McXal's Reviews

ROH returns to the historic Center Stage Theatre for another round of TV tapings. This batch of episodes will cross-over with The Elite's build to their self-financed 'All In' event, whilst also kicking off Ring Of Honor's cycle towards Death Before Dishonor at the end of September. Nothing was announced for this episode last week - but a cursory look at the line-up tells me we have Women Of Honor action, the start of the 2018 Top Prospect Tournament and a main event of Marty Scurll facing Kenny King. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana are in Atlanta, GA.

Two weeks ago on television we saw Chris Sabin, rejuvenated by a strong showing in New Japan's Best Of The Super Juniors Tournament, become #1 contender for the TV Title. Tonight he faces Scorpio Sky, himself looking to rebound after losing a TV Title bout to Punishment Martinez at Honor For All. Sabin is an old rival of Sky's SCU stable-mates The Addiction; Daniels and Kaz will have given Scorpio all the inside information they have to assist him in gaining a victory.

Either the crowd are mic'd better, or they are really lively for these two gentlemen as they trade basics in the first minute. The pace quickens, they continue to counter back and forth...until Sky leaps into a double stomp then lands a pescado to the floor. Sabin retaliates with a crisp jumping enzi before they both fall to the canvas feeling the effects of the fast start. PK by the Motor City Machine Gun, followed by another from the apron leaving Scorpio down and out on the arena floor. Missile dropkick scores, as does the Over Easy for 2. Frankensteiner by Sabin...NO SOLD! RUNNING SUPER RANA by Sky! Slingshot Ace Crusher nailed as well bringing the Californian perilously close to victory. Sabin goes for a couple of slightly awkward pinning combinations...and gets knee'd in the jaw as punishment. Cradle Shock instead! That works better, giving Sabin the win at 05:57 (shown)

Rating - ** - Both of these men have been doing this for a long time. That experience showed both positively and negatively here. On the one hand this match was mostly smooth, slick and a very polished bout for free television. But on the flip side, there was more than a hint of autopilot as well, particularly before the commercial break. There were a couple of really exciting moments though - and Cradle Shock remains a fantastic finisher.

Alex Shelley was in Sabin's corner for the match, and gets emotional as he admits that his injuries have caused him to look at his career and concede that he doesn't have much 'left to offer'. Whilst not retiring - because 'nobody ever retires in pro-wrestling' (how true that statement rings as I write this in 2020, in the midst of a renaissance for the Machine Guns in Impact Wrestling) - he ends by putting Sabin over and wishing him success in his ROH singles career. Punishment Martinez ruins the moment by coming out and Curb Stomping Sabin on a chair! He teases doing the same to Shelley as well, but is prevented by Scorpio Sky...

Kenny King gets some interview time to discuss the main event. He uses a LOT of words to say very little. Somewhere in there he says that he could learn something from Marty's 'do whatever it takes' attitude and will put that into practice tonight.

Kelly Klein joins commentary for this, with minor beef towards both participants. Karen was the first woman ever to beat her in ROH, whilst clips show that during her match against Jenny in Manhattan (Episode 356) she sustained a chipped tooth via a wayward elbow. With Sumie Sakai thus far relatively untroubled at the top of the Women Of Honor division, contenders for her title continue to jostle for position underneath her. Q comes into this on the back of a Proving Ground defeat to Sumie in Nashville at Honor For All and is apparently fed up of losing high profile WOH matches.

Unlike the start to Sky/Sabin, the opening minutes of this match are considerably more ragged but also considerably more intense. Karen embodies her pre-match promo and is visibly very aggressive; pushing the limits of the rules as she looks to beat Rose down. Much of her offence targets the back and neck, giving Jenny very little opportunity to get back in the game. She tries to strike at Q with chops and lunges into a sidewalk slam...but looks bedraggled and is still reeling from the impact of Karen's work. Spear drops Q though, earning a hot nearfall and provoking Kelly Klein to leave the announce desk. She appears on the apron with a reminder to Jenny about the dental injury she suffered in New York, distracting her so Karen can hit a full nelson slam for the win at 04:59 (shown)

Rating - ** - Spirited, messy and extremely competitive. This won't win any MOTY honours, but I quite liked its hones authenticity. It felt like a scrap between two fighters who valued the win above aesthetics or popping a crowd. Regular readers of my reviews will know that I'm a fan of Karen Q, so pleased to see her picking up a win which presumably means we'll see her a little more often...

Kelly assaults Rose after the bell and tosses her dentist bill in Jenny's face. Karen, meanwhile, says she doesn't care how she won and struts away...

THREE WEEKS TIME - Jay Lethal will defend the ROH World Title against one of his biggest rivals of 2018; 'The Octopus' Jonathan Gresham. Lethal calls their matches his favourite of the year, Gresham thinks he has what it takes to secure a career-defining win. And Lethal/Gresham III will be a 30-Minute Iron Man Match...

In the locker room it appears that Alex Shelley has been attacked backstage. His partner Chris Sabin yells for medical assistance...

This is a first round match in the 2018 Top Prospect Tournament - which takes place much later in the year than usual for reasons which will become clear. These two are fellow trainees at the ROH Dojo. Isom has started building momentum with some decent performances in 2018, highlighted by pinning Christopher Daniels to win the Six-Man Title #1 Contendership Gauntlet a few weeks ago. His opponent has made a few appearances too and is, if nothing else, memorable for how quirky and different he is! He and Eli are friends apparently, but that won't stop him beating him to advance. Caprice Coleman joins commentary for Top Prospect Tournament bouts...

They start with some mirror-image offence and countering to demonstrate their similar backgrounds. But Isom's athleticism and star-power come to the fore as he hits a jumping northern lights suplex. Big boots by FR..only for Eli to catch him coming off the top with a powerslam backbreaker. Their contest is interrupted by a huge pop and a new star coming down the entrance steps. JEFF COBB IS HERE! He suplexes them both to pieces, as Todd Sinclair throws the match out at 01:57

Rating - N/A - The point was to debut Cobb, and it got a big pop. In the brief match we did see they did a decent job of continuing the message that Eli Isom is a legit prospect to come out of the ROH Dojo with his performance. Mission accomplished. Jeff Cobb is a phenomenal talent acquisition for ROH...

NEXT WEEK - The Kingdom defend the Six-Man Titles against Cody and the Young Bucks. Taven and his men think it's another conspiracy that their challengers have been given a shot without earning it, and yet another example of the preferential treatment the BTE cast receive. 

This is a rematch from Bound By Honor Night 1, where Scurll defeated Kenny but only by gaining illegal leverage using the ropes during the decisive pinfall. King knows he needs a new purpose and direction in ROH after high profile losses in 2018, and earlier acknowledged that perhaps he needed to be more like The Villain if he wanted to get ahead...

Marty's technical skill ensures he has the edge over King at the bell. Kenny desperately tries to bridge the gap using his power and athleticism but struggles to do more than simply bring it back to stalemate. In the end he gains a competitive advantage only by refusing to offer a clean-break and taking a cheap-shot at Scurll. Perhaps that was an example of him being more villainous to get ahead? Marty takes it to the mat again to quickly shut down his rival's momentum. Scurll noticeably rakes and the eyes, face and nose whilst on offence; a further embodiment of how being a Villain gets you ahead. The fight spills outside...where King tiger feints off the apron into an elbow smash. It causes Marty to go straight to his umbrella. Kenny grabs it and deliberates over whether he should use it as a weapon...and before he can decide Scurll puts him down with a vicious arm wrench. Chickenwing blocked, but when Kenny tries to land a sunset flip out of the corner Marty drops down and grabs the ropes - just like in Florida! This time it doesn't work as Paul Turner thwarts his plan. King fires back with a neckbreaker and a big spinebuster for 2. Scurll rakes the nose and eyes to block the Royal Flush...LAST CHANCERY instead! The Villain barely makes the ropes to ensure King isn't able to win the match using his enemy's finishing submission. Brainbuster blocked...Just Kidding instead. BRAINBUSTER! King kicks out - perhaps another message to Aries! The two men trade blows, until Marty stomps the hand and unleashes the Finger Snap. COUNTERED TO A ROYAL FLUSH...COUNTERED BACK TO A DDT BY MARTY FOR 2! He goes for his umbrella again, and as Paul Turner tosses it out King rolls The Villain up with his feet on the ropes. King wins at 12:15 (shown).

Rating - **** - I tend to 'round up' my rating when a great match is given away for free on television like this. It's probably more like ***1/2-***3/4 level...but I thought this was fantastic and blew their Bound By Honor VOD bout out of the water. As a standalone encounter it was a crisp, well-executed affair between two competitors with contrasting styles - however it was the multiple storyline threads they pulled in as well that really impressed me. King wrestling with the morality of having to be more like Marty to get ahead made for a nice central plot and played directly into the finish (as well as the reasons he lost to Aries at Best In The World). Scurll spent the entire match countering and out-wrestling Kenny too. It means even in defeat he doesn't lose a great deal, but his control of the contest helped set the scene that King couldn't win...and therefore HAD to make the decision to cheat. They also threw in some nifty references and familiarity counters from Florida match, and Kenny taking shots at his friend-turned-rival Austin Aries too. Like I said, in isolation this is very good. But there was SO much more here for long-term fans. My rating is admittedly generous but there was some seriously smart wrestling on display...

Tape Rating - *** - Most of this episode you can comfortably skip. BUT, there are some really interesting developments contained within the broadcast too. We had big matches for the next few weeks of TV confirmed (Daniels/Jay Briscoe, Kingdom vs Cody/Bucks, Lethal vs Gresham) to ensure fans keep tuning in. They debuted one of the hottest stars on the independent scene in Jeff Cobb, which got over huge with the Atlanta fans. Finally the main event is a real hidden gem in my estimation, concluding with an interesting character twist for Kenny King. It would be easy to look at the line-up for this show and skip straight over it - but for completists this was a decent watch...