SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
PPV EVALUATION – ROH 14th Anniversary
February 26, 2016
BEST MATCH – THE YOUNG BUCKS/KENNY OMEGA VS. MATT SYDAL/A.C.H./KUSHIDA
I know that the criticism of this match is going to be that it was a “spotfest,” but I urge you to go out of your way to see it. A red-hot crowd helped the atmosphere, and all six men had an exceptional showing. This was non-stop action throughout, with way too many innovative sequences to detail here. Just great stuff.
WORST MATCH – B.J. WHITMER VS. ADAM PAGE
This was the one of the few matches that the crowd didn’t seem to care for, and I don’t blame them. It was a forgettable affair, and both men are capable of better. A disappointment.
BIGGEST SURPRISE – MCMG!
It’s always nice to have a few added surprises on pay-per-view, and the reformation of the Motor City Machineguns was a great touch. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley two have always worked very well together, and I’m interested to see the feud that ROH has in mind for them moving forward.
BIGGEST LETDOWN – NOTHING
Not a perfect show, but everything you’d think would deliver certainly did. ROH has to make the most of their opportunities on pay per view, and I felt that they did on Friday night.
BEST QUOTE – TANAHASHI’S ENTRANCE VIDEO
“A man of talent.” No arguments here.
BEST MOVE – SUPERKICK INTO GERMAN SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR
As mentioned, the six-man tag was the highlight of the night for me. The Bucks superkicking Matt Sydal into the arms of Kenny Omega who turned it into a German suplex on the ramp was an incredible spot.
BEST MATCH FINISH – JAY LETHAL VS. ADAM PAGE VS. KYLE O’REILLY
A great main event with the right person winning. Lethal has had a great run as champion, and it was nice to see the company keep him in the top spot. Lethal is really carving out a legacy in the company with performances like this.
OTHER THOUGHTS
– The Briscoes vs. Michael Elgin & Tanahashi had my second favourite match of the night. An all-action brawl – seek this one out.
– War Machine and The All Night Express didn’t have a bad match, but they had to follow that amazing six-man. They did their best.
– Nothing on this night was outright bad, and I recommend the show highly.
WHAT IT’LL BE REMEMBERED FOR
Just a solid show. ROH is now entering it’s 14th year, and a great relationship with NJPW as well as contracted stars make for a lot of exciting potential in 2016 for the company. I’d definitely check this one out. I went back and forth as I thought this year’s Royal Rumble was very good, but the good stuff here was better in my opinion. A very good night of action from ROH.
UPDATED 2016 PPV EVALUATION RANKINGS
1 – ROH 14TH ANNIVERSARY (2016-02-26)
2 – WWE ROYAL RUMBLE (2016-01-24)
3 – WWE FASTLANE (2016-02-21)
4 – TNA ONE NIGHT ONLY LIVE! (2016-01-08)
Follow me @nathankyght. I have a bunch of followers, but you’ll be my favourite.
The Young Bucks are over-rated. I laugh when someone says they are one of the best teams in the world. They don’t know how to sell moves, they rip off every part of their gimmicks from others, and they are just spot monkeys. There are dozens of better teams than them