ROH Manhattan Mayhem V Review

Mayhem once again returns to Manhattan as Ring of Honor rolls into the Big Apple!

ROH Manhattan Mayhem V

Manhattan, New York 8/17/13

1.) Silas Young vs. Adam Page: ***1/4

These two had a great match on ROH TV several weeks prior, which saw Page get the win. Young beat Page during the Top Prospect Tournament at the start of the year, so this is the rubber match. Essentially the perfect opener. Silas Young would get the win with his Headstand-Moonsault thing (which he never hits on anyone, I swear) to get the win.

2.) Scramble Rules - Adrenaline RUSH vs. C & C Wrestle Factory: ***

Basically, tags are not necessary. If you roll out of the ring, that constitutes as a tag. A pretty solid match here, though there were one or two botches that hurt the match a little bit. Pretty much what you would expect with these four guys involved. Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander would end up getting the victory.

3.) Proving Ground Match - ROH World TV Champion Matt Taven (with Truth Martini) vs. "No Fear" Mike Mondo: ***

Mondo is making his return to ROH after suffering an injury right before Border Wars, and for some reason, has ditched his previously unique look for a CAW based look. The Hoopla Hotties tonight are Seleziya Sparx and Kasey Ray, a wrestler and Matt Taven girlfriend/significant other. A pretty entertaining contest. The crowd was able to get into it, and the interference from the HOT (including a top rope hurricanrana to Mike Mondo from Kasey Ray) I think added a little bit. Taven would end up getting the victory.

4.) The Young Buck vs. The Forever Hooligans: ****1/2

This is the first time these two teams had faced off. Were actually getting a New Japan Champs vs. Dragon Gate USA Champs match since these teams hold the tag team titles in each respective promotions. An incredibly awesome match!! These two teams just clicked and it really produced something great. Definitely one of the best ROH matches thus far in 2013. After the match, the Young Bucks actually shake hands with the victors, Romero & Kozlov.

Back from intermission, and we get Marshall Law (RD Evans & QT Marshall) coming out. RD Evans goes on to talk about all of the injustices in ROH as well as the injustices committed against Marshall Law. They are interrupted by Prince Nana (who, along with doing commentary for Kevin Kelly on this show, was announced as Ring of Honor's new talent scout), who reveals that he has two new signees who are ready to take on Marshall Law right now! Suddenly, these weird sirens go off, and two dudes dressed in creepy masks come out. They deck Marshall Law and reveal themselves to be Homicide & Eddie Kingston!! This leads to a match...

5.) Marshall Law vs. Outlaw Inc: DUD

You know, I would have preferred if Outlaw Inc. either just beat up Marshall Law or squashed them in a quick match. Instead, they had a five minute that was competitive, when it should not have been at all. 

Afterwords, Homicide shakes RD Evans' hand, but them proceeds to break his fingers!

6.) ROH World Title Tournament - Quarter-Finals - Michael Bennett vs. "Sicilian Psychopath" Tommaso Ciampa: ***

Bennett is not accompanied by Maria Kannellis tonight. Last Remaining Pinnacle is in the house to perform Ciampa's entrance theme live, which was pretty cool. The match itself was solid. Nothing really outstanding, but fine overall. They told a pretty good story, and in the end, Ciampa would get the win and advance to the Final Four.

7.) ROH World Title Tournament - Quarter-Finals - Roderick Strong vs. Kevin Steen: ****

This match was really fast paced. They went at it right from the opening bell and didn't stop until the match ended. Great stuff here. Exactly what you would expect from two ROH Legends. Another great match on what has thus far been a consistently good show. Kevin Steen advances to the Final Four.

8.) ROH World Title Tournament - Quarter-Finals - Karl Anderson vs. "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin: ****1/4

These two had a match during WrestleMania Weekend in April, which Karl Anderson won. Elgin is looking to both advance in the tournament and avenge his loss. This was a great match, despite the ridiculous chants and antics of the crowd. They definitely stepped it up from their April match and put on an awesome contest. Elgin once again proves why he's so good, and he would win the match and advance to the Final Four.

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

So coming into this match, the World Tag Team Titles have changed hands twice over the previous few weeks. The Forever Hooligans defeated reDRagon to win the titles in Providence, Rhode Island. A  week later, The America Wolves beat Romero & Kozlov to win the titles. This is also the rubber match in the reDRagon/American Wolves Trilogy. It was a pretty awesome match! I'd say it was in the middle out of their three matches. It wasn't as good as their second match, but it was better than their first match. Both teams showed why they're the Best in the World, but in the end, Kyle O'Reilly made Davey Richards tap out. reDRagon takes the World Tag Team Titles, which have now changed hands three times over the course of three weeks.

As reDRagon are having the belts placed on them, those creepy sirens go off and Outlaw Inc. makes their way to the ring. They attack reDRagon and Homicide breaks O'Reilly's fingers!!

Overall: 9.0/10

Manhattan Mayhem has proven over the years to be one of Ring of Honor's trademark shows. This show certainly lived up to the name. Aside from one match that probably shouldn't have been a serious match to begin with, everything on here is good to really great. You have a solid undercard, a Match of the Year contender in Bucks/Hooligans, and a second half that featured three matches which broke the **** mark. Plus, you certainly had mayhem with the debut of Outlaw Inc. Overall, definitely up there with the 11th Anniversary Show & Supercard of Honor VII as one of the best ROH shows of the year.