Honourable mentions this week include Kushida vs Kenny Omega, Mark Haskins vs John Morrison, the Four Corner Survival match to determine the number one contender for the ROH World Title between Styles/Elgin/Strong/Cole and the three team tag match between The Addiction/The Kingdom/Young Bucks.
Serious question; have the Young Bucks ever had a bad match? If so, I haven't seen it yet. There is no tag team in the world at the moment who can surpass them in terms of wresting ability and entertainment value.
Anyway, enough filibuster. Here are this week's matches of the week beginning with two title defences in one night.
Jay Lethal (C) vs Bobby Fish (ROH TV Title match)/Kyle O Reilly (ROH World Title match)
ROH All Star Extravaganza VII
At All Star Extravaganza VII, ROH World and TV champion Jay Lethal defended both titles in one night against one of the best tag teams in the world.
With a reign lasting over a year and a series of impressive performances against the likes of Sydall, Kushida, Jushin Thunder Liger and El Patron, it would be Bobby Fish of reDRagon to challenge Lethal's dominance in a match for the TV title.
In the first match of the night, both men went hold for hold early on before Fish temporarily applied the knee bar before Lethal reached the ropes. Fish continued to work on the leg of the first World and TV champion but a distraction from Truth Martini, Lethal's manager and general hero, allowed Lethal to connect with the Lethal Injection. Showing great ring presence, Fish rolled to the outside before Lethal had the opportunity to attempt the pin.
Lethal proceeded to bounce Fish off the barricades in order to secure a count out victory but was thwarted as Fish returned to the ring on a count of 19. After wresting the momentum from Lethal, Fish, following a back breaker, landed a moonsault for a near fall as the crowd chanted that was three. Lethal, after regaining the momentum with the Lethal Combination, attempted a second Lethal Injection before Fish pulled him back by the trunks. After trading kicks, Lethal again attempted the Lethal Injection but Fish to caught him then rolled through into the knee bar before Lethal rolled the challenger up with a handful of tights to secure the pinfall and retain the ROH TV Title in an impressive opener.
In the night's main event, Lethal faced Kyle O Reilly, a man who has tapped him out on numerous occasions for the ROH World Title. After O Reilly emerged to a raucous ovation, Lethal solemnly limped down to the ring.
Following an initial exchange of holds, O Reilly began work on the arm of Lethal as opposed to continuing to work the already injured leg before a dropkick by the champion allowed him to take a breather. An attempted Lethal Injection was blocked as O Reilly applied a rear naked choke hold before O Reilly delivered the three rolling ddts. Sensing the opportunity to win his first ROH singles title, O Reilly applied a guillotine choke- Lethal reversed the hold into the koji clutch before O Reilly reversed into an ankle lock.
Eventually, the champion escaped the hold to deliver a pop up neck breaker before a german suplex that dropped O Reilly on the head. Lethal, looking to end the match, called for the Lethal Injection but O Reilly caught the Champion and locked in the arm bar. Again, Lethal escaped by a roll up with a handful of tights but O Reilly kicked out, transitioning into an arm bar before Lethal reached the ropes.
After trading several fierce kicks, O Reilly delivered the Nigel lariat followed by a brain buster before stomping the chest of Lethal a la Bryan Danielson. Truth Martini, nuisance as ever, pulled the ref out the ring to prevent the stoppage before Nigel McGuinness, ringside on commentary, escorted Martini out to the back.
Using the ropes to assist him to his feet, a weary Lethal received another blow before the referee got in the way of an O Reilly kick whilst checking on the champion thus sending him down. An exhausted Lethal managed to deliver a Lethal Injection from the top rope before attempting to use the championship as a weapon- O Reilly's partner, Fish, returned to ensure Lethal couldn't cheat to win again before Donovan Dijak rushed to the ring to save Lethal from Chasing the Dragon. After striking Fish with the title, Adam Cole, friend and occasional partner of O Reilly, clothselined Dijak to the outside before setting up Chasing the Dragon only for Cole to turn on his partner by delivering a superkick to O Reilly.
Lethal, unaware of most of the events, delivered the Lethal Injection to secure the victory and retain his ROH World Title.
As a huge fan of both Jay Lethal and Seth Rollins, this past weekend was heaven as both men defended both their title on the same night. For me, I think Lethal's matches against reDRagon were well ahead of Rollins' matches. Perhaps that is due to their respective opponents as much as anything but Lethal shone the brightest. Overall, the pacing, psychology and ring work of Lethal's matches made a lot more sense than Rollins'.
Sure, many ROH disliked the "WWE style" finish in the main event but irrespective of the climax of the show, these were a couple of great matches. Personally, I enjoyed the conclusion of the main event; Adam Cole was born to be a heel and, quite frankly, his performances as a face were somewhat underwhelming. In my mind, the reDRagon/Kingdom rivalry will undoubtedly produce a series of excellent matches which will help both teams in the long run and particularly Kyle O Reilly who is evidently being groomed for a top spot in ROH.
Many commentators, including myself, believed Fish would win the TV title but the events throughout the night provided a logical reason for Fish's loss.
Lethal now moves on to face AJ Styles for the ROH World Title after Styles was victorious in a four corner survival match between Strong, Cole and Elgin for the number one contendership. With the announcement that the ROH World Title will be defended at Wrestle Kingdom X, expect AJ to defeat Lethal for the title and elevate the title to unprecedented levels by defending the title in Japan.
As a side note, I will never get tired of reDRagon catching Lethal off the Lethal Injection and applying a submission hold.
Will Ospreay vs Ricochet
RevPro UK: Live in Southampton
Fans in attendence at RevPro's latest show in Southampton, England, were treated to an international dream match between two of the top five high flyers in professional wrestling today. Both men have had immensely impressive years; Ricochet, or Prince Puma, has excelled in matches against the likes of Zack Sabre Jr, Kushida, Morrison, Mil Meurtes, Matt Sydall and various other high profile names. Likewise, Will Ospreay has unquestionably had the best year of his career to date featuring in incredible matches against the likes of AJ Styles, Matt Sydall, Mark Haskins and Jimmy Havoc.
After donning Ospreay's jacket, Ricochet mocked Ospreay by copying his signature pose. The match got under way as both men block german suplex attempts before Ospreay sent Ricochet to the outside. Ricochet attempted to return with a member of the audience's shoe before the referee returns the shoe to its rightful owner. For some unfathomable reason, many members of the audience began to chant for chant for tables at this point. Both men looked underneath the ring to no avail before returning to the ring. Ospreay and Ricochet proceeded to satiate the members of the audience demanding tables with what they do best; high flying. First, Ricochet flipped out of an attempted head scissor take down before Ospreay flipped out of a head scissor take down attempt by Ricochet before both men dodged a series of kicks.
A roly poly into a ddt was followed up by a corkscrew moonsault to the outside by Ricochet before re-entering the ring with delayed springboard knees before channelling his inner Rock by delivering the people's moonsault for a near fall. Ricochet continued to mount a series of offensive manoeuvres as he caught a diving Ospreay, applying a torture rack submission before bashing Ospreay's head on the turnbuckle. Ospreay, after blocking a vertical suplex, connected with a rebound handspring enziguri that sent Ricochet to the outside before Ospreay delivered a beautiful tope con hilo to ground Ricochet.
Back in the ring, after connecting with a swinging ddt, Ospreay delivered a standing shooting star press. Ospreay and Ricochet proceeded to trade chops in the high rent distract before Ricochet attempted a frankenstiener but Ospreay landed on his feet- Ricochet gains the advantage with a rolling fisherman suplex into a vertical suplex. Ospreay blocked the attempted firemans carry into roundhouse kick combination before both men connected with consecutive reverse ranas as both men fell to the mat to chants of this is awesome.
After a standing meteora, Ricochet landed a shooting star press for an incredibly close fall. Again, Ospreay escaped the fireman's carry/roundhouse kick combination before connecting with the Essex Destroyer for a near fall. Sensing the opportunity to pick up one of the biggest victories in his fledgling career, Ospreay headed to the top rope to deliver an inverted 450 splash to secure the victory in, unsurprisingly, the match of the night.
This was an incredible match. It was everything I could have wanted and more. Not much can be said about Ricochet that hasn't already been said, he was fantastic here again. Already with potential match of the year contenders against the likes of AJ Styles, Mark Haskins and Marty Scurrl, not including any of his BOLA matches, Ospreay added another name to an already impressive list of incredible matches. In my opinion, there is no one at his age who is better in the UK or the rest of the world. The boy is going to be a star on both sides of the Atlantic and it was truly a pleasure to witness this match first hand.
It wouldn't surprise me if we get a rematch between these two at a PWG show down the line. I would estimate 75% of the audience in Southampton didn't know who either of these men were but the fact these two got everyone on their feet chanting that was awesome is testament to their ability as performers.
Kevin Owens vs Ryback (C)
Intercontinental Championship Match
The opener of Night of Champions saw Ryback defend his Intercontinental Championship in the state in which he was crowned Intercontinental Champion just four months previously. As both men arrived, the crowd appeared to be divided until a Fight Owens Fight chant broke out.
This was incredibly well put together match in which Kevin Owens delivered a textbook heel performance more commonly seen in the 1980's than present day WWE.
After recovering from being gorilla pressed to the outside, Owens pushed Ryback into the ring post shoulder first before going to work on Ryback's shoulder. Owens told Ryback to shut up after he complained to the ref about his elbow before proceeding to wrench the arm. Ryback regained some momentum when he delivered a spinebuster before attempting the meat hook clothesline which was blocked by a superkick. Owens applied a fujiwara arm bar before Ryback powered out to deliver an impressive deadlift powerslam for a near fall.
After pulling the straps down, Ryback attempted the Shell Shock but Owens reversed with a rake to the eyes into a roll up to secure his first championship on the main roster.
This was exemplary heel work; the limb manipulation, trash talking and the rake to the eyes to secure the victory was a delightful throwback and something I would like to see more of in WWE, particularly with WWE WHC, Seth Rollins. Sure, I would have liked to have seen Owens grab a handful of tights to secure the victory but this was an imposing performance.
Don't forget Ryback, though. In my opinion, along with his match vs Bray Wyatt a couple of months ago, this ranks among Ryback's best performances- his selling of the arm was both a rarity and refreshing to see. On the rare occasions in WWE someone consistently works over a limb, the work is often forgotten about (See Charlotte vs Nikki).
Inevitably, larger portions of the fans have an overwhelming desire to cheer the despicable actions of Kevin Owens. WWE's combative tactic of Owens walking out mid-match is ingenious in the sense it deprives the fans of what they want to see thus forcing the boos. Although many would argue that the cheering of heels is indicative of WWE's problems of establishing top babyface draws, WWE clearly want people to boo Owens and this is an interesting way of achieving that goal.
Togi Makabe (C) vs Kota Ibushi
Destruction in Okayama
NEVER Openweight Match
The renaissance of NJPW over the past few years has not only stemmed from main eventers Tanahashi, Nakamura, Okada and Styles. For the past two years, NJPW have established a solid under card featuring the likes of Naito, Shibata and Ibushi. These wrestlers have demonstrated the potential to step up to the main event scene in the near future and unquestionably will.
The match began with an initial trading of forearms, Ibushi, surprisingly considering his height and size disadvantage, grounded Makabe with a series of kicks before a brawl on the mat ensued. Unsurprisngly, Makabe emerged victorious and sent Ibushi crashing into the barricade. Makabe continued to work the lower back with a series of vertical suplexes before applying a single leg boston crab. An enziguri shifted the momentum before Ibushi delivered a standing moonsault for a near fall.
Following a lengthy battle on the top rope, Ibushi landed on his feet after a german suplex attempt before connecting with a pele kick to Makabe, still positioned on the top rope. Ibushi delivered a beautiful frankensteiner for another near fall. Makabe regained the momentum following a series of stiff shots heard in the cheap seats before bouncing Ibushi off the barricades once again. After locating a table, Makabe positioned it ring side before an attempted powerbomb is reversed by Ibushi somehow managing to land on his feet. An enziguri followed by a springboard over the barricade into a hurricanrana incapacitated Makabe.
Ibushi positioned Makabe on the table before delivering a double foot stomp from the top rope. I don't know what it is about Japanese tables, but they are almost impossible to break and this one was no different. Back in the ring, Ibushi connected with a bridging german from the second rope for yet another near fall. Ibushi attempted a phoenix splash to no avail as both men lay strewn across the ring. After returning to their feet, Makabe and Ibushi exchanged blows before a lariat turned Ibushi inside out.
Makabe, in control, positioned Ibushi up top. after smashing Ibushi head on the ring post several times, Makabe finally connected with a dragon suplex from the top rope followed by a knee drop from the top rope to secure the victory and retain the NEVER Openweight Championship.
This was a spectacular match and what the NEVER Openweight Championship is about; the combination of Makabe's strength and brutality combined beautifully with the speed and agility of Kota Ibushi.
That's it for this week. See you next time for a roundup of the best wrestling matches worldwide.
