‘Ring of Honor: Best in the World 2018’ PPV Review
Welcome to this review of Ring of Honor’s Best in the World 2018 pay per view! I’m Nathan Favel and I say we don’t waste any time with pleasantries. Here comes the action!
Match #1: The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) beat Los Ingornerbales de Japon (EVIL, Sanada & Bushi) – Ring of Honor Six-Man Titles Match
This was a solid opener with lots of action. Both teams looked good here, with Taven functioning very well as the leader of his team. Taven really has come a long way since he first arrived in Ring of Honor. LIDJ is consistently entertaining and did not break that streak here. Taven got the pin off of Bushi for the win and the title retention.
Match #2: Flip Gordon versus Bully Ray
Ray disqualified himself after losing several attempts at finishing Gordon, who was ahouse of fire tonight. Several people, such as Eli Isom, Cheeseburger and Colt Cabana, who was on announcing duties tonight, came out to defend Gordon from Ray’s post-match attack. Flip had a banner night tonight and Ray played a great heel for the young upstart.
Match #3: Hazuki, Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & Kelly Klein lost to Sumie Sakai, Jenny Rose, Mayu Iwatani & Tenille Dashwood – Eight Woman Tag Team Match
This wasn’t really much to write home about. They did tease a title feud between Kagetsu and Sakai, but it didn’t feel that important to me. The women didn’t do very much here, which is a shame.
Match #4: Austin Aries beat Kenny King
This was an excellent match that was built on the “teacher/student” angle, with Aries, the teacher, beating his student, King. I like King, but he’s missing some-thing that Aries has in abundance, which is the “IT Factor”. King could still get it, but until he does, King should not be beating him in these kinds of fight cards, where the big stars are selling the event for you. These guys work very well together and, hopefully, will lead to a long feud in the near future.
Match #5: Jay Lethal beat Kushida
The right guy won in the second excellent bout of the night. Lethal got the rubber match victory and gave Kushida all he could handle. These two guys match up really well and it would behoove Joe Koff to ask for more work between the two of them when-ever possible.
Match #6: Punishment Martinez beat Adam Page – Street Fight Match for the Ring of Honor World Television Championship
This was the best Martinez match to date and marks a turning point in his career, because you can now officially mark him down as a name you can trust for quality work. This match was a certainty for Page, who approached his prime a few years ago, but since Martinez has never had such a test in Ring of Honor, then it was imperative him to have the same test as Page and the same chance to succeed. You can chalk this up to one of the best brawls of the year and then some. Bruiser Brody would be proud of both of these men.
Match #7: The Briscoes (Jay and Mark) beat The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) – Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship
This was a hell of a match. These guys always mesh well any-way, but they really went for it tonight and accomplished one of the best matches of either team’s careers. These two teams tore each other apart and left it all in the ring. After the match, the Briscoes tried to take a chunk out of the Young Bucks’s ass, but SoCal Uncensored came to the aid of the Bucks.
Match #8: Dalton Castle beat Cody Rhodes and Marty Scurll – Triple Threat Match for the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship
This was an excellent main event that gave Castle the rub. Castle’s title reign has been solid, but still feels like a missed opportunity in some ways. Castle’s character isn’t getting enough attention in the booking, as he’s been relegated to acting like the typical champion, when you can tell that there is a more interesting version of him to be seen. Nick Aldis was watching the match from the crowd, to sell the angle that he could face Cody for the title at All In come September. Castle looked hurt here, but I’m not sure from what. There was a lot of good work here, but like a lot of Cody’s matches, it was all just a little off, even though it was all still a thrill.
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Did you watch the Ring of Honor:Best in the World 2018 pay per view? Let us know what you thought of the PPV in the comments below!