McXal's Reviews

We've reached ROH's final show before everything would change. By mid-March the Coronavirus pandemic would have shut down major economies every where and forced mass-attendance sporting events like professional wrestling into hibernation. Before all that we have one last show, and one last World Title showdown from Ring Of Honor as PCO puts his belt up against former champion Rush and the wildcard from Lifeblood - Mark Haskins. The headline bouts beneath that are MexiSquad's Bandido and Rey Horus taking on Tag Champions Lethal and Gresham in a Proving Ground Match, and 2019 Top Prospect Tournament winner Dak Draper finally getting his TV Title shot against Dragon Lee. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are in St. Charles, MO.

The Australian newcomer continues his pursuit of Villain Enterprises tonight. He debuted at Free Enterprise in a loss to Flip, then was beaten by Scurll in a triple threat last night too. The Briscoes - who have plenty of their own history with the Villains - are his partners for the evening, as they look to rack up the wins needed to push back into the Tag Title picture.

Scurll starts with Slex - competing in ludicrous long, furry tights. He gets the better of the Australian again but this time is ambushed from behind by the Briscoes, demonstrating that 'The Business' has some back-up tonight. King hits a cannonball off the apron, followed by Scurll's Apron Superkick then a moonsault to the floor by Gordon. The Briscoes haul Flip back into the ring and 2-on-1 him, giving their team the advantage for the first time. Gordon levels Slex with a Pele Kick and tags out to Brody, who is so fired up he's able to manhandle both Briscoes at the same time. Powerbomb/Shiranui combo by Flip and Marty! Jay retorts with a rolling elbow across Gordon's jaw, setting up Mark for the Urinage. ELBOW SUICIDA from Slex to King! Mark opens up a chair and hits a STEP-UP PLANCHA OVER THE RINGPOST! Redneck Boogie on Flip gets 2...before Slex blind-tags himself in telling the Briscoes he has things under control! HALF NELSON SUPLEX from Marty to Jay! Bossman Slam from King to Mark! Slex decks him with a tornado DDT...but misses a wild moonsault attempt on the big man. Brody hits a dive to the floor only to stand up into the blockbuster off the apron from Mark. Inside the ring Slex gets a 2-count on Flip with the Business Bomb, before Gordon gets up and drops him with the Flip-5. Gordon wins for the Villains at 10:48

Rating - *** - An action-packed and fast-paced, therefore very likeable, opening match.  It certainly won't be an MOTY contender and it made Slex look like an absolute goon, but for the most part it was six explosive and talented athletes throwing spots around which is clearly very entertaining. I really don't understand where ROH were going with Slex in 2020 before the pandemic struck.

Shane Taylor once again appears and tries to attack Slex - but this time the Aussie is ready for it. He boots Taylor to the ground and flees before the Soldiers Of Savagery can get their mits on him. 

This has been somewhat over-hyped as a first time ever dream match. However, it undeniably is an intriguing clash of styles between two tenured veterans with completely different in-ring philosophies. Shelley is gearing up for a run in the Pure Title Tournament and looked in top form the previous evening when he defeated Rey Horus. Can his technical wizardry also overcome the raw power, size and violence of Maff?

Shelley rushes Maff and dropkicks his leg from under him. The big man is rattled and still reeling as Alex locks up with him and starts running through an early flurry of submission attempts. He manages to survive those and dismisses Shelley in the corner with a couple of heavy-handed strikes. Shelley goes for a German suplex which Maff easily blocks and DUMPS him to the canvas. He continues to bludgeon the Motor City Machine Gun in the corner...so Shelley finds a way to fight out, landing a tornado DDT. Kawada Kicks by Shelley, which Dan completely ignores and Pounces Shelley to the ground! Ace Crusher/senton splash combo gets 2. Maff misses a bigger senton, this time off the ropes, but Alex is so beaten up he can barely get back up. He hits a body slam, then a GERMAN SUPLEX! Standing Shiranui gets 2. Maff boots him into the corner then drags him out for the Burning Hammer. Maff wins at 09:21

Rating - ** - The match was fine, but I certainly didn't love it by any means. Firstly the action felt a little slow and unimaginative, which I didn't expect for two guys with this much experience. It made for quite a ponderous watch as they lurched between slightly listless big brawler vs smaller technical guy sequences. Secondly, I didn't like Maff going over here. He's been a perfectly decent addition to the roster, but last night ROH had Shelley go over one of their champions in Horus. I had no issue with that as it set Shelley up for the scheduled Pure Title Tournament - but when they put Maff (who is north of 45 years old and is a hard-hitting novelty act - not someone who needs protecting) over him the next night all that work is undone. 

PJ Black has summoned Brian Johnson to the ROH Dojo for a training session, hoping to teach him a new finishing move. That would become 'The Process' neckbreaker. I believe this segment aired on TV as well...

2G1T suffered their first loss as a team last night in Nashville. Unfortunately it was with the Tag Titles on the line as they lost to champions Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham, so now return to the ranks looking to score wins and get another shot. The Righteous are their opponents tonight; a team still basking in the triumph of injuring Matt Taven at Final Battle 2019.

Vincent and Bateman attack 2G1T before the bell, attacking the same leg on Silas that Lethal and Gresham injured last night. Bateman lays Woods out with a DDT on the stage as well. He is still KO'd as The Righteous escort Young to the ring and continue attacking his bad leg. Silas tries to hit a desperate version of Misery but collapses through injury as he continues to fight on without a partner. Marseglia locks End Time on...only for Young to COUNTER into the Anarchist Suplex. He crawls to his empty partner looking for a tag and finds nothing more than Vincent waiting to rattle his knee into the ringpost. Josh finally returns, just in time to see Young block the Acid Drop and hit the Killer Combo. Hot tag to The Goods, who defies a head injury to stagger into the ring and unleash a flurry of suplexes to both opponents. He powerbombs Bateman onto Silas' knees which of course injures the Last Real Man as much as it does Bateman! He wastes valuable seconds checking on Silas and is punished with a Side Effect from Marseglia. POP-UP KNEE STRIKE combo by 2G1T! Josh cleans out Bateman with a senton off the apron as Young hobbles after Vincent and delivers The Plunge for 2. 2G1T look set to win the match, but Brian Johnson comes out onto the apron and distracts them with an angry rant - belittling them for failing to win the Tag Titles when they had their shot. Josh chases The Mecca, turning his back on the action as Vincent hits the Acid Drop to pin Silas at 09:08

Rating - *** - I like The Righteous, I like 2G1T and I like a match which features solid work isolating and wearing down a particular body part which is then treated with some reverence and sold with sincerity - and this match featured all of those things. Clearly I'd have preferred a better finish, although I do understand that the intention was to pivot 2G1T into a feud with PJ and Johnson had the pandemic not intervened.

The Allure were at the commentary table during Martina's debut match against Sumie Sakai at Free Enterprise. Their remarks towards the Irish newcomer were not overly complimentary, although Martina has attributed that to jealousy (and even hinted last night on commentary that she'd like to join The Allure). Tonight Love will be looking to prove her superiority over a competitor she views as beneath her. The Bouncers join commentary since Milonas has a crush on Martina.

Martina blows herself up with an ultra-energetic entrance and needs help from the referee to get out of her leopard print onesie. She tries to convince Angelina to let her join The Allure again, then tries to share a beer with her - all of which are declined by the former Women Of Honor Champion. Angelina eventually starts the match by decking Martina with a Spear as she twerks with the referee. Love dominates; beating the Irish woman all around ringside then back into the ring as well. Mandy Leon is at ringside and she makes things worse by tripping Session Moth up when she tries to make a comeback. She does manage to block the flatliner though and collides mid-ring with Love as they both go for clotheslines. Moth is up first and lands a few strikes, but Angelina rides those to hit the flatliner into a Koji Clutch. DOUBLE springboard Codebreaker by Martina! Mandy appears on the apron to distract the ref from counting the pin though! He ejects Leon from ringside as Martina hits a spinning neckbreaker for 2. She drinks some of her beer...and walks straight into the Botox Injection. Love wins at 07:45

Rating - ** - This was a much better match than Martina/Sumie at Free Enterprise if nothing else. Angelina is a much better opponent for someone like Martina too. Both women are capable wrestlers, but it is their grasp of their character and physical performance which makes them stand out. Having identifiable villains for STM to face - like The Allure - certainly helped fans get into Martina's act more and she was getting much better responses from this audience than she drew in Baltimore as a result. Allure/Martina had the potential to be a pretty entertaining feud in 2020 had Covid-19 not curtailed things.

The Bouncers leave commentary and head to the ring to commiserate Session Moth with a beer. She gives Bruiser a big hug but only shakes Milonas' hand, much to his disappointment.

This match features four men who all challenged unsuccessfully for the World Title in 2019 and are now somewhat rudderless in the singles division. Williams has looked a little disgruntled that his Lifeblood partner Mark Haskins has so publicly made singles competition his focus so would love a big singles victory of his own. Castle has Joe Hendry in his corner and, given that Joe is a fly-in from the UK he has to be one of the most expensive managers ROH have ever booked surely? Based on comments made by Ian and Caprice on commentary this is also right around the time Jeff Cobb popped up in AEW for a couple of episodes of Dynamite as well.

King refuses to shake anyone's hand and gets the match started by standing on the floor and tripping Williams flat on his face. Hot Sauce gets some pay back by launching him head-first into the barricades though. Kenny retaliates with the Chin Checker, then the Tiger Driver for 2. Three minutes in and suddenly Dalton remembers he's in the match as well - running straight into a Spinebuster from King. Cobb boots Castle off the apron...where he is caught by Joe Hendry to avoid a rough landing on the floor. Athletic-Plex from Cobb to Williams, into the Hawaiian Stampede on Kenny. Jeff hits a standing moonsault onto all three opponents in perhaps the most fun spot of the entire show, then plucks Kenny out of the air on his solo One Night Stand attempt and deposits him crotch-first back onto the ropes from whence he came. That proves to be a mistake as King hits the same move on him seconds later when Cobb was distracted. Arabian Press to the floor by the LFI member. SOMERSAULT PLANCHA by Cobb! Not content with that he gets up and GORES King into the guardrails for good measure! Tracy and Dalton trade suplexes, until Williams spikes the Peacock with a DDT. Piledriver blocked into the Bang-A-Rang though - giving Castle the win at 10:06

Rating - ** - A match took place, moves occurred and that is pretty much all that can be said about this one. It was the epitome of a forgettable filler match, save a few interesting spots from Jeff Cobb and some interesting antagonistic work from King. Williams was basically a punching bag for everyone else too, which felt far below someone of Tracy's skill level. Although in fairness the whole match felt like a waste of the skills of the talent involved.

Bully Ray interrupts the show, and goes through the usual routine of hoodwinking the crowd into reacting to him so it seems like he's getting good heat. After several painful minutes he reminds everyone of the promise he made in Nashville yesterday - if anyone can beat him he will leave ROH. Caprice Coleman leaves the announce table with a confused look on his face, possibly because he realises he's literally doing the exact same storyline Colt Cabana got stuck in too. 

As Bubba said, if he loses a match he will leave ROH. Coleman got into his face for picking on Eli Isom and Cheeseburger in Nashville, and this is after Bully gave Maria Manic a concussion by putting her through a table at Free Enterprise too. Can Caprice be the one who finally ends Bully's reign of terror in Ring Of Honor?

Coleman - wrestling in his trousers and shirt - spears Bubba to the ground and peppers him with mounted punches. Bubba Bomb kills his momentum, giving Bully the win at 01:05

Rating - DUD - Caprice was a wrestler in ROH for a long time. I'm not saying he was an all-time great competitor, but there are presumably an amount of ROH's fanbase who watched him wrestle and therefore know he is more skilful, resilient and tough than he showed here and should not have been crushed like this. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining that Bully's match was short - I am just pointing out that nobody buys this as a genuine squash win. I truly hope this was supposed to be Bubba's last run and someone like Eli or Maria Manic were going to beat him in the next couple of months to end his time in ROH...but I just don't have that much faith in the powers that be in Ring Of Honor to believe that.

Having now beaten Caprice, Bubba then beats on him with a chair. Cheeseburger and Eli Isom come out to make a save; Eli grabbing the chair and laying into Bubba's spine with it. Bully momentarily sells that whilst Isom sets up a table...but then low blows the youngster and powerbombs him through the table for himself to end this whole mess and ensure that Bubba's last act on-screen in ROH is - quite fittingly - himself standing tall having put a younger, more deserving talent through a table for a tedious ECW nostalgia pop.

Brian Zane replaces Caprice on commentary as he recovers from his in-ring exploits.

Dak earned this title shot by winning the 2019 Top Prospect Tournament. He has bided his time before taking this title shot, scoring a few victories and scouting the competition before now making his move on Lee the night after he unsuccessfully failed to take the World Title from Villain Enterprises rival PCO. Dragon may not be at 100% after that all-action main event last night, but it would still be a considerable upset if the Mile High Magnum manages to take down one of the best junior heavyweight wrestlers on the planet.

Draper makes fun of Lee for being short, but is tricked out of the ring by the experience of the champion and harpooned with a savage tope suicida. Lee tries the rope-jump rana off the apron, but Dak CATCHES HIM and powerbombs him back into the ring. The challenger dominates Lee using his reach and size, even going after the mask to add insult to injury. Dragon has no choice but to try and incapacitate Draper; climbing up his back into a sleeper, then a chickenwing. German suplex tosses the big man back...but Dak is right back up to level Lee with a dropkick. Dead-lift Draper Bomb gets 2. He tries to hit a dead-lift superplex as well, but Lee trips him in the corner and hits the tree of woe Ghetto Stomp. Incinerator blocked into a gorilla press diving front slam for 2. Draper tries a springboard elbow but it is COUNTERED into a mid-air Incinerator to the back of the head. Double stomp to the neck nailed, followed by another Incineration knee strike which gets 2. Pop-up Magnum KO blocked with yet another Incinerator! BARE KNEE INCINERATION! Lee retains at 09:22

Rating - *** - Ring Of Honor should have had a little more faith in Draper. This was the best match on the show up to this point and they had genuine chemistry as opponents since Lee can bump around like crazy to make Draper look good, whilst Dak is athletic enough to act as a great foundation for all of Dragon's best stuff. I thought the way they countered each other's signature spots was really good too. I just wish this could have gone longer - it genuinely could have been a star-making performance from Dak if Delirious, Marty and ROH had backed him to deliver something more substantial than a ten minute sprint.

This is another Proving Ground Match for Lethal and Gresham. We just saw them lose one to Maff and Cobb at Free Enterprise, so we know they are vulnerable and may already be distracted by the sheer volume of challengers they have gunning for their belts at this point. Six-Man Champions MexiSquad are looking to get into the picture as well, and will earn a title shot with a draw or victory here.

Last night in Nashville the champs ambushed 2G1T during their entrance. Tonight they jump MexiSquad before the bell, once again injuring the leg of an opponent (Bandido instead of Silas tonight) and ensuring they start the match in a dominant position. Bandido is battling to escape Lethal's Figure 4 with the match barely two minutes old, but does manage to do so before tagging out to a fired up Horus. He dumps Gresh over the top rope to the floor and flies at Jay with a heel kick right into the side of the head. Somersault plancha OVER Gresham to wipe out Lethal on the floor! Lethal retaliates with a violent baseball slide which almost pings Rey over the guardrail! Meanwhile on the other side of the ring Gresham ambushes Bandido with a FIGURE 4 ON THE FLOOR! The Octopus returns to the ring to work Horus over, as the camera pans to Lethal sprinting around the ring and booting Bandido's leg out from under him again when he tries to get back onto the apron. FLAM FLY from Horus to Gresham! He has no choice but to tag in the hobbling Bandido...who drops Gresh again with a pop-up cutter. LEG-SELLING powerbomb to Lethal as well, dropping him right onto his own partner for 2. The way Bandido sold the leg whilst hitting that was awesome. He's still selling it moments later as he sets Horus up for an assisted splash on Jay for 2. The Franchise boots Bandido's injury...which he defies to blast him with the X-Knee. Gresham tries to bring one of the title belts into the ring...so Bandido dives over the ropes for a SUNSET FLIP APRON BOMB! 450-ISH SPLASH by Horus! SHOOTING STAR PRESS by Bandido, but it injures his leg further and he has to pause before covering which allows Lethal to kick out. 21-Plex blocked, and when Jay tries to grab a title belt it's Horus this time who stops him. Lethal Injection blocked...X-Knee blocked...FIGURE 4! Bandido taps at 12:07

Rating - **** - This stole the show comfortably. In fact there is a gulf in quality between this and anything else that took place at Gateway To Honor 2020. I will say that I thought the match lost some steam during MexiSquad's babyface comeback with some sloppiness and obvious pauses whilst they set up various combo moves, but other than that this was incredibly fun. Lethal and Gresham as a chickensh*t villain tag team are awesome - they were phenomenal at Final Battle when Lethal was basically wrestling with one arm, and have been awesome this weekend as they have used nefarious tactics to completely dismantle the legs of their opponents. It's not quite the same, but they reminded me of a Bryan Danielson World Title Matches where he would portray a tongue-in-cheek bad guy, SO good in the ring that he was able to milk his brilliance and knowledge of the rules to belittle and pick apart an opponent. Coming into this weekend Lethal and Gresham had two big matches which could have been MOTYC's under the right circumstances - so it is a MASSIVE shame that this only went twelve minutes, just like the 2G1T match only went ten. I presume the intention was to tape these for television - but to really hit their true potential they needed longer.

LFI's pursuit of the World Title which PCO took from Rush at Final Battle continues. He and Rush brawled to a non-finish in Atlanta, and PCO survived a war with Dragon Lee in Nashville last night. PCO now faces Rush again, with the additional x-factor of Haskins being involved. He defeated Bully Ray at Final Battle and has used that as a springboard to move into the World Title picture - a belt he felt he would have taken from Taven during the 2019 War Of The Worlds Tour had Bully not interfered. The winner of this match was scheduled to make their first defence of the title at the 18th Anniversary, where they would face whomever ISN'T pinned tonight...

Haskins tries to shake hands, but is awkwardly left out as PCO and Rush get in each other's faces. PCO hits a tope suicida on Rush...then catches Haskins trying to do the same to him and crushes him with a chokeslam on the apron. QUEBEC CANNONBALL TO THE APRON MISSES - because Rush pulled Haskins out of the way! Being out of the ring clearly favours Rush; he marauds around ringside alternating between both opponents and repeatedly launching them into the guardrails. Over-confidence becomes Rush's biggest enemy and he starts playing to the crowd giving Haskins and PCO time to recover. Mark takes a run-up and rocks him with a tope, and scrambles up the ropes to hit Stomp Boy for 2. PCO is back too - hitting a Pop-Up Powerbomb...which Rush no-sells and repays with a snap German suplex. Turnbuckle belly to belly suplex nailed...but PCO gets up out of the corner and SPEARS Rush as he looks for the Bull's Horns. Soldier Roll by Haskins gets 2! He gets up unto another chokeslam from PCO, setting up the PCO-Sault! Rush breaks the pin! Nick Aldis runs in and KO's PCO with the NWA World Title belt whilst Rush argues with Todd Sinclair outside the ring. BULL'S HORNS! Rush becomes a two-time champion at 10:22

Rating - *** - There was actually a lot to like about this. From an in-ring perspective it is difficult to see what a forgettable ten minute triple threat sprint does for the prestige of the ROH Championship, but the match wasn't actually bad at all. The first half in particular was a lot of fun - from the two rivals ignoring Haskins, to the fantastic way they incorporated PCO doing his usual (and still terrifying) cannonball stunt onto the apron, to Rush's signature cockiness as he dominated his foes. It became a bit of a mess in the second half, and reverted to a more typical triple threat format of guys taking turns to hit moves on each other without much holding it together (which is disappointing)...but it would be unfair if I were to say that this wasn't an entertaining match. The booking is nothing if not bold too. PCO should never have been champion so getting the belt off him is the right call. Had the pandemic not shut everything down after this, it would have added plenty of spice to Villain Enterprises' rivalry with LFI, as well as building to Aldis/PCO at Supercard then Aldis/Scurll at the Crockett Cup. I liked the title change taking place here too. It reminded me of Eddie Edwards' shock World Title win at Manhattan Mayhem 4 in that people weren't expecting a title change here so gave it a HUGE reaction when the decisive hand hit the mat. Injecting an air of unpredictability and excitement back into the product should have been one of Marty Scurll's top priorities when he took over the book - and few would deny this was both.

The rest of LFI come out to celebrate with Rush, only for Haskins to barge into the celebrations. He gets into Rush's face and indicates he will take the belt from him at the 18th Anniversary - before LFI toss him unceremoniously to the floor. 

Tape Rating - ** - This show is a strangely complex one to digest. Many fans and even ROH employees have pointed to these early 2020 pre-pandemic shows as a sign of ROH's improvement and an indication that 2020 would have been a huge year of recovery for the promotion had the pandemic not become a factor...whilst others have decried that argument and pointed out that most of the issues ROH had struggled with in the years leading to the disastrous 2019 were still present in these early shows. In a completely bizarre way Gateway To Honor seems to lend support to both arguments at once. The first thing to be said is that on its own, in isolation, it isn't a great show. Even if it is the most historically significant of the five 2020 pre-pandemic ROH live events because it contains a World Title change, it is by far the least enjoyable and essential - riddled by the same issue that has plagued ROH under Sinclair ownership for years; time management. In this case - the show barely lasts two and a half hours and nothing really gets enough time to deliver anything substantive. As an example, the fact that Lethal and Gresham had two really big matches this weekend yet barely wrestled for twenty minutes across both shows borders on a disgrace. Yet against the back drop of what was a largely forgettable show, ROH was doing some genuinely interesting things with their booking here and demonstrating what could well have been some of those green shoots of recovery. Taking the belt away from PCO was an incredibly smart move, in the sense that he didn't work as World Champion and it also added real fire to the brewing LFI/Villains feud (whilst adding spice to Nick Aldis' two pending singles matches with ROH stars PCO and Scurll too). Resisting the temptation to do Rush/PCO again at the 18th Anniversary and instead give Haskins the PPV World Title Match shows a clear intention to create new top level stars in 2020. The Tag division - highlighted here with the outstanding Lethal/Gresh vs MexiSquad bout - was a legitimately interesting scene for Ring Of Honor at this point. Lethal and Gresham were absolutely fantastic as heel champions, and the pandemic robbed us of the chance to see them lording it over a chasing pack which includes the Briscoes looking as formidable as ever, the brilliance of various MexiSquad combinations, assorted Villain Enterprise/LFI teams, the Righteous, plus the trio of 'odd couples'; 2G1T, Dalton & Hendry plus PJ Black & Brian Johnson. 

The reality is that we'll never know how 2020 would have turned out were it not for Covid-19. I do agree that there were some promising moments from these first five live shows; MexiSquad winning the Six-Man Titles is perhaps the single most memorable title switch for those belts, LFI/Villains had the potential to be a really fun feud which was already showing more progression and escalation than the Villains ever demonstrated with Lifeblood in 2019, Free Enterprise was a really bold, ambitious move even if the show wasn't perfect and it is true that crowds looked to be improving again. Gateway To Honor 2020 is the worst of the five though; a procession of short, succinct and often frustratingly stifled matches which seemed to have been put together for a TV show that they'd never actually be broadcast on. The last hour featuring Dragon vs Draper, Lethal/Gresh vs MexiSquad and PCO/Rush/Haskins is watchable, fun and saves the show...but nothing is essential viewing here, nor really worth going back to check out if you missed it. 

3) Marty Scurll/Flip Gordon/Brody King vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe/Slex (***)

2) Dragon Lee vs Dak Draper (***)

1) Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham vs Bandido/Rey Horus (****)

5) Alex Shelley vs Rey Horus (*** - Bound By Honor)

4) Rush/Kenny King vs Flip Gordon/Brody King (*** - Bound By Honor)

3) Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham vs Silas Young/Josh Woods (*** - Bound By Honor)

2) Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham vs Bandido/Rey Horus (**** - Gateway To Honor)

1) PCO vs Dragon Lee (**** - Bound By Honor)