ROH 3/16/18 TV Review: Bullet Club vs.The Kaddiction
02/10/18
Center Stage Theater
Atlanta, Georgia
This week was the fourth episode from the set of tapings from Atlanta,GA. The show had a cold open to the crowd at Center Stage after a video recapping the Kingdom/Addiction team-up vs the Bullet Club tonight. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana were on commentary and welcomed everyone to show.
First Match: The Dawgs vs. Coast To Coast (Leon St. Giovanni & Shaheem Ali)
Brian Milonas and the Beer City Bruiser were on commentary to start, although Milonas just acted as BCB’s heavy and wasn’t given a headset. LSG and Titus started off after adhering to the code of honor. LSG used his speed to gain early control, but just as Titus caught him and slammed him down, Ferrara tagged himself in. LSG was able to tag out and Ali almost let Ferrara tag out, but Titus was nowhere to be found. Coast to Coast combined for blast off before Titus tagged himself in, unbeknownst to LSG. Ferrara and Titus drew C2C to the outside, with Ferrara acting as the irritant and Titus taking care of business with a clothesline. LSG weathered the Dawgs unorthodox double team tactics, but Titus knocked Ali into security to prevent him from tagging out. Nevertheless, LSG was eventually able to roll across the ring and tag out, allowing Ali to clear house before LSG tossed Ferrara with a double underhook slam, followed by a splash from Ali to pick up the pinfall victory. The celebration was short-lived, as Milonas and Bruiser hit the ring and took the two out, sending a message to the rest of the division. Good opening contest that featured the newer teams in the division. Given time to work, Coast to Coast looked sharp and picking up the victory, in their new threads, really made them feel like a legitimate team (***1/2)
Winners: Coast to Coast
A Marty Scurll promo aired, during which he congratulated Dalton castle for successfully defending the title against Jay Lethal at the 16th Anniversary show before reminding him that every good story needs a villain. He went on to say that Castle will fall to the villain, allowing Scurll to become the ROH World champion. Nice job in post-production here, as the matches were filmed way before the 16th Anniversary and thus far in the show. Then a clear video editing break appeared on screen before Castle was able to retort. Accidents happen, but simple things like that gaffe need to be noticed before the second largest company in the United States airs an episode of television.
Second Match: WOH Championship Tournament Match
Mayu Iwatani vs. HZK
This was the debut of both women on ring of honor television and felt like an important moment. Having the two wrestle in front of their home base Stardom crowd was a wise choice, as they may not be familiar to the ROH audience. That said, Riccaboni being alone on commentary seemed odd, as it was clear that he was not at the event live. Iwatani really does come off as being a budding internationally acclaimed women’s wrestler at a very young age and her work in front of ROH audiences should turn some heads. That said, it was also a bit different for a match to feature two relative unknowns to general ROH audiences. Iwatani won with a dragon suplex into a bridging pin. (**3/4)
Winner: Mayu Iwatani
Main Event: The Bullet Club (Cody, Hangman Page, Marty Scurll and The Young Bucks vs.
The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, Vinny Marseglia) & The Addiction
The match started off with a pentangular superkick, as called by Riccaboni, which took all 5 members of the opposing team down. As the Bullet Club went for a team One Sweet, the Bucks hesitated and that gave the combined fivesome of the Kaddiction time to ambushed everyone. The contest turned into a donnybrook on the outside before Cody and Daniels battle in the middle of the ring. Cody dropped Daniels to the mat with an STO before Matt came in and started to compliment Cody’s pants, pointing out that they said leader. Cody and Matt seemed to call a truce, but Daniels quickly attacked. O’Ryan quickly tagged in, but his leap off the top was off the mark and Cody was able to hold him in place for Scurll. Scurll flew off the top and attacked the arm before engaging in some digital manipulation. Page and Kazarian squared off and their rivalry was compared to Tito Santana and Rick Martell’s everlasting rivalry. Some really great spots during this match, including a five-way superkick to Kazarian before Cody went for Rise of the Terminators. The crowd booed and the Bucks seemed conflicted, but joined and got the crowd into it before connecting with the move. Page hit a perfect moonsault from the top rope and Taven, not to be outdone, leaped over the top rope to the outside. Bury then sent the crowd wild before taking a crowd out himself with a twisting dive. SoCal’s third member Scorpio Sky ran in, but the move backfired and Cody was able to catch Marseglia in a CrossRhodes for the win. Tempers flared, igniting a brawl between the Kingdom and SoCal. The two teams wrestled to the back as the peaceful Bullet Club looked on. This was a very good match that built well off the team warfare angle that has been played up for years between the Bullet Club, Addiction, and the Kingdom. The inclusion of Bury here is a bit troubling, as the episode was slated to air after the PPV and the bear’s inclusion was inconsequential to the match, so it is a bit of a continuity issue that seemed unneeded.(***1/2)
Winner: The Bullet Club
Final Reaction: C+
On paper, this episode of ROH seemed to be a candidate for a strong show, however, some sloppy issues marred what was an otherwise good show. At the onset, continuity seemed to be a strength, as Scurll’s promo was placed nicely, only to have an editing cue left in the final product. The WOH match, though filmed elsewhere, could have certainly had both Riccaboni and Cabana’s commentary, as it was recorded separately. Lastly, while Bury the Bear is entertaining, even Castle has been without the Boys before. Bury was in no way so integral to the main event of the taping that he couldn’t have been excluded for the sake of continuity and feels like an odd choice. The wrestling was solid-it was just some of the presentation that hurt this as a whole.
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