Ring of Honor "All-Star Extravaganza" Roundtable Reviews
September 6, 2014

Mike Metzger, PWTorch ROH TV specialist (8.0)

On paper, this show seemed poised to be an “off-brand” Ring of Honor event. Sure, the announced card had potential, but it didn’t seem like there would be any major storyline developments or shake-ups. This idea was shattered in the very first segment, when it was announced that A.C.H. had missed his flight to Toronto and thus would lose his title opportunity against ROH TV champion Jay Lethal. From there, this show quickly morphed into a story of travel issues and backstage politics, in the midst of stellar in-ring action.

Mark Briscoe and Hanson had a fine opener. Briscoe got the victory, but Hanson showed that he could hold his own in a one-on-one contest. Viewers were then treated to the typical multiple-man spot fest. This time it was a “Four Corner Survival” tag team match, which gave ROH fans a chance to see the new pairing of R.D. Evans and Moose. There are many differing opinions on these type of matches, but this one told the story of the heelish Evans being assisted by Moose, who is over with the crowd similar to the way Ryback was during his 2012 WWE run. The show settled in with a “just-okay” bout between The Decade and Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian, who are now known as The Addiction.

The show then hit the next gear with a dream match between A.J. Styles and former ROH champ Adam Cole. The match featured some very creative blow-for-blow spots and false finish sequences. Both men showed why they are two of the top independent wrestling stars in 2014. After intermission, fans were treated to a solid in-ring promo from Michael Bennett and Maria Kanellis. Maria adds much-needed star power to ROH, and she is doing great work as Bennett’s heel valet.

It was then time for championship action. Because Jay Lethal’s opponent missed his flight and Cedric Alexander’s scheduled opponent broke his leg, they faced each other in an excellent ROH Television Title match. Since his heel turn in April, Jay Lethal has consistently brought it in high-profile matches, and this was no exception.

An oddly-placed ROH World Title match was next. After a lack of hype for the match on television and very little build-up for Jay Briscoe as top challenger, it seemed like it would be just another successful defense for Elgin. Fans in the building were shocked when Briscoe was declared the second man to ever win the promotion’s top title for a second time. The match itself wasn’t great, but the out-of-nowhere conclusion will be talked about for years.

The main event between the Young Bucks and reDRagon was absolutely superb. Despite seeing these teams battle several times throughout the past year, they always seem to find a way to keep their matches interesting. If this was the “final chapter” between these two teams, it will be interesting to see where ROH goes from here with the champions. No matter what they do, I think it would be wise to start moving Kyle O’Reilly toward the singles main event picture, as he is one of the fastest-rising stars in ROH and the independents. Despite having very little buzz leading into it, this turned out to be a very newsworthy and enjoyable show.

Brian Leahy, PWTorch Review Specialist (7.5)

With ASE6, ROH delivered a lopsided but entertaining show that sometimes ventured into the sublime. The opening brace of matches were uninteresting on paper, but managed to pull the event above its own low watermark. Mark Briscoe vs. Hanson was typical fare from the younger Briscoe while Hanson showed some promise for a future foray into the singles ranks. The four-way tag team match featuring the people ROH had nothing interesting to do with was inoffensive and aided by the scramble style format.

The Addiction vs. The Decade was the only truly disappointing match on the card; clocking in at a little over 10 minutes and moving at a snail’s pace, this was not the showcase of tag team wrestling you would hope for on a 2014 iPPV. I don’t know if Christopher Daniels was injured or saving himself for something more important, but I longed to see more than the couple of minutes ring time he in the bout. The finish was flat and out of nowhere, and the post-match dissension between the Decade members was no more interesting.

Business picked up in the fourth match with Adam Cole and A.J. Styles showing why they just might be the best two guys on the U.S. Indies right now. The storytelling was effective, with Cole dominating Styles's leg and Styles ... just being Styles. The result of the finish was disappointing if not predictable considering Styles’s standing, but Cole looked stronger than ever even in defeat.

Lethal vs. Cedric Alexander, who was standing in for the missing A.C.H., was a fine bout given its lack of context compared to the scheduled match. With the 15 minute time limit reinstated they went at it at pace and with vigour. Lethal really seems to have injected (excuse the pun) some buzz into the TV Title as of late, and with matches like this it’s hard for the title not to seem relevant.

The decision to switch the ROH Title from Michael Elgin to Jay Briscoe has been discussed ad nauseam, but putting that aside their title match was good, if a little plodding in places. The finishing sequence was strong and took the crowd by surprise, which at least made the match somewhat memorable beyond the solid action.

The main event was a stonker. Some of the sequences between ReDRagon and The Young Bucks had been done before in their previous bouts, but nobody seemed to care. The 2/3 Falls format suggested that it might go long, but they decided to pack 40 minutes of action into half the time. This may not end up as ROH’s MOTY, but it’ll be in the reckoning by year's end.

There’s enough to like on the card, and if you skip the opening three matches, the action was consistently good to great. Cole-Styles and ReDRagon-Bucks were the shining stars on the night, and probably worthy of a purchase by themselves.

Sean Radican, PWTorch columnist (7.5)

The big news coming out of this show is the unexpected title change with Jay Briscoe beating Michael Elgin to win the ROH World Title for the second time. For a show with very little build on TV, “All Star Extravaganza VI” was certainly a newsworthy iPPV. The production was better as well and the stream came off without a hitch.

There wasn’t a bad match on the card, although the crowd wasn’t quite into the action as much as they usually are. The Cole-Styles match was a very good match, but the crowd never invested in the action even though the match was really good. The ending was abrupt and there were a few spots that didn’t come off smoothly, but overall the match delivered.

The Elgin-Briscoe match was good, not great. The first half was slow, but the action picked up late and the crowd was into Elgin. The crowd was stunned with the result. The main event was easily the best match on the show. I usually don’t like 2/3 Falls matches, but the Young Bucks and ReDRagon put together an incredible, action-packed match that set the crowd on fire. This is a match worth going out of your way to see between two of the best teams in the world.

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