ROH 11/08/18 Global Wars Lowell Review
Lowell Memorial Auditorium
Lowell, MA
Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana welcomed everyone to the show and second night of the Global Wars 2018 tour.
Matt Taven vs. BUSHI
Taven grabbed a mic and announced to the crowd that he has his sights set on Dalton Castle, the same man who dodged him the last time that the company was in Lowell. He essentially compared himself to the Red Sox, saying that they are both champions. Nice back and forth here-Taven was largely in control for most of the match. The end came about when the inevitable happened,Bushi went for a poison mist. He grabbed referee Paul Turner, but Taven ducked it and then hit the Climax for the victory. Taven tried to adhere to the code of honor, but Bushi low blowed him and left him writhing in the ring. A good, quick opener that saw Taven look strong, although the end was a bit of a head scratcher here, as having him look weak there makes little sense.
Winner: Matt Taven
Non-Title Match
Dalton Castle & Juice Robinson vs. The Bouncers
Rhett Titus came out all oiled again and posed on the ramp before joining commentary. A lot of shenanigans here, as one of the underaged Boys grabbed Bruiser’s beer, much to his dismay. Milonas had both Castle and Juice set for a chokeslam, but they broke free and let loose on him. Milonas tottered back and forth as Castle posed in front and eventually landed on Castle, flattening him and possibly ending his career. The Boys tried to help Robinson get Milonas off of Castle, but to no avail. Referee Todd Sinclair joined, but he was not enough and Juice begged Bruiser to help. Bruiser down some liquid spinach and was then able to save Castle. Milonas opted not to tag out and instead tried to squash Robinson in the corner but he missed the big splash. Milonas shook off a Pulp Friction and was able to gain control before tagging out. It was short-lived, however, as Robinson was able to hit Pulp Friction on Bruiser before taking the win for his team via pinfall. The Bouncers grabbed some Beer City Bruiser and offered Castle and Robinson some friendly brews to end the night.
Winners: Castle and Robinson
Flip Gordon vs. Frankie Kazarian
Commentary provided some backstory about Gordon previously wanting to prove himself to Kaz and being told that he had potential, so this revisits the two with Gordon in a wildly different position. Quick back and forth counters and near falls from these two to start the bout. Gordon showed a bit of a more aggressive side, which commentary attributed, in part, to Bully Ray for awakening this new demeanor. Eventually, a sunset flip exchange led to a series of near falls that Gordon used his momentum to hold Kaz down for the three count. Nice little bout here-Kazarian still has it and win for Gordon here continues his push and keeps him looking strong as he marches to some sort of stipulation match with Gordon at Final Battle.
Winner: Flip Gordon
Proving Ground Match
Sumie Sakai vs. Kenny Rose
Brandi Rhodes joined commentary for the match. This match had implications for Final Battle as it has been announced that the WOH title will be defended in a 4 way match. Sakai and Rose have trained together and have had strong matches in the past and this one was no different. The two really drew the crowd into this one in what was one of the better WOH matches in a while here. In the end Sakai hit a hurricanrana off the top rope to take the victory just as it seemed Rose might outlast the time limit and earned a future title shot. Brandi was entertaining on commentary here, making it clear that she has been undefeated since returning from Japan and her injury and it seems that there is a chance that she might be involved in the title match. Her back and forth with Riccaboni was natural and felt off the cuff in a way that made the broadcast more enjoyable.
Winner: Sumie Sakai
Jay Briscoe vs. Scorpio Sky
Hard-hitting contest to start, Jay took early control and sent Sky to the outside, brawling about the ring. Back inside the two traded control and although jay was in firm control for a stretch, Sky was able to get some extended offense in and he looked great doing it. The crowd was a bit dead for this match, but not for the lack of quality wrestling. As Sky went for a superplex, mark ran out and held Jay’s boot, keeping him in place. Christopher Daniels ran down and he began to brawl with Mark, creating a distraction that allowed Jay to grab a chair. He missed with a mighty swing and Sky rolled him up with a schoolboy to sneak away with the pinfall victory. Sky beating here was touted an upset, as he pinned a former ROH World champion. The sentiment is understandable, but as one-half of the ROH World tag team champions who just beat Jay and Mark for the titles, it makes sense he could score another win. Either way, this was a strong showing overall from both and nice way to highlight Sky’s abilities, asserting him as an important player in the company.
Winner: Jay Briscoe
Bully Ray & Silas Young vs. Los Ingobernables de Japón (EVIL & SANADA)
Bully Ray came out and reminded the crowd that he’s from New York City and goading fans into throwing streamers at his head, offered 20 dollars to anyone who could actually accomplish the feat. Once Ray was finally hit he climbed down and claimed to be a man of his word before ripping the money up and throwing it at the lucky fan.Once the match got underway Young and Ray continued their bickering from the night before, with Ray continuing to berate Young and Young taking slight umbrage with it.SANADA and EVIL teamed to hit a Magic Killer on Silas Young to pick up the win. Post-match Ray and Young had a spat that Ray tried to mend by offering a hug, with Young rebuffing the gesture of friendship, sowing the seeds for a full break up in the future.
Winners: Los Ingobernables de Japón
Non-Title Match
ROH World Television Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Christopher Daniels
Daniels continues to find ways to make himself relevant at the age of 48. Having the match be non-title allowed for a bit of intrigue here as is working to secure a spot in the company heading into Final Battle. Because of this desperation, there were moments, especially after Daniels hit Angels Wings, that it seemed he could come away the victor. Cobb went full on beat mode here and kicked out after a one count, exasperating Daniels. Try as he might, Daniels couldn’t pout the match away and eventually fell victim to a Tour of the Islands that ended it all and earned Cobb win via pinfall. A dejected Daniels adhered to the code of honor, but the story continues that he’s grasping at straws to stay in the company. A strong contest here that did two things well: continued to present Cobb as a true force in ROH, while garnering sympathy for a veteran like Daniels who is working to ingratiate himself with Koff and ear a contract.
Winner: Jeff Cobb
Mark Briscoe vs. Cody
If someone were to point to this match and say that it would have been one of the strongest matches on this card, I would not have agree but these two really pulled out all the stops here and hit another gear in this match. Lowell is a bit of a homecoming for Cody, as it was the venue that he won his first world championships in. The crowd really took to him that night and showed the same kind of support that they have had before. Mark, much like Jay reminds us here of how versatile he is as not only a tag team competitor, but also as a singles star.After a hard hitting battle, Cody hit a Cross Rhodes to take the win in a hard earned contest.
Winner: Cody
Adam Page vs. Tetsuya Naito
Page continues to be booked against strong opponents and a chance against Naito during Global Wars is yet another indication that he is being primed for a big run in the company next year if he does in fact stay. Naito went shirt off here, indicating that we would see maximum effort here. Although both seemed to be really invested here there was something lacking here. Both guys performed the hits and Naito is over as usual. It’s nice to see Page return to spots and locales that he was previously not super over in and now come out to thunderous applause and support.
Page went for a Rite of Passage and Naito countered into Destino for what seemed like would be the finish, but something wonky occurred here and it actually appeared that Page was pinned. Either way, the match continued and Naito eventually hit Destino again, picking up the win via pinfall. The botched pin took away from the match here-I believe Page was meant to kick out but perhaps missed his cue, only because ROH has been pushing him so much that it’s conceivable that Naito would have had to work just a bit harder to put Page away. A good match here, just not a great one.
Winner: Naito
ROH World Champion Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham vs. Chris Sabin & KUSHIDA vs. The Kingdom==
This was an extremely fun romp that went just the right time it is far better served to be seen than read, but these four teams went full speed the entire time and had a hot crown behind them. In the end, Gresham managed to extricate himself from a Skull and Crossbones, allowing Lethal to hit the Lethal Injection on Sabin. Gresham hit a Shooting star press and scored the pinfall. Great match, easily the best one of the night. Gresham and lethal work together excellently and it is obvious that wins and losses here are being balanced as Gresham took the pin in the main event the night before and then came back and got a pin in the main on this show, so he is being treated carefully, as to keep him elevated.
Winners: Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham
Final Reaction: C+/B-
This show was a much stronger showing that Lewiston the night before. The crowd was really into the matches and it felt like everyone on the roster kicked it into another gear here. The main event was particularly strong here and was a great capper to this night. If you were in anyway Lukewarm about the first show, this one should bring back into the fold for the rest of the tour.