Christopher Daniels vs Bobby Fish
Fish takes Daniels’ back early but Daniels gets his arm and works a wristlock. Daniels blocks a cross armbreaker attempt and Fish grabs an ankle lock instead until Daniels gets the ropes. Daniels is back to the wristlock and then a hammerlock with Fish countering into another ankle lock. Daniels gets out and hits a back elbow and beats Fish down in the corner. Daniels hits a shoulder-tackle and whips Fish hard into the corner. Fish kicks Daniels in the chest and hits a dropkick. Fish hits knee-strikes and then does a slingshot senton on Daniels’ leg. Fish hits Daniels with elbows in the corner. The referee pulls him off and Daniels kicks Fish in the arm. Fish rolls outside and Daniels follows him, runs his shoulder into the ringpost and then bends it around the ringpost. They roll back inside and Daniels hits an armdrag and then works the arm including bending it around the ropes and hitting it with elbows. Fish fights back with kicks but Daniels snaps the arm. Daniels continues to hit elbows and then stretches out Fish’s arm. Fish fights back with elbows but Daniels uses armbreakers and an STO. Fish charges Daniels into the corner and hits a back elbow. Fish hits knee-strikes and gives Daniels an exploder suplex into the corner. Fish attempts a pin but Daniels gets his foot on the rope. Fish hits a Samoan Drop and a moonsault. Daniels grabs a kimura but Fish gets to the ropes. Daniels gives Fish a northern lights suplex and applies a cross armbreaker. Fish transitions into an ankle lock but Daniels gets out and hits another STO. Daniels hits a third STO and goes for the Best Moonsault Ever but Fish gets out of the way, kicks Daniels’ ankle and gives him two dragon-screw legwhips. They trade strikes including Fish kicking Daniels’s legs and then Fish applies a knee-bar to get the submission win. Both guys were quite impressive here with some surprising limb-work by Daniels. Fish has done a lot to separate himself from just being a tag team wrestler.
Roderick Strong vs Moose
Fish stays at ringside and joins the commentary table to talk about Strong who he has a match with the next night. Strong attacks Moose from behind but Moose fights him off and hits a dropkick. They go to the floor and Moose throws him into the ring barricade twice. Moose charges him but crashes into the barricade when Strong gets out of the way. Strong then circles the ring and hits Moose in the jaw, striking Fish on the way. Strong takes Moose back inside, stomps a rear chinlock. Strong hits Moose with knees and elbows. Moose fights back with a headbutt but Strong knees him to the mat and lays in some punches. Strong goes outside and gets in an argument with a fan. Back in the ring Moose fights back but Strong hits him with a dropkick. Moose rolls to the floor and Strong hits a pescado but Moose catches him. Strong gets back inside and goes for a dropkick through the ropes but Moose catches him and swings him into the barricade repeatedly. Moose take him inside and charges him in the corner but Strong hits head-kicks. Moose takes Strong to the top and hits a modified baldo bomb. Moose charges Strong but Moose avoids him and hits a pop-up clothesline. Moose headbutts Strong and hits him with uppercuts. Moose jumps off the top rope but Strong hits him with a dropkick. Moose and Strong trade strikes. Moose goes for a spinning clothesline but Strong hits his arm with a jumping knee. They go to the apron where Strong hits Moose with an enzuiguri and gives him a backbreaker on the apron. Strong takes Moose inside and hits a knee-strike in the corner. Moose puts Strong on the top rope and knocks him out of the ring with a dropkick. Strong stumbles over toward Fish but gets out of the way of a bicycle kick from Moose that hits Fish. Strong then hits a dropkick through the ropes on Moose and takes him back inside. Strong hits a knee and an elbow in the corner then takes him to the top rope and gives him a superplex. Strong gives Moose a double-knee gutbuster but Moose hits him with a clothesline. Moose charges Strong in the corner but Strong pulls the referee in the way. Strong hits Moose with a knee-strike and gives him another double-knee gutbuster and a sick-kick. Moose kicks out at one but Strong hits him with more knees and gets the pin. Fish then jumps in the ring and brawls with Strong.
Donovan Dijak vs Cheeseburger vs Adam Page vs BJ Whitmer vs Dalton Castle vs Frankie Kazarian
Whitmer comes out with Joey Daddiego and Taeler Hendrix and announces that Daddiego will be in his spot. Whitmer joins the commentary table and argues with Steve Corino/Mr. Wrestling III. Kazarian and Castle start out and Castle takes Kazarian’s back and slams him to the mat twice. Castle goes for a gutwrench but Kazarian gets out and hits an elbow. Castle gets a roll-up and delivers a modified fall-away slam. Kazarian goes for a tag but everyone refuses. Castle hits an exploder suplex and Kazarian rolls outside. Cheeseburger comes in and rolls up Castle. Cheeseburger and Castle taunt each other. Daddiego tags in and Cheeseburger hits him with a dropkick. Cheeseburger goes after Kazarian but Daddiego hits him from behind. Daddiego picks up Cheeseburger in a bodyslam position, spits at Dijak and throws Cheeseburger in a fall-away slam into Dijak’s arms. Dijak puts him down but Page tags in and comes off the top rope at Dijak who avoids him. Page hits a clothesline and a dropkick. Kazarian comes in and takes a dropkick from Page who then starts hitting Dijak with chops and elbows. Dijak gives Page a backbreaker, slams him and then steps off the bottom rope into a splash. Dijak hits a big boot on Daddiego and then charges Page but takes a shoulder to the gut from Castle. Page gives Kazarian a drop toehold onto Castle and everyone is in the ring delivering low blows. Castle rolls up Dijak in a small package and they trade strikes. Page tries to attack Castle who hits him with a forearm. Dijak whips Castle into the ropes and Page leaps over him to hit Dijak with a clothesline. Page punches Kazarian in the ring and does a shooting star press from the apron onto almost everyone on the floor. Cheeseburger hits a springboard planch but gets caught. Dijak then does a twisting plancha off the top rope. Dijak takes Daddiego in the ring and gives him a backbreaker. Castle gives Dijak a deadlift German suplex. Castle goes for a German on Page who floats over and spikes Castle with a DDT. Kazarian hits Castle with a slingshot cutter and Cheeseburger hits Kazarian with shotei palm strikes. Cheeseburger gives palm strikes to Dijak and Daddiego as well. Castle gives Cheeseburger a bang-a-rang and gets the pin to win the match. Daddiego attacks Dijak after the match.
Matt Sydal vs Kyle O’Reilly
This is the first singles match between these two. They give each other armdrags to start and trade wristlocks. O’Reilly works the arm and grabs a headlock. Sydal hits more armdrags but O’Reilly works in a headscissors and grabs a hammerlock. O’Reilly avoids a dropkick from Sydal. O’Reilly hits uppercuts then takes Sydal to the mat and kicks him in the back. Sydal hits two flying headscissors and a head-kick. Sydal hits kicks to the knee and takes a knee-strike from O’Reilly before hitting him with a leg lariat. Sydal continues with kicks to the knee and then continues to work O’Reilly’s knee. O’Reilly starts hitting knee-strikes while also selling his knee and then hits a leg-sweep. O’Reilly hits an armbreaker and starts working Sydal’s arm. O’Reilly applies a hammerlock and hits elbow-smashes and knee-strikes on Sydal’s arm. O’Reilly applies a hammerlock and gives Sydal an overhead belly-to-belly suplex onto the arm. O’Reilly continues with the hammerlock but Sydal comes back with a headkick. They trade strikes and Sydal takes out O’Reilly’s knee and hits his standing moonsault. O’Reilly goes up top and does a flying armbreaker. Sydal fights back and hits a Here It Is Driver. Sydal does a standing moonsault but O’Reilly catches him and applies a kimura with Sydal getting to the ropes. V continues to go after the arm but Sydal gets a victory roll and continues with roll-ups with O’Reilly countering into a cross armbreaker. O’Reilly hits two butterfly suplexes. Sydal misses step-up enzuiguri. O’Reilly hits a strikes and gives Sydal a Regal-plex. They trade strikes again and rock each other with simultaneous head-kicks. O’Reilly hits a tornado DDT. Sydal counters a suplex with a hurracanrana roll-up. Sydal hits a head-kick and goes to the top. O’Reilly follows him but Sydal knocks him off and hits double-knees. Sydal does a shooting star press but O’Reilly catches him in a triangle choke and transitions into the cross armbreaker to get the submission win.
Adam Cole vs ACH
They shake hands to start then lock up and go back-and-forth initially. Cole challenges ACH to a test of strength but kicks him in the gut and grabs a headlock. ACH hits a shoulder-tackle and a dropkick. Cole rolls outside and avoids a dive but ACH goes to the apron and hits a soccer kick. ACH runs Cole in the ring barricade twice. Cole whips ACH toward the barricade with ACH jumping on top of it allowing Cole to kick his legs out from under him. Cole takes ACH inside and gives him a snap suplex and a running elbow. Cole applies a chinlock but ACH fights out with punches. Cole elbows him in the face. ACH goes for a suplex but slams Cole onto the top rope. ACH starts chopping Cole and hits him with a headkick, a running elbow and a clothesline. ACH gives Cole a snap German suplex followed by elbows and a bodyslam. ACH goes up top but Cole chases him down. ACH goes to the apron and hits a slingshot cutter. Cole hits a chinbreaker. ACH goes to the top rope and Cole dumps him to the outside. ACH returns to the ring where Cole hits him with a superkick and a shining wizard. Cole bodyslams ACH and goes up top where ACH kicks him to the floor. ACH then hits his step-up tope con giro. ACH rolls Cole inside and goes for a 450 splash that Cole avoids. Cole hits a superkick and a neckbreaker for a near-fall. Cole goes up top but ACH superkicks him down and hits a spirit-bomb brainbuster. Cole catches the referee’s hand to stop the three-count. ACH goes for a stunner but gets blocked by Cole. ACH rolls up Cole and then blocks a superkick before Cole hits a low blow. Cole delivers another neckbreaker and gets the pinfall.
Rhett Titus, Kenny King, Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser vs Jay and Mark Briscoe and War Machine
All eight men start brawling right away. Hanson and Bruiser trade punches on the floor and others follow allowing Mark to hit a dropkick through the ropes. Jay hits a tope suicida on Hanson. Jay headbutts Bruiser in the ring but Bruiser hits him with a dropkick. Rowe gives Bruiser an exploder suplex. Silas comes off the second rope to clothesline Mark on the apron. Hanson throws Titus into the ringpost. Bruiser then does a dive off the apron onto Mark and Hanson. Mark gets worked over in the corner of the ring. Mark fights back with elbows and dropkicks Young. Jay tags in and hits King with clotheslines and punches. Jay hits some elbows and a Death Valley Driver. Jay goes for a Jay Driller but gets stopped by Bruiser allowing King to hit a spinebuster. Rowe punches out King and Titus comes in and trades strikes with Rowe and hits a stunner. Mark comes in and hits Titus with a clothesline. Titus hits Mark with a big boot and a clothesline. Jay headbutts Titus and tags in Hanson who gives him a sit-down splash. Bruiser punches Hanson who cartwheels out of the way of a clothesline by Bruiser and hits his own clothesline. Rowe then bodyslams Hanson onto Bruiser. Hanson goes to powerbomb Row on Bruiser but takes a dropkick from Titus. Titus and King double-team Hanson and Titus DDT’s him in the corner. Bruiser gives Hanson and frogsplash. Everyone spills to the floor and Hanson goes up top and hits a plancha. Hanson takes Bruiser inside and Jay gives Bruiser a reverse necbkreaker. Mark goes up top and hits Bruiser with Froggy Bow. I have seen Bruiser before and liked him but seeing him shine on a bigger stage like this was awesome.
ROH World Title: Jay Lethal (champion) vs Lio Rush
Rush is the winner of the 2016 Top Prospect tournament and is getting the title shot against Lethal as opposed to the winner usually getting a TV Title Shot. Lethal comes out with Taeler Hendrix. Lethal charges Rush to start and Rush avoids him and sweeps the leg. Rush grabs a wristlock and Lethal responds in kind. Rush wrestles Lethal to the mat and they go back-and-forth. Lethal hits a seated dropkick to Rush’s back. They trade hammerlocks and Lethal grabs a headlock. Lethal hits a shoulder-tackle and then slams Rush’s head into the mat. Rush rolls up Lethal and then hits a dropkick. They slap each other in the face and then trade strikes. Lethal chops Rush in the corner and stomps him to the mat. Lethal bodyslams Rush and drops an elbow. Lethal hits a running elbow and then a back elbow. Rush hits a kick to the gut and an enzuiguri. Rush throws elbows at Lethal followed by a flying headscissors. Lethal goes to the floor and Rush goes for a dive but Lethal comes back in and elbows him to the mat. Lethal chops Rush in the corner. Rush rolls up Lethal and hits another enzuiguri. Rush chops Lethal against the rope and goes to the apron where Lethal chops him. Rush avoids Lethal’s second-rope dropkick and then avoids a slap from Hendrix on the floor. Lethal then hits his second rope dropkick on Rush and follows with a tope suicida. Lethal gives Rush a backbreaker in the ring followed by a belly-to-back suplex. Lethal works a headlock on Rush and Rush fights out but Lethal gives him a DDT. Rush fights out a front facelock and then spins into a DDT. Rush charges Lethal but takes a boot to the face. Lethal is on the second rope where Rush hits him with an enzuiguri and then hits him with a tope suicida on the floor. Back in the ring, Rush hits a spin-kick. Lethal avoids a splash from Rush and gives him the Lethal Combination. Lethal gets a pin attempt and pulls Rush up at two. Rush’s nose is busted open as Lethal hits him with punches. Rush is on his knees and calls Lethal “weak” and Lethal superkicks him. Lethal goes for the Lethal Injection but Rush grabs him and hits slaps and kicks and gives Lethal a reverse hurracanrana. Rush goes up top and hits the Dragon’s Call frogsplash for a near-fall. Rush takes Lethal to the top rope. Lethal fights him off but Rush still hits him with a kick to the head. Rush climbs the ropes and goes for his Rush Hour (one-man Spanish Fly) but Letha blocks and gives him an ace crusher from the top rope. Lethal then hits the Lethal injection and that gets the pinfall. This was an awesome match that brings back memories of 2008 when then-ROH Champion Nigel McGuinness made a star out of Tyler Black/Seth Rollins. This is one of the coolest things I have seen from Lethal and it’s great to see a fresh act like Rush getting such a spotlight. More on this match at PTBN right here.
After the match, Lethal says he has run out of challengers and ROH has run out of ideas. Lethal tells Kevin Kelly to tell ROH matchmaker Nigel McGuinness there’s noone left. Colt Cabana’s music hits and he comes out to a strong ovation. Cabana says he’s been here since 2002 and has seen everyone hold the title and start at the bottom and rise to the top. Cabana says he has always been ok with his spot in the card because he believed in ROH and believed in an alternative. Cabana said he still believes in an alternative today and that when Lethal says there is noone left it makes him think of his legacy. Cabana says he doesn’t want to be known as someone’s friend and that he believes in being an independent wrestler. He says that Lethal says noone can fire him but Cabana knows he’s been fired before. Cabana says he has been fired and rejected before and that when that happens you get ostracised. Cabana said people still want to see him and that the fans can’t fire or reject him. Lethal says the fans can’t make you the best wrestler in the world, the belt does. Lethal says Cabana has been away from ROH for five years and has avoided ROH because he knows Lethal is the best and that the locker room and Lethal don’t want him here. Cabana says he had been called to come back but he liked going all over the world. Cabana says he got a phone call and this time said something different. Cabana says he’s been in the business a long time and won’t be able to live with himself unless he wears the ROH Title. Hendrix comes in the ring and slaps Cabana who challenges her to do it again. Cabana says that Lethal says there is noone left but now there is.
Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley vs The Young Bucks
Sabin and Matt start off and do a test of strength with Matt poking Sabin in the eyes. Sabin works around Matt and pokes him in the eyes as well. They throw stereo dropkicks at each other and miss. Nick and Shelley tag in with Shelley grabbing a headlock. Shelley avoids superkicks from Nick and boots him in the chest. Matt tag in and gets armdragged and then double-teamed by the Motor City Machine Guns. Matt takes boots to the face from Sabin and the Guns work over Matt’s arm. Nick comes in and takes kicks to the chest from Sabin and Shelley. All four men criss-cross and Sabin and Shelley hit clotheslines in the corner. Nick throws Matt into a double-dropkick on Sabin and Shelley. Sabin ends up on the apron and he kicks Matt in the chest on the floor. Nick then superkicks both Sabin and Shelley and the Bucks dropkick Sabin to the floor. The Bucks hit double tope suicida’s on the Guns. Matt works over Shelley who rolls him up but takes an eyerake from Nick. Shelley fights back against both Nick and Matt but they hit him with a double back elbow. Nick gives him a gutbuster followed by Matt giving him a neckbreaker. Shelley fights back but Nick gives him a buzzsaw kick. Nick rakes Shelley’s back. Shelley gives Nick a flatliner into the corner but Matt cuts off the tag. Matt taunts Sabin and then works over Shelley who Nick takes outside. Shelley avoids a dropkick from Matt and then tags Sabin who dropkicks Nick and gives Matt an inverted atomic drop. Sabin gives the Bucks a combination rolling neckbreaker/flying headscissors. Shelley and Sabin give Matt a double enzuiguri and backdrop Nick to the floor. Shelley hits Nick with a flying knee on the floor while Sabin gives Matt a tornado DDT in the ring. Sabin takes Matt the apron and then hits a dive off the second rope on the Bucks. Sabin takes Matt inside but Matt throws Sabin into the ring to knock Shelley off the ropes. Matt gives Sabin a facebuster. Nick tags in and hits a running knee on Shelley and two dropkicks on Sabin. Nick hits Sabin with a back elbow and dropkicks Shelley on the apron. Nick gives Sabin a facebuster from the apron and then does a moonsault onto Shelley on the floor. Matt then powerbombs Sabin the corner and hits him with a cannonball splash. Matt drapes Sabin on the bottom rope where Nick hits him with a swanton. Matt then gives Sabin a Finlay Roll but Sabin avoids the splash from Nick. Sabin then puts Nick in the tree of woe and gives Matt an overhead belly-to-belly suplex into Nick. Everyone starts throwing superkicks. Matt starts throwing punches at Shelley and giving him the “Suck It” sign but Shelley crotches him. Nick and Sabin both hit superkicks and Nick gives Sabin an enzuiguri. We see a number of superkicks and the Bucks go for the Meltzer Drive but Shelley gets out and hits a tombstone while Sabin hits a Michinoku driver. Sabin and Shelley then hit The End Is Near (Sliced Bread Number Shelley Two into a roll-up) but Nick breaks up a pin. Sabin and Shelley hit their doomsday device dropkick but Matt lands on his feet and the Bucks hit superkicks. They then do a Meltzer Driver on Sabin to get the pinfall win. Kazarian and Daniels then attack the Bucks and give Nick Celebrity Rehab. The Briscoes then hit the ring and brawl with Kazarian and Daniels. The Bucks and Guns then give stereo superkicks to Daniels and then do so again with the Briscoes joining in.
This was a really solid show with a great world title match and Strong vs Moose and the eight-man tag being standout matches as well. People should really check this out and it is hard to believe how much great wrestling there was that weekend in Dallas.