NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis and Kamille joined Colt Cabana and Ian Riccaboni on commentary for the first match. Aldis was there to scout his upcoming opponent, PJ Black.
Juice Robinson defeated PJ Black by DQ
Black started off with a big chop to Robinson. After a striking exchange, Black bailed to the floor and Robinson followed with a slingshot crossbody.
Black took control back with a sweet double axe handle off the apron to the floor. He grabbed Robinson’s arm and worked a hold. Black kept the heat on with a nice elbow off the second rope to the forehead of Robinson. He went for another, but Robinson caught him and landed a belly-to-belly suplex. He hoisted up Black and landed a gutbuster.
Black fought back, landed a hurricanrana, and then followed up with a moonsault. Robinson fought back and landed the Left Hand of God strike, which allowed him to hit a running cannonball. Robinson went up top, but Black threw the referee into the ropes to knock Robinson off the top. The ref called for the disqualification and awarded Robinson the win.
After the match, Black punched out the referee. He then walked over to Aldis, but Kamille intimidated him and he left peacefully.
Back in the ring, Robinson cut a promo and said that there would be new life breathed into ROH in 2019.
The Kingdom discussed what they do to newcomers, referring to the new Villain Enterprises trio of Marty Scurll, PCO & Brody King.
Shane Taylor defeated Mike Law
Caprice Coleman was on commentary and touted the skill of Taylor.
Taylor spit in the hand of Law. He then blasted Law with a punch and landed the Greetings from the 216 for the win.
Taylor grabbed the microphone and speculated about who paid him to take out Christopher Daniels a few weeks ago. He then said that nobody paid him — he did it on his own.
Colt Cabana was in the ring and introduced Flip Gordon. He asked Gordon what his plans are for 2019. Gordon responded by saying that his next mission was to cash in his title opportunity for the ROH World Championship.
Kenny King interrupted and said that he can take his title shot and put it in the garbage. King said that he was the last man to pin Jay Lethal. King then showed footage of himself pinning Lethal at a close angle — as to not reveal that his feet were on the ropes. King proceeded to call Gordon a phony and say that Gordon was a weekend warrior who was only brave enough to join the reserves.
The next match was supposed to be Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, Brody King & PCO) challenging ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan). However, Taven came out with a mic.
Taven asked why Villain Enterprises thought they deserved a shot at the Kingdom — because they didn’t earn it. This led to Taven bringing out a replacement team — the Shinobi Shadow Squad of Cheeseburger, Eli Isom & Ryan Nova.
Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, Brody King & PCO) defeated Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger, Eli Isom & Ryan Nova)
After the commercial, Isom was getting decimated by King with a running senton and a flipping back splash. Isom finally got a break and landed a suplex on King, allowing him to tag in Cheeseburger. Cheeseburger came in and landed a nice flying senton onto Scurll.
PCO came in and let Cheeseburger punch him. He then dragged Scurll to the corner and made his own tag. PCO stomped around waiting for Cheeseburger but missed a splash in the corner. Cheeseburger tagged out — and in came Nova. A big knee didn’t phase PCO. Cheeseburger jumped on the back of PCO and hooked on a sleeper, which also didn’t effect him.
Finally, the Shadow Squad were able to break free. They all went for dives, but all three were caught and took chokeslams for their efforts. Nova was left alone in the ring. He ate a buckle bomb, a gonzo bomb, and a PCO moonsault. That allowed Villain Enterprises to pick up the win.
The show ended with words from Bully Ray. He was shown in front of a camp fire, spraying lighter fluid on it. Clips from Bully’s I Quit match against Flip Gordon from Final Battle aired, and Bully said that he never said “I quit.”
Ian Riccaboni was in the ring to kick off the first episode of 2019. He had four wrestlers in the ring with him, all of whom have earned a ROH World Championship match.
The first man, Chris Sabin, took ROH World Champion Jay Lethal to a time limit draw in a proving ground match. The next wrestler, Flip Gordon, won the Sea of Honor tournament to earn his shot. After that was Marty Scurll, who won Survival of the Fittest and a chance to challenge for the title. Finally, there was Dalton Castle, who had a contractually obligated rematch after being bested by Lethal.
Riccaboni then called out Lethal, but Matt Taven came out instead. Taven said that he in fact did retain his “real” World title at Final Battle. Then he proceeded to run down all four men saying that none were worthy.
Lethal was in the house and had heard enough smack talk. He came down to confront Taven. The two got into a brawl that ended when the referees and officials separated them.
ROH Television Champion Jeff Cobb defeated Luchasaurus in a proving ground match
Luchasaurus got the early advantage with a spinning heel kick that put Cobb down for a near fall. His edge didn’t last long as Cobb caught him in mid-air and launched him with a suplex. Cobb then took the half-man/half-dinosaur to the top rope and launched him with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, which he followed up with a standing moonsault. Luchasaurus kicked out at two.
Not to be outdone, Luchasaurus fought back and landed a standing moonsault of his own. Luchasaurus tried some other lucha style offense — but it was to no avail as Cobb again caught him and connected with the Tour of the Islands for the the win.
Women of Honor World Champion Kelly Klein defeated Nikki Addams to retain her title
Addams was already in the ring as Klein made her way down. Klein got on the microphone and announced that she would be a fighting champion in 2019 and that every one of her singles matches would be a title bout.
Instead of following the Code of Honor, Addams punched Klein in the mouth and went right after her. Klein used her experience to keep her foe at bay. Addams was able to get in some offense, which included a running chop, but Klein was too savvy for her. Ultimately, it was Klein who got the pin after a knee strike that knocked out Addams.
After the match, Jenny Rose came out to remind Klein that the two of them have some unfinished business. They’ll be facing each other in a title match, but Rose wanted to add a stipulation to it, making it a street fight. Klein accepted — and so it will be a “Concord Street Fight” for the WOH Championship at Honor Reigns Supreme this Sunday.
Brian Milonas found Beer City Bruiser drinking and told him that it was time to move past the betrayal by Silas Young.
Christopher Daniels came to the ring dressed in a suit. He said he was there to say goodbye. He recalled his first match in the main event of the first ROH show, which was a 60-minute Iron Man match between himself, Low Ki, and Bryan Danielson. He thanked everyone, and with a tear in his eye, he said goodbye.
Joe Koff then came out and said that the two of them have had their differences, but due to Daniels being selfless when he defended Cary Silkin at Final Battle, his feelings for Daniels have changed. Because of Daniels’ courage, Koff offered him a contract for 2019.
As Koff was presenting Daniels with the new contract, Shane Taylor jumped the barricade and laid out Daniels. He tossed him around, slammed him into the ring post, and went after him with a folding chair. To finish him off, Taylor gave Daniels a Greetings from the 216 on top of the chair, then tore up the contract.
Dalton Castle defeated Chris Sabin, Marty Scurll, and Flip Gordon in a four corner survival match to earn the first title shot
Lethal joined Colt Cabana and Riccaboni on commentary for the main event.
Gordon and Sabin hit tandem dives onto Castle and Scurll. Sabin followed it up with a big missile dropkick. Gordon also landed one on Castle. The two of them then shook hands, seemingly forming an alliance. Their grappling cooperative didn’t last long as both men inevitably attacked each other.
After the break, Scurll and Gordon were in a heated chop exchange. There was a unique multi-man submission hold involving everyone. Scurll was using a toe hold on Gordon, Castle was using a chinlock on Gordon, and Sabin used an abdominal stretch on Scurll.
Scurll, Gordon, and Castle were fighting, and that allowed Sabin to go up top and land a crossbody. Sabin then hit a running tornado DDT, kicking off of his opponents. That put everyone down again. However, Castle caught him with a slam.
Next, Castle ran into Gordon, who cut him off. Gordon did a reverse fireman’s carry slam onto Castle and used the momentum to pop to his feet. Sabin got back in and thought he had Gordon with a top rope hurricanrana, but again Gordon landed on his feet.
Scurll caught Gordon from the outside, but Sabin landed a Scurll-esque kick. Sabin turned around right into Castle, who hit the Bang-A-Rang on Sabin to get the win. Castle will get his title shot against Lethal at Honor Reigns Supreme this Sunday.
A six-man tag match is set for Ring of Honor’s second show of 2019.
ROH has announced that Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, PCO & Brody King) will face The Briscoes & Silas Young at Honor Reigns Supreme in Concord, North Carolina on Sunday, January 13. The show will stream live on HonorClub.
PCO and King made their ROH debuts at the promotion’s post-Final Battle television tapings earlier this month, with them being revealed as Scurll’s stablemates in Villain Enterprises and helping Scurll even the odds against The Kingdom. They also teamed against Cheeseburger, Eli Isom & Ryan Nova at the tapings as part of a storyline where The Kingdom said Villain Enterprises don’t deserve a shot at their ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles yet.
ROH’s next TV tapings will take place at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, January 12.
Here’s the updated card for Honor Reigns Supreme:
ROH World Champion Jay Lethal defending against Dalton Castle
Women of Honor World Champion Kelly Klein defending against Jenny Rose
Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, PCO & Brody King) vs. The Briscoes & Silas Young
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) vs. Hurricane Helms, Delirious & Luchasaurus in a proving ground match (If Helms, Delirious & Luchasaurus win or the match ends in a time-limit draw, they’ll get a future shot at The Kingdom’s Six-Man titles)
PCO and Brody King made their debut in ROH tonight, forming a stable with Marty Scurll.
Scurll was in the ring during tonight’s tapings in Philadelphia when The Kingdom came down to confront him. Taven mocked him. saying that he had no backup. It was then that Villian Enterprises, consisting of PCO and Brody King, came out to assist.
It seemed like the new trio were to take on The Kingdom later on in the tapings for the six man titles. However, the Kingdom came out and said that the group did not deserve a title shot. They instead faced Cheeseburger, Eli Isom and Ryan Nova, which they took care of easily.
Both PCO and King were reported to be coming here in the last couple of weeks. PCO has had several stunts in WWE, WCW and Impact but has experienced a career resurgence as of late, with a high profile match against WALTER during WrestleMania weekend putting him back on the indy scene map. He also competed in this year’s PWG Battle of Los Angeles.
Brody King has also made waves in the last year, wrestling in PWG, DEFY and MLW.
Ring of Honor has officially confirmed Marty Scurll vs. Christopher Daniels for Final Battle and announced some stakes for the match.
ROH announced Scurll vs. Daniels for Final Battle today, with Scurll putting his future ROH World title shot (which he won by winning Survival of the Fittest 2018) on the line against Daniels. Scurll last eliminated Daniels in a six-way match to win the tournament.
Scurll vs. Daniels also plays into the storyline of Daniels and the rest of SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky) needing leverage to get Joe Koff to renew their ROH contracts. Kazarian & Sky currently hold the ROH Tag Team titles.
Final Battle is taking place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Friday, December 14. Jay Lethal defending the ROH World Championship against Cody Rhodes, Hangman Page challenging for Jeff Cobb’s Television title, Sumie Sakai defending her Women of Honor World title in a four-way match, Matt Taven vs. Dalton Castle, Jonathan Gresham vs. Zack Sabre Jr., and Bully Ray vs. Flip Gordon in an I Quit match have also been publicly confirmed for the pay-per-view.
Kazarian & Sky defending their Tag Team titles against The Young Bucks and The Briscoes in a ladder match also looks to be set for Final Battle.
Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana called the action from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dalton Castle and The Boys entered. Castle talked about his comeback from injury, which included going to Australia and kissing a kangaroo. He called out ROH World Champion Jay Lethal, but it was Matt Taven who responded. Taven — who is calling himself the real ROH World Champion — said he’s the one Castle should be worried about.
Three red balloons floated up in front of Castle, which led to The Kingdom jumping Castle and The Boys. Taven, Vinny Marseglia, and TK O’Ryan all landed a synchronized chair shot to the head of the prone Castle.
Marty Scurll defeated Hurricane Helms in a street fight
The Villain Marty Scurll came to the ring holding Hurricane’s mask, which he stole in their last encounter. Hurricane’s music hit, but Delirious tried to come out instead. It was all a distraction as the real Hurricane Helms, sans mask, slid in behind Scurll and landed a Hurri-chokeslam, but it only got a two count as Scurll kicked out.
Scurll tossed multiple canes into the ring and used them against Hurricane, but Hurricane finally fought back and was able to procure the mask. He put it on and back came his Hurri-strength. Hurricane then tossed four chairs into the ring. Hurricane set them all up and went for a superplex. That didn’t work — so he grabbed Scurll by the cajones and tossed him off the top through the chairs.
After the break, Scurll had set up a table on the outside and tossed Hurricane through it. He rolled in Hurricane but only got a two count. Scurll then went for a satchel. He emptied it to reveal a thousand thumbtacks. However, it was Hurricane who was able to land another Hurri-chokeslam — this time slamming Scurll into the tacks, but Scurll got his foot on the ropes.
Scurll got back up and took a handful of tacks, shoved them into the mouth of Hurricane, and landed a superkick, which he followed up with Graduation for the win.
A recap of Brandi Rhodes’ injury and subsequent recovery aired.
SoCal Uncensored (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian) defeated The Briscoes and The Young Bucks in a triple threat match to win the ROH Tag Team titles
The Bucks and SCU started it off hot with dives. However, it was The Briscoes who gained the control early as Mark Briscoe bounced Frankie Kazarian’s head off the metal guardrail.
The Young Bucks added a few new crazy moves to their arsenal and landed them on The Briscoes, after taking out SCU with dives. Kazarian and Sky worked together and connected with a dropkick/powerbomb on Nick Jackson. Each man hit an outside-in cutter into dragon sleepers until a pair of superkicks broke it up.
Referee Paul Turner was squished in the melee of the match. Jay Briscoe hit the Jay Driller on Kazarian, but Matt Jackson broke up the slow pin count. The Briscoes got a couple of chairs involved, but before they could be used, Matt hit a spear on Mark.
A chair shot from Jay accidentally hit Mark. Sky capitalized with Kazarian as they hit a combination lung blower on Mark to win the titles.
Christopher Daniels came to the ring, wearing a neck brace, to celebrate with his SCU compadres.
Marty Scurll won Survival of the Fittest and will receive a shot at the ROH Heavyweight Championship.
The Kingdom defeated Cody & the Young Bucks to become the new ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions.
Madison Rayne beat Britt Baker to qualify for a match for the Women of Honor Championship at Final Battle.
Show Recap
Ian Riccobani and Colt Cabana introduce the show. They ran down much of tonight’s 13th annual Survival of the Fittest card.
SOTF Qualifier: Christopher Daniels defeated Beer City Bruiser
Daniels came out with Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian. They did the SCU bit in the ring but were pretty over as babyfaces with this crowd. Riccobani informs us that this is Christopher Daniels’ third ROH Survival of the Fittest and Beer City Bruiser’s second.
Bruiser slammed a beer before the match. Daniels then shook Bruiser’s hand and gave him a pat on the belly. Bruiser jumped Daniels before the bell and gave him a cannonball senton in the corner and then a modified Vader bomb/elbow drop, both for two counts. Daniels reversed things later and hit a jumping enzugiri. He went for Angel’s Wings but Bruiser blocked it by falling on top of Daniels; it looked more like he lost his balance here, but I do think it was the planned spot.
Bruiser went up top for a splash but missed. Daniels capitalized and used the double jump moonsault for the win; Daniels advanced to the finals. This match was decent but extremely short. It’s difficult to critique because hardly anything happened, but not bad nonetheless.
SOTF Qualifier: Hangman Page defeated Colin Delany (x) & Dalton Castle in a three-way match
The crowd was somewhat tepid for Delaney on entrance, but much of the crowd down in front stood up for Page when he came to the ring. Castle came out with The Boys and also got a good reaction and got some ribbons thrown in the ring for him. He wore lots of compression gear, including a large black wrap on his left thigh.
As the three felt each other out at the beginning of this match, Castle screamed something about there being a lot of testosterone in the ring. After the bell, the three exchanged strikes and rapid fire reversals. Castle threw Delaney out of the ring and did his “big stomp” taunt which received a fairly loud reaction.
While Delaney and Page were in the ring, Delaney showed off some smooth lucha styled offense, including a nice springboard arm drag. Page slowed things down with an aggressive boot to the face and a number of stomps. Page’s gutwrench suplex with a bridge was impressive, as per usual, and that too got the crowd to make some noise for the two-count.
Castle and Page fought over who was going to pin Delaney. They later did a lucha exchange spot that Page got the better of. Castle made a short comeback, then Delaney missed both wrestlers on a missile dropkick attempt. Neat tilt-a-whirl stunner from Delaney onto Castle, then stunner onto the ropes, and finally a regular stunner to Page for two. They all teased a double superplex spot, Page on the receiver’s end. Delaney gave up and did a Taiji Ishimori-styled sliding German suplex to Page.
Page’s comeback consisted of a Shooting Star Press to the floor and a moonsault dropkick for two on Delaney. Castle and Delaney then used an assisted Canadian Destroyer on Page and Castle then used a Doctor Bomb on Delaney for a very close two and 3/4 count.
Castle hit a pair of running knees off the apron to both fellows, followed by a tope suicida. The crowd was sounded split between Page and Castle. The three exchanged more strikes and finisher attempts at a rapid pace before Page used a double Buckshot Lariat to take both wrestlers out, which the crowd loved. He used the Rite of Passage on Delaney for the win. This was a good and fast-paced match. People seemed most excited about Page, but Castle was noticeably over as well. Delaney might not be as well known but looked excellent throughout this match.
SOTF Qualifier: Jonathon Gresham defeated “Hot Sauce” Tracey Williams
Before the match, Riccobani and Cabana announced that the winner of the Madison Rayne vs. Britt Baker match will received a spot at Final Battle.
This is Williams’ ROH debut. Riccobani described him as one of wrestling’s hottest free agents today. He wore some kind of sling over his left shoulder.
Williams tried to jump Gresham before the bell with a running yakuza kick but Gresham took his back and took him down. Excellent, realistic chain wrestling after this. The story felt like no matter how dominant and skilled Williams was, Gresham was usually clever enough to escape. Williams used his size and power to punish Gresham until Gresham used a shotgun missile dropkick off the second rope. Gresham continued to lift Williams up for a vertical suplex, which they teased a few times prior. When he finally did it, the crowd responded with some well-deserved noise.
Williams used a front facelock DDT and a diving DDT off the second rope for a two-count. Williams does lots of cool moves that aren’t too unrealistic or flashy; it all feels like it fits with his persona. Gresham broke up a Williams fireman’s carry attempt by twisting his fingers and arm, then used a frankensteiner to escape. Williams came back and spiked Gresham with a Death Valley Driver for another two.
The two exchanged elbows to the face for an extended period. Both tried to out tough the other until Gresham broke the sequence with a jumping enzugiri. Williams came back with a massive lariat and jumping piledriver for two. Commentary put this move over strongly.
“This is awesome” chants came from the crowd at this point. Gresham and Williams traded high spots, and finally Gresham got the victory with an octopus hold with elbow strikes for the submission/TKO. The two shook hands afterwards.
This was excellent. Much of the of this match felt like something you’d see in either 1980s World of Sport or late-1990s All Japan, just more athletic and creatively advanced. It never felt like spot after spot; there was a fluidity in the pace not unlike a Bret Hart match.
SOTF Qualifier: Guerrero Maya Jr defeated Andrew Everett (x) & Flip Gordon in a three-way
People were chanting for Flip as he came out. He carried himself with much more confidence than he has in the past.
All wrestlers shook hands before the bell. A few exchanges between Gordon and the two other wrestlers, one on one, at the beginning of this match; arguably indicative of this bout’s nature. They did a triple dropkick spot that looked unnatural, followed by a standoff pose that cracked Colt Cabana up.
Gordon landed a beautiful springboard missile dropkick on Maya Jr that elicited more “Flip!” chants. Everett used a springboard moonsault for two. Maya Jr and Everett finally spent some time in the ring working together. Maya Jr does a bunch of cool moves and has great charisma but there’s a general awkwardness in a lot of his basic wrestling. Coming off the Williams vs. Gresham match made him look like a lesser, kind of confused wrestler.
As the crowd chanted for Flip, Maya Jr clapped along like they were cheering for him. Gordon landed a picture perfect moonsault (or “Asai moonsault,” according to Michael Cole) to Maya Jr onto the floor, then Everett did a shoot star press to both guys onto the floor. This didn’t get as big of a reaction as I thought it would, but even still, both spots looked fantastic.
As Gordon went to the top rope to assumedly finish off Everett, Bully Ray started throwing full packs of streamers at him. Gordon still did a 450 and landed it but didn’t go for the pin. Instead, he did a springboard plancha to the outside and tried to take out Ray, who countered with a right hand upon impact. Gordon sold it like he had just been completely KO’d.
Everett missed a jackknife shoot star press. Maya Jr capitalized on this and won the match with the Mayan Sacrifice, a modified shoulderbreaker.
This was another solid modern lucha-inspired match, but what I feel brought it down was how much more over Flip was with the crowd than the other two. It felt more like Gordon vs. two other guys.
SOTF Qualifier: PJ Black defeated Luchasaurus
Black didn’t shake Luchasaurus’ hand before the bell. Luchasaurus used lots of taekwondo kicks and high flying moves throughout much of this. Black used a top-rope quebrada that he almost missed since Luchasaurus was out of place.
Luchasaurus did a really ugly Spanish Fly and then kept trying to chokeslam Black. More taekwondo kicks, then finally hit that chokeslam and standing moonsault for only two. Just after the near falls, the crowd starting chanting for Luchasaurus with a smattering of counter chants for Black. Luchasaurus used a tombstone and then missed a shooting star press, allowing Black to pin him for the win.
This was bad. It felt like a vehicle to get Luchasaurus over because he’s a giant ripped guy who does high flying moves, but the majority of them looked sloppy. Black missed a number of spots, too, and the finish was not good. I wasn’t sure if the crowd boo’d the finish because Black was playing heel or because it was such a lame conclusion.
SOTF Qualifier: Marty Scurll defeated Stuka Jr & Silas Young
Titus came out lathered up in baby oil. He said he was out to show who the fittest wrestler in ROH really was. Cabana said he smelled like bananas. When he came out, Scurll received the biggest reaction up to this point on the show. Young made fun of the fans for chanting his name.
Stuka Jr used a frankensteiner and tilt-a-whirl backbreaker early on. Stuka looked a little bit heavy for the other guys to lift, kind of like a sandbag, but everyone made things work. Scurll used his apron superkick on Stuka Jr who had been knocked on the outside, but Young squashed the spot with a springboard lariat of his own to Scurll. He got lots of heat for this.
Stuka Jr and Scurll had a chop battle on the apron that ended when they both kicked each other to the floor. They teased a triple countout and it was mildly forced in execution.
Back in the ring, Stuka Jr power bombed Scurll onto Young for two. People chanted “Heavyweight” at Scurll and he later superplexed Stuka Jr in the ring. Young used a diving backrake on Stuka and tried to pull out his finisher, that modified Arabian press, but Scurll broke things up with a jumping enzugiri. Stuka Jr moonsaulted onto Young who was on the floor, then used a diving fish splash for two on Scurll.
After a finishing sequence between the three, Scurll was finally able to use Graduation on Stuka Jr for the win.
This was no better than it could have been. Again, it felt like Scurll vs. two other guys based on the crowd response, just this was better than Gordon’s match. Stuka Jr worked harder than he does when I see him on CMLL, doing all he could to impress the crowd. Young did a good job firing the crowd up with heel tactics.
Your Survival of the Fittest main event: Jonathan Gresham vs. Guerrero Maya Jr vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Hangman Page vs. Marty Scurll vs. PJ Black
Women of Honor: Madison Rayne defeated Britt Baker in a Final Battle 1ualifying match.
There was lots of back and forth between the two in the beginning of this match. The fans didn’t make much noise but seemed to be behind Rayne. Baker landed a huge superkick for two, and this is where the final sequence kicked off, arguably. Ryan used a step-up enzugiri and then the two traded chops and elbows until Baker used a fisherman’s swinging neckbreaker for a two-count. Rayne hit a killer Northern Lights suplex and later the Bend the Knee knee strike for the win. The Twisted Sisters came out and attacked on both Rayne and Baker and got booed a lot.
This was better than the Luchasaurus vs. Black match earlier and harder hitting than much of what you see in WWE, but the crowd was noticeably out of it throughout. It was a good match that probably would have gotten a better reaction if it were the first or second match of the show.
The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia (o) & TK O’Ryan) defeated Cody (x) & The Young Bucks to win the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles
The Bucks and Cody did a lot of posing before the match. Matt Taven jaw-jacked with a fan in the front row and the crowd started chanting “Young Bucks” and “Cody” for a while. (Sidebar: Since Marseglia is the Horror King, does that mean he’s supposed to be scary, or just really likes horror movies?)
The Bucks opened the match with a few of their signature double-team moves, then a few newer triple team spots with Cody, all followed by a triple tope suicida and a few “Too Sweets” with people in the front row. Nick told Matt to tag Cody into the match. They even maximized this 20-second segment to its full effect, squeezing as much noise out of the crowd they possibly could.
Next to Silas Young, Taven got the most heat of the night. He’s really underrated as a heel. He stormed into the ring and began pounding on Cody for a long while like a bully. I wish ROH fans paid more attention to him as he’s really come into his own as a heel over the past year or two.
The Kingdom spent the middle part of this match in their corner punishing Cody. Each member tagged in and out frequently, constantly keeping Cody on their side of the ring. Cody used a snap powerslam on Marseglia that looked dangerously close to the bottom rope. The Bucks eventually made it back into the match and they and Cody did a triple sharpshooter spot, like what they did with Chris Jericho in their Cruise match.
Cody did a plancha to both O’Ryan and Marseglia outside the ring while on the adjacent side, Nick Jackson accidentally superkicked referee Todd Sinclair courtesy of Taven.
So they were using two referees for this match, one on the outside and one inside the ring, and right after Sinclair was knocked out, Taven accidentally Disaster Kick’d the other ref. Cody used CrossRhodes on Taven after this, but TK O’Ryan used a baseball bat to take out The Elite. He got booed a lot for this.
The Kingdom used Rockstar Supernova on Cody. Taven waved to the back for a new ref to come down. Brandi Rhodes ran out in a ref’s shirt and baseball cap, counted to two, then flipped them off — a riff on the Shane McMahon-Steve Austin from Survivor Series 1998 screw job.
The Bucks superkicked everyone and Cody used a CrossRhodes on O’Ryan for three. The bell rang and music played, but the refs switched the decision after they recovered. The match had to be restarted. Cody carried Brandi for some reason and then O’Ryan took both of them out. O’Ryan and Marseglia used House of a Thousand Corpses on Cody for the pin and the championship.
This was good, mostly due to The Bucks and Cody’s consistency and crispness in the ring, plus Taven coming into his own as a heel.
Jeff Cobb & Jay Lethal def. ROH Tag Team Champions SoCal Uncensored (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian) in a non-title match
Kenny King did commentary during this match.
Lethal and Frankie Kazarian were first in. They had two mostly crisp grapple & rope-running sequences until deciding to tag in their respective partners. Cobb and Scorpio Sky got in the ring and moved around like junior heavyweights for a couple of minutes. It’s really a spectacle to see, even on a television screen, these two guys doing things they’re not meant to do.
A wild spinning heel kick from Kazarian onto Lethal, followed up with hiptoss into a neckbreaker. He and the others in this match have an excellent sense of timing both in regard to the moves they do and how they work in 2-on-1 situations.
Later on, Cobb used a bear hug belly-to-belly suplex on Scorpio Sky and, somehow, made it seem like Sky was only 120 lbs. He’s really something. Cobb did a delayed vertical suplex and held it, tagged in Lethal and then passed Sky off to Lethal. Lethal held Sky for a few more moments until finishing the suplex.
The pace in the middle of this match felt organic and was never boring to watch. Kazarian kicked up the tempo with a handful of innovative moves. The crowd was into the match but you could feel their fatigue through the screen. Cobb double pump-handle suplexed SCU, Lethal hit a flying elbow drop right after. Cobb used a deadlift German for two. People were chanting “This is awesome” here.
Scorpio Sky must have jumped five feet in the air for a top rope frankensteiner to Cobb. This was unreal; even Cabana on commentary mentioned it. After a double plancha spot to the outside, The Briscoe Brothers came out and attacked Scorpio Sky behind Todd Sinclair’s back. In the ring, Cobb used Tour of the Islands to pin Kazarian for the victory.
The Briscoes talked trash to SCU after the match, then left. The teams all shook hands in the ring at the end of the segment; all held their belts in the air before cutting back to the announce team.
This was another excellent match; a solid pace with a natural feel to it. All four wrestlers worked with the crowd, not against it, and it resulted in a naturally hot finish. Riccobani was especially terrific here with lots of subtle but hilarious references thrown in.
Survival of the Fittest Six-Man Mayhem Match: Marty Scurll defeated Christopher Daniels, Hangman Page, Jonathan Gresham, Guerrero Maya Jr and PJ Black
Before the match, ROH announced that Rush from CMLL will be appearing soon.
Daniels and Maya Jr started the match. Daniels was over as a babyface; Marty and Page too, of course. It became more and more apparent who this crowd was mainly there to see tonight. Scurll and Gresham had a nice exchange before a super power bomb superplex spot Scurll was on the receiving end of. Page broke it all up and carried Scurll away out of danger.
Maya Jr looked much better in this match for some reason. There weren’t as many slipups in footwork and he seemed to gauge the crowd more accurately until Black eliminated him just as he was picking up steam.
Gresham and Page had a fantastic sequence that sometimes mixed Scurll in. Page eliminated Gresashm with a Buckshot Lariat. I’d love to see those two work together. It’d be an interesting styles and size clash that’d tell a unique story.
The final four are Daniels, Black, Scurll and Page. The Elite break away from the group and both they and the duo of Daniels and Black make an informal agreement that they will wrestle under tag team rules. Scurll and Daniels kicked this meta-match off. I wasn’t sure if this match was actually turned into a tag match, like, officially, but the referee officiated it as such. The crowd chose Scurll and Page over Daniels at this point in the match, while people stayed indifferent over Black.
Scurll played the victim for a long while. His chance came during a double clothesline spot. Page was finally back into the match and cleaned house, wrapping his sequence up with a tope suicida.
Page’s “Dropsault” into Daniels and onto Black was picture perfect. Page got a loud “Hangman” chant after this. He then did a moonsault press to both Daniels and Black. Scurll and Page then did their own version of the Golden Lovers’ Cross-Slash spot, with this one with Scurll doing his apron superkick and Page with his shooting star shoulder block. Page landed awkwardly on his head here.
Scurll eliminated Black after a reversal-counter-reversal pin exchange. Page and Scurll continued to double-team Christopher Daniels. They brawled outside of the ring and got into it with a Daniels fan. Scurll was fired up here and started ordering Page around. Page didn’t like it, and the match was suddenly a three-way match.
Daniels did a uranage into an inverted DDT to both members of the Elite. That’s something you’re just going to have to watch for yourself.
Page took Scurll out with a Buckshot Lariat, but Daniels snuck in, hit the Best Moonsault Ever and, in somewhat of a shock, pinned Hangman Page. After a Scurll Driver and a chicken wing attempt, Scurll landed two hard low-angle superkicks and then used Graduation to pin Daniels and win Survival of the Fittest.
This was a unique match and mostly entertaining throughout. If you think about it as a piece in three acts, the last act was by far the best part of this match. I’m wondering why they didn’t just go ahead with this match as the main event, which is what the crowd sounded like it wanted. The middle “tag” section of this match was weird, and, while not necessarily bad, it hindered the match in that it dragged it out. The first part of the match with six wrestlers was fine, but more of a showcase segment than anything else.
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.
Ian Riccaboni and BJ Whitmer called the action from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Coast 2 Coast (Shaheem Ali & LSG) defeated The Kingdom (TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia)
Coast 2 Coast tried to get a chant started for their return. It was back and forth for a few moments until the commercial.
After the break, Ali came in on a hot tag and ran wild on the Kingdom until O’Ryan slapped him in the back of the head. Marseglia used a balloon distraction — which allowed O’Ryan to hit a powerslam. The Kingdom went after the neck of Ali.
Finally, Ali connected with a jawbreaker and went for the tag. LSG came in and used a double clothesline, a spinning gutbuster, and a neckbreaker. Marseglia cut him off with a running knee. O’Ryan hit a dive on LSG — but that allowed Ali to hit a crossbody. Marseglia then wiped everyone out with a flipping dive. However, LSG topped them all with a monster front flip off the top turnbuckle to the floor. Ali ate a huge forearm but was able to roll-up O’Ryan for the pin and the huge win.
LSG was apparently the legal man and not Ali, so that sent the Kingdom into a tizzy. They attacked the referee and then some security guards.
Hurricane Helms defeated Marty Scurll
Helms went for the chokeslam early in the match, but Scurll landed a tornado DDT. Helms went for it again, but Scurll hit a lungblower instead. This made Helms power up, but Scurll used a superkick to the knee to cut him off. Scurll sent Helms crashing into the guardrail with a suicide dive. This led to the commercial.
Upon return, the hero Helms was taking a beating from the villain Scurll. A pumphandle brainbuster earned Scurll a two count. Finally, on the outside, Helms was able to hit a Northern Lights suplex. Scurll, channeling Kazuchika Okada, used a Rainmaker for a two count. Helms countered the chickenwing and went up top.
Scurll recovered and hit a superplex off the top turnbuckle and followed it up with a superkick. Scurll hit a low blow and then used Helms’ Eye of the Hurricane. He went for a chokeslam, but Helms countered into a slam of his own. Scurll went for a fancy La Magistral cradle, but Helms prevented it and pinned Scurll for the win. Their series is now tied at 1-1.
A video package aired highlighting the ongoing feud between Will Ferrara and Cheeseburger.
Cheeseburger defeated Will Ferrara in a Fight Without Honor
Ferrara sent Rhett Titus to the back and told him that he wanted to do this on his own. Ferrara did just that in the early going and put a hurting on Cheeseburger. He used a belt to hit Cheeseburger incessantly. Eventually, Cheeseburger got hold of the belt and struck Ferrara with it, but Ferrara used all kinds of cheap shots to regain the advantage.
After the break, Ferrara had a chair in the ring. He swung wildly and missed twice — which allowed Cheeseburger an opportunity to attempt the Shotei palm strike. However, Ferrara got the chair in front and Cheeseburger’s palm struck it with a loud clang.
Cheeseburger connected with a superkick into the chair, which smashed into Ferrara’s face as he fired up. He followed it up by stomping a mudhole in Ferrara. Cheeseburger then landed a DDT on the chair, only earning a two count.
Cheeseburger upped the ante and pulled out a table. However, before he could set it up, Titus came down and jumped him from behind and laid him out. Titus set up the table and went for a Razor’s Edge from the apron, but Eli Isom and Ryan Nova came out and instead double teamed Titus with a slam through the table.
While all that was happening, Ferrara brought out a chain and wrapped his hand around it to punch Cheeseburger. However, this time it was Ferrara that punched the chair. That allowed Cheeseburger to regain his composure and crack Ferrara in the back with a chair shot.
Finally, Cheeseburger wrapped his own hand in the chain and nailed the Shotei palm strike for the pin and the win.
Coming out of tonight’s show in Long Beach, California, the finals of NJPW’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship tournament are set.
Marty Scurll and Will Ospreay renewed their rivalry at Fighting Spirit Unleashed, with Scurll hitting his Graduation finisher to advance to the finals. The other semifinal took place at Destruction in Kobe earlier this month. KUSHIDA defeated BUSHI, becoming the first wrestler to get a spot in the finals.
Scurll will face KUSHIDA at King of Pro Wrestling on Monday, October 8 to decide the new Junior Heavyweight Champion.
Due to the neck injury that Hiromu Takahashi suffered in his match against Dragon Lee at July’s G1 Special in San Francisco, NJPW announced last month that the Junior Heavyweight title had been vacated. Scurll, KUSHIDA, Ospreay, and BUSHI were the four wrestlers included in the tournament.
Kenny Omega defending his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kota Ibushi and Cody Rhodes in a three-way match is also set for King of Pro Wrestling. The full card should be announced in the coming days.
Episode #361 of Ring of Honor television was taped at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia last month.
Chris Sabin (w/ Alex Shelley) defeated Scorpio Sky
This was a back-and-forth match with a lot of chain and technical wrestling in the first part. Sabin finally got the edge with some classic Sabin strikes. Sky connected with an inside-out cutter. Sabin used some unique pin attempts and a step-up enzuigiri to set up the Cradle Shock driver for the pin.
After the match, Shelley got on the mic and talked about the Motor City Machine Guns team, which they formed 12 years ago. Shelley then announced that he’s stepping away from pro wrestling for the time being because of how many times he’s had his teeth knocked out. He asked Sabin to validate their team by staying a success as a singles wrestler. Shelley got emotional as he thanked the crowd.
Just as they were finishing up, Punishment Martinez came out and ruined the celebration. He curb stomped Sabin, the number one contender to his ROH Television Championship, and was about to do the same to Shelley when, of all people, Scorpio Sky came back out for the save.
Backstage, Kenny King said he was going to make Marty Scurll bend the knee in tonight’s main event.
Kelly Klein joined Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana to commentate on the next match.
Karen Q defeated Jenny Rose
Klein talked about how easily she’s beaten both of these wrestlers. Karen Q connected with some impressive kicks and a corner combination for a near fall. Rose fired back with big chops, a sidewalk slam, and a fisherman’s suplex but only earned a two count.
Rose then hit a spear, which caused Klein to come to ringside. She tossed a mouth guard at Rose, which distracted her, and allowed Q to hit her full nelson slam for the win. Klein then beat down Rose afterwards as Q let her do it.
A video package highlighted an upcoming Jay Lethal vs. Jonathan Gresham match, playing off their first encounter when Lethal may have underestimated him.
Backstage, Shelley was laid out next to a folding chair.
First round match in the Top Prospect Tournament: Eli Isom vs. FR Josie
Caprice Coleman was at the announcer’s table for this one and stayed out for the rest of the show. Isom launched Josie with a suplex. He also caught Josie off the second rope and landed a side slam.
But none of that mattered as the debuting Jeff Cobb entered, causing the no contest and then decimating both men with huge suplexes — including a double pumphandle slam on both at the same time.
Kenny King defeated Marty Scurll
Scurll used his typical offense of breaking the rules to put King on the mat early. King finally countered with an arm drag and a leg sweep. Both men went down after King hit a rolling spin kick. King fired up with punches, a knee to the back, and a clothesline. He followed that up with a huge spinebuster. King hooked on a Last Chancery on Scurll to send a message to Austin Aries.
After more cheating, Scurll landed a brainbuster — but King kicked out at 2.9! Scurll finally got a hold of King’s fingers, but King countered and attempted the Royal Flush. Scurll countered the counter into a DDT! He went for his cane, but the referee took it away.
That gave King the opportunity to roll up Scurll, and King used his feet on the ropes for extra leverage and got the pin.
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.
Chris Jericho & The Young Bucks are officially set to team up later this year.
In a segment on today’s episode of Being the Elite that doubled as an advertisement for the cruise, Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes & Marty Scurll accepted a challenge from Jericho & The Young Bucks for a six-man tag match on Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea this October. The cruise will take place from October 27-31 and sail from Miami, Florida to Nassau. Bahamas.
This will be the first time Jericho and Omega have faced each other since their match at the Tokyo Dome for New Japan Pro Wrestling in January. When Jericho and Omega were hyping that match online before it was announced, there was originally speculation that they were setting up wrestling each other on the cruise.
Jericho & The Young Bucks had also been teasing on recent episodes of Being the Elite that they were going to be teaming as the “Alpha Club” for the first time on the cruise.
Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea will also feature a 16-man Ring of Honor tournament. In addition to the six-man tag and being in the tournament, Scurll is scheduled to face Sami Callihan in what’s being billed as an ROH vs. Impact Wrestling matchup.
Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks have started to reveal the card for All In.
It was announced today that former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada would be facing Marty Scurll at the September 1 show at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. This will be the first time they’ve ever wrestled each other in a singles match.
The only other match that’s been confirmed for All In as of now is Cody challenging for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, which is currently held by Nick Aldis.
Details on when and where All In will air have yet to be announced, but Cody and Matt & Nick Jackson noted last month that they’ve officially decided in favor of licensing production and that it will be broadcast in some capacity. Don Callis will be one of the commentators for the show.
Ring of Honor returns to pay-per-view tonight as Best in the World 2018 takes place at the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
Wer’e looking for yoru thoughts on tonight’s show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
The show will be headlined by a triple threat match for the ROH World Championship, with Dalton Castle defending against Bullet Club members Cody Rhodes and Marty Scurll. If Cody wins the championship, he’ll be set to defend it in a title vs. title match against the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, which is currently Nick Aldis, at All In this September.
Three other title matches are also set for tonight: Tag Team Champions The Briscoes vs. The Young Bucks, Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom vs. SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI, and TV Champion Punishment Martinez vs. Hangman Page in a street fight.
Austin Aries vs. Kenny King, Jay Lethal vs. KUSHIDA, an eight-woman tag match pitting Sumie Sakai, Mayu Iwatani, Tenille Dashwood & Jenny Rose vs. Kelly Klein, Hazuki, Kagetsu & Hana Kimura, and Bully Ray vs. Flip Gordon round out the rest of the card.
Our live coverage starts at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
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By Dave Meltzer
MATT TAVEN & VINNY MARSEGLIA & TK O’RYAN VS. EVIL & SANADA & BUSHI FOR THE SIX MAN TITLES
Match was fine. It never got past a certain level but it was all action. Sanada did a Paradise lock on both Taven and Marseglia. But not much else as far as big stuff went. The finish saw Taven pin Bushi after rock star super nova.
FLIP GORDON VS. BULLY RAY
The match opened hot with Gordon doing dives and brawling. This was a very different style of match then you usually see from Gordon. Bully got litlte offense in, missed a Vader bomb to get a Vader chant and then used a low blow for the DQ. After the match Bully kept beating down Gordon with a garbage can and some chair shots. Eli Isom ran in but Bully Ray beat him down. Cheeseburger ran in and Bully Ray power bombed him hard. Finally Colt Cabana, doing the announcing, hit the ring with a chair and Bully backed off. Bully is super smart at getting heat so while not a classic match, this match was exactly what it was supposed to be and effective, it made Gordon show a new dimension and put heat on Bully.
HAZUKI & KAGETSU & HANA KIMURA & KELLY KLEIN VS. JENNY ROSE & SUMIE SAKAI & MAYU IWATANI & TENILLE DASHWOOD.
This match got over in the last few minutes. I thought it wasn’t good at all except when Iwatani was in with both Hauzki and Kimura. The crowd went nuts for Iwatani vs. Kimura in particular. Sakai did a great plancha onto everone and in the ring, Iwatani pinned Kimura with a dragon suplex. They tried to push Sakai vs. Kagetsu as WOH champino vs. Stardom champion.
KENNY KING VS. AUSTIN ARIES
The story here is that Aries and King were friends and Aries mentored him. King wouldn’t go for the kill but Aries would. Aries is a great wrestler and this match had a lot of heat. At one point Aries grabbed his three belts and went to walk off but King with a corkscrew plancha on him and then grabbed the Impact belt. However, Aries came back with a brainbuster on the floor and then won with a discus elbow and a brainbuster. Best match so far.
KUSHIDA VS. JAY LETHAL
The story here is that Lethal is trying to work his way back to the title and had to beat all the guys who have beaten him like Punishmant Martinez, Chuickie T, Kushida, Mark Briscoe and Kushida who have beaten him. So he’s beaten four of them and thie time pinned Kushida with the Lethal injection. These two guys are great wrestlers. It was exactly what you’d think. Kushida did three straight flip dives. Lethal teased doing three topes, but on the second one, Kushida caught him with an armbar on the floor. Lethal did the Savage elbow but Kushida turned that into an armbar. The first time Lethal went for the lethal injection, Kushida got him with a hoverboard lock. But Lethal kept blocking back to the future. Excellent match
PUNISHMENT MARTINEZ VS. HANGMAN PAGE IN A STREET FIGHT FOR THE TV TITLE
Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser are out on commentary.. Thois was a realy wild match with a lot of high spots. Martinez won with a choke slam through a table shortly after Page gave him a back body drop on thumbtacks. Page also did a moonsault off the top to the floor At one point Martinez zip-tied his hands together butg Page got free of them. Page speared him through a table on the floor. Page also supeplexed him off the barricade on the floor. It was a big brawl and the crowd completey got behind Page.
MARK & JAY BRISCOE VS. YOUNG BUCKS FOR ROH TAG TITLES
This was very close to a match of the year level bout. They did everythimg in the world and it ended with the Briscoes doing a double team die hard and neckbreaker on Matt for the pin. They pushed that the ROH champs beat the IWGP champs clean so that probably sets up a rematch. There were far too many big spots and near falls to recount. At one point The Bcks had it won with more bang for your buck on Jay, but Mark gave ref Paul Turner an elbow off the top to take him out. Later the Bucks did the Meltzer driver but there was a save. Matt kicked out of a Jay driller on a chair. At another point they tried another Meltzer driver but Mark threw a chair at Nick which knocked him off the apron. After the match, they continued to beat on the Bucks until SCU came out with Christopher Daniels having a chair. They teased attacking the Young Bucks but instead Daniels hit Jay with a chair.
DALTON CASTLE VS. MARTY SCURLL VS. CODY FOR THE ROH TITLE
Castle retained the title as Scurll did the crossroads to Cody but Castle then gave Scurll the bangarang and pinned him. Castle is hurting really bad. I think he took maybe one or two bumps. His back is a mess, both a fracture and nerve damagee. There was all kinds of shortcuts with lots of near falls and then people pulling the ref out of hte ring. Brandi and Cody pulled ref Todd Sinclair out when Scurll had the title won with a belt shot. At another point Scurll had Scurll pinned with the bangarang but Nick Aldis, who was at ringside pulled Sinclair out of the ring. Sinclair later threw Brandi, The Boys and Aldis out. The near falls were really good and a lot looked like the finish but it was tough to follow the prior match. Aldis being there made everyone figure Cody was winning, but I guess the idea is they don’t want the ROH champion losing to the IWGP champion again.
