For more on the 3/12 ROH Conquest Tour show, be sure to check out Chad and Brad’s takes.
Dalton Castle comes out for an interview with The Boys and discusses that his scheduled opponent Kenny Omega is ducking him. Castle talks about his work-outs and says he has the best suplex in all of pro wrestling and says “I wouldn’t want to wrestle me either.” Castle says he can’t send the fans home empty-handed so he will introduce his new talk show in which everyone gets a puppy. The All Night Express of Kenny King and Rhett Titus then come out and challenge him. They end up agreeing to a 3-vs-2 match.
Dalton Castle and The Boys vs Rhett Titus and Kenny King
Castle and Titus start and Titus complains about Castle pulling his hair. One of The Boys tags in and gets chopped by Titus. The other Boy tags in The Boys hit Titus with a double dropkick. Castle and King tag in and Castle applies a hammerlock before King punches him. Castle takes King to the mat and goes for a gutwrench suplex but King escapes. Castle hangs in there and gives King a leg-capture suplex. King rolls outside and Castle fakes a tope and plays to the crowd. Titus hits the apron and Castle knocks him to the floor. Castle then throws one of The Boys over the top rope but Titus and King catch him. Castle then throws the other Boy onto them in a dive. Castle gives King a vertical suplex inside and slams one of The Boys onto him. King comes back and gives one of the Boys a spinning backbreaker and Titus tags in and kicks him. King and Castle tag back in and Castle hits a clothesline followed by knee-strikes in the corner. Castle hits a suplex on King and then catches Titus off the top rope and gives him an overhead belly-to-bely suplex. The Boys tag in and hit a double clothesline on King in the corner followed by a double-enzuiguiri. Castle goes for the bang-a-rang on King but Titus makes the save. King hits Castle with an enzuiguri and Titus dropkicks him and they throw him to the floor. The Boys both roll up King and Titus and then miss enzuiguris. King then hits a burning hammer and Titus hits a brainbuster and they pin The Boys to win the match. Titus and King beating The Boys after the match but Castle saves them and hits the Bang-a-Rang on Titus. This was a fun and simple opener. Castle and The Boys are an entertaining act as always and Castle’s suplexes are great.
Adam Page and Jonathan Gresham vs Cedric Alexander and BJ Whitmer
Gresham and Page jump Alexander in the aisle-way during his entrance. All four men brawl on the floor. Gresham headbutts Alexander and they trade forearms while Whitmer and Page trade chops. Alexander sits Gresham on a chair and chops him but Gresham headbutts him onto the chair and hits a running kick. Page whips Whitmer into the ring barricade. Alexander hits a running kick to Gresham’s chest. Whitmer drops Page back-first on the ring barricade. Gresham gets in the ring and hits a tope suicida on Alexander. Whitmer attacks Gresham and throws him in the ring. Gresham kicks a charging Whitmer and gives him a hurracanrana off the ropes. Alexander knees a running Gresham in the back but Whitmer runs into Alexander. Veda Scott trips up Gresham and Whitmer gives him a spinebuster. Alexander stomps down Gresham and then whips him into the turnbuckle. Alexander and Gresham trade strikes and Alexander gives him an enzuiguri. Whitmer tags in and taunts Page before stomping down Gresham who fights back with chops. Whitmer maintains control and Alexander and hits two vertical suplexes on Gresham. Whitmer and Alexander work over Gresham in the corner but Gresham fights back with chops and gives Alexander a drop toehold into the corner. After several attempts Page tags in and unloads on Alexander and hits a pescado on Whitmer. Alexander goes for a pescado but Page gives him a boot to the face. Page chases him into the ring and boots Whitmer in the face before Alexander attacks him from behind. Page gets thrown to the apron where he hits a shooting star press on Whitmer. Gresham hits a quebrada into a DDT on Alexander who then takes a lariat from Page for a two-count. Whitmer then throws Page into the barricade outside. Whitmer brings a chair into the ring and Mr. Wrestling III slides one to Page. They swing them at each other with Page getting the advantage knocking Whitmer outside. Alexander rolls up Page. Alexander jumps off the ropes but Page catches him and hits the Rite Of Passage (back-to-belly piledriver) for the pinfall. Page and Whitmer then have a staredown. Gresham and Page looked great in this match and I hope we get to see Gresham as TV Champion.
Cheeseburger and Jay and Mark Briscoe vs War Machine and Moose
Matt Taven joins the commentary table. Cheeseburger and Moose start the match. Cheeseburger tries a football tackle but gets blocked. Cheeseburger tries a spinning DDT. Moose blocks him but Cheeseburger spins into a sleeperhold. Cheeseburger goes for a shotei palm-strike but Moose backs off and Raymond Rowe and Mark tag in. Rowe grabs a waistlock but Mark elbows his way out and this a knee-lift and a dropkick. Jay tags in and hits Rowe with a big boot. Jay hits an uppercut and a dropkick. The Briscoes then lift Cheeseburger and hit running knees on Rowe. Mark gives Rowe a Russian legsweep and hits strikes in the corner. Mark misses a clothesline in the corner. Hanson enters and hits a clothesline on Mark followed by a dropkick from Rowe and an avalanche splash from Hanson. They set up Mark on the top turnbuckle where Moose gives him a dropkick. Cheeseburger runs in but backs off. War Machine and Moose team up on Mark in the corner. Moose headbutts Mark and Rowe bodyslams him. Hanson tags in and Rowe bodyslams him onto Mark. Rowe and Hanson then bodyslam Moose onto Mark. Hanson beats on Mark who fights back with chops and a spin-kick. Rowe blocks Mark from getting the tag and gives him a knee-strike. Mark hits a dropkick and tags in Cheeseburger who throws forearms at War Machine and Moose who then surround him. Cheeseburger throws shotei palm-strikes at all of them but then takes a triple yakuza kick from them. Moose and Hanson miss charges in the corner. Jay tags in and trades strikes with Rowe and starts headbutting him. Jay hits a reverse neckbreaker and goes for a Death Valley Driver but takes a boot from Hanson. Mark and Hanson square off and Hanson misses his cartwheel dropkick. Mark charges Hanson in the corner but Hanson hits a sitdown splash on him. Jay tags in and throws Cheeseburger onto |War Machine and Moose in the ring but they catch him and throw him back inside over the top rope. Mark hits a dropkick through the ropes and Jay hits a tope suicida. Cheeseburger then hits a springboard plancha. Moose then beats down Cheeseburger and throws him into the guardrail. Jay superkicks Moose and takes him inside and they trade strikes. Moose hits an uppercut and a yakuza kick but Jay catches him in a Death Valley Driver. Rowe then hits a superman punch on Jay but takes a dropkick from Mark and crotches Hanson who was on the top rope. The Briscoes gives Hanson a superplex and Cheeseburger hits a top rope splash. Cheeseburger then charges Hanson in the corner but gets thrown into a back suplex by Rowe. The Briscoes then face off with Rowe and Hanson and they are all start throwing punches. Hanson hits a big boot on Mark but takes a clothesline from Jay. Rowe takes a uranagae from Mark. Moose is in the ring and misses a clothesline on Mark who does some red neck kung fu before taking a clothesline. Cheeseburger dropkicks Moose and knocks him out of the ring. Cheeseburger hits a shotei on Hanson but then takes a spear from Moose and gets pinned. This was all action with good work by all guys and Cheeseburger really standing out with everything he did.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title Match: Kushida (champion) vs ACH
Kushida wins a test of strength to start and attempts to pin ACH. Kushida takes his back but ACH grabs a wristlock. Kushida grabs a waistlock and rolls into a pin attempt. They trade wristlocks and ACH snapmares in and applies a chinlock. Kushida does an inverted atomic drop and hits two dropkicks. ACH goes a stunner but Kushida blocks it and hits his own stunner. ACH hits an up-kick and throws Kushida outside. ACH misses a pescado and Kushida whips him into the barricade. Kushida chops ACH and whips him into the barricade but ACH jumps over it. ACH hits an elbow and then does a step-up dive off the barricade. ACH rolls Kushida inside and hits a facebuster off the ropes. ACH chops Kushida and hits a dropkick and splashes him. ACH applies an abdominal stretch but Kushida fights out. ACH hits a leg lariat. Kushida then snaps ACH’s arm on the top rope and hits a lariat. Kushida kicks ACH who chops his leg. Kushida knocks ACH outside with a handspring kick. They go up top with ACH trying a superplex to the floor but Kushida wins out and snaps ACH’s arm on the top rope again. Kushida hits a baseball slide dropkick and hits ACH with a twisting plancha. As ACH returns to the ring Kushida hits a dropkick and then does a moonsault. Kushida goes for the hoverboard lock but ACH gets the ropes. Kushida whips him into the corner but takes boot to the face. ACH goes for a brainbuster but Kushida counters into a hoverboard lock. ACH gets out and they jockey for position. Kushida does a handspring but ACH catches him in a German suplex. Kushida backdrops ACH onto the apron. ACH hits a kick and does a slingshot stunner. ACH goes to the top rope but Kushida cuts him off and attempts a superplex. ACH knocks him off but Kushida hits a handspring kick. Kushida puts him in a cross armbreaker and then transitions into a hoverboard lock. ACH stands up and slams Kushida in the corner. ACH sits him on the top rope and hits a superkick and a brainbuster. They both struggle to their feet and they trade strikes. Kushida hits a spinning forearm and ACH hits a spinning slap. Kushida hits a foeram but ACH strikes back with a spinning clothesline. ACH goes up top and misses a 450 splash, landing on his left arm. Kushida kicks his arm and then gets the hoverboard lock for the submission win. This was a really good match and I think Kushida and ACH could have a really good series. Here’s hoping for a BOSJ berth for ACH.
Joey Daddiego with Taeler Hendrix vs Will Ferrara
Hendrix grabs the mic and says that Truth Martini was taken out after one man had one job to do. She says that Donovan Dijak deprived pro wrestling and ROH of Martini. She says that tonight Daddiego will set an example with Ferrara. She says Dijak might be seven feet tall but she looks down her nose at him. Daddiego then hits Ferrara with punches and slams him. Daddiego throws him into the corner but Ferrara fights back and hits a knee-strike. Ferrara starts throwing clotheslines but gets whipped into the corner. Ferrara grabs a figure four armbar. Daddiego gets out but Ferrara applies it again and transitions s into a crossface. Ferrara does a crossbody off the top but Daddiego catches him and throws him in a fall-away slam. Daddiego hits a brainbuster and mounts Ferrara and unloads punches. Daddiego gives Ferrara a backbreaker and a powerslam. Daddiego hits a clothesline in the corner but Ferrrara fights back with punches. Daddiego slams him in the corner, hangs him in the tree of woe and slams him. Daddiego sits Ferrar on the top rope but Ferrar gets down and hits a back elbow and a dropkick. Ferrar hits a back elbow in the corner and then hits a DDT. Daddiego fights him off with punches and slams him in the corner. Daddiego hits a powerbomb for a two-count. Hendrix rolls a chair into the ring and Daddiego gets disqualified after slamming Ferrara across the back with it. Dijak then comes out with Prince Nana and brawls with Daddiego. Security separates them and Dijak hits several security members with his torture rack into a knee-strike. I was really impressed with Daddiego in this match as his offense and presence are greatly improved. Ferrara worked well underneath.
Adam Cole and Roderick Strong vs Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly
Cole and O’Reilly start the match but Cole quickly tags out to Strong. O’Reilly and Strong lock up and they trade holds. O’Reilly goes for a cross armbreaker but Strong gets out. O’Reilly gives Strong an armbreaker and Fish and Cole tag in. They trade wristlocks and Fish applies a sleeper with Cole getting the ropes. Strong attacks Fish from behind and Fish and O’Reilly both gives Strong armbreakers. Cole makes the save but Fish and O’Reilly take him down with kicks. Fish and O’Reilly go for soccer kicks but Cole and Strong roll to the floor. Fish and O’Reilly hit pescados. O’Reilly runs Cole’s head into a chair on the outside. All four men brawl and run each other into the barricades. O’Reilly kicks Strong in the face and rolls him inside. Strong chops O’Reilly but misses him on a charge and spills to the floor. Fish grabs Strong and tries to run him into the barricade but he takes a superkick from Cole. O’Reilly goes for his missile dropkick off the apron but Strong catches him and throws him into the ringpost. Cole takes O’Reilly inside and hits a snap suplex. Strong and Cole tag in and out and work O’Reilly’s arm and give him a double gourd-buster. They hit repeated strikes in the corner and Strong gives him an Olympic slam followed by Cole doing a shining wizard. Cole gives O’Reilly’s armbreakers on the ropes and then tags in and elbows the arm. O’Reilly then throws Cole into Strong who doesn’t know its Cole as he does a number of armbreakers. Cole grabs O’Reilly in a chinlock and then knocks Fish off the apron allowing O’Reilly to apply a sleeper. O’Reilly throws kicks at both Strong and Cole and tags in Fish who hits a sliding lariat on Cole. Fish knees Strong in the corner and hits a flying elbow. Fish hits a back-kick on Cole and gives him an exploder suplex onto Strong. Cole grabs Fish in a jawbreaker and O’Reilly ties up Cole in an armbar in the ropes. Fish and O’Reilly hit Cole with strikes in the corner and then do their kneedrop decapitation. Strong breaks up a pin attempt. Cole hits a superkick on O’Reilly. Strong gives Fish a double-knee gutbuster followed by Cole doing a shining wizard. Cole puts Fish in the figure four and Strong puts O’Reilly in the Strong-hold. Fish and O’Reilly get out and apply ankle locks. O’Reilly jots Strong with knee-strikes and a spinning elbow. Fish and Cole trade strikes. Cole hits a superkick but O’Reilly gives him a Samoan drop. O’Reilly and Strong tag in and trade strikes. Strong throws a jumping knee but O’Reilly avoids it and hits a Nigel clothesline. Fish and O’Reilly go for Chasing the Dragon but Cole takes Fish outside and slams him spine-first into the apron. Cole misses a superkick on O’Reilly inside and hits Strong. O’Reilly and Cole then start throwing punches at each other. Strong hits O’Reilly with a jumping knee to the head and pins him to win the match. Some of this match was a little busy for my current tastes but the finishing stretch was really good.
Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley vs Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian vs The Young Bucks
Nick and Matt come out with a broom dressed as Kenny Omega that they announce as “Broom-Mega.” Daniels and Sabin start with Daniels stomping Sabin down in the corner. Sabin fights back and double-teams him with Shelley. Matt and Kazarian tag in and Kazarian hits a dropkick. Nick comes in and he and Matt hit a combination backbreaker/neckbreaker. They throw “Broom-Mega” at Kazarian in a crossbody position. Shelley comes in and jockeys for position with Nick. Daniels and Kazarian come in and get hiptossed and then clotheslined out of the ring. Shelley and Sabin brawl with the Bucks. Sabin and Shelley both hit clotheslines. Nick hits a double-dropkick on Shelley and Sabin. Shelley briefly takes control but Matt gets him in a shiranui. Matt does a crotch-chop at Shelley but Shelley grabs the aforementioned crotch and does the same to Nick. Shelley gets a double crucifix on Matt and Nick. Shelley hits Matt with a back elbow and throws him into Nick on the top rope. Shelley hits a kick to Matt’s head and goes for the tag to Sabin. Nick stops him briefly and Daniels gets the tag instead and whips Matt into a Kazarian’s boots. Kazarian hits a back elbow in the corner. Daniels gives Matt an STO. Kazarian runs Matt into the corner where Daniels hits him with an enzuiguri and Kazarian gives him a lungblower. Kazarian dropkicks Nick off the apron and then grabs Broom-Mega and stomps on it and gives it a legdrop. Matt hits Kazarian with a superkick and Daniels and Nick tag in. Nick dropkicks Sabin and Shelley off the apron, hits a facebuster on Daniels and a moonsault onto Kazarian on the floor. Nick then goes for a dive but throws Broom-Mega onto Daniels and Kazarian before hitting a tope con giro. Matt hits Daniels with a superkick in the ring followed by Nick hitting a swanton. This is weird to recap. Shelley throws Matt to the floor and this a running kick. Shelley hits a crossbody on Daniels and Sabin gives Kazarian a dropkick. Shelley gives the Bucks a DDT/flatliner combination. Shelley and Sabin hit Daniels and Kazarian with kicks and then Shelley and Sabin hit their trademark double-team dropkick offense. Sabin hits a tope suicida on Daniels and Kazarian. Nick hits a dirve on Sabin and Shelley on the outside. Matt ties up Daniels with a kneebar in the rope and Nick superkicks him. Kazarian then misses a pescado and takes stereo superkicks from Sabin, Shelley and the Bucks who also team up on Daniels with elbows in the corner. Sabin and Shelley then face off with the Bucks and they all trade superkicks. Shelley goes for Sliced Bread #2 but Nick catches him for a piledriver attempt blocked by a Daniels roll-up. Kazarian slingshots into a DDT on Matt. Daniels hits a knee on Matt and a dive onto Sabin and Shelley. Kazarian hits a facebuster on Matt who blocks the Angel’s Wings from Daniels with a hurracanrana. Matt hits a superkick on Kazarian and then on Daniels. Nick hits one as well. Daniels hits Angel’s Wings on Nick but takes a superkick from Matt. Sabin hits Mat and Nick with a double clothesline. We then get a million superkicks ending with the Bucks hitting Kazarian with a double superkick. The Bucks go for a Meltzer Drive but Daniels knocks Nick to the floor. Kazarian gives Matt a slingshot ace crusher. Kazarian then grabs Matt in a tombstone and Daniels does a Best Moonsault Ever into a spike piledriver for a Super Meltzer Driver and they get the pinfall win. That was a ridiculously crazy finish that I can’t help but love.
ROH World Title: Jay Lethal (champion) vs Matt Sydal
Lethal comes out with Taeler Hendrix. Lethal and Sydal shake hands to start and then lock up and trade holds early. Lethal hits a shoulder-tackle. Sydal monkey-flips Lethal who dropkicks him in the back. Sydal grabs a hammerlock into a headlock and continues to work the arm. They criss-cross and Sydal hits some armdrags. Lethal hits a chop but Sydal gets a hurracanrana. Sydal gets a roll-up and goes for a buzzsaw kick but Lethal avoids it and rolls outside. Lethal stalls on the outside before returning to the ring. Lethal kicks Sydal in the gut then runs him into the corner and stomps him to the mat. Lethal starts chopping Sydal who fights back with kicks. Lethal goes for his dropkick from the second rope but Sydal jumps off the apron to avoid it. Hendrix distracts Sydal allowing Lethal to hit a baseball slide dropkick and a tope suicide. Lethal takes Sydal inside and gives him a vertical suplex. Lethal goes for a chop in the corner but Sydal starts chopping him back. Lethal goes for a suplex but Sydal counters into a crossbody. Lethal whips Sydal back-first into the corner and then works his back. Lethal puts him in a backbreaker variation. Lethal goes for a vertical suplex but Sydal gets out with a knee and goes for a roll-up. Lethal hits him with a lariat and then kicks him in the head. Lethal applies a front facelock but Sydal gets out with kicks. Lethal applies the front facelock again but Sydal gets out and hits headkicks. Lethal gets Sydal in a tilt-a-whirl but Sydal counters into a Here It Is Driver. Sydal hits his knee-tuck moonsault. Sydal goes up top but Lethal hits an axehandle and attempts a superplex. Sydal knocks him to the mat and hits him with flying double-knees. Sydal starts kicking Lethal in the hamstring and hits a chop. Lethal hits the Lethal Combination for a two-count. Lethal goes up top and does a flying axehandle but Sydal hits him with a spin-kick. Sydal continues with leg kicks and they trade strikes. Sydal hits another spinkick. Lethal goes up top and Sydal gives him a hurracanrana. Sydal goes up top but Lethal throws him through a table at ringside. Sydal beats the referee’s twenty-count but Lethal hits a superkick. Lethal goes for the Lethal Injection but Sydal hits a reverse rana. Sydal goes up top and does a shooting star press but Lethal gets his knees up. Lethal then hits the Lethal Injection and gets the pinfall win.
This was a good show with standout performances on the undercard by Cheeseburger, ACH and Kushida. The main event was very good and Lethal really does present well as champion. Sydal is having the best year he has had in years this is another match that would do well as part of a series.
