McXal's Reviews

This episode has been labelled a 'Championship Edition' of the show as we'll see not one but two titles defended. The Briscoes defend the Tag Championship against Coast 2 Coast, who are undefeated in 2018...before Punishment Martinez puts the TV Title up against the debuting Jeff Cobb. We'll also find time to check out Marty Scurll vs Chris Sabin - and stay tuned after my review of the episode has finished as I'll be reviewing a second week of Honor Club Exclusive action as Christopher Daniels faces Nick Aldis. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are in Las Vegas, NV.

This match was supposed to go on later, but C2C open the show by coming to the ring and calling out the Briscoes to get it on immediately. Shaheem and LSG haven't lost a 2-on-2 tag all year; a run which began on ROH television when they upset War Machine in Hanson and Rowe's final appearance. Ali has recently returned from an injury-enforced absence, but they've picked up where they left off and are rewarded with this opportunity. The Briscoes look in unstoppable form after downing Young Bucks and The Addiction at consecutive pay-per-views...

Mark starts with St. Giovanni, trying his best to intimidate and bully him from the opening bell. It ends with Mark knocking LSG to the floor, then Jay jumping Ali from behind to go after the neck injury that he has been struggling with. When we pick up after commercials we see that the Briscoes are still in complete control with Shaheem completely isolated in their corner. Somehow Ali escapes their clutches, nursing his neck as he goes. LSG tagged...then instantly thrown out of the ring by Jay. Cactus Elbow by Mark....as Jay throws Ali ON HIS HEAD through the guardrails. That completely incapacitates him allowing the champs to methodically and violently pick LSG apart. It is a relentless beating delivered with real ferocity...until he slithers out of Jay's clutches and reaches out for a crucial tag to an already-injured Shaheem. DISCUS lariat spins Mark through the air...only for Jay to mow through Ali with the Day One Neckbreaker seconds later. Mark follows that with a fisherman buster for 2. Redneck Boogie scores, jarring the neck still further, but again Shaheem pisses the champs off by kicking out. Paydirt/flatliner combo by C2C! COAST 2 COAST on Mark! 450 Splash by LSG - albeit he undercooks it a little and lands on his face on the canvas rather than across Mark's torso. Jay smears him to the floor and lifts Ali for the Doomsday Device! Briscoes retain at 12:41 (shown) 

Rating - *** - There was a lot to like about this one. The Briscoes were EXCELLENT in how they dealt with both opponents. When Ali was in the ring they worked the neck like bastards, and when LSG tagged they just mauled and beat the sh*t out of him. The downside to that was that, at times, this did feel very one-sided and never really gave you any reason to get behind the challengers. Some of the offensive work from C2C was a little sloppy and ragged too, which they'll be disappointed with given that this is probably the biggest match of their ROH careers. Certainly not a carry-job by any means, but it was laid out to be extremely one-sided and therefore the quality of the match does suffer a little.

Jeff Cobb warms up in the locker rooms, then heads for the door because his in-ring debut is next

Jay Lethal gets some promo time to address Matt Taven's actions at Death Before Dishonor. He makes fun of Taven's 'Real World Title' and calls him a 'problem' which needs to be 'settled'...

The Briscoes return backstage and point out how comprehensive their win tonight was. They don't think anyone on the roster can stop them.

It is tradition that the winner of the annual Top Prospect Tournament is rewarded with an ROH contract and a TV Title shot. This year there was no tournament...only destruction as Jeff Cobb emerged from free agency to crush all the entrants. He has declared himself the top prospect to enter ROH, and is rewarded for that brutality with a TV Title shot on his in-ring debut...

Martinez opens up with some emphatic strikes...which Cobb shakes off as if they don't exist. He then catches Punisher's stomp in the corner and decks him with a swinging back suplex. Punisher throws a lariat but again Jeff completely ignores it. Curb Stomp nailed...but Cobb completely no sells that and nails a lariat. TOUR OF THE ISLANDS! Cobb wins at 01:28

Rating - N/A - This was Martinez's last night with ROH and goddamn did they have him put Cobb over hard on the way out. In my review series I've made no secret of the fact that I think Punishment Martinez has phenomenal potential. He should have been a far bigger star/asset to ROH than he was and he leaves as another talent who has used ROH to boost his profile then got out with the knowledge that he was never going to get to the next level under the current management regime (like Donovan Dijak, or Lio Rush, or ACH, or Cedric Alexander amongst others). Arguably he deserved better than this as a farewell, but it was certainly unique and establishes Jeff Cobb as a huge player immediately. It made for compelling television. As a piece of talent recruitment Cobb is an absolute coup. Here's hoping that he provides some stability to the TV Title division after the belt has spent 2018 bouncing through a succession of title changes without any champion really cementing themselves as an attraction.

Tenille Dashwood is out next with her arm in a sling. She announces that after six months of shoulder issues, the locker room attack on her existing injury now leaves her requiring surgery. She leaves with a warning to her assailant - she'll be back and more dangerous than ever

NEXT WEEK - Adam Page vs Scorpio Sky, with Hangman cutting a brief promo about some of his favourite ROH memories in Las Vegas...

Aside from a couple of hiccups against Kenny King and Hurricane Helms, Marty has been on a roll since missing out on the World Title at Best In The World. Next on his hitlist as he looks to climb back into the title picture is Sabin; a man trying to rebound after failing to win the TV Title at Death Before Dishonor. Sabin has issues with the Bullet Club stretching back more than two years and will relish the chance to pit his skills against a top tier talent in Ring Of Honor...

Sabin starts by trying to trade wristlocks with Marty which absolutely does not work. Impressively, Marty hangs with Sabin as he tries to quicken the pace too. He goes to strikes instead; landing a big knee to the breadbasket and a lunging kick into the neck. Scurll's response is to BATTER him out of the ring with running uppercuts, followed by the Superkick from the apron. From that position he stomps Sabin's arm into the side of the ring. The Villain tries to keep Sabin on the ground where he can stretch that arm...but constantly finds Sabin capable of working back to a vertical base (and doing something like blasting him with a PK). Missile dropkick nailed, sending Marty to the outside where he can land another big kick. Cradle Shock blocked with a roaring elbow and Scurll nearly nabs victory after an intricate series of duelling pinfall attempts. Yakuza Kick by Sabin! Scurll responds by hauling him out of the corner with a superplex. They start trading chops...until Sabin legitimately has Marty's hand-print on his chest. Superkick by Sabin! FALCON ARROW CHICKENWING! SABIN ESCAPES! FOLDING POWERBOMB! Scurll hits Graduation for the win at 09:29 (shown)

Rating - *** - This episode had Briscoes vs C2C and Martinez vs Cobb on the bill, but this is the match which stole the show. That is quite a statement, but these guys really delivered. It wasn't a long match, but was SO well structured. It put Marty over incredibly hard, whilst also maintaining a coherent narrative which built and escalated tension at all times, and also made Sabin feel like a genuine threat (something Coast 2 Coast didn't achieve with the Briscoes earlier). It fell into a pattern of Sabin asking Scurll a question...and The Villain emphatically answering it every time. Sabin tried to trade holds...and failed. He tried to quicken the pace; that didn't work either. So he went to big strikes and offensive bombs - but the state of his chest at the end will tell you that Scurll's 'heavyweight' training for Okada was time well spent and he more than had the firepower to match him. Yet still a crafty veteran, even at the very end Sabin still had counters and was still trying to win the match until Marty put him away. One of those bouts where both winner and loser really look strong afterwards...

Tape Rating - *** - This episode saw Ring Of Honor visibly planning for a post-Elite future; and in a really positive sense. The Young Bucks might be the biggest drawing tag team in the world - but in Ring Of Honor the Briscoes rule the roost and they demonstrated why with a powerful performance against Coast 2 Coast. Punishment Martinez has been a imposing figure on the ROH roster for the last couple of years, but it was his last night...so he got beaten senseless and unceremoniously sent packing to make way for Jeff Cobb; a new star who will carry ROH into their next era. Then the main event saw the continued, progressive rebuild of Marty Scurll; the one member of the main BTE cast who is sticking around. It's a shame ROH didn't do more shows like this, more quickly...but without being 'must-see' TV I thought this show was a lot of fun with an eye on the future very evident.

This is another 'Honor Club Exclusive', although like Cody/Willie from last week it is actually available for free on NWA's YouTube page. It pits together two men who have crossed paths in the past. Two veterans, one a former NWA, TNA and GFW Heavyweight Champion (Aldis), the other a former ROH World Champion (Daniels). This is Nick's final chance to recover from his loss at All In, and a chance to tune-up for his NWA 70 2/3 Falls Rematch with Cody by facing one of the American Nightmare's biggest ROH rivals...

Caprice comes straight out of the gate by calling Aldis 'cookie cutter'. Daniels has his neck taped after Death Before Dishonor and reaches for it after Nick powerfully tackles him to the mat. The same thing happens seconds later when Aldis hammers into him with a clothesline. Ever the crafty veteran, the Fallen Angel quickens the pace with a few armdrags and a backdrop which knocks his foe out of the ring. A big tackle knocks Aldis against the guardrail...setting up an ARABIAN PRESS, which comes dangerously close to dropping Daniels on his head. Moments later Nick catches Daniels for a slam against the ringpost...before dumping him face-first into the apron. Back in the ring the big man delivers an effortless stalling suplex, once again dropping Daniels on his neck and back. Up next comes an abdominal stretch then a pumphandle powerslam for 2. Daniels hits a Blue Thunder Driver...but lies prone on the canvas alongside the man he just took down. The Ring General looks ragged, making mistakes and finally running into a Michinoku Driver. Diving elbow drop right across the throat and upper body gets 2. Somehow Daniels comes back...but misses the BME. Cloverleaf blocked so Aldis delivers a super gourdbuster. Flying body press MISSES! Daniels is too injured to hit Angel's Wings and sees it COUNTERED to the Alabamaslam! Aldis sends a message to Cody with that one, and rams his point home by tapping Daniels out to the King's Lynn Cloverleaf at 09:35

Rating - *** - Solid stuff, albeit not anything like the quality of the Cody/Willie exclusive and not the kind of bout which will send people running home to buy their Honor Club subscriptions. It was a decent TV match which felt more like ROH lending NWA their ring and one of their contracted talents to put Aldis over as they build up to NWA 70. Aldis was fine as well, but the real highlight for me was the ragged, desperate showing from Daniels. He made some uncharacteristic errors in execution but that only further played into the narrative of him as an ageing, wounded and increasingly desperate man as his contract ticks down.