Fine, slow-paced match. Misterioso caught Limelight when he went for a pescado to the floor and slammed him spine-first against the ring post on the floor.
Limelight skinned the cat, pulling himself from the rope back into the ring, and on his way up caught Misterioso with a headscissors and shifted the match momentum in his direction until Misterioso caught him with the MSR back cracker to put Limelight away in just over six minutes.
Hikuleo defeated TJP
Hikuleo used his abundant size and power to ragdoll TJP around early. TJP was able to slide out of his grasp a few times, at one point applying an Muta Lock on Hikuleo briefly; later, he locked on an octopus hold, but Hikuleo again powered out, then slammed him to the mat.
TJP used a big swinging DDT to spike Hikuleo midway through the match. TJP began unloading an arsenal of aerial moves Hikuleo’s way, though the youngest son of Haku always had an answer and returned TJP’s offense with power moves. He put TJP away with a snap power slam and the Gunslinger to win in dominant fashion.
This was a good match that did a great job at establishing him as the real deal. TJP was great and Hikuleo is looking better with each match.
PJ Black defeated Alex Zayne
This match felt like something we’d see on NXT, lots of high flying spots and loads of nearfalls for a ten-minute match. Very flashy.
Black offered a handshake, but Zayne went for a roundhouse kick from the bell. Fast-paced action between the two for a few minutes until Black began to slow the pace. Black used a roundhouse kick of his own to put Zayne down, but he couldn’t pick up more than a two count. Black, frustrated, began shouting. When he came off the top, Zayne caught him with a wild spinning kick.
It was about five or six minutes into the match when the two started trading wild-looking high spots, with Zayne using what was called a ‘Crunchwrap Supreme’, a modified pumphandle bomb, at one point. After a top rope hurricanrana, and a picture-perfect moonsault press, Black went for another pin but again, only got a two count. He used a Spanish Fly from the top for another near fall.
Zayne used a shooting star kneedrop to Black, who was bent over. Alex Koslov on commentary also called this move the Crunchwrap Supreme, so I’m not sure what’s what. He put Zayne away with the Bad Habit for the win just after the ten-minute mark. Good flying match that would have been way better with a crowd, which would have ate this up, I imagine.
Jeff Cobb and David Finlay defeated Bullet Club (KENTA and Chase Owens)
This was great. Bullet Club ambushed Finlay and Cobb at the bell. They worked over Cobb for a bit until he was able to tag out to Finlay, who picked up a big win in last week’s 12-man elimination match.
Later, Owens clipped Jeff Cobb’s knee from behind and immediately tagged out to KENTA, who went right after Cobb’s knee. He and Owens switched on and off, keeping Cobb in the blue corner and always going back to the knee attacks. This more or less lasted until around five minutes into the match when Cobb was finally to tag out to Finlay.
Finlay tore through Bullet Club with a flurry of crisp offense. NJPW seems focused on rebranding him as a serious competitor, and he has looked better than ever on this show. He and KENTA were excellent together.
When Finlay tagged Cobb back in, Cobb laid in big elbows to Chase in the corner. KENTA hopped in from this point and the match began to spill out of control, bodies scattered in and outside the ring.
The last bit of this saw Finlay land a cool-looking swinging back cracker on Owens, but then Finlay ate a big high kick from KENTA. Cobb then stormed in and took KENTA out with a running lariat. He wasn’t able to make the cover, however, because he was holding his injured knee.
Owens snuck back in and blasted him with a high knee strike for a close count, but Finlay dove in to make the save. KENTA threw Finlay from the ring, leaving Owens and Cobb together inside. After a big forearm smash, Cobb planted Owens with Tour of the Islands for the emphatic win.
Final thoughts:
This was a good show with a great main event. That’s saying a lot when it’s airing during the G1 tournament, though half of the wrestlers in tonight’s match are currently in the G1, so take it for what it’s worth.
Next week’s edition of NJPW Strong: NEVER will feature Jay White vs. Rocky Romero and Brody King and Flip Gordon vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa).
Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & Gabriel Kidd
Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado vs. Yuji Nagata & Yuya Uemura
Report —
Korakuen Hall was the venue for today’s show in front of an announced attendance of 482. The show was a tidy one hour, 51 minutes including intermission.
Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe defeated Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & Gabriel Kidd (9:33)
Five of these six men were in the opener on yesterday’s show as well and they worked a very similar match.
The focus was on Kidd trying to bait Makabe into a feud. They started the match and traded power spots. Ishii and Taguchi tagged in and did another great comedy sequence similar to yesterday but with a few added wrinkles because Ishii is great at every aspect of wrestling.
Kojima cut Ishii off. They built to a tag to Makabe and Goto, then Taguchi and Kidd entered for the closing sequence. Taguchi hit a bomaye for a near fall and then hit Dodon for the pin.
YH and Shingo feels like it might be a NEVER title program soon. That doesn’t sound ideal but they worked well together here.
Yano and Shingo started with some comedy. Shingo and YH exchanged tackles. Shingo sold just enough to make YH look dangerous and YH brought great intensity. BUSHI and Shingo used a double team to cut YH off.
Yano got a tag and exposed a turnbuckle. He used the corner pad as a weapon on Shingo and BUSHI. BUSHI hit a backstabber for a near fall. They did a clever spot where BUSHI held Yano in a sunset flip position while Shingo tried a lariat.
The finish saw Yano tease bumping the ref and teasing a low blow. Yano rolled BUSHI up but BUSHI reversed and trapped Yano’s legs for the pin.
This was more of a prolonged angle than a match. They continued to tease another Suzuki/Nagata singles match.
Suzuki and Desperado took the first half of the match working over Uemura. They stretched him over the bottom rope and pounded him with hard forearm shots.
The match built to a spot where Uemura side-stepped a Suzuki boot and hit a dropkick. Nagata tagged in and he and Suzuki renewed hostilities and traded shots. Suzuki got a choke applied but Nagata slid out and hit an exploder.
Desperado and Uemura tagged in for the closing sequence. Uemura fought out of a single-leg crab and forced a break before Desperado hit him with Pinche Loco for the pin.
Suzuki and Nagata continued fighting after the bell. Suzuki then cut a promo. He challenged Nagata to a match and asked NJPW to make it happen and set the date.
**********
There was a mid-show intermission while they cleaned the ring.
The babyface team attacked Suzuki-gun before the opening bell, using their own tactic against them. Wato and Kanemaru started off the legal men. Wato teased a tope but DOUKI jumped in and stopped him.
Tenzan tagged in. Taichi took the ref while DOUKI choked Tenzan with a pipe. The ref saw DOUKI choking Tenzan with the pipe but did not call for a DQ. DOUKI continued working over Tenzan while the other six fought on the floor. Taichi used a camera cable to choke Tana.
Tenzan hit a wheel kick on Sabre and tagged Tanahashi. Tanahashi got some offense but got caught in an armbar when trying an elbow drop. Tana broke the hold with a dragon screw.
Ibushi and Taichi got tags and traded strikes. Ibushi turned a last ride attempt into a hurricanrana. Taichi hit a lariat into a double down. Suzuki-gun went four on one against Ibushi. DOUKI hit a springboard double stomp for a near fall. DOUKI hit a daybreak DDT for a near fall as Tenzan made the save.
The finish saw everyone jump in for a big move. DOUKI grabbed his pipe again but Ibushi blocked a shot with a high kick. Ibushi then hit Kamigoye for the pin.
Ibushi and Taichi jawed at each other after the match.
These guys worked practically the same match that they did yesterday also but with a different finish. Yujiro and Gedo as a team is just yuck and this is a waste of Okada.
Okada and Yujiro began and Okada got the upper hand after some simple offense. SHO tagged in and got cut off immediately. Gedo and Yujiro exposed a buckle and used a bunch of old school heel tricks to work him over.
SHO made a comeback and tagged Okada. Okada fought off a double team. Okada slid out of Pimp Juice and hit an air raid crash on Yujiro before tagging SHO again.
SHO had Yujiro in a kimura. Gedo took the ref and Jado stumbled his way to the ring with a kendo stick. Jado used the stick on SHO. Yujiro then hit Pimp Juice for the pin.
Yujiro left Okada laying after the match with a pimp cane shot on the floor.
EVIL, Dick Togo & Taiji Ishimori defeated Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & Hiromu Takahashi (10:40)
Hiromu and Ishimori and EVIL and Naito are theoretically the top two programs right now so this was all about laying more of a foundation for those.
The story of the match was that Hiromu’s shoulder is so thrashed that he can’t do anything.
Ishimori and Hiromu began. Hiromu’s left shoulder was heavily taped. Ishimori worked it over, including hitting a la mistica. They built to a big showdown between EVIL and Naito after a Naito hot tag.
Naito ran wild with headscissors and was moving great here. He and EVIL squared off and Naito hit a series of unanswered strikes. Red Shoes tried to pull Naito off but Naito shoved him down twice. This was not a DQ for some reason.
Bullet Club cut Naito off and triple teamed him. SANADA jumped in and hit a TKO on Togo. EVIL tagged Ishimori. Naito hit a dropkick to Ishimori before tagging Hiromu for the closing sequence.
Hiromu went for Time Bomb but he got shoved shoulder-first into an exposed buckle. Ishimori hit a backstabber and rolled into the Yes Lock for the submission.
Ishimori refused to give up the hold after the bell. Naito and SANADA jumped in for the save.
Ishimori cut a promo on Hiromu, taunting him. Naito and EVIL stared each other down from across the arena as the show closed.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the first two cards for their Summer Struggle tour.
Night one airs on Sunday morning starting at 5:30 a.m. ET. Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, and Hiromu Takahashi will take on EVIL, Dick Togo, and Taiji Ishimori in the main event. Naito confronted EVIL last night and made the save for Hiromu Takahashi after Hiromu was beaten up by EVIL, Togo and Ishimori.
Kazuchika Okada and SHO will team in the co-main event, facing Yujiro Takahashi and Gedo. Okada defeated Yujiro at Sengoku Lord this weekend in a singles match.
Night two features the same top two matches from night one, with the exception of SANADA taking BUSHI’s place in the main event. Some matches in the midcard have also been altered.
Here are the full cards for the first two nights of the Summer Struggle tour, both which take place at Korakuen Hall:
Night one:
Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, and Hiromu Takahashi vs. EVIL, Dick Togo, and Taiji Ishimori
Kazuchika Okada and SHO vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Gedo
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Master Wato vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Yuji Nagata and Yuya Uemura vs. Minoru Suzuki and DOUKI
YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto vs. SANADA and Shingo Takagi
Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima, and Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and Gabriel Kidd
Night two:
Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and Hiromu Takahashi vs. EVIL, Dick Togo, and Taiji Ishimori
Kazuchika Okada and SHO vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Gedo
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, and Master Wato vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and DOUKI
Yuji Nagata and Yuya Uemura vs. Minoru Suzuki and El Desperado
YOSHI-HASHI and Toru Yano vs. Shingo Takagi and BUSHI
Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima, and Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, and Gabriel Kidd
This was a solid opener and Uemura was the star of the match.
Kojima and Tsuji began and traded a few power moves. Tenzan and Uemura tagged in and they did some mat wrestling. They traded strikes until Tenzan cut Uemura off with Mongolian chops.
Kojima and Tenzan worked Uemura over. Kojima used a neckbreaker for three near falls as Uemura did a great job selling his neck. Tenzan and Kojima took turns chopping Uemura in the corner.
Tenzan used a brainbuster for a near fall. Uemura managed to tag Tsuji who gut cut off after a mountain bomb from Tenzan. Kojima tagged in for machine gun chops but Tsuji cut him off before he could hit the follow-up elbow.
Uemura hit Kojima with chops. He hit both Tenzan and Kojima with a double dropkick. He used a crab on Kojima. Tenzan tried to break it up but got hit by a Tsuji spear. Kojima finally forced a break.
The finishing sequence saw Kojima kick out of a double underhook suplex from Uemura. Uemura hit the ropes but ran right into a lariat for the pin.
The highlights of this one were the exchanges between Honma and Ishii. Ishii went out of his way to make Honma look good and the crowd really got into their spots. Kidd also looked good here.
Honma got some early offense on YOSHI-HASHI. YH was slightly favoring his right knee which he injured during the New Japan Cup.
Honma and Ishii traded a bunch of chops which got the crowd into the match. Honma missed a kokeshi. Taguchi hit an illegal elbow drop on Ishii to cut him off. Taguchi Japan went four-on-one against Ishii before Ishii escaped.
Yano and Taguchi did some comedy spots. Makabe and SHO traded a series of forearm shots. Yano exposed a buckle which led to the finish. Kidd hit a dropkick on Yano and used a crab but Ishii broke it up.
The finish saw everyone jump in for a big move. Kidd rolled Yano up for a near fall before transitioning to a crab. Yano reached the ropes, hit a slingshot into an exposed buckle and used a schoolboy for the pin.
SANADA & Shingo Takagi defeated El Desperado & DOUKI (12:41)
The action in this one was weak for a Shingo match but this was all about setting up his match at Sengoku Lord.
Shingo and SANADA attacked before the opening bell. Shingo went right for Desperado, his opponent in the NEVER title match on Saturday.
Suzuki-gun turned the tide and turned it into a brawl around ringside. This was notable as it was the first crowd brawl in the COVID era that required fans to move.
DOUKI used a chair on Shingo’s left leg, so it looks as though he will go into the match Saturday selling a knee injury. DOUKI and Desperado worked over SANADA in the ring before SANADA managed a tag.
Desperado continued working on Shingo’s left knee. He used a stretch muffler and Shingo sold for a long time before finally forcing a rope break. Shingo hit a back elbow, jab and lariat before tagging out to set up the closing sequence.
DOUKI hit a neckbreaker and his Day Breaker slingshot DDT for near falls. Shingo and Desperado brawled to the floor. SANADA tried for Skull End but DOUKI cradled him for a near fall.
SANADA then lifted DOUKI for a TKO before transitioning to Skull End instead. He locked in the dragon sleeper and body scissors and DOUKI tapped.
Desperado attacked Shingo after the bell and stole his NEVER Openweight title belt as well.
I was willing to give this Yujiro vs. Okada program a shot but it was clear in this match that they need to get out of this as soon as possible. Yujiro’s work is just nowhere near Okada’s level and the people don’t care about the feud.
Okada wanted to start off with Yujiro but Yujiro begged off. Okada hit Gedo with a dropkick. Gedo tried to run to the back but Goto went after him and brought him back to the ring. Goto tagged in and worked on Gedo with stomps.
Gedo cut Goto off with a thumb to the eye. Yujiro interfered and aided in attacking Goto before turning his attention to Okada. The crowd was completely silent as Yujiro posted Okada and nailed him with punches on the floor.
Gedo exposed a buckle and sent Goto into it. Gedo and Yujiro spent several minutes working on Goto before he finally managed a hot tag to Okada.
Okada hit his trademark back elbow, back elbow in the corner and DDT sequence on Yujiro. He teased an air raid crash but Yujiro blocked. They worked back to the air raid crash and Okada hit it before both tagged out.
The closing sequence saw Goto hit a wheel kick and a Saito suplex for a near fall, then hit the GTR for the pin.
Suzuki-gun attacked before the opening bell. Taichi used his mic stand to attack Tanahashi. Suzuki and Nagata began with an exchange that left you wanting to see a rematch of their New Japan Cup classic.
Tanahashi and Sabre tagged in and the story they told was cool as Tanahashi was able to get the upper hand on the mat at first and had a counter for every hold Sabre tried. Sabre used interference from Taichi to target Tana’s right knee and take over.
After a few minutes of continuing to work on the knee, Tana managed a dragon screw on Taichi and tagged Ibushi. Ibushi hit a standing moonsault for a near fall. Ibushi and Taichi traded kicks before Wato and Kanemaru tagged in.
Wato hit a standing moonsault for a two count. He went to the top rope but Suzuki jumped in and cut him off. Kanemaru recovered and hit a one-legged dropkick and inverted DDT for a near fall.
Kanemaru hit Deep Impact and had Wato pinned but pulled him up after the count of two. Kanemaru then hit Touch Out (spinning brainbuster) for the pin.
Nagata and Suzuki went at it after the bell and had to be pulled apart. Sabre and Taichi talked trash to Tanahashi and Ibushi.
Suzuki and Nagata had a second pull-apart and traded slaps to the face so they definitely look to be running that back soon.
This had a unique start as Hiromu came to the ring acting very heelish. He kept his ring jacket on while everyone else was getting ready for the match.
Hiromu stared at EVIL before taking his jacket off and revealing a Bullet Club shirt. He pointed a finger gun at EVIL before turning it on Naito and BUSHI. Naito and BUSHI acted confused. Hiromu then attacked EVIL and revealed that this was all a ruse and he was still LIJ.
Bullet Club tripled up on Naito as the match began. Togo used a fist drop before slapping a chinlock on Naito. Naito blocked a DDT and used a crab on Togo before EVIL jumped in to cut him off with an eye gouge.
Hiromu and EVIL got tags. Hiromu hit a low dropkick on EVIL. Togo and Ishimori tried to cut him off but Hiromu fought them off. Hiromu hit a shotgun dropkick off the apron onto all three Bullet Club members.
Back inside, Hiromu hit EVIL with a falcon arrow for a near fall. The crowd got into the match at this point. EVIL blocked Time Bomb and took the referee, allowing Togo and Ishimori to expose a buckle and double up on Hiromu.
EVIL repeatedly sent Hiromu into the exposed buckle. Hiromu came back with a superkick and a lariat into a double down.
BUSHI tagged in and hit an enzuigiri and a missile dropkick on EVIL. He fought off attacks from Ishimori and Togo and hit a tope suicida on EVIL. BUSHI and Naito held EVIL up while Hiromu hit a doomsday device missile dropkick. BUSHI covered for a two count.
The match broke down as everyone jumped in at the finish. EVIL hit Hiromu with a lariat. Togo choked BUSHI with a ligature while Ishimori took the ref.
EVIL then hit BUSHI with Everything is EVIL for the pin.
After the match, Togo choked Hiromu out with the ligature. EVIL teased hitting EVIL on Hiromu but chose not to.
EVIL cut a brief promo before standing over the fallen LIJ to close the show.
EVIL not only emerged triumphant in tonight’s New Japan Cup finals, he severed his relationship with Los Ingobernables de Japon and joined the Bullet Club.
Towards the end of tonight’s finals, Gedo came out to distract the referee, allowing Yujiro Takahashi to jump Kazuchika Okada from behind. EVIL went for the pin, but Okada kicked out as both Gedo and Yujiro left the arena.
Okada went for his new cobra clutch submission towards the end of the match, but EVIL drove him and the referee into the corner, sending the referee down. EVIL proceeded to low blow Okada twice, then landed the Everything is EVIL STO to win his first New Japan Cup tournament, setting the stage for Sunday’s Dominion main event against Naito for both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles.
After the match, Naito came out and said a few words before raising his fist for the LIJ salute. EVIL went to raise his arm, but instead flashed the “two sweet” hand gesture before attacking Naito, sending him down with Everything is Evil. The rest of the Bullet Club came out and attacked before the rest of LIJ came out for the save.
Two other title matches set for Sunday include Shingo Takagi vs. SHO for the NEVER Openweight title and Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP Tag Team titles. Seven to nine matches are scheduled.
KENTA is the latest member of the Bullet Club, turning his back not only on his tag team partners during the G1 Climax finals but also the person who brought him into NJPW.
The angle happened during a match between KENTA, YOSHI-HASHI and Tomohiro Ishii, who teamed up to take on the Bullet Club team of Bad Luck Fale and the Guerillas of Destiny. KENTA never interacted with the Bullet Club during the match nor was ever tagged in. As Tomohiro Ishii finally went for a tag, KENTA bailed and stood outside the ring as the match continued. After a few minutes, he came back in and laid out Ishii with the running knee, allowing Tama Tonga to pin Ishii.
After the match, Katsuyori Shibata ran in and immediately attacked KENTA to a huge ovation. The rest of the Bullet Club tried to cut him off, but Shibata kept them at bay and set up KENTA for the PK. As Shibata hit the ropes, Jado struck him with a kendo stick. The rest of the Bullet Club regrouped and attacked Shibata with kendo stick shots.
KENTA sat cross-legged on Shibata, his own pose, as he gave the “too sweet” hand gesture of the rest of the Bullet Club. Shibata later left the ring under his own power.
Here are the results from this morning’s New Japan event in Sydney, Australia:
Michael Richards and Andrew Villalobos defeated Stevie and Tome Filip
– Richards pinned Tome.
Rocky Romero defeated Tony Kozina
– Romero submitted Kozina with an armbar.
Jack Bonza defeated Mick Moretti
– Bonza pinned Moretti with a vertical drop falcon arrow.
Chase Owens defeated Aaron Solow
– Owens pinned Solow with the package piledriver.
Juice Robinson, Mikey Nicholls and Toru Yano defeated Guerillas of Destiny and Gino Gambino
– Yano rolled up Gambino for the win.
Tomohiro Ishii defeated Toa Henare
– Ishii pinned Henare following a vertical drop brainbuster.
Will Ospreay, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada defeated Robbie Eagles, Bad Luck Fale and Jay White
– Ospreay pinned Eagles with the stormbreaker.
Bullet Club jumped the babyfaces after the match, with White instructing Eagles to lay out Ospreay with a chair. Eagles grabbed the chair, but ultimately refuses to strike Ospreay. White goes to do it himself, but Eagles stops him and attacks White, with Tanahashi and Okada coming in to even things out.
Ospreay recovered and cut a promo, confirming that Robbie Eagles was done with the Bullet Club and Eagles was now with CHAOS.
Eagles cut a promo saying he’d never thought he’d be here sharing a ring with his three opponents while the fans were chanting his name. He asked the crowd wanted to see Tanahashi, Okada, and himself and Will Ospreay as a tag team back in Australia. The crowd reacted positively.
Flip Gordon won the Sea of Honor tournament and will face Jay Lethal for the ROH World Championship in the coming weeks.
The Alpha Club vs. Bullet Club angle was left somewhat open ended, with both sides jaw-jacking with each other as the show went off the air.
Show Recap —
Colt Cabana and Jay Lethal were on commentary to begin the show. The event kicked off with a short highlight package of the Sea of Honor tournament first round matches:
Christopher Daniels defeated Delirious
Dalton Castle defeated Matt Taven by DQ after a belt shot
Marty Scurll defeated Rhett Titus
Mark Briscoe defeated Will Ferrara
Flip Gordon defeated Silas Young
Adam Page defeated Frankie Kazarian
Cheeseburger defeated Beer City Bruiser
Jay Briscoe defeated Kenny King
Sea of Honor tournament quarterfinals —
Dalton Castle (as Ashley Remington) defeated Christopher Daniels
The ring announcer claimed Castle was out of the match with a concussion, and that “Smooth Sailing” Ashley Remington would replace him. This was Castle’s sailor comedy character in CHIKARA. Cabana’s explanation was that Castle is concussed and he implied that Castle had a Cactus Jack-like amnesia, hence the Remington character.
Daniels jaw-jacked while the crowd chanted “That’s not Dalton.” Daniels asked Remington if he’s really not Castle. He said he’d believe the crowd’s chants because they had kind eyes.
There was a slower pace at the beginning of the match, followed by a number of counter-reversal-counter exchanges mixed in with comedy poses and gestures.
Cabana and Lethal tried to put the match over as serious even though both wrestlers seemed a bit relaxed throughout it. They assured the viewers that this was the World Championship tournament and was a serious matter.
Daniels landed an Arabian Press for a two count. Remington reversed the pace with a big lariat, a flying knee into the corner, and a bulldog for two. The crowd was 60-40 in favor of Remington.
Remington/Castle rolled Daniels into a small package for the win in this decent comedy match. Remington gave Daniels a basket of fruit afterwards, then they hugged.
Flip Gordon defeated Marty Scurll
There were big chants for Scurll before the match. They dragged a handshake spot out for a few minutes ahead of the bell, playing up the friendship angle they did in the Being the Elite show. The crowd chanted for them to hug and they finally did, but Scurll crossed Gordon with a surprise Rock Bottom/uranage. The referee rang the bell and counted a close two. The crowd was awake for this one.
Scurll crotched Gordon on the rope and teased the old Gran Naniwa crab-walk spot, but then did an “up yours” gesture to the crowd instead for cheap heat. They teased a superplex for a minute until Scurll finally landed it on the third attempt for a two.
Scurll stomped on Gordon’s fingers and put him into a modified abdominal stretch, then into a modified Rings of Saturn, slowing the pace of the match down until Gordon turned the volume up after a few dropkick variations.
Gordon used a springboard slingblade and 450 splash, both for two. Scurll kicked out of the 450 at 2.75 for a very close near fall.
The crowd eventually turned on Scurll and rooted for Gordon instead. The two had a few chop and elbow battles, and Cabana compared them to Sasaki and Kobashi at the Tokyo Dome in 2005. It wasn’t quite that, but Gordon’s chest was horrible and looked very purple.
Gordon reversed Scurll’s Sugarback Powerbomb into a sunset flip pin for the win. He offered to shake Scurll’s hand after the match, but Scurll denied him and rolled out of the ring. Very good — albeit short — match.
Jay Briscoe defeated Cheeseburger
As Briscoe came down to the ring you could hear the announce team chatting away from the mic. It sounded like everyone in the crowd was having a good time, but it made the broadcast feel amateurish.
Cheeseburger’s new ring gear is a tribute to Jushin Thunder Liger, with the red and white color scheme and a Cheeseburger icon on his chest.
Briscoe offered Cheeseburger to take a countout loss because he claimed no one wanted to see Cheeseburger get hurt. Cheeseburger responded with the finger and they started brawling. Briscoe got the better of the initial fisticuffs, then pounded on him for a while. They told a bully story where Briscoe kept screaming at Cheeseburger to quit — but Cheeseburger refused to.
Briscoe used a Death Valley Driver for two, then put Cheeseburger in a Camel Clutch and swore at the crowd. They bleeped this out on the HonorClub broadcast.
Cheeseburger mounted a few comebacks. He landed a Shotei that looked really phony for two. Briscoe landed a Rude Awakening-style hanging neckbreaker after this and it looked brutal.
Briscoe’s jumping Jay Driller got a huge pop from the crowd, and a win for himself. This was a decent match with a simple but clear David vs. Goliath narrative.
Mark Briscoe defeated Hangman Page
The announcers pushed the story that whoever won this got to face Jay Briscoe. It was pretty obvious that they were building for a brother vs. brother match.
Both Page and Briscoe got in each other’s faces early and had a chop battle. Both were great at no-selling each other’s chops and the crowd was getting into it, albeit slowly. They had a body slam battle. The crowd started chanting “scoop slam.” Next was a vertical suplex battle. Page “won” the suplex duel with a delayed vertical suplex.
The two exchanged a few more moves after this, but in a less gimmicky way. The crowd kept chanting “That was weak” and Page seemed not to know how else to please them.
Page landed a gutwrench suplex with a bridging pin for two. This was followed by a “That was strong” chant. Briscoe then gave Page a lariat that flipped him inside out.
Apparently a bird flew into the crowd and Cabana seemed really freaked out by it. People started chanting “holy sh*t,” but the cameras didn’t catch any of it. Cabana stood up and lost it, which was caught on camera. People were chanting for the bird. Lethal was speechless for a while until he lost it over the bird, too. I didn’t understand any of it without the visual references.
A spinning lariat and powerbomb from Page to Briscoe got two. The crowd was really distracted here and it didn’t pop like it normally would. The wrestlers weren’t rattled by this at all, though, which was impressive.
Briscoe missed a Froggy Bow and Page reversed it into a jackknife for another close two count. Briscoe eventually reversed Page’s Buckshot Lariat into a schoolboy for the abrupt win.
This match was better than it came off as on TV, but the bird situation really ruined the latter part of it with regard to crowd reaction.
Sea of Honor tournament semifinals —
Flip Gordon defeated Dalton Castle
It was dark at this point. The night shots looked much better on TV than the matches that took place in the day. Matt Taven and Mandy Leon joined Cabana for this part of the show.
This was a short match and was mostly comedy. Castle wrestled as himself this time. He claimed he had a really bad sunburn and they used this as the story thread throughout the match. Castle sold his sunburn hard, and when Gordon would chop him the crowd booed. Castle poured water onto his chest to cool off.
They brawled more in the ring. Gordon back-raked Castle to more boos. A tope suicida to the outside came next, then a springboard splash for two. Castle used some of his Ashley Remington moves and got a few chants for them.
Gordon won out of nowhere with a small package. It was strange and the crowd booed the finish. This was the third surprise cradle finish of the night.
Taven wasn’t bad as the color guy here and added a nice heel flavor to this.
Jay Briscoe defeated Mark Briscoe
The brother vs. brother match that virtually anyone could see coming, though it didn’t matter because it didn’t deter the crowd nor bum them out — there was a “holy sh*t” chant before the bell.
The brothers shook hands, but Mark ran out at Jay with a dropkick after the bell. He landed an early Froggy Bow for two. The crowd was very into this.
Jay brought a chair into the ring and hit brother Mark with it. Jay played crazy-eyed heel here. Jay bullied Mark to the outside of the ring and threw a can of beer at his head.
Jay pounded on Mark more back in the ring. He then set a chair in between the top two turnbuckles and tried to Irish whip Mark into the chair. Mark reversed it and threw Jay head-first into it, which was insane. The crowd went wild. Mark then sat Jay down onto the chair and landed a flying crossbody press onto him, breaking the chair.
Later, Jay threw a chair at Mark as he was on the top rope, then landed another Jay Driller for the win. Both hugged, which got a big reaction from the crowd.
This was the best match of the event so far, both in terms of in-ring action and crowd response.
Sea of Honor tournament finals —
Flip Gordon defeated Jay Briscoe
Lethal was back on commentary for this match. It looked like it took place in the afternoon a day or two after the previous match.
Briscoe jumped Gordon before the bell. Gordon missed a 450 splash, then Briscoe started choking him with a shirt. The pace slowed to a heel-led brawl. Briscoe punched and stomped until Gordon came back with some flying offense, including a springboard missile dropkick.
Briscoe eventually slowed things down a bit with more methodical heel brawler offense. At this point in the match, something was either bleeped or the feed cut out for a second.
Gordon landed a crossbody press, and later a springboard spear for two. He hulked up after dropkicking Briscoe’s back, but Briscoe reversed Gordon’s suplex after this.
Briscoe hit a massive lariat and Jay Driller on Gordon for a 2.5 count. The crowd chanted “that was three” and people started losing it. Gordon quickly reversed the momentum, landing a jump-up enzuigiri and a Flip 50 (a TKO) to win the tournament.
This was shorter than I imagined it would be. It was good, but not as good as Briscoe vs. Briscoe. Jay didn’t shake Gordon’s hand after the match.
Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes & Marty Scurll) defeated Alpha Club (Chris Jericho & The Young Bucks)
Scott D’Amore and Don Callis called this match with Cabana. Callis wore an admiral’s outfit. He looked like the lead singer of the Village People.
The crowd chanted a lot before things got started. Bullet Club all took their shirts off at the same time and did poses for some happy people in the crowd.
Nick Jackson and Cody had a few quick exchanges, then Cody flipped the crowd off. There were loud “Y2J” chants when Jericho first entered the ring.
The Alpha Club group made so much more sense than one may have thought initially. As a trio they gelled naturally, all working the same tempo.
As soon as Omega entered the ring, he pointed at Jericho and the crowd really united on their “holy sh*t” chant for this one. They circled each other until Cody tagged himself into the match, all to a chorus of crowd boos.
Jericho lit Cody up with chops, but he countered with a missile dropkick from the second ropes. Callis and D’Amore put over Jericho’s credentials hard — and it did lend more credibility to the match. The Sea of Honor tournament was relaxed in comparison.
Nick Jackson made his way back into the ring, but Scurll and Cody worked him over in the Elite corner for a few minutes, slowly.
Whenever Omega was in the ring, he got noticeably louder chants than most people on this card. He and Scurll worked over Nick some more, and Scurll did the Jericho “Come on, baby!” pin-flex thing in Alpha Club’s direction for two.
Nick was playing Ricky Morton for the middle part of this match. He was dominated and abused by Bullet Club until he finally countered their momentum and tagged Jericho for a house of fire sequence. Jericho looked smooth here, not rusty at all.
Scurll teased the chicken wing, but Alpha Club did a double Sharpshooter and Walls of Jericho spot until it was broken via rope break.
Matt Jackson was in for a number of high spots, followed by a running, jumping Codebreaker from Jericho onto Cody. The crowd was loud again. The Bucks used a handful of their double-team flying spots for near falls, including a moonsault/splash combination.
A few exchanges between Omega and The Young Bucks resulted in Omega using a snap dragon suplex on both of them. Jericho interrupted Omega’s flow with a running elbow — and then they faced off and did the Frye-Takayama punching spot.
Omega went for a dive to the floor, but the Bucks blocked him. All three Alpha Club members did a triple superkick spot for two and got a big reaction from the crowd. Jericho helped the Bucks with an assisted Meltzer Driver into a Walls of Jericho. Cody landed a Cross Rhodes.
There was chaos and bedlam in the ring among all members until Jericho put Omega into the Lion Tamer. Nick Jackson used a slingshot facebuster on Omega to prevent him from grabbing the ropes. Scurll snuck an umbrella into the ring behind referee Todd Sinclair’s back and hit him in the back. Omega got a two count from that.
More brawling between the teams. Omega attempted a One Winged Angel — but his back went out. Matt landed another superkick to no avail. Omega finally put Matt down with a One Winged Angel for the win.
This was a fun match with a number of storylines threading through each other. Considering how well Alpha Club/Bucks of Jericho (or is it Y2Jackson?) gelled together, I’d be interested to see them in other trios matches.
The two teams were jaw-jacking at the end, but it was cut off by a cut to Jericho on the ship thanking everyone for watching. It was cut off a few seconds before he finished.
Conclusion —
The Sea of Honor tournament was a mildly entertaining but arguably skippable event. This was purely “fan service.” If you’re already a huge fan, you’ll love it, though if you’re not, this might not be the best place to start watching ROH or the Elite guys.
The matches were average to very good, but the stakes were seemingly low. Many of the early round matches felt like house show bouts or exhibitions. There was no filler or fluff between matches, either, and the matches that weren’t so great were usually short, which made the show easy to watch.
There were a handful of streaming issues, but nothing like what happened recently at the NWA 70th Anniversary Show. There were a few confusing blips and errors, but none that took away from the show on my end.
A decent show overall, and most definitely the best wrestling show on a cruise ship of all time—until next year.
While the future of Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega remains uncertain, it seems that they plan on sticking together.
During a conference call to promote the Starrcast convention during All In weekend earlier today, Cody was asked a question about what could be next for All In after the first show on September 1. Cody said that he wasn’t sure, but that he and other members within the Bullet Club are verbally committed to one another going forward.
“One thing that is special about this group is we have verbally committed to each other, and I don’t know that that’s ever been done in the history of wrestling, where I have verbally committed to the Bucks, Kenny Omega, Hangman Page,” he said. “There’s this verbal commitment that the next step we take because it’s no secret. Our contracts are all up. What happens next? The next step we take, we’re going to take it together and we’re going to take it as a family.”
Matt Jackson later seemed to comment on Cody’s comments, tweeting the word “pact”.
When asked about a second All In show on Observer radio recently, Cody seemed to indicate that he and The Young Bucks would stick together, but wasn’t sure as to what the future would hold for them.
Ring of Honor television episode #359 was taped in Fairfax, Virginia at the end of June.
Chris Sabin defeated Silas Young to become the number one contender to the ROH Television Championship
Alex Shelley joined Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana on commentary for the opening match.
Sabin got the early edge with some nice chain wrestling that led to a roll-up. Sabin maintained control and landed a flip dive off the apron. He then landed a big kick that sent Young outside. Sabin went to the top turnbuckle and connected with a missile dropkick, and a tornado DDT by Sabin earned a two count.
Young finally cut him off with a backbreaker and an anarchist suplex. Young put the beatdown on him, but Sabin was able to fight back and landed a Cradle Shock driver for the pin. Sabin is now the number one contender to the ROH TV title. Punishment Martinez, the current TV Champion, came out on the entrance ramp to intimidate him after.
Marty Scurll defeated Shane “Hurricane” Helms
This was a battle of the superhero vs. the super villain. Scurll threw his scarf at Helms to start the match. Helms threw it back at him, which led to Helms getting the early advantage with some chain wrestling into a fireman’s carry and an armbar. Scurll managed to outmaneuver Helms and then spat in Helms’ face. He kept control and sent Helms outside, then stomped on his fingers.
Scurll hooked on some unique submissions, including a stranglehold into a lung blower. Helms was able to fight back and land an interesting looking variation of the Vertebreaker. Helms then landed the Eye of the Hurricane, but Scurll kicked out and landed a huge knee to his downed opponent.
Scurll snapped the fingers of Helms and went up top, but Helms followed and pulled off a really crazy neckbreaker. The referee had his back turned after a slight shove, which allowed Scurll to kick Helms low and roll him up for the win.
Los Ingobernobles de Japon (EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI) defeated SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) and The Young Bucks & Hangman Page in a triple threat six-man tag match
There was an incredible opening sequence with basically everyone involved. Daniels landed an Arabian press moonsault to the outside, but The Young Bucks and Page landed triple superkicks on SCU and took over with their patented zany offense.
After the break, Daniels put SANADA down with an STO. Page got in and cut him off and went to work on SANADA with a buckle bomb. The Bucks hit a combo moonsault/frog splash, and Page followed up with a standing Shooting Star Press.
After a series of crazy moves, BUSHI spit green mist into the referee’s eyes. Kazarian used the ref’s arm to count the three, but BUSHI got his shoulder up at two and Kazarian stopped the count. The Bucks got superkick crazy and Page landed a cradle piledriver on SANADA, but the second ref didn’t make it down in time and SANADA kicked out.
Everyone spilled out to the floor, allowing BUSHI to hit a destroyer on Matt Jackson. Daniels and BUSHI were left in the ring, and Daniels hit a Blue Thunder Bomb. He went for the Angel’s Wings, but The Briscoes interfered and Jay waffled Daniels with a chair. That allowed BUSHI to hit a facebuster for the pin.
This episode of Ring of Honor television was again taped at the Odeum in Chicago, Illinois.
The Bullet Club (Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Marty Scurll, and Adam “Hangman” Page) opened the show and announced that their opponents for the main event tonight would be Los Ingobernables de Japon in a 10-man tag team match. Bullet Club said the J in LIJ stands for jabronis.
Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana called the action. Riccaboni mentioned that Chicago is Cabana’s hometown — to which Cabana replied that there are many billboards of him up in the area.
Kenny King defeated Chuckie T
On his way to the ring, King said he had not forgotten about Austin Aries giving him a low blow and a brainbuster a few weeks back.
King wanted a hug of honor instead of a handshake. An even matchup started it off and a nice wrestling exchange ended in a hug. Another grappling mix-up ended in another hug, but Chuckie T used it as an opportunity to connect with a belly-to-belly suplex.
King nailed a twisting dive to the floor and then took time to pose for a selfie with a fan, who took too long so King left and yelled, “have your cameras ready.” Then Chuckie T hit a dive and gave the same fan a chance to get a selfie with him instead. Back in the ring, Chuckie hit a snap piledriver, then went for the Awful Waffle, but King countered into the Royal Flush for the pin and the win.
A replay of The Briscoes beatdown of The Young Bucks with chairs from a few weeks ago led into a Briscoes promo. Jay Briscoe said the Bucks were the best in the world at selling T-shirts, but that they would not beat them for the titles on June 29 in Baltimore, Maryland, at the Best in the World pay-per-view.
Shane Taylor cut a promo in the ring and called Josh Woods and King Mo “losers,” which led to our next match.
Shane Taylor defeated Josh Woods
A replay of Woods getting a win over Taylor from West Palm Beach, Florida with an assist from King Mo reminded us of why Taylor was so upset.
Taylor hit a bowling ball roll on Woods into the barricades. He was firmly in control until Woods took his back and hit two German suplexes, but Woods walked into a huge right hand and got knocked out for the pin.
ROH World Champion Dalton Castle and The Boys joined Riccaboni and Cabana to get a closer look at his upcoming opponents, Cody and Marty Scurll.
Bullet Club (Cody, The Young Bucks, Marty Scurll & Adam Page) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi)
Cody and Naito started it off, with Naito spitting at him and Cody bailing. Naito faked going for a dive and instead laid down for a relaxing pose. This brought Scurll and BUSHI in for some chain wrestling. The Bucks then entered and squared up with EVIL and SANADA. This brought everyone in for a 10-man standoff that turned into a wild brawl. Bullet Club got the advantage after some dives, but Takahashi used Daryl Jr. to clear house until he ate a superkick.
Scurll and Takahashi tagged in for a striking exchange. Scurll used a foot stomp and multiple superkicks and went for the chicken wing. Takahashi countered and backdropped Scurll into the corner.
Nick Jackson got the tag and nailed a facebuster for a near fall. The Bucks locked on double Sharpshooters but were cut off by Takahashi and Naito, who then got cut off by the Buck Shot from Page. Out of nowhere, Punishment Martinez came to the ring and he and Page battled to the back in anticipation of their match at Best in the World.
After the break, LIJ were in control briefly until each man from both teams came in and hit moves back and forth, including a Japanese Destroyer from BUSHI and a Magic Killer on Matt Jackson. It looked like that was the end, but Nick pulled referee Todd Sinclair out of the ring at the last second.
It looked like Nick was going to take a sunset flip powerbomb to the floor, but Burnard the Business Bear made the save and then took the green mist from BUSHI. Cody grabbed BUSHI from behind and Scurll went to hit him with his cane, but BUSHI moved and Scurll hit Cody.
A superkick party ensued and the Bucks finally landed the 5 Star Meltzer Driver on BUSHI for the win.
This set of television tapings is building to Ring of Honor’s Best in the World pay-per-view in Baltimore on June 29th.
Episode 347 quick summary —
Kelly Klein defeated Madison Rayne
Motor City Machine Guns defeated The Dawgs (Rhett Titus & Will Ferrara)
The “Neon Ninja” Facade vs. Eli Isom ended in a no contest as Bully Ray interfered. Cheeseburger came out to confront Bully and ate a chokeslam, which brought out Joe Koff to fire Bully from his “enforcer” position. This led to Bully announcing that he is no longer retired and will be back in action as a wrestler.
The Young Bucks defeated The Briscoes by DQ when The Briscoes used chairs to lay out the Bucks. They also laid out Hangman Page and Marty Scurll.
Episode 348: Dissension within the Bullet Club?
Jay Lethal defeated Punishment Martinez
This started with Lethal hitting seven consecutive tope dives on Martinez. Lethal then went to work on the knee of the big man. Martinez hit a step-up enzuigiri and a spinwheel kick off the top, but his leg was wobbly.
They had a classic rookie vs. veteran match. Lethal connected with an elbow drop off the top rope and went back to work on the leg with the Figure Four. Martinez escaped and went for a discus lariat, failing due to the knee injury. Lethal hit a superkick into the Lethal Injection for the win.
– A video package showed Jenny Rose cutting a promo where she challenged Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai.
Shane Taylor vs. Joey “Diesel” Daddiego ended in a no contest
Taylor put a beating on Daddiego, hit a double sit-out chokeslam, and followed up with a splash, but Daddiego kicked out. Taylor missed a rolling corner splash as Daddiego fired back. He hit the Daddiego Driver, but Taylor kicked out.
The two brawled outside as the match ended in a no contest, with Daddiego finding himself on the wrong end of a Taylor splash from the apron across two folding chairs. Referees ran in to stop the beating and one of them took a chokeslam for his efforts. On commentary, Ian Riccaboni mentioned that Taylor will be fined for that. Security ran in, and Taylor hit a uranage and a sit-out piledriver on them
– Cody and Brandi Rhodes talked about Cody challenging Dalton Castle for the ROH World Championship at Best in the World.
– ROH recapped Bully Ray chokeslamming Cheeseburger and his announcement from earlier. There was also a recap of last week’s main event where The Young Bucks defeated The Briscoes by disqualification.
The Bullet Club (Cody, Marty Scurll & Hangman Page) w/ Burnard the Business Bear defeated SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky)
A fancy cartwheel by Cody started us off, and he went for a delayed suplex and bicep flex on Sky heading into a break. Out of commercial, Scurll popped out of a headscissors by Daniels and tagged in Page, who faced off with Kazarian. Page hit a standing dropkick on Daniels and a moonsault on Kazarian.
Cody came back in and springboard kicked Scurll on accident (or was it?), allowing Daniels to cut him off. A triple team on Cody ended with Sky hitting a jumping hurricanrana. A simultaneous lariat by Cody and Daniels resulted in a double down as Daniels tagged in Sky and Cody brought in Scurll. Scurll connected with a superkick to the knee, then the Bullet Club triple teamed Sky with a drop toe hold, dropkick, and running Shooting Star Press by Page. Daniels hit an Arabian press moonsault on Cody to the outside.
A big dive sequence was followed up by a superplex on Daniels from Cody, and everyone was down. Riccaboni reminded us that ROH uses a 20 count, and everyone came in at 19. Scurll attacked the finger of Daniels, but Daniels used an STO to cut him off. Page powerbombed Daniels, but Kazarian hit a cutter. Sky slingshotted in from the outside and also landed a cutter on Cody.
Scurll used a pumphandle brainbuster on the knee to set up the chicken wing, but Sky was able to escape. Page hit a buckshot double lariat and Cody grabbed Sky, using a unique new move on him. Page then hit the Rite of Passage on Sky for the win.
SoCal Uncensored cut off the post-match celebration, but the Bullet Club grabbed Daniels. Scurll accidentally struck Cody with a cane as he went to hit Daniels. Was this retribution for the earlier kick? The show ended with everyone wondering if that cane shot was accidental, and whether the Bullet Club is in working order.
Submitted by reader Stanley Kosek from yesterday’s television tapings in Chicago
– Tenille Dashwood defeated Karen Q
This was a decent opener. Dashwood got a good reaction and won with a reversal.
– Jushin Thunder Liger & Cheeseburger defeated The Dawgs (Rhett Titus & Will Ferrara)
Liger was over big. They had a well-worked match, with Liger getting the win with a brainbuster.
– Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai defeated Jenny Rose to retain her title
Good match with some stiff spots, ending when Sakai retained with what looked like a swinging neckbreaker. The crowd was really into this.
– ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes defeated Roppongi 3K (Sho & Yoh) to retain their titles
Jay Briscoe got the win with a Jay Driller. They had a good match but didn’t click together as well as I thought they would.
– ROH Television Champion Silas Young defeated Austin Aries by DQ
Young was great in this. There was a false finish where Kenny King got involved and there was a belt shot on Young after a ref bump, with Aries at first getting the pin before the decision was overturned.
– Cody Rhodes entered for a heel interview segment before Marty Scurll came out and they went back and forth. It ended with a handshake, but Scurll teased a finger-break spot prior to that.
– Flip Gordon defeated Jonathan Gresham
Gordon picked up the victory with a stunner off the ropes after a solid match where they did a decent amount of mat wrestling.
Bully Ray then came out and confronted Gordon, apologizing for being hard on him. Bully Ray mentioned Gordon being from Montana and gave him respect for his military service. They shook hands, but, of course, Bully turned and kicked him, calling him a “stupid young boy.”
– Kelly Klein defeated Deonna Purrazzo
Purrazzo was over with the audience and would have won, but there was a ref bump that led to Klein submitting her. This was an okay match that was sloppy at points.
– SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) defeated ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) by DQ
After a good match that struggled to connect with the crowd, there was a weird chair shot ending for the disqualification.
– Kenny King defeated Chuck Taylor
Very fun match. Taylor connected with the fans well.
– Shane Taylor defeated Josh Woods
Taylor won with a closed-fist punch.
– The Bullet Club (Cody, The Young Bucks, Marty Scurll & Hangman Page) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi)
They did lots of crowd work and big spots. Everyone was over, and the Bullet Club won with a Meltzer Driver on BUSHI. Dalton Castle and The Boys were announced before the match and were on commentary.
Bone Soldier did in fact return this morning, but it was none other than former NOAH star Taiji Ishimori.
Ishimori made his debut this morning at Wrestling Dontaku, jumping Will Ospreay from behind after successfully retaining the IWGP Jr. heavyweight championship. Tama Tonga, who distracted Ospreay before the attack, then took off the Bone Soldier mask revealing Ishimori as the new Bone Soldier and the latest member of the Bullet Club. It seems likely he’ll be a part of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament that takes place later this month.
Originally trained in the Toryumon dojo, Ishimori had been a staple of Pro Wrestling NOAH since 2006, starting as a freelance wrestler and eventually becoming a staple of their junior heavyweight division. He won the Junior title on three occasions and the Junior tag team titles on six occasions. He left NOAH back on March 12, citing people like Shinsuke Nakamura and Hideo Itami inspired him to travel around the world.
Since his departure, Ishimori has competed for PWG as well as Impact Wrestling.
ROH taped their next round of television episodes in Pittsburgh last night.
– Chuck Taylor defeated Josh Woods
Woods put a straight armbar on Taylor, who stacked him and rolled him up for the pin.
– Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai defeated Stella Grey in a non-title match
Sakai won with a rolling cutter. Jenny Rose came out afterwards and asked for the first shot at the title, which Sakai accepted.
– Bully Ray did an in-ring interview and trashed young, entitled wrestlers. He called out Joe Koff, then pulled out his WWE Hall of Fame ring. He said the ring made him better than anyone else in the building.
– ROH Television Champion Silas Young defeated Flip Gordon to retain his title
Young retained after hitting a TKO.
– Coast 2 Coast (Shaheem Ali & Leon St. Giovanni) defeated Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas
Coast 2 Coast won with their double-team dropkick finisher.
– Jonathan Gresham defeated Will Ferrara (w/ Rhett Titus)
Gresham pinned him with a bridging cradle. Ferrara and Titus laid out Gresham after the match, with Motor City Machine Guns making the save.
– Shane Taylor defeated Ryan Nova
Taylor won by referee stoppage, hitting two chokeslams and a sit-out tombstone.
– The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia) defeated ROH World Champion Dalton Castle & The Boys
Taven pinned one of the Boys after a front headlock DDT, then The Kingdom laid out Castle after the match. They focused on his injured hand.
– Tenille Dashwood cut a babyface promo.
– The Young Bucks defeated ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes by DQ
The Briscoes started this by throwing chairs at the Bucks, which would become a theme. They had a wild match, with Mark Briscoe nailing Nick Jackson with a chair when the Bucks were about to hit the Meltzer Driver.
That led to an extended beatdown on the Bucks with a steel chair and plastic chairs from the crowd. Cody Rhodes, Hangman Page, and Flip Gordon all came out to try and make the save but were put down by The Briscoes. Good match and a fantastic angle afterwards.
– Jenny Rose defeated Brandi Rhodes (w/ Burnard the Business Bear)
Rhodes hit a superplex on Rose, who then wrapped her up in a small package for the victory.
– Jay Lethal defeated Punishment Martinez
The Lethal Injection ended a long, solid match.
– Shane Taylor vs. Joey “Diesel” Daddiego
Taylor said he was going to hurt Diesel before the match. Taylor controlled most of it, eventually setting up Diesel on two steel chairs outside of the ring. In a rough spot, Taylor splashed him through the chairs from the ring apron.
It seems that the ref called the match after that, but no official decision was announced. Taylor kept beating up Diesel, then laid out a referee and some backstage personnel that came out to try and stop the carnage.
– Kelly Klein defeated Madison Rayne
– Motor City Machine Guns defeated The Dawgs (Rhett Titus & Will Ferrara)
– Facade (w/ Dani Mo) vs. Eli Isom
The match was going along nicely until Bully Ray entered the ring and assaulted both. He said that, as ROH’s enforcer, he was firing them.
Cheeseburger came out and said he used to respect Bully Ray, but now he’s just a piece of sh*t. Bully chokeslammed him, which led to Joe Koff firing Bully from his enforcer role. Bully said he is now “unretired.”
– Cody, Marty Scurll & Hangman Page (w/ Burnard the Business Bear) defeated ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) in a non-title match
Page pinned Sky with his Rite of Passage kneeling piledriver. SoCal Uncensored attacked Bullet Club following the match, with Scurll accidentally hitting Cody with his umbrella. They eventually made up.
After the cameras stopped, Cody thanked the fans, brought Burnard the Business Bear into the ring, and called out Brandi, The Young Bucks, and Flip Gordon. Once they were all in the ring, Cody led an “FTR” chant and Scurll sang “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys.
The crowd went totally nuts for the post-match segment, which closed out a long, but fun show.
