McXal's Reviews

The quality of ROH's pay-per-view shows has been strong this year. That possibly isn't the most popular opinion, given their half of G1 Supercard was trash and they mismanaged time so badly at Best In The World that one of their biggest title matches of 2019 got less than ten minutes...but in terms of match quality I do think they've delivered value for money. And, to the credit of the creative team and the new formatting of their schedule and product - we have another strong pay-per-view card full of matches which seem interesting, and have a decent amount of build-up to them. The main event is one people have been waiting to see since Rush debuted at the start of 2019; at last tonight he wrestles a singles match with Matt Taven (for the World Title). Kelly Klein faces Angelina Love for the WOH World Championship in a match that has been brewing since G1 Supercard too. We'll also see the Tag and TV Titles defended throughout the course of the evening, the start of a tournament to determine who gets a World Title shot at Final Battle, a grudge match between The Bouncers and the odd-couple duo of Silas Young and Vinny Marseglia...and a purist dream match as Jay Lethal squares off with Jonathan Gresham in a singles bout for the first time in more than a year. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman call the action from Las Vegas, NV.

Quite incredibly, this is apparently Brody's first 1v1 singles match in ROH. I know he's formed a fun big-man team with PCO and that Villain Enterprises multi-man tags have been really good all year, but that feels like a shocking statistic. He did wrestle a singles match on the Toronto leg of the War Of The Worlds Tour (albeit a four-way), and on that night he was pinned by Shane Taylor. It saw Taylor become TV Champion, and it saw Jeff Cobb lose the belt he'd held so proudly...without even being pinned. It feels like quite a fall from grace for Jeff to go from main eventing the last ROH PPV to working the pre-show...particularly since he has another World Title Match coming up. But if putting this on the pre-show means the main event doesn't get f*cked for time again, I can live with it...

Recognising that they are in the ring with another big, strong dude - both men approach the opening sequence with a cagey caution. That said, within two minutes they've hit each other with so many shoulder blocks that both men almost collapse. Cobb CATCHES King going for a body avalanche and dumps him with an overhead belly to belly suplex. He pulverises Brody in the corner with countless blows, which in itself is a shocking visual as so few people have been able to bully King like this in 2019. ROPE RUN FLYING CROSSBODY in response by Brody! Just as it was shocking when Cobb pummelled Brody in the corner, it is similarly unsettling to see King stomp the sh*t out of the former Olympian on the canvas. Eventually they just charge each other...and collide in the middle of the ring, wiping each other out with clotheslines. They spent the next minute or so standing in the ring and absolutely HAMMERING each other. Jeff blocks the Gonzo Bomb, but King refuses to allow himself to be suplexed either. Cobb dropkicks King in the corner...and hits a STALLING SUPERPLEX on the big man! King kicks out at one...so Jeff rolls into a standing moonsault in a single fluid motion. So Brody gets up and hits a running rana then a TOPE SUICIDA! PILEDRIVER! SUPER-CLOSE TWO-COUNT! Cobb barely seemed to kick-out of that at all?! He does block the Gonzo Bomb with a GERMAN SUPLEX! NO SOLD! GERMAN SUPLEX DUEL! TOUR OF THE ISLANDS! Cobb wins in a fast-paced 12:58

Rating - **** - That feels like a very generous rating, particularly as I know the no-selling at the end will trigger a lot of people. But it was an exhilarating, breathlessly-paced hoss battle fought with real intensity from first bell to last, a genuine gem to give away for free (on a pre-show where people might not even see it) and a great way to start a show. I'm certain we'll see matches on the main PPV card which aren't this good. I was astonished to hear how few Brody singles matches we've seen (and his performance here suggests that should change quickly) - but the benefit of that means that King loses very little in defeat here. But BEATING Brody in this manner makes an effort to heal the immeasurable damage inflicted on Cobb by the shambolic Best In The World main event - just in time for his next World Title shot in the UK.

Brian Zane (a YouTube wrestling journalist) interviews The Bouncers ahead of their 'Bar Room Brawl' tonight. Bruiser is furious that Vincent sent him to the hospital in Milwaukee...and says that tonight by the end of the match they'll ALL be in the emergency room again.

Quinn McKay is in the ring for an interview with Dalton Castle, who isn't wrestling tonight but is part of Death Before Dishonor Fallout tomorrow night. He has a theatrical entrance, new Boys and is apparently sore at being left off the pay-per-view. Nevertheless, he proclaims that he is here to 'entertain' the fans (which he achieves by throwing glitter around apparently). Joe Hendry interrupts, apparently not entertained by Castle throwing glitter and drinking mimosas. Hendry says he has prepared a 'karaoke celebration' of Dalton Castle to demonstrate his commitment to their tag team...then delivers a comedic verse about Dalton finding Boys on Craigslist and being carried in matches by Hendry. Dalton throws his mimosa in Joe's face and leaves - so Hendry picks up both Boys and throws them to the floor.

This is our first match in the eight-man tournament to crown a #1 contender for the World Title at Final Battle. Marty is one of the favourites; one of the top stars in the promotion, yet someone who has largely remained out of the World Title picture since failing to win the G1 Supercard Ladder Match which saw Matt Taven crowned. Cabana is an ROH veteran, who made his debut for the company all the way back in 2002. The World Title is something he has chased and coveted...but never held. This tournament may represent his last chance. As someone that has toured the UK extensively throughout his career, Cabana has an edge over many of Scurll's opponents in that he is incredibly familiar and well-versed in the British 'World Of Sport' style...

Riccaboni runs through some interesting stats about their record against each other in other promotions as the soundtrack to a tense opening period which sees the two men work the mat, exchange holds and probe each other for weaknesses. Colt's mindgames and power-advantage visibly unsettle The Villain, but Scurll makes a point of countering and escaping many of the World Of Sport tricks which usually find success for the Chicago-native. Colt hops onto the apron to block the Apron Superkick - so Marty ups the stakes and goes upstairs for a superplex. He delivers a flurry of back rakes, a Villainous move and also one his friends the Young Bucks have used regularly. He starts to dominate proceedings using an intriguing mash-up of high-quality technical wrestling and prototypical 'Villain' tricks. Cabana abandons his usual tactics and goes to strikes to fight back - eventually getting a nearfall with a leaping ass attack. He lures Scurll to the apron again...and sweeps him into a backbreaker on the floor! Back in the ring Marty decks him with the half nelson suplex, followed by the folding powerbomb for 2. Finger Snap blocked...Airplane Spin blocked...Bionic Elbow blocked INTO THE FINGER SNAP! No sold into the Bionic Elbow! That was awesome! Colt goes for a quebrada - but Marty Superkicks him in the head on the way down then gives him a PILEDRIVER! Colt punches Scurll in the face to block the Chickenwing. Flying Asshole countered to the Chickenwing...countered to the Billy Goat's Curse. COUNTERED TO THE CHICKENWING! Colt rolls out into a pin for 2! MOONSAULT NAILED! Scurll kicks out! Billy Goat's Curse! The Villain makes it to the ropes...and with so little left in the tank has no choice but to poke the eyes. CHICAGO SKYLINE! SUPERMAN PIN GETS 2! Heavyweight Lariat by Scurll, setting up the Black Plague! Scurll advances at 14:01

Rating - **** - An absolutely brilliant way to open a pay-per-view. This match packed in a little bit of everything; comedy, great technical wrestling, hard-hitting strikes, focused offence on body-parts that play into a finishing move, thrilling counter-wrestling and false finishes at the end etc. This also worked well as a companion piece to Cabana vs Zack Sabre Jr from Bound By Honor 2019. On that night Colt's hijinx and shenanigans disrupted ZSJ, forcing him to work Cabana's style of match. Colt looked to do the same thing here...but eventually found himself getting lured into wrestling Marty's style of match thanks to The Villain's intelligent blend of technical skill and provocative tricks. I don't know that Scurll has wrestled a better 1-on-1 singles match all year (which speaks volumes for how much he has been marginalised).

This is our second #1 Contenders Tournament Match this evening (with the other two first-round matches slated for Death Before Dishonor Fallout tomorrow night). King is in his hometown, and is enjoying a career-best year with ROH; winning the Honor Rumble, and a Best Of 3 Series with Jay Lethal - and as a result operating in and around the World Title picture constantly. He is looking for a route back to the championship...and for some reason has requested that this match be made No DQ. PCO is perhaps the biggest wildcard in the tournament field. He is so erratic and uncontrollably wild that even his colleagues in Villain Enterprises don't know what he's doing most of the time - but what we do know is that when he did earn a title shot (during the War Of The Worlds Tour) it was only interference from the rest of Matt Taven's Kingdom that prevented PCO from leaving as World Champ. Kenny is in street clothes, carries a concrete block to the ring and is flanked by not only Amy Rose - but also an entire crew of back-up guys (including Chris Bey and Sledge) who set up weapons around ringside. PCO looks more insane than usual, and is debuting his new entrance music provided by legendary ex-WWF composer Jim Johnston.

Apparently PCO and Destro have been dealing with an 'electrical malfunction' which they've been thus far unable to solve. King tests that out by throwing kicks and punches at him...only for PCO to deliver his Pop-Up Powerbomb to drive him out of the ring. A suplex on the entrance ramp rocks King - and as he lies prone in the aisle PCO lumbers towards him and drops a senton! Cannonball from the top gets 2...then when Kenny rolls to the apron, PCO climbs to the top again for a SOMERSAULT SENTON ON THE APRON! He nailed it for once, but ricocheted off King's prone torso and rattles face-first into a nearby table. Next PCO lays Kenny across three open chairs...but his 'current' starts to malfunction again and he hits a tope suicida on the wrong side of the ring. That is exactly how he injured himself during Saturday Night At Center Stage too. Kenny prevents him from getting medical attention though, and wraps a ladder around his head before jamming it into the ringpost. Things get absolutely chaotic - first a table breaks before it can be used, then Kenny almost drops a ladder onto the head of a front row fan. In the absence of any more tables, King starts stacking ladders. CORKSCREW PESCADO THROUGH THE LADDERS! PCO absorbed the full impact of that and spasms in pain. But since he is still moving, Kenny rips the protective mats up and tries to drive him into the exposed wooden floor too. PCO blocks that...so Amy Rose slaps him in the face (then runs away fast)! SUNSET FLIP BOMB FROM THE APRON TO THE FLOOR! Absolutely no clue who got the worst of that - King seemed to land with PCO basically on his head. Capture suplex into the turnbuckles next by Kenny, and with PCO down he grabs a bottle of water and pours it all over the fallen Monster. Amy Rose comes in carrying a cattle prod. But it seems to shock PCO into life! He DESTROYS King with a chokeslam to win at 11:48! 

Rating - *** - I really didn't have a clue what was happening for most of this. The PCO 'short circuits' gimmick is ridiculously stupid, the finish was laughable, the on-screen dynamic between Kenny and Amy feels slightly inauthentic and underdeveloped, and most of the match felt like a mess. But holy sh*t did they throw everything they had at this. Considering they were working a ten-minute undercard match second on the show, they beat the hell out of each other. It was hardly a wrestling clinic but I found it hard not to respect and appreciate the effort they put in, and the punishment they absorbed in the name of entertaining us.

This is the match we've been building to since The Allure debuted at G1 Supercard. On that night the Beautiful People made a shock debut in ROH, and aligned with Women Of Honor division stalwart Mandy Leon to form a new faction...at the expense of Klein as she won her second WOH World Title from Mayu Iwatani. Since that time Kelly has been desperately trying to get a match with Angelina Love - who has ducked her at every turn. When they finally did wrestle - in a tag match at Best In The World - Angelina was able to become only the third person to ever pin Kelly in ROH. That win was, however, tainted by cheating by The Allure (as we've seen in all their matches). Will we see a clean match here, and is there any way that Angelina can beat The Gatekeeper if we do?

The 'Tale Of The Tape' hilariously informs me that Angelina Love is 6'6. Despite her supposed spectacular height advantage, Love is immediately made to work as Klein looks to swarm her. The opening minute is actually really clever; Klein looking to overwhelm and dominate Love whilst the veteran continually escapes and counters using her ring-smarts. It ends with The Gatekeeper dropping the challenger face-first into the turnbuckles, prompting Mandy to pull her friend to the floor. Klein wipes them both out with a crossbody off the apron! But leaving the ring proves to be a mistake as it gives Angelina the tools with which to level the playing field - using the guardrails and arena floor to increase the effectiveness of her moveset. Klein returns the match to the ring where once again her power and size puts her on top. That is until Love hits the jumping flatliner into the Koji Clutch. No submission there though and Klein is quick to hit back with an avalanche fallaway slam. Ace Crusher by Love, but she walks straight into the K-Power seconds later. Mandy almost leaps for joy as Love kicks out at 2. She literally leaps onto the apron moments later...setting Love up to unload hairspray into Kelly's face. Botox Injection nailed...for 2! Leon tries to use hairspray as well - but this time Kelly moves causing her to spray Angelina! Spear from Klein to Mandy! But in doing so she turns her back on Love - who hits another Botox Injection to win the title at 09:05

Rating - * - The first couple of minutes of this one were actually very good. It wasn't Amazing Red and Low Ki sending the Murphy Rec wild with their opening minute way back at Road To The Title - but it was REALLY solid, smart wrestling which played into and accentuated the strengths of both performers. Unfortunately as a match it just kept getting worse and worse from there. First they abandoned the solid platform they'd set for themselves to start hitting random spots without selling anything...then finally the match dissolved into the same bullsh*t every other Allure match does. It is important to remember that this took place in 2019 - and this kind of crap in a 'major' women's wrestling match doesn't belong. WWE had a female main event at WrestleMania in 2019. Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch were two of the biggest stars in wrestling. Not "women's" stars - STARS across all genders. Major wrestling promotions were signing and featuring great female athletes at an almost unprecedented rate. This kind of match is NOT the alternative Ring Of Honor should be building it's women's division around. I don't mean to knock Angelina or Kelly - but all of this felt brutally out of touch. And this is the best they could come up with for pretty much the biggest 'money' match in the division...

Cary Silkin tries to enter the ring to do his traditional presentation of the belt to the new champion - but Mandy Leon steals the belt and shoves him away so she can award it to Angelina. They try to celebrate by 'branding' Kelly with lipstick again...but are prevented by Maria Manic appearing in the ring again. FINALLY she gets her hands on Angelina - and almost snaps her in half with a Torture Rack. Security goons quickly save the new WOH Champion...so Maria does her usual act of destroying them all. 

These guys had an outstanding trilogy of matches last year, all of which were won by Lethal (although Gresham did win a fall in their 30-Minute Iron Match on television). They were outstanding pure wrestling matches, and cultivated such mutual respect between the two combatants that they went on to form a successful tag team. But something has changed with Gresham in 2019. Gone are the days of him promoting 'pure professional wrestling' and revelling in being the best technical worker on the planet. His feud with Silas - where he was cheated out of multiple matches - taught him that nobody in ROH cares about the Code Of Honor. He has started breaking rules, acting selfishly and doing what he feels is necessary to get ahead. Flash forward to Global Wars Espectacular Night 3 - where he spotted his rival Silas armed with a steel chair so immediately handed a similar weapon to Lethal. Jay refused to use it and lost the match as a result. The partners and friends fell-out spectacularly in the aftermath, each blaming the other for the loss. Gresham refused to back down, so both agreed the only way this could be settled was in a match tonight...

Gresham refuses to follow the Code Of Honor and quietly sets about his work trying to pick Lethal apart on the canvas. To that end Jay makes a statement by hanging with The Octopus on the mat. He counters an early attempt at the Octopus Stretch; using it as leverage to almost pin Gresham in fact. What I particularly like is how the intensity and aggression increases with each round of grappling and mat-work, particularly from Gresh. HIPTOSS TO THE FLOOR by Lethal! Then a springboard dropkick when Gresham blocks the tope suicida. Tope suicida nailed onto the entrance ramp at the second time of asking! The impact of such is immediately visible as Gresham is unable to block the hiptoss/dropkick combo from The Franchise. He dropkicks Gresham's knees next, both of which are heavily bandaged. Lethal has enjoyed success working Gresham's legs in previous matches - and Jon rapidly scrambles for the ropes to escape the Figure 4 Leglock. Quebrada nailed for Gresham - which really hurts his legs, but sees him land hard on Lethal's shoulder too. He follows that with a running punt to Jay's exposed arm...but then collapses to the ropes as well selling a leg injury. He manages to use his other leg to put Lethal in a double chickenwing, further punishing the arm. Next he delivers a simple shoulder block - and when it causes Jay to scream in pain Gresh breaks out into a sadistic smirk. Jay catches his foe into a powerslam, and dives into a Figure 4 Leglock - which both punishes Gresham's injured legs and allows Jay to rest his bad arm. Gresham rolls to the ropes THEN OUT TO THE FLOOR! He just broke the hold by ensuring Lethal's shoulder took more damage! He grabs a steel chair and tries to swing it at Lethal, and only fails because Todd Sinclair grabbed it at the final second. It prompts Lethal to taunt Gresh that he can't beat him...and a full argument breaks out between them. SLAP by Gresham! The technical wrestling pleasantries are thrown out of the window and we get a fist-fight around ringside! Gresham PUNTS THE ARM to block the Lethal Injection! ACE CRUSHER INSTEAD! FIGURE 4! Gresham escapes, but curls up into a ball nursing both of his knees. Jay sells the sh*t out of his arm whilst going for another Injection...before delivering an AWESOME arm-selling Lethal Combination instead. His arm gives out altogether, and Gresham BEATS THE SH*T OUT OF IT! OCTOPUS STRETCH! LETHAL TAPS! GRESH WINS! That has to be the biggest win of Gresham's ROH career at 17:20

Rating - ****1/2 - A masterful match, that worked to please fans on so many levels. Casual fans could marvel at the quality of wrestling on display and the gradual escalation of the drama and aggression as the match progressed. But if you've been following these two for some time (i.e. going back to their 2018 classics too) you will have taken even more from this. There were so many neat, subtle little moments here - it really felt like we were watching a friendship and professional relationship disintegrate across the twenty minutes this ran for. Respect gradually gave way to frustration, then anger...then all out violence as they tore into each other on the floor and seemed to be trying to legitimately snap the injured limbs off the body of their adversary. I fully appreciate that some will go lower on their rating. This isn't a match for everyone, and I understand that. But I thought that as a piece of performance art, telling a story which pulled in elements of their 2018 matches, told a complex but comprehensive escalatory narrative throughout and finished with a benchmark victory for someone ROH should already be pushing to the moon...this was hard to fault. A must-see for me, and easily slotted in as one of the very best ROH matches of 2019.

They shake hands and hug after the bell - but visibly continue to debate certain flashpoints that occurred within the match as they walk out.

There's no elaborate 'Bar Room' set for this, so I suspect this will be a relatively straightforward 'no rules' match, which is fine by me. Delirious has made a decent fist of pivoting this storyline to involve Silas, after injury forced TK O'Ryan (Vinny's regular partner) to take a leave of absence part-way through this feud with Bruiser and Milonas. BCB and Young go way back of course, and after the success of Silas' team with his new protege Josh Woods, it appeared that they had buried the hatchet after their friendship fell apart last year. But in Milwaukee - hometown to both Young and Bruiser - Silas' true intentions were revealed. He double-crossed The Bouncers (to the horror of Woods), and helped Marseglia knock out one of BCB's remaining teeth using a wrench. Now The Bouncers are coming for revenge - and are promising that everyone is going to hospital before this is all over.

Bruiser mugs Vincent from behind during his entrance, whilst Milonas comes through the crowd to ambush Young too. Bruiser smashes a beer bottle over Marseglia's head - busting him open inside two minutes. And when he tries to escape Bruiser hammers him with a chokeslam on the apron as well. Marseglia ducks an attempted shot with a pool cue, levelling Beer City on the floor so that he and Silas can mob Milonas inside the ring then try to tie him up again just like they did in Milwaukee. Beer City DDT countered to a lungblower/Side Effect combo. Kingpin busts out of the ties which were holding him in the corner, allowing him to flatten both opponents before they can put Bruiser through a table on the floor. The Bouncers give Vinny a Samoan drop/senton splash combo in the broken glass...but Bruiser stops Brawler from trying to pin him. He pulls out a turnbuckle wrench looking for some vengeance for Milwaukee, only for Vincent to steal it and bust open Milonas. Josh Woods tries to reason with Young...who hands Vincent the snapped pool cue, so he can use the sharpened edge to carve up Milonas' forehead some more. Silas captures Bruiser in the corner and holds him to the turnbuckle pads...as Marseglia pulls out darts. HE THROWS DARTS INTO BRUISER'S BACK! THEN STARTS STABBING HIM IN THE FACE WITH THEM! Plunge by Young gets 2, before Bruiser collapses to the floor with blood pouring from his face. Milonas makes the save, putting Young in a chair and smashing him through it with a running hip attack. Todd Sinclair appears to have cut his hand on glass counting pins as well! Vincent batters Kingpin onto a table on the floor, whilst in the ring Silas is opens up four chairs facing each other. REDRUM THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR by Vinny! APRON DVD from Bruiser to Silas! Vincent is climbing the ropes like a mad-man again, whilst Josh Woods carries the unconscious Last Real Man to the locker room! SUPERPLEX THROUGH THE OPEN CHAIRS BY BRUISER! But Marseglia kicks out! He's laughing about it and enjoying the chaos! BEER CITY DDT ON A CHAIR! Bruiser pins Vincent at 14:25

Rating - **** - Something about this match felt refreshingly like the 'old' Ring Of Honor. I mean back to the Murphy Rec days when you'd have guys like AJ Styles, Low Ki or Chris Daniels deliver a great WRESTLING match on the midcard...then Gabe would send out the Carnage Crew and Da Hit Squad to bleed all over the building. It was sadistic, it was violent, it was perhaps a little out-dated...but damn, I really enjoyed this so much more than I'd expected. Calling it a 'Bar Room Brawl' had led me to expect something altogether more hokey and gimmicky - rather than the (at points gruesome) hardcore fight we got. That dart spot was a chilling piece of violence, which ROH can recycle on highlight reels for a long time to come. But what actually took this up a notch for me was that amidst all the blood-letting and brutality, there was a purpose to plenty of what was happening. 'The Horror King' Vincent loves violence so was getting a kick out of sending the fun-loving Bouncers to hell in a match like this. Bruiser and Milonas were hell-bent on getting revenge for Milwaukee, so we got a LOT of call-back spots to that sequence. Then you had Josh Woods at ringside - actually playing an integral role in the match. He has been praised for 'lightening up' the curmudgeonly Silas Young, and he was absolutely the light in what was a grim and dark environment here. He naively encouraged Silas to hit wrestling moves on commentary, he tried to convince him not to use weapons...then he literally RESCUED Young from the mayhem when Bruiser almost murdered him on the apron. Clearly this won't be one for the purists. There will be fans who loved Lethal/Gresham, but were then absolutely appalled by this. I really commend all four men for their efforts here - in particular Marseglia and The Bouncers. This has been by far the biggest storyline they've ever been given in ROH. They may never be trusted with this much precious PPV time ever again - so they left everything they had in the ring to make it work. 

Lee was a late addition to this match, having flown in to support his brother, Rush, in the main event. The champion has apparently bought out his contract and is now promoting himself under 'Shane Taylor Promotions', and has an entourage with him - which would work better if it weren't the same bunch of guys that Kenny King had earlier. Since there are four of them, if ROH absolutely NEEDED both to have goons to come out with them, why couldn't they have split them two and two? This is something of a rematch from Summer Supercard, where Taylor successfully saw off the challenge of Williams - but only after Tracy had been injured by a sneak-attack from Villain Enterprises' hired Mercenary, Flip Gordon. Flip and Tracy may be as focused on hurting each other as they are in leaving as champion tonight. PJ Black, an ally of Lifeblood, joins commentary...

As expected, Flip and Tracy ignore the other two and brawl to the floor. It leaves Dragon in the ring with the champ, and for some reason he wants to trade strikes. With some help from the returning Flip and Tracy, he clears the ring...but then gets ambushed by Gordon whilst doing the 'Tranquilo' taunt. Stretch Plum from Williams to Flip - but in doing so he turns his back on Shane T and gets clobbered. Lee and Williams go NUTS with near-miss strikes...but once again Flip jumps Tracy before he can take a deserved round of applause. Tope suicida onto both of them by Lee! Then Taylor tumbles off the apron like a bowling ball skittling all of them! TURNBUCKLE DDT from Williams to Gordon gets 2 (with Lee breaking the pin). DEAD-LIFT BRAINBUSTER by Lee, with such a high angle it felt like Williams may actually be dropped right on the top of his head! Incineration on Taylor! KNEE STRIKE by Shane in response! Flip takes Taylor's eyes and tries to bring a chair into the ring, only to be prevented by Williams. GREETINGS FROM 216! Taylor pins Flip to win at 08:24

Rating - *** - Insubstantial, and the second major show in a row where we've seen Taylor's TV Title Match relegated to little more than spotty filler. But having looked at the card (particularly before Dragon Lee was added), this is probably the match I'd have put in this spot too. They packed as much in as they could, working a lively scramble-style match which particularly excelled when it was furthering the Tracy/Flip rivalry. 

Dragon Lee didn't factor into the finish and gets into Taylor's face during his celebrations, indicating that he is still coming for the ROH TV Title.

This Lifeblood duo earned a title shot by defeating Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham. Bandido also prepared for this match by beating Jay Briscoe in a thrilling bout to main event Night 1 of the Global Wars Espectacular Tour (a tour which also ended with Haskins pinning Mark in a trios match on Night 3). The Briscoes actually started the year quarrelling with Lifeblood, and went to Japan to beat Juice Robinson and David Finlay in their previous championship reign. They are the favourites, but as they stand across the ring from two men who have both been notching up wins over former World Champions recently, the belts are in real jeopardy tonight. Vicky Haskins has made the trip to the US and is watching from the front row.

Haskins tenaciously tries to lock horns with Mark at the bell, proving himself to be a match for Briscoe both on the mat and when trading strikes. Jay tags, so immediately Haskins brings in Bandido looking to reprise his victory over Jay in Dearborn. Bandido is just too fast for Jay - and actually drives him out of the ring unable to cope with the luchador. It means Haskins and Mark can go back to smashing the sh*t out of each other. Just when Haskins thinks he has the better, the Briscoes join forces to overwhelm him. Bandido tags, but also gets double-teamed. That frustrates Haskins - so he comes in and starts kicking at the injured knee Mark has been carrying. Mark leaves the ring...into a SOMERSAULT PLANCHA OVER THE TURNBUCKLES by Bandido! Moments later Vicky watches on in horror as the Briscoes rally and Mark shunts him into the ringpost right in front of her. STEP-UP SOMERSAULT PLANCHA from Mark to Lifeblood! This isn't a No DQ Match, but the Briscoes start filling up ringside with chairs and tables extracted from under the ring. They lay Bandido on a table on the floor - but the masked man rallies before they can use it. But with Haskins still down on the floor the Briscoes are able to work Bandido over 2-on-1. Jay grows distracted by taunting Vicky - yielding tags all round and still more kicks from Haskins into Mark's bad knee. Flatliner/Russian legsweep combo by the Englishman. He STOMPS the knee again in the ropes, whilst Bandido has some fun stretching Jay out on the other side of the ring. Running falcon arrow/frog splash combo scores 2 for Lifeblood. INVERTED CHASING THE DRAGON by Lifeblood next! Jay drags Haskins out and pulverises him against the guardrails right in front of his wife...before marching into the ring and giving Bandido the Day One Neckbreaker. Tornillo by Bandido, followed by the Pop-Up Cutter on Mark! All four men nip up from the canvas and roar with fury before charging into a four-way fist fight in the middle of the ring. Jay Driller blocked by Bandido, setting Jay up for the Haskins Sharpshooter. 21-PLEX ON MARK gets 2! Bandido takes Mark to the top rope for a SUPERPLEX/FLYING DOUBLE STOMP COMBO! Haskins beat Mark with that double stomp in Milwaukee, but not tonight. Jay rescues his brother with a dragon suplex on Bandido, then a lariat on Haskins for 2. JAY DRILLER! GETS 2! Bandido sprints in to save his partner from a Doomsday Device, but is driven to the mat with a DVD. FROGGY BOW! JAY DRILLER! Briscoes retain at 20:16

Rating - **** - The Briscoes have been so good in 2019. They deliver in singles matches, they've worked terrific hardcore brawls with Villain Enterprises and GOD, they've had some terrific trios matches...and they've remained outstanding in their bread and butter core skill of top notch tag team wrestling. This certainly wasn't a top tier Briscoe Brothers match, but for twenty minutes these four men worked back and forth in a tremendous, easy-to-watch encounter. It was fast paced, we saw the Briscoes dominate as the experienced duo battling flurries of outstanding offence from two men who are arguably better singles workers than either Briscoe (at this point anyway). Haskins targeting Mark's bad knee was a brilliant touch, whilst I also enjoyed any time Jay and Bandido came together to reprise their Global Wars encounter. The one thing missing here was a genuine 'Lifeblood could win' moment. They came close with the superplex/Stomp Boy spot, but a lack of the feeling that the championships were in imminent peril did hurt the bout a little.

After the Briscoes leave, Bully Ray returns (he's been gone for a couple of months) and attacks Lifeblood. Tracy Williams comes out for an attempted save, but Flip Gordon sprints in and levels Tracy with the black kendo stick. In all fairness, that is a pretty neat twist given the level of hatred between Flip and Bully. Gordon leaves, and Bubba spots Vicky Haskins trying to tend to her husband Mark. She slaps Bully in the face...so he turns around and powerbombs Mark through a table. He then has security eject her for jumping the guardrail! 

These two had previous in CMLL before Rush even made it to ROH. Ian informs me that Taven has beaten Rush in Mexico, but at CMLL's 85th Anniversary it was Rush who beat Taven in a tag team Hair vs Hair Match, costing Matt his long hair. That meant that when Rush came to ROH, the first people to single him out were The Kingdom. They attacked him after his debut match (versus TK O'Ryan) and there has been an air of inevitability about an eventual Taven vs Rush bout ever since. El Toro Blanco remains undefeated, he was victorious in the Champions vs All-Stars bout, he successfully ended his months-long rivalry with Dalton Castle at Summer Supercard too. Since debuting in January nobody has found a way to stop him...but Taven has proven people wrong for his entire title reign. He was an unpopular winner in Madison Square Garden, he has beaten 'The Monster' PCO, he has beaten technical wizards Tracy Williams and Alex Shelley, high-flyers like Flip Gordon, scored a clean win (in a triple threat) over Jay Lethal and - perhaps most relevantly - ended Jeff Cobb's undefeated streak at Best In The World. Can he end another streak tonight? Dragon Lee (Rush's brother) and La Bestia del Ring (Rush's father) - along with his wife and son - are both in the front row for our main event...

The bell rings and Taven sprints out of the corner to meet the challenger's signature offensive flurry. Rush absorbs a superkick...and dishes out an early turnbuckle suplex. BULL'S HORNS MISSES! Taven knew it was coming and drags Rush out of the ring to start pitching him into the guardrails - right in front of La Bestia and Dragon Lee. He tries to powerbomb him on the ramp as well, but Rush counters to a back body drop. RELEASE SUPLEX OFF THE APRON BY TAVEN! He delivered that with such force that Rush legitimately bounced off the arena floor like a basketball. Rush tries to get up - but Matt keeps charging him; first with a dropkick through the ropes, then an elbow suicida and finally with AIR TAVEN! Each one causes the challenger to fall hard into the guardrails too. Aurora Borealis gets 2, and does further damage to the midsection. Rush tries to charge Taven again, only for Matt to sidestep and hit a hanging lungblower out of the ropes. Rush ducks Just The Tip, and German suplexes the champ into an Incineration knee strike. He then absolutely freaks out, tearing out segments of guardrail then scooping Taven up for a BRAINBUSTER ON THE FLOOR! And when Taven gets up from that Rush simply picks up a metal guardrail and throws it into his face. SUPLEX INTO THE TIMEKEEPING TABLE NAILED! I'm pretty sure Taven landed flush on top of the ring-bell, and the table didn't break either. El Toro Blanco is now so confident he breaks out the Bull's Horns bootscrape fake-out and the 'Tranquilo' pose...and with Taven's brains still scrambled Rush wipes him out again hitting a missile dropkick. MISSILE DROPKICK OFF THE APRON! Again, Rush visibly bounced off the floor in a quite grotesque manner then. He takes one risk too many - particularly with his back injured - and misses a senton bomb off the top. BUTTERFLY PILEDRIVER! JUST THE TIP! CLIMAX! But Rush kicks out! These guys are emptying the tanks on each other...and having tried to cripple each other all match they now start SLAPPING each other around too! Bull's Horns COUNTERED with a spear! Climax blocked - and Rush bounces Taven's face off the ringpost. TREE OF WOE BULL'S HORNS! BULL'S HORNS AGAIN! Rush wins at 16:03

Rating - **** - Another under-rated and deceptively strong match to end Matt Taven's under-appreciated World Title reign. Nothing I've seen in reviewing these post-G1 Supercard shows has made me think any differently to how I felt watching that MSG show live back in 2019; that Taven winning was a HORRIBLE decision. But this match, like so many others, is testament to how f*cking hard the man busted his ass to make the best of it - even whilst reportedly working with a pretty serious ankle injury by the end of it. With the exception of the Cobb match (which got screwed for time and was therefore hardly his fault), every one of his defences has been really good - against a real breadth and variety of opponents. This bout with Rush felt like the culmination of all of those defences. Toughened up by surviving PCO and Cobb, savvy having defeated Alex Shelley, a better and more honourable fighter having beaten multiple Lifeblood members, and a threat to all luchadors having bested Volador Jr. - he took the fight to Rush in a way that few others have. I thought the idea that he was following a blueprint to beat Rush that he made his henchmen Marseglia and O'Ryan try out was incredibly clever. Some of the work they did on the floor was remarkably violent; with some stunning, brutal bumps which still took your breath away even coming after King/PCO and the Bar Room Brawl earlier in the show. A short, simple but explosive match - Taven gave it his best shot, drawing on everything he has learned from his title reign, but that wasn't enough to stop Rush's indomitable march to the World Title. 

La Bestia, Dragon Lee and Rush's son hop the guardrail to celebrate with the new champion - and Matt Taven extends a handshake to the victor on his way out. 

Tape Rating - **** - Death Before Dishonor 17 is right up there with 17th Anniversary for Ring Of Honor's best show of the year. The Women Of Honor Title Match was a major disappointment, but setting that aside it was a fantastic wrestling card that showcased multiple different styles of wrestling to an exceptionally high level. The clear highlight of the night was the Lethal/Gresham match; a masterpiece of both technical wrestling but also story-telling, physical performance art. But you also got a spectacular, all-action World Title main event (including a title change), Scurll/Cabana and the Bar Room Brawl significantly over-delivering on expectations and another quite brilliant Briscoes match from 2019. Even the Bully Ray segment was intriguingly booked (crucially he didn't talk either). Oh, and even the pre-show match was really enjoyable! As I've said plenty of times, there is much to criticise Ring Of Honor for in 2019 - but if you slept on the entire year then great shows like this are an example of what you missed.

3) The Bouncers vs Silas Young/Vinny Marseglia (****)

2) Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Mark Haskins/Bandido (****)

1) Jonathan Gresham vs Jay Lethal (****1/2)