ROH 11/04/18 Survival of the Fittest Review
Express Live!
Columbus, Ohio
Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana welcomed everyone before Socal Uncensored made their way to the ring.
Survival of the Fittest Qualifier: Christopher Daniels vs. Beer City Bruiser
Bruiser took it to Daniels early, hitting him with a cannonball and picked up an early near fall. Bruiser went for a Bullfrog splash and hit nothing but a face full of mat. Daniels took this opportunity to hit a Best Moonsault Ever to win a very quick match-up. The commentary team really drove home the point that Daniels needs to win this tournament to stay in ROH. Daniels sold a rib injury that commentary also played up. A really nice job here of setting the stage for multiple stories going into this tournament.
Winner: Christopher Daniels
Survival of the Fittest Qualifier: Colin Delaney vs. Dalton Castle vs. Adam Page
Commentary sold Castle being clearly injured and wrapped up on his way to the ring, setting the stage for a loss being within the realm of possibility here. All three men really contributed here and if Castle is hurt, they did a good job of hiding him being seriously hampered. A strong second match here that was essentially a sprint with some nice three way sequences. In the endPage hit a double buckshot lariat on Castle and Delaney before hitting a Rite of Passage on Delany to move on in the tournament. With Castle “injured” Page winning was the right move. Delaney showed a lot here and it would be interesting to see him more often.
Winner: Adam Page
Survival of the Fittest Qualifier: Jonathan Gresham vs. Tracy Williams
This was an extremely well executed pure wrestling match. Both men are very adept at the stronger style and mat based wrestling. Williams shoulder was in a bit of a brace and became an area of focus during the match. This was not very long but was action packed from start to finish. Williams was excellent in his debut here and commentary sold this as him being at a disadvantage because of the shoulder injury. Gresham is Gresham-this was spectacular and the win was the right call. Gresham honed in on the shoulder and won with the Octopus stretch as he bashed Williams’s shoulder.
Winner: Jonathan Gresham
Survival of the Fittest Qualifier: Andrew Everett vs. Guerrero Maya Jr vs. Flip Gordon
This was a very quick moving all out flip fest, with all three men really pulling all the stops out. Gordon seemed poised to win, but as he went for a 450 a fan threw a streamer at his face. It slowly became clear that Bully Ray was the fan. Gordon hit the 450 but instead of going for the pin he went to springboard at Ray in the crowd. Ray caught him mid-air and Gordon dropped like a sack of potatoes on the arena floor in a scary looking spot. Meanwhile,
Winner: Guerrero Maya Jr!
Survival of the Fittest Qualifier: Luchasaurus vs. PJ Black
A very one-sided affair here. This felt like more of a trial run for Luchasaurus as this was all about him being on the offensive for almost the entirety of the match. Luchasaurus was in control and then went to end it with Event Horizon, a shooting star press. Black avoided the move and was able to roll Luchsaurus up for the pinfall victory. Good short match. Luchasaurus looked good here and could step into a spot in the company as a big man.
Winner: PJ Black
Survival of the Fittest Qualifier: Stuka Jr. vs. Silas Young vs. Marty Scurll:
Rhett Titus seemed to think that the SOTF was a bodybuilding contest, completely oiled up. He decided to join commentary and it led to some hilarious moments throughout the match. All three men looked strong here but Stuka really got a chance to get some offense here and he did not disappoint. Somehow Young was able to kick out of Stuka’s Torpedo plancha. Scurll sent Young outside and then hit his new Finisher Graduation on Stuka Jr. This was good but felt a bit short.
Winner: Marty Scurll
Spot in WOH title Match at Final Battle
Madison Rayne vs. Dr. Britt Baker
A short back and forth match right here that was not given a whole lot of time, but it made sense in the end. Rayne eventually hit Baker with her finisher, Bend the Knee , a knee strike to the head. Post-match, Thunder Rose and Holidead, The Twisted Sisters attacked both Rayne and Baker, laying them out. This is excellent-the division has needed a shot in the arm in a big way and this was an excellent way to bring attention to the division and create a real sense of rivalry. The match was nothing special, but the post-match shenanigans and what they mean for the division going forward did well to reel fans in.
Winner: Madison Rayne
The Elite (Cody & The Young Bucks) (c) vs. The Kingdom
All Elite to start the match in this one but things eventually evened out, with both sides really getting a chance to get their stuff in. The Kingdom have continued to work well as a unit and putting the belts back on them allows Taven to stay away from Lethal until after Final battle.
As per usual, a bit of chicanery went a long way for the Kingdom here.Todd Sinclair, on the outside to assure nothing fishy occurred, was knocked out by a kick from Kick. Shortly after, Taven hit a springboard enziguri on Sinclair, taking him out. O’Ryan came in with a bat in hand and knocked out all the members of the Elite. The Kingdom recovered and hit Rockstar Supernova, but no one was there to make the count. A Third ref slid into the ring and counted to two before flipping the Kingdom double birds and revealing herself to be Brandi. Brandi made the count after Cody hit a Cross Rhodes, but the match was restarted as she is not a referee. In the confusion, O’Ryan and Marseglia hit House of a Thousand horses on Matt Jackson and picked up the pinfall victory, regaining the ROH 6-Man championships.
Winners:
Socal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) vs. Jeff Cobb & Jay Lethal
Kenny King joined commentary before this one got underway. Strong match here-SCU really work well together and could have easily one this one, but an unexpected wrinkle changed the outcome. Just as Kaz and Sky had Cobb and Lethal on the outside reeling, the Briscoes made their way down to the ring and tossed a chair at Scorpio Sky. Kaz was confused about what happened to his partner and the distraction was enough for Cobb. The first attempt at the Tour of the Islands was reversed into an inside cradle but Cobb was able to kick out and hit his finisher to pick up the win. A good match that showecased all of the champions and gave Cobb, in particular, a chance to shine.
Winners: Lethal and Cobb
Survival of the Fittest Finals: Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Dalton Castle vs. PJ Black vs. Jonathan Gresham vs Christopher Daniels vs. Adam Page
PJ Black eliminated Guerrero Maya Jr. with a powerbomb as I watched live and then there were five. Gresham then had to essentially fight off Page and Scurll and eventually fell victim to the numbers game. Page hit Gresham with a Buckshot lariat and then Rite of Passage followed by a roar, and then there were four. Scurll out rolled Black,screamed “I’m a winner is me” and then there were three. Despite being outnumbered, a Best Moonsault Ever saw the end of Scurll’s boo and then there were two. Daniels fought had it done, but Scurll hit Graduation and then there was one. A really fun match here-. Maya jr. was cheated from his title shot, but the Daniels storyline was excellent throughout and commentary really sold this well. Scurll’s win came off as a surprise here and was a great moment.
Winner: Marty Scurll
Final Reaction: B+
Top to bottom, this was a really fun show. Some of the matches could have used more time, but with the amount of wrestling that needed to get in here on the night, this was really really impressive. All the newcomers or seldom guests performed beyond expectations on the card and filled out the field of names nicely. The WOH angle worked well to push the division forward and Scurll’s win guarantees that he will have a prominent match in the future. Although the looming threat of the Elite leaving the company hangs over ROH, this show went a long way to make a statement that things just might turn out quite well, no matter what.