ROH 1/26/19 Road to G1 Supercard San Antonio Review
1/26/19
AUSTIN HIGHWAY EVENT CENTER
San Antonio, TX
Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana welcomed everyone to the third show of three consecutive shows, featuring the final of Tag Wars.
Clark Conners, Freddericks & Coughlin vs.
Shinobi Shadow Squad (Ryan Nova, Cheeseburger & Eli Isom)
The Young Lions have been a nice glimpse into the NJPW LA dojo and continue to do the same here. They had a fun triple Boston crab spot by the Young Lions on 3S, but the legal man Isom was able to reach the ropes to force the break. Isom was able to rally and hit a brainbuster to pick up the win for his, pardon the pun, squad. The Kingdom came out post-match and Matt Taven got on the mic and said that as the Kingdom are fighting champions they will defend the titles at some point in the future. 3S asked for the shot now, supported by the fans, but Taven reminded everyone that the Kingdom are in control and that they will defend the title when they choose to. This was a short opener that once again allowed the Young Lions to get some offense in while continuing to build the 6-man division’s depth with 3S looking like possible contenders.
Winners: Shinobi Shadow Squad
ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match
The Kingdom(c) vs. Dalton Castle & The Boys
Castle and the Boys sauntered down to the ring with the Boys in tow and challenged the Kingdom, making it clear that they deserve a title shot based on recent victories and their status as former champions. The Kingdom accepted the challenge and the contest got underway. This was the right length, with some of the usual spots from both sides here, including Castle tossing the Boys all over the place. Boy Two accidentally hit Castle as he fended off the Kingdom before hitting a moonsault, allowing Marseglia and TK to hit House of a Thousand Horses on Castle to pick up the pinfall victory and walk away with yet another defense under their belts. After the Kingdom left Castle seemed to be irate with the Boys for a moment but the three smoothed things over before heading to the back. These two teams work very well together and this was no different. Although castle and the Boys did not seem poised to win this one the seeds for a possible Castle heel turn were planted and could lead to an interesting 2019 for the Party Peacock.
Winners: The Kingdom
“Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams vs. Rhett Titus
Titus’s stint working comedy over the last few years has obfuscated his pure wrestling talent but with this new transformation he has been giving a chance to show his chops again and this pairing with Williams provided a real opportunity to see him against someone with a hard-hitting style. The match did not disappoint. It was short and hard-hitting, with Titus getting some heel moments in here as he threatened Tenille Dashwood, William’s LifeBlood comrade-in-arms. There was a scary spot when Williams went to drop Rhett on his head from the top for a top rope DDT, but thankfully neither was injured. Despite an impressive helicopter slam, Titus was unable to keep Williams down and eventually submitted to a crossface, giving Williams the victory on the night. Nice back and forth here- both men looked good here, strengthening the mid-card as a whole and keeping Williams tear since joining the company moving forward.
Winner: Tracy Williams
Tag Wars Semi-Finals
The Bouncers vs. Beat Down Clan (Kenny King & MVP) vs. Villian Enterprises (PCO & brody King)
Very early on in this one, Brody floated around like a jumping bean, hitting a springboard moonsault on MVP just after the two went back and forth with vicious chops. The two made way for PCO and Milonas, with PCO launching himself from the top rope early on. Although PCO missed the senton things broke down into a brouhaha that led to a revolving door of partners.In the end, PCO hit a moonsault on BCB to take the win for his team and move on to the finals of the tag tournament. Good god, this was excellent in every way. It did not feel formulaic at all and everything worked. This is an early match of the night contender.
Winners: Villian Enterprises
Tag Wars Semi-Finals
Coast to Coast (Leon St. Giovanni & Shaheem Ali) vs. Fin Juice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay) vs. Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham
This was an excellent match that suffered a little bit by following the previous match, making them worked that much harder to get what had to be a tired crowd back to a fever pitch. Robinson was super over and it helped this match tremendously. All three teams worked extremely well together, specifically Coast to Coast who had large stretches of control here. Gresham’s wizardry was on display again here and if Lethal wasn’t already world champion the two would certainly be in title contention. Fin Juice walked away with the win here after Finlay got Trashed Panda, sending him and Robinson to the finals. A really fast-paced and high flying affair that is worth your time.
Winners: Robinson & Finlay
WOH World Championship Match
Kelly Klein(c) w/ Kamp Klein vs. Sumie Sakai
Klein caught Sakai with a knee to the head that seemed to knock out Sakai, but it was not enough. As Klein went to set Sakai up for her finisher the former champion locked in an arm at that almost forced Klein to tap. Sakai created separation with German duplex, but couldn’t follow up as she was spent. Sakai got a run on offense and had a number of opportunities, but interference from Kamp Klein and Klein’s own resilience here were too much for Sakai. Klein hit a super K-Power from the top rope and applied a superfluous End of the Match submission to walk away the reigning champion. Post-match The Twisted Sisterz came down and attacked the still downed Sakai before getting on the mic and putting the rest of the division on notice.
Winner: Kelly Klein
Willie Mack & Jeff Cobb vs. Shane Taylor & Silas Young
As Colt Cabana helped Sakai to the back, NWA commentator Joe Galli joined commentary for the match. After the last two matches, it would be improbable for another absolute banger, but here we are. This match was an absolute hoss battle, with the caveat that all of these big men are incredibly agile and were able to pull off some absolutely mind-bogglingly offense. After a tower of doom spot, Cobb seemed poised to win the match for his team but Bully Ray decided to confront Todd Sinclair during this match and demand that Todd Sinclair reverse the I Quit match result from Final Battle. Cobb confronted Bully Ray but before Cobb could do a thing he was caught from behind with a low blow from Silas Young. Sinclair disqualified Team Crumugdeons but that did not stop the trio from beating Cobb down, mocking him as he left. Seems as if Ray might be headed for a title shot against Cobb.
Winners: Cobb & Mack
Rocky Romero vs. Bandido
At this point, I am actually concered for the crowd. After the series of matches beforehand, this match was easily always going to be extremely good and it did not dissapoint. Romero has been excellent on the tour and this match with Bandido was just waht the doctor ordered for both men- their styles work very well together and it also served as a sort of passing of the torch here as Romero, an elder statesman, welcomed the new guard by making him look like a million bucks. Bandido took the win here after hitting a 21-plex in a match that is highly recommended viewing as words can’t really do this justice.
Winner: Bandido
Marty Scurll vs. Mark Haskins
This was a battle of the Brits and easily Scurll’s best one on one match in recent memory. It’s as if the influx of new talent has energized the roster and encouraged everyone to step up their game. This match was no exception. Haskins went to all of his tried and true manuevers but was unable to keep Scurll down. The Villian was able to win out a series of near falls, rolling forward with a folding press to pick up the victory here. The story here that Haskins just could not put Scurll away but clearly had all the tools to do it. Scurll adhered to the code of honor with his fellow countrymen here. This did not have the same exact energy as the last few matches but the show was due for a little bit of a cool down. This was still a very good match and on a different card could have been MOTN.
Winner: Marty Scurll
Tag Wars Finals
Villian Enterprises vs. Lifeblood’s Fin Juice (Juice Robbinson & David Finlay)
Tenille Dashwood joined commentary before the match. The match started off a bit slowly, giving the chance to recover a bit here and presumably the wrestlers as well, as both teams were wrestling their second match of the night. Things did start to heat up here and both sides really seemed to have a chance to win here. Unfortunately, the feed died for a short period of time. Once in returned, Brody King and Finlay were in the ring. King hit a Gonzo bomb on Finlay to pick up the win. Post-match King and PCO declined the code of honor from Fin Juice and then were rewarded with a beating courtesy of the Briscoes. Jay and Mike opened up a can, using chairs and eventually hitting a froggy-bow onto PCO through a table. PCO no sold the move, as he’s not human, and with King recovered, the two turned the tables for a brief moment. Mark and PCO then traded just flinging chairs at each other’s heads and a donnybrook broke out as the show went off the air.
Winners: Villian Entreprises
Final Reaction: A
The crowd was absolutely electric and made every match that much better, including this one. The energy has reflected back to the action in the ring and it has been a pleasure to watch. There isn’t a bad match on the entire card and felt like a very quick 3-hour show. The entire show is absolutely recommended viewing. The new vision of honor for the company worked it’s way through the entire tour and as stated above, the new talent seems to have energized the roster in the best way possible. The fans in attendance seem prepared to enjoy wrestling, not just certain stars, but rather, good wrestling. This made the event super enjoyable to watch and bodes well for the company moving forward.