Nerdly » ‘Ring Of Honor Final Battle 2019’ PPV Review

16th Dec2019

‘Ring Of Honor Final Battle 2019’ PPV Review

by Nathan Favel

Welcome to this review of Ring Of Honor Wrestling’s Final Battle 2019, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have the last big card of the year for ROH, which has PCO getting what would have been deemed impossible just a few years ago…a World Title Match. Yeah, this is pretty cool. Let’s get right into this.

Match #1: 2G1T (Silas Young and Josh Woods) defeated Dalton Castle and Joe Hendry

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

In a matchup of odd couple teams, Young and Woods — who have named their team 2 Guys, 1Tag — prevailed when Woods pinned Castle after Young had catapulted Castle into Woods’ flying knees.

My Opinion: 2.7 out of 5 – This was a waste of Castle, while Young and Hendry deserved better as well. The match came and went like something that no one cared about.

Match #2: Kenny King (w/Amy Rose) defeated Rhett Titus

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

King came out to the old All Night Express music and did the ANX handshake with Rose in an effort to mock his former friend and tag partner Titus. With Titus’ wife and young son sitting ringside, he took the fight to King and scored several near falls. After a distraction from Rose, King kicked Titus low behind the referee’s back and hit Royal Flush for the win.

My Opinion: 3.2 out of 5 – The big story here was that Titus gave a fine performance and may have finally hit his stride as a singles wrestler in ROH. King did just fine as well, but the match was all about Titus looking good at a time when he needed to most.

Match #3: Jeff Cobb defeated Dan Maff

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

This was a battle between two bulls that was every bit as hard-hitting as one would expect. At times during the match, the veteran Maff physically dominated the former ROH World Television Champion. Cobb rallied and hit two impressive Tour of the Islands on the massive Maff for the victory.

My Opinion: 3.7 out of 5 – These guys beat the hell out of each other like it was Food Stamp Tuesday (my favorite day of the week, Boo-Boo). Maff kept up with Cobb like an ambulance chaser at a NASCAR show. These guys were hitting so many dingers off of each other that it would make your head spin (almost as much as theirs were after getting walloped). This was a mean, brutal slug-fest the whole way through.

Match #4: Bandido and Flamita defeated Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll and Flip Gordon)

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

The athleticism and innovation in this incredibly fast-paced match was off the charts. After countless high risk and high-flying moves, Flamita hit a 619 on Gordon a second before Bandido executed a 21 Plex on both opponents. Bandido covered Scurll for the three count.

My Opinion: 3.9 out of 5 – This was some fantastic stuff that needed a few extra minutes to get to the next level. Fortunately, this did get upwards of fifteen minutes to show off some amazing aerial feats that I couldn’t do if you tossed my ass out of a plane. This was all about the match itself and any attempt at placing a story onto it will only devalue what this match is to be praised for, which is the display of pure skill and ability.

Match #5: Vincent defeated Matt Taven

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Taven was out for revenge against his former best friend, and he went on the offensive right from the start. Vincent, however, proved to be remarkably resilient. Taven hit Climax, but Vincent got his foot on the rope. Taven hit his finisher again, and Vincent kicked out just in time. Taven brought Vincent’s axe into the ring, but Vincent caught him with Sliced Bread to score the upset.

My Opinion: 3.4 out of 5 – This turned out pretty well, with Vincent getting the surprise victory over ROH’s golden boy.

Match #6: Mark Haskins (w/Vicky Haskins) defeated Bully Ray – Street Fight Match

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

As Haskins made his entrance, Bully attacked him from behind with a large board wrapped in barbed wire. Then, in a sickeningly display, Bully rammed the board into Vicky, who was helped to the back. Bully proceeded to punish Haskins with a variety of weapons, but Haskins kept fighting. Vicky eventually came back down to the ring, and she grabbed a grater and used it on Bully’s groin. Haskins and Vicky then flipped Bully off the middle rope and through a table. Haskins followed with a double stomp for the win.

My Opinion: 2.9 out of 5 – This was…if Bully Ray had been less insistent on being the star here, then this would have worked out better. Mark tried to get over here, but Ray’s pandering to the crowd just made this impossible. Mark should have been in a match with Tracy Williams or something like that, not in a feud that no one knew even existed. They had a fine brawl (when Ray wasn’t talking), but there was too much stalling here for a long match to be seen as great.

Match #7: Alex Shelley defeated Colt Cabana

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

This match was set up after the opening contest, when Shelley came out and challenged Cabana, who was doing color commentary. This was the first-ever singles match between the two accomplished veterans. After a flurry of holds and counters, Shelley maneuvered Cabana into a pinning position and scored the three count.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was quite good for some-thing so short. This was a pure technical display that harkened back to classic Ring Of Honor matches of the past, which is some-thing that doesn’t happen often enough. Cabana is supposedly gone after this, so as swan songs go, this was beautiful to listen to.

Match #8: Maria Manic defeated Angelina Love (w/Mandy Leon)

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

In Manic’s much-anticipated first match in Women of Honor, she dominated the former seven-time champion to a shocking degree. Manic maneater-handled Love, tossing her around both in and out of the ring. She also destroyed Leon when she tried to interfere on Love’s behalf. After just more than six minutes of action, Manic made Love submit to a Torture Rack.

My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – Maria smashed Angelina..smashed her good! I don’t like squashes, but at least the right woman won.

Match #9: Dragon Lee defeated Shane Taylor (w/Ron Hunt and Soldiers of Savagery) – Ring Of Honor World Television Title Match

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Dragon Lee, RUSH’s younger brother, defeated Shane Taylor for the ROH World Television Title. It’s Lee’s first championship in ROH. Taylor’s reign ended at 218 days, the sixth-longest TV Title reign in ROH history. Taylor has been a dominant champion since winning the title in May, but Lee would not be denied on this night. Lee kicked out of Taylor’s Welcome to the Land /Greetings from 216 finisher. After Lee got his hands on a chain that Hunt had given to Taylor to use, he wrapped it around his knee and delivered a knee strike to Taylor’s head. Lee later thwarted interference from Hunt, lowered his knee pad and nailed Taylor with another running knee strike for the victory.

My Opinion: 3.8 out of 5 – This was pretty damn cool. Taylor put over Lee about as well as anyone could hope for. With plenty of big moves and some rough stuff every step of the way, this match was a fight through and through. I can say that the new champion was broke in the hard way, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing here. I liked this.

Match #10: Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham defeated Jay and Mark Briscoe – Ring Of Honor World Tag Team Title Match

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham defeated Jay and Mark Briscoe to win the ROH World Tag Team Titles. It’s the first tag team title reign for Lethal, the most decorated singles competitor in ROH history, and the first gold of any type for Gresham. The Briscoes’ record 11th tag team title reign ended at 146 days. It appeared the Briscoes were going to retain the title after Jay Briscoe hit the Jay Driller on Lethal, but Gresham pulled the referee out of the ring before he could complete the three count. The Briscoes prepared to hit Doomsday Device on Lethal, but Gresham pushed Mark Briscoe off the top rope, and Lethal rolled up Jay Briscoe and grabbed a handful of tights to steal the win.

My Opinion: 4.1 out of 5 – This was a real barn-burner (which is bad for the Amish). This was true-blue tag team wrestling from bell to bell, with all the trimmings and trappings of a classic about it. I’m not sure how I feel about the new champions, but at least this was a match of four great wrestlers showing what they can do.

Match #11: (Main Event) PCO (w/Destro) defeated RUSH – No Disqualification Match For The Ring Of Honor World Title

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

PCO says he isn’t human. At Final Battle, he became immortal. On Friday the 13th, it was the monster’s day, as he mashed his way to the ROH World Championship by defeating the previously unbeaten RUSH in a wild anything-goes match in the main event of ROH’s biggest show of the year at UMBC Event Center. While the story of PCO being resurrected by his creator Destro may be fantastic, Pierre Carl Ouellet’s long and arduous journey to the world championship is every bit as extraordinary. At 51, PCO became the oldest ROH World Champion in history, finally reaching the pinnacle in a 32-year career in which he has experienced more than his share of adversity. PCO absorbed a tremendous amount of punishment in the match from a ruthless RUSH before ultimately putting him through a table with a moonsault to score the victory and capture the title. RUSH, perhaps sensing how much his title was in jeopardy against the monster, was even more vicious and relentless than usual. During the match, RUSH used a chair, ladder, camera chord and table to punish PCO. At one point, RUSH threw PCO off the stage onto some guardrails. PCO appeared to be down and out, but Destro used jumper cables from his hearse, which was parked near the stage, to recharge PCO. After taking all the punishment RUSH dished out, PCO eventually hit a moonsault that put RUSH through a table. Three seconds later, there was a new ROH World Champion. RUSH, who had not been pinned or forced to submit since making his ROH debut nearly one year ago to the day, saw his title reign end at 77 days. PCO’s win marked the first time the ROH World Title has changed hands in Baltimore.

My Opinion: 3.7 out of 5 – This was pure spectacle that was a bit hard to believe part of the time, but it worked and delivered a main event that people were happy with once the new champion was crowned. I wish that PCO had not been booked as a carnival attraction by this point, but the effect of a journeyman getting the strap after all these years still had meaning. This had more than enough action to whet you whistle with, so don’t worry about this being less than the sum of its parts. RUSH played the perfect heel for PCO, who could do no wrong for this crowd. I would hope the plan is to milk the RUSH/PCO rivalry for all its worth and have a real face/heel dynamic for a little bit, because it just sounds to good to pass up. All in all, this was a fine main event for a very worthy World Champion. I bet WALTER is off somewhere pleased that he helped make this happen. Congratulations PCO.