ROH War of the Worlds-Dearborn Review
5/10/17
Dearborn, Michigan
Ford Community Arts Center
Kevin Kelly, Colt Cabana and Ian Riccaboni were on commentary to start the show.
Bobby Fish vs. Dalton Castle w/ The Boys
Big code of honor spot to start the match, but neither would break the handshake clearly until Paul Turner got involved and helped them agree to separate.
Friendly wrestling turned a bit contentious between the two, as Fish began to work the leg and slammed it against the ring post. Castle and Fish work together marvelously-Castle hits hard and with all of the garnish of his gimmick pushed away his pure wrestling talent shines through. Commentary spoke about the match being a main event caliber match and while that may be a slight exaggeration, Fish’s continued presence in ROH without wins will eventually make his appearances less impactful. The end came after Fish rammed Castle into the barricade and rolled him into the ring. Castle caught Fish bounding off the ropes and scored with a quick Bang-A-Rang for the pinfall victory. The end was a bit odd, as it felt as if Castle no-sold the barricade spot, hitting his finisher nonetheless.
Winner: Bobby Fish
The Rebellion (Rhett Titus, Caprice Coleman & Shane Taylor) vs.
Search and Destroy (Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley & Jay White)
The issues between these two squads have developed over many months and their work together continues to get better. Having these two sides locked in this dispute has really given both sides a consistent place on the roster. Both sides were evenly matched here and it felt like either side could have come away with the win. After some underhand victories by the Rebellion, this was the right call, having the faces finally getting a measure of revenge. The end came when Shelley and Sabin combined for their Skull and Crossbones neckbreaker/top rope splash combo from on Titus, with White scoring the pinfall for the victory.
Winners: Search and Destroy
Silas Young vs. KUSHIDA
Great match on commentary and in the ring. Cabana and Riccaboni spoke to Young’s hard-nosed style, while also indicating that he is an excellent wrestler and athlete underneath the gruff exterior. Young winning against KUSHIDA here says a great deal about what ROH thinks of him and it’s good to see him utilized in this manner. Young won after hitting Misery and scoring the three count.
Winner: Silas Young
Jay Lethal & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. War Machine (Ray Rowe & Hanson)
Silas Young stuck around after his match and kicked Riccaboni out of the commentary booth for this one. Early on Tanahashi and Lethal took the early advantage and scored a very near fall. After that it was all Hanson and Rowe, with Lethal taking the brunt of War Machine’s offense. Rowe and Hanson just tossed him around and cut the ring off, looking completely dominant. Lethal was able to hit a Lethal combination and make the hot tag to Tanahashi, who called for time when his forearms strikes didn’t phase War Machine. Eventually Tanahashi’s offense did kick into gear and he and Lethal combined for a Hail to the King Hi-Fly-Flo on Rowe, but Hanson broke up the pinfall. Rowe blocked Lethal’s Lethal injection attempt and tossed him for a pop up power slam and the pinfall victory. Good tag team bout and excellent work from Lethal
Winners: War Machine
ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match
Los Ingobernobles De Japón (EVIL,SANADA & Bushi) vs.
The Briscoes & Bully Ray
The relaxed rules in this one played to the advantage of both teams, but has been the case for the ROH World 6 man tag team champions, any match that involves foreign object, specifically tables, bodes well for their chances at victory. In the end, Jay Briscoe ducked Bushi’s mist, which took out EVIL and Sanada, allowing Bull Ray to slam Bushi down and set him up for Wassup headbutt. The crowd chant for tables, to which the Briscoes quickly obliged and Ray powerbombed Bushi through the table from the top rope. Jay pinned Bushi to retain the titles. A bit of a paint by number brawling trios match, but with LIJ added into the mix it was a treat to see a legitimate outside trio challenge ROH’s current champions.
Winners: The Briscoes & Bully Ray
Punishment Martinez vs. Tetsuya Naito
After early control by Naito, Martinez was able to power his way into control by powerbombing Naito on the apron. As the two went back to the ring, Naito worked the knee of Martinez throughout the match. Martinez’s South of Heaven chokeslam attempt was reversed into a knee lock that Punishment escape by trying to go for his finisher once more. Naito slipped out and hit Destino, but didn’t catch it all and only got a two count. As he slowly made his way back to his feet Martinez flipped the bird and Naito responded by hitting an aggressive Destino for the win. Good showing once agains by Martinez who continues to impress against top tier NJPW talent.
Winner:Naito
Instant Reward Proving Ground Match
Cheese Burger, Beer City Bruiser, Gedo, Will Ferrara, Frankie Kazarian, and Marty Scurll
Before the match could start, Vinny Marsella made his way to ringside and insisted that he deserved to be in the match. Kazarian asked everyone if it was okay and Scurll was the final to assent, smashing Marsella in the face with the mic to start the action. Cheeseburger won after catching BCB with a shotei.
Winner: Cheeseburger
ROH World Television Championship Match
Marty Scurll vs. Cheeseburger
Quick match with Burger getting early near falls after a shotei.As Scurll went to go for his umbrella, Ferrara grabbed it, but seemed to distract Burger in the process. Scurll hit Cheeseburger with a European uppercut to avoid a flying knee and locked on the Chicken wing for the quick submission victory. The two matches were all about how over Cheeseburger is with the crowd. It is fun for the people in attendance as they really get into the near falls, but on VOD it becomes less exciting when the outcome is all but guaranteed.
Winner: Marty Scurll
ROH World Championship Match
Christopher Daniels vs. Matt Taven
Taven quickly in control, seemingly with an answer to everything Daniels could do early on. Taven disrespected Daniels, saying that the story was nice, but it’s over and this incensed Daniels who took the fight to Taven to the outside. After the two traded control back in the ring, Taven called for Marseglia to set up a table on the outside. Although the first attempt to put Daniels through was unsuccessful, Taven hit a springboard kick that sent Daniels off the apron and through the table to the arena floor. Marseglia rolled Daniels in fairly quickly, but Taven was not able to secure the three count. Daniels got his knee up to thwart a Taven frog splash, but Marseglia went to get involved to help his stablemate. Kazarian ran down to ringside and pulled Marseglia off the top rope, brawling on the outside. Daniels was able to send Taven to the mat with a judo throw and won the match via pinfall after hitting the Best Moonsault Ever. This was a good match from both men and Taven looked comfortable in this spot. It never felt like the title would change hands on a Wednesday night, two days before a PPV, so that hurt the match in some ways, but it was nice to see someone else involved in the title picture and a possible preview of things to come.
Winner: Christopher Daniels
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match
Bullet Club (The Young Bucks, Hangman Page & Cody) vs.
CHAOS-Roppongi Vice(Trent Berreta & Rocky Romero) Will Ospreay & Goto
Fun match up with tons of action.The closing moments were fast paced and intense. Cody hit Cross Rhodes on Ospreay and Matt and Page hit the 5 Star Meltzer driver and Rite of Passage simultaneously on Ospreay and Romero. Trent was able to stop that, allowing CHAOS to hit GTR and Strong Zero, but that wasn’t enough. Ospreay hit a double Oscutter on the Bucks to win the match via pinfall for his side. This main event had NJPW implications and was certainly meaningful, but having it supersede the ROH World title put it in a place of prominence that it may not have needed. Two days before the PPV, it would have been a better closing shot to see Daniels stand victorious to end the show heading into the PPV.
Winner: Roppongi Vice (Trent Berreta & Rocky Romero) Will Ospreay & Goto
Final Reaction: C
This show ran on a Wednesday and in many ways, it delivered like a mid-week event. The ROH World title match not being the main event downplayed the importance of that match and although it was unlikely that the title would change hands two days before the advertised PPV match that was rife with months of unpleasantries, place the match in any spot but the main event also reinforced that a change would not occur. On an excellent tour this was by no means a bad show, but did not feel like a must see event.