ROH Road To "Best In The World 2015": Night 2 Review

Ring of Honor makes its debut in Oklahoma City, as Jay Briscoe & Jay Lethal defend their titles for the final time before Best In The World 2015!

ROH Road To “Best In The World ‘15”: Night 2

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 5/30/15

Pre-Show

1.) Keith Lee & Shane Taylor vs. Americos & Gregory James: *

Not much to say about this pre-show match. Keith Lee & Shane Taylor were dominated, and Gregory James lost the match for his team when he refused to tag in Americos. Interesting to note here that Keith Lee & Shane Taylor were announced at around 780 pounds, so I guess they magically lost 40 pounds between the show the previous night in Amarillo, and this show in Oklahoma City.

Main Show

1.) Caprice Coleman vs. “Dirty” Andy Dalton (with “The Outlaw” Ken Phoenix): **1/4

The show kicks off with Caprice Coleman taking on Andy Dalton. As I’ve mentioned previously, Dalton is a relatively well-known local wrestler from Texas. A decent opening match here. Dalton got some offense in, and got to showcase his disgusting personality a little bit, by Coleman would eventually score the win here. I wouldn’t mind seeing Dalton in ROH more often. I think he can be a fun undercard heel act, and from what I’ve heard of his work elsewhere, he’s pretty good.

2.) Triple Threat Match For A ROH World TV Title Shot – IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Matt Taven vs. Raymond Rowe vs. Mark Briscoe: ***1/4

So we have two Triple Threat Matches on this show, which will determine the title challenges for later that night. This match would decide who would face Jay Lethal for the ROH World TV Title. This match only went about five or six minutes, but it was a lot of fun while it lasted. They had an interesting dynamic at the start which Taven, the sole heel in this match, getting double teamed by the two faces in Mark Briscoe & Ray Rowe. Things eventually broke down, and we actually saw some pretty good action from all three competitors. In the end, Mark Briscoe would get the win with a fisherman buster on Taven, meaning he’ll challenge Jay Lethal for the ROH World TV Title later on in the show.

3.) Silas Young vs. The Romantic Touch: **3/4

Young actually got toilet paper thrown at him during his entrance, which is something that I don’t think we’ve seen in ROH since the days of Jimmy Rave. As far as this match goes, if there was ever a clash of personalities, this was it. The Romantic Touch tried using his usual antics, but Young was having absolutely none of it. At one point, The Romantic Touch actually used Steve Corino’s old “Thumb In The Bum” move, which got a huge reaction from Corino on commentary. Eventually, Young would pick up the win here.

4.) Triple Threat Match For A ROH World Title Shot – BJ Whitmer vs. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Michael Bennett (with Maria Kanellis) vs. Hanson: ***1/4

BJ Whitmer gets toilet paper thrown at him as well during his entrance, which gets some hefty chuckles from Steve Corino. This match will determine who challenges Jay Briscoe in the Main Event for the ROH World Title. What I like about this Triple Threat Match compared to the one earlier in the show is that the psychology of the match was different. Here you have two heels in Bennett & Whitmer, and one babyface in the form of Hanson. You also have the dynamic of Bennett & Whitmer, as it was of course Bennett who severely injured Whitmer with a piledriver on the ring apron back in 2013. This was a little longer than the previous triple threat match, but the match quality was about the same. In the end, Hanson would get the win, earning himself a ROH World Title Match against Jay Briscoe in the Main Event.

5.) Roderick Strong vs. Will Ferrara: ***1/2

This is a big match for Ferrara, as he’s taking on the main known as “Mr. ROH”. I thought this was a pretty good match. Strong was his usual awesome self, but Ferrara looked really solid here. This has been a very good weekend for Ferrara in general, who may have looked the best out of the four men in the Four-Corner Survival from the night before, and went on to have one of his best singles performances here against Strong. Eventually, Strong would get the win here, but shook hands with Ferrara after the match in a show of respect.

6.) Dalton Castle vs. “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin: ***1/2

Here we have a very unique match, as the very serious Michael Elgin takes on the always-flamboyant Dalton Castle. This was another really solid match on this show. Elgin looked as good as he always does, but Castle really showed a lot here against a former ROH World Champion. Again, it wasn’t an amazing match by any means, but it was pretty good. Elgin would pick up the win here, and in a continuation of his slow face turn, shook hands with Castle after the match.

7.) Adam Cole vs. ACH: ****

These two have had a singles match against each other in ROH, at least once, ever year since 2013. This is their third match, and I have to say, it might have been their best. I thought this was a great match! I said in my review of the show from the night before in Amarillo, Texas that ACH & Michael Elgin have great chemistry. While ACH & Adam Cole have yet to have that one absolutely amazing match, these two also had really good chemistry, and they proved that once again here with the best match of their series. We saw examples of their great personalities, while also seeing some awesome back & forth action. Even though Cole would eventually get the victory, ACH looked very impressive (as he always does).

8.) ROH World TV Title – Jay Lethal (with Truth Martini) vs. Mark Briscoe: ***1/2

Here we have the first of two titles matches, the last for both Jay Lethal & Jay Briscoe before their title vs. title match at Best In The World 2015. It’s very appropriate that Lethal’s last defense before the PPV is against Mark Briscoe. This was a very solid ROH World TV Title Match. It wasn’t as cool as the ACH/Adam Cole match that preceded it, but it was still very good, despite some stalling early on. Lethal continues to be an awesome heel champion, while Mark Briscoes proves that he is an underrated singles wrestler, and can deliver when the situation calls for it. One thing that added to this match was the fact that they had built up Mark Briscoe's fisherman buster as a believe finisher (which he used to secure his two victories already this weekend). When he hit it, and Lethal kicked out, it was a bigger than it would have been normally. A small, but positive, addition to this match. Things came to an end when Lethal used the Book of Truth when Truth Martini had the referee distracted (it was actually pretty well executed) to pick up the win. Lethal retains the ROH World TV Title.

9.) ROH World Title – Jay Briscoe vs. Hanson: ****

Interestingly enough, this is basically an extension of The Briscoes/War Machine rivalry. I thought this was a great Main Event! Not sure if this or ACH/Adam Cole takes Match of the Night, but it was pretty close. Even with War Machine back together, it’s still awesome that Hanson can show off that he’s also a great singles competition. I think he worked well here with Jay Briscoe, as it was a pure fight from start to finish. Towards the end of the match, Jay Lethal & Truth Martini came out, seemingly to attack Jay Briscoe, but they were fended off, and corner by, Mark Briscoe & Ray Rowe. While keeping The House of Truth at bay, those two also cheered on their respective man, which I think added to the match a little bit, giving it a big fight feel. The finish was pretty cool, and both men refused to give up, despite being hit with several big moves. In the end, it would take three Jay Drillers (those last two being in a row) for Jay Briscoe to put Hanson away and retain the ROH World Title.

Jay Briscoe & Jay Lethal have a stare down in the ring and exchange words to close the show.

Overall: 8.0/10

Compared to the show from Amarillo the night before, I thought this show in Oklahoma City was significantly better. There weren’t nearly as many screwy finishes, and the card as a whole was much more consistent. The two three ways were solid, and matches like Strong/Ferrara, Castle/Elgin, and Lethal/Mark Briscoe were all pretty good. You then had ACH/Adam Cole and Jay Briscoe/Hanson, which were arguably the best matches of the night. The show also did a very good job at continuing the build towards Best In The World 2015, as Jay Briscoe & Jay Lethal had their final title defenses before the PPV. When you have good wrestling throughout the card, and a crowd that’s into mostly everything, you almost guaranteed to have a really solid show, and that’s exactly what we got here in OKC. If you have a choice between this one and the show from Amarillo, it’s a no brainer. Get this one!!

ROH Road To "Best In The World 2015": Night 1 Review

ROH makes it's debut in Amarillo, Texas!

ROH Road To “Best In The World ‘15": Night 1

Amarillo, Texas 5/29/15

1.) BJ Whitmer vs. Americos: **

Americos is a Luchador who wears red, white, & blue aka the colors of America (hence his name). This was an ok opener. Americos got some offense in, but Whitmer dominated most of the match, and eventually got the win with his Exploder Suplex. There is nothing much else to say here about this match.

In an interesting note, based on the crowd reactions in just this first match, it sounded like there were a lot of kids at this show.

2.) Four-Corner Survival – Will Ferrara vs. Silas Young vs. Mark Briscoe vs. ROH World TV Champion Jay Lethal (with Truth Martini): **3/4

Of course, Lethal’s ROH World TV Title is not on the line in this match. Interestingly enough, Truth Martini doesn’t have The Book of Truth with him. I thought this was a fine Four-Corner Survival. Things started off really slow, but picked up in the second half, which actually was pretty solid. Ferrara actually got busted open a little bit early on, and I think this may have been one of Ferrara’s better performances. He was very good in this match. Mark Briscoe would eventually get the win here after hitting a fisherman buster on Ferrara.

Jay Lethal does have a bit of a verbal confrontation with Mark Briscoe after the match.

3.) Dalton Castle vs. The Romantic Touch: **

I don’t have a lot to say about this one. The comedic interactions between these two were entertaining, but the match itself was just ok. That mainly had to do with the fact that this match just went WAY too long. This match didn’t need to go nearly thirteen minutes. That’s ridiculous! Anyway, Castle gets the win here.

4.) Non-Title Match – ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe vs. Caprice Coleman: ***1/4

This is probably one of the bigger matches Coleman has had in quite some time, even though the ROH World Title isn’t on the line. This was a pretty solid match, in my opinion. There was some good back & forth action, particularly in the second half. Jay Briscoe would eventually get the win with what looked more like a Tiger Bomb than a Jay Driller (seemed like he botched it a little bit).

5.) Keith Lee & Shane Taylor vs. The Dirty Outlaws (Andy Dalton & Ken Phoenix): *1/4

Andy Dalton (a well known local wrestler in the Texas area) & Ken Phoenix were on a recent episode of ROH TV. On this episode, they were beaten by War Machine so badly and so quickly, that Phoenix never even tagged into the match. Phoenix cuts a promo say that while they got off to a rough start, their fortunes are going to change tonight. He calls out another team for a challenge, and out came Keith Lee & Shane Taylor, who were announced as being a combined 820 pounds! They would go on to have a match, which was totally what you would expect for this local showcase. The Dirty Outlaws got some offense in, but Keith Lee & Shane Taylor dominated most of this match, and would end up getting the win.

6.) ACH vs. “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin: ****

These two had an incredible singles match back in 2013 at Dragon’s Reign. Now while this match wasn’t quite as amazing as that match, this was still pretty fantastic! I don’t know what it is, but ACH & Elgin just have great chemistry with one another. Every time they’re in a singles match, they always produce something great, and this was no different. There was some awesome action from both guys during this match. Additionally, they did do a bit of storyline advancement here, as Elgin teased using the ring bell, but decided against it. Eventually, Elgin would get the win after a Super Elgin Bomb.

After the match, Elgin shook hands with ACH.

7.) IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Michael Bennett with Maria Kanellis) vs. War Machine: **1/4

For some reason, The Kingdom come out with a golden bowling pin. There really isn’t a lot to say about this one, as the match only went about six minutes or so before The Kingdom used that golden bowling pin as a weapon for the DQ. Strange that this would happen in the Semi-Main Event, but it would make sense in a little bit.

8.) Adam Cole vs. Roderick Strong: **3/4

These two had a really long rivalry that spanned several matches in 2012 & 2013. The action we did get in here was pretty solid, but when you saw that they were going at a relatively quick pace, you knew something was up. After about six or seven minutes, The Kingdom ran out, followed shortly thereafter by War Machine, which led to a No Contest. Strong took the mic and called for a Six-Man Tag (which the crowd had been chanting for), and eventually goads The Kingdom into accepting.

9.) Six-Man Tag – The Kingdom (Adam IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Michael Bennett with Maria Kanellis) vs. Roderick Strong & War Machine: ***1/2

Despite the fact that it took a DQ and a No Contest in the last two matches to get us here, this was a very good Six-Man Tag. There was a ton of brawling early, as Strong & War Machine beat up The Kingdom all around ringside. The action in the ring was pretty good as well. In the end, The Kingdom would score the (relatively) clean win as the show came to a close. This, and the two matches that preceded it, felt very much like something you’d see on a WWE House Show, and that’s not a compliment.

Overall: 6.25/10

Every year you have one or two ROH Live Events that just aren’t that good. This was one of those. Now this show wasn’t totally devoid of stuff that’s worth checking out, as the ACH vs. Michael Elgin was pretty great. Other than that, this show just didn’t deliver. Some of the matches on the undercard felt very average, others matches went too long, and while The Main Event was actually was relatively good, it took a DQ and a No Contest for us to get there. For the most part, this show is one you can definitely skip.

ROH/NJPW Global Wars 2015: Night 2 Review

ROH & NJPW finish up their annual May Tour in North America with a huge set of TV Tapings!

I should note that this was a TV Taping, and all of these matches were taped for TV, but ROH decided to put out a DVD of the entire show. All of these matches are available to watch on rohwrestling.com as part of their TV Show (these episodes aired speficially in June 2015, and were the first to air on ROH’s Destination America run), but for those looking for a review of everything on the DVD, here you go!

ROH/NJPW Global Wars 2015: Night 2

Toronto, Ontario, Canada 5/16/15

1.) KUSHIDA vs. Will Ferrara: **3/4

We start things off with KUSHIDA taking on Will Ferrara. By comparison, I would say that Ferrara is probably at the level of some of the New Japan Young Lions, but a little bit higher, since he has won matches on his own (maybe at Yoshi-Hashi level). This was a fine little match here. It only went about five or so minutes, but it was a decent little match. It could have been better if it was given a little more time. KUSHIDA would score the win in this matchup.

2.) Silas Young vs. Takaaki Watanabe: **1/2

Our next match came about after what happened at Global Wars 2015: Night 1, when Young attacked his then-tag team partner Watanabe after their loss to the team of Moose & Gedo. This was another match that didn’t go very long (around six minutes), but was still a fine little match for what it was. There was some good action in the ring, as well as outside of the ring. On a random note, there were some people in the front row who had some pretty hilarious Silas Young themed signs. Fantastic! Young gets the win here.

3.) Moose (with Stokely Hathaway & Veda Scott) vs. Colby Corino (with The Decade): N/R

So this was supposed to be BJ Whitmer vs. Moose, after Whitmer stole a victory in a Four-Corner Survival Match from Moose. However, Whitmer sees this as an opportunity to take another shot at Steve Corino, and lets Colby Corino (who is much smaller compared to Moose) to step up and take this spot. This was pretty much a squash match to futher the Corino/Whitmer storyline. Not much else to say about that. Moose easily wins this match.

4.) The Briscoes vs. The House of Truth (Donovan Dijak & J. Diesel with Truth Martini): **3/4

Here we have another match that got changed around. The story here is that Jay Lethal was supposed to be in this match, teaming with Dijak, but he & Truth Martini uses politics to get J. Diesel to take his place instead. I thought this was a fine tag team match, which was the Main Event for this first episode that was taped. The Briscoes never had a bad tag team match, and they were able to carry Diesel & Dijak (more so the former than the latter) to a solid TV Main Event. The Briscoes would pick up the win here.

After the match, Dijak takes out Mark Briscoe on the outside with Feast Your Eyes, and tries to go after Jay Briscoe. Lethal saves Dijak a Jay Driller, only to get hit with a Jay Driller himself! The ROH World Champion stands tall to close Episode I of this TV Taping.

5.) ROH World Tag Team Titles - Handicap Match - The Addiction vs. Kyle O’Reilly: **1/2

So this was supposed to be reDRagon’s rematch for the ROH World Tag Team Titles, but of course, Fish wasn’t able to make to Canada (the storyline explanation was that Fish got taken out backstage by The Addiction). Before things get underway, The Addiction cut a promo where they said they signed a contract to face reDRagon only (no suitable replacement for Fish), and that they would get no rematch. O’Reilly runs out, and takes on the challenge anyway, meaning that we have a handicap match, which is rare for ROH. The Addiction had the edge early, but O’Reilly fought back hard, and really took it to Daniels & Kazarian. Eventually, Daniels uses one of the title belts on O’Reilly for the DQ. They continue to beat up O’Reilly until ACH & Matt Sydal make the save. It was ok for what it was, and they are building towards their rematch on PPV, so there’s that.

6.) Dalton Castle vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger: ***

This is easily the biggest match Dalton Castle has had in his young ROH career, and he takes on a living legend in pro-wrestling. I thought this match was a ton of fun. Castle has such a great personality, and seeing him clash with the character of Jushin “Thunder” Liger was cool in of itself. We even saw Liger pose with The Boys of one point! The action in this match was also very solid. Not the best match on the card by any means, but it was certainly entertaining. Liger would get the win here, and he would shake hands with, and hug, Castle after the match, which was pretty cool.

7.) “Brutal” Bob Evans vs. Cheeseburger: N/R

The tag team of Brutal Burgers broke up several weeks prior, and I believe this was their first one-on-one encounter. The match went about two minutes or so when they got on the apron, and Evans gave Cheeseburger a powerful & nasty looking sidewalk slam through the timekeeper’s table, which got a HUGE reaction from the crowd. Say what you will about this feud, but that was actually a really good spot. The match ends in a no-contest.

8.) Non-Title Match - IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Michael Bennett with Maria Kanellis) vs. The Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows): **3/4

The Main Event of Episode II features what was arguably the worst feud of 2015. With that said, I thought this might have been their best match together, even though it ended in a no-contest. There was some pretty decent action in this one, despite the fact that we did get Karl Anderson falling for Maria Kanellis again. I do think it says a lot about The Kingdom that their best match in this feud with Anderson & Gallows was in ROH. I’ll keep saying this over & over, but in ROH, they’re fine. It’s in New Japan that they’re bad. This match ends in a no contest after both Karl Anderson & Michael Bennett shoved the referee, Red Shoes.

The two teams continue to brawl after the match. At one point, it looked like Anderson & Gallows were going to hit Maria with The Magic Killer onto a couple of chairs, but Bennett made the save. Anderson & Gallows would then hit the Magic Killer on Taven instead, ending Episode II.

9.) War Machine vs. The Decade (Adam Page & Colby Corino with BJ Whitmer): N/R

Here we have basically the same thing that happened in Episode I of this set of TV Tapings. BJ Whitmer was supposed to be in this tag team match, but he opted to put The Decade’s “young boy”, Colby Corino, into this match instead, just so he could antagonize Steve Corino. Colby Corino gets destroyed by War Machine, and Adam Page jumps off the apron, so that there would be no help for Colby. Hanson & Ray Rowe easily get the win here in another match that was more of a segment.

10.) Cedric Alexander vs. Moose (with Stokely Hathaway & Veda Scott): ***

This match was set up when Alexander (who’s been on a losing streak) called out Moose (who’s been on a winning streak). While the match wasn’t spectacular by any means, it was still pretty good. Alexander showed a lot of fire here (which fits his current storyline as he tries desperately to win), and I think he worked well with Moose. However, the ending what people will remember most about this match. Veda Scott got out a wrench and told Moose to use it. Moose threw the wrench down and refused, but Alexander picked it up instead, used it on Moose, and got the win! Alexander not only snapped his losing streak, but also ends the undefeated streak of Moose. Veda Scott looks shocked as Alexander celebrates his win.

11.) ACH & Matt Sydal vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito: ***3/4

Here we have a match that I think, when considering all of the matches announced for this tour, kind of flew under the radar in terms of the buzz. ACH comes out wearing gear inspired by the anime show One Piece (which I think he was supposed to wear the night before). I thought this was a really good match. ACH & Sydal are a lot of fun to watch as a tag team, and they had a very enjoyable tag team match here against Tanahashi & Naito. I wouldn’t call it a great match, but it was definitely one of the better matches of the night, for sure. Lots of really cool stuff from both teams in this one. In the end, the New Japan Team of Tanahashi & Naito would pick up the victory.

Episode III concludes with a contract signing between ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe & ROH World TV Champion Jay Lethal for their Champion vs. Champion Match at Best In The World 2015. For those wondering, this was the go-home show for that PPV. Interesting enough, the segment didn’t end in a pull-apart brawl, and both cut promos on each other, signed a contract, and got into a verbal spat to end the episode. It’s nice for a change to not see a brawl break out at a contract signing. Very good built towards their PPV match.

12.) Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong: ****½

Strong has had a really eventful tour, as he scored a big victory over KUSHIDA, but was defeated by Tanahashi in an amazing match which saw Strong get busted open. Now, he’s taking on the “King of Strong Style”. I thought this match was awesome!! It was easily one of the best of the tour, and it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that it involved these two guys. There was some great back & forth action throughout this match, especially in the latter stages. This was just a fantastic match to watch. Strong continues to have an amazing 2015, while Nakamura continues to prove why he’s one of the best in the business. Despite an incredible effort (including Strong kicking out of a 1st Boma Ye at 1!), Strong would eventually fall to a 2nd Boma Ye, as Nakamura gets the win.

13.) Gedo vs. “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin: **3/4

There was a funny bit of banter online about this match when it happened, as one of the issues surround Michael Elgin late 2014 was that he was (supposedly) upset that he wasn’t booked by New Japan. Now, he’s taking on New Japan’s “power broker” (aka booker) in Gedo. A fine little match here. Gedo got some offense in, but Elgin’s power was just too much for him, as he would pick up the win with the Elgin Bomb.

14.) Six-Man Tag - CHAOS (“Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada & Roppongi Vice) vs. The Bullet Club (IWGP Heavyweight Champion “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles & IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks): ****1/2

The Main Event of Episode IV, and the final match of these TV Tapings, was a Six-Man Tag that served as a prelude to NJPW Dominion, where Okada would be challenging AJ Styles for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Of course, both men have their CHAOS & Bullet Club stablemates (respectively) at their side. These six guys closed out the show in a huge way, with an amazing Six-Man Tag Team Match!! AJ Styles & The Young Bucks continue to prove that, when it comes to trios in 2015, nobody could touch them. Okada, Rocky Romero & Trent Berreta did give them a run for their money in this match. Just some incredible action from all-six guys, who really worked hard here. Bodies were flying everywhere, the crowd was really into it, and it was super entertaining as a whole. The finish of the match came when Styles & The Young Bucks isolated Berreta, and hit him with an insane combination of moves, which included a Hollow Point from Styles, a Metlzer Driver from The Young Bucks, and double superkicks before Styles scored the pin after the Styles Clash. What an awesome match that was to close the show!

Overall: 7.5/10

As I said earlier, this DVD was pretty much the full TV Taping from Global Wars: Night 2. You do have access to watch all of these episodes on rohwrestling.com. However, what may sway you to buy this DVD is that it included all of the matches in full, with no interruptions for commercial breaks. That was a big reason why I bought this DVD, as I wanted to see the full versions of the two amazing matches on the final episode of the TV Tapings. As far as the match quality goes, it was relatively solid, but again, it was a TV Taping, so there was bound to be some stuff that was less than stellar. The first half is pretty skippable aside from Castle vs. Liger. The second half has the matches that need to be checked out on this DVD (ACH/Sydal vs. Tanahashi/Naito, Nakamura/Strong, & Bullet Club/CHAOS ). Again, you don’t need this DVD, but if you’re a completist, or if you just want to see some of those really awesome matches in full, then definitely pick this show up (maybe in a sale).