Nerdly » ‘Ring of Honor’ Wrestling Review (Nov 7th 2020)

13th Nov2020

‘Ring of Honor’ Wrestling Review (Nov 7th 2020)

by Nathan Favel

Welcome to this week’s Ring of Honor review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have 69…heh heh. 69. H…69! Ha ha ha! 69!!!!!! Hahahahaha!!!!! 69!!!!!!!!!! I said…what the… Phil: Shut up! Do the review! Nathan: Fine! We have stupid wrestling and stupid wrestling matches on a stupid wrestling show for all of you stupid wrestling fans! Phil: That’s it! Nathan: No! Not the belt! Ow! Ow!! Ow!!! Ring Of Honor brings two more singles matches to you…OW!…including Dalton Castle versus Brody King…OW!…and it starts n…OW OW OW OW OW!!!!!!!

Match #1: Dak Draper def. Brian Johnson – Pure Rules Match

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Draper and Johnson were chosen as alternates for the ROH Pure Title tournament, but neither of them got an opportunity to compete. This match allows them to showcase their skills as pure wrestlers and potentially puts the winner in line for a shot at ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham. Draper and Johnson have never wrestled each other, but they both were in the 2019 Top Prospect Tournament. Draper won the tournament, while Johnson was eliminated in the first round. At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, Draper has a distinct size advantage over Johnson (6-foot, 200 pounds), but Johnson has honed his skills over the past year under the tutelage of international star PJ Black. This match pitted the two alternates for the ROH Pure Title Tournament. Johnson used his one allowed closed fist to the face immediately after the opening bell. Johnson went on the attack, hitting a suicide dive, flying clothesline off the top rope and another clothesline for a two count. Draper survived the initial onslaught and grabbed Johnson, who escaped Draper’s clutches by using his first of three allotted rope breaks 1:20 into the match. Draper used his one allowed closed fist to the face. Draper hit a superplex followed by a Doctor Bomb for a near fall. Johnson used his second rope break. Johnson hit a draping cutter for a near fall. Johnson landed a springboard clothesline and made a cover with his feet on the ropes, but the referee caught him and charged him with his third and final rope break. Johnson hit a neckbreaker, and Draper used his first rope break. Johnson was about to punch Draper in the face again, but he remembered it would cause him to be disqualified. Draper took advantage of Johnson’s hesitation and hit Magnum KO for the win.

My Opinion: 3.4 out of 5 – This was a battle of heel versus heel and I liked it. Draper was the crass, arrogant boy-faced star-to-be and Brian was the psycho-bastard with an axe to grind with everybody. As pure rules go, this didn’t have as many of them as I was hoping for. That being said, what these guys did with each other was still very lively and spirited. Brian is a force to be reckoned with and you can tell that from the way he performed here. Draper has that Dolph Ziggler sorta charm to him, which went well against the psycho-bastard. All in all, this was okay.

Match #2: (Main Event) Brody King def. Dalton Castle

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

King and Castle both feel they have something to prove in this first-time matchup. King, who has only had two singles matches in ROH since his debut nearly two years ago, wants to show that he can make it on his own. The former ROH World Tag Team and World Six-Man Tag Team champion has set his sights on the ROH World Title, currently held by RUSH. Castle, who saw his 197-day reign as ROH World Champion in 2018 come to an end due in large part to a back injury, is determined to return to the level he was at before he got hurt. The winner of this match undoubtedly will strengthen their case for a shot at the ROH World Championship. King said he wants Castle to be at his absolute best when they square off. “Dalton, if you’re going to face me, give me everything you got,” King said. “I want the Dalton Castle that became world champion, not the Dalton Castle that came back from it.” Castle, who lost a hard-fought decision to two-time former ROH World Champion Jay Lethal in the first round of the ROH Pure Title Tournament, said he wants to prove that he’s more dangerous than he’s given credit for. “My job is to find out where I went wrong [against Lethal] and correct the mistake,” Castle said. “This match with Brody is an opportunity to do that in a big way. The man is a beast. So is beating Brody impossible? No way. I just have to plan correctly.” This was just the third singles match in ROH for King, a former ROH World Tag Team and ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion who has set his sights on the ROH World Title. Castle, a former ROH World Champion, is looking to get back into the world title picture, so this was an important match for both of them. Castle took control early, but King halted his momentum with a crossbody as Castle was charging at him in the corner. King punished Castle with a neck vise and heavy blows to the chest. Castle rallied with a DDT, exploder suplex and running knee to the face for a near fall. Castle hit a German suplex and set up for Bang-a-Rang, but King countered with a piledriver for a near fall. The action spilled to the floor and King tossed Castle over the barricade. After they returned to the ring, Castle hit Denouement for a near fall. King answered with a Black Hole Slam for a near fall. King hit a snap German suplex and a clothesline followed by the Gonzo Bomb to secure the biggest singles victory of his two-year ROH career.

My Opinion: 3.8 out of 5 – King got the Castle. Ha! I’m very…punny. Ha! This was a battle of tattoos and fairy dust…ogre versus cream puff…blue collar versus c—k-sucker collar…WHAM! This is The Way! King got to show-off his brutal offense and without restrictions. I can’t believe it took this long for ROH to give King his shot at real singles glory. Castle made great use of his Greco-Roman skills while locked in battle with the punk-rock Shaggy Dog. These guys kept the pace going like a train in a hippo’s wazoo! WAZOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! King and Castle had good chemistry here, like that hotel in Rwanda. I liked this and I liked King winning, even though I don’t like Castle losing.