McXal's Reviews

Traditionally ROH holds post-PPV TV tapings to capture all the 'fallout' from their most recent live extravaganza. That means this is the first time that post-PPV show is being made available as a VOD on Honor Club too, making this an intriguing night. Injuries to Rush and Bandido have forced a significant card reshuffling - but we do know we'll be seeing the second two first round matches in the #1 Contender Tournament, plus Dak Draper and Austin Gunn in the 2019 Top Prospect Tournament final as well. Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana and Caprice Coleman are in Las Vegas, NV.

Rush, Dragon Lee and La Bestia del Ring are brought through the curtain by Quinn McKay, giving the new champion a live microphone to address the fans for the first time. He isn't able to wrestle this evening due to injury - he hits his catchphrase and leaves, albeit not before doing the LFI pose with his family in another hint of things to come.

Back to Riccaboni at the commentary desk, who updates us on the card, which has changed due to injury. PJ Black replaces Bandido in the #1 Contendership Tournament and faces Jay Lethal tonight. And since Rush can't partner his brother in a scheduled tag match against Villain Enterprises, Lee instead joins forces with the Briscoes to challenge for the Villains' Six-Man Championship in the main event of the show.

We saw both of these men emerge victorious from the semi-final round during Global Wars Espectacular weekend; Draper besting the Haitian Sensation whilst Gunn went past Dante Caballero. It is an intriguing final, fought between two gentleman who could be considered as legitimate prospects. Gunn is inexperienced, but as the son of 'Mr Ass' Billy Gunn has the business in his DNA and looked a competent performer when we saw him in Chicago (albeit largely performing a tribute act to his father). Draper has more experience and has spent time in WWE developmental. He is tall, rangy and moves with the kind of effortless ease which is the hallmark of all good athletes. 

Draper tries to push Gunn around, perhaps trying to exert his height and experience advantage. He also showcase his wrestling skill with an incredible smart counter of an armdrag into a headlock. Gunn cuts an increasingly frustrated figure and starts making mistakes which allow Dak to pick him off with long-limbed strikes. At four minutes he finally finds a way into the match - tiger feinting around the ringpost and back body dropping Draper on the floor. He hits a somersault plancha, but back in the ring Dak counters the Fame Asser into a back suplex to restore his control. He literally rides Austin on the canvas, holding Gunn down so he is unable to get back to his feet. DEAD-LIFT SUPERPLEX by Dak gets 2. Draper Bomb blocked though, setting Austin up for the hiptoss neckbreaker. Frog splash misses for Gunn though, and second time around Dak does land the Draper Bomb. Austin slides away from the Magnum KO, countering to a bulldog then a big flapjack. Swanton Bomb scores - for 2. Dak's long legs being able to reach the ropes were all that stopped him from winning there. Magnum KO countered to a crucifix. Fame Asser countered to the Magnum KO! Draper wins at 13:05

Rating - *** - I wasn't expecting them to get this much time, and it was quite a refreshing change of pace for these Top Prospect Tournament matches. They weren't rushing to get their sh*t in, I thought they paced things well enough and actually held together a coherent little narrative. From what I've seen, Draper is a worthy winner of the tournament and the match here was probably an example of why. He is a little cookie-cutter and is still searching for what works with his gimmick - but his height makes him stand out, and the ease with which he moves that tall frame around is really striking. It meant we were watching the more experienced, taller Draper try to methodically control the hot-headed but explosive Gunn - a formula which both looked comfortable in, and emphasised the skills of both men. 

Here we have our third of four #1 Contendership Tournament first round matches; the winner advancing to meet PCO in the semi-finals at Glory By Honor 17. Castle has bounced right out of his feud with Rush into a somewhat complex relationship with partner/rival Joe Hendry. Can he put that to one side in the name of getting back into the hunt for the World Championship which he once held so proudly. Haskins would also like another title shot, but he too may be distracted after Bully Ray attacked him at the Death Before Dishonor PPV then had Mark's wife - Vicky - ejected from the building by security.

Tempers fray quickly, the tenacious Haskins taking Castle down with such authority that Dalton has to leave the ring to recover. He is all over the former World Champion; scrapping on the ground, peppering him with strikes and not giving him any breathing space. On the floor Dalton starts boxing Haskins' ears, then knees him in the head with a look of real irritation on his face. Back inside the ring and Dalton tries to work a more grounded style...but the match quickly regresses into more scrappy striking. Mark goes after Dalton's arms by stomping them into the mat, and quickly rolls into the Star Armbar. Then when Castle escapes to the outside the Lifeblood member simply launches himself out after him with a knee strike off the apron. Soldier Roll gets 2! Castle keeps rolling away from Haskins, leading to the Englishman growing frustrated - and making a mistake which leads to him eating a Doctor Bomb for 2. He MISSES a diving knee strike in the corner - and topples over to the floor where Haskins can drill him with the elbow suicida. Tiger feint headscissors blocked...PK blocked too. BANG-A-RANG ON THE FLOOR! Haskins crawls away clutching his ribs, with Dalton in pursuit dropping knees into the midsection. It's made worse as Castle hits his spinning bulldog (the 'Sand Patch Bulldog' apparently) - for the win at 10:38. It will be Castle vs PCO in the semi-finals.

Rating - *** - There was a lot to like about this. Both men attacked it with a pronounced mean streak that was visible even before the bell ring. The aggression was such that every move became a struggle and each strike was a chance to not only inflict punishment but also humiliate, embarrass and dominate the opponent. Dalton winning felt like a weird call though, particularly considering he already has something going on (his deal with Joe Hendry). Haskins just picked up some momentum by beating guys like Jay Lethal and Mark Briscoe in tags...and already has an existing feud with Villain Enterprises (whom his would-be semi-final opponent PCO represents).

The winner of this one advances to meet Marty Scurll in the other #1 contendership semi-final at Glory By Honor. Black is a late replacement in the tournament, apparently handed the spot by Bandido after he suffered a knee injury last night. Black is an ally of Lifeblood so that isn't completely surprising. It may put Lethal at a disadvantage though. Already frustrated after losing to Gresham at the PPV, Lethal now faces a world-travelled and super-experienced veteran, instead of the young lucha sensation (Bandido) that he'd prepared for. The relationship between Lethal and Gresham has seemingly healed enough for The Octopus to accompany Jay to ringside tonight at least.

Lethal is wrestling with his arm taped, perhaps the result of Gresham's attack on that body part last night. Black actually repeatedly uses that arm for leverage during their initial mat-wrestling exchange, eventually driving Lethal into the ropes for respite. Black also counters the hiptoss dropkick sequence by somersaulting into his feet and sweeping the legs. Armdrags and more legsweeps follow; the Darewolf is laying down a marker and frustrating the former World Champion. Jay does finally land the hiptoss/dropkick spot - but comes up noticeably nursing his bandaged arm. PJ tries to use the arm as leverage into a tornado DDT, but Jay blocks it and applies the Figure 4 Leglock. Given PJ's history with leg injuries, even early in the match that is a devastating hold. He realises the need to shut Jay down quickly so hits a reverse suplex into a dragon sleeper. Black chases his opponent around the ring driving repeated kicks into the neck, shoulder and arm. He tries to come off the top, but is met with a dropkick to the legs by Lethal, causing him to drop nuts-first over the turnbuckles. Superplex nailed by The Franchise! Tope suicida scores, as does the Lethal Combination and Hail To The King. ROPE RUN SPANISH FLY by PJ! SPRINGBOARD TWISTING MOONSAULT gets 2! Jay makes an ill-advised play for a second superplex, leading to both men falling to the ground. 450 Splash misses, but Black dodges the Lethal Injection. Ace Crusher...into the Lethal Injection! Jay advances at 15:22

Rating - *** - It was refreshing to see an undercard match get a little more time to deliver something substantive. That hasn't always been the case with ROH live events and I very much welcomed it here. Black actually benefited from getting to work a longer-form, slower-paced match too. In shorter, spottier matches he is forced to 'play the hits' a little more which exposes how much slower he is when compared to his prime. On the flip side, the frustration I had with this is that I felt like they laid the groundwork for an even better match...but then ditched it in favour of a slightly more generic closing stretch. I loved the idea of Black working the same arm injury that Gresham inflicted the night before - but sadly that didn't go anywhere. Similarly I thought Lethal going after PJ's legs, after all the injuries they've taken over the years, would've made a great plot that we've not really seen anyone do with Black so far...but again that didn't really go anywhere. Nevertheless, this was a really solid match and probably stands as one of PJ's best singles efforts in ROH so far. 

New Women Of Honor Champion Angelina Love comes to the ring now (flanked by Mandy Leon). She too is granted time to address the crowd at the start of her championship reign. She taunts the fans and proclaims that The Allure have 'taken over' ROH's women's division as they promised. Kelly Klein marches to the ring and announces that her rematch will take place at Glory By Honor...and she is bringing 'a friend' to negate Mandy Leon too.

Kathy Campanelli (who would later have a brief WWE NXT stint) replaces Colt Cabana. She is a west-coast based rising star announcer it seems, and has joined the booth to help discuss these two debutants whom she has apparently seen plenty of. Atlas, of course, was just weeks away from being signed to a WWE developmental deal, but has crossed paths with Bateman multiple times over the previous year or so. He comes into this having impressed in PWG's annual BOLA tournament the weekend before. One thing I hadn't realised was that Bateman actually debuted in 2002 and was in his late-30's here (or so says Cagematch).

Bateman gets to grips with Atlas, which Kathy informs us may well be to negate the athleticism and speed of his opponent. Jake endures some big strikes, but springboards off the ropes into a lucha armdrag to get himself going in the contest. He tries another springboard armdrag, JUMPS Bateman's attempt at a strike them springs again to hit the armdrag which knocks Tyler to the floor. TOPE SUICIDA NAILED! Bateman brings the match right back to the ring and shuts down the athletic, high-flying stuff by attacking Atlas' face; striking, clawing and scratching at it multiple times over the next couple of minutes. Springboard flatliner by Atlas...but he has taken so much punishment that he falls to the ground alongside his opponent. German suplex/knee strike combo by the explosive Atlas gets 2. Tyler goes back to his strikes...which Jake shuts down with a beautiful moonsault. Bateman claws at the face once more; using it to haul his foe into an elbow smash to the back of the head. Northern lights bomb nailed, and Atlas' kick-outs are becoming less and less authoritative. Death From Above blocked, and Atlas hits the ropes for the LGBT DDT! Bateman falls out of the ring before he can cover though! Another moonsault misses, and Bateman rocks him with a rolling elbow. THIS IS A KILL! Bateman wins at 11:44

Rating - *** - An impactful debut for both men. Fans were excited to see both make their first appearances in ROH, albeit Atlas' stay was only a short one as he would officially sign with WWE less than a month after this. These two have natural chemistry as opponents; stylistically and visually there is so much contrast between them. Bateman was looking to strike, brawl and slow down Jake, whilst Atlas wanted to maintain a fast-pace and use his array of high spots to deliver victory. There wasn't much more they could have accomplished with this in less than twelve minutes; a confident and extremely competent debut. Kathy Campanelli was excellent on commentary too.

 

This is a 'Vegas Wildcard' 8-Man, with the teams having been drawn at random. It has thrown up some interesting combinations of guys, such as Silas and Woods on opposite teams. Rhett is still extremely pissed off at the way Kenny spoke to him in Philadelphia too, so would love a chance at some revenge on his former ANX tag partner. Cobb is #1 contender for the World Title and is scheduled to face Rush on the Honor United Tour, so he'll have a target on his back here as people look to pin him and get into line for a title shot should he defeat El Toro Blanco. The odd man out is Brian Johnson - still 'Number One' rather than 'The Mecca' - he was pissed off at his failure to win the Top Prospect Tournament, but now gets an opportunity to shine in a major main-show bout.

Woods comes out to Silas' music, which as you'd imagine doesn't make him particularly happy. Young tries to convince Josh to lay down for him, whilst King and Johnson have a full-blown argument about who is going to start for their team. Kenny pulls rank and spends the first minute dominating Burger. Rhett demands a tag to face his old partner...only for Johnson to tag Kenny out before we get to see ANX go at it. The Mecca spends so much time yelling without doing any wrestling that Woods gets bored and forcibly tags him out too. Titus impresses people by hanging with The Goods in a grappling exchange, only for Silas to tag his way in to face his protege. Josh refuses to lay down for his mentor; instead taking him to the mat and having some fun stretching and throwing him about. Young retorts by trying to pin him using the tights - which Josh is devastated about. Hendry calls out Cobb next, but is confronted by Brian Johnson again forcing his way into the spotlight. He duly face-plants the floor of the arena missing a pescado...whilst Joe strolls away to sign autographs. Sensibly Johnson finally allows Cobb into the match - and he starts beating up Silas even whilst Cheeseburger hangs around his neck trying to choke him out. He catches Titus trying a dive off the top rope and slams him to the mat into position for the standing moonsault. With Rhett down, King instantly demands a tag...but then runs away when a resurgent Titus tries to fight back. Johnson helps King out; ambushing Titus with a shoulder tackle. He then almost rips Rhett's head off with an unsightly swinging neckbreaker for 2. The Mecca refuses to tag any of his partners; ordering them all to get off the apron and leave him. King and Woods disregard that and charge in, leading to all eight guys taking turns hitting spots one after the other. Silas decks Johnson with the Killer Combo - leaving us with Hendry and Cobb as last men standing. DOUBLE FREAK OF NATURE from Hendry to King and Johnson! So Cobb hits a DOUBLE wrist clutch suplex on Titus and CB! They then leave the ring and deck each other with simultaneous lariats on the floor. Shotei from Burger to Johnson! Yakuza Kick by Titus! Woods hits a capture suplex on Rhett, then sneaks up behind Silas to roll him up and pin him for the win at 16:58

Rating - *** - This was probably longer than it needed to be, but the good definitely outweighed the bad. Anything that involved the continued development of the odd-couple relationship between Silas and Josh was absolute gold. They make a brilliant pairing; genuinely one of the best things on an ROH show at this moment in time. I liked the teases to a Hendry/Cobb match down the line. I don't think it's quite a potential 'dream' match as Ian and Caprice were suggesting, but they certainly are big and powerful athletes - and being presented as a wrestler on Cobb's level does a lot to legitimise Joe in his early-ROH career. Brian Johnson did a great job in what was by far his highest profile Ring Of Honor match so far too. His intensity and ability to talk is admirable, and really earned him a place in this match even if the in-ring skill we've seen from him thus far is limited. The one disappointment I had here is that I wanted to see more of the Kenny/Rhett angle. A feud between former All Night Express partners (and former Tag Champions) feels like it should be given more of a spotlight than it got. 

This match has been brewing for a long time. Tracy felt the full force of Flip's betrayal of Lifeblood back at Best In The World, when Gordon gave him a 450 splash through a table on the floor. But they actually go back further still - Flip injured his knee against Tracy right at the start of 2019 and almost missed the MSG show as a result. Since Best In The World we've seen Gordon cost Williams multiple matches, and also attacked him during his entrance at Summer Supercard effectively robbing him of any chance of beating Shane Taylor for the TV Title. As we saw at the PPV last night, their hatred for each other is such that it actually took precedence over their desire to hold ROH gold. Can they settle this bitter rivalry tonight?

Gordon tries to attack Williams with the black kendo stick during his entrance again...and even though Tracy is ready for it, he is unarmed and before long is being flogged repeatedly with the cane. His body is quickly covered in welts - but he fights back with a suplex on the floor. He takes The Mercenary into the ring and delivers a snap superplex for 2. Flip smashes Tracy's head into the ringpost, then SPRINGBOARDS OFF THE GUARDRAIL into a tornado DDT. Good thing there was a huge section of empty seats for him to jump into there. NECKBREAKER ON A CHAIR gets 2. Williams throws a chair at Flip in the corner...so Gordon crotches him over the top rope. Flip teases a dive, but refuses to give the fans what they want and instead rolls through the ropes and dropkicks Tracy in the neck. Kinder Surprise scores, but Tracy no-sells and hits a SUPER DDT THROUGH A CHAIR! CROSSFACE ON FLIP'S BAD ARM! Gordon makes the ropes, but Tracy has no need to break the hold! Gordon has to drag his entire body to the floor to break free. Tracy has a kendo stick of his own and starts flogging Flip remorselessly. Gordon grabs his kendo stick again too - and they have a full-blown kendo stick strike duel on the entrance stage! Gordon low blows Hot Sauce to block the piledriver, and delivers a DIVING NECKBREAKER ON THE RAMP! The Mercenary erects a table inside the ring and thinks about risking his elbow to but his opponent through the wood just like Best In The World. Williams blocks it by shoving Gordon from the top rope all the way to the guardrails. SUPER PILEDRIVER THROUGH THE TABLE! Williams wins at 16:37

Rating - **** - Tracy doesn't get many opportunities to perform in a feature-length singles bout unfortunately. The guy is a phenomenal wrestler and he relishes this chance to shine...and I thought he and Flip put together a really smart little grudge match here. ROH have promoted a LOT of 'no rules' matches this year - multiple Street Fights, Ladder Matches, the Bar Room Brawl last night etc. This one stood out even among all of those because of its simplicity. They didn't use a slew of weapons, nor did they have a litany of elaborate high spots; this really felt like two dudes who hate each other's guts and incorporating periodic weapon use as an extension of that. I liked that almost all of Flip's offence targeted the head and neck, and I loved anything Williams did that went after Gordon's arm injury - both of those elements were enhanced by intelligent, strategic use of weaponry. 

The lights go out before Tracy can celebrate though, and when they come back on Bateman has returned to the ring. He lays Williams out with This Is A Kill.

The Kingdom are out next (including TK O'Ryan), as Matt Taven has apparently requested some in-ring interview time. He reminisces on his history in Ring Of Honor, and talks about what being ROH World Champion meant to him. He says he put everything he had into every single title defence, and confirms that he is staying in Ring Of Honor (putting the rumours that his contract was up and he was leaving to bed). It ends with The Kingdom hugging and Taven promising that they will 'rise again'...

We were originally booked to see Rush and Dragon Lee team up to face Villain Enterprises this evening, but with Rush out of a show which had also lost a Jay Lethal vs Bandido dream match from its line-up, ROH threw together this trios tag in an attempt to give fans 'the best main event possible'. We know the Briscoes have plenty of history with the Villains; losing the Tag Titles to them in this very building back at the 17th Anniversary. But last time they were in the ring with their partner for the night, Lee and Rush left them a beaten, bloody mess (in Philadelphia on Episode 410 of the TV show). Can the notoriously tempestuous Briscoe brothers coexist with Dragon Lee for long enough to win back the Six-Man Championship they have held once previously? 

PCO has Vampiro face-paint on for some reason. Scurll and Dragon start; flying at each other with some high octane strikes. HALF NELSON SUPLEX BY MARTY! GERMAN BY LEE! Incineration gets 2! That was an explosive first minute, and shortly after they bail leaving the ring free for the Briscoes, Brody and PCO to launch into another full-blooded brawl. Scurll accidentally Superkicks King...then walks into the blockbuster off the apron by Mark. The Briscoes isolate Marty as the smallest member of the opposition only for Lee to let him escape. Tope suicida by Brody! BACK BODY DROP CANNONBALL TO THE FLOOR by Scurll and PCO! Sunset flip German by Marty and Brody back into the ring as well. He and PCO then hit the Cambridge Crab/guillotine leg drop combo on Dragon. SUICIDA UP THE AISLE by PCO! Gonzo Bomb blocked, so Jay and Brody start lighting each other up with elbow strikes. Day One Neckbreaker/flying double stomp/Froggy Bow sequence by the challengers gets 2! Pop-Up Powerbomb from PCO to Jay! Dragon gets into the Monster's face...but simply bounces off him when trying a flying crossbody. PCO bounces his head off the canvas again with a chokeslam too. PCO-Sault blocked into the GHETTO STOMP! Sick Kick by Mark! The Briscoes mob Brody...until he runs the ropes for the SPRINGBOARD LUCHA ARMDRAG! Jay stops him hitting a dive to the floor...so King chokeslams his brother onto the apron instead! CANNONBALL SENTON TO THE APRON BY PCO! ROPE JUMP RUNNING RANA TO THE FLOOR BY LEE! BLACK PLAGUE! Scurll pins Mark to retain at 11:47

Rating - **** - I can't think of many occasions where the main event has been one of the shortest matches on a show, but also one of the best. There wasn't much intelligence or thought put into this one, but it still delivered exactly what I think most people wanted. These six ditched the formalities in this thrown together main event and instead flew through all the highspots they could fit into less than twelve minutes. 

Tape Rating - *** - This show was a really refreshing change of pace for an ROH live event. They cut all of the short, forgettable filler bouts (they were taped as darks for 'TV exclusive' content) meaning every match that made the VOD broadcast was substantive, well-wrestled and worthy of its spot on the card. We saw new talents like Bateman, Atlas, Draper and Johnson given time to shine, we saw in-ring promo segments to drive the product forward post-Death Before Dishonor, all inside a show where every match reached a decent standard and the two main events in particular provide heaps of fun. This really was a strong follow-up show to the outstanding Death Before Dishonor PPV, which is a remarkable feat considering Delirious lost two of his biggest stars (Rush and Bandido) to injury...

3) Jay Lethal vs PJ Black (***)

2) Marty Scurll/Brody King/PCO vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe/Dragon Lee (****)

1) Tracy Williams vs Flip Gordon (****)

5) Tracy Williams vs Flip Gordon (**** - Fallout)

4) Matt Taven vs Rush (**** - Death Before Dishonor 17)

3) The Bouncers vs Silas Young/Vinny Marseglia (**** - Death Before Dishonor 17)

2) Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Mark Haskins/Bandido (**** - Death Before Dishonor 17)

1) Jonathan Gresham vs Jay Lethal (****1/2 - Death Before Dishonor 17)