In this week's episode of ROH Wrestling, we take a look at the last leg of their War Of The Worlds Tour in Chicago. Let's not waste any more time and get right into it.
The Dawgs (Rhett Titus and Will Ferrara) vs. Cheeseburger and Jushin Thunder Liger
Titus and Cheeseburger start the match out, with Titus easily gaining control with his size and power advantage over Cheeseburger. Ferrara gets tagged in as well as Liger; The Dawgs retreat to the outside but are met with dual cannonballs from Cheeseburger and Liger. Back in the ring, Liger puts Ferrara in the surfboard hold while Cheeseburger locks in an octopus hold on Titus, seizing control for their team.
This control is short-lived, however, as Titus tags himself in and goes to work taking out Liger and dominating Cheeseburger. He tries to fight back, but to no avail as The Dawgs start working him over with some tag-team offense. Following quick evasive maneuvers, Cheeseburger manages to tag in Liger. After a quick exchange, Ferrara nails Liger with a hammerlock lariat and tags Titus back in. The Dawgs try to team up on Liger, but are unsuccessful. Following multiple Shotei palm strikes from Cheeseburger and Liger, Liger plants Titus with a brainbuster to pick up the W.
Thoughts: A fun way to open the show. All four competitors play their roles well here; The Dawgs being hilariously obnoxious heels, Cheeseburger being the ultimate against-all-odds babyface and Liger being the fearless veteran willing to put over younger talent no matter the cost. While it wasn't a barn-burner of a match, it didn't need to be. Its purpose was to be a quick slice of entertainment, and the purpose was fulfilled in spades.
Jenny Rose vs. Sumie Sakai, WOH Championship
Sakai gains the early the advantage with a series of strikes and corner stomps, then hits an outside crossbody. She has control until Rose hits her with a sidewalk slam counter and starts working her over with a single-leg boston crab. Sakai starts throwing forearm smashes, then hits a fisherman's neckbreaker, seemingly taking control. This is short-lived as Rose knocks her to the outside with a heavy shoulder block.
On the outside, Rose drop toe-holds Sakai onto a chair. Back in the ring, Rose goes to the top rope and nails Sakai with a diving clothelines, then a bridging fisherman suplex. Rose goes to the top rope once again, only to be met with a hurricanrana from Sakai. Following a back elbow, Sakai hits her Smash Mouth finisher on Rose to secure the victory and retain her title.
Thoughts: Another good match. It showcased both competitors' strengths (Rose's power and Sakai's striking) and highlighted their chemistry with one another, while also telling the story of their falling out and Rose's frustration with Sakai as champ, all within a sub 10-minute time frame. If anyone takes the belt off Sakai in the near future, I'd definitely want it to be Rose, because she's definitely proven that she more than deserves it.
SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels and Scorpio Sky) vs. The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O'Ryan and Vinny Marseglia), ROH 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Kazarian and O'Ryan start this match off, after a quick balloon distraction via Marsegllia, the action breaks down in the ring and all six men go at it. Marseglia and Daniels duke it out in the ring while the rest go at it outside. O'Ryan and Sky get tagged in, and the two jockey for position. Kazarian gets tagged back in and SCU start making quick work of O'Ryan with classic tag-team offense. But just as SCU take control, The Kingdom take it back with an assisted Stun Gun to Sky.
O'Ryan and Marseglia hit Sky with a spinebuster/diving headbutt/jackknife pin combo; Sky kicks out. Taven is tagged in, and The Kingdom continue working Sky over; he tries to fight back, but The Kingdom continue the beatdown. But after a double stomp to Marseglia and a running headscissors to O'Ryan, Sky manages to tag in Kazarian, who starts going to work on The Kingdom (Marseglia in particular) with the assistance of Daniels.
Taven tags himself in, then Kazarian tags in Daniels. Taven nails him with a tope suicida over the top rope, only to be met with a slingshot hurricanrana from Kazarian. Marseglia hits a springboard corkscrew senton onto Kazarian and O'Ryan tries to follow suit. Sky hits him with a jumping knee strike, then lands a somersault tope onto The Kingdom. Following a series of attempted weapon strikes, SCU pick up the disqualification victory when the referee mistakes Kazarian smacking himself with a chair for an attack from The Kingdom.
Thoughts: I absolutely love 6-man tag matches, and this one was no exception. Each spot was executed with absolute precision, and the chemistry these six men have with one another is off the charts. And while we're at it, hats off to them for making a heel vs. heel feud work in this day and age. They're just a lot of sneaky, underhanded bastards trying to one-up each other in the lowest way possible. Even though the finish was weird it fits into the narrative and continues the feud, which definitely isn't a bad thing.
Overall
Not anything amazing, but pretty damn good for a weekly show. Even the low point (the WOH Championship match) was still a bunch of fun. Consistency seems to be the key for ROH, and it was definitely shown here. While nothing outright amazing happened, the show as a whole was good from start to finish. If you have the time, check it out (especially the main event). Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
No comments:
Post a Comment