Ring of Honor Anniversary Show: 13 Years of Awesome!
Last Sunday Ring of Honor presented their third live pay per view event “13 Year Anniversary” Winner Takes All. With the onslaught of disappointing pay per views or special events or whatever WWE is calling them these days, what a breath of fresh air this was. The event drew a house of about 1000 fans, which is very impressive considering Ring of Honor rarely ventures to the west. This has been a great trend for ROH as they drew a standing room only crowd in with attendance in 900 to 1000 range in Atlanta and Philadelphia earlier this year respectively. (Maybe Jeff Jarrett was right wrestling is renaissance is coming). With an impressive card top to bottom highlighted by a Young Bucks/reDRagon battle for the World Tag Team Titles the Ring of Honor locker room delivered in a celebration of 13 years of some of the best wrestling on the planet.
Spoiler Alert:
Matt Sydal pinned Cedric Alexander after Shooting Star Press (3.5)
Awesome opening match that told a great story. Cedric needed the W and pulled out all the stops even a little anger (which he desperately needs) teasing a heel turn. But his bag a tricks wasn’t enough to get the win as the Reborn vet Matt Sydal got the W. Loved the emotion Cedric displayed in this one and I am really hoping this leads to a more aggressive “tweener” attitude for Cedric as he is more than deserving of a push in 2015.
Moose defeats Mark Briscoe with the spear (2)
You knew what this would be when they first announced it. No knock on either competitor but I never saw Mark getting the W here as Moose has been built to be a monster as of late. With that being said this was fun. Mark got his usual spots in to make the crowd happy but in the end Moose leveled him with a spear for the win. I will say this Moose is looking better in the ring. Still I would have liked to see this as the opener because it was hard to follow Sydal/Alexander for anyone.
Triple Threat Tag Match (3)
The Kingdom (Michael Bennett & Matt Taven) def The Addiction (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) vs The Bullet Club (Karl Anderson) pinning Anderson after a spike piledriver
We get the news that Gallows (1/2 of the IWGP Tag Team Champions w/ Anderson) couldn’t make the show due to weather in Detroit. And if you follow him on twitter saying he was pissed was an understatement (plus he was stuck in Detroit jk jk) but these 5 men put on a very entertaining match considering the circumstances. Never really got the awkward feeling I thought we’d get since Anderson was left without a partner. Instead they told a great story of Karl being the bad ass who will fight no matter what. Surprised that Taven got the pin (and on Anderson nonetheless) this has to be a set-up for a tag match between The Kingdom and Bullet Club for the IWGP Tag Titles. All and all very entertaining match.
Roderick Strong beats BJ Whitmer with the Strong Breaker (3)
If you are not a fan of strike fest fast forward immediately. Strong and Whitmer basically beat the crap out of each other without any weapons or goofy run ins (although it was teased). Liked the touch of having Jimmy Jacobs on commentary and admitting he doesn’t particularly care for Whitmer but Decade is about the cause. No matter how many times I see the Strong Breaker I never stop cringing. Hopefully we can see Roderick get inserted into the title picture because I think a Roderick Strong/Jay Briscoe feud would be awesome.
ODB beats Maria Kanellis (1)
The match was what you would expect Maria getting a little offense until ODB hulked up. Maria took some punishing bumps outside the ring which you have to respect. Liked that her and Mark Briscoe stole the title of love and tried to restore it to the original Jay Briscoe custom belt.
AJ Styles pins ACH with the Style Clash (4)
If you didn’t respect ACH before this match (you are crazy) then you definitely will after watch this match because ACH was so close to getting the W. Too many spots and sequences to pick one. The crowd popped huge for the Styles Clash. Go out of your way to watch this match.
ROH Tag Team Titles
reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) defeat The Young Bucks with Chasing the Dragon to retain (4)
The thing that is so awesome about reDRagon/Young Bucks series is no match has been the same and every match has brought a different dynamic to the forefront. Absolutely went nuts when Shayna Baszler came out with Kyle and Bobby and even saved a 3 count. Me trying to pick a favorite spot? Not going to happen WATCH THIS MATCH. Ok I change my mind “IndyTaker Spike Tombstone” on the outside was insane. Another chapter to a story that is still being told.
ROH Television Title
Jay Lethal beats Alberto El Patron (3.5)
Lethal claims to be the best champion on television and it’s hard to argue as his character just gets better and better every time I watch him. And lets not overlook the fact that he pinned the AAA World Champion. Am I greedy for wanting a rematch already? Really good stuff her that saw Lethal and Alberto wrestle and brawl. But in the end it was Lethal’s heel tactics that got him the win. I think they have more of a story to tell and as they work more their chemistry can only get better, Lethal/Patron 2 please.
Joe’s return speech
Joe then says that the winner’s ass belongs to him, he’s back, and he’ll be the ROH World Champion.Good luck to whoever is champ when that time comes. So awesome to see Samoa Joe return to ROH ring.
ROH World Title: 4 Corner Survival (3.5)
Jay Briscoe pins Hanson to retain against Michael Elgin & Tommaso Ciampa
Elgin was the star in this match in my eyes and it’s only a matter of time before he has the title back. Elgin as a heel feels right IMO. Ciampa’s mask and cape were awesome and made him look like a legit psycho lol. Loved seeing Rowe return and run off the Knights … I think War Machine being back together will get some more momentum for Hanson going forward. Finish was a little lack luster and weird. But overall a nice match. Highlight was the stare down between Briscoe and Samoa Joe as every fan I is hoping for a title match before Joe leaves for WWE (if he does). A win for Jay Briscoe in that match would really solidify his legacy as World Champion and “the face” of Ring of Honor.
MOTN: Young Bucks/reDRagon
Performance of the Night: ACH
Spot of the Night: Spike IndyTaker to the outside by Young Bucks on O’Reilly
Overall Grade: 4
