McXal's Reviews

Onwards into 2018 we go, following the post-Final Battle 2017 TV taping which produced the best/most consistent set of episodes ROH have put out for some time. These shows will start to set the table for a raft of major events in the new calendar year with the 16th Anniversary Show in Las Vegas and Supercard Of Honor 12 in New Orleans both looming on the horizon. This week we'll see a grudge match between Matt Taven and Cody, after the leader of The Kingdom kicked the former World Champion in the balls two weeks ago in Philly. Tonight Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana call the action from Nashville, TN.

This is a rematch from Final Battle 2017. On that night Sabin and Shelley were good enough to survive the challenge of the Best Friends. They will have to be at the top of their game to do so for a second time - and this time they are having to cope with the distraction of knowing that the hugely aggressive Briscoe Brothers are hot on their trail and actively pursing a championship match. This is the first sighting of the new ROH Tag Title belts - which are as gaudy as the new World Title.

Sabin and Taylor start at full throttle...but then Sabin tries to give Chuckie a hug, which really pisses him off. He storms off to tag Beretta in, who joins Shelley for a rather fierce chop exchange. All four men in for an AWESOME near-miss, criss-crossing, rapid-fire exchange - which ends when the Friends finally hit simultaneous corner clotheslines and return to the middle of the ring for a big hug. During the break the Machine Guns retaliate with knee strikes off the apron, but we return with Trent decking both of them with clotheslines. Ligerbomb by Chuck for 2, right before he misses a big moonsault on Sabin. Tornado DDT takes Taylor out...soon followed by the Dream Sequence on Trent. Through-the-legs tope suicida blocked...but so is a double Sliced Bread #2 off the ring post. LAWN DART CUTTER ON THE FLOOR! TOPE ATOMICO by Chuckie T! The Best Friends are on fire - but down the aisle sprint the Briscoes, who beat the sh*t out of them forcing an obvious DQ to end the match at 06:24

Rating - ** - I was enjoying that more than Final Battle before it was ruined by another bogus finish. Rather than pause for another rant about how unimaginative this booking is (and how ROH does a f*ck finish like this almost every week now) I want to talk about the quality of the in-ring work. Everything here was punchier than Final Battle; they seemed to move quicker and hit harder at all times. It is a real shame they didn't get to finish what they started because it was shaping up to be a strong TV match.

Obviously the attack on the Best Friends is mostly because they were blocking Jay and Mark's paths to the champions. They beat the Machine Guns down in the ring, then zip-tie Shelley to the ropes so he is forced to watch Sabin eat a JAY DRILLER ON A STEEL CHAIR! 

NEXT WEEK - Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas make their debut as a team.

Punishment Martinez gets a rare sit-down interview, talking about his upbringing and his recent tear through all comers in the second half of 2017 on the way to winning Survival Of The Fittest. He says Dalton Castle's time as World Champion 'is dead'. They meet for the title next week.

This is a grudge match coming out of the Philadelphia TV tapings, which saw Taylor assault Marty backstage on the orders of SoCal Uncensored (so that they could beat up other members of Bullet Club inside the ring). The Villain is coming for revenge tonight.

Scurll comes out of the corner and starts throwing elbows at the big man. That probably isn't the smartest choice, and neither is his early attempt at the Ghostbuster. Superkick from the apron attempted...but Shane literally catches his foot as it goes through his jaw! Marty looks for a rana to the floor, but is caught and TOSSED INTO THE BARRICADE! CHOKESLAM ON THE APRON! Back in the ring Taylor misses a butt splash, but it needs a missile dropkick from The Villain to knock him off his feet. Marty attempts a tope suicida...Taylor catches him in the act...so Scurll converts it to a tornado DDT on the floor! Shane is far too big for the Ghostbuster though. He blocks Just Kidding with a KNEE SMASH...and follows with a Warrior Splash for 2. Arnbreaker in the ropes by Scurll, but it leaves him hanging there and Taylor exploits it with a massive elbow. Baldo Bomb nailed for 2. Knockout Punch ducked...Finger Snap BLOCKED! PUNCH! NO SOLD! HEADBUTT INSTEAD! BRAINBUSTER BY MARTY! Taylor kicks out! Chickenwing blocked with a jab to the throat! But Marty rolls away from Greetings From 216 and leaves the ring to get his umbrella. Taylor grabs it and starts arguing with the referee - not seeing Scurll load up with a handful of powder. Powder to the eyes of Taylor...which the ref MUST see as it's all over the ring, but still he counts the fall at 08:03 (shown).

Rating - *** - A cracking little match, once again ruined by a lame duck of a finish. In the case of Scurll I don't even object to his cheating to win - it's literally part of his gimmick. But why not be smart about it? Taylor and the ring were both covered in powder. The ONLY way that could happen would be by Marty throwing it. Either use less powder, or don't use this finish because counting the fall here made the referee look like a dumbass. Thankfully before that this was pretty great. Scurll came in hot after being attacked in the locker room - and it made for an entertaining affair as the usually calculating Villain tried to drop bombs with a hard-hitter like Taylor. At times this felt really gritty, brutal and compelling to watch; it's just a shame they didn't have a better conclusion planned.

Marty Scurll isn't finished! He calls out Punishment Martinez...but doesn't reckon on him coming through the crowd. Turns out he doesn't want to fight Punisher, he's just backing him to be the next World Champion. When he wins, Marty wants the first title shot apparently. Martinez seems to nod, but then lays The Villain out with South Of Heaven.

NEXT WEEK - The Women Of Honor Title Tournament begins with Mandy Leon vs Madison Rayne, Milonas and Bruiser's debut match is against Coast 2 Coast...and our main event will be the big World Title showdown between Dalton Castle and Punishment Martinez

The Kingdom have promised big things in 2019 and want to be top contenders for every championship. Taven claims that his resume, with wins over almost every big name on the current roster, puts him in contention for the World Championship (the only belt he is missing for a Grand Slam). Two weeks ago in Philadelphia he came to the ring and complained that Cody had used his name and fame to get opportunities more easily that Taven has found them in his ROH career...then kicked him in the dick. Now he has to face the American Nightmare in a 1-on-1 match, which will have major World Championship implications. Taven has O'Ryan and Marseglia with him, whilst Cody comes out alone.

Pissed off at being kicked in the balls, Rhodes is fired up - which Taven acknowledges and leaves the ring to stall him. Climax blocked, but so is Cross Rhodes. Disaster Kick ducked...but then Cody ducks Taven's springboard enzi, now known as the Kick Of The King, too. Flatliner into the edge of the ring by the American Nightmare. He leaves Vinny and TK to scoop Taven off the ground...then jumps at them with the SPRINGBOARD suicide dive! Taven realised what was happening and used his goons as a human shield, surviving unharmed and drilling Cody into the ringpost. The shoulder is whacked into the metal post next, and an armbar DDT gets 2. A jumping armbreaker has Rhodes bouncing out of the ring screaming in pain...but the outside is where Marseglia and O'Ryan are waiting to take cheap shots whilst Matt distracts Todd Sinclair. They take turns driving him shoulder-first into the guardrails. Cody tries to tackle Taven to the ground, but it obviously rattles his bad arm too. Kick Of The King COUNTERED into the Disaster Kick to leave them both down...but Taven is up first to score with a Lionsault for 2. Alabamaslam by Cody. It gets a nearfall - but again hurt his arm to execute and he can barely stand afterwards. Arm-capture swinging neckbreaker nailed...but Cody gets his knees up to block the Five Star Frog Splash. Todd Sinclair ejects O'Ryan and Marseglia from ringside - and therefore has his back turned as Cody kicks Taven in the dick as a receipt for Philadelphia. Sinclair is back just in time to count the pin. It's a controversial win for Cody at 09:21 (shown).

Rating - *** - Three matches on this show, and all three of them have had finishes that I've found really irritating. In all fairness, this was the least irksome of the three because, whilst I didn't agree with it, I do see the logic in having Cody beat Taven with a low blow - as a callback to Philadelphia a couple of weeks earlier. My big issue is that I felt like having Taven lose and allowing Cody to get his heat back so quickly really does nothing for Matt. He has very little main event credibility as yet. I'd have much rather he scored a win here (Cody was more than adequately protected with the amount of interference we saw from TK and Vinny) as it feels like there are more places to go with that result. The match before the finish was rather good though - built around a strong offensive performance from Taven and GREAT selling of the arm by Cody. It was as overtly babyface as I can remember from Cody. Had Taven won this I feel like it would have generated some real buzz for him, as the quality of his work in the match itself was great. Instead having him lose meant this came off as just another match where The Kingdom f*ck around, cheat, try to use weapons and STILL can't come off as a serious threat to an opponent.

Vinny Marseglia and TK O'Ryan hadn't gone anywhere and they sprint into the ring to attack the American Nightmare. They smash a steel chair into his bad hand before peeling him off the ground so Taven can kick him in the balls again. Taven follows that with the Climax, then steals the 'Ring' Of Honor as the show ends - without anyone from Bullet Club in sight to help Cody.

Tape Rating - ** - Scurll/Taylor and Cody/Taven were good matches, but not seeing a single clean finish in an hour of Ring Of Honor programming really got to me. On a creative level I disagreed with all three of them - but taking my concerns about the booking out of the equation, it doesn't feel clever to put three back-to-back BS finishes on the same episode.