Ring of Honor TV Recap: 6/21/2018
It’s the go-home show for Best in the World.
So here it is: The go-home show for Best in the World 2018.
I am writing this recap two days before the PPV is due to air (June 29th), so although it may be delayed, it has helped me to get psyched for the show. On paper, the show looks interesting and I’m hopeful there will be some exciting matches. Also, I have been working on the “ROH/MSG” situation article this week, so keep an eye out for that soon.
Along with the PPV, the big ROH related news that grabbed my attention recently was the announcement that Adam “Hangman” Page will be taking part in the NJPW 1st G1 Climax tournament this summer. I have always been a huge fan of Page’s in-ring work and style. At times, he has been severely underutilised in Ring of Honor, so I am delighted that he is getting such a huge opportunity in NJPW to show what he can do.
As always, any improvements, criticisms, feedback or suggestions are all welcome via the website or my Twitter account (@SteJay215).
Venue – Hammerstein Ballroom – Manhattan NY.
Commentary Team – Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana (Whole Show)
Opening up the show, we had an in-ring promo from Ring of Honor World Champion Dalton Castle (with his “Boys,” of course), hyping up his main event match at Best in the World. The crowd gave Castle a great reception as he proceeded to explain why he is, and will still be, Ring of Honor World Champion after Friday. I was expecting a lot more from this promo, but unfortunately it felt quite flat, which is a shame as Castle is usually such a brilliant talker. Something just seemed to be missing for me, and even with the humorous pretzel prop, it still didn’t work. A disappointing start to this show.
Up next was a video montage looking at Jay Lethal’s path to reclaiming a title shot, where he has to defeat all the opponents who have previously defeated him in order to do so. This is a really cool concept, much like the “Defy or Deny” matches ROH occasionally does, and you really felt Lethal’s passion.
Match 1. Chuckie T. vs. Jay Lethal (Referee = Todd Sinclair)
Before the match, we had a brief inset promo during Lethal’s entrance explaining that Chuckie T. got lucky on their first meeting (which was a triple threat match in May that also included Jay White), and that it will be Lethal who is victorious this time around. While the crowd reacted strongly to Chuckie T., they were firmly behind hometown boy Lethal. Off topic, Lethal’s entrance music is awesome!
The Code of Honor was adhered to by both men and this match was a standard back-and-forth affair. I mentioned last week how Chuckie T. can get on my nerves with his comedy antics, and I forgot to mention that I do have a tendency to find his matches quite boring. This was another example. There were notable spots such as Lethal hitting three missile dives through the ropes to the floor, as well as an awesome-looking Ace Cutter by Lethal on the floor, too. Ultimately, this match just did not do it for me. An ordinary TV match.
Winner = Jay Lethal
There was a video package hyping Flip Gordon vs. Bully Ray for Best in the World, which, if you read my ROH recap from 3 weeks ago, you’ll hear my opinions on this whole scenario.
After this there was a selection of pre-taped promos hyping up the other matches for Friday. The stand outs were definitely Lethal, Briscoe Brothers and the three opponents in the main event. Castle’s studio promo outshone his in-ring promo in every way. Short and to the point, and all were great ways to hype the show.
Match 2. – Main Event: Punishment Martinez and the Briscoes vs. Bullet Club [6-Man Tag Team Match] (Referee = Paul Turner)
Last week’s main event in Chicago was a fantastic 10-man tag team showcase between LIJ and the Bullet Club. With that match, I thought I had seen the best multi-man tag match I would see in a long time. How wrong I was. The main event of this week’s show (previewing two of the big matches for Best in the World) outshone the main event of last week’s show in every way. Although there were fewer wrestlers involved, everything was better, and it’s one of the best 6-man tag team matches I’ve ever seen.
New York native Punishment Martinez was out first and got a huge ovation, followed by his partners ROH World Tag Team Champions the Briscoes, sporting some awesome T-shirts that said “Watch the Damn Tapes”. Then the Bullet Club’s music hit, and the Hammerstein Ballroom exploded for Page and The Young Bucks (former ROH Six-Man Tag Champions, I might add). What followed, much like last week’s main-event, was a 20-minute frenzy of high-risk moves, hard-hitting strikes and non-stop action. The Code of Honor was not followed.
I won’t give all of the match away, but some of the best moments included Page being thrown off the turnbuckle to the apron by Martinez in a nasty spot, Nick Jackson being taken out by Mark Briscoe with a vicious chair shot to the head, and Matt Jackson taking a brutal Jay Driller, only for Page to make the save and stop the pin in the nick of time. The crowd were with all six men the entire time, and the atmosphere was electric. The most complimentary thing was the fans chanting “Fight Forever”, which shows just how good this match was.
Just as last week, I won’t spoil the finish, but Martinez and Page were the real stars of this main event, and I am really excited for their match at the PPV.
Winners = Bullet Club
After the main event, the Briscoes got some cheap shots on the Bullet Club until Cody made the save. Finally, Ian Riccaboni plugged the PPV and there was an awesome PPV main event hype video to finish off the show.
Conclusion
This was definitely the weakest of the three shows I have recapped so far. It is a shame as this was the go-home show for the PPV, but sadly, came off quite flat. The only content this week was two matches and an in-ring promo. But, to counteract that, the main event of this show is by far the best ROH match I have seen in a long time, and reason enough to watch this week. Skip everything up to the main event as believe me you will not be disappointed and remember to order Best in the World 2018!
You can watch the latest episode for free on:
ROH’s Official Website – www.rohwrestling.com/current-tv-episode
Fite TV – www.fite.tv/watch/roh-353/2o6uo/
To finish this week, here are my predictions for Best in the World 2018:
Kenny King vs. Austin Aries – WINNER = Austin Aries
Punishment Martinez vs. Adam Page [ROH TV Title: Street Fight] – WINNER = Punishment Martinez
Jay Lethal vs. Kushida – WINNER = Jay Lethal
8 Woman Tag-Team Match – WINNERS = Team STARDOM
The Kingdom vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon [ROH World Six-Man Tag-Team Title] – WINNERS = LIJ
Flip Gordon vs. Bully Ray – WINNER = Flip Gordon
The Briscoes vs. The Young Bucks [ROH World Tag-Team Titles – WINNERS = The Briscoes
Main-Event: Dalton Castle vs. Cody vs. Marty Scurll [ROH World Title] – WINNER = Dalton Castle
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