ROH 508 - Best In The World 2019 - 28th June 2019

I don't think it is unfair to say that the card for this pay-per-view is extremely strong. Regardless of my concerns over the troubling creative decisions and ugly lack of long-term story-telling, you'd be hard-pressed not to look at this line-up and not recognise the quality here. From the pre-show match right through to the main event, everything has something riding on it. In that main event we'll see Matt Taven defend the World Title against undefeated challenger Jeff Cobb; one of ROH's most hotly-anticipated bouts of the entire year. Two other championships are on the line as well, with Shane Taylor defending the TV Title against Bandido and Villain Enterprises defending the Six-Man Title against Lifeblood and their new-found ally PJ Black. We'll also see a Pure Rules grudge match as 'The Octopus' Jonathan Gresham returns from Japan to face 'The Technician Of Honor' Silas Young. The Briscoes continue their war with the National Wrestling Alliance by facing a team of wrestlers from that promotion (including NWA Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis) and the deciding bout in the Best Of Three Series between Jay Lethal and Kenny King takes place tonight too. Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman and Colt Cabana are ready to call the action from Baltimore, MD.

Flip Gordon vs Rush
This wasn't part of the PPV broadcast, but was instead part of the YouTube/Facebook kick-off show. Since it has been included as a DVD bonus feature I've opted to check it out as part of this review. I'll try to put aside question marks over how ROH has gotten to a position where one of their most over wrestlers going into the year (Flip) and their hottest talent acquisition (Rush) are working the pre-show. Instead the focus should be on the fact that Gordon recently won a four-way match also featuring Rush in Kent, Washington during State Of The Art weekend. Rush reacted badly to the defeat, and the result is Gordon being the latest man to step up and look to end El Toro Blanco's 2019 winning streak...

Rush is predictably dismissive of Flip, ignoring a handshake and repeatedly tossing him aside with complete disrespect. Eventually Gordon slaps the sh*t out of him and now Rush takes it seriously! The luchador knocks him off the apron with a jumping forearm...and chases him around ringside dumping him into the guardrails. Gordon just can't get going and absorbs a brutal dropkick to the neck as he returns to the ring. He finally goes aerial and lands a springboard dropkick, but the impact is minimal and soon he finds Rush dragging him out of the corner with an urinage slam. Pele Kick in response by Flip, and when Rush tries to no-sell Gordon absolutely blitzes him with strikes until he collapses. Falcon Arrow gets 2. Springboard Spear follows after Rush blocks the Flip-5, but still El Toro Blanco kicks out. He chokes Flip in the corner, but Gordon retaliates immediately with a powerbomb off the turnbuckles. Incineration nailed...so Flip superkicks Rush off the apron. Tope suicida COUNTERED with a body slam into an open steel chair by Rush! He dumps a garbage can down on top of Flip for good measure. Gordon makes a slow crawl towards the corner of the ring, but right into the path of the BULL'S HORNS! Rush wins at 10:20

Rating - *** - I had mixed feelings about this one. It was a physical, exciting match and I won't deny that I enjoyed it. But I'm not sure Flip is the guy ROH should be feeding to Rush in this manner. At times it felt as if Rush was wrestling the match as if he were the Undertaker facing a jobber. He barely paused to sell Flip's offence, and the entire match consisted of Rush dominating Gordon with just scattered pockets of Gordon offence thrown in. Fun, and another impressive win for Rush - but certainly at the expense of Flip Gordon's credibility.

Quinn McKay grabs an interview with Rush, who barks angrily into the microphone about destroying everyone in his path. Sound quality wasn't the best on that one.

Nick Aldis' music hits, bringing out the National Treasure for some promo-time to address Colt Cabana's injury forcing him to withdraw from the NWA team to face the Briscoes tonight. He calls Baltimore 'NWA country' before confirming that he has found a suitable replacement to be his partner this evening...and it is the newest NWA talent acquisition apparently. James Storm interrupts, calling out Aldis for being protected by Billy Corgan and berating him for not being chosen as Colt's replacement. In turn Storm is interrupted by Eli Drake, who is the aforementioned newest NWA signee and is the man who partners Aldis against the Briscoes at the PPV. 

SIDENOTE - This is the end of the pre-show, so from here on out I'll be reviewing content from the actual pay-per-view broadcast.

Dragon Lee vs Dalton Castle
At G1 Supercard Castle was dealt a humiliating and emphatic defeat by Rush, in a match which didn't even last a minute. Already struggling to process his Final Battle 2018 loss to Matt Taven, then his World Title loss to Jay Lethal in early 2019, being embarrassed in Madison Square Garden proved to be the final straw. He attacked and dismissed his beloved Boys, and began obsessively stalking Rush. With the world expecting Dalton to demand a rematch with El Toro Blanco, instead he surprised everyone by challenging Rush's brother instead. Lee returns to ROH tonight, and Dalton plans to make him pay for Rush's actions at G1 Supercard...

Castle now wrestles in super-sized trunks to accommodate the back brace he now competes in. The bell rings and Lee explodes at Dalton. BULL'S HORNS! FOR 2! We nearly got an action replay of MSG! This time Dalton manages to flee the ring, before throwing Lee into the ringpost. Dragon looks to retaliate with the running rana off the apron...but Castle COUNTERS WITH AN APRON BOMB! If that weren't enough he then batters him against the guardrail and into the front row repeatedly. Biel from the front row to the floor as well! Fans have to help Dragon Lee back to his feet after the sustained and violent assault on the floor. The luchador is obviously worse for wear and staggers into a big DDT - then Castle starts working his injured back with a grounded bearhug. Next Dalton starts ripping at the mask, provoking Lee into trying to fire up with a few strikes. It leaves him vulnerable and Dalton easily counters to hit an exploder suplex. Dragon hits a hurricanrana, then an INSANE tope suicida even a big chunk of his mask ripped from his face. He sends Castle injured-back first into the guardrails repeatedly in payback for his treatment earlier in the bout. Double underhook backbreaker gets 2. Saito suplex in response by Castle only for Dragon to sweep the legs and boot him in the jaw! Incineration COUNTERED to a back drop driver! NO SOLD! Snap German suplex by Lee! INCINERATION! Reverse rana nailed for 2! Desnucadora blocked...Bang-A-Rang blocked too! Doctor Bomb attempted by Castle but again Lee counters with a hurricanrana. INCINERATION again! Castle kicks out at 1! He lariats Dragon onto his neck and hits Bang-A-Rang. The match is won, but rather than pin Lee he drags him into the corner to give him the BULL'S HORNS! Castle wins at 14:21

Rating - **** - One of Dalton's best singles matches since his body completely broke down during his World Title reign. In fact its only really the World Title Match with Jay Lethal back in January which is superior to this. It was a thrilling opening match, fought at a ferocious tempo that provided some really substantial progress to the Dalton/Rush feud. Dragon Lee almost beating him in seconds the same way Rush did in MSG was a hot start, and Castle's ultra-aggressive response (beating the sh*t out of Lee on the floor, going after his back then tearing up his mask) really conveyed how desperate he was to win. Dragon Lee is a phenomenal worker and the signs are that we're going to be seeing more of him moving forward which is extremely exciting.

The Allure vs Kelly Klein/Jenny Rose
Despite making their first appearance as a group at G1 Supercard, this is actually the first time The Allure have wrestled in ROH. Kelly Klein won back the Women Of Honor World Title from Mayu Iwatani at G1 Supercard, only to have her moment ruined when Angelina, Velvet and Mandy attacked and embarrassed her. In subsequent shows The Allure have continued to show up, refuse to wrestle but proclaim themselves the best thing in the WOH division whilst ruining multiple matches. Their presence has been so toxic that it has even served to unite Klein and Jenny Rose, whom last year were bitter rivals themselves. Kelly and Jenny are in agreement that there is no place in ROH for The Allure. Angelina Love and Mandy Leon are teaming tonight and will look to establish their credentials as the top dogs of the division by defeating the reigning World Champion...

Klein and Rose charge the ring and tackle The Allure to the mat ensuring a hot start to the contest. Angelina kills Rose's momentum by booting her in the face, but opts to taunt the Gatekeeper rather than follow up. Love actually calls Klein out and tries to use her wrestling skill and experience to get the best of the fired up champion. A neckbreaker and a spinning heel kick find the mark, only for Klein's power to come to the fore as she delivers a sidewalk slam. Jenny gets a tag but is immediately ambushed from behind by Velvet Sky at ringside. Kelly tries to stop Velvet attacking her partner on the floor, but is jumped from behind herself by Leon. TOP ROPE SUICIDE DIVE by Angelina! Rose hits a spear on Mandy, followed by a Saito suplex from Klein. Fallaway slam on Love next, before Leon saves her partner with a (dreadful) DDT. Rose takes out Leon with an equally hideous Spear on the apron. PRESS SLAM OFF THE APRON by Jenny! SUPER fallaway slam from Klein to Angelina gets 2. Velvet hops onto the apron to distract referee Brian Hebner (yes, that one) and behind his back Leon takes out Klein with a high-heeled shoe. Botox Injection nailed, allowing Love to pin the WOH Champion at 09:29

Rating - ** - I don't think anyone could fault these four women for a lack of effort. This was fast-paced and frantic; containing some really exciting moments dotted throughout. Klein, Rose and Leon in particular all have a tendency to get a little sloppy and careless, which was very apparent at points here. But for the most part the good outweighed the bad, everyone seemed game and took some big bumps. The conclusion obviously sets up Klein/Angelina which is at least a fresh WOH Title Match. 

The lights go out as The Allure start to celebrate, and a creepy video package plays on the Cary-tron. Maria Manic appears in the ring behind The Allure...who flee immediately. Security goons try to stop Manic, who decimates them all with ease. 

Kenny King vs Jay Lethal - Best Of 3 Series Match 3
As you'd expect, we enter this tied at 1-1 meaning this is the decisive encounter. King took the first bout; delivering an impressive performance where he appeared to have all of Jay's signature moves scouted and accounted for...then beat him with his own Lethal Injection. Match Two was more even, but ended in controversy when King intentionally got himself disqualified by attacking Lethal with a weapon (before destroying his arm with a steel chair). He enters this believing he has Jay Lethal's number and will inevitably defeat him on his way to a World Title shot; and will most likely be bitter that despite himself earning a title opportunity by winning the 2019 Honor Rumble, Lethal has been bumped up to face the winner of Taven/Cobb at Manhattan Mayhem (before Kenny)...

Jay refuses to follow the Code Of Honor and gestures to his arm which is bandaged in kinetic tape as a result of the attack in Kent, WA. As you'd expect Kenny quickly targets the arm and has Lethal scrambling for the ropes to escape a shortarm scissors. An arm wrench and a hammerlock bodyslam follow giving Kenny an immediate advantage. Lethal counters Kenny's signature Japanese armdrag spot though...then starts ducking and weaving as King starts trying to steal more of his trademark combos. Hiptoss/dropkick combo lands for Jay, albeit with considerable pain in his bad arm. King retorts by hurdling the ropes and snapping the arm as he goes. On the floor Lethal tries to open up a steel chair, then gives him a Raven drop toehold on the floor when King charges to try and block it. He wraps the chair around Kenny's arm, struggling to control his temper in his quest for payback from State Of The Art. The ref convinces him to stop...and King profits with a SUPLEX INTO THE EDGE OF THE RING! Back in the ring he hits the inverted neckbreaker then folds the injured arm under Lethal whilst applying a Boston Crab. That is transitioned to a Fujiwara armbar when Lethal reaches for the ropes! Jay is fighting with one arm at this point but still finds a way to leap for a missile dropkick. ROYAL FLUSH BY LETHAL! But Kenny kicks out! Tope attempted by Lethal, but King COUNTERS WITH A SPINEBUSTER ON THE FLOOR! Lethal barely beats the count after that and returns with his body an absolute mess. Kenny drops him with a Blue Thunder Driver, then climbs the ropes for the SHOOTING STAR PRESS! Lethal kicks out! He desperately trips King into the Figure 4 Leglock, but has to let go when Amy Rose tosses King's visual aid stick into the ring. ARM-SELLING LETHAL INJECTION! King kicks out! Lethal glares furiously at Amy, who literally runs all the way to the locker room in fear. Instead Jay chases King up the ropes, but is swatted away for the ONE NIGHT STAND! LETHAL KING-JECTION! ROYAL FLUSH! KING WINS! 14:37 is your time

Rating - **** - The pressure was on to deliver a great final match in this series. Delirious has been at his most meddlesome when it comes to how he's booked and laid out this trilogy, with both the first matches enormously hampered and prevented from reaching their full potential thanks to the finishes. Whilst there was still a hint of silliness here (unnecessary in my opinion), for the most part they really delivered the goods. There were so many neat little touches and moments dotted throughout the contest. First and foremost would be Lethal's general aggressive attitude; refusing to shake hands, trying to use weapons and intimidating female members of staff. This is a man who has lost his World Title in MSG, who has had his finishing move stolen, who got assaulted on television - and tonight we saw the consequences of that as he just couldn't contain his emotions anymore (and lost as a result). Just like Match One, saw King once again countering Lethal's signature moves - in particular that BRUTAL spinebuster on the floor to avert Lethal's big tope suicida. Kenny's two-pronged attack on the back and arm was a joy to watch as well. I really can't state enough how impressed I was with this match. It was exciting, it FELT like a big-time bout, each man did interesting things with their character and movesets - and it really held up as a great match regardless of whether you'd seen one bout or the entire Best Of 3 Series. 

Silas Young vs Jonathan Gresham - Pure Wrestling Rules Match
It has been a long time since ROH dusted off the old Pure Title rules, and it is a fitting stipulation for a match containing Jon Gresham - who has extolled the values of pure professional wrestling for most of his ROH career. He and Silas have shared two gripping, intense and hard-fought TV matches this year - both won thanks to the cheating and rule-breaking of the Last Real Man. Gresham went to Japan for the Best Of Super Juniors, whilst Young paraded on TV calling himself the 'Technician Of Honor' and embarrassing jobbers dressed like squids in pure wrestling exhibitions. It prompted Gresh to issue a challenge from the media room in Japan - and Young has accepted. Gresham has called for a return of the Pure division before, meaning this is 'his' stipulation. He can't afford to lose - but what tricks does Silas have left up his sleeve to outwit 'The Octopus' once again? This is the first Pure Rules Match in several years, with the rules largely unchanged; three rope-breaks per competitor, after which the ropes do not break up pins/submissions - plus closed fist strikes to the face are punishable first by verbal warning, then by disqualification.

Gresham starts impressively and seems to be relishing the chance to comprehensively out-wrestle Silas. Last time they wrestled he struggled to control his rage, but a stint in Japan appears to have calmed him down. But his control is tested when Young basically hoists him into the ropes whilst clinging to a waistlock, almost manipulating the rules to force Gresham into utilising his first rope-break. It is another of the veteran tricks that has been Young's calling card in this rivalry. He tries to provoke The Octopus with a few chops and constant taunts...only for Jon to get his revenge by grabbing an ankle, triggering Silas to grab the ropes to avoid tripping over - and being penalised a rope-break as a result. Silas goes for the abdominal stretch that he has been winning matches with recently...but Gresham counters to the Octopus Stretch forcing Young to utilise his second rope-break. The Last Real Man is the one starting to lose his temper as time and again he finds himself outwitted by the technical wizardry of his opponent. Eventually he balls his fist up and punches Gresh in the face, earning a warning but presenting him with the advantage. He drags Gresham to the floor and starts ramming his spine into the guardrails. A double stomp to the abdomen and a surfboard follow; Silas softening up the back and midsection for both the abdominal stretch and Misery. Apparently that ab stretch is called the Cobra Twist, and Silas locks it in again momentarily until Jon counters. Half Crab applied instead, and Gresh has no choice but to take his second rope-break. Killer Combo nailed for 2, followed by the Stock Lock which forces Gresham to take his final rope-break. Silas starts hitting repeated back suplexes, to the point where Gresham is struggling to stand...and Young punishes him further by knocking him from the second turnbuckle to the arena floor. Anarchist Suplex gets 2, then the Stock Lock is applied again. The Octopus needs all his trickery and technical skill to escape...into the Octopus Stretch (with back selling!). Gresham actually GRABS Silas' arm and positions it essentially in the ropes to force Young to use his last rope-break too. Gresh's back prevents him from suplexing Young and when Silas tries to counter they both pinball over the top rope to the outside. They wearily trudge back in...and Gresham hits Silas in the balls! Todd Sinclair didn't see the low blow, and Gresham follows it with the Octopus Stretch! Young is in the ropes but has no breaks...he taps out! In controversial circumstances The Octopus is victorious at 18:12

Rating - *** - One thing this match did particularly well is reintroduce the Pure Rules and emphasised how unique they make ROH's presentation of pro-wrestling. And I mean that both in a positive and negative sense. The rope-break jeopardy rule is a good one and they played with that rule effectively here, using Silas' veteran nous and Gresham's technical brilliance to hoodwink and trick each other into utilising breaks when they didn't want to. Indeed, the whole encounter was an enjoyable reaction to the first two matches in this series; not a 'grudge' match in the violent sense, but a chess match as two wrestlers tried to outwit one another. But in that they also encountered some difficulties. Their first TV match in particular had a palpable sense of escalation as it progressed. You felt the match getting more bitter and intense...and here I felt the Pure Rules stifled that organic flow. Rather than building a sense of hatred because it made sense for the feud, they were trapped into working spots around rope-breaks. There was lots here that I liked (I've not even touched on how good Young's work on Gresham's midsection was - and how well Gresh sold it too), and having Gresham cheat to win was both unexpected and intriguing. But this did lack some excitement and was probably a tad too clinical.

SIDENOTE - NWA's James Storm replaces Caprice Coleman on commentary for the next match.

Nick Aldis/Eli Drake vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe
The Briscoes have been unhappy with the NWA for some time. They weren't happy at having to qualify for the Crockett Cup (which they did by beating Willie Mack and Jeff Cobb), they disrespected NWA legends the Rock'n'Roll Express in the opening round of the Crockett Cup tournament itself ...then trashed the company in the semi-finals after a wild brawl with Villain Enterprises saw them (unfairly) disqualified. It led to them attacking Colt Cabana in Chicago after he went to a time-limit draw with 'Cowboy' James Storm, a brawl with NWA World Champion Nick Aldis...and was to have culminated in Aldis teaming with National Champion Cabana to face the Briscoes tonight. With Colt out injured, however, the NWA and Aldis needed to find a replacement, and chose tonight to reveal their newest talent acquisition in the form of Eli Drake (making his ROH debut having parted company with Impact in early April)...

Eli starts with Mark, initially struggling but eventually tackling Briscoe so hard that he stumbles backwards and tags out. Jay tags and calls out Aldis; then immediately hauls him back to the Briscoe corner to double-team him with his brother. Team NWA hit back by ganging up on Mark outside the ring; Drake hitting a big lariat on the floor. Sadly for them the Briscoes are simply more experienced and fluent as a team. They react by doubling up on Eli...until Drake drops Jay with a neckbreaker. Mag Daddy Driver from Aldis gets 2. Urinage from Mark to Eli! He follows that with the Iconoclasm for 2. Nick grabs Mark's boots when he thinks about the Froggy Bow, allowing Drake to counter with an AWESOME rope-run superplex. BURNING HAMMER on Jay for 2! Redneck Boogie from the Briscoes in response. Aldis COUNTERS the Jay Driller into the King's Lynn Cloverleaf, drawing Mark from the outside to break the pin then level him with a Cactus Elbow. Meanwhile Jay and Eli have brawled over the guardrails and out into the crowd! James Storm decides to hop off commentary and get into a fight with Eli as well...brawling to the back with him leaving the Briscoes alone with the National Treasure. Referee Brian Hebner has vanished so I presume this ended as a no-contest somewhere around eleven minutes? Kamille runs in and hits a SPEAR on Mark, just as the Briscoes look set to put Aldis through a table. Security personnel fill the ring, but in the melee Mark kicks Aldis in the balls and puts him through a table with the Froggy Bow...

Rating - *** - It started out a little boring, but the second half was hot. Not in the sense that it became a great wrestling match, but it felt heated and exciting. The closing scenes with Storm and Drake fighting in the crowd, the Briscoes using weapons and Kamille appearing out of nowhere were chaotic, confusing but critically also rather fun to watch. 

Marty Scurll runs out to check on his 'best friend' Nick Aldis as staff try to get the wreckage of the table out of the ring. They hug and Scurll helps Aldis to the locker room...

Shane Taylor vs Bandido - ROH TV Title Match
Bandido beat Shane Taylor clean in the middle of the ring on Episode 399 of ROH TV. The luchador has had a phenomenal debut year in the promotion, losing only to Rush and Flip Gordon whilst racking up plenty of high profile singles wins. As a member of Lifeblood he stands opposed to the violence and mayhem Taylor has brought to ROH this year via his association with Bully Ray, the Briscoes and Silas Young, so Bandido would like nothing more than to bring gold back to the Lifeblood faction this evening. Taylor's TV Title win in Toronto still feels like an upset. Not that wasn't capable of winning the belt (his match with Cobb at the 17th Anniversary was superb), but only that he has endured such an inconsistent and disjointed ROH career so far his win seemed to come out of nowhere. He has vowed to prove his critics wrong by becoming the most dominant ROH TV Champion ever.

Taylor trash-talks Bandido until the challenger slaps him in the face, and we are underway. Shane raises some eyebrows by running the ropes, tumbling and matching speed with Bandido through the opening minute too. The luchador topples him from the ring with a headscissors, but tries a rana off the apron and gets BRUTALLY powerbombed into the apron. The champ looks to enforce a methodical pace; repeatedly trapping his opponent in corners of the ring (or on the mat) where he can pummel him with emphatic strikes. Even when Bandido tries to trade blows with him, Shane T knocks him out with a vicious close-range headbutt. Bandido scrambles to the top rope to hit the Tornillo, then counters a powerbomb attempt into a facebuster to keep the momentum rolling. RUNNING MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! Springboard rana back in gets 2 as well...before Taylor almost beheads him with a lariat. Quebrada from the masked athlete...but once again Taylor shuts him down with an ST-Joe. Second rope body splash gets 2! Greetings From 216 blocked, but Bandido doesn't have the strength to lift Taylor for the X-Knee either. 21-Plex blocked with another headbutt and a violent powerbomb. PACKAGE PILEDRIVER! Bandido kicks out at 2 though. POWERSLAM BY BANDIDO! SHOOTING STAR PRESS gets 2! Taylor crawls up the ropes, and COUNTERS THE 21-PLEX TO GREETINGS FROM 216! Taylor retains at 12:31

Rating - *** - I really like Taylor and Bandido in the ring together. They have an unusual but striking chemistry in that Taylor has the ability to hang with Bandido with bursts of surprising speed, whilst Bandido has the ability to pull out ludicrous feats of strength in return. The problem with this, however, was that it felt incredibly rushed. I felt like we were watching a decent 25-minute match cut in half. Nothing had enough time to make an impact, no moment in the match could resonate because they were already charging into the next sequence. I wanted to see more of Taylor antagonising Bandido, I wanted to see more of Bandido trying to use his speed early, I wanted more of Taylor brutalising and dominating the challenger. The finishing stretch was superb, but the remainder felt like clips of a better match (that they may still have together in the future)...

Marty Scurll/Brody King/PCO vs Tracy Williams/Mark Haskins/PJ Black - ROH Six-Man Title Match
The motivation here is easy to spot; Lifeblood formed to restore honour to ROH and the champions are proud Villains. With numbers diminishing, Lifeblood made an offer to Flip Gordon to join their group. With that offer still up the air, they found another ally in the form of the Darewolf, himself a reformed character having been impressed in his battles with Bandido earlier in 2019. Scurll has been absent for a few shows recently to participate in New Japan's Best Of Super Juniors; but returns still one of ROH's biggest draws in 2019 and will be in a mission to re-establish himself in the title picture having failed to take singles championship gold at both G1 Supercard and the 2019 Crockett Cup...

The Villains have new/remixed entrance music, new personalised Villain title belts and matching Road Warrior shoulder pads. Haskins and Scurll start, wearing similar gear and almost mirroring each other as they effortlessly grapple back and forth on the canvas. The veterans tag in next, Black going face-to-face with PCO. The Darewolf tries to throw kicks, only to wind up almost obliterated by a bicycle kick from the Monster! Williams and King enter, not wasting any time in laying into each other with big chops. Williams finally counters one into a hanging armbar in the ropes...then steams into Brody with a discus lariat too. But he can't take the big man off his feet, and before long Hot Sauce finds himself trapped in the Villain corner getting worked over by multiple opponents. PK from Haskins to Marty to make a save! Apron cannonball from Brody to Lifeblood! ROCKET LAUNCHER CANNONBALL OFF THE APRON by PCO and Brody! In the ring Marty starts working over Williams' permanently-injured shoulder too. GERMAN SUPLEX from Tracy to Brody, setting up a crucial tag to Haskins. Lifeblood get in some double-teams on Scurll; Black popping in as well to make a few assists as well. King steamrolls in to rescue his partner, hitting a double senton splash on both Haskins and PJ. Boston Crab/guillotine leg drop by Marty and PCO, who keeps running and hits a TOP CON HILO, landing basically on the top of his head on the floor. Double stomp/frog spash combo from Black and Williams to make the save! SUICIDE DIVE/TOPE SUICIDA COMBO by Lifeblood! TRIPLE SPIKE PILEDRIVER ON PCO gets 2! Finger Snap from Marty to Hot Sauce! Air Raid Crash from PCO to Haskins! He then Cactus Clotheslines Black out of the ring, from behind. Tracy batters PCO as he climbs the ropes for a moonsault. POWERBOMB ON THE APRON NAILED! Springboard moonsault from Black to Scurll for 2. Brody charges in and hits a DOUBLE LUCHA ARM DRAG on Lifeblood. TOPE ATOMICO NAILED! Marty blocks The Wildness by putting his feet through PJ's face! GONZO BOMB! PCO-SAULT! Villains retain, pinning Black at 16:57

Rating - **** - Villain Enterprises have put on a number of hugely entertaining trios matches in 2019, of which this is another in that category. It wasn't the best and it never felt like the championships were in real jeopardy but from bell to bell I felt the action was genuinely both interesting and exciting. Each combination of guys brought something unique to the table, from the all-English combo of Scurll and Haskins, the international veteran pairing PCO and PJ, Tracy's technical brilliance, Brody's oddball mix of size, power and lucha etc. The contest went almost twenty minutes but NEVER felt dull and easily kept my attention. Hiding PCO in these multi-man matches where he doesn't have to do lots of wrestling but just has to lurch from one lunatic, death-defying stunt to the next is the perfect spot for him.

The Soldiers Of Savagery sprint to the ring and attack Lifeblood after the match. Bandido makes the save, until of course Bully Ray lumbers out from the locker room. He threatens Lifeblood with a chair, until Flip Gordon and a kendo stick runs in and chases them away. Haskins offers Flip a Lifeblood shirt - and he puts it on, apparently accepting the spot in the group. But the lights go out...and Marty Scurll appears on the Cary-tron (in a completely different outfit to the gear he was wearing thirty seconds earlier - did nobody think this through?!). He says he is ready to reveal the newest Villain Enterprise employee...and it's Flip Gordon! Back in the ring Gordon lays out Bandido with a superkick then flees to join the rest of the Villains as Lifeblood look on in despair! The Villains mug all three members of Lifeblood then send Flip to the top rope for a 450 SPLASH THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR! 

SIDENOTE - In a way Flip joining Villain Enterprises makes sense. He and Marty are the sole remaining BTE cast members left so fans already know they have something of a relationship. This angle also at least makes a token effort to put Marty and Flip back in a major storyline in ROH, after spending most of the year bouncing around doing very little. This segment could not have made Lifeblood look like bigger idiots though. Two different groups took turns beating the sh*t out of them, Flip mugged them off...and even PJ didn't stick around to help them out. It's hard to take a Lifeblood/Villains feud very seriously given how spectacularly the 'Lifeblood' angle has capitulated just months after the group got together. In a moment which summed up ROH's entire year, Flip suffered a serious elbow injury hitting that spectacular but superfluous table spot at the end there and would miss still more ring-time as a result.

Matt Taven vs Jeff Cobb - ROH World Title Match
Interest is high in this World Championship showdown. ROH hasn't necessarily created much 'buzz' since their car-crash G1 Supercard but this certainly felt like a big-time title match. Taven has been a controversial champion, from his unpopular victory in MSG through his tainted (but under-rated) title defences thus far. This is, however, clearly his biggest and toughest challenge yet. Cobb is undefeated and has never been pinned or submitted after almost a year in ROH. He destroyed Punishment Martinez and took him out of ROH in his debut, and he was a dominant TV Champion and only lost that belt when someone else got pinned by Shane Taylor in a multi-man match. Now Cobb has his sights set on the top prize...and Taven will have to accomplish yet another improbable, unlikely and unpopular feat by ending Jeff's undefeated streak to stop him.

Matt Taven's robe looks like lingerie a woman in her early-50's would buy for a spicy weekend away from the kids with her husband. He tries some chops but Cobb completely ignores those, so instead looks to control the Olympian with headlocks. Jeff retorts by hoisting him on the ropes and CHOPPING HIM TO THE FLOOR! Back in the ring Taven grabs a sleeper to counter the Athletic-Plex, but for a second time is easily despatched as Cobb delivers a belly to belly suplex instead. Matt bails to the floor, and when Cobb gives chase he immediately hits him with an armbar DDT on the apron! That is followed with a tope suicida TO THE SHOULDER which catapults Jeff head and shoulders-first into to the barricades. Stranglehold rolling neckbreaker nailed back inside the ring, and Cobb has to fight desperate to evade a cross armbreaker. Aurora Borealis misses, but Cobb's arm is already so bad he struggles to capitalise. ONE-ARM PUMPHANDLE SUPLEX! An injured shoulder doesn't stop him hitting the standing moonsault either. Athletic-Plex nailed, but Cobb is slow to follow up and Taven is able to retaliate with Just The Tip. Climax nailed for 2! He tries a second but Cobb COUNTERS to a German suplex. Tour Of The Islands COUNTERED TO THE CLIMAX! Taven retains at an abrupt 09:48

Rating - *** - Lots of criticism flew ROH's way in the aftermath of this match, and rightly so. But it is worth pointing out that, even if it isn't the match we'd have liked to see, this is a really fun ten minute sprint. Both guys were presumably irritated at having so little time, so they really did pack in as much good stuff as they could. Unfortunately, as with Taylor/Bandido earlier the real emotion you leave this match with is frustration - at just how rushed the whole thing was. Nine minutes just wasn't enough for a match of this magnitude and they had to hurry through everything. The bare bones were all there - Cobb easily dominating early, Taven using his smarts to open up an injury, Cobb selling it whilst hitting whacky power moves...culminating in a big finish where Cobb's undefeated run finally falls. This SHOULD have been a defining moment in Taven's World Title reign. It was an eagerly anticipated match and it should have been given the platform to steal the show - allowing ROH to solidify and legitimise their chosen champion as he memorably ends Cobb's streak clean. Instead it became just another stick to beat Ring Of Honor (and by proxy Taven's title reign) with; they couldn't even lay out a PPV properly to give Taven the big moment he needed...

Tape Rating - *** - In all the disappointment surrounding Taven/Cobb, it was a completely lost that this was a thoroughly decent pay-per-view. Only the brief Allure tag fell below the 3* level, and that was more memorable for Maria Manic making her debut anyway. Everything else on the show was good, with a few really outstanding matches. I thought Lethal/Kenny stole the show with the climactic bout in their Best Of 3, I thought the Six-Man Title Match was entertaining as hell, and the PPV began with a cracking little opener between Dalton and Dragon Lee. Unfortunately nobody was talking about any of that when the show went off the air. All most people wanted to talk about was how short Taven/Cobb was. I refuse to believe Delirious would intentionally book that match to go that short - and on that assumption, it's quite incredible that they couldn't manage the PPV to give the main event the time it needed. The 17th Anniversary was one of the tightest, slickest and most enjoyable pay-per-view events Sinclair-owned ROH have ever produced, and that found a f*cking hour for Matt Taven to wrestle that night. So much of this show could have been cut to give them more time. Did Lifeblood really need a sh*t kicking from Bully & SOS as well as Villain Enterprises? Could they not have done Flip's Villainous reveal at TV instead? Perhaps Taylor/Bandido could have gone on TV instead of here (given that the card was already packed and their initial bout was on television anyway). Did The Allure vs Klein/Rose really need to be on PPV, rather than as advertised as part of the State Of The Art TV taping a few weeks earlier? Just cutting one of those segments would have given the main event more time. We should be talking about what a solid pay-per-view ROH produced, but instead the farcically short main event which further-neutered Taven's title reign and massacred Cobb's credibility joins the likes of the Bully Ray/fan incident, the entirety of ROH's side of G1 Supercard and the abject failure of Lifeblood on ROH's growing list of 2019 self-inflicted embarrassments.

Top 3 Matches
3) Dalton Castle vs Dragon Lee (****)
2) Marty Scurll/Brody King/PCO vs Tracy Williams/Mark Haskins/PJ Black (****)
1) Kenny King vs Jay Lethal (****)

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