ROH Manhattan Mayhem VII Review
3/3/18
Hammerstein Ballroom
NYC, New York
Ring of Honor presented Manhattan Mayhem: The Experience, chock full of fan choice that determined match types, participants, and a special guest commentator.
Bully Ray came out and got the crowd hyped up for the show and lead a huge ROH chant.
Due to weather and injuries led to the Kingdom replacing SoCal Uncensored in the main event. It also changed the first match.
The Briscoes vs. The Dawgs vs. Coast To Coast
The Briscoes came out and took the teams on right away, not adhering to the code of Honor. All three teams really worked hard during this match, but a combination of the crowd not being seated completed made this feel a bit odd as the crowd was really quiet. Both C2C and the Dawgs had a chance to hit their spots and everything worked well. It was a bit obvious that the Briscoes would win here, but in the ring they sold for the other two teams and the match did feel balanced. Briscoes win after Jay hit a Jay Driller on Will Ferrara. Post-match Jay insulted the NYC crowd. Based on crowd reaction, this was lackluster, but the in-ring work really told a different story here.
Winners: The Briscoes
Tenille Dashwood & Deonna Purrazzo vs. Sumie Sakai & Jenny Rose
Rose and Purrazzo start for their teams, proving equal. Sakai tagged in and demanded Dashwood. Dashwood took control and she and Purrazzo both locked in Fujiwara armbar, but Sakai, the legal woman, reached the ropes. Rose locked on a really nice looking crossbow submission to no avail. Crowd has filled in by this point and is more boisterous. Purrazzo reversed a high cross body by Sakai into another armbar, but Rose broke it up. Purrazzo made the hot tag to Dashwood, who applied a tarantula to a chorus of cheer. Sakai missed a moonsault and Dashwood connected with a kick to the face for the win. All adhered to the code of honor after the match. This was an average match that really drew the crowd in, even if the winning team felt obvious here.
Winners: Dashwood & Purrazzo
Ian Riccaboni hosted a Q and A with Jonathan Gresham, who shared that his injury is keeping him out but that he hopes to return to active competition soon.
Punishment Martinez vs. Soberano Jr.
Very quick to start, Martinez went to the outside and Soberano follows with a suicide dive, but Martinez essentially no sold it and then tossed Soberano into the barricade with reckless abandon.The crowd was really getting on Martinez for messing up and would boo him from then on, many times for no reason. Soberano connected with Fosbury Flop and then a tornillo over the top that got the fans on their feet. Martinez kicked out of another tornillo on the inside but had a powerbomb reversed into a sunset flip. Soberano went for a springboard from the apron but had it reversed into a South of Heaven Chokeslam, allowing Martinez to pick up the victory. Martinez then pulled Soberano outside afterward and powerbombed him in the apron to the delight of the crowd.
Winner: Punishment Martinez
Flip Gordon vs. Cody (Gordon wins and he gets booked on All In)
Lots of shenanigans to start here as Cody worked the crowd over before the match, with a great deal of time before the bell sounded. Flip plated to the crowd too, two sweeting whenever he had a chance. The action went to the outside and Gordon shrugged off Brandi, sending her to the floor. Cody recovered and Brandi helped Cody get over on Gordon as Bury distracted the refere. Cody was in full control back inside and sent Gordon to the floor with a shove off the apron before going for Rise of the Terminators.Gordon took a liberty with Bury and implied he had to. Back inside, Gordon hit a Falcon Arrow for two, but Cody kicked out, despite the deal being done. Cody hit Cross Rhodes but chose not to go for the pin and signaled that he would go for a flip. Gordon moved and then went for a 450 splash, but Cody kicked out! Brandi distracted Flip but got a Beautiful Disaster for her troubles. Crowd was super into this. As Gordon went to check on Brandi, Cody hit another Cross Rhodes for the win. Easily the best match on the card so far. These did told a great story and the crowd was really into this.
Winner: Cody
Intermission was a Q and A hosted by Prince Nana for Kelly Klein.
Kenny King & (Fan choice:Chuckie T and Cheeseburger) vs.
Silas Young, Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas
Bruiser and Taylor started off here, but quickly tagged to Milonas and Cheeseburger, leading to Burger trying his damnedest to take the big man down, only to be leveled by a clotheslined, necessitating a tag out. Young tagged in and the current champ and former champ quickly sped things up, with Long even garnering a near fall. Action spilled outside, with the Brew Crew all getting hurt, allowing a hug inside. Bruiser and Milonas quickly used their heft to squash Cheeseburger and take control. Young and King brawled to the back, leaving poor. Cheeseburger alone. Try as he might, he simply couldn’t overcome the size difference and was superplexed by Milonas and then BullFrog splashed by BCB for the win. A good match here with the right team winning as they had continuity of being a squad before and this continues the King and Young feud.
Winners: Young, BCB & Milonas
Dalton Castle w/The Boys & Volador Jr. vs. Jay Lethal & Ultimo Guerrero
Guerrero tried to stir Castle up by slapping in the back with his gear, but cooler heads prevailed before Castle and Lethal started off. After a spirited opening sequence, Volador and Guerrero got their chance to wow the crowd and the both accomplished them, as Guerrero quickly went to his rudo roots and went after the Boys here. He really has a knack for always finding a way to stand out to ROH crowds. A really fun match that you should just go and watch. The end came when Volador hit a hurricanrana off the top rope. Guerrero and Volador proved that the crowd doesn’t matter, they are fantastic at engaging any crowd. Less play by play here as I was glued to the match.
Winners: Castle and Volador Jr.
Ultimate Mayhem Match
Socal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) & Shane Taylor vs Bullet Club (Adam Page, The Young Bucks & Marty Scurll)
Two men started this match and after five minutes, another team member enters based on a coin toss and others join after two minutes intervals thereafter. Taven and Scurll were the two to start for their teams. A chair quickly came into play between the two, with Scurll going a bit more violent than normal here. Taven often stop to gloat, which got under the crowd’s skin. As Scurll controlled the oponentes and this allows Young and King to match, the Kingdom’s music hit and Marseglia came out from the crowd, released balloons like the clown from IT and slipped into the ring behind Scurll. As the Kingdom worked over Scurll, the Bucks music hit and Matt took out Taven immediately and cleaned house to a chorus of cheers from the crowd. After Matt and Marty hit Superkicks from the apron, the clock counted down and O’Ryan came from the crowd dressed in BC attire and it seemed as if he was a rowdy fan, but pulled down his handkerchief to reveal it was indeed a legal man in the match. As the Kingdom worked Matt over, Scurll took out a table as. As Nick came out, quietly setting it up on the outside. Taylor came out after some Bucks domination and quickly took the fight to Scurll in the inside. Page came out very quickly after with a chair in tow. Page quickly hit a moonsault to the outside on the full crowd, followed by Matt and Nick and even Marty Scurll, who never connects. Great moment! Page topped it by hitting a moonsault off the first balcony to the arena floor in an absolutely insane spot.The Bullet Club wins after Page hits a Rite of Passage on O’Ryan after a ton of other craziness! Post Match Cody came out and it announced that they were taping for Being the Elite. The Revival chant returned, as did where do you think you’re going and then they asked Mary to sing. He refused, saying the BC isn’t Fine and he has a broken heart. He challenged Riccaboni to sing, who did, after Cabana forced him to the ring. Riccaboni sang a tone deaf “Brown Eye Girl” until Marty kicked him out of the ring. Marty then asked if things really were okay and Cody kissed him on the lips. Marty, feeling reassured then led the crowd in a rendition of “Everybody” by Backstreet Boys to end the show.
Winners: The Bullet Club
Final Thoughts: A-
This was a really fun show, made stronger by the second half, especially the semi- main and the main event. Kudos to ROH for being able to recover from flight cancellations and delays to put on a really excellent show here and grew stronger as the night went on. Not sure why the opener fell a little flat with the crowd, it could have the start time, but after that the show really took off and the end for the live crowd was everything you want from a wrestling show.
The event can be view at ROH’s website, for HonorClub members.