By Austin Grinnell@WolfmanAustin13
It’s hard to believe that Ring of Honor is sixteen years-old now, but here we are. In San Antonio for stop number one of the two day State of the Art tour.
There have been travel complications, as announced by Ian Riccaboni (looking pretty ridiculous in a tourist-style cowboy hat) and Colt Cabana, meaning that the ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes are not at the show, and will be replaced by a duo announced later in the night.
The Boys Vs Matt Taven & Vinny Marseliga [The Kingdom]
-The Boys started the match out quickly, pulling a trick from the Kingdom’s own bag, attacking their opponents before the bell. Dalton Castle’s Boys dominated the early part of the bout, showcasing their speed and connecting with two very nice dives in-stereo.
The attack was relentless though, when the tide eventually turned. The Six Man Tag Team Champions made their comeback with fire, absolutely demolishing the Boys, showing why they have been a major highlight of Ring of Honor, and finishing the match off with a nice Frog Splash from Taven.
After the match, Taven uses the Bangarang to add insult to injury, putting down one of The Boys again. Taven called out Dalton Castle, saying that he is off nursing his injuries while The Kingdom is here to save the show. Taven made the announcement to the live crowd that The Briscoes were absent from the show, and then added that The Kingdom will be joining Killer Elite Squad in the Eight Man Tag Team main event.
Winners: The Kingdom
Flip Gordon Vs Rhett Titus
-Fresh off of a very successful debut in the New Japan Best of the Super Juniors tournament, Flip Gordon continues to gain and ride momentum during his campaign to be “All-In” on September 1st in Chicago.
Titus is such a great throwback, in that he plays the perfect foil for his opponent. Gordon messed up on an attempt at a No Hands Springboard Dive to the outside, but Titus played off of it perfectly and slowed the match down. The Big Dawg isn’t viewed in the same light as the newer stars of Ring of Honor, but he’s been around for awhile, has been loyal to the company and proved to be quite the challenge for Flip.
Gordon does manage to connect with the Dive that he couldn’t connect with earlier, and it feels liek the action is starting to come to a head. Gordon leads the action the rest of the way, connecting with the Star Spangled Stunner, a Springboard Twisting Stone Cold Stunner, and picking up the victory.
Winner: Flip Gordon
Sumie Sakai & Tenille Dashwood Vs Kelly Klein & Thunder Rosa
-Klein doesn’t want any of the Women of Honor Champion Sakai in the early goings, tagging out to Thunder Rosa, who I am now seeing for the very first time. Klein wants a shot at the title, but the team of Sakai & Dashwood take control early on despite an attempt at a double team from the heels.
Everyone is looking for momentum in the women’s division, and doing well here. Klein plays the bully well, interjecting herself into the match at opportune moments. Rosa did a great job as her partner here, working well together, but still showing that they aren’t on the same page as a team. Dashwood has been great since leaving the WWE, and continues to build momentum here to her inevitable showdown with Sakai for the Championship.
The question is, will they continue to get along when that happens, or will Tenille show her true colors, as even while being cheered, it’s still all about her.
Good back and forth match here, with the Champion Sumie Sakai pinning Thunder Rosa with the Smash Mouth, a version of the Cross Rhodes.
Winners: Sumie Sakai & Tenille Dashwood
Jay Lethal Vs TK O’Ryan
-The Franchise of ROH is set to step into the ring with one-third of the ROH World Six Man Tag Team Champions. O’Ryan, representing The Kingdom, performed very well on the Honor United tour. It wasn’t long ago that TK O’Ryan broke his leg on an Asai Moonsault gone wrong, when he landed right across the guardrail. The young star has bounced back admirably though, earning main event status and being featured heavily since returning.
O’Ryan showed his arrogance right away, slapping Lethal and bailing from the ring. It was a trap though, as when Lethal chased him, O’Ryan used it to his advantage, sliding back into the ring first and putting the boots to Lethal as he followed. The former ROH World Champion regained the momentum though, until a series of roll-in’s and roll-out’s led to TK catching him with a big Lariat outside of the ring.
The San Antonio crowd get under the skin of O’Ryan a little, with a “How You Doin’?” chant. Sure, maybe he kinda looks like a miniature Big Cass, but unlike Cass, he hasn’t been let go from his promotion. Lethal is fired up here, driving a Knife Edged Chop into O’Ryan’s chest, and repeating about twelve or thirteen times before he’s done.
O’Ryan is trying to prove himself here, seeing Lethal as a relic of Ring of Honor, and himself as the present and future. The arrogance doesn’t pay off though, as O’Ryan misses an attempt at Hail to the King, as Lethal rolls out of the way and TK drives his elbow directly into the canvas.
Lethal attempts the Lethal Injection, looking to put the match away, but O’Ryan counters and connects with a Fisherman’s DDT for a two count. Both men are up top now, with TK looking for an Avalanche Suplex or something, but Jay fights his way out and knocks him to the mat with a big right hand. Lethal sees the boot come up and adjusts a Hail to the King attempt, landing on his feet and going for the Figure Four Leglock.
O’Ryan has that scouted though and gets a two count with an Inside Cradle. Both men get up to their feet, but Lethal is quickest and proves to be victorious here, connecting with the Lethal Injection before O’Ryan even knows what happened.
Winner: Jay Lethal
SoCal Uncensored Vs Atlantis, Stuka Jr & Guerrero Maya Jr [CMLL]
-SoCal Uncensored are out to do what they do best, and that is insult the crowd. This trios group is very old school feeling, as they remind me a lot of going to a local show and having outside talents just rip into the city they are in. They are always good to get the crowd behind their opponents, not that they will need to do much for the legendary Atlantis to get crowd support.
This was a great match to make, as all three members of SoCal Uncensored have experience working with lucha libre stars and can bring out the best in the CMLL trio. Guerrero Maya connects with a really nice Outside-In Hip Toss into an X-Factor on Kazarian, and follows it up with three consecutive Tilt-a-Whirl Backbreakers on his opponents.
Momentum swings like a pendulum though in the world of professional wrestling, and Maya may have shown off a bit too much, as Scorpio Sky & The Addiction gain control of the match with quick tags in and out, focusing the attack on Maya.
Guerrero Maya Jr finally gets himself out of the match as he connects with a desperation Spear on Kazarian before diving for the tag to Stuka Jr. Things break down temporarily as the ref loses control, but we wind up with Atlantis the legal man for Team CMLL as he deals with all three members of SoCal Uncensored. A three way Irish Whip sends Daniels, Kazarian & Sky into each other and into perfect position for the Mexican stars to tear at the groin muscles of their opponents with an old school Rowboat.
Stuka takes to the sky, taking out Kazarian with a no look backward dive to the outside, while Guerrero Maya dives to deal with Scorpio Sky. This leaves Atlantis in the ring with Daniels, where he connects with a Flying Crossbody, and then a big Tilt-a-Whirl Slam on Daniels for the victory. Team CMLL carries momentum into Dallas as they challenge The Kingdom for the ROH World Six Man Tag Team Championships.
Winners: Team CMLL
Curt Stallion Vs Silas Young
-I have never seen Stallion before, but he will have a real big test in this match against the ROH World Television Champion. Young has been a fighting Champ with the belt, and nobody can claim otherwise. His methods of winning aren’t always the best, but Young is not denying anybody the opportunity to fight for his title. This one is a non-title bout, but you’d have to imagine that Curt Stallion could position himself as a future challenger with a surprise victory here.
Stallion is on fire early, connecting with a Snap German Suplex before Young is even ready for the match. Silas slid to the outside, but that just let Stallion connect with a Running Backflip Plancha to the outside. The offense is short lived though, as Silas gets his bearings and it’s time to beat somebody up.
Young is obviously superior to Stallion at this point in both men’s careers, but that isn’t stopping the Texas native from trying to make the best of this opportunity. I’m not sure that Silas was really ready for this one, as he probably thought he would just walk right through this kid. Stallion has landed some big knee strikes and an Okada-esque Air Raid Crash over the knee. Would definitely love to see more of this guy in Ring of Honor.
Stallion connected with a beautiful Spanish Fly variation, taking Young over face-first instead of landing on his back. Despite the power difference, Stallion has no problem going strike for strike with Young here, but that proves to be a bad idea, and leads directly into Misery from the Champion, who pins the young star and walks out with his Championship after shaking the hand of the man who just surprised him and took him to his limit.
Winner: Silas Young
Delirious, Cheeseburger & Shane Helms Vs Bully Ray, Punishment Martinez & Shane Taylor
-This one was more of a fun match, with the heel team using their size to establish themselves as the big, bad, bruisers against their much smaller opponents. As usual, they were not sure what to make of Delirious, which led to some fun shenanigans as Delirious did his best to chop down the big tree that is Shane Taylor. Unsuccessful in his attempts, Delirious would get advice from the debuting Shane Helms, and then proceed to poke Taylor straight in the eyes.
Cheeseburger’s ongoing story with Bully Ray continued here as well, with Burger owning two victories over the ECW legend. Ray has this in the front of his mind as he tries to embarrass the much smaller man during the bout, even connecting with a devastating Bully Bomb that sent Cheeseburger from one side of the ring to the other.
The highlight of the bout had to have been the first tag in to Shane “Hurricane” Helms, who came in like a man possessed, connecting with several moves from his unique arsenal, taking out all three men. Helms even put Punishment Martinez down with his patented Chokeslam, a move that Martinez himself has put a twist on as his finisher.
In the end, the size difference would prove to be too much as the heels worked their way back and ripped the momentum from the team of plucky underdogs. Punishment Martinez would secure the victory with the South of Heaven, his version of the Chokeslam, en route to a big chance at securing another shot at Silas Young and the ROH World Television Championship in Dallas.
Winners: Bully Ray, Punishment Martinez & Shane Taylor
Jonathan Gresham Vs Cody w/ Brandi Rhodes & Burnard the Business Bear
-It is absolutely insane how positively the crowd reacts to Cody in Ring of Honor, compared to the absolute hatred that he inspires in the Japanese audience. Gresham refused to kiss the ring before the match, prompting an asshole chant from the crowd. Luckily for them though, Brandi was happy to kiss the ring, as was Ian Riccaboni, who received a big ol’ wet one from the American Nightmare himself on the forehead in return.
Gresham, nicknamed The Octopus, did a fantastic job here against Cody in a match that was very much an old school grappling contest. Both men showed their amateur backgrounds off, and while Cody was heavily favored here, Gresham controlled a large portion of the match with his submission work.
Gresham came close a couple of times to scoring the upset, and there was a very cool spot where both men were locked in an Inside Cradle and just kept rolling around, jockeying for position, but in the end, Cody proved his dominance with impending ROH World, IWGP Heavyweight and NWA World Heavyweight Title shots on the horizon.
Cody escaped from an attempt at an Octopus Stretch, and planted Gresham with the Cross Rhodes to come out victorious in a match that I didn’t expect to be so even and great. Definitely a match worth going out of your way to see here, and Gresham for sure raised his stock in ROH.
Winner: Cody
Hangman Page, Marty Scurll & The Young Bucks [Bullet Club] Vs Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & Killer Elite Squad
-This match was supposed to feature The Briscoes teaming with KES, but the ROH World Tag Team Champions missed the show due to travel issues, and The Kingdom stepped up earlier in the evening to inject themselves into the main event match-up.
Taven, Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr are all former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions… belts that are now held by the newly Heavyweight Young Bucks. Page is coming off of a recent IWGP United States Heavyweight Title match with Champion Jay White that was awesome, and Scurll has himself a shot at the ROH World Championship at Best in the World in a Three Way Match against Champion Dalton Castle and former Champion Cody, also from Bullet Club.
After an opening exchange between Taven and Scurll, Archer comes in and KES square off with the Young Bucks, telling them they want their titles back before the action completely breaks down into chaos. Dives are the name of the game now, with the sequence ending with a beautiful Moonsault from Page to the crowd of competitors.
Lots of the fast paced action that you expect from Ring of Honor multi-man matches here. Bulldog Jr sees The Young Bucks putting The Kingdom into Sharpshooter’s, and answers by applying one to both Hangman Page and Marty Scurll at the same time.
Scurll is on the wrong end of a four on one here now, but fights his way out of it, battling with everything he has and even countering out of a Killer Bomb before snapping fingers on both hands of Lance Archer, who almost dared him to try. Page and The Bucks come back and a Quadruple Superkick to Taven almost scores the win.
Smith & Archer clear the ring and drag Taven over to their corner to tag in The Horror King. It’s time now for everyone to take turns hitting their spots, a trademark of the multi-man tag matches, but Archer puts an end to it by running over the Young Bucks.
Archer tried to spit water in the face of Scurll, but The Villain saw it coming and protected himself with his trademark umbrella. A Triple-Spiked Rite of Passage puts Marseglia head-first into the canvas and scores the victory for Bullet Club to cap off a very good, very fun show from Ring of Honor.
One more, for the good guys.
Winners: Bullet Club
My review of State of the Art: Dallas will be coming in the next couple of days here, followed by a look at the upcoming Best in the World Pay Per View extravaganza!
