It should prove to be a jam-packed episode this week, as we'll see the likes of Zack Sabre, Jr., Rocky Romero, The Briscoes, Shane Taylor and more in action. Let's dive right into it.
Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger, Eli Isom and Ryan Nova) vs. The Briscoes (Jay and Mark) and Silas Young
Jay and Isom start the match off with a series of rest holds, evasions and counters. Nova and Mark are tagged in as Nova gets the upper hand following some well-placed strikes, and Triple-S go to work on Mark. Their momentum stops as Cheeseburger is tagged in and is immediately isolated from his team as The Briscoes and Young start working him over. Cheeseburger manages to evade further punishment for the time being as Isom gets the hot tag; he takes out Mark and Young with well-placed dropkicks then his variation of an Air Raid Crash to Jay.
The two jockey for position before Jay hits Isom with a death valley driver, then Mark connects with his Froggy Bow finisher; Isom kicks out, much to their dismay. Isom answers back with a brainbuster to Jay, who kicks out. The brothers hit Isom with a lariat/chop block combination before Jay spikes him with the Jay Driller, picking up the W for his team.
A fun match and a solid opener. Triple-S continues to build momentum as a 3-man team while also simultaneously raising Isom's stock, who continues to put on good performances against the Who's-Who of ROH. Nova did decent work with the time he was given, and I'm an unabashed mark for anything Cheeseburger. Also, this match furthers The Briscoes' reputation as the end-all, be-all of tag team wrestling in ROH. Not too much more to say here. Just a decent match with a solid showing from both parties involved.
The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas) vs. Joe Keys and Brian Johnson
Johnson and Keys showboat and mock the physiques of The Bouncers, who take it in stride. Johnson and Keys try to work over Bruiser to little success as Milonas remains untagged for a good portion of the match. He eventually gets tagged in and begins to dish out punishment to Johnson and Keys. The Bouncers hit Johnson with a hanging spinebuster/second-rope leg drop to secure a victory.
A nothing match, but entertaining nonetheless. Bruiser and Milonas have great chemistry, working especially well in the kinds of situations. I look forward to more of it, because they make seemingly uninteresting squashes a fun time.
Madison Rayne vs. Thunder Rosa
Rayne is the aggressor at the start, taking Rosa down and throwing straight rights and nailing her with a couple of clotheslines. Following a distraction from her tag team partner Holidead, Rosa shifts the momentum to her favor and takes control, breaking down Rayne's back with a series of stomps and kicks. Rayne throws a few strikes then a desperation spear in an attempt to fight back. She continues her momentum with a second-rope crossbody, then an enzuguiri.
Rosa counters a reverse DDT attempt and hits Rayne with a spinning gory bomb, which Rayne kicks out of. Rosa grows frustrated at Rayne's resiliency, then picks Rayne up for a running powerslam attempt. Rayne counters, hits the reverse DDT and gets the win.
A decent match before the main event. Rayne is a super-underrated worker, and she proved it with another solid performance tonight. Though that's nothing to take away from Rosa as she put just as good of a showing. They have great chemistry stemming from their past tag-teaming against one another, and they translated it well into singles action here. Nothing spectacular, but another solid showing from the Women Of Honor division. Here's hoping their weekly exposure increases.
Rocky Romero vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
To no one's surprise, it's a very methodical, slow-paced match from the beginning as the two exchange holds in an attempt to gain leverage, displaying their technical prowess. ZSJ tries to wear Romero down, who finds a counter to each of ZSJ's holds. Impressive counters from both wrestlers are on display here, turning into a proverbial game of chess as they go hold-for-hold. Romero counters ZSJ with a jumping snapmare/dropkick combo, catching him off guard and getting the advantage for a brief spell.
The two trade snapmares before ZSJ gets the upperhand with leg snap counter (or whatever you call it) to Romero's arm. In control now, ZSJ starts picking apart Romero, employing various holds in order to break Romero (the Japanese stranglehold in particular). Romero manages to counter ZSJ with a stranglehold of his own. ZSJ fights out of it, but is met with a springboard tornado DDT from Romero. The pace picks up as Romero hits ZSJ with a running headscissors/springboard crossbody combo.
ZSJ halts Romero's momentum first with a bicycle kick, then countering a Romero high knee into an STF. ZSJ toys with Romero for a bit before he fights back, hitting ZSJ with desperation strikes then hanging him up on the top turnbuckle for a corner knee strike. Romero has control for the most part now despite ZSJ hanging him up in the rope with a octopus stretch for a brief spell. Romero hits ZSJ with a rope-hung double stomp, which ZSJ kicks out of.
Romero attempts to put ZSJ away with a Sliced Bread #2, who evades, locks in an abdominal stretch on Romero then rolls through into a kneeling octopus stretch, tapping out Romero and securing another victory in ROH.
An excellent main event as both men put on a masterclass showing of technical prowess. Each hold and counter was so fluid and effective; it really felt like anybody's ballgame up until the very end. My favorite part of this match was the pacing: very slow and methodical from the start, then gradually picking up steam until the very end when it becomes a high-speed battle for victory. ZSJ shows once again why he's the best technical wrestler out there, while Romero gets showcase his prowess, proving to be one of the more underrated performers in wrestling today. A great match and another excellent main event.
This week's episode was pretty solid from top to bottom. It had a pretty good opener in the 6-Man tag match, a fun squash from The Bouncers, a decent Women Of Honor match and a superb main event, really offering something for everyone. Consistency is the name of the game for this episode. Check it out when you get the chance.
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