McXal's Reviews

We conclude this excellent round of television tapings with a week dedicated to spotlighting tag team wrestling. The main event will see the ROH Tag Championship on the line as The Addiction defend against the two biggest stars on the roster in the Young Bucks – a huge bout to throw out onto free television. Beneath that War Machine want revenge on Keith Lee and Shane Taylor for costing them those same Tag Titles in Columbus, and we also have trios action as The Cabinet of Caprice Coleman, Rhett Titus and Kenny King face Dalton Castle and The Boys. Kevin Kelly and Matt Taven your hosts for one more episode taped in Philadelphia, PA.

Last year when Lee and Taylor impressed making the occasional appearance, I remarked that if War Machine weren’t in ROH already they’d be signed up immediately. Clearly the Pretty Boy Killers also notice that Rowe and Hanson have the market cornered when it comes to big, wrecking ball teams in ROH and have decided to muscle in on that particular territory. They attacked them, unprovoked and without warning, in Columbus during the Road To Best In The World Tour, costing them the Tag Titles in the process…then a couple of weeks ago attacked them again in the locker rooms to prevent them from competing in another title match with The Addiction. Is tonight the night they finish the job and formally take War Machine’s spot? Kelly informs us that Taylor actually trained with, and used to be friends with Ray Rowe…who supposedly turned his back on Taylor as soon as he got his ROH deal.

Fists are flying even before the bell rings and soon enough Hanson takes flight to wipe Taylor out with a tope suicida. Lee, meanwhile, lands on his damn feet after Rowe tries to give him a monkey flip. On the floor they all take turns with some big bumps into the guardrails…and these are some big ass dudes to be rocketing sheet metal barricades back into the knees of fans in the front row. War Machine start hitting some of their signature combo sequences on the outside, successfully splitting up their opponents so they can wear them down one at a time. That works until Keith dodges the attempted Shotgun Knees from Rowe, causing him to knock out Hanson instead. We head to commercials with the PBK in control and isolating Rowe from his tag partner. We come back with Rowe hitting the Cement Mixer on Lee, then a POETRY IN MOTION SUPERMAN PUNCH on Taylor. Keith evades the Spin Kick Of Doom…so Rowe knees Taylor into his lap for 2. T-GIMMICK on Hanson gets 2! DECAPITATION (springboard lariat/stalling German suplex combo) nailed by War Machine on Keith only for Taylor to break the pin. Ground Zero from Lee to Rowe! FLYING ASS ATTACK from Hanson to Keith! Shane saves his partner from Fallout and feeds Rowe into the SPIRIT BOMB/FROG SPLASH COMBO! Lee hits a Sprit Bomb on Hanson too, giving his team the win at 08:53 (shown).

Rating - *** - The live fans really seemed to warm to this match and were chanting ‘this is awesome’ by the end of it. I can’t say I personally connected with it like that, but I did think the last couple of minutes were very exciting and I loved that they put the fresh new act over clean as a whistle. Keith Lee really did look a class act – moving with the kind of poise, grace and athleticism that none of the other guys could really match. The fact that he (and War Machine) are now WWE employees as of writing – whilst Shane Taylor isn’t – does not surprise me.

This episode was loaded enough already, so I am absolutely certain this one isn’t needed and shouldn’t be here. It features three of my least favourite performers on the roster, plus a main show debut for David Starr (who is a) considerably better than everyone else in the match and b) totally wasted. Cheeseburger’s entrance attire now includes a cape…which I will admit I somewhat admire.

Hughes and Diesel jump Cheeseburger to get us started, as BJ Whitmer (dressed like a sad old Robert Smith impersonator who lost his wig) appears on commentary. Matt Taven is great value here ripping the piss out of Whitmer’s idiotic look. Starr impresses with German suplexes and a springboard lariat on Daddiego, before he wipes out Terrible Tim with a tope suicida. J. Diesel press slams Burger to the floor…as Tim hits a double-leg takedown on Starr, mounting him for MMA-influenced strikes which look SO awful you can hear fans laughing about it. On commentary Whitmer repeatedly says ‘it is time’, before the 2300 Arena lights go out. A video package shows Whitmer and Sullivan revealing Punishment Martinez as the ‘next in line’ to whatever the f*ck this weird angle is going on about. Martinez is in the ring after the lights come on…to absolutely zero reaction. He delivers a Curb Stomp on Sh*tty Tim, then a powerbomb on Starr – ending the match at 04:07

Rating - DUD - Considering how good he was during the Top Prospect Tournament, it is about time Martinez showed up. He made it to the semi-finals with fantastic matches against Colby Corino and Lio Rush…and the in reality the departure of Moose leaves a big man-sized spot on the roster open. Sadly for him, he arrives in this sh*tstorm of an angle with BJ, Corino and Sullivan that literally nobody cares about. It’s like Delirious noticed all the people complaining about how long the BJ/Steve stuff had been going on for and interpreted it as a challenge to make it go even longer and even more uninteresting. Whitmer does NOT have the acting or promo chops for his new Sullivan-disciple gimmick either, making the whole thing come off as even more of a joke. So, to sum up the redeeming features – Martinez is here (even if we’ll still have to put up with the PunishER Martinez vs PunishMENT Martinez argument for a while to come)…and Starr looked ok in the actual match.

Martinez ends the segment by hitting South Of Heaven (the sit-out Chokeslam) on Cheeseburger, almost driving him through the ring…

The Cabinet are on a mission to ‘make wrestling great again’, which has largely involved singling out wrestlers whom they don’t particularly like and trying to beat them out of ROH. This week they don’t think that Castle and The Boys are the kind of people who should not be in the business, so want to make an example out of them.

Titus wants to start with a Boy. I don’t know which Tate Twin is which still, but at least they have different hair tonight. They are too quick and confusingly explosive for Rhett to handle and he bails before having to answer to Dalton as well. Caprice tries to control Castle with headlocks – playing right into his wheelhouse as it allows Dalton to utilise his amateur skills. He throws a Boy at ANX to no effect…so then tosses Coleman out on top to skittle them like bowling pins! He isn’t finished either as he tosses the other Boy into a suicide dive as well. Unfortunately when we come back from commercials The Cabinet have captured that same Boy inside the ring and well away from his partners. The Boy in peril blocks the Royal Flush by King…only to eat the rope-hurdling top rope guillotine instead. But as King, Titus and Coleman pose on the floor to piss the fans off everyone misses The Boys pull the old switcheroo inside the ring! A perfectly healthy, uninjured Boy is now in the ring and playing possum. He makes a hot tag to Dalton, who arrives in the ring throwing suplexes around like he spent all night watching ECW Taz. Everest German gets 2 on Rhett. King shoves Castle from the top rope to the floor and gives one of the Boys a big suplex. Sky Splitter/Frog Splash combo by Titus and Coleman net The Cabinet a victory at 06:59 (shown).

Rating - ** - This is TV and I don’t have a problem with The Cabinet getting matches like this on TV to establish and build up their new gimmick. That doesn’t mean I have to necessarily enjoy the match however. This one felt functional, but not much else. The outcome (furthering The Cabinet) was obvious from the outset and achieved mechanically (with a dreadful finishing spot). The Boys were lively, screechy…but portrayed as so unthreatening and child-like that it legitimately hurt the match. 

Adam Cole pops in to deliver a promo with the World Title over his shoulder. He announces to the TV-viewing audience that he became champion at Death Before Dishonor, but far from being happy about it…he goes on a rant about Kyle O’Reilly. Now he has the belt he confidently reiterates his vow that O’Reilly will never hold it for himself…

All year the Bucks, the Machine Guns and The Addiction have engaged in a three-way rivalry. They’ve branched off from time-to-time; recently the Jackson brothers have been preoccupied calling their own shots with Bullet Club, we saw Addiction splinter off for a brief rivalry with War Machine, and we’ve seen the current champs and MCMG feud without the Bucks. But it’s these three teams who always come back together…and here we are again. Matt and Nick defeated RPG Vice to earn this shot, and now want to correct the ‘rib’ that they only have one (very brief) ROH Tag Title reign to their names.

Justifiably expecting the Young Bucks to arrive flanked by other members of Bullet Club, Daniels and Kazarian opt to enter first then lie in wait on the stage to jump their challengers. Sadly for them Matt and Nick are one step ahead, and come in through the crowd for SUPERKICKS IN THE AISLE! SWANTON BOMB OFF THE APRON by Nick, who somehow survives that relatively unscathed and is popped up by Matt into a leapfrog dropkick onto Daniels (perched on the railing). They try to put Kazarian through a table…only for Frankie to deck them and pull out a ladder to hit them with. LADDER SUPERKICK BY THE BUCKS! Has the match even started yet? Back from commercials they are in the ring so I’m assuming it started during intermission. Kevin Steen Cannonball nailed, but as they set up More Bang For Your Buck Daniels THROWS NICK THROUGH THE TABLE ON THE FLOOR! The champs now enjoy a 2-on-1 numbers advantage on Matt Jackson, which they take full advantage of. Finally Nick returns to Superkick Daniels off the apron, as at the same time Matt hits the flipping cutter on Kaz. Moonsault off the apron by Nick, who is still staggering around after that big table bump. He tries another Swanton Bomb, only for the Ring General to drive his knees into the back that was injure on the table. SPRINGBOARD DDT ON THE APRON from Matt to Kazarian! 450 Splash from Nick to Kaz gets 2. BACK DROP DRIVER ON THE FLOOR from Frankie to Nick! He barely gets back to his feet before Daniels is on him again with a tope, as inside the ring Kazarian gets 2 with Wave Of The Future. Superkick flurry by the Bucks. ANGEL’S WINGS BY DANIELS! All four men go down! Kamaitachi tries to run in…but gets dragged away by the Motor City Machine Guns! NICK JACKSON TOPE SUICIDA’S EVERYONE! Sabin stops Kazarian using a steel chair on Matt as the ref checks on the melee outside the ring…but then inadvertently whacks Jackson with it himself! Frankie scrambles to pin him, getting yet another fluke victory at 08:11

Rating - *** - If they’d put this on pay-per-view then I’d feel short-changed, however, this is TV and for this medium, this was very entertaining. We got weapons, bumps on the floor, wild brawls, big dives and a messy finish which once again continues the theme of The Addiction being nothing but lucky chancer champions, whilst once again bringing them, the Bucks and the Machine Guns together to begin preparing for the inevitable triple threat rematch between them we’re all expecting…

Tape Rating - ** - After the exceptional quality of Ring Of Honor television over the last month or so, a step down at some point was inevitable. That isn’t to say this was a bad episode, because it certainly wasn’t. The Tag Title main event, and the War Machine/PBK opening bouts were really good.  The middle was a real mess though, and dragged the overall quantity of the episode down enormously. The fact that the Corino/Whitmer feud is STILL going, and now includes Kevin Sullivan and effectively returning Whitmer to the role he’s played for the last couple of years (mentor to a young talent, now Punishment Martinez), is a real kick in the teeth – casting a shadow over the entire show. 

5) The Addiction vs Young Bucks (*** - Episode 258)

4) Young Bucks vs RPG Vice (**** - Episode 256)

3) Lio Rush vs Donovan Dijak (**** - Episode 256)

2) Jay Briscoe vs Jay White (**** - Episode 257)

1) Jay Lethal vs Colt Cabana (**** - Episode 255)