‘Ring Of Honor/CMLL Espectacular 3’ Review

Welcome to this review of Ring Of Honor/CMLL Espectacular 3, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and I wish I could meet Spongebob Squarepants. I wonder what his Spongebob Squarecrotch looks like. Yeah, I think this might be the only place where you’ll get a review of wrestling that has the attention span of a chicken at a tennis match. Okay, let’s jump right into the final show of the Espectacular trilogy.

Match #1: Villain Enterprises (PCO and Body King) beat The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser and Brawler Milonas)

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Four of the biggest men in ROH were in this match, and they were flying around the ring like men half their size. Bruiser hit a crossbody off the top rope onto all three guys on the floor. He also hit a cannonball off the apron onto PCO. The Bouncers set up for Last Call, but The Kingdom’s Vincent came out and knocked Bruiser off the top rope behind the referee’s back. King powerbombed Milonas, and PCO finished him off with a moonsault.

My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – This was a solid match that had enough life to it to not be boring, but it didn’t really do much to be more than a decent opener.

Match #2: Shane Taylor beat Dysfunction – Ring Of Honor World Television Title Match

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

This match was a late addition to the show. Dysfunction is a veteran of the Milwaukee independent scene. Taylor said before the match began that all Dysfunction has to do to win the title is last five minutes with him. As soon as the bell rang, Dysfunction went to the floor and tried to run out the clock. Taylor said he had heard that Dysfunction was one of the few guys in Milwaukee who would stand toe to toe with him, “not run like a bitch.” Taylor said he would put his hands behind his back and allow Dysfunction till the count of 10 to do whatever he wants to him. Dysfunction began punching and kicking Taylor, but Taylor decked him with a headbutt. Taylor followed with a clothesline, knee strike and Greetings from 216 for the win. Time of the fall: 2 minutes and 14 seconds.

My Opinion: 1.6 out of 5 – This was a waste of time, beyond the fact that Taylor looked like a confident champion here.

Match #3: Kelly Klein and Stacy Shadows beat The Allure (Angelina Love and Mandy Leon)

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Shadows, who had been champing at the bit to get her hands on The Allure after they beat her down and marked her with an “A” on her forehead in lipstick at an ROH event in May, ran wild on Love and Leon at the beginning of the match. Shadows charged at Leon on the floor, but Leon side-stepped her and Shadows went crashing into the barricade. Leon hit a cannonball on Shadows off the apron. It looked good for The Allure, but a short time later, Klein spiked Love with a DDT and pinned her.

My Opinion: 2 out of 5 – This was lousy, but not terrible, if that makes any sense.

Match #4: Marty Scurll beat Joe Hendry

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Scurll is undoubtedly one of the top competitors in ROH, but Hendry was every bit his equal, at least on this night. After they exchanged several near falls, Hendry caught Scurll in an ankle lock. Scurll appeared to be on the verge of tapping out, but he managed to make it to the ropes. Hendry came back with a Codebreaker for a near fall. Hendry had all the momentum in his favor when suddenly Dalton Castle’s music hit. Castle was carried onto the stage by three “boys.” Scurll took advantage of Hendry being momentarily distracted and locked on the Chicken Wing. Hendry tapped out.

My Opinion: 3.4 out of 5 – This was an excellent match that had plenty to enjoy, but not a lot in terms of big moves or anything like that. This was a wrestling match, through and through, with holds and locks being punctuated by the occasional spot or two. These guys got the crowd engaged when it mattered most and made their match both serious and funny at the same time (not the easiest feat to accomplish). All in all, I can’t keep pretending to know what I’m talking, so this part of the review is over.

Match #5: Silas Young and Josh Woods beat Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Woods surprisingly outwrestled Lethal early in the match, prompting Lethal to shake Woods’ hand. Young was annoyed by Woods accepting the handshake. Gresham hit a low blow on Young behind the referee’s back, which angered Lethal. Lethal said he’s getting tired of those tactics from Gresham. Woods hit a series of suplexes on Lethal followed by a running knee strike in the corner for a near fall. Later, Lethal went for a flying elbow, but Woods caught him in a cross armbreaker. Lethal reversed it into a figure-four leglock, but Woods countered with an ankle lock and transitioned into a bridging German Suplex. Gresham made the save. Woods it a Shining Wizard on Lethal for a near fall. Gresham slid a chair into the ring, but Lethal refused to use it. As Lethal went to pick up the chair, Woods stomped on his hand. Young then hit Misery on Lethal for the upset win. Young and Woods went 3-0 as a team on the tour.

My Opinion: 3.7 out of 5 – This was really good, with Woods looking the best he’s looked in ROH so far. There was a wealth of fantastic clinches and holds that everybody was throwing around like it was currency. This really tickled my pickle. There was so much happening here that you might need your clicker handy just to catch it all. Hey, I still think the remote control is the coolest thing out there, so lay off my outdated ass. Overall, this was just too damn cool.

Match #6: PJ Black beat Triton and Flip Gordon – Triple Threat Match

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Gordon’s knee buckled after taking a monkey flip, and he was helped to the back early in the match. A short time later, while Black and Triton were both down, Gordon — his knee suddenly perfectly fine — came back down to the ring and attacked both of his opponents. Triton hit Spanish Fly on Gordon, but Black made the save. Triton hit a frog splash on both guys and covered them for a two count. Triton got Gordon in a fireman’s carry, but Gordon ripped off the luchador’s mask. While the referee helped Triton get his mask back on, Gordon brought a chair into the ring. Before he could use it on Black, Tracy Williams came down to the ring and disarmed him. Williams chased Gordon to the back. Black went on to defeat Triton after hitting a 450 Splash.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was some wild $#!@. There were a lot of crazy moves popping off all over the place, especially from Triton, who has had a hell of a weekend.

Match #7: Volador Jr., Caristico and Stuka Jr. beat Hechicero, Rey Bucanero and Okumura

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

This entertaining, fast-paced trios match between six CMLL stars ended with Volador Jr. hitting a super hurricanrana on Hechicero for the victory.

My Opinion: 3.6 out of 5 – This was pure lucha libre and that’s all that needs to be said.

Match #8: LifeBlood (Bandido, Mark Haskins and Tracy Williams) beat The Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe) and Barbaro Cavernario

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

The Briscoes and Cavernario set the tone by jumping LifeBlood right at the opening bell. LifeBlood battled back, and the match was fast-paced, hard-hitting and back-and-forth the rest of the way. The Briscoes hit Redneck Boogie on Bandido, but Haskins made the save. Williams hit a DDT on Jay Briscoe off the top rope. Bandido landed a 450 Splash on Jay, but Mark Briscoe and Cavernario made the save. Mark Briscoe came back with Froggy Bow on Bandido for a near fall. Williams hit a piledriver on Mark, and Haskins followed with a double stomp off the top rope for the victory.

My Opinion: 3.8 out of 5 – This was another winner from these people. This is the kind of broken record you don’t mind having stuck on the needle, because it’s so smooth listening. Everybody here is just too damn good. Go watch it and have fun. Namaste.

Match #9: (Main Event) RUSH and Jeff Cobb beat Matt Taven and Vincent (Vinny Marseglia)

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Vincent hit a side effect on RUSH, and Taven followed with a frog splash. Vincent covered RUSH for a near fall. Later, Taven and Vincent worked in tandem on Cobb, as Taven nailed him with Just the Tip of the knee and Vincent landed Redrum. It looked like that was going to be the end of the match, but RUSH made the save. Cobb came back to hit Tour of the Islands on Vincent for the victory.

My Opinion: 3.7 out of 5 – This was a fine main event that gave everybody time to shine. I’ve got nothing bad to say and I recommend the match, so there you go, Idaho.

News of The Night:

1. Vincent (Vinny Marseglia) attacked Beer City Bruiser at Silas Young’s behest and RUSH at Matt taven’s behest.
2. LifeBlood (Bandido and Mark Haskins) wrestle against The Briscoes at Death Before Dishonor for the Ring Of Honor World Tag Team Championships.
3. Kenny King and Rhett Titus are still feuding.
4. Josh Woods is being booked as a sympathetic comedy face.
5. Maria Manic attacked more people.

Final Verdict: 3.9/5

This was a really strong show that never quite became the best show in ROH history, but it was still damn good most of the way through.