Match of the Weekend - TONIGHT@CodyRhodes vs @KennyOmegamanX
— ROH - Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) April 7, 2018
Streaming LIVE & FREE for ALL #HonorClub members TONIGHT at 830e/730c!https://t.co/vS7fcMBTTh pic.twitter.com/W3GlKZw2H6
On WrestleMania weekend ROH held their biggest show ever. Drawing 6000 fans to the show to witness the Bullet Club explode, Kenny Omega clashes with Cody. Also, Marty Scurll challenged for the ROH World Championship.
For those that had trouble streaming this on Honor Club, ROH promised to offer $40 coupons to the ROH Shop website for all VIP members, and $10 to every other Honor Club member.
Chuck Taylor (w/ Trent Beretta) (CHAOS) vs. Jonathan Gresham
This was a great fast paced little match to open the show. They popped the crowd early with the entrance of the Best Friends. Trent, while injured, still got to have his hug spot with Chuck. Chuck and Gresham worked together well, with Gresham getting a chance to show off a bit. Gresham nearly died with a tope but managed to continue. It wasn’t long before Taylor caught Gresham with a cradle and was able to pin him! Solid opening match
Result: Chuck Taylor
Rating: 2.75 stars out of 5
Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS) vs. Punishment Martinez
This was a very hard hitting affair. Ishii out struck Martinez in the early portions of the match. Martinez went for a dive over the corner post to the outside on Ishii, barely hitting him and landing on his own head. Punishment then got up, played to the crowd, and hit a massive tope con hilo despite almost dying seconds before.
Martinez rocked Ishii with a series of strikes back in the ring. Ishii ducked a kick and hit a German suplex. Afterwards, Ishii put Punishment on the top rope and hit a massive stalling brainbuster from the top rope! Martinez kicked out. Ishii hit a massive lariat, but Martinez kicked out. Martinez hit a massive chokeslam and pinned Ishii! That was awesome.
Result: Punishment Martinez
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
This was a massive win for Punishment Martinez. I expect he’s going to challenge Dalton Castle for the ROH World Title soon enough. Ishii gave Martinez a very good match and demonstrated why ROH is very high on him. I really liked this.
Hangman Page (Bullet Club) vs. Kota Ibushi (Bullet Club?)
I was discussing this match beforehand with a friend, and they told me “this will be one of the hidden gems of the weekend.” She wasn’t wrong. Ibushi is incredibly over, and Hangman has only become more popular due to Being the Elite. Both men exchanged a series of strikes and neither was able to get the advantage. Before long, Ibushi went for a Golden Triangle to the outside, but Hangman cut him off.
Hangman went for his Shooting Star Press to the outside but Ibushi dodged and Page landed on his feet. Hangman sent Ibushi into the guardrail. Page hopped up onto the guardrail to hit a moonsault, but Ibushi jumped up and hit a German suplex off the guardrail to the floor! He followed that up with a Golden Triangle. Back in the ring, Ibushi continued his offence until Page was able to hit an inverted Rite of Passage. Ibushi barely kicked out.
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/982788673484845057
Ibushi hit a Pele Kick while Page was on the apron and went for a piledriver on the apron. Page revered and hit a backdrop. Page then went to the top rope and hit a moonsault of his own. Incredible. Page then hit his slingshot flip clothesline, but Ibushi kicked out. Both men exchanged a series of near falls after this. This ended with Ibushi hitting a deadlift German suplex for a near fall.
Both men start exchanging strikes, but that’s always a bad idea with Ibushi. Hangman does manage to hit a Rolling Elbow to drop Ibushi, but Ibushi counters with a huge kick and the Golden Star Powerbomb. Page kicked out. Ibushi went for the Kamigoye, but Page reversed and went for a Rainmaker. Ibushi ducked and hit a straight jacket German suplex. Page kicked out. Ibushi held on, rolled through and hit a Kamigoye and got the pin!
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/982789072627347456
Result: Kota Ibushi
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Kelly Klein vs. Sumie Sakai – ROH Women’s Championship – Women of Honor Tournament Finals
Sumie Sakai went right after Kelly Klein right away and is trying to take it to her larger opponent. That doesn’t last long and Klein hit a German suplex. The action spilled to the outside and both women brawled on the outside for a few minutes. Sumie and Kelly exchanged a series of very hard forearms while all the women from the WOH tournament cheered them both on.
Sumie had a very difficult time coping with the strength and power of Kelly. Klein hit a beautiful Northern Lights Suplex, but Sumie didn’t give up and kicked out at 2. The crowd started clapping and cheering her on, hoping that Sumie would get the win. Sumie managed to hit a Fisherman’s Brainbuster on Klein then went for a moonsault that she slightly overshot and missed.
This was a bit off a botched ending, as Sumie was supposed to hit the moonsault. They exchanged holds for a bit, and Sumie hit a DDT, planting Klein on her head. Klein, who usually knocks her opponents out, was knocked out by Sumie. Sumie pinned Klein and is your new ROH Women’s Champion!
Result: Sumie Sakai
Rating: 2.75 stars out of 5
This match would have easily been 3 stars, maybe 3.25 if it wasn’t for the slightly botched ending. With that being said, it was so sweet that they let Sumie have her moment, and cut back to her in the ring celebrating with the other women. Sumie has done a lot for women’s wrestling in the United States that goes under the radar (having been wrestling and competing in MMA for years). She absolutely earned this. Sumie has been a main stay on the independent scene for years now, so I am very happy to see her finally get the recognition she deserves.
The Young Bucks (Bullet Club) & Flip Gordon vs. SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, & Scorpio Sky) (c) – Ladder Match for the ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championship
More from ROH
- ROH: Billie Starkz challenges ATHENA for Final Battle
- ROH: The tag team titles belong on a team on Honor Club
- ROH will crown new television champion at Final Battle
- Samoa Joe did not need to vacate the Ring of Honor TV Championship
- ROH: Eddie Kingston suspended by Stokely Hathaway
This match will be absolute madness. The match started off very quick with too much action to keep track off. Scorpio Sky hit a massive flip dive onto the Bucks who were holding a ladder, so Sky took them out but hit the ladder. Bodies were all over the ground as Nick and Matt accidently took each other out. Kazarian and Sky did the same. All men went for the belts early, and ended with Kazarain and Gordon taking each other out. Matt Jackson and Daniels battled atop the ladder, but Daniels shoved him off. Flip jumped on the ladder and sent Daniels off. Kazarian jumped on the ladder and hit a TKO off the top of the ladder!
The Bucks setup a ladder horizontally in the corner and did an assisted 450 Splash onto Daniels by launching Flip Gordon into the air. Kazarian tried the ole helicopter ladder trick, but every time he went for a hit, Gordon dodged by kicking up. He then superkicked Kazarian’s knee and all three men hit a superkick on Kazarian.
SoCal Uncensored managed to slow the match down a little bit and they got the heat by smashing the Bucks and Gordon into the ladders continuously. Gordon tried to make a comeback with springboard blockbuster, but Sky and Kazarian were able to stop him. Flip, however, hit a Monkey Flip on Kazarian sending him into a ladder. Flip then flipped onto Daniels. The Bucks hit an assisted sliced bread on Kazarian. Matt Jackson is having a ton of trouble with his back, and it prevented him from hitting a series of moves.
Matt locks on a Sharpshooter on Sky, and Sky grabs a ladder to try and escape. So Nick locked on the cross face through the ladder, and Sky was locked in the Cease and Desist. Daniels threw a ladder at Nick while Nick was on top of one. That was insane. Kazarian accidentally hit a hurricanrana on Daniels and Flip did an ridiculous flip dive by jumping onto the ring post and flipping to off it onto SoCal Uncensored!
Nick Jackson jumped across three ladders onto the ropes and hit a springboard flip dive, taking out SoCal Uncensored! The Kingdom came out and stopped the Bucks from climbing the ladder. The Kingdom then took out SoCal Uncensored too! They try to climb the ladder even though they’re not in the match. The Bucks and SoCal Uncensored dumped TK O’Ryan to the outside off the top of the ladder and resumed going after the titles.
All six men climb the ladder and battle at the top. Flip somehow balanced on the top of a ladder before having his legs taken out. He crashed face first into the top of the ladder and hit the mat. That was one of the craziest spots I’ve ever seen in wrestling. What follows is a series of some of the craziest spots ever seen in a ladder match. I’m literally speechless. This match is insane. The Bucks had enough, and setup several tables. Nick Jackson and Flip Gordon hit stereo 450 splashes onto the Kingdom through the tables on the outside of the ring.
https://twitter.com/WR_Central/status/983040366919147520
Christopher Daniels climbed the ladder, going for the titles, and Matt Jackson, selling his back, somehow climbs the ladder to stop him. Matt knocks Daniels to the mat, and Daniels sent Matt flying to the outside to stop him from winning. Matt managed to hit a flying elbow through the table onto Vinnie Marseglia! Christopher Daniels climbed the ladder and grabbed the belt to retain their titles!
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/982802043797737472
Result: SoCal Uncensored
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
After the match, The Kingdom stole the titles from SoCal Uncensored, and the crowd booed them while giving SoCal Uncensored a show of respect.
During the intermission we were treated to a triple threat tag match between The Motor City Machine Guns, and Luke & PJ Hawx, and Brian Milonas & The Beer City Bruiser. This was a little entertaining tag to help hold you over while the show was on break.
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/982809165109387265
Jay Lethal & Hiroshi Tanahshi vs. The Briscoes – ROH World Tag Team Titles
Jay Lethal is, by far, one of the most underrated wrestlers in the world today. In this match, he teamed with one of the biggest names and greatest wrestlers of all time – Hiroshi Tanahashi. The Briscoes are one of the most talented tag teams in the world. The match opened with Lethal and Jay Briscoe, who have had a storied rivalry. However, it isn’t long before Tanahashi and Mark are in the ring.
Mark Briscoe pulled Tanahashi’s hair, which should really be a crime. Tanahashi hit a big dragon screw leg whip and tagged in Lethal. Both men went to work with a series of quick tags, keeping Mark isolated from Jay. However, the experience of the Briscoes meant that they couldn’t be held back for too long. Mark and Jay are simply too good, and after a few minutes they managed to start getting the heat on Lethal.
Tanahashi would have none of that though and took it to Jay Briscoe after a little while. Lethal was tagged back in which may have been a mistake after the beating Lethal took. However, Lethal stayed close to his corner and exchanged a quick tag with Tanahashi. The Briscoes held the advantage for a little while over Tanahashi, but Tana was able to hit a sling blade on Mark. Lethal and Jay started brawling, renewing their rivalry. Tanahashi then sent Mark flying to the outside and went for a High Fly Flow on Jay who was locked in Lethal’s Figure Four, but Mark saved him.
Lethal hit a Lethal Injection on Jay Briscoe, but Briscoe barely kicked out. Tanahashi and Lethal went for the finish, but the Briscoes would have none of that. They dumped Tanahashi to the outside and hit a doomsday device on Lethal for the pinfall. Solid tag match right here.
Result: The Briscoes
Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5
Before the television title match, Austin Aries came out and announced that he was going to challenge the winner. Aries then joined the commentary team.
Silas Young vs. Kenny King (c) – Last Man Standing Match for the ROH Television Championship
Kenny King and Silas start this match with an exchange of technical wrestling to begin. King locked in a Last Chancery and stared at Aries afterwards. King was sent flying through a table on the outside of the ring, and Silas proceeded to beat on King for a little while on the outside. This led to King selling his back for most of the match. The story of the match was enhanced by this as much of King’s offence was harmed by the back injury.
Silas hit a Misery on the apron to king, sending him crashing to the mat. Silas sent a series of chairs and garbage cans into the ring, where Kenny King hit a Royal Flush through a trash can. King put Silas on a table on the outside of the ring. Mr. Beer made his way out to the ring and attacked Kenny. Kenny took him out, and Silas and Kenny brawled for a little bit.
Silas may have avoided the table for a little while, but Kenny King managed to hit a shooting star press off the top rope through the table on the outside of the ring! Holy cow! The ref began to count, and as King tried to get up, someone grabbed him from under the ring. Silas managed to stand up, and Kenny’s feet were tied together! Silas Young wins the match, and the Beer City Bruiser emerges from under the ring laughing.
Result: Silas Young
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
The Beer City Bruiser and Silas started to beat on Kenny after the match, and Aries ran down to the ring and took out Mr. Beer and Silas! The crowd erupted with Austin Aries chants as Aries saved King. It looks like we might be getting a tag match with Aries and King against the Beer City Bruiser.
Cheeseburger & Eli Isom vs. The Dawgz (Rhett Titus & Will Ferrara)
Before the match started, The Dawgz attacked Eli and took his knee out with a chair. Bully Ray cancelled the match. Cheeseburger said Bully should be his partner.
Cheeseburger & Bully Ray vs. The Dawgz (Rhett Titus & Will Ferrara)
This was a very quick affair with Bully and Cheeseburger dominating. Then Bully told Cheeseburger to get the tables. Bully then chokeslammed Cheeseburger! Why?!
Result: No contest
Why the heck did Bully Ray attack Cheeseburger? Bully then called out Joe Koff, the CEO and cut a rather big promo on him, saying he’s ruining the wrestling business by signing guys like Cheeseburger, Will Ospreay, and Flip Gordon. Flip Gordon came out and Bully threatened to piledrive Cheeseburger. Bully said the NOLA Athletic Commission would shut the show down (not true). Bully then said he was a WWE Hall of Famer and he didn’t need ROH before powerbombing Cheeseburger.
This was weird and out of place. Shouldn’t have been on the show, if you ask me.
Kenny Omega (Bullet Club) vs. Cody (Bullet Club) w/ Brandi Rhodes & Burnard the Business Bear
Cody has an armed escort to the ring, and Cody walked out wearing an eye patch due to the cut he suffered at Sakura Genesis. Rhodes walked out to ridiculous heat, and Kenny Omega had a massive pop. The crowd was very hot for this one, chanting vulgar things at Cody, and chanting The Elite at Omega.
It opens fast, and Kenny outpaces him quickly going for a Rise of the Terminator Dive onto Cody, but Burnard the Business Bear grabbed Kenny’s feet. Kenny hit a dropkick on Burnard and took his head off and threw it into the crowd! The guy in the front row immediately put it on. We didn’t see who Burnard was though. Kenny took it back into the ring and hit a series of chops before Cody took out Kenny with a knee.
Cody proceeded to get the heat on Omega for a little bit and went for a Shattered Dreams on Omega! Before hitting it, Cody stopped and flipped off the crowd, drawing massive boos. This is beautiful. The crowd started to chant very loudly for Omega, but Cody stopped him with a powerbomb. Kenny got locked in an Indian Deathlock, but Kenny got to the ropes. Brandi slapped Kenny, to boos from the crowd.
Cody asked Brandi to throw a foreign object into the ring, and Cody caught it. The ref took it, but as his back was turned, Cody punted Kenny right between the legs. Kenny went to the outside, and Brandi proceed to put the boots to Kenny. This is so old school. Cody is drinking in the hate and making it even hotter. This reminds me so much of Ric Flair in the 80s, it’s quite astonishing.
Cody eventually got taken out by Kenny, and Kenny was finally able to hit Rise of the Terminator. Omega brought it back into the ring and hit a Fisherman’s Neckbreaker. Kenny and Cody have a series of reversals that ends with Cody getting hit with a snap Dragon Suplex. Omega hit a second one, and the crowd chanted “one more time.” Kenny went for it, but Cody reversed into a Disaster Kick. Omega kicked out. Kenny ended up going for the One Winged Angel, but Cody slipped out and locked in a Figure Four Leglock. This only furthers my Flair comparison.
Kenny and Cody sit up and exchange strikes, and Kenny eventually managed to turn the Figure Four over. A table was set up on the outside of the ring and Cody went for both a Cross Rhodes and piledriver off the apron through the table. Kenny blocked both and hit a snap Dragon Suplex on the apron on Cody. Omega tried to keep the advantage, but Cody hit a front suplex on Kenny onto the side of a table. Holy crap.
Cody got another table out and hit a springboard missile dropkick followed by an Alabama slam. Cody hit a snap dragon suplex himself and hit the ropes. Kenny hit a V-Trigger. Omega went for another V-Trigger, but Cody moved out of the way, and Omega hit Brandi Rhodes and sent her flying through the table! Kenny went to check on Brandi, who Cody ignored again, like he did at Manhattan Mayhem. Cody grabbed Kenny and hit the Cross Rhodes and Kenny kicked out! Flip Gordon came out and helped Brandi to the back.
Cody hit a huge superplex on Omega, hit Kenny with his weight belt a few times, and went for a moonsault. Kenny moved, and Kenny hit a V-Trigger. Cody asked for Omega to hit him again. Omega did. Kenny went for a third one, but Cody pulled the ref in the way. Kenny stopped him. Cody spit at Kenny and raked his eyes. Kenny ignored it, hit a 3rd and 4th V-Trigger, but Cody kicked out. Kenny hit another, and went for a One Winged Angel. Cody reversed and hit a Vertebreaker on Omega! Kenny barely kicked out. Cody went for another Cross Rhodes, but Kenny reversed and both men crashed into the referee! Cody and Kenny then both hit cross bodies on each other.
The Young Bucks came out, and both men are left with a decision about who’s side they’re on. Both men look at Kenny, and the crowd screams “No!” The Bucks went to superkick Cody, but Cody ducked and they superkicked Kenny Omega by accident! Cody got up and hit a Cross Rhodes on Omega. Cody Rhodes wins!
Result: Cody
Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5
Excellent match from both men. What does this mean for Bullet Club? The Bucks clearly went for Cody, but Kenny ended up getting hit and subsequently beat. This story is far from over. Cody barely won. Kenny shoved the Bucks away after the match and walked out sad. This is so far from over.
Marty Scurll (Bullet Club) vs. Dalton Castle (c) – ROH World Championship Match
The NWA Worlds Champion, Nick Aldis, was shown in the crowd before the start of the match. It looks like the NWA will be working with ROH again soon.
Both men work smartly at the start of this match to get the crowd into it after Cody/Omega by a few exchange of holds before slowing it down and flipping each other off in creative ways. This got the crowd to pop and immediately made it different from what came before. Smart stuff here. Both men went to the outside of the ring, and Dalton ended up hitting the ring post very hard. Scurll hit a series of chops and slammed Dalton on the outside.
Marty went after the boys, but soon thereafter they were both back in the ring. Dalton Castle eventually pulled Marty from the ring and hit a deadlift German suplex on the outside of the ring. That was great. Both men work a slower pace into the middle of the match, giving the crowd a little breathing room to recover from the last match. Castle blocked a tornado DDT and went for a Bangarang, but Scurll rolled through and went for a pinfall. Castle kicked out.
Marty hit a massive superplex and Dalton kicked out. Marty hit a superkick off the apron to the outside on Castle and left him in control. Dalton and Marty brawled all around ringside before coming back to the ring. Marty continued to work over the left wrist of Dalton, using hammerlocks to drive Dalton’s left arm into the turnbuckle. On the outside, Castle was sent into the guardrail right in front of Nick Aldis. Aldis handed Scurll a pair of plyers.
Scurll cut one of the turnbuckle pads off. However, this left Castle time to recover and Castle hit a dead lift German suplex from the apron into the ring.
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/982846446440452097
Dalton and Marty climb the top where Dalton went for a German Suplex off the top. Marty low blowed Dalton to get out and hit a series of superkicks. Dalton kicked out. Marty went under the ring, looking for powder, but it seems it was misplaced. Dalton attacked and sent Marty into the guardrail. Marty ended up finding the powder after taking out Dalton again. Scurll went to throw it, but Dalton kicked the powder into Marty’s face.
Marty then grabbed the referee and broke his fingers because he couldn’t see. Dalton hit the Bangarang, and the ref went to count, but couldn’t because of his broken fingers. Marty then hit Castle with a series of umbrella shots before hitting a brainbuster. Castle kicked out! Marty locked in the Chicken Wing, but Castle escaped! Marty locked it in again. Castle almost made the ropes but Marty grabbed his fingers and broke them.
Marty started stomping repeatedly on Castle’s head. Marty went for another Chicken Wing, Dalton rolled through. Scurll kicked out. Marty then hit a series of superkicks and hit the ropes. Dalton caught him and hit another Bangarang and retained the title!
Result: Dalton Castle
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
The match was far better than the crowd would have indicated. There was no way this match should have followed the Cody/Omega match. There’s no way they could. It was still excellent, and both men had a very good bout. Marty was super over, and I think the ROH title is only a short while away from him. He will definitely be winning it in the future. This loss did nothing to hurt that, and instead will help propel him forward.
Next: Daniel Bryan's Underdog Story Resumes at WrestleMania 34
Final Thoughts
Show Rating: 4/5 stars
This was a very solid show. It had a few moments that were a bit baffling (the stuff with Bully Ray, in particular), but the rest was very good. The best match of the night, in my opinion, was easily The Young Bucks & Flip vs. SoCal Uncensored. A lot of folks will compare this to NXT as they ran at the same time, but I think it’s unfair to compare the two. Let both shows stand on their own. Both are good. It was an excellent night for wrestling as a whole. ROH advanced some storylines here, and provided some killer matches. I can’t complain about that.