McXal's Reviews

We bounce into post-Best In The World content starting this week. In a move which definitely doesn't show off how little long-term planning those in charge of ROH put into the product, our main event is a huge - and previously unannounced - World Title showdown. Dalton Castle pulled off another huge upset by defeating both Cody and Marty Scurll at Best In The World. Tonight he is thrown straight back into battle; defending against not just Cody but also Matt Taven and Jay Lethal. It's actually an (unannounced) championship double header too, as Sumie Sakai defend her WOH Championship against Oedo Tai's Hazuki. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana call the action from Fairfax, VA. 

Jay Lethal opens the show and formally announces that he is back in the World Title picture after defeating Kushida at Best In The World. Matt Taven storms down the ramp to vehemently protest his statement. He reminds everyone that he still hasn't got his shot at Dalton Castle - whom he accuses of 'ducking' him. Cody comes out next, getting an absolutely monstrous pop and sporting a black eye from the Best In The World main event. The American Nightmare thinks he is next in line - since he wasn't the man pinned by Dalton in Baltimore. The champion himself appears on the stage, reminding his three contenders that even though his body is hurting he still holds the gold. To prove his willingness to fight - he challenges them all to a four corner title match tonight!

Wouldn't it have made more sense to put Oedo Tai over Sumie's crew at Best In The World, with Hazuki beating Jenny Rose for instance, to set this championship match up? This should be a good match - I've actually liked Sumie's big title defences thus far. But, after the Chardonnay match on the Honor United Tour, this is the second time ROH have missed an opportunity to up the stakes on an WOH Title Match by having the challenger win a lead-in tag bout. Hazuki is a complete prodigy; almost impossibly talented for her age. She looked strong in defeat to Mayu Iwatani during the WOH Title Tournament - then impressed again during the 8-woman tag bout at Best In The World. She is every bit at the opposite end of her career to Sakai - a cagey, cunning veteran enjoying her last run at the top and fighting hard to retain her spot. Hana Kimura and World Of Stardom Champion Kagetsu (b (both of whom Sumie eliminated from the WOH Title Tournament) are at ringside with Hazuki...

Hazuki slaps Sumie's hand away to decline the Code Of Honor then tosses the champ around by the hair. RUNNING FACEWASH unceremoniously dumps Sumie to the outside...and she gives chase to body slam her on the floor as well. Sakai gets back into the ring, so Hazuki dropkicks her right back through the ropes. SENTON BOMB TO THE FLOOR! Sumie crumples; her body looking totally broken by the relentless attacks of her challenger. She rallies - laying in elbow strikes followed by a running forearm to put Hazuki in danger for the first time. The youngster maintains her composure - booting Sumie in the face and giving her a full nelson slam for 2. Northern lights bomb blocked, so Hazuki rolls through a small package and NAILS Sakai with a lungblower. Senton Bomb misses! Running knee by Sumie, setting up the fisherman neckbreaker for 2. Missile dropkick TO THE FACE! Oedo Tai try to help Hazuki up. TOP ROPE SUICIDE DIVE ONTO EVERYONE by Sumie! 'This is awesome' - Fairfax. Sakai hauls Hazuki back inside and dumps her on her head with a fisherman buster! Smash Mouth blocked...DOUBLE STOMP instead! Hazuki catches Sumie on the ropes and gives her a HANGING LUNGBLOWER for a close nearfall! Hana Kimura thought that was three! Kagetsu runs in and tries to kick Sumie's lights out...but accidentally lays out her partner! Back suplex on Kagetsu! Smash Mouth on Hazuki! Sakai retains at 07:25 (shown)

Rating - *** - Sumie's best WOH Title defence thus far. I wasn't big on the finish relying heavily on outside interference, but that is part of Oedo Tai's gimmick so it wasn't completely unexpected. Before that it was a thrilling contest though, as the two women beat the crap out of each other. Hazuki put her body on the line and took some huge bumps - part of a concerted attack on Sumie's midsection. Sakai's response was to brutalise her young challenger with strikes and neck drops. The crowd were totally into it. There are plenty of criticisms which could be fired at ROH's booking of the WOH division, the talent recruitment for it and the selection of Sumie as the first champion. But the general quality of wrestling in the WOH division has steadily improved in 2018 and all three of Sumie's defences thus far have been lots of fun and well worth seeking out

NEXT WEEK - Kagetsu and Hana Kimura face Mayu Iwatani and Jenny Rose

EARLIER TODAY - 'Ace Reporter' Gregory Helms catches up with Marty Scurll (as he instructs someone on the ring crew where to hide his bag of powder), looking for his thoughts in his defeat at Best In The World. Marty isn't in the mood for his gimmick and assaults him - breaking his fingers then scattering jobbers around the locker room before being dragged away.

Dalton is nothing if not a fighting champion. He had a broken back when he won the World Title from Cody at Final Battle 2017 and the rigours of being ROH Champion have seen his body progressively fall apart. Gruelling, successful defences against Jay Lethal at the 16th Anniversary and Marty Scurll at Supercard Of Honor left him with a broken hand, broken fingers, muscular injuries to his legs - the guy was a wreck. It caused him to miss the War Of The Worlds 2018 Tour, forcing the cancellation of his scheduled defence against Matt Taven in Lowell. Even when he returned during the Honor United Tour, he looked to be a man haunted by his extensive catalogue of injuries. And that is why fans expected a title change at Best In The World...but Dalton defied the odds again. Cody (who pinned Dalton in Florida during Champions vs Bullet Club) wasn't part of the decisive fall in the Best In The World triple threat so believes he retains his spot as #1 contender. Jay Lethal's PPV win over Kushida means he has avenged every high profile loss he has suffered and met the criteria ROH officials set forth for him to earn another shot. In short, he faces three worthy opponents with legitimate claims to a shot. The odds are stacked against him...but it's a position Dalton Castle has been in for his entire reign.

Riccaboni does a great job running through all the previous feuds between these four at double-speed before the bell rings. Cody and Lethal start in the ring as Taven incapacitates Castle on the outside. Matt forces his way into the ring and goes to work on Lethal, knocking him to the floor with Kick Of The King...only to walk right into Cody's Disaster Kick. Castle enjoys an empty ring to pose to the crowd but is quickly dumped out by Taven. Tope Trilogy by Lethal, flying out on multiple sides of the ring to take out all his opponents (plus The Boys). TOPE TO BURNARD THE BEAR! Cody threatens to use the 'Ring' Of Honor as a weapon...then kicks Jay in the dick when Todd confiscates it (the low blow going back to their very first match at Final Battle 2016). He low blows Taven as well - the dick kick a central plot-point in their rivalry too. American Nightmare Lock on Dalton; a devastating blow to a guy with bad legs and a bad back! FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH from Taven to Cody to break it! Back drop to the floor from Cody to Taven! DDT/flatliner combo from Lethal to Cody and Dalton! Like Cody, Lethal singles the wounded champion Castle out - grabbing the bad legs again and putting him in the Figure 4. Cody tries to break it with Cross Rhodes but Lethal blocks! KOBASHI CHOPS ON TAVEN! Who hits back with Just The Tip for 2. Bang-A-Rang blocked into a schoolboy - and Taven has Castle pinned for almost ten seconds before Todd Sinclair spots it! It's a conspiracy! CROSS RHODES on Taven gets 2! Disaster Kick on Castle - knocking him into the CLIMAX! Cody breaks the pin! Taven and Rhodes try to punch each other's lights out...DOUBLE LETHAL INJECTION! They both roll to the floor, so Jay drops Castle with an Ace Crusher as well. LETHAL INJECTION! Taven breaks the pin by pulling Sinclair to the floor. Brandi Rhodes gives Matt a tasty slap, blind-siding him so Cody can batter him into the guardrails. Tope by Lethal INTO A CHAIR SHOT BY CODY! AIR TAVEN! The leader of The Kingdom is still furious at having his pin on Dalton missed, so sets a table up inside the ring. He thinks about a superplex on Cody...as Castle sneaks up behind them. POWERBOMB/SUPERPLEX THROUGH THE TABLE! Taven and Cody are taken out! Castle and Lethal trade weary strikes; sweat flying through the air with each blow. Lethal Injection blocked, but so is Bang-A-Rang. Small package by Castle...rolled through INTO THE LETHAL INJECTION! LETHAL WINS! He is a two-time World Champion! It's over at 16:06

Rating - **** - Violence, mayhem, no dead spots, plenty of sequences which played off the layered and interlocking history between the four men - this was a GREAT match. Castle's condition meant ROH clearly needed to get the belt away from him sooner rather than later. Many thought Marty Scurll's explosion in popularity meant it would be him getting the nod at Best In The World - which would have been an understandable position given what The Elite mean to ROH (not to mention Marty has a longer contract than the rest of the BTE guys). Delirious has gone in a different direction, ending the Castle experiment by putting the championship back on his trusted workhorse; 'the franchise' of his promotion in Jay Lethal. Faced with the prospect of losing his top stars at the end of the year, booking a workrate promotion with Lethal - arguably in the best year of his career - at the helm is an understandable choice. Teasing a title change at the PPV then pulling it out on TV instead feels a little too WCW for my taste but it certainly creates a few headlines (and lord knows Delirious has always favoured using title changes to create buzz rather than booking meaningful storylines or creating new stars). Dalton (who deserves tremendous respect for the quality of his work considering what he was dealing with) can now take some time off to heal, Lethal has ready-made singles defences against Cody and Taven. Todd missing Taven's pinfall here is by far the highlight of the 'Kingdom Conspiracy' angle too.

Lethal and Castle share a respectful handshake, with Ian Riccaboni confirming that Dalton will now take time off to recuperate from his injuries.

Tape Rating - *** - The quality of the work on this episode speaks for itself. Even cut down for TV, the World Title fourway is a spectacular watch (although check it out in full on Honor Club if you can) and makes this episode must-see by itself. Throwing in the spirited and competitive Sumie/Hazuki WOH Title bout and the attempt at an angle between Scurll and Gregory Helms/The Hurricane make this an episode you should definitely be checking out. I've actually marked it down a little because of how worryingly void of a long-term vision ROH now seems to be. The Elite are running down the contracts with very little effort made to use their popularity to build up the rest of the roster before they go. World Title changes are being chucked onto television with no fanfare, announcements or attempts to get more views. Opportunities are being repeatedly missed to build credibility and significance to otherwise random title defences for Sumie. As is a common criticism of this product and this promotion in 2018; the quality of the wrestling and hard work of the roster just barely covers the glaring deficiencies on the creative side of things...