McXal's Reviews

This show features one of the matches I was most looking forward to seeing when it was announced that EC3 was coming to ROH. I don't think you can classify his Ring Of Honor run as an outrageous success, but I do think when he's actually shut up and wrestled he's been pretty decent in the ring - and there is no better member of the ROH roster to test himself against than 'The Franchise' Jay Lethal. We'll also see the Women's Title on the line, in another one of those ROH classic 'how the f*ck did they earn a title shot' specials, as Rok-C defends against Gia Scott. We are just two weeks from Final Battle and the 'End Of An Era' too. Quinn McKay hosts, Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman call the action in Philadelphia, PA.

With ROH potentially coming to an end, it feels almost unacceptable to think that the Briscoes won't end their near-twenty year run with the company as Tag Champions. They are set to challenge The OGK at Final Battle, but before that need to get past the bizarre odd-couple pairing of Danhausen and PCO. They, along with Sledge, have built up some form of relationship over the last year - albeit mostly on Week By Week because there hasn't been enough TV time to accommodate them. PCO was involved in some absolute wars with the Briscoes during his time with Villain Enterprises...

Mark tries to negotiate with Danhausen to get some replacement teeth from his jar which is pretty funny. Dan decides to walk away and make PCO start with Briscoe...and then blind-tags back in only once PCO has knocked him off his feet. Jay Driller-hausen blocked! Hausen also blocks one of the Briscoes' signature combo sequences which I really like. Unfortunately it isn't enough to stop the multi-time former Tag Champions taking over on him during commercials and cutting him off from PCO. German suplex on Jay though, which frees him and sets PCO up for the hot tag. He no-sells all the Briscoes' offence...until he starts having another malfunction. He starts having flashbacks to Final Battle 2020 when he and Mark teamed up, so hops into the Briscoe corner and demands a tag from one of his opponents. Danhausen fills Mark's mouth with the teeth he wanted so badly, before booting them all. Double chokeslam on Mark, prompting Dan and PCO to start arguing. Sledge comes out and gets into a fight with PCO...whilst Jay and Mark hit the Briscoe Biel. Jay Driller in the teeth - giving the Briscoes the win at 06:41 (shown)

Rating - *** - This was one of my favourite Danhausen/ROH matches. Granted that says more about his lack of quality in-ring output in the company, but I really did like this. It was silly, had moments of legitimate humour, referenced the Briscoes' past with PCO appropriately, furthered the (totally superfluous) Sledge/PCO feud, gave Danhausen maximum opportunity to get his gimmicky sh*t in without making the Briscoes look completely dumb...and ultimately gave Jay and Mark a convincing win on the road to Final Battle. For a six minute TV bout it was good, light-hearted fun.

Jay and Mark delicately start lining Danhausen's teeth into Mark's vacant gums, and it is incredibly funny.

The OGK and Maria Kanellis-Bennett have brief sit-down interviews/video montages showing clips of them going all the way back to their starts in ROH. They reflect on what the company has meant to them, as we head towards the 'End Of An Era' at Final Battle.

Are ROH even going to attempt to explain why Gia, who has impressed on Women's Division Wednesday without really threatening to beat any of the major players in the division, suddenly has a title shot? I wish someone would tell Delirious, Joe Koff, Maria, Bobby Cruise, Sinclair or whomever else keeps booking these random ass title matches that it is KILLING the credibility of their belts. Why the hell is Gia getting a title shot now, whilst you're making Angelina Love, Mandy Leon, Willow, Miranda Alize, Allysin Kay and Trish Adora (all bigger deals in the division than Gia) go through a mini-tournament to get a title shot? It makes NO sense! Here's hoping the match is good enough to make up for it. Gia is pissed off that she wasn't included in the tournament and is ready to prove it by becoming champion...

Scott tries to bully the champion since she is so much taller than Rok-C - and those long legs are utilised effectively as she controls The Prodigy on the canvas early on. Rok uses her speed and evasiveness to get ahead...and taunts Gia too. The challenger is sufficiently pissed off that she leaves the ring to recuperate. Scott blocks Rok's signature rope-run armdrag spot and clatters her to the canvas with a running tackle. That power and size is a real difference maker - and she proves it with a succession of hard, aggressive Irish whips into the turnbuckles which repeatedly knock the champion to the mat. Even when Rok-C tries to shut her down with a front choke she simply hoists The Prodigy into the air and pastes her into the turnbuckles again. Rok-Knees nailed, into a crossface submission. Gia powers out of that and hits a BRUTAL Spear! Another Spear attempt is blocked with a knee to the face - and Rok-C drops right into the crossface again. Scott taps out at 07:10 (shown)

Rating - *** - Rok-C is twenty years old and has been wrestling for less than three years. Gia is in her early twenties and only has around three years experience as well. These two women are both incredibly bright prospects for the future and this match was a great exhibition of their skills. This should have been non-title, but it was a solid power vs speed battle from start to finish. I strongly disagree with it being a title match, and the explanation that Gia 'complained until Maria gave her a title shot' holds absolutely no weight with me; it's crap, lazy booking. I'm also not interested in Rok-C being a 'fighting champion' who will defend her belt 'anywhere, any time'. They tried that with Kelly Klein and it didn't work for her either. You know what gets champions over? Having GREAT matches, repeatedly. With appropriate time limits, rather than short little filler matches which should never have the belt up for grabs devaluing the prestige of the championship. 

Shane Taylor talks about the Briscoes' ROH matches being part of what inspired him to seriously pursue his dream of being a professional wrestler. He wouldn't be where he is without ROH, and is ready to leave it all in the ring at Final Battle...

Josh Woods says he has grown into a man and into a star during his four years in ROH, for which he will be forever grateful.

As I said during my episode intro, this was one of the matches I most wanted to see from EC3 when he was announced as coming to ROH. For a man seeking to 'Control [His] Narrative' and find out if honour is real, facing one of the most decorated ROH Champions of all time - a man who calls himself 'The Franchise' of the company - seems a smart decision. Last week we saw him call Lethal stale and jaded...and that has an element of truth to it. Since the post-pandemic reboot he hasn't even been the star attraction in his own stable (The Foundation), let alone in the promotion. He has problems within The Foundation too. The Righteous, now looking to 'purify' ROH in a completely different way, seem to be singling Lethal out and trying to recruit him - and edited a video to make it seem like Lethal said he 'doesn't even like The Foundation'. None of his stable-mates come to the stage for his entrance, which has always been one of the traditions of The Foundation...

The issues with The Foundation have left Lethal completely distracted it seems, and he can barely concentrate on the match during the initial lock-ups. He still has enough about him to rock Carter with a tope suicida though! In a totally un-Pure way he rains down punches on the fallen EC3, before tossing him unceremoniously on his head in the guardrails. Carter retaliates by bouncing his face off the turnbuckles and slowing it way down, pulling out a camel clutch and taunting Jay for The Foundation turning their back on him. The methodical beat-down continues with an emphatic sternum-first whip into the turnbuckles which causes Jay to crumple to the ground. The attack on the chest continues with tackles and chops, but it's the constant talking and belittling from EC3 which really aggravates the former ROH Champion. Superplex blocked by The Franchise; shoving Carter all the way to the floor! Lethal Combination scores, but Lethal refuses to pin and angrily looks to come off the top again. That isn't very Pure!? He lands Hail To The King...and still declines to make a cover. He screams 'I didn't say it' (The Foundation and The Righteous clearly on his mind), misses a superkick and stumbles into an STO from his opponent. The footage of Lethal saying he doesn't like The Foundation starts playing on the Cary-tron again, distracting him just as he lines up the Lethal Injection. Carter counters into the ECD then locks in The Purpose. Jay taps at 12:58 (shown)

Rating - *** - I'd probably go to ***1/2 on this if I were so inclined to award half stars. It wasn't a match full of wild spots or reckless dives, but it was utterly compelling throughout thanks to the story they were telling. From a physical performance standpoint it was the most interesting Jay Lethal match since 2019 as he dramatically conveyed the mental anguish his dissension with The Foundation has caused. And it brought him squarely into the realms of the kind of match EC3 is comfortable with; slow, methodical and full of opportunity for him to talk incessantly. The element of truth to his thesis that Lethal is a fallen, jaded, failed locker room leader is what made them such engaging opponents. I wish there were time for a rematch...but Lethal had already signed with AEW before this match was even broadcast after being released from his ROH contract.

Tape Rating - *** - Some may find it hard to invest in ROH's product knowing that the company, in its current guise, ends at Final Battle. In truth people have been finding it hard to invest in ROH since the end of 2018, which is how they got into this mess. But for those who have stuck with the product, this definitely wasn't the worst episode. Briscoes vs Danhausen/PCO was goofy, earnest, well-meaning fun, Rok-C and Gia Scott are extremely talented young women making the most of the platform offered to them (even if there was no merit at all to making it a title match), and the main event is REALLY good if you're invested enough in the characters and direction of Lethal and EC3. Throw in a few sincere, emotive video packages to promote Final Battle as well; this was an episode which really did breeze by.

Week By Week (23rd November 2021) - We've seen Milonas call himself the 'best pound for pound Pure Wrestler on the planet', and he has entered the Pure Division looking to back that up. But tonight he faces his sternest test as he meets a member of The Foundation. They are a group who have vowed to use Pure wrestling to restore the honour to ROH, meaning they set the standards in this division. Pure Champion Josh Woods is now within their ranks as well and will be watching this one closely...

They lock up and Brian easily over-powers Titus. He tosses Rhett around with the utmost ease, has no problem shaking off anything Titus tries in response and it leaves The Foundation member frustrated. Rhett has a strategy though; tricking Brian into running the ropes for an extended period of time and blowing him up. It leaves Milonas gasping for air and Titus smartly prompts him to expend a cheap rope-break just to get more recovery time. He uses it wisely and comes back to dish out a huge butterfly suplex that takes Titus down once more. Milonas crushes the upper body of The Professional by blocking his attempt at the Belly To Belly, and as Titus struggles to breathe the big man piles into him again with a grounded bodyscissors. It means that when Rhett tries to skin the cat (as he often does), his ribs are so injured that he can't get his body over the ropes. His slingshot shoulder tackle probably does more to injure himself than it does Milonas as well. Bossman Slam gets 2 for the Brawler! Rhett is desperate and tries a flying crossbody...only to BOUNCE off big Milonas to the ground, in prime position for the Kingpin senton splash. Brian is starting to tire and now needs time to catch his breath between almost every move but continues to pile the pressure onto Rhett's injured core. Titus delivers a flurry of dropkicks to the knee...so Brian uses a closed fist to punch him to the ground! It costs him a warning but once again buys him time to recover. Yakuza Kicks by Titus...BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX NAILED! Milonas uses his second rope-break to escape a half-crab, with a minute left in the time limit. Rhett savagely attacks the injured leg again, working a spinning toehold, back to the half crab - but as the 15:00 time limit expires!

Rating - *** - I'm really pleased I took the time to check this match out as it was incredibly fun. Yes it was slow going at times, and yes Milonas does have some stamina issues which meant he really became immobile at the end. But fair play to him; he has visibly lost a LOT of weight from where he was in 2020 and he held his own here. He needed Rhett to bump and sell his ass off, then needed him again to provide the drive and dynamism in the last five minutes when he was starting to gas - but Milonas held his own. They found so many unique and fun ways that he could use his size to mess with everything Rhett usually does in matches; right down to skinning the cat to get up off the canvas. His work on the core/midsection was so good I was actually disappointed that Rhett didn't sell it a little more theatrically during his big comebacks. ROH have put FAR worse matches onto the main TV show this year...but by keeping this on Week By Week and letting it air in full I think we got a far better viewing experience. Kudos to both men.

Rhett is ready for five more minutes, whilst Milonas is slumped in the ropes gasping for air with Bruiser and Ken Dixon tending to his injured leg. The judges unanimously vote to award the victory to Titus...