ROH Supercard of Honor VIII: Collector's Edition Review

Adam Cole & Jay Briscoe nearly kill each other to become the Undisputed ROH World Champion!

ROH Supercard of Honor VIII
Westwego, Louisiana 4/4/14

Pre-Show (included on the Bonus Disk)

1.) Six Man Tag - Cheeseburger, Moose & The Dark Mon vs. Will Ferrera, Aaron Solo & Bu Ku Dao: **

I've never seen The Dark Mon or Bu Ku Dao before, but I have heard of Aaron Solo. This was a fine pre-show match. Cheeseburger & Moose got their stuff in while Ferrera, Solo & Bu Ku Dao looked good in their role as heels. The Dark Mon also at one point hit a devastating chokeslam/backbreaker that just looked nasty. The babyface team of Cheeseburger, Moose & The Dark Mon get the win.

2.) Four Corner Survival - Mike Posey vs. Corey Hollis vs. The Romantic Touch vs. Luke Hawx: **1/2

A pretty interesting match here, as you have former Alabama Attitude partners Posey & Hollis in here. The match itself was, again, fine for a Pre-Show Match, but it actually picked up a good deal towards the end. Luke Hawx gets the win.

Main Show

1.) Cedric Alexander vs. Roderick Strong (with The Decade): ***1/2

This match has been building for several months, as The Decade continually bullied Cedric Alexander, particularly by Roderick Strong over Cedric usage of a backbreaker variation. It was a very enjoyable opener. Strong & Alexander are both great wrestlers, so it's no surprise that they were able to put on a good wrestling match. Alexander looked like he was going to win, but distractions from the rest of The Decade (Jimmy Jacobs, BJ Whitmer & Adam Page) cost him the match, and Roderick Strong got the win.

After the match, Jimmy Jacobs gets the mic and puts over Roderick Strong as the rest of The Decade berates Cedric Alexander as he heads to the back. Jacobs says that the rest of the young wrestlers should learn from Adam Page, and not from Cedric Alexander, before calling out Adrenaline RUSH & Andrew Everett for their match.

2.) Six Man Tag Team Scramble Match - The Decade (Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer) & Adam Page vs. Adrenaline RUSH & Andrew Everett: ***1/2

I gotta say that it's great seeing Andrew Everett in ROH. This match was a lot of fun. As expected, you got lots of high flying action from ACH, TaDarius Thomas & Andrew Everett. Whitmer & Jacobs also worked well as a team while Page played the young boy role pretty well. Andrew Everett proved that ROH should sign him as soon as humanly possible. Again, a pretty entertaining Six-Man Tag. 

Following the match, Whitmer argues with Corino (which he does on almost every show). Jimmy Jacobs threatens to stab TaDarius Thomas with a spike, saying where was ACH to protect him (ACH was laid out on the outside). He ends up not using the spike, but his efforts did drive a metaphorical spike between ACH & Thomas (leading to Thomas joining The Decade at the TV Tapings).

Up next, we were supposed to get a match with Matt Taven vs. A Mystery Opponent selected by Truth Martini. This ended up turning into a segment. Martini doesn't bring out an opponent, but calls Kevin Kelly into the ring so he can read the final chapter of The Book of Truth. Taven takes the book, and when he opens it, there is a ball of fire for some reason, which just ended up being a distraction for Truth Martini to kick Taven in the balls. This was a very strange segment.

3.) Silas Young vs. "Barrister" RD Evans (with Veda Scott & Ramon): **3/4

It's always going to be entertaining when RD Evans is involved. He comes into the match 82-0. Silas Young is in a foul mood as always. A pretty solid match. One particular highlight was Silas delivering an electric chair to Evans on the ring apron!! That was scary. Towards the end of the match, Silas takes out Referee Paul Turner with a leather belt, after his original target RD Evans got out of the way. Another ROH Referee, Gino Colucci, comes out to cover for Turner, and after Silas hits his finisher on RD, he counts the pin and RD Evan's Streak appears to be over!! However, Paul Turner, the original referee, get up and reverses the decision, giving RD Evans a DQ victory due to Silas hitting Turner with the leather belt. The finish was a unique way to keep #THENEWSTREAK going.

4.) No DQ Match - Mark Briscoe vs. Michael Bennett (with Maria Kanellis): ***1/2

This is sort of an offshoot of the Adam Cole/Jay Briscoe feud, as Bennett & Maria have now align themselves with Adam Cole. Actually really enjoyed this. There were some crazy spots in this, including Bennett spearing Mark Briscoe off the entrance stage and through a table and Mark Briscoe diving off the stands onto Bennett. In the end, Bennett is able to pick up the win after a series of kendo stick and chair shots. Very good match. Bennett looked really good and Mark Briscoe especially took a good deal of punishment.

On the DVD, we get a backstage segment involving Truth Martini & Matt Taven. Essentially, it's heavily implied that Truth Martini went into the locker room and through a fireball in Matt Taven's face. This was WAY more effective than their in-ring segment.

As we come back from intermission, we get Cheeseburger in the ring giving out T-Shirts to the fans. Matt Hardy comes out and interrupts him. Hardy basically says that all of the recent success ROH has had can be credited not only to himself, but to the man he mentored, Adam Cole. He basically builds up Adam Cole for the Main Event. He then gives Cheeseburger the Twist of Fate.

5.) ROH World Tag Team Title #1 Contender's Triple Threat Match - The Forever Hooligans vs. Hanson & Rowe vs. reDRagon: ***1/4

The winners of this match will get a ROH World Tag Team Title Shot at The Young Bucks at War Of The Worlds. This match wasn't anything blow away, but it was pretty solid for what it was. We've seem reDRagon/Forever Hooligans a few times before, but throwing in the powerhouse team of Hanson & Rowe mixed things up a bit. Fish & O'Reilly get the win and will get a chance to regain the ROH World Tag Team Titles.

6.) ROH World TV Title - 2/3 Falls - "Sicilian Psychopath" Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jay Lethal: ***1/2

These two have a lot of history, as it was in a 2/3 Falls Match at Boiling Point 2012 against Lethal where Ciampa suffered his injury. This was a pretty good match here. These two have had good matches before and this was no different. Lethal one the first fall, but the big story was towards the end of the match. Truth Martini came out and tossed Ciampa's Knee Brace (which he had taken off) to Lethal. Surprisingly, he uses it on Ciampa, but only get a two count!! Lethal then hits the Hail To The King, followed by a few superkicks, but Ciampa refuses to stay down, and flips off Lethal!! He is finally is able to hit the Lethal Injection and scores the fall, going 2-0 in the match and capturing the World TV Title!! Personally, I liked the finish with Lethal's heel turn. The crowd was also really into Ciampa's fighting spirit towards the end.

After the match, Lethal celebrates with Truth Martini as the newest member of The House of Truth. I'm all for this. Turning heel and joining The House of Truth freshens up Lethal a great deal and adds another heel to the roster.

7.) IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contender's Match - "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin vs. Kevin Steen: ****1/2

The winner of this match gets an IWGP Heavyweight Title Shot at War Of The Worlds. These two have split their previous encounters, as Steen defeated Elgin for the ROH World Title at Glory By Honor XI in 2012, while Elgin defeated Steen in the semi-finals of the ROH World Title Tournament at Death Before Dishonor XI last year. This was a fantastic match, which is exactly what you would expect from these two guys. This didn't quite reach the level of their Glory By Honor XI Match, but this was definitely as close as they're probably going to get to matching it. Elgin wins after hitting Steen with his own finishing move, The Package Piledriver. Elgin moves on to NYC to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Title.

8.) Undisputed ROH World Title - Ladder War V - Adam Cole vs. Jay Briscoe: ****1/4

Obviously this match had a lot of build going into it, as Jay Briscoe & Adam Cole have been feuding for almost a year. This was a very brutal match. When talking about the violence, I would compare the story being told in here to the HBK/Jericho Ladder Match from No Mercy 2008 and Briscoes/ANX in Ladder War III from Death Before Dishonor IX, in the sense that it wasn't really about having a high flying crazy Ladder Match, but it was about pure hatred between both guys and destroying one another. You really got the sense in here that at certain points, the World Title didn't matter to Jay Briscoe, and that he just wanted to destroy Adam Cole. I know a lot of people had issues with this match, mainly Jay Briscoe bleeding, and their being several chair shots to the head delivered to both Briscoe & Cole. Personally, I don't mind blood in wrestling, as long as it saved for rare occasions and specific instances only when the feud (like this one) requires it. Same can go for the chair shots to the head, though I will agree that there were too many of them. Maybe one or two, built up as big spots, would have worked, but they did go a tad overboard with it. With the interference of Matt Hardy, Michael Bennett, Maria Kanellis & Mark Briscoe, I think it was bound to happen, but the way they did it, I think worked. It added to the drama match in my opinion. The finish was a little flat (and Cole later acknowledged in a podcast interview with the Wrestling Observer that Matt Hardy moved a ladder and screwed up the original planned finish), but that and the excessive chair shots to the head were my only real complaints. It definitely lived up to the hype of being a Ladder War. It was definitely brutal & violent. Adam Cole wins the match, and becomes the Undisputed ROH World Champion. He celebrates with Hardy, Bennett & Maria Kanellis to close the show.

Overall: 8.5/10

Bonus Disk

First up, we have some of Tommaso Ciampa's World TV Title Defenses he made while touring in Europe during the month of March.

1.) wXw (Germany) - ROH World TV Title - "Sicilian Psychopath" Tommaso Ciampa vs. Freddy Stahl: ***3/4

I've never seen Freddy Stahl before, though I have heard of them. This was a very good match. Lots of back & forth action in this one. Ciampa was his usual self, but Stahl was impressive. Ciampa gets the win and retains his title. After the match, Ciampa shows a sign of respect towards Stahl for his performance. 

2.) PCW (England) - ROH World TV Title - "Sicilian Pyschopath" Tommaso Ciampa vs. Martin Kirby: ***3/4

Pretty much the same story as the previous match. I've never seen Kirby, but I have heard of him. A pretty great match, where Ciampa got his stuff in and Kirby impressed me a good deal. Ciampa retains, and shows respect to Kirby after the match.

ROH on SBG TV Tapings
Westwego, Louisiana 4/5/14

Pre-Show

1.) Luke Hawx vs. Adam Page (with Jimmy Jacobs & TaDarius Thomas): **1/4

This was a pre-show match before the TV Tapings. Thomas had just recently joined The Decade and split from his Adrenaline RUSH partner ACH. A fine pre-show match. Both guys looked good, and put on a solid performance. Hawx gets the win.

After the match, Jimmy Jacobs abuses Adam Page following his loss, while Thomas looks on.

TV Tapings

I should note that the segment from ROH TV where Adam Cole presents Jay Briscoe's World Title to Matt Hardy, who renames it the ICONIC Title, is included on the Bonus Disk as well.

1.) Six Man Tag - ROH World Champion Adam Cole, Matt Hardy & Michael Bennett (with Maria Kanellis) vs. Kevin Steen & The Briscoes: ***

All six guys in this match have some kind of history with each other, so it's no surprise that it broke down into a brawl really quickly. We got some wrestling for a bit, but then it broke down again into a brawl. Eventually, Matt Hardy & Jay Briscoe brawled to the back, and shortly thereafter, Cole is able to pin Mark Briscoe for the win.

After the match, there is more brawling. Eventually, Kevin Steen gets his hands on Adam Cole, and powerbombs him twice onto the timekeeper's table (which doesn't break). He then celebrates with the ROH World Title, which builds towards his match with Adam Cole at Global Wars.

Future Of Honor I 
Newville, PA 4/18/14

1.) Six Man Tag - Vinny Marseglia, Jimmy Nutts & Nick Blackwell vs. Sam Shields, Tim Donst & Ken Phoenix: ***1/2

This match is from the Future of Honor I Show that took place a few weeks after Supercard of Honor VIII. I believe the show will get its own DVD release, but for now, we have a match from that show as bonus content. Tim Donst getting a shot here in ROH makes me happy, because he completely deserves a shot. Vinny Marseglia has made several appearances in ROH previously, but I haven't heard much about the other four guys. In my opinion, this stole the show. A pretty good six man tag. Lots of great back & forth action. The babyface team led by Marseglia gets the win (I'll go into more detail on this match and others from this show in my Future of Honor I Review).

The Bonus Disk also includes Episode 2 of The Fish Tank, a recap of the main show, and promos from both Adam Cole & Jay Briscoe.

Overall: 9.0/10

First, I'll talk about the Supercard of Honor VIII event itself. It was a pretty great show. The undercard was very good, Elgin/Steen was Match Of The Night for sure, and Ladder War V lived up to the hype in terms of violence and brutality. Plus it was really good see that ROH had a massive crowd for this show, as the venue looked PACKED on all sides. So on the whole, the event itself was really good. Then comes the content of the bonus disk. The pre-show matches were fine but nothing much else. The Six-Man Tag from ROH TV was good, and the Six-Man Tag from the Future Of Honor I Show was really good. The real appeal to me, in terms of the Bonus Disk are the Tommaso Ciampa World TV Title defenses in Europe. Both matches were very good, and Freddy Stahl & Martin Kirby were very impressive. To sum everything up, I think the Collector's Edition of Supercard of Honor VIII is an awesome set. The actual show was great, and the Bonus Disk does have a decent amount of content that is worth seeing.

Dragon Gate USA Open The Ultimate Gate 2014 Review

Chris Hero goes to war with Masato Tanaka and Ricochet challenges Johnny Gargano!!

Dragon Gate USA Open The Ultimate Gate 2014
New Orleans, Louisiana 4/4/14

1.) Open The United Gate Tag Team Titles - The Bravado Brothers (with Moose) vs. The Premiere Athlete Brand (Anthony Nese & Caleb Konley with Su Yung & Mr. A): **1/2

Here we have a match that.....seems very strange. Why are we getting a battle between the top two heel teams? It doesn't make a lot of sense. Then we saw The Bravado Brothers essentially worked this match as babyfaces. Again, makes absolutely no sense. At one point, Moose & Mr. A got involved. The match itself was decent enough, and The Bravado Brothers retain the Open The United Gate Tag Team Titles.

After the match, The Premiere Athlete Brand verbally berate Mr. A about costing them matches. This leads into...

2.) AR Fox vs. Mr. A (with Su Yung): 1/2*

So yeah, why is this match happening? Why is Mr. A wrestling?! Why are AR Fox's talents being wasted?! I just don't understand. But wait, this match gets even crazier (in a bad way). SHINE Champion Ivelisse comes out and brawls with Su Yung (and we get that God Awful "Catfight" line again). Then, Larry Dallas comes out, and who does he have with him? TEDDY HART!!! Yes, that Teddy Hart, who also brought along his freaking CAT with him!! What is going on?!?! Hart attacks both AR Fox & Mr. A, and for some reason the referee doesn't call for the DQ. AR Fox finally is able to put away Mr. A and this disaster of a match was over. The Premiere Athlete Brand have yet to win a match this weekend.

3.) Biff Busick vs. Rich Swann: ***

After the mess that was the first two matches, we finally got back to some wrestling. This was a pretty solid match. A clash of styles for sure, but good wrestling nonetheless. Swann is able to pick up the win.

4.) The Colony (Fire Ant & Green Ant) vs. The Gentlemen's Club (Chuck Taylor & Drew Gulak): ***1/4

Very interesting matchup. All these guys are entertaining wrestlers, and it was no surprise that this was an entertaining match. Three out of the four are CHIKARA regulars so it was no surprise that they put out a solid performance. The Colony is able to pick up the win over The Gentlemen's Club. Dragon Gate USA & Evolve need some help with their tag team division, and establishing The Colony as potential contenders certainly helps.

After the match, a visibly angry Drew Gulak attacks Chuck Taylor and cuts a promo basically saying The Gentlemen's Club is over and done with.

5.) Low Ki vs. Trent Baretta: ***1/2

Dragon Gate USA decided to bring in Low Ki (who had apparently retired, but decided to come out of it) as sort of an apology for there being no Dragon Gate Talent on these shows. Despite many people's opinions on Low Ki (including myself), he put on a very good match with Trent Baretta. Very good action from both guys. To the surprise of many, Trent Baretta not only wins the match, but wins cleanly!! Pretty solid stuff.

6.) Evolve Champion Chris Hero vs. Masato Tanaka: ****1/2

Masato Tanaka coming in was also a make good for the lack of Dragon Gate Talent. This was an AWESOME Match. I feel like, after watching this match, that Hero & Tanaka were almost perfect opponents for each other. Tanaka was especially impressive, when you consider that he's 41 Years Old and all of the punishment he's taken in his career. Great hard hitting action. Tanaka gets the win in a fantastic match.

7.) Open The Freedom Gate Title - Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet: ****3/4

Ricochet got this title shot when he scored the winning fall in the Dragon Gate Six Man Tag from last year's WrestleMania Weekend (where the winner of the fall I believe got a Title Shot at any title they wanted or got to book any match they wanted). Ricochet was also coming off of winning the Open The Dream Gate Title in Japan (Dragon Gate's Main Title) a few weeks earlier (the first Gaijin to win that title). Gargano has been Open The Freedom Gate Champion since November 2011. This was simply an amazing, fantastic match!!! Both these guys are two of the best in the world, and they certainly proved it in this match. Just an outstanding match from start to finish. Even with the ref bump towards the end, I think it added more drama to the match. The crowd was really into it as well, especially after the numerous near falls. After a great exchange, Ricochet is able to put Gargano away with The Benadryller to finally end the match and wins The Open The Freedom Gate Title!!!! Everyone needs to see this match. It's incredibly awesome.

Following the match, the faces on the roster come out and celebrate with Ricochet as the show goes off the air.

Overall: 8.5/10

After a shaky start to the weekend with Evolve 28, Dragon Gate USA put out a pretty great show. Despite having the show start off a little rocky with two questionable matches (and the appearance of Teddy Hart), every match after that, starting with Biff Busick vs. Rich Swann, got better than the previous match, and my ratings reflect that. This is what Dragon Gate USA needs to do. Don't go overboard with the booking. Just put guys together in a match and let them wrestle. You don't need to do ridiculous stuff with Teddy Hart & Larry Dallas. Great wrestling is what Dragon Gate USA & Evolve were built on. That's what other independent promotions like Ring of Honor & PWG were built on. When you just let the guys wrestle, you have a great shows like this where you had a few undercard matches that were solid, a fantastic semi main event (Hero/Tanaka), and a Main Event that is definitely a Match Of The Year Candidate. So in summary, this show had a rough start, but really picked up and had two matches that delivered in every conceivable way (two matches well worth your money), and included a great moment in Ricochet ending Gargano's nearly two and a half year title reign.

Evolve 28 Review

Chris Hero defends the Evolve Title against Trent Baretta!

Evolve 28
New Orleans, Louisiana 4/3/14

I should note that the setting for the WWNLive Shows is interesting. The ring is essentially on an auditorium stage, with seats on the stage surrounding three sides of the ring, and the actual auditorium seats being the fourth side.

1.) Biff Busick vs. Drew Gulak: ***1/2

These two met in the finals of the 2014 Style Battle Tournament at Evolve 24 in an awesome match. It wasn't nearly as good as that match, but it was still very good. Whenever you get these two in a ring together, it's always going to be a great, and this was not different. Very technical match. Biff Busick is able to get the win (I think one of his first against Gulak) after a great exchange via submission.

2.) Green Ant vs. Maxwell Chicago: **1/4

I was so disappointed when this was announced. Nothing against Maxwell Chicago, but Green Ant deserves SOOOOOO much better than a comedy match. He's been having great matches all over the place, and although I know he can do these types of matches based on his work in CHIKARA, I feel on this big of a weekend, it was kind of beneath him. As far as the match goes, it was fine for what it was. Harmless fun. Green Ant gets the win via submission.

3.) AR Fox vs. Caleb Konley (with Su Yung & Mr. A): ***1/2

Back at Way of the Ronin in February, Caleb Konley joined the Premiere Athlete Brand, attack AR Fox & Chris Hero in the process, thus setting up this match. Su Yung & Mr. A accompany Konley at ringside. This was a very good match. Lots of great back & forth action between both guys. But then came the end of the match. Konley is able counter the Lo Mien Pain, and hits AR Fox with a Death Valley Driver from the top rope to the apron!!! That got a massive reaction from the crowd!! After Konley throws Fox back in the ring, he is able to get a quick rollup on Konley for the win. This was the same type of BS Finish that we saw in the Jigsaw/Fire Ant Match from Way of the Ronin. It's both head-scratching & frustrating. A great match ruined by a horribly booked finish.

Caleb Konley, Su Yung & Mr. A attack AR Fox after the match.

4.) Open The United Gate Tag Team Titles - The Bravado Brothers (with Moose) vs. The Gentlemen's Club (Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy with Drew Gulak): **

This is sort of a mini feud that began at the last Dragon Gate USA Shows where (I believe) Moose took out Orange Cassidy. If The Gentlemen's Club don't win the titles here, they can no longer challenge for the titles as long as The Bravado Brothers are champions. The match was just kind of there, and the crowd didn't seem to care about it too much (which can be said about most of the Bravado Brothers/Gentlemen's Club Matches). The Tag Team Division in Dragon Gate USA/Evolve has been really lackluster lately, and it would continue throughout the weekend.

After the match, Orange Cassidy walks out on the Gentlemen's Club, literally through the crowd and out the door.

For those who were watching the live iPPV, there was a 45 Minute Intermission. Before the next match, Larry Dallas came out for an interview. I honestly didn't care.

I should note that the next two matches were sort of "Pick Your Poison" Style Matches, with Johnny Gargano picking Ricochet's opponent & Ricochet picking Gargano's opponent.

5.) Ricochet vs. Anthony Nese (with Su Yung & Mr. A): ***1/2

These two had a match at Freedom Fight 2013, which Nese won. This was a pretty good match. Despite the fact that there was a slip up towards the end, it was still very solid, which is exactly what you would expect from these two. Ricochet, who won Dragon Gate's Open The Dream Gate Title in Japan a few weeks prior, defeats Nese in this match.

After the match, Johnny Gargano (who was on commentary), comes out and cuts a promo on Ricochet, talking about his accolades since winning the title in late-2011. This led to Ricochet being attacked by Gargano, but Rich Swann comes out to make the save, leading to the next match...

6.) Johnny Gargano vs. Rich Swann: ***1/2

There have been a number of matches between these two since Gargano turned heel last year. I actually thought this was another solid match, though far from their best. Much like some matches earlier on, there was a lot of great action, but the ending did affect the match on the whole, though I think what Gargano did to win the match (using his title belt while the referee was distracted) wasn't nearly as bad compared to what happened earlier.

Following the match, Gargano continues to attack Swann until Ricochet comes out and hits Gargano with his new finisher, The Benadryller.

7.) Evolve Title - Chris Hero vs. Trent Baretta (with Su Yung & Mr. A): ***1/2

In an embarrassing moment, Hero forgot to bring out the Evolve Title. This match came about after what happened at Way of the Ronin, where following Hero's Evolve Title win, Trent Baretta laid out a verbal tirade towards Hero, which led to an attack by The Premiere Athlete Brand. Much like earlier, this match actually had some very solid action throughout, but once again, the booking hurt it in the end. Essentially, Hero was able to channel his inner-John Cena, as he was able to overcome interference from the entire Premiere Athlete Brand as well as a loaded kneepad from Baretta to retain his title. Did I mention there was a ref bump as well? When I think about this match, it reminds me a lot of the Davey Richards/Eddie Edwards ROH World Title Match from Final Battle 2011. A match that, on paper, should have been great, but was hampered by overbooking. I've seen some people lambast this match, but the actual wrestling wasn't that bad at all (although the match did go a little longer than it probably should have). 

Overall: 7.5/10

I've seen a lot of negative things said about Evolve 28. In regards to that, I though that the show was not as bad as everyone claims it was. From a strictly in-ring standpoint, most of the wrestling was pretty solid. Gulak/Busick, Fox/Konley, Ricochet/Nese, Gargano/Swann, and even the main event, all had good wrestling content. The problems that came with this show was mostly the booking, particularly when it came to the finishes of a lot of these matches. They literally did the same ending in the Fox/Konley match that they did in the Fire Ant/Jigsaw match from Way of the Ronin, and both times they made no sense. Why did Chris Hero need to look like John Cena? Why did Trent Baretta and the rest of the Premiere Athlete Brand come off as a bunch of fools for not being able to beat down Hero despite all of their interference? Couple that with the deteriorating Tag Team Division and, what I feel like, is the criminal misuse of Green Ant's abilities, and there you have a lot problems coupled with many questions. So in summary, Evolve 28 was a pretty average wrestling show that was hampered by bad booking, which is not something you want to have during WrestleMania Weekend.

PWG Mystery Vortex II Review

Candice LaRae & The Best Friends challenge Mount Rushmore for PWG Gold!!

Much like the original Mystery Vortex in 2012, the entire card was a complete mystery the day of the show. Let's see what PWG could cook up!

PWG Mystery Vortex II
Reseda, California 3/28/14

1.) Triple Threat Match - Cedric Alexander vs. Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett: ****

These three men have all made names for themselves on the independent scene in North Carolina, and two of them have made their way in ROH (Alexander has been there for a few years while Everett debuted very recently). This was awesome!! Just nonstop action from bell to bell!! The PWG Fans really took a quick likely to all three guys. I know Alexander & Everett are already in ROH, but somebody needs to sign Trevor Lee ASAP!!! He deserves to be on the ROH or Dragon Gate USA/Evolve roster. Everett gets the win in an incredible balls-to-the-walls affair!

2.) Six-Man Tag Team Match - Peter Avalon & The RockNES Monsters vs. Joey Ryan, B-Boy & Willie Mack: ***

As the match starts, Excalibur notes that there have been three earthquakes in the Southern California/Los Angeles Area since the show started (which is true, there were earthquakes that happened during the show), which apparently weren't felt inside the building due to the crowd being so loud. Excalibur explains that the very nature of the show starting, the opening match, and this match were the cause of it (Also, I heard Trevor Lee claimed responsibility on Twitter, saying his double stop was to blame). Joey Ryan wants to say the B-Boy/Willie Mack team name, but they won't let him. Avalon & The RockNES Monsters are going by the team name of the GameBoy Bezerkers, which was a pretty cool name. This was a pretty solid match. We've seen a lot of these lower card six-man tags with SoCal talent before, and this was no different. Ryan, B-Boy & Mack get the win in an entertaining match.

3.) Anthony Nese vs. Roderick Strong: ***1/4

Interesting ROH vs. Dragon Gate USA/Evolve Match here (well, not really since Strong wrestles for both now, but whatever). It wasn't the best match in the world but it was still very solid. Whenever you have a Roderick Strong match, it's always going to be good at the very least, and this was no different. Nese got in his offense, but it would be Strong who picks up the win.

4.) Three-Way Tag Team Match - The African American Wolves vs. The Inner City Machine Guns vs. The Unbreakable F'N Machines: ****1/4

Three teams were all in DDT4 2014. This was a pretty great match!! Everyone got to show their stuff in this one. At one point, Brian Cage did a moonsault from the top rope to the floor, after Elgin did a running dive to the outside!! Insanity!! Anyway, the only real complaint I can make is that the match went too long. I think it could have easily been Match of the Night if it went 20 Minutes. Instead, it continued for another 10 Minutes. Still, despite the exhausting length, the match was crazy, fun, and insane in all sorts of ways. Enjoyable stuff. Elgin & Cage get the win.

5.) "Sicilian Psychopath" Tommaso Ciampa vs. Chris Hero: ***1/2

I've seen some people not like this match as much, but I enjoyed it. It was a hard hitting, as you would expect with Ciampa's Knee Strikes & Hero's Kicks/Elbows. Pretty enjoyable, especially if you're the type of person who loves guys who do a lot of strikes. Hero is able to make Ciampa tap out to the Stretch Plum for the win.

6.) Johnny Gargano vs. Kyle O'Reilly: ****1/2

These two have both challenged Adam Cole in the past for the PWG World Title. Even though Drake Younger won a #1 Contender's Fatal Four-Way at DDT4 2014, but he would end up getting signed by WWE, and wouldn't be able to cash in his title shot. Thus, this is basically a de facto #1 Contender's Match. This was amazing!!! Even though it was a little long like the Three-Way Tag Team Match earlier in the night, it was an incredible contest between the two. The exchanges and counters these two did were insane. These two are without question some of the best wrestlers in the world today, and they further proved that in this match. Johnny Gargano is fantastic, and Kyle O'Reilly has, in my eyes, definitely surpassed his mentor Davey Richards. O'Reilly gets Gargano to tap out for the victory.

7.) PWG World Tag Team Titles - The Young Bucks vs. Best Friends: ***3/4

Chuck Taylor & Trent? won DDT4 to earn this title shot. Also, Matt Jackson is still wearing his cast on his arm from his injury. This was not nearly as long as some of the other matches, but I thought it was still pretty good. The Young Bucks were fantastic like they always are, and, despite only being together for less than a year, Taylor & Trent? have really jelled together as a team. There were a number a false finishers coupled with what some might seen as overbooking, but I actually think they really worked here, as the crowd reacted very strongly to them. After all sorts of chicanery, The Young Bucks were able to retain their titles.

8.) PWG World Title - Adam Cole vs. Candice LaRae: ***1/2

Cole issues an Open Challenge for the PWG World Title, and Candice LaRae answers the call. This was originally supposed to take place during All-Star Weekend X, but Chris Hero's return changed those plans. Of course nobody expected this to be anything spectacular, but for what it was, it was great. Candice LaRae was a great underdog and the crowd was into her as they always are, while Cole played the dick heel perfectly. She took a massive beating, but fought back and took the fight to the PWG World Champion. Even though she lost, it was a star making performance for Candice without a doubt.

After the match, Candice gets a standing ovation. Cole hugs her out of respect but it's a trap, as Nick Jackson shows up and Cole throws Candice into a superkick!! Joey Ryan runs into the ring with a chair to chase Mount Rushmore off as the show comes to a close.

Overall: 8.75/10 

I've been hearing a lot of people say that PWG hasn't been that good lately, compared to the late 2011-mid 2013 "Golden Era", and after watching this show, I honestly don't know why people are saying that. This was a pretty great show. You have a two awesome three way matches, one with three newcomers to PWG and the other being great despite the length. Then you had Gargano/O'Reilly which could be a sleeper for PWG Match of the Year, and two highly anticipated title matches that were both exciting in their own right. Throw in a few more solid undercard matches, and you have the makings of a truly enjoyable show.

ROH Flyin' High Review

AJ Styles & Chris Hero clash for the first time in Ring of Honor!!

ROH Flyin' High
Dayton, Ohio 3/22/14

1.) The Decade (with Adam Page) vs. Adrenaline RUSH & Caprice Coleman: ***1/2

Adam Page is once again in the corner of The Decade, doing their bidding. I actually think this is the best Six Man Tag Team Match The Decade has been in to date. Great action here from everyone involved. ACH changed it up a bit and did the "Tyler Black-Backwards-Running-Flip-Dive" instead of his usual "Air Jordan" which was pretty cool. Lots of back & forth towards the end of the match, but The Decade is able to pull out the win.

Up next is ROH World Champion Adam Cole. He calls out The Briscoes and wants to fight the both of them right now!! Instead, we got Michael Bennett & Maria Kanellis came out dressed as The Briscoes (Bennett as Jay and Maria as Mark). They looked ridiculous. Essentially they use this opportunity to make fun on The Briscoes (such as saying that they suck and aren't better than Adam Cole, giving the Doomsday Device onto a rubber chicken, etc...), until the real Briscoes come through the crowd and chase them off! Jay Briscoe proclaims that the Real World Champion is in the building and that Cole & Bennett are going to get it in the Main Event.

2.) Four-Corner Survival - The Romantic Touch vs. Silas Young vs. "Barrister" RD Evans (with Veda Scott & Ramon) vs. Kyle O'Reilly: **1/2

While everyone was making their entrances, Silas Young threw RD Evan's "61-0" sign and it hit Kevin Kelly in the eye. Corino was alone on commentary for a bit but Kelly returned by the end of the match. This was actually pretty average by Four Corner Survival standards. Decent stuff, but not much else. Towards the end, Silas started attacking everyone with the leather strap he's been carrying around since Final Battle. The ref disqualifies him from the match but it continues as a Triple Threat, which was kind of strange, but whatever. RD Evans is able to escape with the win, in a creative finish, and goes to 64-0!! #TheNewStreak is over with the Dayton faithful!

3.) "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin vs. Cedric Alexander: ****1/2

THIS....WAS....AMAZING!!! Just awesome stuff from bell to bell. Elgin was his great usual self, while Cedric looked just incredible. Lots of great action from both guys and the crowd was into it by the end. Elgin gets the win but Alexander comes out of it looking awesome. Amazing performances.

4.) Kevin Steen vs. Bobby Fish (with Kyle O'Reilly): **

Here we had a match that was mostly Steen & Fish exchanging holds for five minutes with Steen making fun of Fish. He actually got the fans to chant for the ropes and Steen said they were more popular than Fish! This leads to Steen shooting a snot rocket at reDRagon and O'Reilly attacks Steen, causing a the DQ. Fine stuff for what it was, but it mainly served to set up the next segment and match.

reDRagon start to beat up Kevin Steen, but RD Evans makes the save with a ridiculous briefcase. Steen takes the mic and calls Kyle O'Reilly an "Illegal Weapon" (which the got over with the crowd big time). Kyle has a great response by saying "I know what I am. I'm not ashamed of it". Steen says that the tickets guarantee that the fans get to see Steen kick some ass, and challenge reDRagon to a tag team match. reDRagon don't want to wrestle a makeshift tag team, and make fun of Evans in particular. Steen says that he used to tag with someone who wasn't a typical wrestler, but now he's one of the best wrestler in the world. They eventually entice Fish & O'Reilly enough to make them accept the challenge!!

5.) Kevin Steen & "Barrister" RD Evans vs. reDRagon: ***

Honestly, how can you go wrong with four of the most entertaining characters in ROH in one match? We got a "Stretch Bobby Stretch" Chant and the Steen/Evans team got in some good tandem offense. Steen goes to pin Fish after the Package Piledriver but O'Reilly breaks up the pin with a chair for the DQ, giving the win to Steen & Evans, thus extending #TheNewStreak!!. Even though it had a DQ ending, the match was really entertaining.

Afterwords, Steen puts over #TheNewStreak!

6.) ROH World TV Title - "Sicilian Psychopath" Tommaso Ciampa vs. Matt Taven: ***1/4

Here we have a rematch from Final Battle. This was a fine match, but the crowd was kinda quiet in certain parts and of course Truth Martini got involved by getting Seleyzia Sparx to low blow Taven. Ciampa wins with an inverted Project Ciampa from an Electric Chair Position (basically he drops him gut first instead of back first). Again, it was a solid match, but once again, we have a Ciampa Title Defense that involves interference.

7.) Chris Hero vs. "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles: ****1/2

This is the first time these two are facing each other in ROH. An absolutely fantastic match!!! It can not be understated how HARD Chris Hero kicks people. There were at least three times in the match where Hero kicked Styles so hard that it looked like he either lost a tooth, broke his jaw, knocked him out, gave him a concussion, or a combination of all those things. Seriously brutal stuff, but at the same time, AJ fought back hard. I really enjoyed this. Awesome stuff. This might be Hero's best match since coming back to the indies. Same for Styles, who is able to get the win with that Calf Killer.

After the match, Jimmy Jacobs comes out, and The Decade attack Chris Hero, laying him out.

8.) The Briscoes vs. ROH World Champion Adam Cole & Michael Bennett (with Maria Kanellis): ***3/4

I think this was definitely better than their match from Philly TV Tapings in February. They got more time and it really made the match better. Corino noted that this was Bennett's first time Main Eventing an ROH show, which was pretty interesting. Towards the end of the match, Bennett puts Mark though a table with the Box Office Smash and Jay battles Cole for a few minutes afterwords, which leads to Jay getting another pinfall victory over Cole. Pretty solid main event.

Afterwords, as The Briscoes are celebrating, Cole & Bennett come back and attack them. Eventually Michael Elgin comes out and chases them off to close the show.

Overall: 8.75/10

With this being only two weeks from the big WrestleMania Weekend Shows, you think this was going to be a B-Show. Instead we got one of the best house shows of the year. Elgin/Alexander and Hero/Styles were both awesome and are well worth your money. While you might not like the prospect of two straight matches ending in a DQ, it actually worked really well (mainly because it involved four of the most entertaining characters in ROH). Steen, Evans, and reDRagon are just so much fun to watch. The main event was a great build to Supercard of Honor VIII. In short, this was a pretty great show. Definitely worth checking out.

ROH Raising The Bar: Night 2 Review

The World Title & World Tag Team Titles are on the line in two big matches!!

ROH Raising The Bar: Night 2

Chicago Ridge, Illinois 3/8/14

Pre-Show

1.) Will Ferrera vs. Jake Dirden: *1/4

Nothing really much to this one. Essentially it was a showcase match for Dirden, who was a very interesting look, and much like Hanson, his looked makes him fit right in with The Wyatt Family. I guess being a tall guy with long hair and a massive beard is an in-trend in pro-wrestling right now. Dirden gets the win.

Main Show

1.) "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin vs. Tyson Dux: ***

Kevin Kelly & Steve Corino put over how Elgin was a student of Tyson Dux. This was a pretty solid opener. You could tell these guys knew each other, and it showed in this match. The action got good towards the end of the match, and Elgin picked up the win. Impressive outing by Elgin and, as I mentioned in my review of Raising The Bar: Night 1, it was nice to see Dux in ROH again.

After the match, Elgin cuts a promo putting over his mentor.

2.) Adrenaline RUSH vs. The Decade (BJ Whitmer & Roderick Strong with Jimmy Jacobs & Adam Page): ***

The Decade come out with Adam Page, who is wearing The Decade's T-Shirt and is carry a bucket with The Decade's logo on it. He holds the curtain & the ropes open for them, wipes down the ropes, and even cleans BJ Whitmer's mouthpiece. Jacobs cuts a promo explaining that Page is there to do whatever The Decade asks them to do (whether that be driving them from town to town, getting them food, carrying their bags, and so on). He also mentions on commentary during the match that Adam Page is their "young boy", and not an official member of The Decade. As far as the match goes, it was fine. Nice to see The Decade mix things up with their tag team pairings. Their were a few sloppy moments, but the match was relatively solid. The Decade pick up the win.

3.) Michael Bennett (with Maria Kanellis) vs. Jay Lethal: ***1/4

There was one Michael Bennett fan in the front row (wearing his pink Michael Bennett T-Shirt) and he was hilarious! He got to interact with Bennett & Maria and even got the T-Shirt that Bennett wore to the ring. The match itself was pretty good. These two have met on a few occasions, and they've seemingly always produced. They did a funny spot at the beginning which almost saw Maria kiss Bennett's "ding dong" (as Steve Corino would say). We also saw Lethal express some frustration during the match, and eventually Bennett was able to pick up the win with a handful of tights.

4.) No DQ Match - Outlaw Inc. vs. The Briscoes: ***1/2

This match originally started as a standard tag team match, but that didn't last long, as the two teams brawled to the outside and weapons were quickly introduced. The match ended as a No Contest, but Nigel McGuinness decided to restart the match under No DQ Rules. The crowd was really into it in the first part but seemingly got a little quieter as the match went on. I thought this was a pretty entertaining No DQ Match. It's going to be good when you have four guys in there who excel at this type of match. At one point, Kingston hit a hurricanrana from the top rope, which was a pretty cool thing to see. The Briscoes were eventually able to pick up the win in what was definitely Outlaw Inc.'s best ROH match to date.

There was a segment that took place on the main show that, for some reason, was pushed to the bonus features. Essentially The Romantic Touch came out and starting seducing Scarlett Bordeaux, who was doing the ring announcing. They ended up kissing and The Romantic Touch gave Scarlett his rose.

5.) Matt Taven vs. Silas Young: ***1/4

Here we have a rematch from the 12th Anniversary Show a few weeks prior, which was won by Taven. I thought this was step up from their first match. Good action in this one. Truth Martini appeared about the entrance stage, which distracted Taven long enough for Silas Young to capitalize and pick up the win. Martini then fell backwards off the top of the stage (purposefully) and vanished.

After the match, Young demanded that Taven shake his hand, but Taven responded but attacking Young and hitting him with the Frog Splash.

6.) Kevin Steen vs. Cedric Alexander: ***1/2

I think it's fair to say that this was probably Alexander's biggest singles match in ROH to date. Not the amazing you might have expected, but it was still a very good match. Lots of solid action in this one, including Kevin Steen hitting this jumping moonsault that is absolutely incredible for a guy of his size. Steen eventually gets the win with the Package Piledriver. 

Towards the end of the match. Outlaw Inc. came out and watched from the ramp, with Kingston smoking a cigarette and Homicide eating a giant bowl of....something. Steen calls them out for not fighting him with heart like Alexander did. They nearly get into a brawl but are separated.

7.) ROH World Tag Team Titles - reDRagon vs. The Young Bucks: ****1/2

I forgot to mention this in my Raising The Bar: Night 1 Review, but a few weeks prior to this match, Matt Jackson suffered a broken hand while wrestling in New Japan, and was wearing a cast on both that show and this show. I also forgot to mention that The Young Bucks are still the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions coming into this match. Now, as for the match, I LOVED IT!!! These two teams just clicked from the opening and provided some great tag team wrestling. The match especially picked up down the stretch, with lots of great back & forth double teams, and got really awesome. Even Matt Jackson's cast became involved as a weapon. After a great finishing sequence, Nick Jackson was able to reverse a submission hold put on by O'Reilly into a pin and got the three count!! The Young Bucks are your NEW Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions!! Just and amazing match from start to finish, and a great moment with The Young Bucks winning the belts.

8.) ROH World Title - Ringmaster's Challenge - Adam Cole vs. Chris Hero: ***3/4

For those of you who have forgotten or aren't familiar, a Ringmaster's Challenge is essentially a 2/3 Falls Match. The first fall is pinfalls only, the second fall is submissions only, and the third fall, if necessary, is a 15 Minute Iron Man Match. In a quick break down of the falls, Cole won the first fall, Hero won the second fall, and the Iron Man Match ended in a draw. There was really good action here, but the crowd seemingly got tired out and quiet for most of the 15 Minute Iron Man Match. Two things here that I should note. Firstly, I think this showed that the crowd didn't think Hero had a chance to win here, though they got back into it a bit during the overtime period. Secondly, I think the 15 Minute Iron Man Match seems to be the flaw of this match when it comes to the crowd reaction. Still, there were elements of this I enjoyed. I though the bit in the Iron Man Match where Cole intentionally got himself disqualified after using his title belt on Hero, but then took the opportunity of a laid out Chris Hero to get two straight falls was genius! Speaking of the Iron Man Match, it ends in a 3-3 tie, but Nigel McGuinness says the match with continue in Sudden Death Overtime!! We then get a good minute or two flurry of action that really gets the crowd back into it, but Cole is able to catch Hero off guard with a backslide to get the win and retains his World Title.

Overall: 8.75/10

I thought that this went about the same way as Raising The Bar: Night 1 did. A consistent undercard (with Steen/Alexander & Outlaw Inc/Briscoes leading the charge) with some pretty great main event matches. The World Tag Team Title Match makes this show must see and is definitely the leading candidate for ROH Match of the Year thus far. While the Ringmaster's Challenge might not be for everyone, I thought it was a very solid main event. In comparison, I'd put this slightly over Raising The Bar: Night 1 for the World Tag Team Title change alone (it's a pretty big moment). A very good show on the whole.