McXal's Reviews

Dalton Castle has been on a real tear as of late. His title defence against Beretta and Beer City Bruiser in Japan is a hidden gem. His match with Jay Lethal in Las Vegas was a classic, and he headlined the biggest ROH show ever with a gruelling 30-minute war against Marty Scurll. The Villain is still very much in the title picture, but for tonight he turns his attention to The Kingdom, as it'll be Castle & The Boys facing Taven, Marseglia and O'Ryan in the main event. We return to Pittsburgh, PA to join Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman.

It isn't unfair to suggest that these two teams remain at the very bottom of the tag ranks. However, both have some upwards momentum having enjoyed success as of late. C2C have a track record in taking down big teams, following their notorious win over War Machine in Hanson & Rowe's last match with ROH. They face even bigger foes this evening in the form of Bruiser and Kingpin. They are coming for payback after The Bouncers attacked St. Giovanni in Vegas, preventing them from teaming in the #1 contendership Gauntlet three weeks ago.

C2C are pumped up and go for early pescados. Ali connects, then sprints around the ring to dropkick Milonas (who had caught LSG). Somersault plancha scores for Shaheem, right before BCB puts a foot through his jaw. Cannonball off the apron MISSES for the Bruiser! What an awful landing that was! Inside the ring Milonas catches both opponents at once to hit a diving front slam on them. The size of The Bouncers comes to the fore, forming a literal barrier which prevents Ali getting past them to tag his partner. A standing senton from Kingpin knocks all the wind out of Ali...but an ass splash misses moments later allowing him to unleash the 'Human Rocket'. 450 Splash on Milonas gets 2. Shaheem compliments that with the Complete Shot on Bruiser...only to be caught with a butterfly DOMINATOR from Brian. Last Call nailed - but Shaheem breaks the pin! Poetry In Motion Codebreaker by C2C! Coast To Coast scores! St. Giovanni pins Milonas to win at 07:54 (shown).

Rating - ** - I don't think interest in watching these four wrestle is particularly high but, against a backdrop of complete indifference, everyone worked hard and the match was perfectly fine. LSG dived around with precision and grace, Ali sold well for The Bouncers, who were fun in themselves as a big bully tag team. I'd love to know if there is any long-term vision for either one of these teams though. 

Jay Lethal says he is 'lost' and ROH officials have told him he needs wins if he wants more title shots. His plan is to go back and defeat people who have beaten him recently. His road back to the World Title has begun...

NEXT WEEK - Briscoes vs Bucks for the Tag Titles. Matt and Nick promise 'pay-per-view' quality for free on television...

These two had a very good match together at the start of last year. Since that time both have cemented more permanent spots on the roster. Gresham has been a successful member of Search & Destroy, and has had two of the best matches of 2018 with Jay Lethal. Ferrara has formed 'The Dawgs' with long-time training partner Rhett Titus. The common thing these guys share is that wins are at a premium in ROH and they don't get many. It means this effectively becomes 'must-win' for both of them in the scramble to retain spots and climb the ladder.

Both men are loaded with intensity from the outset and attack the opening exchanges ferociously. Ferrara impresses everyone with his ability to hold his own with Gresham but it's only once he changes the pace and starts stomping The Octopus in the corner that he actually takes control. Right as we go to commercials he violently jerks Gresham's shoulder into the canvas inflicting potentially serious damage. Gresh doesn't like that one bit and PUNTS Ferrara's arm. Instinctively he follows that with an armdrag - but comes up selling his own arm. Octopus Stretch attempted but Jon's arm prevents him from effectively executing it. Ferrara grabs the arm for the BLL, and maintains his hold for the 'Dawgface' (Cobra Stretch). Gresham escapes to hit a bridging German for 2...and again can't maintain his bridge. Little Willy grabs the arm once more, except this time Gresham is waiting for him. He stomps Ferrara's arm, then uses it to ensnare him in a bridging La Magistral! Gresham wins at 06:00 (shown).

Rating - *** - For their spot on the card this was fantastic. It was a side of Ferrara we haven't seen often enough; he really hung in there with Gresham. It was a wonderful 'Pure Wrestling'-style back and forth contest with each man demonstrating real skill and technical acumen. As a reminder, this is now the second time Gresham has helped Ferrara to a match this good. The Octopus is obscenely talented.

Rhett Titus hits the ring and The Dawgs put the boots to Gresham. His Search & Destroy stable-mates the Motor City Machine Guns run out to make the save

Cody and Marty Scurll join forces to talk about Best In The World 2018. Cody tries to pull rank and, although 'Bullet Club is fine', he thinks Scurll should step aside to let him face Dalton for the title. Marty doesn't get the message and vows to take the championship at Best In The World...as Cody storms off in a huff.

SoCal Uncensored are watching the main event tonight and are formulating their plan to end The Kingdom...

Shane Taylor is in the ring with Ryan Nova next. He doesn't understand why ROH are paying guys like Nova when they could be paying him more money...then beats him in a match which goes 30-seconds.

Ian Riccaboni announces Castle vs Taven for the World Title during the War Of The Worlds Tour - which was unfortunately cancelled after Dalton's injuries got so bad he needed to take time off.

The Kingdom are, of course, in possession of the Six-Man Title belts (that they believe they were never rightfully defeated for). Wins are all-important if they do want to get those belts back for real and they will keenly remember back to the very start of 2018 when they lost to Dalton & The Boys in Philadelphia. With a (scheduled) title match on the War Of The Worlds Tour to think about, Matt Taven knows this is also a chance to make a major statement at the expense of the World Champion. The Kingdom have paid off Shane Taylor to stay at ringside and protect the Six-Man belts from SCU.

Dalton is wrestling with a broken hand suffered at Supercard Of Honor. Even with that hand injury he easily unleashes a couple of suplexes to send O'Ryan packing. He struggles to put Marseglia in the Julie Newmar because of it though. The Boys team up to make Vinny look silly until #2 strays a little too close to The Kingdom's corner and gets his head taken off. Taven tags in and calls out Castle and soon finds himself clinging to the ropes to avoid Bang-A-Rang. TK grabs Dalton's heels from the outside, Marseglia grabs Castle's arm and holds it still so Taven can STOMP the broken hand. Double flapjack on Boy #1 which sets him up for a period of isolation at the hands of The Kingdom. Pop-up powerbomb/Just The Tip combo by TK and Taven. Meanwhile at ringside Taylor has laid out Chris Daniels as he comes to ringside trying to get their belts back. That causes a distraction allows The Boys to switch places then make a tag to the World Champion. Dalton starts throwing The Boys into suicida dives to the floor! Taven smashes the broken hand with one of the Six-Man Title belts then grabs Boy #2 for the Climax. Taven wins for his team at 12:56

Rating - *** - I preferred this to the Philly version of the same match. Dalton's broken hand provided a tighter narrative and, even though it wound up getting cancelled, I did think this was a solid way to build to the scheduled Castle/Taven title match. There is definitely a law of diminishing returns as to how enjoyable The Boys are though. The same squealing, hooting comedy spots in every match are starting to get very repetitive.

After the bell The Kingdom wrap a steel chair around Castle's busted hand...so Taven can STOMP IT!

Tape Rating - ** - Last week felt heavy on the storyline content and progression, and the expense of the in-ring product. Episode 346 was definitely a more consistent in-ring experience; C2C/Bouncers was fine, Gresham/Ferrara was great for it's spot and the trios main event was completely solid. But the show also lacked anything as good as Silas/Flip from last week, and was a lot lighter on significant long-term storyline content too. There's not a lot to be missed if you skip this one, even if the wrestling is better.