ROH 376 – War Of The Worlds 2015: Night 1 – 12th May 2015
Last year the stars of New Japan and Ring Of Honor locked horns in two major iPPV events on American soil. Such was the strength of those shows that the relationship between ROH and NJPW has continued to blossom…and this time the big hitters of the New Japan roster are joining us for a huge four-show tour. We start with two midweek shows in Philly for War Of The Worlds 2015, then cross the border into Canada at the weekend for a Global Wars double header featuring an iPPV presentation and a television taping. In short, it’s a big week for ROH and everyone will be out to impress. We’re not starting slowly tonight either; Strong/Kushida, Elgin/Naito, a triple threat featuring the IWGP Heavyweight, IWGP Junior and ROH Tag Champions, a mammoth main event putting Okada and Nakamura in one team to face the Briscoes…plus the return of a former World Champion – there are countless potential show-stealing matches waiting for us. Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino are in position in the 2300 (ECW) Arena in Philadelphia, PA. The building looks great and is rich in wrestling history of course…but one can’t help but remember how much more spectacular ROH looked in the Hammerstein Ballroom. It really is a shame they can’t afford (or won’t pay) to run that building now…
Adam Cole is the first man through the curtain. He is scheduled to return to action tomorrow, but instead announces he is ignoring the advice of his doctor and will be the ‘mystery opponent’ for AJ Styles tonight.
Delirious vs Gedo
This is an obvious tongue-in-cheek joke match to get us going, as it pits the primary bookers of ROH and New Japan against each other. Gedo is vastly more experienced, but Delirious is vastly more odd. The Lizard Man doesn’t compete that often anymore so it’s always fun to see him.
For a guy in his mid-40’s who has wrestled for more than twenty years and books one of the biggest wrestling companies in the world…Gedo is in amazing shape. His evil grin after faking on a handshake and booting Delirious in the stomach gets plenty of laughs. A sliding superkick almost knocks Delirious out, as Corino and Kelly crack ‘LOLZZZZZ INSIDER jokes and try to get laughs out of Mandy Leon who is sitting next to them. Gedo is sensibly working this at a snails pace to prevent Delirious getting all silly…but can’t keep a hold of the ROH wrestler and soon finds him bouncing off the ropes at all angles to hit him with clotheslines. Cobra Stretch blocked with an eye poke…then a low blow behind the referee’s back! Gedo steals the win at 06:56
Rating - * - I could have done without the obnoxious commentary (Corino was actually worse than Kevin Kelly) but I liked this for the most part. It was undeniably a slow start to the week, but seeing the veteran Gedo pull out all his evil heel tricks was good for a laugh. Considering how much work both men have to do backstage, you do wonder why they booked themselves at all though. Delirious, in particular, was very subdued and didn’t look to be his usual self at all.
Kushida vs Roderick Strong
Last year Kushida was one of the stars of the tour for New Japan. He was involved in the blistering Jr. Heavyweight trios tag at Global Wars, then pushed Jay Lethal to the limit for the TV Title at War Of The Worlds. This year he faces another stiff test, with Mr ROH standing across the ring from him. Roddy’s goal will be to score a big win for his home promotion and further elevate his status so he can push back into title contention as soon as possible.
Perhaps fearing Kushida’s speed and aerial skill, Strong takes the lead in some mat wrestling exchanges but continually comes up short as Kushida finds a way to counter him at every turn. Roddy gets pissed off, and that makes things worse as he starts making mistakes which enable his opponent to crank up the pace, start performing back flips, cartwheels, dropkicks and more. Strong blocks him going for a dive though, and hits a CRADLE BACKBREAKER INTO THE EDGE OF THE RING! He tries to throw a chop, but Kushida ducks causing it to smack against the ringpost. Tajiri-style handspring attempted by Kushida – countered to the TARANTULA by Strong! We are in classic Roderick Strong territory now as he starts to punish the back, although he can’t do enough damage to deliver the End Of Heartache despite multiple attempts. Kushida frees himself with the Handspring Elbow and goes for the Hoverboard Lock albeit way too close to the ropes. TOP ROPE SUICIDE DIVE TO THE FLOOR NAILED! He gets 2 with a moonsault back into the ring as well. RUNNING KICK TO THE ARM! Buzzsaw Kick blocked…cradle backbreaker blocked…urinage backbreaker blocked! ELBOW SMASH BY KUSHIDA! NO SOLD! JUMPING KNEE BY RODDY! BOTH MEN DOWN! Kushida is making a beeline for Strong’s arms now, only for Mr ROH to swat him away with the faceplant Muso! MASSIVE SUPERPLEX NAILED! The extra delay there created amazing tension, as well as selling the injury to Strong’s arm! Death By Roderick blocked…INTO THE HOVERBOARD LOCK! ROLLED INTO DEATH BY RODERICK! SICK KICK! KUSHIDA KICKS OUT! END OF HEARTACHE! Strong wins at 16:07
Rating - **** - Now the party has truly started. I’d heard great things about this match and it didn’t disappoint. Crisp, dynamic, unrelentingly exciting, subtle yet potent limb work and an explosive finish; this match really did pack a hell of a lot in. Kushida is almost deceptively good. He has his wrist-tape watch, his Back To The Future gimmick and plenty of typical Japanese junior heavyweight moves, but his Tajiri-trained tenacity and legitimate MMA skill mean everything he does has such an edge to it. He was the one doing the ‘gear changing’ here – Strong did a great job just keeping up with him.
Jay Lethal vs Takaaki Watanabe
The last time we saw Watanabe he was in the midst of an elongated tour of the US, although he didn’t get much exposure in Ring Of Honor – which reportedly led to some tension between the two promotions for a while. He’s back tonight, having gained weight (mostly around the gut by the looks of things) and some lurid neon blue and yellow baggy pants to wrestle in. He’ll need to have made major improvements to his game if he is to pose a threat to Jay Lethal, who has been in sensational form in 2015 – defeating multiple major names and now proclaiming himself to be the top champion in ROH.
Watanabe pisses Lethal off during the Code Of Honor…and starts the match with ROLLING HEAD DROP GERMANS! Holy Brock Lesnar! The ultra aggressive approach from Watanabe continues on the floor as he gives Jay repeated trips into the guardrails then dropkicks him through an open chair. Lethal tries a tope suicida…only for Watanabe to shake it off and hit a GERMAN SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR! Truth Martini has to get involved so Lethal finally gets to hit his tope trilogy. The tide has turned in favour of the TV Champion – but he is moving slowly and is evidently feeling the effects of the shock early onslaught from the Japanese competitor. Gradually his usual swagger returns along with the ire of the Philadelphia fans. They get into his head causing him to make a mistake which enables Watanabe to give him repeated Irish whips to the turnbuckles. Lethal Combination gets 2, before the Lethal Injection hands Jay the win at 11:34
Rating - ** - The start was hot, and Watanabe utilising a Lesnar-influenced dominating, no-nonsense style really works for him. Unfortunately they ran out of steam well before they reached the halfway point of the match, and things started to get a little sloppy by the end. I won’t dwell on the negatives for too long though. Don’t skip over this match whatever you do, as the sight of Watanabe goading Lethal during the Code Of Honor then full on braining him with a German suplex was great!
Jay Briscoe marches down the aisle looking to pick a fight with Lethal, who rolls out of the ring and raises the TV Title above his head to signify he thinks his belt is the premier championship in ROH.
Michael Bennett/Matt Taven vs Young Bucks vs The Addiction
Even though all three teams come to the ring with belts around their waists, no titles are on the line this evening. The Kingdom are currently IWGP Heavyweight Tag Champions, having beaten the Bucks’ Bullet Club allies Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson for the belts in February. Considering they also boast pinfall victories over both their opposing teams in this match, Bennett and Taven could actually be considered the favourites tonight. Both they and the Jacksons will know that a win over The Addiction will put them at the front of the queue for Ring Of Honor Tag Title opportunities too.
The Addiction have new music, which is long overdue as their old theme was terrible. The Kingdom suffer early, first with Nick Jackson telling them to suck it, then Daniels running around delivering illegal eye pokes. It’s the Young Bucks who have more experience as a team than anyone else though, and them who clear the ring early with a few signature tandem moves. Kazarian tries to run away from a superkick…DOUBLE SUPERKICK OFF THE APRON INSTEAD! Taven hits an INSANE running suicide dive to wipe out the Jacksons! Nick blocks Bennett’s spinebuster but turns straight into an attack from the ROH Tag Champions instead. Daniels and Kaz are indiscriminate about who they face too, and happily set about isolating Bennett from his partner. Kevin Kelly is actually openly discussing the very real possibility that The Addiction were about to be dropped to push a Daniels singles run instead, which is interesting. On the floor Taven and Kazarian take each other out with tandem clotheslines, meaning Michael makes a hot tag to Matt Jackson instead. TOP ROPE MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! In a flash he’s back inside to hit the frog splash/standing moonsault combo with his brother as well. Daniels takes flight next to take Taven out with the Arabian Press. SUPERKICK INTO A POWERBOMB OFF THE APRON from the Bucks to Kaz! Big boot/backpack stunner combo by The Kingdom! Matt blocks The Climax…feeding Taven into a powerbomb/neckbreaker combo by The Addiction. SUPERKICK DUEL BETWEEN THE BUCKS AND THE KINGDOM! MATT SUPERKICKS THE REF! The old pro Daniels is the last man left standing! He brings a title belt into play only for Taven to wind up using it on his own partner. MELTZER DRIVER ON KAZARIAN! The Young Bucks win at 14:33
Rating - *** - At times it felt like the Young Bucks were noticeably having to slow down so their opponents could keep up and all six totally lost the crowd somewhere in the middle, but got them back with a manic, frenetic and whole-heartedly entertaining crescendo. In general they worked the exact match you might expect – so if you’re a fan of the style you’ll probably like this, and if you don’t like the spots and superkicks of a typical Young Bucks match then you definitely won’t. Putting the Bucks over The Addiction (who looked completely re-energised as heels by the way) was the perfect conclusion, as it sets up an instant Bucks/Addiction title match which should be great.
INTERMISSION – Moose isn’t wrestling tonight, but he and his entourage still find time to crash the show. Stokely Hathaway and Veda Scott are still bickering – but they both want Moose to be named #1 contender for the World Title. Veda tries to pull rank and calls herself the leader of their group.
Michael Elgin vs Tetsuya Naito
Perhaps, if Ring Of Honor fans were being greedy, the only real disappointment of the 2015 New Japan tour is that there isn’t a whole lot of new talent. Most of the names that are here this year were booked last year as well – and considering the depth of the NJPW roster some had hoped for a few new faces. There is one Ring Of Honor debutant from New Japan tonight – Tetsuya Naito. Once groomed as a top star, he has had his momentum derailed by injuries, which in turn have taken some of the gloss of what could have been an outstanding career. Regardless, Naito has settled in to become an exciting and dependable upper midcard performer, as well as a former G1 Climax winner – and someone Elgin will need to impress against if he is to finally earn that spot in NJPW that he has coveted for his entire life.
Naito quickly experiences Elgin’s power firsthand, but is used to fighting powerful athletes and has plenty of tricks up his sleeve to counteract it. He eventually gets caught in the ropes and clocked across the back of the head with a somersault leg drop. A powerbomb on the floor is blocked, but back inside the ring Elgin escapes a tornado DDT to give Naito a slingshot swinging neckbreaker for 2. Sensibly Naito looks to quicken the pace and sprints across the ring into a somersault senton…before a ripcord elbow by Unbreakable puts him on the deck again. Frankensteiner blocked, but as Elgin tries to counter it with an Awesome Bomb Naito flips in mid-air to hit the super-rana anyway! Big Mike grabs a leg to prevent his opponent from attempting the Stardust Press then levels him with a flying codebreaker. STANDING LARIATOOOOO! Elgin Bomb…countered to a victory roll! Naito wins at 12:14
Rating - * - This was a jarring disappointment, and perhaps one of the most underwhelming matches of the entire year. I’m not saying I expected an MOTYC, but both men are extremely competent professional wrestlers and should have been capable of much better than this. Naito looked like a deer in the headlights from the second he stepped through the curtain and was confronted by a jeering, obnoxious fan right in his face. There was no connection between himself and the American audience, and in that situation the absolute worst opponent for him would be someone like Elgin who is in the midst of a seemingly never-ending disconnect with the Ring Of Honor fans. Philadelphia watched in a morose silence as they ambled from one uncomfortable looking spot to the next. This felt exceptionally awkward to watch. Thankfully Naito has Kyle O’Reilly tomorrow night – an opponent you suspect may be far more suited to his skillset. I cannot believe the New Japan officials were impressed by Elgin’s performance here either.
Elgin threatens to use a chair on Naito after the match, but thinks better of it and offers a handshake. Surprisingly, Naito declines the handshake and decides to attack Elgin instead. That segment was as weird as the whole match before it…
reDRagon vs Hiroshi Tanahashi/Jushin Liger
Last year when NJPW toured Tanahashi was really struggling with his back. He worked two decent matches during the tour, but very much felt protected and quite obviously worked within himself. Hopefully this time his health is better and casual fans who might not have seen him before can get a true taste of just how good New Japan’s ‘ace’ can be. He tags with the ever-popular and evergreen Jushin Liger tonight, forming a formidable with a team to confront one of Ring Of Honor’s greatest units ever in Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly. reDRagon are no strangers to Liger or New Japan competition – and will know how major a victory over Tanahashi would be for their careers in Japan. Fish is 24 hours away from a World Title shot – which could prove a major distraction for reDRagon.
You have Tanahashi (one of the biggest wrestling stars in the world) and reDRagon (one of the finest tag teams in all of pro-wrestling right now) in the ring…and still it’s Liger who is more over than anyone. He starts in the ring merrily stretching out Kyle O’Reilly. Tanahashi is equally impressive, springboarding off the middle rope into a crossbody on Fish. reDRagon rely on some crafty teamwork to bring them back into proceedings – attacking Liger from behind and dumping him into the railings. They isolate the fifty year old competitor, which makes perfect sense considering he is teaming with arguably New Japan’s top star. His midsection takes some punishment over the net few minutes before he makes a hot tag to Tana…who instantly puts O’Reilly in the Texas Cloverleaf. He and Kyle then strike each other so hard they both stand in the middle of the ring on wobbly legs! Shotei from Liger to Fish gets 2. LIGERBOMB! O’Reilly breaks the fall! FISH SPEARS TANAHASHI INTO THE GUARDRAILS! FLYING MISSILE DROPKICK TO THE FLOOR BY O’REILLY! CHASING THE DRAGON ON LIGER! Huge win for reDRagon! It’s over at 11:51
Rating - *** - What I liked about this is that, for the most part, nobody was really working with too much intensity but they were all so good that they still pulled a decent match out of the bag. Perhaps not wanting to take too much heat from the big tag main event they held a lot back and settled for a competent back and forth undercard tag – which ended with reDRagon getting put over in quite a major way. Obviously they didn’t pin Tanahashi, but this still felt like a big deal for them. Everything made sense as the match unfolded – from Liger and Tanahashi dominating reDRagon individually, to the ROH team making use of their tag team fluidity to fight back and isolate the obvious weak link on the opposition team, to a big win for them which involved incapacitating the ace on the floor then finishing off the old man inside the ring. Bobby Fish heads into his random World Title Match tomorrow night with plenty of momentum.
Adam Cole vs AJ Styles
Originally the card had Styles pencilled in against a ‘mystery opponent’. The reason for that is that ROH officials kept the slot open for Adam Cole to make his return from injury, but didn't formally announce it when it seemed like he wasn’t going to recover in time for his first match since Final Battle 2014. Cole crashed the opening of the show to emphatically announce his comeback, and takes the match he believes was his all along. He wants to make a statement, and he wants to get right back into the World Title mix. There’s no better way to accomplish those goals than to defeat the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles. AJ already holds a win over Cole dating back to All Star Extravaganza 6 and has thus far only lost once during this entire run in ROH, so he’ll be feeling incredibly confident.
The shoulder injury hasn’t taken away any of Adam Cole’s self-belief and he doesn’t miss an opportunity to mouth off Styles. Likewise AJ isn’t shy about testing that shoulder – with an armwrench being his first attempted move of the contest. He snaps Adam down with a neckbreaker over the knee, which of course also jars the shoulder and it’s quickly noticeable that Cole is slower to recover than you’d expect. He retreats to the floor…and catches Styles trying to come after him with an OCEAN CYCLONE INTO THE APRON! Back in the ring he gets 2 with the Shining Wizard. Doubts about his shoulder have started to ease but the former World Champion is still making a point of trying to work a slow pace in order to negate ring rust becoming a factor. He also gets most of the ECW Arena to mark out by trashing Kevin Kelly too! Unfortunately that allows AJ to capitalise and give him a snap suplex into the turnbuckles. They fight up the ropes…and Styles rattles Cole’s shoulder against the ringpost. Springboard elbow COUNTERED WITH A MID-AIR SUPERKICK! Figure 4 Leglock applied! Styles survives that, and as he crawls away referee Tiger Hattori visibly checks on Cole’s shoulder. BLOODY SUNDAY ON THE APRON! Does Cole have anything left? He beats the 20-count but his arm now hangs limp by his side. PELE KICK DODGED! SUPERKICK NAILED…FOR 2! Panama Sunrise blocked…COLE CLASH NAILED INSTEAD! AJ KICKS OUT! The IWGP Champ is in trouble and fights hard to escape the Florida Key. Phenom DDT INTO A SUPERKICK TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD! HEAD DROP GERMAN! Shining Wizard blocked….Styles Clash blocked…PELE KICK! ROLLING HOLLOW POINTS! STYLES CLAAAAAAAASH! AJ wins at 17:35
Rating - ****1/2 - They had a really good match last year, but this one emphatically topped it. Cole’s comeback from injury added a real spice to proceedings. He threw everything he had at Styles, in a match that was almost impossibly good considering how rusty Adam must have been. In an ideal world AJ could have put him over to really cement his comeback, but obviously New Japan need him protected. Instead he let Cole get in as much offence as possible, steal his own finishing move – and in the end had to completely decimate him with a Bloody Sunday on the apron, repeated Hollow Points and a Styles Clash to finally put him away. The point of the match was to leave you feeling that if Cole was 100% he could have beaten AJ – and I definitely came away with that impression. I’ve not seen many others go as high as me on the rating, but I was blown away by this. I know I’ve been a major AJ mark since he came back to the indies, and I’ve been accused of over-rating almost all of his Ring Of Honor matches…but regardless, they completely stole the show with this effort.
Kazuchika Okada/Shinsuke Nakamura vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe
ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe and his little brother Mark comprise the most legendary tag team in Ring Of Honor history. They are pioneers in the smash mouth, all-action tag team style that is so prevalent on the independent scene today. They are ROH originals and have been in the company since the very first show. They have contested some of the most famous tag team matches in company history…and tonight have another fearsome challenge before them. Nakamura is New Japan’s most charismatic performer – the ‘King Of Strong Style’ who has been thrilling crowds and kneeing opponents in the face for more than a decade. Okada is the new star – the ‘Rainmaker’ who, along with Nakamura and Tanahashi, forms the three-headed backbone of an NJPW main event scene which has captivated critics and led New Japan to total puroresu dominance. In short – this is two of ROH’s best against two of NJPW’s best. Who leaves the first night with bragging rights?
Nakamura is hands down the most over guy on the show tonight. He starts on the apron though, meaning it’s the Rainmaker who starts in the ring with the ROH World Champion. Rainmaker blocked…and so is the Jay Driller as each man go for their big finishes early! Mark has a struggle to cope with Nakamura and barely escapes an early attempt at a cross armbreaker. Since he and Nak are such weird dudes they have a natural chemistry in the ring together. You always sense that Nakamura is the man capable of dialling up the intensity though – and he proves it by delivering a series of knee strikes to Mark’s exposed head on the ring apron. As the New Japan team press home their advantage on the younger Briscoe, an interesting subplot develops as Okada perpetually looks to aggravate Jay. ‘No wasted motion at all’ – Kevin Kelly describing Okada, as he needlessly leaves the ring and swings around on the ropes to hit a senton on a fallen Briscoe. The Briscoes have been teaming for at least fifteen years by this point though and that tag team fluidity starts to come to the fore as they cut the ring in half to isolate Okada. Hot tag to Nakamura…who delights in putting a big knee into Jay’s ribs for 2. Bomaye countered with a spinebuster to leave both combatants on the ground. Red Ink from Okada to Mark! Jay makes the save and assists his brother in dropping Naka with the Splash Mountain Bomb. Rainmaker blocks the Doomsday Device, but still can’t hit the Rainmaker itself on Jay. Mark soars in with the Froggy Bow for 2. Cut-Throat Driver blocked! Rainmaker blocked! BOMAYE ON JAY! DIVING ELBOW ON MARK! RAINMAKER NAILED! Okada pins Mark at 18:56
Rating - *** - Not that all-time classic match some might have hoped for, but still a solid and enjoyable main event which really sent the crowd home happy. At times some of the action was really clunky, whilst at others they seemed to be moving at half speed – which is perhaps understandable on the New Japan side since these are major, marketable stars in Japan and they’ve got four shows to get through this week. The strange chemistry between Nakamura and Mark was a clear highlight of this one for me. I’m not sure how much exposure he’s had to the Briscoes previously, but Nakamura completely ‘got’ how Mark conducts himself in the ring and perfectly tailored his own eccentricities to play off him.
Bobby Fish interrupts the post-match festivities to pose with the World Title belt, injecting some much-needed tension into tomorrow night’s scheduled clash with Jay…
Tape Rating - *** - As I just said with reference to the main event, this roster has three more tough, gruelling and high profile (for ROH) events to get through this week. It would be impossible for everyone on the roster to go flat out on the opening night. This was a measured, assured and largely enjoyable night one of the 2015 ROH/NJPW tour. Not everything worked – like the tremendously disappointing Elgin/Naito clash, a main event which probably only just reached a par score and Jay Lethal wasted so far down the card. But in Strong/Kushida and Styles/Cole we got two excellent matches which many have singled out as highlights of the entire week – so you’re certainly getting some bang for your buck if you do check this one out.
Top 3 Matches
3) Young Bucks vs The Addiction vs Michael Bennett/Matt Taven (***)
2) Roderick Strong vs Kushida (****)
1) AJ Styles vs Adam Cole (****1/2)