ROH 5/9/18 War of the Worlds Tour Review
LOWELL Memorial Auditorium
Lowell, Massachusetts
Colt Cabana and BJ Whitmer welcomed us to the show, as Ian Riccaboni has the night off.
ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes vs. Flip Gordon & Jushin Liger
Mark and Gordon started off and Mark locked on a headlock with what Cabana described as “farm strength”, but Gordon quickly went into his flipping routine to escape. After Mark went to the outside, Gordon almost flipped to the outside, but thought better of it and both men tagged out. Liger was in for a very short period of time before Gordon came right back in and fell into the Briscoes corner, taking the majority of punishment here. Liger tagged in and after a brief flurry of offense was dumped to the outside, but managed to tag out to Gordon quickly. It seemed as Gordon and Liger had the match won after a Shotei and a 450 splash, but Jay broke the pinfall up and then kicked both men in the ding-ding behind Sinclair’s back. Gordon was able to survive a neckbreaker, but couldn’t survive the RedNeck Boogie, a Razor’s edge/neckbreaker combination off the top rope. A really fun opener that the crowd was really into. The right team won here, but the false finisher almost made it feel as if Liger and Gordon could steal an upset victory and made the match that much more enjoyable.
Winners: The Briscoes
Deonna Purrazzo and Skylar vs. Tenillle Dashwood & Sumie Sakai
Purrazzo and Sakai started off, with Purrazzo chopping Sakai early, but taken down by a head scissors. Purrazzo went for a quick magistral cradle for a two count and teased locking on the Fujiwara armbar. The two tagged out and made way for Skylar and Dashwood, with Skylar getting a warm ovation from her hometown crowd. Skylar and Dashwood exchanged waistlocks for about a full minute before Dashwood finally gained control and tagged out to Sakai. Purrazzo quickly made her in and dumped Sakai on her with a German before dropping Dashwood off the apron. Things broke down as everyone entered the ring and Dashwood was able to capitalize on the chaos and hit the spotlight kick on Skylar to pick up the pinfall victory for her team. Post-match Kelly Klein ran down and attacked Purrazzo, prompting officials and security to break the two apart. There were flurries off good action here, as Sakai sold very well and Purrazzo’s new mean streak shone through.
Winners: Dashwood & Sakai
Dalton Castle came out and revealed that he has been dealing with a number of injuries and that he would not be able to defend the title against Taven later on in the night, but that he’s not going to relinquish the title. He went on to say that he will be rest up and be back soon and then the had the Boys come out to give everyone croissants, because if it can’t be the best wrestler on the night, he can give the crowd the best Brunch ever.
The Kingdom vs. Coast to Coast
Taven came out with the Kingdom and got on the mic right away, incensed that because a little bitch lost his smile in Lowell he won’t get his title shot. He demanded that ROH officials strip Castle of the title and that the crowd, the Celtics and he would all celebrate together. The crowd was really behind him here and his anger really shone through here, all part of the Kingdom Conspiracy. O’Ryan and LSG started off their respective sides as Taven joined commentary and vented about his situation. Coast to Coast was able to gain an advantage by sending O’Ryan to the outside and sending Marseglia out as well. As they went to dive to the outside, Marseglia crawled under the ring. Ali couldn’t find him and was pulled under, then LSG was pulled under as well. Referee Paul Turner went to investigate and was pulled uner as well. O’Ryan was left all alone until Turner came out order O’Ryan to go find everyone. Coast to Coast finally came out looking downright terrified, followed by Marseglia with three balloons and an axe. Turner had to wrestle the axe away before Coast to Coast hit Coastal Stroke and Tu Lo Sabes. As LSG went to hit Coast to Coast, O’Ryan pulled him down and then he and Marseglia hit a cutter Swanton combo on Ali. As they went for the pin, Socal Uncensored came out and stole their belts back, distracting the Kingdom and allowing LSG to roll Marseglia up for the win. Post-match Taven came down and challenged Socal for a title match later in the night, which Socal agreed to. A lot going on here, but the under the ring spot was fun, Coast to Coast continued their winning ways and the crowd was appeased by having their homrtown boys get a title shot after all. Not the strongest wrestling match, but a fun story told here.
Winners: Coast to Coast
Bully Ray vs. Cheeseburger
Bully Ray got into Cabana’s face and said that he’s heard everything that Cabana has been saying on commentary and told him to shut up and do his job. Ray then ordered Bobby Cruise to go up to the apron and then sent him down for no apparent reason. The two stared each other down and Cheeseburger hit a right but was quickly powerbombed halfway across the ring, appearing to devastated by the maneuver. Ray waited for Cheeseburger to pull himself up before hitting the move again, stalking around the ring and waiting for Cheeseburger to get up again. Ray powerbombed him yet again and soaked in the boos from the crowd. Whitmer actually took Ray’s side here as Ray grabbed his chain. Sinclair ordered him to get rid of the chain and yanked it away, allowing Ray to low blow Cheeseburger behind Sinclair’s back. Ray then went to the outside and stared at the crowd and allowed himself to be counted out. Ray went back into the ring and chased Sinclair off before powerbombing Cheeseburger again. Ray then berated Cruise about playing Cheeseburger’s music. He then grabbed Cheeseburger again on the outside and teased a powerbomb on the floor, but walked away instead. Ray confronted Cabana again and told him to mind his business before leaving.
Winner: Cheeseburger
Roppongi 3k & Rocky Romero vs. Cody, Adam Page & Marty Scurll
Romero and Scurll started off for their respective teams, but Cody tagged himself and squared off Romero, albeit to a stalemate. Scurll then tagged himself in, angereing Cody and continuing the story of issues between the two. Scurll escaped a wristlock from Sho and riled the crowd up with his flapping arms, kicking Sho in the gut. Yo tagged in on an irish whip and he and Scurll traded rump thrusts to escape waistlocks. As Yo bounced off the ropes Burnard grabbed his leg and Page tagged in next. After a breif flurry of Roppongi offense, Scurll hit a Ghostbuster on Sho and went for the chicken wing, but Cody tagged himself in and went for Cross Rhodes. Sho escaped and tagged Romero in, who hit forever clotheslines on all three Bullet Club members. Things broke down and everyone took turns in the ring. Burnard eventually held Romero for Scurll, but Burnard ended taking a superkick. Cody and Scurll argued mid-ring as Page tried to get then back on the same (sigh) page. Roppongi 3k cleared the Bullet Club of the ring and triple dives to the outside. Romero and Cody were the first back inside and Cody quickly hit Cross Rhodes to win the match for the team. A good match that was more of vehicle to continue to expose the Bullet Club’s problems here. Scurll walked off in anger as Page and Cody checked on poor Burnard.
Winners: Cody, Page & Scurll
Silas Young & Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas vs. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & SANADA.
Young started off against EVIL and the two stood toe to toe against each other but Young, BCB and Milonas quickly took control after Naito hit his signature pose. Cabana shared that Milonas is new to ROH, but this may be his biggest match ever, aside from a match he had against John Cena’s dad. Naito was able to hit a tornado DDT on BCB and tag out to SANADA. SANADA was able to quickly send BCB outside and then twisted Young up like a pretzel before drop kicking him in the rear. A stream hiccup occured here, but as the action returned, Naito and SANADA dropkicked BCB and Young on the arena floor, before helping EVIL take Milonas down for the top rope with a powerbomb. EVIL then hit a russian leg sweep to pick up pinfall victory.
Winners: Naito, EVIL & SANADA
Jay White vs. Jay Lethal vs. Chuckie T
Lethal went at both men with chops to start, taking both men on, eventually subjecting himself to a double team attempt, but he sent both to the outside on opposite sides of the ring. Lethal hit a suicide dive to both men, with White being last. Taylor came into the ring, only to be sent outside with a dropkick and hit with a third suicide dive. White took control as Taylor cheered him on and ran laps. Lethal was sent to the outside and referee Paul Turner oddly started to count Lethal out, despite two men being in the ring. White continued to work Lethal over as Taylor kept his distance. Once Lethal went to the outside again Taylor called for a hug, but White went for a neckbreaker that the Kentucky Gentleman was forced to escape. Lethal crawled back in and sent Taylor outside with a a Lethal combination before trying to hit Hail to the King on White. Lethal stopped his momentum and instead locked on a figure four, forcing White to grab for the ropes and flee the ring. Taylor then took the opportunity to hit a tope to the outside and found himself inside with Lethal. Taylor hit Soul Food on White but couldn’t keep White down and Lethal crept back inside. Lethal went for a Lethal Injection, but White escaped and almost hit his finisher before Lethal also escaped. Lethal then hit a Lethal Injection, but Taylor slipped in the ring and pinned Lethal with a quick jackknife to steal the victory via pinfall. An interesting dynamic during the match to start was fresh, but it did fall into the one on one formula for a bit. Taylor coming away with the win here was well done, as he had played the role of opportunist all match and it set up the match against Lethal on Saturday night. The match suffered a bit from having Lethal taking the punishment and not being on offense, but this was well done for an impromptu match.
Winner: Chuckie T
ROH 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match
So Cal Uncensored(c) vs. The Kingdom
Marseglia and Daniels started off the match, but everyone quickly brawled on the outside. Taven quickly took control and teamed with O’Ryan to hit a backbreaker/top rope knee drop combo on Sky before tossing him outside so that Taven could hit his dive to the outside a the crowd went wild. O’Ryan overtook Kazarian quickly and he ran outside, opting to slide under the ring. Taven pulled him out and he was being choked by red balloons. Marseglia and O’Ryan double teamed him, but Kaz was able to tag out to Daniels who quickly found himself in trouble. The Kingdom’s Rockstar Supernova attempt was thwarted and as the ring cleared Daniels hit a sambo suplex and hit the Best Moonsault Ever on Marseglia. As Sinclair made the count, Taven pulled him to the outside. Sky went for a dive that took Sinclair out and the weapons hit the ring. Kazarian hit Marseglia with the title and went to hit O’Ryan, but hit Daniels inadvertently. Taven took the opportunity to hit a sky high frog splash to pick up the pinfall victory. A fun match between the two heel teams and excellent crowd involvement here, but the under the ring spot could have been skipped since it happened earlier in the night.
Winners: The Kingdom
The Young Bucks vs. BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi
Takahashi and Bushi put the boots to Matt right off the bat, but Nick was able to tag in as Matt bounded off the ropes and the two teams were locked in a Rancho Cucamonga stand-off before the Bucks sent their opponents to the outside. Back inside Bushi was able to take control and choke matt with his neck as Takahashi distracted Sinclair. Takashi and Bushi dumped Matt on the mat with a tandem dropkick and sent Nick to the outside with a Tu Lo Sabes before they started to tag in and out as they worked Matt over. Takahashi and Bushi pulled Matt to the entrance ramp and went for a double suplex, but Matt fought them off and sent them down the stairs before diving with a senton that took both men out. Matt painfully pulled himself into the ring and tried for a tag to Nick, but Bushi stopped him at the last minute. Matt was finally able to tag in a fresh Nick who cleared house and then oddly tagged Matt in rather quickly. The Bucks hit tandem sunset flips from the apron and locked on Cease and Desist, but the holds were both broke. Matt almost pinned both Takahashi and Bushi with a sunset flip German suplex pinning combination and then hit a superplex off of Bushi’s shoulders. The Bucks then called for a superkick party as Matt really clutched his back. The Bucks tried for a 5 Star Meltzer Driver, but Bushi pulled Nick down. Bushi then locked Turner in a backslide and hit Matt with poison mist. In his blinded state Matt hit Nick with a superkick and then locked Turner in a sharpshooter. Nick finally got matt to break the move, but Takahashi was able to recover and hit a sunset powerbomb to the floor on Nick as Bushi hit a Canadian Destroyer that very nearly went for a three count. The action went to the outside as Takahashi went for another sunset bomb on matt, but Nick superkicked him and stopped him. The Bucks finally were able to hit the 5 Star Meltzer Driver on Bushi to pick up the victory. Action packed match to end the night here and Matt’s selling made it look as the Bucks could actually lose this one.
Winners: The Young Bucks
Final Reaction: B
This was a great start to the tour and despite not having the scheduled title match of Castle vs Taven. The only issue here would be the placement of the 6-Man title match as the semi-main and not the main, especially in the Kingdom’s hometown. The pacing of the show was well done and this was an excellent start to the tour. Whitmer and Cabana did admirably on commentary in Riccaboni’s absence, but it really proved how valuable Riccaboni is on commentary for the company. Not sure if you could ask for a better night of ROH wrestling on a Wednesday night, as the event felt important despite the loss of Castle.
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