McXal's Reviews

Ring Of Honor is done with any new content for 2016, rounding out the year with a thoroughly decent post-Final Battle wrap-up episode last week and throwing a spotlight onto the turbulent World Title picture as we move into 2017. They end with a couple of clip-show episodes, but to give ROH credit both weeks have different themes and aren't generic highlight reel fluff pieces. Tonight is a Road Rage episode, taking in the best of the action from the Reach For The Sky Tour. They were great shows, and plenty will be left on the cutting room floor I'm sure - but we will see both TV Title changes (Fish to Ospreay in Liverpool, then Ospreay to Scurll in London) in some form. I believe the epic Bucks vs Ospreay/Scurll Tag Title Match from Leicester is included too. I'm a fan of the format, as it takes some of the best bits from all three events (whilst holding plenty back, including the spectacular Cole/Lethal World Title Match, for VOD/DVD purchases)...but makes sure Ring Of Honor's two big name British recruits are immediately given a spotlight to the television audience. Kevin Kelly is in the studio acting as host - but he was also at the events with Steve Corino and Nigel McGuinness...

The Aerial Assassin's reputation was such that he was granted a Proving Ground Match against TV Champion Bobby Fish for his debut. But that wasn't enough, having reportedly got into a war of words with Fish on Twitter, Ospreay managed to talk his way into a title shot on his first night in the company. Bobby has been a commanding TV Champion since choking Tomohiro Ishii out at Global Wars. He has beaten all manner of opponents, from all over the world, with multiple different methods of scoring a victory. Will he repeat that again here in Liverpool, or will he regret letting Will talk his way into the belt being put on the line?

Fish has been around a long time, and it's no surprise that he wants a grounded match and is trying to apply a cross armbreaker as early as the first minute. But Will is a special athlete, and he demonstrates that with some ludicrously athletic and exciting counters - actually driving Fish out of the ring when he'd been on offence just seconds earlier. Bobby's brash and confident persona is as much part of his act as his wrestling skill, and his pride is hurt by Will's skill and confidence. The vocal British fans loudly chant in support of Fish - meaning we have a strange break in the action for chants, dances and physical posturing...which actually makes perfect sense given the characters of the respective individuals and doesn't feel as frivolous as you may suspect. Also 'Ospreay's on fire, Bobby Fish is terrified' to the tune of Gala's 'Freed From Desire' is an exceptional chant! Will's confidence is visibly unsettling the champ, forcing him into action. He dodges the Cheeky Nando's Kick and goes right after Ospreay's legs...before mounting the challenger and straight-up beating the sh*t out of him with elbows. He hits a slingshot senton across the leg, leaving Ospreay writhing in pain. In just a couple of minutes the smiles, dances and athleticism of the challenger are gone and the champion is in total control. Ospreay CARTWHEELS over an attempted kick to the legs from the apron...then SHOOTING STARS TO THE FLOOR! Fish dodges, causing Will to land on his feet, blowing out his knee again! The incredible exchange ends with Bobby steamrolling his opponent into the guardrails with a spear. If you want an indication of much of an impression Ospreay has made - Bobby retreats to the ring and sits there desperately hoping for a count-out win. A bruised and battered Ospreay barely beats the count! He tries to quicken the pace, limping heavily but still delivering Pip Pip Cheerio then a standing corkscrew SSP senton for 2. HANDSPRING MOONSAULT OVER THE ROPES TO THE FLOOR! And he's still selling the knee too! He is too slow trying to follow up with another top rope move, allowing Fish to catch him on the turnbuckles. A kick to the leg causes him to flip through the air before crumbling to the floor. Falcon Arrow COUNTERED TO A MODIFIED OSCUTTER! Red Star Press! PHOENIX SPLASH BLOCKED by Bobby's knees in his ribs though. Fish leaves him crumpled on the ground again with a dragon screw. Fish tries to finish it with the avalanche Falcon Arrow but it's COUNTERED to the Cheeky Nandos! HANDSPRING PELE KICK COUNTERED TO THE FISH HOOK DELUXE! OSPREAY COUNTERS BACK WITH A BRIDGING PIN! OSPREAY WINS! In a stunning upset, Will Ospreay has become TV Champion in his ROH debut match! 14:51 is your time.

Rating - **** - Making the long, late night drive back from Liverpool after the show, this was the match that had me buzzing. Two years later watching back on DVD it was every bit as special as I remembered. The script wrote itself and was expertly delivered - Fish works the legs to stop Ospreay flying and diving like a maniac. And that content was predictably superb, but it was the character work and selling which I really liked. So much of Fish's act is based around his big, brash, cocky, loudmouth persona. He acts like a dick, he talks to the fans, he cracks jokes with the commentators. But here he had to face off with someone who was every bit as confident as cocky as he was. Fish would pose and play to the crowd...but would be confronted by Will doing a crazy, flippy, spectacular move then putting it over with a dance, a token moonsault, a wink or a smile. Bobby didn't like it one bit, and the venom he then brought out on offence was a thing to behold.. When he threw strikes at the challenger he made sure they stuck. A quite brilliant match, a complete show-stealer on the night in Liverpool...and an immediate example just how damn good Ospreay is.

This was, like Ospreay's match in Liverpool with Bobby Fish, originally scheduled to be a non-title affair. But the Bucks are up for a challenge, and demand to defend the belts at least once on this tour. It's a bold move, as they will have seen first hand how the Aerial Assassin shocked everyone to become TV Champion last night. Marty was victorious in his debut match as well, looking very impressive in his win over Dalton Castle. The question here is how will Ospreay and Scurll work together as a team. They have had lengthy rivalries in other promotions, and were due to face each other in London the following evening. Can they keep it together, spring another upset and leave with the gold (or more gold in Ospreay's case)?

Scurll starts for the British team, in a brilliant exchange of counters and near-misses with Matt, which ends with them poking each other in the eyes. Will tags in next and is actually too quick for even Nick Jackson - flipping multiple times before eventually dropkicking him out of the ring. The Bucks leave the ring absolutely seething that the Englishmen are embarrassing them. Scurll and Ospreay start isolating Matt using an effective combination of Ospreay's speed coupled with Marty's technical prowess and villainy. MOONSAULT off the apron by Nick, having left Marty spread-eagled inside the ring with the slingshot X-Factor. RISE OF THE TERMINATOR tope suicidas nailed! Back inside they floor Will again with a completely effortless pop-up flying headscissors spot, leaving him on the ground whilst they start roughing up The Villain. There is a fun little dynamic in play too whereby Matt seems to take pleasure in trying to out-cheat Marty. Scurll tries to fire back with the dangerous, in the ropes body slam...but turns to find no partner in his corner because Matt is on the other side of the ring giving Ospreay an APRON BOMB! The TV Champion does finally get a tag - but his 'house of fire' act is already visibly slowed thanks to the damage he suffered just waiting to re-enter the match. It doesn't stop him landing the HANDSPRING PELE KICK, then the flipping neckbreaker on Nick for 2. HANDSPRING MOONSAULT OVER HIS PARTNER TO THE FLOOR by Ospreay! And he returns with a Red Star Press off Marty's back to flatten Matt! DOUBLE Just Kidding kicks by the challengers, into a brutal strike flurry which almost brings them victory. Chickenwing COUNTERED a Superkick! REVERSE RANA from Ospreay to Matt! TUMBLING SUPER RANA ON NICK! PELE KICK COUNTERED WITH A DOUBLE SUPERKICK! DOUBLE SUPERKICK ON MARTY! NO SOLD! DOUBLE LARIATOOOOOO! 

All four men collapse with cartoon creatures spinning around their heads! Cheeky Nando's Kick to Matt in the corner, before Will just puts his head down and charges with a CORKSCREW PLANCHA OVER THE TURNBUCKLE TO THE FLOOR! ESSEX DESTROYERS BY SCURLL AND OSPREAY! CHICKENWING LOCKED IN! NICK SAVES! Matt recovers to pull Ospreay out of the ring, on his shoulders and into position for a Doomsday Superkick from the apron! SPRINGBOARD DDT FROM THE APRON TO THE FLOOR from Matt to Scurll! Followed by a f*cking 450 Splash - basically a transition move amongst this chaos - for 2. The Bucks are trying to obliterate Marty...SPRINGBOARD ELBOW BY OSPREAY TO BLOCK THE MELTZER DRIVER! TOMBSTONE BY SCURLL! PHOENIX SPLASH BY WILL! STILL 2! All four men look like they are half dead...and when the Bucks start telling The Villain to 'suck it' yet again, he simply grabs their hands and snaps their f*cking fingers. DOUBLE SUPERKICK WIPES OUT TODD SINCLAIR! LOW BLOW BY THE VILLAIN! Scurll seizes the opportunity to bring his umbrella into the ring...but is prevented from using it by Ospreay, who wants them to fight with honour! Marty wants Will to use the umbrella...and so the the fans! OSPREAY ACCIDENTALLY WAFFLES MARTY! EARLY ONSET ALZHEIMERS! MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK! WILL SAVES! MELTZER DRIVER...OSPREAY SAVES WITH A SPRINGBOARD SUPER RANA...BUT NICK F*CKING SOMERSAULTS THROUGH THAT BACK INTO THE MELTZER DRIVER! ARE YOU SERIOUS!? BUCKS WIN! BUCKS WIN! They retain the belts in a totally insane 21:56

Rating - ****1/2 - From the very opening bell - when Marty and Matt went hell for leather in a terrific opening near-miss sequence - to the completely crazy, couldn't believe your eyes finish this was an absolute joy to watch (and a privilege to have been in the building live to witness). It kept escalating, it kept building, and somehow they kept topping what had gone before. As whacky, wild and unpredictable as the Young Bucks are, in Will Ospreay they had an opponent who is even more gifted as a no-limits, high-flying daredevil. Some of the best moments in this match were when the Bucks would do one of their usual crowd-popping stunts...only to turn round to find Ospreay topping it instantly. This style of match isn't necessarily Marty's wheelhouse, but the presentation of his Villain character blended perfectly well into it. He and Matt having 'villain-off' mini-exchanges was so fun, and the brilliant sequence where he tried (and succeeded) in corrupting the honourable Ospreay into using a weapon, only to have it bite him on the ass and eat his own umbrella was, in it's own way, as exciting as any of the flashy moves.

Both Marty and Will debuted in Liverpool, on Night One of the tour. Together they went to Leicester to challenge the Young Bucks for the Tag Titles in the spectacular MOTYC we just witnessed...but at the end of it the friction between Will and Marty wound up costing them the belts. They were already booked to face each other for this show, and Marty successfully convinced Will to put his belt on the line. We couldn't see a second title change on the tour...could we?

With the big Cary-tron screen behind him, Marty's entrance is extremely cool. The crowd is INTENSE for this too. Marty goes straight to the mat, knowing full well that if Ospreay gets moving and gets in the air he will dominate. Will's response is quite brilliant though - gradually luring and tricking The Villain into working faster and faster...until finally the champ pops off the ground with a nip-up rana, right into a rebound lucha armdrag. CRAZY near-miss counter sequence comes next, with each man throwing kicks and counters at breakneck speed. The crowd is so deafening that they are actually drowning out the commentary - which isn't a bad thing. Will cartwheels over Scurll sending him to the floor, and in one fluid motion flies at him with an SSP OFF THE APRON! The Villain actually hides under the ring to curtail Ospreay's momentum - popping up on the other side to deck him with a lariat on the floor. Ospreay tries to come back with a dive off the guardrail...only for the villainous Marty to hide behind Todd Sinclair then ROCKET LAUNCHER him from the railing to the ringpost! Next he bashes Ospreay's head and neck into the guardrails, sending him back into the ring significantly slower than when he left it. Inside the ropes Scurll is quietly ruthless in how precise his attack is; maintaining a dual focus on both the arm and neck (i.e. the two targets of the Chickenwing). Will tries a handspring Pele...and when Scurll ducks that he simply hits the ropes for a handspring corkscrew enzi instead. 

German suplex by Ospreay, leaving Scurll reeling and in position for the springboard elbow smash. 

Scurll tries to punish the neck again with a superplex, Ospreay tries to counter into Cheeky Nando's, only for Marty to attempt to counter back into the finger snap...COUNTERED BACK TO CHEEKY NANDO'S! Strike flurry by Scurll, followed by the dangerous body slam in the ropes, right into a butterfly suplex for 2. Chickenwing COUNTERED with a Pele Kick! ROPE RUN SPRINGBOARD SHOOTING STAR PRESS UP THE AISLE BY OSPREAY! He tries to jump off the ropes again, but this time Scurll cuts him off with a superplex, grabbing the bad neck and arm in the process. Marty hangs on...into the FALCON ARROW CHICKENWING! Ospreay makes the ropes! He tries to roll out of the ring for some respite - and doesn't see Scurll towering over him with repeated head kicks from the apron. But Will no sells...and marches back inside to trade strikes with The Villain! Jawbreaker Lariat by Marty...ducked into a corkscrew enzi from Ospreay. The champ appears to set up for a version of the Rainmaker...COUNTERED TO THE FINGER BREAK! Falcon Arrow Chickenwing countered into a stunner. ROLLING RED STAR PRESSES! SPRINGBOARD CORKSCREW PHOENIX SPLASH! But Ospreay wants another dive! He springboards...INTO SCURLL'S CHICKENWING! LARIATOOOOO! ONE COUNT OF DISRESPECT BY WILL! ESSEX DESTROYER ON WILL! The Villain snaps, bringing his umbrella in as a weapon as he's done every night of the tour. Ospreay tries to goad him into using it by swearing at him...SO MARTY BREAKS HIS FINGERS! UNPROTECTED STOMPS TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD! CHIKENWING LOCKED IN! OSPREAY TAPS! LONG LIVE THE VILLAIN! We have a(nother) new Television Champion! Marty takes the belt at 21:29

Rating - ****1/2 - Ospreay wanted to take to the sky and work at top speed...whilst Marty at every turn found ways to slow him down, counter his signature spots all the whilst subtly attacking his head and neck. The last five minutes of this were utterly gripping, had everyone on the edge of their seats, and led to an unprecedented situation whereby we've now seen the TV Title change hands twice in a single weekend...between two British wrestlers who have never even appeared on ROH television. And a word for the London fans - who made this match special and memorable. From the second the two athletes stepped through the curtain they made this seem like a huge deal

Tape Rating - N/A - It wouldn't be fair of me to rate this as an episode as I reviewed all the shows separately. However, for a Road Rage episode and for a festive filler show, this was a lot of fun. The matches were effectively condensed down for TV, Ospreay and Scurll got to look like stars and it made the entire tour look like a great weekend of wrestling.