Now that the Ring of Honor Raising the Bar weekend in Milwaukee and Chicago has come and gone, Let’s break down what I thought were three of the more interesting and ongoing developments to come out of those shows. Of course I’m doing this without seeing any of the matches, so no judgments about the in-ring efforts here, just the storyline news and some analysis to follow:
THE MAIN EVENT-The Young Bucks are NEW ROH World Tag Team Champions: Matt and Nick Jackson made some wrestling history over the weekend, unseating Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly in Chicago to win the ROH World Tag Team Titles for the first time in their careers. They now hold the ROH, PWG and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Titles simultaneously.
Why did this title change happen now? It is apparent the win is to go along with the New Japan Pro Wrestling crossover that is happening in May. The Bucks, who are also a part of The Bullet Club stable in Japan, will now have some interesting opportunities to take advantage of their holding the titles in these promotions. They can defend the ROH belts in Japan and conversely put up the IWGP Junior straps in Toronto or New York. There is even the option to book a defense of both sets of titles in the same match.
Matt and Nick might also remind you that they are #over and that may be a good enough reason on its own.
THE MID CARD-Jay Lethal continues to develop a new Lethal Attitude: Lethal expressed visible frustration after losing to AJ Styles at the 12th Anniversary Show, teasing signs of turning to the dark side. This weekend gave some further foreshadowing that Lethal could go heel. He won his match against Silas Young after using a Low Blow and he spanked Maria Kanellis in Chicago (which, to be fair could be seen as a fan favorite move by some) in a losing effort to Michael Bennett.
Lethal has been a babyface throughout his most recent run in ROH (returning at the beginning of the Sinclair era in 2011) although he did famously attempt to demonstrate “Killer Instinct” during his feud with Kevin Steen at the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013.
Lethal could use some new direction and a heel turn is as good as any, but hopefully it won’t be the exact same song as it was with Adam Cole, who was frustrated in the middle of 2013 by being unable to win and found solace and a solution in the advice of Matt Hardy.
OPENING BOUT-Adam Page becomes The Decade’s Personal Page: The Decade of Jimmy Jacobs, BJ Whitmer and Roderick Strong had been bullying the likes of Cedric Alexander and Adam Page over the past three months. While Alexander and Page defended themselves from the accusation that they were undeserving of the veteran’s respect, this no longer seems to be the case for Page. In an “if you can’t beat em, join em” moment, Page has seemingly become The Decade’s personal Young Boy.
The move to put Page in as The Decade’s lackey gives him a definitive direction in ROH other than opening match pop-the-crowd guy. We’ve seen Page demonstrate some excellent athleticism but also have shown some roughness around the edges. Maybe his time spent under The Decade’s wing will smooth some of that out. On the other hand, I’m sure Cedric Alexander will have something to say about Page’s decision to give up his pride and give into the bullying.
Other Moments, If You Missed Them: Adam Cole retained the ROH World Title over both Matt Taven (in Milwaukee) and Chris Hero in the Ringmaster’s Challenge match (in Chicago). According to reports by PWP’s own Jerome Cusson, Taven was super over with the crowd in Milwaukee, mostly because he promised to buy a round of shots for every fan in attendance after the show if he won the title. Too bad he didn’t repeat that spot in Chicago because apparently he was booed even in a face-off against former manager Truth Martini. “The Bartender” Matt Taven sounds like a good gimmick to me. Maybe not. Let’s ask Dr. Keith.
Elsewhere, Outlaw Inc. and The Briscoes tore it up in a huge brawl in Chicago, while The Briscoes and Elgin helped elevate the second-half of the Milwaukee show with their efforts against Mount Rushmore of The Young Bucks and Kevin Steen. reDRagon’s last hurrah as tag champions saw them defeat Adrenaline Rush one more time in a title match necessitated by losing a fall to them in the triple threat match also involving Outlaw Inc. in Milwaukee. Michael Bennett went two-for-two on the weekend, and Tyson Dux lost both of his matches this weekend but reportedly impressed and got over with the fans in attendance.
For more results and information about the Raising the Bar weekend shows, check out PWP’s full results coverage here and here.