McXal's Reviews

This week is the first time under the new episode formatting that we'll be getting serious 'TV-exclusive bouts'. Two championships are on the line in matches which were taped at Manhattan Mayhem solely for television broadcast here. Firstly we'll see Karissa Rivera, fresh from a big win over Sumie Sakai, challenging Kelly Klein for the Women Of Honor World Title. The main event will see Shinobi Shadow Squad receive the Six-Man Title Match they've been training for; they challenge Villain Enterprises with those ugly custom Trios Titles on the line. Ian Riccaboni and Quinn McKay are our hosts once again. Ian has Colt Cabana alongside him for commentary duties in Manhattan, NY too.

Kelly Klein talks about wanting to give opportunities to rising stars in the Women Of Honor division. She respects Karissa for not accepting a hand-out title shot and commends her for earning her opportunity this evening by defeating former champ Sumie Sakai. But The Gatekeeper doesn't plan on leaving New York without her belt...

Ian Riccaboni announces Champions vs All-Stars for the upcoming 'Saturday Night At Center Stage' event. It will be World Champion Matt Taven, TV Champion Shane Taylor and Tag Champions the Briscoes facing the 'All-Star' team of Jay Lethal, Jeff Cobb, Kenny King and Rush.

After commercials Quinn and Ian run-down the line-up for the 2019 Top Prospect Tournament. Most of that takes place in dark/YouTube matches which I'm not particularly inclined to check out, but I think the latter stages take place on main shows, so I should see some later on. The entrants are Dante Caballero, Joe Keys, Brian Johnson, Austin Gunn (son of Billy 'Mr Ass' Gunn), Haitian Sensation, Ken Dixon, Makita and Dak Draper - meaning the field consists almost entirely of ROH Dojo/Future Of Honor talents.

Match highlights this week include Rush beating TK O'Ryan of The Kingdom in New York, then heading over to Mass Hysteria in Lowell to see Silas Young secure a surprisingly comprehensive victory over PJ Black. In the locker room in Lowell, Josh Woods runs into Silas and grabs a cigarette from him...

Three weeks ago on TV we saw Karissa return to ROH television and deliver a pretty sensational upset victory over former WOH Champion Sumie Sakai. It immediately put her in line for a title shot; taped before Summer Supercard (where Klein successfully defended against Tasha Steelz) but airing afterwards. Few people have been able to best 'The Gatekeeper' of the Women Of Honor division throughout Kelly's ROH career, meaning it would be an even bigger upset than the Sakai match if Rivera were to leave as the new champion this evening...

Rivera gives an immediate demonstration of her range and power when she refuses to allow herself to be bullied or pushed around the ring by the champion. Kelly starts trying to grapple the challenger instead, but is beaten back by strikes from Karissa...until Klein plants her with a DDT. She repeatedly whips Karissa into the turnbuckles, apparently inflicting a back injury which noticeably slows the challenger down. When we come back from commercials we see that the onslaught has continued; Klein battering Rivera with repeated body slams and a backbreaker. Fallaway slam scores as well...but Rivera blocks another slam moments later and boots the champ in the face. She gains a measure of revenge with repeated Irish whips to the buckles on Klein, and punishes the back again with a spinebuster. Kelly gets up, hits the K-Power and wins emphatically at 06:18 (shown)

Rating - * - One-sided pseud-squash championship matches just aren't what the division needs right now to solidify and add credibility to the WOH Championship. And this was essentially a total squash. Klein was on offence for almost the entire match, and when she wasn't she was simply no-selling anything Rivera did. That isn't necessarily a bad thing; squashes can be fun. But after putting Karissa over Sumie and presenting her as a vaguely promising young athlete, having her demolished so comprehensively felt rather flat. After Klein/Steelz disappointed in Toronto as well, this feels like two consecutive matches where ROH have really tried to build up a new Women Of Honor star only to have them utterly crushed when they wrestle Klein...

Sumie Sakai trots to the ring to check on Karissa, having formed a student/mentor bond after their match three weeks ago. Kelly tries to put Rivera over on the microphone, but comes off as outrageously condescending - to the point that I thought she was going to turn heel. The Allure...well, the Beautiful People (Mandy isn't here) interrupt. Velvet complains that Klein continues to deny Angelina Love's demands for a title shot, even after being pinned by Love at Best In The World. Later in the locker rooms Klein, Sakai and Rivera present a united front, claiming that they represent the Women Of Honor division and that they do not want The Allure in the company...

Ian and Quinn announce that another Defy Or Deny Match has been signed for Honor For All 2019. Matt Taven faces top contenders Jay Lethal, Jeff Cobb and Kenny King. To set the tone for that we see footage of the last Defy Or Deny Match, taking place at State Of The Art 2019...

3S have backed themselves as a dangerous, often-underestimated trio all year. Despite losing to the Villains in VE's first official match as a trio, since then they've put together some impressive victories and have been vocal about wanting a Trios Title shot. They receive it this evening, looking to avenge the loss they suffered in Philadelphia and produce what would be a sizeable upset. Flip Gordon is in the corner of his fellow-Villains.

Nova and Burger try to jump PCO at the bell...so he tosses them both straight over the top rope to the floor. The Monster calls out Isom, then turns his back so Eli can even lay in some free shots. They are completely ignored, and PCO gets 2 with a northern lights bomb. Eli recovers to BACK DROP PCO over the top rope, sending him howling into his own partners. SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT to the floor by Isom! Cheeseburger loads up the Shotei...but PCO no-sells it and folds CB in half with a chokeslam. Sunset flip/German suplex combo from Brody and Marty to Burger! Scurll and Nova in legally for the first time; Ryan almost pinning Scurll by countering the Chickenwing into a pin. Marty quickly evens the score with a folding powerbomb. Bossman Slam by Brody! He and Scurll hit a senton splash/backbreaker on Nova, then pin him to retain at 06:12 (shown)

Rating - ** - A rather low key television main event, It certainly isn't bad, but like Klein/Rivera earlier, was tarnished by a one-sided dynamic which did little to enhance my enjoyment of the bout, or the reputation of the championship at stake. Their Philadelphia match from earlier in the year was better in my opinion.

Tape Rating - * - Calling this a 'Championship Edition' of the show is generous. Yes two titles are contested, but each of those bouts are short semi-squash matches that accomplish very little of anything. There is nothing that made this show stand-out, the in-ring content exclusive to the TV show was poor and the broadcast generally didn't have the same energy and frenetic pacing that the last two weeks have provided...