ROH 10/12/2017 Global Wars 2017 Buffalo Review
Buffalo Riverworks
Buffalo, NY
Ring of Honor’s first stop on the Global Wars tour was in Buffalo,NewYork. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana were on commentary to start the show.
The Dawgs vs. Coast to Coast (Leon St. Giovanni & SHAHEEM Ali)
As Coast To Coast made their way, Riccaboni and Cabana both commented that the team is looking for that one big win to catapult them, highlighting that Roppongi 3K, née The Tempura Boyz, recently beat the Dawgs before winning the IWGP Jr. Tag Team titles. Somehow, I’m not sure if a directly line can be drawn between those two points. Nonetheless, Ferrara and Titus continue to be an interesting duo, with Titus essentially bullied Ferrara throughout the match, using him a weapon against LSG and Shaheem. C2C did have an opportunity to put the match away with their Coast to Coast finisher, but Titis thwarted the attempt by shoving LSG off the top rope. After Ferrara was released from the tree of woe, he hit LSG with a BLL, followed by the Dawgs combination front suplex/high cross bodyblock to pick up the pinfall victory. After the win, Ferrara “peed” on LSG, a throwback to the Junkyard Dog, which was a funny moment. Commentary spoke about how C2C must be growing frustrated with their winless streak, although nothing occurred between the two in ring. It seems that a narrative is being built around the two partners possibly splitting from each other soon, which will be a welcome development. For some reason or another, they haven’t been given the chance to be successful as a tag team and a split could be a boon to their careers in ROH. Overall a good opening match here
Winner: The Dawgs
Hangman Adam Page vs. KUSHIDA
Cabana and Riccaboni spoke about Page’s kidnapping, with Cabana pointing out that he had cops on the lookout for him in Chicago. A bit ridiculous, but a nice show on continuity, even if the story was a bit far-fetched. Great chain wrestling to start this one, as the two showed themselves to be equals in that department. Page slowed the match down a bit, showing his brutality here, as he worked KUSHIDA over. The former television champion used his speed to gain control, hitting a hip toss/ dropkick combination before he attempted to cynch on the Hoverboard lock, but Page quickly scampered to the ropes. The action spilled the outside and Page used the opportunity to try to connecting with his shooting star shoulderblock, but KUSHIDA deftly countered into a Hoverboard lock that he released before heading back into the ring. KUSHIDA tried to apply the Hoverboard on the top rope, eventually tossing Page off the top, keeping the hold on and adjusting it while on the mat. Page tapped out to KUSHIDA in what felt like a short match. The two showed off some nice spots, but a few more minutes would have gone a long way to making this one stronger. KUSHIDA winning is no surprise, especially with a looming title shot against Cody later in the tour.
Winner: KUSHIDA
Frankie Kazarian vs Jay Lethal
Nice bit of continuity here, with commentary informing the audience that lethal and Kazarian have had issues as of late, due to The Addiction robbing Lethal out of an Honor Rumble victory. Kazarian and Lethal started out matching each other hold for hold, trading near falls early on. Lethal sent Kazarian to the outside and attempted a dive, but Kazarian moved, only to catch a baseball side. Kazarian was able to turn the tables on Lethal, using the ropes to hang Lethal up in the ropes, capitalizing with a guillotine leg drop. Lethal was able to send Kaz outside again, finally hitting his patented three consecutive suicide dives, followed by a Hail to the King elbow drop. Lethal scored a two count and then quickly applied a figure four in the middle of the ring. Kazarian survived and lethal went for the hold again, only to be rolled up with a cradle. KAzarian then quickly hit a slingshot cutter, but only got a two count yet again. Lethal went for a Lethal Injection, but Kazarian was up to the task, hitting a lungblower and an unprettier, but still could only manage a very near fall. Lethal slipped out of a top rope suplex attempt, hitting Lethal Injection shortly thereafter to pick up the win. Glad to see this match be given the time to develop into a fun back and forth contest here, without any interference to mar the match.
Winner: Jay Lethal
War Machine & Mark Briscoe vs. Killer Elite Squad and Minoru Suzuki
Before the match, Silas Young came out to the entrance ramp and told Suzuki that he would be watching his match to prepare for the match between the two on the Global Wars Pittsburgh stop. Young then joined commentary before War machine made their way down to the ring. Despite their past issues, War Machine and the Briscoes offered a handshake, only for KES and Suzuki to immediately attack them and the six men began brawling, spilling onto the arena floor, with the sides evenly beating each other down in a true donnybrook. It’s really a treat to see War Machine tangle with a pair of wrestlers and it’s amazing how much they’ve grown as a team. Suzuki wielded a chair without consequence, as referee Paul Turner seemed to be unable to control the match. The match did eventually move into the ring, with KES getting a majority of the work. Suzuki won the match for his team after hitting a Gotch-style piledriver on Briscoe. Young stared at Suzuki from the top of the ramp, running his mouth and looking quite incensed. A fun brawl here that allowed everyone to show how tough they are.
Winner: K.E.S and Suzuki
Bully Ray retirement speech tease, he thanked Buffalo and mentioned the history he has in the city and how hard the injury has been on him, forcing to rethink his future in wrestling.
Christopher Daniels vs Hiromu Takahashi
Daryl at the timekeepers table- he is apparently a man of many talents according to Riccaboni, but his talent will be missed on commentary-he has a keen eye. Weird to hear the crowd going nuts for Takahashi when a little over a year ago, no one cared to see Daniels vs Kamaitachi. Takahashi tried to bait Daniels by running around the ring and going for his sunset flip bomb to the outside early, but Daniels raked the eyes, as he would do many times through the match. As Daniels was firmly in control, he went and pulled Daryl into the ring and made him watch the punishment up close. As Daniels tangled Takahashi’s legs up, he choked Daryl right in front of the Time Bomb’s face, even going so far as to bash Daryl and Takahashi’s heads together-brutal stuff here. Takahashi was so incensed that he immediately powered out of a pin attempt and began his attack while Riccaboni and Cabana threw out Cat puns, like “Cat Scratch Fever” and “he has multiple lives”. Daniels was able to lock a Koji clutch on, that Takahashi escaped by reaching the ropes. Daniels followed with a Sambo suplex, but missed the Best Moonsault Ever. Daniels pulled out all the stops and tried using Daryl to distract Takahashi, but instead found himself locked in the D-lock, eventually forcing him to tap out.
Winner: Hiromu Takahashi
Cody & Marty Scurll vs HASHI/Yano
The Buffalo crowd was super into this one from the start. Hashi was to start against Cody, but the ROH World champion demanded that Yano come in and the crowd vociferously supported that. Cody then asked Yano to kiss the ring and his tag partner Scurll showed Yano how to do it before they forced Yano into the corner and forced him to show reverence. Yano tried to go for a low blow but was stopped by Scurll and Cody, who double teamed him for an early advantage. Yano desperately tagged out and his partner Hashi was up to the task, quickly dealing with Cody and Scurll before tagging out quickly. Scurll put his mask on and chased Yano, who was quite frightened and ran around the outside until Cody aided in flooring the unconventional wrestler. The end came when Yano went to hit Cody with a turnbuckle pad, only for referee Paul Turner to wrest the pad away from the NJPW star. While that occurred, Cody took the opportunity to low blow Yano and then hit Cross Rhodes before picking up the pinfall victory. The crowd was up for this one and it definitely made it more enjoyable than most Yano matches, but this still felt like a throw away match with two of ROH’s top stars involved.
Winners: Cody & Marty Scurll
Punishment Martinez vs Will Ospreay
Ospreay started the match off aggressively, catching the unsuspecting Martinez in the face with repeated boots, sending his larger foe to the outside. As quickly as Ospreay’s offensive took the big man down, one right hand from martinez on the apron sent Ospreay down in a heap. Martinez scaled the ropes and connected with a flying spinwheel kick, that earned him a very near fall. Ricabonni and Cabana did well to mention Martinez’s attack on Ospreay and White after the match between the two in the Hammerstein Ballroom earlier this year. This match really told a story, with ospreay being more vicious than usual, but it never being enough to keep Martinez down. Similarly, Martinez, although unrelenting, needed to hit two Psycho Drivers, a powerbomb on the ring apron and finally a South of Heaven chokeslam to barely walk away the winner. A pretty big statement match for Martinez here, beating the IWGP jr champion. Easily the match of the night and this card and one you should go out of your way to watch.
Winner: Punishment Martinez
ROH 6-Man World Tag Team Championship Match
The Elite (Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks(c) vs.
The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan
The match wasn’t originally announced as a title match, but since the entire Bullet Club is free-bird ruling the titles, any time any combination of the 6 are out there, the title is up for grabs. This was a showcase for the Elite and the Bullet Club as a whole. The Kingdom had control a few times during the match and looked good while doing so, but this was truly more of a collection of the Elite’s greatest hits. A Rise of the Terminators featuring Omega got a huge pop from the crowd, as did the slow build to the ten boots spot, during which Cody, Page and Scurll ran down to help provide more boots to throw Taven into. Omega kept being on the receiving end of the botos spot until the ten were in place and he was finally able to toss Taven in. This was a fun house show main event, with the Elite retaining after hitting a Indytaker/One Winged Angel combination for the pinfall victory.
Winners: The Elite
Final Thoughts: C+
This was definitely a house show throughout, not to say that the wrestling wasn’t up to par, it simply is that there were some great pairings her, but the main highlight of the show was having such a full Bullet Club squad, with Omega being the centerpiece here. Ospreay and Martinez did however put on an excellent match, a theme that has been running through all of Martinez’s matches as of late. Seeing Daniels against the wrestler formerly as Kamaitachi and having that acknowledge as backstory to the match made it feel special as well. The main event was definitely fun and had all the spots you would expect to see here, with the Kingdom showing improvement as a squad-the move like a well-oiled machine. Taven, O’Ryan and Marseglia were the perfect trio to face off against the completely over Bullet Club; there has been constant disdain from Taven in terms of the Bullet Club and that thread worked well here.