Nerdly » ‘Ring Of Honor/CMLL Espectacular 2’ Review

11th Sep2019

‘Ring Of Honor/CMLL Espectacular 2’ Review

by Nathan Favel

Welcome to this review of Ring Of Honor/CMLL Espectacular 2, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and Matt Taven is defending his World Title against Volador Jr., which is Spanish for “wakka, wakka, wakka”. I gotta get a life. Okay, we’ve got a long one here, which is something I can’t normally say with my pants off.

Match #1: Austin Gunn beat Dante Caballero – Top Prospect Tournament Semi-Finals Match

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Caballero hit a German Suplex from the floor onto the edge of the apron. Gunn rallied and went for a running clothesline in the corner, but Caballero moved and Gunn inadvertently hit the referee. Caballero took a drink from his flask and tried to spit it in Gunn’s face, but Gunn ducked and Caballero sprayed the referee. Caballero chop-blocked Gunn, but Gunn came back with the Famouser for the win.

My Opinion: 2.6 out of 5 – This was a fun one that was nothing special, but it did show off how good these guys are.

Match #2: Silas Young and Josh Woods beat PJ Black and Okumura

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

After a flurry of offense from all four competitors, Woods caught Okumura in an armbar/head scissors combination and forced the CMLL veteran to tap out.

My Opinion: 2.9 out of 5 – This match was not too shabby, if a blabby, flabby, gabby schmuck like me has an opinion worth remembering.

Match #3: Sumie Sakai and Jenny Rose beat Angelina Love and Mandy Leon

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Taking a page out of The Allure’s book, Sakai and Rose attacked Love and Leon from behind before the opening bell. Sakai caught Leon in a rowboat stretch, but Loved sprayed Sakai in the face with hair spray right in front of the referee, who disqualified The Allure.

My Opinion: 1.8 out of 5 – This wasn’t much to look at, but at least Sumie did well.

Match #4: The Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe) beat The Bouncers (Brian Milonas and Beer City Bruiser) and Rey Bucanero and Hechiero – Ring Of Honor World Tag Titles Match

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Considering who the six competitors were, it’s not surprising that this was a brawl throughout. The three teams went at it both inside and outside the ring. Jay Briscoe hit a neckbreaker on Bucanero, and Mark Briscoe followed with Froggy Bow for the victory.

My Opinion: 3.4 out of 5 – All of these teams worked hard here to make this match a lot of fun. I always seem to have an issue with The Bouncers, but I don’t. When they perform well, I’ll give them the credit they deserve and this is one of those times. It helps to have an extra team in here, but when everybody puts their back into it, how can you not have a good match?

Match #5: Shane Taylor versus Joe Hendry – Proving Grounds Match (Draw)

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

The stipulation is that if Hendry can defeat Taylor or take him to a 15-minute draw he will receive a future shot at the ROH World Television Title. These two battled back and forth, exchanging a series of jaw-rattling punches, stiff forearms, and brutal chops. Hendry refused to back down from the bad man from the mean streets of East Cleveland. Taylor charged at Hendry, but Hendry caught him and delivered an impressive fallaway slam for a near fall. As Hendry and Taylor continued to slug it out, the time limit expired. Hendry is now owed a shot at the title.

My Opinion: 3.6 out of 5 – This was an excellent match that focused on getting Taylor over as the power-house and Hendry over as technician. Yeah, I’m getting really ambitious with these reviews, aren’t I? That’s sarcasm. Yeah, I’m a real pro at sarcasm, aren’t I? I’d say that the previous sentence was sarcasm, but then we’d be in a vicious cycle of repeating things over and over and over and…I’ll stop. Taylor is getting real good at being a champion. I think he’s where he should be on the card. Hendry is a very interesting athlete to have, as he’s decidedly a bit more comical then some serious talents, but he can wrestle quite soundly and has a certain appeal to him that might bring him to the main events sooner rather than later. Overall, this was an excellent prize fight and that’s a great thing to be able to say.

Match #6: RUSH beat Barbaro Cavernario

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

These two are no strangers to one another, having teamed together and fought on opposite sides numerous times in CMLL. This was their first meeting in an ROH ring and just their second-ever singles match against one another. Cavernario, one of the top stars in CMLL, took the fight to RUSH, nailing him with a series of dives to the floor and ramming him into the barricade. RUSH was bleeding from his right shoulder. RUSH rallied and went on to hit Bull’s Horns to remain unbeaten in ROH.

My Opinion: 3.4 out of 5 – This was more lucha libre thrills and chills that both of these guys are experts at. I suck at writing exciting phrases. Trust me. It’s RUSH. What more do you need? Do you hate RUSH? You probably just hate me. Yeah, I get that a lot. You’re cool. Any-way, this was a blast all the way through.

Match #7: Jay Lethal, Jeff Cobb and Jonathan Gresham beat Caristico, Stuka Jr. and Triton

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Cobb’s strength and agility once again were on display. At one point, he held Stuka Jr. in a vertical suplex position for what seemed like an eternity before finally completing the move. Cobb also scooped up Caristico and Triton and hit a fallaway slam on both of them. He followed with a standing moonsault on Stuka Jr. for a near fall. Later, the three members of Team CMLL hit simultaneous suicide dives. Stuka Jr. hit a torpedo splash on Lethal, but Gresham made the save. Lethal and Gresham hit the Cornette Cutter on Triton, and Gresham pinned him.

My Opinion: 3.6 out of 5 – This was a real barn-burner (Who burns barns?) of a match that had all manner of stunts and dives and slams and crashes like you wouldn’t believe (you’ll believe it). There’s plenty here to like, so just sit back and enjoy the mayhem.

Match #8: Colt Cabana beat Dalton Castle, Kenny King and Marty Scurll – Four Corner Survival Match

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

All of the participants in this match are entered in the upcoming No. 1 Contender tournament, which will determine the challenger in the ROH World Title Match at Final Battle in December. Before the match, King came out with a bandage around his head that covered his right eye. He threw to footage from the previous night’s show in Dearborn, Mich., which showed him accidentally running face first into a camera. King said that PCO — who is King’s opponent in the first round of the tournament — wouldn’t compete a couple weeks ago after getting “a scratch” over his eye (PCO actually received 17 stitches), but he will compete tonight despite his eye injury. During the match, King revealed that his “injury” was all a ruse. Cabana responded by poking him in the eyes. Now legitimately unable to see, King inadvertently school-boyed the referee. Cabana went on to score the victory after hitting a frog splash on Castle.

My Opinion: 3.3 out of 5 – This was a bit of a mess, but a fun one, if you like. This was more about humor than action, but at least it was “good” comedy.

Match #9: Matt Taven beat Volador Jr. – Ring Of Honor World Championship Match

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Volador Jr. was the last man to pin Taven in a singles match, accomplishing the feat in Mexico just over a year ago. He also pinned Taven last weekend en route to winning the CMLL Grand Prix. Volador Jr. hit a frog splash on Taven for a near fall. Taven later scored near falls on a DDT and Just the Tip knee strike. Volador Jr. pulled off a Super Hurricanrana, the same move he used to pin Taven at the Grand Prix. This time, Taven managed to kick out just in the nick of time. Volador Jr. came back with Code Red for a near fall. The challenger went for another frog splash, but Taven got his knees up. Taven connected on a draping Climax for the win.

My Opinion: 3.8 out of 5 – This was a strong, vibrant prize fight that had all sorts of fantastic action sequences the whole way through. Volador would actually make for a great ace for ROH, but since he’s still primarily with CMLL, I guess trying to negotiate a title run with him would prove to be difficult. Taven made for a great foil to the naturally likable Volador, who has a prior rivalry with the champion he utilized to make this match into a proper face/heel fight. If you stuff dog food in your mouth while you sleep, your dog will want to kiss you. I really liked this match and I bet you’ll go bananas for it.

Match #10: (Main Event) Villain Enterprises (PCO, Brody King & Flip Gordon) beat LifeBlood (Bandido, Mark Haskins & Tracy Williams) – Street Fight Match

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Gordon nailed Williams in the back with a chair before the bell. An incensed Williams challenged Villain Enterprises to turn this match into a Chicago Street Fight (it was originally booked to be a traditional six-man tag match). Villain Enterprises accepted. Chairs and tables figured prominently in the match. Haskins hit Falcon Arrow on Gordon on a chair. Gordon answered by DDT’ing Haskins on a pile of chairs. PCO attempted a cannonball from the top rope onto Haskins, but Haskins moved and PCO crashed into the chairs. King put Williams through a table in the corner with a Death Valley Driver. Later, Williams DDT’d Gordon off the top rope onto a trash can, but PCO made the save. Bandido hit a sunset flip bomb on PCO over the top rope, sending both of them crashing through a table. Gordon, with blood flowing from the back of his head down his neck and back, hit a low blow on Williams and pinned him after landing Flip-5.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This shouldn’t have been the main event, but it was a good one. Have you ever seen those phone sex commercials where Scooby Doo is talking to Sailor Moon and they can’t understand each other and they cry and Rice-A-Roni is the San Francisco treat? That’s what this match is not like. This was a brawl and a mean one at that. Bob Evans makes a fabulous “Biscuits and Gravy” and this was a cracking good main event. Did I sound British? If Mark Zuckerberg is a jackass, then is Richard Gere too friendly with those gerbils for the same reason? Okay, the main event was good and that’s that.