McXal's Reviews

The new era of Ring Of Honor television is upon us. Gone are dedicated TV tapings, every event is now aired on Honor Club VOD and the choice cuts lifted from those Honor Club shows and put onto television. I discussed some of the pros and cons of that decision in my Manhattan Mayhem 8 review so I won't get into them again here, but it is something I could see the logic in doing. We begin tonight with content largely pulled from that Manhattan Mayhem 8 event (with a hint of Mass Hysteria too), highlighted by the World Title showdown between Matt Taven, Jay Lethal...and eventually Kenny King too. Ian Riccaboni and Quinn McKay are our hosts, whilst Caprice Coleman and Colt Cabana also provide commentary from Manhattan, NY. 

Matt Taven enters the Hammerstein and demands a microphone from Bobby Cruise. He's happy to be back in New York, since last time he was here he won the World Title, and thinks tonight could be even better as he gets to end his years-long rivalry with Jay Lethal. Kenny King interrupts him with a reminder that last time he came to New York he won the Honor Rumble and should be considered the #1 contender. Since the 'new Ring Of Honor' is 'live and unpredictable', he demands he is added to the World Title Match tonight. Taven agrees, so Kenny walks away happy. That brings an irate Lethal to the ring, furious that yet again a 1-on-1 title match has been turned into a triple threat (just like G1 Supercard). He and Taven brawl, eventually needing referees and security to separate them...

Clips of the Briscoes winning the ROH Tag Titles for an 11th time, besting Guerrillas Of Destiny in a wild Street Fight, are shown. We then jump to the aftermath of the Briscoes/Bouncers Tag Title Match at Mass Hysteria - where GOD came out, bloodied Jay and Mark and went backstage to deliver an expletive-laden promo warning the new champs that the feud isn't over. Ian and Quinn reveal that they will meet in Ladder War 8 at Summer Supercard in Toronto.

After attacking Rush at Manhattan Mayhem, Dalton Castle is interviewed by Quinn McKay backstage. He tells Quinn that he isn't afraid of Rush and will prove it in Lowell. Cut to Mass Hysteria where he curtails a match with Rush using a low blow...then assaults him with a steel chair. That attack causes Rush to tear up the locker room, before our hosting team announce Dalton vs Rush in a No DQ Match for Toronto.

Next we see Tracy Williams winning a Proving Ground four-way (also featuring TV Champion Shane Taylor, Josh Woods and Silas Young) air. Quinn McKay got backstage interviews with both Hot Sauce and Shane T; Williams calling himself the 'best technical wrestler in the world', Taylor calls Lifeblood a 'crock' and points out that Tracy spent plenty of time working for 'another company that wanted to put ROH out of business'. He plans to knock Tracy out at Summer Supercard.

In the streets of New York after that match, Josh Woods and Silas Young catch up. Silas congratulates Josh for wising up and giving him a low blow in the heat of battle...but he says Josh still has a lot more to learn.

NEXT WEEK - Lifeblood vs Villain Enterprises in an 8-Man Tag...

As we heard earlier, the rivalry between Taven and Lethal goes back years. Tonight was to be the rematch from their big 17th Anniversary time limit draw; Taven now defending the belt having won it from Lethal in a triple threat Ladder Match at G1 Supercard also featuring Marty Scurll. But Kenny also has a legitimate claim to the title. He earned a title shot by winning the 2019 Honor Rumble, and even if Lethal is entitled to a rematch, he has a genuine argument to be ahead of Lethal in the pecking order after beating him in a Best Of Three Series (culminating at Best In The World). Taven agreeing to add King means that for a second time Lethal has seen a scheduled singles match for the World Title on a major show changed to a three-way, reducing his chances of leaving as champion as a result. 2019 has been a frustrating year for him; can he channel that year of angst into becoming a three-time champion tonight? Alex Shelley meets the winner of this for the title at Summer Supercard and joins commentary to do some scouting...

Lethal again has timekeeper Amy Rose ejected from ringside due to her association with King. There is a super atmosphere inside the Hammerstein during the entrances, with plenty of support for both Lethal and Taven. Matt walks away at the bell and demands that the other two get the fight started; which Kenny duly obliges. He and Lethal run through  a scorching sequence where they attempt and counter all of Jay's signature offensive combinations again. Taven tries to drag Lethal out for a fight, so King hits a CRAZY corkscrew pescado onto both of them. Inverted neckbreaker scores on Lethal for 2, softening up the neck perhaps for another Lethal 'King-jection'. Discus Lariat by Taven; picking his spots and sneaking in to ambush both opponents at once. Rolling neckbreaker on Lethal, followed by an Asai moonsault for 2. King blocks the Proton Pack so Lethal traps them both in the corner to deliver dropkicks aimed at their unprotected faces. Lethal Combination on Kenny; making the point that King is now so worn down that Jay can finally start attempting all his favourite moves. Unfortunately it means taking his eyes off the champ...who walks over and slaps him in the face. E HONDA STRIKES by Lethal in response, channelling his old mentor Samoa Joe. All three men stand in the middle of the ring teeing off on each other; Kenny initially taking the brunt of the punishment before rallying and decking both opponents with diving clotheslines. Capo Kick from King to Lethal...Kick Of The King from Taven to Kenny! TOPE SUICIDA through both men by Taven! AIR TAVEN WIPES OUT KENNY! Lethal dodged that, sprints into the ring and TOPE SUICIDAS HIM INTO THE GUARDRAILS! Figure 4 Leglock on Kenny. AURORA BOREALIS by Taven to break it! Then he steals the Figure 4 for himself trying to tap King out. Lethal tries to break it with Hail To The King BUT MISSES AS KENNY COUNTERS THE FIGURE 4! That was awesome! Chin Checker nailed! Kick Of The King nailed! DOUBLE ONE NIGHT STAND by Kenny gets 2! Taven blocks the Royal Flush and decapitates King with Just The Tip...but walks into the LETHAL INJECTION! FOR 2! Jay is so frustrated he's almost in tears! LETHAL KING-JECTION! ROYAL FLUSH! CLIMAX ON KING! Taven pins Lethal to retain at 15:57

Rating - **** - A quite terrific triple threat match, and I say that as someone who really isn't a fan of this match format. Although all shows are now taped for Honor Club, it's important to remember that ROH still needs TV content and I thought this was a brilliant bout to tape for television. Adding in Kenny removed the pressure to deliver a sprawling, epic follow-up to the Taven/Lethal one-hour match earlier in the year. The result was outright fun; three guys who bounced off each other extremely well - working in elements of Lethal's singles rivalries with both men, pacing and laying out the match with serious intelligence and timing - all culminating with Taven finally getting a clean pin on Lethal to completely legitimise his championship reign. As I've said a number of times, it's okay to disagree with the decision to put Matt Taven in this spot. But his body of work as champion demands more respect than it gets - he played his part in a real cracker here.

Tape Rating - N/A - This new format will take some getting used to, both for fans like me who watch all the live shows anyway...but also for the more casual viewer who may only experience Ring Of Honor through the medium of their weekly television broadcast. Certainly this didn't feel like a completely smooth broadcast; the chemistry between Ian and Quinn wasn't great and it didn't feel like anyone was entirely sure what the format for their hosting segments was supposed to be. That will improve of course, and the upside is that we saw a LOT more of Quinn McKay on this broadcast and she is a fresh, new, unique persona to add a new spin to ROH's on-screen product. It was nice to see more promo/interview/backstage content as well. It really helps flesh out characters or feuds, and is something that has been under-utilised within ROH's product for most of Sinclair's tenure. The basic premise of Quinn and Ian as studio hosts and an episode format which consists of clips and interviews from recent shows plus a single feature match feels solid. The execution needed a little work here though...