McXal's Reviews

I don't know if I haven't been paying attention, but I can't recall much being announced for this episode on the preceding broadcasts. A quick glance at Cagematch.net's results archive tells me it could be a rather interesting week though. Adam Page 'returns'...for the first time since his big 'return' last week, having not actually gone anywhere other than NJPW with a load of other ROH talent. Perhaps of more interest, it will be the first time we see Bobby Fish since Kyle O'Reilly lost the World Title and left ROH forever. Kevin Kelly is in Atlanta, GA with Mark Briscoe as his guest on commentary this week.

The only real claim to fame Sells has in his ROH career to date is that BJ Whitmer used him in an angle because he remotely resembles Steve Corino. He has been able to get his face on television because he's a good boy and lines Sinclair's wallet by turning up to training camps...and he will be staring at the lights again this evening. Hangman needs to make a convincing victory to back up the impact he made with his first appearance on ROH television of 2017 last week.

Sells is suckerpunched by Page and booted so hard he falls through the ropes out of the ring. Buckshot Lariat takes his head off, setting him up for the Rite Of Passage. Hangman wins at 01:15

Rating - N/A - This was exactly what it needed to be. They didn't f*ck around, they didn't waste our time, and they didn't give us any bullsh*t 'give the jobber a token sequence on offence'. We were here to see Page crush the enhancement talent, and that is what we got. Cue ROH starting to rebuild Hangman Page for another year...so they can job him out in a big money match and send him packing back to the midcard for the hundredth time.

The Young Bucks join Page, soon followed by Cody Rhodes and Adam Cole. I presume Cody's promo went on too long as it is very obviously clipped up and edited to pieces. He calls out Jay Lethal and spits in his face - drawing him into the ring for a five-on-one mugging. Bobby Fish runs in and takes a beating too. In come Alex Shelley, Jay White and Lio Rush as well - meaning there are bodies flying all over ringside. When we return from commercials it is clear that our main event is happening right now!

There are a lot of questions to be answered here. Cody makes his first ROH appearance as part of Bullet Club - how will he gel as a team with World Champion Adam Cole? Speaking of the World Title, we know all about the history between Cole and Lethal over the belt. And what of Bobby Fish? His Survival Of The Fittest 2016 victory means he is technically the #1 contender. But what frame of mind is he in having to now fly solo in ROH for the first time? Is he pissed off at Cole for taking the World Title back from his reDRagon partner Kyle O'Reilly, driving Kyle into exile? Can Jay Lethal, who we know has a short temper that can cause him to make mistakes in matches, maintain his focus and control his desire to get payback on Cody for his chicanery at Final Battle? Our main event is starting early, so we'll find out all the answers right now...

Cody and Cole didn't want any part of this match and struggle from the opening bell. Cole tries to run away, luring Bobby into a trap with Rhodes distracting so the champ can level the #1 contender with a superkick. Bullet Club isolate Fish, who is unusually sombre and stoic as he does his best to hang in the contest. Cody and Cole put the boots to him for a prolonged period...until Fish ducks the Panama Sunrise and hits a turnbuckle exploder out of desperation. He gets a hot tag to Lethal, bringing him together for another showdown with Rhodes. Ace Crusher decks him, followed by the Lethal Injection on Cole - who isn't the legal man! Todd Sinclair refuses to count the pin, but does have to count moments later when Fish levels Cody with a Samoan drop. Lethal Combination on Cole...only for Jay to stand up right into a violent lariat from Cody. All four men are on their knees but still swinging punches at each other. Lethal saves Bobby from Cross Rhodes then dives at Cody on the outside with a tope suicida. Meanwhile inside the ring Cole hurls abuse at Fish...who slaps him into the Fish Hook Deluxe! Cole taps! With Cody and Lethal still brawling on the floor, the #1 contender to the World Title just tapped out the champ at 11:10 (shown).

Rating - ** - I don't think this was ambitious or groundbreaking, but it was decent enough. The last few minutes were really fun, and I thought the subtle change in character for Bobby Fish is an interesting one. I hope ROH don't spend every second on the Decade Of Excellence and do explore the unique chemistry Bobby now has as a challenger to Adam Cole after O'Reilly's departure. This match wasn't helped by the fact that it had to pause for two commercial breaks in quick succession. I understand this is corporate America, I understand there are bills to pay and so on - but the cuts in the action felt particularly damaging in this one. For all the criticism ROH on HDNet got, the fact that the in-ring stuff was significantly less impacted by ad breaks was a major plus-point.

In the locker room Dalton Castle and The Boys celebrate being bumped up to the main event. Dalton ensures his 'main event Boys' are pumped!

NEXT WEEK - Jay Briscoe vs Christopher Daniels in the finals of the Decade Of Excellence Tournament, with an ROH World Title shot at stake. Mark Briscoe and Frankie Kazarian give their thoughts on the match. Both are afraid of the consequences of their partner losing in the final - though Frankie does a considerably better job of expressing it.

Kevin Kelly tries to get Mark's thoughts on Bucks vs Hardyz at Supercard Of Honor as well, but Mark leaves because he decides he'd rather wrestle...

I'm not motivated enough to go back and check when we last saw former ROH Tag Champion Sal Rinauro, but I'm certain we are talking years. At this point in 2017 he looks like a rather husky lovechild of Jack Evans and Spanky. The guy has pretty much been an enhancement talent whenever he has gotten an ROH booking (outside of his ill-fated Tag Title in with Serious Tony). It means he is an old pro and a dab hand at making his opponents look good though. 

Mike 'P-Dog' Posey is the referee for this, and watches on as Mark almost decapitates Sal with a blockbuster off the apron. Kevin Kelly at least acknowledges that Sal has been an ROH Tag Champion in the past. He lands a Sayama flip kick out of the corner then a Michinoku Driver - getting a hot nearfall and a huge pop from the crowd. Mark puts him on his neck with an urinage and finishes it with the Fisherman Buster/Froggy Bow combo at 02:59

Rating - N/A - As I said in my intro paragraph, Sal is extremely experienced in the art of making his opponent look strong. He hasn't lost that, and bumped wildly to sell all of Mark's offence like a champ. Every time Sal is mentioned by any wrestler, on any podcast/shoot interview, it is always with respect and affection. Clearly the fans feel some of that affection too, as the pop he for got his nearfall spot on Mark was a lovely moment.

Bobby Fish gets a pre-taped interview slot to talk about his ROH future. He eulogises over the success of reDRagon as a team, which he claims would have been even greater were it not for their mutual desire to win singles championships. He thinks the TV Title is a secondary title once again now he no longer holds it (this is the first time he has spoken since losing that belt in the UK)...

Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser gatecrash commentary for our rescheduled main event tonight. They continue to tease finding a third partner to join them and pursue the Six-Man Titles...

The Rebellion are still around. I say that, because it isn't entirely clear what they are doing, or what their goals are. Hokey though it was, at least before they morphed into The Rebellion they had the whole 'make wrestling great again' thing. Now they are just angry dudes, dressed in dark clothes with no mission statement doing generic heel things and dishing out generic heel beat-downs on assorted babyfaces. They did have a decent run in the tournament to crown the first Six-Man Tag Champions though. Every one of these trios matches now takes on far greater significance as they will start determining rankings and pecking orders to get title shots at the trios belts - currently held by Matt Taven's Kingdom. Dalton and The Boys made it clear last week that they wanted a shot, only for Colt Cabana to attack Castle before they could make it to the ring to fight Taven, O'Ryan and Marseglia.

King makes fun of Dalton and is swiftly dumped on his ass by the latter's amateur grappling. Titus suffers a similar fate, with Dalton then standing in position for one of the Boys to leapfrog over him into a double stomp! King hits a corkscrew enzi to knock the other Boy out of the sky as he attempts a springboard. Colt Cabana struts down the aisle after that, bringing out more beer and using it to convince Bruiser to let him take his spot on commentary. The Rebellion have some fun isolating the fallen Boy...until said Boy counters a King suplex attempt into a DDT. Hot tag to Castle who hits all three opponents with German suplexes. Caprice blocks Bang-A-Rang, feeding him into the Titus dropkick. The Boys counter the One Night Stand, and Dalton gets 2 with an Everest German on Rhett. Sky Splitter/Big Dawg Splash combo finishes one of the Boys (who I really don't think was legal) in a time of 07:30 (shown).

Rating - ** - This certainly wasn't a bad match, but in truth I found Cabana and Silas on commentary significantly more entertaining than the action inside the ropes. The Boys are sort of fun to watch with their shrieks and high-flying, but not being able to tell them apart makes following the flow of their matches challenging. The Rebellion are talented performers, but need some direction very quickly. I'm not sure a heel vs heel title match with The Kingdom would be my first choice...

...but that seems to be where we are heading as The Kingdom step onto the stage to survey the scene and applaud the victors.

Tape Rating - ** - Once again this felt more like a functional episode than a memorable or enjoyable standalone show. Cody and the Bullet Club meant the show had a hot start, but inside the ropes didn't deliver anything worth going out of your way to see. The main event was fine but instantly forgettable. I did like where they are going with Bobby Fish at least. He may well be running down his contract, but he has more dates left to fulfil and it seems like they are least going to take him in an interesting direction. It is curious why ROH are refusing to state on camera why Kyle O'Reilly is now gone though...