ROH Best in the World 2015 Preview

Five weeks removed from Global Wars, and now with a new television presence next to TNA's Impact Wrestling on Destination America in the US, Ring of Honor presents Best in the World. Jays Briscoe and Lethal are set for the main event of the evening in a title for title bout, but is this show really a one match affair? Let's go through the card and see what ROH could have on offer for us from Terminal 5 tonight. 

Singles Match for the ROH World and ROH World Television Championships

Jay Briscoe (C) 

vs. 

Jay Lethal (C)

This feels like a truly special match and if you've been following Ring of Honor television over the last few months, then I'm sure this match alone will give you reason to purchase this pay-per-view. It's been a simple story, but one that has built nicely and allowed the audience to be drawn in at their own pace, suiting ROH's one hour of television a week and irregular PPV schedule. Bar a tag team match in November, the two have been kept mostly apart on television for the last six months, but we've seen them collide outside of matches on the microphone a few times, with last week's contract signing really putting the icing on the cake in terms of build.

This should be the match that defines each man's title runs, no matter who walks out of New York with the titles. The build requires this to be the best match that either has had whilst as champion. The caveat here is the worry that ROH will not want to put both of their titles on one man and therefore go for a screwy finish that leaves both men walking out with the titles they walked in with. No matter what has gone before it, this has the potential to kill the match. The company needs to deliver on the superb build, both men are more than capable of that on their own, but if the finish isn't satisfying the match falls apart. I'm hoping for Jay Lethal win as I think it offers more avenues for development going forward and could offer up a juicy rematch for July's Death Before Dishonor.

Singles Match for the #1 Contendership to ROH World Championship

Michael Elgin 

vs. 

Moose 

vs. 

Roderick Strong

A bit of hodge podge of guys who have a claim for getting a World title shot, this hasn't really received any TV time, beyond Moose's continued push. Moose was undefeated until last week's TV show (suffering surprise defeat to Cedric Alexander), Michael Elgin argues that he never received his one on one rematch for the title (although his TV record has been less than stellar since dropping the title) and Roderick Strong has had a renassisance of sorts since splitting for The Decade in November, going undefeated in singles competition on television, including victories over Adam Page and BJ Whitmer at Final Battle and 13th Anniversary: Winner Takes All respectively.

I've made it known before that I'm yet to be sold on Moose as the next big thing in wrestling, with his most notable matches coming in multi-man efforts, so, for me at least, this match is sink or swim for Moose. He'll be in there with two experienced main eventers for ROH, he either proves that he's ready to be in this spot or looks completely out of his depth and causes the bout to go off the tracks. I'm edging toward Strong picking up the victory here as it would fit well with his current storyline and a bout with Jay Lethal (if he wins tonight) would be another PPV headliner that I'd be hyped for, both in terms of in-ring and the surrounding storytelling opportunities. 

Prediction: Roderick Strong wins.

No Disqualification Tag Team Match for the ROH World Tag Team Championships

The Addiction (C) 

vs. 

reDRagon

This match has the potential to steal the show. The Addiction and reDRagon are two of the best tag teams in the world right now and should prove so here at the aptly titled Best in the World. If the clash wasn't good enough on it's own, there's plenty of storyline to fuel the No Disqualifcation gimmick with the two teams feuding ever since The Addiction won the tag titles on the 25th April edition of ROH TV, revealing themselves as The KRD (alongside Chris Sabin) in the process. There's plenty of bad blood here and I've a feeling we may seen Chris Sabin get involved at one point of another in what should be a rip roaring tag bout. Expect inventive spots, tag team scrambles and plenty of fun from this one.

Prediction: reDRagon win the ROH World Tag Team Championship for the forth time.

Six Man Tag Team Match

The BULLET CLUB's AJ Styles & The Young Bucks 

vs. 

The Kingdom's Adam Cole, Michael Bennett & Matt Taven

A rematch for the War of the Worlds - Night 2 event, where The Kingdom were able to get the win, this should be a fast paced, thrill-ride of a both. The two factions have gone back and forth across both Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling television for the last month or so, with Adam Cole returning just in time to help out his pals Bennett and Taven. The amount of New Japan gold on display should tell you just how highly thought of these men are with the promotion, and their appearance on the undercard here really bolsters the shows foundations, with AJ Styles in particular lending some considerable star power to the event. There's one thing for sure, this party is BYOSK...Bring your own super kicks!

Prediction - The BULLET CLUB get their win back.

Tag Team Match

ACH & Matt Sydal 

vs. 

The Decade's Adam Page & BJ Whitmer

There is no one in professional wrestling that I am more indifferent about than BJ Whitmer. The guy just does nothing for me as a character or as a performer. ACH should bring enough charisma that at least some of it isn't suck into Whitmer's vacuum, with Matt Sydal has got a few funky tricks up his sleeve also. On TV recently Whitmer has been removing himself from matches and replacing himself with The Decade's "young boy" Colby Corino (because Nigel McGuinness allows Whitmer to book his own matches apparently), so we may see some more of that here, much to chagrin of color commentator and Colby's Dad, Steve Corino.

Prediction - ACH & Matt Sydal win.

Singles Match

Dalton Castle 

vs. 

Silas Young

These two characters would seem to be the complete antithesis of each other. The Peacock-esque Dalton Castle and The Last Real Man Silas Young. It seems almost a shame that we haven't seen more of these two opposite each other on television, but that's one of the downsides of only having a one hour weekly product. Castle may have only been around ROH for a short time, but he's been given marquee television matches with the likes of Jay Lethal and Jushin Thunder Liger, as well as appearing at two TNA One Night Only tapings, it's clear that a bright future is seen for the 29 year old, I'd expect to see him go over in this one.

Prediction - Dalton Castle wins

Singles Match

Donavan Dijak 

vs. 

Mark Briscoe

Seemingly almost designed for one or more of the performers involved to be taken out so that they can't get involved in the main event, I'm expecting this one to become a wild brawl leading to a big spot or moment. There's not much to this match, other than being an extension of the main event storyline, which is fine I suppose, but it would be nice to see Mark Briscoe given his own feud if the two are being utilised as singles competitors. I'm convinced this one will be much more of an angle than a match, but it could add a lot more intrigue when it comes time for Lethal vs. Briscoe later in the show.

Prediction - No Contest.

Tag Team Match

C&C Wrestle Factory 

vs. 

War Machine

Only announced for the show on Monday, this is your classic Power vs. Speed bout, which should lead to some nice story telling between the four guys. Cedric Alexander's losing streak came to end on television this week, meaning we didn't get the satisfying full year storyline, seeing as his last TV win was over Roderick Strong at last year's Best in the World, but he does seem to be taking a new more aggressive direction. It would seem this match is prime for an Alexander heel turn, bringing an end to the reunion of C&C Wrestle Factory and giving War Machine the win. Alexander has big things in his future, I'm interested to see how ROH handle his inevitable upcoming heel turn.

Finally...

On closer inspection this is anything but a one match show, with some potential gems up and down the card. Yes, Lethal vs. Briscoe is the hottest feud by a mile and will rightly main event the show, in front of hot New York crowd, but reDRagon vs. The Addiction also has plenty of fire behind it, with the added No Disqualification gimmick adding a little sizzle to the steak. There's a chance for Moose to prove he deserves a spot in ROH's main event scene, a fun looking six man tag, Dalton freaking Castle and the potential for a Cedric Alexander heel turn. If the price of the PPV wasn't so high ($34.95, that's just over £22), then I'd expect a decent buyrate. ROH needs to stop pricing itself out of a market when a month of the WWE Network is only $9.99 and it's so easy to watch shows through other means.

You can order the PPV here to view online, it's also available through satelitte and cable providers in the US.

PPV Start time in our most popular countries

USA/Canada Eastern - 9PM
USA/Canada Central - 8PM
USA/Canada Mountain - 7PM
USA/Canada Pacific - 6PM
United Kingdom/Ireland - 2AM
Germany/France/Poland/Switzerland/Montengro/Italy/South Africa - 3AM
Russia/Ukraine/Israel/Greece/Finland - 4AM
India - 6:30 AM
China - 9AM

ROH Reclamation Night 2 DVD Review

ROH Reclamation Night 2 is out now on DVD and available from www.rohwrestling.com, priced at $19.99 (just over £12 plus shipping) Taped at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, Michigan, USA. Continuing on theme from Reclamation Night 1, this show puts the Tag Team Division as a focal point of the show, with a tag team main event pitting The American Wolves against Michael Elgin and Jay Lethal, alongside Tommaso Ciampa taking on Silas Young, Adam Cole battling BJ Whitmer and seven other matches. 

Content Listing

World Tag Team Champion Kyle O'Reilly vs. Tadarius Thomas (11:57)

Four Way Women's Match

Athena vs. Jenny Rose vs. Leah Von Dutch vs. MsChif (9:57)

Silas Young vs. Tommaso Ciampa (14:55)

Adam Cole vs. BJ Whitmer (12:53)

Andy Muscant vs. Michael Bennett with Maria Kanellis (2:59)

Michael Bennett with Maria Kanellis vs. Rhino (8:12)

ACH vs. World Tag Team Champion Bobby Fish (12:52)

Kevin Steen vs. World Television Champion Matt Taven with The House of Truth (10:12)

Kevin Steen vs. Truth Martini with The House of Truth (4:40)

Tag Team Match

Jay Lethal & Michael Elgin vs. The American Wolves (23:34)

Special Features

Q&A with Nigel McGuinness

Post Show Recap 

Review

The second night of Reclamation had a lot to live up to, after the first night had provided a number of top quality contests. In a number of ways, this show struggles to do so, with the bouts notably shorter than the night before, and only the main event really managing to stand out amongst the card.

The main event of Jay Lethal teaming with Michael Elgin is exactly what you would expect from these four top ROH talents. It's a typical ROH style tag team bout, with plenty of action throughout. There are some quality sequences in the middle of the bout, with all four men getting involved in a series of moves, which look equally beautiful as they do choreographed. The only downfall of this match for me, was a slight pacing problem in the final third of the match, but the closing sequence quickly makes up for that. This works perfectly as the main event of the show and is certainly the best match on the card, showing that tag team wrestling can easily be the focal point of the show, hopefully ROH continues it's push on tag teams going forward.

Tommaso Ciampa's meeting with Silas Young is a solid outing, with a lot of good back and forth action. There's also some well worked spots thrown in as well, with a German Suplex onto the concrete being the highlight of the bout for me. Unfortunately, this one is let down by the finish, which feels more like WWE than ROH, and sets a precedent that the company can't really keep up. It will be interesting to see if ROH hand Young a contract soon, he's been in a string of impressive matches and could be an interesting addition to the full time roster.

Adam Cole vs. BJ Whitmer is hurt by an early botch, that effects the rest of the match. The two don't seem to connect at all in the ring, with a lot of awkward moments throughout. After Whitmer seemingly suffers a head injury due to the botch, Cole noticeably works weak when using moves around Whitmer's head, which is understandable, but the basic ROH camera set up lets him down, as at times it's so clear that he isn't connecting that it pulls you straight out of the match. There are some positives to this bout however, a solid combination of suplexes from Whitmer works very well, whilst the finish continues the build toward Cole's heel turn, which is gathering momentum nicely by this point.

Kevin Steen and World Television Champion Matt Taven have an entertaining encounter, with Steen dominating amongst a number of comedy spots. The finish leads to Steen calling for an impromtu match with Truth Martini, which is another comedy bout, that serves it's purpose well. World Tag Team Champion Bobby Fish takes on ACH in a high octane encounter, that would have benefitted from a little extra time. Fish's partner in reDRagon, Kyle O'Reilly takes on ACH's Adrenaline Rush partner, Tadarius Thomas is similarly effective in the time slot given, with a series of different strike sequences being the highlight. Michael Bennett runs through Andy Muscant in what is essentially a squash match, before Rhino stops Bennett inflicting further punishment, effectively turned Rhino face, and the two put on a decent short contest. A Women's Four Way bout featuring MsChif, Athena, Leah Von Dutch and Jenny Rose, is a lot of fun, especially once all four women get involved, with Von Dutch and Rose more than holding their own with the ROH regulars. 

The special features included a Q&A session with Nigel McGuinness prior to the show, which sound quality much improved from the night before and including an entertaining appearance from Jimmy Jacobs. The Post Show Recap is short and ultimately a little pointless. It would have been nice to see the show dark match appear as an extra, as on the previous night's DVD, as well.

Overall, there is a lot of good action on this show, with the main event especially really standing out. However, it can't quite stand up to the night before, and never really feels like anything of importance is actually happening. 

Top Three Matches from Reclamation Night 2

1. Jay Lethal & Michael Elgin vs. The American Wolves 

2. ACH vs. World Tag Team Champion Bobby Fish

3. Silas Young vs. Tommaso Ciampa

ROH A Night of Hoopla DVD Review

ROH A Night of Hoopla is available now on DVD from www.rohwrestling.com priced at $19.99 (about £13 plus shipping). The show was taped at 115 Bourbon Street in Chicago, Illinois, USA, with the gimmick of the show being that it is booked by leader of the House of Truth, Truth Martini. Main evented by an Inter Gender Six Person Tag Team match, pitting BJ Whitmer, Michael Elgin & MsChif against Adrenaline Rush & Athena, alongside reDRagon defending the World Tag Team Championships against Roderick Strong & Cheeseburger and Jay Lethal taking on Delirious, this is Ring of Honor like you have never seen before.

Content Listing

The H.O.T. National Anthem

Three Way Match: Eddie Edwards vs. Adam Cole vs. World Television Champion Matt Taven (9:41)

Jimmy Jacobs performs Gypsy Soul

Sore High With The Eagles and Slither With The Snakes: Jay Lethal vs. Delirious (Special Guest Referee: Maria Kanellis) (17:02)

The Pants Off Dance Off

Lumberjill Match: Davey Richards vs. Silas Young (10:05)

A lapdance for one lucky fan

World Tag Team Championship Match: Roderick Strong & Cheeseburger vs. reDRagon (C) (21:01)

Hoopla Uncut with The Devil

Six Person Intergender Tag Team Match: Michael Elgin, BJ Whitmer & MsChif vs. Adrenaline Rush & Athena (25:53)

Special Features

Hoopla Roll Part 1

Hoopla Roll Part 2

Hoopla Uncut with Delirious

Beach Bum Alcoholics concert

Review

Similiar to what TNA have been doing with the One Night Only series of PPV's this show sits outside of the regular continuity of Ring of Honor, and feels completely different because of it. The main event however could fit quite comfortably onto any ROH card and not look out of place. All six competitors put forward a very strong outing, with Adrenaline Rush continuing to impress as a duo. The comedy in this one is also played very nicely, centering around Elgin and MsChif's relationship. The match builds really nicely towards the finish, that will have you questioning how you didn't think of it earlier. ,

The World Tag Team Championship match with reDRagon defending against Roderick Strong & Cheeseburger is more entertaining than it should have been. That's not saying that I don't respect the talents of the wrestlers in the ring, it's just the story for this one seemed so simply with the younger smaller Cheeseburger involved that you'll think you'll know where it's going and it will take you in a completely different direction, helped by the fact that Chicago absolutely loved Cheeseburger. The concept of the show allows reDRagon and Strong to be a little freer in their performance and once again there are some nice comedy moments that complement the action in the ring.

Jay Lethal vs. Delirious is an absolute gem of a contest. At times it will had me in stitches as the two run through Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior from Wrestlemania VII, with Lethal, of course, playing Savage and Delirious presenting us with an parallel universe version of Ultimate Warrior. Complete with spot on pre-match promo from Lethal in the style of Savage and Lethal's manager Sister Sherri, this bout had me in stitches from start to finish, with Delirious' impression of Warrior bordering on the ridiculous. With a shock ending and closing segment with Special Guest Referee Maria Kanellis, this is a new look at a classic.

Davey Richards taking on Silas Young is a decent enough contest, that is hampered by a Lumberjill gimmick where all the Lumberjills are in fact men. It's a very surreal outing, when I much rather would have seen Young and Richards just have a straight up wrestling match. The three way opener between World Television Champion Matt Taven, Eddie Edwards and Adam Cole is a solid three way bout, with some nice fan interaction, and interesting "Eiffel Tower" spot, but probably could have done with a bit more time. The segments also presented on the show are mixed bag with Jimmy Jacobs performing "Gypsy Soul" as well snippets from other songs including "Ballad of Lacey" is a nice nostalgia hit for old school ROH fans, whilst Hoopla Uncut with The Devil is a severe waste of time, alongside a fan getting a lapdance whilst blindfolded, in a segment that is so outdated it was painful to watch.

Special Features include two parts of the special "Hoopla Roll" with Truth Martini attempted to gain talent for the show, with some very entertaining segments with the likes of Jimmy Jacobs and Kevin Steen standing out, Hoopla Uncut with Delirious is a similarly entertaining affair. Elsewhere, however a concert from Beach Bum Alcoholics concert during intermission of the show is deservedly rubbished by the Chicago crowd, it really isn't very good, in either a musical or comedic sense.

Overall, this is an enjoyable show, with some nice matches that are easy to watch, but it let's it's self down with some pretty rotten segments. Some other little things also let the show down for me, mainly the camera work, which is poor throughout, with the stage meaning that the cameras after often at awkward angles to the ring. There is also no commentary on the set, and whilst that didn't effect my enjoyment of the show, I know that certain people will find it difficult to adjust to.

Top Three Matches from a Night of Hoopla

1. Six Person Intergender Tag Team Match: Michael Elgin, BJ Whitmer & MsChif vs. Adrenaline Rush & Athena

2. Sore High With The Eagles and Slither With The Snakes: Jay Lethal vs. Delirious (Special Guest Referee: Maria Kanellis) (17:02)

World Tag Team Championship Match: Roderick Strong & Cheeseburger vs. reDRagon (C) (21:01)

ROH TV 10th August 2013 Review

This week’s ROH on Sinclair continued the strong run of main events that we’ve seen over the last three weeks. With six of ROH’s top names involved in the “Honor Personified” Six Man Tag Team Match, it had to deliver something special. With a the continuation of Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis feud with former trainer Brutal Bob Evans also on the show this was strong showing from ROH.

“Honor Personified” Six Man Tag Team Match: 

Michael Elgin, Kevin Steen & Tommaso Ciampa 

vs. 

The American Wolves & BJ Whitmer 

Now this one of the reason I enjoy watching ROH, for matches like this. Six fan favourites split into two teams and putting on an entertaining battle. Can you imagine WWE or TNA doing this? Didn’t think so. With four of these men being involved in the World Championship Tournament that starts on television in two weeks’ time, I was expecting to get a preview of what to expect in that tournament in this one. The only reason The American Wolves aren’t in the title tournament, is their decision to focus on the World Tag Team Championships, currently held by Forever Hooligans. I think this was a good move by ROH as it elevates those Tag Team titles into a prize the top names in the company want, which can only be a good thing. The more each of ROH’s Championships mean, the more the matches for them will mean, and the more interest they will be able to generate from those matches, it’s a pretty simple philosophy.

The match then, was just shy of twenty minutes of television time, and chock full of spots. This match essentially moved from one spots to the next with little time to stop for breath. In the early parts of the match, Kevin Steen stole the show, with some nice comedy that brought an extra edge to the match. The complete over sell of a chop from Eddie Edwards being the highlight for me! After both Elgin and Ciampa had tried to outdo each other with delayed vertical suplexes, Steen tried one of his own, only to get suplexed by Eddie Edwards instead! It was nice to see a continuation of the feud between Elgin and Ciampa in this one, as even though they were on the same team they were constantly trying to one up the other, could Elgin vs. Ciampa be the final match in ROH World Championship Tournament?

The end of the contest saw a repeat off ROH’s latest Five Star match from Showdown in the Sun Night Two back in 2012, with Elgin and Davey Richards going at it. It was nice to settle down into some strong wrestling after the spotfest of the earlier part of the match. With the other team  member battling on the outside, there were a number of strong strikes and false finishes, and with Davey Richards fighting until the end, Elgin hit the Revolution Elgin Bomb to pick up the pinfall victory for his team. I enjoyed this ending a lot, not only because it harked back to one of the greatest matches in Ring of Honor history, but because it kept both men looking incredibly strong, with Richards fighting right till the end. It also gave us a strong clue as to how the ROH World Championship tournament might play out.

Michael Elgin is certainly the one to watch in the tournament, as he’s been strongly booked by ROH for the last six months or so, and I’m sure if Jay Briscoe has stuck around he’d have beaten him for the title anyway. The tournament also seems to have positioned as a showcase for Elgin as he picks up victories over four different names on his route to the title. The only other name I can see competing with Elgin for the title is Tommaso Ciampa, down to the competitive rivalry the two have had as of late, it would be a great way to finish of the rivalry over the ROH World Championship. Kevin Steen is clearly still one of the most popular names in ROH, and the crowd obviously adores the guy and his antics, but it doesn’t quite feel like Steen’s time this time for some reason. I haven’t really seen BJ Whitmer pushed strongly enough by ROH to consider him a threat in the tournament.

Best of the Rest (In The World)

Elsewhere on ROH this week, Mike Bennett faced off against former trainer Brutal Bob Evans. Bennett’s gradual move away from Evans over the last few months, mainly down to girlfried Maria Kanellis has been fairly well worked by the trio. It’s easy to dislike Bennett and Kanellis, and whilst the same could have been said for Evans a few months back, he’s certainly transitioned well into the face role. With Maria joining Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuiness on commentary, the bout was allowed to play out between just Bennett and Evans, which is definitely what needed to happen, as the story that needed to be told didn’t really call for Maria’s involvement.

That was, of course, the teacher vs. student. We’ve seen it numerous times throughout wrestling history, it’s youth vs. experience, which always an interesting idea to what unfold in the ring. Bennett would dominate the majority of the contest, clearly trying to injure Evans rather than just win the contest early on, as he went for a Piledriver on the exposed floor. Evan would attempt a fight back numerous times, really helping you to get behind the guy. With Evans on a role, he made the questionable decision to head to the top rope, only to miss a diving leg drop, allowing Bennett to hit the Box Office Smash and Photo Finish to pick up the pinfall victory. It wasn’t a technical classic by no stretch of the imagination, but told a decent story that was easy to get involved with. After the bout, Bennett signed the ROH contract he’d been carrying around for weeks, before Cheeseburger attempted to help Evans, only to receive a swift Piledriver from Bennett. Bennett is certainly on a role, will that carry over to the ROH World Championship tournament?

There was also a Women of Honor bout on the show with MsChif facing off against the debuting Bonesaw Brooks. I have to say that I was fairly disappointed by this bout, after some of the other Women of Honor matches we’ve seen in recent weeks. Bonesaw looked fairly sloppy in the ring, and that didn’t help the usually slick MsChif either. Even in the finished with MsChif hitting a Facebuster in the corner, it looked a little awkward with MsChif struggling to get the pin on Brooks. Overall, a disappointing outing for the Women of Honor, hopefully they’ll be back to normal next time they step into the ring.

Finally....

What did I learn from this week's ROH on Sinclair?

1. Michael Elgin is my pick to win the ROH World Championship tournament.

2. Brutal Bob Evans can still go!

3. Even the Women of Honor can have Divas style match once in a while!

ROH TV 29th July 2013 Review

It was a big week for ROH this week, as they presented the ending to the ROH vs. SCUM storyline with Steel Cage Warfare taking up most of the show and after two disappointing main events in a row, Ring of Honor had to deliver with this one. It also brought to a close months of ROH television being hideously behind with the real world, as next week we get footage from a brand new television taping.

Steel Cage Warfare: 

ROH 

(BJ Whitmer, Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal & Kevin Steen)

with Nigel McGuinness 

vs. 

SCUM

 (Jimmy Jacobs, Rhett Titus, Cliff Compton & Rhino)

with Steve Corino & Matt Hardy

After a built up over over two years, the ROH vs. SCUM storyline finally came to close this week on ROH television, as ROH’s Team of BJ Whitmer, Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal and former SCUM leader Kevin Steen took on SCUM’s team of Jimmy Jacobs, Rhett Titus, Cliff Compton and Rhino. For anyone unfamiliar with the Steel Cage Warfare concept, it’s very similar to a War Games or Lethal Lockdown match. With one single ring surrounded by a steel cage, two competitors start the match, with another member of one team joining after five minutes, the teams then alternate entrants every two minutes. However, the major difference between the concepts, is that Steel Cage Warfare is an elimination style match up, we generally means that my main gripe with the Lockdown and War Games matches, that the ending is usually underwhelming, is pretty much taken out of the equation.

The match kicked off with BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs locking up for five minutes with some entertaining grappling action, before Rhett Titus entered for SCUM, who used the numbers game well. With Michael Elgin entering next, the tides turned, as the layers of story began to build up nicely. Things began to get really interesting when Cliff Compton entered, throwing powder in the eyes of Michael Elgin, before using SCUM’s signature Zip Ties to keep Elgin contained. With some great heel antics, Jacobs, Titus and Compton triple teamed BJ Whitmer, finishing him off with a Spike Piledriver, making it three on one, until Jay Lethal joined the fray for Ring of Honor. With Elgin untied things looked a lot better for ROH, until the Manbeast, Rhino entered last for SCUM, hitting a Gore on Michael Elgin. Then in one of my favourite sections of the match, Rhino ended up eliminated after accidentally Goreing Rhett Titus and getting a Lethal Injection from Jay Lethal.

This earlier section of the match, whilst entertaining merely felt like build up for the chaos that would ensue once Kevin Steen entered the match. With long time rival, Matt Hardy attacking Steen before he could get into the cage, everyone spilled to the outside, in full on brawl mode. With Steen and Elgin getting the upper hand on Hardy, Titus and Compton, sending them flying into the barricades and swinging steel chairs like their life depended on it, Jimmy Jacobs was setting a table up in the ring. There was a lot to watch and keep an eye on at this point, but the camera work was strong so it didn’t feel too busy. Jay Lethal then managed to fight off a double team attack from Jacobs and Titus, ending up hitting Titus with a Lethal Injection to get his second elimination of the night and give Team ROH a three to two advantage. With Steen and Elgin, busy with Hardy and Compton on the outside, that allowed for a nice exchange between Lethal and Jacobs to occur in the ring, with Lethal building for another Lethal Injection, he instead got a chair shot for his troubles, before being speared through the table in the corner, with Cliff Compton running in to pick up the pinfall, to even the teams at two men a piece.

With Jimmy Jacobs and Cliff Compton against Kevin Steen and Michael Elgin back in the cage, we got some a nice wrestling segment, orchestrated mainly by Jimmy Jacobs, who was my man of the match. ROH looked to have the match won when Elgin eliminated Compton after a Powerbomb from the top rope. It was now two on one in favour of Ring of Honor, but of course it wasn’t with Steve Corino and Matt Hardy both making their presence felt in the closing stages of the bout. With Corino taking advantage of the open door, to through fire, yes fire, at Michael Elgin, Jimmy Jacobs was able to get a pin and make it one on one. The match then got even crazier with Corino pouring lighter feud on Steen, with Jacobs clearly not agreeing with his leader’s action, he got pushed to the ground. The ending segment for me was epic, and closed off the story fantastically, with ROH Match Maker Nigel McGuiness stopping Corino’s plan with a swift Lariat, followed by Package Piledriver’s from Steen to Hardy and Jacobs allowing Steen to pick up the victory for Team ROH. Whilst ROH vs. SCUM has for the most part been entertaining, it was nice to see it concluded here, with a good story telling match that tied up a lot of loose ends for the feud, as it means that ROH can begin to focus on something fresh over the coming months, which can only be a good thing.

Best of the Rest (In The World)

Due to the length of Steel Cage Warfare, there was only one other match on the card, which saw The American Wolves take on Mike Sydal and the debuting Zizzou Middoux. The match was a lot more competitive than I had first imagined with Sydal & Middoux getting in a lot of offence in on the ROH veterans. At times Sydal & Middoux seemed a little sloppy, but the American Wolves more than made up for any nerves that the younger duo seemed to be suffering. The new team showed signs of athleticism with a nice moonsault to outside from Sydal, the highlight, as they were clearly still in the development process for their team.

With the American Wolves beginning to dominate after Eddie Edwards broke up a near fall attempt for Sydal & Middoux, the Wolves quickly chalked up a victory, after a Double Foot Stomps from both Edwards and Davey Richards allowed Richards to pick up the pinfall victory on Middoux. The American Wolves continue to prove their worth to the tag team division as they looked impressive throughout, although Sydal & Middoux as a team are not quite ready for a regular spot on television, with Middoux looking especially ropey in this match.

Finally....

What did I learn from ROH this week?

1. I hope this isn't the last we've seen of Jimmy Jacobs, but I'm not too fussed if the rest of SCUM are not seen again in Ring of Honor.

2. American Wolves are still one of the best tag teams in the business today. 

3. It's good to know ROH are no longer two months behind the rest of the world!

ROH TV 20th July 2013 Review

This week’s Ring of Honor television had been built up for quite some time, with Matt Hardy’s quest for a World Championship match being a focal point of the show for a few months. Of course, once again the show was harmed by being taped so far in advance, and by ROH already announcing that Jay Briscoe had left the company and vacated the World Title.

World Championship Match: 

Jay Briscoe © 

vs. 

Matt Hardy with Steve Corino

Matt Hardy has had something of a career renaissance in Ring of Honor the last ten months, creating a fantastic character that is easy to hate and performing consistently good promos and video spots to back it up. He’s also been helped by the ongoing SCUM storyline which has developed well over the last year and a half, as it gave him a reason to play the character he was and a group that has become not too dissimilar to the Mattitude Followers in 2003/04. The relationship Hardy has developed with SCUM leader Steve Corino is also an interesting one, with Corino seeming to worship Hardy, but you kind of get the feeling that if Hardy stepped out of line, Corino would kick him to the curb, just like he did to Kevin Steen.

Whilst, Matt’s promos and character have been top notch during his ROH run, his matches have been distinctly average, and unfortunately this was the case here, as well. Whilst the match told a decent enough story with Hardy taking advantage of Briscoe’s injured shoulder, Hardy was for the most part over reliant on his Twist of Fate move, which he used a total of four times throughout the match, and after the second attempt had failed to get a pinfall, as an audience member I wrote the move off for the rest of the match, I’m sure in Hardy’s long storied career, he’s picked up more than that move to use as a false finish. Each time, Briscoe would look close to mounting a comeback Hardy would pull out another underhanded tactic, such as hitting Briscoe with his boot, to regain the upper hand, which at times became frustrating to watch as it meant the majority of the match was worked at walking pace.

The ending saw Hardy go for his FIFTH Twist of Fate attempt, only for Briscoe to block and pull Hardy into a small package to pick up the pinfall victory and retain the World Championship. The ending wasn’t exactly an original one, and the fact that we’d seen Hardy hit the Twist of Fate four times before and fail to get a pin cover, it didn’t really have the element of danger that it should have. It’s a shame that such a strong story going into the match couldn’t deliver in terms of what we saw in the ring, as it left the whole build up feeling a little bit flat. It wasn’t an awful match, and technically there weren’t many areas that you could pull the match up on, it just needed a bit more variety and some insertion of pace to help it round of the story well.

After the contest, we went straight into the build for next week’s Steel Cage Warfare match, with SCUM’s Rhino coming out and annihilating Jay with a GORE. Whilst Jay’s brother Mark made a surprise return to attempt to even the odds, SCUM quickly gained control. With fellow SCUM member Jimmy Jacobs, Rhett Titus and Cliff Compton brawling at ringside with Team ROH member Michael Elgin, BJ Whitmer and Jay Lethal, SCUM took control using their signature zip ties to attach Team ROH to the ring ropes, allowing for the real destruction to take place in the ring. With Rhino destroying Mark Briscoe with multiple concertos (he’s obviously been learning from former stablemates Edge and Christian) Matt Hardy headed to the middle rope to take out Jay Briscoe’s arm once and for all with front elbow drop onto a chair that was wrapped around Briscoe’s arm. It was a good finish to the show that built up well for Steel Cage Warfare next week, as well as providing a storyline reason for Jay Briscoe to vacate the World title. 

Best of the Rest (In The World)

The only other match of the night pitted rivals Roderick Strong and Adam Cole in a rematch from June’s Best in the World iPPV. This match wasn’t advertised as it looked like we were getting an enhancement match with Cole facing Will Ferrera. However, with Strong coming out to talk about what happened at Best in the World, where Cole won by countout, with Cole apologising and challenging Strong to a rematch tonight. Strong accepted and we had our opening contest. It was a good set up to a highly anticipated rematch, their contest at Best in the World was one of the best matches on the show, that was left open for a rematch with the countout finish.

In comparison to the World Championship match, this was a much better encounter. The match had the changes in pace that the main event didn’t and therefore allowed them to tell a different story, with each man having periods in control of the match in what was a ultra-competitive contest, with a good combination of strikes, submissions and grapples keeping the match fresh. With the reversals coming thick and fast, as well as a number of near falls, a wrestling cliché appeared as Strong was sent crashing into referee Paul Turner who went crashing to the mat. After both men took each other out, it didn’t take long before Steve Corino, who was on commentary, threw a chain into the ring for Cole, only for Strong to get hold of the chain. With Cole taking Strong out with a Superkick, he saw the chain on Strong’s hand and decided to use it for himself, resulting in a Disqualification victory for Strong. It was another frustrating ending for Cole and Strong, and hopefully the two will be booked against each other in a rubber match soon.

There was also a nice package of interviews from Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal and BJ Whitmer building to next week’s Steel Cage Warfare match. All three men talked about Kevin Steen’s addition to Team ROH, with the trio all seemingly apprehensive about Steen’s involvement. Cleverly, we’ve seen very little of Steen and his team mates in the build up to this match, so it’s been left wide open to how Steen will react in the contest and how all the competitors will interact. We know Team ROH doesn’t like Steen, but they’re going to need him on side if they’re going to defeat SCUM next week, it’s an interesting concept. 

Finally...

What did I learn from this week's ROH on Sinclair?

1. Matt Hardy is currently a lot better at creating a character, than creating a wrestling match.

2. Adam Cole's slow heel turn is working well, the rubber match between he and Roderick Strong should be superb. 

3. Steve Corino is one of ROH's best assets at the moment, both on commentary and elsewhere.