The ROH/NJPW crossover action continues for the third week on ROH TV as we see action from their August Field of Honor event from MCU Park in Brooklyn, New York.
1) Timesplitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA) vs. The Briscoes
It's Alex Shelley's first match back after months off from an injury and what a task he & KUSHIDA have in the form of their opponents, The Briscoes. I've never been a huge fan of the baseball stadium set ups, but I actually dig the way they have things looking tonight. All four guys shake hands and this dream match gets underway. KUSHIDA fights back from an early isolation period to clean house minutes in before giving Shelley the tag. The Splitters go nuts with what they do best, fast paced double team offense. They do quite the job of keeping Mark Briscoe isolated from this point forward. Mark is able to retaliate and tag in Jay for a semi-hot tag. The Briscoes start going to town and kick Shelley in the face and I'M CRINGING AS HE GETS HIS FRONT TEETH KICKED OUT. That's so hard to watch. Shelley really has had the worst luck in the past few years and I hate it for him. He keeps fighting though and is able to make the tag to KUSHIDA who once again starts cleaning house on DEM BOYS. Shelley joins in with a Jumping Knee off the ring apron on Jay as KUSHIDA gets a nearfall in the ring. KUSHIDA manages to get Mark in the hoverboard lock only for Jay to break it up. Shelley comes in to even the odds and the Time Splitters take over. A Moonsault/frog splash combo gets them a nearfall. Shelley is still hitting on all cylinders despite his nasty injury. Shelley has Mark up for the sliced bread on the top rope, but The Briscoes get out of that predicament. ASSISTED NECKBREAKER TO SHELLEY! 1..2..HE KICKS OUT! The action really gets too fast to call at this point. Jay attempts a Jay Driller on Shelley. He's not able to hit it and all four men end up in the ring for an array of throws and kicks. Ironically enough, Jay & Shelley are left to square off at the end of it and Jay finally hits the Jay Driller to pick up the win after a hot match.
Match rating - ***3/4
NEXT WEEK: Jay Lethal defends the ROH Television Championship against Takaaki Watanabe. He earned this shot on this same Field of Honor event so we see the final moments of that match between he & Cedric Alexander. It's a fun few minutes of action that sees an angry Moose distract Cedric long enough for Watanabe to take Cedric to suplex city before finishing him off with an STO to become the #1 Contender. I said it a few weeks ago, but Watanabe has really improved a lot in the past year and I can't wait to see him face off with Lethal.
2) Roderick Strong vs. Kazuchika Okada
1) Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, YOSHI HASHI, & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe, & La Sombra
Star studded tag action is kicking off the show. Okada & Tana start off first in a stalemate before Ibushi is tagged in and NAKAMURA ENTERS. OH MY. It's become epic to see these guys in the ring together despite this being prior to their five star classic at WK9. Ibushi goes for a number of strikes, but misses them all thanks to Nakamura's quickness. They slow down and start working the arms with hammerlocks and such. Nakamura gets Ibushi in the ropes and delivers a knee or two to get the advantage. Ibushi gets out of the way of the running knee and the rest of his team knocks Okada, Ishii, & YOSHI HASHI off the apron. Sombra gets tagged in and delivers a nice flurry. The action skips ahead a bit after this and Makabe & Ishii are squaring off. You know what this entails - ELBOWZZZ AND LARIATOS.
We return from commercial to Tanahashi and Okada making tags. It's a preview of WK9 once again and Okada whips Tanahashi with a dragon screw. He hits the ropes and is caught with a flapjack from the champion. Okada recovers and hits Tana with a reverse neckbreaker. It's now time - TOMBSTONE PILEDRI--- NOPE. Tanahashi gets out and damn, they trade all their stuff. Okada misses the rainmaker, but gets the dropkick only for Tanahashi to respond almost immediately with the slingblade. Okada makes the tag out to YOSHI HASHI and what even, he takes down Tanahashi somehow! His team mates help him with some tandem offense and YOSHI nearly gets a pin on the champion. Both men are to their feet, they trade slaps, Tanahashi hits the ropes, and UPPERCUT from YOSHI HASHI followed by a powerbomb and a bridging pin. Another kick out from the IWGP Champ. La Sombra springboards and drop kicks YOSHI HASHI who Tanahashi had in a full nelson positon. Things break down from here and everyone hits their stuff. It ends with moonsaults to the outside from both Ibushi & Sombra. Somehow, Tanahashi & YOSHI HASHI are still the legal men and it isn't long at all before Tanahashi hits the slingblade followed by the high fly flow for the victory at 17:10. Good teaser for all the WK9 matches. Tanahashi & Okada staredown post-match as Ishii & Makabe engage in a brawl that is soon broken up.
2) Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto - 2014 World Tag League Finals
Seth Rollins starts the show extremely pissed about the Kane incident from Raw. He calls out Kane and he doesn't come. After a few seconds, HE LIMPS OUT ON CRUTCHES! This split personality thing is so wonderful. Therefore, this segment was pretty funny to watch unfold, especially on Kane's end. Who would have thought a WWE Championship program in 2015 would be entertaining? Anyways, the main event for the night is announced. Rollins & New Day against The Dudley's & Kane, but ONLY if Corporate Kane is at ringside.
1) Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, & Alicia Fox vs. Sasha Banks, Naomi & Tamina
A recap of last week's saga between Seth Rollins & Kane airs to start the show. Ever since Team Hell No, I've grown to really appreciate Kane and while he's not one of my favorites, he doesn't have that "ugh" stigma to him like he and many others did in 2008-2010.
TONIGHT: Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
We go live and John Cena is headed to the ring with his United States Championship and it's time for the open challenge! Or so, it seems. He teases it happening tonight, then says, right now. So glad this segment is back. I was expecting Heath Slater due to the social media banter, but no IT'S NEW DAY! This is so perfect. After some back & forth, they end things with the line "You're about to get lost in the Woods!"
1) John Cena (c) vs. Xavier Woods - United States Championship Match
Cena floors Xavier with a clothesline right off the bat. We've got serious Cena here and it's awesome. I forgot to mention that during the opening promo, Cena's response to New Day was that if they didn't get serious, he'd beat all of their asses. OOOOOHHHH. Anyway, the ref ends up throwing out Big E & Kofi as we go to commerical. We come back and Cena & Woods basically trade big moves & counters for a few minutes until Cena locks in the STF. This leads to Big E & Kofi running down which causes a DQ. They start beating down Cena when PYRO HITS! THE DUDLEYS RUN DOWN FOR THE SAVE! We've got a staredown! New Day and The Dudleys & Cena! I smell a six man tag as we go to commercial.
2) John Cena & The Dudley Boys vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, & Xavier Woods)
This trios contest is underway when we return. Dudleys & Cena are working over Kofi then New Day gets their control seg which as said before is the best in the business at the time. It's even better when they're working over someone like Cena. Big E hits his huge splash on the US Champ and goes for it again, but misses. This leads to the hot tag for Kofi & Devon. It gets pretty chaotic at this point. A near fall or two. Big E runs in and charges, Devon moves, BIG E SPEARS JOHN CENA THROUGH THE ROPES OFF THE APRON! I love that spot so much! The Dudleys nail the whazzaaap on Kofi then set up for the 3D. Xavier pulls Bubba's legs out from under him which allows Kofi to hit Devon with the Trouble In Paradise Enziguri Kick and get the three count.
Match rating - ***
Backstage, Kane is introduced to someone who will evaluate him tonight. Rollins comes in and says it sounds like a lot of pressure. Kane responds with the line of "Don't worry, Seth, I can handle the heat." Kane gets fired up, no pun intended, before immediately settling down into his Director of Operations persona and walking off happily with the lady who's going to evaluate him.
New Japan on AXS has been trekking through 2014 and we now find ourselves in November of that year at NJPW's November event, Power Struggle. Tonight's show promises to be another true strong style fest as Tomohiro Ishii defends the NEVER Title against Hirooki Goto and Shinsuke Nakamura defends the IC Title against Katsuyori Shibata. Four of strong style's finest are in action tonight along with what promises to be a super fun tag team match with Kota Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi teaming up to face Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI.
1) Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Hirooki Goto - NEVER Openweight Title Match
The night kicks off with this match that is filled with stiff shots right out of the gate as we've all come to expect from a match involving Ishii. Sadly, this match was clipped so after the early flurry, they skipped ahead a bit and sure enough, Ishii was still laying in the shots to Goto. Goto retaliated however as he nailed Ishii with a sick kick that drew blood from his mouth. Things graduate to a new level of stiff at this point with every shot being heard loud and clear. They blast each other and Goto finally FLOORs Ishii. Cover, 1...ISHII KICKS OUT! He doesn't get up, but he did get the shoulder up quick to show his resilience. Once both men rise to their feet, Goto nails Ishii with a nasty looking facebuster before they begin trading shots again. Goto comes out on top again, but the third time turns out to be the charm as Ishii HEADBUTTS GOTO TO THE MAT! Whaaaattt?! After a few moments of hesitations, Ishii hits the ropes and LARIAT FROM GOTO! Hard hitting and fast paced is the best way to describe the action here as you can tell. After a showing of fighting spirit from Goto, Ishii is finally able to put him away with a hug brain buster and retain his NEVER Championship.
Match rating - ***1/2
After the match, Togi Makabe is checking on Goto when Ishii notices. Oh boy! I could see it coming and got hyped. Ishii steps over Goto right in front of Makabe, essentially placing his crotch in his face in a cocky manner. Makabe stands up and towers over Ishii while staring him down. LAWD! These two would meet in January of 2015 at WK9 and this was one hell of a teaser.
2) Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi vs. Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI HASHI
As you already know if you keep up regularly with the blog, my ROH TV reviews have gotten out of order due to me catching an extra early viewing of NEXT week's episode. I went ahead and posted my review of that yesterday so be sure to give that look in prep for next week. However, now we have the much anticipated episode of ROH TV from tonight. I've been looking forward to the main event six man since it was announced so this should be a fun hour of pro wres.
1) Michael Elgin vs. Silas Young
Big Mike is back!! It's his first TV appearance since returning from Japan where he had quite the run in the 25th Annual G1 Climax. The internet buzz has clearly translated to the ROH fanbase as they've re-embraced him as well. This was reiterated by the pop that he got here. I like the choosing of Silas as his first opponent. Mainly because I've liked Silas forever, but yeah. Elgin shows off his power early to wow the crowd before Silas takes over after a DDT on the ring apron. Elgin is forced to be on the defensive at this point which was really the perfect set up for this match considering how popular Big Mike is at the time. Speaking of perfect, this was the exact comeback that Elgin needed in ROH. He broke out the inside out falcon arrow off the second rope that I completely lost my shit for. Silas kicks out in a huge nearfall. Elgin struggles to maintain control and ends up on the outside where Silas pulls back part of the mat. He sets Elgin up for something, BUT ELGIN POWERS HIM UP!! RUNNING POWERBOMB INTO THE RAILING! BIG MIKE!!! He rolls Silas back in the ring and ELGIN BOMB! This one's over!
Match rating - **3/4
2) ACH vs. Caprice Coleman
It's been yet another several week break from Impact for me and I barely felt inclined to tune back in. A recent wrestling kick drew me into watching plus the fact that they are going to start building towards their biggest PPV of the year tonight made me figure that tuning in was worth a shot. Currently, TNA is coming off their mini-feud with GFW. Last week, they won the war in a Lethal Lockdown match. Sadly, something I wanted to see ended up going bland just weeks into the story and I didn't even watch the blow off. Sigh. Anyways, here we are.
Dixie Carter opens the show. The roster is surrounding the ring and Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, Bobby Lashley, & Bram are inside. Drew Galloway comes out and Dixie congratules him & the rest of the winning team. After this, she calls out Eric Young who goes ballistic and I loved it. Except for the random inclusion that he has some sort of iron clad contract with TNA which is going to keep Dixie from firing him. Those kind of things seem so fake and spur of the moment, but it is what it is. Dixie's punishment for him is giving Chris Melendez, the war hero who got his prostethic leg taken by EY, one more shot at revenge.
1) Eric Young vs. Chris Melendez
This happened. I've always enjoyed watching Melendez simply because he's a spectacle to see in the ring, but this wasn't anything special. The crowd wasn't very hype and you knew the inevitable was coming so I kind of just waited for it. Minutes later, it happens. Melendez gets the pin after a series of offense including a sweet dropkick off the second rope. Nice pop for him as he gets his leg back.
Match rating - **
2) Gail Kim (c) vs. Jade - Knockouts Title Match
