McXal's Reviews

Even when there isn't a global pandemic the episode of ROH television that runs alongside a pay-per-view weekend is usually a pretty low-key affair. When that episode is taped in the stunted, sullen atmosphere of a Covid-secure empty arena my fear is that it could be even more passable. The line-up for this one is interesting if nothing else though, promoting talent you don't always see featured on ROH television. Brian Johnson gets a potential star-making opportunity when he faces former World Champion Dalton Castle, and a main event which reignites a rivalry dating back more than ten years as The Foundation's Rhett Titus takes on Delirious. Quinn McKay is our host. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are at the announce desk for commentary in Baltimore, MD.

Castle's pre-match interview is superb. He berates Johnson for the disrespect he showed in throwing a drink over him after Dalton's loss to Brody King on Episode 477. He reminds 'The Mecca' that he is lucky to be in a company like ROH and get to share the ring with great champions like the Briscoes, Jay Lethal, Matt Taven...and himself. After a frustrating year he wants to 'break' the disrespectful 'little toad' he faces tonight. Johnson continues to be a cracking interview, bemoaning the fact that ROH clings to the past and 'relics' like Dalton Castle (who 'crumbled under the pressure' when he got his chance at the top) rather than embrace deserving talent like him. It's easy to see why ROH have promoted Brian Johnson far more than other Future Of Honor guys as he really is a good promo.

Castle goes right for Bang-A-Rang, so The Mecca runs away! Capture back suplex by the former World Champion instead - it is clear he is extremely motivated for this. He hammers at Brian's back, striking because that's the same body part which Dalton himself has suffered with so greatly. Tope suicida by Johnson, drilling Castle into the guardrails. He then ducks an attempted clothesline and watches as Dalton crashes into the ringpost and almost knocks himself out. The Peacock starts favouring his shoulder...so Johnson decks him with an armbar DDT. In a call-back to earlier in the match, it's now Dalton who has to flee to evade his opponent. Even when he tries the tiger feint headscissors spot off the apron (something he's done in almost every match in his entire ROH career) the arm gives out on him and leaves him vulnerable to another barrage from The Mecca. Dalton pops off an elbow strike...but using his injured arm so leaving him in agony. It gives Johnson time to crawl away and position himself for an armwrench over the top rope. Castle fires back with a running knee, delivered with such force that it rockets Brian backwards crotching him on the ropes. SUPER ARMBAR TAKEDOWN by Johnson! With Dalton reeling Johnson grabs him and delivers a Tower Of London for 2. Even when trying to escape with a backslide victory Castle crumples because of the arm injury. Everest German into a ONE-ARMED BANG-A-RANG! Dalton wins at 10:22 (shown)

Rating - *** - Don't sleep on either of Brian Johnson's TV matches since ROH returned from hiatus. The Pure Rules match with Dak Draper was really enjoyable, and this one proves that encounter wasn't an accident or a fluke. Johnson talks a good game and, based on this evidence, works a good game too - at least with the right opponent. Watching Dalton wrestle these days can sometimes be a sad experience. He isn't the performer he once was and injuries cruelly took away what should have been his career break-out run. But the one thing he now does extremely well is sell. He is so beaten up that you can't help but feel for the guy. It doesn't matter if his opponent works his arm, his leg, his back, his front...Castle convinces you that he is broken and that his opponent is torturing him. That isn't necessarily a tool which will put him back into the main event scene...but it does make him a valuable player on the roster. He was SO good at putting Johnson over here that, even in defeat, The Mecca undoubtedly leaves with his reputation enhanced. 

Castle heads backstage and tells Quinn McKay that he is almost grateful to Johnson for making him angry again. His win serves as a reminder that he is 'really good at wrestling'...

Leon St. Giovanni reflects on his narrow, judges decision defeat to Jay Lethal four weeks ago and now turns his attention to Kenny King. He plans to make a statement by defeating King; someone with a rich and long history in this company...and refuses to let Kenny rebuild his ROH career (after recent losses) at his expense.

Kenny King, meanwhile, talks about Rush and Dragon Lee helping him get over his recent loss to Shane Taylor. He has seen workers like LSG countless times in his career and dismisses 'nearly' beating Jay Lethal as a meaningless accomplishment to someone like him (who has beaten Lethal on more than one occasion). He faces LSG in an Honor Club Exclusive match on Christmas Eve...

The standard of ROH's video packages/interviews since the reboot has been high, but even benchmarked against that new standard the interviews for this one are outstanding. Titus' sombre, melancholic and wistful reflection on his ROH career, his lost youth and his life spent coming of age in this company is moving - going so far as to say that he was going to quit wrestling were it not for being brought into The Foundation. They have pulled footage out of the archive of his 2008 mini-feud/love-triangle angle with Delirious and Daizee Haze since Rhett wants to go back a decade to avenge multiple losses and blood being shed at the hands of the Lizard Man. Delirious (once again in Lizard-speak with subtitles) says that, unlike Rhett who is very publicly a family man, he 'lives off-grid' and deliberately avoids people prying into his life (that works in kayfabe and as a jab at anyone who has ever discussed his 'relationship' with Mandy Leon too!)...then brings out HDNet footage of Rhett, Kenny King and Austin Aries ending his career as a 'full-time competitor' inside a steel cage. He hasn't forgotten that and want revenge...

The ringing bell triggers Delirious' traditional freak-out, but rather than running round the ring he charges Titus and starts grappling him like a mad man. Rhett shows his comfort in the Pure division by weathering the storm, stunting Delirious' momentum and slowing him right down. It gets so intense that they stop releasing each other; rolling back and forth on the canvas going for pinfall after pinfall. Titus uses his size and power to keep the masked man down - and the Caprice/Ian duo smartly spot that he is quick to counter any attempt from Delirious to target the neck or set-up for the Cobra Stretch. Delirious breaks free, delivers a missile dropkick to the neck and follows it with a quick neckbreaker as well. Rhett has to use his first rope-break at this stage to prevent the Lizard Man from locking in the Cobra Stretch. The second break soon follows because Delirious is relentless and keeps trying to climb on top of him and lock in the submission hold. Showing genuine wrestling smarts, Delirious hits an armbreaker over the knee, injuring Titus' arm (another body part the Cobra Stretch targets) and reducing Rhett's ability to block his attacks. He is clever enough to dodge Rhett's big dropkick as well. Cobra Clutch applied...drawing Titus' third rope-break and causing them both to collapse to the floor. The nasty fall injures Delirious' knee, slowing him down so Rhett can hammer him with Yakuza Kicks. Cobra Legsweep! Cobra Stretch briefly applied...only for Titus to roll-over into a pin for 2. He throws Delirious aside with a belly to belly suplex, hurting his own arm to put his old rival in trouble. COBRA CLUTCH-PLEX! Panic Attack countered! Dropkick lands, and even with a bad arm and no rope-breaks left Rhett finds a way to nab the victory at 12:14 (shown)

Rating - *** - I really enjoyed this. Neither man are major names or marquee attractions for ROH in 2020. But the freedom empty arenas give Ring Of Honor is that they can throw out hard working, talented guys like this into a TV main event setting and not worry about the lack of a crowd reaction. In many ways it was the perfect match to re-establish Rhett as a threatening singles competitor (rather than Romantic Touch, or the oiled up, posing body builder in the Speedo, or a 'Dawg'). He wasn't suddenly invincible because he's getting a bit of a push - Delirious out-wrestled him for long periods and left him severely injured. Instead we got to see the resourcefulness of Titus, and the veteran street-smarts of a man who has spent more than a decade in this company. He had a counter for everything Delirious (a man who has beaten him multiple times in the past) threw at him, he was big and strong and crucially he found a way to win even without the use of an arm. Post-pandemic Delirious is the most interesting version of the character we've seen in a long-time as well. I don't necessarily enjoy him as a booker, but I've been an ardent supporter of Delirious the wrestler going back to his very first matches in the company. THIS was the kind of work which saw him tearing houses down with Bryan Danielson or Matt Sydal during Gabe's era. His pre-match interview was the kind of brooding work that saw him become a hugely under-rated part of Age Of The Fall...

NEXT WEEK - The annual 'Christmas Surprise' 10-man tag returns, with rival teams led by Jay and Mark Briscoe on opposite sides...

Tape Rating - *** - Innocuous and clearly not the most memorable or spectacular of episodes given its proximity to Final Battle...but as far as in-ring product goes this was actually the best episode for a few weeks. Castle/Johnson and Titus/Delirious are hardly box office draws and are easy to skip or look past. But both feature lots of good, old-fashioned grit and workrate; solid limb-work, great selling, strong pacing and a crisp, clean logical finish entirely in keeping with the tone of the bout that came before it. I can't recommend it to a much wider audience than the ROH die-hards because, with SO much wrestling out there it's hard to convince anyone that this show is must-see. But for fans of no-thrills WRESTLING this hour of television had a lot going for it.