rush and Castle can possibly coexist. 

Team #1 are Silas and Taylor, Young rocking his 'Technician Of Honor' entrance robe. They are joined by the Voros Twins at #2. Young chops one of the Twins rather than shake hands, as they goof off before the bell. To his credit, Silas looks all business tonight and showcases some of his technical wrestling skill to dominate the opening exchanges regardless of which Voros is in the ring with him. Shane tags, completely ignoring the striking of his opponent and tackling him so hard that he almost snaps in half. The other Twin tries a rana, flees a powerbomb and actually kicks Taylor so hard that he has to tag. The Voros' team up to hit a couple of combo moves but barely get more than a one-count on the Last Real Man. Silas retaliates by slapping them both, then tags Taylor who chokeslams one Twin on top of the other. Greetings From 216 nailed, before Shane clears the ring for Young - who puts both Voros' into a tandem abdominal stretch until they both submit at 08:27. Taylor lights a cigarette in Silas' mouth to celebrate. Business picks up as up next at #3 is Dalton Castle and Rush, who are aggressively arguing among themselves before the bell even rings. Neither can agree as to who will start, before Taylor and Silas finally get involved and kick-start a brawl on the floor. Castle and Young, old rivals of course, waste little time taking turns in smashing each other's faces into guardrails and ringposts. Shane T and Castle start as legal man (although the new referee doesn't call for a bell meaning my timings for the whole match are screwed), Rush nonchalantly watching as his partner gets double-teamed. When El Toro Blanco finally gets tagged he blasts his way through both opponents...only for Castle to prevent him from finishing Taylor with the Bull's Horns, to hit a back suplex on Silas instead. Double dropkick on Silas! Lariat by Taylor, then a knock-out knee strike on Castle. INCINERATION/GERMAN COMBO by Rush and Dalton! Bull's Horns on Silas! Rush pins Silas to advance in the Gauntlet. 

Coast 2 Coast are in at #4, sneaking out before their music even hits to jump their opponents from behind. Again no bell, just straight into C2C ambushing only to be quickly despatched by Rush. He feeds LSG into an overhead suplex by Castle, only for Ali to DESTROY him against the guardrails. St. Giovanni and Ali take turns throwing strikes into Dalton's injured back, which Rush visibly enjoys watching. He does his Tranquilo pose, causing Dalton to lose his sh*t...before they again improbably join forces to hit a thrust kick/German combo. Dalton then trips Rush up when he lines up Bull's Horns! Castle leaves, Rush chases him up the aisle and brawls with him on the stage...until they are both counted out and eliminated. Coast 2 Coast celebrate, until The Bouncers' music hits and they enter at #5. Bruiser falls over during his entrance...and then gets mowed down again by a pescado from Shaheem. C2C don't get long to celebrate because Bruiser gets back up and cannonballs then both down from the apron. The rivalry between these two teams has been festering and their fight on the outside is relatively intense. Milonas no-sells a blockbuster by LSG though, before Bruiser starts biting Ali. Samoan drop/senton splash combo on St. Giovanni nailed. They crush Ali with the elevated diving leg drop combo, giving us a final two of Bouncers vs O'Ryan and Marseglia of The Kingdom. Vinny slithers out from under the ring so he can attack from behind, leading to The Kingdom starting on top with BCB isolated. RUNNING HEADSCISSORS OFF THE APRON by Marseglia! He pretty much landed right on his own head with that! Bruiser looks to be running on empty but somehow levels TK with a DDT...then tosses Marseglia on top of him to counter the Acid Drop! Milonas tags and lays waste to The Kingdom, almost until he's so blown up he can barely stand. He lumbers up the ropes, grabs O'Ryan so they can hit the LAST CALL! Bouncers win in (what Cagematch lists as) a time of 34:20

Rating - ** - If you've followed my review series for long enough you'll know that I don't like Gauntlet Matches. I've never enjoyed them and this certainly wasn't the match to convert me. It was fine for what it was, albeit a little on the long side and I definitely didn't need to see the Voros Twins getting almost ten minutes with Taylor and Silas. I did enjoy the Rush/Dalton segments; a feud which has come out of nowhere to be rather enjoyable in the last couple of months. The Bouncers winning feels like a weird call, albeit I do see the logic of lining them up as bodies to participate in a filler title defence for whomever wins out of GOD/Briscoes at Manhattan Mayhem. Outside of the Voros Twins they did feel like the least appealing opponents for the Briscoes or the Guerrillas though (in my opinion at least).

These men have been rivals for a long-time. They famously met in the main event of Best In The World 2015, when then-TV Champion Jay Lethal ended Briscoe's two year undefeated streak to become World Champion as well. They had a rematch a year later at Best In The World 2016, which Lethal also won. That causes Riccaboni to incorrectly assert that Lethal is 2-0 up in the 'series', which ignores a TV match they had in early 2017 as part of the 'Decade Of Excellence Tournament' where Briscoe got a win back over 'The Franchise'. They haven't met in singles competition in a long while, and now meet again with hugely contrasting agendas. Briscoe in an angry man, picking fights with the entire National Wrestling Alliance whilst waiting anxiously for July when he and his brother get a no-rules rematch against the Guerrillas Of Destiny. Lethal, meanwhile, is out of the World Title picture after losing the belt at G1 Supercard and now embroiled in a rivalry with Kenny King (who himself does have a title shot earned in the Honor Rumble). When this show took place Lethal was 1-0 down in a Best Of Three Series to King (who joins commentary for the match), but at the TV taping the previous evening he actually defeated Kenny to even the scores - meaning Jay is preparing for the rubber match at Best In the World. With so much going on, can these great rivals concentrate on renewing hostilities with each other?

They spend the opening minute chain-wrestling which is an environment which favours Lethal and soon enough he has Briscoe retreating to the floor contemplating the use of a steel chair. He thinks better of it and returns to the ring, where a quicker pace initially sees him earn more success until Lethal tosses him from the ring again. He again teases using a chair as a weapon, prompting Lethal to get on the microphone and berate him (and the rest of ROH) for losing an identity and forgetting what 'real wrestling' is. Briscoe seemingly agrees, returning to the ring and brilliantly countering the Lethal Injection into a jumping neckbreaker. The tables turn as that forces Lethal to tumble out of the ring - and he has Briscoe in hot pursuit looking to brawl on the floor, even while blood trickles from a cut around his eye. Hiptoss/dropkick combo by Lethal to counter the Jay Driller. The Franchise starts targeting his offence on the head and neck, with plenty of strikes aimed at the bloody eye of his opponent. That is until Briscoe strikes him with uppercuts so ferocious that Lethal collapses backwards through the ropes and lands on his neck outside the ring. Briscoe tries to take advantage with a neck vice, catching his own breath whilst wearing down Lethal. Both men feel the pace of the match and battle unsuccessfully over a suplex...until Lethal hits the springboard dropkick knocking his foe to the floor again. Tope Trilogy nailed, each one rattling Briscoe's skull against the guardrails too. It takes most of the twenty-count for them to return to the ring after that, and when they do they each start peeling off tape and prepare to lay in more big strikes. Sweat flies as they tee off...leading to Lethal countering the DVD into his Lethal Combination. But Briscoe elbows him in the jaw again before he gets close to being set for the Macho Elbow. A towering superplex jars Lethal's neck once more, although of course does substantial damage to Briscoe's head and neck too. Day One Neckbreaker countered to the Figure 4 Leglock! But since Lethal hasn't worked the legs at all Briscoe finds it easier to scramble to the ropes. Now though Lethal stays on the legs, battering the knees and hamstrings with kick after kick. Shinbreaker blocked with elbows to the neck...so Lethal floors Briscoe again with an enzi kick. Kenny King leaves commentary to get a closer look at the action, distracting Lethal as he sets up the Macho Elbow for a second time. Briscoe hits a hurricanrana and the lariat. JAY DRILLER! But he struggles to get up due to the damage sustained in the match, losing vital seconds meaning Lethal kicks out at 2! Kenny tries to convince Briscoe to use a chair...but Briscoe refuses and tosses it to the floor. ACE CRUSHER! LETHAL INJECTION! Lethal wins at 23:58

Rating - **** - An outstanding match, by far the best between these two men since Best In The World 2015. They were given plenty of time and used it effectively, delivering a really compelling match. Each man worked the neck, which makes sense given their respective finishing moves. But Lethal visibly attacking Briscoe's cut eye after giving him a lecture about fighting with honour was intriguing. I liked that they referenced the Briscoe Brothers constantly cheating and using chairs this year - culminating in the finish where Jay Briscoe teased a babyface turn...and was rewarded for his nobility by getting instantly beaten (meaning he has an out to go back to being a chair-wielding lunatic in his next match like nothing happened). Clearly I'd have preferred it if Kenny King's interference hadn't been included. I understand why though, because I recognise the limitations of the current booker as a long-term story-teller meaning he just doesn't create or innovate many 'new' ways to develop rivalries between wrestlers meaning crutches like run-ins and interference are now far more commonplace than they should be in ROH. At least this was kept to a minimum and at least we got 20+ minutes of a fantastic match first. I will say that having overbooked the sh*t out of the first Lethal/King Best Of Three Match, and now sacrificed a clean finish to this show-stealer, if Delirious doesn't book a clean finish to King/Lethal III at Best In The World I'll be furious...

Matt Taven cuts a slightly paranoid promo, complaining about having to 'prove himself' against three men he has already beaten, or the rest of his Kingdom being banned from ringside for his matches. He thinks the 'Kingdom Conspiracy' is back...

It is initially announced that Haskins is unable to complete due to a shoulder injury suffered at the hands of Bully Ray earlier, but he does finally come out having 'signed a waiver' so that the 'Board Of Directors' could allow him to participate. This will be an elimination match, and if Matt Taven wins whomever he last beats is denied any further World Title opportunities as long as he remains champion. However, if someone else wins, they earn a World Title shot in future. Clearly that is of interest, given that this match consists of three men who have previously been defeated by Taven - but only after large chunks of outside interference when they appeared to have the match won. 

Taven walks out and sits on a chair next to the guardrails and demands that the rest of them fight among themselves since the aim of the game is that 'they have to defy [him]'. After a couple of minutes he even hops over the guardrails and starts lying across fans instead - banging on the guardrails as the other three finally start fighting. Gordon drops PCO with a springboard dropkick then tosses Haskins out with a satellite headscissors. Taven sneaks in, tries to pin Flip, fails...and then runs back into the crowd! Haskins is fighting with one-arm and struggling to stay on his feet as PCO peppers him with strikes. Eventually PCO headbutts him and drives him out of the ring with a running knee right into the shoulder. Taven tries to attack PCO from behind...which the Monster completely no-sells. PK on the champ by Haskins! Now all three take turns chopping the sh*t out Taven. Machine Gun chops by PCO, causing Matt's chest to bleed, followed by a cannonball in the corner. Even when he tries to flee Flip goes after him with a tope suicida. Haskins wipes Flip out with a diving knee from the apron though...before Taven smears him injured-shoulder-first into the guardrails. TOPE CON HILO BY PCO! Taven pokes PCO in the eye that he injured and worked over in Toronto, then rakes it across the top rope for good measure. Climax blocked, so Matt hits Kick Of The King instead. KNEE STRIKE/APRON BOMB COMBO TO THE FLOOR from Haskins and Gordon to PCO! AIR TAVEN NAILED! Springboard corkscrew senton onto everyone by Flip! PCO crawls out of the wreckage, climbs to the top rope and delivers a PCO-SAULT TO THE FLOOR! Even with blood coming from his eye he wiped everyone out with that. Pop-Up Powerbomb scores, only for Haskins to prevent PCO from hitting the Package Piledriver. PCO grabs both Haskins and Flip by the throat, whilst hoisting Taven upside down. DOUBLE CHOKESLAM/TOMBSTONE COMBO! O'Ryan and Marseglia come out (since this isn't a title match) and distract the ref...allowing Taven to blast PCO with a chair. The Monster no-sells it and smashes him straight back with the weapon. Todd Sinclair saw that one and disqualifies PCO at 14:49. Haskins tries to pounce on the injured champion but Taven defends himself by lashing out at Mark's shoulder. Flip-5 blocked, Pele Kick instead! Gordon then drives Haskins shoulder-first into the rails with a tope. NO SOLD! ELBOW SUICIDA BY HASKINS! Kinder Surprise on Taven! Double stomp by Haskins! Soldier Roll gets 2 on Flip. But in doing so Haskins had his back turned on Taven, who rolls him up (holding the tights) to eliminate him at 19:23. Flip steams straight into the champ with a Cactus Clothesline leaving them both flat out on the arena floor. They trade strikes in the aisle, battling up onto the stage. BLOCKBUSTER FROM THE STAGE TO THE FLOOR by Gordon! He heaves Matt back into the ring but misses a 450 Splash. POWERBOMB THROUGH THE TIMEKEEPING TABLE BY TAVEN! Aurora Borealis back into the ring gets 2. Climax countered with a Sling Blade! Falcon Arrow scores 2 for Flip. Flip-5 COUNTERED TO THE CLIMAX! WOW! Taven wins at 25:50

Rating - **** - It's been so long since I've seen any of the others that I honestly can't assess the accuracy of this statement; but that really did feel like it could have been the best Defy Or Deny Match ever. Not only was it exciting for it's full twenty five minute run-time, it was packed with so many neat little sub-plots too. We began with Taven refusing to compete, but being a chickensh*t and trying to sneak up on opponents whenever possible. After five minutes of that he finally encountered PCO, who beat the sh*t out of him and we had a period of PCO running wild hitting all his signature wild spots. Matt thwarted that with a combination of attacking the eye (as he did in Canada) and outside interference (a staple of his title reign) and saw off PCO. Up next we saw Haskins battling injury, before ultimately succumbing to another controversial loss to the champion. Finally there was the brilliant closing sprint between Taven and Flip, who fought like crazy up and down the arena...concluding in a STUNNING closing spot as Taven countered the Flip-5 into The Climax. Another really under-rated 2019 match you may have missed, but really should find some time to check out...

Tape Rating - *** - I made no secret of the fact that I thought the entire War Of The Worlds Tour (with the exception of a few stand-out matches) was a rather dour, mundane set of shows. Whilst I can't pretend that State Of The Art 2019 weekend (encompassing both the TV taping and this VOD show) were stellar or must-see, I do think the energy and vibe of the product has been much better. The two main events on this show take up more than a third of the run-time by themselves and they are worth going out of your way to see if you've got an Honor Club membership and slept on most of the 2019 content as they really do hold up. Defy Or Deny in particular is a real hidden gem in my opinion. Even the undercard, whilst not necessarily all to my taste (e.g. the Tag Gauntlet), had the kind of vibrancy that has been missing from some of the ROH product this year. Mark Briscoe and Josh Woods beat the sh*t out of each other. Jeff Cobb and PJ Black had a fine little undercard match which probably could have been even better with more time. It really is such a shame that coming out of this show the only real chatter ROH had generated was another self-inflicted pie to the face in the form of the fan/Bully/Allure incident...

3) Mark Briscoe vs Josh Woods (***)

2) Jay Lethal vs Jay Briscoe (****)

1) Matt Taven vs Flip Gordon vs PCO vs Mark Haskins (****)