McXal's Reviews

This episode airs in the midst of the Global Wars 2018 Tour so you could be forgiven for looking over it. The announced matches suggest it may be worth checking out though: TV Champion Jeff Cobb faces Shane Taylor in an enticing heavyweight collision, then in the main event Lethal and Gresham have recruited a 'mystery partner' to face The Kingdom. Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman and Colt Cabana provide commentary from Philadelphia, PA.

After spending a year in the wilderness without much direction to his ROH career, a win over Cobb would be a huge boost for Taylor. Cobb has torn through ROH, decimating the Top Prospect Tournament field and crushing Punishment Martinez to win the TV Title in his debut match. In Taylor he has an opponent with the size and punching ability to seriously threaten him - there is little doubt that this is a big test for Jeff...

Shane spits at Cobb rather than shake his hand, ensuring this is intense and nasty from the outset. SWINGING BACK SUPLEX by Cobb! NO SOLD by Taylor! EXPLODER! COBB NO SELLS! Shane lariats him to the ground emphatically. He talks trash in the direction of the TV Champ, who responds by pummelling him backwards using European uppercuts. STALLING falcon arrow by Jeff! Taylor gives him the disrespectful 1-count...so Cobb gives him a f*cking standing moonsault! Brutal knee strikes from Taylor. CLEVELAND DESTROYER! LARIATOOOOOO! Cobb kicks out! The fans are loving this. Greetings From 216 COUNTERED to an Everest German and a lariat from the Olympian. TOUR OF THE ISLANDS! Cobb wins at 04:33 (shown)

Rating - *** - They only got four and a half minutes of televised ring-time, and I almost went to 4* on this. It was the perfect showcase for what these two competitors offer to Ring Of Honor. Neither are the prettiest workers, nor are they the most technically skilled. But they are big, tough bad-asses who are completely at home in these 'American strong style', all action heavyweight sprints. And they both reap the rewards for how entertaining this was. Cobb gets a big, statement victory over Taylor, but Shane is the first guy on the ROH roster to really push Cobb to the limit so looks strong as well. I definitely want to see a rematch here.

Hangman Page interrupts Cobb's celebrations. He gets in the TV Champion's face, and when security tries to keep them apart they join forces to lay out the jobbers! It is clear that Page wants a title shot.

Jay Lethal doesn't blame Kenny King for the ambition he showed in jumping him from behind last week. He can't wait until they meet at Global Wars with the World Title on the line so he can exact revenge though. But for tonight he plans to end The Kingdom - in particular Matt Taven's claim to be the 'Real' World Champion

The Bouncers get some promo-time next. Bruiser seems distracted but Milonas vows that their team will get 'back on track' by defeating Cheeseburger and Eli Isom this evening. Bruiser then goes missing when it's time for their match...

NEXT WEEK - Marty Scurll is ready to end the 'Hero vs Villain' story with a decisive win over Shane 'Hurricane' Helms...

Brian Milonas finds Beer City Bruiser drinking alone. BCB is depressed that Silas Young has ditched them, and needs a rousing speech from the Kingpin. As a result they make their entrance for the next match directly from the bar, through the crowd...

Big, bad and dangerous; the sheer size of Bruiser and Milonas makes them one of the most intimidating teams in ROH history. But they haven't won as many matches as they'd like and, as we just saw, Bruiser is distracted by the apparent disintegration of his friendship with Silas Young. Isom and Burger represent the 'Shinobi Shadow Squad'. Eli has an ROH win over Shane Taylor so knows what it takes to upset a bigger opponent...

Isom starts with BCB and struggles to get the bigger man off his feet. Milonas and Burger in next, with Kingpin easily dusting off an attempt at the sleeper hold and holding Cheese in place for The Bouncers' mafia kick/sidewalk slam combo. Isom gets a much-needed tag...only to find his momentum instantly crushed after an emphatic belly to belly suplex by Milonas. He recovers well, stopping Brian from coming off the second rope with a great springboard dropkick, then DUMPING Bruiser with a brainbuster for good measure. It's to no avail though, The Bouncers ensure Eli is pinned after the Last Call in a time of 06:01 (shown)

Rating - * - I don't enjoy Cheeseburger matches that require me to suspend my disbelief to such an alarmingly vast degree as this one did. Watching Bruiser and Milonas sell his striking was almost comical. Much like the Cobb/Isom squash from Glory By Honor this went too long and gave the underdogs WAY too much offence to make it a creditable or noteworthy squash for the victor. The Bouncers leave with the win, but made such heavy going of it they in no way come off like a team you want to see climbing the card.

SoCal Uncensored are given in-ring promo time next. They hit their catchphrases, then Daniels admits that Joe Koff was right to want to fire them at the start of 2018. He concedes that they had bad attitudes, but now they are trying to convince him that they've changed and are worthy of new contracts. He hypes the Tag Title Match next week when the Briscoes defend against the Bucks and The Addiction...and vows that Koff will happily offer them a new contract after they get the belts back to end Jay and Mark's 'reign of terror'. The Briscoes sneak out and ambush SCU in the aisle. JAY DRILLER ON THE STAGE to Daniels! 

There is a lot of spice to this one. Matt Taven feels cheated out of the World Championship, having had his scheduled title shot against Castle cancelled due to Dalton's injuries, then having the ref miss a clear pinfall he had back in Fairfax before Lethal wound up being the one to dethrone Castle. He now carries around a 'Real' World Title belt and comes in having attacked Lethal and Gresham at Death Before Dishonor. The returning Dalton Castle was Lethal & Gresh's mystery partner. He has been recovering from his multiple injuries after dropping the belt and if you're being honest still doesn't look completely healthy. But he's back and he too will want a piece of Taven...

Gresham and Taven get the ball rolling, although Matt is more concerned in yelling abuse at Lethal. O'Ryan eventually takes his place and falls victim to all of The Octopus' best tricks. Marseglia calls out Dalton, who tags in without hesitation. Castle still has a heavily bandaged leg and is working with a big back support on as well. It doesn't stop him quickly despatching Vinny to the floor though. Taven ambushes Castle as the rest of The Kingdom drag Gresham and Lethal off the apron to brawl on the floor. Matt welcomes Castle back to ROH by throwing him into the crowd...as Marseglia drags Todd Sinclair to his lair under the ring. With no official in place Taven starts smacking at Lethal's back with a steel chair, putting The Kingdom firmly in charge. Just The Tip almost knocks Jay out...but he rallies to take out the vocal TK with an Ace Crusher. Gresham tagged, giving Vinny and TK a double bulldog. Castle spins Taven through the air with a clothesline but gets distracted by Marseglia so can't capitalise. Flying knee off the apron by Castle! TOPE CON HILO BY GRESHAM! SHOOTING STAR PRESS GETS KNEES! Lethal Combination! LETHAL INJECTION! BANG-A-RANG on Marseglia! Dalton gets the big comeback victory at 11:04 (shown)

Rating - *** - Nothing outrageous, spectacular or worth going out of your way to see but I still thought this was a really solid, free main event which accomplished a lot with relatively little effort and stoked the fires of multiple different storyline threads. The Kingdom looked GREAT as a cohesive trio once again, setting the scene for them to have another crack at the Six-Man Titles. Taven was full of personality and presence as the lead villain and antagonistic presence as a 'fake' World Champion questioning Lethal's legitimacy. Gresham and Lethal showcased more of their skill as a team and look to be a semi-regular duo now which can only be a good thing. Castle's return was very well-received within the 2300 Arena. The amount of supports and bandaging still on his body tells you that, even after time off, he is still a long way from his very best. However, here the six-man environment protected him from physical harm and presented him with multiple opportunities to shine. 

Dalton raises the arms and congratulates his team-mates...but pointedly refuses to release Lethal's arm before making it VERY clear that he is coming for a World Title rematch.

Tape Rating - ** - I debated whether or not to go higher on this rating. I didn't love Bouncers vs 3S, but the rest of the card was good. The main event kept a few angles ticking along whilst welcoming back an old friend, the Briscoes ending SCU's interview by trying to cripple Daniels on the stage was certainly a talking point, and we got one of the best ROH TV opening matches all year in that absolute war between Jeff Cobb and Shane Taylor. This is one of those episodes which you can easily skip and not miss a great deal...but if you do check it out it doesn't disappoint at all.