McXal's Reviews

We are a week away from the 16th Anniversary Show and the World Championship will take top billing this evening. Our main event will see champion Dalton Castle team up with his PPV challenger Jay Lethal to face Marty Scurll and Punishment Martinez; two men who face each other in a #1 contendership match in Vegas. If that weren't enough we'll also see the issues between SCU and the Bullet Club continue when Christopher Daniels and Hangman Page collide. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana are at ringside in Atlanta, GA.

We haven't seen the Briscoes wrestle many matches as of late. Mark suffered an elbow injury on the Global Wars Tour, then came back to join his brother on a rampage of destruction which has seemingly retired Bully Ray and seen them set their sights on a ninth ROH Tag Title reign. They challenge the Motor City Machine Guns at the Anniversary Show, so prepare by facing the men that MCMG beat for the belts at Final Battle 2017. Trent and Chuckie will be pissed that the Briscoes wrecked their rematch in Nashville (by coming out and attacking both the Friends and the Machine Guns) and will want some payback this evening. They will also be trying to get over the disappointment of going 25-minutes deep and dominating the Young Bucks but failing to defeat them in Concord as well...

The ultra-aggressive Briscoe brothers maul the Best Friends before they've even made it to the ring. Showing uncharacteristic seriousness, Chuck and Trent rally and beat Mark down in the corner. But when they break to hug Jay looms large and boots Taylor in the head! Mark gives Beretta a suplex on the floor, but after commercials Trent retaliates with a tornado DDT. Jay tries to give Taylor a rana but finds it countered into a Ligerbomb by the Kentucky Gentleman. Sole Food/half nelson suplex combo sends Mark to the outside, with Beretta soon sailing after them with a somersault pescado. Lawn Dart Cutter nailed for 2. Strong Zero countered by throwing Chuck off the top rope hard to the floor! Mark cuts Trent's head off with a lariat. Jay follows with a shortarm lariat and hauls Beretta off the deck for the Jay Driller/Froggy Bow combo. Briscoes win at 06:14 (shown).

Rating - *** - Obviously these two teams could have a better match in different circumstances. Maybe they'll get a chance to do that down the line. But in the context of the current angle with the Briscoes, this was a really good little match. Their new aggressive, heel gimmick was showcased against two sympathetic babyface characters and worked well. The Best Friends weren't totally squashed, meaning their impressive performance against the Bucks at Honor Reigns Supreme wasn't entirely forgotten. And crucially, having pushed the Young Bucks to the limit for twenty five minutes in Concord - seeing the Briscoes pick the Best Friends to pieces in just six minutes is a major statement of intent a week out from a pay-per-view Tag Title shot. 

Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin charge the ring and attack the Briscoes with the title belts. Shelley starts choking Mark with the same chain that he was choked with in Concord, as Sabin picks up Jay for a 'SABIN' DRILLER! 

NEXT WEEK - Tenille Dashwood makes her ROH TV debut in the WOH Title Tournament.

Man, this could so be a TV main event, or a brilliant 15-20 minute bout at a live show. SCU have been pursuing the Hung Bucks and the Six-Man Titles since Final Battle, and currently view those belts as their best bets to find a way loophole in Joe Koff's plan to release them at the end of 2018. Last week the Bucks defeated Kazarian and Scorpio, but SCU beat them down after the match. This week Hangman wants revenge on the Ring General, just days before the two trios meet in a Street Fight for the Six-Man Titles in Las Vegas. Bully Ray ejects Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian from ringside before the match...

Page jumps Daniels whilst he is completely distracted by the Bully Ray kerfuffle. Daniels leaves the ring but Hangman is all over him, repeatedly smashing him into the barricades. The Ring General jerks him throat-first over the top rope and clubs the back of the neck with a clothesline seconds later. Blue Thunder Driver rattles that neck into the canvas as well. He peppers Page's neck with shots, but is rocked by a roaring elbow from the Bullet Club problem solver. Powerbomb/Black Superkick combo sends Daniels outside...for a NECK SELLING shooting star tackle off the apron! Buckshot Lariat ducked, and so is the Rite Of Passage. Urinage slam by Daniels, then Page dodges the BME. Buckshot Lariat scores, giving Page a huge win at 05:45 (shown).

Rating - *** - Most bookers would have seen the sheer quality that oozed from these guys in just six minutes of ring-time and followed up with a feature-length rematch at a live event somewhere right? This was excellent for the time given. Page was rugged and aggressive, Daniels was a crafty veteran. They crafted a really tight little story considering the time they had, with some strong selling from Page in the mix too. This felt like a really impressive victory for Page, who continues to be as under-rated as anyone else on the roster.

Shane Taylor comes to ringside and starts beating the sh*t out of Page. SCU have paid him off, and since he isn't a member he is exempt from Bully's ruling that SCU members were banned from ringside he proceeds to knock Hangman out cold. Bubba comes back onto the stage and has a pretty intense stare-off with Taylor.

It's a tag team main event, but this one is all about the World Championship. Dalton has it. Martinez just lost his shot three weeks ago. Lethal has his in a weeks time at the PPV. And Scurll is desperate to get an opportunity too. Even more interestingly, the two respective teams will be facing each other in singles matches in Las Vegas. In order to make it to the Anniversary Show in optimal condition they'll need to work together with the man they are preparing to face...

Martinez starts the match and calls out Lethal, rather than the World Champion. That feels a little demeaning to the champ. Jay obliges...and almost walks right into South Of Heaven. Seamlessly they go into a great near-miss strike exchange, serving to remind us that Lethal is one of the absolute best in the world right now. Castle calls out Marty and emphatically grapples him into the corner. Scurll brings the World Of Sport style to come back, putting Dalton on his ass with some technical wizardry. Cabana reveals that Castle and Lethal were discussing strategy in the locker rooms, and that effort comes to fruition as they start working Marty over with some classical tag team work. Punisher changes the momentum and almost drops Jay with the Psycho Driver. Capture suplexes from Castle to Marty, then the Everest German for 2. Scurll drops to the mat causing Lethal to accidentally boot Dalton in the head! GHOSTBUSTER on Lethal - Adam Cole's move on the man that he once shaved bald in an ROH ring! Martinez steps Marty locking in the Chickenwing and gives Lethal a Curb Stomp for 2. But then The Villain tags back so the big man can't hit South Of Heaven. Lethal Combination on Marty! Ripcord Kick from Punisher to Jay, then a discus lariat soon after. CAPTURE EVEREST GERMAN from Castle to Martinez! Scurll decimates his mangled back with a snap suplex into the turnbuckles though. Tope suicida from Lethal to Scurll. Punisher throws one of the Boys around...but when Marty tries to throw powder into Lethal's face it accidentally gets Punisher! LETHAL INJECTION! Jay beats Scurll again, heading into the PPV with heaps of momentum at 12:17 (shown)

Rating - *** - They did a good job straddling the line between promoting the respective pay-per-view matches but also producing some fun content for this bout too. They are all such different personalities which helps, and they way they meshed them all together made for some pretty unique teams and offensive sequences. Martinez doesn't look out of place with the main event talent at all.

Hiromu Takahashi vs Flip Gordon (as a result of what happened between them on the NJPW Honor Rising 2018 tour) and the Street Fight for the Six-Man Titles are both confirmed as additions to the 16th Anniversary PPV.

Tape Rating - *** - No match in isolation was really must-see here, just like last week. But just like last week, as an hour-long TV package this was a good episode. Three good matches, all very different. Every thing we saw promoted the pay-per-view and did so via compelling in-ring action rather than endless amounts of talking. For the time it was given, Daniels/Page in particular was excellent. Now the pressure turns to Delirious and whomever helps him lay-out the pay-per-views. Can they put together a strong, consistent top-to-bottom PPV which also leaves more than ten minutes for the main event of the show?