ROH Supercard of Honor XII Review

ROH Supercard of Honor XII Review
4/7/18
UNO Lakefront Arena
New Orleans, Louisiana

Ring of Honor presented Supercard of Honor XII show, headlined by Dalton Castle defending the ROH World title Marty Scurll and the battle of the Bullet Club Leaders, Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes.

Pre Show: Women of Honor Championship Tournament Semi-Final Match
Kelly Klein vs. Mayu Iwatani
A video package aired, of both Mayu Iwatani and Kelly Klein speaking about their match. Right after, a Tenille Dashwood/Sumie Sakai package aired. These have been great and set the mood well. Klein took Iwatani down by overpowering her from the lock up. Iwatani used her speed to avoid Klein and went for an early submission, but Klein broke away and struck with a knee, slowing down the pace of the match. Klein worked at a methodical pace, clobbering Iwatani with a clothesline that led to a near fall. Iwatani was able to stymie Klein on the top rope, taking the momentum over with a super hurricanrana. She followed with a superkick and went for double stomp and then a frog splash, but it wasn’t enough. Klein caught Iwatani’s hurricanrana attempt and rolled sloppily into a roll up that nearly for a three count. Iwatani just couldn’t put Klein away and eventually fell into the End of the Match. Good action between these two and aside from the victory roll exchange, everything worked here and the final sequence made sense for the bought between the two (***)

Winner:Kelly Klein

Women of Honor Championship Tournament Semi-Final Match

Sumie Sakai vs. Tenille Dashwood

The two traded stiff forearms to start but Tenille took control and sent Sakai to the outside with a neckbreaker before launching to the outside with a cross body to the arena floor. Dashwood stayed in control for most of the match, but Sakai fought back and was able to hit her finisher smashmouse, but only got a two count. She scaled the turnbuckle, but Dashwood ending up sending her off the top rope with a super German. Somehow, Sakai kicked out, prompting Dashwood to go for a spotlight kick. Sakai avoided the maneuver and applied a crucifix roll up out of nowhere that went for the three count. Sakai moves on in the tournament in a bit of surprise here in a match that seemed to be building to Dashwood eventually putting Sakai away. Sakai told the story of simply not giving up and as one of the original Women of Honor, the show of respect here was a nice bit of recognition by the company.(**¾)

Winner:Sumie Sakai

After the match, there was a pre-match ceremony, during which Klein took the opportunity to take a cheap shot to knock Sakai down in what Cabana called out for the lack honor in Klein’s actions.

After the match there was a pre-match ceremony, during which Klein took the opportunity to take a cheap shot to knock Sakai down in what Cabana called out for lacking honor.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Chuckie T
Ian Riccaboni and a very dapper Colt Cabana welcome us to the show. Trent Barreta made his way down to the ring with Chuckie T., sporting a serious looking cast. Chuckie went to work on Gresham’s legs early, trying to stay out of Gresham’s grasp. Gresham escaped and he used his agility to get on Taylor’s shoulders but was dealt a backbreaker for his trouble. Gresham was able to send Taylor to the outside and went for a suicide dive, overshooting it a bit. Both men seemed no worse for wear thankfully and friendship took control as Gresham went to whip Taylor into the barricade as Barreta stepped in for a hug. Back inside Taylor had an Awful Waffle attempt reversed before the pace picked up and the two traded control. Taylor seemed poised to lose, as Gresham connected with a springboard DDT and went for an inside cradle. Taylor reversed it and pick up what seemed like a bit of a shocker here. Good match between these that could have had a few minutes shaved off, but was a solid opener between the two. Gresham’s selling at the end of the match really drove home how surprised he was and it could set something up in the future. (***¼)

Winner: Chuckie T.

Punishment Martinez vs. Tomohiro Ishii
This match promised to be a hard-hitting affair and it definitely delivered. Martinez control early on, almost exclusively in control as he sent Ishii to the outside. Martinez hit his dive over the post and followed with a springboard senton that really got the crowd going. Back inside Martinez was not able to continue to keep Ishii down and took some seriously stiff offense, but managed to continually kick out. Martinez was able to weather Ishii’s storm and connect with the South of Heaven chokeslam. This was an outright slugfest the whole way and Martinez looked impressive standing toe to toe with the stone pitbull. The match did not have the engaging story that many on the show had, but they went out there and really put on some very different from the opener, in a positive way. (*** ¼)

Winner: Punishment Martinez

Adam Page vs. Kota Ibushi
This opened at a very quick pace and stayed that way until Page took control, slowing things down and taunting Isushi a bit. When the action spilled to the outside things really got going, as Ibushi German suplexed Page off the barricade to the arena floor. Page miraculously lived , only to get floored on the outside after Ibushi moonsaulted to the outside. Page managed to gain control after reversing and hit a tombstone style driver, but Ibushi somehow kicked out. The two brawled to the apron and teased a piledriver, but Page countered with a back body drop. Page then connected with his own moonsault to the outside, tossing Ibushi into the ring and connecting with the buckshot clothesline, but only got a two count. Ibushi then showed some serious strength with a deadlift German suplex into a bridge, but Page managed to kick out. Ibushi couldn’t put Page away with a straight jacket suplex pin combination, but Ibushi kept control of Page’s arms and connected with a knee to the face to pick up the win. Excellent match between this two here, who given the platform really went for it. Page’s spill on the German looked scary and moves like that could be avoided, but he has been killing it as of late and Page’s disdain for Ibushi came through during the match. (****)

Winner: Kota Ibushi

Women of Honor Championship Tournament Finals
Kelly Klein vs. Sumie Sakai
Sakai attacked Klein before the opening bell, taking the fight to her in retaliation for the attack earlier in the night. Klein quickly gained control and sent Sakai to the outside, following with a suplex into the End of the Match, her submission finisher. She eventually relinquished the move and the match moved to the inside, attempting to go for a fall away slam. Sakai was able to slip out and throw Klein off with a powerbomb of sorts. Klein continually tried to put Sakai away, but like the early match, Sakai simply would not be held down. Sakai went for Smashmouse and it seemed that Klein would slip out, but Sakai recovered and hit a snap DDT to pick up the win. Sakai was then presented the title and celebrated with Deonna Purrazzo and Mandy Leon. The post most celebration made it clear that this was the intended finish, but it felt sudden in an expected way. A nice throwback by the company in putting the belt on Sakai, one of the original Women of Honor. (**½)

Winner: Sumie Sakai

6-Man Tag Team Championship Match Ladder Match
Socal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) vs Flip Gordon and the Young Bucks
This was an absolutely insane match. From the very start, all six men were in second gear immediately. The match was just filled with insane spots that need to be seen. There was a surprising development, as the Kingdom came down to the ring and interjected themselves. The assault did not last long and they were essentially left out of the ultimate deciding moment. Despite the interference, Daniels seemed poised to take the title down when Matt was able to rally and scale the ladder. Although Matt used his belt to successfully knock Daniels off the ladder, Daniels wobbled the ladder and sent Matt crashing onto a table back first on the outside. Daniels was then able to grab the belt to win the match, but was not able to celebrate as the Kingdom stole the titles and ran off in possession of the championships. The Kingdom really added to the match and just made this a triple threat 6 man or find a way to involve the Kingdom legally. Making off with the titles is intriguing, but one is left to wonder where the enforcer who was adamant that the Kingdom be banned was during a moment he’s been trying to prevent. This was a fun ladder match with lots of moving parts that was ultimately really enjoyable. (****)

Winners: SoCal Uncensored

Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Luke and PJ Hawk
Shane Taylor joined commentary for what was an intermission match for the live crowd. This was a very short match, essentially a squash match. Milonas and BCB connected for the Last Call on PJ Hawk. This served its purpose, gave Bruiser and Milonas a technical victory over the former champions, while still protecting MCMG by letting the local young tag team take the loss. (NR)

Winners: Beer City Bruiser & Milonas

ROH World Tag Team Championship Match
The Briscoes(c) vs. Jay Lethal and Hiroshi Tanahashi
The story of the match was that although Lethal and Tanahashi are both excellent wrestlers, they aren’t quite a team like the Briscoes.Both sides got a chance to look good in there and Lethal/Jay had particularly good sequences. It never really seemed probably that lethal and Tanahashi would come away as the victors here and that lack of suspense was a bit difficult to get over. The wrestling was good, but near falls never really felt believable. This was a way to feature a special attraction like Hiroshi Tanahashi, but took away from a title change occurring here Nonetheless, it was great to see Tanahashi and Lethal always works well with the Briscoes. This Briscoes team is steamrolling every team they face and they need to face a formidable team that can really threaten their title reign. Briscoes won with a roll up that echo the message that they were a better team. The crowd did not seem invested and it made this feel less important than it should have. (**½)

Winners: The Briscoes

ROH World Television Championship Match
Last Man Standing Match
Kenny King (c) vs. Silas Young
Austin Aries came out and announced that he plans on going for the ROH World Television title before joining commentary for the match. He and Cabana had some great interactions during this one, with both seeming to actually detest each other. Silas and Young hit the ground running here, with King trying to lock on an early Last Chancery, but it wasn’t enough and Young was able to slip outside and load the ring up with weapons. Young then bashed King about with a garbage can lid, but King was able to anticipate Young’s movement and hit a chin checker on a garbage can. Young was very nearly counted out, but he rolled out of the ring to avoid the ten count. With Young incapacitated, King set up a table, placing Young on it before going for a leap from the top to the outside. Just as he went to jump, Beer City Bruiser ran down and distracted King. Though King took BCB out, Young was able to gain the advantage, but King turned the tables and went back to the top, hitting a shooting star press to the outside through the table. Young pulled himself, but King’s legs were under the ring and he suddenly couldn’t stand. After King was counted out, it became clear that BCB had tied King up with a zip tie to prevent him from stand. As Young and BCB attacked King after the match, Austin Aries ran down and came to his aid, chasing the new champion and his friend away. A callback to Young using a zip tie on Lethal was good here, but seemed like an odd finish to what seemed to be a blow off match. (**3/4)

Winner: Silas Young

Cheeseburger & Eli Isom vs. The Dawgs (Rhett Titus & Will Ferrara)

The Dawgs attacked their opponents from behind before the bell. Titus grabbed a chair and struck Isom, but was stopped before he could worse. Bully Ray was openly questioned on commentary about his absence earlier and why he came out when he did. Ray then apologized to Cheese and said that if he couldn’t find a partner the match would not take place. Cheeseburger begged and pleaded with Bully Ray to be his partner and he eventually acquiesced. Burger and Bully combined for the Dudley’s greatest hits and a Shotei for good measure. As Bully asked Cheeseburger to get the tables, his demeanor changed and he chokeslammed Cheeseburger out of nowhere. Bully then got on the mic and berated Cheeseburger for putting him on the spot and said that Cheeseburger is what’s wrong with the wrestling business. He ran down Will Ospreay, Ricochet and Flip Gordon, saying they are ruining the business. This prompted COO Joe Koff to come out to also get insulted. Gordon came out to stop Bully, but Ray threatened to piledrive Cheeseburger to get the Louisiana State Athletic commision to come out and end the show. Ray eventually powerbombed Cheeseburger and left. Commentary was irate by Bully Ray’s behavior and really continued the narrative that Ray has gone AWOL.

Winners: No contest

Cody vs. Kenny Omega
Omega gained control early on, but Cody’s trusted bear Burnard was there to take a dropkick to the head, decapitated him. Cameras never focused on him, but referee Paul Turner ejected him and we never found out who it was. Back inside Cody took control and set up for shattered dreams, going for a full Goldust pose before he gave the crowd the finger. Cody did connect with a float over powerslam, ala Goldust, but it only went for a two count. This match had different phases to it and really built toward and satisfying closing sequence. Omega accidentally hit Brandi with a V-Trigger, sending her through a table on the outside. Cody, not knowing why Omega was distracted, went for Cross Rhodes, but only got a two count. Cody followed with a superplex off the top as Flip Gordon made his way to the ring to help Brandi to the back in a very Hoganesque move. Back in the ring Cody missed a moonsault but he went for another Cross Rhodes anyway, which led to Paul Turner being crushed in the corner. As all three men were down, The Young Bucks came down to the ring and went to superkick Cody, but he ducked and they hit Omega instead, seemingly by mistake. Cody took the opportunity to hit the Cross Rhodes and picked up win and bragging rights. This was a really well executed match that got really hot at the end, even before the Young Bucks came down. (****1/4)

Winner: Cody

ROH World Championship Match
Dalton Castle (c) w/The Boys vs. Marty Scurll
A good match between two of ROH’s top wrestlers and the main event of the evening being what it should be, the ROH World title match. The early match was back and forth until Castle clotheslined the ringpost and his arm became a part of the story for the entire match. Marty continued to try to do everything in his power to put Castle away. The closing sequence of the match saw Scurll try to look for his patented powder and having a very hard time doing so. He finally did find the powder, but Castle kicked the powder in Marty’s face. As Sinclair tried to help wipe the powder off, Scurll accidentally “broke” Sinclair’s fingers. Castle had Scurll inned, but Sinclair couldn’t make the count because of his fingers. Scurll had a chance with the chicken wing, but Castle was able to weather the attack and hit the Bang-A-Rang to remain the champion. A good match, but it felt like it dragged on during parts, especially in front of a crowd that had been in the arena for over four hours. Nick Aldis was ringside for the match and was focused on a few times, perhaps indicating that the NWA may have a relationship moving forward with ROH (***)

Winner: Dalton Castle

Final Thoughts: B-
This show had a little bit of everything and a great deal moving forward for the company. The Aldis spots in the main event seemed to signal some sort of partnership moving forward, The Young Bucks interaction during the Cody/Kenny match allows for there to be intrigue moving forward, as well as some involvement from Flip. Young’s win was marred in controversy and set up something down the road with Aries, possibly involving King. Page and Ibushi were very impressive in their spots and Sakai winning was a nice moment, even if a bit of a surprise. Everything thing was good, but not overly spectacular and it seems that the Bully Ray experiment will be changing yet again, with a pay off that is unclear as he “retired” from in ring action. This was definitely a eventful show and one you should go out of your way to watch.

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