Riverworks, Buffalo, NY
Ian Riccaboni & Colt Cabana on commentary
Opening MATCH
NJPW Young Lion Alex Coughlin Vs ‘The Darewolf’ PJ Black
This was a great experience for the Young Lion trained by Katsuyori Shibata, he gave a good account of himself, where I thought it was going to be a squash match, I was pleasantly surprised with Coughlin using dojo teachings very well, even getting a few near falls on the veteran Black, and Black kept most of his offence ground-based which is both a surprise and also shows Coughlin a bit of respect too.
Coughlin reminds me of a young Davey Richards – double tough, relentless and not fazed by his opponent and I can only see a bright future for this young man, definitely one to watch.
But for tonight he would have to make do with the loser’s share of the purse as the experienced Black polished off a very game Coughlin with the ever beautiful yet painful Wildness (Moonsault Double Stomp) for the 3 count.
Winner – PJ Black in about 7.5 minutes.
Code of honor was adhered to by both men before and after the match.
A good start and also introduced me to another prospect to keep my eyes on.
Next on the card, the Women of Honor take centre stage
Kate Carney Vs WOH World Champion ‘The Gatekeeper’ Kelly Klein
This match didn’t have the best start, as soon as the bell rang, the lighting in the building failed (dark match anyone), the lighting was soon fixed but then another interruption to the match when the ALLURE came onto the stage and then joined the commentary team which made Mr Riccaboni a little uncomfortable leaving Colt in the company of these 3 self-entitled Jezebels.
Whilst this was happening Carney took advantage of the distraction and opened up the offence on Klein, which knocked the champion all out of sorts, even scoring a near fall following a DDT to Klein.
Klein did get back into the match when Carney inadvertently posted herself, she then followed it up with a Facebuster variation and a Fallaway Slam.
The champion then composed herself and delivered her K-Power finisher for the victory
Winner and still WOH Champion Kelly Klein in 7:17
Klein full of fire and adrenaline called out ALLURE and the all headed to the ring, but in true heel fashion chickened out (even with a 3on1 advantage) and headed backstage.
Out of nowhere Rhett Titus decides to give the fans a treat (not me) by showing off his impressive physique before joining the commentary team.
The Kingdom (Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) Vs NJPW Young Lions Clark Conners & Karl Fredericks
I must admit, I was super impressed by the Young Lion team, they were fearless , tough and unfazed by their opponents (Didn’t I say that about another Young Lion) , its clear Shibata is training these boys hard , they are all well put together , with good fundamentals and are only going to get better with time, they lasted over 10 minutes with an established Tag Team like Marseglia & O’Ryan, although it’s not a lifetime , the experience will definitely hold them in good stead for the future.
Only the inexperience of Conners & Fredericks let the down tonight , with Marseglia & O’Ryan giving them a hard fought lesson in tandem offence, with them hitting various tandem combinations (Double Flapjack, Senton Backsplash, Legdrop)and a Powerslam/Diving Headbutt combo.
The match did break down before the end which allowed The Kingdom to hit ‘House of a thousand horses’ (2 man Finlay Roll) on both Young Lions for the victory.
Winners The Kingdom in 10:30.
TK O’Ryan did state to the camera that they are The Kingdom and they want ‘The Best’ not ‘Lions’
Up Next
Hikuleo Vs Shane Taylor
This was my first time watching Hikuleo and to be honest he was ok (being the son of legendary tough guy HAKU) he will need to improve after this match if I can call it that, Taylor has been on a hot streak since January 2019 and his confidence was evident, giving the bad mouth to Hikuleo at every opportunity.
Hikuleo did get a few shots in but that was it, notably when he kicked Taylor off the top Turnbuckle and shortly after countered Taylor with a Samoan Drop and hard Lariat. That was as good as it got for Hikuleo when his attempted Corner Tip-Up was countered by the impressive Taylor who dispatched him quickly with the ‘Greeting from 216’ (Fire Thunder Driver) for the 3 count.
Winner Shane Taylor in 4:37
More Tag Team Action up next
LifeBlood (‘Overkill’ Mark Haskins & ‘Hot Sauce’ Tracy Williams) Vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Sanada & EVIL)
Experience of teaming together was in obvious favour to Sanada and EVIL
Sanada and EVIL both refused to adhere to the Code of Honor
This match was just short of 30 minutes long and I enjoyed every second, back and forth action, both teams evenly matched and plenty of near falls.
At one point Sanada had both Haskins and Williams in the Paradise Lock (cool looking move) which was fun to see , I did have to have a chuckle to myself as I knew the only way out of that hold is the sole of a boot right in the Glutes (not fun)
A lot of tandem combinations were on display from both teams and near falls came from most of them.
If there was one black spot on the match it was when Sanada was in the Ankle Lock applied by Williams and he grabbed the Referee for leverage, he then shot Williams into the ropes where EVIL was waiting with a Steel Chair who then blasted him in the head with it (Ref did not see it) but Haskins broke up the resulting Pin attempt, but it was all in vain as both members of Lifeblood were subjected to a Magic Killer a piece which led to a LIJ victory.
Winners Sanada & EVIL in 28:57
The crowd were really into this match and cheered for both teams at times, Lifeblood will be disappointed with the defeat.
And it doesn’t get any easier for Lifeblood as they have to face The Briscoes on Night 2.
Dalton Castle makes his way to the ringside area and takes a seat next to Amy Rose (Timekeeper)
An interesting match next as
RUSH takes on Silas Young
No Code of Honor between the 2 men.
Silas tried playing games with RUSH and at first it was working, he got RUSH down and started to work a specific body part (Mid-Section) and it seemed that Silas was in complete control ,he then decided to bring Steel Chairs into play , throwing 2 into the ring , but whilst the ref was disposing of the chairs he sandwiched RUSH’s head in one and rammed it into the steel post , Silas was all set to take a count out victory but somehow RUSH got back in the ring at an 8 count, and like PCO he was like a man possessed, absolutely destroying Silas and delivering ‘The Bull’s Horns’ for the 3 count.
Winner RUSH in 7:05 – who can stop RUSH when he is like this……………I’d like to see him take on another man who is undefeated in ROH Jeff Cobb.
Castle then tries to anger RUSH before heading backstage.
ROH World Champion Matt Taven joins the Commentary team to share his wisdom and says the show has been ‘MEH’ until he came out (Big ego much)
6 Man Tag Team Championships up for grabs next as
Villain Enterprises (Brody King, PCO & Marty Scurll) Vs Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & ROH TV Champion Jeff Cobb
This was another match that I enjoyed from start to finish, 20 minutes or so of non-stop action, differing styles, different variables capable of winning a match (Cobb & PCO) and even Taven on commentary was hilarious calling Scurll and the rest of Villain Enterprises ‘Melvins’, there was no room for niceties in this match, it was hard- hitting, well-paced and seemed to get the best out of all involved.
The Machine Gun Chop battle between PCO and Kojima was a particular highlight as was Cobb’s display of freakish strength (he Belly to Back Suplexed both King and Scurll at the same time) also he Belly to Belly Suplexed all members of Villain Enterprises in oblivion on one occasion.
After a hard fought match it was Villain Enterprises who got the victory following a PCOSault to Kojima
Winners and Still ROH 6 Man Tag Team Champions Villain Enterprises in 19:51
A ‘Blinded’ Kenny King joined the commentary team
Tag Team Action in full effect tonight and it continues with
ROH Tag Team Championship
Jay Lethal & Jonathan Greham Vs Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
The G.o.D didn’t even wait for full introductions to start the match, jumping Gresham and Lethal before the first bell.
In the early going Lethal and Gresham had the advantage and isolated Tama Tonga for an extended period of time , sharing frequent tags and delivering combination moves on Tama (the Dragon Screw Leg Whip/Enziguri) looked particularly nasty.
But once Tanga Loa got involved in the match, the mood and momentum quickly shifted, although Gresham and Lethal continued to fight the G.o.D proved too much and too good a team when Gresham tried following up countering an attempted Gun Stun by running into the one thing he just countered …….Gun Stun and a 3 count later the G.o.D are still ROH Tag Team Champions.
Winners – Guerrillas of Destiny in 14:33
The Briscoes came out shortly after the match ended and Jay (colourful as ever) vowed that him and his brother Mark are going to ‘Beat the Crap’ out of the G.o.D.
A melee ensued and the ROH dojo and NJPW Young Lions came out to separate all for 4 men.
Jay Briscoe was left with a bloodied Right Eye.
Main Event Time
1st Time Ever
Bandido Vs Flip Gordon
Both men recently teamed together in the Crockett Cup and did really well, an interesting dynamic no doubt.
Both men adhere to the Code of Honor and share a respectful embrace (nice to see)
The match started slowly funnily enough with both men trading hold and counter hold , playing a game of ‘can you top this’ and at one point Flip Backflipped away from Bandido and started to ‘Floss’ (Cringe moment of the night)
Then it started to heat up with both men going full speed and into a brilliant sequence of moves and counters which ended with a stand-off , both men shook hands and the match continues with flip getting the better of the offence in ( Blockbuster, Skin the cat Dropkick and an Inverted Cannonball)
Flip did a number on Bandido’s Lower Back when he used him as a Skateboard across the top Turnbuckle (first time I’ve seen that)
Bandido battled his way back into the match with a slick combination of moves (Inverted Suplex, Shining Wizard and A Tope Con Hilo) He then went to work on Flip’s Right Knee and he was relentless in doing so.
The one mistake Bandido mad was choosing to go for a suicide dive to the outside of the ring but got sent into the guard rail for his trouble, but somehow managed to spike Flip with a Poisoned rana to the floor.
Both men got back in the ring at the count of 19 and they were both spent.
A Moonsault Slam form the top by Bandido earned him a near fall.
Flip somehow managed to hit his finisher the ‘Star-Spangled Stunner’ (Springboard Corckscrew Stunner) but Bandido somehow Kicked out at 2.95
Bandido Delivered the X-Knee but before he could go for the 21Plex, Flip got him with a Superkick and delivered a crisp Flip5 for the Victory.
Winner – Flip Gordon in 25:23
An instant Classic, could have gone either way.
Haskins applauds Flip and gives him major props whilst on the mic, he also offers Flip to join Lifeblood after the Best of Super Juniors Tournament.
Bandido and Flip share a hug in the ring.
Show Ends
Wow, 1st night was a good start, it can only get better, night 2 next and I’ll be reviewing all the action.
Happy Reading Everyone
@BiekoDaniel
