So last night was Ring of Honor's Death Before Dishonor Pay-Per-View event. I have actually seen multiple Death Before Dishonors live in the past. Now, unfortunately, I missed the opening contest between Silas Young and Will Ferrara, though it honestly was the match I was looking forward to the least.
I started during the Cedric Alexender vs. Moose match. Moose was on a huge winning streak and Cedric was on a bit of a losing skid when Cedric defeated him on ROH TV. With Cedric showing more heel tendencies, Veda Scott left Moose to manage Cedric. I thought this match was pretty solid. Moose hasn't been wrestling long but has done pretty well for himself in that time. Alexander won by nailing Moose with a foreign object. There is some good heel potential for Alexander. **3/4
Up next, Roppongi Vice took on the Briscoes. Part of me looked at this like it was kind of an off night for the Briscoes. They've been pretty high on the card lately, especially Jay, and this was a bit lower. There was no rivalry here or anything, but commentary did a good job in selling the fact that a win here would put either team in Tag Team Title contention. It was a blast and I really enjoyed seeing Roppongi Vice get more aggressive as the match went on and Trent had a busted eye. They got some near falls before the Briscoes picked up the win. Really fun stuff. ***3/4
I was pretty excited to see Adam Cole vs. Dalton Castle. Castle may not be known for being the best worker that ROH has, but his character is an absolute joy to watch. His matches are usually enjoyable but this was extra fun. Cole played off of him perfectly with some fun facial expressions. It was good to see Castle step into the ring against someone who has been to the top of ROH. As expected, Cole won here and showed Castle respect after the bell. Quality action here. Silas Young ran out to attack Castle after the match. ***1/2
When this actual match happened live, my stream got all messed up, but I found a way to watch it fully this morning. Adam Page faced ACH in a No Disqualifications match. Early on, I wasn't a big fan of this as it started rather slow. Once they got into the actual no disqualification work by bringing in weapons and such. They got creative, which really helped this out. This wasn't overly long and, after involving a ladder and table, Page won. Pretty solid stuff. ***
I was looking forward to the Four Corner Survival Tag Team Title match. The Addiction defended against reDRagon, War Machine and the Kingdom. Right off the bat, Maria Kanellis stole the show by looking amazing. I felt like this had potential to be much better, but it wasn't bad by any means. All four teams worked hard, but War Machine stood out to me. They busted out some impressive offense and looked to be doing their best to go above and beyond. Adam Cole was out on commentary to further build his issues with the Kingdom. This was chaotic, but just a bit underwhelming. The Addiction retain following Celebrity Rehab. ***
It was now time for the main event, pitting Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong. Strong is billed as Mr. ROH and Lethal currently holds the World and Television Titles. While this is a big match, I think it's good for a first defense as a win over Strong means a fair amount. The match itself is a really good outing from both guys, but they end up going with the time limit draw. It's hard to have a match go for an hour and not have it feel a bit long but this felt like 60 minutes. I've seen much better hour matches and much worse, but this was in the middle. I also don't agree with the draw decision. I get that they may want to do the rematch down the line, but having Lethal's first defense not end via decisive pin is disappointing and kind of hurts him. I've seen people split on this. Some hated it and some called it a MOTY candidate. I'm more towards the middle as it was good, but not great. ***1/2
Overall, I think this was another good showing for Ring of Honor. I don't believe it was a classic or great event, but it was really solid. Nothing gets more than four stars from me and nothing got less than **3/4. Outside of the main event, the show moved quickly and, while I may not agree with every booking decision, I found the show enjoyable. 7/10
I think ROH is a really poor man's version of what the NWA used to be in my earlier years. Not Dubya See Dubya, mind you. Basically wrestling and that it. The simple shit that gets taken for granted.
ReplyDelete- I feel like now that The Addiction are tag champs, it's inevitable that Dem Boyz get after them for the tag straps. I'm expecting things with them and reDRagon to be done by the Fall before they move on to other things. If I may be honest though, the whole KRD thing has been a little disappointing since the reveal. Hopefully with time this changes.
- The Kingdom. I'm probably late to the party with them as a unit, but when I break it down to the bone gristle...them without Cole is like Harold Melvin without The Blue Notes. They're not going Platinum. I think a feud with Bennett and Cole would be outstanding. Taven, man has Paul Roma heat with me. Basically you're a pretty boy who's there packing the charisma of a paper cup.
- Cedric & Veda. This has serious potential if it's given time to grow. Wrestling 101 all but states it's inevitable that Caprice will try to get Cedric off his present path and catch a hellacious beating for messing with a Pimp trying to make his money. Veda as hot as she is, truly an old school soul within that body of hers. Throw her in a time capsule and open it in the 80s, she's just as fine.
- I know most don't agree with how the main ended, but as they saw with how it ended, ya can't shoot your load too quickly. (Paying attention, WWE?!) They can get mileage out of this feud given Roddy's past ties to Truth and it'd be foolish of them not to stretch this out over a few months to see how it goes. We knew Jay wasn't losing and I think a draw works beautifully in both their favors as they play opposite sides of the same 'you didn't beat me' card. Roddy uses it for a rematch, Jay uses it for the block.
ROH hitting Destination America has been a breath of fresh air for me as I'm losing patience with the E and their inability to push its future to great things in the present. TNA is like WCW in 2000, the impending doom makes it tough for me to sit through.