McXal's Reviews

All eyes are on the main event this evening, as the winners of the 'Vegas Wildcard' 8-man tag at the last set of TV tapings now progress to a four-way match to determine a new #1 contender to the World Title. Matt Sydal follows up his shock return last week with his first ROH match in circa one year and we also have The Kingdom in tag action. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana are in Baltimore, MD.

C2C have new generic stompy rock music but, as I've said a couple of times, I'm looking forward to seeing more of them. They've impressed me with their athletic brand of tag team wrestling and have seemed ready for more opportunities from what I've seen. The Kingdom are searching for purpose after the shocking events of the 15th Anniversary. On that night TK O'Ryan broke his leg, starting a chain of events which saw them lose the Six-Man Tag Titles, then fall to another loss to Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser in tag action at Supercard Of Honor 11. They'll feel like they need to start their career rebound tonight...

O'Ryan distracts C2C with his crutch, turning their heads so Taven and Marseglia can mug them. Fluent double-teams from C2C halt that quickly, and Shaheem hits a SOMERSAULT PLANCHA! Corkscrew pescado nailed soon after by St. Giovanni. Back from commercials and it is clear than Taven is trying to slow the pace...but just can't get a grip on LSG who batters him with a tumbling lariat. He tries to set up the Van Terminator, but Matt blocks with a MID-AIR SUPERKICK! Red Rum nailed by Vinny, winning the match for his team...except that he stops the ref from counting the pin. Taven sends a message to Chris Daniels by hitting Angel's Wings. Now he wins at 03:38 (shown).

Rating - ** - A pretty regulation squash victory for The Kingdom, but the highlight of the match for me were the brief flashes of offence C2C were once again able to contribute. Ali comes off as such a natural athlete and whilst LSG is a little smaller, the precision and attack with which he executes his high-flying moveset is impressive.

New ROH Tag Champions the Young Bucks emerge to a thunderous ovation. They celebrate getting their belts back in Florida and, like Marty Scurll last week, proclaim that there is nobody left for them to beat. Next week they are issuing an open challenge to anyone brave enough to accept it. Mike Mondo and Kenny Doane - in full Spirit Squad garb - interrupt and immediately accept the invitation. SUPERKICKS! The Spirit Squad are down! 

NEXT WEEK - Young Bucks vs Spirit Squad is confirmed. Oh boy...

'Reborn' came out of the woodwork last week for a shock return to ROH. It was something of a surprise as he'd not been seen in months due to a combination of injury and legal issues which led to a brief period of incarceration in Japan. He is very much still out with New Japan too, which makes his appearance even more surprising. ROH officials have granted him a TV Title shot during the War Of The Worlds Tour so he will use this match to get back into ROH ring-shape one presumes. His opponent is obviously familiar. I believe this is the on-screen in-ring debut of Flip...

Cabana points out that Sydal had plenty of time 'sitting by himself' to evaluate his priorities during his time away. Sydal is a veteran and quickly works out that a guy called 'Flip' won't like being slowed down and held in submission holds. Gordon has a counter for everything Sydal tries, but is powerfully taken down with a spinning heel kick. SPRINGBOARD Sling Blade by Flip, followed by a picture-perfect Pele Kick. He climbs the ropes but Matt is on his feet before Gordon can bust out the 450 Splash. Standing moonsault from Sydal for 2. Here It Is Driver blocked...only for Sydal to land the jumping knee smash. Sydal Press COUNTERED with the Kinder Surprise for 2. SYDAL PRESS second time around! Matt wins at 05:45

Rating - *** - Sydal's return to ROH was only brief as he opted to pursue an offer from TNA/Impact instead. Therefore against that backdrop and writing in hindsight two years later, I thought this was a really good match. Sydal's return to ROH was insignificant, so finding the time for him to help Flip to a seriously impressive TV debut was a brave, bold and justifiable decision. Of course having Sydal work such an even match with a newcomer intensely harms his credibility as a title challenger to Marty - but in isolation I thought the action was great and it was an extremely effective debut for Flip.

Marty Scurll runs out and tries to put Sydal in the Chickenwing...only to get knocked out with a kick. Reborn is coming for the belt in New York!

Ian Riccaboni comes onto the stage to interview Adam Cole. He addresses the status of Bullet Club and the SuperKliq and once again admits that he made a mistake by trying to 'fire' the Young Bucks. He plans to use his match next week (teaming with Cody against Christopher Daniels and Dalton Castle) to demonstrate Bullet Club's continued unity and cohesion.

This is being fought under Tornado rules apparently, meaning all four men can legally occupy the ring at the same time in pursuit of being crowned #1 contender for the ROH World Title. Lethal is arguably the favourite given his championship pedigree, and will be desperate for a route back to another title shot. He has had issues with Silas in the past, and of course has a burning hatred for Bullet Club - which has led to several altercations with the Hangman.

Tornado Rules of course mean everyone starts together, and inevitably this leads to Lethal breaking off and going on the hunt for the Hangman. They seem hellbent on blowing up Todd Sinclair, going for pins at a frantic pace...only breaking so Page and White can hit tandem superkicks on their opponents. White's striking leads to him dominating all three men - piling them all up in the corner for a time. Young counters the Lethal Injection...only for Lethal to block the Killer Combo right back. Silas hits an Ace Crusher to deck the former World Champion. On the other side White ducks the Buckshot Lariat, but is still smashed to the apron with a running lariat instead. Hangman and Lethal fight in the corner until White and Silas break then up. Powerbomb/superplex Tower Of Doom! Lethal and White are up first. The Kiwi peppers the former World Champion with strikes...before Silas violently tosses him out of the ring. Young blasts White with a rebound lariat, leaving him alone with Page. They SPIT AT EACH OTHER grotesquely, firing each other up. Hangman counters the Plunge with a superkick, knocking the Last Real Man to the floor. That leads to Lethal and Young coming to blows on the apron - with Jay BOOTING THE KNEE to knock Silas to the ground. That's significant because Silas worked Lethal's leg hard during their rivalry in late 2016. Tope suicida by White! He's not done - TOP ROPE SOMERSAULT PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR! Lethal Combination gets 2 on White. A hobbling Silas stops Lethal hitting Hail To The King by battering him into the guardrails repeatedly. Buckshot Lariat by Page! Rite Of Passage blocked...Killer Combo nailed! PLUNGE on White gets 2. Lethal kicks at Silas' leg again, setting him up for the LETHAL INJECTION! Lethal advances to the title shot in the Hammerstein Ballroom, winning the match in a time of 12:58 (shown).

Rating - **** - A bumped up and generous (because they did it on free TV) 4* rating for sure, but I thought this was great television. The pace was relentless, the structure was really smart, all four guys got a chance to shine and I loved the idea that Lethal would beat Silas using the same strategy that the Last Real Man used against him in 2016. If I am being brutally honest Lethal was probably my least preferred victor (since he's been in the title picture so heavily for so long). I felt all of the other three would be fresher as World Title challengers (another White/Daniels match would be most welcome for instance), but given Lethal's history with Bullet Club and Cody it does make sense to slot him into what is now a triple thread title match alongside Daniels and Rhodes.

Lethal celebrates, Daniels raises his belt from the announce table...then Cody appears on the ramp wearing a Chris Daniels shirt. 

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Kushida and Los Ingobernables de Japon are announced for War Of The Worlds 2017...

Tape Rating - *** - The opening tag wasn't noteworthy and the Spirit Squad showing up was just plan odd. But after those two segments this was another decent episode. Although it craps on Sydal as a potential TV Title contender, his little sprint with Flip Gordon on the undercard was an extremely impressive debut for young Flip. Then the main event was essentially a four-man Scramble Match, and given the talent involved they pulled it off easily. Another easily digestible, fast-moving and effective episode from this taping...