McXal's Reviews

This episode marks the welcome return of the 'Women Of Honor Special' concept - something I think ROH should use a whole lot more often. The main event sees the undefeated Kelly Klein face one of her biggest rivals in Deonna Purrazzo and one of the new class of WOH star - Karen Q. STARDOM's Kris Wolf was at this taping too, and she faces veteran Sumie Sakai in our opener. We'll also get something of a 'competitive rivalry' match between Mandy Leon and Jenny Rose too. Ian Riccaboni and Joe Koff (are you serious!?) provide commentary from Lowell, MA.

At Best In The World (albeit the dark matches thereof) Sakai and Wolf teamed up to defeat Mandy Leon and Deonna Purrazzo, but now turn to face each other in a televised setting. Their backgrounds are somewhat unique; Wolf is an American who has spent the majority of her career working in Japan, whilst Sakai is a Japanese athlete who has spent much of her career working and living in the United States. 

The bell rings and these two just tear into each other. Lots of screaming, lots of aggression, lots of physicality - just what is needed to get a quiet crowd into the action. Sakai hits a jawbreaker to prevent the rapid Wolf building up any momentum. The veteran tries to roll outside but Kris gives chase with a headscissors to the floor. She misses the diving double knee drop back in though, allowing Sumie a chance to slap on a cross armbreaker; slowing it right back down. Kris sells the ill-effects on the arm, and we start to see an aggressive edge to Sakai's game. She is slow to release the hold, sarcastically ties Kris in the apron and 'spanks' her...then NAILS a missile dropkick. She stands disrespectfully on Wolf too, but then MISSES a moonsault. A fisherman buster puts her back on track though, and she starts dragging the STARDOM star around by the hair. Wolf quickens the pace, keeps going for flash pins and finally scores a three-count to beat Sumie at 07:00

Rating - ** - You would think that, by bringing in a champion of one of the premier female wrestling promotions in the world ROH would want to showcase her. But strangely, even though she lost this match felt like it was all about putting Sakai over. It shone a spotlight on the wily, grizzled, aggressive veteran side of her arsenal - and I really liked that. This wasn't necessarily the match I wanted to see, and felt a little like a waste of Kris Wolf - BUT, I constantly moan when NJPW guys come over, don't sell anything for the ROH talent, then leave. At least here we were seeing an 'outsider' used to put over someone on the core roster. They could've shaved a couple of minutes off and lost nothing though.

Silas Young invades the Women Of Honor Special to mark our card and remind everyone that it is now 36 days since Jay Lethal was last seen.

A brief video package helpfully summarises the history between these two women. Both graduates of the ROH wrestling school, Mandy looked up to Jenny (who trained there well before her) and thinks of her as an older 'Dojo sister' who helped her get into wrestling, booked in Japan etc. But she accidentally punched Jenny in the face when trying to save her from being attacked with a chair by Kelly Klein (presumably during a Women Of Honor Wednesday bout) sparking some ill-feeling between these two friends. Tonight they settle it in the ring...

They try to come out of the gate at a brisk pace and battle to a stalemate, albeit with some ropey execution along the way. Rose puts the squeeze on Mandy in the ropes...only for Leon to hit back with a knee strike/neck snap combo for 2. She has fun pulling Jenny's hair, causing her 'older sister' to storm off and leave the ring. Cannonball senton off the apron scores for the Exotic Goddess. 'She's a self-promoter' - Koff of Leon. Jenny is pissed and gives her protege a DDT on the floor. When we return from a commercial break we see Rose stomping on the back and neck - and also getting some payback for earlier by pulling Mandy's hair. She spots Leon going for a satellite headscissors as well; using her veteran instinct to counter into a spinning sidewalk slam. Diving lariat off the second rope nailed, only for Leon to fight back with an Unprettier. Mexican surfboard by Jenny, followed by repeated kicks to the back and neck. Electric chair suplex wins it for Rose at 07:09

Rating - ** - I've taken some criticism for being a supporter of the likes of Mandy Leon and Kelly Klein. But, as I've stated previously, I don't think they are bad talents at all. The issue they have is that they don't have any better wrestlers to work with and learn from. Jenny Rose is supposed to be one of those 'veterans' in Women Of Honor, but she just isn't good enough. Her execution is always poor, to the extent that I can't think of a single offensive move she delivered in this match which didn't look horrendously fake. How is Mandy - with just three years in the business - supposed to get better when this is what she gets to work with? To both women's credit however, they told a strong story in this match. Even if the wrestling wasn't of the highest order, they had a simple and relatable plot which worked well. It very much felt like a tense friendship falling apart before our eyes, with the action continually escalating and both women selling the story well. 

Mandy and Jenny shake hands and hug after the match...

INSIDE ROH - Ian Riccaboni shows us footage of the Briscoes and Bully Ray after their loss to Bullet Club on Episode 304. Mark tries to calm an irate Jay down, but Bubba admonishes him for another loss. Next we see footage of Shane Taylor ruining a Future Of Honor YouTube match by destroying one of the competitors during his entrance. Kenny King has some interview time too. He says he is 'stepping out on his own' and coming for the TV Title - in two weeks time.

Technically Klein is no longer undefeated in Women Of Honor competition, although as nobody has pinned or submitted her you could argue her streak remains intact. But in 2017 she has started to unravel. BJ Whitmer is no longer around. She tapped out to Deonna at Supercard Of Honor (albeit unseen by the referee), struggled to beat Jenny Rose in Philadelphia, and lost her undefeated record to Karen Q via a controversial count-out decision in Karen's WOH debut. Purrazzo's appearance had a big part to play in that decision too. It means everyone has something at stake here. Klein wants to re-establish her dominance. Deonna wants to prove herself to be the best competitor in the Women Of Honor division. Q is here to prove that she didn't need Deonna and is capable of beating the top stars in Women Of Honor by herself.

Purrazzo and Q are apparently friends and they waste no time teaming up to attack Klein. They hit a handspring elbow combo in the corner and knock 'the Gatekeeper' to the floor. Kelly refuses to re-enter prompting the two friends to work each other over. Kelly brains Deonna against the apron...so Karen MAULS her with a diving dropkick through the ropes! TOP ROPE CROSSBODY TO THE FLOOR! Back inside Karen lands a standing moonsault on Kelly for 2. Eventually Klein has seen enough of the high-flying theatrics from Q - laying her out with an emphatic powerbomb. Joe Koff is on commentary shilling the ROH Dojo and training camps because money. Purrazzo returns to the fray before Klein is able to pin Q...only for the impressive Kelly to deck them both with a double 'Klein-line'. Jumping DDT decks Deonna, quickly followed by a running knee to the neck for 2. Codebreaker on Karen, momentarily turning her back on Deonna...who duly capitalises with a German suplex. Kelly goes for the northern lights that she beat Purrazzo with in Lakeland - but this time Karen Q is on hand to break it. K-Power blocked by Q...so Kelly KICKS HER IN THE FACE! Klein uses knee strikes to block Deonna's Fujiwara armbar - hitting them so aggressively that Purrazzo collapses. Karen sprints in, boots Kelly to the floor and grabs an opportunistic pin on Deonna to win at 07:55 (shown).

Rating - *** - Probably a little generous, but I thought there was plenty to enjoy here. Karen Q was a real spitfire in her TV debut. Purrazzo has to be one of the fastest-improving workers (male or female) anywhere in wrestling right now. And Kelly, whilst limited, held up her end of the deal as a rugged, physical athlete too. It really isn't a surprise that Deonna and Karen both got WWE NXT deals. They looked on another level, talent-wise, to some of the WOH roster.

Deonna walks out on Karen Q without shaking hands...

NEXT WEEK - Cody vs Daniels II, 2/3 Falls with the World Title on the line...

Tape Rating - ** - Are these Women Of Honor specials the best hours of ROH television? Probably not - but if they are serious about developing a women's division it is so important they give the female athletes real credibility and give them televised exposure rather than just hiding them away in dark matches for YouTube. None of the matches we got this evening were outstanding - but all seven women busted their asses. Kris Wolf, Karen Q and Deonna Purrazzo are all very well-respected female workers. Kelly Klein is perfectly serviceable in her role. Mandy Leon is, in my view, limited but under-rated for how little experience she actually has. Slowly the WOH roster is starting to improve in quality - and they need more shows like this to keep getting better.