ROH All-Star Extravaganza V Review

The Ring of Honor World Title Tournament runs through Toronto and the historic Mattamy Athletic Centre!

ROH All-Star Extravaganza V

Toronto, Ontario, Canada 8/3/13

Before I begin, I should make a note about the Bonus Matches. These were included in the VOD release of All-Star Extravaganza V, but are not included in the DVD Release. You can see these matches through getting this show on VOD or watching them on the ROH TV Show Archive.

Bonus (From the 7/27/13 ROH TV Tapings in Providence, Rhode Island)

1.) ROH World Title Tournament - First Round - Sonjay Dutt vs. Jay Lethal: ***1/2

I knew this would be good coming into it, given their history together in TNA. They certainly didn't disappoint. A very good match. Lethal & Dutt put on one heck of a contest and I really enjoyed it. Jay Lethal would pick up the win and move on to the next round.

2.) ROH World Title Tournament - First Round - ACH vs. Karl Anderson: ***1/4

This is a big match for ACH as he's taking on one of New Japan's best in Karl Anderson. I wasn't sure what to expect coming in, but these two were able to put on a pretty good match. Anderson gets the win and moves on to the next round.

3.) ROH World Title Tournament - First Round - Adam Cole vs. Mark Briscoe: ***1/4

The match itself was good, but the story really drove this one. Basically they were playing up the fact that Mark wasn't fully recovered from the concussion he suffered back in June. Their was a moment in the match where Todd Sinclair was checking on a weakened and wobbly Briscoe, but Cole would take advantage, superkicking Briscoe in the head and hitting him with the Jay Driller (Jay Briscoe's Finisher) to advance in the tournament. Once again, a good match that had a great story behind it.

Main Show

1.) Adam Page vs. Kushida: ***

This is my first time seeing Kushida. A pretty solid opener, essentially a showcase for both guys.

2.) ROH World Title Tournament - First Round - Silas Young vs. "Sicilian Psychopath" Tommaso Ciampa: ***1/2

These two had a match at Reclamation: Night 2 in Dearborn that was pretty good but had a wonky finish that kind of took away from it. I thought they improved on that here with this performance. Very solid match with Tommaso Ciampa coming out on top & advancing to the tournament.

3.) ROH World Title Tournament - First Round - Michael Bennett (with Maria Kanellis) vs. BJ Whitmer: N/A

The match itself was fine but it's really hard to talk about ratings considering all that happened with BJ getting seriously injured and the fact that there was no finish. That's about all I'll say on the matter.

4.) ROH World Title Tournament - First Round - ROH World TV Champion Matt Taven (with Truth Martini) vs. Roderick Strong: ***1/4

All the Hoopla aside, this was a pretty solid match. It definitely got better after Truth Martini & The Hoopla Hotties were disposed off. Strong would get the win and advance in the tournament. 

5.) ROH World Title Tournament - First Round - Paul London vs. "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin: ****1/2

This match was supposed to take place at the 5/5/13 TV Tapings, but because London suffered a concussion at the hands of Davey Richards the night before at Border Wars, the match had to be put on hold. Nice to see ROH giving this match to the Toronto crowd that was deprived of it back in May. When it was all said and done, it was a really awesome match! Not only was the action great, but it told a good story, with London trying to pull out everything he had to beat Elgin, only to come up short. Definitely one of the best matches of 2013 from ROH!

6.) Adrenaline RUSH vs. The Young Bucks vs. C & C Wrestle Factory: ***3/4

The Young Bucks are making their ROH return after a one year absence. Interesting enough, they enter this match as the Dragon Gate USA Open The United Gate Tag Team Champions. As you would expect, this was a very fast paced match. All the teams got their stuff in, and the Young Bucks especially looked great. They didn't have a lot of time, but they certainly made the most of it. Adrenaline RUSH would escape all this melee with a big victory.

7.) ROH World Title Tournament - First Round - Brian Kendrick vs. Kevin Steen: **3/4

Compared to everything else on here, this was a bit off. Kendrick continuously tried to stall at the start, and when the match did get going, it was ok, but nothing really special. That didn't change the fact that Steen was INSANELY over in his home country (as was Elgin, I should mention). Steen would advance after making Kendrick tap to the Sharpshooter.

8.) ROH World Title Tournament - Quarter Finals - Adam Cole vs. Jay Lethal: ***3/4

This is the first Quarter Final match of the tournament. These two gave us a really good match here, as you would expect. Cole & Lethal are both great wrestlers and they showed why here. Adam Cole would end up scoring the win and advancing in the tournament.

9.) ROH World Tag Team Titles - The Forever Hooligans vs. The American Wolves: ****

Here we have a rematch from their first encounter at the 11th Anniversary Show in March, but this time, it's for the World Tag Team Titles! This was originally scheduled to be Wolves/reDRagon but The Forever Hooligans knocking off the champs at the Providence, Rhode Island TV Tapings the week prior changed that. I thought this was pretty good. Personally, I'd put this just above their first encounter. Though some people might not like this one as much, I personally found nothing wrong with it. The only thing I'd say is that it was a little bit too long. Richards & Edwards would come out on top, winning the World Tag Team Titles!!

Overall: 8.75/10

Aside from the scary incident during the Whitmer/Bennett match, this was actually a really good show. You had a show stealing match in Elgin/London, and several really good matches like Cole/Lethal, and the two Tag Team Matches. The undercard was hit or miss but still solid overall. This was definitely one of the best shows for ROH in 2013.