ROH War Of The Worlds: Royal Oak Recap/Review 5/12/18

Am I a bit late to the party on this one? Yes. Do I care? No, because work and a poor sleep schedule get in the way. Anyways, let's get to it.

EVIL vs. Shane Taylor

The match starts out with EVIL attempting to knock Taylor down with a shoulder block; Taylor mocks him with each failed attempt. Even after an eye rake, EVIL is unsuccessful as Taylor knocks him down. Following quick counter in the corner, EVIL briefly turns the tides with a kick to the gut then a shoulder block to Taylor. This momentum stops, however, as Taylor nails him with a back elbow.

Taking the advantage, Taylor takes his time to mock EVIL, who tries to fight back but Taylor halts his momentum with a sidewalk slam. He then begins punishing EVIL and slows the match down. EVIL attempts to fight back, but is unsuccessful as Taylor plants him with a ura-nage then a standing splash. The momentum seems to shift when EVIL hits Taylor with a swinging neckbreaker, then a corner discus clothesline then follows it up with a running bulldog.

Taylor, however, stops EVIL’s momentum with a clothesline, then a slingshot into the ropes followed by an apron splash. This is quickly stopped when Taylor takes his time on the outside looking for chairs, allowing EVIL to recover and grab the chairs and hits Taylor with them. Getting back in the ring, Taylor nails EVIL with a clothesline but is unsuccessful with the second-rope splash, allowing EVIL to connect with Darkness Falls.

Taylor blocks EVIL’s finisher attempt with a couple knee strikes, then plants him with a sitout chokebomb; EVIL kicks out. Taylor attempts a powerslam, but EVIL counters with a german suplex. After a headbutt and clothesline, EVIL nails his same-named finisher on Taylor and picks up the win.

Thoughts: I honestly enjoyed this match WAY more than I thought I would. Both performers' wrestling styles meshed quite well here. It wasn't so much a match as it was a straight-up fight, with both performers showing off their brawling ability. EVIL continues to build credibility as a singles performer, which I love; he's a solid in-ring worker and deserves some spotlight. Also, I'm lowkey becoming a fan of Shane Taylor. Maybe it's just my fascination with hosses, but I dig the way he works. A solid way to start the show off.

Jenny Rose and Tenille Dashwood vs. Sumie Sakai and Stella Grey

The match starts out with Rose and Sakai as the two throw strikes. Following a victory roll and a couple dropkicks, Sakai tags in Grey; she and Rose exchange arm drags until Rose hits her with a sidewalk slam. Rose tags Dashwood in, who makes quick work of Grey and demands Sakai in. The two trade pinfall attempts for a brief respite before Dashwood tosses Sakai with a butterfly suplex and tags in Rose.

Rose and Dashwood attempt a double-team clothesline on Sakai, but she ducks it nails a double clothesline on the team. Grey is tagged back in and tries to build some momentum, but Rose counters and puts her in a boston crab, then stomps her down when she makes it to the ropes and tags Dashwood in. The two try to work Grey over for a while, but she eventually tags Sakai back in.

Sakai comes flying in like a bat out of hell with a series of forearms to the team of Dashwood and Rose, then lands a front missile dropkick on Rose. Sakai and Grey attempt a somersault rocket launcher (I guess) but are unsuccessful. After locking Grey in a tarantula, Dashwood then hits Sakai with a running corner crossbody. Rose then delivers her STO backbreaker/chokeslam finisher on Grey for the win.

Thoughts: It wasn't the best in the world, but I enjoyed it for what it was. All four women are quality performers and put on a decent match. I was impressed by Grey, who put on a good performance despite her relative lack of experience as a wrestler. Also, as I've said before, I'm becoming a bigger fan of Jenny Rose; I dig her moveset and her finisher is underrated. The match wasn't much, but the competitors involved took what they were given and put on a okay showing.

Punishment Martinez vs. Hangman Page

Before the bell, Page surprises Martinez in the ring with a chair shot. The two go outside the ring where Page sets a table up against the ring post and drives Martinez through it. The match stops before it even starts as referees break it up and send the two men to the back.

Thoughts: This encounter was purely for advancing the feud, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I love both of these guys and I'm confident when they actually get to their match, it will be an absolute banger.

Kenny King vs. SANADA vs. Matt Taven vs. Marty Scurll

All four men start the match out in the ring, but Taven quickly exits, which prompt King to deliver a slingshot corkscrew plancha to him, leaving Scurll and SANADA (who replaced Lethal in this match) to exchange a series of holds. All four men are back in the ring again; Scurll attempts to shake hands with the others, who gang up on him and send him to the outside. King and SANADA then attempt to send Taven out, who turns it into a suicide dive onto Scurll.

This leaves SANADA and King to display their agility with an impressive sequence of dodges and counters. Taven gets to the top rope to deliver a front missile dropkick to King and SANADA, then a springboard roundhouse to Scurll on the apron. After planting Taven with a spinebuster, King goes to the top rope but is met by SANADA, who attempts to superplex him. Him and Taven fight over attempts before finally agreeing to team up.

Scurll then quickly makes his way back into the ring and sends them all down with a powerbomb. He delivers an apron superkick to King and SANADA before being met by Taven. All four individuals are once again in the ring; King is held up by submissions courtesy of the other three men. SANADA puts Taven and King in the Paradise Lock; Scurll tries to put SANADA in one, then coerces him into trying to put the referee in one.

Scurll then brings his umbrella into the ring and hands Taven’s staff to SANADA. Unsurprisingly, both objects are removed and Scurll and SANADA deliver low dropkicks to King and Taven respectively. SANADA then tries to put Scurll in the Paradise Lock, but Scurll counters. He attempts to break SANADA’s fingers, but Taven breaks it up. Taven tries for the frog splash to Scurll, but misses. King tries for a diving elbow drop (I guess?) to Taven, but he misses.

SANADA attempts the moonsault to King, but misses. Scurll then goes up top for a fakeout, only to be met with dual superkicks courtesy of Taven and King, who begin duking it out. Scurll then joins in, only for SANADA to attempt his dragon sleeper on King, but Scurll then attempts the Crossface Chickenwing on SANADA, who fights out of it. King then puts SANADA in an inverted STF. 

Taven hits his Climax finisher on Scurll but the referee is caught up by King and SANADA and doesn’t count the pinfall. While he’s distracted, Scurll low blows Taven and rolls him up in a small package to get the victory.

Thoughts: Match of the night for me. All four competitors brought their A-game here; King and SANADA displayed their amazing athletic ability, while Taven and Scurll displayed great ring psychology, taking advantage of each opportunity given to them. If I had to pick an MVP in this match, it'd have to be Scurll. He put his character on full display here, attempting to partner up with the performers in the match one second, then betraying them the next. He picks at every opportunity like the true villain he is. 

Aside from that, the spots in this match were also great; King being held up in three separate submissions, Scurll and SANADA's brief team-up and the finish, just to name a few. Even though this was purely an exhibition match, the 4 performers featured made it feel like the stakes were higher than that.

Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh) vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)

Sho and Sabin kick this match off jockeying for position. Sho dropkicks Sabin, then tags in Yoh, and the two isolate Sabin with some tag-team offense. Sabin then counters Yoh and tags in Shelley, who trades a series of open-hand chops with Yoh. Yoh has the advantage for a while until Sabin tags in; MCMG unleash their tag-team offense on both teams, seemingly taking control for the moment.

MCMG attempt their Skull and Bones tag finisher, but R3K counter. Nick tags himself in, and the brothers unleash their tag-team offense, finally isolating Shelley. Following some miscommunication from the Bucks, Shelley tags Sabin, who brings the fight to the brothers. Matt and Nick try to work him over, but Sabin counters with a dual rope-walk hurricanrana/arm drag to the brothers. Sho tags himself in, then Yoh and the two double-team Sabin. Sabin ducks the tag-team offense from R3K, and tries to tag Shelley in, who Nick unfortunately pulls off the apron.

Sabin tags Matt in then delivers an apron kick to Nick as revenge for Shelley. Matt hits R3K with a couple clotheslines, then nails Sabin with a wrecking ball dropkick and following a standing shiranui to Yoh, superkicks Shelley on the outside, culminating in a diving elbow drop to Yoh. The Bucks then attempt dual sharpshooters on both teams. MCMG superkick The Bucks then are met with dual german suplexes from R3K. Nick tries to bring the fight while R3K attempt their tag finisher of the same name; Nick counters with a DDT to Yoh.

MCMG tries to hang Nick up, but are met with a somersault tope from Matt. Nick then hits a slingshot X-Factor on Yoh then moonsaults off the apron onto Shelley. The Bucks then double-team Yoh. They set up for More Bang For Your Buck, but Sabin tags himself in to break it up. Matt teases a face-off between two teams, but Sho stops it and delivers forearm smashes to everyone, only to be met with superkicks from all of them.

MCMG and The Bucks finally go at it, going back and forth with tag team offense. Following a Superkick Party of sorts, The Bucks attempt More Bang For Your Buck once again. Nick is successful with the 450 splash, but Sabin counters Matt’s moonsault with a super german suplex. R3K hit their finisher of the same name on Sabin and pick up the victory.

Thoughts: So I know constant exhibition tag team matches can get exhausting, especially when it's the same group of teams. But when you have a group like these three teams, they definitely prove they're the exception to the rule. Whether or not it's for a title, I could watch them duke it out all day; their chemistry is simply marvelous. The sequences they pull off make me forget there's no real stakes to be had in this match. Was it one of the best? Certainly not, but definitely a damn good match executed by three incredibly talented teams.

The Boys vs. Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser

The match starts with The Boys using some trickery to send Young and Bruiser outside, attempting slingshot planchas. Boy 1 is successful, Boy 2 is caught by Bruiser, but ends up sending him into the ring post with the help of Boy 1. Young and Boy 2 and start it back up in the ring; Boy 1 is quickly tagged in and The Boys display a little bit of tag team offense. Boy 2 tags back in and attempts some more trickery, but is unsuccessful this time and Bruiser starts to work him over.

Following a knee strike/wheelbarrow german suplex combo from Young and Bruiser, Boy 2 rolls out of the ring. Looking to stir up some confusion, Boy 1 enters the ring without tagging in. Bruiser attempts the frog splash and misses; Boy 1 goes on the attack with a series of strikes to Bruiser and Young. Boy 2 gets back in the ring, and the duo hit Bruiser with a dual Sole Food, then dodge a spear attempt from Young.

Young trash-talks The Boys; they attempt to fight back, but it’s short-lived as Young hits his Misery finisher followed up by a Bruiser frog splash for the W.

Thoughts: Really don't have much to say about this one. It was fun while it lasted, but not something I really devoted my full time and attention to. If you need to waste a couple of minutes, check it out.

SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels and Scorpio Sky) vs. Flip Gordon, Jushin Thunder Liger and Cheeseburger

Daniels starts the match out mocking Cheeseburger, who has taken consecutive beatings from Bully Ray. Cheeseburger throws some chops in the corner, then attempts for a diving crossbody, but is caught by Daniels, who toys with him for a bit before Liger hits him with a diving double axe handle. Gordon and Sky are tagged in, who exchange strikes, Gordon seemingly coming out on top.

Kazarian is tagged in and demands Liger; obliging him, Liger is tagged in and promptly puts Kaz in a surfboard. Afterwards, Kaz sends Liger into SCU’s corner where they all clobber him down. Daniels is tagged in; Liger fights back to no avail for a while as SCU continues to work over Liger. Thinking quickly Liger irish whips Daniels into his team’s corner, where Kaz and Sky work their series of arm wrenches, unaware it’s Daniels.

Gordon takes advantage of the miscommunication with a missile dropkick followed up by a corkscrew blockbuster. Cheeseburger is tagged in, who begins throwing chops and strikes at Daniels, who responds with an STO and tags Kaz in, and he starts working Cheeseburger over. Sky is tagged in and he continues the punishment; SCU trade quick tags beating Cheeseburger down and toying with him.

Following hurricanrana to Daniels, Cheeseburger tags in Gordon, who dropkicks Kaz then hits Sky with a Spanish fly then a springboard sling blade to Daniels. He then throws fists at Kaz before delivering a Fosbury flop to Sky. Trying to get back in the ring, Gordon is met with a slingshot cutter from Kaz. Gordon tries to fight back, then tags in Liger, who throws strikes at Kaz and Daniels; after a double clothesline, Liger hits Shoteis on the both of them.

He then goes to the top rope but is met by Kaz. Following an assist from Gordon, Liger hits Kaz with a second-rope Liger Bomb, only for Daniels to break up the pin. Cheeseburger gets tagged in, only to be met with the Best Meltzer Ever and SCU picking up the win.

Thoughts: To the people who follow my blog, I'm sure you know how I feel about SCU. They're one of my favorite things in wrestling; all three are tremendous talents and work their ass off to put on a good show no matter the circumstances. So I'm going to hold off talking about for them as I'm bound to repeat myself from previous posts. Instead, I'll focus on the team of Gordon, Cheeseburger and Liger. For a first-time team-up, their chemistry was impeccable. Each performer fulfilled their roles in spades: Gordon being the highlight reel, Liger the ring-savvy veteran and Cheeseburger the ultimate underdog (the closest thing to the biblical David I can think of in wrestling).

Pair them with the always excellent SCU and you can't go wrong. 

Cody vs. Hiromu Takahashi

Cody spends a fair amount of time posing and preening, trying to gain praise from the crowd but unsuccessful in doing so. Takahashi, however, is over in spades, as well as his cat Daryl, Jr., who he uses first as a distraction then as a weapon. After Takahashi sets Daryl, Jr. down in the middle of the ring, which prompts Bernard The Business Bear to enter the ring. Security have to hold Bernard back, while Takahashi has trouble keeping control of Daryl, Jr.

Bernard is thrown out while Daryl, Jr. stays and keeps his place at the timekeeper’s table. Cody and Takahashi continue their in-ring action as Takahashi hits Cody with a shoulder block against the ropes followed up with a front dropkick off the apron. Cody seemingly takes the advantage with a rope-hung discus clothesline/flatliner combo. He then mocks a V-Trigger attempt only to stomp Takahashi down.

Takahashi tries to come back throwing hands with Cody, but is unsuccessful as Cody puts him down in the figure-four leglock. He throws Takahashi out of the ring and continues to mock Kenny Omega with a Terminator pose. Back in the ring, Cody attempts a superplex but it’s blocked. The two trade haymakers until Takahashi delivers a hurricanrana to Cody, followed by a corner clothesline/sliding kick combo.

Both men jockey for position; Takahashi hits Cody with a clothesline, but Cody kicks out. Takahashi goes for a Time Bomb attempt, but Cody fights out of it and nails him with the Disaster Kick, then delivers a snap scoop powerslam. Several finisher attempts ensue before Takahashi pulls off a Cross Rhodes of his own; Cody kicks out. Following a thumb to the eye, Cody calls for the ring.

Despite the minor setback, Takahashi superkicks Cody and attempts his sunset flip powerbomb over the ring apron. Cody blocks it, then attempts a vertebreaker. Cody hits Takahashi with the Cross Rhodes, but he kicks out. Cody then successfully hits the vertebreaker and takes the W.

Thoughts: It's the same thing I said for his match with Liger: I'm more focused on Cody's character work than I am the match itself. That's certainly not an insult, because the match is pretty good; both performers are great in-ring competitors who know how to work regardless of circumstance. What I'm saying is I'm just incredibly fixated on Cody as character. He's basically wrestling's equivalent of Patrick Bateman and I absolutely love it. That, and he's incorporated the vertebreaker into his moveset, which is dope.

Basically, come for the wrestling, stay for the character work here.

The Briscoes (Jay and Mark) vs. Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI

Jay and Naito start the match out with rest holds (as predicted).  After a couple of arm drags and a rope-hung jawbreaker, Naito gets control for the moment. Jay and Mark throw a chair into the ring, but Naito remains unphased, sitting down in it and throwing out a tranquilo pose. BUSHI and Mark are tagged in. Following a distraction from Jay, The Briscoes go to work on BUSHI, utterly punishing him.

The Briscoes continue stomping down BUSHI while the referee is distracted, then continue dismantling him. BUSHI tries to fight back and attempts to tag in Naito, but is unsuccessful as Mark knocks Naito off the apron and The Briscoes follow their gameplan. BUSHI fights back, this time successful as Naito comes in flying like a bat out of hell (apologies for outdated references), bringing the fight to The Briscoes with a series of kicks and neckbreakers.

Naito seemingly shifts the advantage to LIJ single-handedly, taking care of both Jay and Mark. Jay tries to take them both on himself, only to be met with a sunset flip/sliding dropkick combination from Naito and BUSHI. Naito then attempts a Destino on Jay, only to be met with a powerslam counter. Mark is tagged in and BUSHI as well; following a quick counter and a missile dropkick, BUSHI seems to get the advantage.

Despite a double hurricanrana, The Briscoes manage to halt BUSHI’s momentum. Naito breaks up a pinfall, only to be met with The Briscoes’ Redneck Boogie tag finisher. Jay hits the Jay Driller on BUSHI, then Mark connects with the Froggy Bow, and the brothers pick up the win and retain their titles.

Thoughts: A fairly standard tag team match, but a good one nonetheless. All four are fantastic performers (The Briscoes are one of my favorites atm), so it should be no surprise they'd put on a good show. The chemistry was solid, the pacing was crisp and it had the right finish with The Briscoes retaining. Plus, it's not like LIJ lost anything from it; they put on a good match with a great tag team, plus Naito's still IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Not too much more to say than that.

Overall

Royal Oak wasn't as good of a show as Toronto, but definitely a better show than Lowell (not to be intended as an insult, is was just kind of boring). The standouts were definitely the Fatal 4-Way (as I stated before) and the triple-threat tag team match. Not blow-you-out-of-the-water fantastic, but a decent show that never seemed to drag.