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ROH HONOR UNITED
May 24, 2018
EDINBURGH, UNITED KINGDOM AT EDINBURGH CORN EXCHANGE
STREAMED LIVE FOR HONORCLUB
REPORT BY URSIN DEROCHE, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Ian Riccaboni, BJ Whitmer
(1) Scorpio Sky vs. Shane Taylor
The match started with Christopher Daniels cutting a promo about how Edinburgh sucked and how he and SoCal Uncensored wanted to leave. Daniels attempted to pay Taylor off to forfeit the match to Sky so that SoCal could leave. Taylor said he would not lay down for anyone. Daniels and Kazarian left the ring as the bell rang. Taylor showed his strength early by throwing Sky around and dropping him with a hard forearm. Taylor hit a one legged dropkick and Sky rolled out of the ring. Taylor went outside after Sky and hit the apron leg drop. Sky fought back and hit a nice dive that popped the crowd. Sky attempted a pin that only received a one count. They traded chops before Taylor hit a slam on Sky. Taylor hit a clothesline and a splash for a two count. A running knee by Sky received a two count. Taylor hit a knee lift that dropped Sky. Taylor climbed to the second rope. Daniels and Kazarian ran down to the ring. Taylor argued with Daniels before grabbing Sky and hitting him with a piledriver for the pin.
WINNER: Shane Taylor at 6:56
Ursin’s Hot Take: I’ve been a fan Taylor’s bruiser style and this match was meant to put him over so, as far as that goes, mission accomplished. He did botch a knee lift at one point but otherwise looked solid as he pretty much owned Sky throughout. I always thought with more time and development under his belt that Taylor could be a good mid card heel for ROH however, they decided to turn him babyface here. Not sure if this will carry over much further than this show. I hope it doesn’t. The crowd was pretty flat here. (*1/2)
(2) IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Evil & Sanada vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian – Non Title Match
SoCal attacked and dumped Sanada before double teaming Evil. Evil fought back and was able to tag Sanada. Evil and Sanada hit some double team offense but Kazarian was able to kick out and tag Daniels. Sanda was in the ring with Daniels and they traded biting each others hands. Sanada tagged in Evil. Evil continued biting Daniels. Daniels hit a springboard moonsault on Evil and then tagged in Kazarian. Daniels and Kazarian worked some double team offense in their corner. Evil fought back but Kazarian cut him off and hit a leg drop for a two count. Kazarian tagged in Daniels and they used more double team offense on Evil before Sanada broke it up. Kazarian came into the ring without a tag. The referee didn’t see a tag but allowed it anyway. Evil hit Kazarian with a neckbreaker and tried to tag Sanada but Daniels pulled Sanada to the floor. Evil fought back with a kick to Kazarian and both were able to make tags. Sanada tried to apply the Paradise Lock to Daniels but Daniels kicked out of it. Daniels then tried to apply the Paradise Lock to Sanada but couldn’t figure out how to do it properly. Sanada put Daniels in a cradle and spun around the ring with him many times until Daniels was dizzy. Sanada then applied the Paradise lock to Daniels. Kazarian came into the ring and dumped Evil. Daniels and Kazarian went for Celebrity Rehab but it was broken up by Evil. Sanada and Evil dumped Kazarian and Daniels to the outside. Daniels came back into the ring and was hit with The Magic Killer but the pin was broken up by Kazarian. Sanada took out Kazarian and then Evil hit Everything Is Evil on Daniels for the pin.
WINNERS: Evil & Sanada at 10:24
Ursin’s Hot Take: This was basically an off night for these guys. Lots of comedy spots. Nothing looked bad but it was not overly exciting. The crowd seemed excited to see Evil & Sanada and at the end of the day, that’s what these shows are turning into whenever NJPW talent is used. Evil gets the pin on Daniels ahead of his match with Dalton Castle. (**)
(3) Women Of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai & Tenille Dashwood vs. Kelly Klein & Chardonnay
Chardonnay started off with Sumie. Chardonnay had the upper hand as they worked on the mat and Chardonnay applied a bow and arrow. Sumie hit a fisherman’s buster for two. Really ugly. She dropped Chardonnay on her head. Chardonnay quickly tagged out to Klein. Klein said she wanted Dashwood so Sumie tagged in Dashwood. Dashwood was in control with a side Russian leg sweep for two and a neckbreaker off the second rope for two. Dashwood tagged Sumie back in and they hit a double suplex on Klein. Klein clotheslined Sumie for two. Crowd is dead for this one. Chardonnay back in and hit a butterfly suplex on Sumie for two. Chardonnay tagged Klein back in. Klein delivered several knee strikes to Sumie that received a two count. Chardonnay tagged back in as she and Klein isolated Sumie in their corner. Klein tagged back in and a big boot on Sumie got a two count. Sumie fought back and hit a missile dropkick on Klein and tagged out to Dashwood. Dashwood applied the tarantula and got all of her spots in. Sumie hit her finisher and Dashwood hit hers but the pin was broken up by Chardonnay. Sumie took out Chardonnay with a dive as Klein went to hit Dashwood with the title belt. Dashwood grabbed the belt which was then taken away from her by the ref. Dashwood argued with the ref and Klein rolled her up for the pin.
WINNERS: Kelly Klein & Chardonnay at 9:45
Ursin’s Hot Take: The crowd was completely dead for this. Women Of Honor continues to underwhelm in pretty much every category. This was not good at all and at times seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. (DUD)
(4) Punishment Martinez vs. Kenny King
They started off with exchanges and crowd chants for King until King hit a dropkick that Martinez no sold. They went outside and King hit a flip off the apron that didnt’l look great as it barely connected with Martinez. Martinez slammed King into the guardrail twice. Strikes by Martinez and then a leg lariat got a two count on King. King ducked a splash and fought back with chops. Martinez took back control with a kick and then grounded King with a reverse chinlock. King sent Martinez to the outside and then hit a corkscrew plancha. High cross by King got a two count. The chinchecker and kick only got two for King. Martinez slammed King on the apron and then hit a step up dive. Psychodriver and curbstomp to King only got a two count. They traded strikes before King went to the top rope for the Blockbuster which was blocked by Martinez for a two count. King rolled up Martinez but Martinez grabbed the ref’s hand as it was coming down for three. Martinez kicked King off of him. Martinez then hit the South of Heaven Chokeslam for the pin.
WINNER: Punishment Martinez at 12:09
Ursin’s Hot Take: Martinez picks up the victory to avenge his television loss. This was slow and boring and didn’t have anything going on. Martinez is still a work in progress. King took a selfie with someone in the audience. Nothing much to see here. (*)
(5) NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis & Mark Haskins vs. The Young Bucks
Aldis started off with Matt Jackson. Matt and Aladis traded a little back and forth before tagging in Haskins and Nick Jackson. Nick took Haskins down with a lucha style arm drag. Matt was tagged in for a wheelbarrow/cutter double team. The Bucks took Aldis and Haskins outside the ring and hit double planchas. Aldis nailed Matt and Aldis and Haskins worked over Matt with quick tags and double teams in their corner as they had Matt isolated. Haskins grounded Matt and worked some submission holds. Aldis came back in and hit a nice suplex for two that was broken up by Nick. Aldis and Haskins continued to work the quick tags and double teams on Matt. Matt fired up and looked for a tag but Aldis cut him off. Matt hit the desperation spear and tagged in Nick. Nick hits his spots with the running knee strike, kicks, and bulldog/clothesline combination. Nick hit a knee and swanton on Haskins for a two count. Nick went for a dive on Haskins but was cut off by Aldis. Aldis went for a dive of his own but got a superkick from Matt. Haskins hit a tope on Matt and then one on Nick and then applied a double reverse arm bar. Aldis was tagged in and Haskins hit a Michinoku driver and Aldis hit a top rope elbow that received a two count. The match broke down at this point. Aldis got the cloverleaf applied but it was broken up by a superkick. Haskins put Matt in a sharpshooter but Nick broke it up with a superkick. The Bucks went for Cease and Desist but Matt had Aldis on a sharpshooter and Haskins had Nick in a sharpshooter. Matt and Haskins traded blows. Aldis tried to come back into the ring but was double superkicked. The Bucks tried for the Meltzer Driver but Haskins cut them off. The Bucks then tried for More Bang For Your Buck but Haskins cut that off as well. Aldis lifted Matt into a piledriver position and Haskins performed a top rope ‘rana to Nick causing Nick to spike the Aldis piledriver on Matt for the Hurrican-Meltzer. Aldis powerbombed Matt and applied the cloverleaf. Nick made the save and then hit a moonssault on Haskins. Aldis got dumped and The Bucks hit the Meltzer Driver on Haskins for the pin.
WINNERS: The Young Bucks at 17:05
Ursin’s Hot Take: This was EASILY the best thing on this show up to this point. Solid tag match. Not amazing but good. There isn’t such a thing as a bad Young Bucks match. The crowd was super hot here when they had been mostly dead throughout the night. (***)
(6) The Boys vs. Toru Yano & Delirious
Delirious chased The Boys around the ring but became freaked out when he couldn’t tell The Boys apart. Delirious began to run away from The Boys as they chased him around the ring. Yano finally pulled both Boys down by the hair. Yano and Delirious applied double abdominal stretches to The Boys outside the ring. Delirious worked on the arm of one of The Boys before the other Boy tagged in for a high cross that received a two count. Delirious delivered a chinbreaker and then tagged in Yano. The Boys worked over Yano with double team offense before Yano pulled down the top rope and dumped both Boys to the floor. Both teams brawled outside the ring with Yano and Delirious in control. Yano tagged in Delirious. Yano and Delirious isolated one of the Boys in their corner and worked him over with quick tags and comedy offense. Delirious hit a slam and, when the ref wasnt looking, The Boys pulled a switch. One of the Boys hit a sliced bread on Delirious for a two count. Delirious hit the 68 Special and tagged in Yano. Yano took off a turnbuckle cover and attacked The Boys with it. Yano ran the Boys into one another and tagged in Delirious. One of The Boys put a Delirious mask on. This made Delirious mad. The boy began doing Delirious’ run the ropes spot making Delirious ever more frustrated. Eventually The Boys hit a lungblower and then codebreaker combo for the win.
WINNERS: The Boys at 12:25
After the match, Bully Ray attacked both of The Boys and left them lying in the ring.
Ursin’s Hot Take: Interesting comedy house show match. The crowd seemed very excited to see Toru Yano. (*)
(7) Silas Young (c) vs. Joe Hendry – ROH TV TITLE MATCH
Hendry started off by grounding Silas with a wristlock. Silas fought back and pulled Hendry down by the hair but Hendry was up quick and back to the wristlock. Fireman’s carry takedown by Hendry received a one count. They traded arm drags and head scissors into a standoff. Hendry knocked Silas out of the ring with a shoulder tackle. Silas fought back with a clothesline sending Hendry out to the floor. Silas took control of the match on the floor by slamming Hendry into the railing. Silas threw Hendry into the ring and applied a front facelock. Facebuster by Silas received a two count. Silas went back to the front facelock. Hendry tried for a Sunset Flip but Silas stomped on Hendry’s chest for a two count. Silas went to the front facelock again. Hendry got out of the front facelock with a suplex counter. Hendry fired up and hit a neckbreaker for two and then a DDT for two. Silas fought back and hit a twisting neckbreaker for two. Hendry got a two count off of a fallaway slam. Silas low blowed Hendry for a two count. Silas hit the Milwaukee plunge for a two count. They traded blows. Hendry applied a half crab ankle lock variation. Silas pulled Hendry’s hair to break the hold and hit Misery for the pin.
WINNER: Silas Young at 14:10
Ursin’s Hot Take: The crowd was very behind local wrestler Joe Hendry. That and some believable near falls added some drama to this otherwise flat but decently worked match. (**)
(8) Matt Taven & TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia (c) vs. ROH World Heavyweight Champion Dalton Castle & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Jay Lethal – ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TITLE MATCH
Lethal and Taven started. The Kingdom made a series of quick tags. Lethal got the best of Marseglia who tagged in TK. TK called for Tanahashi. Tanahashi worked a headlock and both men pulled each others hair. TK tagged out to Taven. Taven called out Castle so Tanahashi made the tag. Taven and Castle worked a spot in the corner where they each missed about 10 clotheslines in a row. Taven went down after Lethal, Castle, and Tanahashi all hit the peacock pose simultaneously. Castle hit a knee lift in the corner and a hip toss on Taven before he made the tag to Lethal. Lethal came in with a double axe handle from the top rope onto Taven that got a two count. Lethal tagged out to Tanahashi. After a few shots Tanahashi tagged out to Castle. Castle tossed Taven into the turnbuckles and tagged out to Lethal. A back drop by Lethal to Taven got a two count. Lethal went for a sunset flip but was pulled to the outside by TK and Vinny. The Kingdom isolated Lethal and worked him over in their corner. Vinny was in with Lethal and worked some strikes. Lethal tried to fire up but was cut off. Vinny popped a balloon in Lethal’s face and continued with strikes. Lethal fired up with offense on all three Kingdom members and hit a desperation cutter to TK on the floor. Lethal finally made the hot tag to Tanahashi who ran wild on The Kingdom with a high cross on Vinny and a dive to the floor onto Taven and TK. Tanahashi hit a slingblade on Vinny for a two count that was broken up by TK. Tanahashi ate a double flapjack and senton leg drop combo from Vinny and TK for a two count that was broken up by Lethal. Tanahashi tagged in Lethal. Lethal hit the Lethal Combination on Vinny and then Hail To The King for a two count. Lethal applied the Figure Four to Vinny. Taven hit a frog splash onto Lethal breaking up the Figure Four. The match broke down. Taven went to kick Castle but Castle moved and Taven took out the ref instead. Evil came down and pulled Castle out of the ring. Evil nailed Castle in the head with his IWGP Tag belt. There was a big brawl in the ring between The Kingdom and Lethal/Tanahashi. Lethal clotheslined Taven to the outside and then hit a tope. Vinny and TK hit a combination spinebuster/diving headbutt on Tanahashi in the ring. Lethal dumped TK and then hit a cutter on Vinny. Lethal went for Lethal Injection on Vinny but Taven nailed Jay in the back with his cane. Rockstar Supernova to Lethal and Taven made the cover as the ref came to.
WINNERS: The Kingdom at 18:50
Ursin’s Hot Take: This was a house show match with no real purpose. (**)
(9) Jay & Mark Briscoe (c) vs. Cody & Hangman Page (w/Brandi Rhodes) – ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Cody and Mark started things off. They made some exchanges before Cody laid in some chops. Jay tagged in. Cody tagged out to Page because Jay was calling for Page. Jay and Page traded blows. Page hit a lariat and Mark tagged back in. The match broke down. Cody and Page hit suicide dives to the outside on the champions. Jay dumped Cody on the outside as The Briscoes went to work on Page in their corner. Page hit a desperation clothesline on Jay and was able to tag in Cody. Cody was in the ring with Mark. Cody hit the dropdown punch to Mark and the disaster kick to Jay who was on the apron. Cody hit a powerslam on Mark for two. Cody low blowed Mark and was then pulled out of the ring by Jay. Jay wiped Cody out on the floor with a big boot. Mark dropped an elbow to Cody off the apron onto the floor. Cody tried to fight back by hitting Jay in the head with a fan’s beer but Mark was there to take Cody into the ring. Mark started to choke Cody with a chain behind the ref’s back. Mark went for a pin but Cody was able to get a shoulder up at two. Mark tagged out to Jay. Jay put Cody in a reverse chinlock. Cody tried to fight back but Jay hit a dropkick for two. Jay tagged out to Mark who started to put the boots to Cody. Cody was isoltaed in The Briscoe’s corner. Mark hit a suplex for two. Mark tagged Jay back in. Jay hit a headbutt and then tagged Mark back in for a double shoulder tackle. Mark tagged Jay back in and they tried for another double team move but Cody kicked Jay, dumped Mark, and then hit CrossRhodes on Jay. Both men were down. Cody was able to hot tag to Page. Page and Mark traded forearms. Page hit the Dropsault on Jay and Mark for a two count. Page hit a top rope moonsault to Jay and Mark on the outside. Page went for a Buckshot Lariat and The Rite of Passage on Mark but Mark was able to block both. Page powerbombed Mark but Jay broke up the pin. Cody hit Jay with a springboard dropkick. Jay took Cody outside and tossed him into the guardrail. Mark hit a top rope cutter on Page for a two count. Mark tagged in Jay. Jay hit the Hangman’s Neckbreaker for two on Page. Jay tried for the Jay Driller but Page blocked it. Jay low blowed Page. Jay went for a pin but it was broken up by Cody. Cody and Jay traded blows before Cody hit a drop toe hold on Jay and Brandi sprayed hairspray in Jay’s eyes. Jay got hit with the Disaster Kick from Cody and then the Buckshot Lariat from Page. Page went for the cover but Mark broke it up. Mark hit Cody with a Blockbuster on the floor. Page and Jay traded blows before Jay took Page down with a lariat. Page hit Jay with a piledriver for two. Jay low blowed Page and hit him with the JayDriller for the pin.
WINNERS: The Briscoes at 19:06
Ursin’s Hot Take: I don’t like Cody being positioned as a face, but this was a great tag match with all four men working super hard. The crowd was mildly invested but it was difficult to be completely invested knowing that a title change was not going to happen. (***1/2)
FINAL THOUGHTS: This show was not very good. I know that ROH needs content for their streaming service and a hook for fans, but this is not it. I do think when ROH puts YEAR 1 onto their service that it will justify the $9.99/month but until then, streaming house show footage isn’t going to cut it.
NOW CHECK OUT THIS REPORT: 5/24 ROH HONOR UNITED report: Live coverage featuring The Briscoes vs. Cody & Page for the tag titles, Silas Young vs. Joe Hendry for the TV title
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