McXal's Reviews

We live in extraordinary times. The Covid-19 pandemic has perhaps permanently altered the fabric of human existence on this planet - with live entertainment/performance art an area that has been hit particularly hard. Ring Of Honor returns this week with its first 'new' content since the end of February 2020, and to give rightly due credit to Sinclair - they have received widespread praise for their handling of ROH's operations during the pandemic. They have paid talents for cancelled events and ensured contracted employees continue to receive pay. They have resisted the urge to (or perhaps, do not have the same TV network pressures to) hole up in Florida and run events like WWE or AEW. They have been as innovative and ambitious as they've ever been with their content across multiple platforms - like the TV show, social media, Honor Club, podcasting - and at the start of September even announced the creation of 'Best On The Planet', a new 24-hour streaming channel. When they announced this set of TV tapings, taking place in a closed studio set, they received still more praise for the stringent Covid-19 health and safety protocols in place; including multiple rounds of Covid screening tests, sequestering the entire roster and crew into a closed bubble days ahead of time to minimise unchecked exposure to the virus, a fully socially distanced taping, masks worn extensively by all personnel, matches taped one at a time with the ropes fully disinfected and sanitised and a new canvas installed for each bout - and more. As with anyone trying to continue operations during the pandemic, the logistical challenges required to pull this taping off are quite remarkable. All involved should be commended for their sacrifice and hard work to pull this off. Now, after more than seven months in hibernation - Ring Of Honor is back!

And in many ways it is the start of a new era...again. 2019 was, putting it mildly, a mixed year for Ring Of Honor. Company employees and Sinclair will, I'm sure, point to the Madison Square Garden sell-out as an indicator of success. Detractors will point to dwindling attendances, a wholehearted failure to cope with the AEW talent exodus and some outright bewildering creative decisions making ROH a near-irrelevance. 2020 was supposed to be a major relaunch. Marty Scurll - tipped to join his former 'Being The Elite' cast-mates in AEW - surprised people by signing a lucrative new contract with ROH, which reportedly included being installed at the helm of creative for the company. He was to be the new 'booker'. And we began 2020 with a batch of shows which received lukewarm praise. They ran a completely free show in Baltimore (Free Enterprise), brought in new talents, created new stables and in the very last event before Coronavirus Lockdown (Gateway To Honor 2020), Rush took back the World Title from PCO. Scurll himself is quoted as saying he needed to get through those shows and felt like the next batch of events - starting with the 18th Anniversary Show and Past vs Present double-header in Las Vegas - were to be where he'd put his own stamp on things. But with talent congregating in Vegas, Sinclair and ROH took the decision to cancel those events and the whole company went into mothballs. Over the summer of 2020 the wrestling industry was torn apart by the Speaking Out movement, rocking multiple promotions and shining much-needed exposure and light on some of the darkest and most undesirable aspects of the industry. ROH was not immune to this, with allegations made against Scurll (and others). The company announced an internal investigation (the results of which have still not been announced) - but the rumours and reports coming out of this taping was that Scurll had been shelved, was not present and that former creative head booker Delirious had resumed control. 

It means that with these shows ROH is now trying to hit the reset button for a second time in 2020, against the backdrop of a devastating global pandemic - an unenviable task in the extreme. With travel restrictions and a multi-national roster it means multiple core talents are (reportedly) unable to appear at this taping. The likes of Rush, Dragon Lee, Bandido and Flamita remain in Mexico. Mark Haskins, Joe Hendry and Session Moth Martina are stuck across the Atlantic. The likes of Slex and new signing Adam Brooks remain in Australia. Meaning not only do ROH need to create new content, with an entirely new creative team...but they need to do so without big chunks of their core roster (including the World and TV Champions). The solution was to revisit an idea originally planned for April 2020; a tournament to crown a new ROH Pure Champion - bringing back a championship which has been dormant since 2006 when Bryan Danielson unified it with the World Title by defeating Nigel McGuinness in Liverpool, England. The line-up for the tournament is different; Scurll is obviously out, along with unavailable international fly-ins Mark Haskins, Slex, Doug Williams, Ren Narita and Yuji Nagata. But absence creates opportunity - and we'll be seeing ROH debuts for Tony Deppen, Rust Taylor, Wheeler Yuta and Fred Yehi, plus returns for Matt Sydal and David Finlay in a 16-man tournament field which also includes the likes of Lethal, Gresham, Castle, Silas, Delirious, Romero and more. To commemorate the occasion, I have time-jumped my own review series forward (don't worry, I'll continue catching up in the background!) meaning I join the rest of you in heading to a closed set in Baltimore, MD - where Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are waiting for us! 

We open with a new title sequence (which is completely devoid of footage of Marty Scurll), including new music for the first time in the 469-episode history of the show. Quinn McKay is in a studio to talk about the history of the championship, discusses the Covid-19 enforced closed-studio set, runs through the participants, plus the tournament format and ROH Pure Wrestling rules. 

ROH Pure Wrestling rules themselves are reinstated almost precisely as they were back in 2004-2006; namely that each wrestler starts with only three rope breaks, after which the ropes become legal for pins and submissions. Closed fists strikes are (still) illegal, punishable first by a warning. Under Gabe's booking the second offence was the wrestler being punished by losing a rope break - but 2020 ROH list the rules as immediate disqualification. 'Outside interference' reportedly results in 'immediate termination from the roster for the wrestler that interferes' too.

It doesn't get bigger than this to kick off the tournament. These two are former World Champions, heading up the Red Block and arguably among the favourites to win the whole thing. Since Doug Williams couldn't travel, Lethal is now the only former Pure Champion in the tournament field. We get detailed interview/vignette packages for both competitors which are really interesting. Lethal talks about going back to 2002 in this company, and not feeling ready to face guys like Spanky and Samoa Joe last time he held the Pure Title. He is excited to face Castle in the tournament since it gives him a chance to correct the wrong of the 16th Anniversary Show main event in 2018 - which saw Castle successfully retain the World Title over Lethal (in an MOTYC) - and he predicts it will be he and Gresham (the current ROH Tag Champions) in the tournament final. Castle's interview is even better. He talks about his history as an amateur, the misconceptions people have about his character, the unbelievable injuries he has had to manage and get past just to continue his career...and wants to use this tournament as a platform to remind everyone just how good he is.

A cool on-screen graphic shows match time and uses a traffic light to denominate rope breaks. Lethal dives into the ropes on instinct to break a waistlock from Castle - costing him a rope break in the opening seconds. The jostle for position on the canvas with great intensity; their exchanges noticeable for how aggressive Castle is. He snaps off a couple of amateur-style suplexes as well, into a HEAD DROP CAPTURE BELLY TO BELLY FOR 2. During the break (we lose the best part of three minutes according to the on-screen graphic) Lethal regains control and starts targeting Dalton's leg as he looks to set up the Figure 4. A big shinbreaker rattles the ring then Jay starts booting the injured leg in the ropes, which isn't a rope-break since he put Castle's leg there. Dalton kicks at Jay to block the Figure 4, with Riccaboni and Coleman talking about the impact the lack of fans may have on their performance. Bang-A-Rang COUNTERED to the Lethal Combination for 2, as we hit the final five minutes of the bout. Castle frantically blocks Hail To The King and wild strikes to the back and neck. LEG-SELLING BANG-A-RANG! Castle's leg collapsed underneath him, meaning Jay lands close to the ropes! He uses his second rope break stop the count at two! They lock horns in the middle of the ring - each striking wildly at the respective injuries they've opened up. LETHAL INJECTION! Lethal sneaks the win, advancing to the next round in 10:32 (shown). 

Rating - *** - I'll be completely honest and transparent; what 2020 has taught me is that I really don't like empty arena wrestling. Professional wrestling is a performance art which relies more than most on the participation and support of its audience. The sterile environment created by a wrestling show without fans isn't one which I enjoy. Against that back drop, I thought these guys had a really solid match. Clearly they weren't shooting for anything like the kind of epic they delivered at the 16th Anniversary. Instead this felt like a competent, safe and familiar 'welcome back' to the ROH product. I really liked Castle's interview and was pleased to see that he carried that intensity into the match. His body language, his verbals and his strategy left me in no doubt that he was trying to make a statement and reaffirm his credentials as a world class wrestler. Similarly, having Jay Lethal - the 'Franchise of ROH' and the only former Pure Champion in the tournament - make an early error and cheaply utilise a rope break was a really smart piece of work to highlight the rules. After that it was a neat little match, with each man producing some competent work on a body part - highlighted entirely by Castle's brilliant selling of the leg injury. 

Yuta is the first beneficiary of the talent reshuffle for the 2020 Pure Title Tournament. He wasn't in the original line-up, but is here now and desperate to snatch what is a huge opportunity for him. He has a lot of experience for a guy still in his early 20's - trained by world class technicians Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams, he has worked for CZW, Beyond, GCW, Chikara, AIW, Evolve, WXW, spent time living in Japan at the Michinoku Pro dojo and describes himself as 'The Decoder'. But he comes up against perhaps the most motivated participant in the tournament. Gresham's interview goes deep into his journey to ROH, even describing the company as the one which inspired him to switch from amateur wrestling in the early 00's. But he is at his most interesting when he talks about 'The Foundation'. He doesn't just want to be Pure Champion - he wants the influence that the belt will give him. He wants to restore the 'Honor' to ROH, he wants to rebuild the company in the image of the great 'pure professional wrestlers' of the past. The belt doesn't just symbolise excellence to him - it symbolises opportunity and change, with him at the forefront. He doesn't even bring his Tag Title belt to the ring with him! This video packages are outstanding...

Yuta first engages Gresham in a knucklelock - significant because he said he wants to use his size and power advantage and that hold allows him to utilise those by forcing Gresh to the mat. He looks to continue that with a bodyscissors, then a facelock, still very much the aggressor in the early-going. Even when Gresham tries to counter into a bow and arrow Wheeler is able to counter into a close nearfall. The point is that he has 'decoded' Gresham, right down to studying his mannerisms and knowing that he usually teases a dropkick and gloats about it...meaning Yuta is locked and loaded to deck him with a dropkick of his own. Flying crossbody misses for The Decoder though; a rare error which presents a golden opportunity for Gresham. He goes straight to a deathlock, finally applying a leg submission that he has been going for all match. Yuta screams in pain and has no choice but to use his first rope break. Showing his experience, Gresham teases that he isn't able to untangle their limbs without assistance meaning precious extra seconds in the hold. CLOSED FIST PUNCH by Yuta! He is immediately warned by the referee - as we ask ourselves whether that was anger or strategy on the part of the younger man. Gresham is pissed and they rush the middle of the ring trading palm strikes! Yuta again has everything scouted; ducking an angry, wild enziguri strike then countering a back suplex. Gresh kicks the leg but is himself starting to fatigue and walks into a springboard crossbody for 2. Ankle screw by Gresham, setting up an attempt at a Figure 4 Leglock inspired by his co-Tag Champion! Yuta rolls UNDER the ropes to the floor, splattering both men on the arena floor to break the hold. Both men feel the ill-effects of that, returning to the ring and going NUTS with endless counters and pinning combinations. Knee drop on the leg by Gresham! Stomps to the leg! HE STARTS BATTERING THE LEG INTO THE MAT REPEATEDLY! Yuta taps, leaving Gresham to advance in the tournament at 09:32 (shown).

Rating - **** - I really hope Yuta gets a contract on the back of this performance. Clearly Gresham was extremely generous with him, but the young debutant demonstrated that he has all the tools. He looks great, his 'Decoder' gimmick is a perfect fit for this tournament and he confidently carried the entire premise of this match; namely that he had Gresham completely scouted and had a gameplan to counteract everyone of Gresham's strengths. And here is why I so champion good, competitive matches with clean finishes. Wheeler Yuta comes out of this looking like a million bucks on the back of how he dominated Gresham. BUT, in return, The Octopus looks fantastic too, since he was able to find a way to win a match and tap a guy out even though that man was bigger, stronger and seemingly able to counter his every move. This might have been a little dry for a live audience, but for a fan-free taping this was a superb, intelligent little match and a clear marker laid down for the standards that the rest of the Pure Title Tournament participants need to hit. 

NEXT WEEK - David Finlay vs Rocky Romero and the returning Matt Sydal vs Delirious.

Tape Rating - *** - As my lengthy intro pointed out, ROH is in a horrible position in 2020. For a variety of reasons 2019 was incredibly challenging for the promotion. Trying to rebuild in 2020...in the face of a catastrophic global pandemic, the Speaking Out movement, multiple booker changes, the success of AEW, the return to prominence for Impact and the continued omnipotence of World Wrestling Entertainment is as difficult as it gets. The first thing Ring Of Honor needs to do is rediscover its identity and find a niche which sees them become relevant to at least SOME wrestling fans again. In an era where 'cinematic wrestling' has, by necessity, been embraced to its fullest; giving us Boneyard Matches, Stadium Stampedes, Mimosa Mayhems, Money In Bank scrambles around a tower block and more, the 'back to basics' approach presented by ROH here felt very authentic. This a company which, for so long under Sinclair ownership, has felt like it is fighting against its own legacy - desperate to prove that what happens now is every bit as good as the untouchable 2004-2006 'golden years'. For the first time in a long time - this episode felt like a Ring Of Honor product comfortable with its own history. Tonal shifts in the production, i.e. copious amounts of highlight reel/clips showing footage from the very earliest ROH shows despite the step down in VQ, help of course...but inside the ropes earnest simplicity of the presentation was striking. This is ROH's niche and I hope they have the courage to stay the course. They may never again capture the lightning in a bottle critical success of Gabe Sapolsky's golden years. They may never again have talents of the unprecedented popularity and drawing power that The Elite had under contract. The effects of the pandemic mean it may be a long time before they can again fall back on the crux of using NJPW talent to bolster ticket and merchandise sales. But what they can control is the quality, consistency and identity of their own product. For a company which has vapidly used the phrase 'Best In The World' for a long time, perhaps this reboot presents them with an opportunity to actually live up to that moniker and use it to stand apart from their competition. Something about that feels very much like why ROH was founded way back in 2002 to begin with...