McXal's Reviews

Supercard Of Honor 12, in front of ROH's biggest ever crowd, is now just a week away. With big matches to prepare for, the last thing any of the champions really needed is a big-time Champions' Challenge bout tonight pitting the World and TV Champions (Dalton Castle and Kenny King) against the Tag Champions (the Briscoes) in non-title action. It will be the Women Of Honor who headline over that match though. The biggest WOH Title Tournament bout so far takes place this evening. One of Stardom's top stars, Mayu Iwatani, comes to the US to face the best technical wrestler in ROH's women's division, Deonna Purrazzo, to determine who advances to the semi-finals at Supercard. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana are on commentary in Las Vegas, NV.

Marty Scurll is on commentary, getting one last scouting session in on World Champion Dalton Castle ahead of Supercard. The permutations of a Champions' Challenge Match are always interesting. If Castle and Kenny beat the Briscoes are they in line for a Tag Title shot? If Jay Briscoe beats Dalton does that mean he gets a shot at the World Title he has twice-held previously? If Mark pins Kenny (an old rival of the Briscoes), will he get another shot to fulfil his 'dream' of being TV Champion? Bragging rights are at stake too. Jay and Mark believe they are the best team in the world so won't want to lose to guys who haven't teamed before. And with big-time matches booked for Supercard Of Honor, nobody can afford to sustain an injury tonight...

Mark drags the World Champion into the Briscoe corner to prevent him from utilising his amateur wrestling skills. The ensuing attack clearly hurts Dalton (who is still feeling the effects of his war with Lethal at the Anniversary Show too), so he tags out quickly. King throws down the gauntlet to Jay by effortlessly out-wrestling him. Castle takes his turn throwing Jay around as well - and they actually succeed in driving the old Briscoe out of the match. The Briscoes need to dip into their tag team bag of tricks...and do so by mobbing Dalton 2-on-1 then smashing King off the apron. Mark tries to exploit Castle's ailing back with a body slam on the floor. The injured World Champion tries to lunge towards his corner, but again it is empty after Jay smashes Kenny to the ground. In signature Briscoe fashion we watch them pick Dalton apart. They don't specifically target the back...they just keep clobbering him so hard that he hits the deck on it repeatedly. As we return from commercials we see Dalton making a desperate hot tag to King...but the TV Champ has the same problem and can't fight off both Briscoes single-handedly. Day One Neckbreaker/lariat combo gets 2 for Jay. Next it's a Froggy Bow/superplex combo...but still Kenny kicks out. Dalton returns with a capture back suplex on Mark! Shotgiun Knees from King to Jay, leaving all four men down. Silas Young saunters down the ramp to get a closer look at Kenny King's performance...and watches as Jay gives him the Jay Driller! Jay pins King to win the match at 10:47 (shown).

Rating - *** - I credit ROH enormously for having this match open the show so Iwatani/Purrazzo can go on last. The downside is that Champions' Challenge, traditionally quite a fun concept which leads to a decent tag match, was marginalised enormously. A pin over a champion in Ring Of Honor should feel significant, whether the belt is on the line or not. Having four champions come together and having them contest ten minutes of spirited but inconsequential TV-grade work didn't do justice to the initial concept. I liked that the Briscoes dominated and won because they utilised their experience as a team at every turn. It was a decent match - but watching the Tag Champions almost completely dominate their singles counterparts wasn't necessarily what people had wanted to see. Does this set up a potential Jay Briscoe TV Title shot? That would be interesting considering he berated his brother for chasing Kenny's TV Title in late-2017.

Silas poses with the TV Title belt then exits...and right afterwards Marty sneaks into the ring brandishing the World Title belt. He teases whacking Dalton, but hands the title over without violence. He gestures he'll have the belt for real after Supercard Of Honor.

The Kingdom are seething with rage at Enforcer Bully Ray's decision to ban them from Supercard Of Honor...

The infamous masked Kikutaro made his return to ROH at Survival Of The Fittest 2017 weekend. Now he comes to television to face 'Big In Japan' Cheeseburger. The Dawgs are on commentary.

Kikutaro is introduced as 'already in the ring' which is kind of sad. They try to work some wristlocks, but end up ballroom dancing with each other. Kiku convinces Paul Turner to try a body avalance on Burger...who dodges it and tricks Paul into booting Kikutaro in the face. The Dawgs get bored of watching guys who 'don't know how to wrestle' and attack both men from behind. Obviously Turner has to call the match a no-contest at 02:43

Rating - N/A - Why waste money booking Kikutaro if you were only going to give him two minutes. This is the second time ROH have used the guy recently, but totally deprived him of the opportunity to use his comedy to get himself over. There was only the gentlest of gentle comedy moments hidden amongst basic of wrestling spots here...

The Dawgs lay Burger out with the spike Rhett-ribution then scram before Enforcer Bully Ray can get hold of them.

Highlights of the Sumie Sakai vs Kagetsu WOH Title Tournament Quarter Final are aired here. As I've done throughout the tournament, I will watch the full match on ROH's YouTube channel and review it here. As a reminder again, the below does NOT reflect the version broadcast in this episode which is condensed to less than thirty seconds of clips.

Sakai defeated Oedo Tai's Hana Kimura in the first round of the tournament on the 16th Anniversary pre-show. During that match she encountered multiple instances of outside interference from Hana's stable-mate Kagetsu. Sumie will be looking to make her pay for that here. Kagetsu defeated Jenny Rose to earn this spot, doing so at a Stardom event in Osaka and earning her first wrestling dates in the US as a result. The winner will meet Tenille Dashwood in the semi-finals on the Supercard Of Honor 12 pre-show. Tenille is on commentary to watch...

Kagetsu attacks Sakai during her entrance and hits a SPRINGBOARD CROSSBODY TO THE FLOOR! Sumie can't get off the starting block and gets peppered all over the ring with kicks from her Oedo Tai adversary. Double springboard missile dropkick pings Sakai into the corner, and she is swiftly hauled right back out for a big suplex. Sumie crawls up the ropes as Kagetsu climbs on her back and fish-hooks her nostrils. Another springboard dropkick almost snaps Sakai in half as the dominant performance from Kagetsu continues. Sumie manages to counter Kagetsu's chokeslam into a cross armbreaker- and she clings to this first significant offence of the match. She rolls that into a triangle choke...only for Kagetsu to power out with a ONE-ARM buckle bomb. Back drop driver by Sakai, then a fisherman buster. Moonsault by Sumie gets 2. Kagetsu wants to retaliate with the Oedo Coaster - but Sumie moves! Smash Mouth wins it for Sakai at 07:36

Rating - ** - You can't deny that Kagetsu left it all in the ring for her US debut. She was absolutely fearless, bouncing off the ropes with confidence and ease. Her speed, violence and aggression were what made this match watchable. Sakai wins and shows all of her experience...but everything good here came from Kagetsu.

Sumie's semi-final opponent Tenille leaves commentary and congratulates her. They now know they have a match for Supercard Of Honor 12...

With the departures of her great rivals and contemporaries Io Shirai and Kairi Hojo to WWE, Mayu is Stardom's top star. She is a world class women's professional wrestler and, for all the talk of women like Tenille, Kelly Klein or Deonna, Mayu is the one athlete in the field with extensive experience of multiple tournament formats, main event level pressure and championship victories. Deonna is supremely gifted as a ring technician - but this is a test on another level for her. She was in the match credited with resurrecting the Women Of Honor division, but does she have what it takes to beat Iwatani and make it to finals day in the tournament to crown the first champion?

Mayu demonstrates how much of a step-up in class this is for Deonna by working her into the canvas with ease in the first minute. Running rana by Purrazzo...but Iwatani has her number there too as she pops up with a flying headscissors and a leaping kick. Rope run BACK FLIP lucha armdrag by Mayu. She follows that with the ruthless running dropkick in the ropes, almost breaking Deonna's jaw. Purrazzo somehow survives that and fights her way back in by suplexing the 'Icon Of Stardom' and engaging her in a chop battle. Double stomp missed by Iwatani, but only because Purrazzo rolled out of the ring. TOP ROPE SUICIDE DIVE BY MAYU...COUNTERED TO THE MID-AIR FUJIWARA ARMBAR by Deonna! Finally she has Mayu on the run and follows her into the ring to hit a brainbuster for 2. Ocean cyclone suplex...ROLLED INTO A NECK DROP GERMAN! Deonna is hanging on and hits another release German suplex as well. NO SOLD! Dragon suplex by Iwatani! Both women collapse to the ground. Purrazzo rattles of a chop with such force that Iwatani goes down like it was a gunshot. Missile dropkick in response...only for Deonna to sneak out of her clutches and lock in the Fujiwara. Mayu makes the ropes and spin-kicks Purrazzo right in the stomach. DRAGON SUPLEX! Iwatani is going to New Orleans! She wins at 08:27

Rating - *** - The best match of the tournament, which probably isn't surprising given that they are the best two workers in it. Iwatani is a special wrestler. She isn't as theatrical as Kairi or as spectacular as Io, but she may well be the best pure wrestler of the 'Stardom three'. She moves so smoothly around the ring, making everything look so easy...and she absolutely beats the sh*t out of her opponents. Purrazzo, at times, was fighting for her life in there. That kind of intensity has been missing from certain tournament matches. I'm not a HUGE fan of how the tournament has been laid out in all honestly. I don't have a problem with Sumie, but for me the final four should have been Klein (the undefeated Gatekeeper), Iwatani (the super-talented international star), Tenille (the most over person in the field and genuine superstar), and finally Deonna (the best worker on the core WOH roster). That line-up would have delivered decent matches and genuine doubt over who would win. This should at least have been a semi-final and could, conceivably have been a credible final.

The Briscoes, Jay Lethal, Kenny King, Silas Young, Hangman Page, Punishment Martinez, the Young Bucks, Marty Scurll and Dalton Castle all get promo snippets to promote Supercard Of Honor 12.

Cody comes to the ring, now wearing his 'Ring' Of Honor and trying to reassure everyone that 'Bullet Club is fine'. He challenges the perception that Omega is the best wrestler in the world, suggesting that people can't name any of his matches other than ones with 'superstars' like Okada or Jericho and, since Kenny called him a WWE 'reject', he calls Omega a 'reject from its developmental system'. Kenny Omega is here! He comes out with heaps of pyro, carrying the head of Bury The Bear. He reiterates that he is the leader of Bullet Club and implies that his kiss with Brandi wasn't the first time she had kissed someone else. They come to blows, bringing out Hangman, Marty, the Bucks, Flip Gordon and other security personnel to separate them. They settle their differences at Supercard Of Honor!

Tape Rating - *** - I quite liked this as a go-home show. The wrestling was decent (particularly the Iwatani/Purrazzo match), the machine gun interview segment meant most matches were touched on/promoted and the Cody/Kenny pull-apart was GREAT television to set the scene for their huge match in New Orleans. Credit to ROH/SBG for opening the purse strings and paying for Omega to come to Vegas for this weekend. I can't imagine there are many more expensive talents in the world at this point, so to have him appear, unadvertised, for surprise appearances just to promote Supercard was a ballsy move.