ROH Weekly Recap: 6/29/2018
It’s a hot Lucha Libre main event this week on ROH TV.
So “Best in the World 2018” is in the history books.
I am yet to see the event, but from the reviews I have read online, the show sounded to be excellent. I tweeted my predictions, and all but two were right, which I was quite proud of. Yet, probably the most exciting ROH news this week happened the day after the PPV and overshadowed the whole event!
In Fairfax, Virginia, Dalton Castle lost his ROH World Championship to Jay Lethal in a four-way match that also included Cody and Matt Taven. As you can probably imagine, I was quite shocked by this news, given how strong Dalton Castle has been pushed over the past 18 months. But reports indicate that much like his ROH World Champion predecessors, Castle has sustained a catalog of injuries which might explain this sudden title change. Personally, I would much rather wrestlers recuperate and get healthy than struggle on hurt to hold titles. Castle is a fantastic wrestler and I wish him a speedy recovery so he can return to reclaim his ROH World Title.
The choice of Jay Lethal is interesting, given the situation surrounding Cody and the upcoming “All-In” event in September. Lethal is arguably the best pure wrestler on the roster right now and considering his recent “Defy or Deny-esque” storyline, it made sense for him to either get a shot at or reclaim the title at some point. I am unsure how long his second reign will last, but it will be a treat to see him tear up again as he did the first time in 2015 and 2016.
Another interesting point is that this match in Fairfax is an “Honor Club” exclusive, so the only way to see it is to subscribe to the “Honor Club” streaming service. I like this idea as it will not only hopefully increase the subscribers to the “Honor Club” but also helps to give the service more of a purpose than just being a digital tape library. I hope there are more exclusives like this in the future.
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 (1st Match & Main-Event) and Shane Taylor (2nd Match)
Jonathan Gresham vs. Kenny King (Referee = Todd Sinclair)
The opening match this week was between Jonathan Gresham and Kenny King, and it was the first time these two had ever wrestled against one another in singles competition. A fascinating commentary note was that Gresham has wrestled in 14 countries and on three continents, which shows just how much of a seasoned veteran he is.
The Code of Honor was adhered to by both men, leading into a very even contest with both men jockeying for position. There were some brilliant exchanges between the two that echoed the Super Crazy vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri matches in ECW. Both men worked at a really fast pace and Gresham really brought his A-game. His selling was perfect, and the force of his strikes came with fierce intent. This should have been Gresham’s coming out party, but unfortunately, King caught Gresham off guard and nailed him with his Royal Flush for the victory.
Winner = Kenny King
I thought this match was great, but two things hurt it for me:
No. 1 – The crowd was not very invested in the match, and it hurt the flow of the exchanges on TV.
No. 2 – Jonathan Gresham is a star in the making and having him lose was the wrong decision. Watching Gresham in this match shows just how talented he is, and with the right booking, he could really be something in the company. Like so many, ROH need to have confidence in him so he can get through the proverbial glass ceiling.
Following the opener, there was a short VT promo hyping the first 6-man gauntlet for the No. 1 contenders for the ROH Six-Man Tag-Team Championships in two week’s time (try and say that five times fast)!
Façade [with Dannii] vs. Josh Woods (Referee = Paul Turner)
For the next match, Shane Taylor joined Ian and Colt on commentary to get a first person look at rival Josh Woods, who took on Façade.
Before the match, there was a brief recap of the Shane Taylor vs. Josh Woods match that took place a few weeks ago to help contextualize their feud. Both men followed the Code of Honor and they had a really fun, short match.
I saw Façade wrestle many years ago in EVOLVE/DGUSA and at the time, I thought he was yet another indie spot monkey who didn’t really have much potential. I am glad to say that this match proved me wrong as Façade has improved leaps and bounds. Façade showed off some innovate offense that included a springboard missile dropkick from balancing on the top rope, while Woods showed off his amateur background with some vicious suplexes and a picture-perfect Chaos Theory that led into a big slam for the victory.
Winner = Josh Woods
Once the match had ended, Josh Woods got on the mic and called out Shane Taylor, and the two had an exchange in the arena. Josh challenged Shane to a match, but Shane wouldn’t fight in front of the NYC fans. It was your standard babyface vs. heel mic exchange, but it helped to progress the story further, and I am interested to see what happens in this feud.
The action then takes a backseat as we are shown a clip of “The DAWGs” Rhett Titus and Will Ferrera in the back searching for a partner to join them in the 6-man gauntlet in two weeks. They go to try and persuade Shane Taylor to join them and make a trio, but Shane snubs them, leaving the DAWGs to find another partner. I thought this was okay, but slightly bemused by its placement in the TV show, as Taylor had just appeared in the arena. The continuity was a bit weird, but the segment was fine.
Ian and Colt then plugged next week’s main event that is a No-Count Out, No-DQ match between Cheeseburger and Bully Ray. If you have read my ROH recaps since they began a month ago, you will know my thoughts on Bully Ray’s involvement in ROH. But, Cheeseburger has become one of the hottest attractions in the company (and outside for NJPW) and it is time to see him get a main event spot on the TV show.
A video package highlighting the key moments of their feud was shown, followed by an intense studio promo from Cheeseburger. I really want Cheeseburger to win and rid ROH of Bully Ray for good!
After this, came a series of VT plugs. One for the Best in the World replay, another for the UK Honor United and Honor ReUnited tours, and my favorite, a short “Honor is Real” montage looking at what has made (and makes) ROH the best wrestling on the planet today.
Main Event: Ultimo Guerrero vs. Matt Taven [With TK O’Ryan] (Referee = Todd Sinclair)
Ultimo Guerrero vs. Matt Taven is the first 1-on-1 ROH main event I have recapped for The Wrestling Estate. All the other main events have been tag team encounters of varying participants, which is quite remarkable.
ROH’s involvement with CMLL often gets overlooked due to the large monopoly NJPW has over the product. But, in the case of Matt Taven, he has been able to break out in the Lucha Libre promotion and it is fair to say he isn’t doing too badly. He is not only one-third of the ROH Six-Man Tag-Team Champions, but also the current CMLL NWA World Historic Welterweight Champion as well, becoming one of the biggest stars in the promotion.
I unfortunately do not keep up with Lucha Libre as much as I should, but I have read and heard nothing but positive things about Taven’s excursion down in South America. I am glad that he has been able to carve a niche for himself as I have always been a huge supporter of Taven. He is highly underappreciated as he is versatile in both singles and tag team matches, and he has a unique charisma. He is also a solid worker, and I have not seen a bad Matt Taven match since he debuted for ROH in the early 2010s.
Ian and Colt put over this match in huge fashion by saying it is another chapter in their historic feud and over a year in the making. I first saw Ultimo Guerrero (no relation to the famous Guerrero family) in TNA as a member of Team Mexico during the 2008 World X Cup and enjoyed what I saw. It is quite staggering to think that was over 10 years ago, and that Guerrero has still not lost a step, considering that he is now 46 years old. There was no Code of Honor followed by either man, and what we got was an old-school, heated 15-minute Lucha Libre showcase.
The crowd was electric from the offset, with a deafening “Lucha Libre” chant ringing over the Hammerstein Ballroom throughout the entire fight. There was classic high flying from both men with big dives to the floor. There was brutal outside brawling and running into the guardrails. There was also classic wrestling with big powerbombs, shining wizards and lionsaults. It was a brilliant TV main event and the best 1-on-1 encounter I’ve seen since beginning these recaps. Taven sneakily picked up the victory with his devastating Climax DDT (believe me, it looks vicious) thanks to interference from both members of the Kingdom, TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia.
Winner = Matt Taven
What I loved the most about this main event was that it really felt like a heavyweight Lucha Libre match, something rarely seen on TV today. The atmosphere was perfect and it was a pleasure to watch.
To close the show, Taven then took the mic and shot down Guerrero letting him know he will always be better than him and that he had nothing else to prove.
Conclusion
Out of the TV recaps I have done so far, this show definitely had the most variety on it. The opener felt like a classic ROH encounter, the second match was a short independent showcase for two hungry wrestlers, and the main event was a rare hybrid Lucha Libre match that greatly delivered. We also got hype up packages for the following week, and intriguing storyline progression with Shane Taylor. While I do think the crowd’s disinterest hurt some of the action, they made up for it in the main event, and made this a wonderful episode of ROH wrestling with something for everyone!
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-354/2o72h/
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