ROH Wrestling Manhattan Mayhem 2018 Results, Grades, And Analysis

Punishment Martinez vs. Soberano Jr.

Punishment Martinez refuses the Code of Honor to tart the match. Soberano went for a dive, but Martinez caught him. Martinez went for a chokeslam on the apron, but Soberano avoided it with a chop. Soberano went for a moonsault, and Martinez dropped him when he was supposed to catch him. Martinez picked him up and sent him flying into the guardrail. Soberano botched a spring board cartwheel kick, as the crowd booed. Punishment punished him with what looked like a legitimate kick to the face.

Soberano tried to send Martinez to the outside with a hurricanrana but Martinez failed to fall outside the ring. This was full of botches early on. Soberano got the crowd back into it with two nice dives. Back in the ring, Martinez caught Soberano as he went for a springboard and hit a massive chokeslam for the pinfall.

Result: Punishment Martinez

Rating: 1.75 stars out of 5.

This match was a bit of a mess. Much of it was on Soberano, who, to be fair, had trouble with travel and was likely exhausted.

After the match, Martinez hit a powerbomb on the apron to hurt Soberano. Martinez is looking to send a message to Marty Scrull before the 16th Anniversary Show. Martinez is looking to make a major impact this year in ROH, and beating Scrull would achieve that goal.

Ian Riccaboni brings John Gresham on the stage, and they do a live Q & A with some of the fans. This is quite cool. Some fans booed it, but I like this.

Flip Gordon vs. Cody (w/ Brandi Rhodes & Bury the Drug Free Bear) – If Flip Gordon Wins, he’s booked for All In

https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/970106048056000514

I totally think Bury the Drug Free Bear is Kenny Omega. Cody tries to get a fan kicked out for being #TeamKenny in his feud with Kenny Omega to roars of disapproval from the crowd. This was brilliant. The crowd was so pro Cody at first, and after this promo, the crowd completely turned on him and cheered for Flip and Kenny. This was so great.

The story of this match is Cody trying to slow down the pace of the match while Flip tries to pick up the pace. Cody does some amazing heel work here, including calling out Okada with a Rainmaker pose. This guy is other level great right now. He hit the switch, and just turned it up a notch. This is top level heat. Cody spit in the face of a fan, did Kenny’s Rise of the Terminator, and took Gordon out on the floor.

Flip superkicked Bury the Bear, to boos from the crowd. Flip then flipped onto Cody. Back in the ring Flip hit a series of nice superkicks on Cody. He can’t get the pinfall. Cody rakes the eyes and hits a moonsault, but Flip kicks out. Rhodes kills him with a Cross Rhodes but doesn’t cover him! Cody is calling for a moonsault to pin him, but Flip dodges. Flip heads to the top rope and nails him with a 450 splash! Cody kicks out!

Brandi tries to interfere and Cody accidentally hits Brandi with a disaster kick and as Flip is concerned Cody hits another Cross Rhodes and pins Flip. He’s celebrating while his wife is on the ground, knocked out. This man is a despicable heel. The crowd is booing the crap out of him. This is amazing.

Result: Cody Rhodes by being a total jerk.

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5.

The story of this match was incredible. Astounding heel work by Cody.

During the intermission, they showed a classic match between Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe.

Caprice Coleman is out for Coleman’s Pulpit. This is an exceptional promo by Coleman. Colt Cabana won the contest to be the guest on Coleman’s Pulpit, but The Kingdom comes out and crashes the party. They talk about how SoCal Uncensored’s flights have been canceled, so The Kingdom is subbing in against The Bullet Club. They were upset that ROH didn’t even book them for the show.