ROH Weekly Recap: 7/27/18
Nine thousand tickets have already been sold for the ROH-NJPW “G1 Supercard” at MSG.
The road to Death Before Dishonor has begun!
One of the staples in the Ring of Honor calendar, Death Before Dishonor takes place on September 28. We currently know that puroresu legend Jushin “Thunder” Liger is returning for the pay-per-view, and that there will be a five-on-five stable war between The Bullet Club and CHAOS.
It is no exaggeration to say I am already very excited for the show and anxious to see what else will be announced in the coming weeks.
Closer to my British home, the “Honor Re-United” tour is due to start on August 16 in Edinburgh, Scotland, before finishing off in London on August 19. The tour will feature the first ever “ROH International Cup” singles tournament, with the winner going on to challenge for the ROH World Title on the final night of the tour. Also, the tour will showcase the ROH debuts of several British independent wrestlers including Viper, Jimmy Havoc and Kip Sabian.
I am looking at going to the Doncaster event where the Briscoes are set to battle British legends Jonny Storm and Jody Fleisch, who are no strangers to ROH as they both debuted back in 2002 at “Road to the Title.” The last time they appeared was during the company’s first U.K. tour in 2006 and after 10 years, it is going to be cool to see them back in ROH.
The final big news this week was that “G1 Supercard” tickets were available for pre-order, and 9,000 tickets have already been sold! I want to go to the show, but the combined cost of traveling over to the U.S., as well as booking the tickets, might be too expensive for me unfortunately. But, never say never and I hope where ever you are reading this article you order your tickets, too, and become part of the biggest ROH show in history.
As always, any feedback or suggestions are welcome via the website or my Twitter account (@SteJay215).
Venue – Eagle Bank Arena – Fairfax, VA.
Commentary Team – Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana (1st Match) with Mandy Leon (2nd Match) and Austin Aries (Main-Event)
Preluding the show’s opening titles was a video package about Jay Lethal and his journey to the ROH WorldTtitle that he won for the second time last week, setting the tone for the rest of the episode.
Jonathan Gresham vs. KUSHIDA
Jonathan Gresham came out to the ring wearing a very nice Bryan Danielson-style robe, which was pointed out by Ian on commentary. KUSHIDA, in comparison, came out wearing a Back to the Future-style boiler suit, with wrap-around sunglasses, which looked cool!
This match was a thrilling technical encounter between two of the best pure wrestlers in the world today. The Code of Honor was followed and from the start it was a counter-hold after counter-hold clinic. Strikes were few and far between as this was all about amateur credentials and technical wizardry. There were some smooth armlock transitions, as well as a beautiful monkey flip and roll-up pin battle that had the crowd cheering in awe. For the most part, the crowd was very quiet and respectful during this match, making it feel like a puroresu exhibition, which was a nice touch.
Another thing I liked was the psychology of this match. Both wrestlers kept concentrating on the arms of their opponents to hopefully lead into their respective submission holds for the win. Ironically though, it was not a submission hold that got the victory. Instead, KUSHIDA countered Gresham’s armlock into his “Back to the Future” package driver (previously used by former ROH World Champion Tyler Black AKA Seth Rollins) for the three count.
Winner: KUSHIDA
After the match, Gresham looked like he was about to turn on KUSHIDA. Instead, he extended his hand, and they followed the Code of Honor, prompting the crowd to deliver a standing ovation for their efforts. I can see that some people may be bored with this style of match, but I enjoyed it a lot and hope Gresham gets a TV Championship reign soon as he fits the title perfectly.
Next up was a backstage promo from Marty Scurll hyping up his match against Hurricane Helms. He told Helms that he did not cosplay as he was a real villain, and that a broken finger was the least of his problems. This was a great promo (as Scurll’s promos generally are), and I liked the staging with the dim moody lighting.
After Scurll’s promo, there was a brief video looking back at the Best in the World post-match attack from the Briscoes on the Young Bucks, and SCU running in to make the save. This clip led into a backstage promo from the SCU about how they have only got six months left on their ROH contracts, in which time they want to reclaim the ROH World Tag Team Titles from the Briscoes. That is just a brief summary because I would like everyone to view this promo and see just how good Christopher Daniels was.
The Fallen Angel is just a cut above everyone on the ROH roster in terms of vocal storytelling and in-ring psychology. It is a pleasure to watch him, and if I could have one wish, it would be for Daniels to main-event the “G1 Supercard” next year in MSG. He is the franchise of Ring of Honor, and deserves his moment of glory after all the hard work he has put in to making the company what it is today. Kazarian and Scorpio Sky were not bad on this promo, but they just cannot hold a candle to Daniels’ mic skills.
Following this promo was a video package pushing the ROH TV Champion, Punishment Martinez. They took clips from his brutal hardcore match at Best in the World against Adam Page for this package and it came across surprisingly well.
Jenny Rose and Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu and Hana Kimura [with Hazuki] (Women of Honor Tag Match)
Kagetsu and Jenny Rose have history as they faced each other in the 1st round of the Women of Honor championship tournament in STARDOM. With that, as well as the history between Mayu Iwatani and OEDO TAI, it added an extra dimension to Rose being Iwatani’s partner.
The Code of Honor was not followed and from the opening bell, it was nonstop action, with everyone playing a prominent part. Early on, Hazuki dragged Rose to the outside and after some miscommunication, Iwatani actually Irish-whipped Kagetsu into a suicide-dive onto Rose, which was a clever spot.
Kimura delivered an awesome suplex to Iwatani and Rose hit a Perfectplex for a close two-count. As happened the week before, OEDO TAI took advantage of the numbers game, and distracted Todd Sinclair long enough for Hazuki to run in and hit Rose and Iwatani with their signature sign (it looked nasty) … but only for a two-count!
With the crowd in a frenzy from the near-falls, Kagetsu eventually hit Rose with her Ebisu Drop finisher (similar to John Cena’s AA) for the win.
Winners: Kagetsu and Hana Kimura
This was a fun match, and although it did not get to the level of the WOH Title contest the week before, it was an exciting tag team battle nonetheless. I am a big fan of Rose and glad that she is making such an impression in the Women of Honor division.
Before the main event, there was a clip with Jay Lethal after last week’s show where he commented on winning the World Title for a second time. He said that although the title means there is a target on his back, he’s at the top of his game, and ready to take on all challengers. Lethal shined during this interview and as with his promos during his first reign, you really feel his passion as world champion.
Main Event: Kenny King, Eli Isom and Chuckie T. vs. The Kingdom (ROH Six-Man Tag Team Title Match)
It was nice to have Austin Aries (complete with title belts and vegan banana) on commentary for the main event, playing into his rivalry with Kenny King.Sseeing Cabana trying to grab Aries’ banana to only get thwarted was hilarious. During the Kingdom’s entrance, there was an in-set promo where they said that fairy tales always come to an end (referring to Eli Isom) and they will hold the titles for a long time to come.
The Code of Honor was not followed and the Kingdom attacked Eli Isom. The action was quick, but the match did feel a bit rushed for a main event. Isom got in a crazy running knee on TK O’Ryan that sent him out to the floor and brought the crowd to its feet. Later on, Taven amusingly told Isom to “stop hitting him”, which led Isom to hit a fall away slam on Taven with a fabulous kip-up.
It looked for a second like the Kingdom were going to lose the belts, as Isom countered the “Rockstar Supernova” into a close roll up, but it was not to be. Once Isom was properly isolated, the Kingdom took advantage and hit the “Rockstar Supernova” for the win.
Winners: The Kingdom (Successful Defence)
Conclusion
This was another easy-to-watch episode of ROH Wrestling. While the main event was a bit of a letdown after all the hype, the opener and the women’s match definitely made up for it. Plus, Daniels proves week after week that he is the greatest wrestler never to be signed by WWE.
You can watch the episode for free on:
Fite TV – www.fite.tv/watch/roh-358/2o8es/
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