‘Ring of Honor’ Wrestling Review (Aug 19th 2018)

Welcome to this week’s Ring of Honor review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have the beginning of the Top Prospect Tournament occurring on this card, as well as an emotional moment with Alex Shelley and the future of his wrestling career. Let’s get right to the first match.

Match #1: Chris Sabin beat Scorpio Sky

These guys had my favorite match of the card. Sabin and Sky had a very even, methodically paced match that blended the X style and technical wrestling into a smart bout. Sabin was back in his singles briefs here, rather than his Motor City Machine Gun gear, which proved to be a bit of fore-shadowing that we’ll discuss in the News Of The Night section of the review. Sky channeled Low Ki in some parts of the match, which is always my personal complement to him… we’ve never met though… I’m a loser. One great thing about this match is how they waited several minutes until using the stunts, which made their effect all the more so. These two guys knew they how to get their match over with the crowd and were rewarded with the crowd’s complete attention. Ian Riccaboni had some of his best announcing to date while working this fight and has really come a long way from where he was in 2017. Over-all, this was a wonderful match that set the right speed for the rest of the card.

Match #2: Karen Q beat Jenny Rose

This was a solid match that had some good work from both women. Q has only been in the sport for a few years, but has already realized a fine amount of her potential. Q has a way of selling a crowd on her abrasive attitude without having to waste time preening to the spectators to do it. Rose has a long way to go as a personality, but she is constantly improving in this skill, as well as her wrestling ability. The match itself was the basics with a bit of spice (no Rachael Rae stuff… I don’t know what I mean either).

Match #3: FR Josie versus Eli Isom – Top Prospect Tournament Quarter Finals Match (No Contest)

There wasn’t too much here for action, because this match had the arrival of a certain name from the global market who we’ll cover in the NOTN section below. The match had some nice exchanges and holds that got the match off to the right start, but the surprise invasion by our special wrestler (I sound like I’m insulting a five year old) cut the match off by the throat.

Match #4: Main Event – Kenny King beat Marty Scurll

This was an excellent main event that King in a surprise fall. These two had a similar style of working, so it had the mirror effect that is usually fun to watch. Scurll didn’t come across as exciting a personality as he typically does, which may be because he didn’t get to cut one of his promos. King moved really well in this match and may have reached a milestone in the way he wrestles. Look for some fun grappling around the arena to give this match some zip (I’m turning this review into a cook-book, it seems).

News Of The Night:

1. Alex Shelley has gone on a sabbatical as a result of his latest injury. Shelley cut one of the best promos of the year and proved he can make, and has already, made a legitimate connection with the people. Shelley asked Sabin to validate both of their careers in any way he sought fit.
2. Punishment Martinez attacked Sabin and Shelley after Shelley cut his promo.
3. Kelly Klein cost Jenny Rose her match with Karen Q by way of a distraction.
4. Jay Lethal will defend the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Title against Johnathan Gresham in a 30 Minute Iron Man match in three weeks on ROH TV.
5. Christopher Daniels wrestles Jay Briscoe, next week.
6. The Kingdom wrestles The Bullet Club for the Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Team Titles, next week.
7. Jeff Cobb assaulted Eli Isom and FR Josie during their match. Cobb appears to be a regular going forward and should be a fantastic addition to Ring of Honor.

Final Verdict: This was a fine card that had two excellent matches and a lot of big pieces of news. Alex Shelley will be missed, but I have a feeling that he will be back, one day. Jeff Cobb will likely become a great addition to the roster. There was some great camera work on this broadcast that reminded me of Robert Altman’s technique from the movie “Gosford Park”, which featured a camera that, at various speeds, was always moving.
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Thanks for reading and we’ll meet next week for more Ring of Honor action.