McXal's Reviews

This is the fourth annual (and, as of writing, the last) ROH trip to Japan for NJPW's 'Honor Rising' weekend. Once again a fleet of ROH's finest will convene on the legendary Korakuen Hall for a showdown with some of New Japan's biggest names (albeit split across two nights - this show has Okada and Tanahashi, tomorrow night has Los Ingobernables de Japon). Three titles will be on the line each night; this evening's offerings being Cobb/Goto for the ROH TV Title, Castle/Ospreay for the NEVER Openweight Title and a multi-generational ROH dream-team of Colt Cabana, Delirious and Cheeseburger challenging for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Title. The show will also see the build for Lethal/Taven at the 17th Anniversary PPV continue as The Franchise forms a super-team with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada to face The Kingdom. I think these shows were on Honor Club, but I couldn't find them, so I'll be using the NJPW World versions to review - with English commentary provided by Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton in Tokyo, JP

As I said during by Bound By Honor review, the marginalisation of Scurll in 2019 is a strange one, and it continues with the Honor Rising 2019 Tour as he'll spend both nights right at the bottom of the card. Tonight he faces Young Lion Ren Narita, whom in 2021 you'll probably recognise as a regular on NJPW Strong. In fact, Cagematch's database suggests he hasn't wrestled in Japan at all since 2019, and he is based out of the NJPW LA Dojo where he trains with Katsuyori Shibata. For the evening his learning experience will be at the hands of The Villain; a top contender for the ROH World Championship and veteran of NJPW junior heavyweight competition too.

Marty suggests he doesn't know who Narita is, and calls himself 'Mr ROH'. He tries to engage the Young Lion in a few basic holds and arm submissions...but that is right in Ren's wheelhouse and the youngster starts confidently. He repeatedly counters Scurll's offence, causing The Villain to get hot under the collar. Narita then holds a bridge with such poise and strength that Scurll has a full-blown temper tantrum when he can't break it! Strikes instead by Marty...only for Narita to rock him with several elbow strikes in response. In the end The Villain tosses him to the floor and Superkicks him from the apron. It puts him in firm control and he starts viciously picking apart the youngster. Big chops light him up against the ropes, whilst on the canvas he pulls at the nostrils and fish-hooks the mouth. It works to get real heat too, and the crowd cheers wildly when Ren fires back with a dropkick and a vertical suplex. He applies the Boston Crab, but thankfully Scurll is close to the bottom rope. He gives Narita an enzi strike around the head, a powerbomb then rubs salt in the wounds by breaking out a Boston Crab of his own. Chickenwing blocked by the game Young Lion, who again rattles Scurll with a dropkick. Still Narita blocks the Chickenwing...HALF NELSON SUPLEX instead by The Villain. Marty lands a superplex and starts to circle his victim for a final time. Narita hits a last flurry of elbows, but is DROPPED into the Crossface Chickenwing. Scurll wins at 11:33

Rating - ** - A solid start to the show, with Scurll's antics ensuring we got a pretty lively audience for a Young Lion match too. Regular NJPW viewers will know what to expect from matches like this, but actually Marty's performance definitely gave this a different flavour. His constant verbals and bad attitude certainly spiced up Narita's generic Young Lion offence too. 

Umino became one of the more popular of New Japan's Young Lions with western audiences later in 2019 thanks to his interactions with Jon Moxley and, like Narita, his Cagematch suggests he hasn't wrestled in Japan since 2019, but he did enjoy a well-received UK excursion which got cut short in March 2020 by the Coronavirus pandemic. Here we see him right at the start of what was a break-out year for him, facing a stern test in the form of Suzuki-gun technical wizard and 2018 NJPW Cup Winner, ZSJ (accompanied by Taka Michinoku). 

Shota kicks Taka out of the ring in the middle of his speech! It is an impressive, violent outburst but Umino starts the match by allowing himself to be suckered into trading holds on the ground; which is totally unequipped to deal with. Finally he pins Sabre down with a full nelson, repeatedly countering back to the hold through multiple escape attempts from the Englishman. Sabre goes after the arm and almost has a respectful smirk on his face as Umino goes hold-for-hold with him out of a wristlock. In the end Zack abandons that and kicks lumps out of his legs until Shota collapses. Like his former tag partner in the last match, Zack starts trying to embarrass the Young Lion; clawing at the mouth and nostrils. He peppers Umino with kicks, and lies in wait for Shota to try to hit back with a classical Young Lion dropkick...which he then effortlessly counters into a Boston Crab. Shooter does escape and hit his big dropkick though, to the delight of the crowd. He tries in vein for his own version of the Boston Crab but ZSJ counters it with ease into a deathlock. Out of nowhere Umino starts countering Zack's strikes though, and unleashes a perfect German suplex for 2. Sabre rolls through the bridging pin and looks for Hurrah though, leaving Umino scrambling for the ropes again. Missile dropkick by the Young Lion - who simply refuses to stay down. But he tries the same move a second time and soars helplessly into another Crab. SLAP by Sabre Jr...so Shota uppercuts him so hard that he crumples to his knees! La Magistral gets 2, perilously close to a shock upset for the Young Lion. CROSS ARMBREAKER ON ZACK! That's one of his favourite moves! Shooter almost won it there, and has an irate Zack countering his Fisherman Suplex with savage leg kicks. Palm strikes by Shota! Fisherman Suplex COUNTERED TO A FRONT CHOKE! SHOTA COUNTERS BACK TO A BRAINBUSTER! His body is falling apart, but he scrambles to the top and lands one last huge missile dropkick for 2. Sabre blocks the Fisherman Suplex and locks in Orienteering With Napalm Death. It's enough to submit the plucky Shota at 13:56

Rating - *** - An early sign that Umino was going to have a strong year in 2019. Still operating within the Young Lion framework, mentality and moveset - this match told a terrific story of heart and courage. The young man fought for all his worth; the epitome of fighting spirit as he kept battling, kept getting up and kept trying to topple Sabre Jr. against insurmountable odds. By the end his leg had been picked apart, his arm was worse for wear and his body was bruised from some really violent striking, yet he didn't appear to know when he was beaten. 

Zack takes a few cheap shots at the fallen Umino after the bell, which is an unpopular move in Korakuen Hall. He is still chuntering angrily with Taka on the way out...

Junior heavyweight action now as the veteran legend Liger teams with one of ROH's most lethal technicians in Jon Gresham to face Ishimori and Eagles of Bullet Club. Robbie is preparing for a grudge match with former Bullet Club member Marty Scurll tomorrow night so can ill-afford to suffer an injury against two dangerous opponents this evening. Liger is preparing to challenge Ishimori for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title at NJPW's forthcoming Anniversary Show too.

Gresham starts with Eagles and The Octopus looks like he is having some fun on his NJPW debut. Robbie holds his own in the opening grappling exchange though, to his credit. It feels like he is fighting against the tide though as Gresham starts to gain more and more control. Eagles starts to feel his arm and ends flat on his face after a spectacular display of technical wrestling from Gresham. Tags all round, allowing Liger and Ishimori in together. Liger charges the ring, rolls up the Junior Heavyweight Champion...and PINS HIM! In 05:27 Liger and Gresham win, and the veteran has sent a huge message to Bullet Club and Ishimori before their title showdown...

Rating - N/A - There wasn't really a match to speak of here. Gresham and Eagles were up first with a fine, five minute exhibition of technical wrestling. Gresham, of course, made an enormous impression on the NJPW audience with the quality of his work. Then came an angle to build up the Ishimori/Liger title match. Nothing wrong with this at all, and it certainly counts as fun build to something bigger in the future. But this doesn't really exist as a standalone wrestling match.

Taiji Ishimori loses his sh*t, has to be restrained and is then escorted back to the locker room as Liger celebrates in the ring with Gresham. 

In Ring Of Honor, Juice has formed the Lifeblood faction with a goal to 'restore honour' to the promotion which has lost its way. At the same time, the Briscoes have formed an alliance with the likes of Bully Ray, Shane Taylor and Silas Young as lawless roughnecks looking to cause chaos, wreck things and do whatever they want. In the US we've already seen some skirmishes between the two factions and those differences now go international. Tonight they meet in an 8-man tag; tomorrow Fin-Juice challenge the Briscoes for the ROH Tag Championship. The alliance between the Briscoes and GOD is an interesting one. Jay and Mark notoriously despise Bullet Club, but may have kindred spirits in the GOD. Tonga and Loa themselves are preparing for a big title match tomorrow; challenging LIJ's EVIL and SANADA for the IWGP Tag Team Title...

Juice and Finlay come out to their Lifeblood theme, which is noted as significant by Kevin Kelly. Jado and the returning Hikuleo are in the GOD corner. Mark demands to start for his team, which Tonga isn't entirely happy about but eventually agrees too. He isn't particularly supportive as the younger Briscoe trades holds with Finlay though. Juice joins his partner and together they lay Briscoe out with a double bulldog...right before Honma and Henare scatter everyone else. Mark dodges an early headbutt from Honma, and on the outside Hikuleo gets involved to illegally take Juice out. The Briscoes set up to dominate Honma, but are prevented by a disgruntled Tonga, who blind-tags in looking to beat on the veteran for himself. GOD and the Briscoes actually get on the same page and look like they're having a great time pulverising poor Honma...but only for a few seconds and it dissolves as quickly as it came together as Jay accidentally boots Tama in the face. Even when Honma escapes their clutches, Jado is on hand to trip him. Jumping headbutt rattles Tonga though, finally allowing him to tag out and unleash Henare. Samoan drop gets 2, but Loa is quickly on hand and feeds him into Tonga's jumping neckbreaker. Robinson and Mark tag in, wasting no time in laying into each other with big strikes. Juice ends that sequence with a spinebuster, so the Briscoes absolutely maul him. Finlay saves, loading up a double dropkick from Lifeblood. Jay dodges Juice's cannonball senton then joins his brother for the Redneck Boogie. Henare breaks the pin at 2. Doomsday Device blocked, and Loa accidentally clobbers Mark as he tries to help out. Pulp Friction blocked...but Jado inadvertently NAILS Mark with the kendo stick! Lifeblood win at 12:15

Rating - ** - Basic NJPW B-show fodder. Thankfully for the most part this kept my attention, especially the little seeds of dissension sewn between the Briscoes and Guerrillas Of Destiny, as 2019 wound up being a big year for those two teams. I wanted to see more set-up for Briscoes/Lifeblood tomorrow though. Had Kevin Kelly not been on commentary mentioning it, nothing here really suggested that the Briscoes and Fin-Juice are involved in a heated angle back in ROH.

Jay goes after Jado but gets absolutely battered by Hikuleo, who then feeds him into the ring to the GOD. Mark rescues his brother with a chair and the two teams deliver profanity-laden rants towards each other as they leave...

Taguchi, Yano, Cabana, Delirious and Cheeseburger in the same match; you know where this is going. Apparently this is Colt's New Japan debut (in Japan at least, I'm sure he's been on some of the NJPW USA shows), which is rather surprising given the sheer longevity of his career. He and Yano had a fun match on the Global Wars Tour last year...

Yano doesn't like the ring bell triggering Delirious going wild, and quickly vacates the ring even though the Lizard Man tags Cabana. The Chicago-native is confronted by Makabe and even manages to over-power him into the corner. Makabe's response is to scoop up Burger and use him as a weapon! The champions isolate Cheese and have an easy time beating him into the ground. The crowd actually roar with delight when Burger blocks Taguchi's rolling suplexes...and makes a big tag to a wise-cracking Cabana. Quebrada press gets 2 on Taguchi, with Delirious and Burger running interference to block a save. Double stomp/Shadows Over Hell combo by Delirious and Burger! Hip attack from Taguchi to Colt! Yano tries his best to rip off a turnbuckle pad, but takes so long about it he hasn't seen Cabana arm himself with a pad as well. Delirious steals the other turnbuckle pad and they waffle Yano with a double turnbuckle pad shot. Delirious yells 'Misawa' as he hits a big elbow strike, and follows it with a Leaping Lariat for 2. Cobra Stretch blocked into a low blow by Yano, who wins at 10:16

Rating - ** - This hits all the comedic notes you'd like to see with the participants involved, but in some ways that was actually part of the problem. This isn't a bad match at all...but it all felt very predictable and bland. Given the comedic talents of the men involved, I expected them to surprise and amuse me more than they did, even within the confines of a low-level live event undercard tag. 

Colt respectfully shakes hands with the champions, angering Delirious so much that he smashes Cabana in the balls then walks out with Cheeseburger!

In Ring Of Honor the last few months have been tough for Dalton. He has lost a slew of matches from big PPV grudge bouts at Final Battle, to World Title Matches, right the way down to undercard trios tag bouts with the Shinobi Shadow Squad. He is looking for something big to rebound with, and toppling Ospreay to take home New Japan gold would certainly fall into that category. On this tour last year he was defying his ailing body to tear the house down in a violent triple threat ROH World Title defence against Trent Beretta and Beer City Bruiser; can he recapture that cut-throat attitude and pose a serious threat to the Aerial Assassin tonight?

Dalton very obviously wants to get on the ground and wrestle with Will. As you'd expect with a man of Ospreay's speed, he struggles to keep him down though. Castle's poses and shenanigans noticeably unsettle the champion...but not enough to stop him sending the challenger to the floor with a running rana. Will steals some of Castle's poses too, adding insult to injury. Castle responds by shoving his hand down his trunks then slapping Ospreay in the face. FACE CHOP BY OSPREAY! Pip Pip Cheerio blocked...and Will has to react quickly to evade Bang-A-Rang. Storm Breaker blocked too, setting Castle up for a back suplex. BACK DROP DRIVER ON THE FLOOR! Ospreay doesn't get a chance to recover from that before Dalton pounces on him again and dumps him into the guardrails. The champ starts feeling his midsection and neck so Castle wastes no time in going to the mat and looking to punish those injuries further. He scoots out of the ring to evade another springboard move from Will, but when the Aerial Assassin chases him, Will simply hops over the railings and hits a PIP PIP CHEERIO OFF THE BARRICADE! SASUKE SPECIAL NAILED! Ospreay lands some major shots there but comes up clearly still feeling his damaged ribs and back. Pip Pip Cheerio lands back into the ring...and again he pauses to recover from injury before attempting an OsCutter. Castle capitalises instantly and socks Will with a lariat. He peppers Ospreay with knees to the chest and head until the Englishman just collapses. Ospreay clings to the ropes to avoid the Bang-A-Rang, then has to BACK FLIP into the Robinson Special as Castle tries to switch to the Everest German instead. OSCUTTER COUNTERED TO A BACK SUPLEX! Dalton has to literally drag his opponent off the canvas after that...but when he does so he is met with a roundhouse kick across his jaw. Jumping knee misses, sending Castle toppling over the top to the outside. Sasuke Special blocked...German suplex blocked! Castle settles for a running knee to the exposed face as Ospreay hangs on the top rope, then gets 2 with his spinning bulldog spot (which Will sells like utter death). Once again Bang-A-Rang is countered, this time into the C-4 FOR 2! Hidden Blade ducked! LARIATOOOOO! DEAD-LIFT DOCTOR BOMB gets 2. Bang-A-Rang COUNTERED TO A REVERSE RANA! CASTLE GETS UP! SUPERKICK! HIDDEN BLADE! STORM BREAKER! Ospreay retains at 17:33

Rating - **** - A superb, show-stealing match that was considerably more substantial than anything else on the show so far. I thought these two had great chemistry as opponents. Stylistically they blend well with Castle a wily grappler trying to ground the explosive, hard-hitting champion. But Castle also made an ideal opponent for Ospreay as he sits in the midst of his first foray into the New Japan heavyweight division. Dalton's charisma and showmanship were the ideal foils for Ospreay's bad temper and big strikes to bounce off. I'd need to go back and re-watch Lethal/Castle from Honor Reigns Supreme 2019, but as I was watching this it certainly felt like Castle's best match since dropping the World Title. 

Ospreay leaves with words for Jay White, still awaiting an answer for his challenge to the Heavyweight Champion at New Japan's Anniversary Show.

It isn't just New Japan championships on the line this weekend. Jay Lethal and the Briscoes defend their belts tomorrow. Tonight is the turn of Cobb, nicknamed the 'Hawaiian Juggernaut' by ROH, 'The Monster' in Lucha Underground and still undefeated in Ring Of Honor competition. He looks to steamroll through Goto, but in him will find an opponent every bit as big, strong and hard-hitting. This is a rematch from the G1 Special In San Francisco, which saw Goto defeat Cobb in defence of the NEVER Openweight Title which he then held...

First blood goes to Goto as he smashes into Cobb's chest with a big overhand chop. It seems that Goto has the superior strike power, but even a man of his size can't withstand a running tackle from the champion. Jeff has speed and agility on his side too and effortlessly leaps from the mat to land a dropkick. Goto retaliates with a clothesline over the top rope, then another to put Cobb on his ass on the apron. The challenger bounces Cobb's skull off the ringpost, then grabs one of the Young Lions and SUPLEXES him down on top of the champ as well. Back in the ring Goto targets the neck and damaged shoulder with assorted submission holds. It is a dominant performance from the New Japan veteran and only over-confidence interrupts his total control - causing him to miss an ill-advised top rope elbow drop. With his injured arm hanging limp by his side, Cobb lays into the challenger with uppercuts then CATCHES him for an exploder suplex. Standing moonsault gets 2! Athletic-Plex nailed but Goto kicks out again. Tour Of The Islands blocked, with the Ushigoroshi soon following leaving them both on the ground. HUGE lariat by Goto spins Cobb through the air! He follows with a thunderous kick to the chest and shoulder then lands an inverted GTR. Cobb is so desperate that he actually resorts to a schoolboy pin in an attempt to escape...but Goto kicks at 2 once more. TOUR OF THE ISLANDS! Cobb retains at 13:57

Rating - *** - My time may be a little out for this one, as I'm reviewing this show on one of those days where NJPW World decides it is going to stop to buffer CONSTANTLY. I don't know whether that affected my perception of the match (it didn't with Ospreay/Castle), but I struggled to connect with this. It was very much New Japan's version of Jeff Cobb, rather than the dominant monster he has portrayed thus far on ROH TV and I don't think fifteen minutes of almost uninterrupted Goto dominance did much for this bout as a spectacle. Still, it was fun and I did appreciate seeing another side of Cobb. Having seen him so all-conquering in ROH, watching him scramble for flash pins on Goto certainly puts over how demanding this was a championship defence. 

As he prepares to face Taven at ROH's 17th Anniversary, 'The Franchise' Jay Lethal has certainly enlisted some heavy-hitters to help him out tonight. Taven has his stable-mates in The Kingdom alongside him, and they stand as the reigning ROH Six-Man Tag Champions (but won't be defending them tonight). In Lethal's corner are two of the very best professional wrestlers of all time and arguably New Japan's 'franchise' players in the form of Okada and Tanahashi. Who will lay down a marker before they reach Las Vegas and the Anniversary Show? Or can O'Ryan inflict some early damage ahead of his title shot tomorrow night and throw a major spanner in ROH's pay-per-view plans? Apparently this is Taven's first NJPW appearance since 2015. He loudly instructs Kevin Kelly to call him the 'Real World Champion' during his entrance...

The look of disgust on the faces of The Kingdom as Lethal, Okada and Tanahashi are made to pose for pre-match photos is pure brilliance. Lethal and Taven start, only for Matt to immediately step out telling him to wait for Vegas. Marseglia replaces him and goes straight for Jay's eyes...which the champ repels with the hiptoss/dropkick combo. Taven and TK try to run in, only to be intercepted by Tanahashi and Okada. Vinny crawls back to his corner to avoid facing the Rainmaker, instead leaving him to Taven. Climax blocked...Rainmaker blocked, but in that exchange Okada's taped up knee aggravates him and he starts noticeably limping. O'Ryan tags and looks straight past Okada to call out 'The Ace'! 'Are you kidding me' - Tanahashi, right before he tries to twist TK's head off his neck with an ultra-aggressive headlock. Rebound crossboody block lands as well, leaving O'Ryan looking rather outclassed. Taven tries to dive off the apron at Tana...who swipes him face-first into the guardrails! But in leaving the ring Tanahashi leaves himself vulnerable to a 3-on-1 mugging from The Kingdom, who finally gain an advantage as a result. They take turns working over The Ace, with Taven even humiliating him with a prolonged nipple cripple. Marseglia rakes his eyes as well, and with the rest of The Kingdom distracting Todd Sinclair it falls on Lethal to come in and rescue his partner. Finally Tana escapes, laying out Marseglia and TKO with dragon screws along the way. Okada steams in and plants Matt with a DDT for 2. Big tope suicida against the rails by Lethal, then the kryptonite neckbreaker from Okada. House Of 1000 Horses from Vinny and TK to the Rainmaker, before Just The Tip gets 2 on Lethal. A pisses off Tanahashi charges back in...straight into a double dropkick from The Kingdom. Rock Star Supernova...BLOCKED with an Okada dropkick and the Sling Blade! LETHAL INJECTION on Vinny! Lethal wins at 14:10

Rating - *** - Innocuous and mostly harmless/forgettable, but I had fun with this. I loved the heat segment on Tanahashi in particular. The Kingdom came off like utter pricks; Taven returning to New Japan for the first time in years, whilst Vinny and TK were making their debuts...yet they decided they were going to abuse the beloved Ace! Okada and Tanahashi were really only here to sell some tickets, wave to the fans and have an easy night but, to their credit, they did so in a way which really emphasised what is going on with the ROH product (unlike Goto/Cobb for instance, which felt very distanced from what ROH has going on). Given that this was a New Japan show and they weren't ever going to sign off on their top stars putting over The Kingdom (Taven just beat Lethal in Florida anyway), this felt completely solid as another building block towards Lethal/Taven on PPV.

The Kingdom mug Lethal before he can celebrate his victory, but as they leave Lethal grabs the mic and reminds O'Ryan that they will meet again tomorrow night. 

Tape Rating - ** - If you watch New Japan with any regularity you'll know what to expect here. Their low level 'Road To, or touring live shows are rarely 'can't miss' affairs and that was the case here. Unfortunately, up until the main event, there didn't really feel like there was much to appeal to the ROH fans either. Yes it had the ROH ring and guardrails, and there were more ROH stars in attendance than would usually work New Japan shows...but this was very much an NJPW event. We began with matches to showcase the progression of the NJPW Dojo Young Lions, we moved to a match which was entirely designed to build to Liger/Ishimori, we saw the NEVER 6-Man Champions dominate a comedy title defence, we saw ROH's dominant TV Champion struggle to overcome New Japan's Goto. That isn't to say this was a 'bad' show, but just that the appeal of this show is very limited since it represents the absolute lowest level of effort on the New Japan side, and doesn't offer anything as an authentic ROH experience either. There is good wrestling to be found though. ZSJ/Umino is REALLY good for a Young Lion showcase bout. The Aces vs Kingdom trios main event works well as further build to the Lethal/Taven ROH Title showdown. In truth, though, the only match really work seeking out was Ospreay/Castle. It was an absolute showstealer.

3) Jay Lethal/Kazuchika Okada/Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Matt Taven/Vinny Marseglia/TK O'Ryan (***)

2) Zack Sabre Jr. vs Shota Umino (***)

1) Will Ospreay vs Dalton Castle (****)