McXal's Reviews

Episode #253 was a great one; probably the most I’ve enjoyed Ring Of Honor on television all year. Now we’re back to see Bullet Club face the consequences of their actions. Nigel McGuinness has banned Adam Cole from receiving a World Title shot – how will he respond? Meanwhile the Young Bucks are scheduled to be facing ROH veterans the Briscoe Brothers. What will Bullet Club do next, and is there anything Ring Of Honor officials can do to stop them? Once again we are taped in Concord, NC with Kevin Kelly and Match Maker Nigel McGuinness providing commentary.

Jay Lethal opens the show, walking to the ring to address the Bullet Club situation. He wants to ‘make it right’…and he wants in on the main event tonight. He petitions Nigel to add both he and Adam Cole to the Bucks/Briscoes main event, making it a trios tag instead. 

NEXT WEEK – Jay Lethal vs Colt Cabana in a World Title rematch.

Steve Corino meets with Kevin Sullivan, who says it hurt to spike Steve at Best In The World. He did it because he was a soft, family man, betraying the ‘evil’ legacy he was a part of. Now Corino has a choice about whether he wants to go back to being a family man, or be a part of the ‘chaos’ which is about to engulf Ring Of Honor…

Back from commercials with Mike ‘P-Dog’ Posey and the Get Along Gang inside the ring. Why on earth are they putting this insane gimmick on television? He calls out Moose for some reason, who we are seeing for the final time this evening. It turns into a massacre as Moose tosses the Get Along Gang to all parts of the arena then polishes Posey off in around a minute. But Moose’s night isn’t over apparently. Prince Nana and Donovan Dijak interrupt his celebrations. Nana wants a match right now to prove who the ‘best big man in ROH’ is…and Stokely Hathaway (in his final appearance) agrees.

Big Moose is now working his third match of this taping technically, so ROH really got their money’s worth out of him for this show. Since Nana positioned this as a battle of the ‘big men’, very clearly a lot of pride will be at stake. Outside the ring bragging rights are up for grabs as well. With Truth Martini gone Nana and Stokely are left vying for the slot as ‘best manager’…meaning each would like a victory to bolster their claims in that regard.

Donovan tries to get the jump on Moose…only to be dropkicked clean out of the ring. To the floor we go, where Moose smears Dijak face-first into chairs and the barricade. CHOKESLAM ON THE APRON by Dijak! Next Donovan boots Moose in the chest as he tries another dropkick before scoring a 2-count with a Death Valley powerbomb. Dijak-sault countered with a dropkick TO THE ASS! Then he blocks a Donovan springboard move into a MID-AIR GO TO HELL BOMB for 2. The intensity of the battle sees both men sucking air whilst trading shots on wobbly legs. Somehow Donovan gets Moose up for the release suplex…only for Moose to no sell! ROPE RUN CROSSBODY DUCKED! Feast Your Eyes countered into the discus lariat…but then Dijak dodges the Hitstick to land the Chokeslam Backbreaker. ONE COUNT OF DISRESPECT! FEAST YOUR EYES! Dijak scores a massive victory at 07:26

Rating - *** - A relatively enjoyable big-man battle. Above all else this felt like a really classy way for Moose to bow out of Ring Of Honor. He has had his critics (including myself) of his ring work, but even if one can’t acknowledge the huge improvements he has made in the last year, then you surely must respect him for going out on his back putting Dijak over as the new ‘king of the big men’ in ROH right now. Given that ROH has squandered Dijak’s talents since having him win the TPT last year, this match feels like a real chance to reinvent, or reinvigorate him for the second half of 2016…

MARTINI KILLER KICK ON STOKELY! Nana instructed Dijak to do it, and with that Stokely Hathaway is written out of ROH programming as well. 

The Addiction call themselves wrestling gods and the ‘kings’ of the Tag division despite a whole host of great teams.

The Cabinet follow up their victory last week with a public address poking fun at Trump (they want to ‘build a wall around the Young Bucks’ and use ‘their t-shirt and 8x10 money to pay for it’). 

The sight of Lethal and Jay Briscoe teaming up in the immediate aftermath of their Best In The World main event is a strange one. But that is the effect Bullet Club has on the ROH locker room. Lethal and the Briscoes are so fed up of the antics of the Bucks and Cole that they are prepared to put their differences aside to fight them. We know Cole wants a shot at Lethal (and has had extensive issues with Jay Briscoe in the past)…but last week his championship aspirations were dealt a devastating blow when Nigel McGuinness banned him from the World Title picture. How will the SuperKliq respond to the events of last week? Matt Taven is on commentary for another Adam Cole match…

STEREO TOPE SUICIDAS by Lethal and Jay Briscoe! Mark puts an exclamation point on it with a blockbuster off the apron. They want to powerbomb Cole through the timekeeping table but thankfully the Bucks come to their pal’s rescue. The drop Jay Briscoe with a pair of Superkicks then back his partners into a corner whilst Cole takes control. Briscoe hits a DVD on Matt and tags out to Mark, who gets 2 with an Iconoclasm on Adam. NICK SHOVES MARK THROUGH THE TIMEKEEPING TABLE! SUPERKICK PARTY ON LETHAL! Matt Jackson’s fake concern over Mark as medics carry Mark to the locker room is hilarious. With the champ hurt of course it’s Adam Cole that now seeks him out for a fight inside the ring. ACE CRUSHER ON THE FLOOR takes Matt out! Then Lethal ducks causing Nick to inadvertently floor Cole with a kick. Lethal Combo on Nick! Now the path is clear for Lethal to tag in his Best In The World PPV opponent! Jay Briscoe flies in with the Day One Neckbreaker on Cole for 2. Lethal Injection countered with double Superkicks to the back by the Jacksons. NXT Last Shot from Cole to Jay Briscoe! LETHAL INJECTION on Cole! Lethal then pins Matt to win the match for his team at 11:36 (shown)

Rating - *** - This was little more than a prelude to the angle they are about to shoot, but in all fairness it actually had some entertaining moments. Mark’s table bump looked ROUGH, and taking him out (he’d already worked a singles match at the taping) gave us the genuinely bizarre spectacle of Lethal and Jay Briscoe having to work as a cohesive team. That in itself as a striking representation of the unifying power that hating Bullet Club will bring. 

Bullet Club obviously aren’t happy with the loss, and since they still have the numbers in their favour they start beating down their rivals. COLE DRILLER ON A CHAIR takes Jay Briscoe out! TRIPLE SUPERKICK knocks Lethal out too. He is motionless on the apron, and the Bucks hold him in place, whilst Cole pulls out a pair of scissors AND CUTS LETHAL’S HAIR OFF! HE IS SCALPING THE WORLD CHAMPION! They scream abuse at Nigel McGuinness throughout…and the show ends with Cole holding the World Title belt aloft…

Tape Rating - *** - Not as good as last week, but still a really decent hour of television. I couldn’t have picked a better way to write Moose and Stokely out of ROH than by feeding them to Donovan Dijak. Their departures present a genuine opportunity for Ring Of Honor to rebuild a talent they have wasted for the last year. The main event wasn’t overly special, but the head-shaving angle afterwards was truly shocking. The stunned silence it took place in tells you that inside the building fans found it unsettling to sit through. Given how Nigel raised the stakes last week by blocking him from the title picture, it was a brilliant response. With a Lethal/Cabana World Title match scheduled for next week too, right now it feels like ROH TV is must-see stuff for the first time in ages.

5) Jay Lethal/Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Adam Cole/Young Bucks (*** - Episode 254)

4) Donovan Dijak vs Jason Kincaid (*** - Episode 251)

3) Mark Briscoe vs ACH (*** - Episode 251)

2) Dalton Castle vs Roderick Strong (**** - Episode 252)

1) Jay Lethal vs Kyle O’Reilly (**** - Episode 253)