McXal's Reviews

Honor United 2019 is in the books, Survival Of The Fittest 2019 was cancelled...meaning all that stands between us and Final Battle is a couple of zany VOD shows (The Experience 2019 and Colt Cabana's Unauthorized) that take place the same weekend as this episode premiers. To that end, we now start airing footage taped at Glory By Honor 17 - which is significant as that was the show which determined whom would be going to Final Battle to challenge for the World Title. This broadcast features two key bouts from GBH17 - and is hosted by the combination of Quinn McKay and Ian Riccaboni. Caprice Coleman, Colt Cabana & Lanny Poffo provide additional live commentary.

The show opens with the closing stages of the Battle Royal that took place at Glory By Honor 17, with the winner receiving a title shot at Rush later in the show. Silas Young is victorious and that sets up our television main event of the evening (Rush vs Young for the World Title).

During Night One of the Global Wars Espectacular Tour Alex Shelley came out to address the live crowd (since Dearborn is close to his hometown of Detroit). He talked about his World Title loss to Matt Taven in Toronto, but was pleased at his performance after a prolonged hiatus from wrestling. He listed a number of opponents in ROH he wanted to face, but was interrupted by Gresham. They are former stable-mates in Search & Destroy, have been friends and (apparently) have a shared training influence in the form of Ikuto Hidaka. Gresh berated Shelley for failing to get the World Title away from Taven and failing to restore purity and honour to the top prize in the company and both agreed to this match to see who the better man is.

This starts precisely as you'd expect; both wrestlers chaining and countering with effortless precision. They repeatedly work to a stalemate, each man having an answer for whatever their opponent throws at them. Shelley grows frustrated first and shows his smarts by backing Gresh into a corner and taking a little cheap-shot at him to get ahead. He attacks the shoulder and arm...then dials up the aggression still more by raking the eyes and clobbering Gresham across the back of the head and neck. Gresham needs to step up his game to fight back - and does so by landing a quebrada then seamlessly floating into a running punt to Alex's arm. He chickenwings the arms, stretches a leg...and generally ties Shelley into knots. Even when he releases a hold, Gresham's next move is a deep armdrag to ensure that more damage is inflicted to that arm. Shelley breaks into an AWESOME flurry of counters to thwart further attacks on his arm then dives into a dropkick to the bandaged knees of The Octopus. Alex tries a flying crossbody to crumple Gresham's knee under him again...only for Gresham to roll through into a fast-paced rolling cradle exchange; each man blowing himself up but neither able to force victory. Gresham stomps the arm again. Alex looks for an electric chair but Gresh rolls down his body with ease to escape. BRIDGING La Magistral pin, using the arm for leverage, gets 2. Shelley tries to come off the top - so again Gresh meets him with a dropkick TO THE ARM! FLYING ATOMIC DROP by Shelley! Gresham COUNTERS Sliced Bread #2 by going back to the arm. Golden Gate Swing scores for Alex. Shellshock blocked...Octopus Stretch blocked...and Shelley forces Gresham's shoulders down for three! Shelley wins at 14:31

Rating - **** - This will appeal to only a rather niche audience. It was intensely mat-based, methodically paced throughout and even when they escalated the drama and aggression the work remained wholly grounded and more akin to a chess match. I enjoyed Gresham's work on the arm of course, and I thought Shelley pulling out all his savvy veteran tricks just to stay ahead of Gresh was a neat little touch to put over just how good Gresham really is at this point. However, the beauty of this match for me was the hypnotic ease with which they pulled it off. It had an almost balletic quality and was head and shoulders above everything else at Glory By Honor 17. I do question putting Shelley over though. I absolutely adore the guy as a solo worker...but coming off Gresham's huge win over Lethal at Death Before Dishonor, it was just so typical of Delirious that he fails to really capitalise and instead just slots Gresh back into his same old spot - 'technically excellent midcarder putting other people over'.

Gresham flips out at the loss, shoving ringside attendants around and threatening Shelley with a chair. Jay Lethal runs out to calm him down, and there's a great moment where you can see Gresham visibly contemplating laying out Lethal with the chair instead. He thinks better of that and finally does shake Shelley's hand...

Shane Taylor doesn't care what social media thinks about him - he is chasing a 'culture-changing, sport-altering', history-making championship reign...

After he was attacked by an unknown assailant in Las Vegas, Vinny Marseglia is quizzed about what happened by random stooges sent by 'Gary and the office'. Vincent sits in a trance, then snaps and starts intimidating one of the lackeys whilst speaking in riddles.

Bully Ray gets promo time, which he spends burying Mark and Vicky Haskins (and even their kids). Mark gets an interview too, and rants angrily about wanting a fair right with Bubba...

NEXT WEEK - Marty Scurll vs PCO in the finals of the #1 Contender Tournament. 

The World Champion Rush remains undefeated in ROH. He defeated Silas earlier in 2019, and this time around Young is having to step up to El Toro Blanco having already worked a match earlier in the show. He won a Battle Royal at the start of the night to earn this spot, screwing over his student/tag partner Josh Woods to do so. Can he ensure Josh's sacrifice was worthwhile, and screw up plans for Final Battle by assuming Rush's place as World Champion? 

Rush starts quickly as he always does, but is confronted by Silas FLYING out of the corner to spear him to the ground when he looks for an early Bull's Horns. It injures Rush's ribs and Young quickly looks to capitalise on that. He curls into a ball on the arena floor gasping for air and Silas makes it worse by hitting a diving axehandle off the apron, into the ribs. The challenger talks smack and has caught the entire arena off-guard with the dominant nature of his performance thus far. Rush grows incredibly irritated by Silas' constant narration...and blasts him with a German suplex and the Incineration knee. The champ wants to brawl on the floor; escorting Young around ringside to bash his head off multiple hard surfaces. Silas blocks the Bull's Horns...and ensures Rush inflicts more damage to his midsection when he misses a top rope senton splash. Plunge gets 2 for Young, and inflicts yet more punishment to those ribs. Misery blocked so Silas delivers the Anarchist Suplex instead. Rush explodes out of nowhere and elbows him into the corner though...for the Bull's Horns. Rush retains at 10:22

Rating - *** - A better effort than their previous match together. That one had a pretty unique dynamic for a Rush match, with Silas completely believable as someone who could slow down and antagonise the frenetic ball of energy that Rush normally presents as. This match had that same dynamic, but also a stronger and more coherent in-ring narrative to convey that. Young again slowed down and unsettled the champ...and this time also opened up an injury which at times threatened to derail the champion. And because he faced a modicum of peril, jeopardy and adversity - Rush's eventual victory feels far more impactful and emphatic.

Tape Rating - N/A - Glory By Honor 17 wasn't a fantastic VOD show, but the two feature matches they clipped from it for this broadcast were good. Shelley/Gresham was great even as a TV-edit and Rush/Silas was absolutely fine for a free television main event. There wasn't a huge amount here for Honor Club/regular VOD viewers however - so unless you are desperate to see a slightly strange Vinny Marseglia promo or a mildly-effective Bully/Haskins promo segment then you can skip over this.