McXal's Reviews

We have some some major content lined up for this episode. The advertised main event is a huge one, as Jay Lethal and Jushin 'Thunder' Liger collide in the Decade Of Excellence Tournament. Beneath that we'll also see the ROH farewell of someone who has played a part in this promotion - in multiple roles - since the very first event back in 2002 - in Steve Corino. Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness are in Philadelphia, PA.

The group formerly known as The Cabinet, now known as 'The Rebellion' (King, Titus and Caprice), have repeatedly got into the business of the Motor City Machine Guns and their associates. Rush and White are allies of Shelley in particular, whilst Alex has been vocal putting Dijak over as of late too. We get clips of a few weeks ago on TV when Lio defeated Coleman - but then needed help from White and Dijak when The Rebellion tried to beat him down...

Dijak hilariously boots Coleman in the head to get the match started. Time To Fly sends Titus flying across the ring...and soon after Caprice is barrel tossed clean over the top rope by the rampant Dijak. Rhett smartly decides he'd like to work Rush instead, calling on the assistance of his partners to unleash a series of combo moves which negate Lio's speed. Bless-TO  into the second turnbuckle by Caprice! Lio leaves the ring and hurdles Coleman as he tries to give chase. Hot tag to Jay, who lands a running suplex on King. White calls for a Brainbuster - the calling card of one of Kenny's mentors Austin Aries - which King swiftly counters into a spinebuster. Lio rescuses him with ROLLING Heat Seeking Missiles (another Aries move). STEREO TOP TOPE DIVES TO THE FLOOR BY WHITE AND DIJAK! Coleman counters Feast Your Eyes, then Titus saves him as Dijak sets up the Choke Breaker instead. HALF NELSON SUPLEX from White to Caprice! Choke Breaker from Donovan to Rhett! Jay hits the Urinage, leaving Coleman in position for Lio to hit a DRAGON'S CALL OFF DIJAK'S SHOULDERS! DIJAK-SAULT NAILED! Lio pins Caprice at 06:43 (shown)

Rating - *** - This felt like it rushed by in a total blur. That has its drawbacks but it did mean this never once felt dull or stagnant. We don't have many dates left for Dijak or Lio at all, so it was nice to see them get their sh*t in, and I've already spoken at length about how I rate the individuals within The Rebellion highly - even if the gimmick isn't necessarily the best.

The Rebellion protest the result with a violent beatdown - isolating White for the Royal Flush/Dropkick combo after sending Dijak flying with Shotgun Knees off the apron. They all stand ominously over Lio, but strangely don't hurt him at all before the Motor City Machine Guns make a belated save.

A video package hypes reigning TV Champion Marty Scurll. His 'make room for The Villain' video is amongst the best pre-debut packages ROH has ever used to introduce a new character. He makes his 'live' TV debut next week...

Cody Rhodes enters the 2300 Arena next, to address his controversial actions at Final Battle. He calls ROH 'mediocre' (accurately) and makes fun of the fanbase. Apparently his appearance here is 'contractually obligated' and he urges fans to take a picture and buy some merch because he plans to leave very quickly. Steve Corino interrupts him...with BJ Whitmer, Punishment Martinez and Kevin Sullivan by his side? Kevin Kelly cheers the four of them like a total fangirl. Cody berates Corino for disrespecting Dusty Rhodes back in 1999, and enjoys how time has come full circle to allow him to pay the same disrespect to the 'King Of Old School'. Corino goads Cody and says either he or his brother (Dustin/Goldust) must be 'sacrificed'.

What the f*ck? Obviously I love bringing Cody and Corino together, even for one night only. When they were referencing Steve's ECW work with Dusty, and the irony of time coming around so Cody could reprise it with Steve as the veteran, that promo was f*cking fantastic. But, as with everything else since June 2016...the Kevin Sullivan/BJ Whitmer/Steve Corino crap was completely nonsensical. Kevin Kelly cheering for BJ, Sullivan and Martinez after being so vehemently outspoken against them (even as recently as last week) with no logical explanation was ridiculous. There is no logical explanation for this though. As best I understand it, Cody's appearance has triggered Corino's return to Evil. It's why he isn't on commentary for this taping, and it's why he has returned to Sullivan's side (even with his hated rival BJ Whitmer). They all want to 'sacrifice' Cody Rhodes tonight. Because apparently that bullsh*t makes more sense than treating fans like adults and just having Cody and Corino reprise the Dusty/Corino ECW stuff...

It takes them no time to brawl out to the floor, but smartly Rhodes brings it right back inside with a springboard dropkick where he can make his wrestling prowess, youth and athleticism work for him. He spits water in Steve's face then chops the knee out from under him - a knee which has been operated on multiple times. Dusty-esque Bionic Elbows blocked into a running STO by Corino. It's actually Steve that hits the Dusty Rhodes jab/elbow sequence...setting up the PACKAGE PILEDRIVER! Cody is out, but the goal isn't winning for Corino, it's 'sacrificing' Rhodes. He brings the Golden Spike in, and of course Todd Sinclair immediately acts to remove it. As Corino remonstrates with the official Cody low blows him, setting up the Disaster Kick. Cody wins at 05:39 (shown)

Rating - *** - I'm going generous with my rating on this. I can't stress enough how much I hate the Kevin Sullivan bullsh*t. But, I really liked the intensity of this. Even if they knew the angle was bullsh*t, Corino and Cody were able to channel enough of the Corino/Dusty ECW rivalry into this to override it. His exit feels so sudden, and Corino will be sorely missed (even if his commentary over the last year has been a Kevin Kelly-driven car crash)...but there isn't a more fitting opponent for him to leave ROH with than putting Cody Rhodes over, helping to push a young man who is poised to become one of the most influential professional wrestlers in the world.

Jay Lethal runs in looking to pick a fight with Cody...but Rhodes hops the guardrail and leaves. Jay grabs a microphone and says that at Final Battle Cody's actions proved that he is just 'smoke and mirrors' and that he doesn't belong in Ring Of Honor.

This is the final first round bout in the Decade Of Excellence Tournament, with the winner advancing to face Jay Briscoe in the semi-finals. I'm not entirely sure what ROH are counting as Lethal's debut. He was Hydro in Special K all the way back to 2002, but didn't wrestle under the 'Jay Lethal' moniker officially until 2004 I don't think. Either way, he has an easy ten years plus since his debut. The same can be said for Liger, who debuted at the eponymous 'Weekend Of Thunder' events in 2004. Does the masked puroresu legend have the desire and gas in the tank for a run at the ROH World Title?

Lethal starts impressively and repeatedly takes the veteran off his feet. He dropkicks Liger from the apron to the floor and into prime position for the Tope Trilogy. Liger barely beats the count to get back into the ring...although that may have been a cunning ploy. He springs into life when Lethal climbs the ropes for the Macho Elbow...and drills him with a tilta-whirl backbreaker seconds after. Cannonball senton off the apron nailed, and the tables are entirely turned as now Liger waits inside the ring as Jay struggles to beat the count. Lethal Combination lands once he does return, followed by an inverted Finlay Roll into a Crossface! The NJPW star isn't beaten but is severely injured now and lies slumped on the ground as Jay takes flight for Hail To The King...COUNTERED to a crucifix roll-up! SHOTEI! Frankensteiner nailed for 2! Lethal blocks the Brainbuster, catching him instead with the Lethal Injection. Jay advances at 08:02 (shown)

Rating - *** - It felt like a major wasted opportunity in only giving these guys eight minutes of screen-time, but I can't deny that what we got was good stuff. I don't know how much content was left on the cutting room floor so can't comment on the bout as a live experience, but here I was uncomfortable with how emphatic Lethal's victory was. Liger is a legendary figure and, even if past his best and taking on one of ROH's top stars, shouldn't be reduced to elongated squash matches on television. Liger was GREAT at being squashed, putting his opponent over and still getting his stuff in obviously...but that's not what I'd prefer to see Liger on television doing.

Tape Rating - *** - This episode had a lot of shortcomings, but at least the wrestling was decent (if wholly rushed and unsatisfactorily abrupt). Ruining what could've been an awesome Cody/Corino interaction with Kevin Sullivan and BJ Whitmer sucked. Chucking in video packages to both kill the flow of, and take time away from, the main event sucked too. I still think this is an easy show to watch though, based entirely on the strength of the wrestling and the greatness of the Cody/Corino mic-work (when it didn't involve Sullivan)...