ROH 5/27/18 Honor United Doncaster Review
The Doncaster Dome
Doncaster, England
Ring of Honor presented Honor United, headlined by a four corner survival match pitting the Young Bucks against The Kingdom, The IWGP Tag team Champions EVIL and SANADA and the ROH Tag Team Champions the Briscoes. Ian Riccaboni and BJ Whitmer welcomed everyone to the show before the proceedings got underway.
The Addiction vs. Kenny King & Toru Yano
Daniels and Kazarian came out and put the town down immediately. Kaz shared that the toothbrush was invented in Doncaster and that despite that, the locals are missing many teeth. After Yano and King came out, Tenille Dashwood was introduced as the special guest referee for this match. Daniels started off against Yano, who went to take the turnbuckle immediately. The two made way for King and Kaz, but as soon as Yano tagged back in, the Addiction cut the ring off and kept him on their side of the ring. Yano was able to finally tag out after an inverted atomic drop on Daniels. King cleared house, hit a chin checker before hitting a spinebusters on Kaz and Daniels. Dashwood and King then took selfies as Yano removed the turnbuckle. Daniels blocked a low blow attempt, but King hit one right in front of Dashwood, allowing Yano to roll Daniels up for the win. The Addiction always work a solid match, as does King. Yano is Yano and the crowd loves him, but it’s not for me.
Winners: Yano & King
ROH World Television Championship Match
Silas Young(c) vs. Douglas Williams
The crowd was clearly behind Williams as this one kicked off and he quickly out wrestled Young, forcing the champ to roll outside and clear the cobwebs. Williams quickly gained control once Young returned to the ring and the champion grew increasingly frustrated by the crowd’s support of Williams. Young feigned a test of strength and kicked Williams instead, but was once again outwrestled by the legend. Young eventually tossed Williams to the outside and then into the barricade before sending him back inside. Williams continued to really dominate here, with Young cutting him off from time to time. In the end, Williams went for Chaos Theory, but Young held on to Sinclair’s shirt and low blowed Williams before hitting Misery for the win. A fun match for the crowd, as Williams was a favorite, but Young is an accomplished grappler and it would have been nice to see him match Williams move for move here, instead of having to resort to a low blow to win. Young is however one of the best true heels on the roster, so his tactics can easily be explained away by that.
Winner: Silas Young
Bully Ray, Punishment Martinez & Shane Taylor vs. Dalton Castle & The Boys
Bully cut a promo before the match got underway, still angry at anyone younger than him. Taylor attacked Castle from behind during the promo and Martinez held the Boys back as Ray whipped Castle with his chains, taking him out of the match. The match got underway as a handicapped match, with the Boys surviving long enough for Castle to make his way back out to the ring. Castle tagged in and used the Boys as projectiles, but it wasn’t enough. Castle and Ray fought to the back, leaving the Boys with a slight chance against Martinez and Taylor. They had no chance and Martinez hit the South of Heaven chokeslam as Taylor hit a second rope splash on the other Boy to win the match via pinfall. Castle’s injury clearly precipitated this match structure, but having Taylor here made little sense, as it seems he has had a chance of conscious as of late, so simply being part of an oversized team against the much smaller Boys seems out of character unless he received a pay off.
Winners: Bully Ray, Punishment Martinez & Shane Taylor
Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal and Taven began the match with a woo off, followed by both chopping each other mercilessly. Lethal tossed Taven into the corner and over the ropes, following him outside. Taven briefly gained an advantage, but back inside, Lethal punished Taven with a kick to the face and a backbreaker that went for a two count. Taven caught Lethal with a stun gun and mounted rights before he took a moment to goad the crowd. Taven then sent Lethal to the outside with a springboard kick, but missed the dropkick to the outside, Lethal reversed an irish whip and sent Taven into the barricade, but was spent, allowing Taven to send him inside and take control. Lethal was able to escape a chinlock and clotheslined Taven over the top rope, setting him up for a lonely tope suicida. Back inside, the two traded rights and lefts before Lethal reversed a Climax attempt into a cutter. He was then able to hit a Lethal Injection, followed by a Hail to the King elbow drop to win the match via pinfall. Good match between the two here, Lethal continues to look strong and Taven did as well, losing to a former champion and without any shenanigans here.
Winner: Jay Lethal
ROH Women of Honor Championship Match
Sumie Sakai(c) vs. Chardonnay
Chardonnay started off with some mind games, challenging the shorter Sakai to a test on strength with her arms fully stretched out to the point that Sakai couldn’t reach them. Sakai stepped on Chardonnay’s toes, bring her down to her level before engaging the test of strength.
Chardonnay got a good amount of offense here and looked like she belonged here. Sakai continues to draw the crowd in and has proven to be a good first champion thus far. In the end, Sakai hit Smashmouse to retain the title via pinfall. This was one of the better women’s match in recent memory. The two worked very well together and there were moments were it felt like Chardonnay could really win the match.
Winner: Sume Sakai
Cody vs. Scorpio Sky
Crowd was really into Cody before the match began. Sky and Cody traded standing waist locks to start and the two were evenly match for the early portion of the match. Sky was able to take control but found himself on the outside. Cody tossed him back inside and grabbed a smooch before heading back to the ring and got a knee to the face because of the delay. Sky followed with a tope over the top rope, sending Cody back inside and following with a slingshot cutter.Cody went for Din’s Fire, but Sky escaped, only to have the American Deathlock applied mid-ring. Sky managed to reach the ropes. Brandi went to spray hairspray in Sky’s eyes, but Kazarian came out and raked her eyes and stole the hairspray, spraying it her eyes. Despite the distraction, Cody was able to avoid Sky hopping over him in the corner and connect with a Cross Rhodes. Post-match, commentary sold that Cody was ignoring Brandi’s injury. Good match between these two, the right man won, but Sky looked strong here and proved that he does well as a singles guy or as part of a trio.
Winner: Cody
Adam Page vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
After the two traded early shoulder blocks, Tanahashi seemed to imply that Page was small and that incensed the Hangman. Page sent Tanahashi to the outside and whipped him into the barricades before bringing him back inside. Page mocked him with a guitar pose, but perhaps it was a bit too early as Tanahashi recovered and connected with a somersault Senton by Tanahashi. Page quickly recovered and stuck Tanahashi into the mat with a DDT. Page hit a superkick and went for a Rite of Passage, but Tanahashi reversed it and hit a modified brainbuster. Tanahashi ran at Page who ducked, but Tanahashi skinned the cat and brought Page outside with a headscissor. Back inside, Tanahashi hit a sling blade and went for a Hi-Fly-Flo, but Page pushed Sinclair into the ropes and crotch Tanahashi. Page came back with a buckshot lariat, but only got a two count. Page then missed a moonsault, allowing Tanahashi to scale the ropes for a Hi-Fly-Flo. Page was able to roll through and went for a Rite of Passage again, but Tanahashi managed to avoid the move and rolled into a bridging pin to pick up the win. This was a good match but felt like it never really went into another gear that would have made the match great.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi
Four Corner Survival Match
The Kingdom vs. The Briscoes vs. The Young Bucks vs. LIJ
Nick started off against EVIL here, with EVIL overpowering Nick early before LIJ and the Bucks all squared off mid-ring. The Briscoes joined in and there were a number of staredowns before the Kingdom snuck in and tried to clear the ring. The Bucks caught the Kingdom in a double sharpshooter early before all 8 men ended up on the arena floor. The Bucks took out the crowd with dives before sending EVIL back inside for some double teaming on every team. The match really allowed everyone to get shine here and really showed the growth of the Kingdom, hanging with three great tag teams.The end came when the Kingdom used a balloon popping/title to the head combo on Matt, who was able to kick out. Nick helped Matt hoist O’Ryan for the Meltzer, took the crowd out on the outside before coming back inside to hit the 5 Star Meltzer for the pinfall victory.
Winners: The Young Bucks
Final Reaction: C+/B-
The final show on this tour was the strongest. The main event was particularly fun, but matches like Taven/Lethal, a strong women’s title match and Cody vs. Sky really elevated the card overall. Without any referee bumps on the night, this felt like more of an ROH show than the London show and was an strong finish to the tour, especially considering Castle’s limitations due to his injuries.