McXal's Reviews

This episode concludes the batch of taping completed in the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in the aftermath of All Star Extravaganza. It has been a decent set of tapings, but one which has lacked any really astonishing or noteworthy matches and has occasionally featured some really baffling booking. There are certainly some big moments packed into this final episode of the four put to tape. Michael Elgin competes in his final ROH match to date, up against fellow NJPW star Toru Yano. Dragon Lee, who tore the house down in his debut match with Kamaitachi, enters the Proving Ground with Bobby Fish…and the main event pits a battered and bruised Bullet Club against the returning Matt Taven and his new Kingdom line-up. Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino are in Lowell, MA.

This is a G1 Climax Tournament rematch, with Elgin looking to avenge his surprise defeat to Yano as part of that. Big Mike will also be smarting from failing to get the World Title back from Adam Cole at the pay-per-view…so comes into this with a lot of frustration to vent.

Yano clings to the ropes and doesn’t want to lock up with Elgin whatsoever. He deems Big Mike ‘too scary’ to wrestle so tries to make friends…but given Elgin’s famously surly demeanour that is destined to fail. Elgin snaps and starts repeatedly punching Toru even when he asks for a rope break. Yano drops to the floor, luring Unbreakable to him…then hitting him with a drop toehold on the entrance steps! He walks back to the ring hoping for another count-out win just like in the G1, and rips off the turnbuckle pad to beat him with when he beats the count. They battle over who gets to ram the other into the exposed turnbuckle bolt…until Elgin realises he is powerful as f*ck and can hurt him just as much by powerslamming him. Each man delivers an atomic drop which goes a little low, and as they recover Elgin steals Yano’s scissors and snips off his own turnbuckle pad to beat him with. Yano counters with a catapult to the exposed turnbuckle! Akakiri pin by Yano gets 2. Big Mike hits Snake Eyes on an exposed turnbuckle…then a lariat. Elgin Bomb wins it at 08:52 (shown).

Rating - ** - How much you enjoy this really depends on how much you enjoy Toru Yano matches, because this really was the basic formula Yano bout. There was some fun to be had because Elgin is so stone-faced and emotionless that the contrast in characters delivered some laughs…but neither man did anything you won’t have seen from them elsewhere.

In an interview Bobby Fish runs down Adam Page and questions his credentials as a challenger for the TV Title. They meet next week, and he doesn’t think Hangman has the skill to beat him…

This one is under Proving Ground rules, meaning that if Lee can beat Fish or take him to the time limit then he earns a Television Title shot. He is 1-0 in Ring Of Honor competition having triumphed in an explosive encounter with Kamaitachi at All Star Extravaganza. He also enjoys a competitive advantage because Bobby comes in carrying injuries to his ribs after weeks of being jumped by Bullet Club.

Quite rightly Fish begins the match with his limbs outstretched, looking to grab hold of Lee and not let him on the canvas for the duration of the match. He fails, and is picked off by the athletic Mexican with ease…so the champ leaves the ring (clutching his taped ribs) to regroup. He tries to trade strikes with Dragon next…so Lee knees him straight in the ribs! A running rana knocks Fish to the floor, lined up for a CRAZY TOPE SUICIDA INTO THE RAILING! Quickly the champ returns the match to the ring and looks to maintain the grounded methodical style even though he struggles to lay a glove on Lee. Dragon dodges him again, ricocheting his ribs off the ropes to create momentum for a snap German suplex. Rolling northern lights suplex into a brainbuster...and that leaves Fish screaming in pain. He tries throwing kick, only for Lee to counter by catching his leg and using it to pull him into an STF. That doesn’t deliver victory, although Fish can’t even get up now. Lee puts him into La Magistral and scores a huge – some might even say shock – win at 06:57 (shown), earning a future TV Title shot.

Rating - *** - Having Bobby Fish sell those ribs did a lot to make this segment enjoyable. It puts over the lawless, dangerous nature of Bullet Club who have been calling their own shots in ROH since Global Wars, and it added some genuine drama to what could have been a throwaway bout. Lee going over may or may not have had something to do with him being a champion in CMLL, but him winning felt like a smart choice. Bobby has beaten plenty of guys recently so his credibility is fine, and he also had the protection of the angle with Page and Bullet Club…therefore Lee going over is of limited long-term significance to the champ, but does wonders to present Dragon as a major star moving forward.

NEXT WEEK – Can Bobby Fish recover in time to defend the TV Title against Adam Page?

Matt Taven nips in for one final round of promo before the identities of his new Kingdom are revealed. He intends to end the Bullet Club this evening…

NEXT WEEK – The Addiction return to action, alongside Kamaitachi, to face representatives from CMLL (announced as Ultimo Guerrero, Hechicero and Okumura)

There was some mystery around whom would represent Bullet Club in the tournament, so the fact that it’s the World Champion and Tag Champions is something of a surprise. Even more so when you consider that Matt and Nick are still feeling the effects of Ladder War. The new Kingdom get an elaborate entrance and a slow reveal on who will be joining Matt Taven for his return to ROH action following the serious knee injury he suffered at Final Battle 2015. Vinny Marseglia’s inclusion isn’t surprising at all as they are known friends, Taven provided commentary for Vinny’s match during the Conquest Tour, and Marseglia has hovered on the fringes of ROH going right back to Jim Cornette’s time (and has always looked f*cking terrible, so fingers crossed he improves). O’Ryan is more of a surprise, but he’s another New England talent and friends with both Taven and Vinny. This very much is a Kingdom built in Matt’s image. With his friend Mike Bennett now gone, he calls in two more of his friends in the industry to replace him. The question remains as to how healthy his knee is, and how much of a threat a new trio like this will pose to the SuperKliq. We know he and Cole don’t see eye to eye, with Taven seemingly pushing Adam out of The Kingdom in the aftermath of Bennett’s departure, blaming him for their collective failures as a group last year.

The Kingdom attack the Bullet Club as they dick around goofing off. Nick and Matt are covered in bandages and don’t look in any kind of shape to perform here. Matt’s face as Marseglia tosses him into the guardrails is awful. REBOUND ENZI off the rails by Taven! Triple Superkicks by Cole and the Bucks to end a minute of total dominance from the new Kingdom. Rise Of The Terminator blocked, so the Club hit TRIPLE KEVIN STEEN APRON BOMBS! RISE OF THE TERMINATOR TOPES! Sensibly The Kingdom pick off one of the Young Bucks to punish 3-on-1, with Matt the unlucky recipient. For several minutes Matt is unable to escape the clutches of Taven’s new group, with each man getting a chance to shine. Vinny and TK hit a few nifty double teams, with Taven joining them for a revised version of the Proton Pack Stunner combo that used to be a calling card of the Taven/Bennett team. Nick gets a much-needed tag…and promptly leaves the ring with a moonsault off the apron to take out Marseglia. Nick blocks an attempt at the Mustang Ride by O’Ryan…before tags all round bring Taven and Cole together for the first time! Taven spits in his face! SO COLE SUPERKICKS HIS BAD KNEE! BARE KNEE WIZARD gets 2! Vinny and TK prevent him from hitting the Last Shot, and Taven capitalises with a rolling neckbreaker for 2. Rock Star Supernova (they’d get better at hitting that spot) gets 2! Taven blocks Panama Sunrise, only to eat EARLY ONSET ALZHEIMER’S! PANAMA SUNRISE! O’Ryan breaks the fall, so gets swatted with a Cole Superkick. Marseglia saves his partners from a double Meltzer Driver…and then they hit stereo low blows behind the ref’s back. Mustang Ride/Climax/Redrum combo allows Taven to pin Matt. It’s a huge shock, but The Kingdom have eliminated the Bullet Club at 11:55 (shown).

Rating - *** - This was far better than it had any right to be. For the Young Bucks to compete at this level in a match taped just a day after they put their bodies through total mayhem in Ladder War 6 was almost unbelievable. Some of this was actually tough to watch as a result, because you could see there were points when they were really hurting. Despite their ailing bodies, the match was fresh and enjoyably paced. Marseglia and O’Ryan are interesting choices for The Kingdom. They aren’t names, Marseglia has looked terrible every time he has wrestled in ROH, and it’s not like Taven is the most beloved of ROH stars either – so I get why there was some criticism. But I maintain that Taven does have potential, and getting a couple of his friends around him in a stable is a good decision. O’Ryan reportedly has lots of potential too. They looked a threat here, picking off an injured Young Buck and seeing it through to the finish by beating him for the win. The exchanges between Taven and Cole were really good – those guys need a match soon.

Tape Rating - *** - The main event of this episode was probably the best bout of the entire taping, Fish/Dragon was an enjoyable sprint and it’s not like Elgin/Yano was a bad match either. This episode was wall-to-wall wrestling of a decent standard and was pretty fun to watch as a result. I understand the criticism and disinterest Taven’s new Kingdom got, and I can see why putting them over super-hot and popular acts like Cole and the Young Bucks got a lot of heat. But looking at it objectively the match was good, and the interactions between Adam Cole and Matt Taven were loaded with significance to their long-term history together. It was a memorable debut and it feels like we already have another potential World Title challenger set up for Cole as well

5) Kyle O’Reilly vs Jonathan Gresham (*** - Episode 266)

4) Bobby Fish vs Dragon Lee (*** - Episode 268)

3) Kushida/Jay White/ACH vs Kenny King/Rhett Titus/Caprice Coleman (*** - Episode 267)

2) War Machine vs Keith Lee/Shane Taylor (*** - Episode 265)

1) Matt Taven/Vinny Marseglia/TK O’Ryan vs Adam Cole/Young Bucks (*** - Episode 268)