McXal's Reviews

Is this actually a legitimate ROH 'Supercard', or are Sinclair using the legacy of ROH's 'Supercard' name plus a high profile stipulation match main event to shift tickets because they have a big building to fill and a stone-cold product (even though the last couple of shows in New York and Boston were pretty good)? Which ever side of that debate you may fall, I do think this is an extremely solid line-up, with the obvious hook being the finale to the thrilling, violent Briscoes/GOD feud as they meet one last time with the Tag Titles on the line in the eighth official 'Ladder War'. Beneath that more titles will be decided; Kelly Klein defending the WOH World Title against newcomer Tasha Steelz, Shane Taylor putting the TV Title up against Lifeblood's Tracy Williams and the returning Alex Shelley challenging Matt Taven for the World Title. We've also got a slew of luchadors in from CMLL, Rush and Dalton ending their feud in a No DQ Match and more. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are ready to call the action in Toronto, ONT.

The show opens with a ten-bell salute to Harley Race

The Kingdom and Villain Enterprises haven't gotten along all year. That comes from the top as the respective leaders - Taven and Scurll - are two of the top tier talents in the promotion right now. Both teams would like an opportunity to face the winners of the Briscoes/GOD Ladder War tonight, making a win essential. The Kingdom also have issues with The Bouncers, who sit and watch the match from the front row - covered in sweat presumably having worked a dark match. Vinny and TK have new music, which is significant because it's the theme Vinny would use as he looked to forge his solo career - essentially another example of him continuing to branch out from the 'branding' of The Kingdom.

O'Ryan looks to start with PCO, but is unceremoniously tossed out of the ring by the monster. He re-enters the ring, and walks straight into a northern lights bomb and a dropkick to the back of the head. Marseglia in with King, trading strikes and counters with impressive speed. Brody's power finally overwhelms The Kingdom, who are left scattered all over the ring...as King starts chopping his own partner to fire him up. Cannonball missed by King, and The Kingdom throttle PCO by hitting a double flapjack onto the ropes. TK jams his thumb into PCO's eye, looking to exploit that just as Matt Taven did against PCO last time we were in Toronto. Both members of The Kingdom actually work the eye, but their issue is that even without his vision PCO is so big and dangerous they can't keep him down. Brody tags and wipes them both out with a cannonball off the apron...then gets back to his feet and hops back to the apron to monkey flip PCO into a somersault senton of his own! TK tries to poke the eyes again...so blinded PCO drops him with a Pop-Up Powerbomb, which needs Vinny to break the pin. He then tosses PCO through the ropes, into an inadvertent tope suicida onto Brody! Stereo tope suicidas in pursuit by The Kingdom. Spinebuster/diving headbutt gets 2, but PCO still has enough in the locker to block House Of 1000 Horses. GONZO BOMB by Brody! PCO-SAULT! Villain Enterprises pin TK to win at 10:14

Rating - ** - A solid tag team encounter to get the show started. Both teams have had better matches at other points this year, but they worked relatively well and the crowd certainly responded positively to what they were doing. The continued, gradual evolution of Marseglia into something entirely different to Matt Taven's vision of The Kingdom is interesting. This also marks TK O'Ryan's final ROH match to date (as of writing in 2021). He took time off to deal with injuries and concussion problems, and thus far hasn't returned - which is a shame as he had really improved in 2019.

From their vantage point in the front row The Bouncers make fun of The Kingdom for losing. Vinny and TK obviously don't take well to that and it isn't long before Bruiser and Milonas have hopped the guardrail and the four are brawling at ringside. 

Up next we're scheduled to see a rematch from Mass Hysteria, where Silas Young scored a convincing victory over 'Darewolf' PJ Black. But Silas comes out in his street clothes and says that he's been drinking, isn't prepared to wrestle and that PJ needs to 'earn' a rematch after losing last time in Lowell. Riccaboni pushes that Young cheated at Mass Hysteria...but my recollection is that he won the match clean? Rhett Titus is on commentary and bemoans Silas passing up a chance to wrestle on the main show that he would 'kill' for. After Silas walks out, Black grabs the mic and says he still wants to wrestle...and suggests that Cheeseburger come out to face him. Marty Scurll's music hits though, and he comes out dressed to work...

The Villain was announced at the last minute for an autograph signing at this show, which was significant as he traditionally hasn't worked many of ROH's Canada shows since he signed (I'm not sure if that's through choice, coincidence or administrative reasons). His music hitting got a big pop, and the Toronto fans seem thrilled at the chance to see him wrestle live. He will be motivated too, as his Villain Enterprises stable is embroiled in a feud with Lifeblood - a group with whom PJ associates.

Marty tries to swing his umbrella into PJ's face as the bell rings, but the Darewolf ducks it. Black starts strongly - hitting a springboard crossbody then trapping his opponent on the canvas to chickenwing the arms. The veteran keeps cranking on Scurll's arms and neck with assorted submission stretches, and when Marty tries to climb the ropes to escape PJ gives chase with a ROPE RUN frankensteiner! HALF NELSON SUPLEX by Scurll! PJ collapses through the ropes, so The Villain hops out after him to deliver the apron Superkick. Black Plague (formerly known as the Graduation) blocked, but Marty hits his heavyweight lariat and a folding powerbomb instead. ROPE RUN SPANISH FLY nailed by Black to counter the Chickenwing! Black Diamond gets 2, as does a springboard moonsault for the Darewolf. Wildness blocked...and Marty hits Just Kidding, then the Finger Snap. Black Plague wins it for Scurll at 08:03

Rating - *** - I watched this live when it aired and had no recollection of this match at all. It actually surprised me with how snappy and punchy it was. It won't steal the show but was packed full of high impact offence, was fought at a deceptively fast pace considering who was involved - and it was really interesting to watch PJ straight-up out-work Marty in the first half. I'd much rather see a rematch of this than another Black/Silas bout...

It was something of a surprise when Steelz won a four-way match on television to earn this title shot, at the expense of Angelina Love who believes she is the rightful #1 contender after pinning Klein in a tag bout at Best In The World. Angelina convinced Steelz to put her title shot on the line again at Mass Hysteria (this time in a triple threat also including Karissa Rivera)...but again Tasha found a way to emerge victorious. She hasn't backed down from anyone in her brief ROH career; be it Klein, Love or even the enigmatic Maria Manic. Will that toughness be enough to dethrone The Gatekeeper?

Kelly refuses to let go of a handshake to get into Tasha's face, which is the same thing Tasha did to her in Lowell. Steelz doesn't appreciate that and almost drops Kelly with the Okurrr! in mere seconds. Klein blocks a monkey flip with a spinebuster and puts all her weight on the challenger's neck with a chinlock. Tasha dropkicks the champ's legs out to send her tumbling to the floor. Tope suicida attempted by Steelz, but she gets her feet snagged in the ropes so barely gets enough distance to graze Klein unfortunately. The Gatekeeper peppers her with knee strikes and spikes her with an implant DDT. Half nelson slam next, followed by a big German suplex...as Klein starts to look increasingly dominant. Okurrr! nailed out of nowhere by Steelz! But she is too injured to cover right away and watches as Kelly pings into the bottom rope. K-Power nailed, and Kelly retains at 08:14

Rating - * - It wasn't that I didn't think these two weren't working hard, my issue here was that the match still came off like a complete mess. It felt like it was being contested in slow motion at times, yet still it felt like there were little mistakes, mis-steps and obvious foul-ups occurring with an unacceptable regularity. I'm a bigger fan of Klein than many, and I've enjoyed the attitude of Steelz from what little I've seen but they really didn't click here in my opinion. The only redeeming feature of the match to me was that, having built Tasha up as a formidable and tough opponent - having Klein pretty much squash her here does further enhance Kelly's dominant reputation.

Angelina Love runs in and attacks both Klein and Steelz from behind. She gives them both a Botox Injection then poses over Kelly's barely-moving body with her WOH Title belt...

There has been a competitive rivalry between Lethal and Lifeblood all year. We've watched Lethal and Gresham contest a couple of tag team clinics with Lifeblood's Tracy Williams and Mark Haskins, including a 30-minute Iron Team Match at Masters Of The Craft...and on both occasions it was 'The Franchise' and 'The Octopus' coming out on top. Now Lifeblood want another crack at that record, this time with a modified line-up - Bandido teaming with Haskins for only the second time since Tracy Williams has a TV Title shot...

Haskins and Gresham start out and it is everything you'd expect from those two men in the ring together. For more than three minutes they effortlessly grapple back and forth, with each exchange punctuated by a minor display of arrogance, cockiness or showmanship from The Octopus. Haskins, having already lost to Lethal and Gresham twice this year, looks incredibly frustrated - and even Lethal isn't impressed with his partner's attitude. Bandido and Lethal tag and the tables turn with the luchador visibly keen to make a statement at the expense of 'The Franchise'. Jay tries to retaliate with the Lethal Injection, and when that misses Bandido brilliantly rolls through the hiptoss/dropkick combo in an exchange so spectacular most of the audience gives them a standing ovation. They shake hands in a sign of respect, and the cameras catch Gresham looking annoyed about it in the background of the shot. His irritation proves founded as Lifeblood team up on Lethal to get ahead. Bandido even finds time to pay Gresham back - going into his corner to taunt him in the same way Gresh had done earlier. Meanwhile Haskins has started attacking Lethal's arm; stomping it hard into the canvas. Gresham comes to his partner's aid and gives Mark a STALLING German suplex...which he then celebrates by disrespectfully standing on the Englishman's throat. He makes a point of targeting Haskins' arms and inflicts an apparent injury with a bridging chickenwing. Haskins fights out with a backbreaker on Lethal and makes a crucial tag out...only for Gresham to quickly kill Lifeblood's momentum by low-bridging the ropes causing Bandido to fall out of the ring. He then forcibly tags Lethal out when Jay tries to query those tactics! Hopping to the floor he starts ramming Bandido's back and ribs onto the guardrails...and even tries to swing a chair at him until Lethal intercepts. So Gresh shoves Lethal on his ass as well! That gives Bandido the chance to slither away and unleash Haskins with the ELBOW SUICIDA! Cornette Cutter COUNTERED WITH A SOLDIER ROLL ON TOP OF LETHAL! Soldier Roll on Lethal as well gets 2. Falcon arrow/frog splash combo gets another nearfall for Lifeblood. Gresham leads the save for his partner, joining him to hit a jumping enzi/dragon screw combo. Figure 4 Leglock applied to Haskins, with Bandido being restrained on the floor by Gresham. BANDIDO POWERBOMBS GRESHAM ONTO LETHAL to break the hold! Gresham gets up and does Bandido's own pose in his face, before they start teeing off on each other. POP-UP CUTTER! Lethal Injection COUNTERED TO THE X-KNEE! 21-PLEX! SHARPSHOOTER! TOPE ATOMICO BY BANDIDO! LETHAL TAPS! Haskins taps out a former World Champion to win at 19:35!

Rating - **** - If you're one of the many who slept on ROH in 2019, you missed out on a trio of absolute bangers between the Lethal/Gresham team and Lifeblood. Bandido swapped in for Tracy here, which gave this encounter a completely new and arguably more exciting dynamic. Unlike the previous bouts, this one wasn't solely about the quality of the technical wrestling on display (although that was still obviously solid). Instead this one was a superb little drama, with multiple little stories weaving together building to a spectacular finish. You had the now bitter and discontented former Purist Jon Gresham trying to utilise his new 'gives no f*cks' attitude to get ahead, causing friction in his team with Lethal...even though we know Lethal himself has had such a lousy year that he too has struggled to maintain his banner-waving 'Franchise' persona. You had Haskins desperate to win after falling twice to the same team already this year (not to mention failing to take the World Title from Lethal last year in one of ROH's best bouts of 2018)...and ultimately succeeding; tapping out Lethal for the biggest win of his ROH career. Then you had Bandido who, as always, was here to steal the show; his explosive offence primed to blow whomever he was in the ring with out of the water. I've loved them all, but if I were pushed there's a chance this is actually my favourite of the three Lethal/Gresh vs Lifeblood tags. 

We're scheduled to see more of Lifeblood next, as Tracy Williams arrives for his Television Title match with Shane Taylor. But as he makes his entrance he is attacked from behind by Flip Gordon, wielding a villainous black kendo stick. He smashes Tracy across his bad shoulder with the weapon and walks away, leaving Williams needing medical attention and his championship match seemingly cancelled for the evening...

This is the culmination of a feud which began in Madison Square Garden, when Rush crushed former World Champion Castle in mere seconds. Castle has pursued his own demented form of revenge on Rush; watching his matches at ringside, forcing him into a team at State Of The Art, beating his brother at Best In The World...then assaulting him with a steel chair at Mass Hysteria. Tonight he even has new 'Boys' in tow, except they are dressed in childish white cow masks to make fun of 'El Toro Blanco'...

Rush leaps straight into a diving elbow strike, and just like at Mass Hysteria Dalton goes straight out of the ring to avoid a quick defeat. But since he did that at the last show, Rush anticipates it this time and sprints out with him to dump his rival into the guardrails. Castle is being blitzed again, but this time Rush seems intent on hurting him rather than beating him - chasing him around the ring to deliver strikes and even trying to grapple with the decorated amateur wrestler on the canvas. Dalton struggles so badly that he tries to leave...only to be attacked in the aisle and thrown into the crowd! And since the crowd is so small, the Peacock is eating a lot of concrete floor here. Up on the stage he delivers a nasty kick right into Castle's previously-broken back too. Rush has the chance to hit the Bull's Horns but opts to do the fake-out spot instead - a mistake which Dalton immediately capitalises on by flogging him in the face with his sequinned riding crop. And as Rush tries to make some space Dalton starts beating on him with a chair as well. STEEL CHAIR PEACOCK'S FEATHERS (Bull's Horns) into the side of the ring! EVEREST GERMAN ON THE FLOOR! Rush can barely stand but tries to charge at Castle, who simply scoops him up and DUMPS HIM into the front row! Dalton is so confident of victory he starts posing for photos with fans - lying in wait to hit Rush with a backbreaker and another chair shot the second he crawls back over the barricades. Rush spits angrily in Dalton's face...and explodes with a savage snap German suplex, then the Incineration. We go to the outside again where Rush starts smashing him into guardrails, followed by a powerbomb INTO the timekeeping table (which doesn't break). El Toro Blanco starts throwing every weapon he can find into the ring; chairs, tools, trash cans, even the Beer City Bruiser's cooler. Castle tries to bop him on the head with the can, but Rush completely no-sells it to hit another German suplex. BULL'S HORNS! Rush wins at 15:21

Rating - *** - I've enjoyed the Rush/Dalton feud. In all honesty Rush hasn't changed much of his act or done anything different, so almost all of the story-telling has come from the unique ways Dalton has found to work around Rush. The entire angle has been testament to what Castle still has as a performer. As a result this match was always watchable. You wanted to see Dalton get his ass kicked - and he did at the beginning and end. But arguably the most compelling stuff was in the middle, where Castle did a fantastic job portraying himself as a man driven to the edge of insanity by his MSG loss. There were points where the match itself felt clumsy, and Castle's physical limitations restricted how violent they could get making some of their work feel relatively tame - which isn't ideal for a grudge match. Ultimately though, the story was good, Dalton loses, Rush's undefeated streak remains intact...and having now vanquished his rival, Rush's attention surely now moves to the World Championship.

Tracy Williams comes back out with his bad arm now hanging limply by his side. But he says Flip hasn't done enough to stop him getting his title shot and calls out Shane Taylor for their match now...

As we've said a number of times, as Williams represents Lifeblood the actions of Taylor - through his actions and association with Bully Ray, the Briscoes and Silas Young - directly conflict with the principles that Lifeblood were founded upon. He won this opportunity by winning an Honor Club Exclusive Proving Ground four-way (also including Josh Woods and Silas Young), came perilously closing to taking the World Title from Matt Taven on Episode 407 of ROH TV...and would have been an extremely credible threat to Taylor's plans for TV Title dominance were it not for the actions of Flip Gordon earlier. Surely Hot Sauce stands no chance of overcoming a bigger and stronger champion with just one of his arms functioning?

Williams walks into a clubbing elbow smash from the champion which almost knocks him out instantly. He retreats to the corner...and catches another big strike to counter into a hanging armbar. An attempt at a flying crossbody follows, only for Shane to pluck him out of the sky and deck him with a lariat. The champ then rams the already-injured shoulder into the ringpost, all but ending Tracy's chances of winning. If that weren't enough he smashes the arm into the side of the ring, then gives it a big leg drop into the apron as well. Hot Sauce blocks a superplex and hits an ARM-SELLING FROG SPLASH for 2! HEADBUTT TO THE SHOULDER by Taylor! Second rope splash misses though, with Williams scrambling to lock the champ into a Crossface. Obviously his injured arm prevents him from cementing victory but it does slow Taylor down enough for the challenger to lay in a volley of strikes. He attacks Taylor's leg and gives him a leg-capture back suplex off the ropes for 2. The shoulder gives out before he can muscle Shane's bulk up for a Piledriver though. Greetings From 216 wins it for Taylor at 08:23

Rating - *** - Taylor would get over with ROH's audience much more quickly if they stopped booking stupid sh*t into his matches and just let him wrestle. This wasn't bad at all, both men are great talents and they made the best of what they were given. But this felt very much like it was being cut short to ensure the card runs to time, rather than because booking this injury angle gave them the best chance of having the best match possible. I've no doubt in my mind they could have delivered a cracking match. We saw glimpses of that quality here, but in eight minutes they were deprived of the chance to make a lasting impression.

A video package hyping the forthcoming arrival of Joe Hendry. He is coming to ROH to restore the 'Prestige' to the World Title, and to 'change the world'. 

This is an all-CMLL trios match, here to promote the forthcoming Global Wars Espectacular Tour as ROH and CMLL run a full cross-promotional series of shows for the first time. Caristico, Stuka, Soberano and Hechicero have all appeared before, but we'll see debuts for Templario and Cavernario - who Ian promotes as one of the 'most requested stars out of CMLL'. Silas Young joins commentary since he is facing 'a couple of these CMLL guys' soon...albeit he doesn't know which ones, or at which show!

Stuka begins with Hechicero, providing some surprisingly nimble exchanges despite being two of the biggest men in the match. Stuka bounces off the ropes like a pinball into a rana on Hechi...but is quickly silenced by both Templario and Barbaro invading the ring. Caristico dives at them, leapfrogging off Templario into a headscissors on Cavernario. Tornillo by Soberano! Satellite lucha armdrag by Stuka! Bodies are already flying everywhere - Cavernario next hitting a springboard dropkick. ROPE-WALK MISSILE DROPKICK by Templario! SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR by Hechicero! HANDSPRING MOONSAULT by Templario! Soberano looks for a somersault hurricanrana...only for Hechi to catch him with an arm-capture swinging backbreaker for 2. He then gives Stuka an inverted monkey flip - and as he flies through the air Barbaro punts him in the face too! Elevated missile dropkick triple team (to Caristico's ASS) next! The rudos swarm Soberano; the smallest member of their opposition and the last man standing...but he BACK FLIPS OFF TEMPLARIO'S SHOULDERS to escape! Springboard flying headscissors by Caristico, then a TOPE ATOMICO on Cavernario! Soberano is still flipping like a maniac...and almost pins Templario in the process. SUPER gourdbuster gets 2 for Templario in response, but he is quickly shut down by Stuka's hammerlock DDT. Stuka tries a diving press off the top, only for Hechicero to counter as he hits the ground into a surfboard which Soberano has to break. TORPEDO DIVE TO THE FLOOR by Stuka! SPRINGBOARD TORNILLO TO THE FLOOR by Soberano! Caristico boots Cavernario in the face, so Barbaro does the same right back to counter a moonsault. ROPE RUN SPANISH FLY gets 2! LA MISTICA! Cavernario taps, giving Caristico the win at 11:52

Rating - **** - Obviously this could never have the impact of the original Dragon Gate trios match at Supercard Of Honor, but the theory is the same. The aim here was to introduce ROH's fans to the CMLL/Lucha Libre style by having six luchadors get as much of their sh*t in as possible. I'm sure lucha aficionados won't get much out of this, but I thought it was a thrilling and fast-paced exhibition. Riccaboni grounding everything by calling out Soberano's performance as a redemption story after he absolutely bombed in his ROH debut match last year against Punishment Martinez was a really nice touch.

Just a few weeks ago this would have been classified as a World Title Match people never thought they'd see. Shelley was assumed as retired (although he did point out he never used the word 'retirement'), and thought to have exited the ROH scene in 2018. But he returned in Philadelphia, and cashed in his 'veteran card' for an immediate title shot; gratitude for his years of service to pro-wrestling and the influence he has among promotions and performers all over the world. Clearly I think that is a dumb set up to a title match, but I'm a big fan of Shelley as a singles performer (far more so than as a Machine Gun or a Time Splitter) and any opportunity to see him work a feature-length bout I'm on board with. Taven is in the form of his life though and has eradicated all doubt about the legitimacy of his World Championship credentials by ending Jeff Cobb's undefeated streak at Best In The World, then beating Jay Lethal at Manhattan Mayhem. Good as Shelley is, one suspects that it would be an upset if he were to leave Toronto as World Champion...

The opening exchanges favour Shelley as they take place almost entirely on the mat - where he has spent an entire career honing his craft. Eventually he snots in the champ's face, provoking Matt to fire back with a slap. All of this takes place with a front row fan visibly fast asleep (and a very sleepy looking kid next to him). Taven looks annoyed as the challenger ties him into knots without breaking a sweat. He pokes Shelley in the eyes and goes for The Climax...but Alex keeps almost countering it to the Border City Stretch, which forces the champ to the floor. Upon his return Shelley has no qualms about poking Taven in the eye either. At this point big portions of the audience are now visibly distracted by the still-sleeping front-row fan - meaning Shelley continuing to out-wrestle Taven goes almost unnoticed. He dropkicks Taven's suspect knee, and once again the champion has to flee the ring. Diving knee off the apron by Shelley! To the delight of the crowd, Shelley actually reaches into the crowd and STEALS the sleeping fan's shoe to beat Taven with! He is still basking in the cheers from that when he spits water in Taven's face and looks for a Sliced Bread off the ringpost. TAVEN TOSSES HIM THROUGH A TABLE to counter it! Shelley barely survives being counted out, and returns to a barrage of strikes from the champion. His back is hurting him, and Matt makes it worse with a swinging backbreaker for 2. Surfboard applied, then another flurry of backbreakers when the challenger escapes it. Lion Tamer next, followed by a Russian legsweep/rolling neckbreaker combo. SLINGSHOT DDT OVER THE TOP ROPE TO THE FLOOR by Shelley! But Taven is still moving so the challenger goes out after him. SHELLSHOCK TO THE GUARDRAIL! STANDING SHIRANUI INTO THE CROWD! But Taven recovers to boot him in the face and hit AIR TAVEN INTO THE FRONT ROW! It's a spectacular sequence, but the crowd are mostly distracted by the sleeping fan having to be carried out. Aurora Borealis blocked...SHELLSHOCK gets 2! SLICED BREAD #2! BORDER CITY STRETCH! Taven escapes and hits Just The Tip. CLIMAX NAILED! FOR 2! CLIMAX AGAIN! Taven retains at 18:05

Rating - **** - I didn't really want to talk about the sleeping fan. Watching the show live at the time I really didn't think much of it, but unfortunately in a year when trolling ROH became a regular part of the 'internet fan' experience, a guy visibly falling asleep during their big World Title Match was pretty much the only talking point coming out of the show. For what it's worth, I actually think the wrestlers dealt with it pretty well. They ignored it for as long as they could, and when it was clear the crowd was being completely derailed by the fan, Shelley showed all his experience and class by converting the situation into a babyface pop for him (whilst also waking the idiot up). It meant that everyone seemed to miss a pretty killer little title match. I love Alex Shelley and he was at his best here; out-wrestling Taven at every turn and coming off as a genuine threat even in a match nobody thought he'd win. And in turn the content of the match itself (ignoring the unconscious fan) really put Taven over too. He didn't need to cheat to get on top, he just had to show his toughness and endurance - and also his ingenuity as he opportunistically tossed Alex through a table when the chance presented itself. He pummelled Shelley's back and seemed on the brink of victory - until they paralleled the momentum-shift from earlier and had Shelley opportunistically hit a crazy high spot to grab the advantage back. From there it was a race to the finish line; the critically-injured Shelley emptying the tanks with all the offence he could muster - only for Taven to survive it all and grab the win. As I keep saying, whether you agree that Taven was the right call as champion in 2019 or not (he wasn't, history has proven that), his body of work as champion and the quality of his matches deserves more respect than it gets.

Taven demands a microphone and pokes fun at Canadian wrestling fans. Once again he calls himself the greatest ROH Champion of all time...but then Rush's music hits. El Toro Blanco stares the champion down intently, forcing Taven to leave the ring as Rush gestures to the title belt.

This is officially 'Ladder War 8'; a fitting end to ROH's wildest and most unpredictably rivalry of the entire year. The GOD took the ROH Tag Titles at G1 Supercard, but repeatedly disrespected them to the extreme annoyance of their bitter rivals the Briscoes. On the War Of The Worlds Tour they finally met in a match, but that ended in controversy as the Guerrillas cheated to win. At Manhattan Mayhem the Briscoes finally got payback, becoming 11-time champions in a brutal Street Fight. We thought that was the end of the matter, but the GOD launched a bloody revenge attack at Mass Hysteria (after the Briscoes had successfully retained against The Bouncers). The Guerrillas suggested they wanted to get ladders involved as they left through the crowd, meaning once again Jay and Mark return to Ladder War - a match they pioneered in ROH all the way back in 2007. 

Everyone comes out armed with chairs meaning as the bell rings we already have four men swinging chairs at each other like maniacs. Mark hits a somersault plancha on Tonga, but in doing so takes his eyes off Loa who quickly grabs a ladder and makes a dash for the belts. Jay makes the save then helps his brother bash a chair through Tama's face. Tonga recovers by bashing Jay in the back of the head with a chair. SPINEBUSTER through a table on Mark as well! Somehow Mark gets up out of the wreckage of the table and hooks Tonga from behind to German suplex him hard onto the floor. Jay lays Tanga over a table and sandwiches him there with a ladder. MARK SPRINGS OFF A CHAIR TO HIT A SENTON THROUGH THE LADDER AND TABLE! With Loa incapacitated it means they can gang up on Tonga; suplexing him through a table as well. SPEAR THROUGH A TABLE from Mark to Tama! The brilliance of this is that everything looks completely brutal! Somehow Tama gets up off the floor and MAFIA KICKS MARK INTO THE CROWD! And when Mark tries to recover Loa back drops him through an open chair. He hits a falcon arrow on the floor, as inside the ring Tonga tosses Jay through a steel chair set up in the corner. That splits him open and next time we see him he has blood pouring from his head. The camera reveals that Mark is bleeding too, with Tama picking him up for a running powerslam through a ladder too. When the camera goes back to Jay we get a close up of blood gushing all over his face in scenes reminiscent of the At Our Best Cage Match way back in 2004. He fights to avoid being put through a table by Loa, then dives out of the way as Mark climbs to hit a TOP ROPE BLOCKBUSTER OFF THE APRON, THROUGH THE TABLE! Blood is clotting in Jay's dreadlocks as he marches to the centre of the ring to square off with Tonga. German suplex by Tama, but Jay no-sells and lariats him to the canvas as well. On the outside Mark is somehow back on his feet and rummaging under the ring for more ladders and tables. A table is positioned at ringside for his brother...JAY DRILLER OFF THE APRON THROUGH THE TABLE! Tanga is back up through - and grabs Mark to biel him over the top rope, almost through a camera man. POWERBOMB THROUGH A LADDER on Jay! But Mark comes back and hits a flying chair shot off the top rope to prevent Tanga from climbing for the belts. Crazy Mark sets up a huge ladder in the aisle, then lays Loa out on a table in front of it. INSANE LADDER SPLASH THROUGH THE TABLE CONNECTS! With everyone else down Mark puts a ladder in the ring and makes a first Briscoe run for the title belts. TAMA RUNS UP A LADDER OUTSIDE THE RING AND SPRINGBOARDS INTO THE GUN STUN! HOLY SH*T! Tonga thinks he has it won, only to find the bloody remains of Jay Briscoe clawing at him! They trade strikes at the top of another massive ladder. Jay HEADBUTTS Tama to the ground...AND GRABS THE BELTS! Briscoes retain at 22:00

Rating - ****1/2 - On a number of levels, this is a hard match to watch. It is a fantastic, bloody and violent brawl, but incredibly uncomfortable to watch. When the Briscoes were first booked into Ladder War back in 2007, the carnage was deemed so extreme that Gabe Sapolsky vowed never to put them in that position again, a decision whcih ensured that the match remains the stuff of legend to this day. But with fourteen years more wear and tear, the Briscoes stand as almost sole-survivors of a bygone era in ROH history. Rather than get treated with respect, they are sent out night after night to do stuff like this. In 2007 Gabe was so terrified he wanted to protect them from ever having to do it again. In 2019 Sinclair has had them work multiple Street Fights, they bled buckets with Rush and Dragon Lee, and now they go through this car crash as well. And they do it in front of a half-full (at best) venue, on a show where some drunk jackass falling asleep got more press coverage. The match itself is superb, and actually really under-rated. It built on what they did at Manhattan Mayhem, with the messy, organic style of brawling and fighting driving the action - but wrapped in even more extreme blood-letting and some almost unbelievable high spots and dives. To that end, the finish - not a whacky stunt bump, but the sight of a bloody Jay literally headbutting his foe until he could take no more, whilst at the top of a ladder - could not have been more fitting. I commend and thank all involved for what they went through for our entertainment, and my heart breaks that this match didn't get the attention and respect it deserved.

Tape Rating - **** - One of the more under-rated shows in ROH's mostly-overlooked 2019. The first hour is patchy, but the rest of the show is really good. Obviously Briscoes/GOD is a worthy headline act...but the Lethal/Gresham vs Lifeblood tag almost stole the show (a third outstanding Lethal/Gresh vs Lifeblood tag of 2019), the CMLL trios tag is really fun, and the Taven/Shelley World Title Match is another entry into the solid body of work Matt Taven is building in his unlikely championship run (and so much more than just the sleeping idiot in the front row that most of the post-event press coverage of this show dwelled upon). The upside of screwing Taylor/Tracy for time is that everything else got the time allocation it warranted; the show felt well-paced; everything other than the TV Title Match given the platform to deliver. I've been framing my 2019 ROH reviews with the knowledge that many ducked out on the company altogether this year, so trying to help guide people through the low points to pick out the good stuff. Summer Supercard, I'd suggest, is a worthy stopping point...

3) Matt Taven vs Alex Shelley (****)

2) Mark Haskins/Bandido vs Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham (****)

1) Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Guerrillas Of Destiny (****1/2)