‘Ring of Honor’ Wrestling Review (Aug 26th 2018)
Welcome to this week’s Ring of Honor television review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have three big matches to cover, so let’s keep on dancing… all, all, all, all night long… damn it.
Match #1: Christopher Daniels beat Jay Briscoe (disqualification)
This was a fine match that reunited these old rivals long after they’ve both been the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion. It’s amazing to think about how much these two guys have changed and yet remain the same. Daniels has had numerous nick-names while Briscoe has altered his hair-cut so many times that I think his barber has probably died of exhaustion. Okay, those are terrible examples of change, but I’m running out of ideas. Should I just do Thunderdome jokes? Two men enter, one man leave! Dyin’ time’s here! He has the mind of a child! Bust a deal, face the wheel! There, how did that work? Any-way… Mrs. Walker! See, I’m cool! Who said I wasn’t? Every-body? Well, just because their right doesn’t mean they have to keep saying it. When I look in the mirror and see the Crypt Keeper with a Mariachi moustache, I know that it ain’t Brad Pitt that’s looking back at me. Daniels and Briscoe were battling under the auspices of building towards So Cal Uncensored and The Briscoes having the next phase of their feud. My only qualm with this match being a part of that feud is that this just felt like a lesser version of some-thing that these athletes have done before. If their previous matches together were like Filet Mignon, then this match, despite its good quality, was like pizza rolls and glazed dough-nuts, which also counts as Thanksgiving dinner here in America. I liked this match, but considering the finish, the whole thing felt like a secondary affair that had less value than usual.
Match #2: Flip Gordon beat Silas Young
This was a good match that featured was wrestled at the right speed… medium. I feel like Ned Flanders when I say things like that. The action was methodical and logical all the way through, with Young giving Gordon his latest lesson in psychology. Flip is coming along real well with his wrestling skills and seems poised to be one of the smart ones. I don’t foresee a wheel-chair in Flip Gordon’s future. Picture me saying that with Johnny Carson’s turban on my head. I had to use the computer to remember how to spell turban. It’s interesting that I’m watching The Wrestler while writing this review and you start thinking about all the work these people put into their careers and many of them have ended up working at any place but a wrestling league when all is said and done. Most of the wrestlers end up injured beyond repair and since they don’t get health insurance, you’ve got to pay your hospital bills. I’d say there’s no way to avoid getting hurt in professional wrestling, but not doing wild spots sure as hell seems like a good place to start. I bring this up because Flip Gordon is now a beacon of hope for the many who use the X style of wrestling, because he serves as a reminder that excess will not necessarily lead to success. Look at Silas Young, who could have become a little ol’ spot monkey, but stuck to technical wrestling and has given his career another decade, at least, and the rest of his life, if so chose to go that far with it. Lou Thesz wrestled for fifty years. Mae Young wrestled in nine different decades. Maybe you can’t cheat time forever, but if make a deal with it now, you might just get to have all of the things you’re looking for. This is an ominous way to speak about this bout, but when you see two people make the right decisions in a time when you get rewarded more for making the wrong ones, it’s good to see that some wrestlers will stay the course once traveled by all, instead of the one used too often now.
Match #3: Main Event – The Bullet Club (Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks [Nick and Matt Jackson]) beat The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia) – Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Team Titles Match
This was a wild match that went all over the place. These guys fought at break-neck speed and didn’t relent the whole way through. The kicks thrown in this match were like rapid fire. The Kingdom has come a long way as a team and as champions. It’s really cool to see Cody and The Young Bucks together before their big moment with the All In event. I’ll definitely be covering that for Nerdly, as well the Zero Hour event on WGN. The idea that this match could have just played a part in what may become one of professional wrestling’s most important cards ever is really neat to think about. The fact that these men could all be working in Madison Square Garden for the Ring of Honor/New Japan Pro Wrestling card next year makes a match like this that much more important. This was a great main event with a finish that every-body went nuts over. When you consider that The Bullet Club may be at the center of wrestling’s complete resurgence within the next couple of years, that makes this match feel just that much more incredible.
News Of The Night:
- Kenny King cut a strong promo that has planted the seeds of him becoming a delusional villain. King has based his new philosophy on Austin Aries and his reckless attitude towards the rules. King also mentioned that Ric Flair was beloved despite being a heel, so he doesn’t see why he can’t bend the rules to win like so many others have. Kenny King did a great job establishing himself as a name to watch.
- The feud between Marty Scurll and Kenny King will continue.
- Mark Briscoe attacked Christopher Daniels during his match with Jay Briscoe and caused the former to win by disqualification.
- Bully Ray gave Flip Gordon a low-blow to continue their feud.
Final Verdict: 4 out of 5 – Even with the opening match not feeling as important as it should have, every-thing that happened on this card tonight was a blast. This episode moved along at a brisk pace but still felt full and complete.
