McXal's Reviews

The rivalry between The Foundation and La Faccion Ingobernable continues to heat up as they battle for control of the spiritual and ideological future of Ring Of Honor. The 19th Anniversary Show looms large; a show which will see The Foundation positioned as challengers for all of the championships currently held by LFI - and as a warm-up act tonight we'll see a 4-on-4 grudge tag match. Quinn McKay, Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are our broadcast team in Baltimore, MD.

This is the first time Eli has seen ROH combat since before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. Touted as a hot prospect almost as soon as he graduated from the ROH Dojo, his career has seen him score wins over the likes of Christopher Daniels and Shane Taylor - and courageously take the fight to many more. He poignantly talks about his childhood, his relationship with his mother before she tragically passed away, and his history with trainers Cheeseburger and Will Ferrara. The pandemic prevented him from contesting one of the biggest matches of his career against WWE Hall Of Famer Bully Ray - and he now returns a little older, a little wiser, stepping out of the disbanded Shinobi Shadow Squad and hungry to make up for lost time. Horus, meanwhile, has had a tough 2021 thus far - failing to capture the TV Title then losing the Six-Man Championship to Shane Taylor Promotions. He plans to bounce-back tonight by putting young Eli in his place.

Eli Isom's look and new gear are fantastic, his music is unfathomably bad though. As you might expect after a year on the shelf, his start is slow and tentative. He looks to stay close to Horus and is happy to trade holds since it keeps the luchador on the mat. Rey looks a step ahead of Isom at all times - finally pulling the trigger by tossing him out of the ring and hitting a somersault plancha OVER THE TURNBUCKLES to the floor! Back in the ring Isom shows his tenacity and power though, catching Horus in a ripcord northern lights suplex variant. C4 BY HORUS gets 2! Eli is struggling but still has enough fight in him to mess with Rey's mask and toss a couple of elbow strikes his way. Horus angrily dumps him with a belly to belly suplex to the turnbuckles for 2. Tornado Dragon DDT COUNTERED TO A BRAINBUSTER! Isom grabs a shock win at 06:00 (shown)

Rating - ** - Not the best example of either man's work. I've said repeatedly that I really like Rey Horus. He is a special talent, capable of amazing things and I really hope he isn't lost in the shuffle on an ROH roster which also includes Dragon Lee, Flamita and Bandido as world class masked luchadors too - he offers something different to all of those guys. The best parts of this match (for me) were his moments of explosive offence, or his visible displays of agitation or annoyance when Eli defied him. For his part I thought Isom looked rusty and will probably look back at a few things within this match and wish they had gone a little better. He remains one of the most genuinely exciting prospects to come out of the ROH Dojo though. Delirious has decisions to make about how he manages Eli's transition from 'prospect' to accepted, respected member of the regular roster...but the time is now for him to pull the trigger and let the kid sink or swim. He needs new music for starters...

A video package plays, stating that 'the history of ROH isn't just pure, it is violence'...and that the time has come to 'restore Violence'. 

EC3 gets promo time ahead of his showdown with Jay Briscoe at the 19th Anniversary. As usual he talks in riddles without saying much of anything. Something about islands, and burning boats...

In response Jay Briscoe is direct, pointed and typically excellent. He brilliantly tears apart EC3's 'Control Your Narrative' catchphrase by pointing out that he and his brother have been declining WWE deals for years because they don't want to move to Florida and they make more money than WWE can offer with their businesses in Delaware (versus EC3's repeated attempts to 'become a Superstar'). He says he has shaken hands with Misawa, Joe, Sasaki, Danielson, Tyler Black and more...and won't shake EC3's until he 'damn well earns it'.

As the 19th Anniversary draws near, La Faccion Ingobernable and The Foundation look to launch pre-emptive strikes before they meet again at the pay-per-view with championships on the line. Jay Lethal will challenge Rush for the World Title...fighting the most important battle of his life, he says, not to become a three-time ROH Champion, but to allow The Foundation to purify and restore ROH to the ideals upon which he feels it was built. Tracy and Rhett will challenge new Tag Champions Dragon Lee and Kenny King; a bout made spicier by the fact that Lee will also be defending the TV Title against Williams the very same evening. Ever since Rush, La Bestia and Lee hijacked the Final Battle main event with their 'ungovernable' goal to humiliate everyone on the ROH roster they have been on a collision course with The Foundation. The future of Ring Of Honor is at stake...

Gresham and Lee start and tempers quickly fray when Dragon doesn't follow the rules. Todd Sinclair has to separate them as they start trying to strangle each other! Lee dances around and spits in Lethal's face too, bringing all eight me into the ring for an ill-willed exchange of views. La Bestia tags, met by a fired up Tracy - and it's 'the patriarch of LFI' who gets the edge with a barrage of strikes. Hot Sauce happily fires back and eventually they knock each other to the ground. Bestia is first up...and now he strolls over and spits at Lethal too! Jay finally tags in and immediately calls out Rush...WHO SLAPS HIM IN THE FACE! Lee and Rush double up on The Franchise in the corner, but can't keep him down. Lethal retaliates with a springboard dropkick to the apron then a tope suicida up the aisle. King tags next and is delighted to find himself confronted with his old tag partner Rhett Titus. Things are personal between these guys and they go straight to the mat fighting like crazy for superiority. Titus blocks King's signature sequences and counters which is a brilliant little detail, but in response Kenny easily dodges the Dropkick. Looking to try something different, Rhett launches himself off the top rope with a flying crossbody and successfully hauls King to The Foundation's corner. They start working over King's arm with Gresham in particularly looking absolutely savage. The Octopus also spearheads them going after the leg as well when King threatens to get back to his feet and mount a comeback. Finally Rhett misses a Yakuza Kick in the corner, relinquishing control of Kenny and unleashing the rest of LFI. A mass brawl breaks out and it is telling that Rush makes a beeline for Lethal and SLAMS HIS HEAD IN THE GUARDRAIL DOOR! Lee and Titus, meanwhile, are brawling by the announce desk sending Riccaboni sprawling in the process. On the other side of the ring Tracy and Bestia are still chopping the sh*t out of each other too. La Bestia leaves him laying then helps Rush give Jay a big back body drop on the arena floor. Rush then tries to choke Rhett out with electric cables - and the end result is all of The Foundation laid out on the floor so LFI can single out Lethal for sustained abuse. Tracy tries to make a save and legit tries to trade strikes with all four of them at once...which ends with him having his shoulder brace torn off and subjected to a brutal beatdown. Rhett goes after Kenny only to be ambushed by Dragon...then given a 'Big Dawg Splash' by King. Gresham is the last man standing; ducking and weaving and going deep into his box of tricks to stay out of LFI's clutches! It is a BRILLIANT sequence and ends with him setting up Titus for a belly to belly suplex on Kenny. CAPTURE northern lights suplex on Bestia gets 2. PILEDRIVER by Tracy! Lee breaks the pin at 2. SNAP GERMAN by Dragon! DVD by Tracy! LETHAL INJECTION ON RUSH! THE CHAMP IS DOWN! Blue Thunder Driver by King! QUEBRADA BY GRESHAM! TOPE CON HILO TO THE FLOOR! CRADLE TOMBSTONE from La Bestia to Tracy - giving LFI the win at 18:11 (shown)

Rating - **** - Wow. Quite possibly ROH's MOTY thus far, and indeed one of the best matches they've produced since the post-pandemic relaunch. I absolutely loved this - it was a masterpiece in layering feuds/storylines, promoting to big PPV matches whilst also delivering a compelling and tremendously exciting bout in its own right. There were so many neat little touches. LFI taking turns spitting in Lethal's face was a hot start. Gresham was, from start to finish, almost untouchable as a technical wizard - with skill so immense even in a 4-on-1 setting LFI couldn't keep him down. Tracy's notorious 'Hot Sauce' temper made him a brilliant foil for the veteran La Bestia, playing all the way to a finish where the purist technician was no match for an old dog of war like Bestia in an all-out brawl. King and Titus have SO much history together and it was handled superbly despite never being the main focus of the contest. Exchanges between Rush and Lethal kept to a minimum, but LOADED with meaning when they did come. The pacing too was terrific; The Foundation dialled up the tension and dominating a wrestling match...but then lost all control when the ungovernable LFI made it a brawl all over the arena. And, perhaps most importantly, this had a clean f*cking finish! La Faccion prove they have the chops as workers to hang with The Foundation without a bullsh*t finish, in a match which stayed true to their 'Ingobernable' reputation...and a match that was so good The Foundation lose no credibility even in defeat either. This is what ROH should be all about, and is very much worth going out of your way to see...

La Faccion Ingobernable clown around with 'Tranquilo' poses then bury Rush under all the title belts whilst The Foundation lick their wounds on the floor. They know they get another chance to break LFI's dominance at the pay-per-view...

Tape Rating - *** - A go-home show which promotes the PPV competently whilst also providing one of ROH's best matches of 2021 thus far mean this episode has a lot to like about it. Whilst I'm a fan of both competitors I didn't love Isom/Horus - but I can't praise that main event highly enough. It was a brilliant match for free TV, receiving a generous time allocation and living up to all expectations. If you've enjoyed ROH's Covid-secure, post-pandemic product the LFI vs Foundation 8-man is absolutely must-see